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#something something in another life something something laundry and taxes
riickgrimes · 2 months
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This is a pretty bold move, but you said you believed in me. So, if you want this bench for yourself, I can take this large pizza past the big, blue building, and eat it alone at my miserable desk at my miserable job.
I do believe in you...And I do like pizza.
THE WALKING DEAD: THE ONES WHO LIVE 1.01 - "Years"
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marspumpkin · 8 months
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hc that, in the split second before jon and martin die buried under the wreck of the panopticon, they get a glimpse into the other universes the tapes are going into. they see themselves, over and over and over. themselves, living together and married and fighting over what canned soup to buy and cheering at their kid's dance recital and exhausted on a road trip and cooking for each other and growing old together and meeting as kids and screaming at each other in an argument and moving into a house and looking at old photo albums and dancing to corny music and comforting each other after bad days and getting shitfaced with their coworkers and adopting a child and
and there are universes where they've been together since school there are universes where they've never met there are universes where they're estranged exes and where they've been married for 60 years. there are universes where jon rotted in the buried and where martin faded away in the lonely and where they never moved past the tense s1 disdain and where they lived out the rest of their days in the safehouse undisturbed and where they were all killed before they even got the chance to know each other
but they know for each of those billions of universes that ended in blood and tears and death there are a billion more where their biggest concern is what kind of soup to buy for dinner. and that, before you die, is the ultimate kind of euphoria
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mincognito-rambles · 4 months
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finally finished watching gameplay of re4r separate ways last night. i like how it explores more about ada. and i know that, deep down, ada is silly af. she makes some stupid one-liners too. i like to believe that she at least has a bit of a silly side please
i also remember this one headcanon that i really liked wherein ada genuinely finds leon to be actually funny. it's just such a precious headcanon to me. they'd share the same type of humor i think
also, as much as i like aeon as a ship, i can never imagine them ever actually being together and i don't want to see them get together at all. the beauty of this ship to me is all the angst and drama. their moral standings are just way too different from each other. their jobs are also the complete opposite from each other. it could just never work out realistically. but even so, they've both had a huge impact on each other that forever changes them. they at least met each other. man i love being in pain!!
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sol-consort · 3 months
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Thane got to see a desert on Earth
That makes me very happy
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avesseloflanguage · 1 year
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a general suggestion. if you go out for dinner with your friends, one of whom being the boy who broke your heart exactly a week prior, and you all decide to split into two groups to get dessert because one friend suggests boba while you suggest ice cream, make sure that more than one other person also wants to get ice cream, or else you might end up going alone with the boy who broke your heart a week ago to your favorite ice cream shop, which also happens to be the place you went to on your first date with this boy who broke your heart a week ago.
because then the boy who broke your heart a week ago might mention the fact that the two of you still haven't broken the news to your friends, and you will both suggest making a dumb joke to make sure the others know that you're no longer the two of you but you are still friends, but the boy who broke your heart a week ago will suggest it because he thinks it's fun and you will suggest it because you think it's the only way you can say it without follow-up questions that will make you cry and shatter your desperate façade of being just as okay as he is.
and afterwards you might mention it, not even explaining, just the word irony and the boy who broke your heart a week ago will jump on it, say that he's thinking of it, too. and for a second you will think you hear a hint of sadness or regret or heartbreak in his voice but you know that it's not real. and then the boy who broke your heart a week ago will say how happy he is that this could still happen, that you are still friends who can get ice cream together and not resent not hate not miss each other together. you will notice that you are eating the same flavor of ice cream that you ate two and a half months before on that first date. you will notice that he is not.
and it might hurt a little more when you can't help but think about how you were so excited a week and a few days ago, because you were going to take this boy to this shop to get ice cream on Valentine's Day. you hadn't told him, not yet, because it was still a month away. you will realize that this is good, because if he had known then maybe he would feel just as bad about going to get ice cream with you a week after he broke your heart. except, maybe that would be better, in a selfish kind of way, because then maybe he would feel bad like you do. not heartbroken, because he will never be heartbroken, not over you, but maybe he'd catch a glimpse of your sorrow.
but, hey, maybe it's alright. because maybe you will notice how much you miss the boy who broke your heart a week ago when he's standing right next to you. but you will have a moment to be grateful, too, that the two of you are still friends who can get ice cream together. that he still cares enough to check on you when you're sad and shaking. that he wants to make jokes so that things stay as close to normal as they can. maybe it hurts a little that you don't know exactly what normal is — a week ago normal was holding hands you bumping shoulders and being special, but two and a half months ago normal was not knowing the things we know now or even being all that close — but it will feel nice to know that there is a normal somewhere and that the boy who broke your heart a week ago wants to find one that includes a friendship and happiness, one that includes jokes and being a little bit special to each other and ice cream.
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queen-of-meows · 5 months
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Whoops, just added a little subplot in Innocet's War !
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jimjimenezzz · 5 months
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i love you media that emphasized mundanity. i love you media that says you still matter as a person even if you don't achieve something great. i love you media that says existing and being alive is enough. i love you "we might not remember your poems, but we'd remember you." i love you "i was no hero" "perhaps. but you are a brave man." i love "in another life i would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you." i love you "but who's gonna watch the deer?" i love you the mundane as something to be loved for
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moondirti · 24 days
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due to popular demand, a follow up to this featuring: 18+ content, gaz, ballerina!reader, internet stalking, men being gross, another a thinly veiled character study
Kyle is a good man.
Granted, his metric is not attuned to common standards for morality anymore, nor has it been that way since basic. He's sure that if he were to pick any sheltered samaritan off the street to read out his laundry list of transgressions, they'd balk at the fact that their taxes go to keeping him fed. They'd rather their image of the army stay unsullied and ideal. They'd rather keep him at arms length with a thank you for your service and not confront the blood caked beneath his fingernails.
But he can no longer be held to their degree. No longer exists within these spaces. No. Kyle – or Gaz, if one were to go off of what he's called most often nowadays – is a doorstop. A pestle. Something inconspicuous, obscure, that serves the sole function of making life easier for everyone but itself. And he assumes this role with a handful of others who have nothing else to live for, exiled to crowd the back of Foxhounds and kill at a moment's notice. Foul men. Friends.
If someone were to line up every operative on a special forces unit, or better yet collect the likes of the 141 and asses each for their moral standing, Gaz can rest knowing he'd come out on top. He's not yet as far gone as they are; can enjoy a night out or a pretty bird writhing underneath him without wanting to choke her out. Only devoted to his captain, or the others, to the extent that their professional relationship calls for (no matter how much it itches at him to watch Ghost take care of Soap, or to reject Price when he offers him a drink).
Sure, he laughs at their jokes. Might pitch in when they're swapping stories of their filthiest catch, Soap rattling on about the lass who'd stuffed her tongue up his arse, or encourage them to shoot on sight if they spot a potential threat, civilian or otherwise. Yet the difference is this: when he goes home, he can stuff that all away.
Knows not to let it infest the boundaries of the real world. Off deployment, his comrades play pretend at the noncombatant lifestyle, but the guise is ill-fitting. They're too big for their skin. They stretch and tear at the conventions holding them in place, like feral dogs made to heel. Kyle doesn't have to be tamed. He's still functional, familiar with the expectations held of him. Can submit to integrity more easily than most.
Kyle is a good man.
And that's what he tells himself as he returns home, train car completely void of anyone but himself. He's good for having given you up. He's good for not have followed you home. There'd been a brief lapse of judgement, but he's good for doing something about it before things passed the point of no return.
You've lived this far without his protection, he reasons. Yet it doesn't change the unreachable itch, closed away in a supposedly locked box. Gaz. Or, his captain's voice, cigar-smoked and advisory.
But why should you continue like that.
It's hard to fall asleep that night.
He's sick with worry wondering if you ever got home, bile broiling and distending up his throat at the thought of having abandoned you. It's pure concern that compels him to find your socials, really. Kyle is only searching for an update, or recent post, indicating that you're alive.
With nothing to go off of but a face, he searches for dance studios in both Acton Town, your area, and the Kensington, the area where you'd boarded the tube from. He makes a shortlist of the most reputable ones (your attire seemed to imply that you were a seasoned ballerina) and cross-checks them as hosts of upcoming recitals. Two renditions of Swan Lake and a production of Giselle turn up, each with their very own cast lists. Thus begins a tireless search of every name credited.
His heart almost leaps out of his nose when you eventually load into view, then plummets at how easy you'd been to find.
Your vulnerability only sets Kyle's conviction in stone. Bloody good thing he's got your best interests in mind.
Locked twitter, a LinkedIn, and a public Instagram page which sends his blood pressure skyrocketing after checking your follower count. Popular. And of course he can see why. Over a hundred posts chronicling bright smiles and flattering outfits. You mainly use the account to promote your practice, though; feed full of skimpy little outfits, leotards and exposed sternums and impossible poses.
Stop it. He's here for something specific.
Kyle sips in a deep breath, scrolls back to the top of your page, clicks on your most recent post. A casual video of your leg raised on a barre while your friend counts how high above your previous record you're able to stretch. Your skin is sweat-slicked. Your mouth is thrown open in a half-laugh, half-pant. He almost forgets why he clicked on it in the first place, before the timestamp catches his eye.
30 minutes ago.
So, you'd gotten home.
He can go to bed now.
Exit your account. Swipe up on Instagram to clear it from his running apps. If he's extra disciplined, he'd block you. Rob himself of the temptation to tug himself over the photo of you in the splits.
Kyle is a good man because he knows his limits.
(But Kyle now also knows the address of your studio. That, even if he blocks you, it'll take up space in his chest. A ticking-time bomb. A knowledge that'll haunt him whenever he's on the District, Circle, or Piccadilly lines, and the train announces Gloucester Road. A force, a stone in his throat, that'll grow so large it'll force him to stand up and disembark, to walk until he's standing right outside and wait on you to wrap up rehearsal.)
It occurs to him that the point of no return has long since passed.
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inclusivity note: i felt the need to say that, while reader is a dancer, her profession is not meant to imply anything about her body type. flexibility and agility are not limited to thin builds, and while the ballet industry can be very toxic, i've seen my fair share of spaces where all figures are embraced and success is determined only by ability!
