#...and the next day she shows up in even TALLER heels

[uncanny-tranny]

Tall trans girl reading this: you aren't too tall for heels. If you want to wear them, wear them proud. There is nothing more spectacular than a tall woman in heels, and nobody can ever take that away from you, not even yourself 🩷🪻

#trans #transgender #lgbt #lgbtq #mtf #nonbinary #trans positivity #honestly my favourite kind of woman is somebody who's told 'arent you too tall for those?' when she wears heels... #...and the next day she shows up in even TALLER heels #sometimes womanhood is a huge 'fuck you' to people who don't get who you are i think #I LOVE YOU WOMEN... 💐💐💐💐🫶 #(also this includes all type of heeled shoe. heeled boots are a great choice to start out ime) #(if you want to practoce wearing heels without Wearing Heels get platform boots imo) #(i think a big reason i can wear actual heels is that i wear heeled platform boots daily) #(and it really helped me get used to how heels feel without the fear of heels that are really thin)

[ajortga]

sweet pt.2

pairing: jenna ortega x fem reader

summary: jenna can't stop thinking about you, the coffee girl. she may or may not have asked you out on something her friends consider as a date.

word count: 3k+

read pt.1 here! sweet- part 1

It became sort of a habit for Jenna.

It would be music, think about you, eat, think about you, sleep, think about you, film, yay Jenna gets to see you!

Maybe she’s over exaggerating it, but at the same time she’s really not.

Jenna wasn’t the regular person to be a love bird. Head over heels for someone was barely something she was used to. Well sure she would pass some guys in the city or notice them on set and think, “Oh his hair is perfect” or “He’s kind of cute.” She’s dated a few guys, broke them off because they weren’t for her.

All of the guys only hung out with her knowing she was a celebrity, or she would really think they were the one, until they lost interest and treated her like some toy. She hated when they did that. In fact, she was disgusted by it so much that she didn’t even want to think of having a lasting relationship at all. She just had to find someone right for her.

-

“You’re awfully quiet,” Melissa nudges Jenna as they’re both in their Tara and Sam outfits.

Jenna hums, looking at the taller latina with a small roll of her eyes while their makeup is getting patched up, “Just hungry, I guess.”

She shifts in her seat, her earbuds in and waiting for this day to be over, she forgot an umbrella. Of course the forecast would show as non-stop rain the whole day with thunderstorms, she literally checked the day before and it said sunny.

“Well, we only have to shoot like, 5 scenes. You wanna go with Jas and Mason to the Italian place you like? On me.”

Tempting.

But Jenna’s mind has other plans. 

“I think I’m gonna drop by the coffee place next door, craving a latte you know?”

She sees the way Melissa’s face twitches upwards, almost as a confused yet searching look, “You don’t like coffee.”

“The shop changed my mind, Y/N recommended a latte that is actually really good.”

“Y/n you say?” And from Melissa’s sing-song voice, she knows what’s coming.

“Yes,” Jenna scoffs, she can feel her ears begin to heat up.

“I didn’t know you had a friend named Y/N.”

It’s a little quiet, the only noise is from Jenna’s half put in earbud, “I met her a couple days ago, she’s a barista that helps her parents run their coffee shop. Keeps the place cozy and organized.”

“So she’s a barista?”

“Yes,” Jenna replies, half distracted as she picks at her cuticles.

“Who helps run her parent’s coffee shop?”

“Yep.”

“Next door?”

“Uh huh.”

“You like her,” Melissa smirks, it’s not a question anymore.

“Yes-Wait what? No!” Jenna slaps Melissa’s arm, caught off guard.

Jenna hears her laugh, half-heartedly, “I’m just kidding, but you do seem out of it, are you thinking about her often?”

She shrugs, picking off skin that she just scratched.

“Well I think you are, you’re nervous.”

Now the daydreamer turns to face Melissa, “No I’m not, I just think she’s sweet and she’s someone that already brought me out of that introverted lookin’ shell when I first meet people.”

It was true. It’s like you two knew each other when you first met, she hopes you thought of her that way too. She hopes you’re thinking of her as much as she thinks about you everyday.

Melissa looks down at Jenna’s cuticles, then back up at her, “You’re thinking about her, you’ve been quiet today and don’t think I didn’t see what song you’re listening to. You never listen to love songs!”

“What?! I have not been listening to love songs!”

“Lover by Taylor Swift? Lingers by The Cranberries? About you by the 1975?  Dark Red by Steve Lacy??”

My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue

All's well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

“I just have taken interest in love songs I guess, it’s spring anyways right?”

“Spring my ass! That is bullshit!” Jasmine chimes in, making Jenna flinch and turn to the corner where Jas was hiding.”

“What the fuck Jas.. Are you eavesdropping?” Jenna shrieks.

“I know when a girl likes a girl,” Jas rolls her eyes and immediately stands up from her squatting position, “Don’t think me and Mason didn’t see you texting someone that you named mY y/N OOoO La lAAaAa..”

Jasmine shuts up with a slipper slapped into her face.

“Just go ask her out or something,” Mason says, popping behind Jasmine and getting the second pair of slippers thrown to his stomach, making him yelp.

“I barely even know her,”

“And there's no difference, you barely fall in love, girl, love at first sight for you means that she’s the one. You know your priorities and she checks all of them. If not, you wouldn’t be listening to those dumb love songs.”

“Gotta agree Jenna, what about this, we’ll go to the Italian restaurant first, then we’ll leave you alone with her in the coffee shop, you come out and tell us how it goes.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you love us.”

“Ugh.”

-

The alfredo pasta was twirled from the fork Jenna was holding, eating as the cast of scream 6 giggled and talked during their lunch break. It was a big bowl of pasta to say the least, she shared it with the whole cast but she was eating it up like there was no tomorrow. She knew around this time she came to your cafe, she only came around two times, but if you didn’t see her on a Thursday in the afternoon, she can almost feel the disappointment you might feel. Or hopes you feel, Jenna’s wondering to herself if you even think of her.

“Oh she’s falling hard for this silly Y/N girl,” Jasmine whispers to Melissa, to which she agrees almost immediately.

“No I’m not,” Jenna blurts, placing down her fork.

Everyone in the table clicks their tongue, a few, “Oh come on” and “Liar!”

“Well you wouldn’t have responded, we’ve been talking to you for the past 5 minutes and you only jerk your head when you hear anything about her!” Jasmine groans, showing her hands if they would somehow present something.

She signals for the check, she quickly pays, and as soon as that happens her real life core four push her out of the restaurant and to the outside of the coffee shop, like parents.

“Go,” Jenna’s shoulder was pushed into the door and it was too late to go back as she heard the familiar bell ring.

“I hate you Jas,” her hands flip the 3 people giggling behind the foggy window behind her as she hears the voice she’s been thinking about the whole day.

“Jenna!” Your tiny figure pops out from the coffee bean machine, waving to her happily.

Cute, she thinks to herself. You’re so cute.

“Almost thought you wouldn’t come today,” you murmur, making Jenna shake her head.

“Just had some lunch with friends, but I couldn't miss out on coffee on Thursdays though.”

“Ah,” you hum, your eyes focused on the latte art you were working on.

The only noise is the r&b music and the small chatter that keeps the environment comforting. 

A small bunny was being created, pouring the creamer carefully. 

“You’re almost looking as tiny and cute as that bunny,” your co-worker, Matteo says, a few feet away from you.

A soft laugh erupts in your throat, rolling your eyes from his compliment, but thanking him nonetheless. Jenna doesn’t know if she’s feeling a strong pit of jealousy that sizzles beneath the back of her mind. Her eyes train on the boy, hazel eyes, brunette hair. 

“Okay okay, stop that,” you grumble, a small smile plastered on your face as you playfully nudge him to show your annoyance.

“Feisty,” he chides.

“The only thing I did differently today is that I curled my hair. You can barely see it in this ponytail,” one hand is pointing to your hair while the other keeps concentrating on the bunny.

“You’re also wearing a bow, your freckles are more visible, mmm,” he thinks for a moment, “Oh and,” he comes closer, whispering in your ear so only you can hear. Your body almost shivers from it, “You’re staring at a new coming regular and smiling like a weird teenager.”

You stop your latte art, groaning in frustration since you were caught by a coworker that also is a kind friend of yours.

“No I’m not, stop whispering in my ear and let me do my latte art,” you shove him away and continue to work on your bunny.

Jenna swallows the prickly feeling in her throat, feeling herself scowl at some guy who’s name tag seems to say, “Mat ear.” Maybe she should switch out acting with latte art for a day.

The bunny looks complete. 

And perfect, you exhale a breath from pride, slide the latte and call out the person’s order with a warm smile.

Then Jenna feels like a fool standing there because she just realized that she’s been staring at you making another person’s latte. Then you feel stupid for not sending someone over to serve her since you’re assuming that she wanted something.

“Sorry!” You apologize, smacking the top of your head as you lean across the countertop, “Hi Jenna, did you want something?” Jenna looks down at your lips for a moment, your teeth tugged on your bottom lip, then trails back up to the menu.

“No worries, I should’ve sat down, I just wanted to visit I guess. Sure. Um,” She doesn’t know what to get.

“Confused again huh?” You tease, looking at the menu then at the lattes. It makes her almost fan herself to know that you know she wants a latte today.

It takes a moment for you to think, “I don’t even think I put this up on our menu, but the other day when I was closing I tried a hazelnut caramel, you down to try that today?”

“That sounds pleasing, sure I’ll take that.”

“Okay, one hazelnut caramel!”

“Dude, I swear your cafe sells at least every pastry known to mankind. Those brownies and chocolate chip cookies look like it could make society salivatate.”

You laugh, “Thanks silly, I just experiment and make sure everyone in NYC can have a taste of home if they are from somewhere else. Sometimes I take my recipes from a past generation baking book, other times I just try baking from eyeing measurements.”

Jenna smiles at that, touching your hand with hers and pressing it down to the counter, “Well trust me, this is probably why you get a hell load of customers every morning.”

A light-hearted, non-forced, soft giggle comes from you, not moving your hand that is pressed from hers.

“As long as it makes others happy and continues a legacy while doing other things I love, and meeting sweet people that mark my memory like you, I think that I wouldn’t trade it. Did you want anything else?”

“I think that’s it today,” Jenna breathes, moving her hand away from yours. Immediately your hand misses the warmth and just wants to pull her back.

She can’t help but notice the smile plastered on your face, “Okay, hazelnut caramel coffee, on the house.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Nuh uh, not on my watch,” Jenna insists, pulling out a 10 dollar bill and immediately you shoo her away.

“On me! Honest! I own this place anyways and it happens at least twice everyday, don’t worry about it love.”

She hears a small “aww” come from her phone and she freezes, her cheeks heating up in an instant.

“I’m paying you one day,”

“If it’s banterings and consistent times that I see you besides Tuesdays and Thursdays, then okay,” your voice echoes as you begin to prepare her latte.

Jenna smiles at you and as soon as she turns around she picks up her phone and curses into it, “What the hell Jas? How the hell did you manage to call me before I got into the shop and stalk into our conversation??”

Snorts and laughs come from the other line, she immediately plugs her earphones in.

“On the house, hmm??” Mason teases, everyone in unison going “ooh la la..” 

“I’m going to chop your heads off-”

“And of course you place your hands on top of hers!! It’s like watching the corniest romance in front of my eyes!”

It had only been 5 minutes that Jenna had talked with you, and somehow she still got stuck and caught by her friends.

“Shut up,” Jenna says, her voice soft, but grumpily as she scoffs.

Melissa, Mason, and Mindy are shouting from outside, she can hear them screaming through the phone.

“Hey,” you say softly, bringing her latte with two wrapped pastries in hand and slide it to her front, “Try the brownies and cookies you were looking at and tell me what you think?”

Jenna wants to keep her cool and to smile politely, but the three crazy people outside that are listening in are making it hard. Especially with all the kissing noises she can hear, so she takes out her earbuds and tosses them in her hoodie’s pocket.

It takes her a while to realize she didn’t buy the pastries that made her hungry.

“Seriously?” 

The way your cheeks curved upwards and your nose scrunched as you smiled made Jenna smile on the spot there, “Seriously,” you assured. 

“I hate you for this,” she says playfully, sarcastically.

“Who can hate two free pastries? That’s a win for me,” you pull the chair out, sitting down as you take a small break, exhaling.

There was a cute cat design on the hazelnut caramel latte, the steaming, sweet bitterness scent that wafts in the air makes Jenna shiver. She plays with the wrapping of the chocolate chip cookie before mumbling a soft, “Thank you.”

“Mmmhm, no problem.”

There's a quiet pause, Jenna sips her latte, looking up at you and seeing you giggle. It’s sweet, light, bitter, and perfect.

You hand her a napkin, there's a small white foaming mustache from the creamer.

It takes a moment as she takes the napkin before you speak again, “So, filming mm? Is it stressful, you know, having to wake up early and doing stuff like that?”

“Honestly, there are days where it can be too much and I need to wind down a bit. But I love seeing cameras and doing something that I have the fortunate privilege of doing, I know a lot of people don’t have that and it makes me grateful.”

You hum in response, nodding, playing with the nape of your shirt.

“I used to want to act and direct,” you smile.

“Really? Why not now?”

Your shoulders shrug, “I still do small stuff, holding cameras, auditioning for stuff, it’s just a little harder since I’m working here and making sure I can continue doing, you know, this. But I love working here, it heals something in me.”

It makes Jenna feel almost bad, not in an overly guilty way. She just can’t fathom feeling pressured to do something instead of going the way you want.

“You have coworkers, you don’t have to be here everyday, you know?” She tilts her head.

Her eyes meet yours, and again she sees those doe eyes, with nothing but something to make her own self melt.

But I'm in so deep

You know, I'm such a fool for you

You got me wrapped around your finger

Do you have to let it linger? 

“I know, sometimes I’m afraid this place will go haywire.”

She giggles at that, then thinks for a moment, “You know, I get on set tomorrow at 11, which is later than most days. Do you wanna, you know, just come and look around? The directors and producers are the sweetest people I know and they don’t mind a plus one. I would like, show you around and you can reach out to some people.”

It’s silent, your face is thoughtful as you’re processing what she said.

“I’ll stick by your side the whole time we’re not filming, introduce you to the cast, as long as you don’t do anything silly, which I highly doubt you might.”

“Okay, I’ll have to check in with Matteo, ask him to bring his sister that comes in on Saturdays and switch it to tomorrow.”

The brunette feels her heart flipping and she nods, burying her face in her hands to try and stop the redness that is invading her cheeks.

You come back soon later, beginning to talk about the plan of the coffee shop tomorrow, but Jenna gets distracted, it’s hard seeing Jasmine blowing her breath on the window, making hearts, then wiping the fog and seeing the way all her friends are making dreamy gestures to mock her. They’re all dancing and she wants to flip them off.

“I’ll be there tomorrow, could you by, um any chance, pick me up? I usually walk here and get my car repaired.”

Oh fuck, Jenna thinks, because she get’s picked up by Jasmine and tomorrow Melissa and Mason will be joining, like they do twice a week. She wants to face palm, she can almost picture the way when you make conversation with her in the car tomorrow, she’ll see in the corner of her eye Mason batting his eyelashes and sticking his tongue out.

“Sure, if you’re okay with some of my crazy friends.”

“Tomorrow it is,” you say, waving and ruffling your hair before waving and walking back to work.

Jenna looks down at her earbuds and she completely forgot she didn’t end the call, she just stashed it away, she’s bearing what is to come, putting her earbuds back in.

“SHE’S ASKING HER OUT ON A DATE” (Mason)

“NO WAY” (Jas)

“SHE’S A FOOL” (Jas)

“SHE’S GOING TO GET EMBARRASSED TOMORROW.” (Jas)

Not to mention the way they are waving their hands outside, she can almost hear the screaming from here.

“There’s no way in hell you asked this sweet pretty girl to come on set tomorrow,” Melissa sing-songs.

“Paws off,” she grumbles.

“She wants her for herself, of course.”

“Shut up!”

#jenna ortega x fem!reader #jenna ortega #jenna ortega x you #jenna ortega x reader #vada cavell x reader #tara carpenter x reader #tara carpenter x you #jenna ortega x y/n #jenna ortega imagine #jenna marie ortega

[theholypeanut]

♪ I Think He Knows ♪

Content: GOM + Kagami + Takao having a tall gf (headcanon) fem!reader, just fluff, tiny suggestive

Notes: “Tall”, but realistically (I know wild for knb) so let’s say approx 5’9 (175 cm)

Kuroko

- Kuroko is so used to everyone being taller than him, that he wouldn’t really feel that out of place while having a tall girlfriend

- You are the only person allowed to stroke his hair, but only in private - you’d never allow anyone to see it

- Kuroko always cares about your comfort and even if he is not much into pda, you hold hands very often

- He love to kiss your forehead when you sit

- He can be both a big or a small spoon, whatever you need

Kise

- Kise absolutely adores that you are tall, but not taller than him

- You can get model gigs with him and he asks you to that often because he is just obsessed with showing you to people

- You can still comfortably wear heels with him

- Kise loves hugging you from behind

- H U G E pda fan, you are never safe in public, holding hands, stolen kisses, constant forehead kisses because “your forehead is just so close to my lips it’s asking for it”

- will literally hiss seeing guys checking you out

Aomine

- He was actually quite bummed at the beginning that you are not tiny, because he cannot make fun of you 24/7

- But who cares about height there are other measurements that are more important (I’m not pointing fingers)

- You are still smaller than him so he can put his hand on your hair and just destroy any hairstyle you have and laugh at you

- The king of putting his hand around you waist

- Randomly nibbles your neck and starts teasing (usually it ends up spicy)

- Mr “I’ll whisper dirty stuff to your ear in public and watch you get red”

- Puts his chin on your head All. The. Time.

