#it would be a train wreck and i would gladly watch

[sea-owl]

You know what I need? I need two generations of Bridgertons sharing one braincell.

Give me an Edmund lives au where he, his siblings, and his cousin are all teaming up to match make the Bridgerton and Rokesby cousins. Maybe they pull Cecilia and Felix in, too. They can bring extra brain cells. Meanwhile, the Rokesby siblings, Violet and Winifred, are all on the side line waiting to do damage control.

The Rokesby cousins were easy enough to match up. Maybe a few bumps here and there. But dear God Emdund! What is with your brood and scandals?! Move over! You obviously need help!

Just almost every time a Bridgerton gets married so does at least one of their cousins. It's intresting to see the smooth sailing courtships of the cousins and then the dumpster fire that is the Bridgertons.

They're might be a betting pool in the family. Felix is the score keeper because he's the only one whose last name has never been Rokesby or Bridgerton.

#it would be a train wreck and i would gladly watch #bridgerton #roskeby series #kathony #benophie #polin #saphne #philoise #franchael #hyareth #grucy #rokesby cousins #edmund bridgerton #georgie bridgeton #hugo bridgerton #billie bridgerton #cecilia harcourt #poppy bridgerton #edmund lives au #edmund bridgerton lives au #2 generations of bridgertons 1 braincell

[changbinsboiledegg]

Hii

Hope u are okay :D

Can I request some reaction with skz when gf!reader can not dance and they maybe try to teach her(for example valse) but she is unteachable?

I just see it as some fluffy moment from their life idk idk idk

Heyoooo :) I’m okay! I hope you are okay too 🫶 Thank you for your request. I love fluffy, therefore I will gladly do fluffy.

GN! Reader X SKZ

(I know you said GF! Reader, but I didn’t use pronouns for the reader in this one, so I figured I’d tag it as gender neutral.)

Warning: Your dancing skills, petname usage.

Note: something fluffy today hehe, slowly but surely working through my requests. I hope you enjoy and as always, if no one told you today, ily. 🫶

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

Chan

When you asked Chan to teach you how to dance, he was not prepared for the horrors he was about to witness.

“Ah! Sorry!” You raised your foot and apologized, thinking you stepped on his foot.

Chan looked you up and down, stopping when you did.

A big grin overtook his face, “Aw, my flamingo. Why are you sorry?”

You quickly put your foot down, realizing you didn’t step on his foot— or anyone’s foot for that matter.

Chan shook his head, holding in a laugh. “You’re so cute.”

Lee Know

Minho offered to teach you how to dance after being subjected to your dancing at a party— you being completely sober.

He was relieved when you said yes to his offer.

“Follow my steps, we’re starting from step five to eight and then you can show me from step one.” Minho was patient with you, knowing not everyone can learn to dance overnight.

You followed his steps, getting into the groove and feeling like you were doing alright with it.

That was until he had you start from the beginning all the way up to the point where you stopped.

All he could do was stare, trying not to smile or laugh or do anything that could hurt your feelings.

Changbin

Changbin is open to teaching you how to dance. He started simple too, knowing it would be unfair to you to immediately jump into something advanced.

“Take it from the top!” Changbin was probably having way too much fun with this. You and Changbin both danced together, following the steps he taught you.

“Am I doing it right?” You asked, mid-dance. Changbin was hyped up, “nope!”

It didn’t matter to him how bad you were, though. He was having fun, you were having fun, and that was all he cared about.

“Take it from the top?” You groaned, still dancing messily. Changbin clapped his habds together and restarted the song— for the thirtieth time.

Hyunjin

He tried. He tried so hard. He was patient, repeated steps hundreds of times for you, even helped you with placement.

And even though Hyunjin loved you and would do anything for you, he had to accept that you just can’t and will most likely never know how to dance.

And that included the simplest of dances.

“I’m going to outdance you one day.” You teased, going through the steps he taught you. But unbeknownst to you, those were far from the steps he taught you.

Hyunjin watched you, amused beyond comprehension.

“Oh yeah. For sure.”

Han

It was supposed to be more romantic, letting your boyfriend teach you how to dance.

You moved your feet where Jisung told you to, you moved your arms, head, and even your torso when the dance called for it.

But as Jisung stood back to watch your progress, he seemed full of surprise. Not the kind you’d expect.

“Really?” Jisung paused the music. You stumbled to a stop.

“Really what?”

“Where did you get that move from?” Jisung then copied— or attempted to copy the train wreck that was your dancing.

You burst out into laughter, embarrassment evident on your face, which in turn made Jisung laugh with you.

Felix

Felix was teaching you to dance out of spontaneity and just when you thought you had the moves down, you hear him stifling back a laugh.

“I love you but what was that?” Felix had his fist to his mouth, trying to hide his smile.

“What do you mean? I nailed it.” You crossed your arms with a playful glare. Felix held his hands up, still trying not to laugh.

“Alright, darling. Whatever you say.” Felix got in position again, seeing that you had too.

“Whatever you say,” you mimicked, eyeing Felix’ reflection in the mirror. “I’m not that bad.”

Felix grinned, pausing for a second. “Mhm.”

Seungmin

You were on fire. It was a dumpster fire, but a fire nonetheless.

Seungmin couldn’t do much but watch you dance in the mirror, following your steps as he danced with you.

“This us fun! We should do this again.” You were happy despite the constant dumbfounded look on Seungmin’s face as he watched you do any move that wasn’t the ones he taught you.

“Yeah…” he quickly cleared his throat, feigning enthusiasm. “Yes! Of course. You… have a lot to learn.”

You abruptly stopped, “ouch.”

“Come on, I didn’t mean it like that.” Seungmin awkwardly laughed.

But he did mean it like that.

I.N

He agreed to teach you just to spend time with you but little did he know what he was getting himself into.

“Like this?” You moved your waist with your feet, glancing at him for approval. Jeongin shook his head slowly.

“No.”

You groaned, pouting. He’s said no for the past hour and you wondered if he would ever say yes.

“Let me try again! I got it this time.” You started to run through the steps again, making a wrong step and crashing to the floor.

Jeongin instinctively reached forward, but was too late. This was when he started to laugh. All of the bafflement he felt caved in on him and he too fell to the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

Which, in turn, made you start laughing uncontrollably.

#stray kids x reader #skz x reader #skz imagines #stray kids imagines #stray kids scenarios #stray kids reactions #skz reactions #skz scenarios #stray kids fluff #skz fluff

[starryluminary]

Honestly I want to know your opinion on Nemma. Because honestly I don’t like the ship either and want to see if someone agrees with me.

Oh my god hiiii nerd-chocolate!! I will GLADLY detail why I don’t like nemma. Buckle up cause I’m not exactly normal about this subject

I will preface this by saying I understand why it’s Noah and Emma. I get why if Noah had to have a girlfriend it would be someone who would match his intellect and someone he could hold a competent conversation with. Logically, on paper, I understand. It’s not so much the concept of Noah and Emma dating that I dislike, it’s the execution. The development of the relationship was a train wreck. HERES WHY!!!

From the very beginning Nemma showed problems. The Noah that couldn’t play a game of dodgeball for $100,000 and was so standoffish he could only make a good friend in Owen is now suddenly falling in love at first sight with a girl that did a front flip and I’m just supposed to accept it at face value??

You could argue that it’s been three years and a person could change in three years. I’d like to argue back: this is a cartoon. If the development happened offscreen, it didn’t happen. Noah had a drastic change in personality out of nowhere because they give us no reason to believe otherwise. This is just the beginning. It’s all downhill from here, honey.

This is very much subjective and a personal thing but do you know how irritating his face is.

It makes me ill. Who is this.

Back on track, Noah is out of character the rest of his time competing (not that he was perfectly in character to begin with.) Both the way he treats Owen and how he acts regarding Emma is not believable to me. He’s tragically mean to Owen almost the entire time and he’s insufferably… inconsistent? When it comes to Emma? Like they didn’t exactly have pinned down how he should act when he’s in love so it changes with every episode.

[I did a bit of research regarding the more important Nemma episodes and their writers, but couldn’t draw any good conclusions from it. I did find out Laurie Elliot wrote both Slap Slap Revolution from World Tour (notorious for the most significant Noco moments of the season) and New Beijinging (where Nemma is at its worst in my opinion.) This isn’t all that relevant but it IS fucking hilarious. The writer responsible for “Cody’s got a tiny sausage!” being made to (co) write a Nemma episode and subsequently butchering it is reeeeeally funny to me.]

On the topic of New Beijinging. I cannot watch this episode uninterrupted and it’s because of Nemma. I despise it. It’s not that I don’t believe Noah would act like a bumbling fool in love… in concept. In CONCEPT, I can buy the failed one liners and the speaking your thoughts out loud and the acting out to try and impress her. In practice it’s so painful to watch. The Noah that said he’s incapable of being embarrassed in his WT biography is now spitting hot food in his love interests face and physically recoiling every time he tries to talk to her. I can’t express through text the pain and anguish it causes me.

This is ALSO after giving her a suave one liner in the previous episode. How does he go from cool and collected to cringing at her I- AAAGGHHHH.

They don’t suddenly get better when the feelings are mutual, either. They just become insufferable together and it’s tragic. This is specifically about Māori or Less and Got Venom? (though admittedly I haven’t gotten that far in my rewatch and don’t remember Got Venom? too vividly. I do know they’re annoying in it even to Owen and Kitty so.) They just become so infatuated with each other they forget the rest of the world exists and while I enjoy the CONCEPT……… it just manages to drag down both characters. At least they treat Emma with a little more respect and have her snap out of the haze to play the damn game but THEY END UP KNOCKING OUT NOAH INSTEAD. Pain agony suffering and woe. Noah going catatonic and leaving Owen to struggle is the worst it gets but he still never truly focuses on the game and even hopes to get kicked off. He won’t even play for Owen.

Do I even have to mention Owen. My poor guy Owen. Owen suffers an unnecessary amount for Nemmas development. It hurts my heart even thinking about it but I’ll list off examples. Ways Owen has suffered for the sake of the relationship include:

Being made to carry dead weight (Noah) on more than one occasion.

Being used as a flotation device, offered by Noah to Emma, after being frozen solid.

Being forced to wait for the sister team, making his team go from first place to seventh.

Being victim to Noah’s snark and insults, which he does to either impress Emma or to reprimand Owen because of something Emma related.

LOSING THE RACE CAUSE NOAH COULD ONLY FIND THE ENERGY TO MOVE WHEN HE WAS OFFERED A KISS FROM EMMA.

(Side note: have I ever mentioned that RR Noah is my enemy? I feel like I don’t mention it enough)

To wrap this up, I do genuinely believe Nemma could have been great. I don’t hate Nemma cause I thought Noah was gay, or I’m a Noco shipper, or any other superficial reason. I hate it cause it’s a terribly written relationship that had to completely destroy my favorite character of the series to try and make it work. It’s a damn shame, really. I wish I could look past how different Noah is and how badly he treats Owen and how sickly annoying he and Emma can be and just, at the very least, tolerate Nemma. But I can’t, and I never will.

#and nemmas the reason the adversity twins got kicked off so they’re immediately on my bad side forever #SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I GOT BUSY AND MY THOUGHTS WERE HARD TO ARTICULATE #but there it is. all the reasons I don’t like nemma #thank you for letting me get that out of my system #ship hate #total drama #total drama presents: the ridonculous race #tdrr #I don’t feel like tagging anything else actually #let’s keep this one here #Starry has a question #Starry speaks

[just-a-creep-babe]

Random request but would it be possible to do head-canons of various creeps of your choosing who have an s/o (female) that's super strong. Like she wields a giant 200 pound claymore (think cloud from FF7)

Pftbft Cloud is so 😳😳

Also I just LOVE swords n daggers n such, it was so much fun choosing the gifs, I hope ya enjoy! ^^

Masterlist: x

Requests are closed but commissions are open!

Jeff the Killer

This dumb bitch is constantly trying to fight you

Not in a mean way or anything, he just loves sparring, and he loves a good challenge

If he can’t beat you, you should expect sneak attacks throughout the day because he is such a sore loser

And if he can beat you, expect him to brag about it all the damn time

This manses, I stg 🙄

That’s only, of course, if you’re willing to fight him

If he knows you don’t want to, he’ll always be down, but he won’t force you—your heart’s gotta be in it, or it’s just not the same

These combat sessions often lead to more physical action, if ya know what I mean 😉

He’ll often ask about your diet & workout routine because he’s (obviously) super into fitness as well

He doesn’t cook for other people since everyone complains his food is bland, but he’ll cook lots of protein-based meals for you to make sure you’re eating properly

It’s nice to have his expertise on fitness & nutrition, and vice versa

And as much as he likes smaller partners he can manhandle, he can’t deny the benefits of such a strong, fit partner~

BEN Drowned

Fanboy Moment™️

He is sUch a simp, it’s unreal 💀💀

He will, like, Constantly ask you to crush him between your thighs

Makes Mommy jokes all the time because he wants you to ✨wreck him✨

He also develops a habit of watching you work out because 👀💦

But other than how goddamn horny he is—when he pulls pranks at the mansion, he often goes running up to you so that he can hide behind you 😅

Surely, you’d protect him from the creeps that wanna beat his ass, right?

He‘d love to handle your sword if you let him

He’s semi-decent at fighting with them, but he might struggle just a tad with yours because it’s so heavy

If you’re patient with him and his horniness, he’d love to learn more about sword fighting

Especially if it means the two of you will spar & he’ll end up pinned beneath you 😌😉

What can I say? He’s a romantic at heart~

Eyeless Jack

Aww, does his little human mate really think she’s stronger than him? That’s cute

It’s very unlikely that you’re stronger than Jack—his supernatural strength is a force to be reckoned with

But! that doesn’t mean he won’t appreciate your strength!!

On the contrary, he loves how strong you are

Knowing you can hold your own in a fight really helps ease his protective instincts

AND he likes knowing he doesn’t need to hold back as much as he normally would 😉

Similar to Jeff, sparring matches are a fairly common occurrence

He loves play fighting with you, and he sometimes shamelessly lets you win because he not-so-secretly likes it when you flaunt your power

His demonic side especially loves a mate that’ll prove their strength to court him~

He’ll gladly patch you up whenever/if ever you get wounded in a fight or during training

Even despite knowing how strong you are, he still can’t resist being a tad overprotective of you sometimes

It’s honestly very sweet uwu

Laughing Jack

For the most part, LJ doesn’t really know how strong the average human is

He doesn’t spend that much time around people, so it can be difficult to remember what they’re capable of

Usually, when he does experience a human’s strength, it ranges between children, unarmed adults and adults with weapons

So he sees a fairly wide range of human power

Having a strong s/o does not help with this confused perception

It results in him kind of just,, assuming everyone’s that strong

And he becomes weary of nearly every human he comes across—even little kids

You just can’t trust those little bastards

If he ends up finally understanding that you’re much, much stronger than the average person, he’ll feel a sense of pride swell in his rotten black heart :)

He likes having you as a mate because he thinks you’re special~

Still, human abilities are quite odd to him, so you can’t expect him to fully understand—poor bby :”)

He’ll love & cherish you despite not always knowing what you’re capable of <3

X-Virus

He is into it

Like BEN, he thinks it’s hot—and he’s absolutely shameless about it

He won’t even try to hide his attraction

On the contrary, he‘ll shower you with compliments & cheesy pick-up lines revolving around your strength all the damn time

He’s a brat, so he’ll no-so-subtly act like a cocky little shit so that you can remind him of your strength ;)

Other than that, he’s pretty curious, so if you’re alright with it, he’d love to test how strong you really are

He’ll ask for blood samples & fitness tests, he’ll hook you up to machines with wires—he’ll have a field day in his lil’ science lab if you let him :)

And he might even figure out why you’re this strong—genetics, training, maybe something supernatural of sorts?

He’ll absolutely fuse together some big weapons if you want

Like heavy, powerful tools that have a shit ton of gadgets attached to them & 1001 lethal features

He’s a science-y person, so he’s pretty versatile

Anything for his strong s/o uwu

#creepypasta #x virus #laughing jack #Jeff the killer #Ben drowned #eyeless Jack

[italeean]

Italeean how are you doin? Hihihi It's been awhile VERY HAPPY FOR YOU TO REACH THAT MILESTONE, AWESOME! I wanted to join the event~ I'll pick free! as the fandom (because in other fandoms like haikyuu/MHA/genshin, I already have certain stan/bias so I'm not mentally ready for a random match, but for Free! It's a new fandom for me so just ship me with anyone lol) I'm a male! lee (not into foot tickles tho), platonic, matched with other male, and about me: I'm not really athletic tbh, and often times kinda awkward, for hobbies probably just chilling, having conversations, hanging out, hmm what else *scrolling through tumblr in secret* jk. Anyway have a nice day as always, can't wait to be matched lol, your pick will probably be my bias in this fandom so choose w i s e l y~ hohoho (just kidding) - itto anon :)

ITTO ANON MY LOVE /p 😻❤️❤️ How're you doing? It's literally so nice to see you participate in each and every one of my events and interact with me since practically day 0 🥹 I hope you'll enjoy your match-up... and thank you for choosing Free! ❤️❤️ It's always a pleasure to write for my favorite anime ❤️🍡 *enjoy this dango while reading my little work*

🔮 For this event, your match-up is... NAGISA

🔮 Why did I choose him for you?

Okay who wouldn't want to be Nagisa's friend? He's a little ball of sunshine who has a nice word for everyone! I feel like a nice person like you deserves this sweetheart in his life

I'm sure he'd love your awkwardness... he'd find it super cute! Expect to get teased by him, intentionally or not

He totally would drag you to the swim club even if you're not particularly athletic. He'd bring you there just to introduce to his friends so you all can hang out together

About this... he'd be the kind of guy who shows off your laughter! He'd be like "Hey guys, listen to this!" and he'd start tickling you.

BUT... he'd go around and wreck everyone, so you wouldn't be the only one to get tickled in front of the others... this would probably lead to huge tickle fights!

He'd love to play genshin or any other games with you! I'm sure he'd want to play all the cutest characters, and you'd get all the tall men (ahem like Zhongli and Itto ahem-)

Every time you pull for a character, he'll tickle you as a ritual for good luck... and if it fails, he'll tickle you even more to cheer you up hehe~

He's a very considerate person, based on what I saw (and I watched every episode and movie of Free! so...), which means he's a great person to talk to. You could just spend the afternoon talking to each other

I think your usual hangout could be either taking a stroll while Nagisa munches on that sickeningly sweet bread, or staying home while eating candy, watching anime, playing games and just chilling and talking

I feel like he'd randomly tickle you while you hang out. Why? Because he finds your laughter super cute and he wants to hear more

I think you could help Nagisa with his studies, along with Rei... which would probably not be the easiest task, but it would always end up with sweets and talking when the hard task is done

Imagine this: you, Nagisa and the others wearing your yukatas at a summer festival, going around the stands to play games, eat delicious foods and have a great time... yours would be such a great friendship!!!

🔮 Tickle scenario

"Y/n-chaaan!" Nagisa called for you, "Come on, the water is amazing!!" He gestured you to go with him and the others for a swim. The day before, they found out that the pool was closed due to a malfunctioning of the filter, so they chose to swim in the ocean to not skip training.

Luckily, it was a Saturday, so they managed to have an actual beach day. However, Nagisa insisted to invite both you and Rin as well and spend the day with all the whole group. Rin immediately said yes at the thought of racing with Haru in the ocean, and you accepted gladly. The team had already met you and everyone was quite fond of you already.

During the training, you held the stopwatch and took their timings, and you were also the judge of Haru and Rin's race, which resulted in the umpteenth tie, but when swimming practice was over, the six of you took a quick rest and enjoyed the amazing beach.

The guys became restless quickly, though, and they couldn't resist the sweet call of the waves. In the blink of an eye, everyone was running towards the welcoming ocean again. You smiled at the sight and kept focusing on which artifacts you wanted to give to Itto... at least until Nagisa called for you.

"Umm... you can go on without me, I'm fine here!" You reassured your friend, but unfortunately for you, he wasn't having it. "Nuh uh! Nope nope nope!" He pouted, looking like an angry penguin, "You're gonna enjoy the beach, and we'll play genshin another day!" He decided with an unexpectedly authoritative tone.

You looked up to see the blonde towering over you (yes, he was towering over you despite his short stature because you were sitting on your beach towel and he was standing) and before you knew it, he had your phone between his hands. He quickly turned it off and pulled you up, surprising you with his actual strength despite his tiny figure.

"Nagisaaa" You whined, not actually minding being dragged to take a swim, "Let me go..! The water will surely be cold!" You tried to find an excuse. "The water is perfect, nice try y/n-chan~" The blonde quickly retorted, leaving you no escape.

Despite your complaints and struggles, you found yourself in the water with the others, and even if the water was cold, you were having fun. "See? I told you, the water is great!" Nagisa exclaimed while sticking out his tongue at you. He was right, but you didn't want to admit it, "Hmm... I still feel cold, the water clearly isn't warm enough!" You huffed with an exaggerated snobbish tone, just to let the blonde know that you were joking.

"Don't worry, y/n-chan, I know how to warm you up... it always works with Rei-chan!" You were a little confused, but an idea insinuated in your brain when you saw Rei blush like a tomato, as if he knew what he was talking about, and you let out a nervous giggle.

Your suspicions were confirmed when you noticed ten wiggling fingers approaching you. "No, y-you stay away from me..!" You tried to keep him at a safe distance, with scarce results, and you even tried to swim away from him. But to be honest, what were you even thinking? He caught up to you in mere seconds and trapped you in a hug.

It was adorable to Nagisa how your defenses crumbled as soon as his fingers landed on your sides. "KYAAAHAHAHA NAHAHAGISAHAHA WAHAHAIT!!" You kicked and squirmed like a fish out of water, even if you were actually in the sea, "THIHIHIS IHIHIS NAHAHAHAHAT FAHAHAIHIHIR!!!" You complained, but your squeals fell on deaf ears.

"But if you laugh and move, you'll warm yourself up!" The blonde teased while he started counting your ribs and walking his way towards your armpits. "NAHAHAGISAHAHAHAHAAA" You screeched when two fingers started circling the hollow of your underarms, slowly making their way towards the center.

"Y/n-chahahahan~" He playfully mocked you while he finally started digging in the very center of your poor armpits. In mere seconds, your face and even your ears were completely red and you had the biggest smile on your face. That's when Nagisa decided to stop, giving you time to breathe.

"Are you okay?" Makoto approached you while you recovered, "This is typical Nagisa behavior, no one has ever been able to escape him hehe" He let out an embarrassed chuckle, trying to make you feel less flustered. "Well... Nagisa should get a taste of his own medicine so he learns a lesson..." You let out a snarky grumble, always with that amused undertone that made everyone understand that you were enjoying yourself.

"Geez... you're still so salty, y/n-chan... I guess I didn't tickle you long enough..." the magenta-eyed guy stated before swimming towards you pretending to be a shark.

"Nononono Nagisa wa-WAHAHAHAHAIT!!!"

#350/400 followers event #milestone event #tickle matchup event #free iwatobi swim club tickle #free tickle #free isc tickle #ler!nagisa #lee!reader #ticklish!reader

[duskhaunted]

Opinions on a Harmonia x Lucille enemies to lovers slowburn fanfic?

A known antagonist with a known protagonist is asking for trouble. I would not support it. However, I would gladly watch the train wreck if it happened.

[the-ever-humming-girl]

Firelight

     Thaddeus thinks about his family while on the famous ‘arrowhead discovery’ camping trip.

    Takes place in September 1890, when Milo is 8 years old.

    “Want one, grandpa?”

    The question startled Thaddeus awake. He’d been seated by the fire in a camp chair, dozing comfortably in his after-dinner lethargy, enjoying the sounds of the forest surrounding the camp.

    He looked to his right and saw Milo sitting cross legged, holding out a freshly made s’more.

    He sat up and shook off the haze that had enveloped him only moments before.

    “Oh, no thank you, Milo. I had quite enough at dinner.”

    Dinner had consisted of tinned beans, beef jerky, and the biscuits Thaddeus had made the day before. A good hot meal had hit the spot, a perfect end to a long and adventurous day in the woods.

