#i should make coyle next

[lovesgooseberryandcoyle]

She had a bad day today

#outlast trials #outlast #the outlast trials #mother gooseberry #outlast fanart #outlast fandom #happy pride month guys #i should make coyle next

[nicktremblaywayfu]

Like A Wolf in The Ruins (18+)

Author Note : This is a filthy Big Grunt fic. Every time you encountered that brown haired big guy, please know that the person behind this blog loves him more than anything. Summary : Cold War was harsh to your life and the facility you hoped as a prosperous place was nothing but a man-made hell. Between the miseries, you found a pleasure in pain, although you won't admit it to yourself. Or to the man standing above you. Pairing : Big Grunt x AFAB! Reader Characters : Big Grunt, Reader (as Reagents), The Snitch Warning : Dubcon, mentions of parents death, blood, and violence. also cursing Words : 2,760

Available on Ao3 as well

=== MINORS DNI | 18+ ONLY ===

Life couldn’t get worse in this man-made hell for the sake of science. And the fact that you are shorter than average people was the cherry on top. You'd rather be stabbed in the guts than laughed at by those damned ex-pops. Gooseberry rarely targeted you thanks to her delusion that you were a lonely child stuck in the middle of evil people. Although sometimes she snapped anyway and attacked you just like any other ex-pop. While Coyle simply mocked your height, spending more time making fun of you than chasing you. And if you think that was all, those big guys thought you were easy prey, particularly the one with brown hair.

It would be almost guaranteed you’d be the first to catch his attention, wanting to get you more than he desired your teammates. He would taunt you with his heavy, thunderous voice. Telling you how much he wanted you in his palm, which was almost as big as your head. Sometimes, your tiny body is a miracle. You could find a better hiding spot—a place that no other reagents could use. He was big and simple-minded, and he would think he could find an alternate way whenever he saw you hiding in the ceiling. But he would also curse his own giant body, which was taller than most doorframes because he couldn’t reach you.

You measured his height; he was roughly 8 feet. Whatever Murkoff did to him, sure, they successfully made a real-life giant. You were like half his height; your body was slightly bigger than his whole legs. And you took advantage of it, sneaking around while he was not looking.

— 

It was another day of lonely trials. You didn’t make many friends, and Murkoff mistook it for bravery as you often went through trials and programs all by yourself. It was hard—no lies. But do you have any other choice? Once you leave this place, you’ll fly to another country. No matter the cost, no matter how you would do it, anywhere else other than this place

Electrocuting a snitch was a classic way to go, and although you preferred something more leisurely, the rewards were good enough. You had found all the keys you needed to open those gates, pushing the snitch before Coyle found you once again. You sighed heavily, injecting adrenaline, and pushed the screaming snitch, who was begging for his life. You have grown immune to this crying and begging. You need to prioritize your ego, as saving those poor people would only put you in trouble.

"Please... I know you're a good one. His muffled words sounded desperate, but not enough to change your mind.

"Killing me would only put you in this chair as the next candidate."

You didn’t say anything.

"Trust me. I'm the one who pushed the previous one. I killed him, and now look where I am!"

You just shook your head while your legs kept moving forward.

"Oh, you son of a bitch. Somebody help me!

"Would you please shut your fucking mouth? You’re putting us in the spotlight, and that was the last thing I needed. " You shouted, forgetting that you were, unfortunately, making yourself audible.

It was too late to reckon with what you had done, as you saw a shadow towering over your figure.

"Honey !"

"Fuck nope!" You dodged as he tried to grab you. You threw a brick on his head, but of course, it did nothing other than make him pissed.

"That hurts!"

"As it should be." You planted a blinding mine before you ran to the infirmary. You hid inside a locker, not having any time to find a more hidden spot.

"Where’s my little naughty scrawny babe?"

You covered your mouth in fright. You’ve encountered this man many times, yet he never fails to scare you anyway. He was irritating and terrifying with his size.

"Not..here…" He grumbled. I walked away, looking for another spot, acting like I had magically teleported to another room. He was stupid, or was he? What if he knew and planned to bait you somewhere with a less hiding spot? You shook your head, peeked through the locker room, and ran the opposite way from the infirmary.

You couldn’t care less about the snitch, at least until you found a bottle or a brick to distract him while waiting for your rig to fill up. God damn these trials, as the damned Murkoff made your rig charge twice the usual length. You found some things, but not the ones you were looking for. You sighed. The more you spend time in this place, the more ex-pops will be released to hunt you down. You looked around, but nobody was around. Strange. Where have all the ex-pops gone? It was eerily silent—too quiet.

Perhaps you celebrated too early, as you heard a door clicked open by a figure that you just met a while ago. Your eyes widened, and you ran like a deer.

"Little rabbit!" His voice was excited, and he ran like a wolf. He was fast—too fast for his size.

Just as you reached the infirmary’s door, he grabbed your head and pulled it roughly into the darkness in the opposite room.

"Shit, that hurts!" You scratched his hand but to no avail. He didn’t flinch; your nails felt like tickles for him.

"Sshh, I will not hurt you like the others. You will be fine with me here." Ironically, what he did was the opposite. He then put you on a table, pushing and crashing stuff on top of it.

"Let go of me, you freak! Fuck !" You tried to punch him, slap him, and do everything you could to fight him, yet what stood in front of you was the embodiment of a human weapon. His body was hard like there was no flesh or muscle, but instead, they put machines inside of him.

"What are you going to do to me? Just kill me already without all this unnecessary bullshit. I’ll just come back to finish this shit and fly away from this place !" You spit on him and kicked him in the chest with your knee. If only you could reach his groin.

"I want to love you." He sounded like he was half-pleading.

"You-wait, what?" " You were taken aback by his statement.

He put his face closer to you, making you press your back and head closer to the surface. You were used to the foul smell of this place and some ex-pops, but somehow his breath smelled like fresh blood. With the metallic, rancid smell of blood, you were certain he had just eaten a poor reagent hours ago or was probably an unfortunate fellow ex-pop.

"Let me love you."

"I don’t want to."

"You have to. You’re the only one who could love me here."

"You’re talking crazy, you son of a bitch. Let me go now.” You bit one of his hands that pinned you on the table. He growled in surprise but managed to press your forehead to the surface to restrain further movement.

"That hurts!" There was no blood drawn, but sure, you left a mark there.

"I can do worse; I’ll never give up. It’s up to you whether you want mercy or not, boy." You grinned, trying not to show any fear. The giant just furrowed his brows, not affected by your threats.

“You won’t hurt me. I know that.” He moved closer, you could feel the friction of the screws on his chest device. He moved his hands from your head, putting both of your hands above your head with ease. One giant palm was more than enough to restrain both of your hands, while the other started to explore your still-clothed body. 

“Fuck off Let go of me-” You struggled under his grasp, with him trying to take off your ESOP.

“Let me help you.”

“You better not break that thing. They’ll put me in trouble if I do and you probably won’t see me again.” Right after that, he looked at you right in the eyes. You probably won’t see me again, and just like that, he went more gentle or took off your ESOP. He carefully took off the belts, pulling the ESOP out from your body. He then reached your night vision.

“You can’t pull it off. Believe me, I tried, it was drilled inside my skull.”

“Drilled into...bones? Like this ?” He pointed to his device that was put all over his body. You winced, what they did to you was nothing compared to him. 

“Yes. Just like that.”

“But it makes me stronger.”

“I don’t want to be strong. I want to be free.”

“Don’t go, you should stay in my house.”

“In your dreams, gigantic freak.”

“Then..then I'll live up to my dreams.”

“What the fuck? Hold on !” Before you could say any words, he pressed his lips onto yours, trying to fit between your smaller lips. You could taste the fresh blood from his tongue that overlapped yours, you gagged at the metallic taste. 

While you were troubled in breathing between the kiss, he proceeded to unbutton your white shirts. You were about to say something, embarrassed that your underwear beneath your shirt was revealed, but he kept pressing your mouth.

“Let me-” 

His hand crept under your back finding the hook of your bra. After he unhooked it, he pulled it over your chest, leaving your nipples to be seen.

“Shit, I can’t allow this to happen.” Your face reddening, and so is your torso in humiliation. 

“You don't have to hide it from me.” He whispered to your ear, although it was still loud for a whisper. He moved like an experienced man, once had a woman in his life before mayhaps.

His hand was way too big for your chest, but still found enjoyment in kneading your breast. You moaned quietly, not wanting to show submission under his touch. You couldn’t lie to yourself, you always desired sex after months of being imprisoned in this facility and treated like guinea pigs. But doing it with an ex-pops holding the title of “Big Grunt” was not the man you expected. Not even someone you were looking for. 

Between your struggles, there was one thing you realized from his close-up face. A long scar across his right eye, something that he got from a fight. At the same time, his right eye was blinded, pale blue almost white like his sclera while his left green eye was heavily injured. His nose was big and pointy, while wrinkles decorated his face showing he had aged. You suspected he was in his 50s, which means you were about to fuck with someone as old as your parents. They had died from the war, but if they knew about this, they could die for the second time.

You snapped from your thoughts as he bit the spot between your neck and your shoulder. You screamed in pain, as he drew some blood and drank it a little bit. If you let him, he would probably cut off your head and make you a dinner tonight. He licked the blood left in the mark, then moved to the lower area. Much lower, reaching your pants.

“Not there, please. It was more than enough.” Your breath was shaking, legs trembling with the feeling of embarrassment. What should you say if the guards question your deeds with a big grunt?

He continued, slowly pulling your pants onto your ankles. He looked at your undies, and wet spot on the crotch. He grabbed the side of your underpants, dragging it down until there was nothing vulgar to hide anymore. You didn’t dare to look at him, shy and embarrassed that you showed your genitalia to a stranger who wanted to murder you these months. 

He pulled his face closer, smelling your crotch. He knew this smell. It wasn't just a regular wet slick slime covering your vagina, it was the one that you had whenever you were ovulating. Mature eggs meant a more wet and sticky vagina, perfect for his hard waiting dick. He licked the hole, making you flinched and mewled. His pointy nose rubbed against your swollen red clits, while his tongue started to explore inside the canals.

“Oh god..” You spoke in a higher pitch, no longer able to hold your moan. Not enough with eating you up, he put a finger inside you. Then two, which make you shriek. His palms were like, twice the size of average people’s. You gritted your teeth and squirmed under his grasp as he thrust his two large fingers. You could feel your hole stretched to its limit.

You could only feel the painful pleasure as he rubbed against your walls, with his thumb massaging the clit. You were ashamed to admit this, but you wonder if out of other reagents that were willing to have sex with you, would they be this experienced?

Enough with the juice spilled and wetting the lips, he pulled his finger and started to give what he wanted in the first place. He let your hands go, knowing that you wouldn’t run in this condition.

You dared yourself to look at him again despite your face being as red as a boiled crab, only to be alarmed by the size of his girth. You almost laugh in desperation, because all of dicks you’ve seen from naked ex-pops, this was the biggest one. Like his dick adjusting to his height, standing proudly with precum leaking. Big Grunt positioned himself in front of the table, needed to hunch, and positioned his knees considering the extreme height gaps you both had. But the fact you were half of his size was his favorite. He loved imagining you carried like a sack of potatoes, practically portable-sized that he could bring everywhere.

It was the tip, but your heart beat so fast as you tried to take his shaft. This would be painful, stretching your hole more than his fingers did. Sadly, you were right. You screamed as he started to thrust his dick, holding onto the table with your toes curling. 

This did not happen , you cried in your hearts. Your body shivered, feeling the friction of his cock inside your clamping canal. But he was not in a hurry, despite all this anguish. He savored the moment, enjoying every second his shaft was wrapped around inside of you. Although there were few centimeters left on the base, he huffed in pride looking at you and accepting a major part of his manhood.

You pushed your head upwards, back arching as he started to take his pace. His movement as he repeatedly thrusts you. His tip rubbed against that particular spot, as well as the entrance of your womb. The base acted like it scratched the itch on your clit, stimulating your whole pussy with no area left behind. He growled like a monster, a heavy harsh voice that still frightened you yet somehow managed to increase your desire for more of him. You reached his head, he hummed in confusion only for then groan as you pulled his hair backward.

“Should’ve told Murkoff you’re into this stuff you naughty boy.” The eagerness to please him and hurt him mixed into one. But things you knew, it did make him more horny than before, uncontrollably thrusting you in lust.

He wanted to say something, but his voice cracked between the pace. Out of nowhere, he choked your neck. So hard, that you were alarmed that you scratched his arms until he bled. There was no word exchanged other than struggling breath and heavy whimpers. He pressed your head, in need of something to hold on to. And right after that, he came. He spilled every last drop that some leaked through the tight space. While he let off your neck and dropped his head to collect his breaths, you rubbed your clits at a fast pace to finish yourself. Ain’t no way you were gonna let that man thrust you again, that could led to a second round. As you came, your mouth let out a squeak, which he noticed.

His hair was more messy than before, wet with sweat. He finally pulled out, picking up his pants again while you realized the things you had done. Realizing that the cameras were everywhere and that they were watching. That Easterman was watching, without a second being missed.

—

#outlast #outlast trials #the outlast trials #big grunt #big grunt outlast trials #big grunt x reader #red barrels #horror game #horror game fics #outlast fanfictions #x reader #self-insert #reader insert

[damonjuicyscock]

Pictures of you-Chapter 2 (90's Liam Gallagher X Reader)

Pairing: 90's Liam Gallagher X Reader

Warnings: Language, mentions of wounds, maybe a few spelling mistakes.

Words: 803

Summary: The ferry incident or how it is told by the reader, what happened, and how Liam's and Reader's relationship evolved.

A/N: Heya ! Here's chapter 2, it's short but efficient. Chapter 3 will be uploaded next week and chapter 4 in three weeks because in two weeks, I'll be seeing Gorillaz live ! Of course, I'll put some pictures and videos like the previous time.

Enjoy !

Two years passed and we had been touring with The Verve at first. I think you probably heard about the ferry incident… Well… I was there.

February 17th 1994- The ferry to Amsterdam:

We were on our way to Amsterdam. I tried to get along with Liam, but he didn’t seem interested and was behaving like an asshole with me since the day we met. And God, I hated him.

This event was going to convince me even more about what I thought about him. Happily, Noel was here, and the rest of the band too. If someone left me alone with Liam, I wasn’t sure the others would see us alive again.

We were all watching a soccer match on the telly except Noel, who was reading in another room.

I can’t tell who started first, but there was a massive fight. We all were drunk, except Noel, once again, and Liam and the others fucked up while Noel and I were nice.

It was Manchester City V West Ham, and you all know which team they supported.

Liam was like “It’s punk rock man” But in truth, it was and wasn’t at the same time.

At first, the band was accused to pay their drinks with fake banknotes. Mark Coyle and I tried to calm things down, but it was too late, because a fight started.

A fight that led to another and another. None of us was implied in this fight at first, but the hard-boiled kid that Liam was, was seen running on the ferry deck, chased by cops, then again in the casino, throwing tokens in the air. This kid was fucking chaotic. Then it was Guigsy’s turn. Mark found them down a stairwell, on the ground, with three or four cops trying to get them up. Liam tried to punch one of them but didn’t get to it, and he fell on the ground. The whole band, except once more, Noel and I, got arrested.

And Noel… was furious.

Noel, I think you should calm down first and then call McGee.

Calm down? Y/N, it wasn’t fun, they all fucked up! Am I the only one to be at least a bit mature and sensible?

Yeah, okay they fucked up. But I don’t think McGee will accept to talk to you in the state you are in. So please, before, take deep breaths.

He followed my instructions and tried to calm down. He wasn’t getting angry like his brother, but still, being “calm” during a call is useful.

Okay…Okay, I’m gonna call McGee.

Good, I’m going to join the others.

It was funny of ye though.

What was funny?

Ye, trying to calm me down, knowing ye are the first to get enraged everytime.

Learning to control my emotions Noely. Learning to.

I went to the back of the ferry to see them. Liam and Guigsy were a bit hurt. I asked one of the cops to give me a first aid kit so I could try to cure them. Guigsy apologized, but Liam didn’t. Anyway, it isn’t like him to do so.

I approached him and sat in front of him, taking a compress with rubbing alcohol.

It’s going to sting a bit. I said dryly

Don’t mind, me. He answered

I rubbed the compress on his lip and hurt eyebrow, which made him jump a little and…

Ouch it hurts! Be gentle!

Though you didn’t mind? And were you gentle? You can’t help it, huh?

Who do ye think ye are? Me mam? No, so just be gentle and shut the fuck up. Yer not a member in this band, you have nothing to say.

And here he was, making me angry again. For the millionth time in two years.

I grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled them a little.

Listen to me you asshole, I may not be a part of this band, but I care, so stop behaving like a little shit and fucking grow up! We’re sent back to the UK because of your bullshit. You had one fucking job, just behaving and do your fucking gig, but you can’t fucking help it!

Liam grabbed my wrist and squeezed it hard.

Yer know what? I’m not here to listen to yer shit, I’m biblical and this event will go down in history, so fuck ye.

I’d rather fuck Tony, you fucking knobhead.

I fucking hate ye.

No worries, it’s fucking mutual.

I struggled and finished treating him before coming back to Noel.

We indeed were just two to be allowed to enter the Netherlands. On another side, when Noel called McGee, he described this event as brilliant and Rock N’Roll. Wow.

#90's liam gallagher #liam gallagher x reader #liam gallagher smut #liam gallagher fanfic #liam and noel #noel gallagher x reader #noel gallagher smut #oasis band #oasis

[fancifulscrawl]

What do u think of tsc

I almost feel as though I'm still processing everything. Honestly I started reading the book probably a few months ago and I've been reading it off and on, so I'm positive there's things I don't remember. Just like the captive kingdom I should probably reread at some point.

