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twstbookclub · 4 months

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Unexpectedly Cute

Summary: You were grumbling about Grim and his absurd eating habits, when you found a small cactus in the courtyard. When you picked it up, you didn't think you'd see another side of Jack that day. He didn't expect to see another side of you, either. POV: 2nd Person Pronouns: Gender-neutral Admin/Writer: Cressa🦋 Tags: Fluff, Romantic/Platonic, Tiny Cactus!!, Tsundere Jack Howl (that's putting it superficially), MC is a short and feisty firecracker in this Word Count: 1, 879 hi, i'm alive. i genuinely have a hard time writing jack, ngl. prompts for him were being switched around, and college is still kicking my ass. it's been months, really. although, i want to thank everyone who stuck around and waited for us to post fics again. i'm going to be busy again some time soon, but i hope i get to my drafts before i have to go back to the grind. again, thank you so much and i hope you enjoy reading 💕

Jack Howl has always been an enigma to you. He was an open book most of the time. His cheeks flushed whenever you pointed out his concern for others. His eyebrows pinched together every time you called him kind. He always averted his eyes and turned away from you whenever you smiled knowingly, as if you held his secrets in the palm of your hand.

Yet, he never talked much about himself. He always tagged along with your unusual, ragtag group of friends. Even if Ace and Deuce’s fights annoyed him sometimes, he still stayed. His ears twitched at every little noise. His tail wagged whenever he was happy, and it slowly swayed from side to side whenever he was content. You always noticed the little things about Jack, but he never breathed a word about his life outside of Night Raven College nor his personal preferences.

He was an open book, but the pages were inked with ciphers and riddles that hid all of his secrets.

“Why the hell…?” You trailed off with a raise of your brow. In your hands sat a small pot with a succulent in it. Its soil was a rich brown, surrounding a round and prickly cactus. Judging by the soil and the color of the cactus, it was well taken care of.

Your hand hovered over the thorns, but you pulled away with a shake of your head. As mesmerized as you were by the tiny and cute plant, you had your priorities.

For example, why the hell was a succulent—that was given this much love and care—lying on the courtyard?

You were on your way to Sam’s store for a quick restock of tuna cans for Grim (that tiny rascal got greedy and ate a month’s supply), when you found this little thing. It laid on its side on the grass near the stone pathway. The moment you held it in your hands, you couldn’t help but admire how adorable and pretty the cactus was.

“Now, what are you doing here?” You mumbled to yourself as you continued on your way to Sam’s store. “You look like you’ve been really loved by your owner, so how did you end up here?”

With how engrossed you were in admiring the little cactus, you failed to hear a choked noise and the abrupt halt of footsteps behind you. You continued to give the succulent all of your attention with gentle hands and more murmurs.

You were an enigma to Jack Howl. You rarely talked about yourself, yet you revealed so much of yourself. He remembered how a scowl always marred your face, specifically the times when someone annoyed you. He remembered the fire in your eyes when you gnashed your teeth at Leona’s insults. He remembered the curses that spilled from your lips, whether it was spite for the assholes in NRC or your everyday self-expression. There was never a day that you spoke without cursing like a sailor drunk on booze and the salty sea air.

Jack was reminded of a wildfire every time he saw you. You wreaked havoc everywhere you went. A single touch—maybe a glimpse—from you seared your presence into someone’s mind, like an ember swelling into an inferno among a sea of trees. Like a moth to a flame, he gravitated towards you despite that faint voice warning him in the back of his mind.

The Savanaclaw freshman watched you smile, a miniscule quirk of your lips. The hands that cradled his potted cactus were the same ones that punched a sophomore, who mocked you for your short height. The eyes that held so much contempt and rage were looking at that succulent with quiet admiration, as if you were looking at the stars rather than a single plant.

Just now, you reminded Jack of a pure, white dandelion whose seeds danced and twirled in the wind.

Before Jack realized it, he clapped a hand on your shoulder with a gruff, “Hey.”

You jumped, clutching the little cactus close to your chest with a loud, “Son of a b—Jack!” One of the wolf beastman’s ears twitched, catching a hint of relief and exasperation in your voice. His eyes never missed the way you pulled the plant close to you, as if it was a child that should be protected. The soft admiration in your gaze was replaced with harsh and guarded eyes, the usual. Jack noticed how much he paid attention to you, and he became a bit embarrassed at the thought.