- Tries to make you play basketball with him because “tbh you are still higher than Akashi and Kuroko so maybe there’s some potential” (he’d never say that next to Akashi obv)

Midorima

- Midorima is so clueless and extra tall, that he wouldn’t even notice that you are reasonably tall for a girl until someone points it out. Or until you stand next to Takao

- He has absolutely no opinion about it whatsoever because he just don’t think it’s an important factor in a relationship

- However he gets red like a tomato if you’d hug him from behind and put your face on his shoulder

- Or if you stand on your tiptoes and give him a forehead kiss. He is g o n e

- That’s the day he decided he loves that you are tall

- Gets annoyed when someone comments that you could be a model. Tells you that you absolutely shouldn’t start a model career, and didn’t want to elaborate why (because he was afraid you’d start attracting a bigger crowd and leave him bc he is an insecure Bebe inside fight me)

Murasakibara

- Tall? You? You look like a Smurf to him

- Who is this gnome standing next to him? Yes that’s you

- I mean, again, Murasakibara do not find you really tall. However seeing how small are girls at school, Atsushi fast realised that this is as good as it gets

- Atsushi constantly puts his head on yours

- If any guy tries to flirt with you and approaches you, he gets jealous quickly and shows up out of nowhere and holds you by the waist to show dominance (and with his height… works like a charm)

- Murasakibara is a big baby and pouts if any guy is complimenting how tall you are

- Also for very long he would call you “tiny” and everyone had the idea that you must be very small, and gets surprised when they meet you (“well for me she is tiny”)

- He is constantly kissing the crown of your head

- The biggest softie, honestly for him being taller than an average person makes you just… average to him, and that’s honestly perfect

- Not that big on pda but will always hold you close, hold your hand, waist, just to show everyone that you are taken

Akashi

- Being taller than Akashi… oh boy, well

- Obviously you didn’t expect to fall for a guy who is shorter than you, but obviously Akashi has a huge personality and it doesn’t really matter

- You are almost the same height and it has a lot of perks: for example it’s so easy to get a quick kiss without a lot of effort

- Akashi loves to kiss your neck

- No one dares comment about lack of height difference

- Akashi actually encourages you to wear heels if you like them, because he has enough confidence to not get insecure about this kind of stuff, which you appreciate a lot

- Also all of his clothes fits you like a glove, which is a huge perk especially with the fancy expensive stuff you can wear as your own

- You sometimes kabedon him as a surprise when you are alone

- It never ends up well for you (but spicy edition)

Kagami

- Kagami just like Midorima has one braincell and he wouldn’t even notice that you are tall until someone says it out loud

- One day he saw you standing next to Kuroko and he yelled “oh you are taller than Kuroko? You should play basketball”

- One braincell golden retriever

- Just like Aomine he tries to persuade you to play basketball with him (basketball ball for brain I swear)

- He has this reflex to grab your waist and pull you closer whenever there is a crowd

- Loves it when you lay down on his shoulder and fall asleep when you watch a movie

- Loves it when you snuggle your nose in his collarbone, he gets so red

- He is not big on pda but when no one is looking he would sneak a tiny cheek kiss (he actually loves tiny kisses, as well as steamy make out sessions)

- If someone says you look like a model he would get hyped up

Takao

- Takao is a cheeky boy, he would for sure be the one flirting with you till you fall for him

- He fell first he fell harder and he would do everything to convince you to date him even when he is slightly shorter than you

- When he succeeded he couldn’t believe it and he feels like he is the happiest guy on the planet

- The Greenest Flag in here, he treats you like a queen

- Flexes about you constantly, how beautiful and amazing his gf is

- He loves it when you wear heels, and he would for fun pout and ask for forehead kisses like a baby

- HE would kabedon you for fun to make you blush

- Loves hugging you from behind and kissing your nape

- Also he would playfully bite your shoulder or whisper dirty thing to your earlobe just to make you blush out of nowhere

- Honestly just marry him already or I will

#kise ryota x reader #aomine daiki x reader #kagami taiga x reader #akashi seijuurou x reader #takao kazunari x reader #kuroko tetsuya x reader #murasakibara atsushi #kuroko no basuke x reader #kuroko tetsuya #kise ryouta #aomine daiki #akashi seijuro #takao kazunari #midorima shintarou #kagami taiga #kuroko no basket headcanon #kuroko no basket #dividers by cafekitsune

[rottenroyalebooks]

It's a bad idea, right?

Series: The Mortal Instruments

Pairing: Jace Wayland x Fem!Reader

Genre: Angst to Fluff, Friends to Lovers

Warnings: Possibly OOC Jace, slight description of Reader (mainly that Jace is taller than her), use of Y/N. All characters are aged 18+.

Summary:

Y/N has a Warlock ex that seems to have her under his spell, metaphorically speaking, and every time he calls, she answers.

Jace has had enough of watching her go back to him repeatedly. Because they're friends, definitely not because he's in love with her or anything.

A/N: Guys, I have finally caved into my desires and am diving deep into the world of The Mortal Instruments. I watched most of the show a few years ago and saw the movie a few days ago, which led me to buy a box set of the 6 Mortal Instruments books. I am just about halfway through The City of Bones, so I still have a lot of learning to do. Forgive me if I need to correct something.

Also, I love all the show characters, but Movie Jace feels closer to Book Jace than Show Jace, so I am committed to Movie Jace for visual representation and Movie Jace only.

Does that make sense to you? Yes? Cool.

"You were where last night?" Izzy asked her a bit too loudly as she and Y/N walked into the weapons room where Alec and Jace were working on cleaning their weapons used from the previous mission.

Y/N shushed her as the two boys looked over, "Seriously, whatever happened to private girl talk?"

Izzy rolled her eyes, speaking lower than before so the guys wouldn't hear, "What ever happened to cutting him out of your life? Finding a new guy to get in your bed to get over him, that's why we went to Pandemonium last night, remember?"

Y/N huffed in response. Of course, she knew that's why Izzy and Clary dragged her to Pandemonium. It was a plan that she had yet to be very keen on. Izzy had gone to powder her nose, and Clary went to dance when Demetrius Black approached her on the dance floor, convincing her to leave with him.

It never took much convincing. He never went to Pandemonium, so she thought it was safe, but alas, she woke up in his bed again with her favorite tea made just the way she liked it on the nightstand next to her. He was nowhere to be seen.

Izzy rolled her eyes at the lack of response, "I need to put a tracker on you, like an outdoor cat." She turned on her heels and walked away.

Y/N sighed, running a hand through her hair before leaving the weapons room. She needed to punch something, so she soon found her way to the training room, where a punching bag sat calmly in the middle.

Then she beat the shit out of it.

"Stupid Demetrius and his stupidly charming attitude."

One Two.

"Stupid me for falling for it, again."

One Two Three.

"And stupid Mundane girl who couldn't keep her grimy hands to herself!"

With enough force of one last punch, the bag flew backward, hitting the wall as she let out a long groan of anger.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Jace's voice appeared behind her making her jump out of her skin.

"Jesus Christ,"

"Not exactly." He smirked, but she ignored his comment.

"Do you feel the need to scare everyone or just me? Am I that special?" Sarcasm dripped from her lips as she began walking over to the punching bag so she could put it back in its usual location.

"Stop dodging my question. Do you want to talk about why you punched the bag across the room?"

She signed, letting the bag stand back up, "Will you try not to make fun of me for at least ten minutes if I tell you."

He chuckled, leaning against a pillar with his signature smug look, "I'll try my very best."

She couldn't look him in the eye, but she told him everything. From Izzy's plan to it failing when she left her alone for not even five minutes to waking up in her ex's bed again.

His expression was stoic throughout the entire time she was speaking; all of Jace's smugness and ego quickly flushed away as envy flooded his veins.

She didn't notice his change in expression because she refused to look at him.

"I know it's stupid, but it's like he put a spell on me."

"You have a permanent ruin to block any Warlock from using that magic on you."

She groaned, "I meant metaphorically." She plopped down on the bench and ran a hand through her hair.

"Well, I don't even know what you see in the Warlock-"

"Alec is with Mangus, and you never have anything to say about that, but when I date a Downworlder who has helped us just as much as Mangus has, you suddenly have an issue?"

He didn't have a chance to think before he spoke, blurting out, "I can't stand to see you hurting yourself with someone who doesn't deserve you."

Her head snaps to finally make eye contact; she lets her emotions talk without knowing what to think, "You don't get to decide who deserves me, Jace. You're not my father, and you're not my brother. Don't act like it."

He stepped closer to where she was sitting, "He cheated on you. Remember that? You cried to Clary and Izzy for days about it, then you cried yourself to sleep after all that," He saw the shocked look on her face, "We share a wall, remember? The same wall both of our beds are up against. I heard it all and witnessed you tear yourself apart from all the insecurities he gave you. So yes, I may not be in a position to say it, but I can say for certain that he doesn't deserve you."

The tension between the two shadow hunters was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Neither of them said anything else, just stared at each other until she stood up and brushed past him.

"Thanks for the reminder."

Jace only watched as she left the room, wanting to walk after her but feeling paralyzed where he stood. He cursed under his breath and looked down at his feet.

It was his turn to send the punching bag flying across the room.

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

That night, the group went on a mission to track down a Vampire, killing humans left and right. Clary had poked around through the different nests in the city with Alec and Izzy, but none of them seemed to be acquainted with the rouge Vampire.

Jace and Y/N were tasked with searching Pandemonium for the Vampire or any information retaining it.

Things between them were still tense, and the others could see it, but Jace had been the one to wordlessly follow her to Pandemonium. The music was loud and beating through her head, making the memories from the night prior resurface, but she shook it off as she looked around for any suspicious Downworld behavior.

She and Jace had split up in the crowd, which meant she was alone when she felt her phone buzz in her back pocket. She pulled it out seeing a text from Demetrius:

Demetrius: I can tell you're working from how you dress tonight, but meet me at the bar. I might have the information you are searching for. ;)

Tensing up, she looks over at the bar seeing Demetrius leaning against it in all his glory, smirking knowingly at her. She pushed her hurt deep down and walked over to him.

"Well, you look lovely tonight, darling." He said, reaching out to touch her hair when she stopped about two feet away, but she smacked his hand away quickly.

"No time for pleasantries, Demetrius. Do you know anything about a Rouge Vampire, or are you wasting my time?"

"Playing hard to get tonight? Let me buy you a drink." He said as he waved to the bartender to get his attention.

She scoffed, shaking her head, "I knew this was a waste of time--" She stopped speaking when she backed into someone's chest; she didn't even need to look up to know it was Jace. She didn't realize he found them.

Jace didn't move at the contact; he only stared at Demetrius, who noticed he was standing there because she had stopped speaking.

"Oh look," he commented, bored, "It's the guard dog. Don't you have anything better to do than following her around like a lost puppy?"

"We're working, Demetrius." She spoke as Jace opened his mouth, cutting him off before a fight could break out, "Since you don't actually have any information for me, I am going to leave."

She brushed past Jace, leaving the two boys at the bar and disappearing into the crowd.

Jace followed her with his eyes until he knew she was out of earshot. Looking back at Demetrius with a glare that could kill a thousand men, he said, "If you come near her again, I will not hesitate to track you down and kill you myself."

Demetrius smirked, taking a sip from his drink, "And break The Clave's precious rules? From what she told me, you are one of those who respect the Covenant more than anything."

Jace took two steps forward, standing toe to toe with the Warlock, a look of pure hatred in his eyes, "I would break a thousand rules if it made her happy. I would break a thousand rules to make sure she is safe. Don't test me, Warlock."

Demetrius took another sip of his drink, "I always knew, from the moment I had the displeasure of meeting you, that you were in love with her. I watched as you protected her like a lovesick puppy even though she was head over heels in love with me. Now that she is single, why haven't you swept her off her feet to prevent her from falling into my bed?"

He leaned close to his ear, saying just above a whisper, "Maybe it's because you know she will never love you back."

Jace shoved him away, stalking off to get back to work. Only to watch as she left the storage room and in his direction; as she passed him, she said, "Threat has been neutralized, let's get out of here."

She was annoyed. Mostly at herself for thinking he wouldn't come back to her favorite club to antagonize her, but also at the fact that she had to take on a Vampire by herself because Jace decided to have a little chat with her ex.

At the same time, she was proud of herself for finally avoiding Demetrius' charm like the plague. Progress is Progress.

As she exited Pandemonium, she pulled out her phone and started texting Clary to let them know the Vampire was found and taken care of, but Jace pulled her phone out of her hands.

"I'll take that." He said as he went to her contacts lists.

Her jaw dropped, "Jace! Give that back!" She snapped, watching him smirk at her phone as he tapped the screen a few times before giving it back to her.

"First step, blocking your ex's number."

She rolled her eyes and brushed passed him. Raising her hand, a cab drove up to her almost immediately.

"How do you always get cabs so quickly?" He muttered loud enough for her to hear as he stood behind her protectively.

"It's a gift," she said flatly, getting into the cab and scooting over so Jace could get in, even though she wanted him to get his own taxi.

"You cant just avoid me forever." He said into her ear once she got comfortable after telling the driver where to drop them off.

She crossed her arms, staring straight ahead, "Watch me."

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

"Jace, let you fight the Vampire by yourself?" Izzy asked her in the kitchen of the Institute, snacking on popcorn with Clary on the opposite side of her as the three girls usually did after a hunt.

"He didn't let me; he was at the bar talking with Demetrius. I thought he followed me into the crowd when I left the bar, but he wasn't behind me when I found the Vampire and pointed it out to him." She ran a hand through her hair and looked down, "I didn't want to lose him, so I followed the Vampire into the storage room, scared off the mundane that was with him, and killed the bloodsucker."

Clary laughed, "And you did it by yourself."

Y/N shrugged, "It was easy because he was a new Vampire who didn't have anyone to guide him."

"What did Jace say when you told him you took care of it?" Izzy tossed another piece of Popcorn into Clary's mouth, and she caught it successfully.

"He didn't react, just followed me out and got rid of Demetrius' contact on my phone."

Clary nearly choked on her popcorn before swallowing it, "He did what?"

Sighing, she nodded, "Yeah, talk about quitting cold turkey."

Izzy giggled, elbowing Clary lightly. "Maybe Jace will finally start courting her."

Y/N raised an eyebrow; Jace was into someone? That was new information, "Courting who? We don't come into contact with many shadow hunters unless he has a secret Mundane lover."

Blinking, Izzy looked from Clary to Y/N and back to Clary, "Is she serious?"

"I think she is."

"Okay, what are you two going on about?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest, blinking at the two of them.

"How do we put this nicely-" Clary began speaking, but Izzy cut her off, "Jace has been in love with you since we were thirteen."

Taken aback, all Y/N could do was laugh, "What? No! You guys are crazy. The only person Jace loves is himself." She rolled her eyes, grabbing a few pieces of popcorn.

Clary spoke up, "When I first learned I was a Shadow Hunter and Jace brought me to the institute, I thought he was cute, but then I saw the way he looked at you, and I thought you two were a thing for a whole month until I saw you making out with a mundane near Pandemonium."

"I remember that!" Izzy giggled, turning to Y/N, "Clary freaked out and came running to me saying that you cheated on Jace and that we needed to tell him. It was so funny trying to explain to her that the two of you weren't a thing."

"My point is," Clary interjected, looking at Y/N, "Jace Wayland has been pining over you for so long. He's extra protective of you. When you came home crying a few months ago because the dirtbag cheated on you, Alec had to stop him from hunting him down and killing him without a second thought."

Y/N sank in her chair, blinking, "I had no idea."

"You're just a little oblivious; it's okay," Izzy said, patting her head.

She shook her head, "It's late. I'm going to bed."

She exited the chair and said goodnight to the two girls before leaving the kitchen.

She was going to bed, but then her feet decided to take her to where she knew Jace would be at this time of night.

The garden.

She opened the door quietly, searching for the blond among the flowers and plants, when she spotted him sitting on a bench. He was reading a book that she couldn't read the title of because of how old it was. She walked over to him and placed her hands in her sweater pockets, "You know how to read?"

He looked up at her from his book, "Sneaking up on people is supposed to be my thing."

"You'll have to learn how to share. May I sit?"

He nodded, closing the book with a bookmark between the pages, and moved to one side of the bench to make room for her to sit, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "I will be. Thank you for being there for me back at Pandemonium and in the training room earlier today. I needed to hear the truth. Even though my stance on the fact you need to work on your comforting skills stays intact." She teased him lightly, making him chuckle.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with the Vampire alone while I was defending your honor; it won't ever happen again."

"It better not." She chuckled, leaning back and relaxing on the bench, stifling a yawn, "Because I might just have to kill you myself, then."

"As if you would dare lay a mark on my greatest asset." He gestured to his face making Y/N roll her eyes and slapped his hand away.

"That ego of yours is going to be the death of me one day. Do I have to worry about you falling in love with your own reflection and drowning because of it like Narcissus?"

Letting out a laugh, Jace shook his head, looking up at the time on his watch, the very one she had gotten him for his last birthday, "It's getting late. You need rest."

"So do you," she fired back, standing up and glaring at him, "We need you at the top of your game, come on."

He chuckled, standing up and holding the book against his hip as they left the garden together and walked through the Institute.

"Do you need some tea to help you relax?" She asked, tilting her head up at him.

He smiled down at her, "No, I can manage."

They approached their rooms silently, he walked her to her door, and she nodded, "Goodnight, Jace."

He watched as she disappeared into her room, closing the door behind her, but he didn't move to his room next door, even though he should have.

No, he thought about how he realized Demetrius' words were true. He loved her and didn't know what to do with this information.

He raised his hand to knock on her door again, wanting to get the rejection over with, but just before his fist could make contact with the wood, the door opened, followed by her voice saying, "Jace, wait." before getting cut off by realizing he was standing there still.

The two stood there wordlessly, staring at each other. No one knew who made the first move that night, but soon Y/N felt his hands cupping her face as their lips touched.

It felt right, kissing Jace; he was gentle yet passionate, as if he were making up for the lost time, which he was. As it turned out, so was she.

When they broke apart for air, nothing could stop their mutual smiles from appearing on their faces as Jace rested his forehead on hers.

"Sleep in my room tonight? We can talk about this in the morning."

He nodded, picking her up over his left shoulder, causing a light squeal to leave her lips as he walked into the room, closing the door with his foot.

#writers of tumblr #fanfiction #rottenwrites #shadowhunters #the mortal instruments #jace wayland #jace wayland x reader #alec lightwood #isabelle lightwood #clary fairchild #shadow hunters fic #x reader #i don't know if i like this but I'm posting it anyway

[intheshadowsbehindyou]

Specifically the support team with a tall fem! Reader! (To be detailed like 6'0ft and over 6'0 if in heels)

Just admit you people have mommy issues. I cannot take this ask seriously lord please help me.

Tall Fem!reader with the TF2 Support mercs

Warning: mildly NSFW. why are you doing this to me. I’m a gay cis dude irl

Sniper:

- Fucking short circuits. Think brock levels of simping from pokemon. Maybe not outwardly but on the inside he’s promising you the world. Wishes to be your little step tool. Every time you play rough with him he becomes a submissive little shit. Goes “oowwww :(((“ when he’d otherwise not. Other Mercs are outstanded on how fast you humbled him. Regardless of your relationship with him he’ll ask you if you could be his mother figure because his current mother is.. Well I mean she’s dead. This is entirely non-sexual.

- 50 points if goth girl and 100 points if trans girl. He’s into men and nonbinary folk too but whenever it’s a girl, it’s always mommy? sorry. mommy? sorry. mommy? sorry.

- Gets oddly soft with you and nobody else. Becomes clingy and desperate for your attention to the extent of protecting you on the battlefield and overall showing off with his shots. Becomes more awkward than he usually would. Stumbles over his words and panics when speaking to you. You find it cute.

————————————————————————-

Medic:

- “Ah! Yes! the new person. Hello little fräulein!” He immediately turned around and waved to greet you the first time… Before slowly realizing your head was higher than his shoulders and trailed his eyes upward. Meeting your gaze with awkward silence. He had bent down suspecting an innocent, small and adorable woman and so had to immediately stand up and straighten his posture. A majority of girls from his village were abhorrently short.

- “Ah… I see…” He turns away and fixes his glasses. Going back to whatever the hell math he was jotting on his chalkboard. You could vaguely make out it was some sort of failsafe for in case the medigun failed to deploy charge. You were more intrigued over the fact you were taller than this man. You leaned over his head to check your height— Which made him nervous of course.

- “Must you be so nosey? Hah! Relax. It’s not a shrink ray or anything!” He joked. You didn’t know if you should be offended by that or that or not. “Of course, mind you, I do know how to make that. But I don’t have the time nor resources sadly. Then again, everybody must be shrunken to you.” Medic then proceeds to suppress his mild attraction to you; instead opting to tear you to shreds with his sick roasts about your height. Wow, somebody’s insecure.

——————————————————————-

Spy:

- BARK BARK BARK WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!!! Heterosexual beams primed. Neurons activated. Eyes bulge out of head awooga awooooga

- ONE single glance of you is all it takes and his seduction skills become second nature. The next day you find roses on the end table next to your bed. With a letter, written in flawless english incursive about meeting you on the roof of the base after sunset. The letter even had hints of his sweet smelling cologne on it. Talk about overkill.

- Well you see him there and he’s there, leaning against the railing with his suit unbuttoned. His tie hanging loose on his neck and treating himself to a glass of wine. “Ah, pardon me mademoiselle, I’m afraid the deserts of this country are a bit.. Harsh on me sometimes.” You have never seen such a cheesy display in your entire life. There’s even a picnic table there with candles and dinner. You almost wanted to dropkick him because of how disgustingly sweet this was. Yuck.

