#it's over the edge of the bed. circled tightly by my phone charger. and my phone is dangling making it tight and cutting off my curculation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writingsbychlo · 4 years

Text

let me down slow (07)

word count; 7101

summary; all good things muct come to an end, and all secrets must be revealed at some pont.

notes; brace yourselves.

warnings; smut, overstimulation, cum play, that’s about it.

You were already waiting outside when Mitch pulled up, your bag by your feet as you busied yourself on your phone, having been waiting since he told you he was almost there. The deep rumbling sound of a large car engine caught your attention, his car pulling up slowly and rolling to a stop before you, and he beamed at you from the car.

Scooping up the lightweight bag on the floor by your feet, you took it with you to the vehicle, opening up the backseat and dropping your bag into place before making your way to the window where he had rolled it down, grinning at you wildly.

“Hey, kitten, you look fuckin’ stunning today.”

“You say that anytime I wear your clothes, but this hoodie is technically mine now. You gave it to me.” You teased, the Syracuse College hoodie you had recently elected as your favourite article of clothing was once again on your body, but you particularly enjoyed the reaction you got out of him when you wore it, and so you’d washed it especially for this weekend.

“Yeah, well, it looks good on you, what can I say? Now, are you going to keep sassing me, or are you going to kiss me?”

You considered the options, provoking him into letting out a growl when you thought about it for a little too long. “Well, sassing is my speciality, so I mi-”

You didn’t get a chance to finish your sentence, because he was reaching out with a hand and pulling you in once his fingers were tangled in your hair, his mouth meeting yours in a hot and rushed kiss. You groaned happily into his mouth, bringing your own hands up, one holding onto the wrist close to your face and the other cupping his own cheek, and you tipped your head to the side to be able to grant him a deeper kiss.

Your front was pressed to the side of the car, and he was leaning out as far as he could get, but it wasn’t close enough, you needed more, you needed closer, and it would seem that he sensed it too. Pulling away from you for just a second, he was stepping out of the car as you took a deep breath, before taking both of your cheeks in his hands once again, turning you around and pushing you into the side of the car as his mouth came crashing back down onto your own.

Your hands found his waist, bunching up at the material of his shirt as you gripped on for support, the way his tongue was working with your own was making you feel dizzy, each breath sucked from your lungs as you rolled up onto your tiptoes to press closer into him, and he let out a moan against your lips as you did. He dropped a hand down to your waist, smoothing it down behind you and pressing it between your body and the car, squeezing roughly at your ass and making you jump in shock, body arching into him. In response, he nibbled on your lower lip, teasing you lightly before he was kissing you once again, and while you still had a shred of sanity, you forced yourself to pull your lips from his.

“Mitch, if this gets any hotter, my neighbours will stop speaking to me when I cross them in the street.”

He laughed out breathlessly against your lips, pulling back to look at you with twinkling eyes and a wide grin, before pecking your lips once again and stepping away from you. “Get in the car, cutie, I’ll save the fun stuff until later.” He winked at you, slapping your ass once until you got a move on, and you glared at him falsely, but rounding the vehicle to get into the car.

Turning up the music on the song that was playing, he set the car back off into motion, the two of you pulling away toward the Stilinski household.

“So, I was thinking we could cook dinner together tonight. I picked up some stuff from the store earlier to get us through the weekend, and my dad is on a late tonight.” He turned to look at you for a second, leaving one hand on the wheel and freeing up the other to come down and take your hand in his, a beam on his face as you let him do so.

“Oh, so we’re going full domestic, then?”

“I can be domestic, I’ll have you know.” He pouted falsely, and you leaned over the console to press a kiss to his cheek as you chuckled, and he leaned into it, his expression morphing into a happier one at the contact.

“I believe you, I do. Just so you know, I have a side of the bed and I’ve never slept a full night in your bed. I will make you move if you sleep on the side I have to sleep on. You’ve been warned.”

“Yes, dear.” He sighed out, and you burst out in another round of laughter as you heard it. The drive didn’t take long, Mitch listing off all of the ingredients and food he’d bought for the two of you for the weekend, and you relaxed as you discussed different meals you could make, before deciding on a vegetable stir-fry for tonight, something you’d be able to leave a plate of for the Sheriff once he got in from work, so that he didn’t fill up on junk food before crashing into bed.

He took your bag from the back for you, holding your hand as he guided you up the driveway, and you followed eagerly as you both beelined for his room. He dropped your hand upon reaching it, before making his way over to the set of drawers under the window with excitement and brandishing an empty drawer in your direction. “You cleared me out a drawer?”

“That I did.”

“Wow, I’m impressed. And flattered. Thank you.” You made you way over, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips and he smiled into the exchange, before pulling back and putting it back where it belonged, left open so that you could unpack your bag.

Placing it on top of the drawers, you began to take out the different things you’d need for the weekend, handing him your phone charger so that he could plug it in for you, as well as the bottles you needed for your skincare and your toothbrush, which he took to the bathroom for you after letting out a happy little chuff at the sight of you settling in. When you heard him come back into the room, you were tucking your empty bag down the side of the cabinet, for now, respecting how tidy he liked to clean his room.

“All done!”

His arms wrapped around your waist as you turned, and your hands connected behind his neck as you raised them up, his thumbs smoothing over your skin as he tucked them under the edge of your jumper. “I notice you don’t have any pyjamas laid out, I thought you’d want to get comfy.”

“I thought I would just borrow something of yours, actually.”

He leaned in, pressing his face into your neck and leaving a kiss on the spot he could reach, before pulling you into a real hug, his arms circling you entirely. “That would be more than okay with me.” His words were distorted a little as he spoke into your skin, and your eyes closed slowly, your fingers brushing through his hair as you held onto one another tightly.

“Wanna’ get comfy and make dinner?”

“For sure.”

He pulled away, fingers tucking under your jumper and inching it up a little, and you lifted your arms up so that he could pull it up and over your head, a little sigh leaving him when he was able to drop it away to the floor, and his fingers inched around your body to find the clasp on your bra, popping it open carefully.

Once that had been dropped down to your feet, you lifted your own hands, pulling at his shirt until he reached around behind his head to tug it away, and you took a step closer to him, leaning in to press your lips to the patch of thick muscle sitting over his heart, the beat of the organ underneath pounding as you kissed at his skin, moving your kisses all the way up to his shoulder. He tipped his head to the side for you, and you kissed as far up as you could go, before you were sighing out a hot breath over his skin, and not missing the way he shuddered.

He moved back to kiss your cheek, his lips wet and swollen from where he’d nibbled on them, before he was pressing another one to the corner of your mouth, and then using his fingers to tip your head up and letting his mouth meet your own. It was slow and passionate, a confession without having to say the words, and he walked you back toward the bed, leaning down to follow you without ever disconnecting your lips when he lowered you onto the mattress.

“You are so beautiful.” He gasped the words out as it all became more heated, sinking his way along your body and leaving dotted marks of wet licks and sucks along the column of your throat, before dipping further down. He knelt up over your legs, hair flopping down into his face a little, and you leaned up to swipe it away, pushing your tits into his hands as you did, and he squeezed at the mounds eagerly, smirking at the sounds you let out for him as you did. “That’s right, moan my name, kitten. Be as loud as you want.”

“Good, that’s exactly how I want to be.”

He ducked his head down, taking a nipple between his lips and sucking harshly, your body going slack as you fell back into the bed while trying to push up into him, and he followed you down, one hand squeezing around your waist to support you as the other held him up, hand beside your body and pushing into the bedding.

You rolled your hips up into his own, trying to find friction, and he shifted his body to press a thigh between your own, and you mewled out as you found what you were looking for by grinding up against his thigh.

“Fuck, Mitch, please!”

“Tell me what you want, sweetheart, I can do it if I know.” His voice was deep and raspy, and you were rocking your hips down into his leg with more urgency, gasping into his mouth as he continued his work on your chest, before he was taking the leg away and kissing down your body further and further, dragging his tongue along the skin under your navel and teasing it along the line of your jeans, looking up at you through his lashes and winking when he caught you propping yourself up to look at him. Lacing a hand into his hair, you let out a whiny noise without shame, and he chuckled darkly at you, pulling back to stare at you challengingly. “Words, kitten, use your words.”

“I want your face between my thighs because I’ve started to like the way your beard burn feels and I love the way you fuck me with your tongue, so please get your mouth on me!”

“You got it.” He popped the button on your jeans with ease, before pulling them down your legs roughly and letting you kick them away, taking your panties in the same way, and leaving you bare before him. Parting your legs with hands on your knees, he settled himself happily between your legs, licking at his lips as he stared at the dripping treat before him, and leaning in to place a bite to the inside of your thigh.

He made sure to drag the rough stubble up the inside of your thighs as he moved, the way you shook and moaned spurring him on, and you felt the fire within your belly begin to lick up higher just from his hot breath washing over your slick folds. He wasted no time, diving right into your core and swiping his tongue up and along your most intimate zone, from your entrance to your clit, before repeating the motion. He lapped at you a few times, groaning blissfully as he cleared your skin of the arousal you’d built up, and you felt like a puddle as you collapsed back into the bedding, already feeling boneless as he worked on your core.

Teasing the tip of his tongue around your entrance, he stiffened the muscle a little, before sinking it within your walls and opening you up slowly with his tongue, his arms wrapping under your tights and pulling them open wide from him to be able to lean into you even deeper.

“Oh my God, yes, just like that..” You were crying out his name and he’d barely even begun, but you’d been worked up all day waiting for him, and the tension of the moment was already beginning to take its effect on you as you unfolded and crumbled before him under even the slightest of touches.

He took his time at first, making sure you were shaking and begging for him before he put his effort in, dragging you right to the edge of your orgasm, before he was pulling back entirely, kissing along your thighs as you cursed at him and whimpered, soothing the inflamed red skin and making sure you were winding down. You sat up, leaning over to tip his chin up to your own, his cheeks and chin glistening with your juices, and you brushed your lips against his own.

“If you keep teasing me, you can expect to wake up tomorrow morning in a completely different way than I had planned.”

“Oh, yeah? What did you have planned? Tempt me to give you what you want, kitten.” He flicked the tip of his tongue out, licking your lips slowly, and you let your own come out to meet his, getting a taste of yourself from his tongue, a wicked grin on his face at the act.

“Well, I was thinking that I could wake you up by sucking your cock until you cum down my throat, and then maybe ride you until you’re seeing stars, but since you want to tease me, I’m thinking instead I’ll just make myself breakfast and then lock the bathroom door before getting off in the shower nice and loud so that you can hear me but can’t join me.”

You flicked a finger up under his chin as you spoke, watching as his eyes somehow got even darker, a lustful snarl on his lips, before he was leaning in and biting roughly at you lower one. “Oh, you’re just a little bit evil, huh?” He released your lip, and you sucked it into your own mouth to soothe the stinging that was making you shake with need, and he watched you, before bumping the tip of his nose against your own. “You want to cum? Okay, kitten, you can cum as much as you like. You don’t know what you’re in for.”

With that, he was retreating back down your body, sinking his tongue back into you and moving through your folds with such vigour that you felt his teeth scrape lightly at your skin, you back arching a little as you hummed in satisfaction, before lacing a hand into his hair and tugging him into your body. At the feel of the pull on his hair, he growled out, the vibrations shooting tremors along your spine and exploding behind your eyes like fireworks, and you began to rock your hips up into his face as the climax you’d been denied came crashing back over you once again.

With a loud shout of his name, you were cumming, waves of arousal leaking from you as he continued to fuck you with his tongue, greedily drinking in everything you had to give and letting out words of praise that you were unable to decipher, garbled by the way his mouth never stopped moving against you, your eyes rolling back in your head.

He pulled back finally, and you let out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding as you came down from the situation, for only a second before two fingers were plunging into your spit-slick channel. You let out a scream at the intrusion, your fingers pulling at the bedsheets as he moved his hand and wrist faster than you could even comprehend, and you felt the bed slip away from under you as you jerked at the feeling, his hand flat on your stomach to push your hips back down into the mattress.

He was scissoring you open, grinning at the short and sharp screams you let out with every particularly deep and hard thrust he made, the digits brushing your sweet spot every time. Then, just to drive you insane as a peak stronger than the first began to build up to an unimaginable height within you, he leaned back in to wrap his lips around the throbbing button between your legs.

He sucked harshly, rolling his tongue over it before nibbling lightly, and you cried out, begging him for more whilst simultaneously begging him for a break as you flew into your second climax only minutes after the first. Your felt body felt like it was on fire, a kind of pleasure you’d never felt before surging through you at the over stimulations, and just when you couldn’t’ take it anymore, he seemed to read what you needed, pulling his fingers out with a pornographic sound, and you shook violently on the bed, your eyes rolled back in your head.

“That was so fucking hot.” He mumbled, slurping following his words and you could already picture the way he was sucking on his fingers while staring down at you, a kind of arousal in his eyes that set you off. Your thighs clamped together, slick and covered in your own juices as you whined, your brain feeling like mush as your heart pounded. When you finally managed to crack your eyes open, it was to the sight of him standing at the end of his bed, jeans and boxers around his ankles as he pumped himself slowly to the sight of you, and you rolled over a little, eyes hooded as you took him in.

His head was hanging low, mouth open as he let out continuous moans of your name and a mumble of curses, picking up the pace quickly, before dropping his other hand to roll his balls in his palm, squeezing at the sack lightly, which prompted his hips to jerk up into his hand and his cock to fuck into his fist.

You managed to push yourself up onto shaky hands, crawling across the bed and taking a seat before him, pushing your hair behind your ears before leaning in, letting him position the head of his cock at your lips, which you parted for him without complaint. Sealing your mouth around his tip, you swiped your tongue at the salty precum that had built up, moaning out at the taste and enjoying the way his entire body trembled at the feeling, before repeating it for his benefit and sinking down a little further. When you couldn't fit any more within your mouth, he pumped everything else, his fingers occasionally brushing your stretched lips as you bobbed at a different speed to the movements of his hand.

Your own hands were gripping at his thighs, nails digging into his skin and scratching each time he shifted, red marks left in your wake and his thighs clenched and stiffened beneath you each time you bobbed a little lower, gagging around his cock before pulling back to your limit. He was twitching against your tongue, throbbing every time you pressed your tongue to the sensitive patch under his head and he let out broken noises every time you moaned around him, and you could tell he was close.

His hand picked up speed, and he let out a series of warnings to you that he was about to cum. Pulling back, you licked over his hipbone, nipping lightly before beginning work on sucking a dark mark into the pale flesh, as he got more and more vocal as he brought himself to his peak. With a cracked shout, he exploded across your chest, ropes of thick cum splattering over your tits and stomach, and he all but sobbed as he finished, jumping at the stimulations when you leaned in to lick his cock clean, before doing the same with his hand.

He watched through half-closed eyes as your tongue worked between his fingers and over his palm to clean him up, lapping his cum from his skin until the only traces left were on you, and his face heated up red at the sight as you leaned back to let him get a proper look.

“That is going to be burned into my memory every time I ever get off for the rest of my fucking life.”

You simply laughed at his words, taking a look down at yourself, before standing up and leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek, watching as he still swayed a little where he stood. “I’m going to go and clean up, I’ll be back in a minute.”

He simply nodded, stumbling out of his pants and kicking them away from himself, before you left the room. Finding your things lined up neatly on the sink made your heart thump steadily but surely in your chest for him, skipping a beat as you switched on the tap and let the water run to warm. Grabbing a washcloth, you wrung it out under the water, before cleaning up the sticky mixture on your skin, dumping the rag in the wash basket once you were done.

He was fully dressed when you made it to his room again and he was laying out on the sheets, a spare pair of boxers and a t-shirt next to him, and he smiled as you made your way over to him, picking up the boxers and tugging them up your legs, folding them at the waist to fit a little better. The t-shirt followed, and you snuggled into the material with a smile, before searching around for your jumper, the slight chill of the room making you long for the extra layer.

“You okay? How are you feeling?”

“Over the moon, myself. How are you feeling?” He chuckled at your words, nodding with a quick mumble about how good he was, before sitting up with a groan and pouting his lips, tipping his head back in a silent request for a kiss. You crawled up onto the bed, kneeling over him and granting him the wish, before taking his hands and tugging him up from the mattress. “C’mon, I’m hungry.”

“You know what? Me too.” He was more than happy to jump to his feet at the promise of a meal, and he was moving faster than you were, letting you giggle as you tried to keep up with him as he all but bounded down the stairs to the kitchen. Your first call was the fridge, your throat all but calling out for a drink after your activities, and you found a bottle of chilled water sitting in the door of the fridge, and you unscrewed the lid and took a sip of the contents while looking at everything else that was sitting within the chilled unit.

As soon as you had your fill, you turned to pass the bottle to Mitch as he busied himself with finding pots and pans in the drawers while sorting out the workspace, but he let out a happy noise at the sight of the bottle you were holding out to him. He had almost finished it off, before handing it back to you, and you screwed the lid on and placed it on the counter. “You really went all out, huh, baby?”

“I wanted us to have everything and anything we might need.”

He shrugged the gesture off, but you cooed at him regardless, and didn’t bother to address it, instead choosing to begin piling up all the items you would need for your dinner. Peppers, carrots, peas and chicken, as well as packets of noodles, from the cupboards and sachets of sauce to mix in at the end. Your seasons and add-ins were sitting out too, and you felt like you might be running a cooking show with the layout of all your equipment and food.

He was working on the other side of the room, setting up some music for you both and plugging it into the speaker that resided on the kitchen counter, music blasting at a temperate level through the house, loud enough to be enjoyable, but quiet enough that you’d still be able to hear yourselves talk. “You chop the vegetables and I’ll slice up the chicken?”

“Deal!” His hand hit yours in a high five when he made his way back to you, before the two of you had chopping boards and were setting about making the meal. You were chopping in harmony, bumping hips and elbows against one another as you worked. “So, do I have to help you pack and get ready to go for next week?”

He turned to look at you, brushing his lips across your temple and prompting you to look back up at him. “No, I have my bags, and everything all packed. The only things left are my toothbrush, phone and charger. All the other clothes are the ones that live here. I did it in advance so we didn’t have to waste any time.”

You nodded to yourself, humming to your music but shuffling a little closer to him as you almost pressed up to his side, and he welcomed the contact, shifting his foot to press his leg to your own, but still having the space to move his arms with his work, and the silence continued on until you had a pan full of diced chicken and a board stacked high with an array of multicoloured vegetables.

You had seasoned the meat and added oil, the pasta was boiling slowly on the hob and all you had left to do was actually begin the cooking. Before you could flick the hob on, though, he was taking your hands in his, a slow song playing over the speakers, and a squeal left you as he spun you around, before letting you crash into his chest as you stumbled into him from the sudden dance moves, and you looped your arms around his neck.

His lips met yours in a tender kiss, your bodies simply swaying from side to side as you moved to the beat, his tongue teasing along the seam of your lips in hope of tempting you to part them for him, and it worked. As the kiss deepened, he pushed you back into the counter crowding you into the edge and letting his hands meet the cool surface on either side of your hips.

The two of you were once again falling into your own world, your noses bumping with each twist of your mouths and your heart racing each time you shifted and brushed your bodies together a little more. Hopping up onto the higher countertop behind you, your legs parted for him, allowing him to step between them, and his hands slipped up to massage at the insides of your thighs, a giggle on your lips.

“What the fuck?”

You snapped back in shock so fast that you smacked your head off of the cupboard behind you, stars flashing in your eyes for a second at the impact and you let out a sharp cry at the impact, cupping the back of your head but trying to shake your senses clear as you turned to look at the source of the voice, confirming all of your fears. Stiles was staring at you both, looking between you, before dragging his eyes over both of your bodies, and around the room, looking completely and utterly broken when he looked back to you.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Mitch looked completely and utterly frozen, his jaw hanging slack as he stared at his younger brother, whose face was morphing into anger the longer the silence continued. “Fucking answer me, you prick!”

He seemed to snap up at the words, an angry scowl taking over his own face as irritation radiated off of him, and he turned away from you, stepping out from between your legs, and you had no idea how to stop what was already escalating upwards. “Don’t talk to me like that Stiles, you don’t know what you’re on about.”

“You’re fucking my best friend! She’s wearing your clothes!” Stiles dropped his bags, his hands forming fists by his sides as he glared, and for a moment you actually worried he was going to take a swing at Mitch from the pure hatred that seemed to be flaring in his eyes right now.

“It isn’t like that!” You swallowed thickly, and Mitch barely shot you a look, before he was fixing his stare on his brother once again. “We.. we.. care about each other, a lot!” You felt like your throat closed up at the hidden words, the confession of love that hadn't been said, and tears welled in your eyes as you tried to speak up, but your words never came out.

“No! You can’t!” Stiles’ voice cracked as he shouted, and you felt your own heart breaking at the scene unfolding before you, easing yourself down from the counter to try and stand between the two, but they simply stared over the top of your head at one another, as if you weren’t even there anymore. “You can’t have her Mitch, she’s mine! I love her!”

“Are you in love with her?”

You turned to gape at Mitch, your body facing him fully but no matter how much you looked at him, he was pointedly avoiding your gaze, fiery glare fixed on his brother, and the other boy flailed behind you.

“I-I.. maybe! I could be!”

You could physically feel everything in the room slip away as your body went cold, and you slumped as you turned to stare in shock at him, Stiles’ tear-filled eyes finally coming down to stare at you.

“I might be..”

You felt Mitch nudge past you, walking away upstairs without a word, and he pulled his arm away when you reached out for him, and your entire being felt like it was too heavy to hold up, as you supported yourself on the counter, watching him disappear from view. Stiles felt frozen at his own words, and the pain radiating from your bruised skull seemed to blossom up all over your body as it travelled, and you found yourself shaking in pure shock as you heard Mitch coming back down the stairs. In his hands was a bag, hanging open as he threw belongings into it haphazardly, shoes on his feet now, and the music in the room cut out as he snatched his phone from the speaker and threw that into the bag too.

“Mitch, no, please!” You grabbed at his wrist, turning him to face you, and there was no more fire or ice in his eyes, only sadness, but he sparked up with something a little warmer as he turned to face you. “Where are you going?” Your voice was hoarse as you spoke, rough from trying to choke back tears, and he smoothed your hair away behind your ears, offering you a barely present smile.

“I’m going to drive up to college early, you have a decision to make.” He swallowed thickly, tears lining his own eyes and he leaned in to press his lips to yours in a deep but brief kiss, pulling away and taking a shaky breath, ignoring the tears on his cheeks.

“What was that for?”

“In case I never get to do it again.” He mumbled, and you finally let your own tears go at what he was implying, but he wiped them away carefully, kissing your forehead before pulling back. “Put some ice on your head and look after yourself for me, okay, kitten?”

“Please, don’t go.”

“I have to, you know that. You have to choose.” He was gone before you’d even let out another sob, the door closing before you could find words, and the car was starting up and peeling out of the driveway by the time you’d reached the window by the door to see him go, and you let out a loud cry as he got further and further away, the broken shards of your heart that belonged to him now were handed back over to you.

Two hands found your shoulders turning you around to face your confused and hopeless best friend, tears dripping down his own face silently. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to find words, but for the first time in his life, Stiles Stilinski was utterly speechless. You were angry at him, and hurt, and yet he was still your best friend and above it all, you just felt guilty for hurting him, but right now you were hurting too, and you needed to look after yourself.

