#and the only reason I even recognized the name is bc I follow her on twitter too

[bellaveux]

hi! could you please do one about reader x wanda on college where reader cheats on her boyfriend with wanda but wanda genuinely loves reader so much that she can’t help but want more?

DREAMING OF YOU | wanda maximoff x reader

pairing: wanda maximoff x fem!reader

genre: angst w/ happy ending, fluff, smut

summary: while being constantly ignored by your boyfriend, wanda decides to keep you company for the night and eventually, for the rest of the weeks that follow, wanting more than just sex with you and vows to show you the kind of love you truly deserve.

content warnings: minors dni! angst with happy ending, some fluff, college au!wanda maximoff x reader, artist!reader, wanda is in love, cheating, mentions of drinking, toxic boyfriend named tyler bc i didn’t know what else to name him, one smut scene; top!wanda, bottom!reader, oral and fingering (r receiving), praise kink

word count: 12.9k

note: i’m so sorry for the long wait, it was not supposed to take a whole month for me to write :( i also did not mean for this to be so long, i kind of got carried away, but i hope you like it!!

There used to be a time when your boyfriend would always tell you that he loved you, no matter what the conversation or situation was. You would always ask him why he did certain things for you; give you flowers, take you out to dinner, wanting to do everything with you, or even things like fight with you, annoy you. He would always say ‘Because, I love you,’ no matter what. And, you missed those times. You missed when he felt like he was a part of you when you were his top priority as he was yours. Now, somewhere down the road, you lost all of that with him. He only has the time to take you to parties, as a sort of accessory to keep by his side, then refuses to talk to you, and ignores you half of the time. 

You never liked the parties your boyfriend always dragged you to. They were loud, too crowded for your taste and your boyfriend always ended up finding some kind of excuse to leave you alone all by yourself as he mingled around. You feel lost and disconnected in places like this while your boyfriend revels in the chaos of social interactions, all while seemingly drowning himself in beer and alcohol. 

Your likeness for him had slowly dwindled down over time, and you wondered what had happened between the two of you for him to change so much from the man you used to be so fond of. 

And, no, Tyler didn’t always use to be such a jerk to you. In the beginning, he was kind, and gentle and seemed to be interested in whatever you were interested in. He was the kind to buy you flowers when he would think of you, take you on romantic dates in the city, and tell you he loved you every day. You liked him in the beginning, maybe even fell in love with him at some point—well, you couldn’t remember what that felt like with him anymore. 

Now, he barely even replies to your texts, answers your calls, ignores you when you try to talk to him, and leaves you alone at a party full of people you don’t recognize, just for him to go and play beer pong and chug an unhealthy amount of beer with the other guys on the football team. He even lets these random girls feel up on him and openly flirt with him from time to time now, forgetting all about the girl he dragged along with him, who was now glaring at him from across the room. He doesn’t even do anything to stop them, which only fuels your anger even more. 

It wasn’t like you weren’t used to him being this way. This behavior had gotten quite frequent as time went on, and you’ve always thought about breaking up with him. But, each time, he’d fool you with those sweet words and apologies, and tell you he’d be good for you, do better for you, tell you he loved you, and tell you that he wouldn’t know what to do without you. 

And, for some reason, you always fell for it.

You don’t know if it’s because you so desperately want to cling to the past — the past that you remember being so good and lovely. The times when he treated you right was like a dream and you always wanted to believe it could be that way again. Somehow. Because, you liked him. At least, you did then. It was hard to know because everything felt awkward, everything felt insincere. You knew that when the next morning comes, he’ll buy you flowers once again, tell you how sorry he was for accidentally leaving you, and give you that lame excuse that he couldn’t find you in that crowd of people. 

“I wanna leave, Tyler,” you told him, after tapping his shoulder to get his attention.

He turned to you and glared, stepping away from the circle of people that wrapped around the beer pong table, “Are you fucking kidding me? We just got here. Fuck. Go find something to do. I’ll take you home later.”

Truthfully, you were over it. You didn’t even bother talking back about it anyway, having done so plenty of times already and it always had the same outcome. 

After a while, you found yourself in the kitchen of the sorority house, holding your third cup of some cheap alcohol you found and poured for yourself, not really sure of what else you could do but drink. The living room had that lingering smell of weed and warm bodies, and it was beginning to hurt your head the longer you stood in there, making you retreat to the back of the house where the kitchen was. The fresh smell of some brownies in the oven filled the air, and it was much better for your head than everything else outside of this room. They were probably weed brownies, but they smelled better than what was out there. 

The thought of leaving by yourself had crossed your mind several times already, wondering if your boyfriend would even notice if you’d be gone. Who are you kidding? He wouldn’t. You liked to think he would sometimes—that he’d rush right after you when you stepped out the door, grab you by the wrist, and ask where you were going without him as if he cared. But, that would’ve been too good to be true. 

And, you were too caught up in your thoughts to have noticed the figure that walked up next to you.

Wanda leaned over against the counter, standing quite close to you, nudging your shoulder lightly. You could smell that faint scent of alcohol from her lips even though she hadn’t spoken yet. She wore a big suit jacket over a plain shirt that fit loosely on her and held a red solo cup of her own, shaking it slightly as if she was checking if there was anything still in there like she couldn’t remember if she had drank what was in her cup yet. 

Wanda saw you the moment you stepped into the sorority house, always cautiously watching the door for whoever walked in. After all, she lived here. She practically had her eyes on you all night, first noticing that bored look on your face when you walked in with that jerk you called your boyfriend. Then, she saw the rising anger fuming in your eyes when he walked away and left you alone to go hang out with his friends and other girls that he didn’t seem to mind. 

She never really understood what you saw in him. From all of the stories she’s heard from mutual friends to what she has seen now, he was a complete asshole. Sure, when she met you for the first time, you were a happy couple, and he was good to you that time ago. But tonight, it was different. He was different to you and it only seemed to further her opinion of him. 

It was maddening—the way he treated you. Wanda always found herself caught in a bittersweet daydream, one where she yearned to trade places with him, to be the one who could treat you with the love and care you truly deserved.

She had always loved you. From the moment you two met in your first year of college, Wanda had always loved you. With every interaction, every shared laugh, and every stolen glance, her feelings for you only deepened, growing into an unshakeable love that blossomed silently within her. You were perfect in her eyes; you were beautiful, kind-hearted, and talented, but you failed to recognize the fact that you deserved way better than what that stupid boyfriend of yours does for you. The love Wanda held for you became a quiet force that fueled her determination to be there for you, to support you, even if it meant remaining in the shadows.

And, deep down, you’ve feel as if you had always felt it. That love she had for you. You felt it when she would look at you, when she talked to you, and at first, you couldn’t tell what it was. She was a private woman, always so reserved, and never really dated properly within her time in college, other than a few flings and hookups here and there. 

But you saw it firsthand each time she smiled at you. 

Undeterred, Wanda angled her body towards you, the corners of her mouth turning upward in a determined smile. She positioned herself delicately, her face mere inches away from yours, so that you could hear her easily under the booming music, “What are you doing here alone?” 

“Nothing,” you shrugged, taking a sip from your cup, not even bothering to look up at her. “Just felt too crowded in there.”

Wanda nodded and glanced out of the doorway, the first floor of the house practically flooding with people left and right. She noticed that solemn look on your face when you answered your question.

“Isn’t that Tyler outside?” She asked, even though she already knew the answer to that question. She watched you nod, your eyes staring down into the liquid in your cup.“Shouldn’t you be out there with him?”

Swallowing the lump in your throat, you sighed and shook your head, “No, he’s… He’s playing. I wouldn’t be much help… It’s whatever.”

“It’s not whatever,” Wanda countered, the levels of her own annoyance rising. “He’s being a shitty boyfriend.”

You didn’t say anything else and instead chewed on your bottom lip as you let her words sink in. He was, indeed, a shitty boyfriend, but hearing it out of someone else’s mouth felt bitter. Like you had to defend him in some way even though he treats you like shit. You knew that Wanda's assessment held a grain of truth, maybe a lot more than a grain, but your heart stubbornly clung to the remnants of love and loyalty you still felt for him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—“

“No, it’s fine,” you tell her, immediately shaking your head as you glance out of the kitchen window, seeing your boyfriend down his drink in the backyard. “He’s just… busy.”

Wanda glanced out the window once more, eyes landing on your boyfriend. He was cheering, having won the same stupid game he was playing since he got here for the third time already, and he was probably drunk out of his mind right now, clearly not caring about the woman he had brought along with him. That woman being you. 

And she could never understand it. 

Wanda turned away and looked over at you. You stared down at your shoes out of boredom, seemingly waiting for something to happen at least. You wondered when your boyfriend would notice the fact that you’re even still here, waiting for the past hour and a half for him. But, every time you looked at him, he looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. 

“Do you want to go somewhere quiet?” Wanda leaned over and asked, scratching the back of her neck. “There’s less people upstairs… And it’s quiet in my room.”

Wanda didn’t know if it was the tiny bit of alcohol she had talking for her, but she couldn’t help but ask—not when someone as beautiful as you stood alone in her kitchen. 

“Your room?”

You took a moment to look past her shoulder again and over to the man you called your boyfriend, only to see him cheering on in front of the beer pong table with some other woman leaning close to him on his side. A sigh fell past your lips before turning back to look at Wanda. 

As your gaze shifted from the window to meet Wanda's eyes, a sudden hush fell upon you. Your heart skipped a beat as you found yourself caught in the vortex of an unwavering stare, one filled with undeniable affection. She was looking at you the entire time. She looked at you like you were the only one there—as if every person, every object, every sound had faded into the background, leaving only the two of you inside this house. An unexpected wave of shyness washed over you, a blush creeping up your cheeks, wondering about what you should say next. 

The gravity of Wanda's invitation to her room weighed heavily upon your conscience, knowing that accepting would lead you down an unfaithful path. A sense of moral obligation tugged at your heart, reminding her of the commitment you made to your boyfriend, who had now abandoned you once again. The knowledge weighed heavily on your heart, like an anchor that tugged at your sense of loyalty. You knew the dangerous allure that waited for you in her room. You very well understood the consequences, and how your heart might sway towards infidelity if you surrendered yourself completely to Wanda. 

With each passing second, your internal struggle intensified. But, why were you so worried about loyalty when the man you once loved seemed to have none for you? You recognized the injustice of your situation, feeling a bitter taste of resentment rise within you as you thought of your boyfriend's indiscretions, allowing himself to be swayed by the company of random women at a party. It was a betrayal in its own right—a crack in the foundation of your relationship.

You decided you didn’t want to see him anymore tonight. And Wanda had the power to do that for you. 

“Lead the way,” you said.

The woman’s eyes before you lit up at the sound of your words and with a tender smile, Wanda reached out, her hand extending towards you, a silent invitation for her to take you away from everything that worried you. You slipped your hand into hers, and with a gentle yet steady grip, her fingers interlaced with yours, beginning to pull you away and up the stairs. 

Wanda maneuvered through the crowd, sidestepping intoxicated individuals who seemed oblivious to the world beyond their own indulgence. Laughter and music washed over you as you reached the second floor and down the hall toward Wanda’s room. 

Your senses heightened as Wanda let you step into her private space, and you found herself instinctively pausing to take in your surroundings. Wanda made sure to not let your hand go, her thumb soothing over the back of your hand as you looked around. She stepped up behind you, gently resting her other hand on your hip as she pressed her front to your back softly. Your eyes swept across the room, drinking in the carefully curated collection of treasures that adorned each shelf and corner. The gentle hum of the music playing downstairs was muffled by the thick walls of Wanda’s room.

“Do you play?” You ask, eyes settling up the guitar by the side of her nightstand.

“Hmm, a bit,” she smiled as you raised your eyebrows, impressed at the fact. “I can show you any time you want. I can teach you.”

Her fingers brushed along the side of your waist, dancing along the fabric of your dress slightly as if she were forming guitar chords. Eventually, you let Wanda’s hands turn you around to face her, the soft scent of lavender filling the air as she leaned into you. 

“You look so pretty tonight, (Y/n),” she whispered, shamelessly staring at your lips.

Her gaze shifted from your mouth and into your eyes, and there you saw the gentle look she held solely for you. Wanda gently lifted the hand she held, guiding your fingertips to her lips, pressing light kisses against your knuckles. 

“Can I kiss you?”

“You already are,” you told her, the corners of your lips threatening to curve upwards.

Wanda smiled in return and brought her other hand up from your hip to your face, cupping your cheek and letting her thumb ghost over your bottom lip, “I mean… here.”

Her fingers trailed down to your jaw, “And right here.” To your neck, “And here.” Then, to your collarbone, “And… here.”

You sighed at the feeling of her feathery touches, closing your eyes as you relaxed in her hands. 

“Can I?” She repeated.

And for a moment, you took a second to look at the moment before you, your cheeks getting warm from Wanda’s actions. The warmth of her breath mingled with the sweet touch of her lips against your fingertips as she waited patiently for your answer for the second time tonight. As the words hung in the air, Wanda's gaze remained fixed on you, captivated by the emotions flickering across your face. In that moment, you appeared more enchanting to her than ever, having you so close to her for the first time, wanting to kiss those lips she’d been dreaming about for so long. 

“Yes, please,” you said. 

Wanda leaned in, closing the distance between the two of you, and softly pressed her lips against yours as she moaned. Every brush and hum of your lips sent shivers down Wanda's spine. Time became a distant concept as you lost yourself in her kisses. 

She slowly led you towards her bed, lips still pressed to yours. She had waited, with hope and uncertainty, for this moment to come. And finally, it was here. She’d show you. She’d show you how well she’d take care of you—how much better she could be than that boyfriend of yours. She’d give you everything you deserve. She’d prove it to you—change your mind, if possible, and have her be the only one to have and love you from now on.

Wanda pulled back after laying you down on her bed, staring down at you. She settled herself in between your legs and sighed at the feeling of your soft thighs under her hands. The sight of lips parting to catch your breath, your chest rising up and down, and your hair all over her pillows drove her crazy. Fuck. 

“Are you sure about this?” Wanda asked.

“Please.” You nodded, reaching out to intertwine your fingers with hers and squeezing them, “I want you, Wanda.”

Once she was positive that you were positive, Wanda pulled her shirt over off, shuffled closer to you, and gently brought your hands up above your head. She leaned down and placed a chaste kiss against your lips once more before traveling down to litter soft kisses against your jaw and your neck. Her body hovered over yours as you squirmed underneath her touches, whining slightly as she sucked on your skin. 

“Wait, Wanda,” you called out and she immediately stopped to look at you, patiently waiting for whatever you had to say. “Don’t leave any marks.” 

Wanda blinked, feeling a sense of disappointment wash over her chest. She was excited to mark you, litter hickeys all over your skin as a reminder that you were hers for the night. 

But she only bit her lip and nodded in return, “I won’t.”

After a beat, Wanda started kissing you once again. This time, her hands traveled downwards, running them along your thighs and up to where they met the hem of your velvety dress. She pushed the fabric upwards, your skin meeting the cold air inch by inch. Wanda was quick to provide warmth, squeezing the softness of your push thighs. 

Her kisses eventually made their way down to the valley of your breasts, letting one of her hands grope your tits. Wanda groaned into your body as you let your hands run through her red hair, tugging at them slightly when she squeezed your tit with her palms. 

“You’re so beautiful,” she whispered against you.

Getting to worship you like this, manifesting your true desires to her, and her alone, felt like a constant dream. She had always imagined what it would be like to see you like this; a hot mess underneath her, moaning for her to touch you. And now that it was here, she never wanted to let it go. 

She’d imagine all the ways, all the positions she’d take you in, and make sure to take good care of you both always. She couldn’t wait to make you feel good. God, it was driving her insane. She couldn’t wait to have you. She wanted to make you see how much better she would be for you. And if there was one thing she wanted more than this; it was time. She wanted this to last forever. She wanted to eliminate all of the chances that could make you slip away from her grasp. 

But you were here now, and she vowed to make it the best you’ve had with the time she was dealt with. 

Her hands squeezed your thighs slightly as she stared down, “Spread those legs for me, sweetheart?” 

Wanda kneeled and leaned down the moment your knees parted, the sight of your drenched laced panties coming into view from underneath your dress. Without a second thought, Wanda pressed the pads of her index and middle finger against the soaked fabric. With half-lidded eyes, she couldn’t help but lean down, pressing her nose against your clothed pussy.

“How are you this perfect?” Wanda sighed against your cunt, her fingers moving the fabric to the side to look at your wetness. 

“Wanda…”

She looked up from in between your legs and licked her lips eagerly, “Yes, baby?”

“Hurry, please,” you whined. You couldn’t wait anymore. “I need you.”

Wanda felt her knees go weak when she heard those words. The sound of your voice, her name coming from your mouth, your hands in her hair… It was all too, perfect—you were so perfect.

After moments of admiring the sight of you in her bed, Wanda finally hooked her thumbs under your panties and dragged them slowly down your legs, making sure you were watching as she did so. The moment they came off, Wanda dove head first in between your legs, dragging the flat of her tongue through your folds. Firm and long licks switched into quick, fast kitten licks against your clit that had your thighs shaking around her head in a matter of seconds. You threaded your hands into her hair, moaning at the suddenness of her attack against your cunt. You dripped your sweet juices onto her tongue, causing her to moan softly against your clit, sending vibrations through your body. 

“Tastes so fucking good, baby.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Wanda rolled her eyes to the back of her head, the taste of heaven filling her mouth. She moaned, lips and chin covered in her spit and your slick as she continued to eat you out. 

“Wanda!” You whined as she wrapped her mouth around your clit and sucked. 

The sight of your jaw dropping and your eyes rolling to the back of your head when she introduced her fingers into the mix was something she wanted to see over and over and over again. She carefully prodded your entrance with her middle finger, sucking onto your clit gently, teasing you by slipping barely an inch into you then pulling back out to rub you softly. As she did so, she could feel your hips buck and your legs tense up around her head as she hummed against your clit with a smile on her face. 

You were soaking wet, dripping your juices all over the covers of her bed. Carefully, she slipped a single finger into you all the way down to her knuckle. She then curled it, emitting the loudest whine you let out for her tonight. She continued to curl her finger over and over, occasionally giving your clit some attention, sucking slightly and licking it gently as your orgasm started to build. 

“Mmmph, fuck, Wanda, I—"

Her green eyes watched as you withered against her bed, because of her mouth, to taste you like this, and hear your delicious moans fall past your lips. She slipped a second finger into you, your velvety walls wrapping around her digits, coating them with your slick as you moaned into her pillow and pulled at the sheets. 

“That’s it, (Y/n),” she stared up in awe as she watched your head fall back into the pillow, moaning at the feeling of her digits moving inside of your pussy. “Keep on making those noises for me, beautiful.”

Her two fingers that were swallowed inside your warmth began to speed up the moment she wrapped her lips around your clit once more, and sucked as hard as she could. You screamed into her pillow, trying to close your legs shut, engulfing her head with your plush thighs. Wanda decided that this was the best way to go; suffocating between your legs with the taste of your juices on her tongue. 

Soon, your voice faded out and your moans became more like gasps and hiccups for air. Wanda closed her eyes, her mouth pulling away to move up your body, resting her lips against your neck as her breath fans across your skin. You whined and clawed at her back deliciously as Wanda pumped and pumped her fingers in and out of you at a faster pace. She could hear all of your juices squelching down there because of her fingers and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes back and moan at the sounds filling her room. She felt as if she was in heaven. 

Wanda’s eyes, her pupils blown out from lust and darkened in desire didn’t help either, as the wetness between your legs only seemed to pool more and more as she fucked into you.

“I’m gonna cum, Wanda—“

“Yeah? Gonna cum all over my fingers, baby?” She whispered in your ear, grunting against the side of your face as she pumped into you harder with her thumb pressing harshly in circles against your clit. 

Your orgasm hit hard, a sharp cry coming from your throat as you came, arching your back as Wanda slowed her movements. The sound of your cry sent shock waves straight down to her own core, and her eagerness to move inside of you, pressing against that spot in your pussy caused you to gasp and cry out again, shaking violently as you came around her fingers.

“Oh, fuck,” Wanda groaned against your neck, breathing heavily against you as you trembled in her bed. God, she wished she could make love to you forever. 

And knowing that she couldn’t, Wanda made use of the time she had left for the rest of the night and fucked you for as time would allow her until the two of you grew tired and passed out on her bed. 

Wanda held you close, pulling her blankets over you, naked bodies pressed together as you slept for the rest of the night. She savored the precious moments the two of you shared, knowing that her time with you was fleeting and she might not get a chance as good as this. She took some time to watch as you slept for a bit, her heart swelling with the feeling of you against her. It felt perfect, like you were made to fit right into her arms. 

But a bittersweet reality loomed over Wanda's thoughts, a reminder that you belonged to another, your heart already spoken for by a distant boyfriend. The one person she envied, deeming him unworthy of your love. She wondered what it would be like to claim the entirety of your heart, to be the one who could provide solace and security for you in every waking moment, and not just for tonight. 

Wanda's eyes traced the delicate curve of your cheek, her fingertips brushing against the soft strands of your hair. With a tender touch, she brushed her lips against your forehead, pressing a small kiss on your skin before falling asleep herself, while listening to the soft sound of your breathing. 

She wished that this was forever. And she wished you wanted her the same way she wanted you. 

A soft rustling sound reached Wanda’s ears, like the delicate whisper of fabric against fabric. Fluttering her eyes open slowly, Wanda could feel the subtle shift of the mattress, the gentle weight redistribution that accompanied your movement. Through half-closed eyes, Wanda's gaze settled upon your silhouette as you leaned down to pick your clothes up. You were in nothing but your underwear and you sat there for a second to look down at your phone, the glow of the screen casting gently upon your face. 

“Hey,” Wanda whispered softly, propping herself up on one of her elbows, eyes still struggling to keep open.

You looked up in surprise, turning to see her rubbing her eyes as she looked at you, “Hey…”

“What’re you…” Wanda yawned and ran a hand through her hair. “What’re you doing? Are you leaving?”

There was a slight pout on her lips that you didn’t fail to notice. You watched her eyes lazily dart to the digital clock on her nightstand, furrowing her eyebrows slightly before turning her drowsy gaze away to look at you again.

“It’s six in the morning… on a Saturday,” she said as if it was obvious. 

“I know,” you nodded and looked down at your phone, the screen completely filled with texts and missed calls from that boyfriend of yours. “I just… I think I should really get going, Wanda.”

There was a moment of silence. 

“Oh.”

Wanda sighed and sat up properly, grabbing her shirt from the floor to put on. A very big part of her wanted to ask you to stay, over and over again, so that she could wrap her arms around you, underneath the covers, have you lay your head on her chest, and sleep peacefully with you for as long as she could. 

But there was a slim chance you’d take that offer.

“I’ll drive you.”

“It’s fine,” you said, fixing your dress as you stood up from her bed. “I really don’t live that far.”

Truthfully, you did live quite a few ways away, but you wanted to sort out everything that was running through your head, and the time it would take to walk to your apartment might just let you do that. 

Wanda bit her lip, wondering if she had done something wrong. She thought that maybe you were regretting the night before, thinking that one of the best nights she’s ever lived through was possibly a mistake in your eyes. 

She hoped you didn’t think that. 

“Are you sure?” Wanda grabbed her keys from her desk, just in case you change your mind. “I’m not tired.”

“I’m positive, Wanda,” you smiled lightly, knowing very well she wanted to back to sleep. “It’s okay.”

As you gathered your belongings, your movements deliberate yet tinged with a touch of haste, Wanda's gaze lingered upon you, committing every detail to memory. The way your fingers deftly secured a strand of hair behind your ear, the determined set of your jaw as you walked towards the door, the fleeting glances you stole in Wanda's direction—each moment etched itself in Wanda’s mind. 

Time seemed to stretch as Wanda observed your preparations, each passing second amplifying the ache within her. She longed to reach out, to intertwine her fingers with yours and convince you to stay for a little while longer. 

