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cinnamonest · 3 years

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Albedo idol girl darling thoughts M A N I F E S T E D

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Well, to be entirely honest, he thinks the whole idol thing is a little dumb.

For someone like him, at least. He's a PhD student in his final semester, lots of work to be done and all that. So, you know, he's a responsible, accomplished adult. Not the kind of person who gets into "that stuff," as he calls it in his head.

Nor does he even know how he encountered it... He just takes the occasional break from work to mindlessly open whatever app first pops into his vision and scroll through the feed. He's never watched anything like it in his life, so he's not exactly sure why he gets recommended some idol girl thing, and even less sure why he taps it without really thinking. Probably one of those videos that gets recommended to everyone. Well, can't be that, it doesn't have that many views... Probably loosely connected to some video game he's searched before or something. He's familiar with idols and what they are, and the subculture surrounding them, but he's never really cared about it.

Honestly, it's kinda pathetic that a bunch of grown adult men get so obsessed over these girls, he thinks as he watches. He's seen the type. Lonely, asocial dudes, most definitely virgins whose only female attention in their entire life is their mother, well into adulthood with no real social group to speak of.

...Not that he's much better off, but he hasn't quite sunk down to their level. The only reason he doesn't talk to people much is because they're busy, and he's even busier. He managed to make a few friends in undergrad years. Well, study partners who mooched off his notes since he was one of the top students, but same idea. They were people he spoke to more than once, which is what constitutes a friend, right? And for the record, one time in high school a girl in his class said she liked his hair. He hasn't changed the way he wears it since. Whenever he's sad, he thinks about that compliment from 10+ years ago, and it makes him feel a little better. But now, he's constantly slammed with work and research.

And his acquaintances are also all busy. He sees notifications every now and then from social media he never checks. Everyone is getting married at this stage in life, both friends and even other PhD students in his department. Not that he's ever been invited to a wedding, he just overhears a lot of conversations, sees notifications of posts. And he will too, eventually. He just has to finish up his degree, and then... Meet a girl. Well, that's actually the second step, step one would be finding out how to go about meeting a girl. He's... Never done it before. Probably does not happen sitting in the research lab at 11:30 pm on YouTube. He's talked to one of the other PhD students who's a girl before. And only stutters sometimes. He was even able to look her in the face while he talked to her once. That's a good start.

Ok, so maybe he is a little bit pathetic, but not as bad as... These guys. Reading the comments of the video actually make him feel a little better about himself, because frankly, they're kinda wild. The worship and fawning over girls is one thing, but they even have timestamps referring to various members like "she's super cute here!" Or "you can kinda see her thigh at 3:12!" Etc etc. Yeesh, creepy. And they get into comment fights over who is the best member, as if it even matters. It's fascinating in a human-social-experiment sort of way, the manifestation of a subculture and how humans interact with each other. On and on it goes, hundreds of commenters. He pays more attention to the comments than the actual video, but the song is kinda catchy in that annoying sort of way, and the girls are cute, just kinda... The typical thing he'd expect from idol groups. But the building will close soon, so he taps back to home screen and swipes the app closed.

Unfortunately, the algorithm remembers.

And he's not certain why he clicks the next one either, the following day. The lunch breaks he takes are usually pretty rushed. Not that he has specific class times at his level of academia, but he likes to get his work done. He intentionally eats either a bit later or earlier than the lunch crowd to avoid crowds and interactions. Finds a nice secluded little table tucked away. So when he opens it back up, what do you know, several more videos get recommended. It's absent minded when he taps on one, the kind of numb-brained entertainment every modern person indulges in, videos you wouldn't really be interested in but just watch because they're there.

Ok, this is really creepy. These dudes have made compilation videos of close ups of each specific girl. It's the same group as the video he saw before, same little lewd costumes. Admittedly the girls are kinda cute. He can kinda understand the appeal. But he's not like those guys, he would never become like, obsessed with them.

The song is actually really catchy. The kind of mindlessly addictive, repetitive pop music that's the same four chords over and over, each song is so similar you can't really tell them apart, but it gets stuck in your head anyway. This group has... nine members. Who needs that many singers in one group? It's not like a band or anything, they all just sing and do their little choreography. Guess that's a form of talent, even though he doesn't really get it.

Some of the groups he sees in recommended videos are cute and wholesome, and while this group is cute too, there's a very... Blatantly intentional lewdness to their poses and costumes. A hypersexualized sort of cuteness. Clearly marketed at lonely losers who have nothing better to do with their time than obsess over a girl who will never even know they exist.

He taps another video.

So many compilations, yikes. He has to give the guys credit, they're insanely loyal to the individual member that they decide to fixate on. Oh, and they even make official figurines and posters for these girls, that's... Something.

And a few days later he can kinda recognize the girls. They have color themes, you know, identical costumes except each girl's is a different color. This lead one is red, this main backup is blue, etc etc. Lots of bright colors. Kinda hurts his eyes to be honest.

And he's seen compilations of every girl except... The pink one. The pink one is always kinda off to the side. Well, these groups do have their favoritism, there's apparently one or two lead singers in all of the major idol groups, and the rest are basically backups and dancers. Still, a lot of dudes get super devoted to the non-main girls. So yeah, he's never seen a compilation for the pink one... He can't always exactly remember which one is which but now he's seen enough to know the other girls' names. He's not sure what hers is though. So he googles it and gets the name.

Wonder why she doesn't have as many videos...? Oh, it's because she's the newest member. Only been around a few months. There's... A whole board dedicated to the group, which he's getting this information from. Wow, pathetic. What kind of person spends their free time browsing a forum for an idol group? Well, he's just doing it to find information, not for fun or anything. He was just curious. Now he knows and he can forget about it and never look at anything related to them again... after he types her name and group name into the YouTube search bar and checks the results out, that is.

Oh, so they do have some compilations for her, just not many. "(Name) thigh compilation." Fuck, these people have no limits to how creepy and pathetic they can get, he thinks... as he watches the video. Ok, admittedly there are some good thigh shots there. There's a comment. "At 4:26 you can see her panties." Pathetic. They're not wrong though. Just to be sure, you see, he tapped the timestamp, and you can, in fact, see them. Stripes. Cute.

But he still has to do his work. Can't get too invested in watching mindless videos all day. He's got a thesis to work on.

That makes him curious, though, he thinks as he goes about his research. Do these girls go to school? Do they like, skip college, or do they join some kind of performing arts school or...? So he googles it. He can remember the pink one's name now, so he just finds her Wikipedia page. Oh, so she joined right out of high school and has been in various groups ever since.

Wait, various groups? So she has more groups she's been in? What are those? Before he typed her name into the search along with the group name, but if he just searches her name he gets... A lot more content from earlier years. Huh. Didn't know some of them did group-hopping like that.

Still, no education. Must be all smiles and body and no brains. Guess that's all you really need. Yeah, looking at that whole act they do... All giggly and childish and lewd... She's probably not too bright. At least she's pretty and sings nice. And the thighs are rather good. Smooth looking. They have a sort of jiggle when she jumps up and down on stage. The thigh highs they make those girls wear have that nice little dip where the skin is compressed by the fabric. Like... right there at that closeup. He takes a screenshot.

It's readily available, he's already seen the video and knows the best parts, whereas searching for porn would take time. The sooner he can get the daily stress relief out of the way the sooner he can work on his thesis. So this way is faster. That's why he's jerking off to the thigh video and not taking the time to look for porn. Plus, it makes him cum faster. Which it probably shouldn't since it's just thighs, but... Probably has something to do with the tease of it all maybe. That makes sense.

Or maybe it's that cute little giggle he can hear at some parts. She smiles and jumps and spins and laughs.

...It makes him wonder what she'd look like crying. Scared. Whimpering. Covered in bruises and bite marks. The contrast between that state and the one on the screen. The process and the things he could do to get her from one to the other. Yeah, he realizes, it's that thought, rather than the happy giggling on video or tease aspect, that makes him cum.

He's aware that his... tastes... are a little on the fucked up side, but hey, there's plenty of bastards out there far worse than him.

One day he discovers she has social media platforms. He... Doesn't really have any. He doesn't have Twitter or Instagram or any of that but... He downloads the app and makes an account for each. Just to follow her. Ooh, they even have the option to get a notification every time she posts... That's good. Otherwise he might check too frequently. He sets a special sound effect for notifications for her socials. The first few times, you see, he would get super excited when his phone went off, only to be disappointed when it was just a work email. Thus, he made the separate sounds.

He wouldn't say he has a favorite, that sounds really cringey you know? He just... Likes her more than the others. ...Dammit, that's what a favorite is. Ok, maybe he has a favorite, that's not that bad. He's not obsessed. He hasn't bought any merchandise at all or anything, especially not member-specific merchandise. Which they do have, because he visited the store page for a while and spent all his willpower physically restraining himself from buying something. It's not that he's biased, he just thinks she's objectively better than the rest of the group. Which can be backed up with evidence, anyone with eyes could tell by watching the performances.

As to what specifically draws him to her... he's not certain, to be honest. Maybe it's because she's the least appreciated out of the group, new and all. The less popular one. Or maybe her personality... She seems so sweet, even though he knows it's probably just an act for the fans. Or maybe just those thighs. That's also a valid possibility.

He cracks and buys some of the merchandise. Only about $300 worth. But honestly, he gets more invested into just printing out pictures of you. Pasting them onto the wall above his desktop. It keeps him going when the nights are hard.

But he refrains from ever commenting on anything. Some of these losers are just... so embarrassing, he can't stomach the thought of being associated, even if it's just an anonymous comment online. It's still pretty... Distasteful. He still browses the boards every day. You're his lock screen now. And home screen. And also your solo is his ringtone. He only sets his phone on sound when he's alone at home, though, when he's at work he puts it on vibrate. He... doesn't want anyone hearing that. No offense. He has some appropriate amount of shame, unlike the other bastards.

And the girls probably know that most of their fans are these kind of loser men, right? She'd probably be surprised someone nearly graduating with a chemistry doctorate is sitting around watching these dumb videos. Is that more or less pathetic? He thinks less, hopefully.

In fact, the other fans kind of irritate him. They're really cringy and annoying and it gives him secondhand embarrassment. And something... Deeper. Something about seeing the comments upsets him on a visceral level. It's gross. Sure, he's grateful for the dudes who sit around and make a list of timestamps for upskirt shots and the like, but... It kinda bothers him, feeling like there's some other dude out there sitting around, watching these long videos with his gross eyes and recording the times of shots that get him off. It feels gross. But more like... A violation against you. Sure, your group is very blatantly sexualized and intentionally risque in clothing but... Still, it feels wrong for someone to go through and get to see all of that.

Well, someone else. It's ok for him, since he's not a gross degenerate like the rest of them. He does genuinely see himself as... Above them. You know how like, back in the day, how the nobles used to sit around and watch plays from the far back while the peasants gathered around the stage? It's like that. He's not a gross loser or a NEET or anything like that. He's got a life. Well... Not a social life, but he's doing better than them, at least he has a degree, and soon a higher degree, and a job. He has a lot of things they don't. Basic hygiene. Student loan debt. And uh... Well, he's probably more pleasant to interact with, at least he's not gonna be frothing at the mouth like an animal if he saw you in real life. He would certainly freeze up, but that's preferable, isn't it?

And one day there's a video circulating in the idol community - not that he's a part of it or anything, he just keeps getting the dumb videos and watching them for mindless entertainment - where some girl group had an attempted kidnapping. Not her group, but some other group. The video has gone viral. Some dude tried to rush the stage and pull one of the girls away. Apparently the cops found he had an obsession with her.

What an idiot. If you're gonna kidnap someone, put some effort in, jeez. It's not hard to figure out how to do it right.

If that were him, he wouldn't be that stupid, he'd just look for an interval where she's alone. They have those solo or breakout group songs where some of the girls are backstage, just get her then. Memorize the concert schedule, wear something over your face, chloroform her, and stuff her into something and walk right out. Easy.

....

He catches himself in the thought and realizes that might have been a bit creepy, but he was just thinking in terms of hypotheticals. If he was the kind of crazy to do that, that's what he'd do, that's all.

He's always enjoyed entertaining strategic thoughts, really. He's had a couple fantasies about how he would commit murders of this or that person before, and he's never murdered anyone, so thoughts don't lead to actions. He just... Really doesn't like those people, and the fantasies help him... Deal with it. He just likes to strategize about methods, and how he'd get away with it... Stuff like that. Actually, he's convinced it's a very normal thing, but no one wants to admit it. Everyone has detailed murder fantasies every now and then.

Which is why this is no different. He's just strategizing because it's fun. He has no intentions of doing anything for real. He just plans out the details like a game. And tells himself to just never think about it again.

Until one specific night that he's staring down at his screen. Lying in bed. He should be asleep, he needs to be up early tomorrow but... He's just checking to be sure he's reading this correctly. You're coming to his town? He wouldn't think so, since it's not too big, just your average college town. But still, you'll be right here, right in his general vicinity, not far away at all.

Not that he'd ever actually go to such an event. No way. He hates crowds with a passion. He hates loud environments even more. A concert is like his worst nightmare. Besides, knowing the general audience of your group, it'll be a bunch of sweaty NEET dudes who haven't showered in a month and haven't crawled out of their house in even longer. No thank you.

But.

That's when the thought pops back up. It's been a few months since that night he had that strategizing fantasy, and, well, he tried to forget it but... It kinda lingered in the back of his mind. And now it's back in full force.

He shrugs the idea off. It's crazy. He'd never actually do something like that. It was just a fantasy.

...But he could get away with it if he wanted to.

He's not scared or anything, no, he's confident in his strategizing. He knows he could. Totally. It's foolproof. There's no need to carry it out to know that, besides, what would he even do with you?

Well, he's pretty certain he does know what he would do with you. He's watched that thigh video maybe a hundred times now. And even if he won't admit it, he's jerked off to the exact same fantasy for like, several months.

He doesn't really... Think about it. Just kind of slips into subconscious actions. Autopilot. One click and well, there goes $400 on an amp case. His eyes gaze over the dimensions... And then there's your height on the Wikipedia page... Yeah... That should work. He gets it sent to the address a few doors down just in case, and snatches it from in front of their door, but he finds himself backpedaling. What the hell is he doing? He would never actually go through with this, what a waste of money... But he still opens it. Sets it beside his front door. Tests the wheels to make sure they work.

He knows how to make chloroform. He doesn't need YouTube tutorials (unlike a certain someone else), he knows exactly how to do it, even alternate methods besides the usual acetone and bleach combination - so long as you end up with the same chemical makeup, it's all the same. He just goes with the traditional way though... Doesn't really know why he does it. Just mutters as he stares down at the concoction wondering why he wasted his time... But he pauses before pouring it down the sink, and instead puts it in a container and keeps it on the counter. Your weight is on Wikipedia too. Taking into account your height and weight you would need about... Yeah, a very specific amount to knock you out for about three hours.

The concert day draws closer and closer and he can't sleep very well. His mind keeps running what-ifs. Just, hypothetically, what if he did go through with it? What then? What would he do long term? How would that all work out?

Well, you'd probably hate him for a while, right? But that changes. Stockholm syndrome sets in. He would know, he had to take Psych 101 back in undergrad, and the professor talked about it for a full 10 minutes, so he's basically an expert. It's been like, 7 years since then, but he still kinda remembers it. He remembers that it's supposed to set in at about 2 weeks, and solidify with time. If the captor is nice, that is, which he totally would be. ...Maybe not in bed, but most of the time. He would be nice to you, and you would start to like him. Besides, they said Stockholm syndrome set in faster if the abductor has good qualities, so, he could also reason with you, remind you that you're lucky you got abducted by someone with money - or, well, he will have money once he graduates! - and isn't some ugly gross slob. He's clean and neat. Sorta... He'll clean up all those dishes that have been sitting there a few days now, pick up all those clothes off the floor... Ok, now he's clean and neat. And, uh, what else would girls care about... He's smart. He's pretty sure he can say that with confidence, if nothing else.

Ok, so, it would work. He could... Keep you kinda... Tied up here... If you started complying within that two week period, he could get you up and walking before atrophy set in. You'd probably have to get used to the lifestyle... Right now he's kinda on a budget, but, he can get you things to keep you occupied... And so, yeah, it could work. It's simple, just keep you with him and isolated for a few weeks and uh, you'll transform into some kind of hypersexual obedient cumslut and never want to leave. That's... How Stockholm syndrome works right? Maybe he should have paid more attention in that class... Oh well. He never liked psychology.

So the day draws nearer and nearer and he starts really getting into the right... Headspace. It's a sort of manic state that he's in. Operating without really thinking, all inhibitions removed by simply refusing to think about it. He lets the subconscious take over and do all these little things to prepare, until finally that day is tomorrow. And then he kinda snaps back to full awareness and questions, again, what the hell is he doing? He can't just... Kidnap a person! Normal people don't do that... It's illegal, he'll get caught, it'll ruin his life and....

What life does he really have to ruin?

That's the thought that sort of solidifies the decision. He realizes why he's even on this path in the first place. Sure he's got a lot of academic accomplishments, but his life is... Rather empty. He doesn't really have anyone. Maybe that's why he's slowly become... Consumed by this obsession that yes, he's now willing to admit to himself is indeed an obsession. It's kinda slowly taken over his everyday life without him even noticing it was happening. He's... Kinda miserable. And very lonely. And... If nothing else... This one girl makes him feel kinda happy.

... Which is why he's going to go through with it.

And he slips back into autopilot, ends up standing outside the building. It's every bit as loud and headache-inducing as he knew it would be. Ugh. He can't wait to get out of here. If this doesn't work, well, he'll be forced to turn around. The plan is a very simple one, actually... Act like he's supposed to be there. And he does. Dresses in all black like stage technicians do, dragging his big amp case behind him, holding a bunch of cords from random things he grabbed in his house, and tries not to look nervous, keeps a neutral face and walks straight forward and... He slides right in. The security guards off to the side don't even bat an eye.

And then he has a moment of "well, I didn't expect to get this far." Pauses. So uh... what now? Well, probably should find you first. He memorized the setlist, so he knows when you'll be off... And alone. Right now there should be three of the girls backstage. It's pretty easy to find where you are, but he's paranoid that the amp case is too loud as he's dragging it around. It's necessary, though. And then, finally, he stumbles upon the room... Opens the door, half expecting to be immediately stopped, but... He can just kinda waltz right in here, some open backroom, a person here or there coming through, a lady that looks like a makeup artist doing something over there, and an actual, real tech guy over there... And over to the far back corner... Oh. That's you. He takes a moment to revel in the sight, unable to move or even breathe, and has to mentally prepare himself before moving forward. He's... Not sure exactly what to do at this point... It's kind of perfect, to be honest, there's no one around you, and you're right out of sight, where he could turn the corner and not be seen. But he's not sure how to... Approach? He thinks about it as he walks, but again, autopilot is on in his brain and he's just numbly walking forward. Does he just... Keep walking until he's right at you and just... Or...?

And a miracle happens. You hear someone coming and you turn and smile and ask are you the tech guy here to fix my mic? You point to the little microphone attached to your face. They told you someone would be coming to fix it before your next song. You presume that's him, since he's dressed in all black like all the other stage techs. He hesitates a moment, wide eyed, but then nods. Yeah, that's him, he says. His voice cracks when he says it. It's kinda cute.

You smile at him. It's wide and sweet and genuine and it almost makes him pass out on the spot. He has to swallow for a second before continuing.

But, uh, he can't do it right here he says, because fiddling with it could disrupt the uh, frequencies, cause that really shrill sound you hear sometimes. So, um, come over this way a sec, over in this dark corner of the studio conveniently out of the view of all people and security cameras. You don't know how any of that stuff works, so you trust him, it's his job after all. So you get up and straighten your little skirt out - wow those are even more revealing in person - and walk over it the dark corner where he's waiting and... it's the last thing you remember.

He does a quick look left and right to ensure no one saw you collapse in his arms, but sure enough, this area is empty. You fit into the amp case with ease. Just curl your body up and pop the lid on. Wait, can you... breathe in there? Well, it won't take long to get outside. He just rolls the case right out the door, right past the guards again, and no one stops him, no one suspects a thing. Puts the case in the backseat, opens the lid, does a quick check go make sure you're breathing alright. So he props it open by keeping a book in between the case and lid as he drives home.

Once he does get home, he just does the same thing he did before - close the lid, roll you into the elevator and up the stairs and into his place, looking back over his shoulder over and over. And once he gets you inside he just kinda... falls to his knees. Shivering. Disbelief. Because holy shit he actually did it. He actually went through with it and it worked. He sits there and stares at the case and - oh, fuck, gotta open it again for you to breathe. Actually, he might as well... take you out... when he first shoved you in, he was so high on adrenaline he didn't really process any of it, but now... he almost can't bring himself to take you out. That means he has to, like, touch you. He's gotta take a moment to mentally prepare for that. So he does. Deep breaths. And finally, with trembling hands, pulls you out, carries you on shakey legs over to the bed and sets you down.

You know, you're a lot... Smaller... Than you looked on screen. Sure, he knew your height and weight but... somehow you still seem so much smaller than he expected. That's good. Will make everything a lot easier, since you're easier to restrain. And your thighs. They're... so soft. This is so much better than the video. They're so... fleshy and warm in person. Perfect. And wow, that skirt thing is... scratchy. Actually, up close, that whole outfit thing you wear looks super uncomfortable. It probably is. ...Well, guess he now has a reason to take it off.

The rest of your skin is... also fleshy and soft. Warm. Your face... chest... stomach... everything. Your tits are really cute, too. It occurs to him that all those rabid commenters on all those boards and videos would probably kill to be him right now, pinching and squeezing at your nipples. He's seeing something they will never see. It gives him an ego boost, to be honest, makes him feel proud to get a sort of one-up on them. He gets you naked, but refrains from pulling your legs apart. He probably... wouldn't be able to control himself, and he's aiming for some self-control right now.

So he waits. Breathes deep. Restrains himself with every ounce of willpower he has. It occurs to him he has no fucking clue what he's gonna say to you. Unfortunately, that thought occurs to him as you're starting to twitch and mumble, so, he doesn't have too much time to think. Oh, fuck, you're not restrained... well, he bought some duct tape and handcuffs and blindfolds off of amazon too, so he quickly puts those in place as you're starting to wake up, and then finally, you come to full consciousness -- that telltale jerking at the restraints, the muffled little cry of confusion and fear. It's kinda hot to be honest. Well, fuck, very hot actually. You're so scared. It gives him a rush of power. Said rush goes straight to his dick.

He's got a mixed twist of guilt and arousal at the whole thing, but... he's still trying to have some self control... and if you start begging and pleading and crying, it would be too much. Oh, no, not that it would be too much in terms of guilt, no no, just that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from fucking you if he sees you cry. So he leaves the restraints on for now, so he can't see your face emote.

Then, he does something really, really mean. He knows it's cruel, honestly, it's just... so cute. What that is, is that he does nothing. Says nothing. He goes about his work, typing away, knowing you can hear, but doesn't say a word. He knows you're awake, he just wants to see how long you can sit there scared out of your mind before you finally make another noise to draw his attention. Right now, he thinks, you're probably debating, you're probably questioning whether you should keep quiet and make him think you're still out or make a noise... but eventually you will. He can see you trembling. You're probably thinking so many horrible things right now, wondering what will happen, what he'll do to you... it fills him with a sort of sadistic glee that overrides the guilt it comes along with. Sure, the guilt is there, but fuck, he could almost cum just watching you shiver, and that's more important.

And you finally make a noise. A little whimper. He stops typing, and swears he sees you tense when he does. And when he stands up, walks over to you (making sure to stomp hard and walk slow for extra effect, watching the way you curl in on yourself with each step he takes), and stops right in front of you. Finally, tells you not to scream. He's gonna give you water, ok? You nod. And, surprisingly, you don't make any move to scream or anything, you let him give it to you. You don't move a muscle besides your shaking and sucking the straw and swallowing the water. You must be really scared of him. He knows that's technically not what he should want, but... it feels nice.

He spent that time of silence coming up with what to say to you. He says that for now, you're going to stay right here. Don't ask questions. Don't make any attempt to escape. If you really need something, tap the headboard until he hears. Understand?

You're... Surprisingly receptive. You give a twitchy smile and stammer out an o-okay. He's almost pleased, but quickly realizes what you're doing.

You've been trained for this, you see. This kind of thing is attempted rather frequently in the industry. You received training for this situation - comply, don't fight, prioritize your safety, because in 99% of these cases, the missing idol is found and recovered within 48 hours. So you do what you were told to do -- smile, pretend you're ok with it, don't do anything to anger your captor.

He knows that too. He doesn't do much in that 48 hours, in fact, he even tells you he's waiting to "see what happens." He knows he can't control himself very well, so he stays in his living room for the most part and works on research, it might be pointless if he's in jail a few hours from now, but oh well. Sleeps on his couch. He offers to feed you, but you say you don't feel good. He understands.

See, in his mind, if he gets to fuck you once or twice and then be hauled off to prison and never touch you again, well, that would be actual, literal torture, so much so that never fucking you at all would be more bearable. So that's why he forces himself to wait now. He feels like he can't breathe, he's so nervous, like any moment police are going to come knocking on his door. Every little sound makes him jump. He can't sleep.