Placing a hand on his arm, you let out a sigh, wiping at your cheeks and guiding him as he followed you numbly, and you pushed him into a seat at the countertop, before turning away and moving over to the fridge. Taking two of the bottles of beer that belonged to the Sheriff, you knew that in this moment, he absolutely wouldn't mind, and you popped the lid off before offering one to your friend, and taking a large gulp from the other one.

Flicking on the hob, you grabbed an icepack from the freezer, before beginning to stir the chicken, the rhythmic tapping of Stiles’ fingers on the counter being more soothing than you would care to admit, but you used it to regulate your breathing and your heart rate as you brought yourself back down. Tipping the vegetables into the pan and setting them off to soften as soon as the chicken was no longer pink, you gave yourself a moment to check the pain on the back of your head, deeming it okay and disposing of the cold pack that was usually reserved for Stiles’ bumps and bruises.

Instead, you drained the pasta, and found two dishes, never once looking at the man sitting and waiting patiently in silence, trying to categorise your thoughts first. Adding the pasta and the sauce, you realised you only had a few more minutes, and suddenly, almost half an hour had passed since Mitch had walked out on you, and that thought almost had tears coming back to your eyes. You didn’t let yourself cry, though, instead dishing up the meal that should have been for you and Mitch, to instead be for you and Stiles.

Passing him a plate, you took your drink with you, sitting across from him as he mumbled a scarcely audible ‘thank you’, but taking a long drink of his beer instead. Neither of you touched your food, the two of you simply staring at the meals, and finally, you simply said what was on your mind.

“You’re not in love with me, Stiles.”

“I could be!” He sounded just as hurt, and you finally looked up at him, reaching out a hand across the table and he slipped his own into yours, letting out a deep breath when you squeezed reassuringly. “I love you, so much. You’re my best friend, and you get me like nobody else does. We would make sense, we would work well, we would be the kind of couple that makes other people jealous, because we’re so in sync. You and I would be perfect together.”

“Yeah, we would be, if we felt like that about one another.”

“I’m sorry, I could have handled that better.” He let out a sigh, dropping your hand to hold the edge of his dish, and swirling his fork around in his food. He took a mouthful, and you followed him, because there was nothing to say that would excuse his behaviour, but you had forgiven him before it had even happened. “Why didn’t you tell me you liked my brother?”

“Because I was scared about this happening.” He looked at you for a moment, before nodding once again and eating a few more mouthfuls of his meal. You copied suit, despite the fact that your appetite was gone, you knew it was just a by-product of your emotions, and that you were actually very hungry, and so you tried to still the fractured waters of your emotions by eating your food slowly.

“Are you going to leave me now?”

You swallowed your mouthful, looking up at him in all of his vulnerability. “Stiles, you can trust me when I say that nothing and nobody could ever take me away from you. I love you so much. You are my best friend. I would bury a body with you, I’d give a kidney for you, I’d even dress up as Leia at a Star Wars convention for you.”

“You would?”

“Without hesitation. It doesn’t matter who I’m with, who I marry, where I go, you will always be my best friend. Think of it this way, if I’m with Mitch, there’s no possible way that he could pull me away from you. I won’t have to choose between you and them for holidays, or college, and they will never make me spend less time with you. Mitch is, like, the best possible option, if you think about it..” He laughed at your words, rolling his eyes, but it felt like the tension sitting in the room had lifted up and cleared away like storm clouds dissipating after rain on a sunny day.

“I guess..”

“I love you, Stiles, but I’m in love with him.” You scraped at your food a little, finishing up your meals, before he let out a sigh, turning back to you.

“Can I ask you one more question?” You simply nodded, and he shifted a little in his seat. “How long? Since you both.. got together..”

“It started out as more of a comfort thing. We were both getting over some heartbreak, and it just fit. A few weeks ago, we went on our first date, because we both knew it was something deeper.” He took it all in, a curt dip of his head in acknowledgement, before he took both of your finished plates and left them in the sink to be dealt with later.

“Did you have fun? On your date? That’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to be able to gush about to your best friend, you know.”

“It was the best date it possibly could have been.” He finally gave you the gleaming grin you were so used to, before scooping you up in his arms, and holding you to him tightly. “What happened with Lydia? Why are you home?”

“Turns out the ‘us’ she talked about was her and Jackson, not her and me.” He took his seat again, rolling his half-empty beer between his hands, a saddened look on his face as he picked it up and finished off what was left, and you offered your own out to him, which he accepted with a grateful look, lifting that up to his mouth too and wincing as he gulped some down. “She didn’t tell me until we hit the first rest stop along the way, said she needed to pop into a bathroom, and I went to a store. When I came back, she was on the phone to him, asking how long he’d be. He was on his way back from another college, and that Jackson just didn’t want to drive.”

“That fucking sucks. I’m so sorry, Sti.”

“I waited for him to get there, and then let her catch a ride back to Beacon Hills with his family, before driving home myself so I could cry and curse.” He shrugged, but you still felt bad from him, and you let him have his moments of quiet, like he had done for you. “You want to stay over and watch a film? We can cry and pretend it’s because of the movies.”

“I would love to. I need to speak to Mitch first, though.”

“He won’t reply for a while, driving clears his head. After the split with Kat, he pretty much drove straight home, only stopping to eat or sleep, and he took the long way here too, he was on the road for, like, four days.”

“I know, but I don’t want him to build up all his emotions.”

“Give him half a week before you jump into anything serious, let him at least get back to college, I know he’ll appreciate it in the long run. Keep his mind clear while he drives.” You knew he was right, you didn’t want him to be distracted while he was on the road, and so you gave him a simple text, asking him to get back to you when he could, and leaving a simple heart emoji to soften it a little, the text sounding more formal than any of the ones you had sent him before. “Open weekend is in two weeks, graduation in a week and a half. Why don’t we drive down and you can go straight to his place and surprise him on the night, huh?”

“That's a good plan, I can roll with that.” You jumped down from your seat and stretched your arms over your head, a new sense of hope filling you as you eased your muscles. “Now, you wash up all these dishes, and I’ll make us a huge tray of cookies, because I’m pretty sure we have the stuff in the fridge.”

“Awesome.”

#mitchtober #mitch-tober #mitch month #mitch rapp #mitch rapp x reader #mitch rapp x reader smut #mitch rapp/reader #mitch rapp/reader smut #mitch rapp american assassin #let me down slow #LMDS #dylan obrien #dylan o'brien #dylan obrien x reader #dylan obrien x reader smut #dylan obrien/reader #dylan obrien/reader smut #dylan obrien mitch rapp #dylan obrien american assassin

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kayte-overmoon · 3 years

Text

"Slow Cherry" Chapter 4

(cross-posted on AO3)

Tags: Mild Depressive Episode, Drinking (everyone is of age; no alcohol abuse), drunk texting, accidental face reveal

Snippet: A soft laugh drifted over the line. “Are you still drunk, Dream?”

He hummed. “Maybe a little.”

“You’re a mess, Dream.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for putting up with me.”

“Anytime, love.”

Read Chapter 1 Here

Read Chapter 2 Here

Read Chapter 3 Here

No sexual content in this chapter.

Dream spent the next few weeks losing himself in his schoolwork.

Every time he closed his eyes, he thought of George, heard his voice, saw his smile. It was wreaking havoc on his attention span. His feelings toward the older man were confusing to say the least. It was easier to hyperfixate on school than to try and sort out why he felt this way about a man he’d never even met face-to-face.

Knowing they were only a few short weeks away from living not only in the same country, but the same city made it very, very hard to think about anything else.

Luckily, he had a hardcore coding assignment coming up, so he locked himself in his bedroom with the lights off and drowned himself in Python.

Sapnap noticed something was off and made sure to text Dream whenever he got food (conveniently always with a little more than one person could eat alone). On the rare occasions Dream emerged from his cave, Sapnap looked at him with concern written in every corner of his face, but he didn’t ask what was wrong. He just pushed a bottle of water or a granola bar across the counter to him and told him he looked like shit.

Dream was sure he was right. It was winter, so he hadn’t properly been in the sun in months—for a Florida boy, that was too long. He’d skipped a few showers, and the only time he’d eaten was when Sapnap made sure he did. He shuffled into the bathroom to scrutinize himself under the fluorescents. He squinted in the bright light, so used to the darkness of his room. His hair was a mess, several days overdue for a wash and unbrushed for longer than Dream could remember. He also needed to shave, not liking the scratchy growth around his jaw. There were dark circles around his blood-shot eyes and his skin was paler than it had been in years. He scoffed at himself before stripping and jumping in the shower.

The hot water burned his skin, but it was a religious experience. He hadn’t realized how far he’d pushed himself and how deep he’d let himself fall until it was over. His last final was the next morning, so he was almost done. Thank God.

As it usually did when he had a free moment, his mind strayed to George.

They had still been snapping back and forth, which soothed some of the ache. But it felt like he was looking down the barrel of addiction: he knew that taking one more hit, one more drink, would land him far beyond his limit, pushing him past the fabled Point of No Return. He considered ghosting George, but just thinking about that made his stomach turn. Sex workers got enough shit as it was without their clients pushing boundaries, trying to make something real out of their arrangements, or dropping them outright without warning.

Dream was so fucking pathetic.

He emerged from his shower scrubbed raw, physically and emotionally. He didn’t feel great in his head still, but at least he didn’t stink. He brushed his teeth to cover all his hygienic basics, put on a clean pair of pajamas, and went to bed.

And just like that his semester was over. He did well on his final—not as well as he’d hoped, considering how much time he’d spent studying, but well enough to stay on track to graduation.

He emerged from his final to find a snap from George waiting for him on his phone.

The older man was sitting on his bed, throwing a peace sign to the camera with a huge, cheesy grin. There were boxes stacked around the bed, the only thing left in the room being his bed.

Good luck on your final! Getting ready to put my stuff in the shipping container. Only a few more days.

Despite himself, Dream smiled at the message.

Dream and Sapnap celebrated the end of the semester that night in the only way college kids knew how: by buying as much beer as they could afford and inviting over as many people as they could fit into their apartment. Someone connected their phone to the sound system in the living room, blasting hip hop music over the subwoofer. Dream knew they were going to get a noise complaint from their neighbors, but he was too excited—and drunk—to care.

He got a few drinks in him and danced when he was pulled from the couch. Faces blurred before him, but he knew almost everybody there, so he didn’t mind whenever someone pressed up against him. Someone else pressed another beer into his hands. He was sweating, the heat in the apartment still fighting the December cold even with a few dozen people packed into the cramped space. His jacket came off at some point, so he was only in his beer-stained t-shirt and jeans.

He could happily say he had nothing on his mind. He was just happy, done with school for the next month and surrounded by his favorite people in the world.

But not his favorite person in the world.

No, that person wasn’t here.

He stumbled to the bathroom at one point to piss, wobbling a little and struggling to aim. He washed his hands and stared at himself in the mirror. He looked much different than he had the previous night: he was flushed from the alcohol and dancing, for one, but he also felt lighter. Maybe it was the beer talking, but he felt good. He always liked life better when he wasn’t in school. And that message from George made him so, so happy.

Only a few more days.

George.

Just thinking about him made Dream smile.

He pulled out his phone just to look at the photo, which he��d screenshotted. They’d agreed they could save anything they sent each other except for nudes, which they had to get permission to keep. But innocent little messages like that one were free game. Dream was thankful for that, since it let him get a fix whenever he needed it. He found himself pulling out his phone to look at pictures of his camboy whenever he had a free moment to twiddle his thumbs.

He wrote a message to George, not really paying attention to what he said. Mainly he just wanted George to think of him while Dream was thinking of George. He sent the message and pocketed his phone. The music became unmuffled as he opened the bathroom door and someone immediately grabbed him and pulled him back into the fray.

Dream had… many regrets come morning.

Before he even opened his eyes, he knew how much of a doozy this hangover was. His head was pounding with the beat of his heart, his mouth felt packed with sand, and his stomach was turning. He felt like he needed to puke, but he was too numb to get up. Besides, he had a feeling he’d only end up dry heaving.

He scrubbed a hand over his eyes, debating going back to sleep. Something on the bed shifted next to him (much bigger than Patches), alerting him to the fact that he wasn’t alone.

After some coaxing, he squinted his eyes open and blinked against the scarce light peeking around the curtains—it wasn’t much light, but it was enough to make him want to die. He turned to see someone’s back facing him in the bed, a dude. Dream sent up a silent prayer of thanks that both the dude and Dream himself were fully clothed. He levered himself onto an elbow to see who was next to him. It was Skeppy, of all people, and he wasn't alone. Puffy was there too, curled up against Skeppy’s chest at the edge of the bed. Dream had no clue how neither of them had fallen off yet, so tightly wound together on the ledge. But they were there, snoozing happily.

Someone was snoring, but it wasn’t either of them. Dream sat up further and poked his head around to find Bad sprawled on the floor beside the bed. It seemed he’d wanted to get in with Skeppy and Puffy, but there hadn’t been enough room with Dream there as well. Skeppy’s hand was dangling off the side of the bed where Bad was; they must have fallen asleep holding hands. Despite his head and his stomach trying to remove themselves from his body, Dream smiled. They were all so sweet together.

He extracted himself from the bed slowly, not wanting to disturb them, and grabbed his phone charger from the power strip at his desk. He slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind himself carefully. His phone was dead in his pocket, so he plugged it in at the bathroom counter as he set about cleaning himself up. He contemplated trying to throw up but decided against it. It might only make him even more sick. He washed his face and brushed his teeth. He definitely needed a shower and a change of clothes, but he didn’t have the energy for it yet.

A soft ding told him his phone was back on. He dried off his hands and picked it up. He had a couple of missed notifications. Karl left one saying he was taking Sapnap back to his place because someone had already taken Sapnap’s room. There was one from his next-door neighbor asking him to turn the music down or they would call the cops. Dream assumed that was a bluff, considering he didn’t remember the cops showing up at any point.

The last notification caught his eye.

It was a Snapchat message from George, received around 3 a.m.

Dream, call me when you get this. I don’t think you meant to send that. I need to talk to you.

Dream’s heart sunk.

What had he sent George? Had he drunk texted him? What had he said?

Oh God, he hadn't told him anything... incriminating, right? Had he said anything about wanting to be more than a sugar daddy, a friend with benefits, a casual observer?

There wasn’t anything saved in their chats above George’s most recent messages. The last message before that was Dream’s response to George’s “good luck with finals” message.

Wait. No it wasn’t.

The time stamp was wrong.

Dream had sent George a picture around 2:30 last night, when he was several drinks deep. He remembered going to the bathroom and texting George, but he couldn’t remember what he’d said no matter how hard he’d tried. He thought it had been a typed message in chat, not a picture.

Maybe he’d sent a dick pic? He hoped not. He had been too drunk to get it up at that point. If that’s what it was, it had to be horribly unflattering. And if not a dick pic, what had he taken a picture of?

His blood ran cold.

He was hitting the “call” button before he could overthink it.

George answered a few rings later. “Dream?”

“What did I send?” His voice was rough. He was trying to keep quiet so he didn’t bother his guests, and his mouth was dry even after brushing his teeth. He sounded like shit.

George sounded uncomfortable when he spoke. “Dream, I’m sorry. I don’t think you meant to—“

“What did I send, George?”

He knew the answer in the silence before George spoke. His stomach dropped when he said it anyway. “You—you sent me a picture of your face.”

Dream hung his head. Perfect. Of course. He’d had grand plans to pick George up from the airport and reveal his face then, or he’d at least make it sexy over their video calls or something. He wanted to make it a spectacle. Instead he’d drunk texted him a selfie.

“It wasn’t bad,” George tried to reassure him. “I couldn’t see it too clearly anyway. It was in the mirror, and you were very drunk. You were a little blurry.”

“What was I doing?”

“You were, like, leaning on the counter. You were smiling. You had a, uh…”

Dream frowned harder. “I had a what?”

“You had—have—a hickey on your neck.”

“What?” Dream stood up straight and pulled the collar of his shirt. Sure enough, there was a dark red mark on his neck, barely hidden by his shirt. “Huh. How the hell did that get there?”

George snorted. “Sounds like you had a fun night.” There was something bitter in his tone.

Dream scrambled for a response that wouldn't put him in the metaphorical dog house. “I don’t—I didn’t sleep with anyone. I would know. It just—my friends are super touchy. One of them probably did it while we were dancing.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Dream,” George said softly. “I’m a big boy. I know I’m not the only person in your life.”

“I do have to explain myself, though.” Dream ran his hand through his hair. “I care what you think about me. I don’t want you to think I sleep around. I don’t. Not really. Not anymore, at least. And I wanted to surprise you when you saw my face. I wanted it to be a thing.”

“Dream, calm down.” There was something calming about the British man’s voice, especially when he used that tone, like he was soothing a spooked animal. Which, for all intents and purposes, Dream was. “It’s okay. I’m not upset. I was just worried about you. I know it’s a thing for you, people seeing your face.”

“Oh.” Dream’s heart was thundering in his chest. It was making his head throb harder, but he didn’t particularly care at that moment. “Thank you. That’s—you’re really considerate. And did you—I mean, did…”

“You’re very handsome, Dream.”

Dream was dumbfounded. That wasn’t what he was going to ask, but he’s glad George said it. He wasn’t really concerned about that particular aspect of this whole ordeal, but it was nice to know. “Oh. Thanks. That’s… you too. I mean, I think you’re—fuck.”

George’s laugh echoed across the line, settling Dream’s frazzled nerves. “I know, honey. You’ve told me before. But let's continue this conversation when you’re not so hungover, yeah?”

Dream hummed in agreement. “You can tell?”

“You were sloshed last night. I could tell just by looking at you. Partied hard, hmm?”

Dream snorted. “Just a little. I don't even want to see the state of my living room right now. And there’s, like, two-thirds of a thruple in my bed right now.”

“Oh?” Amusement and interest tinged the older man’s voice.

“No, not like that,” Dream laughed. “They passed out in there. Their third is on the floor. They’re good friends of mine. No clue when we all fell asleep though.”

“Sounds like you need to get started making coffee for everyone, then. Be a good host.”

“Probably. I thought about ordering pizza. I have no clue how many people stayed over though.”

“Celebrating the end of term, then?”

A yawn worked its way out of Dream. “Yeah,” he said. “We all finished up yesterday so we just bought a bunch of beer and invited folks over.”

“Sounds fun.”

“We’ll invite you next time,” Dream said, his tongue loose from his hangover. Oh well. “I think you’d like my friends. They’re all… absolutely insane. But they’re the coolest, nicest people you’ll ever meet.”

A soft laugh drifted over the line. “Are you still drunk, Dream?”

He hummed. “Maybe a little.”

“You’re a mess, Dream.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for putting up with me.”

“Anytime, love.”

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

#fanfic #dnf #dnf fanfic #dreamnotfound #dreamnotfound fanfic #camboy au #historians will say they were close friends #:)#very close friends #slow cherry #kayte overmoon

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artificialqueens · 3 years

Text

Of Course I Care (Jaida/Jan) - Campvanjie

AN: This was originally written for and posted to AO3 under my now deleted account there on May 24th, 2020. I’m the original author of this work, and there’s definitely no plagiarism going on!

Summary: Jan is sick, and doesn’t want to miss her gig. For the prompt: ‘ah-ah-ah. you’re sick. you need to stay in bed.’ (Girl pronouns; but they’re not in drag here… or at least one of them gets out of it relatively soon!)

“-migranes aren’t contagious. So you need to-”

Jan gripped at the edge of their door frame, steadying herself as she was watching Jaida, who cocked one perfectly manicured eyebrow at her from their bed, the television remote in hand.

“I need to what? Come on, baby.”, Jaida shook her head. “What do I need to do?”

She had spent the morning trying; and failing on various fronts, to get Jan to cancel her brunch; though she’d spat every old New York platitude right back in Jaida’s face, unwilling and completely unrelenting.

“Our season was shit.”, she had reminded Jaida. “If I start cancelling in my city now, I’m done. I’ll be double booking with Ariel Versace and my mom will start coming to my shows-”

“Girl, stop that. One brunch isn’t going to ruin your whole reputation. Some of these bitches are doing all sorts of messy shit and they still get booked!”, Jaida told her, pressing her thumbs in tiny, precise circles against the back of Jan’s hand.

“I don’t care what everyone else is doing. They’re not me, and I can’t just stop because I feel like shit. What’s gonna happen when we go on tour?”

The two of them were lying in bed, Jan’s eyes tightly closed against the sunrise; as Jaida tried to keep her voice down, knowing how much it all probably hurt.

Jan got migraines occasionally, though they usually weren’t too bad, needing only a few hours of quiet time between the two of them; Jaida working on her costumes while Jan would leave an old record to play quietly in their bedroom and emerge just in time for a late, leisurely paced lunch. But, the change in the seasons and the steady flow of bookings that had suddenly begun to open up again in the city clearly had her knocked out; no matter how much Jan hated to admit it.

Sometimes, Jaida knew, it was best to let her burn out; as quickly as she fired up.

Three hours later; Jan had certainly given it her best shot, leaning against their bedroom door, her eyes barely glassy behind bright contact lenses; a thick layer of makeup caked over her face hiding how pale she must have been, her wig hanging limply in brunette ringlets as she teetered on her slick, purple latex boots.

“-You… you need to just shhhh-“, Jan started. “I’m gonna… ah, I’m gonna call the car and I’ll be back later, like at five? I don’t know.”

“Ah-ah-ah. You’re sick. You need to stay in bed.”, Jaida finally put her foot down.

“I don’t wanna-“

“Seriously?”

She had gotten up from the bed to meet Jan, wrapping her arms around her waist.

“Baby, c’mon. Let’s get you out of all of this.”, she said, gently guiding Jan back into their bathroom, her hand steady at the small of her back.

“I don’t-“

“You’re not letting anyone down. Don’t worry about it.”

Jaida sat her at the edge of the bathtub, dimming the lights in their bathroom as she gathered Jan’s products in her hands.

“You shouldn’t have to- ah-“

“Don’t think of it like I’m taking care of you. I’m protecting my investment in those good ass sheets before you smear whatever busted-ass color this is all over our pillowcases!”, Jaida joked easily, slowly massaging the cleanser over her face.

“They are really nice pillowcases.”, Jan murmured, sounding just as exhausted as Jaida suspected.

“All ready for you.”, she said, pressing a kiss to Jan’s forehead as she wiped away the glue. She had dropped her head against the bathroom tile, cool against her cheek while Jaida’s fingers ghosted over her arm, reaching for the zipper to start to unzip her costume.

“Now see, now I’m getting a treat.”, she teased, running her hand up Jan’s bare chest, making her grin despite how their morning had gone.

“I don’t- maybe not today?”

“Something to look forward to then.”, Jaida whispered, letting her head drop to Jan’s shoulder.

“Okay.”

They finished in the bathroom, Jan latched to Jaida’s chest as she led the both of them back to bed.

“You don’t have to stay.”, Jan murmured, her face half buried into the pillows the moment they fell into the bed together, Jaida’s body warm against hers, pressed together under the blankets.

“Well, I do have to answer my emails.”, Jaida chuckled, squeezing Jan’s hand under the sheets as she pulled her phone from the charger.

“Besides Baby, I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”

#rpdr fanfiction #jaida essence hall #jan sport #jaida x jan #canon compliant #s12 #sick fic #fluff #campvanjie #concrit welcome

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fairlyspnfanfic · 3 years

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The Secrets We Keep - Part 2

Part One

I pulled my white 1970 Mercury Cougar into the parking lot to my apartment complex four and a half hours after hitting the road. A personal best for me. It was pushing 4 A.M, I was beyond exhausted and I still had a lot of work to do before I could even think about getting to sleep.