But the choice, ultimately, rested with you, and Wanda knew that she had to honor that.

“Wait,” she called out suddenly, her tone infused with a soft concern that you couldn't ignore, just as you had placed a hand on the doorknob. “One second.”

You watched her step away, rushing over to her closet near the corner of her room, then pulling out some brown jacket. With a tender smile, Wanda approached you, her hands enveloped in the folds of her own jacket.

"Here," Wanda murmured, her voice barely above a whisper as she offered the jacket to you. "It's probably cold out there." 

There was a vulnerability in her eyes, a hidden message that spoke of the lengths she would go to protect and care for you, even in the smallest ways. Your eyes widened slightly, surprised yet touched by Wanda's gesture. A myriad of emotions flickered across your face—gratitude, a touch of longing, and a hint of reluctance. You hesitated for a moment, torn between accepting Wanda's offering and the weight of your own conflicted feelings.

“If you’re not going to let me drive you… at least take this,” Wanda said, sensing your inner struggle. “You can return it whenever. Or don’t. Whichever is fine.”

Your hand trembled ever so slightly as you reached out and accepted the jacket. The fabric felt warm and comforting against your skin, as though it held a piece of Wanda's essence within its fibers.

“Thank you,” you whispered, your voice filled with a mix of gratitude and unspoken emotions. 

Wanda watched as you slipped into her jacket carefully, letting it fall gracefully upon your shoulders. It was a tad bit loose on you, and Wanda only found it adorable, nonetheless. It was her first time seeing you in one of her clothes and she had to bite back that smile that was threatening to show on her face. With a gentle touch, Wanda adjusted the collar of the jacket, ensuring it provided the utmost comfort and warmth for you. 

You left soon after, leaving Wanda alone in the silence of her room. 

The crisp air brushed against your cheeks, its touch a gentle reminder of the outside world. After walking out of the neighborhood, the city streets unfolded before you as you ventured forth, enveloped in Wanda's jacket. It was warm, you thought, like her. Wanda was warm. You felt her warmth the night before as she held you delicately like she was afraid of breaking you. 

The weight of your actions pressed upon you, the guilt of infidelity intertwining with the intoxicating sensations that Wanda had awakened within you. Thoughts of your boyfriend, once a source of comfort and affection, mingled with memories of last night.

As you walked, the city whispered its secrets. The laughter of strangers, the busy morning road full of people heading into work in the early morning, the flickering lights of cafes and bars, and the intertwining streets became a chorus of reflections, mirroring the complexity of your emotions. 

You wondered what your boyfriend was up to now, probably sleeping, and if he even thought of the possibility of you cheating on him. Would he even care at this point? You had always been a loyal girlfriend before your relationship had started crumbling, always being there for him as much as you could, trying to make him happy, just as he did for you. But, now, everything seemed to be thrown away, and it was like you didn’t even know him anymore. 

Instead, you let your thoughts shift to Wanda—sweet and gentle Wanda. You couldn’t help but compare your boyfriend to her. In the course of a single night, Wanda had unraveled layers within you that had remained untouched for so long.

As you finally reached your apartment, you stood before the threshold, your heart heavy with the weight of your choices. With a deep breath, you stepped inside, the door closing behind you. The echoes of the city receded, leaving you alone with your thoughts and the echoes of conflicting emotions. You can’t help but think of the night before when Wanda showered you with that love and affection you’ve been craving. It was all you could think about. 

And in this moment, you felt that you missed Wanda more than you did your boyfriend. 

The entire month came around quickly, and the world around you sprang back to life, bustling with the rhythms of college life. The campus hummed with the energy of students making their way to their classes. As you made your way to the art building, you found yourself clutching a bouquet of vibrant flowers, another peace offering from your boyfriend, a gesture meant to make amends for doing something that hurt your feelings. Again. It was typical.

Yet, you didn’t feel anything as you looked at the flowers. The colors of the flowers seemed muted, the petals lacking the vibrancy that you craved. You couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment, a sense of disconnection that overshadowed any gratitude you should have felt. You couldn't shake the nagging sensation that something essential was missing.

And Wanda felt the same thing, if not, more. God, she missed you the moment you slipped out of her arms that morning. Just the thought of you in her bed, moaning her name just like you did that night sent her into orbit. She wanted you all over again. She needed you. And she just couldn’t help herself. Not when she got the taste of what it would be like to have you in that way. You were addicting. She wanted more. So much more. 

So, then, it happened again. And again. And again.

For the past month, you’ve betrayed your boyfriend, seeking solace and love in the arms of Wanda. Every stolen moment, every secret rendezvous, ignited a passionate flame within you that you had never experienced before. She made love to you every week that passed. You’ve been having frequent late nights in Wanda's room, hidden within the walls of the sorority house. She made love to you every week that passed, stole you away from your classes to make out with you in secret, wanting to have her hands all over you as much as she could. A lot of the time, it would happen on nights when your boyfriend would drag you to another party and he was too caught up to notice that you’d disappear, stolen away by Wanda so that she could keep you all to herself. 

On one hand, you felt guilty. But on the other hand, your heart yearned for Wanda and her touches, her gentle words, and the way she looked at you. With Wanda, you felt seen, heard, and cherished in a way you had never experienced before.

As your mind wandered through the labyrinth of your thoughts, everything around you seemed to fade into a blur of colors and shapes. But just as you were lost in the depths of your reverie, a soft but distinct knock echoed through your ears, jolting your senses.

“What are you painting?”

You snapped out of your trance and took in your surroundings. Unbeknownst to you, your art class, your final class of the day, had ended, and the studio was empty. Startled, your gaze shifted abruptly towards the door frame behind you, where a familiar figure stood, their presence bringing an instant surge of warmth to your heart. It was Wanda, the one who had occupied your thoughts so incessantly. She was leaning against the doorframe with her arms folded. 

“What are you doing here?” You stood quickly, eyes flickering with a sense of surprise and worry.

“I missed you.”

You rushed out of your seat, quickly making your way over to where she stood. Wanda shifted under your gaze the moment you reached behind her to close the studio door before grabbing her arm and pulling her further into the room in case anyone saw her. Caught off guard by the sudden pull, Wanda stumbled slightly, her attention instantly captured by the sight of you.

You stood before her, clad in an artist's apron, tiny smudges of paint adorning your cheeks and hands. Your shirt, with its sleeves carefully folded, revealed glimpses of the same colors that lived on your canvas. And Wanda couldn’t help but smile at you.

“What are you smiling about?” You rolled your eyes, shyly tucking your hair behind your ear as you turned around to avoid her stare.

Wanda shook her head but kept the smile on her face, following closely behind you as you sat back down on the stool in front of your easel, “Nothing.”

“Seriously,” you say, rolling your eyes before picking the paintbrush up from your table. “What are you doing here?”

“Um,” Wanda struggled to find an excuse, “I was walking by and thought I’d come see you… just to see what you were up to.”

It wasn’t a total lie. But she missed you so much that she practically ran across the whole campus just to get to this building. And to be honest, she couldn't stop missing you if she tried. A month has passed since you left her bedroom that night, and the following weeks spent sneaking around with you almost felt both unsettling and heavenly to her—she had you, but at the same time, she didn’t. And, she hated it. 

In truth, Wanda's last class was located on the other side of the campus, far from the art studio. But the distance mattered little to her. She had to see you, and now that she did, fighting the urge to touch you was practically unbearable.

“I’m working on my final piece,” you told her, staring down at the palette box on the wooden table, using a palette knife to mix your oils. “It’s just some finishing touches. It won’t dry soon enough if I do a thicker layer… even though I should, but it has to be done by next Wednesday…”

You went on rambling quietly about what else you needed to do as if you were not only talking to her but also reminding yourself, which was cute, Wanda thought. She listened intently, slowly making her way closer behind you, peeking over your shoulder with a curious smile as her hand slowly rested against your hip. 

“What’s on Wednesday?” She asked, her front now pressed against your back as you continued to paint. 

Your breath hitched at the contact, but you made no move to back away. She was warm—and you learned that you loved that about her. You could feel her face next to yours, closely observing each stroke of your brush, watching how your fingers danced over the canvas.

“Well, it’s due Wednesday and there’s, uh,” you cleared your throat, suddenly feeling nervous and fuzzy in your chest knowing she was so close to you. “An exhibit. It’s on Friday, actually, but they need to finish preparing for it by Thursday. The art professors are choosing some students to showcase their portfolios at the museum down the road. It’s funded by the university.”

Wanda’s eyebrows raised in surprise, “And you got chosen as one of the artists? Out the whole art department?”

You laughed and shook your head, “Don’t make it a big deal—“

“But it is a big deal!” Wanda turned her head to look at you, her eyes watching your features closely. “It’s amazing. Really.”

Your heart skipped a beat and your breath hitched in your throat as you turned to face Wanda, the tips of your noses brushing against each other, causing you to pull your head back slightly. Your eyes widened, taking in the breathtaking proximity of your faces, your breaths mingling in the shared space in between. And you began to notice things you’ve never really taken the time to admire.

Wanda's bright green eyes, like emerald gems, sparkled with a mixture of affection and curiosity. The strands of her tousled red hair tumbled slightly, probably from wind from outside, framing her features with an effortless charm. You drank in the sight of Wanda, committing every line and curve to your memory.

“I think you’re amazing,” Wanda whispered, her eyes darting from your eyes down to your lips.

You watched her eyes as she did so, your cheeks flushing slightly—usually because of the fact that she always wanted to kiss you. 

Your voice trembled with a mix of uncertainty and longing as she began, “Wanda, wait… I don’t think we should—“

But before you could complete your sentence, Wanda tilted her head and closed the gap, her lips meeting yours in a gentle, yet fervent, kiss. Your initial protest was lost in the softness of Wanda's lips against your own as your eyes fluttered closed. Wanda's lips, warm and tender, spoke volumes of the love and adoration she held for you, and you couldn’t help but kiss her back. 

The kiss deepened, Wanda running her tongue along your bottom lip, wrapping her arms, and running her hands around your waist from behind you as you welcomed her into your mouth with a soft moan. She had been wanting to kiss you again since the last time she saw you, and now that it was finally here, it felt like a dream come true. 

You made out with Wanda until you felt like you were about to faint. You pulled away to catch your breath, keeping Wanda still by holding her shoulders in place as she continued to chase for your lips.

“Wanda,” you breathed, your mind filling itself with conflicting thoughts. 

“No one’s going to see,” she tried to reassure you, her lips brushing against yours.

“T-That’s not what I’m worried about,” A sigh falls from your mouth, turning your head away from her before she could lean back in.

Wanda's eyes tried to search yours, filled with a mixture of determination and longing, wanting nothing more than to press her lips against your mouth over and over again. Her voice trembled with a blend of frustration and vulnerability as she asked, “Then, what are you worried about?”

“I-I’ve been wanting to talk to you. This whole month with you… It’s been amazing. You’ve been perfect. Truly. But, I… I don’t know if this is a good idea… anymore… and I’m still with Tyler,” you finally let out, struggling to find the right words to say.

She paused, suddenly feeling tense after listening to you. 

“Then, break up with him,” she said softly, eyes gazing into yours, concentrating on what you had to say. 

“Wanda…”

“You said it’s been amazing. I don’t…” She shook her head, furrowing her eyebrows for a split second. “I don’t understand why this isn’t a good idea anymore. I don’t understand why you won’t break up with him. Do you even still like him? Do you not like me?”

You stood from your seat and walked a couple of paces away from her. “Of course, I like you.”

Wanda clenched her jaw, watching you carefully as you ran your hand through your hair, “You know what I mean.”

And for a moment, you don’t answer. It wasn’t because you weren’t sure of what the answer was, it was because of how sure you were. Wanda had given you so much love in one month and within this hour than Tyler could’ve given you in the past year. You couldn’t love Wanda even if you were tired. 

You closed your eyes, and sighed, “I do, Wanda.”

“Then, why are you still with him?”

“I don’t—I don’t know…” You stammered, frustration washing over your entire face. “I-I’ve been with him for so long and I’ve seen all of the good and the bad and I just can’t stop thinking about things like… what if he changes? I want to believe that he can, and lying to him constantly is starting to take a toll on me.”

“How long are you going to hold on to that ‘what if’? Hm? It’s been a month and he still hasn’t done anything to make you happy! He’s not just going to change overnight and besides, you’ve been constantly trying to talk to him about what’s wrong or what’s bothering but he doesn’t even seem to care!” She yelled, shaking her head slightly, “And what if he never changes? What if he keeps treating you like this? What then?”

Your eyes glistened with unshed tears as you listened to Wanda’s voice, tinged with a mixture of heartbreak and determination. Love, fear, loyalty, and doubt waged a fierce internal war within you. You knew deep down that Wanda was right, that your relationship with him was eroding your own happiness.

“Well, what are you asking me to do?” Wanda asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“I-I don’t know—“

“If you’re going to ask me to just be friends with you, I’m not doing it,” she said, shaking her head, the thought of it waking her heart. “I can’t… I can’t just be friends with you.”

Your eyes softened at her words, “Wanda…”

“And, I know it’s scary. I know… It’s not going to be easy. I know you really liked him at some point back then, and that it’s hurting you that he’s like this,” Wanda said with a heavy heart as she watched the first of your tears run down your face. It tore her apart to be the one to make you cry, but she knew that you needed to hear it. “But, I really like you, too. And, I want to do things right with you. I want to take you out on dates and share the things I have with you. I want to kiss you. So many times. I want to worship you. I want to give you all the things you deserve. But, I don’t want to do any of that while you’re suffocating yourself in this relationship... You’re not happy with him, (Y/n). Not like you are with me.”

Your gaze faltered, torn between the love you felt for Wanda and the lingering ties that bound you to a toxic relationship. Fear and uncertainty swirled within you, clouding your judgment and eclipsing the clarity of your own desires. 

Wanda furrowed her eyebrows again, her gaze landing on the flowers on the table, “Are these from him?”

The fact that you don’t say anything else answers Wanda’s question. She nodded, pain filling her chest as she stared at your back. Feeling like you ripped her heart right out of her, jealousy filled her veins and she grabbed her bag and made her way to the door. 

“He’s a dick, (Y/n),” she started, halting in her tracks before she could walk out. “Love isn’t about hiding behind a bouquet of flowers to avoid talking to you. It’s not about waiting to see if things get better when all he does is give you a five-dollar bouquet as his way to apologize. He should be on his knees begging for your forgiveness. Because, if I were him, I’d do everything and anything to make sure you’re happy. I hope you know that.”

Then, she left.

You don’t see her for the next several days, not after that argument. She doesn’t text or call you and she doesn’t visit the art building anymore. 

Days turned into nights, and you found yourself anxiously waiting for a message, a call, or any form of contact from Wanda. But the silence remained unbroken, leaving you to question the depth of the chasm that had grown between you. Your heart longed for Wanda's presence, for the sound of her voice, and the comfort of her embrace. 

You replayed the argument over and over in your mind, dissecting every word exchanged and every emotion unleashed. You understood Wanda's frustration, her desire to be together with you, free from the toxicity that clung to your current relationship. And yet, fear had clouded your judgment, chaining you to a life that no longer brought you happiness. 

The nights turned into weeks, and your heart grew heavier with each passing moment. You yearned for the sound of Wanda's laughter, the warmth of her smile, and the unwavering support she had always offered for you. The absence of her presence was a constant reminder of the choice you had made and the potential consequences of that choice. Two weeks had passed since the argument, and the silence that lingered between the two of you weighed heavily on your spirit.

And soon, Friday came: the night of the exhibit. A mixture of excitement and nervousness coursed through your veins. The gallery buzzed with activity, the air thick with the scent of anticipation. Your artwork adorned the walls along with several other students, each stroke of your brush conveying emotions you had kept hidden for so long.

As the guests began to trickle in, your eyes scanned the crowd, searching for a familiar face amidst the sea of strangers. Each passing moment filled you with a sense of anticipation. You wondered if Wanda would come, and if she remembered it. The murmurs and laughter of the attendees swirled around you, blending into an indistinct background noise.

As the minutes ticked away, each second seemed to stretch into eternity. Your heart raced, your palms clammy with nervous anticipation. And then, in the midst of your restless thoughts, about an hour into the exhibit, a figure appeared at the entrance of the gallery. Wanda's presence filled the room, her vibrant aura commanding attention.

You approached her, but you couldn't help but notice the subtle signs of conflict etched upon her face. Wanda's eyes, usually filled with a gentle glow, held a mixture of hope and trepidation. It was clear that she had taken a risk by attending the exhibit, despite the wounds of your recent disagreement.

The room seemed to quiet around the two of you as you inched your way closer, as if the universe recognized the significance of this moment. Your heart swelled with a mix of gratitude and remorse, realizing the depth of Wanda's love and her willingness to be there for you, even when it felt like she hadn’t spoken to you in ages. 

Wordlessly, you stood beside Wanda, your shoulders almost touching, as you both gazed at the art that surrounded them. As the colors of your artwork danced across the gallery walls, you allowed yourself to hope, to believe that perhaps forgiveness and second chances were possible. And standing beside her, Wanda silently promised to be there, ready to support and love you, no matter the outcome.

“You came,” you breathed out, once you were close enough for her to hear. “You… you didn’t have to.”

Wanda turned at the sound of your voice, taking a moment to admire the way you looked tonight. The sight of you only made her curse under her breath, questioning why you had to look so damn good all the time. 

“Of course, I came,” she said, subtle eyes skimming over the dress that wrapped around your curves. “I wouldn’t miss it. But, I am a little bit late… I didn’t know when it was starting.”

Your eyebrows twitched upwards as you listened to her words, pursing your lips as a way to hide the pain you were feeling in your chest, “No, it’s okay. I–I’m glad you’re here. I’m really happy you’re here.”

You hadn't expected Wanda to come, not after the fight and the painful silence that had ensued for the past two weeks. But she came anyway, to one of the most important nights you had been preparing for throughout the year and you were beyond grateful. You could kiss her right now. 

But the pain you felt in your chest mostly stemmed from the fact that seeing Wanda here tonight made you recall what had happened between you two in the art studio. For the whole week, you thought you wouldn’t see her again, and it hurt to think that when that was all you wanted. 

And not only that, but you were also disappointed in the fact that you couldn’t see Tyler anywhere. You wondered if he was going to come tonight, or if he even remembered. But, that doesn’t even matter to you anymore. It hurt, of course, but it was a typical feeling you grew tired of. She was right. And deep down, even though you chose to do the opposite of what she said, you knew she was, too. You felt guilty for hurting Wanda, and for trying to believe in your boyfriend when she had been telling you from the start that he wasn’t going to change. 

“Um,” you started, trying to find the words to say. “How do you like it so far? The exhibit? Did you get to walk around a bit?”

Wanda smiled lightly, noticing that this was your way to have a conversation with her, “Yeah, yeah, I did. It’s amazing. Everyone did a great job. You’re all really talented.”

“Thank you,” you cleared your throat, turning away to hide the blush on your cheeks. 

“Your paintings are breathtaking, (Y/n),” she said, her eyes tracing the strokes of your artwork with admiration. “Almost just as stunning as their maker.”

“Shut up,” you rolled your eyes playfully, nudging her shoulder a bit. You knew it was a way for her to lighten up the mood on a night that was so important to you. 

“I’m serious,” Wanda smiled gently. “You look beautiful. Really. That dress… You’re stunning.”

A blush tinted your cheeks as she glanced down at your attire, a mixture of gratitude and unease evident in your expression. "Thank you, Wanda."

You were grateful. You really were. Tears of appreciation welled up in your eyes, reflecting the flickering lights of the gallery, as you thought about Wanda. You felt as if you didn't deserve Wanda's unwavering support, but you also couldn't deny the overwhelming gratitude you felt.

While your eyes occasionally darted to your phone, a sense of resignation had settled within you. You had sent countless messages to your boyfriend, seeking his whereabouts and wondering about his presence, but with each unanswered text, the realization began to crystallize in your heart. He would never change for you. He would never prioritize your happiness or love you the way you deserved.

As your eyes swept over the crowd, you struggled to find your boyfriend anywhere. His absence spoke volumes, a stark reminder of the shortcomings of your relationship and the love that had dwindled over time. But, Wanda's presence radiated with unwavering support and affection, reminding you of the love she had found in the midst of chaos. 

“(Y/n)!” Another student called out for you. “Professor is looking for you. Some other teachers are asking about one of your paintings.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, I’ll be there in a sec,” you told her, biting your lip as you turned back around to face Wanda. “I… I have to go. But, if it’s okay, do you think you could… I’m allowed to leave in about thirty minutes—The students just need to be here for the opening since that’s when all of the critics and important art people and professors come in… And the gallery stays open for the rest of the night anyway, but after that, I’m free to go… So I was wondering if you could… I mean, if you even want to—”

“Yeah, I-I’ll wait for you,” she said with a smile, nodding her head eagerly without a second thought, interrupting your adorable ramble before you could even ask your question. 

You had to fight a smile that was slowly making its way onto your face, “Okay, I-I’ll find you.”

Reluctantly, you stepped away to find your professor, who gestured toward a group of important art figures gathered nearby. You made your way towards them, your mind divided between the conversation that awaited you and Wanda. With each stolen glance, you couldn't help but notice the softness in Wanda's features, the way her eyes shimmered with a mix of emotions that mirrored her own.

Engaging in polite conversation with the art professionals, your attention wavered, your thoughts constantly drifting back to Wanda. You wanted to go back to her. As you listened intently to the conversation before you, your eyes would inevitably wander back to Wanda, who moved quietly, her every gesture captivating and graceful as she looked around

Yet, you knew that this conversation with your professor held importance for your artistic future. So, you remained present, exchanging pleasantries and discussing your work, all the while feeling the pull of your emotions toward Wanda, who appeared lost in your own thoughts as she explored the gallery.

When the conversation drew to a close, your professor commended you on your talent and potential, expressing a desire to further support your artistic journey. Grateful for the recognition, you excused yourself, your steps immediately directing themselves toward Wanda, who stood near a captivating sculpture. Your heart quickened as you made your way through the bustling gallery, your mind consumed with conflicting emotions. 

But before you could reach her, your eyes caught the sight of a familiar man standing passed the glass doors of the gallery. He stood out by the entrance, a bouquet in his palm as he was about to step into the building. 

Without wasting another second, you rushed over to where he stood, to try and keep him out because you felt that he didn’t belong here anymore. 

“What are you doing here?” you said quietly, your voice tinged with a mix of exhaustion and frustration.

“(Y/n)! I’m so sorry for being late. I-I got caught up with work. You know how it is, and—and I couldn’t find the building and there was so much traffic when I was driving here,” Tyler said, muttering excuses after excuses. He held out the bouquet, his expression filled with contrived sincerity, “These are for you. I know how much you like them—”

“Tyler, I don’t want the flowers,” You shook your head, not even batting an eyelash at the way his arms dropped to the side after you said that sentence, gripping the plastic of the bouquet tightly in his hand. “I don’t want you here. I want you to leave.”

Confusion flickered across Tyler's face, quickly replaced by defensiveness. “What? I just fucking got here. I-I came to support you—”

“I am not going to do this with you again,” You rolled your eyes and glanced to the side, too furious to even look at him.

"Do what?"

“This, Tyler. I’m done. I’m done embarrassing myself. I’m tired you of treating me like shit. I can’t believe I spent so long trying to believe you’d change for me, but I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m done,” you said, swallowing the lump in your throat as tears welled up in your eyes.

Anger flashed across his face, his frustration bubbling to the surface. "What the fuck are you talking about? We've been together for years. We can work through this. It’s just a rough patch."

“No, Tyler. It isn’t. I’ve already tried talking to you about this! So many times! But you just ignore me, you don’t talk to me, you don’t pay any attention to me, you flirt with everyone else and all you do for me is buy me so many goddamn flowers like they mean something for you!”

“You’re fucking unbelievable,” he muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes as he turned to look away.

“I’m unbelievable? Are you kidding me?”