#team fortress 2 #tf2 #medic x reader #spy x reader #sniper x reader

[iliketangerines]

Idk if you do male x male but if you do- could you do like Raiden or just like- Wu shi academy boys ((liu, Lao, Raiden)) with a male reader who’s tall, buff, really intimidating- like those tall buff Japanese/Chinese guys but he’s very traditional and wears like yishang clothing and also a complete bottom and just a complete himbo. He’s taller and stronger then the boys and attracts the ladies ((which makes the boys jealous that some girls are trying to take their pookie away💦))

hands off!

a/n: i gotchu cutie, and djskdbdbs i want them to mark me up

pairing: liu kang x amab!reader x kung lao x raiden

warnings: nsfw (MDNI), blowjobs, handjobs, edging

Lao and Raiden had not been expecting you when they had come to the academy

you were tall, broad, strong, and dressed in a beautiful hanfu stitched and clearly made with a lot of effort and love

and when you opened your mouth to speak to greet them in a low voice, they were both heads over heels for you

they fight for your attention whenever you pass by them when they’re training, fighting harder and making harder jabs and trying to show off their skills

you never seem to notice, just smiling as you strip off your hanfu to only leave the baggy pants as you practice your exercises in the yard

Lao and Raiden can’t help but drool at the sight of your body, thick arms and a defined chest, but they both stop in their tracks as they watch Liu Kang come up to you and ask to spar

you agree happily, dopey smile on your face as you get in the ring and spar with Liu Kang with precise strikes and a body that moves like water

you barely win, your thick arms bulging as you bring Liu Kang into a chokehold and pin his legs down with your own

Lao and Raiden cannot concentrate on their own training for the rest of the day, distracted by the thoughts of your arms and your chest and everything else about you

but neither of them miss the way that Liu Kang has his sights set on you or the way that his body gravitates towards you at meetings or meal times

you don’t seem to notice though, happily eating away and explaining about something you saw in the flowers as you were trying to meditate

it’s one of those rare days where Liu Kang has brought his champions out into the nearby town to explore and rest from training

Johnny Cage and Kenshi disappear almost immediately, and so you’re left with Raiden, Lao, and Liu Kang to wander about the town

you stop by a variety of stalls, looking over the food, and the other three trail behind you like lost puppies, scrabbling to buy whatever they could if you even just glanced at it

but it's Raiden who first notices when they’re distracted with haggling for the price of some jewelry you looked at that a girl has come up to you

she’s twirling her hair and grabs onto your bicep, squeezing the muscle, as you remain oblivious to her flirting and make small talk

jealousy flares to life in Raiden’s body, and he leaves Lao and Liu Kang to place an arm around your waist and drag you away from the woman

it happens for the rest of the day, you're completely oblivious as various women place their hands up on your arms and chest or bend over in front of you trying to get your attention

it leaves Lao, Raiden, and Liu Kang feeling frustrated as you continue to frolic among the stalls ignorant to the hungry stares

they cut the day short, dragging you out of the town and back to the academy, and Raiden shoots the other two a quick text that they’re leaving early

you pout but follow along with them back to the academy

the next few weeks are torture; you tower over Lao and Raiden and grow much more friendly in your touches, patting them on the back or dragging them in for a hug

even Liu Kang has grown closer to you, leaving his hands on your waist for too long or staring at you longingly

but, it all comes to a head when there’s another trip planned to go to town, and none of them want to see women fawning over you

Lao and Raiden walk out to the training field early, sun barely rising over the horizon, expecting to find you already there and training to blow off some steam before they leave for the town

but, you’re nowhere to be found, and they immediately go to search for you

and when they find you, it’s a sight to behold

you’re in your bedroom, still in bed, hair strewn above you and hands gripping on Liu Kang’s hair for dear life as he bobs his head up and down your cock

you look gorgeous, chest covered in hickeys and nipples rubbed sore, and you open an eyelid and whimper, one hand releasing from Liu Kang’s hair to reach out for them

they hurry over, blood flowing from their heads to their dicks as they watch Liu Kang hum around your cock, causing you to arch your back off the bed

they approach you, and Liu Kang releases your cock from his mouth, a lewd sound as he detaches from your dick

the god moves you so that your sit in his lap, and it would be a comedic sight with the way you’re taller than Liu Kang

but, Lao and Raiden are too horny to really laugh and quickly pull their cocks out of their pants as you paw at their pants

Liu Kang slips a plug out of your ass and lubes his dick up before sliding inside of you, moaning as you clench around him

the god tells you that you’re so beautiful like this, bouncing on his dick, and you whine, taking Lao’s dick into your mouth first as you pump at Raiden’s with your hand

Lao groans at the feeling of your warm mouth around his cock, and you press your tongue into the slit of his tip

in your hand, you flick your wrist and pump Raiden from base to tip, and the champion can’t help but groan as pre-cum leaks from his tip

Liu Kang thrusts into you, which has you whining around Lao’s cock, and the vibrations have Lao gripping your hair tightly

you look absolutely debauched, eyes filled with tears as Lao pushes your head down until your nose hits his pelvis and skin covered in bite marks and hickeys

the three of them shower you with praise, telling you that you’re doing so good for them, taking three cocks for them, that you look pretty marked up for them

Liu Kang fists the base of your dick, preventing you from cumming, and you moan around Lao’s dick

the god angles his hips to batter into your prostate, and you keen loudly

Lao lets go of your hair, and you detach your mouth from his dick and go to lavish Raiden’s cock with your attention

you pump at Lao’s dick while you give kitten licks to Raiden’s dick, and the champion pets your hair as you leave licks and kisses along the shaft

but, he can’t contain himself, and he grabs onto your head and starts fucking into your face, admiring the way tears drip down your face

Liu Kang continues to bounce you on his cock, keeping a firm grip on base of your dick

you grow dizzy at the onslaught of pleasure and the lack of air as you gurgle around Raiden’s dick

finally, Raiden pulls you off and tells you to stick out your tongue, and he pumps his dick at the sight of your flushed face

Lao pumps at his dick furiously, wanting, needing to cum all over your face

the two of them need to show that you’re theirs, that no one else can have you, that you’re just for them

they cum on your face, and you close your eyes as their seed drips down your cheeks and lands on your tongue

you happily swallow what you can, and Raiden and Lao groan at the sight

they tuck away their dicks and reluctantly leave to go and grab some towels and water for you

Liu Kang doubles his efforts, picking you up until just the tip remains before slamming your hips onto his, and it has you moaning and begging for more

he whispers in your ears that you only belong to them, and you nod along dumbly

he pumps your cock with one calloused hand, spreading your pre-cum on the shaft for a better slide, and he presses the thumb into the slit of your cock

your back arches off of him as you cum, thighs twitching as your cum coats Liu Kang’s hand and the floor

Liu Kang grunts at the feeling of you tightening around him and cums inside of you, fucking you and him through your orgasms

eventually, he just lets you sit on his cock as you sniffle and hiccup, trying to come back down from your high

he coos at you and finally slips out of you but fills you up with the plug from earlier, keeping him cum inside of you as a reminder that you’re his

Raiden and Lao return with damp towels and water in hand and wipe you down and have you drink some water

Lao bites his lip at the sight of the plug snug inside of you

Liu Kang picks out a hanfu for you, one that exposes your neck and the hickeys on them

the god looks at Raiden and Lao and tells them to make their mark, and they eagerly suck matching hickeys onto the low part of your neck

it has you whining, but they just walk you out of the room and meet up with Johnny and Kenshi to go to the market

they go and buy some food for you while you look at some other stall, admiring the fabric, and a woman approaches you

but she sees the hickeys on your neck, and Raiden grins as the woman backs off

Liu Kang has a constant hand on the small of your back, and Lao shoots glares at woman who try to approach you

with their protectiveness and the way the plug shifts inside of you every time you move, it reminds you that you fully belong to the three of them

#tangerine writes #tangerine answers #mortal kombat #mk #mortal kombat 1 #mk1 #mk1 2023 #mortal kombat smut #mk smut #mortal kombat x reader #mk x you #mk x reader #mk x y/n #kung lao #kung lao mk1 #mk1 kung lao #raiden #mk1 raiden #raiden mk1 #liu kang #mk1 liu kang #liu kang mk1 #raiden smut #kung lao smut #liu kang smut #kung lao x reader #kung lao x you #kung lao x y/n #raiden x reader #raiden x you

[runningfrom2am]

not even a little bit

summary: rafe begs for another shot, but you didn't even know you gave him one at all.

pairing: rafe x fem!reader

wc: 1.2k

tags/warnings: a little bit of swearing, arguing, fake dating trope (oops) jealous!rafe

a/n: this is for day four of obx week!! day four: second chances w/ rafe! i'm honestly surprised i kept it pretty short for this once considering i mostly write for rafe anyways lol.

i hope you enjoy!! see you tomorrow for a pining kie :)

masterlists // nav

requests

join my taglist here

getting off work and shielding your head from the pouring rain with a sweater as you walk down the street, you are just looking forward to getting home after the long day. you were about to turn the corner onto your street when you hear tires come to a stop behind you, seeing headlights, and hearing a car door slam, followed by a voice calling your name.

"y/n, hey! can we talk?" you quickly attribute the voice to rafe, turning and furrowing your brow.

"rafe?" you ask, adjusting the sweater you're holding over your head.

"hop in, i'll drive you home." he offers, though he's already walking towards you.

you shake your head, fully facing him now. "i'm good." you turn him down, turning on your heel to continue your walk.

"no, wait! i need to talk to you. just give me like, a minute. please." rafe pleads, making you stop in your tracks.

"okay." you sigh, turning back for a second time. "what do you want to talk about, rafe?" you gesture for him to continue.

"okay, uh, shit- alright..." he mutters to himself, reaching up and rubbing his forehead with his palms. "i'm sorry- i know i fucked everything up, okay? but i'm sorry, it's just been eating me up and i can't sleep, i can't eat, i can't do anything without you. please, i need you to forgive me."

your jaw could hit the floor. "rafe- what on earth are you talking about?" you ask. you had never been together, not really.

"what do you mean?" rafe asks, genuine hurt behind his tone. suddenly, you're rethinking everything.

you could feel the scheme of your fake relationship coming to a head at this party rafe was throwing. that was his whole plan, after all, that he wanted you on his hip to make his ex jealous. it had been working, you could see it in the way she was glaring at you. you stood up straighter to whisper in his ear, only telling him you were going to get a drink before leaving his side with a brush of his arm.

in the kitchen, you grab another cooler and crack it open, taking a sip and leaning back against the counter. it was good to catch a breather from the show you felt like you were putting on. you wanted to help rafe, he was one of your best friends, but it was hard for you. particularly, hard for you to be on the receiving end of his affections knowing that it all meant nothing. you hadn't known what you were missing, really.

"y/n, hey." you look over as a taller boy walks up to you. he was one of sarah's friends, a year or so younger than you.

"oh, hi." you smile. "it's jj, right?"

"in the flesh." he nods, leaning against the counter next to you.

"i didn't expect to see any of sarah's friends here." you tell him, wanting to make conversation.

"yeah, well, i don't feel like i belong- but a party is a party." he shrugs, taking a sip of his beer.

"fair enough." you giggle. "i'm the same. not super comfortable."

"then come sit with us." jj offers, leaning in so you can hear him over the loud music. "i'd like to spend more time with you."

you turn to look at him, and it isn't lost on you that his eyes fall to your lips. there's hardly anyone around, and you know that what is going on with rafe isn't real- so realistically, you have nothing to lose. while you think it over, jj is already leaning in.

before your lips touch, you're startled by rafe practically storming into the kitchen. "hey! who even let you in, pogue?" he spits at jj, quickly pulling you away. over rafe's shoulder, you can see his ex standing there, jealous eyes hardly leaving his frame.

"rafe! are you joking right now?" you blush, trying to pry your arm from his grip. "we were just talking..."

rafe looks between you and jj quickly, who is raising his hands defensively. "hey man, yeah. i was just asking how she was."

"no- i know what i saw." rafe shakes his head, eyes landing on you again. "and i know how you are." he looks at you with disgust, like you genuinely had done something wrong.

"whatever, rafe." you sigh, faking that you've lost your patience, ripping your arm away from him and pacing out of the kitchen, dragging jj with you.

you thought that fight had been fake, a show put on for his ex to display that he was very suddenly single again- but suddenly you don't think that it was.

"i..." you hesitate on what to say next. "you didn't do anything wrong." you tell him, confusion crossing his features.

"i did. i shouldn't have yelled at you, i didn't mean to get so angry, i just couldn't control it- alright?" he takes a few strides closer to you.

"it didn't bother me." you say reassuringly.

"don't lie to me, y/n. please- i've got so much going on right now i don't have time for you to bullshit me, okay?" he's angry now, and you're confused.

"i thought it was fake! i thought i was supposed to do that- i could see her watching us, i thought you would want an excuse to be 'single' again!" you raise your voice at him. you know it's the only way he'll listen.

"that's why you kissed him?"

"i didn't k-" you stop yourself, closing your eyes and taking a breath as you hold your hand up for him to wait. "i didn't kiss him, but if i had, that would have been why. yes." you lie, knowing that it was an intoxicated version of you's attempt to quell the feelings you had for the boy standing in front of you.

"and that's it?" rafe asks, clearly skeptical. "you didn't want to? not even a little bit?"

"no, rafe." you sigh, crossing your arms and abandoning any hope you had of staying dry. "i was trying to help you."

"listen- i just... it made me sick." he says through gritted teeth, running his hand through his hair again. "i can't even describe what it felt like to watch you be close to him- it just made me so angry and i'm sorry i grabbed you and that i took it the wrong way."

an apology from rafe cameron was not something you had on your bingo card from this year, but here you are.

"i just need another chance. a real chance. i won't fuck it up this time." he says, pleading eyes boring into you as his hair once again sticks to his forehead from the rain.

"wait, you're actually asking me out?"

"that's what i said, isn't it?"

you pause for a moment, not giving him a chance to see the smile forming on your lips while you close the space between you, grabbing his face and standing up on your toes to kiss him. this time it was real- not calculated to be seen by all the right people at the right time, it was honest. and it felt so, so much better than that as he grabbed your waist, pulling on your shirt to get you closer.

the rain soaking your hair and ruining your makeup didn't bother you anymore. not even a little bit.

taglist: @bookishbabyyy @madelynie, @whore-4-drewstarkey, @slut4drudy, @winterrrnight, @totalswag, @sadfury @fullfledgedemo @rafemotherfuckingcameron, @urfaveluvr, @chenslucy, @hxnnah-397, @s-we-e-t-t-ea, @tahliac11, @saccharinesammie, @ietss, @maybankslover @redhead1180, @suzyheartsrafe, @wpdailyminimeta, @aegons-bitch, @rafegirly, @lovelyxtommy

#obxweek23 #obx fanfic #rafe cameron #rafe obx #rafe fic #rafe fanfiction #obx #outer banks #rafe x reader #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron fluff #rafe imagine #rafe outer banks #rafe x you

[evandarya]

How (not) to Get Adopted by Bruce Wayne

An Incomplete Guide

{read on AO3}

Bruce looked up from the paperwork on his desk to his ringing cell phone. His personal cell phone. Precious few people had that number. He checked the caller ID before answering.

"Dr. Thompkins, this is a surprise, is there a problem?" He didn't think so. The last donation to her clinic had cleared days ago, maybe something was wrong with one of his kids.

"Bruce, nothing is wrong, or… well." She paused. He never knew Leslie to be anything other than straightforward, so this was unusual. "You know most of the fosters and group homes in the city use my clinic for the kids, right?"

"Yes." He should, it was because of the Thomas Wayne foundation that they were able to afford medical care for the foster kids in the city.

"Well, I'm worried about one of the kids. He's been in my clinic twice since the start of the month. Apparently, he's been getting into fights."

It was only two weeks into the month, which was concerning, but… "I'm not seeing where I come in." He said, flipping through a financial report.

"He's in a group home, and they have a 'three strike' policy. If he gets into another fight, he's going to be sent to a detention facility."

"Hmm. Sounds like he needs to stop getting into fights."

"That's what I told him the first time, but there he was the next week, nose broken again. He's a smart kid, Bruce, he's in Gotham Academy on an academic scholarship. He doesn't deserve to go to juvy, and you are still an active foster parent."

"Leslie, I'm not looking to take in another child right now. I have my hands full with Damian, and Tim is staying here full time again."

"That's why you're the best choice. He needs a placement, someone with a firm hand, and you have experience raising headstrong children."

"I don't know."

"Could you at least meet him before you decide?"

"Alright." He said with a sigh "I'll meet him."

"Thanks, Bruce, I'll have his social worker contact you."

***

"I don't understand why I had to miss school for this," Danny said, slumping down in the plastic chair. They were supposed to be taking a test in Physics today, and now he was going to have to make it up to meet with a potential foster.

"Sit up straight, Danny. Your potential foster father is a busy man, so we had to work with his schedule." Danny rolled his eyes. A busy foster, great. That usually meant their foster kids took care of the house while they were out 'working'.

"I don't need a foster, Shannon." He'd rather go to juvy than another foster placement.

"Just meet him, please, and keep an open mind." Shannon checked her watch. He wasn't sure if the man was running late, or if she was just nervous. Probably nervous, though, if the incessant clicking of her pen was any indication.

At exactly half past noon the door to the day room opened and a tall, well-built man walked in, being led by a worker. "Shannon, Mr. Wayne is here." Mr. Wayne gave the worker a brilliant smile and thanked her for showing him in before turning that smile onto Shannon. Danny slumped further into the chair, glaring at Mr. Wayne.

He knew who the man was. Of course, he did, how could he not? Everything he had came from the man. The group home he was living in was funded by a Wayne charity, his scholarship, his doctor visits, and even his school lunches were paid for by the Wayne foundation. The man had infinitely deep pockets, and he gave to so many charities, and he was huge. Not just tall, standing a head and a half taller than Shannon and her impractical heels but built like he spends half his time in a gym. The man was bigger than a billionaire had any reason to be.

"You must be Danny." He said, turning that smile onto the teen, ignoring his surly look, and holding out his hand. Danny took it, and couldn't help but notice the calluses on the man's knuckles and palms. Similar to his own, like a fighter. "I'm Bruce Wayne."

"I know who you are." He said, dropping the man's hand and turning back to Shannon. "Can I go back to my room?"

"Danny! You're being rude." Shannon said, dropping her pen in shock. Danny caught it before it hit the ground and handed it back to her.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne, thank you for coming all the way down here to meet me. Sorry, you wasted a trip, though. I'm not looking for a foster at this time." He said, giving his own blinding fake smile.

"That's not really your decision, is it?" Mr. Wayne asked, catching Danny off guard.

"What?" Danny asked, sitting up straight for the first time.

"You're fifteen, sixteen maybe? You don't need to give permission to be moved to a new home."

"You can't do that. He can't do that, Shannon."

"He's right, Danny. You're still underaged, so you have to go where the state tells you to go. If Mr. Wayne agrees to foster you, you'll have to go with him."

Danny glanced incredulously between the two adults, everything in him wanting to whine about how unfair that was, but that wouldn’t get him anything. Instead, he settled for a scowl.

"How about a trial period? We'll do a thirty-day placement, and if you would rather be here after, I'll drop you off myself. Does that sound fair?" Mr. Wayne said as if he were some diplomat trying to find a compromise.

Anger flared in Danny's chest. "Whether or not it sounds fair is irrelevant, isn't it? You've already made it clear where you stand on my permission."

Pink colored Mr. Wayne's cheeks, but his face stayed irritatingly passive. "Why don't you go pack, then."

"You'll take him? That's wonderful, I'll get the paperwork started." Danny held Mr. Wayne's eyes for a few more seconds before the man broke eye contact to speak to Shannon. Only then did Danny stand up, being sure to make as much noise as possible just to be annoying. Thirty days? Does he think he's going to last for thirty days? His longest placement was two weeks. Mr. Wayne would be no different.