The trunk sprang open and I pulled my pink quilted duffle bag from it, slinging the handles over my shoulder as best as I could. The staircase leading to my front door welcomed me home and I took each step as if I were climbing a mountain. Everything was sore and I could feel my eyelids fighting my exhaustion.

My neighbor’s door, as always, was cracked open. Mrs. Kellar was the president (and only member) of the local neighborhood watch and I was just lucky enough to have her right next door. I pulled the key to my front door from my pocket as silently as possible, hoping to avoid yet another awkward encounter with the busybody, but to no avail.

“Little late to just be getting home, don’t you think Y/N?” She poked her head out of the door, angrily staring at me with the judgmental eyes of a disappointed grandmother. Her hair was wrapped in a nightcap and her yellow plush robe was tied too tightly around her waist. She clutched at the neck of her robe as if holding her pearl necklace in astonishment. “Yep,” was my only response.

“I don’t want no hooligan’s in my building, ya know. This is a nice quiet place.” I nodded silently. “Goodnight, Mrs. Kellar.” I opened my front door and walked into the dining room, closing the door behind me. I could hear my neighbor’s astonishment and aberration of the level of disrespect that no good neighbor of hers showed as she complained to the emptiness of her own apartment and I listened through the paper-thin walls. My bag dropped from my shoulder and hit the floor with a thud.

I glanced at my dining room table. In any other home, it would be where meals were eaten, and family meetings took place. Instead, my table was covered edge to edge with newspaper clippings, police reports and crime scene photos. I started picking up each document. Most of them were directly related to the case I’d just wrapped up. But some of the reports and photos were for one I was looking into that would take me a few states away; further than I’d gone yet.

Within an hour, my garbage can was full of scraps of paper from my closed case, and all my research for the next one was happily hidden in the firesafe that was tucked away in my closet. Five fifteen in the morning now and every inch of me was screaming for bed. With my secret work and life safely tucked away from prying eyes, I happily obliged and fell headfirst into my bed without bothering to peal off the well-worn and filthy clothes I had been working in hours before.

The sound of fists slamming against my front door startled me awake. My eyes flickered as I struggled to focus on the face of the clock the rested on my nightstand. One o’clock?! There was no way I’d slept that long. My cellphone charger that lay next to my clock sat empty. Damnit! I began searching my pockets for my phone as I sprang out of bed and sprinted for the door.

The knocking on my door rang out yet again. “Yeah, I’m coming!” I shouted; my voice still heavy with sleep. I yanked the door open and came face to face with a very angry faced Dean Winchester, and his brother, Sam, standing just behind him with his arms crossed, radiating various emotions; none of which I could read.

“Oh good,” Dean sarcastically greeted me. “You’re not dead. See ya.” He made a move to turn away from the door and head for the stairs but his brother’s hand pushed him back as Sam shook his head at him.

“Sorry, I just woke up. I didn’t realize how late it was.” I took a step back, allowing them both into the apartment. “When did you guys get in?” I looked at Dean and over to Sam. He nodded at me silently with the hint of a smile at his mouth as he finally uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands into his deep pockets.

“Couple of hours ago. Just long enough to have called you a dozen times and start going out of our minds worrying.” It was obvious Dean wasn’t going to let this one go.

“Dean, I was out super late and I crashed. Hard. No need to worry. I’m fine. All parts intact and good to go.” I made a show of spreading each arm and leg out independently before turning in a circle as if he needed to inspect me for damages. Dean’s face finally broke as he rolled his eyes and sighed. “Never do that again.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I muttered as he pulled me into a hug. “Y/N, you reek. Why do you smell like a housefire?”

Internally, I panicked as I cursed myself for forgoing changing out of my clothes when I got in. “Bonfire,” I explained as coolly as I could muster. Sam’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me. “You hate bonfires.”

“Yeah, well, not when tequila is involved,” I responded as I gave him double finger guns, feeling ridiculous. They seemed to accept my answer.

“Come on,” Dean looked at me. “Get showered, get dressed. Let’s go.” Now it was my turn to be confused. “We’re in town for like a day. We’re going out and you’re coming with us.” I rolled my eyes but began walking back towards my bedroom, grabbing the duffle bag off of the floor and carrying it with me.

“Ten minutes!” Dean yelled after me as I closed the door to my room. I threw the bag on my bed and immediately unzipped it, knowing my cell phone would be inside. Picking it up and pressing the wake button, the screen only flashed “Low battery” at me for a moment before the screen went black and the phone turned off completely. I quickly laid it on my charging pad on the nightstand and headed to the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, I was fresh, clean, and dressed. I threw my still damp hair up into a bun and quickly rolled on deodorant before tapping my phone’s screen. “55%, good enough for me.”

I opened the door and walked into the living room. “Okay, I’m set. Let’s go.”

“Great,” Dean exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. “I’m driving.” Dean always drove. It was an accepted and unwritten rule.

We piled in the car, Dean in the driver’s seat, Sam sitting shotgun and me in the back sitting behind Dean. “Where to?” I asked. “Dude,” Dean replied, his voice full of incredulity. “The casino. That place has the best shrimp cocktail in town. That, booze and blackjack and I’m good.”

“Works for me.” I settled into the seat and pulled my phone out of my pocket as it continuously vibrated, alerting me to each missed call, voicemail and text message that had come through throughout the course of the day.

I flipped through the text messages. Mostly from Dean, beginning with “About an hour out. See you soon.” Followed up with “You still free?” and “Where are you?” getting progressively more panicked as time went by. There was one from my boss letting me know he wouldn’t be in the office the next day, and the last one from Sam that was just a question mark. It went hand in hand with his behavior since I’d opened the front door; silent stoicism.

The voicemails were far less numerous so I pushed the dial button and began listening to them. Sam’s easily identifiable sigh rang through the phone and into my ear before the line disconnected. Then a message from Dean with threats of bodily harm if I wasn’t already being held hostage by a homicidal maniac. And the final message was from Sam. He began with a deep breath before he spoke. “I just need you to be okay. I need you to call Dean or call me and just…I just need you to be okay. I know I was a jerk and I know I ruined it, but I care. I still care, so much. Just be okay.” I looked up at him, my eyebrows pursed and my mouth slightly agape. The phone was still up to my ear as Sam’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. All stoicism vanished as panic appeared in his eyes as he turned his head to face me.

Part 3

Tagging from previous like-age:

@vicmc624@waywardprincesa @heyyy-hey-babyyy @carissime72 @deans-baby-momma @formulafun @woodworthti666 @yetanotherreader @crashlyrose @hobby27 @gabby913 @jxackles @polina-93@supernaturaladdictsblog @fandomoverdose666 @deans-baby-momma @deanwanddamons @tazzi-baby @acertainhero

#sam winchester #dean winchester #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural imagines #spn fanfiction #spn #reader insert #sam x reader #imagines #fairlyspnfanfic #the secrets we keep

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hopelessromanticspoonie · 5 years

Text

Mission Accomplished

Chapter: 1 of 3 (Find Chapter 2 here)

Characters: Loki x SHIELD Agent Reader

Rating: Explicit

Summary: On one of your many missions with Loki for SHIELD, you are forced to stay in a hotel room with the frustrating God of Mischief. And it just so happens that there's only one bed.

Warnings: Eventual smut.

Permanent taglist: @just-the-hiddles @yespolkadotkitty @nonsensicalobsessions @vodka-and-some-sass @he-is-chaotic-she-is-psychotic @myoxisbroken

A/N: If you would like to be added to the permanent taglist or be tagged for the rest of this series, let me know! :)

“No, that’s not right. There should be two rooms under the name Smith.”

The young night desk attendant for the hotel Tony had booked you into seemed unbothered by the death glare you were sending her.“I’m sorry, ma’am, but the reservation was only for one room with a king size bed. For two nights.”

You pulled out your wallet and dug out your credit card, thrusting it towards her almost desperately. You were not sharing a room with the god standing impassively next to you, his face schooled in practiced boredom. And you certainly weren’t going to share a bed with him. “Here, I’ll book it under my own card. Whatever room you have left, please.”

Her eyes flicked to the card you held out to her before coming back to rest on your face as she handed over two plastic keys to the room. “I’m sorry, but we’re all booked up for the convention in town. Your room is 1045.”

Loki opened his mouth as you handed him his key, and you anticipated his snarky remark and cut him off with a finger poked into his chest. “Not. One. Word.”

His chuckle as you stalked over to the elevator was dark and full of promises that sent a wave of betraying heat straight to your core.

You had hoped the room maybe had some sort of couch or loveseat that you could force Loki to crash on - even a recliner would do - but the only vaguely soft surface other than the bed was a straight-backed chair tucked into a small table meant to be used as a desk. There was no way any sleep would be had on that thing.

Loki stretched out on the bed after hanging up your garment bags in the closet, his long limbs spreading across almost the entire width of it. He shot a salacious grin your way, his eyes glittering with mischief and the beginnings of desire. “Now, where will you sleep? The bed seems to be taken…”

Choosing not to dignify that with a response excluding the roll of your eyes, you lugged your bag into the bathroom. “I call the first shower.”

You shut the door before he could say something else that made you want to punch him in the face.

As you went about your nightly routine, grateful that you had packed a comfortable baggy t-shirt and mid-thigh length shorts to sleep in, you rationalized the situation. This was a mission, and although Loki was a trickster, he also seemed to take his new role assisting the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. seriously. This wasn’t the first time you had been paired together, your penchant for espionage and his cunning proved to make you a competent and complementary pair. Your assignment wasn’t until tomorrow evening, so he surely wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that by messing with you more than usual beforehand. He was an ass, but he wasn’t that much of an ass.

And speaking of, you stepped out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam to the sight of Loki standing beside the bed, wearing only his black silk boxers that did nothing to lessen the shape of his backside. Was anything he owned not designer?

Your eyes drank in the sight of his long torso greedily - you couldn’t help it - lingering on the dimples of his back above the waistband of his underwear and the flex of his muscles as he looked at you over his shoulder. You knew that you had been caught ogling him when his lips pulled into a smirk that could make even the strongest go weak at the knees.

“See anything you like?” he drawled, his richly accented voice dripping with heat.

Hiding the blush of your cheeks by bending down to set your bag on the floor, rearranging your dirty clothing inside of it and pulling out your phone charger, you shook your head. “Did you really just say that? What is this, some cheesy porn flick?”

“It could be,” he replied smoothly, just barely brushing your upturned bottom with his leg as he passed by you to slip into the bathroom himself.

Taking advantage of the few moments alone, you quickly plugged in your phone, setting it on the end table at the side of the bed Loki seemed to have picked for you, judging by his own phone charging on the opposite side. You dove into the cold sheets, curling up with your back to the middle of the bed, trying to make as small of an imprint on the mattress as you possibly could.

Your eyes were tightly shut when you heard the bathroom door close, followed seconds later by the tilting of the bed as Loki settled in beside you. His radiant heat quickly spread beneath the blankets, soothing the slight chill of your skin from your shower and urging you to relax. No part of him touched you, and for that you were grateful.

Why you were grateful was too complicated and layered and you were not going to think about that.

“Goodnight, Agent,” he intoned softly as the light shining through your lids flicked off.

