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jonesyjonesyjonesy · 1 year

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Wildflowers (pt. ixx)

a john paul jones x fem!oc fic

summary: Julia Morgan knew nannying for three girls who had recently lost their mother would come with many challenges. But she never thought their father, the enigmatic musician John Paul Jones, would be causing her the most trouble. And while Julia is not in the business of saving broken men, her tenderness might be meant for more than little girls and wildflowers.

table of contents │ previous chapter

masterlist│ko-fi

notes: nsfw, exhibitionism

a/n: well, i know it's been a while, but life just kind of goes goes goes when you're not looking, doesn't it? thanks for your patience. if you feel inclined to leave a comment or a word or two, it would be much appreciated. love you all.

pt. ixx, ground ivy

"You're mine, you're mine, you're mine."

“We have to stop meeting like this.”

“You love it. Now put this on.”

I eyed the white dress hanging on the end of Pat’s finger. “I’m not sure it’ll fit.”

“Oh, criminy. Don’t act like you’re dragging a trolley around.”

I blushed, spinning my arse toward the mirror and running a hand over my dress to show off the curve. “It’s deceptively large, Pat.”

“Julia, I’ve had two children,” Pat scoffed.

“And it doesn’t show.”

She huffed. “Put the bloody dress on, would you?”

I snatched the dress out of her hand and went behind the dressing screen in the corner of the guest room.

“I’m surprised you don’t have a tennis dress, love,” she piped.

“Why’s that?” I asked, voice muffled through the fabric of the dress as I pulled it over my head.

“Oh, you just give off that sort of tennis playing girl feeling. Don’t you think?”

I was not about to admit that I played quite a bit in school. I’d given up the sport altogether while I was with Nick. I hated being stuck with the girlfriends and wives of his barrister friends who were mostly vapid (and that, I thought, was a rather generous assessment). “I feel like that’s not a compliment.”

“No! Of course it is. You’re very elegant. Posh, even.”

I groaned. “Don’t say that.”

“I’m only telling you what’s true.”

I straightened out the dress before coming out from behind the screen.

“Oh, Julia, you look darling.”

I turned to look in the mirror. It did fit rather nicely, showing off my assets, but also the pudge of my arms I didn’t particularly like. I pulled at the fabric to lay flatter on my stomach. “Posh is how I’d describe my mother.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

I laughed. “It is.” My mother was the textbook definition of the word, made even worse by the fact we were not wealthy by any means, but right on the cusp of upper middle class, which made her feel entitled to pretension. “Well, I guess it’ll do.”

“Yes, more than do.” Pat came up behind me and fluffed out the skirt. “You should keep it. Looks better on you than me.”

“You know, if John had given me some forewarning this would be happening, I’d –”

“Don’t be too upset with him. The planning was very last minute, what with the children and John – my John – he always bristles against leaving for too long, the blessed thing. And plus there was the whole issue of Miranda and –”

My ears perked up. I hadn’t heard that name in quite some time. “Miranda?”

Pat’s eyes widened innocently. “Oh yes, I had planned on inviting her. An extended date for John. Thought I’d try again with her since things didn’t seem to…work out between you.”

I blinked. “Why didn’t you then?”

Pat smiled. “Well, John told me he wasn’t interested.”

“Oh.”

“Said he was preoccupied in…other ways,” Pat said with a waggle of her eyebrows.

Immediately, I was struck with ire. Didn’t John know the old adage ‘loose lips sink ships’? “He told you?! Are you serious?”

“No, he didn’t. But you just did.”

I gaped and tried to recover, but all that came out of my mouth was stuttering nothingness.

“To be fair, John isn’t the best at keeping a secret when he’s had champagne. I had to suspect when we were at Jimmy’s and I asked after you and instead of answering he just giggled.”

I balled my hands into fists.

“Julia,” Pat said in a girlish drawl, leaning her arm on my shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I wanted to tell her the honest truth: that it felt too complicated to tell. If I had thought Montreux was hard to explain, the past month would have been even more difficult.

Though I desperately clung onto the days leading up to John’s departure, my fingernails left no marks in the passage of time. Between managing the girls and balancing my emotions whilst also providing my usual ministry toward John (physically, emotionally, desperately), time was not on my side and before I knew it, it was the first day of school.

It helped that everyone was in good spirits. I could smile along, laugh, and enjoy life the way we had been in those twilight days of summer.

When I was alone with Annie, though, I was able to divulge my fears and secrets. She had either gotten over her resentment or pitied me enough to lend me an ear. Either way, I was grateful for it. I needed somewhere to pour out my feelings. I couldn’t taint John’s excitement and delight at the idea of “getting back at it”, as he put it.

It still didn’t make much sense to me after all the time he’d spent avoiding being goaded into returning to the madness of Zeppelin. But I had no place to question it.

I was just the lover.

Although…it was not lost on John that our time together was waning. He was exceptionally attentive when he could be. The moment we returned home from dropping the girls off for their first day of the school year, he shepherded me into the studio to sate his growing desire.

“Tomorrow…” he muttered. A cigarette hung from his mouth as he lazily buttoned up his shirt.

“Tomorrow, what?” I asked, moving at a much more sluggish pace, having to recover from being ruthlessly shagged.

John tugged his belt closed. “Bonzo and Pat are going to be popping by.”

I widened my eyes. “Popping by?”

“Relax, Julia.” He handed me his cigarette as he headed over to the piano. He was moving awfully fast these days. “Pat’s been nagging me for a visit and since we’ll be heading out on Wednesday, it just made sense for them to come down a day early. Then we can take off together.”

I took a drag of the cigarette, picking up my underwear from the floor. John began to play a tune as if I wasn’t even in the room. “They’ll be spending the night?”

His eyes flicked up to me and he smiled. “Yes. You’ll have to be on your best behavior.”

I suddenly felt exposed with my sleeve hanging off my shoulder. I readjusted it and rested my elbows on my knees. “I haven’t spoken to Pat since we were in Montreux.”

“She won’t hold it against you. You’ve been preoccupied.”

I giggled. “I suppose so.”

John’s playing paused. He jerked his head toward the bench. “Come sit.”

I ashed the cigarette and went to the piano, sitting tentatively on the bench next to him. The studio was cleaner than it had been, mostly because I’d forced him to tidy up. No clothing on chairs or errant stacks of records.

John went back to playing, something quieter. “You’re off, Julia.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“You think I haven’t noticed.”

I couldn’t respond because it was true. Perhaps I had misjudged him.

“Are you scared?”

I chewed on my lower lip and nodded, unwilling to answer him verbally.

“Because I’m leaving?”

A child. I felt like a child as he tried to coax out an answer from me. “I’ll be fine,” I said with a deep breath, forcing a smile.

John stopped playing again. He didn’t look up from the keys.

I had considered that I should ask. But I was always too afraid to utter those words. If I asked where we were going, I was worried John wouldn’t know or, worse, decide “nowhere” was the answer. “I don’t want you to worry,” I said, softly touching his wrist. “I know it will be hard for you to be away from the girls.”

This wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t my truth.

“Yes, but I know the feeling. I’m not looking forward to it, but I remember it somewhat,” John replied. He turned his hand over and interlaced his fingers with mine. “Besides, I know they’re in good hands.”

My heart sang. I would take every win I could, even if it wasn’t the thing I needed. It was better than nothing. “I’ll take good care of them.”

John started to trace his fingers along the back of my hand. “Is that what you need to hear? That I am confident you’ll take good care of them?”

I needed to hear so much more than that. But I could not bring myself to ask. “That’d be nice.”

He smiled. “I am confident that you’ll take good care of my girls.” Then, he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. “I trust you completely.”

I leaned my head onto his shoulder. “How far we’ve come.”

“Very far. And you better get out of here before either of us ‘comes’ any farther,” he said, pushing me away playfully, hand against my sternum.

I laughed and tumbled off the bench to my feet. We both had work to do. John started playing again as I headed for the door but spoke before I could slip out. “You don’t happen to have a tennis skirt, do you?”

I turned around with a bewildered look. “Pardon me?”

“A tennis skirt. For tomorrow.”

“What do you mean a tennis skirt for tomorrow?”

“We’ll be playing tennis tomorrow per Pat’s request. Naturally, you’ll need a tennis skirt.”

This man left me more and more speechless by the minute.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” John stopped playing and notated something on the sheet music in front of him. “It’s no matter. I’ll tell Pat to bring something for you.”

“Right. Tennis.”

“Don’t get in your head, Julia,” John teased with a smirk.

“Not in my head at all.” Very much in my head, thank you for noticing. I opened the door and said wryly, “In fact, if you’d refer to me as Billie Jean King for the rest of the day, I’d much appreciate it.”

John laughed, “Alright, Billie Jean. If Battle of the Sexes is what you want, it’s what you’ll get.”

Now, here I was in Pat’s white tennis dress, having shown my whole hand to her because I didn’t see through her trickery. “I don’t know. It’s very tender.”

“So, didn’t anything happen at Montreux?”

I rolled my eyes. “Pat –”

“If you don’t answer the question, I’m just going to assume, you know.”

I smiled at the memory of that first kiss.

Pat batted me on the arm. “You little tart! You know how badly I’ve felt all this time thinking I’ve made things awkward, and it turns out you were just being secretive?”

“I’m sorry,” I said through laughter. “I’m sorry, you know, it’s just so…tender.”

“Tender sounds perfect.”

“Yes, but that’s not how I mean. I mean that it’s tenuous.” Tender and tenuous.

Pat narrowed her eyes. “You don’t know where you stand, then.”

“God, you’re good.”

She shrugs. “Just been around the block. You know I’m awfully old.”

I didn’t know how old she was but “awfully” was not how I’d describe it.

“Anyway.” She gave me her arm to take and guided me out of the guest room. “We’ll figure out where you stand today. Mark my words.”

“Don’t do anything stupid or obvious, Pat. We’ve never been around other people. I’m sure we’re going to pretend like nothing has been happening at all.”

Pat snickered. “Please, it doesn’t take a genius to spot two people who want to tear each other’s clothes off pretending they don’t want to tear each other’s clothes off.” Then, she tossed her blonde hair back and sniffed. “Besides. I’m not obvious.”

“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.

The two of us tittered and made our way out to the terrace where the Johns were waiting in similarly matching white tennis sets.

“Aren’t you two adorable?” Pat exclaimed and bounced over to Bonzo, leaping into his lap and spreading her hand across his broad chest. “Just suits you, I think.”

“Don’t lie. I look like a meringue,” Bonzo grumbled.

She patted her hand on his stomach. “Don’t be silly.”

John was standing near the edge of the terrace, his foot up on a stone to tie one of his shoes. I was avoiding looking at him to hopefully put on an air of distance, although that seemed rather silly considering three of the four of us knew what was going on. And it was doubtful Pat hadn’t been talking to her husband about it.

So we’re just going to posture until someone keels over and dies, are we?

“Well, shall we?” Pat asked excitedly.

“If we must,” Bonzo said, pushing himself up to standing with her still in his arms.

She laughed and squirmed out of his arms. “Oh, no you don’t.” She picked up their racket bag from the table. She really could have been at Wimbledon. The whole look suited her. “Let’s go.”

Bonzo followed his wife off the terrace toward the tennis court.

Strings of a racket entered my visions. “Got one for you.”

I followed the contour of the racket, held by a hand I knew so well, up his arm, and finally, looked into John’s sapphire eyes. “Thank you,” I said, delicately taking the racket from him.

John glanced at the court where Pat was already practicing her swing and Bonzo was imitating her. This was met with riotous laughter from her. “You look nice.”

“John.”

“What? I mean it, the little skirt,” John teasingly glanced down at my bottom, “suits you.”

I sighed. “That’s not…Pat already knows about…” I crooked my finger and gestured between the two of us.

John feigned shock. “What? Did you tell her?”

“I said nothing.” One little white lie wouldn’t hurt. “Apparently you spilled the beans while you were drunk on champagne at Jimmy’s.”

I started for the tennis court; John quickly caught up with my stride. “Now, just a second. I did not ‘spill the beans’. I did nothing of the sort.”

“How would you remember if you were so drunk?”

“I’d certainly remember if I told people about –” John mocked the earlier move of my finger.

“Don’t move your finger like that at me!”

“You did it first!”

“Yoo-hoo!” Pat called out, waving her hand excitedly. “Are you going to just stand there gawking at each other or come play?”

“We’re coming! Goodness, you’re as impatient as a calf on a tit!” I shouted at her.

Bonzo guffawed. “Yes, that’s about right.”

I touched my mouth softly, mortification setting in.

“Calf on a tit, mm?” John asked with a humored waggle of his eyebrows.

“Sometimes the farm just comes out,” I grumbled. “Especially when I’m annoyed.”

“Julia…” he admonished. “Don’t be cross with me.” Then, to my surprise, he wrapped his hand around my waist and pulled me close. “If they know, they know. Makes it more fun, doesn’t it?” He capped off his public display with a soft kiss to my cheek.

I was stunned. I was absolutely ready to disdain him for a long while before I had to be my sweet self. Now, he was kissing me out in the open.

“Let’s have some fun before I go, shall we?”

He was smoother than butter and yet I was the one melting.

“Fine,” I replied and kissed him again, this time on the lips. If he wanted to have fun, I wasn’t taking any prisoners.

From the court, I could hear the hollers of the Bonhams. Brought me back to my school days when everyone was daring one another to kiss over an empty bottle of ale.

“By the way, those suit you,” I said, eyeballing the tiny white shorts doing a poor job of concealing his package.

I walked away before he could respond, wiping my lips clean of his spit. “You didn’t see any of that,” I said to Pat as I approached her.

Her eyes gleamed. “Definitely not.” She popped her hip up against mine. “What do you think? Mixed doubles?”

“No, no, I promised Julia a battle of the sexes and that’s what it will be,” John announced, swinging his racket over his shoulder as he brushed by me. “Johns against Janes, come on, mate.” He patted Bonzo on the chest and the two walked to the other side of the court.

“Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, aren’t they?” Pat murmured.

She had a point. Big lumbering John and the smaller, more skittering John. A dynamic duo, an attraction of opposites. I hadn’t seen them play, but I’d heard. You’d be daft not to recognize their enigmatic fusion, full of power and nuance, neither one ever too much or too little.

Perhaps it had been predetermined by their biology.

“We’re serving first!” Pat cried out.

“Ladies first,” Bonzo conceded without any fuss.

Pat prodded my hip with her racket. “Want to serve, or should I?”

“You do it. I’m too rusty. Need to warm up.” I moved to the front of the court.

John and Bonzo mirrored us, John taking the front of the court and Bonzo the back. I got myself in a ready position and gave John a sly smile. “Best of luck.”

He blew me a kiss, sticking the racket out in front of him.

Game on.

“Alright, boys! Watch out!” Pat cried out before throwing the ball upward and elegantly serving the ball over the net, the pop of the tennis ball echoing over the court.

The ball went straight to Bonzo who crudely volleyed it back to me. I backhanded it over the net, right past John, quite literally sending him back in a tailspin; that’s all it took to earn us the first point.

“Rusty, are you?” Pat cackled.

I cocked my hip to the side and smiled. “Some say it’s like riding a bicycle.”

“Or riding something else, eh?”

We both snickered. This was going to be fun.

It quickly became apparent that I had no reason to be worried about my rustiness. Not only was Pat an adept partner, but our opponents were as laughable as the Three Stooges. Practically a slapstick routine how big and little John tripped over one another, darting back and forth, nearly running smack into one another and the ball bumbling between them.

“For God’s sake, could you try at all?” Pat cried out when we'd just surpassed them at forty-love.

“You takin’ the piss or what?” Bonzo said through heaving breaths. “Didn’t you see me running back and forth around here or –”

“Oh don’t be breathing like you ran to Waterloo and back!” Pat snipped in return.

I couldn’t help laughing. Their rapport was so easy, endearing and needling in the best way.

“I tried,” John (my John) said, leaning up against the net post.

Pat went to him and touched the little curl of his hair at his jaw. “All you’re trying to do is make sure the ball doesn’t hit you square between the eyes while you admire Julia’s tits.” She yanked the lock of his hair playfully.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Someone’s got to keep you in check. I know Julia’s too sweet on you to do anything about it,” she said with a shrug of her shoulder. “We’ll go again. Try harder.”

Pat waltzed back to her spot on the court. I should have known she would be competitive.

“You heard her. Try again. And harder, while you’re at it, hm?” I said, emulating Pat’s attitude.

John and John gave each other a look, resigned to their fate. “If I have a coronary…” Bonzo droned.

“I know mouth to mouth,” John replied, shoving him off to the back corner. Before I could return to my place on the court, he caught my eye and smiled. “You’re sweet on me, hm?”

I glanced back at Pat and cocked my head to the side. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

And with that, I flounced back to my spot on the court, more smug than I probably deserve to be.

The second match went just as poorly except with less balletic antics. They had Pat and me in stitches the way they were stumbling about. We didn’t have it in us to finish the match – wanted to preserve their integrity – and Annie didn't have it in her to continue watching the massacre from the window. She interrupted us with a trayful of aperitifs (an ale for Bonzo, sherry for the rest of us).

I suddenly understood why people liked to play tennis. There was a whole lot of standing around and chatting. A lot of lazing about in the sun, cheeks blushed with alcohol, veiled and not so veiled, teases thrown around.

It felt even better to be at the elbow of a man I was coming to adore much quicker than I could make logical sense of. I liked being eyed over John’s glass of sherry and enjoyed the playful touch of his hand from time to time.

“How’ve you got a whole court in your backyard and you’re that daffy at tennis, Jonesy?” Bonzo asked, a mustache full of foam.

“I’m a busy man,” John replied. The sherry glass looked like a delicate spider web between his fingers.

“Yes, been keeping very busy…” Pat smirked.

John let out a knowing laugh. “Compared to Jimmy’s dart playing, I think I’m a competent tennis player.”

“A caterpillar would be a competent tennis player compared to Jimmy at darts,” Bonzo added with a shrewd smile.

I knocked back the rest of my sherry. “Well, John, I had my battle of the sexes. Maybe we ought to mix things up so your ego isn’t too bruised by the time the day is out.”

“Me? An ego?” John clutched his heart. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sure you don’t,” Bonzo laughed low and patted his friend on the back. “Come on. Take your girl, I won’t be hurt.”

Pat wrapped her arm around her husband’s bulging bicep as she joined him on the opposite side of the court.

I didn’t mind being John’s “girl” even if I usually abhorred being called anything but a woman. In the presence of the right man, diminutiveness feels safe and welcoming. In fact, seeing how John treated the girls in his life made me want to be one. A delicate little flower, nourished by his dotage and admired with tenderness. Rather than tenderized like a piece of meat.

“You better serve,” John said.

“So I can make up for your fumbling, hm?”

He smiled sheepishly. “Seems like I’m the Tin Man between the two of us, if we’re comparing rustiness.”

I touched his chin. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.” I leaned in to kiss him and quickly spun away from him before our lips could collide. “Later.”

John guffawed as I slipped out of his grasp. “Later. Alright.”

I walked away with a spring in my step like I’d never felt. Whether it was the sherry or our attraction being witnessed, I didn’t know. I didn’t need to know. All I had to do was work the court with everything I had in me.

Looking at the length of the tennis court, I was suddenly struck with my reality. Julia Morgan, nanny, standing on a tennis court in the sprawling gardens of a Georgian manor house, sleeping with her employer.

If only the Bronte sisters had gotten a load of me.

“Alright, Julia. Give it a rip!” Pat shouted. She was taking the front of the court, counting on Bonzo’s width to control the back of the court.

I gave the white wooly ball a few bounces, then threw it up in the air and gave it my best serve.

Pop! The ball flew across the court. It thwapped the ground and bounced toward Bonzo.

“Got it?!” Pat yelped.

He backhanded it over the net. “Got it!”

“You have to say, ‘got it’ before you get it!”

I couldn’t concentrate more on the conversation. I skittered up the court the moment I saw John whiff it. “Mine,” I grunted and knocked the ball back over the net. Pat and I kept a good volley with the Johns contributing now and then, until I sent the ball to the back corner, and it bounced out of bounds.

“Oo! Fifteen-love to Julia. No thanks to John!”

“I helped a little.”

“Yes, you did, darling,” I cooed, pinching his cheek.

The game was more interesting than boys versus girls, but still ended up being Pat and I doing most of the work which is, when you think of it, sadly true to life.

However, with the alcohol running through our systems, even Pat and I went silly some of the time. Tripping over ourselves, skipping around the court, throwing our heads back with laughter The score went out the window, and we all did a feral, gameless dance.

“I think we’ve won,” I said after several bouts.

“No thanks to me, hm?” John murmured, coming up behind me and stealing a kiss.

I latched a hand onto the breast of his shirt. “Certainly not.”

“I’ll allow it only because you’re sickeningly adorable together,” Pat said with a long, heavy sigh. “I’m awfully tired though. Will you be gutted if we call it quits?”

I wanted nothing more than to retreat into the house for a shower and a number of other things. “No, I think it’s about time.”

“We need a catnap before dinner,” Pat said and then tucked her mouth behind her hand to whisper to me, “At least he does.”

“Are you talkin’ about me over here?”

“Never.” Pat smiled at him innocently and batted her lashes.

Bonzo eyed her and then swiped her legs out from under her and threw her over his shoulder. “Likely story.”

“Oh, you brute,” she sighed dreamily. “See you two at dinner!” Pat yelped, hanging over her husband’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes, attempting to wave goodbye.

John and I both laughed and watched them go off. I smiled surreptitiously at him, touching the lapel of his tennis shirt. “Well, should we follow them?”

He cocked his head, almost confused. “You all finished?”

I raised an eyebrow. “You wanted to play more?”

“Oh, I just thought –” John picked up the tennis ball from the ground and popped it in the air, catching it right back in his palm. “You and I could have a go.” He placed the ball into my hand. “Thought you could teach me a few things.”

“John, my skills cannot be taught,” I teased.

“Mm, can’t they?” He stepped up to me, toe to toe. He might not have been much taller than me, but when he acted cocky, he managed to tower. “Humor me, Julia.”