But 48 hours pass and... nothing happens.

He breathes a bit easier. Finally dares to go online, which he's been avoiding, and check on your situation... Oh, wow, social media has exploded over your disappearance. But... They have no leads. Nothing. Says she basically vanished out of thin air. Situation is, quote, "looking hopeless." Huh. He did an even better job than he thought he did. There's videos from loved ones begging the captor to let the girl go, offering to give him money even. A lot of money. But, you're more valuable than any monetary measurements could ever conceive. And he's happy. It really worked out. Everything went right, and for once, he has something that really, really makes him happy.

Likewise, the 48 hours are even more torturous for you. You start out telling yourself it'll be fine. Hopeful. But that hope in your chest slowly, gradually dies out as you realize you've hit the 48-hour mark. Even for a normal missing person, you've always heard that if they don't find them within 48 hours... the chances of ever finding them goes down significantly. But, that's because they're usually dead, right? And this guy won't kill you, so, your chances are better, right...?

He comes back after that 48 hours and finally, for the first time since you woke up, crawls onto the bed, touches you, grabs your hips with his hands. Tells you that, well, they haven't found anything yet and it looks like they aren't going to, so you're officially his now, and he's no longer worried. You should accept it. It'll make things easier for both of you if you do. You'll get adjusted in no time, you'll see.

Unsurprisingly, you're a bit less compliant than you were when you had hope. You whimper and and struggle, but it's really weak. So much so it's cute. You ask who he is. No one important, he says. Just... A fan of yours. You can hear clothes shuffling. He doesn't waste time, he's already waited two whole days suffering, so he gets his dick in you pretty quickly. Manages to make you cum. It horrifies you and kinda surprises him too to be honest. You must kinda like pain, huh. Well, that works out well.

As time goes on, what hope you had left dies completely. Weeks pass. You realize they're not coming for you. In an attempt to get you to accept it, he even shows you that you've been replaced. They're rather quick to fix the absence. They have a new girl in your spot by the end of the month. He quickly realizes maybe he shouldn't have told you, from the way your face falls and you get all hysterical. Sorry. It's the way the industry is. Don't worry. She's not even half as cute as you.

He shows you the announcement when they close the investigation, too. This also earns a rather hysterical response, but he thinks it's important you see it, so you can finally come to terms with your fate, the way things were always meant to turn out. He gets a bit frustrated. Just accept it. It's not that hard. The sooner you do, the happier you'll be. It's for your own good that you accept it.

And you do. Try as you might. You begin to make conversation. He's the only source of interaction you have. You learn about him and his life. You become invested in it. You start to cum more easily. When he's sitting on the opposite side of the bed typing away, you find yourself slowly wiggling your way over and pressing yourself against the warmth, and he certainly doesn't mind. You ask him about his research just to hear a voice talk.

And sometimes you sing. It's absent minded, soft and quiet, when you have nothing else to do. He likes that a lot. You get sweeter. Nicer. Fight less. It does take a bit longer than two weeks to set in fully. But it does in the end.

He can't be with you 24/7, as much as he would like to be, so sometimes he has to tell you to just hang on a little while. Be good and sit still for just a bit. He'll be back soon. Just give him an hour. You're just really distracting and, well, his progress report is due tomorrow morning.

And you keep getting upset over the new member, bring it up a lot... It must have really bothered you, huh. Well, don't feel bad about being replaced. To him, nothing could ever replace you... you're still his favorite.

#.al #.idol

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millenialfanfictionaddiction · 3 years

Text

Go Go Karauno: An Old Rival (Pt. 3 smut)

THIS FIC IS 18+

Warnings: swearing, light teasing, slight angst (maybe?), car sex, hand jobs, unprotected sex (reader is on birth control and clean), breeding kink without the breeding, me living my dreams

Word Count: 7,000 +

You get ready for the date.

Was it really a date though? Let's call it a reunion.

You get ready for the reunion with Keishin as you slip on some comfortable jeans, a nice top and flats to match. Keishin asked you to meet him at his families store. An odd choice for a reunion you thought but you weren't going to fault him.

You were going into this with an open mind. You were ready to be friendly but also ready to lay down the law if so happened to come to that point. You walked down the streets as you approached the store. Keishin was outside smoking. He looked nice you thought.

You smile as you approach "those things are going to kill you you know." You say grabbing the cigarette from his mouth and stomping it out with your foot.

More like you're going to kill him babe

Keishin smiles as he looks at you "well if you worked with a bunch of hormonal high school boys you'd do the same" he said smugly "by the way you look really nice"

You smile "thanks so do you."

He’s looking at you. Why is he looking at you like that? It's awkward.

"So... your families store huh" you say breaking the silence.

"Uhm yeah my mother's families. I just help out" he smiles as he opens the door for you.

"I hope you don't mind meeting me here. I had to work late so closing up was way easier" he smiles as he locks the door behind you.

"It's not a problem. Actually kind of nice to see domestic Keishin. Never thought I'd see the day" you chuckle as he laughs rubbing the back of his head

"Yeah a lots happened since high school" he says as he leads you to a secluded table in the corner.

"Coffee, tea, water?" He says with a smile

"Beer?" You question

Keishin smiles "coming right up!"

He brings two beers back to the table as you both sit in silence for a few moments. It's awkward and you can sense some tension.

"Keis-" you begin only to be interrupted

"Y/N, listen I know what your going to say" keishin interjected.

You lean back. "Ok hit me" you say as you await his response

"Y/N I was a fucking jerk back back high school. A smug asshole. I know that now. Hell I knew it back then. I just thought you'd like me more if I acted that way" he says looking down at the table picking at a spot.

Your eyes widen "like me more? You think picking on me and messing up my serves would get me to like you more? Keishin I legit wanted to punch your lights out!"

"And I would have deserved it Y/N. Please just hear me out ok" he says as you recline in your chair with a huff.

"Y/N this is going to sound so weird and out of left field but I was so jealous of you and honestly, I had the biggest crush on you" Keishin manages to squeak out hoping you won't flee the scene.

"Excuse me?" you say sharply as your eyes bulge from your head.

"Y/N-" Keishin starts to speak before you interject this time.

"So you invited me here to confess to me? To tell me that the years of torment and annoyance you caused me were because you were too big of a fucking idiot to tell me how you felt?" You say loudly.

Keishins eyes widen as he can see your anger grow.

"Listen Keishin, I don't know what the goal was here-" you say as you start to stand preparing to leave.

"Y/N please just hear me out ok" Keishin grabs your hand as you look at him.

His face looking the most sincere you've ever seen "I know I was stupid. I know you don't have to forgive me. You shouldn't. I was a complete jerk. I messed up the only good thing I had going on in my life."

"Wait-" you start to speak only to be cut off yet again.

"Y/N I wanted to confess to you for years. All through high school! You'd date those stupid basketball players or those baseball players and I'd be left watching. So I dated girls just to try and make you angry. I knew it never did but I tried to forget about you" he spoke softly.

"The only time I could spend with you was when we were playing volleyball and by that point I felt like you just saw me as a complete ass. Which I'm not denying I was but I didn't want to be" he sighed "I forced myself to be that so I could try and push you away."

You're shocked to say the least. Mad, shocked and very overwhelmed.

"Keishin I- I don't know what to say right now" you speak softly and kindly.

"If you don't believe me ask Shimada" Keishin sighed "he unfortunately knows way more about the whole thing than he should. He spent years trying to get me to move on from you."

It was honestly overwhelming to hear. You took another sip of your drink and just shook your head.

"Y/N I don't expect you to forgive me or go out on a date with me or anything. I just needed to get this out" he says ducking his head down "it's been bothering me since high school. I think about you often and I really do feel bad for what I did."

Now you're starting to feel bad. Had you really thought so lowly of Keishin? You knew you'd been an ass yourself to him.

"Keishin I'm sorry too" you say with a small smile. He looks up at you.

"I was so driven to beat you I just got so upset. It was stupid. The whole thing was stupid" you laugh.

"Listen Y/N, Kageyama and Hinata could use some extra help with their sets. Since your in town for a while and nationals are coming up, would you mind observing them?" Keishin says.

You smile as you nod.

"Honestly I just need another adult" he laughs "they really are something else on and off the court."

"I seem to remember a certain setter who was very similar" you smile as Keishin smiles back at you.

The night continues as you catch up and laugh. You're still not sure how to feel about Keishin but you have to admit, this is a good starting place.

Keishin smiled as he picked you up the next day for practice. You were excited to work with the boys especially with Kageyama and Hinata.

You entered the gym as you heard the sound of balls hitting the floor.

"Y/N!" you hear your name being screamed loudly as a young bright orange haired boy comes bounding up to you.

"Ginger!" Keishin screams as you laugh.

"Oh Keishin stop! The boy is excited! I see to remember a certain somebody who was the same way" you smile softly as Keishin blushes.

"Hello Y/N, coach" Kageyama bows to you both.

"Well I’m here to observe and help anyway I can" you say as you clap your hands together making a loud smacking noise.

You stand by Keishin as you watch the boys repeatedly hit and then miss the falling toss.

It's not entirely that easy of a ball to hit you think to yourself.

Kageyama clearly has more technical skills then Hinata but Hinata really seems to be a natural spiker. The pair is odd but they do so well together. Hinata is able to keep up with Kageyama’s quicks.

"Hinata you don't always have to hit the ball with such force you know" you say as you walk up to the young boy.

"Y/N it's fun to hit it hard. The smack of the ball and the whoosh whoosh ka plow" he says as he makes jerking movements with his body.

Kageyama is heating up "you idiot she's talking!" He says kicking Hinata in the back of the legs.

"You're going to have opponents that expect you to hit it hard and if you come into contact with a team who is lightening quick with receives, they will adapt" you say smiling.

You look back at Keishin as his eyes widen

"Nekoma?" he says

"Nekoma" you nod.

"Nekoma has always been amazing at their receives. It's why they are a powerhouse. They use them in all aspects of the game. So why don't you try some faints, maybe shooting the ball straight down as well. Heck you could probably pick up line shots pretty quickly as well. That speed is a weapon but you can't only bring one weapon to a war" you say smiling.

Keishin watches as you interact with the boys. You talk to them and show them moves for what seems like hours. Hinata is improving and doing really well. Kageyama is already spectacular but adapting to Hinata proved to be a bit hard.

"It's nice you have a variety of spikers Keishin" you smile as you watch the duo practice in front of you.

"You remind me a lot of the Kageyama and Hinata combined" you giggle.

He huffs "Y/N I was never that insane"

"I beg to differ Keishin. You always drove me nuts with your wild moves! You were always showing off" you laugh.

Before you know it, the boys clean up the gym and you bid your farewells. You and Keishin head to his car as you both get in.

"Y/N you remember the hill we always use to run up when we did joint practices?" He said

"Of course that hill was the bane of my existence because you'd always want to race" you sneer.

He laughs. "Well what would you say to visiting it now?" He smiles

"Keishin my heart isn't up the race" you giggle.

"Nah I'm driving up it. I smoke too much to run up that hill now" he laughs.

You both buckle up as you Keishin drives to the top of the hill.

It's nightfall and the air is calm. It's almost too quiet. The lights from the city burn below as you and Keishin sit in silence.

"Y/N" he says as he looks over to you "Thank you"

You smile.

You don't know what this feeling is but you feel like you need to kiss him. It's just feels so out of place. But why do you want to so badly!

"Y/N-" he begins to speak as you cut him off pulling him in for a heated kiss. He doesn't resist at all to your surprise. You pull away staring at him with wide eyes.

"Fuck Keishin I'm so sorry I should have ask-" you say as he grabs the back of your neck, pulling you in once again in for kiss your lips both part as you tilt your head to get a better angle.

Cars definitely aren't ideal for making out you think in the back of your head.

After a few minutes of kissing and felling yourself getting heated you break the kiss, staring at the man next to you.

"Fuck it" he says as he grabs you pulling you into his lap to straddle him.

You staddle Keishin in the driver's seat as you reach over pulling the level of the seat back moving the driver's seat back.

"W-what are you doing Y/N?" Keishin stutters

"If you don't want this, tell me and I'll stop instantly" you say grabbing his face.

You kiss him slowly as his eyes close. His places his hands on your thighs as he rubs them up and down.

You feel your panties getting wet as you leave his lips to kiss his jaw.

"Fuck Y/N" Keishin says as he tilts his neck back allowing better access to his neck column.

"Does that feel good Keishin?" You smirk as you continue to kiss his neck.

"Soo good babe, fuck so good" he whines.

You return to his lips, hungry for more. You quickly gain access to his wet muscle as you both battle for dominance. He massages your tongue with his as you groan and he's able to establish dominance. He leaves you lips to to start kissing your neck. He gropes at your title through your dress as you slowly begin to work up your dress to your hips.

Keishin is hot. Fuck this is actually happening. He's so lost in the moment he nearly forgets he doesn't have a condom on him.

"Y/N baby we can't do this anymore. I don't have a condom. I'm sorry baby" he says as he pulls alway, upset from the loss of your another skin.

You start kissing him again as you lightly grind on the now visible bulge growing in this pants.

"Keishin it's fine. I'm clean and on birth control. I haven’t had sex in months" you smile as you pull back grinding harder.

He can feel a wet spot growing on his pants.

"You're OK with that Y/N- Fuck yes I need you" he cries as he starts to probe two fingers down by your clit. You gasp as you frantically loosen his belt. You lower his underwear as he finds you clit.

You stroke his hardened cock as he rubs your clit, moving aside your panties.

He looks at you with half lidded eyes "Baby I've wanted to fuck you for so long you have no idea" he says as he increases his pace

Your pussy is dripping strings of cum at this point. You throw your head back as the unbearable knot in your stomach becomes too much to handle.

You whisper in his ear as you feel the knot tighten.

"Wanna cum on you cock Keishin" you say sweetly as you moan his name.

"Fuck OK.. OK baby" he says as he helps you line up on his cock, pushing your panties to the side further and your dress up to your stomach. You both groan as his thick head enters your wet cunt.

"Holy shit baby your pussy is wet and so tight- fuck" Keishin growls as you feel his cock begin to stretch you out further and futher

You lower yourself and begin going slowly glide up and down, taking a little more of him with each movement.

Keishin is in heaven. He's trying so hard not to cum but your pussy is so perfect.

"Oh god Keishin, fuck you feel so good" you start grinding and bouncing on his cock.

“mmhmm baby- fuck I can’s believe I finally get to fuck you. I’m a lucky bastard” he groans.

"God I feel like I'm being ripped in half" you scream ad you throw your head back

"Aw fuck baby. Let me pound up into you ya? I need to fuck you good" he says as you raise your hips.

Keishin thrusts into you quickly and deeply. You're both losing it. Your pussy is throbbing as you await your impending orgasm. Suddenly Keishin reaches down and starts to toy with your hardened clit.

"Oh shit baby I'm going to cum" you cry pit as the band in your lower stomach snaps and you throw your head back in utter bliss. You can feel the car shake as Keishin thrusts become faster and harder.

"Baby can I please come inside? I need to fill you" he cries as you know he's close.

"Come inside of me Keishin. Fill my pussy with your cum" you screams as Keishin starts moaning loudly as he cums deep inside of you.

You both pant heavily as you come down from your highs. You smile as you both look at each other.

"Still hate me Y/N?" He says with a smirk

"A little less now" you say as you chuckle, leaning into kiss him.

*3 months later*

"Oh hell yeah Y/N you made it" Shimada screams at you as he frantically waves you to the front of the bleacher seats.

"I wouldn't miss the boys going to nationals for anything" you smile as you watched the boys warm up for their first match.

Keishin spots you as you smile and wave.

You had been taking your relationship slow with Keishin. You told him you hadn't desired to leave Tokyo just yet and he supported you. You did come visit often and worked remotely when you could. Your long distance relationship was working well. Plus the sex was phenomenal.

"Hinata looks strange" you say as you tilt your head to the side, observing the boy running strangely around the stadium floor.

“Yeah he lost is shoes at the bus station but Kiyoko is on her way with them” you laugh as you put your head in your hands.

Kageyama and Hinata both see you as Hinata frantically waves and Kageyama bows.

Keishin watches their interaction with you as he smiles to them and back you.

“I’m so proud of you Keishin” you whisper to yourself as you smile softly.

#keishin x reader #ukai keishin #keishin x y/n #keishin ukai #ukai #justiceforthehaikyuucoachs #haikyuu #haikyuucoaches #haikyuu!!#karasuno #team mom series #teammom #team mom

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iam93percentstardust · 3 years

Note

Haii so i have a promot for you, it’s stuckony and it’s based around a carrie Underwood song called “ Renegade Runaway “

So basically Steve and Bucky are outlaw, who rob trains, banks, and gamble

Tony is a sharffes and teacher kid, who is also one hell of a gunslinger (like Doc holiday,bat masterson, and Wyatt earp), he’s also a blacksmith

Also happy early birthday! 💙

Thank you for the birthday wishes! This ended up being a lot sadder than I originally intended and I wasn't able to include everything, but I hope it still lives up to expectations!

As always, this fic is also on ao3

Tony has his pistol out almost before the door closes behind him. He peers into the darkness of the yard behind the smithy, silently complaining about his eyes taking too long to adjust from the bright fires to the gathering twilight. It puts him at a disadvantage for whoever is waiting out there for him.

“Aw darlin’, is that any way to greet your two favorite outlaws?” someone drawls.

Tony snorts and holsters the pistol again. “Two outlaws, you might be, but my favorites? Far from it,” he snarks.

Bucky Barnes steps into the light spilling out from the window, hand dramatically placed over his heart. “Tony, that cuts me to the quick. Really, the cruelty of your words, they break my heart.”

“Uh-huh,” Tony says, unimpressed. He turns his back on Bucky and locks the smithy door. Peter will leave through the front when he’s finished sweeping and extinguished the lights. Everything else is already stored in the backroom for the night, so there’s no reason he needs to worry about leaving the door unlocked, though he certainly could. Timely isn’t the sort of town that invites trouble, not like some of the lawless towns further west.

When he turns back around, Bucky has moved closer, nearly looming over him. Tony leans back against the door, letting Bucky press against him. Bucky will do it anyway, it’s easier to just give in to him now instead of putting up a fight they both know he doesn’t want.

“You gonna apologize for bein’ so mean?” Bucky breathes into his ear.

“No,” Tony says flatly, crossing his arms. “It’s the honest truth.”

It’s not. Nearly everyone in Timely knows Tony’s sweet on Bucky and his partner, who must be around here somewhere since Bucky mentioned both of them. But it wouldn’t do to be too easy for them. He’s not one of Natasha’s girls after all, giggly and flirtatious and willing to turn their skirts up for a little bit of coin. He likes to make his boys work to get him soft and smiling.

“Now that’s just an outright lie,” someone else says. Tony turns his head to see Steve’s bright blue eyes much closer than he’d expected given that he’d only sensed one of them in the yard earlier. “You love us.”

“Don’t,” Tony denies, turning his head in the other direction so he doesn’t have to see either of them. Steve may be right, Tony isn’t nearly as annoyed by them as he pretends, but loving the two of them makes his life so very hard that it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t have any feelings for them.

“Tony,” Steve murmurs.

Tony stubbornly refuses to look at them. These two outlaws waltz into town all too rarely, typically on the heels of some mess that’ll raise the rewards on their heads yet again, and turn Tony’s life upside down for the brief time they’re in Timely, only to break his heart when they inevitably leave. Sometimes, he wishes he’d never met them.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he whispers eventually, keeping his eyes fixed on the side of the saloon down the street. “The sheriff’s in town tonight. If he catches wind of you—you know Howard wants to be the one to bring you in.”

“Your father’s on a wild goose chase, honey,” Bucky says. “He got word we were hiding out in Howling Canyon.”

“Are you?”

“Do we look like we’re in Howling Canyon?” Steve asks amusedly.

“No. I meant when you’re not—” He stops, biting back the last few words. When they’re not in his bed, he means, but he can’t bring himself to say that. After an awkward pause, he finishes, “When you’re not in town.”

“No,” Steve assures him. “We’re staying—”

“Don’t tell me where,” Tony interrupts, finally turning back to look at them. They both look worried, and he wonders if they know how tired he is of this game they’ve been playing for five years. “You know I’ll have to tell Howard if he asks.”

Not that Howard would. The sheriff is one of the few people who doesn’t know that his son houses the two outlaws when they’re in Timely. He couldn’t even imagine that his son would dare defy him under his nose like that. But both Steve and Bucky know what happens when Tony doesn’t jump to Howard’s every order. They were the ones who took him to Dr. Banner’s after all, after Howard broke his arm for taking too long to finish the horseshoes for Jericho.

Steve’s eyes are stormy at the reminder of Howard’s wrath. Bucky’s mouth is set in a tight line. Neither of them approve of Howard. They’ve told Tony once before that they would take him away from here if only he would let them. But he won’t. There’s too much keeping him in Timely: his mother and Rhodey, even young Peter, who’s only been apprenticed to him for a few months. He can’t just go gallivanting off into the sunset, no matter how badly he wants to. And besides, he knows that the only reason they ask is so that he can get away from Howard. He doesn’t delude himself there. They’d let him go with them just out of range of Howard’s reach and then they’d cut him loose. It’s pity that makes them ask, not—not anything else.

“Just—” He sighs and ducks out from under Bucky’s arm. “Come on. Howard isn’t stupid. He’ll figure out you’re not in Howling Canyon eventually, and I’d like both your cocks at least once before he does.”

Tony once had aspirations of being one of the best gunslingers in the west. He had the best aim this side of the Mississippi and he was quick. He’d been planning on making a name for himself, same as his father had.

Bucky’s bullet through his left thigh had put an end to that dream real quick.

He’d been young—hardly even an adult—foolhardy, and unwilling to listen to Jarvis’ warnings that he wasn’t ready to take on Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, who’d been terrorizing the towns in their small territory for the last three years. He’d been so convinced that he would be the one to bring them in and collect on the bounty. He’d studied their movements, known how they thought, and when Timely had gotten word that the two outlaws had robbed a bank in Faircreek, he’d ridden off on his own toward Harshaw instead of Tombstone like all the evidence pointed to.

He’d been right; the trail to Tombstone had been a false one. But he hadn’t had long to rest on his laurels because he’d been noticed. Steve and Bucky hadn’t been as lax in their vigilance as he’d assumed and they’d lain in wait for him, ambushed him, and ultimately shot him.

To this day, he doesn’t know what drove the two outlaws to take him in instead of leaving him out there to die in the desert, but they had. They’d carefully nursed him back to health, taken care of him when his injury had led to fever, and eventually, after nearly two months together, brought him to their bed with sweet words and sweeter kisses. He’d thought he would have done anything for them after that night, but the next morning, they’d sent him back on his way to Timely with nothing more than a promise that they’d be dropping in to check on him. It had been kind, though the damage had already been done. Tony’s injury ensured he’d never be the gunslinger he’d once dreamt of and his heart had been shattered. He’d apprenticed with Happy, taken up blacksmithing as a trade, and moved out of his parents’ home and into a small house not far from the smithy as his bad leg kept him from walking any great distances.

And when Bucky and Steve had kept their promise and stopped by his house to see him, well, his resolve to send them packing had withered. He’d made sure no one had noticed them and welcomed them inside, his poor heart still beating against his ribs in the pattern of their names.

They love him, he thinks, or at least they love him as best as they can, which is to say they don’t love him as much as he loves them. They certainly don’t love him enough to take him with them. And he understands—he does, despite what Rhodey thinks. His bad leg is a hindrance to outlaws such as themselves, particularly when it isn’t like they have a home base they could leave him out while they go out to commit whatever crime has struck their fancy. No, they’ve been nomads for as long as Tony has known them, never tied down to any one place, and he’s grateful that they at least love him enough to stay in this area instead of moving on to greener pastures.

He checks that the street is clear and then hurries them into his home. It’s changed slightly since the last time Steve and Bucky were in Timely. Pepper gifted him with a rug to go in front of the fireplace six months ago and Peter’s aunt made him a series of sketches of the view from the top of Howling Canyon that he hung in the kitchen. But other than that, the house is much the same as it’s always been, and he isn’t surprised when neither Steve nor Bucky pay any attention to the changes in favor of following him to the bedroom.

They strip him in silence, hands so gentle he’d call them reverent if he didn’t know any better. But he does know better. They don’t love him enough to be reverent. Reverence is saved for each other, for how Steve looks at Bucky in the early dawn when he thinks they’re both still sleeping, for Bucky saving Steve an extra cup of coffee, for the way they know how to tack each other’s horses just as well as they know their own. Reverence isn’t saved for him.

But he treats themreverently. He’s always treated them that way, since the night they took him to their bed. He’s never known any other way to love. They had been his first, the ones to ruin him for all others, and a small part of him hates them for that even as he kisses them hungrily, savoring these few moments he gets to spend with them.

He goes to his knees for them, worships Bucky’s cock with his mouth while Steve undresses, then lays down for Steve to open him up. He lets them fuck him, moans their names while they whisper praises in his ear, and pretends that this is enough, that he doesn’t want more. He imagines it though, imagines Steve lifting him onto Nomad and following Bucky out of town, never to return.

Bucky falls asleep when they’re done—he always does—so Steve is the one who stands and finds a washcloth from somewhere in the house. He wipes the three of them off and then lays down on his side, facing Tony.

