#but I also want to see which parts of your E or M rated fics you select

[tenthousandyearsx]

Smut game

Thank you for tagging me, @maraudersaffair and @crazybutgood! I loved reading yours. ❤ I'm going to do 10 smutty dialogue quotes instead because I'm not feeling any of my first lines and I'm curious to see what you all choose.

Rules: pick any ten fics, select some smut or pre-smut dialogue, and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, feel free to share anyway!

These are all Drarry.

ㅤ

Keep your hands on me (E, 21k)

“They just… they want to satisfy an itch, Potter. It’s not… It’s not really the same.” Harry pressed a kiss on Malfoy’s lips. “They don’t want to wreck you like I do, you mean.” “Yes.” “Do you want to be wrecked, Draco?” “Fuck, yes,” Malfoy groaned. “By me? Or by anyone?” “By you.”

Just a trial run (E, 9k)

“You had a fantasy about paying to have sex with me?” Potter asked, frowning. Draco snorted. “No, just having sex with you in general. Potter’s eyes glazed over. “How – How old is this fantasy?” Draco took a sip of his drink. “Quite old.” “You wanted to fuck me at Hogwarts, Malfoy?” Draco’s eyes were on him, appraisingly. “Isn’t that what that was all about?”

Trouble with your tie, Potter? (E, 6.7k)

Harry’s face grew warmer, his heartbeat picking up. Malfoy reached out and put his hands on Harry’s hips, pressing against him, his front to Harry’s back. “I bet –” He kissed Harry’s neck. “I bet I could turn you around, tug your tie just slightly, and you’d fall on your knees for me.” Harry shut his eyes, not even bothering to hide the small noise that escaped him. “Yeah,” he said. It was true anyway. He tilted his head a bit, baring his neck for Malfoy, and Malfoy’s hands tightened on him. “I’d do that.”

Truth be told (E, 2.3k)

Malfoy smirked. “Really, Potter. I should have guessed you just wanted to be fucked.” He slid a hand under Harry’s shirt and a moan escaped Harry’s throat. “You do, don’t you?” “Yes,” Harry groaned. “I thought we’d already established that.” Harry was on bloody Veritaserum, had just spilled his guts in a room full of Slytherins, and it was all Hermione and her stupid inter-house parties’ fault.

At wand point (E, 2.8k)

Harry’s mind went hazy, sluggish. “Blackmailing me, Malfoy?” Malfoy smirked. “It’s not blackmailing if you offer, Potter.” He leaned in slightly, lips almost brushing Harry’s, and murmured, “You are offering, aren’t you?” Harry wanted to pull him into a kiss, wanted to drop to his knees and mouth him through his trousers right there and then. Instead, he said, “What if I am?”

Imperio (E, 3.8k)

Malfoy caught Harry’s hair and yanked it back hard, still panting against Nott’s cheek. “What is it? Tell me.” “I don’t like it when you kiss him,” Harry said obediently, because he didn’t, even though he was too turned on and blissed out to find it really upsetting. “Oh?” Malfoy said, sounding delighted, and then laughed and pulled Nott into a furious snog again, Nott’s cock brushing Harry’s parted lips. Harry swallowed at the sound of their moans. “Like this?”

Good (E, 300)

“So good,” Draco murmurs, stunned and a little breathless, lips dragging over Harry’s jaw. “Are you always this good, Potter?”

Why (E, 100)

“This is fucked up,” Draco says, and Harry bites down on his thigh. “Why?” “Fucking hell, Potter,” Draco whines. Harry adds another finger. “Yesterday, we weren’t even on speaking terms.”

Under the Invisibility Cloak (E, 100)

“Shhh.” Draco flicked his thumb. “You don’t want them to hear you, do you?”

You can, now (E, 100)

“Like that,” Ginny murmured. “Open your mouth. You’ve wanted this for so long.” Harry whimpered. He let Ginny guide his head forward, let Draco’s cock slide past his lips. “You’ve wanted him all along, haven’t you?”

Tagging @orange-peony, @magpiefngrlrl, @nv-md, @ladderofyears, @makeitp1nk, @sweet-s0rr0w, @roseharpermaxwell, @wolfpants and anyone who feels like sharing smutty goodness!

#drarry #drarry fanfic #drarry fic #drarry ff #drarry smut #harry x draco #draco x harry #hpdm #dmhp #tag game #smut dialogue #smut game #this change of rules is doubly self-serving #it was easier for me #but I also want to see which parts of your E or M rated fics you select #and then go and read them if I haven't already #whoever does this please tag me!!! #ff games #my fics #my AO3 fics

[rayslittlekitten]

My First Night

“You Got This” Masterlist

A/N: Okay I've been wanting to write this for a looooong time and i think I finally figured it out. I wanted this to be tender and sweet (maybe a bit idealized as my first time was NOT any of those). I honestly miss these two. "My First Night" by Mya was the song that inspired this (YT link below).

Update: I fucked up. I prematurely posted this and have now updated the fic.

Rating: E (18+ ONLY)

Word Count: ~1,300

Pairing: Teenager!Jax Teller x Teenager F! Reader/OC (Opie's sister)

Plot: You're finally ready to take the next step with Jax and lose your virginity to him.

Contains: underage teenage sex, first time sex, losing virginity, PiV, fluff and tenderness

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Jax asks, his eyes locked on yours.

You stare back and nod your head as you let out a shaky breath.

"It's gonna hurt a lot," he warns you.

"I-I'm ready," you reassure him.

Jax leans down to give you a kiss on your forehead before looking down to align himself with you. You wince as he starts pushing in. He pauses when you emit an unpleasant sound and he then sees your face contort.

"We can stop-"

"No, I want to do this," you tell him.

"Okay," he nods.

He continues to gently push in as he watches for your reactions. You try to control your breathing as you feel yourself being stretched out.

"Ow! Ow!" A tear spills from the corner of your eye.

Jax stills his hips again.

"Okay I'm pulling out-"

"No!" you sniffle. "J-just go slowly. How much more is there?"

Jax glances down between the both of you.

"I only got the tip in."

Jax starts placing butterfly kisses on your face, hoping to help soothe the pain.

"I don't wanna hurt you," Jax reminds you.

He thought he got you wet enough, but now he's thinking maybe he should have prepared you more. He got a bit too excited when you told him you were finally ready to lose your virginity to him. The two of you got comfortable enough to do everything up until sex. He would penetrate you only with his fingers and every time, he would make you orgasm, drenching his hand each time. But this time, he may have not given you enough foreplay, rushing it a bit to finally be able to do this with you. He thought the lubricant on the condom would also help. A lot has to do with teenage hormones, but a part of him also wants to do this with you because he wants to, in his own words, make love to you. You thought that was sweet and it made you feel even more special.

"M-maybe if I smoke some weed or have some beer-" you start rattling off ideas, partly to distract yourself from the slight discomfort between your legs.

"No," Jax shakes his head. "I want you to be sober. I'd feel like I'm taking advantage of you. We can try another time-"

"Please, Jackson," you plead. "I want this."

Jax is torn between his raging hormones and his feelings for you. He's even surprised at himself for having so much self-control right now.

"I gotta go all the way in if you want to get past the pain," he says with his brows turned down.

"I can take it," you nod. "Do it."

Jax finally nods and leans in to give you a tender kiss. He watches your reaction again as he pushes in. You wince but don't make a sound. Another tear slips out from your eye and he frowns.

"Keep going," you tell him.

With that, as gently as possible, he slides himself all the way to the brink, making you gasp. He stays still, letting your body get accustomed to the new sensation.

"Fuck, you're so tight."

You start crying, feeling the burn of getting stretched out.

"I know, I know. I’m sorry." He coaches you and guides you through your first time. "It'll feel better. I promise. Just relax."

He wipes the tears from your face with his thumbs and plants a kiss on your forehead. He then starts kissing you again, making out with you for a bit to distract you from the pain, which subsides after a few moments.

"How are you feeling?" he checks up on you.

"It doesn't hurt as much as anymore," you tell him.

"I'm gonna start going in and out, okay?"

You nod and brace yourself. He gives you another comforting kiss before he starts moving. His hips pull back and push in, slowly and gently. You let out a sigh, taking in this new feeling. When he senses your body in a more relaxed state, he picks up the pacing. The old and worn out wooden bed frame creaks as he rocks. The lumpy mattress that’s probably been stained with so many bodily fluids, dips below you. The clubhouse dorm room isn’t where you imagined your first time, but you and Jax had limited options. With the club on a run and Gemma running errands, this was the best time and place, but it doesn’t matter because all that matters is who you’re with.

You were self conscious of being completely naked for the first time in front of Jax, but all those insecurities have gone away. Instead, it is replaced by the feeling of his naked body rubbing against yours. You feel so connected to him in a way you've never expected. His skin is so soft and smooth. The nerves of your skin get more sensitive with each stroke. You want to embrace him with every inch of your body and stay like this forever. You slip your arms behind him, feeling his bare back under your palms as his muscles flex. The burn between your legs has transformed into a more pleasurable feeling and you can feel yourself getting more aroused. Suddenly, Jax pauses, remaining still while inside of you.

"W-what happened?" you ask, wondering if you may have done something wrong.

"I'm just... pacing myself," he replies. "If I keep going, I'm going to bust in like two pumps."

"I-is that normal?"

"For guys my age? Yeah. But I'm also just over excited. I rubbed one out before I came to see you, but obviously, that didn't help."

You catch him studying your face. There's a smile that reaches his twinkling eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing," Jax shakes his head. He opens his mouth again, but he stops himself.

"What is it?" you press.

He simply slots his mouth over yours before moving his hips again. This time, his pacing is a bit quicker and more forceful. You moan into his mouth feeling a warmth forming below your belly. You instinctively wrap your legs around his lower waist and hook your ankles together. His kisses turn feverish as his thrusts pick up. Your fingernails dig into his back.

"Jackson..." you pant. "It feels so good."

Jax groans as he tries to hold back, delaying his release for you. He shifts his hips, changing up the position a little and you moan when he hits a new spot. A somewhat familiar yet new sensation rapidly multiples.

"Oh god," you yelp. Your body tenses and the tightening in your gut spreads.

"Let it go, darlin'," Jax grunts, resting his forehead against yours. "Let it all go."

He punches up against you as he quickly starts spiraling. You moan and cry out when something inside you snaps and the warmth floods your entire body. Jax lets out a growl and lets himself go as soon as he feels your wall contracting, no longer able to wait. You arch up and look up at him, your face contorting as your orgasm takes over you. You gasp when you feel him pulsating inside you.

"Fuck!" Jax growls.

He continues to pump inside of you until all of his seed spills out and collapses on top of you. His face is buried in your neck as you both catch your breaths. Your heart is pounding hard against your chest and you wonder if Jax can feel it as well.He finally pulls back and looks at you again with that same look he did earlier..

"I love you."

Your heart is so full right now, you can cry.

"I love you, too, Jackson."

In this moment, you are so happy, you are certain there is absolutely nothing that can take it away. Jax nudges his nose against yours and your hands cup his face before your lips meet again.

#charlie hunnam #charlie hunnam fanfiction #jax teller #jax teller x you #jax teller x reader #jax teller x oc #jax teller fanfiction #sons of anarchy #sons of anarchy fanfiction #you got this #Youtube

[imogenleewriter]

Hey I just started following you on ao3 and love your writing I was wondering if you had any fanfiction recommendations for me

For sure! I've given recs before, which you can find here: Favourites / Famous/Non-Famous / A/B/O / WIPs (although most are complete now!) / Recent Read and Loved Recs 2023 Pt 1 /Recent Read and Loved Recs 2023 P2

But let's do a part 3!

Sorted most to least word count. Kept descriptions short because we know how to click on links, and because they're are a lot here so I didn't want to take up too much space with their summaries, and also because I am too lazy to write out my own. But I loved them and that should be enough!

Be There by mission2feelike WC:179k | Rating:M | Misc: Exes to Lovers, Famous/Non-Famous, Kid fic

Face You Fears by SadaVeniren / @sadaveniren WC:92k | Rating:M | Misc: Omegaverse, Stranger to Lovers, Famous/Non-famous, Kid Fic. (read all tags)

your memory over me by shimmeringevil / @shimmeringevil  WC:64k | Rating:M | Misc: Exes to Lovers, Vacation

its golden, like daylight by wildestdreams / @thelavendrhaze WC:61k | Rating:M | Misc: Omegaverse, Friends to Lovers, College/Uni AU

you were in my dream by staybeautiful / @harruandlou WC:59k | Rating: E | Misc: Aquantences to Lovers, Neighbours

We Don't Need No Piece of Paper (From the City Clerk) by 2tiedships2 / @2tiedships2 WC:26k | Rating:M | Misc: Omegaverse, Arranged Marriage

Jealousy, Jealousy by wabadabadaba  WC:26k | Rating: M | Misc: Omegaverse, Alpha/Alpha.

Being of the Jealous Kind by zita17 / @louisandtheaquarian WC:24k | Rating:M | Misc: Established Relationship, Famous/Non-famous, Stunt dating

play by the rules by shimmeringevil / @shimmeringevil WC:21k | Rating:M | Misc: Established Relationship, Light BDSM

please don't be in love with someone else by wildestdreams .@thelavendrhaze WC:18k | Rating:M | Misc: Friends to Lovers, Neighbours, College/Uni AU

A Package Deal by alltheselights / @alltheselights WC:18k | Rating:M | Misc: Enemies to Lovers, Hospital AU

Swap me for your shadow by lunarheslwt / @lunarheslwt WC:16k | Rating:M | Misc: Omegaverse, Friends to Lovers

High Tide by Stria (Asia117) / @nooradeservedbetter WC:14k | Rating:M | Misc: Strangers to Lovers, (read the tags)

is ur mother worried? by outropeace / @outropeace WC:12k | Rating: | Misc: Aquaintences to Lovers, College/Uni AU, based on SMAU

You smile all the time ('cause how can you not show it?) by thebreadvan / @thebreadvansstuff WC:9k | Rating:M | Misc: Strangers to Lovers, (read the tags)

Simmer Down and Pucker Up by SilverStuff50 / @silverstuff50 WC:9k | Rating:M | Misc: Exes To Lovers, Wedding

Wearing You Like Clothes by LetTheMusicMoveYou / @letthemusicmoveyou28 WC:6k | Rating:M | Misc: Omegaverse, Stangers to Lovers

I See Your Colours and I'm Dying of Thirst by taking_sweet_time WC:6k | Rating:M | Misc: Strangers to Lovers, (read the tags)

I Didn't Fall For You (You Fucking Tripped Me) by allwaswell16 / @allwaswell16 WC:4k | Rating:M | Misc: Omegaverse, Enemies to Lovers, Neighbours

Helping Out by me_her_themoon /@greeneyesfriedrice WC:3k | Rating:M | Misc: Omegaverse, Friends to Lovers, Omega/Omega

You Don’t Have to Be Lonely Tonight by Neondiamond / @neondiamond WC:2k | Rating:M | Misc: Strangers to Lovers, Coffee Shop AU, Christmas

#larry stylison fanfiction #larry fic recs #my fic rec lists

[lunar-years]

hi! love your blog. I was wondering if you have any fic recs? I’m especially looking for royjamiekeely but I’m flexible :) thank you!!

Hi! I have read a lot of the R/J/K tag, and gosh, there is seriously so much incredible stuff in there. It sort of depends on what kind of vibe you're going for, but here are a few* to get you started.

Note: many of these are rated M or E, so please check the actual warnings and ratings and summaries before reading :)

Start with author inlovewithnight and literally just read everything they've ever written, it is all completely brilliant and there is something for all tastes. My personal favorites are the blood in my mouth, I wish it was mine and they threw me a whirlwind and I spat back the sea, but do be aware those are definitely darker/heavier fics and heed the tags!!! (the first has quite bit of noncon [not between RJK] and the second involves physical abuse initiated by James Sr.). For a lighter option I recommend Follow the Hearts and You Can't Go Wrong which is a lovely future R/J/K fic about the end of Jamie's career

from there move along to @valonia47 (Ao3) and @belmottetower (Ao3) and Mixtape Star (Ao3) and also read everything they've written :) I wanted to single out favorites for you but how could I when it's all so very good?

our bodies touch and the angels cry by lennynards: R/J/K that starts out with Roy & Jamie having to stay within 10 feet of each other at all times after both accidentally drinking a weird tea Jane brewed up for Beard. Yes it sounds like a completely ridiculous premise but it is one of my favorite RJK fics ever, 12/10

In Colour series by lyricl: this one feels so very true to canon and it just gets them all so right, I don't know how else to describe it. It's not a complete series though and nobody has actually gotten together as of yet, fyi. They're all far too busy having a lot of complex (& horny) feelings about each other from afar.