“Yes, you are! You’re always so fucking boring! Always sitting alone at parties, always wanting to leave early, and you never want to go out—“

“How is this my fault?” You cried out in frustration. “You… You don’t even love me anymore.”

“What, and you do?”

The argument spilled onto the streets, voices raised and emotions running high. Your heart ached as the realization hit you with crushing force—this was the end. The end of a relationship that had long been tainted by neglect, disrespect, and a lack of true connection.

“I’m not doing this again, Tyler. We’re done. You can go find some other girl to give those stupid flowers to. Because, it’s not going to be me.”

Without saying more, you stepped back into the gallery and rushed through the gallery, heading straight into the office room where you kept your things. You closed the door behind you, tears streaming down your face. You leaned against the table, your body trembling with both relief and sadness. The echoes of the breakup reverberated in your mind, reminding you of the pain you had endured and the weight that had been lifted from your shoulders.

As you allowed yourself to surrender to your emotions, you were unaware that Wanda had been watching when you ran into the room, seeing the tears that threatened to roll down your cheeks as you walked. But she waited. Wanda understood the need for you to process your feelings in private, respecting your space while patiently waiting for you. 

Minutes passed and you wiped away your tears, taking deep breaths to steady your trembling form. You decided that you felt like the building was suffocating you and that you needed to leave, but you remembered Wanda. With each passing moment, your heart began to steady and you slowly grabbed your things before heading out again. You knew that your decision to break away from Tyler was the right one, even if it meant venturing into unknown territory with Wanda. 

As you finally gathered the strength to leave the room, you slowly opened the door, your eyes adjusting to the dim lighting of the gallery once again. And there, standing just a few steps away, was Wanda. She gave you a small smile as you slowly made your way towards her. 

“Hey, is everything okay?” Wanda watched as you tried to avoid her eyes as a way to hide the fact that you were crying. But she saw right through you.

You finally spoke, your voice trembled slightly, "I, um, think I need to get out of here, away from all this... everything. I know I asked you to wait—."

“No, it’s okay,” Wanda nodded immediately, her expression filled with empathy. "I’ll drive you home."

And normally, you’d protest and say you can go alone instead, but Wanda made no room for you to argue when she already started making her way towards the doors. Your eyes flickered with gratitude as you leaned into Wanda's presence, following closely behind her. 

You stepped outside, the cool night air embracing the both of you as Wanda led you to her car. She opened the door for you, gesturing for you to slide into the passenger seat. You settled into the seat, glancing at Wanda as she made her way into her own, your eyes shimmering with vulnerability. Starting the engine, Wanda guided the car onto the open road of the city, leaving the gallery and its lingering shadows in the rearview mirror. The world outside the windows slowly became a blur of city lights and passing landscapes as time passed. 

The drive was quiet. The soft hum of the car engine filled the air as she drove you home in a comforting silence. You sat quietly in the passenger seat, your gaze fixed on the passing streetlights, getting lost in your own thoughts. But Wanda stole glances at you whenever she could, her eyes tracing the delicate curve of your profile, sitting so pretty in the passenger seat of her car. You wore a jacket over that gorgeous dress you wore, and every fiber of Wanda's being yearned to reach out, to hold your hand, or put hers over your thigh. 

But she restrained herself. 

The car eventually glided to a stop in front of your apartment, the engine purring into silence. Wanda turned off the ignition and her gaze lingered on you for a moment longer before she spoke softly. 

“We’re here,” she said, rubbing her hands against her jeans nervously. 

You pulled yourself out of your trance the moment her words reached your ears, glancing out the window for a moment before looking back at her. She was waiting. You met Wanda's gaze, a flicker of a smile gracing your lips. She was waiting. You nodded once again, but you didn’t move to get out or anything. 

Instead, you asked, “Do you want to come in?”

Wanda's eyes widened, eyebrows twitching in surprise, her initial shock giving way to a glimmer of hope that danced in the depths of her gaze. A gentle smile curved Wanda's lips, the subtlest of nods conveying her agreement, even fighting the urge to say ‘please.’

“Yeah.”

It was quiet when she entered your apartment, following behind in soft footsteps as you led her through your front door. She’s never really been inside before—all the secret nights you spent with her were in the comfort of her own room in the sorority house. She liked having you in her bed. Then again, she would love to be in yours, if you’d let her. 

The air felt heavy with unspoken words, tension lingering from the events that had unfolded at the gallery. She followed closely behind you, her footsteps light and cautious as you led her down the hall to your kitchen. The atmosphere in the apartment seemed hushed, almost as if it was holding its breath, mirroring the uncertainty that lingered in Wanda's mind. Her mind raced with thoughts of what she could say, how she could comfort you, or how to even begin talking to you. 

Leaning against the kitchen table, Wanda's gaze fixed upon your back, watching your every move as you prepared tea for her. Nervous anticipation coursed through her veins, a gentle thrum of excitement filling her chest as she stared at you. She found herself entranced by the sight of you before her. The dress hugged you in all of the right spots, every line and curve fitting you perfectly. And Wanda couldn't help but marvel at how effortlessly the fabric draped over your frame, molding itself to you, as if it had been designed with you in mind. Wanda didn’t know how long she was staring. Her eyes traced the gentle sway of your hips as you reached for a teacup, and she wanted nothing more than to pull you close to her.

“I broke up with him,” you blurted out suddenly. 

Lost in her admiration, Wanda's breath hitched ever so slightly at the sound of your voice, pulling her out of her trance. 

“I-I feel more relieved than sad actually… It’s like… I don’t know,” you sighed. “Should I be feeling guilty for being happy that we broke up? I feel like should be crying right now, but I feel… thankful.”

Wanda watched as you continued to make two cups of tea, your back turned to her, listening to your words carefully. 

“I just don’t know if it’s okay for me to…”

You sighed again, and even if you didn’t finish your sentence, Wanda had a feeling she knew what you were going to say. She could sense the guilt and uncertainty that weighed heavily on your mind, knowing all too well the thoughts that plagued her.

Just as you were about to voice out the rest of your thoughts, you felt a pair of arms wrap around your waist, holding you softly as her front pressed against your back, “Is this okay?”

For a moment, you don’t say anything, and Wanda wonders if she should pull away and keep her distance until you decide what you feel is right or wrong. But her thoughts dissipated when she felt you nod. She sighed in relief, letting her eyes flutter closed as she brought her head down to your shoulder, kissing your skin there. 

“I heard,” she started, mumbling into your shoulder so quietly that you almost didn’t hear. “When Tyler came. I just… I wanted to make sure he wouldn’t do anything.”

You stayed quiet as she spoke, slowly stirring the tea in the mug in front of you. Gently, she slipped her hand into yours, intertwining her fingers softly with yours before bringing it up to her face to kiss the back of your hand.

“I’m proud of you. Really. I am,” she said, rubbing the pad of her thumb along your skin.

“You were right,” You sighed and smiled gently, using your hands to run them over hers, the ones that rested against your stomach, holding you close against her, “I knew you were right. But, I should’ve listened to you sooner… I’m sorry.”

“No, no, you don’t have to apologize,” she said, shaking her head against your back. “I knew you were nervous about it. And that you were scared… I knew. But I pressured you about it anyway, even though I knew you weren’t ready yet.”

You turned around to look at her, your hands landing on her shoulders, “Wanda—“

“I would have waited either way. I already have been. I would still wait for you if you need me too,” she said, more sincerely than you’d ever heard anyone say anything before. “I would do anything.”

You stood there, your heart momentarily caught off guard by the surge of emotions that flooded your being. Wanda's words lingered in your mind, filled with a depth of sincerity that you had never experienced before. The toxic grip that your ex-boyfriend had held on your heart suddenly seemed insignificant, overshadowed by the overwhelming love you felt from just looking into Wanda’s eyes alone. You smiled sadly, slightly mad at yourself for not dropping everything to be with her sooner. 

Bringing your hand up to her face, you smoothed your thumb over her cheek as a way to calm her down, “You don’t have to wait anymore, Wanda.”

Wanda's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in surprise and hope. She searched your gaze, her heart pounding with anticipation, trying to find any signs of regret or disapproval. 

“Please tell me you’re saying what I think you’re saying,” she breathed, waiting for the response that would shape the path ahead. But as she looked into your eyes, she saw something that sparked joy within her.

You brought a second hand up to cup her face and leaned in to press your lips against her cheek. She closed her eyes at the contact, the soft kiss did well to erupt butterflies in her stomach. Wanda sighed and dropped her head to hide her face against your neck after you kissed her, her breath tickling your skin slightly as her grip around your waist grew tighter. The corners of her own lips curved up into a smile that she 

couldn’t fight, a soft chuckle bubbling in her throat as she breathed you in.

“Do you really want this with me?”

“I love you,” you said, more certain than ever, watching as Wanda’s breath hitched at the sounds of your words. You smiled needily, entirely in love and filled with so many emotions you couldn’t contain them all at once. “I want everything with you.”

It was finally here—the moment when she could finally call you hers. Heart pounding, she reached her arms around you again keeping herself in your embrace and wanting to be as close as possible to you.

She hid her face again by tucking it into the side of your neck, nuzzling as close as she could, “I can’t stop smiling.”

Gently scratching the nape of Wanda’s neck to grab her attention, you urged her to bring her head back up. But the moment she did, you felt her lips press against yours. Her patience had worn thin, wanting to taste you after what felt like forever of not being close to you, not being able to touch you, hold you, or kiss you. Wanda sighed into the kiss, her hands sliding to the small of your back to pull you impossibly close to her while you let yours run through her hair. She moaned into your mouth when you tugged on it slightly.

Wanda smiled against your lips, thinking about all the ways she would love you, treasure you, unlike him. Her mind wandered in between the time she kissed you, the addicting taste of you on her tongue was making her feel weak in her knees. She found her hands slowly traveling down to your hips, then lower and lower, up until they rested on the lowest part of your back, her fingers bunching up the fabric of your dress. 

“What are you doing?” You pulled back with a giggle, looking at her, acting innocently curious.

“Kissing you,” she said, dragging her lips along the skin under your jaw, kissing you softly there as you tilted your head to the side to give her more space. “Can I help you out of this dress? Please?”

You shuddered at the sound of her low voice, your hands gripping her shoulders like your life depended on it. You nodded, about to say yes, but Wanda was quick to put her mouth on yours the second you opened it, slipping her tongue past your lips. 

The entire night she had to see your figure so beautifully displayed in this little black dress and ignore it. But it was damn near impossible now with you so close and moaning into her mouth. Wanda was at a loss for words. She just didn’t know how to say it. Everything was perfect now. You were perfect. The way the straps of your dress fell off your shoulders was perfect. The way you smelled and tasted. The way that Wanda could call you hers now, keep you all to herself.

And finally, her chest heaved only for a moment before she chose what to do and you closed your eyes and welcomed something you had long dreamed of. 

— navigation!

#bellaveux writes! #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda x reader #avengers x reader #elizabeth olsen #marvel x reader #marvel #elizabeth olsen x reader

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for getting jealous of a dog?

Apologies if this is hard to follow. My boyfriend and I have been dating for about a year. He’s very sweet and I love him a lot, though he’s occasionally a little forgetful/inattentive due to his ADHD (which I also have). We’re poly and I have a nesting partner that I live with, and I generally go to my boyfriends house rather than him coming to mine (my nesting partner has higher sensory needs so I try to leave the space available for her to have more quiet time).

A few months back, he started working with a new coworker, a girl, who he got along with very well. I was glad he was making a friend, and even asked him a few times if he was interested in dating her as well, to which he said he wasn’t for several reasons, the most central of which being that she was, at the time, living with an abusive ex and generally dealing with a lot. I said okay, to let me know if that changed (as far as I know it has not and that’s not where this is going). He mentioned at one point that she might have a crush on him but that he wasn’t concerned about it, so I wasn’t either.

As I mentioned she was living with an abuser, and one day my bf told me that he had invited her to come stay with him so she could get out. He had seen his father abuse his mother as a kid and it triggered him a lot to see someone else going through that, so he offered it kind of abruptly. I was overall in support of this of course, but I was still upset for a few reasons, such as that he’d said she was interested in him (he told me he realized he’d probably misread it) and his apartment is not that big, meaning she’s not only there but usually in very close proximity, as there’s not a ton of space to sit and they’re both tall. She also does have family and other friends in the area, so he’s not the only option by a longshot, but he lives closest to where they work. He noted my concerns and apologized for the abruptness, and promised to do his best to make sure I didn’t feel sidelined by her being there, which he has done.

Now, due to both her suddenly living with my boyfriend and just general personality things, I don’t really care for her. She’s a little abrasive and sometimes insulting, not to me but about ppl in general, she plays TikToks out loud at full volume when we’re watching tv (previously my bf had banned TikTok from his house entirely but I think he didn’t want to impose harsh rules on her at that point), and is sometimes overly familiar with me and I think with him (she sometimes addresses him with an “ie” at the end of his name and addressed me as “beautiful” like the second time I met her). Obviously I recognize that her personality is affected by her circumstances; the year after I left my abuser I was a lot bitchier, so I haven’t said anything to her or him. But bc of these differences, I’ve not made a strong effort to be her Friend. I’ve been…I’d say nice but I often get read as meaner than I mean to so let’s say civil, for example if I make food for the house I always make enough for her even though she often chooses not to eat with us. But I don’t like, go out of my way to converse or give her any encouraging response when she shows me videos I don’t care about.

Recently, she has started bringing her dog over to the house. The dog had previously been staying with her mother, who has a large piece of land on the water about 40 minutes out from the city (again my bf has a two bedroom apartment with a roommate and no green spaces, although there are parks nearby). I generally like dogs, though I wouldn’t say I’m a Dog Person, but I think they’re sweet overall. The only place I have an issue is with large dogs, bc I’m a very small person (im almost 30 and I’ve never broken 100lbs despite trying for years to gain weight) and if a large dog wants to jump on me to say hello I Will fall over, and if they push me or corner me I don’t have a lot of ability to push back. This dog, I’m not sure about breeds per se but I’m 90% sure she’s part lab, part pitbull, not huge but a solid dog around my size, and thus not the type I usually try to befriend, though I’ll give her a head pat if she requests one. This means we’re up to five people and one person sized dog (he had another friend lose a job and have to move abruptly so he’s also staying there) in a two bedroom apartment. I, as well as his roommate, think this is too much, and prefer when the dog is not there. But she misses her dog and my boyfriend is a full blown Dog Person, so he loooves when the dog is around, and will spent hours playing with her if she’s over. I’m not a fan of this for both the obvious reasons and bc she often knocks into things while playing and it makes me very nervous; there’s a lot of glass in his apartment and some of it is mine.

So okay the girl’s there and I don’t like her much, and sometimes the dog is there and i don’t love that either, but I’ve never said anything and done my best to control my feelings and reactions to not show annoyance (my guess is that I have about a 35% success rate at this as again, I’m often read as more hostile than I intend to come off). Id say there’s a solid chance that this girl can tell I don’t like her being there, but I’ve never intentionally made the space hostile.

Recently, she’s started this joke of referring to my boyfriend as…her dogs boyfriend? She calls him her “mans” whenever he’s playing with her and has trained her to know who she’s talking about when she refers to “her mans”. She even recently referred to her as his “main gf” which he quickly shut down, but other variations of the joke continue to come up. I do not like this joke, bc I think the girl knows I don’t like her and is trying to make me uncomfortable, but of course that sounds very paranoid. I’m trying very hard not to say anything bc like, obviously my bf isn’t cheating on me with a dog, but like, it still makes me mad that this girl who is so ingrained in his life right now is talking about her dog as if she’s his main interest.

So like, based on all the info here, WIBTA if I asked her to stop making that joke or expressed discomfort at her behavior? I know this maybe seems like an obvious one but again I’ve probably been more outward about my dislike of her than I think and I don’t want to make it seem like I don’t trust my boyfriend, bc I do, so maybe I wouldn’t be an “asshole” but I’d still be in the wrong? Idk what do yall think

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[bbygirl-aemond]

You may already be aware, but I actually found ppl going back and forth on Reddit about a post you'd made on here (re Viserys being a shite parent). It's under r/HouseOfTheDragon in case you ever wanted to check it out. I just recognized your name, as I follow you and it was shared as a screenshot from here.

lmao i will never get over how wild reposting on the internet actually is. that fucker has over a thousand comments and i had no idea until you told me just now! literally made a reddit account to try to add my voice to the din just to encourage people to discuss on the original platform so i can see but tbh people on reddit are a lot meaner than tumblr so i won't be mad if it doesn't get too many upvotes.

reddit's responses to this post is such an interesting case study in the polarization that's happening everywhere online. i get SO MANY accusations of being wildly biased from supporters of both "teams" all the time and it's funny because like am i too team green or too team black bc i can't be both right? mostly i think it's because people get really defensive when you criticize a character and assume it means you hate them. like bruh we are adults with big girl emotions can't it be a little more complex than that?

when i say i think viserys is a bad parent, i'm not saying it as team green propaganda. i've said before that rhaenyra is the rightful ruler and that i absolutely adore her as a character (let's just say aemond isn't my only babygirl). there's a reason i've written 100k+ words of fanfic designing a political scenario where she'll be able to happily rule without any of her children dying. spoiler alert: it's not because i hate her and think she's a bad ruler. and she's far from the only character on team black i love: daemon, jacaerys, lucerys, and baela all come to mind.

it's also really interesting to me that people see my opinion about viserys and, even though i literally did not mention rhaenyra, assume that i'm somehow shitting on her. it just goes to show how much they stand blindly by one team or another. that to criticize one member of their "team" feels to them like you're criticizing every member. like baby, i'm not the one making it about teams: you are! honestly, i understand why the team mentality was a good marketing move, but it really has been the death of critical thinking in this fandom. there are aspects of both that we're meant to root for, just as there are aspects of both we're meant to hate. none of these people are objectively morally good, and that's what makes it interesting, so why are we trying to pretend otherwise?

so while yes, i don't like viserys, why would i extend that dislike to rhaenyra? it's not like she forced him at gunpoint to do the things i'm criticizing him for lol. in fact, i think viserys did her just as dirty most of the time. i have another post in the works about this, but he neglected her for her entire childhood, groomed her best friend and dealt with telling her in the worst possible way, and made her heir in a bid for her affection yet did none of the actual work to honor her as a ruler. he could have made her his hand but instead he made her pour his wine?

now, again, just because we dislike part of something does not mean it's all bad. do i think viserys is generally quite a bad parent and person? absolutely. did i also cry ugly tears in the scene where he forces himself up from his literal deathbed to defend his daughter? yes. these two things can coexist.

also, because reddit is reddit, there are a bunch of comments that just miss my point about alicent and aemma entirely. i've already responded to those in a post here so i won't beat a dead horse too much. but to paraphrase: viserys married alicent because he liked her specifically not for duty or he would've married someone who wouldn't horrify the entire small council; and aemma didn't need to be alive and conscious for the pain she was put through at the end of her life. the things he did to his wives weren't necessary and i don't think we should be pretending they were.

lastly, it's really funny to me how many people incorrectly assumed i was a man in the comments. i'm genuinely the girliest girl to ever girl in real life (makeup jewelry and tits to the gods, sorority girly, the whole nine yards, i love it) and it gave me such whiplash. there's a joke to be made here about trying to weaponize male privilege somewhere.

#hotd #house of the dragon #viserys targaryen #viserys i targaryen #viserys #viserys i #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenyra #alicent hightower #alicent #aemma arryn #aemma #show #books #team green #team black #hotd meta #meta

[sifanjewel]

Highlights From My Great Con-junction Experience

Receiving autographs and having conversations with Lisa Maxwell, Stephen Garlick, Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Helena Smee, Louise Gold, and Victor Yerrid

Getting a picture taken with Louise Gold and a professional one with Lisa Maxwell. Both women were extremely lovely but Lisa was especially wonderful to interact with! She treated me like her best friend and was super super sweet 🥹 (pics with both are on my instagram @loyal.maudra)

Meeting Louise was amazing because she was part of the OG Muppet Show crew back in the 70s/80s before she worked on Dark Crystal, specifically as Annie Sue Pig (and I’m sure many more). It was sort of a dream come true as a lifelong Muppet/Jim Henson fan to receive an autograph and have a pic taken with someone from the original show!

Cory Godbey and James from @the_darkcrystalproject recognized me from insta 😊 (they both follow me and I and very honored)

Attending Cory Godbey’s Illustration Workshop where we learned how to draw a Mystic

Meeting @thanatasia (who I consider a dear friend) in person! We attended many of the panels together as well as the illustration workshop. She is the sweetest! 💕

Though I didn’t get anything signed or a pic, I had a quick convo with J.M. Lee about the books, he was very nice!

I did have more than one convo with Cory and Helena respectively, they were both so kind ❤️ Honestly talking to Cory was like talking to a friend, we even hugged before I left 😊

Warrick told me that Freckles does have an actual name!! He just forgets what it was 🙃

The cosplay competitions were amazing!! Seriously so much fun to watch! I will be posting clips on insta and my TikTok simply.cozz soon!

On the second day while I was up in the museum, LISA HENSON HERSELF WALKED IN!!! I didn’t talk to her bc I didn’t want to bother her while she was looking around (I could have gone to the Group Signing and spoken with her but I missed that 🤦🏻‍♀️) but to see her in person and be so close was absolutely surreal!!

FUN FACT: Before Sigourney Weaver, Lisa Maxwell was supposed to narrate the intro to ep. 1 of AoR as Kira, which she did record before they chose Weaver; this recording was sold at Lisa’s booth but I received one FOR FREE from her assistant because I guess I was special for some reason??? I haven’t listened to it yet bc it’s on a USB-type chip that goes into a computer but I can’t wait to hear KIRA’S VOICE as the Storyteller!! There were only like 50 of these chips in existence so yeah, I don’t know what I did to deserve one but 🫠🫠

At the closing ceremony we got to chant the Prophecy from the movie (when single shines the triple sun ect), it was honestly kind of emotional to see all these Dark Crystal fans and creators come together like that at this event 😭

And those are some highlights from my time at The Great Con-junction! If anyone has questions feel free to ask!

#dark crystal #dark crystal age of resistance #age of resistance #the dark crystal #the great conjunction #thamescon

[centralkvetchmonolith]

Further updates on today's occurrences:

I did NOT get my knives sharpened because* I'm a lazy dipshit who can't remember what times of day people function at, yippee!**

*I don't actually feel the following about myself; I'm just venting for funsies

**I'm cool I just have at least one sleep disorder and misremembered "1pm close" as "4pm close" for some reason, which is a normal mistake to make if you're unfamiliar with farmer's markets

Oh well! There is always next week. I DID go to the Jewish event, with @creatureaccess bc I haven't gotten to do much Jewy socializing with them, and we hung out with my friend Khesed and got some nice prints and earrings!!!

In addition to the planned socialization, I ran into 4 sets of people I wasn't expecting:

Kendrick and their roommate Dawn — they Recognized Me from services a couple years ago, but we didn't quite remember each other. I mention these folks mostly so that I remember their names, as I will probably see them in the future and it takes me several meetings to remember faces and names together w/o hints.

MJ! The (lay) cantor who is considering Hebrew College! She was like "oh jeez people keep saying that and I feel like everyone will be so disappointed if I decide not to go" which! oh no! I only mentioned it bc I just broke up w a Hebrew College student who mentioned seeing her at prospy week (which is not what they call it)! I think she feels bad about being put on a pedestal, bc she also remarked that introducing her to Mercury as "the most familiar voice at Shir Tikvah" was nice bc I wasn't doing the usual thing (of intentionally or unintentionally overpraising her, which I'm sure feels like "you're so BRAVE for Singing While Trans" in addition to the regular ol' anxiogenesis of high expectations & benevolent otherization). Anyway she was happy to see me again even though she almost certainly couldn't remember my name, and I was happy to see her cuz she wasn't at the one kabbalat shabbat I've gone to so far and that was one of the several reasons I didn't quite feel Home yet at Shir Tikvah.