“You’re sad tonight,” he says quietly.

“No,” Tony denies. He doesn’t want them to know that he wants more, that he’d do just about anything to get it. They’ll only feel bad that they can’t give him what he wants, like it’s any fault of theirs.

“You are,” Steve insists. “You try to hide it, but you are.”

“Steve…”

“I won’t ask you.” Steve’s own eyes are sad as he reaches out to run delicate fingers over Tony’s face. “I know you wouldn’t tell me anyway. That’s okay; you’re entitled to your secrets, sweetheart.”

There’s something terribly earnest in Steve’s expression, something that Tony doesn’t think he’s seen before. And he’s so close to blurting it out, begging Steve for something he can’t have. He swallows the words back with difficulty and asks instead, “What did you two do this time?”

Steve shrugs as best as he can. “A train.”

“A—” Tony stills. “You didn’t. Steve, you couldn’t. You’ll bring the Marshals down on your heads.”

“Had to,” Steve says casually. “Was the only way to get enough.”

“Enough what?”

“Gold,” Bucky says from behind him, startling him.

It takes a moment for the word to sink in, but his breath comes faster as he realizes just what they’ve done. “You didn’t,” he repeats, sitting up. He scrambles to the end of the bed, as far away from Steve and Bucky as he can get. The outlaws sit up as well, leaning against the headboard as they watch him warily. “What were the two of you thinking? No, don’t answer that. I know exactly what you were thinking: you weren’t. Because if you were, you would have known better. Forget the Marshals, you’ll bring the whole damn army down on your heads. How could you have been so stupid?”

“We were thinking we’d like to get a house,” Steve says, cutting him off.

“A—a house?”

“Mmhmm,” Bucky agrees. “We found ourselves a little patch of land in California we’d like to settle down in. Needed one last robbery to get us enough money to buy it.”

Tony’s heart stops beating, he swears it does. “California,” he repeats faintly.

“Sure, they’ll never think to look for us in California.”

Bucky sounds so calm, as though he can’t see that Tony’s heart is breaking in front of them. How can he be so cruel? How can he just causally mention that they’re leaving him forever, as though the last five years mean nothing to them?

“When are you leaving?” he manages, and it shocks him how calm he sounds when he feels as though his grief is visible from the stars.

“Tomorrow,” Steve says. There’s something careful in the way he looks at Tony, like he at least might have some idea of what’s going through Tony’s head.

Tony repeats, “Tomorrow.” He nods, blinking furiously to try to clear his eyes of the treacherous tears he can feel welling up. He can’t let them know. They’re leaving tomorrow and he doesn’t want them to go. He knows it would have happened eventually. The lawless west is shrinking more and more each day. It’s only a matter of time before the law catches up to them. Their only option is to leave and go somewhere no one knows them. But does it have to be so soon? He’d thought they would have more time.

“So this is goodbye, then,” he says, twisting the bedcovers in his hands. He can’t look at them, too afraid they’ll know what’s racing through his head if he does.

“…Goodbye?” Steve asks. He sounds puzzled. Tony hates that. What right does he have to be confused? That’s for Tony, seeing as how he’s the one who’s been left out of the loop during all this. God above, how long have they been planning this? It must have been at least a year in the making.

“Yes, goodbye,” he says. “One last fuck to see you off, right?”

“One last… Tony,” Bucky says sharply, “do you think we’re plannin’ on leavin’ you here?”

Tony’s heart stops for the second time in as many minutes. “You’re not?” he asks, daring to peek at them. Steve looks horrified, Bucky thunderous as he leans forward to tug Tony into his arms. Tony doesn’t resist, too tired of pretending, too confused by the twists this conversation has taken to argue. Steve curls up against Bucky’s side, carding gentle fingers through Tony’s hair.

“Sweetheart, did you think we weren’t gone on you?” Steve asks, kissing his forehead. “We’ve been fallin’ for you since you figured out where we were goin’ and chased us down.”

“But you never asked me to come with you.”

“S’pose that’s my fault,” Bucky says gruffly. He gingerly touches the scar on Tony’s leg where Bucky’s bullet had ripped through him. “We saw how much pain you were in an’ we couldn’t bear to make it any worse. An’ that’s just what would have happened if you’d spent every night out there with us. We wanted to keep you safe, thought you’d be happier if you weren’t always in pain.”

“I wanted you,” Tony says, pressing a kiss to the underside of Bucky’s jaw. “I didn’t want to be left behind.”

“Yeah, we, uh, we get that now,” Steve mutters sheepishly. “Tony, say you’ll come with us this time. Don’t make us go off on our own this time. We want you to come, can’t imagine a future that doesn’t have you in it.”

He should argue. He should remind them that in the five years they’ve been riding off and leaving him at home, he’s built a life. He has a business and an apprentice and a little house that he likes. He’s not the wide-eyed child he once was, dreaming of adventure. But then, neither are Steve and Bucky, if they really do mean that they’re going to get to California and settle down.

“Darlin’?”

The next morning, Peter arrives at the smithy to find the backdoor locked and the fire cold. He frowns; it’s not like Tony to still be home at this hour. He turns on his heel and heads to Tony’s house. It’s as dark as the smithy is though it doesn’t look like anything is out of place.

Tony is nowhere to be seen. He wonders for an instant if Tony spent the night at Rhodey’s, as he sometimes does when it’s been too long between Steve and Bucky’s visits (though Peter isn’t supposed to know anything about the outlaws). He turns to leave, planning on heading over to Rhodey’s to ask if he’s seen Tony this morning, only to catch a glimpse of something on the kitchen table, glinting in the early morning sunlight pouring in from the door.

Curious, he wanders over to find a single gold coin—and a letter addressed to him. Peter immediately pockets the coin and then opens the letter. It’s written in Tony’s messy scrawl and he reads it eagerly, hoping it’ll tell him where Tony’s gone.

Peter,

I hope you’ve spotted this. The coin is for you. Under the bed, there’s a pouch full of more coins, but those are for Happy. They should be enough to drag Happy out of the quiet life to finish your apprenticeship. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay, but it was time to move on.

If anyone asks where I’ve gone, tell them I’ve run away to California.

Tony

#alle writes #alle answers #stuckony #if you like please reblog #nsfk #ish

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seekingseven · 3 years

Note

All I would like to request is Legend and Sky hanging out, maybe being friends. Also, love you lots Seeking! Hope you're taking care of yourself and having a good day. It's what you deserve ^u^

Linked Universe Prompt Requests #3!

First of all, I appreciate you so much, Silver! And second, here you go!

