Tumgik
#so it would be interesting to keep guessing his motives as i do not get it yet but also (procceed to throw up)
A question of loyalty: an analysis of two perspectives in season 1
The past few years, I have loved rewatching season 1 with the context of the finale, because it has been so interesting to really see things from Crosshair's perspective.
Our first hint that maybe Crosshair's motives aren't what we first thought:
Tumblr media
Hunter's (and our) perspectives on the issue are further challenged:
Tumblr media
And then we reach the ultimate accusation:
Tumblr media
So, let's take a look at both sides.
POINT #1: "Crosshair was the one who kept attacking the squad! How could he POSSIBLY accuse the squad of betraying him??"
COUNTERPOINT: Because from his perspective, they had. We as the audience know the whole plan was for the squad to get Crosshair back after they escaped the brig on Kamino - in fact, Hunter was prepping to go back for Crosshair at the same time Crosshair was coming for them - but Crosshair doesn't know that. He had been arguing with his squad ever since Order 66, trying to get them to understand how important it was for them to follow orders, and they had yet another disagreement right before he was singled out. His inhibitor chip gets intensified, he gets sent after his brothers (as if Tarkin needed to do anything else to thoroughly disgust me...), and he finds them in the hangar prepping the Marauder to leave. (Just to reiterate: from Crosshair's perspective, he had recently been arguing with his brothers, and now he finds them readying to leave.) Hunter never tells him that they were coming back for him; instead, they engage in some back-and-forth about surrendering and following orders before the shooting begins.
Having left him on that note, it would be all too easy for Crosshair to work himself up over the perceived abandonment - especially if he started feeling any sort of regret over his actions toward his squad (finding a way to blame the other party is, after all, a common defense mechanism).
And every time they cross paths thereafter, instead of his brothers apologizing or listening or trying to come with him, they keep running away from him after arguing with him about how he's being controlled and forced to obey orders. I can't help but imagine that any mention of "programming" only served to stoke Crosshair's ornery side: he and his squad are "superior," after all; he can't be controlled, he is being a good soldier and following orders because HE chose to, not because of some stupid chip. (Cue Crosshair claiming it "doesn't matter" when he got his chip removed: his ideology remains the same, thank you very much.)
And so, from Crosshair's standpoint: his brothers abandoned him, they won't even talk to him except to try to convince him he's wrong about everything, and they're ruining any chance they have of finding "purpose" by remaining soldiers and serving the Empire.
POINT #2: "Hunter and the others didn't try hard enough to get Crosshair back - actually, they didn't try at all."
COUNTERPOINT: I think we overestimate just how much time passed between the Batch escaping Kamino and the events on Bracca (unless the squad was just hanging around in open space for weeks at a time, which I doubt). Consider how quickly events occur in the first eight episodes:
The squad narrowly escapes Kamino
They try to lay low at Cut and Suu's, but that lasts maybe two days before they are on the run again
The Marauder crashes
It's necessary to find a way to scramble the ship's signature, so they have to make a quick landing on Pantora
Enter Fennec
Well, now they have to find out why a bounty hunter is after Omega
Enter Cid
Cid pretty much immediately starts blackmailing them
They have to do another job for Cid - we don't know exactly how much time passed, but Cid doesn't seem to be one to wait to order the Bad Batch around, especially as this next job reasserts her claim on them.
Rex reappears - we don't know exactly how much time passed here, either, but I would guess Rex sought them out as soon as he was tipped off about them.
(Lest anyone think Tech must have just given up on the chip scanner after the Marauder crashed, remember that he needed comparative data in order to properly use the scanner. I can only imagine how much it must have eaten at Tech to not have any way of finding a source with the necessary data to complete the scanner - especially considering everything else going on - until Rex miraculously showed up.)
So, until reuniting on Bracca, there is precious little time or opportunity for the squad to formulate a plan to get Crosshair back... And then Bracca happens. Here, they are confronted by Crosshair, who responds to genuine pleas to reconsider his stance by hitting them where it hurts: "Aim for the kid." Crosshair then sets things up to literally incinerate them, and they barely make it out alive before being attacked by Cad Bane.
Now, they had seen what the chip had done to Wrecker, true; but Wrecker had previously acknowledged that he understood the chip existed and was willing to have it removed, AND it was squad+Rex against Wrecker (and even then they barely managed to subdue him). Crosshair refused to acknowledge even the possibility of a chip influencing his actions, obviously wasn't willing to have it removed at that point, had never shown any inclination of wanting to rejoin them, and squad+Rex against Crosshair+vast Imperial resources would have been suicide - ESPECIALLY since Crosshair proves time and again that he can predict their moves. There's no way around that.
So what does the squad decide to do? They run. They can't take Crosshair with them, but they aren't going to try to kill him either.
Crosshair remains too well protected for the squad to go after him, but we can see on Hunter's face as the squad leaves Ryloth after peripherally tangling with Crosshair that the situation REALLY doesn't sit well with Hunter.
And yet... WHAT ELSE CAN THEY DO?
So, from Hunter+squad's perspective: as far as they are aware, Crosshair is refusing all offers of help, and trying to go after Crosshair would be suicide. Crosshair can't be rescued if the squad is all dead.
An impasse, then.
ANOTHER FACTOR TO CONSIDER:
But the accusation of disloyalty goes far beyond Crosshair believing the squad left him behind; he sees disloyalty in the fact that they apparently don't share the same views. It's not just a conversation about why/how Crosshair was left behind; it's also an argument over ideology, as Hunter tries to point out the Empire's flaws while Crosshair is determined to remain a soldier with the one purpose he has always known.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
And then we reach the climactic revelation: Hunter is trying to convince Crosshair that maybe his views are being controlled by the chip - only for Crosshair to tell Hunter he already knows about it and the chip is gone, AND he won't even tell Hunter when it happened. We can make educated guesses as to when Crosshair's chip was removed, but Hunter has been spending all this time trying to keep everyone else on the squad safe from a fellow brother who is being controlled by an inhibitor chip... only to find out that maybe Crosshair was acting of his own volition for who knows how long. This, I believe, is the point where Hunter started to consider Crosshair as having actually betrayed the Batch.
And no matter when the chip was removed, Crosshair is still convinced that the Empire is the right side, and believes that anyone who won't join the Empire is against him.
So, before the confrontation on Kamino: Crosshair is convinced the squad has abandoned him. Hunter and the squad can't feasibly do anything about it.
During the confrontation on Kamino, we learn that unless the squad is willing to join Crosshair and the Empire, he's going to continue to believe they have disowned him. And the squad will not join the Empire, much as they love Crosshair.
CONCLUSION: Crosshair's and Hunter's perspectives are both equally valid, especially based on what they know and later learn of the other's stance. Hunter rightly points out that wanting different things doesn't mean they have to be enemies; but as long as the rest of the squad members aren't willing to support tyranny enforce order, Crosshair will consider them disloyal to him, since they are opposed to the views he stands by, the views that - at that moment - define him. It will take other perspectives, outside the squad, to shift Crosshair's views (but that's the topic of another essay 😉). In the meantime, having finally had the chance to hear the other's side - even if they don't agree - Crosshair and the Bad Batch separate on at least marginally civil - if strained - terms... Though both still consider the other to be guilty of betraying the ideals of Clone Force 99.
27 notes · View notes
papercutsmp3 · 4 months
Text
bro is inquisitive
#thinking of the possibilities of how it could be worse it's funny how you start to get addicted to thinking like a danmei writer#you are like anddd what if this person was (insert a guy who coughed once in chapter 15) anyways#i managed to not get many spoilers bc i hate it but i have always suspected that shi mei had a thing for cwn firstly bc i once saw a ship#tag and was like ?? well that is not uncommon as people ship shrek with chanyeol (im people) but secondly after that scene where mo ran#pinky interrogated him i was sooo 100% sure of it. but then there was nothing much so i let it go. the one mini spoiler i saw was#the enemy on pinterest who replied to a pic of a character saying it was shi mei/other name (didn't look at it) so it was why i knew#he was classically someone else. but even without that his ass was raising suspicion just for the way how blank he was#and i knew it was intentional so i kept thinking who he could be and my guess was xu shuanglin (rest in pieces poor guy)#bc i thought that both of them had the same spiritual essence or something. also the guy in the motel at the beginning who also had water#essense could only be either of them. but this is not the point bc then i was thinking that shi mei was simultaneously mo nian#bc why would he have the reason to be annoyed with mo ran to that extent. and also bc i knew there was a fire and hua binance has face burn#but mo ran chopped his head off bless his souls and good for him so how else can that be worse#he could also be that child of nangong yan who had his mother die bc of mo ran and mom he would also have a reason to try and compare#himself to mo ran in every way and hate him but why would he need to store nangong blood for mount jiao is he is nangong himself#but that would be great for disgusting points bc he would be mo ran's half brother doing all that ??#im just taking a break from throwing up bc of his ass trying to assault cwn every chance he gets and idk anything yet#so it would be interesting to keep guessing his motives as i do not get it yet but also (procceed to throw up)#also his interactions with corpse taxian ?? god tier. taxian is in the middle of diss battle drops his mic after every sentence#the crowd (me) cheers. moving on but i really enjoy insane plot twists i wish i remembered well what i was thinking while reading tgcf#the widely known thing is that i didn't even consider that fu yao and nan feng were fengqing it's my favorite thing bc i wholeheartedly#believed the little guys just loved their generals way too much#00
4 notes · View notes
slvtforfiction · 5 months
Note
Hiii I luv your writing🥺 it’s so soft and sweet.
Can I request for multiple people in one post? Like headcanons? If so, could you write headcanons for Jake, Johnnie, Sam and Colby on how they felt seeing you for the first time/what they noticed about you/why they were attracted to you? If not, then just with Johnnie is fine!! Thanks so much🫶🫶
Tumblr media
☆ Ahhhh anon thank you!!
☆ Ofcourse I can!
☆ Headcanons :)
☆ Fluff/ Suggestive for Colby’s part :)
☆ Hey guys! Before anything else I would ask you to request anything you want because I've lost a lot of motivation and it would really help! :D (Please look at pinned post to see if requests are open.)
☆ Creds to @cafekitsune for dividers :)
Masterlist | Pinned post
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Jake:
☆Jake would see you and immediately turn to his friends, “Look how pretty she is!”
☆ Jake wouldn’t have enough courage to go and ask for your number without his friends help.
☆ He doesn’t want to be the weirdo that asks for a girls number,even if he’s not fully sober I don’t think it would give him the confidence.
☆ After a lot of convincing from his friends he would eventually walk up to you.
☆ He would definitely be awkward,not knowing what to say because he doesn’t want to blow his chances or make you uncomfortable.
☆ Would walk up to you and properly see you and fireworks are lighting in his eyes.
☆ Jake would start small talk but eventually just say something along the lines of “Can I get your number?”
☆ If you say yes he would run back to his friends and be like “Guess who get their numberrrrr.” And would be a lot more bubbly/giggly the rest of the time he was out before eventually leaving to go home to message you.
☆ Would definitely spend the rest of the night on call with you.
Tumblr media
Johnnie:
☆Johnnie will not walk up to you,way too scared.
☆ He saw you across the room and immediately wanted to go up to you and call you beautiful and talk to you about everything.
☆ Would eventually send one of his friends up to you to ask for your number but instead of giving it you would walk up to Johnnie instead.
☆ “Hey,Johnnie Right?” And he melts just because you know his name (Even though his friend told him)
☆ Would definitely stutter to ask for your number but ofcourse you said yes and his nerves calmed down a bit.
☆ Would end up leaving his friends so he could talk to you alone and have a mini date.
☆ Would talk to you about how he loves your outfit,your hair,makeup,anything. His love language is definitely words of affirmation so if you compliment him back he feels like he’s met the one immediately.
☆ Would invite you to another ‘real’ date before asking for your number and saying he should leave.
☆ His friends would not hear the end of it and neither would yours.
Tumblr media
Sam:
☆ He would go up to you without even telling his friends and go over to you.
☆ He would start with small talk before finding out something about you and talking to you about that entirely.
☆ Finds your interests really cool and would definitely keep talking about them whilst throwing in compliments about your outfit etc.
☆ Would tell you everything he knows about your interests and would eventually talk about his for a short while.
☆ Wouldn’t want to be the creepy guy asking for your number if you don’t know him so he would talk to you about half an hour before deciding to ask.
☆ “Do you think I could have your number?” When you say yes he immediately reaches into his back pocket to grab his phone.
☆ He would keep talking to you afterwards instead of going back to his friends.
☆ When he gets home he would call you and talk to you all night if he could even staying in call if you fall asleep.
Tumblr media
Colby:
☆ Would see you across the room at a party to be fair.
☆ If you were taking shots he would stare you down whilst you did.
☆ He would walk over to you without thinking about it,doesn’t need the alcohol or his friends to hype him up.
☆ Definitely Cocky about it and would ask for you number immediately.
☆ He would definitely be respectful but is still very cocky.
☆ He compliments you like there’s no tomorrow,he loves everything about you and your looks are just an add-on to his feelings.
☆ At the end of the night if you were still at the party he would ask if you wanted to come back to his place.
☆ Extracurricular activities happened that night if you said yes 🫡.
1K notes · View notes
justporo · 6 months
Text
Brewing Storms
A storm is brewing - oh yes, a literal one too. Tav's scared to be alone during a thunderstorm. Astarion is reluctant but stays to provide some comfort - and realises it might have been one of the better things to happen to him.
Tumblr media
Author's Note: I started this a while ago and then stuff got in the way - like Gale for example (lol) - and now I'm happy to be back to write something soft for Astarion and Tav!
Pairing: Astarion/GN!Tav (You) Warnings: Talk of trauma, very light smut Wordcount: 2,4k
~~~
Astarion and you had fallen into a sort of weird routine with your little late night escapades. Since the party after you saved the Grove and the first night you’ve spent together you had come together time and time again.
First only every couple of days. Always meeting somewhere away from camp and then sneaking back sometime before the others woke up. Although you were surely fair they all knew already anyway. But now you were almost spending every night together. Fortunately for the two of you, being elven meant you were still getting enough rest despite the nightly adventures.
Astarion kept feeding you his cheesy lines – you ate them right up. No one had ever given you this kind of attention. And as much as you knew that it was an act: how could you resist? You had never experienced such flattery nor could anyone you’d shared intimacy with ever compare to Astarion. But that wasn’t even the main thing.
You’d had crushes before, you’d fallen in love before but you were pretty sure it had never been quite like this. Your whole chest sometimes ached when you looked at Astarion. Sometimes when you caught him in a rare moment when he let his perfected mask drop for a second you saw the bottomless sadness and worry in his eyes. And all you wished for was to erase whatever it was that caused that sadness – to keep him safe and always give him something to smile about.
You had quite positively fallen for the vampiric elf. What had been a crush at first had very quickly become an unyielding need in your heart: desperate to be near him, to hear his voice, talk to him, to laugh at his sassy comments, to lay in his arms and to hold him in turn. Out of everything you surely hadn’t wanted or planned to fall in love with everything else going on – but there you were.
You were a hopeless case – even though you were sure it would come back to bite you (and maybe even literally): be it that he lost interest in you way quicker than you would like or that he had ulterior motives and that you were merely a means to an end.
In fact, you were entirely sure that there was more to Astarion. You weren’t all fooled and blinded by your brewing emotions for the vampire. Maybe not really the first time, but as you got more used to sharing a bed with Astarion you were well aware that it seemed like he wasn’t fully there with you.
You could take only guesses at why that was exactly – and you didn’t like any of those.
At several occasions you had tried to bring it up. But he had swatted your concerns away every time, just making a sultry joke or drowning you with kisses until you had forgotten what you had wanted to say. In any case he always pushed you to get back into his arms.
Gladly, you would have offered him an open ear – your heart was already wide open.
But you were sure this wouldn’t last. You were in way over your head and you so desperately wanted to avoid breaking the spell.
And as much as you would have wished for him to open up more, to let you in a bit more and as much as you would have liked to confess the way you felt: you didn’t think you could do it without ruining whatever it was between the two of you.
At least, he seemed to be a bit more present when he was with you of late. The changes seemed subtle enough, but you were convinced that it slowly became different. Maybe it was just that the two of you had gotten used to this dance now, but you could swear his hands lingered longer now on your skin, that his kisses became deeper and more tender, that the way he looked at you became softer sometimes. And that those moments, when he seemed miles away, became fewer.
Tonight, when you had set up camp it had seemed like a storm was brewing.
You had already felt tense when you had noticed: growing up on the streets of Baldur’s Gate as a child with nowhere safe to go had traumatised you for life. Especially when it came to storms: too many nights you’d had to spend outside somewhere while the rain kept pouring down.
But worst had always been the thunder. Every single one like an explosion while a little child sat somewhere cowered trying to stay safe and crying from fear and loneliness. Even when you had gotten older and had always managed to secure a safe spot for sleeping and shelter the fear of thunderstorms had remained.