This might be a long shot that's not quite what you're looking for but, For Now series by Wild Wren. It's actually mostly a Roy/Keeley series, and I started reading it on a whim because I literally ran out of new things to read in the R/J/K and Jamie tags at one point, lol. Then it ended up being some of my favorite fanfic of all time. It's Roy/Keeley but like, in a not normative and also very kinky way that does a great deep dive into their respective ~issues~. Also Wild Wren had them break up even before the show had them break up, and in a much better and far more detailed way, just saying!! Part 4 is pre-ot3 in the messiest possible way. What a brilliant series, I cannot recommend it enough.

Outgrow the shoes of expectations by @destinationtoast : Brilliant on the ot3 side of it and even better on the character study of each individual within the ot3. Sooo so good. I think about it all the time.

another box with a question mark by irishmizzy: going to be completely honest when I say I don't fully remember this one, but I do know it was very funny and excellent and it is also rated T which makes it different from a lot of the others on my list, so i wanted to include!! It is in my bookmarks and I'm going to be rereading it asap now :)

something that's so close by @ohlafraise : s3 outtake that is very funny and perfect and lovely and also happens to be rated T :) also check out one night upon the shore by the same author. It's Jamie/Keeley, but don't worry Roy's there in spirit. You'll see. That one is very much not T though, lol

by any other name by renecdote: Jamie accidentally wears a Kent jersey instead of his own jersey on the pitch and the internet thinks they're dating (spoiler: they are dating). Who cares if it's not realistic because it's so hilarious and wonderful, amen.

Oh Lord, You've Never Been so in Love by asexual-fandom-queen. I literally just read this one, it's hot off the presses and it is so sexy and tender and also just gets these three so very right. the perfect anecdote to the end of s3.

Anddd of course I have to self promo a little and recommend you Waterfalls (between seasons 1&2 canon divergence), The Full Picture (s3: Jamie attempting to parent-trap RoyKeeley while avoiding his feelings for both of them) and my new one Confetti (ot3 fluff where they celebrate Phoebe's favorite holidays)

*I said I'd give a few and then proceeded to be really long about it, but like, what else is new? For that reason I've tried to stick to strictly R/J/K fics, but if you'd like Roy/Jamie or gen fic/Jamie fic recs also let me know because I could totally make a whole separate post about those, lol.

#fic recs #asks #royjamiekeeley #roy x jamie x keeley #ted lasso #ted lasso fanfiction

[olderthannetfic]

Hi OTNF!! Sometimes I like to read this fandom problem blog that receives submissions from people all over Tumblr, recently this was posted and I wanted to know what you thought of it: The tag types of "Tags update as story is written" or "additional tags to be added" or "Rating may change." Fuck those. I don't care if you add some extra benign tags as the story goes along, and you realise you wanna add more content that's just there, or you realise your fic maybe went a bit harder than you expected. Some stories get their own life. But at the same time, if you knew you'd want to add certain content, or that the rating was gonna go way up from what you tagged in the beginning, why did you not tag it from the start? Especially when the tagged content becomes a big part of the story, or influences the story strongly. And then you find out that the Author already had been planning adding this type of content for a long time, they just FOR SOME STUPID-ASS REASON didn't wanna add the tag until it actually happens. You're supposed to tag so the people can make an informed decision if they wanna commit to your fic, so for the love of the tagging-system, actually TAG ALL YOUR SHIT FROM THE START. Same shit for changing ratings. I hate it when someone plans from the start to make the story explicit, but doesn't change the rating until they've reached the NSFW sections. There's a reason there's a tagging system. So do you just not understand how that works? Or are you just being kind of as ass on purpose? This does not help when avoiding stories with specific content you try to exclude from your results. It's even dumber if the reason is to "avoid spoiling the fic readers", because anyone coming later to the fic is going to be "spoiled" by the tags regardless. And if you know you wanna add porn, or gore, then rate the story appropriately. Rather categorise it too high, than fuck around with people who don't wanna read explicit content. As a writer who uses the Archive, I want to put my 2 cents in. When I'm writing a fic, a long fic for example, I want to tag the stuff that actually DOES appear at that time so that I'm not clogging other tags/people don't think I'm spamming to inflate my readership (And I DEFINITELY do not want something I worked hard on to get reported for spam). I do get the frustration at reading a fic and then something changes like the rating, but as a writer, sometimes things go off script and one thing that's rated T or M might eventually become E just based off the writing juices doing it's thing(tm). To me, the "Additional tags to be added" is kind of like CNTW, it's something the reader has to make a decision if they want to risk getting invested/read that particular fic. It feels very much like a "damned if you do/damned if you don't" situation. What are some of your thoughts on something like this?

--

Writers are always going to vary in their favorite approach, and readers who act like there's one right answer are idiots.

For me personally, even if I'm posting as I write, I do have a solid idea of where the fic is going, and I strongly prefer—both as a reader and writer—to have all of the tags in place at the beginning.

I also don't like over-tagging for warnings and only want to see/use tags for the basic main content of the fic, which does make it easier to know ahead of time than if I tagged every tiny thing.

I think spoilers are a dumb reason not to tag things.

So I agree with the complainer's tastes...

...but at the same time, they're acting like these ought to be rules, and AO3 is designed to accommodate a lot of different people with different styles, so I think their attitude leaves something to be desired.

[thrawns-babygirl]

Discomfort (Crosshair x GN!Reader)

Should I be working through my asks? Yes. Do I just really want to give Crosshair head? Also yes. Is Medic!Reader my favourite Crosshair trope? 100% yes. So have this self indulgent smut that I tried to add plot to

Also wanted to practice GN stuff so let me know how it goes. Also if it's not obvious the author is not a doctor and will never be one so please don't judge that part too harshly lmao.

Rating: E

Summary: Crosshair comes home from a mission injured and comes to see you after hours

Warnings: Oral M!Receiving (yes 2k words and that is literally it lmao)

Word Count: 2231

Masterlist

Did I write my longest fic yet just to give Cross some sloppy toppy? Abso-fucking-lutely. And I regret NOTHING

It was late when the Batch arrived back on Kamino, a ping on your comm failing to wake you from your heavy slumber. It had been a rather hectic day after all. Although you were officially the medic assigned to Clone Force 99, while they were off world you earned your keep looking after other squads who had gotten injuries while training or taking care of groups of clones that had to return to Kamino for medical emergencies. Which in the past few rotations was a lot of clones.

You were however roused from your slumber when your door chimed indicating a visitor. Grumbling to yourself and pulling on some loose fatigue pants and a tank top you shuffle over to the door of your modest quarters prepared to give your unwelcomed guest a piece of your mind.

Hitting the door panel, the door whooshed open to reveal Hunter and Crosshair, the former looking tired and apologetic with the weight of the latter slung over his shoulder.

“Sorry to bug you so late doc, but the long necks over in medical told us to come to you if it wasn’t life threatening, something about being over capacity at the moment” Hunter explained gesturing to the taller man next to him.

“I’m fine Hunter” Crosshair grit out, but you didn’t miss the slight wince as he tried to put pressure on his right leg.

All previous grouchiness leaving you as you took in the sight of an irate and obviously in pain Crosshair leaning against his brother. They both looked exhausted and given that it’s been a good number of rotations since you’ve seen them, you’re not surprised they look a little worse for wear.

Smiling softly, you move out of the doorway and gesture for them to come in. Hunter deposits a grumbling crosshair into one of the chairs in the corner of your room that seldom saw use. It’s not like you got too many visitors.

“I didn’t realise you were back home” you say as you head over to your cabinet to grab your supplies, given that he was still walking, you didn’t think there was too many problems with the sniper, but better to be safe than sorry.

“We only just got back, Tech tried to comm you, and when you didn’t reply we went to your bay in Medical only to be told to Kriff off basically by the regs there who-” Hunter attempted and failed to stifle a yawn “-seemed to have their hands full”.

“Go back to the barracks sarge, I’ll patch up Mr. Talkative over there and send him back over when we’re done” You smile as Hunter gives you a relieved look and nods at Crosshair “Behave yourself” he says as he heads towards the door leaving you alone with the sniper, who has yet to say a word to you.

“So Cross, what’s the problem?” You ask as you haul the remarkably taller man over your shoulder and guide him towards your bed to lie him down and you can begin examining what appears to be his right ankle if his limp is any descriptor.

“Meddling team mates and an annoying doctor who won’t let me go to sleep” he bites back slipping a toothpick into his mouth as he lies back on the bed that you were occupying not even ten minutes ago.

“Oh, a comedian now huh? Well, the jokes on you because the sooner you tell me what’s actually happening then the sooner I’ll be out of your hair and you can actually get some sleep. Just like your brothers are probably doing right now. So, I’ll ask again smart-ass, what’s wrong?” you slide on some latex gloves and begin reaching over his lithe legs to remove his boots and the hard plastoid of the lower half of his armour.

“Right ankle. Rolled it wrong retreating from the seppie’s base at the end of our last mission. Tech checked it over and said nothing was broken and to get you to look at it when we got back. Here I am.” He finally answers.

“See? Was that so hard? I know you’re tired but this whole process goes by a lot faster when you cooperate” giving him a small yet genuine smile, you start rotating the ankle, applying small amounts of pressure to see where it hurts the most and taking mental notes as you go. His replies are short and clipped the entire time, even as you dropped the snarky façade you usually had when dealing with this specific clone in favour of your usual bedside manner.

You slowly place his leg back down onto the bed, grabbing some supplies from the box beside you before inputting your findings into your data-pad.

“You’re especially talkative tonight. Credit for your thoughts?” this was your olive branch. Any time the two of you were together you would banter, bicker and generally be a headache for whoever was unfortunate enough to be in your presence, usually his brothers.

He remains silent, avoiding eye contact and facing the wall towards the other side of the room. The smell of you was invading his senses as he laid his head back on your pillows and making his resolve crumble. You were always so willing to play his games, always willing to bite when he would bait you into the sort of banter that gave Hunter a headache and made the others worry you actually hated each other. But you didn’t hate him, you both knew that.  

He wished you would just hate him like everyone else. He wished you would have just turned him away to deal with the pain until you were actually on duty tomorrow instead of inviting him into your room, lying him on your bed as you looked over him in nothing but loose sweats and a thin tank top. He never saw you outside of your uniform and he wasn’t prepared for his body’s reaction to the sight of your skin, his blood rushing south. He was only hoping this would be over as soon as possible and that you wouldn’t notice his slowly growing arousal.

“-if that’s alright?” Crosshair is shaken from his stupor as he realises, you’re talking to him.

“What?” he asks eloquently dragging his eyes over to you.

“I won’t be able to fully examine your ankle through your blacks, they are compression suits after all so I can’t exactly roll them up your leg without possibly exacerbating whatever’s wrong. I’ll need you to strip from the waist down so I can see the full extent of the bruising and check the scope of the swelling to make sure there are no torn ligaments or anything like that. It shouldn’t take too long” you give him a tired smile, your words free from any of the venom they usually have when you address one another.

“Now doc, if you wanted me alone and naked in your room you just had to ask” he smirks over at you. Trying to stall for time and will his semi hard cock to go down.

You roll your eyes, but you are acutely aware of the blush that has bloomed over your face. You can’t say you’ve never thought about it, that would be a huge lie. You’ve thought about it a lot. You were thinking about it as you went to sleep a few hours before being awoken by the object of your desires standing in the doorway to your quarters. But you were a doctor, and he was your patient, now was not the time to be having such inappropriate thoughts, now was the time to bury those feelings deeper than you usually would and just do your job.

“Oh? Alright then, pants off di’kut” you bite back, hoping that your snark covers up how you’re genuinely curious about what he’s hiding under his blacks. Looking up from your data-pad, you notice he’s blushing, Avoiding eye contact with you again.

You’re taken aback, even when your banter turns flirty, you’ve never seen the man in front of you blush, let alone seem embarrassed as he does now. Clearing his throat, he shifts on the bed, lifting his hips slightly to slide his blacks down. You’re about to tell him that if he’s uncomfortable he doesn’t need to undress in front of you, but the words catch in your throat as your eyes are drawn to the source of his discomfort.

He’s huge, long, thick and impossibly hard, the sight makes your mouth water and clears every professional thought from your head. You shake your head and attempt to get back into your ‘doctor’ headspace but its impossible to drag your eyes away from his length. Finally looking down to his ankle you begin to poke and prod and ask questions.

You determine that there is no severe damage and finally swallow your pride and meet his gaze again. His near permanent scowl is replaced with a smug smirk as he takes in your flustered expression.

“See something you like doc?” he all but purrs at you and your face feels like its on fire.

“Y-yes well there doesn’t appear to be anything that will require urgent medical attention, some bacta and a bandage as well as two or three days of rest will be all you need” your eyes burn into his, refusing to travel any lower as you remove your gloves.

“I don’t know about that doc… I can think of something else I might need. I do have some other areas of… discomfort” he’s teasing you now, happy to finally have the upper hand again.

You swallow, your mouth suddenly dry as you refuse to break eye contact with him.

“And- uh- how would you like me to help with that… discomfort, trooper?” your words are just above a whisper as your common sense loses out to your desire and your gaze return to his throbbing length, you notice a bit of precum has gathered at the tip and you want nothing more than to lean down and taste it.

Kark it. You two have been dancing around this for too long and professionalism is overrated anyway.

“You’re the doctor, you’re the one who should know what the patient nee- Ah” you cut him off by licking a line from the base of his cock to the tip, swirling your tongue along the tip to gather the beaded precum that has gathered over the course of your examination. He lets out a hiss, teeth clenching down on the toothpick in his mouth as the feeling of your warm mouth engulfs him.

He was just teasing, he didn’t think either of you would actually take that final step and he’s thrown off guard. You sense you have the advantage over him now and suck hard, running your tongue along the veins on the underside of his cock.

“Kriff doc, just like that- karking perfect” he grunts out above you. He’s panting now, his voice has lost its teasing edge and his hips are slowly rising to shove himself further into your warm mouth. You bring your hand around to stroke the part of him that you can’t fit into your throat.

He moves one of his hands to the back of your head, forcing you further onto his length and causing you to gag slightly. He lets out a sinful groan at the sound of you gagging on his cock, it sends jolts of electricity down his spine pushing him closer to the edge faster than he anticipated.

The sounds he’s making are downright addictive, causing you to double your efforts. Right now, you decide, you are going to give this man the best head of his life. Saliva runs out of your mouth down his shaft and onto his balls as you gag and moan around him. His heavy pants and soft slurping sounds are the only things that can be heard in your room as you bring him closer and closer to the edge.

The hand that’s not wrapped around his shaft moves down to his balls, moving and fondling them before your mouth leaves his length and you run your tongue along his balls, pumping him as you take one and then the other into your mouth sucking them lightly, savouring the strangled groans that he tries and fails to stifle.

“Kark- doc- I’m gonna-” you take him as deep in your throat as you can, swallowing around him as his hand tangles in your hair and holds you there as he spills down your throat, emptying himself into your welcoming mouth, hips thrusting up of their own accord.

You release his cock with a ‘pop’ and move to look up at him. He looks utterly ruined. Wide eyes, blown pupils and heaving chest stripping away all his prior cockiness. His mouth hangs open slightly, toothpick threatening to fall from its current position perched precariously on his bottom lip as he stares at you.

You apply some bacta patches, a bandage and hand him his previously discarded pants. You input some information into your data-pad before turning back to him.

“Well, if that’s everything I recommend returning to your barracks for a good night’s rest trooper. If any further… discomfort arises you know where to find me” you wink down at him.

@where-is-my-mind-tho

@starborncyare

#crosshair x reader #crosshair smut #crosshair x reader smut #tbb crosshair #crosshair #tbb crosshair smut #tbb x reader #tbb x reader smut #tbb smut #the bad batch smut #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch x reader smut #bad batch crosshair #the bad batch crosshair #bad batch smut

[nepenthean-sleep]

griddlehark fic recs, part 4

hello and welcome to part 4 which is locked behind a community label because tumblr sucks. as a general rule i do not recommend smut because one person's sexy can be another person's squick and vice versa. nevertheless: i have some M and E rated fic recs (not all of them are smut, btw). please remember to check the tags before reading a fic.

with that being said: this fandom has some incredible writers and i'm very happy to share the below fics with you guys. tumblr usernames have been added if i could find them (sorry for the notification!). here is part 1, part 2, and part 3.

Flinch M - InverseAlchemist oneshot set after the pool scene in gtn. a beautifully written fic in which gideon and harrow share a bed for warmth (a classic) and harrow spirals a bit about it. there is so much longing.