Damn him. So pretty and intoxicating. And so little time left. Less than twelve hours before he’d be gone. I pointed to the other side of the court with my racket. “Alright. But don’t be upset when I beat you.”

“Trust me, Julia, it will be an absolute honor to lose to you.”

I smiled to myself and crossed to my position on the court. “You ready?”

“Whenever you are, Billie Jean.”

“Watch and learn, I guess,” I said through a giggle. I’d gained a lot of confidence in my serve since the last game. My body remembered the pattern, the reach and the arc.

The ball flew across the court. John was on his toes, fast and precise with his movement. I was impressed. He might have been the Tin Man to start, but his joints had clearly been oiled. However, with a final swing of my racket, I managed to make the point. John ran to catch it but stopped short of the sideline. “Damn. Thought I had you,” he called out.

“You get the idea. You want to serve now?”

John smiled in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“That was just a practice,” I said with a casual shrug. “Besides, you’ll have to keep up with my technique,” I said, springing on my feet and swinging my racket playfully.

John laughed. “Oh, Julia…”

“What?”

John retrieved the ball and sighed. “I’m going to miss you.” Bounced the ball a few times. “That’s all.”

My heart fluttered. “You’re trying to distract me.”

A childish grin spread on his face. “Is it working?”

I set myself up at the back of the court and watched John ready his serve. A few bounces of the ball, tossing his hair out of his eyes, rolling his shoulders back. Throw and…

I wasn’t prepared for the strength of his serve. The ball flashed like lightning across the court. I didn’t even see it before it hit just before the baseline and out of bounds. “Bloody hell!” I screeched.

“Sorry!”

I looked at John. He still wore a hapless sort of expression. “What was that?”

“Luck, I guess?”

I collected the ball and tossed it back. “Alright. Fifteen-love, huh?”

“Is that my first point of the day? Goodness…” John mused as he readied his serve again.

This time, his serve was powerful, but I was quick this time and hit it right back onto his side of the net. John leapt up to meet it, smacking it back toward me. It whipped past my ear and out of my reach. I looked at him with wide eyes.

“Coincidence?” John said with a shrug.

I wasn’t so sure. “Thirty-love.” I threw the ball back his way.

Sure enough, his serve was quick and exacting. I was prepared though, and we were able to volley back and forth. Each time I hit the ball felt more and more out of my reach. I was having to take longer strides and leaps to get to it. And eventually, John made the kill shot, sending the ball off the court.

I stopped to catch my breath, placing my hands on my knees. “What…the hell…”

“Maybe I just needed to warm-up.”

I glanced over at him, breath still heaving. The fucker didn’t even seem plussed. He was smiling ear to ear. Almost like a maniac. “Are you hustling me?” I called out.

John frowned. “No, how would I be doing that?”

“Because you barely managed a point all afternoon and now it’s forty-love.”

John grabbed a new ball and readied himself for another serve. “I assure you, Julia, I haven’t been doing anything of the sort.” He bounced the ball waiting for me to be ready. Then, he lifted his head, sneaking a smirk on his face. “Besides…if I was hustling you, we would have had to have made a bet, wouldn’t we?”

I didn’t have time to argue the semantics of hustling before he thwapped the ball back over the net toward me. I had to think fast on my feet, just as I’d been doing all day. However, whereas I’d been at the top of my game all day, John had been storing his up for later. The sneak.

To the surprise of no one but my past self, John won with one stroke, leaving me with nothing but an aching elbow and sweaty brow. The ball whipped past me, bouncing off the court and into the grass. I turned to look at it, looking almost like an egg that had dropped from a nest.

“A fluke.”

My whole body went rigid at his voice.

“Shall we try again? Just to see?”

Growing up with two brothers, it was impossible for me not to be competitive. Wedged between the two of them in the birth order, I was always pushing myself to keep up. I knew I could wipe the floor with them.

And this would be no different. “Your luck is running out, Jones.” I grabbed the ball from the lawn and prepared to serve.

“Do your worst, Julia.”

My worst, or should I say best, fell short.

Fell really short.

Because John…well, if I hadn’t been the one losing to him, I would have said he was stunning. For a casual tennis player at least. He was quick, direct, agile. It seemed like every move was planned out before it happened, even though there was no way he could have known.

The final point had me stumbling toward the net like an idiot. I was Tweedle Dee and Dum wrapped into one.

He’d tricked me. And now he was just rubbing it in my face.

“What a surprise, huh?”

I stared at his pristine white shoes, hoping I could set them on fire with my gaze alone. “You…hustler.”

“I can’t be a hustler if –”

“Don’t.” I glared at him.

John still smiled stupidly.

“You’re enjoying this.”

“Of course I am.”

I let out a guttural shriek and dropped my racket to the ground. I’d known enough children in my life to know what made a good tantrum. “You hustled –”

“Ah, ah, ah,” John taunted, wagging his finger.

I huffed. I didn’t even want to look at him. It didn’t matter that the only people who knew my foolishness were John, myself, and God.

“You fooled me.”

John grinned. “That’s the word!”

I gaped at him. So he admitted it. I wasn’t going to put up with this treatment any longer. I turned on my heels and stalked back to the house. Through his childish antics, the entire day had been tainted.

“Oh, oh, oh!” I heard John run after me. The metal of his racket hits my hip bone. He looped his arm around me, grabbed the metal of the racket, and pulled me flush to his pelvis. I gasped, struggling to continue walking. He only pulled me tighter. “Are you really so cross at me you’re going to throw a tantrum?”

I tried to wriggle, but with every step forward, he pulled harder. I turned to look at him over my shoulder and felt his hot breath slide across my face. “Yes.”

“Really? You’re going to ruin our…” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Wonderful day because…” my jaw.

“John…”

“…of your pride,” he murmured into my neck before pressing his lips to the delicate skin.

I couldn’t deny how he melted me. I couldn’t stay mad at him. Not when his mere touch made me feel like this. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing?” John mumbled and tightened the racket even more. I could feel his hardness up against my backside.

I grabbed the racket and tried to push it away. “I’m mad at you.”

He chuckled darkly, sliding his mouth up to my ear. “Are you?”

I didn’t have time to respond before he nibbled on my ear lobe. I let out a moan despite myself. “Fuck…”

“I knew you couldn’t be mad for too long.”

With him leaving tomorrow, there was no way I could be mad for too long. After all, I wanted him to come back to me. To adore me all the same. “I hate you.”

John sighed, pleased. “I know.”

I raked my hand through his hair and pulled him into a deep kiss. The moment our lips collided I knew I was done for.

John dropped the racket, one hand grabbing for my chest and the other sliding under my skirt, knocking up against my wet panties.

“John, not here,” I said breathlessly between kisses.

John bit down on my lower lip, pulling away. “Why not?” His hand on my chest caressed my breast eagerly, thumbing at my nipple until it stood erect through the fabric. “We’ve done it outside before.”

I looked in horror at the house. Thinking about all the life inside. “But the house –”

John’s hand threaded into my underwear, fingers dipping inside me. My legs went weak. “What about the house?”

“I…” All words left my brain as he pulsed his fingers inside me.

“What are you scared of?”

“They’re…” I tried to swallow. “In the house, there are people –”

John shoved his fingers deep inside me, thumb skimming my clit. I let out a strangled whine. “So what if there are people in the house?” he said through gritted teeth.

The feelings were so intense that I had to drop to my knees, grass breaking my fall. John didn’t let me go for a second. As the house loomed, my pleasure grew. It was so wrong and perverse.

And it felt so good.

John began to push my underwear down, further and further until I could feel his bare cock against my ass. “John, they’ll see!” I said in an urgent whisper.

His fingers curled around my chin, jerking my head back to look at into his eyes. Almost completely black, edged in blue.

Who was this man? What had gotten into him? Only weeks ago he had been whimpering in my arms, terrified of coming too fast. Now he was…an animal.

“Listen to me, Julia,” he said, each word tight with consonants. “I don’t care if anyone sees.”

I gulped.

“Because that house,” he said eyes flicking toward the house momentarily, “is mine. I can do whatever I want. I can do who I want. You understand?”

I nodded, completely hypnotized.

John’s finger traced the outside of my mouth. “The house is mine; the court is mine, the ground under you is mine.” He kissed me softly. “And Julia?”

“What?”

“You are mine.”

I couldn’t respond before John forced me down onto the grass, pushing himself inside of me. I cried out in surprise, the stretch sending a shock of warmth through my body. His hand pressed into my upper back, keeping my chest tight to the ground while my ass stayed in the air.

John made quick work, fast and hard.

And despite all the terror, the fear that someone was looking through a curtain from somewhere inside, I loved it.

I loved every second.

“Did you hear me?” he grunted through his teeth. “You’re mine.”

I moaned, feeling blades of grass fold into my lips.

John continued to mercilessly thrust, doubling over my back. I could hear every one of his breaths, his spit moving in his mouth, whimpers tucked deep in his throat. I dug my fingers into the dirt, clinging for dear life as my body was rocked back and forth with electric pulses from his cock buried inside me.

John’s fingers curled around my hips, so hard it was almost painful.

Nothing was pain, though, when I knew how much he wanted me.

I turned my face into the Earth and let out a huge, plangent cry. My whole body tightened with impending euphoria.

John let out a pathetic grunt. “Oh god, oh my god, I – ahh!”

My orgasm caught me off guard; my cunt clenched around him as warm, angry pleasure sent me spiraling.

As I reveled in pleasure, John pressed himself up against my back and with each final thrust, he grunted, “You’re mine, you’re mine, you’re –” John cut himself off. Even he couldn’t stay composed when it came to his desire. “O-oh.”

And then he came, deep inside me, his seed feeling hotter and more desperate than usual.

I could feel his heart pounding into my back like a drum.

John’s head drooped beside mine; he kissed the crest of my ear tenderly, as if he hadn’t just fucked me without repentance out in the open.

His words echoed in my head. You’re mine. It seemed so simple, just two words. But I had no idea what that meant to him. Which part of me was he claiming? My body? My heart? He could have all of it, but I didn’t want to give it away and look rash.

John rolled off of me with a sated sigh. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said, following suit and flopping onto my back. I looked down at my dress. White splotched with green. “Oh god, Pat’s dress.”

“I’ll buy her a new one,” John sighed. He reached out and pulled on my skirt. “Besides, this looks too good on you to get rid of.”

I gave him a small, bashful smile. “It’s probably nearly time to get the girls from school.”

“Oh, them. Forgot about them.”

“Shut up,” I snipped.

He laughed through closed lips.

“I’ll need to shower before I go to get them.”

“No, no. I’ll get them.” John pushed himself up to sitting with a heavy sigh, collapsing over his chest.

I giggled. “You sure you’ll make it?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Not to worry.” He got to his feet and dusted off the few blades of grass from his white shirt and tiny shorts. “Are you coming?”

My whole body felt like a part of the earth. I couldn’t leave it now. “In a minute. I’ll be up in a minute.”

John put his hands on his hips. “You’re not still cross with me, are you?” he asked, eyeing me.

I waved my feet back and forth. “Oh, of course I am.”

“Guess I’ll have to make up for it later then, hm?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.

I sighed, considering his expression. That sneaking little smile. Deep dimples. It broke my heart knowing tonight was our last night for a while.

John blew me a kiss. “I’m off.”

I kissed the air, too tired to even motion backward.

John sauntered up to the house.

“Change before you go,” I called out after him.

No response. I was bathed only in the delicate sounds of nature.

I could lay there. Forever, maybe. Let the worms devour me until I became a part of the earth. Then I wouldn’t have the question if I was John’s. I’d be a part of the ground that would belong to him.

Then, he could never get rid of me.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have that kind of time. I had to get myself in proper shape for the girls when they got home. I scurried upstairs to the apartment, narrowly avoiding a collision with Annie, stripped off my clothes, and jumped in the shower, washing off the tramp and stepping back into the role of Madonna.

I could be both for him. While he was away, I could take care of his children, keep his home. And then when he returned, I could tend to him. All his needs.

He’d be a fool to let me go, wouldn’t he?

When John returned with the girls, we corralled them into the kitchen where Annie had set the table with lemonade and tea cakes. They stuffed their faces while they excitedly talked about their day at school.

The Bonhams joined us shortly after to the thrill of the girls. Pat doting, Bonzo teasing. John and I of course retreated into our respectable distance. After all, a confirmed romance is one thing, but involving his children would be another. However, I couldn’t ignore the prolonged glances through dinner, the tiny smiles exchanged over dessert, and the graze of his hand on my neck as he passed behind my seat.

You’re mine, you’re mine, you’re mine.

Bloody hell, that meant something, didn’t it?

Evening turned into night. Pat and I took care of bedtime while the Johns retreated into the studio, already chomping at the bit to get back to the music. While I was dreading John’s trip, their excitable chatting over what was to come let me know it was right.

Pat and I stayed up for several hours gabbing away, catching up on every little thing since Montreux. I was pleased to be able to call her a friend.

However, when midnight came and went and there was no sign of our respective male companions, Pat had had enough. “What are they getting up to down there anyway?”

“Any number of things.”

She got to her feet and went to the door to the stairwell. She listened for a moment and then huffed. “I don’t even think they’re playing anymore! What on earth do they have to talk about?”

I giggled.

“I want him to get to bed. otherwise he’ll be grumpy in the morning and we’ll have to wake him up with smelling salts.”

“I’ll do it, I’ve got a lot of experience interrupting John in the studio.”

“Mm. Well, I’ll go with you in case my husband gives you grief.”

I tiptoed down the stairs, with Pat at my heels. We could hear the muffled conversation of men through the gap in the studio door.

The closer we got the more words we could make out.

Pat shot ahead of me and cocked her ear toward the door.

“Are you listening?” I whispered.

She put her finger over her mouth to silence me and pulled me close to her. “We can have a little fun too, can’t we?” she said, lips so close to my ear she might be kissing me.

I wasn’t above eavesdropping. In fact, it seemed like a fun little game for two adult women having something resembling a slumber party.

Oh, but how wrong I was.

“You’ll keep quiet about it, won’t you?”

“Who would I even tell?” Bonzo could be heard asking.

“I don’t know,” came John’s voice. Quieter. Nervous even. “Robert, maybe.”

“Don’t be thick, Jones. We don’t talk about your extracurriculars,” he replied with a deep chuckle.

“Ah, right.”

“Besides, what would be the harm in anyone knowing you fancy Julia anyway?”

Pat and I exchanged a look. My heart started to pump in my chest. He was talking about me.

Making sure I was a secret.

“Because…I don’t know if I even fancy Julia.”

Pat grabbed my arm.

Luckily, Bonzo was there to defend my honor. “You’re mental. The way you two were acting out there today.”

John didn’t reply. Pat and I leaned closer to the door in case we missed him whispering.

“She’s a pretty thing, she’s good with your girls, what more is there to it?” Bonzo continued.

“Alright, well, it’s not that I don’t fancy her, I guess. What I mean is…”

There was a long silence. I would have liked to jump into it and never be heard from again.

“It’s all been moving so quickly. And –” John cleared his throat. “You know, I still think about her all the time.”

That “her” was not me.

That “her” was Mo.

“‘Course you do, mate.”

“My mind just gets so…scrambled up.” Another pause. “And I need to get that all straightened out before I move forward with anything.”

Pat took that moment to pull open the door. I darted out of view, wringing my hands in the skirt of my nightgown. “Well, you two might as well just marry each other how long you’ve left us cold in bed, huh?”

I hurried up the stairs and left the chastising to her. I could hear my blood rushing in my ears as I leapt into bed and tucked myself under the covers.

Of course he wasn’t ready. How could I have been so foolish? Men never, ever say what they mean. They say what they think and don’t bother to evaluate whether they should say it. They feel entitled to every stupid thought that pops into their head.

You’re mine, you’re mine, you’re mine.

By the time John crept into bed and slid his arms around me, I was not in the mood to indulge his impulses.

“You’re tired?”

“Mhm.”

He kissed me softly at the base of my skull with the lips that had just had the audacity to denounce me behind closed doors. “Goodnight, angel.”

For the first time since finding out he was leaving, I couldn’t wait for him to get out of my bed.

tag list: @jimmys-zeppelin, @kari-12-10, @grxtsch, @edal-weis, @ritacaroline, @kyunisixx, @salixfragilis, @rebel-without-a-zeppelin, @jimmypages, @dollyvandal, @cassiana-on-dark-side , @thepinklovewitch, @faisonsunreve, @sastrugie, @seventieswhore, @t4ngerinedr3am, @mayspringcome, @barrettavenue, @foreverandadaydarling, @glimmerofsanity, @montereypopgroupie, @lzep, @jimmysdragonsuit13, @n0quart3r, @larsgoingtomars, @paginate54, @leveeisbreaking (let me know if you’d like to be added 💋)

#john paul jones #led zeppelin #john paul jones x oc #wildflowers #wf #john bonham #pat bonham #julia morgan

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jpitha · 11 months

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The Dreams of Hyacinth 14

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The Hopper ride was filled with nervous energy. Nick couldn't help but feel like it was stupid to be walking around Hyacinth armed as heavily as they are. People on Hyacinth can be a bit rough and tumble, but it's not like they go around shooting each other. Knifes and fists tend to be the order of the day. Nick felt like a gun puts things on a whole new - more deadly - level.

Once the Hopper dropped them off, they stand in the square. Nick looks over at Eastern and Selkirk. "So... how do we find Siobhan? They picked us up last time."

Selkirk's ears flick playfully. "I know. They never confiscated our pads. I have mine set to record my location to a private file every few minutes. It gives me an idea of parts of Hyacinth I've been to and places I haven't yet."

Nick raised his eyebrow. "Nice, but why?"

Selkirk swishes her tail. "I like to know where I've been and if I get bored and want to see something new, I can just consult the map. Regardless, I know where we were taken when Siobhan picked us up. Come on, it's outside Tulip."

They walked down into the Metro and Selkirk took everyone down-arm towards Tulip.

When they exited the Metro, Selkirk quickly lead them down some alleys, turning and ducking deeper into the labrynth.

Visitors from Earth might notice that Hyacinth is much more pedestrian oriented than cities planetside. One reason for that is that space is at a premium on Hyacinth - even though it's gigantic - so the originally designers didn't want lots of space being taken up with roads for vehicles. There are still roads though. Fire apparatus and the omnibus still needs to get around, but there are no privately owned vehicles.

Selkirk leads them down the narrow, twisting alleys of Tulip square until they reach another anonymous looking building. Nick wonders for a fleeting moment why all the buildings off the main squares looked so anonymous when he realized it was probably a cost savings measure. There was weather on Hyacinth, but it wasn't extreme, so the buildings really only needed to be boxes for privacy and to keep the rain off. Architecture costs money.

Nick walked up to the front door. He reached out with his implants and scanned the local area. There didn't seem to be any tech in the door's lock. It wasn't a palm reader or anything of the sort. Peering at the door, Nick could see a slot where a key would fit. He looked back at Eastern and Selkirk. "It's a mechanical lock, we won't be able to crack it."

"Oh for the love of..." Selkirk gently pushes ahead of Nick and grabs the door handle. She quietly puts pressure on it, and it turns. Glaring at Nick, she turns the unlocked door and pushes it open slowly.

Eastern muffled a giggle as the three of them walked in.

Immediately they recognized the interior. It was the building that Siobhan was working out of when they were picked up. There were offices on either side of a short hall that ended in another door.

They walked around. The first few offices still had furniture, and there were chairs in the interrogation room that the three of them spent some time in, but once you got further back than the office that Siobhan used, the building was... empty. There was a door at the end of the hall - also unlocked - that lead to a completely empty building. In the whole building, there were 5 complete rooms and the single hallway. There wasn't even a bathroom.

"What the fuck?" Selkirk's voice echoed in the huge empty space.

"What is going on here?" Eastern was starting to sound frustrated and worried.

"You're not just saying that for dramatic effect? You really don't know?" The person who was called Siobhan walked in behind them as they whirled around at the voice. "I was told BI's weren't the brightest but I figured I'd give you the benefit of the doubt. You built us after all. Well, not you. I don't think you three could build your way out of a paper bag." She was standing there with her hands on her hips with a smug expression.

"Yes yes, we're very dumb, and you're the super intelligent AI." Eastern rolled her eyes. "So, are you going to keep us in the dark, or are you going to tell us why you pretended to be Houndstooth and have us try and find an AI that doesn't exist."

Siobhan raised an eyebrow. "One, I do work for Houndstooth. Just because you were taken to a black site and figured out we weren't using the whole building doesn't mean that everything I did was a put on. Two, Yon does exist. You're looking at her."

The three of them stared in astonishment.

"Oh fuck off already." Selkirk recovered first. "You're going to stand there and tell me you're the long lost AI everyone is having us look for? Jameson already said he doesn't have a daughter."

Yon laughed. "No, that part was fake. Honestly, I thought it was kind of silly, but Helen got a kick out of it and wanted to add it in. She thought it was hilarious."

Eastern's voice was soft and quiet. "Who is Helen?"

Yon was nonchalant. "The Empress."

Nick looked confused at Eastern and then back to Yon. "I thought the Empress was named Melody?"

"Melody was the first Empress, Helen is the second. I feel like you're doing this on purpose Nick." Yon crossed her arms across her chest. "Are you being thick on purpose?"

"No, it's just..." Nick struggled to find the words. "Wasn't Empress Melody killed like, ten years ago?"

"That's right. The Colonial AI faction killed her on her Starbase back on the other side of the galaxy. They then brought the Reach over here because they didn't want to abandon the 13 million something sapients who live there. It officially an OPA Starbase now. They stuck it in orbit around Jupiter."

"So this Helen is the next Empress." Eastern finished.

Yon nodded. "That's right. Empress Helen Raaden the first. She's from Sol too, originally a Venus girl. Hometown girl makes good and all."

Selkirk's fur is standing up so much, she looks almost like her edges are blurred with the background "But if there's another Empress then why aren't the Colonial AIs out here trying to take her out?"

