#i decided to color this piece because i realized i never gave the girls eye colors lol

[normansnt]

The tailor (sanji x male tailor! Reader)

Warnings: the reader cuts himself with scissors. I don't know if thats a warning but yeah.

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The strawhats docked at another island for the logpose to reset. As usual everyone went their way. And Sanji obviously went with Robin and Nami clothe shopping to carry their bags.

They were walking around town when they spotted a shop standing alone. It wasn't too big nor small. The first thing that someone felt when they saw it was calmness. It was a cozy little store. First Nami wanted to ignore it due to its simple looks. But Robin felt like the little shop had great things to offer.

"I find it rather adorable, I wouldn't mind going in" said Robin in a calm voice.

"Well all right we have time after all" gave in Nami looking at the log pose. Sanji didn't say anything but he had a little cheer in his mind that the girls decided to go in.

It was a small shop with unique and beautiful clothes put on display. The closer they got the clearer they could see how amazing the clothes put on display in the shop window were.

When they stepped into the shop the little bell over the door gave a light "ting" sound letting whoever was in there know that they had entered. The smell of lavender greeted them. The shop was only slightly bigger on the inside then it looked from outside, but it was not too small as though not having enough space.

Two clothing racks stood in the middle and if you walked to the other side of the store three mirrors greeted you with a small stage in front and a table besides them. The walls, which had clothes hanging on racks neatly organized, had a comforting light blue color. There was also a staircase leading to a door, a closed door so they had no idea what was behind it.

"Aughh damn it" came from behind the closed door.

"I will be down in a minute" yelled a mans voice.

Nami and Robin started looking around while waiting for whoever it was behind that door to come down, Sanji kept analyzing the place. All though he had to lie if he said that the clothed there didn't catch even his attention.

They seem to have been made with utmost care due to every stitch being very clean and the pieces of fabric complimented each other well very well.

The door opened suddenly and a man not much younger then Sanji stepped out. He had a big smile on his face and glasses on his nose which were held together by duct tape.

The man had h/c h/l hair and e/c eyes. These looked lovely with his s/c skin. He was a handsome man by the looks of it and based on his outfit he knew his way around clothing as well. He was wearing a white button up shirt with brown suit pants which had red squares detailed on it, around his neck was a tape measure and on his middle finger a thimble showing that he in fact made these clothes with his own hands. To top it off on his feet were black loafers, he looked very sheik.

"Oh hello" greeted Robin politely "are you alright we heard cursing before?" Asked the raven haired women kindly.

"Oh, I apologize for that, I was just cutting some fabric and the bell startled me so I cut into my finger a bit" smiled the man sheepishly while holding up his index finger which was bandaged all the way.

"Must have been a deep cut" muttered Sanji.

"Anyway I apologize again, what can I help you with ladies and gentleman?" Said the man while flashing a big smile. 'Adorable' thought Sanji, his smile had a child like innocence to it and the glint in his e/c eyes made it all the more sweeter- what? Since when did Sanji think like this about a man? He admits when a man is handsome, of course, but he never went into detail describing his attraction towards one- attraction? What is going on today?

"And for you sir?" Asked the man who he still didn't know the name of because he wasn't paying attention to the conversation he was having with the girls, who, disappeared,now realized Sanji. The man must have noticed his confusion so he said hastily

"The ladies went to try one some pieces" said the clothing shop owner while pointing at a door beside the three mirrors on the opposite side to the little table.

"And my previous question was if you are looking for any clothing?" Said the man smiling kindly. Sanji didn't want to be rude he wanted to get the handsome mans name at least.

"Please excuse me but I seem to have zoned out previously, do you mind telling me your name?" Asked Sanji red in the face.

"Oh no problem, of course, my name is Y/N L/N it is a pleasure to meet you" smiled Y/N while putting his hand out for Sanji to shake. He did just that while introducing himself as well.

"So are you looking for any clothing? I can tell by what you are wearing that you know a thing or too about fashion" he flashed his handsome smile again.

It was true Sanji did put a bit more care into what he was wearing than oder man but compared to Y/N he probably couldn't tell the difference between velvet and chiffon.

"Oh no, thank you, Im just here to carry the ladies shopping bags and assist them any way they need" smiled back Sanji. All though he liked the clothes in this shop, he didn't want to waste money, not to mention it was hard to find something that fit him because of his build, he was skinny but very muscular at the same time.

"Are you sure? I can tailor something for you as well" said the man hopefully.

Sanji saw the glint in his eyes, it looked similar to when he was about to cook a new meal or try a new recipe. Passion, passion for ones work. Sanji liked that about Y/N he seemed very eager to work, just like him. Also the thought of having his own tailored suit sounded lovely for Sanji. Finally something that fits perfectly.

"I actually think that's a really good idea Sanji you have been wearing the same suit for forever" Said Nami suddenly standing beside Sanji. She walked out of the fitting room with the clothes she wants to buy in her hand just a minute ago. Sanji didn't notice her walking out. But how could that happen? Sanji not noticing Nami? Its true he was focusing on Y/N but not this hard! Right?

"Yes, getting a new suit might actually be useful but I don't want to waste money that could be spent on food Nami-san" said Sanji.

"Its not a waste of money its clothes, we have enough money for food, its just one suit it cant even be that much money" said Nami looking at Y/N hopefully.

"Oh no its 50 berry" Said Y/N hoping they are ok with that price. Nami's eyes turned into berry icons showing how happy she is that she will be saving this much money.

Y/Ns clothes had amazing quality and were cheap as well. This showed how kind the male was he never thought much of money. He just sold his clothes to make people happy and of course he needed to eat something.

"Very well," gave in Sanji "I would love to have you tailor me suit" finished Sanji smiling at Y/N.

"All right we will leave you to it then" said Robin also coming out of the fitting rooms. And with that the girls paid for the clothes they wanted and left. Weirdly enough, Sanji didn't mind this, of course it would be amazing to spend more time with the lovely ladies of the strawhat crew but staying alone with Y/N was an idea he didn't oppose of.

While Y/N was taking his measurements Sanji could feel his hands touching his body slightly. Y/Ns feather light touch left goosebumps on Sanjis skin for some reason even though it was only through fabric.

Naw, Sanji was no fool. He has noticed in the past that Ladies are not the only ones who capture his attention, he wanted to sleep with man as well in fact.

However what Y/N was doing to him was completely new. The man made Sanji flustered and now he understood those butterflies in the stomach everyone was talking about. They had just met but Sanji was smitten. Even more so when they started talking, while Y/N was making his suit.

"Yeah, I love cooking Im not really good at it though" said Y/N a little red in the face. "The last time I tried to make breakfast I left the omelette on the stove because I got distracted and well lats just say I had to get a new kitchen." Smiled the e/c eyed male sheepishly. Sanji loved when he smiled like that it was rather adorable.

"I can teach you if you like" said Sanji perhaps a little fast. Y/N stopped his movements and looked at Sanji with a slightly red face and a small smile

"You would do that? Thats so kind but you guys will only be on this island for so long Im afraid we don't have time, I mean pirates have to move right?"

The interesting thing about this sentence is that Sanji never mentioned that they were pirates. That means Y/N must have known the entire time. And yet... and yet he was this nice to them showing nothing but kindness. Thats it, he had to have you, at least on the crew.

"Well... we don't have a tailor on our ship yet..." started Sanji hopefully. At this point he didn't care if you couldn't fight he would protect you, he didn't care he has to clear things with Luffy he will threaten to not give him food for a week.

"Oh, Im sorry, I would not be a good pirate, I hate fighting..."

"You don't have to I'll protect you" Y/N smirked a little bit. "I didn't say I couldn't protect myself I just said I hate fighting, lets just say me and fighting have a...problematic past." Y/N was searching for the right words. "You see if I were to be a pirate they would find me and well I do not fancy that" smiled Y/N embarrassed hoping Sanji wouldn't question him further.

"They? Who is they is someone after you?" Sanji was shocked. You, an innocent angel, had a past with fighting? Not to mention someone was after you?

Y/N was contemplating what to do. On one hand he trusted Sanji even though they had just met he took a liking to the blond. But he is risking a great deal if he finds out about his past.

Oh what the hell he has been in hiding till now even if Sanji decides to hold this against him he can just flee.

"Sanji have you heard about Ciper pol?" What? Yes he had he fought them not long ago...where is this going?

"More specifically Cp9?" Oh no, what is Y/N about to say?

"I was part of them" there it is, exactly what Sanji feared. "Im not anymore, I fled, they raised me to be a monster who knows nothing outside of fighting, but thats not me, I hate fighting, I decided to flee not long after an old lady showed me how to sow" a sad smile spread on Y/Ns face. "She thought me in thanks for not killing her family, I was supposed to kill them. Thats why after I stayed with them for a long time and she thought me how to make clothes I ran away and lived in hiding since then"

There it was, out in the open. Now Sanji can run away, make a disgusted face, curse him. These are the reactions he got before this.

But instead Sanji took out a cigarette and lit it up. He took a drag and then said

"My crew just fought Cp9 not long ago" Y/Ns eyes widened 'and they are still alive??' "In fact we declared a war against the government, then won the fight against them." Sanji looked at Y/N who's expression showed absolute shock.

"Listen it doesn't matter how your story begins you had no say in that, your decision afterwards matter. And you fled, you ran away from that horrible life and that was your decision and that shows the person you really are--" before Sanji could finish his sentence Y/N was clinging to him, hugging him with almost unbearable strength, almost. "Thank you..." whispered the slightly shorter male.

He meant thank you for them defeating his past comrades, Sanji knew that. He hugged back. It was a very comfortable hug, Y/N smelled like clean clothes and lavender, just like his shop.

After hugging for a good two minutes Y/N pulled away.

"I'm sorry its just... they deserved it" chuckled Y/N slightly "they needed an ass whopping to get them in the right mind just a little" continued Y/N while taking the cigarette from Sanjis hands and taking a drag. "Fuck I needed that".

Sanji got tomato read. The way Y/N inhaled the deadly chemical and then tilted his had back to blow it out. His adams apple visible and his neck exposed.

"Anyway where is this pirate crew who declared a war on the government? The handsome cook said they needed a tailor I would like to check it out" smiled Y/N kindly again. Sanji got even redder. This is going to be interesting

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WHAAAAA- two posts on one day😗

I told you my next fic is gonna be a Sanji fic😍

I tried to not like this man due to his pervert behavior but I just have to end up falling for him🙃

ANYWAYS I love how this fic turned out I tried to make it longer now, and I successfully did so, Im happy🥳

I hope you guys like it Im sorry for any grammatical mistakes I made if I did please correct me🙏

Well, I hope you enjoyed your reading ladies gentlemen and others, good afternoon good evening and good night🧡🦖

#sanji x male reader #one piece x male reader #one piece #one piece imagine #one piece fanfiction #one piece x y/n #one piece x you #one piece x reader #sanji x you #straw hat sanji #sanji x reader #male reader #black leg sanji #sanji x y/n

[mitsies]

; SUNBURN SZN! ; oliver aiku > in which, he'd be a fool to not appreciate a pretty swimsuit on a pretty girl.

oliver aiku's favorite thing about summer is the water.

it's not like he particularly enjoys the beach or the pool. he doesn't care much for the way the water feels against his skin, or how the salt or chlorine stiffened his hair.

no, none of that. oliver liked summer because of the swimsuits.

yeah, maybe this makes him kind of a weirdo, and kind of a creep. but it's not like he means it to be his favorite aspect- it kind of just happened.

it became his favorite summertime activity- to go to the beach with some friends, chat up a group of pretty girls, and take home the one whose outfit he liked the most. yeah, yeah, it's unethical and womanizing- he gets it. but these things happen when you're a pro athlete, he can't help it.

oliver was used to getting whatever and whoever he wanted as a perk of stardom. people lined up outside his door, love letters flooded his mailbox, various-colored kiss stamps decorated his pillowcases- he kind of sort of had it all. so he figured that you'd be the same. he never considered the fact that people could just not be interested,

but here he was now, feet in the sand, eyes fixed on you, as you give him a polite smile and say, "sorry. i think i'll just stay here with my friends."

oliver was on a local beach with some of his friends, plus their girlfriends. you happened to be a part of that friend group- and a pretty one at that. there were a few girls oliver could've gone after, but you stood out to him.

maybe it was the way your smile held a sweet something that made him curious. maybe it was how your laugh held secrets that he wanted to find out. maybe it was the simple, sleek white one-piece you wore, all high lines with a plunging back that made his eyes wander.

or maybe, just maybe, it was the way you were. how you engaged him in meaningful conversation and talked about things that mattered to him. you were stunning in every sense of the term.

but liking people like that just wasn't in his DNA, so oliver decides that yeah, it's just the swimsuit.

so he'd pursued you like any regular game. he'd flirted, he'd complimented, he'd suggested- and you hadn't reciprocated,

"I hope it's not an issue," you continue, snapping him out of his thoughts. oliver meets your eyes and sees something familiar flickering- something he sees in his reflection, too. a challenge.

so he flashes you a smile. "it's no problem. i'll just have to take you out sometime else, then."

that would've gotten anyone else. they'd consider his words for a moment and then say 'well, actually...' and come right home with him. but instead, you raised an eyebrow and gave him a resolute smile. "no, thanks. i'm not interested."

oliver aiku looks at you. you look at him.

anyone sane would back off. anyone sane would say 'okay!' and take any other woman home, because god knows they'd say yes. but oliver has never been a normal guy, and he thinks you make him realize something: that he doesn't want to just take you home.

he'll get your number, and he'll try again. but this time, he thinks he'll take you out to dinner, first. and maybe a few dates after that. he doesn't think it'd hurt to hear you talk some more.

oliver tells himself that it's just because he's smart. this is simply him changing his strategy to switch up the game. he wasn't interested at all, and the way his heart thunders in his chest is just his imagination, for sure.

so he smiles at you in a way that's different from his usual one- it's fewer teeth, more shine. and he hopes you can see the glint in his eyes- challenge accepted.

#blue lock x reader #oliver aiku x reader #oliver aiku #blue lock #bllk x reader #bllk #bllk oliver #blue lock oliver #reader insert

[5x35]

she’s got a type

Pairing: Paige Bueckers x Azzi Fudd

Words: 9k

Summary: as long as azzi’s happy, paige will cope

TW: Mentions of sexual content, cursing, alcohol

AO3 Link

Caroline looked up from her phone as a knock sounded at her bedroom door.

“It’s open!” she called, wondering which of her teammates was coming to bother her now.

Paige walked in and closed the door behind her before immediately flopping down onto the bed. She’d spent quite a few hours lounging on the bed venting or seeking the presence of one of her best friends, so it brought her a lot of comfort.

“What’s up?” Caroline asked, looking at her phone for the time. It was almost eight on a Thursday, which was usually reserved for Paige and Azzi time. The team knew to leave them to their own devices for the most part, but especially on Thursday nights. That was their time and no one else was allowed.

“Azzi ditched me for James,” Paige shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, “I’m bored.”

Raising her eyebrow, Caroline internally screamed. She loved her friends, she truly did, but they frustrated her to no end.

“Wow, so I’m second option?” the brunette joked at her friend laying on her bed.

Paige gave her a look, “Stop! I can’t believe she chose that boy over me! Thursdays are our day! What the fuck? She’s never done that before.”

“That’s true. Do you,” Caroline started softly, “Do you think it’s going somewhere?”

Paige lifted her head up and contemplated the question, “I-. I’m not sure. She’s been spending a lot of time with him lately and she seems happy. I haven’t really asked.”

“How do you feel about it? Like what if it does become serious?”

Shrugging, the blonde girl laid down on her back and stared at the ceiling before answering, “I guess it’s just weird. She’s my best friend and we’re always together, I’m not used to sharing her. And she’s never picked someone else over me.”

“Would you be ok with sharing her with him?” Caroline continued.

“You know I don’t really like sharing,” Paige joked, but there was truth in her words. “Ugh, I can’t believe she ditched our tradition to get fucked by a guy on the football team.”

“It’s been a long week, she needs a release,” Caroline argued for her friend. She wanted to see how far she could push it before Paige broke and admitted she was in love with Azzi.

Paige scoffed, “I literally fucked her brains out after practice on Tuesday because she was frustrated after coach yelled at us. I think she could’ve waited until tomorrow instead of canceling our scheduled best friend time. Besides if she needed to get fucked that bad I could’ve done it.”

Caroline smirked, “Must not have been that good if she called James up.”

Paige rose to glare at her teammate, “I’ve personally never had a complaint and there’s a reason she keeps coming back. So fuck outta here with that.”

Putting her hands up in surrender, Caroline laughed, “Relax, I’m just kidding.” Then in a dry tone she added, “Trust me I’ve heard more than I ever wanted to. Azzi likes to share when she gets drunk.”

Paige smirked victoriously as Caroline shuddered at the memories. Realizing her friend had gotten her off track and she wasn’t going to get much from the current approach, Caroline decided to switch tactics.

“Why don’t you hit up a sneaky link?”

Paige looked down at the bedding, suddenly finding a piece of lint very interesting. “Uh, I kinda don’t have a roster right now.”

Caroline’s eyes widened, “What? You?”

“Aight, chill on me! I just haven’t had a lot of time. Rehab takes most of my time and if I do need to get off, Azzi’s usually there.”

“Wait, when was the last time you had sex with someone that wasn’t Azzi?”

“Probably, January or February, why?”

“You haven’t fucked anyone else in almost five months?! You? Miss hot shot D1 with a different girl in her bed every night haven’t had anyone else in your bed since the beginning of the year?” Caroline exclaimed, shock coloring her voice at this new information.

“Yeah? I mean it’s not that big of a deal. You know I’ve changed since the injury, that’s I guess one of the changes,” Paige tried to brush off her friend.

“Not a big deal? Paige! You’re-” Caroline cut herself off from finishing her sentence, it wasn’t going to be of any use pointing out that she was in an exclusive relationship with Azzi, who wasn’t in an exclusive one with her.

Caroline took a deep breath, collecting her thoughts. She had to be smarter about this and decided to once again change her approach. She looked up, exasperation clear in her eyes. She raised an eyebrow and in a tired tone she asked, “Can you think of all the girls you slept with in the past year before you cut everyone off?”

“Yeah, what about them?” Paige asked, confusion coloring her features.

“What did they all have in common?” Caroline prompted.

“Uh, they were hot. Good with their mouths,” the blonde mused, still not understanding where her friend was going with her new line of questioning.

“No, I mean looks wise.”

“Oh, pretty and good bodies? I don’t know what you want me to say. I love all women and I think my taste in them is very good,” Paige told her shrugging.

“Paige, they all look similar. They all look like someone.”

“Ok, so I have a type? What’s the problem?”

“It wouldn’t be a problem if your type wasn’t Azzi doppelgängers,” Caroline hissed, throwing her arms up trying to make her point.

“What? That’s not my type!” Paige spluttered, shaking her head in disagreement.

Caroline simply scoffed, her tone dripping in sarcasm, “Yeah, ok.”

“I can’t help that I like lightskins, it’s literally in my blood!” Paige told her, stubborn as ever. “Azzi just happens to be light skin, that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Again, it wouldn’t mean anything if the type was just light skins, it’s the fact that you choose girls that do look like Azzi,” the brunette told her.

“So you’re saying all black people look alike?” Paige raised her eyebrow, trying to turn the conversation around.

“Paige. I’m being serious and you know I’m right, that’s why you’re trying to make me drop it,” Caroline tilted her head and leveled the blonde with a stare.

Paige shifted on the bed, trying to decide if she should concede or not. Maybe she could just leave and Caroline would just drop it. But knowing her friend, she’d probably end up bringing it up in front of their other teammates, maybe even Azzi.

“Ok, so I have a type and I guess sometimes, sometimes, they happen to look kinda like Azzi,” Paige admitted, voice lowering in case anyone was outside and could hear them.

Caroline smirked, “Sometimes?”

Paige’s eyes narrowed, “Yeah, sometimes.”

Caroline stayed quiet, just staring at her, making Paige fidget in the silence and wish this conversation would be over soon.

A deep sigh left Paige’s lips, “Fine, most of the girls look pretty similar to Azzi. What’s your point?”

A victorious smile stretched across Caroline's face, “See, was that so hard?” She ignored the annoyed look the blonde gave her and continued on, “Don’t you think that means something? You subconsciously go for girls that look like Azzi.”

“Look, I know what you’re trying to do and it’s not working. Azzi and I are just hooking up. It’s easy because we’re both busy focusing on basketball during the season and it’s hard to coordinate with other people. Well, except for James I guess.”

“Ok, even if I believed you, why the lookalikes?” Caroline pushed.

“I don’t know, I guess it just happened. Like you said it was probably subconscious,” Paige said, looking away as she shrugged.

“But a part of you still knows why,” Caroline urged. Her tone changed, it was more gentle now, “Why?”

“I-“ Paige started, pausing because she didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know, she’s the best sex I’ve ever had? Maybe I’m trying to find someone else as good.”

It was a cop out, an answer she knew Caroline wasn’t going to accept. She just needed more time to think.

“Paige…” Caroline said, sounding as if she was scolding a child. Sometimes she felt like she was when she was talking to Paige.

“What? You want me to say I’m in love with her? That I’m trying to fill the void because I know I can’t have her? Because that’s not it!”

“Then what is it?” Caroline continued. She could see the resolve in the point guard starting to fade.

She was getting close to a breakthrough.

“I don’t know! It’s not like I’m purposely choosing those girls, they just happen!”

“They just happen to fall into your bed,” an amused smile played on Caroline’s lips.

“I mean, look I just find myself drawn to them, ok? And they’re never opposed to sleeping with ‘Paige Bueckers’ so yeah they kinda just end up there,” Paige told her in a huff.

“Drawn to them? Drawn to girls that look like Azzi?” Caroline prompted trying to lead the girl to the conclusion she needed to hear.

This was going on too long. At first it had been fun seeing the two interact and dance around each other, clear interest on both sides. It was fun to watch them fall in love and not know how to deal with the feelings evident to everyone else. They weren’t new, they’d always been there. But it was new for them to begin to understand what they were feeling for each other.

Now, months later it wasn’t fun anymore. Now it was frustrating for Caroline and the entire team. They watched amused as the two best friends had come up with their friends with benefits arrangement and hopelessly pined after the other. The longer it went on, the less amused and more annoyed everyone got. It was going to stop, it had to stop before it ruined their friendship.

“Well…yeah?” Paige told her lamely, falling back onto the bed.

Caroline opened her mouth, preparing to say something, but before she could say anything Paige shot up, shaking the bed with her abrupt movement.

Shock, realization, and despair were written on her face. Caroline made a note of the last one.

“Oh my god,” Paige breathed. “Oh my god, oh my god. Oh. My. GOD.”

The brunette stayed still in her position on her bed, letting her friend deal with her revelation. One down, one to go, she thought as she watched Paige begin to pace her room.

“What the fuck? This is bad, really bad,” Paige mumbled, sounding anguished. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Caroline decided it was time to intervene before her friend spiraled deeper into her panic, “Paige, relax.”

“Paige! Stop! Just sit down!” Caroline said sternly, when the girl ignored her.

Tentatively, the other girl sat back down on the bed, biting her lip.

“Paige, this isn’t a bad thing,” Caroline started gently.

“How? Caroline, I’m in love with my best friend! Who is also my teammate, our teammate! This is bad, this is gonna ruin everything. Oh god, I’m gonna have to transfer! This is so, so bad,” Paige whined.

“Hey, stop. It’s not gonna ruin anything. And I did all this to get you to admit it, as your teammate. I thought you both would’ve figured your shit out by now, but you’re both dumber than I thought,” she said, ignoring the affronted huff from the other girl. “Everyone is tired of you guys pretending you're not in love with each other and destroying yourselves trying to deny it. And the team will be fine, we wouldn’t have let you guys get this far if we didn’t know how you both felt. We just thought you guys would’ve stopped playing this game by now.”

It was a long moment before Paige spoke, still processing her thoughts and what Caroline said. When she finally opened her mouth to speak her friend wanted to cry at the fear and meekness in her voice. Paige, confident, stubborn, strong Paige, sounded like a little kid.

“Azzi doesn’t love me like that,” it was a simple statement, said with so much conviction and belief that they were true, it made Caroline shiver.

“What?” Caroline gaped at her.

“She told me,” Paige whispered, picking at her fingernails. “We were drunk and I don’t think she remembers, but I do.”

“What did she say?” Caroline asked in a gentle voice.

“She told me she was glad that we could just fuck,” Paige said, wincing at the profanity as it left her mouth. “Without the complicated feelings and she told me it helped her forget.”

“Forget?”

“Forget who she’s in love with,” Paige told her, finally looking up. Devastation evident on her face, she continued because she figured Caroline already knew this much and she was tired of keeping everything to herself. “That’s why. That’s why I chose those girls because I’m in love with my best friend who’s in love with someone else. Because it makes it easier and makes me forget because I can pretend. I can pretend it’s her for just a little bit and she feels the same way. Because when it’s actually her, I can’t pretend and I can’t forget. I can see it in her eyes, she won’t let me forget.”

“Paige…she-“ Caroline started. Now she was confused. She was so sure Azzi felt the same way and she was sure there was no one else before James, but Paige seemed so convinced that there was.

“No, look I know you meant well and you were right about how I feel and I know that everyone else also knows, but I also know how she feels. It’s why I’ve been denying it because it’s easier than dealing with it. The girls…I tried to stop sleeping with Azzi because I knew it would only hurt me, but I can’t. I’ve always been powerless when it comes to her, you know that. I’m begging you, just leave it. Don’t go to her, it’ll just make things worse. I’ll handle it, okay?”

“But,” Caroline protested.

Paige shook her head, resolve clear in her eyes, “No, just leave it and don’t tell anyone else.”

She stood up, emotionally exhausted.