Though I'll always favor the original trilogy, it was absolutely an enjoyable read. It's nice to see all the ascendance kids back together again.

*absolute shattered castle spoilers ahead*

Of course we're all here for the absolute killer sass Jaron delivers, he absolutely wreCked a few people and it was iconic. "If you thought that was exciting, you should have seen me climb out of the river." Also can't stop thinking about when Wilta asked Jaron to choose who to free and he chose his gardener and Wilta barely even questioned it, she was probably so done with his bs at this point. Seriously Wilta had to be mentally exhausted after every interaction with Jaron, this girl needs a nap.

Imogen finally having a leading role, concocting and going through with her own plan without much intervention from Jaron, was phenomenal. I appreciated that Wilta acknowledged that Imogen was just as strong and intelligent as Jaron and comprised every bit of the royalty in her veins. It was fantastic for Imogen to finally get that recognition, and it really brought home how so much of Jaron's successes were backed and strengthened through Imogen and her own decisions.

Amarinda and Roden weren't seen that much throughout the book which was somewhat disappointing, but it paved the way for some other characters to shine which I really appreciated, namely Tobias {don't worry I'll rant about my son soon enough}, Imogen, and Fink. Oh and can't forget Rosewater "Lump" Coyle, an icon.

It was thoroughly entertaining seeing Wilta work with Jaron, their dynamic was hilarious. I can imagine Wilta sitting down, massaging her temples, while Jaron is in the background scaling the castle wall like a spider and everything is on fire. She was like "listen I know that son of a baconator is still alive, we all know it *Jaron with a lampshade on his head* *wilta staring into the camera like she's on the office*

Anyway seeing Wilta gradually change her stance was interesting to watch unfold. I'd like to think she began to genuinely respect both Jaron and Imogen, and respect the unified loyal kingdom they had created. The treason within her own ranks might have made the unity of Carthya seem very foreign and astonishing.

This is all over the place but when Roden had gone to retrieve the pirates I was cheering {how come whenever the pirates make their grand entrance I hear the avengers theme playing}. This might be a controversial opinion, but I feel that Roden should be the one and only pirate king, to me he rightfully earned that position.

Darius and Jaron joining together, and specifically riding together on the same horse, was very moving to me. Both brothers thought the other to be dead and forever gone from their life, yet here they are back together once again, brothers again, getting to fight by the other's side. They may have had to say goodbye to their parents, yet they didn't have to say goodbye to their brother just yet.

Levitimas simply vibing in some dungeon the entire time y'all go right ahead imma just stay right here good luck let me know when you have my book an icon. You can't help but wonder what he'll decide to pen within that book next, the tale of the ascendant king perhaps??? Would it be written as truth or as something told in stories??? Would Jaron’s rule eventually dissolve into nothing more than legend? Like a ghost, did he really live? 

A headcanon of mine that didn't come to fruition, this will likely be a bit controversial as well, but my first impression of Castor was not immediate hatred. At the very beginning, I got it in my head that Castor wasn't actually a bad person, rather he was wearing a disguise, he was successfully fooling Jaron into believing that the Veldergrath line continues as usual, when in reality he was always on the side of Carthya and had secretly aligned with Imogen to take Wilta and the prozarians down. Of cOurse this didn't come about, the arrow intended for Jaron attests to that, though I was hoping. I just thought it would be interesting not only for Castor to truly fool Jaron as Jaron already holds a prejudice against Castor's family and might couldn't see through that, and at the last moment Castor reveals that he is truly on Jaron's side, and most importantly the Veldergrath line is not one set in stone as cruel or selfish. Castor gets to prove that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover or assume the same malicious poison taints the blood within his veins. It just would've been neat thanks for coming to my ted talk

AND NOW

MY SON

THE MOST PRECIOUS LOYAL BABE

Tobias *sobs*

To merely recount all of the instances he verbally demonstrated and acted in such a way that revealed his undying loyalty to Jaron and to Carthya just ahfhdjjsbsj Tobias is constantly the butt of some joke, he's used to being belittled and treated like he's useless in almost all scenarios, so much so that any possible confidence has been visibly stripped away in this book, yet despite that he remained steadfast, did things that frightened him, stood with Jaron even knowing that it could be a death sentence. In stories such as these, it's the ones who wield sword and join in battle and spill blood that are praised as heroes; the ones behind the scenes don't get the recognition they deserve, the ones who's hands shake when they're forced to grip a sword's handle, the ones that are brave in their words and in their choices rather than in combat, the ones that choose to heal, to tend to wounds rather than cause them, those people deserve to be seen and respected so much too.

And of course. We cannot forget.

The moment.

The moment when Mercy raised his blade to Jaron.

And Tobias.

So unsure of himself.

Trembling

But without hesitation

Saving Jaron's life.

I was over here like

Tobias finally had his moment I can't, the amount of mental strength it must've taken Tobias to do that, he's a healer and yet when he saw one of his dearest friend's life being threatened he bravely made that choice, I just love him so much thanks for coming to my other ted talk

This has... become very lengthy, sorry about that, but there's some of my incoherent thoughts.

Almost forgot!! Thanks for the ask @spaghetti-flyingsquirrel-bin !

#the ascendance series #the shattered castle spoilers #the shattered castle #jaron eckbert #roden harlowe #tobias branch #imogen #I hope you've been well #take a shot every time i use the word absolutely

[blackandgoldandeverythingnice]

i don’t remember me (before you) - j. debrusk [part ii]

Pairing: Jake DeBrusk x female!OC

Summary: Could it be more cliche than falling in love with your neighbor when she wasn’t exactly available? What happens when getting her to fall in love with you isn’t even the hard part?

Word Count: 9,077

A/N: so, part ii - maybe one day i’ll get good at summaries and update them accordingly but honestly, no promises. this one has a LOT of warnings and i’ll adore any and all feedback. 

Warnings: adult themes, alcohol consumption, abuse [very much the abuse in this part so please be warned], shitty boyfriend/ex-boyfriend, swearing...I think that’s it

part ii

“I have travelled many miles, I don't wanna walk no more Every road and every highway led me right back to your door” -lord huron

Jake was pretty sure he’d never seen Alina nervous before. Normally she was the quintessential Russian: serious, blank face that belied nothing about how she was feeling. But right now she was tapping her foot nervously and gnawing on her bottom lip. Her hair was up in a little half ponytail thing and he forgot he usually only saw her in scrubs, his sweats or a mini dress for a night out. This version of Alina was softer, not as sexy as ‘club Alina’ but he thought he might like it better. She had on a pair of ripped jeans with a loose cardigan buttoned up, cutting in a low v on her chest. They didn’t speak much in the car ride over but Jake kept a hand on her knee, rubbing at the bare skin he could get to.

When she’d showed up at his apartment after getting ready, she shoved a bottle of wine into his hand and anxiously asked if he thought it would be good enough. Jake had managed to make her laugh when he’d snorted at her, asking how it was she thought he would know what wine was good or not.

That same bottle was now being grasped tightly in one hand, her other squeezing at his thigh tightly.

“Ease up, Leenie – you’re gonna leave a mark.” He teased, tapping her hand softly.

“Oh! Sorry, Jed.” But she didn’t loosen her grip much and he just let her keep clinging to him. He realized while she was usually a blank face to everyone around her, lately – more often than not – she was completely and purely herself around him. It’s like a wall that had been blocking back emotions before had come down and now everything she thought played clearly on her face for him to see. But only for him.

It wasn’t a long ride to get to Charlie’s and when they pulled up, Jake went to climb out of the car but realized that Alina was still sitting quietly in the back seat.

“Maybe you should just go without me. I can have him take me back home.” She nodded at the driver who was frowning and looked like he was a minute away from yelling at them to get in or out.

“Nope.” Jake responded, reaching into the car and physically dragging her out. She stumbled slightly as she hit the curb and he managed to shut the door to the car mere seconds before the driver pulled away.

“Jake…” she practically whined. “They don’t like me. I should just go, you’ll have a better time without me.”

“Leenie, if you don’t go, I’m sure as hell not going. I spend all my time with these idiots, I want to be wherever you are.” The hesitance remained on her face and he stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “If you really don’t want to go, we’ll go home. Or out to dinner. Whatever you want. Ride or die.”

That earned him a giggle. “Ride or die?”  

“I’m your ride or die, whatever you want, we’ll do.” He nodded seriously until she finally gave him a smile, her facing turning determined.

“Okay. We’ll go. But if they’re not nice to you, I’m gonna let ‘em have it.” 

“I expect nothing less.” He teased, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead. Forehead kisses had become more and more frequent. As had holding hands, cuddling and the way Alina would nudge her nose into his neck, brushing her lashes against his skin. At this point, they were more affectionate than he’d been with any previous girlfriend.

It still wasn’t enough but he instinctively knew he needed to go slow, knew that he couldn’t risk pushing her into something she wasn’t ready for. Shit, he wasn’t even sure if she felt the same as he did. All he had was a ‘feeling’ that things between them were different, that they were out of the sure footing that had been their friendship and in some weird limbo zone where they were both trying to figure out what the other wanted.

Sighing to himself, he took her free hand and pulled her towards Charlie’s building. He had forgotten to ask exactly who was going to be there and now that they were in the elevator, he felt a little panicky about what they were walking into.

While he’d deny it to her, he knew Alina wasn’t his friends’ favorite. And her desire to protect him meant she overreacted to the smallest chirp that was thrown his way even when it didn’t bother him. He only hoped that tonight would go okay.

Walking into Charlie’s apartment, Jake immediately felt like this was the wrong decision. There were at least eight couples and some of the girls were looking at Alina critically, from the bottle of wine in her hand to the way she was clinging onto Jake. Looking friendly wasn’t something Alina excelled at so the stoic look that Jake knew came from a place of nervousness or shyness, instead made her look like a mega bitch.

He squeezed her hand gently and turned his face into her ear. “Smile, babe. You look entirely too Russian right now.”

Alina snorted, squeezing his hand back and relaxing slightly, smiling at him. “It’s just my face, I can’t help it.”

Jake rolled his eyes, dropping her hand and placing it on her lower back to lead her through the room. He wanted to find Charlie and, more importantly, Charlie’s girlfriend. Kiley was one of the sweetest girls he knew and had always been kind to Alina, usually the only one she’d talk to while waiting for him after games.

Walking into the kitchen, he found the hosts putting the finishing touch on plates of charcuterie. And really, that just meant they were unwrapping the clearly pre-made platters.

“So much for doing the heavy lifting,” Jake teased, bundling Kiley up into a big hug. Charlie hit him but stepped around him to pull Alina into a hug. Jake noticed her stiffen slightly but return the hug before pulling away quickly.

“Ki – you remember Alina.” Jake gestured, returning to her side and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

“Of course! Welcome.” She pulled her into a hug before accepting the offered bottle of wine. “Oh wow, this is really nice – you shouldn’t have.”

Alina flushed slightly, waving a hand dismissively. “It was always one of my favorites so I thought I’d share.”

“Well thank you.” Kiley said sincerely and Jake couldn’t help smiling at her. Charlie really had found a good one. “I say we open this in here and just save it for the two of us.”

“Great idea.” She grinned back conspiratorially. “Can I help with anything?”

“Grab a few glasses, yeah? And are you any good at opening wine?”

“Am I ever!” she responded, grabbing a wine key and getting to work on the wine she’d brought. “I used to work in my Dedushka’s restaurant, if you fucked up the bottle, you had to pay for it but you also got to drink it.”

Kiley grinned at the story, taking it at face value but Jake’s head shot up at the sound of her talking about being younger. He’d never once heard her mention anything about working in a restaurant.

“What’s a ‘dad-kush-kah’?” Charlie asked earning a little smile from Alina who promptly corrected his pronunciation.

“Grandfather.” She got a little faraway look in her eyes but quickly returned to the task at hand.

“Come on, man – come say hi to the rest of the guys.” Charlie tried to shove him back in the direction of the living room but he dug his heels in, twirling around to escape and slide next to Alina.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning down so only she could hear him. “You okay? I can stay with you.”

It looked like she was thinking about it, her gray eyes searching his before she shook her head slightly. “Go on, I’m good – I’ll be a wine opening maniac.”

Instinctively, he pressed a kiss to her temple and ignored the look that Charlie and Kiley exchanged before following Chuck into the living room. He greeted his teammates and their significant others, smiling good-naturedly as the boys all yelled his name or teased him about one thing or another. He was just happy that Alina didn’t hear them or she’d end up lighting them up in his defense.

He managed to stay in the room for all of fourteen minutes before drifting back into the kitchen. Despite Charlie saying it was going to be just couples, a few of the girlfriends had brought friends and he got the distinct feeling Charlie Coyle’s girlfriend was trying to set him up with one of them. He walked back into the kitchen to find Alina perched on the counter, chatting animatedly with Kiley. He paused in the doorway to watch her as she gestured dramatically with one hand, large glass of wine in the other, only pausing her story to take a long sip and accept a piece of cheese that Ki had handed her. The sweater she had on had slipped off one shoulder and he eyed the bare skin greedily, aching to touch her.

It was a relief to see her getting along with at least one of the girls, a light floaty feeling filled him at the sight. Baby steps, he told himself, baby steps.

Eventually, he couldn’t resist interrupting, moving towards Alina and fitting himself between her legs. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on the top of his while continuing to talk to Kiley.

“But yeah, I’m super lucky the other nurses are so experienced and are actually super sweet. Have you been doing nights or days?”

The two girls continued the conversation around him like he hadn’t even joined and he contented himself with sharing Alina’s glass of wine and helping himself to one of the smaller trays that hadn’t been circulated out into the living room yet. They spent the better part of an hour in there, switching to a different bottle when Alina’s fancy one had been finished.

“If you’re not gonna get your own glass, you have to be the refill bitch.”  She muttered in his ear, pressing an errant kiss to the side of his head before refocusing on whatever Kiley was saying to her.

He pushed back from the counter to refill from a new bottle, pouring it nearly to the brim before returning to his position. A couple other girls had wandered in to join them and Jake felt Alina stiffen slightly as the kitchen got more crowded.

“Ohh, boujee! Who brought this?” one of the girls cooed, picking up the now empty bottle that Alina had brought. “This is like 200 bucks.”

Surprised, he turned to catch Alina’s eye but she avoided his stare, cheeks flushing at the attention.

“JD’s gir – uh, neighbor brought it.” Kiley answered. Half a dozen people turned to look at Alina who just waved awkwardly and tightened her grip on him.

“That was – ” one of the girls who Jake was pretty sure was a friend of a friend paused to eye the way Alina and Jake were tangled together before continuing, “Generous of you, Jake.”

He knew what she was doing. It was something all the guys had to deal with: girls that wanted to be with a player because of the money. And if a girl was like that she usually assumed all the others were. Jake flushed with anger, opening his mouth to respond but Alina beat him to it.

“Actually, I bought it myself.” She answered stiffly, tugging the glass from Jake’s hand to take a sip.

The kitchen felt ice cold and tense, nothing like it had been when it had just been Kiley and Alina chatting. Thankfully, Chuck and Gryz came flying into the room shouting about everyone going into the living room. The girls that had just come in exchanged looks before turning to go while Alina stayed put. Kiley shot the two of them a concerned look but grabbed a few things to bring into the living room, leaving them alone.

He turned around so he could face her, placing a hand on either side of her body and leaning his forehead against hers. “Leen, ignore them.”

“I told you your friends hated me.” She mumbled, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Those are absolutely not my friends.” He nudged her nose with his. “Do you wanna go? I told you, the second you want to leave, we can.”

She was quiet for a second, fingers trailing along the sliver of skin between his shirt collar and hair. He practically melted into her at the sensation. “No, no – I need to be nicer. I do want your friends to like me…”

“How bout this: we spend another hour or so here, drink a bit more fancy wine and eat some cheese then we’ll go out to dinner – just you and me.”

That earned him a smile and her eyes brightened for the first time that night. “You’d do that for me?”

He sighed, feeling the wine loosen his tongue slightly. “Leenie, when’re you gonna learn I’d do anything for you?”

“I don’t deserve you, Jed.” She mumbled, staring straight at him, her eyes serious and intense.

“We’re not gonna do our little argument about who deserves who.” He teased but she stayed serious, eyes dropping slightly to his lips.

“Jake, I – ” he wasn’t sure what she was going to say, he wasn’t sure if she even knew because she cut herself off. 

Instead, she leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to his. It caught him so off-guard he hesitated for a second but thankfully his instinct kicked in before she could pull back in embarrassment and he caught the back of back of her head, pulling her in closer.

It was like everything he’d been dreaming about but better. Alina tasted sweet like honey, her mouth hot on his as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He wound the hand not buried in her hair around her waist, tucking up under her sweater to press his palm against her skin.

Reluctantly, she pulled back, staring at him seriously. “I’m sorry.”

“Why the fuck are you sorry, Leen? Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do that?”

She giggled, sliding off the counter and burying her face into his chest before turning up to look at him. “You still wanna stay?” she teased, eyes sparkling.

“Fuck,” he grumbled into the top of her head. “I really really don’t but we should.”

Just as he was leaning down to steal another kiss, Charlie bounced back into the room. “Heyo, what’re you two doing? Come have some more wine before we have to switch to the boxed stuff.”

He stared at the two of them, tangled around each other and faces flushed but that didn’t stop him from continuing to egg them on about moving into the living room with the rest of the party.

“Alright, alright – we’re coming!” he yelled over his shoulder finally, shooting him a dirty look for interrupting. He turned back to face Alina, resting his head against hers. “Maybe we’ll stay for like twenty minutes?”