(You can also read the fic here on Ao3)

~~~~~~

Legend leaned against his kitchen counter, chin in his palm and nose scrunched against the breeze leaking through the window.

"Foul ball, that was a foul ball!"

"Wha- no it wasn't! You can't call a foul ball whenever we score!"

Warriors and Twilight glowered at each other. On the far side of the backyard, Wind dribbled a spotted ball between his ankles and made small talk with Wild, who was trying to wipe away the sweat pooling under his arms with the end of his ponytail. Legend scrunched his nose in disgust. Apparently the champion's bright idea to host a ball game in the hottest hour of the afternoon had come back to bite him.

His focus drifted over to the other side of his backyard, where Hyrule stood forlornly between two wooden posts. His team's poor excuse for a goal, most likely.

"You tried to trip me!"

"I did not! Stop whining, would you? If you wanted to win you should have learned the rules of the game beforehand."

"Cut me some slack, Twi. It's my first time playing!"

"Not an excuse. If you wanted to learn you could have just stayed inside with Sky and Legend or gone to the market with Four!"

Warriors took a few quick steps forward. Twilight stood his ground and puffed up his chest.

"That's enough, you two." Time said, voice snapping from his spot on a nearby bench. Legend grunted. What kind of referee watched from a bench? This was why there was an argument happening in the first place.

Behind him, the kettle began to whistle. Legend pushed himself off his elbows and turned to shut off the stove top, only partially ignoring the sounds of athletic revelry from the backyard. Porcelain clinked as Legend pulled a cup off the drying rack, then, glancing across the room, pulled off another.

If Sky was bothered by any of the commotion outside or the domestic ambience inside, he didn't show it. Instead, he sat at a table by the porch window, filing idly through the mounds of miscellaneous letters and trinkets piled around him. An overhead cuckoo clock wheedled out a dinky tune as Sky scrutinized an oddly-shaped mask.

"Coffee?" Legend asked.

Sky looked up from the table, then smiled.

"Yes, please!"

"Wrong, it's tea. What kind do you want?"

Sky's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he caught on.

"Oh, haha! You got me. Uh, I don't really know. Surprise me."

Legend nodded to himself as he poured the kettle into the two cups. "You like sweet stuff?"

"Yeah, big fan. Can't drink anything too hot, though. Hurts my face. You got any iced tea or something?"

Steam plumed from the cups. Legend let out a small snort.

"Would have been nice to know that earlier."

Sky scratched the back of his neck and had the decency to offer up an apologetic smile. With a roll of his eyes, Legend set the kettle down and hoisted himself onto the kitchen counter.

He knew he stored the ice cubes in one of the overhead cabinets, but which one? Cabinets opened and closed as Legend balanced precariously on the countertop. Where was it? Had he really been gone so long that he didn't know where his own things were?

"Hey Legend, what's this?"

Paper rustled. The legs of Sky's chair squeaked as he leaned back, and in the corner of his eye Legend saw his companion hold something up to his face.

"Little busy here," Legend mumbled, closing yet another cabinet full of pots and pans. Maybe he should give some to Ravio; the guy needed some things for his new place, anyway. "Can you describe it to me?"

A snicker, then a stifled sound of agreement. Legend would have turned around to glare at Sky if he wasn't busy gloating over his find; the ice, at last! The countertop groaned as Legend plopped the bag of ice atop it and hopped onto the floor.

"It's a letter," Sky began, his voice uncharacteristically suave. Legend's eyes narrowed. "It's in this little pink envelope, and there's a little heart sticker on it. Says on the back....'from Elise.' Oh ho ho! Who's Elise? And there's another one here! This one's white, and it has a flower sticker on the lip. Very, very cute. Is this from Elise, too? Let me see...oh goddesses! 'From Carmen!' Carmen! Now tell me, does Elise know about this Carmen?"

Sky looked up at him with an impossibly smug grin. Legend pressed the corners of his lips down as he pulled out the rest of the ingredients for the tea.

"They're just girls," Legend began. "Just-"

"Just girls? What kind of philosophy is that? And to think you criticize Warriors for his womanizing tendencies..."

"You didn't let me finish! They're just girls who work at the bakery in Castle Town. I don't know how they got my address, but one day they all started sending me letters like that."

Sky's eyebrows piqued upwards. It might have looked innocent if not for the devious smile on his face.

"Oh, I see. So why did you keep them? Elise and Carmen must have been very sorry to have not received any response," Sky said, rifling through the stack of pink and red and crème colored letters and flipping them over to read the names on the back. Legend pretended he didn't see Sky's grin widen. "And I'm guessing the same is true for poor Lisa...and Donatella...and Trish..."

It was a good thing that Legend was preoccupied with measuring out sugar and honey, because if he had been any closer to the ice cubes, they might have melted from the heat radiating off Legend's face.

"I'm serious, Sky! I don't know any of them. I don't know why they kept sending the letters -- I never even gave them my address! I mean, I'm sure they're all really nice girls, but I'm just not, you know, in the position to be in a relationship right now...with the traveling and heroics and all that..."

Silverware clattered as Legend pulled open a drawer and retrieved a fruit knife. The sound of shouting and running echoed from outside. Light streamed through the kitchen window, and the breeze pushed along dust bunnies on the floor. Sky studied Legend, watching with unusual intensity as the latter skinned and diced a peach, then folded his hands behind his head.

"Fine, fine. But one more question, then."

Legend made a vague sound that could have been read as either grateful or irritated; most likely, it was a combination of both. Sky pushed forward anyway.

"Why'd you keep them?"

"What?"

"The cards. Why did you keep them? Did you just not have a chance to throw them away or something?"

"Throw them away? Of course not! Did you see the paper they're made of? That sort of high quality cardstock doesn't come from just anywhere! If I can find a way to bleach the paper without damaging it, I can use it for all sorts of things!"

Sky snorted, smiled, and tossed a handful of pink cards back onto the table. Hoarder, indeed.

"I think that Ravio friend of yours is starting to rub off on you."

"He is not," Legend insisted, placing a spoon and straw in both cups before walking over to the table. Only after Sky brushed away the cards in front of him did Legend hand him his tea. "He would have tried to sell them off as antiques or something. Guy wouldn't know what a real antique was even if it was staring him in the face."

Sky hummed. The sound bubbled into his tea and set little capsules of air drifting across the frothy surface. "Hey, did you put peaches in this?"

"Yeah, you like it?"

Outside, Warriors cried foul and Hyrule said something about headshots. Sky sipped his drink again, then grinned. "Mmmm, delicious. Yeah, I love it! Give me the recipe sometime, huh?"

"Heh, will do. Glad you like it."

"And speaking of Ravio, where is he? Didn't you say he used to squat here?"

Legend nodded, hands cupped around his drink and goosebumps flaring from its soothing coolness. "He did, but he just moved out. Got his own shop by the castle, with a big nice sign out in front. Professionally made. It looks pretty good, honestly. I haven't seen him in a while, but I might drop by sometime to say hi."

"Ah, I see," Sky said, absently threading one of the love letters through his fingers. Legend shot him a dirty glare, but he paid it no mind. "Hey, you said that these girls somehow figured your address, right? Do you think Ravio might have given it out? Maybe while you were gone or something?"

"Ravio? That's ridiculous. He's not the sort of guy to do that. For the longest time he's been telling me to...to..."

Legend's eyes widened. The goosebumps along his arms grew more pronounced, and this time it wasn't from his chilly drink.

"He what?" Sky prompted.

"He's been telling me to get a girlfriend for the longest time and...he...he set me up. He set me up! He gave out my address to those girls. I know it! He...this is his fault!"

Sky burst into laughter. Tea sprayed across the table, splattering across rose-colored envelopes and sparkling cardstock. Legend punched him in the shoulder, hard, but Sky didn't stop.

"Ravio! Ravio as your wingman, I would have never thought! Doing the goddesses' work, he is!"

"Oh, shut up, would you? I'm not going to make you tea again!"

Their punching and tousling cooled when the front door swung open. A moment later, Four stepped inside, arms laden with groceries and a peculiar grin on his face.

"You're back!" Sky said. Legend mumbled something about Sky stating the obvious before placing his cup to his cheek, trying to smother his burning blush.

"Sorry to interrupt whatever was going on here," Four said. That odd smile was still on his face. "I’m just about to put all these groceries away, but there's something I need to give to Legend first."

"Me?" Legend asked. Four's grin widened; it looked unnervingly similar to the one Sky had worn just minutes ago.

"Yes, special delivery. From a certain 'Amelia'. It's the red box, yeah, that one."

Legend picked up the box gently, sandwiching it between his forearm and bicep, and shuddered. Sky and Four traded a sidelong look before the latter darted off into the kitchen.

"Well? What do you think it is?" Sky asked.

"I don't want to know," Legend whispered. He took a seat by the table before tossing the box by his cup. Something rustled inside.

"Open it..."

"Open it!" Four chimed from the kitchen. His voice was unusually high.

With a world weary sigh, Legend edged his fingers under the box cover and slowly lifted it upwards.

"Well? What is it?"

"Wait, would you? I can't tell..."

Legend leaned forward, squinting.

His eyes widened.

With an undignified BANG, he slammed the box shut and launched it across the room. His face was stained a dangerous color of scarlet.

"...well?" Sky repeated, "what was it?"

Legend let out a short breath, then leaned over to cradle his head in his hands.

"...remind me to kill Ravio the next time I see him," he growled.

Sky and Four burst into laughter, and even Legend couldn't fully stifle a smile.

~~ Fine ~~ I hope you enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading! [Previous Request] - [Next Request]

#linked universe Sky #linkeduniverse #linkeduniverse fanfic #linked universe legend #please dont rb as raviolink!#all platonic stuff here <3 #seeking's prompt requests!

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howlingday · 3 years

Note

nora the arc au) jaune teaches weiss that empathy is a practiced trait and you have to train to be a good person.

nora discovers she has a fetish for jaune's big strong hands and accidently give ruby the same fetish while discribing them to her. she also tells ruby that no matter what happens her and jaune would be there to help her out so she doesn't need to be perfect. she just needs to be ruby rose and let her friends pick up the slack

so now nora and jaune are attracting entire bloodlines apparently

Big! Meaty! Paws!

"Now, close your eyes, Weiss." Jaune instructed, sitting across from her.

"Okay." Weiss held his hands as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

For the past three weeks, since Jaune's correction of Weiss' behavior, the two have been conducting empathy training for the heiress. He would present her a scenario, and she would attempt to emotionally connect with the person in that scenario.

"You're working in a shop." Weiss pictured herself in a building, products lining the walls, and she was wearing an apron with her name tag. Weiss nodded for Jaune to continue. "You're working behind the counter for your best friend's shift on what was supposed to be your day off," Weiss scowled deeply, "so she can visit her sick mother, who is in the hospital awaiting surgery," Weiss' scowl shifted to a sad frown, "and you're currently serving a customer who is accusing you of being incompetent," Weiss scowled again, "and her baby is crying while her toddler is throwing things off the shelf," Weiss scowled even deeper than before, "and now imagine the customer is you."

Weiss opened her eyes. She felt tears in her eyes and blinked. "Oh my... I didn't realize I was so horrible."

"Well, maybe not that bad, but you have to remember that other people are living their lives, just as you're living your own." Jaune explained. "Empathy is just feeling how someone else does, so you can better understand them." Jaune's alarm on his scroll buzzed. "Oop! That's our time. I feel like we really had some growth today." Jaune stood up, helping Weiss off the floor.

"Same time next week?" Weiss asked.

"If it isn't, I'll let you know." Jaune guided her out of his room. "I'll see you tomorrow in class."

"Right!" Weiss nodded. She happily waved as she shouted, "Good-bye!" Once the door shut, she sighed happily. She really regretted not meeting him sooner. She opened the door to her room and found Ruby and Nora playing a video game together. "Hello, Ruby, Nora," she greeted, "how are you today?"

"Huh?" Ruby asked. "Oh, hey, Weiss! Nora and I were just playing some Ninja Death Fighter Adventures. You want to play next level?"

"Did you finish today's homework?" Weiss asked.

"Uh, no? It's the weekend, Weiss! They're not made for working; they're made for slacking off!" Ruby moved the controller up to make her jump higher.

"What if you get a job where you have to work weekends?"

"Ugh! That would suck!" She button-mashed as a tough enemy tried to corner her.

"And do you know how to best avoid that, Ruby?"

"What?" Ruby kept her eyes glued to the screen.

"Doing your homework and not getting kicked out of Beacon!"

"Fine, I'll do it after this level!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Whatever." she pulled out her notebook from the desk and put in her earbuds to listen to her music. But before she hit play, she heard Ruby and Nora talking.

"Is she gone?" Ruby asked.

"Hang on." Nora said, a few moments later, she began calling to her. "Weiss? Hey, Weiss?" Weiss remained silent. "I guess she can't hear me."

"She's probably listening to her dumb opera music." Weiss scowled at Ruby's statement. Opera wasn't dumb. It was classy, unlike her annoying rock.

"She's probably dreaming about how to smooch my man." Nora said with a scoff. Weiss froze. She had no idea Nora was the one Jaune fell for. "They've been hanging out the past three fridays, y'know? I'm starting to worry she's not picking up the hint."

"How did you and Jaune get together, anyways?" Ruby asked. Weiss carefully glanced over her shoulder, hoping she wouldn't be caught. "I mean, how do you go from being brother and sister to being engaged?"

Weiss turned forward and had to hold back the urge to dry heave at the statement. "We're not brother and sister, Ruby." Nora corrected, to which Weiss silently sighed in relief. "We just grew up in the same family." Weiss grew even more confused. "Dad rescued me from some Grimm and brought me home to be his daughter, but I chose to be Jaune's wife."

"So when did you get married?"

"We're not married," Weiss sighed in relief again, "yet. We got officially engaged before coming to Beacon. He popped the question right after I unlocked his aura."

Weiss was starting to see why Jaune and Nora not only got together, but why they belonged together. Jaune was the knight in shining armor in training, focused, idealistic, eager to step forward in the face of danger. Nora was the wild child with no filter, excitable, bold, and attacking each day with vigor, seizing it by the throat. It only made sense these opposites attracted. Weiss sighed as her heart broke, but she knew she'd recover, in due time. After all, it's not like Jaune was the only man on Remnant, despite how she felt.

"So, uh, Nora?" Ruby sounded nervous. "If... If you don't mind me asking, what, uh, what's it like holding Jaune's hands?"

The sound of their game pausing echoed in the room. There was silence. Weiss turned her head and saw Nora and Ruby, both tomato red-faced and staring at each other.

Nora coughed into her fist away from Ruby. "W-Well, if you must know, Jaune and I have held hands a f-few times."

Ruby gulped and nodded, signaling her friend to continue.

"Well, his hands feel... safe. They're, uh, b-big."

"How... How big?"

Nora held up her hands together, thumb-to-thumb, then slid them to overlap each other by three fingers. Ruby held up her hand to it and gasped. They outsized her almost five times! Her face grew more and more red.

Nora shot up. "W-Well, this has been fun, but I'm gonna go now! Bye!" She left without allowing her friend to speak.

Ruby stared at her han, then held it to her chest. She sighed dreamily. "Why are the big-handed ones always taken?"

"Tell me about it." Weiss said, causing Ruby to jump.

#rwby #jaune arc #nora’s arc #nora the arc au #nora valkyrie #ruby rose #weiss schnee

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lu-undy · 3 years

Text

Un-alone, Chapter 17

Here it is!

“So, how’s your uncle?”

“Not too bad. I was tellin’ the others that he probably could come but the physio’s insisting for him to not rush things. At his age, stuff takes a real amount of time to heal up.” Mundy took a sip of his drink while Larry returned to one of the couches. Richie went to the other end of the counter, tending to other customers. That left Mundy and Mark alone.

“How long before you think he’ll be alright?”

“Physio reckons it’s gonna be an extra month, maybe a month and a half.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Why? Does he owe you money or somethin’?” Mundy chuckled.

“No, I just miss talkin’ to him. He’s a cool guy.”

“Could still visit him at home. I'm sure he’ll be happy to see some people.” Mundy said, without thinking too much.

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I mean…”

“If you don’t wanna, it’s fine.” Mark answered, and now for Mundy, it was clear. Mark was not asking to visit his uncle as much as he was scouting Mundy’s heart. As one would dip his toe in the water of a calm lake to measure its temperature, Mark was testing Mundy’s mood, where he stood with respect to him.

“Wanna play some darts?” The blonde asked.

“Sure.”

Better leave it blurry, Mundy thought. There was no point anyway… Or was there?

Both men stood a few metres away from the target and Mark threw his first dart.

“Ha, not bad, eh?” He proudly said.

“Yeah, true.” Mundy closed one eye and took aim. He looked at the target and saw the blurry dart in front of his face. “Hm!” He threw it.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me…!” Mark laughed and shook his head. “A bullseye? on the first try?”

“Well, if there’s somethin’ I can do, it’s aim.” Mundy said and took a step away for Mark to replace him in front of the target.

“Oh, that I know, Aussie.” Mark threw the second dart. “Ha! I’m gettin’ closer, man!”

Mundy smiled under his hat. He took Mark’s place and shot again.

“What?! How d’you do it?!”

“Told ya.” Mundy’s raspy voice chuckled through his words. “I can aim.” He raised intense eyes to Mark. The American looked left and right.

“Wanna get harder targets?”

“Pff, Mark-”

“It’s ok if you don’t like the challenge, eh.” The blonde quipped. “I’ll just let you win and assume it’s your luck.”

“Told you, Mark, I’m a hunter, gimme darts, arrows, a rifle, anything, and I can aim with it.”

“I'm a hunter too.”

“Are ya now? Where’s your game then?”

“Maybe…” Mark looked left and right. He took a step towards Mundy, leaving hardly a few inches between them. “... I need a few lessons from someone who's clearly better than me, and a little bit older, huh?”

“You could ask yer Dad.”

Mark's head swooshed to Larry on the couch.

“He’s too busy right now, I wouldn’t want to bother him while he plays God knows what with his friends.”

“So you prefer to bother me?” Mundy answered and the blonde raised lustful eyes to him. Ha, Mundy had never been too good at telling the hints, seeing the signals, but the way that Mark stared at him with his hazel eyes was louder than sirens.

“Yeah.” Mark blinked delicately, or maybe he fluttered his eyes slightly. “So? Is your van free for another lil’ trip?”

Mundy pondered for a split second. His head was showing him wild pictures. Was it worth it? Would he end up living in New Mexico with Mark? Would he introduce him to his parents? Nah, he wouldn’t. Mark was way too hot-headed, Mundy did not really like that. But…

But his guts screamed at him. It had been a while since anyone had hit on him, and his ego was more than pleased with it all. The colder Mundy looked at Mark, the colder he behaved with him, the harder the young American clung to him. Gosh, Mundy loved the feeling, looking down in his eyes and seeing how much the other wanted him… When was the last time that it happened? Far too long.

“Alright.”

THe night was as dark as the last time that it had happened and the privacy of the van wasn’t enough for Mundy. He raced through the dry and golden desert of New Mexico, which now was as deep as the night could be. The Moon wasn’t there.

“Oh, yeah, M-Mundy… Take me - arh!”

The Aussie shut his head and listened to his body, to his blood pumping everywhere, to this feeling of sharing something with someone, doing something exceptionally not alone. Well, yeah, he could just lay there in his bed and do it with his hand. But nah, he was there with someone. And as Mundy looked under him at the man laying on his stomach, he felt everything mix within him. As the thrusts of his hips resounded in the slapping of his sweating skin against Mark’s, as the groans of the blonde filled him, as the golden streaks of sweat raked Marks skin under the old, yellow light in the van, Mundy realised he heard nothing and saw nothing either.

Only his thoughts were there. The same thoughts he had when he was alone. Was that person the right one? Did he like them? Was there something in his heart that would push him to do the unthinkable for that person? Would he drop hunting for them? Would he drop hunting beasts for them? Would he drop hunting… men? Would Mark fill the part of himself that unbearably itched for decades now? Could Mundy let that itch irritate him and burn him instead of deafening it as best as he could with one-night stands?

What did his heart think? Heart? Heart? Is there anything there for Mark and me or…?

Ah, yeah, well…

“Mundy, I’m gonna-I’m gonna… Arh!”

Mundy almost stopped thrusting as he rose back from his daydream. The blonde had somehow risen to his knees and elbows, and as Mundy recovered his ability to see, he realised that Mark had been frantically using his hand on himself until, well, the end. And it pulled the Aussie to finish too.

“Oh, man… It was even better than last time…” Mark concluded as he rolled on his back.

Mundy’s lips pursed into a smile, but the voice inside him still banged at his heart’s door.

Heart? Heart! Tell me! You can’t just not answer! C’mon! Tell me if I can hope for something with this bloke? Yes or no?! How hard can it be?!

He banged again and again, as both him and Mark cleaned up and lay down to sleep, this time together, in the narrow bunk inside the van.

Heart?

-- A few weeks later --

It had become a habit. Mundy would meet with Mark and spend his nights with him, without either of them questioning it. And it took less and less for Mark to ask him. As of late, a simple nod of the head towards the pub’s main door sufficed to signal to Mundy that the American was in the mood.

Mundy indulged every time. Why? Because it never felt bad to have someone to do it with rather than his own hand, to be blunt. But of course, the more they met, the more Mundy wondered. And the more he wondered, the more he harassed his own heart and his head for an answer, because quite frankly, if he asked what he had below the belt, his relationship with Mark could last forever…

During his days, Mundy became more familiar with the geography of the city and the overall State of New Mexico. He appreciated dearly the patch of desert not too far from his Uncle’s and spent time there when he wanted a corner of solace, an outer haven. And he spent his time there alone, as always. Not that he would fight anyone who would like to join him, but no one ever did want to come along.

Not even Mark.

Mundy had asked him one day.

“D’you wanna stay here tomorrow mornin’?”

Mark was half asleep, naked next to the Aussie in his warm van.

“Nah…”

“You sure?”

“What would we do here in the middle of nowhere?” The American spoke half into the pillow.

“We could spend the day huntin’, under the sun, just you and me. We’d be far from people and uh, y’know, just enjoyin’ ourselves.”

Mark chuckled in the pillow.

“You’re a funny guy, Mundy… See ya tomorrow.”

The Aussie thought about that slice of conversation again and again, it was playing on loop in his mind as if it had been recorded on a broken disc. Was Mark just too tired to have a chat after their usual meeting? Or did he genuinely laugh at Mundy’s suggestion?

The Aussie sighed. In the silence of his lonely van, he thought about it. Hold on. Mundy may not know Mark’s intentions but he knew how he behaved. The American would always ask to be cleaned, then roll to his side and sleep. The only thing Mundy would hear from him was sometimes praise of his performance of the day, and a “Night, night.”. Well, then maybe he did not really laugh at him…?

The Aussie finally decided to exit his van. He had been parked in front of the pub for a long enough while, just lost in thought. He needed a distraction, and a beer would surely-

“Hey, Aussie.”

Mundy gasped.

“Oh, hey, Mark. Sorry, I didn’t see ya.”

“No worries.” The blonde chuckled. “You came here early today.”

“So did you.” Mundy answered.

“I’m just playin’ the taxi driver for my Dad. He wanted to have a chat with Richie to organise the next big party here. Samantha’s gettin’ married with Jerry.”

“Oh, alright, congrats to them then, eh…?”

“Yup.” Mark nodded. “But what're you doin’ here this early?”

“I just wanted a beer or somethin’.”

“Mind if I tag along?”

“Sure.”

Both entered the bar and got served quickly. It was too early to be really busy, although a few patrons were enjoying their lunch there.

“So, uhm, Mark…?”

“Yeah?”

“D’you uh… Would you like to maybe spend some time in the desert?” Mundy asked with his eyes down on his beer. Mark laughed.

“Again with the desert stuff? You like it more than lizards do!”

Mundy smiled.

“Yeah but, I mean, it’s nice out there. Nice and calm. We could go for a bit of hunting, eat what we catch.”

“Pfff, and then what? Grill under the sun for some wild thing to make us their dinner? Nah, Mundy… You go and get roasted if you want, I like it better in the shade.”

Mundy frowned slightly.

“Right, then uh… What about somethin' else?”

“Like what? You’re not tryin’ to take me out on a date, are ya?”

“N-No, nah, I'm not the date kind of guy…” Mundy shook his head. “I just… Gets quite lonely out there, just lookin' for some company, and uh… You’re a hunter too so I thought that uh…”

“Well, it’s my father who’s big on the whole hunting thing. I follow him sometimes when I’m bored but I’m not huge on it.” Mark took a gulp of his fresh beer and Mundy’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“So you don’t wanna hang out with me sometime?”

“I think we’re good the way we are.” Mark answered. “Why change it?”

Mundy sighed. He looked at his beer and he didn’t want any of it anymore.

“Right.” The Aussie took off and left the bar, his pint still almost completely full.

“Mundy?”

He turned back to Mark with a hand on the pub’s front door still.

“What?”

“You angry at me?”

“No.”

“What? What’s this mean then? You just leave and you haven’t finished your beer?”

Mundy sighed and looked left and right. The last thing he wanted was his private life and his interest in men exposed to people who knew Phil very well. He entered back and went to Mark.

“Listen, if you're just with me for the nights, I’m not in anymore.”

The bluntness with which he spoke shocked Mundy himself.

“I thought you liked it better that way?”

“No-Yeah, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter.” He spoke between gritted teeth.

“So much for tryin’ to make me believe you're not mad…” Mark said with a scoff. “If you don’t know what you want, I can’t answer you, Mundy.”

“Alright, then. Here’s what I’d like to know, Mark.” Mundy removed his hat and slammed it on the counter. “Are you just with me for the nights?”

“I mean, that’s what we’ve been doin’ and I-”

“Answer me.” Mundy’s fierce glare made Mark gulp down audibly before he frowned.

“Yeah, guess I am.” The American finally admitted.

“D’you wanna go on like this or d'you wanna…?”

“Do I wanna what?” Mark frowned, now he was as mad as Mundy.

“I don't know!” The Aussie answered. “Maybe we could do stuff together instead of just using each other like that?”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Mark asked.

“Nothin’!” Mundy got his face closer to the American’s. “I just don’t like bein’ used, is all.”

“For someone who doesn’t like it and who’s a grown up man, you never said no, you never even raised the concern and you were the one fuckin’ me.” Mark spoke between gritted teeth for his shouts to be muffled into hard whispers. “You were the one to open your van, you were the one to get me out of my clothes, and you were the one to put it in me! Now if you didn’t want any of that, you never even gave me a clue about it! How could I have known?!”

Mundy sighed.

“Look, I don’t know, I just… I can't go on like this.” Mundy answered and spun on his heels to leave again.

“Alright then, go back to spendin’ your days alone in the desert, see if that does you any good!”

Mundy stopped sharp.

“What did you just say about me?” He said, slowly, and growling menacingly.

“I said: go back to the desert you like so much, I bet you’ll feel better there.” Mark repeated.

“Pray that I never find you again, Mark.” Mundy pulled the hat down on his eyes and left.

“Or what, huh? What're you gonna do, huh? Hunt me down like I’m a deer?!” This time, Mark had raised his voice, but as he did, Mundy left and was already outside.

The Aussie slipped in his van and drove back home. No. He needed the desert. He shifted gears to reverse.

“Mundy! Mundy, wait!”

The Aussie almost didn’t hear the voice calling for him. Larry came running to the van and banged the door on Mundy’s side.

“Mundy, hold on!”

The Aussie lowered the window, his face as dark as his boiling rage made it. The shy Mundy within him wanted to blush. After all, Larry was Mark’s father.

“Your mum’s called here, they’re asking you to go back home.”

Mundy’s eyebrows jumped and his face brightened, as if the storm raging within him a second ago had been pushed by the sun.

“Oh, uh, ok, thanks, Larry.”

“Pleasure, son, see ya!”

Mundy nodded and drove off. It took him the usual fifteen-ish minutes to reach back home.

“Mum? You wanted to see me?” Mundy said as he entered. “Oh? What’s all that?” As he had pushed the door and entered, Mundy’s feet bumped on wicker bags. That one had towels at the top, oh, there was a cool box there.

“Yeah, Micky, come in and go help your Uncle, will ya?”

“Sure… What’s with all the bags?” The Aussie entered the kitchen to find his mother making sandwiches.

“We had a chat with your Uncle today. They say the weather’s gonna be real hot and sunny for the next week at least so we decided to go to the beach for a few days.”

“Oh…” Mundy’s eyebrows jumped out of surprise. “Alright, sure. You said Uncle Phil needed my help?”

“Yeah, he’s packing his stuff. I already dealt with your things and I assume you have some swimming shorts in your van, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Then it’s all good. I’ll drive his car and you get your van with Marty next to you, yeah?”

“Works for me.” MUndy nodded with a smile.

“Perfect, now go before he goes mad. I’ve been hearing him grumble to himself…!”

“Sure, thanks, Mum.” Mundy came to leave a kiss on his Mum’s cheek.

“No worries, baby.”

About an hour later, everything had been loaded into the van and the car, and Marty happily joined Mundy in his van, on the passenger’s seat.

“How long is it till we get there?” Mundy asked.

“We’ll have to drive through the state and then through more or less the entirety of Texas to get to the sea.” Philip answered. “But if you ask me, better Texas than California!”

“Alright, you know your business, UNcle Phil.”

“It’s a twelve hour drive but of course, we’ll make a lot of stops and we’ll sleep on the way there. I know a few good places along the way. Used to make the trip with some colleagues at work once a year at least in summer.”

“Wow, twelve hours… I don’t think I’ve ever driven for that long.” Mundy answered.

“It’s fine, son, we won’t do them all in one bite, eh?”

“I know, I know.. Still…! Right, let’s get started then.”

“You’ll just have to follow your mum, I’ll be with her to guide her.”

“Ok, thanks Uncle Phil.”

“Thank you, son.”

Mundy climbed in the van, on the driver’s seat. As he did so, Marty who was sitting on the passenger’s seat started wagging his tail.

“Hey, Marty, ready for the journey?”

The dog leaned into Mundy’s hand to enjoy some good head scratching.

“Right, gimme a paw then, eh?”

The dog obeyed.

“That’s a good boy right there, good puppy. Right, Mum’s starin’, you sit and be a good boy while I drive, yeah?”

#tf2 spy #tf2 sniper #sniperspy

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genork-the-fandork · 3 years

Text

To celebrate Odaiba Day, I wanted to give some recognition to the “Odaibas” of the other series; that is, the days that started the other series’ adventures. While Odaiba Day doesn’t exactly recognize every Digimon beginning, I’d like to think it’s a celebration of all things Digimon.

So here are some one shots featuring the Adventure and non-Adventure series. I hope you enjoy! <3

"Wow. So today was the day, huh?" Tai said, glancing at the calendar on the fridge. It was the same brand of calendar that had been up the first time around. Now, two years later, it felt like yesterday that he was realizing the time flow between the Digital World and the human one was different.

The rest of the gang was crowded in his living room, eating the snacks his mother had put out for him. When they'd planned to get together, they had completely forgotten about the actual anniversary of their adventure. But in some ways, they had subconsciously remembered it anyway. Tai had a feeling the date would live on in their hearts for a long time.

"Tai! Hurry up with the food!" Agumon called, his face covered in crumbs. "I'm starving!"

"You might wanna do what he says!" Matt added. "I'm afraid he's going to eat Patamon next!"

"What?!" Patamon squeaked, hiding behind T.K.

Laughing, Tai brought out the rest of the snacks, leaving behind the calendar that had served as an eternal reminder of that fateful day.

Davis half-expected something exciting to happen on his first day of high school. Unfortunately, it was the same old school nonsense that he'd never really liked. No new kid that somehow knew the girl he liked, no computer warping him to the Digital World. It was almost saddening, really.

But his spirits lifted when he saw T.K. and Kari waiting for him outside the school. Yolei was off to the side, probably calling Ken or Cody to make sure they were ready to meet up. "You ready to go, Davis?" T.K. called, grinning the grin that used to annoy Davis to no end.

"'Course I am! I've been waiting for this all day!" he called back, running up to his friends. "Ramen, here I come!"

Kari and Yolei giggled as T.K. and Davis set off down the street, bickering over what type of ramen was the best.

It wasn't a big celebration, like the rest of the gang tended to do on anniversaries, but it was fitting for them, and that was all that mattered.

Tamers

Takato remembered the exact spot where he had first found the physical form of Guilmon. He also remembered the exact spot where the baby forms of all the Digimon had gone back to the Digital World. There were a lot of things he remembered, sentimental as he was, but he was starting to forget the exact day when it had all begun.

"To be fair, Takato, everything started on different days for all of us," Henry reasoned, closing his shoe locker and hoisting his messenger bag onto his shoulder. "I met Terriermon before you met Guilmon, and Jeri met Leomon before Kazu and Kenta met their partners. It's a bit hard to remember an anniversary when none of ours match up."

"But it would be nice to celebrate something that changed our lives the way the Digimon did," Takato said with a sigh.

"Why don't we just celebrate the day we all promised we'd meet again?" Rika said from Takato's left, appearing out of nowhere. She had long since mastered Renamon's signature skill.

Henry and Takato exchanged a glance. "That's perfect!" Takato exclaimed. "Then that'll be our anniversary!"

"But that's today—" Henry started to say, yelping when Takato grabbed his and Rika's hands and started dragging them down the street.

"Time to celebrate!"

Frontier

"We look weird," Koji said as they all stood in the train station, looking like a very conspicuous group of schoolkids.

"Well, where else are we supposed to celebrate?" Takuya snapped, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Maybe not so close to the stairs I fell down?" Koichi suggested, eyeing the offending stairwell cautiously.

"What are we gonna do? Play card games in here?" J.P. asked, snacking on some chips.

"I have to go to the bathroom," Tommy said. "Can we decide what we're doing here?"

"I knew I shouldn't have come," Zoe sighed. "Takuya didn't have a plan, just like I thought."

"Is it so bad that I wanted us all to spend time together?" Takuya nearly yelled, drawing the attention of passersby. Blushing furiously, Takuya muttered, "This is where our adventure began, guys. Cut me some slack, it's not like we were at a summer camp or something."

They couldn't help but smile at that. "Maybe we should go grab some pizza?" Koji suggested softly, placing his hand on Takuya's shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan," J.P. agreed, and they all got up and headed out of the train station, teasing Takuya about his lack of planning.

But they all silently agreed that they appreciated his efforts very, very much.

Data Squad [Savers]

"Remember the day we met?" Marcus asked, staring out at the world he now called his home.

"Hard to forget. You punch hard, Marcus," Agumon said, shaking his head at the memory. "Sometimes I still feel like I have bruises from that fight."

"Ha, sorry about that, buddy." Marcus grinned. "I never woulda thought that would lead to us both here, in the Digital World. Pretty wild, huh?"

"You got that right." Agumon paused. "I hope Yoshino and Thomas are alright."

"Ah, they'll be fine. They're smarter than me," Marcus said, waving off Agumon's concern. "If anything, I just want them to hurry up and open up the gate again so I can see my sister."

"We'll see them again, I'm sure of it." Agumon slapped a clawed hand over his chest. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll tear apart the worlds to let you see your sister again."

Marcus couldn't help but laugh at that. "Hey, thanks, bud."

That was when they heard someone calling Marcus's name.

"Marcus! Agumon! Are you there?"

They looked at each other, astonished. Was that…

"Yoshino! Over here!"

Marcus spun around with a wide smile to see his friends running toward him.

Well, what a happy anniversary this was.

Xros Wars [+Hunters]

"Man, what a ride the past couple years has been," Taiki said, adjusting the goggles on his head. "I don't think there are words to express how crazy this has all been."

"Easy for you to say," Akari teased. "You didn't get left behind twice when things were going down."

"I said I was sorry," Taiki began again, and Zenjirou chuckled at the familiar apology.

Tagiru and Gumdramon weren't even paying attention; they were too busy scarfing down their junk food. Yuu and Nene watched in almost concerned fascination while Ryouma and company dined at a table across the aisle from them.

"Hard to believe it's been a year since everything calmed down," Kiriha said, sipping his milkshake as he rested his arm over the seat of the booth. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll wake up and need to go solve some Digimon problem."

"I know what you mean," Taiki said. "It never really leaves you."

Nene smiled. "But now the world is safe and we can focus on spending time together, right?"

Zenjirou blushed at the word "together," but before he could ask her out again, Tagiru said, "Only if it means we come back here every time!"

The others laughed at that, letting Tagiru's antics wash away the uncertainty and fear that the Digital World was never truly saved. For now, they were here, and they were going to have a good time together.

#digimon #digiweek2021 #gen writes #digiweek day 7 #digimon drabble #digimon adventure #digimon tamers #digimon frontier #digimon savers #digimon xros wars #the logic on some of these doesn't track but shhhhh #didn't remember the exact nuances of savers's ending sorry a;sdjf;asdj

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whats-rambled-rambled · 4 years

Text

TA, dr and other abbreviations

Neil x Reader

summary: some time ago, Neil was a TA at your uni, now you meet up again when he needs your help with his next mission

+ song: Chase Atlantic - Friends

warnings: language, alcohol mention, things get steamy so let’s say 18+

author’s note: that request was fun! 👀 I’ve enjoyed the dynamic between those two, so I decided to try something different in terms of the writing style.

This is also the first one-shot not related to Stuck in Reverse series, can you believe?

Let me know what you think!

___

Your eyes dart towards your lab’s door, your brows raise at the sight of a familiar face. Your day just got a whole lot better.

“Good afternoon, I’m looking for doctor-...” a man at the door glances at you and he skips a beat, clearly trying to remember where does he know you from.

You don’t feel like helping him to figure it out though. To be fair, you’ve changed quite a lot over those last 10 years. You smile to yourself as you think about your younger self, always so anxious and flustered in Neil’s presence. If only she could see you now. She would appreciate the glow-up, that’s for sure.

God, you used to have the biggest crush on him. Not that he knew about it, of course. He was 8 years older than you, also he was a TA during your uni time. You talked sometimes, but that was all, you knew he was seeing someone back then; you settled down for daydreaming about his blue eyes and dying a bit inside whenever you saw him.

And now he’s here, still as hot and gorgeous as ever.

You put on your most polite expression, fighting the smug grin from appearing on your face.

“While I kinda enjoy seeing your puzzled face, I’m also quite busy, so I'm gonna give you a tip – your little TA gig a few years ago.”

