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#if it was last month the vibe would be very different
bloodsadx · 2 days
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even the years that i retroactively have viewed as the most useless of my life have paid off. ive met and befriended many of my heroes from when i was down bad and doing nothing. however in spite of this any time im down im still like. well. i guess im going to jump into the fargo life size human mulcher and deboner (in order to become less full of blood). anyway every time im in an uber with my buddy anne she says the word transexual minimum like 6 times no matter what the vibe of the driver is and last night the uber driver told us to try the following pick up lines (which he called “jaw droppers”): when a girl asks your favorite food, say that “[you] don’t care about stuff like that, [you] want to get to know the flavor of [her] taste buds.” he insisted she’s never heard some shit like this before, so she’ll either like it and you’ll start making out, or if she’s “a more polite woman” she will be like ok ok, and at that point you say “i’m not trying to nourish your body, i’m trying to enrich your soul.” he said that you say that, this being the “jaw dropper,” and then you “can shove your tongue down her throat.” well me and my buddy anne were losing our minds in this uber. and then she started saying the word transsexual to refer to her previous partners and the guy became strictly quiet. well anyway. the moral of the post is, if you walk around a lot, you notice more stuff. i’ve been walking about 10-15 miles a day for the past few weeks and something i’ve been noticing a lot is one specific sticker around portland which ive seen i think sincerely about 300 different places in the past week. and i’ve been walking some really not well trodden, very annoying routes, and this guy has been putting stickers up in some really strange and not even particularly visible spots. and the thing is, i kind of don’t even like this guy’s sticker, but i do really like seeing it, so i really respect that guy. and last night i made direct eye contact with a guy as he put down a slice of pizza and took out a paint marker to write on a trash can. me personally if i made direct eye contact with someone as i was about to write on a trash can i would probably not do that.
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i’ve been making draft posts like this when i get home from a long walk and then not posting them nearly explicitly because i don’t want a bunch of people to read them. sometimes i let one fly and it does get like a hundred notes and i just get pissed off. a few months ago i got so mad about something i kept hitting the ground with sticks as hard as possible and trying to suplex trees and victorian house porch support beams at my friends houses. not to test my strength but rather to feel completely indignantly impotent and to feel myself fail against the weight of the world. i got into a bad car crash and have been disallowed by the weight of the world from driving endlessly and aimlessly through the country and instead have endlessly and aimlessly wandered by foot through a place i have lived in for 3 years but only recently have come to feel like i have any knowledge of. so its hard to say which years are more useless. the years where i was doing stuff people gave a fuck about or the years where i was doing stuff that hurt my legs and feet and i saw more stuff? well at the end of the day i suppose nobody can say for sure…after all, on the internet, nobody knows i’m a seaman.
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theeloveofsolitude · 9 months
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tagged by @ribbittrobbit - the first celebrity, outfit, quote, and aesthetic on pinterest is your vibe ♡
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tagging a bunch of moots if y'all want to do it too - @localbeeking @drarry @the-bisexual-a-genda @fairmaidnelly @hellscribbles @faerileee @katbeing
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fangirl-dot-com · 19 days
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☕️That's That Me Espresso
Pairing: Max Verstappen x Singer!Reader (fc Sabrina Carpenter) Genre: Fluff/SMAU Summary: Max had been single for the first time in almost 4 years. What do Lando and Charles do? Lightly set him up with a very popular acquaintance. They just hope he likes espresso.
TAG LIST IS CLOSED
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There was a different type of electricity in the air that Max was not familiar with. Sure, every race had that adrenalinistic atmosphere that, really, he had gotten numb to. But this, this was different. He might have even gone as far as to call it a “breath of fresh air.” 
His whole body was tired, especially after a grueling race. Why the FIA decided to push the Brazil Grand Prix to the dead middle of summer? He didn’t know why. But he had said enough passive aggressive remarks about the weather. The reason they gave was to avoid the typhoons that normally showed up during the later months of the year, when the usual race was scheduled. 
The Dutchman didn’t mind. The race last year, although the weekend had been soaked, hadn’t even been canceled. Sure there was rain, but they had raced in wetter conditions before. But, he had no control over the schedule. 
If he had been in charge, the calendar would have only 10 races comprised of all historical tracks, no US races, and sprints would be cast into the nearest dumpster. 
But Max Verstappen was not in charge of the Formula 1 calendar, and he was now standing backstage to some concert that Lando and Charles had dragged him and some other drivers to. They explained that it was for their girlfriends, but Lando didn’t have a girlfriend and Max knew he and Charles genuinely liked the pop genre. 
He just never bothered to listen to specific music. He went more by the vibes the song gave, and if he liked it, he liked it. There was no reason to go deep into the discography of the artist and the albums. 
Music was just music to Max. 
Well, that was until the lights dimmed and the most beautiful person, well to Max’s opinion, walked out in almost 6-inch heels and the shortest white skirt. 
Now, Max had been single for almost three months. He had known that Kelly was drifting, but he didn’t make any attempts to draw her back in. The close to four year relationship just fizzled. 
However, he was confused when his friends celebrated the breakup. Lando had gently told him that, while Penelope was very sweet, Kelly had been using him. Charles also brought up the fact that Kelly had said that she had a “magical meeting” with him when he was 19, practically a child with how fast he had to grow up. 
The 9 year age gap pretty much put people on edge about her. 
But Max had no time to dwell on that as he watched the female dance around, pretty skirt flipping up every time she skipped on stage. Her voice echoed through the large speakers, and Max found himself head bobbing to the beat. 
When there was a brief intermission, Lando had snaked his arm around his neck. 
“So how are you liking it?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink after. The Dutchman hadn’t taken his eyes of the door where she had gone through. 
“She’s very pretty.” 
Lando snorted, making Max turn to face his friend. 
“I didn’t ask about her mate, but good to know. I can introduce you to Y/n after the concert is over if you’d like me to.” 
Max’s eyes widened. 
So that’s what your name was. He thought it was very fitting, and he could start to daydream of how the vowels and consonants would sound through his mouth. He wondered if his lisp would accidentally seep through. 
“You would?” 
Lando sighed before calling Charles over. The brunet was quick to round the other side of the two drivers, now taking up Max’s left. 
“Yeah mate?” 
Lando slapped Max on the back, making him wince a bit, muscles still sore. 
“Our race winner here seems to be a bit infatuated with Y/n.” 
Charles wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Is he now? They’d be a nice pair wouldn’t you say Lando?” 
Max tuned the last bit of their conversation out as he watched you prance out of the door you disappeared through earlier. He didn’t know what caused you to look over as you were putting in your in-ears, but you did and your eyes met his. 
You quickly blushed under the gaze of the unfamiliar blond man as your eyes darted back to the ground. You had recognized Lando to his right (your left), but the man remained a mystery to you as you began to sing the second half of your set.
You kneeled on the edge of the stage and reached out for a Brazilian flag that a fan was desperately waving around. You took the soft fabric and wrapped it around your shoulders for the rest of the evening. 
Max thought you looked like an angel. The lights reflected your blond hair perfectly, creating almost a halo around your face. He himself wanted to give your stylists a raise for picking out the perfect hair, makeup, and outfit. 
You had a big smile as you waved to the crowds after your last encore. 
“Brasil! Voce tem sido incrive! Todos voces tem meu coracao! Te amo e boa noite!” 
You even had the voice of an angel. 
And you were now walking toward their group. Max was not prepared. Thankfully Lando and Charles were as they stepped in front Max and congratulated you on the concert. Every now and then in the conversation, your eyes flitted to the blond man, who was looking everywhere but you. 
“Y/n! I don’t believe you’ve met Max yet! Max this is Y/n, and Y/n this is Max Verstappen, current world champion.” 
The last words made Charles huff a bit, only being behind Max in the points this season by a small margin. You put your hand out for a shake but Max just looked at it, stared, then looked back up. 
“You’re very pretty.” 
He wanted to slap himself in the face, but your giggles that flew out of your mouth made him want to melt into the ground. Your hand covered your mouth as you looked up at him. Even with your heals, Max was still a half a foot taller than you. You know that it’d be closer to a full foot without your shoes, which you were desperately wanting to get out of. 
“Thank you. You’re very handsome, but I guess you hear that too often.” 
He actually didn’t. Most didn’t go for his stockier build, rounded features, and flat hair. He knew that many preferred Charles’s slim waist and Lando’s boyish looks. But here you were, looking up at him like he was God’s gift to mankind. Your round doe eyes were hitting all of his buttons. 
He smirked. “Not too many, but I only remember the gorgeous ones.” 
Oh, so he could flirt. That was news to Lando and Charles as they watched the interactions nearby. 
Lando leaned over when Max fished out his phone from his pant leg almost shy at the action. “I didn’t think he had it in him. I wonder if he has ever had the chance to try to date.” 
Charles hummed. “He had a few girlfriends before Kelly. But again, they were all older. Y/n is only 22.” 
When you trailed off to go change, Max walked over to the duo with a dopey smile. 
“I think I’m in love.” 
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y/nl/n has posted
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liked by landonorris, y/nisqueen, mothery/n, and 3,205,094 others y/nl/n brasil! you were amazing! Te amo, te amo! I will miss you all 💚💛🇧🇷
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y/nnation this concert was just chef's kiss!!
y/nisqueen the outfits, the flag, the hair - oh my gosh I love her
f1xy/n did anyone else see that tweet about the f1 drivers in attendance??
norris/n I hope that lando was there, him and y/n would be so cute
maxxy/n I think y/n and max would be so cutie tho
landonorris great show once again y/n!
y/nl/n glad that you and your friends could come see!!
teamy/n your honor I love her
Another giggle left your lips as you were driven back to your hotel. Your manager was watching you with fond eyes, happy to see you all smiley. Your last relationship had not ended well, leaving you heartbroken and depressed. But your emotions fueled you to write your best album yet.
“I’m going to guess that you’re texting you driver,” she wiggled her eyebrows at you, making you sink into the seat, phone covering your face. 
“Maybe. Mila, he’s so perfect. He’s very . . . sweet, but at the same time he’s sharp. He’s a bit like my every morning drink.” 
Mila sent you a warm smile. “Speaking of morning drinks, do you still want your espresso sent to your room at the normal time, or do you want to sleep in?” 
Your brows furrowed, mind running quickly. You opened your notes app and began typing. 
“Espresso.”
A few months passed with you and Max growing closer and closer. People online could definitely tell that the Dutchman was more smiley, but no one knew why. They could only speculate that he was in a relationship, but he hadn’t really been anywhere in the past few months that could signify a blooming relationship. 
You were up writing late when your phone buzzed, the familiar pattern letting you know that a certain blond was calling you. Your eyebrows pinched as you noticed the time. You pressed the green button before saying hello. 
“Hi schatje,” the familiar pet-name flooding the room. 
“Why are you up so late? Don’t you have a race tomorrow morning?” 
Although you were in two different countries, you and Max miraculously were in the same time zones, meaning if you were up late so was he. 
“We have the sim race this weekend.” 
“Maaxxx.” 
“Y/nnnnn, I’ve done it before. And plus, you’re also up.” 
You nibbled on your lip. “I couldn’t sleep. Lyrics are just racing around my brain.” 
“That or you had your espresso too late again.” 
You smirked as your eyes landed on the empty espresso mug on the bedside table. 
“I’m taking the silence as ‘yes Max. I had an espresso too late.’” 
Max’s favorite sound, your laugh, sounded through his phone that was resting on his simulator. The two of you had some weird humor, but you never failed to make Max laugh and neither did he. 
The sound of him shifting the gears was better than any white noise machine could be. Max tried his best to focus on his race, but the scratching of your pencil and your sporadic sighs kept him a bit distracted. 
“Would you be fine if I put a hint in my song? I like having you all to myself, but I want people to know that you make me happy.” 
Max almost virtually crashed. You never ceased to amaze him. 
“That’s fine with me liefling. I love you.” 
“I love you too.” 
y/nl/n has posted
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liked by gracieadams, y/nvideo, maxverstappen1, and 3,405,295 others y/nl/n ☕️ espresso is now yours :) let's call it the bop of the summer
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maxxy/n ayo max, why are you here so early 🤨
f1xy/n what the hell is a polar bear doing in Arlington texas
y/n.nation when she says bop of the summer, it's the bop of the summer
maxverstappen1 ☕️
y/nl/n ☕️
queeny/n what the heck is this supposed to mean?????
user204502 this song has been on repeat
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Max hadn’t know when you were going to release the song, he just knew that you were. He hadn’t even realized that it was out to the public until Charles had mentioned something. 
“Y/n’s new song is great, non? Didn’t know that you two were soft launching, but I’m happy for you two.” 
Max never ran faster than he did to get to his driver’s room to listen to it. He never thought that you’d ever write a song about him, but here it was. The title was catchy too. 
Thankfully, you were waiting for him when he got back to Monaco. The first thing he did was lean down to kiss your lips. You could never get over the feeling of his lips against yours. The broadness of his shoulders made you feel safe as he caged you in between himself and the door. 
His large hands fit perfectly against your hips as he brushed his face against your neck. Your hands gripped his shirt that was thankfully not a Red Bull polo. 
“I take it you liked the song?” you managed to get out, breathless against him. A hum vibrated against your neck, letting you know that he was pleased. 
He finally gave you a bit of space once he kissed you on his way back up. 
“Espresso?”
You giggled, head digging into his chest. “I had one almost 15 minutes ago.” 
“Of course you did.” 
There was a comfortable silence between the two of you as you just stood in the walkway to his house. The place finally looked like someone was actually living in it, and not looking like an Ikea display. 
Little bits of Max were visible everywhere, now that he didn’t have to hide his stuff away in his little mancave. His suit was now on display with pictures of his various wins decorating the walls. But in between all the racing were bits of you left behind. Pictures of your stages filled in the gaps. 
But Max’s favorite bit was the circle stain of dark espresso by your side of his bed. 
“Come with me to Silverstone and later to Zandvoort.” 
You looked up at him, still not getting over the foot in height difference. Your neck had to crane for you to look him in the eyes. 
“Think about it,” Max continued. “You’re taking a small break from your tours when Silverstone happens. And then Zandvoort is the Sunday before the Netherlands concert.” 
You couldn’t say anything but yes. 
Lando was surprised to see your hand held tightly in Max’s. The last thing he knew is that you and him were texting, but he didn’t know if it went any farther than that. The Briton was happy to learn that you had been behind the Dutchman’s wide smiles between races. 
He thought you looked absolutely tiny next to Max, even in your usual heels. Lando did notice that you weren’t visible in the garage during the practices and even the race on Sunday. When it was him, Max, and Charles on the podium, he took his chances to ask. 
“Where’s your superstar?” 
Max visible brightened at the mention of you. “We’re not public yet. I think we like the privacy a bit too much.” 
Lando looked confused. “But the song?” 
He watched as Max leaned back with a laugh. “Mate, everyone thinks she’s in a relationship with either you or Sebastian of all people.” 
“Why would it be Seb?” Charles piped up, finally joining the conversation. 
“Because she sings something about calling me a honey bee. People are trying to connect that with the racing lyric and Seb’s bee keeping skills.” 
The photographers thought that they were getting good pictures of the three enjoying the post-race celebrations as they caught giant smiles and laughs. They probably couldn’t even imagine the conversation that was going on. 
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It wasn’t until Zandvoort that people started to catch glimpses of you in the paddock. You smiled widely as you stepped through the turnstile, hand clasped in Max’s. Cameras were clicking wildly, but you knew how to ignore them. 
You were here for Max and Max only. 
You had wanted to find something orange to wear, but the weather was a bit rainy and cold. Max had convinced you to wear something warm, much to your chagrin. When you had pouted earlier in the hotel room, he just leaned down and kissed your lips. 
“Hmmmm, espresso. My favorite.” 
You had rolled your eyes. “Yeah, because you were up late again. I was able to get some more work done though.” 
“Must have gotten some from you then.” 
The Red Bull driver was able to secure his home race win, putting him just behind Charles in the standings. The Ferrari driver had been driving like a madman all season, and Max had just now been able to catch up to him. However, you knew how scared he was of losing his champion title. 
But, this year, he had you to be his support. Whether he won or lost, you’d still be there. Unlike Kelly, you didn’t push your way into his life. You let him choose you when he wanted. There was no constant grabbing at his arms to pull him away from his crew. 
When Max finally made his way to you, he just brought you in close. He wouldn’t have been able to kiss you with his helmet on anyway. When he pulled back, he was surprised to see tears in your eyes. His face must have had confusion written all over it as you shook your head. 
“Happy tears. I’m so proud of you.” 
The validation he got from you meant so much more than any he ever received. As Max looked down at you from the top step of the podium, you looked up at him like he hung the sun. The Dutchman would never fall tired of your gaze. 
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y/nl/n has posted
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liked by maxverstappen1, mothery/n, verstopen33, and 4,204,938 others y/nl/n oh, he looks so cute, wrapped around my finger
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mothery/n WAS NOT EXPECTING THE HARD LAUNCH WHAT
f1xy/n thank you y/n for feeding us with boyfriend max material
verstappen33max I don't think I've seen him so smiley
maxverstappen1 💙 schatje
y/nl/n 💗 my love
y/nisqueen awwww I love them your honor
landonorris rue, when was this? 🤨
charles_leclerc me as well 😊
maxverstappen1 I think since February??
landonorris SINCE FEBRUARY???
charles_leclerc congrats!!
y/nl/n thank you charlieeeee
y/nvideo this is now my otp for the rest of my life 🥺
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A week later, it was Max’s turn to stare at you the way that you stared at him. The little pink number that you were wearing was turning Max’s thoughts into something more that just hugs and kisses. But, he put those away (maybe for later) and just continued to enjoy the set that you had chosen. 
He couldn’t believe that he was back in the same place that he had been eight months ago. But, there he was, still as starstruck as he had been. He loved to see you skip around, skirt still flinging around and heels still adorning your feet. 
As the evening was closing, he just couldn’t wait to bring you back to the hotel to love on you, even more than he had already been doing. He wished time could speed up just a bit because he knew you were it for him. 
There was a before you, a during you, and he never wanted there to be an after you. 
He, along with the rest of the crowd and fellow drivers, got confused when you didn’t leave the stage after the last song. But, as slow piano music left the giant speakers, Max immediately knew what was happening. 
In the past couple of months, you had been holed up in your studio, really only seeing Max whenever he dropped off lunch or when you came back to his house. And many times, he was surprised to see Charles there as well, dressed in comfy clothes and glasses on his face. 
Piano sheet music always covered every inch of studio space when the Monegasque showed up, meaning that you were in the middle of creating a masterpiece. And, Max got to listen to multiple different melodies that the two of you put together. However, he wasn’t allowed to listen to any of the final demos which eventually got turned into songs. 
Tears pricked his eyes when he heard you explain yourself to the crowd. You had turned a bit to face Max as you talked. Your message for him more than the crowd. 
Your smile shined in the bright spotlights. 
“This next song is one that I wrote for a very special person in my life. You all know who it is so I won’t embarrass him.” 
Max could never be embarrassed by you. 
“I call it Lover, because that is what he is to me. My one and only love. Max, my espresso, I love you dearly.” 
And so dearly, he loved you too. 
y/nl/n has posted
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liked by dior, maxverstappen1, y/nfan, and 4,205,893 others y/nl/n a song for my lover? how about an album 💖
lover is now yours on all streaming platforms
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y/nfan I THINK I BEAT MAX TO THE LIKES
y/nfan never mind...
y/n.nation the new song and now new album, max please keep keeping her happy
charles_leclerc glad to be a part of the album y/n!
y/nl/n thank you Charles! merci beaucoup 🫶
maxverstappen1 my lover 💖
y/nl/n my one and only 💙
landonorris ok, when do I get an album??
y/nl/n I can set you up with one of my friends?
ynsmax and we all say "thank you max!"
TAG LIST: @fionaschicken @myxticmoon @cherry-piee @blueberry64857959 @glitterquadricorn @lizzypiastri @sam-is-lost @spilled-coffee-cup @ilove-tswizzle @the-untamed-soul @allenajade-ite @starssfall @torchbearerkyle @judespoision @halfdeadsage @juniper-july19 @severewobblerlightdragon @thatgirlmj @gods-menace @ineedafictionalman @namgification @dark-night-sky-99 @samantha-chicago @2pagenumb @treehouse-mouse @fangirl125reader @megatrilss1885 @kagatinkita @itsjustkhaos @nikfigueiredo @awekbachira @vellicora @skepvids @sunrizef1 @stan-josie @fanficweasley @hiireadstuff @barcelonaloverf1life @c-losur3 @graciewrote @bruhhhhhhhhehhhhhhh @tallrock35 @ashy-kit @kat-s2 @minkyungseokie @lozzamez3 @leslieis-crying @adventuresofrose @lighttsoutlewis
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seventeenpins · 11 months
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bad girl
pairing: joel miller x f!reader
word count: 4.1k
summary: you're staying in your hometown for a couple of months with your mom and relatively new stepdad. he walks in on you masturbating, and is surprised at the sort of porn you've been watching. no outbreak. very smutty. 18+
warnings: ooh god where to begin??, reader is kind of a detached menace but in a fun way?, masturbation, porn watching, infidelity, choking, pussy slapping, pussy eating, unsafe piv, dirty talk, big dick, daddy kink, bit of breeding kink, age difference (unspecified, but reader is late 20s, joel mid-40s or whatever you like really), begging, slight dom/sub vibes, readers mum is a ho, somewhat degrading language (probably other warnings????)
a/n: honestly don't know what happened here. one minute i was working on what i intended to be a lil daddy kink drabble and then it turned into a whole other beast. also--i'm a recently out nb person but feel most of my writing has focused on fem readers. any nbs out there who'd want smut more tailored to us??? doesn't come up in this fic, but in my heart joel miller is bisexual and would make for some gr8 gender play ahhhh
you had only met your stepdad twice before he married your mom, and only a couple of times since, and you could never quite get a read on him. he seemed quiet and gruff. upsettingly hot with his salt and pepper hair, and his biceps, and his little bit of tummy, but seemingly entirely unattainable (how your mom pulled him, you'll never know). your mom didn't have the greatest track record as far as not cheating on her husbands, and you didn't know how much or how little he knew about her past, but you were incredibly curious how long this one'd last.
he's polite. enigmatic. a man of few words. he had two kids, who you hadn't actually met yet, but they were a few years younger than you and away at college--one daughter from a previous marriage, the other adopted when he was a single dad.
you'd only been staying here for a couple of weeks, usually only home for two months out of the year to do some freelance work and catch up with friends, but since your mom got remarried (again) you're adjusting to the new dynamic. you didn't have the best relationship with your mom, but you didn't argue. didn't fight. didn't have enough interest or passion to try and make her angry. you had a mutual understanding--you'd stay here for a couple months of the year, rent-free, and you wouldn't get into it with her about how her four husbands and a dozen boyfriends in between them in the nearly thirty years you'd been alive had simply made you impassive towards most men, knowing they'd never be able to stick around, and instead you took what you wanted and then ditched them before they could ditch you. to say you had daddy issues was just the tip of the iceberg.
there's only been one family dinner night since you've been back, but calling it awkward was an understatement. you were sat in almost total silence, as your mom scrolls on her phone and joel scoops up some mashed potatoes and slaps them onto his plate.
"so, uh-," he begins, clearly not sure how to start a conversation, "how's your work been going? guessing it's pretty slow these months since you're able to take the time away? your freelance stuff going well?"
"sure," you agree, "it does get slow this time of year. freelance has been good. got a couple of projects i'm enjoying working on."
there's another silence.
"your momma said you'd been dating someone you met at your work? how's that been going?"
you laughed, thinking back to one of the only guys you'd mentioned to your mother, less out of a closeness to him and more because you wanted your mom to get off your case, "honestly, that ended a while ago. he was a pretty terrible lay."
joel clearly wasn't expecting that, and you smirked at him as he choked on the beer he was sipping, coughing and trying to cover up any spittle. your mom gently pats him on the back, still staring at her phone, not even listening. typical.
not sure how to follow this up, joel just shrugs and puts on a stoic face. "sorry to hear about that, sweetheart. what a shame."
you'd be lying if you said that didn't make your heart flutter just a little.
you've attuned to the general framework of home again. you've noticed a few other things, too. first, your stepdad seems to be taking a whole lot of evening shifts. second, your mom seems to be out when he's out, too, but always manages to slip in just before he gets home. finally, if there's one thing you know about joel, it's that if he's working an evening shift, you can pretty much guarantee that he's gonna be at least an hour later coming home than he says he'll be. more often than not, two. you've been here for sixteen days, and in the eleven days he's worked late, he's been late late. and this morning, joel said he wouldn't be home till at least 9pm.
it's only 5pm, so you think absolutely nothing of it when you pull up your favorite porn site, careless about keeping your bedroom door closed.
sometimes it takes you a long time to decide on what porn to watch. sometimes you want the release, and just need something that'll get you there quick. and then there are some days where you know exactly what you want. you know exactly how you want it, and you know just where to find it.
you've got an incognito browser up as you scroll through the page till you find the section you're looking for. click open a couple of videos in separate tabs. skip the ads.
place the laptop beside you, choose one to start with, and watch as the scene unfolds.
you need this. it's only been a couple of weeks since you've gotten laid, but you and your most recent fuck buddy have more or less broken up and you are extraordinarily horny, with no outlet besides your hand (and, technically, your trusty magic wand, but you forgot to bring your charging cable and she's only got so much life in her).
you focus on the scene, slowly dragging your fingers along your pussy lips, your other hand pinching and twisting at a nipple. you listen to the moans on screen as you tease yourself, dipping a finger into your tight, wet heat, and then adding another. the friction begins to build, and the pressure you're putting on your clit is just right.