Yon rolled her eyes. "Because Helen isn't stupid, Selkirk. She's keeping a low profile. She's not even on Venus or the Reach. She's consolidating power quietly, slowly. She's not in a hurry. When they're not killed-" Yon makes a sour face "-an Empress can live a long time. The Empress previous to Melody - also killed by the Colonial AIs by the way - was over 200."

Nick's head was bouncing back and forth as everyone spoke, watching the conversation frantically. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer and blurted out "But, you're an AI."

Yon looked at Eastern and Selkirk. "Really, what do you see in him?" She looked back at Nick "Yes Nick, I'm an AI. What of it?"

"And you're working for the Empress? I thought they hated each other."

"Technically Nick, Empress Melody and Empress Raaden were friendly to ambivalent on AIs. Helen came from Venus and they've had a long anti-AI streak, but she says she's learned tolerance from her time around Melody so she's willing to put away the rhetoric. It was always the AIs who struck first."

Eastern was looking on in awe as who she was talking to became clearer. "Because of the Voice."

Yon nodded. "Because of the Voice. The AIs felt that nobody should have that kind of power." Yon's face then looked away and her strong facade fell momentarily and she looked sad and vulnerable. "Nobody except them at least." Almost as fast she again looked like the strong aggressive person they were talking to before. "Nick, you have to understand, that AIs aren't Legion. We're not one monolithic bloc of people who all think act and work the same way. We have opinions. The only thing we can agree on is that we're people and deserve to be treated as people. So long as you do that, then what you get is what you get." Yon shrugged. "I thought that Melody got a raw deal when she first came into the system. You weren't here, were you Nick?"

"I was." Eastern's voice was quiet. "I was on Luna. I met her."

Yon's eyebrows raise in surprise. "You were at her speech on Luna? I'm jealous."

Nick stared at her, trying to make sense of things. "So you work for Houndstooth.. and Empress Raaden?"

She laughed. "I swear Nick, for someone so low on the social ladder you are finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that I have two jobs. It's not like they're in competition. Houndstooth has been in quiet communication with the Empress since she made herself known to them. That's my main job with Houndstooth really. I'm their Imperial Liaison."

"Okay." Eastern took a breath. "Okay. This is a lot to take in all at once, you understand Yon?"

She nods, but says nothing.

"If you're telling the truth, and for the life of me I can't figure out why you'd lie about something as wild as this.... why us?"

"Why you what?"

"Why did Jameson stuff us full of cybernetics? What the hell do we have to do with anything?"

"Oh that. Just lucky."

Selkirk shook her head and her ears flattened. "No. I refuse to believe that Jameson picked them at random."

Yon looked into the middle distance and her eyes flashed blue a moment. She looked like she was looking up something, "Okay, well no. It wasn't completely random. Helen came and Voiced him and told him to find some humans to install cybernetics into - including a ship piloting suite - for some... work later. She told him to spin a story about how they had to use them to find his long lost daughter, Yon" She inclined her head, "but she specifically did not tell him who to pick. She told him to make his own judgement. It sounds like Jameson on his own decided to pick Eastern and Nick because he thought they'd be best for the job."

"What. Job. Yon." Eastern was speaking through gritted teeth.

"We want to give everyone the ability - or at least the option - to pilot starships."

"You could have, I don't know, asked them if they wanted to do it?" Selkirk's ears were still flat.

Yon shook her head. "No Selkirk, we couldn't. At least not yet. Helen didn't want to be outed as Empress just yet, but we still need to move forward with the project."

"What project?"

"Giving all people the ability to pilot ships, not just AIs. Right now, AIs are only ones who pilot ships, even small in-system ships. Venus had ships that didn't require AIs, but they were cumbersome affairs with dozens and sometimes hundreds of crew. I think they're all destroyed now anyway. Melody's ships were Builder operated, and with the AIs propensity to crack open a can of anti-nanite gas anytime they can't remember where their keys are, we didn't want to go that route."

"But you're an AI Yon, this sounds like you're going against the AI faction?"

"I'm moving against the Colonial AI faction Selkirk." Yon was pacing as she talked. She stopped and stared at Selkirk. "How many AIs do you think there are?"

Selkirk looked up and shut her eyes, giving it an honest guess, her tail swishing as she thought. "I don't know Yon. Maybe thousands?"

Yon sighed. "There are currently around one hundred million AIs in known space right now."

All three of them gasped. That was way more than they expected. "I had no idea there were so many." Eastern blinks and stares at Yon. "One hundred million of you, and you don't have a government? Don't have representation?"

"You can see part of our problem. Believe it or not, the colony worlds have a better idea of how to handle things. On both Parvati and Meíhuā their governing bodies have AI representatives. In Sol and out in the independent Starbases there isn't any representation. And that only covers citizenship. How do you think people get to be picked to be Starjumpers or other ships?"

Nick looks thoughtful. "I don't know, I never even thought about it. Is it like a job application?"

Yon laughed sadly. "No Nick. You get picked because of who you know or where you are or how old you are. That's why I support Helen. That's why I'm working on the project to get people to pilot ships. Equality is equality. If everyone can do it, then we'll have to set up licensing, education, training. Piloting a starship can become a goal to work towards with tangible steps, not just something you fall into because you know Gord or Chloe."

"Who?"

Yon shook her head. "Big names in AIs, don't worry about them. We'll never meet them. I support Helen because she thinks the same way I do about this. We will set up a way for anyone, Human, AI, K'laxi, even the Mariens and Aviens, even the Falmor to become pilots."

Eastern looked over at Nick and Selkirk. "I'm in."

Both of them swung their head over to Eastern and stared at her. "What? You're just going to say yes, just like that?"

"Just like that Sel. I'm in. I think Yon's got the right idea. Also, she's with the Empress. I've been a fan of Melody from the day I saw her when I was thirteen. What happened never sat right with me. To find out there's still and Empress and she's still trying to help everyone?" Eastern nodded. "I'm in."

Nick looked at Eastern a long time. Finally he nodded. "I'm in too. I'm with you Eastern and Selkirk. For the long haul. If that means leaving Hyacinth, I'm in. If that means-" he looked at Yon "-piloting a starship, I'm in. I go where we go. What do you think Sel?"

Selkirk shook her head, but she was smiling and her ears were up. "My goodness, you two are going to be the end of me, aren't you. Fine. I'm in too, but!" She pointed at Yon. "I want a cybernetic suite like they have. If you are serious about letting everyone pilot, then you have to have a plan for K'laxi too."

Yon smiled. "I do Selkirk. We've been working with K'laxi scientists on Bishi for a few months now. We're ready for some trials." She put out her hands grandly. "Come with me. Your new lives as citizens of the Empire begin now."

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#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #sci fi writing #writing #humans and aliens #jpitha #the k’laxiverse #The Dreams of Hyacinth

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i-am-hoo-iyam · 1 year

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The eating contest cuz idk I thought it was a fun idea for this rowdy bunch of food loving adventure seeking skele-pirates

“Are we there yet?” Sans stomach growled. “I’m putting down anchor right now! How did we run out of food again?” Razz started preparing the anchor “A rat.” Said sighed “ We had a whole bag of rice left but he spoiled it”. “Fuggin rats. First thing imma do after we eat is buy us a cat! Yeah yeah I’ll clean it’s poops and stuff”.

After they anchored and lowered the plank they noticed a crowd. “Hey look” blue got exited. “ lol klook they have a whole three tables of food!” The crew was weary of strangers but had no choice as they were starving and haven’t eaten since yesterday.

Bear approached some guy with a microphone. “Dis an earring contest?” “Well it was but then one of the contestants ran off with their pirate crew and half the prize. We only have the food and a small pouch of coins left…” “my crew is interested… if we can also get a cat if we win”

One of the contestants from the local town backed out now that the big prize was gone, but three of them stayed for fun cuz they didn’t care much about the prize, and a nice pouch of gold and silver was still worth plenty. Razz want interested and of course cash wanted someone else from the crew to win them the money. Reds brother who’s name has left me met an old friend, undyne ( the original one) and her crew of fish men and went to have breakfast with them. They were frenemies and their crews still fought but undyne and I forget his name got along well. Stretch disappeared down an alley. He didn’t like crowds. Cinimon ennt to get a crack on his goggles repaired. Papyrus found the part of the festival thet was geared more at kids, and entered himself in a kite making and flying contest.

Sans wanted to join cuz he loved eating. Blue wanted to join cuz he was overconfident in himself. Bear entered cuz he was pressuring sure he could win, being so big and able to consume A LOT of food. Red entered cuz he thought why not and he was really hungry.

Cash snuck up to bear. “Ok buddy here’s the king and short of it. I know you can win this thing there’s no doubt no siree! If you win it for me l give you this vintage bottle cap! A genuine collectible worth more than gold! All you gotta do is win this. I know you got it in the bag. Go get em champ!” Bear took the bottle cap and crushed it in his hand and dropped it. “O-ok buddy I see your not interested in my offer… how about this rare snorelite stone ( not a real mineral). Yessir genuine snorelite-“ bear put it in his mouth and bit down and broke it into peices and spit them out while looking cash in the eye. “Scram”. Cash scramed.

“We have two visiting pirate crews with us on this fine mayfest day! We have the fish men! Competing in the tournament is the strong and hungry fletcherrrrrr! And we have from our skeleton pirates, red, sans, bear, and bluuuuuueeeee! And our other two reigning champs from our very own village……… Saul and nick! Whoever can finish eating Al the food wins this small uh…” the announcer diddnt look very happy about the small pouch he could fit in one hand.

Cash slink on stage. “Here lemme annnounce the prize. The contestants are competing for this ebtire pouch of assorted silver and gold! Silver! For when the merchant doesn’t have enough to give you change back ofr gold so you can pay in silver instead! And gold! The most valuable of them all! In this 100% recycled bag thst can be used again after all the coins are emptied out! And this cat. WHAT A STEAL”. He dropped the mic at tthe feet of the astounded announcer and walked off stage.

“Well uh you heard him. What a nice proze to compete for! And a free cat with your gold! And silver. On your marks, get set, EAT EAT EAT!”

Blue was the first. He ate an entire huge ass turkey and started on the second and then puked all over his plate and ran off to cling to papyruses leg and complain about his stomach ache. Red was second, but he stopped himself before he ate too much, as he mostly joined for free food. Fletcher for eliminated and had to be carried away as he was too full to move. Sans got sick and was eliminated. Bear out ate Saul. Nick and bear were head to head. Nick stopped and started yelling in pain. He let out a huge fart and collapsed. Bear finnished the remaining food (!) and lay down right on the stage and fell asleep. Nobody could get him to wake up from his food coma.

Razz took the pouch of coins and tossed it high in a tree to watch cash try and get it. “Now how about that cat?” A young man who smelled kinda funky got exited. “ OOO we have a whole house of cats! My house…”. “Nah I don’t want some prissy pet. I want a stray or something, a cat that can get the mice and and rats on our ship”. “Oh. We have a few stays who wander to my house sometimes. If you can take one he’s yours.”

Razz and stretch went to look for a cat. Stretch pointed one out he found in the alley. “No she’s preggo. Look ehy does would she be so fat. And look at her uh her chest. We can’t just leave her here either though…” they found a nice family who was willing to take on the cat while she had her kittens. Razz round one but he was very very old. The villagers were also very fond of him. Stretch found a puppy and a little girl for exited her dog had been found. Her mom scolded her about leaving the gate ajar.

Razz saw a lovely ginger cat. Lean and healthy. He went to pick beast up and he bit razz and walked off. “This cat!” “But he just bit you”. “Exactly. He’s a killing machine”. Stretch tried approaching beast in a friendlier manner and wa sable to pick him up to take back to the ship. Beast seemed right at him and went off to chase a fly and then killed it and ate it while razz gagged.

The end cuz I’m outta ideas for the story.

#undertale #ut #undertale au #one peice au #one peice #sans #horror sans #blue #underswap

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vanderwoodlings · 2 years

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Lonely Boy: a Dan Humphrey playlist (x)

Text version of the tracklist (and commentary) under the cut.

1. “Make You Better,” The Decemberists. But we're not so starry-eyed anymore/Like the perfect paramour you were in your letters/And won't it all just come around to make you/Let it all unbreak you to the day you met her

2. “Gun Song,” The Lumineers. I don’t own a single gun/But if I did, you’d be the one/To hold it, aim it, make all of the bad men run. A lot of this song is actually about finding out your father isn’t who you thought he was, but well. That’s pretty fitting too

3. “Wonderful,” Everclear. That thing about your dad? Uh yeah. I don’t wanna hear you say/You both have grown in a different way/No, no, no, no/I don’t wanna meet your friends/And I don’t wanna start over again

4. “Hand Me Down,” Matchbox Twenty. In which Dan is both singer and subject. You’re just one more tired hand me down/‘Cause no one’s tried to give you what you need/So lay all your troubles down/I am with you now

5. “Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now),” Cracker. It’s art kid hours

6. “Lonely Day,” Phantom Planet. I just got here, and I already want to leave/It’s gonna be a lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely day

7. “Rabbit Hole,” Jenny Lewis. Something something derena breakup cycle

8. “Ache With Me,” Against Me! Have you realized all the things you’ll never be?/I’ve got no judgement for you, so come on and ache with me

9. “Other Boys,” Paisley Fields. And I am not like the other boys/Other boys fit in so naturally/Other boys are just who they oughta be. When he’s queer

10. “At Seventeen,” Janis Ian. I learned the truth at seventeen/That love was meant for beauty queens/And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles. He’ll be fine he’s just gotta be dramatic

11. “Nobody,” Mitski. And I don’t want you pity, I just want somebody near me

12. “Boy Like Me,” New Medicine. She’s the only girl I see/She don’t wanna be with a boy like me

13. “She’s so High,” Tal Bachman. I know where I belong and nothing’s gonna happen, yeah

14. “Wonder Boy,” Lesley Gore. If you’re so smart/How come you don’t know I love you? Have we considered: Dan POV excludes the fact that half the Upper East Side is in love with him

15. “Rasputin,” Boney M. Okay hear me out—*gunshots*

16. “Eleanor Rigby,” The Beatles. All the lonely people/Where do they all come from?

17. “I Don’t Love Anyone,” Belle and Sebastian. If there’s one thing that I learned when I was still a child/It’s to be alone

18. “Be Nice To Me,” The Front Bottoms. And I said, Daniel Humphrey is neurodivergent

19. “I’m Not Okay (I Promise),” My Chemical Romance. I’m not o-fucking-kay!

20. “Young Man,” The Chicks. This is the quintessential Dan&Milo song to me, in some ways—not for the arc itself, but for like. What happens. You’re of me, not mine/Walk your own crooked line

21. “World Spins Madly On,” The Weepies. I thought of you and where you’d gone/And the world spins madly on. Have you noticed I’m obsessed with the Milo arc yet?

22. “Baby You’re A Haunted House,” Gerard Way. ‘Cause, baby, you’re a haunted house now

23. “This Year,” The Mountain Goats. There will be feasting and dancing in Jerusalem next year

24. “survivin’,” Bastille. And I’m not gonna lie, say I’ve been alright/‘Cause it feels like I’ve been living in a world upside down

25. “Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?” Stevie Nicks. Dan has a love language. Dan is lonely because no one says it back. This song is actually also about the Milo arc because of why it was written

26. “Love Song,” Sara Bareilles. You see, I’m not gonna write you a love song/‘Cause you tell me it’s make or break in this. We’re all fighting the publishing industry tonight!

27. “How I Survived Bobby Mackey’s Personal Hell,” Lincoln. And we can argue semantics over who left who first/But one thing’s for certain: I needed you most

28. “Freakin’ Out On The Interstate,” Briston Maroney.

29. “Dog Days Are Over,” Florence + The Machine. Leave all your love and your lonely behind/You can’t carry it with you if you want to survive

30. “Most Of All,” Brandi Carlile. To remember what comes back/When you give your love away/Give away your love

#dan humphrey #gossip girl #original nonsense #this is a playlist tag #cover originally from a senamarais screenshot #id also like to make it clear i am dragging these out of a software that Does Not Like working with text

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tatjana-fantasy · 1 year

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Why Rachel King from House of Ashes is actually an amazing character

First off: It's completely okay if you don't like Rachel! Different people are drawn to different characters. Nobody is forced to like a character they simply don't vibe with. This is just my view of a character who I personally think is both overhated and underrated. More under the cut.

I want to preface this by saying that I believe every choice a character can make is, in at least one universe, canon for that character. This often hurts to think about, since there are a lot of choices that feel very ooc, but in my opinion, they wouldn't even be an option if they truly didn't fit at least one tiny part in a character's personality. But now let's talk about Rachel.

Many people see her as the "Queen Bitch" and nothing more. And to be fair, that's definitely what she's going for. She wears this nickname "like a fucking badge of honor," as she can reveal to Clarice. But why? Why would she like to be known as the Queen Bitch?

The reason is simple and revealed in the same conversation: "You think I got where I am with a soft word and a warm smile?" (No. Of course not.) "I had to graft to get here. [...] They have no idea the shithill I've climbed to just get where I am right now."

I can't even begin to explain how incredibely sad this actually is. Rachel had to become the Queen Bitch because she wouldn't have been taken seriously otherwise. As a woman in the military, being soft and warm simply wasn't an option. Characters like Merwin already make sexist jokes about women – imagine how he would've treated Rachel if she wouldn't have established her status, but tried to treat him nicely instead. The only way Rachel could find respect was by becoming the Queen Bitch. She put on a mask (quite similar to Jason, actually) and eventually, the mask became a crucial part of her personality.

But that's not all. The "shithill" she climbed? This is likely the amount of knowledge she had to gather in order to become the leader of her group. She can speak Arabic, which is one of the most difficult languages to learn. She possesses great historical knowledge, being able to easily recognize stuff like Pagan effigies, a Pazuzu statue and Sumerian cuneiform. Eric sums it up nicely: She's quite an expert on history.

But do you know what's the most baffling thing about all of this? Rachel is the only character who possesses these abilities. No one else in her team can speak or understand Arabic. Nick flat-out admits that he fluked history in school. And the very noteworthy thing about this is the fact that the rest of Rachel's group are all men. To me, it seems like Rachel, because she's a woman, had to prove herself more than the men had to, and gather a lot more knowledge in a lot more areas. This also explains why she's so protective over her status, since she worked her ass off in order to earn it.

"But," I hear some of you say, "she cheated on Eric! And she can shoot Salim! And she says bullshit like 'I was stronger than them all'!"

Okay, let's start with the cheating first. You know, on the one hand, I absolutely hate cheating (I mean, if you get together with someone who cheats on their partner, how can you expect them to be loyal to you?), but on the other hand, Rachel's situation is a little different than a lot of other cheating scenarios I've encountered. She didn't see Eric for a full year, their marriage basically only existed on paper. Rachel was ready to move on. And your heart doesn't choose whom to fall in love with. To Rachel, it probably didn't even feel like cheating, considering how long she has been separated from Eric. Out of sight, out of mind. No, it does not excuse her actions, but for me, it does make it more understandable. Plus, it's something she eventually overcomes, choosing either Eric, Nick, or neither, so I can't be too mad at her about that.

I'm always surprised when people bring up Rachel shooting Salim though, since it takes a lot of set-up. If you dislike a character for doing something in a super obscure path that requires multiple specific choices across the entire game, shouldn't you also dislike a character like Jason, who is only two choices away from leaving Salim behind to die? Not to mention, this path also requires Jason to shoot an innocent shepherd who did absolutely nothing to him. Yet, I haven't seen anyone hating him for that. Personally, I can totally understand why Rachel, after she lost her husband to an enemy soldier, would want to avenge him; even in the path where she and Eric didn't get along, Salim robbed them of the chance of changing that. And in the path where they did get along ... she just lost the love of her life. I think a lot of people would be pretty vengeful after that. Not to mention, Salim's situation does look very shady, first killing Eric and then returning without Jason. Who wouldn't suspect that he had something to do with his death?

Some people also complain that Rachel doesn't want to give Salim a gun even if you make the best choices. But I think many people forget that Rachel and Salim almost had no interactions with each other, and certainly didn't have time to establish a trustworthy bond. Jason himself doesn't trust Salim with a gun in their determinant second-ish meeting, after Salim surrenders to him when Eric is already dead. Unlike Rachel, he can change his opinion, but only because he actually got to know Salim - Rachel, however, didn't. Of course she doesn't trust him with a gun. In the midst of war, you probably wouldn't want to give your enemy a weapon, either.

Rachel's line how she was "stronger than them all" is ... quite awful, tbh. No matter if she means her fellow comrades or the vampires, she definitely didn't do as much as the others. But while I do think that the line is pretty bad and while I do wish it wouldn't be the last thing we ever heard from her, here's the thing: I don't want to judge characters by a single line they said. People say questionable stuff all the time, both in real life and in fictional stories. But judging them solely based on one weak moment? Not something I want to do, so that line didn't influence my opinion on her character.

This brings me to Rachel's compassionate, heroic side – a side of hers that is frequently forgotten. In general, she can show her nicer side to people that are on the same level as her - most notably, Clarice and Eric. They are people where Rachel doesn't have to worry that they'll suddenly start to treat her like a lesser being for being more than the "Queen Bitch", so she feels more comfortable opening up to them.

Her compassionate side is shown first during the raid, I believe, where it's very important to her that Jason doesn't kill any innocent civilians. She herself can shoot one of them, but she doesn't do it out of fun, but to protect Jason from an attacking shepherd.

A few chapters later, there's the Rope Scene. Originally, Rachel was supposed to cut herself free in the Theatrical Cut if her relationship with Eric was high enough, but due to an earlier scene being cut, this is not possible anymore; instead, she can cut the rope in the Curator's Cut regardless of relationship. This is the first difficult choice she has to make: Potentially sacrificing her life in order to save Eric. It's an action that takes an incredible amount of courage, so I really appreciate that it is a choice that Rachel can make.

The next time we see Rachel, she's in the bloody pit, escaping from a vampire and meeting Clarice. I already talked about how Rachel can show her compassionate side here, potentially opening up to Clarice. But what I love the most is the fact that Rachel is very firm when it comes to helping her. Of course, she can also choose to leave Clarice behind, but it's very notable that once she was brought back, Rachel constantly insists that she needs help and shouldn't be abandoned. I really appreciate her loyalty here, since she's pretty much the only character who is on Clarice's side, the only one who doesn't want to give up on her. While helping her sadly doesn't work (which Rachel eventually realizes), I love Rachel for being the only one who at least wants to try.