And thus far you’d gotten lucky that there had been no storms since this whole chaos had started. But the stroke of luck was over now it seemed.
When Astarion had thrown you certain looks after the party had gone to unwind each on their own after eating, you had very rambly and awkwardly suggested to maybe spend the night in your tent this night, because the others surely knew anyway and what if it started pouring and wasn’t it more comfortable anyway?
You just were desperate to not be somewhere outside when the thunderstorm was going to hit – and maybe even not alone.
And Astarion had looked at you suspiciously with a raised eyebrow, surely noticing that something was up. But in the end, he had simply shrugged and followed you to your tent.
So now you lay pressed against each other. Astarion on top of you, his body delightfully weighing you down, both of your shirts already off and his hands kept roaming your body as you gratefully gave in to his open-mouthed kisses. His hand had just dipped below the waistline of your trousers when you could hear the first far away rumbling.
Immediately you tensed a little but forced yourself to try and not be bothered by it. Astarion’s kisses wandered down your throat now.
A second already much louder rumble. You gasped.
And apparently Astarion had noticed that it wasn’t because of his touch – you could almost feel how he had furrowed his brows. But he kept silent and continued to kiss and caress you, leaning on one of his forearms.
When a third roar of thunder made you actually wince and recoil, he pushed up on his arm and looked at you. The other hand though stayed right where it was inside your pants.
“Afraid of a little thunder, love?”, he said and cocked an eyebrow. His tone wasn’t even overly sassy but you still couldn’t help but to feel hurt.
More thunder. This time so loud it felt like it was exactly above you. You recoiled again and felt how panic rose in you. You pushed the vampire - who actually looked hurt by that - off of you. His hand slipping from where it had caressed you.
“Maybe I am afraid of thunder. So?”, you spat back while you sat up and hugged your knees to your naked chest. As much as you wanted the comfort of his arms: panic and whatever feeling it had been that had overcome you when Astarion had looked hurt when you’d pushed him back got the better of you.
Shame mixed with the fear and you could feel your throat close up.
Astarion had knelt back on the balls of his feet watching you with a look in his eyes you couldn’t quite place. He definitely didn’t seem as cocky as a few moments ago though.
You looked away as another thing spiced up the mix of emotions running high: worry, that you had just broke something that couldn’t be repaired.
“I-“, Astarion started and then stopped helplessly.
The vampire was actually worried about you in this moment. Astarion was surprised by the sudden outburst of emotion and he was certainly hurt that you pushed him away. But more than anything: he didn’t know what to do now. Quite obviously you were not in the mood anymore for getting down and dirty.
It occurred to him that he did not want you to be afraid and upset. But then again, he had no idea how to make it so. And on top of that: he was pretty sure you weren’t interested in anything of the sort. Sure, you were absolutely the one person he talked the most to in the party. And yes, you were always making sure he’d gotten enough blood – but that was probably because you had need of him being his fittest for fighting. Also, you did actually seem to care about what had happened to him, wanting to learn more about him – but…
The vampire was confused and helpless. So he opted for the one option he deemed reasonable: leave.
He grabbed his shirt and started pulling it over his head while saying: “Alright, since it seems there won’t be any naughty indulgence tonight, I guess I better get back to my tent and you can try and-“
He was interrupted by you grabbing his wrist firmly.
“Please”, you pleaded, “don’t leave me alone.”
You were desperate: you didn’t want him to leave, you didn’t want to have ruined the delicate thing that had been forming between you.
Astarion let his shirt drop again and looked at you. Your eyes were filled with tears and full of fear. His confusion became even more: “Darling, I’m not… Maybe you should ask the druid to… help you. Maybe he has something herbal to-“ You basically yanked on the vampire’s arm.
“No please, Astarion, I just… want you to stay here with me. Just… hold me? Please?”, you pleaded with him as tears started to stream down your face.
You really didn’t want to be alone for one but also you were desperate to feel his arms around you again – to be sure he would still want to hold you, as much as wanting his comfort.
Astarion’s brows furrowed again but he dropped his shirt again and crawled over to you as you shyly opened up your arms to him to be cradled by the vampire. He slid his arms around you and softly moved you until you were laying there: him on his back with you carefully snuggled up against his chest – skin on skin.
The relief you felt was almost instant. Not only because he had agreed to stay but also feeling his body against yours immediately made some of the tension inside you ease.
Astarion reluctantly started to stroke your back as you buried your face against his chest. It all felt more than just a little awkward and you felt a blush creep onto your cheeks, but you just wrapped your arms around the vampire and tried to calm yourself.
Still tears kept coming and thunder was rolling in quicker now. Then the rain started as well and became a constant drumroll on your tent. The loud rumbles kept going and made you wince from time to time, but it was now considerably better than before.
Astarion grew more confident with just stroking your back. He even carefully placed a kiss on the top of your head at one point, in your all messed up hair. You both eased into this rather unfamiliar form of closeness.
After being stressed about the coming storm all evening, you felt that your body couldn’t retain the tension anymore. You weren’t entirely sure what all this meant for Astarion and you, but you forced yourself to just stay in this moment. Because this already was something you wouldn’t have thought to ever be possible. It was tender and sweet. Something you would have never imagined when this vampire had, upon first meeting him, thrown you on the ground and threatened you with a knife.
You were so desperate to hold onto this. So, you wrapped your arms around him a little tighter and cautiously tangled your legs with his. He let it happen.
And Astarion – Astarion’s mind was racing, utterly confused by the turn the night had taken. It definitely wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy this outcome – to his own surprise. Quite the opposite actually.
When the thunder subsided and the rain tap-tap-tapping on the tent ceiling was what remained of the storm and he felt you quite noticeably relax into his arms even more – his chest started to ache.
He was overthrown by his own sentiment and the trust you put into him; surprised, scared even.
In his thoughts Astarion kept turning around the fact how you had specifically asked him to stay with you although you had so visibly been upset. More upset even than he had ever seen you in any battle. And that you had wanted nothing but to be held in his arms. And he – to his own surprise – had been happy to be there for you, proud even, realising that he really wanted you to be alright.
You hadn’t even talked since he had taken you in his arms. Just felt the connection, your skin warm on his. His hands hesitatingly caressing and trying to comfort you while your tears subsided and your breathing became more even.
And even though it had been you who had pleaded for comfort – Astarion could feel it too. Felt, how the warmth of your body soaked into his undead body and your breath brushed over his naked upper body – now in a steady and calm rhythm again. You were so close, he could even feel the beat of your steadying heartbeat through your conjoined chests.
And when Astarion was sure that you must’ve drifted off into your dreams – because he had held you – he kept staring up at the ceiling of the tent.
The rain had become almost non-existent after what must’ve been hours now.
The vampire’s chest still ached with something he wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge yet. But he could feel that it had become something way too big to ignore. Something that would soon be unleashed – for better or for worse. And he was frightened about that.
But not in this moment. This moment he would hold onto. So he wrapped his arms around you a little tighter still, closed his eyes and full on buried his face in your hair while he was so fully aware of the feeling of your body against his.
Then he whispered so silently, even the last of the raindrops would have drowned out the words. So silently, because he was still so unsure, so scared and the words were only meant for him – and maybe sometime for you: “My love, what ever have you done to me?”
1K notes · View notes
positively-mine · 3 months
Text
You're a girl?!
how they find out & they're reaction
tags: afab, stalking mentioned, no spoilers
a/n: I FORGOT TO QUEUE THE POST 😭😭 also I couldn't find a purple banner so...yeah
series: ❤️ 🧡 🩵 💛 💜 💙 💚
Tumblr media
Vil
Firstly, it's that he's an actor himself and he knows. Part of being an actor includes observing your coworkers and how to make the chemistry between each other work to ensure the success of the media. Whether it's how you interact with the other guys or you're using baggy clothes that are way too big for you, or overall uncomfortable atmosphere (behavior etc.) coming from you when you're around the NRC students. Secondly, it's his eye for detail that is able to put the pieces together and figure you out. No stopping it there I guess 🤷‍♀️
It would be a lie to say that nothing changes. On the contrary, he visits you more often to leave you beauty and skincare products. Oh yeah and he forgot to mention that he "borrowed" your uniforms to make some alterations to them. He may not need to know the reasons why you're keeping it a secret but he'll be damned if he lets you walk around campus with shabby clothes and skip out on your face care routine due to the lack of necessities.
Rook
Stalked. Do I need to say more. He's curious about the student that's unable to use magic and stopping blot after blot. You've piqued his interest and now he needs to quench it. So he decided to follow you around for a while. Which eventually leads him to discover you're a girl. The situation in how he finds out? Well there's many possibilities. You change in a different room, you try not to go to the toilet outside of ramshackle, constantly monitoring you and overhearing what you talk with Grimm. But if anyone asks, he'll say it's hunter's instinct.
Obviously stopped stalking you. I mean he may have weird habits but he draws the line at being a pervert. When it's just the two of you, uses more feminine pronouns (I think some french words change depending on the gender they're referring to, if not pls correct me 🙏) Doesn't make it awkward at all with you. Nothing much changes except for the fact that he's more protective of you and suspicious of other people's intent on approaching you. Stalks them instead to figure out their motive..
Epel
Sweet boy thought that you were also a victim of pretty face syndrome. Maybe that's why he found it easier to talk with you and hang out. Don't be surprised that he's always trying to sit with you during lunch. What he didn't expect however was that when he was walking over to your table, he overheard you talking to Grimm. The context? I will leave it to your imagination. But poor Epel was stunned. So you were a girl. He's kind of upset that you didn't tell him but what can he do. Now he's having mixed feelings too because it was understandable that you had a feminine face. But he's alone in it, again.
He does treat you with more respect. His mom didn't raise him like some beast, and if she caught wind of how he's been treating you...yikes. But what she doesn't know wouldn't hurt her. Does get more protective of you as well. He's on guard when he sees other students talking to you or when guys approach you. This is his chance to prove how reliable and a gentleman he can be. Essentially takes up the big brother role.
Tumblr media
reblogs are appreciated!
599 notes · View notes
anthurak · 6 months
Text
So I thought I’d throw together a bit of a timeline theory I’ve been thinking about since the last episode surrounding Fizzerolli, how he started working for Mammon, when and how he may have gotten together with Ozzie, who exactly kept him and Blitzo apart after the accident, and also an idea for some rather appropriate karmic irony.
Tumblr media
See, we hear in Mammon’s Midseason Special that Fizz has won Mammon’s Clown Pageant the last ten years in a row. But nothing about that indicates that ten years ago was the first time Fizz won.
Tumblr media
Instead, I think the actual first time Fizz won Mammon’s Clown Pageant was fifteen years ago. As in, shortly before the accident. For one this really adds some additional weight to the flashbacks we get in Oops. The big celebration we see wasn’t just for Fizz’s birthday, it was celebrating Fizz getting his big break. Winning this competition and getting the chance to work with Mammon, the Sin of Greed himself.
Tumblr media
As well as adding even greater weight to Blitzo trying to give Fizz a love letter. Blitzo likely thought this would be the last chance he would get.
Tumblr media
Additionally, this would also neatly explain Mammon’s involvement in Fizz’s recovery after the accident. It’s clear that Mammon bankrolled Fizzerolli’s recovery and cyberization, so that begs the question of what would prompt Mammon to invest so much time and effort into helping seemingly some random imp circus kid? Well, what if said kid not only just won his Clown Pageant, but did SO good that Mammon decided pretty much immediately that he wanted THIS kid as his new brand mascot? And then just a few weeks or even days later, that kid was horrifically maimed in a terrible accident at his home? Yeah, I think that gives Mammon ALL the reason to stick his neck out for Fizz. And if you’re going to ask ‘Why didn’t Mammon just drop Fizz after he was basically crippled?’ Because Mammon is the embodiment of GREED. He WANTED Fizzerolli and he was going to HAVE him.
Tumblr media
Plus, I think we can assume that this is where Asmodeus entered the picture, with Mammon calling him in to do Fizzerolli’s cybernetics. In turn, I think it’s easy to guess that Ozzie being so closely involved in Fizz’s recovery is when the two started falling in love.
In short, Fizzerolli spends the next few years recovering before making his big debut as Mammon’s new hot brand mascot, winning his next Clown Pageant, and goes on to win every pageant for the next ten years up to present.
Tumblr media
Now the other angle here is the big ‘Who conspired to keep Blitzo and Fizz apart after the accident?’ And I’m going to be honest; it is DEFINITELY Cash Buckzo. Like I know some people have theorized that it was Mammon, but frankly that theory just doesn’t make sense anymore. Mammon simply doesn’t have much motive or means to have done this, and if nothing else, he straight up doesn’t recognize Blitzo in the newest episode.
Tumblr media
Cash on the other has both motive AND means in abundance. He was certainly one of the people most closely looking after Fizzerolli after the fire and he had every reason to want to cut Blitzo out of Fizzerolli’s life. Likely a combination of petty spite against his son for causing the accident which burned down their circus, likely injured dozens and even killed his wife, and also wanting to isolate and ‘protect’ Fizzerolli, his big cash cow. Especially now that he’d gotten the attention of Mammon, with Cash likely hoping to get/mooch as much as he could out of this new arrangement.
Tumblr media
Now that last bit in particular get’s interesting because it’s clear that if Cash was hoping to continue profiting off Fizzerolli, it clearly didn’t work. What with how we have seen neither hide nor hair of Cash around Fizz, who in turn has not brought him up once.
So what happened?
Tumblr media
Well, in a bit of delicious karmic irony, I think Cash was the one to cut Blitzo out of Fizz’s life, only to later get cut out of Fizz’s life himself by MAMMON.
648 notes · View notes
temis-de-leon · 1 month
Text
Demon Brothers as Single Fathers
What if the brothers already had a kid when MC first appeared in the Devildom?
Characters: demon brothers, gn! kid and gn! MC
Masterlist
CW: lesson 16, death during childbirth mentioned, but there's nothing explicit. Some brothers are better fathers than others, but they all love their kid with a passion. Romantic interest towards MC at the end
.
Lucifer
There´s no way he’s having a kid with a random woman. I already posted a headcanon regarding demonic pregnancies, stating them as difficult, so my guess here is that he had a long-term relationship and his partner died during childbirth.
Of course, he’d cope with her death just like he coped with Lilith’s: hiding his feelings. He had his sister’s room hidden in the House of Lamentation without any of his brothers knowing, so it makes sense that he’d hide everything regarding his former partner from everyone, including his child.
Now, don’t get me wrong, he loves that kid, but he is who he is. A strict parent that wants his family to be perfect, obedient and loyal to Lord Diavolo. His child might get an obvious special treatment, but they still have to reach their father’s standards.
All of that, mixed with the load of paperwork he has to take care of on the daily, makes bonding time very limited.
When MC arrives, he makes sure they know not to bother the kid, his threats visible to anyone with eyes.
We know MC, however. They meddle and they become friends with most of the brothers very easily, so it’s understandable that the kid wants to get close to them too.
Lucifer tries really hard to break that friendship, not trusting MC at all, but the more effort he puts in that task, the more effort his kid puts in disobeying him. And we all know Satan is helping them just to anger Lucifer.
It all reaches an end when MC frees Belphie from the attic.
The kid doesn’t understand the situation, why their new friend is all bruised and bloody on the floor and why their uncle is laughing in such evil way.
Lucifer only gets how much his kid loves the human when he sees their distraught over MC’s death and their tears of relief when MC reappears in perfect conditions.
Time passes and the family is whole again, granting the kid a new feeling of happiness and comfort they’ve never felt before. Lucifer feels obligated to rethink the situation when he sees that.
Then comes the last day of MC’s stay at the Devildom and he knows he’ll regret not showing his desire of deepening their relationship before they leave.
His kid and his brothers are not the only ones that need MC anymore.
Mammon
I kind of imagine him having a child with a one-night stand, to be honest. For the sake of this fic, the other parent is not in the picture, but Mammon loves kids, so there’s no doubt he’d keep his own.
And oh, how much he spoils them. He saves money just for them. Does he go right back into bankruptcy after that? Yes, but the intention is there, you know.
I also think the brothers would use the child to blackmail him, like “you’re such a scumbag, Mammon, you’re going to disappoint the kid”. A dick move, but they are assholes to Mammon most of the time.
And then comes MC, rocking Mammon’s world and, by extent, the child’s.
No matter how old the kid is, they can sense their father’s love towards the human. It’s almost painful to see and it brings so much second hand embarrassment, but Mammon’s happiness makes everything worth it.
Especially when MC starts to defend Mammon from his brothers’ insults.
The kid promotes themselves from child to matchmaker. 
They spoil their uncles' plans with MC so they can spend time with their father, boasting Mammon’s confidence and telling MC how good he is and how good of a couple they’d make.
At first MC thinks it’s pure childhood innocence, not suspecting the kid is acting on ulterior motives, but Mammon knows what his kid is doing.
