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#sorry for taking this in a pretty crazy direction. i just needed to get all tjis out
androcola · 1 year
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I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT MICHAEL AND HIS MOTHER NOW PLEASE
How did she react when she found out her sister had her baby boy back at the ranch?
How much did they cry when they finally saw each other again?
Did Mike do the thing where the one person falls on their knees and hugs the other person with their face against their stomach?
How awkward was that for the other three?
I think initially mike was hesitant to let aunt kate tell his mom that he was back home, because he feared that maybe his father might still be there, and thats the last person he'd ever wanna see. But I think he and lucille divorced shortly after mike left, because that was the final nail in the coffin for the already extremely strained marriage. She definitely became very very very deeply depressed when mike left, she found it hard to work or to even get out of bed some days, all she did was cry and Allen couldn't stand it. I don't think he cared about his only son being gone, they already didn't have a good relationship. Obviously. So to make it short, no, he wasn't there anymore.
I'm gonna derail this ask a little cuz I wanna talk about them more specifically 💀
I feel like whenever I talk about mike and his mom, I make it sound like they had a great relationship! They,,, didnt really. It wasn't a bad relationship! It was just ,,,kinda unhealthy and probably had some kind of an effect on him by the time he was an adult. As I mentioned before, I feel like mike wasnt exactly,,,the first?? But he was the only chikd she seemed to be able to have, so that left her to have sort of an unhealthy relationship with him and vice versa.
(She probably was also a little unstable mentally because of the past trauma of complications and the strain of her bad marriage) so she doted on him Heavily and was certainly obsessed with him, and I think he liked it as a kid! Every kid would want lots of love from their mom, but I think as he got older it started getting weirder and weirder for him and I think it put a bit of a strain on their relationship. He still loved her deeply and she was the only person he ever loved (aside from Kate and his cousins) but needless to say their relationship was not perfect at all.
But I think it was a little better when they reunited (mainly cuz he no longer lives with her, so there's no way to judge really) but I think their reunion was very much needed for the both of them! I think she got it in her head that he,,,, probably had died. He hadn't contacted her for years and I think she just went through the mourning process as if he had passed away, so to see him again was very very overwhelming on so many levels, and it was very overwhelming for him too. There was definitely lots of crying and just blubbering from the both of them
I'd say it was a little awkward for the others, but more heartwarming than anything. I think Micky especially knew it was what mike needed, because no matter what he or them could ever do for his mental health, he continued to harbor that very very deep guilt and sadness for the way he abandoned his mother. He knew the way she was, he knew it would leave her absolutely broken, and he left anyway. It probably took him forever to finally truly forgive himself.
In the end it was definitely good for the both of them, and I think she tries her best to work and repair their strange relationship snd make it better on the both of them
But we can definitely see how her instability rubbed off a lot onto him with his later relationship with micky. He became pretty obsessed and almost with micky when they still lived together. He had that same fear of losing him or being abandoned by him, but unlike his mom, he never quite showed or ever voiced it. Not until davy and peter showed up but y'all all know about that
My final conclusion, mental illness runs in the fucking family
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lovverletters · 10 months
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Yandere! Streamer x Streamer! Reader
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A/N : I'm taking a break from the bullet point format and decided to try making a drabble instead. Huuge thanks to @bloozz for giving streamer his name🌷
T/W : Streamer reader, yandere behaviour, obsessive behaviour, etc
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
"Damnit..! I lost again" He let out a defeated sigh as he watches the 'GAME OVER' screen blinking at him in an almost mocking way.
The chat of his live stream went wild upon his fifth time losing on a game that he had been playing for hours by now and yet he still hasn't been able to beat it.
"Yeahhh, thanks a lot chat! those 'L's you're spamming are definitely helpful" Micha rolled his eyes at the countless mockery his viewer was sending him. He knew it was all jokes- or at least he hope it is.
Deciding that he needed a break from the game, he cracked open a can of soda and laid back against his chair, opting to interact more with his viewers.
He had only been streaming for a few months and had gained a pretty sizeable amount of viewer and fanbase.
Bloozzclues : You should check (insert your streamer name) out! They've beaten this game multiple time and have some useful tips you can use.
"(Y/S/Name)? I've heard of them before, saw a few of their speedruns. I never understand how they manage to get that luck based glitch to work! But thanks bloozz! i'll be sure to check them out after stream" Micha replied to one of the chat and moved on to the others.
Soupispretty :(Y/S/Name) is actually watching your stream rn lol
Micha choked on his drink as he tries to contain his coughs. He almost spat out the soda onto his keyboard and it would've been a nightmare to clean it up.
Scrolling through the main page of the streaming website on his other monitor, lo and behold, the (Y/S/Name) was indeed watching his stream. Specifically, the parts where he lose to the same boss every. single. time.
He felt his cheeks reddened everytime he heard (Name) laughed or giggled at him. They wouldn't just laugh at him though, they would also insert in some advices for him to improve on which made him incredibly jittery with excitement.
(Y/S/Name) also known as (Name) has always been an inspirational figure of his when he first started streaming. To be acknowledged by his idol causes him to be so overwhelmed, he almost fainted from how fast his heart is beating.
The chimes of his subscription's notif brought him back to his senses, Micha's chats were going crazy from the streamer's trance like reaction to (Y/S/Name) stream.
Kafkaismywife : is he okay??
Peachesandcrem : bro looks possessed💀
Collecting what little composure he has anymore, Micha decided to end the stream under the guises of him being exhausted.
"Ahem.. er sorry about that guys, i think the sleep deprivation is getting to me. So, thank you all for being in this stream but I have to log off now!" He smoothly blurted out, getting back into his streaming persona.
After saying goodbyes to his viewers, he clicked the end stream button. Alone with his thoughts, Micha switches the screen back onto your stream.
He knew from then on, his adoration for you had grown into something more. Something deadly and dangerous.
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
(Name) let out an exhausted sigh as they had just finished another successful stream. They played horror games for hours and ended the stream by reacting to random clips their viewer sent via mediashare.
"I should probably take a shower and take a long nap right after.." (Name) thought.
Ping!
It was the sound of their notifications, (Name) picked their phone up and clicked on it. They were directed to their twitter where the person had messages them.
Michatwt
Hey! Thanks a lot for the advice you gave me when you reacted to my live
"Oh it's that streamer i watched earlier on stream" (Name) spoke outloud as they quickly typed out a reply.
(Name)ishere
No prob! Thought you needed some tips to beat the game haha
(Name) sent out the reply and Micha replied immediately. 'He sure is a fast typer' they thought.
Michatwt
This might sounds odd but would you be down to make a collab with me? I think it'll be more fun if you teach me on stream
They paused for a moment, thinking over their decision. (Name) have been wanting to make a collab stream before but never got to it. This would be a great opportunity to produce some new content!
(Name)ishere
Sounds good! We'll discuss about this collab later, I got something to do right now
Michatwt
Of course! See you later haha
Somewhere else, Micha was jumping out of joy and practically on his knees thanking the higher beings for this opportunity he's been given to be close to his idol, his (Name).
«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»
A/N : ending on a cliffnote because this has been rotting in my draft.
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slaybestieslay946 · 2 months
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Oh me gosh can you please do a Luke Castellan x reader fic where he’s just so head over heels for her but she’s so clueless and everyone keeps trying to get her to notice but she won’t and like they’re bests friends🤗🤗
tysm for ur request! if you don't mind I tweaked it a bit so its annabeth and percy trying to set up Luke and reader! hope you enjoy!
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KISS THE GIRL
word count: 2000
pairing: Luke Castellan x poseidon!reader
warnings: none!
a/n: Even though this is a daughter of poseidon fic, its not part of my future au! for Luke.
MASTERLIST
Percy and Annabeth were standing at the edge of the amphitheatre, talking about something mindless when they spotted you and Luke walking towards the entrance, seeming deeping engaged in conversation. 
Annabeth watched as you laughed at something Luke said and a light blush tinged his cheeks, and she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Could he get any more obvious?
“Oi, Perce,” She whispered, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” She asked, nudging him to look in the direction of the pair of you. 
“Yeah, I see my sister with Luke, what about it-” It appeared the realisation finally struck him, “Oh my god, are they-?” 
“I don’t know. He’s definitely into her, I know that.” Annabeth mused, inspecting the pair as they grabbed two wooden swords and began sparring together, laughing as they repeatedly dodged and side-stepped the other. 
“He told you that?” Percy asked, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. 
“Well, no. But it’s pretty obvious, don’t you think?” 
Annabeth then gasped in realisation, startling Percy slightly before he realised it was just another one of her epiphanies. 
“We should get them together!” 
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Isn’t that something you leave up to Aphrodite kids?” Percy asked hesitantly. 
“Battle strategy and romantic strategy aren’t all that different.” She shrugged, before dragging him off to draw up new ‘romantic’ battle plans with her. 
STAGE 1: CONFRONT LUKE
Annabeth’s strategy wasn’t all that complicated, and she was pretty certain the most difficult part would be getting Luke to admit his feelings. But, as it turns out, he cracked pretty quickly. 
“Alright, you got me.” He sighed, holding his hands up in surrender, “I do like her, but can you blame me? I mean, she’s so smart, and beautiful, and kind, and-”
“That’s enough lover boy. Cool it.” Percy said, cutting him off with a groan. As much as he had given Annabeth his blessing to go along with this crazy plan, he still didn’t want to hear Luke gushing about how hot his sister is. 