“What are you going to do?” Caroline asked as the blonde reached the doorknob.

“I’m going to break my own heart before she can,” Paige said before slipping out the door.

Fuck, Caroline thought as she laid back on her bed, that’s not how that was supposed to go.

—

After her conversation with Caroline, Paige locked herself in her room needing the privacy to think and process what she’d realized. It’s not that she didn’t know she had feelings for Azzi because if she was honest with herself, deep down she absolutely knew. She was surprised at how deep the feelings were and how far she’d been able to push them out of her mind.

Covering her face with her hands, she groaned. Before she had fully realized how serious her feelings were, it’d be easy to fall into this routine with Azzi. They were still best friends who hung out everyday, teammates who worked well together, and they could roll out of bed the morning after having sex with each other and go back to being Paige and Azzi, the best friends.

Now, Paige wasn’t so sure she could keep up the charade. How could she look Azzi in the eye knowing how she felt. Knowing that Azzi would be able to see it because after all, she knew her better than she knew herself.

Fuck, this is going to ruin everything.

With the way things were going between Azzi and the football player, Paige figured it was only a matter of time before everything would change between the two best friends. She had to cut off whatever they were doing and push her best friend into a relationship with James.

She’ll let her best friend be happy and suffer in silence. She’ll sit and watch her best friend fall in love and watch from the sidelines because she’d do anything to see Azzi happy, even at the expense of her own feelings. She’ll plaster a smile on her face and with enough luck Azzi will be too wrapped up in her new relationship to notice Paige taking a step back. Eventually, after some time, she’d be ok to be the best friend Azzi was used to.

Yeah, it’s gonna have to be that way. She doesn’t feel the same, anyway.

A soft knock came at her door, “Paige? Are you up?”

Paige stilled at the sound of Azzi’s voice. Not trusting herself to face Azzi yet, she remained silent hoping the other girl would take it as a sign she fell asleep.

“Sorry I missed Pazzi time. I’ll make it up to you!” Azzi continued to talk through the door. “Paige?”

When Paige remained still and silent, Azzi concluded her friend had gone to bed, “Ok, good night, love you!”

The blonde waited for the retreating footsteps to fade and the suite door to close before she whispered back into the silence, “Not enough.”

–

The next day, Paige spent the morning trying to avoid Azzi. She knew the girl would come looking for her trying to make up for missing their scheduled time and she still she wasn’t ready to deal with it all yet. She woke up and left her dorm early that morning, quickly grabbing breakfast and going to the library where she’d be safe until practice.

She tried to waste time and cut it as close as possible before packing up her things to head to the practice facility. She figured if she rushed in late, Azzi wouldn’t be able to talk to her.

Her assumption was correct, she’d barely made it onto the practice court before Geno called for them to start stretching. She stood for a second and contemplated whether or not she should go next to Azzi. If she did, it’d open it up for them to talk and she didn’t think she could act normal yet. If she didn’t, Azzi would definitely know something was up and force it out of her anyway.

Deciding to try and keep as much control of the situation as possible, she began moving toward her usual spot next to her best friend. For the first time, she noticed how their teammates had left a spot for her next to Azzi. Thinking back, they always seemed to automatically leave a spot for them next to the other.

“Hey, where were you this morning?” Azzi asked as soon as Paige sat down to stretch next to her.

“Had to meet my partner for a COMM project,” Paige lied easily, trying to stick to what she had spent the morning coaching herself to say.

“Oh, well, I came by last night for Pazzi time, but you were already asleep,” Azzi frowned.

“Yeah, I played Fortnite and crashed,” Paige shrugged, keeping her voice neutral. She willed the next question out of her mouth, “How was James?”

Azzi shrugged in response, “The usual. Honestly, kinda weird. It was quick, but he was being…I don’t know, but I had to get out of there.”

“Oh,” Paige said, not really knowing how to respond.

“I think he’s catching feelings,” Azzi told her. If Paige had been looking at Azzi, she would’ve seen the girl searching for something in her reaction.

Paige stilled and gulped, before finding her voice, “Are you?”

A pause. “I’m not sure,” Azzi told her honestly. “Like he’s cool and we have fun, but we don’t really talk or hang out that much.”

“Does he make you happy?” Paige forced herself to void any emotion from her voice.

“I guess? It’s not like I know him that well, we’re just having fun. At least, I thought we were. We both agreed it was just sex, but I think he’s trying to ask me on a date. That’s why I had to leave.”

“Do you want to go on a date with him?” Paige asked, steeling herself for the answer.

“I don’t know,” Azzi huffed. “Should I?”

Looking away from the spot on the court she’d determinedly set her eyes on throughout the entire conversation, she finally met Azzi’s gaze. She stared at her best friend, trying to go through with the plan she’d set for herself the night before.

“Yeah,” Paige tried to sound indifferent, “I guess it couldn’t hurt to try. He could be the love of your life.”

The latter sentence held a tinge of bitterness and she had to swallow the nausea it caused.

“I doubt it, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” Azzi agreed after searching Paige’s expression. “I mean it could be fun. But who finds the love of their life in college. Stuff like that never lasts.”

Paige chucked but it came out more of a strangled croak, “Yeah.”

“So I should say yes?” Azzi prompted. “What about…” she trailed off, her eyes conveying she was talking about their arrangement.

“It’s one date. If it works out we’ll talk about it later. If it doesn’t, nothing will change,” Paige told her, once again refusing to meet Azzi’s eyes. She knew Azzi would be able to tell what she really wanted to say.

Azzi bit her lip, hoping her best friend would say no, “Are you sure?”

No! Paige internally yelled, but as Coach blew the whistle and called for them to start running drills, she merely forced a fake smile and nodded as she stood up.

“Yeah, everything will be fine.”

Jogging over to the sideline behind their teammates, both girls hoped she was right.

–

Everything was not fine.

Two weeks later Azzi was officially dating James. Paige had tried to prepare herself, but she’d still hoped it wouldn’t work out. She was constantly the subject of pitying stares from her teammates and all she could do was give a shrug and weak smile back. Small mercies came in the form of her never having to actually see Azzi with her new boyfriend.

Outside of practice, she’d seen Azzi a total of maybe fifteen minutes in the timespan. While the thought of Azzi with James hurt, the worst part of it all was she missed her best friend. Since they’d become best friends they’ve never gone more than a day without talking in some way whether it be in person, over the phone, on Facetime, or text. They had barely talked at all and if she did see Azzi, one of the other girls was there too.

Once again she found herself on Caroline’s bed with the aforementioned girl, Ice and KK on a scheduled Pazzi night because they’d been unceremoniously canceled by Azzi in favor of spending time with her boyfriend.

The blonde girl let out a loud sigh as she put her phone down.

“Sorry we’re not entertaining enough for you,” Ice let out sarcastically.

“Can we do something?” Paige whined pathetically.

“I’ve literally seen you sit there with Azzi while you’re both on your phones on Pazzi night and I never heard you complain,” Ice rolled her eyes.

“Yeah because usually she lets me-”

“Please do NOT finish that sentence!” KK interrupted the blonde. “We don’t wanna hear all that.”

“Fine. So can we do something? Go live,” she was desperate for a distraction.

The three other girls in the room looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Paige requesting they go live was unheard of. This was bad.

“No. Why don’t we go get some ice cream? I’ll drive,” Caroline finally spoke up.

“Ok,” Paige agreed quickly, glad for something to do.

The four girls filed out of the room and toward the parking lot. On the way to the ice cream shop, none of the girls said anything, letting the music fill the silence.

While Paige ordered first, the rest of the girls hung a few feet back in line and began whispering quickly.

“We gotta do something, this isn’t healthy,” Ice said.

“What are we supposed to do? Make Azzi break up with her man?” KK asked her sarcastically.

“Yes!” Ice exclaimed.

“Nah, we can’t get involved with that,” KK shook her head. “That’s Azzi’s business.”

“Ok, but depressed Paige is our business and it fucking sucks,” Ice retorted.

“We gotta focus on Paige. Tomorrow we just gotta get her drunk and laid,” KK suggested.

“Yeah, because woman whore Paige is so much better than depressed Paige,” Caroline scoffed. “No, she’s gonna start fucking the whole campus again.”

“You don’t know that!” KK tried to defend their friend. “Look, right now it might be what she needs and since we’re all going out, if she’s distracted with someone she won’t have to watch Azzi and James all night.”

“Are you guys gonna order?” Paige suddenly appeared with her scoop of ice cream.

“Yeah, I’ll go,” KK replied, giving a meaningful look at the other two girls as if to say, I’m right and you know it.

“Why were you guys huddled like that?” Paige narrowed her eyes at the two remaining girls.

“We were talking about our plan for tomorrow night,” Caroline told her. It wasn’t a complete lie. “We’re gonna pregame in your dorm and then head over to Ted’s.”

“You agreed to using my dorm without me?” Paige raised her eyebrows.

“Ice agreed and that counts,” Caroline shrugged.

“Whatever, go order your ice cream,” Paige rolled her eyes at her friend.

As Caroline walked to the cash register to order her ice cream, KK came back with hers.

“We’re gonna make sure you get laid tomorrow,” the shorter girl told her bluntly.

“KK!” Ice scolded her.

“What? She needs it! And it’s a lot easier to be around Azzi and her boyfriend if she’s distracted by someone else,” KK told her, taking a bite of her ice cream.

Paige stood there uncomfortable, shifting her weight from side to side. Usually she’d be down, but she wasn’t exactly in the headspace to rizz someone up enough to get them in her bed.

“Look, I’ll be fine. I appreciate you guys looking out for me, but I kinda think I’ll just get shitfaced and pass out,” Paige told them, using the spoon to play with the ice cream in her cup.

“Now she’s an alcoholic?” Caroline exclaimed, rejoining the group. “What the fuck?”

“We literally go to UConn,” Paige deadpanned. “There’s nothing to do here but play basketball and drink. Everyone’s an alcoholic.”

“Ok, fair. But you don’t need to get shit faced. What if you just pretend you don’t feel well and we can dip early if it gets too much,” Caroline suggested. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to use the other stuff to cope. We can hang in my room or something and watch a movie.”

Paige contemplated the offer and eventually nodded her head, “That works.”

“Cool cool,” KK nodded along. “We got your back, P.”

Smiling at her teammates, Paige whispered a small thanks and continued to eat her ice cream. At least she knew she had an escape route for tomorrow. She had a feeling she was gonna need it.

–

Saturday morning came and Paige let herself wallow in bed for the better part of the morning until she had to get ready for their lifting session. She took her time getting ready before checking her phone. A text from Azzi was at the top of her notifications: lmk when we’re leaving for lift

Well, fuck. She kind of forgot that Azzi always rode with her to practice and lift, an unspoken rule of sorts. And she always got shotgun, another unspoken rule of riding in Paige’s car.

Looking at the time, she opened the text message and sent: come down in 15

She went over to Ice’s room and knocked, “We’re leaving in 15!”

Once she got a muffled response, she did the same to Amari’s room. KK would take the last spot in her car and she prayed the energetic freshman would be able to overpower any awkwardness.

As she finished packing her things into her backpack, Paige heard the sound of the door and Azzi’s voice followed, “Paige?”

“In my room!” the blonde yelled back, trying to find the other shoe of the pair she wanted to wear.

“What are you doing?” Azzi asked in an amused voice.

“Trying to find my shoe,” Paige replied, laying on the floor trying to check under her bed.

“It’s out in the living room, I saw it with the 50 billion other pairs you have out there,” Azzi laughed.

“Oh,” Paige said, turning her head to look at her best friend, “Thanks. I think I’m out of it.”

She figured now was any time as any to start prepping for her escape plan tonight. If she showed signs of not feeling well now, it’d be much more believable later on. She slowly got up and grabbed the single shoe and backpack to follow Azzi into the living room.

She found the missing shoe and put both in her backpack, beforing standing back with a sigh. Feeling Azzi’s cold hand on the side of her face, Paige froze.

“You ok?” Azzi asked quietly.

Opening her eyes, Paige nodded and gave a weak smile, “Headache.”

“Did you take medicine?”

“Mhmm,” Paige replied. When Azzi began running her hand through the blonde’s hair, she reveled in the sensation. It felt so good.

“Ready?” Ice broke the moment.

Azzi turned, “Yeah, who else is coming with us?”

“Me and KK,” Amari responded, joining them in the living room.

“Where is she? You guys go get her and we’ll meet you down at the car,” Azzi ordered.

“Why,” Ice whined, “we can just text her to meet us.”

“Go get her!” Azzi said, hands on her hips.

Ice huffed, “Fine.” She looked at Paige behind Azzi to make sure she’d be ok. When she received a slight nod in return, she turned with her bag and followed Amari out the door.

“C’mon, you want me to drive?” Azzi asked, turning back to Paige, voice much softer than a second ago.

“No, I don’t wanna be sick too,” Paige teased.

Azzi pushed her, “Shut up, this is why I’m never nice to you.”

“Whatever, let’s go passenger princess,” Paige rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag.

Once they were in Paige’s car and waiting for the other girls, Paige let her head fall against the headrest and her eyes close.

She felt Azzi touch her forehead with the back of her hand, “You’re a little warm.”

She turned her head, opening her eyes to look at her, “Been a long week.”

Suddenly, guilt flooded the younger girl’s features. She bit her lip, “I’m sorry I keep missing Pazzi time. I feel like I haven’t talked to you in forever.”

Giving her a weak smile, Paige lifted one shoulder lazily, “S’fine, the James thing is new.”

“Yeah, but you’re still my best friend. Oh god, I’m being one of those girls that forgets about her friends when she starts dating someone!” Azzi exclaimed, rubbing her face with her hands.

Paige grabbed the wrist closest to her, “Hey, hey, relax. It’s ok. You’re in the honeymoon phase, you’re allowed to ditch everyone for now.”

Then in a lighter tone, she added, “You only get one more week and then if you keep bailing on me we’re gonna need an intervention.”

Azzi smiled slightly, looking at her friend, “Deal.”

“So how are you? Catch me up,” Azzi urged, ready to listen.

“Fine, it’s just school is kinda crazy right now so I’m a little stressed,” Paige told her.

“Oh, do you need..?” Azzi asked her, raising an eyebrow.

Paige figited in her seat, “No! I- I’ll be fine, I’m handling it. Plus you have a boyfriend.”

“Oh, uh, ok,” Azzi replied awkwardly. The two girls could no longer look at each other. Since they had started their arrangement neither had ever turned an offer from the other down. And they’d never been this disconnected in their entire friendship. This was new for them and neither particularly knew how to deal with it.

The backdoors finally opened and their three teammates entered the car, unbeknownst breaking the tension between the two front seat passengers. Paige closed her eyes, all the praying she’d been doing must’ve paid off for her to be rewarded with the perfect timing of her friends.

Thankfully, KK began to immediately fill the silence by asking Paige and Azzi’s opinion on whatever debate she started with Ice on their way down from the dorms.

After their lift session, the three other girls riding in Paige’s car could sense something was off. The ride back was tense; Paige’s shoulders were tight as she held the steering wheel and Azzi silently gazed out of the window. KK tried her best to fill the silence, but neither girl was in much of a mood to chat this time.

When they reached the dorms, Paige couldn’t get out of the car fast enough. She went to distract herself by getting her bag from the trunk as her passengers took their time getting out of the car. She stepped to the side, internally screaming at them to hurry up so she could get back to her room faster.

As soon as Amari pressed the button to close the trunk, Paige locked her car and began walking to the dorms, uncaring of how far the other girls were behind her.

Upon entering her room, Paige immediately locked the door and threw her backpack down. She paced the room and rubbed her face with her hands. Letting out a groan in frustration, she pulled out her phone.

Scrolling through her dms, she landed on a name.

you busy tonight?

She hadn’t been lying earlier when she said she was stressed and dealing with Azzi was even more stressful. She needed a release. Even if she wasn’t particularly interested, sex was sex and she loved it. If her first option wasn’t available, this would have to do.

no why?

At least it would help her forget about Azzi and James.

you going to teds?

no don’t feel like going out tn

:(

come over after

bet

Looking at the time on her phone, Paige figured she could use a shower and maybe a nap before getting ready for the pregame. It was going to be a long night.

—

Caroline, Ice and Amari ran around the apartment putting out cups and shot glasses for everyone to use. They laid some snacks on the table as Paige and KK scarfed down a sandwich from the basketball dining hall. Paige figured she needed the carbs if she was going to survive the amount of alcohol she was going to consume in order to get through the night.

More of the girls began to pop into the kitchen as well as friends who lived near them. Paige was grateful for the noise and distraction, she hadn’t even noticed Azzi and James come in. She was mid conversation with the boys who lived down the hall when she felt an arm being thrown over her shoulder.

“Hey,” Azzi said to Paige and nodded at the boys.

Paige tensed at the contact and forcibly had to get herself to relax under the weight of her best friend’s arm.

“You’re late,” Paige raised an eyebrow at the girl and took a sip from her mixed drink.

“He takes forever to get ready,” Azzi rolled her eyes playfully and motioned toward her boyfriend.

The boy in question nodded in greeting at Paige, who reciprocated the action.

“Go get a drink,” she shrugged off Azzi’s arm. “You guys need to catch up.”

Azzi grabbed the cup in Paige’s hand and took a sip, “What is this? It’s good.”

“It’s mine, go get your own!” Paige snatched her cup back. “Dirty Shirley, the usual.”

Turning to Paige with puppy dog eyes, “Make one for me?”

“What the fuck? Noooo, make it yourself. Hold up, James go make her one,” Paige ordered the boy standing a few feet away awkwardly.

“Yeah I got you,” James told his girlfriend, walking over to the makeshift bar the team had set up.

“If it’s not good, I’m taking your’s,” Azzi warned, sneaking another sip from Paige’s cup.

“Yeah, yeah,” Paige waved her off.

When James returned with two cups, he handed one over to Azzi, who immediately gagged at the first sip.

“Jesus, is there even Sprite in here? It tastes like straight vodka,” Azzi coughed, exchanging her cup for the one in Paige’s already outstretched hand.

The blonde took a sip and made a face, “You tryna get her fucked up or what?”

She didn’t even give the boy a chance to respond before getting up and going over to the sink. The drink was beyond repair so she dumped it and decided to start over. It also gave her an excuse to take her time and get away from the couple.

By the time she was happy with her perfectly balanced drink, she decided she would try to start avoiding the lovely couple. Scanning the now crowded living room, she spotted Ice and KK sitting on the couch already looking at her.

Both looked at her expectedly and she just shrugged. Mouthing across the room, “Shots?”

She smiled when both girls eagerly jumped up to join her. God, she loved her friends so much.

Paige set her drink down and pulled out three disposable shot cups before filling them to the top with vodka. She grabbed one for herself and let the two girls who joined her grab theirs.

“Cheers,” they said in unison, clinking their cups and downing the liquid.

They all wrinkled their noses a bit.

“Damn, we got the cheap shit huh?” Paige groaned. A second later, “Another?”

The two younger girls shrugged, “Yeah, fuck it.”

After another round, they took their mixed drinks and went back to the couch KK and Ice had previously occupied. At first, it was fine. The effects of the alcohol were starting to hit and Paige was having fun joking with her teammates and everyone else who came over to talk to them.

Then she looked to the side and noticed Azzi and James. They were dancing, James holding Azzi and whispering in her ear. Paige needed to look away, but she couldn’t.

It hurt, but she was genuinely happy for her best friend. When Azzi tilted her head back in laughter before placing a kiss on James’ lips, it became a little too much. She could feel the sting of tears building in the corner of her eyes.

Abruptly, she stood up and began walking out of the living room. She couldn’t be in there anymore.

As she walked into her room, she felt and heard someone behind her.

“Are you ok?” Caroline’s voice was soft as she closed and locked the door behind her.

Letting out a watery laugh, Paige shook her head, “No, not really.”

Caroline sighed, walking over and wrapping her arms around her friend who was now sitting on her bed.

“I didn’t think it would hurt that bad,” Paige told her truthfully. “Maybe I’m drunk…or not drunk enough.”

“I mean you know how you get over Azzi, even just her time. You’re usually the one with her at parties, so this is weird.”

“Yeah, I guess. Fuck, I can’t go back out there,” Paige groaned.

“You don’t have to, we can just chill in here,” Caroline reassured her.

“Nah, you go. I’ll be fine, I’ll just lay here until everyone leaves and then probably dip to see someone,” Paige told her.

Caroline looked at her friend, tilting her head trying to study her.

“Stop, it’s just tonight. I need this, ok? Like I need something to make me forget, just for a little while.”

“Fine.”

“Thanks, now go! Have fun, I kinda just wanna be alone,” Paige urged her to join the party again.

“Are you sure?” Caroline hesitated.

“Yes! I promise I’m fine,” Paige gave her a slight nudge toward the door.

“Ok, but text me if you need me,” Carolien warned. When Paige nodded in agreement, the brunette slipped out of the room and closed the door.

Paige laid on her bed and closed her eyes. The music and chatter of people were loud, but muffled enough to begin to lull her to sleep. It was nice being in the peace of her own room and not having to see what Azzi was doing on the other side of the door.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed when her door opened. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at the entrant.

“Hey,” Paige sat up with a smile. “Thought you didn’t wanna go out tonight?”

“Changed my mind,” Taylor shrugged, walking over to the bed. “Plus I wanted to see you.”

“I’m so fucking glad to see you,” Paige breathed as Taylor crawled onto the bed and gave her a slow kiss.

“Good,” Taylor mumbled, moving to straddle the blonde’s lap and continuing to kiss her.

Paige let her hands move down the girls back and grip her ass, reveling in the welcome distraction. Taylor broke away to trail kisses down the curve of Paige’s neck and tried to push to lay down.

But the action spell broke. Paige’s eyes opened and her hands stilled, as she sat rigid with the other girl in her lap.

Sensing the resistance and sudden lack of enthusiasm, Taylor pulled back to look at Paige.

“What’s wrong?” Taylor asked.

Paige opened her mouth before closing it quickly, unsure of what to say. Signing, the other girl rolled off her lap so they were sitting side by side.

“You know, I was surprised you texted today,” Taylor spoke first.

“Why?”

The girl turned to look at the basketball star and wrinkled her forehead, “I haven’t heard from you in months.”

“Sorry about that,” Paige winced.

Taylor shrugged off the apology, “I knew what this was when we started, I’m not mad. I just figured you and Azzi finally got your shit together.”

“What are you talking about?” Paige asked, confusion laced in her voice.

“You and Azzi are like inevitable. I mean everyone knows it. The way you guys act? And people on this campus talk Paige, and I know your roster has been cleared. At least it was before tonight.”

“Yeah well, her’s isn’t.”

“I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t see that one coming,” Taylor told her. “Did you tell her how you felt?”

“God no, I’m not an idiot. She doesn’t feel the same and he makes her really happy,” Paige admitted dejectedly.

“Wait, did you encourage her to get with him?” Taylor’s eyes widened.

Paige nodded her head sheepishly, “Yeah? I guess. I told her to give him a chance. I didn’t think it’d actually work out!”

“Oh my God, you are an idiot,” Taylor threw her head back against the wall.

“Ok, relax!” Paige scolded her.

“Paige! You pushed the love of your life into someone else's arms even though she’s in love with you too! You. Are. An. Idiot.”

Laughing, Paige shook her head, “Azzi’s not in love with me. She really likes that guy and she’s happy, I saw them earlier.”

“Yes she is. Sure, she may like him and be content, but I’ve also seen her when she’s with you. I’ve seen her smile when she’s with you and how she looks at you, I think it’s a lot brighter than how she was when I walked by them 10 minutes ago.”

“Look, I get that you’re trying to help, but let’s just drop it. She’s happy with him, I’m not gonna mess it up for her. And I’m not gonna mess up our friendship either,” Paige’s voice was stern and effectively ended the conversation.

“Fine, but I’m right. And deep down you know it,” Taylor leaned back on a pillow.

The two girls sat against the wall in silence. Paige was lost in her thoughts and Taylor let the girl stew over what they discussed.

“Did you mean it?” Paige finally whispered, turning her head to the side five minutes later.

“Mean what?”

“Her being happier when she’s with me?” Paige bit her lip nervously.

Taylor made sure she looked into Paige’s eyes as she spoke so the point guard could see the truth in her eyes, “Yes. Trust me. She’s a lot freer with you too, like she can be one hundred percent herself.”

Paige nodded her head slowly and rested back against the wall.

“You know, my therapy sessions start at $100 an hour,” Taylor joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Laughing, Paige used her shoulder to nudge the other girl, “I’ll Venmo you.”

“Make sure to leave a review on Yelp and tips are always welcome,” Taylor winked.

“I got you,” Paige promised, leaning her head on Taylor’s shoulder. “Thanks by the way. I’m really glad you came tonight. Even if this isn’t what either of us had in mind. I really needed this.”

“You’re welcome. We can be friends, right? But not you and Azzi type friends, just regular friends,” Taylor smirked at her.

“You’re stupid,” Paige laughed, slapping her arm. “But yeah, friends.”

A knock came at the door before the knob was turned.

“Paige? Are you- Oh sorry! I didn’t know you had someone in here!” Azzi exclaimed as both girls on the bed sat up straight to look at her.

“It’s fine, Az. Is everyone leaving?” Paige waved her off.

“Yeah, um, a bunch of people already left. I just came to check on you since you’ve been here the whole time. I thought you still didn’t feel well,” Azzi told her, trying her best not to look between the two girls sitting on the bed.

“I’m gonna head out,” Taylor began climbing over Paige to get off the bed. “I’ll see ya around. Remember what I said, ok?”

“Night,” she told Azzi as she moved past her and out of the room.

Once Azzi was sure they were alone, she turned back to Paige, “Less stressed now?”

Paige raised her eyebrows at Azzi’s tone. It was hard and sarcastic, bitterness seeping through the words.