He tries to defend his status as too good to be interested in a mere human, let alone date them. Of course, the child sees right through his bullshit.
No one stands a chance against his little hellspawn, not even him.
Suffice to say, MC and Mammon establish their relationship long before the year ends.
Leviathan
I love Levi, I truly do, but c’mon guys. I doubt he has any friends outside the online world, let alone a partner; we can all agree he’s a virgin. So, for him to have a child, I think he would’ve had to be either really lucky or unlucky (depending on how you see it), meaning that his brothers took him out of his comfort zone so he could lose his virginity and he left that one girl pregnant.
I think the mother wouldn’t have wanted to be in a relationship with him, leaving him more reclusive than ever. He needed his brothers’ help to lose his virginity and now not even the mother of his child wanted to stay with him? Yeah, he’s not leaving his room ever again.
It’s difficult for him to bond with the kid at the beginning due to the lack of knowledge on how to take care of a child and the kid being born out of a loveless meaningless one-night stand.
He watches and buys anything family-related, finally understanding that the way he became a father doesn’t have to influence their relationship, so he steps up really quick.
Don’t worry, the brothers offer their help the whole time.
They spend most of the time in his room, bonding over anime, manga, videogames and cosplay, especially about TSL. He also forces himself to get out of his room more often for the sake of his kid, even if it’s minimal.
He still distrusts MC when they arrive, not paying them any attention, but he has to reconsider a little bit when he sees the kid so interested in them.
The whole TSL quiz happens and he’s surprised to see not only Mammon and Beel helped MC, but his child too. He feels betrayed and irrationally mad at all of them for an hour or less, just until the kid insists on MC’s genuine interest on TSL and convinces him to give them a chance.
After that, their friendship develops quicker than anyone could've ever anticipated, as well as Levi’s crush on MC.
Another kid that evolves into a matchmaker, although their methods are more dramatic due to being based on anime and manga.
The rest of the brothers have a lot of fun witnessing the whole thing.
Satan
My man has contacts, he knows people all around the kingdom, he fucks. I’m not sure if the child came out of a long-term relationship or a one-night stand, but his contacts definitely have something to do with it.
His whole mission is to treat his child better than Lucifer ever treated him.
No baby voice at all, what nonsense is that? When he reads to them at night he uses different voices according to each character, same as when they play.
The type of parent that wants to respect his kid so much he kind of treats them like an adult. Full conversations and everything. More like monologues, actually, but Satan is patient enough to wait for his kid’s answer, even if it’s a babble.
Cats everywhere. Toys, clothes, bedsheets… You know the drill.
Overall, Satan puts his whole heart into his child’s development.
And when MC arrives, he’s only curious about them because Lucifer is on edge. He’d prefer if his child was left to their own devices, living their life in peace with no human bothering them for no reason.
Then he swaps bodies with Lucifer.
Boy oh boy.
The moment he sees his child running to his brother instead of him, he’s spitting fire. MC intervenes just when the kid starts to get scared, something he’s extremely grateful for.
After the pact is made, both him and the kid see MC in a completely different light, but he doesn’t think about taking them out on a date until his child trips and falls while playing in the garden.
MC tends to them, dries their tears and cleans their bloody knees before using some cute bandaids on them. Cat-themed bandaids.
How could he say no to that?
Asmodeus
One-night stand one-night stand one-night stand one-night stand.
One-night stand? YES.
I’m surprise he doesn’t have a legion of children, Hercules style, but oh well, what do I know.
I like to think the mother tried to stay, but Asmo is a certified narcissist who loves spending time with himself and who’d also love the idea of having a mini him running around, ready to try new clothes on every opportunity and match him.
It’d be difficult to stay in a family like that, with a partner that monopolizes the child’s time so selfishly. It’s bad, but I could understand if the mother chose to leave. I don’t even know if Asmo would care, given that it was a one-night stand with no feelings involved, and he’d probably believe himself to be enough.
Asmo is as dirty minded as ever and he still has various relationships, but he tries to tone down really hard, at least in front of his kid.
They’re partners in crime above all, their chemistry is insane. ‘Don’t talk to me or my son ever again’ type of relationship.
Although the kid doesn’t have Asmo’s charming powers, they’re cunning. Doe eyed with a shiny glare and a brilliant smile, who could say no to them? Sometimes they even fool their own father.
Both of them are pretty superficial, but kind-hearted at the bottom of their hearts. It just takes some time and effort to see that.
The kid treats MC the same way Asmo does, although they have no ill intent, they just want to be like their father. So when Asmo starts to show some interest in MC, pursuing a friendship, so does his child.
Partners in crime, remember? It doesn’t take long for the child to act coy and cute, turning MC’s interest to Asmo. Again, no charm nor manipulation, but a little help from an innocent hand never hurts anyone, does it?
Beelzebub
I don’t have a single idea where the child came from, but if there’s something I’m sure of it’s that they’re each other’s best friend.
Beel takes them everywhere, in his arms, strapped to his chest or sitting on his shoulders, he doesn’t care, but they’re together all the time.
Scared to his very core of losing them, but tries not to be overbearing, trusting his brothers to take care of them when he can’t, mostly Lucifer and Belphie.
They're the most important reason to control himself, Beel feels guilty when he lets loose and scares his child. Seeing your father eat a column can’t be pleasant, after all.
Another one that ignores MC when they get there, preferring spending time with his child. Now more than ever, since Belphie apparently went to the human realm as an exchange student.
When he breaks MC’s wall and they’re forced to share his room, he’s introduced to the dilemma of whether letting them sleep in Belphie’s bed while he shares his own with his kid or letting them sleep in his bed, with his kid in Belphie’s and him on the floor.
He’s very reluctant to let anyone but his twin sleep in the other bed. His nightmares lessen when he shares his space with the child as well, so Beel’s very conflicted.
MC offers to be the one sleeping on the floor, something he immediately refuses, so he finally agrees to let them both sleep in his bed while he’s on the floor.
He doesn’t sleep that night.
It isn’t until MC defends him from his own brother that he starts to think of them as a true friend. He trusts them with his kid and he even feels okay leaving them alone while he’s out doing his own things.
Days after MC goes back to sleeping in their room, his child confides in him how much they miss having the human with them and Beel can’t help but agree.
He asks for his child’s permission before taking MC out on a date.
Belphegor
Had the child with a situationship, but the mother thought he would be too absent to be a good father. She tried to leave with the kid, but Belphie insisted on keeping them. Being one of the Avatars of the Devildom, he had the upper hand.
As much as he tries to be present, he can’t help but fall asleep most of the day, so Beel takes the role of second father. Still, Belphie wants to be in the same room as his kid all the time, even when unconscious.
He’s able to enter other people’s dreams, so his favourite way of bonding is at night, interrupting his child’s nightmares and transforming them into beautiful dreams where they can do whatever they want to do.
He even made versions of Lilith and Beel for them to be together during those dreams.
Kind of entitled, to be honest.
Belphie is a brat and so is his kid, but the child at least has the benefit of the doubt.
When Lucifer imprisons him he’s ready to destroy the house. The only way he can talk to his kid now is through dreams and even then he isn’t sure what to tell them. In the end he decides to let the kid be, but he’s always on edge, trapped, not knowing what’s happening until everyone goes to bed.
MC’s presence feels like a gift. A pathetic gift, but a gift nonetheless.
He asks about his kid and he seethes when MC tells him they’re becoming friends, how much they like spending time with the child.
He focuses so much on revenge that he doesn’t even realize what the kid could think of him if he carried along with his plans; how they could feel when all of it is done.
Killing MC is satisfying and leaves him wanting so much more.
That look from his child, his own blood, takes it all away.
Why are they crying? Why are they hiding away from him? Trying to reach MC’s corpse despite Lucifer’s words or Beel’s grabbing hands, screaming in terror when uncle Mammon doesn’t answer their questions.
Then MC reappears, looking as perfect as ever, and Belphie is overwhelmed with relief, convinced that maybe his kid will stop looking at him that way.
But that doesn’t happen.
He sleeps with Beel that night, feeling lonelier than ever, hands aching and reaching for a smaller body that isn't there. He can’t find them in their dreams when he falls asleep and when morning arrives and he goes to the bathroom, he makes sure there’s no blood under his fingernails.
It takes days before his kid can even look at him without that angry pout on their face. They tell him they’ve been sleeping with MC, listening to their advice so they can mend their relationship with him.
Ever since then, Belphie can’t help but blush whenever MC is in the room.
.
.
.
Tagging: @deepestartisanhumanoidshark
255 notes · View notes
Text
— Incubus in the Forest.
cw. fem!reader, incubus!character, dub-con, praise/degradation kink, implications of somnophilia, overstimulation, implied breeding kink, possesiveness (may not fit all characters listed)
a/n. i love going through the gonewildaudio subreddit for fanfiction ideas because i don't have motivation to make my own and my askbox can't peak my interest that much and guess what. i found some incubi content and now i wanna write a thirst about it.
masterlist | tag system | 17- & MASC-ALIGNED DNI!
Tumblr media
All you wanted to do was camp with your friends. They were all joking about demons and horror stories and one of them popped up the concept of incubi, talking about how they go through the dreams of women and have sexual intercourse with them that would soon lead to death if the partner has too many sessions.
All of you brushed it off to the person just being weird or downbad. You were part of them because the idea of a demon going through dreams of unconscious women and fuck them in there sounded ridiculous. Thank god it wasn’t real and just a piece of folklore or mythology.
That was what you thought. You wished you were sleeping in the tents of your female friends because the so-called fictional demon was haunting your dream. Or better to call it, ‘Dreams.’
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a cute girl like you went to this forest. No one ever dared visit here anymore because of those rumored incubi haunting the place. So it’s good that you haven’t heard them.” you frantically looked around, you weren’t in your tent anymore. But in a red Victorian room you aren’t familiar with.
Suddenly, the bed sinks and you look at the source. You faced a man with pointy red horns and a tail that was swooshing around excitedly at the sight of you. His eyes almost lit up as he crawled right in front of you, “I have to say, you look more appetizing up close than watching you from afar.”
He was… watching you? You have to admit he was quite sneaky because the forest wasn’t that big at all nor did it have many trees for people to hide in.
“I might save you since it’s been a while since I’ve gotten someone so… Lovely.” he breathes in your scent, snuggling into your neck and licking it. “Gods, you’re making me crave you more and we haven’t even started yet.”
You gulped, furrowing your brows and gasping as you got pinned to the bed, his fangs biting down your skin as he sucked your blood. He lets out a satisfied groan at your taste, pulling out with his mouth stained with red substance as he seductively licked them. You were trying to push him off while your screams were muffled by his bigger and muscular body.
You tried punching and kicking but he wouldn’t budge. He was much stronger than you are and he only stared at you with a pleasant smirk. He thought this was so entertaining seeing you deny him. Who do you think you were to push away such a handsome guy like him?
“Why don’t we get started? I’m so impatient right now.”
.
.
.
Fuck, you haven’t felt this full in a while. It’s probably because this so called demon was pent-up for a long amount of years that he got hard at the sight of a new victim to fuck.
But since it’ll be a very long time since he’ll get another dupe he was gonna save you and follow you around since you were the first person in a while to visit the forest. The bite on your neck served a purpose and that every time you slept, he’d appear and use you however he wanted.
Though he wanted to be careful since he’ll take your lifeforce away and make you insane. It’s been years since he’s gotten some good pussy to fuck and he didn’t want to harm you in any way. Well, the more the two of you had sessions like this, the more needy you are for the incubus to fuck you.
He was in awe of how much power he had over you. You were much more adorable than all the other women he slept with. He wanted to keep you to himself, even if it meant it would make you a desperate whore for him to play with however he wanted.
He groaned and kept you closer to him, your body flushed with his as he continued ramming you over and over. His tail couldn’t stop moving from how much pleasure he was receiving, he didn’t even know how long he had been fucking you. It must’ve been hours which were just a few minutes in real-time but in this dream? It’s much longer. Which would be quite advantageous if he could be honest.
“Ahah, you’re so good for me. I might wanna keep you for myself.. Might only want you instead. I can’t find anyone whose so fucking slutty like you are.” he moans when you tightened around him more. You were practically choking his cock to death.
He traps you on the headboard, having your legs around his waist so he could have better access to your pussy and have his cock reach deeper inside of you. Ah, it felt so good having him touch places you weren’t able to touch.
The red sheets were stained with your blood and the mix of your and the incubus’ cum. “I can’t get enough of you, sweet girl.” he soughs into your lips, ramming into you like you were the last woman he’s ever gonna fuck.
You couldn’t say anything, hell, you couldn’t do anything from how strong his grip on your body was. It’s almost as if he had control over you instead of you. “Gonna come again, take it like the good slut you are.”
You let out heavy pants as he emptied himself into you again. Your body was shaking against his, your chest heaving uneven breaths as you tried to catch them. He only chuckled and cuddled into you with his arms around your waist, keeping you close to him, making sure his cum doesn’t leak out of you. “Why don’t we go for another round?”
“D-don’t think I can go anymore..” you whimpered as he only grinded his hips in response. “Sure you can! Don’t go sleeping in your dream now, you wouldn’t wanna know what I’d do with your body if you went unconscious on me.”
He was right. If you sleep in your dream, you’ll most likely go through another deeper layer of your unconsciousness and it’ll be difficult to wake you up. You definitely don’t wanna have the knowledge of him using your sleeping body as he wishes, so you try to open your eyes wider and see that same shit-eating grin you despise.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” his little bat wings flapped in excitement as you only threw your head to the side and glared at him. “Don’t be like that, you don’t want me to go rougher on you now.”
“Not like you were gentle in the first place.”
“Hah! I can’t argue with that.” he picks you up, making you straddle his lap as he hovers your hips over his erected cock once again. “Take a deep breath, this is gonna be much longer.”
© notsodivininglover 2023. reposting, plagiarizing, translating or claiming my works are strictly forbiddened.
2K notes · View notes
kaeyachi · 9 months
Text
NEW CANON KAEYA TIDBITS FROM THE KAEYA HANGOUT PT. 1
The heavy lore post will be posted later! These ones are just more on his personality, likes and dislikes, and brief history hehehe
SPOILERS BELOW!!
I'm doing things in bullet point form coz wow there's a lot
Was the gentle and polite child! Also frequently got sick. Addie frequently took care of him in those times hehe. Is it possible that this is because of his experiences prior to getting to Mond? Travelling as a child would have made him vulnerable to tougher weather and rapidly at that. I doubt that food comes easy too. Additionally, HE WAS LEFT IN A STORM. I still think Kaeya is gentle and polite, though he definitely gives the face of charming and sly (if it benefits him and it works then might as well keep it going!)
Tumblr media
Kindness is so inherent in him that he automatically does kind acts. He only acts like he has an ulterior motive, and tbh? I bet that act is only to keep people away. I think I made a oneshot about this saying his biological father may be worried about this tendency? Or something similar. Worryingly enough, Kaeya clearly has a hard time accepting words of affirmation from literally everyone. Heartbreaking to see in action.
Tumblr media
Diluc is a menace, asking Kaeya to help him in his mischief, tsk. Kaeya apparently also helps Diluc in the punishments he receives. Kaeya ended up doing the most of it :( (what are the odds of Kaeya also doing Diluc's paperwork while said redhead was out on the field? What if the reason Kaeya wasn't with Diluc and Crepus during that one fateful 18th birthday because he was covering for Diluc's shift...). Tbh? Kaeya never stopped covering for Diluc. Even now, he is still covering for Diluc (DKH).
Tumblr media Tumblr media
This one set off alarms in my mind. Kaeya was apparently not a very good liar when he was younger. I now definitely think that Crepus knew Kaeya lied about his origins. The question is, did Diluc know Kaeya was not a strong liar before their fight? Or did he remember afterwards and was immediately faced with even more guilt?
Tumblr media
He might actually have a sweet tooth! Dear god look at the number of desserts he ordered. Do note that Death Afternoon is a mixture that lessens the bitterness of Dandelion Wine. Additionally, Kaeya wasn't interested in wine when he was younger, he only grew into it because it reminds him of home after he left :( The Cider Lake drink is also sweet! And I'm guessing plain chicken mushroom skewers weren't sweet enough, so he decided to add fruits to it. I THINK CREPUS ACCIDENTALLY GOT HIM INTO LIKING ALCOHOL AFTER CREATING THE CIDER LAKE DRINK LMAO. Crepus suceeding in preventing alcohol intake from one child and ended up giving it to the other
Tumblr media
Fairly sure he was being flirted on here by an entire group of mercenaries and just didn't realize which would make things extremely funny. They saw him and immediately went "we need to see that body in the dance floor ASAP". What if he doesn't realize he is being flirted on until he is slapped in the face with a confession? It's also funny if he flirts up a storm and not realize people are flirting back lmao
Tumblr media
So I was right... he was not kicked out. He moved out on his own. Diluc is fine with him frequenting Dawn Winery, expects it even (lol my short 1 shot makes sense now). The staff keep asking him to come back and visit more frequently. Adelinde says that Kaeya is always part of the family. They become so happy when Kaeya comes back, it's like a weight is lifted off of everyone's chests. IT'S KAEYA WHO KEEPS SAYING HE'S A GUEST AND SEPARATING HIMSELF OUGH. He's the one trying to stay away after all :((( Let's summarize this: Kaeya was the sickly, quick to bruise, kind, gentle, and polite child who everyone in the staff (and Diluc) adores and still treats like he is their baby, but said baby of the family KEEPS LEAVING. Go home Kaeya!
