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ssuperficialspacecadett · 1 year

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Friday Fight Night

Chapter Four of the Through the Scope series | Chapter Five

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3.4K

Chapter Overview: You help Benny and the guys get ready for FFN.

Notes: this chapter is just a bit shorter than what i usually like to post, but i didn't have a lot of time to write this week & i'm actually content with where i ended it ! sometimes u just have to stop a little short so u don't just start typing random shit to meet a bullshit word count u give urself u know? i updated the tag list so if i missed u PLZ LET ME KNOW & i will add u asap !! well as usual...my asks are always open & happy reading <3

*no use of y/n & female presenting reader*

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Why is this so difficult? It's just like every other day at work, except for the fact that it's not. You have been standing in front of your closet for a good 10 minutes now just looking at your clothes. Suddenly nothing seems good enough to wear. Maybe something would be good enough if you knew how to dress for a fight. Should you wear workout gear? No, you weren’t the one fighting. Should you wear a tank top and a tennis skirt? Probably not if it gets as rowdy as Benny says it will.

“Just pick a fucking outfit, you idiot.” You chastise.

After yet another once over of your closet you pick out a worn, white t-shirt with an image of Speed Racer on it. It had definitely seen its glory days years ago when you were still in college. If it worked then, it should work now. You take it off its hanger, along with some jeans, and put it all on. You’re tying your shoes when your phone chimes next to you.

???: Hey, we will be getting to the gym around closing time. Are you staying to help Benny set up?

???: Oh, this is Frankie BTW

Seeing his name on your screen makes your chest tighten with excitement. You obviously gave him your number so he could text you, but now it feels so real. Something about Frankie texting ‘BTW’ makes you giggle to yourself as you sit on the floor.

You: Yes, I figured I would make myself useful. No point in going home since the fights start at 10:00 P.M. and I might lose my parking spot.

You have to set your phone down before you overthink the most basic text you have ever sent in your life. Just for good measure, you leave it on your bed while you go into the bathroom. Despite your best efforts to remain nonchalant about the whole situation, you find yourself putting on a little more makeup than usual. By the time you have wrapped up and returned to your room an unread text is waiting for you.

Frankie: Good thinking. See you tonight then.

The rest of your morning has a bit more pep in it than before.

***

Your day at the gym passes by as usual. The only two exceptions were a truck load of last minute Friday Fight Night tickets sales and then compliments on how the gym was smelling. You made a mental note to smack Benny upside the head for throwing such a temper tantrum about it. In between customers you found yourself checking your phone more than you regularly do. You told yourself that it was just because you were excited about the fights and were counting down the minutes and not because you were hoping to receive another text from Frankie. Unfortunately, lying to yourself never really works out.

In an effort to keep yourself occupied, you answer emails from people that are applying for a gym membership, make laps around the gym to see if you need to replace any of the wipes used to clean the machines, and collect all of the dirty towels for a load of laundry. Much to your dismay, these tasks don’t take very long to complete. By 3:30 P.M. you reluctantly slink back to the front desk where the single most unwanted guest is waiting.

“There she is! My favorite receptionist! I’m still interested in knowing your name, darlin’.”

“Good afternoon, Brunson.” You plop yourself down in your chair and pull up the schedule on the computer. “Just working out today? I don’t see that you’re with Benny.”

“You caught me. I want to make sure that I’m in good shape when I fight in a few weeks time.”

For a few blissful seconds you allow yourself to indulge in the idea of Brunson getting clocked, hard, right in the jaw.

“Well, enjoy yourself.” You scan his card quickly in an attempt to move him on his way.

“I always do so when you’re here.” He clicks his tongue at you while he walks past your desk.

“God, he’s insufferable.” You mumble to yourself.

It’s 4:00 P.M. when Benny finally ventures up to the front lobby with you.

“Where have you been? I feel like I haven’t seen you all day, man.”

“Because you haven’t,” He covers his face with his hands and whines into them before coming back up for air. “At first I couldn’t find where the white board I used to write out the fightin’ pairs was. Then there was somethin’ wrong with the beer delivery and they kept me out back for fuckin’ ever. That isn’t even coverin’ all the one on one sessions I've had today or the ones I’m still goin’ to have.”

It’s breaking your heart to see how stressed out he’s getting with all of the things he has to juggle today. You get out of your chair, walk over to him, and rub on his shoulder comfortingly.

“It’s going to be alright, Benny. I’m staying after work to help you set up and Frankie told me that the guys are coming to help around closing too. You won't be in this alone for much longer.”

He places both of his hands on his hips and exhales deeply.

“Thank you,” You can see the earnestness in his eyes. “I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. That’s what friends are for, right?”

He smiles down at you from his 6’2 frame and before you can move he pulls you in for a deadly tight hug.

“Benny!” You can’t stop laughing. “Let me go this fucking instant!”

“Friends like hugs from other friends, right?” He yells over your incessant protesting.

“I’m going to kill you, you know that?!” Your tone of voice doesn’t even sound remotely serious.

Eventually you get him to unlatch himself from you so the two of you can finish up the work day in order to prepare for this evening.

***

You stand back proudly and admire all of your handiwork. Benny put you in charge of setting up the beer table, so set up the beer table you did. You designed a poster to hang on the wall above the table so people would be able to clearly see their options and their respective prices. You set a long, metal tub in the center of the table and filled it halfway with ice. Then you made a little arrangement out of the beer and poured the last half of the ice on it to keep it cold. The cash box was fully stocked and set to the side. All in all, you did a pretty good job. Thankfully, one of Benny’s regulars volunteered to work it this evening.

“All done over here!” You call over to Benny. “How’s the sign coming?”

You watch in horror as he stands up to reveal a barely legible fighting roster. He must have seen your face flounder when you looked at it because he just tosses the dry erase marker over to you and crosses his arms.

“Oh, Benny I-”

“I know it looks bad. I’ve never had a knack for all this creative shit.”

You squeeze his hand as you pass him while heading to the white board. He slides over the roster that has been printed on paper for you to use as your guide. You’re so engrossed with your new task that you don’t notice when the guys come in around 8:30 P.M..

“You sure are givin’ Benny a run for his money this evenin’. The place hasn’t looked this put together in…well ever.” That sugary, sweet southern drawl could only belong to one man.

“Thank you, Will!” You toss over your shoulder.

“Aw screw you, dude. Maybe it would have been if y’all had gotten here when y’all said you would.” Benny notes.

“Blame Fish.” Pope snickers. “He couldn’t find the perfect outfit.”

That got your interest peaked. You turn around to look at what Frankie is wearing. Regular work boots, soft looking denim jeans, a black undershirt, a worn blue button up with the top few buttons left undone, and finally his cap- oh god he’s looking at you. If you had been a smarter woman, you would have noticed that two thirds of the group standing behind you were looking at your sign. That damned one third of the group was watching you trail your way up his whole body. He’s like an oak; completely unwavering as you take him in.

“Well, I like it. ” You squeak out as you turn your attention back to the roster. “Now why don’t you guys go make yourselves useful and help Benny?”

You hear a unified ‘yes ma’am’ come from behind you followed by the scattering of three pairs of feet. There truly isn't anything more sexy than men who can follow orders.

All five of y’all work tirelessly for the next hour to get everything finished before the doors open to the public. When you cross off the last item on your to-do list, you decide that you have earned a drink. You sneak over to the beer table and open one of the coolers that you set up behind it that contains the excess bottles. Much to your dismay, the bottle caps don't twist off like you originally thought. You’re on your knees looking around in the extra bags and praying that Benny had the foresight to get a bottle opener when Frankie walks up next to you.

“Lose something?”

“Just my dignity trying to locate the stupid fucking bottle opener.”

He laughs jovially as he extends his hand to help you up. You take it and sheepishly hand him your bottle when he motions for it. The two of you walk around to the front of the table and you watch as he easily takes out his keys and pops the cap open with a bottle opener he had attached to them. You notice that instead of tossing the cap in the trash he places it back in his pocket along with his keys. Right when he starts to hand the drink back to you he pulls it back towards him.

“Hey! What gives?”

“I have to test it to make sure it isn’t poisonous or something.”

“Oh my god, you dick.” You lean back on the table behind you.

“You won’t be saying that when I save your life.” He takes a small sip and passes it over to you. “Nope. It’s not poison. You’re in the clear.”

Now it’s your turn. You turn to look out at the gym while you take a drink of your well deserved reward.

“Wait,” You look over at Frankie. “What if it's a slow acting poison and now we are both infected? I guess you have to stay here and finish this with me so we can go out together.”

He leisurely reclines next to you on the table and takes the bottle in his hand when you offer it to him. “That's some pretty sound logic. I can’t argue with that.”

You try to stop yourself, but you watch as he brings the frosty glass to his pouty lips. They look more pink than usual against the dark color of the bottle. His hands make the beer bottle look so much smaller than it really is. Your eyes wander to that nose you’re so fond of. God, what would it feel like on your clit as he ate his fill of you? Now that you’re closer to him you’re able to see the gray that's intricately woven into his beard and hair. Would it tickle the inside of your thighs when he buried his face in your pussy? Feelings you haven’t had for a man in a long time rock through your body the further you sink into your fantasy. Drifting even further, his adam’s apple bobs as he swallows the chilled liquid. You want to decorate the sensitive skin with blossoming purple marks.

“What?” He’s looking at you now. “Do I have something on my face?”

“No,” You say almost breathlessly. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t hog it all.”

“I would never.” The low baritone of his voice reverberates through you.

Benny, thankfully, yells from across the gym at the both of y’all before you do something questionable.

“Hey, lazy asses! It’s showtime!”

You and Frankie both let out a breath neither of y’all realized you were holding. He looks down at his watch and then faces his friend with a mild look of annoyance.

“It’s 9:30, man. It’s just the boxers and the ring girls coming in right now.”

You notice that Frankie’s body immediately tenses up after he says this. Confused, you look over at Benny who has eyes as bright as the sun and is making a beeline towards you.

“I’m sorry.” Frankie whispers down to you. “I’m so sorry.”

“Benny? What are you-?”

“I have a proposition for you.” He says while gripping both sides of your arms. “Do you wanna hear it?”

“I don’t think I have a choice by the look of things.”

“Please be my ring girl.” He gasps.

“Oh my god.” You let your head roll back. “Benny, are you serious right now?”

“Don’t say no yet. Just think about it before you decide.”

You roll your head over to face Frankie and raise your eyebrows. You’re met with a shrug that is just as innocent as his grin.

“Does this offer have an expiration date?” You inquire shifting your focus back to the man that currently has you in a vice grip.

“Just think about it.” He pleads.

“Fine, but I’m pretty sure I’m gonna say n-”

“La-la-la! I can’t hear you! La-la-la!”

“Don’t you have fighters to go hype up in the locker room?” Frankie cuts in.

“Nothin’ I hate more than when you’re right, Fish. Catch y’all in between the matches!”

With one final ‘think about it’, he bounds off into the locker rooms. All you can do is laugh hysterically at what just transpired. Frankie probably thinks you have lost your mind with the way you are doubled over right now.

“Hey let us in on the joke, why don’t you?” Pope sits next to you on the table.

“I could use a good laugh as well.” Will adds blithely.

“What you two could use is a reality check.” you walk around the table and grab a beer for each of them. “God, I can’t believe him.”

You hand Will and Pope their drinks completely forgetting about taking the tops off. Fortunately, that didn’t stop them. Will snatches Pope’s beer out of his hand and positions the bottles where one has its cap resting just barely on the edge of the other's cap. Then he slams them down on his knee and Pope’s opens with ease. After he hands the open one off, he pops his own with a thick ring he’s wearing.

“I’m thoroughly impressed, Will. What the hell was that?”

“You just gotta learn to make due sometimes.”

Frankie and Pope both mutter ‘show-off’ under their breaths as Will explains to you the physics behind his little trick.

“Okay, now back to what Benny was talking about.” You adjust your stance so you can better face the group. “Are y’all in on this? This ‘ring girl’ shit?”

“Can’t say it wouldn’t be fun though.” Pope prods his finger at you.

“Oh, yes I can.” You say swatting at him.

“You know, Benny. Once he sets his mind to somethin’ he’s pretty determined to see it through.”

“That doesn’t even begin to answer my question, Will.” You groan as you take the beer from Frankie’s hand.

The movements between y’all are so natural, so fluid that it feels like something you have been doing for years. You see Pope, almost in shock, watch you as you take a drink.

“Can I get some of that?”

“No way, man.” You shelter the bottle against your body. “Three is a crowd and you literally have an open one in your hand.”

“Will’s right,” Frankie reasons with you. “Benny is as one track minded as they come.”

“Tell him to get on another track then.”

“How about this?” Pope counters. “You go into the locker room with Benny and see what it takes to be a ring girl. Then and only then will he accept your answer of ‘no’ if that’s still what you want.”

“If that will get him off my case then that's fine with me.”

You start to turn towards the locker room doors when a blue sleeved arm reaches over your shoulder and plucks the beer from you.

“Hey, give that back!”

“I just want to make sure you don’t hog it all.” Frankie’s tone is thick with sarcasm.

“I would never.” You grin.

Pope waits until you have cleared the locker room doors before he whacks Frankie in the shoulder. Unfortunately, Frankie doesn’t see it coming because he is too busy hoping to catch one more glimpse of you.

“If that's how you act around women you think are ‘just cool�� then I’m terrified to see how you act around women you actually like.”

“The fuck was that for? And the fuck are you talking about, man?” He massages the spot where Pope smacked him.

“Will, please tell me you aren’t as blind as he is?”

“Sorry, Fish. I see it too.”

“See what?”

“That you look like a goddamn catfish whenever you look at her! Eyes all big and mouth agape.”

“I do not.” Frankie mutters.

“Come on.” Pope folds his arms across his chest. “You think she’s cute.”

“What are we in middle school? You’re being ridiculous. Will?”

“I’ll be honest, I wanna know too.” He flashes that signature boyish Miller smile.

All Frankie can do is laugh nervously while he removes his cap and runs his fingers through his hair. He knows that he’s in the middle of a losing battle and that he’ll have to concede. They are going to be ecstatic that a woman other than Rochelle has caught his eye. Especially when it's a woman that meshes so naturally with their group. No, what’s stopping him is that a part of himself wants to keep it a secret. To have something that is just his. No prying eyes, no unwanted advice, no consequences, and no one else has to get hurt but him. As soon as the acknowledgement of his affection for you falls from his lips, it's real. As selfish as it sounds, he wants to keep you at arms length. He feels like everything he touches breaks and he doesn’t want you to become the next casualty. You wouldn’t want him if you knew the truth about the things he has done. But then you smile or laugh and he can feel himself falling deeper and deeper into his delusions of grandeur.

“Well, if you don’t like her then maybe I’ll ask her out.”

“No, you won't because,” Frankie puts his cap back on. “I think she’s cute. Are y’all happy? I like her.”

“Atta boy, Fish!” Will cheers.

“I knew it!” Pope says as he pulls Frankie in for a hug. “She’s a good one, man.”

“I know she is. I just don’t know if I’m going to do anything about it right now.”

Will’s hand comes to rest on his shoulder. “Why’s that?”

“I don’t want to fuck it up. To drag her into the shit show that is my life. I don’t even know if she feels the same way either!”

The two other men nod in understanding. Frankie takes a sip of the drink he stole from you and sighs as he looks up at the ceiling.

“All I know is…is that I like her.”

“Shh!”

“Pope, you were the one that wanted to talk about this!”

“Shut the fuck up! She's coming!”

“Y’all ready? I’m going to open the doors for everyone!”

The three of them use the time it takes you to unlock the doors and arrive back in order to regroup from their previous conversation.

“Did you,” Will clears his throat. “Did you like the view back there? See a future in being Benny’s ring girl?”

“I like the view from right here, thank you very much.”

“So,” Pope rubs his hands together. “Who ready to see some dudes get the shit beat out of them?”

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{tag list: @cutesyscreenname @rsquared31 @smol-beb @bitchwitch1981 @avastrasposts @hoeslingz @saltybutteredtoast @javicstories @c-justhere @pimosworld @modernperplexity @beboldbebravethings @modernperplexity @mxtokko @moonliqhtszn @tanzthompson }

#francisco morales #frankie morales #catfish #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader #triple frontier #triple frontier fic #benny miller #will miller #ironhead #santiago garcia #pope #through the scope #read on a03

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smaptain-smerica · 1 year

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Female Reader x Rooster

Time: Post-Top gun: Maverick

Y/n Blackwood - L/n, daughter of Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. Y/n took a strong interest in planes from a young age. Knowing her father was an esteemed pilot drew her even further into the navy. Quickly, she became one of the best solo pilots and graduating at the top of her class at Top Gun.

Her next mission? Return to Top Gun, Face certain death, romantic interests, and finally, her thought-to-be-dead, father.

This book contains strong language and sexual content that may be sensitive readers under the age of 18

This story was originally posted on Wattpad, follow me on there for faster updates. I have published a non-binary version of this story published there for those who do not identify as female or use she/her pronouns. It will follow the exact same story line. Link to Wattpad Account Link to the Non-Binary version

Master list

Return to Me

After our session at Top Gun I offered for Hangman to come over for dinner. I had put a roast in the crockpot all day so it would be ready when we arrived back at the house. The smell entered our noses the second that the door opened and we both signed in satisfaction.

"Oh man, that smells amazing." Hangman said dreamily as we began to set our things down in the entryway. He had time to change and get a shower in after our workout. I, on the other hand, had not.

I left him alone in the living room for a few minutes while I showered and changed. I came back out with a pair of sweatpants on and one of Bradley's comfortable t-shirts. I would be lying if I said I hadn't slept in the same one last night. It was the last one I had that even remotely had his scent.

I looked over at the kitchen island and smiled, seeing Hangman had set up some plates and already managed to find the wine, pouring us both a glass. He looked up at me with a small smile before plugging the wine bottle.

"You didn't have to do that." I slightly scolded him as I approached.

Hangman shrugged in response, "it's the least I could do." He held out a glass to me, which I gratefully took. We got our plates and began eating. The conversation started small. Discussing the pilots, what we liked and didn't like, things we could do to challenge them.

Then the conversation changed to memories, fun, light hearted topics. We had moved from the island where we were eating to the floor of the living room, playing cards on the coffee table.

"I don't know why this game is called Trash." Hangman stated, flipping his cards over until he had to put one in the discard pile.

"It's probably because you throw away the cards you don't need." I suggested. Truthfully, I didn't know either.

"But you have to count to 10, what does counting have to do with trash?" He persisted.

"You could ask Oscar."

Hangman looked at me like I had just spoken another language, completely confused. "Huh?"

"Oscar the grouch, from Sesame Street? He lives in a trashcan."

It was obvious that we were both trying our best to hold back laughter, until we couldn't anymore. Hangman and I burst out laughing so hard we both gripped our stomachs for support.

Suddenly, the sound of the front door closing echoed through the house. We couldn't see who it was yet, but they walked down the hallways until they appeared in the living room.

"Rooster?" I asked, relief in my voice. He had on some camouflage military pants and a plain, untucked, white t-shirt. His many bags thudded to the ground and he looked over in our direction. He looked exhausted, his eyes tired with dark circles under them. Though his face slowly grew into a more angry look.

"Get out, Jake." Bradley nearly growled.

"Excuse me?" Hangman challenged, standing up to his feet.

"Jake get the fuck out of my house!" Bradley screamed, pointing towards the door.

"Bradley!" I scolded him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This was the second time I had ever heard him angrily yell, and it was scary.

Hangman put his hands up in surrender, gathering his things up and heading for the door. He stopped right in front of Bradley, giving him a cold stare before exiting.

"Where do you get off screaming at your friends to leave, huh?" I began to raise my voice now as I approached Bradley.

"It's my damn house. I can do what I want." He snapped back at me.

"Well where have you been, huh? Where have you been Bradley." I knew the answer to that already, he was on a mission. I was more meaning to his mysterious disappearance, not responding to my texts or calls.

"You know exactly where I was." He sassed back, talking as though the answer was obvious.

"No I didn't, because you couldn't be bothered to return any of my calls or at least send me a text!" I could feel the emotions welling up in my throat, it closing around itself.

"I couldn't use my phone the last week because they said it could jeopardize the mission!"

"But you could call Pete and not me?"

"It was late at night! I didn't want to wake-"

"I thought you were fucking dead!" I finally screamed, tears now brimming to my eyelids. I bit down on my bottom lip to try and prevent any more from coming.

"You thought I was dead so you bring another man into my house?" Our argument had now turned into us screaming at each other. Most of my anger was directed at him, but part of it had slowly been building up.

"Jake is my friend. I brought him here to help me! He helped me get back in the plane and is helping me with classes!"

"God, y/n he's in love with you! It's so obvious!"