So Familiar a Gleam E - silverapples short oneshot, harrow nova au featuring kiriona gaia. nova has a dream about kiriona and its just as disconcerting and interesting as you’d think.

turn you inside out (lick you like a crisp packet) E - valancytrinit / @valancietrinit long oneshot, modern au. a first of many wonderful fics from one of the best griddlehark writers in the fandom. gideon and harrow are roommates and gideon has a really bad 48 hours that culminates in a really good morning. this fic is an excellent balance of chaotic and angsty and sweet.

knife to a gunfight E - dryrsheet two chapter modern au. they were roommates! they were roommates sharing a bed! gideon is extremely oblivious in this one and the irony is delicious. also has one of the lines of all time:

“Okay,” Gideon said, “I need you to act like I am actually as stupid as you pretend to think I am and explain why in the fuck you want me to do that.”

hand to heart i swear M - corpsesoldier / @corpsesoldier short oneshot. harrow heals gideon’s stigmata. i very badly want this to be a thing in alecto, but i am happy with this fic version right now. this fic is superb and i love everything about it.

you're still the one pool where i'd happily drown E - valancytrinit / @valancietrinit long post-ntn speculative multi-chapter, completed. i love everything about this fic. i was literally hanging on every word when i read each chapter for the first time. the writing is incredible. there is a shower scene that is legitimately fucking shakespearean. additionally, i absolutely love the way that harrow’s mental health is portrayed in this fic as someone who struggles with similar conditions.

illbringthestrap69420 liked your post E - imalwaysstraight / @nooomagnus long multi-chapter college/uni au, currently unfinished. the enemies to anonymous tumblr mutuals to lovers fic. listen. this fic is an incredible experience for dramatic irony enjoyers. this fic is like dramatic irony: the fic. i love this fic so fucking much. another fic that has kept me on the edge of my seat while reading.

Bid My Blood to Run M - winterkill / @thebrimmingheart short oneshot. another fic where harrow heals gideon’s stigmata! the banter in this fic is wonderful. again, i really hope there's a scene like this in atn.

Let Me Hold It Lightly M - downjune / @itstartledme short oneshot set during htn. a classic ‘harrow sees gideon in her dreams’ situation. very tender and bittersweet.

Wormian E - BonesforTime long oneshot, postcanon au/spec. harrow works through some religious trauma. ok full disclosure: my favorite thing about this fic is the way it’s written. when i first read it, the prose had me completely fucking bewitched. the fic gets more speculative towards the end, and as it was written pre-ntn there’s some pretty big discrepancies with current canon. regardless, the fic itself is extremely well written and compelling.

east of the sun, west of the moon E - zealotarchaeologist short oneshot set during htn. another dream situation, this time featuring harrianthe and harrow/the body. the writing here is exquisite.

let's drink to feelings of temptation not rated - overnights / @televangelists long oneshot, modern bartending au. gideon gets hired at camilla’s bar and harrow is not having it. there’s women who hate each other. there’s customer service shenanigans. there’s ianthe in a grocery store. it’s a very solid modern au.

Mors Vincit Omnia M - WalkingDisaster / @four-for-fidelity long multi-chapter modern au, currently unfinished. a murder mystery where gideon is a witness in an investigation and has to assist forensic scientist harrow. it’s really well written and the mystery is very fun and macabre! it is currently unfinished but i am excited to see where the plot goes.

grab me by my ankles (i've been flying for too long) E - valancytrinit / @valancietrinit long oneshot, college/uni au. harrow is a competitive diver and gideon is a mechanic who ends up carpooling harrow to diving practice. there is a truly astounding amount of dyke drama going on here and it is excellent. the dialogue is incredible as well.

#gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #nona the ninth #griddlehark #the locked tomb #fic recs #tumblr wouldnt let me tag half of these usernames so i just put in links to their blogs instead #neph.txt #neph tltposting

[wheresarizona]

Learning to Live Part 10

summary: You haven’t seen Javier in three days, and he’s visiting during your lunch break at work.

rating: E (18+! Soft Javier Peña (he absolutely fucks), no y/n, dual POV, car sex, unprotected p in v (wrap it up!), creampie, oral sex (f receiving & m mentioned), vaginal fingering, praise kink, (1) sir, dirty talk, come play, mentions of PTSD, feelings (Javi missed you so much), emotional comfort, fluff, small town dynamics, (1) full flashback, food mention, some medical talk (nothing graphic), Javier being the sweetest boyfriend (he’s got it bad))

pairing: Javier Peña/f!reader

word count: 11.2k+ (I apologize)

a/n: Hi! I cannot believe we are on chapter 10!! Thank you all for the love and support for this series!! The comments and reblogs make me smile so big, and I’m so thankful for each and every one!! This story is very special to me, so knowing people like it makes me 🥺😭. And I still have so much more of their lives to share!! I have a playlist on the series masterlist for this fic that will make you yearn. Shoutout to @juletheghoul for betaing and being an inspiration. I love you. Thank you all, and I truly hope you enjoy. ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for reading! Comments and reblogs are appreciated!

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On your first date with Javier Peña, he told you if he came into your apartment, he wouldn’t leave. This was proven to be partially true. You’d been dating for two weeks and only needed three fingers to count the days he hadn’t slept over at your place.

He was a welcome addition to your life, fitting himself so seamlessly into your days that you weren’t quite sure how you lived without him before. He brought you happiness, was there when you needed him, and your relationship was only growing as time went on—roots burrowed so deeply and intertwined, as what you had blossomed into something magnificent. He was an excellent partner—caring, attentive, kind, generous, and loving.

You knew he loved you in some capacity of the meaning—could feel it in all the things he said and did. He was hesitant in saying the actual word out loud, which you understood. You were, too, not because you didn’t love him; you did, a lot. Things were still new, and even though your feelings for each other were real, it would take some time, and you were grateful, not wanting to jinx the amazing thing you had going. You also felt that Javi needed to be the one to say it first—you knew his history, you knew he’d never been in love before; this was monumental for him. You wanted him to have his moment, whenever he chose to take it, and so you’d wait, continue to show him you loved him without using that four-letter word.

You were happy, and he was happy. Your lives had never been better.

The only reason Javi had to sleep in his own bed for three nights in the past two weeks was that you’d been pulling double shifts at work—one of the night nurses had called out, and you were willing to cover. This meant sleeping in the hospital on-call room on one of the poor excuses they used as beds in the hours between shifts, power napping on lunches, and not seeing Javi in person for the last three days, your communication reduced to a few minutes over your break.

You’d wanted to see him desperately, had even told him to meet you during your lunch or after one of your shifts, but he worried about your minimal amount of sleep and said that was more important—that you could call his cellphone on any of your breaks and he’d talk to you, any of them. This led to conversations late at night and early in the morning, Javi always picking up after the first ring, no matter the hour. You could always tell he wanted to hear about your day and how you were doing, and he made sure you knew he missed you.

You were back on your regular shift this morning, your neck a bit stiff from the lumpy hospital-provided pillow you used during your two-and-a-half-hour nap before work, and smelling fresh from the quick shower you’d taken in the locker room. You were running on coffee and the fact that Javi was going to visit during your lunch, and then he was coming over after you were done for the day.

You’d just arrived at the nurse's station. A long desk with four chairs and one computer, situated at the end of a hall with a clear view of the patient rooms, another hallway running longways with the desk leading to more.

You plucked the chart of the newest arrival from the inbox, someone who was brought to your floor while you’d been napping. You were already familiar with the other patients in your unit, mostly people recovering from surgeries. Your eyes quickly scanned over the information as you sat down at a chair on the far left side, giving you a view of the long hallway in front of you that led out of the wing. You set your styrofoam coffee cup on the table as you glanced at your watch to see how long you had before you needed to go administer meds to room five, when someone flopped down into the rolling chair next to you.

“Let me guess,” the familiar feminine voice said, a slight drawl to her words. “Two hours sleep and three cups of coffee so far?”

“Two-and-a-half-hours sleep and working on my second cup,” you replied. “I’ve only been awake for twenty minutes.” You frowned. “Remind me never to do three doubles in a row, Robyn. It was a horrible decision.”

You were used to running on little sleep when you worked at the hospital in Dallas, doing four twelve-hour shifts in a row each week, sometimes working more hours due to staffing shortages or general busyness.

She laughed.

“Will do, but think of your paycheck. You’ll be swimmin’ in it, and you’ve got tomorrow off,” she pointed out. “Only awake for twenty minutes? Didn’t talk to loverboy before work?” She teased.

You snorted, looking over at her.

When you met Robyn on your first day at Doctors Hospital of Laredo, you thought she was beautiful, with her long curly chestnut hair pulled back in a ponytail, her pale skin, big blue eyes, and red lips, her makeup always on point, and making the same blue scrubs you wore look fantastic on her small busty body. You quickly found out she was funny, too, the two of you getting along swimmingly. She was younger than many of the other employees, closer to your age, and worked the shift with you. Your department was small enough that only two were needed at a time. She was the closest friend you had in town, not including Javi, of course.

Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at you, a smirk on her full lips.

“No, I didn’t talk to him,” you answered. “He told me to sleep in because he’s going to stop by at noon,” you smiled.

Her eyes went wide.

“I finally get to meet this mystery man you’ve been hidin’?”

“Hey, you’re the one who said you wanted to guess,” you said.

Robyn was born and raised in Laredo and knew everyone, which was why when you told her you were seeing someone, she said not to tell her his name because she wanted to figure it out. It had been two weeks of you telling her about him, mentioning your dates, the sweet things he did, and some of the steamy stuff, too, and yet she never guessed Javi, even though she had to be aware of him.

“We’re going on two weeks,” you continued. “And somehow, you’ve named almost every male in town except him, which is really freaking funny. I’ll tell you his name if you want to know. It’s not a secret,” you said, picking up your coffee to take a sip.

“No,” she waved her hand like she was swatting away your words. “Don’t tell me. I want to see with my own eyes who your type is because all of my assumptions have been very wrong.”

Your eyebrow rose.

“What did you assume my type was?”

You saw Robyn think for a second.

“You know golden retrievers?” She finally asked.

Your brows furrowed.

“The dog breed?” You asked.

“Yes. You know how they’re easygoin’, a little goofy but loyal and protective?”

“…Yes?”

“Like that, but in human form.”

You laughed.

“I mean, most of that describes him. I’ve told you about him. He can be goofy sometimes, and pretty easygoing, definitely loyal and protective—those are spot on. He’s smart, a bit grumpy, devilishly handsome, and so fucking sweet. Also, he’s packing, if you know what I mean,” you said with a wag of your eyebrows.

“As a Texan, my immediate thought is gun, but as a woman whose mother refers to her as a trollop, I know you mean his dick, and girl, you are lucky.” She looked like something had dawned on her. “Oh, okay, let me try again. I have another guess.”

“Lay it on me,” you smiled.

“Edgar Morales.”

You frowned.

“I have literally no idea who that is.”

She sighed.

“You have no idea who anyone is,” she whined.

“That’s not true. I know some people,” you said defensively.

Miss Gladys, an elderly patient who had a minor surgery yesterday, invited you to Thanksgiving dinner. That was months away, and it was probably the pain medication talking, but the sentiment was nice.

Robyn huffed out a breath.

“Aside from who you work with and our patients, name five people,” she said, holding up her hand to show you her fingers. “Don’t name your boyfriend, either,” she quickly added.

You could easily name five people who weren’t Javi or from the hospital.

“Mrs. Hernandez—”

“Nope, your neighbor doesn’t count. I’m talkin’ random citizens, just some townsfolk.”

You sighed.

Your brain went to the people you’d met at the farmers market.

“Okay, Pauletta Moore, Anna, and Erica Martinez—” You thought about El Mercadito and how Javi had taken you there a few times since your second date and met the family who ran it. “Manuel, Juanita,” the parents, and then their children, “Maria, Oscar, and Victor Flores.”

“That’s an entire family—you’re cheatin’.”

You set the chart down on the desk to give her your full attention, your coffee cup still in hand.

“You’re being mean and making up too many rules,” you grumbled. “There’s Stacy, the cashier at H-E-B.” That was the grocery store you shopped at. “Oh! Arlene over at the garden center and her husband, Richard. Victor at the gas station mini-mart. Tony and Bianca at the bar.” You made a face of disgust as you said the next names. “Tammy and Lorraine.”

Robyn also made a face.

“Three weeks, and of course, you’ve met some of the Smith clan. Oh! Wanna hear some town gossip?” She wagged her eyebrows.

You checked your watch and saw you still had time before your rounds.

You smiled at Robyn.

“Um, always,” you replied.

“Okay, maybe a couple of weeks ago? There was an altercation between some mystery woman and Lorraine over at El Mercadito.”

You tried to hide your smile and feign surprise.

“An altercation? A mystery woman in Laredo? Please, tell me more,” you said, taking a drink.

“From what I’ve heard, the woman is new in town, which isn’t surprisin’ with the push to get people to move here. So many new folks I haven’t met, and I haven’t heard too many details about her,” Robyn shrugged. “Now the altercation, there’s this guy, his name’s Javier Peña. Have you heard of him?” She asked.

“…Maybe?”

“He’s kind of famous for workin’ with the DEA and helpin’ take down Pablo Escobar and some other cartel, like real hot shit.”

“The name sounds kind of familiar…”

“Oh, you’ll hear his name a lot if you haven’t already. When I was still in high school seventeen years ago? He left Lorraine at the altar—just disappeared in the dead of night, faster than a prairie fire with a tailwind.”

“That’s shocking,” you said, not sounding shocked at all.

“It was all everybody could talk about. Mayor’s daughter’s groom runs away? Skips town to get away from her? There was damage control and some really nasty rumors started by her family that he’d run off with another woman.”

Your stomach dropped. Javi cheat? No, that made zero sense in your brain. He was too devoted to his partner. You felt tendrils of anger beginning to form in your chest that this family made him look absolutely horrible, and you wanted to yell at the lot of them. Javi was a good man who’d made a mistake, and he didn’t deserve these things said about him.

“Did he?” You asked softly.

“Did he what?”

“Leave Lorraine for another woman?” You knew the answer, of course.

“Oh, no,” she waved her hand. “He joined the DEA and went off to South America. He showed up six or seven years later, for a few days when his mom passed, and then he was pretty much gone again—he visited for maybe two weeks some years ago, but he moved back to town just last year.”

“A long time to be away—you’d think the town would forget.”

Robyn snorted.

“Laredo? No, the wedding was the biggest scandal in recent years. They won’t let it go until the next one.”

You hid your frown by taking another sip from your coffee.

“Anyways,” Robyn went on. “This woman who went off on Lorraine is apparently datin’ him, which is crazy, because he doesn’t do relationships. Especially not after Lorraine—we’ve heard about stuff he did in Colombia, talk about a real ladies’ man.”

Your frown deepened.

You knew the town had feelings about Javi and his dating life, but it made you sad that they thought so little of him. His mistakes constantly haunted him, and nobody seemed to want to let him forget. You wished you could hug him right that second.

“Is it really that crazy?” You asked. “Everyone deserves a chance at love.”

“I guess, but it's Javi Peña. The guy has been around, here and abroad. He’s hot as hell, but he’s never seemed like the love type.”

That stung you a bit.

“People grow. Maybe he decided he wanted to settle down?” She scoffed, and you sighed. “I’m just saying things change.”

“They can, and we’ll have to see. There’s more to the story—not even a week after the Lorraine incident, his girlfriend went off on Tammy at the farmers market.”

“She must have it out for their family.”

“With how they treat Javi? I don’t blame her! They’ve held a grudge since the wedding, even after Lorraine married some local rich guy and popped out a few of his kids. It’s honestly messed up how they treat him, but that whole family thinks they’re better than everyone else, and he made them look bad. I heard Lorraine’s uncle kicked him out of his barbershop when he returned and told him he wasn’t welcome back.”

You felt like you were going to be sick, your eyes going wide.

Her uncle kicked Javi out of his barbershop? That was too much. It made you want to tell Javi to pack his bags and run away somewhere nobody knew about his past, or either of you for that matter. But that wasn’t practical. His dad and the rest of his family were here, so he stayed.

You couldn’t help thinking about how Javi had apologized to Lorraine, and she said she’d forgiven him. Was she being honest, or had she simply thought she’d won after all those years? She had the rich husband and kids, while Javi was miserable and working. She was living her dream life, her best life, and he was surviving. The moment Lorraine saw Javi experiencing the slightest bit of happiness on your date with him, she’d tried to knock him back down and take it all away from him with sharp jibes about his past. She never accepted his apology and never forgave him, and as Robyn said, Lorraine’s family thought they were better than everyone else, Lorraine included. She was a spiteful woman.