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chronically-ghosted · 7 months
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in another life . . .
rating: explicit, 18+
pairing: frankie morales x f!reader
word count: 7K
summary: Partner. That word had been jammed up inside his brain for as long as he could remember. Gym-class partner, lab partner, work-out partner, partner-in-training, partner in this fucking life or death situation where we’re only going to get out alive if we trust each other more than I trust myself. And then he met you and the definition changed again.
warnings: domestic!frankie, marriage kink (if that’s a thing), oral (f receiving) but i think that’s an expectation from every frankie fic, improper use of a kitchen table, unprotected piv, no use of y/n, brief mentions of PTSD, improper use of Spanish, eating in bed 
a/n: requested for my 100 followers event! Anon: hiiii firstly! congrats on the big one hundo you totally deserve it 🥂‼️ secondly wondering if I could rq a Pedro boy drabble with prompt number 12... I wanna do laundry for Frankie Morales :D “did you just wash these sheets?” “I did.” “they smell nice. and they’re still warm.”
🤍Masterlist
. . . I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.
Frankie fills the silence of the house without you in it with music. This house, it had been your choice, even though he never expressly made you choose, or even presented the dichotomy. This house, with its leaky faucet and janky AC unit and finicky pilot light, was what you wanted instead of a diamond ring, and so he gave it to you. First down payment, along with every other red cent you and he had both saved up, went into buying your first home together. This wasn’t forever, you both agreed (with only two bedrooms it wasn’t enough room for a baby, he often thought) but even as the real estate agent glanced around with disdain for the house and your budget, one look from you and it was settled. 
“It has good bones,” you said, standing out on the concrete deck overlooking a postage-stamp-sized backyard. There were weeds in the corners and holes from some unknown animal but he could see the wheels in your head turning, imagining how you, like everything else you did, planned to tackle and wrestle control over it with your bare hands. “It needs work, but I think there’s something special here.” 
“Yeah?” he asked, threading his fingers through yours, the real estate agent no doubt off somewhere inspecting the drains. “Is there something here?”
You grinned and shoved your nose then a soft press of your lips into his denim-shoulder. 
“I’m sure of it.”
All his life, Frankie worked best in a unit. As children, his older brother, his younger brother, and him were practically inseparable, their physical similarities almost presenting as the same person but at different ages, and when that group disbanded because Oscar left for college, he went on to find another one. First, his army unit, then the boys. His boys. Left to his own devices, Frankie was terrible at remembering to eat, sleep regularly – focus on anything other than fixing cars and planes, really – but he’d do it for them. He hated to see that worried crease show up on Will’s brow when Frankie admitted he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. He hated that Benny had to show up at his apartment to drag his ass outta bed to get him into the sunlight. And he hated when Pope felt obligated to take him out to bars to try and meet women.
“I’m not dating someone just so they can be my mother,” Frankie muttered into the lip of his beer bottle. “I don’t need anyone thinking I need to rely on them like that.” 
“Yeah, but you do better when you have people relying on you.” Pope’s dark eyes flitted from a woman at the bar top to him, with intention and full of force. “And I’m not saying I’m trying to get you to fuck your mother, but you need a partner.” 
Partner. 
That word had been jammed up inside his brain for as long as he could remember. Gym-class partner, lab partner, work-out partner, partner-in-training, partner in this fucking life or death situation where we’re only going to get out alive if we trust each other more than I trust myself. 
And then he met you and the definition changed again. 
You are his best friend. You are the woman he wants to fuck every day for the rest of his life. You are the first person he wants to tell good news to and the first person he wants to talk to when he’s had a shitty day. Your voice quiets something inside him that has been far too loud for far too long. You are a relief and a refuge. For all his faults, you love him and sometimes he can’t fathom why. 
You are his partner – in life, in marriage (one day), and forever (he hopes).
“I might not always like you, Catfish,” you said to him in Will’s backyard for Benny’s birthday party. You had been drinking and every sip seems to bring you closer and closer to him. With your face tucked up into his neck, arms up under his flannel and hugging his waist, the only way he could be physically closer to you was if he was inside you – which he was about two seconds away from suggestion when you leaned in close. “‘M not always going to like you, but ‘m always going love you.”
And love him you did. You loved him when he decided to go back to school to get some additional certifications so he could maybe teach flight school. The army would pay for most of it, was a fucking relief to your shared thread-bare, cartoon-spider-web empty savings account. But what the army would not pay for was for you to go to nursing school. You worked in hotels for the events services branch, coordinating everything from weddings to conferences, walking (mostly running) from one end of the hotel to the next. Your sister got you a Fitbit for Christmas one year and after the holiday rush, you walked twenty miles in two days. 
“After that, this nursing stuff should be a breeze,” you said flippantly as you signed your paperwork for admissions. 
Of course you got accepted at one of the better hospitals in the city – he never doubted for a second you would – and as the fresh-faced trainee, you got stuck with most of the night shifts. 
Which meant his days looked a lot like this: wake up at 6AM, drive an hour to the helicopter tour building on the coast, fly rich idiots around all day, eat the lunch you had prepped for the both of you on Sunday night, continue flying rich idiots around, drive home in two-hour traffic, change into his work overalls, go work on some cars Benny’s buddy had at the local garage for some extra cash, then go home, heat up dinner you also made Sunday night, and then attend to the most pressing thing you or the house needed. 
Which could be:
Fixing the AC unit, resealing the back door so it would close properly, re-caulking the shower, building more attic space, repainting the back fence, or replacing the hand towel holder.
Frankie didn’t mind the hard work. It kept his mind and his hands busy. What he did mind was the house silent and eerily empty without you here. 
He didn’t mind the hard work because even for a few hours, he got to hold you while you slept. He got to eat with you at 10:30 at night and it was the highlight of his day.
Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging
Sicker than the rest, there is no test, but this is what you're craving?
Frankie bobs his head, his earphones carefully tucked up under his shirt to prevent the laundry from tangling up in them. He hauls out the latest load and moves onto the washer, fishing out one more sock when suddenly the lights go off. All of them. Total darkness.
And then light and he’s staring down the bottom of the drum.
Then dark. And light.
You. Your code. One you designed when you read that PTSD victims are often triggered into a fight-or-flight response when startled. You, who knew before he did, how to manage the symptoms, create workarounds, and find a pathway through, instead of not at all. 
He takes out one of the earbuds and smiles.
“Hey, you’re home.” 
You lean against the doorway, smiling that smile that is reserved for him and him alone. Sometimes he’s selfish and wants everything of yours to be only for him – all your smiles, your laughter, your sighs – but that’s like trying to capture sunlight in a butterfly net: too focused on the impossible and you end up missing the daytime. 
“How goes this fucking Sysphian task?” You nod at the baskets of laundry at his feet, referring to how you’d often rant and rave about how laundry, the dishes, and grocery shopping were never tasks that could simply be done. He knows how much you hate being unable to cross things off your to-do lists, so he holds your hand during all of these rantings and kisses your knuckles when you take a breath. 
“Good,” he shrugs. “‘Bout to fold your scrubs for tomorrow.”
“Ah, have I told you lately that I love you?” You swing into the room and kiss him on his cheek, on the division where his patchy beard meets his skin – the place that you most often claimed on him. Your fingers squeeze around his bicep as you pull away and your eyes fall to the basket behind him. You gasp with glee. 
“Did you just wash these sheets?” You ask like you’d just uncovered buried gold. 
He smirks, propping his hip up against the dryer. “I did.” 
Without another word, you scoop them up in your arms and inhale sharply.
“Mhmm, they smell nice.” You bury your head in deep. “And they’re still warm.”
In the rare moments when you’re both home and going through laundry together, he never fails to scoop up a load of hot towels and dump them over your head, relishing in the girlish giggle from beneath the clean laundry. “It’s so toasty,” you whimper with glee. 
“They’re not gonna be if you get your hospital gunk all over them,” Frankie tuts, going back to add a new load into the washer as you glare at him over the lump of sheets. 
“Ha, ha. Move over, Mr. Morales, and watch a master at work.” 
“Yes, Mrs. Morales.” It’s stupid but his heart always fumbles when he calls you that. It started as a joke, one that you initiated, but now it’s like berry jam on his tongue, sweet and sugary. He’s thought about calling you that while he’s inside you but figures he should save something for the wedding night. 
He sidles back, giving you space near the dryer as you pick up a basket of t-shirts.
“You know there’s dinner waiting for you in the kitchen.” He shakes his head as you begin to fold the shirts with lightning speed and precision – a side effect of being the oldest daughter in a family of five kids. 
“Yeah, but you’re in here,” you say and bump his hip. He bumps you back and helps with the load. “Besides, it’ll get done faster with two people.”
He can’t exactly argue with that, so he lets the silence grow. But it’s not silence, not really. In the distance, dogs bark. Outside the room, the temperamental AC grumbles, a sound he never thought he’d come to appreciate. Inside the room, fingers tug at fabric, the soft thump as the shirts grow into a continuous pile. Then there’s you, breathing in the lilac-scented air, the scent of his deodorant and sweat and something entirely unique to him– his Frankie-ness as you’ve called it many times without elaborating. I’d bottle it if I could, you told him, bathe in it. You’re kinda weird, he told you, and you know he likes it. 
Every once in a while, his elbow brushes up against yours, yours skirting around his, but never colliding, an awareness of the other always present and attended to, a flow of familiarity and recognition he’s never felt before or known since. 
Bit by bit, you’ve taken pieces of him into you, picked them up, held them to the light and found them beautiful, until a second bit of his soul lives outside of his body. He knows every inch of you, how every atom calls out to him, begs to be close to him, and held tight. It’s not sunlight he’s trying to keep safe, it’s your heart. Your precious, wonderful heart that is somehow so full, it was enough to fill him up too. Gold filling in the cracks. 
Kintsugi, Benny called it, when he got obsessed with anime for three months that one time two years ago. Frankie never could remember the actual name, and maybe that wasn’t the point and maybe it was a little ridiculous, especially when it was explained by a deliriously drunk and bleary-eyed Ben Miller at one in the morning on his brother’s lawn chair. 
Maybe a better way of thinking about it was how separate, disparate, jagged and raw edges came to fit together. How someone like him got a do-over, another chance to be remade in the kiln, and how someone like you was allowed to love unselfishly, to ask for things and never be threatened with reparations of some kind – as if loving you deserved some sort of compensation. 
Pieces, broken and scattered – he looked up and saw you carrying yours, and you witnessed the scars and blood dripping from the shards of his own past, his life, his love, and despite how slippery his pieces were, how dried and empty and wanting yours were, something pulled them together and made them stay. 
