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#but for the new people here lemme tell ya something
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Ehem* Ehem* carefully slides over a pack of oreos “more cow reader content please:>”
Hmmm more cow reader au?? What else could i write about? Cow reader x multiple bulls? 👀
CW: cow hybrid reader, fem reader (reader has breasts and vagina, referred to as a "girl"), multiple partners, smut, dubcon, orgy (F/M/M/M/M), breeding kink
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Imagine your farm hands' surprise when they find out that your owners purchased several bull hybrids.
It was a spur of the moment decision: there was a nearby farm that was shutting down and about four bull hybrids had nowhere to go. Your owners, being the sweet people they were, decided to give them a home. They already had a cow hybrid—i.e. you—so taking care of bull hybrids shouldn't be that different, right?
It was a big adjustment having four bulls added to your barn. They were all so similar and yet so different, and you found your brain fuzzy when you tried to keep track of all of them. They were big and noisy and were already friends with each other, making you feel left out. You often found yourself alone in your pen or out in the field, the four bulls hanging out at the opposite end. Of course, one or two were polite enough to invite you over, but you never stayed long, feeling unwelcome in their tight knit group.
Yes, it would seem that your new roommates just weren't interested in you. You supposed that was fine, you still had your farmhands who gave you plenty of attention, you didn't need to be friends with those bulls.
But then your heat came around, and things quickly changed.
Your heat started in the middle of the day. You were alone in the barn when you felt a tingling sensation run down your spine, your cunt twitching to life, weeping slick down your thighs. You whined for your farmhands, begging them to come take care of you. You couldn't help but present yourself in the empty barn, so hot and sticky, your pussy aching to be filled.
"Y/N?"
You froze, slowly glancing over your shoulder, eyes meeting one of the bulls. He must have come back from the pasture early today; maybe he forgot something. It didn't matter really: you could already tell where this was going to go.
The bull sniffed the air, his tail twitching, eyes crossing oh so slightly.
"Yer—shit, are ya in heat?"
You whined, trying not to wave your hips back and forth, forcing yourself to stay still. Despite your efforts to not tempt him, the bull was already seduced by your scent, making his way into the barn, his cock beginning to stand at attention.
"Ya need help? Huh? Need to be filled up?"
You hiccuped, biting your lip, pushing down a moan when he kneeled behind you and grabbed your hips.
"I-I'm fine! The farm boys will help me; you don't have to—"
"The farm boys?" He clicked his tongue. "Nah, they won't be able to help ya, sweetcheeks. They can't give ya what ya need. But me—" he began running the head of his cock through your folds, "—I can give it to ya real good."
"W-Wait, I—"
"Shhhh, just relax, pretty baby. Lemme fill ya up nice and good."
And fill you up he did. He pushed his cock in steadily, his thick girth splitting you open, reaching every inch of your gummy walls. You cried out, hands curling in the hay beneath you, back arching. His hips met yours, his cock bumping up against your cervix, leaving you dizzy.
"See? What'd I tell ya? Ya don't need no farm boys—ya got a real bull right here."
With that, he pulled out, slamming back into you. You gasped, bracing yourself for his harsh thrusts, scrambling for purchase on the dirt floor. His thrusts were hard, rough, his balls making pap pap pap noises as they slapped against your soaking cunt. You could feel a fire burning in your belly, toes curling as you felt it rise higher and higher, eyes rolling back as you tumbled over the edge. You came with a wail, cunt spasming around the bull's heavy cock, his hips not stopping as you creamed around his dick.
"What's goin on—"
The bull's voice died out as he saw the two of you before him, his friend's cock stuffed deep inside your pretty little cunt. He watched in amazement as his friend leaned over you, thrusting even faster than before, making you cry out with each slam of his hips against yours. The bull approached the two of you, staring as his friend finished off, pushing his hips flush to yours and cumming inside, filling your womb with his seed, his cum overflowing around the sides.
"Woah," he whispered in awe. "That's a lotta cum."
"Sure is," the first bull exclaimed, pulling out and watching his cum leak out of you. "This'll definitely get her pregnant."
The second bull scoffed, pulling on his friend's shoulder, kneeling behind you. He manhandled you until your hips were presented to him, his now-hard cock rubbing up against your folds.
"Betcha my cum will get 'er pregnant first."
"Yeah right! My sperm is way stronger!"
The second bull pushed into you, filling you up, pushing out the cum from the first bull. Loud squelching filled the room as he began thrusting into you, his hands digging into your plush hips, bound to leave marks behind. You moaned weakly, letting him have his way with you, barely registering that he and the first bull were still arguing over who would get you pregnant.
"What's goin on in here?"
You raised your head as best as you could, making out the silhouette of the other two bulls walking into the barn.
"We're just makin a bet on who can get Y/N pregnant first."
"And I'm gonna win in just a bit."
"Shut up—"
"Psshhh, yall think you can get her pregnant? I'd bet a whole barrel of apples that I can get her pregnant before all of yall."
"Oh, buddy, I'd have a way better chance than you."
The four bulls began arguing above you, the bull inside you still stirring up your insides, soon making you cum on his cock.
"Oh shit, she's tight—"
The second bull came inside you, but you weren't given time to breathe before another bull pulled you towards him and mounted you.
That's how it went the rest of the night: the four large bulls in a circle, passing you around and fucking you until they came inside, fucking the other bulls' cum out of you. They continued making bets, upping the stakes, arguing over who would be strong enough to get you pregnant. By the time your farmhands come by to check on you, you're collapsed on the floor, a gallon of cum spilled down your thighs.
You thought that would be the end of it, that the bulls would lose interest in you and go back to focusing on themselves, but they surprised you. After they fucked you senseless, they started doting on you, following you wherever you went, questioning you about your likes and interests. You thought they were just being polite, being friendly after they fucked you so much, but one day you heard them arguing in the barn.
"No, I'm gonna be her mate."
"No way, I came in her first."
"I came in her the most."
"As if."
"Alright, alright, that's enough. What if we just shared her? Ya know, took turns and stuff?"
"What the fuck?"
"No way in hell."
"Well... maybe it wouldn't be too bad. At least then we'd get to have her and nobody's feelings would get hurt."
"Yeah, and just imagine it: we could take turns looking out for her and we wouldn't get tired out."
"Plus, we know she takes us all like a champ."
"Yer right, I've never seen a heifer take four bulls before."
You tried to lean closer to hear better, but you ended up knocking over a spading fork in the process. It fell with a loud clang, making the bull's jump and turn rapidly.
"Y/N?"
"What're ya doin, baby?"
"I-I'm sorry!" you stuttered. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping, I just—"
"Awww, you were eavesdropping?? Naughty girl."
The other bulls caught on, smirking as they all began to approach you.
"Y/N, Y/N, shame on you for listening in on us."
"Naughty thing."
"We oughta teach you a lesson, huh?"
"Yeah, gotta teach this bad girl some manners."
You were surrounded with nowhere to go, the four bulls towering over you, their cocks growing with each passing second. And before you could try to defend yourself for listening to their conversation, they were already coaxing you onto your hands and knees, arguing over who got to fuck you first.
Safe to say, you're gonna have to get used to your new farm mates.
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toxicanonymity · 1 year
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Hey love your work could you please do a Joel story where reader is virgin/ naive and they are on patrol or something similar. They get cold and Joel convinces/ tricks the reader to strip for warmth and starts touching her saying he just wants to keep her warm and she can keep him warm by using her mouth on him…. dubcon/noncon. Please? Thank you? ily?
Patrol
1.3k | CREEPY!Joel x naive virgin f!reader
joel master list
NSFW 18+ Dubcon/noncon nudity & sex acts: dry humping, vaginal fingering, oral sex; manipulation; idk what else to tag, but cannot stress enough what a creep he is or how naive reader is.
You’re relieved when Joel is your patrol partner.   You’re new to the job and he’s more than capable of protecting you if it comes down to it.  You’re posted at the top of a hill near a shack.  Joel has a sniper rifle set up, but in all the times he’s been posted there, nothing has ever happened.  Each of you has a blanket, but it’s not enough to stay warm.  Your ass is freezing against the cold ground.  
A bitter gust of wind hits, and Joel scoots over, wrapping you both in his blanket.  He smells like pine, whiskey, and dried sweat.  He rubs your arms, then starts to get behind you.  
“Come on now, don’t be shy,” he says.  “Can’t get warm keepin’ to yourself like that.” 
He persuades you between his legs, and you have to admit you’re much warmer that way.  Your ass especially benefits from the heat of his loins.  He offers you a swig of whiskey. You’re of legal age to drink, but you’ve never really done it.  He says it’ll help warm you up. He hooks his arm around you and holds the bottle up to your lips.  It tastes awful and burns your throat, but he’s right, you get a little warmer.  
You sit like that for a while.  He hugs you close and his pants harden against you, which makes you tingle between the legs.  You’re a little ashamed at how your body is reacting when he’s just being a nice guy, trying to keep you warm.  Joel looks at his watch.  
“We’ve got about an hour break now.  Why don’t we go up in the shack to get a little warmer.”  You didn’t know both people could break at the same time on a patrol.
-
Inside the shack, there’s a decrepit sofa facing a window in the same direction you’re supposed to patrol.  Without the wind, you’re already much less cold.  You sit down on the couch.  Joel suggests it’ll be better if you double up the blankets so you can both get under two layers.  Makes sense to you.  You snuggle up to him under both blankets.  
“Still cold?” he asks.  
“A little.” 
“Here, lemme show you somethin’.  Trust me for a second?”   
“Okay.”  He’s so capable and protective, of course you trust him.  
He takes off his jacket and lifts his shirt up a few inches.  Then, he lifts your shirt up, too, and your breath hitches.  You swallow and don’t say anything.  He pulls you up against him and his skin is so warm against yours, it feels like heaven. Your heart races.
“How’s that feel?”
“Warm,” you say.  It also stirs something in your core, but you don’t tell him that part.  
“That’s right.  That’s why people take their clothes off and get really close when they’re cold.” 
You don’t know what to say. You get a whiff of the whiskey on his breath.  
He continues, “Might sound like a silly idea, takin’ your clothes off when it’s cold, but you feel it workin’ already don’t ya?” 
“I guess so. . .” You’re embarrassed.  Something about this feels strange, but you also don't want to seem even less worldly than you are if it's something people really do.
“It’s alright now, darlin,” he says softly as he unbuckles his belt.  “We’ll just give it a try, see if it helps.” 
He smiles kindly and reaches over to help you unbutton your pants.  “Your core right here, that’s the warmest part of the body.  This and your mouth,” he says, running his hands over your stomach and the front of your pants.  “It’s like a furnace.”  He pats your zipper, then unzips it. Your cheeks burn.  “And your heart, here,” he pats your chest, “it’s important for heat, too.”  
A small nod is all you can muster.  “I’m just a little shy, to, uh-”
“Oh it’s okay darlin, it’s okay. I won't look.  You just come on back under here when you’re all set, okay?”
“Okay.”  You breathe a sigh of relief.    The room is cold as you hesitantly disrobe.
-
A minute later, you’re naked under the blanket except your bra and underwear.
“There ya go, darlin.” 
You settle in against his naked body, curled up shyly as a small spoon.  His arousal presses between your thighs.  His hand comes to your underwear.  “Whoops. Don’t forget, this is one of our furnaces.”  He starts to pull them down.  
“Want me to show you another trick real quick?” You don’t answer. 
“I can give you a real strong burst of heat.”  You freeze and say nothing as his hand slides into your panties.  Several fingers wedge between your thighs, engulf your whole front in a hug, massaging you in a circular motion.  Then, two fingers glide further, rubbing against your warm, wet folds.  He pulls down the back of your underwear and nestles his hard package in your crack, rolling it into you and breathing heavily as he massages your throbbing clit.  Tension coils in your core.  
You don’t know what to make of any of this.  You aren't stupid You aren't a child. It’s clearly turned into something sexual.  But he’s so nurturing and protective, you feel like he has the best intentions. 
His middle finger enters you and he whispers, “warmest part, right here,” then adds another finger with a sigh.  His hardness moves against your crack and he grunts softly.  Your hips slightly rock into his hand. “There ya go,” he says.  “You’ve got the right idea.”  He returns his fingers to your clit, trying different strokes, and when you softly moan, he stays with that one.  He pets you faster and faster until the tension bursts and your body jerks.  You’re not cold at all as your clit pulses, releasing the blood back into your body.  
He pulls your panties back up.  “It’s okay if you don’t wanna take these off,” he says.  You’re relieved.  His big, hard cock intimidates you.  It’s uncomfortably close to your holes.  “There’s another way you can get me warm.”   You gulp. 
“Here, turn over for a sec,” he says.  Your ears burn and you can hardly make eye contact as you face him.  He takes your hand and puts it on his hard cock.  
“Feel this?  Why don’t you wrap your warm little mouth around it, see if that helps me?” he asks.  You feel obligated since he made you come, even if you never wanted him to.  
“Um, okay.  I mean, i’ve never. . .”
“It’s okay, darlin’, it’s all about stayin’ warm.  Nothin fancy. You stay under the blankets too, okay?  Don’t let that heat out.”  
You get between his legs and take his stiff cock in your hand.  You’ve felt a few guys harden against you while making out, but you’ve never held a naked one.  It's smoother than you expect, and when he thrusts into your hand, the skin moves on the shaft.
You take him into your mouth and he moans softly.  “There ya go,” he says.  You seal your lips and suck like you think you’re supposed to, and he twitches in your mouth.  “You’re doin’ great, darlin’.”  
His hips begin to lift rhythmically, and you gag but keep your mouth sealed.  His hands come to your head, pushing you down, making your eyes water as you gag more.  You want it to be over as soon as possible, so you don’t complain.  You try to do a really good job.  Finally, he pulses inside you and his cum hits the back of your throat.  You choke a little, then swallow it down.  
“You alright?” He asks.  You don’t answer.  “C’mere, darlin.”  He opens his arms and you lie on top of him for a few minutes.  Then, he says the break time is over and it’s probably best to get back on the hill.  You're uncomfortable, but you remind yourself he'd probably save your life in a heartbeat, so it's a small price to pay.
-
Tag List @tonysterco
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No man's land
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♡ Pairings: Eddie munson x reader
♡ Summary: a little something for the people who suffer from insomnia or just have a hard time sleeping.
♡ Warnings: fluff, none. Just some language but nothing terrible. Eddie calls the reader baby. No use of y/n.
♡ Word count: 1.1k
♡ A/n: This has been sitting in my drafts for way too long. While this is just a fluff piece, I would still prefer if minors didn't interact with my work. Thank you. Please reblog, like, and comment to show support.
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3:00 am.
It was late very late and another sleepless night for you. You tossed and turned for hours trying to find the right position to rest, but it was no use. You just couldn't sleep. There really isn't even a reason behind it.
You weren't stressed at the moment. You and Eddie are both in a good place. You wish you could put a reason as to why this happens, but there is none. Not one thing. This isn't something new for you, though. You just wanted some type of excuse this time.
You carefully got out of bed trying not to disturb your sleeping boyfriend next to you. You make your way to the living to watch some TV. Perhaps you'll fall asleep out here, but you know that's highly unlikely. You tip toe into the kitchen, slowly opening up the cabinet above the stove to make some tea.
Wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket with Eddie's Garfield mug in both hands, you flick through the channels until you land on your favorite show. You kept the lights off, not wanting to disturb him in any kind of way since he has to be up in soon for work. Believe it or not, Eddie was a light sleeper, and the slightest noise or light could wake him.
"Why'd ya leave me?" His rasped with a pout on his face.
Foot steps trudging down the hall tell you that you were not as quiet as you thought. You turn to look over blanket draped over your head. There, he was standing in the hallway rubbing his tired eyes. His hair sticking up every which way. The white boxers with red lips, you got him for Valentines Day as a joke, hang low on his waist. He's missing one sock on his foot. You snort when you see him. He looks lost like he doesn't know how he got there.
You always thought his sleepy voice was so cute. He hated it.
"Couldn't sleep again." You sheepishly told him, taking another sip of tea.
He moves to plop down beside you, kicking his feet up on the coffee table folding his arms over his chest. His eyes bloodshot from just waking up. The brightness from the TV screen making his eyes water.
"Whatcha watching?" He yawned.
You snuggle up close beside him, resting your head on his shoulder. "Grey's Anatomy."
Nodding his head, looking semi interested. He wraps his arm around your shoulder, bringing you closer to him.
"Eddie, you have to work in the morning." You whispered, looking up at him.
"It's okay if you can't sleep. I can't sleep." He squeezed you tight, kissing your forehead.
About an hour has passed since you and Eddie have been awake.
"What do you mean they found her lingerie pictures and showed them to everyone?" He argued, getting frustrated at the show.
"Dr. Model wow!, what a great insult...prick." He murmured, shaking his head.
"Yeah, she only did that to pay for school." You informed him getting a kick out of how upset he seems to be for lzzie.
Whatever sleep filled mind he had was gone now. He's wide awake, staring at the bright TV screen. His eyes are still bloodshot and puffy, but he's not tired. Not anymore. Too worked up and annoyed at what he's witnessing
His mouth drops in shock. "And this dickhead just walks around showing them to everyone?"
"Yep, pretty much." You take another sip of your tea, which is now too cold.
"Lemme get a taste." He motioned at the Garfield mug, eyes glued to the screen. He takes a big gulp, making a disgusted face at the now ice-cold chamomile tea.
He bought that tea specifically for you when he heard it helps with sleep. He always did little things like that for you. He'd buy you an entire life supply of chamomile tea if it meant you could finally rest.
He leaned forward elbows resting on his knees. He was still getting riled up at the plot that he didn't notice the alarm clock going off.
"It's time for work." You mentioned sadly.
"Oh, I'm calling out. I can't leave until I know what happens next." He says matter factly. He's too engrossed in the show now to stop watching. "And I can't leave you either."
The sunrise peaking in through your blinds, giving your living room a warm glow. "Wanna get breakfast?"
"Sure." You smiled sweetly at him.
"Then we can finish up this season and try to get some sleep, yeah?" He goes to stand, stretching his long limbs out.
"I hope so, but if I can't sleep, that doesn't mean you have to stay up too." You really don't want him to think just because you struggled with this that he has to as well. You've dealt with insomnia almost your whole life. You can handle losing just a day's worth of sleep. You hope it's just a day's worth.
"I don't think so. If my baby can't sleep, then I'm not sleeping."
"But." You tried arguing.
"No buts." He argued back, bending down to give you a quick kiss on the lips.
You shyly smile at him, wondering how you even found someone so caring. Sometimes, you truly believe you don't deserve him. You know that's not true, and he definitely knows that's not true. He's just so kind and thoughtful. You really didn't think there were people out there in the world like him. Eddie would constantly do things for you without even considering something in return. You're still not used to that but you're trying.
"Well, then we better get moving. We don't wanna miss anything." You go to stand next to him, stretching out your arms as well.
"I'm not putting clothes on. We can just go through the driver thru." He said, grabbing his keys. No shoes or anything. Just one bare foot padding along the carpet.
"Well, at least wrap yourself in this blanket, jeez." You roll your eyes playfully as you both head for the front door. You tossed him the blanket that was used as your own personal, safe haven. "You trying to get arrested?"
"Wouldn't be my first time." He joked, throwing the blanket around himself and heading out the door.
Eddie kept his promise to you that day. He did eventually doze off on the couch with you. It's not entirely his fault, though he made the mistake of laying his head in your lap after breakfast. Your hands scratch his back, and playing with his hair always made him relax. If there was ever a moment you wanted him to sleep, that was all you had to do, really. He'd instantly melt in your hands.
You stayed up, finishing off the rest of Greys Anatomy with Eddie softly snoring. You didn't sleep, and you weren't counting on it. Maybe you will tonight? Doesn't matter it comes in patterns for you. You know what to expect when this happens.
You're just happy you won't have to deal with it alone anymore. Whether you liked it or not. Eddie was going to be by your side helping you through it. No matter how much you argued that he shouldn't. He was stubborn, and once his mind was made up, that was it.
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can i request nsfw saul goodman x gender neutral reader? I’m thinking the reader is his assistant or something like that. It can be a story or headcanons it’s up to you. Thanks! ❤️
gonna do hcs bc i wanted to make sure to get this done for u 😘
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you could have the most impeccable resume in the world or you could have "pwease hire me 🥺" scribbled in crayon on a mcdonald's napkin. if saul thinks you're hot, you're hired.
yes, he's going to try to make moves. yes, they're going to be cringe.
in true slippin' jimmy fashion i see him having a lot of "accidents" on the job to try to get what he wants
"oh noooo im so sorry i spilled coffee all over your brand new shirt! clumsy me :(" *ogles your chest all day*
*bumps into you while he's carrying a comically large stack of papers* "aw man! help me pick these up, will ya? gotta make sure we get these in order." *"accidentally" brushes your ass while reaching behind you*
call him a pervert/dirty old man after he tries something. he's into it.
i can see this becoming a fun dynamic where you'd tease back >:3c wearing VERY risqué outfits to work and always making sure to have one extra button undone, swaying your hips a little extra as you walk. "oopsie i dropped my pen! lemme just stick my entire ass in your face bend over and pick it up 😏"
one day you come in wearing a particularly slutty outfit and sit on his desk to discuss a case. he'd be staring up at your exposed skin for long enough that eventually he'd get fed up with the formalities and shoot you straight.
"look, kid, let's cut the bullshit. are we doing this or not?"
"doing what, mr. goodman? i have nooo idea what you're talking about."
"come on, yes you do," he'd stand up from his desk and put his hands on your hips, "walking in here dressed like that, climbing on my desk and practically giving me a lap dance? that's what we call 'leading the witness', sweetheart."
and then y'all would fuck nasty in his office during breaks 😌
he loves doing it on/at his desk. his absolute favorite is when you're bent over the top of it and he's taking you from behind.
definitely an exhibitionist. his office is soundproof but i bet he'd love to flirt with the idea of getting caught. ESPECIALLY if you're being a brat.
"oh, you wanna act up right now? maybe i should just turn on the intercom and let the good people of albuquerque hear what a whore you really are."
he will ABSOLUTELY tease you under the desk in front of clients because he likes seeing you squirm.
he's either really lovey dovey with aftercare (cuddling, smooching your face, petting your hair, telling you how good you were) or he's immediately back in business mode.
you'd be slumped over drooling on his desk with his cum leaking out of you and he just taps you on the shoulder. "hey, space cadet, when you get back down from orbit, you think you can put your pants back on? we got a line of people waiting outside."