Neil’s gaze flares up as he looks you up and down, still a bit confused, trying to match the image he remembers to your present look.

He blinks twice, composes himself, and proceeds with his request for your aid.

When he leans over your desk and shows you the mission’s brief on his tablet, you notice that he wears the same cologne as he used to all those years ago. Your heart flutters in your chest, but definitely not in that old, nervous way. You chew on your bottom lip, trying to stay focused on Neil’s words. You must admit, the sudden change in dynamic is thrilling. As you help him go through some of the details regarding his next assignment, you wonder if you’re gonna see him more frequently from now on.

You certainly wouldn’t mind.

This time, the Universe smiles upon you.

Neil pops into your lab more and more often.

At first, it’s all related to work.

After some time, you begin to wonder if he doesn’t look for just any excuse to come over. You don’t care though, you really enjoy his company.

And it seems like Neil’s grown quite fond of you himself.

Now that he’s finally wrapped his mind around the new you, his blue eyes always light up in your presence. You don’t even realize the exact moment when his usual charming demeanor becomes straight up flirtatious.

But when you notice that change, oh my, the game is on.

Well, he still keeps it all professional, of course.

It’s the little things. That slight change of posture. The accidental brush of his fingers on your hand when he passes you things. Or that light touch on your shoulder when you both lean over the desk and go through some papers needed for his missions.

The intense stare right into your eyes, with a corner of his lips twitched in a half-smile.

But you can give as good as you get.

The way you tilt your head and expose your neck when he’s standing close. Taking that little extra step in his direction when you talk, stopping at the verge of his personal space as you watch him hold his breath for a second. A bit of playful teasing, sometimes involving light tugs at his tie.

And that last thing always ends up with Neil almost forgetting the tongue in his mouth. Almost.

...Sometimes you ask yourself if you’re not having too much fun when he’s around. You’re at work, after all.

It’s one of those evenings. You should’ve gone home a long time ago, instead, you’re hanging out with Neil, talking about everything and nothing in particular.

Your phone beeps. You read a short message and you muse over it for a moment. You know that your companion is gonna leave soon, late-night mission or whatever; the suggestion to blow off steam you’ve received sounds like just what you need.

You meet Neil’s curious look and you realize you’ve let a sly grin appear on your face.

You shrug.

“A booty call,” you say in the most casual tone.

A hint of satisfaction flashes in your eyes when you watch Neil’s very conflicted expression. You bite your lip to stifle a giggle. He’s adorable.

He crosses his arms, the corners of his mouth curl.

“Does that happen often?”

“Oh darling, a lady never kisses and tells. Why, do you want in on the list?” you tease, narrowing your eyes.

His eyebrow quirks. “There is a list, huh?”

“Is that a yes?” you grin, mimicking his raised brow.

He walks up to your desk and slowly reaches past you for his jacket, hung on the back of your seat.

And as his face gets right next to your ear-...

“Maybe.”

When he pulls back and you see his blue eyes, how dark they are, it takes all your self-control to keep a straight face. But the question escapes your mouth anyway.

“See you later this week?”

You mentally kick yourself for this moment of weakness.

“Hm,” he gives you a peculiar smile on his way out.

Well, that wasn't exactly a yes.

At the door, he shoots you a quick look over his shoulder.

“Have fun.”

...does he seem a little pissed-off to you?

And you have fun that night, all right.

Even though all you can think about are those blue eyes and dirty blonde hair.

Then, Neil doesn’t show up for the next couple of days.

For a moment, you get tempted to check on him at the HQ, but you scoff at yourself. He’s a big boy, he can handle himself.

When he finally walks into your lab, something feels different.

You can’t put your finger on it.

In the beginning, he’s just so official and it irks you. But you look into his eyes and… it almost seems like he’s taunting you. And it makes your heart increase its pace.

Oh, you see how it is.

On top of it all, he’s so annoying today.

He sits on the chair, loosening his tie, his legs spread, his gaze locked on you.

After yet another snarky comment, you grit your teeth, trying to focus on the documents in front of you.

“Neil, if you interrupt me one more time, so help me god.”

And he does. He does, leaning back on the chair with a smug smile.

So... now what?

You scoff and close in on him.

“Why are you like this?” you utter, reaching for his tie.

The innocent look in his eyes.

“Like what?”

You give his tie a tug.

“Rude.”

And then that bastard runs the tongue over his lower lip and smirks.

Next thing you know, you straddle him on the chair, burying your fingers in his hair as his mouth crushes on yours. Neil wraps his arms around you and pulls you closer. The urgency of the kiss takes your breath away. You rock your hips and you brush against the bulk in his trousers, and oh god, it feels so good. Your head arches back. Neil’s breath and his lips on your neck drive you wild. You need him, right here, right now. You cling on to him for your dear life as you move your hips again and a sharp moan escapes his mouth.

The abrupt knock on your door makes you both jump at your feet, trying to level your breaths.

“Mate, I’ve been looking for you everywhere! Why the fuck are you not answering your phone, eh?”

As Ives enters the room, his eyes dart between the two of you, a wicked grin plastered on his face.

“Ah shit, I hope I am not interrupting?”

You roll your eyes as Neil simply glares at him.

The moment is gone, and so are they, leaving for yet another emergency operation.

A few days later, your friends take you out for drinks, and you definitely have one too many.

…Or a few too many.

You end up standing at Neil’s apartment door, pressing the doorbell excessively long.

He opens up, looking you up and down with an amused smile.

You poke him in the chest.

“Consider yourself booty-called.”

You giggle as you watch his eyes widen.

Neil clenches his jaw and takes a step back.

“Jesus... Come in?”

He takes your coat and you make your way inside.

You are way past caring about small talks and whatnot. You pull on his shirt, trying to guide him towards that rather comfy looking couch.

One more step.

You want to kiss him, but Neil puts a finger on your mouth and shakes his head.

“What? I thought you wanted in on the list?” you ask as you sit down on the couch, your brows furrowed.

“Not like this.”

Wow, now your pride is hurt a little.

“Fine, I’m going home then,” you pout and try to get up quickly.

You underestimate the amount of alcohol in your system though, so you yelp and fall back.

“You’re not going anywhere in this state,” he scoffs.

Why is he the way that he is?

“I’ll get you some coffee, make yourself comfortable.”

And so you do. You toss your shoes away and rest your head on one of the pillows.

You close your eyes just for a second.

You open them up again when Neil covers you with a blanket.

To be honest, you’re way too tired and cozy to argue.

When you notice the soft look in his blue eyes, your heart melts in your chest.

And because all your filters are off at this point, you say, “I really like you, you know?”

He chuckles and places a small kiss on the tip of your nose.

“Tell me that when you’re sober.”

The next morning… well, let’s just say that you wish the sun was shining a bit more quietly.

Neil glances at you from the kitchen.

“Morning.”

You don’t know what hits you first – the pounding headache or the nauseating dread at the thought of what’s happened last night.

“Fuck me,” you groan, hiding your face in your palms.

And what do you hear in response?

“With pleasure. But how about we eat breakfast first?”

#neil tenet #neil x reader #neil tenet x reader #robert pattinson #neil tenet imagine #neil tenet fanfic #tenet #tenet fanfic

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fumiko-matsubara · 3 years

Text

Writing Exercise 2 // AssClass x Tower of God AU - Reunion

Writing Exercise // AC x Tog AU - Catching up

Summary: In their 10 years of climbing the Tower together nonstop, Team END should have known by now that anything could happen so suddenly.

However, a reunion with an old teammate was certainly not what most of them have in mind.

Word count: 2.3k words

• ▪ • ▪ •

Nakamura was exhausted.

Well actually, all of them are. But yeah, she's exhausted.

Team END had recently just cleared the final floor test that allowed them to arrive at the 30th Floor, which was basically a more brutal take of the Capture the Flag game, that lasted them over 8 hours to finish.

Injuries barely treated, bodies aching, sleep lacking, and stomachs starting to rumble, the last thing they'd want to happen was to encounter another trouble the moment they had been transported to the next floor.

"Oi Nakamura, are you sure we should be heading this way..?" Okajima barely squeaked out, frozen at his own spot as he fearfully stared at the sight before them.

"That's what it says on my lighthouse!" She hissed quietly, glaring at the glowing blue cube floating beside her.

Chiba should have been more specific about where his goddamn house is located in this floor.

He had told her before that he has his own residence here at the 30th Floor, somewhere beyond this swamp-like forest thingy, which he had given Team END the permission to reside in for the next 20 Floors until they become C-Rank Regulars.

Yet he never said anything about dealing with dangerous creatures along the way.

Nakamura had discreetly messaged him through her Pocket minutes ago, which he had replied to not long after.

"Wait, I just got off from work. I'll be right there." - Ryuunosuke

It had been 15 minutes since then.

Nakamura is surely going to give him a good slap the moment she sees the Spear Bearer. Well, if she can still recognize him, that is, since the dude had that annoying black cloak nearly hiding his entire body when she first bumped into him at a marketplace at the 21st Floor three years ago.

So here they all are, standing frozen before a sort of gigantic forest creature (who looks hungry, by the way), too exhausted and injured to put up a fight, let alone save themselves.

A Green Mulso, Kurahashi had informed them, is a shinheuh that resembles a gigantic Water Buffalo meant to guard certain areas in a swamp forest from outsiders. There are two types of Mulso, a green one and a brown one. The brown ones are much smaller and friendlier apparently.

Kurahashi then oh-so helpfully told the team that Green Mulsos are wild, incredibly sturdy, and cannot be tamed at all, even by the most talented Anima.

So in short, unless they still got enough stamina to spare, they're doomed.

I swear to god, Ryuunosuke. If I die here right now in the most pathetic way I will fucking haunt you for eternity-

A flash of bright blue from a distance had cut off Nakamura's thoughts, her eyes widening as she watched the water-like shinsu pierce through the wild beast before them at a frightening speed, killing it instantly.

A chorus of surprised yelps were let out at the sight, some where even full-out screams.

Everyone then instinctively moved away when the now dead green mulso had fallen to the ground, it's large size causing it to shake for a moment.

"Oh my god what was that..." Maehara breathed out, his hand clutching over his chest.

Some of them tentatively stared at the dead giant creature before them, some where eve cautiously approaching it to see the wound, while others chose to avoid looking at it.

Nakamura just stayed at her spot, the gears in her brain already working to find answers. A blast of water-like shinsu was what killed the creature, which could have been done by a Wave Controller from just the shinsu's form itself alone. Yet the blast itself looked too thin compared to what Nakamura usually saw what Wave Controllers do.

Not to mention it looked like it had come from a very long distance, which is a range that not even Rankers could reach, as once clarified by Koro-sensei when they were still at the 2nd Floor. A range like that is something only Spear Bearers could do.

Nakamura then frowned at the thought.

But are there even any Spear Bearers who use water-like shinsu to shoot? She knows about Lightning and Ice users who make their own spears, there have been plenty of Regulars and Rankers who were known for that after all, but a Water user Spear Bearer is unheard of.

This would be the first time she sees one if she was correct.

"Woah I got here just in time, thank goodness..." A familiar voice spoke out at a fair distance.

Nakamura's eyes then roamed around the tall trees surrounding them, assuming the guy was somewhere perched up at one of them, based from where she could hear his voice coming from. "Well, you sure took your sweet time to get here," she huffed.

A wave of murmurs and whispers gradually built up and Nakamura could make out some of them wondering how she seemed to know the voice that was talking just now.

"The town was especially busy today and I can't just jump between rooftops, you know that..." He sighed out. "On another note, I didn't think you guys would actually go to this part of the forest. This place is inhabited by Green Mulsos after all, you know how wild those things are."

"And yet it only took you a single shot to kill one," Nakamura raised an eyebrow, her eyes darting everywhere, still trying to look for him.

"I live around here. You just get used to them."

A flash of light and suddenly an overwhelming pair of bright maroon eyes were right in front of her, along with a wide smile gracing the face those eyes belonged to.

Nakamura hesitantly took a step back, giving the tall figure that had appeared before her a once over. Sharp maroon eyes, tall nose, plump lips, strong eyebrows, and long dark hair pulled up in a high ponytail with fringes widely parted at the middle ー a pretty one yet there's a tinge of manliness to it with that long brown coat over a white polo and black pants combo.

How handsome.

Nakamura then narrowed her gaze. Something about this person is ridiculously familiar to her but she couldn't recall anyone with this appearance or at least close to having it.

Hey wait a minute. Nakamura frowned even further. If that was Chiba who I was talking to just now and this person showed up then-

The person's smile dropped then raised an eyebrow at her instead. "What's with that look?"

A scream ripped itself from Nakamura's throat.

• ▪ • ▪ •

"Wow you changed a lot!"

"You think I'd still look the same after 10 years?" Chiba incredulously asked.

30 seconds of dodging mild embarrassment and composure regaining, Nakamura then revealed to the rest of the team that the person who had appeared before them was Chiba, their former teammate who had been seperated from them 22 Floors below.

After that sudden reunion, but not without a strong slap on the shoulder by Nakamura, Chiba soon led the whole team towards the place he is residing in, which was beyond the forest. The route they are currently taking was much farther away from where they were at previously and less closed off.

There were less trees around them and the pathway is much clearer and if they look even further ahead, they can see a wide clearing at a distance.

The walk was fairly quiet, as the whole team was too exhausted from the previous Floor Test to even make enough noise. Some even start to doze off and are just being carried by lighthouses instead of walking, and some of the Light Bearers in the team had just went inside their respective lighthouses.

Kurahashi in particular was fast asleep on Cattus' back, a cat-like cactus creature she had befriended back then, currently in its giant form as it cutely marched beside Chiba and Nakamura, who were walking ahead of everyone.

"Water spears are definitely the last thing I thought you'd use," Nakamura remarked. Unlike the majority of them, she still has enough energy to engage in a conversation. "I was kinda expecting you to wield a sniper rifle or something."

Chiba let out mellowed chuckles. "I actually do own one. But I only use it for specific types of Floor tests," he professed.

"Oh really?" Nakamura blinked at him im wonder. "Where'd you get it?"

"Ah I won it at the Workshop Battle I participated in 4 years ago."

Nakamura nearly faltered at the name almost bitterly but then quickly recovered. "I see," she forced a cheeky grin. "Probably gave them hell, huh?"

"That was Miki," Chiba rolled his eyes though his smile never left his place. "Anyways, water spears. I've always known how to make them but I've only started to utilize them even more around the time I came to the 12th Floor."

Nakamura hummed in response. "So like... 8 or 9 years ago..?"

"Nine years ago," he confirmed. "Enough time for me to solidify its reliability in battle and learn more ways to utilize it."

"I believe this is the first time I've heard of a Spear Bearer who uses Water shinsu to make their own spears," a golden-litted lighthouse suddenly flew in front of the two. "I apologize for abruptly joining in but I am personally intrigued by this discussion, if you don't mind, Chiba-kun."

"Oh Asano-kun," Chiba's smile widened. "You'd be surprised to know that I'm actually not the only one who does this."

"Is that so?"

"But you're still right," Chiba slightly moved away from Nakamura and faced the two of them, bringing his right arm out.

A small bang of water-like shinsu started forming on his palm then suddenly sprouted into a very long shaft that is twice the height of Chiba himself less than a second after. Its blade forming into a drill-shaped head with small flows of water spiralling around the shaft almost prettily.

With a proud smile, Chiba momentarily spun the newly formed spear around. "I'm the only Spear Bearer in the family who had managed to make it sturdy enough to be a main weapon of choice."

He doesn't need to elaborate for both Nakamura and Asano to know what he meant by 'family'.

Ryuunosuke is from the Great Family of Chiba, whose Head was one of the Great Warriors who had first climbed towards the top of the Tower along with the King himself. Anyone tied with the Chiba bloodline is automatically a Water User by default, unless they chose not to use the water-manifested shinsu, as the heritage is that strong.

Chiba himself is not a direct descendant of the Head, making him one of the less important members as the Family Tree is ridiculously huge that a random Regular could actually meet at least 2 Chiba members in each Floor.

But from what he implied just now, his unique standing as a Spear Bearer might just make him stand out in the vast sea mostly full of Wave Controllers.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't intentionally trying to get my name out there in order to be respected in the family as my own person and not be seen as 'just another Chiba'," he admitted with a determined look. "After all, I was born thousands of years after my greatest grandmother had become one of the Great Family Leaders in the Tower."

He then grinned almost challengingly. "But hearing what both of you said just now is just making me want to work even harder."

Nakamura smirked anticipatingly, trying to bury down the nervousness that had shot throughout her body. That frightening display just earlier and yet he's saying such things like this right now... damn he's grown out of our league...

A seemingly amused chuckle had suddenly come out out the golden lighthouse floating beside them. "It's almost admirable to see how very self-assured you are despite the strong clutches of your influencial family name. I can respect that."

Equally amused, Chiba had vanished the water sphere and turned to the giant glowing golden cube. "Well I suppose my conviction is new for someone who is the only descendant of the Great Lord Asano," he remarked.

"But enough about me, I want to hear your story." He gestured a hand towards him (or the cube) and grinned further. "How did the only child of the strongest Light Bearer in the Tower end up travelling with an old team of mine after that initial claim he had of taking no absolute interest in them?"

Nakamura, who had just been attentively listening to them the whole time, suddenly let out an evil cackle. "Oh man do I have the perfect story to share..."

"No! Her so-called 'perfect story' is nothing but exaggerated lies! Do not listen to her!"

"What exaggerated lies?" Nakamura laughed out loud, her grin even wider. "I literally got a lot of proof saved inside my lighthouse!"

She then gasped dramatically. "Maybe I should just send them to him!"

"Don't you dare!" Asano warned.

Chiba just owlishly blinked at the incredulous sight of Nakamura and a floating golden cube bickering. He was sure it wasn't that long ago when Nakamura had told him about Asano and Sakakibara temporarily joining Team END for a while. Yet the display before him made it seem like their newly formed alliance wasn't that recent at all.

Yeah, there's a lot of catching up for me to do alright...

#impulsively wrote this the past 2 hours and before I sleep #if there's anything off about this it's probably because I'm too sleepy to read back shit I wrote and fix them #also the whole thing is just improvised #my foundation was just the image of them freezing at their spots while a gigantic water buffalo looks down on them #everything else was just what my sleep deprived mind wanders to while my thumbs do their typing magic~#I'll probably wake up tomorrow and regret writing this WHO KNOWS LOL #assassination classroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #assclass #assassination classroom x tower of god #tower of god au #nakamura rio #chiba ryuunosuke #asano gakushuu #my writing #writing exercise #good night y'all ❣

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frenchy-and-the-sea · 3 years

Text

OC Kiss Week 21 - Meddling

Day 2 is dedicated to the ever-lovely @bladeverbena! Smith, I did my damnedest to research Dym as much as possible but pushing myself out of an art block might have warped him a little bit and I apologize in advance if it did! But I know Fizz is a favorite of yours, and I couldn’t deny myself the pleasure of making her Dym’s problem for just a little while. ;) Hope you can forgive me!

~1300 words, set where nebulous worlds collide.

---

The man sat alone.

That wasn’t entirely usual, Fizz reasoned with herself. People stumbling into taverns at every hour of the day, hells-bent on getting lost in their cups, were often the only thing keeping a struggling tavernkeep in business. From her place seated atop the table nearest the stage, she could see no less than four others huddled around their drinks, sullen and silent as the grave. The man that Fizz watched took no drink at all though, no food, no entertainment. Even Casimir rousing the crowd into a bustle of dancing feet and clapping hands seemed to have no effect on him. He had just sat amid the chaos of the swirling crowd around him, chin propped on one hand as he fingered a little square of paper that he had almost certainly memorized by now.

That was damn near an invitation for meddling, as far as Fizz was concerned.

Hopping down from her perch, she strolled around the dice game that Sarai was most certainly not cheating at, and down through the thick forest of knees around her towards the man's table. He didn't so much as blink until she cleared her throat.

“Hi!” she said, when he wheeled towards her. And then, with a gesture to the chair opposite him, “Mind if I take a seat?”

It wasn’t a question, not really, and the man was either too surprised or not quick enough to stop her. The paper in his hands vanished into a pocket as Fizz hauled herself into her newly claimed seat.

“Hello,” he said, when he'd collected himself enough to try for a smile. “Can I, ah, help you?”

“Nope,” Fizz said brightly. Then she turned and raised her voice above the din to hail the nearest barmaid. “Excuse me! Two, please! Of whatever the bard had, for me and my friend here.”

She gestured up to the stage by way of an explanation. Cas never drank much during a performance, but neither did he take anything that didn’t suit his decidedly refined palate. Whatever he had ordered would be suitable enough for a peace offering. The barmaid gave her an odd look but nodded, and then disappeared into the crowd.

“I’m not much for partaking,” the man warned her, his tone inching towards protest. Fizz just waved him off.

"It's the principle of the thing. Tavern tables need drinks on them, or they start getting fussy. And no one should spend all of his time in a pub alone."

“But I’m not alone,” the man said, smiling like he had started to catch onto her game. “Not really, anyway. My traveling companions have all just retired for the night. It was a….long day.”

Long and trying, said the sudden brush of hardness across his face. Now that she was sitting still, now that the candles had brightened along his face, Fizz could see the dullness of the man’s skin, the bloodshot red of lost sleep around his eyes, the tangles in his long, long hair that had clearly been given a cursory brushing before weariness settled too deeply in his bones. Her heart staggered with sympathy.

“I’m sorry,” she said honestly. “We’ve had some of those too, recently. I know what it’s like. If any of your friends are still feeling off, I can offer a little pick-me-up.”

She held up both hands as he looked up, wiggling her fingers as flickers of radiant energy sparked off of them, scattering into the air like fireworks in miniature. The man’s eyes widened for a moment, the bloodshot whites of them standing out against his dull grey skin. Then he smiled again, and Fizz watched as he raised his own hand, and a curl of the same magic swirled around it, thick as woodsmoke. Her eyebrows shot into her hairline.

“You’re a cleric!” she exclaimed, leaping up onto the seat of her chair to lean further across the table towards him. Her enthusiasm seemed to have banished some of the poorer memories of the afternoon; the man managed a laugh.

“I am, yes.” He reached across the table and offered a tattooed hand. “Endymion Metus Flood, in service to our Mother Night. Dym, if you prefer.”

Fizz pushed herself onto her tiptoes and clapped her hand in his. “Fizz, favored of the Laughing Rogue Olidammara, at your service!”

As if summoned by the name, the barmaid returned with two heavy bottomed tankards filled to the brim with some rich amber liquid that looked more like wine than beer. Fizz slipped a full gold piece into her hand as she set them down, and grinned when the woman scurried away, eyes as wide as dinner plates.

“Am I to assume he’s the one that took offense to my empty bar table?” Dym asked with a wry smile, graciously accepting one of the tankards as Fizz pushed it across to him. She shook her head.

“Nah, I just thought you might like some company, is all. And besides, I can make it up to him if he did take some kind of offense. Watch.”

She turned towards the stage, where Cas was slowly warming the crowd back up to a dancing tune, and snapped her fingers. Instantly, a shimmering duplicate of herself appeared behind his chair, scrambling wildly around the stage in something that could almost be described as a dance, with enough squinting and a forgiveness for tempo. The chattering voices around the stage paused for a moment, and then suddenly rose into a collective roar of laughter. Cas’s head swung around behind him like he already knew what was happening and then whipped back towards her, scowling.

“Fizz!” he called, warning in his voice. She blew him a kiss in reply.

“And that’s repayment for offense, is it?” asked Dym from across the table. He sounded very near to laughter himself.

“I like to think it’s more like balancing the scales,” Fizz said with a thoughtful nod. And then, grinning, “I'm sure that’s something even your Lady can appreciate.”

They fell into idle conversation after that, exchanging stories and holy tenants and commiseration - with wildly different levels of melodrama - over how often they found themselves pulling loved ones back from the brink. Once or twice, Dym said something that made Fizz’s whole body shiver, but she only nodded politely and hid her shuddering behind a roll of her shoulders. After months of combing libraries for stories of hellish pact-makers and dismantling cults on the side, she knew only too well how tightly darkness clung to the victims it found.

They were halfway through the story of the dragon’s ball - Dym’s intrigued listening and Fizz’s wild retelling - when a shadow suddenly fell over their table.

“We’re good for this round, thanks,” Fizz began, assuming the probing of a barmaid. The words died to a squeak in her throat as she looked up into the eyes of the half-elf stood barely an arm’s length away, lute slung over his shoulder and arms crossed over his chest.

“Fizz,” said Cas, his face drawn into a steady line of irritation. So he remembered the duplicate, then. Fizz shrank down in her seat with a nervous giggle.

“Well,” she said, slipping down from her chair on the opposite side of the table, “it has been lovely, Dym, really, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave you for the night. It was a pleasure, grand time, all that shit. If you could just -”

And then she darted behind his chair and vanished.

Cas swore and spun on a heel, casting around for the shimmer in the air that would betray her. It gave Fizz just enough time to leap onto the seat of Dym’s chair and press an invisible kiss onto his cheek.

“Thanks for the chat,” she whispered as he wheeled towards her. “Here's hoping your next days aren’t quite so long, huh?”

Then she sprang into the air, visible once again, and fled out the back door behind them, laughing the whole way out.

#ockiss21 #oc kiss week 2021 #other people's ocs #d&d #the fizz tag #my writing #i fear this one fell a little flat and i'm sorry for that asdjf;a #still trying to get my brain around new ocs i'm afraid #one day I will do your boy justice!!#for now please accept my first attempt #with a little casimir for flavor

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sergeant-donny-donowitz · 4 years

Text

Tough Guy (DonnyxFem!Reader) (Pt.1)

Requested by @sodapop182

@owba-chan @war-obsessed inglourious-imagines @tealaquinn @struggling-bee @frozenhuntress67 @kwyloz

Let me know if you wanna be added to the IB or OUATIH taglists!

A/N: I learned so stuff about ww2 nurses, and omg they were baddies

A/N 2: Yall...we need nurses/doctors/CNAs/Rns, now more than ever, Stay inside and do them a favor <3

PT 2 Here

__________________________________________________

His blood was spilling onto the snow, pooling through layers of jackets the basterds wrapped him with. His blood was begginning as a slow drip of crimson on white, like cherries in the snow.

The basterds couldn't help him, and they couldn't afford to lose another basterd.

When Donny woke up, he was in an aid station. That never happened to any basterd before. He felt like he didn't deserve it.

So when he realized you were taking his temperature, and his vitals, he shifted, "I don't need your help."

You raised your eyebrow.

"I don't know why they send you all out here anyway. We can take care of ourselves. We have to. I don't need this. I can-"

The way he said 'we' irked you.

You knew he was talking about the soldiers, forgetting war efforts involved everyone. There were civilians, women, children, medics, engineers, any and everyone everywhere left life as they knew it. Left it all behind, and put it all on the line. Even if they weren’t on the front line, it didn’t mean it wasn’t valuable.

You decided to play his game. You had the time.

You stood back, and crossed your arms, "Aw, don't like seein’ dames in charge, huh?"

"Wh.." He sputtered, realizing how his tone came off, "No, I...I meant...Uh...That's not what I meant! I..."

You smirked, "Alright tough guy. You still got some shrapnel there. You don't need me, right? Here." You handed him a scalpel.

He stared at you blankly.

You stared right back, your arms were crossed, your eyebrow raise, containing a laugh of amusement behind a face of routine. "Well, sergeant? I'm waiting."

His lips parted, but no words came out.

He was Donny Donowitz. He had never been speechless in his life.

You crouched over him, "Look. Your job might be to kill the enemy, but my job is to keep you alive."

This time, he raised his eyebrow. His head tilted to the side, and his dark eyes tried to see through yours.

He couldn't read you.

You stood back up, "Sometimes we can't do that," You sighed, sometimes it was too much. There were days where the blood didn't stop, there was no time to eat, no time to sleep.

There was a commotion out in the corridor.

There had been an air raid over a nearby town...Which meant chances were you wouldn't be able to save someone that night.

You looked back at Donny, and shrugged, "Hang tight, tough guy."

"Wait...I-"

You looked back at the door.

You knew he wouldn't say it.

He was too proud.

He wouldn't admit he needed you.

It kind of gave you some satisfaction, but, at the same time, there were others that really needed you.

Donny, in the mean time, slumped back down.

What was he going to say?

He stared at the ceiling, looking for those words as his fever took him back to night.

****

Donny's eyes went wide.

He flailed, and shot straight up, immediately trying to get up. The nurse that was in the room at the time couldn't get him to calm down, and there were no sedatives at hand.

"Y/N?! SOMEBODY! GET ME SOME GODDAMN SEDATIVES!"

In no time, you marched in.

The sole look on your face made Donny Donowitz stand down.

He was genuinely terrified.

You were not having it.

Your hair was pulled back, a few wild strands undone from the long hours. Your sleeves rolled up from your day turned graveyard shift. Your stern, unamused expression settled him down immediately.

You held up a syringe.

He immediately backed down.

Because if there was one thing Donny couldn't handle, it was syringes.

He could scalp all the nazis in the world, and bash as many of their brains in as he pleased....but a needle was an absolute hell no.

"Hey hey, hey, what's all the commotion in here, huh?"

That was a rhetorical question, of course. Because Donny was the most problematic patient you’d ever had. So you immediately looked to him. The only conscious patient in the room, and you muttered "Oh of course."

He gathered his strengths back up, "I gotta go, I gotta get back out there."

You looked at the other nurse. "Lana, can you get private Martinez down the hall some more morphine? I'll handle this."

Lana, the other nurse, smiled and nodded gratefully as she bounded down the hall.

"You're not ready to go back out there."

"But-"

You gently pressed your fingertips against his covered wound, and he flinched as a wave of sharp pain struck him.

“See.”

He shook his head, and started to sit up, "I'm fucking fine!"

You couldn't believe it. Their pride and stubborness was the number one thing that got those boys hurt and right back to you.

Or worse.

Six feet underground.

"Hey." You raised your voice.

Normally, you weren't that nurse....but Donny wasn't making it any easier.

It had been a tough week.

There had been more casualties than usual...

No matter how much training you got, nothing could ever prepare you for that. Not those sad eyes that would never see victory, or home again...

You stood over Donny, "I didn't bust my ass trying to save you, just so you could go and-"

"Save me?!"

You glared, "Yeah. You."

"You didn't save me, " he huffed, "The boys brought me in."

"Oh." You picked up a tin, and shook it around. A metallic clink began to ring through the room. "And who took this fucking bullet out of your belly? Who stopped you from spilling your guts out? Who closed up that wound when your sloppy team couldn’t? All the lovely ladies here."

He was silent for a moment.

He lowered his voice, and muttered, "You don't know what it's like out there, sweetheart."

Sweetheart?

You gritted your teeth.

You weren’t taking a back seat. You’d worked too hard all your life.

Smoke practically flared out of your ears.

"No?" You lowered your voice too, not to comfort him, but to confront him.

"C'mon sergeant. Nurses see all the blood you don't have to. We sit with the dead and the dying day in and day out. We stitch you up, and send you back out there. Hell, we go out there."

You knew he was going to say it wasn't the same.

Somehow, sometimes you thought it was worse...

Millions of lives were in your hands. Seeing even one go was enough to make you wonder about it all.

"I was there... the Blitz." You had the burns to prove it. You were there, on the lines of multiple battles, but that basterd didn't need to hear your biography.

Just your point.

"I know what's happening, because I've been on the front lines. A lot of us have. You don't think we do? Well guess what tough guy, hundreds of us have been hurt or killed out there. My sister's a nurse. You know where she is?"

He shook his head.

"Yeah. I don't either. She's a POW somewhere in the goddamn pacific. And my brother. Know where he is? A fuckin' captain training kids, 18, 19, 20 year olds to come out here and join the circus. So welcome to the club, tough guy. We all got front row seats here."

He heard you slam your fist down on the stand by his cot, and you left.

He turned his head, and saw you left a few pain killers by his glass of water.

He woke up again, in the middle of the night. His eyes fell on the clock hanging over the doorway.

It was almost 3 AM.

He spotted a figure, slumped in the corner.

You were sitting in a chair, drinking out of a canteen.

"Can I have some?" He smiled a little.

You closed the cap, and rolled your eyes on the ceiling, and sighed, "Nope. You're in a hospital."

"Then how come you get some?" He thought he had you.

You smirked and looked at him, "Cause I'm not on medication."

"But you're on duty."

"Off the clock."

He noted your hair was down, and nodded, then asked softly, "Then why are you here?"

You smiled a little and looked at him, "Seems to be the only way to keep you here."

He chuckled a little, though it hurt, and he gripped his wounded side.

You were both silent then.

You pressed your back against the chair, and your head leaned back against the wall, and you shut your eyes, though you were far from sleeping.

You didn't know how much time had passed, but you knew it had been quite a while.

"Hey...nurse..."

You peeked one eye open, "Sergeant?"

"What's the first thing you're gonna do when you get home?"

You sighed, and thought for a moment.

You could say the standard issue answer: Hug your mother. See someone you love. Find your friends.

You'd thought about home a lot, sure. But never really thought about going home. You'd seen so many that never would go home. You'd been on one front line too many. You never had a guarantee of making it through a whole day. So you never gave yourself the luxury to think of that hope at all.

"Get a rootbeer float." You decided.

It was true.

There was a mom and pop shop down the street from your home. You hoped it was still there when you got back. Somehow you hoped all your friends would be in the same booth like they were every Friday night, after school, after work, before they all volunteered or got drafted.

You looked to the tired soldier "What about you, sergeant?"

He smiled a little, "Get a piece of pie."

"Oh yeah? Boston cream pie?"

"Huh?"

You shrugged a little embarassed as you pulled the covers back over him, "You...got that kinda accent..."

He smiled, "Should."

You smiled softly, "See you in the morning, sergeant." You turned and started walking out of the room.

"Wait..."

You turned to look at him.

"Y/n...that's your name, right?"

You nodded, "Yeah..."

"I'm uh....I'm..." He couldn't appologize, of course, that pride was hitting in.

You nodded, and spoke softly, "Yeah, I know."

He sat up, and it didn't hurt. "You uh...you do good..."

You laughed a little, "Gee, thanks. I never woulda guessed." You sat by his side.

In the morning, a doctor came by.

Donny was discharged from the aid station. He stood up, and turned around, searching the room... Three nurses were there, and none of them were you. As he walked down the hall, he glanced into each room, but couldn’t find you. He stood out in the snow, and sighed. His breath forming alost cloud as he whispered your name in defeat. “Sergeant Donowitz?” He turned and found a soldier in a jeep, waiting to drive him to the end of allied lines, where the basterds would be waiting for him. He got into the jeep, and turned around one last time. You stood on the highest floor of the makeshift hospital. It hurt having to see so many people that wouldn’t make it. Talking to them made it hurt more.... But falling in love was a million times worse. You shook your head. That couldn’t be why it made your heart sink... Why did it hurt so much to watch him walk out? That was what usually made you relieved for a patient. You didn’t want to answer that... **** Months passed. The basterds were walking through a small town in France, recently taken back by the allies and the resistance. The snow had long metled away. The skyw as bright blue. It was an early summer morning. There were soldiers everywhere. Nurses and medics responding to the wounded. The basterds were staying there for a day or two, and then continuing on their mission. Aldo gave them a “day off” which was rare for the basterds. Rarer still was a coincidence like the one Donny was about to live. He spotted someone, in civilian clothes, but with the sharpness of a fighter, and the soul of a basterd, and the heart and courage only a nurse could have. “Y/n...” You turned around, and smiled, unable to believe it as you ran to him, and threw your arms around him. He smiled down at you, and you giggled, “Still a sergeant, huh?” He laughed, and rolled his eyes, and kissed you. You spent the rest of the day together, and at sunset, when the boys had to meet back up, Donny walked you to the aid station. “Meet me after everything...When the war’s done...” You nodded, “I’ll be right here, tough guy.” He looked back at the waiting basterds, then back at you. He couldn’t tell you about the mission, or that the war would be over sooner than you thought. That was all classified. He only told you they were heading to a small town called Nadine. He kissed you one last time, adn walked away with the rest of the basterds. He llooked back at you, adn this time, you were still there. And you’d be there, for him when it was all over, just as you’d been there, like every other nurse, when it was all beginning.

Amazing art by @sodapop182 y'all should check out her blog 😭💕

#Donny Donowitz #donny-donowitz #donny donowitz imagine #donny donowitz x reader #Inglourious Basterds #inglourious basterds imagine #Quentin Tarantino #eli roth

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calpalirwin · 4 years

Text

Snapshots and Snapbacks

Summary: It’s easy to flirt with someone when you don’t expect them to call your bluff

A/N: College!Cal

Content: Sexual situations/mentions, mentions of drinking/drugs, my usual bullshit

Word Count: 10.3K

And away, and away we go!