“And,” Robyn continued. “The night at the restaurant, Lorraine said some nasty things about Javi; Tammy wasn’t any better. Honestly, that girl he’s with must truly care about him because from what I’ve heard about how she reacted, it was warranted. He’s a lucky guy,” she had a solemn look on her face. “I just hope he doesn’t break her heart.”

Yours was aching that she’d think he’d hurt you.

“A lot can change in seventeen years. Maybe it’s the girl who’s lucky,” you said.

“Possibly. I mean, he’s kept to himself since he came back. I know some women who tried pickin’ him up at the bar, and he turned them down, which was shockin’. Maybe he has changed,” she shrugged. “It still blows my mind to hear he’s datin’.”

“Honestly, with all I’ve heard, I think he deserves a chance to be with someone, and definitely has potential as a good boyfriend. He shouldn’t be vilified for what he’s done in the past.”

Robyn chuckled.

“This is why I thought your type was a golden retriever—you’re so optimistic.”

“I just choose to see the best in people,” you shrugged. You checked your watch. “Okay, enough gossiping. It’s time for rounds.”

“Yes, it is. You better make sure I’m present when your mystery man arrives.”

You huffed out an amused breath.

“I will.”

“Good.” She clapped her hands together. “Let’s get to work.”

You did your rounds and went about your day. More cups of coffee were drunk, and vending machine snacks were eaten. You had a minor mishap a little after eleven that required you to change your scrubs (thankfully, it was food related), and by the time it was close to noon, you were back at the nurse’s station, sitting at your end chair, writing up chart notes, Robyn sitting next to you doing the same.

Your unit was generally quiet, not a lot of people passing down the halls, and all of your patients were content in their rooms, resting or watching television.

You saw Robyn's head raise from the corner of your eye.

“Oh my god,” she smacked your arm. “That’s him.”

You looked up, eyebrows furrowing.

“Who?” You saw Javi walking down the long hall towards you, with purposeful strides like a man on a mission. “Javier? Oh! He’s very cute.”

His rich brown waves atop his head were combed neatly, his mustache trimmed, the rest of his face freshly shaved, and you took in how the navy blue button-up he was wearing was hugging that delicious chest of his, leaving his golden tanned arms on display. Your eyes tracked lower, looking at his tight dark wash jeans and the slight bulge, making you gulp, before you were meeting his gaze, the dark pools almost burning with how intensely he was looking at you, his lips curving up in a smirk. You suddenly felt hot under your scrubs, fingers itching to touch him.

“That’s the lady killer,” Robyn said, taking you from your lusting thoughts. “God, he’s hot.”

“Yeah, he is,” you mused. “Look at those jeans. I bet he has a big dick.”

God, blowing him sounded fantastic.

“Jesus, yeah. Probably. Those shoulders are ridiculous.”

“They are, and those huge hands bet they’d feel good gripping your hips while he—Hi, babe!” You said excitedly, smiling brightly as he got close to the desk. You got up quickly, moving out of the station towards him.

“Cielito, baby, come here,” he replied with a big smile.

The moment he was within reach, his hands were cradling your face, and he was crashing his mouth against yours in a searing kiss that made a surprised sound escape your throat. You tangled your fingers in his hair as he kissed you harder, the two of you overjoyed to be seeing each other again after three days. He deepened it, his tongue sliding against yours, and it was welcome, familiar. You’d missed having him this close and being able to taste him, smell him, feel him—you just missed him, and from the way he was kissing you, he felt the same. There was a hunger in the kiss, your energies matching, plying one another with strokes of your tongues, kissing until the need to breathe became too much, and you pulled apart, breathing hard.

“I missed you,” he panted, eyes so soft, and you could see he meant what he was saying, making you feel all gooey.

“I missed you, too, like so much. Too many days to go without seeing your gorgeous face,” you replied, trying to fix the hair you’d messed up.

He grinned, that dimple of his showing.

“Fuck, I missed looking at you, touching you.” His hands slid down your arms. “Kissing you.” He leaned in to kiss you tenderly again. “Could barely sleep without you, baby,” he murmured against your lips.

You leaned back to look at him.

“Sleeping with clothes on and nobody cuddling me was the absolute worst,” you said.

He hugged you into his arms, your head resting against his chest.

“We’re going to sleep so fucking good tonight.”

“God, yes, we are.”

He moved so his eyes could meet yours.

“You ready for lunch?” He asked.

“Yes. Just need to let Robyn know I’m leaving.”

He kissed your forehead.

“Sounds good.”

He let go of you, and you turned to face your friend, her mouth gaping open and eyes wide. You walked over to stand in front of the desk by her, your eyebrow raising, her eyes still on Javi.

“You okay?” You asked her.

She looked at you, closing her lips, and pointed at Javi.

“Mystery man?” She pointed at you. “Mystery woman? All this time? This is the guy you’ve been gushin’ about? Mr. Brings you flowers, cuddles you on the couch, takes you on drives,” her voice went low for only you to hear. “The guy who made you come so many times last Saturday you passed out? This is the guy? You’re datin’ Javier Peña?”

You looked over at him and back at her, smiling as you raised your chin.

“Yes, I am.”

“Wow, and you let me say those things earlier? Girl, I was so wrong about him. Jesus, you were right; seventeen years changes a man. Good on him, though. Good on you, too. Y'all are cute! Hi, Javi!” She waved at him.

“Hi, Robyn,” he replied. “How’s your mom?”

“Still hatin’ my life choices, but what can I do about it,” she shrugged.

The life choices were her spending her weekends in San Antonio partying, meeting different people, and living her best carefree single life, instead of settling down with a nice young man and having babies.

“Still lively as ever, then,” he said.

“Yep.” She looked at you, smiling. “I can’t believe you. Go have lunch with your dreamboat of a boyfriend. I’ll see you in an hour,” she winked.

“Thank you!”

You walked back over to Javi, and he took your hand, beginning to pull you down the hall in a hurry.

“Did you want to eat in the cafeteria?” You asked Javi.

He looked back at you.

“I’m taking you somewhere. Is that okay?”

You smiled.

“That’s perfectly fine, as long as I’m with you.”

Three days.

Over seventy-two hours since Javier had seen her last.

He’d thought it wouldn’t be a big deal—new couples didn’t see each other daily. There’d be days when they’d be busy with their own lives and could only make time to talk on the phone. That was normal. Going a few days was fine. Javier could sleep in his own bed and wait for her phone calls; it wouldn’t be an issue. He figured since they’d only been dating a couple of weeks he wouldn’t notice her absence too much.

He noticed.

He noticed right away.

When he lived in Colombia, he missed the peacefulness of the ranch—he hated the city sounds, the gunshots, the constant chaotic noise. He longed to hear cattle in the distance, chirping crickets, and croaking frogs, the way the old house creaked, and his bedframe squeaked softly when he moved—the sounds of home and peace, giving him a sense of tranquility. Yet even as he listened to those familiar sounds that first night back in his own bed, the noises hadn’t sent him off to sleep as they had before—something was missing.

He had tossed and turned on his full-sized mattress, the sheets he’d used for years feeling all wrong against his naked skin, the pillow held against his chest a poor substitute for the woman he wanted to hold, and there was that missing sound—her even breaths that comforted him, and had lulled him into a deep sleep every night since the first time he’d stayed at her apartment. He had missed her soft skin pressed tightly to his body, her warmth, her smell, and the sounds of another person sleeping soundly next to him.

He missed her.

He was still awake when his cellphone rang that night, her calling him on her first break of the evening a little after ten. He’d quickly grabbed it from the bedside table, happy to hear her voice and listen to her talk, and finally, after they said their goodbyes, Javier restlessly slept until she called again before her shift the following day.

The second night, he had fallen asleep quick and early—he worked harder than usual that day to try and wear himself out and passed out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He’d woken in a panic a couple of hours later, sitting upright and panting with sweat dripping from his pores, heart pounding in his chest as the lingering images flashed through his brain—always the same shit haunting him—things he’d done, things he’d seen done. The aftermath of atrocities, memories of blood, and death. He had clumsily opened the drawer in the table next to his bed, rummaged around until he found the half-smoked pack of cigarettes, and with shaky hands, gotten one between his lips, honestly surprising himself when he lit the fucking thing. With his palm pressed to his forehead, he took a drag letting the rush of nicotine calm his body, trying to think of anything else when ringing sounded beside him, and even though he’d jolted at the noise, Javier had never been happier or more relieved to get a phone call. He’d slept without any more nightmares after hearing her voice that night, dreamless, peaceful, the knowledge that he’d talk to her again in the morning allowing him to rest easier.

He knew the final night that there was no way he could wait an entire work day to see her and had contemplated driving to the hospital at midnight for her second shift lunch. He hadn’t bothered trying to sleep before she called—he’d stayed up in bed mindlessly reading a book, his eyes scanning over the words but not paying attention, his head miles away with the woman who held his heart. He’d answered his phone on the first ring and heard the fatigue in her voice, his plan to visit that evening nixed so she could sleep instead, and Javier asked if she would want to see him the next afternoon, her emphatic yes made him smile almost as much as the prospect of seeing her again.

It had been another restless night of sleep with her on his mind, thinking about her and how she made him feel—the happiness, the contentedness, and then his thoughts wandered to when he saw her last—Monday morning before her first shift, they’d gotten ready together like usual, had breakfast and coffee, and right when they were about to leave, she’d dropped to her knees and sucked his dick right there in the entryway, Javier coming down her throat while moaning her name. She didn’t let him return the favor, instead kissing him hard, letting him taste himself on her tongue.

“Don’t forget about me, Javi.”

“You really think I’d forget about you, Cielito?”

“Wasn’t sure if I made a big enough impression,” she’d said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“I really fucking like you,” he’d replied.

“I really fucking like you, too, Javi.”

The memories had made him harder than a fucking rock, and he’d had to roll out of bed and jump into the freezing cold shower to calm himself down. He hadn’t come since that last morning with her, holding out to be with her again, because his hand was nothing like being inside her—it’d scratch the itch but wouldn’t be as satisfying, and Javier had been spoiled the last two weeks, coming anywhere but inside her seemed pointless. He’d have to examine that thought later.

They were now in his truck. Cielito cuddled close beside him on the bench seat as he drove, her head on his shoulder, their hands twined together on her thigh. The moment he was in her presence, a wash of calm came over his body, and warmth traveled through his veins. They were so close, he could smell her, not her usual shampoo or body wash, but she still smelled good.

Her scent, her proximity, it was driving Javier crazy, knowing he could touch her, he could kiss her, taste her, feel her. He was listening to her tell him about her day, and he was half-hard, his hand gripping the steering wheel tightly.

The drive was short, and before long, he was pulling into a parking space, his head turning towards her once the truck was stationary.

“You’re taking me to lunch in a…” She looked around. “Empty parking lot?” She asked, her eyes finally meeting his.

They were in a back corner, a thick row of giant green arborvitae lining the lot in front and to the side of them, offering some privacy.

“It’s hospital overflow parking—used to be employee, but it’s so fucking far away, and the hospital isn’t busy, so they just let everyone park in the general lot,” he said.

“They told me when I got the job to park in the back of general, or as far from the entrance as possible,” her eyebrow rose. “Javi, is this one of your spots?”

He gulped, his throat suddenly feeling dry at what she meant.

“Spots?” He asked.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Don’t play dumb, Javier. Is this one of your sex spots that you have around town?”

“I’ve never had sex here,” he answered truthfully. He moved his hips, trying to ease the tightness of his jeans, watching her lips tip up into that smile she gave him when she was about to say something he was really going to like.

“Would you want to have sex here?”

Her words caused a hot spike of arousal to shoot into his belly, blood rushing straight to his dick.

“I really fucking would,” his words came out deeper, raspier, and he saw her pupils dilate at the tone. “Do you want me to fuck you here, Cielito?”

She nodded.

“I really fucking do.”

His hand went to the back of her head as he pulled her in for a kiss and crashed his lips against hers, swallowing her moan when he deepened it, wanting to taste her again, not getting enough when they were back in the hospital. She tasted like coffee and something sweet, but as his tongue licked into her mouth and his lips moved against hers, all he could think about was them back in her apartment—in her space where she’d welcomed him with open arms and an open heart, giving him a place where he belonged and was loved, cared for, and cherished. Her kisses tasted like home and where he was meant to be.

His cock was throbbing. He wanted her so fucking bad—wanted to show her how he felt without saying the word that floated to his mind when he thought of her. He broke the kiss, not wanting to waste another minute, quickly undoing his seatbelt while she did the same. The moment they were free, his mouth was back on hers, kissing her deeply as he moved her to lay underneath him across the bench seat, his hips slotted between her legs, grinding himself against her clothed pussy, making her moan when he rubbed just right.

He had an arm beside her head, keeping him up as their tongues moved together, his other hand palming the familiar weight of her breast, her nipple going stiff beneath the cup of her bra. Her hands were tangled in his hair as she kissed him just as hard, and he could feel her want and need, that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

The need to be inside her was intense, wanting to sink in deep and feel her tight heat around him. His lips moved to her jaw, tasting her salty skin.

“We have to be quick,” her voice came out breathless. “Let me get my pants down—fuck me from behind. Fuck, I need you, Javi. Please.”

He groaned, moving off of her, kneeling between her legs, his hands quickly undoing his belt, watching as she moved to her knees facing away from him and shimmying down her pants and underwear, revealing the soft swell of her ass. His mouth went dry, his jeans quickly undone, and pushed down to free his swollen cock, stroking it with his hand, while the other reached out without thinking to grab her plump flesh, massaging it in his big palm.

This was one of his favorite positions, but he didn’t want her like this—he wanted to kiss her, and feel her body pressed against his.

“Kick off your shoes,” he said.

“What?” She asked, looking over her shoulder with furrowed brows.

“Kick off your shoes,” he said again.

“Okay?” She said, doing as he asked, Javier pushing them to the floor.

With both hands, he tugged her bottoms further down her legs, wrapping an arm under her torso to lift her and get them down to her ankles and off her body, making her squeak in surprise when he flipped her onto her back and spread her legs.

His eyes were on the glistening seam of her pussy, seeing her slick coating the inside of her thighs, his tongue wetting his bottom lip.

“What are you—” Your words trailed off into a moan as Javi bent forward, hands on your thighs, as he licked a stripe through your slit. “Fuck,” you gasped. Your fingers threading into the thick strands of his hair, feeling him groan as he started eating you out like a man starved.

“You taste so fucking good,” his voice vibrated against your core, making you tremble as he licked and sucked through your folds, swiping his tongue from entrance to clit, before pulling the sensitive bundle of nerves into his mouth, making you moan his name loudly.

Your nipples were hard, the muscles tightening in your belly, already so worked up just from being in the same space as him.

Three days without seeing him, three days without his kisses or touches, over three days without an orgasm, and this man had only started, and you were already so fucking close.

He had you mewling, back arching as he pushed a thick finger into your soaked entrance, your breath hitching when another followed, filling that ache in your core and making your walls flutter. He started pumping them while his mouth continued to work, your body alight in pleasure, pushing you so close to the precipice you could practically taste it. Your fingers tightened in his hair, pulling on the soft strands and making him groan.

You knew what his next move would be as he zeroed in on your clit, sucking on it roughly, and yet when he crooked his fingers and found that one spot only he could reach, it took you by surprise when that blinding jolt of pleasure hit, whiting out your vision, and pushing you over the edge with a shout of his name. You clenched hard around his digits, hearing his loud groan as he drank down your release, your body awash in ecstasy as it spread through your limbs with a tingle.

“Good fucking girl,” Javi’s voice came out as a breathy rasp against your cunt. “Fucking missed this pussy.” His mouth continued to work you through the aftershocks, and when you stopped fluttering around his fingers, he pulled them out of you, and you heard the wet sucks of him cleaning them before he crawled up your body and kissed you.

Tasting yourself on his lips had you moaning, your salty tang mixed with notes of coffee, mint, and something that was simply just him. Your shirt had ridden up your belly as he’d moved up you, the hard line of his cock pressed against your skin, feeling him hot and leaking. Your orgasm still lingered, yet you suddenly felt achingly empty, wanting to feel him inside you. It had been too many days since the last time, and you couldn’t wait another second.

Javi must have felt the same, his lips coming off of yours to look at you with lust-blown eyes so dark you could barely see a sliver of his coffee-colored irises.

“I need—” He rasped.

“Please, Javi,” you interrupted, moaning the words, not caring how needy you sounded. “Need you inside. Need it. Please.”

Nothing else mattered in this moment—not work or food or even the risk of getting caught—the only thing that mattered was him, Javier, and how much you needed him with every fiber of your being.