“Sorry man.” Luke chuckled awkwardly, before the pair of boys turned back to Annabeth to lead the conversation. 
“So, now that you’ve admitted it, we need to start brainstorming how we’re gonna get you guys together.” She said, clapping her hands together and producing a roll of paper, with a long list of ideas that she promptly began to read out. 
The list ranged from pretty normal things like ‘take her out on a picnic’ to insane stuff like ‘bring her a monster's head as a gift’. Luke wasn’t so sure you would be a fan of that one, but he had to admit all the other items were pretty good ideas. 
“So what do you suggest, Annie? Work our way down the list?” Luke asked, and his little sister nodded, before outlining which ones she thought would be best. 
“We should start small, you don’t wanna freak her out,” She consulted the list again, thinking to herself, “Ah, here we go, ‘Give her a compliment’.” 
“Ok, I think I can do that.” Luke grinned, his head immediately flooded with things that he loved about you. 
“Just don’t make it weird, or I’ll revoke my blessing.” Percy grumbled, his arms crossed as Luke laughed sheepishly again. 
“Will do.”
STAGE 2: START SMALL
The next week mostly consisted of Annabeth and Percy spying on you and Luke at any possible moment. 
The first of his tasks, to give you a compliment seemed to go well. The pair of preteens watched on from their spot behind a tree as the pair of you separated to go to dinner, and Luke complimented your hair. You blushed slightly, and smiled widely, before rushing off to your own table in the dining pavilion. 
Luke quickly whipped around to look at Percy and Annabeth who gave him enthusiastic thumbs ups. 
His next task was to give you a small gift, and he decided that it should take the form of the matching charm bracelets he made with the younger kids. Annabeth and Percy sat with him as he deliberated over specific colours and shapes of bead, until they were nearly sick of his equivocation. 
But, as much as watching him make it was downright annoying, Percy had to admit the way you both wore your charm bracelets everyday afterwards was pretty cute. 
The final task of the week was to bring you flowers, and that whole day Luke could be seen wading through fields of wildflowers looking for the perfect ones to add to his bouquet. This was then snuck onto your nightstand later that night by Percy, who over the course of the week had become very invested in your blossoming relationship, a fact he would deny to the ends of the earth. 
STAGE 3: ESCALATE
“Alright Luke, time to bring out the big guns.” Annabeth announced, before clearing her throat and reading the list of tasks for the week. 
‘Sit at her table during dinner’
‘At least one compliment a day’
‘One instance of arm-around-the-waist contact’
This was the point at which the Hermes boy began to get slightly nervous. The other stuff before could be pretty easily written off as friendly, but sitting at someone's table at dinner? Only couples did that. 
“Are you sure that’s not moving too fast, I mean-”
“Luke Castellan, don’t be so damn pathetic! Grow some balls, before someone else steals your girl!” Annabeth exclaimed, whacking him over the head with the list. 
He nodded, “Yes Ma’am.”
From then on, he was pretty much unwavering in his determination. He sat at your table every mealtime, slinging an arm around your shoulder, or your waist. Anytime you came up with a capture the flag strategy, he’d praise you intelligence, anytime he saw you, he greeted you with a ‘Morning beautiful’ or a ‘Hey sweetheart’. 
Annabeth and Percy were shocked with his sudden progress, but pretty impressed with the way it was going. At this point, the pair of you were practically dating. 
The only minor setback came in the form of your complete and utter cluelessness. 
Percy had decided to test the waters with you, and gently float the idea of you getting together with Luke. 
“You’ve been spending loads of time with Luke at the moment.” He remarked casually as you both walked back to cabin 3. 
“You’ve just noticed I spend time with my best friend? Well done kid.” You laughed, ruffling his curly blonde hair. 
“That’s not what I meant.” He rolled his eyes, ducking out of your grasp. 
“Then what did you mean?” You asked, hands on your hips, a confused expression on your face. 
“I meant like, you guys being ‘involved’.” He shrugged, trying to make it sound as nonchalant as possible while looking out for your every reaction. He was unreasonably invested at this point, but oh well. 
“What?!” You exclaimed, your voice suddenly going higher pitched, “Nah, no chance! Luke would never.” 
Percy had to stop his jaw from dropping to the floor. It would’ve made sense if you denied having feelings for him, but to be so oblivious of how whipped that boy was for you? He thought you were smart. 
“Yeah, sure. I guess so.” He shrugged once again, before swiftly changing the subject. 
STAGE 4: KISS THE GIRL!!
“Guys, we have a problem.” Percy said, bursting in on Luke and Annabeth’s conversation the next morning. 
“What?” The pair asked in sync, concerned expressions on their faces. 
“Y/N is an idiot.” 
“Woah, don’t say that about her-” Luke began, desperate to defend your honour, but was cut off by Annabeth’s harsh glare. 
“What do you mean, Perce?” She asked, her tone level. 
“Luke, man, she has no clue you like her. Like she is convinced it’s impossible.” Percy explained, and Annabeth’s expression also grew confused. 
“Gods, she really is dumb.” She sighed, ignoring Luke’s chiding at insulting you, “We’re gonna have to really turn it up a notch. Luke, it’s time to really bring out the big guns.”
For the next few days, Luke, Annabeth and Percy spent most of their time rushing around preparing for Annabeth’s so-called ‘masterstroke’. 
And then, after much hard work from the trio, it was ready, and Luke was whisking you away from the campfire to the surprise he had prepared for you. 
“Luke, where are we going?!” You laughed as he dragged you along by the wrist, a piece of cloth tied around your head to block your vision. 
“You’ll see.” He chuckled, gently directing you around a tree root as he led you deeper into the forest. 
“I swear, if you’re kidnapping me I am not going to be happy.” You teased that infectious smile he loved so much covering your face. 
“No, no kidnapping tonight.”
You continued to joke around together as he led you towards his destination, until eventually you came to a halt, and he was untying the cloth around your face. 
You gasped in delight as you saw you were by the pier, and in front of you was a picnic blanket set up with all of your favourite food and drink. 
Immediately you grabbed him by the arm and led him to the blanket, thanking him all the way and gushing about how sweet and amazing he was. Meanwhile, Luke was trying not to pass out from the barrage of affection you were giving him. 
The pair of you quickly tucked into the meal, laughing and joking. But all the while, Luke was preparing his confession, and trying not to let his palms get too sweaty. 
Eventually, he decided it was time, and he made his move. 
“Y/N?” 
“Yeah?” You looked up at him with shining eyes, and he had to remind himself to breathe. 
“I’m in-” His love confession was cut off by the sudden boom of fireworks above you both, and he silently cursed himself for forgetting to organise a signal with Annabeth to start them. She really did have bad timing sometimes. 
“Oh my gods! Fireworks!” You exclaimed, nudging Luke to take a closer look, pointing out which ones were your favourites, and clearly any speculation about what Luke was going to say had escaped your mind. 
Eventually the display was over, and you turned to him yet again, gushing about how lucky they were that fireworks were out tonight. He couldn’t help but wonder how someone usually so smart could be so clueless?
“I organised the fireworks, Y/N.” He said, softly, placing his calloused hand over yours. 
“What, really?!” You blinked owlishly at him for a moment before furrowing your brows and asking, “Wait, how come?” 
Luke couldn’t contain his chuckle. 
“Isn’t it obvious by now? I’m in love with you. I’ve been trying to hint at it for weeks, but clearly I wasn’t being obvious enough.”
“What? Why?” You stammered, shock coating your face entirely. 
“Why am I in love with you?” He asked as if it was a stupid question, which to him it was, because he could list a million things that he loved about you. 
“Because you’re beautiful, and smart, and kind, and generous, and every time I see you I can’t help but smile because you're my best friend and I love you more than anything.” He rambled, wiping his slightly clammy palms on his cargos. 
“Now I’d really appreciate it if you’d put me out of my misery and reject me.” He said sheepishly, itching the back of his neck. 
But, of course, the rejection never came. Instead you were rushing forwards to hold his face in your hands and kiss him, slowly and deeply. 
And, about ten metres away, Annabeth and Percy could be seen high-fiving behind a tree, before skipping back to the campfire in glee.
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ryuluvr · 2 months
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needy. (wlw, smut)
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warnings: softdom!ryu, sub!reader, mommy kink, thigh riding, praise, slight begging, orgasm permission.
summary: reader is horny as hell but is shy when it comes to asking ryujin to help them out. (requested, tysm!!)
word count: 1000
( not proof read, ends as quick as it starts tbh, just wanted to get something out after such a long break! )
you adjusted yourself on the edge of your double bed, crossing one leg over the other as your eyes settled on ryujin across the room. she was gaming at a desk, the game irrelevant to you in this moment. this woman looked good, too good. and no matter how hard you fought it, all you could think about was her touching you, her slender fingers exploring every inch of your soft skin. you left the room more times than you could count to try and occupy yourself and distract your dirty mind, but of course it was no use. you needed her, desperately, but asking for that felt beyond embarrassing for someone as shy as you.
a deep sigh escaped your lips once you reached the living room, throwing yourself down on the nearest couch and immediately zoning out. cleaning wont help, listening to music wont help, nothing you try will take fucking ryujin out of your head.