“Woah, watch your fucking tone,” Paige warned. “I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you, but chill out.”

“Me? You’re the one that’s been weird all day!” Azzi threw her hands up in frustration.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Paige rolled her eyes.

“You didn’t feel well, but usually when you don’t feel well you’re a way bigger baby. Then the car ride? What was that? You’ve never said no to sex before,” Azzi put her hand on her hip.

“You have a boyfriend!”

“That’s not the point right now!”

“Oh my God!”

“And then tonight, I could feel you tense when I put my arm around you and it was like you couldn’t wait to get away from me. Then you disappeared all night!” Azzi ranted, listing the events of the night on her fingers.

“I just didn’t feel like partying,” Paige shrugged.

“Stop lying to me! You’ve never once not felt like partying. What the fuck is wrong and don’t give me anymore bullshit excuses.”

Paige glared at her best friend, “Nothing! Just drop it. Go, have fun.”

“No!”

“Azzi!”

“Paige!”

“Get out!”

“No, not until you fucking tell me what’s going on!”

Paige was silent.

“Paige,” Azzi begged, walking closer to the bed now. “Please.”

Paige looked at the ceiling and sighed, “You.”

“Me? What do you mean, me?”

“You and James,” Paige elaborated, still refusing to look at Azzi.

“What?” Azzi paused, confusion lacing her tone.

Closing her eyes for a brief second, Paige thought about what Taylor said. She opened her eyes and with a resolute look met Azzi’s gaze.

“Azzi, I can’t stand seeing you with him. It fucking sucks. It’s torture. And tonight was too much.”

“What? Why didn’t you say anything before?” Azzi asked frantically.

“Would it have made a difference?”

“Yes! You’re the one who told me to go out with him in the first place!” Azzi pointed her finger at the blonde. “But if you had told me you didn’t like him, I wouldn’t have.”

“What about now?” Paige asked her.

“What, are you asking me to break up with him?”

“Are you happy? Does he make you happy?” Paige countered with her own questions.

“Yeah,” Azzi swallowed.

“Are you in love with him?” Paige pushed.

“No, we just started dating!” Azzi shook her head.

“Break up with him,” Paige told her simply.

“Why?”

“Because,” Paige said, standing up so they were face to face. “Because I fucking hate seeing you with him and I miss you. I miss my best friend. I miss hanging out with you, whether it’s being in your presence while we scroll on our phones or watch a movie. Going to get food or our nails done. Or when we go out with the team and I can dance with you and make sure everyone knows you’re there with me so I can protect you. I miss kissing you and fucking you. I miss it all because I’m fucking in love with you and I think you could be in love with me too.”

Azzi stared at her silently, no visible reaction to Paige’s little speech. Brown eyes searched blue eyes for a few minutes before the brunette swiftly turned on her heel and walked out the door.

Paige hadn’t even noticed she was shaking until Azzi was completely out of view. For the second time that night she felt the sting of tears and this time she couldn’t stop them from flowing.

Fuck, I just ruined everything.

She fell back onto her bed lazily, facing the wall and letting her sobs out. Eventually the heart wrenching sobs slowed and became silent tears. She knew she should’ve just kept her mouth shut, now she’d lost the love of her life and the best friend she’d ever had. They’d never be the same and it was going to affect everyone.

So the blonde let the tears fall as she mourned, trying to let it all out and come to terms with what this would all mean. Maybe if she got everything out of her system, by morning she could wake up and begin to move forward. Eventually, she could begin to repair what had been destroyed between her and Azzi tonight.

Yeah, she’d start tomorrow. For now, she’d cry.

Lost in her sorrow, she hadn’t even noticed the bed dip until an arm was wrapped around her waist and pulling her toward the person’s chest.

“Shhh, I got you. I’m sorry,” Azzi cooed in her ear. She left a kiss on the blonde girl’s head as she continued to whisper soothing words to her.

Paige hiccuped and began to turn around to face the girl in her bed, “You’re back.”

Azzi smiled and began to wipe the tears stains from Paige’s cheeks, “I always come back to you, I can’t help you. It’s for life, remember?”

“Yeah,” Paige nodded sadly, “Just not the way I want.”

“Oh, Paige, yes it is. Or it can be,” Azzi told her, brushing the blonde hair out of Paige’s face. “Because I’m definitely in love with you too, I just needed to do something first.”

“You are?” Paige asked in a small voice.

“Paige, I’ve been in love with you since the first time we kissed,” Azzi smiled at her.

“You have? Why didn’t you say anything?” Paige asked in disbelief.

“We agreed,” Azzi shrugged. “I didn’t want to ruin it. I didn’t know if you wanted a relationship with me. If you were ready for one.”

“What about when you said you were in love with someone,” Paige questioned.

“When did I say that?” Azzi laughed.

“You were drunk, you said you were in love with someone and you were glad we could just fuck with no feelings.”

“I’ve only ever been in love with you before, so it was definitely about you. I was probably just trying to convince myself that what we were doing was enough,” Azzi told her, shaking her head at her drunk self messing this whole thing up for them.

“Oh,” Paige uttered. “Fuck, Carol was right, we are idiots.”

“Yeah, but I think we’re finally getting it,” Azzi leaned in, letting their noses touch.

“I think so,” Paige breathed. “I love you, just to be clear. Like in love with you.”

“I love you, too,” Azzi giggled and mimicked the other girl, “Like in love with you.”

Both girls smiled, finally leaning in and touching their lips in a sweet kiss, each savoring the feeling of finally getting it right.

Paige pulled away slightly, “Wait, what about James.”

“That’s what I had to take care of,” Azzi told her, reconnecting their lips.

“Good,” Paige’s reply was muffled as the two continued to kiss. Azzi rolled Paige onto her back and straddled her.

“Getting lucky twice in one night,” Azzi muttered darkly. If nothing else, the girl was competitive and determined to make sure any traces of Taylor were gone from Paige’s memory.

“I didn’t,” Paige said looking up at her, “I couldn’t.”

“What?” Azzi leaned her hips back.

“I couldn’t exactly have sex with her when I was thinking about you,” Paige looked away.

Azzi bit her lip, “Really?”

Rolling her eyes at the cockiness she could see in Azzi’s eyes, Paige continued, “Yeah, she knew too. She said we were inevitable. We just talked about you and how in love with you I was, honestly.”

“Inevitable, huh?” Azzi smirked, leaning forward again.

“Yeah,” Paige’s voice was soft as she stared at the beautiful girl above her.

“Well, glad we didn’t disappoint,” Azzi grinned brightly. She leaned forward so their noses were almost touching and in a husky, seductive tone teased, “Wanna find out if girlfriend sex is better than best friend sex?”

Paige’s eyes darkened and she grabbed Azzi’s waist to flip their positions so she was hovering over the other girl, “I’ll make sure it is, girlfriend.”

#paige bueckers #azzi fudd #pazzi #she’s got a type

[cloudly-moonlight]

Girls night out, they've been invited to a party by an old friend of Alma's, while the girls had their day out, the boy's decided to do their own boys day out.

Theme: Red

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

Alma

Alma was quite surprised to hear an old friend invited her to a party that's mainly for wealthy people... I tried to find something more that fits her unless I gave her one of those grandma dresses but she deserves something nice for once in her life.

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

Julieta

For the first time Julieta wore a dress with split sides, at first she hesitate but gave in after realizing it been a long time she had a girls day out.

Bonus: Agustín eyes never left her until she walked out the door.

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

Pepa

Like her sister, it's been a long time since she out but the only difference between her and her sister is that Pepa snuck out for a girls night before while she was pregnant with Dolores, no one knows about it except for Félix, he was the one helping her in and out the house.

Bonus: Like Agustín, Félix eyes never left Pepa.

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

Isabela

Isabela want to copy her Mom and Aunt wearing a spilt side dress, at first Agustín was against it but gave in knowing his daughter is grown, honestly he tried everything to make her change to a different dress, at the end he gave her a pepper spray until Julieta took it away. I personally believe Isabela can go feral

We stan overprotective Agustín.

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

Dolores

Mariano bought her this dress after hearing from one of girlfriend cousins that Dolores wasn't going, after she hears her family beg her to do something fun in her life, she agreed to go to the party only because they begged her and Mariano bought a dress.

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

Luisa

Luisa chose this two piece dress because to her it brings her out and she likes it. This was Luisa first time going to a party that isn't a gift ceremony or a birthday party.

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

Mirabel

At first her family didn't want her to go to a party that was for grownups and she was underage, Alma ask her friend for if her youngest granddaughter could come and Alma old friend said she can come if someone is watching her. This made Mirabel excited since it was her first time going out.

At the end she had so much fun.

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

Welp all the Madrigal ladies went out for the first time in their lives, a party that's not a birthday party nor a gift ceremony party.

Color Request by: Mi Hermanita @justanisabelakinnie

#encanto #encanto 2021 #encanto fandom #disney encanto #encanto disney #encanto mirabel #mirabel madrigal #encanto isabela #isabela madrigal #encanto julieta #julieta madrigal #encanto pepa #pepa madrigal #encanto luisa #luisa magridal #cloudly moonlight post #encanto dolores #dolores madrigal #encanto alma #alma madrigal #I'm sure you guys tired of me posting something like this #random post #i think this could be a modern times but whatever you guys called it. #madrigal ladies at the party #hope you like it #hope I'm not posting something like this to much

[snekverse]

Ik in mystreet a lot of the chars are anime enjoyers but im gonna be so specific with ranking them and the type of anime they watch

Travis: bro's the type to only watch it early morning, mid afternoon because the daylight makes it more enjoyable and his nd ass needs the mood to be there so he can watch his favorite shows. He had a BNHA phase but over the 3rd seasons halfway point he became a Sailor Moon watcher and is now embarrassed to admit he only watches shoujo anime, specifically ones with a good magic system because shapes and colors make him happy /lh

Katelyn: Strictly a magical girl anime enjoyer. I think this is cannon but she's the type to only watch it at night when everyone is asleep so nobody walks in and asks why she's smiling 😭 she never watched the origional Soul Eater but regularly re-watches Soul Eater Not! because that still counts /lh. She never finished Sailor Moon because she wants to watch the movies on the TV but almost never has time alone 😭

Nana: She watches a large variety but refuses to watch BNHA because Bakugou just pisses her off so much 😭 whatever it is about him she just wants to claw his eyes out. She definitely bullies the 30 year old bakugou fangirls /lh

Garroth: watched like one episode of one-piece but didn't care for the art styke and dropped it 😭

Lucinda: girl watches death note and only death note. She just likes the plot and the skrunkly ass man that doesnt wear shoes he's funky and reminds her of one of her ex's when she was still comphet /lh

Aaron: "i dont like the voice acting" he's so picky. Genres don't particularly matter but if the voice acting is a certain way he won't watch it 😭😭

Jeffory: He put on Madoka Magica with Abby thinking it was a cute show to occupy her with when he was too tired one day to play. It in fact was not just a cute magical girl show. She isn't allowed to watch anime he doesn't do research on now no matter how innocent it looks /lh

God... all of these are so true... Aaron just like me fr lol

Travis FOR SURE is a shoujo and shounen enthusiast,, heavy preference for shoujo. He def also watched, or at least tried to watch, a bunch of classic ie Naruto, DBZ, all that wackass 90s/early 2000s stuff lol. He def doesn't watch them anymore but still looks back fondly <3

Katelyn for sure is a softie for magical girl animes and probably enjoys watching shoujos with Travis from time to time, but she vehemently denies it all. I think she would really wanna cosplay some of the characters but would uncomfy with,,,, all of it lol

Nana watches anything popular until she decides that it sucks ass, which doesn't happen very frequently but she def watched episode 1 of BNHA and gave it a HARD pass bc.. yknow.. Bakugou.. anyways she is easily the most involved in Fandom culture and for sure starts shipping discourse for fun lol

I think garroth would be pretty off-put about a lot of anime tropes/genres and would generally not enjoy it but you're so right like so many people in his life watch anime he's gotta at least try right?? Don't ask me where this come from, but lowkey he seems like the kind of guy to accidentally watch a hanime and not realize until if was too late...

Lucinda def does not strike me as someone who really watches anime like at all,, unless the art style is genuinely just gorgeous beyond reason. That being said, I think she's a huge supporter of women's wrongs and would be interested in fucked up (female) charas like Makima from JJK. I don't think she'd ever get around to watching it, but she'd like all the fanart n shit and lowkey be involved in the fandom

Aaron is spot on lol no notes. He started watching it for Aphmau’s sake and while he doesn't dislike it its only very specific anime that he does like. Literally if anything is off it becomes just about unwatchable for him

Jeffory I think started watching because Katelyn used to be SUPER into anime and while he likes it a lot he rarely ever watches, partially bc he's such a busy guy. He def talks about anime the same way a parent would yknow?? Like he's trying to be interested and supportive but he's so out of touch now that he has no fuckin idea what's going on anymore lmao

Aphmau only watches super cutesy things, and sometimes shounens. She seems like the kind of person though he can't for the life of her sit through an entire show, but she's always super active in the fandom and despite never finishing the anime and not reading the manga, she's always up to date on what's going on plot-wise (def not projecting nope no way). The only exception is Attack on Titan which she's seen in full several times

Zane is almost the opposite, generally preferring shows with darker themes and goreier visuals. I generally think he tries to stay away from fandom spaces until he's up to date, and while I think he'd prefer to read the manga before watching the anime that takes a LOT more time and his free time's limited enough as is

#wow this was a doozy for someone who hasnt been involed in any anime/manga for years lol #aphmau #mystreet #aphmau mystreet #snek speaks #asks #travis valkrum #aphmau katelyn #aphmau kawaii~chan #nana ashida #garroth ro'meave #aaron lycan #aphmau jeffory #jeffory the golden heart #zane ro'meave

[zafirosreverie]

That one’s mine (Proxima x Fem!Reader)

You clenched your fists as you walked out of the training room, the laughter of the black order behind you. You were the newest member of the group, recently promoted by Thanos himself, which should mean you were more than capable and worthy of such an honor, but your new "siblings" still thought you were too dumb a child and would be a burden on the battle.

Well, they would see who was right.

_____________

"You're doing it again"

Proxima jumped when Ebony whispered in her ear. She had been too busy watching you go to pay attention to the rest of the order. She couldn't help it, there was something in you that called to her, even if she agreed with her brothers that you were too young and inexperienced to be part of Thanos's generals.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she replied, crossing her arms and looking away from the door

"I think you do" he said "be careful, don't let that girl become a weakness"

"Never"

Ebony watched the woman jump to her feet and take her spear before following you out of the room. Maybe his sister didn't realize it yet, and his brothers were definitely too stupid to notice, but to him, the brains of the group, it was obvious that something was changing in her because of you.

The deep color in her cheeks gave her away.

_______________________

You growled as a couple of guards tried to stab you with their spears, but you were much faster and easily managed to wrestle their weapons away and stab them with them. Pathetic.

None of this would happen if they had just accepted Thanos' wishes without a fight. Maybe that way they would have been forgiven as you were when the titan erased half of your planet.

But no, there were foolish species who believed they could resist your father's wishes. Their mistake.

"That was a good move Y/N" you head Corvus behind you

"Not bad" Cull smirked "for a beginner"

You simply rolled your eyes and decided to ignore them, refocusing on the guards coming quickly towards you. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Proxima shooting with her spear and felt your cheeks quickly heat up.

Of all the order, she had been the only one who had never said anything against you or made fun of you. You weren't stupid, you knew the woman also thought you lacked combat experience to belong to them, but unlike your brothers, she had at least offered to train with you and quickly became your favorite person, maybe even more so than Thanos himself (although you weren't going to say it out loud).

That she was beautiful was an entirely separate point.

"Anything worth of your attention, Y/N?" Ebony teasingly asked you

You blushed deeper when the rest of the order, Proxima included, looked at you curiously. You were usually mindful of everything, ready to jump at any opportunity that would allow you to prove yourself (not that they would allow it, always interfering before you could act). But it was hard to concentrate when she was looking at you like that, okay?

You quickly looked around for an exit and smiled as you saw a new wave of soldiers trying (and failing miserably) to hide, probably to ambush you.

"Only my next victims" you said, without looking at them.

None of your siblings had time to react as your eyes turned the color of blood and your fangs grew. You moved faster than anyone could register and soon, the black order was witnessing the reason Thanos had promoted you.

You took the guards by surprise and several of them were already dead before they could scream. You tore at their skin, you snapped necks, you ripped heads off. You were a wild animal in a frenzy.

And it was an impressively sexy sight for the black order. You went from being a silly girl to a dangerously beautiful creature in front of their eyes in less than two seconds.

Proxima smiled with a hint of pride as she watched you tear your enemies (or rather victims) to pieces, and she clenched her fists as her brothers whistled and made comments about you.

"Well look at that" Corvus laughed "seems the little one wasn't that little"

"I wonder what other 'moves' she knows" Cull laughed.

However, the laughter died down as Proxima leveled her spear at the three of them. She looked at them with narrowed eyes and they knew that whatever was going to come out of her mouth would be law if they didn't want to end up in ashes.

"Don't even think about it" she growled "That one's mine"

#reader insert #x reader #avengers x reader #proxima midnight #proxima midnight x reader #proxima midnight imagine #proxima midnight preference #proxima x reader #infinity war #black order #black order x reader #fem!reader

[listen-to-the-spirit-within]

Good night, Mirror Girl

ONE: THE RING

The shrill ring of the telephone slithered through the floor, creeping its way across the room to crawl on the bed where I was lying. The clock in the hallway struck twelve then, and I wondered how I’d let myself drift off to sleep without checking the time first, or steeling myself for the call.

But I wouldn’t answer. Not tonight. Not tonight, and so I gave a deep growl in return. Fists closed, I counted down the seconds it would take for it to die out on its own. But they went by too slowly, like bedsheets being dragged out of water. Heavy.

Once the ringing stopped, the room was safe again.

There was enough light coming from the lamp in the corner to make out furniture silhouettes. The garnet-colored, moth-eaten Couch facing the bathroom door. The wall Piano with its wooden stool beside it. A small Bed where I was lying. Couch, Piano and Bed. Couch, Piano and Bed. No window. No cords or strings of any kind. All of the surfaces worn out and bleached by the years left forgotten in the sun, while the moths devoured their insides. This was in some other room; not here. Some other time. But now Couch, Piano and Bed sat in the dark with me, coated with a good layer of dust that tickled at my throat.

I liked Piano best. When I played, there was no ringing in my ears, and in those moments I often contemplated dusting and sanding the furniture. Perhaps I could ask for supplies on the phone someday. I could dust and sand the furniture, and then paint over it with some crisp light color, like baby blue or powdered pink; I never could decide. Varnish it, even. Give it its final transition.

But every time I tightened my fist around an old shirt to use as a cloth, my hand would go limb and inexplicably drop it. Powerless, I imagined what it must have looked from the outside as it was falling, like a tiny angel or a ghost, fluttering downwards, where a ring of floor dust would surely rise to meet it.

I always imagined. Then, as gentle as a trickle, I'd move past the fallen shirt and toward the piano and start playing again. And I would think of more words to stop the ringing in my ears. Words like "Fear of the Transition."

By now the room was light enough to make out the ceiling too, with its chipped paint and swells and damp spots. Right above the bed, where I had pinned it with an earring, there was the single Tarot card I had pulled from the deck the last time—this time, blindfolded. But it was no use. The blindfold, I mean. Because across the empty room, the same reversed Death card stared at me, with its knight in armor and its thirteen upside down, and I could almost hear it hissing something. Something accusing.

I heard it asking, "Are you, Are you?" over and over.

Are you going to pick up the phone?

 TWO: MIRROR GIRL

It was armed with a brush and a cigarette that each night I got to face the mirror on the bathroom wall.

You see, it takes courage. But like everything else, it had to be done.

Combing through wet hair after my shower, amid smoke curtains, the realization didn't hit as hard. But still, one could not ignore it. Not this kind of thing, no.

Because, you see, there was a girl trapped in my bathroom mirror. A girl, ever since I was put in here and left alone to gather dust on my forehead. And every night, when I went and combed my hair after my shower, she simply stared back at and through me in the mirror, and folded herself into tiny pieces until I felt weak at the knees for her suffering. I didn’t recognize her, but it looked like she had something to tell me.

Something, for sure.

Something had to be done to save her.

 THREE: WILD SILK FABRIC

Before the ringing began at midnight, I turned around, hair wet, and stood in front of the mirror. In the mist, the girl’s eyes looked big and empty like a drum. I stubbed my cigarette out on the sink and the last puff of smoke dissolved with a flick.

I wouldn’t take the call. Not tonight.

But I would show the girl something.

With a firm grip, I held out the nightgown in my hand towards the mirror and spoke my first words.

“Wild silk fabric.”

She made no sound, no sudden movement at this. But I could see it in her big tambourine eyes.

She was here. She was listening.

“Wild silk fabric,” I repeated, louder this time. “Very soft,” and I ran my fingers over it. “It’s a shame about the edges. Scratchy,” I conceded, pointing at the embroidery.

Still, the girl in the mirror didn’t speak. I thought that maybe she had lost her voice in an accident. Perhaps something had happened, something was stolen, and now she couldn’t speak anymore.

A voice could be stolen, I thought.

But something had to be done to save her.

“It’s light blue, or baby blue, if you like that phrasing better. Do you like baby blue?"

But the girl remained motionless.

I noticed her lips, powdered pink, which went well with baby blue. Looking for courage, I held out the nightgown closer. 

"Here, put it on."

At first nothing happened, but slowly she took off her towel and let it slide to the floor with a thump. In one smooth motion, she pulled the nightgown over her head and allowed it to precipitate downwards. The fabric shimmered and glowed in the dim candlelight of the bathroom, with a texture that reminded me of sea waves breaking.

And then the miracle happened: something like a smile, forming on her lips. That was the first time I saw it.

She had no teeth. She had pearls in her mouth.

I could see her wondering, almost daring to ask, what on Earth wild silk was. So I told her about it. How wild silk is special; rougher, but kinder, I like to say. Nothing is killed in the process.

“You see, the butterflies, the makers—well, they are allowed to get out,” and I moved one of my hands up into the air, fluttering away from us.

Once again, she showed me the pearls in her mouth, and I thought it was curious how there were no strings there, or cables of any kind, in that room. Even the telephone cord had been cut so short you had to squat or lie down on the floor to answer it. But words are strings, I thought. I could knit with words.

Carefully, I held them in my mouth, then laid them out for her to see in the palm of my open hand. 

“You have to get out,” I whispered. “Leave the mirror. Get out.”

The pearls vanished and her chin dropped, and all of a sudden mine followed. The thought of her getting out of my bathroom mirror hit me with the bluntness of a slap. What if I missed her there, if she ever got out? What if she was in the mirror for a reason?

What if she could never get out?

And so, in the dark bathroom, we both cried and stared at the other through the window between us, and I felt the sadness dripping from her cheeks as if it were my own, and her grief dropping and spreading over my chest, falling and crashing, breaking, then coming down like a huge wet rope of salt water onto a nightgown made of wild silk fabric.

 FOUR: BEFORE CURFEW HITS

On the small bed, I imagined what it’d feel like if you crawled out of the mirror and came to sleep with me. I wondered whether it would be too small for us, the bed; whether it would creak uncomfortably at our weight.

As I dreamed, I floated upwards and slid onto the stool to play some more before curfew. Stringing the notes, the letters, one by one like stitching, I thought about singing, but couldn’t find my voice. A voice can be stolen, I remembered. And I thought of knitting a blanket big enough for us both: an every-color blanket, to lay it down forever and trap the sun inside of it.

I wondered whether you’d seen the things I’d seen. I wondered whether we were the same sign. I wondered if you’d ever gotten the Death card over and over from a deck. Above all, I wondered if you knew, like everyone else did. How I’d been dragged out on the street, dragged through the muddy path away from the house and into the shed. The house. The house, the mud and coarse skin. The day I was found out.

I wondered if you remembered when it happened. Did you hear the screaming, all the way up here, through the mirror? And did you hear my mother say that all could be forgiven if only I said sorry and just tried, if only I just tried to be better. But then he-who-dragged-me put his fist on the table and that was the end of the conversation.

And so I was locked here in the attic.

All cords and strings removed from it, except for the telephone one, which he shortened. Every night, at midnight, there would be ringing. Behind the ringing there would be his voice and a question. Who was the girl? Who was the girl?

And the day I answered, I would get out.

I played on the piano without singing the whole afternoon. I played for you in the mirror, hoping you’d put on the wild silk nightgown and dance in my name if you could find the strength for it. But soon the clock in the hallway struck ten and I had to close the lid above the keys and tuck Piano good night. Good night, Couch, I whispered, as I brushed the armrest with my fingers on my way to the bathroom.

But it was not a good night. It haunted me, the sound of the lid falling over the keys, reverberating well into the morning. It was like the sound of a fist. Like the sound a house crumbling.

 FIVE: NOVEMBER

“If I ever told anyone what happened, I wouldn’t want them to gasp, or to stand up all of a sudden, looking outraged or bewildered, crying for me like they’ve been hurt more than I have. I would just want them to listen, you know. Listen and take my story, if you can.”

Without looking at Mirror Girl, I turned on the faucet and let the water run out for a while.

“I was found out at the end of August, when my Father came home early and we didn’t hear the sound of the engine as he parked in the driveway. It was raining so hard we didn’t hear the front door either. I was found out at home, which was better than otherwise, I guess, and dragged out in the rain and in the mud and into the shed. The rest is ink-black. The rest is lost on me.

“But I know she escaped unseen. Through the window, in the commotion, before anyone could see her face or know who she was. And later, in the shed, he’d try to beat her name out of me, but he didn’t know it: my teeth were stones in my mouth.