"fuck", you let out a breathless moan as you start finger fucking yourself in earnest. your hips are stuttering and you feel it building so deliciously and you absolutely don't hear the knock on your door and the slight clear of a throat.
and then you register it, a couple of moments later.
you look up from your laptop screen and towards your door and you see your stepdad, cup of coffee in hand, and he's staring at you with an expression you can't parse, one eyebrow raised.
you buffer, taking a moment more for you to react to him, and you manage it in the worst possible way.
"fuck!!" you shout, slamming the laptop shut and practically flinging it away from you, pulling your hand from under the sheets and not-so-subtly wiping your slick on your duvet, and pulling your top back down over your tits. it's all done in a split second, and it was neither low-key nor quiet. you know your face is growing more flushed by the moment, and you can swear joel is actually smirking.
you stare each other down before you finally speak, "what are you doing home so early?"
"i live here," joel shrugs, takes a sip of the coffee, and then realises he might sound like a bit of a dick. "just- uh. just found out some... shitty news. decided to take the day off."
you almost forget the situation, quick to voice your worry--"are you okay joel? what's going on?"
he snorts. opens his mouth and closes it, as if he's decided better of it, and then opens it again. "just found out your mom's been stepping out on me. well. thought it was true for a while, but my brother just saw her with some guy. guess that's all the confirmation i need." he laughs, wryly, and his smile is dangerous.
"well shit," you say. it doesn't surprise you in the least, but you're not sure if it'd be better or worse to acknowledge that, and then you immediately remember your newest stepfather just caught you masturbating and you're deeply self conscious again.
"i'm really sorry, joel, but you've clearly-" you clear your throat, "caught me at a bad time. is there something i can help you with?"
he looks you up and down for a moment, and you can swear he's looking at your mouth for a second longer than you'd expect.
"well," he says, "i'd come up to see if you wanted anything for dinner. i was gonna order takeout."
there's a long pause.
"but now i'm curious about what i interrupted."
your eyes widen.
"let me see your computer. i wanna know what you were watching that you're so embarrassed of."
you immediately grab your laptop close to you and shake your head. this is something joel cannot see. "absolutely fuckin not," you tell him, and his smile gets sharper.
"i wasn't askin', sweetheart."
there's something dangerous about him now, and even though it frightens you, it's somehow exciting, too. commanding. persuasive.
he puts his mug down, and you barely think about what you're doing when you hand him the laptop, type in the password, and turn it around towards him.
you can't bare to look at the screen at the same time as him. it's fucked up and weird and he'd have every reason to avoid you forever after this, but there's a small (but persuasive) part of you that's telling you that this is a line he's willingly crossing, and there's a charge beneath it, and maybe you could get from him exactly what you want.
you study his face as he scrolls down the page. you hear him click, but no sound starts playing--he must be looking at the other tabs.
his eyes widen, and you can hear your heartbeat pounding as you watch his face.
you want him to say something. you need him to say something.
he hits play on one of the videos and the room is immediately fills with the sounds of slick flesh and moans and cries of "oh, daddy, oh daddy please--"
it's only then that he looks at you.
"well aren't you a filthy girl, hmm?" joel ridicules, "and don't think i don't notice the trend with these little videos of yours."
it's humiliating. you almost expect to die out of embarrassment right on the spot.
"look at some of these titles," joel continues, "stepdaughter gets fingerfucked by stepdaddy, stepdaughter's pussy pumped with daddy's cum ASMR, jesus christ girl-" he laughs, incredulous, "letting my stepdaddy breed my little hole".
joel's staring you down and you still haven't said anything, and that just won't do.
"these the usual kinda thing you like to touch yourself to? or is this a new subject now that you're home, spending time around your stepdaddy?"
"i-" you start, "i don't know, i-"
it's not an act, you're pretty fuckin frazzled, practically cocooning yourself in your covers and you shrink back in shame, and this seems to amuse joel to no end
"how's this, sweet girl," he says, and you realise he's been getting closer and closer to you and now he's seated only inches from your bare legs and pussy, still covered up with your blankets, "you tell me to stop, and i'll leave this room right now and close the door and we can pretend i never saw anything here-"
"no!" you cry out, and then slap a hand over your mouth, eyes wide at yourself while joel starts to chuckle.
"or," he continues, "you can let your stepdaddy make you feel real good."
"yes-" you cry, and not a moment later, the blankets are being pulled back and he's stroking two thick fingers along your cunt.
"there's a good girl," he says, and actually groans as he dips into you, collecting your slick, "so fucking wet for me. it is me you've been thinking about, ain't it?" he asks.
"yes joel," you say, because it's the fucking truth. you've been thinking about him nonstop for a while now, thinking about how his muscled arms look in those stupid threadbare t-shirts, thinking about the sigh he makes when he's had his first sip of a cold beer, thinking about the silver of his hair, the brown of his eyes, and the mere idea of what his cock might taste like. "i've wanted you to fuck me since i first met you."
he lets out a fuckin growl and presses his fingers into you. "such a cute little pussy, already dripping for me, huh?" he moans, and it's two digits pressing into you, but you've been working yourself up for a little while now and you're already swollen and wet and they slip right in. he finger fucks you for a moment before turning back to the laptop.
"which one's your favorite?" he nods at your screen, "which one do you watch and wish it was happening to you?"
you swallow and click back to another tab.
"letting my stepdaddy breed my little hole?", he snorts, "you really are a dirty girl, aren't you? get up off the bed." he commands.
you obey, standing up and kicking off the panties still around your ankles.
"and take that top off," he commands, and you do, pulling your top up over your tits and melting at the sound of his groan at seeing you bare for him.
he sits down on the bed with his legs spread, jeans still on. "you come sit here by daddy's lap," he says, and you do, sitting in between his thighs, inching back ever so slightly until you could feel his hard cock straining against his pants.
he runs his fingertips down your body, down your breasts and torso, dipping into your bellybutton, before drawing little circles on your hips.
'hit play," he says, and you grab the laptop next to you and resume the video.
he copies the video, rubbing one hand along your pussy and the other holding your thighs open.
"that's it," he coaxes, "keep those legs open for me, yeah?"
you're about to agree, when he starts stroking little circles around your already stimulated clit and the ability to speak leaves you. all you can do is focus on trying to keep your legs open, but your thighs are already almost quivering and he only chuckles.
"barely even touched you and you're already stupid."
you tried to nod and let out a sad whimper, tipping your head back and resting on his shoulder. he keeps his thumb pressed on your clit while he pumps his middle and index fingers in and out of you. it's so wonderfully, deliciously wrong. it feels addictive.
"you're doing so good, sweetheart, fucking on daddy's fingers like that," he praises, and it sends another spark of electricity building in your centre. encouraged, you start rocking your hips towards him, meeting each thrust of his fingers. "ready for another one?" he asks, and you nod vigorously.
he takes a moment to hold open your pussy and lean over you to look at it, stroking his fingertips along the outer lips, gathering some of your arousal, and prodding back your hood to get a little direct contact with your clit that leaves you writhing and gasping. he's smirking again, and presses a third finger into you. he curls them upwards, fucking the digits into you so nicely, and you enjoy the sensation as your arousal builds and builds and builds and-- as you come, you white out for just a moment, and as you come back into reality you can hear him speaking to you, "oh you're clenching so tight on my fingers, messy girl, look how you're dripping so nice down my fuckin' wrist. you're a nasty little slut, just like your momma huh? but i know you're gonna be a good girl for daddy, ain't ya?"
you continue to grind on his hand as his fingers stay buried in you, as you ride out the rest of your orgasm. only when you still does joel pull his fingers out of you.
as if hypnotised, he examines the arousal coating them. then, quick as anything, he pops his fingers in his mouth and sucks off your slick, immediately looking sheepish as though this was the only line he'd just crossed.
as quickly as he had become shy, he switched back to overt confidence. "y'just taste so good, sweetheart," he says, and then starts stroking your pussy again. "you're gonna let me have a proper taste, aren't you honey?"
you nod helplessly. it's so fucking good, it's too fucking good.
he scoots out from behind you and you buckle a little, toppling back onto the space he left. he's in front of you now and presses your thighs apart again, dropping to his knees on front of the bed's edge. he runs his tongue up your inner thigh, chuckling at your whimpers as he bites and nips at the sensitive skin. he takes a tentative lick, drawing his tongue towards your clit, circling it gently, and then dipping back before pulling off you for a moment.
"y'taste so fucking nice," he breathes, and his exhale on your slick pussy is exquisite. "i could just drink you up."
he presses the hood of your clit back once more, leaving his thumb there, applying perfect pressure as he flicks his tongue directly on that bundle of nerve endings and you feel like you're on fire.
"fuck, joel, yes-" you cry out, but he pulls back and shushes you.
"shhh," he says, "you don't call me joel right now, baby."
"i don't-?" you say, taken aback by the sudden lack of contact. then it clicks. "daddy-"
he smirks, "that's a good girl, sweetheart. wasn't too hard, now, was it?"
"no, daddy," you agree, and he's already diving back in, pressing his tongue into you in long strokes, letting you grind against his nose, his lips, the scratch of his cheeks, every movement he's making is so fucking perfect.
as he devours you, he presses his fingers into you again, and then you can't help yourself. you rut up on him, totally unable to practice anything resembling self restraint. in between strokes of his tongue, he pulls back and tells you, "i'm gonna need at least one more from you, baby, before you even get to think about sitting on this cock."
you let out a crazed whine, feeling joel's chuckle as he dives back in, eating your pussy like he was made to do only that.
he continues to build you up and up and without warning, you reach your peak again and come all over his face, your wet pussy drenching him and he closes his eyes and eats you through it like a man starved.
"fuck, baby," he says, "you taste so damn good, i could do that all day long."
you're splayed out, totally bare, the slick on your thighs cooling with the lack of contact. joel's looking you up and down, admiring your flushed body as he starts to undo his belt and drop his pants, your stomach flipping at the soft thunk of his belt hitting the floor.
you could feel, through his jeans, that his cock wasn't small, but you sure as fuck didn't anticipate just how thick and heavy it would hang between his wonderfully muscled thighs.
"you'd better get over here and fuck me, old man," you tease, and he snorts, before pulling you towards him by your ankles and landing a smack on your bare pussy.
"watch your manners, girl," he sneers.
"fuck!" you cry as you ride out the sensation, and he moves to slap you again, but your thighs are so slick his hand slips when he makes contact and accidentally presses you just right on your overstimulated clit, and to the surprise of both of you, you come again instantly.
he watches you, wide eyed, as you scream and your pussy clenches around nothing.
"you're just too easy, sweetheart," he laughs, "can't believe that little boyfriend of yours was such a bad lay when you're so goddamn easy. barely have to touch you and you're coming again and again for me."
"he'd just put it in, give it a couple thrusts, groan, and roll over," you snorted, loving the way joel's jaw clenches at your words, "besides, i prefer an older man."
"that's a damn shame, honey," he growls, "but i'm sure we can get ya taken care of."
you both realise at the same time that the video is still playing, as some particularly loud moans come through the speaker. you look over, and you swear you can see joel's eyes dilate as he watches.
that's a good girl, the man in the video croons, taking all of daddy's dick. wanna breed you full of me, fill you full of daddy's cum, you'd like that, huh?
you swallow and look back at joel. he looks ravenous.
"you love watching such dirty shit, don't you, baby?" joel asks, and starts teasingly rubbing your swollen clit again with his forefinger.
"yes daddy, please-" you agree, trying to chase the sensation, "please, i need your cock daddy, fill me up just like that-"
he lines himself up, notching the head of his thick cock at your entrance, and you're practically vibrating with need. it's not a want, it really is a need, if you don't have his cock right now you're probably gonna die and you need it you need it you need it so fucking badly
he laughs, and you realise you said all of that aloud, but you don't even have the capacity to feel truly shameful right now, you just need to feel him.
"c'mon, jo- daddy," you whine, "gotta feel you-"
"uh-uh, sweet thing," he chides, "i think you need to beg for it. you've got no manners, and knowing it's your momma who raised you it's pretty clear why, but you need to learn how to be a good girl. daddy's gonna teach you how to behave right here and now. got it?"
you let out a sharp exhale. "yes daddy."
"now beg."
two words shouldn't have such an ability to wreck you, but they do, and before you know it, you're rubbing your drooling pussy up against his cock head, rutting against him, begging and pleading-
"please, daddy, please fuck this wet pussy, you know how wrecked you've made me, turned me on so good, made me drip for you, made me come again and again on your fingers, i just wanna make you feel good, wanna take that cock, take everything you have to give, fuck me hard and fast and please, daddy, please--"
he cups your chin for just a moment, stroking a thumb along your jawline.
"that's better," he soothes, "what a good girl," and then he's slamming into you.
good fucking god he's huge, and you can swear you can feel every ridge, every vein, the swell of his shaft, the notch of his head, he's stretching you out deliciously.
you tilt your head back, leaving your throat bare, and let out a rough plea of, "choke me, daddy," and he doesn't need to be told twice, wrapping his hand around your neck and putting pressure in exactly the right spot. you can already feel the haziness building, and his thrusts keep coming fast and deep and you can feel the head of his cock brushing against your cervix.
"jesus christ, girl," he whines, and his thrusts start to falter a little, "you're gonna be the death of me. letting daddy use this nice little pussy just so he can feel good-"
his words begin to tip you over, and you know what you want-
"come inside me, daddy," you choke through the pressure around your throat, "fill me up, make yourself feel good, give it all to me-"
that does him in, and he lets out a strangled moan, coming inside you right as you come one last time, walls clenching tightly around his throbbing cock.
he releases your throat, and you both lay there for a minute, both totally fucked out.
after a minute, joel gingerly pulls out of you and lets out a weary groan.
"gonna be the death of me, woman," he snorts, and walks to your bathroom to clean himself up. he comes back a minute later with a cloth. you're expecting him to wipe you up, but first, he takes a moment to examine the cum that's dripping out of you.
"look so pretty like this, sweetheart," he smiles, presses his cum back into you, and then wipes down your slick thighs with the cloth.
"shit, joel-" you say, "who'd have thought you had that in you, old man?"
he rolls his eyes but he's still smiling, and then you sit together for a minute in comfortable silence. joel stands up after a while and grabs his coffee mug. takes a sip that you know must be cold by now, but he seems unbothered.
before he can leave, you stop him. "so-" you ask, "is this a one time thing, or?"
he shrugs, seemingly indifferent. "no reason i need to let your momma know what i know yet. and i reckon there's a lot more fun we can have before that happens."
you let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, and your shoulders relax.
"good." you say, and joel smiles.
"good," he repeats. "now, i know i've worked up quite an appetite and i'm guessing you might have, too. you pick the takeout, i'll go pick it up."
"thanks, joel." you smile, and you're already thinking of the next time as you scroll takeout options on your phone.
that's it. you're fucking addicted, and goddamn you can't wait for your next hit.
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kuromiisanton · 5 months
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✩First kisses with RIIZE✩ genre. fluff / suggestive(?) warnings. kissing. can be suggestive at some parts. nothing else but if anyone thinks i should add something please let me know:) paring. riize x fem!reader (can be read as gn!reader) a/n. this is my first post so I'm a little nervous, but hope you all enjoy! _________________________________ Shotaro𐙚  It would be so gentle at first, maybe like a quick peck on the lips. Once he realizes that you didn’t pull back and looks happy about it, he goes back in but this time with a faster pace. It's the perfect first kiss. He was literally smiling so hard you feared it would get stuck like that(though you wouldn't complain because his smile is heaven sent). By the end of it shotaro can’t keep his lips to himself and is resisting the urge to keep you with him all day every day to kiss you over and over again. Eunseok𐙚  jaw grabber. It will be a strong and passionate kiss, eunseok is kissing you like if he stops you're gonna disappear. He's holding your jaw between his index finger and thumb, but it's so gentle. It's such a light hold you can barely feel it, but you know it's there. Eunseok is romantic and no one can change my mind about it. Sungchan𐙚 Okay hear me out... Very needy. Like it’s sloppy and fast,, but it’s so good too. He’s kissing you like he wants to inhale you lowkey but the kiss was not bad in any means. He was squeezing you into his body because he wanted to feel your warmth against him. If anything it will make you feel a lot more than you already were. He genuinely can't help himself… he just needed to kiss you so bad. Wonbin𐙚   It's such a soft and slow kiss. Even if you would try and get him to go a little faster, he won't. He is dead set on this pace and this pace only. Why? Because he wants to savor the way your mouth tastes and feels with his. He is also the biggest tease in the universe. Wonbin is going so slow because he wants to make you needier than he is.  Seunghan𐙚 He pecks you on the lips but is quick to pull away to see your reaction. It was so sudden that he worries he read the vibe wrong. You have a stunned look on your face so he instantly starts apologizing but then he gets stunned when you pull him back in for a deeper, longer lasting kiss. He was definitely giggling and kicking his feet later in bed that night… Sohee𐙚 The first kiss he did to you was to your forehead. In that moment he was just so happy to be with you and when he pulled away he stared at your face for a minute looking at how beautiful you are. He literally had stars in his eyes… After so long of looking at your face he just dived in and kissed you on the lips. It was so light at first then, he deepened it because of all the joy he was feeling of finally kissing you after so long. You didn't think his natural smile could get any bigger, but after that it was so wide and you never wanted to see it in a different way again. Anton𐙚  Would take months for this man to kiss you. He was just so shy about it and fearful he would scare you away. But one night after a date he just couldn't stop himself anymore and went for it. He was smiling the whole time while kissing you once he felt you kiss back. He felt like he was on top of the world and all he needed in life was you there with him. The kiss was so sweet and smiley, afterwards he was smiling so hard and hiding his face away; not from embarrassment, but from excitement of him finally working up the courage to kiss you.
a/n: requests are open
©kuromiisanton, all rights reserved.
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leah-lover · 1 month
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Misunderstanding. Nika muhl x reader.
Jealous Nika.
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You weren't a starter in your team but the coach knew you were what the team needed. Iowa was down 15 points to UConn and you only had one quarter left to win or your dream of winning march madness would be gone.
You didn't have a good relationship with your coach. You two had your differences. You disagreed often which left you on the bench. But tonight UConn was the better team. They had all their best players on the floor . They were comfortable both offensively and defensively. So when the coach came to you to sub you on you knew exactly what your role was. You were on the floor to make them as uncomfortable as you could. You had to disrupt their flow and help your team.
You were successful in the task you were given. You made UConn uncomfortable which allowed Iowa to score enough points to win the game and advance to the final. Despite your huge and impactful effort that helped your team win the game, you still weren't in your coach’s good graces.
You were again benched on the final which your team won but it didn't feel like a victory to you because you were hardly on the floor. As a result in the postseason you decided to request another School. It didn't matter which one all you cared about was being in a team that valued you.
It took a week for you to get the first offer. You were surprised when you saw that it was UConn who asked to have you. You must have made an impression after your last performance.
UConn’s legacy was mesmerizing, so you agreed to their offer as soon as they made it.
By 2 months you were in your new dorm getting ready to meet your new team.
You were very nervous at the beginning. You didn't want anything to go wrong. Your old relationships with your teammates were so bad you would rather retire than go through that experience again. Luckily, your new team wasn't that bad. You quickly bonded with a lot of your teammates like KK Arnold, Izzi and ice. You felt comfortable in your new home at the start of pre pre-season. The more comfortable you got the more flirtatious you got. You would make jokes about it and your teammates would tease you about it too. The victim of your flirtatious attempt was Izzi. You didn't do it so that you two would end up together, you just found it fun to flirt with her. Your flirtatious attempts were going on all season.
One day after a huge win, the team decided to go out and celebrate in a bar near campus. It was you, Izzi, Paige, nika, and ice. After a few drinks you all decided to head to the dance floor where you danced with Izzi. After a while you looked next to you only to find only you two left on the dance floor. Needing a break you decide to go out for some air.
“ I guess it got all hot for you in there too.” you say to Nika when you meet her outside.
“ No, not all of us were dancing like nobody was there.” she replied with an annoyed tone.
“ What is that supposed to mean?”
“ Nothing, just forget it. I am gonna go back to campus.” she says and leaves. Leaving you puzzled.
You go back inside and brush it off.
The next training sessions were strange. A hostile tension was filling up the atmosphere and it was coming from Nika. flashbacks of your old team were haunting you by the time a month went by. You thought that your future in this team would be just like your past.
At team bonding night, where you decided to watch a movie together. A huge fight started between you and nika. It all started by a snarky comment she made about the main character of the movie.
“ I just don't understand why people don't understand vibes and the right places to do stuff.” she says. You felt that that comment was directed towards you so you replied.
“ well some people don't overthink stuff and just do as they feel.”
“ I don't believe that. I think everybody calculates everything and they only do what is best for them.” she responded.
“ guys i am gonna call it a night i am tired.” said izzi interrupting your bickering with nika.
“ Me too.” says nika and she leaves abruptly.
What nika said was stuck in your throat so you followed her to the hall.
“ what the fuck is wrong with you.” you yell behind her.
“ Excuse me.” she says stopping in her tracks.
“ You have been throwing knives at me all the time. if you have a problem with me just say it and stop dancing around.”
'I don't have a problem with you, I have a problem with the way you act.’
“ And what way is that?”
“ i dont like that you are all flIrty and mushy with izzi if you want her do that in the fucking bedroom away from me.”
“ What the hell are you talking about? Izzi and I are just friends. That whole thing is a plan to annoy paige. We are trying to make her jealous. Plus why do you care ?.”’
After staying quiet for a while she says. “ Is there anything between you two?.”
“ No, there isn't. She likes paige. Why do you care nika?”
She leans her head against the wall and whispers something inaudible.
“ i can't hear you nika.”
“ i like you. Okay . the thought of you and izzi makes me so fucking angry.”
“ You like me.” you repeat in disbelief.
“ ever since you joined i had my eyes on you. So when you started doing your stunt with Izzi, the thought of you being with her angered me.” she says with a defeated tone. “ I never meant to hurt you, I just didn't know how to handle not having you.”
You approach her, lift her head up with your hand and cup her cheeks.
“ You look adorable right now.” you say which makes her smile.
“ Can I kiss you?” she asks
“ You better.” you respond.
You then both kiss. You couldn't believe how soft her lips were and how your bodies moved in sync.
“ Can I take you back to my room. “ she asks with a pout on her face.
“ please do.”
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ageingfangirl2 · 5 months
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I Take Care Of My Crew! Shanks x Reader SMUT!
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You think you're alone, but your captain knows your dirty little secret and how can you refuse him, especially when all Shanks wants to do is take care of his crew. Shanks x Reader (Female) SMUT!
The Red Force had docked on another island to restock, and while the rest of the crew decided to enjoy the pleasures the taverns had to offer, you stayed on the ship to indulge in a little alone time with a purchase from a shop on the island. It was difficult being the only girl on the crew, and it wasn't helped that the guys took every opportunity to flex their bodies while treating you like a little sister since you were the youngest officer. Your last vibrator had died a couple of months ago and it wasn't until this island you could buy a new one.
You had built up respect from the crew, but if they found your toy there would be no end to the teasing. So you had to keep quiet when the ship was on the open sea, but tonight you could enjoy the sweet sensation of pleasuring yourself. After a relaxing bath, you slip into one of your nightgowns and light a candle on your dresser. This vibrator was different to the other one and the lady said this one would rock your world because one end was a bullet while the other end had a clit sucker.
You climb onto your bed lying on top of the sheets and start to play with your nipples through the gown which were hard because of the ship being naturally cold. You move your other hand to push up the hem of the gown feeling cold touch your intimate area making you shiver. You start to gently rub your folds, moving up to your clit which you circle slowly. You had enough mental material and imagination to quickly become aroused.
'Let's see what you can do,' you say teasingly, picking up the vibrator and bringing the bullet end down to your clit, 'let's start with old faithful.'
You probably should have played around with the settings beforehand because your whole body jolts at even the first setting, 'oh shit!' you moan.
You throw your head back and close your eyes, holding the toy on your clit allowing the pulsating vibes to go through your body to the very core.
'Mmm...yes...' you moan loudly, biting your lip as you scroll through the different settings.
Pleasure ripples across your lower half as your thighs buck, but you still hold firm, feeling tension build, a little ashamed at how quickly you were brought to orgasm.
'HELL YES...' you gasp, opening your eyes, taking note of your messy bedsheets from where your other hand had been clenching and your body writhing.
A sudden knock on your door scares you, and your thighs close around the toy instinctively forgetting to turn it off. No one should be back yet, it was too early.
'Hello, who is it?' you call out, quickly trying to get under the sheets to give the illusion of heading to bed.
'It's me, can I come in?' Shanks answers back, and you mentally curse yourself, Shanks didn't know how to keep a secret. Why the hell had he come back to check on you?
'Err...' you pause, your hands fidgeting under the sheets to stop the vibrator.
He opens the door and strolls in holding a box under his arm, he looks you over and frowns, 'a little early for bed isn't it?'
You hum, biting your lip, 'felt tired captain.'
He puts the box next to the candle on the dresser and smirks, 'Why are you squirming under the sheets?'
Shanks had no boundaries, as he pulled back the sheets revealing the vibrator you'd managed to turn off fall from between your thighs, 'you don't understand how hurt I am right now,' he pouts while still smirking.
'Excuse me, how are you hurt?' you question, quickly sitting up in bed after pulling your gown back down.
Shanks casually picks up the vibrator, 'I'm a good captain who takes care of his crew's needs. You had a need and didn't come to me.'
You stare at your captain dumbfounded, 'Err you'd tell the guys and they'd tease me, no offence when it comes to sex and secrets you can't keep your lips shut captain.'
Shanks nods in acknowledgement, 'Maybe, but I've known about your toys for the last year. Some nights I was curious about noises coming from your room, and despite being a good hider I found your vibrator during a search.'
You were shocked by his admission. He didn't sound disgusted, in fact, the way he was eyeing up the toy told you he might be curious. He was your main source of material, and even right now your pussy clenched at the fact he'd caught you.