“Okay, Cielito,” he nodded. “I’ve got you, baby.”

He kissed you quickly before moving, using his arm to brace himself on the seat, while he gripped his dick with his other hand, pushing it through your wetness, making you gasp when he rubbed against your clit, and your eyes closed. You whined when he pressed against your entrance, pausing for a second, feeling him where you wanted.

“Look at me,” his voice came out in a deep timbre, making a shiver move down your spine.

Your eyes opened immediately, and when your gazes met, he started slowly pushing in, you both sighing as he did, your fingers digging into his shoulders, feeling the fabric of his shirt bunching.

You saw in real-time Javi becoming absolutely wrecked as he filled you, stretching you open inch by glorious inch, his eyes hooded and locked on yours, eyebrows creased, his mouth falling open, those plump lips of his shiny and red, his mustache and chin glistening in your juices, watching you with such softness and devotion. You knew your face mirrored his, you both feeling the same intense emotions at how fucking right it felt to be together again, to be doing this again, your body taking him with such ease like you were made for him and feeling so full when he finally bottomed out.

“You feel so good,” his voice was strained and breathy; a shudder moved through his frame, his body flexing with tension like he was doing everything in his power to hold back. “Wet, so fucking wet and warm, so fucking good. Fuck, I missed this. I missed you.” You felt him pulse inside you, his eyes completely black.

“Missed you, too,” you replied, the words coming out on a breathy exhale. “Filling me so good. Move, baby. Let me feel it. Please.”

The windows had fogged up, a sheen of sweat on your skin and Javi’s brow.

He pressed his forehead against yours as he pulled out almost all the way leaving just the tip before he punched forward with enough force to push the air from your lungs in a cry of his name. You felt every ridge of his thick cock against your walls, rubbing against all those delicious spots that made your toes curl, blindsiding you with the ripples of pleasure that pulled taut.

He was going deep, hard, his pace steady, and the coarse hair at his base rubbing deliciously against your clit on every downstroke, grunting as he built you up with every push and pull, feeling that familiar coil winding tight in your abdomen. Your hands moved down his back, gripping onto the flexed flesh of his ass, hanging on as he pistoned into you, a rough sound bubbling up his throat.

His lips found yours, kissing you deeply, his tongue tangling with yours, the two of you lost in each other, pressed so close, filling as much of the other with yourselves as possible.

Javi pulled your leg higher up on his hip, changing the angle to rub against that one spot that made all thought leave your brain, eyes rolling into the back of your head as you gasped into his mouth.

“There it is,” he murmured against your lips. “Want to feel you choke my dick. Come for me, mi amor. Soak me, baby.”

He kept working into you, his hips never faltering, making pressure thread through your center, all of it weaving so tightly, you were gasping out moans, your mind only able to focus on the sensations—him fucking you, tasting his tongue in your mouth, smelling his aftershave and cologne, hearing his grunts of exertion as he pulled you apart molecule by molecule—all of it was a heady, overwhelming mix that had the tightened coil snapping and the last thread that held you to earth being cut. Then you were gone, coming hard, feeling like your body was ascending high above, as euphoria spread through your veins. Javi swallowed your moan of his name, muffling the sound as your pussy squeezed him, and arousal spilled around him, a rumbling groan rising from his chest as he worked you through your climax, your mind becoming a haze of pleasure.

You could tell he was close when he sped up, chasing his own high, breaking the kiss to roll his forehead against yours once again, feeling his hot breaths as he panted.

You started rambling in your blissed-out state.

“Fill me up, Javi.” He groaned. “Fuck me full of you. I want to feel it, baby. Make me drip for days. I want it so bad. Want to feel you. Please, let me have it. I lo—”

He crushed his mouth against yours roughly as he pushed in deep, coming with a guttural groan that vibrated out of his throat as he filled you with ropes of his hot spend, fucking it deeper with each grind of his hips.

His lips moved languidly against yours, a hiss of breath escaping him when the overstimulation became too much, and he stilled, the weight of him collapsing on you, and he gathered you in those strong arms you loved so much, holding you close, as he continued to kiss you.

You pressed your fingers into his hair, rubbing at his sweat-damp scalp, him sighing into your mouth contentedly.

This was your favorite, feeling his weight on top of you, your fingers mindlessly moving through his hair and scratching lovingly while he held you, your heartbeats slowing together, sharing in the post-coital afterglow. This was the time when everything was soft and hazy, just enjoying one another and feeling good, your bodies relaxed, the endorphins overriding everything else in your systems as you basked together.

The kissing slowed to a stop, and Javi moved to look at you with his puppy dog eyes.

“I missed you,” he said softly.

You smiled, hands moving to hold his cheeks.

“I missed you, too,” you kissed the tip of his nose.

He sighed.

“So fucking much,” he added.

“Same.”

“It was only three days,” he frowned.

“Felt like a fucking week.”

“It did.”

“Good news,” you said.

“What?”

“I have decided that multiple doubles in a row are no longer for me.”

His frown deepened.

“Because of me? I don’t want to interfere with your work.”

“No, no,” you shook your head. “Well, not only because of you. When I used to work the long shifts in Dallas, I was single with zero life, and working gave me something to do. The extra money was a bonus. But now, I have a life, and I’m not single. So I’d rather spend those hours with the person who makes me insanely happy.”

His eyes softened as you spoke.

“It won’t mess with your career?”

“No? I’m doing what I love, in honestly, the best department. Post-op patients? Usually super out of it, sleepy, and say the wildest things. I have been proposed to three times since I started working here.”

His face took on a grumpy look with his furrowed brow and frown, making you grin.

“You haven’t even worked at the hospital a month,” he pouted.

You giggled, hand moving to smooth the wrinkle between his eyes with your thumb.

“Stop pouting. I’m not leaving you for an incredibly high patient who was overly excited I brought them apple juice and graham crackers after they hadn’t eaten for twenty-four hours and felt that marriage was the only way to properly thank me.”

“What about a regular patient?” He grumbled.

“Nope. I’m sorry, but unless the patient’s name is Javier Peña, I am not accepting any marriage proposals. I let those who asked know I was happily off the market,” you said, kissing him.

“Good,” he murmured.

The kissing stopped, and you were looking at him, taking in his features, admiring his nose, moving your hand to stroke your finger down the bridge, his eyes closing for a moment at the touch. When he opened them again, you met his gaze, and you could see the deep tiredness in the chocolate depths and something else you couldn’t quite place. You knew he’d missed you, he’d told you every time you’d talked on the phone, and he’d been so eager to see you on lunch today. The look in his eyes made you worry something had happened while you hadn’t seen him.

“Javi?” You spoke his name just above a whisper.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

He let out a long sigh, swallowing hard.

“I am now. I slept like shit while you were gone.”

“Because you missed me, or did something happen?”

“Both.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He looked away, swallowing again.

“I just have fucked up dreams sometimes.”

“Nightmares?”

His eyes squeezed shut for a second.

“Yeah,” he breathed.

Your heart clenched in your chest because you knew without asking what they were about—his years in Colombia and all the horrific things you could only imagine he’d seen. You’d read articles over the years about the goings on, and the war on drugs, glimpses of the horrible stuff narcos did, and though Javi had never gone into detail, you knew it all got to him sometimes—the change in his demeanor when his time with the DEA was brought up, or how he brushed off the topics when people wanted details about catching Pablo Escobar, or how he’d taken down the Cali Cartel.

“Javi?”

He looked at you.

“If you have one,” you started. “And I’m not there, will you call me? It doesn’t matter the hour or where I’m at, have the hospital page me if I’m working because it’s important to me that you have someone there for you, okay?”

His eyes were a little watery.

“Okay,” the word cracking as he said it.

“And if I’m in bed with you, wake me up, whatever you need to feel better, and get you out of that headspace, I wanna help,” you kissed the tip of his nose again.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

You smiled.

“No reason to thank me. You’d do the same.”

He kissed you with feeling, strong presses of his mouth against yours like he was trying to imbue your lips with all of his thanks, and you welcomed each one, returning his thanks with your own. When the kissing stopped and his eyes met yours once more, you could see how much he cared about you in his gaze, could see the thoughts swirling in his mind, words that hadn’t been said out loud, but you didn’t need to hear because you felt them every day you were with him.

“What a lunch,” you sighed, breaking the silence and needing to say something to cut through the intensity. “Thanks for visiting me. I was expecting cafeteria food and cuddles, but surprise car sex was definitely a better choice. I’ll get snacks from the vending machine when I get back. Were you still going to pick us up dinner after you got off work?”

Javier frowned at her comment about vending machine snacks, his stomach dropping as he thought about what was going through her mind over the sex.

“I brought you lunch,” he said.

Her face scrunched up in confusion.

“I’m sorry?” She asked.

He sighed.

“I brought you lunch. The sex was a surprise to me, too.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“You drove us to an empty parking lot….”

He realized the implications of that now.

“For privacy, while we ate.”

“Javi, you know parking your truck in secluded spots makes us horny.”

He snorted.

“The truck's location has nothing to do with us being horny,” he replied.

“Allow me to rephrase. Javi, you know your truck parked in secluded spots makes us both decide to test your public sex luck.”

“Why is it my luck?”

“Because before you, I’d only had sex in the privacy of people’s homes.”

“Really?”

“Javi, baby,” she pinched his cheek. “You are literally the only person on the entire planet I’d risk public indecency for.”

His eyebrow rose, a smirk curling on his lips.

“Really?”

“Yes, because you make it worth it. Which we are really pushing that luck of yours with your dick still inside me.”

“Right,” he said.

He hugged her a little tighter and kissed her before moving and pulling out of her with a hiss, kneeling between her legs. His eyes were locked on her pussy; seeing it all puffy, his fingers spreading open her lips, watching as some of his come started to drip out of her. He gathered it on his middle finger and pushed it back inside her, feeling her clench around his digit, as she moaned, his eyes met hers.

“Will you keep me inside until you get home?” He asked.

She bit her lip, nodding her head.

“Yes, Javi.”

Her words and knowing she’d have a part of himself with her until she saw him again, had him smiling as electricity moved through his body, and excitement tightened his chest.

“That’s my good girl,” he purred.

She clenched around him again.

Arousal was beginning to stir in his belly, and he removed his finger, bringing it up to his mouth, but she sat up, grabbing his hand, her eyes on his as she sucked it between her lips with a lewd moan.

“Fuck,” Javi groaned, eyes closing for a second, as she licked it clean.

“We taste good,” she said when she was done.

He leaned down to kiss her, his hands cupping her jaw, pushing his tongue inside, and groaning when he tasted them.

His lips left hers, moving to kiss the tip of her nose and her forehead.

“Let’s get you dressed and fed,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” she said, making a tingle run down his spine.

They needed a few minutes to get their clothes back to sorts.

Javier had so many emotions whirling around in his mind in the silence while she dressed, doing his best to process them all.

Happiness was the biggest, amplified by post-sex chemicals that had him almost saying things hanging on the tip of his tongue.

He was relieved, scared, worried, and too many other things to name. The fear was the next big one, creeping into his mind, wrapping like tendrils around the happy thoughts, eliciting doubt and worry.

He’d been a fucking mess without seeing her for three days, and it fucking scared him.

What if something happened?

What if he fucked things up?

Their relationship was still new, and even though Javier knew in his heart he loved her, the worry he could still ruin things had him hesitant to tell her—to speak the word and give her that final piece of his soul was a lot, and it seemed too soon, even with how intense his feelings were for her—he needed more time, a little longer to make sure he didn’t screw up because he wasn’t sure what he’d do if he me messed it all up.

These feelings warred with the fact that she’d wound herself so tightly with his entire being that any plans he made, any thoughts of the future, she was automatically there by his side in his mind, and it hurt too fucking much to think about the alternative.

Her words, her actions, the silent things she didn’t have to say that he knew, all of it told him she was picturing the same future as him, and it soothed him a little, and gave him hope that everything would work out, that his dreams of the future would become reality.

He was also feeling an overwhelming feeling of deep affection for her over her insistence that he had someone there to comfort him on his bad nights, so strong that it made his chest go tight.

It was hard sometimes for him to accept that someone cared about him so much—it was hard for him to believe someone cared about him so much, but Cielito seemed determined to make him feel worthy of it all.

“I can’t believe I still have thirty minutes before I need to get back,” she said as she put on her remaining shoe, bringing his focus back onto her.

“I didn’t last as long,” he said.

He wasn’t embarrassed about how quickly he came—he’d ensured she was satisfied before letting himself go. He leaned over the back of the seat to grab the large paper bag from behind them in the backseat, placing it between them.

“I can assure you, I am not complaining. Two orgasms and food? Literally, the best lunch I have ever had,” she said. He chuckled, smiling at her, feeling pride in his chest. “You really weren’t expecting sex?” She asked.

He shook his head.

“No, I, uh,” he scratched the back of his neck. “Just wanted to see you and bring you lunch.”

That had been his plan. His goal was to make sure she had a decent meal and see her. He assumed there’d be some kissing, maybe some groping, but nothing else.

“That is incredibly sweet.” She leaned forward to kiss him. “What are we having?” She asked when she pulled back.

He felt a nervous flutter in his stomach, swallowing as he opened the bag and started pulling out the contents.

Two sandwiches wrapped in foil, a large bag of potato chips, and two glass bottles of Coca-Cola were on the seat.

“Sandwiches, chips, and Mexican Coke because American is shit in comparison.”

She laughed.

“As you’ve informed me, and I completely agree.”

He discarded the lunch bag onto the floorboard, and Cielito picked up one of the sandwiches.

“It’s still warm,” she said, looking surprised.

“Thank fuck, I made them before coming over,” he ran a hand through his hair.

She unwrapped it.

“Javi,” she said, lifting the top piece of bread to see what was on it. “You made us BLTs.”

“I did,” he nodded.

“Javi,” their eyes met. “You made us my BLTs.”

Her recipe was like a traditional BLT, except she used arugula instead of lettuce, garlic aioli instead mayo, and added avocado. It was Javier’s favorite version of the sandwich.

“Without the garlic stuff,” he frowned.

“I can see you used mayo instead of garlic aioli, and that’s fine,” she reassured.

“I went to three fucking grocery stores this morning trying to find it,” he said.

Her eyes went wide.

“What do you mean this morning? Didn’t you work today?”

He scratched at his neck again, looking away.

“I took the day off.”

“To visit me on my lunch?”

“To make sure I could get the stuff to make the sandwiches.”

“Hold the fucking phone, Javi. You skipped work to go to multiple grocery stores to buy ingredients to make me lunch?”

“And Anna’s bakery,” he mumbled.

“You went to Anna’s bakery, too?”

He looked at her, sighing.

“I wanted to make the same sandwich you did.”

His dad had given him shit about the entire thing.

Javier had gotten up at his usual time for work that morning, his father already sipping coffee and reading the newspaper at the kitchen table, and Javier had let him know he was taking the day off.

“You’ve been taking a lot of personal days, mijo. You stopped working weekends and haven’t been sleeping at home. Have you gotten tired of me?” Chucho asked, lowering the paper to look at him.

Javier sighed.

“No, Pops,” he said.

His father smiled.

“Did you meet someone?”

“Yeah.”

“Must be one hell of a girl.”

“She is,” Javier nodded.

Later, while he was finishing getting the lunch together, his father came inside from work.

“It smells good in here. Did you make me whatever it is you’re cooking?” Chucho asked.

“Sí, Pops, on the table,” Javier said, wrapping the last sandwich in foil.

“Muchas gracias, mijo.”

“De nada.”

He heard the scrape of a chair being moved.

“Why are you cooking before lunch?” His dad asked after getting settled in his seat.

Javier sighed.

“To be at the hospital by noon.”

“Is someone you know sick?”

“No,” he answered, beginning to pack the bag.

“Then why—”

“I’m taking someone lunch,” Javier cut him off.

“You’re making someone food?”

“Sí.”

“Because you want to?”

“Sí.”

His dad whistled lowly.

“She really is one hell of a girl.”

The bag was packed, and Javier finally turned towards his father, resting his hip against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Yes, she is,” he answered.

“Do I know this woman?” Chucho gave him a curious look.

“I don’t think so. She moved here at the beginning of the month.”

“Ah. Will I get to meet her?”

“Sí,” Javier nodded. “Tell me a night. She said she’d cook us dinner.”

His father’s eyebrow rose.

“You’ve discussed her meeting me?”

“Sí.”

“She wants to cook us dinner?”

“Sí. The sandwich recipe is hers. I couldn’t find one of the fucking ingredients, so it’s just got mayo, but everything else is her.”