The first thing he did when he got to his room, or the room where he stayed with three other boys, was take his knives out of the wall. One good thing about being able to turn intangible is how easy it is to hide things. No one thinks to check inside the walls. He stuck one in his front pocket, one in his back pocket, and one in the hidden pocket he had sewn into the inside of his hoodie. Then he set about packing his things. He didn't have that much stuff, in fact, all of his belongings fit into his backpack along with his school books. The last thing he did was fish his sketchbook out from where he had stashed it under the floorboards under his bed.

Once everything he owned was safely tucked away in the bag on his back he headed back down to the day room. Mr. Wayne was signing paperwork at the table when he stomped back in. He glanced up and his eyes landed on the backpack hanging off his shoulder.

"Do you have everything?" He asked. Danny shrugged, he had everything important. "Alright, I’ll finish this paperwork, then we can get going."

Danny nodded and sat back down in his chair across from Mr. Wayne. The only sound was the steady ticking of the clock on the wall and Mr. Wayne's pen scratching his signature every now and again as he read through the paperwork. Once he had signed everything he needed to sign and handed the paperwork back to Shannon they headed out to the parking lot.

"I'm parked this way." He said, gesturing toward a black Tesla in the parking lot. "Would you like to put your bag in the trunk?"

"I'll keep it with me if it's all the same to you." You only have to make the mistake of getting separated from your belongings once.

"Alright, if that's what you want." Danny could feel his anger rising again. Since when did anyone care what he wanted? Mr. Wayne opened the passenger side door for him, and Danny waited until he stepped away to get in, shutting the door behind him. Mr. Wayne climbed into the driver's side and Danny was struck again by just how big the man was. Was he a bodybuilder, or something? Seriously.

Mr. Wayne waited until they were out on the road before speaking again. "Have you eaten lunch yet, are you hungry?" He asked, drumming on the steering wheel as he waited for a light to change.

"No."

"No, you haven't eaten lunch, or no, you aren't hungry?"

"No to both. I haven't eaten lunch, and I'm not hungry."

"Did you have a big breakfast?"

"I skipped breakfast."

"So you haven't eaten anything all day." Danny could hear the displeasure in the man's voice, but he just shrugged in indifference. Mr. Wayne reached over and Danny tracked his hand warily, but the man only hit a few buttons on his car's display, calling a number labeled "Alfred." The sound of a call ringing out filled the cab before a man with a British accent picked up.

"Pennyworth speaking, how may I help you." Danny wrinkled his nose at the man's formality.

"Alfred, I'm bringing home a guest. Could you fix something substantial for lunch? And prepare a room in the family wing, please."

"Of course, Master Bruce. Are there any requests or restrictions I should be aware of?"

"Danny?" Mr. Wayne asked, obviously waiting for him to answer the question.

"No."

Mr. Wayne's eyebrows furrowed just a bit before smoothing back out. "Danny has a peanut allergy." Danny scowled out the window as Mr. Wayne finished his conversation. Silence fell as they made their way out of the city.

“How’d you know about my allergy?” Danny asked after a while.

“Shannon told me.” Mr. Wayne said.

“So why’d you ask if you already knew the answer?”

“Why did you lie?”

Danny scowled at that and turned back to the window without answering. Mr. Wayne sighed.

"I wanted to give you an opportunity to speak for yourself." He said after a few minutes of silent driving. “And to see what you said.”

"So it was a test?" He asked. Mr. Wayne nodded slightly, not taking his eyes off the road. "Guess I failed, then."

"No, it's not a pass/fail. I just want to know what happened in your past that made you feel the need to lie about something as serious as an allergy."

Danny didn't say anything to that, the man was starting to sound like Jazz. Thankfully he didn't say anything else for the rest of the ride. It wasn't until they were parked in the garage of the (frankly ridiculously sized mansion) that Mr. Wayne said anything.

"I'm going to need you to give me your knives."

Danny blinked. "I don't know what you're talking about." He pulled on the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. Locked. Of course, it was, and stupid expensive cars apparently don’t have lock buttons on the passenger side. He swallowed down his apprehension and turned toward Mr. Wayne.

"I know you have at least three on your person. You will have no need for weapons in my home, so I need you to give them to me."

He's heard that before, but what choice did he have at this point? He was stuck in the car with a man who was twice his size and built like an MMA fighter. Unless he wanted to use his powers there was only one way out. Danny sighed and handed over the knives in his pants pockets.

"And the one in your jacket." He scowled but handed it over too. "And any you may have in your backpack." There was only one in his backpack, and it had saved his life more than once. He really didn't want to give it up.

"I don't have any in my backpack."

"Don't lie to me about this, I don't want to go through your things, but I will if I have to," Danny grumbled, but dug into his bag for the Swiss Army Knife and handed it over to Mr. Wayne. "Is that all?"

"Yes, sir."

"You don't have to call me sir, you can call me Bruce."

“Is that an order?” Danny really didn’t want to get too familiar with a man who was a practical stranger.

“No, of course not."

“Then I’ll call you sir, Mr. Wayne.”

Mr. Wayne sighed but finally unlocked the car door. Danny pushed the door open a little faster than was strictly necessary, stumbling a little in his haste to get out of the enclosed space. Mr. Wayne gave him a funny look but didn't mention it, instead, he led him across the garage, past more fancy cars than a car show, and up into the house. He was led down a short corridor and into a kitchen, where a plate of chicken salad sandwiches was set on the counter.

"Alfred, we're home," Bruce called when he didn't immediately see the man in the kitchen.

"Welcome home, Master Bruce, Master Daniel." The man said, stepping out of what must be a pantry. "I'm afraid we only have plain crisps, I hope that's alright." He said, setting the bag on the counter. It took Danny a second longer than he would have liked to realize that Alfred was asking him.

"Yes, sir. Plain chips are fine."

"You don't have to call me sir." He said, giving Danny a warm smile, which Danny didn't return.

"Alfred, I'll take lunch in my study, if you don't mind." Mr. Wayne said, before turning to Danny. "Alfred will help get you settled in after lunch."

"Right."

Mr. Wayne hesitated, like he wanted to say something, instead he parroted Danny's "right." And headed out of the kitchen.

Once he was gone Danny felt some tension leave his shoulders.

"Are you quite alright, Master Daniel?"

"Danny." He said quietly.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's just Danny, not Daniel."

"I apologize, Master Danny, thank you for telling me. Would you like to have lunch here in the kitchen, or the dining room?"

"Here is fine, sir," Danny said, popping up onto a barstool.

"Just Alfred will do, thank you." The man said, setting a plate with two chicken salad sandwiches, some fruit salad, and a good amount of chips in front of him. "Feel free to tuck in, I'm just going to bring this up to Master Bruce." He said, loading down a tray with an identical meal.

Danny didn't need to be told twice, taking a bite of his sandwich. It was the best sandwich he'd had in a long time, years maybe. Bruce Wayne may be an ass, but if Alfred cooks like this all the time, this placement may not be the worst he'd ever had.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #batman #dc comics #crossover #tim drake #fanfic #damian wayne

[devilry-revelry]

Untitled - Male Orc x Female Human (Part 3)

Triggers: Mentions of an abusive relationship; no actual details

Mostly Fluff, with a little bit of serious at the end. Mostly just leading this mini-series to what was Arzok and Riley's first actual story that I wrote -- after that, they might finally get to spicetown.

Tag/s: @littlepumpkinmunchkin

[Part 1] [Part 2]

-

“You dress up that sweet for me, pretty girl?”

-

It had been five minutes of waiting around and Riley’s feet were already aching. The healing injury on the pad of her foot aside, the heels she chose were taller than her typical go-to pairs. After arriving at the designated meeting place a whole ten minutes early, Riley had changed out of her flats and into her heels only to regret the decision immediately thereafter. There had already been a couple of wardrobe changes that day, and while a simple shoe swap would be fine, her thoughts were scathing and accusatory.

Riley’s morning had been spent weighing the pros and cons between underwear sets. While her usual choice would be some cotton number with graphic print, she had mulled over some forest green  lace and some cornflower blue silk. Her bitter, self deprecating thoughts started there. The negativity wasn’t a body thing. Riley was quite comfortable in her skin most days. It was her inability to stop fretting over a meeting, that was most definitely not a date. 

When she got out of the shower that morning she could practically hear the voice of her friend telling her the importance of dressing “to the skin” on a first date. Even if there was no chance of her date seeing her underwear, dressing for the occasion would make her feel sexy and confident. 

Allegedly. 

Not like it was a date. 

Because it wasn’t.

But the flirty texts Arzok had sent over the last two days gave Riley the hope that maybe she had a chance. Maybe the orc who tackled the van wasn’t just trying to distract her from an impending emotional breakdown with a bit of flattery. 

And that little bit of hope made Riley a little manic.

The overdue everything-shower was done with meticulous precision. Underwear was vetted and deemed worthy. The dress she selected had to meet criteria for work and a date. She picked a cute, flowy, floral midi number that was plenty flirty but easily dressed down with a pullover sweater. Her hair was beaten into submission, forced into lazy curls. And then there was the insane effort she had put into her makeup — which was to say she managed a damn good winged eyeliner, and a smokey eye and that was about it. 

The end result was good, damn good, but every step of the way she told herself that it wasn’t a date. That the effort was for nothing. And her own negativity put her under a bit of a rain cloud.

“You’re overthinking this,” she hissed at herself as she shifted her weight off of her injured foot, and then back. The heels were too high. But the dress looked better with the heels— “You’re overthinking this!” 

Their agreed upon meeting place was a paid-parking lot downtown, smack-dab in the heart of the entertainment district. Barely even 6:30 on a Friday night, the streets were already packed with humans, and magick, bar hopping, or running off for dinner and a movie. The parking lot was already filling to capacity. Riley sent a quick glance around the lot to make sure no one was loitering about watching. When she deemed the coast clear she pulled her flats from her purse and tossed them to the concrete. She made quick work of swapping from one pair of shoes and into the next . The relief was immediate — but it was quickly usurped by a wave of eagerness when she heard the rolling thunder of a motorcycle engine. She sought out the source eagerly, turning in place, eventually catching sight of a human couple on a Harley. 

The excitement deflated, and she pulled her phone from her purse. There were no texts announcing his arrival, none telling her he was running late. None saying he wasn’t showing up, either, so that was good—

Oh god, what if he was going to ghost her—

“You dress up that sweet for me, pretty girl?”

Riley flinched, looking up into Arzok’s smiling face. Christ he was so quiet and just as attractive as she remembered. Sharp features with sparkling dark eyes. Plush lips and, of course, the long tusks. He was dressed smartly, wearing some dark slacks that looked to be far more functional than standard office wear, and a white button down. The top buttons were undone. Riley caught a peak of chest hair. The sleeves were rolled up over his forearms, showing off the fading black of his tattoos. His hair was in a loose braid, a few strands coming loose to frame his face. 

Riley replied, “I could ask you the same thing.”

He smiled slow, and easy as he replied, “I’ll answer your question if you answer mine—“

Riley stepped forward, shoving his jacket up into his chest. Before she could withdraw he caught her hand and held it to him. 

“It’s Friday night. I dressed up because I don’t know what I’m doing after this.” The lie was bitter on her tongue, and quiet yearning blossomed in her chest.

He stepped in a little closer, causing her neck to tilt back so she could meet his mischievous gaze. His proximity was causing her stomach to flip. She wished that the jacket wasn’t between her hand and his chest. 

“So you’re saying you’re free this evening?”

“Well,” she started, then uttered an unconfident, “yeah?”

Arzok’s smile turned broad and boyish. He smiled so big that the corners of his eyes crinkled. Still holding her hand to his chest he took a small step back. The angle of his body opened so she could see beyond him. Almost directly across the street from their place in the outer rim of the parking lot, there was a restaurant. The sign read: Val’s.  There was no indication to the type of food on the outside, but the front doors were open to foot traffic, and the outside seating was starting to bustle with patrons. It looked clean, and was good enough to have a growing crowd. 

“Then let me take you to dinner.”

Riley took a cursory glance around. There was a restaurant on each surrounding street, a movie theater, and a piano bar. Something in her warmed. 

“You picked this parking lot for a reason, didn’t you?”

“I absolutely did. Did you think I was joking when I asked if I could take you on a date?” Arzok didn’t even wait for a whole three seconds before, “Shit, baby, did you really?”

Riley shrugged, looking down and away. Was she truly so easy to read? “I might have thought you asked me out to keep me from thinking about my near-kidnapping.”

“Hey.” When she didn’t immediately look back to him his free hand reached out. His fingertips brushed her cheek and chin, redirecting her attention. “I meant every word of it. I know I can come on a little strong, but this shit usually works differently with the magick. Aaand maybe I didn’t want you to feel pressured to give me the time of day because I tackled a van for you.” Arzok winked. His hand started to fall away from her chin, but not before the pad of his thumb brushed the underside of her lower lip. 

“So you’re not just being nice?”

He chuckled, as if the mere idea of it was absurd. “No, sweetling. I would love to take you out. And not to rush you into a choice but we are already running late for the reservation I made.”

Riley scoffed, “You didn’t—“

“The fuck I didn’t! I figured if you say no I could just cancel, but I didn't want to be stuck waiting in line somewhere if you said yes.”

How many times had she gone on dates with human men where they had planned absolutely nothing? Scheduled, planned dates filled with “what do you want” and “I don’t cares”, because despite being asked out on a date she apparently needed to be the one with the plans. And here came Arzok — a member of a magick community that the right-wing media tried to paint as mindless, ferocious beasts — and he had set a dinner reservation for “just in case”. 

“So?”

“Yeah.”

He pumped his fist in a show of excited triumph. It was then that he finally released her hand and accepted the leather riding jacket from her. “C’mon, we can ditch these at the car and head over.”

“These?”

He pointed down towards her feet and there, right where she had left them, were the heels she had been wearing. Riley sucked her lips up against her teeth, silently wondering when she would stop making herself look like an idiot in front of him. 

Arzok guided Riley to the car — which wasn’t a car at all, but a Land Rover — where they abandoned his biking jacket and her spare shoes, and then they walked hand in hand to the buzzing restaurant. The hostess confirmed Arzok’s reservation, and they were promptly guided to their table. 

It was in a corner booth that was out of the way of the main thoroughfare. When they sat down there were menus, glasses of water, and a loaf of bread waiting. Arzok was quick to cut a couple slices free, and they both indulged in the bread while they perused the menu. They had a bit of everything, ranging from expensive steaks to build-your-own grilled cheese sandwiches. They boasted over 20 beers on tap, as well as a full bar. Once they both ordered a drink, and Arzok ordered an appetizer they settled into picking what they wanted for dinner.

It was when Arzok lowered his menu when Riley took a quick sip of water to prepare herself to engage in small talk. Arzok beat her to it.

“So can I ask you something?” When she gave a nod he continued. “This is your first time dating a magick, isn’t it?”

“Is it that obvious?” She grumbled into her water glass as she took another sip. 

“You just seem extra nervous.” He said on a shrug, while also delivering a wink. “Wasn’t sure if it’s because I’m an orc, a magick, or if you’re a little shy around men in general.”

Riley wrestled through her mouthful of bread as fast as she could. Once she swallowed it down she jumped into her reply, “Okay, first of all, the last time you saw me I was almost kidnapped. My nervousness was incredibly justified. But also yes, you make me nervous. Good nervous. I’m unfamiliar with orcish customs, and you’re—“ she paused, searching for a better word but not finding one in the moment. “—big. Like, good big but— no—“

Their waiter appeared then. It was a waifish creature with horns and pointed ears. They dropped off the drinks, and the appetizer. Riley scooped up her cocktail with a muttered thanks and took a big swig of her gin cocktail. The waiter took their order, and when they departed the table Arzok’s smile was sultry and sinister. 

“Good big, hm?”

“Shut up.”

He licked his lips, remaining quiet but maintaining steady eye contact. He took a slow drink of his pint, and she watched as his adams apple bobbed as he drank it in. 

“You’re trouble.”

“You love it.”

Their dinner passed far too quickly. Between gentle bouts of ribbing and getting to know each other, by the time the dessert was finished and their check arrived Riley was dreading going home. Arzok snatched the bill before Riley could even look at it, passing it back to the waiter. They left the restaurant and stepped out into the cool evening air and the bustling street. 

“Thank you for dinner, Arzok.”

“My pleasure, baby.” He took her hand in his as they loitered down the sidewalk. She anticipated him to veer towards the crosswalk to go back to the parking lot, but he kept walking. It was a slow pace, casual and relaxing. The people passing them gave them a wide berth. Riley glanced at their joined hands. His completely engulfed hers, and as always, he was infinitely gentle with her. 

“So earlier you mentioned that dating was different for magick. Are orcs like… like werewolves with their mating claims?” When Arzok’s answer was a snort, she nudged him with her elbow. “I was serious when I said I didn’t know about orc customs. If we’re dating I’d rather be informed than make a big mistake…”

“Oh shit, are we dating? Don’t look at me like that, I’m just fucking around.” He heaved a long sigh, glancing around the block before guiding her across the street and towards the square. It was a vacant block of space that often hosted events. When there were no events it was littered with twinkle lights and had in-ground fountains running. There were a couple of benches decorating the area, and Arzok guided them to occupy one. 

There was a sudden heaviness in his features that had Riley feeling a little on edge. Their date had gone off without a hitch, she thought it went great even. Then suddenly he was sitting then down like they were going to have some life altering talk. Their date suddenly felt like a breakup.

“Alright, so the first thing you should know is that orcs are a possessive lot. Like really fuckin’ possessive. We aren’t the worst of the bunch, but what’s ours is ours.”

While there was no sudden discomfort triggered by the statement, memories of her previous relationship immediately surfaced. Angry, righteous claims of ownership mingled with sharp insults, and one time, even sharper pain. Arzok’s statement didn’t feel the same as the last. The idea of belonging to Arzok felt curiously right, but she refused to enter into another lion’s den blindly. 

“Meaning?”

“Meaning if we’re doing this then you’re mine and I’m yours. No sharing.” Arzok turned his body towards her. His arm was draped over the back of the bench, and his body was facing hers. “Orcs are a dominant bunch. We like to be in control.”

“What, like, if I start dating you then I don’t get to see my friends–”

Arzok moved fast, grabbing one of her hands and pulling it to him.

“Fuck, baby, no. Nothing like that.” In what seemed like an instinctual move to offer comfort, he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. Hard tusks, and soft lips pressing to her skin. “Nothing ever like that.”

Riley’s wayward thoughts were immediately soothed. She nodded. 

“We’ll be fucking talking about that later, by the way,” he grumbled, pressing another kiss to her palm before lowering their joined hands between them. “There are plenty of social intricacies inside orc families that it applies to, but I mostly meant sexually. It isn’t uncommon for a joining between an orc couple to start with fighting, and end up in bed.” He quickly added, “Not fighting to hurt, sweetling. It’s merely a display of strength, speed, power. And when they're done, both contenders win…”

Ah. Dominance in bed. Control in bed. Riley’s mouth watered. She allowed her thoughts to fuss over what it would be like to submit to an orc as a much smaller human. He would have to be careful with her, would he even actually enjoy it–?

“Fuck, you’re cute when you blush.”

“Shuddup.”

Arzok smiled, then he said with earnest, “Listen, dating gets muddy. It can get especially muddy dating a magick, and I understand wanting to get all of the details right out of the gate. We can take this someplace and talk all that through, or we can go down to the piano bar, and scream shitty music with a buncha drunkards, and enjoy our first date the way first dates should be enjoyed.”

Riley picked the piano bar.