You take a deep breath and decide to be bold, 'Do you want to try it on me captain?'
He raises an eyebrow and gulps as you pull your gown back up showing off your soaked pussy in all its glory, 'are you sure? I thought this was something girls did alone.'
You shake your head and lie back, your eyes not leaving his as you tempt him towards you with your hand, 'I have a need captain, aren't you going to take care of it?'
His smirk reaches his ears as his eyes darken and he licks his lips, 'I didn't know you were this horny, it's always the quiet ones.'
He picks up the box on the dresser and places it by you on the bed. You watch him take off his boots before he gets onto the bed with you. You relax, 'I can't have sex with anyone on the crew so this is the next best thing.'
Shanks turns on the sucker end of the vibrator and scrolls through the settings, 'do you have a crew member you think about the most?' he asks teasingly, stopping on a random setting.
You nod, 'I do captain.'
He brings the sucker down towards your clit nudging your legs further apart, 'do tell, I'm curious.'
You shiver in anticipation, 'he has red hair, scars across one eye, and don't get me started on his perfect chest.'
The toy touches your clit and you curse loudly as it sticks to you, 'FUCK!'
If the bullet got you, the way this attacked your clit with so much pressure was enough to blow your mind.
Shanks sits back on his heels admiration and lust on his face, 'I'm flattered you chose your captain, you're not too bad on the eyes yourself.'
You clench the sheets on either side of you as you come undone, 'Mmn...so...good...'
You notice Shanks pick up the box and hold it in front of him, 'I take care of my crew's needs. I got you something, I don't think you've owned one of these before.'
While writhing you manage to watch him take off the lid and pull out a toy that has caught your eye in the shop but had intimidated you. It was a vibrating dildo, 'that looks big,' you gasp.
Shanks runs his hand down the length of the dildo, 'I'll tell you the real thing is better, but if you've actually thought about my dick inside you then this is a good place to start, stretch you out properly.'
Your eyes widen, was he suggesting he was bigger than the dildo, that thought alone pulled another orgasm from you, 'then stretch me out, captain.'
You spread your legs as far as they'll go, your juices slick enough to coat the dildo without much prep. Shanks grunts as he runs the tip of the dildo up and down your folds, 'turn off the vibrator,' he orders, 'the only noise I want to hear is you imagining getting off on my dick fucking you.'
With shaky hands you turn off the vibrator and remove it from your now sensitive clit, 'I'm ready captain.'
Shanks pushes the tip against your entrance that throbs around it before engulfing it, 'good girl,' he praises.
He slides the whole length inside you, your body betraying you as it eagerly stretches around it without much pain or protest.
'Are you comfortable?' he asks.
You nod, 'Yes captain.'
Your body should have been prepared after the vibrator power but the second Shanks turns on the dildo you're overcome with a sensation you haven't experienced before, with a dildo penetrating you instead of using your fingers.
'So good...SHIT!' you curse, back arching.
Shanks chuckles darkly, 'Close your eyes and think of me.'
You comply closing your eyes, and moan sharply as he pushes it in and out of you at varying speeds. It had been a good month since you had sex so you were a little tight, but your walls hugged the dildo leaving you at the mercy of your captain who was grunting and praising you. He was clearly getting off himself at the scene the two of you found yourselves in.
You let your imagination go wild as pleasure consumes every inch of your body, 'going to cum...' you mumble, words coming out of your lips between gasps and moans.
'Cum for me, cum for your captain,' Shanks commands, his voice firm like he was casually shouting orders at the crew.
You buck your hips and release around the dildo, breathing heavily as Shanks allows you to ride your high. You open your eyes and sigh contently, 'Thank you, captain.'
Shanks removes the dildo and pulls down your gown, 'Get yourself cleaned up and straight to bed young lady.'
You sit up and motion towards his obvious bulge, 'What about your needs captain?'
Shanks grins, 'I have plenty of material, don't you worry your pretty head. But the dildo comes with me.'
You pout, 'why? I thought you got it for me.'
Shanks laughs as he gets up from the bed and picks up the dildo, 'If you want to use it you will do so in my presence, can't have you having too much fun on your own.'
Before you can argue, he bends down and kisses you softly on the forehead, this man was very confusing and always had ulterior motives. But he had rocked your world, so you'd let him off the hook for now, but you would get your hands on that dildo again.
533 notes · View notes
sanguineterrain · 1 year
Text
it's a feeling that's fine - s.h.
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Summary: You accidentally climb the wrong fence on the hottest day of May. It turns out to be the best thing that's ever happened to you.
Pairing: Steve Harrington x fem!reader
Word count: 10.6k
Warnings/tags: no use of y/n, no physical descriptions, etc. reader is in a toxic friendship; she's slightly bullied in that indirect mean girl way, but the toxic friendship ends. reader cuts her finger by accident. drinking and drug mentions. fluff, humor, strangers to friends to lovers, summer vibes, so many princess bride references. steve is super duper sweet!!! post s4 volume 2.
A/N: so if you wondered where i've been for the last two months.... it was in a cave writing this fic. i'm really proud of this one; the reader is a little different than how i usually write, but i hope you'll like her all the same :) if you enjoy this fic, please please let me know through comments/reblogs!
divider by firefly-graphics
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Today is hot. 
Weatherman Dale had said this morning that today is a record high for May. It’s so hot, in fact, that Debbie Wellerman had called you this morning asking if you wanted to come swim in her pool. 
You’d asked if you could dig for worms in her yard. She’d sighed and hung up. You hope that means yes. Joan has been in need of some company. Worms would be good for her.
You go around Debbie’s house and stop at the back gate. The Wellermans are kind of mean and they don’t like it when you take too many cucumber sandwiches. To avoid them, you’ve taken to going through the back gate whenever Debbie invites you over. It works pretty well.
Except today, the gate is locked. Which is weird, because Debbie usually leaves it open. It’s how her boyfriend, Brett, sneaks in during the day, and how Brett’s brother, Chet, sneaks in at night. 
You’d asked once why the brothers come over separately. Debbie had gotten mad and kicked you out without giving you any ice cream. You don’t ask about Brett and Chet anymore.
The problem is that you’re wearing flip flops, which are not ideal for climbing fences. Or anything, really. You once climbed a jungle gym in flip flops and skinned both knees. 
You slip off your flip flops and fling them over the fence. They land a second later, clapping against the ground. The fence is covered in climbing ivy and tiny red flowers you’ve never seen before. You wonder how Debbie made them grow so fast.
The street is empty, which is nice. Sometimes people in Loch Nora like to yell at people who don’t also live in Loch Nora. 
The fence wood is hot but not so hot that you can’t touch it. You stick your feet in the little grooves and start to climb. It’s not too high of a fence, but it’s high enough to warn people who don’t belong here.
That’s never stopped you, though.
Getting over is trickier. You expect Debbie to see you by now, but there’s no sound. She must be inside, or maybe she’s out and forgot she’s invited you. She does that sometimes.
Wood dust clings to your fingers and the soles of your feet. When you’re a foot from the ground, you hop down. Then you turn.
There’s no sign of Debbie. There is, however, a boy.
He’s reclined on an inflatable blue ring floaty in the middle of the pool. He wears sunglasses and red board shorts with little white anchors on them. 
He has very pretty hair, both on his head and chest. He also has pretty lips. And arms. All of him is pretty, really. You wish you could see his face properly. He probably has a nice face too. Symmetrical and kind.
The area around the pool is paved just like at Debbie’s—only it’s a lot larger than you remember. There's a patch of dirt next to the gate. You go and crouch at the edge. You don't see any worms. Probably because it's so hot. You'd stay underground too if you were a worm.
You stand and turn to look at the boy again. He looks like he might be asleep. 
“Did Debbie invite you?” you ask.
The boy shoots up from the floaty. The shift in weight makes him lose his balance and he topples into the water a moment later. The floaty flips with him. 
He resurfaces almost immediately, spitting water and rubbing chlorine from his eyes. You squint.
Yes, you were right. He does have a very nice face.
The water comes up to his waist. He pushes his hair back in handfuls, blinking. Then he fishes his sunglasses out with his foot and sets them on his head. 
“Can you swim?” you ask.
He stares at you, blinking.
“What?” he says after a beat. 
“Can you swim?” you repeat.
“Uh, yeah? Yes, of course I can swim.”
"It would be bad luck if you couldn’t.”
His brows furrow.
“Because I can't swim,” you clarify.
“I wouldn’t be in the pool if I couldn’t swim,” he says.
“That’s good thinking.”
You sit at the edge of the pool and dip your calves in. He wades closer until he’s about three feet away.
“How did you get here?” he asks.
“I walked.”
“I mean, how did you get in my backyard?”
“Oh. I climbed the fence.” 
You peer closer. He looks familiar, but you can’t quite place him. 
“Are you Brett and Chet’s triplet?” you ask. “You’re a lot prettier than them. Did their mother feed you extra vitamins?"
His eyes go wide. “Uh… Brett and Chet Kingsley?”
“Uh-huh. Debbie invites both of them over, but never at the same time.”
“Who's—they don’t have a triplet.”
“That’s good. Three’s bad luck.”
“My house number has a three in it,” he says.
“Don’t step on any sidewalk cracks,” you warn.
He tilts his head, tongue poking out like he’s sizing you up. You let him, focusing on his face instead. He has dark, warm eyes the color of black tea. His shoulders are toned with lots of freckles on them. He looks like a boy who’d like Debbie, not you. 
“Is Debbie going to be back soon?” you ask. You don’t want to get attached to a boy who’ll just end up wanting Debbie instead. You've made that mistake before.
“Um… if you’re talking about Debbie Wellerman, she lives on the next block over. I’m Steve Harrington.”
“Oh. You’re the guy who fought the monsters.”
He eyes you warily. “Wh—how do you know about the monsters?”
"Who doesn't?" 
Steve opens his mouth, then closes it. 
“You can’t tell anyone," he finally says. 
You shrug and kick at the water gently.
“I have no one to tell. Debbie doesn’t believe in monsters.”
“She doesn’t believe in giving you a key either, huh?”
“She doesn’t usually lock her gate,” you say. 
“Well, this isn’t her gate.”
“Yeah. I like your shorts.”
Steve’s cheeks flush pink. 
“Are you getting sunstroke?” you ask. 
That turns his cheeks pinker. 
“No, no." He coughs. "I’m fine.”
“It’s a record high temperature for May,” you say. “That’s what Weatherman Dale said. The highest it's ever been since 1923." 
“Yeah, I heard." He nods. "I didn’t wanna run the AC the whole day so, here I am. My friend Robin was supposed to come over, but I guess she bailed.”
“Robin is a nice name. Is she a bird?”
Steve smiles. “No, she’s a girl.”
“Oh. I thought maybe she was a bird you’d made friends with while fighting monsters.”
“Well.” Steve shrugs. “I did sort of make friends with her while fighting monsters.”
“Robins are good omens. They bring luck."
“Huh.”
You swallow. You’re probably talking too much. That’s what Debbie would say. That’s why boys sneak into her yard and not yours. 
"So." Steve puts a hand over his forehead to block the sun. "Debbie Wellerman, huh? You don't seem like the type to be her friend."
"Friends can come from the most unusual places," you say. "Like under a tree or at the bottom of the ocean."
"Have you made many friends at the bottom of the ocean?" Steve asks with a smile. 
You hesitate. Is he making fun of you? Sometimes, you can't tell. The people in Loch Nora are good at making fun of you without you knowing. 
Steve’s hair has already begun to dry, a little crunchy from the chlorine. He doesn’t look like he’s making fun of you.
"Not many. But that's where I found Joan," you say.
"Joan was at the bottom of the ocean?"
"Kind of. I found her in a pond. Then I found her sister, but I lost her at sea and I couldn't swim out to rescue her. It was a sad day. Joan didn't handle it well."
Steve's brows rise. "Wow. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Joan has been on the incline. I think she's finally ready to get back out there. I wanted to find her company, but I didn't want to disturb your dirt." 
“My dirt?”
“Mmhm. I'm trying to make a social club for her."
"Out of dirt?"
"Out of worms."
"Huh."
Steve rests his chin on his arm that's perched on the ledge. 
"Your hair is wavy," you observe. 
"What? Oh, yeah. I didn't put anything in it."
"Like what? Secrets?"
"No, like, gel. Product."
You nod in realization. "Your hair was so big in school.”
Steve winces. "Yeah. Sorry, I wasn't the best guy back then."
"You were in your chrysalis. You needed time to grow. But then you turned into a butterfly. Or a moth, if you prefer."
"Moths are spooky," says Steve. "They look like they have eyes on their wings."
"Yes. But they're actually friendly. Unless you eat them. Some are poisonous." You lean in, deadly serious. "Don't eat moths."
"Will do."
"No, don't. And warn your Robin too. She might think one looks delicious and meet her doom."
A smile creeps onto Steve's face. 
"You're kind of strange," he says. "In the best way possible."
"Thank you."
"Do you want some lemonade?" 
"Is it poisoned?" 
"What?" Steve startles. "No, of course not."
"No, I suppose not," you say thoughtfully. "You hadn't expected me to climb over your gate, so you wouldn't have had time to poison the lemonade."
Steve stacks one arm atop his other, looking up at you. The ends of his hair have begun to curl. You like it so much. 
"What if I pour from the pitcher right in front of you? Will that make you feel better?" he asks. 
"You can still put something in my glass," you say. "Or you might have built a tolerance to the poison for this exact moment. Like in The Princess Bride."
"I'm only twenty-one. I would've had to start very young to build a tolerance. Besides, what would be my motivation to poison you?"
You shake your head. "There's no need for motivation. Violent delights. But you've fought monsters, and Lucas Sinclair says you're a good guy. So, yes, I will have some lemonade."
Steve pushes himself out of the pool with ease, dripping water all over the concrete. You stare at the rivulets that hurry down his legs and chest. He has a lot of hair everywhere. You like that too.
He offers his hand and you take it, letting him pull you to your feet. Your shoulder bumps his. Steve's skin is warm. He smells like chlorine and something sweeter. Pineapple, maybe. 
"You would do very well as a knight," you say. "If I were a princess, I'd want you to commit yourself to me."
Steve makes a weird noise in his throat. 
"Uh, th-thanks," he says. 
"You're welcome."
"So you, uh, know Lucas?"
"Yes. He lives on my block. His mom gives me rides sometimes."
You step in through the sliding glass door, which puts you directly in the kitchen. The house is at least twenty degrees cooler. You shiver at the sudden temperature change. 
"You don't have a car?" Steve asks. 
"No."
"You walked from your house to Loch Nora?"
"I took the bus part of the way. Then I walked."
Steve takes two glasses down from the shelf. Then he opens the refrigerator. You sit at the large kitchen island while he pours. 
"Debbie Wellerman has a car," Steve says. 
"Uh-huh. A Porsche."
A money car, she'd called it when she got it for her sixteenth birthday. Boys love girls with money cars. Maybe that's why boys don't love you. 
Steve hands you a glass. You take a long sip. Your mouth puckers and you scrunch your eyes shut as the acid coats your tongue.
"Shit. Not enough sugar?"
You swallow and open your eyes. 
"It's wonderful, Steve," you say earnestly. 
"You don't have to lie. I saw your mouth screw up."
"I'm not lying. It's the right amount of sour." 
Steve takes his own sip. His lips pucker, and he shakes his head.
"Nope. Definitely needs more sugar."
You cradle your glass in your hands. "Don't take mine. She's perfect."
Steve breathes a laugh, returning the pitcher to the fridge. He sits beside you on the island. He's already developing a slight tan. You wonder if more freckles appear the longer he's in the sun. 
"Why doesn't Debbie pick you up?" he asks. 
"Why would she pick me up?" 
"Because that's what nice friends do. And it's unfair to expect you to come all the way here when the buses don't go through Loch Nora."
"Debbie always expects me to come over," you say. "So I do. She doesn't like my house."
Steve frowns deeply. 
"I don't mind the walk," you offer, trying to make him smile again. 
It doesn't work. Steve takes another sip. His lips purse, red like cherry candy and shiny with lemonade. 
"She should meet you halfway more often," he says, dumping his lemonade into the sink. 
You trace shapes into the condensation of your glass. 
"I wanted to go rollerblading," you say. "But…"
"But what?" he prompts. 
"She didn't. Neither did Brett. They wanted to make out in the pool.”
Steve grimaces. “Sounds like a drag.”
“They make weird noises. Like goats at the zoo.”
Steve snorts. You smile and kick your legs, pleased.
“My friends go rollerblading,” he says. “The kids love to skate at the park. You could come with us one day.”
“You have kids?”
“No, I—” Steve shakes his head, chuckling. “Definitely not. No, they’re only a few years younger than me, but me and the other people our age call them kids. They’re part of our little monster-fighting group. Anyway, uh, y'know. Open invite. If you're ever tired of goat noises."
You stare at him for a minute. He seems nervous, and you can't make out why. Nobody's ever nervous around you.
"Okay," you say. "I'd like to meet your kids."
"Cool. Well, um, I can give you my number. We usually meet up on weekends, but once school ends, any day is game."
Your heart rate picks up. You know this part. Only from a distance, of course. But you know what it means when a boy gives a girl his number. 
“You want me to call you?” you ask.
“Yeah. I mean, if you want to. I feel like it’s a little forward for me to ask the girl who climbed my fence for her number. So, um, you can call me. Is that cool?”
Steve looks at you and waits. You chew your lip and nod.
“That’s okay.”
He smiles. “Great! I think I have a pen around here somewhere…”
Steve walks around the table to a stationary caddy on the counter and takes out a blue Sharpie. You stick out your arm, palm up. 
"Uh…" He looks at you. "I can find a notepad."
"This helps me memorize things better," you say and wiggle your fingers. 
"I don't wanna give you ink poisoning."
"You didn't poison me before. You're not very good at it."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
You shrug. "Depends on your aspirations."
Steve hesitates for another second. Then he takes the top of your forearm and begins to write on the soft underside. He writes slowly, which tickles, but you remain still. 
He's so close. You're reminded all over again of his hands and warmth and pineapple scent. 
Steve caps the marker. You inspect the writing. 
"Good penmanship," you say. 
"Think so? Robin says it's chicken scratch. But she can't talk—hers is ten times worse."
"It's neat," you say. "But not serial-killer neat. If I were a graphologist, I would give you the all clear."
"Graphologist?"
"A handwriting expert. I would write in my report, 'not a murderer.'"
"Well, that's a relief," Steve says. "I try to keep the murdering to a minimum."
You hum and finish your lemonade in one gulp.
“Thank you for not poisoning me."
“Yeah, you’re welcome,” Steve replies through a smile. 
His smile makes you nervous. A good nervous, though, like you're about to sled down a big hill. 
You push yourself off the stool. Steve gets up with you and opens the sliding glass door for you.
“A very stalwart knight,” you say, and walk over to where your flip flops are.
You throw them back over the gate. They land with a clack on the sidewalk.
You find your footholds on the gate and turn to look at Steve.
“It was nice to meet you, Steve Harrington. Don’t fight any monsters by yourself.”
“Whoa, hang on!” He jogs over and lightly touches your arm. It sears your skin like you've been kissed by the sun himself. “I’ll unlock the gate. You don’t need to… climb again.”
Steve pulls the latch next to you. The gate creaks open. You hop off and walk through. 
Steve leans against the gate, elbow bent. His bicep bulges. You've never been this close to a shirtless boy. Your stomach flips. 
“Are you sure you know where Debbie lives?” he asks.
Your eyes dart from his chest to his face. 
“Yes.”
“Really? ‘Cause you didn’t exactly find it the first time.”
“Second time’s the charm,” you say.
“I thought it was the third time.”
“No. Three’s bad luck, remember?”
Steve runs his tongue under his molars, once again staring at you like he’s trying to solve a puzzle. You slip into your sandals while he figures you out.
“Well, um. You can come back if you get lost. Or you need help. Or you wanna look for rocks."
You tilt your head. “You’d look for rocks with me?”
“I don’t know how helpful I’d be—all rocks look the same to me. My friends would probably be better at it than me. But, yeah, I would.”
“Okay. Thank you for your hospitality.”
He grins. “Sure thing.”
You take his hand and shake it. It’s warm and slightly calloused. You wonder if he holds girls’ hands often.
"I hope Robin finds your house," you say. "Goodbye, Steve Harrington."
Then you go.
You do find Debbie’s house on the second try. You hide your Sharpie'd arm behind your back when you enter. Debbie doesn’t ask why you’re late. Brett doesn’t acknowledge you, and you wonder how you mistook Steve for his brother. 
“There’s lemonade,” Debbie says as she heads in, Brett at her heels.
You don’t drink any. You know it won’t be the right amount of sour. 
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Movies are better in the summer. This is a fact you've learned to accept. 
There's no dread of the cold after you finish a movie in the summer. The tape ends and you can go outside and still love the real world. 
Sorry, we're on a break! the sign on the store window reads in loopy script. You sit on the hot curb in front of Family Video, your yellow shorts bunched around your thighs. Sweat sticks to the back of your neck, and you drag a hand across, then wipe your fingers on your shirt. 
From here, you can just see the cement-filled cracks in the asphalt, where the earthquake split the main road two years ago. Because of the cracks, the bus stops three blocks from the plaza, so you'd walked three blocks in the heat. 
You hadn't been lying to Steve, though. You really don't mind the walk. 
Beads of sweat drip down your forehead. One slips into your eye and burns. You make a fist and press it into your eyelid.
Okay. Maybe you mind a little.
"Hey, neighbor!"
You look up, squinting through the sun. Lucas Sinclair waves at you. You wave back. A girl with two red braids is next to him. 
"Hi, Lucas," you say, standing as they approach you on the curb. 
"This is my girlfriend, Max," he introduces proudly. 
"My congratulations. Getting a girlfriend is no easy feat."
Max studies you for a moment. "I think I should get the credit, considering I said yes." 
"Undoubtedly," you say. 
"Are you his neighbor?" she asks. 
"Yes. Lucas is an outstanding neighbor. You should be very proud of him." 
"I believe it," says Max. 
"What are you doing?" Lucas asks. 
"Lots of things," you say. "Breathing, digesting. But presently, I'm waiting for the video store to reopen. I want to rent The Princess Bride.”
Max snorts. "Good luck with that. Those two take five hour lunch breaks now, ever since Keith moved away. It's barely a business anymore."
"There must be a lot of courses in their lunch," you muse. 
"Yeah… uh, we're going to get ice cream. Wanna join?" asks Lucas.
"Okay." You turn to Max. "Will my presence impede your special plans?"
Max squints. "Special plans? Like what?"
"I don't know. Perhaps you've written Lucas a series of sonnets to profess your love."
"A series of what?"
"Poems."
"Love poems are corny," she says. 
You wonder if Steve would agree. 
"Sometimes corny things are good. When they come from the right person," you say. 
Max acquiesces with a hum. 
"No love poems today," she says. "You should join us."
So you follow a couple steps behind them to the Baskin-Robbins down the block. 
The AC whooshes as you step inside, drying your sweat to your forehead. 
“Wow,” Max says with a scoff. “It’s like Starcourt all over again.”
You follow her gaze and spot Steve. 
Oh. Steve.
He's in a green Family Video vest. A girl sits across from him, wearing a matching vest. She has cropped hair and a bandaid on one knee. 
“Hey, losers!” Max calls. “This isn’t a lunch break.”
The girl flips her off. “The sign says we’re taking a break. It doesn’t specify how long of a break.”
Lucas orders a scoop of strawberry ice cream for himself and a scoop of cookies and cream for Max. 
“Yeah, plus, we’ve had a grand total of one customer today,” Steve adds.
“Well, you would’ve had two if you hadn’t been here on your seventeen hour break,” Max shoots back.
He scoffs. “Oh, really? Who?”
“Can I get one scoop of rocky road ice cream with oreo crumble and gummy worms in a cup?” you ask the cashier. 
She goes to scoop the ice cream. Max proudly points at you. 
“Her,” she says with a smirk. “She wanted to rent The Princess Bride, and now she’s not gonna be a paying customer ‘cause you two are lazy.”
“I would still be a paying customer,” you say.
Max shakes her head at you.
“I’m trying to make a point,” she whispers.
“Oh. You’re doing great."
“Your total is three twenty-four,” the cashier says, sticking a spoon into your cup. 
The sound of a chair being dragged across the floor draws your attention. Steve is up, trying to free his leg from under the table. He finally wiggles free and jogs to the counter, wallet in hand.
"Hi,” he says. "I can pay." 
“But I have money,” you say, brows knitting.
“No, I know. I—now you can save your money. Do you–do you mind if I pay for you?”
“Will I have to pay you back?” you ask.
“Oh my God,” the cashier mutters under her breath.
You shrink at her tone. You've missed something, evidently. You have no clue what. 
Steve glances at her, mouth pinching. 
“No,” he says gently, turning back to you. “You don’t have to pay me back. It’s a gesture. As a friend.”
“Oh. Okay.” 
Steve gives her the money. You take your ice cream. 
“Smooth,” you hear Max say to Steve. He bumps her arm with his elbow.
Steve pulls a chair from another table for you. You all sit down.
"This is, uh…" Steve trails off, turning to you. "I'm sorry, I never got your name."
"You kept calling her Buttercup," the girl says. 
Steve whips his head around to hiss at her. 
"Robin." 
"She's my neighbor," Lucas says. 
"We know," Max tells him. 
"I don't." Robin raises her hand briefly, shooing Steve away. "I'm Robin Buckley."
"Hi, Robin. Watch out for moths," you say. 
She tilts her head and smiles. You look at Steve, who's already looking at you. 
"Princess Buttercup?" you ask. 
"Well." He rubs the back of his neck. "Y-Yeah, kinda. You mentioned The Princess Bride and, uh, I don’t know your name, so…”
You mull that over. 