“hey, you okay?” immediately you snap back to reality, ryujin chuckling at the sight of you just sitting there in silence. in a poor attempt to clear your mind you shake your head and smile up at her sweetly. you didnt even hear her walk to you.
“i’m good, sorry!”
“you look like you got a lot on your mind… stressed, baby?”
“no- nothing like that, dont worry.”
ryujin quickly makes herself comfortable beside you on the couch, her eyes scanning every inch of your face which immediately made you feel hot. her hand reaches for your thigh and she gives it a light squeeze, frowning at your silence.
“talk to me, baby. what’s wrong?” her eyes were practically burning into your skin and it was unbearable. as you glanced in the opposite direction, your cheeks flushed a deep pink shade, embarrassment completely taking over you. as much as you didnt want to admit it, you thought maybe its time. she was not going to let you leave until you told her.
to your surprise, ryujin took your chin gently between her thumb and finger, turning your head to face her. “baby.” she spoke once more, this time much lower, her voice barely audible. something had switched up inside her and it was obvious to you.
“i just… i dont know… i just keep thinking about you.” you matched the other woman’s tone, soon biting down on your bottom lip due to the nerves.
ryujin understood within seconds. she always does. “you want me, pretty?” she began, “want some attention?”
her voice was enough to make you go weak, nodding without giving it a single thought. she quietly asked you to stand up before pulling off your panties and letting your skirt fall to the floor shortly after. ryujin lightly tapped her thigh with the hand previously holding your face. you wasted no time, immediately positioning yourself on her thigh and letting her soft lips teasingly brush against your neck. you grip onto her shoulders to keep yourself up as a slight whimper escapes you. ryujin started by trailing multiple kisses across your neck and up to your jawline, her hands rubbing your back lightly from under your top.
you were still, yet could still feel how wet you were against her thigh. ryujin was wearing shorts, so the skin on skin feeling was driving you beyond crazy. her lips claimed yours in a desperate kiss, eventually disconnecting when she slipped your top off and over your head, her fingers immediately working at your bra to remove that too. a gasp left your lips when you felt ryujins tongue trace along your nipples, flicking them enough to make you whine loudly.
“ryu, please…” you could barely think, and your cheeks showed no sign of cooling down. she paused to press a gentle kiss to your lips instead, her right hand brushing your hair out of your face. it was little things like that which made you melt.
ryujin’s hands gripped onto your hips and began guiding you on her thigh causing a soft moan to escape you. you continued grinding against her and your clit was throbbing more with every passing second. you dragged your soaked folds against ryujin’s skin, your nails practically digging into her shoulders to keep yourself upright.
“does it feel good, baby?” ryujin asked, her warm breath tickling your ear, “you like getting off on mommy’s thigh, hm?”
your entire body shuddered at her words, your pace quickening as you desperately tried to chase an orgasm.
“ah- i do!” a series of moans and whimpers filled the room as you continued grinding against ryujin’s thigh, one hand running up to squeeze your breast. “mommy, ‘m so close.. fuck, it feels so good..”
a devilish smirk appeared across ryujin’s face as she tensed her thigh, sending immense waves of pleasure to your needy cunt. her grip on your soft hips tightened as she kept planting sloppy kisses to your lips and neck.
“have i told you that you can come baby?” ryujin asked, her tone even lower than before. your head dropped as your body twitched over her, needing to stop yourself before you came without her permission. you didn’t care if it was embarrassing, you needed release.
“please ryu- fuck, please mommy! please can i cum? i need it!” you begged, pathetically whining into the crook of her neck. she waited a few moments as if to torture you before quietly agreeing. “cum for me, angel, let it out.”
your hips didn’t hesitate to pick up the pace once more, only taking a matter of seconds to reach your climax. your pornographic moans and loud squeals filled the room as you made a mess all over ryujin’s thigh, desperately rubbing your overly sensitive clit against her soft skin until you felt your whole body go limp on top of her.
ryujin instantly wrapped her arms around your waist and held you close, pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek as you came down from such a high.
“feel better, baby?” she whispered before pulling you further onto her lap, your cheeks flushing a deep pink shade. you nodded as if to say yes and cuddled up to the other woman, smiling through the gentle kiss you pressed against her lips.
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sukunas-wife · 2 months
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hhey, I accidentally came across your channel and read everything that was there, it's too good. could you write a story about how Yuji grows up? how he starts fighting with opponents or something like that :D?
I suck at writing fighting I’m sorry 😭 I’m terrible honestly so I did it in a different way I apologize in advance 🥺🤍
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Yuji growing up UNDER SUKUNA IS CRAZY because 1 Ryomen’s cursed presence is so strong that Yuji’s cursed energy happened to be tied up all cute and pretty with a little cursed energy ribbon made of Sukuna’s cursed energy.
The integration of the two led Yuji to be able to use Malevolent Shrine
🥹 Made his daddy proud the day the three of you were outside and someone tried to ambush your little family, Yuji’s eyes widened seeing his dad calmly bring his hands together “Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine.”
The world flashed before Yuji’s eyes with the sound of a bell and drip. It was after that moment when everything was clear little ⅘ year old Yuji pushed his hands together mimicking his father trying to be cool “Domain expansion! Malevolent Shrine!”
Neither you nor Sukuna expected it to work, until it did-
There was Sukuna protecting you from Yuji’s unstable barely registering domain. After everything was said and done. The two of you couldn’t help but look at each other. “Did… did he” Sukuna let you go, “Yuji..”
Yuji ran at his dad with the biggest smile, screaming “did you see that!? Did you!? Did you!?” When Sukuna picked him up, throwing him up into the air, “I did! We need to talk about your little domain.”
That’s where he started his training under his father because he knew no one else could train him as well as he could. It evolved to Yuji being able to use his own energy in fighting. It was the cutest thing seeing your son's little fist while he punched away at some poor little punching bag with his father there mocking him to get him angry to put more curse behind his hits.
“Aw, this sack of sand too much for you brat? Move- I’ll show you how to really put some curse behind it.”
Yuji watched how his dad pinned the punching sack to post and took a fighting stance, in his eyes he could see the red cursed energy glowing skeins his fathers fists and when he struck it was over. The post and sack were nothing, “I WANNA DO THAT!”
It was a beautiful and cursed sight, Ryomen Yuji, (the name changes based on how my brain works I’m sorry 🥹) , he had softer features, but he had developed similar markings to his father. The only thing keeping him from being his father was the vast size difference. He had even taken to using a robe similar to his dads older style.
Ryomen Yuji wasn’t a tyrant, but if he turned out, he very much could be just a cruel man as his father.
Especially when Jujutsu Sorcerer started to trail after him thinking if they could kill the son the father would bend.
They laid corrected in their own pools of blood.
His first solo fight was when he had turned 15 and he asked if he could go to the town to gay a few things of his own. You were weary feeling something was bound to happen, Sukuna pulled you into his side assuring you there is no doubt in his mind Yuji would be able to take care of himself, he would know, he trained him for the last eleven years.
So you let him leave, he was surrounded not too soon before reaching the village, “IT'S RYOMEN SUKUNA!”
His eyes were quick to move around the group “FOOL THAT'S NOT RYOMEN SUKUNA THAT'S-… even better, Ryomen Sukuna may be a monster but even then this boy looks well enough to know someone has to give a damn about him, we need to restrict him.”
There was Yuji imbuing his cursed energy into his fists, it was a scene to watch how he could punch through a man's chest like silk tofu. How easily he could take a man’s head in his hand digging his fingers into their back around their spine to separate them entirely.
He was ágile, being attacked from both sides by men with cursed tools. Blades on chains, swinging in opposing directions grazing his chest and back as he turned to doing his best to avoid them, he took one chain wrapping it around his hand and turning his back to that man pulling the chain I’ve this shoulder sending the man flying into the air. He turned facing the second who was still running at him catching him by taking his face in his hand and crushing his face in , taking the 2nd man’s blade he spun the chain around before slinging the blade at the falling sorcerer piercing his skull leaving him to fall dead to the ground. He carried on with brute force until another wave of Sorcerer's came, he was huffing but he was thrilled, every year of training, every technique and day spent bleeding, fighting and pouring every ounce of energy and raw brute strength and cursed energy.
“Domain Expansion” it felt like time froze, “Malevolent Shrine.”
Yuji’s domain wasn’t as vast as his fathers, but was equally intimidating. There he stood on the pile of skulls in front of the shrine, hands pressed together, “You will see true power.”
It felt like the domain shook when he uttered the simple word “..cleave…” It was a sure hit taking out every living being in the area.
—- —- —- —-
But of course, like father, like son. When Sukuna was going to leave you to go tend to “business” Yuji begged to go, leaving you home with Anya and for a girls week which turned to a girls month.
During this month your boys had learned one thing in battle, they could merge their domains in a way no one else would ever be able to.
Sukuna had heard rumours of some prestigious clan that wanted his head, and if its head they wanted, he decided he’d personally deliver it personally into their city and into their pathetic little lives. Why wait for the fight to come to his home and put his little family at risk when he could go to the fight and strike while the steel is hot and brittle.
