#would likely push me out of my comfort zone and get me to visit places and try things out that i wouldn't have otherwise

[genshin-obsessed]

Rent a Genshin Boyfriend!

This is inspired by a dream lol but it’s also probably influenced by a video I was recommended on YouTube. My x reader blurb is in pink and is just something in addition i wanted to add that would otherwise break immersion (and does it anway :') ).

Characters: Venti, Kaeya, Xiao, Baizhu, Kazuha, Heizou, Cyno, Alhaitham, Wriothesley, Lyney

Hello! Welcome to Genshin Boyfriend Rentals! We have a wide array of men that may meet your temporary dating needs, assuming you've got the money.

There are a few rules we need to go over beforehand, however. Please keep these in mind as you browse!

The Boyfriends have the right to leave during the date for any reason. If you believe it was unfair, you may contact support to potentially get a refund.

The Boyfriends are real people with feelings, please treat them with respect and refrain from pushing their boundaries.

No sexual requests of any kind. Attempting to do so will make him leave and you will not get your money back. They are boyfriends for hire, not escorts.

There are a few rules set by the Boyfriend, himself, which will be sent to you upon selection and payment. Please do your best to adhere to the rules for the best experience!

Are you looking to experience a polyamorous relationship? Feel free to hire more than one at a time! Their compatibility is written on their profiles but those are general suggestions!

Let's begin, shall we? The Boyfriends vary by region, please select the one that best suits you! If selecting more than one, keep in mind you will be the sole focus, but can ask for a slight change if you wish.

These Boyfriends are currently available for today!

┍━━━☽【❖】☾━━━┑

━━ Mondstadt ➺ Venti ➺ Kaeya ━━ Liyue ➺ Xiao ➺ Baizhu ━━ Inazuma ➺ Kazuha ➺ Heizou ━━ Sumeru ➺ Cyno ➺ Alhaitham ━━ Fontaine ➺ Wriothesley ➺ Lyney

┕━━━☽【❖】☾━━━┙

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Venti | ★★★★☆

550 Mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

A maximum of 8 hours per day.

Available for overtime events that may extend into multiple days but prices vary.

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Lyney, Cyno

Ever wanted to be serenaded by a bard? Need someone to help you out of your comfort zone? Venti's your guy! Venti is the excitable boyfriend. He’s chirpy, knows the best places to go, is enthusiastic about every and all dates. He tends to be very loud and cheerful, so if you're looking for some excitement, he's the best!

He’s very good with shy people and doesn’t have a preference for gender so he’s great for anyone who’s new to renting a boyfriend. Venti is also great at comforting. Did you lose someone recently? Are you feeling down about life? Feeling like everything is at a standstill? Venti is great with his words and will do his best to cheer you up.

His favorite place is visiting a bar and his favorite thing to do is perform. He previously worked as a bard but has now moved to joining us in our endeavors as a Rental Boyfriend!

"I promise with me you'll be smiling until your face hurts! Or your money back!"

Venti is mindful of how much money he spends. He understands why expenses are covered by the renter, but he still feels bad sometimes. Not only that, he's not exactly cheap either. So, when he ever goes on a date with someone who can't exactly afford dinner or whatever, he comes up with other date ideas that could be entirely free! However, Venti is usually hired for his empathetic side. He's great at understanding loss and loneliness and has plenty of loyal customers who he meets with at least once every two weeks. You can be one too, if you'd like.

Kaeya Alberich | ★★★★☆

575 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 8 hours per day.

Is only available for up to 24 hours only, and prices vary.

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Heizou, Kazuha

Do you need a boyfriend who's just great at flirting and making you feel like the most beautiful human being on the face of Teyvat? Meet Kaeya! He's quite popular as he's great with both newbies and veterans at renting a boyfriend. He's very charismatic and usually loves to fluster his partner. Kaeya is not a big spender, so don't worry about expensive dates. He's great at improvising and is just looking to make you happy!

His favorite place to visit is the bar, but he also enjoys things like picnics and window shopping. He's not a demanding Boyfriend so if you'd just like to have some company at home, he's right there with you!

Kaeya is more physically affectionate. He loves hugs, cuddles, often gives cheek kisses and will most likely always be holding your hand. If this is something you aren't a fan of, we recommend you hire someone else but can also talk it over with Kaeya, himself, if you'd like.

"Whatever you wanna do is ok with me. After all, I think the day should be dedicated to someone as special as you."

Kaeya has a tendency to forget faces if it's been a long time, so if you're renting him with a long span in between, he may actually forget you completely. He does feel really bad and does his best to play it off, but sometimes it doesn't work out. Don't worry! He's got a plan for that too! If you're a loyal patron though, he will inevitably remember you.

Xiao | ★★★★✬

650 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 6 hours per day.

Not available for overtime events.

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Cyno, Lyney

Meet Xiao! He's not very excitable, doesn't talk a lot, and lets you do your thing. He's mainly for people who don't want a talker and prefer to do an activity with someone. Whether it be painting, watching a show, playing video games, knitting, doing puzzles, or meditating, Xiao is the perfect choice! He's got a very calming atmosphere around him and will 100% help you relax!

Xiao speaks through touch for the most part. If you need some form of physical affection, he can provide. If you want to cuddle, hold his hand, or just lay on his lap, he's happy to provide given you ask permission first.

!! If you're new to renting a boyfriend, Xiao is NOT recommended !!

"I'll do whatever you want to do, so don't feel pressured to plan something extravagant. Just be you and we'll have fun, I guess."

Though Xiao has his charm and is extremely handsome, his rating simply relies on those who like his personality type which is specific. Sometimes people want a Boyfriend who's all cool and quiet like him, but tend to realize it's not as fun when they're actually with him. He does have a few tricks up his sleeve for people like those, but will more often than not just let them crash and burn and helps them get a refund for any time he didn't spend with them. He is who he is, some people like him, others do not. His popularity has skyrocketed recently and he's pretty much on par with Boyfriends like Kazuha, Kaeya, and Wriothesley.

Baizhu | ★★★★☆

500 mora/hr

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 8 hours per day but can be booked for multiple days together. Maximum of five days.

Available for overtime events. Prices vary.

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Alhaitham, Wriothesley

Are you feeling a little under the weather? Don't have the ability to grab medicine? Just need a little company while you recover? Look no further than our very own doctor Baizhu! As a practitioner of medicine, Baizhu has numerous methods to help you feel better.

He'll help you take your medicine, make you meals for swifter recovery, and is more than happy to give you some much needed company. Don't worry about getting him sick, he knows the proper precautions.

"Remember, health comes first. If you don't know how to get better, I'll be right beside you."

Baizhu actually prefers to work with people who are sick. Whether they have terminal illness or temporary, he's more than happy to provide any sort of companionship to those who ask for it. He's actually helped find more serious, life threatening illnesses before and has saved a number of people like that. Baizhu is a softer boyfriend, willing to sit beside you and stroke your hair as you attempt to sleep. He's the only Boyfriend who can be booked for multiple days in advance, others work on a daily basis only.

Kaedehara Kazuha | ★★★★★

600 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 10 hours per day.

Available overtime events as well as holidays. Prices may vary

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Venti, Lyney

Looking for a soft boyfriend? Are you trying to learn poetry? Perhaps working on poetry? Look no further than Kazuha! He's a new addition to the Genshin Boyfriends but you'd never know if we hadn't told you beforehand.

Kazuha has a more artistic side to him that he loves to show off. As a former wanderer, he's got plenty of stories for inspiration. Are you looking to maybe take a hike? He's definitely ready for one! Maybe you'd just like to find a field and lay down in it. Kazuha knows some great places already! He's both soft spoke and a gentle soul. If you need to vent or are looking for advice, we recommend no one other than Kazuha!

"I know what the description says, but I also love to try new things. If you want a partner for that, I'm happy to be one. You don't need to try anything new alone."

Even though he's new, Kazuha's quite popular and will often be booked months in advance. As he's said before, he loves trying new things and is happy to do that with someone else. Do you wanna go skydiving for the first time with a boyfriend but don't have one? Kazuha! Do you wanna go swimming with sharks for the first time? Kazuha! Maybe you're looking to rent a boyfriend for the first time but don't know who would be best for you. Kazuha!

Shikanoin Heizou | ★★★★☆

500 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 6 hours per day.

Available for some overtime events; not ALL holidays. Prices may vary

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Kaeya, Cyno

Ever wanted to say that you dated a detective? Maybe you're looking to spice up your boring choices in partners! Heizou is at your service. He's intelligent, a great fighter, and has quite the silver tongue. He has a mischievous side to him and loves to get into a bit of trouble.

Worry not, you'll never be in any true danger, but if you're looking to get your blood pumping, Heizou might be able to do that. If you don't have a date idea, worry not. He does and he'll make every penny worth it! Though, if you'd like something a bit slower, Heizou doesn't mind taking you to some of the spots he likes to relax in. You two can sit and talk to just get to know one another before going out and doing something. He's very flexible in this case!

"Don't be shy, take a chance on me. If you're a true crime junkie, I'm basically your soulmate."

Believe it or not, Heizou's never gotten in trouble before for any of this. It's not like he brings his renters to the crime scenes or shows them anything like that, but he's got plenty of stories. He's also more playful and is the best recommended for any renters looking for an adventure! Unlike Kaeya, Heizou never forgets a face. Ever.

Cyno | ★★★★★

800 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 5 hours per day.

Overtime events only include birthdays and must be under 12 hours. Prices may vary

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Heizou, Xiao, Venti

Are you a lover of "bad jokes"? Are you looking for a more serious boyfriend? Do you want someone who can strike fear into the hearts of criminals? Look no further than Cyno!

Though Cyno has a serious side to him, he's a lover of jokes and reverts to them to relieve tension. He's got a wide array so there won't be any repeats. If you're ever sad, he'll bring out his best and hope that at least one of them puts a smile on your face.

"Why are pigs good valets? They're excellent parallel porkers. Get it? Instead of using the word park, they used-"

Cyno actually joined the agency as a joke. Yet, somehow, he managed to get to the top extremely quickly. For all the Sumeru Boyfriends, he often takes first place. He's also stolen first place from Wriothesley in the April popularity poll. He was tempted to quit but was begged to stay and... well, now he finds a type of joy in pretending to be boyfriend. Not at all what he expected the day he joined. Cyno is also great at memorizing names and faces. Once you go on a date with him, he won't forget you and will even make it a thing to greet you as if you two have been dating for a while and he just hasn't seen you in a while.

Alhaitham | ★★★★☆

700 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 6 hours per day.

Available for most overtime events as well as holidays. Prices may vary

No gender preference.

Best compatibility: Baizhu, Wriothesley

Is there a test coming up that you didn't study for? Did you fall asleep in class and miss an entire lecture and now you don't know how to do that Statistics assignment? Well, look no further than Alhaitham!

He's the smartest we got and is the best tutor you'll ever find. From being eye candy to intelligent as hell, there isn't a subject he can't help teach. Do not make that chemistry joke with him, he will be disappointed.

Alhaitham knows the best way to increase work productivity and will help you get through your day with any type of work you have. He knows when to take breaks and will always have the perfect snacks prepared. Just make sure you can keep up with his strict routine!

"If you need help, just ask for it. I wouldn't want you to fail your classes."

!! Not the best with romance !!

While he's not good with the romance aspect of being a boyfriend, he's very good with studying. He often finds himself busiest during finals weeks and will limit his time with everyone to just three hours per day. These are the days where he's working from morning to night and only has enough time to sleep. He's very good at tutoring and often receives letters and gifts of thanks afterwards. He can still do dates and such (maybe a study date) or just a regular one, but he tends to be more awkward in that sense as he's not very used to it. Over time, he's learned a good way to reward the renters. Kisses on their cheeks tend to help a lot. He'll also let you take short naps on his lap and will even massage your shoulders if needed while you work.

Wriothesley | ★★★★★

1200 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of four consecutive days for a total of 96 hours.

Only available for special events currently.

No gender preference

Best compatibility: Alhaitham, Baizhu

Are you looking for a duke who's great at fighting and was a prison administrator? What a coincidence, we have the perfect man for you! Wriothesley. While his name may be as confusing to pronounce as Worcestershire sauce, his companionship is just a legendary! He's charismatic, loves tea, can totally teach you how to fight, and has a voice as smooth as butter.

Wriothesley is tall, dark haired, and has been voted the most popular in the last four polls in a row! His intelligence and prowess speak for themselves and don't let anyone stop you from hiring him!

Need to scare off a trashy ex? Just looking for a handsome man to hold your hand as you walk down the street? Attending a wedding where everyone keeps pestering you to find a person to settle down with? Wriothesley's got you covered. He's great at memorizing family names, faces, and titles. He'll impress your family and get them off your back for good.

"Come and fall in love with me. I'll make it worth your time."

As stated above, Wriothesley has won the popularity poll for four months in a row and continues to dominate. While he's lost the position to others such as Kazuha, Xiao, and Cyno, he holds no bad blood between them and is often hired alongside another for the same renter. Due to his increasing popularity, he is the most expensive Boyfriend to rent BUT has made exceptions before. He's also a great choice to hire for a friend to surprise them as "their boyfriend for the day". He's a fast learner and yes, you will fall in love with this man. Come to terms with it before you hire him.

Lyney | ★★★★☆

650 mora/hr.

All expenses must be covered by you.

Maximum of 8 hours per day. Works later hours as well.

Available for most events as well as holidays. Prices may vary

No gender preference

Best compatibility: Venti, Xiao, Kazuha

Ever wanted a private magic performance? Wanna see what it's like to date a magician? Look no further than our very own Lyney! Hailing from the land of water, Fontaine, he is a renowned magician!

Expect plenty of surprises as Lyney loves to catch people off guard. He tends to prefer simple dates, but grand ones are welcome if you insist. He is willing to teach you some small tricks, but most of them he won't reveal. Is he trying to steal your heart? Yeah, he definitely is.

If you're feeling sad or lonely, feel free to hire Lyney. He's willing to work late (meaning you can hire him at 10pm if you want) and he'll be at your doorstep within the hour.

Lyney is one of the few, other than Baizhu and Alhaitham, who are willing to work later in the day. Normally, most prefer to be hired earlier in the day so they have time to prepare and such before going on the date. Baizhu, Lyney, and Alhaitham are the few who can be hired after 8pm when most are unavailable. Lyney often brings some sort of gift with him, and like Cyno and Heizou, he's great at remembering faces.

#venti x reader #kaeya x reader #xiao x reader #wriothesley x reader #baizhu x reader #kazuha x reader #heizou x reader #cyno x reader #alhaitham x reader #lyney x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x gender neutral reader #🖊─ pocky’s writings

[reiding-writing]

macarons and misunderstandings [ s.r ]

Summary:

You coax Spencer into joining you in a bakery café that your friend recommended you to visit whilst on a case in NYC, and although it starts as two friends getting lunch together, it doesn’t end that way.

WARNINGS: minor swearing, wholesome miscommunication

pairing: spencer reid x gn!reader

genre: fluff, just the most sickeningly sweet wholesome fluff

wc: 3.4k

masterlist!!

a/n: rest assured, i will be returning to my comfort zone of hurt/comfort for my next fic bc i cannot write wholesome stuff for the life of me 😭

“Alright, take a break everyone, we’ll pick this back up after everyone’s had the chance to eat,” Hotch’s voice rings across the NYPD conference room alongside the closing of the file he was reading from, and he tucks the manilla folder under his arm as he stands. “I want you all back here by 1:30,”

There’s a small chain of nods and ‘yes sir’s before the team is rising from the table and grabbing their belongings to vacate the police station to go and get some lunch, and you manage to catch Spencer right before he leaves. “Hey Spence-”

“Hm? Yeah?” He does a full U-turn with his body, almost walking straight into you in the process if not for his hand still holding the door open to give him a point of balance, and you have to stifle a small smile that tries to break its way onto your face.

“You got any plans for lunch or can I effectively kidnap you for an hour?”

Spencer gives you slightly furrowed expression although doesn’t seem opposed to the idea. “I’m not sure that was the best way to word that but no I haven’t,”

“Yeah probably not-“ You let out a small breath that could almost constitute as a laugh. "Anyway, apparently there’s a really good french bakery like two blocks away from here, we should go check it out before Hotch changes his mind and decides we’re confined to the station,”

“Right… yeah uh-.” Spencer laughed softly, encouraging you out of the door ahead of him before following behind you. “A bakery sounds really nice actually,”

"My friend told me about it when she was down here for fashion week, she said it has some of the best pastries she’s ever tried," You emphasise the word ‘best’ with your hands, and Spencer’s eyes followed them as he got caught up in your enthusiasm.

One of your favourite things about your oddly-developed friendship with Spencer was that you could do things like take a trip to a bakery together without a single hint of awkwardness.

Long since had the silences between you held any unfamiliar tension or apprehension when it came to getting to know each other those five years ago.

It was comfortable. Secure. And you weren’t entirely sure it was just a ‘friendship’.

“Did she happen to mention what type of pastries they have?” Spencer asked you, his eyebrows raised with genuine curiosity.

"She specifically mentioned the almond croissants, although i’m also eager to try their lemon crêpes because they sound absolutely amazing," You continue to exaggerate what you’re saying with your hands as you push open the door of the Police Station, exiting into the cool autumnal breeze of the New York City streets.

Spencer followed closely behind you, nodding along to what you were saying as he placed his hands the pockets of his tattered trench coat. Although, he wasn’t entirely listening to the words leaving your mouth, too focused on how the autumn breeze blew your hair softly and how the partially concealed rays of sun made your eyes look like they they held all of the stars in the milky way.

"Ooh, and macarons-" You turn towards Spencer as your excitement about what pastries to get overtakes any lingering thoughts of the case you’re working on, gripping onto his sleeve with your left hand.

You were excited about the pastries; He was excited about the warmth of your hand through his sleeve.

“Macarons do sound good. You know what would go really well with them?” Spencer looked at you as he spoke, smiling like you’d ripped the sun from the sky and given it to him as a present. “Hot chocolate.”

"Oh you are so right-" You give an immediate sharp nod at Spencer’s suggestion, sliding down his arm to rest on the inside of his elbow, fingers pressed gently into the slight curve created from where his hands rested inside his pockets.

To the unassuming eye, the two of you most probably looked like a couple out on a date, your arms linked and Spencer looking at you like you were the only person in existence.

Spencer was very aware that the way you touched him made it look like you were in a relationship.

And it made him feel a little giddy.

He had to force himself back to reality. He wasn’t in a relationship with you. All he was doing was going out with you as a friend to grab some pastries for lunch. That’s it.

"Okay so we have definite yeses to macarons and hot chocolate, I feel like we’ve gotta get at least one almond croissant considering how much my friend was raving about them, anything else?"

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a crêpe before. Maybe we should try one of those?”

Spencer had a sudden urge to kiss you, and he didn’t really know why. Maybe it was gentle heat of your fingers against his arm. Maybe it was the light pink flush on your cheeks from the cold breeze. Maybe it was the fact that he’d been subconsciously pining after you for years to the point where he could barely think of anything else.

"Yes. Definitely. 100%." You give the inside of his elbow a small squeeze at the prospect of introducing him to the delicacy that is french crêpes. "I cannot let you live a life without crêpes in it."

Spencer nodded along arbitrarily, not listening to a single word that you just said as he internally imagined how it would feel to have your hands in his hair and your lips on his skin.

Why wasn’t he in a relationship with you? You were just… perfect, and he was really into you.

He felt like there had to be a reason why you weren’t together, but that train of thought made Spencer fluster to the point he was afraid you’d be able to see it if he thought about it any longer.

"Aha," You make an exclamation of victory as the bakery comes into view, pushing the door open with a soft bell chime and tugging Spencer inside with you with a gentle but excited insistence.

The bakery looked amazing, although much closer to a café. It had a small quaint European feel to it despite it being on a main Street in New York City, and surprisingly, it wasn’t that busy either. It was the exact type of bakery that Spencer had hoped it would be.

You scour the chalkboard menu for a second to make sure they actually had everything you wanted before going up to order, and Spencer noticed as your hand slid downwards to the inside of his wrist so that you could lean forward to see the chalk whilst still keeping yourself anchored to him.

He was definitely blushing now, his heart taunting him as it pounded against his chest.

Spencer wanted to ask you to kiss him, or at least hold his hand, but the thought of bringing attention to the unspoken connection the two of you had may ruin it stopped him from saying anything, not wanting to risk losing what he currently had in the very minor instance of gaining something more.