Javier watched his dad pick up the sandwich, looking at it quizzically, before taking a bite, holding his breath while he watched the other man chew and swallow.

Their eyes met.

“You better marry this girl.”

He sighed in relief, chuckling.

“That’s the goal.”

“You’ve never been like this. Bring her by tomorrow night if she can. I want to meet her.”

“I’ll ask her.”

“Mijo?”

“Yeah?”

“Love is a good look on you.”

Javier watched Cielito’s eyes soften at his admission that he was trying to follow her recipe.

“If I wasn’t on a time crunch,” she started. “I would suck your dick. Just the sloppiest blow job for being the best boyfriend on the entire planet.”

He laughed.

“Please, eat your sandwich,” he said. “I heard they’re okay,” he shrugged, grabbing his own and removing the wrapping.

“Was your dad a taste tester?” She asked before biting into the sandwich, humming in delight.

Javier nodded.

“He was.” He took his own bite and had to admit it was pretty good.

“The sandwich is amazing,” she said after swallowing. “What did he say?” She asked.

“That I better marry you,” he answered.

There was a pause while she ate some more, speaking after she swallowed.

“And, uh, what was your response?” She finally asked.

“That it was my goal.”

She smiled.

“I really fucking like you, Javier Peña.”

“I really fucking like you, too, Cielito. He wants to meet you tomorrow.”

“I’m in. I have the day off and can go grocery shopping. Tell me what he likes.”

Javier grinned and started telling her the types of foods his dad liked as they ate, her asking clarifying questions and seeming genuinely excited over the prospect. He’d popped open the caps on the Cokes with his keys, and they shared the big bag of chips, easy conversation flowing between bites and drinks, Javier the happiest he’d been in days.

“Oh!” Cielito exclaimed when they’d finished eating. “Robyn brought you up today!”

“I saw she still hadn’t guessed me,” he chuckled.

He knew Cielito’s coworker had been trying to figure out who she was dating. Javier was surprised by a lot of the guesses and confused by others.

“No,” she shook her head. “She guessed some guy named Edgar Morales.”

Javier scoffed.

“Edgar? He’s like twenty-something. You wouldn’t be into him,” he said, positive with his statement. The Morales kid was okay, but he was a kid.

“Of course, I wouldn’t be into him,” she said, leaning in to kiss him. “He’s not you.” He followed her lips as she pulled back and kissed her again.

“Why did Robyn bring me up?” He asked, the sound muffled with his mouth pressed against her.

She broke the kiss to look at him.

“To tell me some town gossip about your mystery girlfriend.”

His eyebrows creased.

“You’re my girlfriend.”

“I am, so I let her tell me everything she’d heard,” she frowned. “Javi,” her hand came up to rest on his cheek, and he leaned into the touch. “I hate how people talk about and treat you. It upsets me a whole fucking lot. Lorraine’s uncle kicked you out of his barbershop? Her family spread rumors about you? The town gossips about your dating life? I just,” she paused. “I sometimes wish we could move away, you know? Just the two of us, disappearing somewhere nobody knows either of us, where we can start a new life together. Have you ever thought about leaving?” She asked. “I mean, I know you were gone for a while.”

“I’ve thought about it, but my whole life is in this town,” he answered.

“That’s true,” she nodded. “Your dad’s here. You wouldn’t want to leave him alone.”

His hand cupped her face, stroking his thumb along the apple of her cheek.

“Not just my dad—you’re here, too.” He took a deep breath. “My father is… older. I missed a lot of time with him—I missed a lot of time with my mom, too, and it’s one of my biggest regrets. I don’t want to get that phone call and be in another fucking country again, and he needs someone looking after him. When the time comes, I’d be more than happy to get the fuck out of Laredo. Until then, people can say whatever they want about me—I don’t care.”

“You’d move away with me?”

“In a fucking heartbeat. Anywhere in the world, I’ll follow you.”

Her lips met his in a kiss.

“I care what the town says about you,” she said when she looked at him. “And I’ll fight every fucking person who says something negative. Lorraine’s family? I’m sorry, Javi, I’ve got some money saved that we might need for bail because I think I might literally punch at least one of those fuckers.”

His chest had tightened, and warmth radiated through his body at seeing the seriousness on her face, that what she was saying was true. She really would protect and fight for him.

He pulled her in to kiss her hard, her nails scratching against his scalp when he deepened it, kissing her until they needed to breathe and panting when they separated.

“Thank you,” he said breathlessly.

“For what?”

“Always protecting and sticking up for me. You’re the only person on this fucking planet who hasn’t looked at me differently because of my past, and,” he swallowed hard. “You think I’m a good man,” he said softly.

“Javi, you are a good man. A really fucking good man. I won’t judge you for your past mistakes. All I care about is your here and now and your future. I care about you a lot, like more than a lot, and I just want you to be happy.”

“You make me so fucking happy.”

Her smile beamed.

“Good, you make me really fucking happy, too.”

He kissed her again.

They cleaned up with paper towels he’d brought and packed away the garbage back into the bag, Cielito taking her seat beside him, holding his hand and leaning against him as they drove back to the hospital. He felt better being with her, his soul content, knowing he’d see her again when she got off work. He’d parked his truck, Javier kissing her for a couple of minutes before they got out, her hands moving to fix his hair while he straightened her clothes and let her deal with her own hair in the side view mirror. She looked a little rumpled, but it didn’t seem too obvious as they walked hand in hand back to her work, unable to help the smiles on their lips.

He had to hold in his laugh when Robyn came out of a patient's room and saw them, her eyes going wide and mouth falling open, waiting to speak to them when they were all back at the Nurse’s station.

“Oh my god,” she said in a harsh whisper, eyeing Cielito. “Y'all fucked! You’re literally glowin’. Does he have a magic dick?” She looked at him. “Javi, is your dick magic?”

Heat crept up his neck.

“I don’t know about magic—” He started.

“Oh, his dick is definitely magic,” Cielito said. “Like there is some kind of sorcery involved, or else he’s just a sex god. Like my God, Robyn, I came twice, and we still had time for a lovely lunch,” she was giddy, and his chest puffed out as he smirked, proud to be the topic of gossip for once.

“You are livin’ the dream,” Robyn said, raising her hand up and Cielito immediately high-fiving her like it was something they’d done many times before. “It’s a damn shame you don’t have any brothers, Javi,” her attention turned towards him. “What about your cousins? Any of ‘em single? I know Danny got married.”

He thought it over for a second.

“I’m not sure?” He answered.

“You find out and let me know,” she winked before looking back at Cielito. “Okay, now that you’re back, it’s my turn for lunch. I’m afraid it won’t be as satisfyin’ as yours,” she grinned.

Cielito faced him, and he turned towards her, giving her his full attention, taking in her warm smile and the way her eyes sparkled. She did look like she was glowing, the happiness radiating off of her, and Javier smiled as he took in her beauty, feeling so fucking happy that she was his, and he was hers.

“Thank you for coming by. I can’t wait to see you tonight,” she said.

He tilted her chin up with his fingers, his thumb moving across her bottom lip, wanting to kiss her.

“Anytime, Cielito,” he said. “I’ll bring dinner. Tacos?”

Her smile got bigger as she nodded.

“Tacos sound amazing. You spoil me.”

“Of course, Cielito. Only the best for you,” he said, giving in to his want, and kissing her softly, lingering for a moment, just wanting to feel her lips against his.

“This is sickenly sweet,” Robyn said. “Who would have thought, Javier Peña, the boyfriend every girl wishes she had. Y'all are makin’ me yearn on this here Thursday afternoon.”

Cielito started laughing, and Javier chuckled.

He knew he’d do whatever it took to ensure he was everything Cielito wished for because he wanted her to be as happy as she made him feel.

Maybe his dad was right—love did look good on him, and it looked really fucking good on Cielito, too.

Next - Series Masterlist

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to be tagged in my fics, please fill out the form in my bio, on my masterlist, or just let me know!

#pedro pascal #javier peña #javier peña/reader #javier peña x reader #javier pena/reader #javier peña fanfiction #wheresarizona writes #learning to live series

[cutestkilla]

20 questions for fic writers!

Thank you for the tags @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @artsyunderstudy @aristocratic-otter @prettygoododds @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @hushed-chorus (and @orange-peony for the tag on the fic writer self rec post which I’m rolling in here because…I only have 4 fics). I have never answered one of these before because I’m always like, am I a fic writer? I don’t even have enough works of my own to do a top 5… But anyway, here goes.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

9! But only 4 are my own fics + 1 collab (Birthday Man). Of the rest, 2 are collabs where I did the art, 1 is a fansong (also a collab), and 1 is a podfic.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

233,419, but adjusting for the works that aren’t mine and the words of Birthday Man that I did not write, it’s more like 190K.  

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Carry On!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

This Is Your Place

Slamming and Smashing

What’s Left

Hiding Out In The Open

(see, only 4… And so @orange-peony this is my answer to the self rec post. I rec them all!)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Oh yes! Commenting on other people’s fic was my door into participating in fandom. I spent months and months just lurking, and a whole new world opened up to me when I started commenting, and then the authors responded to me and suddenly I was interacting with people. I really love and appreciate the comment culture in our fandom, and I really like talking about my writing with people, so I always respond.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don’t have a fic with an angsty ending. YET. Realistically, will I ever? Probably not. Like @artsyunderstudy said, I love writing angst in every other possible part of a story EXCEPT the ending. I guess I could say This Is Your Place because the ending is open. The plot of 8th year has not been resolved at all (and god when I say it was hard for me to do that!), shit could still hit the fan, Baz doesn’t even know yet why his mother visited.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That would have to be What’s Left, I think. The story itself was pretty angst-laden (MCD is angsty, you don't say?). I wrote the fluffiest, bow-tying epilogue for the ending to the point where I even warned people that it may have no artistic merit relative to the rest of the story and they should feel free to skip it because it was 100% self indulgence on my part. But I have had a few folks tell me they were grateful for it as a palate cleanser after reading 120K of intense emotional stuff.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope. Not to my face anyway!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes… All of my fics are rated M or E for sexual content. What kind? I mean, 3 of my 4 fics have the tag “Rated M Like AWTWB Is Rated M” if that gives you a hint of my smut vibe. Emotional for sure, is what I am for. Even the smut in Slamming and Smashing, which is very much E, is pretty rooted in the emotion of the story. I do love reading every kind of smut, but the thing I really connect with in it is the emotion, so that’s what I write.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Doubt it, except by a web scraper.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Only Birthday Man, which was written as a round robin and was a totally fun and freeing experience. Especially since I didn’t have to think about plot, just moving things forward a few inches. (Of course my part still ended up being longer than the average one-shot someone else would write…) I’ve collaborated with my writers on COBB and CORB projects in ways that influenced the story, which is SO FUN, but nothing I would ever elevate to the status of co-writing.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Snowbaz

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Well, I have about 17K of a canon divergence fic about Simon and Baz both being at a wedding the week before 8th year starts. (The wedding mentioned in canon as being the one where one of the Grimm cousins got into it with Premal’s friend Sam, and ended up being on trial for using banned words.) I really do want to finish it, but it was one of those projects I never had a deadline for, so it has languished. It’s fully outlined, though, so maybe one day…

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m good at characterization, making the characters’ actions internally consistent, bringing them from point A to point B in a believable way. Probably also plot, I do love a slow burn twisty turny plot reveal. And writing a solid Baz rant/meltdown!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The one thing I get anxious about sometimes is my inability to write short. (Hi @aristocratic-otter, my sister in long-form storytelling!) I always think I can do it, but then I’m not satisfied with the emotional journey unless I add more beats. Telling a concise story is a skill I envy in others for sure.

Currently, this is happening with my wip Hiding Out In The Open, which I originally (delusionally) though would be a one-shot and is now probably going to be 60K by the time I’m done. In fact, This Is Your Place and Slamming and Smashing were supposed to be one shots too, but they all went multi-chap on me in the end.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I’ve never done this, except to help @artsyunderstudy with a French translation for some cute dialogue in Someone Wicked. I think it can work, but I tend toward always wanting to explain something like that on page, unless the point is for it to not be understood. But I've definitely read some really great takes on "lost in translation"!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

This is it! What’s Left was the first piece of creative writing I did of any kind since the year 2000 (which funnily enough was first-person Jean-Paul Sartre RPF for my philosophy seminar).

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Definitely What’s Left. Never would have expected to fall so in love with writing the Humdrum, but he owns my soul, still. I think what I did there is probably the most interesting idea I will ever have (in this fandom at least), and that’s probably why it was so much easier to write than anything else I’ve attempted since.

So, who to tag in… How about @bookish-bogwitch @facewithoutheart @shrekgogurt @ivelovedhimthroughworse @iamamythologicalcreature @whatevertheweather @fatalfangirl? And anyone else who wants to share, please say I tagged you if you haven’t been tagged already.

#tag game #my writing

[xoxobuckybarnes]

November 2023 Stucky Fics

Completed

Yours, Steve (Rated: G, Words: 9K)

Summary: “I’ve been writing a lot lately, y’know? Sam told me it’d do me good.” “Oh yeah? What do you write about?” Steve shrugs, suddenly self-conscious. “Stuff about him. How I feel. Stuff that I feel would help him remember, if he ever read them. It’s... weird. They’re letters, you know? Letters for him. Even though I know he’ll never read them.” “Well,” Nat says. There’s a determined glint in her eyes. “Do you want him to?” Steve blinks, dumbfounded. A smile slowly creeps across his lips. (In which Civil War never happens and Bucky makes a life for himself in Bucharest, tries to heal on his own. Steve waits for him, and writes.)

The Intelligence Nerd and The Avengers (series) by LilyInTheSnow / @lilyinthesnow

Bucky Barnes: Intelligence Nerd (Rated: E, Words: 114K) Summary: How Bucky Barnes accidently became an Avenger and married Steve Rogers. Or some shit like that.

Twitterpated (Rated: M, Words: 12K)

Summary: Steve's POV of Chapters 1-7 of Intelligence nerd. Steve's not twitterpated. Really he's not. Bucky's just a total badass and his future husband is all.

Twenty Minutes in Heaven (Rated: M, Words: 5K) Summary: Bucky's missing twenty minutes from chapter 9? of Bucky Barnes: Intelligence Nerd as told from Steve's POV. Plus a little extra. Pandamonium (Rated: M, Words: 4K) Summary: Bucky has a nightmare. It's pandamonium. xD A Small Matter (Rated: E, Words: 13k) Summary: Steve gets shrunk during a fight with Hydra, but retains everything else the serum gave him. Bucky's not quite sure how to handle Twink!Steve. In the end Twink!Steve handles Bucky. Tony, Bruce, and Doctor Strange have no idea how to fix it and Thor thinks Loki might've had something to do with it. It's fine though. Everything is perfectly fine. Probably. Or: Steve gets shrunk, fucks Bucky's brains out, and they make a trip to Jotunheimen, Norway. Steve might steal Stormbreaker from Thor and they might get chased by a mutant maneating weremoose. They also might get into a drunken snowball fight. Oh, and Loki is there too. Reading Fanfic Pays Off (Rated: E, Words: 16K) Summary: Steve and Bucky from Intelligence Nerd wind up in the Hello Future Husband verse. Barista!Bucky takes Intelligence Nerd!Bucky lingerie shopping and some other stuff happens too. Like maybe Steve gets jealous and bones Bucky against a tree.

***These fics are complete but the series is not. ***

Hello, Future Husband (Rated: E, Words: 20K) by LilyInTheSnow / @lilyinthesnow

Summary: Bucky Barnes might kind of, sort of, be desperately in love with Steve Rogers. Steve might be a little bit oblivious. Bucky might be a little bit desperate. Natasha and Clint decide to help. Kinda. Mostly they just watch and giggle, but whatever. Enter: Lace panties, super tight skinnies that may or may not be cutting off circulation to various parts of Bucky's anatomy, see-through shirts, and a small variety of now visible nipple jewelry. Nipple shields that look like Captain America's shield? Bucky's never heard of 'em. Never seen them before. How'd they get in his jewelry box?

Let me love you (Rated: T, Words: 4K) by thatgreenleaf

Summary: The Winter Soldier keeps trying to shower Steve with affection in the middle of fights. Steve keeps mistaking them for fight moves.

Fantasmic! (Rated: T, Words: 11K) by mambo / @whtaft

Summary: It's Steve's second summer working at Disney World when he meets Prince Charming (aka: Bucky Barnes, college kid from Brooklyn whose ass looks absolutely devastating in his Prince Charming slacks) and maybe starts to feel a little Disney magic in his heart.