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081314 · 1 year
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Sunset Savannah’s Tamashina-Mina – Episode 1
Following is my translation of Episode 1 of the Tamashina-Mina event.
Spoilers after the cut!
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Episode 1-1
Leona: Life just ain’t fair… Can't believe I got stuck going on this useless trip to this good-for-nothing city.
Vil: Excuse you? You’re the one who invited us here, you know. You’re ruining the nice scenery, so could you maybe try not complaining for like five seconds?
Kalim: This place is totally awesome! The scenery's beautiful everywhere you look, and the city’s absolutely huge. I’m so glad we got to come hang out in Leona’s hometown.
Leona: Oi. Lemme tell you this one more time: we ain’t here for fun and games. Our goal is to…
Lilia: You needn’t be so concerned, Leona. We all understand what we’re here for. No matter who we go up against, they’ll be no match for us. We’ll win this thing lickety-split!
Leona: …..Fine. Long as you get it. Ya’ll better not mess this up, you hear? You guys gotta be the ones who win the title of “Sunset Warrior”.
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(A phone rings)
Leona: …Augh. Would ya shut up already? Who the heck would call me this early.… It’s…!! Tsch. If I don’t answer him now, it’ll just come back to bite me in the butt later.
(Leona accepts the call)
Leona: What’s up? Got a morning report for me or something? Huh. A reminder call? That’s new. Guess I shouldn’t expect anythin’ less from the grand chamberlain of the royal family. You sure are somethin’. Listen, you can save your breath. You called just to tell me to come home in time for Tamashina-Mina, right? I get it, it totally slipped my mind last year. Hah, it might just slip my mind this year, too. ….What? You’re comin’ here to get me? At Night Raven College? And you're bringin' all the chamberlains!? I didn’t know you’d take this so seriously… Fine, fine, I get it. I’ll come home the day before the festival.  …Yes, I mean it. Have I ever lied to ya? ….Oh, quit with the blabbering. It was just a joke. But I got one condition for me coming home. You have to make sure to leave a slot free for one team in the “Catch the Tail” tournament.  ….Why? Doesn’t matter. Stop complainin’ and just do it.
(Leona hangs up the phone)
Leona: Give me a break… The hell is he so obsessed with some stupid old event for? What a hard-headed geezer. Ah, now that I think about it, this is a good chance to take care of that little problem I got. ‘Kay, then I’ll need to go assemble the right pieces to win this game.
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(After school - Savannah Claw Dorm Lounge)
Everyone: ….
Leona: So ya made it after all, Lilia and Vil. Nice work, Jack.
Jack: No problem!
Vil: And just why have you gathered us here?
Leona: There’s somethin’ I wanna discuss with ya’ll.
Lilia: If it’s really that important, wouldn’t it have made more sense for you to come to us, instead?
Vil: Goodness. If Jack hadn’t come to fetch us, I would have kept on ignoring your summons.
Grim: What he said!
Yuu: G-Good afternoon…
Leona: …Hold it. Why’re Grim and Yuu here?
Jack: I ran into them when I went to get Vil Senpai and Lilia Senpai, and they tagged along on their own.
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Grim: Anywhere there’s lots of people gathered together, there’s bound to be lots of tasty food!
Jack: First time I ever heard that.
Leona: You two are just gonna get in the way. Buzz off already.
Vil: Forget them and hurry up and tell us what’s going on, Leona. We’ll go ahead and leave if you don’t start talking.
Leona: Alright, alright. Sounds like you just can’t wait to hear this, huh. Well, it ain’t nothin’ bad or anything. I’d just like to humbly invite my dear school friends to come visit my homeland with me, is all.
Jack: Huh? Your homeland… You mean Sunset Savannah?
Leona: Yup. They’ll be having Tamashina-Mina this weekend in the royal capital, Sunrise City
Grim: Tamashi….Mui…
Leona: Tamashina-Mina. It means “Gift from the Heavens”. Basically, it’s a festival where we all pray for rain. We hold it every year around this time, right before the rainy season starts.
Lilia: Oh, my. I’ve heard of that festival before, but I’ve never seen it for myself. It always sounded like such a fun occasion!
Jack: I’m guessing you’re going back home to take part in the festival, Leona Senpai?
Vil: And you’re inviting us to come along? …I smell something fishy. What’s your end goal here?
Leona: Thanks for makin’ this quick for me. The reason I’m invitin’ ya is because of… Catch the Tail.
Vil: Catch the Tail? I’ve never heard of that before.
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Jack: Me neither. The heck is that?
Leona: It’s the name of this competition that takes place during the festival, where you gotta try an' grab some beads off your opponent's head before they nab yours. Magic and weapons are a no-go… It’s a pure test of your physical strength.
Jack: Oh yeah? Sounds pretty interesting.
Leona: There’s three players per team, and 16 teams in all compete together in a tournament. It’s pretty much the highlight of Tamashina-Mina. Even the king of Sunset Savannah and a bunch of guests from all over the world come to watch.
Grim: Then I bet the prize must be somethin’ awesome, right….? Like a year’s supply of tuna cans!?
Leona: Of course, there’s gonna be lots of prizes to go around… Is what I’d like to say, but unfortunately there ain’t any prizes or cash money up for grabs.
Grim: ...Lame.
Leona: Regardless, every year we get tons of people wantin’ to compete. And the reason is… The members of the winning team become Sunset Warriors.
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Episode 1-2
Vil: Sunset Warriors…. I hadn’t expected to learn so many new words today.
Leona: It’s ‘cause all this stuff has been around for a long time and the lingo hasn’t changed. Listen, I’m fed up with everything, too, so don’t come complainin’ to me about it. The Sunset Warriors are a team of guardians that protect the country and support the king and queen. 
Lilia: Oh? Something like… an imperial guard?
Leona: Originally, yeah. But now that we’re in times of peace, a job like that really doesn’t matter anymore. Nowadays, it’s more-or-less just an honorary title that’s given to the winning team.
Lilia: Well, that’s good, isn’t it? You could say that the title itself is a symbol of the peaceful times we now live in.
Leona: If you’re tryin' to put it as nicely as you can, sure. The job itself is long gone, but what hasn’t changed is that the title’s got a lot of prestige attached to it. Every year, highly skilled competitors from all over the country come down to take part in the tournament.
Jack: Gotcha… So in order to become a Sunset Warrior, you’re also going to compete in Catch the Tail!?
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Leona: Nah, I ain’t gonna compete… Well, more like I ain’t even allowed to.  
Vil: What do you mean?
Leona: It’s tradition for the younger brother of the heir to the throne to become the leader of the Sunset Warriors. And right now, that’s me.
Lilia: I see. So in other words, you’re already the leader of the Sunset Warriors. And since that isn't going to change anytime soon, then it makes sense you wouldn’t be permitted to compete in a game where the rest of the group members are chosen.
Leona: Yeah. And the leader has this friggin’ annoyin’ duty called “The Lessons of the Guardian”. I have to teach the other Warriors the understanding, good sense, and etiquette needed to protect both the monarch and the kingdom.
Vil: Understanding?
Lilia: Good sense?
Jack: Etiquette?
Grim: You have to teach people all that, Leona?
Everyone: ….Pfft. Ahahahhahah!
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Grim: Nyahaha! They sure picked the wrong guy for that!
Jack: Ahahaha…. Ah! S-Sorry, Leona Senpai!
Leona: Hmph. Just as ya’ll have kindly pointed out, O Wise Ones, someone as rough around the edges as me just ain’t cut out for a gig like this. That’s why I’m trying to get out of it, no matter what it takes. Last year, I pretended like I accidentally forgot all about the festival and didn’t go home. And that’s what I’d been plannin’ to do this year, too. But this morning…. They called me up to remind me about it. There’s no tellin’ what they’ll do if I don’t agree to come back home now. I was thinkin’ I might as well throw in the towel and stop tryin' to swindle ‘em, but…
Lilia: But you really don’t want to have to go home and do this whole “Lessons of the Guardian” thing, do you?
Vil: Amazing. You can’t even do what’s required of you?
Leona: Hey, you have no idea just how long and annoying those stupid lessons are. So zip it. Anyways, that’s why I singled out you three to take with me.
Jack: Huh? You don’t mean…
Leona: Yup. I’m gonna have ya’ll win Catch the Tail for me. If a bunch of students from Night Raven College end up winning, all we gotta do is get our stories straight and pretend we finished doin’ the “Lessons of the Guardian”.
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Everyone: He’s way too cunning!!!!
Yuu: What a sly guy…
Leona: Nah, it’s called bein’ clever. I hate doin’ pointless stuff.
Jack: Are we even allowed to compete? We’re not from Sunset Savannah or anything.
Leona: It ain’t a problem. People from all over can compete. Somethin’ about how anybody has the potential to become a guardian or whatever. It’s actually a pretty respectable policy, not what I’d expect from my country. There’s been plenty of foreigners and sightseers who’ve taken part over the years, so don’t worry about it. If a team of students from the famous Night Raven College compete, I’m sure the spectators will go wild.
Jack: Alright.
Leona: Jack, there’s not many guys at this school who can beat ya when it comes to physical strength. …But ya know, the people that’ll be competin’ are all pros at this stuff. What do ya think? Sounds interesting, right?
Jack: So I’ll get to put my strength to the test, huh. …Yeah, sure sounds like fun. I honestly still don’t get this whole “Sunset Warrior” stuff, but the competition sounds right up my alley. I’d love to see how far my strength will take me, going up against all those seasoned fighters!
Leona: Good. This is an important job, you hear. Next up, we got this old coot who’s always poppin’ up where ya least expect him. The way you can move around, it’s super-human. You’re friggin’ weird, alright? I honestly loathe teamin’ up with ya, but I’ll at least acknowledge your physical skills.
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Lilia: Kufufu…. Leona, you really shouldn’t compliment me so unabashedly like that. I’ll get embarrassed, you know.  But I must say, I feel that Malleus would also be a good fit for what you’re looking for. You sure you don’t want to invite him? I have no doubt he’d be delighted if you did. How about I go ask him right now? Shall I?
Leona: Quit it!!! No way in hell I’d ever ask that horned jackass for any favors. I’m invitin' you instead, and I’m damn sure you understand that already!
Lilia: Ah… That’s too bad, but I guess it can’t be helped. This Catch the Tail game sounds like it will be a lot of fun, and I’m sure we’ll all look back on this experience fondly someday. I’ll be delighted to take part.
Leona: Why didn’t ya just say that in the first place then? When we get back, be sure you brag to Malleus all about the amazing trip you had an’ make him nice and jealous.
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Episode 1-3
Grim: And the last person you invited is Vil. I bet he’ll be of some use. Not as much as me, of course.
Jack: Vil Senpai always makes sure to keep up with his training regiment. He’s a great choice.
Lilia: And with that wonderful fighting spirit of his, he’d make a splendid combatant.
Leona: I mean, you’re not wrong. But the deciding factor for me was… There’s tons of strong guys at this school, but they’re all stubborn boneheads.
Jack: You’re right.
Lilia: I’m not sure you’ve got room to talk, Jack.
Leona: With that in mind, Vil’s a dorm warden who’s got a good head on his shoulders. Besides, me an’ him have been super close pals ever since we started goin’ to school together.
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Vil: Eww…. You said that with absolutely zero emotion. Basically, you picked me because you know I wouldn’t subject you to any meaningless drivel, is that right? Well, I refuse. You won’t get me to play along for such a crude reason like that. If you’d like to take another third year with you, how about Rook?
Leona: Not in a hundred years…. Come on. I’m countin’ on ya, Vil.
Vil: Oh? I wasn’t aware you were a fan of mine, Leona. All you have to do is teach the “Lessons of the Guardian” to the tournament winners, right? I don’t really understand why I need to take part in this Catch the Tail thing? Go ask someone else. I’ll be excusing myself now.
Leona: You sure about that? You’re gonna regret it if you don’t stick around to hear the rest of my proposal.
Vil: And what is it?
Leona: Since you’re into beauty and stuff, I’m sure you know about that place called Elephant Legacy, right?
Vil: …..Of course I do.
Jack: Elephant Legacy? Never heard of it.
Grim: Is it someplace that Vil would be interested in?
Leona: It’s a barren land where the sun don’t ever shine. It’s filled with volcanoes that spew hot air into the sky, and there’s a gorge that cuts through the area. It used to be called the Elephant Graveyard, and it was a lawless land where even the king’s power couldn’t reach. And now it’s a….
Jack / Grim: *Gulp*
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Leona: Hot spring resort.
Jack / Grim: Hot spring!? Resort!?
Leona: Yup. With all those gushing geysers and that magnificent scenery, not to mention the specialty goods they make usin’ geothermal energy, it’s become the foremost sightseein' destination in the whole country. …Well, I say “foremost” destination, but it ain’t like there’s really many others you can count.
Lilia: I’ve been there before. I found it a very enjoyable location.  
Vil: Both the mineral water sold at Elephant Legacy, as well as the mud from the hot springs, are reputed to be great for your skin.  …I-I would like to go there, but I’d rather go on my own. It’d be much more enjoyable than going with you.
Leona: That’s only if ya could go without me.
Vil: …What?
Leona: If you’re willin’ to participate in the Catch the Tail competition for me… I’ll personally take ya to this special location at Elephant Legacy that only members of the royal family are allowed to access.
Vil: HUH!?
Leona: If ya went to the hot springs on your own, you’d never be able to get to this location without me. And of course, that spot is guaranteed to be good for your beauty or whatever. If ya pass up on this opportunity, you won’t ever get to go there for the rest of your life.
Jack: Wow. No matter how you look at it, there’s no way Vil Senpai’s gonna be able to turn him down now…!
Lilia: Now I understand. Since he had such a powerful card up his sleeve, that’s why he went ahead and invited Vil.
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Vil: You really are a sly man, proposing something like that to me. ...Fine. I'm hereby reserving a spot on Producer Leona’s Sunset Savanna Sight Seeing Tour. In exchange, you need to do your job and show us around properly. Okay, Mr. Tour Guide?
Leona: Uh-huh. I’ll be the best darn escort you ever had.  
Grim: A festival in Sunset Savannah, huh… Sounds like it’s gonna be a lot of fun.
Yuu: I wonder if they’ll be serving lots of good food!
Grim: No doubt about it! Leona! We’ll come along, too!
Leona: And just who do ya think is gonna take ya?
Grim: What!?
Leona: Ain’t no way you guys are up to snuff for Catch the Tail.
Grim: Hey, no worries! The heck would I wanna join in on some annoying competition? All I’m gonna be doing is stuffing my face with tasty grub!
Leona: …And now there’s even less of a reason for me to take ya’ll.
Grim: But why!! TAKE US WITH YOU! TAKE US WITH YOOU! TAKE UUUUSSS!!!
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Leona: Shut up, furball!
Lilia: Why not let them come along, Leona? The more traveling buddies, the merrier.
Leona: Bringing along a couple of dead weights is just gonna be a pain in the neck. 
Jack: Grim’s rolling around on the floor making a fuss, but… What about you, Yuu?
Yuu: I’d love to go, if I could…!
Lilia: You see, Leona? I think you should stop being so miserly and let them come. If we go on this trip together with everyone…. Then we’ll be able to create a lot of fun memories together.
Leona: And I’m telling you, we ain’t goin’ there for fun and games.
Lilia: Such a cold-hearted man! Then maybe I’ll stay behind, too, and we can have a party at Ramshackle Dorm.
Leona: Tsch. I know exactly what you’re up do. Okay, fine. They can come be our team support or whatever.
Yuu: We’ll give it our best!
Leona: Oi. I’ll be countin’ on ya, so you better make sure this furball here doesn’t go and cause me any trouble. You got it?
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Episode 1-4 (The weekend)
Grim: Ah, it’s Vil. Howdy!
Vil: Good morning, Grim and Yuu. You two are both headed towards the Mirror Chamber, I presume? Let’s go together.
Yuu: We’ll probably get there pretty early, huh.
Vil: Of course. Punctuality is everything in showbiz, you know. People who arrive late on set never get very far in the industry. Oh? You’re bringing the Ghost Camera with you, I see.
Grim: Uh-huh! We’re gonna take lots of pics of all the yummy food we eat there.
Vil: Please do be sure to get a picture of us winning Catch the Tail, alright?
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Jack: Good morning, Vil Senpai! Ah, and there’s Grim and Yuu.
Vil: Good morning, Jack. You’re here early.
Jack: Yeah, I didn’t want to keep my Senpai waiting.
Lilia: Oh, is everyone here already? Good morning!
Vil: Morning, Lilia. ….Why are you wearing your PE uniform?
Lilia: I don’t do very well with direct sunlight, so I picked out a comfortable outfit for the trip. Looky here, I also packed a parasol and a handheld fan.
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Jack: I figured it would be best to wear something respectable, so that’s why I came wearing my school uniform… I wonder if that was the wrong choice.
Vil: No, you made the right choice based on the time, place, and occasion. We’ll be accompanying a member of the royal family to his homeland, after all.
Lilia: I’m a seasoned traveler, so I’m exercising the utmost caution here. I also made sure to let Malleus know how to reach me in case of an emergency, since he has to stay behind at the dorm.
Vil: Sounds like you’ve got all your bases covered, then.
Lilia: Kufufu. Just who do you take me for? I’m a professional solo traveler, you know. Before I enrolled at the school I went traveling alone all over the world, so this is nothing new for me. But this time, I promised to take plenty of photos while on our trip. I hope you boys will help me out with that.
Yuu: Let’s take lots of pictures together!
Lilia: That’s the spirit. Ah, this is why traveling is so much fun! Is Leona still not here yet? It’s about the time we’d agreed to meet.
Jack: Not yet. When I knocked on his door this morning he answered me, so I thought he was awake. But…
Grim: Knowing that slacker, he probably went right back to sleep.
Vil: Even though we’re all going on this trip because of him…
Leona: *Yaaawn*….
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Jack: Good morning, Leona Senpai!
Leona: ‘Sup. Is everyone here?
Jack: Yes! All accounted for.
Vil: Once we get there, will the tournament be starting right away?
Leona: Nah, the festival is starting today, and the tournament will begin tomorrow. Today, you guys are gonna use the tournament arena and get some practice in.
Lilia: So we’ll at least have time to get down the basics, then. That’s a relief.
Vil: And we’ll also have plenty of time to stop by Elephant Legacy, correct?
Leona: You don’t even gotta ask. I made us arrangements and everything. Alright, let’s get goin’.
???: Huh?
Kalim: What’re you guys all doing here?
Leona: Kalim… The heck are you doin’ in the Mirror Chamber?
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Lilia: Well, isn’t this a coincidence. Good morning, Kalim.
Kalim: Oh, hey! Good morning, Lilia! And good morning, everyone else!!!
Vil: Since you’re in the Mirror Chamber, I take it you’re planning to go somewhere?
Kalim: Yup! I’m going to Sunset Savannah!
Leona: What…!?
Everyone: !!!
Kalim: Wait a sec! Since Leona’s here, are you guys maybe all going to Tamashina-Mina, too?
Leona: “Too?” So that means… It’s just what I was thinkin’.
Vil (whispering to Leona): Leona, did you also invite Kalim?
Leona (whispering to Vil): Don’t make me laugh. You need brains and brawn if you wanna compete in Catch the Tail. There’s no way a sheltered bub like Kalim would stand a fightin’ chance.
Lilia: Kalim. Who invited you to go to Tamashina-Mina?
Kalim: The royal family of Sunset Savannah.
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Jack: The royal family?
Leona: Every year, important folks from all over the world get invited as guests of the state. Figures they would also reach out to the son of a top merchant from Scalding Sands.
Vil: Were you not aware he’d been invited?
Leona: It’s bad enough I have to go back home, no way I’d go waste my time lookin’ through the friggin’ guest list.
Grim: Hm? Hey… I don’t see Jamil anywhere?
Kalim: Jamil went on ahead to Sunset Savannah already. There’s lots of other staff members from back home that are coming along, and he was saying they’d be meeting with the people in charge of the festival. It sounded like they have a lot of stuff to do, like going over what’ll happen during the ceremony, and organizing the security and everything.
Lilia: Oh, my! Even just going to a festival is quite the serious matter for you, it appears.
Jack: We’ll be competing in Catch the Tail.
Kalim: Woah. Catch the Tail is that tournament they have during Tamashina-Mina, right? Good luck, you guys! I’ll be cheering you on from the stands!
Jack: Heh. We’ll be counting on ya!
Leona: Enough with the chit chat. Let’s go.
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Episode 2 (Part 1)
Episode 2 (Part 2)
Episode 3 (Part 1)
Episode 3 (Part 2)
Episode 3 (Part 3)
Episode 4 (Part 1)
Episode 4 (Part 2)
Episode 5
717 notes · View notes
mochi-owos · 11 months
Text
ੈ✩ My Crush is Like a Fruit?!
Obey Me (brothers) x Gn!Reader.
Your lover reminds you of a fruit? But which fruit?
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Lucifer, the sour cherry.
Like a cherry he's refined, elegant, also like a cherry, he has his sour notes with a mix of mischief.
"Hey, Luci," You spoke up, walking behind him, resting your head on his shoulder as he sat his desk.
"Hello dear, something I can help you with?" He asked, placing a hand on yours, rubbing his thumb.
"Nope, Im just here to drop off some fruit, speaking of which, give me a second," You walk out of the room, soon coming back with a tray of fruit. "Here you go my cherry, enjoy." You give his temple a kiss, soon walking away once more.
But before you could leave he grabs your wrist, "what was that?"
"Hm? What?" You question.
"The," he looks to the side, "The cherry part..."
You teasing smile, "Oh? Do you not like it?" That was a massive lie, you knew he did, but he was all to fun to tease. An opportunity has presented itself, and you're more than happy to take it.
"Just.. stay here a while," he looks up at you, "please?"
Mammon, the blood orange.
Blood oranges can be bitter, sour, even eccentric, and may not be to everyones taste. But once you catch a bite you may just become addicted.
For this date you wanted to do something fun, something different, you had decided to go fruit picking.
"ARGHHH, this is so boring!" Mammon groaned, holding the basket of fruit.
You chuckle, "Aw, yeah? Poor thing, you are." You teased, continuing to pick fruit.
"Why do we have to pick the fruit?! We can just but it!" He threw his head back like an angry child, huffing.
"Mammon, I'll be honest here, this is actually a lot cheaper, one thousand grim for unlimited fruits as long as we pick it? It's an absolute steal." You say as you struggle to pick a blood orange.