Smirking, she stood on tiptoe to press the lightest kiss to his lips before moving around him to go into the living room. He scurried behind her to follow, catching up easily. He wrapped his arm around her waist, feeling her relax at his touch. The move wasn’t lost on nearly everyone in the room. While officially Alina had been introduced as his neighbor, he was pretty sure a blind person could see the way he was touching her and staring at her and refusing to be farther than an inch away from her.

Alina remained controlled with her drinking, sipping wine slower than she had been drinking lately and that in and of itself felt like a victory. She did relax slightly but Jake noticed how she tended to stay close to him or Kiley. If she was ever talking to another of the girls, Kiley was also involved and if she moved along, Alina would do the same after a minute or so. She’d finally settled into a conversation with Charlie Coyle and his girlfriend leaving Jake to talk to a few other people while still keeping a close eye on her.

He desperately wanted to leave, wanted to get her alone so they could talk or make out or do more, he didn’t know. But he also wanted to give her the chance to get along with the group because he was hoping she’d be part of it soon.

“Slim! My guy! You crash any cars lately?” Khuls came blazing in loudly and Jake noticed Alina’s eyes shooting over and narrowing at the words.

He rubbed at his neck, “Er, not lately, man.”

Once the can was open, a few of the other guys started to chirp him, mostly around if he was going to grow a mullet again this year or if he’d been working out instead of going to McDonalds every night. He kept glancing over at Alina who was back to Russian Bitch Face and he was worried about what was about to come next if the guys didn’t stop.

And sure enough, Karson said something else about his driving and then Alina was at his side, threading her fingers with his. There was barely contained rage on her face but she seemed to swallow it down, instead squeezing his hand tightly.

Standing on tiptoe, she pressed her lips to his ear. “I’m ready to go if you are.”

He knew she was trying to make an effort, trying to get his friends to like her and in this case that meant not saying a word to them when they were chirping him.

He knew his face gave away everything when he looked down at her with a goofy smile. “Yeah, Leens – let’s go.”

“You guys are leaving already?” Kiley pouted and rather than admit Alina had just about had enough of being around so many people she wasn’t comfortable with he shrugged, swinging their clasped hands lightly.

“Sorry, Ki – we have late dinner plans.”

“Where are you going?” the girl that had been bitchy about the wine Alina had brought cut in and Jake was never outwardly rude so he just gave her a tight smile.

“Committee, down by the waterfront near our place.” He liked saying ‘our place’ like they lived together for real instead of just in the same building. “It’s Leenie’s favorite.” He added to get this girl to realize Alina wasn’t just some random girl that he’d brought out for a good time.

“Nice.” Chuck gave a reassuring nod, seeming to understand that it was time for them to leave. “Thanks for coming, bro.”

They made their goodbyes as quickly as possible but it still took about fifteen minutes to get out of there. By the time they were heading down the hall, Jake was thrumming with energy at getting to be alone with Alina. As they stepped into the elevator and the doors slid shut, Alina was wrapping herself around his body and pulling him to her lips for a soft kiss.

He pulled back, grinning down at her. “Do you actually want dinner?” he teased and she flushed slightly before smacking his stomach.

“I’m a classy lady, I need dinner first.” She smirked back at him, stepping up for another kiss but he pulled back so she couldn’t reach him.

“You know this is more than that, eh?” He paused, serious as he brushed her hair back off her shoulders.

She squeezed his waist, tucking one hand under his t-shirt and tugging on the belt loop with her other. “If it was just that, I would’ve taken advantage of the four times I’ve woken up to your hard cock poking me in the ass.”

“Fuck,” he groaned, flushing red and feeling his body overheat at her words. “You noticed that?”

“Jesus – yeah. I noticed it.” Now she was flushing, biting on her lip teasingly and trailing her fingers down his torso. “But yeah, Jakey – let’s go to dinner first.”

She seemed to have timed it perfectly, winking up at him just as the elevator door slid open and then she slinked out, heading towards their waiting Uber, leaving Jake shaking his head like a puppy. Before the doors could close on him he hurried after her, catching her around the waist just as she was opening the car door and he hustled them inside.

The couple glasses of wine they’d both drank seemed to have made them both more relaxed and Jake spent the ride back to South Boston contenting himself with sweet, slow kisses and brushing his fingers along the waistband of her jeans. He was aching just thinking about what it would be like when they got home. It was tempting to just race home and throw her on the mattress but Jake wanted to talk about it first. Make sure this wasn’t a rebound or a hookup. He knew he wouldn’t be able to take it if they weren’t on the same page.

By the time they got to the restaurant, Jake was half hard and regretting his plan to go through dinner. The Uber driver had given them a sharp warning to stop getting handsy and Alina had just replied back in Russian angrily which seemed to scare him into leaving them alone.

They were both happy it was a Tuesday and the restaurant was only half full. Jake requested a table in the back corner and while he’d always made fun of couples that sat on the same side, it was impossible to separate himself from being close to her. So he slid in next to her, crowding into her space until she was playfully trying to push him away.

“What?” he asked, ducking in close so he could kiss her. “You think I can sit all the way over there when you’re here looking like that?”

“Like what?” she teased.

“How you always do,” Jake shrugged. “Perfect.”

Alina flushed and Jake was pretty sure he’d never seen her blush as much as she had tonight. She slid her hand along his thigh, dancing her fingertips up along his leg until he was inhaling sharply and caught her wrist with his hand.

“Why won’t you let me play?” she teased, pressing her face against his neck.

Jake had to take in a few deep calming breaths and he felt grateful when the server stopped by. They ordered cocktails and an appetizer but he didn’t think the two of them had the patience for actual dinner.

As soon as the server walked away, Alina was back to teasing her fingers along his leg and he had to get hold of the situation before he wasn’t able to think straight.

“Leenie…can we talk? For just a minute?”

She frowned slightly, pulling back when she realized he was being serious. “Um, of course. I just – you want this too, right?”

The question caught him so off-guard he was quiet for a beat too long. Alina looked up at him sadly, biting hard on her lower lip. He panicked slightly, turning to face her so he could hold her face and she couldn’t avoid his stare.

“Alina,” he started seriously. “I want this. I want you. But I also want more.”

He held his breath, waiting for his words to sink in. She was gripping on to his wrist tightly, eyes scanning his nervously. “Like…you like me?”

He huffed a breath out. How could she not know? 

“Yeah, Leens. I like you. A lot. Like a lot a lot.”

“A lot a lot?”

“More than you could know.” He admitted, heart pounding in his chest. He’d watched Alina go through a traumatic relationship and he liked to think he’d helped her start to heal. Over the last year and a bit of knowing her, he’d fallen hard and stupid but it had felt like she’d been right there with him.

She opened her mouth to respond but shut it, looking shier than he’d ever seen her before. It felt like she was quiet for hours until she finally spoke.

“I – I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about someone before.” She admitted quietly, rubbing her thumb along the underside of his wrist. “I’m – shit…I’m not easy and kind of a disaster but you make me feel good; feel like someone that deserves to be loved. I want to try this. I want to be with you if you want to be with me.”

“We’ll go slow. I don’t want to push you but I need you to know I’m not gonna give up or go away just because you get a little too drunk one night or you yell at half my friends.” He teased slightly and she gave a watery little chuckle.

“Can we still have sex tonight though?” she asked and he choked on air, glaring at her when she started laughing.

“I might hold out on you just for that.” He answered with zero truth in his words. She raised one eyebrow and just leaned back without a word before he huffed a sigh. “Yeah okay, there’s no way I’m ever going to deny you anything.”

It was obvious he wasn’t just talking about tonight and instead of speaking, Alina just leaned forward to kiss him gently.

Their drinks arrived and then the food shortly after while the two of them went back to their normal relationship, joking and teasing each other except this time there were kisses and sly touches mixed in. Jake felt like he was floating. It was everything he’d been wanting for more than a year and it was better than he’d ever imagined.

Before the server could even ask if they wanted more food or drinks, Jake was sliding his credit card over. All he wanted was to get Alina alone. The restaurant was only a block away from their building and as soon as the check was signed, he was bundling her out the door and practically dragging her along as they walked.

Alina giggled behind him and he just squeezed her hand tighter. “I’m not gonna run away from you, Jed.”

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you it’s that you’re a drunk runner.”

“Trust me,” she started to say and he glanced over at her, drinking in the happy glow around her and the way her eyes were sparkling back at him. “I’m not running away from this.”

--- ---

“Holy shit.” Jake exhaled into Alina’s neck as he tried to catch his breath. 

He’d collapsed on top of her and he could feel her still pulsing around him and her heart racing. He lifted his head to see her staring back at him, eyes soft and a happy little smile playing on her kiss-bruised lips. She ran a hand through his hair as he finally rolled off of her, hissing slightly at the loss of her around him.

“We’ve been cuddling for weeks when we could’ve been doing that?” she whispered, rolling into him so she could wrap around his body. He lifted his arm up to hold her close, smirking and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“To be fair, I’ve been thinking about doing that for more than a year.”

“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow at him. “And how did you prepare? Watch some game tape?”

He threw his head back with a laugh, sliding a hand down her side to land on her ass. “Lotta nights alone in hotel rooms thinking about what I’d do if I had you in my bed.”

“Did it live up to your expectations?”

“Not even a little.” He answered, grinning at the glare she gave him. Before she could say anything he tilted her head up to catch her lips in another kiss then pulled back. “It was a million times better.”

They fell quiet, content to stay cuddled up in the little cocoon they’d made. Alina’s bed was a massive king but they stayed on top of each other, the sheets tangled around them. Jake felt like he was moving through a dream. Last night he had been arguing with his teammates about Alina and how they were ‘just friends’ and now he was in her bed with her naked body pressed against him, trailing her fingers up and down his stomach gently. He traced the length of her spine, a little smile playing on his lips.

He stared down at her, eyes drinking in her features. There was a little birthmark he’d never noticed right on her temple. Her hair was a mess, the dark waves tickling his arm. She was staring across the room sleepily, eyes hooded and a satisfied little smile on her lips. The warmth of her body and the way she was distractedly running her fingers along his skin was making him sleepy. Eventually, her movements slowed and they both dropped off to sleep.

The next thing Jake knew a loud banging was startling the two of them awake. Alina shot up into a sitting position next to him, blinking awake and alert faster than he was. The banging continued, coupled with muffled yelling.

Frantically, she rolled out of the bed, grabbing her phone before snagging his button down and pulling it on as she hurried out of the room.

“Fuck.” Jake hissed, jumping out to follow her only pausing to grab a pair of shorts he’d left at some point.

The banging was deafening in the living room, shouts coming through the door and it wasn’t hard to guess who was out there based on the language and the sheer fear on Alina’s face.

“Baby, let me – ” he moved towards the door but she got between him, pushing back on his chest.

She started to yell back through the door in Russian, clearly telling her ex to go away but he just kept pounding loudly. It was nearly three in the morning and he was going to wake up the neighbors if he didn’t leave soon. Nothing she was saying was working and Jake felt helpless. There was pure fear etched on her face and he stepped behind her to place a calming hand on her back.

“Do you want me to call the police?” it was the only thing he could think of except opening the door and telling him to fuck off himself. He was bigger than her ex but he’d always noticed there was something unhinged that reflected in his eyes. But if it meant protecting Alina, he’d go toe to toe with the guy.

“Yes – no – shit, they never help. I’ll just – I – fuck. I’m going to open the door but keep the chain on. He – he’s yelling about you.” She whispered at him, panic and fear overwhelming her momentarily and some of what she said made no sense. “There’s something on Instagram?”

Jake paled wondering what the fuck could’ve been posted in the last few hours to put this guy in a rage. He could only imagine that it wasn’t good.

Alina cracked the door slightly, hissing back in Russian as her ex pushed hard against the door trying to snap the chain. She jumped back in fear and there was zero-way Jake was going to let this continue.

He stepped forward, pushing Alina behind him. The second her ex caught his eye, his face turned red and he shook the door harder.  

“Stay fuck away Alinochka.” His words were followed by another hard bang as he tried to muscle through the chain.

“You need to leave.” Jake shot back, forgetting he was standing in just a pair of shorts while Alina was wearing his shirt which was only making the guy angrier.

He switched back to Russian, yelling angrily at Alina who was responding but her voice was shaking.

“Leen – this isn’t okay, I’m getting rid of him.”

The fear grew on her face and she grabbed his arm frantically. “Jake, no. You can’t get into a fight because of me.”

“He’s a piece of shit, I don’t want him anywhere near you.” He squeezed her arm softly before turning back to the door and inhaling deeply, trying to control his own temper. He threw the door open and thankfully her ex was smaller than he remembered. Definitely still an angry maniac who hit women but Jake was stronger.

Her ex tried to barrel through the door, attempting to get by him and to Alina, shoving into Jake who pushed him back. “Not gonna say it again, man. Get the fuck out of here. And don’t fucking come back.”

He tried again to get past Jake who muscled him back. He had tunnel vision, entirely focused on getting her ex the fuck away from her. He really didn’t want to get into a fist fight in the middle of the night but he would if it meant keeping her safe. Another shove and this time Jake was knocked back into the apartment. Alina gave a little shriek of panic and he heard her on the phone, giving their address and begging for someone to come quickly.

Again, her ex barreled towards him and this time, caught him around the waist. Jake fell back with a thud and just barely had time to get his arm up to protect himself from a punch. The second one landed, cracking him dully on the side of the head. Going off instinct, he pushed his hands on his chest, shoving as hard as he could to get him off of him.

The move managed to allow him to scramble up and reposition himself in front of Alina who looked like she was having a panic attack. But he barely had time to glance at her before returning his focus to her absolute fucking psycho ex who was preparing to take another swing at him. Ducking from the blow, he managed to hit him squarely in the face, hearing the satisfying crunch of a broken nose. Blood started to drip onto the floor and it slowed him down long enough for two cops to come barreling into the room, one grabbing her ex and the other pushing him back.

One cop tried to get control of the screaming Russian who was spewing blood all over the place while Jake immediately threw his hands up defensively to show he wasn’t doing anything. It only took about thirty seconds for the cops to recognize him.

“Jesus, DeBrusk?” the one that had initially tried to restrain him before realizing he wasn’t the problem. He was an older guy, maybe his dad’s age while the guy trying to hold onto Alina’s ex was younger and beefier, practically a John Cena clone.

“Yeah – can you guys get this asshole away from my girlfriend?” he snarled angrily, stepping over to snag Alina’s hand and pull her close to him. He was trying to calm his breathing, shaking out his hand that was already killing him while pulling her into his side.

“Okay, let’s all calm down here. Jesus – does this guy speak English?” the other officer said, still struggling to control him.

“Sir, officer, I’m sorry – he does but his English isn’t great.” Alina managed to get out, her voice cracking slightly. “His name is Mikhail Drozdov.”

Mikhail’s eyes flashed dangerously at Alina and he tried again to lunge forward to grab at her.

“None of that.” Officer Cena clone grunted, using one hand to twist Mikhail’s arm back behind him at a painful angle to snag his handcuffs before finally restraining him and plopping him down on the floor. “Stay. Does he understand ‘stay’?”

Alina hissed at Mikhail, her words sounding harsh and bitter. He was still glaring at the way she was tucked protectively into Jake’s side. The longer he was sitting there, the stronger the scent of vodka grew and Jake realized the guy was completely obliterated.

“Now that he’s restrained, can I ask you two a few questions?”

“Yes, sir.” Jake said, turning to his media training. He was going to get lit up by the front office if this got out but he was just happy he’d been here to protect Alina and now he just wanted to focus on getting everyone the fuck out of her apartment. “Can we grab some clothes first?”

The officer smirked at the pair of them in their state of undress. Alina was trying to cover herself and Jake made a point to shield as much of her body as she could.

“Go ahead, kids. We’ll try to interview Igor over here while we wait.”

Jake turned carefully, still keeping her as covered as he could as he nudged her back towards her bedroom. The second they were in the room Alina burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

“Holy shit, Jake – I’m so sorry. So so fucking sorry.” She rambled into the crook of his neck, her tears soaking into his skin. “I don’t know what happened. He was yelling about something on Instagram? What does that even mean? How did he know we were together?”

Jake’s stomach flipped. Someone from the party had to have posted something that showed the pair of them together. He didn’t think it would be from the restaurant, that would take a lot to find but if it was in the background of one of the guys’ stories, it was possible.

He drew back so he could look at her, pushing her hair off her face and pressing a quick kiss to her nose. “I don’t know, baby. Maybe one of the guys shared something? And we were in the back? I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.”

“How much trouble are you going to be in?” she asked, focusing her worry on him. It made his heart hurt a little to think about the fact that some asshole had just physically tried to assault her and she was worried about him. Carefully, she brushed at his eye where the punch had landed. “I bet the cops would let you go back to your place. You don’t have to be involved. It’ll just be me and Mikhail.”

“Leen, I’m not leaving you. We didn’t do anything wrong. I’ll talk to Bergy in the morning. He’ll help but right now we have to go talk to them.”

Nervously, she nodded through wide, watery eyes. He hated seeing the terror on her face so he pulled her in for a kiss, pressing his lips to hers and holding her tightly for a long moment. When he released her, they quickly got dressed; Jake pulling on a Bruins sweatshirt of his that Alina had stolen a couple weeks ago while she dragged on a pair of yoga pants while keeping his shirt on. The buttons were crooked and only two of them done up so he paused to carefully fix it for her.

Finally they emerged from her room to find two more cops had arrived and Mikhail still on the floor, spitting an angry stream of Russian at those around him. When he spotted Alina he snarled and tried to move forward.