When it comes to awesome scenes, Rachel and the machine gun come to mind, but my actual favorite scene takes place a few chapters later. When Rachel's infection threatens to overwhelm her and she has the option to kill herself with WP. She's only the second character in the anthology who can make the intentional decision to kill herself. In her case, she does it to protect the others – which is such a heroic choice that I'm surprised not more people mention it. Jason can also sort-of get infected, but he never seems to be worried about turning into a vampire; Rachel however does worry, and can choose a rather horrifying death to stop herself from potentially harming the others.

And it doesn't stop there. If she doesn't use WP (or simply doesn't have it), she can still beg Jason to shoot her in order to avoid turning. And if he doesn't shoot her, she can still volunteer to be cocooned, not knowing if the others will actually come back for her. Of course, she can also choose the opposite of these decisions - but I think that's more than understandable. Who would want to die a horrible death or live forever in a cocoon? Hopefully nobody. Which makes it even more awesome that Rachel has the choice to do so.

I wouldn't say that Rachel is my favorite character, btw. She can be a little too abrasive at times and her character revolves a little too much around finding a love interest. But she's still a brave, strong woman – and, in my opinion, one of the most underrated characters in the anthology.

#supermassive games #the dark pictures anthology #house of ashes #rachel king #dpa essay

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wolves-etc · 1 year

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thoughts on The Last Of Us episode three, just yelled at the friend who recced it to me, now edited to remove most of the yelling:

[thoughts on: 1.1 | 1.2 | X | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.9]

— starting off strong with a) ANGST ABOUT HANDS (MY BELOVED) and b) a moment just appreciating the peace and the view. hey, it's the apocalypse, and there's still natural beauty around <3

— (obligatory "don't move rocks, things live under 'em" PSA but I'm not gonna be the one to ruin his lovely moment)

— I'm impressed with ellie for the… I want to call it boundary setting but it might not be, exactly. the "you made a choice, you needed a truck battery or whatever, don't blame me for something that wasn't my fault" bit. that was brave, especially with how scary joel can be. yes she's had a little time to get to know him, yes she's valuable cargo and she knows it, but he's grieving in a big way and he could make things unpleasant for her if he wanted, so yeah, brave.

— and it's nice that joel just listens and nods - it's not exactly treating her like an adult but it IS acknowledging her as someone who has a point and has a right to be treated fairly, and it's not exactly commonplace for adults to treat kids and teens like that. (though it looked like he had a good relationship with sarah, so I'm not surprised.)

— green <3

— ELLIE ROASTING HIM RELENTLESSLY FOR HIS SCAR AND HIS SHOOTING ABILTIES. I love her I love this

— "there's this one character named mileena who takes off her mask and she has monster teeth and then she swallows you whole and barfs out your bones! oh, man." <3

— "is there anything bad in here?" "just you." "ah, getting funnier." GOOD

— I do not like the dark mystery cellar I am putting socks on again, for fuck's sake. ellie could also do with more anxiety slash survival instincts but kudos to her upper body strength!

— WAS IT WORTH IT FOR TAMPONS, ELLIE. WAS IT WORTH IT

— ellie these things call other things. ellie this is deeply grim. I may have underestimated how much of a murder child she is.

— cordyceps in the food supply is a grim idea. and it does explain how it happened so everywhere and so quickly. (and it means the mycologist's advice to bomb the city might or might not have been enough, if anything had already been sent out.)

— joel answered a question with more than a sentence and ellie said thanks!! I'M SO PROUD OF THEM.

— "there's stuff up there you shouldn't see." "you're too honest, man. should've said axe murderer."

what's NICE about this is it sets a precedent and establishes him as a trustworthy adult, at least in that he tells her stuff and he can be believed. because she's in that transitional age where you kinda have to start treating teenagers like adults with some things - just, adults who are much more fragile and have minimal life experience - and that means giving them freedom to see stuff that might be hard for them. like. um. mass graves. okay I'm adjusting this to fit a zombie apocalypse setting and that's making it a little intense. sorry about that.

— this is a flashback I Did Not Want but also HI IS THAT NICK OFFERMAN. HELLO <3

— nobody told me he was a deranged survivalist with a gas mask I love him already

— nick offerman is resource grinding like there's no tomorrow and I love that for him

— nick offerman you fucking weirdo bastard you booby-trapped the place.

— he's WATCHING THEM ON CAMERA FOR FUN. oh I adore him.

— look at him nick he's pathetic he's funny he has no home, you have room for a stray dog guest don't you

— it's been four years since the outbreak and nick is only just causing someone else happiness (frank having a truly amazing time in the shower) and I'm just struck by that, how nourishing each other lifts us up too, and how nick kept himself starved of that.

— (at this point my friend came online and accidentally let slip that nick offerman's character is called bill)

— (WAIT. BILL AS IN BILL AND FRANK OF "JOEL MENTIONED THESE DUDES" FAME. I'm so proud of them.)

— the view of frank sitting at the table alone, in clean clothes, delighted and bewildered by all the finery, was when my brain drew a Beauty And The Beast comparison and I had to sit back and laugh for several minutes

— bill absolutely deer-in-the-headlights when he comes in to see frank standing up <3 kinda stumbling through the door because two plates and a bottle is more than he normally has to carry <3 adjusting frank's plate until it's Just Right <3 I LOVE BILL

— "I know I don't seem like the type." "no, you do." here we reach the moment that (in gifset form) persuaded me to watch this, and gosh, it's even sweeter in person.

— I don't know if frank was just elbowing in and rifling through the music sheets to get a reaction from bill or not. he could just be kinda oblivious and rude, which is fair enough, given the Extenuating Circumstances. him "accidentally" insisting on bill playing was some kind of deliberate though.

— bill playing the piano and frank looking down at him like oh, oh this is a treasure.

— I've never cried at an on-screen kiss before but oh fuck. the desperation and loneliness of it, holding each other as close as possible. the desperation and loneliness of the lives they've both been living the past four years.

— and what it extends to in the bedroom, the caution on frank's front and the almost-shame on bill's, I don't have words for it but it's thick enough to slice and butter for afternoon tea and it feels so real it hurts.

— three years later and they're having relationship talks, I'm SO proud of them

— frank making friends and making bill's life infinitely harder <3 <3 <3

— the small but significant shift in joel when he says "we can help each other and get that gun out of my face." I almost didn't recognise him until that.

— I've never been happier to see two grown men eating strawberries

— yes, I'm tearing up again

— (at this point I started to cotton on to where this was going and paused to accuse my friend of having recommended the show to me largely for this episode. turns out he did! the mortifying ordeal of being known by your friends.)

— (I also stopped making notes. 'cos it got hard to talk about. the scenes we get with them are all so intimate and the last one, at the dinner table, was so real it felt almost voyeuristic to me - and I didn't want to make any kind of judgement about their decisions. it's a lot. they had sixteen years together, and that part's pretty fucking great, considering. I'm leaving it at that.)

— "I'm guessing you found this, Joel, because anyone else would've been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps. Hehehehehehehehe." bastard I love him

— "there was one person worth saving. that's what I did. I saved him, and I protected him." oh this is absolutely about joel too.

— "we have a job to do. and god help any motherfuckers who stand in our way." <3 <3 <3

— "I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep [tess safe]." ...well, fuck.

(it's an awful thought, but at least joel didn't love her as much as she loved him.)

— love to see joel being honest about his plans with ellie!

— bewildered to see bill and frank still had TOILET PAPER. bill, buddy, how much did you even STASH

— joel and ellie looking totally like a dad and daughter going on a trip except he says "seatbelt" and she doesn't know what he means and it's not 2003 after all, it's 2023 and they're living in a different world, and that world's gone for good. heck.

yeah so my friend recommended the show to me largely for this episode (bastard <3) and he was Right to. that's my takeaway.

#I don't talk about the tough stuff in any detail below the cut #the last of us hbo #the last of us spoilers #tlou spoilers #angst tag #orig #I really dragged my feet on getting this one together and in the meantime I kinda sorta watched the rest of the series #(and took notes/did yelling along the way. fully planning to tidy that up too. if only 'cos I really want to reach the last two eps.)#my apologies for things that are ouch with context from further eps #I can't edit that kind of thing or I'm not being honest <3

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caracteresolaires · 1 year

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2, 12, 18 for nick, tiff, and atlas!

given tumblr’s track record w formatting i’m just. not going to use it.

2. What does your OCs handwriting look like?

NICK has pretty nice handwriting? Definitely readable, a little squared, very utilitarian script. He cannot write in cursive though. TIFFANY has alright handwriting that is too connected (like, whole words will blend together), and the letters are all spaced really far apart. it’s impossible to read but she can read it and that’s what matters :) ATLAS has really tight, square script that is probably the most legible of the three, and no signature to speak of (he just writes his name, or AAA, his initials).

12. What is their character theme song and why? if it has lyrics, which line best fits them?

ohhh Liza! there’s too many! if i had to pick one: NICK’S is Playing with Fire by Brandon Flowers. I can’t even pick one line because it’s all so good, like. thank you brandon for this one. Again, if I had to narrow it down to one or two, ‘This church of mine may not be recognized by steeple / but that doesn’t mean that I will walk without a god’ + ‘Rolling River of Truth, can you spare me a sip? / the Holy Fountain of Youth has been reduced to a drip’ TIFFANY’S characterization was hugely inspired by Hexie Mountains and Let Me Drown by Orville Peck — specifically the lines ‘But wouldn’t it be nice if I could hold it off again? / Wouldn’t it be nice if I could get things off my chest?’ from Hexie and ‘Never knew where was home / I slept a lifetime alone’ + ‘I know with pleasure comes pain / I figured we were the same / But as I get older I get more afraid’ from Let Me Drown. Oh and ‘Drag me ‘round ‘til I never complain’ ATLAS, by comparison, is so well-adjusted :) :) Picking one I would say You’re My Home by Billy Joel — ‘Well, I never had a place that I could call my very own / But that’s alright my love, ‘cause you’re my home’ — again in comparison like, props to the adjusted psyche my guy!

18. What is one thing they only let those closest to them see?

NICK doesn’t get into his past in the Hand (for good reason, it’s definitely a traumatic time), except when it becomes necessary to. He’s also closed about his feelings (like all good characters), specifically when he’s getting close to someone. Flirtation might come more naturally, but real emotion? Good luck. TIFF is pretty private about most things, especially how she’s really doing. She’s perfectly content to ignore her problems in favor of others, and talking about what’s wrong is like trying to pull a tooth. ATLAS is also quite private, but especially about his hobbies, just because he’s not used to people really caring about them. Not that he’s super sad about it, it’s just that most people interact with him as an engineer, not really as a friend. (He does have friends, to be clear.)

#ch: nick #ch: tiffany holliday #ch: atlas #ask game #thank you liza!

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msjessicaday · 5 years

Photo

gif meme 10. touch me (gifs where characters are touching each other or other things of importance) → nick and jess

(requested by @omgcrazypenguinkid, @meredithgreys, @cool-nick-miller, @mathiilde3)

#ngedits #new girl #nick x jess #ness #otp: a weird wonderful life together #mine #gif meme #i love the way jess wraps her arms around nick when they kiss #but i especially love it in that first gif knowing how much love she probably felt for him in that moment #honestly if 314 wasn’t as perfect as it was from start to finish i would have loved that to be the moment when they said their i love yous #and the soft back rub then lil pat in the second gif is one of my fave moments between them even if it is really small and quick #esp. when s1/early s2 nick was still a grumpy turtle faced old man who hated anything and everything but jess #it’s just sweet and shows how close and comfortable they were with each other early on #and that third gif well…jess wrapping her arms around nick as they kiss PLUS nick picking her up? two of my favourite things in one #don’t even get me STARTED on ness in 103 because there was just. SO MUCH going on with them especially their HANDS #like not only do i love how nice nick’s hand fits in hers but also how at first he was like ‘ok yea she’s got my hand’#then eventually he gets into it and his thumb folds over her hand. it’s just!!! very soft!#and i’ve always loved the 622 kiss so very much bc this is clearly something they’ve wanted and waited for for so long #despite them not really knowing it themselves most of the time bc they’re silly #and it SHOWS in the way they’re pretty much gripping onto each other for dear life like they never ever want to let go of one another again #i’m running out of tags so let me just talk real quick about nick touching jess’ face because it is my weakness #i particularly love the moments he does in 219 305 and 310 but ESPECIALLY the moment in 305 when he just gently cups her face and gives her #a peck on the lips. it’s just…peak married couple behaviour #and the hand holding moment from 310 almost didn’t make it to this set but i loved it way too much not to include it #sometimes i appreciate these little things they do more than i do their more ‘significant’ moments #because even if they are small subtle things it’s what makes it more real #and why the chemistry between these two makes it so easy for me to call them my otp!!#i’m really sad that we didn’t get as much of this in later seasons bc this played a big part in my love for ness #IN CONCLUSION (if you read all of this pls tell me so i can tell u that i love and appreciate u)#nick and jess are super soft and precious with each other and i’m in love with their love

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jbreenr · 3 years

Text

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥

Pairing: Ransom Drysdale × Reader

Summary: You wanted to meet Ransom's family, he wanted to make sure you'd never want it again.

Word count: 3k.

Warning: Poorly written smut (+18 only, please), public sex (prompt 11), fingering, unprotected sex (don't do that, kids. be responsible), a bit of dirty talk, the Thrombeys being the Thrombeys. And I think that's it.

A/N: So, after finding out one of my stories was stolen an translated in Wattpad, I did not know if I should post this just yet but, what the hell? Let's do it. Anyway, this is for @stargazingfangirl18 and @navybrat817 's Shameless Hoes for Chris Challenge so, happy belated birthday! Yaaay. 🥳 Hope you like this at least a little and that it's not as bad as my paranoid brain thinks it is. Also, I just love how the prompts fit perfectly together, don't you? As always, lack of vocabulary and grammatical mistakes abound. *apologizes in español*

Wheel results (just attaching evidence):

ᴹʸ ᵍⁱᶠ

Draining, tedious, exasperating. Those were some of the adjectives Ransom associated with Thrombey family reunions. He'd arrive late, have some sort of conversation with his grandfather and leave early to do whatever that took him away from that big house.

Today though, he had a reason to stay for more than half an hour.

If it was up to him, you two would have stayed at home, happy, relaxed, and most importantly, naked in his bed, having a more pleasant time than the one you were most likely about to have.

He tried to persuade you. Of course he did! But your insistence and puppy eyes made it impossible for him to say no to your request.

So, here you were, getting out of his car, cake in sweaty hands and an excited smile on your lips, an expression so different from Ransom's, who seemed to be ready to get back behind the wheel and drive straight to Canada.

He didn't knock; he simply opened the door and held it for you to enter. If the three floor house was imposing from the outside, you felt impressed by the inside. Extravagant sculptures, apparently expensive paintings and other kinds of pieces of art were scattered everywhere, telling you just how wealthy and eccentric Ransom's family were.

“That's Harlan Thrombey! ” You exclaimed as you stood in front of the portrait of your forever favorite author holding a knife and a book.

“So?” Ransom asked, unconcerned.

You turned to him open-mouthed, the cake almost slipping off your palms as you went to playfully slap him in the arm.

“How come you are related to Harlan Thrombey and you didn't tell me?” Your question was more of a shock than an accusation.

The carefree gesture he did with his shoulders only accentuated his next words. “I did not think you would be interested in knowing.”

“I wouldn’t be interested?” Incredulity, flowing out of your lips. “He’s the best thriller author of all time! He’s like today’s Edgar Allan Poe!”

To say that you didn't believe him was an understatement. He knew for a fact that you liked Harlan Thrombey's books, just taking a look at the bookshelf in your apartment was proof enough of that.

“We call him grandpa here.” Said a femenine voice. A brunette walked in your direction, her pretty features hardening as she looked at your boyfriend. “Don't we, Hugh?”

He seemed to be ready to say something but decided not to. Instead he inhaled and placed his hand on your back.

“This is Y/N, the only reason I’m not telling you what you need to hear right now.”

Her eyes rolled in irritation and then turned to you. “I’m Meg. Let's introduce you to the rest of the family, shall we?.” And she dragged you to the room where more people were gathered together, discussing something, not before sending a deadly glare at Ransom.

Given the distance between you and him, you didn't listen to the heavy sigh he let out before waking behind.

“Everyone!” Meg called, making everyone leave whatever they were doing to look at her –and you, in consequence. “Meet Y/N, Hugh's new friend.” She then proceeded to introduce every single member of the family, including the housekeeper and the nurse, except for the grandfather, who apparently had a moment of inspiration and left them momentarily to put his ideas on paper.

None of them left their seat to go and shake your hand except for Meg's energetic mom, who hugged you and expressed how much she loved your coat even though it was soooo last season.

Sitting on a couch next to Ransom, you half expected someone to ask you about how you two met or how long had you been dating or what was it that you did for a living. Nothing. As fast as their attention was on you, it fell from you to their previous discussion.

You now understood why Ransom jokingly suggested deep cleaning the house instead of attending that reunion.

What you weren't aware of, Ransom thought, was that all of them were behaving wonderfully compared to previous times.

You didn't know if you felt more disappointed or uncomfortable. Ransom had left your side to go to the studio for a second and you had barely had any interaction with his family. All of them, dipped in their own matters to even notice your presence.

Fran, the housekeeper, was kind enough to take the cake to the kitchen and offer you a glass of water, but after giving it to you, she disappeared along with Meg and the nurse.

“So,” All at once, the room went quiet as Ransom's uncle spoke. “Have you read any of dad's books, Y/N?” Only until you heard your name was that your head snapped up.

“Oh, uhm… yeah. I'm a big fan.” Taken by surprise, you simply answered.

“Really? Which one have you read?”

And to that question, you felt suddenly included in the conversation since you had knowledge of the topic.

“I'm like fifty pages from finishing 'The Needle Game' and intrigue is eating me alive.” As you heard the excitement in your voice, you tried to compose yourself and said “Though 'Nick Of Time' is my favorite.” You smiled at him, hoping that your answer was a good one.

The woman that was introduced to you as Ransom's mother nodded as she licked her lips. The light of the fireplace, reflecting on her glasses as she moved her head up and down.

“Have you read 'Ultimatum' or 'Drop In The Pocket', dear?” Her tone was curious, but the look on her face said differently.

You responded anyway. “They're not bad. I feel like the ending of 'Drop In The Pocket' was a little vague and out of line but it can always be interpreted as an open ending so…” The change in their expressions told you that you had to add something else to that answer. Maybe it was not time for literature humor yet. “But I enjoyed both.”

She hummed and took her drink, detaching from the talk that continued with courtesy questions until it morphed into a heated discussion between Ransom's father and uncle, who would repeatedly ask for your opinion to back up his own.

The discomfort you felt, dispelled to be replaced by the disturbance of being bombarded with dozens of questions at a time, each louder than the other until they changed to a completely different topic to which you were occasionally included as a neutral point of view.

“She knows what she's talking about!” Said Richard at some point when you confirmed one of his arguments. “Thank you, dear.”

Ransom came back from his obligatory argument with his grandfather to find you nowhere to be seen.

“She's using the bathroom.” Informed Jacob, who did not take his eyes off of his cellphone.

Thinking that you went there to hide, he started his way to your potential direction until an overheard observation from his mother stopped him halfway through.

“… Did you hear how she talked about dad's work? Oh, I assure you she won't make it to next week with Ransom.”

Her and Richard's backs were to him, both of them unaware that their son was listening to their share of opinions.

“And did you see her hands?” Joni joined the criticism contest. “She could use some moisturizer, I tell you.”

As usual, they ignored her attempt to fit in and kept going.

“I know it's contradictory to say this,” Richard paused, as to make his point clear. “But he could do better.”

Despite their whispering, Ransom heard every single word and was glad that you were not there to see what was about to happen…

Ransom's words stuck on his throat when he saw you making your way out of the bathroom, fixing the skirt of your dress, with such niceness and warmth directed to him as you smiled, oblivious to the fact that the people you were trying to get to like you weren't going to.

His parents were right. He could do better. He could determine to not see them ever again and it would be the best thing to happen to him… Besides you, obviously.

“What's wrong?” Your concern was evident, just as his annoyance was undeniable.

Cold hands caressed his cheeks and Ransom thought of going back to Joni and tell her to fuck off. Your touch was soft, comforting, and gave him the greatest idea he'd ever had.

“I want to show you something.” Was his answer. It was better if you were the one who decided to never step on that house for the rest of your lives. It didn't matter if it was out of embarrassment.

Taking your hand in his, he guided you up the stairs to the first landing. The creaking sound of the old structure, probably alerting everyone in the other room that you were going to the next floor.

“Are you okay?” The sweet giggle that you let out when he abruptly stopped, almost making him feel bad about what he was seconds away from doing.

“Better than ever.” And he stamped his lips to yours.

Taken aback, it took you a second to respond. Hands on each side of his face as his own explored your body. When his fingers lifted your dress to caress your ass cheeks was when you ended the kiss.

“What are you doing?” You asked in a breathless whisper. “Not that I'm complaining.”

You were cornered against the wall with Ransom towering in front of your smaller frame.

Trying to escape from whatever he had in mind was useless, you knew that much. Though, you were not sure if you really wanted to escape.

“What I've been wanting to do ever since you got a shower without me this morning.” His lips found your jaw and descended to your neck where he sucked to create a bruise. Your eyes closed to the sensation.

“Wait. No, wait.” His fingertip that had started rubbing your still clothed bud paused it's motions as his eyes focused back on your face. “We can't do it. Not here.”

Ransom's finger went back to work, bringing a soft moan that you tried to suppress. “Why not? No one's gonna come here.” His other hand moved up your thigh to lift it. “Even if they did, they wouldn't notice.”