Tumblr media
Klee keeps looking for Kaeya! And Kaeya reads her bedtime stories!!! Hearing her voice ask where Kaeya was broke my heart, I think I'd like that used for angst purposes. Kaeya is once again letting a mischievous pyro user get away with causing mischief. Kaeya you enabler lmaaaoooo. Kaeya frequently rescues Klee from solitary confinement, done so enough times that Klee now does the same for him (I bet she thinks Kaeya is in solitary confinement whenever he's busy doing paperwork). Not to Kaebedo/Albekae you guys (I am Kaebedo/Albekae-ing you guys), but I'm fairly sure Kaeya and Albedo spend so much time together with Klee. Again, frequent enough that Albedo has tons of drawings of Kaeya (the 3 brushstrokes is a popular meme, but it actually is just a way to say that he has drawn Kaeya a lot. Bet he could draw Kaeya with his eyes closed haha). HE GOT THEM MATCHING GIFTS THATS ADORABLE
Tumblr media
Speaking of gifts, he's a great gift giver! He really listens to people's needs and wants. What a thoughtful man (Diluc was right in his letters in hidden strife though. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF KAEYA). Speaking of, I'm guessing Kaeya is rich? Because I'm fairly sure the gifts were bought with his own pocket money and thus the huge amount of travel funds remaining (the gifts are expensive, surely it should have put a dent to the said funds had he used them)
Tumblr media
THAT IS ALL FOR NOW, I MIGHT MAKE A PART 2 BECAUSE I WANT TO TACKLE MORE STUFF BUT THE PHOTO LIMIT GOT TO ME
328 notes · View notes
sepublic · 2 years
Text
In light of Clouds on the Horizon and Reaching Out, I’m really seeing past Alador scenes in a whole new light...
Tumblr media Tumblr media
This isn’t Alador actually being opportunistic here; Rather, it’s him standing up for his daughter and her friends, now that he has an excuse to do so. Al knows he can’t sway his wife on morals or anything like that, the only way to appeal to her is by Odalia’s sense of profit; And when he sees how Luz motivates Amity, Alador sees a reason he can give Odalia to make her back down. He’s still a terrible parent at this point, but now it gives the vibes of a victim having carefully learned how to ‘speak the language’ of their abuser and get them around to things, by framing them in just the right way.
Obviously Alador WAS also keen on his daughter’s potential, but this time we can view it in a more positive light, as believing this is good for his daughter and what he believes her goals to be at this point. Alador really is unironically, genuinely happy for Amity’s skills here; Proud from a fatherly sense before any desire for social gain, even for Amity’s benefit!
Tumblr media
When Luz points out the Abomaton display is getting excessive, Alador agrees, but he doesn’t step in because his power really is limited. Odalia is essentially holding their kids hostage, and it’s not the first time a Blight has been forced by her to choose the lesser of two evils in order to protect loved ones...!
Tumblr media
This shot? Honestly, it’s probably more the last vestiges of what happiness their marriage might’ve started out with... Or it’s Odalia being ‘proud’ of her husband for being business-oriented, while Al is just glad he got her to listen for once.
Tumblr media
Suddenly, the scenes of Odalia taking Alador’s interest from him DO hit hard, actually... She really is taking away what little enjoyment and reprieve he has left and holding all the power, and not just veering her husband back on track. And when Alador reminds Odalia that she’s a Blight to make her uphold her end of the deal, it’s likely Al throwing back a saying Odalia used against him and their kids to keep them bound to their deals with her; He’s not impressed with her sudden hypocritical double-standard towards Luz here, for Odalia’s own benefit.
I’m getting the vibes that Odalia was the Blight first and Alador married in, and she’s really obsessed with making herself an old money name, even if she’s actually new money. Maybe the Blights used to be rich but fell into ‘hard’ times, and Odalia saw Alador as a means to make her family name influential again? Not that she cared to restore her parents alongside herself, Odalia really is selfish...
Tumblr media
So the initial fandom perception of the Blights as Victorian nobles might not be too far off, as that was what they once were; And Odalia has tried to regain that wealth, while also adapting to more modern times as well. How her hypothetical parents would feel, I’m not sure; As long as it’s power, I guess Odalia doesn’t care about ‘sullying’ the Blight name by reinventing themselves as a modern tech company, new money and all that.
Tumblr media
And to help achieve that Odalia wanted cheap labor and fired half of Alador’s team; And he proceeded to take on the burden of labor to make up for that, just so his kids wouldn’t have to. How much did Al even get paid... That’s like domestic slave labor y’all! And only an abuser’s victim would stomach such harsh working conditions for such little pay, because Alador is already bound to Odalia by marriage, and is concerned for his kids... Like damn, Emira and Edric got to goof off partially because of him, even if Odalia still enticed Amity to work in school to prove herself.
It sucks that Alador stopped paying attention, and his kids are still valid in any resentment for not standing up to Odalia earlier for their sake; But it really does cast what free time the kids had, that was necessary for their interactions with Luz and eventual growth, into a whole new light! What little happiness these kids had underneath their mother’s abuse came from their father’s neglect and sacrifice... Amity was already so stressed back in Season 1, imagine that AND child labor...
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Which as I mentioned; Odalia still got what she wanted out of Amity and even the twins, hadn’t she? So it was still kind of for nothing, hence Alador realizing that and making his stand; He’s done playing Odalia’s game and negotiating on her terms.
3K notes · View notes
simp4pedropascal75 · 8 months
Text
Secretary (Javier Peña x Reader)
Tumblr media
summary: You graduated from university with dreams of becoming a DEA agent. One year before your graduation, a class trip took you to Colombia, where you met Javier Peña. The two of you quickly bonded over the six months you spent together, but after you left, he grew distant. When you return as a freshly minted DEA agent, you discover that you have not been hired as a DEA agent, but as a secretary.
words: 5.2k
this ff takes place in the late 1980s! (but you still can chat with him? yeah, doesn't make sense)
trigger warnings: 18+, MINORS DNI, age gap(reader in her 20s, Javier in his late 30s), explict language, mentioning of s3x in public, fluff, violence, smoking, being catcalled and harrased by a man, a little bit of angst (?), spoilers of narcos season 1 (?), one mention of y/n
a/n: sorry for taking a while for writing a new ff, but i thank you for over 500 likes on bad guy and also thank you so much for over 108 followers<3 this really keeps me motivated to write.
I also apologize if I mess up the plot of narcos and don't get everything right like it is in the series. English is not my first language and I'm not finished with the series yet. I just finished season 2 episode 3, and lord have mercy with this sex scene of pedro.
But please don't spoiler me in the comments what happens next in the series, thanks<3
And I guess I'll be making a little series out of this, when my creativity is working, what do you think?
i wish you a fun time reading:)
-------------------♡❀˖⁺. ༶ ⋆˙⊹❀♡--------------------
You are finally getting your mark on your uniform from your teacher. You stand there with a proud smile, looking into the crowd and seeing your parents.
You finally graduated from university to be a DEA agent.
Since you were a kid, your dream was always being a DEA agent, just like your dad. Your dad was stationed in Colombia, that’s why you didn’t see him that much, but when you came visiting him or he came home to Miami, he told you about his stories. He told you how he chased drug traffickers, went on missions and all the other stuff. As a kid, it just amazed you.
That’s why you began to train early for being an DEA agent. Since you were 5, you started solving riddles, like: ‘who stole grandma’s cat?’ and so on. When you got older, you loved solving murder, drug cases or already solved cases from your dad, which you had to solve again.
And it was pretty fun… and to be honest, you were god damn good.
That’s why after you finished high school with 19 years, you went to a DEA university. You were lying, if you're saying it wasn’t pretty hard… sometimes, when you were on your lowest, you even thought about quitting. But even if it was difficult, you didn’t want to throw away your dream, so, you kept going.
One year before your graduation, you went to Colombia with your class. You stayed there 6 months and of course your lessons continued there.
You visited the station where your dad was working and that was also the time where the hunt of Pablo Escobar started. And also, the time… well, where you met Javier Peña.
Every Sunday, you and your class were allowed to go to the station and were shown around, got told some stories and some tips how life works as a DEA agent. It was pretty interesting…
and who really made it interesting was Javi.
You and Javier got pretty close for the whole six months. You got friends… well maybe a little more than that…
Of course, you also met his partner Steve Murphy and you got along also, but just as friends.
You didn’t remember exactly how everything with Javier started, but in the first weeks you were going to the station, you and Javi always talked and you two just got along well. Sometimes he would steal you from the rest of the group to show you some more private folders, because he knew how interested you were in all of this… and also, to make out with you.
But expect of how good he kisses… or fucks.
He was there when you needed him.
Unfortunately, in the last month, your dad got injured when he was on a mission with Javier and Steve. Your dad got shot bad in a shooting and when you got the news, Javi was there to comfort you. Luckily, your dad did survive, but he was left incapable of working ever again.
Also, you didn’t ever know, what you and Javier really are. You know, he slept with a lot of women, mostly to gain information for work, but he also stopped sleeping with other women, for the whole six months when he was with you,
well, that’s what Steve told you.
But he never actually asked you if you would be his girlfriend or something… but neither did you.
One time when he showed your class around, the topic was the balance between work and personal life. He told everyone that he personally doesn’t do ‘relationships’ because of work and he isn’t interested in it, he finds it more exciting to get to know many women. And that’s what probably kept you from asking him because you were scared to get rejected.
Of course, you fell in love with him, but you thought he didn’t.
Also, your dad doesn’t know anything about what you and Javier had… and if he would have found out, he would probably fire Javier. Since his incident he was very protective over you and worried about you getting a DEA agent like him.
But nothing got in your way again, even if you were really not feeling great because Javi and you barley had contact after you left.
You kept going.
And now you're finally standing on the stage, proud with your mark on your uniform and even graduated as the class best.
At the evening you begin packing your suitcase for the flight to Colombia. You planned since the beginning of your studies, to go back to Colombia and work at the same station your dad did. You feel excited of the thought that your dream is finally going true. Also… how will it be meeting Javi again?
You sigh at the thought and suddenly your phone vibrates. You grab it and look on the display.
-
Javi
‘heard you graduated, congratulations, hermosa.
-
Your heart skips as he writes you that and you don’t notice how red your cheeks get. He didn’t write you often, nearly never, but when he did, he continued calling you hermosa, cariño,… and all the other names he had for you.
-
you
thanks, agent. maybe I’ll be your boss soon.
Javi
you wish. your dad told me to pick you up at the airport tomorrow.
-
You start to get a nervous feeling in your chest, but also can’t help to smile.
-
you
okay, looking forward for tomorrow then, agent.
Javi
see you tomorrow, cariño.
-
You throw your phone on your bed and lay down next to it. You can’t keep down your butterflies in your stomach. The thought of seeing him again after one year has you smiling, but also getting you even more nervous.
What should I say when he picks me up?
Should you hug him? What if he kisses me?!
God, I really need to know what to talk about, I hate awkward silence.
You think and start panicking. You groan in frustration into your pillow. You grab after your phone and scroll through your chats with Javi.
Your smile fades as you see your calls he didn’t pick up, how he responded to some messages from you after literally one month. Sometimes he didn’t even respond. You know, he has really much work to do and doesn’t have it easy… but seeing how he barley contacted you, makes you feel disappointed… you really thought he would like you back…
Maybe I have to high expectations, you think.
Maybe he doesn’t care so much about that, but you do. You gave him your trust in so many ways…
And with that thought, you get up with a sigh and look frustrated at your closet. You watch at some of your bikinis. “yeah, I think I’m going to take this one”, you mumble to yourself with a smirk, taking the string bikini in his favourite colour.
You walk towards the exit with your two suitcases and back bag. As you step out of the airport, you take in the warm, tropical breezes. You feel the air brushing across your skin and hair. The sun’s rays are warm and comforting as they peek through the clouds. You take a deep breath and close your eyes, taking a moment for yourself that you’re finally reaching your dream.
“bienvenido a casa, hermosa.”, you hear a very familiar voice saying and you wince.
“goddammit- you scared the shit out of me”, you say out of breath and then take a moment to look at him. He’s leaned against the car, with a cigarette between his fingers. Your feelings are going insane again. He’s still the same, just like when you left. But… he got a little more muscular.
“really? that’s how you act when we see each other after this long time?”, he chuckles and raises an eyebrow.
“shut up”, you mumble as you roll your eyes and walk towards him. You don’t think about it and just wrap your hands around his neck and pull him into a hug. You hug him tightly and you don’t know why, but your eyes start to get wet. Smelling his scent again of cigarettes, leather and musk… it’s addicting.
As you feel how he pulls you closer by wrapping his hands around your waist, your heart skips.
“missed me?”, he whispers and you sense his smirk. “maybe.”, you answer and even if you don’t want to, you end the hug and go some steps back to take your suitcases.
As you feel a wet drop rolling down your cheek, you immediately wipe the tear away and pull yourself together to give him a happy smile. “would you mind helping me with these?”, you point out your baggage.
Javi chuckles as he takes the last drag out of his cigarette until he throws it away and takes two of your suitcases, putting it into the trunk. “god woman-, how many clothes have you in these?”, he gasps and closes it.
“‘need something to dress, you know”, you chuckle and roll your eyes while going into the car. You expected him to say something like: “around me you won’t have to wear many clothes”, but… obviously he holds himself back.
You take a seat next to him and he starts the engine, drinking away from the parking lot. You roll down the window to let the warm breeze of Colombia fly against you. As you were driving through the city, you couldn’t help but just stare out of the window. “feels good to be here again”, you mumble and notice how much you missed this.
You expected him to say something like: “feels good to have you near me again”, but no… nothing.
After a while you finally hear his voice again. “class’s best huh?”, he chuckles and you roll your eyes. “yeah. my dad told you?, you ask and see him nod. “yeah”
“How’s the situation with Pablo? I watched the news, but they don’t tell much and you never know if they’re telling real shit.”, you ask while looking at all the buildings. You see kids play soccer outside and smile. “He’s a fucking pain in the ass, that’s what I can tell you”, Javier mumbles while concentrating on the road.
“You know, we’ll be working together now, you can tell me?”, you point out and raise your eyebrows.
“Let me say, the situation got worse. It’s true that he killed all these people by blowing up an airplane”, he answers and you gulp when you hear that. “There’s a fuckin’ war right in Colombia.”, he adds.
You see that he’s tense because of this topic. As you take a closer look at his face, you also notice he didn’t get proper sleep for like a whole month. “And… you’re fine?”, you mumble concerned.
“I’m fine, hermosa. Nothing to worry about.”, he answers and drives in the streets of Medellin. You remember now where you are. You see the streets you and your class walked down. You also remember that you will soon drive past an ice cream truck… and memories pop up in your mind.
Javier kidnapped you from a trip with your class through the streets of Medellin, again. You were walking down the road, he was right behind you and constantly staring at your ass, because you wore a shorts.
How couldn’t you? It was like 40 degrees in the middle of the day.
A heat wave was surrounding you and the sun was shining right into your face. “you’re not very unobtrusive when it comes to staring, you know.”, you smirk and take a quick look behind you.
“maybe I don’t want to be unobtrusive…”, he says while taking a drag from his cigarette. You roll your eyes at him. You just continue walking and hear a chuckle behind you as you rolled your eyes.
As you keep walking, you spot an ice cream truck. “You know, I really need to cool down now.”, you say and with that you just cross the street, walking towards the ice cream truck. “ice cream, really?”, you hear Javi saying behind you. “You want one too?”, you ask but he shakes his head to no in response.
“Hola señor, me gustaría una cucharada de vainilla y fresa en la oblea, por favor.”, you order in Spanish. You smile proud as the man in the truck understands you and gives you a smile. “Impressing.”, you hear Javier whispering right behind you what makes you laugh. Your Spanish wasn’t actually that bad, when you came to Colombia as a kid to visit your dad, you heard this language all around you. And in school you also had some Spanish lessons.
The man hands you over the ice cream and you hand him the money instead. “Gracias”, you say with a kind smile and then go on the crosswalk again. You and Peña walked to a shady spot, to give you two a break from the burning sun.
You start licking your ice cream from the bottom to the top. And, he was watching you.
He sees how you take long stripes of the ice cream, sometimes licking just the tip. Because of the hot Colombian sun, the ice cream begins to melt quickly.