“Where’d you find this guy?” Cena clone asked, kicking at his leg slightly.

Alina ignored him, walking back towards the first cop they’d talked to. “I’m Alina Agapov.”

“Yes, ma’am. We pulled your info. I’m Sergeant McDonald. Let’s take a seat in the kitchen, okay?” It was like a switch had flipped, the police officer turning into a kindly uncle as he led Alina and Jake towards the kitchen island where the two of them sat down. “Looks like you have an active restraining order against Mr. Drozdov.”

Jake shot a surprised look at Alina. He had no idea that she’d taken her ex to court and he hated himself for not having been around to help her through it. And that she hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him about it.

She swallowed hard, moving closer to Jake and he wrapped his arm around her, letting her lead the conversation.

“Yes, that’s right. We just had the hearing a few weeks ago. He – he’s not supposed to come near me.”

“No, ma’am. We’re going to bring him into the station and hold him. He’ll have the option of bail but the more times he breaks the order, the worse it’ll be.” Sergeant McDonald said softly but his words did nothing to calm Jake’s anger.

“‘More times he breaks it’? What the fuck does that mean – he’ll just keep trying to attack her but bail will go up?”

“Calm down.” He said sharply, shooting Jake a stern look.

Alina squeezed his leg. “Jake, please. It’s okay.”

“No, it fucking isn’t.” He huffed under his breath but fell quiet as they were asked more questions. They recounted the night, explaining that they’d been asleep when Mikhail had showed up screaming then all that had happened to get to this point.

Jake chanced a glance behind him to see two of the officers hauling Mikhail out of the apartment. He sighed slightly, pulling Alina in tighter to him. After another ten minutes of answering questions, the officer finally seemed satisfied and offered a card to Alina.

“This is where we’ll be holding him and that’s where you can get a copy of the report. Recommend you call your lawyer in the morning, he’ll know what to do next.” He looked awkward, unsure of how to deal with a girl that was so clearly emotionally drained and then slid his gaze to Jake. “Listen – we, uh, we don’t have to put your name in the report or anything.”

Surprised, Jake looked at him. “That – that doesn’t seem right. I broke his nose.”

“We can work around that, son. The guy is gonna go to jail regardless, your girl has like seven police reports filed against him so it shouldn’t be a hard decision for the judge.”

The fact that Alina had filed so many reports hit him like a truck. It had clearly been far worse than he’d even realized. In a daze, knowing the cop was giving him an out because of who he was, he looked down at Alina.

“He’s right, Jake – this can fuck things up for you.” She said softly, her gray eyes pleading with him to think about himself.

It didn’t feel right. He was worried if there was anything that wasn’t right in that report, Mikhail would be able to work around it and get back at Alina.

So he shook his head no. “Just – write it as it happened, sir. I’ll sign it or whatever but it should be right.”

Sighing, Sergeant McDonald flipped his notebook closed. “Okay…we’ll do our best to keep it quiet though. And uh, good luck – you’re playing like a beast.”

He gave him a tight smile. The fact that they were talking about his play when a guy had just violently gone after his girlfriend didn’t exactly sit right with him.

But he walked him to the door, saying goodbye to the other cop who was lingering as well, staring curiously at Alina. This had been a nightmare of a night and there was still blood all over the floor. As he shut the door behind them, he leaned against it, tapping his head lightly against the surface.

He squeezed his eyes tightly before turning to face Alina. Her face was pale, quiet tears streaming down her cheeks. He rushed towards her, dragging her into his arms and holding her as she cried.

What a fucking night.

It was almost five in the morning. He had practice in a few hours and he knew he’d need to go in early to let management know about what had happened but right now all he could think about was holding Alina.

He rubbed her back gently, tilting her face up to his. “Baby, let’s go to my place – we can lay down for a bit longer.”

She sniffled, wiping her nose with his sleeve. “This is humiliating. I’m sorry, Jakey. Maybe you should just go – ”

“Stop apologizing. And there’s no way I’m going to leave you. I told you earlier I wasn’t going to give up on you. On us.”

“You called me your girlfriend.” She said softly, hands gripping his waist tightly.

He smiled down at her, “That’s because you are. At least, I want you to be.”

“So much for slow.” She managed to tease through a watery smile. “I like it. I like you.”

“Then come on, girlfriend. Let’s go home.”

Trying to ignore the blood on the floor, he told her he’d call someone to clean it tomorrow when she tried to pause to take care of it. He kept a tight hold on her hand as they walked the length of the hall to get to his apartment. It was quiet and peaceful in his place compared to what they’d just walked out of. He didn’t want to push her but he had more questions than answers at this point. There wasn’t anything she could do that would make him not want to be with her; that didn’t mean she could cut him out and not tell him things.

Alina went straight into his bedroom, pulling him along by his hand. She slid out of her yoga pants but kept his shirt on as she crawled into his bed. He pulled his sweatshirt off then slid in next to her, wrapping around her body.

“Can we talk, Leenie?” he whispered in her ear. “I need you to talk to me.”

She inhaled sharply, sniffling as she did and he felt her shake slightly. He wasn’t sure she’d share but then she started to speak softly. “We – we started dating when I was fifteen. My uh – my parents died when I was ten. That’s why I moved to the States. To be with my Dedushka. He lived in this neighborhood in Brooklyn that was mostly Russian and I met Mikhail there. It just – it was easy to talk to him, he knew what it was like. Leaving home and being in a place where people glared if you fucked up your English.”

Jake felt his heart pounding as she shook slightly in his arms. She pushed back into him to try to get closer and he just hugged her tightly, pressing a kiss to her head as she continued.

“I’d spent five years barely talking to anyone. Too scared to speak until my English was perfect. Then Mikhail showed up. He was always with his dad when they came to my Dedushka’s restaurant. He made me remember where I’d come from. His parents were from the same city I’d grown up in. He was familiar in the most comforting way.”

She paused, trying to catch her breath. Jake ran his fingers down her arm so he could lace their fingers together.

“He wasn’t always so terrible. My Deduskha would’ve kill him, that’s for sure.” She gave a watery little chuckle before continuing. “But then…” she paused and Jake could hear her sniffling again, a little whimper slipping from her lips.

“Baby, come’re.” he whispered against her head, loosening his grip so he could turn him towards him. Her eyes were filled with tears and he used his thumbs to wipe them away. “I’m sorry, if it’s too much – we can talk la – ”

“No,” she said sharper than he expected before her features softened. “I – I know I haven’t shared a lot with you. And you deserve to hear this after tonight.”

He leaned forward to kiss her gently, nudging his nose against hers until she smiled. It was harder for her now, facing him as she spoke. She stayed quiet for a long moment before finally staring up at him and continuing.

“My Dedushka died when I was nineteen. And then it was just me.” She whispered.

Jake swallowed hard. No wonder she never talked about family: she didn’t have any. He rubbed her back lightly as she tried to swallow back her tears.

“He was all I really had left. I’ve never made friends very easily and my whole life was in that little neighborhood in Brooklyn. But…well you saw him. The older he got, the more controlling. He expected us to get married and me to be his little wife and have babies but I didn’t want that.

“I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to see what else was out there beyond the little corner I knew. We made a deal that we would go to Boston for a couple years and if he did that for me, I’d marry him.”

Her voice was so soft, he barely heard her but the words hit him like a truck. The idea that he would’ve never had this made him sick. But he stayed quiet, rubbing her back gently as she talked.

“He got a job in Boston easily with this international accounting firm, managing the Russian relationships. He settled in better than I did – going out with the guys he worked with constantly. I was studying and working so much, exhausted all the time but I noticed how bad his drinking got. He’d come home sometimes just…so fucking angry for no reason. He didn’t get rough until a year or so ago. But it was a pattern I’d seen from Mikhail’s own father. His mama was so…broken. I started to see that becoming my future.

“It just kept getting worse. The cheating. Yelling. The hitting. But then I met you.” She smiled slightly, looking up at him and pressing a quick kiss to his jaw. “And you just…were this light, funny, perfect guy. Who was soft and gentle with me and I started to fall for you but I didn’t know how to get away from Mikhail.”

“I wish I’d – I…” he struggled for the words, feeling lost and a little blindsided. “I didn’t know how to help you.”

“Jake, you did help me.” She swore, brushing his hair back off his forehead. “You couldn’t fix everything, I needed to fix a lot of it myself first. And I made mistakes by letting Mikhail back in so many times but he was my past – the closest thing I had to family and that was hard to let go.”

“Tell me about the restraining order.” He asked softly, bracing himself for how hard it would be to hear what she had to say.

“I did the right thing – the thing you’re supposed to which is report the abuse. So I started to. He was…it was usually the worst when you were out of town. It’s like he waited until you were gone then he’d come over raging like you just saw. I almost got evicted over the summer from the number of times they had to call the cops but the management company was surprisingly good about it.”

“Jesus, Leen – why didn’t you tell me?” Jake asked, trying not to get upset.

Her eyes filled with tears again. “It’s humiliating. All the neighbors hearing him scream at me and throw things then the cops showing up at all hours. I didn’t want you to know that about me.”

“I would’ve come back. I would’ve helped.” He drew her in closer, squeezing her against his chest.

“I know you would’ve, but you deserved your summer. Deserved time with your family and friends.” Her voice was muffled into his chest and she was crying softly again.

“Hey now,” he whispered, grasping her chin to turn her face up to his. “No more crying. Let’s get some sleep, you’re exhausted. This is still the best night of my life.”

That earned him another little laugh as she angled up to kiss him softly. “You haven’t had a very good life then, babe.”

He scoffed. “I’m in the NHL. Very important and cool and do a lot of things. You’re still the best thing I’ve ever done.” He pressed kisses along her face as she giggled and swatted him away.

“Oh, so now I’m just something you’ve done?” she raised an eyebrow at him and he groaned, flopping his head back on the pillow. She kept a smile on her face as she rolled on top of him, straddling his waist.

He caught her hips to keep her steady, rubbing his thumb along her skin. “This is a nice view.”

Leaning back, she grabbed for his right hand. “You okay?” She pressed a kiss to each knuckle, frowning at how red they were before focusing on his face. Gently, she brushed her fingers along his tender cheek. “Do you need ice? I think this is gonna be a black eye.”

“I’m fine. Come’re,” he urged and pulled her down to him so he could thread his hands through her hair to pull her down to his lips. “Want a kiss. Then it’s bedtime.”

“Shit – what time do you have practice?”

“Eleven. I’m gonna go around ten though. I need to talk to Bergy and figure out who to talk to on the team.”

Alina frowned. “I told you I was a train wreck. It’s not too late to – ”

Jake cut her off, leaning forward to kiss her before pulling back. “Leen, I mean this is the nicest way possible – shut up. You’re my girl.”

“Thank you, Jakey.” She whispered, sliding off him and nestling back into his side.

He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Go to sleep, I’ll wake you up before I go.”

She mumbled something in Russian, pressing her lips to his chest and then she was out like a light. He lay awake for a while after she’d fallen asleep, holding her against him and thinking about the night. Everything she’d told him about her life made things so much clearer: the way she was so strong and stubborn yet had continually gone back to an abusive boyfriend, how she never talked about her past or her family. He wished she’d told him sooner but he knew he couldn’t have dragged this out of her until she was ready.

The sun was just starting to peak through the windows when he finally dropped off to sleep, dreading what waited for him at practice later but still happier than he’d been in a long time.

#jake debrusk #jake debrusk fic #hockey fic #hockey fanfiction #writing #hockeyblr #nhl #nhl fic #hockey writing #boston bruins #bruins #boston bruins fic #so here is two! #I hope it's okay #and yes #darker than the first part

[pastrnaks-sainz]

Neighborly

Pairing: Charlie Coyle x female!reader 

Type: Fluff 

Warnings: Swearing 

Word Count: 1785

Summary: It’s the middle of the summer, and with most of his teammates off in their respective home states or countries, Charlie is left with only a few options for company. He could call Wags or Gizzy over, but with Wags’ annual summer barbecue coming up, he doesn’t want to seem too needy. Then the perfect idea falls right into his lap. His neighbor. 