He smiled a little, "here, lemme get that for you." He mumbled, extending his arm and picking the fruit at the very top of the tree, he then placing it in the basket.
"Thank you my little blood orange." You kiss his cheek.
"Huh?! You're what? Ya' better stop!" His face scarlet.
"Hm, too cute."
"Stop!"
Leviathan, the passion fruit.
An odd fruit, and the look of it may scare some people off, but that shouldn't scare you away from taking a bite, you may like it.
You were watching Levi play a game, it was a trivia game. Soon the familiar fruit flashes on the screen with the big words "what fruit is this?!" You giggle watching Levi knit his brows together, mumbling a small, "the fuck?"
"A passion fruit, honey," you tell him, and watch as it's correct, you smile to yourself.
"Man, didn't know you were a fruit conisseur." He spoke lightly, still focused on his game.
"Baby," he blushed at the word, "we eat that fruit all the time."
"Ohh." He hums in reply.
"You know, you kinda remind me of a passion fruit."
"Huh??" He raises a brow.
"Did I mention passion fruit is my favourite fruit?" You whisper in his ear.
"HUHHHHHHHHH???" His face was unbelievably red, is he dead?
Satan, the bitter green apple.
Bitter, and ever so sour. At first glance many seem not to like it, but it's versatile flavour pallet compel all kinds of salesmen to use it to their advantage-- caramel apples, pie, juice, and even in salad.
"Satan?" You mumble against your pillow, your hand looking for your lover on the other side of the bed.
"I'm here, love." His voice was soft, your gaze peeks through your lashes to see him, you lover dressed in what looked like ugly green clothing.
You scrunched your nose, disgust filled you face and you plopped your head back into you pillow, "The hell are you wearing?"
"I decided to try a new outfit, don't like it?" He walked closer, sitting on the bed and play with your hair.
You stiffle a laugh, "you look like an green apple."
His eyes widen slightly, "Huh?? Really? Is it that bad?"
"Yeah kinda, don't worry though, I can get you looking like a cute green apple."
"Is that even a thing?" He caresses your face.
"It's a thing if I say so." You brush over his hand, giving it a squeeze.
He smiles leaning over kisses your lips, "Of course honey."
Asmodeus, the strawberry.
Bath time had always been you and asmodeus time, it meant relaxation, bubble baths, aromatherapy, and skin care.
Asmodeus spread a face mask against your skin, you could feel his soft hands, it was just so nice.
"You like that?" He tilted his head and smiled. You hummed in reply, he quickly pecs your lips then goes to put on his own face mask.
Once done he snuggles up to your side, the scent of strawberries pressed against the air. It left you breathless, how close he was, it made you feel dizzy, "You smell good." You whisper, your head leaning against his.
"You like it?" He wraps his hands around your waist.
"Very much so, my little strawberry."
He turns to look at you a questioning look on his face, but he too looked amused, "Little strawberry?"
"You remind me of strawberries, so youre my strawberry." Ah shit, that got him in his feels.
"Then your my.. uh, raspberry?" He shook his head, "Sorry, not very familiar with human fruits."
Beelzebub, the cantaloupe.
The flavour pallet isn't extraordinary, but is sweet mild flavour is just the appeal. A relaxing flavour, great as juice on a hot summer day. What more could you ask for?
As usual you say with Beel during lunch, and you watch him chow down on the mountains of food around him, "Enjoying that?" You smile, leaning against your palm.
"Mrphhhmm." His reply muffled by the tons of food, he looked as though he would soon choke at the pace he's going at.
Anticipating it you walk up to get some juice, melon juice being your final chose, you walk back to see Beel choking, you laugh handing him the drink. "Feel better?"
"Yeah, thanks, MC." He smiled going back to eating.
"No worries honey." You say back down, leaning against his side.
"By the way, what juice was that? I liked it."
"Oh? That was melon juice."
"Could I get some more?"
"Beel, you drank it all.."
Belphigor, the watermelon.
The flavour is mild and isn't overly sweet with all the watered down nectar, but that doesn't stop it's addictive taste.
As usual you find Belphie napping on the couch, with all the amount he sleeps he tends to not eat much, which is why you had brought him fruit from the kitchen.
Gently shaking him awake you try to tell him to wake up, "C'mon Belphie, I got you some fruit."
"Huh??" He says before inevitably feel back asleep.
You set the fruit on the coffee table, attempting to shake him awake a little harder, but before you can do anything your trapped in his arms.
"MC..." He mumbled against your ear, "What're you doing?"
You huff, "I was trying to give you some food. But here you are, tackling me."
"Tackling?" He ratorted, "Real tackling is what Beel does. This is nothing compared to that."
"U-huh, whatever. Can you just eat the fruit?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"You're an ass."
"Love you too."
"Fuck you."
371 notes · View notes
daisies-and-domming · 2 years
Note
Hey!! Would you do a sub!billy hargrove/dom!reader smut? Thank u <3
Boy Next Door (NSFW)
S3 spoilers in my author’s note, and vague reference to how S2 ends!! 
Summary: You’ve lived in the trailer park nearly your entire life, long enough to know that nothing in Hawkins was ever normal. So when the new king of the school starts dropping by your trailer at ungodly hours, you don’t even blink - why would you? Weirder shit’s happened here, and you’re certainly not complaining either, not when the king decides to get on his knees for you.
Warnings: swearing, smut, dom!reader, reader has an undefined hole, p in said undefined hole, sub!billy, oral (reader receiving), frottage(?), edging, praise, little bits of degradation (reader calls billy “slut” and talks condescendingly at some points), unsafe sex (wrap it before you tap it kids!!), a lil bit of a breeding kink, billy likes when reader pulls on his hair <3
Let me know if you think I missed anything!!
All characters are over 18 :)
Oh my god anon I didn’t know I needed sub!billy until you sent this in and now I’m scouring the website for more… I’m a whore for subby men, what can I say 🤷 He’s a little ooc but I firmly believe that billy is secretly a soft with people he trusts - sure, he’s mean to max, but I think that’s because he doesn’t want her involved in his life of alcohol and flirting - and I’ll die on that hill. This is set between S2 and S3, but in my universe billy doesn’t die during S3 anyways because I’m the author and I said so >:O Anyways, I had so much fun writing this, thank you for the request!! It takes like 1000 words to get to the smut, I’m so sorry ;-; But the smut is like 2000 some words, so hopefully that makes up for it ahaha I went batshit
– – –
You’ve lived in this dinghy trailer park in the middle of nowhere, Indiana, your entire conscious life. When your parents were really drunk (which, in all honesty, was far more often than you were willing to admit) they would talk about their “golden days”: when your parents were something other than full-time alcoholics, living in the suburbs of Cleveland in a nice neighbourhood. You were told you were born there, in that nice suburb house near the coast of one of the great lakes, but you’ve never had the nerve to ask what happened that landed them here, in Hawkins. 
But Ohio was none of your concern now. There were supernatural beings practically on your doorstep and the only people that seemed to care were the children that your friend Steve seemingly adopted, which would make for a good movie. But the fact that a ragtag bunch of kids were the ones saving your very real world left a nauseating pit in your stomach. Sure, the angry buzz cut kid who they called “Eleven” put an end to the last thing that came after Hawkins, but something tells you this was just the beginning. No matter. At the moment, you had bigger things to worry about. Like the fact that there’s a soft knocking on your door, despite the little analog clock reading a blinking “2:34am”.
Peering through the peephole, a clearly drunk Billy Hargrove stood, wobbling slightly. You’d seen him around school - it’s hard not to when he drives a flashy car and insists on poking at Steve - but certainly hadn’t spoken to him before. Opening the door slightly, you make eye contact with the man in question.
“Hi,” you say, tentatively. “Can I help you?”
“l/n!!” he slurs, eyes lighting up. “What’re y’doin in my trailer?”
You frown at him. “This is where I live, dipshit. Your trailer is more than a few down.”
“Mmm, I don’t think so,” he said, nudging at you. “Lemme in, will ya?”
You stood firm, skeptical. “Why should I?”
“Because,” he drawls. “You’re pretty, I’m pretty, we should do pretty people stuff together.”
You snort, but move to the side. You didn’t know what his home life was like, but, nevertheless, sending him away in the middle of the night, piss drunk, was dumb. If he had gotten hurt on the way back to his trailer because you had sent him away you would never forgive yourself. Sure, he seemed like a pretentious douchebag, but even pretentious douchebags deserve a chance. Besides, the ‘rents were out, which meant there wouldn’t be any “did you use protection?” or “you aren’t pregnant, are you?” questions the following morning.
“l/n,” Billy whined out, making you turn in time to see him flop onto your couch. “Why aren’t we doin’ pretty people stuff yet?”
You shut and lock the door, plopping yourself down on the floor in front of the couch in an attempt to set an unspoken boundary. “Because you’re drunk. You’re welcome to come over here sober some time and try this whole song and dance then, but I believe in full consent when doin’ that tango. You’re inebriated, so no ‘pretty people stuff’ for you tonight.”
He whined dramatically. “But that’s half the fun of getting drunk!!”
“God, you’re really drunk,” you say, wrinkling your nose at the smell. “We can talk if you want, but you’re not getting any tonight, lover boy.”
“Ooooh, you wanna hear about the crazy shit that Tina did at the party today??” – – – 
This became a recurring event. Billy would go out and party, then come over, drunk out of his mind and strangely soft. You had learned a lot about him - about Max (who he seemed to truly care about, despite how he acted when sober), about his dickhead father, about his mother, about why he drowned himself in people and alcohol all the time. You weren’t sure why he chose to keep dropping by, but you weren’t too perturbed. In any other situation, you might even consider him your friend. But, you remind yourself, he’s always drunk or high or some combination of the two. You don’t make friends when you’re drunk. And you certainly don’t fall for them, either.
A knock resonated at your door and you froze, staring at the clock. It was 3:24pm on a Saturday afternoon, unless Steve had decided to give you a surprise visit there should be no one at the door.
“l/n! Open the goddamn door,” a voice rang out, one that you recognized immediately. “I don’t have all goddamn day!”
You stumble to the door, opening it embarrassingly quickly. “Hi???”
“Hey,” he said, shoving his way past you.
“Wait wait wait,” you said, spinning around to him. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What I normally do, dickbag,” Billy said, refusing to make eye contact. “We gonna talk or what?”
You close the door gently, clicking the lock almost tentatively. “You’re sober.”
A flash of hurt crossed his face, but he quickly covered it up. “Am I not allowed to be?”
“That - that’s not what I’m saying!” you exclaimed, exasperated. “I just - I kinda figured you didn’t want to talk to me, normally. I’m not exactly your usual crowd.”
He groaned, running a hand over his face. “Look - how do I say this? I… don’t think you’re that shitty, or whatever. Sure, Tina’s a hot piece of ass, but if I tried to actually, I don’t fucking know, talk to her, she’d just laugh and tell me to ‘shut up’ or somethin’.”
“I don’t think you’re that shitty, either,” you say, slowly. “Is that all you wanted to talk about…? We could’ve done this on the porch.”
“It’s a trailer, there’s no goddamn porch,” he deadpans, rolling his eyes but still not making eye contact with you.
“You’re dodging,” you say, walking over to him and crowding him a bit. “What’s up, buttercup?”
“I don’t want to go back home,” he said bluntly, still dodging your prying eyes. “Deadbeat dad is on a rampage again. Dropped Max off at the arcade and found myself here.”
You blink up at him and back up a bit, feeling awful for prying. “Shit man - sorry I pushed you. You’re welcome here whenever you want to escape your place, sober or not. Or if you just want to come over. You can bring Max, too, she seems nice!! My ‘rents are never around, like ever, and even when they are they’re drunk and hiding in their room, and there’s a key under the doormat in the back if you need an escape and I’m not here - though I’d be careful about my parents, they get pretty drunk sometimes too, it’s not pretty. That’s not the point though! Point is, you’re always welcome, I’m sorry for prying-”
He pushed you to the couch, a small smile on his face, and were his eyes a little teary?? “Shut up, loser. I got it, I’m welcome to be here. Not shocked, though, people love me, of course you’d want me around.”
You roll your eyes at his smirk, trying to tug him down to the couch. However, you hadn’t anticipated him resisting, and your knee jerk reaction was to just yank. He stumbled and landed on top of you, knees straddling your legs. He blinks at you, owlishly, face flushed and pupils beginning to dilate.
You grin up at him, jokingly winking. “Just where I wanted you, baby.”
“Can I- can I take you up on your previous offer?” he said, voice lacking its usual bravado and confidence. 
“Previous offer as in…?”
“Sex,” he said, straightforward. “You said if I was sober we could fuck.”
“What eloquence, Mr. Hargrove,” you said. “And I believe we referred to it as ‘pretty people stuff.’”
“That’s a yes, yeah?” he said, hands resting on the couch on either side of your head.
“Aw, look at you, asking for consent,” you said, grinning up at him deviously. “Mmm…maybe if you beg me.”
He looked at you, incredulous. “If you think I’ll ever beg for something, you’ve got something coming-”
You cut him off, pulling him down into a harsh kiss. He groaned into the kiss, grinding down into your clothed sex. When he pulls away, he smirks down at you, cocky.
“You’re going to be the one begging for me, babe,” he said, head tilting. “So how ‘bout we hear it, hm?”
Well that wouldn’t do. Using all your strength, you flip your positions, grinding down on him once you’ve settled above him.
“If we’re doing this, baby boy,” you said, sultry. “We’re doing this my way, got it?”
You could see the struggle in his eyes, and began to grind down on him lightly. 
“Come on, sweet thing,” you murmured against his lips, rolling your hips in a way that had his eyes rolling back. “You can be good for me, can’t you?”
“Mm- yeah, yes, I can be good for you,” he groaned. “Now get on with it, will you?”
You frown at him, faux pouting. “Thought you were gonna be good. But that’s fine, we can play that game, I don’t mind.”
He opened his mouth to object but was cut off when your grinding turned harsh and fast, his words turning into a breathy moan. He slapped a hand over his mouth but you weren’t having it.
“Listen here, Hargrove,” you growled. “You’re going to let me hear those pretty little sounds or you’re not going to come. Understand?”
“No way in hell-”
You reach a hand down to his straining cock and squeeze, hard, revelling in the way his head rolls back and his hips jerk up into your hand. His mouth opens and closes uselessly, and you lean your weight onto your knees so you can shove your fingers that aren’t cradling his cock right down his throat. He gags, eyes glazed and unfocused.
“God, look at you,” you groan, voice strained. “Made for this, made for me to use, huh?”
He tries to respond but all that comes out are choked moans, drool dribbling down his chin as he gags on your fingers. You other hand kickstarts, rubbing him not-so-nicely through his pants. He looked gorgeous like this: choking on your fingers, eyes unfocused, hips bucking uncontrollably into your harsh touches. God, you just want to drown yourself in the feeling of the power you had over this man, this man who insisted on so much control in his everyday life. But here he was, on your couch, gagging on your fingers like he never wanted anything else. 
His bucking gets more erratic and his breaths get shorter, signalling an incoming orgasm. You paw at his cock a little harder, removing your fingers from down his throat so you could hear him when you tear his orgasm away from him.
“You wanna cum, baby?” you coo, letting your hips take over for your hand and grinding down on his clothed erection. “Wanna cum for me?”
“Yeah - gonna cum, gonna cum, let me cum-”
“No.”
His hips jolt upwards as you lift yourself from his lap, chasing after your heat. You smirk sadistically at him, chuckling at the glare he gives you in exchange for your denial.
“What the fuck?!” he yells, hands clenching at his sides (but not moving to change his predicament, you noted). “I was so fucking close, why would you-”
You put a finger on his lips, shushing him. “You were a brat earlier, so I’m treating you like one. Maybe if you get me off I will consider letting you come.”
“Yeah?” he said, still panting from his lost orgasm. “Yeah, I can fuckin’ do that.”
“Good,” you say, getting up. “Get on your knees in front of the couch.”
He snorted at first, but his face contorted when he realised you were serious. “You’ve got to be kidding me, right? You’re not going to get me on my knees, sweetheart.”
“Then you’re not going to cum,” you said matter-of-factly. “Eat me out on your knees like the little slut you are or you don’t get to cum.”
His nose scrunched up angrily but he moved to get down in front of the couch. “There. That make your sick little heart happy?”
“Maybe if you weren’t such a mouthy brat we wouldn’t be here in the first place,” you said, discarding your pants and undergarments god knows where. “Don’t touch without permission, m’kay?”
He growled but kept his hands obediently at his side. In spite of all his back talk, Billy didn’t ever make a move to take control. He wants this, you realise, but he doesn’t want to admit it.
“How cute,” you coo, pinching his cheek as you settle yourself in front of him. “Now eat me out - no hands though, baby. Just put your pretty little mouth to better use for me, mhm?”
He begrudgingly folds his hands behind his back and buries himself in your hole. Your head rolls back, a low groan escaping your mouth. If he wasn’t drowning himself in you he might see your composure slipping, but he seemed just as out of it as you. Hips jerking up into nothing, hands clasped behind his back, face red and teary, Billy looked like so fucking good that you felt yourself clenching around his tongue, rolling your hips into his lapping. 
“God… so good with that tongue, baby, shit - keep doing that, y-yeah, just like that,” you blabber out, a hand flying to grip at his hair. You give an experimental tug and grin when he moans, breathy and high. 
“Y-yeah? You want me to tug on your - ngh - hair? Shove you deeper into me?” you say, chuckling lowly when he nods into you. “Your wish is my command, sweet thing.”
You could feel your orgasm drawing nearer as Billy’s talented tongue ruined your insides. His movements were precise, even without the use of his hands, and when he nicked your sweet spot you came, clamping your thighs around his head as you tugged harshly on his hair. 
Panting, you try to regain enough composure to address Billy. “God, sweetheart, your so fucking good with your tongue.”
“Yeah?” he said, tone cocky despite the straining bulge in his jeans. “You gonna let me use you now? I know you want it darlin’, you can’t keep pretending to have contr - mph!”
You yanked him up in a kiss, effectively shutting him up. Your legs were a little shaky from your previous orgasm but you were stubborn: there’s no way in hell after all this you would give Billy the satisfaction of fucking into you.
“Get on the goddamn couch,” you said, panting as you pulled away. “I’m going to ride you until all you can think of is me.”
“Fuck, pretty thing,” he groans, dropping onto the couch. “You better hold true to that or I might have to take over.”
“If you think you have a say in how this goes you’re dead wrong,” you said, straddling his hips. “You don’t cum until I say, got it baby?”
“Easy peasy,” he said, ever the fucking brat. “Think you can hold it sweets? Because I can guarantee that you’ll be creaming around my cock in no time.”
“Mhm,” you murmur, unimpressed as you help him wiggle out of his jeans and underwear. “Whatever you need to help you sleep at night.”
“You scared you can’t take it - shit!” he moans, cock twitching as you sink down on him in one slide. “Fuck, you gotta give a man a warning-”
You don’t. Bouncing up and down on his cock at a harsh pace, your trailer is filled with the lewd sound of skin slapping skin. You’re sure the neighbours can tell what you two are doing - hell, the whole trailer park probably knew - but you didn’t have the heart to care. His cock stretched you wide, so goddamn girthy that every bounce had white bouncing at the edge of your vision. 
Billy wasn’t much better. He had a death grip on your hips, finger-shaped bruises already forming. Tongue sticking out, eye half-lidded and staring up at you reverently, Billy was a fucked out mess already and you’d just started.
“Mmngh, feelin’ good, pretty boy? God… just look at you, takin’ - ungh - t-takin’ it so goddamn well, shit,” you said, still slamming yourself down on his cock like your life depended on it. 
“Mmm, fuck, please, please please please-” 
You couldn’t even tell what he was begging for anymore. “What do you - ngh - what do you need, babe - fuck, just like that pretty thing - huh? Got to be specific, darlin’ - god…”
“Cum,” he moans out, eyes shut tightly as he bucks into you. “Need t’ fuckin’ cum!”
You clench around him as he bucks, eyes rolling back a bit. “Ngh, yeah? You wanna cum? Wanna fill my pretty little hole - ahn, do that again, jesus - fill my pretty little hole with your cum?”
“Yeah, shit. Gonna let me?”
“Mhmm, I don’t know…” you said, pretending to ponder like you weren’t desperate to feel him fill you up. “Have you been - jesus fucking christ - have you been good?”
“‘ve been good!!” he wails, eyes teary as he stares up at you. “Been so good, such a good boy, please let me cum, please, jus’ wanna be you good boy, please please please!”
Your eyes roll back. Fuck, you hadn’t expected him to beg in return. Slowing down a bit, your bounces send him slow and deep, causing you to clench. His eyes cross and his grip on the couch turns his knuckles white, trying so goddamn hard to hold himself back.
“You can cum,” you groan, his cock rutting against your sweet spot just right. “You can cum, baby, cum with me, want you to cum with me-”
Your vision goes white and you clench, gripping his cock harshly. He near screams, fucking himself up into you as he came. You both melt into each other, a panting, post-orgasm mess tangled on the couch. When your brain was finally back online, you winch, gently sliding his softened cock out of you.
“Fuck, really did a number on me,” Billy murmured, ragdolled on the couch looking like he never wanted to move. “Didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Fuck off, Hargrove,” you say, trying your best to walk (or waddle, rather) your way to the kitchen to start cleaning off.
“You love me and you know it!”
You roll your eyes, grabbing a washcloth and dampening it. God, he was such a doofus. You couldn’t believe that the rest of the school considered him the king, but maybe your friendship was something special. You sure hoped so - you were certain he wasn’t just submitting himself to anyone, after all. 
“Where the fuck did you go, dickhead? The great Billy Hargrove demands cuddles!”
God, he was such a dork sometimes. You snort, but make your way back to the living room, water bottle and damp washcloth in hand. 
“Have patience, great Billy,” you said, handing him the water bottle before gently cleaning him up. “Great things come for those who wait.”
“Oh shut up,” he said, melting into your touch. “I didn’t come here for you to philosophise.”
“Course, course,” you say, jokingly. “Okay, all done. Let’s pick up all our shit and go to my room, yeah? Really don’t want my parents to come home and find us naked in the living room.”
“That’s ‘cause you’re boring,” he jokes, wobbly as he stands to help you grab your discarded clothes. “Half the fun is getting caught.”
“Perv,” you shot back.
“Says the one who rode me on their parents' couch.”
“Ew!! Don’t fucking say that, I don’t want to think about my parents in the afterglow!”