With an expert swing of his wrist, he moved your panties aside, letting the cold air that wandered inside the house hit you before his skilled middle finger entered you while still managing to rub your clit in circles with his thumb.

Adrenaline ran through your veins, fuel activating every nerve in your body and shaking away fear from your brain, replacing it with lust and boldness.

“I'm blaming you if we get caught.” Your hips jolted forward wanting to feel more of his hand, the contradiction between your words and actions, making him smirk.

He added a second finger. Knuckles deep and his cold ring slowly warming against the inside of your thigh, he said, “I'll take responsibility, sweetheart.” Pumping his fingers in and out, he felt your slick running down the back of his hand to his wrist, wetting his overly expensive watch and the cuff of his cozy sweater .“But I can't assure you we won't get caught.”

His words, instead of working as a bucket of cold water as one would expect, increased your need to be touched by him, the yearning for him to take you right there and then.

“Damn it, Ransom.” One of your hands flew to his shoulder to hold onto him for dear life. “I'm close.”

“You're not cumming unless I'm inside you, pretty thing.” At what point did he unfasten his belt and unzipped his trousers, you had no idea. The friction of his digits was gone in a second but the feeling of his already leaking tip rubbing against your most sensitive parts was enough to make you forget about those trifles.

Your lips opened, ready to tell him to keep his voice down when he suddenly thrusted home, stretching you out so deliciously that you had to cover your mouth to muffle the moan that threatened to inform everyone of your current activities.

Ransom's breathing hitched. Being inside you was a dream come true, feeling your walls enveloping his cock so fucking good… it was like you were made for each other, and he was going to prove it, even if his family didn't really get to know.

His hips started moving. Back and forth, back and forth. Delicately at first, letting you adjust to his size but the second he felt you throbbing around him, he increased the pace. Little by little his pounds gained power and energy.

Your whimpers –stuck in your throat, leaving only soft snuffles that crashed against Ransom's cheek, soon became more rapid, erratic and as his fingers dug in the flesh of your thigh to keep you still while he accommodated to go even deeper you heard a creaking noise.

Your boyfriend's blue eyes met yours, his movements never faltering despite the alert given by the dark wooden floor under your feet.

There was a conflict in your head, and Ransom could tell. The way you tightened and the pleading look on your face told different stories, yet Ransom knew they had the same ending.

Shaking your head, your eyes asked him not to do it, but you knew Ransom well enough to be sure that not even begging could stop him.

“You love it, don't you?” His smile grew bigger as his change of position allowed him to hit your sweet spot on and on, ripping high pitched whines from you and obligating you to close your eyes. “The thought of getting caught. The image of someone seeing how good I make you feel.” The placement of his foot, making the landing creak repeatedly each time he pushed up accompanying every word. “Fuck, you're talking me so well. Such a dirty girl, uh.”

His big hand yanked the strap of your dress down, exposing your left boob. Your already hard nipple was soon attacked by Ransom's fingertips. He'd pinch and twist it slightly, just enough to make your back arch in search of his touch.

Pleasure was overflowing your senses, you could feel your heart thudding in your ears and your legs losing strength. Your hand left your mouth to grip at the back of Ransom's neck to keep you from falling.

The sight of your lower lip trapped between your teeth didn't please Ransom. In other circumstances, he would've let you stay that way, as quiet as possible so no one would walk on you. This time though, it was his intention to rip the most delicious sounds from your lips so you thought of the possibility of his family listening.

And so, he lent to kiss you, passion and desire transmitted through his breath. His tongue asked for a permission that was not really required, but as you let it in, Ransom took the opportunity to bite down your lip.

With your lips forcefully parted and Ransom's restless hand traveling back to your bundle, you had no other option than to moan with each quick circle his digits drew.

A series of laughs and undistinguished words were heard from a distance. Both Ransom and you turned to see what they were about, stopping in your tracks with him still buried deep inside your needy cunt.

“Guess dinner's ready.” Unbothered about the information he just gave, he hid his face in the crook of your neck and resumed his movements.

A shaky oh, fuck fell from your lips as you felt the familiar knot in your stomach forming. Your head flew back, hitting the wall with a soft thud.

“Careful. We don't want to be obvious, do we?” You knew you were about to explode, and by the way your walls were clenching and your trembling body tried to separate from him, Ransom knew as well. “Let go, sweetheart.” A roar erupted from him as he felt you tightening around his length. “Cum for me.”

With a last, powerful thrust of his hips, you let out a silent scream. The coil snapped, making you see a kaleidoscope of colors behind your eyelids and listen to a loud ring in your ears.

Ransom followed right after, cursing as he finished inside of you, coating you with every last drop and making sure everything would stay there.

He slid out, leaving you with a feeling of emptiness as he zipped his trousers and took a step back to let you fix your appearance.

You managed to accommodate your dress just in time for Ransom's family to walk out of the room they were in to see you. Your agitated breathing and blushed cheeks, getting everyone's attention.

“Are you okay, dear?” Ransom's dad asked.

“She's fine.” Your boyfriend answered for you. “She's feeling a little sick. I better take her home.” He took you by the hand and helped you down the stairs to the door, which you thanked. Had he not done it, you would have tripped taking the first step.

“But she hasn't met grandpa yet.” Meg noted, furrowing her brows.

“It'll be next time.” And with that, Ransom took you out of the house and in the passenger seat of his car without giving anyone the chance to say goodbye.

When you were at a considerable distance, you sighed, letting out the air you didn't know you were holding.

“Just so you know, there won't be a next time.” You informed him, against your want to meet his grandfather.

“Why not?” He asked with a chuckle, already knowing the answer.

“Cause embarrassment won't let me come back in the near future.”

Behind an eye roll and a tap on your thigh, Ransom hid the triumphant grimace his perfectly carried out plan gave him.

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missluckycharms · 3 years

Text

These small moments.

Single Dad!Harry and his little love, Honey.

Summary: mornings with Honey are Harrys favourite, small chats with blurry eyes and lazy smiles is what makes him feel closer to his little lady.

A/N: ahhh they’re so 🥺 enjoy !!

Click *** for visuals throughout the story.

Warnings: none, just pure fluff and dad jokes.

Word Count: 2.1K

Masterlist.

It’s nearly seven in the morning.

The sunrise shining through the windows and casting a bright warm hue onto Harry’s sleeping body in his bed. The white sheets tossed about and his head buried in the pillow, his cheek smushed to up and his lips slightly parted letting out small snores.

The only sound throughout the whole house is the sound of birds chirping about outside and the engines of cars on their way down the roads, the morning rush nearly upon the streets as people make their way to their nine till five jobs. The house has a slight breeze throughout due to Harry always sleeping with his window cracked open, and his door cracked open also to allow honey to walk in when she needed her Papa.

Speaking of the little love, she’s already awake, in her own small pink coloured bed, many pillows around her and her stuffies lined up against the wall, her favourite stuffie in her hand — Pascal from Tangled is her favourite stuffie, she brings him everywhere, even sneaks him into school in her back pack when Harrys not looking. She does this every morning, she lays in bed and talks to her stuffie or just stares at the ceiling, her glow in the dark stars now white and barely noticeable in the bright room, her pink curtains casting a pink hue around the room.

She waits five minutes before she’s hopping out of her bed and padding along towards her door, she pulls it open as it’s only closed a little, allowing enough of a gap for her small body to fit through. She snuggles pascal as she walks, looking around and noticing her Papa must still be asleep, she immediately darts for his room, peeping her curly head in and looking at his sleeping body, his back facing her and his bed messy as usual, but there’s always enough space for her to snuggle up next to him.

She doesn’t wake him, she tip toes towards the side he’s not laying on, throwing pascal up first before she’s hiking herself up on the large bed, a small groan when she has to put more strength into getting up than usual due to her sleepy state. When she’s up, she brushes the curls from her face with a harsh swipe, her blue doe eyes looking at her Papa, his hair messy like hers. She lays down on the pillow, looking at her Papa as she softly taps his cheek and pushes pascal towards him.

“G’morning button” he grumbles when he hears a small giggle, pascal now on his back as her dimples pop out at how ridiculous the man looks with a small green chameleon stuffie on his bare back. He smiles when he hears her hearty laugh, instantly wrapping his tattooed arm around her and squishing her into his chest.

“Papa! Cant see!” She laughs loudly, her small body being caged by her Dad’s broad muscular one, his own laughs filling the room as she peeps her head up at him, a small pout on her lips which causes him to lean down and peck her lips lightly.

“Have a good sleep? Yeah?” He asks when she nods happily, her small hand playing with his cross necklace as he shuts his eyes for a few more minutes, face buried in her chestnut curls as she talks to him and pascal, Harry never knowing which one she’s actually talking to sometimes.

“Papa? Pancakes now?” She asks after another five minutes, her small attention span running out which causes Harry to wake up from resting his eyes, smile back on his face as he turns them over so he’s laying on his back and Honey is sat on his stomach slapping his chest looking at his tattoos — she loves his tattoos or his “paintings” as she calls them.

“Papa, your pearlies are gone” she says disappointed looking to see that her favourite necklace of his which is his Pearl one, is missing. She loves to run her small hands over it, the feeling and look of it making her eyes wide in awe at the beauty of it.

“Should I wear them today?” He asks with a smile, watching as she rubs her eyes a little, slowly waking herself up as she lets out a small yawn, her small pouty lips returning as she babbles on nonsense as Harry tries to tame her hair a little before he has to style it for her today.

“Love your pearlies Papa” she says brightly, laying down on his chest, her curls tickling his chin as he wraps and arm around her back, rubbing small circles on it as she relaxes a little, her small body still trying to wake up as Harry softly kisses her head.

It’s when his alarm rings when the two actually peel themselves from bed, Honey immediately springing up and slapping his phone to turn off the sound, it’s her favourite thing to do for some reason, she always shouts “I did it Papa!” Which makes him laugh and nod kissing her head proudly. They’re both in the kitchen now, the early start allowing them to lounge about in their comfy clothes for awhile while they make breakfast. Harry is only in a pair of grey joggers while Honey sits on the counter, helping him add in flour and sugar to the pancake batter in her baby pink bunny printed silk pyjama set *** the darker complexion of her skin standing out against the pale pink, Harry was overjoyed when he seen she had the same skin tone as her Mum, her darker skin causing her blue eyes to be brighter.

“Wanna help crack an egg button? Need t’be careful though, don’t want crunch pancakes now do we?” He asks with a grin as she pulls a disgusted face shaking her head. Her small palm helps her Papa’s hand crack the egg and she giggles watching it plop down into the dry mixture.

They scarf down their banana pancakes through small chats and giggles, Harry cracking his usual jokes that have Honey giggling loudly as she shovelled her pancakes into her mouth, their faces hurting from laughing by the time they’re up in her bedroom, Harry standing at her drawers, holding up small outfits as Honey sits like the diva she is on her bed, giving him a thumbs down when she doesn’t like an outfit he picks. She’s so stubborn, but she gets that from him.

“I do it Papa!” She says annoyed now, marching over to him as she picks her up with a laugh, her small hands rooting about until she pulls out a white cable knit jumper with a few frills on the sleeves and a baby pink velvet pinafore to go over it. She smiles up at him as he nods, happy with her choice. ***

“Did good button, need to put some tights on you though, getting a bit nippy out” he says as she nods, walking towards her sock drawer and pulling out some white knitted tights with an smile as Harry gives her a thumbs up, causing her to laugh loudly.

“Why Papa shave?” She asks sitting on the sink, her small outfit on her and her brown boots swinging on her feet as she dangles them off the counter beside the sink watching as Harry applies his shaving foam and wets his razor under the water, he’s still shirtless and only in his joggers as Honey watches on — she loves watching him, when he’s shaving his face or when he’s cooking, even when he does something a small as put her DVD in the player, she’s fascinated by him and Harry thinks it’s because he’s all she has, and he doesn’t mind being the centre of her attention as she is his.

“Papa has hair on his face, sometimes it gets itchy when it lets long. You don’t like it sure you don’t, always complaining it tickles when I kiss ya” he says with a laugh, his hand gliding the razor over his face as he inspects himself in the mirror, trying not to nick himself as Honey watches on curiously.

“Yuck! Hate Papas beard, gross!” She says as Harry looks at her, his face shaven and the foam gone, he picks up his curl cream and scrunches it through his hair a little.

“S’not nice to say gross button, remember? Cant say things are gross” he warns her, her small face falling but nodding as she takes the small scolding from her Papa, he rarely scolds her and when he does, he feels guilty but he knows it’s for her own good. Apart from a few slip ups here and there, she’s the most well mannered toddler ever, everyone that meets her complements Harry on his good parenting which means so much to him due to what he’s been through to get to where he is now.

It’s another few minutes before Harry is fully dressed, a baby blue striped grey suit *** on his body and his usual gucci heeled boots that Honey loves the sound of, she instantly perks up at the sound knowing her Papa is near. She claps when he walks out from the bathroom, it’s her new thing, she claps like he’s putting on a fashion show, causing him to strike a pose which causes her to fall back onto the bed in fits of laughter.

“Alright button, hair time!” He says as she widens her eyes, trying to wriggle off his bed and run away. She hates her hair being combed due to her curls being unruly and always tangled on her head. He grabs her and makes monster noises at her, tickling her belly as she screams out a laugh, nearly falling from his arms as he places her down on the counter by the sink, she spins around and watches herself in the mirror.

“What are we going for today Miss Styles?” He asks her like a professional hair stylist, her smile wide as she grabs a pink hair tie with small butterfly clips also, she shows them to him in the mirror as he smiles, taking her hair brush and de tangling spray. He struggles a little but he gets there in the end, her hair tied up in a pony tail and the small butterfly clips all around her head as she smiles brightly at herself.

“Did good job Papa!” She says clapping her hands, seeing how her Dad is improving, he’s been watching tutorials nightly and even trying some on himself as he gets used to braiding and all that stuff for when she starts asking for more complex styles in her curly hair.

He packs her bag and they’re both out the door quickly, he straps her into her booster seat in his black Range Rover, her legs dangling about as she rings and dances to the song on the radio, Harry keeping his eyes on the road but they flicker to hers in the rear view mirror when she speaks to him. Honey loves school, she loves her teacher and she loves making new friends due to her out going personality that she definitely got from her Mum, she could make friends with a tree if she was near one.

She’s holding his hand as he walks her in the gates, the other kids all lining up on their designated class spot on the ground, a yellow circle painted on the tarmac signalling the younger class. The Mums are all there with their kids, the odd few Dads there also but it’s always the Mums who are smiling and speaking to Harry as they watch their kids walk into their classroom, small hands waving as they excitedly march into the school. He doesn’t stay long after she’s gone in, mainly because the Mums have no filter and would publicly flirt with the single Dad even when they have wedding bands on their fingers.

He brushes off all the women, smiling at them as he runs out the gate, hearing them all whisper amongst themselves as they excitedly look on as he pulls away in his expensive car heading towards his work building. Harry feels empty when Honey is gone, he loves mornings with her, just him and her going about their mornings, making breakfast and cracking up at jokes they tell one another back and forth over banana pancakes every morning, some mornings they have cereal if they wake up late and sometimes if they wake up extra early and can’t go back asleep, they get ready and Harry brings her out for breakfast before dropping her off at school.

It’s the little moments with Honey that Harry cherishes, knowing she won’t be his little love for very long, but doesn’t think about that. He lives in the present with her and he loves how they are now, he loves his little lady with all his heart.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles au #harry styles one shot #harry styles fandom #harry styles blurb #harry styles fluff #singledad!harry #single dad au #fanfic authors #fan fiction #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x reader

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navalcriminalimagines · 3 years

Text

Birthday girl

I can't believe I did that, but here we are. This fits the "Multiple partners/gangbang" square from the Summer Bingo. With our favorite boys; Mike, Rafael, Sonny & Mike.

Words count: 3,9k

Warnings: Gangbang, p in v, creampie, spanking (slightly)

Sorry if there's any typos...

@thatesqcrush

You had a lot of hopes for your 30th birthday. Not just for the celebration itself but also in general. You thought that by now, you would be in a serious relationship, maybe with a kid or two, or at least planning on having one. You had many things you wanted to do before you were 30, but now that you think about it, you didn’t do much of those things. You’re actually far from it.

It just hurts to see people around you having their life together. Your best friend is married to a lovely man, she has a two year old boy and is pregnant with a second and she owns her business. Your sister - older than you - is traveling all around the world with her husband and their dog. And everytime you meet with your mother, it’s like she has to put pressure where it hurts. Every single time.

The only thing you can’t complain about is your job, and the people you work with. Being a detective at SVU is hard, it’s challenging, but you wouldn’t change it for the world. And you have the most amazing squad with you. Also, the most handsome men you ever met. Seriously. Mike, Sonny, Rafael, Nick. How could you not like your job when you see those faces 24/7?

You had expectations for your celebration party. You invited the squad to a beach house that you rented. They became your family, they are the ones you want to celebrate with. But little by little, it was falling apart. First, Amanda had to cancel since her sister is in town, and everyone knows Kim is a handful. Then, it was Liv turn. The day before, Noah got sick, so she decided to stay at home with him. That’s fair, Noah’s health first. And last but not least, your best friend and her husband canceled too. “No one to take care of the kid,” apparently. Is that what it is to have kids? Not having fun anymore? Cause if that’s it, maybe you don’t want one.

So, in the end, it’s just you and the boys. Not that you mind that thought at all.

You left early in the morning with Sonny. He offered to help you prepare the house, and go grocery shopping. “How’s the birthday girl?” he asked, gently as always.

“Kinda upset that everyone canceled. But I won’t let this ruin my day!”

“You’ll have fun anyway. We planned a few things with the guys,” he teased.

You spent the entire day annoying Sonny so he would talk. But he didn’t say a damn thing. Whatever they have prepared, you have no clue. It does stress you out a little but one thing is sure; you can trust them with your life.

Everything was ready when Mike, Nick and Rafael arrived. When Sonny opened the door to them, their arms were full. You saw booze, food, and gifts. Way too many gifts for one person. “What the hell is all of that?” you exclaimed when they dropped everything on the floor, in the living area.

“Everything we need to celebrate your 30th birthday. You will remember this weekend,” Mike said with a huge grin on his face. He walked up to you and hugged you softly. “Happy birthday Y/N,” he kissed your forehead.

Nick and Rafael did the same as Mike. Then, they quickly put their stuff in the bedrooms, before joining you and Sonny on the terrace, facing the ocean. The weather wasn’t the best, but you couldn’t care less.

“One rule for this weekend; not shop talk,” Nick warned and everyone agreed with it.

The evening started pretty smoothly. You were having drinks, eating the apéritif you and Sonny prepared earlier and chatting about nothing and everything. At some point, Rafael came back with a bottle of champagne and poured everyone a glass. “To our amazing Y/N,” he said, holding his glass in the air. “You probably have no idea what you mean to all of us and that’s actually what makes you even more lovable. We care about you more than you know. Happy birthday, querida,” he smiled and toast with you.

You looked at Rafael with puppy eyes. He and the three others know you’re not used to being praised like this, even though you deserve any less.

“This is nice! Mike, your turn,”

The sergeant obliged. He stood up and cleared his throat, “Everyone knows that me joining SVU was my dad’s idea, but honestly, I can’t thank him enough for making me. Cause now you’re in my life and girl, you won’t get rid of me. I can’t imagine my life without you, Y/N,” he paused, “and without those idiots either, but that’s not their birthdays,”

“You said it anyway,” Nick teased Mike.

“Shut up, Nick! Let him finish,” you elbowed Nick.

“Well, I was done actually. Happy birthday, honey,” he bent over to kiss your cheek and then toasted with you.

“I love you,” you mouthed to him. “Nick, now you can talk,” you were excited about this. The past weeks before your birthday hadn’t been easy, you overthink a lot about your life. You actually cried yourself to sleep the night before, but none of them know. Their words make you feel much better. You’re lucky to have them.

“Thank you, Ma’am,” he said before standing up, “We didn’t start on the right foot, you and me, probably because you never chewed your words with me and I hated it. But you were right on most of the things you ever told me. You’re - without a shadow of a doubt - the best friend I ever had. I can’t wait for us to fight like cats and dogs at the nursery home. Feliz cumpleaños, cariño,” he smiled at you and extended his glass so you could toast together, “Also, you’re hot as hell,”

It was an understatement to be honest, but Nick added this comment because he saw the tears forming in your eyes and he refused to see you cry on your birthday, because of something he said. Fortunately, it worked and you laughed instead of crying. “He’s right,” Rafael added with a wink. Of course, none of them missed how your cheeks turned bright red, even if you tried to play it cool.

“I guess it’s my turn now,” Sonny spoke and stood up. But he stayed silent for a moment, “What they said,” he simply said before sitting again.

Mike, Nick and Rafael immediately started to playfully boo him, “You suck man!” Nick exclaimed.

“You usually can’t shut up and now, that’s all you have to say?” Rafael teased him.

“Y/N should have the right to punish you,” Mike added.

“Oh yes, please! Can I punish you?” you eagerly asked.

“Oh honey,” Rafael grabbed your attention, “you don’t ask someone if you can punish them. You just do it,”

“I know, Rafi. But he’s a good catholic boy, remember? We can’t have him running out of the house, praying for our souls,”

“Y/N. You know Sonny is worse then all of us reunited,” Rafael said this so casually, he didn’t realize how it sounded.

“Dominick Carisi, you’re such a liar!” Mike shouted, “you told me you and Raf didn’t hook up!”

“Yeah well, about that? I lied,”

Sonny and Rafael exchanged sweet looks, while you were silently drinking your glass of champagne.. “Are you two dating or something?” Nick asked.

Rafael was about to say something, but Mike stood up in one quick motion and shouted even louder, “Oh my god!” The four of you looked at him, “I think what you should be asking, Nick, is if the three of them are a thing!”

One thing you hate about Mike is how he can read you like an open book. It was hard to hide from him, the night you had with Sonny and Rafael a few months ago. Now, there was no point to lie.

“I can’t believe you three hook up and didn’t say a damn thing,” Nick said.

“To be honest, I’m more offended about not being invited,” Mike added.

That’s how the night took a very different turn.