"I know that!" We were silent for a moment, our angry breaths were the only things filling the room.

"He told me, we talked about it. We're still friends."

"Y/n you can't just be friends with someone you're in love with."

"Well it wouldn't matter anyway because I'm not in love with him I'm in love with you!"

My heart dropped down to my stomach at the sudden instinct for those words to jump out. Bradley seemed to relax his body, his face moving into shock. Tears now tore down my face rapidly. I couldn't handle it anymore. I grabbed my keys from the bowl and stormed off to the front door. I ignored Bradley's protests for me to wait or to stay until I reached for the door handle and flung it open.

"I'm in love with you too." He called from down the hall. I turned my head back to look over my shoulder. I stared at him for a brief moment before dramatically slamming the door behind me and making my way to my car.

Hangman had already loaded his things into the trunk and was leaning against the side of the house. He immediately pushed off and came up to me when he saw me.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I sniffled my nose, clearly not okay, but responding so anyway.

"I'm great." I grumbled dryly.

"What happened?" He tried to ask again when we got into the car. I turned the key and started the engine.

"I don't want to talk about it." I insisted sternly. I was thankful he knew me well enough to listen, even though the silent car ride back to base was excruciatingly awkward.

I knew I didn't want to go back to the house once Hangman was safely back at base. Truthfully, I knew exactly the place that I wanted to be. I put my car in park in the driveway and went straight inside.

Maverick was inside making dinner in the kitchen when we locked eyes. He smiled at me, obviously happy to see me. I think he noticed quickly that something was wrong because that smile faded quickly.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, throwing down the towel he had in his hands and approaching me quickly. I would have responded if I didn't feel like the first word to come out of my mouth would also bring tears.

"Bradley's back."

"He's back?" Maverick asked surprised.

"Stormed into the house while Hangman and I were eating and started yelling."

I sat down on the couch as my head fell into my hands. Maverick moved to the couch next to me and brought me into his arms. I explained the situation in more detail to him while frustrated tears.

"I don't know why I'm crying I'm just really mad." I sniffled, wiping my tears away aggressively. I was now even more mad at myself for crying.

Maverick gently rubbed his hand up and down my arm near my shoulder comfortingly. "That doesn't sound like him. Did you he anything else?"

"No. I left right after..." my voice trailed off, not sure I wanted to finish my thought.

"After what?" He asked.

A knock at the door interrupted our conversation. Not just a knock, a persistent pounding at the door. Maverick jumped to his feet and approached the door.

"Brad?" Maverick asked. I felt my heart drop. My head whipped towards the door to try and get a better look.

"Can I talk to y/n? Please?"

"She doesn't want to see you right now." Maverick said rather sternly. I was surprised he was so willing to take my side.

"Please, Mav." I couldn't see him but I could hear how upset he was by the tone of his voice. He was broken.

"I don't think it's a good idea."

"Pete," I finally stood up and caught his attention. I walked over to the doorway and saw Bradley standing there, looking at me expectedly.

"Can we please talk y/n?" He asked, a pleading look in his eyes. I sighed and signaled for him to follow me. I led him through the house and into the back yard. I sat down on one of the patio chairs and watched as Bradley paced back and forth on the pavement. He finally took a big sigh and walked over to me. I expected him to sit down in the chair right next to mine, but instead he knelt down on the ground, taking both of my hands into his. I was surprised by this gesture.

"There's something I need to tell you. It's part of the reason I lashed out the way I did but it is in no way an excuse. And I'm sorry for yelling and not calling and being a total asshole to you."

He was being so sincere, so honest, never in my life had I ever been with a man who was willing to get on his knees and apologize for his actions. My heart ached from the way he was acting, I could tell he felt bad.

"Thank you, I really appreciate that. I'm sorry-"

"No, you have nothing to apologize for."

Bradley took a deep breath and looked off into the distance before looking back over at me. "About 5 years ago I was in a relationship with this girl who I thought that I was going to marry. We were going to get married. On the morning of the wedding, I went looking for her mother because her father was supposed to help me with the groomsmen activities. When I approached the bridal suite, I heard her inside talking about how she was marrying me because she would receive my military benefits as well as compensation. She knew I would give anything her because I was 'too nice'."

My heart dropped out of my chest. I have no idea where it went because it felt like it wasn't even beating at all. I've been thinking about this story for a while. On and off my mind would wander to what Hangman had told me that night, always too scared to ask because of what Maverick said. I couldn't believe that it was true.

I reached out and put a hand on the side of his face in sympathy. "Bradley,"

He grabbed my hand that was on his face and gave it a gentle squeeze before continuing. "Then, I overheard her say to her maid of honor, that I wasn't her type. She said that she would rather see someone like my friend Jake Seresin. If it weren't for the money, she would rather be with someone like him. So I packed up all my things and left. And I never looked back."

My mouth was gaped open in shock, I couldn't believe someone had actually said that about him. I instantly wanted to be protective, jump to his defense. In the few short months I knew rooster, he has proven time and time again that he would do anything for those he cared about. It made me unbelievably angry to hear someone wanted to take advantage of that.

"I know that you two have known each other longer than we have, but I got jealous. I saw you two sitting together and laughing, It felt like I blacked out with anger. I didn't want the same thing to happen again."

I looked down into his brown eyes, watching then flip back and forth between my two eyes. I smiled at him gently. "I meant what I said."

Rooster raised his eyebrow at me. "About me getting off to screaming at people?"

I playfully smacked him in the shoulder, which he pretended to be hurt by. "I love you." I said and felt a heat spread across my face. The slowest smile spread across his face, a smile that illuminated the entire world, sitting right in front of me.

Bradley wrapped me in his arms, picking me up off the chair and hugging me tight. His lips pressed against mine in one of the most loving kisses I had ever received. Every ounce of passion and feeling he ever had was exerted in that kiss. And I felt every single bit of it. Ever ounce of love, longing, and relief.

He finally put me down, bringing his hands to either side of my face. "I knew from the moment I met you, it would be impossible for me not to love you." We brought each other in for a kiss one last time, only to be interrupted by a certain trouble maker.

"Get a room!" Amelia dramatically shouted into the yard, causing us both to look in her direction. Bradley let out a relieved huff and smiled at the young girl. "Hey Mills."

They met halfway through the yard before giving each other a large hug. Bradley couldn't see it, but Amelia looked at me and gave me a thumbs up behind his back. I chuckled, giving her a small wink in response.

Amelia squealed in surprise as Bradley lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder. "What's for dinner? I'm starving!" He announced while walking into the house.

I took a moment outside to look up at the stars in the sky. I smiled, signing in relief. I was beyond happy that he was back. I had this perfect image of his return in my head so for it to turn into an argument, it was unexpected. What was also unexpected was my confession of love. I was so wrapped up in the moment and my feelings that I didn't even realize I felt that way.

Bradley and I made eye contact through the window. He gave me a gentle smile, then made his way to the door to the backyard. "You coming, sweetheart?" He called to me.

I turned to him with a smile, taking his hand as we walked into the kitchen for dinner.

Next Chapter

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binniebutter · 3 years

Text

Under The Wisteria

Pairing: Choi Soobin x fem!reader

Genre: Angst Angst Angst; fluff ig, dystopian au

Word Count: 4.7k

Warnings: violence, gun violence, blood, major character death, I think that’s all

Summary: You just wanted to be with him forever, but you didn’t mean under the Wisteria tree.

Credit: beta read by @nottodayjjk and @inmyfelix from @txtarcadianet. Thanks so much babes!

a/n: I messed up the tags so I deleted and now I’m posting again🥲 but yea this is a birthday gift for @unlocktxt also i can’t write kissing scenes don’t make fun of me.

“Happy birthday to you,” you jumped in your seat a little, startled by your friend’s mom’s sudden singing, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Y/n, happy birthday to youuuuu.” She walked into the dining room with a single vanilla cupcake in her hands, a candle sporting the number 18 on top. There was no icing or sprinkles on the cupcake yet it still looked ravishing to you. The government only allowed for sweets on special occasions, like birthdays or weddings, and even then it could only be so many calories. This was the government's way of getting rid of obesity in Lamore, along with other, harsher, methods.

“Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. It means so much to me.” You looked up at her and could see the sparkles in her eyes. That was one thing you loved about Mrs. Johnson, she always had sparkles in her eyes and a positive outlook on this fucked-up place we call Earth. Even after the incident…

“Oh dear, it was my pleasure! And how many times have I told you to call me mom, darling?” A lot. Almost every day, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to do that. Every time you looked at her, you not only saw the sparkles, but you also saw her.

Amelia.

You see, Amelia was your best friend. You had known her since you were 3. You guys did everything together, homework, parties, shopping. Everything. Your families were also close to each other. So close that she called your mom “mama” and you called her mom “mom”. You loved each other dearly and made a promise to be best friends forever, always wearing promise rings on your pinkies. Until one fateful day. It had been all your fault. You wanted ice cream so badly that day, even though you knew that you could only have it on your birthday. You didn’t care though, begging your mother, who had taken Amelia and yourself to the park that day, to get some from the vendor.

“Please, mom. Please please please with a cherry on top,” you pleaded with your hands clasped in front of you. “Please it’s so hot I could melt. You wouldn’t want your only daughter to melt, do you?”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not my only daughter. I have Amelia too,” your mom childishly stuck out her tongue at you, causing you to look at your best friend with a pout on your face. Immediately, Amelia knew what to do.

“But mama, I want some ice cream too,” she said with a pout that you knew your mother couldn’t resist. And you were right because her resolve started wavering and soon the three of you were heading towards the ice cream vendor located in the middle of the park.

“Hello, sir. Three ice creams, please!” The man at the stand eyed you skeptically before asking who’s birthday it was. You replied before your mother could even open her mouth.

“Mine! Can I please have a cookie and cream ice cream with a waffle cone?” The man had seen how enthusiastic you were and assumed you weren’t lying. After hearing Amelia and your mother’s orders, he immediately got to work and soon enough you were walking away from him, licking your ice cream.

“Come on, Amelia, let’s go to the swings! Last one there is a rotten egg,” you took off towards the swings, leaving Amelia shouting about how you had cheated. Once you both got there, you sat right beside each other, kicking your legs back and forth while gossiping about some boys in your class. In the middle of you telling a story about one dude, a little girl about 5 years old came up to you two asking if it was one of your birthdays. You both had forgotten all about the Capitol rules and answered her truthfully, no.

“Oh, ok,” she bid you goodbye and ran away. You turned back to Amelia and shrugged your shoulders, going back to your story. You both were so absorbed in the story that you didn’t notice the little girl, or what you thought was a little girl, going to tell her mother. But one person did notice, your mom. She saw the tattoo on the girl’s arm and immediately knew who, what, she was. A spy for the Capitol.

Immediately, your mother made her way over to the two of you, telling you that it was time to leave. You should've listened to her. Instead, you were your stubborn self and insisted that you stay a little longer. Amelia had always been the more obedient one out of the two of you and seeing how urgent your mother was on getting you to leave, tried to convince you. Again, you should’ve listened to her. But you didn’t.

“Excuse me,” a voice sounded from behind your mom and you saw her face become as pale as a ghost. She turned around and was immediately tased. Her body convulsed on the floor for a few seconds before she stilled on the grass. You screamed in shock, drawing the attention of the other park users. Amelia grabbed your hand in fear, too scared to do anything. You squeezed her hand to comfort her but she could tell that you were just as scared. The woman stepped over your mother’s body and took a step towards the two of you, which in return to you took a step backward.

“Now, which one of you lied, and said it was their birthday? You both should know that Lenore doesn’t allow liars here,” she had a smile on her face the whole time she was speaking, but instead of comforting you, it terrified you. After a few moments of silence, her smile dropped into a scowl. “Well,” she barked at you causing you to shrink in fear, “Who was it? Or am I going to have to punish both of you?” Your eyes widened in shock. Both of us. You couldn’t let Amelia get hurt. Little did you know, Amellia had the same thoughts. And so before you opened your mouth, she spoke.

“Me, ma’am. It was me.” Although her voice was quiet, you could hear the firmness in it.

“What!?!? Amelia, no!” But alas it was too late. She had been tased the moment the words had left her mouth. You watched in horror as your best friend fell limp on the grass. You couldn’t scream. You couldn’t move. You couldn’t even cry as you watched her eyes roll to the back of her head. Even after the cleanup crew came to take their bodies away, you were still standing in the same spot, looking at the place where your mother and best friend had just been. You didn’t want to believe they were gone. They couldn’t be. It wasn’t until you felt arms wrap around you and bring you into an embrace did you break down. Your mother and your best friend, your platonic soulmate, the only one who knows you better than yourself, were gone. You sobbed and sobbed into the person’s shirt. You couldn’t care less that they were a stranger, you needed someone. After you calmed down you looked up at your savior for the first time. It was a boy around your age, maybe a few years older.

“Thank you,” you paused, feeling silly for not even knowing his name.

“Soobin, Choi Soobin,” he answered with a small smile on his face. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

“Forever?” you asked with a small sniffle.

“Forever.”

You met Choi Soobin when you were 10 years old.

After you finished celebrating with Mrs. Johnson, which consisted of splitting the cupcake in half and opening the gift she got you, a brand new pair of workout sneakers, you both headed up to your rooms. It was almost curfew time and you knew the Capitol Workers were making their way around for nightly checks. You remembered reading in a history book, that somehow was missed when all the books of the past were burned, that curfew back then was way different and that not everyone had a curfew. The person with a curfew just had to be home by that time. No random stranger was coming into your room to see if you were sleeping. How lucky.

You tensed up as you heard the front door open. He’s here. You didn’t know your Capitol Worker well. You didn’t even know what he looked like. All you knew was that he’s a guy and he comes to your room every night to check if you’re asleep.

You closed your eyes and willed your heart to slow down to a normal pace. Your room door opened and you could hear the heavy sound of the combat boots that all CW’s were forced to wear. They took a few steps toward you, which was unusual, and you held your breath. This is it. I’m gonna die. They’re gonna know that I’m faking-

You paused in your thoughts at the sound of the boots walking towards the door and it being closed. You let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Jesus, that was scary,” you muttered, still scared of them hearing you. You continued to lay in bed even after you heard the front door shut. After waiting a few more minutes, you got up and headed towards your closet. You put on some dark clothing before grabbing your backpack and heading to your window. Looking out the window carefully, you saw the CW’s moving on to the next street.

“Perfect.” You opened up your window and stuck a leg out. You shivered a little bit as it was chilly out. With one hand still holding your window you pulled your other leg outside, now sitting on the sill. With your other hand, you reached for the closest branch of the cherry blossom tree in your backyard. Using the hand still on the window, you closed it shut, making sure the sound wasn’t loud. Now you were dangling from the tree. Expertly, you swung yourself up onto the branch, having done this a million times before. Once on the tree, you were able to climb down safely, without being seen. Great. Looking left and right, making sure no one saw you, you headed down the pathway that you’ve traveled frequently. The pathway to the love of your life.

Who, you may ask. Well, none other than your savior.

“Hey Y/n,” you didn’t let him finish as you engulfed him in a big hug. You didn’t let go for a while, squeezing him so tight he almost couldn’t breathe. You hugged him as if it was your last hug and Soobin was rapidly getting worried that it might be. You could feel his heartbeat increase and pulled away slightly to reassure him.

“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong, I just missed you.” At your words, Soobin calmed down and a shy smile overtook his face. You smiled widely at his shyness. He’s so cute!

“Babe, we saw each other today at school.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same and you know it. We’re not allowed to hug each other or kiss each other.” A devilish smirk appeared on your face as an idea popped into your head. “Like this!” You cupped Soobin’s face in your hands and brought it to yours, leaving a quick peck on his lips. You laughed at the shocked expression on his face.

Anyone who knew Soobin knew that he was timid. He didn’t speak a lot in school unless he was called on. He sat by himself during lunch, which worried you a little because you didn’t want him to be lonely, but anytime you expressed your concerns he reassured you that he likes the quietness. Which usually wouldn’t soothe your worries, but Soobin is different when with you.

With you, he talks exceedingly, maybe too much if you were being honest. With you, he wasn’t afraid to laugh his boisterous laugh. With you, he could be himself and he was grateful to you for that.

“Yah! You can’t just d-do that!” Even though it was dark and you couldn’t see it, you knew that there was a bright blush on Soobin’s face.

“Why? Aren’t I your girlfriend?” you teased. You loved teasing Soobin. It was your favorite pastime. Though at your words, you could feel the mood change. It was like a breeze came by and took away the lightness of your banter.

“But you aren’t.” The street lamp cast a light on his face for a moment and you could see the sadness etched on his face. He was right. You weren’t his girlfriend, not technically. The government has this rule that no one is allowed to date until they are 30. Apparently, it deals with overpopulation. Man, fuck The Capitol.

“Y-yeah. You’re right. I’m sorry,” you said looking at your feet. Soobin looked at you with sad eyes. He hated seeing you like this which is why when the two of you met up, you never talked about this. But it was bound to come up sooner or later. He lifted your chin with his thumb and index finger, forcing you to look him in the eyes.

“I love you. Let’s not talk about this tonight. It’s your birthday!” He placed a kiss on your forehead, then your cheeks, which were blushing red at his affection, one on your nose, and lastly he placed a passionate kiss on your lips. You immediately kissed back, shocked.

It was different, not like the small pecks the two of you share. It lasted longer and you could feel all the emotions that he was trying to convey in the kiss. You closed your eyes and deepened the kiss, hoping to show him how much you loved him. His arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you more into him. When your lungs felt as if they were to collapse if you didn’t stop, you pulled away, a daze in your eyes. Looking at Soobin, you saw his usual small, crooked smile on his face.

“Happy birthday, love. Forever?”

“Forever.”

“What if we run away?”

It’s been about a month since your birthday and currently, you have your head in Soobin’s lap, gazing up at him. He has his back resting on the wisteria tree behind him, a book in one hand while the other runs through your hair. His big, round glasses are adorned on the bridge of his nose, sliding down every few seconds. His blue bangs are covering his eyes today, not gelled back like usual. He looks like an idol Harry Potter adorable, you think. He should leave his hair down more often. It’s when he moves his hand from your hair to turn the page that you pop the question, causing him to stop and freeze.

“W-what?” he asks while looking down at you. His head is tilted, almost as if he didn’t hear you properly. But he did. And you know that. “Y-you want us to r-run away!?”

“Ok, I know it sounds crazy but we both love each other dearly, right?” He nods and you continue. “And it’s not like we have anything here weighing us down. Plus this country is horrible. I hate it and so do you. So let’s just leave. We can go to Averna, rent a home, start a family, grow old together.” Your voice slows down and you start sounding less sure of yourself once you see the look on Soobin’s face. “Do you not want that…”

“Of course I want that!” You flinch a little at the sound of his voice. In all of the 8 years that you’ve known Soobin, he has never raised his voice at you. Seeing your flinch, he lowers his volume. “Of course, I do Y/n, but how are we supposed to run away? There’s a tracker in our necks. The only reason we haven’t been tracked yet is cause they think we’re sleeping. If we leave, someone will report it. They could easily find us and bring us back….or worse.”

You know what he means by worse. The Capitol hates when citizens break the rules. You’ll end up the same as Amelia and your mother. You shudder at the memory of their limp bodies being carried off the grass. You push those thoughts to the back of your head as you open your mouth to speak again but you are cut off.

“No, Y/n, I’m serious. We are not running away. We’ll be killed. And what about Mrs. Johnson, huh? Do you really want her to lose another daughter?”

His words hit you hard. You look at him like a gaping fish, opening your mouth repeatedly but words never come out. He is right, of course, he is right. But you had always been the stubborn one.

“I DON’T CARE, SOOBIN!” Now he is the one to flinch back in shock. “I am tired of living in this terrible place, aren’t you? We’re treated like crap here, having to follow all these stupid rules. I wanna be able to eat candy whenever I want. I wanna be able to go out at night without having to be sneaky. I want to marry you, Soobin, before I turn freaking 30. And I can’t get any of these in Lamore. So let’s leave. Please,” you beg. You thought your words would be all that was needed to convince Soobin but you are wrong.

“Y/n. I love you so much. But I can’t do this, I can’t allow you to do this. We can’t. They’ll kill us once they find us and-”

“I’m going, Soobin. With or without you,” you tell him while standing up and he knows from the firmness in your voice that your mind is set. “Tomorrow night. I’m leaving tomorrow night at sunset. If you want to join me, meet me here, under the Wisteria.” You turn around to leave and take a few steps before Soobin’s words make you pause in your tracks.

“Forever?” It is a last resort. He thinks maybe he can change your mind. But you don’t even look back before continuing on your journey home. Soobin looks down dejectedly at his shoes before standing up and walking in the opposite direction you have.