"You’re alright with sharing a croissant and a crêpe right? I figure it might be too much otherwise-"

Spencer nodded with a smile. “I don’t mind sharing a croissant and a crêpe with you.”

You give him a beamed smile and a nod as you leave his side to go and order, shutting down his offer to pay before he could even suggest it.

He subconsciously ran his fingers over his wrist as he waited for you, trying to compensate from the loss of your touch and the gentle warmth that accompanied it as he watched you engage in polite small talk with the cashier.

You looked so sweet. So perfect.

"let’s sit outside yeah? it’s a nice day," You retreat back towards him with a tray balanced in your hands, two mugs of hot chocolate joined with four coloured macarons and a single croissant and crêpe, carefully distributed to balance the weight as you carry it.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Spencer nods at you softly, a wistful expression still on his face as he takes you by the elbow in order to help you carry the tray safely.

The reinstating of your previous contact brought a small flush back over his cheeks, and even through his hands were only brushing against the fabric of your shirt, it still felt oddly intimate.

The two of you walk over to a vacant table, set under a large parasol that casted the table in a comfortable shade.

Spencer took a seat across from you as you both sat down, separated by a small table in between the two of you.

Funny how a little table could do that.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Oh my god we are definitely coming back here next time we have a case down here-" You give a satisfied sigh as you wipe your fingers on a serviette, placing it inside your empty mug and pulling out your phone to check the time.

1:17.

You should get back to the station.

The thought of having to go back dampened your mood a little, and not just because it meant you now had to spend the rest of the day bent over a desk to curate a profile.

You really enjoyed spending time with Spencer like this, whether it be accompanying him to a new museum exhibit or driving him to buy his groceries so he wouldn’t have to sit behind the wheel.

It was a small highlight of your time not spent working, and you always found yourself disheartened when it was time to leave.

“We should definitely come back.” Spencer looked at you as he spoke, catching the mild change in your expression. “Are you okay?”

“Hm? Yeah- yeah i’m good,” You give him a nod and a reassuring smile as you stand from you seat with him following not long after you. “Just not exactly looking forward to going back to work,”

“Yeah I understand what you mean,” Spencer gives a small laugh, stuffing his hands back into his pockets again.

"We should do this more often you know,” You tilt your head slightly at him, the words leaving your mouth without any thought behind them. "I uh- enjoy spending time with you like this,"

“I enjoy spending time with you too,” Spencer smiled gently.

He looked at you, feeling a slight bit of courage at your confession of enjoying spending time with him one on one.

Come on Spencer, just ask them out already.

"I’m glad," You give Spencer a half-laugh, turning away from him slightly to hide the flushed nature of your cheeks from your embarrassment.

Spencer’s eyes studied you, and he felt like now might be the time. You two were still technically off work, you loved spending time together, and you’d just spent the last half an hour listening to him rant about the new book he was reading whilst the two of you drank hot chocolate and shared french pastries with each other.

You weren’t just friends. You were more than that.

At least he hoped so.

“Can I take you out… on a date?” Spencer’s voice was soft, but it carried confidence.

"A- date?" You stop walking in the middle of the street, your body re-directing any cognitive functioning to focus on computing Spencer’s question.

Spencer stopped as you did, eyes entirely trained on your expression. He couldn’t help but look at how beautiful you were right now. Your face painted with a blush and a mild look of confusion characterised through the slight furrow in your eyebrows.

“Y- yeah… do you want to go on a date with me?”

Of course it was okay if you didn’t. It wouldn’t hurt Spencer. He’d handle the rejection. Right?

"I- Yeah-" You nod quickly, a little too enthusiastically if you were to think about it logically. “Yes,”

"I’d love to go on a date with you-" You’re words are rushed and slightly muddled together as you hastily agree to his proposition, but they get the point across.

Spencer’s face lit up with a blush as you said yes.

That’s wonderful news.

A small grin spread across his face. “I’m glad…” The words slipped out without Spencer realising it, joined by a notable fluster.

He was glad.

He was absolutely thrilled about the fact you want to go on a date with him.

Spencer was so incredibly grateful that you said yes.

“Wouldn’t- I mean- We just like went out together and got food and talked and stuff- was that… a date?-“ You gesture your hand back to the bakery café the two of you had just left.

You weren’t exactly wrong, and he understood your confusion.

“I suppose it follows the motions of a date,” Spencer looked at you, overtaken by how perfectly ethereal you looked with the breeze fluttering against your shirt and a blush covering your cheeks.

“But an actual date would be much more romantic.” His words were confident, even if he was embarrassed that he was admitting to you just how much of a romantic he was underneath his façade of being uninterested in finding someone.

"So it wasn’t a date?” You raise an eyebrow slightly, fiddling with your sleeves. “Because I want to kiss you but if it wasn’t a date then I can’t because you can’t kiss someone without going on a date with them first because it breaks date etiquette-”

Spencer’s eyes widened as he listened to you ramble without taking a single breath. You wanted to kiss him?

You wanted to kiss him.

You wanted to kiss him.

Spencer was trying to keep his emotions in check as he stared at you. Your words made him tingle with excitement. “Um… you can- still kiss me if you want…?”

You shake your head with determination. “You can’t kiss someone before you’ve been on a date with them,”

Spencer looked so utterly confused.

So, you didn’t want to kiss him?

He wanted to kiss you.

“Why not? Your logic makes no sense. Why can’t kiss me?” Spencer was so utterly confused, his eyebrows knitted in a way that made you want to plant your lips between them as he tried to understand what your issue was.

"My logic makes complete sense-" You cross your arms over your chest as you gesture for the two of you to keep walking with a nod of your head.

"Everybody knows that you never kiss somebody until the end of the first date, it curses your whole future relationship otherwise,"

Spencer couldn’t help but stare at you blankly.

What he heard you say was wrong. Really wrong.

You should kiss someone whenever you want to kiss someone. Especially if they’re your crush.

But you were adamant you couldn’t kiss Spencer because of this stupid arbitrary rule.

"Well, if you’d have agreed to my judgement that our bakery stop was a date then you’d be getting a kiss," You shrug your shoulders nonchalantly, lips pressed into a straight line. "But you don’t, therefore I can’t kiss you,"

Spencer stared at you in disbelief as you spoke, before his eyes widened.

He knew what you wanted to hear, and so he gave in.

It was the only way he’d get a kiss.

“Okay okay- It was a date at the bakery I was wrong-”

He hated how desperate he sounded, but you were so beautiful, you were stunning, you were the most gorgeous person he ever met.

Spencer wanted to be with you. And you were giving him an in to finally press his lips against your perfect face.

"Are you sure?" You furrow your eyebrows at him in mock accusation, agains stopping in your tracks to stand in front of him with your eyes fixed on his face.

Spencer sighed. “I… yes. It was a date. I was just being silly…” Spencer took your hand for a moment as he spoke to you, interlacing his fingers in yours and feeling the warmth of your hands against his frigidly cold ones.

He wanted you to know that he felt a lot differently towards you compared to how he’d felt about anyone else.

You were special.

And he wanted you.

"Right you are pretty boy," You give his hand a small squeeze as you use your other to cup his face, pulling it towards you with a gentle insistence so that you could press a chaste kiss to those perfect pink lips that had just been begging you to silence them. "You were being silly,"

Spencer’s face lit up with another blush as you called him pretty boy.

Of course you thought Spencer was pretty. Not handsome or beautiful.

Pretty.

He let himself be pulled in closer as you spoke to him teasingly, telling him that he was being silly.

And then… your lips. Pressed against his with a soft pressure that he gladly returned.

That was all it took for Spencer to feel like the luckiest man on earth.

"Here’s to a successful first date," You chuckle softly as your lips part, your noses brushing as you lean back to admire the rosy tint to his cheeks and the beaming smile that accompanied it.

Spencer felt so happy. So overwhelmingly, sickeningly happy.

And so, he did a thing that he never thought he had the courage to do. He pulled you into his arms, leaning in to kiss you with so much fervour that you were relying on the strength of his hands on your waist for stability.

Spencer didn’t know when he’d get the opportunity to do this again. So he was 100% going to make the most of it.

You can’t help the smile that erupts on your face as he pulls you in again, your hands cradling his cheeks and your head tilted ever so slightly to the left as you rested your weight into his hands.

If you’d recorded this moment and told him it was a scene from a cheesy romance movie he would’ve believed you.

As the two of you reluctantly pull away due to the unfortunate human necessity of breathing, you catch a glance at the watch face on the inside of your wrist.

1:29.

“Shit- We really need to get back to the station.” Your hands fall from his face to grab one of his own, pulling him down the streets as you hurry back to the police station, mildly out of breath and still completely flustered.

“So-“ Spencer pulled a small resistance against your hands as the two of you stopped outside of the door.

“We’re going on a second date once we get home right?”

#criminal minds #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #mgg #criminal minds x reader #spencer reid fluff #criminal minds fluff

[idolatrybarbie]

pairing: marcus pike x fem!reader

word count & rating: 3.9k | explicit - minor free zone!

summary: you wish marcus a happy thirty-sixth birthday. the sequel to two lonely people.

warnings: social isolation, self doubt, anxiety, themes of alienation, light angst, fluff, marcus has the cutest stretch marks and freckles, reader is described as same height and/or shorter than marcus, smut - mentions of intercrural sex, cum eating, grinding, handjob, sex toys, praise kink, exhibitionism, nipple play, vibrator play, cuddling(!!!).

notes: wrote this sporadically throughout my weekend away, shout-out to sima for letting me blab on and on about pedro boy porn. truly in my marcus era, i am a man possessed. these sex toys [x] [x] are also real! in case you were curious.

Bender stretches out on the couch beside you, his long and lanky body bowing low. His hairy belly brushes against the fabric of the cushion when you scratch beneath his chin. The mission of an early afternoon nap has been well accomplished. You push yourself into a sitting position, letting Bender jump to the carpet and stroll away. The grey-white of the cushions contrasts the red of the walls perfectly; in another life, Marcus must have been an interior designer.

You watch your cat—yes, yours—settle atop the orange loveseat across from you, dotted with crimson and tangerine throw pillows. Everything inside Marcus’ place is so rich and vibrant, a constant splash of colour no matter where you look. It makes you feel good to be here, like you belong. Every night spent across the street from your own home feels like a glorious field trip.

You've been coming around for four months, and Marcus has never turned you away. He's your boyfriend now, a label and structure that hasn't existed in your life for what felt like aeons. You've had to modify your habits a little bit—boyfriends get worried when you don't text or show for four days. They show up at your front door ready to call someone—a hospital or an ambulance, or your mother, god forbid.

It has been more difficult to adjust than you thought it would be. As it turns out, once you live a life of solitude, incorporating people back into it is a little like pulling teeth. It’s not that you don't like it, crave that contact. You simply don't think of it. You don't take into consideration whether or not Marcus is missing you because that feels like a little too much. Too much thought from another thrown your way, too much care about you as a person.

You're finding that Marcus almost strictly operates in the realm of too much. Too much time, too much attention dedicated to you. It's a seed of guilt that you've swallowed. The feeling has rooted itself in your chest, stringy vines encircling your lungs. Surely he has something better to do: work, maybe, or visit family and friends. But he seems to want to spend almost every night with you.

You watch movies, chat dinner plans, fuck—though it doesn't really feel like fucking. Marcus brings sweetness to your tender care, delivering praise to each of your soft touches. You love learning his body. The glow in his eyes when he makes you feel good could light the night sky, you're sure of it.

Time with him injects a new type of levity into your life that animals can't bring. Even with Bender as your own now, after Anne-Marie admitted to you his care was too much for her to handle, Marcus brings a presence to your life that makes you feel a little more assured. It's cliché, but it's true.

Tonight, you're waiting for him to come home from a late shift at work. No pet clients this week, you’ve been making yourself comfortable at Pike’s place for the past few days—since that fateful evening he knocked on your door, presuming you dead or worse.

Earlier, you texted him asking when he'd be home and almost dropped your phone. Home. Marcus hadn’t seemed to notice, but the message stopped you short. Maybe you’re a little too comfortable.

Later than I’d like, he’d replied.

His guesstimate was closer to bedtime than dinner. You told him not to worry; you’d still be here waiting. It's his birthday, after all. You are determined to celebrate, even if it's after a long day of catching criminals.

You’ve got a whole thing prepared. A silver birthday banner hanging above the kitchen entryway, his gift on the coffee table. And dinner, of course: chupe and warm bread for dipping, along with sopapillas and ice cream cake for dessert. You've never put so much effort into something like this for another person—never gotten the chance to.

Picking his gift was probably the hardest part of the process. You'd bugged Marcus over and over about an online wishlist. Anything that he needed for his place, any wants. His answer was always the same, eliciting an eye roll every time: you.

“You can't gift a person,” is always your counter, to which the man wholeheartedly disagrees. He has everything he wants; a feeling you cannot understand. Everything he wants and all he seems to want is you.

When Marcus makes it through his front door, the sky is dark. You’re asleep again, body laid across the couch as Bender sits in a comfy loaf across your ribs and diaphragm. His purring moves through your chest, keeping you warm without a blanket. The peaceful scene is disrupted when Marcus drops his bag to the floor a little too loud, waking you. It’s less of a slow, sleepy roll and more of a sharp gasp. The intake scares the cat, Bender leaping from you. He lands on the floor easily.

“Marcus,” you sigh.

“It’s me!” he smiles, his tone one of mock celebration.

“I fell asleep.” An astute observation on your part, you rub the sleep from your eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Marcus approaches the couch, holding a hand out to help you stand. You take it, pulling yourself up with his weight as an anchor. He manages to get you into the hold of his arms before you realize, giving you a warm hug. He’s a little sweaty today, salt mixing in with natural sweetness at the collar of his shirt.

“Don’t be sorry,” Marcus says.

You start to move, readjusting the huddle of two so he’s at least facing the strung up banner. “Happy birthday,” you whisper. “I made dinner.”

He hums against your cheek. “All this for little ol’ me?”

“Yes,” you say. “And dessert. And a gift.” You nod at the coffee table, like he can even see you with his chin over your shoulder.

“You didn’t have to do this,” Marcus says.

“I already did. And I wanted to, so it’s done. Come on.” You squeeze your arms around him. “Let’s eat.”

You sit him down at the table, not letting Marcus lift a finger as you bring out two bowls. The shrimp stew has been on the stove, simmering at a low temperature since you finished cooking. You bring the pot out of the kitchen and set it on a cork trivet. When he looks past the lip of the pot, Marcus’ face splits into a disbelieving smile.

“I could kiss you right now,” he says, ass hovering from his chair.

“Sit. You can kiss me later.” You ladle chupe into Marcus’ bowl, then your own. “Shit, spoons. Just a second.” Getting up again, Marcus catches your wrist as you pass the side of the table.

“Honey,” he says.

“I’ll just be a second.”

“You’re doing too much.”

“I’m not,” you insist. “I—can I…”

Your eyes tell it better than your words can, staring down at him. Please let me do this for you. Marcus lets you go, and you return a minute later with a pair of spoons.

You sit down at the table. Marcus simply stares at you. You start to smile before twisting your lips, looking down at your bowl.

“What?” you ask. When he doesn’t say anything, you repeat yourself.

“Nothing.” Marcus shakes his head.

“There’s something.”

“You. You’re just…incredible.”

You shrug. “I wanted to do something a little bit special. I know it’s not a super big deal—”

“The woman who has a freezer stocked with heat-and-eat lasagna made me chupe.”

“Sopapillas, too. They’re in the microwave.”

“And sopapillas. This is such a big deal,” Marcus says.

You hate to admit it, but your heart swells. This is such a big deal. God, you really do lo—

Marcus watches you expectantly, like he's just asked a question. You have no idea what he said. Instead you smile and nod. Then you dip your spoon into the food.

Watching him eat is the best part. Every bite is a reaction, seeing the flavours splash over his tongue turning into something of a spectator sport. Marcus takes seconds but declines a third helping, obediently letting you clean up from dinner and bring out the aforementioned fried dough pouches.

In central Chile, they make sopapillas with pumpkin—in the north, that's not so much the case. Marcus has told you where his family is from, Arica, right near the border with Peru. Part of your disappearing act last week had to do with the last round of research and planning for tonight. By the time you’d nailed the recipe, you’d gotten caught up in looking at maps and learning the country’s history.

“I know it's not one hundred percent,” you say, referring to the food. “Not too sure if I cooked the sauce long enough.”

The cinnamon syrup was the difficult part of the cooking operation. Unsure if Marcus would like a thicker or thinner consistency, you spooned in corn syrup ‘til the liquid took on a half-runny, half-gloopy viscosity.

Marcus speaks with his mouth still full. “It's fucking delicious.” He cuts himself off at three, promising to finish the rest for breakfast.

You scoot away to the kitchen for the final time tonight, taking the ice cream cake out of the fridge. Admittedly, you got a little carried away with it. Ninety dollars on a cake sounds like highway robbery, but it's worth it for the look on his face.

As you set the cake down on the table before him, Marcus looks at a perfectly printed image of his own dopey grin. Jutting out from his mouth is a speech bubble made of icing and carefully placed fondant. He's wishing himself a happy birthday.

You stand by his shoulder, watching his expression. He seems to be stuck halfway between amazement and amusement; just what you wanted. When he joins you on his feet, it's to kiss you—long, deep, and slow. You lean into it, into him, his soft strength supporting you as Marcus caresses your upper arm. Then he grabs your elbow, gently placing each forearm at his sides to cage him in. You hear Bender more than see him, feeling him rub his head against your shin.

“This is the best birthday ever,” Marcus says.

“Including or ignoring that you’re four years out from fourty?” you ask.

His nose brushes against yours. “Don't be a smartass,” he breathes, voice all play.

You both only take a small slice of the cake, bellies full of your homemade dinner. You won't be telling Marcus about the trial batches of shrimp stew that were ultimately fed to the dogs in your care, woefully forgotten as you added another bag of the fresh shellfish to your grocery order.

When you're finished, you start to clear the table. Marcus insists on helping at this part, leaving no room for discussion when he plucks the stack of bowls and spoons from your hands. You wrap the cake and put it back in the fridge, along with the chupe and sopapillas, both in airtight containers. Marcus washes as you dry, navigating his kitchen like an expert when you go to put things away. Well, not like an expert—you are one. After today, you can run this room blindfolded.

When all is said and done, Marcus leans you against the kitchen counter. He plants a kiss to your cheek, slowly heading southbound to your jaw, then your neck.

You giggle as he reaches the soft skin of your throat. “Still got your present waiting for you.”

“You're right here,” he says.

“Hardy har,” you intone. Pushing at his shoulders, Marcus lets up. “On the coffee table.”

He takes the lead back to the living room, sitting on his couch to eye the sleek black box that awaits him. You can't sit, running a thumb over your lips as Marcus takes the gift in his hands. He shakes it, causing you to roll your eyes.

“You're killing me here, Pike.”

“I'm appreciating the fine cardboard craftsmanship,” he says of the box. As much artisanal handiwork as the dollar store gift aisle can grant you, anyway.

Finally, Marcus lifts the lid from the box. On a soft pillow of red and white tissue paper lies the three things you got him, as well as a small card. You watch him take one of the gifts from the box, squeezing it. Nerves claw at your stomach. He takes his time to analyze it, flip it over and flip it again in his hand.

“This is cool,” he says, almost absentmindedly. Then to you, “These stress toys?”

That anxious cord inside snaps, taking you down with it. You're in free fall as your skin goes warm with embarrassment, your palms the only thing shielding you from the world.

“No,” you sigh softly.

It's a shitty gift. That much is clear when he can't even tell what it is. You should have stuck with something simple, like a bookstore gift card. But no, you had to go out on a whim.

Marcus asks if you're okay, words laced with tender concern. You take three seconds to recompose yourself and prepare for what comes next. Pulling a mask together, your hands come away from your face.

“They're, um—well. They're sex toys. Grinding toys made of silicone to…” You clear your throat. “Those are soft... The other one is sort of a vibrator.” Marcus follows your words, looking down at the small green device. “It was a bad gift idea. I thought you would like ‘em.”

If you click your heels three times, will the universe grant you mercy and travel you home? Squeezing your eyes shut for a second, you swallow the knot in your throat. Opening them again, your boyfriend is still here. No dice.