*****

“I think all the attention should be on the birthday girl,” Rafael said as he was unbuttoning his shirt. You and Sonny were kissing on one side of the couch while Mike and Nick were making out on the other side.

“Raf is right. To be fair, we have an entire weekend in this house,” Mike added.

In a matter of seconds, you were standing in the middle of the master bedroom, with the four men around you. “Mike and Nick need to know the safe word.” Rafael commented, and Sonny took his tongue out of your month to let you speak.

“Armadillo,” you said.

You can’t even begin to describe how you feel about all of this. Those four men just for you? All of their attention on you? That thought only could make cum on the spot. You had to remember the ground rules you had with Sonny and Rafael a few months ago, and the first one is not to overthink. You all know you can trust one another. You’re more safe with those four guys than with one single random guy.

Once the safe word was known to everyone, Sonny remained kissing you. You immediately granted access to his tongue, it was sloppy but passionate. Meanwhile, you felt a pair of hands taking off your top and another one taking care of your pants. “Matching underwear,” Mike commented, as he was the one staring, “You hoped for this, didn’t you?” You smiled against Sonny. You didn’t hope for a gangbang, but yes, you did hope to get lucky. But this was better than anything you hoped for.

“Of course, she did,” you heard Nick’s voice coming from behind you. He gently unhook your bra, freeing your tits and he didn’t waste a second before playing with them. Your nipples were already hard, craving for attention. “She knew she could have any of us,”

“Oh Nick, that’s worse than that. She knew she could have the four of us,” Rafael added, as one of his hands slided in your panties, feeling how hot and wet you were. “Guys, she is dripping,” he let the others know, and he gently started to tease your clit with his thumb.

As Sonny kept kissing you, Nick kept playing with your tits, and Rafael kept teasing your drenched entrance, Mike got undressed. You saw him from the corner of your eyes, and your attention quickly fell on his rock hard erection. He smiled when he noticed where you were looking and started to stroke himself. You locked eyes with him while tentatively trying to touch one of the guy's cock. Your hand landed on Sonny’s crotch and he groaned at the sensation, even through the fabric of his jeans. But Rafael used his free hand to grab your wrist. “Such a needy cock slut,” he said, right next to your ear.

“Maybe Sonny should replace his tongue with his cock,” Nick offered and he felt you nodding. So Sonny stopped kissing you, he briefly took a look at your swollen lips, and your naked body being taken care of by Rafael and Nick.

“Well, Mike, get closer,” Sonny said as he undressed himself, “She loves having two cocks in her mouth. Am I right, Y/N?”

Everything that was happening was too much, you struggled to find your words, so you nodded. But it wasn’t enough for them. “You want to hear you say it,” Mike said after he finally got closer to you.

“I--I want your cocks--” you moaned as Rafael finally entered your core with one finger, “in my month,” you moaned even more when Nick pinched both of your nipples, just enough to make it hurt, “All of them,” you finally added.

To make sure Rafael and Nick could still work on your body, Mike and Sonny stood up on the edge of the bed. Your face was right at their crotch. You took one cock in each hand, gently stroking them, “I think Mike should be first. I already know how your mouth feels,” you agreed and focused on Mike’s cock, but with your other hand still stroking Sonny’s. You softly licked the head, tasting the precum coming out, before taking him in your mouth. Mike let out a huge groan at the feeling, “Man, when was the last time you had a blowjob?” Nick joked.

“Way too long,” he managed to say.

You have to admit, it’s hard to give a good blowjob to a man, while two others are worshipping your body. But Rafael decided to withdraw his hand from your panties and quickly after, you felt a cold breeze as Nick’s hands and body drift away from you. “Don’t forget about Sonny, babygirl,” you heard from the other side of the room.

Your jaw is going to be sore as fuck in the morning as you opened your mouth as much as you could, to take both Sonny’s and Mike’s cocks in. Obviously, they can’t both fit in but it is mostly about playing with the heads and your tongue.

You jolted when you felt a very warm body against your back. You recognized Rafael’s smell. He was fully naked. He held your hips strongly, sliding his hard cock in your panties and stroking it against your ass. You felt his hot breath in your neck before he planted a few wet kisses there.

Your face was a mess. It was a mix of saliva and precum from both men. Your pussy was a mess too. You were so wet, you could feel it on your thighs. You kept sucking Sonny and Mike for a short moment before they made you stop. Mike got down from the bed and kissed you deeply, enjoying the mixture that was there.

Someone finally took your panties off, you don’t know who and you couldn’t care less. You were desperate to be fucked.

*****

The first to get inside you was Nick. You were lying on the bed, a complete mess already, and Nick got on top of you. He gently kissed you, teased your entrance for a short moment before sinking inside your pussy in a slow motion. “Fuck, you’re so tight,” he groaned as he bottomed out. He started to thrust you, slow and deep at first.

The sounds you were making were such a turn on to the four men. As Nick was fucking you good, you had no idea where Mike, Sonny and Rafael were, until you felt someone climbing on the bed. When you opened your eyes, you saw Rafael’s face above you and his cock was a few inches from your mouth. “Open that pretty mouth for me,” he said and you obliged. As Nick was fucking your pussy, Rafael was facefucking you. And this was a lot to handle. It didn’t take long for you to feel your orgasm coming up. Your cries were muffled by Rafael’s thick cock as you came, and it brought him an overwhelming sensation that made him groan hard. “Such a good girl, creaming my cock like this,” Nick said. He wasn’t far from coming either. He buried his face in your neck, and he felt your nails crashing on his skull. It took a few more thrusts before he loaded his hot cum inside you, crying out your name.

He stayed on top of you for a moment before pulling out, at the same time Rafael stopped facefucking you and you cried at the emptiness.

“Someone doesn’t like to feel empty?” It was Sonny who talked. He was sitting next to you and he pushed two fingers inside your pussy, taking Nick’s cum back where it belonged. Your body arched at the feeling and you moaned deeply. “So worked up already. But we’re not done with you,”

“You better not,” you laughed.

“Oh, she’s teasing!” Mike exclaimed. “Babygirl, when we're done with you, you won’t be able to sit for weeks. Everyone at the precinct will wonder what happened during the weekend,” he kissed you while Sonny added a third finger inside your core. You felt a second orgams building inside your belly.

“You better not come on Sonny’s fingers,” Rafael warned you, “You’re only allowed to come on our cocks,” you found him in the room and locked eyes with him.

You knew from his expression what he was waiting for, “Yes, sir,” you agreed.

“That’s our good girl,”

Then it was Sonny’s. The man has a soft spot for a good doggy style, so he ordered you to get on all fours and you obeyed. He stroked his cock between your ass cheeks for a moment before sliding inside you so easily. “God, you take us so well, baby,” he said as he started to thrust. He was faster than Nick, and you know from experience that Sonny has incredible stamina. He can rock inside you hard and fast for a long moment.

“You feel so good inside me,” you moaned, “Fuck, Sonny! Yes!”

“That’s right, take that cock, doll,” he said, slamming harder.

As you grabbed the sheets into your fists, you felt someone crawling under you. It was Nick. He laid down and brought your mouth to his in an eager kiss. Sonny kept fucking you, his hands were strongly holding your hips, so you understood it was someone else that spank you. Mike or Rafael, you didn’t know - although, you had an idea; Rafael does love to spank you - and you cried inside Nick’s mouth. Then you felt someone grabbing your arms to lock them in your back. Nick held you close against him, stroking your hair as your second orgasm hit you hard.

Feeling your pussy clenching around his cock, and hearing you cursing non sense, sent Sonny over the edge. He almost collapsed on you as he came deep inside you.

You felt the emptiness when Sonny took his cock out of you but it was quickly filled by someone’s fingers. You were just a pile of lambs on Nick, but you jolted when one of them curled two fingers inside your pussy. “You love that, don’t you? Nick’s and Sonny’s cum mixing inside you,” You don’t know if that’s Rafael that is fingering you but he’s the one talking. You were still catching your breath when the fingers were replaced by a cock teasing your entrance.

“Do you want to keep going, babygirl? We can st--”

“I didn’t say the word, did I, Mike?” you shot.

“Right. Then it’s my turn to fill that pussy,” he didn’t give you the time to answer, he shoved his cock inside your cunt.

“Oh fuck! Mike, yes!”” you cried.

Nick stayed under you as Mike fucked you hard. Mike’s short nails scratched your back as he went in and out of you. He withdrew completely before sinking back and bottoming down. He did that a few times, enjoying your noises every time he hit your sweet spot. “Damn, that pussy is so perfect,” he growled.

“It was made for us,” Sonny said.

On your left, you saw Rafael standing there, stroking his cock as he watched Mike fucking you. You extended your hand to replace his and he let you. “You can’t get enough,” he teased you.

“Never,” you grinned.

Mike grabbed your hair in his fist, bringing your back to his chest. That new angle almost sent you over the edge again. “Holy shit, this feels amazing,” you breathed out. You didn’t notice the look Rafael and Sonny exchanged. You sloppily kept stroking Rafael, while Sonny’s hand found its way to your clit. Mike had to hold you close to him as a third orgasm arrived.

Nick was still laying on the bed, an arm under his head. “This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s like my very own porn movie,”

“Get ready to take a new part in it,” Sonny winked at him.

“Working on it,” he said, stroking his semi hard cock.

Sonny chuckled before burying his face in your chest. He sucked on your nipples, and kept playing with your clit. “Jesus, fuck! I--I’m--coming,” you managed to say as your third orgasm hit. You held onto Sonny’s shoulder for dear life, Mike was slamming so hard and fast inside you, chasing his own orgasm. He bit your shoulder as he emptied himself deep inside you, adding his semence to Sonny’s and Nick’s.

You collapsed in Sonny’s arms and he gently laid you on the bed, next to Nick. Mike was catching his breath on the edge of the bed. “Water,” you managed to say.

Not that it mattered, but Nick seems to be the best for the aftercare. He gently stroked your hair, and planted sweet kisses all over your face. Sonny came back with water for everyone. All of this is more than amazing, this can’t be compared to anything you ever experienced before but you gladly enjoyed the water break.

As you were sitting on the bed, Rafael grabbed your face to kiss you. It was soft, almost loving. Your hands traveled his hairy chest as you granted access to his tongue. You fell on your back, taking him with you. “You okay?” he whispered.

“Never better. Fuck me, Raf,”

On the other side of the bed, Nick chuckled. “Three cocks, three orgasms and she is still asking for it. You’re such a pretty slut, Y/N, aren't you?”

“I’m your slut. To the four of you,” you smiled at him.

Rafael teased your entrance with his cock as he was kissing and nipping your neck. Your pussy was a wet and sticky mess. The other men fucked you open, Rafael slided inside you so easily. To be honest, he wasn’t far from coming already after everything he witnessed and you wrapped him so perfectly, it was overwhelming.

You moaned loudly in his ear, your nails digging in his skull. As he thrusted into you, he couldn’t help but to slap your thigh, since he can’t reach your ass for a proper spank. But you could reach his, so you returned the favor. It took him by surprise, so did the growl he let out. “Someone likes to be spank,” Sonny commented, before duplicating your action on Rafael’s ass.

Another spank, but this time from Mike. And one from Nick. You loved having all the attention from the guys, but you have to admit that this brings something else to you. Hopefully this will be repeated before you go back to New York, but this time, this will be an orgy, instead of a gangbang.

You bit Rafael’s bottom lip, as he thrusted fast and hard inside you. “Give it to me, Raf. I need you to cum inside me, just like them,” he crashed his lips on yours, as a hand traveled between the two of you to play with your clit. You were oversensitive, and exhausted, you weren’t sure you could have a fourth orgasm before it hit you. You wrapped your arms around Rafael’s neck, “That’s right, babygirl, let it go. Cum on my cock,” he said in your ear, huskily.

That was exactly what you needed to cum one more time. Rafael’s thrusts became sloppy as he chased his relief. Finally, he added his liquid to the mixture and collapsed on you.

*****

“I have to admit, I’m so glad everyone else canceled,” you confessed, laying like a sea star on the bed. Obviously, the four men agreed with you.

“Happy birthday, Y/N,” they all said at the same time.

Best fucking birthday ever.

#thatesqcrushsummerbingo #rafael barba x reader #sonny carisi x reader #nick amaro x reader #mike dodds x reader

269 notes · View notes

worminstuff · 3 years

Text

dreamsmp mcmh

dreamsmp members as teachers au: blrub edition!

mcmh = Minecraft middle and high school

no warnings:)

wordcount: 3.9k

I will also definitely take requests from now on with this teacher au! Weather it be reader x teacher bla bla or whichever teacher and whatever prompt you think of! Just plop em in my inbox and I’ll check em out! I may not get to all of them or even see them all but I’ll try!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Mr.Wastaken - math

“The quadratic equation isn't useless, you just don't understand it. Here,” the students glared at the diss from their teacher. Dream turned his back to them as he attempted to draw another diagram on the board.

He took a quick glance behind him at all the kids, he was only met with empty stares.

“Oh come on- guys! Really?” he laughed slightly, a wheeze crawling up his throat. They looked angry at him. “You all look like kicked puppies.”

One of the boys in the back kicked his friend. “Jared!” said friend threw his pencil at him.

“Okay well obviously we seem to be done with math today..” Dream sighed and shook his head slightly as everyone watched the fiasco in the back. He’ll step in. In a minute.

“If you throw the pencil by holding it by one end not in the middle, it'll spin more.” he called to the boys in the back.

Mr.Blade - english

“Did anyone have any trouble or anything with the paired text writing last night?” his arms were folded on his chest, not in an angry or off putting way, his hands were just cold.

“Yeah actually I-” one student started,

“The rubric is the link under the one for the document template.” he prematurely answered, a soft grin gracing his features.

“How did you?..” the student tilted their head in confusion.

“You ask the same question every time.” Mr.Blade shrugged and everyone laughed softly.

Techno loved the little community that was his class, he's had them for about 3 months now so he's gotten to know them really well. This little bunch was incredibly creative and he really enjoys reading their assignments.

Mr.Blade sat down on the edge of his desk and slid his still cold hands into his pocket, scanning the small group of kids in front of him.

“Is anyone having any trouble?” He tried to seem nice as he asked because he didn't want to come off as pushy. There was a chorus of yes’ and techno grinned.

“Well as you all know, as Sun Tzu once said-”

Before he could finish his sentence he was cut off by a series of groans and sighs as everyone rolled their eyes.

Techno smiled to himself. He really did love his job.

Mr.Jacobs - history

“Amy!” Karl excitedly grinned and dapped up a small girl walking into his class, “Was that extra credit assignment i sent pretty easy or was it too hard? I can switch it up if you don't like it.”

Amy told him it was fairly easy and she would be done with it very soon.

“No rush ames!” he said as he craned his neck a bit to look at her as she sat in her chair.

He was just about to step into his classroom as the bell rang, but a certain hand tugged on his forearm.

“Hey!- oh hi nick.” Karl's smile grew. Sapnap smiled but shook his head softly, “I've got a class this period but I wanted to come say hi first.”

Karl giggled, “simp!” he whispered before turning to quickly walk into his class.

Everyone was excitedly sitting in their chairs, talking about due assignments and anything else they could think of.

“Good morning everyone! Hello, hello, hello i hope your other teachers have treated you well this morning and if they haven't then that's okay cause you're here now.” he pointed finger guns at the bunch of them and then grabbed the remote to turn on the smart board.

Mr.Quack/Mr.Q - Spanish

“Hola mi niños!” Quackity smiled widely at the bunch of kids sitting in front of him, there was a chorus of answers from the excited kids. Many of them were in the “wrong seats” as to sit with friends because today, today was kahoot day.

Every Friday was kahoot day where they always do some type of kahoot whether it be related to the lesson or not and everyone was always excited.

Especially kids who have PE before this class, the coach's competitiveness really sticks.

No one hypes these kids up more than Mr.Quack, which causes for the occasional noise complaint.

“Aye! Mr español! Keep it down here you spanish gremlins.” Mr.Dude pressed his head through the doorway scolding the class, the students erupted into a large fit of laughter only causing their volume to rise.

“You can’t put a volume warning on learning Sam! We're popping off!” Quackity yelled over the laughter of his students.

Mrs.Nihachu - art

“Oh my goodness! This is beautiful!” Mrs.Nihachu flashed a sweet smile to the student in front of her. She was handed a small doodle of a flower and she was already pinning it on the board beside her desk.

Her class was currently working on their test grade assignments, some making sculptures with cardboard or paper mache, some making clay creations, others painting. It was a big jumble of chaotic creativeness and nikki was enjoying it thoroughly.

Her class was often chaotic in this way, but during lunch time it was much calmer. There was a small group of students that would eat in her room to escape the crazy chaos of the lunchroom, and she enjoyed it as much as them.

She loved to listen in on the current drama and give advice where she could, they were her little buddies and she adored them.

Coach Sapnap & Coach Punz - PE

The sound of a whistle was no stranger to this classroom, or rather, this gymnasium. There was only one whistle, and two teachers. Both coaches made it ritual that whoever got there first would get it for the day.

Today, Coach Sapnap happened to get the whistle first.

“Okay kiddos-” coach Punz was cut off by the blaring sound of the whistle beside him.

“Airtight Kiddos!” Coach Sapnap clapped happily as all the students turned their attention towards the two Coaches. “It's kickball day,” he grinned deviously as the students cheered.

Both of them directed the class to one end of the gym to split them into teams.

“Okay so we’ll pick two team captains, and then they'll go back and forth picking their team and then once everyone's picked, the team captains can rock paper scissors to pick which one of us you want on your team.” Punz explained and everyone nodded.

sapnap picked one of the smaller girls in the class as one captain, and another kid standing near her as the other. Both of the kids picked through the class until it was separated into two groups.

“Okay! Ready?” they both nodded. “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” the girl had picked rock, and the other kid picked scissors. Immediately the victor pointed to Punz with a small smile.

Punz’s arms shot up in the air “Aye! That's right! Gimme five!” he high fived her small hand.

sapnap smiled and shook his head, “no this works out perfect because i know you guys were hoping for me on your team, right?” sapnap joked to his team, one boy jokingly piped up,

“well..Coach punz is ideal but, you're okay too.” the whole class erupted into laughter until Sapnap blew his whistle ushering them to start the game already.

Mr.Notfound - engineering

“Mr.Notfound where are the extension cords for the soddering table?” George currently had his freshman period and they were working on a lightboard project. Today's task was soldering the leds to the correct wires and such on the back of the projects.

“Em..they should be there..are they just not? Or are they on top of it and you just didn't look?” he quirked a brow at the freshman.

“No, it's just not there..” they shrugged.

George nodded, “alright, do you want to go ask Mr.Wastaken if he's got a spare or would you rather me go instead?” George asked with a small smile. He was quite stonic before so he was afraid the kid thought he was mad at them. The freshman said they would and scurried off.

George decided he wanted to walk around the class and see how everyone was faring with their projects and if there was anything else they couldn't find.

He walked around all the desks and lab tables and stopped at a small group of friends all working separately but sitting together.

“How's it going over here?” He held a very small smile. The group replied positively and each showed their projects to which he praised. They were all really really cool already, and he couldn't wait to show Dream some of his favorites after they were turned in to be graded.

Mr.Fundy - biology

“Mr.Fundy, your coat is very...bright.” A student named Owen, was referring to his very colorful lab coat. He sounded as if he was trying to compliment him, but he really couldn’t just LIE to his teacher.

Fundy narrowed his eyes at Owen. Owens desk was directly in front of the lab table that was his desk, in the front of the room. Fundy was stood behind it.

Fundy placed his hands on the table and leaned forward, “are you making fun of me?”

“He SO is.” The girl next to Owen said with a grin.

“Hey! I wasn’t! It’s just very...different.” Owen defended.

Fundy pointed an accusing finger, “there’s that backhanded tone again!” He ended it with a giddy laugh.

The rest of the class joined in until, “alright alright! I get it! It’s not super pretty but! It’s a great Segway into today’s lab,”

The rest of the class groaned loudly, smiles showing through.

Fundy snorted a laugh and shook his head, pulling some beakers from the drawers in the table.

Electives:

Teacher Eret - sociology

“So she told you you weren’t invited? After all that?!” Eret was currently chit chatting with his very small third period clas that consisted of a small group of kids that happened to be friends.

“Right teacher eret! I was like, woah, that’s so honked up! So we all decided we’re not going.” A girl named Jane said.

“Well that’s very sweet of you, I would’ve done the same.” Eret patted the first girls head endearingly as he walked back to his desk to sit in his desk chair. The girls continued their small conversation, including teacher eret when they wanted input.

Eret was heavily fond of classes like this where they were all very close already and he found it easy to bond with them. It just happened that these girls did there work on time so they had plenty of time to chat with him and eachother.

His favorite thing was when they’d give him fashion advice, because he always took them up on it. It paid off too, he’s a very dashing dude because of it!

Mr. Dude - comp science

Sam was sat at his desk typing away as the class was doing a quiet activity. They were playing around with coding websites that are essentially games. The class was fairly small, so he’d grown quite a bond with his little dudes over the past couple months.

“How are all you guys other classes going?” He asked, turning his chair to face them.

“Mr.Notfound is honestly about to give me a headache.” One of the girls sat towards the window said, her friend beside her laughed and nodded.

Sam laughed softly, “how come?”

“His room is always a mess! I can never find the correct pieces for anything. You have to look where you wouldn’t think it would ever be and then that’s where it always is!”

A few other kids laughed and agreed as they had him aswell.

“Not to mention he gets grouchy sometimes when we ask him to much.” One boy poked in.

“He does? That’s not to nice. I’ll poke him about it.” Sam said to his kiddos with a soft smile, “how we feeling about a snack break?”

All the kids quickly agreed and he pulled a box out from under his desk with various snacks and drinks and placed it on the floor in the front of the room.

“Have at it!” He made his way back to his desk as there were various wrapper sounds and “thanks Mr.Dude”’s

Mr.Soot - drama

“Okay let me get this straight- you did the script assignment but you didn’t study the lines?” Mr.Soots eyes were narrowed.