“You’re the one who brought them up!” “Yeah, because I don’t want them involved in my post-orgasmic haze!!” you say, exasperated. “Cmon, this way.”
Dumping your clothes unceremoniously on the floor, you lock the door and drag Billy towards your bed. Wordlessly, the two of you melt into each other. You’d worry about sneaking him out under your parents’ radar later - right now, you had much more pressing concerns.
Word Count: 3374
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littlemisspascal · 3 months
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2023 & Me
Been thinking a lot these past few days about everything that's happened with me in 2023. Hard to believe it's coming to end--time seriously does fly 😮
There's been some heavy losses this year. Several family members passed away to illnesses and old age, including my grandfather who I had a strained relationship with to say the least. I also had a shocking family drama bomb dropped on me earlier this month that has had a huge ripple effect I'm still navigating, but fingers crossed things will find a way of working out for the best.
I had some severe mental health depression episodes throughout the year, made me reevaluate priorities and also doubt pretty much every choice I've ever made in life, but I do truly believe I'm entering 2024 in a positive mindset so that's something to be happy about :) I'mma try this crazy concept called self-love and not think the worst about me, myself, and I.
My writing took a hit this year. Word count wise, kudos wise, engagement wise--but I also made progress on several wips and even finished a few which is a big accomplishment for a snail writer like me 😊 I want to enter 2024 not feeling guilty for being self-indulgent or trying new kinds of writing styles. I also want to shake off the belief a low note count equals it was a bad fic/waste of time -- I don't believe that for anyone else, yet my brain always uses it as a weapon of insecurity against myself and enough is enough brain 😠 no more I say!
On a more positive note, I was fortunate enough to attend several conventions this year and improve my cosplay skills (2024 Ahsoka is gonna be my best look yet I just know it 😁). I got to meet total sweethearts Jon Bernthal and Charlie Cox, Steve Burns my childhood hero, the dear Jodi Benson, the gorgeous Rosario Dawson and beautiful Ming-Na Wen, and of course I can't ever forget Andrew Garfield 😱💗 And most importantly of all I did each these cons with my sister and made some lifelong memories! (Also bought a heckin lot of stickers. A heckin lot 🥰)
And then of course the crown jewel of 2023 1000% hands down was attending the United States Formula 1 Grand Prix. Good lord y'all it was one of the best weekends of my entire life! If you had asked me a couple years ago if I'd care about a sport--any sport--I'd have laughed in your face but there's just something so addictive and captivating about the world of F1 and its cast of characters. And having the luck of getting Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo's autographs on my dumb lil frog bucket hat was just *muffled screaming* I literally was a shaking mess lemme tell ya--just ask @beecastle and @undercoverpena who were there with me on my phone every step of the way 💜 thanks for putting up with my addiction y'all! Much much love to you both!!
AND THE FRIGGIN FACT SOMEONE GOT A PHOTO OF ME AND DANNY TOGETHER 🥺😭😭 NEVER BE OVER IT NOPE
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There are so many people on here that made 2023 a bright and kind and fun one for me---@oonajaeadira @something-tofightfor @wheresarizona @trinkets01 @kyberblade @sofasoap @grogusmum @writeforfandoms @psychedelic-ink @kteague @prolix-yuy @wildemaven @the-blind-assassin-12 @practicalghost @gnpwdrnwhiskey @bishtrouille @nothoughtsjustmeds @kirsteng42 @miraclesabound @radiowallet @harriedandharassed @hopeamarsu and dozens dozens dozens more!
Thank you to everyone who's liked, reblogged, commented on my blog + sent me messages! I appreciate and love you all so much more than words can ever express 💜💗💙🧡
2024---let's bring it on! 🥳
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gracie7209 · 8 months
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Amaryllis Epilogue
Pairing: Frankie x f!Reader
Word Count: 1.8K
Warnings: Fluff, fluff, fluffy-fluff, reflection- (of more than one sort? I’m on one today. Don’t mind me lol), happiness, loved ones, we get to meet Reader’s momma! (Her English isn’t great so we will see her and Reader speaking Spanish) tiny sliver of angst? Lemme know if I forgot anything!
Summary: Just before your lives are set to change yet again, you and Frankie each get a moment alone to reflect on how life has brought you to where you are now. Santi saves the day yet again!
A/N: Guys…… This is it! We have officially officially reached the end of this story and I’m a whole mess of emotions. The has been such a labor of love and learning for me. It’s my very first fic and also the very first piece of writing I have ever shared with anyone. As previously mentioned, I have several new WIPs and I cannot WAIT to get to work on them! For everyone who has commented, liked, reblogged, asked questions or shown even the tiniest bit of love for my little story, I just want to thank you with everything I have. I have wanted to write since I was little, but could never put pen to paper until I forced myself to write a little 100 word Drabble, which literally turned into this series. The Pedro fandom alone has literally changed my life in so many ways and I will forever be grateful. So anyways....... Thank you all so much!!!!
Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist
When he sees himself in the mirror, Frankie is all nerves.
Checking and rechecking his hair, making sure his tie isn’t crooked… worrying the little patch in his scruffy beard that refuses to fill in.
His palms are sweating and his stomach is doing flips, but he’s unbelievably HAPPY.
He never thought he would be here. Never thought he would ever want to be doing this, but you had changed his way of thinking in more ways than one.
It had always terrified him to feel as though he were tied to something. Or so he thought…
In reality, he never felt he was worth enough for someone to ever want to be tied to him. The things he had done, the horrors he’d seen? The nightmares he still endured would run off anyone who might be even the slightest bit interested. Damaged…
Valid.
He was damaged. There was no way to come out from that other side and not be. But to those who weren’t there? Ones who could never understand what he’d been through? They would only pity him and he didn’t want that.
He just wanted understanding. Wanted someone to accept him as he was, without trying to fix him.
And then there was you. You never looked at him like he was damaged. You knew about things and yet you never held anything against him. You knew the atrocities he’d seen and those he had committed, yet you never backed away from him or looked down on him.
From the beginning, Frankie felt a connection to you. He didn’t know what you’d been through at the time, but there was an understanding there - “We’re not defined by our experiences Frankie,” you’d tell him.
“We simply learn from our mistakes, grow into better people, and if we are genuine, that’s all that really matters. —You yourself told me something similar at one time, remember?”
Frankie smirks at the memory. Shaking his head, as he gets back to the task at hand.
...
He doesn’t think he can tie it any better, so he takes one final look, takes a deep breath and smiles at himself in the oversized mirror. Just a small half smile, knowing that what he was about to do was going to change his life forever….
And he was ready.
It doesn’t start to sink in until about ten minutes beforehand that you are actually going to marry Frankie today. You’re in the small guest room, waiting for your mother to stop fussing over you already and to let you look in the mirror. “Mija, todo tiene que ser perfecta!” (Everything has to be perfect)
“Mamà, está bien... ¿puedo mirar ahora? Ya casi es hora de irse..." (It’s ok….. can I look now? It’s almost time to go…)” There’s no malice in your tone as your mouth turns up into a silly smile that you just can’t seem to hold back.
“Ah, si mi hermosa luz, creo que estes lista. Ven agora, and a y mira.”(Ah yes my beautiful light, I believe you are ready. Come now, go ahead and look.)
You stand up and slowly walk over to the full length mirror. The look on your face doesn’t at all match the sheer joy you feel in your chest. The initial shock wears off, but the weight of the moment hits you then; You’re marrying Frankie today. This incredible man who barreled his way into your life and decided he wanted to stay.
To see yourself in your mother’s wedding gown and jewelry, knowing that Frankie was waiting for you had your eyes welling up with tears. You silently prayed they stayed put as your mother had fussed with your makeup for a small eternity and Lord help you if you messed it up. So, you forced the tears back, albeit they were happy, joyous, singing to the choir tears that would surely fall once everything was said and done. You were more certain now in this choice, in Frankie, than at any other time in your life..
You gave yourself one final look in the mirror before turning back to your mother. Grabbing her small hands in yours and kissing her forehead, you silently thanked her for everything she had done for you; today and everyday.
“Ok Mija?”
“Si Mamà, Estoy lista.” (Yes, I’m ready.)
The ceremony was modest, with only close family and friends in attendance, but you were blessed beyond reason.
Those in attendance included your mother, who had brought along your Aunt and your two little cousins all the way from Cuba. You hadn’t seen her in ages, and this was the first time you’d gotten the chance to meet the little ones.
Frankie’s Mom and Step-Dad had flown in from Texas along with his older sister, which had been a surprise to the both of you, having never gotten to meet them prior. They welcomed you with nothing but warmth and love. Your previous apprehension at making a good impression, falling away the moment his mother wrapped you in her arms as she introduced herself.
She also took little to no time in latching onto your and soon-to-be Frankie’s son, her Grandson. Who she happily spoiled rotten from the get go and volunteered to be in charge of during the ceremony, giving your own mother a well deserved break as she had been deemed (by herself) as the primary babysitter.
And of course, Santi, Will and Benny were front and center. They would’ve all been groomsmen if you and Frankie had decided to have a wedding party. Instead you both opted for just a simple service. Santi would still supply the rings, but aside from the preacher, it would only be you and Frankie standing at the altar.
It was time.
You took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly as you turned the small corner to make your way to Frankie.
As you slowly made your way down the aisle, you didn’t expect to become breathless at the sight before you.
The expectation was that, the Bride-to-be would walk in and a hush would wash itself throughout the room. All eyes on her as she made her way to alter to join her fiancé.
You were sure your anxiety would rear its ugly head at being the center of attention, and had tried to give yourself a pep talk before walking inside. However, the moment you laid eyes on Frankie, you nearly stopped in your tracks.
You realized at that moment that you had never seen Frankie wear anything remotely resembling dress attire, let alone a suit and tie.
It was always jeans and a t-shirt, jacket when necessary and work boots… always work boots. He looked good on any given day and there had never been an occasion up until that point for him to “dress up.” But, you couldn’t take your eyes off of him…
His hair was still a disheveled mess of curls that you loved to run your fingers through. Not too long, but long enough that the ends would curl behind his ears. He just wouldn’t be Frankie without them, so you were grateful he didn’t try to tame them back. He was also wearing his glasses, which he had been trying to wear more and more these days as he couldn’t stand to wear his contacts after having gone without them for so long.
His tux was your normal coat and pants, but completely white, with a black bowtie and shoes with a shine that could blind a person if they got too close. You don’t think you have ever seen someone so beautiful in your life and he was yours.
You had managed to keep your pace steady all the way to the alter, even though you had half a mind to just run and get yourself there that much faster. Your mother was waiting up front to take your bouquet and give you over to the man you truly wanted to spend your life with. She kissed your cheek before turning to Frankie and offering him your hand. As he took it she wrapped both yours and Frankie’s hands in hers, saying she loved you both and giving a firm squeeze before letting you go and sitting back down at her seat in the front.
Frankie took both of your hands and whispered from under his messy bangs, “Are you ready?”
You couldn’t speak so you just nodded, trying not to cry before the preacher even had a chance to talk.
You tried to concentrate on the words being said, the prayer being read to the audience, but you could only focus on Frankie’s smile and his thumbs rubbing reassuring circles into your hands. You didn’t know why you were so nervous, but ultimately, it didn’t matter. Frankie was sure as stone and after you both repeated your vows and placed the rings on each others’ fingers, Frankie lifted your veil, seeing your lips quirk up into a smile and he kissed you. In front of all of the people who mattered to you the most in this world.
His kiss was equal parts strong and soft with his hand coming to your cheek while the other wrapped around your waist. You didn’t dip, but he held almost all of your weight as he put his entire life into that kiss. Letting you and everyone else know that you were it for him.
When you both came up for air, there was nothing but big smiles and happy tears from everyone around. Benny was hooping and hollering, and even Will had his hand to his mouth letting out a piercing whistle that echoed throughout the church. Santi was clapping along with the others, with an almost forlorn expression that seamlessly slipped back into a playful smile once Benny clapped him on the shoulder, joining in with everyone else in raining congratulations on the happy couple. Frankie took your hand and raised them both entwined up toward the sky as you walked back down the aisle, side by side, as husband and wife. The both of you more than ready to begin this new chapter in your lives.
Together.
Two hours earlier -
“Rings, rings…. Uh, shit!” Santi is looking around frantically, shuffling papers and patting down his pockets, seemingly having misplaced the rings he was in charge of.
“Haha, very funny pendejo…. Now’s really not the time to be fuckin’ around…” Frankie’s voice is playful, but when he looks over at Santi, he sees the panic starting to set in.
“Fuck man, seriously? You had one job… !” Frankie is pacing now alongside Santi as they both desperately search for the missing rings.
“Wait!! Wait, oh! Shit haha, we’re good, we’re good, man. We're fine, everything's fine... I just left them on the kitchen table after I grabbed the mail this morning. I only live like ten minutes away from here, I’ll be right back!”
“Jesus Pope! I about lost my goddamn ass over here man… Shit, just go grab them and come straight back, ok?”
“Alright, alright…. You need anything else while I’m out?”
“For fucks sake Pope! Just go!”
“Yep, yep on it!” At that, Santi runs out the door, leaving Frankie to his thoughts for the moment.
He sits down on the little couch in the sitting area and puts his head in his hands. He’s nervous and he wants this day to go perfectly, but he actually starts to laugh when he thinks about the circumstances.
All of this fuss over rings, when in reality, they were just a symbol. A token to show the world that you were his person, and he was yours. And even if Pope had lost them, it honestly wouldn’t change a thing. He was marrying you today, with or without a ring, and he could hardly wait.
It only takes Santi about eight minutes to get to his place. Possibly breaking a few speed limits to do so, but he did not want to be the cause of something ruining this day for either of you.
He goes inside and sees the ring boxes sitting right there on the table next to the untouched pile of mail. He lets out a deep breath, muttering under his breath, "Thank you, God!" Checking inside each box, making absolutely sure he had everything before putting them safely in his jacket pocket. Picking up the stack of mail, he quickly skims through it out of habit. Finding an envelope in the mix with only his name and address handwritten on the front with no return address.
He carefully opens it, revealing a small slip of folded paper. On the inside is a jumbled set of numbers and symbols…
Ones that he recognizes instantly—
Coordinates.
Coordinates to the money stolen out of the walls of Lorea’s house before it was burned to the ground. Money that was dumped in a ravine to get rid of extra weight that made flying too dangerous. Coordinates that only he, Will, and Benny knew about. Aside from one other person.
Tom.
Tom had found the money.
Taglist: @boliv-jenta @just-here-for-the-moment @quica-quica-quica @heythere-mel @sunnysidekit @dashavau @queridopascal @queridopascal-main @hnt-escape @rhoorl @readingiskeepingmegoing @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @bitchwitch1981 @jb2856 @mymo-n @littlemisspascal @tanzthompson @luciferiorbxtch @spookyxsam @imaswellkid @harriedandharassed @autumnleaves1991-blog @wildemaven @pastelnap @pimosworld @alwaysdjarin
A/N: Whoops!
*But seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all for reading. It absolutely means the world to me 🥹
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fae-of-the-forest01 · 1 month
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Beanstalk Chapter Nine
Chapter One, Chapter Eight, Chapter Ten
Here is the next chapter! I'm just obsessed with these two, lemme tell ya <3
Chapter Nine
The silence seemed to freeze everything, no one daring to break the spell as Rory stood on the still chest of the man who had tried to kill her. Dave blinked his still blurry vision, his head absolutely killing him with each pounding beat of his racing heart. Richard had knocked him out for hopefully only a few minutes, but Dave had still fought out of his unconsciousness just in time to watch the man try to kill Rory as she raced up his arm. He had never felt that kind of absolute terror before in his life.
Relief flooded through him – because Rory was okay. She was safe.
She had just killed a giant.
He raised his head with a groan, eliciting Rory to turn his way, and then he laid it back down on the cool floor and closed his eyes again. That felt better. His cheek was hot and swollen, and when he licked his similarly swollen bottom lip, he felt the split and tasted blood. His thoughts swam.
Rory had just killed a man.
He blinked open his eyes to see Rory climb down off the body and rush toward him.
“Hey – are you okay?” she asked as she made her way over, her voice soft and… worried?
But as she rushed over to him, her sword caught the light and he saw the coat of fresh blood still on it and his mind replayed the final death cries of the man on the floor beside him and Dave couldn’t stop himself, he flinched when she got near.
Dave hoped she hadn’t noticed his flinch, but she was a highly trained hero, and he was hundreds of times her size, of course she saw him flinch. Rory froze, raising her hands as if approaching a frightened animal.
Richard deserved it, of course. He had kidnapped all those people; Dave hadn’t even been able to count all the jars filled with humans when he first walked in the room. It was sickening. The man was a monster. He was glad Richard was gone and no longer a threat to so many innocents. Rory saved everyone. She did what she had to do. Her very life and all their lives had been in danger from that giant.
“Dave…” she said slowly. Closer to him now.
“I’m sorry – I’m sorry,” Dave gasped out.
Rory seemed like she was going to say something again, but Dave couldn’t stop his thoughts from racing. He squeezed his eyes closed and kept his body tense against the inevitable death blow. Dave was also a giant. He had broken Rory’s trust. He’d hoped that she would trust him and realize right away that he only planned to go along with Richard in order to get her out of the jar so they could both get away to find help. But Richard kept pressing and Rory actually got frightened, and the plan went terribly wrong.
He couldn’t get the image of her horrified face off his mind – the look of utter betrayal and grief when he had to unceremoniously dump her out of the jar and keep her held against her will. His stomach churned and his hands clenched as the ghost of the feeling of her kicking and squirming inside his fist rose with the memory. And when he had pressed her arm between his thumb and finger in faked appraisal while Richard looked on… Dave felt sick.
Rory was as delicate as she was a force to be reckoned with. If she chose to never trust a giant again, it would be his fault. He ruined the reputation of his entire species. If Rory decided to slay him too just to be safe, he understood. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t afraid.
He paused his spiraling rabbit hole of thoughts as strange sound filtered through. It sounded like… something being dragged?
Dave made himself open his eyes. Black spots and bleariness still impeded his vision and the world remained tilted to the side from where he lay on the floor, but his foggy brain finally computed what lay in front of his face.
His brown glasses with the thick lenses for his terrible eyesight. The new ones he’d bought with Rory.
He blinked again and noticed Rory leaning against them. She was only a little taller than the height of his glasses. Why did he ever think she wouldn’t get scared by him pretending to be in on Richard’s plan? Of course she would be frightened, he was ridiculously large in comparison, and how could she really trust someone who could grab her in one fist – or worse – anytime against her will? She had no power to stop him or Richard. Dave had ruined any progress he’d been trying to make by establishing boundaries and space to make her feel safe.
But she had the power now, he wouldn’t try to stop her if she went through with it.
She was a Jack, it was what she was supposed to do. Rid the world of monsters.
“Dave…” her steadying voice stopped him from closing his eyes again. “It’s alright. You’re okay. You’re having a panic attack.”
A panic attack?
Dave didn’t have panic attacks. Wait, alright fine, he did have panic attacks, but never to this scale before. His heart thundered and his chest and head ached, and he wanted to curl up into a ball and never look at the dead body of Richard again. Bile rose in his throat; he felt like he was going to be sick.
She moved toward him very slowly, but he still flinched again. She followed his gaze to her bloody sword and then set it down carefully, disarming herself. “Don’t look over there, just look at me,” Rory said softly as she straightened and stepped closer to him. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“But I could have hurt you!” Dave breathed, squeezing his eyes closed, his words coming out all in a rush. “I’m sorry, I only meant to play along so we could get out of here and find help. But I should have left you in the jar and just gone after him myself right away – not that me fighting him actually helped anything – but I’m just another monstrous giant who broke your trust and I deserve whatever fate you decide.”
“Shhh…” A cool touch brushed across his cheek, and he opened his eyes in surprise to find Rory standing right in front of his face. Her eyebrows scrunched into a worried frown, and she reached up to brush a curl from off his forehead, her touch delicate.
 He never saw her this up close since their initial meeting, when he’d held her closer to his face to try to cut through his confused thoughts and understand what he was looking at, and she’d replied in a panic, “Please don’t eat me!”
After that, he tried to cautiously keep distance between them.
But now, Rory had come close all on her own.
Freckles dotted her face from all her time spent out in the sun on adventures, and her full lips parted in thought as she looked him over with her hazel-green eyes. He’d never been able to notice the color of them before. Or see the way pieces of her hair fell out of her ponytail to frame her face perfectly. Her blue tunic was rumpled, and she wore a delicate gold chain around her neck.
Then his eyes caught the bruising peeking up from under her collar, the color purpling across her cheek, the way she held weight off her right leg, and he shuddered again.
“It’s okay, this is all from Richard,” Rory quickly assured him, as if she read where his thoughts had taken a turn. “I might have gotten a little sore from the first encounter with you, but you have never hurt me, Dave. You’re not like him.” Her hand rested back on his cheek, cool and soft, and she met his gaze earnestly. “You’re kind and caring and don’t have a violent bone in your body. You created your beans because you wanted to save people from ever going hungry, he saw your beans as a way to hurt people and make money off of it. You are nothing like him.” She traced down his bruised temple, her touch light. “Now, take a few deep breaths.”
Dave complied, and his first, shaky inhale and exhale ruffled her hair loose from her ponytail and billowed her clothes around her, but she still didn’t step away from him. She just nodded encouragingly and continued her slow, soothing stroke across his temple.
“Do you feel like you can get up, or are you still dizzy?” Rory asked, tucking her ponytail back in her pocket and opting to let her light brown hair hang loose and long instead of trying to keep it contained. She winced as she looked him over, reaching out to brush a hand carefully over his swollen, split lip. Then, as if she’d surprised herself, her touch lingered, and her breath caught.
Dave suddenly wanted to stay exactly where he was forever. He didn’t dare wish to move and be the first to break the spell, but he also felt a sudden urge to hold her close. To find a way to thank her for helping him through his panic.
Rory finally dragged her eyes from his lips, cheeks coloring delicately as she caught his gaze. Then she stepped away, though the ghost of her touch still tingled on his lip and cheek. “How’s your head? You took a nasty couple hits, I saw it happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t have a mild concussion.”
Dave grimaced, finding the energy to prop himself up on his side. The room spun a little, but the pounding was starting to fade along with the spots. Rory took another step back to give him space to move, but she didn’t look startled or afraid of him. Even only propped up he felt too far away from her now, too lumbering. “It’s feeling better now, thanks,” he said, “and thanks for helping me with… all that.” He squinted down at her, wishing he was still close enough to see her clearly.