~~~

The first time Brooke saw Calum she almost gasped out loud. There was no way a young man could be that pretty. Then he spoke and her heart raced in her chest.

She spent most of that semester staring at the pretty boy with the prettier handwriting rather than the board.

When the semester ended, she had exchanged only a handful of words with Calum, but that didn’t matter. She hoped their paths would cross again and that she would be braver about pursuing a friendship at the very least.

Two semesters later, having nearly forgotten about the pretty boy who was held her interest a year ago, he strolled into her last class of the day, and her smile broke out in a wide grin. “Cal!” she waved, motioning to the empty desk next to her as all those feelings that had laid dormant bubbled to the surface once more. “Missed ya man!”

“Shit, what up, girl?” he smiled back, bro-slapping her hand in greeting. “Was starting to think you graduated.”

“Nah,” she laughed with a shake of her head, her hand tingling from the feel of his palm against hers. “Last semester, though.”

“Shit, look at you go!” he praised.

“Thank you, thank you,” she continued to laugh, brushing imaginary dirt off her shoulders, grinning when his laugh joined hers.

~~~

Her hand reached into her bag of pretzels at the same time a Vans-clad foot shoved the leg of her desk chair. “Pst!” Calum whispered loudly, giving her desk another nudge. “Pst!”

She turned slightly in her desk to look at him, his eyes crinkling around the edges from the wide grin on his face. She tilted her chin upwards in a silent question of “What?” and stifled a laugh when he held his hand out and pouted. She laughed quietly, shaking her head as she dumped some pretzels in his waiting hand, both of them stifling more laughs as the bag crinkled in the dark and quiet classroom.

That would not be the last class he stole her snacks, thereby deeming himself Cal the Snack Thief. She damn near lost in when she brought Teddy Grahams and he let out the loudest moan stuffing them into his mouth with a “I haven’t had these in FOREVER!”

~~~

“Hey, you stole my shirt,” she joked, pointing between the shirts they were both wearing: a grey NASA tee.

“Nah,” he grinned. “Bet I had mine longer, so technically you stole mine.”

She chuckled as she took her seat. “Fair, very fair.”

“Where’s your hat?” he asked, noticing the blonde streaks in her brown hair for the first time, wondering if she always had them as she always had her hair hidden by a hat.

She pushed a hand through her hair, the blonde more noticeable as her hair flashed under the lights. “Oh, I wore a beanie today cuz it was cold. But I took it off because it made me look like shit.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that it was you making the beanie look like shit, not the other way around?” he asked teasingly.

She reached over to give his shoulder a push. “Shut up, you jerk,” she laughed before swiping the hat he wore on his own head and putting it on her head. “There, now I have my hat,” she said, sticking out her tongue at him.

Calum let out a small gasp of disbelief. Unbeknownst to her, Calum also liked Brooke. He liked that she was quick-witted in every aspect; that she could go from voicing the most complexly profound thoughts to giving the snarkiest of retorts. And he’d be lying if he said that every time she mouthed off didn’t stir his dom side wild. Like now. She continued to smirk at him before turning to face forward in her desk, her hands coming to rest cockily behind her neck, fingers interlacing. He leaned forward and snatched his hat off her head. “Shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to us, Brooke,” he breathed in her ear, getting smug satisfaction at the way she shivered.

But then, that bratty look was on her face as she turned in her seat to fire back with “Says you, snack thief.”

~~~

She heard the footsteps running up behind her before Calum was letting loose a scream behind her. She laughed and pushed his shoulder, laughing more as he stumbled over his feet. “You scared me, you jerk!”

“Yeah?” he asked, his brown eyes shining proudly.

“No,” she admitted, pushing him again. “I heard you, dumbass. If you had grabbed me though, I probably would’ve screamed.”

“Aw, shit. I had my headphones in, forgot you could hear me running.”

“You idiot,” she chuckled, pushing him a third time while he danced away from her, half chuckles falling from his own lips.

“Skip with me,” he directed.

“Skip with you?”

“Yeah! C’mon!” And then he was skipping down the sidewalk. She laughed and followed suit. God, how he could be so cute and dorky while being sexy as hell was beyond her. And totally unfair.

“So, where you headed?” she asked as they stopped skipping and fell into a relaxed walking pace.

His shoulders shrugged as he gripped his backpack straps. “Was gonna play some pool. Did you know we have a game center on campus? It’s fuckin’ sick.”

She rolled her eyes. “You really are an idiot.”

“What?”

“DiD yOu KnOw We HaVe A gAmE cEnTeR oN cAmPuS?” she mocked. “Of course we have a game center.”

“Well, shit, I didn’t know about it until Monday, okay Miss Smartypants? Shit…”

“I’m teasing, you goof. But, pool, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m not very good. But it’s a good way to kill some time.”

“Aw, don’t wanna go home?” she teased.

“Not to 3 dudes, I don’t!”

“Aw, roommates, how cute.”

“Yeah, I’m a broke ass college student. ‘Course I got roommates. You don’t?”

“Nope,” she answered, popping the “p” sound. “I’m a RA so I get a single at a discount.”

“Nice, look at you, baller.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“You mean you can have sex without anyone bothering you, you mean.”

She gasped in shock, “Calum!”

It was his turn to shrug as he grinned dangerously. “Am I wrong?” he challenged.

“That is none of your business, sir,” Brooke laughed, grateful it was dark out so he couldn’t she the blush in her cheeks.

“Aw, c’mon, we’re friends, aren’t we?”

“That we most definitely are,” she agreed, bypassing his original question. “And this is you,” she added, gesturing to the student center.

“This is me,” he confirmed. “See ya Monday, then?”

“Yeah, see ya in class,” she nodded. “Have fun.” Then, in a moment of bravery, she leaned for a hug.

His arm wrapped around her shoulders and she was slightly taken aback by the warm softness that radiated from such a strong arm. “See ya, girl,” he whispered as they broke apart.

By the time she let herself into her room, she had already sent him a friend request on Instagram and he had accepted.

~~~

Her fingers shook over her keyboard, the message chat open on her phone. She had been too shy to impose herself on his game of pool the other night. But he had said they were friends. Friends could play pool together.

Babbling_Brook: How’d playing pool by yourself go lol?

Calpal_hoodie: Lol! Actually one of the pool sharks in there came up to me and wanted to play some frames. It was a really good time.

Babbling_Brook: Oh shit that’s cool! We should play sometime before class lol. See if I still suck.

Her fingers shook with nerves as she waited for his message.

Calpal_hoodie: Haha down!

She let out a breath of relief. Good. He had agreed. Now to make it happen.

Babbling_Brook: Sick. I’m free before class for like 3 hours.

Calpal_hoodie: I have about an hour before.

Babbling_Brook: Sweet, I’ll be able to practice beforehand so I don’t make a total fool of myself lmao.

Calpal_hoodie: Lol! I’m nothing special, it’s okay

Babbling_Brook: We’ll see on Monday then who sucks more lmao

~~~

It was a slow drag to Monday and the impending date to shoot pool. It seemed to both like an eternity had taken place between Brooke’s last message Friday morning and her message Monday afternoon that included a picture of a pool table set up and waiting.

Babbling_Brook: Let’s go, playa!

Calpal_hoodie: I didn’t do the worksheet for class! After?

Her heart sank a little in her chest, but she wasn’t surprised her friend had procrastinated the idiotic assignment that was due every class.

Babbling_Brook: Do it in class lol

Calpal_hoodie: Lol! Sounds good! He doesn’t collect them until the end of class anyway.

Babbling_Brook: Exactly dude!

Calpal_hoodie: Dude! Did I tell you how I bought a new stick? Won’t be here til tomorrow though…

Babbling_Brook: Nice! Table’s set, btw.

“Oi! Over here!” Brooke called out across the room, recognizing that head of dark curls anywhere.

He broke out in a grin, as he hurried over to her. “What up, girl?” he asked, giving her a one-armed hug.

“Not much,” she said, gesturing to the pool table. “Wanna break?”

“Oh, we’re not playing 9-ball?” he asked, brown eyes scanning the table set up.

“No? Because I don’t know how?”

He nodded, placing the cue ball how he wanted, his pool cue sliding through his fingers. “After this, I’ll teach ya?” he asked, taking his shot, the balls clacking loudly, one sinking into a pocket.

She clicked her tongue in her cheek and nodded. “For sure.” Then, “I thought you were bad at this.”

He chuckled at her as he lined up his next shot. “I am. But I also watch a lot so…”

“Visual learner, nice,” she said, taking out her phone and snapping a picture of him leaning over the table. He missed and she moved around, plotting her own shot. “I learn by doing,” she admitted, taking her shot and missing. “Damn,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“Learn by doing, eh?” he smirked.

“Was about to turn that into a sex joke myself,” she laughed. Again, when he was busying himself with his turn, she snapped more photos of him. He quirked an eyebrow at her in silent question when he caught her on the third go-round. “What?” she asked, her cheeks flushing. “I like taking candids of my friends,” she half-lied, pocketing her phone. “I like capturing people in their element. Not posing for the camera or putting on a show. Just them being a hundred percent themselves.”

“Mhm,” he replied with a note of playful skepticism. Then, to make conversation, “You said you had a girlfriend, yeah?”

She laughed at the bold directness of the question. “What?! No!”

“No? Shit… I could’ve sworn… Aw, I’m so sorry!” he sputtered, his brown eyes wide and worried he had offended her. He was enveloping her in a hug before she knew it, his chest solid against her. “I love you! Don’t hate me!”

She laughed as they pulled apart. “I might have said I want a girlfriend, but I don’t actually have one. I wish.”

“You and me both,” he laughed. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to...”

She waved him off. “Seriously man, it’s cool. You’re half right. I’m bi. It’s really fun to piss guys off by saying I’ve made out with more girls than they have. I mean, I’ve only made out with 2 girls. But still. You’d be surprised how many guys haven’t even done that.”

He nodded in appreciation. “Sick. So was it a boyfriend, then, and I just misheard?”

“Well…” she paused to think about it. “I mean, I’m seeing someone.”

He nodded and she detected the way his face fell for a moment. His face fell more when he sunk the 8 ball in the pocket and the cue ball followed. “Shit, good game.”

She laughed. “Thanks! It’s almost like you did all the work for me!”

“It’s cuz I did,” he laughed with her. “Alright, so 9-ball,” he started to explain as he set up the table. “You play with 9 balls.”

“Mmm, kinky,” Brooke snorted. “Continue.”

He rolled his eyes at her joke. “And you go in order. As long as you hit the first number in the sequence first, you’re good.”

Their game made them a few minutes late to their class, both of them giggling as the sped-walked across the room. “No, sit in front of me,” he whispered as she took her regular set in the row beside him.

She rolled her eyes but moved anyway, giggling more before reaching into her backpack to grab her snack. She pushed it to the bottom edge of her desk so he could reach. “More pool after class? Or you got plans?” she whispered, leaning back in her seat.

“Yeah, I’m down for a few games,” he whispered back, his hand reaching into the bag of teddy bear shaped graham crackers. Then, “So, you’ve only ever made out with chicks, but have you…?”

She gasped at the question he left hanging between them. “Yes, I’ve had sex. But only with one dude.”

“The one you’re seeing?”

She nodded. “And your body count?”

He snickered into his hand. “Way more than one.”

She turned, her eyes wide. She shouldn’t be surprised. He was a good looking guy. Too good looking if she could say so herself. Of course he was using it to his benefit.

~~~

“So, the guy?” he questioned, eyes trained on the pool table after class. “Must be good dick if he’s the only one?”

She laughed from her spot on the stool. “I guess? I mean, I wouldn’t know any different.”

“Aw, how cute,” he teased.

“Shut the fuck up,” she laughed at him, then put her hands on top of her head and sighed. “Fuck, I need to get fucked though.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“Yeah. Haven’t seen him in like a week.”

“You seeing him tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Shit, what are you doing here playing pool with me for? Go get your dick girl!”

She rolled her eyes. “He hasn’t texted me he landed yet. I got time.”

“Long distance?”

She shook her head. “Nah, he was just traveling for work.”

“Nice,” he nodded. “So tits or ass?”

“My preference? As a girl with no ass herself, I’m a tit woman.”

He let out a chuckle of agreement. “No offense, but doesn’t seem like you got much tits either.”

She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ll have you know my tits are huge.”

“Bullshit. What size?”

“Triple D, bitch!” she stated proudly.

“Bull-fuckin-shit! Bet that is the roomiest fuckin bra in the planet.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she smirked. “So, you a dom or a sub?” she asked, keeping the conversation going. If they were talking sex, she was going to get every inch, figuratively speaking.

He let his breathe in a sputtering huff as he thought, he hands raking through his curls. “Depends I guess.”

“Aw, you a switch?” she teased.

“Are you?” he challenged, equally playful.

She shrugged. “I’m a brat. Like I gave this guy the perfect chance to dom me and he flopped. It was kinda sad.”

He laughed. “What did you say?”

“I forget what started it. But I ended up asking what he was gonna do about it. And he just shrugged.”

His eyes went wide and his nose flared slightly at her words. “Oh yeah. Asking what I’m gonna do is gonna get the dom out. Like, excuse me?”

She laughed and shifted in her seat under his gaze. “Yeah! That’s what I expected was going to happen. But nope! What a shame.” She didn’t catch his muttered agreement as her phone buzzed. “Oh, yay! He landed.”

“Gotta go?” he asked, busying himself with taking his shot to hide his deflation.

“Nah,” she waved her hand. “We can finish the game. He’s still gotta get here.”

“Alright, for sure,” he said, perking back up again.

The game didn’t last much longer as Calum remained his innocence that he really wasn’t that good and Brooke proved that she actually wasn’t good. “Alright, I’m out,” she said, setting her pool stick aside. “See ya Wednesday?” she asked, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

“Yup,” he said, giving her another one armed hug. “Go get that dick.”

She laughed as they let go and walked off calling out, “I fuckin will!”

As she tidied up her room, waiting for her actual date, she sent Calum the pictures she had taken of him earlier.

Babbling_Brook: Some of the better shots I took

Calpal_hoodie: Nice! Had a great time. Let’s do it again, yeah?

She grinned at her phone before responding.

Babbling_Brook: Oh for fuckin sure. New after class ritual lol?

Calpal_hoodie: Down

Babbling_Brook: Sweet. We should try the little bowling thing they got. Maybe I can actually win lmao

Calpal_hoodie: You a good bowler?

Babbling_Brook: Nope! But my dude makes mini bowling alleys for a living so I like to think I got a slight advantage lol

Calpal_hoodie: Oh, gotcha! He home yet?

Babbling_Brook: Nah. He’s stopping to get us burgers first.

Calpal_hoodie: Animal style burger then fuck me animal style lol?

Babbling_Brook: He fuckin better!

Calpal_hoodie: Jesus lmao. Hahaha. Love it.

Babbling_Brook: Look, my hand and vibrator only do so much before a girl just needs a real dick. And THAT’S why I’m only half gay.

Calpal_hoodie: With the technology y’all have with vibrators… so much pressure is put on the men I’ll have you know. When a vibrator can hit “your spot” a million times without fail… it really sets us up for failure lmao

Babbling_Brook: Well maybe I have a romantic kink then lol. I need human touch more than I need a damn vibrator.

On the other side of campus, Calum hung his head sadly, wishing more than he cared to admit that he was the one providing her with that human touch she craved.

~~~

On Wednesday, Brooke carefully plotted her outfit. She was a bit bitter that Calum hadn’t believed her about her boob size, and she was determined to make him regret ever having doubted her.

She admired herself briefly in her tank top before she threw on her hoodie and hat.

~~~

She was leaving the gym and was headed for the game center when her phone pinged.

Calpal_hoodie: Syllabus doesn’t have a worksheet for today so guess who’s ditching?

Babbling_Brook: Bruh… so pool?

Calpal_hoodie: Yeah I’ll be playing pool until my pussy appointment later tonight. So like til 8 probs.

Her heart sank a little. But she supposed it was her fault for bragging about her own sex life.

Babbling_Brook: Shit, get it!

Calpal_hoodie: Yeah. So I’ll be playing with some of the pool sharks, but if you wanna swing by, I’ll play a few games with ya.

She chuckled and took a quick selfie of her with the pool tables behind her.

Babbling_Brook: “swing by later” bitch get on my level lmao

Calpal_hoodie: Haha! Okay I see you I see you.

Brooke chuckled to herself as she pocketed her phone and watched the door for him. She had shrugged herself free of the hoodie long ago, the Southern California weather providing more warmth than seemed logically possible for the middle of February. She drummed her fingers impatiently against her leg, her mind debating whether to get a table for herself or just to wait.

She narrowed her eyes when Calum finally did stroll in, and right past her, a man on a mission. Rather than storming over there like she wanted, she took out her phone and snapped more photos of him, enjoying seeing him in his element. Then, she picked up her things and strolled over.

“Just walk right by me, huh?” she greeted teasingly, her hand going to rest on his shoulder.

His brown eyes shined brightly and he grinned as he turned towards her familiar voice. “Hey! Shit, my bad,” he responded, wrapping her in his famous one-armed hug. “Must’ve walked right by you.”

“Yeah, I saw you walk by and was like really?”

“I’m sorry!” he laughed, pouting his lips at her. “Do you have a table?”

“Nah,” she waved her hand. “I’ll watch for a bit. We’ll play ourselves later.”

“Cool, for sure,” he nodded before engaging himself with the small group of guys already playing at the table.

She pretended to busy herself with her phone or studying the table, anything to distract herself from studying him. She had her back turned when his fingers brushing across her bare shoulder made her jump. “Nice tattoo,” he murmured as he retracted his light touch, her skin on fire.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, her cheeks flushing as her own fingers flew up to trace the sunflower his fingers had been tracing mere seconds ago. “I like yours too,” she added, pointing at his arms that held much more ink than her single small shoulder piece.

His soft chuckle tickled her ear as he stayed close behind her. “Also, I owe you an apology,” he said, his eyes darting downwards briefly. “I see it now with the tank top.”

“Told ya,” she smirked over her shoulder at him.

His eyes went wide in realization. “Wait! Did you wear a tank top on purpose?”

She scoffed and averted his gaze. “What? That’s ridiculous. No I- yes I did,” she laughed, not able to keep a straight face. “Did it work?” she asked with a hopeful voice.

He let out another soft chuckle in response, then, “Go set up a table. I’m almost done with this game.”

“Aw shit, are we keeping you from your girl?” one of the guys Calum had been playing with asked.

The two friends jumped apart. “What? No! We’re just friends!” they both blurted before Brooke walked off to the front desk to get a table for her and Calum.

“Sorry about that,” Calum said, a hand rubbing at his neck when she came back.

She waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. It’s harmless.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” he chuckled. “Could you imagine though?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and slight smirk.

She laughed at his bluntness. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t,” she answered truthfully.

“Oh yeah?” he questioned, cocking his head to the side.

She shrugged. “You’re a good looking dude. I got a nice rack. I’m also smart as hell. We get along. Wouldn’t be a whole lot different than what we’re doing now.”

“Shit, I suppose you’re right. Too bad we’ll never know.” His shrug mirrored her own, his words meaning different things to each of them. To him, he was referring to her “seeing someone” and to her it was solidification that a guy like him would never go for a girl like her.