"If I'm Buttercup, you must be Westley." 
Steve's eyes widen. "Uh…" 
Robin snickers. Max smirks. 
"Interesting shade of red you're turning, Westley," Robin says. 
"Shut—"
He kicks her chair leg. She yelps and shoves him in retaliation. Max rolls her eyes. 
"Have some class, will you?" she says. 
"I'm classy!" Steve insists. 
"Not anymore," Lucas says gravely. "Now you're a glorified babysitter." 
"Childcare is dutiful work," you say. 
Steve grins at you. Your stomach flutters.
“Is that a mud pie?” he asks. 
You nod. 
“Gummy worms?” 
You tilt your head. “How did you know?”
Steve chuckles. “Lucky guess.”
Across the table, the others argue about the classiest ice cream flavors.
“It’s obviously mango sorbet.”
“Sorbet isn’t ice cream!”
“Are they your kids?” you ask.
Steve leans in so you can talk in his ear. His arm is on the back of your chair. If you shift the slightest inch, you’d feel him.
“Minus Robin. Though, sometimes…” He rolls his eyes playfully. “But, um, yeah. Two of them.”
“How many kids do you have?” you ask.
“Let’s see…” Steve counts on his fingers. “Six?”
“Wow. You must be some babysitter.”
“I’m alright.”
You lean in. Steve blinks.
“What’re you doing?” he asks.
“You have an eyelash.” 
You swipe the hair off his cheek and hold your finger in front of his mouth.
“You have to make a wish.”
Steve’s eyes slide to you. He gently holds your hand in place. Your heart beats faster.
“‘Kay.” He blows the eyelash away, but doesn't release your hand. “Let’s see if it comes true.”
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The numbers stare at you. Taunt you, really.
You practically have them memorized. You’d written them thirty times on a piece of notebook paper. Then you’d shoved that under your bed. 
Now you have it taped to your dresser mirror. 
You wish you could talk to Joan about it, but she’s bathing in the sink after an unfortunate encounter with a paint can. 
The Sharpie is gone from your arm, has been gone for several days now. But if you concentrate, you can see its silhouette on your skin. 
You get up and peel the paper off the mirror. Then you go down the hall to your phone. 
Carefully, you dial, making sure not to press any wrong buttons. 
The phone rings. You rock on your toes.
“Hello?” Steve says.
You freeze. 
“Hellooo…?”
“Hi,” you finally say. “It’s Buttercup.”
“Oh!” He sounds so happy. “Hey! Hey, how are you?”
“Good.” You chew on a cuticle. “It’s Saturday.”
“Oh, right! Did you wanna go rollerblading?”
Relief floods you. He remembers.
“Yes. If you’re planning it.”
“I haven’t talked to the kids, but I’m sure they’d be down.” You can hear the smile in his voice. “I can pick you up in twenty?"
“I can walk.”
“C’mon, in the sun? You live on the same street as Lucas anyway, don’t worry about it.”
“Well.” You twirl the telephone cord around your finger so tightly, it threatens to cut off your circulation. “Okay… if it’s no trouble.”
“It’s no trouble,” Steve promises. “I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”
You hang up and run to your room to dig for your skates. They’re stuffed under your bed next to a mini gumball machine. You shove two green gumballs in your mouth and race to the bathroom to check on Joan, nearly slipping on the wood.
“I’m going out, Joan. I think he might… he might like me.” You crunch on the gumball shells and shudder. “What a terrifying thought.”
You pull out the drain stopper and set Joan on a washcloth to dry. Then you go down the hall to put on your sneakers. 
Steve arrives five minutes early. You only know that because you spend the whole time watching the road from your curtained window. You shake your hands out, overwhelmed with nerves. 
It’s just a boy. He’s only a boy. 
The two of you meet halfway. Steve jogs backwards, unusually skillful, and opens the passenger door for you.
“Hey. Does Joan want to come?” Steve asks. 
You shake your head. “She’s having a spa day. It’s just me.”
“Well, I’m happy to have you,” he says, sweet and earnest. 
You duck inside the car and shake your hands a little, trying to fend off the returning nerves. Just a boy.
“So, that’s El,” Steve says as he gets into the driver’s seat, pointing to a girl with short curls. “And you know Max and Lucas.”
Max nods at you with a smile. Lucas waves.
“Hi, El,” you say. “Cool hair.”
“Thank you,” she says, voice soft. “I like your skates.”
“I found them at a yard sale. You can find anything in a yard.”
"Okay," Steve says. "Everybody buckled?" 
“Yes, Mom,” Max mumbles. 
Steve catches your gaze and rolls his eyes. You smile.
Briefly, you worry you’ll have to fill the silence and talk about yourself, like people expect you to. But Steve and the kids hold conversation easily. They talk about anything and everything. 
They're more energetic than you're used to; Debbie always prefers it to be quiet. 
But you don't mind it. You don’t feel lonely like you do when you’re with Debbie.
“Alright, please stay within this area,” Steve says when he parks and everyone gets out. “Within—”
“Shouting distance!” Max yells. “Yeah, we know!”
The park isn't crowded. Most of the paths are clear, so skating will be no problem. 
Max gets out two skateboards from the trunk. 
“Max is going to teach me how to do an ollie,” El informs you. “Would you like to join us?”
“Maybe later,” you say. “I want to master my yard skates.”
She nods and follows the others to the small skate park on the other side of the trees. 
You bring your skates to a bench and sit, lacing them up your feet. Steve is a few feet away, swinging his arms slightly.
“Aren’t you going to join them?” you ask.
“Oh, uh, no. I brought my own skates… I thought maybe we could skate together, if that’s okay?”
“Yes, I would like that,” you say. 
Steve beams. “Alright, cool. I’ll go get mine.”
You stand, about to take a step forward—and immediately slip.
Steve reacts instantly, lunging to catch you. One hand grabs your elbow, the other on your stomach. You squeal and cling to his shirt. 
“Are you okay?” he asks, helping you stand upright.
“I’m okay,” you say, breath caught in your throat.
You take a step but your foot wobbles. Steve grabs you again. You don’t try to take another step.
“I thought skating would be intuitive,” you say, rolling one skate to test.
“What?” 
You look up. Steve’s face is inches from yours. His hair is golden in the sunshine. His eyes lock on your own; his focus sends a jolt of electricity down your spine.
“You know, like how babies are able to swim for the first six months of their lives?”
“Uh…” Steve tilts his head. “No?”
“Oh. Because they were in the womb, they have that ability. ‘Cause they float around in there for nine months, you know? But then they lose it. That’s why we have to learn how to swim.”
“Wow. That’s a cool fact.”
Nobody ever thinks your facts are cool. But Steve does.
“Well, I thought skating would be similar,” you say. “I’ve watched other people skate, so I thought I’d just… do it. I guess I lost that at six months too.”
Steve’s smiling. It’s a gentle smile, though. Not a teasing smile. 
“I see,” he says. “I’m sorry for your disappointment.”
“It’s alright. Life is far more than disappointment. No use getting hung up on it.”
“Do you want me to teach you how to skate?” he asks. “I promise I’m good at it. Coach Collins said I could’ve seriously pursued it.”
“So skating for you is like avoiding death for Westley,” you say.
“Actually, I’m pretty good at avoiding death too,” Steve says. “And making grilled cheeses.”
“Triple threat.”
He ducks his head with a laugh, and you feel the warmth of it flow through your own body.
“Sure. Can’t make lemonade for shit, though.”
“I think your lemonade is perfect, Steve Harrington.”
His cheeks are scarlet again. It’s quickly becoming your favorite color.
“I would like it if you taught me,” you say.
“Okay. I’ll get my skates after you get the hang of it. Put your hand on my arm, right here.”
Steve pats his forearm. Carefully, you do as he says. 
“I’m nervous,” you confess. 
“I got you,” Steve says, cheek brushing your head. “I won’t let you fall, Buttercup.”
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Saint Aloysius’ parking lot has the best rocks. 
You've never told anybody as much because you imagine the lot would get busy, and you like it empty.
Today, you're searching for a brother for Joan. Ever since that tragic day at Macinaw Island, Joan's been very lonely. It‘s hard being a sisterless sister. 
Joan is smooth and round, so you look for an equally smooth and round brother. Commonality is important. 
Your knees hurt from squatting, so you sit. The rocks poke your butt. 
You hear a car rolling up the hill, engine a soft purr. You stop and turn. 
The car is maroon and shiny, with only a couple slight scratches you can't notice unless you look really hard. You don't recognize the license plate, although you have yet to start your record of Hawkins plates. 
It putters to a stop in front of Giovanni's Bakery across the street. The car doors open. 
"I'm losing my edge, Robs! I made a damn fool of myself. I can't even—"
"Okay, first of all, I feel like we're glossing over the fact that you don't even know this girl. And what she did was technically trespassing."
"Do you know her name?" another voice pipes up. 
"No, Dustin, I don't know her name. I don't even know if she lives in Hawkins!"
Their voices disappear as they go inside the bakery. You find Joan a brother, Jack, and Jack finds a wife named Gwen. Gwen isn't smooth and round; she's sharp-edged and will be harder to clean, but she's a muted salmon color and you think she's pretty. You hope Jack will find her pretty too.
As you dig through the pile of rocks, your finger catches on the edge of a broken bottle. It slices your finger. Blood swells immediately. 
You put your new rocks in your plastic red pail with your other hand. Then you stand, joints popping as you do so. You stick your ribs out and bend your spine in a stretch. 
You cross the street to the bakery, pail in hand. The bell jingles as you enter. You hum the ding-dong under your breath. 
"Can I help you?" the man behind the counter asks.
"Hello. Can I have five baci di dama and five of the raspberry sandwich cookies?"
He goes to the display case with a paper bag. You rest your elbows on the counter, pail handles over your arm. 
"Anything else?"
"Yes. Do you have a bandaid? I'm bleeding."
The man purses his lips. "No bandaid, sorry."
"That's okay. Just the cookies, then." 
"Buttercup?"
You turn. Steve stands before you, wearing his Family Video vest. Robin is beside him, her hair piled into a windblown bun on her head. Another boy, shorter than both, younger, is with them. He waves at you, curls bouncing. 
You wave back. Robin squeals.
"Oh my God, what happened to your finger?" she asks, horrified. 
"There was a broken bottle in the parking lot."
"Jesus," Steve says. He takes your hand and inspects it. He's so close and warm. All you can do is stare at the freckles on his neck. 
“Why were you in the parking lot?” he asks.
“I was looking for rocks. This is the best rock spot in all of Hawkins. Well, after Lover’s Lake. But the pH has been abnormally high there. Probably because of the monsters. So I came here.”
"Hi, I'm Dustin," the boy introduces. “Is your finger okay?”
"Hi, Dustin. I think I’ll survive,” you say. “Dustin means brave warrior in Norse.”
Dustin beams. “Yup. I was named after my grandfather. He served in World War Two.”
"Names are important,” you say. “Joan agonized for days deciding what I should call her. Eventually, I decided for her. A name says a lot about a person. Steve has a warrior and good luck at his side."
"Yep, Steve-o here is pretty blessed to have us. And," he gestures to you, "You are?"
"Hungry," you say, taking your bag of cookies with your free hand. 
The bag crinkles as you open it. You hold it out to Steve. 
"Do you want one? I promise they’re blood-free.”
"Uh…” He glances at your hand. “Are you sure your finger is okay?”
“She’s a trooper. Survived ink poisoning and everything.” You wave the bag again. “Cookie?” 
Steve takes a baci di dama out and pops it into his mouth. He hums as he chews, nodding. 
"'S good," he says after he swallows.
"Baci di dama means lady's kisses in Italian," you say. 
His cheeks turn pink again. 
"You should drink more water," you add. "You turn pink easily."
Robin snorts. Steve holds a hand to his cheek. 
"Uh, thanks."
“You’re welcome. Robin, would you like a cookie?" 
"No, thanks,” she says. “I'm picking up a tiramisu for my mom's birthday."
"I want a cookie!" Dustin says. 
"Dude," Steve hisses. 
You hold the bag open to Dustin. He takes a raspberry sandwich cookie. 
"So," Dustin says, mouth full. "Are you Steve’s girlfriend or something?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” you say.
“Du-ude!” Steve says too loudly, voice climbing in pitch.
“What? You talk about her all the freakin’ time. I needed to know.”
You look at Steve. He rubs the back of his neck and half-smiles.  
“Anyway,” continues Dustin. “How do you know Steve?”
"I climbed over his gate by accident on the hottest day of May,” you say.
"By accident?" 
"Yes. All the gates in Loch Nora look the same. Except Steve's gate has climbing ivy and little red flowers. It's much nicer than the other houses. It looks like a person lives there. I mistook it for Debbie's gate." 
Robin tilts her head at you. You don't care what Steve says; she's a one hundred percent bonafide bird. 
Dustin points to your pail, crumbs all over his chin. "Why do you have rocks?"
"They're for Joan," you say.
"Joan? Is she your friend?"
"She's more like my confidante. She doesn't talk much, so I think it'd be presumptuous of me to call her a friend when I have no idea where we stand." 
"Navigating friendships can be hard," Steve offers. 
"Yes," you say. "They can be."
"Being straightforward can help a lot," he continues. "It, uh, at least helped me. That way the other person knows what you mean. No room for miscommunication."
You nod. "That's good advice. I'll have to try that with Joan. Sometimes she can be kind of hard-headed."
You roll up your bag of cookies and reposition your pail on your arm so the metal doesn't dig into your skin. 
"It was nice to meet you, Dustin," you say. "Goodbye, Steve and Robin."
"Wait!"
Steve holds the door for you and follows you out. He still smells sweet, like pineapple, and also a little woody. He touches the small of your back, sending a bolt of electricity down your spine.
"I have a first aid kit in my car. Let me wrap your cut."
"Oh." You'd forgotten about it. "Okay."
You follow Steve to his car. He pops the trunk and rummages. You spot a bat with nails. 
"Very inventive," you say, pointing at the bat. 
Steve laughs shyly. "Yeah, uh, the monsters."
"I definitely wouldn't want to fight you if I were a multi-dimensional monster."
He smiles and takes out a small spray bottle of disinfectant. 
"This is gonna sting, okay? But we need to make sure nothing gets infected."
"An infection would be unfortunate," you say. "I'm quite attached to this finger." 
He sprays and cleans your finger. You wince and Steve squeezes your wrist in apology. Then he pulls out bandaids. 
"Any preference? I have rainbow, Star Wars, 'cause they're all a bunch of nerds, cats… oh, I have flowers! ‘Cause you’re, uh, Buttercup, you know?" 
"Flowers," you say, because Steve's so excited about it. 
He nods and opens the bandaid. You hold out your finger and Steve carefully wraps it. He rubs your knuckle. 
"Thank you," you say. 
"You're welcome. Be careful, okay?"
"I will."
He closes the trunk, swinging his keys on his finger. 
"Sorry if that was awkward, by the way," he says. "Dustin, I mean. He can be… blunt." 
"It wasn't awkward."
“It wasn’t?”
“No,” you say. “I’m happy you tell people about me. I tell Joan about you all the time.”
"Oh." He nods. "That—that’s good. So… we’re both… uh—”  
"Do you want another lady's kiss?"
"What? Oh—" Steve clears his throat. "N-no, that's okay. Thanks."
You take out a raspberry cookie and bite into it. 
"Your hair has product," you observe. 
"Yeah. No secrets, though."
"Everybody's hair has secrets."
"Even yours?" he asks. 
"Especially mine." 
Steve rubs the back of his neck. You open your bag and take out another cookie. He looks like he's trying to find the right words to say. You don't mind waiting. 
"Hey, do you like barbecue?" he asks. 
"I like it as well as anybody else."  
"Well, um, I'm having a barbecue this Saturday. Lucas won a big championship game and so we're celebrating his win."
"That's nice," you say. "Congratulations to Lucas."
"Yeah! So, um, did you maybe want to come too? It'll be at my house. You could bring a friend if you wanted. Like Joan."
"Joan is a vegetarian," you say. "But I'm sure she'd enjoy the company."
Steve smiles. He has such a pretty smile. 
"We're ordering pizza too, so Joan can have some of that."
"You're a very thoughtful host.”
Then you have a terrible thought. But you have to ask it because if you don't, you might be breaking some kind of invisible expectation. You do that a lot. 
"Does Debbie have to come?" you ask. 
Steve blinks. "Uh, no? It's not a requirement."
"Some people ask me to parties because they want Debbie to come." 
Steve frowns. "That's rude. I wouldn't do that."
"Okay. What time does the barbecue begin?"
"You can stop by anytime. But we'll probably start eating around six."
You nod. "Joan and I will be there at five thirty."
Steve's answering grin is blinding. He must be really excited to meet Joan. You get it; Joan's the life of any party she attends. 
"Great, that's great. I'll see you then."
"Bye, Steve," you say. 
"Bye," he answers like he's out of breath. 
Even the way he breathes is pretty.
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Every month, Miles Stanwick throws a party. 
Miles is a celebrity in Hawkins, his father being a state senator, and Miles is, according to a drunk Debbie, “the Gatsby to her Daisy.”
You're pretty sure Debbie hasn't read the book. Or maybe she's a living tragedy. Either is possible. 
It had been just you two in her room, without the Other Debbie she pretends to be to impress the people of Loch Nora, when she'd told you what it meant to be in love. 
"You just know," she'd said, her breath reeking of tequila.
You'd turned your head. Tequila made your nose itch. 
"But you love Brett," you'd said. 
"Brett is who I'll marry," she'd corrected. She’d sounded so sad. "Miles is all I've got."
Then she'd thrown up all over her carpet. You'd helped her into bed and made a mental note to find her a friend like Joan to keep her company, for when you weren't around. 
You don't like parties. They're loud and smelly and usually filled with people you don't like or don't know. And at a party, people you don't like and people you don't know are one and the same. 
You would leave, but Debbie is your ride tonight. So you're stuck here until midnight, maybe even later. 
Someone plugs in a karaoke machine and that gets most of the party's attention. The music is horribly loud and is the kind that’s just a lot of synthesizer. 
A guy jumps onto the Stanwicks' coffee table and knocks over the potpourri dish. Dried petals and orange peels scatter across the carpet. 
Debbie appears in front of you, a red Solo cup in her hand. 
"What did I bring you here for?" she asks, mouth curled. "To slump on the couch?"
"No one here wants to talk," you say. 
Debbie rolls her eyes. "Parties aren't for talking. They're for drinking and making out. Someone's rolling a blunt in the den. Go suck on that, will you?"
The people in Loch Nora are so good at making you feel two inches tall. You wish you'd brought Joan. She'd know what to do. 
You've tried alcohol before. Champagne at a wedding. A sip of rum from the Wellermans' liquor cabinet, back when Debbie wasn't so caught up in being just like everyone else. 
Maybe it's your fault, too. Maybe you're too good at standing out. 
You go to the kitchen. It's already trashed. You step over a spill on the floor. Then you turn around and lay down some paper towels so no one will slip. 
There are various bottles of strong liquor strewn across the counters. You decide to try the punch and fill your cup to the top. You sniff it and your nose wrinkles at the whiff of alcohol. 
You so badly want to have fun. You want to know what makes all of this worth it. You want your friendship with Debbie to be worth it. 
You down the punch in one go. It makes you cough and you scramble for water at the sink. You wonder if the punch is poisoned. 
You wobble out of the kitchen a couple minutes later, head already woozy. A girl stands with a drink, one arm folded. 
"Where's Debbie?" you ask. The girl winces and steps away from you. 
"She went with Miles and some other people to the lake."
Your eyes widen. "No, they can't. There's monsters."
She looks at you like you might be an insect splattered on her dashboard. 
"You're Debbie's weird friend, aren't you?"
Weird doesn't make you feel good, like Steve calling you strange did. Weird makes you feel like when a boy in sixth grade stepped on your heels while going up the stairs because he thought it was funny. 
"Debbie would've told me," you say. 
The girl shrugs. "Guess she ditched you. She can't score with Miles if you're killing the vibe." 
Weird tastes like poison in your mouth. 
"Debbie was my ride," you say, but she’s already gone.
Your head aches. You try to think on what to do next. It's nearly midnight. No one is awake, and you have no idea how to call a cab. 
You find the Stanwicks' phone in the hall and dial the only number you know, besides your own, and the local pizzeria. 
"Hello?" 
You lean against the wall, phone in both hands. 
"Uh, hello? Who is this?" 
"H-hi, Westley." Your voice cracks. 
"Hey," Steve says, unbearably gentle. "My favorite rock girl. Jesus, it's… midnight."  
"I'm sorry," you say. 
"No, no, it's alright. I'm just—is everything okay? Are you okay?" 
"Debbie ditched me."
Silence. For a moment, you panic that the line's dropped.
"Steve?"
"Where are you?" 
"I'm, um, at Miles Stanwick's. The address is… well, I don't remember, but I'll go outside and look for the house number—"
"I know it," Steve says. "Stay right there. I'm coming to get you. Don't drink any more."
Your lip wobbles. "'Kay."
"It's okay," he soothes. "Drink some water. Don't take anything from anybody." 
"I just wanted to be fun," you blurt. 
"You are fun, Buttercup. Way more fun than anybody at that house, I guarantee it. I'll be there in ten minutes, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, Steve," you say, no longer feeling so small. 
You hang up and go to the kitchen to get more water from the sink. Then you return to the hallway and sit, back against the wall, knees tucked into your chest. 
You doze, lids heavy from the alcohol. The next thing you know are two hands on your arms. 
You jolt awake. One hand cradles the back of your head so you don't thump it against the wall. 
"Hey, hey." Steve kneels in front of you. He brushes your cheek with a cool knuckle. "It's me, it's Steve. Are you okay?"
His hands are cool against your overheated skin. He smells like lemon shampoo. 
"My knight," you say. 
"I thought Westley was a pirate."
“He was only pretending." 
You let Steve ease you up. His car keys dig into your hip.
"Ow," you say dazedly. 
"What? What hurts?"
"Keys."
"Oh." Steve shifts you to his opposite side, hand on your back. "Sorry, honey." 
"Honey never spoils," you say. "Did you know that? You could dig up honey from a tomb that's thousands of years old and as long as it was stored in an airtight container, it's good to eat."
"I love that you know that." 
"Do you really?" 
"I really do," Steve says. "C’mon, let's get you home." 
Outside, the moon is a dot of cream in the purple sky. The neighborhood is quiet. Most of the houses are also dark. 
"I'm sorry for calling you so late," you say. 
"Don't be. I'm glad you called me. These parties can get out of hand."
"Debbie left. She went to Lover's Lake with Miles—"
The panic returns, flooding your body. You squirm and Steve tries to keep you steady. 
"Whoa, what's—"
"The monsters! There's monsters down there, Steve. I don't like Miles, but I don't want him to be eaten!"
"No, no, no more monsters," Steve assures you. "They can't come through there anymore."
You still. "Promise?"
"I promise."
He helps you into the passenger seat of his car. Steve leans in and pulls the seat belt over you.
"Comfy?" he asks. 
"I like you so much, Steve Harrington."
It's too dark to tell, but you suspect he's got another case of sunstroke. 
"I, um, like you too, Buttercup. You're really cool."
"Me?" You wave your hand. "No."
"Really," he insists. "You are. The coolest."
If you were Debbie, if you weren't weird in the wrong way, if you didn't go to parties to talk, and if you fit a million other criteria you never will, Steve would kiss you right now. Or maybe you'd kiss him. 
But you don't know how to go about that. You don't think it's your right to do such a thing. 
So Steve shuts the door and walks around to the driver's seat. You stare at your flower bandaid.
"Four three's," Steve says as he turns the ignition. 
You turn your head. "Hmm?"
"The house number. Four three's. That's gotta be, like, astronomically bad luck, right?"
"Without a doubt."
Except you're here with Steve Harrington, and he calls you honey and thinks you're cool. And that doesn't seem like bad luck at all. 
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"I'm going to a barbecue," you call out. 
There's no reply. You close the door behind you.
Joan sits in your pocket. You've tied a purple ribbon around her head, right above her googly eyes. You don't know what the dress code is for a barbecue, but you hope she's not underdressed.
You haven’t spoken to Steve since Miles’ party. You’re not sure what you should say, and you can’t bear the thought of calling him to hear silence. 
Even if he doesn’t like you the way you like him, you hope he’ll still be friends with you. Steve and his kids have grown on you. You don’t know if you can go back to who you were before the hottest day of May. 
“Material Girl” plays from inside Steve's backyard. You mouth the words as you fling your flip flops over the gate. 
"What the fuck?" someone says from the other side. 
You climb the gate and shimmy down. It's a good thing you're wearing shorts under your dress.
A boy, lanky and tall but probably Lucas's age, holds one of your flip flops. He stares at you and shakes the shoe. 
"Is this yours?"
"Both of them are," you say. "Does Steve like Madonna?"
He grimaces. "Unfortunately."
"Cool."
You spot Steve sitting on one of the deck chairs with Robin and a boy your age with big, curly hair and a Led Zeppelin shirt with cropped sleeves. 
"Venus" plays next and you wobble in time with the music as you walk over to Steve. 
"Her weapons were her crystal eyes," you whisper. The pavement is warm under your toes. 
"Making every man mad." 
Steve turns just as you reach him. He stands so fast he shakes the chair. 
"Hey!" he says. He sounds out of breath again. "Hey, you came."
"You invited me," you say. 
"Yeah, yes." Steve nods. "I did. I'm glad you're here."
"You play good music."
"Ha!" Steve whips his head to look at the curly haired boy. "Suck it, Munson."
"She's obviously biased." 
"Munson," you say. "Eddie Munson?"
Eddie freezes under your gaze. Robin and Steve glance at you. 