Quotes-and-flowers prints lady, Della, complimented me on my constellation umbrella and we commiserated about Hebrew cursive being cool but not a thing people in our circles (myself included) can read. THEN HER MOM POPPED UP, AND IS ONE OF MY TORAH CANTILLATION CLASSMATES??!?!? So Moon is the first person from the 2024 adult b'mitzvah cohort that I got the pleasure of meeting in person :^>. She's a lesbian who bonded w other lesbian parents in 1995 — I asked her if she knew [Jaz's parents], and she didn't which idk is actually cooler cuz that means there were enough partnered lesbians making children in the mid-90s that they DIDN'T all know each other!?! Anyway, Moon is cool, and I'm glad I am soooo so brave to Talk While Trans have a distinctive voice so that she recognized me ^_^.

While talking to Candida, the vendor with the super cool lemon earrings that I got Mercury for their birthday, I DID make direct eye contact with a person who used to call me their wife ("Ohhhhh and I just saw my ex" "Haha isn't that just the experience at queer markets like this"). Mercury and I sidled over, talking abt their mom while waiting for an opening where I could talk to Tova (they are very popular, even as queer Jewish non-profit workers go), and Mercury squeezed my hand and made clear through, like, bestie telekinesis and a couple words that they were there for me. I was a bit awkward on the intro bc I broke up w Tova pretty suddenly in uhhhhh I wanna say Nov 2020? and they ghosted last time I tried to catch up in early 2022, so I was like "hi!!(?) are we on the sort of terms where it's okay if I talk to you?" and they were very like "(why wouldn't it be????) Yeah!! Hello!!" and we chatted for a bit and I DID ask if they had moved which they HAVEN'T so I can STOP forlornly looking at their living room window every time I go grocery shopping and just be chill neighbors who used to try to build a life together. Their Nana said "She's special to you. Hold on to her, even though you're not together anymore." I was there when their sister got married. Their brother-in-law painted me in fake blood while he was shirtless. Their parents welcomed me into the family. I spooned with them under the big flaming tree of their family's cult. We played tabletop roleplaying games together. and figure out how much we want to be in each other's lives.

Anyway yeah so I am reminded yet again that people love me and even people who have a reason to be Rude are probably instead going to be Cordial, which I think is generalizable to people who are not me as well (you, reader). Also Jaz came up in sets 2, 3, AND 4 above, so it's pretty clear that [insert transparently obvious takeaway that nevertheless evades me at the moment].

Being in community is Good, Actually.

#personal #banana go home #kosher queers dot gay #manic pixie dream babe

[collegeoflore]

12 and 23 for Xarrai

8 16 and 24 for Ieriyn

for that Tav meme?

tysm!!!

(questions are here)

xarrai:

12. What opinion does your Tav have about the Gods?

the short answer is: not a fan.

the long answer is xarrai sees all the gods as tyrants - look at shar, who demands her followers give up their memories; or mystra, who takes chosen after chosen and keeps them like pets; or vlaakith, who. well. vlaakith. they're cruel rulers who demand obedience and worship from their followers, even those who claim benevolence. as far as xar is concerned, bane is just the only one being honest about who he is and what he wants. they don't really give a shit about what gods others choose to worship but they are silently (or um. not so silently) judging anyone who is particularly devout. every time shadowheart talks about shar early game xarrai is just nodding along like yep. mmhmm. yeah sure. and aggressively rolling their eyes when they walk away lmao. there's an element of bitterness to it too, though. here they are on this adventure surrounded by people who desperately want the favor of their gods but all xarrai wants is to be well and truly forsaken by bane. (at the same time, though, they recognize the only reason they're still alive is because he hasn't forsaken them - bane doesn't suffer fools or failures, after all - so it's a bit of a double edged sword.)

23. What are 2-3 songs that your Tav would relate to?

this is actually the hardest question u could have asked bc i have an almost 40 song (and growing lol) playlist for xarrai LMAO. these are a few i've been really vibing with the last few days, but i don't know that they're the ones xar would relate to the Most by any means.

burn your village - kiki rockwell

metaphor - the crane wives

kill all your friends - mcr

and honorable mention for grey veins by ls dunes. i had this song on repeat for like two days while i was starting to build their character because i picked this game up like right after i saw lsd in concert and it ended up coloring a lot of how i viewed xarrai initially lol

(mutuals feel free to lmk if you want the link to the whole playlist (or my astarion and/or xarrastarion ones) - i'm a dirty apple music user and the playlist has my government name on it so i don't wanna post it publicly but i am down to share)

ieriyn

8. Did your Tav have any romantic and/or sexual relationships prior to their illithid adventure? If yes, who was it with and what was it like? If no, how did they feel about being single?

yes! he had a couple of boyfriends when he was still in school. nothing super serious, honestly - just your typical teenage relationships and all the drama that entails. in the last few years he hasn't really had many partners - a fling here or there, but again nothing serious. i will say though he has a thing for older men with big brown eyes :3c (gale never had a chance is what i'm saying. it was over for him before it even began. this twink is going to ruin his life.)

16. How does your Tav feel about killing?

not good! as of where i am in the game right now (about to defend the grove from being raided following some #mistakes ieriyn made when talking to minthara) he hasn't killed another thinking creature ever. he really really doesn't want to and has spent half the battles the party has been in so far more or less cowering in a corner for fear of killing someone accidentally if he uses his magic. he's honestly kind of dead weight. but defending the grove is going to change things - he can't sit there and do nothing when this is his fault and he knows he has to pull his weight or the party is going to end up dumping him on the side of the road, assuming any of them survive this. (lae'zel and astarion in particular hate his fucking guts for being so useless and yet trying to take the credit for shit anyway lol) i don't think he's ever going to feel good or even necessarily okay about killing, but i do think he's going to learn to deal with it anyway.

24. What first impression does your Tav give off to strangers?

i think initally ieriyn comes off as a spoiled brat tbqh. he's deeply out of touch with the way "normal" people live and has really never been outside his bubble of wealth and comfort, which makes him difficult to talk to i think. he's also heinously arrogant - sometimes because he genuinely believes it ("i'm a special gifted magic kid and soooo powerful and strong") and sometimes because he's trying to cover up for what he doesn't know or what he's afraid of. this is smth i imagine is going to be extremely different by the end of the game, but as of rn he gives a pretty shitty first impression LOL

#oc. xarrai #oc. ieriyn #choosing 3 songs was so hard. #i almost put delirium tremendous by felix hagan & the family instead of burn your village so #another honorable mention for that one #OH and another honorable mention for self portrait by keaton henson bc i’ve just been crazy abt that song in general lately #songs added in the tags don’t count okay. it’s fine.

[janfraiser]

Laughing On A Park Bench

Chicago Med. A chance encounter for Sarah and Ava makes a bad day better.

A/N: a lil idea I had that I wanted to write for @erinlindsayy bc she deserves soft content of all her favs. even tho she keeps writing painful angst 😜

Sarah sits on a bench outside the hospital with a carry-out container of pho from her favorite vietnamese place a block over, a comfort meal for her during a miserably hectic day of work. She winces as she chews, rubbing her jaw where a combative patient had caught her with a flailing fist as they'd struggled to transfer him from the paramedics' gurney to the ED bed.

There's a milling crowd about the food trucks across the way, but that's par for the course during a lunch break, so Sarah doesn't think much of it, not even looking up until a woman who had been waiting for the sandwich truck wanders over her way. "Mind if I sit with you?"

When she looks up, Sarah vaguely recognizes her as a surgeon she's met before, but the long coat she's wearing obscures where her name must be embroidered on her scrubs. "Sure," she says anyway. "I'm Sarah."

"Oh, that's right, you work in psychiatry, don't you?" The blonde nods. "I'm Ava, I'm almost always up on the CT floor."

That's why Sarah recognizes her; she now remembers seeing Ava in the ED from time to time, usually trying to drag Connor away from some trauma surgery to fix someone's heart. It's hard to compare the two fields, of course; both are incredibly important.

"Nice to officially meet you," she says, not offering a handshake as Ava is clearly busy with her loaded grilled cheese. "I know we're seen each other around."

Ava nods. "Apologies if I'm not the best conversationalist this afternoon," she sighs. "To put it frankly, I'm having a shit day."

"Ugh, me to," Sarah agrees immediately. "Must be because Mercury's in retrograde. Struggles with communication, all-around frustration."

That earns her a raised eyebrow from the surgeon. "A psychiatrist who follows astrology? Do you diagnose your patients based on their zodiac signs?"

"I diagnose my patients with the DSM-5, just like med school taught me," Sarah says, shaking her head.

Ava snorts. "Zodiac signs might work better."

"Oh, yeah?" Sarah laughs a little. Astrology is little more than a hobby for her, a self-care tactic that reminds her to look at the stars once in a while and gives her an external power to blame bad luck on. Still, this is fun. "Like, the reason I second-guess every decision I make and struggle daily with perfection is because I'm a virgo?"

"Or the reason I tend to come across as a wildly different person to friends versus strangers is because I'm a gemini," Ava offers, smirking.

"Ooh, a gemini," Sarah says, feigning shock. "No wonder you're a surgeon."

"You've lost me there," Ava responds, inclining her head. "I only understand enough to read a horoscope, and not much more."

"I was generalizing," Sarah says with a shrug. "'Cause surgeons and self-confidence go hand in hand."

Ava laughs aloud at that, and Sarah cocks her head to read her facial expression, but decides not to dig into that. Legitimate psychoanalysis does not seem like a good way to make friends.

"Surgeons," Ava says, after taking another bite of sandwich, "are assholes."

Sarah shrugs. "I don't know... you seem nice."

"Thank you," Ava says quietly, though she does give her a smile.

Even though she hasn't finished her pho, Sarah is pulled away from the conversation by an alarm pinging on her phone. "I have to get back to work if I want to have any hope of finishing my charts," she sighs.

"Been there," Ava says with a sympathetic wince. "Well, I'll most likely be at Molly's Bar tonight, alone, complaining to my friend about my terrible taste in men... do you know Stella Kidd?"

"I don't think so," Sarah replies. She knows the bar, though. "Is she a firefighter?"

Ava nods. "With House 51, so she tends bar at Molly's. You should come, she's a far better conversationalist than me."

"Why not," Sarah agrees, shrugging. "I'll see you later, then."

Ava waves as she rolls up the foil that had covered her sandwich. "Good luck with charting."

Sarah grins and crosses her fingers as she heads back to the hospital. With any luck, a lunch break with a new friend bodes well for the rest of her day.

#chicago med #chicago med fic #one chicago #sarah reese #ava bekker #astrology #sarah reese fic #ava bekker fic

[xherry7816]

i thi k im just gonna start following anyone who appears on my feed bc idk i want stuff 2 show up yk ????

so in SONIC PRIME, SONIC'S look changes through each universe he goes through (his shoes and gloves bc hes not really known 4 clothes) but sincr KAI'S case isnt really the same he doesnt get a new fit each universe (disappointing i know) but ig he can get like a little momento from each one like i imagine he gets to keep a cool mask from the first one even thouvh i kinda imagine JAY to have a paper bag on his head lmao like those ocs

id like to mention that NYA in the first universe (or SAI) is the master of water and aware of her powers but he uses them discretely enough that KAI picks up on it but doesnt really notice its her (becauses hes not water ninja until s5) , theyre all kinda in a big resistance group with a few other elementals he'll never really get to know so he'd probably assume its someone else's powers even if its coming out of SAI'S hands which will just have 2 be some blatantly obvious dramatic irony and make KAI look like an idiot but thats ok bc he kinda is

im not really sure what to call COLE in this universe bc i was gonna go for scythe yk cuz thats his first weapon but then the scy parts sounds too similar to SAI so then i went towards hammer but the nickbame is ham which i thought was too silly so maybe something like GHOST or WAR(hammer lol) and i thought id just call LLOYD GREEN or ONI idk im not very good at naming

for the masks like i said earlier i think itd be funny if CHUCK went and walked around like a paper bag head oc so im sticking with that but i think SAI would wear something cool like a divers helmet (ocean yk yk) or a fish mask lol like MAGIKARP, i think ZANE would wear a mask similar to MR,E from season 10 i think??? to kinda give KAI some references to the future even though it doesnt matter for this au and some background resistance members would wear the oni masks to have like a sublte hint to HARUMI and the others without having actual meaning i just think itd be cool. i also did ask myself the question 'dont their ninja gi have masks' and the answer is indeed yes they do but they never became the offical ninja group and it had only been ZANE, JAY and COLE for a few months until they decided to go their own ways and i also have a pretty good excuse to give them all different masks. WAR/GHOST (theyre both horrible names i know) is pretty difficult i think, i do want to say that he is indeed a ghost in this au even though there isnt actually a reason for it this time so if the virsus comes he can posess the nearest inanimate object so theres no real need for a mask but if he were to wear one i think he'd probably have those cheap craft store ones because its accessible and it doesnt really matter bc its not necessary for him. i was originally going to have SHURIKEN just have his robot form as the disguise but then he was made to look humanlike and i feel like a game would easily know and recognize a human robot and go for it anyways so i think he'd either use his cloaking feature and change his appearance entirely (but i kinda imagine that to have a cooldown) or the mask as i said earlier

i would try and draw these but im a terrible digital artist cursed with the low quality of an android phone so maybe some time in the future when i learn :))

#ninjago #kai ninjago #cole ninjago #zane ninjago #jay ninjago #ninjago lloyd #ninjago au #lego ninjago

[universalfanfic]

Here it is!

Sutton meets Frank and doubtlessly creates problems she'll have to help fix later.

Edit: Sutton saw more of the MCU in this AU bc I think it’s more fun.

Sutton sat curled up in the back corner of the meat freezer she was locked in. The frigid air bit at the bruises and scratches that marred her face and legs as she continued to shiver. She was so cold. Sutton wiped tears away before they could freeze. 

All it took was a couple wrong turns in Hell’s Kitchen for her to be nearly knocked unconscious and dragged into a cartel base. She just wanted to find a little bakery she’d seen online, and now she was in real danger of not making it to the end of the day. 

The men outside in the butcher shop were still arguing. Sutton didn’t speak Spanish, but she knew enough to understand that the one who’d grabbed her recognized her in connection to Tony. She didn’t have to speak Spanish to understand that the rest of his gang thought his, likely a ploy for ransom, idea was stupid since Tony was Iron Man. 

But Sutton had dropped her phone when he struck her from behind and she didn’t know how often Tony checked in on her location. By the time he noticed her missing, it would probably be too late. 

No, no, no. She couldn’t think like that. She had to believe she would make it out. 

But the freezer was locked from the outside and there were cartel members standing within sight of the door. 

They were discussing what to do about her now. She could feel it in her gut. 

A shot rang out above their bickering; their arguing turned to yelling and the thudding of feet. Sutton’s eyes cut sharply over to the freezer door. More shots went off. There was a scream cut short. 

Her reactor sped up her heart rate in response as she struggled to stand but her legs were nearly frozen together. More screams managed to pierce the freezer door and she stuck in place, her eyes locked on the small window in the door. 

The cartel in Hell’s Kitchen, being attacked in a butcher shop. It felt familiar, but her mind was too panicked to pinpoint why.

When the screaming died down she forced herself to the freezer door. It could be another gang attacking this one, sure, but either way she wasn’t in a good spot; and she’d rather take her chances outside the freezer. 

The window in the door was too high and too small to be of much use to her. Sutton banged her fist on the door and hoped that someone was close enough to hear it. 

“Help! Help, please! I’m- I’m locked in here!” 

It felt like the vibrations from her knocking froze in the air and crashed to the ground every time she tried. She couldn’t even tell how hard she was really hitting the door with how numb her hand was. 

They would hear her, they would hear her, they would hear her. 

They had to. Otherwise she wasn’t getting out. 

The door handle clicked and turned, and Sutton scrambled back. A gun barrel pushed through first followed by a man. 

Her mind finished computing its earlier thought about this all being familiar. 

“Frank! Oh, thank God.” 

Frank Castle stared at her with a stoic expression as he took her in. His gaze flickered over her bruised face and scratched limbs and he refused to lower the barrel of his gun. 

“Who are you?” 

“My name is Sutton Regan; those guys abducted me because I work for Tony Stark. I mean, at least, that’s the gist I got. I just want to go home.”

Getting the important information out would help, right? Identifying herself and her reason for being there so he wouldn’t confuse her for anything other than a victim. 

She shivered violently and Frank lowered his gun only marginally. 

“How do you know my name?” 

That stopped her. The cold made her thinking slow, slower than usual, and she blinked once as she processed the question. 

She should not recognize Frank Castle. 

Frank Castle probably wouldn’t like that she recognized Frank Castle. 

She could have said a lot of things. She could have said she read about his family in the paper or seen an article about his company’s tour online. Anything remotely plausible, which still probably wouldn’t have helped, but would have been a lot better than, 

“I’m not part of the cartel, I swear.” 

Frank stared at her again, unreadable, then grunted and holstered his gun. 

“You gonna try an’ fight me?” 

Sutton sighed and it took more coordination than it should have to pinch the bridge of her nose. 

“No.” 

“Can you walk?” 

“Not as quickly as you need to get out of here.” 

He grunted again and moved closer to her. Sutton didn’t try to scramble away as he picked her up in a princess carry. Frank backed out of the freezer and Sutton instinctively looked to the side. She wished she wouldn’t have. 

The cartel members hung on meat hooks like animals and it- it was real. It wasn’t something she could reassure herself was special effects. She recognized the guy on the end as the dumb one who’d grabbed her. 

They were horrible, dangerous people. She had no doubt they’d killed plenty of others and probably would have killed her before the end of the day. 

But she still didn’t want to see their guts.

Sutton turned her face away, which inadvertently had her pressing her nose against Frank’s chest. It took her body a moment to finally realize he was warm. She pressed herself closer in a desperate bid to thaw. 

Frank started to head for the back exit and Sutton snapped her head up. At least her thinking was starting to thaw faster than her body. 

“Wait!” 

“If you’re gonna beg for me to let you go, I can’t do that.” 

“No, no. I get it. But I can be tracked.” 

“Excuse me?” 

His tone shifted downward and Sutton peered up at him as she pulled her shirt low enough to reveal her arc reactor. Frank’s brow puckered in surprise, but that was about it. His stare was piercing, calculating. Sutton had thrown a wrench in his plans and now he had to recalculate. 

“Can you just, you know, do the tin foil thing?” 

“You’re talkin’ about a Faraday cage.” 

“Yeah, if you cover my reactor-” 

“That’s not how-” 

“It’ll work.” She said sharply. “Just, don’t tell me the specifics on how a Faraday cage operates. Please, trust me. Make one around the reactor as best you can and it’ll work.” 

“I don’t know who you are,” said Frank. 

“And we don’t have enough time for me to convince you to trust me.” 

He at least agreed that time was of the essence now. Frank grabbed a roll of plastic wrap and tin foil from the shop’s stores and had her hold onto them as he picked her back up and left the butcher shop. 

There was a car waiting parked in a back alley, and Frank put her down in the passenger seat and shut the door quickly as if she might try to make a break for it. But her legs were still mostly frozen and she wasn’t stupid. 

He hurried into the driver’s seat then locked the doors before driving away. 

An awkward silence bloomed in the car and Sutton shivered as she fiddled with the boxes in her lap. Frank glanced at her then turned up the heat and swiveled the fans in her direction. 

“Thank you.” 

“Are you gonna start talking or am I gonna have to start asking questions?” 

Sutton waggled her pointer finger at her head. 

“I was in that freezer for a while. How about you ask questions.” 

Frank snorted lightly. 

“How about you start with how you know who I am.” 

Sutton tried to rapidly consider her options, but every millisecond damned her. She didn’t particularly want to spread the news to every main character she met that she knew who they were, their secrets, and their life trajectory. Plus, her knowing Frank’s tragic past would make it easier for him to convince her to tell him everything she knew about what may come next and how he could change it. 

She still wasn’t sure if she cared about that anymore. 

And anyway, he may not even believe her if she told him the truth. Aliens and superheroes were one thing. A girl from a world that used yours for entertainment was quite something else. 

“I saw you in the, uh, paper. The newspaper.” She finally said. “I, um. I remembered because it was sad.” 

“Uh-huh.” Said Frank. “You wanna try that again with the truth?” 

Sutton dropped her head in exasperation and groaned. 

“Seriously? Every time?” She muttered. “If this were a running gag, it’d be getting pretty old by now.” 

“Well?” 

“Pass?” 

“Not an option.” 

She groaned quietly again and let her head fall back against her seat. Maybe she didn’t have to tell him the entire truth. Maybe she could spin it without technically lying. 

“Look. You’re not going to believe me.” 

Frank maneuvered the car through traffic and spared her one quick glance. 

“Tell me anyway.” 

“Fine. It’s- I used to have…visions, of a sort.” “Visions,” Frank said flatly. 

“Yes. Visions. Kind of. It was,” Sutton rolled her hand in the air as she pretended to think about how to explain it. “It was like watching a scene in a movie or show,” she said. “I would get snippets of people’s lives. Moments. But, as you may guess, I don’t exactly like sharing that with people. They get the wrong idea about what I actually know.” 

Frank was silent as he absorbed her explanation and Sutton hoped she was convincing. It wasn’t a lie, so hopefully it would be. Enough for him to not dig for specifics at least.

“You had visions. Of me.” He said. “But you don’t have them anymore.” 

“I don’t have any anymore. I, well, I lost that…ability.” 

The car turned into a public parking lot and Frank parked in a back corner, out of direct line of sight of the road. He turned off the car and just sat and stared at her for a moment. Sutton shifted in her seat and pulled at a loose strand of hair. 

“Do you believe me?” 

“Dunno. I think there’s plenty you’re not saying.” 

Sutton nodded slowly. 

“Yeah.” 

His brow puckered again as if her cavalier answer confused him. Instead of responding or demanding further explanation, he jutted his chin at the supplies still in her lap and she passed them over. 

“You wearing anything under that?” 

Sutton assumed he meant her shirt and nodded. She pulled the shirt off without him asking further and sat in her cami as Frank grabbed a first aid kit from the back seat. He dug out a roll of medical tape and then set to his task. 

He ripped off strips of plastic wrap and tin foil and alternated them in several layers before he ended with a last layer of tin foil, put the entire thing over her reactor, and taped it over her skin. 

A Faraday cage would keep the signal from getting out and giving anyone the ability to track her, but it wouldn’t interfere with its functioning. That’s definitely how Faraday cages worked. 

“Why did you tell me you could be tracked?” 

Frank’s voice broke her out of her concentration and Sutton swallowed. 

“You’re not supposed to be caught right-” she quickly stopped herself from adding ‘now’,  “and, well, I don’t want to mess things up for you.” 

He eyed her more sharply. 

“You know what I’m doin’, don’t you? You saw what I did to those scumbags.” 

Sutton avoided eye contact by busying herself with putting her shirt back on. Frank looked away while she did.

“I know.” 

“And you don’t feel like you oughta turn me in?” 

It was complicated. There were still a lot of emotions churning inside her, and Sutton didn’t know how to express all of them. At least, not in a way that didn’t make her sound like a cold-hearted psychopath. 

“They were going to kill me,” she said. 

And for the first time the idea really sunk in. She’d known it, on a superficial level, the entire time, but now it meant something. She shivered again despite being mostly thawed out. 

She would have died today if it wasn’t for Frank. 

“Yeah.” Frank agreed.

“You saved my life, by doing what you did. You probably saved other people that they would’ve hurt in the future. Why should I turn you in?”

Frank’s head tipped back as he looked down at her, his expression somewhere between impressed and slightly dumbfounded. He grunted again and started the car back up. 

Silence settled in the car once again, and Sutton thought it wasn’t quite as heavy this time. Frank parked along a curb and once again reached into the back seat, this time pulling out a baseball cap. He held it out to her and Sutton accepted it and put it on without complaint. It was probably to try and conceal her bruised face.

He turned his head towards her before he opened his door. 

“You’re not going to run for it.” 

“That’d be pretty pointless, wouldn’t it?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Then let’s just go. Might as well happen today anyway.” 