He stands, bringing the box with him. You take a seat on the loveseat, letting him join you. As much as you want to curl inwards and die, for a lack of better words, Marcus will want to talk about it. Understand.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hi,” you return. Looking at him makes it hard to retreat into yourself.

“It's a great gift.”

“You don't have to say that.”

“I mean it,” he insists. “This is good.”

Watching his thick fingers rub over the meat of the toy should not turn you on as much as it does, a low simmer between your legs. The soft ridges of the floppy one in his hand look a little Georgia O’Keefe; the lines of an abstract vulva. You stop yourself from picturing that hand by your thighs, cupping you where you want Marcus the most.

“I figured because you like to grind on me, this might add something more to it. Just for fun,” you shrug.

Like to is an understatement. If observing Marcus Pike is a competitive display, when it comes to grinding, you're going pro. In bed, he rubs his cock against you—your thighs, your ass, your chest—and against the sheets. He's very into intercrural, first showing you a video of the act on the night of your two month anniversary before putting yourselves to the test.

His favourite, though, is to rub against the top of your thigh as you make out and watch him. He likes the attention, and you love giving it to him. When Marcus finishes, he lets you feed him his cum with the pads of your fingers.

He kisses you softly now, hand at your cheek as he rubs the skin close to your ear.

“It's a great fuckin’ gift,” Marcus assures you. “Just needed the clue in.”

“You don't have to reassure me,” you say, shaking your head. You hate when this happens. Tonight is about him, and suddenly it's your emotions taking centre stage. Sometimes it feels like you take up all the air in the room.

“I want to,” Marcus says.

He wants to. You could melt.

“Did you want to try them?” you ask. “The toys?”

“Please.” He nods in the direction of the stairs, prompting you to lead the way.

You take Marcus by the hand, leading the way as he follows you up to his bedroom. In the months of being together, the rush to the bed has dissipated. Neither of you are any less eager, but you know now that Marcus isn't going anywhere. There is a sense of security here that you haven't ever felt before.

When you cross the threshold of the room, you take your time with undressing him. It's an unwrapping of sorts. The buttons of his shirt come away easily, sliding off Marcus’ shoulders to the floor. Next is his belt, clinking lightly as you reach down and pull the leather strap from his waist. He takes his pants and boxers off for you, leaving the man in the nude.

You leave yourself a moment to simply look. Taking him in with your eyes, you smile. Who has blessed you with such a beautiful, understanding man and how can you ever repay them? The heat of his body pressed against the skin bared by your rolled up sleeves makes you shiver. You want forever to hold him. Have him be yours.

Cool fingers run across Marcus’ bare hip. You trace the marks of thinned skin near his waist. He watches you carefully, breath held. You blow air against his lips before kissing him hungrily. Like this, you can taste him: vanilla ice cream and butterscotch.

Pulling him to the bed, you let him get comfortable. Marcus has left the box of toys on the nightstand. You leave them for now, straddling his thighs before you take his dick in your hand. He’s all warm and smooth against your palm, the ridge of a vein pressing against your thumb.

Marcus sucks in a small gasp as you start to move your hand. He gently takes hold of the base of your skull, resting your forehead to his. He looks at you, unblinking. The two of you are caught in a bit of a staring contest; you never want to pull your eyes away from his beautiful face. Those full lips pout for you, forming something like your name in precious whispers.

“Shhh, you’re okay,” you say. “I love you.” Marcus’ eyes roll to the back of his skull, his hips tilting further up into your touch.

This man is the sun to your stars. You don’t quite orbit each other, but he makes you feel that much brighter. You two are cut from the same cloth; scorching infernos no one ever truly gets to see, not quite within the grasp of others. But here, it’s different. A focused fire meets an exploding astral scatter.

“You’re always so good to me, Marcus,” you whisper. “I’m so lucky.”

“Fuck, you’re so—god.” He doesn’t get much more coherent.

You reach for the toys with your free hand, distracting him with gentle kisses across the constellations that dot his chest. A thousand tiny sun spots beneath the plush of your lips. You could stay here forever, feeling his skin against you.

First, you start with the soft silicone toy without the vibe. You squeeze it in your hand to warm it up, then bring it close to Marcus.

“Can I touch you with this?”

“Please,” he nods.

You take it into the hand already in contact with his cock, sliding the toy against him slowly. Marcus groans, tipping his head back. His eyes close briefly before flying back open.

Immediately, you stop what you are doing. “You alright?”

“You’re still fully dressed.” He speaks as if he’s just realized the situation at hand.

You simply nod. “Yeah.”

“Would you wanna…” Marcus glances down at his naked body.

“Tonight is about you,” you say.

“Well, I want you to. If you want to.”

You’ve been ignoring the tacky feeling in your underwear, letting the seam of your pants do the work for you as you watch Marcus.

“Okay.”

You let Marcus undress you, pressing pause on sex. His hands rove over you as he peels the shirt from your skin, making quick work of everything below the waist. He settles your cunt over his cock, gliding you forward and back with his hands. You take in a breath, reveling in the slide against your clit. When Marcus lifts his hips just so, you moan. You use his shoulders as a hold, balancing to stay upright.

Taking the silicone toy, you place it between his pelvis and the length of his dick. Then you hover over the underside of him once again. When you sit down, pussy slick against his length, Marcus huffs out a desperate groan. You grind against him, giving him friction at either side.

“Feels so fucking good,” Marcus says. “I…you’re so fucking warm. Wet.”

“Yeah? That’s what you do to me. So sweet, such a good man,” you say. His hands come to rest at your hips again. “Wanna flip me over?”

Marcus nods, readjusting so that he’s overtop of you now. He slots the toy between the crux of skin at your thigh, grinding against it as he presses light touches to your clit. Focused on his pleasure, he keeps his eyes closed as he ruts into you. Marcus kisses you as he cums, stickiness painting your skin.

He travels down your body with his mouth, trailing lips and tongue across your collarbone. Marcus licks at your left nipple before he latches onto it. Your spine pulls taut as you cup his head to your breast, petting his hair in encouragement. When he leaves your chest, he moves straight to the cum against your skin. As you watch him lick it off the front of your hip, you’re sure that you have died and gone to heaven.

Marcus laves his tongue over the skin between your belly and pelvis, watching for your reaction. He leaves your body for only a moment. When he comes into focus again, he’s holding the green vibrating toy in his hand.

Turning it on, he asks, “Is this okay?” as he presses it to your pubic bone.

You nod, an mhm coming out more like a slight whine.

He moves it lower and lower, tracing the tip of the pear-shaped device around your wetness.

“Where do you want it?” The question is playfully facetious; he knows exactly where you want it.

“Marcus, please,” you sigh.

He hums, nose inches above your soft and swollen cunt. “You know I’ll always give you what you want.”

Marcus presses the toy against you, the round and squishy body subtly buzzing against your cunt as the tip delivers a direct point of pressure to your clit. He shifts it every few moments, the readjustments pushing you further and faster towards the edge. It’s the kiss that does it for you, tender as he cradles the side of your face with his large hand. The caress of his ring finger against your cheek cuts the cord, your orgasm rocking your body like volts of electricity.

“You’re so gorgeous like this,” he murmurs. Marcus turns the toy off, releasing you from the overwhelming waves of pleasure. Cradling your back to his front, he kisses the crown of your head.

“I love you too, y’know,” Marcus says.

“Hm?” You shift in his arms, looking at him now. “What did you say?”

The way you bat your eyes at him tells Marcus that you heard him perfectly fine. He shakes his head with a light chuckle. “I said—”

“I love you.” You steal the words from him the same way he’s taken your heart.

Marcus Pike is many things: your neighbour, your boyfriend. A lover and a thief. He’s offered up his guts to you so easily, your prize for taking a chance. This man is a gift. A teacher. You're re-learning what it's like to have someone be there. To live and feel the art of giving.

#marcus pike #the mentalist fanfiction #marcus pike fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedrostories #marcus pike x reader #*lover be sweet

[codfanficedits]

One fucking mistake - Part Six

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x fem!Reader - She/her pronouns being used

Summary: Simon lost you after making a mistake on a mission.

Wordcount: 2164 | Rating: E (18+ only!)

Warnings: DEPRESSION (and not the uwu am a little sad kind) ,cussing, swearing, grieving, angst with no comfort, conversation, blaming, therapist, mentioning of flashbacks

A/N: Part six! I would like to mention that the portrayal of the depression is the way I have experienced mine, the therapist appointment is also one that I have experienced myself. I understand that this might not be the same for everyone, but please be kind.

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ AO3 Link

The days are starting to look the same, they melt together in a blur of grief.

He lays in bed, unless he really has to get out. A quick visit to the bathroom and back to bed he goes. When he is unable to ignore his rumbling stomach, he orders some takeaway, just to eat it on the couch, the empty cartons starting to flood the place. But he doesn’t care, not in the slightest, he doesn’t care when he can see the mold on the little pieces of food left in the pizza box.

He doesn’t care when he can smell himself whenever he gets into the bedroom again, he doesn’t care when he rewatches the same show for the fifth time, not a care in the world when his screentime is over sixteen hours a day. He doesn’t care when he stops answering texts, he doesn’t care when calls are met with a loud sigh, annoyed that they’re interrupting the game he was playing.

Simon despises the days he has to go to therapy, it is the only day in the week where he has to get up, shower, wash his hair and brush his teeth. It is the only day of the week where the rotten air from home is replaced by fresh outside air, and he hates it, the comfort of his home being ripped away, just like you got ripped away.

His legs bounces while he sits in the waiting room, he still feels as if he doesn’t belong to therapy, while he knows that there is something wrong, he doesn’t want to admit it, he doesn’t want to accept the help.

He frowns when he gets called in by someone else than his usual therapist, but he goes in anyway.

“Where is she?” He asks bluntly as he goes to sit down in the same comfortable chair he always sit in.

“Who?”

“My usual therapist.”

The woman in front of him frowns. “She didn’t feel as if she was booking process with you, so she asked me to take over. Didn’t she tell you?”

Simon can only shrug, truth be told, he never paid enough attention to even remember anything from those sessions. “Could be.”

Her lips press together until they are a faint line and Simon can tell he doesn’t like her one bit.

“Let me introduce myself.” She continues. “My name is Sarah, and I’m…” He zones out within seconds, pushing her voice to the background.

“Simon!” She has a fucking sharp voice.

“What.”

“I’m talking to you.”

Simon raises an eyebrow, this is the first time a therapist has been this direct to him. “Right.” He mumbles. “Continue.”

“Did you get anything I just said?” Sarah asks him.

“Well, your name is Sarah, and..” His voice dies out. “That’s all.” He adds with a sheepish tone.

“Why are you here, Simon?” She asks him, as she holds the clipboard to her chest.

Because my captain asked me to.

But he stays silent, just shrugging as she asks him that question.

“Do you even want to be here?”

Simon frowns at the second question, of course he doesn’t want to be here. “No.”

“Then why bother coming anyway?”

Because you would’ve been so disappointed in him if he didn’t at least try. But Simon knows that what he is doing isn’t even close to trying at all. It is just easier to lie to himself that he is trying.

“Because..” His voice his hoarse.

Because he wants to get rid of that feeling of guilt, that is weighing him down on his chest, the feeling that keeps him up at night, being so heavy that he worries that he’ll suffocate in the matrass if he acknowledges it. Because he wants to deal with the grief that came with losing you, because every little thing outside of the routine that he has created for himself reminds him of you. Because he wants to be happy again, but just the mere thought of it feels like a betrayal to you.

Because, because, because.

But the words leave him, just like he left you there to die by yourself, and the thought of that tightens his chest, his ribs suffocating his lungs and it feels like he can’t breathe. Short burst of air leaving his nose when he tries to wipe away the image. That familiar feeling again, a panic attack waiting in the shadows of his mind.

God not here, not now.

But Sarah doesn’t react, she doesn’t try to talk him out of it, instead she just lets it happen, observing how he handles it.

His hands pressing against his temples. He doesn’t want to think about you, about leaving you, he doesn’t want to be confronted by his mistake.

Deep breath in through your mouth, exhaling out your nose.

He remembers the advice you gave him, you’d walked in on him having one as he sat down on the shower floor. He tries to remember your voice, your face when you said it to him. But he can’t. Fuck. He can’t.

He loves you, so why is he forgetting it? Why is your face becoming a blur. Why is your voice different in every memory.

Deep breath in through your mouth, exhaling out your nose.

The panic dies out after a few deep breaths, guilt popping up like the mushrooms do around autumn.

“Why are you here, Simon?” Sarah repeats the question.

“Because I can’t live like this anymore.”

“Like what?”

A scowl forms on his face, he hates feeling this vulnerable, it makes him feel weak and he still feels as if he should overcome this with ease. “Living in my own filth because I can’t be bothered to actually live.”

“Why can’t you be bothered to actually live, Simon?”

For fuck sakes, he hates how many questions she is asking, he hates how it forces him to think about things he doesn’t want to think about, things he has crammed away in the shadows of his mind.

“Because I don’t deserve it!” His voice is louder than he wanted it to be, but part of him hopes it scares her off, that it makes her stop asking questions.

But it doesn’t, Sarah doesn’t bat an eye.

“Why do you feel as if you don’t deserve to live?”

Because you didn’t get to live.

“Because I killed her, I begged her to come with me on a mission that killed her. I am the reason she is no longer walking on this earth. She said no the first time and I’m a selfish asshole for taking her with me!” God it feels good to get that off his chest.

Sarah stays silent, and the silence causes his words to float in the air.

“She said yes herself, right?” Sarah eventually says. “Why are you holding yourself accountable for that?”

“Because she said no the first time. And I bribed her with doing the dishes.” He spat out.

God he hated how Sarah would let his answers linger in the air, it meant he had to think, think about what happened, think about his answers, think about how actions, how it affected everything.

How he would never give himself peace.

“Because I keep wondering how life would’ve been if I had accepted her first no, I wonder how I would be if she wouldn’t have gone with me. Because. I. I. I.” Simon starts to stutter, the words flooding out him, things he had kept hidden to rot inside of him.

“Because I know that she would’ve been alive if it wasn’t for me.” A tiny voice for a big soldier.

“You can’t change what happened, Simon.”

Of course he can’t! Fuck, it annoys him. “I know.” He grits his teeth.

“Do you think she would want you to live like this?”

Fuck, a cold sensation running over him, his stomach feels as if it is doing summersaults.

“No, no, I don’t think so.” He eventually admits. Of course not, you would only want the best for him, you would’ve wanted him to move on, to make something out of his life. Oh God, you were always so sweet, so innocent, and he, he took you away from this world.

That same feeling in his chest again, he presses his eyes shut.

The image of that fucking flash grenade sticking out of the debris again. Haunting him, taunting him.

As the tightness in his chest gets worse, he can’t stop the hot tears falling down.

Fucking weak.

“Simon.”

“Simon?”

“Simon!”

Sarah’s voice brings him back to reality, but not just enough, flashbacks running through his mind while he tries to feel the fabric of the chair under his fingertips.

“Tell me what is happening, Simon.”

Short, quick breaths, the tightening in his chest becoming worse, and worse.

“Simon? Tell me what you’re seeing, right now.”

He wants to open his eyes, he wants it to stop, but this is the clearest he has seen you in weeks. He doesn’t want to lose this, even though it hurt like something he has never felt before. He wants it to stop, but he doesn’t want it to end.

“The mission.” He mutters.

Silence again. He hates how Sarah lets him struggle with his emotions, his feelings, and he wants his old therapist back, whatshername, who would fill up the silence so he wouldn’t have to.

“I keep replaying the mission in my head.” Simon adds.

“Tell me.” Sarah commands. “Walk me through what is happening.”

“It always starts the same.” He begins. “Always.”

“How does it start?”

“We’re waiting for the chopper. We’re both wearing a bulletproof vest, and I make sure hers is safe. I tug on it a little, a few times actually. I would brush the skin of her cheeks with my knuckles.” It is a whisper, but it is a start.

“And then we move to the chopper, she is sitting next to me, and all I see is her beauty. It was supposed to be an easy mission and she is talking, talking about how she will let me do all the dishes she can find, she is teasing me about having to wear an apron while I’m doing the dishes.” His breathing is starting to get more controlled.

“It was supposed to be an abandoned area.” Simon continues, his hands gripping the armrest of the chair. “I let my guard down, we were joking too much, laughing too hard. The enemy must’ve heard us. And then, then, then.”

“Stop.” Sarah says. “Put the film on hold, and tell me what you see.”

“I see her, the sun high on the sky, a smile on her face, not a worry in her eyes. And then I spot the flash grenade. And I want to warn her, but it’s too late.” Simons starts.

“Okay.” No it’s not okay.

“Can you put yourself in the image?”

“What?”

“Put yourself in the situation, standing alongside yourself and her.”

Silence again.

“Can you do it, Simon?”

“Yeah.” He mutters, feeling awkward, but he can, standing next to himself and next to you.

“Is there anything you’d like to say to her?”

His heart starts to race again. Yes, yes, yes! There are so many things he would like to say to you, so many things that he wants you to hear, but that will never reach you.

“I. I. I want to tell that I’m so, so sorry.” He begins. “I want to say that I should’ve listened to her, that if I could do it all over again, I would do it differently.”

He holds back a sob.

“I want to tell her that I will always love her, that she will always be a part of me, no matter what happens, no matter how old I grow, no matter who comes in to my life, she will always matter.” The raw words leave his lips, dragging the heavy feeling from his heart with them, leaving him able to breathe for the first time in months.

“Can you hug her?”

What a stupid question. But he can, and he does, he presses his eyes shut and hugs you, and although it is in his imagination, it feels real, for him it is real. The version of you that got one more hug, tells him that he is forgiven, and it brings a little bit of peace to him.

Simon finally opens his eyes again. “God.” He breathes.

“How does that feel?” Sarah asks.

“Better.” He admits.

“Good.” Is that a smile on her lips?

“Are you going to be able to handle being alone?” Sarah breaks the silence.

“Yeah.” And for the first time it does feel like he is able to handle being alone. For the first time he wants to go outside, to breathe the fresh air. Hell, he even wants to grab the bin and clean the house.

He wants to live again.

#call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod mw2 #call of duty #cod mwii #cod x reader #angst #ghost x reader #ghost x you #mw2 #fanfic #no comfort #cod #cod fanfic #cod fic #fanfics #fan fiction #fanfiction #ao3fic #ao3 fanfic #ao3 link #ao3 writer #ao3feed

[cevansbrat0007]

Photo Shoot Faux Pas

Summary: Andy’s reaction to a risque anniversary gift gets you more than you bargained for. Prequel to The Lonely Hearts Club mini-series. Check out The Lonely Hearts Club: Part One!

Warnings: Smut, Jealous/Possessive Andy, Confident Reader, Insecure Reader, Daddy Kink, Pussy Slapping, Oral (fem receiving), Vibrator Use (mentioned), Gags (mentioned), Sex Tape (mentioned), Boudoir Photography, Cursing, Minors DNI

A/N: Prompt courtesy of my dear friend, @writer84. I might write a follow-up drabble as well. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated, so please let me know what you think. This is part of my ongoing Growing Pains Series. Semi-proofread but not beta’d. All mistakes are my own. Thanks for reading!

___

There are three things everyone should know about Andrew Barber. One, that the man loves you to distraction. Two, that he believes in spoiling you whenever possible. And three, that he has a possessive streak that runs a mile wide.

You’d recently come to learn the last part the hard way, and you didn’t plan on forgetting that lesson any time soon.

___

One week ago…

You’re on your way home from work when your phone rings. Seeing that it’s Andy, you quickly hit accept before returning your attention to the road.

“Hello?”

“Hey, baby girl.” His deep voice rumbles over the speakers. “How are you?”

“I’m good, Andy Bear. Just headed back to my place.”

“Oh, what a coincidence. Me too.”

Huh? You weren’t supposed to be getting together until tomorrow. 

“Um…why?” You were still a good twenty minutes away from your apartment. And you’d accidentally left a very important item sitting out in the open on your kitchen table.

One that your boyfriend wasn’t meant to see. At least not yet. 

“Since when is it a crime to visit my lady? Plus, I left a couple work docs behind when I was there the other day.” 

Oh shit. You knew exactly where they were too. Sitting on the freaking kitchen table right next to his anniversary gift.

“But I…I’m not home yet.”