And although you had thought it impossible, scrunched up into a ball with the God of Mischief’s light rhythmic breaths the only sound in the room, you drifted off to sleep.

~~~

You were so pleasantly warm when you slowly came to from your dreamless sleep, your body rested and restored as you woke for the first time in a long time to your own internal alarm clock instead of your blaring ringtone.

Breathing in deeply, the scent of leather, spice, and clean male musk washed over you. It was comforting, enticing, and you buried your nose into the source to relish it for a moment longer.

The steady rise and fall of the bed - no, chest - beneath you was what pulled you fully from your sleepy haze.

Your eyes shot open and you froze, realizing that you were so toasty beneath the covers because you were using Loki as your own personal body pillow, your chest half-draped across his, your nose buried into the space where shoulder met chest, and your thigh thrown over his waist. You became aware of several things in rapid succession.

Loki’s arms were wound around you, one hand having slipped beneath your t-shirt to splay across your skin and sear into your lower back, the other cupping your upper arm. Also, his subconscious was very happy about the current sleeping arrangements, if the stiffness nudging the loose muscle of your inner thigh was anything to go by. And finally, he was thankfully still asleep.

You resisted the urge to snuggle deeper into him - it had been so long since you’d been held this way and your touch-starved body was practically buzzing with pleasure at the closeness. But that wasn’t proper, not among colleagues, and he would never let you live it down if he knew that you were enjoying this small moment of stolen intimacy.

But how did you get out of this situation? Part of you - the stupid part driven by desire and the smallest bit of affection - wanted to just lie in his embrace for a few moments longer. If only for his sake, as he needed the rest. The dark purple circles that had stained the thin skin below his eyes the night before had not gone unnoticed to your ever-observant gaze. But remaining like this was dangerous, as your body woke more and more to respond to him, sending signals to the butterflies having a rave in your lower belly that did not need to exist.

Just as your muscles tensed to roll off of him, his fingers tightened their hold on you, pressing you into him more firmly. A pleased hum rumbled through his chest and into you, vibrating against your rabbiting heartbeat.

“Good morning,” he murmured. The normal silk that weaved through his tone had roughened with his slumber, and it was almost endearing, especially combined with the softness lingering at the edges of his gaze as he looked up at you. He was unguarded, the mask of boredom or contempt he normally wore stripped away to reveal quite a striking, almost kind face beneath it all.

And the flutter it gave your heart was far too dangerous.

Pulling yourself from the comfort of his arms, you scrambled to sit up in bed next to him, running your hands through your messy mane of hair self-consciously. “We should order room service and go over the details at least once more, before we have to focus on getting ready.”

“Not before I take my own shower. Would you mind ordering a coffee for me as well?” He pitched the question to you as he left the bed, swiping a pair of underwear from his bag and dropping the others to the floor as he sauntered toward the shower.

You were too shocked by the admittedly glorious sight of his bare bottom to bite back a retort.

#loki smut #loki x reader #loki fanfic #there was only one bed #only one bed #loki #loki odinson #loki friggason #loki laufeyson #marvel fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #mission accomplished #eventual smut

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thotantics · 6 years

Text

Sweetheart ♡

⚤ pairing — reader + Jung Jaehyun (nct)

✎ word count — 3k

✦ genre — smut, pwp

✗ warnings — graphic description of sex, language, dom/sub roles, tooth decaying sweetness

[A/N] I LOVED writing for Jaehyun. I think this came out so romantic and sweet and wowowoeoeowoww my heart was fluttering through the entire writing process for this, I really hope you enjoy! Requested — jaehyun and “the only way you’re getting off is on my thigh.” pleaseeeee~

You and Jaehyun were up late last night. The topic of your pillow talk had been your sex life. You were still fairly early on in your relationship and your boyfriend was nothing if not a gentleman. He treated you with respect and care and last night, after heeding to your desperate cries in mid coitus, Jaehyun pounded into you a little harder than he usually did. You seemed to like it so much that he flipped you over onto your hands and knees and fucked you deep and fast, relishing in your cries of pleasure. Afterward, as you lay with your head on his chest and his arm looped around your hip, you talked about trying some other new, exciting things.

He wanted you to feel comfortable sharing your fantasies with him, so he had shared one first. “I want to see you masturbate.” He says, cheeks flushed red as he looks down at you and you bury your face in the crook of his neck, feeling bashful.

“I, I can try to do that for you.” You tell him, and he hugs you tightly, unable to wipe the grin off of his face as he encourages you to tell him one of your fantasies.

As he held you in his arms, and you fidgeted and avoided eye contact he was thinking over other things he wanted to do with you or to you. Things he imagined that would make you blush and stare at him with big, innocent eyes. He wouldn’t have guessed what ended up coming out of your perfectly plush lips.

“I want you to dominate me.”

Jaehyun’s eyes widened, “Oh.”

You winced a little, “Is that...I mean, you don’t have to, if you don’t like it, I just-”

“No, no,” He says quickly, “I’m just surprised. I didn’t know you were into...that sort of stuff.”

“Some of it.” You shrugged, “Is that ok?”

“Of course it’s ok, sweetheart.” Jaehyun smiled, hugging you tight and pressing a kiss to the top of your head. “Tell me more. What parts of that stuff do you like?”

You blush, pressing your face into his neck shyly, and Jaehyun rubs your back to soothe your nerves. He’s one of those people who always feel warm, especially laying naked under the blankets together like this, and nothing feels better than his warmth smoothing up your back or pressing into your face, radiating from his neck and his cheeks. You pepper kisses over his jaw, thinking hard before you responded, all the while he’s patient and waiting for you to speak, not wanting to push you.

“I like when you tell me what to do.” You say with certainty, “Like, earlier...you just sort of moved me around however you wanted to take me. I really like that.”

“You like when I manhandle you?” He asks you gently and you nod against him and he chuckles. “Ok. What else?”

“Um, maybe you could...say things to me.” You feel almost ridiculous saying it out loud, but Jaehyun is so soothing and his presence is such a comfort, you manage to get the words out. “Like if you talk dirty, or tell me if I’m being a good girl. Your voice is really sexy.”

“Mhm,” He smirks into the top of your head. “I see.”

“This is kind of stupid, but I like when you make me feel kind of shy, like...if you told me I’m dirty or, honestly, masturbating in front of you...god,” You sigh, squeezing your thighs together, “Just thinking about doing that is exciting.”

“Yes, it is,” He whispered huskily back to you, “You want me to boss you around and make you touch yourself for me?”

“Yeah.” You moan softly, “God, Jaehyun. I like when you’re rough, too. Tonight was so much fun, Jae.”

“Yeah, it was a lot of fun.” He says, “I don’t want to hurt you, though, ok? Bossing you around and saying dirty things to you is one thing, but I can’t stand the thought of putting my hands on you cruelly...choking or hitting you. I’m sorry if that’s what you want.”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” You assure him, “I have so much fun with you always, anyway we’re together like this.”

“We’ll have more fun tomorrow,” He says with a yawn. “I’m tired, sweetheart. You wore me out.” You giggle at him, and he kisses the top of your head.

“Goodnight, y/n.”

“Goodnight, Jae.”

The following day, both of you slept through Jaehyun’s alarm on his phone and didn’t get up until Taeyong called. By the time you were both awake, Jaehyun was about twenty minutes late getting out the door to meet the rest of his band members and you were about to be late for work as well. You both rushed to get up, get clean, and get dressed and Jaehyun hurried to press a kiss to your lips before you parted ways for most of the day.

You were frustrated the moment your eyes opened that morning, wishing you had been able to sleep longer and also still somehow had the time to maybe wake your boyfriend with a blowjob. Your talk the previous night was all you could think of, and you wished you had, minimum, ten minutes alone with him this morning before you had to leave but it just didn’t work out that way.

When you were finished for the day and heading back home, you texted Jaehyun who didn’t reply for over an hour, and when he did, he told you that he was busy most of the evening and would probably be late getting back to your apartment. You were disappointed but you understood, so you attempted to occupy your time at home alone as best you could.

Jaehyun texted you a few more times during the evening before it became to be well past dinner time, and then eventually said that his phone was dying and he didn’t have a charger with him. So you figured he would shut his phone off. So when you got bored and decided to send your boyfriend some pictures, you didn’t think he’d recieve them until maybe the next morning or, at the earliest, maybe he’d see them before he went to bed for the night.

You thought it was harmless, and posing sexually in front of the mirror and sending steamy captions to your boyfriend was a way to blow off some steam, at least for the time being. You were horny and frustrated all day long, and eventually, the snaps in your underwear and the captions about how badly you wanted him inside of you were getting to you. So you decided to take matters into your own hands.

Stretching out on the couch, you posed for one final picture, with one hand down the front of your panties, and just as you opened the app to send the picture to your boyfriend, you realized something. All of the previous texts said ‘read’ underneath, and they most certainly didn’t the last time you checked. The time stamp that they were read was about ten minutes earlier, and you smiled to yourself, feeling sexy and excited, as you hit send to show him the final picture.

Jaehyun was in the car on his way back when he saw the photos. He had his brightness turned all the way down and was sitting in the far back seat with Doyoung and Taeyong. He managed to tilt his phone screen away so they couldn’t see as he quickly scrolled through the photos and he skimmed your texts about how badly you wanted him and how wet you were just thinking about what he had done to you the previous night. He could tell you were frustrated and in need of some relief, and that was before he saw the last photo with your hand down your panties.

He was at your place in another fifteen minutes or so, rushing down the hall and pressing his key into the doorknob, storming into the door with his heart pounding. It was like he had sensed it - like he knew you were just laying there sprawled out on the couch right in front of the door, legs spread, your fingers working your slick clit under those lacy panties he saw in the pictures. He shut the door and his eyes locked on yours, your fingers froze, surprised by his sudden entrance.

Jaehyun’s jaw clenches for a second, and his eyes look you over head to toe, before they land on your own again and he asks you in an even tone after a deep breath, “What do you think you’re doing?”

You don’t respond, your cheeks burning with embarrassment having been caught even though you knew this was exactly what was going to happen since you saw that he had read your texts. In fact, you had been edging away from your orgasm since you laid down on the couch. But the sparkle in his eye looked promising, so you embraced the feelings that were washing over you.

“I said-” Jaehyun stepped closer, “What are you doing?”

You stare back at him, and slip your hand out of your underwear, “I couldn’t wait for you.” You tell him.

“That’s not very nice.” He says he quietly. “I’ve waited for you all day. You couldn’t wait another half an hour for me?”

“I’m sorry.” You murmur quietly.

“Keep touching yourself.” He tells you, “You wanted me to see you so bad earlier you sent me five different pictures in your underwear while I sat in the car next to Taeyong and Doyoung. So let me see you.”

The blush on your face is radiating down your chest now and you feel a little bit ashamed, but you slide your hand back into your panties and circle two fingers around your clit.

“Let me help you...” Jaehyun walks over briskly and grips the waistband of your panties, drawing them down your hips and over your legs, then he stands back a couple of steps and stares you down while your knees attempt to shut to conceal your sex.

Jaehyun swallows thickly and blinks hard, his voice low and even when he tells you, “Spread your legs, sweetheart.”

You do as he says, letting your knees fall apart and you tentatively stroke your slit, dipping down to collect your wetness and spread it around your lips so you glisten prettily for him.

“Look at you,” Jaehyun breathes. “You’re such a dirty girl. You like teasing me while I’m working?”

You shake your head no.

“I think you do. You’re dripping.” He points out, “Don’t you dare cum.”

At his words you stop your fingers from moving entirely and he chuckles at you.

“I thought so,” He says, “Sit up.” You do what he tells you and he moves to sit on the couch next to you, patting his lap. “Come here.”

You move to straddle him, but he grips your legs and forces you to sit down on his thigh, flexing his leg and pressing it hard up against you. “You need to get off so bad?” He asks you, voice low and husky as he stares up at you with dark eyes, “You’re such a needy little slut for me, aren’t you?”

You almost gasp audibly as he says this, but your core is throbbing against the firm muscle of his thigh and instead you just sit there, flushed and panting.

“I want to watch you cum for me, sweetheart.” He tells you, “But the only way you’re getting off is on my thigh.”

He flexes it up against you again and you moan, but the thought of rubbing yourself on his leg makes you feel a little embarrassed, just not as much as masturbating in front of him. So you do what he says, and you follow the way he’s pressing his leg into you rhythmically and grind down against him. The friction of your lace panties, which were soaked through by now, and the harshness of his blue jeans were rubbing you raw. It almost hurt but Jaehyun was encouraging you, his mouth was open as he watched your hips flex, and you kept going.

“You’re making such a mess of me,” Jaehyun chuckles, “Look at you. Dripping all over me.”

“I need you to touch me,” You pant down to him, “I’m so close. Please...touch me.”

“If you’re so close then focus and make yourself cum for me.” Jaehyun says calmly, “How’s this?” He encourages you to sit up and he grips the crotch of your panties and tugs hard, ripping the flimsy lace and leaving your pussy bare, then he grabs your ass with both hands and makes you sit back down hard on his thigh.

“Jaehyun,” You moan as he pulls you tightly against his leg, and you grind your hips fast back and forth to match the pace set by his hands. “I want you inside of me...”

“Only good girls get fucked.” Jaehyun tells you, “Are you a good girl?”

“Yes!” You cry desperately, “Yes, I am, I’ll be good.”

“Then cum.” He tells you through gritted teeth.

You twitch and thrust a little harder, ignoring the ache on your clit from too much friction, leaning back a little to hit a new angle, and you focused on his eyes and the way he smiled at you when he saw the determination on your face this time.

“Yes,” He encouraged you quietly, “You’re almost there.”

With Jaehyun looking on with a happy, satisfied smile, you humped his leg desperately chasing your high. He felt his heart sting with guilt as he looked on after a while, and he pulled your breasts from your bra as they bounced with your movement, and latched on, sucking and licking and biting. The added stimulation was the last push you needed to help you get over the edge, and you came with tears in your eyes, clinging tightly to his shoulders and whimpering his name.

As your hips pulsed with the waves of your orgasm, Jaehyun cradled you to him, making you slouch down over him fully. He grips your cheeks and tilts your head to meet his lips, kissing you slowly and tenderly.

Pulling away just enough to speak, Jaehyun tells you, “You’re so good for me, sweetheart. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” You murmur back to him.

He reaches between you and tenderly parts your lower lips, feeling your soft, swollen skin, flinching slightly when you gasp. “Does it hurt?” He asks you tenderly.

“Mm, sore.” You tell him, “Your jeans were a little rough.”

“Mhm, but you did it.” He smiles, “You made such a pretty mess, too, look at me.” You glance down at the thigh you had been riding and giggled at the wet patch you left behind, blushing furiously. “Let me take you to bed and kiss you better.” Jaehyun says, and before you can respond he’s standing up with you in his arms, your legs flying around his waist as you cling onto him.

“I’m so sensitive,” You tell him when he tosses you onto the bed.

“I’ll take care of you.” He promises, “You were such a good girl for me, I’ll be extra nice.” He smiles at you in that way he does - the smile that makes him look like Prince Charming and you melt under his gaze, so he drops to his knees in the floor and leans over the bed until his lips are pressing feather-light kisses up and down your swollen slit. He pulls back and blows cool air and you twitch. “You’re so pink,” He breaths, “God, sweetheart, you’re beautiful.”

Then he’s kissing your lower lips the way he would your mouth, slow and passionate, dipping his tongue in deep and lapping your taste into his mouth. He’s soft and tender about it, paying attention to the way you jerk away from him if he’s being too rough and the way your fingers twitch and hold his hair tighter if he’s doing something just right.

You’re on the verge of cumming on his handsome face when he pulls away from you, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, looking up at you through lidded eyes as he climbs onto the bed between your knees.

“I need you to cum for me one more time.” Jaehyun says, his voice deep and low as he hurries to take off his pants and he palms his cock before lining it up at your entrance.

It doesn’t take you long. When he shifts his hips forward and slowly presses inside, taking care not to hurt you because he knows how sensitive you are, you arch up and your fingers dig into his biceps. Jaehyun ducks his head to kiss your lips and his hips connect with yours, bottoming out, and within a couple of deep strokes you’re shaking and throbbing around his cock. He smiles down at you, watching you with love in his eyes as you cum, never stopping the slow thrust of his hips.

His movements pick up and get sloppy, and he bows his head into the crook of your neck, pounding into you so that you cry out, overstimulated and leaving your nail marks in his arms, and then he stills, surging forward as his cock pulses and he empties himself inside of you.

Jaehyun withdraws from you before he flops onto his back next to you, both of you panting, chests heaving. He reaches over blindly for your hand, lacing his fingers through yours, and he says, “Are you ok, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” You pant. “Wow.”

He chuckles, “Yeah...wow.” He agrees, glancing to his side at you, and you turn to cuddle into him. He kisses your forehead and whispers again into your hair, “Wow.”

#jaehyun smut #nct smut #mine #this is lowkey based on real events #especially the end #i love this my heart's pounding n i've been blushing for the last two hours bye #ps i did not edit this but i read it twice and i lub it actually??? ok byE

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my-one-love-is-music · 5 years

Text

Worth Living For

Summary: Jason never expected to be brought back to life and given a second chance. But what he expected even less was to be placed as the protector of Tim Drake. He thought things would be quiet and he'd be able to get back to his old life, but when supernatural creatures start showing up, Jason realizes he got more than he bargained for, in both the creatures he has to fight and from Tim as a person.

A/N: My last fic for jaytimweek! I'm super excited for this one and so happy to share it with all of you. I couldn’t resist mixing both the blood oath and urban fantasy prompts so I hope you enjoy it!

Also on AO3!

Darkness surrounded him. Jason searched for some form of light. Something to tell him what was going on. The pain had finally ended. His body didn’t feel like it was on fire anymore and now there was an absence of everything. He wasn’t numb exactly, there was just nothing. Nothing inside of him and nothing outside of him.

He blinked, thinking there was something he could find in the darkness around him. He squinted his eyes, thinking there was a small circle of light in the distance, but he couldn’t tell if it was something he was imagining or if it was real.

The circle got brighter and what he thought was originally white light was actually green as it came closer and closer. Pain returned to his limbs, but it was different from the kind of pain that had forced him under first. This pain felt like he was growing, forced apart or forced inside something too small at the same time.

Jason burst out of a green pool and gasped, drawing in air from his deprived lungs. Arms wrapped around his body as he struggled to orient himself, feeling weak. His legs wobbled even as the water lightened his weight and his arms didn’t want to help keep him afloat.

“Where am I?” he slurred. “What happened?”

“Shh,” a rough voice said. “We dug you out from the pits of the dead.”

Jason swallowed and coughed, blinking his eyes as he looked around. Walls of rock surrounded a deep pool of green. Torches lined the wall and added to the eerie glow of the pool. He stumbled as he was walked to the edge of the pool and up the steps. The grip around him tightened.

“Where am I?” Jason asked again, starting to come back to himself. “Who are you? What am I doing here?”

He turned and faced the person holding him, coming face to face with a skeleton mask. There were black robes around him and even though Jason knew he’d just come out of the pit of green liquid, his clothes were dry.

“You were chosen,” a raspy voice spoke from behind the mask.

Jason backed up a step, pulling free from the grasp. His back hit the stone wall. “Chosen? Chosen for what?”

“You were chosen to be a protector.”

“What the hell is that?”

“You remember your death, don’t you?” it asked.

“Yes,” Jason said.

“You have a chance at another life as long as you agree to act as a protector.”

“What is that? What would I have to do?”

“You would be tasked with protecting a single individual above all else. You would be allowed to live to keep someone else alive.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Jason said. “If it meant I would get to live again.”

“There is one condition. A strict one.”

“What is it?” Jason asked.

“If you fail to fulfill your role as a protector, you will immediately die. Do you accept your role, or will you return to the beyond?”

“If it means getting another chance at life, I’ll gladly become a fucking protector,” Jason said, rolling his eyes.

The figure pulled out a dagger. “Then you must complete the blood oath that binds you to your role. Your hand, please.”

Jason reluctantly extended his hand. The grip around his fingers was icy cold to the touch. As the blade came to rest on his palm, A rune on the side of the blade began to glow.

“Jason Peter Todd,” it spoke. “You have been chosen to be the protector of Timothy Jackson Drake. Do you accept your role to do everything in your power to preserve his life on pain of death?”

“Yes, I accept,” Jason said.

He hissed as the blade cut into his skin, the rune glowing brighter. The figure curled his hand into a fist before it was turned to the side, squeezing his hand enough until several drops of blood fell from his hand to the floor.

“You will keep the scar as a reminder of what you are tasked with. Now you must be off and begin your duties.”

“How am I supposed to know who I’m going to protect?”

“We have left nothing to chance. Trust that you will know,” the figure rasped. It raised its hand and snapped its fingers. Bright light shimmered around Jason and he squeezed his eyes shut. He hadn’t noticed the temperature of the cavern he’d been in, but now he felt cold.

Jason pried open his eyes and found himself on a sidewalk in the middle of a dark city. A few lampposts were offering dim yellow light on the cracked streets and a few drops of rain were falling from the sky. He looked around himself, glancing down to find clothes he’d never seen before covering his body. He ran his hands over the shirt and jacket and pulled it closer around him, hoping to drive away the chill that was starting to sink into him.

He wasn’t annoyed or upset about it. It was a relief to feel something again. He hadn’t even realized how much he’d missed the feeling of anything while he was dead. He looked up at the buildings around him and found small apartment complexes along both sides of the streets. He caught sight of a hooded figure walking down the street.

The palm of Jason’s hand turned warm and he lifted it, finding the cut glowing on his palm. He curled his fingers over his palm and looked back across the street. The figure turned and jogged up the steps of one of the buildings, sticking a key in the lock before pushing inside.

“Is that who I’m supposed to protect?” he whispered to himself.

“Yesss,” a voice hissed in the back of his mind. “You’ll find your room inside. Check your pocket to find the way.”

Jason jolted and shoved his hands into his pants pockets, finding a set of keys and a wallet inside. He turned the keys over in his hand and hurried across the street to the building the figure had gone into. He flipped through the keys, picking out a gold one and slid it into the lock, turning it so he could shove inside.

The temperature inside the building was another shock compared to the chill outside. He never would’ve imagined that coming back to life could offer so many extremes after being devoid of all feeling for however long he’d been gone. He turned the keyring in his fingers and found a tag that placed his room on the fourth floor.

Jason took to the stairs and climbed up the narrow steps, passing the doors to each new floor until he’d made it to his. He pulled the gray door open to reveal worn down carpet and bright lights set into the center of the ceiling. He trudged down the hallway, looking at the numbers on the doors until he’d gotten halfway down the hallway.

He gripped a silver key tightly between his fingers and stuck it into the lock, turning it until he heard the lock click open. He turned the doorknob and stepped inside. The lights were off, and he fumbled for the light switch on the wall, flicking it on. The harsh light over his head illuminated the foyer and a bit further inside the living room.

From what he could see, the apartment was already fully furnished. A worn couch sat in the middle of the room with a coffee table in front of it. There was an older looking T.V. resting on a table against the wall and Jason could see a few movie cases and books stacked on top of each other. The small kitchen didn’t have much on the counters other than a toaster plugged into the wall.

He walked down the hallway and found the bathroom. A white shower curtain hung in the tub and a few toiletries crowded around the edges of the sink. Jason ducked back into the hall and continued through the open bedroom door. There was a messy and unmade bed in the center and a small dresser shoved against the wall. The closet door wasn’t completely closed, and he walked over to inspect it, finding nothing but clothes stuffed inside.

“I guess this is where I’m going to be living now,” he sighed. “I don’t suppose you have a job lined up for me too?”

“The only job you need concern yourself with is acting as protector. All other expenses are taken care of and need not be worried about.”

“Fine, fine,” Jason said. He tossed the keyring onto the dresser and kicked off his shoes. “I really hope this bed is clean,” he muttered before dropping down onto it and letting sleep take him, feeling oddly exhausted from the short day that he’d had back in the land of the living.

Jason blinked his eyes open, squinting against the sunlight that streamed through the slats in the blinds. He groaned and rolled onto his back, feeling the grossness that came with a night of sleep without brushing his teeth and sleeping in his clothes.

He pulled himself from the bed and stretched his arms over his head. Now that there was light coming through the window, he had a better sense of what his surroundings looked like. The room was messy. A laundry basket overflowed with clothes in the corner. He pulled the drawers of the dresser open, finding them stuffed with as much as could possibly be put inside.

There were more books stacked on top of the dresser and the bedside table. He dug through the drawer in the nightstand and found a few chargers and a phone stuck inside. He wrapped his hand around the phone and pressed the home button. It lit up right away and he slid his thumb across the screen, finding no passcode keeping it locked.

There weren’t any apps loaded onto the phone and he opened the contacts, finding nothing inside. The mailbox showed there was one unread email and he hesitantly clicked the icon. The subject of the message said “Welcome.” Jason swallowed and clicked it.

Jason,

