#//Had to learn how in a pinch; considering his travels with his dad

[dutybcrne]

Kaeya has a habit of stealing and hoarding little things from people he loves. Small seemingly innocuous items going missing at random? Chances are, Kaeya is behind it.

#hc; kaeya #//It's in the little things #//Makes him feel like he's keeping little parts of them for himself #//And boy does his guy have one helluva sleight of hand when it comes to stealing things #//Had to learn how in a pinch; considering his travels with his dad #//Did so for a bit with the Ragnvindrs; foods and things he might wanna take with him if he needed to run away #//But then it became a way to connect with them in a way #//Stealing Crepus' ties; Diluc's hair ribbons; a kerchief from Addie; a coin from Elzer #//The coin he has is that very one; keeps it on his person bc of how dear Elzer is to him #//Like the brother that actually stayed #//No I am not over the fact that Elzer has said he saw Crepus as a father figure too ;-; #//The older Kae got; the more he took; esp if the items had ties to Important Memories #//That was just in case his memories of them starting mucking up; be it bc of the Curse or his usage of Abyssal energy messed with his head #//Some of his most prized possessions are a bottle of Crepus' cologne & the bloodstained tie he'd swiped from his body the day he died #//A bottle of scented oil he stole from Jean's desk when he'd comforted her after Diluc left #//A perfumed letter from Lisa after he'd intervened and vetted her capabilities over Nymph #//A grubby; shriveled philanemo mushroom--the very first Klee ever gave him when they'd met #//A crystal he'd snatched off Albedo's experiments that he'd intended to investigate but wound up treasuring #//He still uses one of Diluc's stolen hair ribbons to tie that lock of his; one he stole off him the very day BEFORE the Heckening #//From Huffman; he'd stole...his heart. Jkjk; he stole a pair of gloves from him. Wears them over his own when in Dragonspine #//Nabbed the first time Huffman told him they were friends; Kae was ECSTATIC to have finally made one for himself (outside Luc & Jean) #//The biggest item he's taken is one of Addie's shawls; that she'd wrapped around him some time after Diluc left #//Still uses it as a comfort when he's upset. He knows he only has it bc she let him keep it & never asked for it back #//She was prolly most aware of his little habit; bc everything he snatched within the household tended to be replaced Real Quick #//Prolly knows just how much the little items mean to him; so never stopped him

[burnwater13]

Grogu was doing a lesson with his dad and frankly it was pretty boring. It was all about learning to recognize the various types of people and critters you might find yourself trailing by looking at their footprints. Footprints! Some critters had footprints that were bigger than him and others, like the ones that tiny tickle mice leave were so small, Grogu had a hard time seeing them and he was pretty darn close to them compared to the Mandalorian. 

So, as his dad continued to drone on about the variation in temperature and humidity and how that affected the aging of a footprint, depending on soil make up and speed of travel, Grogu thought back to the time he spent in actual school. And he didn’t mean that crazy pirate school on Nevarro either with the droid teacher and the kids who were pretty selfish. No, he was thinking about the classes he took at the Jedi temple and the various classrooms they used for them. 

His favorite classes had been taught in the arboretum. It was a light and airy space and the trees, shrubs, and flowers were beautiful and generally smelled nice. Basic biology and life cycles were taught in that space, along with food systems, foraging, and healing techniques, new and ancient. Considering that food and healing were pretty high on the list of life’s necessities, it made sense to him that this was the space his masters used to explain the systems, elements, and  outcomes of each area of study. 

His least favorite class was data analysis and research techniques because of course that class was taught in the great library and while he loved the space itself, he didn’t actually love the one librarian who used to pinch his cheeks and talk to him like he was a baby. You can make that mistake once, honestly, but after that you were just being stubborn.

There were some outdoor areas that they used for courses on astronomy and astronavigation, but Coruscant rarely had clear skies at night and it was pretty hard to learn anything staring up at that sky. Of course that didn’t stop the masters from teaching the classes, but it did create an environment that the younglings could take advantage of to do something completely different. 

Typically, they moved into small groups and then into trios and then pairs. Then one pair would sneak off to the main temple and bring back something to share with everyone who was still there. Once in a while a pair failed to return and the younglings who remained took pride in coming up with more and more implausible reasons the missing pair were gone. 

But one night, just as they were walking out, Ian picked Grogu up and ran the other way. Grogu didn’t say anything. He’d learned not to ask questions when Ian did stuff like that. They finally arrived at the back door to the kitchen and just waited a moment. 

The door opened and a cart was pushed out. Ian said ‘thank you’ and they were off again. Grogu hopped onto the cart because Ian couldn’t hold him and push it. They went all the way back to the access door to the astronomy garden and quietly rejoined the group.

Grogu had no idea what Ian had set up. It was the one time Ian hadn’t blabbed his whole plan while they were running to implement the plan or running away from the aftermath of implementing the plan. He was just along for the ride. 

They waited there in silence and Grogu wasn’t sure why. He’d hopped off the cart because whatever Ian was going to do was going to be spectacular. He remembered how long that class lasted and they waited by the cart the whole time. Grogu had started counting random things he could see because he was so bored. 

Finally the class was over, but instead of everyone leaving, Master Quallish limped over to where Grogu and Ian were standing. 

“Well, youngling, what do you have here?”

“The staff from the kitchen wanted me to deliver this to you master. They said that you would understand.” Ian spoke calmly and quietly.

“Ahh. Very good. I had a conversation with the head of food services and they were of the opinion that this class needed something special. Apparently, two of you leave class every week and descend upon the food hall and capture all the cakes and cookies you can hold and bring them back here to distribute to your class mates.”

Master Quallish paused. 

Grogu wondered if they were about to be lectured and then realized they probably deserved it for not paying attention to the actual lesson. He sighed, ready for whatever discipline the old Jedi Master decided to place upon their shoulders.

“This week I decided that I would instead bring those items to class and see what you would do. I very much appreciate that you all stayed here and waited so long. Here. Have a treat. Next time, remember to grab a couple of cookies for me. I prefer the blue ones.”

And that’s what they did. They ate the cookies and cakes and made sure that Master Quallish had all the blue cookies he might want. 

Grogu wondered if Din Djarin would like a blue cookie… he would have to ask, once the Mandalorian stopped talking about how to determine the weight of a person you were tracking based on the depth of the footprint they left. 

“Master Yoda. Did Master Quallish really allow the younglings to do all that?” Master Kenobi asked his teacher and friend, as they observed Grogu from a certain perspective.

“Quallish wise was. Younglings rely upon each other learned. Negotiating skills also. Stealth. Trust. Patience.” The ancient Jedi replied.

“I see. Those things have served young Grogu well.”

“They have. Still needs them he does.”

#calendar prompt a day #the mandalorian #grogu #din djarin

[gracefulsunflower]

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 5

PUBLISHED: 16/05/2022

!!FIRST PART HERE!!

Part 1

MASTERLIST

THIRD PERSON'S POV

Finn could hear you chattering away to the girls most of the day. You bonded more with them than you did with him, and it was safe to say that they adored you, and you them, bar Linda. He was slightly grateful, because it would make your transition into the family easier on you if you were liked.

You had become a good use in the betting shop, whispering in the men's ears on which horse you thought would win. Who would be stupid enough to ignore a traveller girl with a nice smile?

Little did the men know, you were making sure Shelby Company Limited would earn all the men's money by telling them to bet their money on the losing horses. Polly admired your cunningness.

It was now the end of the day, the shop just closing. You were sat on Polly's desk, chewing gum, laughing at some story Polly was telling you about your Dad. Finn was stood in the doorway, watching the pair of you, feeling envious at how Polly had managed to worm her way into your good graces and he was stuck being called 'Shelby'.

Linda pushed past Finn to show Polly something or other.

"You can't read it, you're not part of the business," Linda said to you, dropping the file onto Polly's desk just behind you.

"You're acting all high and mighty for someone who joined the business five seconds before I came through the door," You replied breezily, "And besides, I can't read — or write — anyway. I can do my name, and Dad says that's enough."

That didn't come to a surprise to Finn, he only learned how to read when he turned seventeen last year, and he still wasn't the best at it, even though he practiced reading the Bible every night with Jeremiah Jesus.

Linda scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Doesn't your family care about you children enough to teach you how to read?"

You stopped chewing your gum, and pursed your lips, looking at Linda.

"What did you just say?" You asked calmly.

"I'm just saying, if you want a respectable job and not one as a whore or a hit man your father should have taught you how to read," Linda stated, opening up the file.

One moment you were sitting there as Linda started explaining what she was showing to Polly, and the next you and Linda were on the floor, you on top of her punching her relentlessly with no sign of stopping.

"Oh, fuck," Finn gasped, hurrying over to pull you off of Linda, who had blood pouring from her mouth and nose.

Polly made no move to grab you, just watching it unfold. In her opinion, you could say whatever you wanted about a person, but you left their family out of it.

You threw your right elbow back, hitting Finn square in the nose, sending him stumbling back. He was dazed for a few seconds, but quickly recovered, grabbing you by the collar and dragging you back off of the poor woman. He could feel his nose dripping blood.

You thrashed around in his grip, trying to get him to let you go.

"(Y/N), if you hurt Linda any more it'll make it harder for Tommy to consider your terms for the marriage — Bonnie and safety when passing through, remember?" Finn cautioned, making you stop your thrashing.

"Don't you ever talk about my family like that ever again, you Christian slut!" You shrieked at Linda, who was rolling on the floor, holding a hand on her face and groaning.

Finn helped you up roughly, his nose still pouring blood. He lead you to the bathroom, where he grabbed some toilet paper and dabbed under his nose. He looked in the mirror, thankfully it didn't get onto his shirt. You turned on the tap and started washing your hands.

Finn pinched his nose shut, making sure to lean slightly forward as he looked at you in the mirror.

"Linda's not in the bridal party then?" Finn asked, words barely decipherable.

"Absolutely not," You spat as you grabbed paper towels to dry your hands, "I want Polly to be there, and Lizzie — Your sister Ada can be there if she wants. That makes four bridesmaids with Ezzie, Saoirse can be the flower girl."

Finn nodded, then thought about groomsmen. Thomas, Arthur, Isiah, and someone else. Michael would still be in hospital. Maybe Bonnie? Karl could be the ring bearer, he was the right age for it.

"Erm, can Bonnie be one of my groomsmen? And can my nephew Karl be the ring bearer?" Finn asked, watching as you took deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth to calm yourself down.

"I'm not Bonnie's fucking mother, he can do what he wants!" You barked, "And yes, your nephew can be the ring bearer, now fuck up and leave me be!"

Finn gave you an awkward thumbs up, not wanting to nod. You would've laughed at the sight if you weren't still mad.

Polly entered the bathroom, looking at Finn then at you, "I'm about to take Linda home, everything alright in here, no trouble in paradise?"

You nodded, "I'm gonna stay in here for a bit until I cool down. He's just taking care of his nose. You, Lizzie, Ada, all have a spot in my bridal party do you wish, I will not have that cunt anywhere near me on Friday, if she's near me I might stab her with a spoon."

"Oh god, you've definitely got your Mother's anger issues," Polly muttered, making you frown, "Alright, tomorrow we'll leave nine o'clock to go to the seamstress here in town, sound good?"

"Sounds good," You confirmed, and Polly spun on her heel and walked out, her boots clacking against the floor.

Finn looked at you out of the corner of his eye. As he eyed you up, decided that you were more than capable of taking Linda out with a spoon.

You and Finn stood in silence for a few more minutes, you managing to get your anger under wraps. You spat out your gum into the bin, and Finn threw the bloody toilet paper in there as well.

"Come on, let's go home, I've got stuff to do," Finn commanded lightly, leading you out of the bathroom.

The pair of you passed the dining room, where Tommy was waiting.

"Finn! (Y/N)!" He called out, making you both turn, "Come here."

You followed Finn hesitantly, a big contrast to his confident walk. You were sure that Tommy was about to yell at you for hitting Linda.

"How was your day?" Tommy asked, his eyes flitting between you.

"Yeah, it was okay," Finn answered, conveniently leaving out the part where you thrashed Linda.

"I had fun bonding with the girls," You admitted, following Finn's lead and ignoring the elephant in the room.

"And Finn!" You added hurriedly as an afterthought.

"Good people. Well done. No trouble?" Tommy questioned, dropping his to his side, flicking the ash off the end of the cigarette.

"No. No trouble." Finn responded, shaking his head.

"What's this I hear about your fiancée flogging Linda, then?" Tommy asked, looking directly at you.

"She suggested my Dad was negligent. I wasn't having it," You answered simply, looking right back at him.

You were feeling nervous, even if your actions didn't show it, with the way your heart was palpitating you had no doubt.

"I know, and I think she knows that now too. Try to keep punches between you and any member of the Shelby family to a minimum from now on, yeah?" Tommy said, and you knew even though it sounded like a question, it was a command.

"Yeah." You agreed quietly, stepping back.

Finn let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as Tommy nodded.

"Erm, after we get married, (Y/N) wants some stuff to happen, Tom." Finn cut in, making Tommy cock a brow, but gesture for him to continue.

"She wants you to hire Aberama whenever you can, because he'll be family and we take care of our own. She wants you to promote Bonnie as best as you can, and for the Lees to leave the Golds alone whenever they pass through here," Finn concluded, looking Tommy in the eyes.

Tommy took a draw from his cigarette, then nodded, "I'll see what I can do, I should be able to fulfil your wishes. You can go now, I'll lock up."

You and Finn nodded, and turned to go.

"Oh, and (Y/N), good job on getting everyone to bet today, Poll told me. It'd be good if you can do the same tomorrow." Tommy added, making you throw a 'yeah' over your shoulder as Finn opened the door for you.

"What business do you have to do?" You asked Finn curiously as you set off down Watery Lane.

"Reading lessons, I have them every night if I have the time." Finn replied, "I learn from a preacher. He's my best mate's dad."

You nodded thoughtfully as you popped another piece of gum in your mouth.

"Would — would I be able to join?" You asked, looking at him, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Of course you can," Finn reassured, making the corners of your lips quirk up.

You walked in a comfortable silence to Jeremiah Jesus's home, where Finn knocked on the door in a particular manner.

Isiah Jesus opened the door, and grinned at his best mate, then saw you behind Finn. He quickly stepped aside and let the pair of you enter his home.

"Finn, nice to see you again," Jeremiah greeted as if he hadn't seen the boy in ages, when in reality Finn was at his house two days prior. "Here for another reading lesson?"

"Yeah, and it's always a pleasure to be here. Isiah, Jeremiah, this is my fiancée (Y/N)." Finn introduced you to the men, "She doesn't do handshakes, or any touching."

You nodded in greeting, Isiah and Jeremiah nodded back and saying their heys.

"Would it be alright if she joined in our reading lesson?" Finn asked Jeremiah, who grabbed his Bible, along with some pencils and pieces of paper.

"Of course — Come sit down, Isiah go out the kettle on." Jeremiah commanded his son as you Finn sat either side of the man at the small, rectangular dining table.

Jeremiah told Finn to start reading a particular Bible verse out loud, then turned to you.

"Do you know how to say your alphabet?" Jeremiah asked you, sliding you a pencil and piece of paper.

You nodded, placing your hands on the table unsurely.

"Know how to write it?" Jeremiah continued, making you shake your head.

"I'll write the letters and you copy them underneath," Jeremiah said, quickly writing the twenty-six letters on the page, then drawing small arrows next to the letters to show you which way to direct your pencil on the page to form the letters.

He then pointed to the first one, "This is 'a'. Now, write it on your page."

You grabbed your pencil hesitantly, feeling embarrassed.

"Hold it like this," Jeremiah advised, picking up his own pencil.

You adjusted your grip, and placed your pencil on the page, writing a shaky 'a' then looking at Jeremiah, who smiled at you.

"Well done, (Y/N)." He praised, making you smile from ear to ear.

Finn looked up at you from across the table, stopping reading momentarily. This was the first time he'd seen you properly smile, the happiest you had ever been since he met you. In the moment before he started reading again, he decided happiness looked nice on you.

§§§

I'm coming out of isolation tomorrow so Contrary probably won't be updated as frequently!!

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

NEXT PART

Part 6

#peaky blinder fanfic #finn shelby #peaky blinders #x reader #finn shelby x y/n #finn shelby x you #finn shelby x reader #finn shelby fanfic #tommy shelby #arthur shelby

[keewriting]

Cove x MC - One Shot #4 (NSFW 18+ request)

[Read on google docs to insert your MC's name]

CONTENT WARNING: NSFW 18+, I wrote this with any kind of MC in mind, so hopefully it fits for you!

The sun was setting on another summer evening. You waded out of the ocean, intentionally a few steps behind Cove to admire the toned muscles on his tan back. He strode out of the water with ease and collapsed onto your colorful knit quilt. Sand clung to your feet as you emerged from the ocean to join him. Cove was on his back, elbows propping up his upper half. His head pointed towards the indigo sky. You paused in front of the blanket, considering how to lower yourself onto it without bringing the sand with you.

Aware of your presence, Cove raised his head and made eye contact with you. His soaked hair swept away from his face and his cheeks were still slightly pink from the sun exposure. His innocent gaze traveled down your body. You stood frozen, struck by the adoration in his ocean eyes. You noticed the color of his cheeks deepen and spread to his ears. His eyes darted away and he stuck out his bottom lip in a small pout.

Cove: How did I not notice that earlier?

You looked down at your own body quizzically, scanning for an abnormality. Oh, there it was. The anklet. You usually took it off before hitting the beach, but it must have slipped your mind earlier. You kicked your decorated foot towards Cove.

Y/N: Notice what? Notice this?

Cove closed his eyes and hummed, trying to hide his amusement. His reaction stirred excitement within you. Your voice was saccharine and dripping with ironic innocence.

Y/N: I swear I didn’t mean to wear it. I forgot to take it off earlier.

Cove: For some reason I don’t believe you.

You lowered your foot and crossed your arms over your chest. Cove peeked his eyes open, relief washing over his face.

Y/N: And I don’t believe that you’re not thrilled to see it on my ankle.

You had him there, and Cove knew it. He motioned for you to join him on the blanket. Your earlier struggle reemerged. Without thinking, you dropped your knees first, then flopped the rest of your body onto the quilt. You landed with an “oof” and Cove cackled at your lack of grace.

Cove: Y/N…

You propped your head onto your hands and kicked your feet upwards towards your rear. The anklet danced enticingly in Cove’s eyeline. This display more than made up for your clumsy blanket landing.

Y/N: Yes, Cove?

Cove decided he had nothing to say. He took your face in his hands and kissed you sensually. You returned the kiss, melting under the shock of his sudden forwardness.

You parted your lips hungrily. You felt the warmth of Cove’s tongue threaten to clash with yours. You thrust your tongue forward daringly. A low moan escaped Cove’s throat. He pushed the kiss deeper and flipped you onto your back.

The kiss broke apart. Cove stared into your eyes, causing your head to spin.

Cove: Can we go?

You nodded, quite aware of his intentions. Cove helped you up and grabbed a corner of the blanket in one hand while holding yours in the other. You walked in silence toward the Holden residence. As you grew closer, Cove’s pace slowed. The light was on inside the house. Mr. Holden was home, and awake. Cove’s tone was dejected and frustrated.

Cove: There is no way we can casually waltz into my room with dad home. No way.

You felt determined to make this happen. You looked over to your house, a beacon of hope. You knew your moms and Liz were home, but the light downstairs was off. You tugged Cove’s arm in the direction of your house.

Y/N: Let’s climb into my room through the window, Cove-style.

Cove: Uhhh, your family is home. Are you sure about this?

Y/N: We’ll be quiet. And the risk is a little exciting, isn’t it?

Cove hesitated, but followed your lead. The risk of detection was higher at your house, so you never got down with Cove in your room. The thought of getting frisky with Cove somewhere new made your blood pump faster. You walked in silent anticipation until you arrived at the scaffolding up to your window.

Y/N: You can drop the blanket there. Give me a boost?

Cove obliged without a word, obviously lost in his own head again. He supported your waist as you climbed. You grimaced and pried open the window slowly, trying to reduce the squeak of the hinges. You stealthily slipped inside and landed on your feet. When you turned around, Cove perched familiarly in the window with a nervous expression.

Y/N: Get in here and close the window.

Cove: Are you going to turn the light on?

You shook your head.

Y/N: Too risky, we’re relying on the romantic moonlight tonight.

Cove did his best to enter gracefully, his height and the darkness working against him. You held your breath until the boy was inside. He closed the window behind him and stood awkwardly in front of you.

Cove blushed, his features barely visible in the soft moonlight. You stepped toward him and tickled your finger under his chin, leading him to your bed. He followed, eyes glued to your inviting lips. You fell backwards onto your bed with a soft thwump. Cove leaned into you, inches away from a kiss, then paused.

Cove: Y/N, we aren't exactly prepared to do anything here, are we?

The vagueness of his wording wasn’t surprising. This wouldn’t be your first time going all the way with Cove, but he was still learning how to speak candidly about it. You squirmed away from Cove and reached into your bedside table drawer. Using one hand, you blindly felt around until you felt the familiar packaging. You produced the condom and presented it to Cove with a shining grin. His mouth fell open and his cheeks grew red.

Cove: Why do you have that? We never… do anything here…

His voice drifted off quietly.

Y/N: Call it wishful thinking.

Cove avoided your gaze, unsatisfied with your answer. You hooked your arms around his neck, the condom still poking between your index and middle finger. In this new position, Cove had to face you head on.

Y/N: I have a gorgeous boyfriend who is almost always half naked. It’s not absurd to be prepared.

Cove chuckled sheepishly at that response. He took the condom from your fingers and peeled one corner. He placed the half opened package on the edge of your bedside table for easy access when the time was right. Cove faced you again, ready to devote his undivided attention to you.

Cove: I have one more concern.

You raised one eyebrow, indicating you wanted Cove to continue. He hesitated, searching his mind for the right words to use. He caressed your cheek while he thought. Finally, he settled on something.

Cove: You’re uh— loud.

You felt your face burning up with embarrassment, but you couldn’t argue. You clenched your jaw, trying to think of a retort. Instead, a mischievous grin spread across your face. You grabbed the hand still caressing your cheek and guided his fingers to your lips.

Y/N: Why don’t you put these to use.

Your voice came out low and husky. That was enough to set off Cove. He lunged at your lips with his. The kiss felt intoxicating. You entangled your fingers in Cove’s damp seafoam locks. He ran his warm hands up and down your torso and chest. His right hand lingered for a moment on your hip, then traced down your leg. Lips still connected, he grabbed your adorned ankle and lifted it towards his shoulder.

Cove pulled back from the kiss. You almost didn’t recognize the passionate hunger in his eyes, but a familiarly pensive look crossed his flushed face. Calculating his next move was causing a bit of inner turmoil. You stared up at him, your heart pounding in your chest. The feeling traveled downward within you.

Cove loosened his grip on your ankle and turned his face to it. He gently pecked around the ankle with small kisses and bites. You shuddered at the sensation. You felt a heightened sense of vulnerability with your legs spread and exposed to Cove. He pressed his crotch forward into yours as he traced his tongue from your ankle up your leg. You felt his hardness twitch against your crotch. His tongue trailed and broke off before it reached your knee.

Cove lowered your leg and released it as he leaned in to kiss you again. His hands toyed with the hem of your swimsuit bottoms and you allowed him to remove them. Now completely naked, you wanted Cove on the same page. You curved your fingers into the hem of his swim trunks and helped lower them. He stood up to kick them off entirely. You scrambled to sit up straight, you wanted to use this opportunity to shift the position. Cove noticed your sudden movement and became concerned.

Cove: Is everything okay, Y/N?

You nodded coquettishly and beckoned for Cove with your finger. His erection grew as he scanned you with lust burgeoning within.

Y/N: Get back here, you.

Cove rested his knee on the bed and prepared to loom above you, but you shifted your weight and pinned him to the bed. His head landed on your pillow and his eyes widened. You situated yourself on top, straddling your legs on either side of him. The reality of the situation weighed down on his mind. There was nothing between your bodies.

Cove’s face was burning red, but he didn’t break eye contact. His unusual boldness only turned you on more. You pressed your body closer to his and teased your lips above his. His hands gripped your hips and threatened to move lower. You moved closer to his ear and spoke in a low whisper before running your tongue down his lobe.

Y/N: Go lower, I dare you.

Cove whimpered and allowed his hands to move onto your ass. He squeezed hard and spread your cheeks. Your body tingled and you managed to stifle a moan by biting your lip. He bucked his hips forward, grinding your crotches together. You ran your hands over his defined pecs and pinched his nipples.

You felt about ready to burst and could tell Cove was equally tantalized. He instinctively reached for the condom and removed it from the packaging. You sat back to allow him room to slip it on. Cove’s warm hands caressed your thighs and coaxed you forward.

You held his gaze as you lowered yourself onto his erect penis. His bright eyes widened, then closed as he felt you wrap around him. He parted his lips, allowing his next words to barely escape.

Cove: Y/N, fuck…

Curse words and Cove rarely mixed, but when they did you felt it in your bones. You stabilized yourself by resting your palms on Cove’s toned abdomen. Using this position for leverage, you lifted yourself, then came back down. Cove’s eyes shut tight and his lip quivered. You gradually increased the pace, keeping an eye on Cove’s reaction.

Cove's eyes lidded heavily, his mouth agape with small gasps. You felt the warmth of his hands crawling up your torso and across your chest. One hand remained groping your chest while the other moved upward to caress your face. He took one of your nipples between his fingers and pinched. You couldn’t contain the pleasured moan that escaped from your mouth.

Cove furrowed his brows and huffed. He continued working your nipple, but his other hand drew closer to your mouth. His thumb traced the outline of your lips. He eyed you carefully, anticipating your next move. You parted your lips and used your tongue to tease Cove’s thumb into your mouth. Testing the waters, he pinched your nipple harder. You bit down gently on the tip of his thumb and moaned. The sound was sufficiently stifled by Cove’s thumb.

Suddenly, he pulled back and held your hips firmly in place.

Y/N: Cove?

Cove controlled his breathing, but his flushed face betrayed his true feelings. Flustered and teetering on the edge, he whispered.

Cove: Could you lie on your back?