[ Part 4 ]

#monster boyfriend #orc boyfriend #paranormal #fantasy #fantasy romance #paranormal romance #orc x human #male orc #female human #male orc x female human #monster husband #orc husband #i had some pretty cute snippets of these two back in the day #before I deleted everything #no spice #all fluff #the writing is bad #magick #emergence day universe #emergence #arzok #riley

[thatwildnya]

Ch. 6: Filling the Powder Keg part 1

TW: none

chatters

Wild: As I promised after the Riddle poll, here is the next chapter for the centaur au! Riddle won't be making his entrance just yet, sorry to disappoint you Riddle lover's. Today we'll be welcoming Vil, Leona, and Ruggie into the story. Although the spotlight is mostly on Vil for this chapter, the other 2 don't get a single line. But don't worry, they'll get their turn later!

nya: this chapter was originally gonna longer but i convinced wild to split it in 2 parts since its been so long since she's posted any actual content for the au. praise me for my hard work.

Vil: leopard

Leona: manticore (no barbed tail)

Ruggie: spotted hyena

This time you were able to catch him in the act, opening the door just as you were about to leave for your weekly trip to the grocery store. Maybe this was a sign from high powers you should plan to return before afternoon.

“Ah! My beloved nepiece!” Everyone's favorite bird man greets you as you open the door. You step back in surprise, startled by his loud squawking. You weren’t exactly paying attention. Or particularly wake.

“Good afternoon!”

“Hi…”

He steps aside to reveal, surprise surprise, more pets to live in your wonderful shack of a home. (read: it is not wonderful you bake when it’s hot out and freeze when it's cold) Though you could see two of them standing behind him even if he hadn’t. Centaurs tend to be quite tall. It is very important for people to know how big a centaur gets if they aren’t fully grown before adopting.

“Meet your new friends! This here is Leona, he’s a manticore.” Leona was taller than Idia to your surprise. The merboys sometimes talked about other centaurs that had been ripped from their homes when asked about their lives before coming to live with you. They had talked about how they’d seen two males and three females being dragged past their tank to be used for breeding. The males came up to Idia’s around shoulders. The females were just small enough to be visibly shorter than the males.

Maybe it was the wings. Those big leathery wings.

“The little one hiding is Ruggie, he’s a hyena.” you internally scream noticing the little yeen, he was hiding under the soon to be introduced pet. His big eyes stare up at you with curiosity. You wanted to squish his cheeks and rub his belly. Your hands itched to do just that.

“And last but not least, meet Vil! He’s a leopard and trained to be a show centaur.” Vil was studying you out with a frown, not bothering to hide his disapproval. Rude much.

“Now, we must make haste! The truck is due in two hours or I’ll have to pay extra!” Crowley slips past to set aside his that would get in the way, “help me move the furniture!”

With a groan you spin on her heel backside. Tossing your bags to the side, you tell a blurry eyed Idia and bottle sipping Ortho to lend your uncle a hand.

“RISE AND SHINE BOYS.” you yell up the stairs, “GET UP. WE’VE GOT SOME NEWBIES.”

A sharp pained yelp followed by the unmistakable clamoring of fighting began above.

“Knock it off you three!”

“Deuce started it!” “Because you stepped on my tail!” “I wouldn’t have if Sebek quit pinning me down with snuggles when we sleep!” “I don’t do that!” “Yes you do! You’re worse than Deuce!” “Stop lying! Me and Sebek don’t do that!” “I’d never snuggle with a lowly dog!”

Finger starts tapping the railing.

“I’m a wolf! Not some dumb domestic pet dog!”

“But you roll over for master whenever they start petting you! You won’t even fight them if they take away something you’re chewing on! That’s what a pet dog would do!”

Eyes close.

“Well at least I can hunt!”

“I can do that too!”

“Barely! You were fed and spoiled by Lilia and Malleus while I fended for myself!”

Fingers pinch the bridge of your nose.

“Hey you wouldn’t have lasted a day if I didn’t help you! You were a big crybaby that ran away from everything! You’d be dead without me!”

“You were so bad at hunting you could only dumpster dive for food! We’d be starving if I didn’t pick up your slack!”

“Well I’m braver! You’d cower and hide whenever a cat so much as looked at you!”

“You’re scared of cats? Hahaha! A dog scared of cats!”

Head tilts to the ceiling.

“Sh-shut up! Alley cats are mean! Your spoiled butt wouldn’t get it!”

“Nuh-uh! I’m not spoiled!”

“Yeah you are!”

“You’re both spoiled!”

Eyebrow twitches.

“Shut up Deuce!”

“Make me you stupid heads!”

“Fine, I will!”

Eyes open.

“BOYS GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW OR ELSE.” your foul language puts an end to the squabbling.

“That’s bad language~” “master shrimpy said a bad word!~” your eye twitches, “if you have time to eavesdrop you have time to unpack you slimy pool noodles.”

“We weren’t eavesdropping.” “yeah, you’re so loud I bet the neighbors heard your potty mouth!”

Spinning around you grab the naughty twins by their waists and head for the entrance.

“Shouldn’t we wait on the porch? We might turn back in the middle.” Jade points out as you take them with you outside.

“Bad boys get to suffer in the sun.” you drop them once you’re out of the shadow cast by the porch ceiling.

“But our fins will dry out!”

“Yeah we can’t hide them yet!”

“Do you hear that? It’s the sound of me not giving a fuck.” a smile creeps on your face as the two whine and groan, calling you a bully and spitful potty mouth as they half heartedly dig their webby hands into your thigh. You tune them out. Azul will definitely make fun of them if they end up having to army crawl to get back inside.

~~~

One hour later of Vil shouting to be careful with his boxes and furniture you finally find a moment to take a breather. Fanning yourself with your shirt you think about how soar you’ll be in the morning. And you need to shower less you desire to be stink eyed at the store.

A shadow looms over you, blocking the ball of gas frying you alive. You look up, smiling at your light blocking savior, “Thanks Silv’s.”

The foxboy returns your smile, offering you a glass of water. You accept, leaning back into his soft chest as he settles behind you. His hands slip under your arms to rest in your lap. The subtle ba-bump of his heart adds to the chill atmosphere he’s always surrounded with. Too bad he was warm blooded, you wouldn’t be cooling down as much as you’d like. But you will suffer. You want a backrest.

Enjoying the silence you watch the others continue with their labor. A laugh is shared when a dust cloud is sprung from a dropped moving blanket, sending multiple into a sneezing fit. The sight brings up memories from when you’d first moved in. Silver had daily sneezing fits until you did a proper dust of all the parts of the house you frequented. You had some videos of him sneezing up a storm. Your favorite was the one where he sneezed with so much force he ended up tumbling backwards into a sleeping Lilia. The father son duo’s shocked faces were priceless. Nothing in this cruel world could ever convenience you to delete this treasure of memory.

You find yourself taking his hands in yours as you mosey through memory lane. His hands were so much bigger than when you first met. Before his dwarfed yours. Now the opposite was true. Eek this mushy stuff suddenly has you feeling old.

“Do you want me to go shopping with you?” he speaks while you stretch forward to grab a paw for toe bean squishing, “you look pretty exhausted.”

“Yes, that'd be wonderful thank you. I’m sure mister fancy pants over there is going to be a picky eater.” Silver chuckles, massaging your shoulders. His toes curl slightly when you squish them.

“Better keep father away from the kitchen in that case.” you share another laugh.

~~~

Surprise surprise! Both Silver and Vil tag along to the store. The leopard had insisted on coming to make sure you got the right ingredients for his meals. And dear lord were you glad Silver was there. Not even 15 minutes in and you were an inch away from blowing a gasket. He was truly your guardian angel in these trying times.

Vil wouldn’t allow the purchase of any frozen foods and forced you to learn how to tell if the fresh fruit and vegetables weren’t prematurely picked or over ripe. He wouldn’t let you buy any premade meals, criticizing you for feeding your pets something so unhealthy. He wouldn’t even let you buy the cereal the younger boys liked, saying it was too sugary for them.

By the time you made it to the bakery section you were fuming. Silver had kept trying to reason with Vil but only managed to succeed a few times in getting him to come to a compromise. Bless this beautiful young taur for being your rock in these trying times.

“Don’t get the loafs that are about to expire!” Vil swatted at your hand like a toy for the umpteenth time, “besides this brand isn’t nearly as healthy as…” he starts another tangent, padding over to another display table to get the “correct” bread. You grit your teeth, hand clenching. Silver sets a hand on your shoulder with a squeeze, doing his best to ground you. You give him a strained smile.

While he’s picking the “correct bread” you slip away to grab something for dessert for the welcome dinner for the newbies.

“Now what do you think you’re doing?” Vil hissed seeing you return with one of those large cakes that could be used for any special occasion. Or if you just wanted cake. Nothing wrong with getting cake for the hell of it.

Your grip tightens on the dessert, “it’s tradition to have a welcoming dinner for new residents.” you state simply. You swear if he pushes your buttons one more time…

“Well there’s no need to buy low quality desserts like that. We will have one professionally made, I will not eat something so cheap. Put it back.”

Okay, that’s it fucker.

You open your mouth to tear him a new one-

“That’s enough.” Silver puts an arm in front of you as he steps forwards, baring his fangs at Vil, “you have been nothing but rude since you arrived, ordering them around like they’re your servant. You seem to have forgotten they are the one in charge, you are not higher in the hierarchy than them. If anything, you are at the bottom considering you have only just arrived.” Silver walks to stand in front of Vil. The leopard centaur has gone quiet, his ears flat against his head as the taller continues.

“It’s time you learn your place and act appropriately. If you don’t you’ll have more than me stepping in to show you.” color you both surprised. Silver had never bared his fangs at anyone before. Not even when Floyd was trying to annoy him into fighting him.

Sure you knew he was protective of you. It was because of him Floyd and Jade no longer drew blood from you when they were being playful. Silver had dove into the tank and dragged both of them out with ease after seeing them chomp down on your arm hard enough to make you bleed. He held them down until they’d stopped thrashing. Not once did he growl or cause harm other than when he fished them out. He just, sat on and stared them down. After that they gave him the same respect they gave you and Lilia.

Then there was when Sebek and Malleus accepted you as their master. Sebek didn’t take well to others taking up Malleus’ attention. He’d get extremely aggressive and snap at you for the smallest things concerning the dragon. It only got worse when Deuce and Jack were added to the mix. He was especially aggressive with Deuce, who had taken a particular liking to Malleus as a fellow reptilian.

Your fox knight had lost it on Sebek after he chomped you hard enough to break two of your fingers. Silver had chased him damn near around the entire house. He was screeching at him with his high pitched bark the entire chase, nipping at his tail. You had to hold the poor gator in your arms away from him until Deuce and Jack were able to get the other two's attention as they were enjoying some flying time.

Sebek only gives you love nibbles now.

Oh and there was that time Grim nearly set your ass on fire when you made him share one of those double popsicles because you only had two and there were four of them. Silver seemingly materialized from thin air to snatch the gray kitten away before he’d even stopped being a mini flamethrower.

Also there was that one occasion with a group of karens and kevins that felt entitled to your property. They had been using your yard as a spot to let their dogs run around before you’d taken up residence. They never picked up after their pooches and got mad when you had the boys get rid of the overgrown garden (if it could even be called that by then). They’d been taking whatever vegetables there were in the mini jungle to eat while their untrained purebred pups had a field day.

One karen had a large dog that would attack any animals it saw outside the group. It made the mistake of going after Jack and Ortho. The two were chasing a butterfly while you were hanging up laundry. The dog bolted straight for them as soon as it was free from the car. Unfortunately Silver was helping you with the laundry.

Least to say none of them trespassed again.

…

Okay, maybe you shouldn’t be so surprised.

Anyway, I digress.

Vil didn’t submit completely, only shrinking back slightly and holding Silver’s glare. Thankfully the fox has settled down a lot since the incidents above. Acknowledging the leopard’s behavior change with a snort, he took the cake from you to put in the cart.

“Ruggie likes donuts more.” Vil mutters, now refusing to look at either of you. Ears slightly drooping, he mumbles the hyena doesn’t have a favorite flavor in particular but gets really happy if they have icing and sprinkles.

Silver waits for your okay before heading back to the bakery for some swapping.

Vil follows behind you for the first time since you entered the store, staring at the ground. He doesn’t say anything for the rest of the trip.

#wild's writing #come get ur food silver lovers #twst centaur au #centaur au #twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland centaur au #twst silver #twst vil #twst leech twins #twst crowley #vil schoenheit #dire crowley #leech twins #silver being overprotective as usual #yes the grim part is a reference to the opening ceremony

[retnym]

WORLD TOUR- .08

"Oh, my star!"

As fans cheered and lights flashed along with flowers being thrown onto the stage. Bill and I caught some or dodging others we smiled waving to everyone before we have to leave the stage once more. Tom already let his guitar hanging from his neck, side hugging his brother. Georg standing next to me with his hand in mine. “Have a wonderful night!” I yelled only to get more cheers. I laughed, blowing kisses one last time before we have to get off. Gustav smacked his drumsticks in the air, following behind. 

Today was our 8th show. Only 12 more to go until we are in the United States. I’m super excited, about having more friends and family there to see. Bill hugs me tightly, and my heels lift up as he is a bit taller than I am. (If not I’m sorry)

Johanna comes running up to us with her camera in hand. “You have no idea how amazing you guys looked tonight!” She squeals, shaking around the device we all laugh begging her to show us. “No, not until I edit them and everything on the bus tonight!” She leans into Gustav as we continue walking into our room before meeting with some fans outside. 

“I do want to warn you guys tho,” She starts off, looking around before she says anything else. “Havi is gonna be here, along with Earl. I told them everything was okay over the phone but they wanted to talk to you guys themselves.” She makes a face, worriedly watching our reactions. I look up at Bill who was looking at Tom. It was like they were communicating in their heads.

Havi and Earl are our actual managers. We barely see them though. They only really come around to our big shows and the bigger opportunities we get. It’s a lot better this way since they are pretty toxic. Havi and Earl are in the same company due to us being childhood friends we joined together because of our parents. “Say something.” She pleads and Gustav clears his throat. “Thank you for uh letting us know.” He smiles at her, they look into each other's eyes for a moment but it was cut off by Tom speaking up this time. “I messed up when we had that big show, it’s just to let us know.” He sighs, placing his head into his hands. 

“You did amazing what are you talking about?” I roll my eyes, it wasn’t towards him it’s just I hate how we get because of them. We all start beating ourselves up before they even come in and say anything to us. “No that one riff in Forgotten Child. And in your song Take Away. That day was horrible.” He stands up, grabbing a water bottle quite aggressively. “You had some nerves, it was Paris France! We had a little bit of an expectation to uphold and I’d say it was pretty fucking amazing.” I shrug, leaning back into the couch, playing with Bill’s shirt behind him. 

“You’re one to talk, you haven’t messed up at all.” Tom points to me, I sit right back up. 

“What do you mean? I literally hit so many flat notes. And! My hand slipped on my guitar.” I exclaim he shakes his head about to continue to say more but there was a loud knock on the door and then it bursts open. We all stand up immediately, straightening our posture since it was the managers and what seemed like apprentices? Trainees? 

“Oh, my star!” Havi comes directly to me, arms open for her to just grab my face and then give me air kisses. “Hi, Havi.” I force a smile upon my face. “Tokio Hotel.” She nods their way as Earl barely gives any of us a look. He was writing away on a notepad before shoving it into his apprentice's arms who seemed to already be carrying a  bunch of other things. He looked practically miserable. 

“So, we’re here today to talk about a few things.” Earl establishes a new conversation. One we’re currently dreading to hear about. “First, sit down.” He states, all of us plopping right back onto the couch. Gustav gives up his seat for Johanna and he sits on the arm of the couch next to her.  

“You guys hired Johanna it seems?” He pokes his eyes out from his glasses as they leaned down on his nose. “That was me.” I put my hand up.

“I didn’t ask who. I am however asking why it wasn’t run through us first?” He questions, playing with the pen in his fingers. 

“I thought it was a good idea. You guys don’t manage pictures for us. I needed someone to.” I nervously say, my hands lying in my lap as my leg bounces up and down. My eyes scattered all over the room to avoid anyone's eyes. I stutter when eyes are on me. I can’t speak confidently with eyes on me. 

“Oh, so you just make decisions now?” His voice booms as he steps closer, I manage not to flinch squeezing my hands tighter together. “No, sir. I’m sorry but you guys didn’t answer and it’s coming out of my bank so.” I stare at his shoes, he wasn’t moving any closer this time but now I felt embarrassed. I never told the boys that it came out of my account to pay her. She didn’t even know and now that they do they’re probably going to get upset as well. “Hm, I guess that does change a few things.” Havi huffs, a hand lays on her hip. 

“Moving on from that. Tom,” She faces him, his eyes don’t even meet hers. She looks past him. “I need you to have some more practice. Your stance is a little charismatic and you’re still messing up.” She waits for him to respond but just earning a nod she moves on to the next thing. “Georg, give a little more light to [Name] and Bill. They’re truly the stars. Well my [Name] is.” She sickly smiles at him and he apologizes quietly. My heart begins to pick up. That’s not true. 

“Gustav, interact with people more. You’re like a mouse that’s barely even there.” She roughly tells him.

“Bill, enough with the movement, calm it down before you give me a heart attack.” 

I start to breathe a little loudly trying to calm myself down. They hate, hate, and hate everything. We never hear anything good about our shows. “Anything else to dictate?” I mutter, I honestly didn’t even mean to say it but now with everyone’s eyes on me I really wish I didn’t. 

“Excuse me?” Earl steps closer and now my face is at his stomach level. It felt inappropriate and I begin to sweat from how nervous I am. “I’m just saying that… you guys never say anything nice. It’s always, it’s always negative.” I stutter, my chest rapidly going up and down, a hand slid into mine from my lap, and with how I was feeling I really didn’t pay attention to who it was. “Well,” His fingers go underneath my chin, lifting it up to look at him. 

“If you don’t like what I got to say that’s too damn bad.” He’s right, there’s no other company we could go into, and without a manager, we’re screwed. Especially since this is the top company in the world. They’ve gotten us into things we couldn’t have even dreamed of entering without them. “Now suck it up you got people to meet.” He taps my face three times.

“One last thing before we go.” Havi places a hand on her hip.

“Tom and [Name] need to be seen more in public alone. The publicity is amazing for you guys.” She grins, pointing between the two of us and I turn to see Tom who was nodding. “[Name] doesn’t let anyone see you with your boyfriend. If it does you need to end it as I say.” I don’t respond and she just leaves mumbling about how she’s going to call me later anyway. I look down to see our hands entangled together. But for some reason, I don’t want to let go. As Earl leaves I let out a loud breath that I was holding in to stop my tears.

My hands were shaking as my body racks with me hyperventilating. I squeeze onto Tom’s hand as a hand traces up and down my back. “Hey, it’s okay,” Tom whispers into my ear, Bill was the one rubbing my back. Gustav, Georg, and Johanna talked about what just happened. “I’m sorry.” I hiccup between ragged breaths.

“Don’t worry about it,” Georg tells me. “They’re just assholes,” Tom adds as well, after a few minutes I was leaning into Tom’s side as he still held my hand. Bill was standing, he had gotten the makeup to fix what I did to my face. Johanna was on the other side of me, going through the pictures on her camera, showing Gustav. He was the only person that got to see of course. 

“I don’t want to get up.” I whisper, Tom just rubs the back of my hand with his thumb. “You don’t need to.” He tells me back. 

“Yeah, I’ll just get on my knees for you.” Bill winks, causing me to chuckle after I had just finished sobbing. “Only he’d do it for you.” Tom nudges me, I try not to make a comment, smirking instead. He’s holding my hand and letting me lean on him but I don’t think he’d draw the line at getting on his knees for me. 

Having to sit up straight I finally let go of Tom’s hand, letting Bill do my makeup. He really didn’t have to get on his knees as he stood back up and just had my head up. I calmly sat there with my eyes closed. My hand felt empty.