“That’s, uh, mine,” he stammered. Your eyes were drawn to the light flush on his cheeks. His gaze averted to the side, and he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. Subtly, you glanced at Jack’s tail.

It was wagging from side to side, for some reason.

Looking back at the taller beastman, you drawled, “I didn’t know you have a green thumb, Jack. Maybe I should ask you to help me with gathering ingredients for Professor Crewel next time.”

The embarrassed blush grew worse, darkening his cheeks. The sharp edges in his eyes returned with a glower. You couldn’t help the grin that stretched across your face when you heard Jack growl.

“... Don’t push it, Prefect. It’s not like I’d help you out every time you call me.”

Yet, he always did.

You shrugged and laughed with a playful nudge to Jack’s side. Careful hands returned the succulent to him as you chirped, “You say that, but you always come running whenever I do. Just admit it, Jack.”

He shot you an unimpressed look, and you laughed as he took the tiny pot from you. Jack’s ears twitched again. His eyes drank in the way your smile lit your face; how your irises hid behind the chub of your cheeks. For someone who’d pounce at anyone with murderous intent in that petite body, he didn’t think he’d see you smile like that.

Jack’s tail wagged behind him, fast enough to fan cool air to anyone who stood behind him. You silently mused about how it could sweep the dirt off the ground if it wagged any faster.

“It’s not like you to lose something,” you pointed out with that grin still on your face.

Jack clutched the pot with a stutter and a furrow of his brows. You nearly laughed at his embarrassment, and you couldn’t help but muse to yourself.

Jack can actually be cute like this. He’s even being gentle with the pot. Cute.

“I-I was taking the cactus out for some sun,” Jack began with a frown as the blush was fading from his cheeks, “when Ruggie found me and told me that Leona needed me for something. The next thing I knew, it's in your hands.”

“The little guy took a tumble, then,” you concluded with a look at the cactus in Jack’s hands. “It was on the ground when I found it. Where did you leave it earlier?”

“On that bench.” Jack nudged his head towards one of the benches in the courtyard. A patch of sunlight shone over one of its edges, while the shadow of the tree stretched across the grass.

Jack watched you stare at the bench with a hum. With your attention occupied like this, he observed you without warranting unwanted embarrassment.

You bit your lip, pulling the bottom into your mouth. A million thoughts seemed to run through your mind behind that gaze of yours. A faint breeze rustled your hair and tickled your skin—and Jack couldn’t look away, for some reason.

Your eyes darted towards Jack, and he nearly flinched from getting caught staring at you. Although, you didn’t seem to think of it that way.

“I tried to scoop back some of the soil that fell out,” you told him with a lopsided smile. It looked awkward on you, as if you’re not used to smiling this much in a day.

“You’re lucky that the pot’s made of plastic. Maybe some jerk decided it was funny to ruin someone’s day like this.”

Jack continued to watch you mumble speculations under your breath. He didn’t realize it, but his hands gripped the pot and his tail wagged faster.

Who knew you could be this mellow? Your concern for his plant was kind of cute.

“Thanks,” Jack told you with a small smile, “for finding my cactus.”

You stopped mumbling, and you looked up at Jack again. You looked surprised at his gratitude, as if being thanked was rare for you. While Jack drank in the foreign expressions you made, a thought suddenly dawned on him.

“By the way, what are you doing out here?”

That seemed to snap you back to reality. The familiar frown returned, one that Jack vividly remembered from the little time he spent with you.

“Grim ate too much tuna,” you grumbled with an annoyed glare. It was as if you could see the monster-cat right in front of you.

“Now, I gotta buy more from Sam. That little bastard, I swear to the Seven—”

Jack noticed that you mentioned the Seven, rather than the usual God. You were getting comfortable with the lingo here. The corner of his lips twitched at that. Still, he made sure not to smile. If he did, you’d just tease him more, and this conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere.

“I’ll walk you there. It wouldn’t feel right if I left you after you helped me out.”

You paused at Jack’s words. A closed-lip smile lit your face, and the beastman couldn’t help but admire the sudden change in expression.

“Really?” You asked, and he caught the relief in your tone again. “Thanks. You sure you wouldn’t mind? I mean, you still have that little guy to take care of.”