You eased off of him and scooted backwards. Cove sat up and pushed you flat against the bed. He aligned himself in front of you and hiked your legs upward to hang your legs on each of his shoulders. One hand twirled your anklet while the other anchored onto your hip bone.

Cove inserted himself into you again, exhaling a low rumbling groan. He began thrusting, gently but firmly. Your body felt hot. Your skin was throbbing with passion and damp with sweat. You wanted more.

Y/N: Cove— hhhf. Haa— harder.

Your thirst imbued Cove with confidence. He leaned forward to kiss you, still draped by your legs. You spread your arms above your head and gripped the mattress, bracing yourself. He dug his hands into your hair and pulled.

His thrusts became more powerful and deliberate. You moaned deeply into his mouth. The new position created a tightness around Cove’s dick that drove him mad. He began to fondle you externally to match your climax to his.

You peered through your hazy vision into Cove’s focused expression. Your eyes met in a moment of passion and bliss, sending each other over the edge.

Cove: Y/N— I’m, fuck… Are you—

You felt the familiar throbbing of Cove finishing within you, which fueled your own climax. Cove’s mouth was on yours before you could cry out, muffling your inevitable moan. Your body shuddered with waves of electric pleasure.

Cove separated himself from you and pulled out. He flopped onto the bed next to you, hand resting on his pounding chest. You nuzzled into him, embracing the heat and dampness of his skin.

Y/N: So that was amazing.

Coming down from the high of orgasm, Cove fell into thought. You propped yourself on one elbow to analyze his expression. His eyes were half-lidded and watery. The trademark blush was exactly where it belonged. The gentle smile on his lips parted to speak.

Cove: I love you, Y/N. I think about that a lot. You know that. But moments like this make me feel so much closer to you.

He paused to gauge your reaction. You nodded to let him continue.

Cove: You’re incredibly special, and I’m so lucky that you were⁠— er, are patient with me. And that’s all I have to say on the matter...

Cove became aware of his words and grew quieter. You chuckled at his sudden self-consciousness.

Y/N: My big softie. I love you, Cove.

Cove’s eyes crinkled adorably with his grin. He wrapped you in a big hug and brought your head to his chest. You listened to his rhythmic heartbeat while he stroked your hair. The anklet-driven evening came to a satisfying end.

#our life #our life: beginnings & always #our life beginnings & always #cove #writing #my writing #gb patch games #gb patch #fanfic #fandom #fanwork #oc #self insert #mc #romance #cove holden x reader #cove holden x mc #cove holden #one shot #otome game #request #lgbt

[wallylinda]

I don’t know how far your into Kyle’s run; but legit? Maura Rayner is one of my favorite superhero moms. She’s supportive, she raised Kyle by herself, she’s a immigrant (very strongly hinted to be involved during the liberation campaigns in Northern Ireland and that’s how she met Kyle’s dad), and her reaction to learning Kyle is a superhero is to pinch his cheeks and tell him he looks handsome in his costume.

Also she’s implied to have taught or sent Kyle to be taught how to speak Gaelic which I think is really quite cool even if people don’t like consider speaking Gaelic important, I do. So like it’s just cool to see the rayner’s have a connection to that part of their cultural background.

I'm on issue #138! It took me a longer time than usual to really get into Kyle's series, but now I'm really enjoying it! The little sprinkles of Kyle's childhood are interesting though honestly, I'm pretty ambivalent about Maura. She's clearly a good mom and she tries her best, but so far there hasn't been anything in particular about her character that has jumped up at me aside from her impeccable fashion sense.

Green Lantern (1990) #88

Though it's not really implied when it's implicitly stated in the text that Maura had Kyle learn some Gaelic. Now I'm just patiently waiting to see Kyle horrendously try to communicate in Gaelic because he has once more time traveled into the past. I think it would be funny.

#au where kyle and wally meet earlier so kyle has to deal with kilg%re pretending to be a welsh wizard #i know welsh isn't the same as gaelic but like its okay in this au kilg%re speaks gaelic to really Sell It and kyle gets a headache #favorite part about kyle is that he is like 100% autistic...and that makes him funny as fuck #my boy kyle carrying roy around in a baby carriage...literally so on point of him i loved it #i do plan on buying the tpbs of this once i'm finished with the series...spice up my flash collection with some gl... #asks #dc

[sgtjbbhasmyheart]

Drunk Texting Is(n’t) Bad for Your Health- Chapter Two

Series Summary: Talk about your unconventional meet-cute! Bucky receives a text by mistake requesting he prove he's not Reader's sister. The easy dialogue between Reader and Bucky sparks a natural friendship, but could it lead to more? Bucky still deems himself unworthy of any form of affection or love. Reader is hellbent to prove him wrong. With the help of some (meddling) friends along the way, Bucky may get his happily-ever-after after all.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word count: 2921

Warnings: bad language words, blink and you’ll miss the angst, just some fluff

A/N: divider credit- @firefly-graphics

DO NOT copy or replicate without my permission

You awoke with a start, feeling as if you were late for work or something important and forgot to set your alarm. Your heart beat an erratic tattoo against your ribcage. Scrambling for your cell phone, you blindly reached across the side table near your bed in a panic. Unplugging the phone, you brought the device an ungodly closeness to your face. It was only 6:17. On Saturday.

Your pulse throbbed behind your eyeballs, and a strange stickiness coated the inside of your mouth. Did you drink that much last night?

How could you not? Timmons was a fair boss, and you enjoyed your job, but that dude loved the sound of his own voice.

The quarterly business dinners were mandatory for all employees, even for the P.A.s. Typically, they weren’t so bad, but last night, Timmons felt the need to toot his own horn for landing a massive contract with Stark Industries slash The Avengers. He went on and on about how great it was for the firm.

He was like a giant kid in a candy store with his ramblings. ‘We will be promoting the face of The Avengers and everything that goes with it,’ he spouted off like the firm was god’s gift to public relations.

You groaned at the reminder of last night’s presentation. The contract wasn’t even in effect yet, and you were sick of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Timmons could be a real buzz kill.

Rolling to your back, you brought your phone up to tap the screen to read the emails you received overnight. On display was a text from 11:04 by someone named James. It read: “Goodnight, (Y/N).”

Your mind went back to last night again, trying to recall who this James was. He must be significant if you plugged his contact information into your phone already. Had you met someone last night?

Drawing a blank, you clicked on the text bubble to pull up the thread. Briefly scanning through the numerous texts, everything came rushing back. In an attempt to text your sister, Robyn, you mistakenly texted this mysterious, James.

You felt like an utter buffoon when you learned he wasn’t Robyn. You always did have a way with the cute boys. Probably why you were single. You groaned out loud as you read on.

You im safely inside my apartment. Pretty sure no one followed me home

James Did you triple check the lock on the front door?

You yes dad yeesh

James There are a lot of bad people out there. Just want to make sure you’re safe.

You sounds like you watch the news too much but its sweet of u to care

James I know from experience.

You r u the bad guy or have u been the one mugged?

James Let’s just say I have friends that have dealt with the bad things of the world.

You right i almost forgot ur a military-trained assassin athlete mchottie

James Did you ever send your sister a text?

You shit thanks for reminding me i have such a crazy story to tell her

James Only good things, I hope.

You oh yeah all the good things an enigmatic yet handsome stranger cares more about my safety than any of my ex-boyfriends ever did.

James My ma raised me right.

You id say

James_ I hate to cut this short, but I think you need your rest. Especially if you’re meeting your sister tomorrow._

You i dont want to agree but ur probably right

You whats ur name btw?

James My name? Why? Do you plan to continue texting me after tonight?

You duh ur fun to talk to

James Oh.

You or not its cool if u dont want to

James It’s James.

You nice to meet u james im (y/n)

James Nice to meet you as well.

You my sister just texted me back and were still meeting at 9 i should go 

You goodnite james

James Goodnight, (Y/N).

Oh. My. God. Had you seriously drunk-flirted with a stranger and offered to keep texting him? You had no shame with a few drinks in you.

You brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of your nose and sighed loudly.

What did you know of this James? He had a New York area phone number. Check. He could have been a real dick about your mistake but wasn’t. Understanding. Check. He worried about you getting home safely in your inebriated state. Caring. Check. Not too forthcoming with the nine to five. Secretive. Check. His mouth looked so soft and plush, and his eyes were made to drown in. Gorgeous. Check.

A heat simmered beneath your skin as you recounted the shortlist you’d made. Were you lusting over someone you’d exchanged less than forty texts with? Had you somehow woken back up in high school?

Shaking your head to clear your thoughts, you stared at the screen displaying the message thread. Were you really considering this? You nodded your head to answer your own question. Where was the harm in a little shameless flirting? If worse came to worst, you could always block him.

With your mind made up, you began typing into your phone, constructing an apology.

You Good morning! First off, I want to apologize for the way I behaved over text last night.

You Though, I do like to imbibe in the occasional drink or two, I am, by no means, a lush.

You Please take everything I said with a grain of salt. Apparently, I get loose-lipped and cheeky with free wine. 😐

You Again, I’m sorry and understand if you wanted to cease our correspondence for my behavior.

You blew out a breath and tossed your phone aside. It was up to fate now and a stranger named James.

You laid in your bed for several minutes staring at the ceiling, contemplating between whether to send a ‘haha just kidding’ text and what the weather would be like, so you could forego shaving your legs in the shower today.

Your phone chimed during the pondering of hair removal, indicating a new text. You knew it was James proclaiming you a freak and to forget his number, but secretly, you hoped it was Robyn canceling today.

Seizing the phone from your mattress top, your heart’s beat increased with each second you went without looking at the screen. Finding the courage, you flipped the device over to read the message.

James Quite the formal apology, Ms. Professor.

You smiled at the text. It didn’t tell you to pound sand or eat shit. No, it was teasing and in jest. You sighed in relief.

You Cease our correspondence too much?

James No, no it was perfect if this was 1863, and you were breaking up with me via telegraph.

You Stop!

James Exactly! ‘Never speak to me again!’ Stop. ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’ Stop.

A belly laugh disrupted the tranquil air of your bedroom. You quickly thumbed out a reply once you caught your breath.

You You’re incorrigible.

James I’m glad to see you are using proper capitalization and punctuation this morning.

You Ha!

You When you are buzzed and/or tipsy, capitals and periods be damned. Like you’re so perfect when you’re drunk.

James We all have our flaws.

Was he implying he was a sloppy texter when drunk, too? You shrugged it off as him being cryptic again.

You What are you doing up so early on a Saturday? I didn’t wake you, did I?

You were suddenly stricken with guilt. You should have waited for a more reasonable hour to send out rapid-fire apology texts. Not at 6:36 in the morning. You didn’t want last night’s behavior hanging over you, though. Better to clear the air now than later. You could always ask for forgiveness again if you had disturbed his sleep.

James I had just gotten back from my run when I saw your texts. I have training this morning.

You Oh, right. For your hush-hush, super top secret mission/quidditch game.

You You ever gonna tell me what you really do?

James_ Maybe. Someday._

How far away was someday? Was he planning to text you until you both died or until he got bored? How did texting relationships even work?

You Or is it one of those situations where if you told me you’d have to kill me?

James 😈

You There you go again--being all mysterious.

James Keep ‘em guessing and coming back for more.

You Has that strategy worked well for you in the past?

James Got you to text me again this morning, didn’t it?

You scoffed at what he had suggested. He was correct, but your stubborn streak would deny everything.

You The only reason I texted you this morning was to apologize for acting like a drunken fool last night.

And to squash the curiosity burning in your veins. But he didn’t need to know that.

James Oh.

The reply caused you to furrow your brow and your stomach to drop. You regretted not adding more levity to your last text. Of course, it wasn’t the only reason you were drawn to him.

You I appreciate that the selfie you sent wasn’t a dick pic. And you genuinely seemed to care about me getting home safely. Thank you.

You And maybe- a teeny, tiny bit- is honestly interested in getting to know you better.

You waited on pins and needles for his text, watching the pulsing ellipsis on your screen. Was he just humoring you?

James Hook. Line. Sinker.

Reading his response generated a flush from your jaw to your hairline. You growled in embarrassment. You fell for the oldest trick in the book. He baited you for a compassionate answer, and you delivered beautifully. Hook, line, and sinker, indeed.

You You’re an ass. I take everything back.

James Don’t be mad. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but you played into my trap wonderfully.

James If it makes you feel any better, all kidding aside, I want to get to know you better too.

James I fell asleep with a smile on my face last night and woke up with one this morning.

James Because of you, (Y/N).

A flutter broke apart in your chest. You hadn’t time-traveled back to high school; no, this was junior high territory.

You You’re lucky you’re so damn charming, James.

James Doll, you have no idea.

The subway ride into Manhattan usually gave you the chance to get a little reading in since it took nearly fifty minutes from Queens. Not today, though. You spent the entirety of the train ride texting back and forth with James. It was mundane stuff, but you were getting a grasp of who James was as a person.

You Favorite color?

James Black. You?

You Blue.

You Favorite ice cream flavor?

James Chocolate. Yours?

You Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia.

James I didn’t realize we were getting specific.

You We weren’t, but that’s my favorite.

You Favorite movie?

James I like the classics- The Wizard of Oz, It’s A Wonderful Life, Frankenstein.

You I have too many to list, so don’t ask.

You Okay. Lightning round because I’m almost to my stop.

James Where are you going again?

You paused your reply for a brief second, wondering if you should divulge your destination. You’d known James less than twenty-four hours; although, it felt like weeks after this morning. Where was the harm in telling him where you were meeting your sister? There were nearly nine million people in this city. There was no way you’d ever bump into each other.

You A bakery in the Upper East Side called Two Little Red Hens. Ever been?

James Don’t think I have.

You Well, since you like chocolate, they have a fantastic cake called Brooklyn Blackout. Super rich but delicious.

James Sounds right up my alley.

You Cats or dogs?

James I’m gone too much, so cats.

The answer piqued your interest. Maybe he was an athlete. Wouldn’t it be practice and not training, though? Or he’s FBI or CIA.

You Socks on or off for sleeping?

James Off.

You Silver or gold?

James Silver.

You Morning, noon, or night?

James Night.

You How do you take your coffee?

James Room for sugar and creamer.

You Boxers or briefs?

James Boxer briefs.

You laughed out loud, looking around the subway car to see if anyone was paying attention to you. Per usual, they weren’t.

You Touché.

As soon as the train stopped, you gathered your purse close to your body and made for the exit. You followed the crowd of fellow passengers through the turnstile and ascended the stairs onto street level.

The morning sunlight caressed your skin like a warm blanket. The humidity wasn’t too bad, yet, but the threat of afternoon thunderstorms still hung in the air.

Even with the reasonably early hour, the sidewalk was stuffed with people, carrying to-go coffee cups or shopping bags. You fought for your little spot of real estate on the grimy concrete.

Stopping at a red traffic light, waiting to cross, you typed out another question for James.

You Pineapple on pizza--yay or nay?

The light changed as you finished, and the throng of pedestrians around you guided you across the street. You spotted Robyn outside the bakery as your phone dinged with a new text alert.

“Wow, I’m surprised you made it on time,” Robyn said as you hugged hello.

You looked at the clock on your phone. 8:58. “You and me both, sister.” Glancing back at your phone’s screen, you giggled.

James What kind of monster puts pineapple on their pizza??

“What’s so funny?” Robyn asked as you accompanied her through the bakery’s door.

With a grin on your face, you punched out a quick reply:

You Well, it was nice knowing you, James. It was a swell friendship while it lasted--a whole 11 ½ hours.

Robyn elbowed you softly in the ribs with a look on her face, seeking an explanation.

“Ow,” you grunted. “What?”

“You tell me. I half expected a zombie to walk through the doors today after your text last night. Not Suzie Sunshine.”

You both edged closer to the counter as the line in front of you dwindled.

James Say it ain’t so, doll! Pineapple on pizza? Really??

You let out a low chortle as you skimmed the text. You glimpsed up at Robyn as you shuffled forward in line again. “Believe me, I’m pretty hungover,” you replied, shoving your phone in your back pocket. “It’s a funny story. I’ll tell you everything when we sit.”

Robyn stared at you warily, still trying to figure out what had come over you. “Okay,” she conceded, stepping to the register to order.

With each of you supplied with an iced coffee and a peach ginger scone, you found an empty table by a window along 2nd Avenue and proceeded to tell Robyn about James.

When you stopped to catch your breath, remembering the whirlwind the last twelve hours had been, you peered at your sister for her reaction.

She stared at you like you’d grown a second head. She shook her head in disbelief. “(Y/N), what where you thinking?”

Your brow pinched in confusion. Was she actually scolding you? You crossed your arms over your chest. “I was thinking about how my big sister is always telling me to meet new people and how it’s time I thought about settling down.”

“Not like this it’s not,” she hissed. “This is how your body parts end up in someone’s freezer!”

You choked on the piece of scone you shoved in your mouth before she started ridiculing you. After coughing to clear your airway and taking a sip of your iced coffee, you leered at Robyn. “Oh, my god! Dramatic much? Have you been binge-watching Dateline again? Jesus Christ, Robyn, he’s harmless,” you countered.

“You think you’ll be so careful, but you’ll let one little detail slip, and he’ll find you,” Robyn said before taking a pull from her coffee.

“You mean, like, how I was meeting you at Two Little Red Hens at nine o’clock?”

Robyn’s mouth popped open in an O. “What the hell, (Y/N)?” she stage-whispered. “Are you trying to get yourself kidnapped and sold into sex trafficking?”

“Please,” you drew out in one long syllable. “He doesn’t know what I look like. How would he snatch me?”

“He could look you up on Facebook.”

“Without a last name?” You shook your head, no.

“What about a reverse search on your number?” Robyn asked, pushing the plate holding her scone away. “That’s a thing.”

“Perhaps, but it seems like a lot of effort for a mistake I made. It wasn’t like he was seeking me or anyone else out.”

Robyn huffed out a breath and folded her arms in exasperation. Always the protective big sister. You could tell you were breaking her down, though.

“C’ mon, Robbie. It’s all in innocent fun. I’m not saying I’m hoping he’ll turn out to be Mr. Right, but the banter is fun,” you remarked. “James is charming and witty and nice to talk to.”

Robyn shook her head once more, frowning. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

You reached across the table for her hand and squeezed gently. “Me too.” You smiled slyly, remembering last night’s dinner and Timmons gushing about The Avengers. “If not, I know how to get ahold of a couple of centenarians who know chivalry isn’t dead.”

Chapter One | Chapter Three

Tag List:

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#drunk texting is(n't) bad for your health #dtibfyh #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x you #bucky x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky x you #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky fanfiction #bucky fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic

[mystaracrosstheuniverse]

Last Piece 2.

title. Last Piece pairing. GOT7 JB x Reader genre. slice of life, romance, attempts at comedy, angst warnings. cursing, jb being a cute cat dad, reader is hella awkward but so is he, mentions of anxiety, GOT7 members being hella extra bc they are summary. As an English teacher from abroad, you get a lot of perks. One of the best ones is that you live in an apartment for free. Another perk seems to be the elusive, attractive man who lives two floors above you… Though his cats seem to prefer your apartment over his. And so does his mail, which makes you travel to his place pretty often regardless of whether he wants to see you or not.

new beginnings master post.

part one. part two.

______________________________________________________________

Ever since that first package drop off, you’ve run into Jaebum quite a few times. Living in the same building and occasionally getting each other’s mail definitely attributed to the frequency, and you were thankful for it. While you’re sure the male wouldn’t really consider the two of you friends, you liked to call him a “not quite but almost friend”... Not to his face but to your own friends and to yourself. Maybe occasionally to his cats. Speaking of his cats, you’ve met more than just Odd and Nora at this point. Nora seemed to be the jealous type, wanting her dad’s attention to herself, and would push the younger ones out of the apartment as Jaebum would come and go. The amount of times you’ve found Odd or Kunta wandering around the hall made you wonder how the man didn’t ever notice his oldest child bullying her siblings.  Other times he gets your mail, having it been delivered to him on accident somehow. You’d never live down the time he got a huge package from your grandparents, an amused smirk across his face as he brought it to you.  “Forget some things back home?” He had teased, setting the package down on your counter. Your face was bright red, unable to string together a coherent sentence because you didn’t want him to think you were forgetful, but then again you kind of were but what if -- “Hey, I’m just teasing, Y/N.” He had said, gentler this time, “I know it must be nice to have someone back home who cares about you.”  You had just nodded, your heartbeat evening out slowly as you chatted for a few more minutes before he hurried off. He was a bit gentler for a few days after, as if scared to get that reaction out of you again. You appreciated it. You hoped that one day you’d be able to not have that instant reaction to panic over a small comment. Since then, you’ve been trying to gather up the courage to ask if he wants to hang out for lunch or something. Every time you get close, you end up chickening out. And every time you cursed yourself, because you just wanted to be his friend -- something about him made you want to be around him. Today, though, you just wanted to get to work. You had planned a big interactive activity for your class today and you wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Hurrying down the stairs, you made sure you had everything in your bag before leaving the building. As you looked up, you noticed someone just barely walking ahead of you. Jaebum. Immediately your mind went through possible scenarios, from saying hello to quietly avoiding him, maybe even -- “Do you want to get lunch or something later Jae???” Oh no. Oh no. Your mouth decided for you. Not only that, you addressed him so casually even though he’s older, he’s definitely going to hate you -- Was... that a laugh? You focused her attention back on him, seeing him looking amused and a half smile on his face. You ignored the small catch in your throat and pushed away the thought of how nice he looked.  “Sure, give me your phone and we’ll plan something.” You don’t even remember handing over your device or him adding himself to your contacts, but a few minutes later he gave you a little finger salute and a promise to message you later for planning.  “Im Jaebum” the contact read in kakaotalk, simple and to the point, much like the man you were hoping to befriend. As you mentally patted yourself on the back for not crying, you glanced at the time on your phone before cursing loudly in your native language and running off to the subway. You were going to be late.  Despite you thinking that you totally had your excitement under control, your co-teacher and students definitely thought otherwise.  “Teacher, why can’t you sit still? Don’t you ... much sit down?” Sangmin, one of your fourth graders, attempted to ask. You smiled and gently corrected him, saying you liked to sit down very much, but don’t ‘always’ do it. He bashfully nodded and bowed his head down to talk with his desk partner about the dialogue you’d given out for discussion. “They’re right you know,” You jumped before recognizing the voice of your co-teacher, Taeyeon, “You’re acting like you’ve drank the Ediya shop out of stock.”  Oh. Perhaps you were flitting about the room more, babbling a little to yourself and to your students, and constantly looking over at your desk where you kept your phone while class was in session.  “I just... I made a friend.” You admitted, “You know, the guy from my apartment building?”  Taeyeon raised an eyebrow, looking at you skeptically. “I know I’ve asked this, but you sure you don’t like him more than a friend? It’s not like we’re not friends and you don’t have friends, Y/N.”  See you KNEW this but one of your biggest anxieties and fears was that you’d never be able to make friends outside of work or your past. Because, like Christian had always reassured you, you were a wonderful sweetheart but you were so hard to talk to because you were always so nervous. It made it hard.  “I really just want to meet his cats... Except Nora because she seems mean.” You noted, not really answering the question but in your mind, it was sufficient. Having worked with you and had recently made herself your friend, Taeyeon knew this was probably the best she was going to get out of you and just left it be. You’d figure it out eventually and she knew she’d be one of the first to know. She still couldn’t help but question it when she saw you light up at a notification on your phone.  ‘Want to meet up after your work and eat some chicken? I know a good place.’