Something stronger than light.
Stronger than gold. 
You shook his hand and looked at what you built together, the pieces that came together, and in the end, that was your partnership. A creation of something greater – home, family, love. 
So much fucking love.
In the end, Frankie Morales used love to build his life, not death, and you’re the one who gave it to him.
He drops the last shirt on the stack and he turns, his fingers seeking the drawstring of your pants. 
You know what he wants. You want it too. A singular desire in two separate bodies.
The inherent closeness of domesticity draws you into him, closing the already limited space as hands find waists and lips find skin. He drags his nose against your jaw, somehow already shaking, his teeth grazing your throat, unwilling and unable to press his lips to you, wanting to drag this out as much as possible. He squeezes your hips, thumbs flipping under your shirt to touch, touch, touch, until his fingers wrap around your ribs and you make your first sound of the night. It snags at his restraint, pulling it threadbare. 
“Frankie,” you sigh and he cannot fight the cataclysmic pull towards you – he stumbles, pinning you to the laundry room wall, his tongue cupping your earlobe into his mouth and he sucks. The next noise you make is high and keening and it turns his touch frantic.
Caught between the wall and his broad shoulders, he does with you what he wants. He nips at your cheek, your neck, the dip of your clavicle, as his thumb presses up each knot of your spine, drawing out the tension from your body like draining poisoned blood, and by the time he pinches off your bra, you’re all but hanging onto him. 
“Baby–,” 
He can hear you say, it’s late, we have work in the morning, you don’t have to do this,
I’m not worth this 
With a low growl that is all possession, all anger that someone ever made you feel like your love was too much, he tugs your shirt off, knocking his hat off as he goes. In the drift, he sees your eyes flutter, mouth twisted in pleasure and guilt – you don’t want to be asking for things like this – and so he silences every doubt, every worry that he’s tired or it’s too late or his knees are aching too much to make you feel the way you deserve – he kisses you with enough force to knock out every unpleasant thought you’ve ever had about yourself and flattens you against the wall. 
You let him pry you open, his touch fervent and insistent, tasting of iced coffee and gum. He licks into you, telling you things with his tongue, the way he tugs your bottom lip between his teeth, in the soft puff of breath that escapes him when you cup the back of his neck. Closer, he begs, closer. 
His wide palm arching your lower back into him, he squeezes your ribs, up under your breast, before finally taking your nipple between his thumb and the meat of his hand and twists, just enough to make you break apart from his demanding mouth, gasping as if tapped by a live wire. But it’s him who is electrocuted, who catches fire, who wants to be chewed down and swallowed up. He shuffles and pulls you into him, the throbbing in his pants bordering on painful. He rubs himself against you once and you sigh like you know he hurts. You nod.
Your fingers peel your shirt up and over your head as he cups one thigh then the other until your hips hug his waist, smearing the hem of his shirt up over his skin. He feels the heat coming from between your legs, the slight dampness, against his lower belly and he groans, low, right near that source of warmth he wants to die in. 
You curl above him, tipping his head back, as you dive into his mouth again, fingers twisting into his hair, thumbs brushing his temple right where you know he tends to get headaches. Your tongue brushes against his upper lip, tasting his mustache, and his knees threaten to buckle. 
“You’re gonna fucking kill me,” he laments, he praises, into the supple wetness of your tongue. You nod, pleased, and press your chest into him. He cannot fucking wait to get his mouth around your tits.
Mouth sealed to yours, hands cupping the meat of your ass, Frankie works entirely on sense memory to carry you into the kitchen, to a long wooden table beneath a wide window, white curtains closed and blinds shut. 
This table had been one of the first purchases for the new house. Tan cedar boards with white knobby legs, it instantly reminded him of the one in his own childhood home, where he and his brothers fought over meals and did homework together. Where he held his mom after his father died and where he dropped his bag after coming home from a life too long spent fighting other people’s wars. 
This table mattered to him and he’d be damned if it wouldn’t mean something to his own child one day. 
That was something you too wanted to give your child, never having a table like this in your own life. You loved the stories he told about the table in his kitchen. How much it meant to him.
And now he was going to fuck you on it, this symbol of stability.
He just wonders how stable it really is. 
His fingers clutching the back of your neck, arm running in tandem with your spine, he lowers you down, shifting your weight onto his arm so you don’t bump your head against the wood. He releases you but you protest, a muffled uh-uh, as he tries retreating. You loop your arms around his neck, tugging him flat against you and he feels your breasts mold against his chest, nipples already tight.
“Baby,” he breathes, sucking up and out of your mouth, “let me make you feel good.”
Behind him, he hears your sneakers clatter to the floor, your heels digging into his back as you toe off your shoes, and you shake your head. 
“I am.” Kiss. A thumb under his bottom lip. “You do.” Breathless, reverent, grateful. 
Grateful.
Grateful that he is kissing you. 
Not good enough. God, he’s going to eat that self-loathing right out of you. 
You whine, frustrated and hot, as he pulls back. He wants to go right for your pussy, but stutters at the sight of your unmarked tits. Smooth, flushed, heaving. There is no part of you he does not love, does not feel the need to worship on his knees. 
But suddenly sour shame strikes him as he realizes enough time has passed since the last time you’d had sex for the hickeys to heal. He intends to amend that right now. 
His thumbs rubbing soothing circles into your hips, to calm himself, he folds himself over you, dribbling kisses along your throat, over the wings of your clavicle, at the barest incline at the top of your breast, and then to the meat of your tit, the heaviness, the sway, and he bites down. Predictably, you yelp, nails scratching roughly into his scalp and that only makes him suck harder. You have very strict rules around where he can mark you, but on the places he can – oh, you beg him for it. 
He palms your other tit, just to feel the goosebumps break out across your skin, to roll your nipple with the calluses on his palm. His teeth release, his tongue laving over that already pink and swollen skin, and he glances up, his other thumb coming to massage that fragile patch. 
Being a pilot, a soldier, a brother, a son, those are the things he is. But Frankie lives – aches, pines, desires – to watch you come apart. 
The purple bruise on your tit shining like a luxurious necklace, your eyes flutter open when you feel him pull up. Your fingers around his ears, your chest wet with his spit, you let him take you in. You give him this, because you know you’re about to get so much more. With your legs still wrapped around his waist, he can feel the soft cant of your hips, the quiet, patient begging, as you thought he needed reminding that you needed this. You rub up him, knees pinned to his ribs, and he lets you pull him into your mouth, grounding him. This kiss is brief, soft, a far cry from the tearing and biting that got you onto the table. Knowing exactly the state you need to be in to ask for what you want, he holds your jaw, thumb against the apple of your cheek and he slips his tongue out of your mouth. Again a protest, an instinctual reaction to the repeated pattern of abandonment, but like all cries for help, he quiets your squirming by sliding his thumb between your lips. 
“Suck,” he murmurs gently. Your eyes flutter shut, your nails carving half moons into his forearm, lips creating a vacuum seal around his knuckle and you obey – you suck – and he rewards you with a trail of kisses across your sternum, over your breasts, to the soft swell of your stomach. He nuzzles your belly button and you groan, eyes still shut and his thumb still in your mouth. He bites, softer than before, just above the thatch of hair and you whine around his finger, body going supple for him. He slides his thumb out, dragging a shiny string of spit over your plush lips, down your chin, joining his other hand at the waist band of both your panties and your scrubs. 
Any fast movement will awaken that anxious, overthinking, beautiful brain of yours, now that he has it fuzzy and unfocused, so he keeps kissing, keeps sucking and biting, that spot just above your curls. He tongues your hip, and then the other side, your bottom half wonderfully bare before you can open your eyes. 
His shoulder bumps the back of your thigh as he stands up right, inhaling the sweat behind your knee, the pungent tang of your glistening curls, your almond butter body lotion. It’s hunger, he feels, but not a tangible hunger, one that can be so easily satiated. It’s not painful, or weakening – no, he is made stronger by it. He feels your blood pulse beneath his hand on your inner thigh as he opens you up and he’s made better by it. 
He kneels, a holy servant before the divine meal of their goddess, on shitty linoleum beneath harsh lights in a kitchen he can barely afford. 
Frankie takes your hand, kisses your knuckles, and slides your grip into his hair. 
“Recuérdame cómo te gusta, nena.” 
He eats. He consumes. He licks. He sucks. He slurps.
He tastes your dripping wetness on the seam of your cunt, before his tongue ever gets the chance to explore, to open, to divulge. He licks until he feels your breath hitch – a curse in the shape of his name, as if he needs scolding for making you feel so good – and then he opens his jaw and tongues your hole. 
In a lust-drunk haze you once told him he has something better than DSL – he has a pussy-eating nose. He prods you with that nose you can’t seem to get enough of, licking in as far as he can, coating himself in everything as it leaks out of you, and he moans as he can feel it on his chin. You vibrate with the sound and above him, your fingers clench down into his hair. 
“Oh, fuck, holy – fuck, Frankie–,” your trembling shakes the bowl of your hips, spilling his meal, so he sucks your clit in a way that makes your body freeze and then melt. You go limp, pliable, and gushing. He gets a few more moments of twisting and sucking and swallowing, until by the third time he puts his lips around your clit, you open-mouth whine and it’s like his body violently remembers he has a cock. He is seized with such a need to fuck you in this warm, wet place he’s dug out with his tongue, he doubles over and rests his teeth against your thigh. 
“Frankie, I’m so close,” you writhe, chest flushed and brow sweaty. 
Before you, he never knew sex could feel like this, could do this. Sure, he used sex to keep away those circling, vulture-like thoughts from time to time. But this, this drawing out and unthreading, unspooling, of himself and someone else, tearing at ego-drenched threads until all that was left was a being of pure want and desire – he didn’t know this was possible. 
He didn’t know he could feel like this.
One more broad lick, coating everything in what he hope fucking smells like him, and you arch, thighs shaking, his hair in danger of being ripped from his scalp. You gasp as you flatten, the first orgasm of the night rolling through you, sweat making your skin salty, as though you had been breached by the ocean. 
He laps you through it, of course, a nascent smirk on his face. 
You open your eyes to this self-satisfied Frankie, eyes only visible over the top of your cunt, and you whine. 
You reach for him and he goes, smearing your slick over your face, offering it to you in supplication on his tongue. He tastes your rising desperation, the way you sharpen your teeth against his lips, batter his tongue into the corner of his mouth, try to claim what your cunt already has. His hunger is an infection and your fever has reached a boiling point. 