She pushed his glasses toward him, and he carefully reached over next to her to pick them up, sliding them onto his face to let the world become clearer. Ah, much better.
“No need to apologize,” Rory said gently, tilting her head back to give him a soft smile. “You just watched someone die, it’s only natural to get panicked, especially when you’re fighting a concussion. It just proves you’re not a psychopath.”
Dave huffed out a small laugh. “You’re not panicked, and you’re not a psychopath.”
She shrugged. “I’ve just gotten better at hiding it over the years of being exposed to it.”
Dave didn’t want to imagine all the things Rory had seen. She had been through a lot as Jack, he had no doubt. “I should be the one helping you though, you took harder hits than me.”
He reached forward slowly, and delicately brushed a finger across her cheek where the bruise was forming and growing darker every minute. He held his breath at his own daring move, then felt panicked again that she wouldn’t want him in her space so soon after he’d scared her and started to take his hand back.
But Rory reached up and held onto his pointer finger and he halted, her touch light but her gaze firm, as if to say it was okay. That she forgave him and understood why he’d done what he did. That she still trusted him. The skin beneath her touch tingled, and he felt her impossibly small hands move as she tried to give him a squeeze.
“I’ll be alright,” she said finally, lifting her chin to give him another small smile. “Right now, I still have adrenaline working for me, so I need to work quickly before all these aches and pains catch up to me.” She gave him a wink, then released his finger.
Dave let his hand drop, then looked past her (and past the body that he was not going to look at again) to the counter where the jars sat out of sight. Their job here was not done, they needed to get everyone out of here and back to the human world.
“Have any ideas?” Dave asked, looking back down at her.
She reached down to scoop her sword back up, quickly wiping the blood off on a scrap of rag she’d had in her pocket, then tossed the rag away before he could see it. “I think I have a plan.” Rory strapped her sword to her back again, then gave Dave an assessing look. “How good are you at climbing beanstalks?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m overtly fond of heights,” Dave replied, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “But I can give it a go. I have one of the top Jacks in the kingdom with me to give me pointers, so I should be fine.”
She flashed him a smile back. “I can help you deal with… Richard when we get back. Maybe my Queen will want to discuss the next steps with your council, so everyone knows what happened. I don’t want you to be accused of murder or anything,” she joked.
Dave’s smile slipped. He hadn’t thought about that. But there would be enough time to worry about that later.
She limped a little toward the counter, then looked back up at Dave. “Can you help me up? I’m a little useless right now,” She gestured to her hurt leg, and Dave’s stomach clenched at the thought of her being injured. “I’m going to need your help, Dave.”
Dave’s brows scrunched together in a nervous frown. “I, uh… Yes – I can. If you’re absolutely alright with it.”
It looked a little like Rory had to brace herself, but she nodded firmly. “Absolutely.”
Dave hesitantly reached out a hand and laid it down palm up next to Rory like he’d done when they’d eaten lunch together. He tried not to move as she stepped up onto it with only a little bit of hesitance of her own. Her feet shifted on his skin, tickling him a little, but he managed to keep his hand still. Then he slowly moved into a kneeling position before rising with his other hand hovering nearby in case she stumbled. He felt her hands grip onto his thumb for support, and a little bit of hope welled in his chest at the action; maybe this meant she wasn’t afraid of being in his hands again.
Dave’s stomach clenched once he caught sight of all the humans in the glass jars again. They cowered back as he approached, and the sickness he felt grew stronger. How were they going to get everyone back to the human world?
Rory climbed off his hand slowly once he laid it on the table and approached the jars. Suddenly, the tiniest being he had ever laid eyes on (and he thought Rory fit that bill until now) ran out from the shadows and tackled Rory with a tight hug. His eyes widened as he realized she was just a little girl. Oh- this had to be the little girl Rory had been sent here to find. Rory hugged the girl back and they both talked quickly and quietly to each other. He barely heard Rory thank the girl multiple times before she gave her a kiss on top of her frizzy-haired head. Something must have happened while he was unconscious, he’d have to get the story later.
Rory, her arm still around the small girl, turned back to the jars of humans. “We’re going to get you out of here, but you have to trust us. I’m a Jack, an agent of the Queen herself,” she shifted her tunic to show what Dave assumed was a badge of some sort. “I know it will be hard, but you have to trust Dave. As you saw with your own eyes, he came here to help everyone, too. Without his aide and the distraction he made while fighting the other giant, I wouldn’t have been able to get out of my jar, and we’d all be stuck here. Now, will you all promise not to panic?”
She waited until everyone nodded before glancing up at Dave. “Can you get the jars open?”
He nodded, slowly moving a little closer. He tried to keep his movements as small as possible to avoid scaring anyone, but he knew it’d be impossible not to, these people had to be so terrified after what Richard had done. “Please, just don’t run,” he implored them in a low voice. He didn’t want anyone to accidentally get hurt or lost on the giant world forever if they got away. He definitely didn’t want to go chasing after anyone, either. He felt like enough of a monster as it was already.
One by one, Dave unscrewed the lids from the jars and painstakingly tipped every one over as carefully has he could manage, until every human was free from their glass prison. Richard had ‘collected’ a wide range of age and gender, from grandparents to the youngest little girl by Rory’s side. Their families had to be sick with worry.
All eleven of them huddled together behind Rory and the little girl, glancing up at him nervously. He heard them murmuring but couldn’t make out what they said. Rory turned back to him and called up, “They think a satchel or something would be best for the trip.”
Dave nodded again, and went off in search, coming back with a basket that he’d lined with a soft green hand towel. He laid it on its side on the counter, and with Rory directing them, everyone made their way into the basket. The little girl was last, and Rory gave her another hug before handing her off to a young woman only a little older looking than Rory. They disappeared inside with the others, leaving Rory standing alone.
“You’re not going in the basket?” he asked, surprised.
She shrugged. “I figured I’d just ride with you.”
His mouth fell open a little before he clamped it shut, eyebrows raising. “Oh – sure – yes, that’d be good. I’ll just, um…” He reached over her and took ahold of the basket’s handles. “Everyone ready in there?” he asked first, waiting for Rory to give him the thumbs up. General consensus given, Dave slowly tilted the basket until it sat upright again, peeking in just a second to check and make sure everyone inside looked as comfortable as they could be before putting the lid down for safety.
He slowly lifted the basket off the counter and held it by his side, extremely conscious of the fact that now held the lives of twelve people in his hand. Then he placed his other hand palm up next to Rory again. “Where would you best like to be?” he asked, a little nervous all of a sudden. “I’ll need my hands free to drive the carriage.”
She stepped lightly into his palm, and he knew he’d never get over this feeling of awe no matter how many times she trusted him enough to do it. She eyed him in assessment. “Your pocket, please.” A look of embarrassment crossed her face. “It was a little… comfortable last time I was in it. But no one else needs to know that.”
Dave laughed – a genuine, easy laugh. The panic he’d felt finally melted all the way away. “Don’t worry, I won’t go telling people that the great and terrible Jack the Giant Slayer likes to take naps in my pocket.”
“You knew I fell asleep?!” she gasped, eyes widening. “It was only a tiny nap, it barely qualifies.”
“I knew because your muttering curses had finally gone quiet. But I was afraid the glasses clerk would get suspicious as to why my pocket was snoring.” He lifted her up and over, slowly approaching his pocket. “Luckily you woke up just in time to give me some blunt advice on one of my frame choices before encouraging me to buy my current pair.”
She nodded sagely. “It would have been a fashion disaster if you went around with those yellowish ones on your face.”
“The clerk had insisted I should try something new,” he said. “Normally I have much better taste.” He stopped his hand just outside the pocket of his vest, keeping still now but glancing down at her. He hoped she couldn’t hear – or feel for that matter – how fast his heart thudded in his chest.
She leaned down and pulled the pocket open, giving him a sideways smile. “You pick vests with cozy pockets, I’ll give you that.”
Then, with one last glance down at the basket, she slipped into his pocket. He felt her land at the bottom of it, her small weight against his chest, and fought the urge to place his hand over her in reassurance. That would probably come off as way too overwhelming.
Instead, Dave shifted the basket so he was holding the top and the bottom securely, and made his way out of the abandoned hut to get everyone settled inside the carriage.
He had some people to help return to their homes.
***
A/N I just love them!! This story is still ongoing, so I will get the next chapter out soon hopefully!
46 notes · View notes
dolce-cavill · 1 year
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wish you were here
captain syverson x fem!oc
12.8k words
summary: after an unexpected phone call from her best friends brother, not even thousands of miles of separation can stop new feelings from developing
🎧 Click here for the fic playlist
warnings: mentions of war/deployment (idk if that needs a warning), language, fem!oc but no physical description given, small age gap (6 years), use of pet names (mostly darlin), mentions of alcohol/drinking, angst, implied smut, if i missed anything let me know!
i headcanon his first name to be travis so that is the name i will be using
closing my book and tossing it onto the nightstand, i rubbed my eyes as i flopped backwards onto the bed. glancing to the left, the red glow of the clock stared back at me displaying 1:57 am. i’d always been a night owl, but i’d recently fallen into the habit of staying up far later than usual, sometimes being chased by the sunrise by the time i finally got ready to sleep.
swinging my stiff legs over the edge of the bed, i padded down the hall to the bathroom. after brushing my teeth and washing my face, i switched off the light and began to walk back to my bedroom, when i heard my phone ringing. i thought it was odd, as it was seldom that anyone ever actually called me rather than just texting, nevermind the fact that it was two in the morning, and immediately worried that the strange occurrence meant something was wrong. moving faster towards the ringing phone, i noticed the number wasn’t saved in my contacts as i picked up the call, bringing the phone up to my ear.
“hello?” i greeted the unknown caller, pacing nervously around my room.
“hey…layla?” the voice was familiar, but not one i had heard in years, nor expected to be on the other end of the call.
“…travis?” i asked. travis syverson was my best friend beths older brother, who was currently (at least as far as i knew) stationed in iraq; perhaps one of the last people i would’ve guessed to be calling me at this hour, if at all.
“yeah,” he laughed. “sorry- i …. beth didn’t answer and yours is the only other number i could remember, ya know, from you an’ her always hanging out,” he explained. it had been about six months since i had last seen him, at one of the going away parties beth insisted on throwing every time travis was deployed.
“no need to apologize,” i assured. we had never been super close but we did spend a lot of time together considering how growing up i basically lived at their house with how much i hung out with beth. “it’s nice to hear from you.” i admitted. “how are you? is everything okay- i mean all things considered.”
“i’m alright- you know me. same old same old here; we’re tryna help and we’re getting shot at for it,” he sighed heavily. “sorry, i don’t need’a scare you with that crap.” the anger in his voice leaving as he spoke. “what did you get up to today?” i laughed lightly.
“i’m gonna bore you ta death,” i teased, thinking of how mundane my day had been.
“darlin’ lemme tell you somethin’- i am surrounded by nothing but sand for fuckin miles,” he insisted, and i laughed again.
“okay okay,” i surrendered. the nickname probably would’ve made me blush if we weren’t from the south; it was just something i’d gotten used to him calling me. “i did the dishes, i went to the grocery store-“
“what’d ya buy at the store?” he asked.
“uhh just cereal.. coffee creamer… fruit. do you regret asking yet?”
“no- over here things are so crazy it’s kinda nice just to hear about everyday things ya know?” i smiled sadly.
“i hadn’t thought of it like that.” i admitted. there was a comfortable silence for a moment before he spoke again.
“shit i didn’t wake you up- did i?” he asked, as if he had just considered the almost ten hour time difference between us. “what time is it where you are?”
“it’s around two in the morning,” i laughed. “but no you didn’t wake me up; “remember beth used to always fall asleep first at sleepovers and i’d just be stuck sitting awake by myself.”
“yeah i remember- you’d come bother me, wanting to see what i was doin,” he laughed.
“you make me sound like an annoying little kid,” i replied, and he laughed again. i pictured him in my mind, at least how he had looked when i had last seen him, his hair cut short since he was shipping out but his beard still intact. i thought about how his blue eyes crinkled when he laughed, and imagined they were doing that now.
“you were; you and beth,” he snickered. “you grew up to be tolerable at least,” he teased, and i could tell he meant nothing mean by it.
“yeah well you’d stopped bein’ fun to bother when you stopped playing video games and started working out all the time,” i countered.
“yeah but ain’t i more fun to look at now?” travis had always had an aura of confidence to him that i admired, and i had to admit; he was damn good looking. around the time i was 17 i had started developing a little crush on him. nothing too serious, but i definitely noticed that he had been putting more work in at the gym. however, if the fact that he was my best friend's brother wasn’t enough for me to never mention it, the fact that he was 23 at the time and probably thought of me as his little sisters friend and nothing else was.
before i could agree or disagree, he spoke again.
“hey i gotta go- other people gotta use the phone, but it was nice talking to you, layla.” i found myself feeling slightly disappointed that he had to go so soon, but i understood.
“yeah; it was nice to hear from you,” i admitted. it wasn’t a long conversation, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. “if beth ever doesn’t answer again…”
“i’ll call you,” with that the line cut off, leaving me wishing i could’ve told him to be safe at least, although kind of redundant considering where he was.
i sighed contently as i set my phone down, switching off the light and crawled under the covers. thoughts of travis flooded my mind as i tried to fall asleep, secretly hoping that i would hear from him again soon.
-
it was only a week or so before i heard from travis again, this time around 9pm as i was getting ready to leave work. there were only about 15 minutes left in my shift when my cell phone started to ring in my pocket, and i glanced at my coworker who was stood at the counter next to me. she nodded as if to say “take the call,” and i gave her a smile as i walked to the break room so customers wouldn’t see my on the phone.
“hello?” i answered as i shut the door and sat down at the small table.
“hey darlin,” travis’s voice drawled through the phone, and a smile spread across my face. “how was your day?”
“it was alright, i’m just finishing up at work. how about you? are you having any luck winning over the locals yet?” i teased lightheartedly, knowing he wouldn’t take offence to it. he laughed deeply on the other end of the line.
“na- no such luck just yet,” he admitted. “we’re tryin though, that's what matters. is now a bad time? if you’re at work i don’t wanna keep you-“
“no it’s okay- you’re more important. we’re just about closed up anyway.” i answered honestly.
“i’m flattered,” he chuckled. “you still working at that cafe- the one on main street?” i was a little surprised he’d remembered.
“yeah- it pays the bills. they’ve expanded the menu since you left to have some deli sandwiches and stuff so i even got a pretty good raise earlier this year.”
“i’ll have to try them when i come home,” he replied.
“you talk to beth lately?” i asked, wondering if she ever answered his call after last week. i hadn’t told her that i had talked to travis; there was no specific reason- it just hadn’t come up when i saw her last.
“yeah i called her yesterday and she actually answered,” i could hear the smile in his voice as he teased his little sister. “you see her recently?”
“i saw her the other day- she’s picking me up from work any minute now actually,” i explained.
“she doing okay? i mean- she tells me she’s fine, but i know it’s always been hard for her when i leave,” he asked, in a sincere manner; as her older brother he had always been protective of beth, and me as well by association.
“she sure does know how to worry. but she’s good-honestly. she got her hair dyed the other day; it’s kinda of a copper colour now,” i smiled. “and we both worry about you when you’re gone.”
“you worry about me?” he teased mischievously. i felt heat rise to my cheeks.
“of course i do.”
“i appreciate it but i’ll be fine- always am.” he said, trying to reassure me; but as much as i wanted to believe him i couldn’t shake the anxious feeling in my chest. i thought of how last time we spoke he had to hang up rather quickly, so i decided to say what i wanted to say before i missed the opportunity again.
“just- stay safe okay? as much as that’s possible i mean?” i pleaded. he chuckled softly.
“i will darlin’ - since you asked so nicely.” he promised, and my chest tightened again knowing that it wasn’t something he could really guarantee. i didn’t have many people in my life that i cared about, or that cared about me, and i couldn’t bare the thought of losing any of them. “i gotta go- i’ll call you soon.” he said, and once again i found myself wishing we had more time to talk.
“i’ll look forward to it,” i replied.
“goodnight darlin,” he said, before hanging up the phone. i set my phone down on the table and ran my hands over my face, letting out a sigh. my eyes snapped open at a knock on the door, and my coworker lisa, peeked her head in.
“i’m locking up- can you come count the till?” she asked. i nodded, putting my phone in my pocket and following her back to the front of the store. she locked the front door and closed the blinds as i counted the cash in the till, making sure it had the correct amount and taking out any cash we received today.
“not that it’s any of my business, are you seeing someone and you haven’t told me?” lisa asked playfully. she was one of the nicest people i knew, and wasn’t someone to pry, so i knew she was only trying to make friendly conversation. i shook my head, slightly confused.
“no- what makes you think that?” i asked, curious as to what gave her the idea that i, who had been single the entire time i had known her, was dating someone.
“i was just wondering, since your eyes lit up when you got that phone call earlier. i thought maybe it was someone special,” she explained. i blushed- had i really seemed that excited? of course i was happy to hear from travis, but i hadn’t realized it had been written all over my face.
“just an old friend. we reconnected recently,” i answered truthfully.
“mhm.” she hummed teasingly. “if you say so.”
“lisa-“ i protested, although i knew she was only joking. “he’s just a friend.”
“i’m sure he is.” she smiled. somehow, even though she was only a few years older than me, lisa always seemed to know more than me, her few years of seniority she had over me making her wiser than i was. “it’s nice to see you happy though.”
“you say that like i’m usually not,” i laughed.
“i didn’t mean it like that.” she defended, and i think she was worried she had offended me. “i just meant i’m happy for you if you’ve found someone, and even if they’re just a friend, they must be something pretty special for you to look that happy just to hear from them.”
“i know- it’s okay lees.” i smiled. “and yeah- he is pretty special.” deciding that i needed to stop thinking about him, i tucked the now counted cash into an envelope and carried it back to the office. when i returned to the front of the shop, i saw beth’s car outside, and glanced at the clock- 9:02pm; perfectly on time. i grabbed her a muffin from the display case (they would be thrown out tomorrow anyway) and said goodnight to lisa, as we both left the shop.
“you can tell me more about this mystery man tomorrow!” lisa called as i opened the passenger door to beth’s car. i silently wished she hadn’t said that, since i knew beth would ask me about it if she heard, which to my dismay, she indeed had.
“hey- how was work!” she asked enthusiastically as i shut the car door and did my seatbelt.
“it was good- not too busy but not slow enough to be boring. the last hour was pretty quiet though,” i answered. it had been a pretty good day, even if i wasn’t sure i wanted to tell her what made the last 10 minutes so enjoyable. i knew she wouldn’t mind me talking to travis- that wasn’t the issue, since deep down i knew lisa was right- and my teenage crush had never truly gone away. how was i supposed to explain to my best friend that i thought i might have a crush on her brother? and that he had been calling me from across the world instead of her?
“what’s this i hear about a mystery man?” she teased, and gone was any false hope i had that she hadn’t heard was gone. i shook my head.
“nothing- i was texting my cousin and lisa got the wrong idea,” i lied, and she seemed to believe me.
“nathan? is he asking for money again?” i laughed at her. it would not be unusual for my cousin to ask for money, but i didn’t want to throw him under the bus and have her call him out; i would get too caught up in the lie and not be able to dig myself out.
“no, not this time actually.” thankfully she didn’t ask anymore questions, and the rest of the car ride was spent listening to her talk about her day. i didn’t mind, but beth tended to talk more than she listened. i tried to pay attention, but as i stared out the window, looking at the stars whizzing by as we sped down the road, my mind couldn’t help but wander, thinking of a different syverson sibling than the one sat next to me.
-
three months went by, with travis calling me almost once a week, as he still called beth as well. a few weeks after he first called, it came up that i hadn’t told beth that we had been talking.
“i haven’t mentioned it either, now that i think about it.,” he replied when i told him it hadn’t come up. “maybe for the best- she might think i’m tryna steal you from ‘er.” i wasn’t sure what he had meant by it, but regardless, it made my stomach flip with butterflies, and i was grateful he couldn’t see that i was blushing.
“are you trying to steal me from her?” i decided to tease him a little, our conversations having become perhaps the slightest bit flirty recently.
“if i wanted to i think i could, don’t you darlin’?” i laughed. yes, you could, i thought, feeling slightly guilty that i had spent more time lately talking to him than i had my best friend.
“i don’t know, you know how protective she is,” i argued.
“you think i’m not? i’m worse than she is.” that shouldn’t have made the blush on my face darken, but it did. “remember when you were dating that guy- what was his name?”
“ben?” i groaned, remembering my first boyfriend from high school. he ended up being a total arse who dumped me after i wouldn’t sleep with him.
~ flashback ~
beth and travis had been throwing a party since their parents were away, and i had brought ben as my date. we had been together for about a year, and when i wouldn’t go with him to one of the bedrooms upstairs he flipped. the alcohol in his system made things worse, and when travis heard him yelling at me, he had threatened to kick his ass.
“oh look, layla, your boyfriends here!” ben yelled, shoving travis, which didn’t even make him stumble.
“what are you talking about?” i asked, tears threatening to fall from my eyes, the liquor making me a little more emotional.
“oh come on, i’m not stupid, you’ve obviously got a crush on him.” ben spat. “i bet you’d fuck him if he asked, or maybe you already-“ travis swung his fist into bens face before he could finish his sentence, sending the smaller man crumpling to the floor.
“travis what the hell?!” beth yelled, not having heard the conversation, only coming in from the backyard in time to see the fists start flying. travis picked ben up off the floor by the front of his shirt, slamming his back into the wall.
“you shut the fuck up- you don’t talk to her like that. get out of my house before i really kick your ass,” travis threatened, and ben sniffled, a trickle of blood coming from his nose as he huffed, before turning and leaving with his ego bruised to match the one that he would surely have on his face tomorrow.
“are you alright? what happened?” beth asked, coming over and wrapping her arms around me. i nodded, looking at travis who still stared towards the door after ben.
“thank you,” i said, and travis finally looked at me, with an anger in his eyes i had never seen before. his gaze softened when his eyes met mine.
“i’m gonna get some air,” he said, before walking out of the house, the door slamming behind him.
“what happened?” beth asked again. i sighed.