That was until Yuji started to beg to go, no matter how many times Sukuna would tell him no he would persist he go with his father. Finally after talking to you, and even when you didn’t want to let him go, Yuji begged and begged using his little puppy eyed beg you caved and said if either of them came back hurt or didn’t come back at all you would remarry and forget about both of them. It was a bluff but the jealousy was enough to make Sukuna squint at you before whacking Yuji on the back of his head lightly, “Let’s go brat, the sooner we get this done the sooner we come back home and your mother won’t roll in her grave.”
Still Sukuna pulled you into him by your waist and kissed you making Anya and Yuji exaggeratedly “eewww” before he left.
They warped quickly now that Sukuna was in a snappy mood, “pfft, remarry, that woman couldn’t find a man worth one of my- oh?”
It was as if the invasion was anticipated, Sukuna used a lower arm to push Yuji behind him, “Stand back brat, I said you could come, I never said you could fight.” It was an instant, every archer and swordsmen surrounding the two had either been cleaved or lit a light. ”Now we’re really going to have some fun.”
Yuji trailed after his father watching how he barreled through everything and everyone with no regard, his actions were quick and precise. He made their way straight to the centre of the shinden-zukuri with ease. Yuji was astounded, his father would always make minimal movement with maximum damage, but this was different, he was just showing off. They were surrounded and the room was suffocating with the large amounts or pressure from cursed energy flowing. He backed up to Sukuna, and they stood back to back, Yuji was ready to fight, Sukuna was amused and having the time of his life, he would win and there was no doubt in his mind. The two fought in a way that reminded Sukuna of the day you fought by his side. A side of you not even his children would ever know. They danced in circles, taking life after life until they were forced closer, as if they had the same unspoken idea both of them expanded their domain not letting the other know.
The world shook in the wake of the combined domain, the humans witnessing the ethereal domain would die without fail.
The shrines combined to make a full size Sanmon gate, strikingly similar to the former shrine. The only difference was that Sukuna stood there like the god Vishnu, Two hands holding his domain symbol just above Yuji’s height level, the other two holding his tools up and on display, Yuji was a step below him with hands in the matching domain form. The two shared a single brain cell in that moment, “Malevolent Temple.”
It had no barrier, it turned into an open space, the hits were guaranteed. In the end when every living thing in the vicinity was reduced to nothing and the domain closed, it came to show even the former shinden-zukuri has been reduced to dust on the ground.
What he would’ve stretched over days of fun they had completed in mere seconds. But now that his eyes had been opened to this new found power he was intrigued and needed to know more.
This led to Sukuna dragging Yuji around with him to test the limits of their new found glory for weeks until he finally allowed Yuji to return home. You weren’t frantic when they returned because Uraume had calmed your beating heart once a week with the messenger birds you had begged him to take along. But you were scared because Sukuna did not slip into bed as he usually would, instead he scooped you up, threw you over his shoulder and brought you outside with him, “Let’s go woman.” Was all you heard as you were shaken awake and met with the morning's cold air, “kuna, love, I’m so tired.”
You felt Sukuna land a smack on your rump, “Just five minutes and I’ll carry you back.” You did your best to look back at him and you caught him looking back at you with a smug smile, “fine.”
He sat you on the steps to your home, where you saw Yuji, he had that look of excitement, his eyes were gleaming the way they would as a child when he’d see his father use a new technique.
“Mom! Mom! You’re going to love this!” You smiled as Sukuna rubbed his thumb over the back of your hand letting it slip from his hold as he made his way back to Yuji.
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Tag List: Permanent because this doesn’t feel very squishy 🥺
@sakuxxi @mercymccann @certainduckanchor @najiiix @bakugou-katsukis-wife @amitiel-truth @souyasplushie @mylovelessnightmare @ynjimenez @dolliira @princessluvz
@simpforyoubitch @domainofmarie @ilovemybabies378 @anyaswlrd @cyder-puff
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goosita · 5 months
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I LOVE your writing I get so excited when you post! Could you write something about rivals taking Billy’s Girl and him going CRAZY till he gets her back? And then the comfort after that🥹
ooo ough oh my god he would go insane like i truly mean he would level an entire city for you if he had to
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the moment he finds you in the back of the house, bound to a chair and gagged, his emotions begin a war inside of him. he’s so filled with rage that his hands shake and his teeth with ache in the morning from clenching them so hard. blood is splattered across his shirt, flecks drying on his cheek from the men he’d gunned down and fought just to get in here, and here you finally were.
he lost track of how many rounds he’d fired. all he knows is that he’d dropped several bodies. if he counted, he would realize he’d taken out the entire gang who had plotted to take you and hold you for ransom with the eventual goal to turn in the famous outlaw. there was no way in hell billy would ever let that happen; he’d lay his life down in a heartbeat to keep you safe and sound.
“baby,” he breathes, voice trembling. he rushes over and makes quick work of untying you, releasing the handkerchief tied around your mouth to keep you quiet.
“oh, baby i’m so sorry,” he murmurs, pulling you into his arms. he can feel you shaking like a leaf, but you hug him so tight he thinks his ribs might crack; not that he’d care anyway. “i should have been faster, i should have known sooner that you—“
“shhh, billy. i’m okay. i’m fine, you’re here,” you soothed, clinging to him. he can feel your fingers digging into his back hard enough to bruise. he hopes they do, honestly. he wants any mark you leave on him.
“m’gonna get you home, okay? never gonna let you out of my sight. never, you hear me?” he shrugs off his outer flannel shirt, dressing you in it and pulling you in again to press a long and lingering kiss to your forehead. billy keeps you tucked into his side, leading you to the front door.
“i need you to close your eyes, darlin’,” he says, stroking your hair. “don’t want you to see…any of this. okay?” he doesn’t want you to see any of the trail of gore he’s left. you’re too sweet, too innocent to ever be subjected to the sight of such violence.
you nod and squeeze your eyes shut, but as he leads you outside, the sharp metallic scent of blood hits your nose and you suddenly understand just why exactly he doesn’t want you to see. things had gotten very intense, you knew this. billy was a dangerous man. he had been since the day you met him, but it never bothered you. you weren’t even sure if it bothered you now, when he was so kind and gentle with you.
he helped you up onto his horse and climbed on behind you, slipping his arms around your waist and clicking his tongue to get the animal to turn and head the other direction. after a few minutes, you felt his nose nudge your shoulder.
“you still got those eyes closed?”
you nodded, leaning back into his chest even more.
“you can open ‘em now, pretty girl. nothing bad to see out here,” he promises, kissing your cheek. your eyes flutter open and the sky above is a deep navy blue, clouds just beginning to glow with the promise of a sunrise.
“never gonna let anything bad happen to you ever again, i promise. i’m so sorry,” he whispers. you shake your head and turn to glance up at him behind you. billy stops his horse and drops one of the reins, lifting his hand to hold your chin gently.
“it’s okay, billy. i’m okay. you got there just in time,” you assure him. your eyes scan his face, now noticing the dried blood in a splash pattern on billy’s jaw. the way his bright blue irises looked stormy still, the tension in his body still tight. his thumb caresses your bottom lip, his face softening.
he looked down at you for a long moment before dipping his head, resting his forehead against the back of your shoulder. your violent man, your outlaw, your gunslinger. william h. bonney, billy the kid, wasn’t afraid of anything. that’s what most people assumed; but he was terrified of anything happening to you, his sweet angel. his darling girl who kept him sane.
“billy?” you whispered. you felt him hum, his chest vibrating against your back. “take me home.”
and so he did.
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avatar-anna · 8 months
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I was thinking you could do a “5 times y/n told Harry she was pregnant” for the young!dad series !! That would be so interesting especially since in the last piece you mentioned that Harry already had a feeling she was pregnant before she even told him
The Thing About Having Six Kids
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so i got this ask and a couple others that were kind of about the kids' birth/pregnancy a while ago, and went with five different instances about each kid in the youngdadrry universe. it's all surrounding their birth, finding out about pregnancies, etc. enjoy!
Young Dad! Harry x Young Mom! Reader
Simone
(a text conversation between Harry and Y/n)
Y/n: i'm pregnant
(one day later)
Y/n: Harry?
Harry: Are you sure?
Y/n: i'm sure
Y/n: i have four different pregnancy tests to prove it
Harry: I don't know what to say.
Y/n: the 24 hours it took you to respond kind of told me that
Harry: I'm sorry about that. It's just...a lot
Y/n: it's fine i guess. at least you finally responded.
Harry: Did you think I wouldn't?
Y/n: honestly? yeah. it's not like we're married or in love or anything. you don't even live in the same country as me
Harry: What are you going to do?
Harry: I know but I wouldn't just like disappear on you
Harry: I was just shocked that's all
Y/n: idk. i'm still trying to figure out a way to tell my parents
Harry: Shit my parents!
Y/n: that's kinda where i'm at right now
Y/n: but i think i want to keep it
Y/n: the baby
Y/n: fuck that sounds crazy to say. i have physics homework due tomorrow but let me stop and make a life altering decision really quick about whether i want to have a baby or not
Harry: I'm sorry. You know...
Y/n: for getting me pregnant? knocking me up? putting a bun in the oven?
Harry: It seems too early to joke about this
Y/n: it's keeping me from freaking the fuck out at the moment
(ten minutes later)
Harry: I want to talk about this properly and figure this whole thing out but I have to go
Y/n: please don't feel obligated or anything. this was just a courtesy
Y/n: i don't expect anything from you. i get it if your management wants you to delete my number and never see me again. i just thought you should know.