“Yup,” she said, just to have something to say as she lined up her shot.

“Here, can I tell you something?” he asked suddenly.

“Yeah, shoot,” she said, straightening up, intrigued.

“You bridge with your thumb,” he told her, pointing at her hand still resting on the pool table. “Which is fine because you can tilt it and such. But lie the rest of your knuckles flat on the table. It’ll give you steadier control.”

“Oh. Like this?” she checked, adjusting her hand slightly so her knuckles were flat against the green felt rather than tilted at an angle.

“Yeah, there you go.”

She bent back over the table to take her shot, fully aware of how heavy his gaze felt on her.

They remained quiet as they went about playing their game, minus the small muttered curses at a missed shot, exchanging soft smiles as they moved about the table and each other. When he won, he high-fived her. “Good game. You almost had me. Play by yourself for a bit and I’ll be back to check on you? I’m gonna go get in on another game with them if I can,” he said, jerking a thumb at the table in front of them.

“I’ll be here,” she smiled at him, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks at his mention of checking up on her. She lost herself in focusing on her own game, but her gaze still fluttered over to him more than she intended. And every time she looked away, he looked over at her.

“You good?” he asked, coming up behind her.

She pushed the strands of hair that were falling in her face out of the way, having discarded her hat a while ago. “Yup. How’s your game?”

“Oh we finished. But the other guy wants to play so here I am. Mind if I?” He let his gesturing finish his question as his large hand swept over the table.

She took a step back, “Go for it.”

Again, they didn’t say much. This time though, she busied herself with getting lost in the music playing from the speakers around the room, singing softly and moving her hips to the beat. He tried not to stare, but it was hard not to. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t get her off his mind. There was something in the way she just felt familiar to him, like he didn’t have to put on a show. He could just be, and she would just accept it, no questions asked.

He drummed his fingers against his thighs after he cleared the table, pondering his next move. “Alright, I’m heading back over there. But, uh…?”

Brooke chuckled. “Go do you. I’m fine.”

She played another two games by herself without Calum coming back. She set up for a third game, and left it there before walking over to where he was. “Hey,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder, feeling her heart race when he turned and grinned at her.

“Hey!”

“Hi,” she laughed at his happy nature, his eyes rimmed red.

“We’re a little high. Wanna hit?”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks.”

“Don’t smoke?”

“No.”

“Have you ever?”

“Once.”

“Nice! Oh, I’m gonna go get some food. You guys want anything?”

“I won’t say no to a cheese pizza. Since you’re offering.”

The other guy muttered something about how pizza sounded great, pulling out his wallet.

“Nah,” Calum waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I offered.”

“Ah, well shit. I’ll get next time then. I don’t like mooching.”

Brooke laughed and touched Calum’s shoulder again. “Oh, I don’t give a fuck about mooching.”

Calum laughed with her, before his eyes got playfully dark. “Venmo me, bitch.”

She laughed more, “Nah, I’ll pay you in other ways, yeah?” she teased , eyes darting to his lap.

The other guy clapped a hand to his mouth as he snorted in laughter. “Damn, you gonna suck his dick right here?”

Brooke ran a hand through her hair, “Cal wishes.”

“Right. You guys aren’t together. But like… would you?”

Brooke shrugged and opted for honesty, “Yeah, I’d fuck him.”

“Nice. And you?” he asked Calum.

“Me what?”

“Would you fuck her?”

“Given a chance? Oh, hell yeah.” He reached into his backpack and took a hit off a vape pen before walking off in search of pizza.

“So are you with someone else or is he?” the guy asked Brooke.

“Uh… little bit of both?” she said skeptically with a shrug as she took a seat on the stool.

He nodded. Then blinked. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Well, I’ve been seeing someone for years. But weren’t not… serious I guess? More of like a super close friendship that involves sex.”

He nodded again, understanding better. “So dating without the label?”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I guess. And not for lack of trying on my part. I mean, I like the dude, obviously. But I’d also like to say I have a boyfriend.”

“Mhm. And that one?” he asked, jerking a thumb towards where Calum had wandered off.

“Oh, Cal’s single. He’s actually going to hook up with a chick later.”

“And that chick isn’t you?”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

“Why not? You just both admitted you’d fuck each other. You guys seem to get along. And he hasn’t stopped checking you out.”

She blushed. “I think I ruined it by telling him I was seeing someone. I think he thinks it’s an actual relationship. And I don’t know how to bring that up. Especially now. ‘Hey Cal, remember how we just said we’d fuck each other given a chance? Well, I’m actually single. Surprise!’? No. He’d think I was just saying it. And I’m not into people thinking I’m using them.”

The guy nodded for a third time. “Fair enough. Fuck, I’m so high right now. Shit, I gotta get to class. How long does it take to get pizza?”

Brooke chuckled as she pushed back her hair. “Want me to go check on him?”

“Would you mind?”

“Nah, not at all,” she said getting up. She would take any excuse to be with Calum.

Calum had a beer in his hand and was sitting at a table, his head down as he looked at the phone in his other hand. She couldn’t stop herself from suppressing the urge to place her hands on those squishy cheeks as she moved towards him but at the last second, her hands placed themselves on either side of his head, giving him a playful shake. “Hey!” he said, brightening up as he realized it was her. “I got a beer,” he added, showing her the beer in his hand. “The pizza should be out soon. I got a medium cuz it was cheaper.”

“Smart move,” she agreed. “I didn’t know you were even old enough to drink.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her. “I’m 22. My birthday was a couple weeks ago.”

“Shit yeah? I turned 22 back in December.”

“Aw, we like birthday buddies almost.”

“Almost yeah. Hey, I didn’t make things awkward when I admitted I’d sleep with you, did I?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, I admitted the same thing. We’re still cool.”

“Cool,” she smiled.

“So what’s up? Come to check on me?”

“Yeah, thought I’d keep you company. Plus the guy’s gotta get to class so he’s getting a bit impatient.”

Calum’s laugh rang out in the pizza shop. “Guess he’s gonna be late to class. But, tell him it shouldn’t be much longer?”

“Yeah, for sure,” she said, patting his shoulder before walking back to the game room.

“Aw, damn, was hoping you’d both come back,” the guy said, seeing only her return.

“Sorry, man. Cal got a medium cuz it was cheaper so he’s gotta wait. Should be done soon though.”

“Alright, no problem,” he had just enough time to respond before Calum was walking to them, a pizza box with plates in one hand and his beer in the other. “Awesome! Wish I didn’t have to grab and leave, but I gotta get going. Got a quiz.”

“No worries man,” Calum told him, handing the other man a plate and opening the box. “Sorry it took so long.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Thanks, man,” he said, loading his plate up with slices of pizza. “Catch ya later. Nice meeting you…” his voice faltered as he looked at Brooke.

“Brooke,” she supplied. “Nice meeting you too.”

“Yup. See ya guys.”

“Thanks for the pizza, Cal,” she said, putting a slice on the plate he handed her.

“No problem. Needed to eat something. Aw, he took like all the pepperoni,” he frowned at the box.

She looked at the box with him, her heart fluttering that half of it was cheese for her. “You could’ve gotten it all pepperoni.”

“But you wanted cheese,” he said, taking a sip of his beer.

“You’re cute, you know that?” she asked, being bold and taking a sip of his beer herself, wincing at the taste.

“Hey!” he laughed, snatching his beer back. “Getcha own beer.”

She made a face. “Yuck! You can keep it. Ugh. Nasty!”

“So you don’t drink either?”

She shook her head. “That makes me like the most boring person on the planet huh? College girl who doesn’t drink or smoke.”

“Nah,” he said with a shake of his head. “One of my roommates is the same way. So you just don’t like the taste or you scared?”

“Scared? I’m not scared of anything.”

He laughed. “No! I didn’t mean it like that. Not scared of anything, huh? Should’ve guessed. I just meant… some people don’t drink because they got a family history. So they’re more… aware of the choices they make. Or don’t make, I guess.”

“Is your roommate one of those people?”

“Yeah. Being an alcoholic scares him. Rightfully so. Shit’s scary.”

“You don’t seem scared yourself.”

He shrugged. “I like to think I know my limits. Like this will be the only drink I have.”

She nodded, approvingly. “I’m just not a big fan of the taste. But, I’ll drink every now and then. But even then, it’s barely enough to give me a buzz. I like being in control.”

“Ooo, a dom, eh?” his eyes danced playfully.

“Says the switch!” she laughed. “No. I’m just a brat. Don’t have enough confidence to actually be a dom. I’m all bark and no bite.” Her voice trailed off as they ate their pizza. When she caught him lip syncing to the music playing through the speakers, she spoke up, “Like this music?”

He nodded, a slight red tinge undertoning his tanned cheeks. “Yeah. But I’ll listen to just about anything.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I play and sing, so…”

“Yeah?! That’s awesome. What do you play?”

“Bass, mostly. My roommates and I are actually in a band.”

“No shit?” she asked. “Would love to watch you play sometime then.”

“Yeah? Shit, I’ll tell you next time we practice, then,” he promised, reaching into the pizza box. “Aw, shit, is there any left?”

She nodded. “Should be one more.”

“Yeah? How many did you have?”

“This is my third.”

“That was my fourth. Last one’s yours then.”

She shook her head. “No. You bought it. You take it. I’m good.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Game?”

“For sure,” he nodded, taking a big bite of the slice.

They played at a slow pace, taking their time. At one point he went back to his pizza slice to take a bite, but held it out to her in offering. She grinned and instead of taking it from his hands like he expected, she leaned down and tore off a piece with her teeth. “Thanks,” she continued to grin around the bite, making him laugh. They loved how easy it felt to be around each other, quirky banter without any sense of awkwardness or trying to impress the other. Just straight up honesty at every turn.

“Ugh!” he muttered in frustration as he missed what seemed like an easy shot even for her. “I’m getting mad!”

She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled so hard she let out a loud squeaky wheezing sound.

“Was that you?” he asked.

She nodded, her body continuing to shake with her laughter. “Sorry. I do that when I laugh too hard. You’re cute when you’re mad, you know that?”

“You know that you’re just cute?” he asked back.

She blushed and busied herself with taking her turn, opting not to respond.

“So what’s your favorite position?” he asked her.

“Shit!” she sputtered, bringing a finger to her lips in thought.

“My bad. You don’t have to answer.”

“Nah, it’s cool. Just a good question. Shit… Uh… well I’m a little romantic at heart, so probably missionary. But I like others too.”

“Yeah? Missionary’s my favorite because I can pull her hair and make her look at me.”

Her eyes went wide. “Ooo, into hair pulling huh? I love pulling and getting my hair pulled.”

His own eyes went wide and his cock twitched in his pants. “Yeah? What other positions do you like? You said there were others.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Yeah,” she stammered. “Well, uh… like most girls I assume, I get off through clit stimulation. So 69 is like a gold mine. Doggy’s also nice.”

He nodded approvingly as his cock twitched more. “Wanna know the nice part of doggy?” he asked, his voice catching a little.

“What?” she laughed, knowing she had him about as flustered as he had her.

“You get to pull her up by her hair and play with her clit,” he winked.

“Ayyyy! That’s exactly why I like it!”

“It’s definitely on the list of positions I like too. Plus I get to choke her a bit. That’s why I like missionary too.”

“Any position you can choke and pull her hair, huh? See, I like doggy because I get both of those and some ass smacking. All my kinks in one position.”

“Aw, you got them soft kinks,” he teased.

“Shut up, so do you!” she laughed.

He sat down in a high-backed chair that rocked slightly with his movements. “Aw, shit, this chair would be perfect to have a girl riding me on,” he acknowledged with a horny look. His teeth sunk into his lower lip as he gripped the armrests and made the chair rock more. “Just, a little this with her hand choking me. Phew… Clutch, lemme tell ya.”

“Annnd, there’s the switch,” she giggled.

“Look, I only like being dommed when she’s riding me. Otherwise, I’m domming.”

“Next you’re gonna tell me you like being called ‘Daddy’,” she scoffed at him.

The way his eyes lit up at the title had her gulping involuntarily. “Fuck yeah. The girl I’m gonna hook up with later- we’ve hooked up in the past- she called me ‘Sir’ once and I corrected her so fuckin’ hard.”

She laughed to hide her arousal. “You’re so weird.”

He smirked at her as he stood up. “Aw, got you a little flustered, do I?” he breathed down at her once he had closed their distance

“Like I don’t have you just as flustered,” she shot back, rubbing her hand against his cheek. “Daddy,” she added with a loud laugh. She pursed her lips in a knowing smirk of her own at the way he looked: his eyes clenched shut, hands curling in a fist, and teeth biting into his lip. “What? I shouldn’t touch you?” she continued to play with him, dropping her hand to draw it down his torso, enjoying the feel of his muscles underneath her fingertips. He radiated strength in a way that made her weak in the knees and wet between her thighs. Thankfully for her, she could hide her arousal better than he could.

“You really shouldn’t,” he said, his lips barely moving, and his brown eyes practically pitch black with lust.

She shrugged and stepped back. “Your shot, by the way,” she told him, gesturing at the pool table.

Right. Pool. He had nearly forgotten what he was originally here to do, his mind full of thoughts that centered around bending her over the pool table and wiping that smirk off her face. Her own mind raced with similar thoughts, wishing he didn’t have a hook up date with another girl.

~~~

Brooke wasn’t expecting to hear from Calum until Monday, so when her phone pinged not even an hour after they had said their goodbyes for the night, she was definitely surprised.

Calpal_hoodie: Wanna hear something annoying?

She perked up so much, she felt a little guilty.

Babbling_Brook: Omg, yes! What happened with your date?

Calpal_hoodie: So, she gets here. We drove around to find a spot. I take out my condoms. She’s ALLERGIC to them! So, I drove to a store to get new ones. I drive back. And she’s like “can you drive me back please?” She was about to break down about her break up with her ex and couldn’t handle it. So dry dick for Cal.

Brooke clapped a hand over her mouth to suppress her giggles. On one hand, she felt bad for him. On the other, she was glad his date had freaked out. The fact that- besides playing venting at her- he had let his date call it quits before it even started only made Brooke feel better about her feelings about Calum.

Babbling_Brook: If it makes you feel any better, this chick I’m never gonna stand a chance with called me a pussy wetter. Which like… no… I’m dorky and awkward. I just have a talent for being smooth as fuck

Calpal_hoodie: Lol. You want me to agree with her, don’t you?

Babbling_Brook: I mean… I gave you the set up…

Calpal_hoodie: Lol! Yes, you definitely have pussy wetting potential.

Babbling_Brook: Potential?! Aw, bubbie…

Calpal_hoodie: Bubbie? Lol

Babbling_Brook: Not into pet names? Cal the Snack Thief is a tad long... And again. “Potential”?! Smh… lowkey offended, bubbie.

Calpal_hoodie: So am I… And no! I didn’t mean it like that, honest… When I use the term “potential” it means you already got it.

Babbling_Brook: 1.) Did you just make a big dick joke? 2.) I’m teasing. I know I’m a smooth talking son of a gun. I can talk the panties off a mannequin.

Calpal_hoodie: Yes, yes I did lol. And note taken. That was smooth right there.

Babbling_Brook: I mean… I made you nice and flustered earlier, yeah?

Calpal_hoodie: Oh yeah… fuck! I just want pussy in my mouth with my cock down someone’s throat… is that too much to ask?!

Babbling_Brook: You and me both, bubbie. Only the opposite. But yeah…

Calpal_hoodie: Wake up that dude of yours by sucking his dick then, lmao. I’m gonna get high as balls.

Babbling_Brook: Nah, I’m probs just gonna go to bed. As for you? Yeah, go get high as balls and maybe you’ll forget it’s your own hand you’re fucking.

Calpal_hoodie: Now you’re just making me feel bad lmao

Babbling_Brook: Just being a brat, like whatchu gonna do?

Calpal_hoodie: Lmao, I think you know what I would do… fuck, I’ll probably end up sending nudes to my chick after I smoke. I always get more comfortable doing that when I’m high as hell.

Babbling_Brook: Makes sense. Being drunk/high tends to lower one’s inhibitions so people are more likely to step outside of their normal comfort zone when under the influence (See, told ya I was smart, too)

Calpal_hoodie: Alright, calm down Plato lol

Babbling_Brook: Lol.

She paused and looked at her phone. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. She had to know.

Babbling_Brook: Now… out of pure curiosity… I’m pretty bratty with you frequently. Given the chance, what would you actually do?

Calpal_hoodie: Look at you all turned on asking me lol

She chuckled at her phone. She wasn’t going to let him see her sweat. She turned up the brat charm.

Babbling_Brook: My curiosity is turned on, sure. As for the rest of me? Dry as your dick, bubbie.

Calpal_hoodie: Oh, damn! Alright… so like… what would I do to you sexually? If I had the chance and you were single?

She frowned at her phone, briefly. Was he only this willing to divulge all this information to her because he thought she was with someone else? Because he could freely flirt with her because he thought all it amounted to was just two friends talking shit? She wondered if now was her chance to come clean. Let him know that he had misinterpreted her words when she said she was seeing someone. But, she was afraid he would balk if she did. That knowing there was no actual boundary would be what pushed their relationship into awkward territory. And as much as she liked him that way, she also really enjoyed the friendship and didn’t want to lose that.

Babbling_Brook: Yeah. We’re both single. We have the relationship we do now. I mouth off like I always do. What do you do?

Calpal_hoodie: Well I’d tell you that if you keep mouthing off, you won’t have any room left in your mouth to speak. And of course you wouldn’t want to stop talking shit then. So I’d prove it and make you get on your knees for me… and if we had that room to ourselves, you’d definitely end up over that pool table taking every inch. But… ya know… lol!

Brooke gulped, reading the message, knowing he wouldn’t have told her that if she told him the truth. It was easy to be bold when you thought nothing could come of it.

Babbling_Brook: Oh, so when you said you were a dom, you meant like a dom dom. Alright… I dig.

Calpal_hoodie: Lol oh yeah. And you? What would you do?

Babbling_Brook: Shit… flip the script, yeah? Alright… Well, I’d definitely be much brattier knowing I could probably get something out of it. Test these dom limits of yours. And then get hella insecure that you saw me as a fling. Because even though I started everything in good fun, I’d be secretly craving a relationship like the romantic ho I am.

Calpal_hoodie: Aw! Least you’re honest. Well, would’ve been fun.

She shook her head sadly at her phone. If only he knew this was all entirely possible.

Babbling_Brook: I try to be lol. Like in all reality, I’d let you fuck me six ways to Sunday and then probably cry about it because I’d get all girly about it. But I’d still be my bratty self to you in person acting all cool and unbothered cuz I don’t want to be clingy and weird. Definitely would’ve been a ride for sure- pun fully intended.

Calpal_hoodie: Aw! That’s like both a lil sad but so honest and genuine. Nice pun, btw lol.

Babbling_Brook: Lol, it’s okay though. Cuz, trust, you’d want a relationship. Like I’m fuckin great! I can be adventurous as fuck or we can chill in bed all day watching movies. And I value my independence so like I’m more than fine with you going off with your boys or whatever cuz I like my alone time. Plus, I’ll remind you of what you got waiting for you later…

Calpal_hoodie: Ayyy! Sounds good to me lmao! Fuck, I still gotta smoke…

Babbling_Brook: Cool, cool. I’m gonna hit the hay. Enjoy that smoke and the thoughts we put in each other’s head lol!

Calpal_hoodie: Lmao, will do!

They both did. They both made a mess of themselves at the idea of giving themselves over to the other one.

~~~

Again, Brooke didn’t expect to hear from Calum until Monday at class. So when her phone pinged on Saturday and the notification said it was from him, her eyebrows pinched together in confusion while her heart raced in excitement.

Calpal_hoodie: Hey, I dunno if you had plans or anything. But my roommates and I are gonna have a rehearsal. So if… No worries if you’re busy. Just thought you’d be interested.

Babbling_Brook: Nah, that sounds great! I’m off today. Where you guys at?”

He messaged her an address to a set of apartments she knew was a few blocks from campus. A twenty minute walk, tops. She looked out the window at the soft warm sunshine. A walk would be perfect.

Babbling_Brook: Cool, be there in twenty. Should I bring anything?

Calpal_hoodie: Nah, just your cute ass

Babbling_Brook: Lmao, you mean my nonexistent ass?

Calpal_hoodie: Lol, it’s okay. You don’t need an ass. You got tits for days.

Babbling_Brook: That I do, lol. See ya in a few then.

The music playing in her headphones got caught off by her phone pinging. Her heart sank, thinking it was Calum cancelling. But it wasn’t. It was Trevor, her not-boyfriend.

Trev: Hey

Brookie: Hey

Trev: You busy?

Brookie: Yeah, I’m actually heading over to a friend’s. Gonna watch his band practice

Trev: His? Like a dude?

Brookie: Is that a problem?

Trev: No. So later then?

Brookie: Maybe… What are we, Trev?

Trev: This again? Brookie…

Brookie: I know. I just…

Trev: You wanna fuck this dude without feeling guilty?

Brookie: Don’t put words in my mouth… I’m not trying to fight.

Trev: I’m not either. Look, we’ve dated other people before. You’re free to do what you want Brookie. I’ll be here whenever you’re done having your fun.

Brookie: Don’t do that. Don’t act like I’m the one stringing you along. You wanted this setup, not me.

Trev: I wasn’t saying that to be mean, Brookie, damn. Seriously, have your fun.

Brookie: I’m sorry, Trev. I didn’t expect to feel this way.

Trev: You don’t have to apologize, Brookie. I’m the idiot who keeps you at arm’s length. I know that comes with the risk of losing you to someone who won’t. But that’s my problem, not yours.

Brookie: I’m still sorry. I don’t like hurting you.

Trev: I know. That’s part of your charm Brookie. You care deeply about everyone around you. Don’t worry about me, okay?

Brookie: Easier said than done, Trev…

Trev: I know. See ya around, Brookie.

She sniffed back the tears that threatened to fall, feeling stupid for mourning a loss that was never hers to lose in the first place. All Trevor and her had been were friends who sometimes had sex. Which is why she had known exactly what to say to Calum about what she would afterwards in the event they ever crossed the line and had sex themselves. It had been a projection of her own relationship with Trevor. She just had to keep faith that maybe her relationship with Calum would have a better ending.

She paused to collect herself before she rapped her knuckles on the door of Calum’s apartment. The door swung open before she had even finished knocking and she was being pulled in the apartment and that one-armed hug she only now fully realized how much she loved. “Hey! You’re here! Guys! This is Brooke. Brooke, these are the guys. Ash, Luke, and Mike.”

3 tall guys nodded as their names were called, first a hazel-eyed brunette with a bright red bandana, then a blue-eyed blonde with a lip ring, and a guy with hair dyed the same shade of green as his eyes.

“Hi,” she squeaked, heat rushing to her cheeks. Of course someone as good looking as Calum would have equally good-looking friends.

“You okay?” Calum asked her, his brown eyes full of concern.

She let out her breath in a huff and shrugged her shoulders. “Eh,” she held her hand flat and gave it a small shake. “It’s fine. So do you guys do covers or write your own stuff?”

“Bit of both,” the blonde told her.

“Cool! What would you classify the stuff you make as? Like genre?”

“Punk!” the green-haired man grinned.

Brooke chuckled as the others sighed, “Mikey…”

“We’re mostly rock oriented,” the brunette explained. “But we experiment with different sounds, so I wouldn’t classify us specifically as a rock band. We just make music we like to make. The genre part is irrelevant.”

“Ash, the word smith,” Calum teased with a roll of his eyes as he moved across the room to pick up the bass he must have set aside when he answered the door. “Have a seat,” he directed at Brooke. “Get comfortable.”

She took a seat on a chair while the men went to various instruments. “2, 3, 4,” the brunette, Ash, counted from a drum kit. Brooke watched his thick thigh work to create a steady fast-paced beat, drumsticks twirling effortlessly before her eyes were glancing back over to Calum who had his eyes closed as he played the beat with Ash before the other two joined in with their the guitars and the blonde started singing.