“And then, at the kitchen table, the camp was mentioned. Oh, how my mother wept at that. You should have seen. How she cried. And because she cried that much, it was decided against, and I was put up here to think about what I’d done; to become brittle and rancid like a stuffed bird.”

The whole time I told the story, Mirror Girl didn’t flash the pearls in her mouth, or look away from me, or weep. With gloomy eyes, she listened and waited.

She took my story, because she could.

“So, now you know why. I understand you. I know what it is, to be trapped. To not get out.”

I shrugged it off and gave her a smile for a change.

“I know what it tastes like to be a bird.”

 SIX: BREAK IT, THEN BURN IT

Everything was going well in our bathroom when the phone started ringing. Was it midnight already? We had been dancing so carelessly in the nightgown, laughing so cheerily at my turns in wild silk fabric, that I guess I had lost all sense of time. But now the phone was ringing, slicing through the hallway to pierce me like a spear, and that’s when I discovered it. You’d always been so clean before.

But there was a dark speck in the apple of your cheek.

With a frown, I tried to wipe it off the mirror with my hand. No use. So I grabbed the towel and rubbed it, but the spot only grew larger and larger, until a huge brown mass was covering the left side of your face.

In lumpy blobs, the mass dripped down on the tiles. Mud. It was mud.

You were covered in it.

You were being dragged out to the shed.

And I knew what had to be done, because the pearls in your mouth could never take it.

I had to do it.

I had to get you out.

With the phone still ringing, I ran out into the hallway and ripped it off the wall to use as a hammer. In the few seconds that I was gone from the bathroom, the mud stain had grown so big that you were almost choking on it. Struggling to breathe, you were drowning in mud.

That’s when I heard your voice for the first time. 

I heard you hissing, “Break it, then burn it.”

It was me who had to do it.

And so I did.

I broke the mirror with the telephone.

Five blows, fifty blows, I kept beating at it until my hand bruised and bled from the splinters.

But I found that I liked it. It was as you said.

Break it, then burn it.

So, jumping on the Bed, I pulled my card off the ceiling and grabbed the lighter next to the pack of cigarettes. Then I put my Death card to the flame and waited by Piano for a few moments as it burned my fingertips.

Before I dropped the card on fire, I muttered slowly, “Good night Bed, Good night Piano, Good night Couch.”

I let my hand go limp, but I did it fiercely.

“Good night, Mirror Girl.”

[0dostoyevsky]

A star that crossed twice

I wrote this like a year back, so pretty lanky at areas in terms of "Why?" Its basically just a future AU of Howls moving castle, be warned this follows series and characters straight from the book not the movie. Also yaa aware this isn't my best work, but I am willing to start

Calcifer stared out the window, watching the drops of water that raced down.It was raining and Calcifer particularly resented the rain, but partly did enjoy it as it gave him an excuse to just stay at home and rest by what, at that particular time, felt like a warmer fire.The dark skinned boy stumbled across the room to the fireplace while cupping his face with his hands, hoping for some heat to melt his frozen blood. “This weather is awfully lethargic, just like the rest of the 20th century.” The boy remarked, He had skin that was tan brown, his hair a darker brown, orange eyes and a skinny posture that was covered in a larger cardigan and some loose cotton pants. He watched as the fire in the pit danced in the embers of his eye. Its movement reminded him of the Chinese dragon dance. Both, the fire and the dragon were concealed in a pit, yet moved so freely and elegantly.The orange color of the fire was almost mixing with that of his eyes and was oozing with a comforting warmth, only to be flimsily blackened like a calligraphy sheet drenched in black ink, by the god awful sound of water racing down and shattering like a thousand pieces of glass at the same time. But besides the weather, nothing had changed. Business was still a - thriving and it was definitely not people after Howl’s charisma. Honestly, it was unbearable, He shone like a sun, way too bright and just like that so was his ego, the man was but 23, and he spoke and acted like he lasted a million years. Then there was Micheal, he was trying to be just like Howl the prodigy, but who was going to tell the kid he was the exact opposite? God, the thought of a flirty and seductive Micheal was godforsaken.The boy gave off his own charisma, a more ocean like type, never ending and relaxing.Michael was at the age to be hoping to become someone they admired, until they realized, they were perfect the way they are. And finally Sophie, she was, well to put it plainly 18. She worked at ‘Howl’s renowned library of the right books on science and it’s wonders’ as a part time job and yet for some reason coming here lit her life, as a whole.He could never place his finger on it but her arrival was just as great for them too. He remembered her first time here, it was on a similar day like this, the rain pouring down and banging on their doors. 

“Besides ownership, what are you planning on doing?” Calcifer watched as Howl ignored his commentary that was clearly directed at him.It was going to be the first day of their store. The grand opening and yet there they were with the weather against them. They just decided to postpone, to which Howls reaction was just a simple ‘another day, another time’ and Micheals being ‘At least we have more time to prepare, I did think we rushed up the opening’ And well Calcifers was just a simple ‘Meh’ he wasn’t concerned with the library because they just needed him as their so called proof of ‘weird colored eyes’ and a front desk worker as Howl was too ‘busy’. But then on that awful day, bursting in through the doors came a girl. She wore a sleeveless cardigan with a diamond pattern over a collared shirt, with her sleeves rolled up and a dark blue skirt that went right below her thighs.She was drenched with water, soaked as if rain was pouring off her. She had light skin, and her wavy auburn hair looked brown, all wet and covering her face.All three of the boys had just been staring at her in confusion, she looked like she needed consoling, how was a guy to console a girl, when he had never properly spoken to one? Both Micheal and Calcifer looked at Howl, who sighed in disappointment. He walked over to the girl and said, “I am really sorry, but we haven’t opened just yet, but oh!All you fans seem so eager. So might as well give you an early coupon” - he scrambled to his pocket where coincidentally a pen and paper lay and he scribbled ‘Early pass, especially for you’ - he slowly took the girl's hand,laid the paper in her palm and gently closed her fingers into a fist.Calcifer stared at Howl in horror. That was not what she needed. And this just proved it to Calcifer that Howl was all talk, no game.All he hoped for was that there was some kind of compulsory test to check if you were ready to be the owner of a shop.Michaels reaction was in between awe and embarrassment, but what really puzzled Calcifer was what made him look at Howl acting like an idiot in awe. The girl clenched at the paper tighter, and stared at the ground while panting, she finally looked up and said - “You’ve got it all wrong! I don’t know who you are but I saw the sign!” - Now they stared at her in a bigger and collective confusion, but also got a clearer look at her face, her cheeks were red from the cold. She had these dark brown eyes, that were like dark mirrors, reflecting everything that fell up on it clearly.Resting above them were two thick and determinedly scrunched eyebrows. “What sign?” questioned Calcifer in a very strong questioning tone. The girl's look softened and her face slowly started turning a deeper red, and Calcifer doubted it was the rain. “Now, now Calcifer, she’s been standing there shivering” Howl spoke as he gestured towards the girl, walking to her with a towel and draping it over her head, while taking her hand and gesturing her to the table, so now he was going to actually help her? The girl looked confused as she was going to answer Calcifer's question but took a seat anyway and replied “I am Sophie Hatter  and The sign..that you were hiring. I was looking for a part time job and the timings were fine for me...I am sorry I should have mentioned this.” Calcifer could tell he wasn’t the only confused one. If he could ask ‘what sign?’ again he would but decided not to. 

“Hi-ring sign?” - Michael looked troubled and Calcifer then understood exactly why. He realized which sign they were talking about.

“Ohh, that hiring sign?” -  Howl answered, and he was talking about an incident. It was not long ago but Calcifer and Michael had a fight. They were fighting over this shop and how Michael should leave. Michael was basically being tutored by Howl on sciences as well as being his apprentice, the argument did start on the topic of whether butter or jam was better with croissants, but well it went off topic, where Micheal came to the decision he was going to quit, but of course no one believed him and to show his seriousness, Micheal pasted a terribly written  hiring sign on the front door with his work timings scribbled and well walked away, only to find his way back to the shop at the end of the day. What happened to that sign was clearly a story for right now. Which made their goal for the day to break it to Sophie. Right when Calcifer was finding the words to break it to her “Great! You’re hired” - Howl came to a ‘quick and definitely needed to be elaborated’ decision. Sophie didn’t even have an interview and for all Calcifer worried, she didn’t even have a weird eye color. So, why? He looked at Sophie and she looked happy, like she genuinely wanted this job of all the jobs out there. Howl got up and told Michael to take Sophie to the bathroom where she could wash and dry herself, while he walked to the door to lock it. Calcifer walked towards Howl and asked - “Care to explain?” To that Howl simply laughed and said, “My dear Calcifer, you should pay more attention to your surroundings. Miss Sophie here is clearly an artist, or at least into art, her hands were covered in black smudges from charcoal sticks and that look, it’s the look of an artist who wants to draw what they see, like capturing it in their sketches” 

“So why?”- This time his question was directed to Sophie rather than Howl or maybe both.“Why exactly my friend, why would a person interested in art want a job at a book shop that hasn’t even opened when there's an art store right nearby who also happens to be actually hiring and is a shop she would have definitely crossed on her way here.So why?” Now that Calcifer thought about it, what drew Howl to hire her was just curiosity? Of Course he was also curious why a girl like herself would come here, but they hadn’t even introduced themselves properly. So rather the thought of the one egotistical self, Howl himself being curious about something and investing in it?That wasn’t the Howl he knew. But now that he heard everything, he was waiting to see how everything played out. 

“Fine, hire her.” 

And here they were today, he looked at the shop and surprisingly due to her Howl was at the front desk of his shop, looking actually determined and dedicated.And thanks to him, Sophie was more open, free.Not blaming her belief of destiny and herself for everything. 

“I suppose they are made for each other.” 

"Calcifer want to join us for a stroll?, going to market chipping!” - It was Michael.He spoke over the mountain of spells that he was holding, and along with him were Howl and Sophie. Howl was wearing his usual, but newly made blue and gold coat while always smelling like a bottle of sunshine before going outside.Sophie simply wore a hat over her head, Was that supposed to be a pun? He couldn’t tell, but watched as Howl opened the door and looked at him. “Freedom is a valuable thing my friend, but so is family.What are you zoning out for?” Calcifer looked around, freedom as a fire demon should have made him feel strong and feared, but this was different. He jumped towards them and onto Sophie's arms where she held a log of wood for Calcifer and smiled at him warmly.“Nothing just had a weird feeling.” 

#howls moving castle #new writer on tumblr #for you #long story

[pbandjesse]

I had a good day! I never actually took a nap but I don't feel horrible. I had a good day and felt good. Though it would get to warm and I didn't love that. But for the majority of the day I was feeling good.

I slept okay and when I woke up I was pretty happy. I liked my outfit and I felt cute. My hair was kind of stuff but looked cute. James said I was so pretty. And that felt nice.

We were about to leave when James realized they couldn't find their wallet and there was a few minutes of panic but it was found inside the hat they wore yesterday in our room and everything was alright again. James was a little overly stressed. And I think that effected me because I got very mad when we were getting breakfast because it was the same guy from before that said he can't take the meat off the number 2 ( the cheaper sandwich) and would only put it for a number 1 (almost $2 more). And I literally yelled over James and said you absolutely can put it in as a number 2! And I was slightly embarrassed but mostly I was just mad because every other person I've ever had puts in it correctly. And I was just not thrilled with this person. Whatever.

We got to the museum and I calmed down. We got everything set up. And I got to work on my loom.

There was a lot of drama and gossiping today. Drama when a tent rental company who was coming for the wedding tonight came at 9 am. When they weren't supposed to come until 3. And they tried to bully the nice Mexican ladies and James had to run and go try to figure out what was happening. It was a mess. But it was handled by James and Ann and Stanley as best they could.

But then there were slight snotty emails about it after. And just general gossip about shitty behavior. And people deciding they will be retiring and me being like. Maybe I get your job in a year??? Who knows what will actually happen. But then there was also Ann finding out I only get paid when she goes home. Which she did not know was the set up and felt so bad! And I was like no it's okay! You didn't know! So now she wants to get them to pay me so maybe she'll say something.

I had a good time at the market though! I got all caught up on my knitting. I sewed two new bears. I made a bunch of sales! Half price bears still going good but I also sold a totebag and a few other things and that was just really encouraging and good.

And then Ellen and her boyfriend were there!! I was so glad I got to say goodbye to her again. And she got to say goodbye to market people and James. And I got to meet her boyfriend and he bought one of my bat prints which I don't think I've ever sold before so that was cool!

And best of all I got to give her one of the bridesmaid pins that I got for the girls. And I explained why I got them and what they mean to for me and she got a little teary and I told her even though she won't be there that that doesn't change how important she is to me. And it was just such a nice way to be able to say goodbye.

But there should be no crying at the market. So she headed out. With lots of love.

I spent the rest of the morning just enjoying the weather even though it was a little to warm. I enjoyed working on my arts and chatting with Ann. And I met the new vender who is an older gay man who makes driftwood planters. He also has psoriasis and we compared out spots and he was really nice. I hope he comes back.

At 1 I packed up. I wanted to buy a flower from Helen but she just gave it to me even though I kept trying to give her my money. But then I went inside to say goodbye to James and they had gotten me a whole bouquet of flowers!! They are such a beautiful saturated color that really reminds me of James and that was just so thoughtful.

After I said goodbye to James I headed out. I was to hot and getting tired. But I was happy.

I got something in my eye on the way home and was having some trouble keeping my eye open for a little but it was fine and I made it home in one piece.

I got up here and I put everything that needed to go in water in water. Trimmed the ends on an angle like I learned, leaves above the water. And I changed into a lighter dress before having a little lunch. It was a good day.

I attempted to wash all the hammocks in the tub and it went okay. They are hanging on the fire escape to dry before I pack them up. But then I tried to wash my camp pillow and my two stuffed animals and it went so poorly. They became so stupid heavy and the water got all brown and I just got everything in the bathroom wet. So I failed. James said they will wash them in the machine instead and it will be okay but man I felt stupid and overheated and tired.

After picking up the apartment a little I laid down. I wouldn't sleep, just scrolled on my phone. But it was nice resting.

James would get home not long after I moved back to the living room. They would change our sheets and put the new duvet on before they went to start laundry and then they made us a fabulous dinner. The corn was very good and the fancy spicy topping on it was great. I love them so much.

I would spent a lot of time going through my clothes. I am not done for sure. But I started with sweaters. I have so many sweaters. And like. I do wear them. I chose like 5 to get rid of but I still had. So many. It's because I don't really wear shirts. I just wear sweatshirts all winter. I only have 3 long sleeve shirts. But still I have so many. So I decided to just pick out a few favorites to have in my closet for now and the rest are under the bed in my drawer.

And then I started going through my storage clothes. And everything hanging in my closet. And things were hard. I have a lot of stress tired up in my clothes right now. A lot of guilt.

I think this very hard because like I was very happy with my wardrobe on the spring. And then summer kind of made me feel weird about all the stuff I have that I didn't wear. And it's always hard to think about being cold when it's still warm out so I don't want to get rid of thing I might need. So I was frustrated. And guilty. And I had to talk through that with James.

I just hate having so much stuff. I also love so many of my things. But I did do an pretty good job being realistic. I didn't get rid of as many shoes as I probably could. Butbi got rid of 5 pairs and that is not nothing. And I got rid of a bunch of other stuff and that felt good. I paired down my closet a lot and will keep trying to pare down. Because I want to wear my peieced more, and get a better cost per wear, so I think streamlining my wardrobe is a good way to start.

I took a bath soon after finishing that. Washed my hair. I did my eyebrows a little. And now we are in bed chatting. Jess just showed me some stuff form Scotland. I know her trip wasn't perfect but I'm glad it was beautiful at least.

I have the next two days off and I am so excited to have no expectations and just time to be by myself in our apartment. I hope it's just. A great day. For you as well!

Sleep good my friends. Love you all so much.

[breezycheezyart]

A late Mother’s Day with the shallura fam!! So lovely ;w; Please do not repost

#breezycheezyart #shallura #it took everything in me to NOT shade this piece lol #...i still want to. but i won't #btw as a reminder: Andromeda is purple and Akira is gold #i decided to color this piece because i realized i never gave the girls eye colors lol #allura gets all the love ;w;

[jungkookschin]

academic validation: nineteen: are you gonna make fun of me cause im a weeb

prev / next

nerdy!jungkook x itgirl!reader

word count for written part below: 3.4k

author's note: jk's finally making some progress 👀 also chap 13 and chap 19 have different writing styles lmk which one u like more .. im thinking i like the proper capitalization better but idk

taglist: @moonacholy @bluxjun @dimmerlights

Over the years you’ve learned that social media is all fake, an act, simply a facade to persuade everybody into thinking that you are some better version of yourself. . You know this well enough. That's why you don't take anybody's posts seriously anymore. Thirst traps from pretty girls on Instagram that used to make you feel so insecure didn't bother you anymore because you knew that people could alter their image some way or some how to eliminate their flaws an ultimately come off as a more attractive person.

You could play that game too.

When you ended your relationship with Taehyung, your heart shattered into pieces. You realized that you had become so dependent on his daily texts, physical tough, and presence, that you could barely go on without him in your life. You tried to be easy on yourself, refrained from getting mad at yourself because who could blame you?

Taehyung was your first love, first kiss, and first boyfriend. Before you met Taehyung, you were so unexperienced in the romance department, so oblivious to any guy trying to make advances on you. Jennie claims that's why you never noticed how popular you were, why you never noticed how boys thought you were cute and why girls attempted to imitate you.

But Taehyung opened up a new world for you, introducing you to what it was like to feel loved, wanted, and desired on a physical, mental, and spiritual level.

Taehyung was the first person you shed your deepest vulnerabilities to, the first person you ever gave yourself to, which made it so hard to get over him despite the fact that he showed his true colors to you.

You found yourself crying to sleep, eyes red and puffy in the morning. Thank God Jennie recommended the nifty "put a spoon in the freezer and put it over your eyes for 100 seconds" trick to you, or else the whole world would know how heartbroken you were.

You were petrified of people knowing how stupid you were in regards to your relationship with Taehyung. You were incredibly embarrassed that you missed so many red flags, and still naively gave yourself to him.

So that's why you were using social media as a means to pretend that you didn't give a shit, when you really, really did. You decided that you would make it appear as if you were invested solely on self growth, so that you could manifest that into real life.

You did go to the gym on a daily basis, you did work incredibly hard in school to get your grades up, and you did apply to a multitude of scholarships. That’s all you could do, push through it and work on yourself, while slightly exaggerating it on social media. Sure, you met your fitness goals and (some) of your academic goals, but not everything was as picture perfect as it seemed.

You found yourself wanting to indulge in new hobbies. You know, trying new things. You once read that trying new things was one of the best things you could do for yourself. Now, that was an incredibly generalized statement, but you definitely wanted to start in the fashion department.

You and Jennie were always on the look out for the latest trends, cutest outfits, and on point accessories. You and Jennie were also two broke high school students who couldn't afford a lot of these trends. So, you guys often tried to make your own crop tops, dresses, and skirts. But, your projects all ended horribly. The clothes were literally the ugliest clothes you've laid your eyes on and belonged in the deepest darkest pits of hell. There was another thing that caught your eye.. anime. You never cared for anime, but you had just been seeing so many badass edits on your ForYou page on TikTok, that you thought you must check some anime out.

You found yourself desperately stalking Taehyung and Sooyoung on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. You desperately wanted to know how they were doing. Was he being an asshole to her too? Were they really that happy together?

But you had to keep reminding yourself that social media is fake, and not everything seems as it appears.

So, you find yourself actually focusing on yourself rather than Taehyung and Sooyoung, and actually getting better at disregarding whatever Taehyung and Sooyoung were up to. Sure, you checked her Instagram every once in a while, but you found that you were feeling less bitter and more gratified.

Honestly, thank God you and Taehyung ended. You dodged a bullet. You desperately missed the feelings that he gave you. The butterflies you felt every time he publicized his admiration for you, whether it would be posts, compliments, or the feelings of his lips on yours. But you also knew that men are replacable.

But God did you miss the feeling of someone kissing you, someone caressing your face ever so gently before they put their lips on yours. Oh gosh, you were definitely touch deprived.

You shake your head, immediately rebuking the thought and get back to the Physics problems that Jungkook assigned to you. Speaking of Jungkook, four months of tutoring had passed.

You were happy with the work you had done with him, and even happier that your grades had gone up because of him. After the first session, you had felt so awkward and embarrassed that he witnessed your mental breakdown.

When he texted you "are you feeling ok?" You literally replied like in the most professional and formal tone because you thought that it was his vibe, but now you're learning that it's not.

Jungkook is incredibly kind and chill. There's nothing else to it. He wasn't uptight at all, and always treated you with respect, never making you feel stupid for your lack of scientific knowledge. In fact, you found yourself growing an acquaintanceship with him. In a way, you were thankful for Jungkook. He was the sense of normalcy that you needed in your life. It felt like the whole student body was gossipping about you, constantly making inquiries on your status with Taehyung, wondering why yoour relationship with him ended. But Jungkook, he was normal. He was always minding his own business, never prying into your personal life. You were sure that he didn’t even care about you, and that made you feel somewhat relieved. You were happy he was there, and you were sure that he was happy he was getting community service hours.

On Jungkook's end, four months had passed of you and Jungkook sitting in Mr. Moon's class every Tuesday after school. It had been four months of him helping you with your.. unfortunate lack of Physics ability.

Yes, there were sometimes where Jungkook got frustrated whilst tutoring you because how could somebody become so mathematically challenged? However, tutoring you never posed as burden. In fact, it was something he looked forward to every week. Yes, he always had a crush on you, finding you to be unbelievably attractive. But, it wasn’t like he knew you personally besides the occasional greeting.

But now, Jungkook found himself becoming more enamored with you. There were so many things about you that he admired.

Now, Jungkook would consider himself a talented writer. An essay he wrote his junior year analyzing Daunte’s Inferno had received a nationally acclaimed literature award. Of course, Jungkook was a talented writer, and he felt that he could write a beautifully written essay on things he liked about you.

It wasn’t like you were doing anything special anyways, you were just being yourself. And that’s how he knew he was falling for you. You did such an impeccable job penetrating his senses, making his heart twist in different ways.

Number one: the visual aspect.

Jungkook knew you were good looking, pretty, cute. any synonym for attractive would apply. That was something even the entirety of the student body was aware of.

But, being in such close proximity to you every week and seeing your features up close, made you become even more beautiful to him. He found the way your eyes turned into crescents whenever you got a physics problem right adorable. (At first, this was a 1/50 occurrence, but you got better.)

He noticed you had two little moles gracing your left cheekbone. Another above your lip, and two dimples indented on each of your cheeks. The small beauty marks sprinkled across your facial features fascinated him. He found that he was also becoming attracted to every pimple, acne scar, and blemish on your face. He wouldn’t even consider these blemishes flaws, since they enhanced your beauty.

Number two: your personality.

Jungkook knew that you had a tendency to hang around the wrong crowd (ahem.. Taehyung and Jimin). However, he liked that you were able to stay true to yourself and treat everybody with respect.

He crimsoned every time you would persistently thank him for tutoring you. You did that a lot, at the end of every tutoring session.

“Oh my gosh Jungkook, thank you so much! I’m sorry, I was a little slow today. Really thank you so much for putting up with me.” You would stand in the doorway, politely bowing to him as you rambled at the end of every tutoring session.

Jungkook would just awkwardly scratch the back of his head and laugh it off. “Y/N, it really is no problem. Remember, I’m getting community service hours for tutoring you.” Sometimes, you would even offer to bring him coffee from starbucks, which he obviously didn’t want to turn down.

It wasn’t even him that you were nice to. You showered everybody with respect and kindness, and that really showed during your second hour Physics class. You would always made a valiant effort to socialize with everybody in the classroom. He noticed that you remembered lots of details about everybody, and were able to initiate smoothe conversation with them.

“Hey Minhee your keychain is super cute! Where’d you get it from”

“Hey Alex, how’d your speech and debate competition go? I don’t know how you do it. preparing for those competitions seems so stressful.”

“Sora, did you watch the new episode of Euphoria? Cassie’s lost her damn mind.”

You set an enjoyable, at ease atmosphere in the classroom. Okay, maybe Jungkook was exaggerating it since he found you to be so angelic. In reality, AP Physcis was one of the most miserable classes in the entire school. On the first day of school, Mr. Moon literally said that it was the hardest class offered at the school. But hey, at least you were there.

Jungkook was also thoroughly amused every time you playfully bantered with Mr. Moon.

Mr. Moon was one of the sternest and intimidating teachers on classes. He taught some of the most rigorous and difficult classes including AP Physics and AP Calculus BC.

However, you were still able to work your wonders with him. It was obvious that Mr. Moon favored you even though you weren’t one of the best students. Before Jungkook, Mr. Moon even offered his personal time to tutor you. Plus, he bribed Jungkook into becoming your tutor. That had to mean you were a favorite.

Anyways, he remembers on one occasion that there was a quiz literally nobody was prepared for. Not even Jungkook or Jaehyun, and that was saying something.

You approached Mr. Moon, and Jungkook was curious as to what in the world you were going to say.

“Mr. Moon. I, L/N Y/N, am here to make a humble request on behalf ot your second hour Physics class.” You would put your palms together, jot your bottom lip out, and give him your pouty eyes. “I was wondering.. Well.. Can’t you push the quiz back... please? Just one more day.”

Mr. Moon, who normally did not tolerate bullshit pushed his glasses down to the bridge of his nose and let out a chuckle. “Y/N, who chose you as the representative of the class? I think Jungkook or Minhee would be a better option.”

You crossed your arms together. “Mr. Moon, you know I’m the only person with enough courage to approach you with a request like this. C’mon, aren’t you proud of me for daring to step into the lions’ den and ask you this”

Jungkook choked on his drink when you said that, the rest of the class muffling their laughter.