___________________________________________________________ You forgot why you were so worried about hanging out with Jaebum in the first place. Talking with him, after the initial awkward greeting, was coming really easily to you. You only hoped he felt the same, it seemed so.  “So why Korea, hm?” Jaebum had asked, looking over at you as he drank his water. You chewed your food thoughtfully before swallowing. It was a question often asked, but it never bothered you to answer it. “I fell in love with this country the first week I came here, back in school.” You explained, “I’ve only ever felt at home in one other place, and it was with my grandparents. But when I came here... it just felt right, you know? Like fate was telling me to come here. So I wanted to come back after figuring out what I wanted to do.” Jaebum listened well, nodding along as you spoke. “I see. And you found teaching was it?” You nodded. “I love what I do, even more so that I get to do it in the place that feels like home.”  A small smile creeped along his face, and you coughed to distract yourself from staring. “So what do you do, Im Jaebum?”  After finding out that he HATED being addressed by his full name, especially by someone younger than him (which you were by a year), you couldn’t resist. You had to. “I’m a freelancer. I do a lot of music production work or lyricist support.” He rolled his eyes at your antics, but didn’t say anything. You lit up at the mention of music. Your father loved music, and you had fond memories of growing up with him playing everything from Mozart to The Eagles while your mother was gone. “That’s so cool! Did you go to school for it or is it just... apart of you?” You struggled to find the words to describe what you meant. While you were confident in your Korean, some words just... didn’t translate well in your opinion. He chuckled lowly, “I’ve been making and doing music since I was young. Never thought about doing anything else once I found it. I learned along the way.” The conversation continued, talking about favorite genres of music, eventually leading you to ask how his cats liked his music or if they preferred a certain type, to you demanding to know why Nora keeps trying to bully Odd. It was nice. Really, really nice actually. Jaebum smiled so much at you and even joined in your weird reactions or antics and it just made you feel warm and happy on the inside. He even insisted on paying since he was older and who were you to refuse free food? You were to excited -- you made a friend! The talking lulled while walking back to the apartment complex, but the silence wasn’t an awkward one. It was gentle and understanding. You didn’t need to fill up the space with idle, unneeded chit chat to be with each other. As you came to the doors of the building, Jaebum opened the door and allowed you to go first, and you might’ve missed it because of how bashful he sounded. “It’s been a while since I’ve had fun with someone who’s not my group.. Thanks, Y/N.” You smiled brightly. “Well, consider me apart of your group. We’re friends now Jae!” There you went with no honorifics. He scowled at you, pinching your neck as you tried to avoid him on your way to the elevator. “At least call me hyung or something if not oppa, you disrespectful brat!” He called out, only getting your childish giggles as his response. Hanging out with Jaebum wasn’t really easy or often. He’s really busy and his schedule is… not consistent. You knew it was due to his job and not because he hated you, so you weren’t as worried about it as you could be. Especially since he tried to talk to you at least once a week, even it was just a brief conversation in the stairwell, or on your way out to work. It was enough for you. Of course you see each other a little more often than usual because of the mail situation. For some reason, the mail person could not understand that just because you were one of the only foreigners from the U.S. in the building does not mean that every package from the U.S. is for you. But it did give you an excuse to go see Jaebum after a week, so you head up the stairs, package in hand, and you hear Jae’s voice -- and a few others, it sounded like? Huh? “Jae??? Is that you???” You peer up the stairwell to see if you can catch him, and soon you see Jae leaning over his own railing, catching sight of you and waving, but looking over to where you couldn’t see and looking a little pissed off. Oh... That was new. Was someone bothering him? Were you bothering him? You started apologizing, “Hey sorry if this is a bad time -- I got another package from your friend and I just --” “Yoooo Who’s that?! It sounds like a girl OH are you in love?!” A loud, excited male voice shouted over you, startling you and almost making you drop the package in your arms. “I told you her name is Y/N and she’s a friend!!” Jaebum’s chin seemed to stick out in reaction to your startled state -- you hoped he wasn’t too mad at you. Or his friend. It’s not his fault you’re easily scared.  You decided to call out once more, “So... the box?”  He looked down at you, his arm pointed and pushing someone, supposedly his friends, as he responded. “Yeah, bring it up, I’ll grab it from you -- Just let me get my friends into the apartment.” “I want to meet her!” “Bring her to us!” “Let us see her!” The loud, rambunctious voices all decided to loudly protest at once, making you shake a little in your boots, letting Jaebum disappear from your sight before sitting down to regain your nerve. You didn’t know Jaebum had... such loud friends. Feral children was the phrase that came to mind... Gathering your nerve, you walked up the stairs and into Jaebum’s hallway, where he’s already waiting for you, leaning against the door as it bumped against him at times, the sounds of whining and demands to see you seeping through the solid door. “Thanks, Y/N.” Jaebum smiled gently, taking the box from you. You managed a smile back, jumping at the sudden movement of the door that jostled him forward. “Sorry, I didn’t want to overwhelm you.” He apologized, kicking the door, “Hopefully you can meet them later, but right now I can tell they’re going to be too much for you and I actually want you to still be my friend after meeting them.” His explanation was a little rushed at the end, pink tinging his cheeks. Was Jaebum embarrassed? Well that was kinda cute.  You quickly pushed that thought aside. But you couldn’t help but flush. He noticed that about you? “Sorry, Jae...” “Don’t apologize! When you’re ready we can set something up. I think you’ll like them when they’re calmer.” His smiled widened, “Then I’ll have someone calm and not evil to combat these brats.” “I thought I was a brat, though?” You tilted your head, feeling more at ease. He rolled his eyes.  “You’re all brats and I suffer. But I guess I enjoy suffering.” He shrugged. “Well, I’ll see you around Y/N. Promise.” You nodded, scurrying off before Jaebum’s friends could break the door down. After getting into the apartment, you smiled to yourself. Jaebum liked you enough to want to meet his friends. You were friends.

#a new beginning #got7 au #got7 x y/n #got7 fiction #got7 jb #got7 jackson #got7 mark #got7 jinyoung #got7 youngjae #got7 bambam #got7 yugyeom #jb x reader #mark tuan x reader #jinyoung x reader #jackson x reader #youngjae x reader #bambam x reader #yugyeom x reader #im jaebum #jb scenarios #got7 fanfic #last piece

[xpeachesncream]

off the grid | six

summary: it was as simple as swapping places with a stranger from across the world to get away from everything back home. that is - until you meet Jimin. things become more complicated as he unfolds a new chapter in your life that you were initially trying to avoid.

pairing: reader x pjm

genre: post-college au, christmas/holiday au | angst, fluff, smut (to come)

words: 3.7k

chapter warnings: smut chapter! unprotected sex, multiple orgasms, fingering, oral (f. receiving), slight dirty talk, cussing, possible inaccurate depiction of transportation, events and whereabouts in South Korea since i only did my research thru the internet, fluff

notes: will be wrapping this up in the next few chapters!

> series masterlist <

Jimin was going to be busy for majority of the day with his parents, which left you feeling a little sad. But, you knew he had to do what he had to do and he had offered to come by and spend time with you tonight. As you were about to head out and explore on your own with the tips he had given you, a call from an unknown number popped up on your screen.

"Hello?"

"Y/N!" Jungkook's voice came through on the other line. "I hope you don't mind, I asked Jimin for your number not too long ago."

"No, you're good." You chuckled. "What's up?"

"Wanna hang out with me and Tae? We're gonna head to Common Ground."

"Sure!"

"Sick!" He exclaims. "I'll send you our address. Do you think you'll be okay heading over?"

"Yeah, I got it." You responded, remembering Jimin's directions to his place in the event you ever needed anything.

"Okay, just let me know if you get lost and I'll come find you." You chuckled before responding with a simple 'okay' to end the call. You were confident in your memory of the directions, which led you to their place in a matter of minutes. They didn't live too far from Yana, and you remember Jimin saying so since Yana doesn't drive and would simply take public transportation to and from places.

Upon your arrival at their apartment, Taehyung was cleaning up in the kitchen while Jungkook was throwing on a jacket. Jungkook gave you a little tour of their apartment, which was surprisingly clean and smelled of vanilla birchwood. Sooner or later, the three of you were off into town to visit Common Ground, which was considered Korea's first cultural space that was made out of shipping containers. The view and the entirety of it was pretty neat, and you kind of wished Jimin was here, but Jungkook and Taehyung were just as great of travel buddies. They talked a lot about their hometowns and what it was like moving to Seoul, plus how they truly value Korea and it's culture. You were coming to learn what a truly spectacular and beautiful place it was, and it was even more refreshing to hear from the boys themselves how much they loved being from Korea.

After navigating through the crowds and having spent more money on souvenirs and clothes, the three of you decided to eat up and grab some grub. For a minute, you lost Jungkook because he ran into some people he knew, leaving you and Taehyung to eat together.

"This place is neat isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's really cool. Thanks for taking me along." He nodded as his lips poked out while eating his food. You thought it was the most adorable thing.

"You know, Jimin's been really happy since you guys started spending a lot of time together."

"Oh yeah?" You giggled. Yes, Taehyung. Expose him.

"It's actually really nice to see." He chuckled. You knew him and Taehyung had known each other the longest out of their group, but he still held a very tight relationship with Jungkook, Hoseok and Jin. "He's always been the one to take care of people. I just wanna see him happy. He does a lot for the people he cares about."

"I know, he's really the sweetest person I've ever met. He's an angel."

"He was really destroyed over his ex." You continued to listen. "He loved her, a lot. He did everything for her and sacrificed a lot to keep her happy. But she couldn't reciprocate it 100% and that killed him time and time again."

"How long ago was that?"

"About a year ago? Even then, he tried not to have any bad blood with her after she had mistreated him. He has a good heart and mind. He deserves someone good who can take care of him." Your stomach fluttered with the countless butterflies, but most of the happiness you felt, also turned into anxiety. The days were counting down and you wouldn't be here for much longer. "He really, really likes you Y/N."

"I-I do, too. But-" Taehyung looked over at you, concerned. "I'm not going to be here for much longer." You shrugged. "It really sucks."

"Why don't you stay for a little more?"

"Work. My life is back in LA." He nodded. As much as it hurt you to say that, it was true. You wished it was easy to pick up your things and move around the world, but part of you felt silly for even thinking that over a holiday-solo-vacation love story.

"It's gonna be hard, but I honestly don't think Jimin cares. I think he'd make this work with you."

"But is that fair to him? Our time difference and-and, who knows when I'll get to physically see him again? Hearing what he went through.. what if I can't give him what he deserves?"

"I know all of it sounds like a mess and like it would never work, but don't you think you two meant for a reason?" He wasn't trying to be Jimin's right-hand at the moment, he was doing this because he truly could see how the both of you genuinely felt for each other. He hadn't seen Jimin have this glow, this type of genuine happiness to him in a long, long time.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just scared, and I would never want to put Jimin through anything he doesn't deserve."

"I get you." He replies. "But I do hope you know how much he cares about you. Like, I'm really not doing this because he's my bestfriend and all." He laughed. "But because I want to see the both of you happy."

"Thank you." You smiled at him toothlessly, the thoughts now flooding your head. All you wanted to do at this point was run into Jimin's arms and never let go. It would be your new safe haven. All you wanted was Jimin.

The rest of the day with Taehyung and (finally, again) Jungkook was chill, as you grabbed some desserts and played around at a nearby park before heading home to rest. You felt a sudden wave of exhaustion hit you, so you took a quick shower, threw on an oversized tee and shorts before retreating to the bed for a nice, late afternoon nap. You quickly texted Jimin that you'd leave the door unlocked so he could just walk in case you were deadass knocked out and couldn't hear the knocks or phone ringing.

Jimin had been helping his parents do a ton of revamping at their café, while also holding down the fort and doing what he can to help during peak hours. He was exhausted, nonetheless, but was excited to see you. He jetted off to the loft with food from the café to for some dinner, all while chuckling at the text you sent, wondering what the hell Jungkook and Taehyung had put you through today to knock you the hell out.

"Y/N?" He calls out softly. No response. He gently shuts the door and chucks his shoes to the side befofe laying the food out on the kitchen counter. It's peacefully quiet, even as Jimin climbs up the steps to the bedroom area. He smiles to himself as he sees you deep into the duvet covers, sleeping deeply like a baby longing for their afternoon nap. He sits on the edge of the bed, his fingers brushing through your hair, thumb softly caressing your cheek. You slowly open your eyes and smile, immediately sitting up to throw your arms around him. He laughs into your hug, pulling you in closer and running his hands down your back.

"Miss me?"

"I did."

"Aw." He chuckled. "Come here." He cups your cheeks and places a kiss on your lips.

"What a nice way to wake up."

"Yeah? What did TaeTae and Kookie do to you today?"

"Nothing, we just walked around Common Ground." He nodded.

"That's it?"

"We may have played around at a nearby park before going home."

"There it is." He laughed. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving, actually." You stretched.

"I brought some food from the café. Mom said I better feed you well." You chuckled.

"She's the sweetest." He had quickly brought you over to the café the other day, his mom and dad being the sweetest, and most loving people you have ever come across. You could immediately tell where Yana and Jimin got their mannerisms from. His mom couldn't stop holding onto you and telling Jimin how pretty you were, almost like she was telepathically communicating with her son and telling him to stop fucking around and get with it. You couldn't help but giggle at the look on her face.

"Come on." He nodded for you to follow him downstairs. He had paninis laid out, freshly toasted, with chips and more dessert. You pushed the coffee table in the living room forward a bit so that you both could sit on the floor and enjoy a good movie while eating the food. He had asked you more about your day and if Taehyung or Jungkookie had talked shit about him while you guys were out. You couldn't help but chuckle, remembering the serious conversation you and Tae had.

"Mm, actually," You finished up your sandwich and quickly washed your hands before heading back to the living room area. "Me and Taehyung had a pretty serious talk."

"About?"

"You, what else?"

"God, what did he say?"

"Nothing." You laughed, seeing his facial expression change.

"You can't say that you had a serious talk then not talk about it."

"Aw, is someone upset?" He pouted.

"Yeah, cause I'd like to know and I thought you cared about me." He dramatically responded. "I see that you don't, since you'd rather keep me hanging on a string like this."

"You're so dramatic, Park." You pinched his side, making him laugh. His laugh was certainly becoming a weakness for you. "He just told me that you've been really happy since we've been spending time together." He nodded.

"I mean, he isn't wrong."

"He also said that you really cared about me." You looked at him blankly, trying to read his expression and body language. He smiled at you, his cheeks getting hot and rosy.

"He also isn't wrong there."

"Taehyung really knows you, then."

"Since high school." He shrugs.

"That's about it, though." You spared him the rest of the details being that you really didn't wanna spoil the evening with such sad and negative thoughts about how your time was coming to an end here. Frankly though, you knew you had to deal with it sooner or later. That talk was coming either way.

"Hm." He says, pushing the coffee table up more towards the tv and throwing a blanket over both of your legs. He silently swung his arm over your shoulder and kept watching the movie on the tv. It was awhile before he broke the silence again with a sigh, his eyes still glued ahead of him. "I really like you, Y/N. I like you a lot. It's a little scary, but you don't know how much you drive me crazy with everything you do."

You held onto his hand that was hanging loosely from your shoulder and looked over at him. "I really like you too." At this point, you feel his eyes on you. They linger from your eyes, down to your lips and back up to your eyes.

"Then will you let me take care of you?" All self-control had gone out the window after seeing the look in his eyes. It was full of passion and lust, but nothing dark. He just wanted to be close to you and make you happy. He cared, and he wanted you to see that.

"Yes." You say breathily as his face edged closer to yours. He cupped your face with his free hand, instantly pressing a kiss onto your lips. The kiss began to deepen quickly, with Jimin tracing your bottom lip with his tongue, asking for entrance. You gladly let him proceed as your hand rests against his jawline. You took the initiative to pull yourself onto his lap and straddle him, your breathing slightly hitching when you feel his hardened member through his grey sweats. Your tongues are beautifully dancing around as he holds you tightly while you grind your hips against his.

"Hey, wait. Are you sure about this?" He pulls away, knowing the moment is intensifying by the minute. "You know I wanna do right by you, Y/N. I don't wanna do anything you aren't comfortable with."

"I'm sure. I want this. I want you." You respond almost at a whisper, your lips slightly grazing his. He simply nods and brings you back with a kiss. You gently palm his member, making him hiss and groan slightly at your touch. You continue to grind your hips onto him, slowly humping him into insanity.

"Fuck Y/N, honestly, you're going to make me cum if you keep moving like that." You chuckled.

"Don't." You plant kisses along his jaw line, watching as he shuts his eyes and tilts his head back. "I'd want you to do it inside me." You whisper in his ear.

"Y-You can't say things like that." He moaned.

"Or what?"

"You're an instigator, you know that? A really cute one." He says as he chuckles and gently lays you back down onto the ground. He whips your shirt and shorts off, quickly unhooking your bra and tossing it aside. His eyes widen at the sight of your exposed breasts. "So fucking pretty." He curses under his breath as he lightly sucks on your neck and around your breasts, before grabbing a nipple in his mouth and toying around with it with his tongue. You grip onto his hair as you slightly arch your back in pleasure. He bites onto his bottom lip before placing a trail of kisses down your stomach and down to your inner thighs before rubbing your covered clit through your soaked panties. He gently presses his lips onto your covered clit, making you yearn for more. "You're so wet."

"J-Jimin." You weakly call out. "Please."

"I got you, baby." He slips down your panties and inserts a digit into your throbbing pussy. You let out a small moan as he pumps his digit in and out of you, before inserting another two, with his thumb circling your clit.

"Ohhhh, fuck!" You squeal as you continue to feel his fingers stretching you out. You feel your wetness dripping out with every pump and covering areas of your inner thighs before Jimin releases his fingers and has you lick them clean. He lets out a small grunt watching your tongue circle and suck onto his fingers. He then latches onto your clit with his mouth. You feel his tongue swipe down your folds, teasing you with an in and out motion. You jut your hips upward but Jimin does a hell of a job preventing you from moving up any higher. You squirm in his grip, feeling your high coming close. "Jimin, fuck! You're gonna make me cum." You see his eyes look up at you, this time, full of lust. He simply nods as he continues to let his tongue suck you dry and explore the insides of you - the sight being enough to tip you over and make you climax. "Jimin!" You yell his name as your body twitches from underneath his grip. He gives your pussy one last lick, causing you to tremble at the sensitivity.

"You're so fucking pretty when you call my name." He says almost at a whisper. "How else can I make you feel good, baby?" He places soft kisses along your neck and jaw. You tug on his pants, causing him to chuckle and toss his shirt and pants off to the side.

"Please."

"Please, what? Use your words, beautiful."

"I want you deep inside of me. I wanna feel you." He bites onto his bottom lip and smirks. You run your hands down his chiseled abs and his V-line, completely in awe of how beautiful this man truly was. He was driving you crazy, everything about him. His eyes, his soft hair, his scent, his body. Good god.

He removes his boxers, making his hardened cock spring out. It was the most beautiful thing you've ever seen - perfectly long and thick, with veins running upward in various places. You pump him a few times, causing him to let out small moans, before placing your thumb on his reddened head to spread the pre-cum around his tip. He lowers his body back down onto you, his member teasing your entrance and gently grazing your folds. He kisses you passionately before you watch him grab his cock and place the head at your entrance. He inches in, lowering his body back down and bringing the blanket over your bodies while watching your eyes roll to the back of your head.

"You okay?"

"Mhm." You let out, your nails already digging onto his back. He kept a steady pace and slowly eased you into it. Your moans became breathy as he picked up the pace, his hands now keeping your legs opened wider for him. "Mmmmff, Jimin." You pleaded. "Just like that."

"Fuck, babygirl. The way you call my name." He quickly tilts his head back before ramming his body into yours as he became a little rough with it. Your thighs were folded up near your stomach as he held it there and continued to thrust in and out of you. With him picking up the pace, you felt yourself about to reach your climax and cum again.

"God, I'm gonna cum." You continued to moan loudly, until you were gripping onto the blankets and your eyes were rolling back once again. He greatly slowed down his pace, letting you ride out your high once more while placing kisses along your breasts and your lips. He wraps his arms around you and brings the blanket over while he sits back against the couch and lets you straddle him once more. The blanket comfortably sits below your waist, your eyes locked with his. He simply smiles at you, tucking a strand behind your ear and caresses your cheek. You gently and slowly ride him as you lean into his hand and place a kiss on his palm. His hands drop down to your waist, gripping onto them as you kept a steady pace while resting your hands on the couch behind him. You pick up your pace as you watch him squirm underneath you. He begins to call out your name, his hisses and groans accompanying the sound of your wet pussy riding him into the sunset.

"Y/N, fuck. Y-You're gonna make me cum." He tilted his head back, his hands losing grip around your hips as you rode his cock faster. "L-like that." He stutters. "Ugh, god." He hisses. You can tell he's about to let go with the way he's holding back his moans.

"J-Jimin, hmmmmph." You tilt your head back as you feel yourself about to cum for the third time tonight. "Please cum with me." You plead as your moans get louder.

"Oh shit, I'm gonna cum." He spits out as his fingers deep into your hips. You feel him fill you up completely as you ride out the rest of your high, Jimin's head now resting against your chest as you hold him close. You both stay in the position for awhile to catch your breath. After a moment, he looks up to meet your eyes and smiles, kissing you on the lips before helping you off his lap. He helps clean you up a bit before cleaning himself up and throwing his shirt and sweats back on. You fix the blanket onto the floor and drag some pillows down from the couch so you could lay on your stomach somewhat comfortably on the floor.

"You don't wanna get up to the bed?" Jimin laughed as he kneeled and rubbed your back.

"No, I'm too comfortable now."

"That good, huh?"

"Shut up, Jimin. Leave me alone." He laughed louder.

"I'll go grab another blanket." He says, going into the storage closet to grab another thick blanket to drape over your bodies. He lays next to you, his back resting against the couch as he propped his elbow up and rested his head on his hand. He continued to rub your back as you both looked over at the TV, the movie now nearing the end.

"I have to rewind the movie." You pouted, making Jimin chuckle.

"Go ahead." He watched as you flipped the remote up and brought the movie back to the last place you remembered seeing. You sunk your body into Jimin's, his lips lightly pressing on your head. Not even 5 minutes back into the movie, you felt your eyes getting heavy.

"Ah, I'm getting so sleepy though."

"You took a nap earlier. What do you mean?"

"I worked out a lot today." He laughed and lightly tickled you, making you hit his hand away.

"I see that. Go to sleep."

"Are you going to stay?" You mumbled.

"Only if you want me to."

"Of course I do." He smiled. "But what are you going to do?"

"Watch anime or whatever is on Netflix. Don't worry about me."

"Mmkay."

"Goodnight, baby." He whispers in your ear before kissing your cheek. The word baby made the butterflies come back (and the pussy throb, yet again, but you shoved that in the back of your mind because you definitely didn't have energy to go another round, as much as you wanted to).

Jimin watches as you quickly fall asleep, smiling to himself while he continues to play with your hair. He was happy. So happy. More than he's ever felt before and he wasn't sure how you were doing it. He was caught in your spell and he didn't even see it coming. You had him so undone. All he wanted to do was make this work with you and he was willing to, more than you knew. He didn't care about the time difference, he didn't care about your life being back in LA, he just didn't care about anything you've worried about because he believed you were worth it and he was going to put in this effort. You could figure everything else out later, but he just wanted this to be.

Alexa, play: Vibez x Zayn

#bts #bts fanfiction #jimin fanfiction #jimin #park jimin #pjm series #pjm x reader #jimin x reader #jimin fluff #jimin smut #bts smut #park jimin smut #off the grid #otg #writing

[giftofwonder]

The Tomb (Dabi x f!Reader) - Part Three

WARNINGS: NSFW 18+. Smut.

TAGLIST: @mikasackrmann @missalicebaskerville @liitlesushi @bonemarroww @jamaisvusbitch @winchescumberholland @mira-mirach @babayaga67

You had been so focused on his words, you hadn’t realized you had already reached the river. There were a few woman standing naked, waist deep in the cold water, washing clothes.

“Give your dress to them, they’ll clean it for you.” Dabi said, as he handed you a coin to give to them as well.

You did as he said, pulling your dress up to keep it dry, and walked to the women.

One of them took your dress and coin, and you smiled in thanks. Her hand softly grabbed your arm before you could turn away, her eyes flickering toward Dabi before returning to you.

“Be careful of that man,” She spoke so softly you almost couldn’t hear her, “All is not as it appears.” She warned.

“What do you mean?” You whispered back, confused and concerned.

“He will trick you, try to make you trust him...dont.” Her voice still soft, but stern as her knowing eyes urged you to believe her. You nodded your head and she released you, and you made your way back to land. Dabi stood watching the sky, his posture relaxed, but turned his attention to you when he heard you approach.

He held his hand out, which you took, and he pulled you from the water with ease. He lead you over to sit in the shade of the trees. Dabi still had a hold of your hand, which you didn’t mind, save for the woman’s words that you were still mulling over in your mind. His thumb traced circles over your knuckles as your hands sat atop his thigh.

“What is your family like?” He asked suddenly, breaking your train of thoughts. You sighed and looked up to the sky.

“They’re difficult, but I love them. My parents fell in love when they were young. They got married and had my brother. Things were really good. Then I was born and financially, it was stressful for them. My father found a good job but it kept him away most of the time. Mom was overwhelmed with both of us. My parents fought a lot back then.

While dad was away, he met a woman and fell in love. He sent divorce papers to my mother in the mail. She was heartbroken, but I don’t think she was surprised. My brother moved to live closer to my father and my mom remarried and had two more children. I was sort of forgotten. My brother was always the favorite of the two of us and my mom was busy with her two new children. I was still a teen then.” You said with a sigh as you thought back on the past.

You had always been interested in history, and when all of that was going on, you can places all of your focus on it. Learning all of the secrets of the past. It kept you occupied, everyone had so much going on so it was easier to just stay out of the way.

“Then I went to college, I earned scholarships to pay my way into school, and when I finished my studies, I got my first job. I still talk to my parents here and there, but I work a lot and spend most of my time traveling. They’re usually good people though, and I know that they love me.” You finished with a small smile, relaxing back into the tree.

Dabi looked at you with a brow raised. “What about a husband and children?” He asked.

You laughed. “As nice as that would be, I don’t know if I’m cut out for that. I’m gone a lot, always working and traveling. A family takes a lot of time. I’ve got a team of people depending on me right now. I’m usually their only source of income. If I had to give it up, I’d be the reason they couldn’t feed their families.” You frowned and sighed. Dabi regarded your words and nodded. You looked at him and found his eyes on you.

“What about you?” You asked after a moment.

“It never really crossed my mind. I was too focused on my goals.” He said.

“Do you regret it?” You asked quietly, before you could think to stop yourself. It was something that was always in the back of your mind. Would you regret it if you didn’t have a family, if you just kept working. You could never decide and so you always felt stuck, continuing on without making a change because it was all you knew. It was safe.

“Sometimes,” he sighed, “The league was all that I had. It was lonely, and I wondered what it would have felt like to have something different. To fall in love and be a father. If I would have been better than my father was.” He thought aloud.

“But even if I had wanted to, look at me. No one would want to wake up next to this.” He finished with a bitter laugh, and you could see the raw look that flashed through his eyes. The honesty. His statement wasn’t some ploy, it was how he truly thought of himself.

You squeezed his hand, saddened by his words. The scars were harsh. They were intimidating. But they didn’t make him unworthy of love. You found them beautiful in a way, they told a story. His story. Who he is and the challenges he faced. Those stories are marked in his skin, his strength and will to survive forever visible.

“Don’t say that, if you had taken a different path, I’m sure you would have found someone who would have loved you. All of you.” You said, your voice a whisper.

Dabi shook his head, his eyes facing forward staring at nothing.

“You’re delusional.” He spat.

“I’m serious!” You huffed. His head rolled towards you, his eyes unreadable.

“Be honest, doll, could you love someone like me?” He said in a hushed tone.

Dabi took in your wide eyes and the blush creeping up on your face. As you opened your mouth to answer, he cut you off, knowing that no matter what you said, he couldn’t handle hearing it.

“Enough about that. Our clothes are ready.” He said standing up and walking back to the river. You scrambled to get up and jogged after him. Once you got your clothes, along with another look from the woman in the river, he led you back to his home. He was quiet for the rest of the night.

You had helped him make dinner, and briefly talked, but not much was said. His mood was sour and so he kept to himself.

__________________________________________

Over the next week, things continued the same. You would wake up wrapped around him, and you could swear you felt his hands roaming your body during the night. You would eat and bathe together. He would show you the city, let you explore and follow you as you studied everything around you. You asked questions, many questions, about the people, about customs there was little information on, and about his past.