I Held You in Gloved Hands (And I’m Not Letting Go) (Rated: E, Words: 48K) by Voylitscope_speed / @voylitscope

Summary: Bucky Barnes jumps at the chance to take a job opportunity hours from home. He's expecting a fresh start and a decent salary jump. He's not expecting to run into his childhood best friend, Steve Rogers, on his first day. The years since they last talked have been hard ones for both of them, but falling back into their friendship is shockingly easy. Despite their time apart, December in this small town might bring them closer than ever. (Or, a holiday romcom in which Bucky reads to children, Steve teaches art, new friendships are made, difficult conversations are had, cookies are baked, way too much coffee is consumed, home is found in surprising places and, eventually, feelings are confessed.)

I Feel Warm with You (Rated: G, Words: 7K) by LelsieSphinx / @kittytheroseofkirea

Summary: 5+1 winters throughout the lives of Steve and Bucky; filled with fun, kisses, wars, separation, reunions and softness.

Podfic

Late Show (Rated: E) by ipoiledi & thatsmysecret

Summary: “Rogers,” Bucky says, seriously, “You wouldn’t know how to shake your ass if one of those sweet ladies herself tried to stand you up and teach you.”

WIP

Treading Water (Rated: M, Current Words: 261K) by sparkagrace / @sparkagrace & art by Dyslexic_Fetus (Reagy_Jay) / @reagy-jay

Summary: Olympic swimmer Bucky Barnes always believed that when the time came to retire, he would walk away with his medals and world records firmly in the history books and never look back. He never thought the water would leave him first. ***Part of the series Lane Lines: Lane Lines (Rated: M, Words: 132K), Lumière (Rated: M, Words: 5K), & New Traditions (Rated: M, Words: 6K)***

Lost Vocabularies that Might Express (The Memory of These Broken Impressions) (Rated: E, Current Words: 76K) by dorian_burberrycanary / @burberrycanary

Summary: The worst of times, like the best, are always passing away. How’s that for some consolation on the road? A post-The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Stucky fix-it as part of the all-American road trip, detours included. ***Part of the series A Man Takes His Sadness Down to the River (The Consolation of Philosophy): The Same River, Twice (The Man Is Still Left with His Hands) (Rated: G, words: 4K), Still Left with the River (The Paradox of Motion) (Rated: G, Words: 14K), &  Not Language by a Map (The Grammar of Sensation) (Rated: E, Words: 20K)***

#Stucky #Steve and Bucky #Steve Rogers #Bucky Barnes #fanfic #XOXOBUCKYBARNES' Stucky Fic Reading List #november reading list

[sweet-s0rr0w]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much to @citrusses, @danpuff-ao3, @tackytigerfic, @maesterchill and @squintclover for tagging me in this! I loved reading your answers, which is what made me finally decide to do this one. I'm really awful at these, and I'm stuck in that endless blank early period of motherhood where my focus is so inwards, so survivalist, that I've lost all sense of popular songs/films/sport, which is a big part of why I don't generally do other 'about you' type posts. So I'm also tagging @elskanellis, @epitomereally, @mallstars, @oknowkiss and @thecouchsofa who recently tagged me in other posts to say thank you <3 and I appreciate you, and here, do this one if you like <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

25, good grief

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

332,461!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Just Harry Potter. Can’t see that changing any time soon, but never say never. Meanwhile F1 will remain the One That Got Away!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Nor All That Glisters (111k, E, Drarry)

Kept in Cages (77k, E, Drarry)

Dreaming Skies (21k, E, Dron collab with @tackytigerfic)

When The Party's Over (5.4k, E, Drarry)

Among the Elements (8.3k, E, Drarry)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Embarrassingly enough, not usually. Basically, I got very overwhelmed last summer after writing Kept in Cages, because I pushed myself ridiculously hard to get it finished in time for Wireless (last fic in Wireless, but I made it!!) Combined with a lot of stress in my personal life, I then experienced massive burnout and had six months of complete writer’s block. Meanwhile, I got some really wonderful, brilliant, thoughtful comments on that fic, and I felt just awful and like a total fraud who couldn’t put a sentence together, and couldn’t bring myself to even respond. And now I don’t feel like I can reply to anything more recent until I’ve got through the old comments, etc etc. I guess I should just get over myself and crack on though, because I love getting comments and do really truly read and appreciate every single one.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I tend to give them at the very least a hopeful ending, so I had to look through my account to work this out, and I think this has to go to my weird tiny little dark fic Not Waving (M, 3k, Drarry).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

As above, I do like a happy ending, but rarely is it unqualified happiness. Kept in Cages, maybe, because I like that they’ve built a life away from everything, and that it’s something that they’ve each freely chosen. Or perhaps Silhouettes (E, 17k, Dronarry), which now I think about it does have a rare conveniently-packaged ending!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet! The odd lightly offensive bookmark rating, but nothing that especially bothers me. I got caught up in the top/bottom trolling early in my time in fandom, but that stuff was so ridiculous I just deleted the lot of it and didn’t think of it again.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I write what I want to read, really, which (naturally) involves smut. I can’t do PWPs though; there’s a Tumblr post that says, like, ‘I’m going to write a quick PWP, the starting premise is that character A has lost their faith in god’, and this is kind of me. Sex in fic for me is a big part of relationship development, and so I usually slot in whatever works best for the characters from that point of view. I’m actually writing something right now that’s fast sexual burn/slow relationship burn, and it’s a very new dynamic for me, to try and take the feelings away (a bit, obviously they’re going to catch them sooner or later).

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t really enjoy reading them, so it doesn’t really enter my mind to try and write one. I suppose sports AUs are the exception to the rule – does that count? I haven’t written one, but I’ve read some I’ve adored (@sleepstxtic, @citrusses) and I could see myself having a go.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A couple, I think. Someone translated NATG to Brazilian Portuguese, all 111k of the thing (although looking now I think it might have been taken down!), and Nice I think got translated to Vietnamese.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, Dreaming Skies with @tackytigerfic. Dream come true, etc etc. I have to say, I’d absolutely be up for another collab with someone in the future (time/life/etc allowing, which is a big if for me).

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Drarry. Twenty-one years and counting!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh, I’d never say never! Good to always have something on the backburner, I say.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, I think. And I used to think pacing, but currently having a slight crisis about this in my latest fic, so get back to me! But yeah, dialogue; as I was saying to @fluxweeed the other day, sometimes I feel like I write my fics by just filling in the gaps between dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything that’s not dialogue! No, I’d say probably endings. I don’t think I’ve mastered the art of ending strong just yet. I’m too keen to satisfy readers, possibly, or maybe it’s the dialogue thing again, I want to end on a quip or something, and it never sits quite right. I should really start looking at what I think makes a good ending, I guess.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Fine? I mean, I wouldn’t personally do it using google translate or anything, because I’d have horrors that I’d accidentally end up insulting someone, but if I know the language a bit and/or have someone I can trust to help, that’s fine.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

First and only, HP. I read HP back in the early 00s – a broad range of stuff, following the well-known authors (Cassie Clare, Maya, Rhysenn, Aja etc), but was always just a lurker, never part of fandom (was too nervous, and too busy with F1, which was a very niche fandom back then, consisting of about 30 of us and an unhealthy number of screenshots of Jarno Trulli’s backside after every race – I ran a fic archive and modded fests etc, but never wrote). Then when I got back into fandom, it was immediately HP, and immediately Drarry <3

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Don’t make me choose between my children!

Tagging: gosh, I think I've tagged enough people just in the course of my ramblings! Oh, maybe also @shealwaysreads, and @skeptiquewrites if you haven't done it, and the Aussie crew @moonflower-rose and @shiftylinguini, I'd love to know your answers if you have the inclination. Anyone who gets a tag for the post please feel free to do it and please do tag me with your responses <3

#drarry #dronarry #my writing #look mum i actually did one of these

[ectogeo-rebubbles]

Trick or treat! 👻

(for this ask game)

Hey there, I absolutely adore the scene in ch 3 of your fic Understanding where Garak and Julian have sex in the changing room of Garak's shop, so I'm gonna write a thing that is very based on that, but with them doing it in Julian's workplace this time haha! Everyone reading this should be sure to also go read Understanding, not bc you need to in order for this to make sense, but simply because it is VERY FUCKING GOOD. And then also you can see for yourself the extent to which I just entirely ripped off maeselc's scene here hahaha.

(Untitled Garashir ficlet. Rated M or maybe E. Content warnings: semi-public sex. Fic continues below the readmore.)

"Doctor Bashir?" Nurse Jabara said from the other side of the curtain that separated the biobed from the rest of the infirmary. "I have some questions about these patients' charts."

Garak bit down on his own hand to muffle himself.

They hadn't expected anyone else to still be here this late. But they hadn't particularly bothered to check either, before Garak had pulled his own clothes off and laid down on the biobed.

"Of course. I'll be done with this examination in just a moment," Julian responded calmly.

"Okay. I'll be in my office," she said, then walked away.

Julian hadn't paused his examination as they talked, and it was thorough. Garak's legs were spread and his thighs were trembling as long elegant fingers probed deep into his most sensitive places while he thrust himself up into the warm grip of Julian's other hand. Almost getting caught had only heightened the thrill running up his spine, and after few more pumps, Garak's back arched as he came all over himself.

Garak let his hand fall from his mouth when he was no longer in danger of crying out. When Julian brought his own fingers to Garak's mouth, he eagerly sucked them clean.

Wasting no more time, Julian pulled out an examination gown from where they were stored below the biobed and used it to start mopping up the rest of Garak's rains.

"Well, everything seems perfectly normal, but don't leave just yet, I want to follow up with you in a few minutes," Julian said cheerily to Garak--though clearly only for the benefit of any eavesdroppers--as he stepped over to the sink to wash his hands. "You can change back into your clothes though, and put the disposable gown in the reclamator when you're done with it."

Julian rolled his sleeves back down and, with a final wink to Garak, slipped out from the curtain to help Jabara with her paperwork.

Without the heat of exertion, Garak was cooling off. He used a fresh part of the garment to dry himself more thoroughly, then stood and wiped up the wet spot from the biobed. He finished dressing just as Julian returned.

Julian kissed him as soon as the curtains were closed on them again.

"She's gone now. It's just us."

"Good. I certainly wouldn't want you to get in any trouble," he said, with a tone of voice that suggested he very much wanted to get him into all kinds of trouble.

A slightly devious smile curled his lips. "Mmm. Well, there's always the possibility that there will be some late night medical emergency that interrupts us again."

Garak matched his wicked grin. "So, what sort of follow-up appointment did you have in mind for me, Doctor?"

#trick or treat ask game #ask game #garashir #ds9 #my fic #also ​maeselc if you don’t like this remix of your fic a treat and want a better one just lmk and I will do something else #bc you deserve a lil treat!!! for all your amazing fics (and amazing comments that you’ve left on my fics haha)

[olderthannetfic]

Have you ever written crackfic and do you enjoy reading crackfic or is it rather not your thing? (Question also directed at your readers of course.)

I usually don't write or read crackfic because it's just not for me, but I saw a scene today that makes me want to write a dead-serious M or E-rated fic about a "pairing" that is utter bullshit but still in-context makes sense and sounds hilarious and fun, ha!

BTW that scene is from the A-Team's episode "Incident At Crystal Lake" (3x25), where Murdock is fishing while sitting next to a male/masculine mannequin and flirts with it. XD I know it was probably just the TV series making a joke about Murdock's potential insanity and also maybe playing on same-gender attraction as a (homophobic) joke, but... that won't stop me from headcanoning him as a fellow bi or pan and shouting "one of us" in my head, although his flirting is directed at a mannequin and not an actual breathing guy in this example. Also I know it's probably not flirting but just wishful thinking on my part (or rather over-interpreting like a language-subject-with-text-interpretation teacher on speed), but at the same time... I mean... he asks the mannequin if he wants an apple (which is sitting on top of the box that's in his lap), makes the mannequin gesture "no", then says the mannequin is probably "saving your appetite" and that "it's in there if you want it" and then puts his hand on the mannequin's shoulder in that stereotypical couple-on-date-in-cinema-and-one-tries-to-make-a-move way and strokes the mannequin's shoulder, heheh.

--

Well... how are we defining crackfic?

One common definition is that lolrandom "I wrote this on a sugar high" shit that sounds like a 12-year-old. I have always hated that stuff and didn't write like that even as a small child. It's pointless to me because I don't find the style of humor funny or the characters relevant enough to their canon versions to scratch any of my fanfic itches, not even one for satire.

This isn't just "Wah, they're OOC": This is a fic that is entirely irrelevant to everything about canon way beyond just interpreting personalities differently. I used to see them sometimes from classmates who were just writing in-jokes about their friends using a vague backdrop from some media.

--

You can write about somebody having a "relationship" with an inanimate object without it being that type of crack—hell, without it even being comedy. There's some whole indie movie about a dude dealing with his social anxiety via pretending to be dating a sex doll.

If you wrote about Murdock having a fetish for mannequins or him working out his complicated feelings about men via "joking" about a mannequin, I wouldn't consider that crack.

If you wrote about him genuinely being in love with a mannequin in a tongue-in-cheek way as though this were a standard pairing, I'd consider that crack, but a different kind from above.

That Care Bears yuletide fic where one of them needs to be fucked back to emotional health and they all come shamrocks or hearts or whatever is crack of this type. It's goofy... but it's using a lot of well-observed bits of actual canon. I can enjoy that sort of thing if it's done well.

--

Ultimately, my question about the various flavors of "crack" is what is the point?

If the point is that it's funny, I'll need to share the author's sense of humor. This is the Achilles heel of all attempts at humor in art.

If it's just strange subject matter but written in a fairly standard way to be hot or to have a good plot or something, it's not really different from any other fic. I might not find it hot personally, but I'm a lot more lenient about that than about humor.

--

But if you're asking if you should write it, sure: write what you want.

[cailynwrites]

Writing Patterns

Rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there’s a pattern!

Thank you @squibstress for tagging me in this. Though I’m not a writer (publicly, anyway), there’s clearly something about first lines that draws me to recording a podfic. This is such a fun idea. Working backward from my last posted podfic today (!), here goes …

1. “There was certainly something amiss with the temporal forces that morning, for Sybill Trelawney awoke with a splitting headache.”

From Ambiguity (podfic) by @vermin-disciple, Rated G

This is a perfect encapsulation of what’s to come. I already waxed rhapsodic about this character study in another post, but this first line crystallizes the dichotomy of the character and the world view, the tragedy and the comedy, the ethereal and the mundane, the two warring factions inside Sibyll Trelawney. She prances around dispersing her gift of Sight and great wisdom while at the same time completely wrapped up in the lowest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It’s so hard to tell what’s real and what’s a sham with her, because she doesn’t even know herself. And all of that is in the first sentence! Masterful.

2. “The summer after Draco’s first year at Hogwarts was perfectly lovely.”

From there and back again (podfic), the 3rd installment in the dogfather AU series by @nonasuch, Rated G

Of course, the unspoken part is that nothing every would be again after that point. Draco fares much better in this AU than in canon or in many other fanfics. He reads The Hobbit, gets support from cousin Sirius, and ends up more or less on the right side of the war, though definitely not unscathed. @nonasuch is a whiz with a turn of phrase and leaves so much unsaid to be inferred. This fic in particular is almost like a series of interludes; it’s never telling the story as the exciting parts are going on, but rather it gives Draco's version of (semi-)canon events in the calm denouement periods after. As a reader, it keeps you on the edge of your seat because you don’t know when the next time jump will be or what things will have radically changed when you see Draco again on the other side.

(I’m going to cheat here and also give the first lines of the other fics in the series that I’ve recorded thus far, because I think they’re similar in an interesting way and I just want to celebrate every day what a masterful writer @nonasuch is.)

“Remus woke up warm and comfortable, and that was all wrong.”

From the black dog (podfic) by @nonasuch, part 2 of the dogfather AU, Rated M

A prequel to the original story, the dogfather, in which Sirius breaks out of prison and meets up with Remus much earlier than in canon. Again, this first line leaves us to infer so much and imagine what has changed, why Remus hadn’t been warm and comfortable before, what is to come. The first line presages all the angst and hurt/comfort to come.

“To begin with: this is a version of events where, on the morning of November 1st, 1981, the police are called to a house in Surrey.”

From the dogfather (podfic) by @nonasuch, Rated T

This one is slightly different and although this story also has very economical prose, it is much longer than its prequel and sequel above and has more room for details. The author spends a lot of time giving details and breaking the fourth wall, so to speak, to explain character motivations. But it’s all so blunt and bittersweet and funny. As I said in my original post, I think it might be my favorite wolfstar of all time, even though it barely wolfstars at all (especially compared to its M-rated prequel above).

3. “Looking at his watch for perhaps the twentieth time, Ron sighed loudly.”