    Thaddeus smiled to himself as he watched Milo take a bite out of the s’more. Much like himself in his younger years Milo had a voracious sweet tooth and s’mores had quickly become a campfire staple since his discovery of them a few years before. Personally, Thaddeus found them a little too sweet for his liking and would only have one occasionally. Milo knew this but still offered an extra every time he was making one for himself. He was a good kid. Kind, generous, loyal, with an eager mind, always keen to learn. Thaddeus could see he had the makings of a brilliant scholar and knew he would go on to do great things. Though Thaddeus hoped the future would be kinder to him.

    The flickering and exaggerated shadows cast by the campfire highlighted the barely visible scar on Milo’s forehead. It was a stark reminder of the tragedy that had occurred only a few short years before.

    The train wreck had nearly claimed the lives of all Thaddeus’s remaining family members and not for the first time he wondered at the fact that Milo had survived when so many others including his parents had died.

    Milo’s injuries had kept him in the hospital for several weeks and by the time he had been well enough to leave all funeral services had long since concluded. Milo had never gotten to say a proper goodbye to his parents. Though he’d really been too young to understand what had happened.

    He vividly remembered Milo sitting on the porch of the house in the weeks after he’d come to live with him, waiting day after day for a mother and father who would never return. Thaddeus had done his best to help Milo understand what had happened. He’d taken him to the cemetery to see Augustus and Lucille’s graves, but it had still been several years before Milo had been old enough to fully grasp the concept of death. To little Milo it had seemed as if his parents had only gone out for a short while and would return any moment.

    He never spoke of the accident, of whether he remembered anything of that fateful day, and Thaddeus could never bring himself to ask about it. But he knew it had left a lasting impression on Milo’s young mind. He had nightmares occasionally and would wake screaming in terror for his parents. Thaddeus would always take Milo to sleep in his bed afterwards and for the next day or two Milo would be quiet, his natural exuberance and enthusiasm tempered by what he'd relived in his dreams.

    Thaddeus did his best to make sure Milo had a happy and carefree life filled with all the books, camping trips, and museum outings a boy could want. And he knew Milo was, for the most part, happy though there were times when he caught him staring longingly at families, at children with parents. And whenever he noticed he reminded himself they were simply a different kind of family, a family of two, but a family no less.

    It was difficult to try and be mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather all in one but it was a job Thaddeus gladly accepted.

    He was no stranger to grief. His wife, Ella, had passed years ago. The birth of their son, Augustus, had been difficult and she had died when he was just two days old leaving Thaddeus with the responsibilities of parenting. It had been hard raising a child on his own. He’d expected to have his wife by his side for years to come, to raise their children together, to grow old with her and enjoy their grandchildren side by side. But that dream had been cruelly cut short and the joyous occasion of the birth of his son had been tempered by heartbreaking loss. He'd gained a son but lost his wife. And then he’d lost his son and daughter-in-law too.

    He’d had twenty-two short and wonderful years with Augustus before the train accident. He remembered sitting at Milo’s bedside in the hospital wondering how life could again be so cruel as to take the ones he loved. Milo was his only remaining family and while outwardly he put on a brave face and did his best to give Milo a happy childhood, inwardly he harbored a deep fear of losing Milo as well. It was a fear that sometimes filled him with anxiety, but he hid it well and never let Milo know how deeply it affected him, how when Milo would wake screaming from his nightmares it left Thaddeus unable to sleep afterwards. How he would lie awake long after Milo had fallen back to sleep if only to reassure himself his grandson was still breathing.

    It was a wonder he’d even agreed to their camping trips, but it seemed his grandson was a chip off his block in a way not even Augustus had been. One rainy afternoon several years ago Milo had been scouring the bookshelves in their house for reading material to stave off boredom and had discovered Thaddeus’s old adventuring journals. He’d been young enough to be uninhibited by the thought of intruding on someone else’s private thoughts and had begun to read. He’d come running to his grandfather excitedly and there had been no going back. So, he now did his best to keep Milo safe while cautiously encouraging his love of adventure. And truth be told he’d had been delighted to have his grandson take an interest in the same things he did.

    Somewhere in the trees an owl hooted softly, and Thaddeus smiled fondly to himself as he watched Milo happily eating his s’more with one hand and beginning to sketch his newest treasure with the other. Earlier that day while they’d been hiking along a stream Milo had discovered what he thought was an arrowhead in the water. He’d been so thrilled, carefully cleaning and wrapping it in a handkerchief, then tucking it lovingly into the pocket of his vest. Thaddeus hadn’t had the heart to tell him it was only a rock that had compressed and fractured into a misleading triangular shape. Instead, he’d exclaimed in delight and amazement, promising to have it framed to commemorate the extraordinary find.

    Thaddeus wasn’t sure where the drawing talent had come from. No one on his side of the family had ever displayed any artistic abilities and he himself was only able to draw barely passable stick figures. He wondered not for the first time if the skill had come from Milo’s mother’s side of the family. Lucille hadn’t known much of her family having been orphaned herself when she was a teenager. A sad smile crossed his face. There had been so much tragedy in their family. If he’d been a superstitious man, he might have wondered if they were cursed.

    Milo seemed to sense he was being watched and looked up suddenly, catching Thaddeus off guard. “Grandpa?” he asked, face serious. “Are you alright?”

    Thaddeus shook himself out of his melancholy thoughts and smiled in earnest. “Just thinking.”

    Milo studied him for a long moment, his glasses reflecting golden light from the fire. And Thaddeus wondered if Milo had guessed what had been on his mind. He was a perceptive kid.

    Finally, Milo spoke. “I love you, Grandpa.”

    Thaddeus felt his eyes prickle. So perceptive. He cleared his throat. “I love you too.”

    Milo smiled then and finished the last bite of his s’more before lowering his head and continuing with his sketch.

     Thaddeus settled back in his chair and a comfortable silence fell between them broken only by the crackle of the fire and the hooting of the nearby owl. He firmly put all thoughts of the past out of his head and concentrated on being present and enjoying this quiet moment with his grandson.

    It was the only thing that mattered.

#atlantis: the lost empire #thaddeus thatch #milo thatch #my fanfics #The Formative Years 1 #fanfiction.net #ao3

[soobintoyou]

Lipstain- Choi Yeonjun one shot

pairing: reader x idol!yeonjun

genre: humor, fluff

a/n: i’ve been listening to favorite by nct127 and this scenario came into my head. hope you enjoy!

summary: you’re backstage waiting for the boys to finish shooting when one of the staff members from the studio start flirting with you, not knowing that your boyfriend yeonjun is watching the entire thing go down

You had a hard time looking away. It was like a train wreck and every time you tried to tear your eyes away, another tragic screech of the wheels would pull you right back.

How long does one need to deflect cheesy pick up lines and terrible jokes before they get the point?

You check your phone for the third time in five minutes and tap around on the screen like you’re texting someone.

“Yeah I graduated top of my class and was voted best smile,” the one before you says. “But I would’ve gladly given up my title had I known you existed.”

You dryly laugh. Should you have walked away when you had the chance? Probably. But like you said, it was a train wreck and you could not peel your eyes away.

Other staff that came along with you are starting to notice how uncomfortable you look. Their eyebrows raise in your direction and you shoo them away with a “it’s okay” or an “I’m fine.”

Little did you know that not far off, your boyfriend had been watching the entire thing out of the corner of his eye.

“Does this loser really think they’re worthy of YN’s time?” Yeonjun scoffs to his members as the director yells cut. Make up artist come rushing towards them, brushes sweeping across his face and combs being run through his hair.

“Hyung, you gotta save them,” Soobin says, cocking his head in your direction. “I can’t bare to watch anymore.”

Yeonjun nods and smiles gently at the make up artist trying to retouch his lips. “It’s okay. I got it,” he says.

Taehyun and Soobin exchange confused looks while Beomgyu bets Hueningkai twenty bucks that Yeonjun is going to knock the staff member out cold. Soobin almost scolds them until Taehyun raises it to forty bucks. At that point, he’s too stunned and a bit scared that the older actually might.

You’re adding ten digit numbers at this point as the staff member drones on and on about how often they work out.

“YN.” You look up and are met with dark eyes. He offers you a small smirk and holds his hand out, “The make up artist said they want to use the color lip stain you have on me.”

Your face screws up in confusion. “Huh?” He nods again, hand still stretched out towards you. “O-Oh. Okay?”

You pat your pockets and fumble through your bag, trying to find the lip color. A frown spreads across your face. “I don’t have it,” you say.

“Oh?” There’s a hint of mirth in his voice. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to borrow some of yours then.”

“But I just said that-“

His hand grabs your chin and tilts it to the side as he leans in and plants a soft but possessive kiss on your lips. You let out a surprise squeak as heat begins to spread across your face. You can feel him smile against your lips as he kisses you again and again and again.

He pulls back and glares at the staff member next to you. “Hey, the lightening is a bit off on set. Think you can do something about it?”

“O-Oh. Uh- yeah.” And they scurry off.

You glance at his members and see them shaking with laughter — whether they’re embarrassed by the oldest member’s actions or proud, you don’t get to find out as Yeonjun caresses your cheek.

“How do I look?” he smiles.

“You’re an idiot,” you playfully punch his chest.

He pecks you once more before he places something in something in your hand. You look down at the golden tube and gape at him.

“I forgot. You gave it to me in the car,” he chuckles.

“You’re unbelievable,” you scoff.

“And yours,” he winks.

And with one last smile, he’s off to finish his shoot.

—

master list

#txt #tomorrow by together #choi yeonjun #txt choi yeonjun #txt yeonjun #choi yeonjun fluff #choi yeonjun scenario #choi yeonjun au #choi yeonjun angst #choi yeonjun one shot #yeonjun one shot #yeonjun angst #yeonjun au #yeonjun scenarios #yeonjun x reader

[glorified-red]

Could I request hcs for subtle ways the boys express their protectiveness?

Thank you for the request my love! I got to play a fun little game of ‘Eenie Meenie Miney Mo’ for which request to do.

Protective BatBoys

word count: 1600~

warnings: insinuation of someone getting hit by a car, mentions of attackers

I was quite tempted to write Bruce headcanons to this but I must hold back ><

Dick Grayson

Ah, Dick Grayson, the King of small romantic protective gestures

Every time, without fail, Dick will wait until he watches you get inside your house safely before driving/walking away

Its a really cute tick of his because he covers it up with a goodbye kiss and goofy waves that leave you giggling even after you close your house door

But its so he knows where you are, and he can see for himself that you made it safely inside because the second he turns away too soon, you may get locked out, or someone can crawl out from the bushes and nab you

Paranoid, he knows

He constantly wraps you up in things, when you two go swimming he’ll patter up from behind you and place a towel around your shoulders, patting you dry along the way

Very insignificant gesture but he doesn't want you to catch a cold in the A/C or Gotham wind

He’ll do the same with his jackets, maybe even plop his hat on your head when it's gets to the snowy seasons 1. Because its adorable seeing the hat fall into your eyes and 2. Because it'll warm your head up

Scarves too, he’ll even go on a tangent about how cold it is outside while he wraps you in it

Dick will always offer to drive you places, even if you insist on driving yourself to meet up with him or walking there, Dick will still offer because it means he’ll be present if you get into a wreck, sucks but then he can help with first aid

If you decline his offer though, he’ll politely ask for you to take Titus or Ace with you whenever you walk somewhere, they’re trained and he trusts them to keep you company/safe when he can't 

Jason Todd

Jason’s protectiveness comes from a place of knowing how cruel the world actually is

He can't stand the idea of anything happening to you

If he has to, he will use his reputation of Red Hood as a way to keep you safe, putting a man at gun point and sneering out, “They’re off. Limits.”

He’d bust a whole trafficking ring if it meant ending a person who touched you or hurt you in any way

But Jason’s protectiveness doesn't stop while he's wearing the helmet

Even when you two are sleeping, Jasons unconsciously protecting you, no matter how you two cuddle, Jason always positions himself as closest to the bedroom door

Whether his back is to the door or he’s facing it, Jason needs the comfort of knowing any person coming into the room would have to get through him before even reaching you

He also envelopes you, he's a big guy so its pretty easy for him to wrap you up in his arms as an extra layer of protection from the outside world

Jason doesn't really like the idea of training you past basic combat or gun skills, hell, he doesn't like involving you in the family business if he doesn't have to

So he inserts himself into any situation you may need protection in

Which is exactly why he starts going to the gym with you as a work out buddy

Jason makes it sound like he just wants to spend time with you or help you achieve your goals faster since he knows how the body works from his Robin days

But deep down you both know his true intentions: he wants to keep an eye on you

The gym is crawling with creeps that have the guts to ogle at you or get too touchy, but having Jason’s 6 foot beefcake of an ass standing beside you the entire time is like an instant creep repellent

Plus, he gets to spot you and make sure you don't get injured from bad technique or from pushing yourself too hard

He’ll even encourage you with innuendos the entire time, but at the end of the day, he’ll gladly walk you home

Tim Drake

Tim is the most subtle about his inner protectiveness, a subtle King if you will

Most times when he gets protective, you never even notice

When you two cuddle in your house, it takes him a very long time to actively fall asleep because he doesn't trust your home security system if you even have one so he forces himself to stay awake just incase anything happens

But don't worry, he’ll eventually get to updating the security in your house

He does get these protective eyes whenever something is off when he's around you, they narrow a bit and latch onto whatever is off, glaring holes into the offending object until its all clear

Its quite terrifying to witness and very hard to miss when Tim is staring dead at the man speaking to you from across the room at a Gala, sipping his drink in the corner

If he feels the need, he will walk up and control the situation, whether it mean inserting himself into the convo or simply being present for it, he’ll do it

The thing with Tim though, is when he's protective, he’s almost always touching you in some way

His fingers playing idly with the ends of your hair as he speaks to a random person who walked up to you, clinging to your shirt/sleeves when he’s analyzing a situation and doesn't want you to go forward just yet, or even as simple as holding your hand as he leads you home

Tim also keeps small snacks/waters on hand at all times to protect you from Gotham heat and pesky hunger, very much like a mother hen because he also carries a first aid kit everywhere

He follows you whenever you walk alone around Gotham at night, he’s already on patrol so he might as well make sure you make it home safe, if anything happens he won't think twice about intervening as RR

If your going out somewhere alone he always always always asks you to call him until you make it to your destination, he doesn't care if he's working on something or in the middle of a board meeting, he has an assistant for a reason who can give him notes

Its become a normal thing for you to send him your Uber tracking link so he can watch it, if you don't send it he won't hesitate to hack into your account just to find it

Damian Wayne

Damian? Wayne? Being subtle?

Its usually pretty obvious when Damian gets protective over you

He’s the type who won't hesitate to pull out a knife out of god knows where and threaten whatever is responsible for you being uncomfortable

This leads to very interesting encounters of you having to hold him back because ‘oh no a random guy bumped into you and didn't apologize’ and suddenly Damian is missing 

He’s also incredibly blunt, saying things like “Cover your drink” at galas or handing you one of those hand held tasers before you go out and saying “Go for the neck”

Will insist on training you himself, whether its hand-to-hand combat or with a sword, Damian wants to keep track of your progress himself so he can make sure all your weaknesses are trained

Its also because he doesn't want his grimy brothers near you, so its protective on all counts

But subtlety? Theres a few you can notice after being with him for awhile

He’s very careful when going out around Gotham with you, Damian knows he can fend for himself so he will gladly take the brunt of any possible situation

This leads to him always walking on whichever side of you thats closest to the road, so on the off chance a car derails, he’ll get hit first

Always making sure to match your pace when you two walk together, he doesn't want you getting too far ahead of him because he'd have to run to get to you, too far behind and he might not notice you getting taken silently, he wants you right in arms reach at all times

He has a permanent scowl and narrowed eyes but when he's protective, they get even more prominent

Bonus

All the BatBoys do the same exact thing out of instinct when it comes to protecting you

None of them will hesitate to step in between you and any attacker, pulling you behind them so they are in the line of fire now

Its a subtle action that each of them do, albeit with some differences

Damian will push the attacker back as far as he can from you, putting plenty of distance between the two of them and you, so if anything breaks out, you can run away easily

Dick will hold his arms out, fully covering you but keeping his hands in the fray so if the attacker tries attacking you from any angle, Dick is ready to protect

Tim will grip onto you somehow, keeping his hand right on your bicep or forearm so he can still hold you, he doesn't know if there can be a hidden attacker from behind that will pry you away from him, so touching you is his way of making sure he doesn't lose track of you

Jason will slip in front of you and cross his arms, its a sign of nonchalance but obvious dominance, showcasing that he doesn't need his hands to be intimidating to the attacker, he’ll glare and challenge them so all attention is on him now and not you

Taglist ♡

@anothertimdrakestan

@bungunz

@red-hood-redemption​

#tim drake #red robin #dc comics #robin #batfam #batman #dc #batfamily #dick grayson #jason todd #nightwing headcanons #nightwing #red hood #red hood headcanons #robin headcanons #red robin headcanons #tim drake headcanons #dick grayson headcanons #damian wayne headcanons #jason todd headcanons #x reader #x reader headcanons #headcanons

[broadstbroskis]

take my hand, wreck my plans | william nylander

a/n: if you’ve been around this blog for a while, you’ve probably seen me talking about “willy fake dating fic” for quite a bit now...well here she is! settle in for a long read (the longest i’ve posted in one go before) and i hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it! so so so much love to literally every single person who cheered me on while writing this, but extra special thanks to @denis-scorianov​ and @danglesnipecelly​ for all your love and support

also shoutout to my girl tswift for the title, evermore still slaps

word count: 21.5k

It’s right in the middle of the busiest hours of the day when Steph’s text comes in, which means Aubrey barely even reads the message. She sees the words dinner and Friday and responds that she’ll be there, and then goes back to trying to fix the clusterfuck of code that one of her coworkers messed up earlier in the morning before her project has to get sent off to a client at the end of the week.

By the time Friday comes around, she’s only just managed to fix the code but the project is finished enough to send off as a first draft, so Aubrey races over to Steph and Mitch’s place after work, knowing she looks frazzled as hell from the look on her best friend’s face the minute she enters their kitchen. “Sweetie.” Steph says, then bites her lip. 

The feeling is mutual to Aubrey, because she’s giving Steph the same once over that Steph’s giving her. She’d arrived from the office, which took casual Friday to the extreme, in her favorite leggings, denim jacket, and converse- still enjoying the last bit of summer before Toronto turned to fall. Meanwhile Steph was dressed up for the evening in jeans and a flowy top. Her hair was done, her makeup looked beautiful; nothing about her screamed casual dinner at home. Certainly not like the messy ponytail Aubrey was rocking, after running over from work.

“Wine?” Mitch offers, breaking the silence, and Aubrey nods immediately, forgetting entirely about...whatever is going on here in favor of the alcohol she’s been needing since she arrived at the office today.

Mitch pours a glass and offers it out, but honestly, fuck that; Aubrey reaches for the bottle instead and takes a sip. “Nope, listen, these motherfuckers-” And then, she cuts herself off abruptly as she catches sight of the single most beautiful man she has ever had the pleasure of even having in her field of vision, leaning against the counter.

“No, go ahead.” Blondie grins, and fuck that, of course, he’s got the most beautiful smile too. “These motherfuckers, what?”

“Fucked up a huge project at work this week.” Aubrey finishes, pretty lamely, compared to how heated she’d started that sentence. 

“Gonna start throwing that at Matts.” Blondie grins again. “Anytime he fucks up a pass to me. This motherfucker.”

“Heh.” She laughs, lifting the wine bottle in a cheers-esque manner, and then, not knowing what else to do, she takes another large sip.

Blondie is still grinning when Aubrey brings her bottle back down and Mitch is doing a very poor job of hiding a laugh, but it’s not hard to see that Steph’s making murder eyes that Aubrey pointedly ignores, so Steph turns her attention away with a sigh. “What’s up, Will?”

“Oh, uh, Matts and Alison nominated me to see if there was anything we could do to help.” Will says smoothly.

“We?” Mitch raises an eyebrow, at the distinct lack of we that arrived with Will.

“Well.” Will shrugs, like that should explain everything, and maybe it does, because Mitch only snorts.

“We’re okay.” Steph jumps in. “We’ll all be out soon.”

Will nods, and leaves Aubrey with one last grin, before he turns and heads out towards their back patio, which must be where dinner is taking place, but as soon as the door shuts behind him, Aubrey turns to round on Steph and Mitch. “What the fuck?”

“Me, what the fuck?” Steph, her best friend since grade school, knows exactly what she’s talking about. “You, what the fuck?”

“This was a setup?”

“You didn’t know?” Mitch cries, turning immediately to his girlfriend and looking incredibly offended.

“Yes she did!” Steph defends. “I literally texted you: Mitch has a single friend we think you’d get along with if you’re interested. Are you free friday for dinner? We were thinking of having you all over. And you said: sounds good I’ll be there.”

“Well, in my defense, work was a dumpster fire this week and I really only skim-read that text.”

“Well now I know why you showed up like that.” 

“Rude, Stephanie.” Aubrey sticks her tongue out at her best friend, grinning immediately afterwards, because Steph’s her best friend and she’s the only one she would let talk to her this way. “Just for that I’m not using a glass the entire night.”

“Not like your first impression could get any worse.” Steph deadpans.

“Meh.” Mitch shrugs. “It’s Willy. He’s done way worse.”

Steph sighs, pinches the bridge of her nose, and then looks over. “Could you use your one free hand then to take a second bottle of wine out then please? For the rest of us who’d like some, to share?”

Aubrey grins. “Gladly.”

That this was meant to be a setup couldn’t be more clear to her as the three of them make their way out to the porch with more drinks and some snacks. Mitch and Steph have dragged some of their comfier patio furniture around the firepit; there’s a couple curled into each other on one of the couches, an empty one with Mitch’s favorite type of beer on the table next to it, and one seat open on the couch that’s occupied by Will. 

Aubrey shoots Steph a look as Steph practically leaps back onto the empty couch, and then she slips herself into the empty seat next to Will. That level of distinct lack of chill is really her thing, thanks Steph.

Steph merely grins back, formally introducing her to everyone around them. And okay, their friends are cool- like Aubrey knows they are; she’s met more than a few of Mitch’s hockey friends before. She’s many-a-time fifth-wheeled dinner with Mitch and Steph and Matt and Syd. She, Mitch, and Steph still had a group chat going with a bunch of Mitch’s old teammates from the Knights. Hell, Strome and McDavid had joined Mitch in playing with her and Steph on their families’ summer softball team last summer.

But she just can’t seem to understand what they see in Will that they think he’d be good for her. Like sure he’s nice enough, and obviously good looking, and like, yeah she has a good time while she’s there, but like, sparks? Nothing. 

Regardless of the lack of sparks between them, it is a fun night, and she curls up in one of the guest rooms in Steph and Mitch’s that night, fully planning on laughing at them the next morning. 

Except, the next morning, Mitch is already gone for practice and Steph’s first question is, “So when are you going to see Will again?”

Aubrey frowns. “Uhh I don’t know. Probably whenever you have us both over for dinner again?”

Steph frowns back. “What?”

“What what?”

“You didn’t, like, give him your number? Make plans? Anything?”

“Why would we?”

“Because he’s perfect for you?”

Aubrey gives her a look. Was Steph even at the same dinner that she was? They, like, barely interacted; Will chatting more with Auston and what’s-her-name or Mitch and Auston, and her with Steph pretty much the entire night. “Perfect for me? Seriously? That’s the guy you think is perfect for me?”

She huffs. If Aubrey didn’t know her best friend better she’d think she was offended, but, well, she does. “Yes!”

“No!”

“I mean, at least give it a shot!” Steph needles.

Aubrey pulls a face. “Why? So we can break up and make things super awkward at anything you and Mitch throw for the rest of your lives? No thanks.”

“I’m telling you.” Steph says. “Perfect match.” But she drops it after that, suggesting brunch, an offer that Aubrey immediately agrees to.

-----

It’s a quick stop for Aubrey to pop home to change and pick up her roommate, Erin, before the three girls head over to what’s long been a favorite brunch spot, laughing as Aubrey and Erin watch Steph fire off a series of snapchats to Mitch featuring her bottomless mimosas- her favorite way of asking to be picked up on his way home from practice.