Cold even. I didn’t like it. Missing the warmth it gave along with the comfort. Feeling almost like a baby after crying. My face felt clean even with all the makeup that went through my pores. Even though it now puffs out in the slightest I felt prettier. I felt tired as well. Wanting nothing more than to just keep my eyes closed and leaned back onto Tom. 

Maybe it would be better if it was Jace instead. Maybe even the couch. Tom was just helping me so I could calm down before seeing the guests. His words still stuck in my mind.

It’s just to get through the tour. He doesn’t want to be my friend. 

I would like nothing more than to be his friend.

He doesn’t want to be mine.

Why doesn’t he want to be mine?

My… friend?

Yeah..... Sorry for another later post. This week I'm graduating so I have a lot going on lol along with work too. I'm going to try to write another chapter tonight but again don't hold your breath. Thank ya for your patience my loves. I'm finally sort of getting over this sickness. I just have a cough and a stuffy nose now.

#georg listing #bill kaulitz #gustav schäfer #tokio hotel #tom kaulitz #x reader

[tickletastic]

Up and Up and Up and Up

Fandom: The Society

Ship: N/A

Warnings: Very very brief mentions of drug use, obsessive behaviour, and depression (implied bipolar)

Summary: Things are looking up for Harry, finally, so Kelly takes it upon herself to ensure that he’s smiling as much as he can in their new life.

Harry feels, almost for the first time in his life, that he may be in the clear. Like maybe, just maybe, he won’t have to worry about how he’s going to make it to tomorrow, or next week, or even maybe next month. 

Before everything, before New Ham and mayoral elections and pill-popping, there had been his constant need for attention. His mother had never been much of a mom, but more of a stern, semi-regular presence in his house. He wasn’t good to her if he wasn’t making her look good, so he threw himself at school and sports and debate club, and subsequently, adderall, obsessive working out, and sleepless nights.

After, it was just him, his bed, and the uppers Campbell would give him, until the well ran dry and suddenly it was just him, his bed, and the incredibly interesting view provided to him by the peeling paint on his wall. After, it was month-long depressive episodes and getting his rations cut into half, and then a quarter, and then to almost nothing.

But now? Now he can sit patiently in the dirt and listen carefully while Grizz explains how their harvesting season will go. Now Gordie knows Harry’s family’s medical history and shows up at his doorstep each Monday with a week’s worth of mood-stabilisers. Now he has a codeword with Kelly when he’s having a really bad day and the two of them go for a long walk after she finds someone to cover their shifts. Now Harry has people that love him, and now he has the support he’s always believed he was unworthy of. 

Now, though, as in right now this minute, Harry is running desperately, giggling, as Grizz and Allie are hot on his heels, Kelly laughing while she watches the chase.

“Kelly, you traitor!” He screams, managing to trap himself between the kitchen’s island and counters. 

Allie stands on one side of the kitchen, Grizz on the other, and Harry calculates who would be easier to take on. The obvious answer is Allie, of course, but she’s not above playing dirty. Grizz, on the other hand, inches taller than Harry and much broader, would likely take him down in a second.

“Oho fuck,” Harry says, giggling in spite of himself at his current predicament. “Guys, don’t. I’m seherious.”

“Guys, don’t!” Allie mocks with her hands up, shaking her head, “I’m serious!”

The silliness in her action is enough to make Harry giggle harder, and he’s officially feeling the most embarrassed he’s ever been, face turning pink as he giggles in the corner like a little kid.

Grizz makes a move, faking Harry out, and Harry flinches back with a squeal. “Stohohop!”

The more the anticipation builds, the more he works himself up, giggling frantically and giving up hope of finding an escape. 

Kelly appears in the kitchen’s entrance, smiling fondly at Harry, making the embarrassment even worse. “Why’d you have to tell them?” 

“Don’t get all pouty,” she teases, “what if someone else had to cover my shift at the hospital one day and you needed a check-up? They would’ve found out eventually.”

“They don’t even work the hospital!” Harry shouts indignantly, “they wouldn’t have!” Harry hears Allie move and shifts to look in her direction, Grizz takes the opportunity and charges at him, grabbing him by the waist.

“No!” Harry screams as he’s tossed over Grizz’s shoulder, pounding his fists on Grizz’s back. “Kelly, help!”

“Sorry, Harry, but I have totally missed seeing you like this.”

Harry is tossed onto the couch, and within seconds Allie is looming over him, grinning menacingly down at him. “So Harry, where’s your worst spot?”

“What? Why would I- Ahahahallie nohohoho!” Harry squeals when Allie’s fingers touch down on his ribs, skittering and poking around every bone and space between them. Before he can grab Allie’s wrists, Grizz is taking both of Harry’s arms into one of his, raising them above his head. “Nohoho! Fuhuhuck yohohou!”

Allie gasps, putting on a disappointed face, “Harry, that’s so mean! Grizz is just trying to help me out, why would you say that?”

“Yeah, Harry. That really hurt my feelings,” Grizz teases, his free hand going to Harry’s neck. Instead of his shoulders scrunching to his ears, which had been the expected reaction, Harry throws his head back, snorting between his frantic giggles. 

“That was adorable, Bingham. Do that again,” Grizz coos, repeating the fluttering movement over Harry’s collarbones.

“Grizz, nohoho!” Harry squeals, shaking his head from side to side. “Stahap that!”

“Hmm, I don’t think so,” Grizz laughs, putting a little more pressure in his movements.  

“Ihihit tickles! Grihihizz, stahahap, ihihit tihihickles!” Harry chuckles, squirming in an attempt to release himself from his captors. 

Grizz’s face breaks out into a fond grin, eyes sparkling as he watches Harry dissolve into hysterics. “That’s like, the whole entire point, I think.”

Harry can only respond with a shriek as Allie’s fingers slither up and under his arms, scratching and poking as Harry giggles himself silly.

Amidst his struggling, Harry makes eye contact with Kelly, who’s perched on the chair across the room, and sees the most sickeningly fond look on her face. It’s so endearing and sweet that he has to close his eyes and turn his head to avoid turning red, surrendering himself to Grizz and Allie’s torture.

His eyes don’t stay closed for very long, though, because not even a minute later Allie is pinching up and down Harry’s sides and he is thrown into hiccup-filled silent laughter, trying desperately to regain the use of his hands. Pulling as hard as he can in an attempt to release himself from Grizz.

“Aww, does wittle Harry have terribly ticklish sides?” Grizz coos, his hand slowly moving down Harry’s torso until they’re at his tummy. Harry practically screams, arching his back so hard that he almost throws both of them off.

“UHUHUNCLE!” Harry squeals, “PLEHEHASE! UHUHUHUNCLE!”

Grizz decides to show some mercy and frees Harry’s arms, while Allie moves from on top of him and lightens her touch, moving her fingers to Harry’s ribs, where he seemed to be less sensitive. 

“Never thought I’d say anything this nice about Harry Bingham,” Allie starts, smiling while Harry giggles lightly at her touches, “but this is adorable.”

“Shuhut up!” Harry exclaims, batting at Allie’s hands.

“Okay, okay, I’m done.” Allie says, rubbing away the tickles from Harry’s ribs. He squirms, whining quietly, “are you serious? Even this tickles?”

Harry turns, burying his reddening face in Grizz’s thigh, and Grizz just laughs, ruffling his curls. Harry mumbles something unintelligible, not once, but twice, refusing to repeat it loud enough for the other two to hear. 

Allie sends Kelly a look and Kelly smiles back, nodding. “He wants to cuddle.”

“What?” Grizz asks incredulously, eyebrows shooting up. 

“He couldn’t even ask for it when we were dating without turning red as a tomato,” Kelly laughs, “he wants to cuddle.”

Harry groans, bringing his hands up to cover his reddening ears. 

“Well, Bingham, looks like you’re spending an afternoon with Grizz the Cuddle Monster,” Grizz grins, repositioning Harry by the waist so that Grizz’s body is wrapped around Harry’s. Harry flips over so his face is buried in Grizz’s chest while he tries to stop his still fiery blush.

 “Okay, well, I’ve got to go to go visit Eden, but that was, and I will keep saying it just to see you blush, absolutely adorable,” Allie teases, tasering Harry in the side once more as she gets up. He bats her hands away, kicking out with a giggle. 

“Goho away!” Harry says, moving further into Grizz. 

“Whatever, whatever, see you guys after your little nap,” Allie laughs. 

“I’m gonna get going too, I’ve got an hour’s worth of check-ups to complete,” Kelly says, “but I will be back later to join the cuddle pile.”

“Whatever you say,” Grizz laughs, wrapping an arm around Harry, the other playing with his hair. 

It only takes Harry mere minutes of the peace to fall asleep, and he doubts he’ll go another sleepless night again now that he’s in the better part of the after, now that he’s living in the now.

#the society #harry bingham #allie pressman #grizz #kelly aldrich #ticklish!harry #ticklish!harrybingham #the society tickle fic

[maevethewerepuppy]

Puppy HRT - Part 4: Consequences

Kara squeezed my hand as we stood outside the pet store, patiently waiting for me to be ready. Even though I’d made my decision yesterday, it was still a scarily big step. It was a help for Kara to be there with me though. Her presence made me feel calmer and more relaxed, even when I was so high-strung like this.

“Take the time you need puppy. We’ll go in when you are ready.” She whispered softly into my ear, another squeeze around my hand.

“Lets… Lets do it.” I finally said, after taking another moment to settle my breathing and bring myself to step forwards. True, I was now partially leaning on my roommate for the physical and emotional support, but today was a big day and she was being extra patient with me. I couldn’t ask for a better own- I mean friend.

She gently guided me into the store, showing me the way without me needing to look up. I was too nervous still to meet the gaze of the other patrons or workers of the store, so Kara took me to the place we were looking for. The collar aisle. She led me down, walking past all the kitty collars right to the puppy collar section. There of course were some collars for actual dogs, the few that could still be found around, but most of the section was dedicated to the former human-dogs. The industry had moved out of the niche kink communities into a mainstream commodity, with a wide array of beautiful collars. Some made of pure leather, others more colourful.

“Well, let’s take a look here, and see what look good on my puppy…” Kara mused quietly, even as I clung to her arm. The two of us looked through their stock, we began to settle on a few options. One was a beautifully hand-crafted collar that was more expensive, a simple black band that matched my hair and carefully sewn gold trim inlaid into it with an intricate weaving design. The second was a flashier one, a collar that made me blush as it was a more basic design but with the colours of the transgender flag printed in stripes on it and black pawprints every couple of inches around it.

“I think these two will work best. This one,” she holds up the nice black one, “As your ‘nice’ collar, for when we have guests and events, and this one as your daily collar.” She then holds up the trans flag one. I nodded softly, looking them over with a growing slight blush on my face.

Setting them into our small carrying basket, she began to guide me deeper into the store to a section that only made my blush grow deeper. Hanging out carefully were beautifully crafted sets of ears and matching sets of tails. Some had simple anal plug attachments, others having more intricate looking electrical connectors.

A very beautiful woman wearing an extremely expensive looking suit was already standing in the aisle, looking over the more advanced robotic tails. She glanced over as we entered, giving Kara a slight nod as we began to look at the various breeds of tails and ears they had on display in the plug section. However, I began to bury my face into my roommate’s sweater as I heard the clicking of the woman’s heels on the hard floor approaching us.

“First time pet owner?” She asked Kara, standing next to the two of us. I managed to steal a glance over at her again, and she was nearly two feet taller than either Kara or me.

Kara gave a small nod, turning to look up at the woman, “Yeah, very recently too. I’m Kara, this here is Hailey, my soon to be puppy. You are?”

The lady pulled a business card out of her suit breast pocket and handed it to her. “You may call me Doctor Whyte.”

“As in… Whyte Wolfworks Whyte? The genetics and robotics company?” Kara’s eyes wide as she looked up at her with a slight amazement on her face. Even I, someone as disconnected from politics and news as possible, knew of the Whyte Wolfworks. They were one of the biggest lobbyists for the ‘Pet and Work Animal Renewal Project’ and had practically come out of nowhere with most of the advancements in hormones, cyberware, and animalification tools. Most of the products in this store were made by that company. To see her here? It was like getting struck with lightning.

She simply gave a nod in response, breezing past it with the confidence only someone with ‘fuck you money’ possibly can. “I enjoy spending time in the local pet stores when I travel for business. Seeing how our products are viewed and understanding the culture so we can make our services better.”

“Wow. It’s an honour to meet you. I read a lot into your research into the psychology of pets and those who become pets when I was looking into helping my roommate here with her transition,” Kara went on to detail my situation, earning slightly approving nods when she made some detailed comments relating back to Dr. Whyte’s work and online resources.

“It’s good to see that your puppy here had someone looking after her. It would have been potentially disastrous if you hadn’t paid attention and learned properly to take care of her,” Whyte nodded again when the story was finished before eyeing up the collars we had, “What species were you thinking about acquiring for her Species Affirming Limbs?”

Kara glanced at me, giving a reassuring smile to me before turning her gaze back at the domineering businesswoman. “We were going to go with Australian Shepard SALs, though probably with just the plugs and headband. Neither of us are really able to afford the procedure for the cybernetic hardware ones.”

“Understandable. However, I won’t let a diligent young owner like you walk out of here with anything but the best. They offer the implant services here, so I suggest you take your puppy back there and get that done. I will cover any costs.” The Doctor spoke like it was a done deal, even though my anxiety spiked at the idea of getting my body altered like that. Thankfully Kara could tell I was even more nervous about that.

“I’m just-“ She started out, but was cut off by Whyte again.

“Concerned about little Hailey’s opinions on the implants? Please, Ms. Kara. What is the first rule when it comes to pet ownership. You know this.”

“… The owner is responsible for the pup’s actions and choices.” She finally said, before turning her gaze towards me. I couldn’t see her eyes with how I’d then buried my head into her shirt again, but I knew what she was thinking. “Come puppy, let’s go get you those implants.”

My heart pounded, eyes wide as I pulled back and stared at her with a shocked expression.

“But-“

“Hush puppy. No barking in the store.” Kara shushed me, to Dr. Whyte’s clear approval. “You are getting those implants. You need to trust me as your owner that I will only do the best thing for you.”

I could only reply with a slight nod, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. I should be outraged by having the freedom of choice taken away from me like that, but… I couldn’t bring myself to be upset. I just needed to trust her. I’d chosen this, regardless. It was all my fault for not being careful with my paperwork. Kara turned to pull me towards the back, but Whyte spoke up one more time.

“Oh, and Ms. Kara. There is one condition I expect in return for this covering of costs.”

“What’s that, Doctor?”

“I would like you to keep in touch. I can tell you are a good owner, and I want to make sure you and your pup are taken care of. I expect progress images and updates.”

I could feel her breath seem to catch in her chest. The implication of being on personal speaking terms with someone as powerful as Doctor Whyte was clearly hitting Kara. I hoped it was excitement and not fear that was gripping her when her voice wobbled out, “Of course, Doctor. I promise I will be in touch. I would love nothing more than to share my pup’s progress with you.”

 I was soon guided back to the rear of the store, where a small clinic was set up behind some sterile doors. The receptionist smiled as we approached, she and Kara having a quick discussion about the procedure. She assured us that it was an easy and safe process, with a couple of ports being installed at the base of my spine and on the top of my head. It would take a few days to get use to apparently, but they should become natural for me within that time. Kara gave her permission, and soon I was whisked back by an orderly into the sterile environment. They gave me a quick once-over and took my vitals. However, with a small yelp I felt the nurse insert a needle into my arm and push in a clear liquid. I nearly jumped, but she had a firm grip on my arm and held me in place until she extracted the needle. “Sleep well puppy.” She said softly, a smile on her face as my vision began to swim and I was completely unconscious a few moments later.

#pet pl4y #puppygirl #bd/sm pet #pet pl@y #puppyposting #hypnokink #dumb puppy #kink story #transgender #hypno fantasy #trans nsft #bd/sm kink

[iisasarcasticlittleshite]

Show-off (Bokuto x Fem Reader)

EXTREMELY fluffy, body positivity and comfort. It follows the same sort of vein as that one Iwaizumi fic I wrote that I still love.

No warnings for this one, wholly loving and positive, happy reading :)

Bokuto has always loved attention, on and off the court. He's not easily embarrassed, quite the opposite. If being loud and outgoing makes the people around him happy, so be it!

He's the epitome of an extrovert, so it comes as a surprise to his former teammates that the ace ended up with someone so low key.

(Y/N) is on the quieter side, she dresses comfortably, hell, if she could spend the day in sweatpants, she would.

Will that stop Bokuto from showing her off? Absolutely not.

Whether she's dressed for work or sweaty from a workout, or just in her pajamas fresh out of bed, Bokuto shows her off with pride on his arm like she's the only jewel in the world.

He knows his girl's a catch, she doesn't need to prove it to anyone with her looks.

That doesn't make him ready for the day that (Y/N) decides to give him something to show off.

Her skills at beautifying herself have been a well kept secret, she's never been flashy, nor does she love the attention the way Bokuto does...but tonight's a special occasion, a celebration dinner for the team and their sponsors.

'Baby, you ready? Never seen you take longer than me to get ready!' Kotaru pushed the bedroom door open happily, he had no intention of making you feel rushed, but even he noticed the care you were taking in getting ready, and his jaw dropped when he saw the results.

Through all the years he's known you, he's never once seen you dressed up, in a black and gold jumpsuit he swore was a dress at first glance, the gold chain he gave you for valentine's day on proud display against your skin, rather than tucked under your shirt.

The heels boots your height, the jumpsuit makes you look taller still, turning his bombshell of a girlfriend into a vision of ethereal beauty.

'Ko, you okay?'

Mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, Bokuto finds more and more to look at with every second he spends staring at this goddess in his bedroom in front of the mirror.

The makeup that lights up your face, the lip colour that only makes it harder not to kiss her, the eyes he already loves, shinning with love and life...

'You...oh my god you can't be real.'

A sheepish smile curls her lips, slim golden bangles clinking sweetly as she waves him off. 'Nah, but guess what? It has pockets!'

The cheesy grin on her face and that adorable giggle is just too much for him, and he dives across the room to lift her off her feet in a hug.

(Y/N) squeaked, throwing her arms around him in a hurry, letting him nuzzle into her neck, drawing in her favourite perfume.

'Babe, what got into you?'

'You, you're too-too...too much, I can't look away. I mean, look at you!'

'Hey, it's not that impressive.'

'Are you kidding me?!' Yelled Bokuto, so loud he almost deafened her as he set her on her feet at arm's length, never once letting go of her waist. 'Goddam woman you're gonna cause a traffic accident or something! You look incredible, beautiful, gorgeous-hold up, I gotta call Kuroo and get some more words to tell ya how fucking perfect you are!'

'Kotarou!' (Y/N) yelped as he peppered kisses to her face before spinning her gently so he could get a good look. When next she looked at him, he had his phone between his shoulder and his ear, unable to keep his hands off long enough to make the call. 'Are you actually calling-?!'

'Duh! Oya oya, dude, what's another word for beautiful? (Y/N) obviously! Nah, already used that one.'

There's a pause, she can only assume it's Kuroo running down a list of synonyms which Bokuto swiftly rejected before arriving at the one he liked.

'Ethereal! Thanks bro. (Y/N) looks ethereal!'

'Oh jeez.' (Y/N) huffed, hiding her face in Bokuto's chest, careful not to wrinkle his freshly ironed polo.

Bokuto slid his phone back into his pocket, holding her snug to his chest. 'Hey, baby? You know I'm serious, right? You're the most amazing person in the world, and that makes you beautiful.'

'I love you.' Is all she can think to say, because it's true, and at that moment the words burned in her chest, ready to be said as she leaned up to press her lips to his. 'I love you so much.'

It's his turn to tear up, hiding his face in your shoulder again. 'Love you too, gorgeous. Now c'mon, I can't wait to watch those guys lose their minds when they see you on my arm!'