Drops of ice cream land on your hot, light sweated neck, your thighs and your chin. Then, also on your tank top. “Fuck…,” you mumble and don’t notice how hard you’re making it for Javier. You take your finger, wipe the ice cream away and lick it off your finger.
“goddammit, y/n.”, you hear him cuss quietly, you look at him and notice the bulge on his jeans. “Ops.”, you say innocently and chuckle. You just continue licking your ice cream while looking directly into his eyes. You love teasing him… and always know where it leads you too.
It doesn’t take long to Javier grab your arm and drag you into a small alley. You let your ice cream fall, because of him. “Javi! My ice cream!”, you say literally heart broken like a kid and pout.
Suddenly you feel his tongue licking up the ice cream, which landed on your neck. “Javi, what are you-“, he cuts you off by smashing his lips onto yours. His tongue slips into your mouth, tasting the flavour of your ice cream.
Some minutes later, you find yourself being fucked from behind and pressed against the cold wall.
You don’t notice you’re pressing your tights together, but he does. “How about we get some ice cream? I really want to have ice cream now”, you ask with a slight smile on your face. You wanted to see if he remembered, if his body still responses to the memories of you.
And… it does.
He hesitates and wants to disagree. “Please...”, you beg and you know one thing, he can’t resist your begging… well, not for a long time.
You hear him let out a loud sigh, before whispering a quiet: “okay”.
Yup, still works, you think.
He pulls over and parks right next to the ice cream truck. And it’s really the same as one year ago.
You get out of the car and order yourself an ice cream, you feel him looking at you while you’re waiting. After you finally got your ice cream, you come back in the car and buckle up. You took the same flavours as last time. You take a long stripe of the ice cream and let out a soft satisfying moan.
God, how you missed this.
You hear Javier starting the engine quite impulsive and you can’t help but chuckle.
“So, where we’re going?”, you ask while licking your ice cream. “I’ll let you out at your dads old apartment. You can get yourself comfortable there and unpack your suitcases until I pick you up to drive to the station.”, he says tense but focussed on the road. You let out a cute short “okay” and just continued looking out of the window.
After thirty minutes, you arrive at the building where your dad’s old apartment was. You get out of the car and Javier opens the trunk, taking out your suitcases. As you wanted to take the suitcases, Javier has them already in his grip and getting them up the stairs.
“such a gentleman”, you tease and he opens the door of your building. “just get your ass up these stairs”, he says while rolling his eyes and you laugh.
As you two walked up some stairs, you finally arrived at your apartment. He gets out the keys your dad left for you and locks up the door. You walk through the door and immediately look around while Javier is getting your baggage inside. “It’s cute”, you say and walk to the front door, where he’s standing.
“There you go, cariño.”, he hands you over the keys, “‘gonna pick you up at 4, okay?”, you nod in response. “Thanks”, you say to him with a smile before he closes the door and you see him driving away.
You sigh and everything still feels pretty unrealistic. You go on your small balcony, feeling the hot sun burning in your skin. “I’m back, Colombia.”
You started unpacking your suitcase and made yourself comfortable. You took a shower, put a little make up on to cover the rings under your eyes and got yourself a dress. You’re wearing a white tank top with a shorts, since it’s still very hot outside. “I really need to go grocery shopping...”, you mumble when you’re looking in the empty fridge. You grab an apple out your bag pack and take a bite.
You look at the clock and it’s already 4 o’clock. You grab your cardigan, in case it gets colder in the evening and walk down the stairs, going out on the street and looking around for Javier. It doesn’t take long until you see a black Jeep Cherokee driving down the street.
Yeah, that’s him.
He pulls over and is leaned out of the window with a cigarette in his fingers. He’s wearing the same as in the morning, but now with yellow toned sunglasses.
God, he looks fucking hot.
“Ready?”, he asks while taking a drag of his cigarette. “always”, you reply with a smirk and get in the car. As he starts driving, you feel the excitement building up in you. The thought of you finally working and getting your place in a DEA station, makes your heart jump from happinesses. You worked your whole life for this.
You don’t live far away from the station and as Javier was parking, you saw Steve waiting outside. A big smile comes across your face. You two get out of the car and we’re walking towards the entrance.
“Hello, newbie”, Steve chuckles as he pulls you into a hug. “Shut up”, you roll your eyes and hug him back. “good to see you again”, he says as he lets go of you and you give him a smile. “good to see you too”, you reply and suddenly the door opens and Colonel Carrillo comes out.
You’ve seen him not often, just sometimes when your dad talked with him. “Buenos días, señorita Álvarez”, he says and offers his hand for a handshake. You give him a smile. “Colonel Carrillo.”, you nod and shake his hand, as Javi and Steve greet him too. ”also congratulations for graduating”, he says kind but with a stern face. “Follow me”, he says and walks into the station with you three following.
You squeak quietly because of excitement and your heart beats out of your chest. You walk through the hallway, and already seeing the office of the DEA agent, but instead of walking further, Carrillo opens the door to the secretary’s office.
“There you go”, he says and you just stand there confused. But not only you’re confused, you also feel Javier and Steve’s confusing look. “Um… that’s the secretary’s office”, you mumble and Carrillo nods. “Yeah.”, he says confidently. “I’m a DEA agent, sir.”, you point out, still completely confused.
“Oh, your father didn’t told you yet?”, you shake your head to no. “Your dad wanted you to watch first, to get some feeling for the job before working completely as a DEA agent. Also, the case with Pablo Escobar is kind of heavy.”, Carrillo continues explaining and you can’t believe what you’re hearing.
“What.”, you gasp slightly and feeling complete anger flowing through your whole body.
“‘being your boss soon’, huh?”, you hear Javi quoting your message with a chuckle. You find that anything but funny. “Shut the fuck up.”, you growl to him, and then force a smile to Carrillo.
“If you would excuse me for a minute, sir.”, you mumble tensely and get out of the office, walking out of the station and calling your dad. Murphy and Peña follow you outside, watching you walk up and down while holding your cellphone to your ear.
“poor girl.”, Steve sighs while leaning against the wall. “guess daddy is pretty scared for her”, he adds and Javi sighs while lighting up a cigarette, handing the lighter to Steve. “I mean, she isn’t bad… I think she would be a good help for us.”, Javi says while taking a drag of his cigarette while they watch you literally yell into your cellphone.
“Dad what the actual fuck?! You know how hard I worked for becoming an agent, and now you’re hiring me as the fucking secretary?”, you yell upset. “You’re not even working as the Colonel with Carrillo anymore, how can you still decide something like that!?”
“I wouldn’t want to get into an argument with her, that’s clear..”, Steve mumbles as he’s taking a drag of his cigarette too and looks over to Javi, who’s just watching you.
“You’re planning to fuck with her again?”, he asks and laughs slightly. “Shut up, Murphy”, Javi mumbles. “No I mean seriously… I know you like her, man”, Steve says while you’re still yelling into your phone, shortly before throwing it on the street.
“‘dunno… I didn’t reply to her calls, or texts often after she left…”, Javi sighs.
“Wow.”, Steve gasps as he finishes smoking. “You really are an asshole”, Steve points out and claps on his shoulder.
“but seriously, she likes you, Peña. Make it up to her ”, he says seriously while you’re on the edge to destroy your phone. “You really need a woman in your life, man”.
“Dad, I’m fucking 26! I can take care of myself”, they hear and see you scream.
Javi starts thinking about Steve words and finishes his cigarette too.
“she’s not gonna throw her phone, is she?”, Steve asks while raising his eyebrows as he keeps watching you how literally go rage. “If you think that, you don’t know her enough”, Javi just answers and one second later, you hang up and throw your cellphone directly throw it on the ground.
Steve just stays there in shock. “Told you”, Javi chuckles. As Steve sees how you walk towards them, he immediately makes his way into the station again. “‘need to do some paperwork”, he excuses and Javi rolls his eyes at him.
You take a deep breath and walk to Javi. “Well unfortunately my dad thinks I’m incapable of taking care and defending myself, even if I trained my whole fucking life for this.”, you complain and run your hand through your hair.
“'guess being class best and graduating after such a long time, isn’t enough.”, you sigh and try to calm down. Javi just keeps looking at you.
“I’ll talk to him”, he suddenly says and you look at him. “what? with my dad? that won’t help”, you scoff. “No, I mean with Colonel Carrillo. "I have a good rapport with him.”, he tells you and puts his hand into his pockets.
“If it doesn’t help, you can come over to us in secret, going through some folders and stuff”, he suggests and you nod slowly. “yeah…”, you just sigh. “thanks.. “, you add, turn around and take your phone with a pretty broken display from the ground.
“Would you mind driving me to the grocery store? I don’t have my car yet”, you ask after some minutes of silence. He takes a look at his watch. “Well, I have thirty minutes until my shift begins, if you do it quick, then I can drive y-”, he replies while still leaning against the wall. “good, thanks.”, you cut him off and make your way to his car.
You're leaned on the card and walk through the market. Your cart is already half full and you’re soon finished. Javi was walking behind you and the whole time his eyes were fixed on your ass, you could feel it.
And that’s why you couldn’t stop smirking. “Stop smirking so much, you’ll get wrinkles”, he chuckles and you make your way towards the checkout. “says the man who’s soon in his 40s”, you tease him back and he laughs.
How much you love his laugh…
When you walk to his car with him carrying your two full grocery bags, he takes a look at his watch again and you hear him cuss in Spanish. “I’m already ten minutes late..”, Javier hisses.
“Oh, I’ll walk the rest. My apartment is not far from here and I have to get my cellphone repaired anyway.”, you say, wanting to take the bags from his hands. “I won’t let you walk home alone on these streets, especially if it’s getting dark.”, he says serious, not handing you over the bags. “I can defend myself, it’s fine. Go to work”, you mumble more seriously and grab your bags, ripping them out of his grip.
“When something happens to you-“, you cut him off. “Go to work”, you shout and make your way on the other side of the street.
You hear him cuss in Spanish behind you and just chuckle. You changed in many ways after one year, but one thing always stayed the same.
Your obstinacy, confidence and trust in your skills.
“maybe if you hadn’t been busy with staring at my ass, you would’ve checked the time earlier.”, you shout with a cheeky smile to him as he goes into his car. You chuckle and hear him drive away.
You know when the whole case about Pablo Escobar wasn’t so serious, you know he would’ve driven you home, but unfortunately it was.
It was getting dark and you made your way to a electronic shop. After you talked with the man behind the counter, he told you, you can pick up your phone tomorrow.
When you got out of the store, it was dark outside and got kinda cold. You wanted to put on your cardigan, but notice that you forgot it in Javier’s car. “fuck..”, you mumble and continue walking with your grocery bags.
A group of men were walking next to you on the other side of the street, beginning to catcall you. You start to feel uncomfortable and walk a little quicker, ignoring them. They were continuing catcalling you, and being a woman, alone on a street while it’s fucking dark, is kind of scary.
But that’s life as a woman, I guess…, you think
But you pull yourself together and remind yourself of your confidence, knowing you would knock the fuck out of them. You were five minutes away from your apartment, but suddenly one of the men decided to switch sidewalks and walk to you.
“Buenas noches, hermosa. ¿Buscas alojamiento?”, he asks while walking next to you.
Someone else calling you hermosa, who’s not Javier, gives you the shivers.
Your Spanish wasn’t perfect, but you think he asked you if you have a place to sleep tonight or something.
You continued ignoring him, and he continues speaking to you, but now you didn’t understand shit… and to be honest, you didn’t want to understand it.
You could sense and smell he’s drunk. “Vete a la mierda”, you tell him to fuck off.
Suddenly he grabs your arm, and that was it. You let fall your grocery bags, grab his hand and kick him right into his balls. He couldn’t react fast enough because of the alcohol, so you also kicked him with your knee right into his face.
You hear a car coming nearer, but ignore it. As the guy lies on the ground, you punch him right in his face. You hear his mates being shocked. “You want too? Come here then!”, you shout challenging, but they didn’t thought twice and ran away.
You just scoff as you see them walking away and bending down to grab to pick up your groceries.
Suddenly, you feel a hand on your back. “Cariño, are you o-“, before your brain can process and recognise that it’s Javier’s voice, you punch him directly into his face. You hear him groan in pain and as you look up, you see his car. “Omg- I’m so sorry-“, you panic and take his hand into your face, looking at his bleeding nose. You take out a tissue of your shorts and hold it against his nose.
“I thought it was someone of these men-“, he cuts you off and takes the tissue himself. “You got a hell of a punch, you know that”, he says while holding the tissue at his nose.
A part of your brain starts thinking, he deserves it. For ignoring you for so long. You start to form s slight smirk on your lips, but then throw the thought away.
“What a secretary I am, huh?”, you chuckle and pick up your groceries. He stuffed the tissue into his nose and then helps you, getting all your groceries together and then lifting up your grocery bags.
“Don’t you have to work?”, you ask him confused because it was just 20 minutes ago when he left. “‘told Carrillo I forgot a folder at home, I can’t let a beautiful woman like you, walk home alone.”, he says while going to his car. “but I have to say, you handled the situation pretty well, he’s completely knocked out.”, he smirks and gets the grocery bags in his car.
As he called you beautiful, you blush slightly and take a seat in his car. “‘didn’t train for nothing, you know”, you giggle while he starts the engine and drives you home.
As you arrive after literally 2 minutes, you take your cardigan and get out of the car. “thank you for still looking for me”, you mumble and put the cardigan on.
“no problem… but I kind of deserved this punch, didn’t I?”, he sighs while you take your grocery bags.
Now you can’t hide your dirty smirk anymore.
“Yeah, you kind of did”, you answer and close his car door.
“‘wish you a good shift then, be careful”, you give him a smile and then walk to the building, getting out your keys. “see you tomorrow, hermosa”, he calls after you and as you walk through the door, you hear him drive off.
...
The next morning you finally got your car and could drive alone. Even if you enjoyed Javier’s as your driver. You get to the DEA station and walk to your office…
You see a sign with your name on your desk, and under it is written: secretary.
Yup, still hate that, you think and let out a loud sigh.
You take a seat on your chair and lean back. After a while some woman comes in and gives you some paperwork, and also a folder that you can catch up with everything. Even if the thought, that you normally could work in the DEA office to take down some of Pablo’s guys, makes you angry, you need to live with it for a while now. And then, you get started…
After some hours you hear a knock on your door. “Come in”, you say loud and as you look up who it is, you roll your eyes. “Agent Peña”, you call him while having the folder in the hand.
“‘The previous secretary was fired because being caught flirting, kissing and sleeping with one of the agents’”, you read out loud and then look up at him. “And who might that be huh?”, you ask serious while raising an eyebrow at him, knowing exactly who it probably was.
“Even if you won’t believe me now, it wasn’t me”, he answers and places a coffee on your desk. You raise your eyebrows at him. And he was right, you didn’t believe him.
But, why should you care? You’re not together or anything… but the thought of him fucking another women, makes you jealous… and kinda sad.
“you’re fucking all your secretaries now, Agent Peña?”, you ask cheeky while being leaned back in your chair. He just chuckles while shaking his head and places his hands on your desk, leaning against it.
“No, just you.”, he answers and you choke on your coffee because you took a sip.
“We’re definitely not fucking and I’m not your secretary.”, you say serious to make a point.
He takes a cigarette from his ear into his fingers and puts it between his lips, while making his way out of your office.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that in some weeks.”
244 notes · View notes
Note
What do you think of book&show!Rhaenyra as characters? And who do you like more?
Hi anon! I've been turning this one over in my mind since you sent it, because I wanted to give it some thought (and anyone who is sick of reading show critical stuff, just skip this one. I don't hate the show, I just think it's interesting and fun to dig a bit deeper). What it comes down to for me is that while book!Rhaenyra is fun, I wish the show had been braver with their depiction of Rhaenyra.
While book!Rhaenyra's motivations are not particularly complex, I feel like I understand her better than show!Rhaenyra. She hasn't heard a prophesy, nor does she feel any real responsibility toward the kingdom to make her second guess the war; her father had made her heir and that was that. Anyone who disagrees can go ahead and die. Her motivations are not particularly noble or self-sacrificing. If anything, it's the opposite. Book!Rhaenyra loves the finer things in life, she's headstrong, and a bit of a mean girl. She goes after what she wants unapologetically, lies through her teeth and never backs down. Book!Rhaenyra never weighs the consequences of her actions, she is vengeful and reactive. She is given terms which would allow her to keep Dragonstone in perpetuity, and unlike her show counterpart, she doesn't even consider them. She says no outright, even before Luke is killed, and replies to tell Aegon that, "I shall have my crown or I shall have his head." And while surely she values the lives of her sons, you get the sense that she never even considers the danger this war puts them in because losing isn't even an option for her. She's going to win because of course she is. And as a reader, you never question her motivations really because, whether you agree with her or not, it is easy to understand that she is fueled by a self-righteous conviction that she will be taking what she feels belongs to her, and woe be to anyone who gets in her way.