Erin laughs so hard she almost snorts mimosa out her nose as Aubrey and Steph recap dinner from the previous night, but once she recovers, she hits Steph with a look. “I am begging you to invite me to this next time, solely so I can watch the two of them interact.”

Aubrey gasps as Steph laughs. “Rude!”

Erin giggles, beginning to recount the date she’d gone on last night-her fourth with this guy from the gym she belongs to-and Aubrey finds herself nodding along with Steph in all the right places, as friends should, happy that Erin’s happy, especially after her shitty last boyfriend, and eager to meet this guy for more than the five minutes he’d shown up at their door. 

Her story is interrupted-for Aubrey, at least-by the vibration of her phone, and she checks the text from an unfamiliar number, rolling her eyes when she sees the message.

hey this is will, followed by an amount of emojis that could only actually be from Mitch. 

hi mitch. She sends back.

lol. Comes the response. sorry.

you don’t have to apologize for mitch. i’m familiar

Will reacts to that with a haha and then it’s a while before she checks her phone again, enjoying brunch with her girls and laughing at the look on Mitch’s face as he comes to pick Steph up and realizes he’ll be driving her and Erin back as well.

he’s really found his place between annoying and relentless. Will’s texted, when she checks again a little later, at home on the couch and pleasantly tipsy, deciding what to Netflix with Erin.

that’s his sweet spot. Aubrey sends, and then points halfheartedly at The Office on the screen, well on her way to a post-brunch nap.

-----

Aubrey knows Mitch and Steph well enough to know that’s not the end of it, and sure enough, the subtle (and not so subtle) hints keep coming. But luckily, training camp is about to begin, and so even if they do keep coming, Mitch, and by extension, Will, are both too busy for Mitch and Steph to push anything too crazy on her and Will.

Until suddenly the season begins, and even though things are still crazy for them, suddenly they’ve got days off or afternoons free and she finds that the subtleness of the hints becomes gradually less subtle.

jesus fuck. Will sends one afternoon and she laughs at it immediately, even as he continues typing. tell steph i’m sorry but mitch had to go.

She laughs loudly, which earns her a look from her nearest coworkers. right there with you.

considering just lying and telling him i already took you out last week to just get him off my back jfc. 

tried that already. knew i was lying right away. Aubrey sends back. She appreciates him trying, but come on. That was like, the first thing she tried.

well, Will sends, and then those annoying three dots appear and disappear about four times, before he finally finishes. let’s just go somewhere then and get them off our backs.

time and fucking place. She replies.

-----

Aubrey meets Will at a bar that’s close to her work, a couple days after that text exchange, just in time for the end of happy hour. He’s got a drink in front of him already, that he quickly finishes when the waiter comes to take her order, so he can order another one while she orders one of her favorite cocktails, before it becomes full price again at the start of the next hour.

“You know, I thought Mitchy would have been more…” Will trails off, looking thoughtful, but then continues after a moment. “Smug, when I told him we were going out tonight. What’d Steph say?”

“Oh don’t get me wrong. They’ll be smug to each other.” Aubrey tells him, confident that the two of them are at home right now boasting about the fact that they were right. “But if they think we’re actually on the same page now and they say anything that I hear, that would be the end. Downward tailspin, cut my hair six inches, new tattoo, you name it.” 

Will laughs. “So it’s like that?”

She nods. “A little lacking in some impulse control.” She holds her thumb and index finger up to him, with about 10cm of space between them, to show him just how poor it is, and Will laughs again. 

“Guess I’ll just have to wait for a nice, big I told you so tomorrow.” He says.

Aubrey snickers. “One a day for the next few weeks more like.”

Will shrugs. “Meh, I’ll figure something out to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“We should.” Aubrey nods absentmindedly, as a comment she’d made to Steph right after the initial dinner comes back to her. 

“Should what?” Will frowns. 

“Give them a taste of their own medicine.”

“Where are you going with this?” Will asks curiously.

Aubrey grins, as the idea starts to form. “A tragic break up to make things so awkward for the two of them that they’ll regret setting us up in the first place.”

Will pauses for a long moment, but then he grins and leans toward her. “I’m listening.”

-----

Steph is bouncing when Aubrey walks into their weekly Thursday barre class. She’s sure she knows why, but Aubrey gives her a strange look anyway when she slides in next to her. “What?”

“What?” Steph repeats. “Seriously?”

Aubrey laughs. “Use your words, Stephanie.”

“Bitch, you know what I want.” Steph says, which makes the woman in front of them turn and give them a scandalized look.

Aubrey giggles. She’d really just wanted to annoy Steph a little but that was totally worth it all. “Yeah I know. It was good. Like whatever.”

“I hate you so much.”

“I’m going to see him again!”Aubrey protests. “What more do you want from me? I’m not going to like, profess my undying love for him after one date. I’m not Mitch.”

“It was like, our fifth date, and he didn’t profess his undying love for me! He just said he loved me!” Steph huffs as Aubrey snickers. She laughs about it now, they all do, a thing she teases both of her friends about, but she vividly remembers the panic Steph had been in coming home from that date. 

“Well.” She says, grinning. “I guess I’ve got four dates to go then. Or maybe Will does.”

“Will’s too chill to do anything like that.” Steph decides, just as their usual instructor enters. “Ridiculous shit is definitely more your move.”

Aub thinks back to her date with Will the other night, where they’d carefully crafted an entire narrative to start this fake relationship, and fights back a grin, because she’s pretty sure Will can be just as ridiculous. He just does a better job at hiding it. 

-----

Just after noon one day, a few weeks into her arrangement with Will, Aubrey’s phone buzzes and she more than welcomes the interruption from the current project she’s working on.

need a favor. Will’s sent, followed immediately by, please.

sure, what’s up?

His name pops up on her screen next and Aubrey frowns, swiping to accept the call. “Hey.”

“I’m downstairs.” Will says and she frowns, both at the skipped greeting, and at his words.

“Of my office?” She blurts.

“Yeah.��� Will says, like it’s the most casual thing in the world, and Aubrey pushes her chair back abruptly.

“Uh ok. I’ll be right down.” She’s already pushing the button for the elevator, waving off the coworker calling after her, asking if everything’s okay. 

Will’s waiting outside, with two cups of coffee in hand, and even though he’d said that he was, Aubrey’s still kind of surprised to see him. He passes her one of the cups in his hand and she takes it, thanking him as she does. “So what’s up?”

“I need a favor.” Will says, starting to walk, and Aubrey follows easily, sipping on the latte he’d brought her. 

She laughs. “You said. What do you need?”

“The team’s got this thing on Friday.” Aubrey gives him a look, because she knows what the thing the team has on Friday is, Steph’s been talking about it for a few weeks now, and it is not as casual as Will is throwing it out to her right now. “And I think I need you to come with me.”

“Do you though?” Aubrey says. “Do you really?”

“I tried for you not to.” Will admits, shooting her a grin, which she appreciates. “But, well, it’s a thing I would have brought any other girlfriend to and then Mitchy opened his mouth too…” He trails off.

“So find a dress.” Aubrey sums up.

Will nods. “Please. I’ll pay for it.” He adds, but she brushes it off. 

“If we’re still stuck in this for Blue and White, you can buy me a dress then.” She grins, and Will returns the grin.

“Deal.” 

-----

Fixing her curls one last time in the mirror by the door, Aubrey grabs her clutch and runs downstairs to meet her Uber. She’s late, not like super late, but more so than she’d  hoped to be, even after texting Will that she was running behind with work and that she’d have to meet him at the venue probably, if he didn’t want to be late.

She shoots off a text to him when she gets in the car, letting him know she’s on her way, and makes polite chatter for a few minutes with her driver, leg bouncing anxiously until he pulls up to where she needs to be.

Will’s standing outside the door when she pulls up, like he’s waiting for her as if this was an actual date, looking at something on his phone in the meantime, which gives Aubrey a minute to take a peek at his suit. He looks good; she might not have any desire to actually date Will, but she can absolutely admit to both herself and anyone (including Steph) that he’s probably the most objectively attractive human she’s ever met, and the suit only ramps that up. It’s custom made, perfectly fitted, a navy blue that brings out his eyes, and maybe a little more casual than some others she’s seen but in a good way. 

His choice in suits makes her feel better about what she’s wearing. Aubrey’d been trying to work off what Steph was wearing, while making sure that what she'd picked out wasn’t overly fancy for the evening or too similar to what Steph had already chosen, ending up in a knee length dress with a sheer high neckline. 

“Hey!” She smiles, catching his attention, mildly disappointed that he doesn’t even flinch in surprise, only looks up as smooth as can be and returns her smile.

“Hey.” He slips his phone in his pocket, reaching out for her hand.

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Aubrey says immediately, that terrible feeling of letting anyone down instantly relieved when Will waves her off. 

“You haven’t even missed the entire cocktail hour.” He says and she feels her eyes widen as he nods solemnly. “Yeah, it’s like that.”

“Our first stop better be to get me a glass of wine.”

Will laughs, pressing the button for the elevator. “Wouldn’t dream of it being anywhere else.”

Will refreshes his own drink as well, and selects a red wine for her after Aub hems and haws over the options for a minute, a choice that she almost can’t bring herself to take a sip of once the glass is in her hand, for fear that she’ll never be able to drink another Malbec again, guessing this one is well out of her price range based on name and bottle appearance alone. (She takes a sip anyway, it’s as delicious as she’d expected).

Will’s smiling, as if waiting for her reaction, like there’s not a wine she doesn’t like (well, chardonnay, but like, even that she’ll drink if it’s all that available). “Should we do this?” Aubrey asks him, ready to watch him be roasted by teammates for the evening, and he nods, hand moving to the small of her back, leading her deep into the crowd.

But for all the shit he claims to have taken recently about her, they must be on their best behavior, out in public. Everyone he introduces her to is nothing but friendly; the few people she’s met before this event greet her with smiles and open arms, welcoming her into the fold. 

“Are you sure these are the same teammates you warned me about?” She asks Will, when they have a minute to themselves, just finishing up a long and very nice conversation with Justin Holl, Jake Muzzin and their wives, and thinking of the series of texts he’d sent her this morning about “all these assholes.”

“They’re being nice, just for you.” He insists. His arm is still at her waist; it’s barely left there all night. 

“Ugh, so I grew up with seven siblings and I’m not even going to be able to use the skills I got from that to throw down?” She jokes. “What was the point?”

Will actually stops walking for a second, drawing her into him quickly when she stumbles, not expecting the abrupt stop in walking. “You have seven siblings?”

Aubrey nods, wondering if she should bother getting into her family dynamics right now, and settles for a short version. “On my mom’s side, yeah. My parents divorced when I was a baby, and they both remarried. My brother and I have more siblings from both of them; it’s just like a whole thing with my dad.” She winces.

Will’s grinning again, though, like he didn’t even catch it, and he points to himself. “One of six.”

“Oh my god!” She blurts out excitedly, before she can help herself. There’s not many people she knows with sibling counts even close to hers, step and half siblings including, let alone a family like Will’s. “See, you get it!”

“Get what?” She hadn’t even realized that Mitch and Steph had approached them, until Mitch pokes in nosily.

“That younger siblings are actual monsters.” 

“You talk to your sisters everyday!” Mitch frowns, because he doesn’t get it; he never has.

“Yeah, your point?” Aubrey gives him a look as the others laugh around them. “That’s literally what having younger siblings is, and you just don’t know it because you are one.”

“Shots fired.” Steph nudges him.

“You’re the younger sibling too!” he nudges her back.

“Mmm, traditionally, Aub and I count all our siblings together, soo.” She trails off, laughing at the look on Mitch’s face.

Aubrey’s nodding; their families had grown up so close that it wasn’t uncommon to see Steph and her sister hanging around with Aubrey and her brothers, from the time they were children, all the way until today. “That’s why when Cam starts driving me crazy when she’s here next weekend, I’m just dropping her at your place. Basically the same thing.”

“Ohh, so she’s definitely coming?” Steph asks, eyes wide.

Aubrey nods. “Confirmed it with my mom today, I’m going to meet her halfway.” She pauses for the briefest of seconds. “Want to come?”

“Yes! Coffee on the way?”

“Obviously!”

“Yeah, Will and I are definitely going to sit this one out.” Mitch nods firmly.

“You weren’t actually invited, but okay.” Steph pats his shoulder mock-comfortingly. “But we should all do dinner when we get back!”

It takes everything in Aubrey not to show the internal panic on her face. She’s insanely close with her sisters, despite the age gap- she’s close with all her siblings, the brothers that she’d grown up probably terrorizing their parents together and the younger ones that terrorize them all now. It was probably unrealistic to think she could make it through “dating” Will without him meeting any of them, especially knowing how close Steph is with them too. “Yeah, that would be fun.”

She feels Will squeeze her side gently, almost comfortingly, but before they can get much further with this conversation, someone’s coming around and asking them to find their seats for dinner, so they split off to their tables, with promises to make plans for the following Friday over the next few days.

-----

Will’s quiet on the drive home after dinner, in his very expensive car, which is fine because Aubrey spends that time marveling over it. Like, she knew he was boujie, but, wow. 

“Is your sister staying all next weekend?” Will asks, abruptly interrupting Aubrey’s caress of the soft leather of the seat beneath her legs.

“Hm? Oh yeah.” She nods. “Cam’s been a super pain since Kayls started high school this year since she’s still back in junior high, but worse since Kayls just got invited to her first high school party and it’s next weekend.” She sees Will’s wince out of the corner of her eye and laughs. “Oh my god, you don’t even know the half of it! When I texted Cam to invite her up next weekend, she was like why would I want to come hang out with a bunch of old people like you anyway?” 

Will’s laughing and Aubrey’s jaw drops until he shares, “When I was home last summer, my youngest sister made me drop her off at a friend’s house three doors away because I wasn’t cool enough to be seen with.”

She actually laughs at that- if Will, an actual professional hockey player, isn’t cool enough to be seen with, then who is?- but the attitude is so familiar.  “They’re super close, Kayls and Cam, and like I kinda get why Cam’s being super annoying about a lot of shit. Like, I know she feels like she’s being left behind. But god, does she have to take it out on the rest of us?” She shakes her head, clearing both the thoughts and a piece of hair out of her face. “It’s just the age, my mom and I talk about it all the time. They’ll be nice again in a few years.”

Will glances over at her briefly with a look of panic on his face, before flicking his eyes back to the road. “That’s not really a comforting statement. As someone with three younger sisters,” He clarifies. “Not someone meeting yours this weekend.” Aubrey giggles. “But actually, I was wondering what your plans were with her on Saturday night? If you wanted tickets to the game for you guys?”

“Oh!” Aubrey blinks in surprise. “That would...that would actually be really nice. She’d like that.”

“Yeah?” She can hear the smile in Will’s voice.

“Well, she’d like the flex on all her friends on Monday.” Aub admits, knowing that her sister could probably care less about actually seeing a Leafs game. “And on the boys, they’d be super jealous.” At his glance, she clarifies. “Cam’s a triplet.”

He mutters something under his breath and she giggles again; she’s pretty sure that was Swedish and she can guess what it was. “But they’re not coming?”

“Not this weekend.” She confirms. She is definitely not hosting all three of Cam, Tyler, and Danny for the entire weekend. No way, no how. “But once they find out you’re offering tickets? I’m sure my phone will be ringing.”

“You know where to find me.” Will shrugs, pulling up in front of her building. “Thanks for coming tonight.”

Aubrey grins at him. “Fooled Steph and Mitch no problems.”

It feels like it takes a second for the comment to register with Will, but when it does, he returns the grin. “Yeah, no problems.”

-----

Steph waits until they are well on the road to meet her mom and both sisters (because in a surprise twist that everyone saw coming, a high schooler got grounded and a party was cancelled) sitting in stop and go traffic, before bringing up what Aubrey knows she’s been dying to ask. “So how’s Will?”

“Fine?” She responds, before she remembers that she’s supposed to know these things and hastens to finish. “It’s been a busy week with like, work and this shit, but like, he’s good.”

Steph makes a noise, like she’s unsatisfied with that answer and Aubrey gives her a look after she’s braked with the masses, waiting for it to pick up again. “But, like, how are the two of you?”

Ah. Ok. So that’s what this is about. “We’re good.” She assures Steph, absolutely certain her best friend is going to see right through her. “Just like, figuring shit out, you know? It’s still new.”

Steph’s nodding. “I mean, it wouldn’t be if you’d just gone out when Mitch and I first brought you to dinner…”

“Stephanie.” Aubrey says warningly, picking up speed, probably with too much hope that the traffic has cleared.

“Fine!” Steph laughs. “I know, I can’t say I told you so to you or you’re going to panic and break up with him and probably dye your hair and get bangs or something, but like. I’m super happy for you guys. You were so cute last week.”

“What?” Aub says blankly, because she really doesn’t have much else to say, but it doesn’t seem to matter, because Steph’s on a roll now.

“Like, Will couldn’t take his eyes off you the entire night.” She continues. “It was super cute; he kept, like reaching for you, you kept finding him.” She taps Aubrey’s leg excitedly. “Ok, I know I said I wouldn’t, but I’m too fucking excited and I knew you’d be perfect for each other, I knew it.”

“Oh, look! There’s a tattoo place right at the next light.” Aub says loudly, even though she has no intention of getting a tattoo right now- all four of her tattoos were impulsive decisions and the three threats she’s made since she’s gotten in the car feel like far too much thought, not to mention the time crunch they’re on to get back for dinner-but it does serve as the threat she intends. Steph clearly has no desire to try and talk her out of getting one today and switches the topic to something she just saw on the Insta of one of their friends, which lasts them until they pull into the parking lot that’s serving as the meeting point.

“Aub!” For all that Cameron pretends she’s too cool for everything, just like every 14 year old Aubrey can remember, she throws herself at Aubrey the second that Aub and Steph get out of the car. 

Aub squeezes her back, wondering when she got so tall. “Hey Cammie.” Cam swats at her as she pulls back. She hates that nickname, the one that Aub and her three older brothers have called her basically her entire life, but they’ve never stopped, no matter how much their youngest sibling had begged. “Where’s Kayls?”

“Here!” Kaylee huffs from next to their mom, who’s chatting with Steph, has been since she hugged her the minute she got out of the car. 

Aubrey’s eyes narrow, taking in the sibling who looks most like her. “Is that my sweater?”

“No.” Kaylee says too quickly to be true. “Are we ready? We have dinner plans, right?”

“Meeting Aubrey's new boyyyyfriend.” Cam sings, and Aubrey shoves her hand in her sister's face. 

“Not if you’re going to act like that, we don’t.”

“Girls.” Their mom pauses, mid-reach for Aubrey, to give her youngest two daughters a full-on mom look. “Be nice.”

Aubrey laughs at the looks on their faces, before clutching at her mom. “Hi momma. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Her mom squeezes. “Thanks for this gift.” She whispers and winks because Aub knows that her mom loves all eight of them dearly, but these two in particular are driving her nuts right now. “See you Sunday, at Luke’s.”

“Bye, I’m sure I’ll call you ten times before tomorrow!” Aubrey waves at her mom as she gets in her car, sliding back into the driver’s seat of her own, where Steph, Kaylee, and Cam are chattering to each other as they buckle their seatbelts. 

It’s just as she’s pulling back onto the road that Kayls gasps. “Aub, I think I forgot to pack toothpaste.”

“Ohh, me too!” Cam realizes.

Aubrey exchanges a look with Steph quickly. It’s not looking promising that she won’t be making a call to her mom, to talk her off the ledge.

-----

“What do you mean, you didn’t bring pants?” Aubrey rubs her temples as she stares at her sister.

Kaylee shrugs. “I forgot to pack them.”

“I forgot shirts.” Cam calls from the bathroom, where she’d just showered. “Can I borrow one?”

“Did you bring anything?” Aubrey asks wearily. “Toothbrush? Underwear?”

“Of course I brought underwear.” Kaylee huffs, sounding legit offended, like she didn’t forget to pack pants on a weekend trip away.

“Well excuse me for thinking you might not have, since you didn’t bring anything else!”

Her phone buzzes on the nightstand again; it’s got to be the third or fourth time, but she’s honestly been so caught up in her sisters that she hasn’t had time to check. “Just, like, grab whatever from the closet. We’re already late.”

Sure enough, it’s Will texting, letting her know he’s downstairs. be down in a few, She responds, not bothering to go into the whole pants story. “Girls! Three minutes!” She grins at their shrieks, packing a couple things into her purse and laughing to herself as she listens to them get ready. “Kayls! Cam!”

“We’re ready!” They rush out together, Kayls dressed in a pair of her favorite jeans and Cam in one of her favorite sweaters-how they always manage to find her favorites is ridiculous-but they don’t have time for her to make them change. 

“Ugh.” Aubrey just says instead, ushering them out and locking it behind her. “Come on, Will’s been waiting.”

“Will’s here?”

“Yes?” She frowns at the two of them. “Where else would he be?” But Kaylee and Cam are already giggling to each other, enough for her to roll her eyes to herself as she leads them out to Will’s car, knowing it’s definitely too much to expect them to just be cool.

“Hey.” Will greets, as she slips into the passenger seat.

“Hi.” She returns, smiling at him.

“Uh, hi?” Cam says impatiently from the backseat. Will laughs, but Aub gives her a look.

“It’s been literally two seconds. Could you, like, chill?”

“Nope!”

Aub side-eyes her again, but turns back to Will. “These are my sisters, Cam and Kaylee.” They greet him eagerly, a sentiment he returns, and then spends the entire car ride to the restaurant where they’re meeting Steph and Mitch at answering every question they ask with absurd patience. 

“Oh, I smell garlic.” Kaylee says, once Will has dropped his car off with valet. 

“It smells delicious.” Aub corrects, because it’s definitely heavy on the garlic, but it smells heavenly. 

Will smiles over at both of them, though Aub’s not sure if he means it more for Kaylee or her. “This is one of my favorite restaurants.”

“Really?” She blurts out, before she can stop herself, and he nods, reaching for her hand. 

“Great food.” He confirms. “Come on; Mitch and Steph are already here.”

That certainly serves to get her sisters moving-all her younger siblings have stopped being impressed by Mitch but they still love seeing him just as much as they love seeing Steph- and they push their way into through the doors quickly enough that Aubrey rushes to catch up to them, not trusting them alone, and tugging Will along with her.

Cam and Kaylee have already found Mitch and Steph, already chatting away with the two of them, like they didn’t just see Steph two hours ago in the car, and Aubrey and Will slip into the last two seats at the table. 

“You good?” Will nudges her as they sit. 

Aubrey nods. “Yeah. Pretty good.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Pretty good.”

“Well, Frick and Frack may legitimately drive me crazy this weekend but.” She shrugs. “We’ll see.”

“What happened to dropping them off with Steph if they drove you too crazy?”

She laughs. “God, if only, Will. If only.”

“Will!” Kaylee interrupts, looking up briefly from her menu. “What’s good here?”

“Will! What’s this mean?” Cam adds and Aubrey takes a deep breath, even as Will looks like it’s his absolute pleasure to walk them through the names of some of the different dishes on the menu. 

“Wine, please.” Aubrey requests from the waiter, the second he arrives at the table. “Literally, anything you’ve got.”

But Will waves that off, ordering a bottle of red for the table, in perfect French. “Show off.” She grumbles at him quietly and he grins at her from over the top of Cam’s menu, before he goes back to helping her out.

From her other side, Steph’s hiding her own smile, or rather, doing a very poor job at hiding one. “What?” Aubrey presses.

“Nothing.” Steph says. “Just happy to be having dinner all together.”

“Well that’s bullshit.” Aubrey calls her out, at the very blatant lie; Mitch snorts into his hand to cover his laugh. “But always happy to be having dinner with you too.”

Steph beams, clinking her wine glass with Aubrey’s the second the waiter fills them both. “Again, tomorrow, pregame?”

Aub looks over at her sisters, who have moved away from asking Will menu questions and are, instead, asking him questions about the bun in his hair. “Assuming you aren’t bailing me out of jail instead? Sure.”

-----

Aubrey Dupont: we’re going to do apps with steph pregame but want to say thanks again for tix tonight! want to do dinner again with us after if you’re free? 