From Libiamo! (amor fra' calici più caldi baci avrà) (podfic) by @khasael, Rated E

What better way to start a story than to drop our hero in media res at a restaurant with his future enemy-to-lover, Pansy Parkinson? And this is such a pitch perfect Ron characterization in my mind, all rough edges and a gooey, melty vanilla and caramel center.

4. “You can’t be serious?” The words were out of Hermione’s mouth before she could stop herself when Minerva broke the news about Hogwarts’ new Arithmancy professor.

From Stay (podfic) by vendettadays, Rated T

Another in media res and another pairing with Pansy. (I’ve been devouring Pansy fics since I recorded ‘tis the damn season (Pansy's version) by @the-francakes - podfic during the holidays and I can’t get enough of her, paired with just about anyone. I recorded this for @femslashfebruary and it really only features female characters, even the students.

5. “Poppy could feel sweat building around her temples as she continued to cast.”

From The Anniversary Quilt (podfic) by @vdoshu, Rated G

More in media res, with Poppy trying to heal her long-time partner, Minerva, after she gets hit with all those stunning spells. Throughout, we see Minerva through Poppy’s eyes and through the lens of their decades-long relationship.

6. “Severus found Hermione in the kitchens.”

From Mating for Life (podfic) by Arsenic, Rated T (sequel to Care of Magical Creatures (podfic), Rated E)

It may not be fair to compare a sequel opening line to the first in a series because it doesn’t have to do the same work. A first work needs to exert itself immediately to draw the reader in. But presumably, if you’re reading a seven-years-later sequel to a beautiful, pro-werewolf Remus/Hermione/Severus polyamory fic written almost 20 years ago before the book series was finished, you’re already hooked to the characters, the relationship, and the premise. You are drawn in by a desire to see a story you loved continue. And it does!

7. “Oliver Wood had one single year left at Hogwarts.”

From messin’ up my mind (podfic) by SkyRose, Rated T

This one is so nice and simple, but it sets up the stakes for the whole fic, a mutual pining story of Oliver and Percy finally getting together, with a little help from some of their Quidditch teammates. A lot of this story is Oliver’s internal monologue, so it’s fitting that this first sentence lays out what governs Oliver’s motivations - that this is the beginning of a series of “lasts” and that he still has so much he wants to do before leaving school.

8. “What are you doing?”

From The Cat With The Stars in Her Eyes (podfic) by @peachonified, Rated G

The first line isn’t spoken by the main character, Luna, but rather Ginny as an audience proxy to lead us into the story. We also want to know what, in fact, Luna is doing. Turns out she’s creating beautiful magic tattoos and therapizing all of Hogwarts (and later all of the Wizarding World) at the same time. 

9. "Well, that's the last of them," Arthur said musingly, over breakfast on September second.

From Empty Burrow (podfic) by @copperbadge, Rated T

When I was looking for a little fic for Arthur’s birthday, I found this little gem, also written pre-Half Blood Prince. All the dialogue in this fic is sparse, like is so often the case with an older married couple who no longer need words to communicate most of what they want to say. 

10. "I must ask one more time," said Dumbledore, the picture of grave concern with his fingers steepled on his desk, "If you are entirely sure about this decision."

From the stranger in the shell of a lover (podfic) by @slashmarks

Once again, the first person to speak is not the most important to the story, nor even the second most important. But it sets the tension and has a good hook, and once you find out in the next line that he’s talking to Lily, you’ve got to wonder what he’s so worried about …

Looking back over my recent work, I think a few things are clear:

I like fics that start with dialogue. I work hard on my voice acting and my accents, and though they are by no means perfect, I think they add something to the work. Being able to come out of the gate with a Dumbledore or a Ginny voice is a joy.

I also like jumping into the action of a story. It’s easier to tune out audiobooks or podfics than a story you’re actively reading (at least that’s true for me), so making sure that I have a story with a good hook is important to me.

Ever since I did A Very Pair-y Christmas in December, I’ve been branching out with different characters and ships, as opposed to doing mostly Drarry and Dramione a year or two ago. It’s been an absolute joy, I’ve discovered so many amazing new authors, and I welcome any suggestions for future recordings, especially if they’re different than what I’ve already done.

On the other hand, as I've moved away from recording Dramione and into more queer pairings, I worry that a lot of the fics I record wouldn't pass the Bechdel test. I'm pleased to see that in the start of 2024, the majority of my protagonists have been women.

On the other other hand, there's only ONE Explicit-rated fic on this list?!?! What have I been doing? Well, I promise there's some smutty stuff coming very soon ... 😉

This ask was so fun! I love gushing about other people’s writing. Thank you @squibstress for tagging me. Send me more of these so I can procrastinate on the Spanish paper I’m supposed to be writing.

Tagging @teledild0nix, @sweatersinthesummer, and @theselittleponders.

#harry potter fanfiction #hp podfic #first lines

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 4 – STUCKONY FAVORITES

Comic Books and Kings by ashes0909

Pairing: Steve/Bucky/Tony Rating: E Words: 10,503 Tags: Childhood Crush, Pining, Possessive Supersoldiers

Summary: Tony Stark read Captain America comics and everyone knew it, but it was only ever about Bucky Barnes.

Reasons why I love it: I love love LOVE when fics take on the whole fanboy Tony angle, and seeing it applied to Tony's obsession with Bucky instead of Steve is really fucking fun. Also Captain Wonderbread as a nickname makes me unreasonably happy. I just want to smoosh these three idiots together, but luckily they get there all on their own. Check this one out, you won't regret it!

journeyman by orphan_account

Pairing: Steve/Bucky/Tony Rating: M Words: 6,165 Tags: Tony & Strange Friendship, Telepathic Bond, Space Travels

Summary: /Old man/Tony thinks, resigned. /This could be my sea. Space, the final frontier./ Steve thinks as hard as he can: come home. /Not like anyone's waiting for me back on earth, anyways./ Steve puts his fist through a wall. [alternately: Tony wanders through space while Steve and Bucky listen to his thoughts]

Reasons why I love it: I came for the Stuckony and was blindsided by how much I loved the parts of the fic where Tony and Strange are bickering their way through space, with some great cameos from the Guardians. That being said, the Stuckony is fucking fantastic, and I hope you give this fic a try, because it's definitely one of my favorites.

1994 by orphan_account

Pairing: Steve/Bucky/Tony Rating: M Words: 6,495 Tags: Fem!Tony, Angst with a Happy Ending, Miscommunication

Summary: Tony goes blonde for a few months. She isn’t nuts about it, but Steve and Bucky really seem to hate it, which is a good selling point. The press are convinced it's the beginning of a mental break. They might not be totally wrong.

Reasons why I love it: Toni's characterization here is top notch. I really love a femme fatale, but her soft spots are what really make this fic so great. The writing style of mystery author is also really cool, almost poetic in some parts of the fic. Getting these small, really poignant timestamps throughout the plot feels really refreshing, and the pacing is great. Definitely read this one if you like Toni being an irresistible temptation to the superserum duo.

Sharing is Caring by SailorChibi

Pairing: Steve/Bucky/Tony Rating: M Words: 3,837 Tags: A/B/O (Alpha Bucky and Steve, Omega Tony), Heat Cycles, Bad Guys Made Them Do It

Summary: When Steve goes into a rut while he and Tony are kidnapped by Hydra, Tony is convinced that what happens between them is going to ruin everything. He's wrong.

Reasons why I love it: I'm a sucker for all things sex pollen, x made them do it, fuck or die shenanigans, and if you are too, then this fic is right up your alley. Add to that the delicious moral dilemma of Tony trying to protect the sanctity of Steve's and Bucky's relationship along with a mutual guilt complex, and you've got an amazing fic right there. Plus, the writing style is fantastic, so that just elevates it to the next level. Definitely give this one a read!

Hide A Heart Of War by RayShippouUchiha

Pairing: Steve/Bucky/Tony Rating: T Words: 13,617 Tags: Flowers, Soul Marks, Pining

Summary: “You’ve got war in your heart boy,” Howard sneers, “don’t ever try and pretend to be anything but what you are.” Tony feels the familiar burn of a flower mark being etched into his skin but he doesn’t look, doesn’t try and check to see what it is. Instead he keeps his eyes on Howard and his hands cupped around his bleeding mouth and nose.

Reasons why I love it: You've probably read this fic already, but Jesus Christ, go and read it again right now because it deserves all the love it can get. The whole concept is godtier, and the choices for which characters have which flower marks are so goddamn brilliant, I just – fucking hell, I love this fic so much. If you by some miracle haven't read this one yet, go and do it now! I promise, there is no better use of your time!

#marvel #stuckony #fic rec #fanfic #fanfic rec #a year in fanfic recs

[galaxyostars]

My Archive Of Our Own Wrap-up

I wanted to put together a thank you to all the fanfic writers who have gotten me through this year.

This wrap-up is me going through my history month by month to see which fics I'd visited the most (because you can be damn sure I read through them over several days).

So this is a celebration of the wide variety of fics I've read and/or bookmarked and/or subscribed to. Thank you to every writer on this list for keeping me entertained.

My first fic of 2023: Finding the Balance, by Amberlioness

Summary:

Events following ‘Bound’, leading up to ‘Demons’. Trip and T’Pol begin to explore what their bond means and how it affects them. Follows “Beginning in Earnest”. I’ve tried to keep as close to canon as possible, while filling in events and back story as the muse commands.

2023 in fics I kept returning to by month

January

Brand New Day, by cecilyjones

Star Wars Rebels, rated T. Completed 2023-03-29.

The Force wasn’t the only great power in the Galaxy. There were also the laws of physics. Kanan was strong in the Force, but the bind he had gotten himself into had to do with physics. (My inevitable “Kanan lives” story. He survives, and the story unfolds from there. Some of it resembles the story we already know, and some of it doesn’t. The ripples travel out.) Update: Chapter 1-8 is a complete story, you can stop reading there and get some nice closure. After that, I’m just kind of adding as I get ideas. Mostly I just like seeing Kanan get to be a dad so that’s what I’m doing. Thanks!

February

Synced To You, by TuppingLiberty

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, rated E. Completed 2017-04-09.

Canonverse but Omegaverse: Though everyone can choose whomever they want as mate, your one true mate, the mate with which you 'sync', is your one best match in the entire galaxy. Poe recognizes Finn as his sync-mate immediately, but Finn is reluctant - extremely. Chapter 3 and various chapters thereon are explicit. This fic is now in epilogue-mode. Everything after Chapter 13 is epilogue. I will come back to it as it pleases me, which, right now, is often. :D

March

Poor Wayfaring Stranger, by lithos_saeculum

Final Fantasy XV, rated T. Last updated 2022-08-04.

Out on a mission, Cor Leonis finds a teenager, lost and sick and partway to becoming an MT. Against the advice of all and sundry, he brings him back to Insomnia. There's not a lot of love lost for MTs in the Citadel, but some of its inhabitants may still be young enough to put aside their prejudices.

April

Three Bullets, by The_Midget

Grand Theft Auto V, rated M. Completed 2021-01-27.

After Michael is shot in the street, his friends and family can all agree that it was an act of retaliation. However, none of them can agree on who pulled the trigger.

Bookmark note: The one where Jerry White is a piece of shit and also Trevor, Michael and Franklin have to deal with white supremesists. I don't think that's how supremesists is spelled. Lemme look into that.

May

Over And Over, by Nightwinging_it

Borderlands, rated M. Completed 2020-12-17.

Timothy Lawrence has resigned himself to his fate as Handsome Jack's property, even if it means losing himself. When an attempt by a friend to rescue him lands him in trouble with Jack, Timothy is banished to the casino as punishment. Angry and betrayed, Timothy is all too eager to seize the chance to escape, even if it comes in the form of a brash Operative. When Zane Flynt is hired to steal weapon schematics from Hyperion, he finds himself needing the help of Handsome Jack's Eridium addicted doppelganger. It's supposed to be a simple job, and he and the doppelganger will part ways the moment it's over. Only Zane didn't expect to get so damn attached to Timothy. (OR: Zane accidentally adopts Timothy, and chaos ensues)

Bookmark note: The one where Timothy's made to be hooked on eridium and Zane basically nurses him back to life.

June

Finding Home, by Iha_1419

9-1-1 Lone Star, rated E. Last updated 2022-08-08.

TK Strand’s life has been filled with pain and rejection. His parents, extreme traditionalists, hate him for being a male omega and have kept him isolated for most of his life. When he finds out that he is going to be bonded to an alpha named Carlos in his Uncle Owen’s pack, he doesn’t know what to expect. Years of enduring verbal and physical abuse from his parents have left him withdrawn and wary of his new mate. Carlos is determined to get the omega to trust him, but TK’s scars run deep and old habits are hard to break. Can Carlos and the 126 help TK overcome his past and embrace his future?

July

Ultraviolet, by @five-7

Borderlands, rated E. Completed 2021-11-11.

After all the shite they'd been through together, Zane doesn't quite know what to think of them. Amara might have an idea. [Shameless and massive Zane-centric fic]

Bookmark note: The one where Amara and Zane have a friends with benefits thing that accidentally falls into something more serious but then shit goes a little wrong and there's a few chapters where they're fucking dumb but it's okay because they eventually work it out.

August

Bless Those Tired Eyes, by thenewradical

The Martian, rated T. Completed 2015-12-20.

Johanssen suggests that Beck sleep in her bunk since it's closest to the med bay and Watney. This goes exactly as well as you would expect.

September

Sick Days Not Needed, by Jillie_chan

Star Wars Rebels, rated G. Completed 2015-02-21.

“You’re sick.” Kanan said, resting his hand on the back of the seat. “So?” Ezra asked, resting his head on his fist. “I’m not holding you back.” “Not holding us back?” Kanan echoed. “On missions,” Ezra clarified, “It’ll pass in a few days.”

October

True Colors, by Cinderpaw1, dancer4813

Critical Role (Vox Machina), rated E. Completed 2017-08-26.

Vex knew her father hated them. It had been obvious when he left their mother alone to raise a pair of twins by herself. But she had never imagined he would hate them enough to stick them in foster care only a few months after losing her. Now Vex is scraping by on the streets, using her artistic talent to make enough for her and her dog to eat, searching for the twin brother who had been taken away from her because of the system. She didn't realize that when her search took her to Emon, the bustling city held both promises for the future and ghosts from the past.

November

Struggle, by ela11

Mass Effect, rated M. Completed 2014-12-06.

Two people would have no idea of the struggle ahead of them… For their existence. For their love. (Femshep/Kaidan from Mass Effect 1 to 3 and a little beyond.) Contains canon, altered events, and new events. Alternative ending.

Fics saved in 2023 (My notes in bookmarks)

Two for the Road by Spacewidget - The one where Daryl and Connie pose as a married couple to gain access to a group. [The Walking Dead]

Run by justtakemehome - The one where Michael and Amanda De Santa get a bounty attached to their head and they basically have to Mr & Mrs Smith their way out of trouble. [Grand Theft Auto V]

Witch Ways by @aliquistis - The one where a druid learns to put up, like, and maybe even love Gale. [Baldur's Gate]

you can fake it for a while by nighimpossible - The one where Percy creates Vex's titles and a fake marriage, and they fall into a legitimate relationship. [Critical Role (Vox Machina)]

And They Lived Happily Ever After by @ginger-floor-goblin - The one where Keyleth and Vax get their happy ending. But also consequences to deals made. [Critical Role (Vox Machina) / The Legend of Vox Machina]

Pieces Still Stuck In Your Teeth by @howlsmovinglibrary - The one where Astarion lost all the kids in the divorce. [Baldur's Gate]

We Circle by Night by @insanitysilver - The one where Caleb goes back in time to fix his past, only to accidentally save Mollymauk from his demise. [Critical Role (Mighty Nein)]

I'm finishing 2023 with...

Ship to Wreck by Snailsol

Witch Ways by Aliquistis

Pieces Still Stuck In Your Teeth by howlsmovinglibrary

Resistance by ela11

Thank you to every fanfic writer whose work I've had the pleasure of reading this year. <3

#Amberlioness #cecilyjones #TuppingLiberty #lithos_saeculum #The_Midget #Nightwinging_it #Iha_1419 #five-7 #thenewradical #Jillie_chan #Cinderpaw1 #dancer4813 #ela11 #spacewidget #justtakemehome #aliquistis #nighimpossible #Dragon_Princess #howlsmovinglibrary #insanitysilver #Snailsol #Star Trek Enterprise #Star Wars Rebels #Star Wars Sequel Trilogy #Final Fantasy XV #Grand Theft Auto V #Borderlands 3 #911 Lone Star #The Martian #Critical Role