Your trembling fingers curl his shirt up his back, passing over the ruddy scar on his shoulder where he got hit with a stray bullet, the jagged white line over his ribs where a knife nearly split him open. He used to only fuck with his shirt on. He doesn’t now. 
His shirt crumples to the floor as he sits up, you following, eyes dark, and you bite his pec muscle, your love for him twisting you into an anthropophagist. You want to consume him, like your pussy swallows his cock. Having him impale you is not enough; you want intercourse with him on a subatomic level. 
You inch back to give yourself enough space to unbutton his jeans and he sees the wet slick left behind on the table. The heat behind his groin shoots up his spine and he grunts, burying his face into your neck where he tugs on your earlobe with his teeth, hands planted on either side of you.
“Hurry, baby, I gotta fuck this pussy,” he whispers against the curve of your jaw. He wants to leave a giant purple bruise there, this instinct to claim, to mark, stoking the roiling heat at the base of his spine and drawing up his balls. 
But his attention snaps back to your hands when he hears a click, the release of his zipper is almost euphoric. He moans in relief, unable to see through his half-lidded eyes the explosion of goosebumps over your skin as his breath tumbles over your back and down your chest. 
His urgent hands overwhelm yours, one pushing his jeans down his hips, the other palming your stomach, pushing you back and you go willingly, but seemingly mesmerized by the sight of his aching, flushed cock springing up against his stomach. You lie down, but only barely, still on your elbows, as he tugs you by your ankles to the edge of the table. 
Your uneven breathing could mean a lot of things. He thought you were being complementary the first time you told him he was too big, but your eyes always widened at the sight of his cock. 
“Do you need to be opened up some more, cariño?” 
At his rawest, Spanish came out of him like a spilled bottle of molasses, sweet, slow, rich. 
“Hmm? Tell me what you need. Hable mas alto por favor.” He rubs your knees, your thighs, hoping you’ll ask for what he wants.
“F-fingers, Frankie,” you swallow, eyes still latched on to his now weeping cock. You glance up at him, face open and full of trust, and he feels his dick pulse. “Please, Frankie, put your fingers in me.” 
“Fucking anything.” He plants one hand and cups your mound, lost for a moment in the soaked curls, before pushing two fingers inside and thrusting. “I’ll fucking give you anything you want.” 
His hips jerking slightly in tandem with the pulse of his fingers, his slacked mouth an indication of how unconscious his humping has become, as he watches you dissolve with every stroke of his hand. God, he didn’t know they made things this pretty. His hand pushes your knee up and back, finding room for three fingers and your eyes roll back in your head. You scrabble for anything to hold onto, fingers searching for the ghosts of your bedsheets, but finding none, your arms curl over your head and latch onto the other edge of the table. You present your fucking tits to him like you’re letting him admire artwork. 
It almost brings him to his knees.
“Oh, I’m coming, oh, Frankie, I’m gonna –,”
He pulls out his fingers just enough to let you gush down his palm, his wrist, and he licks it up like a glutton. It drips a bit onto the linoleum and he smears it with his bare feet.
Frankie slides two fingers back in, his brain going fuzzy at being away from the clutch of your cunt for too long, when you grab his wrist. 
You can barely breathe, your skin a pale pink, your cunt no doubt must be sore, but your eyes are as hard as diamonds in your skull. He swallows the flush of spit in his mouth.  
“Now, Frankie,” you plead, fingers tight around his wet wrist, the hairs on his arm standing up at the sound of your commanding voice. “Fuck me, now, I need you inside of me.”
It always makes him a bit dumbstruck, the way you beg, the way you let him and only him see this side of you – this side of you that is sick with wanting.
His hand squeezes the base of his cock once, eyes fluttering, to remind himself he cannot blow his fucking load the instant the tip of him is inside you. He taps your clit, once, twice, lubing himself up as if he hadn’t moved around internal organs to make way for himself. He notches, then slides, white-knuckling his impending orgasm in favor of making this good for you. He steps farther between your legs, hands sliding from your thighs, up to your waist. He thumbs your nipple and your pussy twitches around him. He swears his heart flat out stops for a concerning length of time.
“How is a pussy this good all mine? All fucking mine?” He rolls his hips, pushing deeper, movements marionetted by the high-pitched whimpers and moans of your mouth. He could catalog every single one of them, has done so in the deep recesses of his brain, and it takes just a second to know when it switches from pleasure to pain. 
He bends over you, you choking on his dick, and kisses you hard, shattering the tense look on your face.  
“I love you,” he tells you, a secret that despite being well-known to anyone who sees him look at you, still feels precious and fragile. His hand plasters your hair to your sweaty neck as he kisses you desperately, speaking a language only you understand. “I love you so fucking much.” 
You sigh into his open mouth. “I wanna marry you, Fransisco Morales.” 
He is covered in gold. Dripping with it. 
His nails at your hip dig into your skin and you know exactly what you’ve done. 
“Say it. Say it louder, nena,” he snarls, face pressed into your cheek, and he thrusts forward with enough force to rock the table. The table legs squeak as you pin him to you one more time and nip at his ear. The last drop in the well, the rope slipping over the edge, the coil locked into place.
“I wanna fucking marry you.” 
With a breathy grunt, he yanks you down onto his cock by your waist and slaps your ass with his balls. It’s been a while since your cunt has taken a beating like this. You clutch at the edge of the table again, mouth torn open.
He knows you like it when he plays with your clit, and he will, but he needs to get this out of him. 
“Yeah? You’re gonna marry the guy who’s fucking your pussy so good right now?” It’s amazing that words escape at all through his gritted teeth, jaw taut. He watches as he disappears and reappears in you, your lips puffy and pink already but he needs more. He doesn’t want you to be able to walk out of bed tomorrow. 
“Yes, Frankie – oh, god, there, right there – yes, I’m gonna marry you.” He tips your hips up as he pounds down and you arch, crying out at the angle, the depth, how full you feel. He fucks like he’s trying to bruise your ribcage through your pussy. 
The thoughts in his head collide with the others, knotting together, blurring, until the only noise he can make, the only thing he can verbalize is the tight grunts, the hm, hm, hm, as he focuses on chasing this fire. 
He feels it approach so fast, he’s nearly taken under by the intensity of his orgasm so he slows, grinds instead, and with his eyes on your face, he cups himself around where he’s split you open, feeling your lips suck in and out with every thrust. 
He closes his eyes briefly, helpless against the waves of arousal that coat his fingers. He smears your clit with his thumb and his name is a split, jagged thing that burns your tongue. He wants that taste on his tongue again. 
You throb once, a sharp climax warming your pussy, and he backs out, drops to his knees, and licks you up again. He can taste his sweat there this time and he groans. His hands slip over your skin from the sweat in the crease of your thigh.
The cries from your mouth are wet now, on the curve of a salty tongue. You tremble like your orgasm is a physical thing, thrumming under your skin, warming your blood and you claw at his forearm. 
“B-baby, please–,” 
Wiping his mouth on your inner thigh, then licking up the mess he made, Frankie stands. He swats your bottom lightly, tutting. He’s a mad man, he knows it, he can’t tell if it's delirium from the rough ache of his balls or masochistic joy in hearing you beg, but again he rubs himself through your folds. It’s not the same, not nearly enough, but it helps last just a bit longer. 
“No crying until after I’ve made you come.” 
“I’ve already come twice,” you whine as you buck your hips, trying to take him in deeper. “You said I can have anything I want.” 
“And what does princesa want?” Yeah, there’s definitely something wrong with him. 
Your eyes flash as your nails dig into his shoulders, that fire he so loves to stoke flaring out.
“I want to come on your cock, Mr. Morales.”
And he unravels, divinity calling his name. 
His pace is slow, then rough, then deep. 
The table is just the right height. He balances on knee on the lip, bending your knees over his shoulders, and fucking down into you. He’s going to snap you in fucking half and maybe he does but he’ll be there to seal you back up again. 
Pour himself into you. Fill you. Make you whole once more. 
Baby, please.
The first drip of tears starts out the corner of your eyes as you come, open-mouthed, throat exposed, a cry loud and in the shape of his name tearing from your lips, your body locking up, cunt squeezing him until he feels himself burst. 
With a shudder and a groan, he spills, hot and flush into you. He comes, and comes, and comes, until his gooey spend is forced out of you and down the crack of your ass. He can’t see anything past the white spark in his eyes, feel anything but you and the tingle of his limbs. 
The excess of you and him is everywhere, leaking out onto the kitchen table, soaking the wood. There’s a ringing in his ears he can’t quiet. 
Your breath is hot on his neck, sweaty skin stuck tightly against his, he knows he’s crushing you, his arms given out at some point, but he really doesn’t think he can stand up right. He kisses your cheek by way of apology and thanks but you don’t seem to mind, your own gaze unfocused on the ceiling. 
“Fuck, Frankie . . .”
He laughs, realizes his legs aren’t working, so trembling and uneasy, he slides out of you and manages to make it to the floor. He blames the sudden dizziness on a lack of food and then blames the dizziness for lying down on the floor. 
His eyes flutter and somehow you’re suddenly curled up next to him, your palm resting over his pounding heart. His fingers find their way up into your sweat-damp hair, thumb gently rubbing against the knot at the base of your skull. 
“Your back is gonna be killing you in about fifteen minutes, sweetheart,” you grumble sleepily into his chest, a grin on your face. 
“I can’t feel anything below my waist right now.” He yawns. “So, we’ve got some time.” 
You nod, absentmindedly stroking the dark hair on his chest. 
“We need to talk about Pope’s birthday party this weekend. Will put us on drink duty . . . but I can’t really focus on anything right now.”
“Good,” he smirks with his eyes shut. “That was some of my best work.” And then he frowns. “You need to eat.” He pokes your side and you huff.
“Okay, if you’re awake enough to berate me, we can at least go to bed.” 
Groaning, you pull him up and he threatens to stumble you both into the wall, but he kisses your cheek and swats your ass, before snagging a tub of ice cream and a spoon. He meets you in the bedroom with the cap off and a smear of chocolate around his lips. 
You’ve got one of his shirts, grinning up at him from the center of the bed, and he’s torn about whether he likes you in his boxers, or nothing at all. 
You take the ice cream from him before he has a chance to flop down on the bed. 