You kept calling his tiny cactus a little guy. Cute. That was all Jack could think about. For someone who was callous and confrontational like you, you were being cute right now.

“I don’t mind. Besides,” Jack slightly raised the potted succulent to make his point, “think of it as returning the favor.”

You saw Jack’s tail wagging and his ears perking up. He probably didn’t notice, and you grinned at that.

“If you insist!” You chirped, before slipping an arm in his and leading him towards Sam’s store. He stumbled and stuttered again, before he exclaimed, “O-oi, hold on!”

“No can do.” Your grin grew wider, as you tugged the taller and larger freshman with you. Even if he was stronger and stockier than you, Jack let you drag him around.

“You put yourself in this situation, so I’ll make you carry the rest of the cans!”

Who knew he could seriously be this cute and earnest? For someone as intimidating and quiet as Jack, his reactions are earnestly cute.

You and Jack fell into another conversation—teasing him and earning an embarrassed blush—as you two walked to Sam’s store. The silence in the courtyard was disrupted with amused laughter and mortified grumbles.

As the afternoon sun showered the two in a golden glow, the cactus seemed to look more lively and vibrant in Jack’s hands now. It basked in the two’s company, as if it was the sunlight it needed all along.

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jwirecs · 11 months

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RECOMMENDED STRAYKIDS FICS OF MAY-JUNE 2023💖

hello, hello! here are my recs for straykids for may-june! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝 (i discovered that combining atz/svt/skz&txt into one post may be too much and too long + might take too much space in the tags for each respective groups so i’ve decided to make them all separate!)

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

03:45AM || @luvtora💕✅

↳ late night snack run with chan.

Sun-Kissed Ripples || @lvllylix💕💔✅💯

↳ Joining your boyfriend, Chan, and the rest of Stray Kids for a day by the pool proves to be an unforgettable adventure filled with laughter, splashes, and heartwarming moments.

Falling For You || @hwxnghyynjin🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ (no summary, but this is the first single dad!stray kids that i have read so far, and i love it)

From Eden || @lvandrmoon 🔞💔✅💯

↳ god created adam & eve… and then eve fell in love with the snake in her garden.

I Really F**king Like You || @jl-micasea-fics🔞💕💔✅

↳ Tinder matched and subsequently ghosted by the hot guy that lives across from you, you’re mostly resigned to singleton life, dejected and somewhat fed up. That is, until a screwed up delivery turns things around, in the most unexpected of ways.

Morning With Chan || @yxngbxkkie💕💔✅💯

↳ (no summary, but its basically different scenarios of each member and its cute af so read it. chan is linked up there, the others are: minho, changbin, hyunjin, jisung, felix, seungmin, jeongin.)

You Have Smaller Hands Than Him || @blue-jisungs💕✅

↳ (no summary, title says it all. shts still cute af)

Stray Kids Reaction || @yangfleurs 💔✅

↳ They call you clingy

Cuffin Szn || @luvrhyune💕✅

↳ winter was the time that any couple thrived, seeing as they had each other to keep warm. you so badly wanted to experience what it was like to have a partner during winter time, thank god you have your warm, muscular best friend; seo changbin, to make your winter wonderland wishes come true

It’s You? || @caseiloveu💕✅💯💯

↳ yn likes three things: their friends, discounts, and the anonymous 3racha podcast provided by three random strangers on campus. especially j.one has won their heart in whatever parasocial relationship yn has found themselves in. this peaceful life is interrupted when a misunderstanding ensues - resulting in... what exactly? all yn knows is that they need to avoid jisung at all costs, all while their friends have other plans in mind.

Star Lost || @nomniki💕💔✅💯

↳ everyone has a unique link to their soulmate, you have the pleasure of knowing whenever your soulmate is lying in the form of tall tales inked across your skin. you don’t expect to find them soon, and especially not in the middle of your nine am lecture explaining why he has no homework

Prank Texts || @tyunphoria💕✅

↳ ”she’s busy” prank - hyung line (im honestly cackling at all of the skz texts that im reading. got me in my bed kicking my feet and sht)

Prank Texts || @il-i-sam💕✅

↳ trying to prank them with an exotic pet

When You Call Them By Their Full Name || @1800pinkpark💕✅

↳ calling the maknae line by their full names instead of pet names (hyung line here)

Do check out all of the other straykids fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

#stray kids scenarios #stray kids fluff #stray kids angst #stray kids smut #stray kids social media au #stray kids established relationship au #stray kids texts au #stray kids reactions #stray kids fic recs #stray kids recs

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takenbypeter · 11 months

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Anything For You Two

Bucky Barnes x reader

Words: 775

Authors note: this is the last part to the slow burn coworkers to friends/lovers thing. it’s nothing special tho but I hope you all like it. Thank you for all the love I’ve received on these fics 💜💕💜💕

Anything To Make Him Smile - Anything To Make You Smile

tag list: @athenabarnes

“I’ll be quick, just needa find my watch.”