"Yeah, uh, that's me." Eddie smiles weakly. "Look, you might've heard some stuff abou—"
"You helped fight the monsters," you interrupt. "You're very brave." 
Eddie's eyes widen. "I—"
"Most people just like to ignore monsters. It takes a really good person to fight them." You turn to Steve. "Do you have orange Fanta?" 
"Yeah, sure. I'll get you a can. Feel free to sit… where are your shoes?"
You point behind you. "Your bodyguard had to screen them after I climbed your gate. You have very tight security."
"After you climbed my… wait, Mike? God, I’m sorry about him. I'll get your shoes back."
"It's okay. Flip flops are dangerous weapons. It's only a matter of time before the airport bans them." 
Steve tilts his head, eyes warm. "Right. I'll be back. That's Eddie and Robin… you know them."
"I know their names, and that's about all you can know about anybody."
Eddie giggles. You look at him. He doesn't seem to be laughing at you, so you sit where Steve was sitting, across from Eddie's chair. You point at his shirt. 
"I like Kashmir."
"Thank God! Somebody with decent tastes."
"I'll listen to anything," you say. "It's important to be a good listener."
Eddie grins. "Words of the wise."
"Where's Joan?" Robin asks. 
"Right here." You take Joan out of your pocket and set her down on the edge of the pool chair. 
"Sick," Eddie says.
You nod. "The ribbon was my pick."
"I like it," Robin says. 
"Thank you."
Steve returns with an orange Fanta for you and a root beer for Robin. 
Robin points to Joan. "Steve, this is the famous Joan we've heard so much about."
"That's a rock," says Steve. 
"Yep."
"Oh." He nods in understanding. "Joan is your pet rock?"
"Confidante," you correct. "’Pet’ is demeaning."
"Got it. And was Joan's sister also your confidante?"
"No. Joan's sister didn't like me much. She thought I was a bad influence on Joan. But we shouldn't talk about it now. Joan gets very sad when I bring it up."
You open your can. The carbonation hisses. It's itchy and sweet on your tongue. 
"I like your hair," you say. "It's fluffy. Like it was on the hottest day of May."
Steve pushes a couple strands behind his ear.
"Thanks. The gel is too much on hot days like these. Weighs me down."
"At least you won't float away." You look at Eddie. "Is your hair full of secrets too?"
Eddie ruffles his hair. "Not as many as Steve's, but I've got a couple in here. 'S what gives my curls volume." 
"Hm. Just as I suspected," you say. 
"Ste-eve!" Dustin whines from across the yard. "You promised burgers!"
Steve rolls his eyes. "You'd think he's never been fed in his life."
Eddie pats his shoulder. "You've got this, Harrington."
"Oh, no. You wanna eat, you've gotta earn your keep. Come on."
Eddie groans, flinging himself off the chair. "Save me, Buckley!"
"Already did that," she says, pulling her sunglasses onto her eyes. "Never again." 
"You should tie up your hair so it doesn't catch fire," you suggest. 
"Well, at least somebody cares about me," Eddie declares, pulling his hair into a ponytail. 
Steve turns to you and smiles softly. 
"Are you hungry? You can have the first pick of the burgers."
"Won't Dustin be annoyed?"
Steve shrugs. "Kid could use some manners. Besides, pretty girls always get the first pick. It's the law." 
You follow Steve and Eddie to the grill, pretty girl echoing in your brain the whole time. 
Eddie's hair doesn't catch on fire and Steve makes you a perfect burger. The sun sparkles on the pool surface. The kids come out to eat and, predictably, Dustin complains about not getting the first burger.
"Not fair. Just 'cause she's your girlfriend," he mumbles as he goes off to search for the mustard. 
You check to see if Steve had heard the comment. He doesn't seem to have; you can't decide if you're relieved or not. 
The chairs are all taken by the time you finish fixing up your burger. Steve stands immediately as you approach.
“Here, take my seat,” he says.
“We can share,” you offer.
Steve lets you take the back of the chair, settling at the foot. “You Make My Dreams Come True” plays on the speakers. 
“Whoever made this mixtape is a genius,” you announce.
“You like it?” says Steve. “I actually made this one. Robin and Eddie think my taste sucks, but—”
“It’s spectacular.”
He hums, ducking his head shyly. “Well, speaking of spectacular: I made more lemonade, if you want to test it before I unleash it upon the masses.”
“I’ll happily drink your lemonade,” you say. “It’ll build my iocane tolerance.”
Steve grins. “I rented The Princess Bride, by the way. I know you meant to get it a few weeks ago. We can watch it tonight, if you want.”
“You remembered I wanted to watch it,” you say.
He nods. “Well, uh, yeah. Do you still want to? If you don’t, I can—”
“I do,” you say. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, of course.” Steve stands, hand outstretched so you’ll give him your empty plate. “I’m going inside. Anybody want anything?”
“Doritos!” Robin shouts.
“Napkins, please,” El says.
“Cherry Coke!” Mike calls.
“Beer!” Eddie whoops.
“Doritos, napkins, got it. The cooler is right there, Wheeler, and are you kidding, Eddie? No drinking by the pool. Have we not learned our lesson from the last four years?”
“Bold of you to assume I’ve learned anything, Steven.”
“Can you bring us popsicles?” Max asks. “Lemon and grape.”
“Ooh, popsicles sound good,” says Robin. “Bring me one too. Fruit punch.”
Steve sighs, lifting his arms.
“Two hands, guys. Only got two.”
“I can help,” you offer.
“Now that’s a great idea,” Robin says. “The two of you in the kitchen, alone. Really brilliant, don’t you think, Steve?”
Steve glares at her. Then he turns to you, expression softening.
“That’d be great, thank you.”
You follow him into the kitchen. It looks exactly like the last time you were here, except for the food. Steve opens the freezer and digs through the box of popsicles. Then he takes the pitcher of lemonade out of the fridge and sets it on the counter.
“Can you get the Doritos?” he asks. “They’re up there.”
You open a shelf over the stove. The chips are at the very top. You try jumping; all that does is bang your ribs into the counter.
"Whoa, whoa.”
Steve’s hand rests on your back. Your stomach swoops. 
"Easy, Buttercup. I’ll get it, sorry ‘bout that."
You frown. "The Doritos have eluded me."
"They’re a tricky bunch," he says, reaching and successfully grabbing the chips.
"I knew you’d best me and succeed."
"Best you?" 
"Yes," you say. "Like in a duel."
Steve tilts his head, a tiny crinkle forming in the center of his brows. 
"Are we going to duel? Like Inigo and Westley?"
"Not if I can help it," you say. "I'm terrible with a sword."
"I would never try to sword fight you." 
"I appreciate that."
His hand slips from your back. You watch it fall to his side.
“Feel free to help yourself to whatever you want,” Steve says as he takes a glass out of the cupboard. “You can also take food home.”
You exhale through your nose and wiggle your fingers a little, trying to stave off the nerves. You wish Joan was in your pocket right now, but you left her on the deck chair. 
“Buttercup?” 
You look up. Steve has a glass of lemonade in one hand. The top button of his polo shirt is undone. Was it always undone? You can’t remember. 
Anyway, he’s beautiful. And you’re so damn strange.
“Yes, Westley?”
Steve smiles. You don’t think anyone has ever smiled at you as much as Steve does. 
“Everything okay?” he asks.
He puts the glass in front of you. You glance at it, then back at him.
“Everything’s fine.”
“Are you sure? I won’t force you to drink my crappy lemonade if you don’t want to, y’know.”
“You called me strange,” you blurt. “When we first met.”
Steve’s eyes widen. 
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” he says softly. “But I won’t call you that anymore if you don’t like it.”
“No, I–I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way. But…”
He nods, encouraging you to continue.
“I’m not like Debbie,” you say. 
“I know.”
“I’ll probably never be like Debbie.”
“I much prefer you as yourself,” he says.
“Oh.”
You sip your lemonade. Your lips pucker but you smile all the same.
“Damn,” Steve says with a chuckle. “I really can’t nail that lemonade, huh?”
“It’s wonderful,” you whisper. 
He takes a step forward. You set the glass on the counter.
“Can I kiss you?” he asks.
“I would very much like that.”
Steve’s lips are slightly chapped. You taste like lemonade and he tastes like Coke and God, you like it so much.
You loop your arms around his neck like you’ve wanted to do for weeks. He returns in kind, both hands slipping to your waist. 
It’s not just a boy kissing you. It’s Steve.
The sliding glass door whooshes open and you jerk your head back in surprise. Max and Dustin trod in. 
Dustin shrieks. 
“Seriously? This is what was taking you so long?”
“If you were gonna do that, we would’ve gotten the popsicles ourselves,” Max says with a huff, grabbing the popsicles and chips from the counter. 
“Told ya they were making out!” comes Eddie’s voice from outside. “I warned you, kiddies!”
They clear out, with one last stink eye from Dustin. Steve shakes his head, nose pressed to your cheek.
“Again, very sorry about them.”
“They wanted to check in on their favorite babysitter,” you say.
Steve lifts his head and rolls his eyes. “I need a padlock or something.”
You hum and lean over to unwrap a popsicle. 
“Oh,” you say. “Three left.”
“Three popsicles?”
“Mmhm.”
“Well, that explains it. Astronomical bad luck, right?”
“Actually,” you say, leaning in for another kiss. “I think my theory was wrong.”
1K notes · View notes
snapscube · 6 days
Note
Wait, what's the difference between benchmark 2 and benchmark 1? :0
LOTS of stuff. there was a lot of feedback about how the first benchmark (particularly the character creator portion) was causing characters to look somewhat uncanny. there were some texture issues, some modeling issues, some surprising oversights, and the character creator still containing the old lighting systems and environments of the base game was really fucking with the vibe. personally, i still think it was an overall improvement and u could def see it more in the benchmark cutscene itself with the dawntrail environments, but there were very fair concerns. it's not particularly surprising that with such a massive update there would be more oversights and issues than we're used to. BUT, with the new one they have fixed a large majority of the problems! including:
entirely reworked character creator environment. this is easily the largest scale change. they updated the lighting systems, removed dynamic weather conditions and lighting changes so things stay consistent, updated foliage and textures to represent dawntrail quality, removed the vignette around the screen, and more. they even added a new lighting mode in the "aether" environment that gives your character a very natural and consistent studio lighting so you have an environment that better represents your character's base skin tone. it's so, so good. look at the new foliage and lighting in the black shroud environment.
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2. they improved shading in the actual dawntrail environments as well so characters keep a nice amount of depth on their face even in dimly lit zones
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3. eyes no longer look dead in low light as the shader system that replaced the highlight texture has been strengthened so eyes now properly are very pretty and shiny
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and then yeah like i said there's a lot of texture fixes they made like moon miqote having their fangs reduced and lalafell having scary teeth scaling :)
and you may be thinking "wow this is a lot of work to put into at the last second just for a benchmark" but the cool thing is that ALL of these changes are being applied to the actual expansion. so people's feedback towards the benchmark actively improved the launch state of the expansion itself!
im just very happy about dawntrail :D i cant wait for the end of the month aaaa
336 notes · View notes
Text
Three. Four. Five. || Toxic!Husband!Price
For @glitterypirateduck's “O, Captain!” writing challenge! I used prompts:
30. "I hate you but if anything happened to you I'd burn the world" vibe.;
42. The story spans over a period of 10 or more years;
78. Give us a "That's my Wife!" moment.
Rating: E Words: 3.3K cw: toxic couple, VERY toxic, insults, death wishes, smut fade to black, pregnancy. Tags: f!reader, you/your pronouns but no Y/N, miilitary/court martial inaccuracies, very bad family dynamics?, dark humour??. Summary: John and Reader are in the worst fucking marriage ever. A collection of moments, dialogues and scenes from their terrible relationship. a/n: They are SO fucking toxic and dumb, I cannot- This is also very different from the stuff I usually write. This is ALSO not particularly angsty, more so dark humour.
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There was a time when you loved John Price.
With all your heart, all your soul (and all your pussy).
That time was when you were young.
Ages 14 to 21, you loved him. He was your first kiss, your first time. High school sweethearts, you supported him through the academy, he supported you when you went to university. 
You stayed together through his first and second deployments. It was like an old-timey WW2 romance. 
So many letters exchanged back and forth. All lovey-dovey, with faint pen ink and smudged blotches on the pages as you made plans for the future.
Phone calls with spotty service and loads of static, only five minutes per soldier, 5 minutes which he’d spend only ever spend talking to you, asking you to relay any other messages to his mum, dad, siblings so he wouldn’t have to hang up with you. 
Polaroids clipped on the inside of envelopes which he would then slip into the breast pocket of his shirt, keeping you over his heart… one he’d often pull out and look at during transpo, thumbs tracing your eternal smile.
Polaroids of yours, a bit more risqué, which he would keep tucked into a journal under his pillow, for his eyes only.
John would walk around overseas with a smile on his lips after getting a letter or a call from you, brag to his teammates about his “bird back home”, never going out to bars to find one night stands like they did…
But sometime after his second deployment and joining the SAS, the puppy love that had lasted for years started to dwindle. 
Slowly but surely, you found that you were both growing distant.
You assumed you were both growing a bit ‘comfortable’, perhaps complacent… like all relationships tend to get after a while. 
By that time, John and you had already moved in together and you were no longer consistently alone for months at a time waiting for him to return from deployment. You blamed it on that. Plus, you’d been together for years by then!
But it felt different. There was distance, emotional and physical. Whenever he cuddled up to you, you felt cold and so did he. The kisses to your forehead were meaningless, the dinners at home eerily silent.
And between the distance and the inability to make proper plans, proper dates, celebrate milestones together, forgotten anniversaries, overlooked birthdays… It turned into arguments. 
And one argument turned to three, to five, to seven… hundred.
You found yourself growing bitter, angry, hateful.
It wasn’t a sudden shift or anything.
Not like you woke up one day and the one thought in your head was “I hate him”...
But you remember hating him longer than you ever loved him.
You tried breaking up. And failed. 
Some… bastardised feeling of guilt came to the forefront of both your minds at the idea of throwing away 5 6 7 8 9 10 years together, and giving up on your first love… and maybe even fear of having to start anew with someone else.
So, you simply continued going through the motions. You got engaged, big shiny rock on your finger, all big smile, but no tears came when he proposed. Your families were ecstatic, not quite able to see through the thinly veiled deceit.
For the wedding, you pulled out all the stops, stressed yourself out preparing the ceremony and reception with the women in your family (and his! His mother and sister were so happy that John was getting married!), going wedding dress shopping…
You had a beautiful ceremony, John wearing his full dress suit, army green, with the beige SAS beret. You were both 27, and together for 13 years.
Then, came the honeymoon, which was cut short. Not that it was a true honeymoon. Just three days in a coastal town in Northern France, having to be within a day's drive of Hereford lest he get called out for a sudden mission, which he was.
Not that you expected any different from him. So the distance continued growing, as did the arguments.
You hated him. He hated you.
Then came the predictable “So, when can we expect some grandkids?”. You put it off for a couple more years, blaming it on your high-priority careers, the law and the military, so similar and so different; his lack of time at home and how regrettable it’d be for you to be alone through the pregnancy; the want to be ‘more present’ for the future kids, needing to wait for things to settle down a bit more…
You’d been together for so long at that point, 15 years under your belt, starkly aware that neither of you is going anywhere. The world keeps spinning and your relationship hasn't ended. Fuck it, might as well go for it.
And now here you are.
It’s been eighteen years since you met. Aged 32, you no longer have arguments, you have throwdowns. You pull out every weapon in your arsenal. Neither of you plays nice.
Insults are traded often. Death wishes even more so. And, more often than not, they’re delivered with such a deadpan nonchalance that you’re sure people would think you both psychopaths.
“Going on a mission. ‘ll be back in a few days.”
“‘Kay, hope you die.”
“So do I.”
-
“Just had a fender bender with a stupid bloke. The car’s at the shop. Taking an uber to the base to get your car.”
“Okay. Shame you didn’t die a fiery death.”
“Don’t remind me, already cried about it.”
-
"I'm getting discharged."
"Why?"
"Shot."
"And it couldn't have killed you?"
-
“Can you get out of the damn toilet? I’m bleeding.”
“Period, accident, or just part of your satanic rituals?”
“Period.”
“Tough luck. Hope you bleed out.”
It never gets physical, never violent. John would rather die than lay a hand on you and you’d never DARE lay one on him. It’s just a lot of yelling, a lot of insulting, a lot of throwing things around, and, especially, a lot of revenge plans being executed to drive each other crazy.
Like recently. You found out John had gotten a grey-haired wig about the same length and texture as your hair, and has been snipping off a few hairs at a time, planting them around the house to blame you for leaving your hair everywhere, while simultaneously making you feel like you’re going grey. So, you put grey hair box dye in his shampoo and beard oil, to make him think he’s going grey.
Or three months ago, when you replaced all your lightbulbs with dimmer ones and lowered the brightness on all electronics, to make him think his eyesight was starting to go bad. You drove him so mad that he had voluntarily signed up for sniper assessments because he was worried he’d become a liability for the team.
Or eight months ago, when John had to return home in the middle of the day wearing a ruined uniform and just about ready to blow smoke out of his ears, having ripped holes in the uniform midway through a meeting all because 2 or so weeks prior you had painstakingly undone part of the stitching on it after an argument, and that had resulted in him baring his hairy thighs and armpits to a boardroom full of officers.
It’s bad. Very bad. You’ve had your windows and doors insulated to make sure the neighbors don’t hear your screaming matches and call the cops on the “domestic violence” happening next door. 
You probably shouldn’t have kids with this man. And yet-
He drives you insane.
And you’ve TRIED to fix it! You did. Marriage counseling, rage rooms, axe-throwing, paintball matches, yoga, meditation.… Nothing worked! In fact, it only infuriated you more because:
“You’ve got a tactical advantage, you need to play with a handicap!”
“Tough luck, sweetheart. Get good or get shot!”.
-
“You can throw harder than that.”
“Oh, I’ll show ya throwing hard, you gobshite!”
“Okay, when are you planning to start?”
-
“My back hurts-”
“Because you’re getting old.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’m just telling you the truth. Face it, John, if the downward dog hurts your back, then you’re old.”
-
“Can you breathe any louder?”
“Yes, I can. Wanna see?”
“Just shut up. I can’t hear myself think.”
“Not much to hear either way, pretty hollow in there.”
“I hate you.”
“Feeling’s mutual, sweetness.”
There are only three occasions when you’re not actively at each other’s throats. Other, then, of course, when John’s working, especially when he’s overseas. You can’t fight if he’s both a) not home and b) unreachable via calls or texts or e-mails.
When you need a favor from the other, something you can’t quite do, or that falls in the other’s ‘jurisdiction’ in house chores.
“The washing machine’s leaking.”
“Turn off the water main, I’ll go check in a sec.”
“Mkay.”
-
“Here. Popped a button.”
“I don’t have any more army green thread.”
“Then use brown or black or whatever.”
-
“Where are your car keys?”
“What for?”
“Going to get it washed and detailed.”
“My purse.”
-
“You’re not gonna wear that, are you?”
“Why?”
“Besides the fact that it’s wrinkly? That’s a ‘house’ shirt, not a ‘going out’ shirt. Wear this one instead.”
2. When you’re both complaining or dealing with an outside force, a 3rd party, together.
"Excuse me, hi, I'm sending this back it's not cooked the way I asked."
"Ma'am that's exactly what you-"
"Are you calling my wife a liar?"
-
“Oh, fuck no. Why the fuck is he winning the Great British Bake Off?"
"Hm? Oh- oh! Yeah, why the fuck is he winning?"
“Bloody hell, he rolled his pastry too thin and had watery pie filling-”
“Wankers. This is not fair.”
-
“John. John!”
“What?”
“Look-”
“Blood hell, he’s back early-”
“Yeah and her boytoy’s car still there. They’re definitely still going at it.”
“Oh, this is going to be fun.”
-
“Excuse me! Hey, excuse me! Pick up after your bloody dog! NO, don’t you start with me, you keep leaving your dog’s shite right by our garden, don’t you see the sign my husband’s posted up?! Pick it up or I’ll do it and then drop it in your garden.”
3. During sex.
Marching into the bedroom after breakfast, you find John combing through his hair in the bathroom mirror. The room is steamy from the hot shower he just took. 
“Take your trousers off. I’m ovulating.” You warn him as you wave your phone in the air, showing off the period tracking app.
“I literally just showered.” John replies as you’re already shrugging off your robe and pajamas.
“Well, believe or not, I don’t control my ovaries, John.” You reply. “Now take your trousers off.”
“Already on it.” He replies as he already starts taking off his shirt and sweatpants, leaving them on a pile on the floor, before his boxer briefs follow suit.
His hand palms his cock as you’re getting comfortable on the bed, tugging on it lightly as he watches your fingers do the same between your legs. 
“Can we try to enjoy it this time?” He asks you in earnest.
“Sure.” You reply simply. “Been a while since we’ve had proper sex and not…”
“Not a breeding session?” He quips as he kneels on the bed between your parted thighs. His hand replaces yours and he starts rubbing your clit for you.
“Shut it…” You quip, while your own hand wraps around his cock, stroking it slowly. John lowers himself onto you and his lips slowly brush against yours before he kisses you.
No, as it turns out… There are actually four occasions when you’re not actively at each other’s throats:
4. The Kid
In a day like any other, you’re lying in bed, reading a book. It’s a lazy Sunday morning, your big, round belly feeling particularly heavy. You’ve stolen every other pillow in the house to try and find some comfort, which you fail remarkably at.
“I think I’m going grey.” John states to no one in particular.
He’s in the en-suite bathroom, applying beard oil across his mutton chops like he tends to do, about three times a week.
“You are.” You remark in a bored, dismissive tone as you read a book in bed.
“That’s not funny. I’m not that old.”
“You’re getting up there.”
“Look who’s talking, we’re the same age.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Jonathan?”
“It means you’re there yourself, darling.”
Raising your eyes from the book in your hands, the bottom of which rests atop your pregnant belly, you cock a brow at your ‘beloved’ husband.
“And this is coming from Santa Claus?” You retort swiftly.
John peeks his head out of the bathroom door to look at you. “You think you’ve got a leg to stand on, you crone?”
Grunting under your breath, you glare at him, and he glares at you, complete silence in the bedroom. 
There’s something in that face of his, the look in his eyes, those STUPID fucking mutton chops that you’ve told him to shave and he refuses…
Grabbing your book and rolling it into a cylinder, you hurl it at him, putting as much force behind your arm as you possibly can. It misses the mark, but only because he had the presence of mind to duck. 
“You’re such a fuckin’ knobhead!” You insult him, tongue dripping with bitterness.
“Wel, not like I can be anything else, really, when I’m married to such a raging cunt.” He retorts.
“OH FUCK YOU!” You retort.
“ALREADY AM MORE THAN FUCKED, SPENDING THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH YOU.”
“OH, PLEASE, YOU’RE MORE MARRIED TO YOUR BLOODY GUN THAN YOU ARE TO ME!”
“YEAH CAUSE AT LEAST MY GUN DOESN’T DRIVE ME FUCKING MENTAL!”
“OH PISS OFF!” You shout, your face twisting with a scowl.
“You know, you really shouldn’t be stressing yourself out like this. It’s not good for your blood pressure. Or for John Junior.”
“First of all, it’s not gonna be a boy. Secondly, even if it is a boy, we’re not naming him after you. And thirdly, how about you die, then I won’t get stressed.”
“And why would I do that, when I can stay right here, perfectly alive and healthy, and watch you give birth to John Junior, and have the pleasure of rubbing a ‘I told you so’ right in your face?��
“Oh fuck you. It’s not going to happen.” You sulk and cross your arms over your chest, leaning back against your mountain of pillows.
“Someone doesn’t like the idea of having a son that takes after me, hm??” John teases as he comes up to the bed, a brow cocked.
You trail him with your eyes as he sits next to you on the bed. “Absolutely not. I wanna have a child I actually am able to love, and not one that I have to lie to.”
“A mother’s love knows no bounds, huh? What a load of crap.” John quips.
“Oh, that’s 100% true. I love this baby to bits already, but if it takes after you… I’ll probably die.”
“Good.” John remarks, causing you to roll your eyss. “Much better than if our child takes after you. Spawn of Satan, he would be.” John’s hand slides up your leg and slowly cups your swollen stomach.
“I should probably address the fact you just called our child ‘Satan’s spawn’, but I’m more concerned over the fact you keep calling the baby a ‘son’.” You murmur as you uncross your arms and watch him caress your skin.
“I feel like it’s a boy, I don’t know what to tell you.” He replies as his calloused fingers drag over the stretch marks and linea nigra on your stomach.
“What if it’s a girl?”
“What about it?”
“I’ve seen enough men online getting pissy over havin’ a daughter.” You quip and cock a brow up, looking him in the eyes.
John’s eyes lock onto yours. “Not me.” Then they return to the belly as he continues rubbing you. “Would love a little girl too.”
“Hm.” You remark and slowly, your hand rubs over the belly on the opposite side, where John’s hand isn’t. “We’ve gotta promise not to yell or argue in front of the baby.”
“Kind of hard to do that when I’m married to the Devil.” John quips, causing you to look up at him, eyes narrowed.
“You’ve gotta promise. We’ve gotta promise.” You murmur as you look at him.
For a moment, his usually grumpy face softens and he nods. “I promise.”
Nodding as well, you echo the sentiment. “I promise.”
No, wait, five:
5. When you have his back.
“General, that is not what I asked you. I would ask that you stop beating around the bush, feeding me, the jury, and the people watching at home, fabricated information and embellished words in a sorry attempt to save your credibility. Stick to the questions being asked and stop wasting our times.” You warned the man as you paced the space in front of the stand.
“Me and everyone else in this room are looking for nothing but the truth, or must I remind you that you are under oath and also live on television?” You ask outloud as you turn to look at him.