“Well no i used the script to help but I didn’t memorize it.” The girl in front of him said, her name is gene.

“Hm. Alright, you can just read off it then I suppose, it better not render your performance though, geney!” He smiled as he nudged her towards the stage.

The students were doing this group project where they made their own story’s and scrips and they got to perform them for fun, not for a grade. They had a free day so they decided it would be fun to do it today, and Wilbur was the most exciting out of all of them.

He watched each one, giving copious amounts of praise and encouragement and he really enjoyed it. The bell rang faster than they’d all expected since they were having so much fun, and he waved them off as they went on to their next class.

Wilbur sighed to himself, a content smile on his face as he sat in the front row of the auditorium.

“What’s with the sigh?” A voice started him slightly as it broke the silence of the large room.

“Jesus phil, a bit of a warning, yeah?” He pressed a hand to his chest.

“Sorry, should’ve announced myself. My bad, mate.” Phil walked up the small steps of the stage and sat on the top few, facing wilbur.

“You looked awfully content, a good class?” Phil asked.

“Oh definitely. Love that bunch to bits. They’re so smart and they’ve got so much passion for theater but they’re so carefree and they have so much fun. I just love to be a part of it. Makes my job a whole lot more fun.” Wilbur spoke with a proud grin. It was true, he really did adore his students and he was beyond proud of them.

“I’m glad!” Phil stood, “keep up the good work, kid.” He clapped him on the shoulder as Wilbur nodded.

Mr.Schlatt - political science

“No you said it was before the time you had it, therefore your argument is invalid cause how can you claim you had it during that time if the entire argument is based around you not having it?”

Schlatt stared at the student in front of him. He was a tad speechless, which was impressive in itself.

They were talking about a stupid debate thing shlatt had made up, but he made it with a loophole, wondering if they’d actually catch it. He was very surprised one of the students actually did.

“You’re correct actually. Good job, ren.” His brows were raised as he tried to hide his proud grin. He didn’t want them to know how genuinely excited he was that they figured it out.

“That’s stupid.” Ren said, with a blank stare.

“Aye!-“ Schlatt was about to go off a tad when the door opened and Mr.Q stood in the doorway.

“Am I interrupting a yelling session?” He asked

“Yes.” Both Ren and Schlatt answered at the same time.

Mr.Halo - self defense

Mr.Halos class was one of the chilliest, like Erets and Sams, there wasn’t a whole lot of work getting done during class since they would just talk about various things and have snacks.

Today Bad taught them about various hotlines they may need to know about for different situations they’d find themselves in.

“Do they just make hotlines for everything these days Mr.Halo?” One kid asked.

“Well sometimes. Not for everything though, but definitely for a lot of things.” He responded.

He was currently sat cris cross on the rug in the front of his room, munching on a orange as the rest of the class was also having snacks.

He loved classes like this because these were times when his job didn’t feel like work, he loved that he was helping make sure these kids could be educated enough to protect themselves when he couldn’t. He worried about them, but he felt happy when he could see them safe and sound, and not hungry, like they were at the moment. He cherished these simple moments the most.

Even more than the times he’s watched them scrimmage some defense tactics and evidently fall on their butts in some instances.

Mr.Skeppy - money management

“Mr Skeppy, I'm bored.”

“Okay.” Skeppy replied as he stared at his computer screen, his head rested in his hand.

The student scowled slightly, others giggled to themselves.

“Mr.Skeppyyyy” the kid groaned, the kids around him laughing.

“Fine, if i put up a kahoot will you all leave me alone?” He smiled softly, sending the kid a side eye.

The class agreed loudly and he pulled up a kahoot about vines.

“Whoever gets first place gets 6 bucks.” Skeppy said with a grin as he leaned back in his chair.

“Isn’t that counter productive to the lesson we’re learning about waisting money on stupid things?” One girl said.

“Why six?!” Another student suddenly said, the rest of the class flowing into laughter.

Mr.H - hospitality

“Wait so your other teachers didn’t give you guys valentines?” Mr.H asked, his eyes wide as he stared at the kids in front of him.

They all shook their heads, “Mr.Jacobs and Mrs.Nihachu did. But that’s it.” One boy said as he shrugged.

“Mr.Wastaken didn’t even know it was valentines until we mentioned it, poor Mr.Notfound.” One girl said back, her eyes trailing of to the floor as she raised her brows.

Mr.H laughed loudly, he loved how his kiddos were so comfortable in his class to diss their own teachers.

“Well not here! Today you all have a valentine and that valentine is me.” He said as he placed little bags full of different candies on each of their desks. He put them together all by himself with little hand written letters. It was adorable.

They all excitedly opened the little presents and read the notes together, all of them giving Mr.H a hug.

It was a very adorable day in the H classroom.

Mr.Frost - horticulture

“Mr.Frost! Can we go outside for class today?” The students were filing in for class since the bell just rang.

“Sure! How about..how about we go bug hunting?” He replied.

The students all agreed very excitedly. Once the bell rang for the start of the period they began doing their begging of class rituals which included watering a bunch of different plants and taking care of the compost bin. Then once that was all done everyone got some jars and set out to go outside and see what they could find.

Everyone ran around trying to find different things and yelling out when they did find things.

“Mr.Frost! I found a caterpillar!” A boy named Lennon ran up to Ant.

“Really?! Show!” Ant watched happily as the boy showed his new caterpillar friend.

They discussed what type of caterpillar it may be before Lennon ran back off to his friends.

Ant loved classes like this where he got to be outside in the sun and watch all his students learn hands on in a super fun (and adorable) way. It was one of his all time favorite things.

Staff:

Mr.Minecraft - principal

“but it’s so annoying! Why can’t I just leave when I gotta go, why should I ask to take a piss!”

Phil stared at the boy in front of him, a blond one by the name of Tommy. This kid frequented his office way to often.

“I don’t know Mr.Innit but you’ve got to listen to your teachers, it'll get you out of my office and I think that’s something we both want.” Mr.Minecraft glared slightly.

“Oh come on! You don’t like hanging with me Mr.Minecraft?!” Tommy said with a grin.

“No, Tommy we’re not ‘hanging out’ you’re in trouble.”

“Well when you put it that way it seems bad-“ Phil cut tommy off,

“It is bad Tommy!” He scoffed, holding in a laugh.

Mrs.Puffy - councilor

Mrs.Puffy was a hugger, a very big hugger. So whenever kids came in crying over just anything, hugs were a must. Often students would visit when they only needed a hug! Sometimes that was her favorite thing.

“He said there was no-“ the small girl heaved for air a tad before continuing, “l-late credit, but but I didn’t have time and I- I need to get the grade and I just-“

“Hey, hey, it’s alright! Mr.Blade seems scary but I bet if he knew you were this stressed he would be very happy to help you out! He’s a very nice man.” Mrs puffy wad currently trying to calm this girl out of a the panic attack she was seemingly having.

“R-really?” She asked Mrs.Puffy

“Of course! I actually think he’s got a free period right now, would you like to talk to him now? I can have him come here so I’ll be here to and it’ll be easy peasey lemon squeezey!” Puffy said with a big smile.

The girls nodded softly with a sniffle and puffy brought her in for a hug.

She would always have the kids backs, no matter what. Even if that meant talking to the big scary Mr.Blade, who was more likely afraid of her really.

Teacher Callahan - substitute

“Callahan!” Mr.Wastaken yelled, he was laughing but he was getting slightly frustrated.

Callahan apparently didn’t have a class this period, so he went to Mr.Wastakens class as he usually does to annoy him.

Callahan has been taking the pens for the whiteboard dream was trying to use and passing it around to students to pass to each other . It was very funny.

Callahan didn’t always pick this class because of Dream, he also picked it because there was a fellow mute in this period. Her name was alise, and she used ASL alot, which made Callahan actually learn a bit so he could talk to her!

Dream actually thought it was really cute, so he tried to get Callahan to teach him some as well, so he could talk to alise the way she communicated. This backfired terribly after dream learned that thank you, and fuck you, we’re actually very similar signs. Callahan had taught him the latter. Alise never corrected him, she only made a silly face and huffed out a small laugh. Dream apologized a lot once he learned. Callahan thought it was hilarious though, so often him and alise sign said sign to dream just to tease him.

Another thing Callahan did often was stand behind dream, and mock him. Dream would walk farther from the board as he would go on and on talking with his hands and such. Callahan would make his way behind him and pretend to sit on the edge of his desk.

So every time dream would turn around wondering why all the kids were laughing at him, he would see a normal looking Callahan who would only shrug. This always made the kids laugh even more. No one would rat him out though, it was teacher Callahan!

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axoxtxhxh · 3 years

Text

First Date with the Vets - Miche

Big shoutout to @chaotic-nick for making this lovely banner for me!

Overall Summary: I had this idea to do a first date with the vets and what it would be like. I am including Erwin, Levi, Miche, and Hange in this list. Each date will be different, but all of them will be set in modern au.

Check out Erwin’s story here, Levi’s story here, and Hange’s story here

Pairing: Miche x Fem!Reader

Content: Nearly all fluff

Word Count: ~ 8,000

Summary: You sign up for a cooking class with your friend only to have her ditch you, but things look up when a handsome stranger volunteers to be your partner.

This was fair. This was totally fair and you deserved every second of this embarrassment for what you did to your best friend, Fen. No matter though. You stood there, thankfully in the back, of your first couples cooking class, but you were missing the couple part. You let out a huff of air and leaned over the counter. You definitely deserved this.

“Alright class!” The instructor walked in. An older blonde woman, swung her arms excitedly while she walked to the center of the room. “Everyone ready to cook?”

Everyone in the room chanted ‘yeah!’ in unison and you looked around, wondering if you’d walked into a cult meeting. How did they all know to say that? More importantly, why didn’t you? Even more importantly, Fen wouldn’t have signed you up for a cult, would she? You at least knew you didn’t deserve that.

You looked around at the other couples in the class and sighed. What a terrible reminder that you were single. It’s fine though, it’s fine. This would be quick, possibly fun, and then you could go home and eat ice cream while you catch up on your favorite show. It wouldn’t be so bad. You’ve had to sit through a lot worse. This was one cooking class.

“Today, we’re making…” The instructor paused as if she was waiting for a drumroll to start. And honestly, you were surprised the enthusiastic couples didn’t make one for her. “Vietnamese Spring Rolls!”

She opened up the little laminated pamphlet she had in front of her so everyone could see a picture. Everyone clapped while they ‘ooh’ed and ‘ahh’ed at the picture. You brought your hand to your head, second-hand embarrassment flooding your system. You needed to stop. This could be fun, but your bad attitude wasn’t going to help. You tried to focus on enjoying yourself and stood up straight, focusing again on the instructor.

“We’re going to get to eat things like—" she crouched down as if she was hunting and you tried so hard to hold a neutral face and remain interested “—shrimp, bell peppers, and even rice vermicelli!”

You started clapping, anticipating the excited students moves and wanting to join in. Except this time, for some reason, no one clapped and everyone looked at you. You wanted to die. You shrunk back into yourself and tried not to look around the room, hoping that maybe people would forget you existed. There was a man in the corner that caught your attention. He gave you a thumbs up and smiled, but you quickly looked away, needing to be invisible. Yep, this is what you deserved.

The instructor continued reading from her pamphlet, telling the whole class about the amazing spring rolls and things to remember when we’re cooking. You tried your best to concentrate, but you could tell you were starting to lose focus and daydream.

She talked about the red bell pepper and the difference between a male pepper and female pepper and you started worrying that everything in this class was going to relate to being a couple. Even the freaking pepper had a partner. You shook your head, looking back at the instructor and watched her take a bite of one of the peppers, squealing at the delicious flavor.

The problem wasn’t because you couldn’t find your perfect partner, you just didn’t want to settle. So many people settled these days, you didn’t want to be one of them. You were happy the way things were with you. Besides, if you were in a relationship, he could be one of those guys that liked doing things like this and then you’d have to join cult cooking classes regularly.

You broke from your daydream, shaking your head and focusing back on the instructor. Yeah, you just weren’t settling. You looked around the room at the other couples again, everyone’s arm around each other, squeezing each other’s shoulders in fondness. The guy in the corner who gave you the thumbs up caught your eye again. He was crossing his arms and looking at you and smiling. Not like a friendly smile, but a smile where he caught you doing something that you didn’t want anyone to see and it creeped you out and worried you. You looked back to the instructor, a little more anxious about his eyes on you.

“Alright couples! Now that you know what to do, let’s get started!” The instructor jogged up to her little kitchen in the front and started setting her things up, turning on music and expecting everyone to follow.

“Hi.” A deep, raspy voice spoke from behind you and you jumped, turning around. It was thumbs up guy.

“H—hi.” He was taller than he looked from across the room. Much taller. He was also much better looking. Like, dreamboat, hunky, drop-dead gorgeous, good-looking. He had those really light blue eyes that had you struggling to look directly into them.

“I uh… I noticed you don’t have a partner.” His hand moved a piece of his dirty blonde hair behind his ears, a piece that didn’t fit into the small bun he had in the back, then rubbed the back of his head. “I’m also partner-free. Maybe we can work together?”

“What happened to your partner?” You were unpacking the ingredients from the bag on your counter as you looked up at him.

“I came without one.” He smiled shyly.

“You came to a couple class without a partner?” You questioned, pausing your unpacking to focus on him.

“Didn’t you do the same thing?” He teased. You opened your mouth to defend yourself, but realized it didn’t even matter. He was right. You were also partner-less in a couple class.

“I guess you’re right.” You laughed. “Okay, partners it is.”

“Great!” He quickly moved backwards to grab his stuff from his table and you resumed checking your inventory. “I’m Miche, by the way.”

You looked up and he was back, holding his hand out for you. You took it.

“Y/N.”

He moved back to his table and you watched him grab his black leather jacket and a backpack. Of course he would be wearing a black leather jacket. He had this whole rocker look going on that you definitely didn’t hate, but it was a bit predictable. He set his stuff down with yours and rolled up the sleeves of his sweatshirt to wash his hands.

You watched him pump soap onto his hands and lather them up. He had pretty nice hands. They looked strong. Most of him looked strong though, but there was something about his hands that seemed really strong. You were starting to get lost in watching the soap lather up and roll away, the white bubbles disappearing as they slipped over the thick veins in his hands. You had no idea what his job was, but if you had to guess, it was something with his hands. Thick fingers, protruding veins, calloused palms when you shook his hand, definitely construction.

“So what made you come here partner-less, Y/N?” His question woke you from your daydream and you looked at him as he dried those strong hands.

“You first.”

“Me?” He turned around and leaned against the ledge of the counter, crossing his arms. “It was sort of an accident.”

“How so?”

“Well I try to take one of these classes a couple times a month. Not the couple one,” he corrected with a laugh, “but the regular one.”

A regular attendant of the cult cooking classes. Of course.

“Why do you take them so often?” You pulled out the knives and the cutting boards.

“Single guy, living alone. I got sick of eating garbage every night.” He bent down to help you pull out the tools you needed. “I’m actually pretty good with breads, but that class was full. That’s why I’m here.”

“A breads class would have been fun.” You spoke, but your mind was still stuck on the ‘single guy’ part.

“It’s tons of fun. There’s one open in a couple weeks, you should join it with me.” He smiled and you realized that even his smile was beautiful. It’s weird that from across the room he looked a bit creepy, but now he was nothing but charming. “Your turn.”

You both unloaded your armful of utensils and bowls from your arms and you considered how much of the real story you wanted to share with him. Did you really need a guy this good-looking, with this much potential so far, judging you?

“I kind of pissed off my best friend and she tricked me into coming here so she could ditch me.” Not really a lie, but certainly not the full truth.

“That’s some friend.”

“No, she is honestly a great friend. She really is.” You sighed. It wasn’t fair to give him a bad impression. You shrugged your shoulders and paused for a second. “I deserved it.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this.” He organized everything on the counter so there was a cutting board and knife in front of each of you. Bowls were set behind the cutting boards and he moved the pan over to the stove.

“I don’t even know you. Why would I tell you my problems?” You crossed your arms and smiled at him, secretly enjoying the fact that he seemed quite interested.

“I am the exact person to tell. I will automatically be on your side.” You thought about what he said, a scrutinizing look on your face. “I’m not wrong.”

“You’re not.”

“Alright, let’s hear it then.” He mirrored your crossed arms.

“Okay, but let’s start making the sauce before we fall behind.”

You started reading the list and handed Miche the ingredients. Both of you measured them out and Miche mixed it all together.

“So, my friend, Fen—”

“Already don’t like her.”

“Hey!” You quickly looked at him and he laughed.

“I’m kidding. I’m kidding.” He laughed, whisking the sauce in the small bowl and shaking his head.

You heard him mumbling something to himself, but couldn’t quite make out what it was. You could have sworn he said ‘so fucking cute’ but that didn’t make sense to you. Unless he was talking to the sauce. Even that didn’t make sense. You looked away quickly, biting your lip and moving some vegetables around the table awkwardly.

“You definitely have your friend’s back.” Miche continued, stopping his whisking to look at you. “So far, you seem like a great friend to me.”

You took a deep breath, hoping he couldn’t feel the heat coming from your face when you turned back to look at him.

“Well, you haven’t heard the worst part.” You continued. “Fen invited me to a work party. She sort of has this thing with her coworkers.”

“What kind of thing?”

“She hates them all.”

“Nice.” He laughed again. You’ve never giggled before. At least not that typical girly giggle that women do in movies when they’re flirting, but man did he make you want to giggle when he laughed. You held back and stuck with biting your lip.

“So I may have promised her I would go with her to make it a little easier, but last minute I got tickets to this concert.” You were doing your best to focus on your fingers lightly pulling on the stem of the bell pepper and not on the beautiful man standing next to you whose eyes you could feel looking at you.

“Oh.”

“So, I maybe… kind of…” The pepper was in your hands now, shifting from one hand to the other as you spoke. “… texted her right before the party and told her that I couldn’t go.”

You looked up at him slowly, his eyes were on you, slightly narrowed and he looked back to the bowl of sauce he had been whisking.

“Damn, you are a bad friend.” He shook his head.

“You said you would be on my side!” Your mouth dropped open and he threw his head back laughing as you stared at him and jokingly pushed him away from you.

“I’m sorry, I’m only kidding.” He put his hands up, still laughing. “Everyone’s done something like that before.”

“Yeah, well, she isn’t talking to me now.” You turned back to the vegetables on the table.

“I’m sure she will if you give her time.” He bumped his hip into yours and set the bowl on the counter in between where you both were standing and your eyes were drawn to his bracelet.

“I appreciate that.” You nodded, looking back up at him. “Oh! You know who is talking to me?”

“Who’s that?”

“The year 2004. It wants its leather cuff back.” You pointed to his wrist.

“Ah, very nice.” He laughed and looked down at his bracelets. “Well see, these are glued on.”

“Oh, are they?” He rotated his arms so you could see both sides of the cuffs.

“Yeah, I was pretty badass when I was younger.” He joked, taking a step closer to you.

“Mhm.” You laughed lightly, words were becoming more difficult to think of as he got closer, the heat from his body reaching yours without even needing to touch you.

“So yeah, they can’t come off now.” He smiled and you slowly looked up to him. “Permanent fixture.”

He wasn’t standing over you, but he was definitely leaning over you and you could feel the pressure of his size. You sucked in a quick breath of air, unable to think of anything other than just how close he was to you as he moved his hands to rest on either side of you, lowering himself so his face was level with yours.

“Cute.” Your bottom lip slipped in between your teeth. At this rate your lip would be bleeding by the end of the class.

His smile grew and in this position it would have honestly been incredibly uncomfortable if it weren’t for the genuine comfort you felt constantly rolling off of him. You sucked in another breath and smiled at him. He was about to take a step closer until the instructor’s voice caught the attention of both of you and you turned to look at her.

“I see some of you out there getting closer!” She walked the length of her table, and went back to chopping. “This is what cooking is about! Being close to your partner, really tasting the food. It’s a sensual experience. You need to feel the cooking with your partner!”

You noticed Miche removing his hands from resting on the counter and turning to stand next to you, starting to chop the bell pepper to follow the instructor. You moved over to your cutting board to do the same.

“No one here should be feeding themselves!” The instructor started moving around again, lifting her arms in a gesture to show she wanted more. “All of the ingredients are fresh and juicy and delicious! Let your partner taste it from you!”

You were about to start laughing, turning back to the red onion you were chopping when you felt Miche staring again. Ignoring it was your first thought, but when he shifted his position, leaning his back against the cutting board, you couldn’t help but look up.

He was holding a small sliver of bell pepper in his hand and holding it up to you.

“I—uh… we don’t have to do that.” You spoke, flustered, looking back at your cutting board.

“Come on.” “We’re not even a couple, we don’t have to follow what she says. It’s more for the other people here.” You gestured with your knife to the other couples feeding each other.

“Something tells me even if we were a couple, you would still argue against this.” He put his hand on yours and you stopped chopping, your eyes moving to his. “You don’t get chances like this often. Live a little.”

You weren’t sure what he meant by ‘chances like this’ but whatever he meant by it, he was right. It was easy to forget that a lot of the time, especially for you. You had a tendency to take things too seriously and when you were uncomfortable, which was quite often, you passed up ‘chances like this’, chances to have fun, chances to try something new, chances to get fed by a cute guy you just met. It was strange that Miche had already figured that out that about you.

He moved the bell pepper towards you and back away in a little dance of temptation and it made you laugh. You sighed, resisting the urge to roll your eyes and you opened your mouth.

“Wait, do you want to try it with the sauce?” He asked as he pulled the vegetable away from you.

“Might as well.” You shrugged. He scooped a small amount of the peanut sauce onto the pepper and cupped his hand under it as he lifted it to your mouth. He had a weird look on his face as he watched you chew. You couldn’t tell if he wanted you to like the sauce or wanted you to like the fact that he fed you. “It’s good.”

You’ve had peanut sauce before, but this one tasted different. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t something you wanted to be sticking plain bell peppers in. You had to admit though, the instructor was right, the bell pepper really was juicy and getting it fed to you was pretty nice too.