“Pretty sure I’m capable of letting myself in, Y/N. In fact, I just pulled up.”

Oh, fuck me sideways.

“How about you take a walk around the block or something until I get there? Maybe stretch those legs. Or, you could go check out that new shop, Little Mahatma, over on 100th and Dennison. You know, the one with all those really nifty knick-knacks?”

Your ramblings are met with silence as you pull off the freeway.   

“Or, just wait outside for me and we’ll go together. It’s a nice day, so –”

“Or, I could go inside and wait for you there like a normal person. Unless...there’s some reason you don’t want me in your apartment?” He asks, sounding mildly confused. 

“No, not all! I just…can’t wait to see your handsome face.”

“Uh huh.” He grunts, sounding suspicious. “See you soon, baby.” 

“Yeah. See you soon.” The call ends, leaving you alone with your thoughts. “Well, fuck!” You thump your fist on your steering wheel. “There goes that surprise.” 

This weekend, the two of you were planning to celebrate a pretty major milestone. Namely, your six month anniversary. And as such, you’d splurged on a very special gift. Something you would have never even considered in previous relationships.

But what you had with Andy was different. It was…solid. You felt like you could trust your boyfriend with every part of you. So what better gift to give the man who had everything, including your heart, than a leather-bound photo album?

But you weren’t just talking about any old album. Oh no. This one was filled with intimate photos of you taken by a professional as part of a recent boudoir shoot, which was something you’d never done before. It had pushed you way out of your comfort zone, but for your Andy Bear, you were willing to try just about anything.

Plus, posing for those photos, while slightly uncomfortable at first, had made you feel sexy.

You just prayed that he liked them. 

Of course he would. You were about to gift him with his own personal porn. If awards for being “The Best Girlfriend Ever” existed you’d be a shoe-in.

Right?

___

After what feels like forever, you finally pull up in front of your apartment. Parking in your designated spot, you get out of the car and make your way to the front of your building. Your heartbeat thunders in your ears as you anxiously dash up the stairs.

You were sure Andy had to have seen the pictures by now. And part of you hated the fact that you’d missed his initial reaction. Oh well. It couldn’t be helped. 

Opening the door, you quickly toe off your nude pumps before going off in search of your boyfriend. You find him just where you'd thought he'd be, sitting on the edge of a kitchen chair with the album in his lap. And then you notice that his tie is undone and his hair is all mussed. Strange. He doesn’t acknowledge your arrival, instead he just sits there staring into the distance.

“Hey, baby.” You whisper, confused by the tenseness in his big shoulders.

“What the hell is this?” Andy finally asks, his tone gruff. You watch as his long fingers trace over the words you’d had etched on the cover.

“Umm…” Your teeth go to worry your bottom lip as the scowl gracing his features only serves to deepen. 

“When did you take these?” He growls, his jaw ticking as he holds up a random page featuring two different photos. The first is of you posing in a skimpy scrap of sheer lingerie with your areolas proudly on display, while the second has you wearing a pair of thigh-high socks and no panties.  

“Uh, well…” Ah, shit. This was so not the reaction you’d been hoping for.

“And better yet, who the fuck did you take them for?” Your man slowly rises from the chair before taking one step towards you, followed by another. And then another. Until he’s standing directly in front of you, all deliciously dark six-feet of him. 

“I asked you a fucking question, Y/N. And I’m going to need an answer. Now.”

“They - they’re for you.” You rasp, your throat suddenly dry. “It was supposed to be a surprise for our anniversary.”

“For our anniversary…right.” Andy scoffs, scraping one large hand over his tawny beard. “And I suppose you captured these yourself?” He crosses his arms over his broad chest.

“No.” You can practically feel your cheeks burning. “I, uh, had them taken at a studio run by Ricardo Ventura. The whole thing was part of a professional boudoir shoot and –” Your boyfriend’s right eye twitches at the mention of the photographer’s name.

“So you let another man see you like this?!” He erupts, waving the book in your face. “You seriously let some fucking creep take photos of you parading around in next to nothing? I mean, I can see your goddamned nipples!”

“Hey! I wore clothes.” Which was true. Kind of. “And they’re all tastefully done.”

Andy flips to another page that showcases an impressive look at your ass rocking a g-string, along with another of you thrusting your lace-covered chest invitingly at the camera.

“That little scrap of fabric doesn't fucking count, Y/N!" He rakes a hand through his hair. "I mean, what the hell were you thinking?”

That’s it. I’ve had enough.

“Damn it, Andrew! I thought they’d be a nice surprise.” You snatch the album from his hands. “Each and every photo in this thing was taken with you in mind. That’s what this is, you oaf! This is me giving you a tiny, private piece of myself in a way that I’ve never ever done with any other man.”

Your boyfriend continues to glare at you, that tick in his jaw becoming even more pronounced with each passing second. 

“I put a lot of thought and effort into this whole project, you ass. So, if you don’t appreciate them then I suppose I’ll just have to go give them to someone who does.” The words tumble out of your mouth before you can stop them. Big mistake.

Oops. Had you really just offered to give away your nearly-nude photos?  

You watch nervously as his blue eyes darken with a mix of anger and arousal. And then he’s in your space, using his big body to crowd your own as he slowly backs you into the wall, effectively caging you in. 

“You wanna try that again?” Andy snarls, his tone dripping with menace. “Because I know, I know, that you did not just offer to give away what’s mine.”   

“But you don’t even like the photos!” You snap, trying to keep the hurt from creeping into your tone.

“I never said that, baby girl.”

“Yes, you did!” Exasperated, your hands fist themselves in your hair, tugging at your curls.

“No, I did not.” He fires back. “Those words never came out of my mouth. I love you. Which means, by default, that I love everything you give me.” 

“Oh, bullshit.”

He keeps going as if didn’t hear you. “But what I don’t love is the idea of some skeezy-ass fucker walking around with a camera snapping naughty pics of my woman. In fact, I really fucking hate it.”  

His big hand goes to lightly grip your chin.

"This gorgeous little body belongs to me, baby. I'm the only man allowed to see what lies beneath these clothes. The only man who gets to love you, touch you, tease you --"

"But -"

"No buts. The idea behind this gift was sweet, but I'm afraid all it's done is piss me off. In case you haven't noticed, Y/N, I'm a bit of a possessive bastard. Especially when it comes to you."

"Andy, I -" You can feel the tears threatening to fall.

"You, sweetheart, are my everything. Do you understand me?"

Unsure of what else to say, all you can do is nod your head "yes" before one brawny arm wraps itself around your waist to haul you flush against his big body.

"I love you, Y/N. More than you know. And now you're gonna be a good girl and let me show you just how much.” A shiver courses through you as he trails one nimble finger down the sensitive column of your throat. He grips the collar of your white shirt, threatening to rip it.

“Please don’t.” You whimper softly. “I just bought this blouse.”

“Fine.” Andy takes a step back from you in what you can only assume is a brief act of reprieve. “Tell you what. I’ll give you ten seconds to make it to the bedroom and get naked.”

“But that’s not enough time!” You protest, even as you start undoing your buttons.

“Not my problem, sweetness.” He shrugs. “If you want your clothes to stay in one piece, you’ll make it work. Ten.” You let out a small shriek as your boyfriend begins counting down before spinning on your heel and darting out of the kitchen. “Nine.” He keeps going. “Eight. Eh, fuck it.”

Sporting a feral grin, Andy takes off after you, your trail of discarded clothing acting as a carnal beacon.

___

“Time’s up, baby girl.” He purrs, as he leans against the doorframe to watch you fumble with the clasp of your blush-colored bra. “Oops. Looks like you’re still wearing too many clothes. Guess, I’ll just have to help you out.” 

You protectively cross your arms over your chest.

"That's so not necessary -- eep!"

He’s on you then, faster than you can blink. In a flash your bra is torn from your body. It lands in a delicate heap on the floor next to your panties, leaving you naked and vulnerable to your man's primal gaze.

Bastard.

Looking every inch the predator, Andy circles your nude form, almost as if he's trying to commit your curves to memory.

"I still can't believe you let another man see what's mine, sweet girl. Makes my blood boil just thinking about it." His knuckles caress their way down your spine. "I refuse to share you with anyone. I'm just not built that way."

"Andy, I swear Ricardo was a perfect gentleman the entire shoot." His hand wanders its way from the base of your spine to your abdomen. It lingers there for a moment, lightly stroking over your heated skin.

"Hush." He purrs, leaning in to whisper hot, open-mouthed kisses along your neck. "I'm a man, baby. I know how we think. And even more importantly, I know what we want. What we look for." He possessively cups your cunt, groaning as your sticky honey coats his palm.

"Ahh..." You moan, your head falling back to rest against his shoulder.

"He wanted you, baby. I know you don't believe this, but you turn heads everywhere you go."

"You - you're being ridiculous." You whine, rising on your tiptoes when his fingers begin playfully massaging your clit.

"You may not notice it, but I do. And since I can't be with you all the time, I'm really gonna to need you to start remembering who you fucking belong to." His skilled fingers find a steady rhythm, making you arch into his touch.

"I didn't forget, honey. I'd never forget, I swear. All those photos were for you and - oooh!" Andy pinches your swollen nub before delivering a rough slap to your little pussy. "Ungh, yes! Right there, Andy. Don't stop!

Another slap.

"Quiet. It's too late now. Take your punishment like the good girl I know you can be and all will be forgiven." He delivers one more blow. "Understand?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. Now, climb up on the bed for me." Wanting to please him, you scramble to do as he asks.

"Lay back for me...there we go. Now spread your legs. Daddy wants to get a nice, long look at his sweet pussy."

Blushing, you dutifully part your thighs and expose your drenched core.

"Mm, would you look at that? All that cream just for me..." Smiling, he fishes his phone out of his pocket and snaps a photo. "I think we need to capture this moment, don't you?"

"What?" You breathe as your thighs quiver.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that now that I know how much you love the camera, I figure it's time for you to make your on-screen debut." You watch as your Big Man hits record before lowering himself to his knees in front of you. "Say hi."

"No!" You turn away in an attempt to hide your face from the camera.

"Aww." He pouts, flipping the screen and poking out his bottom lip. "Looks like my baby girl is suddenly feeling shy. Guess, we'll have to try something a little different."

Andy winks into the camera before briefly standing up to hand it over to you.

"Daddy's gonna be nice and let you hold this while he eats you. You're gonna need to give me at least three good orgasms before you're allowed to hae my cock." He presses a tender kiss to your vulnerable mound.

"Y-yes, sir." You cry as he settles himself between your splayed thighs once again. Your shaking hands struggle to hold on to the phone.

"And be sure to hold the camera steady. Don't want you to miss a moment of me enjoying the fuck out of this tasty pussy." He reaches over to your nightstand and pulls out his favorite vibrator.

Yes, his favorite vibrator.

He smiles as he turns it on, his intoxicating blue eyes glazed over with pure lust.

"On second thought, I wanna use this too. So how about we up it to four and then call it even, yeah?" Locking his thickly muscled arms around your thighs, he roughly hauls you to the edge of the bed.

Preparing you for his dining pleasure.

"A meal fit for a king." He murmurs as he nuzzles his bearded face against your dripping folds. You cry out as his wicked tongue swirls over your clit, eagerly lapping up your sweet and salty juices.

Fuck, you were in for a long night.

"And don't worry about making too much noise, baby girl. If the neighbors come knockin' Daddy will make sure to gag you."

END

#chris evans #andy barber #andrew barber #chris evans x black!reader #chris evans x woc!reader #andy barber x black!reader #andy barber x woc!reader #chris evans smut #andy barber smut #chris evans imagines #andy barber imagines #chris evans fanfic #andy barber fanfic #cevansbrat0007 asks #chris evans x black reader #andy barber x black reader #chris evans x woc reader #andy barber x woc barber #cevansbrat0007 fics #cevansbrat0007growing pains series #defending jacob fics #defending jacob #chris evans x you #andy barber x you #chris evans x y/n #andy barber x y/n #chris evans x yn #andy barber x yn #chris evans x female reader #andy barber x female reader

[metallicaislife]

My Girl

A/N: Just a sweet fluff I thought of, enjoy!! 🥰

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 984

Warnings: None

The moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was going to be my girl. 

James, Lars and Dave moved up to the San Francisco area a few weeks ago so that I could join Metallica. I went to their place to hang out and she was there. 

I didn’t see any of the guys around, but she was playing her Fleetwood Mac ‘Rumors’ album on the turntable. She danced freely and sang loudly along to ‘You Make Loving Fun’. I couldn’t hide the smile that graced my lips. As she spun around, she opened her eyes and screamed falling over. 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” I asked moving to help her up. 

“I’m fine. I didn’t think anyone was supposed to be here.” She said and put her hand in mine letting me pull her up. There was a cute dusting of pink over her cheeks. She hurried over to the turntable turning the volume down. 

“Sorry, I didn’t call ahead to let the others know I was coming over, I just assumed they’d be here.” I said rubbing the back of my neck. 

“They are out grocery shopping. You must be Cliff,” She started and I nodded, “I’ve heard so many good things about you. I mean you must be an absolute asset if those knuckleheads decided moving up here was the best choice for the band.” 

“I sure hope so.” I grinned, “And you are?” I asked. 

“Oh, shit sorry! I am Y/N, James is my cousin. I am just here for a visit to see if I like it up here.” She said, folding her arms. 

“And if you like it here?” I asked as my eyebrow hiked up. 

“Then I will find a place up here, and a job.” She answered. 

“Do you want to do that?” I questioned leaning against the couch. 

“Yeah, I mean I want to be close to James, we were raised together so we are more like brother and sister, but on the other hand I grew up in the LA area so moving out of my comfort zone is a little hard for me. Plus I’d have to make friends, I can’t rely on James and his friends to be my only friends.” She opened up with ease. For some reason that made my heart warm. 

“All valid points, growing up is hard sometimes, and pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone can definitely be uncomfortable. Besides, I would like it if you moved up here.” I smiled. Her eyes met mine in a small look of surprise. 

“You hardly know me.” She said softly. 

“Yeah, but I’d like to get to know you better.” I said. The light dusting of pink she had on her cheeks earlier turned a darker shade of pink. 

“I suppose I’d like to get to know you better too.” She answered coyly, making me chuckle. 

“How long is your visit?” I asked. 

“I will be here for a week, I got in yesterday.” she answered. 

“Alright, then if you have some time this week, as a San Fran native I will show you around. Give you the local tour.” I offered. 

“That sounds nice, I would like that a lot.” She smiled so sweetly at me, my heart melted. 

“WE’RE BACK!” Lars' voice echoed through the house, ending the moment we were having.

“Oh you’re here.” Dave said as he walked past me to take some of the groceries to the kitchen. 

“Nice, I wanted to introduce you two soon. Cliff, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is our new bassist who replaced Ron.” James said, sitting the beer down on the coffee table. 

“We definitely met like 10 minutes ago when this beanpole scared the ever living shit out of me.” Y/N said, folding her arms letting out the most adorable huff looking away. I let out a chortle. 

“Beanpole?” I questioned, but she wouldn’t budge. James raised his eyebrow, turning to look at me and I couldn’t hide my smirk. “I thought you guys would be here, and she thought she was alone-” I started. 

“Oh my god did you see her naked?” James’ eyes widened and his nostrils flared. I put my hands up and Y/N whipped around. 

“No!” She exclaimed, “I was singing and dancing.” She said more softly. 

James cracked up holding his gut as he laughed. 

“Sorry, man, nobody should be subjected to that train wreck.” James wheezed. Y/N wound her fist back landing an impressive punch on James’ arm. 

“Ow, I was just joking!” He whined, she glared at him. If she could shoot fire from her eyes, James’ would be nothing but ashes. 

“I don’t know, I kinda liked it, she looked like she was really enjoying herself, like she was free.” I grinned. Y/N hid her face but I caught a glimpse of the small smile on her lips as James looked up at me and then to her. 

“I’m not saying anything because it isn’t my place-” He started. 

“Then don’t say anything.” She shoved him softly and left for the kitchen. I heard her asking Dave if she could help put things away. 

“You were saying?” I was curious to hear what he had to say. 

“Break her heart and I’ll bust your face. She’s a big girl and can make her own decisions. However I’ll gladly put anyone who disrespects her in their place.” James finished. 

“I respect that.” I nodded. 

“Good. There is more beer in the car. Will you help bring it in?” James asked. 

“Sure man.” I answered and went to grab the beer. 

I was mentally planning out all the spots to take Y/N on her tour. She doesn’t know it yet, but I do, she is going to move up here and in no time at all, she will be my girl.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to request or chat :)

-Isa

#metallica x reader #metallica #metallica imagines #metallica scenarios #cliff burton #cliff burton x reader #cliff burton fluff #metallica fluff #Spotify

[oldbutnotyetwise]

Everyday Heroes

       

     So I’ve been thinking of Everyday Heroes a bit lately.  Not the heroes who are awarded medals, or get public recognition for whatever they did, or my least favourite of all, the Social Media Hero more interested in posting their good deeds to satisfy their own demented need for attention.  I’m talking about the heroes among us, the everyday people that we might not give a second glance to in passing.  People we might see everyday but have no idea about their lives as unrecognized heroes.  Think about that for a moment, can you think of anyone who might be like that in your life?  While you are pondering that, let me tell you that I have many heroes in my life, I would like to tell you about a few of them.  

     I have always been rather introverted, in fact I often refer to myself as an outgoing introvert, which I suppose sounds strange but in my case is accurate.  I had always wanted to work at my skills as a wordsmith, but on my own I was floundering.  One day I saw that the Powassan Library had a Writing Group and so I thought I would stretch my comfort zone and attend their next meeting.  Although I found it intimidating and stressful, I recognized that I needed this push to get me to write.  So every other Saturday at 10:00 I showed up, in time I got comfortable and tried my best to assemble my random thoughts into some kind of order that might be tolerable to read and just maybe give people a few things to ponder.  We are an eclectic group of people who support, encourage and help each other do something we all love.  Although we would all probably write without the group, for myself it is belonging to this group that pushes me to write, that helped me revive a blog that had long ago grown stagnant.  Even after I was forced to move away they still let me attend via Zoom.  This group was started by Faye, she is the glue that holds us together.  Now I know she would brush it off suggesting it’s no big deal, but it is a big deal to me.  If she had not started this group I would have missed out on an incredible gift, a gift that has given me purpose and so much joy as my world collapsed around me.  Faye is one of my Everyday Heroes.

     When Robin and I made our first visit to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, it was a pretty overwhelming day.  First they did a bunch of tests to confirm the diagnosis before sending us to the far end of the hospital where the ALS Clinic is located.  We sat there in the hallway looking at the club I have just joined, the one no one wants to join.  Looking around at the others waiting, knowing this is a preview of what is ahead for us, these broken people and their exhausted caretakers, and my head was just spinning.  We eventually are placed in a room where a stream of doctors, specialists and research people come and go, the day was all such a blur.  On that first day, and every visit we made to Sunnybrook there was this one person who stood out, far above the rest.  Brianna couldn’t make me better, no one could, but Brianna could help make life more bearable, and she repeatedly did.  She is my Occupational Therapist.   She was the one who in the coming months would repeatedly help me get the equipment I needed to survive and adapt to the steady decline.  It’s not just that she is so incredible at what she does, or that she is so efficient at managing so many different things at the same time, it was her compassion and empathy.  Of all the people at that ALS Clinic, she was the one that calmed our frayed nerves, she was the one who we knew cared, was truly on our side, the one we could laugh and joke with despite the dire situation.  I haven’t seen her for months, and I won’t ever see her again, but I hope she knows that she made a difference, that she had an impact on my life, and that she is one of my everyday heroes.

     Robin and I were doing our best to navigate a complicated system involving our ALS Clinic, numerous different doctors and specialists, drug companies, Insurance companies, medical equipment supply companies, Community Care with all their services, ALS Society, and numerous other organizations.  It was hard to keep track and just generally overwhelming.  Then one day we met my Killer Blonde, she was one of the two Assessors I needed to be approved by for MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying). Although she certainly didn’t have to, she agreed to take me on as a patient in her Palliative Care Practice.  She is a kind gentle soul who immediately put us at ease, despite the nature of our first meeting.  She visits with us every two weeks for an hour, actually listens to our challenges and helps us to overcome whatever we are struggling with.  She doesn’t claim to know everything but if she doesn’t know, she does find out the answer and gets back to us.  She has laughed with us, and she has cried with us. We know without a doubt that she genuinely cares and you can’t imagine the amount of comfort that brings to us as we struggle through each day.  I’m not sure how she does the work she does, caring as much as she does while caring for the dying.  There are no happy outcomes in her work,  but she can help people to a kinder, gentler death, and that is a pretty noble profession.  Dr. Celine is one of my Everyday Heroes.