What neither of you had noticed, was a certain Capitol Worker watching you the whole time.

“She’s leaving tomorrow at sunset.” “...” “Don’t worry, I have a plan.”

The next day at school, you had expected to see Soobin in your first period, sitting in the front row as usual. Red flag number one should’ve been when you noticed that he wasn’t there when you walked in. He’s always early. You brushed it off though. Red flag number two was when the bell rang and the teacher started the class and Soobin still wasn’t here. Soobin’s never late to class. Again you pushed the thought away, focusing on what the teacher was writing on the board.

It’s the end of the day and still no sign of Soobin. You were extremely worried now and had reason to be. Even when he had the flu he came to school, albeit he was sent home immediately. You forced yourself to calm down, willing the worry that was bubbling in the bottom of your stomach to go down. It’s ok, you’ll see him tonight. You were certain he would be there. He loves you, there’s no way he wouldn’t be there. Boy were you in for a shock.

At about 10 minutes to sunset, you headed to the Wisteria tree which had quickly become your safe haven. A place where you could truly be yourself with your lover. A place where many kisses were shared, many memories were made. You smiled at the thought. But your smile was wiped off your face at the sight before your eyes.

Because there was Soobin, tied up to the tree with a gag in his mouth, and a boy around your age, maybe younger, next to him. His eyes were wide with worry and fear, for his life or yours you couldn’t tell. What the hell is happening?

“Oh hello, Y/n dear. Nice of you to finally join the party.” The boy spoke. “Do you know who I am?” Slowly, you shook your head no. His lips turned upwards into a smirk. He was fairly attractive and if you weren’t in love with Soobin, you would swoon. “My name is Kang Taehyun. Your CW.” A gasp slipped from your mouth.

“M-my, my what!? Y-you’re the one who does my curfew check? But you’re just a kid.” When the word left your mouth a hard glare was thrown your way. “N-nevermind, not a kid. Got it.”

“Good work, Taehyun.” A feminine voice resounded from behind you. You turned in the direction of the voice and froze. No. Right in front of your eyes was the same woman you had met almost a decade ago. The same woman that had held a taser to your mother and best friends’ necks. The same woman who had stepped over their lifeless bodies as she had left the park. The same woman who had smiled at you from over her shoulder, as if she were happy that you had no one left. “Y/n, we meet once again. Oh, what’s with that frown? Aren’t you happy to see me?” She mocked you. She had killed your family and she dared to mock you. You felt a bolt of anger surge through your body. You got ready to lunge at her but stopped at the cock of a gun.

“Uh, uh, uh. Take a step back or else I’ll blow your brains out.” You smirked. You weren’t afraid of dying. It would’ve been worth it to hurt the bitch.

“I don’t care. She deserves to feel pain. It’s not as strong as the pain of losing your family but close enough.” You took a step forward your arm raised to throw a punch at her, but then Taehyun uttered words you never wanted to ever hear.

“Maybe you don’t value your life, but I’m sure lover boy over here does.” You stopped in your tracks for the nth time that day, turning around to see Taehyun’s gun pointed straight at Soobin’s head. You looked into his eyes and saw nothing but fear and you knew that your eyes reflected his. When all you did was continue to stare at Soobin, Taehyun started to become impatient and shot up into the air. You jumped at the booming sound and looked over at him. “Next shot will be in his head.”

“P-please. What do you want? I’ll give you anything, just please, don’t hurt him,” your voice was shaky as you begged for his life. He can’t die, you won’t allow it. “K-kill me. Please kill me instead. Spare him.” At your words, Soobin tried his best to break free from his restraints. He struggled and struggled until Taehyun punched him in the face, forcing him to stop and causing you to scream in anguish.

“NOOOO!” The pain in your voice could be heard from a mile away. Your sobs echoing in the darkness. You have never cried as hard as this. “PLEASE I BEG OF YOU STOP! STOP PLEASE. LEAVE HIM ALONE, TAKE ME. HURT ME.” You never imagined that you would be in this situation. Watching Soobin, the love of your life, your forever, in pain. Blood dripped from his nose and you cringed at the sight.

“Oh darling, we plan to. But first, why don’t you enlighten us on why you want to leave Lamore?” The silky smooth voice behind you spoke again. How does she know that? She must’ve read your mind because she answered your question right after. “Taehyun here has been following you, getting intel on you, for about a month now. You’re a sneaky one, aren’t you?”

A month? Why only a month? And they both must be mind-readers as Taehyun answered you next. “Your breath. The night of your birthday. It was too fast, almost as if you were nervous. And what would you have to be nervous about if you were sleeping?” His eyebrow quirked up a little as he asked the question. “So I came closer than I usually do to make sure I was seeing correctly. I was, it turns out.” So that’s why he took more steps towards you than usual. You knew something was up.

“So what, you followed me here. And you’ve been following me this whole time?”

“Precisely. Now answer Miss Paige’s question. Why do you want to leave Lamore?” You glared at the both of them, your stubborn self not answering. “Oh, no answer? Alright,” as he said that, Taehyun pointed his gun at Soobin’s leg and pulled the trigger. A deafening boom ringing in your ears but you didn’t hear. All you heard was Soobin’s horrifying scream. He’s in pain. And it’s my fault.

You watched as blood spurred from the love of your life’s leg and you saw how he stumbled a little at the loss of support. I did this.

“I-if I tell you everything, everything. Will you leave Soobin alone? And get him to a hospital?”

“See, darling. That’s not gonna work. Taehyun here, he’s bloodthirsty. He needs to kill at the sight of blood.” The fuck is wrong with this dude? Yea, definitely not attracted to him anymore. “So one of you here is gonna have to die.” Her creepy smile never left her face.

“O-ok, kill me. Not Soobin, me,” you said the words quietly, hoping that Soobin wouldn’t hear you. But even in his loopy state, he heard. He started struggling against his binds once again. You made eye contact with him and put on a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes. You hoped to calm him but did the opposite. Worry pooled in his eyes and you looked away, knowing what you had to do. “Promise me. Swear that you won’t harm him anymore.”

“Alright. I swear on my daughter that I won’t harm lover boy.” And so you told them. You told them how much you hated the Capitol and Lamore in general. You told them how you loved Soobin and wanted to be with him forever. You told them how you planned to run away to Arena but Soobin didn’t want to. You told them everything. And when you were finally finished, you closed your eyes, awaiting death. You heard the sound of the gun and smiled. I’ll see you soon, Amelia, mom. But after a few moments of no pain, you opened your eyes. And screamed at the sight.

Soobin. With a bullet lodged in his head. You rushed over to him, your hands hovering over his body, too scared to touch him. You sobbed even harder than the first time you met him, your wails even causing Paige to feel sympathy for a moment. But only for a moment. You wheeled your head towards her, rage in your eyes.

“You promised! You promised you wouldn’t kill him! You swore on your daughter, you lying bitch.” You screamed at her, feeling another part of your heart break. You lost one half of your heart at 10 years old and now, you lost the other half. You had a heart no more, all that was left was a hole in your chest.

“Fun fact,” she leaned close to whisper in your ear, “ I don’t have a daughter.”

That must’ve been your breaking point because you wrapped your hands around her neck. Now you were the bloodthirsty one. But before you could even see a glimpse of pain in her eyes, a shot rang out. You looked down at your shirt, seeing a pool of red seep out. You smirked. It worked. I get to be with my family now.

You stumbled backward, ending beside Soobin, your back resting on the Wisteria tree that you used to call home. You leaned your head on his shoulder, thinking about the last thing he said to you.

“Forever?”

And as you closed your eyes, you answered him.

“Forever.”

TXT Masterlist

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katsuukiwii · 3 years

Text

Proud- Levi X Reader Chapter Ten

Chapter 10: “New Behavior” Chapter Warnings: Language, suggestive material, teen (OF AGE) working in a sex shop, sex toys mentioned, mention of sex

I provide definitions for sex toys at the end so you don’t have to look them up!

Spoiler (check after reading chapter): Based off of this post that I REALLY REALLY LIKED

Also I have three reqs that I will be working of after this! I go latest req to most recent req

He walks down the hall, knocking on Liam’s door, checking if he’s awake. After getting no response, he opens the door, seeing the brunette lying in bed, asleep. Levi walks over, placing a hand on the boy's small shoulder and shaking him softly, he speaks in a low, gentle voice, “Liam? It’s time to wake up buddy, you have school today.” The boy grumbles, sitting up and looking at Levi angrily. Any other parent would be upset, but waking up extremely pissed off was a normal Ackerman thing, and spending the rest of the day LOOKING pissed off, was also an Ackerman thing.

He gives the boy a kiss on the cheek before telling him to come downstairs for breakfast. Levi walks down, setting some pancakes on the table with two pieces of bacon and some scrambled eggs. Liam woke up every morning with a proper, healthy meal! Levi, woke up with toasted pop tarts and tea. He turns to look at the doorway as Liam arrives. He sets a plate on the table and the boy hops up, taking a bite of the pancakes happily! “Thank you Papa,” Levi raises a brow as he notices the boy mutter the same words under his breath, “You’re welcome bud.” He smirks, knowing that he’s never seen Liam do that before, but he brushes it off, ‘It’s probably just one of those weird things that kids do.’

So, he goes back upstairs, gets a shower, gets dressed, and grabs his phone, messaging Mike.

Levi (6:46am)

“Hey, wanna go to the gym later?”

Mike (6:48am)

“Sure! But I thought we just went

the other day?”

Levi (6:48am)

“Yeah, but it’s boring here. I was

thinking maybe I’d let (Y/N)

meet Liam?”

Mike (6:49am)

“Awww, you have a crush”

“She’s really nice and keeps her

house clean so i thought u

would like that lmao”

Levi (6:49am)

“You went to her house?”

Mike (6:49am)

“Shit, that sounds bad-”

“Me and violet hit it off, so i

went to hang out with her”

And they were roommates

Levi (6:50am)

“Jesus fucking christ i hate you.”

Mike (6:50am)

“See you at the gym”

Levi (6:50am)

“See you”

He puts his phone in his pocket, grabbing his gym bag and walking back downstairs, seeing Liam’s now empty plate at the table. Putting the plate in the sink, he steps into the living room, chuckling at the small boy watching cartoons and giggling. He scoops Liam up in his arms, causing him to squeal, “Papa! Put me down!” Despite his words, he giggles as Levi spins him around once, kissing both of his cheeks, his forehead, and his nose before sitting him back down, “Okay, okay. There you go.”

The boy gives him a hug before they get ready to leave. He hands Liam his coat, letting him put that on while Levi tosses on his own, lifting the warm hood over his head before wrapping Liam’s scarf around him carefully. The snow had started to really come down, so he had to make sure his son was warm. “Okay, go grab your back pack,” Liam goes upstairs, coming back down a few minutes later with his bag.

He sets the boy in the car that was already warm (he lets it run for a few minutes) and tosses his gym bag in the back next to Liam. After that, he grabs his own backpack and sets it on the floor of the car. He hops in, putting the car into reverse and pulling out of the driveway before finally rolling down the road.

...

Levi had just dropped Liam off at Erwin’s and was now about to start work, he looks at the time, 5pm, knowing that it’s finally time to start his shift. He walks out to the front counter, checking around the shop and making sure it all looked clean, after about 15 minutes of that somebody walks in.

“Welcome to ‘Does Your Mother Know?’, what are you looking fo-”

Levi stops mid sentence, the woman stares at him, before looking over at the sex toys on display, then to the racks of porn flicks and lingerie, then back to him, “Uhh...Hi, (Y/N).”

“I didn’t know you worked here! Do you get discounts?” Levi’s eyes widen, confused as to why she wasn’t mad, “Yeah, I do...Why do you wanna know anyway?” Levi smirks as (Y/N) shakes her head, “I just wanted to. Might come in handy one day. ANYWAY-I was gonna let whoever was working here know that I’m about to install the Christmas decorations!”

Levi raises his brow in acknowledgement, “You’re doing the installation?” She nods, “Mhm! I’m a landscaper, but you can’t really do that in the colder months. So near Christmas time I go around and hang up a bunch of decorations!” He smiles at her enthusiasm, taking her hand and spinning her in a circle as she giggles.

“Okay then. If you need any help let me know.” She turns, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “This is my job, I bet I could do better than you.” He hums in agreement, hugging her before letting her step outside, the sky already getting dark, illuminated by the street lights and signs that are lit from the shop.

...

It doesn’t take long until Levi steps outside, the snow falling heavily as he noticed (Y/N) on a ladder, hanging decorations, “(Y/N)!” After hearing him shout up at her, she looks down, them shouting back and forth at each other, “What?”

“Do you need more light? If you want, you can take a break! After my shift ends I’ll help you out!” She smiles, covering the lights from the snow and stepping down carefully, quickly moving into Levi’s arms where he takes her into the shop to warm up. “Thank you...When does your shift end?”

“About ten. It’s eight now, but I assume it takes a while.”

She nods her head, “It does. Thank you baby.” He suddenly noticed the nickname, his face now turning a light shade of pink, “Uh, yeah...No problem. Do you wanna go get a drink? There’s a Olive Garden down the street, you can go get something to drink, maybe some breadsticks, and then come back?” (Y/N) nods, giving him yet another hug before exiting happily, past another person who was entering, “Oh, hi Mike!”

“Well, well, well. What are you up to here?” Mike smirks as Levi rolls his eyes, “She’s the one installing the Christmas lights, dude. Why are YOU here?”

Mike giggles as (Y/N) leaves, getting into her car and driving over to the Olive Garden, “Well, I do need a new fleshlight BUT THATS NOT WHY I’M HERE. I wanted to ask when we’re gonna go workout, because I know it’s not tonight.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I thought we’d be able to, but I’m working late. But I am off tomorrow, so we can go whenever you want,” Mike nods before looking around the shop, grabbing a fleshlight off of one of the shelves and setting it on the counter, “That’s 75 dollars. Pay up.” Mike hands him the money and he sets in the register, “Alright, there’s your fleshlight, freak. Get out.” Mike laughs, knowing the Levi’s joking.

Anybody else would think he’s being serious, but in reality, he couldn’t care less, and that’s why he worked in a sex shop. There was no shaming people, even if he didn’t like it. To sex shop workers, it was simply buying what you needed to get off, and it was far better than buying toys online. That way you could actually see and feel to make sure it suited your preferences and tastes! Most people thought only creeps worked there, but truthfully, you needed to have very good people skills, and be willing to openly talk to people about something so private.

...

The lights were finally up, with Levi’s help! Of course, (Y/N) did do most of the work, but regardless, she was grateful. The two hold each other, looking up at the bright decorations and lights, “Y’know...For a sex shop, you gave it a really good look.” She swats his arm playfully before looking into his eyes. They pull each other closer, sharing a soft kiss and pulling back, just barely, before deciding they both wanted yet another one, making this one a bit longer.

They finally pull back, panting slightly, before (Y/N) speaks, “How much time do you have until you have to get home?” Levi checks his phone, setting it in his coat pocket, “Maybe half an hour, why?”

“....A quickie?” Levi smirks as he feels (Y/N) fingers run over his undercut, sending chills down his spine, “I’m trying to show you I’m better than that! I think your genuinely nice, and I don’t just wanna fuck you.”

“So...That’s a no?”

“It’s a yes, I’m just saying-”

And so, they spent those thirty minutes in the back of Levi’s car, hidden behind the store. What a night.

#levi ackerman #levi x reader #levi x y/n #reader insert #y/n #levi #reader #female reader #attack on titan #snk levi #aot fanfiction #aot x reader #aot #snk #fanfiction #sfw

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bbrandy2002 · 4 years

Text

Happy Birthday @jessiembruno

Wacky Drabble 32: Papi Had A Rollin Stone

Prompt: I never lied to you.

Liam, Jessica, Leo, and Drake

It’s been a loooooong time since I wrote one of these. I just had to make time for this lovely friend who I first read and met when we were among only a handful who posted the very first wacky drabbles for @emceesynonymroll last summer

Jessie gave me ideas for plots and scenarios she wanted me to write for her…mostly revolving around, her Leo, who I freaking adore. It will not be anywhere close to as good or funny as she writes Leo, but I gave it my best effort. The best I could guess when it comes to writing for him is, anything goes. If it popped into my head, I had none of my usual reservations and just typed it out…lol

Jess, you are one of the sweetest and funniest people I’ve met here. I’m so glad to call you a friend. I hope you have an awesome birthday!!!

***This was soooo inspired by a FRIENDS episode and some of the dialogue comes from it, with some creative differences to accommodate Drake and Leo’s part. (The One Where Phoebe Gives Birth).

THE PALACE–CORDONIA

Liam had grown tired of the neverending, annoying pregnancy symptoms. Nine months of mood swings, weird midnight cravings, stealing his shirts because nothing else fit anymore, waking up at all hours of the night because of a bad dream about the baby, and the constant crying at the drop of a hat.

Leo had become too much.

When it came to pregnant Jessica, Liam would bend over backward to make her comfortable; he was surprised that he rarely had to. She possessed that strong Garcia blood in her veins with a tenacity and strength that left him in awe of her.

Leo, however, had become an even bigger pain in his ass since Jessica announced her pregnancy. From the beginning, Leo had inserted himself into every facet of the pregnancy; from claiming equal importance, referred to the baby as “our baby,“ fought with him over feeling the baby’s first kicks, and considered Liam – the baby’s father – the third wheel.

Sympathy pains were just one of his latest nuisances to pop up.

Liam walked back to his quarters after a long, arduous day in the office. He was exhausted from a lack of sleep after Leo woke him up last night with indigestion. Liam questioned why Leo would enter his quarters, walked past the kitchen and awakened him for a glass of milk at midnight. Apparently, Leo wanted to also be held and reassured the baby would be okay. Jessica offered to get up with him but Liam insisted she stay in bed and rest and he would take care of his brother. He really wanted to take care of his brother.

Leo cried to him for three hours, wondering if he was still desirable and sexy before he finally fell asleep on the couch.

Liam wanted the old Leo back … the one who used his credit card to buy everyone at that Greek bar a drink without him knowing, who got him sloppy drunk and married him off to a stranger – that he also had a threesome with that bride on the same night – who had caught Liam masturbating into Jessica’s shoe while he cried his eyes out over her. He would gladly take back that Leo. This newest Leo was weird as fuck.

Liam pulled out the key card to his quarters, swiped it through the keypad, and had just opened the door when he heard his name being called from behind him. A member of the maintenance staff approached with several white take-out bags stuffed with styrofoam containers.

“What is all this?” Liam asked curiously of the elder man who he once caught in the laundry room with Regina, holding two large hamsters and a container of Crisco.

“Sir, I have a DoorDash from … let me seeee … Pickled Pink, for Queen Jessica and Prince Leo.” The man shifted the large bags around in his arms then passed the heavy load over to Liam.

Liam looked over the bags that he struggled to carry in his arms and hoped Jessica’s pelvis was wide enough to birth their inevitable 30-pound baby after eating all this food. His pants started to tighten just thinking about Jessica’s even more curvaceous hips. A lot more cushion meant even tighter pushin. The guard noticed and began to wonder if it was he who was making the king salivate and bulge in his pants.

”Your Majesty,” he stated with a suggestive tone, “I’ve got a couple of minutes to burn if you wanna … you know.” The maintenance man repeatedly thrust his tongue into the inside of his cheek and wiggled his eyebrows.

“GOD NO!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!! AND STAY THE HELL OUT OF MY LAUNDRY ROOM!”

While doing a balancing act with Leo and Jessica’s DoorDash, Liam turned and nudged the door open with his shoulder. After entering his quarters, he turned the corner into the living room.

“Squeeze … hold … release … and squeeze … hold … release …”

Liam’s eyes went wide when he saw Leo and Jessica sitting on the floor, their backs leaned against the front of the couch and their legs stretched out in front of them. Scattered around them were several empty containers of Chinese, boxes of pizzas, what appeared to be Dorito taco bowls, bags of peanut M&M’s dispersed across the floor, and half-empty glasses of strawberry milkshakes.

With their eyes closed in full concentration mode, they hadn’t noticed Liam was standing there, glaring at them in bewilderment.

Leo’s measured voice continued to call out. “Squeeze … and hold … and release …”

“What the fuck happened in here and what are you two doing?”

Leo’s eyes popped open and he looked to his younger brother, answering matter-of-factly. “Just what it looks like, pendejo - we’re doing our Kegels.”

Liam furrowed his brow. “Leo … you don’t have a … uhh …”

Leo rolled his eyes and huffed exaggeratingly. “Don’t need it; Papi Chulo likes to keep the Big Mushroom thick and robust. Watch what I can do.” Leo leaned over to the end table and picked up a paperweight. He placed it on the crotch of his gym shorts, moved his hands to the side, and started moving it up and down with only his carajo. “I can lift a brick with this power tool … pretty impressive, huh? Ohhh is that my fried pickles?