“Okay, but why am I here though?” Bucky asked. It had been a few days since they last visited—days since Bucky left you the kitten picture, and now Sam had dragged him back to look for some watch his sister Sarah had gifted him a while back.

“Ever heard two heads are better than one? Look around,” Sam instructed. “I’ll head a floor up and check there.”

Sam didn’t leave him much option as he bolted before Bucky could argue. “Guess I’m looking for a watch,” he sighed, beginning to walk around absentmindedly.

He searched nonchalantly, eyes focused on the ground but not really looking when he heard your voice, “hey, what are you doing?” You asked, causing his head to lift.

He shrugged, head leaning to the side for a moment, “hey. Sam dragged me here to look for his watch. Apparently it holds sentimental value.”

“Oh well…can I help?”

Bucky would rather have you help than anybody else any day. Plus it could help ward off any who may want to small talk with him.

“Yeah. Just look around.”

“Wouldn’t it be in the lost and found?”

“We checked there, nothing.”

You let out a hmm, before joining him in the search. Together you walked side by side with your eyes mostly focused on the floor.

“Feeling better?” Bucky’s voice rang out as they walked down the hallway that seemed longer than usual.

“Oh yeah, for sure…still having nightmares?” You knew it was still a touchy subject but luckily he felt comfortable enough to talk with you about that whole situation.

Bucky let out a deep breath that he seems to always be carrying, “always.”

Another hmm left your throat. “So hey, I didn’t get to thank you…for that little kitten picture, it really made my day.”

Bucky’s ears perked up at the sound of your praise, “‘s nothing. I wasn’t sure if you were going to like it.”

“I loved it, I actually have it with me right now,” you said, patting your pocket, “sometimes I just look at it when I’m bored,” you explained although you truly didn’t need to, “I didn’t know you were the cat type.”

Bucky’s brows raised at that statement, “are you kidding? I love cats. I’ve always wanted one but I travel a lot so…”

“Maybe you can get one and share it with someone you trust, that way even when you’re gone the cat’ll be taken care of.”

“Maybe…” Bucky couldn’t really think of anyone. Everyone he knew was an agent or a hero and we’re always busy. But then he thought about you.

No, he couldn’t do that to you. “…maybe one day,” he muttered. Frankly the two of you still didn’t know a lot about each other but Bucky found himself wanting to spend some more time with you. He was building up the courage, trying to place how he was going to ask you without making anything weird.

“I know this is strange, but do you ever wanna grab a drink together?” You asked.

Bucky's mouth opened, slightly surprised that you beat him to it.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Great! Um…you have a phone?”

“I have burners.”

“Here I’ll just give you my number then and you message me whenever.”

Finally making your ways to the end of the hall, you both stopped at one of the nearby rooms. You went inside finding a blank piece of paper while he stood outside the room. He watched while you wrote a series of numbers down before coming back out and held it out to him.

Once he took it that’s when Sam arrived. “Whew, you’re not going to believe this but after all that I realized my watch is back at my place.”

Sam was quick to notice you standing there, “hey,” he waved and you waved back. “Hey Sam, I was just heading that way,” you pointed down the hall, “good to see you though,” you said before waving at the two and walking away.

While you did so Sam’s eyes fell to the paper Bucky still had in his hands, “so I take it my plan worked huh?”

Bucky folded the sheet of paper, shoving it in his pocket. “Your plan? What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about my plan to get you and Y/n together.”

“Okay, all you did was leave us alone, that’s not a plan,” Bucky argued as the two walked down the hallway to the exit.

“Oh that’s a plan alright.”