He told you the league was a group with a set of ideals that rejected the way society was ran. Those in power were corrupt, they held too much control and many suffered at their hands. Everyone loved them but they were poison, they couldn’t see how evil they were. How unworthy they were of their positions in both life and in people’s hearts. So his group expanded, and soon a war began. A struggle for power to be at the top. A lot of innocent blood was spilled by his hands, but it was unavoidable. Many at the top had fallen. The league took control of several territories and their numbers continued to grow. Dabi was at the top. Powerful, feared, and respected by his men. He instructed them on how to create his tomb. A way to cheat the afterlife, being his own judge.

His final battle, he faced his brother and father. At first they didn’t even recognize him. He said they were shocked that he was alive, to see what he had become. Dabi took the life of his father, finally getting his revenge, before his brother killed him.

The story itself left you speechless. It sounded like a large battle, but you’d never heard anything about it. It wasn’t mentioned anywhere, and you wondered why.

The night he finished telling you that story, you had cried for him and held him. He led you to bed but sleep never came to you.

__________________________________________

It was the morning, three days before you had to return back to your world. You had slept peacefully with Dabi’s warmth protecting you from the cold night.

Dabi’s skin against yours felt good, and you knew when you left that you would miss it, so you allowed yourself to let go. The thoughts of wearing a tunic to bed long gone from your mind.

As you came out of your dreams, the first thing you noticed was the weight on your chest.

Your eyes slowly opened to find Dabi with his face resting between your breasts, and the rest of his body between your legs. He snored lightly, and his hair stuck up wildly. You smiled and ran your hand through his hair, and he grunted while he lightly bit the skin of your breast.

His head twisted up to look at you, a tired smile stretching across his face. You rolled your eyes at his antics but grinned back.

He lifted himself over you, leaning his head down to place a kiss between your breasts and then dragged his lips up to your collar bone, grazing his teeth against it.

You bit your lip as your breath shuddered out in surprise.

He crawled forward over you, then reached a hand back to grip your thigh and pull them further apart so that he could settle between them, flush against you.

You could feel how hard he was, his member pushed to lay between your lips. His hips lazily rocked, dragging the head of his cock against your clit slowly. You let out a moan as your hips lifted, adding a pleasurable pressure.

His lips kissed along your neck, biting and sucking as he went. One of his arms was bent by your head to brace himself, the other hand traveled, squeezing your breasts and pinching your nipples.

“Do you want this?” His husky voice asked against your skin.

Your mind stopped for a moment. You considered the words of the old woman at the river and Dabi’s admission of his past deeds. Dabi had spent his life being hated and feared, and he carried it with him even in death. There was a part of you that was afraid, knowing if you let him have you now, he would likely have you forever, even when you parted ways for good. He would leave his mark on you, an imprint burned into you that you would never be rid of. You had considered that in all of the fear, no one had ever really known Dabi. He had bared his soul to you. Allowed himself to be vulnerable. You didn’t know what you felt, but you knew that whatever it was, it consumed your entire being. Did you want this?

“Yes.” You answered back with a breathy moan.

He pulled his head up to look at you, as if he was searching for a lie. His eyes were clouded with lust. He leaned forward, his lips brushing against yours softly.

“Are you sure?” He spoke against them.

“Yes, please...I want you.” You said, your voice barely a whisper. You pressed your lips against his, catching his bottom lip between yours and sliding your tongue across it. You rocked your hips against his with force, causing a groan to leave him.

He pulled back, just for a second as his eyes bore into yours, and then his lips were on yours once more. The kiss was messy and passionate. His teeth nipped at your lips and his tongue explored every crevice in your mouth. His hand left your breast and he grabbed himself, rubbing the tip through your folds to lubricate it. He brought it up and rubbed it forcefully against your clit, drawing loud moans from you as your hips bucked against him.

He pulled his lips from yours and let his mouth settle at your breast, his lips ghosting across the skin. His eyes were vibrant as his tongue peeked out, gently tracing across your hardened nipple.

He switched between both of your breasts, sucking on your skin and leaving hickeys as he went. His teeth bit and pulled at your nipples roughly, and the head of his cock rubbed faster against you. You cried out, the pleasure overwhelming. Your head was thrown back with your eyes closed. You could feel the heat pooling in your stomach, your arousal at its peak.

Your hands wrapped around Dabi, one in his hair to press him against your breast, the other wrapped around his upper arm, your hand squeezing with every wave of pleasure.

He shifted his hips, allowing his tip to rub against your entrance. He pushed just the head inside and then moved his hand up to rub your clit quickly. His hips rocked, his tip sliding in and out of you at a slow pace.

You pushed your hips forward, desperate for him to fill you. To feel him deep inside of you.

“So eager, so wet for me.” He mused, as he pulled his face back up to face yours. His hand pulled away from your clit and he held it in front of you, fingers glistening.

“You’ll be good for me right?” He whispered, his eyes dark. You supposed you should be worried by the look he was giving you, but you only found yourself more aroused.

You nodded, your glossy eyes watching him.

“I’ll be good.” You moaned out, feeling him press himself a little deeper inside of you.

His grin was twisted as he put his fingers to your lips, rubbing your wetness against them. You opened your mouth and he pressed them inside. Your tongue slid over and in between them, sucking as you went. Dabi pressed them farther into your mouth while thrusting deeper in your pussy.

You moaned around his fingers and felt yourself clenching harder on his dick. He bit his lip and sheathed himself fully inside you, holding himself there as his fingers pushed deeper in your throat. You gagged as they pressed into the back of your tongue. Your eyes burning with tears.

His eyes watched you like a hawk, his lips still pulled into a devilish grin.

He started to grind his hips against you while we was bottomed out, and his fingers pushed again, dipping to the back of your throat. Your hips jerked against him as you gagged, and finally his fingers retreated.

When just the tips of his index and middle finger remained between your teeth, he spread them, whispering for you to keep your mouth open.

You complied eagerly as his hips pulled back and slammed into you.

“That’s it, baby. Stick your tongue out for me.” He said, his breathing heavy and his voice low.

You stuck your tongue out, leaving it there as his hips snapped harder and faster against you. Your moans grew louder, and then he was pinching and twisting your nipple, making your back arch off of the mattress. He leaned closer, his mouth hovering just above yours. He gripped your tongue between his teeth, biting and dragging his teeth along it.

He pulled back, releasing your tongue and spit in your mouth.

If your mind wasn’t so consumed by lust, you’d have been disgusted, but with him buried inside of you, all you could do was whimper. You felt yourself tighten against him and he grunted.

“You like that huh?” He said as he pulled your hips higher, tilting them so he could reach even deeper inside of you.

You left your tongue out and mouth open, nodding to his question as his spit was still sliding down your tongue.

He reached down as he rubbed your clit again, making you whine. He told you to swallow as his hand gripped your throat tightly.

“Fuck, that’s my girl.” He said as he kissed you.

You were in heaven, and the thought of staying in the afterlife with him resurfaced in your mind.

He pulled himself from you and you shivered at both the feeling of being empty, and the cool morning air now caressing you.

He stood on the mattress, his legs parted.

“Get on your knees.” He ordered, and you were quick to comply. His foot parted your legs to spread them further.

“Touch yourself” he said as he wrapped his hand in your hair, pulling you to his cock.

Your fingers parted your lips and rubbed your clit, trying to do it the same as he had. Nothing had ever felt as good as him. You opened your mouth and he pushed his length in.

Your tongue slid against him, and you closed your lips around him, tasting yourself on his skin.

His grip in your hair tightened as he forced your head still, and then he began thrusting into your mouth. His pace picked up, and he pushed himself deeper. You gagged around him, your throat burning. Drool dripped from your lips onto your chest as you were unable to swallow, and tears fell from your eyes.

“Look at you, so pretty with my cock down your throat.”

Your fingers moved faster against yourself and you moaned around him, making him throw his head back. He pushed himself deep into your throat and held himself there, your nose resting in his public hair.

He pulled out abruptly and shoved you backward. He walked to stand above your head, facing the length of your body that was now flat against the mattress, and then he lowered himself, his knees resting above your shoulders as he kneeled over you.

His hips lowered and you tilted your head back to take him into your mouth again.

Your legs parted farther as you fingered yourself. He watched you, rubbing his hands along your sides as he thrust harder and deeper into your mouth.

His sack rested your nose as he buried himself in your throat, cutting off your air supply. His hands went back to your breasts and he ground his hips into your face.

He pulled back and you gasped for breath before he did it again. You sucked and licked his length, your hips lifting and legs trembling as your climax neared.

He leaned forward, ripping your hand from yourself and you whined around him. He pressed harder against your mouth, moving his hips again, as you sucked in air.

Your arms wrapped around his thighs, bracing yourself. His body leaned forward, his mouth dipping to your sex, licking and sucking your clit. He was rough, but it felt so good. His teeth gripped your clit. It was almost painful, but the pleasure outweighed it and was sending you over the edge.

Your grip on his hips tightened as you pulled him deep into your throat again. His hips rocked without pulling back, and you felt your lungs begging for air while your vision was starting to waver. His hand slapped against your cunt as you cried out around him, and then with one final harsh suck on your clit, you were gone.

If it wasn’t for him restricting your airway, you would have screamed from the intensity of your orgasm.

He pulled himself up, and you gasped for breath, your limbs twitching.

He grabbed you and flipped you onto your stomach, then grabbed your hips, lifting your ass in the air. Your upper half was flat to the mattress, no energy to hold yourself up.

“You want me to fuck you?” He asked, rubbing his tip at your entrance.

“Yes!” You moaned, pushing your hips back, getting a hard slap on your ass in return.

“You want me to cum in you?”

He pushed his tip in and out, teasing you as you moaned out another yes.

“Beg me for it.” You could hear the grin in his voice at the demand. And so you did. You pleaded for him desperately.

He rammed his length into you, bottoming out. His thrusts were fast and hard. His grip on your hips was bruising as he pulled them back to meet every thrust. You could tell from the tremble in his hands and his labored breathing that he was close.

His thrusts got sloppy and his rhythm was broken. He pulled you against him and you started to grind subconsciously as he released, filling you.

He held still for a moment, then pulled himself out. You fell flat onto the bed, feeling his cum leak out of you as he fell to lay at your side, his arm draped over you as he caught his breath.

You tried to keep your eyes open, to stay awake for just a little longer, but the exhaustion and warmth from his body broke any resistance you had, and within moments you had fallen asleep. Dabi looked over your sleeping form, a gentle smile on his face. He leaned over to place a kiss on your forehead, and then laid back and allowed himself to dream as well.

#dabi x reader #dabi smut #dabi fanfic #dabi boku no hero academia #dabi bhna #dabi x you #dabi x y/n #dabi my hero academia #dabi #dabi is touya #bnha dabi #dabi is a todoroki #dabi lov #dabi league of villains #dabi lemon #dabi mha #dabi todoroki #dabi touya #The Tomb (Dabi x f!Reader)

[pucksnsticksnhockeyboys]

summertime mindset - prologue

first hellos & last goodbyes

masterlist for summertime mindset

Timing is hard to get right and summer doesn’t last forever. You and Tyson learn the hard way.

word count: 3.2k

note from the writer: it’s finally here. I’m working on finishing the epilogue, but the entire series currently has a 26k word count and I’m not quite done. I’m going to have a posting schedule, I just haven’t decided whether or not to make it daily or every other day yet. let me know what you think!

JUNE

It’s warm, not unbearably so, but you were more than comfortable in your strappy sundress. You were happy, a smile evident on your face as you bounced around your aunt’s house. You were itching to help with setting up the barbecue, considering she had offered to host you for the summer while your parents took off on a well-deserved second honeymoon. Even though you were twenty, summers home from college were to be spent with family and it had been a while since you  had seen your extended family from Vancouver.

“Do you need something to do?” Your aunt asked, a grin turning up the corners of her mouth as she glanced up at you from the salad she was mixing. You smiled, nodding once before taking a sip of the beer your cousin had thrust into your hands the moment she spotted you come down the stairs. “Take these out to your uncle.”

“Aye-aye, captain.” You mock saluted, grabbing the empty platter she gestured to and slipping out the back door and onto the patio. Your uncle was standing at the grill, polo shirt tucked into cargo shorts and to complete the stereotypical barbecue dad look, he had on a baseball cap and sandals. “Special delivery.” You grinned, setting the platter down beside the grill for when the burgers and hotdogs were done. He smiled at you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pressing a kiss to the side of your head before releasing you and returning to his conversation with one of his buddies.

You turned, looking for your next destination when you saw your cousin Rachel, the one you were staying with that was only a few months older than you, waving you over. You smiled, crossing the yard and trying not to feel awkward under the gaze of the two brunettes that were standing with her, one boy and one girl that looked similar enough to be related.

“Hey, there you are.” Rachel squeezed you into her side much like her father did, and you reciprocated the half-hug. She introduced you to them, and you smiled politely. “And this is Tyson and Kacey, they live next door.”

“Hi.” You turned, and for the first time you let yourself take in their appearance. Kacey was smiling like a total sweetheart, but when you turned your attention to Tyson it felt as if your breath had been knocked out of you for a moment. He was grinning at you, with the widest and most charming smile that you couldn’t look away from.

You had never been one for believing in love at first sight, but there was something about Tyson and the way he was looking at you that had you questioning it. As cliché as it sounded, you genuinely felt as if the rest of the world melted away, and you were sharing a moment with him.

But as quickly as it began, it ended, and Kacey was asking you questions. Rachel pinched your side at the same time Kacey elbowed her brother, shaking both of you out of whatever daydream place you had been.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” You smiled sheepishly at Kacey, punctuating your sentence with a sip of your beer and a silent prayer that no one would comment on your sudden flustered appearance. Rachel was as close to you as a sister, which meant she both adored you and loved to tease you relentlessly. Thankfully, she stayed quiet, but you did not miss the look she shot you.

“I asked where you’re from?” She repeated, and though the question was directed to you, she was eyeing her brother cautiously. He was flushed just as much as you were, maybe even more so, with the color blossoming on his cheeks and reaching the tips of his ears.

“Oh, I’m from Seattle, in the States. My parents moved there from here before I was born.” You explained with a smile, squeezing your bottle a little too hard as you tried to ignore Tyson’s gaze on you. You were barely holding it together just knowing he was there, so you did not trust yourself to meet his smile.

He hadn’t even said anything yet and you were already a blushing mess.

You chatted with them for a bit, answering questions about your classes and hometown and how much you liked Vancouver. You told them how you were working to be an elementary teacher and that had always been your dream.You asked about their lives, and were surprised to find out that Tyson was a professional hockey player in Colorado. You thought that was cool, being a fan of the sport, but after a few questions about how he was liking it and that it must be fun to travel a lot, the topic was dropped in favor of Kacey pointing out Rachel’s boyfriend Michael arriving.

He slid between you and Rachel, giving you a side-hug before wrapping an arm around Rachel’s waist and kissing her cheeks. You greeted him with a kind smile, and though you had only met him a few days prior, you could already tell how happy he was making your cousin. Introductions were made, and Kacey once more took it upon herself to question the newcomer.

“Can you, uh, show me where you got that?” Tyson spoke up, gesturing to the now-empty bottle you had just taken your last slip of. Kacey, Rachel, and Michael were in their own little conversation already, so you nodded and turned away from the group before he fell in step beside you. “So, how long are you in Vancouver?”

“I head back at the end of August.” You explained, setting your empty bottle in the bag designated for recycling before finishing your original path to the cooler. Tyson spotted it, pulling out a bottle and handing it to you before grabbing one for himself. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by one of your uncle’s calling your name, telling you to come play a game of cornhole with him and his wife, urging Tyson to be your partner.

“Are you any good?” He questioned with a grin that you easily returned, adding a nod to answer his question. He tapped his bottle to yours, leading the way through the yard to where the game was set up, glancing at you over his shoulder as he spoke next. “You better, I’m a competitive person, you know.”

“You should be nice to me, I showed you where the beer is.” You grinned, smile growing wider at the booming laugh that slipped past his lips. He moved to stand at the opposite board beside your uncle, and you weren’t sure if the warmth you felt was from his smile or the sun beating on your shoulders, but you welcomed it nonetheless.

The hours seemed to pass by in a blur. You and Tyson had come out victorious in your game, and were halfway through a rematch when the food was being served. You met up with Kacey, Rachel, and Michael after that, filling your plates before heading to the gazebo at the end of the yard to eat.

Even after that, when Rachel and Michael had slipped away and Kacey was called over by her mom, Tyson didn’t leave your side. The whole time, you were laughing with him. He was incredibly goofy, a smile never leaving his face the entire time you were with him.

You were still chatting with him as the sun started to set, and at the first sign of your shivers, he offered you the sweatshirt he had brought over with him earlier in the day. You tried to control the way your cheeks heated up, but the Colorado Avalanche sweatshirt he had given you was entirely too soft and comfortable for you to not blush after tugging it over your head.

Tyson looked as if he wanted to say something, but was once more interrupted. The soft way he was looking at you was mesmerizing, but once Rachel jumped into the gazebo his attention snapped to her with amusement in his eyes.

“Hi, so, sorry to interrupt, but you guys kind of need to go someplace grandma can’t see you.” She grinned at you, laughing breathlessly as Michael wrapped an arm around her from behind and tugged her back into his chest. You raised a brow at her in silent question, but Tyson was already standing and offering his hand to you in order to pull you to your feet. “Michael and I want to… go someplace…” You laughed at her word choice, knowing she entirely meant they wanted to go hookup somewhere. “But grandma overheard me telling mom we were heading out, and you know how she is, and she said we could only go if I took you and Tyson.”

You nodded, though you were a little distracted by the fact that Tyson still hadn’t let go of your hand. Your grandma had always been on the more conservative side in regards to relationships and whether or not you should have alone time—in the way Rachel so obviously was hinting at—before marriage.

“Have her home before midnight.” You teasingly threatened Michael, and he nodded with a chuckle. He was a good guy, you knew that, but it was still fun to give him grief. You had followed them to the front of the house, and you and Tyson watched as they drove off.

“Wanna go for a walk?” He asked, swinging your entwined hands dramatically and nodding his head in the direction of the road. You grinned, tugging him by the hand to lead him. As you walked it was silent, save for your occasional giggle as Tyson made it his mission to see just how obnoxiously he could swing your arms before you commented on it and stopped him. You didn’t plan on doing that, though, because the way he was grinning ridiculously and giggling as your hands went practically vertical was utterly adorable.

“You’re a dork.” You chuckled, bumping him with your shoulder. That had him laughing loudly into the nighttime summer air, the sun having just set moments ago. Tyson stopped walking then, and you turned to stand in front of him. He was smiling at you, though it was much softer than the teasing grin and beaming look you had been met with all day.  You raised a brow, about to question his change in demeanor when he reached his free hand up and brushed a rogue strand of hair out of your face, tucking it behind your ear and letting his fingers trace down your jaw.

“Can I kiss you?” He sounded a little hesitant, like he was afraid of scaring you off and just the fact that he was so nervous after being so confident and sweet all day had you grinning. You weren’t sure if it was the four beers you’d had during the day or the simple fact that everything felt so easy and comfortable with Tyson, but you were nodding before you really knew it.

As he leaned down towards you, he tilted your chin up a bit. Your eyes fluttered shut, and soon after his lips brushed against yours. The way his lips felt like something out of a movie, how the quiet street around you melted away into nothing and it was just you and Tyson. The kiss was short, but when he pulled back and saw just how wide you were smiling, he was quick to press his lips to yours again.

The second kiss was firmer, but just as gentle and you dropped Tyson’s hand to brace yourself against his chest as he tugged your hips to get you closer. There wasn’t any heat in the kiss—passion, yes, but it was clear that kissing was as far as things were going to go.

You pulled away first the second time, and you were certain your grin was as wide as his. He looked adorable, the smile reaching his cheeks and your hands slipped from his chest to around his middle. Your next words fell past your lips easily, and his answering nod came before you even finished speaking.

“Let’s hang out tomorrow.”

AUGUST

Summer had come and gone, and your parents had gotten home from their trip the night before. That meant today you were headed to the airport, back to Seattle and to your regular life. You knew saying goodbyes sucked, but leaving Tyson hurt more than you thought it would.

You had said goodbye to his mother, Kacey, Michael, and your whole family back at the house. Tyson had offered to drive you to the airport in order to get just a few more minutes of alone time with you, and your aunt knew how close you had gotten over the summer. She remembered what it was like, to be young and falling hopelessly for someone.

Tyson hadn’t let go of your hand since you had gotten in the car, his gripping yours tight across the center console. You didn’t talk about it, you’d been living in dread and silent denial for the past two weeks. Tyson talked, though, and you admired his constant assurances that he’d stay in touch and you’d see eachother again. There was no timetable, with how you would be starting classes and he’d be busy with training camp, and then once the regular season started you’d be swamped with midterms, and then finals—but he promised, and you trusted him with everything.

He parked his car at the airport, adamant about being with you until they wouldn’t let him go any further, until he would’ve had to buy a ticket to go with you, and he was tempted to do just that. You sighed, leaning your head back until it rested against the seat.

Tyson copied your position, turning his head to the side to look at you. You could feel the weight of his stare fall heavy on your face, and just seeing the airport in person made everything all the more real.

Tyson was good at reading your emotions, he had spent nearly each day of summer with you, He’d be damned if he hadn’t been ingraining every moment spent with you in his mind in preparation for this day from the second he laid eyes on you at that first barbecue. Usually, he saw happiness and joy in your eyes. He had only ever seen the look of sadness he saw now on the few occasions where you felt homesick—and that one time he had walked in on you, Kacey, and Rachel watching the ending of The Notebook. He raised your interlocked hands, pressing a kiss to the back of yours to get your attention.

You smiled weakly, turning to face him. He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to your nose and you dropped your head to his shoulder. You could feel the tears start to gather in your eyes, the ache in your chest longing for him despite the fact that you were literally holding his hand still.

“We can do this. You’re too smart to be crying over some guy.” He commented, and though there was truth in some of what he said, he was mostly poking fun at what your grandma had said a few days earlier when you told her that you didn’t want to leave, you had meant it as a comment about missing everyone, but she knew you were upset about Tyson.

“Shut up.” You mumbled, nudging his shoulder as he chuckled lowly. You pushed yourself into a sitting position, knowing you’d wasted too much time already and needed to hurry into the airport. Tyson knew it, too, and he made the first move by opening his door. With a sigh, you followed suit, only to be swept into a hug the moment both your feet were on the ground. Apparently, you had taken longer to get out of the car than you thought, because he had already gotten your luggage out and set them beside him.

The urge to cry was back, your throat was tight and you couldn’t meet Tyson’s gaze. He didn’t push it, instead he grabbed one of your suitcases and handed you the other, grabbing your free hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. You still didn’t say anything, and Tyson silently led you through the airport. When he stopped and sighed, you knew it was time to say goodbye.

“It’s not true, you know.” It was obvious by the look on his face that he was confused by your words, that your grandma’s offhanded comment hadn’t been weighing as heavily on his mind as it was on yours. “You’re not just some guy, Tys.”

This time, you couldn’t stop the sob that wracked through your body as he pulled you into him, one hand on the back of your head to tuck you into his chest while the other ran soothingly up and down your back. He was whispering sweet nothings and gentle assurances in your ear, and you were hanging on to his every word—it wasn’t anything he hadn’t already told you, but they were things you would miss hearing and that had you gripping his shirt tighter.

“I know. I know, I’m not.” He whispered, tilting your head up with his hands that were cupping both of your cheeks. He thumbs brushed the area under your eyes, wiping at the wetness that had gathered there as a result of having to leave. His voice was tight, and one glance into his red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes and the way his shoulders were tense told he wasn’t doing much better than you.

You stayed like that for as long as you could, wrapped up in each other and exchanging kisses as if you hadn’t had the chance to do so all summer. You were drinking in every last moment with him, burning the feeling of his grip on your hips and the smell of his cologne into your memory.

And then you absolutely had to leave, and maybe even run through security to make your plane. Your hand was curled around the back of his neck, pulling him down to meet you halfway as he pulled your hips against his own for the sole purpose of getting as close to you as he could.

And then he was wiping your tears one last time, tugging you back into his chest for one last hug and one last forehead kiss and it was really driving home the fact that you were leaving. You were leaving an amazing guy that you had fallen for over the course of a summer, and it was up in the air when you’d see him again.

And then you were walking away, your feet seemingly moving of their own accord. You were wiping away your own tears, and you pushed down the thought that it felt so much more comforting when Tyson did it. You gave him one last wave, and he blew you one last dramatic kiss just to hear you laugh at his antics one last time.

And then you turned the corner and he disappeared from your view, and from your life, for two years.

And if you had known, you would’ve kissed him harder one last time.

#tyson jost #Tyson Jost x reader #Tyson Jost series #summertime mindset #hockey imagine #nhl imagine #Colorado Avalanche #Colorado Avalanche imagine #Colorado Avalanche x reader #Tyson Jost imagine #Tyson Jost imagines #Tyson Jost fic

[alt-rose]

a trip to syracuse - colson baker

colson baker imagine

a trip to syracuse - a trip to syracuse leads to a cameo and a heart to heart.

word count: 4.9K (someone stop me)

the scene is in big time adolescence. if you haven’t seen it, i highly recommend. it’s on hulu. 

(this could be considered a part 2 to 21, but it could be read alone)

(GIF from tenor)

it was July. you had spent your last few months working your ass off at SNL before staring as a lead in your first comedy film after your second season of SNL had ended. you had been all over the country in the last few months. you were in New York for work. then, you traveled home to your hometown to visit your family during your first week of the summer hiatus. then, you had to ship out to LA to work on your movie. then, you somehow ended back in your hometown.

you were everywhere. busy. never had time for yourself, or the time to do what you really wanted.

you hadn’t seen Colson since a few weeks after your birthday weekend. you texted back and forth. you called occasionally when you both had time. he made you laugh, and you, of course, enjoyed hearing about all his crazy stories. you looked forward to the random pictures he sent you from the studio or from set. he liked having something to share with someone, or rather, someone to share things with.

the two of you were like two best friends that could share everything with each other without needing to be physically there for each other. you could go days without talking because of your busy schedules, yet whenever you caught up with each other, it felt so natural. your relationship felt impossible to explain to anyone that asked. you felt connected to him somehow, but you couldn’t place the feeling.