Liam grimaced and shook his head – somewhat in disgust of watching his brother power lift his great-grandfather’s paperweight with his dick, and the other part from the increased food consumption.

“You ordered all 10 of these fried pickle containers for yourself?”

“God, Liam, no! Do you think I’m some kind of animal? One of them is for Jessica.”

“Yeah, that’s … that’s much better.” Liam replied sardonically before he dropped all of the bags onto Leo’s lap and watched in disgust as he and Jessica began to ravage through them.

Liam slid a pizza box to the side and cleared a path of garbage to walk over to Jessica, who smiled at him with a mouthful of fried pickles. He bent down and placed a kiss on the top of her forehead. “Kegels, huh?” He smirked a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, getting charged over the prospect of her tightness around him. “I’ll try to forget the fact that you’re doing them with … my brother.”

Jessica chewed and swallowed hard, while Liam’s thumb wiped the ranch dressing from the corner of her mouth. “He’s a good workout partner, Liam. Drake never wants to do Kegels with me anymore.”

Leo laughed out loud with a mouthful of food that flew everywhere. “That’s because Drake is already a pussy!”

Liam crouched down beside Jessica and took hold of both of her greasy hands. “Come on, love, let’s get you off the floor and somewhere more comfortable.”

As Liam pulled her up from the floor, Jessica felt a gush of fluid stream down her legs, leaving a very visible wet mark down the insides of her yoga pants.

Jessica peeked down and saw the remnants of wetness left behind. She looked back up at Liam. “Shit! I think my water just broke!!”

Without warning or hesitation, a frantic Leo tossed his food aside, jumped up, and shoved Liam out of the way. “Oh, God! It’s HAPPENING!! The baby is coming now?! I haven’t sterilized the apartment yet! We haven’t checked the durability of your nipples! The mucus plug is still intact! How will the baby come out now?!?! Oh, the fucken humanity!!!” Leo glanced down to the ground where a stunned Liam was hunched over on all fours. “Dammit! Liam now isn’t the time to lay around! Call for a fucken car … our baby is coming!!”

“LEO!!!” Liam shouted while he pushed himself up from the floor and wrapped his arms protectively around Jessica.

Liam instructed Leo to get Drake and have the white Navigator ready out front while he took Jess upstairs to change and clean up.

Leo nodded to Liam, called him a jizzslobber, and agreed to do exactly as he was told. After Leo ran and slid out the door of his quarters, Liam pulled the phone from the inside of his suit pocket and hit the contact for Bastien. “Bastien, I need you to meet Jessica and me in the black Navigator parked in the service garage, ASAP.”

Jessica rubbed her hands over her swollen tummy as she walked with Liam up the stairs and turned to him “I thought you told Leo we were taking the white one?”

Liam grinned wide. “Change of plans, my love.”

SERVICE GARAGE-PALACE

After Liam helped Jessica clean up and change, he grabbed their hospital bag and climbed inside the black SUV where Bastien was waiting. Just as they pull out of the gates, Leo and Drake popped their heads up from the third-row seat. “AHA!!! I knew it!!”

Startled, Liam twisted around to face him. “Leo! What the fuck are you doing in here? I told you to get the white SUV.”

Leo crossed his arms on the back of Liam’s seat and sneered at him. “I knew you were trying to pull some fast shit. You didn’t look me in the eyes, little brother, and you were squirmy as fuck. Everyone knows that’s the telltale sign of lying. I’ve never lied to you, except that one time I told you it was Drake that left the KY jelly and anal plug in your office desk. They were mine. Besides, Jessica texted me and told me your plan about the switcheroo. The lies keep piling up, Liam. It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

Liam clenched his jaw and turned to Jessica. “Why would you tell him that, love?”

Jessica shrugged. “He’s my focal point for breathing. I need him.”

Drake ran a hand down his face and spoke up. “How the fuck did I get dragged into this? I swear to God if I see your snatch, Garcia, I’m gonna fucken annihilate your focal point.”

Liam snapped his head toward Drake and gawked. “NO ONE IS SEEING JESSICA’S … PRIVATE AREA!”

Leo flicked his hand dismissively and patted Jessica on the shoulder. “Don’t listen to him, Jess. Remember … listen to my voice … find your inner sanctum … your aura perimeter…ooohhhhhmmmm.” He closed his eyes and placed his hands near both sides of his head with his middle fingers touching his thumbs. “Oohhhhmmmmm …”

Drake smacked a hand to his own forehead before he shouted, “Bastien!! Let me out of this fucken SUV! I’m not listening to this fucken shit all the way there. I’ll fucken walk the rest of the way.”

Before Bastien could acknowledge him, Jessica plunged forward and clutched her stomach. “Owwwww! I think I’m having a contraction!!!”

This only made Leo go louder. “OOOHHHHHHMMMMMMM.”

Liam reached for Jessica’s hand and squeezed it tighter. “It’s okay, love. I’m here. Listen to MY voice.”

It was a continuous cycle of, “Ooohhhmmm”s” and “Owwww’’s” and “Let me the fuck outs” and “It’s okay, my love’s” all the way to the hospital.

CORDONIA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

The SUV pulled into the private entrance of the hospital where paparazzi were already waiting.

Liam stepped out, cursing to himself over the assumed leak to the press, and helped Jessica slide out his side of the vehicle.

Bastien and Drake immediately began shuffling the crowds to the side and yelling at them to get back.

Leo followed closely behind Jessica and Liam and reached into his pants pocket. “Hey, Liam!” he yelled.

Liam turned to face him. “What?”

Leo threw a pink glitter bomb that landed squarely in the middle of Liam’s chest, which created a sparkly poof of epic proportions around him.

Liam started coughing ferociously and rubbed his itchy eyes. “Leo! You motherfucker! Why in the blue hell did you just do that?” He continued to cough and wipe the shit ton of pink glitter that was plastered on his shirt and spread into his golden hair.

Jessica covered her face while she snickered uncontrollably. “You really got him good, Leo.”

Leo swiped the air around him to avoid the tiny particles of glitter floating through the breeze. “Look, man, it was getting entirely too serious back there. Jessica and my gummy bear need a stress free aura perimeter. See how happy she looks now?”

Jessica picked a piece of the glitter off her tongue and wiped it on Liam’s shirt: “I do feel happier now that my aura perimeter has become more sparkly. Thanks, Leo!”

Leo stood taller and winked at his brother. “Told ya!”

Liam shook his head and let out a heavy, sigh. “Let’s just get in here … and both of you leave your damn aura perimeters outside!”

MATERNITY WING –EXAM ROOM

Inside the exam room, Jessica was dressed in a hospital gown and laid on the bed hooked up to the monitors. Liam was at one side stroking her hair, and of course, Leo was on the other side drawing faces with boobs on balloons he made of out of latex gloves and assigned each one hooker names from Cordonian nobles. Musty Madeleine, Hootered Hana, and Deepthroat Savannah. The last one was, Choke-A-Bitch Bertrand – their spoon lovin pimp.

Jessica felt another sharp pain spread across her stomach and bore down harder onto Liam’s hand. “ FUCK!!!! THIS HURTS!!!”

Liam’s face fell into her busting cleavage and yelped, “ Love, my hand..my hand…my hand!”

Leo was getting frustrated by the wait and swept aside his lineup of rubber hookers and the one peculiar-looking pimp. “Wheres the fucken doctor at? Gummy bear could be coming out right now and no one is here to catch her. I guess I’ll have to save our baby!! Leo shuffled to the end of the bed and started to lift the sheet that draped over Jessica’s leg before Liam yelled for him to stop.

“Fucken Liam! You’re supposed to be ohming and not yelling at me!”

“Fuck your ohhhmm bullshit, Leo! It’s stupid anyway.”

Leo shifted his posture and took a more defensive stance. “Take it back Liam…I mean it.”

“Go ohm yourself, Leo.”

Jessica gripped the sides of her bed and yelled out, “IM STILL IN PAIN!!! AHHHHH!”

Leo suddenly felt a ripping pain and grasped his lower stomach before he fell to his knees. “AHHHHHHH! What the hell is that?”

Liam massaged soothing circles over Jessica’s arm, deliberately ignoring the fact that Leo had just crumpled to the floor. “Sweetheart, I love you so much, just breathe through the pain.”

Leo cried out, “I’m trying, but it’s not helping…ahhhhhh!!”

Liam had become frustrated with Leo long before this day began but now felt he was taking these sympathy pains to the extreme.

Drake knocked on the door and slowly inched his way in while covering his eyes with his hand. “ Everything okay, you guys? Thought I heard a fucken hyena in here.”

Leo tried to stand, but the pain ripped through him even more, causing him to lurch back to the ground. “ Ahhh! It’s this pain in my lower stomach. I knew I shouldn’t have fucked that cashier in a White Castle bathroom without a rubber!!!”

Liam could tell by his brother’s writhing in the fetal position on the floor that he really was in a lot of pain. On the flip side, this would be the perfect opportunity to get Leo the hell out of here. He cleared his throat, “Drake, would you mind taking Leo to get checked out? I’m really concerned about him.”

Drake lowered the hand that covered his eyes and his gaze immediately fell on Leo. “You gotta be fucken kidding me? There’s nothing wrong with this douchebag that a few days worth of strong antibiotics and ointments wouldn’t clear up.”

“NO! I have to be here for the birth of our baby! If she sees Liam’s ass chin before I can prepare her, the results could be disastrous!”

Liam scrunched up his face and placed a finger over his chin. He didn’t have an ass chin and had no idea what the hell Leo was talking about. With a desperate look in his eyes, he turned to his oldest friend. “Please, Drake.”

Drake pinched his nose for a moment then dropped his hand to his side to reluctantly approach Leo and help him up. “Fuck it! Come on.” He placed one of Leo’s arms around his neck then Drake wrapped his arm around the sides of his waist and led him to the door; Leo shouted Spanish, and what sounded like a cricket in his ear the entire way. As they made their way past Liam, Leo stopped long enough to give his brother some last-minute advice before he parted. “She’s not wearing a bra or panties right now, hombre. I packed an extra shoe in her bag in case your kinky ass needs to choke your monkey. Kapeesh?”

CORDONIA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL-EMERGENCY ROOM

Leo was lying partially on his side, holding his stomach, while Drake stood next to the head of his hospital bed. A doctor studied an x-ray that hung to a viewer on the far wall, then flipped the light off of it, removed the film and turned to face Leo and Drake.

Leo glared at the doctor, “What is it, doctor? You can tell me. I can take it…is it The Clap? Its the Clap isn’t it? Oh God! I got The Clap, Drake!! Why does all the bad shit happen to me?”

“Don’t talk to me, Leo,” Drake groaned.

The doctor inched closer to the men, “Mr. Rhys…its not..the clap…I’m afraid you have kidney stones.”

“What? Kidney stones? Is that like slang for Gonorrhea?”

“No, sir. Its slang for kidney stones.”

Leo returned a half-hearted smile. “Doctor…Wh…what else could it be?”

“Kidney stones.”

“Orrrr?”

“Kidney stones.”

“But if it was something else…”

Drake had finally had enough of the back-and-forth exchange and yelled out, “Its fucken kidney stones Leo! You’ve got rocks in your pee-pee man!”

Leo’s eyes widened and his gaze went from Drake and back to the doctor.” Is that true? How do I get them out doc? I can’t be smashing some chics ass with rocks weighing down my Papi cock, I got a rep to maintain.”

The doctor regarded him thoughtfully. “Ordinarily, we try to break the stones up with shock waves, but yours are too close to the bladder. This means we can either wait for you to pass them … or … we can go up the urethra.

Drake began to chuckle before he clapped Leo on the shoulder. “You are sooo fucked dude.”

Leo shrugged Drake’s hand off of him and shook his head. “FUCK THAT! NOTHING IS GOING UP ANYTHING. UP IS NOT AN OPTION…WAIT…WHATS A URETHRA?

“It’s the hole you piss out of, man.”

Leo’s head snapped back to the doctor. “ ARE YOU FUCKEN CRAZY?!”

30 minutes later

Leo was screaming on the bed while he jerked Drake around in a headlock. “Ohh! Get these things out of me!”

“Breathe! Breathe through the fucken pain, Leo!” Drake instructed while Leo continued to bounce his head around.

“I want the drugs, Drake! I want the drugs!” he cried out while rocking back and forth, taking Drake with him.

“I do too! I do too!”

5 more minutes later

Leo was laying back on his pillow, recovering from one of the most painful experiences of his life as he sought to catch his breath. “Oh my God.”

Drake squeezed Leo’s arm with a look of pride in his eyes. “You did it, man. That was fucken incredible, Leo!”

The doctor approached the two with a small, clear contain that held the two kidney stones Leo had just passed. He shook it in front of him, “Would you like to see them?”

Leo nodded and reached out to take it from him. He held them in front of his face and Drake leaned in closer to get a better look. Leo smiled at them. “They’re so small, Drake.”

A knock on the door pulled the two men from their attention on the tiny, ragged stones Leo held affectionately in his hand. They looked up to see Liam entering the room.

“Hey! I heard what happened. Are you okay, Leo?:

“Yeah. My dick hurts like a motherfucker, but in the end –” he held up the container, “–I have these two little cuties to show for it.”

Perma tags: @emceesynonmroll @romanticatheart-posts @burnsoslow @dcbbw @ao719 @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @hopefulmoonobject @texaskitten30 @drakesensworld @janezillow @merridithsmiscellany-blog @mskaneko @loveellamae @queenjilian @sirbeepsalot @pedudley @caroldxnvxrs @jovialyouthmusic @forthebrokenheartedthings-blog

#liam x mc #liam and jess #prince leo #choices trh #happy birthday jessica

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amehanaaa · 5 years

Text

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

We out here with another Nalu story! It’s been so long since I’ve written Nalu, but once I watched this movie, I couldn’t resist. I desperately needed to write this!

I actually have this story all written out, so I plan to have it all posted within the month of June. I hope you will join me on this journey! (Also can be read here.)

Chapter 1 / ? Words: 3030 Summary: Lucy and Natsu are determined to take the necessary steps to fulfill their lifetime dreams. Little do they know, they have both given themselves 10 days to achieve it.

——————–

If Lucy doesn't start her mornings with a bagel slathered with strawberry cream cheese, it is not a good morning. The satisfying crunch of the first bite is just as pleasant as birds chirping.

Today is a good morning as Lucy eats her bagel with a content smile as she enters her office building. She makes a beeline towards the elevator. With her free hand, she scrolls through her phone to see if there are any updates.

"Fifty new comments," she whispers to herself.

Unsure whether to be proud or disappointed, she sticks her phone back into her purse and returns her attention to her half-eaten breakfast.

In between bites, she observes the lobby through the glass walls of the elevator. People from all over bustle through the area, all consumed by their own lackluster agendas. The higher she elevates, the more everyone blends together.

There isn't anyone who stands out more than the other—how fitting.

This is what it's like where Lucy works. It's the same routine every week: Mondays are for new ideas, Tuesdays are for settling with an idea, Wednesdays are for presentation, Thursdays through Saturdays are for writing, editing, proofreading, and Sundays are for posting.

Today is Tuesday, which means Lucy needs to decide what she wants to write for this week's article. Normally, she'd walk into her office with an itinerary. But this week, she finds herself feeling lost and uninspired to settle with an idea.

She doesn't let this affect her mood, though. Entering her designated floor, she holds her breath while walking through the experimental smells drifting in the air. Once she smells the familiar booze with a special ting to it, she sits in the open desk next to it.

"Is that blueberry, Cana?" Lucy asks her coworker frantically typing at her computer.

"Cranberry, actually," Cana responds through her types. "I've been experimenting this drink all week. I think this is going to be my best review yet!"

"I still can't believe Erza is letting you do this to yourself." Lucy shakes her head slightly, feeling a sense of pity as Cana appears to be in shambles.

"It's a privilege more than anything." Cana sends Lucy a grin over her shoulder, completely oblivious to her wild eyes. "I mean, how many people get paid for drinking unhealthy amounts of alcohol just to write a review on it?"

"I think I can see why it's not a popular job," Lucy responds. She returns to her own computer and purses her lips in thought. She has a list of what she could do for this week, but none of her ideas are close to what she actually wants to write.

Cana notices Lucy's blank stares. "Can't decide what to write this week?"

"I have some ideas," Lucy answers, half-lying. "I'm just not sure which one to pick."

"How about a follow up on that survey you did a couple of months ago? The one about lip gloss?" Cana suggests.

It takes every part of Lucy's physical being to hold back her cringe. "Yeah, I could do that."

"Everyone likes reading about lip gloss," Cana states simply, returning to her typing.

"Not everyone," Lucy mutters beneath her breath.

This is also what it's like every week. Pretending to love cheap cosmetics, the latest fashion trends, celebrity rumors, abs-guaranteed-exercises, and everything else in between. Lucy has mastered the art of pretending to be fully invested in these ideas.

Really, her dream is to have her own writing business that covers stories like how Fiore became the way it is, why the locals are the way they are, and highlight the hidden, creative minds throughout the city of Magnolia. She wants Fiore's hidden voices to finally have some light—that's all.

She thought joining this company would be the doorway to more opportunities to pursue her dream. And yet, here she is, already have worked two years without any progress. For now, she remains at a company where its sole purpose is to make women's lives easier one hairstyle, workout, rumor, and lip gloss application at a time.

Lucy's ultimate desires are easy to suppress throughout the day, but it doesn't seem to be working as effectively today.

"Do you think you're going to be ready to present to Erza tomorrow?" Cana asks once the work day is almost over.

"I'll figure it out." Lucy releases a heavy sigh, tilting her neck to each side with a relieving pop. It's not like she has much of a choice—she has to figure it out or else.

"We can go drinking tonight if you want," Cana offers.

"The only thing you should be drinking tonight is water." Lucy nearly scolds, standing from her seat and collecting her belongings. She places a water bottle next to Cana's desk. "I have plans tonight with Levy, but thanks, anyway. See you tomorrow."

Before Cana can convince her like she has done plenty of times before, she leaves the office building. Like any other city, cars cover the streets like mindless ants. The sunset hides behind the buildings, allowing Lucy to be guided by the flickering streetlights.

She strategically makes her way through the traffic, travels through three subway stations, and eventually arrives to her apartment. She unlocks her front door, being met with the delicious smell of dinner.

"Welcome back, Lu!" a voice sings out from the kitchen.

"Hey, Levy," Lucy smiles at her best friend and sets her purse down on the counter. "What's for tonight?"

"Dumplings," Levy announces proudly. "Are we still watching our show tonight?"

"Of course we are," she nods. The two exchange an excited smile before Lucy takes out her phone and reads another update. Who knew a trivial review about makeup could get so many comments?

After indulging in Levy's famous dumplings, Lucy tries to find any sense of inspiration for what to write this week. She thought of how she could write about how to eat healthy while eating dumplings, but she remembered that Evergreen wrote something similar last year.

"You okay? You're quiet tonight," Levy comments as they settle onto the couch minutes before their beloved TV show.

"I have no idea what to write this week," Lucy admits, running a hand through her hair. "I just want to write what I want to write, you know? I'm tired of writing all of this nonsense."

"It's okay," Levy reaches over and rubs Lucy's shoulder for comfort. "You're going to get there, okay? For now, let yourself enjoy the show. I read some spoilers that it's going to get juicy tonight."

"You said you weren't going to read spoilers without me!" Lucy proclaims, scoffing as Levy giggles mischievously.

Lucy decides to accept her best friend's advice, deciding that her article is more trivial than the show. But after this, she is definitely going to have to choose an idea.

"He should just dump her already!" Levy groans loudly as the episode cuts to a commercial.

"There has to be a reason why he keeps staying with her," Lucy theorizes aloud. "She has treated him horribly all episode. He wants something from her."

"Or maybe she wants something from him," Levy retorts. "They're not even a good pair, anyway. Ugh, I'll be right back. I need a refresher."

Lucy can't help but laugh to herself at Levy's dramatic expressions. She hopes that someday her audience will also react in a way like Levy. Her work will cause her audience to feel riled up, whether it be out of inspiration to take action or enragement and throw a fit.

At the same time, Lucy feels an emotional wall for the characters in the TV show, which is the complete opposite of Levy. Lucy can't remember the last time she has felt anything remotely related to love, let alone infatuation.

What was it like to feel so helplessly in love? What a foreign idea.

With the sound of Levy's quick steps back to the couch matching the steady thump of her heartbeat, the gears in Lucy's head gradually begin turning. When the TV show returns from commercial, it hits her.

"I have an idea on what to write!" Lucy exclaims suddenly.

"Shh, tell me later!" Levy waves her off, but Lucy doesn't care.

A grin stretches across her face. The idea is risky. It might not work out. It's not going to be easy.