“No, counselor.” The General, a heavy-set, older, mustachioed man replies, through gritted teeth, his face showing a polite expression while the man himself was seething on the inside.
“Very well, then, I’ll repeat the question. Were you or were you not aware of the aforementioned, unsactioned operations being conducted in the Al-Mazarah and Urzikstan border, involving CIA and MI6 operatives?” You asked, eyes glaring into the man’s eyes as you leaned into the stand near him.
“Well, as with most operations...”
“A yes or no is enough, General.” You told him sternly.
“Yes.” The man grits out.
“And did you, or did you not, give permission for these CIA and MI6 operatives, working under the guise of NATO, and I quote, from the transcript: “Authority to use any means necessary” on the enemy forces?” You confronted him.
“Well-”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“And did you do that while being aware that the teams involved would interpret such command as permission to execute an operation in which they’d use ‘extreme physical persuasion’ or, in other words, torture to achieve their goals?”
“I-”
“Did you or did you not, General?”
“Yes, but-”
“And did you, or did you not, not only demand the censoring of the clear and transparent reports received in the aftermath of that operation but also sign off on them yourself, to circumvent the proper channels of evaluation, which would force an internal audit to be conducted?”
“Yes-”
“So, in short, you just confirmed that you authorized your troops to, essentially, wipe their asses with the Geneva convention and comit war crimes on the POWs under their care?”
“Counselor-” One of the judges called out.
“Withdrawn. No further questions, Mr. Chairman.” You told the Chairman and the jury panel that sat above you, as you swiftly turned around and marched up to your table, high heels clacking on the polished floors of the court room.
Your eyes locked onto John’s as he sat in the back of the room, wearing his full regalia, his eyes locked onto yours with a strange shine to them… Almost like he’s proud of you.
As soon as you sit on the chair and the Chairman once again takes over, addressing the room, the General, calling other witnesses, your phone’s screen lights up on the chair next to you.
Picking it up quietly, you spot a message of John’s:
John: that’s my girl. knew you could do it. you: you owe me big time. John: i do. saved my arse there. you: of course. it’s what I’m here for.  John: almost making it sound like you love me. you: no but I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. you: no way in hell you’re leaving me alone with 3 children. John: i see. selfish woman. you: shut up.  you: and try not torturing POWs next time. John: yes, ma’am.
Five occasions seem to be enough to keep a 23-year marriage afloat.
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a/n: Big thanks to my beloved @crashtestbunny for helping draft/plot all these interactiions and just the general toxicity! And also @mothymunson your beloved Toxic!Price is here!
[ O, Captain! Masterlist ] || [ My Masterlist ]
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locallixie · 1 year
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housemates — lee know
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> summary . how can you live your life peacefully with having your housemate constantly seducing you like that?!
> genre . smut, fluff, housemates au, forced proximity, housemate!minho, gn!reader.
> warnings . sexual tension, general sexual themes, minor language, oral (receiving), unprotected sex, tipsy sex.
(wc) > 6.3k
(sunny's note) ☆ "and they were roommates.” wanted to be sweet and cute, until lee minho is in the equation. sorry for the late upload, i had a really bad writing slump and progress was slow. but i made it!
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You shouldn’t have agreed to this if you knew this was how it would turn out. What a mistake, your kindness that yourself and other has taken for granted. And currently stuck in a living situation that tested your patience every waking hours, your dormitory experience was no match for this.
Jisung had asked you for a ‘small’ favour a couple months earlier, about how his friend got evicted and was now homeless, wondering if you could let him stay for a while until he find a new place. First of all, that was not a small favor. Secondly, you didn’t even know this friend that he was talking about. And you were reluctant to let a stranger stay in your house right off the bat. You lived in a dorm before, but that was a dorm and not your own house.
“Please, [Y/N], just a couple months.” Jisung pushed over the phone, you could tell he was outside from the loud and slightly muffled noise that the speaker picked up upon.
Sighing, your soft spot for him would be the death of you. Agreed with hesitation, since you were glad you were out of the dorm life and regained your privacy, but it seemed that life had came to pull you back in. Jisung should be expecting your complaints if something bad happened between you and your new housemate.
From the first initial meeting, you got some of the weirdest vibe from this guy. Maybe it was the amount of black and leather he was dressed up in, or the bitchy look on his face that could kill with a single stare. How the fuck was Jisung friends with a person like this? They were the complete opposite of one another, the guy looked as if he committed first degree murders as his favourite past-time. What you meant was you were convinced that he was a sociopathic killer, and he was probably plotting yours and Jisung’s death soon.
For one person, he sure did had a lot of stuff. You three brought around eight or ten different sized carton boxes up to your apartment, not counting the two gigantic suitcases that he had to take a second trip with Jisung to go get. He must have been living in his old place for very long to have that much stuff, wonder why he got kicked out? Possibly because the landlord found the bodies with how sharp his eyes always glared at.
“Don’t worry about the rent, Minho can pay for his half.” Jisung reassured, starting his car. The engine roared loudly, it had been through a rough day of carrying all that stuff to here.
Before he left, Jisung told you one last thing. “Oh, and don’t be afraid to ask him for help around the house, Minho may look intimidating but he’s quite a sweet guy.” With that sentence stuck in the back of your head, he drove away. If you could even have enough courage to ask him to take the trash out, maybe that statement would be proven.
You did all the house chores yourself, you didn't ask for any assistance from Minho. Wether it was because you were used to having to do everything yourself, or he was just still as unapproachable as the first time you two met. But he too, barely talked to you. You heard his voice once or twice when he was on the phone, but he did not speak a full sentence to you and ought for short few words replies.
"Do you need any help?" Another voice emerged from behind your back, offering assistance.
You pulled the trash bag out of the can, "I'm good, thanks,"
"Whatever, suit yourself." Minho walked away. Not even a bit of small talk? It frustrated you of how aloof he was acting, he didn't want to get to know you at all. However, it pissed him off just as much, you would always shrug him off every-time he offered to help you. As you two had made it clear before, you hardly knew each other, and here you were living together as people of unfamiliarity.
You didn't know his last name, or how he met your three years best friend—Jisung. Neither did he held any personal information about you, he wasn't even sure which variation of your name was the correct one. Already a month has passed by and no one was willing to start up a conversation with the other person. This ice between you and Minho just kept getting thicker and colder.
Ranting on the phone, "I'm telling you, I can not get through him! I think he hate me!"
"Calm down, [Y/N], he doesn't hate you." Jisung reassured, sighing as this was the third phone call of the month that you were expressing your discontent for the same subject. "It's simple, just talk to him, even if it's small talk."
Hearing the front door opened, "Fuck, he's back, I'll talk to you later." You didn't let Jisung say 'bye', hanging up in the midst of his sentence.
Minho worked a nine-to-five job, you weren't sure of his occupation in particular. You got a sense of his routine, he would leave the house at exactly seven-fifty in the morning and usually came home around five or six—depending on the traffic that day. On few occasions, he was nice enough to bring food home for the both of you.
"Hey, you're back quite late today?" You asked, seeing the clock already hitting six at the moment.
He set down a few plastic bags on the table, "I got groceries on the way, I'll cook dinner." He explained shortly, bringing ingredients to the kitchen for preparation.
That was a first, he had never offered to cook before, much less thanking you for the meals you made for dinner. Guessed he was just hot and cold like that, and this was his way of showing his gratitude. You weren't mad, on what normal day would you have someone cook for you enjoy? You technically did everything yourself when you moved out a few years ago.
Watching his figure diligently cooking in the kitchen, it comforted you in an unusual way. He was like your own personal boyfriend—for tonight at least, he would cook and then sit at the table with you to eat, maybe he might even offer to wash the dishes. A fine, hard-working young man? Anyone who could scored him would probably be winning in life. You couldn’t hide your jealousy if he ever bring home a date.
He walked over to you, holding out a spoon with a small portion of thick orange liquid. Minho asked, “Try it, tell me if it suit your taste.”
The tangy flavour stood out immediately, he must have put something citrusy as it melt into your tastebuds. It was good, no, amazing even! This hidden talent of his was worth all the waiting you had done, you never knew Minho could be such a great chef. For a while, you thought this guy couldn’t possibly hold a knife correctly, yet you were proven wrong of your assumptions.
You nodded, the sound you made when encountered good food already told him enough. Everything smelled so mouth-watering, and the presentation was tempting you to devour everything in on sitting.
"Thanks for the food!" As soon as he placed the last dish onto the table, you immediately picked up your utensils. You could not hold yourself back when face with good home-cooked food, good home-cooked food made by an equally good-looking guy.
Minho sat down beside you—he usually sat across from you which kept a nice distance between the two of you—he was very close today. Asked he, "How is it? Good?"
You didn't hold back on your praises, "God, why didn't you cook sooner? This is actual heaven~!"
He simply smiled in a humble manner. Your face was a little puffed up when you eat, which he found quite endearing. Watching you stuffed your entire face with rice, sweet and sour ribs, and eggrolls. Flattered by how much you were enjoying it, yet concerned from how fast you were eating.
"Slow down, wouldn't want you to choke." He gazed at you as he advised.
"Unless you like it like that." Immediately, you started coughing profusely. A grain of rice flew up to your nose, making everything worse the longer it stayed stuck up there.
Minho patted your back, "Woah, are you alright?" Uh, obviously no?! You were coughing out rice over here, how could you even be remotely okay? And how did he expect you to be okay after that suggestive comment he just made? This guy was unbelievable. The smile laced with deviousness, as if he was silently planning something that would catch you off guard—which certainly did a minute ago.
He picked up a single rib and ate it with his chopsticks, he probably mind getting his hands dirty from that sticky sauce he used. How could Minho looked so graceful while eating while you were here devouring everything down like a fucking caveman. Work on your image a bit, would you? Especially when you were living with someone that wouldn't use their hands to eat ribs.
"Have you been talking to Jisung recently?" Minho suddenly questioned, setting down his bowl as to show respect.
You turned to him, confusion sitting on your shoulders and your heart sinking with a bit of guilt. By any chance, did he overheard your conversations? "Yeah, I have." Continued by another question, "What? Are you two not talking?"
Minho's eyes was bigger than you expected, now seeing him a bit closer from your distance from each other. It curved in a very pretty way, and glistened upon every reflections of his soul. You couldn't help, couldn't help but get a little sad every-time you gazed into his eyes, or when they would unknowingly stared back at you. He looked at you, as if through his eyes saw you as the most precious person to exist in the short timespan that was the human life.
"He haven't been answering my texts and calls, I don't know if he's upset with me or something?" Minho sighed, "Can you...just ask him for me?"
In a bit of hesitation, "Would it be a bit rude for an outsider to chime in? Whatever it is you and Jisung are going through, it's best if you two worked it out together...privately." You told, trying to offer other solutions.
Minho let out a tired breath, "I don't know, I'm not sure what I did wrong that made him upset with me, that's what I'm most worried about."
You patted his back, "Just talk it out with him, communication is key!" How ironic, you could hardly hold a conversation with him, and now you were here giving out communication advise? Unreliable source. You knew you shouldn't interfere with whatever beef Jisung and Minho was having between each other, but you were making it seem like you wouldn't ask Jisung for details. Or Jisung would tell you himself from how much he like to rant to you.
Minho flashed a genuine smile towards you, "Thanks, I owe you one!"
Your heart skipped a beat, just one enough for your whole system to go the very bit haywire. You were finally making some good progress with Minho, and his entire intimidating and remote façade all came crashing down when he smiled. Keep up the good work!
“Are you and Minho back on speaking terms yet?” The other line went quiet for a few seconds, you heard a sigh being let out.
Jisung replied with a question, “He told you?”
Fuck, your nosy tendencies were acting up again, it slipped out of you like a natural instinct. “No—um, yeah he did but I don’t know the details or anything! He was just wondering if you were mad at him or something since you stop contacting him.” You went on to explain, trying to tell Jisung that you weren’t intending to be impolite and simply wanted to help your friend out.
The other giggled at your tone of voice, of how freaked out he got you. You acted as if the people you were working for to take down started suspecting you to be a double agent, but unlike those action films, you were terrible at hiding the truth.
“My girlfriend don’t like the fact that I’m still friends with my exes, so she wiped out their contacts from my phone.” The whole problem was finally solved as the explanation came out.
Wait, one thing. “Minho is your ex?!” You exclaimed at the sudden realization.
Jisung was absolutely enjoying this from the other line, “What? You want him?” He teased.
Your face went red, denying the question thrown at you. This whole time, this was the relationship your housemate has with your best friend? And he had never cared to tell you about anything regarding this romance he once had? All these people do was lie. Struggling through your words, you outwardly rejected the idea. “No—! No– I don’t! I—!”
Jisung interrupted, “It’s fine, he’s all yours.”
You tried denying, “No, I don’t want him—!” Quickly being cut of by Jisung once more.
“And he’s a really great kisser—”
“Jisung, shut the fuck up!” You hanged up in embarrassment, throwing your phone away in a state of panic. Why would he tell you that? As if you needed to be more careful around Minho now that you knew these things about him. God, how did he expect you to continue living with this knowledge? Unlike Jisung, you saw Minho everyday of the week.
The door to your bedroom suddenly opened, “Are you okay? I heard a thud.” Minho was still in his work attire, a tad bit sweaty from the heated summer air, the first two buttons of his shirt were left undone. Solely from the condition of his appearance was in, you were mentally restraining yourself.
“Did you just came back?” You asked, begging that he didn’t heard your conversation with Jisung on the phone a few minutes ago.
He replied shortly, “Yeah, I’ll go shower now so we can eat.” Closing your door as he left without another word, left silently with knowing what you said earlier. He heard enough of your phone call, you were too caught up with talking that you didn’t hear the front door open. Minho was halfway across the hall to his room when he heard you shouted, his name fell out from your mouth as clear as day.
Oh, Jisung never told you that he and Minho were a thing? Now it was kind of awkward for the both of you. But if you wanted him, he wanted you too. He saw the way you would look at him, stealing glances from across the table. He was a very attractive guy, you were sure he wholeheartedly knew this, and he used it to his advantage.
Coming out of a cold shower, his hair was wet and dripping water down his back and shoulders, but at least have some respect for you by covering up his entire bare torso. At the dinner table? Was he going to be half-naked for the whole duration of dinner? He wanted you dead, you boldly claimed.
“So…how was work?” You opened up a topic, hoping he would start talking to fill the silence that was ongoing between the two of you.
Minho let out a chuckle, "Not fun." Handing you a pair of chopsticks and a ceramic bowl. That was understandable, he did looked quite worn out coming home after work.
"What do you do, if you don't mind me asking." You raised a question into his occupation.
He began picking up food from the many plates into his bowl, the wondrous scent controlled his chopsticks faster than his mind. Minho answered while pouring the meat broth over his rice, "I'm an accountant."
An accountant? Was that a code word for sex workers? No one in their right mind would go into accounting. Minho out of all people, worked as an accountant? You had no negative comments on his intelligences, or his work ethics. But accounting sounded so boring for someone as interesting as Minho, you thought what he said was a joke of some sort. Maybe he had a side hustle doing unconventional and dirty jobs.
"It's not fun, but I got bills to pay." Minho joked to lighten up the mood, filling in the empty pauses with yours and his joyful laughs.
He shook his head in a subtle yet prominent dissappointment, smiling to hide his actual emotion on his feeling of unfulfillment. "I wish I became a singer back then."
What he said piqued your interest, you looked up at him with a spark of excitement. Straight into his eyes, you asked. "You sing?"
His vocals was almost professional singer level, for a first in the short timespan of knowing him, you saw such happiness on his face. Holding the microphone as he sang you a love song, the amount of money you spent on that karaoke machine paid off. Minho wasn't wrong or thought too highly of himself when he said he should had became a singer, you would have said the same thing if you knew him sooner. And if he did, you would support him with your all.
The atmosphere got a bit hotter and hotter as the night went on, with alcohol entering the table as an uninvited guest. When a sensual song came on, the mood totally changed for better or worse. His loose t-shirt was showing some skin, it was too a little short as it was showing peeks of his toned stomach underneath. Your mind was going places, wether it was because of the alcohol getting you tipsy or it was your inner desires for intimacy.
Minho did not broke eyes-contact with you, in a hushed voice, stating that you were the only beauty he would keep in his sight tonight. Gently holding your hand in his, he placed it on his chest. Did you feel it? Under the warm and shaking palm of yours. His heart beating at a tiny bit quicker pace than usual, beating for you with all of these temptations in him.
"Minho, I should go to bed now, it's getting awfully late." You told, diverting away in a flustered mess. Yet, despite your attempt at diluting the air, Minho persuasion didn't seem to back down. Too heated, too close as you could now smell his liquor-laced breath.
Eyes half-lidded which made his desires just the more prominent, he was serious with no control. Before your lips could touch one another, a loud vibration emerged abruptly that pulled both of you out of that drunken trance.
Blindly grabbing for your phone, your eyelids were giving up as each minute continued to pass by. You didn't look at the contact name, the alcohol was taking over your system like a pernicious poison. A voice echoed out from your phone speaker, it took you a few seconds to register the other line’s speaking and its distinct frequency.
“Where is your report?! [Y/N], you are driving me crazy with your constant delays!” They roared at you, annoyed and angered.
You got off from your place on the couch, walking away with your phone in hand as you used your last few excuses to save yourself. “Seungmin, it’s not really a good time right now, can I call you back?”
Seeing you caught up with work on the line, he figured he would clean up this mess you two made on the coffee table for you. For a moment, he thought you felt it too. He might had read the room wrong, but the way you tried to avert from the situation felt almost like a reassurance for him. As if you wanted to go further with him, go little deeper, but you were unsure if he was onboard as well. He thought of apologizing, after you sober up more than the state you were in at the moment.
You swore, you couldn't remember anything from the night before. Went to bed at nearly one in the morning, woke up head-empty and half of the blankets and pillows were off your bed. Come on, you could confidently say that you did not exceed your limit. Yet as shown this morning, you had a rough night yesterday with the leftover liquor running through your veins.
You were absolutely dumb-founded when he said he was sorry for what happened last night, as if you remembered everything clearly to its very details. Let's see, you ate dinner, you talked, sang a couple songs out of boredom you assumed, then it all when foggy after that.
"What are you on about? I have no idea of whatever the hell you are apologizing for." Telling him straight up, you could not register anything he was saying to make any sense.
Frustrated, and a bit taken over by the shame from yesterday. "No, it's okay, you're better off not knowing anyway. Sorry for making a scene so early in the morning."
Minho finished the few last sips of his Americano, grabbing his laptop bag from under the dining table in a hurry. "I have to go now, see you again at six." He bid goodbye at the front door.
Before he go for the next ten hours, you told him tonight's plan. "I have a few friends over tonight, if you don't mind their companies."
"How many are coming?" Minho asked.
You tilted your head as you tried to remind yourself of the size of your party, maybe even the identities of your guests as well. "Just three. Jisung is going to be there too, if you want to see him."
You could forget anything, anything that you deemed important. But one thing that you couldn't seem to shake off your mind, as it has been bugging you ever since you knew of it, was the bygone romance Minho had with your best friend—happened to be Jisung. Now that you were non-actively trying to persue the guy, it left a bittersweet taste in your mouth. Though Jisung had affirmed that the past was in the past, you could court his ex-boyfriend all you want.
Minho looked down, "We'll talk later, okay? I'm late for work." Leaving things unfinished between you, he closed the door as he left.
You didn't work until around noon, you could work from home if you wanted, yet you still came into the office everyday since things moved faster with you being physically there. But after that call from Seungmin—head of your department, you were already considered brave for the mere thought of showing up. Despite how nice Seungmin actually was, his anger was incomparable to anything you had ever seen.
After your short shift, you went back home to get things prepare. On the way home, you had already picked up a few ingredients. Said ingredients were just a six-pack of cold beers and Gochujang sauce for the beef. The others wouldn't come for another hour, for the time being, you would have to get everything ready by yourself.
Pray to god that the table grill was still working today since you haven't brought it out for a good few years now, it was collecting dust in the very far back of your cupboard. The hangout had been planned for a little while already, you got most of the things a day or two prior.
Was Minho going to join you? His expression carried a bit of hesitation when you asked this morning, though you would be happy to have him if he did changed his mind. The more the merrier!
Hyunjin and Jisung came over just a tiny bit earlier than Felix, guessed he was caught up with some baking for desert. You and your friends were all gathered up together at the dining table, it felt crowded by how small of a space you had to eat for four people. Happy that Hyunjin’s beer wasn’t on the floor since it was standing so confidently at the edge.
“When is Minho coming home?” Jisung suddenly turned to you.
“I don’t know, usually he would be back by now.” You shrugged, just now noticing today’s abnormalities. Maybe something came up at the office, or he had something else he needed to do beside from work matter. Whatever it was, you just hoped he would get home safety.
Speak of the devil, not even ten minutes had passed and the front door softly rang of clicking keys. You came to open the door for Minho, meeting his slightly stunned expression. His glossy tired eyes under the dirty frames of his glasses gazed back at you, his hair disheveled and sticking to his forehead as if he ran his way home. God, he looked rough, but so strangely enticing at the same time.
"Hey, we were just talking about you!" You beamed.
"Sorry, I'm late. My digital files got corrupted, so I had to get I.T to check that bitch out." Minho sighed deeply, you could imagine how long it took to resolve it purely from how worn out he presented.
The others greeted him at the dining table, getting a stool for him to sit since you were out of chairs. Minho was sandwiched between you and Hyunjin, one he knew, one he didn’t. He felt the tiniest bit uncomfortable sitting in such a tight spot, especially when yours and his thighs were rubbing against each other. He didn’t mind it too much, he liked you anyways.
“Ah, Minho! This is Hyunjin, and that’s Felix, they’re my college friends.” You introduced. Though he was a year older, they treated him with a casual formality. Felt more like meeting old friends than new people, your group broke the ice a lot quicker than he had previously expected. Soon you all were drinking and chatting, learning a bit too much about each other for the first meeting.
Felix tapped out, “No more, I’m driving tonight.” With Jisung following along as most had already decided to stop drinking, including you.
You placed your hand on the shoulder of the person next to you, “Are you still going? Damn, you must know how to handle your liquor.”
Minho stared back at you as you spoke to him, his eyes half-lidded like the night before. The first few buttons were unfastened, his bare and defined chest laid underneath the thin fabric. A sheer cast of sweat made his body glistened by the overhead light, his glasses was slowly slipping off his nose bridge which reflected the sweat even more than it should have. His face was flushed red and pink everywhere, flushed from a love confession of a drunken mind. Any minute now, he might just be making out with you.
His heart and guts was burning up with these carnal desires, if your friends weren't here, you could bet he would be fucking your brains out like how you so desperately wanted him to. He wanted you just as much, so shamelessly wanted you.
Minho leaned in suddenly, his lips and hot intoxicated breath lingered your ears. Whispered gently with his mellow, sleepy tone of voice, "When are they leaving?"
“We’re just going to have some tea and brownies, they’ll be on their way soon. Why do you ask?” You returned, asking in with a bit of hesitation in the back of you mind. Could it be he was overloaded enough, or did he not like your friends? You doubted the second one, since they had so much fun together. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen.
He didn’t further elaborate, ending the subject then and there with no other explanation. His intentions were unclear, as if he was hiding something from you but you couldn’t figure out what it was. Hopefully not something shady, or would leave you with a bad image of Minho. Keep it simple, he was probably tired and he needed a bit more peace and quiet. And he couldn't get any peace and quiet if your friends were here, right?
You wanted him to take off his shirt, take every single piece of fabric on his body off, let you admire all of his grace and beauty. Occupied with drooling over your housemate, the teapot seemed to had slipped your mind.
"Fuck!" Yelped you, the heat of the hot tea finally burned your skin.
Hearing pain from your voice, Minho and the others were already there to aid you. Especially Minho, he grabbed your hand into his as soon as he noticed. Luckily for you, the injury was minor and running it through cool water was good enough.
Minho really has you in a chokehold, metaphorically speaking obviously—unless. If you two did become a thing, would it be a little awkward? Maybe not for Jisung, but you were unsure of how or what to think in a situation like this. Though, despite how much you might try to push the idea away due to having quite a lot of repect for your best friend, you couldn't help yourself.
Seduction existed in his eyes and body language, it was subtle yet effective. An absolute disaster that the two of you also lived together, which pumped you up with an amount of hormone that a high-school student would have.
The way he dressed may be ordinary, office worker fashion. His shoulders flexing in his fitted button-up, straight dress pant hugging his thighs. His thick frame glasses further accentuated his winsome features. There was no exaggeration that he, for a definite, has a lot of admirers from work. You too, would be weak on your knees if Minho was your colleague.
It was around eight o’ clock by the time you finished up, which wasn’t late—at least to your definition—but tomorrow was still a work day. Especially for Hyunjin, who was flying out of the country for a business trip, of which it was crucial for him to leave early morning for his flight.
“I’m catching a cab home.” Jisung answered when you asked him how he was going to get home without a car, since the other two already left on their separate ways.
“No, I’ll drive you home.” You offered kindly.
“You drank a lot tonight, you really shouldn’t be driving, [Y/N].” Jisung denied, pointing out the slight alcoholic haze you were in. He wasn’t wrong, you were a literally beast with the bottle. However, you were awake enough to still talk normally and sort of think, like being half asleep.
Reassuring you that he would be fine on his own, and that he would be sure to text you when he arrived at his place. You knew Jisung for too long for you to be worried about him on trivial things, it simply felt like the right thing or a common habitual saying you had going on. You just wanted to take extra precautions since you both had been drinking the whole night, and there were quite a lot of problems existing because of it.
"Don't worry about me too much," Jisung soothed you once more. However he had no regards for what a sentimental moment that was happening between the two of you, immediately back to his ways of joking to dilute the air. "You should be worrying about if Minho can keep his dick in his pants near you."