Show!Rhaenyra, on the other hand, is more thoughtful. We see this when she's crying at half-dead Viserys' bedside telling him that being heir is a burden, and we see it when she truly considers Otto's peace offer, when she tears up to see the page that Alicent saved from their girlhood. We see it in how she talks to her sons and in the way she apologizes to Alicent at the dinner table. She seems to have some concept of what is at stake, and understands that the throne is a tremendous burden and responsibility, and that the lives of her people are in her hands, and moreover that she does have the option of backing down. When she considers the peace offer, she very clearly states that the prophesy means that she has a responsibility to keep the realm stable, and maybe it is not the best thing for the realm is to throw it into civil war in order to sit the throne at all costs. But all of this, the added sense of awareness of the enormity of the the responsibility and the desire to do right by the realm, while they make her an easier person to support, also makes a lot of her actions that much harder to understand.
One of my main nitpicks with the show as a whole is that the actions of the book characters do not always fit the personalities of the show characters, and so the characterization seems inconsistent. Rhaenyra is aware of the gravity of her position, she learns about the prophesy and the threat to the realm, and then proceeds to have three bastard children (and this is a problem, because it jeopardizes her position. If she gets caught or Corlys/Laenor change their minds and disavow those kids, it's over for her). We have things like Rhaenyra asking for Aemond to be "sharply questioned," which comes from the book, when the episode before she was offering up a dragon and a Jace/Helaena engagement (a show invention, and even though it's not a great deal for the greens if you give it some thought, it reads to the audience as a peace offering). Or you have her telling Daemon she needs his help to fight the greens, and there's this whole conversation about making their enemies believe they're the kind of people who will kill to protect Rhaenyra's claim, but then in episode 8 they have this attempt at reconciliation between Alicent and Rhaenyra and in episode 10 Rhaenyra is going on about how Daemon has "gone to madness, gone to his war." She's seriously entertaining Otto's peace offer (which never happened in the book) while sending her sons off to muster support.
F&B has pretty thin characterization, but what is there comes mostly from the characters' actions and their dialogue. To create a consistent character, the writers needed to start there and ask, what kind of person would say these things and do these things, rather than taking the character they conceived, and trying to shoehorn canon events into that characterization. And the thing is, the show could have created a more fleshed out version of book!Rhaenyra and still made her sympathetic. Take Shiv Roy from Succession, for instance. Shiv is someone who is a victim of misogyny, but also undeniably not the best choice for CEO (neither, of course, are any of her brothers). She's overprivileged and not nearly as experienced or as smart as she thinks she is, she gets in her own way, and in trying to be "one of the boys," she consistently overshoots and alienates actual allies. But she's also a victim of misogyny-- she is expected to provide a woman's touch to delicate matters, but is expected to be as ruthless and cutthroat as the men. Her fuckup brothers are given endless second chances, but Shiv has no such leeway. The specter of motherhood hangs over her constantly-- once she becomes a mother, she will be cast out from the world of men, an asterisk beside her name. And show!Rhaenyra does lean into this a bit (think of Rhaenyra's boobs leaking in the small council, her being stuck giving birth at the moment when leadership is needed in episode 10), but it doesn't commit to the darker side of this. It is not brave enough to make Rhaenyra a bad person as well as a victim.
The thing about Succession is that the show never asked us to view Shiv as good, or as a better choice than her brothers. It didn't even ask us to find her particularly sympathetic, although I certainly do find Shiv sympathetic in some ways. She has a genuine love for her family that makes the moments when she betrays them even more bittersweet, and we can understand her as a pretty bad person while still understanding the ways in which patriarchy screwed her over. In fact, in some ways it was refreshing to see that a woman could be privileged, ruthless and occasionally cruel and still get fucked over (this article is a good breakdown of Shiv-- now imagine a Rhaenyra in this mold!). But central to the difference between HotD and Succession is that Succession doesn't ask us to view the "throne" as a force of good, nor the position as a force of change. The CEO position in Succession is pretty explicitly toxic. Roman refers to the company itself explicitly as a cage. The audience is meant to understand that the person who "wins" is going to be more miserable and more morally compromised as a result. And the Iron Throne is similar. It's a throne made of literal swords! The closer you get to it, the more cursed and compromised you become. But so far, HotD not only insists on casting Rhaenyra as a protagonist, with the addition of the prophesy and the vision of the white hart, winning the throne becomes something she must do for the greater good, her claim something she has been righteously chosen to uphold. And if winning the throne is righteous, then the throne itself must be righteous too. And that's a framing that I don't think can hold up through the Dance, but I fear that the show may have backed itself into a corner by casting Rhaenyra as the correct choice, which inherently frames the throne as something she is right to fight for, no matter the cost to the people, her family, or herself.
90 notes · View notes
steddieas-shegoes · 8 months
Text
this place is such great motivation for anyone trying to move the fuck away from hibernation
chapter 1: before also on AO3 based on this post Rated E for future chapters
🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰
Nobody thought he could do it, but he did.
He graduated.
He was gonna get out of here.
He was gonna be someone.
The woman he celebrated with reminded him of Steve. He couldn’t lie to himself about it, knew the exact reasons he’d let her flirt with him, let her touch his arm, let her kiss him against the wall of the hallway of the bar leading to the bathrooms.
She was beautiful, of course, her hair a golden brown, eyes a soft brown. She had freckles along her cheeks and one on the tip of her nose.
Easily kissable if he were looking for more than one night.
He couldn’t give her that.
But he didn’t get the idea that she was interested in more than that anyway.
The back of the van was the perfect place to fuck her, and the fact that she didn’t really seem disgusted or annoyed by it further proved that she wasn’t interested in anything beyond tonight with him.
She was good, liked it a little rough, kissed him like she needed his lips on hers to survive.
Eddie was lost in it, not drunk enough to realize they’d forgotten to use a condom, but drunk enough to ignore it.
She was probably on birth control anyway.
It wouldn’t be anything more than tonight.
————————————————————
“Eds, I’m sorry about this, but they called me in for a shift. They’re pretty short staffed lately, so I think I should go,” Wayne said while Eddie was putting on his coveralls for work.
He was bouncing Mia on his hip, smiling down at her as he spoke to Eddie from the bathroom doorway.
“No, I get it,” Eddie replied.
He did. He totally understood.
When Mia’s mom had shown up with her on his doorstep, hospital bracelets still on them both, he’d already felt the shift of his entire life.
There was no denying Mia was his, even at only three days old.
So he held her in his arms, and he cried until Wayne got home from work, and then they figured it out.
He owed Wayne so much even before Mia, but now, as her number one caretaker, he owed Wayne everything.
So, yeah, he understood.
But it didn’t negate the fact that he was now going to have to take her to work with him on a day that the secretary wouldn’t be in to help keep an eye on her.
She was at the age where crawling could happen any day, and she was antsy if she was held for too long or stuck in her car seat or pack and play for more than 15 minutes.
But the shop was no place for a baby to learn to crawl, and that meant keeping her contained in something while he worked his Saturday shift.
“I don’t have to go in for a couple hours, so I could keep her here and drop her off on my way?” Wayne offered, knowing Eddie’s brain was trying to figure everything out.
“No, I may be in the middle of something when you get there so it’d be easier to just go ahead and have her there,” Eddie sighed. “Is her bounce seat in the truck?”
“I can check.”
Wayne passed her off to him, kissing the top of her head before he walked out to the truck.
“Hey, superstar. You wanna come to work with Daddy?” Eddie asked, laughing when she giggled and smacked his face in excitement. “Guess that’s a yes. You gonna behave or are you gonna cause trouble?”
“Ba!” Mia yelled, smacking him again.
“Ba for behave? I sure hope so,” he said quietly.
The guys at the shop were totally fine with her being there, and often turned the music down and watched their language more, but he knew it was an annoyance.
Everyone there had kids, yet he was the only one who had to bring his.
Everyone there also had wives who mostly stayed home or worked at the school so they had someone to watch their kids, but that wasn’t easy to remember when he started feeling bad.
“Better get you in something warm. It’s chilly out there,” Eddie poked at her cheek, where her dimple was on display.
She was a happy baby, hardly cried even when she was a newborn. He was incredibly lucky, would hate to know how much worse off they’d have been if she was a fussy baby.
He brought her into their shared room of the trailer, setting her down on the changing table.
He changed her quickly, buttoning her up in her warmest onesie and sweater, already trying to figure out how he would keep a blanket on her legs when she just kicked so damn much when Wayne walked into the room.
“Bounce seat is in your van. She should be pretty happy in that. Lets her get those legs moving,” Wayne said fondly. “You sure you’re good? Maybe I could try to call someone.”
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got it,” Eddie said with a smile.
“I know ya do, kid,” Wayne patted his shoulder before walking back out of the room.
“Alright, Miss Mia. Time to go start pulling your weight around here. You’ll have to get under those cars and do some oil changes if you wanna pay for those rice snacks you like so much,” he joked, tickling her side.
She giggled, and then started laughing uncontrollably.
It was his favorite laugh.
He couldn’t help but laugh along with her, picking her up and swinging her around before settling her against his hip.
She was his whole life, and if he could spend all of it making her laugh like that, he’d be the happiest person in the world.
————————————————————————
“Right, and I think last time we did mention you would need a cabin filter replacement on your next visit,” Eddie explained to the customer who was irate that they were recommending a cabin filter replacement in his car that somehow managed to still run despite its ignored maintenance.
“And if you remember, I told ya then that was a bunch of horse shit. Cabin filters don’t have to be replaced but every few years,” the man insisted.
“Sir, I do wish that were true, but-“
“Ed? Mia’s gettin’ a little fussy. Want me to hold her while you handle this?” Adam said from the doorway into the shop.
Eddie sighed and wiped his hand down his face, forgetting there was still a bit of oil on it from the last car he’d worked on.
“Sure, thanks man,” Eddie replied with a small smile.
“You either do it for free or I want my car back the way it was,” the man said when Adam went back into the shop area.
“I’m sorry, sir, we just don’t recommend driving it with the old cabin filter and-“
“Where’s your manager?”
Eddie threw his head back and groaned.
Should he have done it? No.
But his least favorite part of Saturdays was that he had to deal with rude customers by himself.
“He isn’t in on Saturdays. I’m the assistant manager. If I take the new cabin filter out of your car and put the old one back, your car is on its last days.”
“That’s what ya say every time I come.”
“Which is often. Because you don’t do what we tell you to do. Look, I’ve got two more cars to do, so if you wanna take the risk, I’ll go put your old filter back in. Or you can just pay us the $20 for the labor and new filter and maybe get another five or ten thousand miles out of that thing.”
That was generous.
This guy’s car was older than Eddie. He’d be lucky to get another 100 miles out of it, even with a new filter.
“Ed, sorry man. It’s just Mia isn’t calming down,” Adam stood in the doorway holding Mia, who was crying and rubbing her eyes, clearly ready for a nap but unable to because of the noise in the shop.
“Yeah, be right there,” Eddie said, and Adam, the best guy he knew besides Wayne, smiled reassuringly at him and went back into the shop with her.
“Why’s there a baby here?” the man asked, arms crossed.
“She’s my daughter. No one else could watch her.” Eddie walked behind the counter and wrote up a receipt showing he was refusing the new cabin filter. “Sign this saying we aren’t responsible for if your car catches fire, which it inevitably will soon, by not changing the cabin filter.”
The man signed it, then huffed about mechanics thinking they know everything.
Eddie barely managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
When he went back in the shop, Mia was full on screaming, something she rarely did, even when she was hungry or needed a diaper change.
“What’s wrong, metalhead in training?” he asked as he took her from Adam’s arms. “Sorry guys, she doesn’t usually do this.”
“No, we know man. It’s alright. She isn’t getting sick, is she?”
“Don’t think so. I just think she’s tired. It’s her nap time,” Eddie sighed, looking at the clock.
Three hours left.
He could do this.
They could do this.
“Do you think you can put his old cabin filter back in while I walk with her outside to calm her down?” Eddie asked Adam, noticing a car pulling into the parking lot.
Normally, Saturday mornings were busy, but around lunchtime, things slowed down. It seemed like he wouldn’t be so lucky today.
“Yeah, no problem.”
“I’ll see what this person needs while I’m out there,” Eddie said, nodding towards the front where someone was walking into the shop.
Eddie made his way to the front, ignoring the man pacing the floor as he waited for his shitbox car to be done.
“Alright, Mia, let’s calm down. Daddy’s gotta help a customer, okay? You wanna help me? Wanna wave at them when they get inside?” Eddie was speaking to her calmly, doing his best to get her to calm down.
She didn’t.
And that’s, of course, how Steve Harrington walked back into his life.
He’d left over a year ago, barely said goodbye to anyone, just followed Robin to college like a lost puppy.
He hadn’t really blamed him for leaving, but it still hurt.
He thought they were friends.
Maybe not best friends, but close enough that he would have said bye.
“Steve?” Eddie felt like the walls were closing in, an unexplainable panic at the thought of having to talk to Steve professionally when all he wanted to do was yell at him hitting him.
“Eddie! Holy shit, I didn’t even think you’d still be in town,” Steve said, beaming at him like he hadn’t torn Eddie to pieces when he left.
And, well, he hadn’t exactly known he’d torn Eddie to pieces when he left, but still. Eddie felt a lot of resentment suddenly boiling over.
“Well, some of us didn’t have much of an option,” he said, nodding down to Mia.
He would never let Mia think any of his situation was her fault, but she was too young to understand what he was suggesting, and he maybe wanted to let Steve know that he was a bit hurt.
“Oh.” Then, it seemed to hit Steve what he was implying. “Oh! She’s yours?”
“Uh huh. So, you having car trouble?” Eddie didn’t need to prolong this, not with Mia still whimpering and crying in his ear.
“Oh, uh. Yeah. So I kinda haven’t had an oil change since I lived here and I think my car is trying to rebel,” he said sheepishly.
“It’s been a year since you’ve changed the oil in that thing?” Eddie almost couldn’t believe that Steve would let his car end up like that.
“Well, they’re expensive in the city and I haven’t had time to do it myself. And since I’m in town for a week, I thought I’d just get it take care of here. Is that…okay?” he seemed hesitant, like maybe he was actually realizing that Eddie was a bit pissed off.
“Yeah, that’s what we’re here for. Leave the keys and we’ll get it back soon,” Eddie nodded at the counter as he started to walk around the lobby, bouncing Mia in his arms to try to get her to fully calm down.
“What’s her name?” Steve asked from much closer than he expected.
“Mia.”
“She’s beautiful. Is her mom working too?”
“No clue what her mom’s doing. Haven’t seen her since she was born,” Eddie tried not to have an attitude, but the subject was not one he liked to discuss with anyone, let alone the man who unintentionally broke his heart.
“Oh.”
Eddie looked over to see Steve frowning, his brows furrowed, lost in thought.
“Yeah. Sorry for the crying. She wasn’t supposed to be here today and her nap schedule is fucked now,” Eddie closed his eyes. “Sorry, screwed up. She normally is the happiest baby in the world.”
Steve searched Eddie’s face, then looked at Mia with a smile.
“I could hold her if you want. I’m pretty good with babies usually.”
“You have a lot of experience with babies?” Eddie asked, disbelief clear in his tone.
“I babysit a lot between shifts in the city.”
“Shifts?”
“I’m a waiter, which isn’t the best, but it pays the bills and I get a free meal on the clock, so,” he shrugged. “Anyway, I can try at least? Might make it easier for you to work.”
Mia started crying louder again, like she had realized that she still wasn’t asleep for her nap.
“Mia, baby, c’mon. You can close your eyes and go to sleep, I got ya,” Eddie said softly, trying to get her to calm down enough to rest her head on his shoulder.
He was certain she would have some oil stains on her clothes after this, but he couldn’t really find a reason to care right now.
“Eds, let me hold her for a second. You’re getting stressed out. She can tell you’re stressed,” Steve said quietly enough so no one else in the lobby would hear.
“I got it,” Eddie insisted, while Mia seemed to get more upset.
He felt like crying, but he couldn’t.
“I’m sure you do, but it’s okay to have some help sometimes, ya know?” Steve said.
Which is ironic coming from Mr. I Don’t Need Help himself.
“Fine. Here,” Eddie finally gave in, passing Mia over to him.
She slowly stopped crying, looking at Steve with wide eyes.
“Hi princess. Aren’t you so sweet? What’s got you so upset, little one?” Steve asked her, slowly starting to do a bouncing/rocking motion with his legs that had her little head drooping onto his shoulder.
She let out a loud sigh, like the weight of the world was leaving her shoulders, and Eddie felt tears pricking his eyes.
“That’s it, Mia. You can sleep right here, okay?” Steve whispered.
Her eyes were still open, but Eddie could see the long, slow blinks that told him she’d be asleep soon.
“How?”