--

             colson baker: you should come visit me

that was the text you got at 3 am on a Wednesday, well technically Thursday.

you smiled at your phone as you stared at it. the light blinded you as you laid in bed in your dark bedroom at your parent’s house. it was 4 am in New York. what could he have possibly been doing? you learned not to ask that question often when it came to Colson and Pete. they were night owls and tended to drink or smoke anything they could get their hands on. for your sake, you’d rather not know what they were doing. it helped keep your nerves at bay.

however, 4 am in New York tended to worry you a bit. you opened your phone, squinting as the light grew brighter. you began to type back.

             you: I should?

             you: please tell me you are being safe

you scrolled through your phone as you waited for a response. your phone buzzed with a notification. you opened the message.

             colson baker: safe at pete’s place

ah. Pete’s place was their new hangout. Pete was staying with his girlfriend, AG, as you called her, and it was technically her place. they were getting ready to head to Syracuse in a week or so for Pete’s new movie that Colson was making a cameo in.

             colson baker: you should visit

             colson baker: call me a pussy but I miss you

you smiled at that text. he missed you. your heart thumped in your chest.

             you: I miss you too

             you: text me tomorrow when you are sober and it’s not the middle of the night.

             you: let’s see if sober colson wants me to visit

you watched as the typing bubbles appeared before the message appeared.

             colson baker: sober colson said yes

             colson baker: but, I’ll text you tomorrow about it

you laugh at his message before typing back.

             you: goodnight cols

             you: get some rest

your eyes began to lull shut, but you were determined to stay up for the next ten minutes in case he wanted to text you.

you fell asleep to one finally message from him.

             colson baker: goodnight velcro monkey

somehow the velcro monkey joke always made an appearance when someone was drunk or high. it made them laugh at how the reserved, independent person you were could turn into the clingiest drunk on the planet.

you smiled one last time before shutting off your phone and going back to sleep.

--

the next morning, you sat in your parents’ kitchen answering emails on your laptop. your attention was occasionally pulled away from work as you watched your dogs play in the family room. it was good to be home for a bit, but your parents and dogs were a bit distracting when it came time to work.

             “your phone has been buzzing for the last 20 minutes,” you mom said setting your phone down at the kitchen table. “you left this upstairs.”

             “god, thank you,” you tell her not looking up from your computer.

             “a lot of messages from a Colson Baker,” she gives you a look, raising her eyebrow.

             “who’s Colson Baker?” your dad asked butting into the conversation as he made his way into the kitchen.

you moved to quickly snatch you phone from them. you were an adult now with an adult job, yet they still treated you like a teenager.

             “a friend,” you reply as you opened your phone.

you had four messages and a missed call from Colson.

             “seemed like they really wanted to get a hold of you,” you mom hummed as she moved to make her third cup of coffee that day.

             “why do they want to get a hold of you so badly? seems important,” your dad chimed in.

             “guys, it’s fine. please chill,” you reply. “just a friend. anyway, I have to take this call.”

you got up from the table before taking your dogs out to your back patio. you took a seat on one of the outdoor lounges as you called Colson.

             “hey,” his raspy voice rang through the phone.

             “hey,” you sigh. “what’s up with Syracuse?”

             “you should come visit me in Syracuse.”

             “I know, but why Syracuse?” you laugh.

             “Pete’s doing his movie, and we’re both making a cameo.”

you went silent for a bit.

             “we talked to the director this morning. they need background for my cameo scene, so I suggested you to Pete, and he was cool with it. the director said it was cool if you wanted to join the project for a cameo.”

             “are you serious?”

             “deadly. come spend the rest of the summer in Syracuse with me.”

             “I’ll have to check my schedule-”

             “shut up,” he laughed. “I know you’re free.”

             “you’re right,” you sighed. “my family isn’t going to be happy with me leaving again, but they can just visit when SNL starts back up.”

             “so you’ll do it?”

             “sure, what else do I have to do?” you asked adjusting the phone to your ear. “plus, a week or two in Syracuse with you and Pete would be fun.”

             “YES,” you heard him shout over the phone. “aight, cool,” he finally calms down. “I’ll let Pete know.”

             “alright, Cols. sounds good,” you sigh into the phone.

             “what’s wrong?” he asked after a beat.

             “nothing. I’m just trying to figure out how to explain why a Colson Baker was blowing up my phone earlier to my parents.”

you heard him let out a laugh from his end. you heard him murmur something to someone. you heard him laugh once more before he addressed you.

             “Pete said to tell your parents that I’m your dealer.”

             “tell Pete that my parents might have a heart attack.”

you heard him mumble something before you heard a roar of voices.

             “tell your parents that Colson works as a janitor for NBC,” you heard Pete yell into the phone.

             “you guys are ridiculous,” you sigh into the phone as you pinch the bridge of your nose.

             “but you love us,” Pete sang into the phone.

             “yeah, I do.”

you heard them laugh.

             “you could just tell you parents the truth,” Colson suggested. “I don’t mind your family knowing. the whole reason we were keeping it quiet was to keep you out of the spotlight.”

you thought about it for a minute.

             “and what exactly are we keeping from her family?” you heard Pete in the background.

             “that I’m her best friend now. I replaced you,” Colson quickly replied.

             “HEY,” you yelled sitting up in your seat. “I never said that.”

             “it’s okay,” Pete said louder into the phone. you can only assume he was closer to the phone. “I know you love him more than me.”

             “that’s not true,” you said in a defensive tone. “I love you both equally.”

             “RIIIIIGHT,” Pete drew through the phone.

             “right,” Colson agreed.

             “it’s okay. I know who you text when you’re supposed to be working, (y/n),” Pete slyly said in the phone.

             “knock it off, Pete,” you growl into the phone, causing the guys to laugh. “where’s your girlfriend? can’t you go bother her?”

             “oh shit,” you heard Pete say. “I forgot to bring her the food we made. bye (y/n).”

you laughed at him before you heard Colson.

             “I took you off speaker. he went back into his room with the food.”

             “you guys made breakfast?”

             “yeah, our post-mushroom pancakes,” he said. “totally came down from them a half hour ago. the food’s probably cold as shit now.”

             “RIP to AG’s kitchen.”

             “RIP, indeed.”

you laughed.

             “I can’t wait to see you, Cols,” you smile into the phone.

             “I’m excited to see you, too. I’ll send you a plane ticket.”

             “I can pay for my own plane ticket. it’s okay,” you reply. “you can save that up to buy me dinner when I get to Syracuse.”

             “(y/n) (y/l/n), are you asking me on a date?”

             “too forward?” you laugh.

             “not forward enough. maybe, I could buy you breakfast too?”

you laugh and cover your mouth with his suggestion before you finally calm yourself down.

             “maybe you could,” you reply coolly.

             “NOOOO,” he whined into the phone. “can you come to New York now?”

you laughed together before the conversation lulled into a gentle silence.

             “can I tell you a secret?” you whisper into the phone.

             “shoot.”

             “I’ve been listening to your music.”

you paused waiting for his reaction.

             “oh boy, have I converted you to hip hop and rap?”

             “no, I made an exception for Machine Gun Kelly,” you smile.

             “really?” you could hear him shift around. “got a favorite?”

             “27,” you reply too quickly. “I’m a sucker for the piano. Kiss the Sky and Habit are pretty good too.”

             “next show I have, you’re gonna be in the crowd. I want to perform for you.”

             “for me?” you ask in a posh voice. “you could always give me a private show.”

             “I just might.”

suddenly, your attention was pulled to your mom who was standing at the back door. you raise an eyebrow at her as you listened to Colson mumble through the phone.

             “hold on, Cols,” you tell him. “what’s up?” you ask her.

             “we’re leaving in a half an hour to go to dinner at your grandparents. you need to get ready,” she replied.

you nod to her. she stood in the doorway waiting for you to get off the phone. you raised another eyebrow at her. she wanted to eavesdrop on your conversation.

             “alright,” you sigh. “Cols, I have to go. I have dinner with my grandparents.”

             “fine. fine. call me later?”

             “yeah, I’ll call you later.”

             “bye (y/n), love you.”

you smiled at that. even though the love was platonic, it felt good to hear it from him.

             “bye Cols, love you too.”

once you hung up, you gave your mom a pointed look.

             “love, huh?” she smiled.

             “just a friend,” you mutter before calling the dogs in.

             “just a friend that you love,” she teased.

             “so who is Colson Baker?” your dad chimed in once the two of you made it inside.

             “he’s a friend of Pete and I,” you reply heading to the stairs.

             “what does he do?” your dad asked looking up from his phone.

             “just look him up. I have to get ready.”

once you safely made it up the stairs and away from their questions, you began to rummage through your closet for clothes. you were pulled out of your search by your dad yelling up the stairs.

             “MACHINE GUN KELLY. YOU’RE FRIENDS WITH MACHINE GUN KELLY?”

--

a week and a half later, you were on a plane to Syracuse. your parents weren’t super hip about you leaving so soon, but you argued that it was for work. and, it was. you weren’t lying.

they also were not so happy about your friendship with Colson, or Machine Gun Kelly as they knew him. your mom argued for the tattoos, which made no sense, since they liked Pete, and he had tattoos. they were also not so impressed that he was a rapper.

maybe, you shouldn’t have let them read all the articles about him.

he was heavily misunderstood by the media, and Colson was not ‘Machine Gun Kelly’. he was Colson Baker. you tried to explain that he was so much more than what the media portrayed, but your parents were more of the seeing rather than believing type.

with that all said, you were happy to be out of the house. you were tired of constantly arguing for and defending your friendship. anytime you got super defensive of Colson, your family accused you of being in love with him. were you? hell yeah. but, you weren’t going to admit that to anyone. you ran from your feelings, remember?

once you finally landed at the airport in Syracuse, you texted the guys.

             colson baker: in line waiting for you

             colson baker: north pick up line

             colson baker: black escalade

when you finally made it out the doors with your baggage, you searched for the black escalade. you attention was pulled to the sound of doors opening, and you found Colson on the passenger side of the car as Pete climbed into the backseat. you smiled as you watched the guys. you made your way to them.

             “hi,” you smile.

             “hi,” Colson replied looking down at you.

you kinda forgot what it was like to be around six-foot giants. Colson moved to take your bag from you before putting it in the trunk. after you helped him load up your bag, he took your hand and led you to the passenger seat.

before you could hop in, he grabbed you and kissed you. you moved to grip the fabric of his jacket as you kissed him back.

             “did you just kiss her? what? did he just kiss you?” Pete asked dumbfounded from the backseat as he looked back and forth from you and Colson.

you laughed to yourself as you buckled your seat belt while Colson made his way to the driver’s seat. as he hopped in and buckled up, he turned to you. you laughed before turning to Pete.

             “anyone want to answer me? did you kiss her?” Pete said slapping Colson’s shoulder with the back of his hand.

             “yeah, I did. what are you going to do about it?” Colson raised an eyebrow at him.

you laughed picking at the skin of your lip.

             “what the hell? am I third wheeling this whole trip?”

             “dude, you would have had me third wheeling this whole trip if we didn’t invite her.”

             “how long?” Pete whined. “how long has this been a thing?”

             “since my birthday,” you reply quietly.

             “since your birthday,” he said dropping his jaw. “that was months ago.”

             “I know,” you laugh. “to be fair, we haven’t seen each other much since. we’ve been talking and stuff, though.”

             “what the hell, guys.”

you and Colson both laughed as he pulled out of his spot in line and drove toward your hotel.

             “oh, I told my parents about you, and they googled you. they aren’t very happy.”

             “fantastic.”

--

you spent your first day on set waiting around for the guys in Pete’s trailer before your call time. you and Colson sat and talked, just being close to each other after months apart. once it was finally your call time, you got your makeup and hair done, which wasn’t much considering you were just an extra in a scene.

the director had you placed at a bar table with two other girls. drinks were all placed in front of you. you fixed your hair a bit before the director called action. the scene began and you just kept your head down, while you waited for your cue. one of the guys walked up to your table and began talking to the three of you. the camera panned over to your table, and the guy began his lines. you smiled and laughed at him.

             “I already have a tab open so if you want another-”

             “hey,” Pete yelled catching your attention. “I’m sorry about our friend. we found him in a dumpster. he’s a rescue. sorry”

             “it’s okay,” the girl next to you yelled.

             “aw don’t worry. he’s got all of his shots though, so he won’t bite,” Pete called back.

             “oh,” the girl laughed. “what about your puppy?”

             “who? Mo?”

             “yeah, he looks a little young to be in here.”

             “you look a little old to be in here,” Pete shot back. you had to hold in your laugh.

             “CUT,” the director yelled. “let’s do it one more time, just in case, and then move on.”

you repeated the scene once more before everyone moved on to the next part of your scene. the guys all crowded around your small table. Colson stood behind Pete, who was sitting on one of the barstools.

             “you guys look great. can we get another girl on the other side of Griffin please?” the director asked, gesturing to the second lead in the film. “(y/n), can you move?”

             “yeah,” you reply before hopping out of your seat to sit on the other side of Griffin. you then realized that you were directly in the camera’s line of vision.

you looked up at Colson who was across the table from you. he sent you a wink before taking a drink of whatever liquid was in his glass. you smiled back at him before Pete reached across the table to fist bump you. you laughed at him before getting ready for the scene.

the director moved back and called “Action.”

             “Mo actually got back from the army,” Pete started his lines.

             “yeah?” you respond.

             “yeah, he was there for 16 years,” Pete replied to you.

             “let’s not talk about, yeah,” Griffin responded giving Pete and Colson a look.

             “anyway, yeah, he hasn’t been laid in 16 years. how crazy is that?” Pete said before Colson could interrupt him.

             “aye, to Mo,” Colson said bring his glass in.

             “to Mo,” the table responded crashing the glasses together.

             “welcome back brother,” Colson said.

             “yeah, man.”

             “hoo-rah, right?” Colson said clinking his glass to yours.

             “hoo-rah,” Griffin cheered back.

             “hey, may we all make it to heaven before the devil knows we’re dead, baby,” Colson yelled.

             “YEAH,” Pete cheered back beating his chest like a frat boy.

             “cheers,” Griffin called before clinking his glass to yours.

             “wait. what does that mean?” Pete asked.

             “like, we’re sinners and-and-” Colson nodded his head. “and, bad motherfuckers, and he’s coming to suck us back…” Colson paused to do a little motion before continuing. “he wants us.”

             “isn’t that, like a Buzz Frontier song?” the other guy asked, and Colson looked up at him.

             “who wants us?” Pete interrupts looking at Colson. “what did he do? what did we do?”

             “Satan, motherfucker, wants us,” Colson said moving his head to emphasize each word.

he then bent his head back up before making eye contact with you. one of the other girls began to laugh, which caused the table to laugh with her. Colson sent you another wink, and you smiled back at him.

             “Cut,” the director called. “that was good. let’s do it one more time.”

--

you were sad that your scene was over. you liked working with Pete and Colson. after you finished getting out of your costume, you put your clothes back on before heading to Pete’s trailer. in there, Pete and Colson were lounging on the furniture.  

             “what are you two doing?” you laugh as you close the trailer door behind you.

             “waiting for you,” Pete shot back.

             “what’s the plan?” you asked taking a seat on the couch next to Colson.

he wrapped an arm around you.

             “I have to shoot for a few more hours, but we can meet up later,” Pete suggested.

             “do you want to go out?” Colson asked you. “while we wait.”

             “sure,” you nodded. “what time do you think you’ll be done?” you asked Pete.

             “not sure, but I’ll text you.” Pete stood up from his seat. “I have to get back, but I’ll see you later.”

             “aight,” Colson replied reaching to dab up Pete.

Pete took his hand before patting you on the head.

             “bye Pete,” you call to him as he leaves.

             “bye, be safe,” he laughs back at the two of you.

as you watched the door of the trailer shut, you felt a pair of eyes on you. you turned to find Colson staring down at you.

             “what?” you laugh at him. “do I have something on my face?”

             “no.” he gave you a small smile.

             “then, stop staring at me like that.”

             “staring at you like what?”

             “like that,” you said pointing at his face. “making me feel self-conscious.”

             “can’t help that you’re really pretty.”

             “and that’s my cue to go,” you say starting to get up from the couch.

Colson laughed behind you before pulling you back onto the couch.

             “do you want to go to the mall?” he asked smiling at you. “then I can take you out for that dinner you promised me.”

             “ohhhh, I guess I did promise you a dinner,” you hum. “let’s go then.”

--

             “try it on.”

             “no. did you see how many zeros were on that tag?”

             “jesus, just try it on.”

             “no.”

             “get in that goddamn dressing room and try on the goddamn dress,” Colson mutter quietly to you.

Colson had dragged you into some fancy boutique to “buy you a dress.” you resisted, of course, and the fact that he was so willing to buy you an expensive dress scared you. you were very responsible with your money, and you never splurged on yourself. this, of course, was not going over well with Colson now that you were refusing to even try on a dress that was more than a hundred dollars.

             “Colson, it’s really expensive,” you softly say looking up at him.

             “so?” he shrugged. “please let me buy you something nice.” he gave you the closest thing he could to ‘puppy dog eyes.’

             “jesus, fine,” you breathe pulling yourself from his eyes. “I’m trying it on, but if I don’t like it, you’re not buying it.”

             “scouts honor,” he said holding up his hand.

with that, you snatched the hot pink mini dress from his hands and marched toward the dressing room. you could hear Colson lightly laughing at you as he watched you.

once you made it into the dressing room, you took a seat on the bench. you put your head in your hands before taking a breath. were you doing this? yes, and it went against every bone in your body. after you settled yourself down, you began to take off your clothes before trying on the dress.

once you began to slip on the dress, you couldn’t get it to zip up. you tried every angle possible, but the zipper wouldn’t budge. you let out a heavy sigh before collecting yourself. you peeked through the sliver of the door to see if Colson was outside the dressing room. you found him browsing at a rack of clothes a few feet from your dressing room.

you opened the door by a crack before poking your head out.

             “Colson,” you whisper-yelled to him.

his head perked up before finding you. he began to stalk closer to you.

             “how does it look?” he asked when he got to you.

             “I think I need a bigger size,” you admitted to him.

             “I’ll go grab the next size up, but can I at least see it?”

             “no, it won’t zip up,” you shot back.

             “can I try?”

             “can you try?”

             “jesus christ,” he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. “just turn around.”

you opened the door a bit more before turning around. you felt him place his hands on your hips before finding the zipper.

             “this should totally zip,” he whispered in your ear. “the zipper’s just stuck.”

you felt him move the zipper down before pulling it back up. the dress finally zipped.

you sighed once the dress finally fit properly. as you glanced in the mirror, you fell in love with the dress. you looked good. it was almost as if the dress was made for your body. it didn’t gap in weird places, and it wasn’t too snug. it felt perfect, and for its price, you were glad it was perfect. it would be a rip-off if it wasn’t.

             “damn,” Colson whispered.

             “damn,” you nodded.

             “you’re getting it.”

             “I’m not going to fight you on it,” you reply turning around to face him. “now, get out so I can get dressed.”

             “at least, let me unzip you first,” he laughed.

--

four hours and a shopping trip later, you and Colson were sitting in some fancy restaurant together. he was in a fashionable shirt and jacket while you sat in your hot pink mini dress.

             “thank you for dinner,” you say reaching across the table to take his hand.

             “you’re welcome,” he smiled at you after he handed the paid check back to the waitress. “I promised you a dinner, didn’t i?”

             “you did,” you laugh.

             “you wanna get out of here?” he suggests nodding toward the door.

             “sure,” you nod back.

with that, he moved to help you out of your chair. with his hand in yours, the two of you headed to his rental car. he opened the passenger door for you. before you could get in the car, you turned and placed a hand on his cheek.

his eyes met yours, and your heart melted. his hands landed on your waist, and he pulled you close before planting his lips on yours. you leaned up to kiss him back. and there you were, standing in the parking lot of a fancy restaurant making out like a bunch of teenagers.

--

at sunset, the two of you were sitting at the private rooftop patio of your hotel. you were both laying on one of the daybeds watching the sky change colors. you were deep in thought.

             “I’m scared,” you admit staring up at the sky.

             “scared?” Colson quietly asked you from where he was laying next to you.

             “yeah,” you breathe. “I don’t do relationships. I run from them. maybe it’s my fear of rejection or my fear of getting hurt.” you pause for a moment. “I really like you. like really, really like you. and part of me is scared because I don’t want to get hurt, but I want a relationship. I want love, you know?”

             “I get it,” he murmured next to you.

you were both at the point of the night where deep conversations were rolling. should you have been so honest with him? who knows. would you regret it tomorrow? maybe. but, right now, it had been said.

             “and, I want a relationship with you.” he rolled over on his side to face you. “I’m just scared because I don’t want to be just another girl for you. you buy me a pretty dress and take me to dinner with the hopes that I land in your bed tonight, and it makes me wonder,” you whisper.

you could feel his gaze. he took one of your hands and placed a kiss on the backside of it.

             “you and I both know my track record with relationships kinda suck,” he starts. “but, I want this to work.” he brushed a peace of hair from your face. “I’ve never felt this way with anyone, and I’m going to be completely honest when I say it scares the shit out of me. and, if it makes you more comfortable, we can take this relationship at whatever speed you want it to go. I just want to be with you. I want to make this work, and I want to be a part of your life. I want this relationship to be more than just texts at 4 am and kissing you once every three months.”

you were both quiet for a bit. you were processing what he had said. he wants this to work. he wants to be with you. he wants this relationship, and he wants it to be more.

             “I’m gonna fall in love with you if you keep saying shit like that,” you whisper after your moment of silence.

             “good,” he smiled placing a hand on your cheek. “because, I’m falling in love with you.”

your breath caught in your throat. you wrapped your arms around his neck before pulling him down to you. he placed his lips on yours and kissed you. laying there in the daybed, you kissed him back.

             “be my whatever,” he whispered.

             “be your whatever?” you ask raising an eyebrow.

             “yeah, whatever you want to call yourself. just be mine. be mine, baby.”

             “okay.”

and you kissed him once more.

.

.

.

not sure how i feel about this. hopefully, this does justice for a part two, anon. i hope you enjoyed. feel free to send requests. - rose xx

#colson baker #colson baker imagines #colson baker x reader #machine gun kelly imagines #machine gun kelly x reader

[imaginesandinserts]

Irreverent Pt. 39 - Dinner Party

Title: Irreverent Pt. 39 - Dinner Party Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: M Words: 5812

Irreverent Series Masterlist

Clyde was handling another assignment so you were working out of Quantico for the time being. You'd learned really quickly that not everyone had a Penelope Garcia at their disposal and you needed to skill up fast. You'd bribed her with concert tickets and a very handsome Elliot Greenberg as her escort in exchange for teaching you the basics.

Elliot worked for the white collar crime unit in New York after the BAU rejection and had recently made the transition to Quantico for sex crimes. The two of you had kept in touch over the years and he'd hit you up when he'd moved back. He'd broken up with his girlfriend back in New York for the job - which really just told you the girlfriend hadn't mattered all that much. Elliot was smart, good looking, and doing well at work but you knew he also had a nerdy streak that Garcia would appreciate.

It was kind of fun being on the other side of a case and watching Penelope in action. You figured it would be easiest to learn on the job so you'd stayed holed up in her office and the two of you worked together with the team on a case. She taught you how to do some of the less complex stuff and you got to flirt with Hotch anytime he called for an update - it was a win-win really.

When they got back, he'd decided to have everyone be home for a week and do reports and consults to coincide with your schedule. No one was really complaining about a week of no travel.

Aaron had gotten home before you as you'd had a late afternoon meeting with McKinney to update him on your progress. When you walk in, you can smell roasted spices wafting from the kitchen. Aaron had always enjoyed foods from other cuisines but with you he'd really embraced cooking it as well, since you'd lived all over and had curated your own recipes over the years. If your nose wasn't mistaken, he was trying his hand at your Chicken Vindaloo recipe.

You walk into the kitchen to see him wearing an apron and manning the stove while Jack sits at the island doing his homework.

"Hi baby." You greet Jack and place a quick kiss to his head before going over to observe Aaron's handiwork - it smelled pretty good and he already had the rice cooker going as well. Jack mumbled a hello and you could tell something was off. You raise an eyebrow at Aaron who mouths "Soccer" to you, peaking a glance backwards at Jack's head bent over his worksheets.

Aaron and you had decided to sign him up for soccer lessons, figuring it was a good age to get him into team sports and be a little more active in a structured setting. Apparently he wasn't taking it too well, though you couldn't fathom why.

You take a quick taste from the spatula that Aaron had been using to stir and add a little pinch of salt to the pan. He throws you a mock glare. "I was getting to it," he mutters, shooing you away.

You leave him to the cooking and go sit at the island by Jack. Grabbing a tangerine from the fruitbowl, you peel it and break off a piece. "Orange for your thoughts?" you ask Jack.

You can see him hesitate but he still reaches out for the small slice, putting his pencil down. "I don't want to do Soccer," he confesses, reaching for another piece. Aaron's back is turned and he appears to be bustling around the kitchen.

"What part of it do you not want to do?" You pop a piece of tangerine into your own mouth as well.

He seems to consider your question as he chews on another piece. "It seems messy and the other kids seem mean."

You and Aaron had taken Jack by the soccer field a couple of weeks ago and you realize he's referring to the mud covered kids all pushing one another. Jack was a sweet and sensitive kid and you could understand how that was maybe a stressful situation for him. But you also wanted him to give it a shot because it would be good to do some team activities - help him make some more friends and be more active.

"It does seem kind of messy," you agree. "But I don't think the other kids will be mean. You're good at making friends and as long as you're nice to them they'll be nice to you."

He thinks over your response and you know you can seal the deal. "If you don't like it after you give it a fair shot, then we can discuss. Is that okay?" Jack was a reasonable kid and you and Aaron tried to give him choices as much as possible.

"Okay, Y/N." Jack nods, grabbing the last piece of tangerine from your palm.

"You know," you lean in a bit to Jack, lowering your voice, "your family has a special history with soccer fields."

"We do?" He quirks an eyebrow at you and he looks so much like Aaron in that moment. The cheeks are all Haley but the expression is completely Aaron.

"Well, you know how your parents met, of course," you confirm with mock seriousness.