Bucky didn’t know it yet but he would definitely be thanking Sam for that, “plan” down the road.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes imagine #marvel x reader #marvel imagine #marvel fanfiction #marvel fanfic #mcu x reader #mcu imagine #mcu fanfic #mcu fanfiction #avengers imagine #avengers x reader #avengers fanfic #avengers fanfiction

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redactedbloop · 2 months

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Music Tag Game!

Thank you so much @running-tweezers for tagging me 💕💕😭

Rules: On Repeat playlist, shuffle, post the first 10 songs

Im gonna tag people up here cause this post feels too long lol: @mokozroach @bubblergoespop @ilaria-jinx and anyone else who wants to do this (tag me, i love getting new music recommendations)

Alright let’s get into it!

….outting myself as an emo kid right out the gate I see. Sometimes I wanna feel like an angsty middle schooler and that’s okay

I absolutely adore Noah Kahan. Stick Season is one of my albums of all time, hands down

This song has me in a chokehold. Get it? Chokehold? Im fun at parties. ANYWHO Sleep Token 🥴 There is something so alluring about their music. I wanna bite it

Heavy pop does it for me sometimes. If you go listen to their other new song, Brag, there’s a speaking bit that kinda sounds like Huxley

SPEAKING OF. 1:10 for those interested.

Hell Yeah. This song is sung entirely by Poppy and she does a phenomenal job. I love Bad Omen’s social commentary

Also outing myself as a kpop stan got it cool cool. This song is actually my roman empire. I have thought about it since the first performance video came out in like 2017

This wouldnt be a song post on my blog without these guys. I love them so so much

I recently learned this song has an acoustic version and ive never been happier. It’s lowkey got me 🥴🥴 somethin bout it hits different

And ending on my favorite song at the moment! I swear this rewired something in my brain the first time i heard it. The chorus does things to me

#Spotify #god my music taste is so weird #i want you to know the next songs after these were mitski then my chemical romance then peace prc #thank you again for the tag!! you’re the best

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jemgirl86 · 9 months

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Thanks for the tag @jbarneswilson 💕

Okay, this is a snippet from my Sam & Bucky are both single dads AU that won that poll thingy from a couple of weeks ago. Full disclosure, somehow that fic has started to turn into a whole thing lol.

Sam had neither the time nor the inclination to deal with… whatever this was, especially that morning, and he was about to say so. His hands came to rest on his hips, and he adopted his most no nonsense pose.

However, before he could get another word out, the strangest thing happened: the guy smiled at him. Not just smiled, but full on grinned. It lit up his face, transforming him from a smirking jackass to a… well, a smiling jackass. But a smiling jackass with adorable dimples and eyes that seemed like they should’ve been twinkling given the level of grinning that was going on, but instead were apparently suddenly content to simply just bore into Sam’s own like they were trying to figure out the reasoning behind every secret he’d ever kept.

Tagging @six2vii @funsized-loser @katatonicimpression @chkemo but feel free to ignore me lol

#sambucky #wip wednesday #wip game

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risingsh0t · 1 month

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NELL X WAKUU (CI)

LOTTIE X IRA (VTM)

ANZU X GOJO (JJK)

CLEMENTINE X SAM (SDV)

tagged by @carlosoliveiraa @rhettsabbott @marivenah to make some couples in this picrew 💕 thank you!! ira belongs to @jendoe 🫶

tagging @leviiackrman @carrionsflower @queennymeria @bbrocklesnar @florbelles

@lavampira @thedeadthree @shadowglens @vvanessaives @adelaidedrubman

@shadowsofrose @imogenkol @shellibisshe @gwynbleidd @elvves

@jackiesarch @unholymilf @fenharel @faerune @rolangf

@loriane-elmuerto @inafieldofdaisies @zevlor if you want to!

#tag game #picrew #oc: nell #oc: lottie #oc: anzu #oc: clementine #idk if the tags are still broken or if they work for mobile but #doing it in case since they were behaving strangely #apologies for gojo looking goofy. best hair i could find 😂

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jrooc · 6 months

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Thanks @callivich for the questions the tag (and @mybrainismelted💕)! Do I want to talk FanFic and Gallavich? Always!

What’s a fic you’ve read more than once?

So many 😅

Old Rules for New Sidepieces

Cassanova Catering Conflict by HorrorBusiness

And some cathartic ones like:

Ian Gallagher is a Haunted Man by Lalablowlooza

Lately @sam-loves-seb's Loving you With No Conditions

2. What’s a gifset you always have to reblog?

The dock scene. Mickey's Mickey-ness

3. What’s a headcanon you can’t stop thinking about?

Ian play-what-cool Gallagher. Mickey having a lot of kinks. Bisexual Carl.