Steve smiled at him, but didn’t answer.
“I’m gonna go back in the shop, but come get me if she starts crying again?” Eddie was pretty desperate to finish up for the day, wanted to get home as soon as possible and make sure Mia could properly nap.
“Yeah, take your time. Can’t leave without my car anyway,” Steve winked.
Dammit.
Eddie ignored the stupid butterflies in his stomach, ignored the way his heart skipped a beat, and turned to go back into the shop.
He couldn’t let Steve have an effect on him, not now, not after the hurt he’d caused him.
———————————————————————
He told himself that his constant looking through the glass window to the lobby was just to make sure Mia was okay.
He told himself it had absolutely nothing to do with how hot Steve looked pacing around the lobby slowly as she slept on his shoulder.
He told himself that the way Mia was holding onto his shirt and drooling on him wasn’t adorable at all.
He told himself it didn’t hurt that Mia looked like she could be Steve’s just as much as she could be Eddie’s.
“Dude, the oil is spilling,” Jesse said from behind him.
Jesse was their newest hire, worked every Saturday and most afternoons while he got through his certification program at the community college.
“Shit,” Eddie turned back to Steve’s car, rushing to put a new can under it so the rest of the oil could drip into it.
“You good, man? You seem a little out of it today,” Jesse checked.
“Yeah, yeah. Just wasn’t ready for bringing Mia today is all. I’m fine,” he said with his attempt at a reassuring smile.
“I can finish this one up if you want. You can get Mia ready to go since this is the last car,” he offered.
“Nah, it’s that guy’s car anyway. He’s watching her,” Eddie said as he checked over a few other things under the hood.
Adam had turned the music off when he finished his last car, his station almost cleaned up.
The shop was as quiet as it ever gets, which is the only reason he heard the loud laugh coming from the lobby.
His favorite laugh.
He looked over to see Steve dancing around with Mia, bouncing her around, booping her nose, tickling her neck.
Steve was laughing while Mia smacked at his cheeks excitedly.
She was babbling something, but he couldn’t quite hear it through the door and window.
“Can Adam and I head out, then?” Jesse asked, wiping his hands on a towel he kept in his pocket.
“Yeah, man. Thanks for your hard work today,” Eddie said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
Adam waved from his spot and gave him a wink as he looked over at Steve holding a giggling Mia.
He’d come out to Adam accidentally on his first day. He made a joke about how he probably should have celebrated his graduation with a man so there was no risk of pregnancy, and then froze.
He could have passed it off as just a joke, but Adam looked at him, tilted his head, and said, “yeah, me too.”
They’d been good friends ever since.
Eddie shook his head at him, didn’t want him to get any ideas about Steve being more than just a temporary babysitter.
Adam shrugged, like he wouldn’t push, but that he knew there was more to it.
They both left out the side door of the shop, and Eddie followed to lock it behind them.
He heard the lobby door open and looked over to see Steve walking in with Mia.
“Hey, you closing up?” Steve asked, smiling down at Mia still.
“Uh, yeah. She okay?” Eddie asked as he opened up the bottle of oil he needed to pour into Steve’s car.
“She’s great, aren’t you Mia? Just needed a power nap. Happy as can be now,” Steve tickled her side and then smiled at Eddie.
“Mama! Mama!” Mia was saying, slapping his cheek with her hands.
Eddie paled.
“Uh. Sorry. I didn’t even know she knew that word. I’ll take her,” he rushed to say, trying to wipe his hands off on his pant legs.
“Oh, it’s fine. Babies her age are just trying to put any word together with the sounds they know. She doesn’t actually think I’m her mama.”
“Right,” Eddie sighed. “I’m almost done.”
“Mama!” Mia said again, and Eddie had to turn away to hide his face.
A part of him was hurt, thinking how unfair it was that Mia didn’t have a mom. A bigger part of him was upset that she’d decided to do this with Steve of all people.
And a tiny part of him was jealous that she hadn’t quite put together any form of Dada yet.
“Is that your daddy over there? He works real hard, huh?” Steve was saying to her, and Eddie could feel his eyes on his back as he worked. “You’re gonna be a big helper someday aren’t you?”
“Ha!” Mia exclaimed.
“Yeah, helper!” Steve said.
Eddie hated that he was so good with her.
He hated that he was picturing a future with Steve and Mia, images moving rapidly through his head of Steve and Mia cooking dinner together while Eddie cleaned up after a long day at the shop, of Eddie and Steve having date night while Wayne watched Mia, of all three of them going to the park, dropping Mia off at her first day of school.
He blinked it all away.
Those thoughts were dangerous.
He finished up, closing the hood of Steve’s car and removing the drip pan from underneath. He lowered it to the ground and turned back to see Steve watching him with his bottom lip between his teeth.
“All set. Oil change, filter change, labor is usually $40, but since you were such a huge help with Mia, I can give you 50% off,” he said.
He would probably get questioned about it, but if he ended up having to get the rest taken out of his paycheck, so be it.
Steve, no matter how he felt about him, had done him a major favor today when he didn’t have to. He owed him something and this was the best he could do.
“Oh, I didn’t mind. She’s an angel. Plus, wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”
“I won’t. It’s fine. I insist.”
Steve shook his head.
“Nah, I’ll pay full price.” He poked Mia’s cheek and smiled at her. “But I wouldn’t turn down dinner?”
Eddie’s eyes widened.
“Dinner? No offense, but I don’t think dinner is really in my budget, man.”
Steve huffed a small laugh.
“No, no. I meant, like I could treat you to dinner. Tonight or tomorrow?”
“How is treating me to dinner payment for you watching my daughter?” Eddie asked confused.
“Just is. Please?” Steve asked.
“Um. I can see if Wayne can watch her tomorrow night?”
The confusion only grew when Steve excitedly jumped up and down, waving Mia’s hand in the air in excitement.
She was giggling and saying “mama” constantly, which was no longer embarrassing, but definitely not ideal.
“That’d be amazing, Eds. I’m staying with the Hendersons if you wanna just call and let me know what time works for you,” Steve said.
Dustin hadn’t mentioned.
Steve was staying with the Hendersons and Dustin hadn’t even mentioned this to Eddie.
Dustin was the only person who knew about his pining for Steve besides Wayne, and he hadn’t even fucking mentioned.
“Oh, Dustin, uh, didn’t say you were staying with him. Or visiting at all for that matter,” Eddie said as he handed Steve his keys.
“Really? He told me you were excited to catch up,” Steve’s brows furrowed.
“Did he?”
Steve handed Mia over to Eddie, looking a bit lost all of a sudden with his hands empty.
“Yeah.” Steve reached into his back pocket for his wallet and took out $40. “Do I need to sign anything?”
Eddie took the $40 and put it in his pocket for now, and watched as Steve transformed from a happy, confident person to a shy, unsure version of himself.
“Nope, all good.” Eddie stepped closer to Steve for a moment, sucked up his pride, and waved Mia’s hand at him. “Say bye to Steve, sweetheart.”
“Ba!” Steve smiled at her. “Mama!”
“Bye, sweet girl. Maybe we can hang out before I go?” Steve turned to look at Eddie, silently begging to see Mia again.
“If you want to, sure. I mean, you could also just come over for dinner tonight if you want. I was gonna make spaghetti. Wayne’s at work. I’m sure Mia would love to have someone to play with while I cook,” Eddie knew he’d regret it, but Mia would be happy to have someone keeping her company on her play mat while he worked on the sauce.
“I don’t wanna interrupt your night or anything-“
“You aren’t. I’m not the best chef in the world, but it’s edible. And I’m sure if you’re living with Robin, you’re not eating homemade meals very often,” Eddie lightly teased.
“And what makes you say that?” Steve’s hands went on his hips.
Eddie’s breath left his body.
He’d missed Steve.
He’d missed his bitchiness, his care, his smile, the way he always watched over them all, even when they didn’t deserve it.
“Just figured you two would have been on the news for accidentally burning an apartment building down by now,” Eddie shrugged, trying to appear more nonchalant, but knowing he was failing miserably.
“I’ll have you know I’m a great cook,” Steve said. “I have to be or else we would end up on the news because Robin burnt our apartment building down.”
Steve smirked at him and Eddie was a goner.
He cleared his throat and patted Mia on her back when she startled in his arms.
“So, how’s six sound? I usually have Mia in bed by 7:30 so we have a pretty strict evening schedule,” he said, hoping his voice sounded even and controlled unlike his thoughts that were far from it.
“Six is great! I just have to run by the Sinclair house to bring Erica her gift first.”
“You got Erica a gift?”
“No, Erica picked out the gift, told me not to show my face in town unless I brought it, and then gave me the exact time to bring it,” Steve admitted.
“Sounds like Erica,” Eddie laughed. “What did the queen insist on you buying her?”
“Some D&D book? I dunno, I live near a shop that has a bunch of tabletop game stuff and she said they would have it so I wrote down the title and went there and they did. I may never recover, emotionally or financially.”
Eddie laughed again, but this time, Steve smiled, a light pink dusting across his cheeks like he was proud of himself for making Eddie laugh.
“Well, those can get pretty expensive. I’m sure she’ll be happy to have it though. Anything that helps her kick all our asses is always good with her,” Eddie said.
“That’s what I figured. So six? You still at the same place?” Steve asked.
“Yeah. Key is under the plant by the steps so come on in.”
“Oh. Okay,” Steve nodded, looking down at his feet. “Do you want me to bring anything?”
“Nah, just yourself and your patience for Mia’s antics.”
“She’s your daughter so I expect shenanigan after shenanigan.”
“Hey!”
Steve threw his hands up and walked over to his car.
“Just saying!”
“Do you hear this, Mia? And you call this guy mama,” Eddie said, tone serious.
He was too busy looking at Mia to see the way Steve blushed as he got into his car.
“See you at six!” Steve said before closing his door, starting his car, and backing out of the shop.
Eddie closed the shop door behind him, then gathered up Mia’s things into the diaper bag made just for the shop.
“You ready to go home, superstar?”
Mia snuggled against his shoulder, probably still sleepy from not having her full afternoon nap.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
He set the $40 on the counter with a quick note saying what it was for, in too much of a rush to do a full receipt for it.
He hit the lights, and locked the front door before making his way to his van.
Mia was asleep on him, her slow breathing and occasional snore making him smile.
“Oh, we’re in big trouble now, aren’t we Mia?” he whispered before he set her in her car seat.
He knew he could just go into this knowing he couldn’t get attached.
But he knew he already was.
He always had been.
Probably always would be.
259 notes · View notes
roseychains · 28 days
Note
Can ya write a Alhaitham x chubby! bullied! insecure! fem! reader? :3
Alhaitham x chubby reader
A/n: guess who’s backk!!!! I took a lil break cuz I just haven’t had the motivation, but it’s back and I am not busy so here we are 🫶
C/w: written by a minor!, all fluff! Except for the very last smutty thing but it’s only one like ;3
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
He absolutely is unfazed by your body. I wholeheartedly believe he takes interest from personality alone, and after falling for your personality he falls in love with the body attached to it
And when I say fall in love I mean it. He may be standoffish when you first met but after dating you for so long he can’t keep his hands off of you. Big time cuddler, spooning you makes him feel comfort after a long day
When he first noticed the bullying was when you’d be sitting beside him, doing some studying in a library when a classmate you used to go to school with walked by, tossing an insult. He immediately whipped his head around, nasty look on his face. If looks could kill your bully would be dead. But he’s not going to sit there and take it, no. Instead he would reply back with something sofisticated, cheesy but true. Belittling the man for being so stupid as to judge someone for their body, and that additionally no one asked, and he would be better off to keep it to himself
When you guys are alone, and you open up to him about your insecurity is when he tells you how beautiful you are. He tells you your the most gorgeous girl he’s ever laid eyes on, how lucky he is to have you. How you shouldn’t worry about what a low life thinks that no one with half a brain would ever say such a thing so you shouldn’t let it get to you
If you ever started crying, he would immediately wrap you in his arms and burry your face in his chest. He would stroke your hair and pet your back, telling you how pretty you are and reassuring you everything is okay
He also loves to show you how much he loves your body by being a romantic. He kisses you everywhere, touch’s you all over and runs his hands along every corner of your body. He’d praise you and dote on you every waking moment, constantly reassuring you that your beautiful
He’s not afraid to prove it even more by eating you out and making you cum on his tongue at least 3 times
115 notes · View notes
hauntedestheart · 3 months
Text
Security Measures - Body Swaps
Entry 3 in the Security Measures series- the stories of a boy named Trevor as he attempts to protect his possession-prone boyfriend Andy from snatchers.
I speak from personal experience when I say that if the average person were to be interested in trying to snatch someone else's body, a body swap spell would generally be the most accessible method. For obvious reasons I won't be offering any pointers on how to find any, but they're out there and they can be very tempting.
While every spell I've come across is fairly complicated in terms of setup, the results of a body swap are reliable and pose less risk to the user than other methods of body snatching. It's simple math really- because possession begins with two souls and two bodies and aims to end with one soul and one body, compromises are made along the way which causes it to be messy and temporary. By comparison a swap is very tidy because every soul and body involved is accounted for, which means a well executed swap spell can last indefinitely without too many side effects.
(If you find a spell involving "fern seeds" do NOT use that one because that's the one that got us into this mess to begin with... it's tempting but trust me, it's trouble.)
I never quite know what I'm in for when a swap happens since, unlike ghosts and hoppers, it's impossible to really paint the motivations of ordinary humans with a broad brush. People will swap because they want to get out of their lives, but there are countless reasons someone would want that and thus countless ways they'll behave after they do it.
Maybe they're jealous of Andy and want to steal his life, so they study him and do their best to impersonate him. Maybe they want an escape from their old life and are trying to use his life as a way out, so they take his body and try to run off with it. Maybe they don't really have a plan and just want to be young and hung, consequences be damned! But it's always about them with no consideration to how poor Andy is going to feel about the situation, so no matter what their reasons are they get no sympathy for me.
I don't doubt that every guy would swap with Andy given the chance even if I hadn't accidentally cursed him to be vulnerable to it- he's a gorgeous, 6'2'' stud who spends a quarter of his week in the gym -but the same looks that cause Andy so much trouble are actually a big asset in these situations. Being such a dreamy hunk means every guy wants to be him BUT once they are him, they're usually so excited by the state of their new body that they get distracted by... well... by this point I'm sure you've figured out what their first thoughts are. While they play, it buys us some time to start working things out.
Andy will usually head for me with his new body right after a swap happens (tip: code phrases work!) but I can usually guess what the person who did the swap looked like even before Andy turns up in their body based off of what they're most excited about:
If the snatcher is obsessed with bouncing his pecs, their real body is usually skinny.
If they keep rubbing his abs, they were probably fat.
Younger guys are generally really impressed by his biceps and will spend a lot of time flexing and showing those off.
Older guys are the only ones who pay attention to his hair- although since Andy has afro-textured hair it does catch a lot of men off-guard if they aren't used to that.
If they spend more than fifteen seconds checking out his ass, they're gay, but straight guys are usually more concerned with what they're packing in the front.
The last guy to try swapping with my boyfriend was a classics professor who translated a spell during his research and tried to use it to relieve his youth in the body of one of his students... which, of course, wound up being Andy. The spell transformed them into each other and I can't lie, it was kind of cute to watch Andy whine about being old– he made me promise to never let him get that out of shape.
We found the professor stumbling around drunk off his ass at a frat party trying to grind on any girl that got close (which was gross considering he was actually old enough to be their father) and just generally behaving like a slimy old man hiding behind a handsome young face. I distinctly remember that he was wearing a bedsheet toga, so when he went to do a keg stand it slipped off him and everybody saw Andy's dick hanging out- the real Andy found that pretty mortifying.
(Given how often he's running around in various states of undress, everybody on campus just thinks that Andy is really free with his body... which is correct, but not in the way they think.)
That was actually a fairly easy swap to fix AND we got to blackmail him into changing Andy's grade in the class to an A, so I guess it all worked out. He didn't even get stuck with the hangover!
In general, swaps being easy to do also means they're easy to undo. A spell is specifically targeted so it's often someone we're at least acquainted with AND we get their face in the trade, which means we can retrace their steps and figure out what they did. Every spell has a loophole so while it can be tricky to meet the criteria sometimes, a little bit of savvy always pulls us through. At this point we've reversed so many of them it's just a matter of opening up our glossary and trying stuff until something sticks.
Speaking personally, Andy and I have mixed feelings on swaps: we both appreciate that he gets to be awake and in a body during these but the bodies he gets are usually... less than ideal. Let's just say that the people trying to borrow other people's bodies generally aren't the ones who are happy with their own.
Every single time Andy gets swapped, he asks me if I'd still be able to love him in his new body. I haven't said no yet- but his real body is my favorite, of course.