A/N: I will not apologize for loving the shit out of Brad Marchand 

~~~~

Charlie had never been this bored. If he was forced to watch another episode of The Bachelor he thought he might just take the quick way out and fling himself out the window. 

Summer was a slow time. He liked having a break from hockey, even though he was always working out and getting ready for the upcoming season, but he missed his teammates like crazy. Everyone had gone home for the summer months after the season was over. The only players that were left in Massachusetts were the local boys, himself, Chris Wagner, and Matt Grzelcyk. The three of them had taken to hanging out together a lot. But they each had families they wanted to spend time with. 

The past week, for Charlie at least, had been hell. His family had gone up to Maine for a vacation. He’d elected to stay behind because there was nowhere he could go to stay in shape. Sure, a week off from all workouts entirely wouldn’t hurt too much, but there was also the small matter of Wagner’s annual barbecue in the backyard of his home in Walpole tomorrow afternoon. Some of the guys were coming back for the weekend just to hang out and catch up before going back to their families for the summer. Pasta was flying in all the way from Prague, and Tuukka from Finland. Charlie couldn’t miss out.

He was just starting to consider another episode when he heard the door to the apartment next to his open and close. How could he be so stupid. His neighbor was right there and he didn’t even think to ask if she wanted to do something with him. 

Before he could think twice, he was on his feet heading out of his apartment. He knocked on your door, fiddling with his fingers as he waited for you to open it. 

“Charlie,” you smiled, stepping aside so he could come in as you looked up at him. “What’s up?”

“Hey Y/N,” he smiled, squeezing past you into your apartment. He turned his head away from you to hide the blush brushing against you caused. “Sorry to bother you but, is there any chance you’d want to hang out today? Wags is prepping for his barbecue tomorrow and Grizzy is hanging out with his family.” 

“Yeah, I’m available,” you said, walking into your living room. “What do you want to do?” 

“I don’t know,” Charlie shrugged as he sat down on your couch. 

“Alright,” you said, sitting down beside him. Your dog jumped up on the couch between you. You giggled as she placed her head in Charlie’s lap. “Well, there’s no shortage of fun things to do in Boston in the summer. We could take a ride on a duck boat.” 

“I’d get recognized,” Charlie shot down the idea. 

“Okay, what about a Red Sox game? My dad has some tickets for tonight.” 

“Maybe.” 

“Museum? I’ve always loved the Museum of Science.” 

“It’ll be closing soon.” 

You stopped firing off ideas for a moment before thinking of the perfect thing. He clearly didn’t want to be around people, and you just so happened to know the perfect spot where you wouldn’t be disturbed. 

“Come with me,” you grabbed his hand and pulled him up off the couch. 

“Where are we going?” he asked as you dragged him along behind you. 

“You’ll see.” 

The sun was just starting to disappear between the high rise buildings as you drove towards the Prudential Center. Charlie knew Boston like the back of his hand, so of course he knew where you were going. He just had no idea why you were going there. 

“Trust me,” you smiled over at him as you parked in your spot in the parking garage. 

It was silent in the elevator as you rode it up to the top floor. Your office occupied that floor, something you were deeply grateful for when you had to pull all nighters. The receptionist smiled and nodded to you as you led Charlie through the office to the balcony. 

“How did I never know this was here?” he asked, walking out over the glass floor. 

“It’s one of Boston’s best kept secrets,” you smiled as you watched him lean against the railing and look out over the city. His jaw hung open with the view. You came to stand beside him, your gaze moving from his face out to the city. 

Despite the warm summer night, and standing in close proximity to Charlie, who was like a human furnace, the wind still managed to make you shiver. Charlie noticed and wrapped an arm around your shoulders. It was like second nature to him with how quick the idea came to mind and the speed with which he acted upon it. 

You stilled under his arm for a moment before leaning into his side. A wave of comfort watched over you in his embrace. It almost felt natural, like it was a position you were supposed to be in. 

“Thank you for this,” Charlie said after a few moments of quiet. “I needed the distraction.” 

“I’m happy to be your distraction any time you need me,” you replied, looking up at him. He was already looking down at you. 

“We should probably go,” he said, his voice husky. “Krej is having that barbecue tomorrow.” 

“Yeah,” you agreed, stepping out from under his arm, your trance having broken. 

“Do you want to come with me?” he asked as you walked back through the Prudential Center to your car. “To the barbecue, I mean.” 

“I would love to,” you responded, smiling to yourself as you climbed into your car. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Charlie bid you goodbye once you were back outside your apartment. 

“Tomorrow,” you nodded. Charlie leaned down and pressed a kiss to your cheek before disappearing into his apartment, leaving you standing dumbfounded in the hall. 

The next morning arrived all too soon. Before you knew it, Charlie was knocking at your door. 

“Morning,” he smiled brightly when you stepped out into the hallway with him. “You look excited.” 

“It’s not everyday you’re asked to a barbecue that’s hosted by a Bruins player,” you nudged him. 

“You got me there,” he laughed. 

The rest of the ride was filled with playful banter. You and Charlie just talked as he made the drive to Chris Wagner’s home in Walpole. Your nerves spiked when you the driveway and road lined with cars. Charlie took notice and grabbed your hand. 

“They’re gonna love you,” he reassured you with a gentle smile. 

“You say that like I’m your date or something,” you smiled back. He just shrugged and popped open the door. Before you got the chance to react, he was running around the car to open the door for you. You took his hand again as he helped you step out. Across the yard somebody let out a wolf whistle. You looked up to see Anders Bjork smirking over at his teammate. You immediately blushed and looked away. 

“Don’t be shy,” Charlie whispered to you as he changed the grip he had on your hand and walked over to Anders. 

“Who’s this?” Anders asked as you and Charlie walked into the backyard together. 

“Friend of mine,” Charlie said. “Y/N, Anders. Anders, Y/N.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Anders smiled, shaking your free hand. He tossed a look over his shoulder to you as Charlie McAvoy came and pulled him away towards a game of corn hole. He waved to you before disappearing. 

“Come on,” Charlie pulled you towards the deck. You froze when you saw who was standing there. Charlie followed your gaze to Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak. He smiled and started leading you over to them. “You wanna meet them?” 

“Yeah,” you nodded, looking up at him. He laughed and pressed a kiss to the top of your head before walking up the steps. 

“Charlie!” Brad exclaimed when he saw his teammate appear between Patrice and Pasta. “Who’s this?” 

“Guys, this is Y/N,” Charlie introduced you. “Y/N, you know who everybody is.” 

“Yeah,” you said sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m kind of star struck.” 

“I like her,” Pasta laughed. You smiled brightly and looked up at him. 

“Pasta!” McAvoy called from the yard. “We need two more for corn hole! You in?” 

“What do you say, Y/N?” Pasta asked, looking down at you. “You any good at corn hole?” 

“I like to think I am,” you responded with a smile. 

“Well come on,” Pasta waved you on. You stood on your toes and pressed a kiss to Charlie’s cheek before following Pasta down the stairs towards the corn hole game in the shade the tree caused. 

Chris Wagner handed his spot at the grill off to Kevan Miller and joined Charlie, Patrice, and Brad. Charlie didn’t notice the arrival of his friend, for he was too busy watching as you got yourself acquainted with the group of guys playing corn hole. 

“Oh you’ve got it bad,” Wags laughed. 

“What?” Charlie looked over at his teammate. Brad, Patrice, and Wags all started laughing. 

“Oh you do have it bad,” Patrice smiled, leaning against the railing as he tried to catch his breath. “Are you sure she isn’t your girlfriend?” 

“I hate every one of you,” Charlie groaned, accepting the beer passed to him by Marchy. 

“Look,” Bergy said, holding a hand out. “She’s into you. If you make a move I guarantee you won’t regret it.” 

“And how the fuck do you know that?” Charlie asked as he took a sip of his beer. 

“Out of the two of us, who is the one that’s married?” Bergy raised an eyebrow. 

“Trust us,” Marchy chimed in. “You should make your move.” 

“Yeah,” Charlie gazed at you as you threw your hands up and high fived Pasta. “Maybe you guys are right.” 

“Go,” Wags said as he took Charlie’s beer from him. 

Before he got the chance to second guess himself, he was on his way over to you. Without thinking twice, again, he spun you around by your shoulder and planted his lips on yours. 

A chorus of cheers went up from the players around you. 

You melted into Charlie’s touch, letting the feeling of his lips against yours transport you to a different place. His lips worked against yours gently, not trusting himself to go further because he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop. 

“Who do I have to thank for that?” you whispered, completely out of breath when he pulled away. 

“Marchy, Bergy, and Wags,” he answered, equally as out of breath. 

“I’ll thank them later,” you said before kissing him again. 

#Charlie Coyle #x reader #charlie coyle x reader #nhl x reader #nhl x female reader #fluff #charlie coyle fluff #nhl fluff #one shot #Charlie coyle one shot #nhl one shot #fanfiction #charlie coyle fanfiction #nhl fanfiction #nhl imagine #hockey oneshot #hockey imagine #hockey drabbles #hockey fluff

[verfound]

Coyling.... (nagas 👀👀👀?)

...I'm actually kinda surprised Quick didn't ask about this one 😂 buuut I'm also pretty sure Quick knows it's still just Festering...

Sorry, Bloods, but this one has nothing to do with nagas. "Coyling" is the 5x Fic where Luka is being "coy" and "coiling" around Marinette with the knowledge that he knows she's Ladybug. But I got Stupid with it and started making it crazy complicated, because I was trying to do each scene from both POVs, and it wasn't really working? I wanted to finish this up for Quick's birthday, but that hasn't happened yet. This one is higher on the list, though, bc Quick's been super patient & waiting for it forever. 😂

Apart from notes/chicken scratch, all I really have for it is the Lucky Charm/Motorcycle bit I've shared before...

Ladybug stared at her Lucky Charm, dumbfounded. A motorcycle helmet? What the heck was she supposed to do with…? She paused as her frantic eyes landed on a nearby civilian – specifically: Luka Couffaine. He was in the process of putting on his own helmet, his mother’s bike already idling beneath him, and he was lit up in her Ladybug Vision with red and black spots.

“Luka!” she called, tucking the spotted helmet under her arm and racing over to him. His head raised, turning about to search for the shout.

“Marinette?” he called, lifting the helmet from his head, and she skidded to a jerky stop inches from crashing into him and Anarka’s bike. Once the helmet was removed, he blinked slowly at her before a smile curled his lips. “Oh, Ladybug. Sorry. What can I do for you?”

But she was frozen, her jaw slack and eyes wide and terrified. The spotted helmet remained useless against her side. In the distance, the akuma continued to attack the city. She could still hear Chat’s taunts ringing above the rooftops. Before her, Luka sat and waited, an easygoing smile – a knowingsmile – on his face. The longer she stood there gawking at him, though, the more it slipped into concern.

He had called her Marinette.

“Ladybug?” he asked, and she forced herself to swallow. It was an honest mistake. It had to be. Luka knew her voice, and he’d had his helmet on – of course he hadn’t actually seen her. But he’d heard her voice, and he’d just assumed…

That glint was back in his eye. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his helmet. He dipped his head at her, silently encouraging a response, and she swallowed again. It was impossible. There was no way Luka knew…

“Bike!” she shouted as an explosion sounded behind her. She held up the Lucky Charm, and his eyebrows soared. “Can I borrow?”

“…my bike?” he asked, surprised, and she nodded. He frowned as he looked her over, and she tensed under his stare. She thought maybe she should be more uncomfortable with how he was looking at her, especially when that slow, lazy smile curled his lips. He raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, their noses practically touching. “Ladybug, are you even old enough to drive?”

Her jaw dropped as an indignant squeak escaped her. Well, technically, no, not as much – but she knew how! She’d been on her grandmother’s bike tons of times, and Luka himself had given her a few lessons when she’d expressed an interest in getting a license on her next birthday – which was only a few months away! And besides, wasn’t it his civic duty – his superhero responsibility, as a teammate! – to help her out? The Lucky Charm had led her to him and his bike, and when she asked for…

Her internal rant cut to a screeching halt as she saw the humor dancing in his eyes. The smile still stretching his lips. He was teasing her.

“I know how, which is the important part!” she huffed. She held the helmet up as another explosion sounded behind them. “Now please! We’ve wasted enough time!”

“Right,” he said, climbing off the bike. He helped her on, and she tensed again when his hand lingered on her hip. “Just…be careful with it? It’s my ma’s, and the last time you borrowed something from me it came back covered with bread crumbs and scratched paint.”

“…it did not! The Miraculous Cure fixed it, and you know it!” she squawked, turning to glare at him, but she could see that glint she was becoming increasingly familiar with in his eyes again. She wondered if he had always been this sassy or if it was just his kwami’s influence. (…she was learning he’d always been a bit of a dork, and he’d loved teasing her from the beginning, so it was probably just him.) She sighed and kicked the engine back to life. “Thank you, Luka. I’ll bring it back safe.”

“Bring yourself back safe, too,” he said. Her heart twisted at the look he was giving her, but she smiled (not that he could see, with the helmet) and nodded.

“I can do that,” she said, and the next moment she was gone. “Bug out!”

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain-cheng #luka couffaine #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #wip wednesday #wip wednesday: festering folder edition #coyling #bloody-no-kissu #dammit I need to finish this one #I still love this idea #but I was making it too complicated #just write the damn fic ver

[bitletsanddrabbles]

Phyllis Baxter Doesn’t Give A Fuck, and That’s Marvelous!

I’ve mentioned a couple of times that I’m reading (well, have read by this point) “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.” No, I’m not censoring the title – the cover has a stylized ink blot where the U goes. It’s the only self help book I’ve ever read and the only one I’m ever likely to read because honestly? It’s really good. No, seriously. It’s not the smart ass nihilism you might expect from the title (in fact, it warns away from that). It’s just very down to Earth and grounding and it explains so much! Why there are wildly successful people who feel like failures! Why, no matter how much you avoid drama, you still aren’t happy! Where these mind sets came from!

….Why Phyllis Baxter is the most mentally healthy person in Downton Abbey!

No. No, really. The entire second half of the book, I had scenes from Downton going through my head, dominated by Raquel Cassidy and her freakishly beautiful eyes! (Seriously, how does anyone get eyes that pretty? Can not even!)

So since I haven’t done overly much character meta in awhile, let’s look at this a bit!

The main thing about Phyllis that stands out, that’s always stood out, that just stands out more and is easier to put into words having read the book* is that she takes responsibility for her life. The obvious example here is her insistence on owning her part in the jewelry heist rather than letting people foist the blame off on Peter Coyle, but it goes beyond that. That is something she takes responsibility for that is also her fault, but she manages, somehow, without a book telling her, to recognize that ‘responsibility’ and ‘fault’ are two difference concepts; that accepting responsibility is not the same as blaming herself; and to apply that to all aspects of her life. A better example is the Bateses getting their noses out of joint when Thomas summoned the police to talk to her. That was not her fault. The fact she was confused when she was told they wanted to talk to her should have made it pretty darn obvious to anyone that she hadn’t done the summoning. The Bateses missed that, or were just so rattled they overlooked it, or whatever, and got pissed. That was also not her fault. But it was still a thing that was happening to her, it was a part of her life, and she took responsibility for figuring out what to do about it, and she did a really good job. I mean, she could have just sat there insisting that it was Thomas’s fault for writing the letter and the Bateses’ fault for not trusting her or questioning things and that it wasn’t her fault, therefore they were responsible for fixing it. She didn’t. She sat down and solved the damn problem. The fact that life had left Thomas Barrow with a mental health level that can be reasonably classed as ‘stage four emotional cancer’ was likewise not her fault, but again, it was something she had to deal with. It was part of her life. She could easily have followed the lead of most the staff and simply let Thomas happen, but she’s way to responsible for that. She knows that’s not going to fix any problem for anyone, and she knows that while she can’t solve Thomas’s problems for him, he can’t solve them himself without a butt load of support.

She doesn’t give a fuck if the problem is her fault, she’s still going to deal with it!

Next point is that while she might tremble at the thought of public ridicule, she is not afraid of failure. Before we even meet her, she’s already failed all over the place. She failed to recognize Peter Coyle as a toxic pos. As a result, she failed at keeping her job. Once she got out of prison (which she actually seemed to succeed at, ironically), she failed at getting a new job until Thomas came along. She failed at making a deal with Thomas. She succeeded at getting out of the deal, but she failed at keeping Thomas’s trust. She failed at keeping Cora’s trust. She repeatedly failed at winning Thomas’s trust back. Heck, her aforementioned attempts to regain the trust of the Bateses failed! Not once did she let those failures stop her. Each time she took responsibility for her life and it’s problems and she tried again until, eventually, she succeeded. She won back Cora’s trust and got to keep her job. She needed Molesley’s help to repair relations with the Bateses, because you can’t always do everything yourself, but she managed. Eventually she managed to rebuild that bridge with Thomas that had been hit with napalm (before the invention of napalm! These guys are impressive!). She succeeds because she’s failed, learned from those failures, and is not afraid to fail again. It’s a straight up inspiration to anyone.

She doesn’t give a fuck if she fails, she’s gonna try anyway!

I can’t speak specifically to her core values, other than to say the seem to be pretty solid ones, because the specifics of those are very personal and very internal. She clearly values supporting people and has learned to value honesty, but that’s as far as we can go there. However, she’s also okay being average. That’s huge. She’s okay being not terribly special. She is special, of course, and she likes being appreciated, but the extremest need to be the best-and-most-loved or the worst-and-most-pitied is not her. She does not see simply living her life, known to a few close people, and then being forgotten after she dies as the ultimate failure. This frees her of most jealousy issues because she’s not focused on what she doesn’t have.  It’s brilliant.

She doesn’t give a fuck if she’s special, she’s got a life to live!

(Thomas and Edith both fail spectacularly at this one, which isn’t surprising, considering their respective lives. I mean, if they were masters of this, I’d kinda be bashing their characterization as hyper unrealistic.)

And finally, while she has been repeatedly victimized she (like a lot of true victims who get help and get out), does not go in for what the book terms Victimhood Chic, that lovely entitled view that says everything that makes you unhappy is oppression and you have the moral right to be offended by it. She doesn’t make trouble so she can have the moral high ground for a few seconds. She doesn’t dogmatically insist that she’s right and everyone else is wrong. She allows others their circumstances and view points. She tries to understand those view points rather than just insisting that other people have to try and see hers. She allows herself to move on and find new, healthier relationships with new, less toxic people rather than holding the world up to the standard of Peter Coyle.

She doesn’t give a fuck about moral superiority, there are better emotional highs than being pissed off 24/7! Like sitting on the beach listening to that nice guy you work with tell you about the book he’s reading!

She’s still not perfect, of course. She has her flaws. Everyone does. She can still be timid and get herself into less than healthy relationships. But damned if she isn’t also a hell of a role model.

* Honestly a lot of what it told me is things I already knew, it just helped to clarify them, give clear ways to talk about them, and give some suggestions on how to combat them. Not ‘fix’ them – that is too easy a word and there are no easy solutions in this thing. Combat.

#downton abbey #phyllis baxter #character meta #self help #strong characters #mental health

[myhockeyworld87]

Bubble Wrapped - Part 2

Word Count: 4,247

POV: Reader

Warnings: Language, NSFW, Smut, Please read the note in the Masterlist

Teams: Bruins, Caps, Flyers, Lightning and Pens

Notes:  Ok so here we go with Part 2. I hope you guys enjoy this. I’m trying to add some of the suggestions that I’ve gotten in. Please feel free to send me an idea if you have it and I will try and work it in. Also I would love your feedback on this, as well as tell me what players you want to see. With that Happy Reading!!!

As you made your way down the long hallway to Conference Room three, you realized that you didn’t pack enough flats for these next several weeks. If things were going to happen this fast you definitely needed to ditch the heels for a pair of running shoes instead. You couldn’t imagine what had gone wrong in this short amount of time. By your calculations, the Capitals should be in there now having dinner. The Pens were Conference Room one, two was being cleaned from when the Flyers were in there and then the Lightning would go in, and the Bruins should’ve been long out of three before the Caps even went in. Even though you had everything timed out to the minute with ample time in between, you knew things were bound to go wrong, but you didn’t expect to see your conference room in complete shambles.

“What the hell is going on?” you asked Alexis as you took in the room. Food was thrown everywhere. It was on the walls, on the floor, and on the plexiglass where your servers stood; it was even on the players, even though there were only a few of them in the room itself at the moment.

“Well, you see those guys there,” Alexis pointed to a table where David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Charlie Coyle all sat. “They were still eating and I had the room cleaned just like you said, but let them go because the plane was late. I totally thought they’d be done before these guys showed up.” You looked over to where Tom Wilson, TJ Oshie, and Jakub Vrana sat, some green vegetable hanging off the shirt of Oshie. “They said it wouldn’t be a problem and I only left for a second, when I came back they were already throwing food at each other.”

“Where’s the rest of the team?”

“I sent them over to Conference Room one since it’d already been cleared out.”