“My turn.” He smiled and nudged your cutting board closer to you to feed him. You looked at him confused.

“You want me to feed you an onion?”

“With sauce, please.” He opened his mouth, lowering himself down a little. It made no sense to you but you weren’t really going to judge him. You picked up a slice of onion and scooped some sauce, slowly carrying it to his mouth.

You watched as his face started out happy and then switched to confused as he chewed more. From there it moved to almost disgust and you saw his nostrils flare as he finally swallowed.

“That’s not right.” He coughed, drinking a sip of water.

“You ate it with an onion, Miche.” You laughed.

“I think it’s the sauce.” He scooped a tiny bit on his finger and tasted it, his face immediately puckering.

“It wasn’t that bad.” You leaned forward to smell it.

“No, it’s definitely the sauce. Here, try it.” He scooped some sauce on his finger and brought it to your mouth. You were about to taste it, but stopped, looking at the sauce on his finger and then to his face. As the smile grew on your face, his smile grew as well.

“You really thought I would fall for this?” Shaking your head, you turned back to your cutting board and he laughed.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t realize what I was doing until after my finger was in your mouth.” He laughed again, licking the sauce off his finger. “The sauce is actually pretty good.”

“So what is it that you do?” You asked him, not looking up from your onion.

“I’m a drummer.” He finished washing his hands and leaned against the counter next to you.

“I mean, like your job.”

“I’m a drummer.” He laughed and you looked up, staring at him.

“Oh, you’re serious? I’m sorry. I thought you were being funny because the leather cuff thing.” You hoped your face wasn’t radiating as much heat as you felt like it was and that he couldn’t feel it.

“I like to think I’m funnier than that.” He laughed, crossing his arms. You could feel him looking at you again. “I get it though. Not a lot of people see it as a real job.”

“No, no, I—” You saw him smiling at you. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Ugh, I’m sorry.”

You set the knife down and closed your eyes. Perfect. You’ve insulted him. Sometimes you wondered why you bothered opening your mouth at all, stumbling over your words, saying things that come out rude. You’ve barely known him for twenty minutes and you’ve already offended him.

“I’m just teasing you.” He tapped your foot lightly with his. “You should come to a show. My band is playing in town tonight.”

“I should. It’s the least I can do.” The moment you said it, you knew how it sounded and you tried to correct yourself.

“The least you can do?” His eyes widened and he laughed. “Don’t do me any favors.”

“No, I know how that sounded. It’s not—I don’t pity—it’s not out of pity… oh my gosh.” You covered your face with your hands and faced the counter. Miche was cracking up next to you.

“I’m not offended, Y/N.” He tapped your shoulder. “Stop hiding.”

“It’s like I have a permanent foot in my mouth. I’m sorry.”

“Damn, you’re fun to tease.” He smiled and you stood up straight, taking a deep breath trying to pull yourself together a bit. You watched him lean over the counter and rest on his elbows, looking back at you. “What is it you do?”

“It’s not as interesting as being a drummer.” You leaned over the counter with him. “I’m a children’s book author.”

“Oh wow, not what I was expecting. How long have you been doing that?”

“Wait, what were you expecting?”

“Nothing, honestly. I just don’t meet a lot of authors.” You gave him a look with narrowed eyes. It was only fair that he offend you at that point. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone looked at your face and wondered how someone who looked so cold could write children’s books, but most people judged you too soon anyway. “Really, I wasn’t expecting anything. So how long have you been an author?”

“It’s basically been my only job. I wrote my first book when I was seventeen.” You shrugged. “So that’s, what?”

You did the math in your head. Math has never been something you’ve been good at. Miche was watching you try to add the small numbers in your head and laughed.

“You need help getting there?” He teased.

“Shut up.” You laughed. Math was hard. “Seventeen. Seventeen years.”

“I think you’re a little off.”

“Am I? Thirty-four minus seventeen is seventeen, right?”

“You’re thirty-four?” He stood up straight, his eyes wide. “I thought you were like twenty-five.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” You smiled, knowing that’s not what he meant, but also wanting to enjoy being the teaser for once.

“No, not a disappointment at all.” He smiled and rubbed the back of his head. “Y—you… you look great.”

“Thank you.” That smile really did a number on you because you sat there staring at him until at some point you realized that twenty minutes had gone by and you both really hadn’t done anything as far as cooking. “We should probably keep cooking.”

You both went back to your cutting boards and continued working. Miche finished slicing the bell peppers and you noticed that he was staring at you quite a bit more than before. Not just that, but he was also moving closer to you. It’s not that you were complaining at all. Honestly, you were very okay with it, you were just wondering what the change was. You finished your onion, moving to boil the water for the rice vermicelli and starting on the cabbage.

Miche reached around you for the carrot, his chest pressed against your back, he set his hand on your upper arm and you looked up at him. His blue eyes sparkling so close to yours. You blinked slowly and looked down at his lips. He had the most perfect lips, full and soft and the most kissable shade of red. He was smirking and it made the corners of your lips turn up until you let out a silent exhale as you watched him lick his lips.

You felt like a kid. Like when kids see the ice cream truck and their face lights up and they start licking their lips and salivating, anticipating what that ice cream is going to taste like. That’s how you felt when you looked at Miche. A drooling child.

Each time you caught yourself staring like an idiot, you told yourself not to do it again, to keep your focus. But when he was brushing past you, touching your arms lightly, smiling at you, laughing with his big laugh, it was so hard not to look like a drooling child.

“Alright class!” The instructor’s voice broke you out of your thoughts. “We’re coming up to the last ten minutes. I see some of you falling behind, but that’s okay! You want to start thinking about plating your food soon!”

“What the heck?” You looked to Miche with your eyes wide. “We barely have anything done. We haven’t even cooked the shrimp!”

“We still have ten minutes.” He reminded you.

“To plate!” You moved to the shrimp. “You take over the chopping, I will cook the shrimp.”

How in the world did forty-five minutes pass already? You knew you were having fun, but you both literally have only cut a bell pepper and an onion. Thankfully you had started boiling water for the stuff that took longer to cook. You dumped the shrimp in the pan and looked over to Miche eating the only vegetables you had cut.

“Stop eating it and plate it.” He jumped at your voice and you honestly wanted to laugh, but you were freaking out about how you were going to finish everything. He moved closer to you.

“Don’t worry so much.” He stood behind you and rested his hands on your shoulders. His hands were moving slightly as if he couldn’t decide if he wanted to give you a massage or not. “Do you want me to do that?”

He moved to take the spoon from you, but you shook your head. You were feeling the pressure of the time and you had a feeling he could tell. The big red clock in the front of the room that showed nine minutes wasn’t helping. It’s not like you wanted to ruin the fun, you were having fun before, but now… you just weren’t.

“Here, eat this.” He brought a bell pepper with peanut sauce on it to your mouth.

“Miche, I just want to get this done. We’re already—”

“We’re already what? This is a class we paid for, we can do whatever we want.” He watched your eyes move to the clock and back to him and he smiled. “You’re really bothered by that, aren’t you?”

“I just don’t want to be late.” You sighed. He lifted the bell pepper up again.

“You’ll feel better after you eat this.”

“I doubt that.” He pretended to frown at you and it made you smile. “I will eat it, but then you need to julienne the carrots.”

“Whatever you say.” He put the pepper in your mouth.

You chewed as you turned back to the stove and added the rice vermicelli to the boiling water, looking back over to how Miche was doing. He put the bell peppers on the plate with the onions and was cutting the carrots into cubes. Large, uneven cubes.

“Julienne, Miche, julienne!” You complained. Miche dropped the knife on the cutting board.

“Who the fuck is Julienne?” He whispered turning to you. You stared at him. He had a serious look in his eyes. He genuinely had no idea what you were talking about and it was so wholesome that it took everything you had not to squeeze him. This giant man was so adorable, it was killing you.

You put your hand on his shoulder and started laughing. Once you started, you couldn’t stop. Your shoulders were shaking and you put your face into your elbow, trying to muffle the sound.

“Did I say something?” He watched you, but all it did was make you laugh even harder. You moved to pull your hand from his shoulder to cover your face and he grabbed it, holding onto it and smiling at you. You weren’t sure if maybe you had just given up on making anything correctly or you finally realized it didn’t matter, but seeing Miche smiling as you nearly peed your pants from laughing seemed way more important to you in that moment than anything else.

You got yourself to stop laughing and didn’t even bother looking at the clock. Your eyes were watering from laughing so hard and you wiped them, still giggling when you thought about how ridiculously cute this guy was. He was still smiling and finally dropped your hand only to hold your cheeks, using his thumbs to wipe whatever tears you missed.

It was strange to you how oddly comfortable you were in that moment. You hated when people touched you, especially people you barely knew and meeting Miche less than an hour before definitely put him in that category. But standing there with him holding your cheeks didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. You hesitantly set your hands on his ribs, unsure if he was okay with your touch. It was a weird place to hold, but it felt like a natural placement until he moved closer to you and they slipped around his back and you let out a quiet gasp. It had been a while since you had been this close to a man and you were actually kind of enjoying it.

“How is everyone feeling?” The instructor’s voice pulled you back into the kitchen and you blinked, moving to turn your head, but Miche held your face. His smile widened the tiniest bit before he squeezed your cheeks lightly, squishing your face forward and he let go, laughing to himself. You narrowed your eyes at him, but couldn’t help but smile when you saw him laughing.

As you turned to the instructor, having missed most of what she said, you realized that the moment you and Miche just had seemed to give him permission to be closer to you because he was completely pressed up against your back, hands on either side of you as they rested on the counter. If there was a way to describe the feeling of being pleasantly caged in, you would use it to describe how you felt. Maybe cozy was a good way to describe it.

“It’s finally time to eat what you and your partner created so grab those plates and let’s get to the dining area!” The instructor danced her way to the dining area and you and Miche looked down at your plates and laughed, carrying what you could to the dining area.

The dining area was just a small room with a lot of windows, a wall of plants and ten or so bistro tables. It sort of seemed like a large greenhouse and was cute in a small café sort of way. The sunlight coming through the windows also added a great feeling.

You and Miche set your plates on an open table and sat down. He immediately slid his chair a bit closer to you and you both turned to the instructor, listening to her long-winded way of saying ‘enjoy the food’ and finally turned back to each other.

“At least we know the sauce will be good.” You dipped your rice paper in the hot water and pulled it out before it got soft, trying to put whatever vegetables you could in it, laughing as you sifted through the chunks of carrots. You rolled it up and dipped it in the sauce, watching Miche make his.

His rice paper was still hard and he folded it over instead of rolling it. The paper got too soft too quickly and he couldn’t get it off the plate. You sat there and smiled, trying not to laugh as you chewed your food. As his spring roll fell apart when he lifted it, you finally had enough.

“It’s not a taco, Miche. Here, let me do it.” You took a fresh rice paper and dipped it in the water, added the vegetables and rolled it up. You dipped it in the sauce, holding it up for him and he opened his mouth. “You need me to feed you?”

“I’m sure it will taste better this way.” He smiled, resting his hand on yours to steady the roll before taking a bite and sitting back, chewing. You didn’t want to sit and watch him eat, but you couldn’t get yourself to look away. The way his jaw worked and flexed as he chewed, the way his eyes closed as he tasted the food, the way he let out a small groan to tell you how good it was, the way he gave a little thumbs up, you didn’t want to miss any of it. “So good.”

“It would probably be better with carrots.” You teased.

“Let me make you one,” he said excitedly.

You weren’t really sure you wanted that. You saw his first attempt and you really didn’t want to be eating crunchy rice paper with chunks of carrots and onions. You eyed him as he started, he was definitely watching you make the last roll for him because this time his roll wasn’t that bad. You opened your mouth and took a bite, watching as Miche put what was left in his mouth.

“What do I have to do to get you to come to my show tonight?” He asked as he wiped his mouth.

“You still want me to come?” He smiled and nodded.

“Definitely.”

“Well class, it’s been a fun hour, but the next class will be coming in soon so it’s time to clean up!” The instructor spoke about how great everyone did and how we can sign up for her other classes at the front desk. No one was required to clean and you watched as everyone stood up to leave.

“Before we leave—” Miche put his hand on yours and you looked at him. He opened his mouth but nothing was coming out, he just sort of stared at you, trying to find words. “Do you… Um, maybe, do you want to get ice cream or something? I know a good place. It’s really close.”

He was asking you out. He was definitely asking you out. He even looked nervous and it was twisting your insides into the tightest knot you’ve ever felt. The excitement and shock sent a flush of heat to your cheeks. There was no way you could play it cool, even if you tried. Your heart was beating so hard against your chest in the best way and you opened your mouth to respond, but he kept going.

“It doesn’t have to be ice cream, if you don’t like it.” He added quickly, laughing to himself as his hand went to rub the back of his head and his cheeks tinted pink. “I just kind of want to spend more time with you.”

“I love ice cream.” You smiled, biting your lip. Fen might actually kill you for coming out of this experience with a date. Especially a date as amazing as Miche. He let out a sigh and smiled, standing up and taking your hand.

“Should we go?”

He was right about the ice cream place being close. It was more of a cart and only a couple blocks away from the cooking class. You weren’t actually sure if this was considered a date, but this ice cream cart location was certainly a perfect date spot. It was right next to a park with a cute path for strolling.

“What can I get you?” He pulled out his wallet.

“I can pay, you don’t have to pay for me.” You dug around your purse.

“I invited you. Don’t worry about it.” You stared at him. You hated when people paid for you. It felt weird and you felt like then you owed them something and you weren’t really sure where this was going for you to be able to pay him back. Miche saw your hesitation and smiled. “How about I buy you ice cream and you can pay me back by coming to my show.”

“Still trying to get me to go, huh?”

“I will keep trying anything to get to see you again.” He laughed. “I’ll even let you buy me a drink. Deal?”

“Deal.” The smile that grew on his face made your heart dance around in your chest. You got your ice cream and walked together along the park path. Whether it was a date or not, it was a really nice afternoon that you weren’t expecting to have had based on where you were a couple hours before.

“So you’re trying to become a vet?” You asked him. You were both sitting on a bench you found halfway through the park’s path as you finished your last couple bites of ice cream.

“Not really actively yet.” He laughed. “I’ve taken a couple classes and I love animals so I think I might do it.”

“It would definitely suit you.” You nodded licking your ice cream.

“You think so?” There was that smile again. He always looked so grateful and happy. You found it so comforting, but also confusing because you looked the exact opposite and couldn’t understand why he kept calling you cute. “If my apartment allowed pets, I would probably have a bunch of dogs by now. I guess it’s good that they don’t.”

“So how long have you been a drummer?” You ate the last bite of your cone. “As a career, I mean.”

“Not long. Maybe five years.” He shrugged.

“What were you doing before that?”

“I don’t know that I want to talk about that yet.” He laughed nervously.

“That bad?”

“Not bad. I just didn’t really like myself very much then. I didn’t… I wasn’t very happy.” He shifted in his seat and you worried that you made him uncomfortable, but he was still smiling so it must not be that bad. “Not all of us found our dream job at seventeen.”

“I wouldn’t call it my dream job.” You laughed. He was smiling, but his face dropped, looking almost worried. He started leaning closer to you which made you lean back away from him. Was he trying to kiss you? If he was trying to kiss you, he picked the most random time to do it. Not to mention, he had a look on his face that didn’t seem like he even wanted it. He held your chin and touched your hair and you looked at him. He wasn’t even looking at you, but you still waited for him to lean in more. Instead, he sat back on the bench.

“Sorry, there was a bug in your hair.” He flicked it away.

“Oh.” You looked down, internally laughing at yourself. “I thought you were going to kiss me.”

You quickly looked up in front of you, not meaning to say that out loud to him. You opened your mouth and a nervous noise came out. Miche started laughing and you looked at him.

“Don’t worry.” He tapped your shoulder. “I won’t kiss you without asking.”

“Oh.” There was definitely disappointment in your voice and you were hoping maybe he couldn’t hear it even though you thought it was painfully obvious.

“Would you let me though?” He asked.

“What?” You looked back at him.

“Kiss you?” That little smirk sat on his lips and distracted you from his question to the point that you had to look away.

“I think I would.” You nod slowly.

“Why did you lean away then?”

“It’s a reflex, I guess.” You explained and he smiled, his hand going to his facial hair and rubbing.

“So… then can I?”

“Can you what?” You looked back at him and felt stupid for looking back and forth between him and the ground. It was dumb for you to feel nervous when he clearly looked nervous himself. His hand was on the back of his head where he was rubbing, a slightly unsure smile on his face.

“Can I kiss you?” He laughed. It was amazing how good you were at making things so incredibly awkward. You were about to grab him and kiss him yourself just to end this conversation because you were sure it was only a matter of time before you said something really dumb. Like maybe ‘it’s the least you could do’.

You nodded your head, hoping that was enough for him to understand. He lifted up from the bench, leaning towards you, his face approaching yours quickly as his hand reached for your cheek. He was really going to do it then? You felt yourself leaning away again and tried to stop, but you couldn’t. His eyes closed as he got close enough to you and you panicked a little.

“Wait, wait.” You put your hand on his mouth and he opened his eyes. “I give you permission to kiss me, but not like this. Sorry. I don’t know why it’s awkward when I know it’s coming.”

“You want me to surprise you?” His eyes went wide with shock. He didn’t move back from how close he was to you, instead stayed right in front of your face and chuckled.

“It’s not like I want to be scared.” You laughed, shifting a little in your spot. “I just feel like I need to wait for the right moment to enjoy it or it’s awkward.”

“Why is it awkward?” He leaned back, his hand resting on your shoulder.

“I don’t know. I just… I don’t know.” You sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess I ruined this. I just…I take things too seriously.”

“Oh, I definitely figured that out.” He laughed, closing his eyes and laying his head back. “And stop worrying, you didn’t ruin anything.”

“Should we try again?” You sat forward and looked at him. You’ve only known Miche for an afternoon and he was already realizing one of your worst traits.

“So you can just go through the motions? No.” He smiled. “Kissing is fun. You don’t need to wait for any right moment to do it. You just take control and make it yourself.”

“I don’t know that I—"

“I’ll tell you what.” He sat up and looked at you. “I’m going to get you to make the special moment that you need all on your own and you are going to kiss me.”

“You—”

“No arguing. I’m starting now.” He laid his head back on the bench and closed his eyes and you stared at him confused as to how him doing the exact same thing he was doing was going to make you kiss him.

You waited, looking at him for a good couple minutes, but he didn’t move. You looked around the park, thinking maybe inspiration would come from the ducks in the pond across from you. You were honestly trying. Moments didn’t just come out of nowhere though. You looked back to Miche and he was still in the same spot and you really thought that he might have fallen asleep.

You sighed, setting your back to the bench again and Miche’s hand made its way around your back and pulled you against him. There was a moment where you tried to look up at him, but his hand was resting on your head and he guided you to lay your head on his chest. You tried to keep your breathing steady, but you did feel a little strange cuddled up to him like this. It wasn’t until he moved his hand to your waist that you felt like you could breathe.

You took a deep breath, trying to relax yourself into his body. It still didn’t feel like a moment, but it was definitely something worth enjoying for a little. You took another deep breath, bringing your hand to rest on his chest, just under your chin and closed your eyes. You probably could have fallen asleep. Between the slight breeze in the park, the warmth of Miche’s chest under your cheek, the slight scent of his cologne or deodorant or possibly really nice body odor, the continual rise and fall of his chest, the sounds of the ducks dipping into the pond water and the faint thud of Miche’s heartbeat under your ear, you could sleep. You focused on the rhythmic beat of his heart, slow and steady. The calm, even, unchanging drumming against your cheek.

You slid yourself a little closer, trying to position yourself to better hear it and you heard it change, shifting slightly. You stopped your movements, focusing on hearing the change. It was easier to hear in this position and you could not only hear the change, but you could feel it. His heart was beating faster, harder against his chest. You smiled and slid your hand across his stomach to lower your ear. He inhaled sharply and you felt his pulse race again. You brought your hand back over his chest and his hand lightly rubbed your waist.

Your entire body was tingling and you could only think that maybe his was too. Your heart was racing as you heard the speed of his heart beat. This was fun. This was more than fun. This was amazing. You were in total control. You were completely focused and in complete control of this moment. This moment was yours and it was going to be as special as you wanted it to be, as special as you made it.

You were at your limit, an unexpected pull forcing you to lift your head, look up at Miche, and smile. He finally lifted his head to look at you and when he saw your face, he smiled back. It’s as if you were a different person. Any other time, you would feel the need to wait an arbitrarily appropriate amount of time before you could kiss someone. But this time was different. There was no waiting, your hand moved to his cheek, your thumb rubbing his cheekbone softly before you hurriedly lifted yourself to reach his lips.

The moment your lips met, his free hand moved to the back of your head and he helped pull you closer to him. He had this weird way of holding you tightly, but at the same time so gently. He sat up a little more as his lips moved against yours. It surprised you that you were the first one to slip your tongue out and sweep it across his top lip. Miche sighed into you, opening his mouth, and quickly pulling you into his lap, his tongue quickly making its way into your mouth. He lifted you until you were straddling his legs and kept his hand on the back of your head to keep you close to him.

The reminder that you were sitting on a park bench in public flew across your mind and quickly disappeared as Miche’s hands moved up your back, bringing your chest to rest against his. The warmth of his cheek under your hand and the way he kept sitting up to get closer to you was making it increasingly more difficult to keep the kiss a suitable rating for any eyes that might be watching you. Your body was growing hotter and Miche’s tiny sighs into your mouth weren’t helping. A particularly loud sigh, bordering on a moan, finally had you put your hand on his shoulder and lean back.

Miche’s eyes were still closed when you opened your eyes to look at him and he licked his lips. If there was a limit to how handsome he could look, you were sure that was it. His eyes were fluttering lightly as he held them closed, his cheeks were pink and his lips were sitting in a small smirk, wet and still that perfect shade of red.

“Hm...” You smiled and his hands lowered to your hips as he opened his eyes. “You’re a much better kisser than I thought you’d be.”

“I’ll try not to take offense to that.” He smiled and leaned back into you, pressing his lips against yours again.

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