4. What’s a fanart you love looking at?

@sweetperversiongirl's art or there's a couple images by @steorie that I just stare at sometimes

5. What’s an idea you’d love to create if you had the time/inspiration?

A magical story where Mickey is a witch ✨

6. What’s something you’ve discovered since entering this fandom? A new trope you love? A different analysis of the show? Something else?

Soulmates. I love the magic/creature stories too which I didn't think I would at first.

7. What’s your favourite season? And has this changed after multiple rewatches of the show?

S4. Mickey's growth is everything in this season.

8. What’s a plot hole you wish had been answered or resolved?

Yevgeny! Why do they talk about kids in S11 and just not mention him? Drives me crazy they would drop such a big plotline and be like this is okay!

9. What line/dialogue/description from something else (a poem, a book, a tv show, a movie, or something else) do you feel describes Ian and Mickey’s relationship?

But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me. - Circe by Madeline Miller

Tagging @such-a-barbarian @ian-galagher @francesrose3 @energievie @michellemisfit @i-think-you-mean-reduction @meagaboooo @skylerwinchester @stocious @mmmichyyy @transmickey @softmick @bawlbrayker @deedala

Come play with me (if you want)!

Original Questions

#fanfiction #fanfic questions #tag game #gallavich fanfic #mickey milkovich

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gallawitchxx · 3 months

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picrew saturday night 💕🫧

i was tagged by some sweeties (@heymrspatel @metalheadmickey @heymacy @sgtmickeyslaughter & @darlingian ) to do this picrew! thanks sweeties!

tagging @whatwouldmickeydo @gardenerian @howlinchickhowl @creepkinginc @ohkate @xninetiestrendx @sam-loves-seb & anyone else who wants to play! no pressure, just smooches 😘

#today’s been 🗣 terrible 🗣#but this made me feel nice 😊#thanks juju for kicking us off #picrew #tagged

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geralt-of-baevia · 1 year

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Begin Again: Chapter Two

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Summary: When Penny starts working at AFC Richmond as their new head photographer, she catches the eye of a certain mustached, happy-go-lucky, head coach of the team. But can their spark endure through the season’s pressures and the demons of their past?

Pairing: Ted Lasso x OFC (Penny Fletcher)

Word count: 2.3k

Warnings: Uhhh, nudity, accidental seeing of said nudity, language, etc.

A/N: I love me a slow burn, but I don't know if that's what this is gonna be yet. 😝 Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter! I'm excited to get this story really going.

Beta: Thank you to @midnightswithdearkatytspb for proofreading again 💕💕

Tiny Tag List: @tegan8314 @rosesheerio (Let me know if you want to get added!)

My first week at Richmond AFC was in some ways like being in school again, and I gained about 30 new close friends. All of the players were exuberantly nice, and by the end of the week I was treated like one of the guys. It was nice to be somewhere where I felt so loved and cherished, it wasn’t something I was used to.

Thursday afternoon was set for me to try out my hand at taking playing shots to practice for their games. I was excited to finally get some action shots of the guys since I had spent most of the week taking photo of the facility and clubhouse. This was the first I was finally getting to photograph the guys, the real thing I was excited for.

I walked out onto the pitch with the players, but stayed back at the sideline. I took out my camera and took some candid photos of their comradery as they filed onto the green. As I clicked away, I was completely oblivious that someone came up to stand next to me.

“Are things bigger or smaller when you look through that tiny window on the back of that giant contraption?”

I jumped at Ted’s voice, pulling my camera away from my face and trying to focus on him as I readjusted my eyes.

“Well, this lens, from this perspective at least, makes them smaller,” I said with a smirk.

Ted and I hadn’t gotten to interact all that much over the last few days. We said hello to each other every time we passed each other in the hallway, and occasionally had small talk before or after the day, but not a whole lot other than that. Although, every time we did talk the conversations got longer, and we would both always linger after our talks, like neither of us wanted it to end.

“But if I had this other lense here on my hip,” I said, gesturing to the lense on the left side of my holster, “if I put that one on it would look like Sam was just as close to me as you are right now.”