Jack smiles and nods. "Pirate #4"

You laugh, ruffling Jack's hair. Aaron had kept his word to Haley and he did his best to make her a part of Jack's life as much as you could. But you had a feeling this wasn't a story Jack knew yet. Jack had been obsessed with all of the Disney movies lately so you know he'd appreciate a good romance story.

"Yes, your parents met during the play. But your dad was quite the young soccer star when he was in high school." You look and see that Aaron is adding the finishing touches to dinner and undoubtedly listening in. Jack has turned fully to face you, bringing his chair a little bit closer to yours.

"Well, your mom started to go watch him practice and go to his games. After a game where your dad scored the winning goal," you pause as Jack hangs on every word, "they were hanging out on the field and your dad finally plucked up the courage and asked your mom to be his girlfriend."

"That's pretty cool, I guess." He smiles, turning to look at his dad. "But not as cool as Buttercup and Wesley. Can we watch The Princess Bride again after dinner?"

You and Aaron laugh as he nods and tells Jack to go get washed up for dinner. The three of you had already watched The Princess Bride a couple of times and Aaron insisted that Inigo Montoya looked exactly like his old boss, Gideon. He'd pulled up pictures to show you, but you just didn't see it. It was probably the longest argument the two of you had had in recent memory.

As Jack leaves, Aaron turns to look at you, his face identical to Jack's from earlier, eyebrow quirked just the same. You know he's wondering how you knew that story about him and Haley because it sure hadn't been from him.

"Jess and I bonded while you were gone," you explained with a small smile. "He should know your love story."

Aaron nods as you get up to get changed for dinner yourself. He adores that you go above and beyond to make sure that Jack feels connected to Haley. Sometimes, though, he worries that you end up minimizing your role in his and Jack's life in the process.

As far as Aaron was concerned, Jack got to be witness to his favorite love story.

*------------*

With the whole team at home base for the coming week, you and Aaron decided to host the long postponed dinner party that you had initially aimed to have as your relationship reveal party. Between the team jumping the gun on you and then all of the work and cases, it had gotten pushed back indefinitely. However, now seemed like the right time to do it. You'd planned it for the end of the week when both Henry and Jack were invited to a birthday sleepover and all of the adults had the next day off.

Emily, Derek, and Penelope were all bringing dates. Rossi was seeing Strauss but knew better than to invite her to a team thing. You still remembered worming that particular secret out of Aaron. You had known something was up when you'd happened to catch his face when Rossi told him. You'd been too far to actually hear what caused that face, so you'd brought it up later. In his defense, he'd valiantly tried to protect Rossi's secret, but you had your ways. When he'd finally given in and told you, you regretted having tried so hard to get it out of him. Rossi and Strauss. Just the thought of it made you shudder.

However, with that large of a group, you decided to get some outside help, though you'd still make dessert. You'd left for lunch to go meet with the caterer, taking Rossi along with you since he'd actually be helpful. Aaron was in some budget meetings through lunch anyways and you'd grabbed him a salad on the way back. You thanked Rossi for joining you and he took Aaron's food up with him as you turned to see Derek and Emily hanging out by her desk.

"Hey, so what'd Hotch mess up?" Derek asks as he sees you.

You're confused for a second as to what he means but then you catch sight of the large bouquet of flowers on your desk. Your heart stops. You recognize that arrangement - the ostentatious roses arranged artfully. You'd forgotten what day it was. After he missed last year, you'd thought he'd forgotten - that he'd moved past it finally. This was the first time they'd arrived at the office. Usually it was sent to your home so you could deal with it in private.

You approach your desk not bothering to look for a note. Quickly, you pick them up and place the bouquet in your trash can, in the hope that no one else would see them. Both Derek and Emily eye you curiously.

You have to make sure your voice will come out steadily before you speak. "They're not from Aaron."

You hope they'll just go back to their conversation as you sit down in your chair, your mind whirling. You'd have to deal with this situation. Him sending them to work was an obvious escalation and to what end, you couldn't be sure.

From the corner of your eye, you see Derek stand from his spot on Emily's desk. He walks towards you with purpose and before you can stop him, he's reached into the trash can and fished out the note.

"Matthew? He's sending you flowers?" His voice is low and he looks troubled, holding the note in his hands and taking a seat on your desk instead. Seemed like him and Emily had decided he'd deal with it, as she was conspicuously missing, leaving just you and Derek in the bullpen.

You sigh internally. It had been too much to hope that they would've just ignored it. "It's our anniversary," you explain, looking around and making sure there wasn't anyone else around. "He didn't take the break up well. Now he sends flowers every year to torture me - though usually he's tactful enough to send them to the house."

Your revelation does nothing to ease Derek's mind. If anything he looks even more worried now than before. "So he's escalating. Trying to get your attention."

"He's not going to actually do anything," you say, trying to sound reassuring. "I can handle it, Derek." You place a hand on his knee closest to you and look firmly up at him. The last thing you needed was for Derek to be all worried and nosey about the situation. Or worse, for him to tell… "Do not tell Aaron."

He looks at you as though you're stupid and you can tell he's going to argue with you, but you really don't want to bother Aaron with this. Not in the one week you guys have at home together. "I mean it, Derek. He has a thousand other things to worry about. My sociopath ex does not need to be one of them."

Derek frowns and you know he's racing through the thousand cases you guys have done on stalker exes and escalation. Luckily for you, Matthew was too lazy to actually stalk anyone. Unluckily, he still found the time to order you flowers to remind you that he'd once been a very large part of your life. You didn't even like roses. With a glance up to Hotch's office, Derek nods, knowing he won't be able to convince you otherwise right now. He drops the note back into the trash can as Emily returns and you all go back to pretending to work.

It's late afternoon when you hear Hotch calling your name from the upstairs landing. "Y/N, can you come up here please?"

You'd gotten very little done, your mind whirling with what to do about the Matthew situation. You just wanted it to be over. You briefly wonder if Aaron wants to talk about the meeting with the caterers or Jack's schedule for the following week when the two of you will both be away. You enter his office, closing the door behind you.

"Hey, what's going on?" You walk in and take a seat on his couch. The blinds facing the bullpen are closed, but the ones facing outside are open, casting a warm glow around the room. Curiously, he hasn't moved back to his desk and is standing in front of you, with a concerned look on his face.

"When were you going to tell me about the Matthew situation?" he asks, placing his left hand on his hip and looking every bit the part of SSA Aaron Hotchner instead of your boyfriend.

You let out a breath. You couldn't believe Derek had told him, after you'd specifically asked him not to. And now he had that furrowed brow and the concerned face and he has a deadline from Strauss on the new budget. This wasn't what he needed right now and you knew it would distract from everything else.

You grit your teeth and stand up, ignoring his voice, and open the door to his office to scan the bullpen until you catch sight of who you're looking for. "Agent Morgan," you call out, "could you please join us up here?"

Derek looks up at you before he quickly walks upstairs and enters Hotch's office. He goes and stands by Hotch while you close the door once again, undoubtedly knowing what this was about. The two of them made quite the image - frowns marring both of their faces though Aaron's was less pronounced. I knew moisturizing was a good call.

Squaring your shoulders, you cross your arms across your chest, facing the two of them. "Figured it was more efficient to just talk to you both together. Save you the trouble of finding each other afterwards," you say, your tone hinting at how annoyed you were. Not that either one of them had the decency to look ashamed. If anything they looked defiant.

Aaron started to speak but you cut him off.

"You two need to realize that I can handle my own problems. If I say Matthew isn't an issue, trust me. If I say I have it handled, believe me that I do."

"No." You expected that, but not from Derek. Maybe from Aaron, but not from Derek.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, no. Not with our jobs. Not knowing what we do. I'll tell Hotch, I'll tell the whole team. The more people on the lookout the better."

"I -"

"Morgan's right. So, let's figure out what to do."

"There's nothing to do. He sent flowers, not a bomb. Leave it alone. If the worst thing he does is send me flowers once a year - well people have dealt with worse. You're both overreacting."

"You expect us to do nothing? What about when he escalates?"

"He won't!"

"You can't possibly know that." His entire demeanor is stiff and tense and he's aggravated with you for not taking this as seriously as he is.

"I was with him for four years, Aaron. Trust me. I know him. He has nothing to gain from an escalation and everything to lose. He's married, he doesn't exactly want me back. He just hates that I dumped him and once a year he remembers that and gets pissed off and drunk and in his own passive aggressive way, chooses to do this. It's not worth any of us wasting a second more of our time on!"

Derek looks like he'd rather be anywhere but standing in the middle of the two of you at that moment.

Aaron breathes out slowly before he speaks, as though if he takes a moment it'll prevent him from shaking you into seeing it his way. "I still would like for the team to be on alert. Just in case." It would appear he'd decided on the reasonable approach.

You groan, but know that's the best you're about to get. At your nod, Aaron and Derek exchange a look before Derek moves to leave the room.

"Hey," you stop him as his hand touches the doorknob. "Next time I ask you to not tell my crazy, overprotective boyfriend something. Just don't."

He grimly shakes his head at you. "No promises."

You narrow your eyes at him. The two of you will be discussing this later.

Turning away from you, he nods at Hotch before opening the door and closing it behind him.

Aaron sighs before sitting down on the couch next to you. "Why wouldn't you just tell me?" he asks, as though he's afraid of the answer.

You know he's genuinely worried about you and grasping at the implication of you not telling him about this. You reach across the couch cushion and grab his hand, squeezing it. His fingers intertwine with yours instantly.  

"Aaron, if I thought - for even a second- that this was some sort of actual threat, you'd be the first person I'd tell."

Which was the truth. If there was any chance that Matthew was a threat to Aaron or Jack, you'd have told him immediately. As it stood, however, your ex boyfriend was nothing more than a coward who got off on his little annual psychological warfare.

He nods, his mouth a straight line.

You spend a few more minutes in his office reassuring him properly (How convenient that the blinds were already shut), before leaving him to finish up the rest of his work.

*------------*

Derek watches from the bullpen as you exit Hotch's office, not a hair out of place, though he could imagine that hadn't been the case a minute earlier. He sees your eyes dart around furtively before making a quick phone call. You say barely two words before hanging up.

*------------*

Ricky Costello had the self-assured charm of a boy who had never questioned his place in life. He'd grown up scrawny and had to learn how to fight and stand up for himself. As he'd grown older and filled out some, people knew better than to pick on him or anyone he was friends with. He was loyal, headstrong, and the smartest of the family - which is why his father had pulled some strings and gotten him into a good school where he could learn something and be of some use to the family.

You'd met Ricky in your accounting class when he'd tried to partner with you for a project, thinking you'd do all the work for him. He'd had to rethink that strategy when you'd shown up at his dorm room, pretended to be his girlfriend to get rid of his flavor of the week, and then promised to continue ruining his chances with every gullible freshman unless he did his share of the work. Needless to say, the two of you had the best project in the class.

You arrived at the bar he'd texted you the address to. It was in a quiet street just off central downtown and at six in the evening, there were only commuters headed back home. No one paid much attention to you as you quickly looked around before entering.

The place was mostly empty save for an older couple seated at a table in the corner. You see Ricky seated at the bar and you make your way towards him. Feeling someone approach, he turns around, a grin breaking out on his face when he sees you.

"Hi Doll," he stands and wraps you in a hug that lifts you off the ground and elicits a small squeal of surprise.

"Hi Ricky." Your face lights up at the sight of him. It had been a while.

He indicates to the bartender for another round, before guiding you to a small table at the other corner of the bar. He pulls out a chair for you as the bartender sets down two glasses of scotch.

"Cheers," he says, lifting his glass and clinking it with yours. "To seeing old friends."

"Cheers," you smile, taking a sip, your eyes studying him. He looked older, the beginnings of grey could be seen near his temples. His leather jacket hugged him just right and he'd grown out his usual stubble into a full, well-kept beard. His smile was still very much him - a little cocky and every bit as affectionate as you remembered it.

The two of you drink for a while as he catches you up on all the drama your old group had gone through recently - the weddings, the breakups, the kids. It was odd to have missed out on all of it.

"So, tell me, why'd you really call?" he asks, leaning back in his chair, his hand playing with the rim of his glass.

You take a breath, mimicking his posture. "Matthew is planning on running for Congress."

He takes in your pursed lips and the tenseness of your shoulders. "I heard," he says slowly, deliberately. "Been meaning to pay him a visit. Congratulate him."

"Congratulate him for me too."

The quirk of his lips tells you he knows why you're telling him this. There was no love lost between Matthew and Ricky. If they were in the same room they were bound to get into it. You'd done your best to keep them sequestered in different parts of your life - however some events were inevitably meant for larger groups.

He nods with a soft laugh, before indicating to the bartender for a second round, which is delivered promptly.

"You should come back, Y/N. Give up the straight laced thing. The crew, we miss you, doll." His voice is earnest and for a moment you see the hint of the boy who'd confided all his secrets to you during study sessions that had bled into the early morning hours.

You smile, and your voice catches ever so slightly. "I've met someone - and well, he's pretty much as straight laced as they come."

Ricky laughs at that and you know he's just a little surprised. "What's his name?"

"Aaron." His name feels right at home in your mouth.

"Nice Catholic boy?" His face is one of boyish teasing.

"I always did have a thing for those," you joke. And you know, you know Ricky will take that in the friendly manner that it was meant.

The two of you wrap up and Ricky closes out the tab before walking you back to your car. As you're about to pull out of the parking spot, he leans into your window, placing the lightest of kisses to your cheek.

"Tell your boy Aaron, he's the luckiest guy in the world."

*------------*

You hear the front door open and close as Aaron arrives, having dropped Jack off at the birthday party sleepover he was invited. You'd spent the day making sure you'd made enough tiramisu for all the guests while both Jack and Aaron snuck bites of it when your back was turned.

You've just finished dusting off the final pan with cocoa powder, when you feel Aaron's arms circle your waist from behind. You have to slap his hand away as it makes its way into the dessert. Him and Jack had polished off half a pan that morning and at this rate, you'd have none left for the actual guests.

"You can't eat all of the dessert before the guests get here. At this rate, you're pretty much cut off from it entirely. I don't think I can make it again if you and Jack are going to be like this," you scold, turning and poking at his stomach.

He doesn't have the decency to look even a little embarrassed. He just smiles and shrugs, his arms encircling your waist again. "I'll just have to find something else to eat instead, I guess."

His words send a spike of heat and desire through you. The two of you had been making the most of being home at the same time and every night had ended with him between your legs - one way or another.

Shaking your head, you escape his hold and move to clear the island for the caterers. He was relentless, however.

"You expect to wear this and have me keep my hands to myself?" His voice is a deep rumble behind you as his arms cage you against the island countertop and his mouth finds your pulse point. He's referring to the off shoulder dress you'd changed into while he'd been gone, highlighting your collarbone magnificently. It flared out from the waist, making you look like the epitome of the perfect housewife you had once been destined to become.

"I'd hoped you'd at least wait till the end of the night," you retort. His arms are warm and his chest firm behind you and you really didn't have it in you to push him away again. You were pretty helpless against him.

"I always like to get a head start." You can hear the humor in his voice as he pushes you against the counter a little more firmly, his arms coming from around you to clear the space right in front.

"Aaron." His name escapes you with a soft sigh as he plants warm kisses along your neck down to your exposed shoulders. He sweeps your hair to the front, lips traveling down your spine as his hands move underneath your dress, finding the waistband of your underwear and then slipping inside to find you wet, warm, and waiting for him.

He lets out a groan at the feel of you and can't help but grind himself against you. He knows he's working against the clock and is surprised you've let him get this far.

You let out a sharp gasp as his thumb presses against your clit and he inserts two fingers deep within you. He had the art of getting you to come, down to a near science. He quickly pumps his fingers in and out, his thumb rubbing your clit in repeated circles. With his other hand he brings your head around and captures your lips. The press of his lips against yours is a feeling you'll never tire of you.

You come embarrassingly quick, fluttering around his fingers, your back arched and your ass grinding into his hard length behind you. He turns you around, his mouth hot and needy against yours. When you pull away, his eyes are blown wide and there's a sheen of sweat on his forehead from the exertion of keeping himself from simply plowing into you.

You make quick work of his belt buckle and help him work his jeans and underwear down, eager to have him in you. With one eye on the clock behind you, he hoists you up to the countertop, placing you on the edge, and enters you swiftly, eliciting a loud groan from you.

"Fuck, sweetheart. Always so ready for me. Always tight…wet." His voice is rough and low and makes the coil in your stomach tighter and your breath come out harsher. He moves efficiently, his head tucked into the crook of your neck and his arms working to keep you balanced on the edge.

His breath is warm against your neck, and he's panting and leave wet open kisses to any skin available to him. Your fingers dig into his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he thrusts into you. You're close and you know he is too based on how irregular his movement is becoming.

You remove one hand from his shoulder, pulling on his hair to move his head enough to reach his mouth in a lazy kiss. He groans into your mouth as he comes, drawing your orgasm out right after, causing you to tremble against him.

As you come down, you're entirely slumped against his chest and he's moved you to sit more firmly on the island. You know you look nowhere near as presentable as you did fifteen minutes prior, but you're finding it hard to be too upset about it.

Still, you can't help but be a little bratty about it. "I'm going to have to redo my makeup," you whine against him.

Laughing breathlessly, he picks you up to carry you upstairs. It was a wonder he had the strength to do that right after. You could barely stand up when he deposited you outside the shower.

The two of you work quickly to get cleaned up and Aaron is the one to let the caterers in as you redo your hair and makeup. You fish out another dress - one with sleeves and a higher neckline. You couldn't afford to be pulled into the coat closet with people around.

*------------*

An hour and a half later, the party is in full swing. Emily had brought Henry Eastwood - Senator Williams's Chief of Staff. The two of you had run into him while out shopping a few weeks back and having recognized you, had come up to say hello. You had a feeling that had Emily not been with you, he would've entirely ignored some girl his boss had dated for a few weeks a year or so ago. However, you couldn't deny that they made a handsome couple.

Penelope had brought Elliot - the two of them had really hit it off and you were happy to see her smiling and laughing with someone. You'd given in and allowed Rossi to bring Strauss and you were pleasantly surprised to see her being on her best behavior around Aaron. Derek had brought Savannah and they were talking to JJ and Will.

You walked to the kitchen to open up another bottle of wine and refill everyone's glasses. It seemed Savannah had followed you, empty glass in hand. Laughing, you top off her glass with the almost empty bottle in hand, before opening the next one.

"Thanks for having everyone over," she says, taking a drink from her glass.

"Of course. Aaron and I honestly meant to do this ages ago, but work got away from us."

You have a feeling Savannah wants to talk to you about something else, however, so you don't say much more, trying to give her the chance to speak up.

She looks around a little nervously, but seems to make up her mind. "You're different for Derek, you know. Different from Emily and Penelope. He's very protective of you."

"I'm protective of him too," you respond softly. You know what she means however. You and Derek had gone through the worst thing in the world together and only came out the other end because of one other.

"Savannah, you have nothing to worry about," you reassure her, knowing that's what she really needed at the moment. Her and Derek hadn't had much time together lately and you could understand feeling insecure. "Derek loves you and you're good for him. You challenge him and you're the first girl I've seen him be so head over heels for."

She smiles and you know that helped a bit. "Thanks."

The two of you each grab a bottle and head back to the main living room. As you pour more wine into Dave's glass, you catch Aaron's eye and you feel warmth pooling in your stomach, the promise of a good night ahead of you. You walk around the room and top off everyone, making sure there's enough appetizers still out.

Derek offers to help you carry back the empty platters and follows you into the kitchen. "So, I heard something interesting today," he says, placing the platters on the counter.

You hum, as you grab more of the stuffed mushrooms from the warmer and arrange them on the empty platter.

"Cops responded to a call about a break in in New Hampshire, placed by someone's neighbor," he pauses and he knows you're listening. "When they get there, guy living in the house was obviously beat up, but his wife seemed alright. Just a little shaken up. Funny thing is - dude refused to press charges, even though cops could tell that the house had been broken into."

Your posture has gotten incredibly stiff as he spoke. He knows. You don't say anything, simply look at him apprehensively.

"Tell me," he continues, "what's the Italian mob's going rate to put the fear of God in someone?"

You take a breath, before meeting his eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah, you wouldn't. Probably get the friends and family discount," he trails off, grabbing the platter and walking out of the kitchen.

Crap. He really did know. He knew about Ricky. Which meant he'd probably gotten Penelope involved as well.

Quickly composing yourself, you carry the other platter out, joining him by the appetizer table.

"Derek - "

"Don't worry. Garcia won't say anything."

You look at him, and you know he won't either.

"Thank you."

He nods, popping another mushroom in his mouth and smiling at you. He wouldn't be doubting you again when you said you had something under control.

He wouldn't tell anyone. When Hotch asks him later about the Matthew situation, all he'd say was that it was handled. Hotch would pause, look at him, but then trust Morgan to know that it was really handled.

#Criminal Minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds reader insert #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner x you #hotch #hotchner x you #hotchner x y/n #hotch x reader #hotch x you #hotch x y/n #irreverentseries

[thetravelerwrites]

OkCryptid: Pevik Pikecarver (Goblin) Lemon

Rating: Explicit Relationship: Male Goblin/Female Human Additional Tags: Exophilia, OkCryptid, Dating App, Goblin Content Warning: Adoption, Sex Words: 3159

A sweet commission for @mxnsterbabe​! A woman uses the "Blind Date" function on the OkCryptid app, and is surprised by who she's matched up with. Please reblog and leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

OkCryptid was becoming the most popular dating app on the market. It was free, easy to use, and had rave reviews from it’s users. There were no end to the happy couples, or poly relationships, that sang it’s praises. You’d never used an app to date before, but your recent disastrous attempts at dating had caused you to consider it.

You weren’t even sure what you wanted, honestly. You scrolled through the profiles with no real interest. You must have swiped through a hundred profiles before a graphic popped that said: “Can decide? Try the Blind Date Option! Click Here to Try!”

Why not, you thought? You clicked it, and it took you to a form page to put in days and times you’d be available for a date. After filling it out and clicking “Next”, it took you to another page that asked which locations you were willing to go to for this date. You picked out a couple of cafes and restaurants you liked, and clicked “Match Me.”

There was a loading wheel, then a message that said, “At the moment, there are no matches that have selected any of the times and locations you provided. We will send you a message with a date and time as soon as a match is available!”

Well, that figured. You closed the app and put your phone in your pocket, turning your attentions to other things.

It wasn’t until three days later that you got a notification, which you ignored at first since you were at work. It wasn’t until you got into your car and took a moment to check your email that you saw it.

“A date has been made for the 23rd, 6 PM, at the Rosemary Gardens restaurant. To accept, click ‘Date’. To decline, click ‘Pass’.”

There was no other information. After a moment of deliberating, you clicked “Date.” It was followed by a message that said, “Congratulations! Pevik will meet you at the Rosemary Gardens Restaurant on the 23rd at 6 PM!”

Pevik? That was an unusual name. You had no idea what to expect. You had to resist an overwhelming urge to Google the name and see what came up, or at least search OkCryptid for people with that name. The whole point of a blind date was to go in blind. Peeking was against the rules.

The 23rd was only four days away. You could wait. Maybe.

The day of your date with Pevik arrived and you had to admit you were a bit nervous. The not-knowing aspect of a blind date was always a little nerve-wracking. Should you be casual? Dressy? What if they were allergic to your cat and they had a reaction to the fur on your clothes? What if they went into anaphylaxis and died? Could you forgive yourself or your cat for killing someone?!

Okay, that probably wouldn’t happen…

But it could…Where was your epipen…?

Rosemary Gardens was a trendy place that required more presentation than jeans and a t-shirt, so you wore a simple sundress and cardigan, easy and cute. Light makeup, a bobby-pin or two, just to keep fly-aways out of your eyes. Nothing flashy or fancy, since you’d gone on disastrous dates before dressed to the nines and it had been a mistake, to the say the least. Red wine is virtually impossible to get out of silk chiffon.

You got there a little early, but when you told the hostess that you were going to be waiting for someone, she said, “Oh, are you here for Pevik?”

“Yes,” You said, surprised.

“He’s already here,” She said brightly. “Right this way.”

You followed the woman to a table across from the bar, and sitting there was a goblin. He had short black hair and long ears. His eyes were the typical yellow with slotted pupils and he had a cute little button nose. He had on black slacks and a blue button-up shirt on with shiny black shoes.

You managed to hide the fact that you were a little disappointed. You typically preferred men who were taller than you, and this guy was only slightly taller than your waist, at your best guess.

He was clasping and unclasping his hands over and over, but stopped and perked up as you approached, a smile spreading across his face. You could see small bottom and top tusks just poking out from his lips.

“Are you my date today?” He asked.

“I am,” You said, sticking your hand out and introducing yourself.

“Pevik,” He said. “Pevik Pikecarver.”

“That’s a unique last name,” You said as you sat.

“It’s Orcish, actually,” He said shyly. “I was adopted as a baby by orc dads.”

“Oh!” You said. “Wow, that’s amazing.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I get that a lot.” He looked up at you through his surprisingly long lashes. “I’m not exactly what you were expecting, huh?”

You shrugged a little guiltily. “I guess not.”

“I know. You were expecting me to have blue eyes, right?”

You couldn’t help but laugh. Poor guy. You imagined he got a lot of rejection but still had a good sense of humor.

“I get it if you’d like to end this early--” He started, but you interrupted him.

“No, no! I’ll admit, I had different… expectations, but you seem really cool. Let’s keep it going, if that’s okay?”

His smile widened and he nodded.

He was a social worker who insured elder care workers were qualified to do their jobs, in both retirement facilities and home care. He enjoyed his job because it reminded him of his dads, who had adopted him very late in their lives. You were sad to learn they had both died recently, making him feel very lonely. Usually he spent most of his time at work and with his two cats, Jenga and Fifi, who he inherited from his dads.

He asked you about yourself, eager to learn about your life and hobbies. The two of you had a lot of things in common, including tastes in music and movies, although he thought the depictions of goblins in fantasy films was super racist. You had to agree.

By the end of the date, the two of you had been talking for hours and the restaurant was about to close.

“I didn’t realize how much time had passed,” He said, staring at his watch. “I should go, I’ve got a lot of paperwork at home that needs doing, but I had a great time.” He seemed to want to say more, but was hesitant.

“Me too,” You said. “Do you want to do this again sometime?”