     When you are diagnosed with ALS you are given exclusive membership in this elite club, a club no one wants to join, but once in, you find yourself surrounded by others in similar circumstances who understand like others not afflicted with this disease can not.  You will see people who fight this disease by advocating for the rest of us, by fundraising millions of dollars hoping to find a cure, or maybe by just offering that helping hand to others.  Some of my ALS friends have helped, guided, supported, listened, inspired and just made this intolerable journey a little more tolerable.  My fellow ALS People, you are my Everyday Heroes, thank you for helping me make it through the dark days.

     Families that include someone with ALS, well… they know things other families don’t know.  Things they can only learn through walking through the hell that ALS brings when it moves in with you.  They watch as their PALS (Person with ALS) dies bit by bit.  They watch their dreams disappear, sometimes they watch their career suddenly end as they stay home to care for their loved one.  Their once carefree life full of possibilities is now just full of medical equipment, medication, expensive bills and lost hope.  It’s hard watching the person you love die.  The caretakers are so completely exhausted struggling to go on, longing for peace and rest but knowing that only comes after their loved one dies, and that’s a high price for peace and rest.  The family members who care for their loved ones, they are my Everyday Heroes.

     I would like you to think about what that would be like to have strangers in your home, helping you get dressed, bathed and toileted.  ALS, besides robbing you of a functioning body, also steals every shred of dignity you have.  We presently accept 3 hours a week of help from a PSW, that lets Robin get out and have lunch with a friend, or maybe grab some groceries.  We are entitled to ninety hours a month of care.  Due to the many little crises that now come up every day Robin can no longer leave me on my own for very long, too many things can go wrong.  The reason I mention this is because my sweet Robin continues to do everything, the work of so many.  I assure you she has never worked so hard in her life, and that is saying a lot considering she was once the mother of four children under six years old.  She does this because she loves me, she does this to spare me having all these indignities to me being done by strangers.  What does Love look like?  Love looks like my precious Robin.  She is my very favourite Everyday Hero.

#als #gratitude #love #everyday heroes

[undiscovered-horizon]

"Mirror, mirror on the wall" - Keoghan!Joker x Detective!Reader

[TW: scars, mentions of past abuse]

🫀REQUESTS ARE OPEN🫀

SUMMARY: A scar is not equal to another scar. Despite that, survivors are pretty much the same. Joker meets a detective who's not so easy to impress or intimidate.

WORDCOUNT: ~ 1.6k

A/N: got inspired by playing 'Still Life' for the hundredth time. Old game but still great and highly replayable.

Gordon wasn't one to joke around, especially when it came to the life and safety of Gotham and its citizens. Still, you couldn't believe he was absolutely serious:

"Look as much as I hate to say it if there’s someone who can get some sense out of that madman, it’s you," Gordon confessed.

He's been at this for the entire week, no matter what excuse you gave him. Normally, he would be a lot more civil and drop the subject the moment you said "no" for the first time but, unfortunately for you, he was a little too desperate. You knew he simply cared and felt like there was nothing else he could do to push the investigation forward. It was that uncharacteristic pushiness that made you question your own will - if there truly was no one else and Gordon was crumbling feeling powerless, maybe you could take a leap out of your comfort zone and into the deep, dark chasm of uncharted trauma.

"Why me, Gordon?" you asked in a weak voice. Truthfully, you weren't sure why you were even asking him that question - you knew perfectly well why.

"You've been through shit, detective. Shit I can't put into words. You got a good look into a psycho's mind and came out alive. You survived history's worst and that changes people."

Elegant euphemisms were one of the reasons Gordon was so good with people. He knew that "change" barely scratched the surface of what happened to you.

"What about your bat partner in crime?"

The officer stood with his hands on his hips. He shook his head slightly before answering you.

"Batman may be good, really damn good but he lacks your self-control. Get him in a room with that guy and he’ll scream and bang on the glass like he did with the Riddler. Maybe even worse. And that ain’t gon’ get us anything useful out of him."

Gordon was right. You knew that, although didn't want to admit it as admitting it would rid you of all of your excuses and you'd have to face and make use of something that murdered a part of you years ago. A scar had to become a medal.

"Alright," you said quietly. Gordon's shoulders momentarily slouched. "I'll try but no promises."

"Good enough for me. Thank you, detective. I know how much this costs you."

"No, you don't, Gordon."

He didn't try to argue or reason. There was no way in which he could relate to your experience - to that dark basement and rusty chains. Although it gnawed at him, that he couldn't offer genuine understanding and sympathy to someone he cared about, Gordon was secretly relieved, even happy, that he was unable to. He saw how those terrifying days changed you, made you into an entirely new person and he lived in fear of what they would have done to him.

You would live a happy life never stepping foot on Arkham Island. The barbed wire, neogothic buildings, unkept gardens - all of that painted a grim picture of an already unwelcoming place. Arkham Asylum looked like Tim Burton's theme park joke was taken too far.

"My condolences, ma'am," the guardian who was leading you said. "Over here, we do everything not to end up in the same room with that freak and you came here willingly."

"Wouldn't call that 'willingly'," you said under your breath. Had Gordon appeared any less desperate or powerless, you wouldn't have agreed.

"Warden Sharp agreed to one hour interview," the guardian continued. He stopped in front of the door to the visiting room, his hand resting on the door handle. "If you need more time, your supervisor gotta send in a query. I know you probably know all the rules but I'm still required to tell you them, so: don't touch the divider, don't provoke him, don't hand out any prohibited objects. The guards are authorized to step in and immediately end the interview should they deem the situation dangerous for either party. Good luck with whatever you have going on, detective."

The guard gave you a sympathetic look and pushed the door open. For some reason, the lighting was outstandingly dim inside the room. While the side where the prisoners sat was bright, the visitors could barely see anything on theirs. Without a hint of anxiety in your step or facial expression, you entered the visiting room.

Once he got to see your outline in the corridor lights, Joker's eyes kept following each of your movements and microexpressions. Even when the bizarre darkness made you disappear for a moment, it felt as if he was still capable of seeing not only you but through you. There was a mischievous yet amused smile on his face. His visual did not terrify you - it no longer could. One simply cannot get scared of clowns after playing statues with the Devil himself.

"I'm a detective with the Gotham Police Department," you said as you sat down and pulled out the file you brought. "We're investigating recent bombings happening throughout the city."

"Sorry, sweetheart, can't remember making anything go ka-byool lately." His handcuffs rattled as he waved his fingers to accentuate his point. Joker's hands were drenched with already dried blood. That sight hit a little too close to home for you but you took a calm, deep breath and didn't let your sudden uneasiness show.

"Maybe not you but one of your old friends possibly had."

You pulled a few papers stuck together with a paperclip out of the police file. Carefully, you slid the small dossier through the small opening in the Plexi divider. It was a very 'train station booking office' design.

At the very top of the papers was a mugshot. The picture presented a heavily tattooed man with a bizarre haircut and a harelip: Cooper, who used to be something akin to an underboss before his boss, Joker, got locked up. Curiously, Cooper seemed to literally vanish off the face of Earth as soon as that happened.

Joker barely spared a glance at the picture when he voiced an opinion with utmost certainty:

"Nah, it's not him."

He pushed the papers back towards you with disinterest. It shouldn't be surprising: he surely knew more about Cooper and his possible associates than the police did. You couldn't tell him anything new.

"What makes you say that?" you asked. Joker only laughed.

"He's an absolute, complete, useless moron. He lacks the, hmm... " he paused looking for the right word while waving his hands, "sophistication for something this big."

"And yet he was your go-to for so many years. How did that work out?"

"Darling, you know what's great about working with idiots?"

"They don't ask questions?"

"Oh, you were so close!" he exclaimed giddily. "They don't question."

Were all antisocial people so nitpicky?

Although the building was old and made of stone, the air inside was very warm. Feeling a little hot, you rolled up the sleeves of your shirt, reluctantly presenting the very thing that made you eligible for that lovely interrogation you were conducting: various burns and scars left from chains digging into your skin. At least once a day you considered getting full sleeve tattoos to cover them up but it wasn't considered exactly professional among higher ranked police force. You didn't need another stigma following you and your career.

"It's you." Joker cackled with mysterious satisfaction. Was he expecting you? Truthfully, it wouldn't be so surprising: your survival made national news and the demimonde, directly connected to your capturing, could only be equally interested. "Please, indulge me, princess peach."

"How about you tell me what you know about the bombings and I'll tell you about what gives me sleepless nights."

"Aw, you're trynna tease me, officer?" His pronunciation of the title was at least mocking. It didn't impress him one bit and neither did the badge. "I don't like teases. They ruin the fun."

"Treat it as a fair exchange. Intel," you pointed at yourself first, "for intel." You pointed at Joker to make your point.

"And what if you're boring, princess peach?" he asked with a whine in his voice. "Who will guarantee my fun time?"

"No one," you answered with a shrug. Although that wicked smile never left his face, you thought that a shadow of viciousness appeared in his eyes. Something about your aloofness was getting to him. "You either play with fire or there's no deal. Just you and your sad little life in your sad little cell. No fun for either of us."

"Risky business, princess peach," he sang to you.

You had to make him cooperate somehow or anyhow. Momentarily, you leaned closer to the Plexi divider. The tip of your nose was nearly touching it. Joker's smile only widened.

"You tell me what I want and I'll tell you everything you want to know," you said quietly. "Every darkest, most fearful memory I have. You want to hear what he did to me and how? How loud I prayed to God to finally kill me? First, you gotta tell me about Cooper and who he could be working with."

Joker was quiet but appeared very cocky in his silence. For a moment he was simply staring at you, his eyes studying your face - he was evidently waiting for something.

"I'm looking forward to our little dates, sweetheart."

It was suspicious to you that between you and Joker, he was the one imprisoned and yet he seemed to be the only one enjoying himself. He wasn't stupid - he knew you needed him more than he needed you. In fact, he probably had figured out that if Gotham's police goes to him for help, you must be in a really hopeless place. Joker was going to milk your little arrangement as much as he could - that you were already certain of.

#joker x reader #joker x detective!reader #the batman 2022 #the batman fanfiction #the batman fanfic #the batman imagine #joker imagine #joker fanfiction #joker fanfic #the joker imagine #the joker fanfiction #the joker fanfic #the joker x detective!reader #the joker x you #keoghan!joker x you #keoghan!joker imagine #keoghan!joker fanfiction #keoghan!joker #keoghan!joker x reader

[bunny-lovers]

nano boost and ice wall! (@comfortingstars)

Hope you & your f/os have a great day & thank you for the ask! 😊 @panshipper @kaijus-love-zone @magicalmousey @deregirls @askthelovenest @leosabi @ramsboytoy

Nano Boost: If you had a big project, how would your f/o help to motivate you?

Rumi would tell me to have a set goal to finish the big project & focus on small things.

Reconfigure: What are your favorite cuddle positions with your f/o? Do they have any preference to being big or little spoon?

My favorite cuddle positions with Mirko is the spoon position, the honeymoon hug, the seated hug & head on lap. Yes, Mirko likes to be the big spoon.

Dragonstrike: Does your f/o enjoy hearing or telling stories of mythology and/or fantasy?

Yes, she does enjoy telling me stories of fantasies.

Total Mayhem: Do you and your f/o ever get into trouble together? Who tends to start said trouble?

No, we never get into trouble together & neither of us tends to start trouble.

Take A Breather: What do you and your f/o do to unwind?

We cuddle together, go for a walk, cook a meal together, go shopping, talk before bed, hang out in bed during the day, lie in the sun, do a nightly stretch routine, watch the sunrise/sunset & exercise together.

Sound Barrier: How important is music to you and your f/o? Do you two have a song that reminds you of each other?

Music is very important to Rumi & I since we both love to dance to the music. No, we haven't found a song that reminds us of each other.

Deadeye: What was your first impression of your f/o? Did you immediately like them or did it take time?

My first impression of Rumi is how strong you are & how open mind you are. Yes, I immediately like her after she saved me from the villain.

Ice Wall: How do you and your f/o spend snow days/rainy days?

During rainy days, Rumi & I cuddle on the couch while watching TV. We also exercise together & sometimes play card games. We even take a nap together while it's raining out.

Guardian Angel: Is your f/o protective of you? How extreme can they be in their protectiveness?

Yes, she is protective of me & when a villain is about to get near me, Rumi would kick the villain & send them flying, like kicking a soccer ball. Sometimes she'll grab me & hop me to a safe place.

Coalescence: Have you and your f/o gotten married? If not, would you ever want to?

No, not yet but yes, we both want to get married someday.

Shadow Step: If your f/o had to travel for a long time without you, how would you deal in the meantime without them?

When Rumi is away for a mission, I think about her & I look at the pictures of Rumi & I for comfort. Seeing the pictures of Rumi & I makes me smile.

Steadfast: Do you and your f/o have any secrets that only you two know?

No, Rumi & I don't have any secrets.

Teleporter: Do you and your f/o live together? If not, how often do you visit each other?

Yes, we do live together!

Molten Core: Did your f/o fess up to their love right away, or were they stuck in denial for a long time? What eventually pushed them to admit their feelings to themself?

Rumi fessed up to her love right away since she's an open mind person. She couldn't hold back of her feelings of me. Before she & I had our first kiss, she admitted to me that she fell in love with me.

Recall: What is one of your fondest memories with your f/o?

One of my fondest memories with Rumi was when she started teaching me kick boxing cardio.

Primal Rage: Have you and your f/o ever fought? How did you two make up afterward?

Nope, Rumi & I haven't ever fought.

Minefield: Have other people recognized your f/o in public? How do the two of you react?

Yes, she's a Pro Hero & has fans. Rumi is totally okay with people recognized her & she'll flex her arms. As for me, I get overwhelmed when lots of people see us in public.

Graviton Surge: Is your f/o ever clingy?

Rumi can sometimes be clingy.

Transcendence: How do you comfort your f/o? How do they comfort you?

I comfort Rumi by using my sweet words, make her one of her comfort foods & give her affections. Rumi would just lie down with me & hold me while she says how much she loves me. Sometimes Rumi would bring my favorite food to make me feel better.

#otp: bunny kisses #comfortingstars #panshipper #kaijus-love-zone #magicalmousey #deregirls #askthelovenest #self shipping #self shipping community #self ship community #selfship community #self shipper #selfshipper #romantic f/o #ask #long post #long post cw #leosabi #ramsboytoy

[modern-day-bard]

Worth The Feeling

Content Warning: 18+ This series contains explicit smut, intimidation, and an age gap relationship. Minors, do not interact.

Chapter 29

Dozens of celebrities visit LAX every day, from both arrivals and departures. Even still, it feels like a risk. I asked David to park us outside while I looked for a flight. On another day, I might be embarrassed, asking him to wait while I frantically look for the soonest flight to Connecticut. There are several arriving in New York that leave much sooner, but I don't want to risk being seen even more. I book one straight to Connecticut leaving in three hours, thank David, and shoot a text to my mom. I'm crossing all of my fingers that my parents have not seen the pictures. Not that they're superbly technologically savvy, but with my mom's friends and their stalking tendencies...I can't even think about that right now.

I buy one of the first books I see after getting through security, ignoring the two tabloids with Javi's face on the cover, and the one with both of us. At my gate, with my knees pull up to my chest, cat down over my eyes, and my book in front of my face, I feel like I've created a little cocoon of safety. After about ten minutes, I realize I bought an informational book about marine life. Absolutely no connection to Hollywood, romance, or mistakes. I'm thrilled.

Sitting here for a while, I feel too numb to even be afraid of my flight. I look down at my bracelet occasionally, and remember that my last flight was also riddled with anxiety. Except this time, the worst of the worst has come true. But I still don't feel scared. I feel like the most important thing is just to get to Connecticut. If I can get there, I can breathe. No one will be able to find me at my parents house. There's no way they'll be able to find that much information about me in such a short time-span. And I don't think my face is the one that would be worth flying out for. Sure, they might hound me here, but from what I know, they would only follow Javi.

Javi, who has called three times since my arrival.

I told David to text Javi once I left the car. I couldn't handle the idea of him calling me before I bought the flight. Hearing his voice would make me change my mind. And it was convenient that I would be too busy going through security and getting to my gate to miss the first two. But now I had no excuse for the third. With an hour and a half left before my flight, I send out a text to Javi.

Me: I'm sorry I missed your calls. I asked David to let you know my plans... I can't let you get more heat if they figure out I'm staying at your house. I'm so sorry, for all of it. I'll call you when I get home.

I send one to Lana and Mia as well, giving them the sparknotes, and I turn off my phone. I know the girls and Javi will be kind, but I don't want to think about it anymore. I zone out staring at a photo of a beluga whale until it's time to board.

- - -

I came dangerously close to collapsing in my mom's arms when her and her sedan greeted me at New Haven's much smaller airport. I had many heart palpitations during takeoff, and there were a few times I thought my body would turn into full-blown panic. But thankfully, flying when you know you're flying away from a public relations crisis that could cost you your job seems to be easier for me. Though that is a lesson I would've been happy never to have learned.

Now that we're safely in the walls of my parents' Cape Cod-style home, I'm bordering on big, big tears. I never miss home. I miss my parents, of course. But I never think of Connecticut in that wistful way everyone else talks about their hometowns. There's some nostalgia, but there's some bad memories, too. I push that thought away as I plop down on their couch. There are other, more recent memories I need to forget. And right now, this feels like the most comforting place in the world.

My mom fiddles with her keys before dropping them on the entryway table. I could tell she was holding back the entire ride home from the airport. She asked about the flight, and about my recent projects, about my friends, and now...

"Where's dad?" I beat her to the punch.

"He's out picking up your favorite."

"Pepe's?" I ask hopefully and she nods, "At 10pm? You're both saints."

"Yes, ma'am," she giggles.

She sits down next to me, placing a hand gingerly on my knee.

"Honey," her voice is much more serious than before, "Are you sure you're okay? You rarely come home. And then within a few hours you text us you're on your way, and you only have a purse with you and no return flight. What's going on?"

"You should've been a detective."

This time she doesn't giggle, she just pins me with her worried expression.

I fiddle with a thread on one of the throw pillows. "Have your friends said anything about me?"

Now she just looks confused. "Uh, no. I've been at work today though."

"Right. Well, I sort of became a topic of conversation recently and—"

"Hello!" My dad bellows, pushing open the front door, two large pizza boxes leading the way.

"Dad!" I hop up. I hug him tightly, nearly sending the pizza to the floor before my mom catches it from behind us.

"Hi, sweetie." He gives me a kiss on the top of my head, and I can feel my eyes sting.

This part of home, I miss.

As we gather in the kitchen, I fill my dad in on what I had already told my mom. I ask them both about work, and their friends. Some of their friends became grandparents, and the thought of that makes my stomach lurch. They laugh at my expression, and I'm relieved there's no additional pressure there. I don't feel much pressure at all as we talk in between pizza slices. I feel lighter than I have in a while. Like all of that attention was some wild Hollywood dream, and I woke up in the safety of my old life.

"Okay, this old man has to call it." My dad finally says, pointing at the clock on the stove. 12:06am.

"Me too," my mom says, kissing my cheek. "I got your room set up for you. Do you need anything before bed?"

I shake my head, hugging them both. "No, just this. Thank you guys."

"You're welcome. But you know I will be wanting to finish our conversation tomorrow," My mom whispers before patting me on the back.

"I know," my laughter is nervous, but she lets it go.

I follow them upstairs, bringing my purse with me. My old room is now half an office, but they left some of my old stuff behind. I rummage through the closet, finding an old high school pep rally t-shirt to throw on. Though "throw on" may be a stretch, because speaking of stretch, this thing barely fits. I decide to go with just a fresh pair of underwear I brought, and make a mental note to raid my mom's closet tomorrow.

I plug in my phone, slipping under the covers. I brought my marine life book into bed with me, just in case any distracting thoughts kept me awake. But staring at a rather spritely looking sea turtle, my eyes are getting heavy. With the time difference, it's past 3am for me. Before I know it, I fall into a dreamless sleep.