Luckily she’d thawed out enough to competently walk, and she followed silently after him as he walked to a building down the block and opened a door at street level. He pushed it open and gestured for her to go in first. Sutton wasn’t sure if it were due to chivalry or making sure she really didn’t run.

The apartment was sparse, even in the entryway, and Sutton paused as she realized she could attempt to prove herself as being honest. 

“You’re taking care of a dog,” she said. Frank looked down at her sharply. “It’s a gray pit bull, and you took it from the Irish after you shot them up. You patched its wounds.” 

Frank eyed her a second longer then brushed past her and entered another room. There were radios and gear strewn over every available surface. A board with notes sat on the other end. 

And there was the dog. 

“The dog was in one of your visions.” Frank said flatly. 

The dog wagged its tail on their entrance and Sutton smiled at it and made her way over. It welcomed her in the exact way a vicious guard dog shouldn’t. 

She kept her eyes on the dog as she scratched behind its ears.

“It was part of one, yes.” 

“You’re trying not to say something again.” He commented. “You know, I’d appreciate not having to play games.”

Sutton winced and straightened as she faced him. She considered him, her situation, and wondered how long he’d insist on keeping her here. 

She didn’t doubt he’d let her go before the end of the day. Frank was a man on a mission and he had bigger fish to fry than her. 

But he could still get enough information from her to severely alter the future. At least for Matt Murdock and a few others. 

“I know you’re a no-nonsense kind of guy, and I get you want me to tell you whatever I know. But I’ll be honest with you, Frank, I don’t know if it’s a good idea.” 

“Then you know something important.” 

She winced again and Frank tipped his head back in a gesture of victory. 

“Look, it’s not like I don’t want to- I mean, there’s plenty of ways for all this to go more cleanly, but I could also make things worse.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Frank said with a wave of his hand. “You could make things worse?” 

Sutton frowned. 

“Yes. By telling you what I know.” 

“You think what I may do with the information you have is on you? You think you’re responsible for my choices?” 

“In a way,” Sutton argued. “Because there’s a chain of events with bad things that happen and good things, and if I tell you, you’re going to alter some of your choices, or try to jump ahead, and it could cause other bad things to happen.” 

“You don’t know what I’d do.” 

“Maybe, but I know what a few other people have done. And they never just sit on what I know and do nothing.” 

Frank said nothing in response and they stared at each other before Sutton broke and looked away. The dog pressed against her leg and Sutton rubbed at its head absently. 

“How long do I have to stay before you decide I can leave?” 

“You know who I am, where I’m holed up, and what I’m aiming for. You can understand why I’d be reluctant, ma’am.”

Sutton rolled her eyes. 

“I’m not going to turn you in. I already told you that.” 

“Because of your vision stuff?” 

She shifted slightly. 

“Partially, yeah.” 

They kept coming to stand stills and Sutton wasn’t sure how to progress. If she told Frank about the Blacksmith, it could save an entire court case and quite a bit of bloodshed. It could also get Karen killed. 

Unless, of course, Frank went after his former Major first. 

If he even believed her. 

She shook her head and rubbed at her temple. Was she even considering it? Was she open to being stupid just because Frank had a tragic backstory and saved her life? 

Tony and Thor were told of future events and took advantage of them. The world hadn’t collapsed and no one she knew died from it.

And wasn’t that a horrible, justifying thought. 

No one she knew. 

“Doing some serious thinkin’ over there.” 

  “Thinking about how much trouble I’m going to be in later for not only getting abducted twice in one day, but also telling someone else I… know things.” 

“You get in situations like this often?”

“I wouldn’t say often.” 

“Mhm.” Frank crossed his arms over his chest and jutted his chin at her. “Well?” 

Sutton squinted, crossed her own arms, twisted her lips to the side in annoyance. 

“How stubborn are you?” 

“Ma’am, I was in the Marines. Ninety percent of my job was to hurry up and wait.” 

“Dang it.” 

The horrible realization that she’d have to tell him the big thing, give him the name of the guy at the top, just to try and circumvent any truly heinous fallout was daunting. 

Any different than Tony knowing Aldrich was his next nemesis? Any different than telling Thor Malekith was his next threat?

To be fair, she didn’t think Tony or Thor would grab an AR-15 and immediately set out to cap a fool. 

Well, to be really fair, Thor didn’t have or need an AR-15.

“You actually believe I know something useful? You’re not just waiting to see what I’ll say and then halfway commit to seeing if it’s true? Because, let me tell you, that could cause major, horrible, unforeseen ramifications.” 

“Ma’am.” Frank said sternly. “You tell me something substantial and the devil himself couldn’t stop me.”

Sutton snorted lightly even as she steeled herself. She took a deep breath.

“Off the record,” she said with an eye roll, “um, hm, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but the- the gang… shooting you got caught in was supposed to be a sting to catch a main drug supplier. A guy called The Blacksmith.” 

Frank’s gaze sharpened and he leaned forward; the intensity of eye contact made Sutton’s stomach twist. He licked his bottom lip and nodded. 

“Who is it? Give me his name.” 

Sutton grimaced. 

“You have no real reason to right now, but I’m begging you to believe what I’m about to say. Because, as it is, he almost kills someone when you didn’t find out until later.”

Frank nodded. 

“I don’t actually remember his name, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the, uh, vision. But it’s your old Major. The one who didn’t listen to you when you wanted to retreat and you had to clear a way to the helicopter alone. The first man you’d think of for a good character witness.” 

Frank didn’t move. His stare was hard. 

“Ray Schoonover,” he said. 

“Yes.” 

The air turned thick. Frank turned away and rubbed at the back of his head, the pointer finger on his right hand twitched rapidly at his side. Sutton swallowed and turned her attention back to the dog. She kept her eye on Frank’s pacing so she noticed when he turned back to her. 

“Tell me something else.” He said. “Something so I know you’re real.” 

“One batch, two batch, penny and dime.”

He looked like she’d struck him. His back was stiff and his eyes were wide as he stared down at her. His chest heaved. Sutton sighed and forced herself to not look away; it felt disrespectful to try to hide in any way after saying something he held so sacred. 

“Alright. Okay.” 

She stood and Frank braced himself against one of the tables, his fists curled. Sutton inched closer at the growing look of violence blooming in his eyes. Tentatively, she placed her hand over his. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” 

This time he didn’t look at her. His eyes were set ahead and he only vaguely swayed in her direction. 

“That you have to go through this. That I didn’t get here sooner, I guess.” 

He looked down at her hand and Sutton pulled away. 

“Was that substantial enough?” 

He swallowed. 

“Yeah. 

Sutton nodded and took a few steps back; Frank didn’t try to stop her. She waffled in the doorway as she looked at the dog. 

“Maybe I should take him.” 

“What?” 

“The Irish are looking for you,” she said, gesturing. “I never really found out what happened to him.” 

Frank’s jaw clenched. 

“Take him, then. His name is Max.” 

She untethered his leash and Max happily went along with her. 

“Max. Did you name him?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Ugh, fine.” 

That, of all things, seemed to throw Frank off enough that his rage dimmed. 

“What? You got a problem with the name?” 

“No, no. It’s fine. It’s just- you know, he feels more like a Cupcake.” 

Frank snorted in bewilderment. 

“You’re a grown woman. Do not call my damn dog Cupcake.”

“Food names for animals are funny. And he’s sweet. He’d be lucky.” 

It felt very strange to take a vigilante’s dog and leave him after dropping an information bomb on him the size of the one she had. There were too many loose threads dangling that she had no control over and she knew she wouldn’t be getting much sleep. 

She had yet to process any part of the day. 

“You gonna need a ride?”

Sutton waved dismissively and tried to smile.  

“No, I’ll just set off an alarm on this and Tony ‘ll come get me,” she said, pointing to her reactor. “But, seriously, thank you, Frank. You saved my life and- and I know I probably shouldn’t agree with what you’re doing but-” She mulled over her words as she tried to figure out how much to reveal about her own thought process. “It’s effective.” 

“It’s nothing less than they deserved.” 

“Probably.” She cleared her throat and feigned lightheartedness. “Well, if things feel like they’re not going the right direction, just look me up. I’m on the Stark Industries website. I’ll help if I can.” 

“Thank you, ma’am.” 

“Good luck, Frank.” 

Sutton limped down the sidewalk, Max trotting at her side, and she made sure to at least be a block away from Frank’s hideout before she peeled off the questionable Faraday cage. Her reactor beeped shrilly and Sutton assumed that meant Jarvis was already aware something was wrong. She leaned against a building to wait. 

“You know,” she said, looking down at a wagging Max, “I thought Cupcake was a perfectly good name.”

#my writing #sutton regan #frank castle #au #the au in which sutton causes matt murdock problems #and probably does have to be dragged back in to make sure no one dies #matt wouldn't like her... like mother like son

[sofiaaaaaaaa03]

Okay! Chapter two thoughts !

Immediately I wanted to establish the type of relationship that Marc and y/n had

“Go back to your books, kid. You’re in over your head.”

Alluding that Marc was aware of y/n and their work at the library

I made it a point to have Marc remove his suit for two reasons

One, marc probably removed the suit so that the cameras didn’t see it and only saw steven

But I wanted to add that he did it so that y/n could clearly see his annoyed expression

Besides, the danger was gone

Time to strip-

Jk lol

Their conversation is very self explanatory, y/n is worried that steven is going to come after them and question the events at the library

They know about Marc’s situation with Steven, and how the marine chooses to hide this stuff from steven

But c’mon now, there’s no way he can hide this

But whatever, if Marc says he can handle it then sure

They don’t really believe him

He’s been slipping up, otherwise Steven wouldn’t have shown up back in the netherlands

But they weren’t going to bring this up, they were hungry and just wanted to go home

I wanted to establish that Marc isn’t fond of y/n

He likes to work solo

So ofc he didn’t like it when he realized that they were keeping tabs on him

Hence why he has the attitude that he has when he leaves, leaving y/n alone in the museum

I wanted to use this as a chance to introduce Djehuty

And to establish his concern for Khonshu as he recognizes his avatar is beginning to fail him

Though he probably knew before Khonshu did, with how he keeps track of his other gods and the jobs they do.

Moving on

I didn’t feel it necessary to discuss the strange things Steven began to notice, or to go into detail.

I wanted to take advantage and set up a good background for y/n

So there went the explanation of the library

I also mentioned that they worked at the London Library

Which, fun fact, is actually a few blocks away from the National Art Gallery where steven works at

I also explained their role as Thoth’s avatar

How they followed Steven and Marc under thoth’s command

I think i did a good job with it

I also wanted to use this as a chance to establish y/n and steven’s relationship

Like i said, steven met y/n because of them being a librarian

So in my head i thought by now steven never wanted to sleep again

And practically plowed through all of his borrowed books

But the reason why he brought them in late was because he was worried that if he saw y/n then he couldn’t help himself and ask them about the strange things that had been happening

Sort of trying to keep the peace in their relationship before he absolutely blunders it

But he does let some things slip whenever he speaks with them

Let’s admit it

Steven’s a bit of a talker

And an oversharer

So he lets out some stuff he’d been keeping in and y/n takes it well, obviously bc they’re in on it too

But y/n is good at what they do and don’t give in any details that they knew more than they let on

After steven left I wanted to emphasize Thoth’s wish for them

To keep steven and marc in check

And of course y/n isn’t happy about it but they can’t do much after what thoth told them

Also, it’s mentioned that thoth had a small bowl of dark chocolates on y/n’s desk set out specifically for him

I did some little research about deities off of tiktok (lol) and people who communicate with him often mentioned that he loved dark chocolate

So yknow lol

I dunno, i thought it was a nice touch

Anyways,

Fast forward and y/n is on the rooftop of steven’s flat

Alluding that they’d been following him for some time

Enough to know a way to even get to his rooftop and hide it out there

I pointed out that they were aware that Marc had a wife

How could they not know, they sort of had to

But this quote

Strange, y/n could have sworn that her name was Marlene on the documents.

This is a reference to his wife in the comics

Her name was marlene in the comics

Personally I quite like Layla more

Anyways, I decided that layla didn’t really know what to do when they saw a young adult on Marc’s roof and sort of just decided to go with it

Might be a bit uncharacteristic of her

But whatever

They agree that they have to track down steven and marc after finding common ground in khonshu

But i don’t want to talk about that

I want to talk about GUS #2

Now obviously we’re all concerned for the fish

Because they don’t really talk about it

All we know is that marc just left for egypt

Didn’t even get a fish sitter or anything

So y/n thought ahead and gave them those vacation fish feeders

They’ve grown fond of the fish, but they knew about the fish because of Steven

h e liked to talk about his fish that had one fin

So whenever they fed the fish I pointed out how they were a bit confused bc they see that gus has two fins

They didn’t know that Marc replaced gus

So they think this is the same fish

Poor y/n

Poor gus

At least the fish is fed

Again, another fast forward

Layla and y/n save the day

There’s not much to explain about the scene

They go in and help steven escape to the big attic

Though I began to give highlights of y/n’s power, super strength, as well as their knowledge of egyptian terminology

Hence why they are recognize when Harrow speaks in Coptic

They all get into the attic and layla begins to harass Steven for Marc

I wanted to use this to show how it looked from an outsider’s point of view

How y/n observed steven begin to break down from the stress

The way he kept looking far off and speaking to another person

It was clear to the scribe

This man couldn’t handle what was to come

So they take that moment to agree with their god, they were needed for a reason

“It’s okay Steven.”

This was their attempt to comfort him

They had no other way to do it

They also held the giant doors back in place- another chance to highlight how they had super strength

And they are able to see the jackal

I know layla couldn’t see it but she’s not an avatar

So in my head, avatars are able to see it since they are already under the magical influence of the gods

Again, not much to explain when it comes to the fight scenes and the jackal

They don’t have a suit

Mostly i didn’t mention this because at the time it was too early in the series to tell if all avatars received a suit

So I opted for none at the time

This section of the chapter is very self explanatory though, they’re fighting a jackal

The end of the chapter

I wanted to split it between two perspectives

One being y/n

And their judgement of Marc and Steven

For being victims of exploitation under khonshu’s hands

How they simply couldn’t believe how they could let themselves into that position

And the other, marc

And his dislike for y/n

How they always seem to follow the man

How he could tell they were judging him

I let them have a moment to bicker between each other before I brought Khonshu into the conversation

At this point, it is known that Thoth spoke to Khonshu about his avatar

And alludes to how thoth persuaded khonshu to allow y/n to help

This scene I used to show the first time that Khonshu brings this proposal to Marc

He doesn’t give Marc much of an option to deny this

Not like he gives him many options to begin with

But Marc still tries to take control as much as he can after Khonshu leaves

Trying to tell y/n that he’ll call for them if ever he needs their help

But y/n knew better

That wasn’t the deal

What else

Oh

Marc is observant and notices them bleeding

But y/n is still a smartass and just insults marc when he mentions it

I wanted to make a parallel between the this chapter and the transparent scribe when I wrote that chapter

This time, he brushed off the fact they they’re injured

However in The Transparent Scribe he actually tends to their wounds

But yeah

“Do you have any travel documents?”

I kinda just used this as a little joke

Bc ofc they have travel documents

They have like 12 driver’s licenses

Anyways

This chapter I wanted to use to set up relationships between steven and y/n, marc and y/n, and y/n and thoth

I wanted to set up a good background for y/n

And establish why it is they had to follow Marc and Steven to Cairo

I quite like this chapter and am proud of the dialogue I wrote for it

Anyways, these are my thoughts :)

Taglist: (not quite sure if you guys want to be tagged but I’ll do it anyways)

@fezlvr

@astrobuzzsstuff

@blustalker

@thekaibabes@nerds4life246 @samanthacookieone @thekaibabes @kiara-is-gay @pcotato @sagedgeek @blustalker @atzlena @xiernia @dheet @astrobuzzsstuff @lourecovette @fezlvr @wanderingmaximoffs @jay-alison @dweeb-central @theseawa @mothperson666 @yeetyeetchickenmeat @allynplays @crowpop @raylan-c @maryvon3002 @flyingmushroomss @livpoststhings @lunalixya @jvdethirlwall @ihatemyselfmorethanmydepressionydepression @childofthemoon7 @daughterofthequeen @bethany2002 @voonha

[dont-call-me-baby-posts]

i love the idea of anders ans rachels friendship bc could they possibly be any more different

SO TRUE!! and if you think about it, Anders knew Rachel before he knew anyone else. I love this idea!!

///

OK SO HOW THEY MET LETS GET INTO IT~~~

Another day, another fucking party.

Nobody here knew Anders, and no one gave a fuck about him either. But, according to the label, it was good for his “exposure” that he be here. So, here he was.

He wondered as he leaned against the wall, his fourth beer in hand, if everyone here could tell how nervous he was. Maybe they just thought he was playing it cool… did he look cool? He certainly didn’t feel cool, but he supposed he never really had. He must look awkward and out of place. He knew he did.

And so even though he’d only been here a half hour, he threw back the rest of his fourth beer and let the buzz (which was now more of a wobble) motivate him to put himself out there. Make friends. Act tough. He felt like a kid on the first day of school. Like this was freshman orientation and everyone else here had already made friends.

“Hello.” He said stiffly, walking up to a girl who was pouring herself a drink. Her back was to him, and it was with no swagger or tact that he spit out his greeting. The girl was pouring herself a Coke, sans any alcohol. And she was alone, which Anders thought was reason enough to strike up a conversation.

The girl jumped a little, letting out a sharp sound as she turned to Anders. She nearly dropped the can in her hand, making Anders regret ever even approaching her. However, once she had actually turned to face him, he regretted it even more.

“Oh, holy fuck.” He spit out, taking in the girl in front of him. He knew exactly who she was; everyone on Earth did. It was Rachel, as in the Rachel. Anders knew he’d fucked up big time, introducing himself to her, as if she’d ever give someone like him the time of day. “I am so fucking sorry. I didn’t know it was you, I-I’ll go. Im so fucking sorry.”

Rachel laughed, a hand pressed to her chest in shock. Anders began to walk away when she spoke, her voice soft compared to all the yelling and singing and other noise around them.

“Hey, wait!” She said, making him stop in his tracks. “You didn’t tell me your name. Im Rachel.”

“I know.” Anders choked, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m just…” He felt his face flush a deep red as he fumbled, further embarrassing himself. “Im trying to introduce myself to people and everything and I saw you here but I didn’t know it was you. Im really sorry.”

“So introduce yourself, then.” She smiled, a warm kind of look that Anders swore he hadn’t seen since he’d been in LA. She was perfectly well spoken, as if everything out of her mouth was rehearsed, and yet genuine. “You’re allowed to talk to me, you know. I’m not a jerk or anything.”

Anders let out a nervous laugh, picking up another beer off of the counter behind him. He was already drunk, and the last thing he needed was to be even more wasted, but maybe if he had some more he wouldn’t have to remember this interaction ever happened. He popped off the top, twisting it on his forearm, and took a sip.

“Well, if I’ve made a good impression, my name is Anders.” He giggled. “And if I haven’t, my name is Christian.”

“Anders!” Rachel gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you! I love your new song!”

“You’re a lair.”

“I’m not!” Rachel smiled, her hair shaking around her pretty head while she laughed. “I’ve been listening to it nonstop! I can’t believe you’re here!”

“I can’t believe I am, either.” Anders responded honestly, a soft laugh from both of them following. “I’m a big fan of yours, too! I mean, with your whole, uh, modeling thing. Great pictures, and all that.”

Rachel threw her head back in a laugh, her hand running through her dark hair. She tilted her head to the side, a soft expression on her face Anders couldn’t quite place. She looked…. Nice.

“That means a lot.” She giggled, taking a sip of her soda. “Do you want to go outside for a second? It’s kind of overwhelming in here.”

And so off they went, making painfully awkward conversation (mostly on Anders’ part). Rachel didn’t seem to talk about herself too much, which was surprising, and asked a lot of questions. She asked if Anders watched any sports (he didn’t), and what kinds of TV shows he likes to watch. She asked about his music and if he’d been in LA long. She seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say, which made Anders’ skin crawl in a nice kind of way.

It was almost easy talking to her after a while. (Emphasis on almost). Anders didn’t fight it, doing what he was meant to abs putting himself out there. He was just grateful he’d had someone there to catch him.

///

Anders, a few months later, would consider Rachel a good friend. She was always someone to chat with at a party (back when he used to go to those), and she always did her best to make Anders feel comfortable. He’d never explicitly said to her that he was kind of a nervous person, but she just knew.

She’d sent him flowers when he got home from rehab, and texted him from time to time to see how he was doing. She was like a safety net, someone who would always be on his side no matter what the circumstances. She always sided with him when he got into a stupid fight with Harry or Logan, and told everyone to go easy on him when he said something fucking stupid.

“Guys, give himself break.” She’d say, snuggling into Logan’s side. “You’re being kind of hard on him.”

“Yeah, guys.” He’d say smugly. “Stop being mean to me.”

“You literally told me my hair cut looked bad!” Y/N would snap back, throwing an offended glance at Logan who would just shrug.

“I didn’t say it was bad, I said I liked your old hair more. That’s all.”

“Who says that!”

“I’m just being honest!”

“You’re being an ass!”

“Rachel, tell her I’m not an ass.” He’d always try, looking over at her. She’d always give that same, soft smile and let out the same, small breath.

“I think he means he’s just not used to it yet, Y/N.” Rachel would defend, her tone so soft she could probably say anything and get away with it. “I’m sure he thinks it looks lovely. Right?”

“Yeah.” He’d agree. “It’s lovely.”

Everyone else would just roll their eyes, telling Rachel yet again that she was too soft on him. She’d just smile and say she couldn’t help it. And, to be honest, Anders couldn’t help the soft spot he held for her, too.

Anyway, they were good friends. They were good friends in the way you were good friends with someone from school, who you’d see for an hour during math class and then not really talk too much too unless they needed help with their homework. He wouldn’t necessarily say they were close, but she was a friend nonetheless.

They weren’t really the kind of friends who hung out one on one. They texted here or there, Rachel asking some surface level questions that the both knew how to read into. (“How is your day going? Have you been working on any music lately? Are you coming to dinner tonight?”). It’s like she wanted to ask him if he was okay, to check in on his sobriety or his mental health and just didn’t want to make it weird and say that. Anders loved her for that, and he’d give equally as vague answers to her questions.

Rachel: I just saw a girl at lunch wearing the best pink sweater!!!!!!!!! It was so you!!!!!!!

Anders: ahhh sounds like it haha!

Rachel: I’ll have to find it for you. It would look so good with the hair color you have right now!!!!

Rachel: how are you?

Anders: I’m really good :) went to lunch with h and finished knitting that scarf I was working on ayyyyooo hbu?

Rachel: OMG send me a pic!!!!!!!

Rachel: and I’m good! I’m glad you had a good day!!!!!

And that was the just of it. Anders really did love Rachel, her softness in stark contrast to all of his rough edges. She was warm and quiet and only ever stumbled over her words when she was lying. She was a great counter weight to the heaviness he felt sometimes. She was like white noise.

Today, Anders had decided to let himself into Y/N’s house, feeling a little bit fucky and honestly just wanting to annoy his best friend for a bit. He bounced in through the front door, kicking his adidas off in the entryway and sliding around the corner to the kitchen where he could hear the sounds of someone digging through the fridge.

“Honey, I’m hooooome!” He sang, sliding himself straight into the kitchen island. It wasn’t until he had already made contact that he noticed it wasn’t Y/N at all standing there, but Rachel. She was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a tank top, her face coated in a pale green sort of concoction.

They both froze for a second, Rachel letting out a high pitched screech. He was somehow always scaring her.

“Oh. Hello.” Anders chirped, standing up a little straighter. “That’s my bad. I didn’t know you were here, uh… Is Y/N around?”

Rachel pressed a hand to her chest like she always did, leaning onto her knees for a second. “No, her and Logan went out for a second.” She huffed for another second before letting out a laugh. “Do you always make an entrance like that? You scared me a little bit.”