Will Nylander: i’m free dinner sounds good 😁 it’ll be late though once I get out

Aubrey Dupont: that’s fine! Id say breakfast but we’ve got to leave pretty early tomorrow to get to my brothers to knock a wall down!

Will Nylander: ….holy shit cam was serious

Aubrey Dupont: 😂😂lollll yeah they’re opening up the dining room and living room! We’re all going out to take the wall down, we’re supposed to meet Steph and Mitch and then head out

Will Nylander: lol does mitch know? he booked us a tee time Sunday 

Aubrey Dupont: stfu he did not😂 lol he probably just doesn’t want to get iced that early

Will Nylander: haha what??

Aubrey Dupont: hahaha the first time steph brought him home to meet our families, it was my parents Christmas Eve party, my brothers iced him like three times in the first hour. He was so trashed he couldn’t even walk back next door to Steph’s house. 

It’s just like a thing we do, all our siblings and he was not prepared for it at all 😂

Will Nylander: sooo if I left one in his locker this week, how much trouble would you be in?

Aubrey Dupont: lol a lot but it’d be worth it, you should 100% do that

Mitch Marner: we’re knocking down a wall tomorrow wtf why didn’t you tell me? I’ll brave a Smirnoff to knock down a fucking wall. What time are you and Will picking us up?

Will Nylander: i fucked up, sorry

-----

“That’s really cute!” Zach Hyman’s wife smiles as she hands Kaylee her phone back. 

“Thank you.” Aubrey mouths to her, as Cam and Kayls flock to the phone to check out the pictures she’s taken of them, and Alannah smiles at her knowingly. Aub’s sure she’s got sisters of her own. 

“I’ll see you soon.” Alannah promises. “We should do dinner soon, the three of us, next time the boys are out of town.” And then she’s pushing her way toward Zach before Aub can respond to anything.

“Not a word.” Aubrey says warningly to her sisters, as Steph snickers, thinking of how picky the two of them are about pictures almost always.

“These are actually really cute though.” Cam says, like she even means it.

“Yeah, she did good.” Kayls adds, sliding her phone back into her purse.

“So happy they meet your standards.” Steph says dryly.

“They are the ones to meet.” Kayls flips her hair and it’s all Aubrey can do to fight back a laugh. She honest to god forgets how funny they are sometimes, when they’re driving her as crazy as they are now. 

“You’re too much.” Aubrey tells her and Kaylee grins, looping her arms around Aub’s shoulders and squeezing tightly. “Okay, now you’re really too much. You’re suffocating me; get off! Look,” She nudges Kaylee away, noticing quickly that Mitch has appeared recently- without Will, but with Auston-and tries to draw her attention there instead. “Mitch is here, bother him instead.”

Kaylee peers over. “Honestly, who even cares about Mitch? I’d rather bother Will instead.”

Mitch’s jaw drops as Steph and Auston laugh, but Aubrey feels the tension immediately in her shoulders. “Jesus Christ, could you just say thank you to Will so he doesn’t think you’re a literal monster like the rest of the world does?”

“Thanks, Will!” Kaylee and Cam chorus, and she glares at them right up until she feels a presence at her side and realizes he’s actually right there. 

“It was great to have you guys here this weekend.” Will smiles at them, sounding absolutely sincere, not a hint of sarcasm. 

“We had so much fun.” Kayls is already gushing before Aub can even turn her death glare to her. 

“What’d you guys do today?” Will asks her and again, it’s the sincerity that gets Aub, like he actually cares to listen to her sisters tell him about the brunch place that she and Steph took them to this morning, the stores they hit afterwards, a few of their favorite spots, before they had to go home and get ready for the game. 

He’s sweet and attentive, asking all the questions that he should and nodding in all the right places. “You guys still want dinner?” He asks, probably as soon as he can find a time to interrupt. He’s got to be absolutely starving after that game.

“Yes.” Aubrey answers for them all; she doesn’t really care what her sisters actually have to say on the matter. If Will’s hungry, they’ll eat right now whether they want to or not.

“Can we go back to that bakery we went to earlier, first?” Cam asks, and Aubrey straight up glares at her, but before she can even say no, Cam’s already whining to her. “Oh my, god, seriously? Stop, Aubrey!”

“Ryan, like, swears you’re fun; I just don’t see it.” Kaylee adds, about their brother, the one just younger than Aub.

And like, Aubrey knows they’re just trying to get under her skin, but like, Jesus Christ. “That’s because Ryan’s an actual adult and whenever you two come up here I have to be your literal mom, because you forget to bring toothbrushes and pants and use manners!”

“Take like four deep breaths.” Will says, in that chill way he is about basically everything, and immediately Aubrey feels her glare swing over toward him. That’s basically being told to calm down and there’s literally nothing fucking worse than that, doesn’t he know that?

Probably not. He’s probably never been told to calm down in his life. Jesus, what was it again that made Steph think he was perfect for her?

Mitch, probably recognizing that Aubrey’s about to lose it, pulls Cam into his side for a one-armed hug, mentioning that he’s starving, which at least cues Kaylee into the fact that Will might be too. “Yeah, dinner does actually sound good.” Her eyes flicker over to Will first, before landing on Aubrey, and only when Aub sees the flicker of remorse in them does she actually take that breath that Will had mentioned. 

“What time are we meeting in the morning?’ Steph asks, and Aub knows she’s looking to smooth over any potential blow up.

“9:22.” She deadpans, laughing at Mitch’s face.

“It’s supposed to be a nice day!” He protests. “I wouldn’t have made a tee time if you two had told me we were knocking down a wall! I had to hear it from Willy! What’s this shit?”

“Kicked out of the group chat again.” Aub shrugs, even though she knows well and truly that he hasn’t been- and won’t be again until sometime early spring, when someone does it symbolically for a day as they do every year.

“I’ll kick you out of the group chat.” Mitch says childishly, as Steph tries to collect him, Auston already ready to leave, and promising Aub that they’ll make plans later that night about the next morning.

“Will, where do you want to take us tonight for food?” Kayls asks, as they part ways in the lot.

Will looks a little startled. “Oh! Uh, what-where do you guys want to go?”

“We want to go where you like to eat.” Cam says. “We’ll eat anything.”

Will looks at her for confirmation and Aubrey nods; none of them are picky eaters. “Sushi?” He suggests and both girls nod excitedly, racing off towards Will’s car. “See?” He nudges her as they walk to catch up. “They’re fine.”

She glares up at him; he bumps her again and then again, repeatedly until she smiles. “They’re not awful.” She agrees, especially now that they’ve reminded her just how nice they can really be, at times.

Will’s grinning, matching her own smile. “I know you love them.”

“Don’t call me out like that, William.” He mimes zipping his lips and she laughs. “Ugh, you dork. Let’s go eat.”

-----

Kayls and Cam are in peak hurricane form, only barely dressed and nowhere near packed and ready to go, when Will texts to announce that he’s arrived to pick them up in the morning, so Aub just responds with her apartment number and tells him to come up.

He arrives at her door a minute or two later, with a guest in tow. “Mitchy invited him.” Will explains sheepishly, as he and Auston make themselves at home at the breakfast bar in her kitchen.

“Sorry to just, like, crash.” Auston adds.

Aubrey blinks at them. She feels like Will, of all people, should know better. “There’s legit eight of us; we adopt strays all the time.” He cracks up at that; they both do actually, and she smiles, just as Kayls shouts something about Cam stealing her leggings, from where they’re still in her room gathering her stuff.

“They’re not even yours!” Cam shouts. “Aubrey, tell her I got them first.”

“Well I was planning on wearing them!”

“Well you didn’t say that!”

“It’s just like being at home.” Auston says, smiling fondly enough that Aub laughs. “Make sure you check the straightener before you leave or they’ll fight about who forgot to turn it off in the car.” And then she straight up cackles; that’s a fight she knows well.

Auston and Will are both laughing as well, even as she hears her sisters shout for her. She ignores it, running her hands over her temples and turns towards the cabinet. “Coffee?” She asks them, and they both laugh as a muffled shout can be heard.

“Please.” Will says and Auston agrees so she pours mugs for them both, making idle chit chat, interrupted occasionally as they wait for her sisters to finally appear and be ready to leave. 

They do, eventually, far later than Aubrey would have liked, and late enough that she’s grinding her teeth about it, loud enough that Will nudges her gently when she passes him to get her coat. He’s right though, it’s not like they’re in a rush to get out to her brother's house, but she’s anxious enough by that point to get moving that she doesn’t even realize what Kayls has taken from her closet to wear until they’re all climbing into Will’s backseat. “Oh my god, what are you wearing?”

“They’re literally yours!” Kayls snaps back and that’s not a lie, but it’s not what Aub’s got issue with either. It’s the absurdly clashing patterns in her leggings and oversized long-sleeve.

“I never wear them together.”

“That’s because your fashion sense is basic a-f.” Kayls pronounces each letter individually and Aub knows, she knows that Will and Auston are laughing at the look of disbelief on her face, even if she can’t see them. “You should take some tips from Will; his is on point.”

“Thanks, Kayls!” Will beams at her through the rearview mirror.

Aubrey ignores him. “Will’s homeless, that’s why he dresses like that.” She deadpans, which he protests immediately even as Auston cracks up.

“You’re not homeless.” Cam says to her, and it’s the fake innocent thing that does it for Aub. “Will could live with you.”

Aub pulls a face even as Auston just laughs even harder and Cam stares at her like she’s waiting for an actual answer. “Walked right into that one.” She mutters to herself, as Will meets her eyes in the mirror. He’s fighting back a grin; she can see the laughter in his eyes. “Will, coffee at the next Tim’s, please?” She’s going to need one to get through this.

Will’s full on grinning now, but he pulls off at the next exit in search of coffee and hands over his credit card before she can even object. The rest of the ride to her brother’s house feels like it passes in a flash, Kayls and Cam tumbling out of the car to greet Luke practically before Will’s even put it in park. 

The only thing that stops Aubrey from having a complete heart attack is the immediate sense of calm she feels from no longer calling herself in charge. Luke’s here; he can deal with this shit now.

She feels Will laughing at her as they exit the car. “I thought you’d be more nervous.” He says, as they walk toward her brother, side by side, with Auston.

She snickers. “For what?” And then leans herself into Luke for a hug. “Hi!”

“Jesus, what’d you give them before you brought them here?” Luke returns the hug. 

“Literally anything that would shut them up.” She says, dead serious, and then introduces Will, and Auston, almost as an afterthought. 

Luke is friendly and welcoming, like she knew he would be. They’ve never had the overprotective sibling relationship she hears about from people. They’re too close in age, only a year apart in school; or too close in general, sharing too much as they grew up shuffled to their dad and stepmom’s every other weekend for their court-mandated time. She’s never doubted that he has her back, but he lets her live her life, no matter how stupid the decisions she might make (though he’s certainly not shy about telling her when he thinks she making one).

“Fitz and Steph and Mitch here yet?” She wonders, as they walk inside, the chatter between her sisters and sister-in-law already evident.

“Running late.” Luke says. “But Ryan’s upstairs sleeping. He stayed last night.”

She grins at him, contemplating running up to wake him, but in the end decides against it, settling for following the sound of her sisters’ voices into the kitchen. Rachel’s standing at the counter, setting out snacks and listening patiently as Kayls and Cam detail their entire weekend to her.

“-Will got us tickets for Saturday’s game-”

“-we ate at this amazing sushi place-”

“Rach!” Aubrey interrupts, tugging her sister-in-law away from Kayls and Cam, who are talking over each other. “Come meet Will.”

Rachel sends her a grateful look and immediately turns her bright smile at Will and Auston, introducing herself to them both and offering them drinks. By the time that she, Luke, and Aub finish getting drinks for everyone, Ryan’s coming downstairs, rubbing a hand over his face sleepily, and the introductions begin all over again.

Then Aubrey and Steph’s parents come in with her two youngest brothers, which cues another round of that, and then finally, Steph, Mitch, and Fitz roll in, which has Aubrey cackling when Auston leans over and whispers. “You didn’t tell us your brother is Little Fred?”

“What the fuck are you on?” She frowns at him, but Will’s got the same look on his face.

Will nods over at Fitz, the stepbrother who’d been in the same grade as her growing up and one of her best friends for about as long as she could remember. Said brother is currently trying to mess up Cam’s hair with one hand, while fighting one of her triplets, Tye, for the last danish. “He’s come out with us a few times, I guess with Mitch? He looks like Fred.” She gives the two of them a look. Literally the only thing her brother and their goalie have in common is red hair. Will shrugs. “Little Fred.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” She declares. “The bar is so low.”

“Must be.” Ryan nudges her side. She hadn’t even heard him come up beside her. “Dating you and all.” 

She flips him off and he grins; Ryan’s actually the sibling closest in age to her, with the way all their birthdays work out, but from Luke to Ryan, all four of them are close and when Steph and her sister were added in there as well…well, the group chat gets chaotic.

“Hey!” Her mom snaps her fingers at them. “I don’t want to see any of that today.” And Aub can feel it in her face, the look she’s giving back to her mom, like certain that she’s not serious, because, honestly, has she met any of them? She peeks over at Ryan; he’s fighting back a laugh and that’s all it takes for her mom to lose it, the seriousness on her face quickly turning into a laugh.

It’s enough to get them all moving though, toward the wall they’re going to be tackling today, where they’re divided into teams by her stepdad and Steph’s dad, the only two who competently know what they’re doing.

“Ohhh!” Cam says immediately drifting towards the power saw. “Can I use this?”

Will pulls it away from her hands before she has the chance to even touch it and Aubrey’s calling out to her stepdad. “Mike! Are we stuck with these people all day?”

“Yes.” Her stepdad calls back; he’s already showing Tye and Danny how to demo their end of the wall.

Aub looks at Will and immediately mouths, “I’m sorry,” but he’s already loudly laughing at her. She kinda hates that he’s laughing at her, but she hates even more how contagious his laughter is.

-----

It’s a little past dinner time and Aubrey’s exhausted, too tired even to take her empty pizza plate to the kitchen trash can from where she’s sitting on the family room floor. 

Around her, the rest of her family is in a similar state. Ryan’s actually asleep on one end of the couch, and on the other end, Auston’s half-heartedly grumbling at Derek Carr and the Raiders, while Steph’s lying across Mitch’s lap on the other side of the room. It’s about as quiet as they’ve all ever been, even Mitch and her sisters, which is how she knows they’re all exhausted.

Next to her, Will’s been quietly munching on a plate of fries since he finished his pizza a while ago. Aubrey reaches over and steals one from him. “Hey!” He protests.

“You’ve had the whole plate!” She thought she ate a lot; she honestly doesn’t know where he puts it all. “I just wanted a couple!”

“A couple?” Will repeats and Aubrey nods with a grin, reaching out and swiping another one from the plate. “Keep this up and we’re going to have to stop for second dinner on the way home.”

“I could probably eat again by then.” She rationalizes, stealing another. 

Will laughs, sliding the plate over a few inches toward her, and Aubrey grins triumphantly. It’s quiet for a minute, or mostly quiet, the only sound for the next minute Auston moaning about a fumble, and Kaylee and Cam asking a question about it and then giggling to each other about it before they even get a full answer to it. 

It’s Auston’s perplexed face that reminds her and she nudges Will as she goes in for another fry. “Hey.” She bumps him again, grabbing his attention. “Thanks.”

Will hums, sounding almost confused, and glances over at her. Every time Aubrey thinks it’s impossible for him to be more good looking, he proves her wrong; and always doing the most innocent things. He’s just looking at her, with this tiny little smile, but the light’s catching his eyes and they look impossibly blue and gentle, so soft like the rest of him does right now, in a way he almost never publicly is. “For what?”

“For putting up with my sisters all weekend and their increasingly ridiculous comments.”

Will laughs and he’s so close that she can feel the vibration. He’s leaning back against the wall again, but his head’s tilted a little, just barely leaning against hers, and Aub leans into it a little as he starts to talk. “My two youngest sisters play this game, every time we go to the airport, yeah? After we’ve said goodbye and everything. It’s like this competition between them, for who gets the last touch. And they’ll like chase me down as far as they can until I get to security, back and forth between the two of them…”

Aubrey’s already giggling, picturing the scene. “Same shit, different day,” She summarizes the weekend.

He flicks his finger across her nose and she giggles again. “Bingo.”

-----

It’s only when they’re back in the car and on the highway back toward Toronto after stopping for sushi for a second dinner that Auston says, sounding entirely too casual to actually be casual, “So, like, what’s really going on here with you two?”

Aub feels her stomach drop and it takes everything in her not to look at Will, who of fucking course, plays it enitrely cool. “What do you mean?”

Auston leans forward, from the middle seat in the back, which he’d generously offered to take so that she could sit up with Will even though she’d insisted he’d want the leg room up front; she’s starting to wonder if there was more to it than that. He gestures between the two of them. “It’s just, like, not how you usually are with girls.”

Will’s head whips back to look at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He demands.

“Will!” Aubrey hisses. “Eyes on the road.”

Auston’s cackling as Will turns his attention back to driving, but continues to eye him up through the rearview mirror. Aubrey twists in her seat; she can still stare him down. “So anyway,” He continues. “There’s that. And then, I mean, I was in the car with him when you literally texted him your apartment number. That was pretty sketch.”

Aub swings her gaze over to Will. “It came over Bluetooth.” He defends. 

She pats his thigh. “Stick with hockey, kay?”

He laughs, and when she looks back at Auston, he’s laughing too, but he’s also got this thoughtful look on his face. “So anyway, what’s going on?” He presses.

“Steph and Mitch.” She says finally, after exchanging another look with Will.

“Ah.”

“That’s it?” She frowns at him. “That’s all you have to say?”

“Well, I mean, I’m sure there’s more to it, but like, I have met them before.” Auston grins when she and Will both laugh. “So what’d they do now?”

“Do you have an hour?” Will drawls.

“I have beer upstairs.” Auston offers, since they’re basically pulling up to his apartment, and since Will looks over at her for confirmation, Aub barely even takes a second before agreeing.

“Any wine?”

-----

It’s actually kind of crazy how relieving it is for someone else to know about her and Will, outside of the two of them. Aubrey hadn’t even realized how much it was weighing on her until it’s not, until the three of them had spent three hours laughing about it, recapping the entire thing and then just laughing about nothing.

She notices right away that it's equally relieving to Will, that the two of them will drift over to Auston when the team does something together, or that she’ll get a snapchat from one of them from the road that features Will and Auston off doing something ridiculous.

Steph calls her out on it one day, when the two of them are at a game one night. “I did not introduce you to Will for the two of you to spend time with Auston.”

“You ditched me last night!” Aubrey protests, but really, Steph’s not wrong. That was one time, because Mitch’s brother wanted to introduce his new girlfriend to them, and she’s been out here avoiding invites like it’s her job.

Steph continues like she didn’t hear a thing. “I introduced you to Will so that we could have great couples’ friends and hang out all the time, so why aren’t we?”

“I thought you introduced me to Will because we’d be perfect together?” Aubrey bitches and Steph gives her a look, so Aubrey promises that she and Will will do dinner with her and Mitch again soon.

Dinner soon, to Steph, apparently means that weekend, and Aubrey finds herself in Will’s car again, with a bottle of wine and a plate of dessert, driving out to Etobicoke on Friday night. “I like that I’ve claimed this seat now.”

Will laughs. “What?”

“It’s always set where I want it to be!” She grins. “Perfect leg room!”

Her phone buzzes as Will laughs again, but it only takes a quick glance at the screen to click back out of it. “You okay?” Will asks.

“Huh?”

“You just got real quiet, real quick.” He says, turning onto Steph and Mitch’s street. “Everything alright?”

Aubrey huffs out an aggravated breath, trying to decide what, if anything, she wants to say. “My other dad is being...my other dad.”

“Oh?” Will parks in their driveway and she huffs out another annoyed sigh as her phone buzzes in her pocket, knowing it’s just her half-brother again with more shit about their dad. 

“He’s like…” She gathers her stuff and tries to find the words as they walk inside. “I don’t even know. Everybody’s been freaking out since some lady tagged him in a bunch of pictures on Facebook last week but my siblings are at dinner with him right now and they asked him about it and he told them he’s not seeing anyone.”

“Wait, seriously?” It’s the first thing Steph says to her; Aub’s been bitching to her about the whole thing for a week now and she’s more than familiar with her issues with her dad. 

“Yes!” She cries. “My sister asked if he was seeing anyone, he said no. I guess one of the boys asked if he’d taken any trips lately, because of the pictures, and he said no. So he’s just straight up lying and I don’t know why!”

“Maybe,” Will says. “He’s not actually lying.”

Aubrey pats his arms gently. “You’re new here, so I’ll let that terrible thought pass.”

Will looks taken aback but she can barely spare a thought for that as Mitch says, “Maybe he got secret-married again and is just waiting until you’re all there to tell you-OW!” Steph elbows him hard and he grins anyway. “What? I’m just saying!”

“I already went to therapy once this week, Mitchy.” Aub mock-glares at him. “I cried for three hours and only didn’t dye my hair blue because Steph came to pick me up for the game. I don’t need to go again. Keep that shit to yourself and get me some wine.”

Mitch laughs; he’s equally familiar with her post-therapy routine and her feelings for her dad. “Alright fine.” He says, but there must still be something on her face because Will’s hand comes to rest on her shoulder right after that and he rubs it gently for a minute before he comes to sit next to her.

Conversation turns lighter after that- to Mitch’s brother’s new girlfriend, who Steph liked and Mitch thought was only okay and then to Will’s sister’s new boyfriend, who he hates-before they’re all more focused on food and a game later in the evening. 

It’s easy to ignore her phone buzzing when Aubrey and Mitch are dominating Steph and Will at Codenames (or calling cheaters, because Will and Steph most definitely are), but much harder to ignore in the car when she and Will are alone again, and Aub barely even notices when Will doesn’t make the turn for her place, instead just driving straight to his place.

“Oh.” She says quietly when he finally parks and they’re in the garage, instead of just pulling up out front of her building, like he has been recently.

“Didn’t want you to dye your hair blue tonight.” Will deadpans and Aubrey laughs, surprised that it’s kind of watery. 

“Fair, it was definitely a risk.”

Will smiles at her gently. “I’ve been told my guest room is supremely comfortable.”

Aubrey raises her eyebrows; she can siphon out the source of that one. “I hear your brother has pretty shitty taste.” She says and he laughs, that loud one he’s got that she can’t help but smile at because it sounds so ridiculous, but Aubrey’s already getting out of the car, ready to follow him up before he can see.

Will’s condo is pretty much everything she expected- a lot of modern pieces, a lot of white, very Scandanavian- but there’s plenty of Will in it as well. A lot of family pictures. Some hockey stuff-both Leafs and Team Sweden-but not an overwhelming amount. 

She’s still looking at some of the pictures (he looks so much like his mom) when he returns with a couple glasses of wine, and she accepts hers with a gracious smile. “Thank you.”

“We’ve been at this long enough for me to know that wine’s your thing.” He jokes and she laughs.

“I meant for bringing me here.” She shoves at his shoulder; annoyingly enough he doesn’t even move. “I definitely would have done something stupid.”

“What are friends for?” Will smiles and there’s that annoyed feeling again, maybe even more so than just a minute ago, tugging at her stomach, for really no reason. They are friends now, in pretty much every sense of the word. They hang out, they text, they do all kinds of things. It’ll actually probably be hard for her, to not be friends with him, or at least pretend to be, when they have to “break up” for a bit to annoy Steph and Mitch. 

“Yeah.” Aubrey says and it just sounds off so she takes a sip of her wine right away so he can’t see whatever her face is doing. “If you were really my friend, you’d let me borrow some sweats to sleep in. You know. Since you kidnapped me to bring me here.”

“Ohh, I don’t know if we’re that close.” Will says, but he’s laughing as he walks toward his room so she knows he’s kidding.

It’s a pretty quiet night between the two of them once they make themselves comfortable, just chilling on the couch and watching Netflix, and Will’s not stingy with his pours so Aubrey pours herself into his guest room a little tipsy, and maybe that’s why she texts him from bed. You were right, your guest bed is pretty comfortable.