- - -

The next morning, after a cold slice of Pepe's for breakfast, I took a walk around my neighborhood. My charged, but turned-off, phone in my pocket. My mom told me that she would probably be able to get off of work early, but didn't have time to warn them last night. My dad said he would try to do the same, but client meetings might keep him later. I didn't mind. I knew I would need some time to figure out how to explain the situation to them, and I would also need to check this phone of mine. I don't want to leave anyone hanging, but...the quiet is nice. The air here is slightly cooler with September rolling in, and the streets are peaceful. I decide that once I remember which houses used to hand out full-size candy bars, I need to turn on my phone.

I gather up the courage sitting on the front stoop, even though the cool bricks freeze my bum. I'm glad this stoop is paparazzi-free at least.

There are less messages from yesterday. Lana and Mia just said to text when I'm settled and that they understand, so I fire another one off to them letting them know I'm safe and I'm cooling off. I wait a few more minutes before reading Javi's messages. I feel a pit in my stomach. I can't imagine that he'll want to deal with all this. And now that I've given him some space, he'll probably be able to see that it's easier with me far away, or just...out of his life in general. I swallow the lump in my throat and open the conversation anyway.

Immediately after I texted him that I was going home he replied.

Javi: Do what you need to do. I completely understand. Though I will be wishing you were here with me instead

And again once he figured I had landed.

Javi: You're probably catching up with your parents, but sleep well. It's late here at home This morning, 5am L.A. time, 8am East Coast time.

Javi: Good morning beautiful. Jonah and I are speaking with Dwayne today. I know it's probably not the best thing to hear this morning but I want to keep you up to date. Call me when you can. We're meeting at 9

I look at the clock. In that case, with the time difference, they're meeting now. I wish I still had more of my neighborhood to walk. The idea of Javi, his lawyer, and Dwayne all in a room together is enough nervous energy to walk five more miles. Besides the idea of the meeting, however, his texts calm me. I thought that looking through my phone would feel like it did yesterday: uncontrollable chaos. But it's the opposite. They soothe me, and it makes me want to speak with him even more. Not just to know what happens in that awful meeting, but just to hear his voice.

Me: Thank you for the update :) I'm sorry for the late reply...and for leaving. But it's been good to be here. Call me when you're out of the meeting if you can

I decide the next best thing is to shower. I take my time, going through my mom's closet afterwards like I had promised last night. I find a t-shirt of hers that actually fits, as well as a hoodie and some soft shorts. Me, my wet hair, and my hoodie are enjoying another slice of pizza when my phone rings.

My heart flutters before I look at who the call belongs to, and then I spit my pizza out onto my plate.

"Hello?" I say, even though I know who it is.

"Ava? It's Dwayne. I've got our lawyer, Devon on with us as well as Tom from public relations. Is now a good time?"

Holy fuck. Holy. Fuck. "Um, sure." Do I need a lawyer on this call?

"We just spoke with Mr. Gutierrez. I've been told that you are aware of the recent press. Is that right?"

"Yes," I swallow hard, "I've seen it."

"We've been in talks this morning about how to handle the situation. Tom has advised Javi on what the next steps are going to be. When it comes to you, I want to reiterate that you aren't in trouble. What we spoke about beforehand remains true, however, I need to ask again, do you plan to press any charges?"

I splutter for a moment. "Charges against–against Javi?"

"Yes. Or Mr. Henley."

How does he factor in this situation?

"Dwayne, I'm a little out of the loop here. I won't be pressing charges against Javi. But why would I want to press charges against Blake? Do you mean for before?"

"Uh, no, not from before..."

There is a pause on their end of the call. Some rustling, and then a new, deep voice begins.

"Miss Cohen, my name is Devon Wallace. I'm the studio's lawyer. As Dwayne said, you are not in any trouble. You aren't in breach of contract for becoming intimate with Javi. It is also helpful, for managing PR, that this has come out after filming has wrapped. However, we would like to avoid another scandal if we can."

I'm still lost. "What other scandal?"

"To be ahead of the news cycle, and to protect you as an employee of Norwick, we want to know if you plan on taking legal action against Blake Henley."

"Why would I be suing Blake Henley?"

Devon clears his throat.

"Because he's the one who captured and leaked the photos."

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fandom #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal x original characters #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal fluff #fluff #javi gutierrez fanfiction #javi gutierrez smut #javi gutierrez x you #javi gutierrez x reader

[a-casual-kpopfan]

Our Twilight - Chapter 3

Hello boos,

Here's a long awaited part 3 of the on going Haseul series my partner and I have going on, this series is actually a mini series of a larger timeline story universe we are creating, there will be more details of it in the future! (:

Hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later….

“Haseul, we’ve been going around for the entire morning now, are you sure this is the one?”

“I’m very sure!”

Haseul says as she pushes Jinsol inside the library, only to come out empty handed. She has been dragging Jinsoul around the entire morning in search of the “Silent Haven” library to no avail. Despite narrowing down the search zone to a particular part of the city, the 2 girls still fail to find correct one, as this has been their 4th one of the mornings.

“Perhaps we narrowed it down at the wrong place?” Jinsol says while scrolling down her phone, while Haseul sits at a bench, her expression a mix of excitement and worry as she mentally goes through the details, she has gathered about this “Silent Haven” library. “No, it really should be around here….” Haseul mulls over the details.

“We might be wrong, Haseul-ah, let’s go over the info we have one more time?” Jinsol asks while handing out her phone to Haseul, to which Haseul takes it and rereads the information they have. “The library is supposedly quite old and situated near the outskirt of the city….” Haseul mumbles while opening the map on her phone, comparing the two together.

“Why does this so…familiar?” Haseul thinks to herself as she looks over the map of the area, her mind seems to be running nonstop. “Did I ever come here before?  But if I did, I would have remembered it….” Haseul frowns at the thought, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Jinsol

“Haseul-ah, what’s wrong? What are you thinking about?” Jinsol sits down next to her friend, her face filled with worry as she looks at Haseul

“… Everything here feels… Familiar to me, but I can’t remember even setting foot here….”

“It could be that because you’ve been researching a lot about it, your mind automatically thinks that you’ve been here before. That could happen, you know” Jinsol tries to cheer her friend up “C’mon, we only have today off, let’s not waste it, hm?” Jinsol stands up from the bench, offering Haseul her hand with a smile “Let’s go find your prince charming”. Jinsol’s effort has proven successful as Haseul brighten up a bit, taking her hand and standing up as well “Thank you, Jinsol” “Aigo, you can thank me after we found your guy, ok?” Jinsol giggles before pulling Haseul away, continuing their journey to find the sleeping prince.

Meanwhile…

Within the Silent Haven itself, MJ is currently rearranging the books on the shelves, all the while humming to himself.

“Turn your magic on, to me she’d say- ACHOO!”

In the quiet library, his sneeze acts more like an earthquake of sorts as almost everyone who is reading look at him, almost curiously as they know MJ usually never does something so loud, even with his coughs.

Feeling all the gazes on him, MJ bashfully retreats to the employee’s room, where he grabs some water for himself. “Weird… I don’t have morning allergies, and I don’t feel sick either, so what is this ominous feeling that I’m sensing right now…”

Of course, unbeknownst to him, there are two particular people who is on the hunt for him…

Fast forward to high noon…

“How many libraries did we visit in this morning, Haseul?” Jinsol asks while taking a break on a nearby bench, using her hand to fan herself, the heat getting to her.

“4 in total…” Haseul replies, not before completely finishing her bottle of water. “Should- should we head back to the dorm? We can continue another day. This heat is killing me….” Jinsol suggests, hoping to avoid the sun and returns to the comfort of her room, where she can freely text with her boyfriend, Daewon.

“Yeah, we should probably head… Back?” In the middle of her sentence, Haseul notices something… Familiar. A board hanging up on a branch of a tree, the shade makes it nearly impossible to read what’s underneath it, but almost instinctually, Haseul knows. “Haseul?” Jinsol looks at her friend weirdly as Haseul moves closer to the hanging board. On it, there’s a big, worn-out arrow pointing to the left, with a few small word on it “Silent Haven”. Staring at the board, Haseul seems to be lost in her thought as a scene resurfaces in her mind, a memory, perhaps.

…..

“Are you sure this board will attract more readers?”

“Of course, I am, it’s going to be hung at the big road, people would see it, and they would come to the library to read!”

Sitting on a small table were two kids, a boy, and a girl, both of them no older than 12 years old. The boy seems to be sketching something on a piece of paper, a big arrow with the words “Silent Haven” written on it.

“I don’t know if your idea would work, it sounds pretty sketchy to me….” The girl looks at the boy almost worriedly.

“I….” The boy seems to sadden a bit “It have to work. I don’t want the library to be shut down….” The boy looks down onto his paper, before looking up to the girl with a determined expression “It has to work!”

…..

“Haseul!”

And with Jinsol’s yell, Haseul is brought back from her deep thoughts, looking at the worried expression on her friend’s face “What happened?” Shaking her head, Haseul instead points towards the board instead, making its presence known to Jinsol “Look! We found it!” “Oh….” Jinsol’s face is a mixture of surprised and sadness. Of course, she is happy that they have found some lead after a whole day of running around, but then again, she just wants to text with Daewon, her man had to leave for an abroad trip but she couldn’t send him off due to her busy schedule……

“Come on! Let’s go!” Haseul then drags Jinsol towards the direction of the board, making their way towards the library.

Along the way to the library, Haseul experiences a sense of DeJa’Vu, as her legs seem to automatically guide her along the small path, leading deeper into the area with Jinsol trailing behind her.

After a short walk, they arrive in front of a huge building, its exterior indicating that it’s been here for a long time, indicated by the worn-out paint and cracks on the wall, along with the 2 huge wooden doors that has a simplistic design engraved on it. Next to the door, a small sign was hung on it, the letters on it seem very worn out from being exposed to the sunlight in many years, but the words “Silent Haven” can still be read clearly.

“This…is it?” Jinsol asks, to which Haseul only gives a slight nod, her mind being occupied by the sense of odd familiarity she has with the place. It feels like she has been here a long time ago.

Haseul then slowly enters the library, with Jinsol following suit, her hands busy with typing on her phone.

Upon entering the library, Haseul is greeted with a spacious area filled with benches, tables, and chairs. This seems to be the reading area of the library, on the two sides of the reading area, tall, old shelves of books can be seen, each of them is a bit taller than the average height of a human, and there are numerous shelves on both sides, not counting the upper floor of the library, which contains many more shelves with books of different variety.

“Woah… This is such a huge library…” Jinsol exclaims “How can we find him in such a huge place?”

Wordlessly, Haseul makes her way to the back of the library, where the library reception counter resides. “…. Ok…” Seeing this, Jinsol sits down at a nearby bench, resuming her chat with Daewon.

However, as Haseul get closer to the reception counter, she notices a figure, glancing at her from between one of the shelves briefly before making their way deeper in between the shelves of the library. Due to the brief glance, Haseul couldn’t see this person closely, could it be?

As she might have expected, the person glancing at her just now is the man she is looking for, MJ

“Shit! Why is she here?! Did she remember???” MJ lowkey panics on the inside, while keeping a calm expression on his face as he speeds walks away from the main area of the library.

“Calm down, even if she’s here, she couldn’t possibly find me, not in that place….” MJ thinks to himself as he makes his way deeper inside the library, to his safe haven inside the library.

Meanwhile….

“Excuse me” Haseul asking the auntie sitting at the reception politely. “I’m looking for someone here, have you seen him?” Haseul directly asks the auntie to avoid any misunderstanding while handing her a printout of MJ’s face, half covered by the black facemask. “I’m sorry miss, we can only help you find books- Oh, the kid…” The auntie is about to politely declines Haseul’s request when she sees the picture “You know him?” She asks

“Well, we can be considered acquaintances...” Haseul doesn’t know how to describe her relationship with him, so that is the best that she can do, and it seem like the receptionist auntie doesn’t quite believe her yet “I’m sorry, but if I won’t disclose the information of my coworker if you’re being suspicious like this.” The auntie’s voice turns stern almost immediately.

“…Truth is, I don’t know who he is, or how he’s related to me, but what I do know, is that he is important, very important to me, so please, I just want to meet him, to see him once….” Haseul can only be truthful at this point to avoid being kicked out of the library, hoping the auntie would understand. “Seems like you still remember him…” The receptionist auntie mumbles underneath her breath, as she lets out a sigh “The kid is on his lunch break right now, he’s somewhere inside the library, but I don’t know where, 20 years working here and I still can’t find his hiding spot…” The auntie grumbles, mostly to herself  “But if it’s you…. you might be able to” then, the auntie turns to Haseul with a gentle smile, like someone who is greeting the relative that has been away for a long time, and a smile that Haseul also feel very familiar, to the point it almost brings a tear down her eyes.

“Go find him, Seulie” The auntie says in a gentle tone, with a nickname that seems strange, but familiar, a nickname that no one has ever call her, yet something the resonated deeply within her. “Yes!” Haseul nods back, noting that the auntie definitely knows about her, if that nickname isn’t obvious enough. But, as long as she finds him, everything will be clear. With that, Haseul turns to the shelves and heads in, determined to find the mysterious guy.

At the same time…

Jinsol has been texting with Daewon constantly while resting at the reading area:

“When are you coming back? I miss you already :c”

“Probably in a week or so, Soulie, I’ll be sure to buy snacks and gifts for you, so don’t be sad, ok?”

“I don’t need gifts. I just need you…."

“Aigo, you’re making me feel guilty now, I wish I got to see you before I left”

“You can blame Haseul for that, she outright stopped me from receiving your call that day”

“Haha, I know, by the way, how’s your search for ‘prince charming’?”

“Haseul dragged me around the entire morning, and we only found the library just now…”

“Oh, that’s pretty fast, although, you should have just asked me for the address”

“WHAT! WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO EARLIER?”

“Wait, on second thought, how do you know the place?”

“I was going to tell you guys this while I was trying to call you last time before I went abroad, but I know who’s the prince charming you guys are looking. He’s actually….”

As Jinsol reads the text, her eyes nearly bulge out of her sockets as she immediately stands up, looking at the reception only to not see her anywhere. After a quick second of thinking, Jinsol gives chase… In the opposite direction that Haseul went.

As Haseul walks aimlessly between the shelves, looking at the books, her head starts to hurt a bit, as images start to flood her mind, no, not images, memories. Haseul’s memories from a younger time start to unlock one by one as she makes her way deeper in.

~~~~~

A young MJ is pulling Haseul deeper in the library, eager to show her something special. “Look, you see this book? Turn right when you see it, after that, go straight and you will get to the back of the library, turn left, and walk 5 steps, you should see a shelf that isn’t quite at the right spot, you can see sunlight shining through the creek created by the shelf, but only during noon.” As MJ says it, he does exactly how he just said, then he uses all his might of a 10-year-old kid to push the shelf back, revealing a small room behind it “Hehe, grandpa hinted at this room for a while now, but I finally found it, so I deem it my safe haven!” The young boy looks back at Haseul with a bright smile “And you’re the only other one that knows it, because you’re my important friend!”

~~~~~

Despite being dizzy with a headache that comes from the memories gushing it, Haseul smiles lightly as she finally recalls what seem to be, a lost part of her. She then follows the instruction from the memory, eventually standing in front of the “weird” shelf.

“Ok Haseul, this is it….” Gathering her courage, she pushes the shelf back, revealing the hidden room, with a small window of light shining through. In it, she sees a small set of table and chairs, with MJ himself sitting on one of the chairs, his half lower face still hidden by his black facemask, but she can still see the shocked expression on his face.

“H-how did you-“ MJ stutters, not thinking at all how Haseul could have found him, as he stands up, looking at her in a daze.

Wordlessly, without saying anything, Haseul stares at him for a good minute, her expression seems unreadable before she walks up to him, her hands reach behind his ears, pulling the facemask off his face, revealing his full face to her.

. . . . . .

After more time spend staring at his face with a neutral expression, Haseul slowly reaches her hand up again, cupping his cheek gently as her thumb start to stroke his cheek in the gentlest way possible, like if she would put my force into it, he would crumble down immediately.

“H-Haseul….” MJ looks at her with a mixture of shock, nostalgic, yet somewhat bittersweet.

Then, without warning, Haseul bursts into tears looking at him, her expression shows relief, yet guilty at the same time as she manages to utter his name, his real name

“Min-Joon….”

#loona #loona fic #haseul #jo haseul #male reader #fanfic #kpop fanfic

[soobmint]

“punisher” | a txt oneshot collection

conceptual txt oneshots based off the album “punisher” by phoebe bridgers.

status; coming soon [0/5 published]

author’s note; hello all! i’ve been lacking inspiration these days, and had the idea of basing some stories off the songs from one of my all time favorite albums. if you know anything about phoebe and her music, then i’m guessing you know these will all be pretty angsty. i really went out of my comfort zone for a few of these concepts, so i hope the work paid off! these stories are not connected to one another, so you can read them individually if you’d like! i hope you all enjoy!

taglist; please send an ask if you’d like to be added!

▶︎ track 01; moon song, choi yeonjun

"and if i could give you the moon, i would give you the moon."

pairing; choi yeonjun x reader

tags; angst, suggestive, established relationship

blurb; for better or worse, you have placed your heart in the hands of choi yeonjun, a struggling musician trying his best to be all you expect of him. but when you realize you’ve been losing more and more of yourself just to keep him near, you fear you may be too far gone to keep yourself from falling down with him.

▶︎ track 02; garden song, huening kai

"everything's growing in our garden, you don't have to know that it's haunted."

pairing; huening kai x reader

tags; angst, hurt/comfort, childhood friends to lovers

blurb; after losing touch with huening kai when you moved away to the city, you’re surprised to find him working in the garden of the home you grew up in when you return for a sudden visit. you’re in for even more of a surprise than you expected as you begin to unearth the secrets buried beneath the freshly bloomed roses.

▶︎ track 03; savior complex, kang taehyun

"all the bad dreams that you hide; show me yours and i'll show you mine."

pairing; kang taehyun x reader

tags; angst, oblivious love, soulmates

blurb; after a heartbreaking failed relationship, your best friend kang taehyun is determined to show you that love is still real. when he finds himself falling for you along the way, he realizes he’s come to an impossibly difficult fork in the road, which has seemingly left him forced to decide between his happiness or your own.

▶︎ track 04; icu, choi beomgyu

"i get this feeling whenever i feel good, it'll be the last time."

pairing; choi beomgyu x reader

tags; fluff, light angst, first love, boy next door

blurb; nothing about your summer abroad was seeming to go right; especially after your first encounter with choi beomgyu. yet, he’s determined to sweep you off your feet and show you what you’ve been missing out on, and you’re trying your best not to fall for him along the way.

▶︎ track 05; i know the end, choi soobin

"i’m always pushing you away from me, but you come back with gravity.”

pairing; choi soobin x reader

tags; angst, mutual pining, right person wrong time

blurb; everyone around you is convinced that the world is ending, and you’ve decided that you’ve got nothing to lose. as you recklessly begin to take advantage of your supposed last days on earth, you find yourself more hesitant to face the end of the world after meeting choi soobin.

#soobmint #txt series #txt au #txt masterlist #txt oneshots #txt oneshot #txt fic #txt imagines #tomorrow by together #choi soobin #kang taehyun #choi beomgyu #choi yeonjun #huening kai #soobin oneshot #beomgyu oneshot #yeonjun oneshot #taehyun oneshot #hueningkai oneshot

[sweetlycharlotte]

Happy (almost) New Year!! It’s Jangle Ball Gift Exchange time!

This is a ficlet for my assignment @dontsteponthatfish! I hope you’re able to enjoy it, I sure enjoyed writing it <3

(tropes: family, conflicted relationships/feelings. characters: ted, pete, brief appearances of bill and mr. davidson)

@hatchetfield-bang

Ted furrowed his brow, chewing roughly at the end of a pen. He leaned back in his office chair, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling, uninterested in his work. He pointedly ignored the sound of Mr. Davidson making his way down the office, checking in on everyone.

As his thoughts wandered, far away from work, he caught something in the corner of his eye. "Shit." He pursed his lips, pushing aside some of the clutter on his desk; he stopped when he found it.

A picture of him and Pete from a number of years ago that Ted couldn't quite remember. Maybe seven? Six? It didn't matter, he thought. His fingers rested on the photo, as he looked at it idly.