“Not exactly a nutritious meal,” you mutter around the spoon and he turns his face from the pillow to glare at you. 
“That’s the other dinner I made for you, so eat.” 
Your giggle is all you can give to show your thanks.
He rolls onto his back, groaning theatrically, before tucking his hand behind his head, and his fingers coming to rest on his stomach. 
Behind the lids of his eyes, he can feel you watching him.
“What?” He grumbles, feeling around for your foot to pinch your ankle. He hears you move so he knows he’s close. “Not the right flavor, princesa?”
“No,” you laugh and prod his hip with your toe. “It’s just . . .”
His eyes open, finding yours in the half-lit gloom. You’re grinning the spoon in your mouth, eyes bright with something unnameable. You shrug, eying his hand between you both.
“I just never knew Fransisco Morales could be domesticated.” 
He wipes the chocolate off your chin with his thumb.
Yeah, who knew?
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junosmindpalace · 9 months
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something sweet and all over the place because i'm travelling and i miss happy suguru </3
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suguru’s washing your hair tonight.
he ritually goes through each step, all of it done with the utmost attention and care, not one step rushed or missed. to him it was a sacred sort of routine, a kinder one than what his job demands of him, performed mostly when you were too tired to lift your own arms, but not being able to shake off the ick you feel after a long day. 
you were quite particular about your hair, and you didn’t trust just anyone to handle it. but time and practice has proven suguru more than capable from various washing and styling sessions.
and if it wasn’t evident in his own silky and shiny black hair, currently tied back in a loose bun reminiscent of the one he always wore as a teenager, then it certainly was in the experienced way he massaged shampoo into your scalp with just the right amount of pressure, gently raking sections of your hair away to scratch next to your ears, and in the delicate way he angled your head as he rinsed product from your hair and scalp with cold water. 
he’s always loved your hair just as much as you love his, color and texture perfectly complimenting your skin and features. and just as much as he loves your hair does he love tending to it. 
not a moment of hesitancy in his movements, suguru is a man of habit. it comes with his job, with his cursed technique, consuming cursed spirits and all their filth. though he believes this to be a much, much nicer routine than the many he has to put up with day to day, a cleanse for both of you. 
it's this kinder routine that saved him years ago, he thinks. when overwhelming loss turned his world upside down and made him second guess everything he believed in. he reminisced on the ugly practices in his life—in the exorcizing and consuming of cursed spirits day to day, in having to deal with the horrors that come with being a sorcerer—and felt just as sick thinking on them as he did living them out day to day. but then a tender something grounded him, showed him that a sweeter routine existed for him. the routine of being able to come home to someone he loved after a day of work, to sit and talk and bask in the comforting presence of his favorite person. let his worries ease and pop away, like the bubbles in the tub, even if it’s for an evening. 
a kinder something keeps him going. back then, it was enough. for now, it’s enough. 
suguru’s never thought too hard about domestic life. he’s heard every happily ever after-- the running away, the settling down, the simply doing laundry and taxes together--never really believing himself capable of such a thing with his profession and the nature of his technique. but now he finally understands, and he can’t believe his good fortune when he thinks this to be his happily ever after, sitting on the fluffy carpet in your shared bathroom with his sleeves rolled to his forearms, gently blowing suds from the shampoo in his hands into your face when he takes notice of you nodding off, eliciting giggles from you that bring a smile to his face. 
“not yet.” he mumbles gently as he resumes working near your temples. “soon, i promise.”
and when soon comes after a couple more minutes of scrubbing and rinsing and exchanging lighthearted quips and anecdotes from the day, he’s toweling off your hair and body, slowly helping you into your nightwear. an earlier promise of food graced your senses as you stepped out of the bathroom, perking up at the familiar fragrance of one of your favorite meals. suguru slips into the seat opposite of yours at the small dinner table beside your kitchen and watched your shoulders sink as you dug into your food, cheek pressed into his palm as he smiled at your eagerness.
another kinder something- being appreciated in those little ways. in your tense shoulders relaxing against his hold, in your sighs of relief, in your content smiles and grateful kisses against his skin. another kinder contrast to his demanding life outside of the little quaint one he's been blessed enough to build with you, the chaotic one that exists in jujutsu society, where the expectation is to go through any amount of suffering to get the job done with hardly a hand of support.
suguru's cursed technique is more often than not a reflection of his life. of consuming and being surrounded by filth; the filth of jujutsu society and the sickening reality of his job. being burdened with the crushing weight that comes with being a jujutsu sorcerer; the expectation that sorcerers die regretful, that they’re not heroes, that they can’t save everyone, that his friends will die, that parts of him will inevitably die. 
but hopefully not this. with every tiring, worn out routine, suguru hopes that he can continue to come home to carry out this one. he thinks that coming home to care for you, to be appreciated, to laugh with you and hold you is the real thing keeping him strong. 
for now, this would be enough. for forever, he hopes, it would be enough.
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utilitycaster · 1 year
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I think of this tweet when I think of the Mighty Nein:
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If you are not familiar with Everything Everywhere All At Once, it's...quite a lot to describe, but in the real world, these two people are married, with a modest and at times frustrating life, and Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) in particular feels she's something of a failure, and is often frustrated with her optimistic husband, Waymond (Ke Huy Quan). The movie explores alternate universes, and these images are from one in which they never married and emigrated to the United States and opened up a laundromat, but instead, she became a martial arts action movie star, and he became a wealthy businessman. They reconnect at her film premier and discuss their regrets, but when she turns him down again, he tells her "So, even though you have broken my heart yet again, I wanted to say, in another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you."
In other words, that tweet misses the point to an extent that is almost difficult to believe...and so to I feel does the belief that the Mighty Nein should have become more famous, or that their story now isn't a happy one.
The Mighty Nein are unique among the parties in that they are all, relatively speaking, young, and profoundly mortal. There's no Keyleth, or Laudna, or Fearne, or FCG here. Of the PCs, Caduceus is the only one who will see past 200, and he's by design steeped in the concept of mortality. They get this life and that's it.
So yes, Beau is having some bumps in the road adjusting to her first real job. Veth is anxious about starting a new business venture, and much of her late campaign arc was about her worries about the drastic changes she'd led her family into. Fjord and Jester don't know how to react to having a home of their own, even a tiny one. Caleb is dealing with the achingly slow bureaucracies of academia. And Fjord, Jester, and Caleb (and, offscreen, Essek) are all tentatively navigating their first or one of their first romantic relationships as an adult. And it's rocky, and weird, and full of banalities and nosy neighbors and smart-mouthed crew members and irritated tenured professors and demanding librarians.
And laundry, and taxes.
It's real in a way the glittery fame isn't, and despite it all, they're happier for it.
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texas-gothic · 27 days
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There's something so compelling to me about the idea of two people who have literally, either by deliberate intent or the tragic circumstances of war, been bred to destroy each other finding friendship. Maybe even something more. That's probably why Jetko clicks with me the way it does. Like yeah, it all falls apart the moment they have to face the reality they live in, but for that one moment, perhaps more, it was there. I'm a sucker for these sad, angry boys and their "in another life I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you" relationship. Crossed both by the stars and by themselves.
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ddarker-dreams · 10 months
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hi wasn't sure if i notice this to ur yan chrollo fics, but do u think chrollo is the type of guy who says i love u to his darling?
i actually have a weird philosophy when it comes to having characters say "i love you" in fics, it's something i include very rarely as a personal preference. please excuse me for how corny this sounds but i kinda like going for a more evocative declaration of love that's unique to the character, if that makes sense HTJKMER i promise i'm not trying to be pretentious, i just consider it a personal challenge to myself. there are times where thematically 'i love you' fits beautifully and hits me emotionally like a train, but nine times out of ten it doesn't get me in the way i want to be gut punched.
my favorite example of what i try aiming for (although i don't think my silly fics will ever reach this Peak Fiction level, it's more of a goal to strive for), is waymond's line from everything everywhere all at once,
"In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you."
it had me in shambles. i los t my mind. never got it back btw.
ALRIGHT now that that preface is out of the way, i'll dive into my thoughts on chrollo saying i love you:
there isn't much (if anything) chrollo holds sacred, but that phrase somewhat makes the cut. he'll readily profess his admiration of your looks and personality, tell you that he considers you a treasure worth holding onto for as long as blood pumps through his veins, etc... but the classic declaration of love is noticeably missing from his romantic era style of flirting. he can handle your insults, disobedience, and overall contemptuous attitude, yet he doesn't want to experience your rejection of what is a deeply vulnerable statement. so much of him is a fabrication. a tapestry woven from different cloths he cut from others. he barely has any sense of self. he poured his everything into the spider, leaving him empty, a true husk of a man.
you stoked what little kindling remains of the identity he discarded the day sarasa was found dead. it terrifies and confounds him. this humanity he thought he purged from his being is forcefully drawn out by your presence. he wants to say it with what scraps remain of anything resembling a person. to do so would certainly earn your protest and that hypothetical makes him... uncomfortable.
chrollo is far more likely to whisper it once while you're in deep sleep, considering it a secret between him and the night.
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thedeerman · 19 days
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RadioApple Fic:
Do You Want To Know?
Hey all, this is the first chapter of my little slow burn radioapple fic. Please let me know what you think, I don’t write much!!
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Ch1: A New Idea
It’s been three weeks since the attempted extermination. Three weeks since Lucifer just barely saved the life of his daughter in a fight that nearly killed everyone she cared about. Three weeks since he helped to build the new hotel and moved into his very own suite. It’s been both terrible and beautiful for Lucifer. He had hardly spoken to another soul for years and now was thrown into daily gatherings with sinners he didn’t know. Some of which he certainly didn’t care to know. But those gatherings also included his daughter. His wonderful, smart, passionate, forgiving daughter. I don’t deserve her, Lucifer thinks constantly. He spent years neglecting their relationship, burying himself in his own sorrow, and yet Charlie welcomed him in without a second thought. Without even asking for an explanation or apology for his years of absence. He’s not sure where she got such a big heart, but he’s beyond grateful that she has it. And as an attempt to show her just how dedicated he is to helping her see out her dream, he’s been showing up for every morning meeting. Every ‘family’ dinner. Every chore list, cooking schedule, errands run, nearly anything that could be signed up for, he does. Lucifer didn’t mind chores much. Cooking was fun and he could be experimental (in a way that didn’t include human remains, much to the other residents’ delight). Doing dishes or laundry was something as monotonous and calming as making ducks and other little trinkets. And on the days when he really just wasn’t in the mood to deal with it, he simply used his magic to help him get it done quickly. No matter how emotionally taxing, how time consuming, or how frustrating the task was, Lucifer was ready and willing to do anything he could to help his daughter succeed.