I hope you find the apartment to be to your liking. The charge you’ve been assigned to protect lives in the room to the right of you. Do remember that he is there and you face the punishment of death if you fail in your duties.

The clothes at your disposal should all be your size and fit. You might want to wash the sheets before you sleep in the bed, I’m not sure when they were last taken care of.

Jason made a face and looked back at the bed. That was the first thing he was going to do as soon as he figured things out.

This phone belongs to you and you have every liberty to store what you need on it and log any form of contact you might need.

In the main room of the apartment, you will find another wallet. This has an ID card for you that you can use for self-identification purposes. You also have a bank card with access to funds to support yourself. It is not a large sum of money so please take care in how you spend it and it is designed for you to purchase food and other necessities.

You do not currently have access to a car, but if you find that you need one in order to properly protect your charge, we can have it arranged so you have access to one.

The kitchen is already fully stocked with food, but you will need to conduct future trips to the grocery yourself.

We will get in touch if we find you are in need of additional information to ensure that you are properly fulfilling your duties.

Jason closed the email and pressed the button on the top of the phone to make the screen go black. He shoved the phone into his pocket and walked out into the living room, hoping to better inspect the apartment than he’d been able to the night before.

The couch was worn, and a thin layer of dust covered the front of the T.V. and the books and movie cases piled around it. There was one bookshelf overflowing with books, but not much else in the way of personal possessions or decorations. The kitchen looked fairly clean and there weren’t any dirty dishes in the sink that needed to be washed. The trash can was empty too and he knew he wouldn’t have been able to stay the night in the place if there was rotting food and flies filling it to the brim.

He opened the outdated wooden cabinets, finding enough cooking utensils for one person to manage their life. The pantry was filled with food and other dried goods and the fridge was stocked with vegetables, fruits, and meat to offer enough for several meals.

Jason nodded and turned away from the kitchen, feeling a little lost as to what he was supposed to do now that he was thrust into a new apartment and needed to protect his neighbor.

“I guess the first thing I can do is get a shower,” he muttered under his breath.

He walked back to the bathroom, finding it clean and well-maintained for the small apartment. He turned the knob in the shower and was pleased when water spewed from the showerhead. He pulled off his old, sleep-rumpled clothes and stepped around the shower curtain, sighing at the warmth of the water.

Jason rubbed a hand over his forehead. He’d cleaned most of the apartment and had sorted his laundry to take to the laundry room in the basement. He was happy to find that whoever had stocked the apartment had remembered laundry detergent. He grabbed his keys and awkwardly balanced the basket against his side.

He pulled his apartment door open and managed to get through the door without dropping his keys or his laundry. He locked the door one-handed behind him and turned to find sharp blue eyes watching him from the next door down.

“Uh, hi,” Jason said.

He blinked. “Hi. Sorry I didn’t mean to stare I just...didn’t think anyone lived in the apartment next door.”

A flash of warmth spread over the palm of Jason’s hand where the cut for the blood oath had been made.

“I actually just moved in yesterday. I’m trying to get everything in order, hence the laundry,” he said, lifting the basket slightly.

“Right, right. Well, nice to meet you,” he said, raising a hand. “The name’s Tim.”

“Jason,” he offered with a nod. They regarded each other for a moment. Jason cleared his throat. “I should get down and take of this.”

“Right, yes,” Tim said, sticking his key into the lock on his door. “I guess I’ll see you around, then.”

“Yeah,” Jason said skirting past him for the stairs. He paused at the top of the stairs and glanced over his shoulder at the door that shut behind Tim. He tightened his grip on the laundry basket and continued down the stairs.

Jason grunted when he finally managed to shut the last drawer to his dresser. He’d gone through the drawers after finishing his laundry and did his best to organize everything enough to make it fit inside the limited space he had. He’d had similar success with the closet in stuffing his clothes inside in a way that wasn’t horribly appalling.

He walked back into the living room and headed for the kitchen to finally satisfy his hunger after not eating anything since lunch. The sky had long gone dark and he felt accomplished for his first day back in the world of the living.

A sharp spark of warmth heated his palm and Jason looked down at his hand. The scar across his palm was shimmering slightly.

“Shit,” Jason said. He rushed to the front door and shoved his feet into a pair of sneakers. He barely remembered to grab his keys before he charged out of his front door. He frantically knocked on Tim’s door but didn’t hear any response or sound inside.

“Fuck, where is he?” he said, heading for the stairs. “Yo, weird magic voice in my head who brought me back to life, any chance you know where I can find my charge?”

It stayed silent and he cursed under his breath, pushing through the front door to the apartment building. He hit the pavement and looked around, hearing muffled protests coming from the alleyway between the apartment buildings.

Jason charged around the corner and found someone with a hand over Tim’s mouth.

“Hey!” Jason shouted, running forward.

The eyes widened of the person holding Tim. Jason couldn’t see a weapon on him and hurried forward. He squeaked and stumbled backwards as Jason closed the distance between them. He pushed Tim away from himself and Jason caught Tim, the attacker skirting around them for the mouth of the alley.

Jason sneered at his back but let him go, more worried about keeping Tim in sight so he couldn’t stumble into more danger. “You okay?” he asked, looking down at Tim.

Tim stared at him and nodded slowly. “Yeah, thanks.” He straightened, pulling out of Jason’s hold and wrapped his arms around himself. “How did you know I was back here?”

“Oh, um…”Jason trailed off and scratched the back of his head. “I was just coming back and was passing the alleyway and saw someone struggling and decided to help.

“Oh, thanks,” Tim said. “I really owe you one.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I could help. Were you…were you going back inside?” Jason asked, hiking a thumb over his shoulder.

Tim nodded. “Yeah.”

“After you,” Jason said, holding out a hand.

Tim smiled and shuffled towards the sidewalk. Jason walked alongside him, and he could see Tim glance around the street before stepping back out onto the sidewalk. Jason pulled out his keys as they climbed the steps and unlocked the door, letting Tim step in first.

Tim shivered next to him, his wide eyes still focused on the floor in front of his feet.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Jason asked as they climbed the stairs.

“I don’t…I dunno,” he whispered.

“Look, this may seem kind of weird since you just got attacked on the street and you barely know me, but could I make you some tea or something to calm down?”

Tim stared at him as they slowed to a stop in front of Jason’s apartment door.

“I’m normally more of a coffee person, but I think I’ll take you up on that offer. The thought of being alone in my apartment right now is not very appealing,” he said with a hollow laugh.

“Yeah,” Jason said, he stuck his key into the lock only to realize he hadn’t locked it when he’d left. He turned it, hoping Tim wouldn’t notice the lack of a click before he pushed through the door. Tim stepped in after him and shut the door.

Jason dropped his keys into the bowl next to the door and walked into the kitchen, afraid to take off his shoes and let Tim see that he wasn’t wearing socks. It was bad enough there was already a light on.

“You can have a seat at the table,” he offered.

Tim pulled back the wooden chair, the legs squeaking across the floor. Jason grabbed the box of chamomile tea from the cabinet and the two mugs he miraculously had. He put the kettle on the stove and placed a teabag in each of the mugs.

“Would you like milk or sugar with your tea?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.

Tim jolted in his seat, head whipping around to face him. “Um, sugar, please,” he mumbled and blushed.

Jason nodded and grabbed the container of sugar, putting two scoops in each of their cups. He drummed his fingers against the counter as he waited for the kettle to boil. The sound of the water shifting was the only sound between them.

He practically sighed in relief when it started to whistle softly and pulled it form the stove, turning off the heat before he filled both mugs with water and carried them over to the table. He slid one across to Tim who cradled it between his hands, soaking up the warmth from the water as the tea slowly began to steep.

Jason glanced at Tim’s hands which were shaking slightly against the side of the cup.

“You’re name’s Tim, right?” Jason asked, breaking the silence between them.

Tim glanced up at him through his eyelashes. “Yeah and you’re…Jason?”

He nodded. “Yup.”

“You seem to have settled nicely into your apartment,” he continued, shifting in his seat.

Jason raised an eyebrow. “Is that really what you want to talk about, Tim?”

Tim sagged back in his seat and pulled his hands from the mug, forming fists against the table. “I just…feel so weak and helpless. Like, I couldn’t even protect myself from a lowly mugger on the street…if that was all he was going to do,” he muttered.

“You couldn’t have known that was going to happen today,” Jason said. “It was unexpected and scary, but that doesn’t mean you have to let it rule your life. Have you thought about carrying pepper spray to protect yourself?”

Tim shrugged. “I haven’t given much thought to it before now, but it might not be such a bad idea considering what just happened. Just…thanks. For being there and helping me. I owe you so much for what you did.”

Jason shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I just hope you’re okay after this. Don’t let it keep you down, Tim.”

Tim sighed. “Thanks.” He reached for his tea and took a careful sip. “But is there any way I can make it up to you? I feel like I should give you something for helping me.”

Jason shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “I don’t really need anything. I’m just happy you’re safe.”

“How about I take you out for dinner? I’m not the best cook so I won’t offer to cook for you and possibly poison you, but I could buy you dinner?” he asked hopefully.

Jason took a sip of his tea. He could tell Tim wasn’t about to give up until he did something for him. “I guess that would be okay,” he hedged. “But if you were wanting homecooked, I could cook.”

Tim groaned. “That’s the exact opposite of what needs to happen. I’m trying to repay you. It’s not exactly me repaying you for saving me if you’re doing the cooking.”

“Okay,” Jason offered. “We can go out for dinner and if it will make you feel even better, we can have dessert, too.”

Tim sighed. “Thank you. Is there a day that works best for you or is Friday okay?”

Jason nodded. “Friday works…”

Tim smiled, finally looking like he was relaxing and coming back to himself after the stress of the night. Jason swallowed and busied himself with drinking his tea. He’d hoped to keep a low profile and off Tim’s radar for as long as possible, but it looked like things weren’t exactly going to be working in his favor.

Jason fidgeted with his shirt in the mirror. Tim had said to look nice and the nicest thing he’d found among the piles of clothes that were left in the apartment were some black, form-fitting jeans and a deep red button-up. He ran his hands over the wrinkle-free shirt and hoped that he wasn’t too casual for wherever they were going. He didn’t exactly have a dinner jacket.

A knock sounded on his door and he sighed, flicking off the light to his bathroom as he headed for the door. His phone and wallet were already in his pockets and he grabbed his keys before pulling the door open.

Tim smiled at him when he opened the door. He was wearing black pants that might’ve been dress pants, but Jason couldn’t be sure. He also wore a sky-blue button-up and Jason blinked at how vibrant it made his eyes look.

“You ready?” Tim asked, flashing a smile.

Jason swallowed. It was such a change from what he’d seen from Tim so many nights ago when he was on edge and unnerved by being grabbed and pulled into an alley. He looked…good. Which sounded really lame, but Jason didn’t know how else to put it. He just thought Tim could benefit from being able to relax and be happy all the time.

“Of course,” Jason said, hoping he didn’t take too long in answering. He stepped into the hallway and pulled his door shut behind him, locking it securely before they headed for the stairs.

“I hope you don’t mind walking,” Tim offered. “The place we’re going isn’t too far away and it’s a nice night so it shouldn’t be too bad. It’s not raining, and you might actually be able to see the moon which is kind of a shock considering this is Gotham.”

Jason chuckled. “What’s happening to Gotham when the smog isn’t overbearing and making everything darker and bleaker than it has a right to be?”

“I could say the same thing about you,” Tim said, bumping against him. “If you went around helping people all the time, I think the crime rate would be cut in half.”

“Nah…” Jason said.

“Well, you’re my hero at least,” Tim murmured softly.

Jason and Tim both cleared their throats and glanced away from each other. Jason scratched his cheek and glanced around the street. There were a few other groups of people clustered on the sidewalks as they headed out to enjoy their Friday night. A few tired people were walking in the opposite direction, obviously looking forward to getting home after a long and tiring week of work.

“So…what’s this place we’re going to?” Jason asked when the silence had stretched on long enough.

“It’s a surprise,” Tim said with a grin.

Jason raised an eyebrow. “A surprise? How old are you?”

“What, you don’t like surprises?” Tim asked.

“No, I’m just wondering if you picked a place with a kid’s menu since you’ll obviously need it. Are you going to get a balloon, too?”

Tim rolled his eyes. “The only place I would want to get a balloon from is a carnival, but since that’s not for a few more months, I’m going to have to wait.”

“I never would’ve taken you for the carnival type,” Jason said with a nod.

Tim shrugged. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. The only thing you know for certain is that I am not the best when it comes to fending off muggers.”

Jason nodded. “This is true.”

“Oh, there’s the place,” Tim said, pointing ahead.

Jason caught sight of a black canopy hanging over large, curved windows. Light shone from within and there was a wooden sign handing above the door that had the name of the restaurant in white cursive letters.

“Looks, nice,” Jason said. “Rustic.”

Tim grinned. “You haven’t seen the inside yet.”

They pushed through the wooden doors and were met with a wooden podium that guarded the seating host.

“Evening,” Tim said, stepping up to the podium and Jason saw the change from the everyday, Tim Drake he’d known for a short time into someone professional and commanding.

“How may I help you, sir?” the man greeted.

“I have a reservation for two under the name Timothy Drake.”

Jason swallowed. Even the sound of Tim’s voice had changed with his presence.

The host pressed something on the screen in front of him. “Ah, yes,” he said with a smile. “We have a table set up for you. Garrett can take you to your table,” he said, gesturing to the man who stepped up next to him.

“Thank you,” Tim said as he followed Garrett deeper into the restaurant.

The small, wood-paneled entryway opened into a much larger room. The walls were painted black, with a brick border that covered the bottom half of the wall. Edison lights hung from the ceiling and illuminated the tables covered with white cloths. Garrett pulled out Tim’s chair, giving him a seat while Jason seated himself.

Their menus and napkin rolled cutlery were already carefully placed on the table.

“Nice place,” Jason commented, flipping over the menu. He froze at seeing the ridiculous prices for the appetizers alone.

“Yeah,” Tim said, flipping through his own menu. “I’ve only been here once before, but I really enjoyed it.”

Jason flipped to the entrees and thought he was going to have a heart attack at how much everything cost. “Tim,” he said weakly, “I really don’t think I can let you buy me dinner here. It’s too much.”

Tim looked up. “Jason, it’s fine. You can order whatever you want. It’s me returning the favor for what you did the other night. It’s really not a problem.”

“Christ, how much do you make where you can afford to eat like this,” he muttered under his breath.

Tim laughed, and Jason glanced up at him. His blue eyes reflected the sparkles of the Edison lights. “If you really care that much, I work in the research and development department of a major technology company. I get paid enough where I could easily afford a large apartment in downtown Gotham if I wanted to, so believe me when I say that’s it really not an issue for me paying for dinner.”

Jason sighed. “Okay, but if you could live down there, why do you stay in the apartment you have?”

Tim shrugged. “I like it. The people are nice and it’s small. I don’t really need something big and fancy when I’m living on my own. I think it would get lonely.”

“Ever thought about getting a cat?” he said, skimming the food items for something he liked that wouldn’t cost too much.

“If I got a cat it would probably end up dead unless it knew how to care for itself.”

Jason shrugged. “Fair enough.”

“Good evening, gentlemen,” a woman said, stepping up next to their table. “My name is Natalia and I’ll be your server for the evening. Is there anything I can get you to drink before you order?”

“Water for me,” Tim said, glancing up with a smile.

Natalia turned to Jason.

“The same, thank you.”

She nodded and walked off. Jason finally decided on a relatively inexpensive pasta dish and flipped the menu closed.

“What about you?” Tim asked. “Ever thought about any pets?”

Jason shrugged. “I’ve thought about it, but I’ve already got my hands pretty full, so I don’t think I could take care of anything else.”

Tim nodded and reached for the glass of water that magically appeared in front of him. Jason looked in front of his plate and found a glass waiting for him, too. He was definitely in over his head.

“Are the two of you ready to order?” Natalia asked, reappearing at the side of the table.

Tim looked to him and he nodded, reciting his order as he prepared for what he knew was going to be an unusual meal.

“Thanks for dinner,” Jason said as they hovered in the space between their two apartment doors.

“Thanks for letting me buy you dinner,” Tim shot back with a grin.

“I guess I’ll be seeing you around then?” Jason asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Tim said. “For sure.”

They both hesitated and Jason awkwardly raised his hand before stepping over to his door and unlocking it. Tim did they same and they slipped into their own apartments, shutting their doors behind them. Jason smiled and locked his door, leaning back against it for a moment.

Dinner with Tim hadn’t been bad after the initial awkwardness of the fancy restaurant. The food was amazing, and he was pleased with the portion sizes. And Tim had been great to talk to. Even though he only knew him because he was supposed to protect him from whatever might hurt him, he was someone Jason could imagine being friends with and sharing coffee every now and then.

He pushed off his door and started to undo the buttons of his shirt as he walked towards his bedroom. A spark of warmth lit up his palm and Jason looked down at where it was shining dimly.

“Shit,” he cursed.

He turned on his heel and rushed to his door, throwing it open. He darted next door to Tim’s apartment and pounded his fist against the door.

“Tim? Tim are you okay?” he called.

He was greeted with silence, but his palm burned again.

“Fuck.” He backed up a step and looked at the door. He raised his foot, lining it up next to the handle before he gave it a hard kick. The door flung open and slammed into the wall. He could hear the sounds of a struggle inside. He rushed inside and found Tim pinned against the floor, looking more than a little terrified and desperate.

There was a hooded figure crouched over him and had a pale hand wrapped around his throat. Its head tilted back, and Jason knew if he could see its eyes, it would be looking right at him.

“Let him go!”

The pitch of Tim’s gasps changed, and Jason could see him struggle to tilt his head back to get a look at him. The creature stood and used its grip on Tim’s neck to pull him to his feet. Tim’s hands wrapped around its arm and he struggled to try and free himself as he was lifted off his feet. The creature took a step back and Jason’s eyes widened.

The window behind it was blown through and Jason could almost tell it was going to make a run for it and take Tim along for the ride. A ride he probably wouldn’t come back from.

The line across his palm heated further, but Jason ignored it, rushing forward instead. The creature shifted, and Jason lunged, wrapping his arms around its stomach to knock it back. They slammed into the wall and he heard Tim gasp as the hand released his throat.

Jason didn’t even think, just followed the urge to protect that was running through him. The creature struggled against him, but Jason managed to get to his feet before it. He used his grip to slam it against the wall, the shocks wracking its body. Jason didn’t know if it felt pain or not. He didn’t much care when his only goal was to get it as far from Tim as he could.

He tightened his grip on it and spotted the shattered window. Without thinking, he used his weight to shove them both forward. The creature struggled again, and Jason’s leg caught on the wall, but he ignored it and the scratches that raked over his hand. He shoved the creature forward and it hissed as it hung halfway out the window.

Jason shoved at it again and it hissed as it tipped over the edge. Jason barely managed to grip the edge of the window when the creature struggled to hold onto his shirt and pull him with him. He grunted when a piece of broken glass sliced against his palm. He braced his legs against the wall and used his free hand to tug at the claw on his shirt. That, combined with the gravity pulling on the creature, caused its’ claws to dig into the shirt and rip the fabric enough that it was pulled free and plummeted to the ground.

Jason’s chest heaved as he struggled to draw in breath. He looked down at the drop and where the creature had landed against the pavement. He stared at it, not wanting to take his eyes away unless it decided to move or do something else that the monsters in horror movies always seemed to do.

“What the fuck?”

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Jason agreed, still staring at the figure below.

“No, I mean…who the fuck are you?”

“What?” Jason asked, looking over his shoulder at Tim who was watching him with wide eyes. He’d moved back, putting several feet of space between them.

“You knew I was in trouble. How the hell did you know I was in trouble?” Tim asked.

Jason’s brain froze. “Well, you see I-“

“The first time wasn’t an accident either, was it?” Tim asked, eyes not quite seeing him anymore. “You knew I was in trouble then, too. You weren’t just coming back to the apartment building or whatever the hell your excuse was.”

Jason sighed and finally pulled his hand away from the window frame, wincing at the injury on the palm of his hand. He cradled his wrist in his uninjured hand as blood ran across his palm.

“You’re right,” Jason said. “I didn’t show up by accident. I knew you were in trouble.”

“What the hell?!”

“We have a lot to talk about, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to get my hand cleaned up first.”

Tim stared at him and Jason almost thought he was going to do anything, but he pointed to the kitchen. “You go and have a seat and I’ll get the first aid kit.”

He disappeared into his apartment and Jason perched on one of the stools at the kitchen island. Tim returned and set the box on the counter, clambering onto the stool next to him.

“Get talking,” he said as he pulled out antiseptic and rolls of gauze and disinfecting wipes.

“You may find this hard to believe, but I was sent here to protect you.”

Tim raised an eyebrow but ripped open one of the wipes and started dabbing up the blood. Jason ignored the sting on his palm.

“I was brought back to life by someone and was told I could have another chance at life if I watched over you and took a blood oath to protect you. Because of the oath, I know when you’re in danger. That’s how I found you in the alley last week and rushed over here tonight even though I couldn’t hear anything in my apartment.”

“That’s the most ridiculous story I’ve ever heard,” Tim muttered.

“I know you may not want to believe it’s true-“

“I don’t want to believe it,” Tim snapped. He unscrewed the lid on the antiseptic and quickly soaked a layer of gauze before slamming it back down on the table. “But after some freaky thing came and attacked me in my apartment, I’m more inclined to believe your crackpot story that you’re my personal savior or some shit.”

He pressed the gauze against his hand and made Jason hiss. Tim picked up the roll of gauze and started to wrap it around his hand to keep the pad in place.

“Is there anything else I should know about you?” he asked when he’d tied off the bandage.

“My name is actually Jason Todd,” he said with a crooked grin.

Tim rolled his eyes and started to pack up the first aid kit.

“I can’t believe this is actually real,” he finally mumbled.

“Trust me,” Jason said. “If I hadn’t lived through being brought back to life, I wouldn’t have believed it either.”

“So, what happens now?” Tim asked. “My window’s busted and there’s officially a bunch of freaky things after me if whatever that was is anything to go by.”

Jason shrugged. “Fix the window I guess. Go on with your life? I know what I have to do, but that doesn’t mean you have to be weighed down by that knowledge.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better? That I have some weird, undead guardian angel? How am I supposed to go on like normal? There could be someone or something hiding behind every corner I turn or something else that’s ready to kill me. And just because you’ve been tasked with keeping me safe, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to be there every time something happens. What if you’re too far away and you can’t get to me in time? What if I’m thrown out of a window or hit by a truck? What if something breaks into my house again and kills me in my sleep or in the shower?”

“If something breaks in, I’m right next door…” Jason started.

“But what if you can’t get inside?” Tim continued, voice getting desperate. “Christ, I didn’t even think about you busting my door open. Now, I’m going to need to get those locks replaced too and I’m sure the guys are going to want to make it more secure so that’s less of a chance that you could actually get in if you use your weird protective sense to come save me.”

“You could give me a key?” Jason hedged.

“God, this is such a shitshow,” Tim muttered, rubbing the palms of his hands against his eyes.

“Look,” Jason sighed. “I really don’t know what I can say to put you at ease. The only realistic solution you seem to be for is being locked up inside my apartment, so I can guard you every second of the day. But you can’t let yourself live in fear of what’s going to happen. You could easily die from something else as you could from one of those creatures, just like I could end up getting hit by a car the next time I step out on the sidewalk. There’s no guarantee so you shouldn’t spend so long worrying about something you don’t have that much control over.”

“Wait, that’s it,” Tim said, dropping his hands to his lap.

Jason let out a breath. “I’m glad to see you’re finally starting to get it.”

“No, shut up, that’s not what I meant,” he said. He looked up at Jason. “You’ll have better chances of guarding me if I’m in your apartment.”

“So, what?” Jason asked. “You want to move into my apartment? No offence, Tim, but I think that’s moving pretty fast wouldn’t you say?”

“My apartment’s already been broken into once which means they obviously know where I live. It probably wouldn’t be perfect, and I know your apartment is just next door, but it might throw off the next attacker if they don’t know where to find me right away.”

Jason shrugged. “Fine, but don’t expect me to give up my bed.”

Tim shook his head. “I’m fine with the couch.”

“Then you better get packing.”

Tim nodded. “I’ll be right back,” he said, sliding off the stool. He took a step and paused. “Actually, would you mind coming with me? I know it’s crazy and my room is literally right there, but it would make me feel better if you were closer.”

“Sure,” Jason said, following him. “It’s no big deal.”

He hadn’t given much thought as to what Tim’s bedroom would look like, but the messy bed and overflowing laundry basket was and wasn’t what he was expecting.

“I’ll have to come back and do laundry, but that can wait,” Tim muttered as he pulled a small duffle bag from the shelf of his closet. He tossed it onto his bed. “You can have a seat if you want. This shouldn’t take me too long, but you don’t need to stand around while I move around and grab stuff.”

Jason shrugged and plopped down on the bed. He watched as Tim filled his bag with some more casual clothes, absentmindedly stuffing dress pants and dress shirts inside. He disappeared into the bathroom and came back with his toiletries.

Jason was ready to get up when Tim had zipped his duffle shut, but he grabbed a backpack and pulled that open, throwing what looked like three different chargers inside before he shoved a laptop and phone inside.