Harry: What are you talking about?
Harry: Y/n?
3 missed calls from Him <3
Collette
"Let's have another baby."
Y/n was close to nodding off, so it was very possible that she was dreaming. She looked behind her. It was dark in the bedroom, but Harry was close enough that she could see him, could see that his head was propped on his elbow so he could look down at her.
"What did you say?" she asked, because she needed to be sure.
"I...I want another baby," he said, voice soft even though they were the only two people in the room. Simone was fast asleep in her own bedroom, tuckered out after a long day of playing at the park and eating ice cream and fingerpainting with Harry. Now that One Direction was officially on hiatus, it was just the three of them—Y/n, Harry, and Simone. Y/n thought it would take some getting used to, living a relatively normal life. But their little family actually fell into it quite easily.
Perhaps a little too easily.
"Say something."
Y/n hadn't realized she failed to respond, but to be fair, that was a pretty big bomb her husband just dropped. Her husband. They'd been married for a few months now, but it still felt surreal, which was probably why the idea of having another baby felt too far from reality to comprehend.
"I just...I don't know what to say," Y/n said honestly. "I—I'm not sure we're ready for that."
"We weren't ready the first time," Harry said when Y/n finally flipped on her other side to face him. This seemed like a conversation he really wanted to have, so she thought facing him would probably be best. "I just think this might be the time, you know? I don't have an insane schedule anymore, there's no more management to say that we can't, and I've always thought about giving Simone a sibling. Don't tell me you've never thought about it."
"I...I have," Y/n said.
She did think about more kids. As young as she and Harry were and as impossible as their relationship seemed at times, Y/n couldn't help but think about wanting more. She loved Harry, and she'd been loving these moments they'd been able to share as a proper family recently. Harry was right, if they wanted to have another baby, now would be the time.
"Tell me what you're thinking," he said as she felt more than saw his hand push some hair away from her face.
"What happens when you start working again?" Y/n asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I know you, H," she said. "And I love you. Everything about you. And one of the parts that make you who you are is the music. This...this little bubble we're in, I love it too, but I know you'll want to go back to it someday. And then you'll go on tour for ten months, and I'll be alone to raise two kids by myself for a majority of the year."
It was harsh, but she trusted him enough to take it. This was the thought that always held her back. Y/n thought about the possibility of expanding their family on more than one occasion, especially in recent weeks when things have been practically perfect. But the reality was that Harry would want to go back to work. She knew, maybe better than anyone, the desire he had to make his own music, to create and write in ways he couldn't while in the band. And perform. Harry loved to perform live. Y/n knew that this time spent with just their family was fleeting, and she cherished every minute of it, the same way she knew Harry did. It was only a matter of time before he went back to work, and she wasn't sure she could raise Simone and a newborn without him.
"That's...That's all over now," Harry said. When Y/n tried to protest, he continued on. "What I meant to say was, the ridiculous schedules, the strict rules about when we can and can't spend time together, the separate hotel rooms. Mama, things can be different now."
"But management—"
"I bought out my contract," he said. "I haven't really given it much thought in a while because I just want to be present with you and Simone, but I've got a few people in mind for new managers. People who will prioritize our family."
This was certainly news to Y/n. It was hard to talk about Harry's management or the harsh thumb they pinned him under, so oftentimes it was a topic they avoided. Hearing him say this now, knowing how much money it would've taken to buy out his contract...that was a huge deal. As far as she knew, the other boys were just sticking with it until the contracts were finished. But Harry went and did what Y/n didn't even think was possible.
"Our family," Y/n repeated, and for a moment, she could see it. The three of them becoming four. It was crazy to think about, to think so far ahead into the future, but Y/n wasn't scared by it.
"Let's have another baby," Harry said again.
Looking at him, Y/n's heart squeezed in her chest. He'd been growing his hair out for a while now, and it was long enough that it reached just passed his shoulders. She loved it, thought it made him look older, more mature. And okay, hot. And Simone loved it too. She loved braiding it and putting bows and flowers in it or just twisting it around her finger. His shoulders were broad and lean, though he'd put on a little muscle in his arms from doing handiwork around the house, something he claimed he loved to do even though Y/n had heard him curse from another room while he worked on his latest project.
She looked at his face, the one that looked so different yet so similar to the one she'd met when she was seventeen. She wondered what those teenagers would think of the people they'd become, of the things they'd seen and experienced.
She thought about it. The baby-to-be. It would have Harry's eyes and smile, her nose and hair color. If it was a girl, she could wear matching outfits with Simone, if it was a boy...Well, they could maybe still match. Y/n thought about all the baby clothes—the adorable little onesies and shoes and mittens to keep the baby from scratching their face while they slept. She didn't let herself think of the late nights and sore boobs and dirty diapers. In this moment, she just thought about all the good feelings, every perfect moment that could be.
"You promise things will be different? I can't—I can't do it alone," she said, needing to hear him say it again.
Harry didn't try to kiss her, he didn't put his hands on her waist or pull her to his chest—all tactics he would normally use to distract her. This conversation was too serious, too important, and she loved him all the more for understanding that.
"I promise, Y/n," he said, taking her hand in his and squeezing it. "I will never make you regret living this life with me."
"That's not what I—"
"I know, but I just...I needed to say it."
He needed to make that promise to her, to himself. Life had not been easy, and Y/n knew Harry blamed himself for a lot of the hardships they faced.
"I don't," she said, kissing their joined hands. "And I won't. Ever. "
Harry grinned, and Y/n could tell even in the dark that his gaze was a little watery. Still, he inched forward and said, "So...?"
Y/n leaned forward and kissed him, her leg slotting between his. "Let's have another baby."
Maeve and Jules
"I'm sorry, did you just say twins?"
"I did. I'm seeing two heartbeats here. See?" The doctor said, pointing at the monitor she'd been observing closely the last five minutes.
Y/n couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. It was one thing to be pregnant (again), but an entirely different one to be pregnant with twins. "That's—"
"Amazing," Harry breathed.
Y/n turned her head away from the monitor to look at her husband, whose eyes were glued to the screen with a look of wonder in them. As she'd begun to process her own feelings about housing not one but two babies in her belly for nine months, she hadn't really considered how he might feel about it.
Looking at him now, she could tell he was ecstatic.
Y/n was still panicking a little, but seeing the elation on Harry's face was comforting. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it hard, needing to feel the warmth of his palm to ground her.
"Hey," he said softly, bending down to kiss the top of her head. "This is a good thing. Unexpected, but good."
"I know," Y/n said, letting out a shaky breath. "I know it's just...a lot. I mean...twins?"
"Nothing we can't handle," Harry said, kissing her cheek.
His confidence was reassuring. Maybe he was freaking out on the inside and not letting it show for her sake, but Y/n felt better about the situation at hand and was ready to continue with the appointment.
To the doctor, she said, "Are they healthy?"
The doctor smiled warmly. "They are. It looks like one of them is about a week behind, but that's nothing to worry about."
"Really? They're twins. That doesn't seem possible," Harry said, his brow furrowing adorably.
"It's rare, but it is possible. Fraternal twins can be conceived as much as twenty-four days apart," the doctor said.
Y/n understood perhaps a split-second before Harry, but when he did, he turned as beet red as she felt. The doctor didn't seem to mind their embarrassment, though she'd probably seen all sorts of couples and situations. Y/n imagined there wasn't much that the doctor hadn't seen before.
The appointment wrapped up pretty quickly after that. Harry snuck out of the hospital through a separate door while Y/n set up her next appointment. She met him in the staff parking lot, where he was standing by the passenger door to help her in. Harry gave her a quick kiss before closing her in and walking around to the driver's side. As he drove, Y/n was thinking about a number of things—twice the amount of clothes, twice the amount of crying, twice the amount of diaper changes. She was excited at the prospect of having a baby. It was a conversation she and Harry had before they started trying, but the idea of twins was a lot to wrap her head around.
She looked at Harry, wanting to ask how he felt now that they were alone, but she stopped herself.
Harry had one hand on the steering wheel, the other covering a wide grin. He was blushing a little too, and Y/n couldn't help but ask what had him smiling like an idiot.
"I'm trying to figure out which times," he said.
"What do you mean which—Are you kidding? Which times we conceived the twins?"
"Aren't you curious?" Harry asked. "Twice, babe. I put a baby in you twice. I mean, one of them had to be when we were on the yacht, right? I always feel good after we have sex, but I feel like we really outdid ourselves there. Clearly."
Y/n just looked at her husband in shock. "You are..."
"What? It's cool!" Harry insisted, but he was laughing too. "And it takes the edge off a little. Come on, you try."
So he was more nervous than he was letting on. That was comforting in its own way too, but Y/n appreciated his attempts to lighten the mood. They could have a serious conversation later, but for now it was fun to just forget all of that. Just for a moment.
Y/n gave him a dry look, trying to appear like she wasn't impressed until she eventually rolled her eyes and smiled. "Mm...I agree with the yacht, and...when you came back from London."
"Really?" Harry asked, more curious than surprised.
"Yeah," Y/n said with a little sigh as she remembered the night in question. "That was a good night."