68 notes · View notes
nyxronomicon · 8 months
Text
Tumblr media
chapter i: the third floor
toji x reader (she/her. tits & vagina)
cw: child neglect, fuckboy Toji, gambling, alcohol, no curses au, found family, DILF Toji, Toji is motivated by sex.
masterlist
Tumblr media
"Need help?" A muscular man approached you as you moved in to your new apartment. It wasn't the nicest building, but it was a desperately needed change. You were new to the city, new to your job, and the friendliness of this stranger was very much appreciated- especially since it looked like he could carry a lot more than you.
"Sure," you smiled, "thank you."
"Toji Fushiguro ." The man stuck his hand out, and you took it in a handshake. You could feel his rough callouses and the warmth radiating under his skin. You introduced yourself before you each grabbed a box.
"You from around here?" He asked as you led him to your apartment.
"Not really." You hit the button of the rickety elevator. It dinged as the door opened. "I'm from a small town. It's not really close."
"Moved here from far away, huh?" Toji watched as you pressed the number three on the elevator. That was his floor. "What brought you here, then?"
"I just needed a change, I guess." An escape was what you were calling it in your head. Your hometown had become suffocating, the expectations of your peers and family drowning you in depression. They kept asking when you'd get a better job. When you'd get married. When you'd have kids.
The elevator door opened on floor three with another ding.
"This is me." You said, walking down the hall to one of the corner units.
"Hey," Toji grinned as you let yourself in. "I'm right here." He nodded his head to the other corner unit.
"Nice to meet you then, neighbor." You turned around to flash him a smile.
Toji initially came to offer help because he thought you were hot and it would be convenient to have a fuck buddy in the same building. He wasn't expecting how easy it was to flirt with you, compliments coming as naturally as breathing.
"What a treat," he chuckled, "having someone as pretty as you for a neighbor." You set your box down and rubbed the back of your neck, feeling your nerves jitter at the compliment. You could say the same thing to him about having an attractive and helpful guy next door, but you didn't want him to get the wrong idea.
"You buttering me up or something?" Your laugh was a little nervous. You really didn't know how to handle a guy this flirty.
"Maybe I am," Toji smirked, walking out of your apartment to go get another box. "I'd be stupid not to make a pass at the cutest girl in the building."
Toji took every opportunity to admire you as he helped move the rest of your things into your new place. He kept flirting and was infuriatingly successful in flustering you several times. Finally, while moving the last of the boxes, you thought to yourself that it might be nice to have company for dinner. Or maybe you just wanted him to keep showering you with attention.
"Do you want to stay for dinner? Or a drink?" You offered.
"I'll have a drink." He was so casual, leaning against your empty kitchen counter like he lived there too. "Can't stay for dinner, though."
"Got a date or something?" You wanted to tease him a little, but you spoke without thinking. After his relentless flirting, it would be incredibly embarrassing if it turned out he did. Or worse, a wife waiting next door for him to return.
"Oh?" You watched a sly grin appear his face. "And why might you be interested in that?"
Butterflies invaded your stomach, and heat rushed to your cheeks. This time it was your own fault you got flustered. He slowly walked closer to you, making it harder to avoid his gaze. You didn't even have to answer now; it was crystal clear you were interested in him.
"Just making conversation." You finally brushed it off, rummaging in your boxes for your liquor and glassware. "Is whiskey ok?"
"On the rocks." He grinned. "And to answer your question, it is a date." Your heart dropped. You had to remind yourself that you didn't even know this guy. That he was a stranger.
"Oh." You avoided looking at him as you fished out the whiskey and carefully poured a little his glass, fetching a few ice cubes.
"Sorry, sweetheart." He chuckled. "Just a joke. I have some leftovers I have to finish tonight."
"You don't have a date." You gave him a cold stare, which just made him laugh more.
"I don't really go on dates." He shrugged. "Gotcha though." He winked, the smile lingering on his face while you handed him the glass of whiskey.
"You're going to be a problem, aren't you?" You couldn't help but smile and roll your eyes at his joke, although it was at your expense.
"If you see it that way." He took a sip of his whiskey.
"What's that supposed to mean?" You watched him carefully, trying to see if he would slip up like you did.
"I've been nothing but nice to you," he stepped closer, setting his drink on the counter. He was undoubtedly invading your personal space, and you noted how good his natural musk smelled. "Is that a problem?"
"Your flirting is the problem." Your subtle smirk betrayed your words.
"My flirting is a bonus." He corrected you, throwing back the rest of his whiskey. "And I plan to do it much, much more." He inched closer, and your heart skipped a beat. You searched for a response, but none came to mind. At least, not one you wanted to say to someone you just met.
Toji considered toying with you more, but seeing how you lived across the hall, he wasn't concerned about running into you again. He wanted to take it slow; it was more important for you to come to him next time. So, he stepped away from you with a grin. He had you right where he wanted you, anyway.
"Thanks for the whiskey." He smirked. "If you need any help around the house, let me know. I'm pretty good at fixing stuff." He turned to leave.
"Wait," you stopped him. "Thanks for helping me move. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"Don't worry about it, sweetheart." Toji leaned on the door frame, a cocky smile spreading on his face. "I can't ignore a damsel in distress."
You rolled your eyes. You should have guessed this guy would make one more pass at you. "I could have done it myself."
"I know." He backed out of the door. "But you don't need to with me here."
"Nice save." You chuckled.
"Seriously, if there's anything you need, just stop by." Something about Toji's smile was more genuine now, his soft gaze sparking those butterflies again.
"I'll keep that in mind."
-
A couple of weeks later...
Toji swung the door of his apartment open, an agitated look on his face. When he saw it was you waiting, his expression softened, but it was too late. His annoyance had already burned itself into your mind.
"Sorry to bother you." You rubbed the back of your neck, glancing warily at him. You'd waited a couple of weeks before you stopped by for Toji's help again, admittedly feeling lonely and making the request more for his company than anything.
You noticed the scar on his lip, and his intimidating build that made you think twice about dropping by unannounced again. It's not that you forgot what he looked like, you just didn't really notice a few things the first time you met. You figured his friendly approach when you moved in hid his rough edges.
"It's fine." You could almost see him turning on his charm, flashing you that flirty smile you were so familiar with. "What do you need, sweetheart?"
"I was hoping to hang some shelves, but I don't really know how." You dragged your eyes along his body, heart skipping a beat when you accidentally met his sultry gaze. He was watching you check him out.
"Say no more." He held a hand up. "I'll be right over. Just let me wrap something up."
"Of course," you smiled at him and went back to your apartment. "Just come in when you're ready."
He closed the door, quickly grabbing his toolbox and stopping in the living room, where the sound of children's shows softly played.
"Megumi," He payed little mind to the child in front of the TV. "I'm going to help the woman next door with something. I'll be back later."
Megumi glanced at the man indifferently. "Kay."
You were only waiting a few minutes before Toji barged into your apartment. "Honey, I'm home!" He proclaimed.
"Are we playing house now?" You stepped out of your bedroom to greet him.
"That depends." Toji put on a wide grin. "Does that make you my wife?"
"Don't make me kick you out." You sighed, although you were already feeling less lonely. "I really don't want to put these shelves up by myself..."
"C'mon, sweetheart." Toji casually strolled into your apartment with his toolkit, looking around at the decor. There were still boxes around, but it already felt more homey than his place. "Didn't you miss me?"
"I'd rather not admit that to you." The soft look in your eyes was more honest than you meant it to be.
"You don't have to." Toji chuckled. "You're making it pretty obvious."
"I don't have many friends yet. I'm a little lonely, that's all." You brushed off his teasing, leading him to the shelves in question. "Ok, I want these here." You gestured at the shelves on the floor, then the wall, effectively changing the subject.
"You got it, sweetheart." Toji opened his toolkit and started measuring the wall, penciling where he'd need to drill the holes.
"Can I get you anything?" Your gaze traced over his muscular back as he focused on the work.
"How about a glass of whiskey for when I'm done here?" 
"Sure. On the rocks?" You asked, primarily to gawk at him a little longer.
"Memorized my order already?" Toji chuckled, turning his head to catch you staring at him. "Have you been thinking about me that much?"
"Please." You quickly turned away, shuffling into the kitchen to pour his drink. "Anyone can remember that."
"Stop playing hard to get." He drilled a hole in the wall between thoughts. "It'll save us both some time." He turned to you and smirked.
"I'm still getting used to it here." You took a bottle of wine out to pour yourself a glass. "I'm not interested in dating anybody right now."
"Who said anything about us dating?" Toji drilled another hole into the wall. You took a sip of your wine as he picked up the shelf off the floor and held it up. "I'm looking for something more casual myself."
You watched as he mounted the shelf. "I guess I could be open to that." The words fell from your lips with little thought, your loneliness and desire overwhelming the rational thought that you probably shouldn't sleep with him. If nothing else, you couldn't exactly bring someone else home with a man like Toji across the hall.
"No shit." Toji smirked, a hint of surprise in his tone.
"What, didn't expect that from me?" You chuckled, sipping your wine. "I can mess with you too, you know."
"So you didn't mean it?" He pouted.
"Of course not." You lied. You meant it. But you knew getting involved with a playboy like him would probably get you hurt. "You're my only friend here. I won't sacrifice that for a little sex." Shit. You didn't mean to say that, either.
"Not really what I was gunning for," Toji sighed. "But I love a challenge." He couldn't fathom how he was your only friend, but his pride swelled at the thought. "You don't know what you're missing out on."
"Tell me about how great you are in bed." You giggled, not quite done messing with him.
"Don't mind if I do." He laughed with you. As he described some of his favorite sex positions, he hung the second shelf. He used the sound of the drill to censor any particularly spicy language, enjoying the sound of your laughter as he finished up. Afterwards, he strolled over to you, picking up his glass of whiskey and taking a sip.
"Helps that I have a big dick." He chuckled, wrapping up his erotic description.
"Oh, fuck off." You giggled again as he sat next to you on your couch.
"I just thought you should know." He shrugged as his smile faded. There was a short but comfortable silence. You didn't feel so isolated anymore with Toji here keeping you company. You wondered if you should ask for his number or something and stop leaving your meetings up to chance.
"It's pretty comfortable in here." He looked around nonchalantly, then at you before he added, "maybe I'll come by more often."
"I'd like that." You genuinely smiled for the first time in what felt like a very long time.
-
It had only been a couple of months in the new apartment when a cabinet door fell off the hinges, nearly hitting your toe as it clattered to the ground.
"Shit..." You mumbled to yourself, Toji immediately jumping to your mind. Actually, it was hard to get him out of your mind. You didn't want to seem needy or clingy, so you hadn't talked to him much since he helped you put up the shelves. Not to mention that the sexual tension was nearly unbearable when he was around.
You still didn't have many friends, finding it difficult to get your coworkers to hang out. Even though you only ran into him occasionally, Toji was still one of the few people you could call a friend in the city so far.
So here you stood, regretting not asking for his phone number earlier as you knocked on his apartment door with your nerves going wild.
You were waiting a while, feeling your pulse quicken when you knocked again. Finally, the door opened a crack and there was a child where you expected Toji to be, his gaze piercing into your soul.
"Hello." You put on a smile. If the kid didn't look exactly like your neighbor, you would have wondered if someone else moved in. "Is, um, Toji here?"
He just looked at you, completely emotionless. "No."
"Are you... alone here?"
"Dad says I can be home alone if I'm good." He had such an intense glare for a kid.
"Toji's your dad?" You wondered how this detail slipped through the cracks. Well, with how flirty Toji was, the answer was clear. He didn't tell you because he didn't want you to know. It just made you wonder what else he was keeping from you.
"Yeah." The kid stepped back a little, pushing the door closed a bit before adding. "I should go. I'll tell him you came." Before you could say anything, you heard the latch on the door click.
You frowned, questions swirling in your mind that you couldn't get an answer to without him there. You took a deep breath, knocking on the door again. Above all, you were worried about such a young kid home alone.
The door cracked open again. "Dad says not to talk to strangers." Despite his words, the kid didn't close the door.
"Are you lonely? Do you want me to come play with you?" The child's eyes widened for a moment before he looked down.
"No." He replied. "You should go home." He still lingered, his piercing gaze on you.
"I just live across the hall here if you need anything, ok?" You pointed at your door, then told him your name. He seemed to recognize the door across the hall. Maybe Toji told him about you.
"Ok." The kid stepped back. "I'll tell dad you came." He closed the door again.
-
You didn't hear from Toji all night. It wasn't really about your cabinets anymore- his kid was just staying home alone? Your thoughts wandered to next door more than you'd care to admit, and you berated yourself even more for not getting Toji's number last time you saw him.
While you were making coffee the next morning, you heard a knock on the door. You walked over and looked through the peephole to the man who occupied your thoughts for the better part of last night. You let him in with a smile, but you really didn't know what to say.
"Sorry about last night. You talked to Megumi?" Toji rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, your kid? How old is he?" you asked, walking to the kitchen as Toji followed. You really wanted to ask him why the kid was home alone, or why he seemed so apathetic, or who the mother was, but you couldn't bring yourself to press him about it.
"He's five." Toji watched as you grabbed a couple of coffee mugs from a cupboard that was missing a door. "Is that why you stopped by?" He added, pointing it out.
"You guessed it." You chuckled. "Coffee?"
"Sure." His tone was off. He wasn't flirting like usual. "So, listen, I didn't mean for you to meet Megumi like that." He watched as you prepared the coffee. "Childcare is expensive, and I can't really afford regular care for him with my job. He's a good kid, though. He's never had any issues with it."
"What if something happens? Aren't you worried?" The coffee maker started gurgling. The aroma of the beans filled the room as the water started trickling into the urn.
"He'll be fine. Practically takes care of himself." Toji assured you. "Really. Just forget about him."
"He's five." You furrowed your brow. "He's too young to be left alone like that."
"A single dad like me doesn't have a lot of options." Toji bit back the annoyance that was bubbling in his mind. What did you know about what it was like raising a kid? He knew he wasn't exactly knocking it out of the park, but the kid never complained about his parenting style. "Unless you're offering to watch him." He chuckled, assuming you'd say no. It's not like the kid was your responsibility.
"It could be a good way for me to repay you." You responded, too genuinely for his taste. "You know, for helping me out so much." You grinned.
Toji thought he had you. He thought you'd drop it. It wasn't your problem. He didn't expect you to offer to take care of the kid. He didn't even want you to know about Megumi. The kid always complicated his relationships, which is why he kept it from you. He just wanted you to be his fuck buddy. Now he'd be a single father to you. You'd be a witness to how he raised his kid, and if he did a bad job, you'd hate him for it. Or worse, if he did a good job, you'd probably start thinking about him fathering your kids, too. This conversation was going much, much worse than he expected.
"Who's playing house now?" Toji smirked, ignoring his spiraling thoughts as he leaned on your counter. "You want to be my wife that bad , huh?"
The coffee maker beeped to signal it was done. You pulled the urn out of the machine to pour some in each of your mugs. "This is about Megumi. You can't just leave him alone like that. He's five."
Toji's smirk disappeared as you deflected his teasing. He was silent for a minute as he contemplated his options. If sex with you was still on the table, he'd be ruining his chances by declining your offer. His eyes drifted over your form, sexy as ever in your sleep shorts and an oversized t-shirt. God, he wanted to fuck you. He could deal with whatever fallout happens in a few months when you inevitably find out what a shitty guy he is.
Involuntarily, the image of coming home to you and Megumi popped into his head. You were both fallen asleep on his couch while some kids' movie played on his TV. His eyes widened almost unnoticeably, feeling a strange warmth at the idea. He pushed it out of his mind again, staring at your ass as you pulled some milk out of the fridge. His cock twitched, imagining bending you over that countertop and railing into you.
"Milk or sugar?" You asked, looking at him.
"Huh?" He wasn't listening.
"For your coffee." You nodded at the mugs.
"Oh. No thanks." Toji grabbed the mug, looking briefly at the steam rising from the dark liquid before putting on a cool smile. "You want to start tonight? I got a job."
"A job?" You tilted your head, preparing the coffee to your preference. You took a sip.
"Yeah, I work in security so I can have weird hours." He chuckled. That was his usual story.
"Sure. Yeah, of course." You beamed. God, you were cute. "What time should I come?"
"Six." Toji drank a sip of the coffee. It was still pretty hot. "Want me to fix that before I go?" He pointed at your cabinet.
"If you don't mind." You felt heat rush to your cheeks, remembering the other question you needed to ask. "And, uh, since I'll be babysitting, maybe I should get your number?"
Toji grinned. You knew he'd be annoying about this. "Such a crafty girl. Using my desperate situation to take advantage of me..." He feigned offense.
"You know what? Never mind." You rolled your eyes. "I think I'm better off without your number."
"Oh, don't say that." He chuckled. "You want to text me so bad, it's obvious." He smirked.
"So what's my tell?" You folded your arms. Toji had gotten up from the counter and moved towards the cabinet, pulling out the mini toolkit he brought with him.
"That's my secret."
Tumblr media
148 notes · View notes