Anders wasn’t sure what to do, but he tried not to panic. He’d literally never been alone with Rachel since the night they met, and he was exactly sure how to navigate it. Should he just leave? She seemed occupied…

“I’m really sorry. I’m just gonna go.. I’m sorry.”

“You can stay here and wait!” Rachel stopped him, shaking her green painted face. “They should be back soon.”

“I don’t want to interrupt your, uh…” Anders started, gesturing to the face mask. “Your afternoon.”

“Oh my gosh, you so aren’t!” She gushed, closing the fridge and leaning on the island opposite him. “You should stay! I don’t mind at all! This isn’t even my house!”

She chuckled, without a hint of discomfort, making Anders twist and stand on the sides of his feet. He’d look like an asshole if he left now. She really seemed like she meant it… But what if she was just being nice? Rachel was his friend, anyway. Shouldn’t he be able to stay and hang out? It wasn’t like she was a stranger.

As if reading his thoughts, Rachel doubled down. “I mean it. I haven’t seen you in a while, anyway. We can catch up!”

And so they ended up on the couch, Rachel leaning forward with a massive pillow (Logan’s handiwork, obviously) in her lap. She talked for a bit about work and her parents (who, in a really weird way, seemed a lot like his parents, though he never told her that), and the movie she watched the night before. Eventually there was a pause in the conversation, which Anders couldn’t allow to go on for more than a second before he wanted to crawl out of his skin. He stood up a bit hastily, holding his arms stiffly arms his side.

“Do you mind if I play a game?” He asked, fully aware of the fact that he sounded like a fucking 13 year old. “Like a video game, I mean.”

Rachel pursed her lips. “Of course not.” She said, slumping a bit into the couch. “Can I play with you?”

“Oh, uh….” Anders panicked for a second, sincerely taken aback. “Yeah. For sure.”

Rachel called her hands and sat uo straighter, taking a controller from Anders outstretched hand. She was a surprisingly fast learner, catching on to all the different moves and attacks pretty quickly. Once she’d gotten the hang of it they just sat quietly together, Rachel’s soft face furrowed in stone cold concentration. Anders glanced over at her, trying to gauge whether or not she was miserable, to find that hilarious look on her face.

“What’s on your face, anyway?” He asked her, eyes moving back to the TV. “You look like a fuckin’ cucumber.”

Rachel snorted loudly, her focus on the screen faltering for just a second. “It’s a face mask.” She said simply, the paste around her mouth cracking slightly from her smiling so much. She gasped suddenly, pausing the game and turning to face him. “You should do one! Oh my gosh, you’d love it! You have to!”

Anders chuckled, anxiously fisting the controller in his hands. “Nah, I’m good.” He smiled, “Thanks, though.”

“You really should!” Rachel pressed, setting her controller onto the coffee table she had her feet propped up on. “You’d love it! It’s soooo relaxing!”

Anders blinked at her for a second, moving his lips to say no when out of his mouth came the opposite.

“Yeah, okay.” He agreed, unable to say no to her. “Slap it on me, baby.”

She took no time to drag him to the bathroom upstairs, washing her own mask off before instructing Anders to wash his face. There was something weirdly intimate about being in the bathroom together, not in a sexual way, but just in a…. Good friends kind of way. There was a tingly kind of feeling between them like Anders always got when he felt genuinely safe around someone.

Rachel stood on her toes so she was eye to eye with Anders (she was tall as fuck, so they were nearly the same height as it was), using a brush to paint the ice cold putty on his face. She shoved a fuzzy, thick headband onto his head to hold his hair back, saying it was “part of the experience”.

(Logan and Y/N had a tiny refrigerator in their bathroom for their skin care products for whatever fucking reason. Anders couldn’t even begin to describe his disappointment the first time he’d been over and found that the mini-fridge did not, in fact, have any snacks inside).

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Rachel. I hate this.” Anders giggled, only half meaning it. Rachel shushed him quietly, continuing to apply the mask.

“Give it a second.” She instructed, her voice assured and unwavering. She always sounded so sure of herself, it was honestly kind of annoying. “You need to relax. You’re scrunching up your nose.”

“I can’t help it!” He defended through a giggle, squeezing his eyes shut as Rachel painted another long stripe down his cheek. “It tickles.”

“You’re being a baby.” She teased so gently it felt like a compliment. “You’re gonna thank me later when you look two years younger.”

“Is that a guarantee?”

“So it says in the box, at least.”

Anders forced himself to hold still long enough for Rachel to finish, only snickering here and there. Rachel, when she was done, put some gooey looking patches under her eyes, saying something about how they were supposed to “wake up her face” and make her eyes “brighter”. Anders listened attentively, though most of it went over his head. He nodded enthusiastically when Rachel pointed out all of the ingredients he couldn’t have repeated the names of.

They went back down stairs, both in their respective face masks and matching headbands, picking up their game where they had left off. By now Anders felt like he was playing with any other buddy, like Matt back home. Rachel was gaining XP faster than him somehow, which Anders chose to find funny instead of annoying.

“Get that motherfucker!” Anders shouted, mashing his finger against the button as he tried to fight off the monster attacking him. Rachel ran over to him on the screen, sticking her tongue out as she swung and kicked and tried to kill the thing before it killed Anders.

“He’s too strong!” Rachel screeched, chest heaving as she tried her best to defend him. “I can’t get him!”

“Yeah, cause you’re shit at this game.” Anders teased, giggling to himself. “Use you’re fuckin’ other sword.”

“I can’t!”

“Fucking why not?”

“I don’t know!”

While Anders continued yelling and Rachel kept on yelping out panicked responses, she finally managed to kill the thing. She threw her controller down triumphantly, looking eagerly over at Anders.

“Take that!” She yelled, raising her hands in fist over her head. “Take that!”

“Yeah, take that, fucker!” Anders joined in, moving on to the next monster. “You tell ‘em, Rachel.”

Rachel picked her controller back up, following Anders to the next part of the dungeon. A skeleton popped out from a trunk on the left, which Rachel promptly took out in one hit. Anders let out an impressed hum, earning a proud smile from Rachel.

“Take that, fucker!!” She yelled, making Anders abs herself both nearly choke laughing. Anders pinched his eyes shut, opening them a second later to find Logan abs Y/N just behind them with twinning dumbfounded expressions. Anders froze, Rachel following his gaze a second later, the four of them sitting in stunned silence for a second.

“Whatcha doing?” Y/N asked, eyes shifting between the two of them.

“Playing Diablo.” Rachel squeaked back, head barely popping up over the edge of the couch. There was another bewildered pause before Logan finally spoke.

“Did you just call that guy a fucker?” She asked Rachel, her mouth straining to fight her smile. Y/N snorted out a laugh, unable to hold it back, which Rachel echoed a bit sheepishly.

“I got caught in the moment.” She laughed, shaking her head.

Y/N and Logan made themselves at home on the couch, Y/N taking over Anders’ remote while he washed off his face. He leaned into the mirror, actually kind of impressed by how soft his skin looked now. He hung the headband back up on its hook, attempting to make his hair look a little less fucked as he listened to the girls all screech and giggle and yell at the game they were no doubt sucking at right now. He smiled to himself a bit, taking in for a second how much healthier he looked lately. Much better than rehab, for sure. He felt a swell of pride in his chest which he quickly squashed, reminding himself that not being addicted to drugs was the bare fucking minimum for anyone else and not some kind of accomplishment. He still smiled at himself anyway, running his hands over his face and admiring the way it felt more alive than it had before. That same proud feeling bubbles it’s way up again, and as hard as he tried he couldn’t quell it this time. He really did feel proud of himself. It was uncomfortable and embarrassing, but it felt nice.

He couldn’t see why he didn’t let himself feel this way more often, actually.

///

AHHHHH SO ANYWAY there’s that! Rachel def has given anders all her best skin care recommendations since this happened, and he will only buy stuff for his skin after it’s been approved by her. Like imagine him standing in a Sephora wearing a pair of sunglasses and a hood trying to look inconspicuous texting pictures of moisturizers to her asking if he should get them HAHAHAH

They also def play diablo together and Anders only ever plays with her because everyone else sucks HAHAH

ALSO imagine them just randomly one day having a heart to heart about their parents HAHDJSH like Rachel comes home from having lunch with them and she’s all huffy puffy and Anders is just sitting there awkwardly like 🧍‍♂️ and just listens to her vent and he doesn’t know what to say but they eventually start talking about their lives and how similar they were yet so different GSJDHWKAK awwwww I love them!!!!!!!

#NOT PROOFREAD #blacking out and breaking hearts #bobh #anders #rachel #bobh blurb #bobh short

[obscuremarvelmuses]

Darkstar Reread

Iron Man #110 picks up with Iron Man and Jack of Hearts having entered the egg and then been seemingly vaporized, but actually been teleported to another ship, which is full of little green men (yes really, though they’re not Skrulls) doing stuff, and they fight. It turns out this is the command ship of a huge colonizer fleet, and they want to take over a world called. . .Wundagore II? So like…a planet…with the same name as Mt. Wundagore? Is there any connection? I normally don’t really care about the plots in these stories, just what I learn about Laynia, but I’m kinda curious now because that’s a hell of coincidence. Also, does anyone else think that Wanda was probably named after Wundagore? I mean she was born at its foot and her name sounds a LOT like “Wunda” I know she was created looong before that was decided as her birthplace, but I mean in-universe! Anyway, back on the moon, Vanguard says it’s been hours since the Americans went on the egg “braving dangers unknown” and that it’s not right, that they should follow them, die with them if need be. So he doesn’t like them, but he does have a strong sense of honor, even if he puts it before reason. Luckily, Darkstar supplies the reason, telling him that such a sacrifice would be senseless and that if that egg is an alien menace, someone has to survive to warn Earth. I hate to say it, because I dislike this trope, but I think that the Soviet squad is yet another case of “the only girl on the team also has its own brain cell” Superiors from Moscow send a communication, and Darkstar immediately says they are safe thanks to the bravery of American heroes. I love her and I do like her ability to be open minded and think beyond “this person is my enemy bc our countries are at odds” but I also dislike how her praising Americans is the main way we know she’s The Good One and The Reasonable One. The general from Moscow informs the team that the egg is a danger to all so they’ll be working with the Americans, and a SHIELD mission is going to join them, but it’s going to take time so they have to remain where they are and report on any further developments. Vanguard is pouty about having to miss out on “glorious combat” and Darkstar wonders if they will ever see Iron Man and Jack again, or if whatever is in the egg has killed them. Stuff happens with Iron Man and the aliens, and they arrive at Wundagore II, and clearly it definitely does have some connection to the Earth’s Mt. Wundagore, because it’s being defended by human/animal hybrids on mechanical flying steeds! I recognize these guys—it’s the New Men, animals who were “uplifted” by the High Evolutionary! Did he get himself a freaking planet?! Who knows! Til next time, comrades!

#darkstar reread

[i-am-the-myrmidon]

Begging you to not even joke about transphobes being in the closet simply for using pen names. Begging you to recognize "haha you're the thing you hate" isn't a good joke and hurts people actually in the group and in this case just reinforces the terf idea that trans men are just women trying to escape the bad parts of being a woman because she's literally just using a male pen name because she thinks it'll make people take her more seriously.

Hi friend. I’m a trans man making an off-handed comment about my opinions on my 12 follower blog. Bold of you to assume it’s a joke; I was expressing a long held frustration about the way it really feels like she’s displacing and ruining countless lives over it. I think she needs to ask herself some questions about why she returns to masc names. To suggest as such does not imply that all trans men are just trying to escape the bad parts of being a woman, it’s calling into question whether that’s the real reason she’s doing it. Yeah yeah, you shouldn’t assume peoples gender. A Crass statement on my part or not, it’s disrespectful to assume you know exactly what I meant from 12 words on a tumblr post and come onto my tumblr.hell blog and hush and lecture me about it.

I went through a period where I used male pen names and initials only because “u won’t get the recognition under a woman’s name” was the excuse I came up with because I wasn’t ready to confront my internalized transphobia. I don’t have to wonder why I really felt I wouldn’t get the recognition I wanted going by a woman’s name anymore. But someone saying that seems like a logical explanation when you’re young and in pain you don’t have the language for.

Block me if you don’t like it; If you don’t like someone’s opinions that’s fine but stop acting like you have the right to silencing and policing them. You can mind your own business. I have the right to talk about my experiences

there are trans men that fall into TERF rabbit holes and get gaslit out of accepting themselves or blocked altogether because it happened early. I want those men/man-adjacent people who have struggled with that (this even pushes into transfemme nonbinary territory too: anyone that identifies with masculinity can internalize an aversion to it bc terf propaganda and feel the dysphoria of being unable to connect with an aspect of your gender) to have a reference for that sensation. I want them to know that you are not alone in that struggle and to see people who have overcome that struggle. To know there may be another explanation for why they feel that way. I want them to know I am immeasurably happier now than I was back then.

#i suspect I have already blocked this person but to anyone else who comes poking #for being publically dramatic abt this #that’s my protocol for when I don’t like someone’s opinion #no need to make a fuss #don’t u have something better to do than harass trans people on the internet #why don’t you go lecture an actual terf instead #cant even have opinions on being a trans man as a trans man

[technoskittles]

me, tired as hell because it’s 2 am: [sees new discord friend request. accepts immediately for...some reason (idk man i’m tired)]

me: [kinda wakes up a couple minutes later, realizes it might be @seasinkarnadine​]

“wait but...huh? are we in a server together and I just wasn’t aware...?”

“.....oh. okay maybe we somehow have a mutual friend?”

“............”

h....how did you find me?

#pls confirm #don't get me wrong I don't mind a bit but I'm just so confused #considering you need the number code to add people on discord #and the only reason I even recognized the name is bc I follow her on twitter too #also like um....hi? #I'm still vaguely intimidated by you bc I fucking love your fics so goddamn much #but also the timing was very eerie because I literally JUST got done re-reading one of them about 20 min ago

[allyouneedisbuck]

adore you

summary // bucky and alpine enjoy their solitude, but the girl across the hall is slowly creeping into their hearts. (bucky x fem!reader)

words // 7.4k

warnings // diverges from canon & no major spoilers.

notes // just thousands of words of fluff bc that’s all i know how to write. maybe one day i’ll venture into anything else. fluffy bucky has my heart 

reblogs & replies are greatly appreciated!

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The first time you knock on Bucky’s door Alpine wanders over curiously.

Bucky stares at the door silently urging you to go away. You knock again and Alpine begins to paw at the door before meowing loudly, which makes Bucky groan. “I’m coming.” He calls as he stands from the couch. He pauses the movie playing on his television, something ridiculous that Sam had insisted on. Alpine meows again and Bucky can hear you laugh through the door. 

He pulls on a hoodie that’s laying on his counter and stuffs his left hand into the front pocket. When he pulls the door open you smile brightly. “James!” 

The two of you had met briefly when Bucky had originally moved into the building. You had smiled the same bright smile in the elevator and offered up your name easily. Bucky had smiled tightly in return and told you his full name, a habit he had yet to break, and he deeply regretted it. Every time you passed in the hallway you called out a cheery James despite Bucky’s corrections. 

“It’s Bucky.” He mutters. Your eyes move over his shoulder and Bucky watches as you take in his very undecorated and barely furnished apartment. Bucky didn’t mind how seemingly empty his place was. He wasn’t home a lot and nobody but Sam spent time with him. Sam might think it was time to add barstools and a spice rack, but Bucky was content with how things were. 

Your attention is pulled to Alpine as he peeks out from behind Bucky’s legs. “And who are you?” You ask quietly as you squat down to meet his eyes. You hold a cautious hand out and Alpine only stares. You wait for a moment before he turns and moves back into the apartment. 

You don’t seem to take it to heart though. You laugh as you stand up. “He takes after his dad, huh.” There’s a teasing glint in your eyes and Bucky should be offended but the comment actually makes him smirk. 

“His name is Alpine.” Bucky says monotone as he watches you rock back and forth on your feet. “Did you need something?” 

“Oh!” Your eyes light up as if you had completely forgotten your reason for coming here in the first place. “I need salt! Do you have any?” Your eyes move behind him again as if you’re now suddenly worried the answer won’t be yes. 

“I have salt, yes.” He doesn’t move from his spot and only stares down at you. Your eyes flicker around the hallway before you smile nervously. “Can I have some?” You ask quietly. 

Bucky nods and makes his way into his kitchen. He expects you to stay and wait in the doorway, but he hears the door shut behind you.

“Didn’t want him to get out.” You say as you lean against his counter. Bucky’s a little put off by your brazen personality, but you don’t seem to notice his discomfort. “How long have you lived in DC?” You ask as Bucky moves to pull the salt out. 

“How much do you need?” He asks instead of answering. 

“Not much! A couple teaspoons.” Bucky’s stoic attitude doesn’t seem to deter you at all. He glances around the bare kitchen before deciding to just give you the shaker. 

“I don’t have anything to put it in, just make sure to return it eventually.” He shrugs as he slides it over to you. You grasp it in your hand but make no effort to move. Bucky sighs. “And I’ve lived here for a couple years now. I… I moved here after the Blip.” 

He wonders briefly if you know who he is. He’s not sure what happened in the years of the blip, if his name had been marked on one of those memorials. That had been before his pardon, so he assumes not. He wonders if Steve’s exhibit had been changed. He hadn’t been back since before the blip. Was he still in it? Had they changed it or was Bucky Barnes still dead in America’s eyes? His eyes find yours and then he wonders if you did know who he was, were you worried? 

You seemed fine around him. He hadn’t seen any recognition on your face when he had introduced himself all those months ago. A frown tugs at your lips. “Were you…” You trail off but Bucky knows the question. 

Bucky nods tightly and you take a step away and move towards his door, like you know he’s reached the limit on sharing personal details for the night. “Me too.” You finally say when your hand lands on his door knob. You pause. “It’s weird. Right? Coming back to a completely different world?”’

“Yeah.”  He nods. You have no idea, he thinks. He had just begun to figure out how to live free again and then he was gone. And when he came back, he was thrust into battle then lost Steve to a world Bucky was no longer a part of. “It’s weird.” 

You smile apologetically. “Thank you for the salt, James.” You say quietly. His eyes flash to yours but your face doesn’t give much away. 

He nods and the door slams shut. Alpine comes trotting out and rubs against Bucky’s shins. “Yeah, she’s weird.” Bucky reaches down to softly pet Alpine’s back. “Pretty though, huh?” 

Alpine pushes against his hand and Bucky takes that as agreement enough. 

//

Bucky liked helping Sam down at the VA. Handing things out, setting things up, and talking with veterans gave Bucky a sense of something. It gave him something to do when Sam and him weren’t away on missions. 

And he got to spend time with Sam. While it was something he would never admit to the man, he enjoyed his company. Sam had slowly become Bucky’s best friend. Not that Bucky really had any other close friends. 

“Thanks for helping out today.” Sam smiles as Bucky leads him through the hallway towards his apartment. “But you know, you can just come for a meeting. To talk.” 

Bucky nods. He did know that, really. But Bucky was okay with listening for now. Maybe one day he would share some of his story, but helping out now was helping him. 

Bucky stops short in the hall when he notices something sitting outside his door. He throws an arm out that Sam slams into. “Jesus, what…” He trails off when he notices what Bucky had seen. 

There’s a small brown box sitting on the ground. “Stay here.” He murmurs as he begins to move towards the object. Sam gives Bucky a look before following behind him. “Or not.” He glares. Both men kneel down in front of the box. There’s not much that gives anything about what’s in the box away, just his name written in fancy script. 

He reaches a hand out to touch it when the sound of your door opening makes him second guess and pull away. You were a little weird, but he didn’t want to blow you up. 

“James!” Him and Sam look over at you as you lock your door. You’ve got a red apron wrapped around your waist and your bag is slipping off your shoulder. Before Bucky can say anything like be careful, you furrow your brows at the men. “What are you doing? Do you not like cookies?” 

“Cookies?” Bucky asks as he glances down at the box again. Sam has already stood up and straightened out, but he’s still kneeling in front of the door. He can hear Alpine pawing at it, no doubt having heard Bucky’s voice, and he feels a little ridiculous now. “It’s Bucky.” He adds on now that he knows it’s not an explosive sitting in front of him. 

You nod slowly with a confused smile on your face. “Cookies. I made a bunch so I packed up the extra for you. When I knocked nobody answered so I left them, I wasn’t sure if I’d be home when you got back.” 

Bucky feels heat rise to his cheeks. He hastily picks the box up and stands. Sam laughs loudly and Bucky glances at him coldly. “Thanks.” He says quietly. 

You rock back and forth on your feet again. Must be a nervous habit, Bucky thinks. “I also made some cat treats. For Alpine.” Bucky recognizes the nervous tone in your voice as you stare at the box in his hands. “Thank you. For the help.” You say before spinning on your heel. You freeze and turn again, this time your eyes land on Sam. “Nice to meet you, Captain America, sir.” You look like you’re thinking of throwing your hand up in salute, but instead you turn again and rush down the hall. 

Bucky just stares after you until a muffled meow breaks his focus. He shakes his head before shoving the box into Sam’s hands and moving to unlock the door. “So.” Sam says with a poorly contained smirk as he follows Bucky inside. “She seems nice, James.” 

Bucky groans before snatching the box from his hands. “She knows I go by Bucky, she just calls me that to mess with me… I think.”

“And she knows Alpine?” Sam kneels down to pet said cat, but he jumps away and hides behind Bucky’s legs. “Come on, Al. We’ve known each other since you were adopted.” Sam stands up and rolls his eyes at Bucky. 

Bucky laughs softly at the cat. “She asked to borrow salt last night and kind of met him. Alpine didn’t really stick around to hang out with her.” He begins to open the box and notices a small note taped to the inside of the lid. 

He pulls it off hesitantly. “What’s her name?” Sam leans against the counter and pulls a cookie out of the box.

“Y/N.” He says quietly as his eyes skim over the note. 

James, 

Thank you for the salt. And the conversation. I hope you enjoy the cookies. I made some simple tuna treats for Alpine. 

Step One in getting your cat to love me. 

Bucky lays the note on his counter and looks into the box. His shaker is standing in the corner next to a small plate of cookies and a jar of what he assumes are the cat treats. Sam laughs and Bucky glances up to see him reading over the note. “Hey!” Bucky yanks it out of his hand and shoves it into one of the drawers in front of him. 

“Getting Alpine and you to love her, she means.” He laughs again and Bucky rolls his eyes. “That’s cute. I didn’t know you had a little flirtationship going on.” 

Bucky scoffs. “I don’t… What does that even mean? Did you see us in the hall? I don’t flirt with her.” 

Sam reaches for another cookie. “Really? Just felt like that’s how you would flirt. And you blushed so…” He trails off with a smirk. 

“I wasn’t blushing!” Bucky says defensively. He didn’t blush just because a pretty girl gave him cookies. He wasn’t in middle school. When Sam reaches for another cookie, Bucky yanks the box away. “Are you gonna order dinner or stand here and eat all of my cookies?” 

Sam throws his hands up in mock surrender and pulls out his cell phone. “Hey. No need to get defensive. Maybe it was just hot in the hallway.” He moves into the living room and flings himself onto the small couch. 

Bucky scoffs and looks down at Alpine, who has made himself comfortable at Bucky’s feet. “I wasn’t blushing.” He says quietly to the cat. Alpine just blinks. Bucky pulls a treat out of the small jar and holds it out to him. “You know I wasn’t blushing.” 

//

The next time Bucky sees you, it’s him at your door. He’s got a clean plate in his hand and is decidedly not nervous as he waits for you to answer. 

He lifts his hand to knock again when the door swings open. You’re standing in nothing but a sweatshirt and shorts that barely peek out from beneath it. Bucky swallows and forces his eyes up from your legs to your face. 

He gives you an apologetic smile when he sees your raised brows. “James.” You smile kindly as you lean against your door frame. “What can I do for you?” 

“Bucky.” He says automatically. He holds the plate out and notices your eyes catch on his gloved hands. “Figured you might want this back. I washed it.” 