“I think that should be it,” he said, turning in a circle to quickly check the space around him.

“If it’s not, you’re just going to be next door,” Jason said. “You’ve got everything for tonight?”

Tim nodded.

“Then let’s go,” Jason said, grabbing the straps of the duffle.

“You don’t need to do that,” Tim protested.

“It’s fine,” Jason said. “We’re just going next door anyway so it’s not a big deal.”

Tim sighed and slipped his arms through the straps of his backpack, following Jason out of his bedroom.

Jason stared up at the ceiling above his head. He’d fixed up the couch with a blanket and pillow to give Tim something to sleep on and he’d easily taken it, sitting down with his legs crossed as Jason changed into something more comfortable to sleep in.

When he’d walked out of the bathroom, he’d caught sight of Tim on the couch, knees pulled up to his chest as he chewed on his fingernail and stared at the window. He couldn’t blame him for being on edge. Jason was a little unnerved himself. The crazy supernatural creatures weren’t something he thought would be part of the bargain when he took his oath.

He sighed and closed his eyes, not feeling tired at all, but wishing he could finally rest. Something creaked and his eyes shot open. He sat up, nerves on high alert after the encounter a couple hours earlier.

A knock sounded on his door. “Jason?”

He let out his breath at the sound of Tim’s voice and threw off the blankets. He climbed out of the bed and pulled open the door to find Tim standing there with his head bowed. “Everything okay?” he asked.

Tim looked up at him. “I just…I feel too exposed out there by myself. Like the second I close my eyes, there’s going to be something else busting through the window to try and kill me.”

Jason sighed. “Would you like to stay in here instead? I know I said I wasn’t going to give up my bed, but I can easily take the couch.”

Tim shrugged and peered into the room, eyes immediately going to the window. “I don’t know if that’s exactly going to help. I think I’d still be worried that someone is going to come crashing through the window.”

Jason ran a hand through his hair, trying to come up with some sort of solution. He didn’t have a chair or recliner he could pull into the bedroom since his apartment was minimally decorated. And he couldn’t exactly offer to sit on the couch with Tim when they both needed the sleep.

“This might seem a bit weird,” he said, scratching his cheek. “But, I know we both need the sleep and I don’t have anything I can drag in here, so…would you be grossed out by the idea of sharing the bed?”

Tim bit his lip and shook his head. “No, I…I think that’s the only way I’m going to get some sleep and I don’t want you to be kept up because of me. Thanks.”

Jason nodded. “Go and grab your pillow. Do you have a specific side you like sleeping on?”

Tim shook his head. “I’m fine with either.”

Jason let him go and turned back to the bed. He pulled his pillow over onto the left side before rethinking the idea and moving it to the right side. If anything came through the window it would have to get through him first, meaning Tim would have a better chance of running. He could only hope that anything that came through the living room would be loud enough to wake one of them so they wouldn’t be caught unawares.

Tim shut the door behind him as he walked back inside and stiffly crawled into bed, curling on his side with his back to Jason.

“Night,” Jason whispered into the darkness.

Tim was quiet for a minute. “Night,” he murmured softly.

Jason closed his eyes, finally feeling himself start to drift off.

Jason groaned, squeezing his eyes shut tighter when he felt a hand pushing against his shoulder.

“Come on, Jason.”

His eyes flew open at the voice and he found Tim struggling against the arm that was draped over him.

“Sorry,” Jason said, pulling his arm back.

“It’s fine,” Tim sighed. “I just need to get up and use the bathroom.

“Right,” Jason said, rolling onto his back.

If he hadn’t woken up with an armful of Tim, he almost would’ve thought the night before had been a dream, but it looked to be anything but and now he had someone else to handle. Jason sighed and threw off the blankets, climbing out of the bed. The least he could do would be to make breakfast or coffee.

He run a hand through his hair and shuffled down the hall to the kitchen. He grabbed the small container of coffee grounds and measure them into his coffee maker, setting it up to brew when he heard the toilet flush.

“Jason?” Tim called.

“I’m in here. Are you hungry for breakfast?” he asked as he heard Tim’s feet move across the floor.

“Yeah, whatever you have is fine.”

“I’m making coffee, too. How do you take yours?”

“With a little milk and sugar. I can fix it myself.”

“Okay,” Jason said. He pulled out a carton of eggs and a frying pan. “Eggs and toast good?”

“Yup,” Tim said.

Jason cracked an egg into the pan as the coffee pot started to grumble, signaling it was done brewing. Jason reached over to it even as he tried to pay attention to the egg in the pan.

“Don’t worry, I got it,” Tim said, stepping around him. He shut of the coffee maker. “Where are your mugs and the sugar?”

“Mugs are in the cabinet to the left of the sink and sugar is in the cabinet next to the fridge.

Tim nodded, pulling down two mugs for them and filling them most of the way full. He grabbed the sugar and milk and spooned what he wanted into his own cup. Jason paused his cooking to prep his own mug and took a sip.

He briefly thought that their situation felt too domestic for two strangers that just started living together.

The weekend passed with no problems, but by the time Monday morning rolled around, Tim was pacing around the apartment and refused breakfast and coffee.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Jason asked.

Tim paused and fidgeted. “It’s just that…”

“Are you nervous about going to work?”

Tim bit his lip and nodded. “The weekend was fine since you were with me the whole time and there weren’t anymore incidents, but when I’m alone on my walk to the office and during the day…”

“I can walk with you to work,” Jason offered.

“Really?” Tim asked. “You wouldn’t mind?”

Jason shrugged. “It’s part of my contract and better that I’m with you in case anything happens since we can’t exactly predict when an attack is going to happen.”

Tim nodded. “Thanks. I usually get done at 4:30 in the afternoon. It’s not too far.”

“Okay,” Jason said. He shoved his feet into a pair of ratty sneakers and grabbed his keys and phone. “You ready?”

Tim nodded, and Jason pulled the apartment door open. Tim walked out ahead of him and waited while Jason locked the door behind them. Jason shoved his hands into his pockets as they made their way down the stairs.

Jason kept his eyes on the people around them as they walked down the sidewalk. He glanced into the alleyways and kept between Tim and the road in case any wayward cars came towards them. He stared at the people on the street who gave them a curious look. He belatedly realized they must look like a mismatched pair since he was in ratty jeans and a tee shirt and Tim was dressed in nice suit pants and a dress shirt. But when the other pedestrians took notice of Jason watching them, they ducked their heads and hurried away.

“Well here we are,” Tim sighed.

Jason startled, gaze pulled from his vigil of the people and buildings around them. He looked up at the building and back down the street behind him towards where he could see the row their apartment building was part of.

“Wow it really isn’t that far,” he said.

“Nope. That’s why I picked that apartment to live in,” Tim said.

“Right,” Jason said. He cleared his throat. “Well, have a good day at work, I guess. I’ll pick you up this afternoon. Is there anything you want for dinner?”

Tim shrugged and took a step back towards the door. “Whatever you make I’m sure will be fine. I’m not a picky eater.”

Jason nodded, and Tim turned and pushed through the door to the building. Jason watched his back through the glass doors before he pulled his gaze away and started back down the street. He wasn’t sure how he was going to pass his day, but he would figure something out.

“Are you okay?” Jason asked as soon as Tim walked through the double doors of his office building. He looked uneasy, cutting glances around him.

“Yeah, I just…got to thinking during the day, might’ve gotten a little paranoid actually, but I got to thinking that if I notice something before you would be…informed I guess about my safety, that I don’t have any way to contact you. So, if I was on the run or suspicious of something…”

“I can give you my phone number,” Jason offered.

“Really?” Tim asked, glancing up at him and sounding more than a little relieved.

Jason nodded. “Sure.”

“Thanks,” Tim sighed.

“Are you sure you’re okay, though?” Jason asked.

“Yeah,” Tim said. “Let’s just get back.”

Tim stuck close to him as they walked down the sidewalk. Jason watched the people around them and saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He wrapped an arm around Tim’s shoulders and yanked him against his side as a child ran past them, laughing with his friends.

“Sorry,” Jason said, relaxing his hold.

Tim caught his hand as he started to move it. “No, it’s okay. Makes me feel better that you’re watching.”

Jason cleared his throat. “Right,” he said and moved forward again. Tim stuck close to his side, stepping closer as they passed the alley where Jason had first saved him so many nights ago. Jason tightened his hold and pulled out his keys as they started up the steps.

He struggled to flip through them with one hand and Tim took them, sliding the right key into the lock and pushing the door open. They both relaxed when it shut behind them.

“Thanks for walking me back,” Tim said as they hit the stairs.

“No problem,” Jason said. “I can get started on dinner if you want to take a shower,” he said as Tim unlocked the apartment door.

“Yeah, thanks.”

They broke off awkwardly, going in different directions as he finally pulled his arm from Tim’s shoulders. Jason scratched the back of his head as he stared at the cabinets and countertops. He heard the bathroom door close and the water turn on. He sighed and started pulling random ingredients from the fridge until he started getting an idea of what he could make.

He kept an ear on the rest of the apartment and for when the showerhead turned off while he focused on the rhythm of chopping bell peppers and onions. He left them in a small pile on the side of his cutting board and grabbed an egg and the soy sauce from the fridge.

He placed a pan on the stovetop and poured a small bit of oil into it to heat. The shower turned off and he grabbed a bowl, glancing over his shoulder as he heard the door open. Tim’s back was to him as he walked down the hallway, clad only in a towel that was wrapped around his waist.

Jason shook himself and cracked the egg into a bowl, whisking it with a fork as he waited. He dumped the bell peppers and onion in the oil to heat up and focused on cooking. He heard Tim’s footsteps behind him.

“Smells good,” he said.

Jason nodded. “Fried rice, hope you like it.”

Tim hummed. “If you’ve got your phone handy I can give you my number.”

He pulled it out of his back pocket and held it out, not looking at where Tim was. Slim fingers brushed against his palm as Tim took the phone and Jason swallowed. He dumped the rice into the pan, making it sizzle, and continued to cook.

“You don’t even have this locked?” Tim asked.

Jason shrugged. “As far as I know, there isn’t much valuable information on that thing that people are going to want to be after. And if it gets stolen, I can just buy a new one.”

“Oh,” Tim said. There was a moment of silence. “There, all done.”

“Cool,” Jason said. He mixed the rice one last time, checking to make sure all the egg was cooked. He turned off the heat and lifted the pan, dividing it between two bowls. He turned with the bowls and walked over to the table where Tim was already sitting. He passed one to Tim, taking the seat next to him as they began to eat.

Tim: Hey, this might be a little weird, but are you free for lunch?

Jason stared down at the text, feeling slightly bewildered. He was standing in the middle of his apartment and had walked Tim to work a couple hours ago. He typed out a message, hoping to get some sort of clarification when he got a response.

Jason: Yeah, did you need something?

Tim: I wanted to know if you wanted to go out. I can pay, but there’s this great restaurant nearby that you might like.

Jason relaxed and moved over to his couch, taking a seat as he propped his feet up on the coffee table.

Jason: Is it fancy?

Tim: No, I’m actually going to be overdressed.

Jason smiled.

Jason: I could pull out the fanciest thing I own and we could look out of place together

Tim: Haha, but plenty of business guys go there so they’re going to be used to the suit.

Jason: Doesn’t mean we couldn’t have some fun with it anyway. When should I pick you up?

Tim: I usually take my lunch at noon.

Jason: Sure, I’ll see you then.

Jason locked his phone--actually locked it since Tim had convinced him to create a password--and left it on the arm of the couch. He bit the end of his thumbnail even as his lips pulled into a grin. He reached forward and grabbed the book he’d left on the coffee table, flipping open to where he’d left off.

His eyes kept trailing from the page over to where his phone sat silent next to him.

“Hey.”

Jason looked down from where he was staring at the sky above him to find Tim had come up next to him.

“Hey,” he said, pushing off the side of the building. “After you.”

Tim smiled and stepped past him.

“So how was work this morning?” Jason asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. His eyes swiveled past the people around them, keeping track of any out of place movement.

“Oh, you know, not too exciting. Just had to take care of a few business things, phone calls…”

Jason’s eyes widened when a spark of pain flashed across his palm. He looked up in time to see a car swerve towards the sidewalk. He reached for Tim, wrapping his arms around his waist to jerk him back the way they’d come.

“Jason!” Tim protested. “What are you-“

The car screeched across the sidewalk where they’d just been, ramming into the side of the building. Jason tripped and twisted his body, holding Tim against his chest as he slammed into the sidewalk, bricks and dust falling down around them.

Someone screamed. Jason stared up at the sky, trying to catch his breath and find his equilibrium again.

“Jason? Jason!”

Tim wiggled in his grasp, his face coming into view.

“Are you okay?” he asked, cradling his face.

Jason nodded, sitting up abruptly. “Tim are you-“ He clutched his head when a wave of dizziness washed over him.

“Careful,” Tim said, grasping his shoulders and laying him back down. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, you got me out of the way in time.”

Jason nodded. “You sure you’re okay?”

Tim’s expression softened, and he nodded.

A siren sounded as cop cars pulled up, an ambulance slowing down behind them. The cops rushed to the car and the paramedics came over to Jason and Tim.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Tim said when they tried to care for him. “He fell back on the sidewalk,” he said, pointing to Jason.

Jason crushed the urge to shove the paramedics away as they crowded around him. He kept his eyes on Tim who watched him from his spot a few feet away. A police officer approached Tim and began to question him. Tim crossed his arms and answered his questions as Jason suffered through the medical team’s questions.

They helped him sit up and he felt decidedly less dizzy than the first time he’d tried to get up. He sipped at a cup of water they handed to him.

“Sir, we’re going to need to take you to the hospital to take an MRI of your head,” one of the responders said.

“What? Why?” Jason asked.

“We think you might have hit your head in the fall and want to make sure everything is okay and there’s no swelling or other injury we aren’t able to detect.”

Jason’s gaze went to Tim who was watching him.

The man holding one of Jason’s arms cleared his throat. “Your um…your partner can come as well.”

Jason looked at him and back at Tim. “If that’s not a problem,” he said.

“Not at all,” he said, helping Jason up into the back of the ambulance. He turned and waved Tim over, holding out a hand to help him step up.

Tim sat down next to Jason, hands clutched tightly in his lap. Jason glanced down at them and saw them shaking slightly. One of the paramedics climbed into the back with them while the other got in the front of the ambulance. Jason reached over and placed his hands over Tim’s. He laced their fingers together and gave his hand a squeeze.

Tim squeezed back, holding onto his hand tightly. Jason glanced at him and found his head was bowed, his shoulders finally losing some of their tension. He smiled and when he looked up he saw the other paramedic smiling at them before looking away.

Jason was impatient when he was brought back for his MRI. Every second he had to spend away from Tim left him anxious and worried that some hospital accident was going to happen. He was almost waiting for his palm to light up with fire to let him know he needed to jump from the room and race to where he’d left him.

But nothing came, and Jason was let out without a problem and with instructions to rest easy because of the fall. He nodded, hardly hearing what they told him when he caught sight of Tim’s hunched form in the waiting room. His head was bowed, and his hands were clasped tightly in his lap, exactly the same as when he’d sat in the ambulance at his side.

Jason hurried over to him and he looked up, standing from his chair.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

Jason nodded. “Yeah. No problems or complications.”

“Do you have a follow up scheduled or anything else?”

Jason shook his head. “Just to rest easy, which I think we could both use tonight after what happened.”

Tim nodded. Jason threw an arm around his shoulders, pulling him against his side for a hug. Tim turned into the hug and wrapped his arms around Jason’s waist, squeezing him tightly.

“Let’s catch a cab and get home,” Jason murmured.

Tim nodded.

They walked out of the waiting room and found a couple of cabs waiting at the curb. They climbed into the first one, Jason rattled off the address and they pulled away from the hospital.

Tim stayed pressed against his side during the ride and Jason gazed out the windows, checking for a sign of any threat, but he hoped that one was enough for the day and they wouldn’t have anymore close encounters. He didn’t want to visit the hospital again so soon. Especially if it would start raising questions.

The drive was quick and Jason passed the cash to the driver for their fare before climbing out of the car with Tim right behind him. They climbed the steps to the building without saying a word. Tim unlocked the door while Jason kept close behind him, eyes darting to the side.

They sighed when they were safely behind the door of Jason’s apartment.

“So, I’m not really feeling up to cooking tonight,” Jason started. “Are you good with pizza?”

Tim gave a relieved nod. “Please. The more normal we can get, the better.”

“Any preferences?” Jason asked, kicking his shoes off in the entry.

Tim shook his head. “Whatever you want. I’m going to take a shower.”

Jason nodded and watched him go. He pulled out his phone and dialed the pizzeria down the street, placing an order for their dinner. He heard the bathroom door close and the water turn on and he shuffled past for the bedroom.

He shoved his jeans down around his ankles and stepped out of them, grabbing a pair of sweatpants to pull on in their place. He dropped his jeans in the hamper and walked back to the living room. He sorted through the DVDs on his shelves, looking for something to watch and settled on some sort of sci-fi film. He set it on the coffee table for later.

He walked into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge. He pulled out two cans of soda and carried them into the living room. While he waited, he grabbed a pair of plates for when the pizza came.

The water in the bathroom shut off and Tim walked out in a towel. Jason stared at his back, leaning over the arm of the couch until Tim disappeared in the room. Jason shook himself and sat back against the cushion, blinking at the space in front of him. He swallowed and nearly jumped when the buzzer rang.

He hurried from the couch and pressed the buzzer. He grabbed his wallet and pulled out a few bills, rolling them in his hands as he waited for the knock on his door.

“Pizza here?” Tim asked behind him.

Jason nodded. “Yeah, just waiting for-“

A knock interrupted him.

“That,” he said and pulled open the door to find a pizza man standing there.

“Delivery for Jason Todd,” he said in a bored monotone.

“Yup,” Jason said.

He pulled out the two pizza boxes and passed them over as Jason gave him the bills. He counted them before nodding.

“Thanks,” he said and turned away.

“See ya,” Jason said, letting the door fall shut. “I picked out a movie if you want to watch it,” he said, setting the pizzas on the coffee table and gesturing to the case.

Tim picked it up as he retrieved the plates from the kitchen. “Sure,” Tim said, opening the case with a snap. He passed Jason the disc and took his seat on the couch while Jason put it in the player and grabbed the remote. He sat down next to Tim and turned on the tv, bringing up the loading screen.

Tim took a bite of pizza and opened his can of soda, taking a long sip. Jason loaded his plate with two slices and leaned back, bracing his feet against the edge of the table. He hit play on the remote and the screen faded to black before sound filled the spaces around them.

Jason felt relaxed, like the stress of the day was finally seeping out of him. He was glad to be home. He felt safe now that he was back inside his four walls. He felt Tim was safe now that they were back inside his apartment. He looked over at Tim who was watched the screen.

Jason scooted over a little bit and pressed their arms together. Tim glanced at him before leaning against his side, drawing his legs up next to him on the couch as he continued to eat his pizza.

The days following the accident were rough. Tim stayed close to Jason on the walk to and from his work and hadn’t offered to go out to lunch again. Jason always walked between Tim and the road, wanting to keep that barrier in case anything happened.

A car whizzed by and Tim jumped, grabbing his hand and squeezing tightly. Jason gripped his hand back.

“Sorry,” Tim muttered.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Jason said. “It’s understandable after what happened.” He looked down at Tim and gave him a smile. Tim tried to return it, but it was more than a little strained.

Jason pulled his hand from Tim’s and threw and arm around his shoulders, pressing him against his side. Tim’s arm settled around his waist and they continued down the sidewalk like that. A few people gave them curious looks, but Jason stared them down until they flushed and looked away.

Keeping Tim safe from supernatural creatures and weird accidents was one thing, but he wasn’t going to let him be ridiculed by idiots who had no business questioning how Tim lived his life.

“You gonna be okay?” Jason asked when they reached the front of his building.

“Yeah,” Tim said, looking up at the building in front of them. “As long as everything goes on as normal,” he added with a weak smile.

Jason pulled him in for a hug, squeezing him tight. Tim hugged him back, grip tight.

“I’ll be back to pick you up this afternoon,” he mumbled into Tim’s hair. “No lunch dates,” he said when they separated.

Tim chuckled, shoulders relaxing as he smiled up at Jason, warmth sparkling in his eyes. “You got it. No more lunch dates for me.”

He turned and pushed through the double doors. Jason watched him before the glare of the glass obscured his vision. He sighed and turned on his heel, heading back to his apartment. He hoped Tim would be able to relax a little bit during the day, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to.

It was starting to feel strange to be apart from Tim. Almost like as soon as he was out of sight, something bad was bound to happen. Jason’s stomach tightened. He wanted to go back to the night after the near accident when they were sitting pressed together on the couch with pizza. They’d both been relaxed and even though Tim was shaken by everything that happened, they were together. They were safe.

Jason was starting to think he’d taken on more than he bargained for when he agreed to take the blood oath. This wasn’t just about protecting some nobody anymore. This was about protecting Tim.

Tim grinned as soon as he walked out of his building and he found Jason waiting for him. He hurried over and sagged against him. Jason wrapped an arm around his shoulders and smiled.

“Rough day?” he asked.

“You have no idea,” Tim said. “But it was all normal and there weren’t any weird threats hanging around. I’m ready to get home with you and do nothing for the rest of the night.”

Jason chuckled and pulled him down the street. His stomach fluttered at Tim calling his apartment home and tried to tell himself Tim didn’t mean it like that, but he was still talking about his apartment.

“Well I hope you’re hungry because I’m making tacos for dinner.”

Tim hummed. “Can I help?”

“Really?” Jason asked with a grin.

Tim chuckled and smiled back. “Yeah! If you don’t mind.”

“You’re not a disaster in the kitchen, are you?” he asked.

Tim hummed. “Maybe a little bit. But if you tell me what to do, I swear I won’t burn anything.”

“You’re not inspiring too much confidence in me,” Jason said as he pulled out his keys. They pushed through the front door of their building and headed up the stairs.

Tim smiled. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“If you break anything, you’re paying for it.”

Tim scoffed. “Why me? You’re the one who practically has an unlimited supply of money.”

“That’s not what I said,” Jason said, pushing Tim through the door to their apartment. “I said that I had money to spend within reason. That doesn’t include having to renovate an entire apartment if you set something on fire.”

“I’m not going to set anything on fire!” Tim protested.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jason said, pushing him towards the bedroom. “Go get changed and then you can come help me.”

He grinned as he walked into the kitchen. He picked up the remote to the stereo and hit play, upbeat instrumental filling the apartment. Jason pulled the ground beef from the fridge. He hummed as he placed the skillet on the stove and poured some oil inside.

“What is this?” Tim asked behind him as Jason pulled the plastic off the beef and dumped it into the pan.

“What’s what?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.

“The music,” Tim asked, looking up at him as he started to break apart the ground beef.

He shrugged. “I thought we could liven things up a bit.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “What can I do to help?”

“Here,” Jason said. He placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder and directed him to stand where he was in front of the stove. “Break up the ground beef and stir it to get it to brown. I’m going to get the spices we need for it.”

“Roger,” Tim said, taking the spoon from his fingers.

Jason grinned and squeezed his shoulder. He pulled open the cabinet doors, keeping an eye on Tim out of the corner of his eye to make sure Tim was cooking the meat properly. He pulled down three different spice jars and set them on the counter. He dug in the fridge, pulling out an onion, shredded lettuce, cheese, tortillas, and an avocado.

He leaned over to look at the pan before he started cutting veggies. “That’s looking good. See if you can turn those pieces over that are still red on top.”

Tim tried to follow his instructions, the meat slipping off the spoon. He stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on cooking. Jason watched him with a smile. Tim grinned when he got the meat turned over and Jason cleared his throat, quickly cutting the onion into small chunks.

When he was finished with the onion, he sliced the avocado into thin strips they could use to put on their tacos, too. Maybe some other time he’d make guacamole for them.

“Here, let me see,” Jason said, taking the spoon from Tim’s fingers. He stirred the meat around and nodded. “Looks, good. We can add the spices now.”

Jason filled a small cup with water and set it to the side. He popped the caps on his different spices and started shaking them into the pan. After picking what he wanted, he poured some of the water into the pan. It sizzled loudly, and Jason stirred the beef, making sure to mix the spices around so they covered all the pieces. He added a little more water to even it out.

“Go ahead and keep stirring until some of that water evaporates and then we can eat,” he said, giving the spoon back to Tim. He moved around Tim, resting a hand on his lower back as he reached for another skillet.

He set it on the stove and let it heat up as he ripped open the package of tortillas, pulling out two. He let his hand hover over the skillet and nodded when he felt the heat rise from it. He set one of the tortillas on it to crisp.

“Is this good?” Tim asked.

Jason looked over his shoulder. “Yup. Go ahead and turn the heat off. The first tortilla’s done so if you grab a plate from that cabinet you can start making your taco.”

Tim held out a plate to him and Jason dumped the crispy tortilla onto it. He set the next one to brown and grabbed a second plate while Tim spooned meat onto his. Jason watched him toss cheese and lettuce onto it before adding a little onion and two slices of avocado.

He rolled it up to look like a burrito and Jason watched as he took a bite while still standing at the counter. He looked at Jason with wide eyes.

“Well?” Jason asked, grinning.

“This is delicious!”

Jason pulled his tortilla from the skillet and set it on his plate. He started prepping his own food. “I guess we’ll have to make tacos more often then,” he said, rolling his taco up like Tim had.

“Uh, yeah!” Tim said.

Jason chuckled, biting into his taco as they stood around his kitchen eating.

Tim finished his taco before he did. “You want to show me how to do this?” he asked, pulling a new tortilla from the bag.