“Lions’ den? Do you guys really find me that intimidating?” His eyes shift to the rest of the class, and everybody avoid eye contact with him.

“See Mr. Moon, call me Daniel or something, but aren’t you proud of me for asking? I think I’m the first student in ths histpry of the school to ask for a quiz extension.”

An amused expression paints your teacher’s face, his eyebrows raising and his lips pursing. “But Y/N, I told everybody about the quix last week. Why didn’t you study?”

And that was when you brought the antics out. “Mr Moon, I did study. I really did. You can even ask Jungkook. He said I improved so much! But yesterday, there were more pressing matters at hand. I had, yes HAD, to go shopping for an outfit for when the cherry blossoms go into bloom. Mr. Moon, visiting the cherry blossoms is a coming of age necessity. You even went there on a first date with your wife! I was so focused on shopping that I totally forgot everything. So could you please push the quiz back… please?” You would ramble on and on, the whole class eavesdropping on this amusing conversation.

“Fine. But only because you remember that I said I took my wife there.” Mr. Moon said as he placed the quizzes back into his folder. He then stood up from his wheel chair and addressed the rest of the class. “This is the only time I will do this for you guys. Next time, don’t ask Y/N to do your dirty work.”

Despite his harsh words, this was how you got the whole class to love you. Like Jungkook, the class was permeated with overachievers who would faint at the thought of getting a B on an assignment. So, they were overwhelmingly grateful that the quiz was pushed back.

In addition to this, Jungkook thought it was amazing that you emitted such a positive aura despite your relationship with Taehyung ended.

Now, Jungkook was perceptive. Of course, he didn’t actually follow you on any of your social media accounts, but he did know how to stalk.

He knew that your relationship with taehyung met its fatal end and that Taehyung moved on literally the next day. The gears in his brain started to move and it clicked, that’s why you were crying.

At the time, you were dealing with an unsupportive (not to mention cheating boyfriend) as well as academic pressure, and Jungkook was no stranger to academic pressure.

He was academically talented, but god did he know how stressful meeting deadlines and learning new concepts were. He admired your perseverance, your effort to improve yourself. That’s what made you so attractive. He had seen your tweets. He knew you were working out and sharpening your mind, and it did become apparent from how you were performing in Physics. You were trying really hard, attentively listening to Jungkook’s words, and the effort paid off. You actually scored a B- on the last quiz.(Yes, the same one that you got pushed back)

The issue was, Jungkook was just awkward. Indeed he was intelligent academically, but not socially. Rationally, he knew that this was the perfect time to make a move on you. He really tried to, he really did. But his efforts simply resulted into little actions that could be regarded as a kind act from a tutor. sometimes, he would muster up the courage to offer you a piece of a gum, or a highly valued and sought after muji mechanical pencil. the fancy pencil should have sent a clear enough message.

He perceived that you weren’t receiving his rather obvious hints. When he confided to Jaehyun about the matter, jaehyun simply rolled his eyes and slapped the back of his neck.Jungkook knew his efforts amounted to nothing.

On cue, Jungkook notices you walking through the classroom door, with two taro bobas in your right hand. “Hi jungkook! i brought you your drink.”

You held out the drink to him and smiled.

Jungkook sends you a smile, accepting the drink and taking a sip of it. “How much do I have to pay you back?”

You playfully tole your eyes and hit his shoulder. “When have you ever paid me back for a drink?”

~

This week’s tutoring session meets its conclusion, and you start putting your notebooks back into your backpack.

Your pause suddenly, and your actions faulter. “Jungkook.. iIhave a question.”

Jungkook sits next to you and attempts to make eye contact. “Shoot.”

You purse your lips and twiddle with your fingers. “Well.. you like anime right?”

Jungkook slowly nods his head. “Yea, I do, why though? You’re not gonna make fun of me for being a weeb, right?”

You immediately shake your head. “Oh goodness no. I hate people like that.” Your facial features scrunch up, and he laughs at that. “Just kidding Y/N, I know you’re not like that.”

You huff and hit his shoulder again. “You better be kidding. But the real reason I’m asking is because I think it’s something I want to get into. I’ve seen a lot of Demon Slayer edits, and it looks really interesting.”

Jungkook wants to immediately reply, and gush about the things he liked about Demon Slayer. Demon Slayer was one of his favorites. But, he pauses and thinks for a moment, analyzing the situation more deeply.

This was the perfect chance to introdouce you to anime, and get to know you better. Could you be implying that you wanted to watch it with him? If you were interested in just the show, you could have just watched it yourself.

The gate was opening, and the light at the end of the tunnel appeared.

“Y/N, Demon Slayer is really good. Especially for new anime watchers. It’s one of the best to start with, because after you watch it you’ll be hooked. Do you maybe wanna go to an internet cafe and watch the first few episodes together?”

You looked up at him and your eyes sparkled. A wide grain appeared on your face.. “Really? Could we please?” You jump up and down with excitement.

Jungkook tries to act smug, shoving his hands in his pockets despite that fact that his heart is beating out of his chest. “Yea, sure. I can take you to the one Jaehyun and I go to after school?”

~

That’s how Jungkook finds himself sharing a seat with you in front of a screen at his favorite internet cafe. He doesn’t even know if you realize that you’re leaning on his shoulder, since your pupils are so focused on the screen. You flinch every time a character throws a punch amidst an action scene, dramatically gasping when a demon appears on the screen.

He’s holding a bag of popcorn in his hand, occasionally offering you some. He promptly answers every question you have concerning the plot of the show. You both share laughs when something funny happens, and jungkook laughts at you every time you dramatically gasp at a semi violent scene.

Jungkook’s feelings for you seem to burst. He feels like he’s on Cloud 9. Here you are, literally pressed up against him, leaning on his shoulder, smelling so pleasant. But what hurts him is that he knows your actions are all platonic.

And he was right, you don’t consider this anything else besides you getting into anime and Jungkook happening to be there.

When he tells you that it’s getting late and walks you to the bus stop, you don’t realize that his chivalrous acts are because he feels something for you.

Jungkook knows that he can do nothing more besides being your tutor, because the last thing he wants to do is push boundaires. But now, he realizes that he’s happy to be there for you, even as a friend, or tutor. He just likes basking in the glow of your presence,

So if he decides to make a move, he will. But only when the time is right. For now, he’s 100% satisfied with just being an acquaintance, or maybe even a friend.

#jungkook fanfic #jungkook fluff #jungkook scenarios #bts scenarios #bts sm au #bts smau #bts social media au #jungkook smau #jungkook social media au #jungkook texts #jungkook x reader #jungkook sm au #jungkook imagines #bts imagines #bts fluff #bts x reader #bts texts

[httpdabi]

AmongUs

Summary: You decided to play AmongUs with your best friend and troll some randoms in there, what you didn’t really expect was to meet an extremely handsome stranger that has to offer you things your ex boyfriends never did.

Genre: smut, romance, No quirks looool

Word count: 7.5k

Warnings: 18+ (minors fuck off kindly), creampie, multiple orgasms, fingering, forced orgasm, daddy kink, dom!Dabi, orgasm denial, praising!

I had lots of fun writing this! Hope you enjoy it <3

,, Girl, you promised that you’ll come over tonight’’ you whined loudly over the phone, as your best friend Nejire told you that she won’t be able to make it, breaking your plans into tiny little pieces. Damn her childhood friend and his whole family deciding to come exactly today over, ruining your perfect evening with your best friend.

,, Yeah, but we can drink and play, doesn’t matter if we ain’t together, I’m sure he’ll like to play with us ‘’ you could almost feel her smile on the other line, and with only that you couldn’t even think about being mad at her, knowing very well how much she loves that guy. Probably in a way that no friends love each other.

,, Yeah, yeah. But girl, if you dich me tonight and let me troll people on my own, I’ll never forgive you’’ you smiled, knowing very well that she won’t do that. The two of you spend too much time playing stupid games together, drinking till you are comfortable enough to argue with strangers online, and troll the shit out of them.

Since it was weekend, and you were spending time on your own, you decided to start drinking a bit earlier. Turning on a movie, you started sipping on your wine, exchanging some texts with your best friend every now and then.

Your first glass was done way too fast, and you were already sitting in front of your computer with your forth glass beside the keyboard, and a cigarette in your right hand, texting a code to Nejire as you puffed on your cigarette.

The moment you saw one familiar and one not so familiar usernames getting into the private lobby , you smiled widely once Nejire started laughing loudly.

,, HAHAHA BITCH WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT’’ she screamed, as her lover boy giggled quietly beside her, probably too shy to say anything.

,, What is wrong with Kentuckycriedfricken?’’ you asked, as you slowly tapped with your fingers over the table. Well, you weren’t so creative tonight, but you could only blame alcohol on that.

,, Why the fuck are you called TURKEY_SANDWICH’’ you added another question, not giving her a chance to answer to your first one.

,,BECAUSE I’M CARVING ONE’’Nejire screamed, and in that moment you knew very well that she drank as much as you did, if not even more. You giggled to yourself, as you watched the room getting full, some people talking, some texting in the chat and some simply waiting.

You rolled your eyes in annoyance, once you saw all the people commenting START In the small chat box. There was something about it that was pissing you off, making you kick or ban anyone who writes it. This time, you were too busy laughing with your friend, and instead doing any of it, you simply started the game.

CREWMATE

You sighed in relief, taking a sip of your wine, as Nejire ran around you with her friend, singing loudly. Ignoring the two of them, you made your way to the Admin room, to swipe the card, not so surprised once you saw a crew of other players doing the same thing.

,,KENTUCKYCRIEDFRICKEN WHERE ARE YOU’’ you heard Nejire once she entered the room. Once she noticed the cyan color hiding in the crowd she hurried with her Pink character toward you.

,,Wanna watch me scan?’’ she asked, making you giggle as she just gave you the secret code, making sure you know that she’s the Impostor.

,,Nah, Imma pass’’ you said, getting out of the room. You were pretty sure she’ll win the game, since she had you and her friend on her damn side, but you did wish you could know who the other Impostor is. Ignoring her, you made your way toward the Weapons, to clear the damn Asteroids and just look for someone to play around with. These people were way too quiet for your taste.

,,Heyyyy what’s up man?’’ you almost screamed excitedly when you saw a dark blue character, hopefully a crewmate, standing there and clearing Asteroids, or you thought so. You forced your voice a pitch higher, giggling to yourself, knowing how stupid you sound.

,,Oh my god, how old are you?’’ the stranger asked. The moment you spoke, all the giggles were gone. That guys voice was so damn deep, you literally had to lit a cigarette before you decided to speak up again.

,,Old enough’’ you laughed, refusing to tell him your real age just now.

,,Older than 18?’’ he asked, as you were shooting those Asteroids, not that focused.

,, Of course’’ you gasped, rolling your eyes, like he might see you.

,, Thanks God.. Do you play Amongus often ?’’ he asked, not even knowing that his fucking voice was doing things to you.

,, Amongus is my favoire game’’ you said, finishing your task. The way he talked to you, you were almost sure that he was trying to troll you a bit there, probably thinking you are one of those uwu pick me girls.

,,Mhmm.. you’re up pretty late.. what’s your bed time?’’ he asked, and with that question you were more than sure that he was messing around.

,, Daddy beats me if I don’t go to bed at 9’’ you tried to hold your laugh, and you could almost hear the stranger doing the same thing you do.

,, Ohh, I could be your daddy and I would never do that to you ‘’ he said. In that moment, if it wasn’t for his voice, you would probably just laugh loudly and just go away. But damn, the way he said that.

,,HAHHAHA YOU CRAZY FUCK’’ You choked out, once you got out of your little dream, liking how he played along.

,, So that’s your real voice’’ he mumbled, small muffed laugh following the sentence, as you ran away from him. You didn’t hear a voice like that for a long time, and you really hoped that the dude will follow you around for the rest of the game.

Which at your surprise happened.

You were about to ask him some stupid question, but in that very moment someone found a fucking body.

,,Pink killed white and just jumped into the vent in front of me’’ some dude accused Nejire, and that’s when you knew that you have to jump in.

,, I saw Pink scan tho, so that makes you pretty sus dude’’ you lied without thinking twice. Yeah, you knew that it’s more fun if you play by the rules, and don’t team up.. but Nejire is rarely the Impostor and she’s always so damn excited when she wins.

,, Yeah, that’s Pretty sus… ‘’ your new friend said, probably believing you, since you two spent some short time together.

At the end of the short meeting, White was voted out.

You made your way to Reactor to do your task, and Nejire and her friend followed you, probably to look a bit clear to others. You hated the task you had to do, so you took your time, ignoring the loud laughs coming from your friend.

Shortly, the voice of Nejire was changed with the deep one.

,, So, what do you do usually?’’ he asked, as you tried to start the reactor. You had trouble with that task without being tipsy, so alcohol wasn’t really helping in your current situation.

,, I’m streets salesman of burgers’’ you joked, making him laugh a bit. Only to end up telling him that you are actually a student, having a mini job at the café near where you live. You weren’t even sure if his voice was making you speak up or the alcohol, but you almost found yourself telling him the story of your life.

,, Where are you going?’’ he asked you, as you made your way toward Electrical, stopping once the lights got off. You didn’t want to look sus to him, but you didn’t want to go there, since everyone knows that the first person that enters the room will end up dead.

,,Well, I wanted to go to electrical, to do my task, but not so sure about it anymore’’ you said honestly, running around him.

,, Come on, I’ll keep you safe’’ he laughed, and you followed him. The moment you were about to do your task, the game finished, showing how the Impostors won.

You heart almost skipped a beat when you saw In the chat box how your dark blue feiend was the second Impostor. You found it extremely cute that he had way too many chances to kill you and he never did. Instead of killing you, he was simply chatting with you.

CREWMATE

Usually you were the one to hate playing as impostor, always feeling the pressure and thinking that you’ll ruin the game for the other impostor, but tipsy like that, you wished you could be one now, and kill some crewmates around.

,, Doll, teaming ain’t nice’’ deep voice told you as you were downloading the data in the Cafeteria.

,, Awh, come on, she needs a bit of support’’ you said, focused on his voice more than on your task. ,,After all you just used me to clear yourself and look less sus’’ you added and he sighed loudly, acting shocked that you could even think of him like that.

You thought that the little play with the stranger will be just one time ‘’experience’’, but at your surprise he asked you for your instagram at the end. Usually you aren’t the one to share your personal information’s with others, and you also weren’t sure what you’re getting into, yet you found yourself giving him your username before you turned the computer off and drifted into a deep sleep.

Once you woke up, your phone was blown up with notifications, every single one from instagram. One text message and the rest of it were likes.

[Touyaf]:

,,Well, didn’t expect you to be this pretty.. super glad I met you there ’’

You smiled to yourself as you read the little message, with one of your post attached to it. Tapping on his username, your eyes almost widened in shock once you realized that not only his fucking voice was attractive. The dude was a motherfucking snack, and you had a pretty big luck that you found him in that silly lobby.

To Touyaf:

,, Heyy, you ain’t looking bad either lol same, let’s play together again ‘’

You replied, before you returned to his profile to like some photos he posted. Being honest, you didn’t know what to expect, but what you didn’t expect was a black haired guy, with piercings and tattoos covering his body. He definitely didn’t look like someone who spends his time on computer playing fucking Among us.

Hopping out of your bed, you made your way to get ready for the day. There were many things you planned to do, so you didn’t really want to waste your time. The faster you’re done, the more time you’ll have at the end.

After you packed all the post you had to send for your work, you headed to the bus station, hoping you’ll be able to catch the next bus. At your surprise Dabi was replying to your messages way too fast, making it one of the conversations where your eyes simply have to stay glued to your phone.

You found it almost funny how you ended up checking up your phone more often than usual, for someone you didn’t even meet yet. Sure, his profile looks legit, but the possibility that some attention thirsty freak is hiding behind that profile will be there till you meet him personally.

Once you finished everything up, you made your way toward the little Game shop, the one you were a well known costumer in. The now not so new Crash Bandicoot game that got out months ago was finally on the sale. You wanted to buy it the same day it got out, but $75 was too much, and it’s not like you’re shitting money.

The moment you bought the game, you wished you could fucking teleport yourself home, but sadly, you still had stuff to do and the game had to wait.

..

Your steps felt heavy, as you pushed yourself in the crowd, trying to keep your balance. Someone’s shoulder almost knocked you out, making your blood boil in just a damn second. Turning your head to the side, more than ready to fight, a smile crept on your face once you realized who you’re facing.

,, OH MY fucking god ‘’ you gasped, pointing every word out.

,, Woww, you’re alive’’ your cousin laughed, once she realized that you were ready to throw some hands. You really wanted to go home, but since ALL OF SUDDEN, both you and your cousin had some time, she forced you to go grab a coffee with her.

The two of you wanted to meet for a long time, but yet none of you could manage to get some free time and meet.

,, Yeah, Kai went to that Music program. The whole town was voting for him, didn’t you know that?’’ she said, talking about your childhood friend that always wanted to become famous.

,, Wow, strong community ‘’ you joked, acting surprised. Even tho he was your friend, you had to be honest. He couldn’t sing for shit.

The two of you ended up spending much more time than you planned to, and you ended up not minding it at all. You actually enjoyed talking about random shit form the last with her.

,, Wow, I didn’t think Bonnie is still alive. That dog could sense us from far away, so weird’’ your cousin said, sipping on her now cold coffee. ,, You think she would still smell or sense me if I would be on my way to your parents house ?’’ she added, eyes almost twinkling excitedly.

,, She can definitely smell your stinky ass’’ you joked, playing with the metal straw in your drink.

,, Oh eat shit, I’m sweating so much that I’m showering two times a day’’ she protested, slapping your arm playfully.

,,And even that ain’t helping’’ you laughed loudly once you saw her disgusted face.

The two of you finally parted ways, once you told her that you have some other important plans, deciding its better not to tell her that you’re dying to go home and play the game you bought.

You almost teared up once you were finally in your pajamas, laying comfortably on your couch and playing the game. You almost teared up, when you chose the retro function of the game, where you can get and loose life, thinking you’re the old school gamer. Oh, how fast you changed it once you realized how hard the game is.

After playing the game for two hours, you realized that you definitely won’t be able to finish it in one night. You were glad that the production was aiming for the old public, but you didn’t expect it to be that hard.

[Touyaf]:

,,The game is dope as fuckkkk, but too easy imo’’

You smiled when you saw that he replied to the picture you posted on the story.

To Touyaf:

,, Are you insane ? I’m on the same level thirty fucking minutes now :( ‘’

You replied, as you continued with the game, only to pause it after one minute of gameplay just to check your phone when you saw the instagram notification.

[Touyaf]:

,, Want me to help you?’’

To Toyuaf:

,, How ?’’

[Touyaf]:

,, Send me your address ‘’

Your eyes widened when you saw what he wrote, too scared to open the message he sent you. Of course you wanted to meet him, but so fast ? And at this time ?

Was that really smart ?

Well, it doesn’t matter if it’s smart or not, you ended up sending him your address, last name and running around in the middle of the night and cleaning your apartment anyway. You found yourself smiling the whole time while hysterically cleaning around. You didn’t know if he is living near or far, yet there was so much to do. It was very visible that you weren’t expecting any guests.

Luckily for you, it took him some time to arrive, giving you a chance to clear everything nicely and throw your clothes that were laying around into the closet.

The moment you heard the doorbell you got nervous like a little teenage girl that was about to go on her first date and the moment you opened the door, you were more than sure that you made the right decision when you sent him your address.

Was is possible that someone could be that handsome ? At one point you thought that he was just photogenic when you scrolled his Insta feed, you thought maybe he knew his angles. But damn, the dude standing in front of you was someone you would spread your legs for without thinking twice.

,,Hey, nice to finally meet you’’ he said, giving you a small hug which you definitely didn’t expect. ,, You look even prettier than on photos’’ he added, smiling at you.

,, You think? Thank you. You too’’ you said awkwardly. Usually you are much more confident, and you don’t have problem with communication, but the fact that this handsome dude you barely know, is in your apartment, made your legs shake.

,, I mean, you are really handsome’’ you added fast, trying to break that creepiness in your voice, giving yourself a mental facepalm once you realized that he was holding back his laugh. You almost looked like fucking Bella from Twilight. Was that necessary ?

,, What do you want to drink? Tea ? Coffee? Orange juice ? Wine ?’’ you asked, preparing the glass. He probably noticed how nervous you are and that made you even more nervous. Everything that could go wrong, is going wrong right now.

,, Well, I’m really up for some wine’’ Touya said as he sat comfortably on your couch.

THANKS GOD. You weren’t sure if you would be able to survive being in the same room with him while drinking a fucking chamomile tea.

,, You can’t beat this level? This one ?You can’t be for real’’ he laughed, as you placed two glasses and one bottle of wine on the table.

,, Are you dissing my gaming skills ?’’ you laughed, pouring the wine in the glass while he was playing the game like it was nothing.

,, Ah please, how many times did you paly it ?’’ you whined loudly, as he played almost perfectly.

,, Oh thanks God, you are a smoker, I was already stressing myself out if I’ll have to go out for every cigarette’’ Touya said once he saw you lit a cigarette.

After your second glass of wine, all the nervousness was gone. The two of you were having pretty much a fun time playing the game and drinking together.

,, What are you doing ???’’ he asked, almost screaming once you died in the game, without getting to the checkpoint.

,, MY BEST, I’M DOING MY BEST’’ You screamed back, throwing the controller to his direction, one again feeling defeated.

After that night, Touya started visiting you more often, and every night he would visit you, the two of you would drown a bottle of wine. You didn’t expect him to be such a cool person actually. In your opinion he did look like someone who’s full of himself.

Also, when you told Nejire that you met the dude from Among us, she immediately started lecturing you about how he could have killed you, totally ignoring the fact that you were standing in front of her alive and more healthy than you ever were.

,, Anyway, they have one appointment free today ‘’ Nejire said, as the two of you walked down the street, going to your usual café.

,, What are you talking about ?’’ you asked confused.

,, About escape room you stupid bitch’’ she said, hitting your arm lightly like she was talking about it clearly before.

,, Nejire, if the two of us go, one hour won’t be enough for us to get out of it’’ you pointed, knowing very well that neither of you is capable of figuring anything out on your own, especially not some scary ass escape room.

,, Ye, but I can ask Mirio to come, and you can ask the Dabi dude’’ she said, rising her eyebrows at you. Well that wasn’t a really bad idea actually.

Both Mirio and Dabi agreed, and while sipping on your coffee the two of you reserved the room. It was pretty much unplanned, and you had around 2 hours until your appointment, but you were really glad it worked out.

,, Girl, you should see my little sister today, girlie is only 3 years old, and she already flirts better than you and me together’’ Nejire giggled, as you gave her one questioning look.

,, She met some boy at playground today. You should see the looks they were giving each other. They even started talking in their baby language, discussing something’’ she said, making you laugh as you imagined her baby sister hitting on some other kid. You were never a person that could deal with kids, but her sister was really special.

Once the Mirio arrived, Nejire got all quiet, which almost made you laugh out loud, since she’s nothing like that usually. She did tell you before, that the two of them hooked up after one of the birthday parties you attended, but you almost forget about that.

,, What can I get you?’’ the waiter asked Mirio, as you and Nejire talked excitedly about escaperoom.

,, One Matte Lacchiato’’ Mirio said, trying to follow what you were talking about, while the waiter was looking at him confused, not sure if he’s joking or not.

,, You mean Latte macchiato ??’’ Nejire asked, trying to hold her laugh. The moment the waiter left, none of you had to hold it back anymore.

,, Dude, Matte Lacchiato ? Really?’’ you laughed loudly.

,, Fuck off, I’m not a coffee person’’ Mirio snapped, his face all red from embarrassment.

,, One Paccuccino please’’ you joked, making Mirio roll his eyes.

,, One Sepresso please’’ Nejire laughed loudly , while Mirio was mumbling something under his breath, hating the both of you in the moment.

,,By the way, I don’t like this thing, tastes like nothing’’ he said, as giving it to Nejire to try it out.

,, Out of 1 to 10, how many points would you give to this Matte Lacchiato?’’ Nejire asked, giggling, giving him a sign that she’ll never forget the silly mistake he said.

,,2 points. One for having balls to sell it, and another one because I’m such a good hearted person’’ he said, pushing the drink to the side.

The moment you saw Touya enter the café, you started waving around with your hands, helping him find you.

,, What took you so long ?’’ you asked, as he took a seat next to you. He looked good as usual, wearing oversized purple shirt, and black pants with nike airforce.

,, I was in the middle of a jog when you texted me’’ he said putting his both hands in the air, feeling attakced.

,, Oh that sounds fun’’ you joked, as you rolled your cigarette.

,, Yeah? I’ll call you next time to come with’’ he said, also rolling a cigarette, while giving you a side look.

,, Not that fun’’ you laughed.

,, dude, the last time we jogged together, she had to call a taxi to bring her back home’’ Mirio said, making Touya laugh.

,, Trueeee, I had to pour water all over her face when we were jogging together’’ Nejire added, remembering the accident that happened back in the days.

,,Oh shut up, I had to put your fucking legs up hoping you wont collapse’’ you laughed. Sure, both Mirio and Touya were in better shape than you, but Nejire ? Girl was on the same level.

,, And stop it, stop dissing me! I’m a victim of a hate crime right now” you whined loudly, as all of them laughed.

When the time came, all of you made your way to the escaperoom. After you checked in and paid, you and Touya went out to smoke one more cigarette since you had some time before the game starts.

,, So, what will you do after this ?’’ Touya asked, placing his arm around you as you puffed on your cigarette.

,, I don’t have any plans yet, why ? Wanna come over ?’’ you asked, mentally holding your shit together once he said that he’ll gladly come.