It was one of those rare occurrences where Simone was in her own bed and Collette managed to sleep for more than a couple hours. They'd spent the whole night catching up and giggling like idiots and kissing and enjoying the pleasure of being truly alone with each other. Y/n loved those moments with Harry, where everything was just so simple and easy and it was just them having a little fun. They definitely should've been catching up on sleep while they could, but neither of them wanted to, so they stayed up with tired smiles and slurred movements until they heard Collette's cries through the baby monitor.
"It was. We should do that again sometime," Harry said. Taking Y/n's hand, he kissed the tops of her knuckles.
"You just want to go for triplets," Y/n teased, even though she knew that wasn't what he meant.
"I'm not that crazy," he said, but his smile told her he was thinking about the possibility. Maybe just a little. "I'm excited for this."
"Yeah? What do you think? Boys? Girls? A boy and a girl?"
Harry shrugged. "Our track record would suggest girls, but..."
"You never know," Y/n finished for him.
Geneva
"We have some pretty big news to share."
Once a month, the Styles family held a Zoom call with their friends and family who were scattered across the globe. Since lockdown began, there was a lot of adjusting—online school, not being able to go to the park to play, being at home all day. It was a lot for everyone, but Harry and Y/n did their best to make the adjustments smoother. And when they needed a break, they set up the monthly Zoom calls.
They were mostly just to catch up. Once all the children went to sleep, Harry and Y/n stayed up late talking to other adults about everything and nothing, maybe even played a different drinking game or two to round out the night before they went back to being parents. Tonight was a special night, though.
Multiple faces looked at Harry and Y/n expectantly through their computer screen. Both of them were sporting big smiles as Y/n leaned on Harry's side, one of his older sweatshirts covering her body and the almost imperceptible bump that was beginning to show now. Today was the first day she'd begun to show, and Harry nearly lost his mind with excitement. Finding out Y/n was pregnant had been somewhat of a surprise, but when she told him, he was over the moon. He's started to suspect, having recognized some of his wife's symptoms by now, but they'd been waiting for the right time to tell their families and friends, and tonight was the night.
"What's going on, darling?" Anne asked.
Neither Harry nor Y/n could barely contain their excitement, which probably gave away the news before they actually said anything. However, in their own eagerness to share the news, neither of them saw a few people on the call sporting knowing looks.
"We're having a baby!"
Cheers went all around as everyone congratulated the couple. Questions were asked about due dates and how far along they were and what they were going to do about the lockdown situation. Everything was just as Harry had hoped it would be.
And then things took an interesting turn.
"Who won?" Jeff asked.
"Won? What do you mean—"
"If my math is correct, which I'm pretty sure it is, I believe it goes to Gem," Sarah said, looking down at her phone. "She went with three and a half months. Glenne narrowly missed with three. No one had four so it goes to Gemma."
A collective groan went throughout the Zoom, leaving Harry and Y/n very confused.
"Did you place bets on us?" Y/n asked, sounding more astonished than offended.
"When lockdown became permanent, we knew it was a matter of when not if we would be getting the announcement," Jeff explained. "Someone has a physical copy of the pool somewhere."
"And all of you did this? Mum?" Harry said, brows raised higher than Y/n had ever seen them. When Anne nodded sheepishly, Y/n had to stifle a laugh. "So none of you were surprised?"
"I love you, dear, and I'm so so happy for you, but since you were seventeen, anytime you've come to me with big news, it's been about having a baby. For my own sanity, I've just come to expect it."
Harry looked down at Y/n, who was grinning behind her hand. For her husband's sake, her gaze softened as she reached up to kiss his cheek. "I mean, they have a point. Even you guessed it before I told you."
As the shock finally wore off, Harry smiled. He supposed it wasn't the worst thing in the world. So, he and Y/n were predictable, even though they hadn't really been trying this time around. They were in love and had a lot more time together currently. Things were finally back on track for them and their relationship troubles seemed behind them now. They were happy, and as long as his family was happy, some light teasing and bet placing seemed harmless.
He did pin everyone on the screen with a mock glare before moving on, though. "You guys made a whole pool. Really?"
"Yeah. Can you believe Jeff thought it would take eight months for you to get pregnant?"
"It was for the adjustment to lockdown period!"
"Eight months?"
And on and on it went. Harry just smiled and rested his hand over Y/n's belly, thinking about how much it would grow in just a few short weeks.
Natalia
"I want Mommy!"
Harry sighed and pulled his only son into his lap, pushing the curls away from his face and wiping the tears from his cheeks. "I know you do, JuJu."
Harry and the kids were waiting to hear from Y/n's mother, but he hadn't gotten so much as a text. He was anxious, worried that something was wrong, but Julian's crying served as a good distraction for the time being.
Julian continued to cry, still not understanding why he couldn't see his mother when he'd become so used to seeing her everyday. Harry would've been with Y/n had it not been for the little boy's crying, and he made the split-second decision to stay home while Y/n delivered the baby with her mother as support. He'd never missed any of his children's births, but for this, he could stay behind.
"She'll be back soon, bubba, I promise," Harry said, kissing Julian's cheeks and holding him close. "Should we go play with your Lego set? I know you've been excited to build it. Maybe we can build something to show Mummy when she gets home."
Julian shook his head and continued to cry into Harry's neck. Realizing his son was content to be miserable, Harry didn't ask again. He sat with Jules for a while, holding the boy to his chest and running a hand through his hair until his sobs turned into sniffles, and the sniffles into long, slow breaths. He waited a few extra minutes before taking Julian up to his room and setting him on his bed, making sure to place his favorite stuffed animal in his arms before leaving him to sleep off his troubles. As he walked away, Harry sort of wished he could do the same.
Every birth had been different. When Y/n had Simone, it hadn't been extraordinarily long, but it was extraordinarily stressful due to their young age. Collette was a fairly quick birth, perhaps a little too quick, seeing as Y/n barely made it to a hospital bed before the baby started crowning. The twins came early, which was apparently common for twins, but that didn't make it any less surprising to Harry and Y/n, especially because Harry was at the grocery store and Y/n was at the park with Simone and Collette and a nanny who was also there had to call an ambulance. Even still, Geneva's birth was probably the scariest, only because of all the rules and regulations brought on by Covid. Y/n's mother quarantined for two weeks so she could stay at the house while Harry and Y/n went to the hospital, as Y/n could only have one person in the room with her.
And now a year later, they were doing it all over again. Harry had been confident that this birth would go off without a hitch, that everything would be just fine, but the lack of word from his wife or mother-in-law made him nervous.
Later that day, Harry was still waiting. He'd gotten a text from Y/n's mother, which let him know that Y/n still wasn't ready to push but that they were getting close. That was an hour ago, and Harry had to believe that it was all happening now.
And he was missing it.
He knew being here with the rest of his children was important. That they were worried about their mother and probably found Harry's presence comforting. He just wished they could all be there in the waiting room instead of at home and fifteen minutes from the hospital. The not-knowing was killing him, and he was pretty sure his kids could sense it.
"Daddy?"
Harry's eyes flicked to where Collette was standing in the doorway of his bedroom. She was in her pajamas, a shirt and matching pair of bottoms with her favorite cartoon on them. Harry had been pacing around his room, his phone gripped tightly in his hand as he waited for someone to call him, but seeing his second daughter standing there, squinting at the light from his bedside table lamp told him he was up a little later than normal.
"Hi, peanut. What are you doing out of bed?" he asked.
Collette shrugged, her hair catching the light. She wiped at her nose and stepped further into the room until she stood in front of him. "Mommy always braids my hair before I go to sleep."
"She does, doesn't she?" Harry agreed. "She's kind of the best, huh?"
Nodding, Collette turned toward his bed and climbed up on it, looking at him expectantly. Even after having four daughters, Harry wasn't an expert at braiding hair. The girls always went to Y/n before school, and she did each of their braids or ponytails or pigtails happily. Harry always made sure to watch with a keen eye, and practiced on Y/n when she let him. He supposed now it was time to put all his practice to work.
The braiding didn't take long, and Harry didn't do half bad, in his humble opinion. Collette was just going to sleep in it anyway, so he wasn't too bummed by the few loose strands that he'd somehow missed.
He'd finished rather quickly, though Collette didn't slide off the bed to go back to her room. In fact, she nestled under the covers on Y/n's side of the bed, mumbling, "Night Daddy," before falling asleep. Harry didn't really mind. It wasn't the first time one of the kids stayed in his and Y/n's bed, and tonight, he figured he could use some company.
What he wasn't expecting was all of his children to stumble into his room. First it was Maeve, then Jules, then Simone, and finally Harry went to get Geneva, just so it was a proper sleepover. No one fought for space—which was a first. All the kids just found their spot and went back to sleep as if they were in their own rooms. Harry resisted the urge to take a picture so as not to wake anyone up with the flash of his phone's camera.
He hadn't planned on falling asleep. One moment he'd been watching a football game with the volume off, and the next he was blinking his eyes open as the sun began to stream in through the curtains. All of his little ones were still fast asleep, though Harry knew that would change soon. Maeve and Simone woke up early to watch morning cartoons, and Geneva would want her bottle within the hour.
Harry began to shuffle around and prepare for the usual morning routine—brush teeth, ok prepare the bottle, make breakfast for the early risers—when his phone rang. Startled, Harry rushed over to where his phone was plugged in, a huge grin splitting his face when he realized it was a video call from Y/n.