“Alright, go make sure everything is fine with everyone else and I’ll handle this.” Alexis scurried out of the room, as you surveyed the damage. “Alright which one of you guys started this?” They all acted like you hadn’t said a word. It was seriously like dealing with a bunch of kindergarteners. You walked over to the Bruins table first. “It’s a little ironic is it not, that they call you Pasta?” you said picking noodles off of David Pastrnak, his shoulders shook as he tried to contain his laughter. Maybe you’d have luck with the Caps players. “What about you? You guys have anything to say?” When no one said anything, you had no choice but to say. “Look you know I can go to the league with this and you guys can be sent home.” While it was true that you could do this, you doubted a little good fight was going to get anyone sent back. “But I don’t want to do this, we’re only a few hours into this...guys, can’t we try and make this work?” They seemed to mull this over yet still no one said a word. “Fine, you and you,” you said pointing the Wilson and Pastrnak. “Come with me. The rest of you have five minutes to get to your rooms.”

“Why us?” Pasta asked.

“It’s obvious, you two started it.” They both seemed taken back by the statement, so you explained further. “You both have more food on you than anyone else.”

“Well, she’s not wrong,” Oshie muttered and you were barely able to contain the laughter that bubbled inside you.

“Now, I suggest you get going as your down to four minutes.”

“But I haven’t even got to eat yet,” Vrana whined.

“Call room service.” You then told a few of the staff to clean up the mess and close off the conference room until the morning, then turned to the two culprits that were picking food off themselves to the side. “Come with me.” They turned and followed you up to your suite, which had basically become your makeshift office. Once you were inside, you turned to both of them. “Now, tell me what this is about?”

“No way you have a pool table,” Wilson stated. God, men could be so simple-minded at times. They got so easily distracted.

“Yes, Tom, it’s a pool table. Now can we focus on the matter at hand?”

“I’ll play you? Whoever wins has to follow through with the bet.” Pasta immediately said, as if you weren’t even in the room.

You stuck your thumb and index finger in your mouth, squealing out a high-pitched whistle for the boys’ attention. They both turned in your direction then. “Now that I have your attention. You’re not here to play pool. You’re here to tell me what the hell happened in my conference room and how it will never happen again.”

“You know you’re even hotter when you’re angry.” All you could do was roll your eyes and cross your arms, at Wilson’s comment. He must have noticed your impatience, for he finally added. “Look it’s a stupid bet we had last season, that he didn’t follow through on when he lost, that’s what started the food fight.”

“I didn’t lose.” Pasta insisted. “I won, and you know it.”

“You did not.”

“Woah, stop!” You hollered as the two started to bicker back and forth. “Are you saying this can all be settled with a game of pool?”

“Yeah!” They both answered simultaneously.

“Perfect, then have at it.” You motioned to the pool table and Pasta headed in the direction only to be stopped by Tom’s arm.

“So, what’s in it for us?” He asked.

“I’m sorry what? I’m giving you the opportunity to solve your damn problem.” You fairly spat the words at him.

“Yeah, but you’re also getting something out of this. I’m just thinking that we could all get a little something out of this.” He looked over at Pasta, who seemed to catch on to his meaning.

“What exactly do you want? It’s not like I have a ton to offer, and don’t forget I can still turn you both into the league.”

“Nothing major, just a little kiss.” Why you were surprised when Tom suggested that, you weren’t entirely sure. Let’s face it, you knew they were stuck in this bubble without female companionship. Hell, you were in the same situation, well maybe not the same since you were surrounded by a bunch of hot NHLers. You just didn’t expect this so early in their quarantine here.

“Fine, but after this stupid bet is settled.” They nodded their agreement, then headed over to the pool table. You barely paid attention to the game, texting Alexis to make sure everything was running smoothly downstairs; which it was. It seemed that Pasta was stripes and Wilson was solids, and it definitely seemed like Pasta had the upper hand. When you finally gave your full attention over to the game, you couldn’t help but notice when Tom leaned over the table how nice his ass was. Both men were well-toned and muscular in all the right places and you knew it wouldn’t be a hardship kissing either of them or anything else for that matter. When David stretched out to make a shot, you noticed his tattoos and your fingers itched to trace them. To say you were getting hot and bothered by these two men was an understatement.

The game started to get intense as fewer and fewer balls were on the table. Pasta missed his shot, turning it over to Tom; who literally started to run the table. It was as if he couldn’t miss. Finally, he was down to just the eight ball. If he made the shot, he would win and the game would be over. He took a deep breath, the action making you take notice of how his shirt strained against the muscles of his chest. Lining the cue up, he took the shot, and the black ball sunk into the pocket just like he had called. A bark of laughter left Tom’s lips. “I told you I was the winner before. Pay up Pasta.”

You had to admit, you were curious how much money was on the line that would cause all this trouble. David, for his part, just shook his head and pulled out his phone. It must be a huge sum if he had to transfer it from his bank account. “What do you want me to tweet?”

“I’m sorry did you just say tweet, as in Twitter?”

“Yeah,” Tom said looking at you as if you were the one that was out of your mind and not him. This whole damn mess was over a stupid Twitter message. You literally wanted to scream, but instead, you just listened as Tom told David what to say. “All it has to say is, ‘In my opinion, Tom Wilson is the best goal scorer in the league.’”

“Done,” Pasta announced shoving the phone in Wilson’s face. You had to lean over Tom’s shoulder so that you could see it as well, for you still couldn’t believe your entire conference room was in shambles over something so juvenile.

“Well, now that, that’s settled boys, I assume I won’t have any more problems from the two of you in my hotel.”

“Oh, you still have your part of this bargain,” Tom said, gliding the back of his finger down your arm. You suppressed the shiver the sensation gave you.

“Alright, who’s first then.” You were never one to back down from a bet and this was no exception.

“By all means,” Tom motioned for Pasta to go first.

David took a step toward you, wrapping a strong arm around your waist as he pulled you close to him. Your hand pressed against the rock-hard muscles of his chest before making its way to the back of his neck. He brushed a lock of hair from your face, then placed his hand gently on your cheek to caress it before his lips came down on yours. The kiss was gentle, yet firm at the same time and you opened tentatively so that he could slide his tongue into your mouth. His hand which rested at your back pulled you in closer and you went willingly. You had a feeling if Tom wasn’t watching this would turn into something more than just a kiss. But Tom was watching and waiting, and you weren’t willing to give David anything more with an audience. So you gently broke away, allowing him to chase your lips with a few last kisses.

“You may have won the little pool match Wilson, but I doubt you’ll win anything more with this one here.” Why did everything have to be a competition?

You turned toward Tom, fully expecting him to take you in his arms and kiss you senseless. Instead, he grabbed you around the waist only to whisper low in your ear. “Another time princess, maybe when we don’t have eyes on us.” He released you then but then turned back. “I will be back for that kiss you owe me.”  With that the two left your suite, leaving you a bit dazed and breathless, and longing for that kiss as well.

Shaking yourself, you brought yourself back to the present and what needed to be done at the hotel, instead of daydreaming of what kissing Tom Wilson would be like. A quick call to Alexis told you that all the players had eaten but there were still a few milling about in each of their designated workout areas. You slipped out of your business attire and opted for a comfy pair of leggings with an oversized shirt to make one more round through the hotel before calling it a night.

You ran into Carly in the lobby. “So how’d everything go on your end? Any outlandish requests for something to be brought in?”

“Not so far. I think the Pens want some extra gym equipment, but I’ve got it covered.”

“I knew I put the right woman in charge.”

“Speaking of being in charge? What the hell happened with Conference Room 3?” You rolled your eyes.

“Food fight.”

“Oh, I heard that. I also heard you took two of them to your room?” she wiggled her eyebrows at you suggestively before elbowing you in the ribs.

“Had to get everything straightened out.”

“And…”

“And maybe, I might have kissed one of them.” She gave you a mocked look of shock.

“Nothing else?”

“Not at the moment, though I do owe the other one something, and let me tell you I won’t mind paying off that debt at all.” Just the thought of Tom holding you had you hot and bothered. “And on that note, I’m going to finish up down here before calling it a night. I think Tim has the night shift tonight if anyone needs anything.”

“Yeah, he does. He’s back in the office, making sure things are ready for breakfast. I just told him I was done for the night. I’m heading off to bed, don’t have too much fun down here.”

“Me, what about you, Car? There’s not some hot NHLer waiting in your room?” She headed for the elevators but turned back to answer you.

“Not tonight, but tomorrow could be a whole other story.” With that, she was gone as the elevator doors slid open and shut again.

You headed off to make sure the conference rooms were fine. When you noted that everything was in place, you went to check on the workout rooms. They were supposed to be cleaned periodically throughout the day, but with being open twenty-four seven; you wanted to make sure housekeeping wasn’t slacking. A quick walk past the Capitals and Pens rooms showed that no one was in there and they were spotless. As you went into the Flyers' workout facility, you could see someone inside. You tried to cough discreetly as to not scare them, but they didn’t hear you. The room had a few mirrors around it, but he happened to not be looking in any of them as he was doing squats with some free weights. He had his shirt off and a tight pair of shorts on, that let you see every muscle as he crouched down working on his quads and other various leg muscles. A few droplets of sweat had formed on his body and you itched to dry them off for him. Your mouth went dry the longer you stared at him as you were trying to make out the tattoo on his arm. It was at that moment that he caught you staring, a knowing smiling crossing his face. “Sorry…” you stuttered out after being caught red-handed.

“I’m not.” He dropped the weight down on the bench beside where he was working out before grabbing a towel and wiping off the sweat on his body. “Did you come to use the equipment or did something else bring you here?”

“Something else,” you realized the mistake as soon as the words left your mouth. “I mean…I was…” In a few short steps, he was standing in front of you and suddenly you couldn’t quite remember why you were there.

“Something else works for me.” He leaned his hand against the wall behind your head; his body so close you could feel the heat coming off of it.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to compose yourself, as you didn’t need this man to get under your skin as much as he was. “I was just making sure everything was fine in this room. I didn’t mean to disrupt your workout. I’ll let you get back to it.”

You made a move to back out the door when he grabbed your hand. There was an electricity in his touch and had you both looking down to where his hand touched your body. “Don’t go…I mean, I was done…” It was nice to see he was just as flustered as you were for a moment. It put you both on an even playing ground after you’d been caught staring at him. “I’m Travis by the way, most people call me TK.”

“I know.” You replied, before adding. “Konecny from the Flyers.”

“Well, now you have me at a disadvantage.”

“I’m (Y/N). I manage the hotel.” You said almost extending your hand to shake his and then realizing that wasn’t acceptable at the moment.

“Oh, so you’re the one in my little handbook to call if I have any problems.”

“That’s me. Here to help you in any way I can.” You let the innuendo hang in the air a bit and you saw its meaning wasn’t lost on him.

“So if I told you there was a problem in my room, would you send maintenance to come look at it or would you do a thorough inspection yourself?” Oh, he was smooth, you had to admit that.

“Well, it wouldn’t make sense to call maintenance when I’m right here, now would it?”

A raise of his eyebrows was your answer back before he went over and grabbed his shirt and belongings. “Then I think we should definitely go check out that problem.” His hand went to the small of your back as he led you out of the room and to the elevators. “I’m in room…”

“Five-twenty,” you supplied.

“Should I feel special that you know that?”

“Do you want the honest answer?” He shook his head yes. “No, it’s my job to know who’s in what room. In case you haven’t noticed this whole thing is kind of a big deal. I have all my I’s dotted and my T’s crossed.”

“So you know every guys' room number here?”

“It sounds a little pathetic when you put it that way.” Maybe pathetic wasn’t the right word, but desperate was one you didn’t want to use.

“No, I’m actually impressed.” He tilted his head looking over at you as you pressed the number five in the elevator. “So if I asked you what room Brad Marchand was in you’d say?”

“That I can’t tell you that, but it’s in the teens and about three floors up from you.” He chuckled softly and you realized you liked the sound of his laugh.

The two of you walked in silence the rest of the way to his room. Thankfully, there weren’t any players milling about in the hallway. “This me.” He said when you were in front of his door. He fumbled with the key, then opened it.

“What seems to be the problem? TV not working? View not to your liking?” You teased and he caught on quickly.

“Actually, it’s the mattress. I swore I heard it squeak earlier.” He tossed his t-shirt and keys on the dresser.

You moved to the bed, pressing on the mattress. “Hmm, seems fine now.”

He grabbed at your waist then, pressing you close to his body. “But see, I’m a very active sleeper. You can’t get the full effect unless you’re on the bed.” He tossed you back onto the mattress and a giggle escaped your lips. Travis crawled on the mattress then, stalking his way up your body. “Didn’t seem to do it then either. I think we’re going to have to give it a thorough workout.”

“But of course, I mean I want you to be completely satisfied with our hotel service.” A half-smile appeared on his face for a split second before his lips were crashing down on yours. His lips were soft yet sure, and you opened immediately for him; his tongue sweeping inside to tangle with yours. He was a good kisser, that was your first thought, and you wouldn’t mind just doing this all night. But then he was pressing his hips into your body and realized you wanted more. Your hands glided up his back, feeling his slightly damp skin from his workout.

He finally broke the kiss, both of you needing air. His hands gathered your shirt, but then he stopped himself. “Can I?” You moaned out a yes, wanting as little clothing between your bodies as possible and he hauled you up so he could take the oversized shirt off. “This is pretty.” He commented, while lightly tracing the lace of your bra. “I think I’d like it better off though.” Travis hands worked around to your back unclasping your bra and toss it to the side. “Fuck, these are perfect,” he breathed out as he drank in the sight of your breasts. His mouth was on them then, taking a peaked nipple in his mouth and swirling his tongue around it. A moan left your mouth and you could feel yourself growing wet as he continued to lavish your breasts.

Snaking your hands around his neck, you drew him back down onto the mattress with you. He rolled you both onto your sides, his mouth coming back to yours so he could kiss you again. Neither of you was in a rush, as your hands ghosted along his chest and his played with your nipples. Time sort of stood still, as the two of you just laid there kissing slow and sensually. After a while, Travis pushed you back against the mattress, your legs on either side of his waist. He flexed his hips into your clothed core and you felt a rush of wetness between your spread legs. He continued to roll his hips into you, as his mouth alternated between your breasts. You lay there panting and moaning with each flex. “TK…” you finally breathed out. “Stop teasing.”

“Oh baby, you haven’t seen me tease yet.” As if to prove his words, he sat back on his legs and started to remove your leggings. He only rolled them halfway past your hips, then brought the waistband up before snapping it back down on your core. Heated flooded you there and the moan that left your mouth was almost obscene. “You like that?” and he repeated it one more time before stripping of you of both your panties and legging. “Fuck yeah you do. You’re soaking.” He didn’t have to even touch you to see how wet you were. He wasted no time, inserting two of his fingers in you as his mouth sucked on your clit. You about came off the bed. He continued to work his fingers in and out of your body as his tongue made kitten licks on your nub. You could feel your body tingle as the orgasm started to build. It hovered there, just beyond your reach and you threaded your hands in TK’s hair urging him on; only to have him stop.

“Travis…” you whined out.

His eyebrows shot up. “That’s teasing babe.”  You groaned in frustration as his fingers left your pussy. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it better in a sec.” He pushed his shorts down his hips, then kicked them off. His mouth coming up to cover yours and you could taste yourself on his lips. With one smooth glide forward, his cock pushed into you; your hips rising up to meet him. “Fuck you feel good.” He moaned out, then started to pump in and out of your body. It was a slow pace at first as he was building up a rhythm for the both of you to follow. “Yeah babe, that’s it.” He praised as you met each of his thrusts. The combination of his teasing beforehand and steady pace, had you back on the edge in no time. Travis leaned in close to your body, your faces merely inches away. “Come on baby…I know you’re close….” He sped up then, his cock hitting that sweet spot perfectly. “That’s it.” You went to scream as a wave of pleasure washed over your body, but he captured your mouth swallowing the sound down as he came with you. He pumped inside you a few times, just reveling in the feel of your pussy clenching around him, before breaking the kiss so you both could breathe. When he was finally spent, he collapsed onto his side, rolling you with him. “That was…”

“Mmm, I agree.” You whispered back. “Though I don’t think your mattress has any problems.”

He laughed and you felt the vibrations in your body, as he held you close to him. “Who could tell with all your moaning.” He teased back then flicked your nose.

“Me? I wasn’t the only one.”

He shrugged a shoulder as if he didn’t want to admit he was just as loud as you. “Hope the walls are thick here.”

“They’re decent, just don’t give me away if Hart asks you any questions in the morning.”

He laughed out a, “never.” You pecked him on the lips, then started to get out of bed. “Where are you going?”

“I’ve got things to do.”

“Things or other people?” You couldn’t quite tell if he was teasing or jealous.

“Things… but you have my number if the mattress suddenly starts squeaking again.” You gave him a wink as you shimmied on your leggings and threw on your shirt.

He grabbed your hand and brought you down so your face was inches from him. “I have a feeling it may act up again.” His lips were on yours kissing you hard and fast.

“I’ll be waiting for your call.” With that you headed out the door, quietly shutting it before walking down to the elevator. Well, day one was definitely interesting. You couldn’t wait to see what day number two would bring.

#bubble wrapped series #nhl imagines #nhl imagine #nhl fanfic #nhl smut #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction #hockey smut #David pastrnak imagine #tom wilson imagine #travis konecny imagine #Pittsburgh Penguins fanfiction #Pittsburgh Penguins imagine #Pittsburgh Penguins imagines #Washington Capitals imagines #washington capitals imagine #Boston Bruins Imagine #Boston Bruins Imagines #Philadephia Flyers imagine #Philadephia Flyers imagines #Tampa Bay Lightning imagine #Tampa Bay Lightning imagines

[bqstqnbruin]

Three times he said it as a friend and once as something more

Hello, hello. I’m still working on the Nick Robertson request but wow I don’t want you to hate me for it because it is actual trash right now and I’m sorry. But I’m also working on B&W part 3, so there’s that!

This was requested from that fluffs prompt list, which I think I’m done with now because honestly, it’s so far deep at this point, and I’m so lazy.

I hope you like it!

46. Why should we date?

47. Because we’re attracted to each other

48. I’m attracted to pie, but I do not feel the need to date pie.

__________________________

one

“Next time I see you, I really do expect you to be a professional athlete,” you tell Charlie, the two of you laying on a blanket in his backyard, enjoying the last few hours of sunlight on his last night in town. The next morning, he would be leaving to go to BU to play hockey. It wasn’t even that far, but him not living at home, and you going to school in Vermont meant him no longer driving you to school each morning, you no longer going over with dinner your mom made when she knew he and his parents were running around because of his games, no more walking next door whenever you needed to talk to instead of calling him. The memories would last forever, but those moments were now just part of the past.

“Are you not gonna come see me play at BU at all? What about when we play UVM?” he says, turning his head to look you.

Turning to him, you roll your eyes, “Ok, fine. Then I expect you to be a professional athlete in the next three years.” 

“Whatever,” he says, laughing. 

You sit there in silence, taking in what is probably one of the last moments for a while that you two will be able to spend a lot of time together. 

“Remember how we became friends?” he asks, sitting up. 

You follow suit, laughing at the memory that he just triggered. You were neighbors since your family moved to Weymouth, but you weren’t automatically friends because of it. “Well, duh. We sat across from each other in Family Consumer Science. We, of course, always finished the work early because we’re great, and we played pencil hockey for like thirty minutes before Mrs. Grace yelled at us for distracting the other two at our table.”

“The fact that you ever finished your work fast in that class is still amazing. You get distracted by everything and can’t focus on anything.”

“Yeah, well,” you shrug it off. You sit there thinking of all the other good memories you had with him; sitting across from each other in US history and joking about all the mistakes you made while texting, the nights when you would walk around Boston Common once your parents trusted you out on your own, the last minute Bruins tickets he would get and force you to go along with him to the games.

“Did you ever think about what our lives would have been like if we dated?”

“What?” you ask, shocked. There was no way the two of you would ever date. He was destined to be a professional hockey player, traveling the US and Canada with whatever NHL team wanted him. You could never date someone that wasn’t going to be there when you needed them. And you couldn’t ask him to give up your dream for you. Yes, you were overthinking this, but best case scenario is that you had dated throughout high school and ended things tonight.

“Most people thought we were dating, anyway. What if we actually had?”

“Then we probably would have broken up tonight because long distance relationships from high school never work. Look at Andrea and Eric from last year, she went to Holy Cross and he only went to UConn and they could never make it work so they broke up. Or Josh and Maggie two years ago; he went to Ohio and ended up transferring to UMass so he could be with her and he loved Ohio State.”

“Too bad we never even gave it a chance.”

You look at him, shocked. “Did you want to?”

His only response was shrugging, a smile on his face as he lays back down on the blanket. You stay sitting up, thinking about what he just said. Did he want to date you all this time and never said anything until now? And why the hell would he do something like that anyway? You weren’t going to see him until at least Thanksgiving, which means that now you have to hyper fixate on this one memory until you see him again. 