He was too close, wayyyy too close. You could even smell his fucking perfume.

Once the game started all of you were more than lost, having hard time finding the clues. You were in some basement looking room with tons of books. Touya and you found the first clue, some numbers written on the small closet as a code for opening the box that Mirio found.

Mirio found the second code, that led you to the box with the key that was opening the door.

,, Oh my god guys, there are number on the closet’’ Nejire screamed loudly, making all of you laugh.

,, Sweetie we passed that part long time ago.’’ Mirio said pinching her cheek. You were pretty sure that she was a bit lost, because Mirio was giving her way too much attention.

The next room was even darker than the first one, full of some weird family photos, crosses and blood. All of you were trying to work together, you agreed to use the Woky toky only when needed, yet the person who held it didn’t really give a shit about your agreement.

,, We need help’’ Mirio said, while the rest of you whined loudly since it was probably the third time he’s using it by now.

,, Dude, do you like the worker here ?’’ you asked him, as you took the photo of the wall.

,, No, why?’’ he asked you back, almost confused.

,, Because you are constantly talking to him. I swear you didn’t even talk to your ex that much ‘’ you said, making Touya laugh a bit.

The game continued with all of you in a rush to figure things out. One clue led to another one, and you opened some small room, where someone had to go inside to pull some weird looking rope.

Luckily for all of you, Mirio volunteered. The moment he pulled the rope down, some weird as cockroaches fall down on him, making him get out of the small room faster then he got in there.

,, Fucking shit, I didn’t sign for this’’ he whined, sighing in relief once he realized that those cockroaches are plastic one.

,, I swear, if that shit fell onto me, I would smash the red button without thinking twice’’ Nejire said in disgust.

,, This game is hard as fuck’’ you sighed, as you held some weird box with some knifes in your hand.

,, Wanna know what else is hard ?’’ Touya said quietly, making your eyes widen in shock.

,, Excuse me?’’ you couldn’t believe what he was asking you, here in front of your friends.

,, This cross. Oh my god, didn’t expect you to be that dirty minded doll’’ Touya laughed loudly, making you blush. In your Defense, he sounded like he was talking about his dick. He definitely didSl.

At the end, the 4 of you made it out of the room few minutes before the game ended. The moment you opened the door, you found the worker that explained the game and led you to the room standing in front of the very same door. Probably ready to get you all out.

,, This was so embarrassing ‘’ Nejire laughed as all of you got out of the building.

,, Yeah, imagine if we didn’t figure it out, what would he tell us ? Sorry but yall have to die now’’ Mirio said.

,, Well, maybe if you used the time we had for figuring everything out, instead of talking with the dude over the Wokytoky, MAYBE we would do better’’ you laughed, as Mirio told you to fuck off.

After Mirio and Nejire left, you and Touya made your way to your apartment, still talking and laughing about the whole game.

The two of you played among us, teaming up against some randoms on a whole new level. He was sitting way too close to you, like there was no place on the couch at all. Of course, you didn’t mind that, but you would lie if you said that you could focus on the game fully.

,, You are so cute’’ Touya pointed when you killed someone in front of him, not even hiding the fact that you are teaming.

He was complimenting you and being touchy with you more then usual.

,, So, are you really into daddy kink?’’ you asked, as you remembered the first time you played together.

,,Maybe ‘’ Touya smirked, focused on the game.

,, Naughty naughtyyy’’ you laughed, killing some other crewmate.

Once you had enough of the game, the two of you ended up just chit chatting about some stupid things, still in the same position as you were in before. The only difference was that Touya was slowly caressing your skin.

,, You wanna sleep over ?’’ you asked, once you realized that it was getting really late.

,, Well, definitely not if I have to crash on this couch’’ he said, making you giggle quietly.

,, Ah, you know I wouldn’t let you sleep here.’’ You mumbled quietly, avoiding eye contact with him.

,, Awhh, is my little doll implying that I can share her bed with her ?’’ Dabi teased. His arm was wrapped around you, rubbing small circles on your right hip gently.

,, Maybe ?’’ you said, trying to focus on anything else than his hand playing around.

,, Anyway, doll, I want to ask you something’’ he muttered, stopping his movements suddenly. You changing your position to have a better look of him, was your answer to go on.

,, Do play a lot with other people online?’’ he asked. You blinked slowly, not sure if that’s really a question he wanted to spit out. It seemed like it would be something more important.

,, Uh, I’m usually playing with Nejire. Why ?’’ you replied, confusion written all over your face. At your surprise, Dabi wrapped his arms around you, forcing you onto his lap like you were a small and weightless playtoy.

,, You know, I don’t like sharing what’s mine. ‘’ he expressed, placing his both hands on your tights, moving them up and down slowly.

,, Yours ?’’ you weren’t sure what was going on, and you definitely didn’t expect that silly question to go this way.

,, Doll, you’ve been mine the moment you sent me your address. What I meant was, you’ve met me so easily, I sure hope you ain’t like that with everyone on the internet.’’ His voice was somehow even more deeper than usual, and maybe it’s weird, but the position you were in was lowkey turning you on.

Maybe the fact that his behavior changed so fast, maybe the fact that he wanted you all for himself .

,, Honesty, I never share my personal information online, since you never know who’s hiding on the other side, but there was something about you. I just wanted to stay in contact with you’’ you responded, playing with your fingers like a lost child.

Instead of replying, he placed his hands on your cheek, pulling you slowly into a kiss, which you accepted gladly. It was the first time you felt such huge attraction for someone, and you were more than happy to give him anything he wants.

Maybe it’s weird to feel such a thing for someone you didn’t know that well, but everyone starts somewhere, right ?

His hands were going up and down your waist, lips never leaving your own. The moment you put your arms up, helping him remove the shirt you were wearing, you felt him smirk into the kiss. Once your shirt was off, he leaned back into the couch, having a better view of you, half naked sitting in his lap.

His right hand was playing with the strap of your bra, and the other one was holding you on his lap firmly. To him, you were the most beautiful little thing that he placed his eyes on, and he was more than grateful that you didn’t freak out because of his small confession.

You couldn’t wait anymore. Bending over, you connected your lips with his own again. His hands moved to your ass, giving it one good squeeze, before he got a firmer grip of you, pushing you up with himself and making his way to your bedroom.

Once he placed you on your bed, he took his shirt of, throwing it somewhere on the floor, as he climbed on top of you. All you could do was close your eyes and moan quietly once you felt his lips on your neck, sucking and biting it gently.

His lips were moving down, from your neck to your chest. From your chest to your stomach, leaving wet love bites on his way down.

Once he got so low, that he was almost between your legs, he unbuttoned your pants slowly, pulling your panties just a little bit down to leave kisses down there.

After few kisses, he gave you a sign to push your hips up a bit, and you did so. The moment you did it, Touya pulled your pants, together with your underwear down, leaving you in nothing else than your bra.

,, Take of your bra’’ he commanded, as he got lost between your legs. You wanted to do it, you really did, but once you felt his tongue on your pussy, you weren’t capable to even think straight, yet to remove your bra.

He was sucking and biting your clit, like no one ever before, making you throw your head back into your pillow as you enjoyed what he was giving you. You cradled your hands into his hair, as you felt thousand things at the same time. You’ve never desired someone so much, and the fact that the person you desired like no one else in your whole life was between your legs eating you out, was driving you crazy on a whole new level.

Dabi felt the same, it was the very first time he felt pleasure while he ate someone out, he was craving you like a mad man.

His tongue was doing wonders to you, and the moment you felt his finger slowly enter you, you squeezed your eyes shut, trying to get control over yourself.

,, Gotta loosen up my doll a little bit’’ he mumbled, savoring your pussy. The way he ate you out was getting sloppier and sloppier. Once he added another finger, your grip on is hair got stronger, giving him a sign that it hurts a bit.

,, Baby, how will you take my dick if you ain’t capable of taking ony two fingers ?’’ he looked up, smirking at you. Once you gave him a weak nod, he started moving his fingers in and out of you, slowly, giving you time to adjust.

Once he heard you moan, he started moving his fingers a little faster, as he started to rub your clit with his other hand.

,,Oh god’’ you moaned loudly, as pleasure took all over your body. Your orgasm hit you pretty unexpectedly, making you hide your face with your hands in embarrassment. You never came so quickly.

He definitely knows what’s he doing. None of your ex boyfriends made you cum so fast. All they did was simply missionary sex, with no talk at all. Few humps and done.

,, Open your mouth’’ Touya commanded, not giving you a chance to understand what was going on and why he wanted you to open your mouth for him. You felt two wet and sticky fingers rub your lips. You couldn’t even open your mouth fully, as he already shoved his two fingers in it.

,, Suck’’ grabbing your hands with his own and pushing them down, he had to see you, even tho he knew very well how embarrassed you felt in that moment.

Of course you did as he told you, as he held your chin, forcing you to look right at him as you cleaned his fingers that just pleasured you.

,, Such a good girl’’ Touya said, caressing your cheek gently, before he pulled his fingers out of your mouth, trying to free his throbbing dick out of the pants.

,, Didn’t I tell you to take your bra off ?’’ he asked, smirk forming on his lips. ,, Oh, so you don’t like to follow daddys orders ?’’ he added, climbing on top of you.

,, I ..’’ you didn’t even know what you wanted to say, you honestly forgot that you even had your bra on. Instead of saying anything, Touya only laughed, flipping you on your stomach, as he unclipped your bra in one movement.

,, I really wanted to be gentle with you, but if you are not capable in following small orders what will happen later with the big ones?’’ he asked, kissing the back of your neck slowly. You weren’t sure what to say, for you, that wasn’t a big deal, and honestly you didn’t know much about daddy kink.

,, Sorry daddy’’ you said, closing your eyes. It felt weird to call him daddy, but now that you knew that he likes it, you did it anyway.

,, Sorry doesn’t help doll. Daddy has to fuck you into obedience’’ he said, pulling the lower part of your body up. He took a good look of you, before he started rubbing the tip of his dick around your core. The view of you, with your ass up made his dick twitch, and he couldn’t wait anymore.

He shoved his dick into you with one move, forcing your body to move away from him out of the reflex. But Touya wasn’t buying that, grabbing a fistful of your hair and yanking you back.

,, You good?’’ He asked. You could hear concern in his voice, and you found it really cute how he suddenly changed.

,, Yes, that was hot ‘’ you said embarrassed, glad he was not facing you.

,, Good, because I ain’t stopping’’ with that, he started rocking his hips into you, as he pulled your head back, hand still holding your hair keeping you in the place he wanted you to be in.

So much about the concern.

,, So fucking tight’’ he groaned, as he fucked fast and hard into you, making your bed crack with every move. You found yourself moaning louder then before, it felt like he was forcing every moan out of you with every snap of his hips against your own.

The moment you felt his fingers on your clit, your walls squeezed around him. Once again embarrassed that you are so close, so fast.

,, Oh nah, you ain’t gonna cum yet’’ he whispered in your ear, leaving your clit and grabbing your hips with his both hands.

,, Ehhh pleaseeee, please daddy’’ you moaned, pushing the embarrassment away.

,, Baby, If you cum now, I’ll make sure you cum at least two more times before I finish you want it or not’’ he said, stopping his movements. Usually, when you had sex you were lucky if you could orgasm even once, since the guys only thought about themselves. You weren’t really sure if you could do it for him. You weren’t sure if you were capable to do it at all.

,, I’ll take that as yes’’ Touya laughed, moving his hips suddenly, his hand back on your clit and rubbing it so fast that he literally forced the orgasm he stopped few moments ago.

You moaned loudly, losing the power in your body. If Touya wasn’t holding you, you would definitely just fall down. He moved his hips slowly, making sure your orgasm lasts long enough for you to see the stars.

Once he was sure you are done, he flipped you over onto your back, spreading your legs with his hands, as he gave you one passionate kiss. You were too focused on the kiss, not realizing that he entered you again, only to realized it once he started moving again.

He was fucking you like there was no tomorrow, not breaking the kiss at all. You could feel his dick hitting your cervix with every move. You found yourself wrapping your arms around him, trying to find some comfort while he fucked the light out of you.

,, Come on baby, cum for your daddy’’ he groaned, enjoying how tightly your walls were squeezing him in that moment.

,, I can’t, oh my god, I really can’t ‘’ you whined, digging your nails into his skin, as he once again started playing with your clit. You felt both pain and pleasure while played with it, forcing the third orgasm out of you.

,, Of course you can, look at you, such a good girl’’ This time he didn’t slow down, letting you enjoy it, instead he was fucking you even harder and faster then before, making the orgasm that hit you almost painful, but yet still good and pleasurable.

With every move he did, you dag your nails deeper into the flesh of his back, moaning loudly not giving a single fuck if your neighbors could hear you or not.

,, One more baby’’ Touya groaned, hitting your g spot all over again. ,, Only one more baby, you can do it ‘’ he added as he rocked his hips against yours. You were so fucking sensitive, that you literally felt every vein of his dick rubbing against your walls. Maybe you were imagining, but it felt like you could literally feel the shape of his whole dick inside you, every inch of it.

He was fucking you in a reckless pace, once again rubbing your clit, while telling you how you’re such a good girl for him and how you’re gonna milk his cock so nicely. Once Touya felt that he was close, once he realized that he won’t last much longer, he started rubbing your clit with more pressure, forcing himself even more into you then before.

,, Come on baby, cum all over my cock’’ he groaned, as you moaned loudly. The moment he forced your last orgasm out of you, he groaned loudly as he was chasing his own high, painting your walls white with his seed.

The moment he came, he slowed down, still not stopping his movements completely. Fucking his seed deep into you. Because of the fact that you came fucking four times, and that he shoot loads and loads of his own seed into you, you were almost sure that you were already leaking on your bed.

,, Are you okay?’’ Touya asked, placing soft kissed on your neck, while his dick was still inside of you. ,, Did I go too far ?’’ he added, once he realized that you aren’t answering.

,, Oh god no, this was amazing’’ you whispered, tilting your head to the side. Touya kissed you, not being able to hold his smile at all. After the kiss, he wore his boxers and made his way to your bedroom, only to come back moments later with a warm towel.

After he cleaned you up, he helped you wear your panties, giving you his shirt instead of your own, before the two of you fall asleep in each others arms.

In that moment, you felt grateful for existence of that silly game where you met this handsome stranger. Who would have thought that Amongus can be a better match maker than Tinder.

You sure didn’t.

#smut #dabi fanfic #dabi headcanons #dabi smut #dabi todoroki #dabi x oc #romance #bnha fanfiction #bnha imagines #bnha x reader #touya smut #dabi x reader #yandere dabi #touya todoroki #mha dabi #bnha dabi #touya x y/n #touya fanfic #dabi imagine

[emeraldiis]

Falling for a God

A/N: Forgot to properly post/format this fic, so here ya go ya filthy animals (ok but i wrote it so I’m filthier)

AO3 Link

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 7.1k

Rating: Explicit (18+)

Summary: “Tell me, does being touched by a god make you nervous? I can feel you quivering, are you afraid?” Loki pauses, then leans down until his lips are almost touching your ear. “Or is that arousal I sense?”You have a huge crush on Loki, there's lots of sexual tension, y'all fuck. That's the plot.

“Nat,” you whine. “I feel like you’re not even listening.” You prance to the front of her, spinning around to walk backwards.

Natasha rolls her eyes. “Wow, are you sure you aren’t pyschic?” She keeps up her brisk pace, and you nearly trip over yourself trying to keep up.

“That’s so rude!” You exclaim, but can’t hold back a giggle. Despite her cold demeanor, you know that Nat is just messing with you. Shooting a quick glance backwards, you decide that your path is clear, and return your gaze to your friend. “You’ll tell me if I’m about to run into something, right?”

With a wry grin, Natasha gives you a thumbs up. You beam at her. “Anyway,”  you continue. “I started watching this new TV show last night, and it is so, totally awesome. There’s this guy, and he has these badass powers, and he’s fighting this girl, and she has-”

Thump.

A small oof escapes from your mouth as your back collides with something solid. You pitch forward in surprise, and yelp as you try to stabilize yourself before you fall. Large, warm hands grab your waist, tightening around you to keep you from toppling over. You sigh in relief as your frantic heart slows to a normal rhythm. “Wow, thanks,” you say, and spin around to reveal the identity of your saviour.

Piercing blue eyes meet yours, and your breath catches in your throat. “Careful, pet,” Loki murmurs softly, a sly grin spreading across his lips. His hands slide off of your waist, making contact with the sliver of skin between your shorts and your top on the way. An involuntary shiver creeps up your spine, and you bite your lip.

The reaction doesn’t go unnoticed by the ever-perceptive trickster, and his eyes flash with surprise. “Are my hands really that cold?” Loki teases. “Perhaps you could help me warm them up.” His tone is playful, but there’s something deeper underneath his banter that makes you think he’s actually flirting.

You can tell that your cheeks are red, and you choose not to respond to Loki’s question in fear of making an even bigger fool of yourself. A stammered apology tumbles from your lips, and you look back towards Natasha with a look of betrayal. She grins and shrugs. “I forgot to warn you. Oops.” Your mouth drops open. That scheming little devil. She knows about your crush on Loki, and she still allows you to make a fool out of yourself?

Your interactions with Loki were sparse, to say the least. Aside from a few casual conversations in a group, you had barely even talked to him. Still, he captivated you from the very first day he arrived at the compound. He was exactly your type; tall, dark, and brooding. Aside from Thor, most everyone gave Loki a wide berth, hesitant to forget the battle for New York. You, however, didn’t see a villain. You saw pain behind those blue eyes, and could empathize with Loki’s behavior. You knew all too well that it hurt to live in someone’s shadow, and sometimes acting out was a cry for help. Granted, Loki’s outbursts were far more drastic than yours had ever been, but it was more or less the same on a base level. And, the fact that he constantly had a witty remark on the tip of his tongue never ceased to entertain you. The man liked to hear himself talk, and damn, so did you.

It takes you a second to realize that you’ve been staring. You clear your throat awkwardly and look to the floor, eager to hide your discomfort. “Um, thank you for catching me,” you manage. When you look back up, Loki is wearing an odd expression. His pretty eyes are narrowed, searching your face. The scrutiny only embarasses you further. “Well, see you around!” WIth that, you dart around Loki and scurry off. Natasha follows you, snickering softly.

When you reach the common area, you plop yourself down on the couch and groan, throwing an arm over your face. Natasha sits down beside you. “Smooth,” she says, drawing out the word obnoxiously.

You remove your arm from over your eyes and give Natasha a withering look. “So not funny.”

Nat positively cackles at that. “Oh, come on,” she says. “He’d be an idiot to not at least have a thing for you, I mean, you’re smoking! ” She looks you up and down. “Nice rack, too.”

A giggle bursts from your lips. “Nat. Oh, my god. Stop objectifying me.”

Shaking her head, Natasha replies, “Me, objectify? I would never.”

That earns her an eye roll from you. “Sure. Anyway, can we please change the subject? I’m sick of talking about my embarrassing Loki crush.”

“What does ‘crush’ mean?”

You freeze. Now that was a distinct voice. “Thor,” you choke out. “When did you get here?”

Thor walks up behind the couch and swings himself over the back, making the poor piece of furniture creak in protest. He settles next to you, effectively sandwiching you between him and Natasha. “Just long enough to hear you discussing my brother. Now, will you please enlighten me on this strange Midgardian term?”

Before you can shut him down, Nat pipes up from the other end of the sofa. “It means she likes him. Romantically. Sexually. ”

The temptation to throw yourself onto the floor wailing is high. Instead, you opt to beg for your life. Still embarrassing, but slightly more productive than throwing a tantrum. “Nat!” You screech. You turn to Thor with pleading eyes. “Please, don’t say anything to him.”

Thor furrows his eyebrows. “What an odd expression. You’d think that the word “crush’ would be associated with something negative.” He places a big hand on your thigh. “If what Lady Natahsa says is true, then why would you not tell my brother? He is quite vain, you know. I’m sure he would be delighted to know that a beautiful woman is attracted to him!”

You groan and bury your face in your hands. These Asgardians will be the death of you. “It’s not that simple, Thor. What if he rejects me? I’d never be able to show my face around him again!”

There’s a pause, and then Thor asks you in a much gentler tone, “It seems as though you care for Loki a great deal more than you are letting on. Are you really afraid of embarrassment, or is it the heartbreak you fear?”

You’re glad that your hands are covering your face, because the way the color drains out of it at Thor’s question would have given you away. “No,” you mumble through your fingers. But he’s right, you do care for Loki more than you’d ever admit. His image ran through your head at night when you were trying to sleep, and his voice was what came to mind when your fingers were between your legs and you were pretending they were-

You rub at your eyes, then look up at Thor in desperation. “Please, if you really care about me as a friend, you’ll keep this secret.” You shoot a look at Natasha. “You, too. I may not be able to take Thor in a fight, but I could kick your ass.” You know you sound like a pathetic teenager, but you’re past the point of caring. You were perfectly happy admiring Loki from afar, and didn’t want to get your hopes up just to be met with shame.

Natasha scoffs. “As if.” Before she can continue. Thor holds up his hand.

“Lady Natasha, I believe we should stay out of this. I have done a great deal of meddling in my brother’s life, and I’ve learned that even the best intentions can cause disaster when Loki is involved.

“Thank you, Thor,” you say gratefully, relief evident in your voice. With a tired sigh, you hoist yourself up from the couch and turn to face your friends. “Well, I think I’ve had enough excitement for today. I’m going to hibernate, see you next spring.”

Natasha giggles and blows you a kiss goodbye while Thor scrunches up his face in confusion at your joke. Oh, well. Maybe he’d understand Midgardian humor one day.

*

Thunder rages outside your window while you toss and turn. You roll over to glance at your clock, and scowl when it flashes “3AM.” Giving up on the prospect of sleep, you opt for creeping to the kitchen for a midnight snack. Your bare feet pad down the carpet, and you shiver slightly at the cold air of the hall. Goosebumps rise on your bare legs and you start to regret your decision not to put on pants.

To get to the kitchen, you have to walk through the common area, and for a moment you linger just outside the entryway. There’s a soft glow coming from the corner of the room, and you mentally groan, hoping it’s one of the female inhabitants of the compound. You weren’t too excited at the idea of walking past one of the guys in just a sleep shirt and underwear. Still, your mission for food is not one you’re willing to give up on. Taking a deep breath, you step out of the hallway and into the room. And nearly pass out.

Across the room, perched in one of the loveseats, is Loki. He’s sitting with his legs curled underneath him, thumbing through a book. You consider darting back into the safety of the hall, but you’re too late. Loki has already noticed you, and is now staring far too intently for your liking. Suddenly feeling very exposed, you tug on the hem of your shirt, trying to pull it further down your legs. “Sorry to disturb you,” you whisper, afraid to break the deafening silence. Loki raises an eyebrow at you, then turns back to his book. You aren’t sure if you’re relieved or disappointed when his gaze leaves you.

Not wanting to linger in the entryway any longer, you make your way across the room, keeping your eyes down. As you pass Loki, a loud clap of thunder booms outside, and already being on edge, you yelp. Startled from the deafening sound in an otherwise quiet room, you stagger, falling backwards onto the loveseat. Right next to Loki. The sofa is small, and in your splayed out position, you’re almost half on top of the god.

Loki flinches away, and you immediately begin to apologize. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what happened, I guess I just lost my footing. Did I hurt you?” As you talk, you push yourself off of Loki and cower into the other side of the loveseat. Some more rational part of your brain urges you to get up, give him some more space, but you don’t listen. As embarrassed as you are, you’re not quite ready to give up this closeness to the object of your affection.

With a huff, Loki straightens himself and gives you a cool look. “You did not hurt me, mortal. I was simply surprised.” Then, having composed himself, he smirks and sets his book on the end table beside him. “I suppose it is only natural to have weak knees in the presence of a god.”

The comment lightens the mood, and you find yourself relaxing next to him. “You’re right, Thor’s thunder does make me a tad unsteady.”

At that, Loki stiffens, obviously having not expected you to return his teasing. For a brief moment, you feel proud. Then, something changes in his expression, and he scoots closer to you. His hand finds your bare thigh, and the contact sends butterflies through your stomach. Loki senses your restlessness and gives you a predatory grin. “Is that so? Are you telling me that this,” he squeezes your thigh, and you gasp. “Doesn’t make you feel...faint?” His voice is low, and he almost purrs the last few words.

You fight hard to keep your breathing even, not wanting to give away just how flustered you are. The heavy weight of his hand feels heavenly, and you can feel your panties grow damp. God, you hope he can’t smell it.

This predatory tone is so much different than the playful teasing that you usually receive from Loki. You’ve never seen his blue eyes so dark, and the unfamiliarity of it all tightens your stomach.

Taking your silence as a challenge, Loki presses himself even closer to you. His fingers creep up your leg, closer to your underwear. “Tell me, does being touched by a god make you nervous? I can feel you quivering, are you afraid?” Loki pauses, then leans down until his lips are almost touching your ear. “Or is that arousal I sense?”

Fuck. A full body shiver skates across your skin, and despite your best efforts, a small moan breaks free from your throat. Loki’s hand feels like a brand on your thigh, sending waves of heat up your body. The warmth pools between your legs, and you can’t help but shift a bit. Knowing that your panties are the only barrier between your soaking heat and the sofa, you arch your hips ever so slightly to keep from soiling the cushion.

Of course, your small movements don’t go unnoticed. Loki’s eyes are hooded as they rake across your bare legs, and you can hear his breathing get a bit heavier. He looks up at you, pupils dilated. “Oh, pet, look at you. Barely even touched, and already-”

He’s cut off by the sound of footsteps echoing through the hall, headed in your direction. Loki curses softly and reluctantly draws his hand away, then moves as far away as the small sofa allows. Your skin aches at the loss of contact.