#bokuto koutaro x reader #haikyuu hcs #teeth rotting fluff #so much fluff #kuroo tetsuro #haikyuu #haikyuu fluff #x reader #also on ao3

[strawberryicebreakers]

Hello, sorry to bother you but I'm a bit curious about the UHF fanfic you mentioned a while ago. Has it been updated since?

I haven't gotten around to it just yet; I got bit by the ted lasso bug, blinked, and now I'm nearly 40k into a fic with no signs of switching over to a different WIP :(

that being said, it is incredibly nice to see that people want to read my writing :') I do, eventually, want to finish the fic, but with the current WIP I'm working on and the semester starting up [yay college!], it doesn't look like I'll get to finish it anytime soon.

as a condolences/sneak peak, I'll put what I've got so far under the cut. it's about 7.1k, and it is a very, very rough draft, but again, I'm very thankful for the kind words I've gotten from people concerning the fic and want to show it! if you have any questions, feel free to hit me with them :)

Three months in, and Robert still couldn’t believe the station hadn’t crashed and burned. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust George, or Pamela, for that matter, but it seemed too good to be true. It made no sense to him that the same universe that let him flunk out of college and lose every minimum-wage job he’d ever held was the same universe that gave him a television station and said “hey, go nuts!”

It made no sense, but in all honesty, nothing in his life seemed to make that much sense to him these days. Just the other day, he’d had a group of teenagers break into the building in the middle of the night, probably trying to find a place to smoke, and got chased out by some robotic behemoth Philo’d built in the back of his station control room-turned-laboratory, all while having not told anyone he’d come back to begin with. He’d come in the next morning to see the door off the hinges and a hunk of metal with a wagging tail getting behind-the-ear scratches from Pamela.  

Pamela, who was slowly becoming another tally in favor of his life turning upside down. 

Ever since the night Channel 8 went off the air, she’d started paying attention to him, and it was beginning to concern him. Before, she’d said “good morning” and “good night,” or even the occasional question about any plans he might have, but over the past weeks, she’d turned her charm on to the highest setting possible. Despite the weather turning cold, her skirts grew shorter, her heels taller, and she’d started lingering by his desk for much longer than it took to ask him where the Rolodex went. 

Privately, he’d thought that was more of a question for Stanley, not him, but he didn’t want to embarrass her by pointing it out.

All in all, though, he knew he’d have to mention it at some point, if only to soothe his own conscience. The last thing he needed was to find her doodling hearts and “Mrs. Pamela Steckler” in her broadcast notes.

He glanced up at the clock and saw that all of a single hour had passed since he’d arrived. He’d started coming in early, around eight in the morning, to make sure the morning rerun segments ran smoothly; if it had the added benefit of getting an hour to himself before anyone else showed up, well, he wasn’t complaining. 

-

The scrape of the door on the tile floor that pulled him out of his reverie told him that someone else had arrived, and the click of a heel announced who it was. 

“Good morning!”

“Hey, Pamela,” he called out. “Any trouble with the drive?”

“Nah,” she said, pulling her coat off and hanging it on the rack. “Just some awful fog. I could barely see the street!” 

Through the lattice, Robert watched her rifle through her desk drawers, pulling out a few pens and her notepad. At his desk, he did the same, and began to look through the show proposals for the spring schedule; not reading them, just counting the envelopes. “Anything interesting to cover today?”

“The uzhe,” she said. “The shelter’s doing a PSA for families looking to adopt a pet for Christmas and I get to go down and get fur all over my legs.”

“Look on the bright side, Pam,” he said. “You get to play with puppies, and George and I are stuck down here, puppy-less. You have to admit, one seems a lot more fun than the other.”

She turned, swiveling her chair over to look at him through the lattice. “You saying you want to come down with me, Bobby?”

“No,” he said, a bit too quick to be polite. “No, I -, uh, I’ve got to stay up here. Keep everything in line, you know?” He held up the papers to her with a shrug. “You really think George wants to read these?”

He sent a quick prayer up, hoping she hadn’t seen George all but club him over the head the other night when he’d mentioned splitting the proposals in half and reading them separately. Reading what the people of Tulsa wanted to see on the TV was half the alleged fun of the job, and reading them together, laughing about it, made it borderline bearable.

She stood, walking over to his desk and perching on the edge. “Come on,” she said, smiling. “It’s me, you, and a bunch of cute little animals. What’s not to love?”

“I said no, Pamela.”

She huffed, crossing her arms. “You’d really rather be here?”

“I really would rather be here,” he said. “I can’t ditch work to hang out with you.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Pamela looked down at him, smiling. 

“What?”

“I mean,” she said, curling a lock of hair ‘round her finger, “if work’s the problem, we could always hang outside of work hours. Grab dinner, maybe a movie?”

“I -”

“I think Back to the Future two’s playing at the theater near my place. You ever see the first one? I always thought the guy who played Marty, the Fox guy, was pretty funny. He’s on Family Ties, too, and -”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I just -,” he sighed. “I just can’t.”

She pushed herself off his desk, and he saw her face begin to flush. “I don’t get it,” she said. “I mean, I’ve got a job, I’m nice, and frankly, I’m not too bad to look at, so what’s your deal?”

 “Well, I’m your boss, Pamela,” he said. “Pretty sure that’s illegal.”

“Fine,” she said. “If you weren’t my boss, would you date me?”

“No, but -”

“You got a girlfriend?”

“No -”

“Then what gives?” She slunk down into George’s chair with a groan, threading her hand through her hair. “I mean, is it my voice? My makeup? Shit, do I wear too much makeup?”

“You’re beautiful,” Robert said. “And your voice is fine, Pam. We wouldn’t put you on the air if it wasn’t.”

She huffed. “If it’s none of that, then what is it?”

“He’s gay, Pamela.”

They both jumped, nearly falling out of their chairs.

“Fuck, Philo,” Robert cursed, “how long have you been there?”

“Long enough,” Philo mused. He hummed while he worked, some odd little tune Robert couldn’t place while sticking a screwdriver into what looked like three batteries taped to a piece of glass. “And Pamela has an uncle like you, Robert. She wouldn’t have been rude about it, had you told her yourself.”

“How do you know about my uncle?” Pamela asked. “I haven’t said anything about him to you, or anyone here.” She turned, looking back at him. “He’s right, though.”

“Philo, you can’t say stuff like that,” Robert wheezed. He felt his heart racing under his shirt as if he’d run from one end of the station to the next, and tried to get himself to calm down.

For what it was worth, the older man looked genuinely confused. “I can’t?”

“No, you can’t,” he said. “Some people wouldn’t take that information very well.”

He considered it for a minute, then nodded. “My apologies, Robert.”

“Just don’t do it again, okay?”

“You have my word.” He pressed a hand to the right side of his lab coat, and gave a slight bow. With that, Philo walked away, returning to the back of the station to do god knows what, and left Robert alone with Pamela, who stared straight at him.

He knew she’d have questions; hell, he still had questions, sometimes, and it would be better to get the awkward part over with. “Whatever it is you’re trying to figure out how to ask, just ask it.”

“If you liked girls, would you like me?”

“For God’s sake, Pam.”

She giggled. “I’m sorry, I had to ask!” 

“If I wake up tomorrow wanting to date a woman,” Robert said, smiling despite himself, “you’re the first on my list.”

“Yes!” She pumped a fist in the air. “I knew it!”

“Any man would be lucky to have you,” he said. “You could choose any man you’d ever met, and chances are, they’d treat you like a princess.” He picked up the papers that had fallen from his hand when Philo’d appeared. “Not me, though. Maybe not Stanley, either.”

“You think he’s gay?”

“No,” he said, unfolding the first proposal. “I just think you can do better.”

-

She stayed with him until other employees began to trickle in, and by half past noon, they nearly had a full house. They were still missing George and a few others, but he wasn’t too worried; he’d heard George come in late the night before, and figured he probably wouldn’t drag himself into the station until the last minute. Cameras wouldn’t go live until they started filming some of the upcoming week’s segments at two, but it was nice to hear people moving out and about, typing out a new script or whatever it was they got paid to do. They’d hired an entire new rotation of employees, a good chunk of which were people who wanted to see their shares in the station put to good use, and they had an entire team of high schoolers acting as interns, doing side work for some sort of class credit. Technically, he and George were supposed to give them assignments, grade them, the whole nine years, but if he was being honest with himself, unless one of the kids managed to break something that actually mattered, he’d give them all A’s and call it a day. 

Life’s hard enough without some asshole in a tie trying to make it worse, he thought, watching one of them follow Stanley around as he mopped. 

Everything had grown to become so much more professional since they’d started revamping the station; between the new employees, broadcasting gear, and business cards that said “Robert” instead of “Bob,” he finally began to feel like an adult.

The phone at the front of the office gave out a short, shrill ring, and Pamela answered. After a moment, she held the receiver away from her mouth. “It’s for you, Bob!”

“Coming,” he said, halfway out of his desk already. There were only two types of calls they got: serious calls that required either him or George, and Pamela’s social calls from friends who realized that, unless she was on their television, she was available to talk. 

He lifted the receiver to his ear. “Robert Steckler, Channel 62.”

“I’m in hell, Bob.”

“George?”

Next to him, Pamela gave up any attempt she’d made at trying to look disinterested.

“Hell, Bob.” George repeated. He spoke slowly, as if he had to pull the words out of himself to say them loud enough to hear through the phone. “I’m in it.”

“What’s wrong?”

This time, Robert couldn’t hear the mumbled mess that came out of the speaker. 

“What?”

“My glasses broke.” George sighed, loud enough to be heard over the speaker, and despite the situation, Robert fought back a grin at the dramatics. 

“How’d that happen?”

“I didn’t put them in the drawer last night when I came in. Knocked them off the nightstand when I got out of bed since I didn’t remember they were there, and the second I put my foot down -”

Robert winced. “Crunch?”

“Crunch,” George echoed. “I just got off the phone with Visionworks. They’re doing a rush order for me ‘cause I might’ve mentioned I needed them for station work -”

“George -”

“which isn’t technically wrong, y’know, and they said the earliest they’d be in is Friday, so until then, I’m out of commission for anything that requires me behind the wheel of a car.”

“Got it,” he said. “I’ll be there in ten or so. You need me to help you down the stairs?”

A quiet chuckle came through the speaker. “I’m not your Grandma Ruth.”

“Yeah, but you’re both bordering on legally blind,” he replied, teasing, “so what’s the difference, really?” 

“Just for that, I’m throwing myself down the stairs. Have fun running U-62 on your own, Bob.”

“I will,” he said, and hung up the phone. He reached over, grabbing his coat out from underneath Pamerla’s and sliding it on. “I’ll be back in about half an hour,” he said, looking at her. “Try not to let the power get to your head.”

“You’ll come back, and they’ll be feeding me grapes,” she said. She lifted her legs, crossing them at the ankles atop her desk and leaning back like a queen on her throne. “His glasses broke?”

“Shattered, from what he told me.”

Pamela clicked her tongue. “Damn,” she said. “No spares?”

“Nah, neither of us have that kind of cash.”

“Well,” she said, flicking through the Rolodex, “at least we know his address.”

“Of course I know his address,” Robert said, feeling through his pockets for his keys. “We live together, Pam.” He found the keys, kept on an old keychain his dad had given him when he first came back to Tulsa.

Behind him, Pamela gasped. “Oh,” she said, eyes wide. “Oh, I get it now!”

He whipped around, hands up in alarm. “Not like that!”

“He’s not -,” she asked, then stopped herself. “You two aren’t -?”

“I don’t think,” he said, lowering his voice, “that George knows that being gay is an option, much less, well.” He waved a hand at himself. “So please, Pam, don’t mention it in front of him.”

She mimed zipping her lips shut, throwing an invisible key in the small garbage can by her feet. “My lips are sealed.”

-

The fog had grown stronger during the hours he’d spent in the station, and Robert quickly learned that Pamela wasn’t lying when she’d said that visibility was zero to none. His car was barely more than a lump of blue-gray, even though he’d parked in the closest line of spots to the building that morning. 

At least the roads were clear. The last of the lunch rush was still trickling back to their places of employment, but overall, the drive back home wasn’t too painful. He’d grown up around this type of weather in the winter, the days where you couldn’t see more than two feet in front of you followed by enough snow or ice to make it a hazard to anyone who didn’t know to look at the road when driving. Every year, car accidents littered the roads from December to mid-March, all because barely half of the town’s driving population consisted of Tulsa natives, and the other half was a combination of out-of-towners, the elderly, and teenagers that got their license that year. 

The very first winter they’d lived together, he’d had to go rescue George from a ditch eight miles from the apartment at ten o’clock at night; he’d tried driving home from his girlfriend’s house and lost control when his wheel hit the ice. It was the same winter where the heat went out, and George’s uncle Harvey managed to save their asses both times. He’d paid for the repairs on the car, and “had a guy” who came out to fix the heating, not just for their apartment, but for the whole building, at no cost. 

They’d met Kuni about a week later when he’d come by to give his thanks after he’d realized that the landlord hadn’t been the one to fix the heating, and he’d brought a Tupperware full of something his wife had made for them. Robert still didn’t know what it was; it’d been strawberries covered in some sort of soft, chewy coating that neither he nor George recognized. Whatever it was, though, was incredibly good, and after trying it, they had to count the individual pieces and divide them in half in order to make sure it was a fair split.

Whenever Kuni had a particularly loud class or a student who decided to try their luck punching through their walls, he brought the same dish over. It was partially apologetic, but mainly a “thank you for not reporting me to the landlord”-type gift, and with Harvey Bilchik’s various connections able to fix anything for free, neither young man ever even considered actually going legal with the various property damages they’d collected over the past four years. 

He parallel parked in his spot on the street, leaving the key in the ignition to keep the car warm while he was gone as he left the car. He took the stairs two at a time, reaching the door quickly and opening it, knowing George would’ve left it unlocked. 

At first glance, the apartment seemed empty. Both bedroom doors were shut, as was the bathroom, and the main room showed no signs of life. He stood still, not even breathing, and felt a small, irrational fear that someone had broken in and kidnapped his roommate creep into the back of his mind.

A small sigh coming from the couch gave him his second near-heart attack of the day.

Nearly camouflaged against the cushions sat George, hunched over with his head in his hands. If he’d worn anything else, he would’ve been visible, but the combination of the brown curls and light blue suit jacket made him a chameleon in their home. 

The sheer unhappiness that radiated from his friend, combined with the MAD poster above his head reading “what - me worry?” made him have to fight back a laugh. “You ready to head out?”

On the couch, George sighed, purposefully loud, and lifted his head. He stared forwards as he spoke, not even turning to face Robert. “I think you might actually need to help me down the stairs.”

Robert could count on one hand the amount of times he’d seen George without his glasses throughout the four and a half years he’d known him. He put them on first thing in the morning, and taking them off was the last thing he did before bed. Hell, he’s pretty sure he’s seen him leave the bathroom after a shower with them fogged up. The few times he’d seen him sans glasses were always temporary; despite the fact that he was a man in his twenties, he kept his glasses safer than his car, wallet,  and comics collection combined.

“That bad?”

George turned his head, lifting his bangs to reveal a bright red line going from his right eyebrow to his hairline. “I, uh, missed the bathroom door. Met the frame instead; turns out she’s a real mean lady.”

Curious, Robert lifted his hand in a Girl Scouts salute that would make his little sister proud. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

George glared at him. “You’re evil,” he said. “You know that, right?”

“I know,” Robert said, smiling. He held out his arm, palm facing the ceiling, the same way he’d always done for his grandma. “Come on, we’ve got about half an hour before the station burns down.”

“Fine,” George said. He reached out a hand, but instead of taking him by the elbow like Robert expected, took his hand, lacing their fingers together. “If you lead me off the stairs, I’m dragging you down with me.”

“Got it,” Robert replied, hoping his voice didn’t sound as strained as it felt when the words came out. 

He could feel the other man’s pulse, a slow thrum, through his fingers as he led them out the front door and slowly to the stairs, with George clasping the railing with his free hand the entire way down. It seemed as though the weather had grown even colder while he’d been inside, making him all the more aware of how warm his hand was with another wrapped around it. 

Logistically, he knew it wasn’t anything, but he was human, and it had been nearly three years since he’d been in a relationship, let alone held hands with someone. The weight of it was comforting; it was solid and steady, only verging onto tight once they’d made it to the bottom few steps. 

Thankfully, they made it down without any event, and Robert led them to his car, stopping at the passenger door. “Your carriage, ma’am.”

“Oh, you’re such a polite young man,” George said, finally cracking a smile. “If I’d known you were here to help, I’d have brought a dollar with me to tip you!”

“I’m just glad to be here for you in such a trying time.”

George took his hand away, opening the door and sinking into the seat. Still in the cold outside, Robert wasted no time in making his way to the driver’s side and climbing inside. He looped his arm around the back of the passenger seat, checking the street for cars behind him before pulling out onto the main road. 

They made it out to the highway before either of them spoke.

“Can you still do the Town Talk segment tonight?” Robert asked. “”Cause if you need me to, I can do it.”

“I can deal with it,” George said. “I know how much you hate being in front of the camera.”

“I hate being in front of the camera as Bob-o the Clown,” Robert corrected. “I’m fine being on air as Robert.”

George shifted in his seat, looking over at him, or at least looking in his direction. “You’re really sticking with Robert, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Robert said, popping the ‘p.’ “Sounds more professional, which means the other channels take us seriously.” George snickered. “Only if they haven’t seen the shows we’ve greenlit.”

“Speaking of,” he said, turning onto the side road leading to the station, “we’ve got a new batch of proposals for spring. The people of Tulsa have spoken, and they want more insanity in the writer’s room.”

“Don’t tell me you read them without me.” George whined.

“I didn’t,” he said. “Just counted them. We’ve got about twenty, give or take.”

“And how many slots do we have open on the schedule for next spring?”

“Like, two.”

“Phenomenal.”

-

A little while later, they pulled into the station’s parking lot, and Robert was glad to see that no one had taken his spot while he’d been gone. He parked, taking the keys out of the ignition and slipping them into his pocket. 

“You want my help again?” Robert asked.

“I think I’m good,” George said, “but thanks.”

“Alright,” he said, unconvinced. There were a few steps leading up to the door, and he didn’t want to see George eat concrete when he knew neither of them had dental insurance. They were still trying to get that all squared away, but the steps for registering a business with the various insurances wasn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially when neither of the bosses had ever had insurance to begin with.

They left the car, and Robert watched, wary, as George made his way to the front door, both hands splayed out in front of him. He followed close behind in case he managed to hit something and fall backwards, but to his pleasant surprise, neither of them hit the floor. 

“Good afternoon, Stevie Wonder,” Pamela said, seeing them stumble through the door. “Had a nice drive?”

“If he’d driven, we’d be wrapped around a tree right now.”

“Very funny,” George said. He’d narrowed his eyes, but it wasn’t exactly clear if it was out of annoyance or if he was just squinting. “Make fun of the blind guy when he can’t see you well enough to punch back.”

“With your gangly limbs? Honey,” Pamela said, “I don’t think you’d manage to land a hit. Even if you could, you’re too sweet to hit a lady. It’s a mystery how no one’s snapped you up yet.”

He looked over at George, who stayed quiet, fiddling with the cuff of his suit jacket. “Someone has,” Robert said, perplexed at the silence. “His girlfriend, Teri Campbell. And before you ask,” he said, cutting Pamela off, “yes, like the soup.”

“Must’ve been born under a lucky star,” Pamela mused. “Rich girlfriend and a steady job at what, twenty-two?”

“Twenty-five,” Robert clarified, then paused. With the chaos of the first weeks at the station, he realized he’d never actually asked her, or anyone at the station, something as basic as an age. “Wait, how old are you?”

Pamela hummed, setting her pen down. “How old do you think I am?”