You smacked him on his shoulder, "Shut up, he's right over there!"
"I mean...I see the way y'all look at each other, we all know, [Y/N]." He commented, giving you a playful look. You wanted to murder Jisung, and you would make it look like an accident too. Were you being that obvious about your feelings? But the way Minho acted around you didn't help too!
Jisung waved goodbye to you and to Minho—who was in the kitchen, washing up dishes and shot glasses. "I'll see you on Saturday for coffee if you can even get out of bed, bye!"
Nodding, as you watched him walk away from your apartment to the main elevator, realization hit later than expected. You yelled out in annoyance but Jisung would definitely laughed it off and ignore you. "Hey, we're not fucking!"
You had to stay up to finish a few reports and lone documents, so that meant you wouldn't be able to see Minho during his morning coffee. Coming over to offer another hand in cleaning up, it wasn't a big mess but was a mess nonetheless. You might take care of everything for Minho to get some well-deserved rest that he has been needing.
Minho turned around as he felt a tap on his shoulder, "Let me take it from here, you should be getting ready for bed by now."
"No, I'll help." Minho single-mindedly refused your offer. "And too, I can't sleep with this raging boner you gave me."
Too sudden, too out of nowhere, your neck snapped to him when you heard him said those words. His expression was neutral, as natural as if he had said and had done nothing wrong. Still washing dishes and bowls, scrubbing and rinsing like he has been doing the same thing for years. Did he heard himself at least, or was it a thought that went loose.
"Oh, sorry." What the fuck were you supposed to reply to that? Thank you? Was that a compliment in disguise of some sort? Feuling the fire even more, the desires becoming stronger and intense, he had agreed to throw away his principles already.
Minho inched closer to you, his eyes on yours as he asked nicely for attention. "If I tell you that I want to fuck you right here right now, would you be mad?"
Face flushed, hot as when you would place your hand on your tea cup to check the temperature. He was evil, disregarding your state of mental stability by saying things of the same kind so out of pocket. He, for a fact, waited for the right time to confess his sins. The kettle was boiling all night, the heat and steams were his deepest thoughts.
You turned off the sink, your hands cool and wet and smell of dish soap from the water. For a split moment, you were solely looking at each other, begging either one to make a move. Minho leaned in towards your direction, his bare forearms brushed gently against yours. The alcohol in both of your bodies made the moment all the more intimate, slowly yet steadily closing your distance between each other, breaking down the wall of sexual tension you had unconsciously built that stood with all its might.
The faint taste of his strawberry chapstick on your tongue, his lips was a little sticky but so soft that you didn’t quite mind. There was no way of stopping him, as you too, did not want to stop the thrill ride that was ongoing. Letting out heavy breaths as he sucked dark red marks onto your skin, lips painting your blank canvas. May he be the only alcohol you would get drunk on, let you drink him up like your sorrows and distress.
“Oh, Minho.” You breathed, moaning out his name as his hands rushing to take off your pants. Hot tongue making a line on your stomach down to your sex, freely as his mouth worked on you like how you dearly enjoyed his food. Both your legs resting on his broad shoulders just did nothing but helped spread you wider.
Your sweet voice singing out to encourage him, using his tongue in all directions that favoured you. Stomach knotting with alcohol and dinner and a heaven he had created for you, coming onto his lips, a result of prolonged temptations.
Every fabric that touched yours and his bodies that day were all scattered on the floor by second round. Never even seen your best friend naked, and here you were admiring his ex-boyfriend’s entire unclothed figure with no ounce of shame left in yourself. You could not keep your hands away from him, so greedily touching him in different places.
Neither could wait any longer, deciding to lay each other’s pride out on the dining table. Minho placed his lips on yours, closing his eyes yet still seeing the vivid image of you in his dark mind. With each passing second, his cock making its way into the very depths of you. You hugged him quite tightly, as if you haven’t scored anyone in a while.
Your eyes told him everything he needed to know, you body twitching and squirming under his embrace, the silent language that told him every one of your secrets. Thrusting faster and harder, wanting to hear you make some more music for his aching soul. Minho grabbed your legs, pushing them against your torso as his cock went deeper into you. You could barely keep your eyes open, or could you stay present with him. This pleasure felt like a dream, a dream that softly pulled you in.
Minho kissed your lips once again, “Baby, don’t sleep on me, I’m not done with you just yet.”
But as much confidence that he may has in him, he was nearing his high and coming apart for you along the way. Minho’s vocals were heavenly when he sang for you, and were just as heavenly when he came into you. He kept going despite being out of breath and tired for you, he started something and he was going to finish it.
Second time felt much more powerful than the first, almost like he gave his all. You could feel his seeds dripping out from inside of you, onto the dining table and even the chairs. Dirtying everything all over again, now you had more cleaning to add onto your list. Guessed neither of you were going to get any sleep tonight.
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red lips and rosy cheeks, a criminal minds imagine
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pairings: fem!reader x bau!team (platonically of course) and fem!reader x spencer reid (if you squint a little)
word count: 800ish
warnings: none i think. no use of y/n because i don’t really vibe with that. no angst, a little fluff, maybe? it’s mostly just funny i think. also not beta-read, or like we say in ao3, no beta we die like men.
author’s note: i have been binge-watching criminal minds for a couple weeks now and of course i’m obsessed with it, and this visual of spencer becoming a little flustered over seeing his crush all dressed up popped into my mind. it’s my first time writing an imagine with the reader as the main piece in the story, so idk be gentle with me? i also never wrote for criminal minds and i’m only in season 4. i just wrote this instead of sleeping or actually writing my other fics. sorry if this is terrible anyway. i’m open to feedback! thanks for reading <3
Working for the FBI could be a handful, sometimes, but the job had its benefits. You could catch criminals and help people, make a difference, you know? But something you would never expect to count as a benefit was the possibility of being called in the middle of a date.
You didn’t even want to go on that date, but your long-time friend Emma had insisted she knew a guy that would be perfect for you. Emma knew you since you both were undergraduates working on their degrees, so you had figured it wouldn’t hurt to give the guy a chance.
It wasn’t your best moment.
Not that the guy turned out to be a psychopath or something like that. But the ice of your drink had barely started to melt when it became clear that Sean wasn’t the guy for you, and by the end of your martini, you could see that Sean was too self-centered and trying too hard to be something he was not, with the fake watch and the well-pressed but clearly cheap suit and exaggerated tales of his life. An hour into the date and you were begging to the universe to offer you a way out of that bar.
Thankfully the universe seemed to listen to your plea, and you let out a relieved sigh when you saw Garcia’s name on the screen as the phone rang. Apparently, Hotch wanted everyone at the office right that moment.
That hurry was what prompted you to go into the BAU headquarters straight from your date, thinking that a stop by your apartment to change would take too much time and that you could take the clothes out of your go bag and change out of your outfit once you got there.
“Hey there.” you greeted as you walked into the bullpen. “Is everyone here yet?”
“Rossi and Prentiss are on their way.” Morgan said from his desk. “Wonder boy is getting coffee.”
“Oh, okay.” you mumbled, moving to take off your coat and wondering if you would have time to wipe off the red lipstick before the briefing.
“Damn, pretty girl.” you heard Morgan say, that suggestive tone in his voice that annoyed the life out of you. “Did we interrupt something?”
“Only the most boring date I have ever been on.” you scoffed, nervously fixing your dress. It wasn’t inappropriate or something, just very different from what you used to wear. It had been Emma’s idea, actually, to pair that black sleeveless dress with knee-high boots. “He spent the entire time talking about himself.” you rolled your eyes.
“Oh, look at you!” Garcia exclaimed as she got into the bullpen. “You look like a million bucks, darling.”
“Thank you, Pen.” you said. “What’s the case about?”
“A woman went missing in Indiana this morning in the same way three more disappeared in the last month before they were found dead.” JJ told, walking out of her office. “Oh, hot date tonight?” she asked.
“Disappointing, actually.” you laughed. “Can we not talk about it?”
“Talk about what?” you heard Spencer’s voice from behind Penelope.
“About her date.” Garcia said. Spencer joined them as they all stood near your desk, two coffee mugs in his hands. His messy hair was the first thing you noticed, looking like he had been dragged out of his bed. He handed you the second coffee mug, the one with little cartoon kittens stamped on it, then his eyes really focused on you.
“Oh, thank you.” you mumbled, taking a sip of it.
“I– yeah, I…” he stammered, eyes moving up and down, up and down.
“Are you alright, Doc?” you asked, using the nickname you had given him a few weeks into working together.
“Ooh, I think you broke pretty boy.” Morgan laughed.
“It’s probably the red lipstick.” Garcia pointed out, joining Derek in his laughs. You waited for one of Spencer’s famous info-dumps, where he would talk about how red lipstick used to be made out of crushed beetles in Ancient Egypt or something, but he was still silent, lips parted like he meant to say something but couldn’t figure out what.
“Do you need me to reset you or something?” you were now having a bit of fun with it. It wasn’t like you were trying to be mean, but both of you had been dancing around unspoken feelings for a while now.
“I… you look pretty.” Spencer finally managed to say.
You put the mug to your lips, trying to hide the blood that was rushing to your cheeks as Morgan whistled.
“Go on, wonder boy.”
“Derek? Shut up.” then, you looked at Spencer again, who was timidly smiling at you.“Thanks.” you mumbled.
Spencer looked at the mug on your hands, focusing on the stain of your lipstick on the rim of the mug.
“Uh, did you know that the first known red lipsticks were created by crushing gemstones in Mesopotamia over 5.000 years ago?”
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jordanelemus · 2 months
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ybc musical costume in-depth analysis! 💥🎸🎱
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hi! I'm jordan, the costume designer (and also an actor and co-writer) of "the young blood chronicles" musical! i posted this on instagram, but i thought it might be cool to post it here too!
my initial role in “the young blood chronicles” musical was costume design, which, as a fashion enthusiast, i was incredibly excited about. i spent about a month curating a huge pinterest board collection and creating individual moodboards. the show takes place in 2013, but i wanted to take inspiration from both pre and post-hiatus fall out boy looks! here’s an in-depth look :’)
patrick’s main inspo was his “soul punk” era, which lives distinctly in the hiatus. i wanted something that would remind us that years had passed since the last time the band had made music together; something cool and trendy, but a little too dressed up for a long day in the studio. even when not onstage, ybc patrick is performing. clothes can give you power and he knows that. the yellow sunglasses were our way of getting around patrick’s glowing yellow eyes from the music videos, but i really love how it makes it seem like he has a mask on. it makes the end of “miss missing you” even more heartbreaking.
pete’s main inspo came from both his early clandestine drops as well as his more androgynous looks (both pre & post-hiatus). pete really cares about fashion, but he still has a chill la vibe. 2013 pete could often veer more edgy, but i chose to move in a different direction in order to better distinguish pete and patrick’s styles. unless you’re a vixen or patrick, you don’t get a leather jacket! sorry pete! to me, pete’s fashion has always felt so current while still being forward-thinking. ybc pete’s outfit could be from 2006 or 2024 and that was very purposeful!
andy’s looks are mostly pulled from more recent years, but band tees never go out of style. the mesh top under the tee alludes to his tattoos, which make up the extent of his stage looks these days since he typically does shows without a shirt on. celia had this mesh top in her closet and i love the colors on her (it’s the only source of color in the heaven outfits!). andy’s outfit is maybe the simplest of the four on paper, but i think it’s sick. it’s laid back, but super specific and grounded. it makes me want to start wearing basketball shorts.
joe’s looks are pulled from both pre-hiatus and early post-hiatus looks! striped sweaters & cargo pants are things he’s worn before, so i'm lucky i had them in my closet (especially since i wasn’t originally joe!). joe, especially in recent years, really likes wearing dark colors onstage, but, similar to how i avoided leather jackets for pete, i wanted to very clearly differentiate the boys from the vixens. any black piece of clothing on any of the boys had to be broken up with a design or pattern. no all black outfits! sorry joe!
the goal with the heaven outfits was to make the exact same outfits in all white. i wanted the exact same silhouettes as before. i’d say we were pretty successful! we got really lucky when it came to finding these costume pieces.
my vixens! these costumes were a lot more nebulous throughout the process. many of the costume pieces came from the actors’ own wardrobes. it was really important to me that each vixen had her own distinct style. baylee’s vixen (whom she named blair) has a more feminine style, her main costume piece being a lacy leotard. she's sweet with an edge. ava’s vixen is second-in-command & her outfit really screams that. the lingerie top is so killer. alexa’s vixen is almost a mix of baylee’s & ava’s in terms of style. the outfit is sweet, but edgy with the ripped tights & lingerie-style top. lauren’s vixen is a little more utilitarian, actually dressed in a way that makes sense for kidnapping four people. she’s more sporty than the others, but her combat boots are incredibly threatening. hbic is all that and more. her outfit is simple, but powerful. she is terrifying.
tiffany had to feel a bit like an outsider. she’s wearing the vixen clothes, but her jacket has some color on it. it’s a little too big on her. the other vixens really live in & embody their clothes, but for tiffany, it's a bit more like a costume.
here’s how i describe the angels: 1) the hottest girls at the ren faire & 2) like that picture of the angel guiding the two kids that every latine family has in their house. they almost feel out of place; so incredibly fluid in a show that is mostly made up of harsh lines. texture and layers were really the name of the game here, but the angels still have an edge to them. to quote fob: “…angels choking on their halos, get them drunk on rose water. see how dirty i can get them, pullin' out their fragile teeth & clip their tiny wings.”
+ i made pete’s bass machete and tiffany’s/joe’s guitar axe! i don’t have much to say about them, but i loved getting to utilize my cosplay foam skills.
this was my first time ever costuming a show and it was such a dream. the entire cast was so willing to experiment with me and it was such a joy to revisit aspects of 2013 fashion, which i remember from my preteen years, but never got to truly participate in! :’)
- jordan <3
ig: @/jordanelemus
photos: @/cararittner on ig!
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misguidedasgardian · 1 year
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The Winter Sun (EPILOGUE 1)
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Into the Future
MASTERLIST
Summary: Years went by in Winterfell 
Pairing: Cregan Stark x Fem!Targaryen Reader 
Warnings: Cursing, medieval and asoiaf customs, AGE GAP, Cregan is 12 years OLDER than reader), arranged marriage, mentions of SMUT, childbirth, complication in childbirth, might contain triggering content, might miss some warnings
+18, MINORS DNI
Wordcount: 3 k
Notes: Well… Sara did say she saw six puppies
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The vibe around the Lords and Ladies of the North wasn’t nice when you returned from King’s Landing, with your white haired baby in your arms
Many started saying that you had returned to Aemond willingly, and you had given birth to his child, since Jonaerys was clearly a Valyrian like you, and like the Kinslayer.
But things stopped and improved when you gave birth to your third child, a year after you came back to Winterfell, also a boy, who looked very similar to his brother, only with the colors of his father, dark locks of hair, and icy gray eyes. A true looking Northerner.
You named him Torrhen
Torrhen Stark
Cregan would walk proudly in the hallways of Winterfell and all over with his sons in his arms, Rickon trotting behind him as he grew up, and three direwolves following close behind.
But only one dragon hatched from all the eggs Vhaelar bring forth, Jonaerys’ egg. it took months after you came back, and a dragon keeper had to move in Winterfell to take care of Vhaelar and her hatchling.
Jonah’s dragon was so different from everything you had ever seen before, it was black, with silvery white markings, and big gray eyes. his flames were icy blue, as Vhaelar’s were bluish with purple flare 
When Torrhen was 1, you suffered through another winter by then, and as it became some sort of “tradition”, Cregan got you pregnant with what you truly wished was a girl…
But it wasn’t 
You bring forth a baby with dirty blonde hair, and when he opened his eyes you saw with amazement he had one purple eye and the other gray, he was like Alyssa, your grandmother, who had similar features, you often wonder where he came from, he looked nothing like you or Cregan, but your husband was ecstatic 
You wanted a Valyrian name for your peculiar child, and Cregan compromised in naming him Orys, like the rumored bastard brother of Aegon the Conqueror
Orys Stark 
So Rickon was 5, Jonaerys 4, Torrhen two and a half, and Orys 1 year old, when you got pregnant again.
After Cregan’s begging
You believed you were done, you loved your children very much and you were begging for a little girl, that never came, so you believed you were done, you had four beautiful children with your loving husband
But you couldn’t deny anything to those beautiful Gray eyes 
So you held your big belly as you awaited Sara’s arrival.
Sara had fallen in love with Cregan’s best friend, who had come to Winterfell four years ago to grieve for the loss of his wife, and he fell in love with her. Ben Tallheart, so they married, Sara became a loving stepmother to a beautiful little girl who was now five years old, and they lived happily in Torrhen’s square, hence the name of your baby boy.
“Sister!”, she screeched, hugging you tightly around your belly
“Sister”, you whispered happily in her ear, Cregan just stood there, amused that Sara would always greet you first, but then he hugged his sister dearly
“Missed you”, it was true, you had missed her so dearly, the castle seemed almost empty without her in it
After warm greetings, Cregan took his friend so both of them could talk, while you took Sara who was so excited to see her baby nephews, who had multiplied in the last years. You went into the nursery, where they were all gathered, the four of your children, it was Orys nap time 
Rickon and Jonaerys hugged her tightly, running to her arms; they have gotten so big, Torrhen followed shortly after.
Sara was playing on the floor with her nephews, with their wooden figurines, as you sat on a long chair, rubbing your belly, you were super tired, you always were
“How is the pregnancy going?”, she asked
“It's different this time”, you confessed, Sara looked at you, gray eyes wide open
“What do you mean?”, she asked, you only shook your head, looking down at your huge belly
“I’ve been so tired”, you whispered, “I can barely eat, I feel awful”, she looked at you determinedly, “my belly is huge”
“What are you saying?”, she asked gently, you only shook you head
“I don’t feel as strong as I did before”, she looked concerned, as she was trying hard to remember something
“I'm sure everything's going to be alright” she said with a calming smile, you smiled back as you caressed your big belly.
You weren’t bluffing, you realized you were pregnant because of how much you threw up, you could barely find something to eat that didn’t make you sick 
Cregan hunted everything he could get his hands on, and Thelma cooked everything with different spices each time, but to no avail, everything made you sick, all the meats, so THelma fought hard to cook you legumes and different pies with vegetables.
Even so…
You still felt really weak.
This wasn’t like all your pregnancies before, and Cregan seemed truly concerned for you. He was over you at all times, tending you, caring for you, like your very first pregnancy with Rickon. 
And now Sara wouldn't take her eyes off of you now, always watching what you ate.
Your baby was restless, kicking you always, and you immense belly, sometimes you felt like you had a real dragon inside you womb, with more than four extremities 
But right after that thought, memories of all those Targaryen women who lost their babies, and what came out of them were truly dragon-like babies, and then you shook your head, wanting to purge those dark thoughts out of your mind.
But you had to be strong, you had to be, you had already given birth to four! FOUR babies, and everything went well, this was not going to be the exception
The night found you in the great hall, holding a feast for your guests, with Sara and Ben, and everyone really in the castle.
“I have an announcement to make”, Ben spoke, as he raised from his chair, raising his cup. “First I want to thank our gracious hosts”, he said, pointing at you and Cregan, who held your hand tightly. “For receiving us, and now… I want to say that the Lady of Torrhen Square and I are proud to announce that we are expecting our first child!”, he said, and the hall broke out with cheers and applause
You hugged Sara tightly
“I’m so happy for you!”, you greeted, and she laughed in your ear
“Thank you!”, as Cregan was hugging Ben, and then he turned 
“My beautiful sister”, whispered Cregan happily, hugging her tightly, you hugged Ben then
That made Cregan’s spirit rise for the coming days, and Sara and Ben agreed to stay here in Winterfell until she gave birth, meaning… six whole months, and you couldn’t be happier
The castle seemed to roar with life since then.
Rickon, Jonaerys and Eddara, Ben’s daughter, played through the hallways, and they were always filled with giggles and laughter 
And your belly got bigger and bigger, and you grew tired and tired 
Everytime Cregan looked at you, it was like his heart was broken, you knew he was afraid, you were becoming paler, and tired by the day.
At night you would beg him to make love to you, and he would, that made you happy, as he spoon you with him deep inside you as he cradled your big belly, he would kiss every inch of your body with devotion, and hugged you through the night. 
“Can’t wait to meet this baby”, he whispered sweetly in your ear
“Me too”, you said back, “perhaps it is finally a girl”, you teased
“Oh what I would give for a daughter that looks like you”, he whispered back, nuzzling his nose into your hair 
“She would be pretty cute, wouldn’t she?”, you kept teasing
“She would”, he whispered, “thank you”, he whispered
“for what?”, you asked back
“For everything”, he said back, “you brought me back to life, you gave me four beautiful boys, you turned Winterfell into a home”
“Well, you are very welcome”, you giggled, you turned around to meet him, and you kissed him lovingly, “thank you too, you did helped in everything you just mentioned”, and he chuckled against your lips
“I did my part”, he kept teasing, as you cuddled into the night.
The very next day, Cregan was outside, with Ben, you believed they went into the wolf’s wood to hunt, when your water broke
Immediately a pain shot through you like a lightning bolt, making you cry out. 
The pain was blinding, it wasn’t a contraction it was something else, something else entirely, and besides, you were certain the nine moons haven't completed yet. Soon people entered the room, maids, followed by Sara, immediately they held you, trying to prevent you from collapsing into the stone floor of your rooms
“It hurts!”, you cried
“Call the midwife, NOW”, screamed Sara, “find my brother”, but the pain was so blinding you couldn’t quite pay attention to what was going on around you
You felt your dress being ripped away from your body, a night shift placed instead, soft and light as a feather, and then you were laid in the bed softly. 
The contractions began shortly after, and it was hurting so much you couldn’t have a real grasp on reality anymore.
A young man, who worked at the stables was sent to find Cregan, he knew the woods by the palm of his hand, so he didn’t have trouble finding the hunting party.
“MY LORDS”, it took only that scream, for Cregan to know it was about you, and considering the state you were in, that you had gone into labor
Nobody could reach him as he mounted his horse and started galloping without stopping. He rode back to Winterfell at an incredible speed, jumped off his horse and ran inside the castle.
He ran  towards your room and he could hear the screams from the second floor.
His heart got tight inside of his chest, and he found you struggling, the bed soaked in your blood, he had never been so scared in his life, not even when the war happened. 
He was at your side in a second, he grasped your hand in his and started at you wide eyed
“Darling, I’m here”
“Cregan”, you called, “It hurts”
“i know my love, I know”, he soothed, looking at the midwives who looked at each other with worried glances
It was bad, he knew it, everybody knew it, at one point, the midwives didn’t know what to do so they called in the maester who gave you milk of the poppy to clear, rather, distract your mind from the pain
It did help, when it took effect, you received the command
“Push my lady”
And you did, gods you did, with all your strength.
It was bloody, it was painful, it was worrying, but after two hours, the room was filled with the cries of a babe
“A little girl M’lord!”, chanted the midwife, receiving the crying child into the world
Cregan sighed loudly, with relief, squeezing your hand back, as he looked at the midwife cleaning a little baby with pitch black hair, he had a daughter.
But this wasn’t over yet, you cried in agony again, and Cregan looked down at you, still grasped in the claws of pain. 
“The afterbirth?”, he asked, but the maester shook his head, seeming horrified
“No, I think…”
“It's another babe”, said the midwife, as he give the little baby girl to his father, who was wide-eyed, not knowing if to be relieved, or scared to death, he looked down at the face of his little daughter and caressed her little head.
But when he looked at you he was so scared, you were shaking with pain, blood oozing out of you, he whimpered
“I think the baby is breached”, the midwife whined, like she was in the same state of horror
Hours went by
You were in a state of such pain your eyes were closed and you couldn’t scream anymore, you just whined softly.
Cregan was in the corner of the room, her daughter in his arms, but he just looked ahead, scared to death, his worry was such that he believed he was going to age centuries.
The maester whispered in the corner with the midwife, as her assistants were each by your side, whispered words of comfort, rubbing your belly hoping to push the baby out themselves 
“You need to be strong My lady”, whispered one, a young sweet girl, “think of your children, they need you, those sweets boy, and your baby girl”
you only got to nod, that phrase seemed to be the only thing that could pierce through the cloud of pain and milk of the poppy. Using the last of your strength, you leaned in, and pushed, again, the thought of your husband and children spurred you on, your baby, still inside of you, needed to make it out.
The midwife saw your intent and was with you in a second
Cregan gave his baby girl to the maester, and was also with you.
“You can do this love, please”, he begged, “please…”
It was another hour, you had been at this for six whole hours, when another cry was heard in the room.
Another little girl
With hair white as ice, and reddened face.
Then it came the afterbirth, but for that, you couldn’t no longer feel anything at all
The maids washed you and changed the sheets, you were breathing steadily, but you were barely conscious.
Cregan had his new baby girl in his arms, his dream came true, she did look like you, but the maester was telling him you had lost a lot of blood, that you could no longer have any more children… if you ever woke up… 
Sara had heard anything, but she was with your other children
“What is happening, where is mama?”, asked Jonaerys, he was a sensitive boy, he felt everything
“She is giving birth to the baby, sweet boy”, she whispered, as she cradled Orys in her arms hoping to made him sleep
“She is taking too long”, he whispered, his eyes filled with tears
Rickon came and hugged his brother
“She will be alright, she is mommy”, he said back, Sara looked as the sweet boys hugged themselves 
“Her vision had never wrong before, you were going to pull out of this
But Cregan was scared, very, very scared
The maids had called in wetnurses from the village, and they took both his daughters with them. 