“Yeah, absolutely!” He said, brightening. “Anytime you want! Just let me know when you’re free.”

You laughed again. “”Don’t sound so eager! Let me give you my number.” You held out your hand and he handed you his phone. You put your number in it and texted yourself. “There. I’ll text you soon, okay?”

“I look forward to it,” He said, walking you to your car. “Take care, okay?”

“I will,” You said, wishing him a goodnight.

You texted him when you got home, letting him know you’d made it safe. You weren’t sure why you felt the need to do so, but it felt nice. He responded he had gotten home as well and wished you a good night’s sleep. You went to bed feeling a little giddy.

You woke up to a good morning text from him the next day and smiled all through your morning routine for work. You didn’t expect this…reaction…from one date. Pevik was admittedly not your usual type, but there was just something about him that made you… feel good. There wasn’t an initial spark, sure, but after spending all that time talking with him had completely changed your perception. Maybe it was his unwavering attention or his sweet disposition or sense of humor. Whatever it was, you were looking forward to seeing him again.

Your next day off was Tuesday, and even though he was working ten hour days for the whole week, he still wanted to have dinner with you.

>Won’t you be tired? You asked him through text.

>Not if I’m with you, He texted back. >How could I be tired when I have you there to invigorate me?

>You’re so silly, You said, grinning at your phone.

>Hopefully in a good way, He replied. >My lunch break is over. I’ll see you tonight at seven. I can’t wait!

>Neither can I. Have a good day at work!

>I will.

He met you at a cafe that Tuesday still wearing his work badge on his button-up shirt.

“Sorry,” He said, taking it off and stuffing it in his pocket. “I came straight from work.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” You said. “We could have made the date a little later.”

“Nah, if I sat still, I’d have fallen asleep. Besides, I was excited to see you again and I didn’t want to wait.”

You could feel yourself blushing and tried to keep the smile off your face.

“I must seem like a weirdo,” He said, kicking his feet a little in embarrassment. “Being so happy to see you all the time, I mean. I know I should be kind of aloof and cool, but I can’t help it. I just feel like a puppy left alone for too long.”

“No, it’s really sweet,” You assured him. “Honestly, no one has ever showered me with so much attention before. It’s kind of nice. I expect guys to act aloof and disinterested at first, so it’s refreshing.”

He laughed self-consciously. “I’m glad. I’m always concerned that my enthusiasm is grating on people.” The two of you sat and ordered your coffee and treat from the waitress.

“I was thinking, actually,” You said slowly. “I hope this doesn’t seem forward, but I have the weekend off and was thinking of cooking for the first time in a while. Like, a full spread. I don’t often cook because it’s just me, but I’m pretty good at it. Would you like to have dinner at my house?”

He gulped but nodded. “Yes, that sounds lovely, thank you.”

“Well, don’t thank me yet. My cooking is either incredible or horrifying nightmares, and there is no in-between. No guarantees which one you’ll get.”

He laughed again. “Well, no one’s perfect.”

After coffee, he was walking you back to your car when you saw a bench.

“Hey, can you stand up on here for a sec?” You asked.

He hopped up effortlessly. “Sure, what for?”

You pinched his chin in your fingers and kissed him. He took your face in his hands and pulled you in closer, and you could feel his small tusks between his teeth. It was exciting.

That Friday, you were in your kitchen, stirring red sauce in a saucepan, when there was a knock on your apartment door. Your heart rose up in your chest and you went to open the door. Pevik stood there with a really beautiful bouquet flowers.

“Not to be cliche, but,” He said, grinning. “For you.”

“Thanks,” You said, taking them and sniffing. “Let me see if I have a vase.”

You did not have a vase, but you did find a liquor bottle with a wide neck and used that to decent effect.

“I was praying you weren’t allergic to any of those. I couldn’t ask without being obvious, so I also got this,” He pulled a bottle of Benadryl out of his pocket. You laughed out loud.

“Very thoughtful,” You said, taking it. “It reminds me of just before our first date and my wondering if you’d have an allergic reaction to my cat’s fur and if I should bring my epipen.”

He laughed with you. “So, what’s on the menu tonight?” He hopped up on one of the stools at the bar in your kitchen.

“Stuffed bell peppers with a spring greens salad,” You said.

“That sounds amazing,” He said. “I eat way too much take out, but I never have time to cook.”

“Well, maybe I can cook for you more often. We could even cook together.”

He smiled. “I love that idea.”

You pointed to a stepstool you bought recently. “Want to help me stuff my pepper?”

He snorted and struggled to keep a straight face. “Sure.” He grabbed the stool and stood up next to you, taking one of the knives from the block and cleaning out the peppers. On the stool he was only slightly shorter than you, perfect height to lean in for a sneaky kiss on the cheek, so you did.

He jumped but gave you a startled smile, returning the kiss. The two of you worked together to finish dinner, stealing kisses as you did. When his hands weren’t occupied, he lay one of them on the small of your back, stroking up and down your spine a little. It made you bite your lip and squeeze your legs together.

The tension between the two of you was getting thicker by the minute, and by the time you both had sat down to eat, you were throbbing between your legs and shooting him sultry looks. You ate in relative silence because you didn’t trust yourself to talk, but your unshod foot found it’s way up his leg and between his thighs.

Halfway through dinner, he couldn’t take it anymore and threw down his silverware, standing and coming around the table to kiss you roughly. You pulled him into your lap and began unbuttoning his shirt as his lips made their way to your neck and collarbone, palming your breasts through the fabric of your blouse.

“Bedroom?” You asked breathlessly.

“Oh, gods, please,” He wheezed back, and you lifted him, carrying him to your room. He was heavier than he looked, but he was still light enough to carry a short distance. The both of you fell heavily on the bed with you on top of him. He pulled your blouse off just as you unbuttoned the last button and tugged the hem of his shirt out of his pants. He rolled you, straddling your legs as he undid your pants and helped you get them off.

Undressing each other took no time at all, and you lay back on your pillow as he kissed his way down your stomach. The pressure of his tusks pressed against your skin was like small charges, electrifying your body. His hands massaged your thighs and opened you up as he got lower, his long nails poking you slightly as he went.

“You’re okay with this, right?” He asked softly, his thumbs rubbing circles so very close to your swollen entrance. “I’m not moving to fast, am I?”

“If you’re moving too fast, I am, too,” You said. “It’s okay. Trust me, I’m perfectly happy with how things are going right now.”

He chuckled. “Just checking,” He replied before lowering himself down. His tongue licked one long strip from bottom to top before the pointed tip of it circled your clit, flicking it once or twice to make you whimper. Then he licked his thumb and used it to rub your bud up and down while he pushed his tongue inside you, moaning against the skin, contracting it against that sweet spot. You cried out and gripped his hair, rocking your hips back and forth.

Your breasts shuddered with every quivering breath that escaped your lips as he took his time pleasuring you. He was a little rusty, but he was more than happy to take direction, and your mind blanked as a rush of ecstasy washed through your body. You were completely unable to control the sounds that came out of you.

You lay on your pillow looking down at him as he got up on his knees, pushed your legs back, and lined himself up with your body, slowly pushing his cock inside, groaning and shutting his eyes.

“Oh, gods,” He whispered. “That’s so good. You feel incredible.”

“I could say the same to you,” You replied breathlessly. He wasn’t long, but definitely girthy and stretched you open pretty wide without being uncomfortable.

He opened his eyes and looked right at you, as if confirming that you wanted this. You bit your lip and fluttered your lashes a bit in a way you hoped looked appealing. He smiled and began to thrust, bending to kiss your belly and breasts. He gripped your hips hard and slapped his body against yours pretty hard with each thrust. It was exhilarating and you pressed your ankles into his buttocks to drive him faster.

He definitely took the hint, and your bedframe was smacking the wall with the intensity of his movements. Time completely blurred and it was as if the two of you were in a bubble in which nothing could enter in or leave until you both were sated. You couldn’t remember if any words were said from that moment on, whether by you or him, and fell into the fog of the best sex of your entire life.

You weren’t sure if you fell asleep or passed out, but there was definitely a moment were you simply weren’t conscious anymore. When you came back to the living world, a soft morning light was filtering in through the curtains of your windows. Pevik was asleep against you, his head on your shoulder and an arm around your waist. He looked adorable sleeping. You had thought to extricate yourself to start breakfast, but you woke him.

“Good morning,” You said as he began to blink blearily.

“It is a most excellent morning,” He said, smiling his toothy smile. “Last night was… beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. I think you’ve spoiled me for any other woman.”

“Well, hopefully, you won’t be needing another one,” You said. “In fact…” You grabbed your phone from your bedside table and clicked open the app.

“What are you doing?”

“Uninstalling it,” You said. “I’ve got you now. I don’t need it anymore.”

His grin widened. “You know what? You’re right.” He retrieved his phone from his pants pocket and uninstalled the app as well. “It served it’s purpose. No point in wasting the memory space.”

You lay back down on the bed with him propped up on one arm, looking down at you.

“I’m glad you decided to give me a chance,” He said to you, kissing your shoulder.

“I’m glad I tried that blind date thing,” You replied. “It’s hard to believe that if I had clicked a different button, we may never have met.”

“Life is funny that way,” He said.

You smiled softly at him and gave him a sweet kiss. “Right now, life is telling me we need waffles.”

“It’s important to listen to messages when we receive them,” He said magnanimously, then chased you into the kitchen, tickling you as you went.

Since my work is no longer searchable, please do me a favor and reblog this story if you enjoyed it. Help me reach a wider audience! To help me continue creating, please consider buying me a Kofi, becoming a Patron, or donating directly to my PayPal!

Thanks for reading!

My Masterlist

The Exophilia Creator’s Masterlist

#Exophilia #OkCryptid #Goblin #Dating App #Monster Boyfriend #Pevik #Mxnsterbabe

[siimjaeyun]

Chapter 1: Beast from Below

Synopsis: When five teens set their hearts on mystery solving, maybe they'll just uncover something that's a lot bigger than fake masks.

Series Masterlist

‐----------------------------------

"Another mystery solved!" Five palms met at the center before the metal bars behind them clasped shut; once more did they find themselves enclosed at the city jail. 

"Time and time again. Must I remind you kids about not interfering with city affairs." 

The man pinched his nose bridge before giving them a piercing look through the cage. They expected nothing less from Chief Kim: always bossing them around like toddlers and painting them as fools. 

"Just fantastic. Can't wait for another pep talk from my father." Heeseung fell to the ground dramatically as he looked at his four friends. This occurrence of the city jail never fazed them, and at this point, neither did the fear of being punished by his father. 

A couple minutes elapsed before Chief Kim made his way back to the five teens in the cell. With one movement, the door bolted open, allowing them to go home at once. 

"Wow. Only an hour wait. New record." Sunoo mischievously smiled and hung his shoulder over Jungwon, his shorter companion. 

"Beats that time we spent the night." Sunghoon only scoffed at the duo, no longer amazed by the words that came out of their mouths. 

"Heeseung! Y/n! Hurry up won't you!" You and heeseung strutted through the doors of the city building. You knew heeseung would be faced with utter disappointment from his father, head of the city, but you knew he could care less at this point. 

"Park y/n!" You hated the voice trailing in front of you. Your eyes slowly made their way to meet your brothers, a teen boy who's purpose in life was to delight others and be the puppet of any tiger parent. 

"Go away Jay." You shoved him in the opposite direction and tried to make your way into the van. Frankly, he was the last person you wanted to see. 

"Mom and dad asked me to pick you up. Jungwon and Sunoo as well." He eyed the youngsters goofing off in the background, and when they met his gaze, they walked off the van. 

"Catch you guys later okay?" Sunghoon and Heeseung drove off in the mini-van, leaving the four in silence. 

You said nothing and sat in the back seat of the old Honda. The smell of pine was obvious, and the stack of prep books in the back seat didn't faze you either. 

Jay dropped off Sunoo and Jungwon at their home, and later made his way back to your own. 

"It wouldn't hurt to stay out of trouble y'know." He finally broke the silence and looked at you through the car mirror. 

"I could care less about what you think. Plus, city jail visits from mysteries beat being my parent's trophy any day." 

------- 

"You should've seen our parents look. I think they don't bother with grounding us anymore." Jungwon continued to chat about the lack of punishment he and Sunoo received. 

"Mine don't mind at this point. They told me to might as well study forensics if I'm into silly mysteries." Sunghoon laughed a bit and scanned the tension of the van. 

"Better than whatever my father, the head of the city, had to say. He just laughed and insisted I be a role model." Heeseung added to the conversation as he drove the kids in the van. Being designated driver had its perks and its downs.

"I think I win considering Jay fucking perfect Park had to try to give me the 'stay out of trouble' peptalk." You crossed your arms and entertained yourself with the surrounding buildings. Trees, children running, a giant monster coming out the sewer. 

"Heeseung!!" Abruptly, a pile of fog escaped from the sewer, blinding Heeseung who tried his best to stop the van from crashing. 

"Looks like a mystery has arrived." Once Heeseung was safely able to stop the car, the rest of you left the van as well. 

Small droplets of water dancing were heard from the ground below. The five of you climbed down the ladder, stepping with caution of course. 

You trailed off with Sunghoon and let the bright light of your flashlights illuminate the cave. 

"Why are we in a cave?" Confusion struck your minds, there was supposed to be a river of sewage water. Why you had stepped foot on a cave tricked your minds. 

The teens continued to explore the cave, sharp rocks and pools of water were at your feet. As the light continued to roam the black and gray walls of the cave, a golden object shined from afar.

"Sunghoon, look." You picked up the object and your hands met with a locket. The locket opened and revealed a photograph of a young couple, probably of your same age. Before you could ponder more about the couple, a terrified shriek left Sunoo's mouth. 

"What's wrong!??" Heeseung followed Sunoo's fingers and he came face to face with petrified bodies. 

Three workers were frozen in a pile of green goop. 

----- 

"So?" Jungwon asked the officer with signs of intriguement, but he was not interested in the young one's questions. 

"Dad." You turned and saw Mr.Lee make his way to Heeseung, grasping his shoulders once he had arrived. 

"Do us a favor and go to school." He left almost immediately, and you were scared about what would happen next. 

Turns out that 'next event' meant running away with one of the green creatures. 

When you had arrived at school, Sunghoon and Heeseung plopped the green creature onto the table of Professor Kang, the science teacher. 

"You think you can help?" 

Professor Kang placed the stethoscope around his neck and began inspecting the creature. 

"Well, it's alive; I'll tell you that." He continued to pace around the table, hesitant in informing the group about the odd human in front of them. 

"Hey, sorry to bother you Professor Kang, but um...I was hoping to submit my form." A boy stood awkwardly by the door with a thin piece of paper in his hand. His black hair covered most of his forehead, and the only visible part was his shy smile. 

"Come in, you weren't interrupting anything. In the meantime, I suggest you go off with this thing." Professor Kang turned his way to address the newcomer in the room; the boy responded and followed him to his desk.  

"Quickly, quickly, I've got a class to teach!" Professor Kang left the room once attending to the stranger's needs. 

"You heard the man, lift with your legs." You giggled slightly as you saw Sunoo hesitate at touching the green slime. 

"You guys need help?" The voice behind you observed quietly, and almost gasped slightly when seeing what exactly you were trying to carry. 

"It's fine, but thanks." Heeseung threw the body over his shoulders and made his way out the door. 

"You're Jake right?" Sunghoon immediately began a conversation with the young boy, and didn't see his friends waiting by the door. 

"Wanna come?" 

The three of you wanted to kill Sunghoon for inviting a stranger to these sort of things, but it was merely too late and the unknown boy looked too nice to shoo away. 

"Sure, beats sitting through Professor Min's lecture." 

Jake trailed behind the trio as he chatted with Sunghoon. Heeseung through the van spotted the newcomer, and was slightly confused considering no one had ever tagged alonged. 

"We've got a monster to catch, hurry and get in the van!" You opened the door with force and welcomed Jake into the back. 

"This is Jake by the way, he's joining us for today." Sunoo introduced Heeseung to Jake, letting his mouth ramble on about the few details he had already learned. 

"Where to captain?" 

"RM's studio of course." The rhythm of the music played quietly in the background, and they all found comfort in having Jake around, they didn't expect themselves to be given their history. 

"So you guys travel in a van solving mysteries?" 

"Pretty much. We get thrown in the city jail occasionally." Jungwon mentioned the detail nonchalantly and expected Jake's natural surprise. 

------ 

It was late that night when the group gave back the body to Professor Kang. 

The teacher's steps were audible as he trailed back and forth between one table to the next. He became startled at the sudden noise of the janitor mopping in the hallway. He peered outward and went back to his work. 

Before long, and with an audible gasp, his body was now entrapped and enclosed in the similar green goop on the ceiling. 

------

"It's all my fault!" Heeseung banged his head on the table and looked at his friends with a sad expression. 

"Don't say that. After all, besides Jake, we all helped steal the body from the authorities." Sunoo patted his back gently and observed Jake who placed a container of green smush on the table. 

"I managed to collect a sample, maybe it'll help us." 

Jungwon and Sunoo were drawn to the fruity smell, and hunger couldn't stop them from nearing the sample of the monster. 

"Don't eat that!!!" Before they could stop him, Jungwon and Sunoo had already placed the oozing substance into their mouths. 

"This is lime sorbet.." 

"It's Ricky's Rickwracks." Confused, but curious, the other teens dipped their index finger into the mush and tasted it as well. 

"You're right...I think we just got our next clue." Sunghoon smirked at the rest of his friends and grabbed the keys from Heeseung's left pocket. 

------ 

[RICKY'S RICKWRACK] 

"Since Jake, Sunoo and Jungwon are the shortest, they get to shimmy through the air ducts and open the back door." 

"How come y/n isn't coming? We're the same height!" 

"Because I refused." You gave him a bright smile and helped the three unbolt the door. 

The trio crawled their way through the ducts and yelled loudly when they hit the ground after their sudden fall. 

"We didn't mean to crush your body on the first day Jake." 

They opened the door and let the three bodies waiting outside came in. The restaurant was dark, slightly humid, and oddly quiet. 

"Scream if you see anything." Sunghoon and Jake led you through the left corridor and the others headed right. 

There wasn't much to see, but when you had turned your back to face the door, it closed shut. Your six fists banged on the door continuously, but you figured it was useless. 

"Y/n! Sunghoon! Jake!" Heeseung's voice echoed behind the door, and he managed to pry it open. 

"My hero!" You happily hugged him and it didn't surprise him; apart from your hard exterior, you often liked skinship with others. 

"SUNGHOON HYUNG!" the four of you ran back to see Jungwon pointing at a figure, and behold, it was the monster from below. 

His bright green and sticky appearance startled you, but his roar bounced louder causing your feet to quickly flee. 

Jake had become frozen; it was his first encounter of course. You took hold of his hand and ran off with him. 

Constant twists and turns led you through one hall and the next. The six of you managed to head back to the closet that once trapped you. 

"I-i think it's g--ahh!" You fell backwards and pushed a box aside by mistake. It was no mistake however. 

It was a hole and hidden for a good reason. You jumped first and met eyes with a familiar cave. 

The carts and marked arrows in the ground were a good reminder that it was no mistake. 

"Follow the arrows." 

Sunghoon led the way and you found containers of the same green substance from the monster. It startled you at first, but why had there been this in the first place ? 

"Wouldn't this path lead to the bank?" 

"By why would he need a path?" 

"I'm assuming there's another type of dessert old Ricky likes to indulge in." 

"Take those items, let's build ourselves a trap.." 

----- 

They handled the ropes and buckets in every step. 

Sunoo and Jungwon handled leading the creature into the cave,  running in terror like always; they were the bait. 

"Now!" The trap was set off,  a toss here, a toss there, and the cage landed everywhere but on top of the monster. 

It continued to chase them, and they soon found themselves trapped inside the cage. Well, everyone but you and Jake. 

The two of you continued to run and eventually your two pairs of feet met a dead end. 

"I'll help you up." 

Jake mounted you on his back and hoisted you enough to get a hold of the floor from Ricky's Rickwracks. With enough strength, you pulled yourself up and stretched your hand towards Jake to pull him up. The two of you continued to play a game with the monster on your trail.

In the meantime, the four boys played with the bolts of the cage until it managed to come loose. They went back to you and Jake and grabbed the hose of the lime sherbet. 

At the right time, the creature was pushed towards the wall by the force of the blasting sherbet. His body was now too cocooned like his previous victims. 

"What do you think you're doing!?" Chief Kim walked into the store through the front door alongside Heeseung's father, Mayor Lee. 

"Well we caught the monster from below of course! Ricky couldn't fool me." But unknowingly, Ricky walked through the door. 

"I called the police when my alarm went off." 

"Then who?" Jungwon did the honors of pulling off the mask revealing the human within. 

"Professor Kang!" 

"That's right. When I discovered the cave while looking for samples for science class, I knew I had found my ticket out of this place! I used Ricky's sorbet to cocoon people who came too close and used the costume to scare people off. I even did it to myself to throw you people off. I would've gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids!" 

"But Mr.Kang, what about this locket?" You held the pendant to an eyes view but his answer let you know it didn't belong to him. 

"I say we celebrate at RM's Studio !" 

------ 

The soft music let you guys know of another job well done. A loud ring broke through the silence and Sunoo went ahead to answer it. 

"Welcome to RM's studio mix, what can we do for you?" 

"You're all doomed!" The seven of you, including RM, closed around the recorder. 

"You should've never taken the locket out of the cave, but now you've done it. You've found a truth that has been hidden...a true mystery behind Seoul City has begun." 

And just like that, the room went silent. 

#enhypen #kpop #jake #jay #heeseung #sunoo #sunghoon #niki #jungwon #enhypen scenarios #enhypen imagines #jake imagines #heeseung imagines

[kickingitwithkirk]

Blame the Pot Pie

Summary: Dean and Y/N have a little too much fun after a hunt resulting in an unexpected dilemma.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader, Sam Winchester, Castiel, Jack Kline

A/N: for @amanda-teaches #2k writer+reader challenge

Word Count: 2623

Warnings: angst, kissing, fondling/foreplay, oral teasing, mention of unprotected P/ V sex-wrap it up kiddos, some cursing, public shaming, mentions of drug use, drinking, unplanned pregnancy, use of Plan B One-step, possible pregnancy termination

Prompt: “Twins? We’re…we’re having twins?!”

A/N II: Cherry-She completes your life

*no beta-all mistakes are mine

Colorado 

I slowly wake up so relaxed I can’t remember the last time feeling this good. The hunt turned out to be a simple salt and burn and after grabbing a shower and a bite, we stopped at the local dispensary to pick up a few necessities and found couple new items to try.

Stretching languidly, I glance over my shoulder at Dean, tiger striped by the morning light seeping through the drawn blinds, asleep on his stomach clutching his pillow, thankfully not bunched up under his head making him snore. 

Many moons ago, I learned the hard way not to disturb a sleeping Dean Winchester when I tried to roll him over to stop the horrendous snoring he’s capable of when completely exhausted. That little maneuver got me the barrel of his Colt 1911A1 in my face and incoherent yelling. 

I slept with Sam for a long time after that.  

Smiling, I remember Jack telling me Cas calls Dean a very angry sleeper, like a bear. Can’t argue with feathers on that.

The bed dips behind me and a strong arm wraps around me with a smooth, sleep warm chest pressing flush to my back, “Wha’ so musing?” Dean’s drowsy, gravely voice asks as he nuzzles into my neck.

“Remembering a Cas’ism,” I replied, wriggling closer, his morning wood pressing against me, “Someone's wide awake, didn’t get enough last night?” Dean rocks his boxer brief clad cock against my ass in response. 

“Or a little while ago?”

“Never get enough Cherry.”

I’ve always heard Dean call women sweetheart and occasionally baby but the first time Dean called me Cherry shocked the hell out of me. 

I asked him if he knew what that nickname meant, after all, this is the guy who called himself meat man to his own brother. 

He winked at me, cheeky bastard.

I shift onto my back as Dean moves to straddle my thighs, locking them between his muscular ones. Starting at my hips his calloused hands slowly glide over my body, pushing the t-shirt I stole from him to sleep in up, exposing my skin to his hungry gaze. 

In our world, Dean Winchester is considered the best hunter alive, his only equal is his brother Sam. But there is another side to him that's rarely seen, reserved only for those who are family.

Dean can be incredibly gentle, loves waking me up with his teasing touches. Reaching my breasts, his thick fingers massage my nipples, sending shivers through me, pinching them hard enough they pebble up before continuing on to my arms, guiding them upwards and pulling the shirt over my head, tossing it somewhere behind him.

Leaning over me Dean braces himself on his strong forearms entwining our fingers. He’s close enough I feel his breath on my face as I untangled my right hand and caress his scruffy cheek, tracing his full lips, feel him smile against my fingertips. 

He turns his head and kisses my palm before closing the sparse distance to my lips, running his tongue across them, encouraging me to open up to let him explore inside. 

Boy, does this man know how to kiss.

Dean pulls back, my bottom lip between his teeth before letting go, moving to kiss along my jaw and shifts to latch onto my neck, sucking on my pulse point.

“Hmm, you're gonna give me another hickey,” Dean sucks harder in response. I grab his hair on top where it’s longer, tugging till he pulls off to look at me. 

His eyes are dilated and not just from desire. 

“Dude, you’re still stoned.” I grin at him. Last night we kicked back with a few beers and a joint, trying a new hybrid strain.

Then came that pie.

“ ‘m not,” Dean tried sounding indignant before laughing, dropping his head back into my neck as we both laugh uncontrollably. I love to hear him sounding so untroubled, doesn’t get to do it enough.

Our outburst causes certain bits of us to rub together, reigniting our lust. Dean starts moving southward again, lips and tongue caressing my skin along his travels, stopping at his chosen destination and looks up at me licking his bottom lip.

“Frigging tease!” I pull his hair harder. 

He smirks and, without breaking eye contact, slowly runs his tongue up over my outer lips before sliding off the end of the bed, turns, bending over sheds his underwear before walking towards his duffel.

Man has no shame so I freely admire his retreating posterior view.

Hunting has kept Dean fit the nearly twenty years I’ve known him, even with the double bacon cheeseburgers with extra onions and copious amounts of booze, thou not quite the same body he had at twenty-three.