Brooke watched, mesmerized, her jaw dropping when Calum started singing himself. She quickly closed it when he caught her and shot her a wink. She swayed in her seat, her feet tapping along to the beat as the roommates played their way through some songs she didn’t recognize so she assumed they were theirs, snapping the occasional picture.

~~~

“So, how do you know, Cal?” Ash was asking her an hour later as they both sipped on water. The instruments had been placed aside in favor of game controllers and when Ash made a mention of grabbing some drinks, she had realized how parched she had become.

“Oh, we have a class together.”

He nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter. “College girl meets college boy, huh? Same major?”

She chuckled softly, before shaking her head. “No, I’m a photography major. I think Cal’s English, isn’t he?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Cal’s an English major. He always liked to read. But photography, eh? That explains you taking all those pictures.”

She shrugged. “I like seeing people for who they truly are. Are you guys in college, too?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I graduated last year. And those two barely made it out of high school. Cal and I were the only ones who could stick out school. Which is crazy cuz Luke’s mum’s a teacher.”

She chuckled more. “Mum… what are you, British?”

“Australian, darling. We all are. Cal didn’t tell you?”

She sputtered, choking on her water. “What?! No! No, he didn’t.”

He giggled and a dimple appeared in his cheek. “Yeah. Luke and Mike have dreams of being rockstars. And they’re our boys and it’s our band. So when we graduated high school, we all moved out here. But, Cal wanted a college education. And I had already completed a year myself at that point, so I joined him. And Luke and Mike… well, their talents lie elsewhere. They’ve gotten us a few demos made. We even have our own albums and perform at festivals. Just waiting for Cal to get done so we can make it big time.”

“Sounds to me like that won’t be that hard. You guys got some serious talent.”

“Yeah? You think?”

She nodded. “Yeah. So you’re a year older then?”

It was his turn to nod. “There abouts. I’m 23. Mike and Cal are 22. Then Luke’s the baby. He won’t be 22 until after my 24th birthday. How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, I’m 22. I’m about two months older than Cal.”

“Nice. And you have a class together with Cal?”

She nodded. “Yeah. We had a class last year which is how we met. Honestly, I didn't think he noticed me at all. Then, this semester we ended up in another class together, and I guess I made more of an impression than I thought.”

He smiled down at her and she thought she’d drown in that hazel gaze. “Oh, you made the impression alright. Mate doesn’t shut up about you. Always going on about the girl in class with the snacks and snark.”

She laughed loudly, covering her mouth with her hand as she blushed. “Don’t know why he would. I’m really not much. Just a girl who doesn’t know when to shut her mouth.”

“Should see yourself from someone else’s point of view, darling. Cuz, you’re a bombshell, if I can be so bold as to say so.”

She sputtered again. “Oh yeah?”

He leaned down, his gaze heavy on her. “Oh, yeah.”

“Hey!” Calum’s voice snapped darkly and Ash and Brooke jumped apart, Ash giving his friend a sheepish grin, Brooke’s face bright red like she had got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “The fuck, Ash?”

Ash raised his hands in defense. “My bad. Line crossed. I’ll back off.”

“Yeah, back the fuck up. She’s got a boyfriend.”

“You’re dating?” Ash’s hazel eyes flashed in startled confusion.

Calum’s brown eyes rolled. “No. She’s got a boyfriend.”

Brooke fiddled with her fingers. “Um… actually…” she started, her voice small, both slightly frightened and turned on by Calum’s protective jealousy.

“You don’t have a boyfriend?” Calum’s voice asked, the fierceness replaced by a tone that sounded on the verge of breaking. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I said… and you assumed… and I didn’t… Cal, we said…” Brooke’s hands started to flutter at her sides, her eyes welling up with tears. The girl who normally had more words than she knew what to do with was speechless.

“Whoa… hey,” his voice soothed and then he was pulling her into a hug. But instead of one arm, it was both, and she was about to crack from the soft intimacy. “C’mere,” he said before he was leading her down the hallway and into a bedroom. “Brooke, it astounds me how fucking blunt and honest we are with each other. Like the shit that comes out of your mouth blows me away sometimes. But you really couldn’t feel like you could tell me that you didn't have a boyfriend?”

“I’m sorry…” she whispered. “I… what Trevor and I have is hard to explain. It’s like we’re a couple without the label. And it’s always been confusing for me. And I didn’t want to try and explain that and get us both confused, so it was easier to let you think that he was my boyfriend. And then… well, we admitted what we admitted and… I dunno. I think it was easy for you to say those things when you thought nothing could come from it.”

“You think I said those filthy things to you just to say them?”

She shrugged and bit into her lower lip. “Maybe… Easy to flirt with someone when you can hide behind the fact that nothing will come of it…”

“Is that why you let me believe you had a boyfriend? So you could hide?”

She shook her head. “No! I just… look the relationship I had… have… I dunno… it’s not fully what I want. Yes, we’re friends. Yes, we have sex. But I want more than that. And he doesn’t. And that’s fine. But… I can’t do it with you, too. And I know it’s probably on me for being the proud tomboy who likes to be one of the guys. But I can’t keep being the girl who’s not good enough to be the girlfriend.”

“Jesus…” Calum breathed, running his hands through his curls.

“Don’t,” she said, standing up. “It’s fine. I’m the hopeless romantic living in a hookup culture world. Um, I’m gonna go now. But, I’ll see you Monday? Want teddy grahams or pretzels?”

“You’re doing that thing you said you would do,” he muttered.

“What thing?” she asked, forcing a smile.

“Where you said you would act cool and unbothered to not come off as clingy and desperate.”

“I said weird, not desperate…” she mumbled, staring down at her shoes. “See ya, Cal.”

“On your knees,” his voice barked at her as her back turned and her hand gripped the knob of the bedroom door.

“Excuse me?” she asked, turning back to face him, her face a mix of sad longing and confused anger.

He stalked over to her. “I said,” he spoke, his voice low and raspy as his fingers dug into her shoulders. “On. Your. Knees.”

She looked at him in full confusion but sank to her knees anyway. “Cal… What are you doing?”

“Making good on my word of what I would do to you if I ever got the chance,” he answered darkly. Then his face was inches from hers and it was full of soft concern. “That okay?”

She gulped and nodded. Then, as he went to straighten up, “Wait! Cal?”

“Yeah?” he asked, crouching back down.

“What happens after?”

“You said you’d make a great girlfriend, didn’t you?”

She nodded.

“I’m willing to give that a try if you are.”

She nodded again. Then, “Cal?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Brooke. I’m a romantic, too. This is about making sure we both get what we want. And I want you.”

“I want you too, Cal.”

“Good,” he smiled before pressing a soft kiss to her lips that made her stomach do flips. “Now, open up that pretty mouth of yours,” he said, tracing his thumbs over her lips to part them as he straightened up once more. “And it’s ‘Daddy’ from here on out,” he added with a smirk before his fingers were undoing his jeans and pushing them down along with his boxers.

“Yes, Sir,” she grinned saucily, her mouth watering at how big he was.

“There’s my brat,” he cooed in a manner that sent shivers down her spine. “Gonna fuck that attitude out of you real fast, sweetheart. You’ll learn.”

“Do your worst,” she taunted.

~~~

They were a breathless mess of tangled limbs and soft kisses in his bed. “Fuck, Ca- Da- Um…” she giggled while her cheeks flushed brick red. “Shit, I dunno what to call you now…”

His chest rumbled beneath her with his chuckle. “You can still call me, ‘Cal,’ sweetheart. ‘Daddy’ is just for bedroom activities. I’m not that kind of dom.”

She nodded. “Fuck, that was amazing.”

“Plenty more where that came from too, sweetheart. This is only the beginning.”

She sprawled across him to reach for her phone that was in her pants. “Can I?” she asked.

He nodded, pulling up the blankets to make them less exposed as she snapped some pictures. “You said you take pictures because you like seeing how people are when they’re fully themselves?”

“Yeah…”

“So what would those snapshots of you look like? If you were able to take candids of yourself.”

She thought for a minute then showed him the pictures she had just taken. “Probably a lot like this. You make me feel… well you make me feel a lot of things. One of which happens to be total relaxation. I feel like I can just be. No act. No bullshit. Just me.”

“Good, cuz I happen to like just you a whole fuckin lot.”

~~~

Tag List (Leave a message at the beep)

@goeatsomelife @flameraine @cashtonasff5sos @here-for-the-uproars @cxddlyash @1-irwin-94 @baldcalum @sparkling-chaos @tea4sykes @youngblood199456 @5-seconds-of-obsession

#snapshots and snapbacks #calum hood #calum hood fic #5sos #college!cal #galcal irwin

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wellhellsbelles · 4 years

Text

to the rhythm of your wild heart, chapter 1

next chapter for y’all! it’s about as much as i have written so far, but i figured i’d post it since i had it. i’ll keep working on it, but for the meantime i have no idea when the next update will be. i’ll still work on it, though! as always, thanks to all who read my stuff :)

“And you’re sure you have your passport?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“And enough clothes for two weeks?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“And plenty of money on you? Because I wanted to make sure—”

“Dad!!!”

link for ao3 or read below

Riley

“And you’re sure you have your passport?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“And enough clothes for two weeks?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“And plenty of money on you? Because I wanted to make sure—”

“Dad!!!”

“You are being a little bit of a helicopter parent right now, honey,” Topanga interjected, patting her husband’s back sympathetically. “Riley will be just fine. Farkle will be there to watch her, won’t you Farkle?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Farkle replied, holding a hand over his heart and one up, palm-forward, “I promise.”

“And you’ll do the same thing for our Farkle, right?” Jennifer, Farkle’s mother, asked. Riley nodded her head.

“We’ll both watch out for each other, as always.”

“Good. Now, then, I believe some goodbyes are in order?” Farkle’s dad Stuart said.

Topanga and Cory pulled their daughter in for a hug at the same time Stuart and Jennifer did their son, squeezing tightly as they said their goodbyes.

“Now, you’ll call us if you need anything, right?” Topanga asked.

“Of course, Mom.”

“And you’ll listen to the chaperone?” Cory warned. Riley rolled her eyes, pointedly ignoring him.

“I love you both, and I’ll see you soon. Okay?”

“We love you, too.”

They all finished hugging and Riley and Farkle picked up their luggage, waving goodbye as they entered the airport. They scanned the crowded area for their group, only locating them once they found a sign sticking in the air that had “Abigail Adams High” scrawled neatly across it. Ms. Moretti, their Italian teacher for the last few years, was at the center, directing students sporadically.

“Alright, settle down! I need to start taking attendance to make sure everyone is here! When I call your name, please say ‘Here.’ Abelson, Karri?”

“Here.”

“Bradford, Missy?”

“Here.”

“Missy is here?!” Riley huffed under her breath to Farkle. Farkle just shrugged, unaffected. Missy Bradford had it out for Riley since middle school when Riley won over Lucas, and even though Riley and Lucas had broken up a long while ago, it had since been as if it was her God-given right to make Riley’s life miserable.

“It can’t get any worse, at least,” Farkle offered, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

“Gardener, Charlie?”

“Here!”

“Merde,” Riley cursed, her brow furrowed.

“I believe it’s ‘merda’ in Italian,” Farkle told her, and Riley shot him a look of disdain. “Sorry.”

“Whatever. It can’t be too bad. Besides, Charlie’s let up quite a bit since we’ve been in high school. Isn’t he dating Rebecca?” she asked quietly. Farkle shook his head.

“I heard they broke up before graduation.”

“Matthews, Riley?”

“Oh, come on!” Riley exclaimed loudly, much to Ms. Moretti’s chagrin. She looked at Riley pointedly before carrying on to Farkle and then the remainder of the list. Farkle patted her back.

“There, there. We’ll get through this. It’s only two weeks, after all.”

“I bet there’s a lot of terrible things in history that lasted ‘only two weeks’,” Riley grunted.

After Ms. Moretti finished the roster, they waited for the final two students to appear, then moved toward the bag check together. The wait for the bag check line was about fifteen minutes, and once they dropped off their big bags, they headed straight for the security check line. Riley wanted to groan from the amount of waiting they had to do for each part of the airport, but luckily Farkle was there to entertain her the whole time, and it was almost enough for her to forget about the process altogether.

The security check was quicker than Riley thought it was going to be, and as soon as she was through, she and Farkle left to find their gate. Riley had her ticket out, searching for gate ‘G’ as Farkle flipped through his Italian history book he’d brought along, reading aloud the “interesting” facts about Rome that Riley honestly couldn’t give a single flip about.

“Did you know that by the early fourth century, the Romans had built a network of roads 53,000 miles throughout the entire Roman empire? It’s where we get the phrase “All roads lead to Rome”. Pretty cool stuff, huh?”

“No offense, Farkle, but I do not care. Where is gate G even at?” she asked, frustrated. Farkle pointed ahead of them.

“Right there, Ms. Buzzkill,” he deadpanned. Riley narrowed her eyes at him and Farkle returned the favor, sticking his tongue out at her before guiding them towards their gate. They joined the rest of their classmates, sitting on the floor beside them since there were no open seats around.

“Guys, we’re going to the land where they invented spaghetti!” Yogi shouted as they joined them.

“And concrete!” Farkle added, but no one seemed to be as excited about that fact as he was.

“You tried,” Riley offered sympathetically when he noticeably deflated, “They’re intellectual heathens.” Farkle looked at her amusedly for a moment as the rest of the group carried on conversation, talking about all the food they’d encounter in Rome.

“Okay, there’s one thing I didn’t cover,” Farkle initiated conversation a second later.

“Shoot,” Riley said, preparing herself for another Farkle speech on ancient Rome. Instead, he said,

“Who gets the window seat?” Riley smirked.

“Oh, me for sure.”

“Uh, definitely not, Matthews. I am definitely going to have the window seat. In fact, I call “shotgun” on the window seat,” Farkle grinned, determined.

“Shotgun on a window seat? Does that even work?”

“It does now.”

Riley shook her head.

“I don’t think so, Minkus. Let’s settle this with a classic game of rock, paper, scissors, and the best two out of three wins. Sound fair?”

Farkle wasn’t as sold on the idea, but he knew it was the only way they were going to settle the affair. So rock, paper, scissors it was.

Too bad he was never good at games of chance.

“Ha. I win the window seat!” Riley celebrated. Farkle pouted.

“Fine. But I get it on the way back, you cheater.”

“I didn’t cheat! You’re just a sore loser,” Riley wrinkled her nose.

Right as Farkle was preparing his rebuttal, their gate was called for boarding. Their whole group lined up in their designated location and patiently waited until they began scanning the tickets, allowing the passengers to pass through. Riley and Farkle were at the tail end of their line, speeding off to catch up with their group as soon as they were given the okay-go.

As they climbed aboard the plane, a silent pact was made between the two of them to sit towards the back, not too close to the wing of the plane, but not too close to the last row of seats. Riley took the window seat as was her reward and Farkle settled next to her, buckling his seatbelt as she buckled hers. His leg bobbed up and down in excitement while the rest of the passengers boarded, and Riley echoed the sentiment in her rapidly beating heart.

They were going to Italy. Italy! This was their big trip before heading to college in August, and she couldn’t believe it was all happening so fast. It felt like it was only just yesterday that her, Farkle, Maya, Lucas, Zay, and Smackle were graduating, only yesterday that Maya and she made a pact to have the greatest summer ever, that they went on the road trip to end all road trips. Now it felt like she had blinked and everything was about to end.

It was sort of hard to come to terms with that.

Things were changing regardless of whether or not Riley liked it. She really never was one for change, but she was going to have to accept that she was growing up, and life wasn’t going to be the same as it was in middle school or high school. She was going to encounter new experiences, new changes in her life.

But for now?

She’d rather just focus on Italy and what it had to offer her.

“Italy, here we come,” Riley breathed as they sat back, ready to take off.

Farkle

Farkle woke up to the sun cascading on his face as it set, a heavy weight on his shoulder. He blinked groggily, yawning as he began to shift around in his seat, realizing once his eyes fully opened that the weight was Riley peacefully asleep against him. He tried to resist moving around more as to not disturb her, and he could hardly deny that it was cute and he didn’t want to disrupt that, either.

He’d keep his secrets to himself.

He cast his gaze out the window, trying best to see the view outside. Much to his surprise, land was in sight, and he could only conclude that they were close to their destination. Farkle moved his shoulder a touch, nudging Riley awake so she wouldn’t miss out on the breathtaking landscape below.

“Huh?” she muttered as she awoke, lifting her head at once. Farkle ignored the twang of hurt that rung in his chest from her absence, instead pointing out the window.

“Look,” he told her. She sat up even more in her seat, peering out beyond the glass.

“Wow,” she gasped, awestruck, “It’s beautiful.”

“I thought you might not want to miss it, especially since you cheated me out of the window seat,” Farkle jibed.

“Hey! Not true!” she exclaimed, ignoring Ms. Moretti’s pointed look from behind them. It was the morning after all, but Farkle knew Riley didn’t care. Besides, they were about to land soon, anyway.

Silence fell between them a moment as they continued to stare at the scenery below, and Riley was the first one to break it.

“Do you think two weeks is going to be long enough?” she asked, her voice quiet all of a sudden.

“Long enough for what?” he raised his brow at her.

“We’re going to be headed off for college so soon after. It just feels like everything is slipping by so quickly. I just want to be able to enjoy what little time we have left,” she explained with a sigh. Farkle reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it a couple of times.

“Riley Matthews, I make this promise to you: we will have the best time ever, and this week we will use every minute we are given for adventure. We’ll make it last as long as we can.” Riley smiled at him, squeezing his hand right back.

“Thank you, Farkle.”

“Alright everyone, if you could, please buckle up as we prepare for landing,” the person over the intercom announced. Farkle released his grip on Riley’s hand and did as told, with Riley following suit.

This was it. Italy.

Everyone boarded off the plane once they were allowed, heading for baggage claim to grab their belongings. Ms. Moretti was barely heard over the chatter, shouting at them to group up once they had their things, but then getting drowned out by the excitement of everyone being in Rome.

After they found their suitcases, they met with Ms. Moretti and she led them towards the entrance of the airport, a bus already waiting for them. They all loaded onto it, and once everyone was in place, it headed toward the inner part of the city where their hotel was. And as it took off away from the airport, their mouths all drooped open in awe as the sights around took their breath away, a whole different scenery from the plane.

“Ooooh, Farkle! Look, look!” Riley kept pointing sporadically. Farkle smirked, leaning over to look out the window with her. Although he didn’t express it aloud, he was just as excited to see everything around.

They definitely weren’t in New York anymore, that was for sure.

Everything was modern and yet not. The architecture was gorgeous, still upholding a sort of ancient Rome feel. The setting sun allowed the lights of the city to become more noticeable, sparkling vividly like the stars on the clearest of nights.

“I wish we could start exploring already!” Riley bounced jubilantly.

“Me too, but I’m glad we have the night to settle in. I don’t think I could keep myself awake,” Farkle yawned. Riley puckered her lips.

“Didn’t you sleep all the way over here in the plane?”

Farkle shrugged.

“What can I say? I like my rest. Besides, someone snored in my ear half of the time, so I didn’t really get much sleep.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms.

“Whatever.”

Their eyes remained trained outside the window for the rest of the ride, getting a taste of all that they’d be exploring for the next couple of weeks to come. The bus slowed down once they were outside their hotel and everyone grabbed their belongings, rolling suitcases inside the concrete arches adorned by the archway to the building.

Ms. Moretti went to the desk to retrieve the keys for the hotel rooms while everyone stood idly by. She then returned, keys in one arm and clipboard in the other, gesturing for everyone to gather around.

“Alright, alright! Quiet down! I’m going to give you your room assignments. When I call your name, come grab your keys and then stand next to your roommate!”

Farkle and Riley waited patiently as the names were announced, tapping their feet gently on the ground while listening out for their names. Riley was called first before Farkle, but not before her partner’s name was called.

“Missy Bradford,” Ms. Moretti said, “You’ll be rooming with Riley Matthews.”

Riley perked up immediately at that, casting a horrified look at Farkle. He felt bad for her as he watched her step up to get her key to her room and then shuffle off to the side with Missy, her face looking like she had met the end of the world.

Farkle had to admit, it was a little funny, though.

His amusement passed as soon as it arrived when Ms. Moretti called out his name in junction with Charlie Gardner’s. A guttural noise escaped his throat as he walked to grab his key, mouth puckered in dismay at Riley and his terrible luck.

“End me,” Farkle whispered as he sidled up next to Riley.

“Remember earlier, when you said it ‘can’t get any worse’ and then Charlie ended up being a part of our group?” Riley whispered back. Farkle nodded his head. “Well, this is worse than that.”

Farkle threw his arms up in the air, exasperated, but didn’t complain any further. He was going to have to deal with a whole two weeks of Charlie Gardner, so he had to tamper it down and just let it all out when the trip was over.

Ugh. Two freaking weeks!

Ms. Moretti finished giving out keys to the group and instructed them to drop their stuff off in their rooms first, and then they’d be allowed to wander around the hotel for a bit before curfew at midnight. Farkle and Riley made a silent pact to meet up with each other once they were finished, heading up the stairs with their belongings after to find their rooms. Charlie made small talk with Farkle as they looked for their room (which Farkle didn’t mind), but it ended abruptly once they found and were inside their room, right when the door closed behind Farkle.

“So, Riley—” Charlie started, and Farkle threw his head back with a groan.

“No, we are not doing this.”

“I just want to see if you can get her to talk to me!” Charlie exclaimed. Farkle shot him a look of disdain.

“Absolutely not. She’s not interested.”

“How do you know?” Charlie asked. Farkle crossed his arms, rolling his eyes.

“She’s my best friend, Charlie. I know. Trust me on this.”

Charlie stared back at him, unconvinced.

“Are you saying that because you’re interested?”

Farkle gawked at him.

“What?!”

Charlie shrugged.

“You heard me. Is that why you’re being so protective of her? Because you like her?”

Farkle breathed, disgruntled at his situation. He wondered if Riley was faring any better with Missy. She probably was, considering Missy most definitely wasn’t talking to her.

“Alright, here’s the deal. One, Riley’s not interested in your advances, and I know that because I’m her best friend. And two, maybe instead you can try to be her friend? That’s usually a good first step. Now do you mind? I’ve got places to be.”

Farkle left the room without waiting for Charlie’s response, desperate to just get away.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the first time any guy had approached him about his girl friends. On multiple occasions has he been flagged down to see if Maya, Riley, and Smackle were free, and Farkle managed each time to slip away, tired of having to face stupid teenage boys and their advances on his friends.

Farkle made his way back down the stairs, hopeful that Riley had escaped her room so that the two of them could just hang out on their first night in Rome. Of course, part of his wanting to be around her was due solely to his social anxiety, but the other part was truly because he wanted as much time to hang out with his best friend before their time together waned for the near future.

“Oh, Farkle. Thank god,” Riley sighed with relief once he was back in the lobby, “You have no idea what five minutes of hell I’ve been through.”

“I think I definitely have some clue,” Farkle said. “Can you believe Charlie wants to see if you’ll go out with him?”

Riley buried her head in her hands.

“I think he’s built me up on a pedestal. I’m not that good of a person.”

Farkle tugged on a lock of her hair, smiling.

“I beg to differ.”

Riley chuckled.

“Your opinion is null. You’re biased because you’re my friend.”

“Are you saying that’s a bad thing?” he raised his brow. She shook her head, linking arms with him.

“Nope, not at all. Now, Mr. Minkus, care to explore the hotel with me?”

“I thought you’d never ask, Ms. Matthews,” he smirked, allowing her to lead the way.

Together, Riley and Farkle ventured every nook and cranny of the hotel, disturbing some of the guests in the process who had already gone to bed. Farkle felt a little bad, but he didn’t regret the laughter that erupted from within him from spending time with Riley. Also, it was hard to deny that it was funny when an adult stepped out and shot them a nasty look, only for Farkle and Riley to apologize and then make fun of them as soon as they shut the door.

Being in Italy was like being a kid again. It felt kind of cathartic in a way, feeling no pressures of school and being completely unattached to the world around him. Spending time alone with his best friend while the world was theirs to conquer.

Farkle missed those days terribly.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, Farkley?” Riley prodded him after his laughter died down, leaving them in a bout of silence.

“I was just thinking that this is like when we were younger. Remember when me, you, and Maya would spend every summer day at the park and your mom had to practically drag us away from the monkey bars? You were so determined to make it across,” he chuckled, recalling the memory fondly.

“I did do it once. I wasn’t going to give up on that, especially since Sarah had teased me about it each year.”

“And when you finally did figure it out, your mom was really impressed. I think that was when she realized that you got a lot from her, too.”

“I’m still every bit as much Cory’s daughter. It makes him proud, like he has his own little mini-me or something,” Riley joked before stopping dead in her tracks. “Ooh, let’s check this out!”

Riley pulled Farkle onto what appeared to be a large stretch of balcony off the fourth floor of the hotel. A slight breeze danced through the air, the city below them illuminated by the light of the moon.

“Wow,” Farkle said, sucking in a breath of fresh air, “Every time I think Rome can’t get any more beautiful, I’m proven wrong. I’m so glad we went on this trip.”

Farkle walked closer to the concrete railing guarding them from the drop below, watching intently as everyone moved around below by the dim of the streetlights. Riley joined him, beaming.

“And glad that I forced you to take Italian with me the past couple of years?”

Farkle snorted.

“That, too. Though, I already knew a few languages and my options were limited, but I would’ve chosen it, anyway. You’re my friend. That’s already enough to get me to do things.”

Riley looked away from Farkle bashfully, her cheeks dusting a light pink that was noticeable enough by the moonlight.

“Sometimes, I think you’re too much of a pushover for your own good, Farkle Minkus,” Riley told him, leaning her head upon his shoulder. He hummed, not denying that fact one bit.

They stood there for a long while, letting a comfortable silence fall between them as they continued gazing at the wonderful city below them. Then, Farkle said something so quiet that almost he didn’t quite hear it, but the words were still there.

“I’d do anything for you, Riley Matthews.”

Even he could barely grasp the depths to which he cared for her, maybe a little more than he could understand at that very moment, but he knew he was fond of her. Nothing could change that, not even growing up.

His heart would forever remain hers to some degree, and Farkle thought to himself that he could live with that.

It always was and always would be—no amount of distance could change that fact, either.

[taglist for this fic: @hisanas]

[anyone else who wants to be on the taglist for this fic, let me know! :) ]

#riley x farkle #riarkle #riarkle fanfic #farkle x riley #riarkle fanfiction

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