He just stood by your side
As the maester else him with the promise that if you made it out tonight, you were going to regain your strength
“Please don’t leave me”, he whispered, his tears choking him, “please, I beg of you”, he begged like a prayer, holding your hand, “you give me all I ever dreamed of, you deserve to enjoy it by my side, our beautiful children, our six children you gave me”, he said with teary eyes, “please my love, I will follow you soon after, please don’t abandon me, our children need you, I need you, please”
He was seated on a chair he needed right next to the bed, and laid his head by your side, still holding your hand.
He stayed there all night, right next to you, hearing your faint breaths.
It was early in the morning, when you squeezed his hand back, and he cried in relief.
. . .
Two weeks passed, and you had recuperated your strength. Cregan brought you your girls as soon as you woke up, and spent the night with the four of you, after eating plentifully. 
One of your daughters had the northerner features, while the other was a Valyrian just like you, you named them Robyn and Rhaenys, the latter in honor of your dear aunt, who had been like a mother to you. 
“They are in very good health, My Lords”, said the maester, you smiled widely, looking at your daughters, who were both of them awake, laid on your bed, and wiggling happily, “although”
You and Cregan both snapped your head to look at the maester
“Although?”, you asked fearful, you then looked at your babies
“Little Rhaenys, I think there is something wrong”, your eyed immediately filled with tears
The old man showed you, he clapped his hand near Robyn, and she blinked her eyes and squirmed because of the loud noise, but he repeated the same thing near Rhaenys, and she barely reacted
“What does it mean?”, you whined, Crregan held you
“She might be deaf, my lady”, he whispered, Cregan held you against his chest. As you cried, scared of what that could mean. 
“Does that mean she can’t hear?”, asked RIckon, you wiped your tears immediately, and your two eldest sons entered the room. Torrhen still didn’t know what was going on, and Orys was still a baby.
“That is right boy”, Cregan was strong, as he smiled to his eldest son
“We will create a cool language with our hands so we can speak to her, then”, Rickon said like it wasn’t a big deal. And you laughed wholeheartedly, hugging and kissing your son. 
Now you had your six puppies, everything was going to be alright. With your growing family, and Sara, and Cregan’s best friends
And a huge feast they threw in King’s Landing in your honor. 
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taglist!
@severewobblerlightdragon @missusnora @stargaryenx @poppyreader @chainsawsangel @court-jester-stuff @batprincess1013 @eddiepicker 
@lyannesworld @arujee @kamisunshine @​​mss-nthng @partypoison00 @grimistangel @elleclairez @may-machin @prettykinkysoul @justagurlwithships @champomiel 
@laura-naruto-fan1998 @zoleea-exultant @devotedlythoughtfulanchor @zoleea-exultant @llleon666 @dark-night-sky-99 @bitchigoteverythingissues @harrypotteranna23-blog
@esposadomd @ajanauia @phantomtea19 @let-love-bleeds-red @kishie8 @dreamingofyourmoons @esposadomd @sandronebabyy @kemillyfreitas @​​trifoliumviridi @dreamingofyourmoons @darling-jace @biblichorr @ivvypg @mendes-bae @borikenlove @tssf-imagines @praline357 @alitaar @prettykinkysoul @aelora-a @a-mexican-waffle @ateliefloresdaprimavera @alexa4040 @lrboyd @anditsmywholeheart  @weaselyss  @scarlettqueen190 @deeeeexx @cloudroomblog @dreaming-of-the-reality @yentroucnagol @crazymusicgirl104 @toodlesxcuddles @thanyatargaryen @mxtokko @bellstwd  @elaena-aerrin @glaciuswduo @holb32
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hugmekenobi · 7 days
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S3: The Bad Batch (11)
Chapter Eleven: Point of No Return
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Gif by @moonstrider9904
Hunter x femaleJedi!reader
Series Summary: Ever since Eriadu, Clone Force 99 had been a fractured squad. Months have passed but you're finally back with the Batch but Omega is still out there and you won't stop until you find her again.
Chapter Summary: The Empire closes in on you and the Batch
Masterlist for S1 and S2
<Previous Chapter
Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)
Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, threats, food mentions, flash of PDA and fluff in the beginning, referenced character death, rip a certain ship :(, self-blame, brief injury mention, humour as a tool for deflection, overall angsty vibes
Word Count: 4.2K
Author's notes: Still sticking very close to the episode here but hope it's still enjoyable and episode 12 is in progress!!
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Getting into the pirate’s ship had been all too easy. He wasn’t going to fail this time. CX-2 decrypted the coordinates before he put the transmission for Scorch through, “The Trandoshan’s intel paid off. I tracked the pirate and accessed her navicomputer. She tried to cover her tracks but I broke the encryption.”
“What did you find?”
“She frequented a planet in the Outer Rim. I’m headed there now to do recon.”
“Send the coordinates. I’ll have a full division on standby if you require a visual on the targets.” Scorch provided before he signed off.
CX-2 entered the coordinates for Pabu.
--
“That’s gotta be all of it, right?” Wrecker asked in disbelief as he saw the three of you approach and unload the next round of supplies.
“We still need to grab the rations.” Hunter told him. “Keep loading up the ship. We’ll be back.”
Wrecker groaned, “Fine. But at least bring me back an ice cone.”
“Just one?” You questioned with an enticing grin as you walked backwards away from him and the ship.
“No, no, no. You’re right! M-Make it two!” Wrecker corrected his error.
You gave a two-fingered salute in reply before you turned around and jogged to catch up with Hunter and Crosshair.
--
“I wish you didn’t have to leave.” Lyana said lowly as she led Omega through the Archium.
“Me too, but Hunter thinks it’s safer for everyone if we do.”
Lyana led her over to a gap in one of the ledges. “What do you think of this spot?”
“It’s perfect.” Omega said with a thankful smile.
“So, which treasures did you bring?” Lyana asked, her tone curious but respectful of what this moment meant to those that left things here and Omega would not be treated differently.
Omega tucked Lula under her arm and brought out Tech’s cracked goggles. She held them delicately in her hands as she let the memories that they brought wash over her.
“You sure you wanna leave these behind?” Lyana double checked gently.
“Pabu was the first place that felt like a home.” Omega placed both objects down with the utmost care. “This way, a piece of us is still here.”
Lyana laid a supportive hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Well, I’ll make sure these stay safe until you come back.” She looked at Omega with a new type of seriousness. “Because you will come back, right?”
“I hope so.” Omega replied, the harsh reality of the day quickly catching up to her as she realised this would be the last time she would see her for a while.
--
“And where are you going?” Hunter asked with a questioning smile and tilt of his head as you separated from them. “We’ve got rations to get.”
You feigned disgust at the very idea. “Hey, I have the very important ice-cone mission. I cannot be diverted with a mere ration run.” You said with a coy grin before you pressed a swift kiss to Hunter’s cheek and sauntered off with exaggerated determination.
“Get that lovesick smile of your face before I throw up.” Crosshair snickered with a roll of his eyes as he saw the way Hunter watched you go.
“Shut up.” Hunter shoved his brother’s shoulder before they carried on with their own search.
--
“I don’t even think there’s room on this ship for all this gear.” Wrecker complained to Gonky as he saw all that was still to be shifted and he knew there was still more to come. However, Gonky’s cheeky honks of reply were not the commiseration he was looking for. “Oh, yeah? Well, maybe I should leave you behind.” He retorted, smirking at the offended honks he got in response.
Wrecker brought more of the stuff on board, completely unaware that the proximity sensor had been flashing a half second before.
--
CX-2 landed the ship in the cavern and began his hunt.
--
Hunter paused as he heard the nervous squeaking on the island birds, their tone matching his own growing sense of unease.
“What is it?” Crosshair asked.
“Not sure, but I don’t like it.” Hunter brought out his comm. “Omega, time to go.”
Upon hearing that, you gave up your spot in line and joined up with Hunter and Crosshair. You’d make it up to Wrecker another time.
--
CX-2 scanned the bustling market stalls from above and that was when he caught sight of the two clones and the targets he’d been sent to acquire. He touched the control panel on his sleeve and got Scorch on his comm.
“Report.” Scorch demanded.
“I’ve got eyes on the targets.”
“Ground them and wait for the division. They must be recovered unharmed. No mistakes this time.”
“And the clones they’re with?” He asked as he saw the group of you leaving the area.
“If they get in your way, eliminate them.”
--
“We’re sorry to see you go, but you’re all welcome here anytime.” Shep said sincerely. “Those homes will be waiting for you when you get back.”
You bowed your head in gratitude.
“Thanks for everything, Shep.” Hunter said, shaking his hand.
Omega and Lyana shared in a hug.
“I’ll see you soon.” Lyana said as she parted from Omega.
The four of you and Batcher started to make your way back to Wrecker.
--
The sun had almost set by the time Wrecker finished getting the most recent batch of supplies onto the ship, but he just took relief in the fact that he wouldn’t be alone in shifting the next round of gear.
As he went to grab the last crate, he paused on the steps as he picked up on a faint but rapid series of beeps.
He recognised the sound.
He knew exactly what that meant.
He reacted quickly and with a shout, he abandoned the ship and grabbed Gonky just as the Marauder exploded, hurling both of them into the sea.
With the last of his strength, he managed to pull himself onto a piece of debris before his vision went dark.
--
Upon hearing the harsh echoing boom of an explosion, you all instantly ran to the edge of Upper Pabu and your heart thumped in a frantic panic as you saw the distant flames and charred remnants of what was once the Marauder.
Hunter brought out his binoculars and took in the scene. He saw Wrecker and Gonky floating in the water and felt his own panic set in at seeing his brother unconscious. He put on his helmet and started running for the docks.
You did the same with your coverings and Crosshair put on his helmet before the three of you followed close behind.
--
One of the locals had grabbed a boat and brought Wrecker and Gonky back to port.
You pushed your way through the crowd of people and stopped short as you saw Wrecker’s body.
Omega knelt down by Wrecker’s side. “Wrecker? Wrecker!” Omega gasped, desperately shaking his shoulders to try and rouse him but it did no good.
Your stomach dropped to your feet. It took all the training you had to not lose control upon seeing the lack of response from Wrecker. He was strong, he was always so strong. He had to be alright.
“Mox and Stak, take Wrecker to Shep’s. Deke, get Az-3 to patch him up, and fast.” Hunter ordered the regs. He needed his brother back on his feet. He needed him to be okay.
“Ships don’t just blow up. We’ve been compromised.” Crosshair realised.
Hunter turned his head from Wrecker to the sound of a deep rumbling from above and what he saw sent both a deep anger and dread through his veins. The Imperial Star Destroyer hovered above the Archium and a series of gunships swarmed down. “Everyone, get to cover!”
Amidst the crowds of panicked and screaming people, the four of you regrouped and found cover of your own.
--
Shep was helpless to stop the hordes stormtroopers from moving in. He could only watch in despair as his people ran in fear.
--
“Cut off all escape routes. Destroy any ships or sea skiffs in sight.” CX-2 ordered as he remained unphased by the chaos around him. It wouldn’t affect what he needed to achieve; it would only help.
--
You and Omega both paused as you saw the destruction the Empire was causing to the docks.
The only light in the night were the fires caused by the Imperial gunfire.
The only sounds the whirr of gunship and cried of fear that echoed around the island.
Kamino, the Marauder, Pabu… How many more homes was the Empire going to take from you?
From these innocent people?
And how much longer could you let it go on?
A glance down at Omega told you she was thinking similarly to you. You indicated your head back and you both joined the others in an alleyway.
“Is this our fault? Are they attacking because of us?” Omega whispered up at you as she kept Batcher calm.
You wished with every fibre of your being that you could tell her no. That they were the ones at fault but the own guilt residing in your heart made the words die before they left your lips. How could you reassure her when you couldn’t believe the words yourself? It was never meant to go this way. The very thing you had wanted to avoid had happened and now you knew there was only one real way out of it.
Hunter crouched down. “It’s the Empire’s fault. Not yours. You have to stay focused. Both of you.” He implored with a helmeted look in your direction too.
“They’re destroying all means of escape and jamming our comms.” Crosshair said as he tried his comm, but it was only static. “We have to steal one of their gunships. Once we’re out of range, we can contact Echo.”
“I’ll handle it.” Hunter said. “You three, get to Shep’s and wait with Wrecker until I signal you.”
You caught his vambrace and pulled him back to you. You pressed your forehead against his helmet.
Hunter had a distinct and sinking feeling that this was you saying goodbye, but he wasn’t going to let that be the case- this plan would work… it- it had to. “I’ll see you soon.” He said as he stepped away.
You couldn’t quite meet his helmeted gaze as you nodded before you, Omega and Batcher split from him to head to Shep’s.
Hunter gave Crosshair a last meaningful look before he went in the opposite direction.
Crosshair knew what that look meant- keep them safe. And he would do everything in his power to do that. He followed you and Omega.
--
“Lock down the town. Search every domicile until you find them.” CX-2 ordered the squadrons of troopers.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Shep demanded as he approached the black-armoured soldier that seemed intent on ruining the lives of so many people.
“Who are you?” CX-2 replied with equal parts disdain and curiosity.
“The mayor of this town. You’ve opened fire on my village and its people without warning and without reason. Under what pretence are you attacking?” Shep seethed.
“We’re here to collect some fugitives you’ve been harbouring.” CX-2 brought out the puck and flashed the two images.
Shep made sure to keep his true reaction at bay- he wouldn’t give you and Omega away if he could help it. “You can’t just barge in here-”
“I’ve barely done anything yet.” CX-2 interrupted coldly.
“You destroyed our docks and fishing skiffs. Our livelihood.”
“I have simply cut off their means of escape. But I can do worse. I know they are here. Until they are turned over to me, your island will burn.” CX-2 threatened as he walked away.
--
The path to Shep’s had been fraught with troopers and each time like this where you had to hide from the next roaming patrol only slowed things down more.
You peered round the corner of your hiding spot to see one of the villagers being forced out of her home and you heard her distressed plea.
“You can’t do this! It’s our home!”
You were fighting the urge to go out and it seemed Batcher also shared in your current sentiment as Omega was doing her best to keep the dog quiet and calm.
And the cruel reply from the trooper that you heard next only confirmed what you already dreaded.
“We know they’re here! Where are the Jedi and the girl?”
“I don’t know! I swear-”
The familiar sound of a slap made your blood boil. You went to reveal yourself to stop them but Crosshair’s hand on your arm prevented you from doing so.
Omega couldn’t hold Batcher back though. The dog snarled and charged for the soldiers before they could do anymore harm.
“Batcher can handle herself. Let’s go.” Crosshair said to you both as he made sure Omega didn’t go to follow the dog either.
--
You had managed to scale the wall up to Shep’s and opened the door.
“Lyana!” Omega said with a relieved gasp.
“Omega! My-My dad, he said to hide here.” Lyana said fearfully. She ran up to her friend and hugged her tight, “I’m so scared.”
“I know. I’m so sorry.” Omega replied as she parted from her.
You and Crosshair took off your coverings as you saw AZ attending to Wrecker.
“How’s Wrecker, AZ?” You asked.
“He is still unconscious, but his vitals are stable.”
You allowed yourself to feel some semblance of relief at that, but you hastily pushed it to one side as you heard another gunships sound outside.
The three of you ran back out to take in what was happening and what you saw made your chest tighten and curl your fists in rage- stormtroopers were everywhere, removing people from their homes, tossing them to the ground, arresting them. It was unnecessarily cruel, and it was all because you were still here.
--
Getting onto the gunship had started out as a stealth mission but quickly became one where Hunter just had to get inside without getting shot.
He’d managed to do so but the pilot was making his life extremely difficult with erratic flying designed to fling him out. He had to take a tight grasp of the handles inside to remain upright.
--
Something else then caught your attention as you saw the unstable and irregular flying patterns of an Imperial gunship and a whole different kind of emotion swept through you. You knew the exact cause of that particular situation, but you were not reassured by the sight in the slightest.
“Is that, Hunter?” Omega asked both you and Crosshair as she noticed the ship in the air.
“Yes.” You said through clenched teeth.
“Uh huh.” Crosshair echoed nonchalantly.
But then, something shifted, there was a blaster shot and vessel nosedived down towards the sea in a way that showed that neither Hunter nor the pilot was in charge of the ship anymore.
A strained breath caught in your throat as you watched the ship plummet into the sea. “Where- where is he?” You choked out as you saw Crosshair grab his macrobinoculars.
Crosshair scanned the water anxiously but let out a relieved sigh as he saw his brother resurface and swim for the shore. “He’s fine.”
You bent forwards as you braced your hands on the wall and let out a slow calming breath before the distant sound of comm chatter reminded you of your current situation.
“He’s safer than we are at the moment.” Crosshair hissed as the three of you retreated back inside Shep’s.
--
“What do we do? Troopers will be here soon.” Omega asked anxiously.
“Hunter would want us to stick to the plan.” Crosshair replied, internally scrambling to think of a way out of this.
“There’s no hiding, Crosshair. The Empire knows we’re here. They won’t stop searching until they find us!”
Whilst they were talking, you were coming up with a plan of your own. If you handed yourself in and convinced them that you’d already shipped Omega off-world, then maybe they’d leave Pabu and the rest of them alive and in peace.
You glanced between Wrecker and Lyana and the door. You took a calming breath as you came to terms with what you had to do but a squeeze of your hand brought your eyes downwards. No. You said as you saw her nod at you.  
“You promised.” Omega reminded you.
This is different, Omega. It’s not a choice you should need to make. It-
“You’re going, I know you are!” Omega interrupted. “But that won’t be enough, they’re here for me too! They won’t stop and you know it. It is my choice!”
Crosshair clued in and realised what the two of you were arguing about. “Absolutely not.”
“It’s our only option, Crosshair.” You said heavily.
“What? No, it’s not. We-”
“Look at what they’ve already done.” You said, a flash of anger coming through. “We can’t let the people here suffer any more because of us. That’s why we were leaving in the first place- to avoid this. We can’t let it carry on. We just can’t.” I’m not risking anyone else. Wrecker already got hurt, I’m not risking you and I’m not risking Hunter. If I could help it, Omega wouldn’t be coming but I can’t and it kills me that I can’t, but it’s how it has to be.
Crosshair went to respond to you, but Omega got in first, “If we let them take us, it stops.” She emphasised.
Crosshair focused on the young girl, distress in his voice. “You’ll be taken back to Tantiss.”
“Exactly. We’ve been trying to find those coordinates, and nothing’s worked. But if we keep our comms on us, and turn ourselves in, you can track us to Tantiss. This is our chance. Our chance to finally rescue the clones imprisoned there.”
“No. They’ll search you and find it. It won’t work.” Crosshair argued.
“Then shoot a secondary tracker onto the ship that they take us away on.” You suggested.
“Too many unknown variables. It’s not a viable plan.”
“It’s all we’ve got.” You countered.
“And it’s our choice.” Omega reminded him again.
Crosshair looked imploringly in your direction now. “Tantiss is different. This isn’t some random Imperial that’ll take you this time. It’ll be Hemlock. Who knows what he’ll do to you there.”
You also saw a genuine fear behind his eyes, and it unnerved you. It won’t be for long, I’ll be alright. “Focus on the bigger mission, Crosshair.” You said aloud and you came to stand behind Omega and rested your hands on her shoulders.
“Yeah, we’re just a small part of it.” Omega agreed.
Crosshair found himself in a position where he was forced to reflect on that, and he had to agree with you both.
--
The two of you got ready to depart but you noticed the reluctance that still graced Crosshair’s face and you approached him.
“He’s going to kill me.” Crosshair said to you quietly.
So, tell him he was right that Hemlock was after me too, that outta smooth things over.
“It’s not funny.” Crosshair snapped. He didn’t want to lose you both either. Not when he knew how important you both were to Hunter, to this squad… to this family. He’d finally made ground with you, you were one of them, you always had been, and he’d welcomed that feeling again. And Omega, well, Omega had seen and been through it all with him already, he owed her much more than a half-baked rescue plan.
Yeah sorry, it’s a bad habit. You went serious again and shook your head. “He’s not going to do that, Crosshair. Six months ago, maybe he would’ve, but not now. He’s not going to lose the progress he’s built with you either, not anymore. He’ll understand.” You glanced back to Omega who was standing by the door and regret stabbed your heart over the fact that this was to be her fate too, but you also knew that she wouldn’t have it any other way. “We’re very stubborn and determined individuals.” You said fondly before you looked back at him and placed a reassuring hand on his upper arm. “Just don’t miss.” You said with a light but resigned smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes.
With that, you and Omega exited the hut.
--
You caught Omega’s shoulder just before you rounded the corner to make yourselves known. You crouched down to her eye-level. “Omega… you know if there was any other option that I could think of that would get us- particularly you- out of this, I would do it in a heartbeat.”
Omega nodded. “I know, but it’s what we have to do.” She said bravely.
Your heart broke a little bit more right then and there- this was something no kid should ever have to do, “You had to grow up far too fast.” You murmured, both with sadness and a hint of pride in your voice as you gave her a loving hug before the two of you stepped out of your hiding spot.
--
“Stop.”
CX-2 signalled the troopers with the flamethrowers to disengage as he heard the voice of a woman.
“We surrender.” Omega said as all eyes, both Imperial and Pabu civilians turned in your direction.
“Stay alert. I neutralised the other two clones with them, but not the third.” CX-2 advised as he approached you two.
“Take us and leave the island alone.” You said as you held your wrists out.
“The people here are innocent.” Omega did the same thing as you.
CX-2 first put the cuffs on the young girl, “Then you never should have come here in the first place.”
“I’m assuming these are the special cuffs made just for me?” You said dully as the operative attached a second pair to your wrists, and you noticed the slightly different design of them compared to Omega’s.
“Why don’t you try them and find out?”
The harsh modulated voice sent a cold shiver of fear down your spine, but you covered it up. “Nah, you seem like someone who is on top of things, so I’ll take your word for it.” You were determined to not flinch under the unwavering glare of his helmet.
“Scan them for tracking devices.” CX-2 ordered as he confiscated your knife and Jedi weapon.
As expected, the comm devices were picked up immediately.
“Give them to me.” CX-2 demanded.
You and Omega reluctantly handed them over before you were both shoved and made to walk between the squadron of troopers as they got ready to transport you off the planet.
--
Crosshair had watched the surrender take place and had been stealthily tracking and making his way to a vantage point where he could tag the ship that you were to be taken away on.
--
Hunter staggered to shore and collapsed to his hands and knees.
He felt the water seeping through the gaps in his armour, weighing him down, and it was choking him beneath his helmet.
He removed it and took a few recovering breaths before he became alert to the sound of rustling just ahead of him. He instantly got to his feet and guardedly drew his blaster as he waited for the threat to show.
But he was able to relax his stance as Batcher came into view and ran over to him with a happy bark. He bent down and rubbed her side with a slight grin before he glanced up at the Archium and the rest of the island, but he didn’t see as many ships anymore.
And the realisation at what was about to happen hit him harder than he had hit the water.
Hunter grabbed his helmet and started running back, Batcher close at his heels.
--
You swallowed thickly as you and Omega were marched to the docks and forced to walk past the wreckage of both the sea skiffs and the Marauder.
CX-2 tapped the band on his arm and his ship came flying to meet the three of you.
You and Omega paused before boarding but an insistent jab of the butt of the operative’s rifle prompted you both to step up.
--
Crosshair got into position and readied himself to take the shot when the flashlight hit him.
“Over there!”
He fired back at the small squad of troopers that had found him and dealt with them as quickly as he could, but the interruption had moved him out of the prime position.
He had to run for it.
His gait was rushed.
His aim unsteady.
But there was no more time.
The ship’s engines were powering up.
He had no choice but to fire.
The ship took off.
His tracker missed.
And he could only look on in complete and utter dismay and horror as the ship flew out of view.
--
“Targets acquired. Returning to base.” CX-2 transmitted before he put the ship into hyperspace.
You and Omega sat side by side on the metal floor.
Omega took off her hat and leaned against your shoulder. “We’ll have each other there.” She murmured, doing her best to keep her voice composed.
“Yeah, we’ll be okay.” You whispered back.
Next Chapter>
Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @arctrooper69, @dominoeffectsworld, @andreaaxy, @notgonnaedit, @nightmonkeysstuff , @jellybeanstacey0519 @callsign-denmark @allthingsimagines, @superbookishhufflepuff
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imeaniguessthatsfine · 3 months
Text
“Listen to a different song”
If anyone needs new music to focus on and find a different outlet this is gonna be a list of artists and music that might catch your ear! That sound similar and give me similar feelings that Lovejoy and Wilbur’s music would give me.
Mother Mother just released a new album this past month, sounds really freaking good, and they’re currently selling tickets for a tour with Cavetown this upcoming year!
Ricky Montgomery released a new album back in September, also sounds really good and definitely a vibe! He’s also currently on a tour!
The Beaches have a newer album that they released in May, they’ve got a really good sound, sounds kind of a mix between Wet Leg and Florence and the Machine. Female band, I personally haven’t listened to them a ton but I’m in love with their sound so far!
McFly is a British pop rock band that’s started music in 2003 and they’ve been making music for years. They took a break for awhile to do their own thing but have recently released a new album. There were many times when listening to Lovejoy I could hear many similarities to some of McFly’s older music! Would 10/10 recommend them.
Sarah and the Sundays, they’ve got a groovy sound, I found them sometime last year and I really like their stuff! Started getting bigger during the pandemic and seem like they’re doing a tour rn in the US!
Motherfolk, groovy amazing music! Indie rock, based from Ohio! They have a few shows going on later in the year. Absolutely recommend them too.
As someone who spent the entire beginning of the year pretty much only listening to Wilbur’s new music and Lovejoy, and being very consumed by their music last year, I understand! This makes me want to scream because I find a lot of everything with music. But fuck abusers and believe and support victims.
I’m probably gonna add to this list as I find music and listen to more! And if anyone has recommendations they’d like me to add, feel free to share and I can add it! I love discovering music and I’m sure people who loved this band do too.
xx
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