“ben was being a dick, and travis punched him,” i explained, leaving out some of the details since i was embarrassed. “i’m okay beth- i promise. i’m just gonna go check on him.” she let me out of her grip, quickly getting pulled away by some of the other guests as i went after her older brother. i found him sitting on the front step, and cautiously sat beside him. he glanced toward me to see who it was, and seemed to relax a tiny bit. his eyes locked on something down the street, and i looked to see ben drunkenly stumbling down the sidewalk, not having made it very far from the house yet, but far enough that any conversation had wouldn’t be heard.
“what are you thinking about?” i asked. travis sipped the beer he was holding before speaking.
“i’m thinkin’ about whether or not i should go after him and beat the shit out of him for what he said to you,” he answered, and i appreciated his brutal honesty.
“he’s not worth it,” i said, trying to convince him not to get himself in trouble, especially on my behalf. “is your hand okay?” i asked, gently grabbing his large hand in mine and inspecting his knuckles, a layer of red forming over them already.
“you’re worried about my hand?” he laughed. i couldn’t help but laugh with him. “are you okay?” he asked more seriously. i nodded, placing his hand back in his lap and tiredly leaning my head against his shoulder.
“thank you,” i hummed, my eyes closing, suddenly exhausted, and the alcohol starting to give me a slight headache. his arm pulled me closer and i felt his press a kiss to the top of my head.
“anytime.”
~ flashback end ~
“yeah i remember- he turned out to be a dud, huh,” i joked.
“i’ll say.” there was a hint of anger in his voice, as if he was remembering the same night you were.
“i’ve never seen you as angry as you were that time you punched him in the face.”
“he deserved it,” he said, defensively.
“i don’t disagree, travis.” i assured him, worried i had given him the wrong idea. i’m not sure if i was just feeling vulnerable, but what i said next was something i never thought i would share. “he was right though- i did actually kinda have a thing for you back then.” that seemed to change his demeanour for the better, his voice no longer angry, now more surprised.
“you did?” he asked. “shit, that would’ve been nice to know at the time,” he mumble the last part, so quiet i barely heard him, and assumed i heard him wrong, and decided not to ask him to repeat it.
“yeah, i mean i was like 16 and you were my friends cool older brother,” my face was red as a started to regret mentioning it, but thankfully he didn’t make a big deal of it.
“are you saying i ain’t cool anymore?” he laughed. “oh shit, times up darlin’- i’ll call you soon,”
“okay- stay safe, travis.” i said. it had become a habit of saying it every time he had to hang up, as pointless as it was to say.
“will do.”
as i set my phone down on my dresser, i realized just how deep of shit i was in. i was falling head over heels for my best friends brother, who was halfway across the world; with no idea when (or if) he would be home again. the thought of travis never coming home, of getting the news from beth that something bad had happened to him kept me up at night. what made it worse was that no one knew how much i had grown to care for him in the last few months. what had started as friendly conversation had quickly developed into playful flirtation, or at least i thought it had. maybe i was delusional or maybe he was just bored, and he would come home and pretend it had never happened, or he’d tell me i got the wrong idea all along.
these thoughts kept me up most of the night, and i surely had dark circles under my eyes when i walked into work the next morning. lisa, never one to miss anything noticed right away and gave me a worried look.
“honey, have you been sleeping alright?” she asked, pouring me a coffee from the pot she had already made for the morning rush. i knew it would be useless to try to lie, as it was quite literally written all over my face.
“not really. i’ve just had a lot on my mind lately,” i answered honestly, just leaving out any details. i sipped the coffee, clocking in on the till and tying my apron around my waist.
“i won’t pry, but if you want to talk about anything you know i’m here for you,” she offered. usually i would’ve brushed her off, but considering the person i would usually talk to about this kind of thing was beth, and i couldn’t tell her, i actually thought about asking for lisa’s advice.
“thank you. i really appreciate it, lees. maybe after work?” i think she was surprised i actually wanted to talk about it, but she smiled and nodded.
-
after we closed down the store, the door locked and the blinds closed, lisa took off her apron and carried two coffees over to the table i was sat down at. i thanked her as she placed one in front of me and sat down.
“what’s on your mind, layla?” she asked. i took a deep breath.
“you remember a few months ago, i said i had reconnected with an old friend?” i asked, not sure if she would’ve remembered. she nodded, paying close attention.
“well, we’ve still been talking all this time, and i think maybe it’s becoming more than just friendly,” i explained, omitting details once again. she didn’t know a ton about my friends outside of work, but i didn’t want to reveal too much and have her figure out who i was talking about; it was unlikely but i wanted to be careful nonetheless.
“is that a bad thing?” she asked.
“not necessarily, except we have a mutual friend who … i’m not sure how they would react if things became romantic between us,” i explained. “and this person is also far away, so it would be long distance, at least for now.” lisa nodded, considering what i had said.
“i see. this mutual friend- don’t you think they would want the two of you to be happy?” she asked. i thought about it. beth was one of the most understanding people i knew, she could be feisty at times, but she always seemed to want the best for others around her. however, i still wasn’t sure if she would like the idea of me being romantically involved with her brother, especially after we’d been talking behind her back for months.
“i do- but the circumstances make it… difficult. this friend doesn’t know we’ve been talking again.”
“did the person you’re talking to do something to hurt your friend?”
“no- nothing like that,” i sighed. “i don’t know how to properly explain without you knowing all the details.” i admitted.
“you can tell me as much or as little as you want, i promise i won’t judge you and it won’t leave this room. i won’t pressure you for more details but i agree- it is difficult for me to understand the situation completely without knowing more.” as much as i didn’t want her to be right, i appreciated her honesty.
“you swear you won’t tell anyone?” i pleaded. she promised again, and i took a deep breath.
“okay. so the guy, he’s… beth’s older brother,” i admitted, my eyebrows scrunching together as i winced, saying it out loud made it worse i decided.
“i see,” she replied. “is that all?” i laughed audibly.
“isn’t that enough? i’ve known beth since we were 5, and now i maybe have feelings for her brother.”
“did you ever have feelings for him before now? or is this completely new?” lisa asked.
“i mean i had a crush on him as a teenager but it was nothing serious- he was too old for me at the time. but things are different now and - ugh i don’t know talking to him just makes me feel so warm inside. is that weird?” she giggled.
“no, it’s not weird. how did you two start talking again? you said he’s far away?”
“he’s stationed in iraq,” i explained. “which means that i worry about something happening to him all the time,” i sighed for the millionth time; it did feel good to finally get some of this off my chest. “he called me one night a few months ago. he said beth didn’t answer and my phone number was the only other one he could think of - from when beth and i would hang out all the time and call each other. that was about a week before he called me here that day and you asked about it.” i felt a weight off my shoulders, now that i wasn’t keeping all of this inside, and i knew that i could trust lisa not to tell anyone. she seemed to be taking in all the information for a moment before she spoke.
“layla, i think you’re worrying too much about this. worrying about his safety is understandable, and unfortunately there’s not much i can say to make you feel better in that regard. however, i will say- i don’t know beth very well but from what i’ve seen and from what you’ve told me about her, she loves you very much, and i think she would be happy for you. can you think of any reason she wouldn’t want you to be with him, other than the fact that he is her brother?” i considered what she said.
“no, i can’t. if he was just a guy i’m sure she would be happy for me. he’s funny, protective- and i think i’m really falling for him, lees.” i admitted.
“does he know you feel this way about him? and does he know you’re so worried about beth finding out?”
“no- i mean maybe he knows i’m interested. the last few weeks we have definitely been a little more flirty when we talk, but we can never talk for very long, usually just 5 minutes or so. i told him last night that i used to have a thing for him and i thought he said something like it would’ve been nice to know at the time but i may have just heard him wrong,” i sipped my coffee again. “then after we got off the phone i couldn’t stop thinking about the likely possibility of him never coming home-“ i choke on the words as i said them, and tears fell from my eyes.
“oh honey,” lisa said, getting up and coming to my side of the table, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. i cried into her shoulder, as she held me in her arms. “i can’t imagine how hard this is, but i think you need to tell him how you feel. keeping this inside isn’t good for you, and as much as i appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me, there isn’t much i can do to help, that’s up to you and him; and beth.” i nodded.
“you’re right, of course.” i laughed, as she once again proved she was wise beyond her years. “what if he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“that’s unfortunately a risk you have to take, but from the little bit you’ve told me, he sounds like a great guy, and i’m sure even if he didn’t feel the same way, he wouldn’t be a dick about it.” that didn’t make me feel a whole lot better, but i knew she was right; if travis thought it was weird for me to have a crush on him, he probably would’ve said something last night when i mentioned that i had a thing for him before. at least, that’s what i was telling myself.
“thank you lisa, i feel better now that i’ve talked to you about it,” i admitted.
“you’re so welcome, layla. feel free to keep me updated if you want, but i think you’ve got this.” she smiled. “do you need a ride home?” she asked. i shook my head.
“no, i drove today. i’m supposed to hang out with beth tomorrow; maybe i’ll work up the courage to tell her. i think it might be better to wait until i know for sure what’s going on between travis and i though.”
“he has a name!” lisa teased playfully. i giggled.
“if you ever need to talk, i’m here for you layla.”
“thank you. the same goes for you- but i think you’ve got your life together way more than i do.” we both laughed, and i hugged her one more time before heading out to my car and driving home.
-
three weeks went by with no word from travis, and it was safe to say i was losing my mind. the endless possibilities of why he hadn’t called had me pulling my hair out; had something happened to him? did i freak him out when i said i used to have a thing for him and now he didn’t wanna talk to me? any confidence i had gained from talking to lisa had dwindled away as i sat waiting for the phone to ring every night.
beth had invited me for dinner tonight, and as much as i didn’t want to go, i knew i needed to get out of the house. i finished getting ready, not putting too much effort into my appearance, but enough that it looked like i had been sleeping like a normal human. i drove the short distance to her apartment, and after she buzzed me into the building, ai took the elevator up and knocked on the door, a bottle of wine in my hand.
“hey! come in,” she greeted with a smile on her face. i shut the door behind me as beth took the wine from my hand so i wouldn’t drop it. she pulled me into a hug, as she always did, and i reciprocated it happily. “how have you been?” she asked.
“i’ve been okay,” i answered. i couldn’t really tell her that i’d been stressed about her brother for the last few weeks, so i decided not to elaborate. “how about you!”
“i’ve been good- just working as usual. i finally got a huge project finished at work this week, so we’re gonna celebrate!” i smiled as she opened the bottle of wine and poured each of us a glass. “the project at work was a nightmare- i’m so glad it’s finally over. what’s new with you?” she asked, sipping her drink. i shook my head.
“nothing, just working as well. there’s one regular who keeps trying to ask me out, he won’t get the message that i’m not interested.” i rolled my eyes. he wasn’t an unattractive guy, just not my type; besides the fact that i was interested in someone else already.
“maybe a date wouldn’t be a bad idea,” beth said, which took me by surprise.
“he’s not my type-“
“no i didn’t mean with him- but when was the last time you went out with someone? or were even interested in somebody?” she asked. she was right, i had been single for a while. there were a few guys i had dated in my early twenties, but never anything really serious, all of the relationships fizzling out after just a few months, if not less.
“i don’t know- i don’t know if i’m really looking for that kind of commitment right now,” i tried to brush off the subject.
“i didn’t say you had to marry someone, i just thought it might be nice for you to meet someone,” beth clarified.
“i know. i’m just not really looking right now.” i answered honestly, leaving out the tiny detail that the reason i wasn’t looking is because i had already found someone i wanted.
“what about you? how are things with you and jacob?” i asked, once again thing to change the subject from me to her; which with beth, always worked.
“things are going well actually. he’s really sweet, and he’s a good listener, which we both know you need to be to put up with me,” she laughed at herself and i smiled, happy that my best friend had seemingly found a good guy. they had been seeing each other for months now, and i had met him once or twice before, but never had any extended conversations with him. “i’m gonna order pizza- i think i have a coupon somewhere,” she said, as she got up and began to dig through one of the kitchen drawers.
“sounds good,” i sipped my wine again, not wanting to rush through the glass as i still had to drive home and i didn’t plan on drinking more than one.
it was around 20 minutes later when the phone rang, and beth got up to grab it off the counter.
“it’s probably the pizza- i told the guy to buzz this suite when he gets here,” she explained before greeting the person on the other line with a simple “hello,” a surprised look came over her face, before she spoke more cheerfully. “hey! god it’s really good to hear from you, i was starting to worry,” she said, and my heat skipped a beat. “i’ve been good, how about you?” i couldn’t hear the person on the other side of the call, but i was pretty sure it wasn’t the pizza delivery guy. whoever she was talking to, they carried on a short conversation before beth’s phone buzzed in her hand, signaling that she’s received a text. “oh shit, i ordered pizza and the guy just texted that he can’t buzz up to get in the building since the line is busy- i’ll have to run down and grab it.” she said, after glancing at the message she had received. “sorry to run away on you travis- i would make him wait out there but it’s cold outside. layla is here, i know you guys aren’t close but do you wanna talk to her?” suddenly i was being handed the phone as beth called over her shoulder that she’d be right back, before running out the door with her keys in hand.
“hello?” i answered, putting the phone to my ear.
“hey darlin.” travis’s voice sounded through the phone, and i felt the butterflies in my stomach again.
“hey travis. it’s really good to hear your voice,” i said honestly.
“yours too. i’m really sorry i haven’t called, baby, things got a little crazy over here and we had to go silent for a few weeks.” he explained, and i was so in shock to hear from him i almost didn’t catch the nickname.
“i’m just really glad you’re not hurt… or-“ i trailed off, not wanting to say it.
“i’m sorry to put you through all this. i hope you haven’t been too worried,” he sighed. “what have you been up to?”
“just working mostly, nothing too exciting. beth and i were just having a girls night to celebrate a project she finished at work, but i’ll let her tell you about it when you talk to her next.” i didn’t want to steal her thunder, since i knew how excited she was to have done it.
“is she back yet?” he asked, lowering his voice a little.
“not yet, but i’m sure she will be any minute now- why do you ask?”
“does she know about us yet?” he asked, and i froze.
“us?” i asked hesitantly, not sure if i was reading too much into his choice of words.
“layla, i really like you. i’m sorry if that’s weird but-“
“it’s not weird.” i assured him, feeling like i was on cloud nine. “i really like you too, travis.”
“that’s a relief.” he said, laughing slightly. “believe me, i am so happy to hear you say that, but i don’t think we should tell beth, for now at least.”
“i agree- i don’t know what she would think,”
“i think she would tear me a new one, for stealing you from ‘er and all, but i think eventually she’d come around,” he joked. i could see that, but i still worried about how she would react. “i mean it though, layla- i wanna give this a try,” he said seriously.
“so do i, travis,” i heard the door opening down the hall, and beth walked in with the pizzas. “your sister is back, i’ll let you say hi to her again.” i said, getting up to trade the phone off to her. she was still far enough away that she wouldn’t hear travis on the other end of the call, which i was grateful for as he spoke softly.
“alright, darlin’. i’ll try to call you tomorrow,”
“okay,” i smiled, as beth turned the corner into the kitchen and i handed her the phone, taking the food from her as she used up the last minute or two travis had with the phone.
“i hope you didn’t bore her while i was gone.” i smiled to myself as beth teased her older brother, my back thankfully turned to her so she couldn’t see the blush creeping over my face. i tuned out the rest of their conversation, before she said goodbye and set the phone on the counter again, as i turned around with plates from the cupboard.
“sorry to leave you stuck talking to him, but he doesn’t get to call very often, so i didn’t want to just hang up.” she joked, and i couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty. i was part of the reason he didn’t call her as often, and i wondered what he had told her if she had asked why his calls were less frequent. i knew he used to call her almost every week, but now that usually i heard from him once a week, i wondered if he still got to talk to her as well.
“it’s okay- it was nice to hear from him actually,” i said honestly, although she didn’t know just how happy i really was to talk to him.
“it’s been a few weeks since i heard from him actually, i was starting to worry a little.” she admitted, putting a slice of pizza on her plate. i felt the guilty feeling again, wishing i could tell her i knew how she felt. it was kind of funny, in a sad way; here i was sat next to my friend, both missing the same person, and i couldn’t talk to her about it. i wanted to comfort her, and tell her i understood, but i knew that it was for the best to keep what travis and i had a secret, at least for now.
“i’m glad he’s okay,” i agreed. “do you have any idea when he’ll be back?” i asked, but she shook her head.
“not really. when he left they said anywhere from six to eighteen months, so it could be tomorrow or it could be a while longer. i guess we’ll just have to wait and see. he’s been gone almost a year now.”
“that’s a long time,” i commented, not knowing what else to say. she nodded.
“enough talk about travis though- i don’t wanna be bummed out all night. i’m just glad i finally heard from him. and it’s nice he got to talk to you- i think he gets bored of talking to me sometimes, which is fair. sometimes we don’t have anything to update each other on when he calls.” she laughed. i smiled, feeling a little better knowing that she was happy with the idea of us talking; without the romantic feelings at least.
we both finished eating our pizza and chatted about our lives, just catching up and joking around, until i had to get going.
“you’re sure you don’t wanna just stay over? i don’t mind.” beth offered, and i considered it, but eventually shook my head.
“i would, but i have to work early tomorrow and my uniform and stuff is at home. next time.” i promised. she smiled and hugged me goodbye. i drove home, feeling conflicted. i was very happy with how things were between travis and i, but i felt even worse now about lying to beth, since i had now done it straight to her face. i sighed heavily as i pulled into the garage of my apartment building before heading up to my suite.
i crawled into my bed, still in my jeans and sweater, and started to cry. i cried because i missed travis, and i cried for my best friend, who was also missing her big brother, and for how awful i felt for keeping secrets from her.
-
my eyes were puffy when i looked in the mirror the next morning, my makeup from last night in streaks down my face. i hopped in the shower, the hot water helping me relax a little. i washed off the traces of makeup that the shower didn’t, the cool cloth thankfully taking down the swelling of my eyelids at least a little. i managed to cover the rest of it up with some concealer and mascara, before grabbing my gab and heading out the door.
lisa thankfully didn’t comment on my appearance when i arrived, just said a friendly hello as i walked to the back to get my apron on and wash my hands to start working.
it was pretty steady with customers for the first few hours, and i didn’t notice one of the regulars lingering around the counter even after getting his order. i looked up to see that it was the guy who kept asking for my number, and i sighed.
“was there anything else i could get for you today?” i asked, in my best cheerful customer service voice.
“actually, i really want to order your number, but i don’t see it on the menu….” he trailed off, and i had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.
“i guess you’ll have to order something else then,” i would usually politely decline, but i particularly wasn’t in the middle to entertain his advances today.
“damn… i was really craving a date with you.”
“i’m flattered really. but i’m not interested.” i said finely but still polite enough to hopefully not piss him off too much. lisa seemed to notice him not leaving, but was with a customer and couldn’t come check on me, so she gave me a glance as if to ask if i was okay. i nodded at her, and turned back to the customer, who was still trying to convince me to go out with him.
“again i’m really flattered, but i’m just trying to do my job. and not that it’s any of your business but i have a boyfriend.” i told him, getting annoyed with him at this point. he looked a little shocked at how stern my voice was.
“you could’ve just said that at the start.”
“me saying no should be a valid reason, i shouldn’t need to be with someone for you to accept that i’m not interested.” i defended. he seemed to finally get the message, and took his coffee and left, shaking his head as he walked out. the store was basically empty now, as lisa wrapped up the transaction with her customer, who thanked her and dropped a small handful of change into the tip jar.
“why don’t you go on your break? the store’s quiet enough and you deserve a breather after having to deal with that guy,” lisa suggested, walking over to me. i nodded, grabbing a cookie out of the display and heading to the break room, sighing heavily as i sat down. with impeccable timing, my phone started to ring in my pocket, and i saw travis’s name flash across the screen.
“hey!” i answered cheerfully, my mood improving greatly just from his call.
“hey baby, how is your day goin?” he asked. i smiled at the nickname once again, deciding that i liked the way it sounded coming from him a lot. my smile faltered slightly as i thought of how my day had been so far.
“it’s alright; i’m just on my break at work after one of our regulars kept asking for my number.” i sighed.
“do i need to come back home and kick his ass for you? because i will if you ask me to,” he said, and he almost sounded serious.
“no- it’s okay. i told him i had a boyfriend and he finally got the memo that i wasn’t interested.”
“boyfriend huh? what’s he like?” he joked, and i could tell he knew damn well that i had meant him, and i was grateful he didn’t make it weird that i had called him that. we hadn’t officially put a label on things yet after all, having only confessed our feelings last night, but i don’t think he minded.
“he’s tall, very handsome, built like a tank- but he’s very far away right now,” i replied, and travis laughed.
“he sounds like a keeper,” i could hear the smile in his voice. “and i’m sure he can’t wait to get home to see you. did you have fun at beth’s last night?”
“i did. i definitely didn’t expect to hear from you while i was there. we talked about you afterwards- she really misses you. i wish i could tell her i miss you too.” i admitted. i didn’t want to make him feel bad for keeping our blossoming relationship a secret, but i also didn’t want to lie to him and give him the impression that i enjoyed lying to her.
“i know darlin’- i want to tell her about us too, i just don’t know how or when. i hate lying to her too.” he said, and i felt a little better knowing he felt the same way i did. “i have some news- and i don’t know anything for sure yet so i don’t want to get your hopes up, but it sounds like we might be finishing things up here soon. maybe just a few more weeks to fix the pump station and then the village’ll have water again.”
“that’s great, travis!” i exclaimed. “does that mean you might be coming home soon?” i asked hesitantly.
“it’s possible- i don’t know anything for sure yet, though.”
“keep me updated?” i asked.
“i will, baby,” he assured me. “i really miss seeing your face. i know things were different before- i mean things are different now, but…”
“i really miss you too,” i confessed.
“i gotta give up the phone now, but i’ll try to call soon, okay? and if that guy gives you anymore trouble you tell me okay?” he added, causing me to laugh.
“i will, i promise.”
“good girl,” he said, before hanging up. i couldn’t help the smile that was plastered to my face. travis had a habit of calling when i needed to talk to him most, and he definitely cheered me up. i quickly ate the cookie i had grabbed before heading back out into the store, which was still pretty quiet thankfully; i would’ve hated to leave lisa on her own during a rush.
“hey, you look like you’re having a better day already- was the cookie really that good?” she asked as i joined her behind the counter again.
“i talked to travis-“
“that explains it,” she smiled. “you finally heard from him?” she asked, knowing that i hadn’t heard from him for a few weeks.