"Hi," Harry whispered, careful not to wake anyone up. "How are you? How's the baby? Is everything—"
"I'm fine, H. Everything's fine. Everything's perfect," Y/n said, a sleepy smile on her face.
Hearing that helped his heart stop racing, but only a little, as excitement flooded his veins. Y/n called him, which could only mean that—
"Wanna meet your daughter?" Y/n said, and even through the phone, Harry could see tears line her eyes.
Harry nodded, too overwhelmed with love and anticipation to form words. Quickly, he found an unoccupied spot on his bed and carefully sat down.
Y/n passed the phone to her mother who angled the phone so that Harry could see the baby, whose face was just barely visible through a pink blanket. He immediately felt tears well in his eyes, his throat going dry as he looked down at his daughter. Even through the phone, he felt every emotion he'd ever experienced when meeting his children for the first time. It was the most unique experience, Harry always thought. He'd seen and done so much, yet he still thought there was nothing like looking down at his newborn baby for the first time.
"Is that baby sister?"
Harry looked behind him to find Julian peering over his shoulder. Jules looked at the sleeping baby curiously, taking in his sister's little nose and tiny fingers and pouted lips. Then, he said, "Is Mommy there too?"
The camera panned up to Y/n, who was smiling and blowing kisses to Julian. "Hi JuJu, my love. I've missed you!"
"Mommy!"
"Mommy?"
"Mommy's home?"
Now everyone was up and crowding around Harry, taking turns talking to Y/n and baby sister, who had yet to be given a name. No one seemed to mind, though. If anything, they were more concerned about when Y/n and the baby would be coming home so they could have a party.
"Soon, my loves. The doctor wants me and the baby to stay one more night to make sure we're healthy. You think you can be good for Daddy?"
There was a chorus of yeses before everyone said their goodbyes, the novelty of a new baby sister wearing off when there were cartoons to be watched downstairs. Harry kept Y/n on the phone while he got Geneva's bottle ready, wanting to stay on the phone as long as possible.
"I know you must be tired," Harry said an hour later. He was in GiGi's nursery and watching her toddle around and play with her toys while talking to his wife.
"I'll hang up soon. I want you to get as much screen time as possible before I go," she said, turning the camera to where the baby was sleeping in the bassinet beside her hospital bed.
"Have you given her a name yet?" he asked.
Y/n shook her head. "I know we decided on one, but I wanted you to be with me when I said it for the first time."
"I love you," Harry said as his heart melted to mush.
"I love you too," Y/n said. She lifted the baby out of the bassinet, cradling her head with the expertise of someone who'd done it for years. Looking at Harry through the phone she said, "You wanna do the honors?"
Laughing out of pure bliss, he nodded. With all the tenderness and care he would've used if he'd been there in person, he said, "Welcome to this crazy, crazy world, Natalia Styles."
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fanfiction4sooya · 5 months
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Puppy Needs (Hybrid Yunjin x F! R)
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I've been busy but i'm still here. Hope ya'll like it!!! 💖💖💖💖
cw: reader is a bit mean, queen bee r!, g!p yunjin, unprotected sex, biting, light cocwarming, creampie, yunjin is a fluff ball and a bit naive, etc.
She was getting on your nerves again with all that tail wagging and doe eyes staring up at you. Not that it would hurt to be stared at by her, if she ever took the step to actually do something or simply ask you out; but she was fucking distracting with her tall, strong figure and being stared that much was actually getting on your nerves. So since you are the pettiest person on the planet you acted mean towards her at any chance you get just because.
Of course she would get hurt just to stare at you with those puppy eyes moments later. Annoying.
All hell broke lose when, once again, you caught her staring at you in the lockers after swim practice. Was that thing really trying to hide herself behind the locker's door? What a loser. Cute, but a complete loser.
You decided you were going to make her talk.
"Huh Yunjin" You called her in a very stern voice, wrapping your body on a towel. Her ears went flat on her head and you rolled your eyes, taking a deep breath. "Come here, pup" You tried to sound more gentle, alluring. Her caramel ears perched up and she peeked from behind the door. "If you don't come here I'll go to you" You said, already marching to her direction.
"No no, don't come here please" She said and you stopped in your tracks. "I have a... problem" She said, still hiding.
"What is it, puppy?" You said, slowly walking towards her and she whined. That sound, that fucking sound made your insides warm. You gulped when she looked at you, her brown eyes beautifully teary in a way you were yet to see.
"I don't want you to see me as a freak" She sniffled, her cheeks a bit blushed.
"I already do, silly" you smiled, getting closer. You could feel wetness drip from your bare pussy. She made another whining sound and you understood you had to apologize. "I am sorry, I swear" You softened your eyes and your voice, finally reaching her.
She smelled good, freshly showered just like you.
"C-can you not judge me?" She said and you nodded. She finally stepped from behind the door, still staring into your eyes but pulling the front of her shirt down to cover herself. Looking down you finally realized what was going on, a bit surprised. "please, help me... I don't know how to stop this, please"
She was hard, painfully so. And oh, pretty girl was perfect. Your mind rapidly understood what she wanted. What she needed.
"Say it again" She lowered her head, staring at the ground.
"Please, help me" She repeated, the outline of her stiff cock very visible through the swim team uniform.
You smiled, an evil glint in your eyes as you stepped really close, staring up at her. Her tail wagged fast and her fluffy ears twitched.
"What do you need, puppy?" She licked her lips and you observed her gulp, the smell of your arousal pretty present in the air, specially for her hybrid nose.
"I need you..." Her brown eyes were pretty and pleading and fuck, you wanted her inside you.
Stepping closer you let her smell you, her tail wagging like crazy now as she bucked her hips towards you when she felt your skin touch hers. Cupping her jaw you pulled her down for a searing kiss, engulfing her completely into your warmth. She whimpered loudly against them when you palmed her cock through her shorts, smiling and licking her lower lip to make her shiver.
"Come here, big girl" you pulled her to the nearest bench, sitting her down. You pulled her hair slightly by the nape and she moaned, making you clench on nothing while you pulled her cock from her shorts. Looking into her eyes you spat on it, jerking her off slowly; that up and down motion was enough to get her on edge, you felt it in how her nails dug in your bare arms. "Don't you dare cumming now" you said, getting rid of your towel and standing completely bare in front of her.
"I don't know how to hold it, please" She moaned again, this time louder. You straddled her, slowly sinking on her pinkish cock.
"Fuck" You said, fitting the whole thing inside you. "I don't care, loser" You said, pulling her hair again and roughly kissing her lips. "you better hold it or else..." You didn't finish your sentence because she throbbed inside you and you literally forgot anything else.
Kissing her again you started grinding on her lap, that delicious friction on your clit combined with her whole length and her sinful moans were enough to get you embarrassingly close.
"It's so warm..." She whined against your neck when you started bouncing on her lap, you took both of her hands and place them on your hips, squeezing lightly for her to pick up the pace.
She blindly humped up, her cock felt heavy and so warm inside you it was like you finally put two puzzle pieces together . Not huge, not small; just perfect. You clenched when you felt her moans getting progressively louder, her angel like voice repeating your name over and over like a mantra, a prayer on the lips of a lost soul.
"feels so good" she whined, her big hands finally pulling your hips up and down to make you hit your climax even harder, fast like a bullet.
"I'm gonna cum, fuck" You tossed your head back, exposing your neck for her to lick and bite; her canines lightly scratching your skin.
Your climax hit hard and she was about to cum when you heard your friends calling for you, entering the lockers.
"WHAT?" You managed to say, covering her mouth with your hand as her glossy eyes stared up at you; you were cocwarming her so good you could feel it throbbing inside you.
"Oh, sorry queen bee" Chaewon said, still at the heavy door. "Where are you? We were all looking for you to-"
"I am about to finish but don't come here" You said. "I am just finishing something... embarrassing" You clenched on her cock and she closed her eyes, squeezing your hips not to moan or cum.
"oh, okay your majesty" She rolled her eyes. "Don't take too long" She said already leaving.
"Oh I definitely won't..." You smirked. You heard the door slam, lowering your hand from her mouth to her neck and squeezing it lightly. "Do you wanna cum, puppy?" She rapidly nodded, staring into your eyes. "You did such a good job baby, you deserve to cum" You said, starting to pick up pace to bounce on her cock again.
"Oh my god..." You heard her say, closing her eyes and impaling you on her cock repeatedly. "Cumming!" She screamed, her cum painting your insides. Thick and warm as you imagined, so much cum it started leaking from you without you even taking it from inside your cunt.
"Good girl..." You gave her fluffy ears a pat and she whined, her golden retriever tail wagging again. You got off her lap, her soft cock flopping all coated with her cum and yours. "Oh baby... come here" You pulled her to the nearest stall to shower her in a warm water.
You and her showered together, you washed her as she quietly stared at you. Her tall frame hovering over your smaller one. When you finished you helped her drying her ears and tail, then her blonde locks.
"I thought you hated me" her voice was small and unsure while you helped her put on a clean shirt.
"I don't hate you..." You started dressing yourself. "I hate that you are this gorgeous and kept staring at me without doing or saying anything. It fucking pissed me off" She smiled.
"you think i'm gorgeous?" her eyes shone.