I’ve witnessed guys our age be greener than his eyes envying his not-a-dad-body, possessing the juiciest peach of an ass on any man I’ve ever known. 

He’s rooting in his duffel muttering, not coming up with a condom. “Try the table,” spotting the Walgreens bag by the empty pie tin. 

“Sonuvabitch!” Dean exclaims, running both hands through his hair in his shitshitshit gesture looking panicked at the table. 

I sit up...ooh crap, I feel a warmth spreading between my thighs that shouldn’t be. 

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“What do you mean I can’t purchase it,” I’m about to go mental on this bumfuck towns pharmacist refusing to sell me Plan B, “I can see it right behind you.” 

“I’m sorry I’m unable to sell you the Plan B-One Step today, you’ll have to come back tomorrow.” He raises his voice for the benefit of the locals eavesdropping on our conversation. 

“Wait, I can purchase it tomorrow but not today,” I’m confused as hell and stare incredulously at the guy, “what’s so special about today?”

“It’s the sabbath, you should consider repenting for your obvious sins.” He retorted.

I blink not sure how to respond what this AssButts implying... when it hits me.

It’s the guy who runs the dispensary we went into last night, chatted with us, recommending some items to try. He saw us kissing and cuddling like a couple of teenagers (who'd thought it would take Chuck ending the other realities for Dean Winchester to PDA) must've overheard Dean whispering graphically on how he was gonna savor that pie and me, then slyly pointed out a few the topical products to try for a happy ending.

I suddenly feel like Olive in Easy A when everyone’s talking about her as I hear the tittering around me get louder, comments about the way I’m dressed, not having a ring on it, and the visible hickeys on my neck at my age. 

Jealous much?

I look down realizing I had grabbed the first articles of clothing within reach, turns out to be Dean’s stuff that’s to big on me, including his boots.

And like Olive, I’m taking back control.

”Romans 2:3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” 

You could hear a pin drop, “Y’all need to consider that before passing judgement on others,” I clap back and head high, walk past the shocked gossip mongers towards the exit, ”especially ones versed in Hermeneutics.”

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We crossed the Kansas border around eight that night, same Motörhead cassette playing all day. We haven’t spoken since leaving the motel late this morning. 

Dean's jaw’s still ticking, he’s gonna have a helluva headache. His hand has a death grip on the wheel as he reaches for the Impalas lighter, igniting what must be like his eighteenth cigarette. There’s only one reason he’s smoking since Sam got him to quit umpteen years ago.

Dean’s freaking out. 

I slide across the seat and ran my fingers along the back of his neck, lightly scratching into the short stands. “It’s both our faults, stop castigating yourself. I’ll get the pill tomorrow, being at the bunker it will be better when I take it, had a nauseating headache and cramped like hell last time.”

He shot me a surprised glance, “You, khmm, you had to… before?” His voice rougher with all those damn cigarettes.

“Once, wasn’t gonna chance it that one had slipped past the goalie.” 

When Dean and I finally got together we agreed since so much of our lives is built on lying to others to get what we need, there wouldn’t be any between us. But breaking a lifelong habit is not easy, we’re still figuring stuff out and on several occasions intentionally hiding things has almost ended us.

Dean snubs out the cigarette, takes my hand and kisses my palm before entwining our fingers, resting them on his thigh rubbing his thumb over mine. I scoot closer, place my head on his shoulder and he turns to kiss my forehead comforting me.

“Don’t even think about kissing me on the mouth before brushing your teeth twice and gargle with holy water mister.” I growl mimicking his scary Dean voice and he gruffs out a laugh like I hoped he would.

“I’m sorry I’ve reacted like that back at the motel. I’ve never forgotten before, no matter how loaded I’ve been. Except that once…”

Dean’s voice falls off at the memory of the only child he’s positively known to have had, the Amazon daughter who’d have killed him if not for Sam.

I turn and kiss his cheek before laying back against his shoulder for the rest of the ride home.

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The Bunker

Seven weeks later

“The stay-at-home orders will be extended for another two weeks as the state has seen a rise in positive coronavirus cases over the weekend. Officials say this is likely due to the expanded testing around the state…” 

“You could’ve sent us frogs or locusts but noooo, had to get creative on this one Chuck.” Dean sarcastically grumbles, switching off the kitchen radio and finishes cooking his breakfast. 

Jack had grabbed a bowl of cereal before disappearing with Cas researching some new cryptic info that Billie had dropped on them the other day. Dean heard the main door bang shut at Sam’s returning from his morning run. 

As he passes the freezer he grabs a smoothie setting it on the counter to thaw out since Sam’s drinking some weird concoctions for breakfast these days.

Sam enters the kitchen unexpectedly still in his sweaty clothes carrying a couple store bags and a concerned expression.

 “Um, Dean, I don’t think Y/N has the flu,” he remarks, pulling out the unmistakable yellow and blue box. “I bought these two months ago.” 

Dean looked up from his plate of bacon and cheesy eggs, eyes focusing on the unopened box. “Since when do you get my girlfriends things?” He asks, nodding at the box. 

“Tampons, Dean. I’ll sometimes pick them up for her when it's my turn to do the shopping. I got these at CVS,” Sam shows him the receipt he found with them, “Y/N usually gets them from Rite-Aid.” 

Dean clears his throat, mentally wincing at how his brother seemed to know more about Y/N’s preferences than him, “How do you know that’s the box you bought, maybe she got them there too?” 

“The date on the receipt and she hasn’t updated her app.”

“App?” Dean inquires around a mouth full, looking confused.

“So a few days ago I was showing Jack the new archive program when a notification popped up about Y/N’s Period Tracker not being synced in fifty days. I didn’t think anything of it, figured she missed it with everything going on, Jess sometimes did with hers. I checked the WC and found these. I checked again today they were still there and she hasn’t entered her last two periods. I stopped in town and got this.” He hands the other bag to Dean.

Dean opens the bag like something’s gonna attack him before gingerly pulling out the Clear Blue Digital Pregnancy Test.

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“It could be wrong, a false positive because she took it wrong.”

“All you do is pee on the end of the stick and wait three minutes for the results,” Sam's tone exacerbated at his brother's bullshit excuses, “even you couldn’t screw that up Dean.”

“She could be in that peripause.”

“What the hell is peripause?”

“Don’t you know what it’s called Mr. Know-it-all?”

“Peri-menopause,” My voice booms throughout the library startling them both, “and FYI you two, when a woman hits her forties all this,” I say gesturing in a circle around my middle, ”doesn’t automatically stop functioning normally.”

“Your forty-one! The chances of you getting pregnant goes down after thirty something!” Dean snaps setting me off in a nanosecond.

“Halle Berry got pregnant the old fashion way at forty-seven!” I shot back really pissed at the shitty excuses he’s trying. “Should’ve known you’d react like dear old dad to unwelcome news.”

Sam shot out of his seat at the expression crossing Dean’s face, contorting into the look that makes monsters with any sense run for its life, ready to step in if needed.

“Since I can’t go to the clinic thanks to Chuck's latest temper tantrum get Castiel so we can settle this,” I head for the doorway leading to the kitchen and pause.

“I’m sorry for what I said, I didn’t mean it. It’s obvious you don’t want to have a baby w...” I hurried out not finishing the sentence. Fucking hell, I’m hormoning already.

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Dean can’t stop pacing back and forth in my bedroom as Castiel gently lays his hand over my lower abdomen and closes his eyes in concentration. 

“Come on man, is she or isn’t she?” Dean impatiently barks at the angel.

“Dude!” Sam snaps with his exasperated little brother expression from the desk chair he’s seated upon with Jack perched on the desk itself.

Cas opened his brilliant blue eyes wondrously staring into mine.

I stare back. 

“Yes, you are pregnant.” 

“How the hell are you pregnant? You said you took the morning after pill!” Sam’s chair scraped the floor as he jumped started by Dean’s lashing out at me in anger. I don’t react knowing it’s his go to coping mechanism when he’s scared.

“She took the pill Dean.” Cas reassures him at the same time tipping his head to the side reading what I’m not voicing. 

I can’t believe it failed..what could it do to the fetus...the alcohol and drugs I’ve ingested all this time...

Castiels rough voice takes on an unusually gentle cadence snapping me out of my own head, “I do not detect any birth defects Y/N, they are quite healthy.” 

“Wait, what do you mean they Cas?” Sam speaks first seemingly the only one who caught the last bit. 

“Twins? We’re…we’re having twins?!” Jack excitedly blurts out, “I’m gonna be a big brother!”

“I think we should leave. Dean and Y/N have a lot to discuss.” Cas says getting up cocked his head at Jack to proceed him out the door. Sam gives his brother a look I can’t decipher.

“I’m good Sammy,” Dean tells his brother so he’ll go, not breaking eye contact with me. 

Sam gazes over at me and I nod it’s fine to leave. He squeezes Dean’s shoulder and heads out shutting the door behind him.

We stare at each other for a few moments before Dean rubs his face and walks over sitting down on the other side of the bed and pulls me into his arms, neither of us ready to face the decision that makes the most sense.

tbc

A/N: I originally planned on ending this here. That being said, I am seriously considering doing a part II because I hate breaking Dean’s heart.

A/NII: I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback and will be doing a part Il.

Find it here

#2k writer+reader challenge #dean winchester x reader #supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #jack kline

[grimmseye]

A Bird in the Hand: Chapter Thirteen

Read on Ao3 here!

Rating: M

Fandom: Critical Role

Relationships: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss, Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (eventual),

Chapter Characters: Mollymauk Tealeaf, Essek Thelyss, Caleb Widogast, Jester Lavorre, The Mighty Nein

Chapter Tags/Warnings: Molly Rez, Amnesiac Mollymauk, Oh My God They Were Roommates, Violence, In-Universe Slurs

— — —

Jester returned to her body with a faint hitch in her breath. When her vision cleared, it left just the faces of her family staring at her, apprehension and expectation and everything that was soon to become disappointment.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d failed them. And him.

“Slippery, that one,” the Traveler murmured. “Apologies.”

Then he faded, nothing more than the faint squeeze of a hand on her shoulder before it slipped away.

“I —” Jester’s voice died in her throat. She swallowed, then shook her head. “I couldn’t find him. I — but he has to — ”

The others shifted, Fjord covering his mouth with a hand, Beau immediately starting to pace. Automatically, Jester sought out Caduceus, disappointed to see him looking just as baffled as the rest of them.

“Maybe he’s not back,” Beau murmured. Her hand was raking through her hair, face turned away from the grave. “Maybe someone just — dug him up. Fuck.” She squeezed her eyes shut, pulling in a deep breath. They snapped open again as she burst out, “What about that — that Cree? Your dad said she jumped ship, right? And she was all over Molly, maybe she —”

Caleb held up a hand. He’d been pensive, kneeling in the mud and staring into the empty grave. “That is a good theory, Beauregard,” he said, voice slow and careful. “We should not jump to conclusions yet, but that is worth looking into. Additionally —” he lifted his head, looking to Jester now. “Just because the spell did not connect does not mean he isn’t back. Is that right?”

He toyed with the chain of his amulet all the while.

Caleb could not say he was particularly close to one Mollymauk Tealeaf. He’d been torn right down the middle by that person, and death had given him no reprieve from that conflict.

Mollymauk Tealeaf had pushed him against a wall, getting in his face with a snarl disguised as a grin.

Mollymauk Tealeaf had pressed lips to his forehead, promised there’s time for that later, and pulled him from the very fire Caleb had created.

He didn’t know if he even liked that strange little tiefling, but he wanted to know. He needed to know. Curiosity had always been among his downfalls, and he’d said and insisted and begged the Nein to come to his grave, and here it was empty, and Caleb felt the strangest coil of hope in his chest that maybe now he could get some answers.

“Even if he is alive, it might not be him,” Beau pointed out. The coil turned to a sharp twist. Caleb shut his eyes. “Last time it was that — that Nonagon, Lucien. Maybe he’s back. Or — or maybe it’s just a clean slate, every time.”

For once in his life, Caleb did not want to ask questions. There were so many to be asked, though, and Beauregard asked them all, while they stood in the rain and offered nothing in the way of answers. Sometimes it was best to just stay quiet. Sometimes you needed more, to know if you were asking the right questions.

“Should I scry on Cree?” Jester asked, in a moment of quiet. Her voice was small.

“Yes — yes!” Beau pointed at her. “Scry on Cree, if anyone has their hands all over this —”

Out came the focus, and they watched again as Jester’s eyes went white. This time it held, eyeballs shifting in their sockets, changes in expression that he did his best to read.

The minutes stretched out, but she snapped out of it before the duration. She frowned, and then shook her head. “I don’t… I don’t know. It didn’t look like she was doing anything? She was just sitting down somewhere, it sounded like a pretty shitty bar.”

“Shadycreek?” Beau suggested .

Jester gave a helpless shrug, quickly looking overwhelmed.

It was Caduceus who piped up next: “Jester,” he started, voice slow and considering. “Can you still talk to plants?”

Caleb watched her pull in one shaking breath, then another. Then she nodded, and knelt in the rain-slick grass, and all he could do was stand uselessly about and hope it would offer something more.

Mollymauk woke to a sharp heat in his cheek. He gasped, pain bristling under his skin as his hands immediately flew for his swords — only for both arms to snap something taught between them and go no further.

There were manacles on his wrists, binding them in front of his body. It wasn’t exactly a position he was unfamiliar with, though he only enjoyed it sometimes . The man poised above him, hand lifted for another strike, that was not-unfamiliar in the exact same way.

Molly gathered his wits, flashed a grin, and said, “Don’t suppose I can call red —”

The hand cracked across his face again. His teeth sliced into his lower lip. Molly gasped, then spat, getting a curl of satisfaction as red spattered his attacker’s face. “Fucker,” he snapped, any humor lost from his voice, and only slightly regretted it as that blood-stained face contorted with rage.

He reached for something else, Molly tensing at the sight of something heavy and blunt, only to freeze at the gruff “Enough.”

There was another person in the room. From his position on the ground, Molly couldn’t see them. His eyes strained for what he could — he was in a tent of some form, the light backing it suggesting the sun was well up. There was a man here, Dwendalian accent, and a second person of the same background, and they had clearly captured both him and —

Essek. It was a cold shot down his spine.

“Who the hell are you?” He asked, voice tense and head tipping back. He only caught a flash of blonde hair in the edges of his vision. A chair creaked, then the sound of heavy footsteps and clanking armor coming closer. Then they loomed over him: a human, blonde and androgynous, wrinkles in the face from frowning too much.

“Captain Albrechtsen,” they reported. “And you are?”

“Like hell I’m —”

A metal boot slammed into his stomach. He hacked out a cough, convulsing and then rolling onto his side.

“Name, please.”

“Fuck you,” Molly rasped.

“Name.” The boot lifted.

“Fine! Fine, it’s — it’s Bren.” His mind was racing too quickly to do anything but fall back on an old pseudonym.

“Bren what?” The captain’s voice was significantly more pleasant now.

“Fletching,” he blurted, hoping his breathlessness sold it as desperation. Gods, he was desperate.

“Bren Fletching,” they repeated, with a cordial nod. “And what is your relationship to Essek Thelyss?”

He swallowed. Essek was absolutely the target, then. Essek was likely alive, if they wanted information, because otherwise they would just kill him. “I’m his — his, uh…”

“Any day now.” While Albrechtsen made no move, their lackey tapped what looked like a rectangular bat on the toe of his boot. Molly shuddered, his fear entirely authentic.

“Bodyguard?” Too uncertain. “We’re — we’re kind of a thing so I don’t know the ethics of being his employee but, hell, the pay’s good, the sex is good —”

The lackey gagged in an exaggerated manner as Albrechtsen’s face pinched. “I do not need the details about how a crick beds a devil, thank you,” they huffed.

Something about their tone made rage lick up his throat. He’d been called devil enough times in his life, and the way they referred to Essek, like a thing instead of a person. He spat, infernal laced with magic twisting from his throat, “You’ll learn plenty about devils when they’re flaying you in the fucking hells —”

He had the glee of seeing Albrechtsen flinch, the enchantment piercing their ears, before he was gagging again with another boot in his stomach. This time he heaved, stomach too empty for anything to come up but spit pooling in his mouth.

“Gag him,” Albrechtsen ordered. “We’re leaving soon.”

And as much as he twisted and spat and bit at the hands that wrestled with him, he couldn’t stop the man from snapping a mask onto his face. It clamped uncomfortably tight, binding over his mouth and nose and locking his jaw in place. He couldn’t speak through it, couldn’t pry it off or shake it off or do anything to get free.

Panic was clawing at his chest as the thug attached a lead to his manacles, dragging him upright by his wrists to pull him outside. The sun was painfully bright compared to the dimness of the tents. He squinted, and then staggered as the chain yanked him forward. When his eyes adjusted, the scene was similar to a military camp: large tents set up, armored people marching around. He couldn’t be sure how to tell the difference between soldiers and mercenaries, and didn’t particularly care, either.

He did care about seeing Essek.

The man had been stripped of his mantle. He looked exceedingly fragile without its bulk, just the thin underclothes, partially torn. He didn’t just have manacles on his wrists — his hands were consumed by a set of cylindrical devices, their weight making him slouch as his arms hung down. A mask similar to Mollymauk’s had been strapped to his face.

Essek’s eyes were nearly shut, narrowed to slits in the full sun above. Even from a distance, Molly could see the bruising that welled up from the edge of his mask, making rage boil in his stomach.

He couldn’t call out. He couldn’t do anything but stare as they were forced into a marching order, Essek placed several bodies ahead of Mollymauk for the expedition ahead.

They walked for hours. Mollymauk had traveled across most of the wastes himself, after his stolen horse had been claimed by a far too-large bird, but a day’s travel at a steady pace, uphill, without food or water — his vision was swimming in the late afternoon.

He almost missed it when Essek slumped over and collapsed. The line staggered, grunts and complaints rippling through the ranks. Someone kicked Essek in the back, and Molly snarled as he lunged forward, only to be snapped short by his chain.

He couldn’t do a single thing as Essek laid in the dirt, breath too shallow. In time, another figure was led to him. They knelt down, a radiant glow flickering over their hands, and then Essek was stirring. He was hauled to his feet, placed back in the line, and onwards they marched.

It was proof at least that they didn’t want him dead. Not yet.

Night was falling when they stopped to make camp. Essek was chained to a post they staked deep into the ground, and Mollymauk was dragged to him. It was only then that Essek’s eyes fell upon him, and Molly didn’t even bother resisting as his lead was locked in place.

When they were left somewhat alone, Essek’s shoulders slumped, his head falling forward. He seemed to heave for every breath, and all Molly could do was lean into his side and rumble a nervous purr.

Essek was trembling. Constant tremors would wrack into violent shaking, though if it was fear or exhaustion or some combination of the two, Mollymauk had no means of telling.

They were fed at the very least, though only in the vaguest sense, and only one at a time. Molly was first, his mask removed and two beads forced into his mouth as he thrashed against it. Neither seemed to be poison — one stopped the cramping hunger, the other soothed his dried-out mouth. It wasn’t half the satisfaction that food and water would have been. Then they removed Essek’s mask next, intending to do the same.

Essek gnashed at them, making even Molly jump. He snapped his teeth and spat, so suddenly that it took Molly a moment to process he was hearing infernal: “Get out. You’re useless like this, so run!”

The guard slammed him across the face. “Wanna say that in common you filthy crick?” They rumbled, grabbing his face.

“I said,” Essek sneered, “you have the looks of a rot troll and wits to match.”

He got a fist in his teeth for that, but Mollymauk cackled behind his mask until they took it out on him, too.

Essek’s words stuck in his head, as they were dragged off to separate tents to be put to sleep. Essek couldn’t cast magic, that much was obvious. The gag and the cuffs promised that much.

But there wasn’t much that could keep Mollymauk down. No swords nor cuffs nor graves had ever been enough. So he laid awake, anxiety making his heart flutter fast but eyes hooded shut and muscles limp. He shifted and turned as people do in their sleep, did everything to convince his guard that he was out. And when their breaths had evened, asleep at their post, Molly found the physical presence of his soul and cloaked it over his flesh.

Except he didn't. Mollymauk's heart skipped. It was an instinctual thing, searching for the in-between that lay beside the material, and finding something cutting him away from that shift left him feeling isolated. Powerless. Empty.

A shudder wracked his frame. He sucked in a breath, slow and steady, letting his pulse slow. It was just another obstacle.

Mollymauk rolled himself over, picking out his guard in the darkness. He was slumped over, mouth open and jaw in one hand. The table he was seated at held a one-person card game. A dagger rested in his belt.

He couldn't come through the front flaps in the tent, not when he knew there were more guards outside. The campfire's light flickered through the canvas, giving away the shadows of those around it. So: he would just carve a new exit through the back.

Molly rolled himself up onto his hooves, slipping across the tent's floor to his guard's side. His hands were bound, but not so tight he couldn't grip something. All it took was an awkward bend of the body to grab the hilt of the dagger and ease it from its sheath, the loss of its weight not provoking so much as a snort from its owner. Then he moved to the back, not letting himself slow down as he shoved the dagger's blade through the canvas and forced it down. It wasn't smooth, or even quiet, each harsh ripping noise closing in on his ears. It was enough to wake his guard, Mollymauk escaping through the gash in the tent as the man bolted awake.

He was halfway to the horses when a shout broke the camp's silence, abandoning stealth for speed. The sudden uproar made the horses startle, hooves stamping as Mollymauk bolted to the end of their line. Their tack was still on, a lead tying them to the posts staked around the camp. He brought the knife down, severing the rope and tossing both aside to haul himself up into the saddle.

The first snap of a crossbow bolt was what got her to run, rearing about and taking off into the night in a full racing gallop as the camp roared awake behind him.

The horse couldn’t take him forever, not after it had already made more than a full day’s travel. Still, the poor beast didn’t refuse him when he urged it to run again and again and again.

The sensation of being hunted clung to him. It festered beneath his skin, anxiety that drove him past exhaustion to flee mindlessly ahead, body craving a small space to cram himself into and curl up and hide, shaking, until surely it had been so long his hunter had lost his trail. Through the night, Molly craned his head back until he wondered if he could accidentally snap his own neck, waiting for the hour when he’d see his pursuers streaming after him

He never did, though. Maybe they’d taken the time to get their armor and saddles ready. Maybe they hadn’t realized it was their prisoner who had taken the horse and ran. Maybe they’d checked to see if Essek had gone, too. Whatever the reason, dawn broke and in the full light of morning, Mollymauk found himself alone.

The sky was just brightening to blue as he slid off the horse’s back, taking it by the reins to guide it towards a stream running through the grass. He knelt down, cupping water in his hands and letting frigid snowmelt soothe his throat.

He choked, then, not on water but on a sob. Hot tears blurred his vision and spilled over as he gave a wretched sound, hugging his own stomach tight. He bent over on his knees to heave aching breaths into the grass.

What was he going to do? Essek was captured, and Mollymauk was the only one who knew, alone in the wilderness of the Empire without even a blade to wield. He was useless. He was helpless. The bite of the cuffs had given way to a constant burn, blood trickling from beneath them as hard metal cut into his flesh.

Molly knelt there and cried, digging his fingers into the mud and opening his mouth to scream against the blades of grass that cut fine lines into his skin. He screamed until his throat was raw and he’d run out of tears, and Mollymauk scooped water from the stream into his dried-out mouth only to cough most of it up again when he choked on a hiccuping breath.

He drank. He laid in the grass, until the sky was fully lit. Then he pulled himself back up onto the horse, and they kept walking.

Mollymauk wouldn’t stop until he found a treeline to shelter in, and the rest was more for the horse than himself. Still, he nodded off almost the moment his pulse had slowed enough to let him. When he opened his eyes again, the sun had shifted dramatically, shadows long and blue in the late afternoon.

He lead his mount through the forest and then beyond, evening threatening the sky. They crested a hill as it slid into nightfall, stars winking into view, the moon shining a pale glow across the fields.

Molly stared up at her, eyes hooded with exhaustion. He was never the praying type. Or, he didn’t think he was. These days, there’d been less and less blur in his memory, the days of the circus filtering back slowly. He remembered learning to sew, spooling thread in the back of the caravan under moonlight, patching holes that human eyes couldn’t see in the darkness.

He didn’t know why he followed her, but it felt natural, comfortable. And if it was rude to pray when you felt no real reverence for the god in question, well, Mollymauk hardly had a reputation for following social norms.

It was strange to know these things about himself without really knowing. He hunkered down, face buried in his knees. He’d only walked a few hours, and here he was already wanting to lay back and sleep.

It wasn’t safe here. He wanted the warmth of a campfire. He longed for the safety of a myriad of bodies, countless voices to distract him. Yasha, tall and sturdy, would put an arm around his shoulders and drape him in the comfort of safety and pressure, and he’d slump against her and drift off halfway through one of Gustav’s stories.

And after them, there were others. It was a loose, messy, distrustful thing, but he’d been sure — his old family had fallen to pieces but this one was only just starting to line up its fractured edges and gods , how could he miss people he barely remembered?

Over the edge of the hillside, a light flickered into being.

Mollymauk froze, staring at it, a distant campfire. Even from so far away, he could see multiple figures now silhouetted against it: people, horses, bedrolls. Before he could think better of it, Mollymauk hoisted himself up into his mount’s saddle to lead her down the slope.

“If they’re friendly, we can sleep some more,” he promised her. The distant smell of cooking meat made his stomach twist and his mouth water. He really hoped they’d be friendly.

They turned out to be a group of trappers, gathering meats and furs to be sold, their catches strung up for the night. When they noticed his approach, a few of them reached for bows and swords, tentatively enough that he put his hands up in a calming motion.

“Evening!” He greeted. “Sorry to bother you fine folk, but I have gotten a bit turned around and — why, is that Zenny?

A group of vaguely familiar, wide eyes cast upon him, and flash with recognition.

“Long time no see,” he laughed, and laughed hard, relief sweeping over him in a dizzying wave as he slid from his horse’s back and spread his arms as far as the cuffs would let him. “So, catch me up. How’s the new management beentreating you?”

#shadowmauk #widomauk #mollymauk tealeaf #essek thelyss #essek #mollymauk #caleb widogast #cr #cr fic #my writing