“Hey,” he says, snapping you out of it.

“Yeah?”

  “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” 

two

Your phone lights up, causing you to tear your eyes away from the essay you had been writing that’s due in a few hours. Due to your great talent for procrastinating, you were, of course, finishing the paper at the last minute. The picture of you two in the Coyle’s front yard on your first day of school in six grade shows up on your screen, meaning Charlie was calling you. It had been forever since the two of you last talked; with you being in school and him trying to make it as a hockey player in Minnesota, your schedules never gave you a free moment to talk for more than a passing moment. 

“Hey, stranger,” you say, not hiding the smile on your face even though you were out in public. You hated showing any sort of emotion that would provoke someone to come up to you and start talking to you, but seeing Charlie’s name come up on your phone with something other than a text automatically made you smile. 

“Stranger? You know who I am.” You could tell by his voice that he was jokingly acting offended. 

“Yeah, you’re Zach Parise, right?” you tease.

You hear the laugh you miss so much on the other end, “How have you been?”

“Uh, stressed, lately, so nothing new.”

“Why?”

“Homework, papers, and exams.”

“Oh, my.” You both start laughing at the accidental joke he made, “Why so much stuff?”

“It’s midterms, babe.” 

“So I assume that you’re working right now?”

“Yep, it’s eight pm, the paper is due at midnight and I still have four more pages to write.”

` “I’m so glad that your work ethic hasn’t changed since high school.”

“Ok, rude! I have good work ethic, I just also have strong procrastination skills.”

“You probably have ADHD,” he says.

“Well, yes, but that’s a different story.”

“What’s your weekend look like? I want to catch up when you don’t have a lot of work to do.”

“Uh, I should be good.”

“Alright, get back to the paper.”

“I will. Love ya.”

“Love you, too.” 

three

“Oh, come on! We practically live together. You can’t deny that something is going on between us!” Charlie argues, pacing around the kitchen as you make dinner. This conversation between the two of you was becoming a weekly one, slowly getting on your nerves to the point where you would consider moving just to get away from it. 

“Because what happens if we break up? We’ve been friends since we were in middle school. Do you really want to throw all that away?” you say, turning to him, putting your hand on your hip. 

“I just think we should go out as more than friends just once.”

“And how would that be different than all the other times that we go out together?”

“Because then I could do things like hold your hand and flirt with you?”

“I’m like ninety percent sure you already flirt with me.” 

“Y/N.”

“Why should we date, Charlie?”

“Because we’re attracted to each other?”

“And I’m attracted to pie, but I do not feel the need to date pie,” you roll your eyes, turning your attention back to the stove. 

“You’re seriously equating me to pie right now? I have never seen you eat pie, therefore, that argument is invalid.”

“Since when do you say things like therefore, and invalid?” 

“Seriously, Y/N. You know I have wanted to date you since we were in middle school, but something always came up. You know I love you. You know I always have.”

You turn back to him, trying to make eye contact, but something in you just can’t. Your timing was never right. Once you were old enough to date, the two of you were never single at the same time. Actually, that isn’t true. You were both single for a brief period of time while he was playing with the Sea Dogs and you were still at UVM. This was the first time that both of you were single and in the same town. 

“Charlie, you know that I love you, too. But this can not happen. We can’t risk breaking up and ruining what we have.” 

He exhales, obviously disappointed. You were, too, but you couldn’t let that show. You wanted nothing more than to be with him, but you couldn’t let all those years of friendship go away if things didn’t work out between the two of you. “Fine.”

once

“Remember when you wouldn’t date me?” he asks over the sound of everyone around you.

“Remember when you were less annoying?” you roll your eyes. You look around to see so many other couples and families filling in the tables around you. Everyone looked so happy, just like you were. 

You and Charlie had been together now for a year, him finally wearing you down and convincing you to let him take you on a date. He promised you that even if you stopped dating, your friendship would never end because, at this point, you were in too deep anyway. He told you he had this whole evening planned for your anniversary, complete with a walk around the Boston Common like you used to do when you were kids, dinner at Terramia, your favorite restaurant, and for dessert, he was taking you to Mike’s Pastries for the cannoli you loved so much. 

“No, never,” he smirks, reaching out across the table to take your hand.

You had to admit, all the things he had said trying to convince you to date him were right; nothing was really that different between the two of you besides the intimacy that wasn’t there before. “You’re never letting me live that down, are you?”

“No.” 

You roll your eyes at him. You didn’t want to inflate the ego of the man who didn’t even know how to use the oven by telling him he was right that you two dating was fine. 

“Hey,” he says, like that last night before he went off to college.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

You smile, thinking back to all those times you told each other those three words, them meaning something completely platonic. “I love you, too.” 

#charlie coyle #charlie coyle imagines #boston bruins #boston bruins imagines #bruins #bruins imagines #hockey #hockey imagines #nhl #nhl imagines #i think it might be cheating since i used them all in a row i'm sorry oops

[secretlittlerandezvous]

Choosing A Godfather - David Pastrnak

Summary: David and the reader invite the boys over to meet their newborn baby. After awhile they need to announce who they picked as the godfather.

Words: 1489

“Here’s to the nights that turned into mornings with the friends that turned into family.”

It was like the whole world around me or rather around us suddenly stopped, the time slowed down and I completely lost track of what day of the week it was. Sometimes I didn’t even know if the sun was rising or setting. But it didn’t matter to me as I was still in awe of becoming a mom, having our son with us already and of finally being a family of three which was something we wished for many long months. I couldn’t believe how in love I was with our little boy and how my feelings for David became even stronger and how strong my love for the two boys I got to call mine was. I was unable to find words that would describe all the emotions I felt. Love, joy, happiness just as exhaustion, stress and a little bit of anxiety. It was a mix of emotions some of them I knew and some of them were new to me and only those with children could truly understand them. No matter how hard I tried to describe how overwhelming and endless my love for our son was I always felt like it wasn’t quite enough and that my friends without children couldn’t possibly understand it.

The moment we found out I was pregnant David turned into a sweeter man than he already was. He willingly helped with everything and did housework without any complaining which was definitely a surprising change and he protected me more than it was healthy but it sure paid off considering how clumsy I could be. He started cooking and kept asking me about my cravings although I very rarely experienced them, he held my hair when I was throwing up in the mornings and he cuddled with me every chance we got. He insisted on going to every doctor's appointment and he cried when we saw the ultrasound or when we heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. I’ve never seen him happier and more excited.

People around us shared the joy and excitement together with us. My family and his couldn’t wait for the newest addition to the family and they all started planning their visit once he’s here. My closest friends cried when I announced the news to them as they knew it was a long journey for me and David, they were excited to become aunties and started buying cute outfits and toys even before we knew the baby’s gender. I was grateful yet the superstitious part of me worried each time we received a new gift and I was scared of bad things happening. The boys threw a big party for us (well mostly for David and themselves) and the ones who had kids already welcomed David to the dad’s club. I dreamed of having a family of my own one day but only when I got pregnant, I realized I was already a part of a new family.

“Bergy called saying they’ll be here in fifteen minutes,” David whispered sticking his head in between the doors to check if our boy was sleeping or not. “We can still cancel it if you’re tired. You didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“No, we’re not canceling anything. I’m alright,” I gave David a reassuring smile and took our boy out of his crib. “The boys couldn’t wait to meet him from the moment we told them. I’m not ruining the joy for them.” I chuckled.

“Not for all of them though. Don’t forget that Marchy and Torey showed up in the hospital anyway,” David laughed at the memory. Brad and Torey visited us in the hospital on the second day of being there and they couldn’t keep their eyes off of the newborn and they kept arguing about who was going to be the godfather.

Once Brad, Torey, Patrice, Jake, Coyle, and Zdeno arrived the whole house was filled with laughter and unconditional love and happiness and I felt a little sad we decided to welcome the boys in smaller groups because I suddenly missed the presence of the rest of the boys and of course Tuukka’s presence although he hardly ever hang out with us. We had good food and drinks and we exchanged different stories from finding out about the pregnancy to labor to how fast they grow.

“I gotta say I was worried that poor kid will look like David, but he looks just like you Y/n,” Marchy laughed.

“He really does,” Zdeno agreed. “Little man is lucky to have you two as parents. His dad is an absolute legend already and his mom is a gem. I’m happy for you guys.” Zdeno’s words warmed my heart and I could tell from David’s face he appreciated the words from not only his captain but also a close friend more than he would admit.

“Let’s pray he won’t be as annoying and immature then,” I joked. I always teased David about being an overgrown child and that he was immature but in the last nine months he turned into a different and more responsible man.

“Torey, I don’t want to be that person again but I have to remind you that you have a baby at home as well so you could share this one with the rest of us,” Charlie complained and carefully took the little boy into his arms, sat down to get some extra support and he started smiling and tickling him on his little stomach.

I went to sit in David’s lap, wrapped my hands around his neck and kissed his cheek to express my happiness and gratefulness without having to say a word. We looked at each other for a moment and then we glanced over at the guys who gathered around our son and made all sorts of faces at him and sang different songs.

“So, have you finally decided who’s gonna be his grandfather?” Torey asked and all of them raised their eyebrows at us. The boys started arguing and begging us to make them his grandfather shortly after we broke the news to them and me and David never had the heart to announce the decision. We knew all of them would do their absolute best and we never doubted about any of them for a single second, yet we ended up choosing one and we postponed the announcement for as long as it was possible.

“Boys, we love you all, we truly do and we know you all would be excellent grandfathers and if we could we would choose all of you without thinking twice about it,” I started the speech I prepared in my head dozens of times knowing it would be handy sooner or later.

“Oh, stop it Y/n, we all know you guys picked me and Katrina,” Marchy said confidently but the boys disagreed and immediately laughed at him.

“You seriously think they would choose you Marchy? They, of course, chose me,” Charlie joined the conversation.

“You? You don’t even have kids why would they pick you?” Torey questioned.

“That’s exactly why they should pick me. So, I can gain some experience.” Charlie answered.

“Meanwhile these idiots argue I just wanna tell you guys that I’ll be happy with being just a funny and protective uncle,” Jake came to sit next to us and smiled and we all laughed together at the group of grown-ups arguing like little kids.

“Maybe we should’ve picked Jake after all,” David laughed. “Anyway, before we tell you I would like to say thank you to my love Y/n for giving me the best gift someone could ever give me. Y/n, honey, I adore you for everything you do, and I love you.”

“I love you too,” I smiled and sent him a kiss before he continued.

“I also wanted to say thanks to all of you guys. We’re really grateful to have such an amazing family and we’re happy that our boy will have so many great uncles. I hope you won’t be mad at us for choosing Bergy as the godfather.” David said the last sentence so quietly that even I had a hard time understanding him although I sat right next to him. The boys seemed to understand perfectly. They all clapped their hands, hugged Patrice and with genuine smiles congratulated him.

“I don’t know what else to say except that I love you all and thank you. I’ll do my best to be a responsible godfather to this beautiful boy.” Patrice took his godson into his arms, kissed his forehead and then went to hug as and shortly after it we took some pictures together.

We spent the rest of the day the same way it started. We spent it by laughing, smiling and enjoying every moment of each other’s presence and soaked up the love and happiness.

#david pastrnak #david pastrnak imagines #david pastrnak writing #david pastrnak one shot #david pastrnak imagine #boston bruins #boston bruins imagines #boston bruins writing #boston bruins one shots #boston bruins imagine #nhl players imagines #nhl imagine #nhl writing #nhl one shot #hockey imagines #hockey writing #hockey one shot #hockey imagine #🐻💛

[e7y1]

The four in the Core

Long gone days au fic where Rourke, Adair, Lynn, and Ivan all started in the Core. Spoilers for Long Gone Days

The Core has been here for many years raising many soldiers.

They are always loyal to their 'father.'

Always loyal to their 'family.'

Nothing can shake that loyalty.

Right?

The soldiers always start with stars in their eyes, ready to serve the cause.

Ready to die for the 'world's peace.'

Or at least that's what they think.

Adair has been on many missions with Raven squad, his first being a relief mission which he won't admit gave him great pride.

Rourke hasn't even been on one but he is now ready to join on a mission with the Raven squad since Coyle broke his arm.

....

"I can't believe you get to go with the Raven squad on this. It seems almost too good to be true."

Lynn, Ivan, Rourke, and Adair were eating together in the cafeteria. In just a mere few hours they would have to call it a night so Adair and Rourke could rest up for their mission.

"I know right? It's great. Not that Coyle broke his arm I mean. I just hope I can make even Sgt. Branna proud."

Ivan shook his head. "We know how she can be. That's going to probably be impossible."

Rourke shrugged. "You never know."

....

Rourke and Adair never return from their mission.

....

Lynn and Ivan ended up getting questioned because of Rourke and Adair's defection. The thing that the both of them could agree on is the fact that they have no idea how or why this happened.

Either way, they need another medic on the field and the next person on the list is Ivan.

Sure he might not be jumping for joy on this but he is ready to help however he can.

Ivan with some other troops show up at this one town very close to where Rourke and Adair defected from, just up the river actually.

It was small and quaint; already looking more like a ghost town save for the troops going about their business. Sgt. Gareth could be heard nearby giving orders while Ivan finished setting up his medical building.

Just when he stepped outside he heard something fall in the nearby woods.

Ivan hated getting himself into trouble, especially if it lead to violence but something about this peaked his curiosity.

He just couldn't keep away.

Ivan crept closer to the trees, not letting out a single sound save for the footsteps on fallen leaves before freezing at what he saw.

It was a dirty young girl, no more than 10 years old, curled up on the ground in absolute fear.

Ivan glanced back a moment before kneeling beside her, already set on getting to work. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here to help."

The girl looked up at Ivan with wide eyes brimmed in tears. When she saw him, her breathing hitched and she did her best to crawl away but quickly collapsed in pain from the shot in her side.

His heart wrenched at the sight. Ivan raised his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I, I'm not going to hurt you..."

She fearfully watched Ivan before nodding.

Ivan grabbed the antiseptic and-

....

Lynn was devastated at hearing that Ivan had defected.

She had absolutely no clue as to how this would have happened but it did and just... she's confused.

Either way the Core needs their best bomb expert for a mission in Kaliningrad.

....

Ivan ran.

He didn't know where he was going.

He didn't know how far he would go.

Not that he cared.

He just wanted to get away.

He just wanted to get as far as he could as fast as he could because darn it this isn't right!

Ivan stopped at a river and collapsed by it.

"H-how, could they kill her... she was, she was innocent..."

Ivan sat there staring into the river not noticing his surroundings.

Or the fact that someone was staring at him.

"...Ivan?"

Ivan stumbled up, practically tripping over himself, and turned to the figure behind him.

Or should I say figures.

There stood Rourke and Adair in different attire looking at Ivan with concern.

"We, have a lot to talk about."

....

Lynn ran behind many buildings making sure everything was set up before ducking behind a safe barricade.

With one last scan she pushed a button and everything went up in flames.

She never realized how intense this would be in person instead of in some training simulator or how much she would feel her adrenaline rush but this is what she was trained to do and so this is what she will do.

Once the dust settled enough for her to see, she ran to her next position.

Past all of the fire and the sounds of her friends yelling-

Hold up.

Lynn stopped and turned to see Rourke, Adair, and Ivan facing off again Sgt. Gareth and some men.

She narrowed her eyes at them. *How could they really betray us! We're family and they turned their backs on us! On me!*

Lynn looked between her friends and Sgt. Gareth figuring he's got this covered before running back to her job.

She sets up the next charges, just as usual.

She ducks behind cover.

She goes to push the button.

She stops.

In the window she sees kids running out with their assumed mother.

She drops the remote. "I, can't..."

"What do you mean?"

Lynn turned and pointed her gun up at Sgt. Branna. "Oh, Sgt. it's you."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"There is kids inside, sir. We aren't here to kill kids we-"

"No loose ends right? We have to kill them."

"But sir-"

"You say you are loyal. Well, are you?"

"Of course I am..."

"Then press the button."

Lynn stared up at Branna before looking to the button. She hovered her thumb over the button before squeezing her eyes shut and-

not pressing it.

"What are you waiting for? Just press it!"

"No."

"What?"

"I said, no. I am not pressing it. I can't press it. We are supposed to be bringing peace but killing a bunch of kids isn't going to bring that. It's only going to start a war!"

Sgt. Branna let out a long sigh and held out a hand. "Give me the button."

"Why would I ever do that?!"

"Because I am your superior and if you ever want a chance at Father Eugene ever being pleased with you again you need to give the button now or set it off yourself."

Lynn stared up at Branna before gritting her teeth with narrowed eyes and running.

Branna spoke into an ear piece before glaring at Lynn and shooting at her.

Lynn kept running, never once looking back.

She understood now.

Understood why the others would defect.

She also understood that she should duck into an alleyway or something right about now.

Lynn turned the corner just in time to see people fleeing to some sort of ferry and upon looking around, spotted her friends filing in.

Lynn only had to think for a second before chucking the button into the water and running onto the ferry after her friends.

None of them looked back.

#long gone days #fic #My writing #writing #au #Rourke #adair #lynn #ivan #vanya #branna #Sgt. Branna #Comfhurt #LGD #Writing sprint #75 minutes for 1102 words actually

[thesupersecretbookstore]

This Week’s Expert Picks

Brought on by the burden of the pandemic, the central theme of Resilience is ever present in this anthology, but it is also a main theme of Local Gems Press and its founder James P. Wagner, who is constantly and (most importantly) consistently doing so much to promote the wonderful world of poetics from Long Island to...any land you can think of. This book is filled with outstanding poems from outstanding poets, hand-picked for their Resilience. Wagner (aka Ishwa) and Local Gems release a few solid anthologies a year, but behind the scenes they never stop moving and promoting poetry. From prompts to now virtual parties and readings, their catalog and hearts continue to grow and stay Resilient. If you want great poetry, you won't find it at the big bookstore near the mall. Nope. You'll have to dig and keep digging, and stay...Resilient. RB

This is the story of Beauregard Montage aka “Bug” a hard-working mechanic, husband, and dad. Though his present is peaceful, his past he was known as the best driver and wheelman on the East Coast. But, the past comes back to haunt him, bills are mounting up, and his back is on the wall he decides to accept a job from a former associate for a jewelry store heist. With his past weighing on him which includes his father running out on him and his mother, Bug has to navigate his past and present lives as they collide doing 90mph.

I really enjoyed this book. A man trying to provide for his family, driven to his limits because of circumstances, race, poverty, etc. Cosby balances character development and action extremely well, continually raising the stakes in the novel till an epic showdown at the end. His writing is visceral, reminds me of The Friends of Eddie Coyle a bit, that hard punch to the gut and continue on. Bug balancing his family life and criminal life is such an intense arc in the book and I love how the book ends.

Check this book out, if you love crime/noir/southern novels this is fantastic. Feels like the movie Drive with even more action and heartfelt personal battles. If they don’t make this into a movie in a few years I would be shocked, a great story of redemption. I need to see that 1971 Plymouth Duster on screen, screaming tires and all. Definitely check out the book, and I cannot wait to see what S.A. Cosby writes next. CJH

Women, Race and Class by Angela Davis is everything you hope it will be. Davis tells a history, painstakingly researched, from the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade until 1981 (the year of publication) and dissects every major moment in the battles for women's liberation, Black liberation, and working class liberation. She tells arguments and rhetoric from the day and refutes them. She gives anecdotes including good and bad qualities of the people involved in both sides of the struggle and, while taking your hand and leading you into today's struggle, she's rubbing your back and cheering you on.

This is one of the most informational and inspirational books I have ever read. Angela Davis is everything you've heard about her. This book should be a new bible for all marginalized and disenfranchised people and anyone who wants to live in solidarity with them. With us. SE

[pastrnaks-sainz]

Triumphant Return

Pairing: David Pastrnak x female!reader 

Type: Fluff 

Warnings: let’s pretend Covid isn’t a thing and there were actually fans at the Washington game on the 1st 

Word Count: 1359

Summary: After the first game against the Capitals David hit his stride. And with his team down 3-0 again, the game rests on his stick. In true Pastrnak fashion he sets the wheels in motion for a return like no other so far. 

A/N: I’m a Bruins fan, this game was too good not to incorporate somehow 