But if each article she writes is one step closer to her dream, she's determined to take that next step.

--------------------

"Come in, Lucy!"

Lucy opens the door to a spacious office, windows displaying the buildings of Magnolia. It's the classic office that anyone would dream of having—that is, anyone who only wishes to write about nonsense all the time.

"Hi, Erza," Lucy greets her boss. "I'm here to present my idea for you."

"It took you longer than I expected, but I can squeeze in some time for you. You can sit down," Erza beckons her. "What do you have for me?"

"It's going to be a personal story this week, but with a twist. Here are my ideas," Lucy explains while sliding her a notebook with all her scribbled ideas.

Erza squints at her handwriting, but they soon return back to normal. Much to Lucy's delight, interest swirls in Erza's eyes. She begins to nod with an amused smile, glancing at Lucy above her glasses.

"So, you're going to date a guy in reverse? How will you do that?"

"I'll find ways to drive him away," she answers. "I'll use mistakes that women typically make. It'll be an article of what not to do when you're dating someone. I'll keep a journal about it and record my findings."

"How to lose a guy in ten days," Erza echoes Lucy's final notes. "I think you've struck gold here. How did you think of this?"

Lucy can't hold back her satisfied smile. "This TV show I watched last night gave me some inspiration. Do you approve of my idea? In terms of posting, I won't be able to post on Sunday due to the length of the experiment."

"We can afford that if the execution is as good as the idea," Erza responds.

Although her words come out discouraging, Lucy takes a deep breath to ignore the looming pressure. She knows this isn't going to be an easy article to write, but she's willing to sell a kidney at this point.

"I'm going to a gathering tonight," Erza mentions, causing Lucy to perk up in her seat. "There will be plenty of men. Would you like to join me and find your experiment?"

Lucy doesn't like the idea of calling her future date an experiment, but she can't take back this opportunity. "I would love to come!"

"Okay, see you then. Now, if you would excuse me, I have some strawberry cake to eat."

Understanding that this is Erza's way of kicking her out of her office, Lucy collects her belongings and nearly dances out of the office. There isn't any room for anxiety for what she has gotten herself into. Right now, there is just pure bliss.

The outside air has never felt fresher on Lucy's skin as she makes her way back home for the day. Even though most of her articles have been nonsense, there is always a pre-article excitement.

"Levy, my boss accepted my idea!" Lucy shouts into her phone, her voice contained by the crowd surrounding her.

"That's awesome, Lu! I knew you could do it!" Levy cheers her on. "You're off work early, right? Come to the bakery and I'll treat you!"

"You don't have to invite me twice. I'll be right there," Lucy responds happily.

After hanging up the call, Lucy isn't able to hide the bounce in her step. She'll never admit this aloud, but the high of getting Erza's approval is almost as gratifying as her morning bagels.

Lucy pauses at a crosswalk, holding a staring contest with the red light across the street. She doesn't hesitate once it turns green; however, the first step she takes on the street matches with a screech.

"Oh, my—"

"Are you alright?!"

Lucy's eyes are almost bulging out of its sockets as she watches a man jump off his motorcycle and approach her with eyes the same size.

"Are you alright?" the man repeats, searching her for any injuries. "I wasn't expecting you to be there when I was turning."

"I-I'm okay," Lucy stutters, finally catching up with her ragged breaths. "It was my fault. I should have looked before I started crossing."

"I'm just glad you're not hurt." He lets out a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay," she assures. She watches as the man shivers, almost as though to release the idea of what could have just happened. Although he wears a helmet with a tinted visor, she can tell he isn't bad looking. Could he be the one for her experiment?

"Well, since we're both good here, I'm heading out. Stay safe." The man nods his head as he begins to return to his bike.

Lucy moves her foot to step towards him. But by the time she realizes that there is no way she could ask someone out after being nearly trampled, the man is already zooming away.

"Note to self," Lucy mumbles, carefully walking across the street. "Just go for it next time."

--------------------

The idea of running someone over after driving a motorcycle for less than a week is enough for Gray to shiver through his jacket. He can vividly see how the woman's eyes widened and jaw dropped in a matter of seconds. Gray deletes the image from his mind as quickly as possible.

"Hey, where have you been?!" a voice shouts out to Gray as he rolls towards the front of the fire station.

"Sorry, I got caught up in something," he explains, trying not to show that his voice is still shaky. "Anyway, here's your lunch. You owe me one."

"Owe you for what?" a man snatches the bag from Gray's hands. "Juvia gives you these for free, anyway."

"Not the point, Natsu." He rolls his eyes, following his friend to an outdoor table. "You're going to have to teach yourself how to cook someday."

"I do know how to cook," Natsu retorts. "I just cook at my own convenience."

Gray stifles a laugh while shaking his head. "Microwaveable meals don't count."

The two bicker—occasionally getting physical—until Natsu catches a glimpse of Gray's sparkling motorcycle in his peripheral vision. He pauses just for a second. "How's your bike?"

"I haven't killed anyone yet," Gray responds with a nonchalant shrug.

"My bike is cooler, anyway." Natsu waves his hand in dismissal. "You're welcome for getting you that deal, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah," Gray also lifts his hand to wave him off. He's positive that Natsu will never let him live that down. He is about to say they should race someday, but he notices the time.

"Hey, I need to head out, but I wanted to mention that Juvia is hosting a party tonight. You can come if you want."

"What's the menu look like?" Natsu asks.

"I can tell Juvia to think of you," Gray responds, causing Natsu to grin. "Come to my place in a suit."

"Alright, I'm in," Natsu nods in acceptance. He follows Gray towards his bike, munching on the remains of his baby carrots. It isn't until Gray is almost a street away when a thought surfaces into Natsu's mind.

"Does he expect me to bring a date?" he mutters to himself, going back inside the station.

Natsu's memory is blurry on the last time he was romantically involved with a woman. Sure, he has had his share of relationships, but there came a day when none of it was enjoyable as it used to be. Now that he is a fresh 26, Natsu wants more than a pointless, ten-day fling.

Knowing fully well that the food at the parties Juvia hosts is some of the best, Natsu purposely skips snacking throughout the day. It makes his time at the station a lot more difficult than it needs to be, but it's worth it.

By the time he takes a quick elevator trip up to Gray's apartment later that evening, his stomach growls louder than the blow dryer Gray holds onto as he opens the door.

Gray whistles, taking in Natsu's attire. "Looks like you're dressed to meet the love of your life tonight."

"Good one," Natsu scoffs and enters the apartment. "Does Juvia know you use a blow dryer?"

"Yes, she does. She appreciates it," Gray quips back.

Natsu can't stop himself from wandering into the kitchen, searching for just a nibble of a snack. It isn't hard to spot Gray's collection, snacks of all types covering the pantry.

A pit of envy settles in Natsu's stomach. Not for the snacks themselves, but for the guarantee that the pantry will always be filled. Natsu still isn't quite sure how Gray landed the career he has. He certainly deserves it, though. He has always been skilled at talking to others, especially if it's to persuade.

As a result, Gray's career has gifted him a luxurious apartment with luxurious amenities. But it's not the tangible items that Natsu envies the most—it's the connections and network of people he knows.

Natsu reaches for a box of crackers until he hears Gray's footsteps behind him. "You ready? Juvia is about to pick us up."

"Readier than I'll ever be," Natsu responds, stuffing a couple of crackers into his mouth. He can't hold back his laugh at Gray's eye roll, puffs of cracker dust sparkling across the air.

"You love food so much. I wonder if you have any game left," Gray remarks.

"Why wouldn't I?" Natsu raises his brows.

"Do you think you could get a girl tonight?" Gray challenges.

"For how long?"

Gray's eyes light up at the question, which makes Natsu immediately regret his question. Giving Gray the opportunity to manipulate the duration of this bet is one of the worst moves he could have ever made.

"Ten days," Gray answers eventually.

"Ten days?" Natsu repeats incredulously, but hastily changes his tone. "I can do that. What do I get in return?"

"Anything you want," Gray shrugs simply. "As long as you stay with the girl a full ten days, of course. No matter how difficult she gets."

Natsu is quiet as he tries to form his words. "After this bet, I want you to get my name out there." His voice is firm. "I want to be recruited to a place that has more activity."

It appears that Gray is holding his breath, but the image fades away as he nods. "Really, I've been wanting to do that for you sooner or later. I can tell how disappointing Magnolia has been for you."

Natsu smiles thinly at Gray's words. "Yeah. I'm ready to get out of here."

"Well, if you work hard enough, maybe you will," Gray confirms with newfound amusement in his eyes. "Maybe after these ten days, you can get that girl to move away with you."

"You sure have quite the imagination, Ice Princess."

Gray is about to shoot back with one of the many nicknames they have for one another, but the ring of his phone beats him to it.

"Yeah, we'll be right out."

"Actually," Natsu begins, reaching for the keys on the wall. "I'll follow you. Nobody knows how this night might end."

"You're lucky that you know how to ride a bike," Gray remarks.

"You're lucky that I taught you!" Natsu retorts, following his friend out of his apartment.

With that, Natsu revs the motorcycle and follows Gray and Juvia's sleek car. He isn't sure what this night will hold, but he ignores the annoying buzz in the back of his ears.

So what if he said he was tired of pointless, ten-day flings? Those flings weren't going to lead him to a new job opportunity. This fling, however, is going to be one of the most rewarding bets he has ever done.

If this fling is one step closer to his dream, Natsu is determined to take that next step.

#fairy tail #fairy tail fanfiction #nalu #nalu fanfiction #my writing #this is so exciting!#thank you for reading!#stay tuned friends

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allthingspieandhockey · 4 years

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Skating Skates - 2020 Part 9

The next installment for THIS FIC - it won’t make any sense unless you’re read the first 9k PLUS Part 8 which I posted on Tumblr here. I’ll update AO3 when this chapter is properly finished (i.e. Part 8, 9 and 10 and 11 together because I can’t be succinct. My bad...)

CHAPTER SEVEN (B) – 2020 Part 9

It’s probably only been twenty minutes, but it feels like hours. It’s a limited number of press present, all asking him questions about his sexuality and they have been relentless, and he’s tired of saying the same things slightly differently each time. No one has asked anything that wasn’t already stated plainly in black and white so no matter what he says they will still write whatever the hell they want anyway.

“So Jack, are you seeing someone?”

“Again, I have no comment. I’ve never answered questions about a significant other before and I’m not about to start, sorry.”

He winces, wishing he hadn’t tacked on the apology at the end, because he’s not sorry for trying to keep a part of his life private and protect whoever he’s with. Which okay, is hopefully going to be Eric Bittle, but he can maybe keep that quiet for at least a couple of months. Weeks? Hopefully. He’s so grateful that George calls the presser to a close, saying that any further questions can be directed to the PR team and Jack knows some of them will be pissed. There was no big scoop, he’s too well practiced now dealing with them. Except… starting to date the same week he came out, when he knows they’re going to be giving him additional scrutiny. He doesn’t regret doing it, but he also has to think that maybe in hindsight it wasn’t the smartest idea when he registers at least two cars follow him. Ugh.

Glad that his building has the highest possible security it can without having someone physically standing at the door he enters the pin to park his car in the underground garage. He takes the stairs to his floor and steps out only to halt immediately at the body lying near his front door, except… it’s not just anyone, it’s Eric. Lying on the floor, legs up resting on the wall and occasionally bringing one leg back to almost touch the wall opposite, or the floor and Jack tries not imagine the other possibilities that that position and flexibility might be useful.

“Eric… what are you…doing?” He mainly means what he is doing on the floor outside his apartment, because he can tell that Eric is stretching. Just not why it’s on the floor outside his door.

“Waiting for you,” Eric says, and then with a twist of his body he’s standing in one smooth motion and Jack just blinks, because he’s pretty sure bodies aren’t meant to move that way.

“Uh.”

“Jack? Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fine. Just… sorry. Eh. Distracted.”

“Okay… So, I know you’ve just made a grand gesture but I was thinking maybe we could stay in?”

It’s not even midday and he knows it was dinner they had talked about.

“Tonight you mean?”

“Yeah, and maybe for the first few weeks? I mean, I don’t mind not going out, and I like cooking, and we’ve already watched a movie and had dinner and I just thought that maybe… it could just be us?”

“That sounds… perfect, to be honest.”

A weight he hadn’t even realized had been present feels lifted and he wonders how Eric just seems to know what to say to make his anxiety lessen enough to make him relax.

“I’ve got training, but I’ll see you later… I just didn’t want you to worry about it all afternoon.”

“Eric…” Jack starts, his throat working because it’s a little overwhelming to have someone think about what he might need like that. “…thank you.”

“Oh sugar, I have a feeling that it’ll be more than worth my while…”

Then he’s being kissed, so gently and softly that he doesn’t even have time to respond, to kiss back. He just blinks as Eric pulls away, bottom lip caught between his teeth, lips curved into a smile and Jack can’t take his eyes off them.

“You are good for my ego Jack Zimmermann. I’ll see you later okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Of course later can’t come soon enough. He arranges to do a workout with Tater after lunch and tries not to think about his upcoming date. Although Eric had been right, they have already had something like a date already. Three somethings already, except his kid sister had been there for the first two and then his best friend at dinner last night so this is… them alone. No interruptions.

Huh.

He checks his bedside drawers, he hasn’t needed condoms in a long time, but he should probably check the expiration dates. Fuck. That’s something he definitely can’t do right now. Going out to the store and buying condoms just a few hours after a presser stating that he’s not got any comment about his personal life and he knows there are people watching his apartment building.

He knows who can help him though, not that they’ll get here by tonight but that’s not a bad thing. He sends a quick message to Shitty and of course he agrees to do it, chirps him for being unable to wait until the weekend when he visits and

shit

. He’d forgotten about that. Shitty, Lardo, Ransom and Holster have all arrange to come and stay for a week; they had originally planned it so he’d have a quiet week between Annelise’s stay and them arriving, except… there’s Eric now. He can’t put off seeing them, it’s been months, Annelise’s 5

birthday in fact, and he wants to see them… But introducing a potential guy he wants to date to his friends after only a week seems pretty high risk. Except Eric lives with Tater, and has already shown that hockey guys don’t scare him in the slightest… He resolves to at least ask.

#SKating skates AU #Zimbits #Zimbits fanfic #fanfic

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amazingmsme · 5 years

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The Spider’s Out of the Bag

So this fic’s been done for months but it was back when this shitty ass hellsite made the new rule about mobile posts being a certain length, and this was back when I posted on mobile. I originally planned on posting it in three parts because of this, but after the first part didn’t receive the feedback I was hoping for, I forgot about it. Well, here it is in its entirety.

Peter hadn't been getting much sleep and it was starting to show. He was always run down, which resulted in him being less than his normal cheery self. He was probably only averaging three to four hours of sleep a night.

"Dude, when's the last time you had a full night's rest?" Ned asked, slowly spinning on the computer chair. Peter looked up at him, shrugging, "I've been running on Five Hour Energy all day, no stopping now." Ned simply stared at his friend, not really knowing what to say. "What?"

"Peter, that's not good. That stuff isn't just supposed to be chugged like it's water, you need sleep." Peter made a face, hanging upside down from his bunk bed and crossing his arms.

"I can't! I have so much school work and Avengers training, and that's not even counting when I'm working in the city. And when I get in bed I usually still have all that adrenaline in my system, so it's hard to fall asleep."

"Are you tired right now? I can try and help you fall asleep 'cause you look like you're about to drop dead." Peter scoffed, "Is it that bad?"

"You know you're my best friend and I would never say anything to personally offend you, but you look like pure shit. Like, it literally looks like someone took an ice cream scooper and dug the circles out from under your eyes." Peter couldn't help but to smirk at his friend's description. "Anything else?"

"Your hair's constantly messy because you keep running your hands through it like a depressed middle aged suburban mom."

"That's oddly specific. How many depressed middle aged suburban mothers do you know?"

"More than you would think," he said, staring off in the distance as though he was having war flashbacks. He blinked hard, coming back to reality. "But seriously, is there anything I could do to help out, maybe help you relax, I could make you some tea..."

"Ned, I'm fine, you don't have to do anything. Buuuut-" he began to grin, something coming to his mind. "But what?" Ned prompted, hoping for an answer. "Buuuuut a massage would be nice," he said, tilting his head & batting his eyes. Peter climbed down from the bunk and laid down, letting his friend knead into the muscle. Peter practically melted underneath the touch.

"Oh man, I almost forgot how good it feels to just relax." he said, sighing contently. "How hard is Mr. Stark pushing you?" Ned asked, concern clear in his voice.

"He's not really pushing me that hard. It's more myself forcing me to do my best," he admitted. "Once I get going, I just, don't know how to stop." Ned was about to reply when suddenly Peter jerked away from his hand as if it was a hot rod. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?"

Peter shook his head, "No, no I'm fine." Ned nodded and continued rubbing his back, but couldn't help but notice how he flinched away yet again. It all began to click and Ned couldn't hold back his grin, "I think I know of a way to make you tired." Before he could question him, he began squeezing up and down his sides, throwing him into hysterics.

"Nehehehed, whahahat are you dohohoing?" Peter managed to say through his laughter, his friend not stopping his work.

"I'm trying to tire you out. If you don't have any energy, you can't stay awake. This is for your own good Peter," he spoke, trying to remain serious but ultimately failed upon hearing his bright infectious laughter. He worked his fingers underneath his arms, lightly scratching at the hollows, making Peter erupt into screams and pleads.

"I'll tell you what Peter, let's make a deal. I'll stop if you finally get some rest. Deal?"

"Deheheal! Deal!" Ned stopped and helped him into a sitting position. Ned looked at him, "Do you think you can get some sleep?" Peter chuckled, "After that I might. My neck's still a bit sore though." Ned was about to offer to help but Peter cut him off, "No. If you think I'd let you help after pulling something like that you're sadly mistaken."

He grinned at him, "Alright, that's understandable. But I hope you know I plan on using this against you." He let out a groan, flopping face first into his pillows, his voice muffled, "You suck."

He gave a sly grin and shrugged even though he couldn't see him. "I'm just doing what's best for my friend."