*Supremely* comfortable. Told you so 😜

-----

Aub’s still in Will’s absurdly comfortable guest bed when her daily FaceTime call with her sisters comes in and she answers it without thinking. “Hey.”

“Where are you?” Kaylee asks immediately. “That’s not your room-oh my god, are you at Will’s?” She blurts and Aubrey wants to smack herself.

“That’s Leafs stuff!” Cam exclaims, popping her head into the frame. “You never wear Leafs stuff! Oh my god, do you live there now?”

“Back up, calm the crazy.” She’s cutting off this spiral before they’ve got the story of her and Will eloping spread to her entire family. 

Kayls pouts. “You never let us have any fun.”

“I do not want a call from Grandma this afternoon asking me why I got married to the blond hippie from the Leafs because you two can’t keep your mouths shut and she saw one bad picture.” 

Cam’s jaw drops in outrage. “That’s so rude, we would at least send a good picture out! Like she’d know how hot he really is; there’d be no need to google and accidentally come across a picture of him in a Sugo hat.”

That’s it. She’s up for good now. Aubrey throws the blankets off herself and sits up off the edge of the bed, rubbing her temples in hopes it’ll make her tiny hangover headache go away. Limited success. “You googled him?”

“Of course we googled him!” Kayls says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Aub, oh my god, he’s got-”

“I’m leaving this room right now.” Aubrey warns; she’s already at the door. “Stop talking about him like he’s not here.”

Cam immediately launches into a story about a couple of the girls on her field hockey team and something that had happened at practice after school yesterday, a story that she’s still detailing when Aubrey walks into the kitchen to find Will also looking into his phone with a fond look on his face as a loud jumble of voices shout back to him in what she can only assume is Swedish.

“Coffee’s back there.” He points, greeting her with a smile. “And mugs above it.”

“Thank you.” She’s pretty sure, from the expression on his face, that he knows how much of a lifeline that’s about to be for her.

“Hi Will!” Kayls calls and Aub glares at her, but Will calls back a greeting in return before returning to Swedish, but definitely in an argumentative tone.

It’s a couple more minutes of that-listening to Will speaking in Swedish and going through her usual morning nonsense with her sisters-before Will lets out the smallest groan and then looks at her. “My sisters want to say hi.”

“Oh.” Aubrey says, surprised more than anything.

And before she can really say anything, Cam adds. “Yes! Then we can talk with Will!” Which is how she finds herself sitting next to Will with his dog curled in her lap, both their phones in front of them, speaking with her sisters and two of Will’s sisters.

It’s pretty much maximal chaos, but when they both end their calls a few minutes later, Aubrey’s still smiling as she runs her hand through the dog’s fur and Will’s laughing to himself. “Mmm, good luck to you.” Aub nudges him, easy enough to do since she’s still sitting flush up next to him. “When they’re in town next month. They’ve probably all followed each other on Instagram by now already. Best friends in no time.”

“Gonna be busy with games.” Will says weakly. “Practices, media things. Think it’s gonna be your problem.”

“Like hell.” She laughs, shaking her head when he joins in and doesn’t stop. “Oh my god, that was not that funny!”

“Just thinking of all the ways they’re going to torture us when they’re all together after they’ve spent the last month talking shit about us in a group chat.” Will says, somehow still laughing about that, because he’s literally the most chill person on the planet. Like of course he’s not even bothered by that.

“I don’t have enough food in me to deal with that thought.” Aubrey declares, laughing decidedly less at the thought of actually meeting Will’s family. In person. Where they’ll have to actually see her and see what a farce this is. “Feed me.”

Will shrugs. “Let me change and we’ll grab brunch.”

Aub looks down at the very large sweats she’s borrowed to sleep in. “We’ll stop first, yeah?”

“Depends on how hangry you are.” Will calls back, already walking away.

She pulls a face at his back at that one. She’s actually pretty hungry, but like, she’s not dumb enough to go out to brunch with him in a walk of shame. Not when there’s already a group chat forming about her on Instagram. She doesn’t need Leafs Twitter coming for her too.

-----

It’s easy to settle in a routine from there; meeting Mitch and Steph for dinner a few times, joining Steph for games and then leaving with Will for a second dinner after, and easily splitting off to spend time with her own family and friends or catching up with them when Will is off on road trips. 

It’s so easy to settle into a routine like that, a relationship routine, that she lets herself get lulled into a false sense of security, the message from her dad catching her off guard completely one day.

“What’s wrong?” Will asks, when they’re at dinner after a game. It’s their thing now; pick a restaurant and grab some food right afterwards before he drops her off at home. It’s a nice way to wind down actually; she usually looks forward to it.

Tonight though, Aub has been uncharacteristically quiet since they met up and she was a downright bitch earlier when she and Steph were fighting about something. Like, she knows they’ll forget all about it tomorrow, but still. She owes her best friend coffee at the least. “Hmm?” She looks up at him, barely hearing his question. 

“What’s wrong?” He repeats, giving her a look before she can fight him against answering.

She pushes her food around a little-very uncharacteristic for her, and she can tell even Will’s picked up on that. “My dad wants to meet us all for dinner this week, which means he probably did get secret-married again.”

“Oh.” Will makes a face and Aubrey returns it, laughing when he contorts his even worse. “And that’s-I mean-again?” He finally settles on and she nods, ready to drop this bomb.

“It’ll be wife number six, but secret wedding number three.” She says, delighting in the way his jaw drops. “This is just, like, what he does; he just announces he wants to have dinner with us and then shows up and is like and here’s my new wife, like it’s super casual, and then we all wonder why I need therapy when he’s out here hiding wives and families like it’s a fulltime job.” She finishes, only realizing how heated she is about it when she looks up to find Will staring at her with wide eyes.

“Um.” Will starts.

“Sorry.” Aub hastens, flushing.

“No!” Will says. “No, don’t apologize at all, you can, like, share whatever you want. I just...I got like half of what you just said.” He gives her an apologetic look. “Missing a big chunk of this story.”

“Right.” Aub nods, pretty proud of how calm she sounds. Dr. Seth is going to be so impressed with her next week. “Sorry. We haven’t talked about the two secret families he was hiding when I was growing up. Ok, I’ll back up.”

“He what?” Will cries, but Aub waves him off, diving into the whole history of her dad, her half-siblings, and her step-moms...as well as their various divorces. 

“...and that brings us to now.” She takes a sip of her wine thoughtfully; Will has long since drained his and refilled. She’s pretty sure she didn’t miss anything. “And dinner that’s going to be an absolute disaster.”

“Do you want me to come?” Will offers.

“No!” She says immediately. That’s like-god, that’s the worst idea ever. They do not need to get her greedy father involved in this, who’d take one look at Will and see dollar bills. She’s accepted that she can’t change the way her dad treats her (after many years of therapy); she’s got another dad who loves her and it’s not fine the way her dad doesn’t remember her birthday or what she does for work or pretty much anything important about her, but it is what it is. But like, she’s not going to subject Will to it. “It’ll be-fine.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You think so?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “But thanks anyway.”

Will purses his lips. It’s clear that he doesn’t love that answer, but he doesn’t say anything more on the subject, asking her instead if she wants to split a dessert, as if he doesn’t already know the answer to that question, and Aub, grateful for the change in topic, even agrees to let him pick this time.

It’s a rare gift.

-----

Aubrey knows she had a little too much to drink at dinner with her dad, but she’s not so drunk that she can’t recognize that this is Will’s door she’s standing in front of, knocking loudly and repeatedly. 

She has only a moment to contemplate that-that it’s here she chose to come to after yet another disaster dinner, instead of Steph’s or her brother’s or back home to her own place-before Will’s opening the door, the confusion passing quickly over his face when he realizes it’s her.

“Hey.” He beams and steps back, silently inviting her in, but Aub doesn’t want him to go further away from her. That’s why she came here. “Whoa, hey!” Will says, as Aub steps in the condo and presses herself against him. “Are you-” He lets out a strangled choke as she tiptoes up and loops her arms around the back of his neck. “-okay?”

“Peachy.” She says, pulling him down to kiss her.

It’s not really a great kiss; Will’s kissing her back for a moment, and then pulling back. “Wait-”

“No.” She whines, leaning in for another, and he does it again, caught up for a moment in kissing her, but then it’s like his thoughts catch up to him and he breaks it.

“Aub, we shouldn’t- we aren’t-”

And like why shouldn’t they? They’ve been doing this fake relationship for a while now and not able to hook up with anyone else because of it. He’s objectively the hottest person she’s ever seen. There’s no reason that’s coming to her right now that says she shouldn’t. “We’re friends now!” Aubrey says, running her palms over his shoulders. God, why weren’t they doing this the entire time? “Right?” And Will nods, slowly, but it’s a nod, “It’s fine, friends hook up all the time.” 

“You really want this?” His thumb brushes her cheek as she nods and only then does he pull her back in for a kiss.

-----

If Aubrey thought Will’s guest bed was comfortable, it’s really got nothing on his actual bed. She rolls over, curling into the pillow a little more and opens her eyes to see the sliver of sunlight coming through catch the edge of Will’s face, that one piece of hair that’s sticking up that should be unattractive, but is totally not.

It’s really just unfair.

The sound comes from behind her and Aub jumps when she realizes it’s Will’s alarm going off.  It seems like it barely even fazes him; he just reaches across her and silences it; his arm falling across her when he drags himself back.

“Hi.” She smiles.

“Hi.” Will laughs and it lights up his whole face; she can’t help the hand that comes up to trace over his features. “Come on, that’s not fair.

“What’s not fair?” Aubrey asks innocently, trailing her nails down his chest.

He groans. “I have to go. Skate.”

“You don’t have to go.” She pouts and he groans again.

“You’re making it really hard to have to.”

“Good.” Aubrey giggles, only stopping when Will shuts her up with a kiss.

“Really hard.” He repeats as she rolls her hips into his.

“Fine.” She sighs, flopping onto her back, and she knows the move does exactly as she’d intended when his eyes go right to her chest. “I guess I’ll just have to stay here in bed until you get back.”

“Please do.” He insists, leaning over to kiss her again. “Fastest skate ever.” Will promises.

“You can’t control that.” Aubrey reasons, even as Will’s shaking his head at her while he climbs out of bed.

“Fastest skate ever.” He repeats.

She can’t really confirm or deny that it is; but when he does return, pulling her out of a doze by jumping on top of her, there’s coffee on the table for her too. It’s cold by the time she gets to it.

-----

“You guys are being weird.” Steph comments one night, as Aub’s cheering after Will scores a tie-breaking goal. 

“What?” Aubrey gives her a look. “What do you mean?”

“You and Will.” Steph says, like it should be obvious. “You’re like-” She breaks off, making a noise of frustration.

“You’re in the honeymoon phase.” Alannah supplies helpfully and Steph lights up.

“Yes!” She cries and Aubrey glares over at Alannah but she merely smiles back. “But it’s like, you’re back in it? Like, you weren’t for a while and now...you can’t take your hands off each other again!”

Aubrey doesn’t really know what to say to that. She’s not denying that she and Will have been all over each other ever since that first night they slept together. She can’t even remember the last time she went to her apartment for anything more than to pack clothes and she’s lost track of the number of times she’s reached out for him only to find Will already reaching for her.

But before? She can’t think of any moment where they were ever like they are now. Like there’s too much space between them even when she’s right next to him. Or this pull that brings her toward him no matter where he’s at.

But she doesn’t...she doesn’t know what to say about that. Because it’s not like anything has changed between them. They’re still friends; they still laugh and joke as usual, still gossip about their friends together, are still just waiting to drop a big break up on Mitch and Steph. 

Nothing’s changed, even if maybe, she thinks, something has.

So she shrugs at Steph and says, “We’re just happy. Is that so bad?”

Steph beams and leans her head against Aubrey’s shoulder, and like, Aub knows that’s exactly what she’d been hoping for since she introduced her to Will, but Aubrey still feels like something wasn’t right about what she said.

-----

Aubrey tugs on the Nylander jersey that drapes over her frame as she and Will walk into the hospital conference room. “Are you sure about this?”

“It’s tradition.” He grins. “Stop playing with it.”

“That’s what she said.” She says as dryly as she can, managing to keep the face until he laughs, and then she cracks up with him. 

That’s how the two of them walk into the conference room where the team is meeting; laughing so loudly that everyone stops what they’re doing to turn and look, but she and Will only get a bunch of fond smiles before everyone turns back to their own conversations.

Steph gives her a knowing look when they approach hand in hand, which Aubrey ignores pointedly. “You didn’t warn me we’d have to actually go things wearing this dumb jersey when you plotted to get us together.”

“Oh I didn’t?” Steph says innocently as Mitch and Will sputter in protest. “Must have slipped my mind.”

“Dumb jersey?” Will nudges her.

Aub shrugs, looking up at him with a cheeky grin. “It’s a little big. Might have some trouble getting out of this thing.”

Will grins. “I’m sure some help can be arranged.”

Mitch feigns gagging. “There are children around.”

Wills hand drags up her side briefly-too briefly- as he grins at Mitch. “Where, Mitchell?” But he backs off and Aub does too, both of them catching up with teammates and wives and girlfriends around them.

Or they back off a little, but Aub still finds herself drawn int0 his orbit, especially once they start splitting off into groups to move through the hospital to go see the kids. His hand will brush against hers as they move between rooms; she’s bumping her shoulder against his arm comfortingly as they talk with parents.

It’s not very subtle, but they don’t need to be. Except…

“What is going on?” Auston hisses at her, in passing, as he’s about to step inside the room Will’s just about leaving.

“Nothing.” Aub says innocently, but Will reaches for her hand when he leaves, opting for a fist bump with Auston instead, and Auston’s eyes widen, but Aubrey tugs Will along before he can say anything. “Come on, let’s grab some water real quick!”

The diversion doesn’t last long; Auston catches up to her only two rooms later while Will’s in talking hockey with a little girl and she’s waiting outside, leaning against the wall. He joins her, looking in as well for a moment, before looking over at her. “This is a terrible idea.” Auston says flatly.

“You were on board with it!” Aubrey hisses, trying to keep a smile on her face.

“That was before I realized you guys were sleeping together. Now it’s going to backfire and go to shit.”

Aubrey frowns. “Why?”

“Why?” Auston repeats, like he can’t even help himself. “Oh my god, you don’t even-” He stops abruptly. 

“Don’t even what?” She prompts, when it’s clear he’s not going to continue.

But he doesn’t continue. He just rubs his temples for a minute and mutters under his breath. “Fuck me, how do I have to be the smart one here?”

“Hey!” Aubrey protests, offended. “I am always the smart one.”

“Not right now.” He says cryptically. “And it’s hard to tell who’s being dumber: you or Willy.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Aubrey frowns, but Auston’s already walking away. “Auston!” He ignores her. “Auston!”

“Hey.” Will’s reaching for her arm gently. “What’s wrong?”

Auston’s out of sight now anyway. “Nothing.” She shakes her head, clearing her thoughts and then looks up at him. “Next room?”

-----

“What are you doing Friday?” Aubrey looks up from scrolling through her family’s group chat; Will’s peering at her from across the island.

“Nothing.” She says, after thinking about it for a minute. “What’s up?”

“We play my brother on Saturday.” He says and the shoe doesn’t drop until he adds, “So my parents and sisters are coming in for a bit. Watch the game. Do early Christmas. Hang out a bit.”

“Oh.” She bites her lip. It shouldn’t-it shouldn't be weird. He survived a whole weekend with her sisters, he’s met her entire family; they’ve gone out a few times with varying numbers of her brothers since then. It just...feels weird now.

Will eyes her carefully for a second but continues. “They come in early Friday morning and I made dinner reservations for that night, if you want to come with us.” 

He says it super casually, the way he is about pretty much everything, but she knows him well enough now. There’s a little hopeful tone at the end of it, almost like a question even though it’s not phrased as one. “Yeah.” She says, and even though she’s already nervous about this dinner that’s literally days away, it’s worth it to see the smile grow across his face. “I’d love to come with you guys.”

“They’ll be excited.” Will says, which really undersells just how excited his sisters actually are when they do roll into town later in the week.

Daniella throws herself at Aubrey the second she walks in the door, chattering excitedly about meeting her, and spending the weekend together, and dinner that night, all before Aubrey can even put her purse down. She doesn’t know what her face is doing but whatever it is is bad enough that Will says something to his sister in Swedish and follows it up with a glare when she giggles something back to him.

It works though; Daniella detaches herself, but she does stay close, almost bouncing along next to Aubrey as she steps further inside. “Come on.” Will nods toward the kitchen. “My parents are in here.”

Fuck, his parents. She takes a deep breath. “Cool.”

He grins. The panic must definitely be showing on her face, but his sister just keeps talking through it- Aubrey can relate- or Daniella just doesn’t notice it in her excitement. But Will does, still grinning at her, and she brushes against him purposefully with her shoulder as she goes to follow Daniella, only for him to grab her hand as she passes.

“You don’t have to be nervous.” He squeezes her hand and the only thing that stops her from frowning is his sister. It’s kind of a harsh reminder of the circumstances that she is meeting his family under, the details behind what’s happening here, and that someday-probably soon even- they’ll go back to...well, she hopes that they’ll at least still be friends. 

Even if they stop hooking up.

Danielle goes right up to Stephanie in the kitchen, the two of them whispering to each other in a way that immediately reminds Aub of Kaylee and Cam, enough that she has to fight back a laugh. But it’s Will’s parents that really draw her attention. Michael and Camilla are exactly how she’d pictured from every story Will’s ever told her, full attention on her as soon as she and Will enter the kitchen.

“This is Aubrey.” Will introduces.

“Hi!” She smiles, hoping it’s bright and warm enough to hide her nerves. 

And it works- or more likely, Will’s parents are as perceptive as he is- because they jump right into chatting easily with her. 

She loves them immediately.

They’re warm and friendly, like they’re welcoming her, even though they’re the ones who spent hours on a plane recently. Will’s mom- Camilla, she insists- draws her into a conversation about her family right away- “William told me you have many siblings as well.” “Mum!” “Mum, they’re the best!”- which keeps them going for a while until Michael reminds them they have a reservation to keep. 

“You can keep talking at the restaurant.” He teases Camilla, who’s glaring at him. “Some of us are hungry!”

She rolls her eyes at him- a look that is so similar to one Aubrey’s seen Will make a thousand times- but it serves to get all of them moving. They do keep talking at the restaurant, Camilla shoving her own son out of the way to pull Aubrey in the seat next to her, and Daniella sliding in the seat on her other side before Will can grab it, only for him to mutter something to her in Swedish, sending her quickly sliding over to the next one.

Dinner seems to fly by but it’s actually a few hours later that they’re returning home, pulling out a bottle of wine for a night cap. Aubrey’s just about preparing to go home to her own place before Will’s mom stands up and kisses the top of her head, right in line with all her own kids, promising to see her in the morning, and then the night wraps up and Will’s pulling her into his room, like it’s any normal night.

“Are you-” She trails off abruptly as Will walks right to the closet, like no strange thing. But, what did she even want to ask? Are you sure you want me to stay? It’s not going to be weird if I do?  

“What’s up?” Will pops his head out of the closet.

“Nothing.” Aubrey shakes her head, moving to brush her teeth. She’s not even sure she knows where that question was going; she can’t explain why tonight feels weirder than any other night that she’s climbed into his bed before.

It does though, and that’s made even more evident by the way she tosses and turns once they climb into bed and turn the lights off, settling in on what’s become her side of the bed, right after she brushes her teeth and runs through her nightly skin routine.

It feels like it shouldn’t be so hard to sleep- it’s been a long day, following a long week, preparing for Will’s family to arrive, but she can’t seem to get comfortable and her thoughts are racing.

She rolls over again, facing Will this time, only to find him looking at her with amusement. “You okay?”

“Can’t sleep.” She admit, biting her lip

Will grins, pulling her close. “I can fix that.”

“I’m not having sex with you while you’re parents are here!” Aubrey hisses.

“No?” Her breath hitches as his fingers dance lower down her stomach and then-

“Will!” She laughs, as he gently pinches a ticklish spot.

“Shh!” He’s grinning, she hates him so much. “My parents are-”

“Don’t say it.” She says, surging up to kiss him so he can’t finish that sentence. God, she hopes his walls are thick.

-----

“Stop.” Aubrey hears Will right outside the door. “Go away.”

She can hear one of his sister’s respond, but the actual words get lost in the chaos of her own sisters’ FaceTime, which she’s wrapping up as she lies in bed. It’s loud enough outside that she knows Will’s family is awake already, bright enough that she probably should get up, but she’s too comfortable to make herself move.

“Daniella!” She hears, followed by something in Swedish just as the door opens and a blonde head pokes in.

“See! She is awake!” And that’s all the warning she gets before Daniella is jumping up right next to her.

“Daniella!” Will snaps again, but Aubrey’s already sliding over to make room for her.

“She’s fine.” She assures him, wrapping her arm around Daniella’s shoulders as she cuddles in close.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Daniella says to her brother, not bothering to pull herself away from Aubrey’s iPhone screen, where she’d barely wasted a minute before jumping into chatting with Kayls and Cam. 

Will’s leaning against the dresser and shaking his head in amusement, watching as Aubrey manages to finish up her call (a task much harder with Daniella in her ear, calling just as much nonsense back as her sisters do), but there’s a soft smile on his face that Aubrey almost can’t bring herself to look at, so she starts twirling her hand through the ends of Daniella’s hair. 

“I can’t believe you two.” Daniella huffs, and she’s so much like Will, just loving her hair played with; Aubrey tries to hide her grin because she knows he’d fight her on it if she had to say it out loud right now. “Not even inviting your sisters here for the weekend.”

“Why would we invite ourselves into that kind of roast?” Will says dryly. “The two of you are bad enough.”

“Like you’re not going to talk about us anyway,” Aubrey adds. “I’ve seen the receipts.” She teases. “I know you talk about us on instagram.” 

“You talk about us on instagram?” Will demands immediately.

“No.” Daniella says, unconvincingly.

“They talk with my sisters every day.” Aubrey whispers to him and laughs when he turns his outraged face toward his sister, who avoids his gaze completely.

“Seriously?” Will cries.

Daniella shrugs. “We have a lot to say.”

“I’ll give you a lot to say.” Will says, mock-threateningly, before throwing himself on the bed on her other side and poking his finger in her side until she’s laughing so hard that she’s begging for him to stop. He does, after one last poke, which Daniella returns with a pout. “Go get dressed.” Will nudges her. “Or Aubrey’s going to go to brunch without you.”

“Aubrey wouldn’t do that.” Daniella says confidently, standing to leave. “She’s nicer than you.” 

Will barks out a laugh. “Is she?”

Both Nylanders turn to look at her, just as she’s swinging her legs out of bed and Aubrey shrugs. “I wouldn’t leave your sister behind.” She says, grinning when Will laughs and Daniella’s got her phone out of her pocket before she even leaves the room.

-----

Will and Alex are close. Aubrey knows this. She knows they talk pretty much everyday whether it’s texting, Facetiming, or even actual phone calls. They’re brothers, sure, but more than that; they’re best friends.

And maybe that’s why it’s hard not to shrink under Alex’s gaze the second they meet. It’s not that he’s not friendly when Will introduces them, returning the smile she gives him.

It’s just that his gaze feels piercing in a way that none of the rest of his family did. It feels like Alex sees through all of her but more than that; he’s studying all of her and doesn’t like what he sees.

God, she doesn’t know what she’s going to do if Alex doesn’t like her.

She tries to be bubbly and bright, more listening than contributing to this conversation that’s mostly just brothers catching up. She knows that dinner later, and at their early Christmas celebration tomorrow, will really be when she gets to make her big impression on him. 

“Willy!” John Tavares calls, looking apologetic about the interruption. 

“Be right back.” Willy pats her arm gently before jogging down the hall and now Alex’s full attention is on her. Now she can’t help but shift her weight from foot to foot, even as Alex smiles at her. “So, Aubrey, huh?”

She fights back the urge to bite her lip. “Yup.”

“It’s exciting to finally meet you.” He grins and Aubrey’s jaw drops a little. “Will talks about you all the time.”

“He-he does?” She asks quietly. It’s about the most unexpected thing Alex could have said to her.