It’s because of this that Lucifer ends up on the attendance list for all of Charlie’s ’family’ activities for the hotel. It doesn’t seem too bad at first, but as the activities get to be a little more personal, Lucifer ends up regretting how agreeable he was to his daughter’s every request. A bit too late to be kicking myself for that now... Lucifer thinks as he sits in yet another hotel ‘family’ meeting. The ‘family’ being Charlie of course, her girlfriend Vaggie, the spider demon/porn star Angel, the grumpy bartender Husk, the scary little maid (the one that killed Adam, no less) Niffty, Angel’s one eyed bomb loving friend Cherri, now Lucifer, and... Ugh. This guy, the fallen angel thinks, as the final ‘family’ member graces them with his presence by appearing from the shadows. Alastor... What a pain in the ass. Lucifer doesn't actually have much reason to hate the demon aside from his frustrating theatrics and his need to always be the one Charlie pays the most attention to. Whatever game you’re playing, I’ve got my eye on you, he’s always thinking.
“Alrighty everyone!” His daughter’s voice catches Lucifer’s attention. “Now that we’re all here, I’d like to announce that we will be trying a new activity!” There are a series of groans from the group. None from Alastor, of course. But his creepy, always there smile seems strained, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as Charlie continued. “So! You all know how we’ve been trying out some new ideas as test runs for new residents,” she starts. Yes, and it’s been excruciating. No one involved has been enjoying being guinea pigs for Charlie’s therapy experiments. The only silver lining being that the new residents wouldn’t have to suffer the same fates, as each and every “new activity” so far has been tossed out after a resounding failure of some kind or another. Fights, tears, broken furniture, and excessive day drinking have occurred both during and after a few of these sessions. Her ideas weren’t terrible in concept, but in practice, with demons and fallen angels and souls under contract, they just weren’t working. Lucifer’s attention is once again brought to the front of the room as Charlie continues.
“And yes, I understand that the past few exercises we’ve tried... haven’t exactly ended well.” Lucifer hates the sad look in her eyes as she considers her failures, but it’s gone as quickly as it arrived. “But after a lot of discussion and thinking about how and why our previous activities went so....” She pauses, looking for the right word. “Awful? Terrible? Destructive? Shitty? Depressing?” Angel adds. Vaggie glared his way but the demon wasn’t paying any attention. “Yes, thank you Angel,” Charlie says hesitantly. “So! I took those... experiences... into account while creating this one!” Lucifer shifts uncomfortably in his seat. He was a huge fan of Charlie living out her dream, but he wasn’t a huge fan of having to be this close to the action. He lets out a small sigh. I can’t abandon my place as her dad again. Charlie paused for a moment to reach into a bag and hand a bundle of items to Vaggie. Small strips of paper and markers. As Vaggie started passing them out to each of them, Charlie explains. “First thing’s first, I need everyone to write their names down. Once you’ve written your name, please give your paper to Vaggie.”
Lucifer’s anxiety starts up, as it always does when he’s involved in one of his daughter’s ‘family’ activities. He just hopes whatever comes of this involves less property damage than before. He hands his paper back to Vaggie as she walks around to collect them. Giving the papers back to her partner, Vaggie continues the instructions. “You will now each receive a randomly chosen name. The name on your paper will be for your eyes and your eyes only. Do not tell anyone else the name that you got.” Charlie excitedly passes the papers back out, now folded shut. “Except for me!” she interrupts. “I’m going to make a note of who gets who for the sole purpose of understanding the effectiveness of this activity. Don’t worry, no one else will get to see!” Her smile is infectious, Lucifer just can’t help it. He always smiles when he sees his daughter this way, so full of hope and joy. Vaggie hands him a folded strip of paper. Before he can open it to see who he was assigned, Charlie speaks again.
“Now, unlike some of our previous attempts, this activity will not be done as a group.” Multiple sighs of relief are heard, and Lucifer notices that Alastor seems to relax ever so slightly. At least that’s one thing we can agree on... “However,” Charlie continues, “This will be a week-long exercise-” multiple groans again, “that will involve a prompt each morning. That prompt will be a question or instruction that each of you will respond to in a letter. The letters don’t have to be long, but must include a full response to the prompt. They don’t have to be short either, just go for whatever your honest answer is!” She’s practically bouncing up and down with excitement as she says “The recipient of what you’ll be writing for the week will be the name on the paper youve been given. You’ll have a full 24 hours to write your letters. Tomorrow you’ll hand them in to me during the morning meeting, and will then be given the next prompt. Any questions so far?”
All of them are silent for a long moment. Vaggie breaks the silence. “Here are the rules. Rule number one: You MUST be respectful. OUR version of respectful. No insults, no petty jabs. Just answer the prompt. Rule number two: No discussing who each person is writing to. I mean NO discussion. Do not ask, do not tell. If we find out that this rule is broken, the offending parties will be sitting in on Charlie’s hotel-wide group therapy sessions for a month.” Lucifer’s eyes went wide at this. Several others did as well. Group therapy wasn't an uncommon ‘punishment’ (though Charlie wont ever call it that) but the sessions are held four days out of the week and last for one to two hours at a time. And with new arrivals slowly trickling into the hotel to be redeemed, the sessions were getting larger. Lucifer tensed, thinking of the last time he was forced to participate after getting into a spat with the only sinner in the building he just couldn’t stand to be around. Lucifer was not meant for group therapy, that was for sure. The most any of them have been forced to attend for bad behavior was one week. None of them wanted a whole month.
Vaggie looked amused at the group’s reaction to this. She spoke again. “This also includes revealing yourself to the person you’re writing to. These letters are supposed to be anonymous.” Charlie speaks up. “This exercise depends on honesty and anonymity, and I have really high hopes that this one can be used by new residents learning to redeem themselves.” She pauses. “Okay. So now that we’ve gone over everything, I’m going to call each of you over to note down who you’ll be writing to. I’ll then give you a paper with today’s writing prompt and an envelope to put the letter in once you're done. Make sure to seal it! After that, bring your envelope with you for tomorrow’s meeting and I’ll mark the intended recipient on the front. At the end of our meeting you’ll get the letter addressed to you and the next writing prompt.”
All of this information takes a moment to register in Lucifer’s head, but after he’s gone over it all in his mind he’s left with a sense of pride for his daughter. Out of all of her experiments so far, this one is the first that Lucifer doesnt think would turn into an all out war. It seems... feasible. He smiles as she makes eye contact with him, clearly ecstatic with her plan. Vaggie calls each one of them over to the desk that Charlie has against the room’s far wall. One at a time, each member of the ‘family’ does as they’re told and then leaves the meeting room. Lucifer spends a moment wondering who got his slip of paper, the one with his name written on it, until he suddenly remembers that he never looked at his own intended letter recipient. With no one close enough to peer over his shoulder, Lucifer slowly opens up the folded paper to see whose name is written.
Of course. Go figure. Yeah, why not just make the next week my own little slice of Hell? I mean honestly- His thoughts are interrupted by Charlie’s voice. “Dad! It’s your turn!” He looks up and realizes he’s the last one to be called. Everyone else, save Charlie and Vaggie, have already left the room. He attempts to smile as he stands and faces his daughter, but she sees through it immediately. And it's obvious. “Come on Dad... I know who you got.” This surprises him. Was his face really that revealing? “Everyone else’s name has already been marked on my chart, so...” She smiles awkwardly. “Listen, I think this will be good for you! Please, just try your best?” Lucifer slowly walks to the desk and sighs heavily. “Anything for you, sunshine. I’ll try my hardest.” He hands the strip of paper to his daughter and she gives him the paper with the prompt and envelope in exchange. “I dont think I’ve got you on the chores schedule today, but I’m gonna be pretty busy so I probably won’t see you until dinner.” She smiles at him, that glowing warm smile that he’d missed out on for so many years. She encourages him with an “I love you, Dad. You’re gonna do great!” and gives him a thumbs up.
He leaves the room smiling, just loving being in his daughter’s presence, until he walks into the lobby and sees him. Sitting on one of the many comfy chairs, sipping black coffee out of a mug that says “Oh Deer” on the side. The asshole. The worst demon in the hotel. The piece of shit that loves to torment Lucifer to no end. The name on his strip of paper. He strides by as quickly as possible to avoid any contact. Damn it... He thinks on the way back to his side of the hotel. Why, of all people... He can’t get the vision of the neat, cursive handwriting out of his head. His mind focuses on one name and one name only.
Alastor
Read Chapter 2!
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baka-bakeneko · 10 months
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Chaos Theory Miguel O'Hara x Reader
"in another life, i would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you"
tags: reminiscing, wishful thinking, feelings of grief, slightest mention of emotional abuse, cheating, crying, feelings of hope, Miguel-canon aggression, PTSD, slow sex synopsis: Miguel, after being injured by an anomaly, stops somewhere he shouldn't have word count: 2.5k a/n: come feel the sad angsts with me
Miguel sat at the kitchen counter, staring at your worried shoulders as you wrang out a bloody washcloth. He'd tried to avoid this verse for so long, told Lyla that its coordinates were blacklisted in his computer and should also be from his watch.
Because it was too hard to see you. Especially in this state. You were not to be interfered with, your life with your husband the quiet peace that Miguel wanted to give you, in another lifetime.
You were still his wife, though you didn't know it. But somewhere deep down, when you glanced over your bunched shoulder at Miguel, he hoped you recognized him. Like the man in your dream, the faint touch on your neck, the warrant thought of a kiss on your inside thigh just against your beauty mark.
That was all him, he was the groundbreaker for those instances and he wanted you to snap into place and recognize him as such.
But you didn't. And you wouldn't.
Another pierce in his already bleeding heart. You turned around to face him, leaning in to swipe carefully at the gash on his cheek.
"What happened to you?" You asked, your concern more than sweet.
Your hand rested on his shoulder, withholding a gulp as you stepped closer between his legs to swipe at the gash on his neck.
"I-uh-tripped through a glass window," Miguel lied, clenching his hands on his lap to avoid grasping at your waist.
He focused his dull glare at one of the kitchen cabinets, wincing softly when you patted too hard at his neck.