“Well damn, I didn’t know being a photographer was like being a wizard!” Ted said with astonishment. I laughed.

“Oh, you have no idea! I can then put them on the computer and make stuff disappear. Like zits, scars, people!”

“People?! That escalated quickly,” he said with a laugh.

He nudged my shoulder with his own, looking out at the pitch at the guys. He had on a pair of brown Ray-Ban sunglasses, a matching AFC tracksuit, and a dumb white visor. I shouldn’t think something like that on him was attractive, but I did. And him nudging my shoulder ever so much made my heart beat like crazy in my chest.

“Yes, people, Ted,” I said as I shook my head, looking at the back of my camera and clicking through my photos. I felt him take a half step closer to me and peer over my shoulder.

“Man, you really are talented, Penny,” he said, his voice a little lower this time, and more serious.

I felt a shiver go down my spine as his chest pressed against my shoulder when he leaned in to get a closer look. It took everything in me not to relax against him. He was so warm and smelled like fresh laundry and sandalwood and grass. I tried to focus on the back of my camera and not how my body seemed to grow hot and numb.

I swallowed hard. “T-Thanks Ted.”

“Coach! Penny will send us those photos this weekend, you can look later,” I heard Coach Beard say from behind us. Ted immediately jumped, placing his hand instinctually on my arm before taking a step back.

“Yes Coach! Penny, it uh-it was nice to talk to you.” I looked up at him as he addressed me, nodding his head before following Beard to the pitch. I giggled a little as I noticed he was holding his clipboard no longer at his chest, but lower now as if to cover himself. A part of me hoped that was because of me.

Towards the end of practice, I had gotten some really good shots and I was excited to see them. The coaches had to go see Ms. Welton about something, so it was now just me and the guys fooling aroun. As I was looking at the back of my camera again, Jamie got my attention.

“Oi! Penny! I wanna try out this new slide thing, do you think you could get a wicked picture of that?” he asked after jogging over to me. I shrugged.

“Sure! Let me just get into position.” I walked across the sideline and in line with him but about ten yards back. I crouched down and held my camera up, framing him for his slide.

“Whenever your ready, Jamie!” I shouted to him.

First Jamie was running towards me in the viewfinder, then suddenly I was being crashed into, my camera flying through the air and landing in with a crack. I laid there, more worried about my broken equipment than the pain I was feeling in my side from where Jaime collided with me, or the fact that I was now covered in mud from head to toe.

“Penny! Oh my god, are you okay!?” Sam was the first to make it over to me, his face hovering over my view of the sky above. Soon the rest of the team was surrounding me before I could even think of getting up and seeing the damage.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, motioning for the guys to back up. “I appreciate the concern gentlemen, but I’m fine. Just very muddy now.”

“Oh Miss Penny, I’m so sorry…”

My head snapped around to see my camera in Dani’s hands, my lens cracked down the middle. I sighed before looking down and seeing the lens that was on my hip no longer there, but now a few feet away and broken as well. I groaned, rubbing my face in my hands.

“Penny, I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll buy you a new whatever you need. I’ll replace everything,” I heard Jaime say somewhere in front of me. I looked up to see him crouched in front of me, he was covered in mud too. His words were genuine, I could tell.

“That’s very kind of you Jamie, because I wouldn’t be able to replace it otherwise,” I told him with an awkward laugh. A small smile formed in the corner of his mouth, and he extended a hand out to help me up.

After assessing the damage to my lenses and camera body (that ended up also breaking), Jaime told me he was going to leave practice and go right to a shop and get me my replacements. I looked down and saw that I was completely covered in mud, and I’m pretty sure it was in my hair as well. Sam came over to me and placed a friendly hand on my shoulder.

“The other guys and I talked, and if you would like to, you clean up in our locker room. We’d be glad to stay out here and play longer. Also, Dani and I are offering some of our extra Richmond clothes for you to change into. You can bring them back tomorrow,” he explained, a big smile on his face. Sam had one of the kindest hearts I had ever met, and I appreciated his offer.

“Actually, that would be great Sam. Could you show me?”

He nodded before we headed into the clubhouse and he showed me the showers. We stopped at the lockers so he could give me the spare clothes he had mentioned before, and get me a couple of towels as well. When I finally passed a mirror I got to see the damage done: mud traced through my hair, contrasting against my dirty blonde color. Mud all over my chest and neck, all places that would need to be scrubbed.