“yeah, i actually talked to him last night too. i was at beth’s and he called her, but she had to run out so she passed him off to me. she had no idea how happy i was to talk to him, and we kinda confessed our feelings for eachother.” i admitted.
“that’s great- does beth know yet?” she asked, and i shook my head. “that’s okay; one step at a time, right?”
“exactly. and travis knows how i feel about lying to beth, he feels the same way i do. i’m sure we’ll tell her soon,” i explained. “i called him my boyfriend,” i blushed.
“what did he say!” lisa prodded excitedly.
“he didn’t seem upset about it,” i smiled, and she hugged me.
“oh layla, i’m so happy for you,” she insisted, and i couldn’t stop smiling. i felt like a teenager again, talking to her friend about her crush at a sleepover or something, and i had to admit, it was kinda fun. “now hopefully he comes home soon, so you can introduce me to him.”
“yeah, hopefully he does.”
-
two more weeks went by, and i was counting the days obsessively, since i had received the news from travis that he would be coming home in a month. that meant i would only have to wait three more weeks until i would get to see him. he had told beth as well, and she had told me, not knowing that i was already aware.
“what kind of cake do you think we should get for the party this time?” beth asked. i was at her apartment, helping her plan the welcome home party.
“hmmm - what kind is travis’s favourite?” i asked.
“i think just vanilla- he kinda stopped eating junk food and stuff when he started working out to join the military,” she recalled. i remembered when he had first mentioned it, beth and i had thought he was joking, or at least wouldn’t actually go through with it; we realized pretty quickly he was actually serious about it. we were about 19 when he actually left for the first time, and it was really hard for beth, and it was difficult for me, even back then.
“i think that’s a pretty safe choice. there won’t be too many people, right?” i asked. usually when beth threw going away / homecoming parties it was only a few close friends, and i was hopeful that would be the case again this time. i was nervous about having to hide the fact that travis and i were dating from more people, and i knew that the fact that i would have to act like we weren’t together was going to be a little difficult. regardless, i was still looking forward to the party, and i had offered to help beth with it this time around. thankfully she was happy to have my help, and wasn’t suspicious of why i was interested.
“no, the same as usual. i’m considering inviting jacob, but travis doesn’t know him, so i’m not sure if it would be awkward,” she admitted.
“i don’t think he would mind. have you told travis about him yet?” i asked, knowing that i had mentioned that beth was seeing someone to him, but i wasn’t sure if she had told him herself.
“yeah- he gave me the whole ‘if he hurts you i’ll kill him’ speech,” she laughed. “i swear i’ve never met anyone as protective as he is. i wonder what he would do if you started dating someone,” she said. i puzzled look crossed my face.
“what do you mean?” i asked her.
“well he’s always been just a protective of you as he is of me, maybe even more. he never punched any of my boyfriends in the face to defend my honour.” she said lightheartedly.
“i’m sure he would’ve if they deserved it,” i laughed, kind of surprised she remembered that.
“ya know, i actually kinda thought maybe he had a crush on you after that night, but i guess not; i’m sure he would’ve said something about it if he had.” my heart was beating incredible fast, and once again i was happy to be turned away from her so she could see how warm my face was getting.
“i doubt it- i’m sure he was just being a good friend,” i tried to brush it off.
“regardless, i know he cares about you.” she said. “and i hope he finds someone someday, i know his job makes things complicated, but i want him to be happy, you know?”she said genuinely, and i smiled at her.
“i’m sure he will; he’s a great guy. any girl would be lucky to have him.” i replied.
“you will find someone too, layla. i know you said you’re not looking right now, but one day i mean, when you’re ready,” she assured me, and i pulled her into a hug.
“thanks, beth. i hope you’re right.” she wiggled out of my grip and continued looking at the website of the bakery she had found online, at the various cake options.
“hey, if you both get really desperate, maybe you and travis could get together,” she teased, and i tried to just laugh it off. “you guys might actually be a good couple, now that i think about it.” i was more than relieved to hear her say that, and at that moment i really did think about telling her about travis and i. i ultimately decided against it, not wanting to let the secret out without asking travis first. i’m sure he wouldn’t have been mad, since we both wanted to finally tell her, but i figured better to be safe than sorry.
“you think so?” i laughed.
“yeah actually,” she said, more serious now. “oh! look how pretty this cake is!” she said, thankfully changing the subject as she pointed to a cake on her laptop screen.
“that is really pretty- wow,” i agreed. it was a white cake with plain white frosting, but there were cherries on top and space to add writing if you wanted to.
“i think i’m gonna order it,” beth stated, and i nodded.
“i can help you pay for everything- i’m sure with all the food and everything these parties can get quite expensive.”
“you don’t have to do that-“
“i want to, beth. what can i pay for?” i insisted. she seemed to think for a moment.
“actually, there is something you could do.”
“for sure-“
“my boss wasn’t able to give me the day off for when travis gets home, so would you be able to pick him up from the airport? i know it’s a lot to ask-“
“it’s not a lot to ask beth. i’ll do it.” i smiled.
“thank you so much, layla. it’s only about an hour drive so it shouldn’t be too bad.” she explained, although secretly i was happy that i would be getting at least a little bit of time alone with travis. it would maybe make it easier to pretend we were just friends if i got to see him one on one first.
“i’m sure it will be fine,” i assured her.
“you’re the best,” she smiled.
“anything for you,” i replied. little did she know how happy i was with the task i had been given.
-
it was a few days before i heard from travis again, and i got to tell him that i would be picking him up at the airport. i would’ve kept it a surprise, but i hate surprises, so i decided not to just show up when he was expecting his sister.
“hey baby,” travis’ voice sounded through the phone, bringing a smile to my face.
“hey you,” i replied, sitting down on my bed.
“what are you up to?” he asked. i always appreciated how he was interested in my day.
“i was just looking through my closet for something to wear for when you come home.” i answered honestly. i wasn’t planning on dressing too fancy or anything, but i obviously wanted to look nice.
“yeah? whatever you choose you’ll look great, darlin’. what are the options so far?” he asked, and i was surprised that he sounded genuinely interested.
“i’m trying to decide between a dress or jeans and a sweater. did beth tell you the slight change in plans?”
“she didn’t; should i be nervous?” he laughed.
“no need to be nervous. she wasn’t able to get the day off when you come home so she asked me if i could pick you up from the airport,” i explained. “if that’s okay with you- i mean.”
“of course that’s okay, darlin’. in that case, as much as i’d love to see you in a pretty dress, you’d probably be more comfortable driving in jeans, yeah?” i blushed, and agreed.
“you’re right. thank you,” i replied. “beth and i had an interesting conversation the other day actually.”
“you’re scaring me again, layla,” he teased.
“we were talking about relationships and stuff; she’s worried about bringing her boyfriend to the party when you get home- since you don’t know him,” i explained.
“i’ll have to ask her if she’s bringin’ him, then she won’t feel weird about it.” he noted. he really was a good big brother, and i could tell he really cared about beth having jacob there if she wanted to. “was that all?” he asked.
“no, actually. she started talking about how she hopes both you and i find someone someday, and then said if we don’t we should just get together- she’s decided we’d make a good couple,” i smiled.
“that’s great- maybe she won’t be too upset when we tell her we’re already together then. unless you already told her?” he asked.
“no, i thought about it, but i didn’t want to without asking you first. i didn’t think it would be fair.”
“i appreciate that. she’ll find out soon enough; i don’t know how i’m gonna keep may hands off you when i get home,” he admitted, and i felt my face getting warm.
“yeah? well, we’ll have an hour in the car on the way from the airport….” i trailed off.
“you’re killin’ me, baby. i don’t want you to get the idea that that’s all i care about, but you’re not making it easy to not think about,”
“don’t worry, i’m thinking about it too.” i confessed. i wanted more than anything to be able to kiss him, to touch him, just to have him close to me.
“how many days we got left?” he asked.
“seventeen,” i said. “sixteen if you don’t count today,”
“the longest sixteen days of my life,”
“i know,” i sighed. “i can’t believe it’s almost been five months since you first called me,” i admitted.
“has it? best decision i ever made. in a way it feels like longer, but shorter at the same time,” he said.
“yeah, i know what you mean.”
“but hey, if four months can fly by, so can two weeks,” he said, and i tried to be as optimistic as he was.
“you’re right. i just really miss you,” i admitted.
“i miss you too baby,” he said; and i decided i would never get tired of hearing him call me that. “i gotta go, i’ll call you soon, okay?”
“yes, sir,” i replied, to which he was silent for a moment.
“lord, you really are tryna kill me,” he groaned, and it sent a shiver up my spine.
it was gonna be a very long two weeks.
-
it was finally the day, travis was coming home. i had talked to him the night before, and he let me know when and where to meet him at the airport. his flight was supposed to arrive at noon, so i was out the door by 10:30 in the morning to make sure i was on time to pick him up.
getting dressed in a pair of comfy jeans and a dark red sweater, and just doing some casual hair and makeup, i had breakfast and got on the road. i had spent the majority of yesterday stress cleaning my apartment; as travis and i had decided that after the party we would sneak back here, since his house had been empty the whole time he was away, and wouldn’t be in a state to host guests; not that i cared.
my hands hurt from gripping the steering wheel so tight as i parked at the airport, about 30 minutes before travis’ flight was supposed to arrive. i sat down outside the baggage claim area and checked my phone to see a text from beth.
let me know when you’ve picked him up! and thank you again! 💖
i smiled, replying to let her know that i would, and that once again, i didn’t mind. i tried to calm my nerves as the minutes ticked by, travis’ flight now only supposed to be 10 minutes away. i had to remind myself that while things were different between us now, he was still the same travis i had known almost my whole life, and i didn’t need to be nervous around him. it helped a little bit, and i managed to turn my nerves back into excitement; finally i was seeing the person i dreamed of being near for months.
when finally about 20 minutes later he came into view, his large backpack over his shoulder, i felt my eyes start to water. i had promised myself i would try not to make a big scene in public, and i intended on keeping that one. when he was finally within reach, he set his bag down and pulled me into his arms, picking me up off the ground, and my arms looped behind his neck.
“hey baby,” he said softly, and i found it incredibly hard not to cry; finally being in his arms after so long. it felt like home.
“hey,” i replied, not letting go of him for a solid minute. he finally set my feet back down on the ground, and pulled away to look at me. i’m sure i looked like a mess by now, my eyes wet with tears that i was trying desperately to keep in. his hands went to the sides of my face and the pads of his thumbs gently wiped the droplets from my eyes.
“don’t cry darlin’- im here.”
“im just really happy to see you,” i confessed, hugging him again, this time my arms around his torso. his large biceps almost fully encased me against his chest, as he kissed the top of my head.
“i love you, layla,” he said softly into my hair, and i could’ve melted on the spot.
“i love you too, travis,” i spoke, my voice muffled by his muscular chest, but i could tell he heard me, since his arms tightened around me. he loosened his grip on me enough that i could look up at his face. his eyes were even more blue than i remembered. his beard was longer than when he left, but it looked like he had trimmed it recently, probably before flying home. his hair starting to grow out as well, no longer buzzed short, and i could start to see the start of his curls coming back in. “can i kiss you?” i asked timidly, and a smile broke out on his face.
“of course you can, baby,” he answered, and tilted my chin upward with his finger gently, until my lips met his. i had kissed people before, but it was never like this, and i realized that i had never felt for anyone the way that i felt for travis. when he kissed me it felt like i was breathing air for the first time, like our lips were perfectly molded to fit together. when we separated, travis placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
“ready to go?” i asked. he nodded, swinging his backpack over his broad shoulders and taking my hand in his. “i have to text beth and let her know i found you.” i said remembering that i told her i would message her once i had picked him up.
“any chance you could tell her we can’t make it to the party?” he joked, and i smiled, hitting his chest playfully. “i’m only joking- sorta.”
“there will be plenty of time for just us later. your sister and your friends missed you too, ya know,” i teased. the guest list for the party included beth, jacob, and a couple of guys travis had been close with in high school and stayed in touch with after graduation.
“i know, darlin’,” he said, dropping my hand as we got to the car in the lot. “can i drive?” he asked.
“you don’t wanna just relax? i don’t mind driving.” i assured him.
“i haven’t gotten to drive a normal car in over a year, and you already drove all the way up here. you get to be the passenger princess from now on,” he smiled, extending his hand for me to give him the keys. i smiled, placing them in his hand and letting him open the passenger door for me to get in, making sure i had all my limbs in the vehicle before shutting the door. he adjusted the seat to accommodate his height and got in the driver seat, quickly adjusting the mirrors before placing the key in the ignition. “ready?” he asked, to which i nodded.
the drive was nice, an old lynyrd skynyrd cd playing quietly through the speakers, as travis drove with one hand on the wheel, the other placed on my thigh just above my knee, occasionally giving it a gentle squeeze.
“have you thought up a lie for why you need to take me home yet?” i asked him. “do you think people will be suspicious if we leave together?”
“not since you picked me up, no. we could just say you’re driving me to my own place. no one’s gonna check if i’m actually there or not.” he suggested.
“we run the risk of beth offering for you to spend the night at her place though.”
“that’s true. we could tell them the truth,” he suggested. that was always an option.
“it’s up to you. i’m fine with what you want to do, but if we tell them there’s gonna be a million questions… meaning we’ll have to stay longer…” i let my sentence trail off. “which seems like a shame, when there’s other things we could be doing instead.”
“fuck- yeah we can’t tell them-“ he decided quickly, and i giggled. “that’s the most beautiful sound i ever heard.” he stated, looking at me and smiling. i kissed him quickly, so he could turn his eyes back to the road. we were nearing beth’s apartment now, and i realized it meant for the next few hours, travis and i would have to act like we were just friends. it was definitely doable but that didn’t mean it was gonna be easy, especially since now he was looking at me like he was about to pull over and tear my clothes off, which i honestly wouldn’t have minded.
“ready to pretend to be platonically acquainted?” he teased, as if reading my mind, and i sighed.
“yes- but not looking forward to it.” i admitted.
“we’ll tell them soon, i promise. okay?” he said, i knew he wasn’t happy about it either.
“okay,” i said, defeated. i finally had him and now i had to act like i wasn’t head over heels for him.
“good girl,” he hummed, squeezing my thigh again. okay, that definitely didn’t help, i thought. we pulled into the parking lot at beth’s apartment complex, and travis kissed me softly before we got out of the car and headed inside.
-
the party was now nearing an end, and as happy as i was to see beth and travis reunite, it had been as anticipated; very difficult to act like we weren’t together. the food and cake had been great, and i was feeling the tiniest buzz after the wine cooler i had earlier, but i had to pretend i was too drunk to drive home so travis had an excuse to give me a ride. we had decided that was the best option to get us both out of here.
“you okay, layla?” travis asked, walking over to me, where i pretended to sway a tiny bit where i stood. i nodded.
“yeah, i’m okay. i think i’m gonna head home though. it’s really nice to have you back,” i said, which was the truth. he gave me a friendly looking hug, and i walked toward the kitchen to say goodbye to beth. i found her tidying up some of the snacks left on the counter.
“hey beth, i think i’m gonna head home - it’s been a long day,” i said. she smiled.
“thank you for coming! and for picking travis up for me, you’re a life saver.” she pulled me into a hug, which i returned; i truly loved my best friend.
“it was no big deal,” i assured her. i turned around to see travis walk into the kitchen from the other entrance and leant against the doorframe, smiling. “he insisted on driving on the way back here anyway, so i only did half the work.”
“i appreciate it regardless, darlin’,” he laughed. i said goodnight to the siblings, and pretended to stumble a little as i walked toward the front door to put my shoes on.
“are you okay to drive, lay?” beth asked, and i assured her i was, but bumped into the wall lightly to sell that fact that i was supposedly a little tipsy.
“let me drive you home, layla.” travis offered. i started to protest, but he interrupted me. “it’s the least i could do, after you picked me up today.”
“thanks travis,” beth said, deciding for me that it was a good idea; thankfully she didn’t suggest me staying the night like i worried she might.
“ready to go?” travis asked, sliding his boots on and taking the keys from my hand. i nodded, saying goodbye to beth as travis led me out of the apartment, a gentle grip on my shoulder as we walked down the hallway. once we got in the elevator, travis barely waited for the door to shut before pressing his lips to mine, and i returned the kiss eagerly. my back hit the wall with a soft thud as he stepped toward me, effectively pinning me in the corner of the small elevator car.
“i swear, that was the longest 6 hours of my life,” he breathed, forehead resting on mine as his hands fiddled with the bottom hem of my shirt. “you’re a pretty good actress, you actually looked tipsy for a minute there,”
“i’m motivated,” i answered, pressing my lips to his again, only separating when the elevator beeped to say the we had arrived at the main floor. the door opened and he led me to the car, before driving to my apartment with the help of my directions, his hand on my thigh once again, this time higher than before, causing my heart to beat quickly. after the longest 15 minute drive ever, we pulled into the parking lot of my apartment building, and travis parked the car before walking around to open my door for me. taking my hand, we walked to the front door, his lips dancing across my neck and shoulders as i fumbled with the keys trying to unlock the front door.
“you’re very distracting,” i chastised, finally unlocking the door and leading him inside. it was just a single flight of stairs up to my unit, and i quickly unlocked that door as well, before we tumbled inside. i dropped my purse to the floor and travis shut the door, my body positioned between him and it as he locked the door and kissed me again. my hands found his chest, sliding his jacket off his shoulders and letting it fall to the floor, and pulling him closer by the belt loops of his pants. he groaned into the kiss, before pulling away slightly.
“you’re not actually drunk, right? i don’t want to-“
“no, i’m not. i only had one when we got to the party.” he nodded, before his lips found my neck, leaving lazy kisses up to my ear, as he toyed with the bottom of my sweater again, silently asking to remove it.
“travis…” i whined as he gently nipped at the skin on my jaw, his tongue soothing the sting of his teeth.
“are you sure? it’s been a while, darlin’- i can’t promise i’ll last very long..” he hesitated, his hands at the button of my jeans, waiting for permission to go further.
“i’m sure travis,” i reassured him. “i need this.” with that he kissed my lips again, and let me guide him to my bedroom.
-
i laid next to travis, our legs entwined under the sheets keeping our bodies covered, my head on his chest that rose and fell quickly as we both caught our breath. his arms wrapped around my waist as i moved to face him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.
“i love you,” i said softly.
“say that again darlin’” he smiled, his eyes closed.
“i love you,” i repeated, and he looked at me, before kissing me deeply. i laid my head back down on his chest, and one hand gently caressed my hair, the other delicately drawing patterns on the bare skin on my hip.
“i love you too baby,” he replied, and i felt more content than i ever had; in the arms of the person i loved most in the world after being apart for so long. a thought crossed my mind, which made a sinking feeling grow in my chest.
“do you know how long you’re home for?” i asked him quietly, afraid of what the answer might be. he sighed.
“you really want to talk about that right now?” he asked.
“i knew going into this that your job wasn’t gonna make this easy. i want us to be honest with each other. and i want you; that means everything that comes with you,” i explained. he held me tighter.
“i don’t know for sure, but usually 3-6 months.” he said. i obviously wished it could be longer, but i was just happy to have him home with me for any amount of time. “we can worry about that later though. we gotta worry about something a lot scarier first-“ i looked at him, my eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, not sure what he meant, but he just smiled.
“we have to tell beth about us.” he said, his tone serious as if he had said we had to climb a mountain.
“i think that’s doable,” i laughed, the happiest i had been in a very long time. “but not tonight; i want you all to myself for one night.” travis kissed me, and i smiled against his lips as his arms held me close to him, and i could feel his heart beating against mine.
“you’ll have me for as long as you want, darlin’”
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aqgarts · 3 months
Text
Originally, this post was just gonna be about Warframe and the homophobes showing themselves off with the latest update. However, I feel like I can convey the point better if I make this a broader post.
I understand this may not be for all the lovely nerds who play Warframe, but this is something you can use in an argument to prove that Loid is indeed having the GREATEST gex w/ Ally B (or a lot of other things too, ig :p)
I'm also gonna break this up with funny and some-what relevant GIFs because this is a pretty depressing subject, imbo.
It's always funny to me how people think that if you're in a minority you can't be a hypocrite. Now, before I continue, I want you to understand that when I talk about this stuff, I know that some of you might be confused as to what I mean. So, here are some examples of this behaviour that you may see in day-to-day life/online:
. People who are against MSPEC queers/ people with a unique identity, but are gay themselves and use that as a way to "disprove their existence," whilst using the exact same arguments that bigots use against us on a regular basis...
. People who are trans and are against Nb people or gnc people
. People who identify as female yet feel the need to be misogynistic cunts
. Christians using the 'bible' as 'proof'
And so on and on it goes because it's a never-ending cycle of hypocrisy, and some people just have no shame.
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As I stated earlier, I'm making this post because it's just been shit to see all of the homophobic dipfucks that exist in the warframe community (and yes, I know that they're in every community, don't worry) coming out of their closet with this new update, saying things that they heard mummy and dead-beat-daddy say forty-five years ago about two obviously queer characters...
Only to be backed up by other queer people.
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The most common argument I see going around online about this (from said queer people is that) is that DE is rainbow washing its game.
Now, let me tell you guys something, and I want you to listen very fucking carefully here:
Just because something has a gay character in it ≠ rainbow washing, especially if said character is written well and given the spotlight. Same thing said if they celebrate Pride month and queer people in general.
As someone who has been in this community since they were 13 and actively participating in it since 14, I've seen my fair fucking share of rainbow washing in film, TV, books, games and whatever else the fuck counts as media. So I can tell you now, DE doesn't 'rainbow wash' its characters. Ya wanna know who does? Disney. Ya wanna know another company that does the same shit? Apple.
I can keep going, if you like? In fact, I'm more than happy to list off multiple companies that actively harm our community. Places/companies like:
. Star Bucks
. Salvation Army
. Police
. American Airlines
Just to name a few. And like I said, the list does keep on going.
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Another terrible argument I've seen thrown around when it comes to Loid and Al B not being gay is the classic "it's not clear enough," excuse.
I'm sorry...
WHAT?!
THE HELL IN FUCKS NAME DO YOU MEAN 'IT'S NOT CLEAR ENOUGH," YOU SLIMY SHIT?! DO THEY NEED TO HAVE ACTIVELY FUCKED? DO THEY HAVE TO RUN IT AROUND SAYING "OH, I AM GAY! LOOK AT MEEEEEEEE"??????
Oh my God, you are insane. Like, crazy insane. All it is is a lazy excuse to cover up a homophobic outlook on queer people in relationships, especially in a video game.