"Ah," He hummed. He and his brother had just gone to some sort of museum for Pete's birthday. He remembered how excited that little kid was to be there. And with Ted, of all people...

Had he been doing enough for Pete lately? As an older brother? His life had been going downhill for years, it was hard to tell where he was slipping.

He gripped and messed with the photo's frame idly, zoned out, when he heard, "Getting those reports done, Ted?"

Ted took a deep breath, "Yeah. Mr. Davidson." He muttered, reluctantly taking his hand away from the picture frame.

"Great." His boss walked away from his office, and Ted lightly knocked on his desk, as he glanced back to his computer.

"Yeah, Ted." Someone else called. He groaned, looking through his open door to see Bill looking back at him. "You could at least make the effort to look like you're working, instead of... looking at secret things on your desk."

Ted glared daggers at him, scowling. "Shut up, Woodward. Like you're any fuckin' better than me. You spend half the time on Facebook messenger. And I don't say shit about that." He turned back before Bill could respond, and as his phone started ringing, to his annoyance, his eyes briefly landed on him and Pete once again.

——

Beating a fist on his steering wheel, Ted contemplated himself in his reflection. He'd spent the rest of yesterday ruminating, half-heartedly answering calls and typing up reports while sticking with those thoughts of his brother.

Unusual, it would seem to other people, he knew that. But he actually cared to know if Pete still feels happy spending that kind of time with him.

So, here he sat, parked a little away from his parents' home. He cringed at the sight. Nonetheless, he opened his car door, and stepped out, looking up at the house.

"Only good thing about this place is Pete," He muttered to himself scornfully, walking up to the door, hoping to whoever was out there that his brother would be the one to answer as he decidedly knocked a couple times.

Ted only had time to pull his hand back before the door opened, "Ted?" Pete stood there, and the man in question sighed in relief. The teen's tone and expression had a touch of pleasant surprise.

"Hey, kid," Ted huffed lightly, fixing up his shirt. "Ah, how are ya?"

"Good..." Pete answered. He was still searching his brother, "You? I mean, how are you? Uh, what're you doin' here?"

Ted would've felt defensive about it if it weren't for the happy twinge to his words. Instead, he felt a smile ghost on his face. "'M fine. Just... visiting, y'know. Bad time?"

Pete looked back into the house, then back at Ted. "No! Not at all, um, mom and dad are actually out right now, so..." He trailed off. "Sorry, did you want to come in?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Ted teased; Pete laughed lightly. The man let that smile fully form on his face as he walked into the house. He looked around; the place did not give him any comfort.

Pete cleared his throat, "I don't think you came here to talk to our parents," He mentioned, messing with his hands.

"Hell no. Not casually. I wanted to talk to you, Pete." Ted saw the way his brother lit up, as subtle as it was. He knew him.

Pete chuckled nervously. "Oh. Cool. Yeah." He took a seat on the sofa. "Did… did something happen?"

"No. I mean… shit, I just wanted to check up on ya, kid. I felt..." Ted paused, that overwhelming sense of vulnerability becoming more clear.

"...You felt?" Pete repeated. "Are you okay, Ted?"

"I'm fine. Just fine." The man cracked his knuckles, feelings conflicted and weighing heavy on his mind.

He watched Pete look at him carefully and sighed roughly, "Listen, I haven't been on top of the whole brother thing. That's all. I'm not doin' that great." He sits right down next to Pete, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, um..."

Before Pete could finish, "Is that weird?" Ted said outright. He leaned forward, rested his arms on his knees. "God. Never mind, I shouldn't'a just sprung that on you, huh? Ah, wow, I'm really fucking this up," He cringed.

"No! No, uh, it's okay," Pete rambled. He rocked slightly in place as he spoke, "I mean, you're not bad... I don't think so, at least, you know?"

"Mm. Yeah?" Ted glanced over at his brother, who smiled subtly in return.

"Yeah. Uh, I think that... you don't really do that well with just.. expressing that stuff. No offense—“ Pete started; Ted let out a chuckle despite himself.

"No, you're right. None taken,"

“—But I remember. I remember how you do. Like, I've got good memories! There's a lot more than you might think about, um... I consider a lot of things we've done together good, ha,” The teen commented, awkward.

Ted's gaze softened, then rested against the back of the couch, his arm laid across it.

That was certainly not something he'd have believed if he tried to convince himself of it. But really, when the words are coming from his own brother, with that genuine lilt to them, it was hard not to.

"Is that right?" Ted muttered. "So, good, huh?"

"Yeah. 'M serious." Pete said.

"Eeeven though I'm an asshole?"

"Yes!" laughed Pete.. "Obviously, yeah. I wouldn't say I thought so if I didn't consider that, Ted. It's hard to ignore,"

"Cuttin' me deep, kid," Ted joked, tapping him on the shoulder lightheartedly. "That's incredible. If I'd known you thought that about this bastard, I wouldn't have let this situation stop me from doing my job,"

Pete raised his eyebrows. "You mean you actually do your job? You told me you sucked at it." He grinned as Ted looked at him, amused.

"No kidding. You really do remember a lot. Think I said those words to ya that a couple years ago, at least." said Ted, softly.

"I told you. Even though you can be a real jerk sometimes, I always know you care about me, Ted." Pete pulled his knees up to his chest. "Clearly. You do a lot of nice actions for me, when you can. I notice."

"Good. Good..." The man gripped at the sofa idly, humming. "Probably needed to hear you call me a jerk," He added, sincere.

"You're welcome." Pete intoned, grinning. He scooted closer to Ted, with a teasing pat on his shoulder, "Just try 'n use your words more. It'll be good for you."

"I get it," Ted drawled, with playful exasperation. "I'm getting advice from a child. I've reached a new low, huh?"

"I'm not a child,"

"Close enough." shrugged Ted.

"Not true," Pete chimed. "Uh, but, I... guess if you don't feel like you're doin' enough, we could go do something. Together?"

A smile played on Ted's lips. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah! You know, like, we could go to Beanie's. Maybe?"

"Sure." Ted softened. Then, "Their stuff is fucking awful, but that just brings up more conversation, right?"

"Exactly."

They sat in silence for a couple moments before either made a move. As Ted was about to bring up leaving right then, Pete leaned forward and feelingly pulled him into a hug.

He returned it immediately. They stayed that way for a good few minutes before deciding they should probably go on their way.

#wishing you a good 2023!!! #ted spankoffski #peter spankoffski #gift exchange #hatchetfield #starkid #tgwdlm #team starkid #black friday #npmd #spankoffski bros #nightmare time #jangle ball gift exchange #hatchetverse #bill woodward #teddy writes

[openheartfanfics]

Ethan x F!MC: Pure Fluff

One Shots M

Macarena Catastrophe - @rookie-ramsey She should have known that dancing in dress shoes would backfire horribly.

Madison - @potionsprefect  Ethan and Victoria head on holiday to Connecticut.

Magazine Covers - @potionsprefect   Two magazines, two different covers.

Magic - @jerzwriter   Ethan rushes home from work when he can't get in touch with Casey, only to stumble upon a wonderful surprise.

Magic - @starrystarrytrouble Ethan’s got a trick or two to impress MC, features a Magic 8 Ball.

Magical Kiss - @takemyopenheart Ethan’s mad at himself because he forgot to pick up some things at the store.

Major - @utterlyinevitable His phones rings and it’s a major step in their relationship.

Make Believe - @utterlyinevitable MC and Ethan are cuddling in the chalet, fantasizing about what their meeting would be like if they were normal people. [2.14 rewrite]

Making a Mark - @txemrn 💘Ⓜ Despite med school exams, Ethan and Tatum plan on spending time together for their first Valentine's day; but their plans take a different course... literally.

Making Memories - @potionsprefect  Ethan and Victoria take Luke and Lily to Dagger Mountain.

Mamma Mia - @jerzwriter  Kaycee's parents are moving out of their home, and while she's there helping pack up, she makes an unsettling discovery.

Many Happy Returns - @jamespotterthefirst He barely acknowledges her birthday. Truth is, he’s been thinking about it for days.

Mariposa - @jamespotterthefirst Ethan should have known better than to take dancing lessons with his vivacious girlfriend. Set in Book 3.

Mark My Words - @utterlyinevitable He’s reading one of her books but he removed her bookmark.

Married - @perriewinklenerdie Parts of Ines’s wedding told from Ethan’s perspective feat. Basically being a married couple and everyone calling them out for it.

Matchmaker - @perriewinklenerdie Harper sees how much Ethan is struggling with trying to ignore Claire, so she decides to push him in the right direction. Feat. Harper

May I Have This Dance? - @liaromancewriter  Is there anything more romantic than slow dancing in the kitchen on a do-nothing day?

Me & You - @mrsrhys23 Illness prompt.

Med School Book - @potionsprefect It’s just a picture in a medical school book

Medical Hero - @jamespotterthefirst A young intern sees her medical hero and musters up the courage to ask for an autograph.

Memories.... - @amortentiaopenheart Ethan gets to see Catherine's photo album.

Memories - @lem-20 Ethan gets a little taste of his own medicine, resulting in him and MC discussing his chats with Harper.

Memory Lane - @potionsprefect  Victoria and Ethan take a trip to New York with their kids.

Mending Bridges - @bex-la-get A surprise visit forces Ethan out of his comfort zone. Feat. Tobias Carrick & Sienna Trinh

Mentor - @starrystarrytrouble Three times Naveen spoke to Ethan about MC. Feat. Naveen

Merry Christmas - @tveitertotwrites 🎄 The Ramsey's spend Christmas morning together.

Merry Christmas, Rookie - @cariantha 🎄 The Internal Medicine staff participate in a Secret Santa exchange.

Mi Vida - @jamespotterthefirst   The first time she calls him an affectionate pet name in her native language.

Miami - @rookie-ramsey She never expected to return to the Miami hotel room.

Midnight - @a-crepusculo   Marchia found a rather interesting scene in the middle of the night.

Midnight Cravings - @lucy-268 Eating for two calls for all ones requests to be fulfilled.

Midnight Cuddles - @potionsprefect  Ethan wants a cuddle, Victoria isn’t overly keen.

Midnight Loneliness - @utterlyinevitable This takes place after the kiss outside Ethan’s apartment in 2.8.

Might Occupy The Universe Today - @inlocusmads   There's not enough room in a four-walled office. Hence, Ethan willingly supports Jane's bad decisions and her subsequent conquests of desk spaces. Feat. Tobias Carrick

Miles - @tveitertotwrites 🎄 The Story of Miles Ramsey and how he was introduced to the family during Christmas.

Mimicry - @jamespotterthefirst 👻 The gang organizes a group costume that surprises Ethan.

Mine - @irisofpurple After all the years of pining, Lana was finally officially his.

Miracles Gala - @a-crepusculo 🩺 Her first appearance as the Head of Diagnostics Team may not be as easy as she thinks.

Mirani’s Confession - @schnitzelbutterfingers Ines’s wedding reception , featuring Zaid’s emotions and lost love, Abby’s advice and Ethan’s promise. Feat. Zaid x Ines

Mirrors - @jamespotterthefirst They have always been a source of comfort through their toughest moments. Mirrors of one another.

Miss Tiffany Turned 30 Today - @the-pale-goddess Tiffany celebrates her birthday with Ethan.

Miss You More - @aworldoffandoms He’s at a conference and “I’m tired and my bed feels so empty without you here.”

Mistletoe - @potionsprefect 🎄 Victoria sets herself a challenge.

Mistletoe Magic - @headoverheelsforramsey 🎄 Three years, three Christmases and three mistletoes.

More of Your Love - @openheart12 Just some domestic fluff with them and their babies.

More than a drawer - @writinghereandthere A decision between roommates forces Mariana’s and Ethan’s hand to discuss the next step of their relationship.

Morning - @thewolflady During one date night, three little words changed the course of the rest of their lives.

Mornings - @mrsdr-ethan-ramsey A couple of swear words maybe, implied sex

Morning Sickness - @jamespotterthefirst She has to stay home from work. Doctor’s orders.

Morning Walk - @beyondsimsreality  Dr. Ethan Ramsey x Dr. Harmonie Christian taking a stroll with their children, Nevaeh Christian-Ramsey, and Ethan Jr.

Most Ardently - @jamespotterthefirst Days after her recovery, he tells her of the Pride and Prejudice vibe they apparently give off. Set after the events of 2.11.

Most in the World - @jamespotterthefirst  Things have changed in a year. And so has his answer to the question she once asked him: “Who do you love most in the world?”

Mothers - @liaromancewriter 🌸 Three mothers, three celebrations, one beautiful memory. Feat. Sienna Trinh

Mother’s Day - @coffeeheartaddict2 🌸 Two Mother’s Days. The Mother’s Day before and after the birth of Hudson.

Mother’s Day -  @openheart12 🌸 Ethan and MC spent the day with their kids.

Mother’s Days - @lucy-268  🌸 Several Mother’s Day Firsts for Charley

Movie Night - @dr-addieramsey It’s just a simple movie night with zero plot….

Music & Secrets - @utterlyinevitable Ethan learns of Odette’s old musical hobby.

My Best Friend's Wedding: Rumor Has It - @jamespotterthefirst  A childhood friend realizes he's the love of her life. The problem is he's about to marry someone else.

My Everything - @charisworld When Ethan gets a call that his girlfriend needs him does he stay silent or confess about his feelings.

My One and Only Love - @potionsprefect   Victoria and Ethan read the letters that they wrote to each other.

Mystery - @openheartforeverinmyheart Four instances where Ethan contemplates the way she looks at him and how he feels about her.

_

SUBMIT OPEN HEART FICS HERE

#open heart #choices open heart #open heart fanfics #open heart fanfiction #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #pure fluff #ethan x mc

[lovelivingmydreams]

Blazing song

Prinxiety week day 3 D&D This is my personal favorite of this week. Hope you all like it too!!!

Roman was very excited. It was Friday night and today a new campaign would start. This was Roman’s third campaign with Thomas and Emile under the flamboyant guidance of their DM Remy. They were setting up in Thomas’ basement while waiting for Remy to join them. They’d had their session zero at Roman’s place last week. This week, they’d really get started. Last time their characters had arrived in the village and crossed paths when a farmer called out for help because their sheep had gotten loose and they’d joined forces to find them and bring them back. Fought off a few monsters that wanted to eat them and had formed the first beginnings of friendship. Roman was excited to see where this adventure would take them. He’d put a lot of thought in his character and Remy had seemed interested too. Remy was a great DM and always took their characters into consideration within his story telling. So this was bound to be interesting. Roman was hoping to be challenged in his roleplaying. He had been playing firmly within his comfort zone in the past. This time he was trying to challenge himself a little.

“The party has arrived!” Remy announced as he skipped down the stairs. “The party has been here,” Thomas pointed out, making Emile giggle. “Aw, boohoo. I needed to prep a surprise. So we better get started so we can get to the good stuff. Tommy, love the snack spread. I'm lucky with players who get the assignment,” Remy said as he put down his bag and set himself up behind his DM screen. He grabbed a hand full of chips and nuts and glanced at his notes. Roman and the other two sat down. Thomas and Emile on one side of the table, Emile being closest to Remy because he always sat right next to his not so secret crush. Roman sat by himself on the other side.

“Alrighty,” Remy said, rubbing his hands before setting the scene. “So you are heading to the local tavern to spend some of the coin the farmer paid you on a few drinks, a meal, and a bed for the night. Suddenly, you hear a commotion up ahead. There is shouting and people are jumping out of the way. From the small crowd of people you see a figure emerge, followed by people in what you recognize to be guard uniforms…” on boy. That sounded like a test for his level 3 redemption paladin and for his own impulsive tendencies.

“Virgil, come down and tell them what they see wont you baby bro?” Remy called. Roman stiffened as he looked up to the stairs where he now saw Remy’s brother descend, emerging from the shadows he’d been hiding in. “I’m only an hour younger than you Rem,” the soft but rough voice pointed out. “Still younger. Now sit your ass down and help set the scene!” Remy demanded. Roman could swear they were all holding their breath. Virgil was his brother’s opposite. Remy was a party animal, a people person. Virgil had no friends. No one he talked to other than his brother. He was a loner and seemed opposed to the idea of changing that status. Roman knew that Thomas and Emile had tried. The only reason Roman knew about him was because he was Remy’s brother and he’d seen him whenever he visited Remy for a session or just to hang out away from their fans at school. That and they had a few classes together over the years, but even there he was so quiet and distant, he wouldn’t have noticed him if he hadn’t recognized him. For some reason the teachers didn’t even push him to answer in class most of the time. And now, he was here, in Roman’s haven of make belief… What if he told everyone… No. Remy wouldn’t have brought him here if he thought he’d ruin the fun of it. But why was he here?

“No worries guys. I’ll probably die by the end of the session and you won’t have to worry about me messing everything up,” Virgil muttered as he put down a character sheet, a dice tray and a few bags of dice. He was prepared at least. But Roman wasn’t sure how he felt about him sitting right next to him, eyes focused on his sheet and nowhere else. He had no read on this guy. There were plenty of rumors about him though. None that had any proof behind them. But Roman couldn’t help but wonder if they were based in some measure of truth. “I’m just here because Remy forced me,” he added. “Bitch you need to get out of the house every once in a while. You’ll thank me later. Now get started!” Remy commanded. Virgil took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay… So. Running towards you is a violet Tiefling with lavender hair in a braid that would probably go well past the shoulder when at rest. The horns are like an antelope’s, though the right one seems to shimmer in the light. They’ve got a white blouse, dark brown leather pants and comfortable shoes, along with a long sleaved, patched up cloak. Also there’s a knapsack and a lute and as they turns their gaze from their pursuers to look ahead of them you see they have silver eyes… Was that okay?” Virgil asked. If Roman was honest, that was a really interesting description. He already wanted to know about the shine on the right horn and from his description he could guess that this Tiefling was a bard. Which was not what he’d expected from the emo loner. Quite the opposite.

“That’s excellent V. Now ahead of you, among the citizens, you see this party of three that seems out of place. A half orc who is walking around in a sleeveless tunic showing off firm arms with a few nasty looking scars. A half elf, kinda scrawny looking, blond strands framing a pale face, ice blue eyes speak of a sharp mind and the books they carry support that observation. And a fire genasi, black skin contrasting against what seem to be red glowing fissures, fiery eyes and flowing red hair. The genasi is dressed in well-crafted armor with doves carved along his collarbones and a red cloak draped over his shoulders. They have definitely seen you. What do you do?” Remy pointed at each of them as he described their characters and for some reason Virgil shot him a glare when he was done before sighing and speaking up. “Well I’m probably about to change course until I see the doves. The guards are closing in on me and I know I’m probably not going to be able to get away from them in a town this small. So I sprint for them and call out to the armored one.” Virgil turned his body slightly towards Roman and though he still didn’t seem capable of looking at him he did speak to him. “Help! Please! I’m innocent!” It was funny. Virgil’s voice was still quiet, but he did sound urgent and scared. “And then I try to dodge to stand behind him. Hoping the guards will at least pause their chase out of respect for a holy person,” he mutters.

Remy nodded. “Domonique do you let him seek refuge behind you?” Roman thought on that a moment. “Well, I’m probably surprised, and I haven’t seen him do anything harmful yet. Of course I’ll let him seek my protection. Awaiting more details on the situation.” The rest of the group nodded. “Um I step in closer to Dominique, trying to be supportive,” Thomas offers. “Oh and seeing my old buddy and my new buddy are going to protect the little purple devil, I make myself look extra big and cross my arms like super intimidating,” Emile said, trying to sound though making the rest of them laugh… Or well. Virgil just gave a little smile, but that wasn’t something Roman could remember ever seeing him doing. Scowling and avoidant was his usual look. “I um… I’d probably hold onto his cloak as I glance past him,” Virgil added, sounding embarrassed and uncertain, making it almost a question.