You take the plate from his hands. “Thank you.” Bucky doesn’t move from his spot in the hallway. He’s not really sure why because he’s done what he needed to do. He just wanted to enjoy your presence, he assumes. You had begun to grow on him and your cookies were really good. Or maybe he had always kind of liked you. 

“Do you want to come in?” You ask. There’s an inviting smile on your face and he almost says yes. He wants to say yes. But he didn’t want to leave Alpine alone, he had already been gone for most of the day. 

Bucky gives you an apologetic smile. “I would… But I don’t want to leave Alpine alone.” You nod with a soft smile and Bucky watches for a moment before taking a step back.

“I’ll just…” He points over shoulder at his door. He turns and starts the short walk to his door. 

You laugh quietly. “Have a good night, James.” 

“Bucky.” He corrects. He takes a deep breath and turns to face you again. You’re still standing in your doorway watching him amused. “Do you want to… You can come to mine instead?” 

Your small smile transforms into something bright and excited as you nod. “That would be great. Let me grab my keys.” You hold a finger up and disappear into your apartment. 

As soon as you're out of sight Bucky slumps against the wall. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He thinks. His living room is bare except for the small, shitty couch Sam had persuaded him into buying. That and a lamp on an Ikea side table and his television. 

He imagined your living room was much homier. Probably decorated to fit your aesthetic and cozy. What would you think of his place? What did you think? You couldn’t mind it too much if you agreed to come, right? 

His nervous train of thought is disrupted when he hears your door slam shut. Bucky watches as you lock your door quickly. “Lead the way!” You look at Bucky with teasing eyes. 

Bucky smiles hesitantly as he turns towards his own door. When he opens it, he finds Alpine laying on the back of the couch and he stares confused at Bucky and the new addition to the apartment. 

“You remember Alpine.” Bucky says with a small smile as he beckons you further into the apartment. “It’s not much-“

“-It’s nice.” You cut him off. You’ve got a genuine smile on your face and Bucky begins to wonder why he had ever been nervous. You’d always been kind, he couldn’t imagine you having anything rude to say. “Hi, Alpine.” You say quietly as you step cautiously towards the couch. 

Bucky watches as Alpine looks up at you equally as cautious. “Nice to see you again. I hope you like the treats.” At the word, Alpine perks up and looks at you intrigued. 

Bucky quietly pulls a couple treats out of the jar. He moves as subtly as he can in order to avoid shifting Alpine’s attention. “Here.” He slips a treat into your hand. “See if he comes to you.”

You hold the treat out in front of you and Alpine sniffs the air. You don’t say anything, like you know trying to coax the cat to you might spook him. Alpine seems to appreciate it and moves towards you slowly. He snatches the treat from your hand before dashing away. He disappears down the hallways, but you don’t seem to care because you spin around to face Bucky with a happy smile. 

“Did you see that?” You laugh. Bucky swallows and nods. Briefly he thinks you have a beautiful smile before shaking the thought off. You take a seat on his couch and pull your legs up underneath you. “I’ll be his favorite in no time.”  

Bucky snorts. “I’m sure.” He says sarcastically. He sits next to you on the couch and moves to hand the remote to you. He lets a small smile be directed at you as he watches you make yourself comfortable in his home. It’s not much, but you seem to fit right in. 

When your eyes land on his gloved hands again, he thinks you’re gonna ask for a reasoning behind them. He’d have to come up with a poor excuse, not wanting to share the truth yet. But your eyes move from his hands to his face and you take the remote with a smirk. “You ever seen Legally Blonde?”

And, well. That’s that. 

//

The next time you and Bucky see each other, it’s in passing. He’s going out as you’re coming in. There’s a grease stain on your shirt and your red apron is barely stuffed into your purse.

Bucky hesitates for a moment. “Hey.” He says quietly. You spin around and slam backwards into your door. “Fuck. I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m sorry.” He takes a cautious step towards you. His eyes trail over your face, your eyes are red and he can tell how exhausted you are. 

“It’s okay.” You say quietly. You take a few calming breaths. “I was in my head. It was a rough night.” 

Bucky leans against the wall next to you. “Wanna talk about it?” He’s grown so used to you just stopping to chat that this tense silence feels wrong. Normally he wouldn’t even have to prompt you, he would listen as you just launch into a story easily.

You trail your eyes over his outfit. “You look like you’re headed out.”

Bucky shrugs and doesn’t move from his spot. “Just a recap then. I have time.” He’s not sure what’s inspired him to do this. But he thinks it has something to do with this newfound fondness to your bright personality. He wants it back. 

You take a deep breath and nod. “Come in for a glass of water? Then I’ll let you go.” 

Bucky sighs in relief. “Sounds perfect.” He follows you into the apartment. It’s different from his. Bright, like you. You’ve got posters hanging neatly on the wall your tv is against. Plants sitting by your window. A large couch and soft rug. “Nice place.” He comments as he moves to sit on one of your barstools.

You laugh softly. “Thanks.” You drop your purse onto the counter and turn to pull two glasses out of the cupboard. “Where are you headed? If you don’t mind me asking.” 

Bucky glances at the time on your stove. “Oh… I help my friend out with meetings at the VA. I was headed to help him set up.” 

You slide a glass of water towards him. “You’re a vet?” He takes it with an appreciative smile. “I didn’t…” You shake your head. “Thank you.” 

Bucky shakes his head. “I’m not…” He trails off unsure of how to explain his status to you. Did you really not know who he was? “Tonight's topic is you.”

You roll your eyes and lean back against the counter. “Have you ever just had a bad day? Where nothing seems to go right?” Bucky nods and you sigh. “My master’s thesis, I’ve been working on it for months, I got back my draft today from my advisor and he tore it apart. Had a good cry about that. Got called in early to work, I need the money so I said yes. The diner was busy and we were short staffed. To top it off, my last customer of the night was a douche. He hit on me all night. When I told him no to getting my phone number, he threatened to take my tip away.” You laugh bitterly as Bucky sits in silence, listening intently. “And then when I walked away, he tried to grab me. So… Stellar night over all.” 

“Want me to kill him?” The words are out of Bucky’s mouth before he can think. He couldn’t imagine being forced to be nice to somebody who was just harassing him all night. In fact, he knows he wouldn’t be. And he knows you certainly didn’t deserve treatment like that. 

You let out a shocked laugh that turns into a full blown laughing fit. Bucky lets out an awkward chuckle as he watches you shake. 

“That’s…” You trail off and Bucky notices tears gathering in your eyes. “That’s really sweet.” You say wetly. 

“Hey.” Bucky stands up and takes a step towards you. He pauses, unsure of what to do, but when you start to shake again, this time with tears, his decision is made. “Hey. You’re okay.” 

He pulls you into him and you come easily. You wrap your arms tightly around his waist and rest your head against his chest as you let it out. 

Bucky rubs your back and tries his best to calm his rapidly beating heart. He hopes you can’t hear it because he’s sure it would break any kind of aura of nonchalance he had created. 

He glances at the time again. He really has to go. The meeting was starting soon and he’s sure Sam is worried about where Bucky is. He pulls back slowly, not wanting to let go. 

You look at him with sad eyes. “I’m so sorry. I have to go.” You nod dejectedly and take a step back. You don’t go too far, both of your hands still clinging to his jacket. “Can you watch Alpine?” He rushes the words out and he knows there’s a light blush rising to his cheeks. He just wants to make you feel better and he really does hate leaving his cat alone. 

You furrow your brows. “What?” 

“I mean.” He takes a hurried step back suddenly aware of you still wrapped in his arms. “I hate leaving him alone. And… You look like you could use some furry company.” 

A slow smile spreads across your face. “Are you saying your cat likes me?”

“No.” Bucky laughs. “But you are the only other person he doesn’t completely hate.” 

“I would love to watch Alpine.” You take a few rushed steps out of your kitchen. “I’ll change and head over.” 

Bucky lets out a relieved breath and nods. “Good. Cool. I mean-“ He shakes his head. “-my spare key is on top of my door. You don’t have to do anything but hang out with him. Don’t expect cuddles though, I’m not sure you’re on that level yet. Don’t give him too many treats.” 

You’re nodding like his instructions are even the smallest bit important. “I have to go.” Bucky says ago and takes another step towards the door. “I’ll see you later.” 

You nod and take off down your hall. Bucky lingers by your door for a moment.

“Wait!” You yell and come rushing out again. Bucky freezes and turns to look at you. “Thank you…James.” You smile brightly before spinning around again and disappearing. 

Bucky smiles to himself as he leaves. The bright was back. 

//

When Bucky gets home he’s more nervous than when he left. His palm is sweaty and all that’s on his mind is Sam’s constant teasing. 

Bucky didn’t have a crush. He just… Liked having you around. That didn’t mean he wanted to date you. Maybe he did think you were pretty. And sure when you had let him hug you earlier it had made his heart race. 

But it wasn’t a crush. Bucky was too old to have a crush. He takes a deep breath before opening his door. He can hear a movie playing softly before he even looks up. 

“Hey.” You say quietly from where you’re laying on his couch. You sit up hastily with an embarrassed smile. Alpine is laying on the chair across from you. “We’re friends!” You point to the sleeping cat. 

Bucky nods. “He actually stayed in the same room as you all night?” He asks doubtfully. 

You frown, but there’s a mischievous sparkle in your eyes. “Maybe not all night. But he came out like an hour ago. I think he gave up on waiting for me to leave.” 

You pat the spot next to you on the couch and Bucky moves as quietly as he can. “How was your night? Do you feel better?” He looks you over. You looked less tired and from the blankets piled on his couch it looks like you had taken a nap. 

You nod. “A lot better… Thank you. I really appreciate you letting me hang out with your cat.” You look up at him with a nervous smile. “He’s just like you. You two were made for each other.” 

Bucky glances at Alpine. “What does that mean?” 

You poke Bucky’s leg with your socked foot. “Hard exterior, secretly wants to be best buds with me.” 

Bucky snorts and gently shoves your foot away. “My secret plan has been outed. Make the girl from 4B my best friend.” You laugh and move to tuck your feet under his leg. It’s silent for a moment, and Bucky knows you’re watching him so he busies himself with watching Alpine.

“Hey…” You trail off waiting for Bucky to turn his attention to you. “I don’t want to upset you or anything.” 

“That’s always a good start.” Bucky says nervously as he focuses on you. Your hands are fidgeting in your lap as you watch him. “What’s wrong?” 

You shake your head quickly. “Nothing’s wrong! I just… Promise you won’t be upset with me?” Your eyes are pleading and Bucky can feel himself get anxious. What could you be so nervous about? 

“What’s wrong?” He asks quietly. You don’t say anything, so Bucky swallows hard. “I promise.” He nods slowly. 

“Okay.” You take a deep breath. Bucky watches your eyes shift around the room before landing on his hands clenched together in his lap. “I thought I recognized you. Like, your name is so familiar and then when I saw you with Captain America…” 

Bucky looks down at his hands and nods. He knew where this was going. “I…” He trails off. 

“I looked you up.” You rush the words out. Your voice is small and Bucky feels any hopes he had for this friendship shatter around him. 

“I don’t… I’m not any of those things anymore.” Bucky cringes. His leg is shaking anxiously, but he just can’t get it to stop. He can’t even get himself to look up from his gloved hands, didn’t want to see the fear or disbelief that would be painted across your face. 

Your toes poke at his thigh again and it forces Bucky to look over at you. Your eyebrows are furrowed as you watch him, but there’s no trace of fear or anger, you wear the same kind smile that you always did. 

“I know that.” You whisper softly. Your eyes move past him and Bucky follows your line of vision to Alpine, whose bright eyes are staring at him. Bucky smiles gently at the cat as he stretches out and hops off the chair. Alpine rubs against Bucky’s shins, a welcome distraction from the impending conversation. Your feet curve upward to poke Bucky in the leg again. He looks up hastily at the gesture. “When I asked if you were a vet earlier, why did you say no?” 

Bucky purses his lips to think. The truth was he wasn’t at all sure how to explain everything to you. He didn’t have to explain things to Sam or Steve, they knew. “My war was a long time ago.” He settles on saying. 

“That doesn’t make you any less a veteran.” You say firmly.  “And there’s not much online about the Winter Soldier-“ There’s ringing in Bucky’s ears as the words come out of your mouth. What had you found? And what were you thinking? 

“Hey.” You lean over and place a gentle hand on his shoulder. “There’s not much online, but I didn’t read what there was because I knew that it was your story to tell me. When you’re ready.” 

Bucky inhales sharply as you look at him with curious eyes. “I… I did a lot of bad things. I… I worked on making amends and I… I was pardoned.” He pleads with you like he’s sure you’ll walk out if you know everything. 

“Okay.” The word is quiet and your hand is still resting on his shoulder. “You don’t have to tell me anything. I just wanted you to know that I’m your friend. Even with your super cool secret identity.” 

Bucky laughs at that. “It’s not a secret if you use your real name.” 

“Ah! You agree? We’re friends?” You say with a smirk. “Does that mean I get to see the super cool metal arm that’s always been covered around me?” 

Bucky shakes his head, but laughs. “Not yet.” You’re watching him carefully so he gives you a small smile. “I would say we’re friends though, yeah.” 

//

Suddenly, you’re always there. 

When Bucky has missions with Sam, you check in on Alpine for him. His spare key has moved from above his door to your keychain. 

You’ll come over with treats when he gets home from the VA. (Bucky likes to think you check for him when you hear the heavy footsteps in the hall and that’s why you’re always there right after he gets home.) 

He’ll bring dishes back whenever he sees you get home. (He does check the peephole when he hears footsteps.) 

You send him pictures of Alpine when he’s away. Alpine who still won't cuddle with you or even touch you, but who lays in the same room and has recently started allowing short pets. He sends you pictures of Sam and cities they’re in. 

And tonight, while he’s in New York, you’ve sent him a picture of you in his bathroom mirror with Alpine sitting pretty on the counter. 

He’s not supposed to be up there. 

All he gets is another picture in return, this time you have a thumbs up and Alpine is still on the counter. Bucky smiles. Sam notices. 

“Your girlfriend texting you?” He teases. 

Bucky scoffs. “She’s not my girlfriend… She just watches Alpine for me sometimes.” He looks back down at his phone. Nice. He sends back before stuffing it into his pocket and looking back at the man. 

Sam nods slowly. “Right. She just watches Alpine sometimes. And hangs out with you when she’s free. Don’t forget the treats she makes you and Alpine.” Sam lists off casually as he looks down at his fingernails. 

Bucky feels an embarrassed heat crawl up the back of his neck and looks down at his feet. “We’re friends. She’s a good friend.” 

When he looks up, Sam doesn’t have a teasing smile, but instead a genuinely happy one. Bucky thinks that this one is somehow worse when Sam grips his shoulder firmly. “I’m glad you have such a good friend, Bucky. Someone outside this super hero business.”

Bucky nods and swallows the lump in his throat. “Yeah. Thanks, Sam.”

“I’m serious, Bucky. You deserve it.” 

Bucky gives him a grateful smile unable to say anything else.

//

Bucky creeps into his apartment at four in the morning. It’s quiet, like usual, but Alpine isn’t sitting on the couch like he normally does when Bucky isn’t home. 

“Al?” He calls out quietly. The logical part of him is aware that Alpine may have fallen asleep in his bedroom, or underneath a piece of furniture. But there’s another part of him that panics at the routine being broken. 

Alpine was always there to greet him. 

Bucky would rather be safe than sorry. “Al.” He whispers again, already reaching for the knife strapped to his ankle. He bends slowly and lifts his pant leg as he scans his eyes under the couch and coffee table in search of the cat. 

He stands with the knife in his hand and moves slowly down his hallway. His bedroom door is ajar, Bucky takes a deep breath before pushing it open all the way. Alpine blinks at him from the edge of his bed. The knife slips from Bucky’s hand as he stands, shocked in the doorway. You’re asleep. Asleep on the bed that he never used. 

The knife clattering against the ground stirs you from your sleep and your eyes widen when you notice Bucky standing there. 

“Hey!” Your voice is raspy and low. You rub your eyes and Bucky can only stare at your half-asleep form. “I… I thought you were going to be gone until tomorrow night.” 

He nods. “Yeah. I mean, we got things done sooner than expected.” He explains. You lean over to flicker the light next to you on. Bucky doesn’t recognize the pillow sitting behind you or the blanket that’s thrown over your legs, he thinks you’ve brought them over from your apartment. You must have because his pillow and blanket was sitting folded in his linen closet waiting for the next time he camped out on the floor or the couch. 

You smile apologetically. “I’m sorry. I… I got tired of falling asleep on the couch.” You whisper. “And Alpine lays with me on the bed.” 

Bucky hastily shakes his head. “No! It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize. I should’ve told you to sleep in the bed. I didn’t even think of it.” I don’t really sleep in the bed. He moves further into the room. 

You scratch nervously at your cheek before freezing in action. He almost laughs at the annoyance that crosses your face. You had mentioned once that touching your face was a bad habit you had been trying to break for months. “I should go.” 

“You don’t have to.” Bucky opens his dresser drawer in search of sweatpants. “Stay here. You’ve already got yourself set up. I’ll crash on the couch.” 

You push the blanket off of your legs and Bucky has to force his eyes to stay on yours when he notices the already short shorts you’re wearing have ridden up your thighs from sleeping. “I can’t make you sleep on the couch, James. I’ll go!” 

“You know it’s Bucky.” He stops you with a hand on your shoulder. “It’s fine.” He stresses. “I… I don’t really sleep in the bed anyways. The couch is better.” 

Your eyes narrow. “You don’t have to lie to make me feel better.” He can tell you’re hesitant, but your rushed movements have paused. “My apartment is across the hall! I feel awful for invading your space like this already.” 

Bucky sits on the edge of the bed and watches curiously as you shift to sit next to him. Both your legs are dangling off, almost brushing his, and Bucky feels warmer than he had all week. “Doll, I’m serious. Beds are weird for me. I haven’t had one in so long that sometimes they’re just too overwhelming for me to sleep in.” 

He almost jumps when your head rests against his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t… I didn’t think of that.” 

“It’s good to see somebody getting good use out of this bed.” He leans into you slightly. “My ma would have thrown a fit if she saw how much this bed was. 800 dollars for a mattress... 800 dollars back then is like, thousands now.” 

You laugh softly. Bucky glances down again. Your eyes are closed and he thinks you’re almost asleep until you talk. “Do you… Would someone being there help you sleep in the bed?” 

You don’t open your eyes and Bucky’s almost glad for that because he can’t look away from you. “I… I don’t know. It’s only been Al and I.” His eyes follow the rise and fall of your chest as you breathe slow and calm. 

You finally look up. “You should stay with me. The couch isn’t comfortable to sleep on, I would know.” You elbow his stomach gently. 

He nods before he can even think about it. “If… If you’re comfortable with it.” He whispers. 

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t. I promise.” You move away from him and Bucky already misses the warmth you radiate. “I’ll let you change.” 

He leans against the bathroom door as soon as it’s shut behind him. “It’s okay.” He mumbles to himself. His nightmares had been getting better, but that didn’t mean they were gone entirely. 

They probably never would be. And he knew he couldn’t let himself be afraid of the bed for the rest of his life. He had bought the bed. He just hadn’t expected his attempt at getting over the anxiety to be with you. 

Why had he said yes? He thinks as he shakily slips his jacket off. He looks at himself in the mirror and sighs. It was a good question, why had he said yes? 

He slips into his sweatpants and just stands in the bathroom. He couldn’t change his mind now. 

Well, he could. He knew you would give him a kind smile and reassure him that he didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to. You were just that person. Kind and understanding and holding no judgement. 

“Okay.” He takes a deep breath. “Okay.” He shakes his shoulders out and picks up his discarded clothes. He stops at the linen closet and pulls out his blanket and pillow. 

You’re already wrapped up in your blanket again when Bucky comes back into the room. Alpine has moved to lay the floor in front of his bed. You smile sleepily at Bucky. He feels himself smile back. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

(When his eyes crack open the next morning he finds Alpine curled at his feet and you curled into his side, he knows being with you wouldn’t be bad. It’s the first time he lets himself think maybe this really is a crush.) 

//

So, Bucky has a crush. Which is a little ridiculous because he’s over a century old and having a crush is so high school, but it’s there. When you smile in the hall and butterflies rush through his stomach or when his chest warms at a picture you’ve sent of you and Alpine. It’s so obviously there. 

“What are you staring at?” Your voice shakes him when he realizes he’s been staring at you this entire time. You’re sitting next to him on the couch, so close your legs are touching. “Do I have something on my face?” You reach a hand up to your cheek. 

Bucky shakes his head hastily. “No. Sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts.”

“Penny?” You ask softly and Bucky furrows his brows in confusion. “Penny for your thoughts.” You clarify quickly. 

He thinks the smile that appears on your face is bashful and it makes Bucky feel just a little more confident. Maybe he made you as nervous as you made him. 

“You’re really pretty.” He says suddenly. Your eyes widen and you look away nervously. A hand scratches at the back of your neck and Bucky bites down on his lip as he watches you. Not exactly how he hoped that would go. “I mean… I was just looking at… how pretty you were.” He cringes at the words as they come out of his mouth. 

He used to be so much smoother than this, he thinks. He remembered having a new girl on his arm every week and a friend of theirs for Steve. 

Alpine meows loudly and Bucky just knows the cat is laughing at him. ���Thank you.” You finally say quietly. “I… I didn’t think you thought that about me.” 

“‘Course I do.” He says equally as quietly. “Always thought you were pretty.” He glances at you and smirks, “Even when I thought you were weird too.” 

You gasp and turn to look at him. “You thought I was weird?” 

Bucky laughs and nods. “After you came in the middle of the night for salt? A little. And the fact that you keep calling me James when I’ve told you it’s Bucky.” He raises an eyebrow. 

You smile brightly. “You introduced yourself as James. Why would I call you anything else?” 

Bucky presses his tongue to his cheek as he tries not to laugh. “Yeah. I’ve regretted that every day since. Nobody’s called me James since the forties.” 

You scoff. “I find that hard to believe.” 

Bucky looks away. “Well for decades I was referred to as soldat.” He glances down at his hands. He’d stop wearing his gloves around you after you’d spent the night, even told you a little of his story the next morning. 

Sam thinks your relationship is weird. You spend the night sometimes and both of you find time to spend together when you can. It’s like you’re dating, but Bucky knows it’s not really like that. He thinks you both bring a sense of calm to one another. 

He’s not sure how to shift that, or if you would even want to, into a relationship. He glances back at you with a tense smile. “Steve always called me Buck. Sam calls me Bucky. Last person to call me James was probably my mother.” 

“I’m sorry… I never meant to-'' You take a deep breath like you’re preparing yourself for what you're going to say next. 

Bucky shakes his head. “It’s fine. I’m not trying to make you feel bad, I was just pointing it out.” He tries to smile reassuringly. 

“I was just trying to flirt.” You say so quickly the words sound jumbled together. 

It takes him a moment to comprehend what you’ve said. “With me?” He points to himself. The words make his confidence rise exponentially. “You were trying to flirt with me?” 

“With you.” You confirm with a slow nod. You start laughing, but it’s soft and happy. “Of course I was! I wanted you to remember me! How could I do that if I called you what everybody else does?” 

“I don’t know. Anything else?” He laughs along with you. “I…” He shakes his head with a smile. 

You both settle and Bucky hears you inhale sharply. “The salt to come see you and talk, the cookies and treats for Alpine… I’ve had this huge crush on you since you moved in.” You say softly. 

Bucky nods, he could see it now. Then he starts laughing again. He feels you smack his shoulder. “I’m sorry… You… Sam said that those cookies and treats were you trying to get me and Alpine to like you.” 

You roll your eyes at him. “Keen eye. He saw I was flirting.” You tease gently. “Does it… Does it bother you? Or change anything? The fact that I was flirting?” You ask softly and full of nerves. 

Bucky smiles sweetly. “That depends. Do you still want to flirt with me?” 

You narrow your eyes, but nod. “I don’t ask just any boy to sleep in the same bed as me.” 