You turned around again to wring the washcloth once more in warm water, then set it on the counter. You reached for the gauze and rubbing alcohol, turning around to rest it on the counter closest to Miguel's elbow.
You tsked dryly, stepping close to this man again. You relaxed your shoulders and dapped at the gauze with the alcohol before tapping it gently to the man's neck first.
He withstood a soft flinch, his teeth baring slightly at the sting. You noticed his sharp tooth, something so unnatural for a normal man like him.
"Miguel," You chastised lowly, leaning into the man slightly to scan his wound for glass. "We can't keep meeting like this."
His lips curled into a grin, slowly letting his lips fall back into his natural frown. "I know."
Miguel knew it was wrong for him to keep circling back to this verse, his presence in it was an anomaly in itself. Still, once he arrived the first time after falling from another verse, Miguel felt attracted to come back every time he was injured.
That was always within you, your willingness to aid others. Whether it was stray cats or abandoned baby birds, you were always there lending your help.
Miguel remembered having to climb under the car to retrieve a kitten that wedged itself near the engine during the winter storm the night before and how you were staring down at him from under the hood.
"Be careful!" You offered, hiding your cold nose behind your mittens.
"Nena, its okay, I've got this," Miguel murmured, looking up at the winter sky haloed around you.
You begged him to keep the little tabby after it was freed and Miguel, a man controlled by your hand on his heart, agreed without a second thought.
He hissed inwardly again when you pinched out a spare piece of glass. He felt his talons curling into his palms, breathing steadily while you patched him up carefully.
"How's your husband?" Miguel asked, the question only twisting a knife into his heart.
You backed away an inch and looked over Miguel's shoulder, around the kitchen to the doorway. Of course he wasn't home but you could never be too sure.
Miguel's throat tightened, watching your stare grow wild looking around to make sure you were still alone. He didn't want to know what the man had done to you to make you so on edge, but it caused a raw nerve to twitch between his shoulders.
"He's fine," you said, stressing your words while you returned your focus to Miguel again.
Miguel couldn't help his hand grabbing your wrist then, as you reached to tape his cheek. He stood up from the chair, immediately towering over you.
"Are you sure?" He asked with a curious tilt of his head.
Miguel looked behind him to still see that you two were alone. Returning to your presence, he noticed your other hand bracing his stomach.
He glanced at your fingers scratching softly at his shirt; your fingers spread apart to touch more of his hardened body.
Miguel felt... familiar under your fingertips. If you recounted your most lucid dreams, you could pinpoint the scent Miguel gave off right now.
He knew that your touch was not sanctioned like this, how dangerous it would be if your hand wandered.
But he didn't want to stop you.
"Ne--" he cut himself off and snapped back to this reality, not one constructed in a tragedy. "Y/N...do you...fear him?"
Your brows quirked, staring at Miguel's tight shirt then matched his gaze. You wanted to shake your head, he was your husband after all, but he didn't give you the innate safe feeling that this man before you did.
Your throat lodged with a swallow, already curving your chin left ready to swing back with a dissuade of Miguel's accusation.
His top lip curled then, your defiance to the answer he could see in your eyes. Miguel's free hand grasped your chin between his thumb and index finger.
Staring deeply into your eyes, everything he once called you came to mind besides your name. This was his tresuro, his cariña, his nena, mamí, mujer hermosa, bebé mamá.
He had to bite through his damn tongue lest one of his terms slip as he remapped the divets in your irises. A singular tear threatened him, making his nose sting with every emotion he felt towards you.
How badly he missed your kiss.
You held your breath, staring up at this beautiful stranger. His chocolate eyes were rich and echoing, begging you to recall where he was from. To recall why you knew how to touch him now.
Your mind was running blank and tears welled in your eyes then, conflicted by the loyalty to your husband and whatever Miguel was stirring within you now.
Miguel brought your hand up to his heart, let your palm rest firmly against him to hear his heart racing. He knew he was something to you, someone but he said nothing.
You feared what that meant, but couldn't stop your heart racing the same for him.
Miguel leaned down, cautious to scare you away, and found your lips with his. Your shock was half-phoned, your lips molding to his as if he'd kissed you a thousand times before. Miguel reasoned it on a thousand a day.
A whimper escaped as it did him, his face contorting and giving way to how miserable he was inside. You were so close, but not his.
His eyes squeezed shut, tears streaking down his cheeks as your eyes fluttered shut. A few tears escaped you, your arms straightening out to wrap around Miguel's broad neck.
He sniffled into you, coming to terms with what he was doing now. If he kept going, he'd never be able to come back.
He'd have to search another million verses to find a version of you again. His heart wrenched in his chest, whimpering into you again.
Miguel couldn't stop himself though. He has to feel you again, to feel your lips and hips and skin. He had to remember how you felt pressed against him, how you sounded.
All he wouldn't be able to do was feel Gabriella kicking inside you. You hummed softly into Miguel's kiss, retreating when his tears tainted his taste.
"Lo siento," Miguel whispered, regaining his composure in an instant before returning to your kiss.
It all happened so fast. Miguel's hands grabbed your waist, pulled you firmly into him, allowing him to tower fully over you.
You fought to keep it chaste, to break off of him though your body felt this all as second nature with Miguel.
He lifted you into his hold with one arm, blinding trekking through your house to find your bedroom. He slammed the door firmly behind him then tossed you onto the bed, your downy grey comforter ballooning up around you.
Miguel lifted your shirt and kissed down your stomach, hiding his tears against your skin with timid nips. He'd admire your body in every verse if he could, his beautiful wife. Mother of his child.
He wiggled your pants down slightly, kissing at every new patch of skin revealed.
Your mind was unraveling in the huffs of silence. The daylight peered through your windows, the breeze of the afternoon seeping through your grey decorated bedroom, the air picking up the sheer curtains in billows.
Miguel inspected your skin for any marks, knowing that if you truly feared him, he'd have done something. He waded your pants down to your ankles, freeing your sex to catch the air.
He furrowed his brows in reminisce at the sight, pushing your thighs apart to find your beauty mark. When he did, Miguel pressed his lips there, licked and nipped at it as if touching it would bring you back to him.
You reached a hand out to comb through Miguel's luscious hair, making him pull away from your beauty mark.
He stared up your body, meeting your gaze with his reddened eyes. You felt his stare begging for your mind to catch up, to know him, remember him.
Miguel took your in-turned brows as the answer to his pleas, it wasn't working. He righted his mouth to your inside knee, trailing his tongue up to your inside hip.
Fine, he gave up. You wouldn't remember him. But now he'd never let you forget him.
Your sex clenched at the blow of warm air from Miguel's mouth, edging up on your elbow to watch him.
He slinked his tongue inside you, not warming you up to tease. He wanted to be unforgettable.
Your face pinched, planting your heels onto the edge of the bed. Miguel hungrily, selfishly, nudged his face further into you, causing your body to tense.
"M-M-Miguel," you stuttered, losing all edge with a loud moan slipping out with a drop of your head.
He hummed in response, his hands taking grip of your hips to pull you harder onto his mouth. He was going to imprint you with him, cause a detrimental change to every version of you after this.
Your hand tightened on his locks, wanting to pull him off and into you. The heat picked up low in your stomach, a pooling sensation leveling further up with each lap Miguel gave to your walls.
He pulled off of you to finally catch his breath. He stared down at your diminutive expression, your whole face holding a sense of edge.
Just like he remembered you to do. You never begged him for more, only pouted that it was over. Miguel scoffed dryly, bringing the collar of his shirt up to wipe away your essence.
He outstretched over you, kissing you again as his hands slipped under your shirt. You attempted to help him undress, wading your hands up under his shirt but he never caught on.
Miguel wanted this to be about you; he unclasped your bra with a simple flick of his fingers, peeled your shirt off with a quick pause at your lips.
He reached to pull his waistband down, your hands finally aiding him in that effort. When his cock was free of its confines, Miguel parted from your mouth to look down at the meet of your bodies.
He glanced back at you, knowing that this was the beginning of the end. He couldn't go back from this.
Your hands slipped up to his shoulders, pecking the corner of his mouth as he silently debated his limited options.
"What's wrong?" you asked in a whisper.
Miguel shook his head, his eyes watering again. "N-nothing, nothing mi corazon."
He shut your next question down with a deep kiss, readying his cock before thrusting slowly into you.
Your face broke with a moan into Miguel's mouth. His eyes broke again, crying outwardly onto your skin.
You ignored his tears as they slipped down his cheeks and dotted your chest; you couldn't help but feel his anguish just the same. You broke from his mouth to kiss his leaking eyes, down his slick cheeks and back to him.
Miguel rocked his hips rhythmically, his arms curled around your head. He wanted to keep you, savor you in a pocket dimension so he'd never lose you again.
His tears were now angered, hot saline streaking down his cheeks with the thought of losing you again.
You crossed your arms along his broad back, heaving out your own sniffles to this stranger.
Miguel whipped his heart internally, cursing himself inside for acting so impulsively. This was not meant to happen, but he was never level-headed with you.
He pumped into you, ignoring your keen breaths as he imagined and reimagined you with him. Your skin, your laughter, how you held his head in your lap, your croon-awful singing.
Miguel parted from you, leaning further into you to nudge his nose against yours.
"T-te amo," Miguel whimpered lowly against your lips. He kept his eyes welded shut for fear he'd lose himself and crush you into him. "Me escuchas, nena? Te amo, Te amo, Te amo."
He leaned further to kiss at your ear, driving his cock hard into you before whimpering at the fluttering of your soft walls.
Your eyes rolled with your head craning back, moaning out Miguel's name. You relished in him deep inside you, his hips stalled against yours.
He came undone over you, ducking his head under chin to whisper your name against your collar. Miguel pulled out of you, cumming into his hand before rolling over to sit on the edge of your bed.
You caught your breath, touching your fingers to your chest and cheek to finally acknowledge the tears.
Miguel looked over his shoulder at you, savored his last few moments before typing in the coordinates of headquarters on his watch.
You looked over at Miguel, noticing he'd disappeared into thin air. Sitting up, you stared at the billowing curtains around your window hoping to see a glimpse of him as he made his escape.
Your eyes watered at the sudden emptiness you felt from his leaving; you grabbed at the comforter and pulled it up to your chest with a tear slipping down your cheek.
Miguel stood before his computer screen, watching your realization unfold in real time. His eyes threatened a final time before he bit it away and continued staring on. He'd wiped his hand on his pants in disgust, waiting for the appropriate time to clean up.