Alex bursts into laughter. “Uh yeah.” He says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, but before she can press anything further, Will’s back, slinging his arm around her shoulders and squeezing her into his side tightly. 

“Ready for second dinner?” Will presses a kiss to her temple.

“Always.” Aubrey leans into him, ignoring the knowing look that Alex is sporting currently and the feeling in her stomach that doesn’t quite feel like butterflies.

-----

Aubrey tries to give it a few days after the Nylander’s leave town, hoping the feeling in her stomach will calm itself, but when it’s been a week and it hasn’t settled, she’s forced to admit that she’s going to need outside help.

Can you let me in? She sends, when she’s sure she’s outside the right door.

Open. Come in. 

She frowns at the response, opening the door. “I don’t love that!” She calls as she walks deeper in the condo. “You should really-” She stops abruptly, as a blonde whips her head around to glare at her and Auston stares at her wide-eyed. “Oh!”

“Oh?” The blonde repeats, kind of mockingly, but also seething, and Aubrey doesn’t really know what to do, so she looks over at Auston, who’s pointedly avoiding both of their eyes. “Unbelievable.” She shakes her head, shoving past Aubrey and only when the front door slams does she hear Auston breathe.

“What the fuck?” She asks him immediately, “You could have just said no, it wasn’t a good time to come over!”

“I wanted her to leave!” He protests. “I tried everything! She even volunteered to come take Felix on a walk with me!”

Aubrey cackles, barely managing to compose herself at Auston’s glare. “Well, go and get his leash. We can walk and talk.”

She gets quickly distracted by Felix’s excitement for a walk, snapping like twenty pictures on her phone, before Auston finally prods her about the reason she even wanted to meet today. “So what’s up?”

She takes a deep breath. “Am I in love with Will?”

“Are you in love with...are you fucking kidding me?” Auston responds immediately, looking at her like he had that day they were at Sick Kids- like she’s completely missing something that everyone else knows.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” She says reasonably.

“Oh my fucking god.” He says, sounding distressed. “Don’t you have, like, a therapist for this shit? How did I get drafted for this?”

“I mean, yes, I do, but I haven’t gone into the details of it with Dr. Seth before this and I don’t think an hour would cover it.” She says; she’s thought about that already. Auston rubs his temples. “Stop that.” Aubrey chides. “Your hairline is bad enough.”

“Well you’re not helping!” Auston cries. “Jesus Christ, am I in love with Willy? Where the fuck have you been?”

“Egypt, I guess.” She says and he stares at her flatly until she explains. “Denial?”

“Fuck off, I hate you so much. Oh my god.” He groans. “Willy would have laughed so hard at that, fuck you.”

The worst thing is that she knows he would have. He’d have laughed and laughed and laughed, his eyes crinkling and his smile bright and warm, so loud that she couldn’t help but join in.

“Holy shit.” Auston says quietly, watching the smile on her face. “You’re really in deep.”

“Ugh, yes.” Aubrey groans, covering her face. “I hate it. I hate these feelings. I hate not knowing. I hate-”

Auston cuts her off, choking out a laugh. “Not knowing? Not knowing what?” And then he chokes again, once he looks over at her. “Not knowing if Will-” He stops abruptly looking like he’s got a secret that he shouldn’t be telling. “Come on, you aren’t this dumb.”

“You’re being serious?” She says quietly, looking over at Auston hopefully. 

He avoids her eyes, bending down for a minute to pet his dog, but Felix absolutely betrays him by trying to run towards a new smell on a nearby bush, giving him absolutely nothing to look at instead of her. “I mean, come on.” Auston gives her a look. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Did he say it?”

“No.” Auston shakes his head, tugging gently on Felix’s leash to turn around. “But Aub, really? He brought you to meet his whole family.”

“He met mine too.” She reminds him. “And so did you!”

Auston shakes his head. “You...you just don’t see how he looks at you.”

Aubrey bites her lip, but she can’t resist asking. “How does he look at me?”

Auston doesn’t even have to think before he responds. “Like the rest of us aren’t even in the room.” 

“Oh.” She says quietly, looking down at the ground. Felix is just trotting away happily, like Aubrey’s entire world hasn’t been flipped on its axis. 

Auston, at least, seems to recognize the effect of what he’s said. “Look, even if you’re not ready to talk with him, just, like, look at the guy. You’re not in this alone.”

She’s definitely not ready to say anything, but, well, she could give that a try. Just try and see what Auston sees.What everyone sees apparently. “Alright.” She agrees.

“I won’t say anything.” Auston adds. “You two can figure this mess out on your own.”

“You’re the best.” Aubrey declares, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

“I know.” Auston smirks, pulling Felix’s leash out from under her feet.

“Jerk.” Aubrey laughs, shoving his shoulder gently. “If you didn’t have the second best dog in the world right here, I’d push you harder.” She crouches down to scratch Felix’s ears, only for Auston to pull him out of her reach.

“Second best?” He cries, outraged. “Nuh-uh. You don’t get to pet my dog after that kind of disrespect.”

“I just ranked your dog above Zeus!” She protests. “But Pablo’s my boy.”

Auston releases his hold on the leash a little and Felix trots over toward her arms as he teases, “I thought we just agreed Willy was your boy.”

“Yeah, well,” Aubrey scratches behind Felix’s ears, smiling as his tongue lolls out. “Man’s best friend.”

-----

Will’s acting funny when Aubrey sees him the next day.

She only catches him for a few minutes before the game, when they briefly cross paths at his place when she goes to pick up a jacket she left there, and she doesn’t know how to explain it, but something just seems...off.

It’s like...he barely looks at her when she’s in there digging around what’s become her side of the bed and then he brushes past her, muttering something about how he needs to go and for her to just lock up whenever she’s done, which would be fine, except he usually waits for her if she’s around when he leaves so they can walk out together.

Something’s just off.

“Are you sure you didn’t fight about anything?” Steph frowns at her, later that night. “Even like a small, stupid thing that maybe you brushed off? Because you do that.”

“No!” Aubrey swears. “At first I thought he was just annoyed about the book, because the book I’m reading right now takes place in Sweden, so like every few pages I ask him if it’s real? Or what it’s like?”

“God, you must be the most annoying girlfriend.” Steph giggles.

“Don’t even, I know everything about you and Mitch.” Aubrey pokes her and Steph giggles again, admitting defeat. “But no! He wouldn’t even look at me! Something’s up!”

Steph purses her lips. “That is weird.” She admits. “It’s very...not Will.”

“No!” Aubrey cries. “Will doesn’t sit and let things stew! He doesn’t care enough about what people think about him for that.”

“So why is he acting like this then?” Steph asks and Aubrey blows out a frustrated breath.

“I don’t know!” She says. “And I just want him to tell me what’s going on.”

The rest of the game is fairly uneventful for the two of them, slipping quietly out of their seats after the win and chatting between themselves and a few other friends as they all wait. One by one, the boys all make their way out of the locker room, and Aubrey frowns as even Auston and John walk out, stopping briefly to chat with her, before even they go, until finally, finally, Will steps out, his face flickering when he sees her. 

“Hi?” She says, a little annoyed.

“Hi.” Will says, like nothing’s just happened, like he didn’t just do a double take of the worst kind at her mere presence.

“What’s wrong?” She frowns, reaching out for him and gently sliding her hand on his forearm.

“Nothing.” There’s no other word for it; Will flinches. 

“Will.” Aubrey breathes as he shrugs off her arm.

“It’s nothing.” He repeats. “I’m just tired.” Which is so clearly a lie and she frowns, ready to call him out, but he reaches for her hand and says, “Let’s go eat,” with such finality that she doesn’t really know how she’d bring it up.

All she knows is that his hand feels cold in a way it never has before and the silence they sit in at dinner is like nothing she’s ever felt with him, even before they started sleeping together.

-----

“Merry Christmas!” Cam throws open the front door dramatically before Aubrey, Will, Steph, and Mitch have barely even shut their car doors. “Come on, you’re late!”

“Oh boy.” Aubrey mutters and she hears Steph and Mitch laugh.

Will, however, is as quiet as he’s been all drive up to her parents for their annual Christmas Eve party- as quiet as he’s been all week, as he’s been since whatever happened- and it makes her wonder why he even came. She’d told him he didn’t have to come if he didn’t want to; he’d just given her this tiny smile and asked her what time they had to pick up Mitch and Steph.

“How are we late?” Steph asks, as all four of them start yanking off coats and scarves the second they walk in the door. “None of the neighbors are even here yet!” 

Cam huffs at that bit of logic and turns on her heel, walking away from them as they laugh, which cues Aubrey’s brothers into their arrival. Tye and Danny poke their heads around the corner of the wall, calling for Mitch immediately to show them how to do something on a new video game, but right away they’re thwarted by their mom. “Later.” Mitch whispers to them, as Tye and Danny grin, following the four of them into the kitchen. 

In the kitchen, they find Aubrey and Steph’s moms working in tandem- the way they always have on Christmas Eve- to finish the appetizers and set food out. They stop only briefly to greet their daughters and their daughters’ boyfriends, and to direct them on where to put the desserts they brought, before they’re shooing them all right back out.

“Dads in the basement?” Steph asks, like they all don’t know the answer already, and Danny nods, leading the way down the stairs, where Fitz and Ryan have already started a beer pong game against Mike and Tom.

“Shotty next.” Mitch calls, while he waits for Aubrey and Steph to say hi to their dads.

“You gonna be able to walk back next door?” Fitz snorts out a laugh.

“That was one time!” Mitch protests. “Nobody warned me how much drinking there was on Christmas Eve!”

“It’s like we hadn’t spent the last four months together before that.” Aubrey deadpans, focusing more on watching Will greet her stepdad with the same enthusiasm as he had her mom, and her brothers, and Cam.

But then, he comes back to her side, and when she goes to tangle their fingers together, his hand stays limp, just kind of letting her do what she wants, not returning the gesture at all, instead of pulling her closer like he used to.

“Guess I thought you two were the anomaly.” Mitch teases. “Then I learned I’d have to bring my A game all the time.” 

“Yeah buddy.” Tom says, looking over at his daughter’s boyfriend right after he sinks Fitz and Ryan’s last cup. “Who’s with you?”

-----

By the time Mitch and Will get demolished in beer pong, Aubrey and Steph are fighting back a laugh at their dads’ light buzz already going and the neighbors have started to arrive, which brings a temporary pause to pong play for more introductions.

The neighbors all love Will, which, of course they do. Aubrey’s not surprised at all. He’s funny and charming and personable, just has this air that draws people in, and every one of her mom’s friends finds her at some point after they meet Will to gush about how wonderful he is.

“Yeah.” Aubrey says, almost helplessly to Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Morris, as she watches Will with Kayls and Cam across the room. “He’s pretty great.” They smile knowingly at her, Mrs. Jones winking as she passes, leaving Aubrey to watch them with a fond smile on her face.

It’s Will who notices her staring first, because of course it is. Kayls and Cam are oblivious to everything around them. He catches her eye, still laughing about whatever they’re talking about, and there’s a second where his smile grows when he sees her, a second Aubrey feels a grin growing across her own face.

And then it all stops abruptly as something flashes over Will’s face, and as quick as the grin was there, it’s gone.

Aubrey frowns and watches as Will returns to talking with Kayls and Cam again, but notices the smile on his face seems forced now. She wants...well, she doesn’t know exactly what she wants, but she’s tired of not knowing what’s going on with him.

“Hey.” Fitz nudges her shoulder. “It’s too early for you to be sad about going to your dad’s tomorrow. Come take a shot with me.”

“I-” It’s not that. She starts to say, but stops herself. Today’s not the day to try and tease out whatever’s going on with Will. Whatever it is could wait until after Christmas. “Yeah, sure.”

Fitz grins, leading her over to the makeshift bar, corralling a few friends as they go, but by the time he starts pouring, the crowd around them has gotten bigger. Will’s standing next to her, but the space he’s left between them feels so purposeful, and it only makes Aubrey frown as she listens to Fitz’s Christmas toast, as he cheers to a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, to good friends and great family. “And a way too cool future brother-in-law.” He jokes. “Don’t fuck this up, Aub!”

“Yo!” Mitch protests loudly as Aubrey feels the breath get stuck in her chest. 

She can’t even look at Will, so tense she can hardly bring her shot glass up to her mouth. The alcohol barely even burns and she knows it’s not because she’s too drunk to taste it; the numbness of her brother’s comment still stinging, and it’s well after she’s deposited her shot glass on the counter that she realizes, “Where’s Will?”

Mitch frowns, looking behind them. “He was right here, wasn’t he?”

Aubrey nods slowly, trying to stand on her toes and search for him. “Can you just-” She starts.

Steph’s right on her wavelength. “You look up here; we’ll check downstairs.”

Will is nowhere to be found on the main floor, so she heads upstairs and finally finds him in the room they’d thrown their bags in earlier. “Hey.” She breathes out a sigh of relief. “There you are.”

“Here I am.” Will says quietly. He’s in front of the taller dresser, looking at the bulletin board covered in pictures from high school and college- one of the few relics left in the room from when it was hers before her mom refashioned it into a guest room. 

“I’m sorry about Fitz!” She blurts. “He didn’t mean any-”

“We should be wrapping up soon, right?” Will says abruptly, interrupting her.

“What?” Aubrey frowns, shocked. That is...not at all what she thought he’d say.

“This?” He gestures between the two of them. “Like, Mitch and Steph definitely think we're a thing. Can call this off soon?”

“Um.” Aubrey tries to breathe but something’s definitely restricting that ability. “We…what?”

“We can stop this pretending.” Will says, like it’s obvious, and Aubrey feels her stomach drop. This...this was all pretend to him. “Do that break up that’s going to crush them. The whole reason we did this.”

“Right.” She swallows the lump in her throat. “Uh yeah, we can do that.”

Will shrugs. “Cool.” He says, and then turns and walks away, leaving Aubrey standing there wondering where exactly she went wrong.

-----

“Ok.” Steph snaps her fingers and only then does Aubrey look up from the Leafs vs. Calgary game that her best friend invited her over to watch that she’s paying absolutely no attention to- and hasn’t actually been able to focus on all night. Her best friend is standing in front of her, holding a new bottle of wine, and looking concerned. “I’ve asked for your glass like four times now. What’s going on?”

Aubrey bites her lip and holds her glass out. If she’s going to do this, they’re both going to need refills. “I have to tell you something.”

Steph frowns immediately but fills Aubrey’s glass and then her own. “Uhh, ok? What’s up.”

Aubrey doesn’t know whether she needs a deep breath or a sip of wine to settle her nerves. She goes for both. “Will and I aren’t together.”

And maybe...maybe that was the wrong way to phrase it, because Steph’s face just falls. “I’m so sorry, babe.” She says, reaching out and rubbing Aubrey’s arm. “I really thought-” She shakes her head and Aubrey’s still trying to figure out what she said wrong, what she can say to make her see what she really means. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Aubrey says and Steph looks like she wants to reach for the wine bottle and pull her in for a hug at the same time, until she continues. “No, I mean; Will and I aren’t together now because we were never really together at all and no, I’m not okay either, actually, now that you mention it.”

Now Steph frowns uncertainly, like she doesn’t know what to say. And that look? The one on her face right there? If it didn’t feel like her heart was already breaking, she’d be cherishing that look.

Now she can’t even enjoy it.

“You’re going to have to explain this one to me.” Steph says, her voice carefully neutrally.

So Aubrey does- beginning with the night that Mitch and Steph had had them over and her and Will’s plan to get them to stop nagging, to when they’d started sleeping together, to how it felt like they were together for real and on the same page, right up until they weren’t.

“I wanna be so mad at you right now.” Steph says, after a long silence.

“You should be.” Aubrey admits. “I would be.

“Well, you’re making it really hard looking so sad.” Steph glares. “And being so dumb.” Aubrey’s jaw drops, even if the callout is probably well deserved. “Will looks at you like you are the center of the universe. He looks like his entire day has gotten better every time you walk into the room. For God’s sake, he willingly met your dad on Christmas last week! You cannot honestly tell me you think he doesn’t really want to be with you!”

“He told me he wanted to stop!” Aubrey cries. “He was the one who said we should do the breakup!”

“Well if you don’t want to, then tell him!” Steph dares.

“Stephanie.” Aubrey frowns. 

“What?”

“I can’t do that!” Aubrey hisses.

“Why not?” Steph pours another glass of wine for herself and then passes the bottle over. Aubrey accepts eagerly. “Did Will tell you why he wanted to stop this...dating thing?”

“...no.” Aubrey sighs. It’s another thing that’s been driving her crazy.

“So ask him.” Steph says plainly. “And tell him you don’t want to stop.”

Aubrey bites her lip nervously. “But what if he says no?”

“Honestly the worst thing that happens here is that you still break up.” Steph says gently. “But this really just sounds like a matter of you two actually needing to talk about where you stand. Will’s not a mind-reader, Aub; he can’t have known you didn’t want to stop things, especially if this was all your idea in the first place.”

Ugh, she’s right. “I hate everything about this.” Aubrey sing-songs. “Including the fact that you even introduced us.”

Now Steph grins. “You do not hate that we introduced you. You just hate feeling vulnerable.”

That’s too accurate to address, so Aubrey flips her off and reaches for the wine again.

-----

Will picks her up for the Leafs annual New Year’s Eve party and it’s unfair because no one should look that good dressed in black pants and a sweater, but there’s Will waiting by the car with a beanie on his head and a pea coat left open, for maximal torture is the only reason Aubrey can think of.

“Hi.” She breathes, running across the street to him as best she can in her heels. 

It takes him a second to respond. “Hi.” He says finally, opening the door for her. “You uh, planning on blinding us all tonight?” He teases, once he slides into the backseat of the uber with her.

Aubrey giggles at the lame joke as she looks down at her glittery skirt. It’s such a lame joke but she’s just so relieved he even made it. That they still have dumb things to laugh over. “Hmm, over-under on how many of us are wearing something sparkly tonight. 10?”

“Over.” Will answers immediately and she giggles again.

The ride doesn’t take long so it’s only a few minutes before they’re pulling up to the club, where they run into Travis Dermott and his girlfriend exiting their uber at the same time. “Nine more.” Will whispers in her ear, as Kat turns to greet them, and they both catch sight of a sparkly tank under her jacket.

“Hush.” Aubrey bites back a laugh, but only barely, before she pulls Kat in for a hug. Inside is about as loud as she’d expected but once they all step upstairs into the VIP section roped off for them, it’s easier to hear, easier to think, and easier to breathe.

Or at least, it is for a moment. She can feel Will’s eyes on her from across the room, where he’s at the bar ordering drinks for the two of them, and she and Kat have gone to say hi to more people.

“So, uh.” Steph says, in lieu of hello. “I don’t think Will’s being weird anymore.”

When Aubrey turns and follows Steph’s eyes, Will’s still looking at her, unashamed in his gaze or getting caught. He winks back at her, grinning when she smiles at him. “No.” She says slowly. “I guess not.” Steph just grins at that, kind of smugly, and Aubrey huffs at that, turning away to greet Morgan and Tessa behind her.

It’s not long before Will returns with drinks, still grinning as he pulls her immediately to the dance floor. He pulls out some of his most ridiculous moves and Aubrey laughs, harder and harder the more she drinks, and then finally falling against him after he and Mitch attempt the Toosie Slide together. 

“Why are you laughing?” Will demands, wrapping an arm around her waist and taking her hand, leading her into some weird kind of slow dance, even as the song changes into something by The Chainsmokers.

“I just like seeing you like this.” She grins.

His brow furrows. “Like what?”

“Just-” She doesn’t know how to explain it. How open he is right now, how loose and easy and warm he looks because he’s just able to be himself, and how happy she feels to be with him, especially when he’s like this. “Just happy, I guess.”

Will grins again and presses a loud kiss to her temple, that she barely has time to giggle at, because he says, “Always happy to be with you,” like it’s the most casual thing in the world. 

And Aubrey gasps in shock, but she doesn’t think Will even notices, because he’s dipping her back over his arm right after that and then she’s too busy laughing again.

-----

Steph flops down on the remaining couch seat and ignores the look that Auston sends her in favor of fanning herself with her hand. “Sure.” He says dryly. “I’ll move over a little.”

“Would you? Thanks.” She snickers and he shakes his head fondly at her.

“How about you?” He looks over at Aubrey. “Gonna squish me in the corner even more?”

Aubrey’s already settled herself on his other side, on the edge of the couch. “Nah, I’m good here.” She bumps her shoulder against his.

“Is it even possible to squish you in the corner?” Steph muses.

“Why are you squished in the corner?” Aubrey asks, confused. “What, you couldn’t find a date for New Year’s?”

“I make it a point to not bring dates to holiday parties.” Auston says and Aubrey’s jaw drops.

Steph’s snickering into her palm though, so it’s clear this particular brand of assholery isn’t unfamiliar. “Holidays and events.” She cackles. “Keep those expectations low.”

“Although now that I know that all it takes to make a girl leave is to just have you walk in my house the next morning…” Auston trails off thoughtfully.

Aubrey shoves at his head, ruffling his hair on purpose, but she can’t help but laugh along with him. “Don’t you fucking dare. I’ve got better things to do than that.”

“Like what?” Steph says, too innocently to be real. “Will?”

“I’m leaving.” Aubrey stands, as Steph and Auston both laugh. “I don’t have to listen to this.”

“Is noon good tomorrow?” She hears Auston call after her, while Steph cackles next to him. “How about 12:30?” She flips him off over her shoulder, without looking back, instead pushing her way around Fred and his new girl, to find Will where she’d left him at the bar with Mitch.

But at the bar, she finds only Mitch, who’s looking a little confused. “Where’s Will?” She asks.

“Um.” Is all Mitch says and Aubrey frowns immediately. 

“Mitch, what happened?” Aubrey says flatly and Mitch caves right away.

“I don’t know!” He says. “We were just ordering drinks, watching you guys, everything seemed fine, and next thing I know, he was walking away!”

“Well where did he go?” She asks impatiently, barely waiting for Mitch to point before she’s shoving her way through the crowd.

It feels like she circles the entire building before she finally finds Will, and it’s more like she happens to run into him than she actually finds him, which just annoys her even more, enough that she grabs his hand and pulls him outside to a spot far enough away that it’s quiet enough to talk.

It’s not quiet- it’s still New Year’s Eve and there’s people all around them going up and down the street- but it’s far enough from the door that they can’t feel the music anymore, at least. 

Will’s staring at their hands, still linked, but he’s not saying anything, and even though she’s the one who dragged them out into the cold, he’s the one who started acting weird in the first place, and she feels her annoyance grow. “I thought we were having a really good time tonight?”

Will sighs. “We were.” He pauses. “I was, at least.”

“Ok, I was too.” Aubrey says slowly. “So, what happened?”

Will sighs again. “Look, it’s fine, like this was never supposed to be a thing with us, yeah? I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at me. I’ll get over it.”

She’s so confused. “Get over what? Why are you mad?”

“I saw you,” Will says. “Coming out of Auston’s one morning. I was driving past, after practice on my way home.” He shrugs, almost casually, but she can see in his face how hurt he is. “And like, we were never supposed to be a thing.” He repeats and she frowns. Why does he keep saying that? “So I’m not mad at you and I can’t even be mad at him. But I saw you and Matts together and I knew I liked you more than you liked me.” He shrugs again, trying to play off his words as light as casual, but Aubrey’s trying to put the pieces together of what he said. “I know you’d rather be here with him tonight, but that’s why I can’t do this anymore.”

“Oh my god.” She breathes. “You’re so dumb.”

“Hey!” Will protests.

“We’re so dumb.” She corrects, because, really, it’s the truth. “I was at Auston’s that day because he was the only one who knew about us at the time and I needed to talk to someone about if I’m in love with you!”

Will doesn’t move for a second, the longest second of Aubrey’s entire life. “Where, uh, where’d you land on that one?” He asks, like he’s kind of nervous for the answer.

And Aubrey can relate; there are butterflies in her stomach, even though she’s positive she knows how this is going to end now. “Pretty strongly in favor for.” She says and Will beams, that bright smile that lights up his entire face. “I didn’t get to tell you earlier, but I’m always happy to be with you, too.”