Peter couldn't help but to smile into his blankets. Maybe this wasn't so bad.

~~~~

Peter had been having frequent study sessions with MJ ever since she had become captain and they started talking more. He refused to call it a study "date" since he was sure Michelle didn't like him(or anyone for that matter) like that.

"How much salt is in the average adult human body?" MJ asked, hiding the answer from Peter whilst waiting for his response.

"Easy, 250 grams," he said without even looking up. She nodded her approval, "Correct. Next question: In Blake's poem, the phrase, "unbuckled was the shield," is an example of-"

"Inverted syntax. C'mon MJ I thought you said you had tough questions for me," he smirked, looking up to meet her gaze. Before she could respond with what he was sure would be a smart remark, an alarm went off on his phone.

"What's that for?" she asked, craning her neck to look at the screen.

"Oh, uh, that's just my alarm," he said, silencing it. "This is usually the time I do my workout." She scoffed, looking him up and down, "You workout?" He nodded, "Mhm." He stood there awkwardly, not sure of what to do with himself. "Uh, would you mind if I do some stuff while we study? I won't get distracted I swear," he promised, knowing she wanted him to focus on the material. "I guess," she shrugged and he made his way to his bunk, hanging upside down and beginning to do sit ups.

"Exercise disgusts me," she said, turning her head away to look back at the flash cards. After answering a few questions and doing 100 sit ups, he climbed back down, sitting on his knees. Michelle looked up at him, noticing how he hadn't even broken a sweat. He looked around awkwardly, "Uh, would you mind sitting on my back?"

"What?"

"Like for extra weight an' stuff."

She tilted her head back, looking at him. "Are you calling me fat?" His eyes flew wide open, and he stuttered over his words, worried that he had offended her and trying to correct his mistake, "No! Absolutely not, I'd never say that about any girl and-"

"It's okay, I was just fucking with you," she waved her hand dismissively, smiling at him. He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "So... will you?"

"Oh, you were actually serious? Um, okay." Peter laid on his stomach and waited for MJ to climb on his back. Once she did, he asked, "Can you grab a few textbooks and hold them in your lap?" She nodded, reaching over and getting the biggest ones she could find. "You sure you can answer questions while doing push-ups?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I can barely do push-ups even without having to do math," MJ said, playing with the index cards in her hand. Peter smirked to himself, pushing himself up. His arms shook in an exaggerated manner as he faked a lack of strength. "If it's that hard for you Peter I can get off," she supplied, buying his act.

"Nah, I'm good," he said, suddenly able to do perfect push-ups. MJ, shocked at the quick change of pace, placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. "Can you start a timer for 10 minutes?" he asked, " And read some more questions?" She complied, setting up her phone timer and reading him questions that he easily answered. She let out a sigh, placing her head in her hands. Sitting on someone constantly moving up and down isn't exactly fun, even when studying.

"Just how many push-ups can you do?" Peter paused for a second before continuing, "Don't know. I get too distracted to keep track, so I just set up a timer."

"I bet you've already done a thousand."

"Probably."

"Are you even tired?" She'd be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little bit impressed, but no one needs to know. He shook his head, "Not really."

"What are you, steel?" she joked, poking his side. He let out a laugh that he tried to disguise as a scoff, "Noho, I'm completely human," he defended himself. His reaction didn't go unnoticed by MJ however. When he pushed himself up once more, she let herself fall forward, using Peter to brace herself. Her hands gently clasped his sides, and her fingers curled underneath his arms. He let out a small gasp, trying to cover it with a huff of air. "You okay Peter?" she asked, fully aware of what she had done. He nodded and swallowed thickly, "Yeah."

When he tried again, MJ's fingers were back on his body, this time with more intent. Peter struggled to keep himself from falling to the floor, "MJ whahahat are you dohohoing?" he cried through his laughter.

"Why didn't you tell me you were ticklish?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Ihihit's not exactly aha normal conversation to hahave," he managed to say. She tweaked his ribs, eliciting a squeak. "But we're friends, and friends don't keep things from each other, riiiight Peter?" He shook his head back and forth, trying to escape her maddening touch. "No? What other secrets are you hiding Peter?" she teased, scribbling her nails over the back of his neck.

"AH! MJ nohohoho," he giggled, and fell to the floor, MJ easily pinning him beneath her body. She grinned down at him from her position up above, "I wonder if you can answer questions while I tickle you mercilessly," she pondered aloud, an evil glint in her eyes.

"Youhu don't have to do this!" he pleaded, already laughing from the anticipation.

"Yes I do," she said, eying him like a lion looking over its prey. "If you tell me where you're most ticklish I'll go easy on you. Maybe."

"Whahat? Nohoho," he protested, trying to squirm away. MJ tilted her head quizzically, "No? Oh well, more fun for me," she shrugged and set to work, scratching her nails along his sides dragging out a loud screech.

"How about you answer five questions correctly and I'll stop."

"Thahahat's mehehean!"

"Thank you. I can't let people think I'm actually nice."

"MJ plehehehease!" She rolled her eyes, scratching her nails across the muscles on his stomach, "Oh alright, one question. But you have to get it right." She moved down, digging her thumbs into the hip bone causing him to buck violently.

"Do you like me?" she asked, hoping he was too out of his mind to read too much into the question. Ned had been their messenger back and forth and told her to come clean or he would do it for her, and she just couldn't do that. So she took matters into her own hands, quite literally.

"Yehehes okay?"

She stopped, somewhat in shock, and looked down at him. "You- did you hear what I said?" He nodded, panting and trying to catch his breath. "You ahasked if I liked you."

"You do know I meant more than a friend, don't you?" His cheeks turned a bright shade of red and he looked down, "I had hoped that's what you meant."

Without thinking MJ leaned forward and shoved their lips together in a kiss, leaving both of them in a blissful state for the rest of the night.

~~~~

If someone had told Peter that his hero and role model would become close to him he would've called them crazy, yet here he was. Sure they weren't the closest, but they were getting closer with each mission and training session they had together, and Tony even invited him to just hang out on more than one occasion. Like now.

Peter didn't know what to expect when he received a text from Tony asking what he was doing after patrol. He honestly thought he was going on another mission, but when Tony told him he just wanted to talk and check in with him, he was pleasantly surprised. When the fancy sports car came to pick him up, he couldn't help but smile to himself. It always made him feel a little special getting to ride in such luxury, seeing as he never before had the chance to. He let his grin grow wider once he saw Tony in the backseat waiting for him.

It had taken him a while to feel comfortable enough around Tony to not be nervous all the time, but he had finally learned to relax a little. It still took him a few minutes to adjust to his presence, so he was still a little tense in the car. He relaxed a bit once they reached the compound. Peter's stomach growled loudly as they walked down the hall.

"Hungry?" Tony asked, seemingly amused.

"Uh, yeah," Peter answered a bit sheepishly.

"That's okay, we have food in the kitchen. But I won't make you anything, you're old enough to fend for yourself," Tony said with a smirk, ruffling his hair. Peter chuckled, smoothing it back down, "I think I can manage without you."

"Don't forget who gave you the suit kid," Tony said with a jab to his side. Peter yelped and jumped away, earning a side look from Tony. It didn't take long for him to realized what happened and he smirked, poking him again, "Ticklish?"

"N-no," Peter stuttered, trying to subtly take a step back. "Remember what I said about lying to me," he said in a jokingly stern voice.

"I-it's not a lie!"

"Really? 'Cause that squeak says otherwise," he teased and Peter's head snapped towards him. "I didn't squeak!" His voice came out an octave higher than he would've liked it to. Tony gave him a kind smile and patted his shoulder, "Relax, it's fine. Between you and me I once heard Thor shriek like a banshee." Peter couldn't help the way his face lit up with amusement when he heard that, "Really?"

Tony nodded, "Oh yeah. But don't tell him I told you, he'd probably kill me." Peter made the universal signal for sealing his lips. "And feel free to help yourself to whatever's in the fridge. Oh, and one more thing," he started and Peter turned his attention towards him. "Hm?"

"If you tell him I told you, don't think I don't know how to get you back," Tony said with a mischievous smile as he wiggled his fingers in his direction. Peter's face burned a bright red as Tony chuckled.

"You're never gonna let me live that down are you?"

Tony's smile was blinding, "Nope."

Peter groaned as he opened the fridge. He swore these people were going to be the death of him.

#spiderman #peter parker #tony stark #tony & peter #ned leeds #mj #michelle jones #avengers #avengers fic #avengers tickle fic #ticklish!peter #spiderman fic #spiderman tickle fic

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ouremptysinks-blog · 6 years

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Star In The Dark

Chapter 1

Characters: Steve Rogers X OC (Hailey Beaumont), OC’S Mom, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Matt Murdock, A CUTE AF EMT/PARAMEDIC ( I don’t know who else for rn sooo?) Summary: A young woman with too many talents gets recruited to be a part of the Avengers. (yep that's it. I’m not spilling anything else.) Warnings: Lots of swearing, some angst, self-depreciation, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, anxiety attacks, panic attacks, okay maybe a lot of angst, daddy issues(not the sexual kind yall!) (please lemme know if I missed something!)

Words: 2376

A/N: So I’m crying, this is my first fic and I'm so scared yallssss please reblog and comment and PLEASE JUST REEEADDD AND AHHHHHH! DM ME WITH FEEDBACK OR JUST URGHFHJH FEEDBACK PLEASE JELLIES!! Also please don’t bother requesting smut, I won’t write it

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“Honey, could you please go into my office and grab the white file in the second drawer in my desk? I need it in an hour so please could you make your way here now? I’ll give you the money you need for the tech thing you want so bad! But please hurry!” my mother hung up.

The woman was amazing at what she did but she was so forgetful, I was amazed at how she hadn't lost her position even after 25 years. My mom worked for S.H.E.I.L.D., she was high up in the ranks. That was all I knew, well actually that’s all they think I know. You see, I’m a pretty techy gal. I am so sorry, did I seriously just say ‘gal’? Okay yeah so I am very into the tech-verse and yeah I’m very aware that my mom works very closely with Coulson and whatnot but you don’t know that either okay! Now shush I have to go! Before you ask, yes I do know where they are because as her immediate and only family. I was to come to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters if anything were to ever go wrong. If you asked me, S.H.E.I.L.D. was the last place we should be at. With all the rogue agents and undercover Hydras. Shit. YOU DON'T KNOW THAT EITHER OKAY! While I was spilling dirt that only I know, you didn't notice me start the car, did you? I hated going to S.H.E.I.L.D. so much. It was such a headache to get there. The idiots made it so you had to take about 120 backroads to get to the damn place. It was so stupid.

I quickly glanced at the duffel bag behind me. I wonder if I’d be allowed to use the training room? I can’t afford to miss today's workout, one workout missed meant a whole fight lost. Not that I was getting into any fights…Okay fine, I box! Erm... and it might be illegal… No one needs to know that either by the way! Snitches get stitches! Don't you dare forget! If I ever hear that you’ve let anything slip, I’m also great with weapons. That was indeed a threat, take it to heart.

I pulled up into the reserved parking space under my name. Grabbing my duffel and the white file with the big red ‘Confidential’ stamped on it, I swiped my ID into the holder. I was welcomed with a blast of air-conditioned air. They have these set to 16 degrees, and there was an air conditioner every 4 metres. The place was probably colder than Antarctica. Smiling at the receptionist I waved the file at her and she gave me a grimace.

“Lola left the files again?” she asked in a not surprised manner.

“Yep, you know how mom is.”

“Go on up sweetheart. If anyone asks, tell ‘em Susan sent you up. They can come and fight me.”

I threw my head back a little and laughed. Trying to contain my outburst, I grinned at Susan.

“I love you, Sue! I’ll bring you down a coffee, on my way back.”

“Oh honey, you don't have to! Oh, and I didn't tell you this but the training room is free from 4 till 8, so if you wanna punch some stuff, knock yourself out.” Susan whispered.

I pulled her into a small hug and then ran over to the elevators. I punched in the code and pressed on the floor number. The doors were just about to close when a not so subtle Patriotic soldier managed to place one of his feet in between the doors. He had been awake for a few months now. 3 to be exact, not that I’ve been digging or anything. I was a tad bit uncomfortable considering I looked like shit today. I looked terrible on a daily basis considering I was a fat fuck but today I was actually shit. He had taken his stance behind me, which made me x999 times more uncomfortable than I had in the beginning. I could also feel him staring which made my nerves increase even more. I was hoping that the ride down would stay quiet but unfortunately, to my dismay, he spoke.

“Are you new here?” he asked, voice smoother than silk. Yikes.

“I think I should be the one asking you, don’t you think?”

He seemed a little shocked that I didn’t give him a straight up answer. However, he hummed in agreement.

“I guess you should, I was here just yesterday and I didn’t run into you, that’s why I asked.” he smiled, not a bit of bitchiness in his voice.

“I was off yesterday.” I lied.

As the elevator doors opened, Captain Not So Frozen stepped out and head to the direction opposite of where I needed to be. PRAISE THE LORRRDDD! Before he opened the door, he spun around and yelled out, “Hey! I guess I’ll see you around Miss?”

I contemplated giving him a fake last name but decided against it.

“Beaumont”

Giving me a small smile, he said, “I’ll see you around Miss Beaumont”

Besides, it’d be funnier if he ran into my mom, considering she was Miss Beaumont. Ahh, the laughs. I checked my watch, ‘3:47’.

“Perfect”

I knocked on the door to my mom’s office, no one came to the door so I let myself in. I left the file between the keyboard and the screen of her closed laptop and wrote her a quick note on a post-it, letting her know where I’d be.

Lazily stepping into the elevator again I punched in another code and the button for the floor. This time, the melted man didn't stop the closing doors and I was able to get to the gym peacefully.

I pulled out my laptop from my duffel and started cracking. My ‘abilities’ weren't known to S.H.E.I.L.D., mom knew I could fight and she knew I was great with tech. What I did with those things, she didn’t know, and to be frank she didn’t need to either. I was done setting up the codes, all I needed was a clear frame. So when I stepped out and opened the doors to the gym, I was relieved to see it was indeed empty.

‘4:03’ my watch read. I stepped back outside and set everything else up. I didn’t need these buffoons watching me, and enter.

“That gave me such a headache, this stupid place.”

Manoeuvering my way to the changing room I threw my bag into one of the lockers and then went straight for the treadmill. I had four hours so I could do a lot. I would run/jog for half an hour and then, squats, lunges, one legged squats, box jumps, hip raises, deadlifts, straight leg deadlifts, good mornings, step ups, overhead press, bench press, incline dumbbell press, push ups, dips, chin ups, pull ups, bodyweight rows, dumbbell rows, planks, side planks, exercise ball crunches, mountain climbers, jumping knee tucks, hanging leg raises. Then I’d work on my hapkido if I finished everything nicely. Or I could go crash at my loft. I realised if I went back home, I wouldn't do any hapkido so I decided I’d just cut some stuff out and get to the martial art.

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I finished up the leg raises and checked the time once more.

‘6:45’

That gave me a solid 5-minute break and a 10-minute shower.

The shower ended quicker than I had planned, eager to practice hapkido again. I changed into something more comfortable. Pulling out a mat I started my usual routine. But I wanted to do something a bit different today. I grabbed one of the knives. I was doing my thing and all when a stupid man decided to grab my attention. I was taken aback and grabbed the blade too hard. Blood dripping from my torn palm, Stark stares at me shocked.

“Shit, I am so sorry!” he tried to clean up my hand using the handkerchief from his pocket.

I took a step back, glaring fiercely at the idiotic billionaire.

“I can fix it myself, fuck off Stark.”

“Potty mouth, plus I apologized, didn't I?”

“Well if you weren't so fucking idiotic and ignorant, we wouldn't really be in this situation now would we?”

“Let’s get you to the infirmary.” he tugged on my arm slightly.

Pushing his money filthy hands off, I said, “I vividly remember telling you to fuck off. No?”

He merely smirked at me.

“Before I ‘fuck off’, I wanted to ask you something.”

Not being bothered to reply to the egotistical fuck, I stayed silent.

“How’d you hack into S.H.E.I.L.D.’S systems?”

Awh fuck, this is great.

“Hails, wanna tell me how?”

“Don't you dare call me that you fucking asshat! You don't deserve it.”

Grabbing all of my things I stormed out of the anxiety-filled room to be met with another fucker I hate.

“Nicholas.”

“Ah Miss Claire, you’re just the person I wanted to see.”

“Ah, Joe you flatter me, Starkies in the gym if you wanna see the fucker.”

“I assure you, you're the one I was looking for Hailey.”

Hiding my bitchy feels, I follow Joseph into the elevator.

“So what’s up Joe-man?”

“Not here.”

If Fury thought it’d be better to talk about whatever he wanted to talk about specifically in his office, it meant that this thing was big. And very confidential. If I said that it didn’t scare me, I’d be 100% lying. It scared the shit outta me. Fury and I, well we go way back. He’s known me since I was in the womb, and we’ve been super chill. So fuck yeah I was stressed.

I followed the fucker into his office and took a seat. I was not about to risk falling on my fat ass.

“Miss Beaumont-”

“Zhang.” I reminded the ignorant man.

“Miss Zhang, I know you’re aware that I know about your skills.”

“And what? Thought it was a mutual agreement where I don’t fuck your organization over and we keep my ‘skills’ a fucking secret.”

“It was until the Avengers.I’d brief you on the whole thing, but something tells me you already know way too much.”

I kept my eyes glued to him, not looking away for even a second. I was proud of my abilities and plus, he never told me to keep out of anything.

“Listen, you already have a bunch of power puffs and musketeers. What do you need me for? Plus, isn’t there some rule that you can’t work for S.H.I.E.L.D. unless you’re twenty-five plus? HA BITCH! I’m still 22!” Crossing my legs, I smirked at him.

“That rule is bullshit and I know you know it and fine. I’ll just tell your mom about your pastime activities.”

“You wouldn't dare!” I glared at him.

“I would if it meant you’d join the Avengers.”

“Cause pointing you to the Skull-topuses arent enough? Now I have to join a stupid marching band?”

“Hailey.”

That shut me up. But before he could say anything else I yelled, “FINE! Fuck you, I’ll do it. Not like you’ve actually given me a choice.”

“Come to the meeting room in an hour”

“No”

“Agent Zhang”

“I’m not an agent bitch.”

Mentally giving myself a once over I tell him, “Tomorrow. You want me to be a part of this pep squad? Then I want the meeting tomorrow at 7.”

“Sevens a bit-”

“8:45 or else I'm out.”

Rolling his eyes he huffed out a ‘fine’.

Standing up, I grabbed my bag and pushed through the double doors. The elevator ride pissed me off. I threw myself out of the elevator when I ran into a chiselled figure and fell back. I braced for impact considering I couldn't do a double flip to save myself because I wasn't supposed to know how. But the impact never came. Instead, I felt strong arms hold up my weight. Staring into steely blue eyes I realise who’s holding me. I push him off and let myself fall to the ground. Hanging my head in shame, I stutter a sorry.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine. I just need some air.”

I ignore his gaze, I push past the man and rushed out of the building. I ran to my car and turned on the engine. I couldn't breathe, fuck. I reversed and then pulled out onto the highway. I kept driving until I realised my eyes were getting clouded and I was about to throw up. I stopped on the side as soon as I exit the highway. My chest hurts, I can’t breathe. I threw myself out of the car and collapsed.

I woke up to red and blue accompanied with blaring sirens.

“Miss are you alright?”

This was embarrassing… I passed out on the road and someone had called 911. Fucking shit.

“I’m fine,” I nodded curtly.

“Alright, we’re just going to do a couple tests and if everything’s fine we’ll let you go. Is that okay with you?”

I smiled at him weakly, nodding my head.

“Are you able to stand?” she asked very politely.

As I tried to stand, I almost fell back but the woman had caught your arm before you did. You could feel your throat close up again. She sensed something was wrong and quickly let go, but only after she made sure you were steady.

After all the tests, I walked over to my car and as I put on my seatbelt, the paramedic who tended to me knocked on my window.

“Hey, if you ever want to speak to anyone about anything, here’s my number.”

“Oh no that’s- it’s- I’m fine. It’s okay!” I tried being peppy.

It clearly didn’t work as her brows furrowed deeper. Sighing I took her card and mumbled a thank you. She gave me a bright smile as I drove away from the area. I was definitely not calling her, but for some reason, I just shoved the cared into the glove compartment instead of throwing it out.

#steve rogers #oc #marvel mcu #avengers #steve rogers x oc #nick fury #angsty af #s.h.i.e.l.d.#tony stark #avengers assemble #plus size oc #captain america x oc #steve rogers imagine

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your-dietician · 3 years

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Exercises to prevent firefighter knee pain

New Post has been published on https://depression-md.com/exercises-to-prevent-firefighter-knee-pain/

Exercises to prevent firefighter knee pain

Knee pain and strain is a common ailment that affects a large (and growing) number of firefighters. As first responders, we constantly subject our knees to dynamic and static forces, resulting in increased knee complaints and a higher relative risk of osteoarthrosis and tears. You do not need to look at research and data to confirm this statistic—just walk into any firehouse and survey the crew.

In the following video, I provide three stretches and three exercises that will strengthen the knees and help manage firefighter knee pain.

Causes of Firefighter Knee Pain

Firefighters are at a higher risk osteoarthritis and knee problems because we perform a job that requires a lot of squatting and kneeling. We are constantly stepping on and off large vehicles, climbing stairs, assessing patients and carrying heavy gear. All these movements can create trauma and inflammation within the knee and can lead to more serious injuries like ACL/MCL and meniscus tears.

There are, however, other causes than just the job itself. Excess weight or being overweight increases stress on your knee joints, even during ordinary activities such as walking or going up and down stairs. It also puts you at increased risk of osteoarthritis by accelerating the breakdown of joint cartilage. And a lack of strength and flexibility can increase the risk of knee injuries. Strong muscles help to stabilize and protect your joints and muscle flexibility can help you achieve full range of motion.

Prevention

Although it is not always possible to prevent knee pain, the following suggestions and exercises may help alleviate it by strengthening the muscles around the knee and improving flexibility. First, it is important to keep extra pounds off. Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best things you can do for your knees. Every extra pound puts additional strain on your joints, increasing the risk of injuries and osteoarthritis.

You also need to prepare your muscles for the demands of the job. A consistent fitness program and plan will not only help keep the weight off, it will also condition your muscles to better meet the physical demands we face. And, because weak muscles are a leading cause of knee injuries, you will benefit from building up your quadriceps and hamstrings, which support your knees. Tight muscles also can contribute to injury, so stretching is important.

Here are three great strengthening exercises and three stretches you can incorporate into your fitness plan to prevent firefighter knee pain.

Warm Up First

Bridge and marching bridge exercises can help you strengthen the hamstring, quads and glute muscles. (Photo/Aaron Zamzow)

Before performing any stretches or strengthening exercise, you should warm up your target muscles. This can be a brisk, 2-minute walk while pumping your arms, or do a few wall push-ups followed by the same number of calf raises. Try to get the blood moving through your muscles; this will help you get more out of the exercises and stretches. I personally incorporate these strengthening exercises in each one of my workouts. And then make sure to finish with the stretches. You should try to perform these exercises at least three times per week.

The Glute Bridge

One of the best ways to prevent knee pain is by strengthening the muscles that support the knee joint. Bridge and marching bridge exercises can help you strengthen the hamstring, quads and glute muscles.