"What'cha watching?" Lyla asked innocently, popping in over Miguel's shoulder.
Miguel instinctively reached for the button to turn the broadcast off, straightening his shoulders as he sniffed.
"Nothing."
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necroromantics · 5 months
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🧺 — Laundry And Taxes
chapter 1. // (masterlist)
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“Oh darling, please believe me~”
Toby’s dark eyes fluttered open as he jolted up, his hand pressing over his chest as he caught his breath. He could hear The Beatles blaring from an old boombox stereo in the room next to him. He could hear a familiar voice humming alongside in a pretty tune.
“I’ll never do you no harm~”
The soft sun shone through the bedroom window as his hands dropped and gripped the sheets of the bed he sat on. The boy eyed his surroundings, a sick feeling bubbling up in his stomach as he nearly threw up.
What was he doing in his childhood room?
He raised a shaking hand up to his face and let his fingers run over the gash that once scarred his cheek, quickly noticing it was no longer there. He was now once again seventeen years old, and everything was fine.
A million thoughts raced through his mind, paralyzing the boy's trembling body as he struggled to breathe. The warm rays of sunshine danced on his pale skin, and the chirping birds outside accompanied the muffled music. The same records his sister would always play.
His sister.
Toby suddenly threw his body out of his bed and scampered down the hall, almost breaking down the door as he forced himself into his sister's room.
“Lyra-”
“What are you doing?” The girl scolded her little brother, she had been cleaning her room while singing along to her favorite album.
Hesitantly, Toby collided his body against his sisters, gripping mindlessly onto her as though he was desperately seeking confirmation she was real, and not another hallucination. She smelt like peach juice and beach. She felt warm, and alive. Her arms cradled the boy who was overcome by dizziness, he felt as if he was about to faint. As he stared into her familiar green eyes, he ignored her confused gaze. She was as beautiful as he remembered. It took everything in him to fight back a sob, to collapse into her arms and weep. All he could do was stare, take in her entire presence that had been so cruelly taken from him all those years ago. He was here, and so was she, and for now, everything was fine. For once in his tortured life, he seemed to be having a good dream.
“Seriously, what's wrong with you?” Lyra grumbled, pushing off her clingy brother, “are you going to get out of my room now? I’m sort of busy here, nutjob.”
He couldn’t move, as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t muster up the courage to look away. A part of him was terrified that if he did, she would disappear again. In response to her brother's difficult attitude, she shouted out, “Mooom, Toby won't leave me alone!”
A faint voice from the kitchen called out in response, “Toby, stop bothering your sister.”
His mothers voice, he recognized. It sounded almost angelic. For a moment, he thought he must have died in that godless forest and ended up in heaven. He scoffed to himself at the idea as he made his way to the kitchen to see his mother as well. Toby knew better than to entertain the idea of being freed from his sin, he knew he would never see the pearly gates when he died. Not all dogs go to heaven.
He first noticed how lively his mother looked as she scrubbed away at the dishes, compared to all those years he witnessed her carrying such heavy grief in her bones as she moved. Toby only watched from a distance, lingering quietly at the entrance of the kitchen.
“Do you need something?” Connie called out to her son. Her awareness of his presence took the boy off guard, he stammered for a moment. She never noticed him watching all the times he had done it before. Back when everyone told her that Toby had died in that forest fire long ago.
Toby made his way cautiously to his mothers side and embraced her in a tight hug, causing her to let out a surprised gasp at the sudden affection of her troubled boy.
“I’m sorry mom,” he dug his face into the nape of her neck, “I’m so sorry.”
“Oh- Toby, it’s not a big deal,” she hushed as she ran her overworked fingers through the messy, chestnut hair of her son. As Toby pulled away, he allowed himself to get a good look at her face. She looked healthy, happy. Better than he remembered.
As a proxy, he would occasionally check in on his mother, from a distance. Or drop off flowers for mothers day in the dead of night. Only tragedy had gotten this close to her in years. Only tragedy. He inhaled the sun and sound from the nostalgic world around him as though he were living in a mere memory. He breathed in his mothers perfume.
“Why don’t you go clean up your room while I finish making dinner, sweetheart,” Connie suggested, pinching his cheek. His hands, no longer scarred, lingered over hers before he let out a deep breath and made his way back to his childhood room.
Toby sat down on his creaky, small, old bed and embraced the afternoon environment for a moment. His sister was still blasting her music from her room, his room still smelt like teenage musk and a summer long lost. He was years away from the battlefield, and yet he couldn’t shake the feeling like something bad was going to happen. The boy grew frustrated at the hopeless situation, to be thrown into a happy memory only to realize he must have to be stolen back from it soon. To wake up on the ground of that dreadful forest.
Standing up, he peered over at the family portrait perched on his tiny dresser. The photo of his family he knew, with his sister, his mother, him, and his father. To his shock, it was now replaced with a new photo which no longer included his dear old dad. Only Toby, Lyra, and their mother. They looked happier, Toby’s smile was more genuine, Lyra was beaming, Connie looked peaceful. They looked like a normal family.
A few hours had passed before Connie called her children to the dinner table, bringing spaghetti and meatballs to their plates. This was the same table where he would so often sit across from his father who would spend the evening ranting and raving, berating his son for being a useless burden. A haunting feeling creeped up behind him, smothering him, stealing his breath. Toby picked at his food, trying to choke down the anger at the idea that his father could still be alive. All of that fight, that effort, went to waste. He had gotten his family back, but he couldn’t shake the idea that he must have gotten that monster back as well. It burnt holes in his gut when he thought about it.
“When's dad coming home?” He spoke up, breaking the soft silence.
As soon as he finished his question, it was as if a wave of tension choked up his family. Lyra glanced worriedly over to Connie, her body sitting still, waiting for her mother to speak up. Connie looked up quickly at her boy, shock and a hint of guilt mingled on the cracks of her face, dancing in her green-blue eyes.
“I’ve promised you this, Toby, he isn’t coming back.” She smiled as she continued to work at the food on her plate, but anyone could see she was fighting back a sorrow too heavy for one woman to carry.
Toby’s heart dropped, he felt uneasy for a moment. And then he felt relieved, and then angry. In what world did his mother gain the courage to kick that man out? In what world did everything turn out fine? That was when the realization drowned him, suffocated him. Toby wasn’t sent back in time. He was in an entirely different world. One where things work out for the best. One with no war.
Memories from before he woke up in this place flooded his mind like a wave pool. Crimson skies, the shrieks, the desperate attempts to flee. His desperate attempts to find that girl. If he ended up in this strange world, he wondered who else wound up here as well. His tired brown eyes glanced down to his hands. They had no callous, no scar. Innocent. He curled his clean fingers into a fist and squeezed. It was far too quiet, far too peaceful.
That night, Toby laid in bed and stared up at his ceiling decorated with dinosaur-shaped glow in the dark stickers that had long worn out. He thought back to how small he was when they had first stuck them there, his father had to lift him up so he could reach. Everytime Toby thought about his dad, he felt a burning sensation consume him. He gritted his teeth down to metal and ash, he clenched his fists so tight they whitened. Toby sat up in bed, he couldn’t sleep. His brow furrowed as he tried to control the rage that took him over. There was something unfed within him, begging to devour like a hungry dog.
His gaze turned towards his bedroom window to meet the trees wrapping around the flickering street lamp illuminating the night outside. Something about that sight overtook him, and he couldn’t help but stare out into the endless void of the midnight hour. Call it desperation, frustration. As his body fell back onto his bed with an irritated groan escaping his mouth, Toby let himself fall into a deep slumber, hoping he would wake up back into the world he knew. Back where he knew himself. Back where he knew he didn’t have to feel as powerless as he did confined in the walls of his childhood home.
Toby softly awoke as he took in a deep breath of morning sunshine and August breeze. He rubbed his tired eyes and examined the area around him, heart beating fast as it typically did when he woke up, readying itself for tragedy. There was a bed underneath him, carpet under that, and a horribly familiar house that surrounded. To his complicated feelings of dismay, he was still in his childhood home. He sniffled to himself as he sat up and let his feet hit the ground. The boy thought back to all the times he would wake up in strange, unknown places with no recollection of what he had been doing before. He thought back to the times he would wake up with blood on his hands, and how he never knew if it was his or not.
The lanky boy, still in his pajamas, shuffled out of his room and down the hallway which led to the living room. His hands traced over the walls he grew up with, gliding over patched holes in the wall, listening to his sister talk to one of her friends on the phone in her room. As Toby made his way to the blaring TV, he stared at the infomercial for a long while, waiting for the image to turn to static, or to distort as it typically did where he was from. The longer he waited for something to happen, the more he realized it never would. Like awaiting the arrival of a friend who he hadn’t met yet. Everything was normal.
Toby made his way out of the house and into the outdoors. The boy had no regard for his appearance, no shame. He had the belief that he shouldn’t waste his breath trying to please a world that endlessly rejected him. The summer heat embraced his body as he eyed his surroundings. Toby made note of every car, house, neighbor mowing their lawn. He twitched and turned to every bird flying, tree swaying. Every stranger he passed as he walked down the sidewalk of the neighborhood he had walked a thousand times made his fist clench in preparation. His hand would make its way down to his side, ready to grab a hatchet that no longer resided on the belt he was no longer wearing.
As he looked at the large, overbearing forest that he was approaching at the end of the street, Toby could only think back to the last time he had witnessed it in all its mightiness and size. When he entered the woods, all he thought about was the fire. The heat that scorched him, the ash that choked him, the smoke that scraped at his lungs. The blood of his father that he wore like a glove on his hands. Compared to the night Toby Rogers died, the now once again seventeen year old boy felt odd standing alongside the tall trees he had once burnt to ash. The boy looked out at the vastness of the wide green forest, taking it all in, as he did last time he was there. This time, there was no fire, no blood, no tragedy. There was no static. No faceless entity.
“Are you listening?” Toby called out to the endless nothingness. In reply, there was a harmony of birds chirping. A warm summer breeze danced past him. He stood silently, eagerly awaiting a response from the eldritch being who tortured him for years. A masochistic desperation for a sign that he wasn’t left behind. He felt healthy, clean. A cleanliness that drove him mad. It stripped him from all he was. Toby was left bare and small standing directionless in the midst of the woods. He choked back his frustration and turned to make his way back home. There was nothing there for him.
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