~~~~ 

The feeling in the box was dismal. Cam Neely had his head in his hands as the replay of Carlson’s goal played on the jumbo iron. Stephanie sighed from her seat next to you. You just shook your head and kept your eyes trained on the Bruins bench. 

David, Patrice, and Brad were leaning against the wall talking as they waited for play to resume. You watched as David nodded at something Brad said as the ref blew the whistle for the face off. 

Fans in the stadium were louder than they had been on Saturday. You watched as David lined up beside Bergy. He won the face off, getting the puck to David. He took a shot. The puck bounced off of Vanecek’s blocker. Brad circled behind the net and scooped up the puck. You leaned forward in your seat as you watched Brad get the puck to David. Your heart jumped into your throat as David took another shot. This one hit home, striking the back of the net. 

Stephanie grabbed your arm in excitement. You laughed and smiled as you watched your boyfriend hug his teammates. They weren’t as excited as you and Stephanie, but it was something and they had to admit that. 

The rest of the second period went by scoreless. Trent Frederic kept getting under Wilson’s skin, something that forced you to make a comment to Stephanie. 

“If Freddie keeps pissing Wilson off he’s gonna get his head punched in,” you said during intermission, taking a sip of your beer. 

“Well his first fight is gonna come one way or another,” Stephanie responded. “It’ll be a reality check if it comes against Wilson.” 

“You aren’t wrong about that.” 

Just seven minutes had passed from the start of the third period when lightning struck twice. You didn’t even see Pasta until he was shooting from in front of the net. He didn’t second guess himself before letting the shot loose. It once again found its way from his stick to the back of the net. 

You knew you weren't going to have a voice the next morning when you let out an excited yell. The game was within reach. Crazier wins had happened, scoring a goal in twelve minutes was fully possible. 

You couldn’t keep still, bouncing your leg as you leaned forward in your seat and watched as Freddie lined up. The second the puck hit the ground Wilson launched at Freddie. Fans screamed louder than they had before as the two players threw punches. 

The fight only lasted a few seconds before Wilson had Freddie on the ice, but Freddie held his own. It was impressive for a guy in his first year. Hell, it was impressive for any player to get a few good licks in against Wilson. 

The atmosphere in the box shifted as the nine minute mark approached. Neely was exchanging words with Don Sweeney. You felt yourself relax as the Coyle line skated out. 

The puck bounced against the board after McAvoy sent it away from the net. Lauzon skated from his position across the ice and picked it up. He glanced up as he approached the corner and passed the puck to Smith. Smitty snapped it into the net behind Vanecek’s back. Stephanie grabbed your arm again as you jumped up from your seats. 

They had done it again. They had dug themselves from 3-0 again. 

Your nerves had only started to get the better of you when, with two and a half minutes remaining, Kuraly circled behind the net and got the puck to Carlo. He didn’t hesitate before shooting and finding the back of the net. 

For the rest of the game the Capitals were on the offensive, desperately trying to tie it up. You smiled as Vanecek skated away from his goal over to the bench. It was a recipe for Marchy to put the final nail in the Caps’ coffin. 

Sure enough, with just over a minute remaining, Krecji passed the puck to Marchy who waltzed right up to the empty net and put Boston up 5-3. 

Parties after wins were always fun. Parties after comeback wins were on a whole different level. 

You laughed wholeheartedly as you watched David and Freddie danced to the music playing from the speakers. David caught your eye from across the room and motioned for you to join him. You shook your head with a smile, perfectly happy staying where you were on your barstool. He made a face before saying something to Freddie and walking over to you. 

“What are you doing all alone over here?” he asked, sitting down next to you. 

“Watching my boyfriend act like a complete idiot with his friends,” you responded, looking at him over the rim of your glass as you took a sip of your drink. 

“Well I think I’m entitled to have a good time tonight,” he retorted. 

“Really? What makes you say that?” 

“I did score two goals,” he smirked. You smiled and leaned over, pecking his lips. He tasted like the tequila he’d been sipping on all night. 

“The rest of the league better look out,” you teased, your hand still resting on the back of his neck. “Pasta’s back in town.” 

“I can’t wait to get back to the home crowd,” he said, playing with the back of your dress. 

“They’re gonna love you,” you nodded. “More so than they already do.”

“But you love me more,” he said. 

“Don’t blow my cover,” you teased, poking him in the ribs. He just laughed and kissed your forehead. 

He put his arm around your shoulders and you rested your head against him. Marchy sidled up beside you, ready with a snarky comment. 

“You two are far too sober to be enjoying this,” he lamented as he leaned against the bar, sandwiching David between you. 

“Yeah you’re gonna have fun at practice tomorrow morning,” you retorted, looking over him. David snorted and kissed the top of your head, his fingers slipping into your hair. 

Katrina came over and retrieved her husband, pulling him out of the ballroom. 

“Bedtime doesn’t sound too bad right about now,” you yawned, resting your head on David’s shoulder. 

“I’ve gotta say I agree,” Pasta nodded. “Come on, let’s go to bed.” 

You were able to slip out to the elevators without attracting the attention of the team, something you were deeply grateful for because you knew if he’d been pulled aside by one of his teammates he wouldn’t be able to deny staying at the party. 

You fell into bed before David had even closed the door behind him. He laughed when he walked into the bedroom to see you holding a pillow to your chest. 

“Baby,” he sat down beside you, placing a hand on your thigh. “It won’t be comfortable sleeping in these jeans. You should change.” 

You just hummed. David smiled to himself and rolled you onto your back. You hummed again in acknowledgement as his fingers popped the button of your jeans. David leaned down and kissed the small strip of skin that your shirt exposed. You smiled softly at the feeling of his lips as he gently pulled your jeans down your legs. He stood up, folding them as he went, and walked into the bathroom. 

You almost fell asleep as your boyfriend readied himself for bed. 

“Y/N, baby,” he whispered as he laid down next to you. You tossed the pillow you’d been holding aside and latched yourself onto him. He smiled down at you as he watched you cling to his arm and nuzzle your head into his chest. He rubbed your back as he rested his head against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. 

He let his mind wander. It wandered off to the night he first met you. Then it bounced over to the night he asked to move in with him. That had been an amazing night. The first time you’d curled up in his bed, your bed, and fell asleep had been the best feeling ever. He was totally in love then, and he’s totally in love now. 

#david pastrnak #x reader #david pastrnak x reader #nhl x reader #fluff #david pastrnak fluff #nhl fluff #hockey fluff #one shot #david pastrnak one shot #nhl one shot #hockey oneshot #fanfiction #david pastrnak fanfiction #nhl fanfiction #hockey fanfiction #hockey imagine #boston bruins x reader

[hockeygods14]

Charlie Coyle - So That’s It, It’s Over?

Masterlist

Word count: 1,145

Charlie and I both knew things between us haven’t been great. I know I have been afraid to say anything about. Charlie is my best friend the man I love. We barely see each other anymore I have been working crazy hours at the office and Charlie’s schedule is just as crazy they are so close to playoffs so he’s working harder than ever. 

I can’t remember the last time Charlie and I sat down together and ate a meal together just the two of us. I walked into our shared apartment with takeout food in my hand ready to eat and go to bed. I look at the couch and see Charlie laying there watching TV. He doesn’t look up and I just sigh and set my food on the table. 

“Charlie?” Hoping he could look at me.

“Yeah?” He didn’t even turn my way. He kept his eyes on the TV.

“We can’t be doing this.” I sat down at the dining room table looking Charlie’s way. “Today is the first day we have seen each other in almost two weeks and you haven’t even looked at me once.” Charlie turned the TV off but still didn’t look at me.  “I think its time to face it.”

“No, I don’t want that.” He finally got off the couch and looked at me. “Babe I love you”

“And I love you Charlie, but we have barely seen each. The only time we see each other I feel like is when we go to bed at night.” 

“So you're just deciding this.”

“What we are doing isn’t a relationship. This is the longest we have talked in a while.”

“So that’s it over?” I felt tears in my eyes when he said that. 

All I could do was nod my head and walk down the hall to our bedroom. I can’t stay here tonight and sleep in the same bed as him. I feel like I would do something stupid. I started putting clothes in a bag not all of them but some to make it through a couple days. I saw Charlie in the doorway in the corner of my eye. I didn’t look at him or say anything to him. 

“I come home knowing you're going to be here. You may be in bed already asleep but I know you're here and safe. When I’m on the road I know you're safe here. Please don’t go.” I don’t have to see him know he was trying not to cry. 

“This isn’t a healthy relationship Charlie.” I zipped up my bag and looked at him and the tears weren’t only coming down my face they were coming down Charlie’s too.  “I’m going to go to a hotel tonight.”

@@@@

I sat with my brother and dad watching the Bruins vs Panthers game. 

Before I started dating Charlie my family would watch hockey here and there but after they met him they watch the Wild all the time when Charlie got traded they started to watch the Bruins. Now after we broke up three months ago they still watch every game and cheer them on. 

I haven’t watched a game or seen Charlie since I packed a small bagged and left. I was over at my parent's house for a family dinner. Mom said no hockey but dad said he had to because if Boston wins they clinch a playoff spot. 

As the clock ticked down and the Bruins won the game seven to three I got up and walked outside. I felt a couple tears come down my face.

I missed Charlie more than anything. I just want to call him and tell him how proud I am of him and that all his hard work has made off and now he could fight for the Stanley Cup. 

@@@@

The first round of playoffs had me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t tell anyone that I bought tickets to every home game Boston had. I couldn’t help myself. I was proud of Charlie and even though he didn’t know I wanted to be there for him. 

Game seven was home and I barely got a ticket to the game. At the end of the second period, the game was two to one Boston had the lead. The third started and Sean Kuraly got a goal early in the period the time was running out Boston still had the lead and Charlie got a goal and I could help but jump up and scream with the rest of the fans. 

In my head, I was thinking that is my man but really he isn’t anymore. 

@@@@

Boston won the series against Columbus in six games. Just like the round one I was at every home. 

I went to the first two games against Carolina but I had a feeling about the next two games so I got a plane ticket and went to Carolina. I am started to feel like a crazy ex-girlfriend. But I cut myself off from everyone I met on the team even if they text or call I don’t answer. 

I was walking around looking for something to eat. The game isn’t till tomorrow. I head my phone start to ring I g to look for it in my purse and I bump into someone. I look up and see Charlie standing there and looking me in shock.

“Y/N? What are you doing here?” I didn’t know what to say. Should I tell him that I’m here to watch the game to make up a lie and hope he doesn’t see through it.  

“I have a good feeling about these games and watched to see you move on the go to the final.” I couldn’t lie to him I have never been able to and I don’t want to start now. I still love him. 

“You're here to watch the game?” I could see the shock in his face. 

“I have actually been to every home game of the playoffs.” I looked down at my feet. “I know I probably should have but I couldn’t help myself I just wanted to be there for you even though you didn’t know I was there.”

“I knew you were at a couple of the games. Someone sent me a picture of you there in one of my jerseys.” I looked at him and he was looking right at me. “Y/N I love you and these past few months have been hell. We can figure something out we will try something different. I want to win the Stanley Cup and have you by my side.”

“Well, we have a lot to talk about to make these better.” I smile up at the man I love.

“How about we start dinner?” I held out his hand and I gladly took it. 

#Charlie Coyle #boston bruins #nhl #nhl imagines #nhl fanfiction #hockey #hockey imagines #Hockey Fanfiction

[two-us-two-ks]

Overall, this was an amazing year for the Bruins. Think about all the milestones they achieved. How many other teams did the same? I can’t think of any. Plus all the other things that happened. The China trip. The Winter Classic. Middleton’s jersey number freezing. Willie O’Ree (yes, for me he will always be a Bruin) being added to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Among other things.

Despite all the trades both before the season started and at the beginning of 2019, I feel like this has been one of the strongest lineups we’ve had. Think about all the guys we took in and claimed as our own: Halak, Wagner, Nordström, Moore, Johansson, Smith, Coyle. And one more, but he doesn’t exist in my timeline.

Our vets stepped up big time this season. Marchy reached 100 points. Tuukka became the most winningest goalie in the team history. Krejci had his 600th point, and then some. Bergy reached over 1000 games as a Bruin and reached his 800th goal. Chara reached his 200th career goal.

Our young guns killed it as well. All of them. They were fantastic and did so many great things I couldn’t even keep up!

And our coach? Cassidy reached his 100th win as the head coach of the Bruins during this season. While there were minor hiccups every now and then, he was on fire this year.

Rask and Halak were definitely one of the most iconic goalie tandems this year. Without their skill we would have never gotten to the playoffs. They picked each other up when needed but could also stand tall by themselves. They had nine shutouts between them during the regular season.

This team calls themselves a family for a reason. They’re there for each other, no matter what. They’re there to help each other out and have each other’s backs whenever someone needs it. Everyone is loved. Everyone is equal. This is a team every other team should aspire to be. No matter the age, experience, nationality, no one is above anyone else. They have veteran guys and big names, but they’re humble and patient and eager to help the younger guys to reach their potential. They have young players with a lot of energy and aspiration, but they’re ready to listen to their elders, they want to become the best versions of themselves.

They fought their asses off to win the Stanley Cup. Every single one of them. But the sad truth is that sometimes your best just isn’t enough, no matter how much you want it to be. This wasn’t any single player’s fault. This wasn’t the management’s fault. It’s just a fact of life, and we all need to live with it from now on.

Despite not winning, I honestly think this was a beautiful season. After everything the team has done and experienced, after everything this fandom has gone through, I can honestly say that I’m content. Not happy. But content. I can leave this season behind, take a deep breath and look towards the next one knowing this team continues to amaze me and make me happy.

Thank you for all of my followers, Bruins fans or not, for taking this journey with me! I won’t be going anywhere, but I know a lot of you are. I will be here when you come back. I love you guys <3

#personal #Boston Bruins