The interrupting stranger’s footsteps approach the entrance to the common room, then carry on past. You let out the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding, thankful that you wouldn’t have to explain anything. Something tells you that, while there’s nothing going on now, sitting with Loki in the middle of the night might raise a few eyebrows.

You and Loki are alone again, but the moment has passed. Whatever spell that had overcome the two of you is gone, and all that’s left is a quiet room and a dim light. “I apologize, I believe I have overstepped,” Loki says, and for the first time, he sounds...unsure. His voice has lost that arrogant confidence that it normally carries, and he sounds like a child that has just been caught stealing cookies from the jar.

You bite your lip and risk a glance at Loki. He’s still pressed against the opposite arm of the loveseat, and is avoiding your eyes. Without the atmosphere of desire from before, now you just feel...awkward. Sighing softly, you rise to your feet and make your way to the hallway. You pause briefly in the entryway, and breathe out a “goodnight, Loki.” You don’t wait for a response, instead turning and trudging back towards your room.

As you flop back down in bed, you replay the night’s events over in your mind. It almost feels like a dream, and you’re having trouble believing that Loki, the God of Mischief, had actually come on to you. It didn’t seem plausible. You’re just a plain mortal, nothing special, no powers. Sure, your combat skills could rival Natasha’s, but besides that, you can’t find anything about yourself that would attract a god.

Eventually, you decide that maybe Loki was just horny, and you were in the right place at the right time. You did walk out without pants on, after all. No matter the reasoning, you know not to expect a repeat occurrence, given how regretful he had seemed afterwards. Tears brim in your eyes as the reality of the situation hits you; Loki regrets touching you. It seems that your crush was one-sided, and even though you weren’t surprised, that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

*

Things are tense around the compound. You creep around corners, terrified of accidentally finding yourself in the same room as Loki. And it seems that Loki is taking the same precautions, because you haven’t even seen a glimpse of him since that night. The ache in your heart from his rejection still keeps you up at night, and you still find yourself pining over him like a lovesick idiot.

Ever the observer, Natasha catches on quickly. “Are you really still embarrassed about bumping into Loki?” She asks after cornering you in the kitchen. “You’re not acting like yourself, and it is beyond obvious something is bothering you.”

You groan at her around a mouthful of a granola bar. “Are you really still thinking about it?” You counter.

Nat rolls her eyes. “Please, it’s hard to pretend it didn’t happen when you’re playing this stupid cat and mouse game. I see you check every room for him, I can’t believe you even care that much. He barely even touched you!”

A piece of your snack shoots down your throat with your gasp. You double over, wheezing and coughing. Natasha slaps a hand on your back, sighing. When you finally catch your breath, you glare at Nat. “Yeah, maybe that’s the issue.”

You immediately regret your words as a fire lights itself in Natasha’s eyes. “Want me to help?”

“Nat, hold on. No thanks-”

“Shush, trust me!” To your dismay, Natasha is already on her way out of the kitchen when she finishes hushing you. You whimper out a half-baked protest, but your friend is long gone by the time the words leave your mouth. Fuck, you’re so screwed.

LIfe  was very quickly becoming a stressful game of hide and seek. You’d resorted to spending most of the day in your room, hoping to avoid Loki, and more importantly, Natasha. You’re not sure what she has planned, but it can’t be anything good. As weeks pass by with no incident, however, you begin to drop your guard. Maybe she’s taking pity on you.

It’s around noon when you get the text. It’s an all caps message from Nat, pleading with you to at least hear her out before saying no.

That’s a terrifying text. I’m listening.

Nat: I may have bragged my way into a drinking contest with Thor, and I need a teammate to make it fair.

You want to try and outdrink Thor????

Nat: I want US to outdrink him. I convinced him that it’d be more balanced if it was 2 to 1.

You owe me.

Nat: :)

It was a terrible idea, but maybe a nice night of getting hammered is just what you need to break you out of your funk. Despite your initial reluctance, you find yourself getting excited. You hadn’t really relaxed in ages, this would be a good thing.

As the hours pass, you start to get nervous. It’s been so long since you’ve gotten properly drunk, and you seriously doubt you’ll be able to keep up with even Natasha. Still, a promise is a promise, and you have far too much pride to chicken out now.

The clock reaches nine o’clock, and you sigh. Showtime. Before leaving your suite, you set several glasses of water and a bottle of Advil on your nightstand. If you’re going to fuck over your future self, you might as well try to ease her pain. You take a deep breath and spare a glance over at the mirror against your bedroom wall. You had opted for something comfy, but cute; an emerald green dress that stopped just above your mid-thigh, and fell off of one shoulder effortlessly.

Okay, so maybe you had wanted to get a tiny bit dressed up. You’re sure Nat will tease you for it, but sometimes a girl just wants to feel pretty.

A bit breathless from those pre-competition nerves--yes, a drinking contest was that serious--you make your way to the kitchen. As you round the corner, you stop dead in your tracks. Sitting at the bar Tony had insisted on installing, is Nat and Thor, of course. But next to them, perched delicately on one of the stools, is Loki. He wears a look of disdain, as if this entire competition is beneath him. You hope he can’t tell how badly you want to be beneath him.

Natasha gives you a wicked grin as Thor waves you over, his smile far more innocent-looking than Nat’s, though you’re sure he had a part in this. Cursing your terrible friends under your breath, and yourself for falling for it, you trudge over. Naturally, the only stool left is the one on the end, directly next to Loki. You gingerly hoist yourself up and slide onto the seat.

You stubbornly keep your eyes on the counter, not daring to even glance up at Loki. It’s obvious from the way he’s angling himself away from you and towards his brother that he’s regretting that night, and doesn’t want to be near you. You don’t blame him, humans must seem like animals compared to gods. The reality is that you were a mistake to him, and you just needed to accept that and move past.

Breaking the awkward silence, Thor produces a jug of what looks like beer from god knows where. He grins and gestures to it grandly. As he opens his mouth to speak, you cut him off. “Hold up! I thought this was two against one? Loki being here makes it unfair.”

Natasha rolls her eyes at you. “Yeah, I may have bent the truth to get you to come out. It’s teams of two, but we have a handicap. Our drinks and shots count as twice the actual amount, and they’ll be drinking Asgardian mead. So,” She smirks. “No more complaints, let’s do this shit.”

You swallow nervously at the mention of shots. You could hold your liquor fairly well, but you and shots had...history. Nat knew how touchy you got when you were drunk, and how much of an oversharer you tended to be. Though you have to admit that her plan is almost flawless, you’re still unimpressed with her shenanigans. She’s pretty much set you up to embarrass yourself.

You twiddle your thumbs in your seat as Natasha grabs a bottle of Svedka from behind the bar and begins to pour the beginning drinks. Following her lead, Thor pops open his jug and splits it between two large glasses, then passes one to Loki, who sighs in apparent boredom. He shoots you an unreadable look, then grabs one of the shot glasses that Natasha filled and slides it your way.

With a mumbled “thanks,’ you gingerly take the glass, and look at Nat and Thor. Thor raises his glass. “May the better warriors win!” He announces, then tips back his glass. You roll your eyes at the word choice, but bring the shot glass to your lips and throw your head back. The liquor goes down rough, but you manage to keep your poker face and grit your teeth against any retches.

“The lady can drink!” Thor bellows, wiping at his face.

You shrug, wanting the spotlight off of you. “Um, I went to college?”

Before Thor can question you, Natasha cuts in. “Hello? I took it just as well, where’s my applause?”

“Natasha, you are not a lady,” Loki deadpans. Nat glares and pours herself another shot in response, throwing back the second one just as easily as she had the first. She then points at you. You can’t help the laugh that bubbles up. Despite everything, Loki was still Loki, and he still had your heart. It seems that the tension between you and Loki dissolves after you laugh at his quip, and he relaxes his stiff posture.

You sigh in relief and reach for the bottle to refill your own glass. This time, it goes down easier. That is, until the burns travels past your stomach, right down to between your legs. You squirm in place at the unexpected burst of arousal. Still, you should have been ready for it. Alcohol has always gotten you a little worked up. It was your mistake to believe you could fight it.

Despite the setback, you keep up with your teammate as the night goes on. Shot after shot, broken up by the easy conversation that emerges as the liquor continues to flow.

You’re not sure when the competition was forgotten, but you soon find yourself splayed on the couch next to Loki, laughing hysterically at some story he’s just finished telling about Thor in his youth. You look over at him, hazily trying to center your double vision to properly admire the god. His cheeks are flushed red from the alcohol, and he looks more relaxed than you’ve ever seen him.

Loki glances over, catching you staring, but you’re far too intoxicated to be embarrassed. Instead, you hold your gaze, waiting for a reaction. Loki smirks, then eyes his brother with annoyance.

“Brother,” he says, voice a lazy drawl. “I believe we’ve won this contest, wouldn’t you say?”

Thor cocks his head, then widens his eyes in understanding. “Oh, certainly! In fact, I think it would be necessary for me to walk you back to your quarters, Natasha.”

Natasha begins to protest, but it dies on her lips as her gaze flickers between you and Loki. “What a gentleman,” she purrs, only swaying slightly when she rises from her seat. “Lead the way.” Taking his outstretched hand, Natasha stumbles down the hall with Thor, giggling excitedly.

Now that it’s just the two of you, you expect things to get awkward, but find that you’re still just as comfortable. “Well, I guess I have to bow to the drinking champ,” you slur, sitting up to give a half hearted bow.

Loki throws his head back and laughs. “You,” he manages between snorts, “are far more fun to be around than most others on this planet.”

You scoff and wave your hand dismissively. “You’re only saying that ‘cause I bowed to you.” Chewing on your lip, you let your eyes drift back over to Loki. In your drunken haze, he just looks so...comfy. Before you realize what you’re doing, you slide over to lean up against him. Loki’s surprisingly warm, and you sigh contentedly, letting your mind wander back to how his hand felt running up your thigh.

The arousal from earlier that you had forgotten about rears its head, turning your sigh into a shaky exhale that is not at all subtle. The air feels thick, just like it had on that one stormy night, and you press yourself closer to Loki, unable to resist how good his body feels against yours.

Loki freezes for a moment, then seems to force himself to relax into you. His arm snakes around you until he’s holding you comfortably against his side. For one brief moment, you start to wonder if this is a good idea, given how things had ended in the past, but the intoxicated part of your brain tells the sober part to go fuck herself, and then you’re speaking without thinking. “Do you want to walk me to bed?”

Oh, shit. You can’t believe that just came out of your mouth. A wave of sobering panic hits you, and you untangle yourself from Loki and shoot up from the couch. Before you can flee, however, a pale hand grabs hold of your arm, stopping you in place.

Loki gets up, then moves his grip from your wrist to your hand. “I think that is a lovely idea. Allow me?” With the hand that isn’t holding yours, he gestures toward the hall. Well, that was unexpected. You try not to giggle in child-like excitement, and instead nod hurriedly.

Your heart speeds up at the feel of his hand in yours, and you start off down the hall, letting Loki pull you towards your suite. Caught up in trying to navigate the titling floor, you don’t notice that you’re being led the wrong way until the two of you come to a stop at a door that definitely does not belong to you. You look up at Loki in confusion. “This isn’t my room.”

“I know,” Loki growls, then opens the door and whirls you both inside. When you’ve recovered from the swift movement, you manage to pull away from Loki’s grip.

“What-what’s going on?” You say, attempting to sound stern. Loki stalks towards you. Instinctively, you back up, until you’re pressed against the wall with Loki boxing you in.

Loki presses his hands to the wall on either side of your head and sneers at you. “What’s going on?” He mocks. “I’ve craved your body under mine since long before our little nighttime meeting, and I have run out of patience for games.” He leans in and presses a kiss to your neck, grazing you with his teeth. Just like before, his playfulness has given way to a domineering aura, but you’re not complaining one bit.

You barely suppress a full body shiver. “But,” you protest weakly. “I, I thought you regretted it. I mean, you never said anything about it, so I figured...oh…” you trail off into a soft moan as Loki roughly licks up the side of your neck, growling.

“And when would I have gotten the chance?” Loki pulls away from his assault on your skin to look you in the eyes. “You have been avoiding me for nearly a month.” Those blue eyes are staring daggers at you, and you realize that there’s hurt behind all that frustration.

Your mouth goes dry. He’s right, but the eye contact from his smoldering stare is making you forget how to speak. Fumbling with your words, you cast your gaze downwards. “Yeah, I guess I have. But with what you said after we were interrupted....I thought you were uncomfortable with what happened.”

A dark chuckle spills from Loki’s lips. “The only discomfort you have caused me is the nights I have spent spilling over my own hand because I could not have you. ”

You gasp softly as Loki’s words send a wave of heat through your overheated body. Loki takes that as encouragement, and presses himself closer until his lips are grazing yours. “Tell me you don’t want this and I’ll leave,” he mumbles, eyes hooded.

Your response is to surge forward, hands flying to the back of his head as you roughly pull him in to kiss you. You both groan at the contact. The kiss is anything but gentle; your fingers are tangled in Loki’s hair, tugging harshly, and you can feel his teeth nipping at your bottom lip. It was far better than you could have imagined, and the dizzying pleasure of it all has you feeling drunker and more sober at the same time.

Before long, the room spins as Loki lifts you and hoists your legs around his waist. He kisses you breathless as he walks slowly down the hall towards what you can only assume is his bedroom. There’s a giddy part inside of you that squeals with excitement at being carried like that, but it’s quickly overshadowed by lust as you and Loki reach his bedroom. He tosses you onto his king sized bed like a doll, then kneels on the floor and yanks your ankles until your bottom is almost hanging off the bed.

Loki slides your dress up and nuzzles the inside of your thigh. “I could smell your arousal the entire night,” he says, nearly purring. “May I taste?”

You sit up on your elbows and stare down at him, face flushed with mild embarrassment at his face so close to your soaked panties. Dumbly, you nod, words failing you. Loki growls his appreciation and hikes up your dress, taking a brief moment to admire the soft fabric. “You look absolutely ravishing in green, I’ve wanted to tear this off of you since the moment I laid eyes on it.” And then he’s sliding your panties down your legs and plunging his tongue into your heat.

A ragged gasp tears its way from your throat and you throw your head back. You feel the grin form on Loki’s lips against your skin, and a fresh gush of arousal flows down your thighs. Loki eats pussy like it’s an art form he’s been perfecting for ages. His lips tug at your pussy, worshipping every fold like it’s the last meal he’ll ever have. You open your mouth to make some joke about his silvertongue, but all that comes out is a pathetic whimper as Loki drags his teeth lightly across your clit.

It isn’t long before the pleasure reaches its peak.You fight hard to keep your legs from clamping around Loki’s head, but you can’t help it when you crest over the edge of orgasm. Your muscles lock up, your back arches, and you scream. White hot euphoria explodes from your core, spreading through your body like venom. Loki’s tongue works you through it, slowing to wide, long strokes as you begin to come down.

You’ve barely recovered when Loki rises from his knees and crawls up your body, coming to a stop when his face is inches from yours. His eyes are hooded, and his glistening lips are parted to allow frantic, heated pants to escape. “Pet,” he hisses, leaning down to nuzzle into your shoulder. “You taste sweeter than the fruits of Asgard.” He bites at your collarbone, making you shudder in your post-orgasmic haze.

Still out of it, you sluggishly fumble at Loki’s belt. “Wanna make you feel good, too,” you mumble and lick your lips. Loki bats your hand away, shushing you.

“Darling, there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, I need to feel you.” He grabs your shoulders and drags you up to the pillows, so that you’re lying comfortably on your back with him hovering above you.

Your heart skips a beat at the mention of ‘later.’ So this wasn’t just a one-night stand? You don’t have time to process that, however, as Loki barely gives you a moment to breathe. He sits back on his knees, straddling your waist, and with a wave of his hand, you’re both stark naked. Your hands twitch, wanting to cover yourself. Being naked in front of an attractive man has always intimidated you, but the fact that Loki was a god made it worse. As if sensing your sudden shyness, Loki leans in to kiss at lick at your breasts, and brings his hands up to pin your wrists to the bed. You sigh in pleasure, insecurity fading with every hot swipe of his tongue, not even wanting to struggle against his hold.

Loki lowers himself to grind against you. His hard cock slides against your dripping folds as his narrow hips press into yours. Both of you shiver, and you arch your hips to bring him closer. Loki growls against your skin and sits up. He lets go of your wrists, roughly grabs your waist and angles it to meet his. “Ready, pet? I can’t wait, I need to have you.” he breathes, eyes locked on yours.

Like a deer in the headlights, you’re frozen, anticipation coiling tightly under your skin. Slowly, you nod. Loki wastes no time. He smirks, then slides himself into you, the stretch burning in the loveliest way. Your heated groan mingles with his, and when Loki’s hips come to rest against yours, he falls against your chest, panting. You appreciate the time he gives you to adjust; Loki’s cock is thick, and longer than anything you’ve ever taken, and you can feel it throbbing desperately within you. Now that he’s released your hands, you bring them up to thread through his soft, black hair. He closes his eyes and leans into your touch, nearly purring.

“Tell me when, love,” Loki grits out, fighting to keep his voice steady. The shakiness in his usually smooth tone is arousing to no end, and you can feel yourself clench around him in approval. Loki’s hips twitch at the fluttering of your walls, and though you’re more than ready, you decide to torture him a bit longer.

You bring your legs up to wrap around Loki’s  waist, pulling him closer. He shivers, but keeps his composure, remaining almost statue still. His concern for your comfort makes your heart swell, but you want to see him lose control. “You’re so big,” you whimper out, the alcohol in your system quelling the embarrassment you’d usually feel when talking dirty. You press your face into Loki’s neck, grazing your teeth along the pale skin there.

With a deep growl of barely kept composure, Loki rises up to rest on his elbows, desperate eyes searching yours. It seems that being the God of Lies gave Loki the ability to see through your cruel game, and his expression turns dark, though the neediness is still blatant. You shift nervously as he stares you down, already regretting your mischievousness. “Feeling playful, are we?” Loki asks.

Your mouth goes dry at being caught and your core tightens around him again, earning you a flutter of his eyelids. “I…” you trail off, eyes drifting to Loki’s parted lips. Watching you gaze, Loki grins at you.

“Oh, pet. I think you may be confused. You are mine to toy with, not the other way around.” With that, Loki leans down to crush his lips into yours. His tongue forces its way into your mouth and you whine around it. While his tongue’s distracting you, Loki takes his chance to begin pounding into you at a ruthless pace, and you break away from the kiss to throw your head back and shriek out a moan.

You feel utterly wrecked, stomach clenching and nerves alight with pleasure as Loki continues his assault on your body. Your eyes are squeezed shut, so his teeth nipping at your jaw come as a surprise, sending a whole new shockwave of sensation down your neck.

“You feel so fucking good, pet,” Loki moans, his voice quickly losing its characteristic steadyness. He sighs out something that sounds suspiciously like a whimper, and brings one of his hands down to toy with your clit. Your legs tighten around him involuntarily. “A-ah, fuck,” Loki grits out, increasing his pace.

The pleasure is overwhelming, and the unhuman speed at which Loki’s pounding into you leaves you no time to catch your breath. Moans and whines erupt from your mouth in a constant stream, and Loki keeps his mouth hovering above yours to drink them in. “I wanna cum,” you whimper as Loki’s assault on your senses continues.

“Then cum, pet,” Loki groans, hips stuttering. “ Cum for your god.”

You keen, writhing and chasing your high. As you climb up to your orgasm, you are met with a startling realization that Loki has already ruined you for anyone else. No human man could match the fire that he’s set upon your nerves, the blinding pleasure that mounts with every thrust and kiss. With that settling into your mind, you finally reach your second peak of the night.

Your eyes try to flutter shut, tears brimming at the corners as you wail Loki’s name again and again. Through the haze of your climax, you notice Loki’s muscles begin to tense as he nears his orgasm as well, and you force your eyes to stay open in order to watch him come apart.

Watching Loki cum is almost like a second climax. He speeds up impossibly, mouth hanging open and eyes barely able to stay focused on you. “You’re mine,” he growls out. Choked moans fall from his lips as he nears the edge, and you rake your nails down his back to encourage him.

“Cum in me, please, I need it, make me yours” you ramble breathlessly.

“Oh, fuck, I-I’m so close,” Loki manages, voice breaking. You continue to coo pleas and encouragements at him, and the way his eyes roll back at your wrecked voice gives you an intoxicating rush of pride. Finally, with a whimpering moan, Loki stills, cock pulsing within you and hips twitching as he pumps you full of his cum.

Loki slumps against you, still moving in aborted little thrusts, as if he can’t quite stop fucking you just yet. The weight of him on top of you is heavy, but not unwelcome, and you take the time to bask in the euphoria of having just slept with the god you’d pined after for so long.

“That was…” you start, words failing you.

“Divine,” Loki finishes for you. He slides his cock out of your pussy, and with it comes a gush of warm cum that you’re sure will stain the sheets. He rolls off of you, then guides you onto your side so that he can pull you up against him.

You weren’t expecting Loki to be the ‘cuddling after sex,’ type, so having him spoon you was surprising, to say the least. He nuzzles his nose into your hair, and you find yourself wanting to fall asleep like that; comfortable in his bed and safe in his strong arms.

Still, there’s a nagging question that won’t let you fully relax. Not wanting to expect too much, you brace yourself for the worst and open your mouth to speak. “Loki...what does this mean for us?”

Loki tenses behind you, and your heart breaks at the assumed rejection as he begins to pull away. “Are you...are you not mine? I thought this was-I’m sorry, I must have misunderstood. Forgive me.”

This time, your heart breaks for a different reason. Loki sounds so hurt, so unsure of everything, and you can hear a scared little boy behind that velvet voice. “No!” You nearly shout, turning around to pull him back to you. “I want to be yours, I promise,” you say as you tug Loki back into your arms, running a soothing hand down his back. “I just wasn’t sure if that’s what you wanted.”

The relief in Loki is visible as he relaxes into you. “Love, I am yours as much as you are mine, do not doubt that.”

The pet name brings a smile to your lips. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” you reply happily. Heart full, you roll back over so that Loki can snuggle into you again, and finally let your drowsiness overtake you. You catch a faint, ‘I love you,’ just before you drift off to sleep, and though it could just be your mind playing tricks on you, you know that you love him, too.