Perform the bridge by lying on your back with knees bent. Keeping your abdominals tight, raise your hips and lower back from the floor. Hold this “bridge” position for 5 seconds before lowering your body down to the floor. Repeat the bridge 10–15 times, working up to two sets.

The wall sit is an isometric, quad- and glute-strengthening exercise. (Photo/Aaron Zamzow)

Wall Sits

The wall sit is an isometric, quad- and glute-strengthening exercise. It is safer for the knees because the body is in a fixed position with added support from the wall.

Stand with your back against a wall, your feet about shoulder-width apart. Slowly bend your knees and keep

your back and pelvis against the wall. Hold for 20–40 seconds. Do not bend too deeply. If you feel pressure or discomfort in your knees, change your position. Repeat the exercise for three to five sets, working to hold the sit position a few seconds longer each time.

Quadruped Fire Hydrants

I could not resist adding this exercise to the list. The first reason is obvious—it has a great name! Second, this exercise is great for strengthening the muscles of the glutes, hips and core, which will help stabilize your hips and reduce strain on the knees.

The quadraped fire hydrant is great for strengthening the muscles of the glutes, hips and core, which will help stabilize your hips and reduce strain on the knees. (Photo/Aaron Zamzow)

Get on your hands and knees. Draw your belly button in toward your spine to engage your abdominal muscles. Keeping your knee bent, lift one leg out to the side. Keep your hips facing down to prevent rotation at your spine. Pause, then slowly lower your knee back down to the start position. Perform 10 repetitions of this exercise on each leg, for two to three sets.

Knee injuries can be caused by hamstring strains, so it is important to guard against them by keeping your hamstrings flexible. (Photo/Aaron Zamzow)

After completing the strengthening exercises, the next step is to improve the flexibility and mobility of the exercises around the knee. Be mindful of your form and posture as you perform each exercise. Your goal is to hold each stretch for at least 20–30 seconds and perform them at least three times per week. Do not hold your breath as you stretch and make sure you do not stretch through sharp pain.

Standing Hamstring Stretch

Your hamstrings help support your hips and knees. Knee injuries can be caused by hamstring strains, so it is important to guard against them by keeping your hamstrings flexible.

Stand on your right foot with your left foot in front of you, heel on the floor, toes up. Hinge forward at your hips and bend your right knee as you sit back a bit. As you bend your right leg, keep your left leg completely straight with your weight on the edge of your heel. You should feel this stretch in the hamstring (back of leg) of the straightened leg. Hold for 20–30 seconds. Switch sides and repeat for two to three sets each leg.

The heel and calf stretch targets the muscles in your lower leg, specifically your calf muscles. (Photo/Aaron Zamzow)

Heel and Calf Stretch

This stretch targets the muscles in your lower leg, specifically your calf muscles. Like the hamstring, the calf muscles are attached to the back of your knee. If your calf is tight, it can pull on the knee joint and cause pain.

Place your hands on the wall and move one foot back as far as you can comfortably. Make sure the toes on both feet are facing forward with your heels flat and a slight bend in your knees. Lean into the stretch and hold for 30 seconds. You should feel the stretch in your back leg. Change legs and repeat. Do two to three sets for each leg.

Standing Quads Stretch

This stretch specifically targets your quadriceps, the muscles at the front of your thighs. Performing this move can help improve the flexibility in your hip flexors and quadricep muscles.

Performing the standing quads stretch can help improve the flexibility in your hip flexors and quadricep muscles. (Photo/Aaron Zamzow)

Stand on your left leg, one knee touching the other. You can hold a chair or the wall to keep you steady if needed. Using your right hand, grab your right foot and pull it towards your butt. Make sure to push your chest up and hips forward. Do not worry about pushing your foot too close to your backside; your focus should be on feeling the stretch in your quad muscle and pushing your hips forward to get a good hip flexor stretch. Hold the position for 20–30 seconds, then repeat on the other leg. Do this stretch two to three sets for each leg.

Important Notes

Not all knee pain is serious, but if your knee pain persists after a few weeks and does not improve, consider seeing an orthopedic specialist. And if you have sharp pain in your knee accompanied by significant swelling, and/or tenderness and warmth around the joint, see a physician right away.

Be smart about exercise. If you have osteoarthritis, chronic knee pain or recurring injuries, you may need to change the way you exercise. Make sure you are working functionally by incorporating mobility, core, and balance exercises. If your knees are hurting, limit the high-impact activities.

Please reach out with any questions. I am here to help you and your crew get more fit for duty. Contact me at [email protected] or visit Fire Rescue Fitness.

References

Frost DM, Beach TA, Crosby I, McGill SM. Firefighter injuries are not just a fireground problem. Work. 2015;52(4):835-42. Retrieved 5/28/21 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26409354/

Reichelt P, Conrad K. Musculoskeletal injury: ergonomics and physical fitness in firefighters. Occup Med. 1995;10(4):735–746. Retrieved 5/28/21 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8903746.

U.S. Fire Administration. (2014) Fire-related firefighter injuries reported to National Fire Incident Reporting System (2010-2012). Topical Fire Report Series. 2012. Retrieved 5/28/21 from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8903746/

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tompumpupboats · 3 years

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Yak Back No More - Kayaking Back Pain Solution

Kayaking is a fun form of exercise, where you get to explore nature. However, if you are not careful, you will get "yak back" and curse at your kayak for days. Or even weeks. I have mild lumbar scoliosis (curvature of the spine), so I've had my share of back pain. You could say, I've been there, done that. This post will explore what causes kayaking back pain, how to avoid it, and how to make it better if you already have yak back.

What Causes Kayaking Back Pain?

The main culprit for back pain after kayaking is the traditional "L" paddling position.

A combination of two things causes the problem in the L kayaking position: - Sitting in a non-ergonomic position: The weight of your torso exerts vertical pressure on your lower vertebrae. At the same time, your legs (the most powerful muscles in your body) press against a foot brace and exert horizontal pressure on your lower spine. - Not shifting position: You are stuck in a tiny seat for a long time without switching to position to release the tension in your legs/back and to stretch. You might be thinking, don't the foot pegs and back support help you avoid problems from improper posture? While they might provide you with proper support and allow you to remain in place, they also have certain limitations: - Restrict your movement - Result in excessive pressure on your lower back Make your legs numb Combining all of the above can easily result in lower back pain, affectionately termed "yak back".

8 ways to treat and prevent kayaking back pain

Over the years, I've found several ways to deal with back pain during & after kayaking. Doing these exercises and stretches regularly will even help you avoid any pain. Here's are 9 of the most effective ways to alleviate paddler's back. Maintain proper posture to protect your lower back Kayak seats provide direct back support, but they do not help you maintain proper posture for long. Time and again, you will be slouching or leaning in one direction. You have to be self-conscious and try to maintain proper upper body posture and perfect stroke throughout the trip. Proper posture helps avoid excessive pressure on your back. Use good paddling technique The best way to paddle is to treat the kayak as an extension of your body. Rather than using your arms and shoulders to paddle, you have to use your entire body, emphasizing your torso and legs. Paddling properly and having good posture keeps your entire body moving, disperses pressure from your back and legs, and helps avoid pain after kayaking. In a nutshell, the proper way to paddle is: - Leaning slightly forward from the hips, sit tall with your spine long and head high. - Keeping your arms as straight as possible, hold the paddle out in front of you. - Drop the paddle blade into the water as perpendicular to the water as possible, and pull back on it. The pulling motion should happen by twisting your torso and using your legs for support. Your arms should remain relatively straight throughout the motion. - Pull back until the paddle blade is level with your hips. - Lift the paddle from the water, drop the opposite side into the water, and repeat the motion there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUYEH2cOA7c Stretch before you get into your kayak Stretching is one of the most important things you can do to help with back pain. Just 5-6 minutes of targeted stretching will help warm up your muscles and get them ready for the repetitive motion of paddling. Hold each position for at least 15 seconds. Warning: As with any sport or physical activity, you should get your physician's approval before trying these stretches. Enter each stretch slowly and gradually. If you feel pain with a stretch, stop. Here are effective stretches targeting the nerves and muscles you use during kayaking. Sciatic nerve stretches and gliding The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that runs from your hip joint down to your lower limb. If you slump in your kayak with your feet supported against a foot brace, you are placing excess tension on the sciatic nerves in both of your legs.

This nerve is the root of a widespread kayaking problem called sciatica, which causes the sensation of numbness and pins & needles in your legs. Stretching and nerve gliding are effective in improving the mobility of your sciatic nerves. Here are some exercises which help in easing your sciatic nerve. Knees to chest This exercise involves lying flat on your back on the ground. - Your knees should be bent, and the soles of your feet should be on the ground. - Slowly lift your bent legs so that your thighs touch your chest and you can wrap your arms around them. - Lengthen the back of your neck by tucking in your chin. - Hold this pose for at least 30 seconds, up to 1 minute. - Return to the starting position slowly, and repeat 2 or 3 times. Standing hamstring stretch To carry out this stretch, you need a ledge or table in front of you that is just under your hips' height. - Stand straight. - Lift one of your legs straight out in front of you, resting the heel on whatever you're using. - Keeping your spine straight, bend forward at the waist onto your straight leg until you feel the stretch in the back of your leg. - Repeat with the other leg. Sciatic nerve gliding exercises Sciatic nerve gliding is also called nerve flossing. These exercises do not stretch the sciatic nerve at all. They slide it back and forth, encouraging normal neurodynamics. The net effect is a loosening of protective muscle tone that restricts movement of the nerve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr88uGR5w80 Quadratus Lumborum (QL) stretches The QL is a paired muscle located on the left and right sides of the posterior abdominal wall, deep in the back of your waist on both sides of your lower spine (lumbar vertebrae).

As you paddle, you raise and lower your hips to control your kayak, which can overwork the QL muscle. This may cause lower back pain. If this muscle is too short, it can result in excessive pressure on your spine as well. You can find many QL stretches on this page at Healthline, but I've found the following 3 to work best for me. Knee rolls I first started doing this stretch in yoga class 15 years ago. It is very beneficial and feels great, not just for kayaking. - Lay on your back, spread your arms straight out to the side with your palms facing down. - Bend your knees so your soles are flat on the ground. - Slowly tilt your legs down towards the ground in one direction while turning your head the other way. - Relax into the pose for a moment. - Slowly return to the starting position, and repeat the stretch in the other direction. - Repeat this 8 times in both directions. Child's pose stretch - Lower down onto your hands and knees. - Bring your hips back in the direction of your heels as far as you can. You may even be able to sit on your heels. - With your palms on the floor, stretch your arms out forward as far as possible. - Hold this pose for 15 seconds. - Walk your hands to the left and move your bumm towards the right. This should stretch your right side. - Repeat in the other direction. Side stretch This is another one from my old yoga class, which the Yogi called leaning palm tree. - Stand straight, spread your legs shoulder-width apart, and raise your arms above your head. Interlace your fingers. - From a standing position, raise your arms overhead and interlace your fingers. - Lean to the left slowly as far as you can, and return to the center position. - Repeat this in each direction 8-10 times. Hamstrings stretches The long muscles in the rear of your upper leg running from between your knee and hip are called hamstrings.

Many people have tight hamstrings. The main goal of stretching your hamstrings is to loosen them. But you need to be careful. Folding forward as you did in elementary school might be asking for trouble, as it might cause disc problems. If you're going to attempt sitting or standing forward folds, make sure you keep your spine straight. Don't go any further if you need to hump your back. A better way of stretching your hamstrings is doing so while laying on your back. This method keeps your back straight as an arrow. You will need a strap or a belt for the following hamstring stretch. - Lay down straight. - Place the strap around the ball of one foot and hold each end of the strap with one hand. - Lift your leg straight up. - Flex your foot and pull it toward yourself by simply pulling on the strap. You will feel the back of your leg stretching. - Hold this position while keeping your leg straight. - Slowly lower your leg to the ground, and repeat with the other leg. This stretch does it for me, but here are some more if you need them. Here is a video on what you can do with backpain after kayaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eHp8y45ar8 Strengthen your core muscles Many people think paddling comes from the arms and shoulders, but as you now know, correct use of the kayak paddle relies on your torso and legs. The strength of your midsection (your core) is way more important than your arm strength. There are many fancy core strengthening exercises you can do, but sticking with an old-school core workout works perfectly. If it's good enough for Nick Troutman (pro freestyle kayaker), it's good enough for me. Here are the things he does. - Crunches - Side crunches - Out-ins - Butt lifts - Leg lifts - Toes touches - Windshield wipers - Bicycles The key, just like with any exercise, is consistency. You need to work on your core several times a week to get results. Is your paddle long enough? If your kayak paddle is too short for your height, you probably bang your hands on the edge of your boat and lean sideways with your strokes. No bueno. Here is a detailed article on how to choose kayak paddles. Get proper seat cushioning When you consider that kayaking involves sitting 100% of the time, you will agree that a good kayak seat and proper cushioning are just as important as a good paddle. Proper cushioning is very important, especially in hardshell kayaks and high PSI dropstitch-floor inflatables. Take breaks Since you cannot switch positions while paddling, get out of the kayak now and then to stretch and walk around. Stay Hydrated Kayaking in the sun can cause dehydration if you don't replenish your fluids. Staying hydrated also protects the discs in your spine and gives you the energy to keep going and feel good tomorrow. The recommended daily minimum water intake for men is 3 liters (101 ounces) and 2.2 liters (74 ounces) for women. But since you're paddling in the sun all day, you need to increase this minimum level.

Is kayaking bad for your back?

Everybody's body is different. Kayaking involves sitting and rotation of the spine, which may not agree with some people and cause back issues. If you have previous back injuries or just a bad back in general, you should probably talk with your doctor or physical therapist before you start kayaking. However, using the proper paddling technique, creating good ergonomics, conditioning your core, and stretching will prevent most injuries. It is a no-impact exercise that uses smooth, controlled movements. Limiting your spinal rotation until your core is strengthened and your stretching routine is in place will help keep your back pain-free. I have lumbar scoliosis, which can act up at times. I've found that the combo of core strengthening exercises and paddling actually makes my back stronger. Of course, I am mindful of all of the ways you can avoid back pain from kayaking (as I listed above). Lifting a heavy hardshell kayak is more dangerous than paddling. If you have a bad back, getting a lighter inflatable kayak like these helps.

Conclusion

Kayaking is a very beneficial form of exercise: - It is a no-impact exercise that does not wear on your joints - It develops cardiovascular fitness - It increases strength and builds your back, torso, leg, chest, shoulder, and arm muscles However, kayaking can result in stubborn back pain if you're not careful. Take care of your body! The exercises and stretches in this article can help avoid or even overcome yak back, so you can enjoy the kayaking experience rather than worrying about back pain. Read the full article

#fitness #kayak #technique

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ncfan-1 · 6 years

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Professor Venomous vs. Roller Skates

If there is skating, there will be falling.

[Also on AO3]

As is likely obvious, I based this fic on this post that Ryann Shannon made to her Twitter.

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The list of demands had been Cosma’s idea. She occasionally had to mind her nieces for long periods of time and had found that small children responded better to having to do their chores if they were allowed to make certain demands after long enough periods of compliance. “Just be careful you spell out anything she’s not allowed to demand ahead of time. The little monsters get very unruly if they think you’ve been acting in bad faith.”

Spelling out all of the things Fink wasn’t allowed to demand had been easy—or so Professor Venomous over-confidently, he realized now, had thought. She wasn’t allowed to demand any of the foods she was allergic to, especially not shellfish (No matter how much she begged, especially considering they’d found out she was allergic to it the hard way). She wasn’t allowed to conduct an experiment in the lab unsupervised; it was going to be a few years before Fink had the kind of fine motor control that would suffer allowing her to handle some of the more delicate materials or equipment. And by no means were they ever going back to the zoo, not since that time one of the zookeepers had taken Fink for an escaped zoo animal and tried to shoot her with a tranq dart.

Venomous had instituted the list of demands a few months ago, and so far, all had gone well. If Fink did her chores, then every other weekend she was allowed to write her latest demand on the list pinned on the front of the fridge by some of the refrigerator magnets they’d picked up the last time they were in the airport. She never really demanded anything too outlandish or beyond his ability to provide. Some of it had been, dare he say it, fun. (Vandalizing that billboard in sight of P.O.I.N.T. Headquarters had been very fun.) But today?

“You… want to go roller skating,” Venomous said blankly.

Fink grinned, showing off a mouth full of big, sharp teeth. “Yes!” One of those teeth was loose, and she whistled a little when she talked.

Venomous looked at Fink. He looked at the list, then stared around the kitchen and living room of their condo, then back to Fink. “You don’t own any roller skates,” he pointed out. “And if I get you roller skates, you’ll just outgrow them in a few months.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to go buy roller skates, Boss!” Fink protested. She puffed out her cheeks, eyes narrowed slightly. “I said I wanted to go to the skating rink!”

The skating rink. Try as he might, Venomous couldn’t quite help but twitch a little at the thought of it. Not being able to let things go was, to a certain extent, just part of being a villain, but there were some things he’d probably do better to let go of. This particular thing would be easier to let go of if he simply stayed away from any and all roller skating establishments.

“I honestly don’t know where to find any skating rinks,” Venomous tried. And it was the truth. The local skating rink when he was growing up had moved to another location about ten years ago. Not being the kind of person who frequented skating rinks, and not being the kind of villain who targeted them, Venomous had never bothered to find out where the new location was.

But Fink was not to be deterred by such a thing. “I got you covered, Boss!” She whipped out her phone, typed something on it and held it out to him, grinning. “See?”

Too late, Venomous remembered that Fink’s phone had a map app on it. She’d already taken the liberty of plotting their course; the skating rink was seven miles northwest of the condo, fifteen minutes by car in present traffic. That close, huh?

For a moment, Venomous considered telling her to think of something else to do today. He considered making up some story about why they couldn’t go to the skating rink, something involving an old arch-nemesis and a run-in with the cops. But Fink had gotten to the point where she could pretty much always tell when he was lying. Cosma’s horror stories about what her nieces did when they got “unruly” loomed in the back of his mind. And most importantly, there was the bright-eyed look of anticipation on Fink’s face…

“Alright,” he conceded. “Let’s be ready to go in half an hour.”

…that Venomous couldn’t quite bring himself to mar with disappointment. Heh, that probably had something to do with why he was a Level -7 and not a Level -10 or lower. Oh, well. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

Around forty-five minutes later, Venomous was looking at the front of the skating rink through the car windshield, and already a sense of foreboding was building within him. He couldn’t really pinpoint the source. The sun was shining; what few clouds were in the sky were thin and white, rather than gray and stormy. Nothing about the building screamed “obvious trap for villains looking to go roller skating.” But still, he was getting the same feeling he’d gotten the last time he ordered a robot from Boxmore, right before the blasted thing had fallen apart after that first hit.

There weren’t as many cars in the parking lot as he had been afraid there would be. Less people meant less chances of a meddlesome hero deciding that a villainous bioengineer and his evil minion just weren’t allowed to do normal, non-villainous things in their free time. But the fact that there were less people here than he’d expected, on a weekend of all times, might be commentary on the quality of the rink itself.

And then there was the sign.

“Come on!” Fink ran out ahead of him, stopping by the black-tinted glass doors as Venomous walked at a more sedate pace behind her, staring up at the sign all the while.

‘STARDUST’ was spelled out in big, bold Plexiglas letters. The interior of the glass was coated in silvery-blue glitter which sparkled in the daytime sun. An image of a silver disco ball shimmered just below the sign.

Well, maybe it was just a holdover from the last location.

And maybe it wasn’t.

He’d been unable to hear it from outside, but once they walked inside the rink Venomous heard clearly the music blaring over the speakers. Upbeat synth-pop that he was pretty sure he’d heard over the radio or in a club sometime around twenty years ago, just a little too loud for comfort.

The next thing Venomous was struck by after he took in the music was how dark it was. The light levels would have been more appropriate for a night club where the goal was to never get too good of a look at the person you were dancing with. For a skating rink where the presence of small children was presumably not only expected but accepted, it seemed a bit… dim.

Then there were the lights over the rink itself.

It was easy to pick out the rink. Located in a massive depression in the center of the building, surrounded by guardrails (that were spaced so that an enterprising child—say about Fink’s size—could have crawled under the lowest rung, Venomous couldn’t help but notice) and accessible only by stair, it’s not like anyone could miss it. Situated at multiple points over the rink were colored spotlights that glowed dimly on the polished, gleaming wood floor. They shone the full range of the color spectrum, slowly shifting from one end to the other. And over the center of the rink, there dangled a gigantic disco ball, from which shot beams of silver light.

Disco. Venomous glared up at the disco ball. This place just had to be disco-themed.