Jason brushed his hands against each other to wipe off any lingering crumbs. “Gladly,” he said, stepping up next to Tim to watch him work. And if he placed a hand on his lower back for no reason other than his own comfort, then that was no one’s business except his own.

Jason stared at the ceiling above him. It was dark and the clock in the corner of the room proclaimed it was three in the morning. Tim was curled into his side, long asleep. Jason swallowed. The warmth of Tim against him was almost addictive. He didn’t know if it was because it was Tim or because he’d felt so cold for so long, even before he’d died.

He closed his eyes and let out a slow breath, sliding his arm gently around Tim’s back so it curled around him. He bit his lip as Tim shifted closer to him in his sleep, fingers curling into his shirt. He relaxed when Tim didn’t wake up, almost feeling like he was sinking straight through the mattress.

Jason smiled, thinking he might be able to get some sleep after all.

The window in the living room shattered and Jason shot up in bed, forcing Tim off his chest.

He groaned. “Jason? What’re you doing?”

“Stay here,” he said, vaulting from the bed to rush through the doorway.

Something--Jason wasn’t sure what--long, scaly, and dark green stood inside the window. Strips of fabric hung from its form and it raised a hand towards Jason.

“Give it to me,” he hissed.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re looking for, but you’re not getting anything from me,” he growled, raising his fists.

“You fool!” it exclaimed, sucking in a ragged breath. “None of this will stop unless you surrender it or death comes.”

“How about we take the third option?” he asked. Jason grabbed one of the heavier books on the table and threw it at the creature. It caught it in its hand and whipped it back at Jason. Jason barely managed to duck before it slammed into the wall behind him with a deafening crack. Bits of plaster fell over his head.

“Jason?!” Tim called, voice rising in pitch.

The creature looked towards the door at Tim’s voice. Jason grit his teeth as the thing started moving towards them. Jason pulled the bedroom door shut behind him and rushed at the creature. He didn’t know what he was going to do, maybe he was hoping to tackle it or take it to the floor, but before anything could happen, an arm swept out and flung him to the side.

He crashed into the kitchen table, the legs snapping and crumbling under his weight. He groaned and watched as the creature approached the bedroom door, wrapping its long fingers around the knob.

Jason looked behind him, frantic for some sort of weapon. He spotted the knife block and grabbed the biggest blade he had. He rushed back towards the creature that was pushing open the door.

“Jason?!” Tim shouted from inside.

Jason rushed forward, pushing his legs to move as quickly as possible as the creature started to turn towards him. It wasn’t fast enough to fully turn and Jason managed to sink the knife into its shoulder. It shrieked and hissed, slamming back against the wall and forcing Jason to the floor. It writhed, trying to reach for the handle to pull it out.

Jason jumped up, wincing when one of the claws caught his arms and drew a long, but shallow, gash. He forced his shoulder against the creature’s back and pushed him up against the wall, twisting the blade of the knife as silver liquid started to come from the wound.

Jason grunted as it continued to squirm and buck. He shoved the blade in deeper, the screams becoming louder and louder. He sucked in a breath, trying to tighten his grip on the now slick blade. He pulled the blade free only far enough to get enough momentum to slash it back down, this time through the creature’s neck and into the wall.

The screech it let out was deafening and Jason staggered back, covering his ears from the sound. More silver liquid flooded from the wound, covering the neck and the fabric its body was swathed in.

The screech died before the movements did and Jason staggered backwards against the opposite wall as he watched its movements slow before it stilled. He wrapped his arm over the cut on his arm that was bleeding freely and fought to straighten. He stepped through the door to the bedroom and found Tim pressed back into the corner of the room.

He sagged when he saw Jason and rushed forward, taking Jason’s injured arm in his.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he murmured.

Jason nodded tiredly and let himself be led from the room. Tim sucked in a breath at the creature and Jason pushed him along. Tim grabbed the first aid kid from the bathroom and they sat on the couch.

“Are you okay?” Jason asked as Tim focused on cleaning the blood from the wound.

“I think I should be asking you that,” he muttered.

“I’m sorry.”

Tim paused, glancing up at him before he poured the saline solution on a cotton pad and pressed it over the cut.

“What are you sorry for?” he asked, wrapping gauze around Jason’s forearm.

“That you saw that I guess.”

Tim shrugged, shoulders stiff. “It’s not something you could’ve controlled.”

“I know, but still…I’m sorry.”

“Okay,” Tim whispered, tying off the ends of the gauze. “Can we go back to bed now?”

Jason nodded. “As soon as I change and take care of-oh.”

He looked over and found the body had disintegrated into a pile of ash on the floor, the knife still sticking out of the wall.

“I’ll sweep it up and you change,” Tim said, tossing everything back in the first aid kit.

Jason nodded and walked back to the bedroom, stepping over the ashes to avoid spreading them. He heard the sound of a broom as he changed, and he carried his dirty clothes into the hallway, determined to throw them in the trash.

“Here,” Tim said, holding open a plastic bag that held the creature’s ashes. Jason tossed his clothes inside and Tim tied off the bag. He walked over to the broken window and tossed it out, letting it fall to the alley below.

Jason groaned and retrieved a pair of garbage bags and some duct tape. They were just big enough to cover the window. “I’ll call and get that fixed tomorrow.”

Tim nodded and grabbed his uninjured arm, pulling him back to the bedroom. He locked the door behind them and they crawled into bed. Tim curled against him and Jason wrapped his arms around Tim’s form, holding him tightly against his chest as he buried his face in his clean shirt.

Neither of them were able to sleep for the rest of the night.

Tim blearily stumbled into the kitchen. He’d managed to shower and get dressed in his suit for work. Jason had just thrown on some jeans and a loose tee. He was busy making coffee when Tim sagged against him.

“Is it done yet?” he mumbled into his back.

“Just need to pour it in a cup,” he said, reaching into the cabinet above his head. He pulled down two cups and filled both almost to the brim. “Okay,” he said, reaching behind him to pull Tim against his side so he was standing and could take one of the mugs.

Tim leaned against his shoulder and sipped at his coffee. Jason did the same, neither of them having enough energy to move over to the table.

Tim finished his coffee and moved to refill his mug again when Jason stopped him. He pouted up at him.

“You can’t stand here all morning and drink coffee,” he said, taking the mug from Tim’s fingers. “Let me at least give you a travel mug so I can walk you to work.”

Tim grinned, leaning more heavily against him. “God, I love you.”

Jason bit his lip, feeling something twinge in his chest. He grabbed the travel mug at the back of the cabinet and screwed off the lid, filling it with almost the rest of the pot. He put the lid on tightly, so Tim could avoid spilling it all over himself and passed it back. He poured the rest of the pot into his mug which only filled it halfway.

He chugged the rest of it and slammed his mug down. “Ready to go?” he asked, feeling a little more awake now that the coffee was in his stomach and he knew energy would be dumping into his blood soon enough.

“Yeah,” Tim sighed, taking a sip from his mug.

Jason shoved his feet into a pair of ratty sneakers and held the door for Tim who walked through. Tim was still a little wobbly on his feet and Jason threw an arm around his shoulders to keep him steady.

The sun was shining outside, and a light breeze ruffled their hair as they walked. It looked like it was going to be a peaceful day, a stark contrast to what had happened to them the night before.

“I wish the world could stay like this all the time,” Tim sighed, taking a sip of his coffee.

Jason tightened his hold. “I’ll try to keep it that way for you, okay?”

Tim looked up at him and smiled. “Okay.”

They walked in silence the rest of the way. Jason reluctantly pulled his arm from around Tim’s shoulders, not wanting to let him go. And it wasn’t because of the chance he could be attacked at work.

“See you in the afternoon?” Tim asked.

Jason smiled. “Of course! I’ll be out here waiting for you and hopefully by the time you get back, the window’s going to be fixed.”

Tim smiled. “I hope so. I don’t really want to have a breeze blowing through the apartment.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll get all fixed,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Tim stepped towards the door, pausing to look over his shoulder at Jason. He ducked his head and pushed through the door, disappearing inside.

Jason sighed, staring at his reflection in the window before he turned on his heel and headed back towards the apartment. He pulled out his phone and dialed the number of the landlord, intent on giving Tim what he’d promised.

Jason stifled a yawn as he sat on the couch. The repairmen were scheduled to come up later that afternoon and would hopefully be done by the time he got back with Tim. He reached for his phone to check the time and it started ringing in his hand.

He frowned when he saw it was Tim calling him and answered it. Tim’s voice flooded through the speaker before he could say ‘hello.’

“Jason!” Tim screamed.

Jason’s blood ran cold. He could hear the sounds of crashes and breaking glass in the background. He jumped to his feet, already rushing towards the door.

“Tim, what is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, shoving his feet into his sneakers.

“There’s a creature. Huge, I don’t even know,” he said, voice shaky and scared. “It got inside and it’s rampaging the office.”

“I’m on my way,” he said, throwing the door open and sprinting for the stairs. “Can you get away from it?”

“I’m trying,” Tim said. His breaths were tight and short, and Jason was worried he might be on the verge of a panic attack.

“Where are you?” Jason asked, hitting the pavement. He could hear screams and people running towards him to get away from the disaster zone. Part of the Tim’s building had blasted outward, a gaping hole in the side of the structure.

“I’m in the stairwell,” he answered. “I’m trying to get to the ground floor. Jason…”

“It’s going to be okay,” Jason said. “I’m almost there. I’m going to get you and save you. How close are you to the bottom floor?”

“I…I just passed the fifth floor.”

“Good,” Jason said. “Keep going. You can make it, Tim. You’re going to be okay.”

“Okay,” Tim whimpered.

Jason’s throat tightened. A flash of white hot warmth seared across his palm. It wasn’t painful, but it was more noticeable than past instances which worried him. Whatever he was going to face was going to be big.

Another wave of glass shattered out of the building and Jason pushed himself faster, willing his legs to fly. For a fleeting moment, he wished the supernatural shit extended to him and he could grow wings and fly to Tim.

“I’m almost to the bottom,” Tim said, coming through the line again.

“Good, good,” Jason said. “I’m less than a block away. As soon as you get out, I want you to sprint out the doors toward the apartment. Put as much space between you and this creature as you can.”

“Okay,” he said, sounding uncertain.

Several more people rushed past Jason and he kept glancing at the double doors, willing Tim to burst through them.

“I’m in the lobby,” Tim said.

“Okay, okay,” Jason said.

Several agonizing moments passed before the doors opened and Tim came rushing out. Jason felt a moment of relief despite the horrific setting around them. Jason shoved his phone into his pocket and reached for Tim as he jumped towards him.

Jason caught him in his arms and buried his face in his hair.

The sound of metal crunching broke their moment and Jason looked up, finding a large monster crawling down the side of the building.

“Go, go, go,” Jason said, pushing Tim behind him back down the sidewalk.

The creature jumped down to the sidewalk, making the earth shake underneath their feet. Jason stumbled as Tim tried to pull him along. It roared, sounding like a mixture between a bear and a bird. It was smaller than Jason would’ve thought, but still the size of a tank and closing fast.

Jason looked around frantically for a weapon. Finding nothing, he wrapped an arm around Tim and sprinted to the side out of the path of the rampaging creature. It hurried past, unable to slow down fast enough because of its mass.

“Stay in here,” Jason said, tucking Tim into the alley and out of sight. He heard another roar behind him and searched for something to use. He grabbed the lid of a metal trash can. “See if you can find something better,” he told Tim.

“O-okay,” he said.

Jason turned and sprinted out of the alley. The creature turned towards him, roaring in his direction. Jason swallowed, holding the lid in front of him. Its tail whipped to the side, slamming into one of the buildings. The floor above its tail crumbled as brick fell to the sidewalk.

He let out a shaky breath at the sight and the sheer power radiating from the creature. He ran forward and gripped the edges of the lid, slamming it across the face of the monster. Its head swung to the side before it refocused and turned back to Jason, letting out a roar. It surged forward, aiming to bite off Jason’s head, but he held up the lid, lodging it in between its jaws.

One of its teeth caught on Jason’s arm and cut deeply. Jason hissed and reared back, clutching at the bleeding wound. The creature wagged its head back and forth, fighting to dislodge the lid between its jaws.

Sirens sounded behind Jason.

“I need a weapon,” he hissed.

“Jason!”

He turned to the side and watched as Tim threw a bent and mangled golf club towards him. He sighed and caught it in his hand. It was better than nothing. He raised the golf club over his head, ignoring the stinging from the wound in his arm and brought it down on the head of the creature.

The first blow landed on its open snout. The second landed on its eye. A pained roar echoed from deep in its throat. It reared back, front legs coming up off the ground before it slammed back down, causing tremors under Jason’s feet.

Jason stumbled back, eyes dropping to the ground as he fought to keep his balance. Something slammed into his side, sending him reeling as the breath left him in a rush. He grunted as his back hit the side of a building and he collapsed to the ground.

“Fuck,” he hissed, pain radiating through his body as he fought to sit up. He saw cop cars turn the corner of the street where Tim’s office building was. They covered the lanes as the cops scrambled to get out of their cruisers and ready their weapons. The creature took no notice of them, keeping its gaze on Jason.

Jason tightened his grip on the golf club and struggled to his feet. His side throbbed and Jason figured he’d probably have to go to the hospital after this. The creature’s jaws crunched down and it spat the crumpled metal lid from its jaw.

It roared at Jason and he lifted his golf club--that was slightly more bent now--and rushed forward. He evaded the snapping jaws and brought the club down on its eye again, causing it to swell and bleed as it roared. Its head swung to the side, catching Jason on the side and throwing him down the street.

Jason rolled harshly against the pavement, the club wrenched painfully from his hands.

“Jason!”

Jason’s ears rang, muffling Tim’s scream, but it still came through. He heard the creature roar again and the sound of multiple guns firing.

Jason grunted and got his hands underneath him. He pushed up on the ground and managed to stagger to his feet. He caught sight of Tim peeking out of the alley, watching him with worried and concerned eyes. The creature had turned towards him and Jason fought to wave his hand and signal him to get back.

The creature started forward.

“No!” Jason shouted. A surge of adrenaline moved through his veins and he hurried forward, ignoring the unbearable pain he was in. He grabbed the golf club and rushed forward, getting in between Tim and the creature. He swung the club, striking the creature on the nose.

It raised a hand and swiped at Jason, flinging him to the side. He screamed as something in his body broke and he landed heavily on his back. The wind was knocked out of him, his mouth moving as he fought to try and suck in a breath of air.

Jason looked to the side and found the creature bearing down on Tim as he back further into the alley. Jason groaned, and rolled over, screaming as he rolled onto his broken arm. He pushed himself up with his good arm and grabbed the golf club, limping towards the creature. He wacked it on the side.

“Leave him alone you fucker!” he screamed.

“Civilian, step out of the way!” someone called over a loudspeaker behind him.

The creature turned towards him and roared in his face, spit flying over Jason, but he didn’t let up.

“I won’t let you hurt him!” Jason screamed, punctuating it with a deliberate hit.

The creature turned towards him, each foot falling heavily into the asphalt. He roared again. Jason expected another claw to swipe out at him and didn’t notice as its tail whipped around and slammed into him, sending him flying into one of the brick buildings.

Jason coughed, blood dribbling from his lips. He watched through bleary eyes as a loud whistling sounded in the air. Something, a missile maybe, hit the side of the creature and it reared back down the street, turning to face the new threat.

Another missile launched and hit the side of the creature in a ball of flames. The creature screamed and writhed and started to retreat as the armed force chased after it.

“Jason? Jason!”

Tim’s voice came to him slowly as his face filled his vision.

“Tim…you’re safe,” he said, coughing up more blood.

“Shh, shh,” he said, pulling Jason into his arms as he groaned. “It’s going to be okay, you’re going to be okay.”

Jason watched as Tim’s eyes filled with tears. He raised a bloody hand to his cheek, feeling his strength draining. He knew this was the end. This was what he’d been given an extra life for and now it was done. His only regret was that now he had something he wanted to live for.

“This is the end for me, Tim.”

Tim shook his head. “No! No, don’t say that! You’re supposed to live. You’re supposed to be fine. You were going to get the window fixed and we were going to stay safe in your apartment.” Tim choked on a sob and Jason offered him a bloody smile.

“I’m sorry, Tim. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay around longer. I love you, Tim. I’m sorry, but I love you.”

“No, no,” Tim said. “Don’t fucking apologize. Don’t-“ he cut himself off and ducked his head to press a kiss to Jason’s lips.

Jason kissed back weakly before he stilled, his hand falling from Tim’s cheek, leaving a streak of blood behind.

Tim pulled back as the tears spilled over. He shook Jason’s limp body in his arms. “No, Jason! You can’t do this! You can’t leave me. You can’t just say that and leave, you bastard!” he screamed. He choked on a sob as a swarm of people surrounded him. Paramedics pulled Jason from his arms and another pair started to check him for any injuries but their questions fell on deaf ears.

Tim couldn’t take his eyes off Jason’s form even though he knew he wasn’t coming back.

If you enjoy my work, please reblog or consider buying me a ko-fi!

#jaytim #molim writes #jaytimweek #blood oath #urban fantasy

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calumsbaby-blog · 7 years

Text

Ruined Us pt.3

A/N Hey loves, part three is here and I hope you enjoy it. Remember I take requests and I’ll gladly do imagines or blurbs for you. Enjoy <3

I slowly walked up to the door of boys house, a place I've grown accustomed to but now it feels as if I've never entered through this door. I'm very hesitant to knock on the mahogany door, but once I mustered up the courage the door swings open revealing a blonde Micheal.

“Mel!” He yells, wrapping his arms around me in a warm embrace. I lightly pat him on the back, a little anxious about the situation but I'll pull through.

“Hi Mikey.” I say plastering a smile on my face after he pulls away from me. I can see Luke and Ashton behind him with wide smiles. Micheal steps out of my way and Ashton runs up to me and pulls me farther into the room while Luke rushes to Ramona mentioning something about new guitars.

“He's in his room.” Ashton whispers as if he were afraid the others would come with us.

“Thank you.” I reply before descending up the stairs to Calum's room. I stand at the front of his door for a couple of minutes debating whether I should knock or just come right in, I end up knocking earning a small ‘come in’ for my answer.

I slowly walk in and close the door behind me, and stand there for a minute staring at the boy I love, his almond brown eyes were puffy and red as if he'd been crying for quite a while. His nose was a tad red as well, and his cheeks that I always loved squishing before kissing him were tear stained. We stare at each other for a couple of seconds before Calum ended up breaking the silence between us.

“Hey.” He sniffles before looking back down at his pillow, he pat the spot next to him but I took a seat at the edge of his bed. I honestly don't know what to say to him. Do I yell, do I cry? “How are you doing?” He asked, his voice seemed bored but when I looked into those brown eyes you could tell that the question kept him up at night.

“Do not ask me that question.” I replied now feeling the tears build up in my eyes. I tried to blink them away but they ended up falling upon my cheeks, I quickly averted my eyes down in my lap my hair shielding my face as I let the tears fall.

“Why can't I?” Calum asks, I feel the bed dip in front of me. He probably scooted closer to me, I look up to see the Maori boy his eyebrows furrowed and eyes full of hurt. I quickly swipe away the fresh tears from my cheeks and look at him straight in the eye. A sudden fire inside of me sparking.

“You can't ask a person is doing right after tearing them apart Calum. You have no right.” I snapped. His eyes widened at my sudden change of attitude, but that was only the start. “You ruined me Calum. You took every bone from my body and broke it, you ripped every organ from my chest and butchered them. You carelessly breathed in every essence of my soul like one of your cigarettes but you never returned it. I became lost without you. I don't know how to breathe or walk - let alone get out of bed- I don't even know who I am, that's because you took all of me. All of my pieces and scrambled them together. A mixed up puzzle the one you never put back together.” At this point I can feel my heart aching and it hurts somuch. I grab at my chest and let out a loud sob I've been holding in, and hear Calum sniffle above me, only making everything hurt even worse.

“I'm sorry, I didn't ever want to hurt you.” He whimpered. I looked up to see his almond eyes full of tears and his lips were trembling.

“But you did Calum. But I'm sorry that I can never be her.” I whispered, he opened his mouth to interject but I interrupted him. “I saw the pictures on the internet. Once I saw her I knew I couldn't be compared to her. Her looks will never compare to me, and the fact that she seemed to make you happy enough to do this means my character could never compare to hers. Over the months I just loved you more and more, but every photo of us you would take down, or every night out canceled was my reminder that I couldn't fully get you to love me like I love you Calum.” I cry even harder and end up wrapping my arms around Calum's torso and cried into his chest letting out all my sobs staining his grey T-shirt.

“Mel I do love you. I love you so much.” He cried holding onto me tightly as if he's trying to pull my pieces back together.

“If I could take every tear I've cried over you I could fill oceans.” I whisper.

He pulled away and gazed into my probably bloodshot eyes, “I'm so sorry I hurt you Mel.” He replied grasping onto my hand. I stared at the small gesture, I wish it could warm me up and fill me with happiness like it used to. I extracted my hand from his grip, I've always knew Calum was too good to be true but I've always hoped for the best, I thought but didn't say. Instead, “I was anchored onto you like a buoy.” I replied out loud while walking over to his room door to leave, before walking out I turned, “But you left me to drown in the ocean of my tears and love for you.” And like that I walked out, feeling more broken than before.

“Mel wake up.” Ramona demands as she enters my room. I groan and turn on my side before pulling the covers over my head.

“Mel now, we have interviews.” Ramona says while ripping the covers off of my body, causing me to tumble off the bed and land on my back.

“Fuck.” I yelp before sitting up rubbing my lower back to try and relieve some pain. I shoot Ramona a deathlike glare and proceed to get up and walk to my dresser and grab a decent outfit for today.

I settled on a plain black t-shirt with denim shorts and black stockings, tying the outfit together with my black doc martins and a simple choker. I spray my favorite fruity perfume and walk over to my bed to grab my bag. Keys, phone, earbuds, wallet, and charger is all there. Please with everything I walk over to my body mirror and pull up my messy purple hair into a simple ponytail pulling some strands of hair from the sides to frame my face. I quickly walk over to my dresser and fill in my eyebrows, and then swipe on a few coats of mascara.

“Ramona are you ready?” I call into the hallway as I depart from my room, only to see my sister waiting patiently on our couch twirling her keys with her pointer finger.

“I've been ready now come on.” She replies rolling her eyes before disappearing behind our front room door.

“Now you guys have a gig in a few days?” The bleach blonde reporter asks. If anyone questioned me on how I felt my answer would be annoyed, this reporter's voice is annoying and she seems to be trying too hard just for an interview.

“We do, it will be in downtown LA and it's only five dollars to enter, we will be giving everything we earn to charities.” Ramona beamed, I'm proud that she came up with the idea of us giving all our earnings to charity.

“Now Mel, I'm going to ask you a few things,”

God no please.

“How are you? With the whole Calum cheating mishap?” She questions furrowing her blonde and fairly thin eyebrows, her green eyes piercing through my whole soul.

I swallow down the large lump in my throat and twirl my thumbs around each other, looking down at my lap. “Well I should be saying that it's okay, but that'd make me the biggest liar ever if I said that. So it's not okay and it won't ever be, I believe that he knows his actions had such a big impact like they did. They ruined me, but the fact that he never noticed me catching on, him deleting our pictures and going out with her when we had plans. That destroyed me, broke me down.” I mumbled earning a small ‘mmmm’ from the green eyed blondie.

“Do you ever wish to go back to when you two first met? Connected?”

“See that's the sad thing about time. I do wish I could go back, but you can't. Once time passes you can't go back, you either mourn its absence or focus on the here and now. I feel myself mourning Calum quite often. My heart feels hollow and I can't trick myself into thinking that I'm whole. My body knows Calum is not with me, I should have told him that I knew, I should have hugged him tighter, fought a little harder, cried a little louder. I could have, but I didn't and I wish I did.” I reply wiping the tears away, not daring to look back up at the reporter.

“I'm sorry Mel.” Ramona coos, rubbing small circles on my back to try and help me.

“You and Calum met at a party? What do you think would've happened if you ignored him?”

I laugh at her question, how would I have reacted? “I probably would've had a hard time ignoring him anyway. Those eyes of his pulled me in, and anyone who says his brown eyes are boring they are so horribly wrong- they're so easy to fall into. His were beautiful, so easy to fall into. Maybe the alcohol helped, but I felt dizzy looking into them. We stayed on the front lawn that morning, just joking around laughing with each other, and even though we missed the sunrise, I felt like I had witnessed the greatest artwork of all time just watching him. How his eyes crinkled around whenever he'd genuinely laugh. His smile, I love that smile so much, I love him so much.” I whimpered, taking that it's too much I get up and walk out of the room. People are coming around me, shoving water bottles and tissues in my hands, I start to panic there's too many people and it's making everything worse.

“Please move.” I whimper feeling overwhelmed with all the crowding around me. Nobody listens, their voices just overlap and it all becomes too much, the Calum questions, the upcoming gig, and the cheating, all of it's too much. I push through everyone and rush to the exit to try and calm myself with some fresh air.

“Look who came to the party. Want a smoke?” A voice by my left side asks. I turn my head and face Josh, great now my ex?

“No.” I hiss, turning my head away from him not wanting to see the drummer, the person who once taught me my dream, my passion.

“That's one way to treat me. But I guess you're aloud to be mad since that boy broke you. What was his name? Calum? The bassist?” He sneered causing me to turn back to him and take a couple steps closer to his face. As I'm gazing at him, I can see the stubble on his chin that he has yet to shave, and smell the deathly minty scent off of him that overwhelms my senses. Memories flooding through my head of Calum, yet Josh is showing every other picture.

“Don't ever talk about him, you don't deserve it.” I spat, causing him to smile widely. He threw his cigarette on the floor and stomped on it, turning ever so slowly to face me again.