Babez, lemme ask you smoething; do you give the same treatment to obviously straight straights?
And that's all ima say on that one because that argument is dumber than a shit. In fact, that's an insult to the shit. That's how dumb it is. And worse, those aren't the only two arguments used...
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Now, you may be asking, "Well, how the fuck do you argue with an idiot potato, AQG?" And to you, I say, I hear you. Much like how a meekly prophet hears from an angry God, oh holy shit do I hear you. Your benevolent voice comes to me in my dreams, and I just stole this whole bit from BDG. Anyway, you answered your own question, really:
You don't really have to.
Tske it from me, you don't engage with them unless you know what to say and how you say it. And even then, you only engage when necessary; when harm is being caused, or misinformation being spread.
When you do engage, make sure you back up what you're saying with creditable sources. You don't have to chuck them left right and centre, but you do need just a few to back you up and give you some solid ground to stand on. Because, truth be told, these people don't really change, and sometimes they are just the warm-up for the shitstorm that is homophobia.
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TL;DR: When you come across a bigot in any community, be careful of what you say and pick your fights.
I know this post is all over the place, and maybe there was someone less sleep deprived than me who could have said this. Hopefully, someone will add to it in the reblogs- idk what they'll say, but fuckin make it male better sense than this shitty post lol.
Anyways,
Ally B and Meat Loid are totally fucking :)
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picturespurple-68 · 4 months
Text
Here's another cowboy drabble (requested by @ironicorange) much more tame than the last one:
—————————————————————
A dirt worn wagon jostled down the dusty, pebble cracked road on its way to drop off the tall passenger currently cramped in the back. For the fifth time today, Ivan cleaned the dirt from his nails, trying to distract himself from his bad habit of leg bouncing. This was his last chance for a proper paying job in this area and he was hoping the local farmhand would be able to give him something of substance.
His indication that they were close to their destination was the sudden abundance of growing crops that surrounded the road. Their pace slowed to stop as they pulled up to a two story, wooden house. White paint was cracked and peeling all over like it'd been abandoned, but set up on the porch was a clearly fresh pitcher of tea and a mostly eaten plate of breakfast.
Grabbing his bags off with a gentle thank you, Ivan watched the coach leave back down the trail they took, before looking around for any sort of sign of human life.
"Well hi there!" A voice boomed from the distance.
Ivan jumped at the noise and whipped his head in the direction of that sound. That's when he caught sight of a male figure walking towards him. Dressed in dirt streaked jeans and a loose blue button up with rolled up sleeves, Ivan felt a flutter in his stomach that he couldn't tell if it was nerves or something else. As he came closer, the details in his tanned, sweaty skin, trimmed beard, and shaggy, dirty blond hair became more clear.
While he was definitely taller than most people, Ivan still had quite a few centimeters on him that forced the man to look up at him as he stretched a hand out. "Nice to meet ya Mr...?"
"Ah, Braginsky," he replied, shaking the hand and mentally noting the strength in his grip. "You are Alfred Jones correct?"
"Yes sir, how can I help you?"
"I was, uh, looking for a job here..." Maybe he could blame it on the heat, but his cheeks burned at how out of place he felt here.
Alfred made a musing face as he took his time looking Ivan up and down in contemplation. It didn't help the Russian's current self-consciousness, but he stayed silent. Finally, an easy grin split across his face as he gave Ivan a hearty pat on the back, "You look like ya got a nice build. Here, lemme show you to your new quarters."
After releasing a breath he didn't register was being held, Ivan gathered his bags and followed behind the American. He hoped Alfred couldn't notice how he stared at his backside on the way into the house.
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ghostykai · 1 month
Text
Mi fai schifo but now we're friends
Angel Dust & Kaire (Platonic)
Trans: You disgust me but now we're friends - sounds bad Ik but it's a reference on the text
This is the story of how Angel Dust and Kaire started to become friends, and of how the Hotel found out about Kaire's demon form.
More of Kaire: Kaire info, Kaire pt. 2, Overlord! Kaire: Fortuna
And remember, my Asks are open. Might offer some x reader and maybe some more Kaire stuff
~~~~~~~~
Charlie had called the Residents of the Hotel down to the Lobby again. The activities she set up always varied and attendance wasn't mandatory but almost no one dared not to show up. As much as sometimes it could be a bit ridiculous, Charlie meant well, so no one wanted to let her down.
"So..." She started, sinners sitting all around her, "Today we will share what our main sins and problems are and how we are trying to better ourselves towards redemption. I thought since we have had a couple new faces, this would help everyone get to know each other better."
The tall spider sinner Kaire knew as Angel Dust scoffed dramatically. He took up a whole couch on his own. Kaire sat on the ground opposite to it. Husk, a sinner that looked like a winged cat, who was the bartender of the hotel, shoved Angel's legs off the couch and set down, grumbling something.
Kaire had come to learn those two were somehow close, although they didn't know exactly what their relationship was. In the three weeks of living at the hotel Kaire had often seen them sat at the bar talking about something Kaire didn't care enough to listen to.
The round started with the people that had been here the longest. Getting clean from drug addiction, alcoholism, the works. Other residents spoke, some who Kaire hadn't gotten to know yet. Dread started welling up in Kaire's stomach. Their turn was next. They saw the quick glance Husk and Angel shared, the latter with a little smirk.
"Kaire, it's your turn." Charlie whispered from the couch next to were they were sitting on the ground.
"Oh... Well I don' know," Kaire trailed off, "Not really anything in particular, I guess."
"Aw, c'mon yer in hell, ya must have done somethin'," Angel spoke up, now propping his face on his hand as he looked at Kaire, "Don't worry, we don't judge."
Kaire shrugged, their nails raking against the wood floor.
Charlie butted in quickly, "If Kaire doesn't feel comfortable sharing that yet it's fine as well. They are new to hell after all."
Angel spoke up again, "Lemme guess, ya did drugs. Not hard shit tho, ya don't look like the type." He shot another look to his feline friend.
"Nope. Never got into that shit. Didn't get the hype," Kaire replied simply and shrugged again.
Husks finally spoke up with his gravely voice, "Gambling, then. Or alcohol, that's always the one."
"I don't like to drink, alcohol tastes like ass." Kaire's claws were starting to leave marks on the wooden floor, "I do enjoy a good game of Poker but I don't play with money. Do y'all wanna keep interrogating me? Have you been entertained enough yet?"
Angel basically cut them off, "Oh no I get it, Sex addict. It's always the innocent ones, ya know?" He chuckles.
Kaire stiffened, their close stopped scratching the wooden floors. Their gaze dropping to the floor.
"Oh. My. God. Don't tell me, yer a virgin?" Angel spoke with a smile a bit too big, sitting up slightly.
There was a silence, then a laugh.
"Fuck, man. A virgin? Ya don't drink, don't smoke or anythin, don't gamble, don't even get laid and end up in hell." Angel laughed some more, "Shiiiit. Can't believe it. Ya must have been one boring bitch when ya were alive."
Kaire tried to chuckle with him. The wood creaked as their claws sunk deeper into it.
He didn't stop laughing, "Fucking hell, that's some shit. A fucking virgin bitch in hell, that's a joke."
He kept talking, Kaire's nails kept digging. Charlie had started her attempt at making Angel stop laughing. Kaire's heart was racing, teeth clenched and grinding against each other. They tried to keep it together but his laughter filled their brain like fog. Then something snapped, they stood. They suddenly felt different. A yellow smoke filled the edges of their vision.
"Fuck you! You bitch! You find it funny? Ti fa ridere, heh?" (Trans: Does it make you laugh, huh?)They clenched their fist and stepped closer to Angel.
He stilled, the whole room did. Everyone was looking at them, differently than usual. Even Charlie shut up.
Kaire's heart was pumping, they opened their mouth to say something, then they closed it again, not sure exactly how to express what they were feeling.
"Mi fai schifo!" (Trans: You disgust me!)Was the last thing they said before walking away. Storming towards they stairs they noticed something in the shadows, eyes and whispers, they stepped closer and disappeared. Swallowed by the shadows.
All they wanted was to get back to their room and that's what happened. Kaire popped out of a shadowy corner of their room.
Kaire was not ready for what they saw in the mirror when they turned around. Another set of eyes on their face, Nine eyes floating around their head like a crown, four of which were sown shut, all glowing yellow. A yellow smoke emanating from their hands. It took some deep breaths but the extra eyes and smoke soon disappeared.
They had told them that some sinners have different demonic forms but they couldn't have guess this is what theirs looked like.
Kaire threw themselves on their bed, "Fuck Angel. And fuck Husk too, I'm sure those two must have been talking about me behind my back at some point." Kaire mumbled into their pillow.
~~~
A few days had passed and Kaire refused to go down in the lobby. Charlie came to knock a few times a day to make sure Kaire was doing fine and that if they needed to talk, she was there for them. Sometimes she brought food and left it in front of their door.
Today they heard whispers from outside. Multiple times. Once Kaire was sure it was Charlie and Alastor. All the other times it was harder to tell. It was later into the day that they could tell someone was pacing in the hallway outside of their room. Always stopping near their door, then going again.
Kaire scoffed, letting their pencil clatter onto their desk. "I swear on the nine circles of hell, whoever it is I'll cut their legs off," they sighed, contemplating whether or not they should open the door and see who was causing all this noise.
Then, someone knocked. "Kaire. Can we talk?" The accent gave it away immediately.
"Fuck Off, Angel," Kaire replied.
"C'mon, at least open this fuckin' door. I just wanna talk."
Kaire stood up, "What part of Fuck Off do you not understand?" They swung the door open, "I don't wanna talk to you, Angel." He looked... Oddly miserable. Not in a way that's easy to notice. More in a 'I know what he usually looks like and that's not it' way. "You have one minute," Kaire rolled their eyes.
"I'm sorry, ok? I don' do the whole apologizing shit usually but I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made fun of ya, I was being a jackass." Angel rattled off in one breath.
Kaire raised a brow.
"It's just that... I dunno. We all have shit to work through and then ya just say ya don't really struggle with anything and that's kinda weird too, ya know?" He kept on rambling.
"Just cause y'all didn't guess my shit correctly doesn't mean I'm pure and don't have my reasons to be here." They said flatly. Then they sighed, and stepped to the side to let Angel in.
He hesitated for a second to long.
"Come in, mi sembri un anima in pena così in piedi fuori dalla porta." (Trans: You look like a tortured soul, standing outside of my door like that)
Angel finally stepped inside. He sat down in a bean bag Charlie had gifted to Kaire to liven up their room since they had no possessions. Kaire sat on their bed. There was a long since which Angel broke, "So you speak Italian, what a coincidence."
"I'm Italian so... Kinda my thing."
"How did you know I'd speak Italian too?" Angel tried to keep the ball rolling, sitting stiffly.
"You cussed someone out in Italian, so I guessed," Kaire said, "You don't have to be so stiff, Angel, I don't bite... Unless you like that... Actually on second thought you're very much not my type so don't ask for a bite."
The slightly dirty innuendo seemed to both surprise him and put him at ease.
"Maybe ya don't bite, but those eyes and the weird smokey shit and disappearin into shadows doesn't really help the friendly persona, ya know?" He chuckles a little.
"Did Charlie send you to apologize?" Kaire changed the topic.
"I mean not only Charlie. Husk and Vaggie got on my ass too. Tho mostly Charlie"
Kaire hummed in agreement, looking off to the window.
"Tho I do feel like shit. I didn't just do it for them," Angel added.
"Don't worry you're fine..."
"Kay, but really, Kaire, why?"
"Why what"
"Why in hell, ya seem... Nice enough"
"That's for me to know and for you to find out."
"Ah come on. Yer being mean, toots"
"Toots?"
"I call everyone toots"
Kaire hummed again.
There was a short lived silence between them.
"So is the virginity thing a choice?"
"Angel..." Kaire said in an admonishing tone.
"Just curious, it's not every day we get someone like ye down here."
"Not a choice"
"Then why? Like ya seem... Ok."
"You don't fuck people cause their 'okay', love"
"Love?"
"I call everyone that, sarcastically." Kaire finally looked back from the window to Angel. He was now looking out too.
"Whatever. I mean why not then."
"Just didn't go out much. People like me don't do the partying and the clubbing and the hooking up, I guess."
"Wait wait wait, ya never went to a club?"
"No."
"A bar?"
"Like not to hook up."
"A house party?"
"No." They replied, "Ma che è, 'n intervista?" (What is this, an interview?)
"Nope. We gotta fix this." Angel completely ignored their question.
"Fix?"
"Yes. We're going out. Me, you... Husk and maybe Cherri." Angel stood up from the bean bag.
Kaire's hands raised in front of them, inching backwards on their bed, "Whoa whoa whoa, calm it Spidey. I never said- Hey!"
Angel was much stronger than Keire had anticipated, or maybe it was that he was 8 feet tall. He grabbed their wrist and forced them to stand, walking to the chest Keire was using as a closet.
"Ya comin' and yer gonna have fun. End of discussion." Angel was now rummaging through Kaire's few possessions, "Toots, ya need some clothes, stat. Like what is this? Two shirts, three pants and a pajama? Nah, this won't do."
Kaire didn't know what to say, or even if they should feel offended. They hadn't been here for long, of course they wouldn't have clothes.
Angel slammed the chest closed, "Well, since ya have nothing nice and since ma clothes would neva fit on ya," he sighed, "we'll have to get ya somethin to wear before I bring ya to experience life."
[To be continued?]
BONUS:
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(Ik angel is missing a pair of arms but this is a doodle and I'm lazy)
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heraldofcrow · 2 months
Note
Wait what is the antonius tertius vs olmos drama i need to know more about it, ,,,,,,
Alright sorry for the wait @swallowtail-ageha! I was working away at this in muh drafts.
Here’s the basic run-down lol.
So, back when Elden Ring was still pretty new and people were digging into all the weird-ass lore and development, the soundtracks were starting to be scrutinized too, and lemme tell ya, the misinformation was rampant.
There were people I got into debates with over production who were like “ayo this soundtrack is all fake samples/keyboard created” lmao, which I was up in arms about because seriously the only Souls OST that was literally 90% sample libraries was DS2, but anyway, MOVING ON.
This guy called Daniel Olmos on YouTube popped up and started making lyric vids. There had already been some people making “fan-translated” videos where the creators fully acknowledged that they were basically making lyrics up by ear. If I remember right, half of it was just gibberish.
But then Mr. Olmos showed up and presented his vids differently. According to him, he was accurately translating to the best of his ability because he, and I quote, spoke Spanish and could thereby understand the extremely dissonant, chaotic slew of “Latin” lyrics in every ER boss theme. AND, he could translate it into near-perfect English. So he like. Just started posting “translations” without any specific notice about his process and garnered thousands of views. His most well-known was his Godskin Apostles vid.
It got way out of hand too. I was watching from a distance and was kinda concerned like “Umm, people are just taking this guy for his word and uhhh….”
BUT THEN THE ARTICLES CAME! And oh god, I still remember the headlines being like, “HIdDEn LoRE iN ER lATin LyRicS.”
“GODRICK CALLED MALENIA A “BITCH”” (we’ll get to that)
BLATANT and UTTER misinformation casually being published by actual game journalists who didn’t realize Olmos was making the majority of this shit up and that there were literally no lyrics to be translated. So much of what he even said the lyrics were didn’t sound right or line-up anyway, but I was like…well, I guess I should just let this play out?
Oh and, to make things even better—this was around the time when the Malenia hate was at an all-time high, so when Olmos conveniently “translated” the so-called lyrics to Godrick’s theme, he included a line where the choir screamed in “BITCH” in so-called Latin, which was apparently a line meant to represent Godrick’s hatred towards Malenia after she kicked his ass.
You know. The type of lyrics FromSoft likes to have in their songs.
Needless to say, the Malenia haters were having a fucking field day.
“Omg based chad Godrick”
ANYWAY—
Then there was Tertius, whom I kind of befriended on the sidelines because he was uploading very chill and informative videos + he made some banger music, especially covers of Bloodborne songs and the like. Anyway, he posted this vid on Malenia’s theme that I found and immediately I could tell he had done his research. He’s a Latin student and a bit of a journalist…I mean, he investigates and digs for direct information from specific sources and writes about what he finds with permission so….independent or no, he follows through with his research.
We were both young journalists so I just clicked with the guy and tried to support him. He had been talking directly to the people that had been involved in the Budapest Film Orchestra that performed the ER pieces and some of the music producers, I believe. That’s when he confirmed that the lyrics were computer generated “Latin syllables” that ultimately meant nothing. It was just to give the choir something to work with that also sounded cool.
This is actually really common in the video game and “epic” music world, so it didn’t surprise me, but it was a little disappointing, and I am fairly certain that’s why there was so much chaos afterwards.
Because Tertius started trying to spread the word, particularly on Reddit, where Olmos was ALSO active and trying to share his vids. Tertius had that classic “good journalist” streak that had him fully combatting any and all misinformation he came across, which I relate to, but maybe it was just the way he did it, because the Olmos Squad was pissed bro.
Tertius had receipts of his emails with the musicians and producers, he had pretty solid evidence for his claim, and dude…just listening to his own “lyric” vids, I could hear the choir chanting the syllables so much more in the clear in comparison to Olmos’ stuff. It was uncanny.
But nah, Olmos and the Redditbros weren’t having it. They just brushed him off and said he was being obnoxious + that his videos were bad because his mic quality was low and his accent was hard to understand -_-
A+ guys.
Olmos was just defensive mostly and thought he was just being attacked. So, of course he refused to acknowledge the misleading nature of his vids and the fighting went nowhere. It quieted down a bit after that, but Tertius was rightfully upset. He had totally expected people to be delighted to hear the true story behind the ER themes, but of course they were just disgruntled and thought Tertius was just trying to dismantle Olmos. Lmao, it was so stupid, man.
Also, it didn’t help that Olmos was gaining subs and views at a rapid pace while Tertius was seriously falling behind. It was clear who had more support. At that point, I felt like a loudly cheering fan in a crowd of three on Tertius’ channel while Olmos was hosting a stadium lol. It was bad.
But then guess who fucking fixed it. ME.
Okay, I’m kidding—it wasn’t all me, but basically I found Tertius commenting under one of Olmos’ vids and he was pissed like:
“Dude wtf, I was trying to share the TRUTH and you sic’d your following on me and silenced me and that isn’t fair, bro. You are sharing false info. Just say these supposed lyrics are fan-translated!”
Enter Olmos:
“Dude, I speak Spanish and study Latin, so I am only translating what I am hearing. There is no false info here. Why u attacking meeee”
(Can you tell I’m paraphrasing?)
Anyway, then I interjected and if I remember right, I basically told Olmos (?) or maybe one of his fans that had butted in to cut the BS and just let people know the truth because there were actual articles being written about this shit that was really just basically fake and that Tertius had literally contacted inside sources that SENT him the transcripts of what the computer had generated for the choir.
I was basically yelling “Hey uh….THIS IS A PROBLEM AND EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT DOING THIS OUT OF MALICE, YOUR NEW FANS ARE TAKING YOU AT YOUR WORD AND BELIEVING A BUNCH OF FAKE STUFF ABOUT ER’S MUSIC.”
And then, to my absolute bewilderment, Olmos actually…listened to me? He literally was all “No, you’re right. I’m sorry. I was being misleading.”
Then he literally turned and apologized to Tertius for everything and they got all buddy-buddy in that fucking comment section and Olmos put “fan-translated” in the title of all his vids and ultimately made a bunch of them private or whatever, so now his channel is just a ghost of what it was. He still has tons of subs, but he almost never posts and his old ER vids are all gone lmao.
Tertius went on to keep making videos and then all those old articles about hidden ER lore in the Latin lyrics have since been replaced with “ER’s Latin lyrics are all gibberish” and the OG articles have “UPDATE: These lyrics have since been revealed to be inaccurate” in their taglines.
So, the world has healed, the butterflies and flowers came back, and all is well.
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Dude, this whole fiasco was actually so funny to me when it ended though, because the stupid-ass power of friendship and YouTube essay comments conclusion literally had me laughing for a whole day afterwards. You had to have been there, but it had been a couple weeks of this stupid online drama that revolved around misinformation and debate on Latin translation and Reddit rage was actually aggravating to watch happen in real time. The actual false journalism too like??? It had gone beyond the confines of Reddit.
I was just glad Olmos quit while he was ahead, because the truth was coming out and he could have had a much bigger downfall than just a bit of humbled admittance in the comment section of one of his own vids. I was pleasantly surprised. He was actually pretty cool to me even though I had called him out.
(Tertius also upgraded his vids and now has posted actual, official Bloodborne lyrics now, bless him. Show him support if you can! He does great work for us).
Anyway, hope that was an entertaining summary of the Olmos vs Tertius drama lmao. I’m still laughing when I think about it. I am sure I still have an actual call-out post for Olmos on this blog somewhere that I made before the issue was resolved 💀💀
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chaisshitposts · 5 months
Note
Hey
There is a person here on tumblr by the name 'creative genius' who says that law of assumption does'nt works its 'ghoulish BS' etc
I am here on tumblr from June 2023 just overconsuming and I have never applied anything ever because whenever I try to do any thing I feel so damn anxious so I stop doing it . Also whenever I see things like that my anxiety goes all crazy because I want good things to happen badly but very afraid of if it did'nt happened
Its been a long time since I was truly happy
I know all the successes are true and this law is true I feel so good for the people who got out of their shitty realities
But how do I feel good for myself that I can also do it and I will be happy
ghoulish bullshit is a very funny way to describe the law of assumption...
the law of assumption is easy— I don't know why some folks can't wrap their heads around it. All you gotta do is think something a bunch of times and then BOOM it becomes a belief.
like, how did you learn the language you're currently speaking? repetition until it became hardened facts in your head. how do you know how to read? repetition until it became hardened facts in your head.
law of assumption is simply teaching yourself new things until they harden into fact in the 4D, and manifest in your 3D.
you want purple hair and yellow eyes? assume it true by repeating such things/lies until they become your truth, then it will be an assumption.
if you repeatedly tell yourself that the law does not work, then that lie will become your truth.
the law of assumption is always working, all you need to do is just change those assumptions and the world just gets better. it's actually super easy, but most people tend to give up after I dunno, two days or so, because they don't see as much progress as they want as fast as they want, which is why it's important to not only create the assumption you have your desires but it's also important to create the assumption that you can manifest things as quickly as you'd like.
hopefully that gave ya some motivation, lemme know if it didn't
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