“That’s good.” Will says mildly, and Aubrey grins, waiting for the rest. “Because I really love seeing you smile like that.”

Her jaw drops a little. She’s not upset about what he said at all; it’s just so not what she expected him to say. And in that moment of silence, Will grins down at her once more, before leaning down to kiss her.

-----

It’s late the next morning by the time Aubrey tumbles out of bed, yanking a t-shirt of Will’s over her head. Will’s been up for at least an hour already, and she kisses his cheek as she passes, giggling as he lightly pats her ass in return.

“Coffee’s still warm.” He says.

“I still love you.” She teases. “That’s not changing just because you kept the pot warm.” Will flips her off and returns back to the game he’s playing on his Switch. “Have you seen my phone?”

“Near the front door.”

Most of her stuff is still by the front door, thrown hastily down when they’d come in late last night. Her phone’s still got a little battery left, filled with messages from late last night and earlier this morning, but one in particular catches her eye.

Steph LaChance: i told you so 😉

#william nylander #william nylander fan fic #william nylander fanfiction #william nylander imagine #Hockey Fanfiction #hockey fanfic #nhl fanfiction #nhl fanfic #nhl imagines #hockey imagines #my hockey fics

[aki-mochi]

Levi x Reader: Drunk Love

WARNING: NSFW!! Levi stood there, completely nude, in front of Erwin and Hanji as he covered his stuff while avoiding their gazes. His cheeks turning pink with his hair messy with fly-aways in every direction and his body covered in bites and hickeys. Erwin stood in Levi's living room, not amused, while Hanji was laughing until she was in tears.

"Sooo...you wanna tell me why you are...?" Erwin trailed off.

"I dunno....I-I...just woke up like this...."

"You were drinking last night, huh?" Erwin asked, more like stated.

"A little...." he mumbled, then clicked his tongue.

"Woooow Levi~!" Hanji laughed more.

"Shut up" Levi slightly growled as he tried to remember his actions last night.

~flashback~

Levi sat at a table in a bar with a few of his friends and co-workers, passing time and attempting to get away from the stress of work. Eren, who happened to be one of his best workers, offered him some food while drinking his drink. No sooner did another song start to play, a familiar woman entered the bar with Mikasa.

"I've never been in a bar.” Mikasa stated.

"We can't buy alcoholic beverages so we can just have water and some food. Give us some free time from all the work we've been asked to do." Y/n replied.

She nodded in agreement, looking around at her surroundings only to see the men at Levi's table looking towards them. Truth be told, Y/n and Mikasa worked in the same building as Levi, just on different floors. The two had met on a few occasions and even had small talk in the elevator whenever they were going to the same floor for meetings, but never actually got close to one another.

Levi glanced at the two as they came in and made a bit of a face. "I guess they're getting the same thing you are, Eren." He smirked behind his glass as he looked at Eren's drink suited for him being underaged. Eren pouted and gave somewhat of a glare towards his boss. "If you weren't my boss, and I wanted to not get fired, I'd slap you like I do Horse-face." He mumbled in his glass of apple juice.

"You sound like you're plenty drunk on apples," Levi stated as he set his glass down. "Now you finally have a chance to talk to that girl. I've seen you eyeing her at work." Hearing his comment, Eren did a spit-take with his drink; coughing and pounding his chest a bit. Once he got his breath back, he looked at Levi like he grew two heads.

"Are you insane or drunk?!" He slightly yelled in a whispered tone.

"I'm neither. You shout about being better at your job than The Titan Company down the road but you can't even talk to a girl."

"Yeah?! W-well what about the girl you stare at?! You seem like you stalk her!"

"The only time I even see her is on the elevator. Are you sure you aren't drinking beer?" Levi retorted.

"I'm underage to be drinking unless someone spiked it when I wasn't looking." Eren calmly stated as he took another drink.

"If no one did, they might need to so you can actually grow some balls for at least an hour and act like a man instead of a loud little kid."

Eren glared. "Shut the hell up....I do act mature. Just on some levels." He, then, turned away to stare at the ebony female with a slight blush on his slightly dark skin.

”Can you prove that?" Levi smirked at Eren's attitude.

"What did you say?" Eren growled, thinking his boss is picking a fight when he doesn't feel like throwing a punch while Mikasa is here.

"I said to prove that you aren't a child and go talk to her," Levi told him.

"Fine. I will." He suddenly stood up and walked towards the two sisters, feeling confident in his moves. Levi smirked as he watched, wanting to see how much of a train wreck it would turn into. But the minute Eren was only five steps away, he froze. His face turned a sheer scarlet red and felt his palms get sweaty. But what he didn't expect to happen, was that Mikasa noticed him and gave a small wave to him, making him lose his cool and speed-walking back to his seat before face planting the table. Mikasa flushed a faint pink but couldn't help to give a minuscule smirk from his failure to walk over.

"You’re a wuss" Levi muttered.

"Fuck you....." Eren mumbled against the table.

Levi smirked and took a sip of his whiskey before standing. "Let me show you how it's done," he stated as Eren groaned and watched him as he made his way towards the girls.

Levi walked over to the older of the two with a confident stride, the alcohol taking the edge off of his normal attitude. Y/n was too busy talking to Mikasa to notice him. Taking a french fry off her plate, she ate it and smiled as she was talking about her latest masterpiece for the company due to being in the advertising department. Mikasa mentioned a work project that’s due next week before looking over Y/n's shoulder to see the male.

"This seat taken?" Levi asked.

Y/n turned towards the voice of the male and her eyes widened. "M-Mr. Ackerman....! It's nice to see you again." She smiled softly at him.

"The same to you" he stated. "We don't see each other often. I thought we could talk."

"Of course! Come sit with me!" She smiled and patted the seat on the other side of her. He gladly sat, looking towards Eren and winking in success mainly to show off before talking to the two women. Eren growled and slammed his hands on the table and walked over once more before offering a hand at the grey-eyed female.

"May I sit with the beauty who I'm looking at~?" He asked with a smile.

Mikasa looked and blushed brightly at his words but nodded. “Sure."

With a small hum, Eren sat beside her before gently holding her waist to bring her closer to him. Her blush darkened, looking at her plate of food like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Y/n eyed the boy, a little surprised at his actions before drinking her iced water, smirking behind her glass as she knew Mikasa has a crush on him. Levi rolled his eyes, ignoring Eren as he talked to Y/n, keeping up a conversation about her interests. About an hour later, Levi was not feeling like his usual self. His cheeks were flushed while his eyes were dilated, black pupils taking up more of his steel-blue corneas. Y/n had offered to take him home while Mikasa stayed with Eren since he's completely sober. After that, Mikasa waved as she left with the green-eyed boy.

He tried to refuse, saying he was fine but she insisted, eventually giving up as he slumped over the table. Y/n slung one of Levi's arms around her neck; the other around his waist while leading him outside. Digging in his back pocket for his wallet and keys, she pressed a button to activate its panic alarm. Upon hearing a frantic horn, she turned to her left to see the flashing lights of a sleek black Ford Mustang. After calming the automobile, she gently helped a drunk Levi into the passenger side before slipping herself behind the wheel. Y/n opened up his wallet and found a small piece of paper with his name and address written in beautiful cursive. Pulling up the GPS on her phone, she punched in his home address to help her navigate before revving up the engine and beginning to drive to him home.

Levi did his best to keep the alcohol's side effects from taking over, grinning as he remembered the feeling of her hand in his pocket but stayed quiet until they got to his house. Once Y/n had gotten him out of his car and into his house, after she had unlocked the door with his keys, she walked him to his room and placed him in bed. She gave a small huff from how heavy he is for a short man. As she tried to leave the room, Levi had grabbed her wrist to keep her in place.

"(Y/n)," he muttered.

"Levi. You're drunk. You need to rest." She said softly so as not to hurt his pounding head.

"Only if you rest with me." He said, not because of how many shots he’s had, but because he’s wanted her since the first day he saw her and this was the only way he could get himself to say it. Y/n smiled and pried his hand off her arm so she could help him get comfortable by stripping him of his clothes. Y/n flushed a scarlet red when he was now only in his briefs which held a proud tent.

He smirked a bit as he watched her. "You can look if you want"

"I-I rather not, thank you...." she stuttered before going to find him some bed clothes he could wear; giving him time to look over her body that was shown by the jeans and shirt she's wearing. Her hair pulled up into a ponytail and her feet dressed in regular tennis shoes. He blushed from more than the booze in his system as he looked over her, letting her help him dress before laying in the bed with him. Y/n covered him up along with herself and sighed softly as she turned her back to him so she can sleep since it's after midnight.

But with Levi still drunk, he couldn't go to sleep. No. He didn’t want to go to sleep. He had a beautiful woman in his bed and he wanted her to be his woman. No one else’s. Levi took advantage of his drunk state and suddenly rolled Y/n onto her back, pinning her to the bed. She blinked, shocked from his sudden actions.

"L-Levi....?" she stuttered.

"Y/n.....~” he purred in her ear while sliding his hands up her shirt, making her shiver at his cold slender hands on her heated skin. "Let me love you," he whispered before colliding her lips with his own, making her body stiffen. She soon felt intoxicated by his touch and kissed him back, craving for more as she entangled her fingers into his soft black hair as she moaned.

Levi kissed her deeply as his hands made their way to her breasts, feeling the soft flesh against his skin. Arching her back at the feeling, she pulled away from his lips for air but gasping the minute he latches his own to her sensitive neck. She moaned his name when he bit her neck then pulled back with a smirk. Y/n looked down to see that Levi had, somehow, stripped her bare naked without her noticing. Trailing kisses down her body, she moaned and ran her fingers through his hair again as she closed her legs when he got between them. He rubbed her thighs soothingly before kissing them to help her relax. Once he thought she was ready, Levi opened her legs and placed his head between them. His tongue slid along her folds before flicking at her clit. Her hips jolted upwards while her fingers tugged at his hair, giving loud lewd moans.

Levi smirked and started to go faster, making her squirm and squeal in complete ecstasy as he tasted every inch of her. He then sucked her bundle of nerves into his mouth as his tongue did wonders. Y/n panted as she arched her back off the bed while her head flew back into the pillows, desperately wanting to move away but his hands held her down in place as he ravished her more. His teeth gently grazed her clit, making her lose control of the volume of her moans as they got even louder before she finally released with a squeak. But Levi kept going, making her beg as he continued to drain her of every drop before pulling off with a small pop. A trembling Y/n laid there panting heavily as Levi licked her clean, sitting up to look down at the beautiful sight under him. Levi chuckled and laid beside her with his arm draped over her waist.

Y/n calmed down from her overstimulated high before she made the bold move to pin him to the bed instead. Levi looked up at her in slight shock from the sudden move before his breath started to hitch when she started to rub the bulge in his pants. She hummed and stripped him bare of any clothes before suddenly going down to suck his cock. Levi's hips bucked at the sudden pleasure of her hot mouth on him, panting as he felt her tongue do circles around the tip.

"(Y-Y/n)~" Levi moaned as he gripped the sheets. "Ngh...! I-I'm gonna....! Ah!" he gave a loud moan as he came in her mouth. Y/n swallowed it all, a little disappointed that he came that quick, and sat up before marking him in hickeys and love bites, loving the sounds that were coming from his mouth. After she was satisfied with her work, she straddled his hips before pushing herself onto him, making her gasp and him moan. When she felt comfortable, she bounced on him as her hands rested on his chest. Loud slapping noises of skin colliding and loud moans filled the room. Y/n decided to bounce faster and go all the way down, earning her a loud moan from Levi as he gripped her hips to help her keep steady.

Pretty soon they both hit their high and came together. Y/n collapsed onto Levi's chest, panting heavily as he held her close to him. Having to pull out, he laid both their bodies on the bed and pulled her to his chest after covering them both with the blanket and going to sleep.

~back to the present~

Y/n walked out of the bathroom only to see a naked Levi standing there, in front of his boss and co-worker as he tried to suppress his blush. Smirking, the said female walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and satisfied hum.

"Don't worry, Mr. Smith~. Levi was a good boy last night with all the moans I made him do~."

At that, Hanji ran out with Erwin on her tail, trying to suppress their nose bleeds while Levi was a blushing mess at the moment from her comment. Y/n laughed at his reaction and kissed him briefly before giving him a warm smile and going to make breakfast. Levi sighed as he went back to his room to get dressed.

'Maybe getting drunk wasn't so bad after all......'

#levi smut #levi ackerman x reader #captain levi #levi attack on titan #levi heichou #levi x reader #levi x you #shingeki no kyoujin levi #aot fanfiction #aot x you #levi ackerman #levi aot #aot #shingeki no kyojin #snk #levi x y/n #levi ackerman imagine #levi ackerman aot #levi ackerman x you #aot imagines #aot smut #aot anime #snk x you #snk x reader #snk fanfiction #snk x y/n

[louisianaspell]

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

AN: Hey! So it’s been a minute since I’ve posted a fic, I’m not even sure I’m still considered a writer at this point. Anyway, here’s a little something and I hope it’s okay and that you guys enjoy it!

It hasn’t been beta’d or proofread, so there’s probably some issues. Forgive me

This is my submission for @syntheticavenger ‘s How It Started - How It’s Going 5K Challenge

Congrats on the 5k @syntheticavenger 💖🥳🎉

I was given the situation: Furious at your car being wrecked during an Avengers fight

Warnings: cussing, non con groping (mentions), mentions of violence (not against reader), run in with police (brief mention)

I think that’s it, but please let me know if anything else needs to be tagged.

Enjoy!

“Yes, I understand that, but that’s not what my policy says… What?! How can it be an act of god? A man literally threw my car!… You can’t be serious, you really consider any damage caused by Thor to be an act of god?… Yea, no. I get that he’s called the god of thunder, but he’s technically a fucking alien and my policy covers that and anything caused by heroes and villains... Well that’s just great, thanks for nothing.”

You end the call, let out a frustrated scream and throw your phone across the room, thankfully it landed safely on your couch. A majority of your one day off was spent on the phone with your insurance company, getting transferred from one department to another, and being put on hold for twenty minutes, all because Thor decided to use your car as a weapon against some invading alien force. While you’re thankful that the Avengers were able to save the day, it wasn’t so great finding out that you had to pay towing fees because of where your car landed, and now finding out that your insurance wasn’t going to pay out because it was Thor who threw your car, had it been Iron Man or any other Avenger then of course your insurance would have gladly paid. So much for being like a good neighbor.

Full of righteous anger and channeling the souls of a thousand Karens, you gather up and shove all of your paperwork into your purse and march down to the Avengers tower, determined to make someone there pay for your damages. Somehow the universe was determined to keep you in a shitty mood as a man continuously grabbed your ass on the train ride, it only took three stops before you found yourself hitting him with your purse while screaming profanities about consent and personal space. You're sure you probably looked and sounded like a crazy person.

Afterwards you’re forced to walk several blocks to the Avengers tower, because even though it was completely justified, the cops kicked you off the train instead of Mr. Grabby Hands. Fuck the police. You try your best to look at the bright side, maybe a nice long walk will give you enough time to cool down a bit and not bite the head off some poor receptionist that’s just doing their job.

Unfortunately, the universe had other plans. The entrance of the Avengers Tower stands before you, only a glass door etched with the Avengers logo stands between you and hopefully some financial compensation for Thor throwing your car like a damn frisbee. As you open the door, even before you feel the cool air of the building’s air conditioning hit you, you crash into what feels like a brick wall. A brick wall and what smells like a pineapple and mango smoothie.

“What in the actual living fuck?!” You yell, as you look down at the orange colored drink dripping down your chest. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?!”

Two shocked super soldiers and Captain America himself, Sam Wilson, stand before you, apologies flowing from the three men like a waterfall. In your anger, it takes you a moment to realize that Bucky Barnes had taken off his shirt and was using his shirt to try and clean up the mess.

Your anger starts to fade as you watch a shirtless Bucky Barnes standing in front of you, rubbing your chest with his discarded shirt, spouting apologies in several different languages. It’s one of those moments that feels like it lasts forever but in reality it’s only a few seconds.

The sound of Steve Rogers clearing his throat and Sam Wilson’s attempt at holding back his laughter is what breaks the spell between you and Bucky, it’s not long before he starts apologizing for touching you, telling you how much he respects women, and offering to pay to have your shirt dry cleaned, even offering his own ruined shirt to you. As you watch the famed assassin trip over his words trying to fix the situation and awkwardly rant, it’s strange to say this about someone you just met, especially one that was practically giving you a breast exam on a busy New York sidewalk, but it was like every part of you was telling you that this gorgeous bumbling man was The One™️

—//—//—//—

“…and that’s how I met your father.”

“So if uncle Thor didn’t break your car, you wouldn’t have met daddy?” your daughter, Lucy, sleepily asked.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” Bucky answers, tucking her in, “and he loves to brag about it, I bet if you ask him about it next time you see him, he’ll tell you all about it”

Lucy sleepily nods as she drifts off into sleep, you place a kiss on her forehead and wish her sweet dreams, Bucky does the same before you both leave her room and make your way to your shared bedroom.

“She really loves hearing that story doesn’t she?” Bucky asks as you both get into bed.

“It's a sweet story, me as the angry beast being soothed by you, the beauty, of the tale” you chuckle, “plus, it’s always fun telling her that you have no game whatsoever,” you laugh.

Bucky tries to act offended, “Hey now, I do too have game, I landed you, didn’t I?”, but he can’t hide that smile of his, the one that still makes your heart flutter.

“You did, with the help of a smoothie that let you get to second base in front of the Avengers tower before learning my name,” you tease. “Was that your secret to getting all the pretty dames back in the forties?” You laugh

“What is it that you young people say these days? Don't hate the player, hate the game, baby.”

#synths5kfollowerchallenge #howitstartedhowitsgoingchallenge #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes drabble #bucky barnes #sebastian stan fic #sebastian stan fanfiction

[aomine-ryo]

Hii! May I have Akashi and Kuroko reactions to sex with their s/o being interrupted by a phone call? Love your page! I have a lot of reading! ;3

Aww I’m happy you like my page :)) I hope you enjoy this one too xx

Scenario: Akashi and Kuroko’s reactions to sex with their s/o being interrupted by a phone call (nsfw)

Akashi

It wasn’t very often that you could get intimate with Akashi considering that he was usually busy and constantly around people. Of course, he made it a point to allocate at least a few hours of alone time with you each week, and honestly, it never failed to become the highlight of his week.

You’d often hang out in your house since his one was never truly empty, considering that his maids and butlers were there. You kind of wished they weren’t there though, because his bed was so much bigger than yours that it seemed like it would be much more fun.

So the two of you laid down in your bed, cuddling with each other as you conversed about anything and everything. Well, it was mostly you talking while Akashi listened intently and offered advice and comments whenever he felt like it.

“You know, you could talk too. Your life is much more interesting than mine after all, Mister Emperor,” you said teasingly when you reached the end of your many rants.

“No, it’s all the same old boring stuff,” he shrugged.

“Have you tried to stab anyone recently?” you joked, making him chuckle and shake his head slightly.

“No, not really. People are testing me though,” he played along, fingers twirling the ends of your hair.

Your arms hugged him tighter and you breathed in the comforting scent of his cologne. “Why can’t you stay here forever? You wouldn’t have to think of stabbing anyone then— actually, I might test your patience too, not gonna lie.”

Akashi leaned down and pressed his lips against yours, mainly because he loved you, but also to stop you from spewing any more nonsense. “Staying here with you sounds perfect,” he muttered with a smile.

Akashi tilted his head ever so slightly to deepen the kiss as a warm hand met your cheek. As his tongue made its way into your mouth, he slowly rolled on top of you, trapping you between his arms. He continued to make out with you for some time, his lips slowly making its way down to your neck to leave a few marks.

One by one, clothing was discarded, eventually leaving both of you completely naked as Akashi hovered above you, staring down at you with passion burning in his bright eyes. He had a habit of doing this a lot; he loved to just admire the way you looked underneath him, and as sweet as you thought it was, it was also slightly frustrating as you grew more and more desperate for his touch.

He very well knows this though. He just liked to tease you like this because he wanted to hear you beg for him. And of course, you didn’t fail to do exactly that.

“Sei, can you please do something?” you whined.

“What do you want me to do, my love?” he said sweetly, a devious grin spreading across his face.

“I want you to... f-fuck me,” you said, that last part being in what was barely a whisper as your face flushed red.

“Is that so?” he said, acting all high and mighty. The red haired boy leaned in close and you could feel his breath on your face, sending shivers throughout your entire body. “Well, how could I say no to my princess?” he whispered with a smirk before he pushed his lips against yours once again.

Getting caught up in the kiss, you didn’t notice his other movements until you felt him shove himself inside you with no warning, causing you to gasp and pull away from his lips. Your hands that were previously roaming mindlessly around his back suddenly came to a halt as your nails dug into his skin.

“Everything okay? Do you want me to move?” he asked, consideration in his tone as he watched you squirm underneath him.

You mustered a slight nod as your eyes were pressed shut, trying to concentrate on adjusting to his length. Akashi slowly began to move, and you felt his hand caress your cheek, tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear. The tenderness of his touch brought you comfort as your eyes slowly opened, and you were greeted by the sight of his bright eyes looking down at you with adoration.

Eventually, you got used to it and pleasure began to overtake your system. “Sei, faster p-please,” you whined.

Without hesitation, he did as he was told, the sounds of your moans getting increasingly louder as he picked up the pace. He was completely entranced by the way you made him feel. Even the way you left scratches on his back felt good.

However, the euphoria he felt was suddenly interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing from the bedside table. “Just ignore it,” you said softly after noticing his evident annoyance, not wanting to lose contact with him.

Akashi was never one to not pick up a call. He was a busy person, sure, but just like he expected everyone to respond to his calls, he held the same expectations for himself. So with a sigh and an apologetic look on his face he slowly pulled out, causing you to pout. “It’ll only take a minute or two, I’m sorry,” he said, pecking your lips before reaching for his phone.

It was a call from the Rakuzan team manager. He was supposed to meet up with his team for endurance training in about ten minutes, but he seemed to have lost track of time with you. As his hand mindlessly rubbed your thigh, he quickly apologised and told her that he’d probably be late because he’s “occupied with something important,” before finally ending the call.

“Do you have somewhere to be, Sei?” you questioned as he set the phone down and returned his complete attention back to you.

“Yes but I told them I’d be late.”

“You can leave if you want to, it’s alright—“

“I’m going nowhere until your legs are shaking and you’re screaming my name, princess,” he interrupted, his tone as serious as ever.

Akashi was fully aware that his presence at the training was essential, however that only gave him all the more reason to not take it easy on you. He felt frustrated at the fact that it interrupted his time with you. Of course that frustration would be taken out on you in the form of some very rough sex— but you didn’t mind that at all. And as promised, Akashi didn’t leave until he was sure that he’d absolutely wrecked you.

Kuroko

There was nothing that Kuroko loved more than spending his afternoons cuddling with you. The comfort of knowing that you were right there in his arms brought him happiness that was immeasurable, to the point where a smile would be spread across his usually expressionless face.

There were times where he’d be perfectly content spending the entire day lazing around with you in his arms. Other times though, he’d have energy to spare.

For instance, it was a regular Saturday afternoon that he was spending at your house, and he was extra affectionate with you. Smothering your face in kisses and tangling his legs with yours under the sheets as you laid in bed together, the blue haired boy seemed rather overexcited— not that you minded. With the way he was acting, you knew exactly how it would end as you began to feel clingier and clingier. All you had to do was patiently wait to see what Kuroko would do.

It didn’t take long for Kuroko’s soft lips to end up on yours, his eagerness evident in the way his tongue slipped into your mouth after mere seconds of kissing him. Soon after he made his way down to your neck, your clothes slowly ended up on the floor, piece by piece. Eventually, all that was left was your naked bodies pressed against each other, growing more and more desperate for some action.

Deciding to take control of the situation, you rolled yourself over so that you were on top of him. Looking down into his gorgeous blue eyes, you smiled as your hand began to stroke his member. You watched for some time as he bit his lip to pull himself together before hovering your hips above it. Slowly, you sank down onto his length, letting out a drawn out moan at the way it filled you up.