“Just me and Alpine?” Bucky nudges your knee with his. You nod softly and he inhales a deep, nervous breath. “It worked.” He says quietly. 

You nudge his knee back. “It did?” 

He turns to look at you again. You’re already looking up at him with hopeful eyes and Bucky feels his heart race. “Yeah. I like you a lot. I don’t... I haven’t felt this way in a long time.” 

A smile breaks out on your face. “I like you a lot too.” You whisper, like you’re afraid anything louder will break the moment. 

“Can I kiss you?” He whispers back. You nod excitedly and lean towards him. Bucky places a gentle hand on your cheek as shuts his eyes and leans in. 

His chest warms when your lips press against his tentatively, like you’re both still nervous it’s not real. Your lips are soft and Bucky knows his own are chapped, but he feels you smile against him and can’t stop his own smile from overtaking his face. 

You pull away, but you’re still close enough that your lips are brushing against his. He’s caught up in the moment staring at you when he feels something rub against his shin. 

It makes you pull apart. Alpine is rubbing himself against both your legs and purring softly. Bucky presses a kiss to your cheek. 

“Think you won both of us over.” 

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

notes // what do you do when your midterm is an essay & gave you a headache? write bucky barnes fanfiction. thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed it. ps i’ve seen some spelling mistakes promise to edit those in the morning!

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x fem!reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes imagine #cupidswritings

[piecksz]

three’s a crowd | (m)

pairing: reiner x fem!reader x eren

warnings: nsfw, oral sex (female recieving), cuckolding, male masturbation, penetrative sex, voyeurism, slight degredation, slight angst, light mention of drugs, explicit language

summary: reiner’s attempt at hiding his attraction towards you fails, but lucky for him, eren’s feeling generous.

words: 4.6k

a/n: this was so much longer than i planned for.....well.....shit LMAOOO

a/n x2: I FORGOT TO ADD if you guys wanna listen to the song i looped like 47 fucking times while writing this, bc i feel like it fits reiner in this one shot kinda well, u can listen to recognize by partynextdoor (feat. drake) :p enjoy

Reiner hated Eren.

He hadn’t gone into living with someone he’d never met in person before with innumerable expectations, but he wasn’t banking on his roommate to be his polar opposite. He hated the sound of Eren’s riotous music into the early hours of dawn. He hated the unbearable malodor of his marijuana dependence, and he hated the way he carried himself with an intolerable air of arrogance, but as much as Eren’s living habits irritated him, it was the fact that Eren had you that presided over all of his grievances.

Being a witness to it made Reiner sick, knowing that you were leagues above Eren, and surely you deserved someone respectable, but somehow he’d charmed you into a long-term relationship, and Reiner wondered how he’d managed it. If by some miracle it had been up to him, Reiner speculated that he would be a viable match for you--that was if he had those sentiments for you--and he reassured himself he didn’t hold any promiscuous feelings towards his roommate’s girlfriend.

Yet it was hard for Reiner to rationalize the obscene thoughts that pervaded his mind at 2 AM. His clock displayed the time in bold red numbers, an indication that he should have been fast asleep, but you had decided to spend the night, and he already understood what that entailed.

The walls in their apartment were thin and did an insubstantial job of muting the noise that traveled between rooms. Reiner boasted the privilege of having his room right next to Eren’s, which meant he could hear everything that happened on the other side of the barrier. He heard every whimper, every groan, every time Eren praised you for taking him so well, and every time he admired how irresistible you looked while he fucked you from the back. The sound was so lucid he could count exactly how many rounds you guys had gone, and it was usually two, three if Eren hadn’t seen you in a while which was rare.

You two were hard to ignore, no matter how hard Reiner had tried, meaning he was also up late, listening while you two coupled. Your cries of stimulation, however, he didn’t mind as much. In truth, Reiner was always tempted to slip his hands into his pants and get himself off to the sound of your enticing whimpers, but he would discourage himself, deciding it was against his better judgement. Instead he would opt to cover his ears with his pillow, flipping over onto his side and dedicating his total effort to falling asleep.  

Of course, Reiner had long established that he didn’t like you, but he swore he could make you feel better than Eren could.

It was around midday when Reiner returned to their apartment after committing his morning to helping his long-time friend, Pieck, pack up the furniture at her studio in preparation to move. They were halfway finished with stowing away Pieck’s belongings before she realized they didn’t have enough boxes and apologized, asking Reiner if he’d be willing to return the following day to help her load up her remaining things. He obliged, guiltily happy that he was being dismissed early.

Reiner kicked off his shoes and ambled into the kitchen to set down the food he secured on his way home, but he paused momentarily to scrutinize the condition of the living room, discerning Eren’s obvious trace.

The TV was on, but it sat idly, blinking images of some prime time movie Reiner couldn’t recognize, and Eren’s drug paraphernalia was left scattered on the coffee table, his bong alongside his stray lighter and grinder.

“Eren!” Reiner had prompted him on several occasions, reminding Eren that just because he thought electricity was a necessary utility and should be free, didn’t mean it was, they still had to pay for it. He also requested that he put his bong away after he was done smoking since it wasn’t permitted in their building, but Eren seemed heedless to that demand too. “Eren!”

Reiner anticipated a response, but huffed when he received only silence. Leave it to his roommate to blight his good mood in record time. He mumbled inaudibly, swiping the remote off the table to turn the TV off, and then reluctantly bending down to tidy the space of Eren’s things.

“Hi, Sunshine. You’re up and about early.”

Reiner straightened himself out and turned around, unaware that you’d been over. He missed your approaching footsteps. Had you stayed the night? He didn’t hear anything from Eren’s room the previous evening which was unusual to say the least. Maybe you’d stopped by earlier that morning while he’d been out.

“Hey,” he replied meekly. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were here.”

Reiner’s eyes looked you over swiftly, slightly startled at the lack of clothing covering your bottom half. You were only wearing a loose shirt that stopped dangerously at your hips and a pair of lace undergarments, but naturally, you didn’t seem the least bit phased. You’d practically lived with them. When you weren’t in class or at your part-time job, you were at their apartment, leading Reiner to wonder if you forgot you had a place of your own. 

“It’s fine,” you smiled. “Sorry Eren left all of his shit out. I don’t know how I know the house rules and he doesn’t.”

Reiner snorted. “He knows them, he just doesn’t care.” His voice was casual although he walked hastily into the kitchen to avoid looking at you. He stored Eren’s bong in the vacant cupboard above the microwave before throwing his other tools into a miscellaneous drawer.

As if on cue, Eren wandered out of his room languidly, carelessly shrugging a jacket onto his unclad upper body. Reiner took that as a sign that his lunch would be best enjoyed in his room. He was already irked, and wasn’t in the headspace to deal with the current atmosphere.

“What’d you get?” you questioned, leaning over the counter with mirth. You paid little attention to the way Eren came up behind you, circling his arms around your waist and resting his chin in the curve of your shoulder. You looked more interested in the alluring smells wafting from the paper bag in Reiner’s hand.

Another thing he hated about Eren was his shameless PDA. It appeared he adored showing you off, letting everyone know that you were his, but God--how could anyone forget when it seemed he was incapable of keeping his hands off of you. Reiner himself recognized that you were a prize, from your lively eyes that were a marriage of subtle hues to the way your lips curled upwards when you grinned. He even noticed the curve of your breasts’ shape through your shirt. If Reiner had you, he’d want you all to himself.

He shook the thought out of his head.

“I just got something small on the way home.” He forced a smile. “If I’d known you were over I would have gotten you something too.”

“Why do you treat Y/N better than you treat me?” Eren asked, sounding only a little bit offended.

Reiner pretended to think before he responded. “Ah, maybe it’s because I don’t like you.”

You laughed at Reiner’s reply, and Eren only smiled, but Reiner detected something else behind his expression. Mischief.

“Do you like Y/N?”

Reiner creased his eyebrows together. “Of course.” He hadn’t read too much into the question. He did like you. You weren’t just easy on the eyes, but you were great company too. That was the only reason he didn’t mind lending their apartment to you as a second home, he enjoyed being around you.

You let out an exaggerated aww after he answered. “I like you too, Reiner.”

Reiner chuckled, shaking his head, but inside he was telling his heart to calm down. You didn’t mean it like that.

Eren hummed absentmindedly, swaying side to side slowly while you rocked along to his movement.

“Do you wanna fuck her?”

Reiner gripped the bag in his hand tightly, and his smile faltered in shock, reeling from the bombshell of Eren’s question. “What?” Did he hear him correctly?

You looked just as surprised, exclaiming your boyfriend’s name and craning your neck to look at him.

“I’m kidding,” he dismissed, but Reiner could tell he wasn’t from the way Eren’s eyes didn’t waver from him.

What Reiner didn’t know was that Eren had caught onto him. He’d known for a while, which was why he was particularly touchy with you around Reiner, showing you off, not caring whether you walked around their apartment scarcely dressed, it was because Eren enjoyed having something that someone else wanted. He saw the way his roommate acted around his girlfriend, reserved and quiet, more than he usually was, and he even noticed the way Reiner’s eyes dipped down to your chest in the moment because Eren was exceptional at paying attention to detail.

You must have detected how uncomfortable Reiner felt because you delivered a brief jab to Eren’s ribs with your elbow.

“Eren, that’s not fucking funny,” you chided. “Do I need to put you in time out?”

“It’s fine,” Reiner interrupted quickly. He didn’t want you defending him because you were oblivious. It only made the situation more embarrassing than it already was since, truthfully, the thought had crossed his mind more than once.

Eren reiterated his question, eyes narrowed at Reiner. “So do you?”

You sighed heavily and looked at Reiner apologetically. He could feel his face growing hot, and he prayed it wasn’t obvious he was as flushed as he felt. He just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

Reiner released a humourless chuckle. “Grow up, Eren.” He slipped past the two of you, but he didn’t get far.

“I’m only asking because I’m feeling charitable. You wouldn’t mind, would you baby?”

Reiner could hear Eren pressing a series of ticklish kisses against your skin, causing you to laugh through your answer.

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind if Reiner doesn’t mind.”

Reiner brought his teeth down hard on the tip of his tongue. He was surprised that Eren was so secure in his relationship that he would willingly allow another man to have his way with his girlfriend. He wasn’t sure if his suggestion was insane or ingenious, because Eren had taken control of the one thing that threatened any relationship: infidelity, something so unvirtuous wouldn’t stop him from loving you. You and Eren were so committed to each other that a simple fuck meant nothing.

Reiner hesitated, but figured an opportunity like this was rare. He had both Eren’s permission and yours, yet he still didn’t believe his sincerity until you were in Eren’s room, starting to strip out of your clothes.

His chestnut eyes drifted over to Eren, slouched lazily in the chair he casually pulled out from his desk. “You’re gonna watch?”

Eren lifted a thick eyebrow, resting his thumb under his chin with an index finger against his cheek, looking unimpressed by Reiner’s obvious reservations. “You think I’d let you fuck my girlfriend without me here?”

Reiner slid a tense hand over the back of his neck, rubbing away the uncomfortable heat that creeped up his back and diffused to the tips of his ears. He figured that was reasonable considering the circumstances, after all, he was only fucking you because Eren had allowed it.

There was nothing more intoxicating to Reiner than your bare form, scanty pink lace clinging to your hips the only thing preventing you from being completely naked in front of him. His gaze dipped from your simpering smile down to your collarbones and then down to your breasts, perfectly sculpted to your figure.

Reiner made no efforts to move despite his insatiable urge to grab you in his arms and make certain that you were left satisfied. He feared he’d look too eager to Eren who was observing from the sidelines, but you paid little attention to your audience of one as you sauntered towards Reiner, closer and closer, until your arms slid around his neck and you pressed your chest to his torso.

Reiner’s body was strung so tightly, he was afraid he might snap. It seemed you took notice of the way his muscles tensed once your delicate fingers ghosted over the nape of his neck because your suggestive expression waned, and instead, your eyebrows creased with sincere concern.

“You okay?”

He couldn’t respond, but to be fair, it was because his heart was hammering against his chest and he wasn’t sure how to make it stop. He looked over at Eren again, who, fortunately, didn’t seem to pay much attention to him. Instead, your boyfriend’s stare was fixed on your backside, likely admiring how luscious you looked from his perspective.

“I’m over here.” You laughed and pressed a gentle finger to Reiner’s chin, redirecting his focus back to you. “Just relax.”

He swallowed, chuckling to soothe his unease. “I’m trying.”

Reiner wasn’t sure why he felt so unassertive in your presence. He didn’t hold a record like Eren did, but he also wasn't abstinent by any means. This, though, felt different. He was dealing with several months of pent-up sexual frustration that could only be satisfied by you and no one else. He knew because he’d tried.

Reiner drew in a ragged breath as you leaned into him, breathing heavily through his mouth until you closed the space in between you two, then he continued breathing heavily through his nose. At first, he made no efforts to close his eyes, afraid that the imagery in front of him was a mirage inspired by his own imagination and would disappear if he so much as blinked. His lips were timid, body taut under your touch, but you seduced his mouth, reining him in until he melted into the kiss.

He pushed back against you with fervor and desperation, outlining the shape of your bottom lip with his tongue before nipping at the soft flesh. You released a quiet whimper, intensifying the lust swelling in the pit of his stomach, and Reiner forced his tongue past your teeth, claiming your mouth while his wandering hands settled audaciously against your ass.

Your hands slid over his shoulders and crafted biceps until they tugged hastily against the hem of his shirt, and Reiner immediately understood your cue, withdrawing his mouth from yours to give himself just enough time to slip out of it. He dipped down again to deliver another kiss, but he was deterred by the feeling of your palm against his chest.

“What? Is something wrong?” he questioned quickly, eyes darting back and forth between your hand and your face, worried that he’d done something to overstep your boundaries.

Instead of the troubled expression he expected, you looked rather intrigued. Perhaps impressed was the better word. Your curiosity was held by Reiner’s physique, a living work of art. Eager fingers traveled down the built ripples of his abdomen, chuckling once you felt his muscles flex under your touch.

“Jesus Christ,” you breathed. “Nice, Braun.”

A snicker emitted from the corner. This, miraculously, Eren allowed.

Reiner's mouth quirked upward in a subtle smile before he surrounded you with his arm, pulling you in for another kiss. He walked you backwards until you collapsed onto the mattress, and he fell on top of you, strong forearms holding up his weight. It was then that Reiner realized he allowed his lust to win in the war against himself.

He pulled away to recover his breath, winded pants fanning over your face. His surveying eyes searched yours before they lowered to your swollen lips. God, you were even more mesmerizing up close, heavy-lidded and studying him through a curtain of eyelashes. Maybe for once Reiner would admit he was jealous of Eren. He was fucking envious, bitter, and spiteful that you were his. He’d been a goddamn idiot to let things go this far, agreeing to Eren’s offer, because he knew one fuck wouldn’t be enough to fufill his need for you. He’d barely gotten a taste, and he could already promise that nothing would ever compare to this.

He found your throat and pressed a fleeting kiss to your pulse, moving further down until his lips met your collarbone. He nipped at the delicate skin, taking notice of the way your grip in his hair tightened. His eyebrows arched while he peered up at you, delighting in the way your head rolled back and forth against the duvet. He really wanted to suck at your skin, leaving dark bruises that decorated the path from your earlobe down to your breastbone, but he knew Eren would kill him.

Reiner dipped lower until his lips brushed lightly against your beaded nipple. You made a small sound of protest, but held his head closer, letting him know what you really wanted. His heart beat erratically against his ribcage as he curved a large hand around your right breast and suppressed a groan, but you released a breathy whimper.

He could feel the sound wreaking havoc in his brain. His balls were so damn tight, it would take barely any effort for him to cum, but he wanted to prolong your coupling as long as possible. He didn’t know if he’d ever get another chance like this.  

His thumb ran over the erect peaks of your breasts, captivated by the magic of watching your back arch and your body become aroused under his touch. He dipped a finger into his mouth, glazing it with his saliva before using it to flick back and forth at your nipple.

“Fuck, Reiner,” you mewled.

Reiner replaced his hand with his lips, sucking the sensitive bud into his mouth. The tip of his tongue swirled around it, coating it generously with his spit, while you made no attempts to conceal your intense cries of pleasure.  

Eren released an entertained sigh, swiveling back and forth in his chair. “She whines like a bitch, doesn’t she?”

Shit. Reiner had almost forgotten he was there, but he still released a hungry grunt in agreement, sending vibrations over your chest. He tugged at your nipple with his teeth, releasing it, and then soothing the sting with the flat side of his tongue.

He trailed down your abdomen, pressing hard wet kisses and stopping to leave a quick lick to your navel. He grinned against your skin when you gripped the sheets and breathed his name again, this time quieter, as if you meant it only for his ears. He liked to think so.

Once he reached the waistband of your panties, he licked along the fabric, immobilizing your rolling hips with strong hands.

“Enough with the theatrics, Reiner. Just do it already,” Eren groaned, sounding irate.

Reiner assumed Eren’s groan was only to stress his impatience, but once he looked over to him, he realized he wasn’t just giving directives from the sidelines. His bottom lip was tucked between his teeth, and his hand was moving steadily against the noticeable tent in his sweatpants.

He was enjoying this just as much as Reiner was, getting off to the sight of his girlfriend under another man, his roommate nonetheless.

Reiner suddenly felt strange. What the hell was he doing providing entertainment for Eren?

“Reiner,” your needy voice pulled him out of his reflection. His attention drifted back to you, watching while you propped yourself up on your elbows and slid your unsteady hands over your chest to tweak your own nipples, as if you were trying to hold yourself over.

He wished you hadn’t looked so tempting, even with your disheveled hair and sweaty skin, your vulnerable eyes fixated on him, and he was powerless.

Reiner hooked his fingers around your underwear, kissing a trail down the inside of your thighs as he pulled your panties down to your ankles before slipping them off and letting them pool on the floor.

“Spread wide baby, let him see that pretty pussy,” Eren stirred, cock now thrust out the top of his grey sweats and his swollen tip glistening with precum. His hand was wrapped firmly around his stiff length, moving slow while his breathing quickened.

For once, Reiner agreed with him, and he pressed his fingers into your thighs to aid you in parting your legs. Your pussy was slick with your own arousal, squelching as you tightened around nothing. You were even prettier than he’d imagined.

“Fuck,” Reiner breathed, extending two fingers to part your folds. Was he still sure he wasn’t dreaming?

He wrapped his built arms around your legs, pulled you closer, and lowered his head. He fixed his lips to your swollen clit, allowing his tongue to lap and circle around the tender bud every few seconds.

“Oh my god,” you cried, writhing against the sheets.

If he hadn’t secured your legs in his grip, he was certain you would have smothered him between your thighs out of reflex. He could detect the way you fought against his hold, but he far overpowered you in strength.

When he plunged his tongue inside you without notice, that was nearly enough to send you over the edge. You pulled on the sheets with a frenzied grip, producing a shrill cry your neighbors had certainly heard. There was no doubt about it.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” you murmured, chest expanding and falling with labored breaths.

Reiner wanted to spend a few more generous minutes tasting you, he couldn’t get enough, but he also wasn’t sure how much longer he would last. His cock was hot and hard in his pants, and he needed to feel you around him. Even if Eren wouldn’t let him cum inside of you, he needed to experience at least that much.

He rose to his feet, working quickly against his pants’ zipper while trying not to tease himself by looking at you. He was worried the mere sight of you on the bed, spread and ready for him would be enough to bring him to a climax, but he’d made the mistake of looking at you anyways, hand between your legs, delicate fingers rubbing at your clit while you stared up at him.

Fucking hell. Kill me. Reiner thought. Fuck. He felt the throbbing heat of his cock, and he wished you wouldn’t look at him like that. He really wished you wouldn’t look at him like that.

“Look at her, so desperate to be filled. It’s almost pathetic,” Eren laughed, but it was clear he was feeling your effect too. He lolled his head forward, long brown hair spilling over his shoulders and obscuring his face while his palm worked fast against his cock.

Shut up, Reiner thought. His head was growing hazy, and he couldn’t think. He needed to be inside you, and he couldn’t wait a second longer.

Reiner let himself free while his pants and underwear hung low around his knees. He couldn’t even find time to delight in the way your face melted into bliss once you laid eyes on his thick cock, leaking precum in sinful amounts because all he could think about was his ache. He leaned over you, positioning himself at your entrance.

He’d been waiting for this for so goddamn long.

Reiner exhaled when you said his name again, hips undulating against his cock and wet folds stroking his tip. He watched as he pushed himself into you, filling you to the hilt, and once he was inside he hung his head forward, eyes shut tightly in a painful sort of ecstasy.

“You’re so fucking tight,” Reiner grunted breathlessly.

He groaned, pinning your hips down with his once you attempted to fuck yourself onto his cock.

“Stop moving,” he pleaded. “Jesus christ--please don’t move.” He stayed still for a moment, waiting until his sensitivity subsided before he started rocking his hips against you slowly.

Reiner couldn’t dedicate his focus to anything other than the feeling of your slick walls clenching around his cock every time he pulled out, and the way he stretched you out every time he thrusted back in. He wondered if you could feel the depth of his desire.

“Harder,” you whispered once, and then begged louder. “Reiner please, fuck me harder.”

At first, Reiner was worried. He wanted to be gentle, he wanted to savor you, and he wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt you, but your request had him picking up the pace, ramming into you until the familiar slapping sound of sweaty skin filled the room.  

You unraveled and became completely undone, letting out loud moans every time he drove his cock into you. Reiner thought the sound was incredibly euphonic as it fell upon his ears. You were like this because of him.

“How’s this?” His voice was husky and deep beside your ear.

Reiner was pleased by your lack of response. You could only nod, overwhelmed by the dual sensation brought on by him and the feeling of your quick fingers against your clit. You secured an arm around his neck again and wrapped your legs around his torso, clinging to him like he was all you needed. He wished that was how you really felt.

“Close…,” you murmured, and Reiner deduced you were warning him that you were near your orgasm. He could tell by the way your walls began to spasm.

Reiner felt the small of his back tighten, and he knew he was close too. He was torn between his release and holding himself back, not ready for this to end just yet, but his body betrayed him and he felt his cock twitch inside you.

Luckily, you reached your climax first, and Reiner watched in awe as your body seized underneath him, breasts bobbing with every jolt while you worked your clit into overstimulation. It wasn’t long after your orgasm that he made his last rueful thrusts. He quickly pulled out and clasped himself in the curve of his hand. He pumped his length until he released in quick spurts onto your stomach, covering you in his hot seed, and he kept pumping until he made sure he emptied himself of every drop.

His eyes quickly darted over to Eren, not to be odd or anything, but again, he had forgotten he was there. It seemed Eren had already satisfied himself. The creamy, white liquid decorating the bare skin of his abdomen and dribbling down his loose fist was evidence of that. Now that he had appeased his urges, he seemed disinterested as he reached over his desk and plucked a few tissues to clean himself up.

Reiner collapsed beside you, listening to the loud thudding of his heart as it delivered a few ecstatic beats while he caught his breath and began to calm down. He stared at the pivoting fan blades, and then his eyes dropped down to you lying next to him, sweaty and fucked out.

You were laying there with him, and goddammit he wanted to reach his arms out and wrap them around you, pulling you close so he could hold you and feel your heartbeat against his chest. He’d press kisses to your salty forehead, and then tell you how much he loved you. He wanted to stay like this.

Reiner's ideal vision dissolved once Eren stopped at the edge of the bed and extended his hand for you to grab.

“You wanna join me for a shower, baby?” Eren asked.

Of course, you took it, allowing him to support you until you were sitting up.

You released an exhausted laugh. “Yes, please.” You then turned to Reiner and arched your eyebrow in surprise. “By the way, not bad, Braun.”

Reiner gave you a small smile in return, but said nothing as he watched you cover your breasts with your arm and let Eren hoist you off the bed. You two slid past him and headed out of the room, but not without Eren looking back over his shoulder, shooting Reiner a shit-eating grin, as though reminding him who you’d always belong to.

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