“And don’t worry Miss Penny, the guys and I will all stay outside until you’re done.”

I thanked him again, truly appreciating not having to walk home filthy. As soon as he was around the corner I began stripping out of my dirty sweatshirt and jeans, excited to get the mud off of me and warm up. I turned on the water and once it was hot enough I got underneath the stream, the hot water rushing over my head and down my body, immediately warming me up.

I looked around the giant shower and found some random men’s 2 in 1 to wash my hair and body with until I could get home for a proper shower. The scent was strong, filling up my nostrils and the shower room: I would definitely need to shower again when I got home. Once I felt the mud was sufficiently off of me and the water ran clear, I turned to face the shower head and just basked in the warm water for one last time.

Just as I turned to face away from the water, I opened my eyes to see Ted walk by. We both froze as he and I made eye contact, and I watched as his eyes trailed down my wet, naked body, and then back up to my eyes again. I could have covered myself, I could have screamed or shrieked at him to go away, but I just froze.

After what felt like ten minutes of just staring at each other, Ted finally broke the silence. “S-Sorry, Penny.”

He started to take a half step towards me, and then immediately turned on his heel to head back the way he came, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning his gaze to the ground.

Even though he was gone, I stood there for another couple of minutes, still in shock as the water beat against my head. Eventually, I turned off the water, hurriedly dried off, and got dressed in my borrowed clothes, grabbing my dirty clothes to put in my bag. I could have said goodbye to the team or told them I was leaving, but I just wanted to get home. I didn’t even care that my hair was still wet.

Once I got to my flat, I ran upstairs and shut the door hastily, leaning against it. I rubbed my face vigorously in my hands, the vision of Ted’s face staring at me not wanting to leave from behind my eyes.

“Um, what the fuck happened to you?”

I lifted my head to see my roommate Jo standing in the kitchen, a cuppa in her hand.

“What do you mean?” I asked sarcastically, dropping my bag to the floor next to me.

“You’ve freshly showered because your hair is wet and you reek of men’s shampoo, you’re wearing an AFC Richmond tracksuit that’s too big for you, and you wouldn’t have dropped your bag like that if your camera and stuff was in there, just to name a few,” she said with a smug smile. Her eyebrows snapped together, “now tell me what happened.”

“Can I tell you after I shower the man scent off of me? I actually kind of hate it.”

“Fine.”

I should have known better than to think Jo would let me shower in peace, following me into the bathroom, her tea still in her hand.

“Do I get no privacy, Jolene?” I asked her as I began to strip out of the blue and red tracksuit. She sat down on the toilet and laughed, shaking her head.

“Of course not, Penelope. Now, shower so you tell me what happened at work today,” she said, sipping on her cup. I rolled my eyes and giggled.

I hopped in the shower and told her about what happened, both Jamie breaking my camera and then Ted seeing me shower.

“Wait, wait, wait. I’m sorry, but what the fuck did you just say?” she asked almost heatedly. I laughed as I heard her almost spit out her tea.

“Yeah, he saw me completely stark naked. Naked as the day I was born and I was showering too! I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m completely mortified.”

“Okay, so what did you do when he saw you?”

“Um, nothing? I just stood there like an idiot.”

The shower curtain suddenly pulled back to reveal Jo staring at me with a shocked face, and instinctively I covered myself. I mentally kicked myself at that moment, why couldn’t I have done that with Ted?

“Well, obviously you wanted him to see you naked,” she said with a sly smile.

“Why do you say that?!” I asked, almost offended at her words.

“Um, because I’ve seen you naked a million and one times and you just covered yourself,” she said with a knowing look. I scoffed at her and turned around to not face her. “Also, did he see the tits and bits half or the bum half?”

I whipped back around to face her and she had the most devilish grin on her face.

“Can you please go back to your seat on the toilet? I’d really like to finish showering and I can’t with you staring at me.”

“Fiiiiine,” she said with a roll of her eyes. She dropped the shower curtain and disappeared.

After a moment of silence between us, I sighed before telling her, ‘It was my tits and bits.”

“Oh, that definitely went in his spank bank then.”

#ted lasso #ted lasso fanfic #ted lasso fanfiction #ted lasso x reader #ted lasso x ofc #jason sudeikis #florence pugh

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