Robert laughed. “I’m not dumb enough to fall -”

“Twenty-seven,” George answered. He looked at the other two, who stared back at him. “Her birthday’s in April.”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s on her paperwork, Bob.” George said, the way one would expect to hear “duh” tacked onto the end.

He cocked his head to the side, surprised. “You read that?”

George mimicked him, cocking his head to the other side. “You didn’t?”

“I’ve been meaning to get around to it,” he mumbled, feeling his face heat up. 

“Stanley’s thirty-two,” George continued, pointing at the janitor as he swept the floor near Robert’s desk. “Raul is forty-four -, no,” he corrected, “sorry, forty-eight. Kuni’s fifty-one, and Philo never actually filled out his papers to begin with.”

“Is he allowed to do that?”

A loud BANG! rang out from the back room. 

“I say we let him do what he wants, and in return, we get an on-site engineer who’s willing to host a show without extra pay.” 

He eyed the back room’s doors, taking note of the odd green glow that shone from the porthole windows. “That’s fair,” he said. 

Together, they made their way to their desks, sitting down just in time to avoid the crowd that pushed their way in seconds later. 

The live studio audience had arrived, and they were loud, almost overwhelmingly so. They couldn’t wait to see the people they usually saw on small boxes in real life, excited to participate in the shows they watched with family and friends. Parents with children they’d pulled out of school for the day as an early Christmas present were shown by Pamela to the largest spare room-turned-sound stage, the one with yellow walls and bleachers to fit all those coming to spend a day at Stanley Spadowski’s Clubhouse. A smaller, noticeably older crowd, directed by the interns, were ushered to Town Talk’s half-living room set-up, all the way across the building. 

The other shows filming — Secrets of the Universe, Raul’s Wild Kingdom, and You Bet Your Pink Slip — wouldn’t film until after the first two, and luckily required no such audience. Raul chose to film on-site at his apartment complex, Philo hated the idea of anyone in his lab space that didn’t explicitly have to be there, and Pink Slip was shot at whatever place of employment had someone willing to, as the show’s title suggested, bet their pink slip on something insane. 

One of the interns, a short, dark-skinned girl that was one of the first to sign up for the job, rushed over, the rubber soles of her Converse slapping against the linoleum. “Mr. Newman?”

George glanced up at her. “What do you need, Gloria?”

 “Mrs. Nichole wants you in make-up for your segment,” she said, rushing through the words. “She wants to try something new with your hair for the episode, and told me to tell you to,” she paused, focusing, “‘get your ass in the chair and don’t complain like you always do or she’ll shave your ‘stache next time.’” She grimaced, then added, “her words, not mine.”

“I’m not letting her put glitter on me again,” he muttered, standing up. He smoothed out the creases of his jacket, and straightened his tie. “I’m still picking pink flakes out of my sheets and it’s been a full month.”

“Last I saw, she had the eyeliner out,” Gloria said, “so I think you’re safe for today.”

“Don’t jinx it.”

Gloria left, spinning on her heel so fast it could’ve left a burnout, running back to Nicole’s hair and makeup station, operating out of a converted bathroom they’d found when planning out the station’s space, once they’d realized what was on the horizon. George followed her lead, not wanting to incur the wrath of Nicole, especially if his hair was at-risk of retaliation.

“Hey, George?” Robert said.

George stopped, and looked back at him. “Yeah?”

“Break a leg.”

George smiled back at him. “You know I will.” He turned back around, not wanting to lose Gloria in the hallway.

A moment later, after Robert had gone back to sorting through the bills they’d received for the upcoming week, a quiet thump! could be heard to those who knew to expect it.

“I didn’t mean it literally,” Robert called out.

“Oh, go to hell, Bob.”

-

Seven o’clock came quicker than he’d expected; between paying the bills, fielding calls from Raul’s suppliers, then having to speak to one very confused, very new-to-town police officer who’d seen Raul unloading a komodo dragon out of a van, and placing Philo’s order of calcite, dolomite, glass squares, and a bottle of hydrochloric acid, he didn’t have the time to, well, check the time.

“You planning on going home soon?” Pamela asked, packing up her purse. Around them, the station was nearly deserted; the camera crew left to film the next segments at four-thirty and the interns left at five, leaving only a skeleton crew at Station U-62. George had locked himself in the writer’s room, saying he needed the quiet to think of the next week’s Town Talk. “News segment finally wrapped, so I’m out of here.”

“Yeah,” he said, packing the last of his papers away into his desk drawer, “just waiting for George.”

“Mhm,” she said. She grabbed her coat off the rack, slipping it on and zipping it tight. “Can I ask you something?”

“Depends,” Robert replied. “Do you want to come closer and not shout it out?”

Pamela rolled her eyes as she made her way to his desk. “How long has George been dating that girl, Carrie?”

“Teri,” Robert corrected. “And, Christ, I don’t know. They’ve been on-and-off for as long as I’ve lived with him, why?”

“Just curious,” Pamela said. “How long have you two lived together?”

“Four years. Five this April, if that helps with whatever timeline you’re plotting out in your head.”

She pursed her lips. “Curious,” she repeated.

Robert sighed. “Fine, I’ll bite. What’s so curious about them?”

“They date for four, probably five years, and he still hasn’t popped the question?”

“With their breaks, they’ve probably only dated two years, to be honest.”

“And that! I mean,” she said, throwing a hand in the air, “if the guy I was with still didn’t know if he wanted to marry me after five years, even after seeing what life was like without me, I’d find myself someone who knew they wanted me.”

“Hey,” Robert interrupted, trying not to get upset, “he’s not leading her on, if that’s what you’re trying to imply. He’s a good guy, Pam.”

“I know, I know,” she reassured, “but it’s weird, right? I mean, is he breaking up with her every time they have a spat, or what?”

“I never said he was the one breaking up with her. In fact, every time they’ve broken up, Teri breaks up with him, and he doesn’t ever see a new girl. Ever. He just mopes around and waits for her to take him back.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Robert confirmed. “It’s kind of sad.”

“Has he ever dated another woman?”

“I don’t know, I’d have to check his diary,” Robert said, half-kidding. It wouldn’t surprise him to find out his roommate had an actual diary. “Why do you suddenly care about George’s dating life?”

“Well, since you’re off the table -”

If someone had thrown a bucket of gasoline and a lit match onto him, Robert still would’ve felt the cold creeping up his spine. “Pamela, you can’t -” “I’m kidding!” Pamela laughed. “Sheesh, I wish I had my camera!” She wiped a tear from the side of her eye, taking care not to smudge her mascara. “I’m just trying to learn a little more about my bosses today, is that a crime or something?”

“Go home before you send me into a stroke, Pam.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” she said, gathering her purse under her arm. “Drive safe tonight, ‘kay? I don’t think the next managers will let me wear what I want on air like you two do.”

“I will,” he said, “and same to you; drive safe.”

She waved, then let herself out, closing the door quickly to keep any of the afternoon’s snow from floating in. 

With his papers safe and secure, he locked his drawer and walked down the hall to the writer’s room. It was the one of the only rooms they used that was actually created for the purpose they used it for, though without an official writing team, it was rarely occupied. George tended to flit inside when he needed the quiet, and any staff who doubled as writers would go in and out in pairs depending on what they were working on.

He knocked on the door, three quick beats. When he didn’t get a response, he inched the door open. “George?”

The man in question sat at the long cherrywood table, one hand twirling a pen, the other lost in his curls. “What’s better,” he said, not looking up, “local grocery stores already stocking Valentine’s Day merchandise before the month’s over, or the movie theater’s highest grossing films for this year and what they say about the people of Tulsa?”

“Movie theaters,” he said, leaning against the door frame. “You ready to head home?”

At the table, George scratched “TULSA MOVIE THEATERS” in large, blocky handwriting, making the lines thick enough to see, even without his glasses. “Definitely,” he said. 

He got up, but as he walked toward the door, Robert noticed something on his face. “You’ve still got eyeliner on,” he said, staring at his eyes. 

“Got to chat with the local punk scene,” George said. “They’re a pretty nice bunch, once you stop gawking at them.”

“Good to know,” he said. “It -, uh, it suits you.”

“The eyeliner?” George asked. “I’d agree with you, but I couldn’t see it when Nicole did it. She nearly put me in a headlock though; apparently, I’m squirmy.” He made air quotes with his fingers around the last word. 

“Pamela thinks you’re gangly, and Nicole calls you squirmy,” Robert said, tsk’ing. He opened the front door, holding it for George to exit first. “What does Teri say about you?”

“Bad things, probably,” he muttered, reaching for Robert’s car. He laid a hand on the hood, trailing his fingers on the metal as he found his way to the passenger door. It was quiet outside; Philo usually took care of the station’s graveyard shift, which let the rest of the crew go home at a semi-normal hour. There were only two other cars in the lot aside from his, and he knew one belonged to Stanley while the other was probably Philo’s, though he’d never actually seen the man leave the property line.

Robert came up behind him, unlocking the door, then went to his own side, quickly getting inside and turning on the ignition. He turned the wipers on, clearing out the light dusting of snow they’d accumulated during the day, then reversed, clearing out of the lot before the car had begun to warm up. He reached over, clicking on the radio, and for a few minutes, they drove in silence, only broken up by the soft sounds of Sinatra’s Christmas album.

They made it all the way to the main road before Robert’s concern won out. “Hey, is everything okay with you? Between the glasses and -,” he didn’t want to say “not mentioning your girlfriend to Pam” out loud, so he settled on, “your general demeanor, you’ve been really off today.”

George hunched deeper into the seat, shoulders ‘round his ears. “I’m fine,” he said.

From the driver’s seat, Robert felt his hands grip the wheel a bit tighter than they usually did. He was well-accustomed to George’s moods; he knew everything from the giddy delight he had when the newest issue of MAD came in the mail to the slightly self-destructive depressive tendencies that came with Teri calling it quits, but the quiet sadness, the quiet anything, was never a sign of something good to come. “You sure?”

“I’m sure,” George said. He stared straight forwards into the empty night, deliberately avoiding Robert’s gaze. In all their years of living together, he knew George only did that when he was hiding something. He had a shit poker face, mainly because whenever he lied, as rare as it was, he did so while refusing to look at the person he was lying to. 

Robert knew he wouldn’t talk about it on his own, but he’d wanted to give him the chance. Now was the time for him to take out the pliers and pull it out of him. 

He decided to try for the most obvious cause first, then work his way down. “Is it about Teri?”

The thud of George’s head hitting the headrest told him he’d struck gold on his first try. “She wants me to spend Christmas with her family.”

“And that’s -?” Robert trailed off, waiting for George to fill in the gap.

“Not good,” he said. “It’s not bad, either, but I -,” he groaned, threading a hand into the tuft of hair that’d started hanging loose from the rest as months went by with no haircut, “I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to go.”

“Well, why not?”

George scoffed. “Her family hates me, Bob,” he said, voice thick. “All they see me as is the guy that’s terrorized their only daughter for five years. One Christmas isn’t going to change that.”

“It could.” Robert turned off of the main road, pulling onto the side street they lived on. “People are weird about the holidays, especially people like Teri’s parents. They get all holy ‘bout it, wanting to forgive those who trespassed against them,” he said. 

It surprised him; it’d been years since he’d said the Lord’s Prayer, but he still remembered it, at least partially.

“They’re going to want me to go to church with them, and I’m going to embarrass her, again, in front of her parents. I don’t know the words, or the customs, or -,” he spiraled, waving his hands as he spoke, “when to stand up and sit down, and I -”

“George, relax,” Robert said, keeping his voice calm. “Half of the entire Christian population only goes to church on Christmas, Easter, and for, like, funerals and weddings, if they go at all. You’re not going to be the only one there who doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

“Teri’s parents are Catholic,” he said. “Not Christian, I think.”

“It’s basically the same thing.” He swung into his spot, and turned the car off. “Just mumble through the prayers, don’t take the wafer or wine, and you’re good to go.”

“I don’t think I’m even supposed to go into a church,” George mumbled. 

“Why,” Robert asked, “afraid you’ll burst into flames?”

He knew it was stupid, but it got a laugh out of George, and that’s what he was aiming for. 

“Very funny,” he said, monotone. He reached for the door handle as the car’s engine died.

Together, they left the car, standing in the cold. It was nearly pitch-black outside, save for the streetlights, which cast a warm amber glow onto the pavement below. A few patches of ice remained solid, mostly on the road, but a few scattered on the sidewalk, one of which was too close to George for Robert’s comfort.

“Hey,” he said, stepping over the ice to the other man. He held out a hand close enough for George to see. “Grab on.”

He expected some form of protest, whether it be outright refusal or stubbornness, with or without a comment mentioning how he was a grown man, but like that morning, he said nothing, just stretched his hand out, wrapping his fingers around Robert’s.

Carefully, he guided George up the stairs, taking his time after seeing more patches of ice hiding on the steps. He waited until the front door was open to let go, putting the hand that had held George’s against the small of his back instead, ushering him inside. 

“You can get first shower,” Robert said. “If I make Kraft, do you want any?”

“Yeah, I’ll take some,” he said.

“Try not to slip and break your head open.”

Robert watched as George stretched out his arms, making sure he didn’t run into any door frames again, and kept his eyes on him until he saw the bathroom door shut. Satisfied with the knowledge he wouldn’t have to hunt around for the first aid kit, he reached up to the wire shelves, grabbing one of the twenty-odd remaining boxes of Kraft mac ‘n’ cheese he’d bought at Costco a few months back, and turned on the burner.

-

He’d just finished divvying up the pasta into two bowls when he heard the water turn off in the bathroom. He hunted around for a minute, searching through the drawers, then the dishwasher, until he came up with two clean forks, and set them in either bowl. He brought both bowls to the small hunk of wood they called a coffee table, sitting down on the couch and turning the television on. 

“CBS is doing a M*A*S*H marathon!” Robert yelled. “You down?”

The bathroom door opened, and George shuffled out. From the corner of his eye, all Robert saw was a mass of light gray; after all the times he’d seen the other man do laundry, he knew that George had a tendency to buy his sweatpants and hoodies in matching colors, so seeing just one hue wasn’t out of character. 

Robert patted the cushion next to his. “Come on, it’s dinner and a show.” He shoveled a forkful of macaroni into his mouth and cranked up the volume.

The couch groaned as George dropped down beside him. “Which ep’?”

He watched for a minute, trying to place it. “Think it’s the one where the guy gets the Dear John letter,” Robert said. “God, imagine how much that would suck. You’re fighting a war, the only thing keeping you together is knowing you’ve got someone to go home to, then -” he turned, looking over to George, and - “oh my God, George.”

“What?” George asked, confused. 

He couldn’t help the snort of laughter that came out, but he tried to smother it as best as he could. “I’m sorry,” he said, chuckling. “I’m sorry, it’s just -, you look like a raccoon, dude. Did you use anything to remove the stuff Nicole put on?”

#again I am so thankful for how excited some of y'all are #it means the world to me as a writer to see that people actually want to read my stuff!!! #hope this is an alright condolence for everyone #uhf #weird al yankovic #sherrie's shit #and to clarify-george’s feelings re:terri are his own self deprecating thoughts. #terri does not actually hate him nor think badly of him #I have a grudge against fics that demonize female characters to make the m/m pairing happen and I am not about to do a 180 to write that ahi #shit* <- for the last tag

[bittercandysweetrain]

Toji x Reader milk and honey pt1

Y/n's pov The cicadas were loud that day singing from the trees in the multitude it was the only thing that echoed in my head when I made my way up the stairs. my mother walking ahead of me, I stared at the back of her sandals I was sort of nervous it was my first time meeting potentially the next head of the Zenin clan. this wasn't a marriage, I was just being brought in to serve him. I trained for seven years to serve him in a way no ordinary servant can do. it wasn't going to be easy I know that for sure I was a girl after all. and the zenin were known to be misogynistic so I expected Toji zenin to be the same. He was a year older when we first met a thirteen-year-old boy with a monotonous expression his eyes were very dark green and he had a nearly permanent scowl on his lips. "This is my servant? I thought you brought someone who I was supposed to use in training combat as well." he said looking at the clan lead Naobito "y/n's father, particularly her grandfather and such have been aiding the zenin in fighting styles which we use with our curse energy and cursed tools. unfortunately, he has only one child and she is a girl however he has been training her since she was three years old. so while he did pass away his daughter here knows his techniques well and was entrusted with his works." Naobito said my father died of an illness I wasn't sure what it was but I believe it was due to helping this clan that he was cursed. While I didn't want to actually do this I made my father a promise and while I served this clan my mother would be taken care of. "she is tiny do you really think she can teach me anything" toji commented "I hope you know how to make good tea" he said "I do actually My favorite is black tea with milk and honey" I retorted. "so you do speak" Toji walked up to me he was taller and I had to glanced up at him "I may be smaller but I assure you I can handle myself and train you well" I said my father also taught me to reserve my emotions. "show me you are worth it" he said so this is what it means to be part of the head. I glanced at naobito "sir would you allow me to show you and toji that I am worth keeping around." Naobito slowly nodded "go ahead."

Authors pov - Y/n's mother, Naobito, and his brother stood on the side while Toji and y/n stood in the training yard she held a long red staff on the end was a white flag. "Take the flag," she said "that's all you need to do it is simple right?" she asked it should have been simple many would have thought so. Toji was a prideful boy he knew he could take it. y/n stuck the staff out towards him leading him to grab the flag she wanted him to do so if he did then it would be easier than she expected. Toji stared at the white flag she was waving it in his face he wondered if she thought he was dumb he would never do such. he circled her watching her feet she never moved from her spot nor did she turn her head or body meaning she could fight in that spot or she wouldn't let him close enough to do so the only thing was he needed to test that. running at her from behind y/n let him get close enough before slamming the staff back above her Toji moved to the side if he stayed in that direction she would have landed a blow to his head. "Toji has always been very calculated," Naobito said "that's a good thing but thoughts alone won't help him he needs to fight," Ogi said "very true" naobito said Y/n swung the staff around spinning on her heel she slammed it into toji's arm as he blocked "the hell" toji said in confusion the staff was heavy really heavy as if it was steel. he slid against the dirt huffing he didn't even notice the large bruise forming. he knew he couldn't break through to get to her so he would have to focus on dodging and getting the flag. "You're not going to get this flag no matter how hard you try," y/n said "That's what you think I was just messing around," toji said "oh you call that messing around well it's gonna cost you more admit your defeat and I will lighten up I'm getting bored standing here," she said smirking. "well then do something about it," toji said "okay" y/n put the staff down and took the flag she tied it around her arm "15 seconds," she said running at him Toji wasn't sure if he needed to block of dodge he had to think fast she raised her fist back so he ducked squatting down y/n kneed him in the face. forcing him to fall back on his ass. Jinichi his elder brother watched he showed disapprovement on his face he was embarrassed for his brother to get beaten by a girl of such low status. Y/n pulled back and disappeared right in front of him toji looked right, left, up, and down he then turned his head to look behind him. there she was she grabbed him by the back of the head slamming him into the dirt she placed her knee onto his back holding him "Is this enough proof that you need my help" she asked Toji lay there silently "I think that's enough for the day" Naobito said y/n pulled away as toji got up a sore loser he was as he dusted himself off "how did you do that" he asked suddenly. "what?" she asked "how did you disappear like that" he asked "I didn't disappear I was just fast you looked right and left first that is everyone reaction I went over you I wasn't showing off so you know I did go easy you will learn all of this if you give me a chance. and I can show you more if you respect me." she said "respect?" Toji questioned "I may be a girl but I'm not just a servant I'm not here to wait on you every second unlike the others I'm gonna be training you and I need to be respected as well." she said toji looked at her up and down he stretched out his hand "I was looking forward to the tea with milk and honey." he said smirking y/n took his hand "well because I beat your butt in front of everyone I will make you some."

#jjk x reader #toji x reader #toji fushiguro