“And you don't deserve the hurt he brought you princess.” He replied walking away from the building leaving me standing here with so many thoughts.

#calum hood #calum 5sos #5 seconds of summer #5sos #5sos fanfic #fanfic #with confidence #ashton irwin #luke hemmings #micheal clifford #josh brozzesi

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katrinawritesthings · 7 years

Text

Jinki/Taemin; Moving Day (Part 3/4); PG

still tw for anxiety, abuse mentions, and v smol emetophobia mentions

Jinki heads to his bedroom really quick to plug his phone into his charger and wiggle into some fresh clothes. By the time he gets back to the living room, Jonghyun and Key have tugged Taemin in and laid him gently down on Jonghyun’s bed. Taemin curls up small, hands gripping his water bottle tight. Key pulls a sheet up to his waist and Jonghyun pushes his hair out of his face.

“Just rest,” Jonghyun says quietly.

Moving Day: 1-2-3-4

Week Two: 1-2-3

Extra Baggage: 1

Taemin hasn’t uttered a word for over an hour.

Jinki keeps glancing at him in the rearview mirror, quick little looks whenever they hit a bit of traffic or a relatively empty stretch of road. His head is in his hands, body hunched over with his elbows on his knees, dark hair covering his face. His plastic bag dangles off of his pinky and his fingers haven’t stopped twitching ever since they hit the highway. He hasn’t thrown up yet, but there have been a few close calls of frantic rustling and hands clenching his bag so tightly that his knuckles turn white. Key next to him has their feet crossed on Jinki’s glove compartment but their hand hasn’t left Taemin’s body once this whole time. Not even when they leaned forward at a stoplight to hand Jinki their ipod to plug into his stereo to run through a playlist of quiet, chill songs.

He doesn’t have to speak, obviously; he’s going through a lot and it’s not like Jinki needs help getting back to his own home or anything. It’s perfectly okay for Taemin to stay silent. It’s just… worrying.

Taemin isn’t ready for this. He knew that from the start, they all did, but it still makes guilt and insecurity swirl in Jinki’s chest. He knows that they’re doing the right thing. He knows that Taemin needed to get out of that house and as far away as possible. They’d all made plans together over two years ago and had only been strengthening and improving on them since. He knows that Taemin would never be fully prepared and okay with this, and that was part of the plan too. But still--knowing that in theory and then seeing it out in practise are two very different things.

He doesn’t know how long Taemin’s frequent panic attacks are going to last, how long he’ll carry his constant fears and what-ifs with him, how long it’ll take him to feel safe again. Driving this car, being the one that’s personally transporting Taemin away, makes Jinki feel responsible for his super anxiety. And he wants to help, but he doesn’t know how. It’s best to leave that to Key and Jonghyun, but that just makes him feel helpless. He squeezes his steering wheel and sighs quietly as he slows just enough to let someone merge in front of him. At least they’re almost home.

“Hey… Jinx?”

“Hmm?” Jinki glances in his rearview mirror at Key’s voice. Key is looking at their phone, but they glance back to him after a second.

“Jong says that there’s a really nice diner between here and your place,” they say. Jinki thinks, then nods. He knows the one that Jonghyun is talking about.

“Yeah,” he says. “Like, fifteen minutes from here, maybe. And then just a few minutes from there to home.”

“Okay,” Key says. Then, “Taem?” they ask softly. Jinki glances back again to see Taemin wince. “Did you hear?” Key asks. “Do you want to get lunch?” There’s a silence after that. Jinki doesn’t see or hear Taemin reply, but after a moment, Key tsks soothingly. “Okay, pretty,” they say. “What if the both of them got something and then brought it home with them?” Another pause, followed by another “Okay.” Jinki hears the soft rustling of Taemin’s plastic bag and the soft peck of Key’s lips. “Will you promise me you’ll have some bread or crackers after you’ve laid down for a bit, though?” Key asks. A third pause and a third “okay,” and when Jinki glances in the mirror again, Key is leaning back in their seat.

“No diner?” he asks, just to be sure.

“No diner,” Key confirms, hand rubbing over Taemin’s back. Jinki nods. Alright then. He doesn’t really want a big meal anyway.

“Twenty more minutes,” he tells them both. “Until home.”

True to his word, twenty minutes later, Jinki pulls the minivan slowly passed the neighbor’s side of the duplex, around the corner of his and Jonghyun’s, and brings it to a stop. He caught Choi’s car on the street outside so he doesn’t particularly hurry in getting out to unlock the front door. Jonghyun is probably pulling it open right now. Instead, he smothers a yawn in his hand and clumsily unbuckles himself. Twisting in his seat, he watches Taemin uncurling himself from the position he’d spent the past while in.

He leans back against the seat, butt slouching further towards the edge, hands rubbing over his face, palms pressing into his eyes, mouth open with deep breaths. When he lowers his hands and blearily blinks around the car, his eyes land on Jinki and stay there. Jinki gives him a little wave and little smile.

“We’re here,” he says.

“Mmmgh,” Taemin says. He closes his eyes and rubs them again before sitting up straight. “Yeah,” he breathes. His hand falls to the door, fumbles for the handle, and pushes it open. He stumbles when he gets out, but Key follows with a hand on his back and the backpack Taemin forgot over his shoulder. Jinki slips out of the car as well and stretches his arms over his head. When he circles around to the little walkway to the door, he finds Jonghyun handing Taemin a bottle of ice water with a straw in it.

“Little sips, okay?” he hums, pressing his lips to Taemin’s cheek. Taemin nods, bringing the straw to his lips with a weak hand. He looks up at the house, eyes rolling over the blue paint, the cobbled walkway, the small flowers in the windowsills. He’s been here one time before, snuck here for barely more than two hours during what he told his parents was a trip to the mall with his friends. Jinki had never seen anyone happier during that time. The contrast to Taemin then and how drained and anxious he looks now is almost painful.

Jinki looks passed him and sees Choi standing in the doorway with their usual little smile. He scoots around the other three and heads that way first.

“We cleaned up a little,” Choi signs at him, and Jinki smiles back a quick “thanks.” He and Jonghyun didn’t exactly have time to clean up in their rush yesterday. Stepping inside, he looks around the open living room and nods. Jonghyun’s notebooks and music stuff, usually strewn all over the cushioned floor, are neatly stacked in the corner where they’re actually supposed to be. The pillows and sheets are still kind of a mess, but they’re less of a mess than usual so it actually looks like a big bed for once. When he slips into the kitchen to grab himself a water, he sees that the dishes that were on the table and sink have been washed also. Nice.

He heads to his bedroom really quick to plug his phone into his charger and wiggle into some fresh clothes. By the time he gets back to the living room, Jonghyun and Key have tugged Taemin in and laid him gently down on Jonghyun’s bed. Taemin curls up small, hands gripping his water bottle tight. Key pulls a sheet up to his waist and Jonghyun pushes his hair out of his face.

“Just rest,” Jonghyun says quietly. He leans down to press a kiss to Taemin’s cheek.

“But sit up if you want to drink,” Key says. They fix the sheet up neater and stand up straight, tugging Jonghyun with them to the kitchen. Jinki follows and sits at the table next to Jonghyun, Key across. Choi helpfully hands them all a bag of chips from the counter.

“Thanks, babe,” Jonghyun says, unfolding a napkin and piling some on. Jinki does the same, while Key kind of scrunches his nose and gets up to get some dry cereal. They’re all silent for a few moments, but then, “I’m worried,” Jonghyun mumbles. He rests his palm in his chin and pouts at his chips. Jinki paps his shoulder gently.

“We all are,” Key sighs.

“Yeah, but,” Jonghyun says, and then shakes his head, sips his water. “What if he’s not okay?”

“He wasn’t okay before,” Jinki says.

“He’ll be better, at least,” Key adds. Jonghyun looks between them with his teeth between his lips before he sighs and nods.

“True,” he mumbles. “Did you guys figure out how many boxes you could fit in your car?” he asks.

“I think we’re just gonna be able to take his clothes today,” Key sighs. “I forgot to take my dance bag out of the trunk this morning. Plus all of Choi’s camera stuff.” They shrug again. Jinki hums thoughtfully. They could probably fit some more of Taemin’s stuff in the clothes box, if they’re organized enough. He doesn’t have a lot; maybe a few of his games so he can distract himself from his emotions if they get to be too much.

“You can take the rest next week,” he says. They can clean out their car and he and Jonghyun can just take the leftover boxes with them on the way to The Midpoint, and then they can take it all home with them. “Or, the week after,” he adds, glancing quickly behind him into the living room. He feels like maybe Taemin won’t be up for much next week.

“Mm, yeah,” Key says, nodding easily. “Sounds good.”

“Yeah,” Jonghyun says quietly. Jinki rubs his arm soothingly. “Hmm?” Jonghyun adds at that. Jinki blinks and looks up; a sympathetic pat doesn’t strike him as a questionable gesture. Jonghyun isn’t even looking at him, though, which just makes him even more confused. “No, we don’t have mint,” Jonghyun says. Jinki blinks again and finally follows his gaze to--Choi. Oh. Yeah, okay, that makes sense. Choi sighs, then signs something else that Jinki actually sees this time.

“Ginger,” he repeats slowly, looking to the fridge and trying to remember. “I think we have some, yeah,” he says, pointing. “In the middle drawer.” Choi gives him a thumbs up and moves the check the fridge themself. With them away from the stove, Jinki notices that they have two of the burners occupied. What the fuck. How did he not notice that. One of them is a small pot full of just water and the other is a pan with two pieces of bread slowly toasting inside. “What are you doing?” he asks as Choi shuts the fridge. Choi turns just enough with one hand in the utensil drawer to sign “nausea food.”

“Taemin doesn’t like the crusts,” Jonghyun says, standing up to hover over the pan with a worried little pout. Choi shrugs.

“I’ll cut them off after,” they sign. Jonghyun hums with mild disapproval.

“Also, why are you toasting bread on the stove?” he asks. This time, Choi just taps the carton of eggs that they got out with the ginger.

“Eggs aren’t good for nausea,” Key says flatly. Choi turns to point at themself with a little smirk and Jinki rolls his eyes. Of course.

“Hey, make me some too, please, Minjunggie?” Jonghyun asks, nuzzling Choi’s shoulder gently. Choi gives him a little kiss and a little smile as an answer.

Soon, Choi has a nice little lunch platter put together. A crustless peanut butter and banana toast sandwich cut into triangles with crackers and ginger tea on one side, and a heaping pile of super salted scrambled eggs on the other. They smile at it, arranging everything to be more pretty with a note of satisfaction. Then they grab the little notepad from the counter, fold over the grocery list for that week, and start scribbling a note for Taemin to read. Jonghyun pushes Choi’s plate a little to the side to try to fit his own bowl on, but when Choi sees, they shake their head and push him gently away.

“I think I should sit with him alone for a little bit,” they sign. “No offense, but you three kind of talk a lot.” Even their fingers seem as amused as their little grin when Jonghyun humphs quietly. Jonghyun still nods though, and curls his bowl of eggs close to himself as he sits back at the table.

“He doesn’t like when people watch him eat,” Key says as Choi picks up their little tray. Choi nods that they understood and steps quietly into the living room. Jinki turns to watch them step gently over Jonghyun’s bed and sit down a comfortable distance away from Taemin. He turns back after Choi waves, only to find both Jonghyun and Key still watching. He smiles, amused.

“Jonghyun, did you want to shower?” he asks. He knows that he’s not going to shower until it’s time to sleep, but Jonghyun never cares what time he gets in. Jonghyun chews his bottom lip, looks down at his eggs, shrugs.

“When I finish these,” he mumbles, stabbing a small forkful. Jinki nods. Alright then. He turns to Key, who already finished their cereal, the crispy bread crusts, and the leftover half a banana Choi offered all of them a few minutes ago.

“Wanna go see if we can fit more stuff into Taemin’s clothes box?” he asks.

“Mm, yeah, okay,” Key hums. They stand up, wash their dishes, and then follow Jinki out to the van. Jinki opens up the back and just clambers inside, pushing aside a box so he can nestle into the corner against the back of the backseat. Then he smiles and pats the space next to him. Key climbs in obediently, but comes to a hesitant stop in front of Jinki.

“Hey, um,” they say, sitting on their heels. They tug a box closer and fiddle with the tape. “Can I, like, lean on you?” they ask. “Like, against your chest. Between your legs.” Their cheeks don’t color, but their fingers tap an awkward staccato onto the box. Jinki doesn’t even hesitate before he nods, wiggling his legs out to give Key room. It's not like they've never snuggled before.

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” he says. He makes grabby hands to make Key laugh softly as they move to settle against him. They take the box with them and nuzzle just slightly into Jinki’s neck.

“It’s, just,” they mumble. “Now that Taem is safe and I’m not in mom mode my anxiety is starting to get to me and it helps to have, like. Someone else’s heartbeat and breathing to match mine too.”

“It’s okay,” Jinki says softly. He knows. “You don’t have to explain yourself.” He pats Key’s side and reaches around him to pluck at the tape on the box. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best idea to tape them all up anyway. It’s not like a few hours on the highway are particularly bumpy.

“Yeah, well,” Key mumbles. They bat Jinki’s hands away and stab a pocket knife into the tape instead, slicing it open easily. “Usually I’m on Choi, but. They’re kinda busy at--oh, Jinx,” they say, voice turning from quiet and hesitant to judging and disappointed. “You three just folded everything?” they ask. Jinki frowns, very much noticing their distasteful little frown.

“I--yes?” he says. They folded the clothes and packed them neatly inside of the box. A perfectly sensible and organized thing to do. Key still sighs, though, and shakes their head as they pull some things out.

“You’re supposed to roll clothes when you’re packing things,” they say disapprovingly. Jinki has no idea what the fuck they mean by that, and he says that very defensively. In reply, Key pats his head and starts rolling.

Some half hour later, after a lot of rolling on Key’s part and grumbling on Jinki’s part, they have several smaller bags full of Taemin’s stuff packed into the box as well. As they clamber out of the van Jinki pats both the box and Key’s shoulder before he shuts the trunk and locks it up.

Inside, they find the kitchen empty, but all three of the others sat on Jonghyun’s bed. Taemin is sitting with his back to the couch and his knees hugged to his chest with his mug of tea held between both hands. His straw is in there now instead of in his water. Choi is sitting across from him, slowly signing the end of a sentence. Taemin’s brows furrow, teeth between his bottom lip.

“That’s… please be quiet?” he says, tone raising uncertainly at the end. Choi shakes their head; Jonghyun nuzzles Taemin’s shoulder, messing up his shower-damp hair.

“Don’t be so loud,” he corrects. “Like, quieter, but you don’t have to be completely silent.”

“Oh,” Taemin says, and oh, Jinki thinks. Okay. They’re teaching Taemin some of the general important things first. Good idea. He slips his shoes off and makes his way around them, stepping carefully over the soft bedding. He waves pleasantly when the other three look up at him and Key, then sits himself down comfortably next to Jonghyun. Key takes a seat on Taemin’s other side and pulls another pillow from the couch to hold in their arms.

“Hi,” Taemin says quietly.

“Hi,” Jinki mumbles back. He looks at the little food tray between the four of them and Choi and sees two crackers and half of Taemin’s sandwich left. Well. At least he ate some. He reaches forward slowly and kind of just takes a cracker when no one moves to stop him.

“Feeling better?” Key asks. Taemin opens his mouth, shakes his head, shrugs, and closes it with a slow breath.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I don’t think... I’m feeling anything... except tired.” He sips his tea with his straw and makes a little noise when a few drips fall out and onto his shirt. Jinki puts his chin on Jonghyun’s shoulder thoughtfully. Makes sense, he guesses. A pity that once he has a night’s rest it’ll be the day that his parents find out. His anxiety will tire him out again immediately. At least right now, he might be able to sleep through the trip to Key and Choi’s place and avoid another ride with a rumbly tummy.

“Um… Kibummie?” Taemin asks. “And, Choi?” His voice is muffled; when Jinki looks up, he’s biting the rim of his mug, staring inside instead of at the two he’s trying to speak to. “Um,” he says again. “Do you think… maybe… can we spend the night here?” he asks. “Please?” His eyes are big when he peeps up. Jinki’s own eyes widen too at the question.

“Really?” he asks. “I thought you wanted to get as far away as soon as possible.” That was the plan, has been the plan from the start. Get Taemin, a quick lunch here, and then send him off to live even further away from his parents. To add another two and a half hours to the hour and a half between them and here.

“I know, but,” Taemin says, voice tight. “I can't--I need.” He puts his mug down and takes Jonghyun’s hand in one hand and Key’s hand in the other. “I need both of you,” he whispers into his knees. Key lifts their free hand to run soothingly through his hair. “And… you two. Too.” Taemin adds. He looks between Jinki and Choi pleadingly. “Just… just for tonight,” he says. He sounds almost desperate but Jinki is already shrugging and nodding. Whatever makes Taemin feel the best. Jonghyun nods also.

“It’s kind of late, anyway,” he says. “It might be dark before you get home.” He gestures out of the window at the perfectly sunny afternoon; Jinki muffles a snort into his shoulder. Even with his night driving phobia that’s kind of pushing it.

“Before six thirty?” Kibum asks flatly.

Choi throws their crumpled up napkin at their head.

“Hey--what?” Key hisses, grabbing it and chucking it back at them. “I wasn’t telling him no,” they grumble. “Just, like, if you’re gonna come up with a bullshit excuse then at least put some effort into it.” Choi just smirks at them and fakes throwing the napkin again. Key winces, then glares. Their annoyed half growl is interrupted by Taemin speaking.

“So,” he says. “You’ll stay here?” His voice shakes just a touch, so little that Jinki barely caught it. Key takes their annoyed glare away from Choi, softening it into a reassuring nod.

“Yeah,” they say. “We’ll stay here. With you.”

“With me,” Taemin repeats. Jinki nods even though no one is looking. With him. The babe of ages, the MVP.

“A slumber party,” Jonghyun gasps softly. He claps his little hands together with bright eyes. “Videogames and movies and pizza.” He bounces a little bit on the pillows; Jinki smiles, amused, but also sighs because he has to be the one to remind Jonghyun of the bad news.

“The gluten-free pizza place closed down last month, remember?” he says. There is no deliverable pizza for Jonghyun’s poor tum. Jonghyun’s bouncing immediately stops.

“Oh,” he says, and deflates against Taemin’s side. “Fuck.”

“I can make quesadillas,” Key says. “With… whatever ingredients you two have.” They lean forward so they can peer at Jonghyun around Taemin. Jonghyun gasps loudly and starts bouncing again.

“Videogames and movies and quesadillas,” he chirps, clapping softly.

“God, you’re so cute,” Taemin breathes. He turns to wrap his arms around Jonghyun’s shoulders and squeeze him tight enough to make him squeak and giggle. Jinki smiles as he watches Jonghyun nuzzle the side of Taemin’s head. They’re both cute. And after a moment, Taemin’s tight squeeze turns into more of a relaxed hold, fingers pressing just into the back of Jonghyun’s shirt. Jinki hears the faintest little kissie noises from Jonghyun’s neck and more mumbled words that he can’t catch. What he does catch is the tone: low and flattering, just a touch amused. It puts some of his worries at ease.

Right now, in this moment, Taemin is feeling okay enough to smile and hold his babe and murmur love into his skin. It won’t last, but it’s the first time since yesterday, and that’s a start.

The rest of the night goes well and simple. Jonghyun clambers across the floor first to look through their games and pick out a cute multiplayer one. Taemin takes the other half of his sandwich to nibble on before Choi takes the dishes away to wash. When they get back, they drape themself over the couch behind everyone and leave a hand dangling off of the edge. When Key cocks a brow and asks if it’s for Jonghyun to hold or for someone to put a controller into, they smirk and sign “both.”

They rotate through the game for a few hours that feel like minutes, and another half hour that feels like a day after it starts getting boring. It’s then that Key just gets up and heads to the kitchen, mumbling something about quesadillas that has Jonghyun bright and bouncy again. Jinki watches both of them go, then Taemin and Choi both lazily staring at the ceiling, and decides that now is as good a time as ever to take a shower.

He gets back conveniently just in time to steal a fresh cut slice of cheesy goodness as soon as Key puts the plate on the table. Nice. He has it an inch from his mouth when a hand closes around his wrist and Jonghyun’s pouty face appears in front of him.

“Hey,” he whines. “That’s mine.” He tugs weakly at Jinki’s wrist with his usual puppy eyes and Jinki finds himself just smiling fondly.

“I wasn't thinking, sorry,” he says. It’s Jonghyun’s only OCD thing that actually affects other people; he has to have the first bite of something or else he can’t eat comfortably. Jonghyun wiggles, a whiny noise in the back of his throat, and Jinki surrenders his slice easily. He takes the second slice of dinner and pats Jonghyun’s butt to make him smile.

“Hey, go grab Choi and Taem,” Key tells them. “And get a napkin or something, holy shit.” They flap a hand distractedly between them and turn back to the stove where Jinki can see that they have a second quesadilla already almost done in a second pan. What the fuck.

“What is it with those two and multitasking in the kitchen,” he mutters to Jonghyun as they grab napkins and leave the room. First Choi, now Key both using two burners at once. It’s so extra. Jinki can’t even pour himself a drink and watch the stove at the same time without anything burning. Jonghyun shrugs back, just as clueless as he is. Jinki hums thoughtfully. Obviously neither of them have their lives as together as they thought.

In the living room, Choi and Taemin are hunched over the movie box. Jinki wiggles to a sit next to Taemin, Jonghyun getting to his knees on Choi’s other side.

“Dinner’s ready,” Jinki says, wiggling his napkin. Taemin gasps softly and Jonghyun snatches his own napkin away from Choi’s questing hand with a little whine.

“Give us another minute,” Taemin mumbles. “We’re narrowing it down.” He gestures to the little group of movies laid out next to each other on the tv cabinet. Cars, Charlie’s Angels, The Road to El Dorado, and Chicago… an interesting set of choices.

“How did we get down to all of these?” he asks blankly. He can’t find a similarity between them. Taemin shrugs and pats the space in front of Choi’s knee.

“They’re picking, mostly,” he says. Jinki glances at them; they quickly sign “no parents” over Taemin’s head with a pointed look. Jinki understands immediately and nods his approval.

“Well,” he says. “I vote for El Dorado, if that matters.” He loves Miguel. He stands up and pokes Taemin’s cheek to remind him that it’s dinnertime before he scoots back into the kitchen. There, he struggles to both eat his first slice and help Key set up the rest of the table with one hand. He should’ve just waited five minutes before getting all grabby at the food.

“This would be easier if you had just waited, like, five minutes for everything to be ready first,” Key tells him, confirming his thought. Their little cocked brow is entirely unamusing to Jinki and he humphs as he takes a big, defiant bite of his slice.

That just makes it harder to do things.

Jonghyun comes in to help soon, followed closely by the other two. Taemin pours everyone drinks with hands that only shake a little bit and when they all finally sit around the table, he has the tiniest smile. Jinki thinks it feels a little awkward; this table isn’t meant for five people and it feels like the same generic family dinners he had for twenty-two years before he moved out. But, whatever. He likes these four much more and Taemin’s comfort is what’s most important to him right now anyway.

“So…,” Jonghyun says after a minute. He sips his milk with his pinky out and props his chin in his hand. “Do all of you lovely babes wanna go out to breakfast tomorrow?” he asks. He flutters his lashes too, for added effect that only makes Choi snort.

“I think… a breakfast date would be good,” Taemin says quietly. He’s picking slowly at a small slice of quesadilla, but looks hopeful at the thought of a diner meal. Maybe he’ll be feeling better about eating tomorrow.

“I’m down for it,” Jinki shrugs. His lukewarm leftover omelette from this morning has had him kind of craving a fresh served breakfast all day. Choi nods simply and Key agrees a moment after, and Jonghyun beams.

“Alright,” he says happily. “And then, after, you three can go home.” He links his arm with Taemin’s and shakes him gently. Jinki raises his brows, impressed. That was smooth, bringing up a heavy plan right after the pep of a light one. Taemin still hesitates, still takes a deep, shaky breath, but he nods with a small smile very quickly after.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “I think… straight from the diner. Because. If we stop back here after, like. You all know I’ll procrastinate for three more hours.” His smile twitches feebly and he places his quesadilla slice down on his plate. Jonghyun squeezes him comfortingly.

“Good idea,” he hums, and presses the tiniest of kisses to Taemin’s cheek.

“Mm. Thanks,” Taemin says. Jinki catches the way he catches Jonghyun’s elbow when he tries to pull his arm back. Jonghyun stays, and scoots his chair an inch closer. Taemin reaches a small hand out for Key’s elbow as well and rubs his thumb over their skin.

“How are you supposed to eat if you’re holding both of us?” Key asks, smiling lazily at him and wiggling their arm. Taemin opens his mouth, hesitates, and then lets his head fall on Jonghyun’s shoulder.

“Feed me,” he demands, nuzzling the top of his head into Jonghyun’s neck obnoxiously. Jinki snorts; so do Choi and Jonghyun. Jonghyun pushes Taemin’s head back up and pokes his cheek away.

“You’re gross,” he mumbles.

“Here, Taem,” Key says, already holding up Taemin’s quesadilla slice to his mouth. Taemin takes a second to stick his tongue out at Jonghyun before he takes a tiny nibble and nuzzles gently into the hand Key ruffles through his hair a moment later.

“You’re all gross,” Jinki mumbles, but there’s nothing with fondness in his voice as he watches the three of them. They’re cute.

And then they start getting really cute, both of them feeding Taemin both food and little kisses, all sappy smiles and soft blushes, and Jinki’s fondness turns into exasperation and uncomfort.

“Alright, now you’re actually being gross,” he says, shaking his head as he finishes his last slice and stands up. His repulsion can’t handle this. He washes his dishes and ignores their little grumbles in favor of taking Choi’s plate as well. Then he takes Choi with him back to Jonghyun’s bed to set up the movie Taemin picked. It’s not El Dorado, which disappoints him, but whatever. He’s pretty tired anyway; it’s barely passed nine but his long day is catching up to him.

The other three join them before long, Jonghyun laying down next to Jinki, then Taemin next to him, and then Key next to him. Choi takes up their one-hand-dangling position on couch again. They start the movie and Jinki pulls a thin sheet over himself, tugging some of Jonghyun’s extra pillows close to nestle into.

It’s not long before his eyes are drooping shut. The low volume of the movie fades in and out, sounding distant and muffled one moment and then clear and crisp the next as his brain drifts between sleep and wakefulness. Curled up on his side, he clings to the pillow under his chin, glad to be finally drifting off, until there’s sudden rustling and grumbling from behind him and some words that he can barely make out in Taemin’s voice:

“Mmgh. Too stuffy.”

And then more rustling, and then there are hands wrapping around his side and a body pressing up against his back and soft lips dropping kisses onto his neck as Jonghyun switches to hold him close instead. Jinki grumbles himself, wiggling and rolling onto his back to shake him off. That earns him a quiet, apologetic noise.

“Too ro?” Jonghyun asks quietly. Jinki shakes his head, pats Jonghyun’s hand.

“Too tight,” he mumbles.

“Oh,” Jonghyun says, and then giggles. “Sorry, bun,” he says, and slips his arm over Jinki’s waist again. He’s much gentler now and Jinki sighs contentedly as he nuzzles back into his pillow.

This time when he starts drifting in and out of consciousness, he makes it all the way there uninterrupted and falls asleep with Jonghyun’s head on his chest.

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