“Awesome. So the guards slow their approach and see you three seemingly protecting their suspect. ‘That demon there is a thief! Hand him over so we can bring him to justice,’ the bigger one demands,” Remy tells them looking around to see who’d react. “I tried to tell you I didn’t steal anything! They just think I did it because I was in the same street and I’m a Tiefling. I offered to let them search me but they said I’d probably gotten rid of it already. They have no proof! Please you gotta belief me,” Virgil rambled, doing a pretty good job at roleplaying. “Okay I hold out my arm to shield him more and address the guards. And I say: ‘Do you have any proof of wrongdoings other than his lineage?’” Remy nodded. “Okay, are you fired up?” he asked. “Maybe a little,” Roman allowed. Presumed guilt would upset his character. “Okay so your fissures glow a bit brighter and your hair starts to spark a little. Roll an intimidation check for me to see if they’ll cool down,” Remy instructed. “Can I assist, since I’m big and strong and all that?” Emile asked. “I’ll allow it,” Remy nodded. “Okay… Nice, that’s a natural 18,” he was pretty sure the DC wouldn’t be too high for this. “That’s really nice. The bigger guard lowers his weapon and takes a step back, looking real embarrassed. Um, well.” Roman saw an opportunity and jumped on it. “So you accused the first semi suspicious individual you saw and didn’t bother to consider alternatives?” He stated, letting his voice betray a tiny bit of temper rising. “Now… Well… I suppose?” Remy replied making his voice small and a bit scared. “Well, how about we keep an eye on this one, while you go do your job rather than half-assing it? If you find concrete proof that you were right we’ll give you back your suspect with a formal apology and an IOU. But until then, I don’t want to hear a single accusation. Understood?” He was feeling pretty happy with this. Previous characters of his would probably have been more suspicious of this Tiefling character, but that was not the kind of guy he was playing right now. “Nice one. Okay so the guards look a bit put off but they start to leave. They are glaring at the Tiefling behind you, but for now, coast seems clear.”

Roman nodded satisfied. “Okay so I’m going to turn to our new friend. ‘Well that was a serious pickle you found yourself in. My name is Dominique he/him. These are my new companions, Bantu and Varian both also he/him. May we know your name and pronouns?’” he asked, going for charming, but a little disapproving on the first part. Virgil glanced at Remy who must’ve given him some kind of encouragement because he actually looked at Roman this time. “Um, yeah. Sorry about that. Call me Chant…. They/them, please,” he said, clearly nervous about using different pronouns in game. Aw… That was kind of adorable really. Had there been a sweet bean hiding in that rough bolster this whole time? Was this just something Virgil chose for this character or was he trying out the pronouns because he was on a journey? Roman didn’t know if the emo was part of the alphabet mafia. But as a member of their school’s queer community he should try to reach out to him to offer him a support system. Was that why Remy brought his little bro in? “Pleasure to meet you. How about we get to the tavern, and you can tell us what happened in more detail. Maybe we can help clear your name. I would love to believe that one warning will make the guards rethink their judgements, but helping them out might save us all some time,” he suggested. Virgil nodded. “Um… Sure, thank you again… Uh, let me buy you three a drink. It’s the least I can do,” he offered. “Oh, I like them. Can we keep them?” Emile suggested in his gruff character voice. “They’re not a stray pup, Bantu, old friend. They might have other places they need to be,” Thomas said weightily.

Virgil let a soft laugh escape him that time. Just something very brief. But it intrigued Roman. Maybe, if he got Virgil to feel comfortable, he’d see more of this hidden side of his and be able to figure out how he felt about it. There was already a sense of protectiveness at the knowledge that he might have a baby queer on his hands who needed some help finding his identity. Their party headed for the tavern where they first introduced themselves more properly. “I seek to travel the lands and spread the light of my lady Sarenrae to the farthest reaches of the world,” Roman informed Virgil. “I am chasing a dream,” Thomas tells them, Roman gets a sense that he is picking his words with care. “Can I, um… Insight check?” Virgil asked nervously. “Go ahead,” Remy smirked. “Okay. Oh that’s good. Natural 20,” Virgil said. “Good. What are you looking for?” Remy asks. “Well…” Virgil turns to Thomas. “I want to look for signs that Varian like… mistrusts me or something. Like, do I think he’ll get rid of me at the first opportunity or something?” Ow. That might be a bit more insight in Virgil’s state of mind than Roman was prepared to get. Sure it could just be something his character would do. But it felt a bit too real. Roman could tell that Thomas and Emile caught up on that too, but none of them said anything about it. “Varian is very neutral about Chant. He isn’t going to put his life in their hands right away, but he doesn’t assume they’re up to something either,” Thomas offered. Virgil nodded to himself.

“I’m just here to keep my buddy safe while he travels. Nothing special,” Emile explains with a shrug. “Nothing ‘just’ about it. That sounds like a great reason to hit the open road,” Virgil argued. “Oh gosh. Bantu is blushing you guys. His grey skin darkening just a bit around the cheekbones,” Emile giggled. “I agree with Chant here. A very noble and selfless calling if I ever heard one,” Roman added. Emile turned to Thomas. “They aren’t wrong my friend. You have a noble heart. I consider myself lucky to be considered your friend and I pity the fool who makes you an enemy.” Emile buried his head into his arms, making everyone, yes everyone, laugh. “Alright. It seems we are tormenting our muscle man. What about you though? Are you local or on a journey as well?” Roman asked Virgil. “Oh, um. I’m a good bit away from home. I finished my education and figured I should perform all over and stuff. Maybe, hopefully, make it so people might think better of people like me,” Virgil’s voice trailed off as he explained this. “Can I take a closer look at their right horn?” Roman asked Remy. “Roll me a… A perception check.” Roman nodded and rolled the die. “We are doing good tonight. That’s a dirty 18,” Roman announced. “Okay. You see that the shine comes from what seems to be a silver coating of some sort. It looks very pretty.” Roman nodded with a frown. That meant that at some point at the very least, this Chant person had the coin to spend on something like this. The question was why did he do it? “Well now we simply must clear your name,” Roman announced.

“Virgil a perception check if you will?” Remy announced. “Oh, um… Dirty 13?” Virgil was very quick with his calculations Roman noticed. He hadn’t asked even once what modifier he needed to use… Maybe he was a seasoned player? “You really know your way around the dice,” he noted. Virgil ducked his head. “Thanks,” he muttered. “Would you believe that until a week ago he’d never even seen a D20? We made a deal at the start of summer that he’d try one social activity every month. I helped him built his character, we did a session zero together and now he’s here playing like a pro,” Remy grinned. “Shut up. I just didn’t want to ruin the start of their campaign,” Had he really spent the first week of his summer studying up on D&D, just so they wouldn’t be slowed down by a new player? “Virgil, that is very sweet of you. But we would’ve happily helped you out. If you are uncertain about anything, just let me know okay?” Thomas offered. “Yeah, you should’ve seen us stumble our way through our first campaign. We were lucky Remy sort of knew what he was doing,” Emile added. Roman nodded his agreement. “Uh, thanks I guess. But like I said. I’ll probably die in the first few sessions or something. So don’t worry about it,” Virgil shrugged. Remy was grinned like the Cheshire cat. He obviously hadn’t missed the fact that Virgil had gone from one session to maybe a few already. And Roman found himself being glad for that as well. If things worked out over the summer they’d have at least 8 sessions together. Meaning 8 chances of several hours to figure out what this hidden side to Virgil was and if he wanted to approach him as a friend when school started up again.

“What about Chant’s perception check?” Roman asked wanting to get back on track. “Ah right. Well, it was more for funsies. There’s something moving around in your cloak,” Remy tells his brother. “Oh, um I jump up and take it off, looking for what it might be,” Virgil says, looking confused. “Okay, a snow white weasel skitters across the floor and runs up Varian’s leg all the way to his shoulders where it drapes itself in a comfortable position,” Remy tells the group. Thomas chuckles awkwardly before falling into his in control, formal character. “‘Well, now is as good a time as any to introduce you to Scamp. My familiar.’ Scamp kinda looks up at everyone before getting comfy again as though he is going to take a nap.” Aw! A familiar! That’s adorable! Roman loved familiars. They were essentially party pets that couldn’t really die or get hurt. “Why was Scamp in my coat?” Virgil demanded, for the first time raising his voice a little, though still keeping it kind of quiet. “Searching you. I figured that way any doubts of you misleading us could be put to rest before they even come up. You already mentioned you were willing.’ Did Scamp find anything?” Thomas asked. “Roll investigation for Scamp,” Remy tells him. “14,” “Not even an inside pocket on that cloak to stash a bit of coin,” Remy states.

Virgil huffs. “Chant sits back down, scowling. ‘I made that cloak specifically so no one could accuse me of anything while travelling. Didn’t do me any good I guess.’” “Dominique lays a hand on Chant’s shoulder. ‘You shouldn’t have to do that. Don’t worry, we’ll clear your name. Tell us what happened and we’ll make it so those guards have to apologize to you,’” Roman vowed letting his voice get a little rougher to the end. Virgil smiled at him and explained the situation to them. It seemed very obvious that the guards had not even been trying. That became more apparent when they heard from the townsfolk that there had been a series of objects going missing over the past few weeks. Odds were they would find all stolen goods with whoever had truly stolen the medallion Chant was accused of swiping.

Through some excellent detective work from Thomas, gotta love that high intelligence score, and some good thinking on Virgil’s part. They found a kleptomaniac creep in the woods. Dominique tried to reason with the man, of course, but he was very rude and just attacked them with some dark magic when he offered to return the items and see if they could get the town to go easy on them. Virgil did great in his first battle. Roman was impressed. His fighting style was a bit risky though. He might not have been kidding when he said he wasn’t planning on making his character survive the first session after all. Chant fought like a melee fighter rather than a support class. And considering he pulled off a sneak attack, Roman figured that Virgil had started as a multiclass Bard/rogue. Ambitious. Roman hadn’t gone for a multiclass yet. But this meant that while they were all at their 3rd level of their chosen class. Virgil was only a level two at one of his two chosen classes. Considering Chant performed a song of rest for them, Roman would say they were a level 2 bard and a level 1 rogue. He’d played a bard last campaign, he remembered most of the stuff he’d learned about the class. Maybe next time he’d go for the mysterious rogue.

The guards arrived and found the downed enemy with all the stolen goods. They cleared Chant’s name and did apologize. That is when Virgil surprised them all in a pleasant way. “It’s alright. In fact, once you clean up this mess, come to the Happy Hog. I’ll be performing there tonight.” Roman was very happy for his character to hear that. If Chant had indeed fallen in battle or turned out to be a bad egg, it would have been a heavy blow. This however. This would make him feel good about the path he’d chosen. Virgil’s description of Chant’s performance was exhilarating. Filled with acrobatics and song and dance. When he finally took his final bow he was showered with praise and handed quite some coin.

“Chant drops himself on the seat next to Dominique. ‘That was a day! Listen the tavernkeep told me I could get two rooms for the night after that performance. If two of you are okay with rooming, they are all yours.’” Oh no. “Dominique grabs Chant by the shoulder. ‘There is no you guys. There is an us. We’ll all divide the rooms and share the cost of any extra rooms we might need. You are stuck with us now you charming fiend.’” Virgil laughs at the nickname. And rolls a die. He nods and gestures something at Remy who gives him a go ahead gesture. “Chant is a bit surprised by this. ‘You sure you want someone like me on your team? I don’t know if you noticed, but I tend to draw the wrong kind of attention.’” Roman looked at Emile and Thomas. Virgil was giving them an out. He had no intention of letting him bail on them quite so easily. And he had a feeling his friends didn’t want to send Virgil away either. “Nooooo!!! Varian! They’re going to stay right?” Emile pleaded with Thomas, dramatically draping himself over the latter’s shoulders. “Bantu, crushing me,” Thomas wheezed. “Oops, sorry.” Virgil tried his best to contain his laughter. “No matter. Though I share the sentiment of my party members. You are a good ally in battle and a pleasant companion outside of it. If you want, we’ll be more than happy to add you to the party.” Roman was impressed with Thomas’ roleplaying. A subdued character was so opposed to how he knew his friend.

“Hmmm… Okay. I suppose it’s probably for the better,” Virgil allowed as he turned to Roman with a smirk. “Chant raises his hand, showing he’s been holding something for a bit now. ‘Someone has to keep an eye on me. Who knows what kind of fiendish trickery I might get up to otherwise.’ He is playing with a silver chain that holds a little bronze figure at the end.” Roman gasps dramatically as he realized what Virgil snatched without his knowledge. “Hand that back right now!” he demanded. Virgil chuckled. “‘Of course. I was just having some fun,’” Virgil promised as he mimicked tossing something at Roman. “‘Can’t promise I won’t do it again though. You are way too easy a target and I gotta keep my skills sharp. You understand don’t you firecracker?’” Oh he was trying to provoke him. Roman played out a flustered speechlessness making everyone giggle. “To those who are still looking at you Dominique your face is glowing red as if magma is getting closer to the surface,” Remy informed him teasingly. “And with a new friendship forged, an ally gained, you get ready for the night. The rooms you were provided each have two beds. How do you divide them up?” their DM asks. “Oh me and Varian are rooming right? I wanna stay with my buddy,” Emile announced. “Sounds good to me. That way hot shot over can keep an eye on me.” Roman quirked a brow at Virgil. He’d clearly gotten more comfortable with the roleplay over the past two hours. And Chant had gotten increasingly less timid around the party.

“Where is that timid Tiefling from but a few hours ago?” he demanded though he allowed a smirk to let him know that only Dominique was at a loss of how to handle this sass. “Look man, I just really didn’t want to be put in a cage. Be glad. This means that I’ve decided that you guys won’t let me go to jail if you can help it,” Virgil explained. That made Roman’s backstory sense go off. It might just be a common sense. But maybe it was a hint to something more complex. Virgil had shown he understood the game. “Whatever. Sure I’ll share a room with you. Someone has to keep an eye on you,” he said teasingly, a little smirk on his face. Virgil was clearly glad to see that Roman’s character could to more than just get flustered. “So long as you don’t set the room on fire we’ll get along fine,” Chant taunted. “Well… You’d feel right at home if I did,” Roman quipped back, before clasping his hand in front of his mouth. “I am… So sorry. That was probably very insensitive of me,” he rambled. “Hey, no its… Its okay. You didn’t hurt my feelings. We’d joke about it back at home all the time,” he said reassuringly, still in character. “That does not give me the right to… Never mind. I am glad I did not insult you… Shall we turn in for the night. I wish to hit the road early tomorrow, see where it takes us next,” he offered. He was secretly very excited to see the glances exchanged between Virgil, Thomas and Emile. “Okay. Good night,” Virgil told the others a bit awkwardly. “Good dreams. Right Varian?” Emile said. “Let us hope so,” Thomas nodded.

“Alright, you all enter your rooms. Is there something you want to do before you let sleep take you?” They all shook their heads. They were genuinely tired. “Okay. So you get ready and with some questions about your new allies and hopes for the future playing in the back of your head we end today’s session. Awesome job guys. Virgil that was disappointing. Didn’t even get close to fulfilling your promise,” Remy grinned. “Well, there’s always next time,” Virgil shrugged as they all got up and started cleaning up. “Don’t you dare die before I know all the juicy details of your backstory. You got me hooked already,” Roman declared. “Well… I guess I’m kinda curious what you guys are all about too,” Virgil allowed. They discussed the session and speculated on where they could go next. “Hey Virgil,” Roman said as he zipped up his backpack. Thomas and Emile had gone upstairs already and Remy had just told his brother that they should get going. But Roman had something to say to this unlikely new friend, because he had decided that he wanted to try and be friends with him. “Um sure. I’ll see you at the car Remy,” Virgil told the high energy contender to the drama queen crown. “Sure. Be good you two,” Remy said casually as he disappeared through the door.

“I hate him so much,” Virgil muttered before turning to Roman, suddenly shy again. “Did I do something wrong? I didn’t mean any of the teasing. I just… Thought it might be funny to have someone challenge your paladin a little… But if you hate it I can…” Roman raised his hand to stop Virgil’s rant. “No, I loved the session. But I wanted to ask something a bit more irl… Though it is related to a character choice. Virgil… Are you um… Are you curious about the LGBTQIA+ community?” Virgil stiffened, panic clear. “You don’t need to answer. It’s just. If you are… The Q is for Queer and Questioning. So even if you aren’t sure, so long as you are at least an ally,” Roman dug in his backpack for one of the flyers he always carried with him. “There is a place you can go. We’ll welcome you there, no questions, no pressure. You can ask your questions and read some queer friendly literature.” Virgil accepted the flyer. “I didn’t know you were…” he muttered. “I’m not out at school beyond the community there and even the pride club has members who think I’m just an ally helping out to support my brother. Remy and the others know. My family knows. Remus wants to tell his bff/so. I don’t know where they are in their on again of again thing. But he doesn’t cause I honestly don’t like or trust them. My fans would likely not take well to me being as gay as a rainbow unicorn.” Virgil chuckled. “Fans?” “The people who hang around me but would likely drop me if I actually relied on them,” Roman shrugged. “Remy has them too.” Virgil nodded. “Yeah. I noticed,” he muttered, looking at the flyer. “So… When… I mean. If I wanted to check it out. I’d need a guide or something I guess… Someone there I already know…” Virgil was blushing and didn’t seem to know where to look. “I would be honored to be your knight in rainbow armor guiding and defending you on this journey to your truth,” he promised. “Cool… Chant is still going to be a nightmare for Dominique to deal with though.” Roman let out a loud, careless laugh, kind of relieved for the joke. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. With that, they headed upstairs. Eager to return to the game table next week.

@moonlightshow00 ​ @naturallyunstablegamer ​ @m-i-r-p @meowthefluffy ​ @frida0043 ​ @angelic-cali ​ @selenechris ​ @theblackveilinreverse ​@prinxiety-week-2022

#sanders sides #ts sides #virgil sanders #roman sanders #ts remy #ts emile #prinxiety #prinxiety week #long post #food mention #tw food

[saboten-princess]

hi hi how are you ?? i was wondering if i could request an jjk matchup please ?? :)

personality wise, i’d say i’m pretty chill and friendly. i do try my best to be kind and considerate to others, even when it means i have to hold back a lot. i like to keep situations light hearted and playful, and i’m not one to pick fights or arguments (however, if i feel like someone’s taking it to far, i won’t hesitate to step in). my friends describe me as someone who’s an “good person you can trust.” and “always laughing or zoning out.” i’m pretty shy, and i can be very awkward when it comes to meeting new people. but once i’m comfortable with you, i’ll open up more. i’m very affectionate to my close friends, and i love to tease them as well. i love to act oblivious or play dumb when it comes to someone flirting with me. but i can forget easily, and can be a bit clumsy, but i would say i’m observant when it comes to having one on one conversations with people. some people would consider me as an “nerd” or “over achiever” because i aim for good grades and i love to learn new things but i don’t think there’s nothing wrong with that !! my mbti is also infj !!

but yeah that’s pretty much it !! thank you sm and i hope you have an great day !! <3

your jjk matchups are: gojo satoru & geto suguru (´,,•ω•,,)♡

gojo: gojo would fall for you because of your easygoing nature and warm personality—he'd be super keen to get to know the 'real you', teasing his way past your initial shyness with a lot of good-natured joking around and over-the-top flirting. gojo would take you on fun surprise dates to places that you've casually mentioned wanting to visit, and you'd be delighted that he remembered small details like that. he'd tease you about how seriously you take your studies but would also be extremely supportive: encouraging you to do your best, bringing you coffee when you're up late studying, and celebrating with you when you receive high grades or pass big exams. he'd be very physically affectionate with you, always wanting to touch you and be close to you. and of course, he'd want to show you off to his friends while making sure that they know how much he respects and adores you.

geto: geto would be initially attracted to you for your empathy and intelligence; he'd respect your boundaries and not push too hard at first because he can tell that you're shy around new people, so he'd take it slow. geto would take you on dates to the bookstore and aquarium, pointing out his favorite aquatic animals and asking you which ones are your favorites (he also 100% is the type to read all of the little information plaques by the exhibits). he's highly supportive of your studies and loves how intelligent and focused you are. your lighthearted nature reminds him not to be too serious, and you're both highly 'in tune' with what the other person is feeling. he makes sure that no matter what, you always know how deeply he cares for you. '

hope you enjoy your matchup, sweet anon, and hope you have a lovely day (￣ε￣＠)

𝔳𝔦𝔰𝔦𝔱 𝔪𝔶 𝔯𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔰 𝔭𝔞𝔤𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔯𝔢𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔰𝔱 𝔪𝔞𝔱𝔠𝔥𝔲𝔭𝔰 & 𝔰𝔢𝔩𝔣 𝔦𝔫𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔱𝔰

#jjk matchups #jjk x reader #jjk x you #geto x you #gojou satoru x you