“Boss?” Fink tugged on his hand and pointed impatiently at a desk off to the side of the rink, near a massive display rack full of sheets and safety equipment, and a row of lockers. “Check-in’s over there.”

“Alright, alright!” In spite of recent unpleasant revelations, he could still laugh. “It’s not like it’s going to grow legs and run away!”

Manning the check-in desk was a teenager who, to put it mildly, looked bored out of his skull. Boredom wasn’t on the list of things Venomous typically associated with a skating rink, but he supposed that if you came in here every day, it was bound to lose its novelty sooner or later. The teen was dressed in clothes that Venomous could only describe as a mash-up of a disco dance floor reject pile and 80s workout clothes. Sweatband and knee-high leg warmers and long, tasseled fringe and far too much polyester. Workplace uniform, Venomous supposed. Hoped.

“Welcome to Stardust Skating Sanctuary,” the teen intoned in what was honestly the most unenthusiastic tone of voice Venomous had heard since the last time he’d snuck into Gar’s bodega in disguise. Just like the cashier in the bodega, he was busy typing away on his phone, not even looking up. “How may I help you?”

“How much does it cost to rent out a pair of children’s skates?”

Without looking up, the teen pointed backwards at a sign behind him, which read “UNDER 12—10 TECHNOS. 12 OR OLDER—15 TECHNOS.” “Linda at the skates will help you get set up,” he droned, busily typing on his phone.

Without further ado, Fink headed over to the skates rack, where a woman with four eyes and six arms was waiting with a child’s foot measuring device. For a moment, Venomous considered being offended by the cashier’s visible disinterest in paying customers, but he decided to just drop it. If he had to dress like that for work every day, he’d be done with everything, too.

Venomous handed the teen his credit card and waited, staring around the rink. At the back on the left-hand side, there were a few arcade cabinets. A trio of preteens were hanging around them, two of them squaring off at a dance machine while the third looked on. At the center of the back there was a sign for the restrooms. On the right-hand side, there was a small food court with tables set up in front of it; the aroma of fresh pizza wafted over to the check-in desk. Venomous let out a quietly relieved breath. At least there’d be somewhere for him to sit and wait while Fink was skating.

“Sir?” When Venomous turned his attention back to the teen, the latter was frowning at Fink, who was still looking for skates her size while Linda helped. “If your daughter is under four feet tall, you must accompany her into the rink.”

“Fink’s not my daughter; she’s my minion,” Venomous replied automatically. Like that would help him now.

The teen opened and shut his mouth like a fish stranded on dry land. When he found his voice again, he fixed Venomous in a flat stare and told him, “If your minion is under four feet tall, you have to accompany her into the rink,” like he had already had to explain this to far too many people. “Otherwise, she can’t skate. House rules.”

He pointed off towards the rink. When Venomous saw what he was pointing at, it was all he could do not to slap his forehead in dismay.

Off by one of the stairways down into the rink, there was a cardboard cutout. The character was decked out in inline skates, helmet, knee and elbow pads, and the sort of one-piece exercise suit that should have died with the 80s. Totally without explanation, it was a badger. It was holding its right hand about four feet off the ground, and a sign next to it read, “Boris the Badger says you must be this tall to skate by yourself. If not, ask your parents to join you!”

Venomous’s gut reaction was to refuse. He knew he’d have to put on skates to go into the rink; by no means would they make him do that. Never again. Venomous didn’t like making a complete fool out of himself in public any more than the next person.

But he’d already promised Fink that she could skate. Going back on his word now would be setting one heck of a bad example for her. Villains could double-cross their enemies any day of the week; that wasn’t just acceptable, but expected (Though if your enemy happened to be powerful or influential, perhaps not the best idea). However, villains—especially very young and inexperienced ones—really shouldn’t get the impression that double-crossing their allies was a good idea, especially not over something so trivial. Villains, real villains who didn’t traffic in things like moral ambiguity, tended to have limited social circles. You needed to be careful about just what you did with your social capital.

Of course, the chances of Fink, young as she was, doing anything but scrunching her face up in confusion if he spoke to her about ‘social capital,’ were close to nil, but the principle stood. Venomous really did slap his forehead this time. “Alright,” he muttered. “One child and one adult.”

By the time Venomous made his way over to the fitting area for skates, Fink appeared to be almost done finding something that fit her. They were down to two pairs of skates.

One of which was inline.

“Not the inline,” he vetoed, before Fink could say anything. “They’re too difficult to balance on. You’ll fall.”

Fink’s red eyes opened wide in indignation. “I will not!”

“You’ve never worn skates before. The inline skates are too advanced for you. You’re not wearing them.”

Fink stuck her tongue out at him, but grabbed the quad skates and went to wait on a bench by the rink, back turned to him.

“Do you have men’s quad skates in a size 10?” Venomous asked Linda. “I’m not picky about the color.”

Linda nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem. Oh, sir? Is your daughter—“

“She’s my minion, not my daughter.”

Linda glared at him with all four eyes. “If your minion is less than seven years old, she’ll have to wear a helmet. Is she less than seven years old?”

Venomous had designed Fink to have stronger bones than nearly anyone she would ever encounter; the only reason they weren’t stronger was because his research suggested that that could lead to… problems. The likelihood of Fink ever winding up with broken bones or a skull fracture was close to zero. However, her soft tissue and internal organs were no sturdier than the average, healthy human’s. Going out on the rink without a helmet could still end poorly for her.

He weighed all that against one very important caveat: Fink’s ears. The helmet didn’t have any holes, so Fink’s ears would be completely covered, and she wouldn’t be able to hear a thing. There was also a risk of damage to her ears if they were pressed flat against her head for too long.

“She’s older than seven,” Venomous lied, and decided they’d just have to take their chances. He could stop her from taking a serious fall without much difficulty.

Linda looked less than convinced, but rather than trying to argue the point, she held out a key on a hot pink spiral bracelet. “Here is the key to a locker, so you won’t have to leave your shoes or any of your valuables out in the open. Now, if you’ll come with me, I think we can find skates for you…”

A short while later, Venomous had his skates (hot pink, again) and went over to where Fink was waiting. Well, sulking would be a better word for it. She glowered up at him when he approached. “I could’ve done it,” Fink groused, crossing her arms over her chest.

“If you do alright with the quad skates and we ever come back here, I’ll let you try them then. For now, you need to start off with something more stable.”

To show just how little she thought of that, Fink made what was, honestly, an impressively grotesque face. Venomous had seen corpses still trapped in a death rictus that were more pleasant to look at than that.

He smiled slightly. “Keep it up. Your face might stick that way.”

Fink beamed, anger apparently forgotten. “You think so?”

“Anything’s possible.”

Since another rule was that skates were not to be worn outside of the rink itself, they took their skates down into said rink. There were about thirty people using it, a near-even mix of children and adults, but the rink was large enough that it was fairly easy to find a quiet spot to sit down and get their skates on.

These are stiff, Venomous thought to himself as he struggled to get his skates on and laced. Apparently this particular pair of skates hadn’t been worn that often. That seemed a bit unlikely, considering there had only been ten pairs of skates in his size to start with, but perhaps they were new.

A faint odor of sweat clung to the cool air here, accompanied by shoe leather and a very weak pine-scented air freshener. Venomous wasn’t entirely sure how that was even possible, but the music was even louder here than it had been up above, so loud that it was making his teeth chatter. He spared a concerned glance for Fink—her hearing was much keener than the average human’s, after all—but inexplicably, she seemed unbothered. I suppose I should have her ears examined the next time we go to the doctor’s, he thought wryly.

Most of the rink was lined with a guardrail that, Venomous supposed (and hoped it was strong enough to serve the purpose), was meant to aid fallen skaters in getting back up. The only place with a break in the guardrails, asides from the access points at the stairways, was almost directly across from where he and Fink were sitting.

Painted on the wall, there was a smiling tiger dressed much the same as ‘Boris’ upstairs. Off to its left, a large sign read:

TAMMY THE TIGER SAYS SAFETY ROCKS!

Tammy’s Safety Rules:

No shouting No fighting No pushing or shoving No biting or clawing No food or drinks on the rink No use of superpowers No duels to the death No weapons ESPECIALLY no ray guns No gum

Stardust Skating Sanctuary is designated neutral territory for heroes and villains, as well as assorted sidekicks, apprentices, minions, henchmen, and robotic servants. So everyone remember to get along and have fun!

Neutral territory? Well, at least that minimized the chances of some trigger-happy hero or their trigger-happy sidekick to take a potshot at them. Venomous tapped Fink’s shoulder and pointed out the sign. “Have you read the safety rules yet?”

When Fink got to the end of the sign, she made another face, though this one looked more like she’d swallowed a lemon than done an impression of a death rictus. “Oh, not that again! So we can’t mess with any heroes even if they’re hogging the rink?!”

“Not unless you want to get kicked out—and never let back in.” Venomous smiled thinly down at her. However, if a hero tries to hassle you, I’ll hardly be angry if you give them what they gave you, and twice again.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Boss, I will,” Fink assured him.

All too soon, the moment of truth arrived. Venomous got to his feet, slowly, very slowly, clutching the guardrail in a death grip. He put as much weight as possible on his feet, willing them not to roll out from under him. Suddenly, he was finding himself inundated with a flood of memories from earlier years, none of them entirely pleasant. Ever so slowly, he began to remove his hand from the rail.

Fink, on the other hand, pushed off of the wall with all the confidence of someone who had no doubt of her success. She whirled around on her skates, cackling like someone who was plotting to take the world hostage with a doomsday weapon (One day. One day). “What were you worried about? This is easy! See me—oof!”

Of course she had fallen over. Planted face-first onto the flood, to be precise. Whoever was in charge of things upstairs loved punishing people for overconfidence, especially if they were villains. But before Venomous could even try to make his way over to her, she was right back up again, undaunted, and rocketing around on the skates.

I wonder if she even knows how to brake. But still, he smiled a little. Now, to let go of the guardrail…

He took a few tentative strides forward on the skates, careful not to stray too far from the rail. The floor must have been waxed just that morning; Venomous could see his face reflected there all too clearly, furrowed brow and clenched jaw. It was entirely too slick for his liking; every time he moved forwards, it was like trying to walk down a sidewalk coated in ice without falling over.

Venomous bit back a frustrated growl and moved away from the rail. He could walk around in go-go boots all day without a problem; why should roller skates (quad skates, too, not inline) be any different?

His first thought, after a few hesitant strokes, was that this wasn’t so bad. Certainly, it was beer than the last time, though that was hardly an achievement to applaud. With only a few minor hiccups, he could keep his balance without much trouble—this rink was level, and that certainly helped. He wasn’t going very fast—not like Fink, who was currently racing (as much as her short legs allowed) around the rink, with the other skaters scooting out of her way. Going that fast wasn’t the name of the game. Staying upright was.

This… wasn’t so bad. It was never going to be good, per se, but it wasn’t so bad.

His ankles wobbled ominously.

History taught a lesson that still held true in present day: once his ankles began to wobble, it was all over. He was not going to regain control, was not miraculously going to find himself steady again. It was all downhill from here. Still, Venomous tried to steady himself. Tried to stop, in vain.

Why did the ground always rush up to meet him so quickly, so hard? Venomous knew how the laws of gravity and inertia worked; he had paid attention in high school science classes. Still, it didn’t seem quite fair that the landing should be so unforgiving. At least he had landed flat on his back instead of landing on his face or his leg.

“You okay?” Fink called from the other side of the rink.

Venomous waved a hand weakly in her general direction. The light above shone blue, then purple, then black. “I’m fine.” The music seemed even louder than before; he nearly had to shout to hear himself over it. “Just keep on doing what you’re doing.” The silver disco ball was just barely in his field of vision. He scowled up at it, as though it was responsible for his fall.

The skates were not going to beat him. If he had to wear them, he would master them. If he could bioengineer a person like Fink, he could roller skate. Small children could do it; it only stood to reason that he could, too.

The second fall came maybe three minutes after the first.

The third fall came around thirty seconds after the second. Thrusting his arm out in front of his face was the only thing that kept Venomous from face-planting right onto the gleaming floor. This time, he didn’t get up. He really couldn’t be bothered. He just stayed where he was, lying face-down on the floor, his bones vibrating roughly in time to the music.

Before he could spend too much time enjoying his new career as a man-shaped roadblock, Fink skated over to him. Venomous could feel her poke his back cautiously. “Boss? You okay?”

“I’m dying,” he moaned.

A few more pokes followed that, more insistent. “You’re not dying,” Fink retorted. She prodded between his shoulder blades with her fingertips. “You just fell over!”

“I’m dying,” he insisted, struggling to keep laughter out of his voice and instead adopt a suitably morose tone. “Avenge me, Fink.”

“On what?” She jabbed her finger into his back. “The floor?”

Fink began to poke his back incessantly, until maintaining the ruse would have just been completely ridiculous, and, not without some reluctance, Venomous sat back up. He brushed his hair out of his face and grimaced down at her. Fink regarded him with a deliberately neutral look on her face, before that neutral look broke into a grin and she began poking his chest, hard.

Venomous batted her hand away. “Alright! Have some mercy on your creator; I’ve never taken to this as well as you have.”

Fink mimed at poking him one last time, but pulled her hand away, that grin still affixed to her face. “Have you ever been here before, Boss?”

He shook his head. “Can’t say that I have.”

It wasn’t a lie. The local rink had only been in this location for around ten years, after all. He’d never set foot in this building before today. It was good that he didn’t have to lie to her. Fink would have been able to tell, and there were some things he wasn’t ready to explain to her. When she was older, perhaps, but not now, when she still possessed a child’s black-and-white understanding of the world.

Mercifully, Fink didn’t pick up on any evasion of his. She merely raised an eyebrow and asked, “So I guess you can’t skate that great, huh?”

“I’m afraid not.” Leave aside the fact that if you wanted to learn to roller skate, there were more places to do it than just the skating rink. You didn’t often see an adult learning to roller skate on a sidewalk; outside of sports competitions and skating rinks, you didn’t often see an adult roller skating, period.

Fink regarded him in silence for a moment, before breaking into another grin. “I can show you how!”

Venomous tilted his head downwards and stared dubiously at her. “Says the girl who’s been roller skating for all of fifteen minutes.”

“I can!” Fink insisted, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re always telling me we gotta try new things. Just trust me.”

And she’d said it. There went the death knell of any chance Venomous had of just sitting this one out, clanging so loudly that suddenly the music didn’t seem so loud after all. It was not use that the ‘gotta try new things’ Fink referred to had much more to do with trying to get her to eat foods she was unfamiliar with than with anything else. With little to no confidence of his ability to stay upright, he got back to his feet. Oh, well. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. At least no one he knew happened to be at the rink today to watch him fail repeatedly.

Fink grabbed his hand in her own and set off down the length of the rink. “See?” She laughed. “It’s easy once you get the hang of it!”

It really wasn’t, but it was hardly going to hurt him to just let her have this. It wasn’t always the kid who needed to learn new things.

----------------------------------

Trying to guess how Professor Venomous and Fink would act on a “day off” was a little bit of a process. Venomous spent most of ‘We’re Captured’ in a state of deep irritation, and wasn’t exactly happy for most of ‘Villain’s Night Out’ either; his appearances in ‘Villain’s Night In’ and ‘Boxmore Infomercial’ were basically just cameos. How does he act when he isn’t irritated, when he isn’t around heroes or other villains, when it’s his “day off”, I asked myself. The answer: “…Like a dad. A dad who also happens to a villainous bioengineer.” Until we get more insight into his relationship with Fink, I stand by this.

As for Fink, I figure that she’s probably still rambunctious, but at least a bit better-behaved when she isn’t around people she hates.

#OK KO let's be heroes #Fanfic #Professor Venomous #Fink #Egregious amounts of fluff

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letterperfectmxk · 7 years

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Hi, I found your post about an equestrian exercise program really helpful. Would you still be willing to share more about your workouts in general? I don't have access to a gym, but what core and hamstring exercises would you recommend? Could you perhaps also share which stretches you use? I've tried researching things on my own but I'm unsure whether I'm really doing the right things and whether I'm performing them right. Thanks for all the good info!

(So sorry for the slow response, my school schedule has beencrazy lately!)

Hey there! so glad you found the information helpful! Sure,happy to share :) Here are some of the things in my program that my personaltrainer/fellow chiropractic student and I developed together; my programusually involves high intensity interval training because I am a runner too soendurance is one of my primary objectives. I tried to provide good alternativesif you don’t have access to a gym and wanted to give these workouts a try.

Upper body days:

1. Alternating dumbbell bench press (4 sets of 12-15 reps)--Push-ups would work a very similar muscle group

*1 minute HIIT exercise of choice in between sets*

2. Single arm dumbbell row (4 sets of 12-15 reps)-- If you don’thave access to dumbbells, I highly suggest getting some cheap resistance bands-these are a really cheap and easy alternative and can be used anywhere. You caneven hook it on your foot and do these standing. Otherwise, you can really justhold anything and increase the number of reps if the weight is low. A fullbackpack, a box with a handle, etc.

*1 min HIIT exercise of choice in between sets*

3. Ultra set: 3 rounds

-Renegade Row with push-ups (1minute): These are HARD and can be done from the knees if necessary (or shouldI say WHEN-- I have yet to be able to do this workout without ending updoing “girl push-ups”). With dumbbells, you hold them as you do a push-up,then from plank position raise one arm in a row, put it back down, and do anotherpush-up before performing a row on the other side. Without dumbbells, evenwithout weight I think this would probably still be a killer workout. if youreally want the weight you could use a circular resistance band held in bothhands so that the hand doing the row stretches the band while the hand on theground holds it, or find a heavy sturdy object around the house to use.

-Lat pull down machine (10-12 reps): This isanother one that the band would work well for-- you could loop it aroundsomething overhead, have someone hold it, or put it on a door handle and sit onthe ground. Pull down and back, drawing your shoulder blades down and together,and slowly release.

-bicycle crunches (45 seconds)

-HIIT exercise of choice (30 seconds)

Repeat x 3

Lower body days:

1. Back squat with weights (4 sets of 12-15 reps): Squats aretotally great and still effective without weight, just increase the reps. Makesure you are always squatting with good form-- there are lots of good videos onYouTube for squat form (and for all these moves)

*1 min HIIT exercise of choice between sets*

2. Single leg dead lifts: I highly suggest watching a video forproper form on these ones because they can be a little tricky, but they areINCREDIBLY effective for hamstring strengthening and require little to noweight to be effective. They are awesome for both hamstring strength andstability. As a runner, this is probably my very most important exercise. Youcan use light weights (a full water bottle, etc) once you are stable but Isuggest the first few times you do it starting out with no weight until youfeel more stable (at least, I had to at first. I fell over a good few times thefirst few weeks :))

*1 min HIIT exercise of choice between sets*

3. Ultra set-- 3 rounds

-Box jumps (1 minute): you can use anythingstable for this. A coffee table you aren’t super attached to... a chair (IF youhave it somewhere safe and sturdy), a ledge at a park... etc. Just make sureyou pick a safe height so you don’t end up whacking your shins-- that is theWORST!

-Wall sit, 30 sec-1.5 minutes depending onweight. You can challenge yourself by holding something heavy like a backpack.

-Mountain climbers (1 minute)

Options of HIIT exercises: Alternating high-low planks (core), Bearcrawls, jump rope, push ups, burpees, standing long jumps (quads andhamstrings), lunge jumps (quads and hamstrings), Squat jump (ditto), high kneesin place

Core circuit: 5rounds, all to failure with 30s, 45s, 45s, 60s rest in between rounds

1. Heels to heaven (lying leg raises driving hips off the groundand heels to ceiling)

2. Lying scissor kicks

3. Plank on elbows

4. Bicycle crunches

5. Crunches

Stretches:

My biggest thing right now as a runner is foam rollingregularly. If possible l highly suggest investing in a foamroller (I have the Proper Foam Roller which I love and you can get for as low as $22 online). Foam rolling is a really good way to loosen up tight areas without having to do a ton of crazy stretches. Others that I usually incorporate in are Pigeon stretch, Seated spinal twist put right foot flat on the floor on the outside of the left leg, use your left arm to push on the right leg until you feel a stretch), Seated wide leg forward bend (sit with legs spread as far as possible and reach forward-- make sure to keep your back straight, this one takes looots of time to get better at), and just basic hamstring, quad, and calf stretches. Another big one if your shoulders tend to roll forward at all (whose don’t, right?) is a pec opening move-- with your shoulders and elbows both at 90 degrees pointed upward, put your forearm in a doorway and move your body forward until you feel a stretch in your pec muscles.

That was a lot of information all at once haha I tried to make up for my lack of timeliness with volume of information :) Hope that is of some use to you! Thanks for the question, if you have any more please feel free to ask and I will try to get back to you quicker this time :) Hope you have a great day!

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