#loki x reader #loki imagine #loki laufeyson #smut #fanfiction #the loki show

[stagemanagerssaygo]

Heaven and Hell: or my experience being a person of color in Disney’s Hyperion Theater

by Cooper Howell

Heaven and Hell: or my experience being a person of color in Disney's Hyperion Theater. #holdingtheateraccountable Im just gonna go ahead and be straight up. This is pretty scary to share. HEAVEN: Once upon a time Liesl Tommy cast me as Prince Hans in Frozen: Live at the Hyperion. And I was gooped. GOOPED. There was nothing in my prior history that gave any indication this was possible. Up until then every role I played had to do with my race. Every. Single. One. And even ones where it didn’t (Shakespeare or classical pieces mostly) I was always made aware that the novelty of me being a poc in that role that gave me the part. So much did I not expect to get this part that when I got the callback I rolled my eyes and didn’t take the actual callback seriously. I mean, there was a zero percent chance that Disney would ever let me play a Prince, especially when the dude in the movie is a ginger. But then I got it. And immediately everything I thought was possible about my career changed. My whole life I’ve never inwardly felt black. I’ve never inwardly felt white. I’ve always felt like I was Cooper, you know, on the inside. But whether it was every single white human in Utah reminding me that I was “the whitest person they ever knew/saw” (which DIDNT mean how white my skin was. It was how white I ACTED) or Mr. Johnson, my 7th grade drama teacher, telling me that he “wanted to put Velcro on the ceiling to see if I’d stick” or Mr. Smith, my high school drama teacher, saying “finally we can do black shows” as soon as I entered high school and then not casting me in roles because of the "optics" of it, or even my best friend in high school Tanner Harmon who called me "blackie", I was always reminded that I was an other. So imagine getting paid good money to put on that $10,000 costume and waltzing out to 4000 people a day to play a really amazing part. A fantastic, evil, complicated, person who sings a killer duet and then grabs the show by the throat with a vicious about-face monologue... and not once was my race ever mentioned cuz it didnt matter. What was being prized was Cooper, my talent, not my skin color that I never asked for. Heaven. Liesl MADE SURE, almost overly sure, that the poc’s in the cast felt equal. The kingdom of Arendelle, after all, is a make believe place. It can be whatever. From having Disney executives come and tell us that they were happy to have us there, to side conversations with John Lasseter, we were made to feel overly welcome playing the parts we were playing. She encouraged us to dive deeper into the script of a cartoon that I didnt really think much of until I was in it. We were encouraged to ask why. We felt seen as talent and not commodities. There were, of course, detractors. Gosh, I remember people at a party of cast members from "Mickey and the Magical Map" another show at Disneyland which features a princess and the frog number and many of those casts mates angrily claiming that “if that black girl Tiana Okoye can play Elsa than I should be able to play Princess Tiana” and then looking at me to confirm that was okay to say, not realizing that a) she’s one of my best friends, b) that I’m in the show with her also playing a role that wasn't created to be a poc, c) how racist that sounded, and d) why there's a difference there and why that wouldn't make sense. On Liesls final night I came up to her and said “I don’t know why you did it but thank you so much for casting ME in this part” to which she replied “you mean why would I cast a handsome, talented person in this role?” And I stuttered something like “well, I mean, I’m black. You know...” to which she tilted her head to her side and said “no. I don’t know why. Tell me why that matters.” And I had no answer. Seeing that I had no answer she smiled. That was the answer. There was no reason. On the spot my outlook about myself changed. Windows into what I thought was possible for me opened. -------------------------------------- HELL: And then Liesl went back to NYC and she was replaced by a man named Roger Castellano as show director. Rogers task, he told us on the first day, was to "change the show". We were not told what needed to be changed or even why, but that changes were on the horizon. You've got to understand: to a full cast of actors who had just spent more than three months dissecting a 60 page Disney script with a Tony nominated director like it was Shakespeare, we were initially emotionally/mentally/spiritually resistant to changes. But then it became clear that the spirit of collaboration was over, and the show changes were to be given without the same care, consideration, and thematic explanation of why they were being made. Everyones initial reaction was to push back, but when people who questioned their notes or their changes started getting days removed their schedule or being replaced entirely by a new actor, the Hyperion theater became a place where no one was allowed to speak out. Injustices were happening left and right and no one felt they could do anything for fear of losing their livelihood. And that's when the Frozen: Live at the Hyperion became a living hell. In my first note session with Roger he pulled me into a room with Domonique Paton, my best friend and incredible costar who played princess Anna in the show I was in. She just so happens to also be black. Almost all of Prince Hans’s scenes in the show are with her character and so most of my notes would be primarily based on those interactions with her. Earlier in the day I performed with a different (white) actress but it was the show with Domonique that I had a note session about. Imagine my surprise and dismay when, with how Liesl set up the show experience, we were told this: “WHEN THE TWO OF YOU PERFORM THE SHOW TOGETHER ITS TOO… URBAN.” Urban. What else could that have meant, do you think? He could have said maybe “too contemporary” emphasizing that we were maybe too modern in our speech patterns or movements. We weren’t. He could have said “too lax” or “too loose” meaning that maybe we were being unprofessional and goofy up there because we’re really good friends. We were not. The best me and Ms. Paton could think of was a 8 count moment of improv dance that me and Domonique decided to use as a synchronized moment of unity. It happened to fall on the line “our mental synchronization can have but one explanation” and thought, with the freedom that Christopher (the original choreographer) had given us, was appropriate, especially considering everyone behind us was doing the robot. As in the 80s robot. But he didnt clarify. He just said “WHEN THE TWO OF YOU PERFORM THE SHOW TOGETHER IT’S TOO… URBAN” And when asked what he meant he smiled with a little shrug and said "you can figure that out. You're smart." And thats how I became Black Hans and Domonique became Black Anna. My every moment onstage afterwards became about the optics of being a poc in that show. It was if I was suddenly made aware that I was LUCKY enough to be there and under any normal circumstances, or this new directors circumstances, me getting this part would have never happened. But the message was clear. It was especially clear when me and Domonique Paton shows together durastically decreased and made even more clear when the vast majority of the new hires were not people of color. But no one said anything. And made even MORE clear when, over the next few weeks, both Domonique and I got COPIOUS notes, ten times that of our coworkers that played the same parts. It was almost a game. In fact we did turn it into a game, seeing who would get the least amount of notes from him in a day. Our costars would even joke about it onstage with us, during the ballroom scene, and jokingly whisper "The shows been up 15 minutes. How many do you think you got today?" But no one said anything. And the notes were about all kinds of things. How we held our hand. If our inflections went up or down on a word. Which side of a couch we leaned on… which was fine! When you're an actor, thats the gig... until we started comparing our notes with the actors that played our same parts and none of them, NONE, would get the same notes. Our notes would be outrageously longer, the note sessions sometimes lasting 10/15 minutes. Others would get the “Oh hey, try doing this or that next time, okay bye” walk-by notes. Sometimes I would sneak into the audience and watch as some of the other Han's, some of whom changed lines, changed entire intentions of scenes, some of whom adding in all types of vocalizations and cackles and dance moves and what have you, and would receive ZERO notes. But I was watching them to see what was wrong with me. What was my performance missing? What am I actually doing to feel this singled out. And then I realized that the thing that was wrong with me was that I was a different color than the 5 other white Hans's they cast. And then I started getting notes about my penis. Most of the time these “penis sessions”, as I called them, were given in private rooms without another stage manager present. It was incredibly unpleasant and unprofessional. In fairness, those Prince Hans pants are TIGHT! And yes, Mr. Howell is indeed a party in the front and a party in the back, but so were a lot of those fellas. And thats where I put my foot down. If Disney was going to provide me with a costume it is not my responsibility to fix their problem, especially when other of my (white) costars had been given a dance belt for the same thing. But they never got penis notes. Private session notes about what their penis looked like in that show. Over and over again I was told to fix it, to not make it (my dick) so apparent, and that “if my daughter were younger I wouldn’t want her to come to a show you were performing at" all the more insulting considering his daughter, a cast member in the show, was a friend of mine and the loveliest person. He started demanding that I buy a dance belt. It was “my fault”, “my responsibility” …and thats where I took my stand. And then it really became hell. Penis sessions were now done out in the open. Once, he screamed at me, in the green room in front of all of my costars during lunch, about how incredible unprofessional I was, about how he was tired of seeing my dick, and that if I didnt go buy myself one I didnt deserve to be there anymore. Followed by a huge litany of notes. That doesnt compare to some of what Domonique went through and I invite her to share them if she’s willing. During this time I went to every stage manager in the building and told them about being singling out and about my penis. They all told me to write a complaint report and it would go to some place called "HR". Which I did. Numerously. More months passed. Nothing from "HR". Multiple cast members who witnessed my note sessions encouraged me to go to the HR themselves. I didnt honestly know what an HR was. As soon as it was explained to me by my allies even what an HR was I went to the head of HR at Disneyland herself and waited outside of her door. I asked her if she got any of my HR reports and she told me that she had received no HR reports from the Hyperion. Ever. And then asked me to fill out a HR form. As we went over it, she asked me some questions, and then set up a second meeting. On the second meeting she said that in order for my report to be given credence I would need witnesses to give their testimony. The witnesses, in fact the very people that told me to go to HR in the first place, said no. They didnt want to lose their jobs. In retrospect that might be the thing that hurt the most but, whatever... anyway, I was told "“well… without testimonies we’ll do an investigation and we’ll call you when we’ve completed it.” I never received a phone call. With absolutely zero protection from the stage managers from both the sexual harassment or my obvious racial targeting I (and others) were experiencing, not to mention that HR reports were doing nothing, aka not being forwarded, I thought about quitting. And when a white stage manager made a show mistake and laughed it off to the cast by saying an entirely offensive lynching joke, I quit. I didnt matter to Disney. How I felt and what I was being put through didnt matter. I was a commodity. My departure was unceremonious. Bizarre. 100% un-magical. I hung up my costume one last time and it was given to a new Hans, one who looked very much like me oddly, and stepped out of the theater. The park was playing “every wish your heart desires will come to you” and I remember laughing at how dead that song felt. The director has since moved on but still works as a musical theater director in Southern California. This one time 4 years ago I got to feel something other than my color for the first and only time in my professional career. It lasted from about March 2016 to July 2016 and never again since. I will never forget in those early days looking at all the beautiful princesses I got to woo and thinking “wow. I’m a prince right now.” Im sure that sounds stupid. But it didn't feel stupid. And a Disney prince! Yeah, a shitty prince kinda... I mean, he's a sociopath... BUT still a Prince! Especially special was being able to look in Dominique’s eyes and I could see the same glimmer of “can you believe we get to do this right now” reflected back. We never knew it was in the cards for us. My race always has and will always be part of my career equation and a determining factor of its projection. It will always be a determining factor in how im treated, by creatives, by people, by the those in authority over me, including the government and the police. #wasitmyskin

Copied in its entirety here from Cooper Howell’s public Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10163696376095054&set=a.10151302685610054&type=3&theater

[collecting-stories]

Purple - JJ Maybank

Request: hey can i request a fic where both jj and his gf are bi. she had come out to him but he hasnt yet and its just him figuring it out and telling her and its a bit angsty cuz he is scared but with a happy ending? :))) 

A/N: Hopefully this lives up to your request!

Outer Banks Masterlist

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

JJ was good at putting on a show for the people around him. He could adapt to any atmosphere, had no problem being everybody’s friend. When people outside of the pogues talked about him it was always that he was funny or nice or loud...all just surface traits. They couldn’t tell you anything really about him. Did he like mayo on sandwiches? Did he cry at sad movies? Did he have a favorite song, or color, or season? They could describe him to a T, he was easy to recognize because he was always drawing attention to himself but no one really knew him. 

When you’d first started dating him, it was all those surface things that you knew about him too. That he was funny, and charismatic, and liked to be the center of attention. Or at least, you assumed these things about him. He never seemed too bothered by anything and when he did it was like a crack in his armor, like a little piece of himself had been chipped away at until the real JJ showed himself.

It only ever lasted for a second though.  

At your second ever date with him you’d been completely honest with yourself, laying everything out for him. You were bi and you’d dated a girl before him. You expected a lot of things from JJ but not how chill he was.  

“Kind of expected you to make some joke about a threesome.” You admitted. It wasn’t just him; you’d heard them so many times before that it was just what you’d come to think of as a normal reaction.  

JJ cracked a smile, the teasing kind that hid whatever he was really thinking, though you didn’t realize that yet, and replied, “all my jokes about threesomes are tasteful and not...biphobic.” He tested the word like he was saying it for the first time.  

“I bet.”  

You didn’t know it then, wouldn’t know it for months after, but that little piece of him that was so quiet when you talked to him about being bi, that listened intently and seemed genuinely happy that you had felt comfortable confiding in him, it was a seam in his armor that had split.  

Dating JJ was like dismembering a suit of armor but starting at the bottom. It was realizing that he hadn’t actually shown his face to people in years. That all along they’d been looking at a mock-up, a caricature of the real boy. It took months of chiseling away at that guard for you to realize that there was a storm beneath the surface. Noticing the tells, the minute tics that gave away JJ’s less cheerful moods, was something that you became almost an expert in. You started to recognize the bad even when he was putting on a show for everyone else.  

“I think you would feel better.” And maybe you were nagging but realizing that the sunny indifference was all a lie made you ache and you just wanted to help him, make him happier in whatever way you could.  

“I’m fine.”  

“JJ-”

“Why do you wanna talk about it?” He snapped, sitting up a little further in the doorway of your kitchen. The screen had come off it’s hinges a while back so you could only keep the door open if you were sitting in the doorway, like you were now, JJ against one side of the doorframe and you facing him, legs intertwined.  

“Cause,” you stressed, “I can tell that something is bothering you and that bothers me.”

“Nothing’s bothering me.”

“If it is...”

JJ sighed, laying his head back against the wood and closing his eyes. You were relentless and determined. You knew something was wrong and had decided that you would fix it, as his girlfriend, as someone he confided in even when he felt he couldn’t confide in his friends, you owed him that much. The absolute care and compassion of someone who loved him. “It’s...something I’ve been thinking about. A lot, recently.” He finally admitted.  

“Okay...” You nodded, noting the way he pulled gently at your hand, as if trying to separate the entanglement so that he could run away faster if things didn’t go the way he wanted them too. If they went the way he thought they would.  

JJ was good at pretending because he didn’t let himself be alone for too long. The more time he spent surrounded by friends, or high as a kite, or drunk on someone’s bathroom floor, was less time he had to spend with his own thoughts. He could pretend as long as he didn’t let himself linger too long on the truth. But this thought, the one that had been plaguing him for months, wouldn’t leave. No matter how many times he blacked-out.  

“You know how you told me you’re bi?” JJ asked, hesitantly.  

“Yeah.”  

He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, frowning up at the ceiling. You frowned, squeezing his hand to catch his attention. When he looked at you, you smiled. He relaxed. It was almost impossible to see but you caught the slight droop to his shoulders, “I think I’m bi.” He finally said.

“Really?” You didn’t ask out of malice, genuinely surprised that your boyfriend was telling you this and seemed so meager in it. JJ was always confident, especially about liking someone. He’d been completely confident that you would date him and he was right...it was surprising to see him so stripped of that confidence.  

“After you mentioned it to me...kinda started thinking about it, about myself and what that meant.” He replied, trying to find the words to express how he was feeling. Relieved to have said it, still scared though. “I just...didn’t wanna tell you.”

“Why?” You asked, quickly explaining, “I mean, you know I’m bi, I told you. I’m not shy about it. Why would you think that I wouldn’t be 100% supportive.”

“It’s just...different.”

“Cause you’re a guy?”  

JJ nodded, looking away from you again, “yeah, I mean...I guess it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” you sat up on your knees and shifted closer to him, finally breaking your hands apart so that you could cup his face, making him look at you, “J, it’s not stupid. I’m sorry you were so worried, you shouldn’t have to feel like that. I love you, no matter what you tell me...I would never judge you.”  

He nodded slightly, leaning his face into your hand, “I just got in my head.”

You smiled, closing the gap between the two of you so that you could place a kiss to his forehead, “anytime you’re in your head, feel free to share. I certainly wouldn’t mind knowing what’s going on up there.”

#jj fic #jj fanfic #jj fanfiction #jj x reader #JJ Imagine #jj x you #jj x y/n #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank x you #jj maybank x y/n #jj maybank fanfic #jj maybank x fanfiction #jj maybank x fic #collecting stories imagine #outer banks imagine #outer banks fanfic #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks fic #obx fanfic #obx imagine #obx fanfiction #obx fic

[mc-lukanette]

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

—————

Luka took a breath as he hit the last emotion-filled note on his guitar. His body vibrated just as his strings did, though he realized soon enough that there weren't enough high notes to lift him from feeling so low.

Marinette was Ladybug. He was still absorbing it, even though a part of him insisted that it should've been obvious; not just because there could only be one girl in Paris who was so brave, kindhearted, and suited for the job, but... well—

There was also only one girl in Paris who could be so unlucky. Luka was upset - angry, really - at all the things he couldn't have known that just proved to put more pressure on her. People idolized and adored Ladybug, but he never once thought that he wanted to be her. She didn't get anything from being a superhero outside of wasted time and the guilt of having to lie to everyone. He'd felt bad enough keeping Viperion a secret from his family, and he was only a temporary hero.

He sighed, setting his guitar down and raking his fingers through his hair. Marinette being Ladybug would've been enough of a shock on its own, but Adrien being Chat Noir made everything both worse and more complicated. In the midst of all the realizations he'd been having at the time, he felt lucky that he was able to get Ladybug - Marinette - to believe that his mind had just drifted for a moment. She'd still looked worried, but there was nothing he could've told her at the time, his mind too scrambled to be certain what the right steps were.

He'd always imagined that past snakes had learned of other's identities before as well, and thus had wondered before what he'd do if such a thing ever happened. Chat wasn't the one "in charge," so Luka wasn't worried about him (at least not in terms of talking about identities), but Ladybug was a different story.

Previously, he would've said that he'd tell her without hesitation, but the problem was that she was Marinette and the way he found out made things messy. If he told her that he knew, she'd blame herself and demand to know what happened for him to know so she could try to "fix" it, except there was nothing to fix and a conversation about his abilities would inevitably lead to talking about Adrien being Chat Noir.

In essence, he was at a roadblock. There was probably no "right" solution either, as he figured Sass might tell him; that even seemed to be the message Sass wordlessly sent him as Ladybug took his miraculous back. He’d probably known, and maybe had intentionally given him the power to see red strings on heroes in the first place. He didn’t know for sure because he couldn’t ask, aware that it would make Ladybug even more suspicious after he’d already tried to assure her.

What he did know was that Chat was something else to think about now. Chat was tied to her, and he knew - everyone knew, really - that there was drama going on in their relationship. He'd done only a little digging and Face to Face was all the evidence he'd needed, as if seeing the two interact in person wasn't already enough.

There was a pressure there, for Ladybug and Chat Noir to be a couple. Chat Noir was a habitual flirt, and most people ate up any drama or “juicy details” about their relationship. Everyone went wild for the hand kisses that Chat gave Ladybug, whether or not she pulled away from it. Add on the red string of fate, and it just made everything worse, making him wonder what the ties meant; did Adrien's string being tied around his ring mean that he became the cat through fate, specifically so—

It made Luka feel gross just thinking about it, and knowing what he knew made it even worse; people were shipping his friend with someone she wasn't interested in, even if it was "one side" specifically that she wasn't interested in.

He shook his head, feeling vaguely possessive. It wasn't about Marinette being his friend; it was about her deserving better than something deciding her fate for her.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a familiar jingle, pulling out his phone to see a message from Marinette.

Are we still on for tonight?

FOR THE FIRE I MEAN.

I just don't want you to get in trouble! You're sure???

He chuckled, his shoulders easing at Marinette's usual enthusiasm. It was adorable that she was worried about him and not what they were planning to do.

He typed back immediately, I'm sure, Marinette. Don't worry.

He glanced at the drawer under his bed, where all the Adrien pictures were. He imagined Adrien's face plastered all over Paris, flashing back and forth between Adrien himself and Chat Noir.

He felt like he shouldn’t be shocked by the revelation, though he wouldn't be able to quite explain why.

—————

Luka looked over his work once more, checking to make sure the fire would start properly. It'd been a while, but he at least hadn't gotten rusty and even got a congratulatory pat on the back from his mother when she'd seen him carrying the supplies. Had she known that it was Marinette's decision to do this, she would've married them on the spot herself.

As he eyed the box of Adrien pictures set out, he had to bury another slew of thoughts. He knew it was right to try and get rid of Marinette's string, but and he felt guilty knowing that he’d be satisfied at seeing the pictures burn for reasons outside of Marinette.

Speaking of whom, he looked up as he heard a familiar set of footsteps to see Marinette herself heading towards the Liberty, having just made her way down the stairs. She was dressed fairly lightly for nighttime, but wore a fluffy pink shawl around her shoulders to make up for it. Considering what they were doing, it made sense that she wasn't concerned about the cold.

The gangplank had already been put up for her, so she walked across with a smile that warmed him more than the eventual fire would. "Hey."

He smiled back, plopping down comfortably on the seat behind him. "Hey."

She gripped her shawl closer to herself as she glanced at the setup for the fire, the moonlight briefly shining off of her earrings. Luka attempted to avert his gaze from them, but only ended up staring at the red string around her neck. He gave up looking at her entirely at that point, checking the setup again as if it was extremely important to do so.

"You can sit anywhere," he offered, gesturing vaguely to all of the mismatched seats he'd placed around the future fire. He'd wanted to make sure she'd have options, though he hoped the designer side of her didn't mind the chaos of it all. He'd just grabbed whatever spare seating they'd had.

Marinette's eyes scanned over the various choices. Giggling, she replied, "Thank you."

He nodded in acknowledgment. He wasn't in any hurry to get the pictures burned, even if burning them was their goal that day. He'd intentionally had her go slowly so as to test the red string as little as possible, and he planned on doing the same here.

"I brought one for you too," she suddenly said off to his side.

He looked over in curiosity and noticed her open purse, a large piece of blue fabric nearly bursting out of it. It took a bit of effort from her - he imagined that she'd wanted it to be a surprise - but she managed to pull it out, presenting him with a shawl that matched hers exactly outside of its color. He smiled in appreciation of her thoughtfulness, then reached for it before realizing with a start, "Wait. Marinette, did you make these?"

Before she could answer, he took the shawl in his hands, turning it every possible way. Without a doubt, it was her handiwork, and along the back was where the design broke with a Marinette.

"Yeah," she confirmed, and he could practically hear her shy blush. "It's just—you're doing this for me, but even if you weren't, I don't want you to get cold, so..."

"It's great," he cut in firmly, leaving no room for doubt on her end. "Soft. Comfortable. I wish I was better with fashion to say more."

"No, you said more than enough," she assured, taking a seat next to him. That fact looked both silly and intimate given the multiple other seats she could've chosen instead, but he tried not to think about it.

Instead, he gave a curious glance at her pink shawl, silently comparing it to the one she'd given him. "...You didn't have to make it blue," he commented, and clarified before she could think anything bad, "I would've happily worn your colors."

She gave him a look, though didn't seem weirded out by the idea. "But... it's pink."

"What's wrong with pink?" he asked, genuinely confused. "It's your color."

She blushed, her shoulders hunching forward shyly. He didn't even bother taking back what he said, because he meant it; he might've favored blue when he picked out an outfit, but pink made him think of her.

It was much better than red at the very least.

Marinette pursed her lips in response, idly tugging at her shawl and seeming to be in an internal debate with herself. Apparently making a decision, she closed her eyes and breathed up, letting out a soft, "Okay."

He blinked and gave a tilt of his head to show his confusion. "Okay?"

She turned to him, resolutely pulling the fabric off of her shoulders. "T-then you can wear mine?"

He couldn't get another word out, too distracted by Marinette leaning towards him and carefully settling the shawl around his shoulders. Despite the bold move, she couldn't keep eye contact with him, awkwardly hanging onto the front of the shawl as she stared at his lap. She wasn't exactly warm or exuded any particular body heat - in fact, he was sure that her hands would be cold if he held them - but there was a comfort there that couldn't be matched by anyone else.

It took him a moment to make a move, at which point he remembered the fabric underneath his fingers. In a motion equally as careful as hers, he raised the blue shawl and settled it around her shoulders. She finally met his gaze, surprised, but smiled gratefully and released her grip on the pink shawl.

"You can keep it," she said quietly, with less shyness than before.

"Really?" he asked, placing a hand on the fabric to make sure it was what she meant.

She nodded, gripping her own as she replied, "A-as long as I can keep this one in exchange?"

He snorted, even covering his mouth to stifle a chuckle. "You made them, Marinette. Of course you can." He gave an obvious glance at the shawl to admire it. "I'd be happy to match with you."

She beamed at him. "Me too."

That topic officially concluded, his mind went blank for anything more and both of their gazes drifted to the unlit fire. He didn't have to look to know that she was shifting in anxiety in her seat, either wanting to back out or just get it over with.

"Are you ready?" he asked experimentally.

"Yes," she responded, perhaps a little stiffly but the resolve was there. She wanted this.

Luka stood briefly, and within the next few moments, the fire had been lit. The flames started out faint at first, then grew until it was something respectable, easily illuminating the small area around them. The slight chill from the wind dissipated as the fire warmed their skin, Luka hearing Marinette sigh in content harmony with him.

Neither of them took their shawls off despite the increased warmth.

The additional light from the fire made the box of pictures more obvious, with it sitting on a table not too far away. Luka took a step towards it, but Marinette was faster, grabbing up the box and turning to him with a determined expression.

"I have to do it," she insisted.

He didn't exactly disagree - this wasn't his battle - but it didn't stop him from looking nervously at the red string, the dangling part of it laying across her hand and dipping itself in the box, taunting him.

"How many do you want to do at a time?" He was careful in his wording, not wanting his tone to imply anything.

She furrowed her brows, staring down at the box in deep thought. Her fingers flexed against the cardboard, a small gust of wind blowing by and causing the fire behind her to whip around in protest.

"...All of them," she muttered, then met his gaze cautiously. "Will that be okay?"

Luka glanced at the fire, but it wasn't that he was worried about. The string would try to fight her, he was sure of it, and the only thing he wasn't sure of was if it would be better or not to let her go with her wishes. He half expected the string to physically drag her off the Liberty, and the mere thought caused his neck to sting.

But, he also believed in her. She was fighting fate herself without having used the snake even once, and he wasn't going to deny her if she thought this was best.

"Yeah," he assured. "Just don't get too close. I don't want you to get hurt."

She nodded, obviously not catching onto what he really meant.

Luka sat down on his chair, toying with the rips in his pants to keep his hands occupied as he watched her. Her posture was straight and confident as she faced the flames, despite the shake in her hands, and he was sure the fire in her eyes wasn't just a reflection.

He didn't see Ladybug in her place. There was only Marinette and everything that he already knew about her. Knowing what he did now wasn't surprising, but heartbreaking, and he couldn't be prouder of her for doing what she was trying to do.

To go against what everyone - even fate itself - expected of her. He couldn't relate on her level, but looking as he did and having the mother he did, he understood.

Finally, Marinette stepped forward, and the string was already tightening around her neck. She froze, shutting her eyes and clutching the box tighter as she mentally fought the sensation.

He barely managed to keep himself still.

She swallowed, taking another step and managing to open her eyes again. She squinted at the fire, either from the light or from her own resolve.

Then, all at once, she thrust the box forward, the pictures flying out and mingling with the flames. The fire flared up in response, practically roaring, and the string tightened further in protest. Marinette even let out a cry as she tossed the box aside.

Luka barely had time to react when she suddenly rushed towards him. He outstretched his arms and she filled up his lap, her heart seeking him out as she clutched his jacket. He wrapped his arms around her, hoping his comfort came through without words.

Her breathing was ragged, and he couldn't tell whether it was from the string or her emotions running high. He brought one of his hands higher up on her back, knowing that he could do nothing more for her but wishing he could.

He took solace in the fact that the worst of it was over.

Staring over her head, he watched as the pictures burned, blond turning black as the flames singed the pictures and reduced them to ashes. Marinette, meanwhile, remained against him, desperately clutching his fabric for wordless support. He honestly would've been okay being the only spectator to what she'd done, but she then shifted in his lap to glance behind her.

They watched the sight together, the fire whipping about with the wind like it was making sure the job was done as they'd wanted. In no time at all, there was no evidence of the pictures left outside of what was allowing the fire to burn brighter.

Marinette let out sigh of relief, collapsing against him again and nuzzling his chest. "What's wrong with me...?"

"Nothing," he replied, clutching her tighter. "You were amazing."

She looked up at him, possibly searching his expression to ensure he meant it, then offered a tired smile. She shifted again, but this time without any urgency or need. Luka sucked in a breath as she nestled her head against his shoulder, making herself comfortable on his lap while still being in a position where they could watch the fire together. Slowly, he relaxed, and they ended up not needing those other chairs after all, neither moving from their comfortable positions.

And, maybe it was just him, but the string seemed looser around her neck than it ever had before.

#au: Dread String of Fate #Dread String of Fate: writing #Flower Arrangement Shipping #Pro LukaMari #Lukanette