It took a few moments, but you eventually adjusted to it, and you began to move up and down, gaining deep groans from your pale skinned boyfriend. “Y/N, you feel so good,” he moaned, unable to stop thinking about how gorgeous you looked when you were on top of him. He swore that he would gladly have this be the only sight he sees for the rest of his life.

Suddenly, the sound of a loud ringing caused both of you to snap out of it as your bodies shuddered in surprise. You looked over to your bedside table and noticed that you were getting a call from a friend of yours. You looked over at Kuroko questioningly.

“You should get that,” he nodded, though there was a hint of annoyance in his expression as he didn’t like getting interrupted.

With an apologetic look, you got up and sat at the edge of the bed to answer the phone call. A part of Kuroko wanted to tell you to ignore it, but he didn’t want you to risk missing an important phone call, so he say up on his elbow and waited patiently for you to finish. The call didn’t go on for too long thankfully, however Kuroko did end up absentmindedly kissing your neck and shoulders while he waited, bringing a goofy grin onto your face.

The moment the call was over, Kuroko practically pounced onto you, letting his hands roam around your body as his lips reconnected with yours. Perhaps he was a little impatient for that call to end. Without losing contact with your lips for even a moment, Kuroko ended up laying on top of you.

Before he continued what was previously interrupted, he pulled away, finally giving you some time to breathe as you looked up at him. “Is everything okay with your friend?” he asked— he was still concerned about you after all.

“Yeah, it wasn’t anything important. It’s a shame we lost time over it,” you replied.

As Kuroko began to line himself up against you once more, a small smile appeared onto his face, “It’s alright. We can always make up for it. So why don’t we get to it?” he said simply before pushing himself into you.

A surprised gasp escaped your lips as you tossed your head back in pleasure. All that extra waiting seemingly made him more hungry for you. Yearning for more of that euphoric feeling he felt prior to the interruption, there was no way he way going to go easy on you now.

#kuroko no basket #kurokos basketball #kuroko no basket x reader #knb #kuroko tetsuya #akashi seijuro x reader #kuroko tetsuya x reader #akashi x reader #akashi seijuro

[crystalessenceswrites]

Heyyy I wanted to submit a f!reader x commander wolffe request. I was wondering if you could do #18 ("Are you wearing my shirt?") and #13 ("Touch yourself for me.") from your smut prompt list (or one or the other or both in one fic ahah srry if its a lot to ask)? Anyways, I love your work thanksss~

Thank you lovely!! Means a lot to hear folks are enjoying my writing!! Two prompts is totally fine and thanks for these two, they worked really well together. I hope you enjoy!

Sorry for the wait on the follower celebration requests all, writers block decided to hit at the worst possible time.

Commander Wolffe x fem!reader Rating: E (18+) Warnings: explicit sexual content, masturbation, fingering, very light d/s tones, praise kink if you squint, Wolffe is a smug ass

Another cycle another credit. Well, that would be the case if any of you were getting paid for fighting in this Maker forsaken war. Instead, you and the rest of the Order traversed the battlefields in the name of peace, surrounded by men born and bred to fight and die for the Republic. The harsh reality of it all was beginning to rub you raw, leaving you with a pounding headache as you stalk away from the bridge. Anger. Frustration. Desperation. Emotions not befitting of a jedi. Emotions that leave you reeling.

It is automatic. Returning to your own quarters does not even cross your mind. You find yourself keying in the code to your commanders’ quarters through muscle memory. The one place in the universe where you can find solace these days with the one person who understands. Your mood drops a little more when you find the small space empty. He had left the debrief on the bridge before you, so you’d assumed he’d be waiting. You’d seen the recognition flash in his golden eye during the meeting, he well knew what kind of mood had settled over you. Hopefully, he wouldn’t leave you alone for too long.

With a sigh you start to shed your layers across the small space. Boots at the foot of his bunk. Plastoid bracers on the desk next to his neatly stacked holopads. Robes over the back of the chair. Clones don’t truly own anything but what Wolffe did have to call his own was always well kept. Armor cleaned and polished after every mission. Blasters maintained at the end of the day. His greys hang perfectly pressed in the closet, just in case. His two extra pairs of blacks folded with an unnatural precision. A precision you promptly destroy when you go digging though his trunk. Even after an industrial wash cycle his shirts still smells like him. If you could not have him right now, his clothes would have to suffice.

The oversized article does soothe some of the raging storm in your head. Climbing into his bunk you try to let the silence lull you into something akin to meditation, a half-hearted attempt to sort through your emotions like they taught you back at the temple. It was so much simpler back then without the future of the galaxy hanging in the balance. Before you considered breaking every rule for him. Maker how your world had flipped upside down since this war started.

Lost in your mind you do not catch the hiss of the door sliding open or the heavy footsteps cross the small room. The deep rumbling voice though, that snaps everything into place.

“Mesh’la, are you wearing my shirt?”

You’re not sure why he asks, there’s no denying it when you’re sitting in his bunk in nothing but his shirt and your underthings. Wide-eyed you nod up at him, toying with the hem resting across your thighs.

“Stealing my things now, cyare?”

Well, you would not call it that, “borrowing.”

The corner of his lip quirks up as his gaze stays pinned on you. It was nice to see him in such a good mood. Hopefully it would rub off. “For some reason I don’t believe you,” he chuckles.

You pout, though Wolffe is not fazed in the slightest. Not that a big lip and doe-eyes ever fazed him. He could be as stoic as he needed to be when he was in the mood to tease. And judging by the smirk growing on his lips he was more than in the mood.

“Tell me, cyare, why exactly are you “borrowing” my shirt?” setting down his bucket he pulls a chair up so he’s sitting across from you, eye trained on your curled up figure.

“I missed you.”

He flashes that smirk again, “oh really?”

You nod, watching him grow smug.

“Then why don’t you show me how much you missed me? Touch yourself for me.”

Heat rushes over you at Wolffe’s command. The things this man could do to you with a few words and a look. Biting your lip, one hand drags down your stomach, a small attempt to tease the commander for a moment as you toy with the hem of your panties.

Wolffe grunts and holds out his hand, “give them here.”

With another doe-eyed nod you slide the damp garment off, placing it in his waiting grasp.

“Good girl. Now show me that pretty pussy, cyare.”

Shifting back so you’re leaning against the wall you spread your legs wide, giving Wolffe an unobstructed view of you now sopping slit. His unabashed groan sends shivers down your spine.

“Go on, touch yourself for me.”

He does not have to tell you twice. With one hand you drag your fingers through your folds, coming up to circle your pearl. With the other you paw at your chest through his blacks, twisting and pinching your nipples just like Wolffe liked to do. It does not take long for the coil to build deep in your core. Wolffe’s heated gaze only turns you on that much more. He follows every movement, every gasp that falls from your lips, every touch that has you squirming under your own ministrations. Slipping one finger, then two, into your aching hole has him humming in quiet appreciation. Your head falls back against the wall as you reach so desperately for that spot to relieve the pressure.

“What’s wrong, cyare?” he smirks, leaning forward as if he needs a better vantage to watch you whimper from, “can’t cum?”

No, you can’t. Your fingers have nothing on his thick digits. No matter how you try you cannot seem to fill yourself the way he does. “Please, Wolffe. In need you.”

His grin is downright feral as he stalks towards the bed. With one swift movement the clone has you pinned beneath him; legs spread as he swats your hand away. Without preamble he plunges two fingers as deep as he can reach while his thumb attacks your clit. Everything about his touch is overwhelming and you gladly surrender, mouth dropped open in a silent scream as he brushes up against the spot you’d been so desperate to find.

“Look at you, mesh’la,” he murmurs, lips brushing over the shell of your ear, “so greedy for my fingers. Taking me so deep.”

“Oh fuck, Wolffe!”

His mouth trails hot and heavy down the column of your throat, nipping and kissing the soft skin as he continues to wreck you with his fingers. You’re helpless to do anything but grip onto his shoulder, nails digging into scarred skin as you pant and writhe beneath him.

“Think you can take another, cyare?”

The thought alone has you whimpering for him. “Y-yes.”

“Good girl,” he growls, adding a third digit at your weeping entrance.

The stretch alone sends you straight to the edge, the coil in your belly ready to snap and plumet you into bliss. “Wolffe- I’m gonna-”

“Do it,” he presses all three fingers against the spongy spot inside you with a come-hither motion, finally breaking the damn, “cum all over my fingers, ner jetii.”

White hot pleasure rolls over you in wave after wave as you flutter around his fingers. Wolffe doesn’t pause for a moment, continuing his thrust as you ride out the high. Always relentless in prolonging your pleasure. He does not pull away until you’re boneless and speechless.

“That wouldn’t have anything to do with why you missed me, now would it?”

Smug bastard. Rolling your eyes, you attempt to squirm away from his hold.

“Ah ah-” Wolffe clicks his tongue, refusing to let you escape- “I still gotta show you how much I missed you, cyare.”

#wolffe x reader #commander wolffe x reader #commander wolffe imagine #tcw #tcw imagine #nsft #x reader #requested #crystalessences writes

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction | Thigh Touching [Request]

A/n: I couldn’t find anything except for the musical so I hope this is okay for you hun!

Seokjin:

You were sitting across from Jungkook on the sofa when Jin walked into the room and sat down beside you, you and Jin had been dating for years and it was nothing new when he would come in and cuddle you but you felt uncomfortable cuddling in front of the rest of the boys especially since Jungkook had just gone through a really tough breakup you felt as though you were rubbing it in. Jin's hand landed on your thigh like it always did and you noticed Jungkook shift in place looking uncomfortable so you kindly moved Jin's hand away and crossed your legs so he couldn't put it back.

"What's wrong?" Jin asked panicked, normally you would only push him away when you were having a fight or you were in a bad mood so he instantly wanted to know what was wrong with you.

"Nothing, just not right now." You whispered back to him getting up from the dorm sofa and going to make a drink for yourself, Jin followed close behind wanting to know what was going through your head.

"Did I do something?" He panicked and you giggled at the scared expression on his face, you squished his cheeks between your hands and shook your head.

"No baby, I just don't want to flaunt around in front of Kookie, you know what he's just been through." He agreed with you and looked through the door to see Jungkook watching the movie that was on the screen,

"He's good for five minutes, kiss me." You rolled your eyes at your boyfriend before kissing him on the lips and then wrapping your arms around his neck smirking against his lips as his hands dropped to your ass, squeezing it a little before leaving you in the kitchen wanting more.

Yoongi:

You sipped on the water that was in front of you at the restaurant and looked over at Namjoon who was giving a speech about the new comeback the boys were having. They had done amazing as always so you were celebrating in a nice little restaurant with your boyfriend and his band members,

"It's a great album, as always." You said before putting your glass down and starting to look through the menu. Yoongi had one hand under the table while he glanced over the menu and you bit on your lip reaching for his hand and laying it on the top of your thigh. Yoongi froze when he felt you leave his hand there and then spread your legs a little,

"Baby," He warned you and you turned to look at him with a small smirk on your lips, you had expressed to one another before about your kink for public things and he couldn't believe you would do it right now.

"Fine," You rolled your eyes going to cross your legs when you felt his grip on your thigh tighten and he spread them further apart.

"You better hope you can be quiet Jagiya." He smirked leaning forward to take a drink from his beer. His hand rested on your thigh constantly, not moving for even a second not even when the food arrived for you all, he was just teasing you by tracing invisible lines along the skin and grazing against your panties, he hadn't even touched you yet and you were a mess for him, ready to do whatever he told you to if it meant getting some contact with him.

"Meet me in the bathroom." He growled in your ear before excusing himself and leaving for the toilets.

Hoseok:

If Hoseok thought he was going to get away with this than he was mistaken, he'd gotten into a fight with you that morning and then acted as though nothing had happened when he came home from the studios.

"What are you watching?" He questioned when he walked into the living room of your shared apartment later that night, you ignored him turning up the movie and keeping your eyes trained to the screen. You were giving him the silent treatment until he remembered why and apologised for that morning.

"Baby?" He sat down beside you and watched you as you stared at the movie, he could already tell you weren't paying attention to what was happening so he played along, watching the screen with you. A couple of minutes passed and you felt his hand on your thigh tracing lines into the skin so you pushed his hand off you and watched the movie,

"What did I do?" He asked when he realised what was happening, he tried thinking about everything that had happened that day when he remembered the morning argument.

"Really?!" He asked looking at you and you huffed getting up and moving away from him,

"Baby!" He yelled following you up the staircase,

"Baby it was a dream!"

"You killed me!" You yelled back at him and he started laughing again just like he had that morning and you rolled your eyes starting to laugh along with him,

"See! You find it just as funny as I do." You groaned knowing you could never stay mad at him and he chuckled bringing you into a hug on the staircase,

"I promise from now on I won't kill you in your dreams." You giggled at him and he bent down giving you a quick kiss on the lips.

Namjoon:

The last thing Namjoon would have expected at a family dinner was for you to move his hand onto your thigh and then look at him with your bedroom eyes,

"Right here?" He whispered so that only you could hear him and you let out a whine, he'd been neglecting you all week as a form of punishment and tonight was the night your punishment was supposed to be ending.

"Does my baby need me?" He whispered again and you nodded looking up at him with pleading eyes, practically begging him to fuck you right there on the table and if you were at home alone Namjoon would have gladly done. But you were at a dinner with your family and Namjoon's family discussing the upcoming wedding between you both.

"Just wait baby." He tried to move his hand but you clamped your legs together just having his hand on your bare skin was enough contact for now,

"J-Just leave it there, please?" He nodded and kept his hand there since he could see how needy you were without him even doing anything yet. He smirked into his wine glass knowing you were going to be in for a long night, his fingers rose up to your core and he gasped when he realised you weren't wearing panties,

"Naughty," You whimpered when he brushed his fingers against you and he smirked once again, bending down to kiss your cheek to seem like a loving husband-to-be but he knew exactly what he was doing to you since he could feel it.

Jimin:

You and Jimin had been in a secret relationship for the last six months, it was a secret because you worked for bighit and if anyone was to find out it would result in you being fired and you didn't want that.

"As we were saying, as you can see-" The main man began talking and you yawned looking at Jimin beside you who had a small smile on his face. He was holding your hand under the table, he had started to become more daring with you in the BigHit building, flirting whenever he could not caring if anyone was around and kissing you in the closets or storage rooms whenever he had that chance.

"Jimin, I'm working." You whispered when you felt his hand travelling up to your thigh, you were wearing a short pencil skirt. The one that Jimin had expressed his love for multiple times but it was the only one you had for the day.

"Shh baby, concentrate." You gulped when he pushed his hand further up your thigh until it was sitting right below your crotch. You couldn't concentrate, your mind was everywhere else except where it should have been,

"Miss Y/l/n, is there a problem?!" You yelped hearing your name and feeling Jimin squeezing your thigh.

"Sorry, I'm just a little hot." You whimpered and Namjoon got up to open the window for you,

"Thanks." You whispered glaring at Jimin who was continuing to rub your thighs and acting as though he was paying attention and not wrecking you right under the table in front of everyone.

Taehyung:

You were doing a VLive together, your relationship had been out for the last four years and Army had been really supportive since the start of your relationship.

"Can we hear the story about how you met again?" Taehyung read out from the comments and he began to explain everything while you looked through the chats at everything else, that's when you noticed they couldn't see your legs. They could only see the tops of your chests and heads so you smiled moving your hand down under the table and acting normally.

"I was about to leave when she rushed into me, spilling coffee all down my thigh-" You stared at him as he said thigh outloud right as you placed his hand on your thigh,

"No baby, I spilt coffee down your front." You giggled trying to play it cool but you were sure some Army had probably figured it out. Taehyung rubbed his thumb along the skin of your thigh, you were dressed in nothing but one of his shirts and a pair of shorts.

"Yeah, she spilt it down my front." He laughed, you pulled your hands out from under the table and began acting normally, your tighs weren't your weakness they were Taehyung's. He'd always had a kink for them he just loved to touch and feel them whenever he had the chance and you knew what they did to him.

Jungkook:

Jungkook was gaming beside you and you were getting bored of waiting for him to come offline, you shut the book you were reading and looked at the side of his face. You had been sitting there all night waiting for him to give you some kind of attention since it was his first night off in months but he was too interested in his games, which you didn't mind but you were feeling extra needy that night for his attention.

"Just one more round baby and I'm all yours." He promised as he began shooting someone, winning that round and going into the next one. You watched the screen for a second before looking back at Jungkook and laying your legs over his and watching the screen again. Jungkook swallowed the lump in his throat when he felt your legs over his, he kept glancing down at you and he died almost instantly.

"My turn," You took the control from him and placed his hands on your thighs, playing a round for him and killing the guys you were supposed to. It wasn't hard, you'd seen him do it a thousand times, you were about to go into the final round when his hand squeezed your thigh and the controller was taken away from you.

"Kookie I was-" You were cut short by his lips on yours as he laid you down on the sofa, lifting off his shirt that you were wearing for him and kissing down your neck.

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[aku-writes]

I tried to flesh out Ji-Woon Hak more. Dunno, key word is tried.

Note: I kept some of BHVRs OG lines from his lore, so please keep that in mind. A good chunk of the beginnging is pretty much bhvrs.

Another note: Everything highlighted in blue is BHVR's original words. This will include rewording.

Ji-Woon Hak thrived under the attention of others, energized by every eye that watched him and every tongue that spoke his name. Amidst the prestige, he had only one desire: more.

Working at his family’s restaurant as a child, he would draw in business with knife-throwing spectacles. Gullible tourists gladly handed over their money to see part of the “traditional Korean experience”. His talent for knife-throwing was not the only thing that brought in customers, Ji-Woon was a natural with his voice and his father only nurtured his talent for singing. Ji-Woon’s father spent the restaurant’s earnings on dance lessons and vocal lessons for his son, pushing him to attain the fame he could never achieve.

Ji-Woon did not disappoint.

After years of showing his abilities to nobodies at talent shows, he finally got his wish of a chance of stardom when Yun-Jin Lee, a producer at Mightee One Entertainment, recruited him into her training program. He was swept away as soon as possible to a dormitory in Seoul where, for fourteen hours a day, he was crafted into a star. Ji-Woon was not only taught how to move and sing, but how to carry himself with the right balance of confidence and modesty as well. Each detail was chiseled into him as if he were a statue.

Draining as the process was, it worked. Yun-Jin selected Ji-Woon to join the band NO SPIN, and with him, he brought raw new energy to their tracks that sparked almost immediate fame. Ji-Woon lived in a daze of interviews and adoration, and though the frenzied schedule exhausted his bandmates, he was invigorated by it. Each day was an affirmation that he was greater than the mediocrity society spewed out.

But one person can only take so much pressure. Fame or no fame, Ji-Woon and his bandmates were still drilled on being more than perfect. It may not have taken its toll on him as physically as it had his friends, but those around Ji-Woon could see the change. There was a different spark in his eyes. A spark that would set everything ablaze. Including them.

They screamed out his name as the fire spread through the studio. Smoke filled their lungs as they pounded on the window for him to free them, their escape blocked by fallen speakers. Yet, as he stood there, seemingly frozen in his spot as he stared at the heavy equipment. . .he backed away from them. Ji-Woon’s back soon faced them as he ignored their cries as he quickly made his escape.

To Ji-Woon world had become stale; the fame, the fortune, the attention, all of it was becoming background noise. It was old news, he needed something new in his life, and fate had granted him the change he desired. The death of his bandmates reinvigorated him and his new solo career. No longer was he just part of NO SPIN, now all the eyes would be on him, The Trickster. He rode on the attention his bandmates gave him, moving him into a prosperous career as a solo artist and producer; a wild child with a soft heart hidden beneath the glam.

Something, however, was growing within Ji-Woon; something akin to the embers of obsession. The last words his friends had called out had been his name. Their voices were the fuel that fanned the embers. He needed to hear those cries again, the feeling they sparked in him filled the empty cavity that the staleness had started to create.

But no one could see it, not even through his eyes, the gateway to the soul. A decade of being taught how to be perfect made it an effortless task to hide what had begun to burn within him.

The first time he killed it was at random, a spur of the moment. An open window. A fire escape. A bat to her skull. Gagged and bound, he played with her, dissecting her alive on her bed like a frog. But something was not right, there was no satisfaction in it. All Ji-Woon got from her was muffled cries and please, not the screams and wails he had craved.

But Ji-Woon learned and he adapted. He changed his tactics, from breaking in to abduction. It wasn’t hard for him to find a secluded area to do his dirty work, far from where anyone would hear and soundproof enough to hide the cries he let ring from his victims. Each kill was recorded, each sound was utilized and hidden into the music that he produced. But he did not stop with just incorporating the wails of his victims into his music; Ji-Woon began to leave a trail of breadcrumbs with each murder, a mink boa from a photoshoot around a slashes throat, teeth plucked out to mimic the mouth of a boxer that had appeared in a recent music video.

But he was not garnering the amount of attention he wanted from it. So he struck closer to home. The idol turned his attention to a fan who had recently come to a VIP meeting with him, she was to be his next victim. He brutalized her, keeping her restrained as he beat her. The fan’s wails when he carved his blade through the flesh of her breasts as he slowly spelled out I HAVE SEEN GOD sent shivers down his spine. Ji-Woon waited patiently as she neared death before he struck again. He drove his fingers into her eye sockets gauging the soft and squishy orbs from their holes, vitreous fluids leaking from one of them as it ruptured within his palm. In their place, he pressed the diamond cufflinks he had been wearing down into now empty sockets. There was a second where he paused, only to simply wipe the precious stones clean

But nothing lasts forever. Violence quickly became Ji-Woon’s preferred media of art. His obsession with the cries of death left him a mental wreck, all his focus being on planning and committing the gruesome murders. This, of course, did not play out well in the eyes of the executives. Though he may not have had the largest cut in the company’s revenue, his fame and audience still played a major role in the continued success of the production company.

They were going to give him one last chance. A last chance to create his magnum opus. If not, he was done. He was going to be cut off. Ji-Woon would go back to being nothing but a dying spark of what had been a bright career.

He was incandescent..

Exhaustion was driving his mind in circles of brutal attacks and complete focus on producing a hit with Yun-Jin. But it would be done, it would be his best performance yet. They would all see. The performance would be like none they had ever seen. And it would be their last.

Animosity swarmed in his chest as he strode to the performance room where he was greeted by the filth that sought to throw him out like dirty rubbish. Behind him the door clicked shut, the lock quietly being done to provide some privacy.

The clicks of the heels of his shoes echoed as he walked up to the stage. As the music began, it played like he had started with Yun-Jin, but it slowly faded into a vile and grisely beat. A twirl on his feet hid the motion of drawing a throwing knife from its hidden spot. None had even seen it escape his fingers until it was already lodged into the neck of one of the trash, blood spraying out and coating the desk and floor. It took Ji-Woon no time to fill the room with the stench of death as the blades flew from the tips of his fingers effortlessly, impaling and slicing through soft flesh. The only one who was left untouched by the whirlwind of death was Yun-Jin. She had been the person to drag him out from the grime of the masses. She would be the true VIP of his greatest performance yet.

There was no pause in Ji-Woon’s wave of violence as a dark cloud formed on the floor of the room. Fiery yellow eyes turned to Yun-Jin. She now would have his full attention, and his her’s. She had frozen to her chair the entire time, watching in dreaded awe. He settled the razor tip of a bloodied throwing knife under her pretty chin, tilting her head up towards his face. Gore drenched his clear skin.

But that scared look on her face disappeared as a dark fog began to swallow the room, her lips pursing as she spat in his face just as she was consumed by the plume of inky darkness. A roar of pure rage crawled out Ji-Woon’s throat as he swiped at the empty chair as he too was swallowed in the cloud.

It was not heaven nor hell, nor anywhere in between. It was a land entirely of its own. A stage with thousands of eyes watching him. A stage with many sets. Hunting grounds to make his prey scream beautiful notes for all to hear. All he had to do was accept and the only death in his story would be the continued slaughter of his victims.

His stage is The Fog, and all eyes are on him.

#dead by daylight #dbd #dbd the trickster #the trickster #ji-woon #ji woon hak #dbd yun jin lee #yun jin lee #lore #lore rewritie #aku writes