"everyone does, you dork" you rolled your eyes. "And also a good girl who deserved a prize..." You bit your lip and she nodded, getting all excited again. "How about a baby blue collar and leash?" You said.
"yes yes, please" she pulled your shirt, jumping up and down.
"alright puppy, alright... let's see throughout the week if you really are and good girl"
You pulled her down for a kiss, feeling her cock stiffening again against your clothed tummy.
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clairdelunelove · 3 months
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What Pining!Yuuji Would Do For You
itadori yuuji x reader
genre: insane amounts of fluff, comfort
warnings: slightly suggestive
synopsis: you're in for a crazy ride! pining!yuuji means having this loverboy absolutely head-over-heels for you. told in headcanons!
a.n. I can't stop writing about this beautiful boy. I'm so sorry but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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gives you random compliments
it could be a regular, mundane day where you’re carrying out your normal routine while yuuji accompanies you 
just doing some grocery shopping before the week starts,, attempting to get ahead before you’re inevitably caught up in work/school  
and spending some time with him was, without exception, bliss 
yuuji has this magnetic force that pulls everyone in– you included– and it’s no different when the two of you are strolling through the aisles 
he’s sociable, easygoing, and friendly; so of course he’s going to catch bystanders’ attention 
especially with how sincere his words are to you 
“oh,” he hums and points to a brightly colored package, “didn’t you say you wanted to try these last time?” 
and before you can persuade him that you don’t actually need it,, they’re just some silly limited-edition snack you wanted to try,, the blushy haired male places it into the shopping basket 
“I’ll pay! don’t you worry about it!” he’ll mention while placing a gentle hand on your head
he walks off while whistling like it’s nothing,, like it’s normal for friends to pay for each other’s groceries (which was an entire week’s worth) 
and oh boy, you should expect yuuji to carry the basket/push the store cart for you 
it’s basically his job whenever he goes shopping with you 
takes it on with such seriousness that it’s almost concerning 
“oi! you’ll hurt your hands,” he lightheartedly clicks his tongue before taking ahold of the basket in your hands, “it’s heavy. I’ll carry it!” 
and he's so adamant about how 'heavy' it is but uses a couple of his fingers to effortlessly swing it around
follows you through every aisle (even ambles back when you meekly tell him that you forgot an ingredient you wanted) without a complaint,, basically has the patience of a saint 
and each shopping run isn’t complete without yuuji secretly picking out a gift for you 
it could be anything: candied snacks, yummy dessert, a sugary drink,, he’ll just add it onto the conveyor belt before the cashier can finish scanning all the items 
this time though, he’s picked out a small bouquet of flowers for you 
“yuu,” you bashfully tug the bottom of his shirt to convey your appreciation, “you didn’t have to.” 
because they’re beautiful– a handful of radiant flowers that are bunched together in glimmering wrapping paper 
“hm?” 
he seems genuinely confused, an emotion that you’re not used to identifying on his sharp features
brows furrowing, he finally adds, “oh, you meant the flowers? why not? they’re pretty like you.” 
his words seem straightforward, direct but they’re wholly genuine since it’s coming from him 
yuuji wouldn’t say anything he didn’t truly believe 
the cashier casts a knowing glance to you when yuuji’s turned away, digging in his pocket for his wallet to pay, and sends you a badgering wink 
you, on the other hand, are a flustered mess 
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finds any excuse to get closer to you
was yuuji particularly concerned in the ill-kept secret you weren’t willing to tell him? 
not necessarily 
did that stop him from pestering you about it? 
nope 
if anything, he’s revitalized when you peer up at him through your lashes and murmur, “I guess I can tell you now.” 
and you’re so close to him,, he never even realized you obligingly closed the distance by scooting beside him  
“but yuu,” you pause so your lower lip juts out into a pleading pout, “you can’t tell anyone else because this is just between the two of us.” 
there's not a thought in his mind except the fact that he’s so screwed 
because at this angle you’re even more stunning; wide, imploring eyes that are solely focused on him 
and he inwardly melts when he manages to catch a whiff of your sweet perfume,, it never even dawned on him that a person could be the literal embodiment of his desire 
his tongue feels like sandpaper, he’s tumbling over his words but reassures, “you can tell me anything! my lips are sealed.” 
“you sure?” 
to respond, he gestures toward his mouth, zips it close, and metaphorically throws it behind his shoulder 
“good,” you’re obviously pleased at his obedience before you’re waving him closer, “come here then, I’ll tell you.”
you should’ve been puzzled about his unusual speechlessness but you’re buzzing from the excitement of the secret 
and there’s no one else around,, in fact, the spot that the both of you are situated in is surprisingly empty 
the top of the school building is typically bustling with students attempting to get a breath of fresh air before trudging back to class 
yet, yuuji’s alone with you now,, and he’s not about to waste his chance 
it’s almost pitiful how quickly he scurries to heed your every word 
he ends up softly knocking knees with you in his haste, mutters a hurried apology, but it doesn’t seem like you mind 
no, you just twist closer to him, invading his personal space, and he’s holding in his breath 
because if he concentrates hard enough he’s able to feel your warmth on the crook of his neck 
you raise a hand near your lips before your secret easily spills out, “I bought us tickets to the horror movie you were talking about a couple months ago!” 
and it’s silent 
you're beaming at him
yuuji’s speechless because he’s too preoccupied with, well– you 
and he’s consumed with the thought of how sweet you are to him, how your every interaction with him is genuinely wholesome, or how you’re completely oblivious to the effect you have on him 
“I know tickets were sold out in the first week but I pulled some strings,” you explain with a delighted smile, “and managed to snag two for us!”
immediately, his lips crack into the widest grin you’ve ever seen 
in true yuuji fashion, he throws his arms around you to encase you in a warm hug and your giggles are smothered by his chest 
and as he snuggles closer, he breathes you in and tenderly murmurs, “what did I ever do to deserve you?” 
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answers your 2 a.m. phone calls when you can't sleep
“look who’s calling.” 
you recognize the lighthearted jest in his voice as it crackles through the phone’s speaker and immediately you’re put at ease 
it had taken yuuji two rings before he picked up,, he’s never failed to answer your calls whenever you needed him  
although he couldn’t see it, you playfully rolled your eyes at his comment and explained, “just wanted to talk and ask what you’re up to.”
he presses the ‘speaker’ icon on his phone, props it on his pillow, and shifts so his hands are folded beneath his neck 
honeyed eyes staring at the ceiling, he figures losing a bit of his sleep was worth it if it was for you 
“at this hour?” 
he chokes out a laugh, voice a tad bit rough as he jokes,, the sound is a kind of gravelly that would’ve caused you to swoon if it wasn’t for your inkling suspicion that he was fast asleep before you called 
instantly, your heart drops 
“yuu,” you hesitated with a hushed apology, “sorry for waking you up. I just couldn’t sleep so–” 
there’s a rustle on the other end of the phone 
he must’ve tripped on something because there’s a loud clang followed by a string of curses from his mouth 
“I wasn’t sleeping! I was still gaming when you called! I have my headphones on and everything. I’m on, like, level 29 now! so,” he clears his throat, “don’t be sorry that you called.” 
you felt the tips of your ears burning– his reassurance was too sweet,, yet you couldn’t help but shyly prod, “you sure?”
“totally, I’ll even send a picture if you don’t believe me.” 
after the words leave his lips, your phone dings with a notification and truth be told, yuuji’s contact indicated that he had attached a file 
your fingers click on it, curiosity drawing you in, and you’re greeted with a picture of him; perched at his desk with his dark gaming headphones draped over his head 
he’s featured with a lazy grin and has three fingers thrown up in a laid-back pose 
you’re not focused on that, though 
no, you’re instinctively pinching at the screen to zoom in at the enticing dip of his collarbones that peek underneath his nightshirt and how tousled his blushy hair is since it’s so late at night– a different side of yuuji that you’re rarely graced with 
you save the picture to your camera roll 
caught in a flustered daze, you barely hear him call your name over your ogling, “(y/n)?” 
“yup! I see the picture,” you quickly chirp before smoothly changing the topic, “I like the headphones, by the way.” 
he chuckles but softens his voice, almost bashful, “well, you are the one that got them for me for my birthday.” 
“oh my gosh, you’re right! that was so long ago!” 
“it’s only been a month!”
and when the two of you are enraptured in a fit of laughter, he pauses,, lets your gleeful giggle flow through his phone’s speaker and knows that you’re worth every second of his time 
“fair point,” you gasp for air as your lips curl into a smile, “what do you want for your next birthday, then?” 
yuuji manages to brush aside your inquiry, mentioning that he didn’t need anything, and the two of you chat until the sun slowly rises over the horizon 
his eyes lowly droop, threatening to close, but he speaks with the same enthusiasm as when the call begun 
you talk about anything and everything 
hobbies, worries, the future– the whole lot 
yet, you manage to include him in each and every topic 
“the beach would be nice in this weather,” you sleepily suggest and hum, “I feel like you’d really like swimming there. lots of fish and seashells to collect. we should go together sometime. maybe for your birthday.” 
when he hears your soft breathing over the line, indicating that you’d fallen asleep over the call, yuuji quietly chuckles 
“‘for my birthday’ huh? for my birthday, I just,” he repeats your words and confesses with a hushed, “want you to notice me, dummy.” 
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they threw envy at me like mud and told me to be grateful; i've never felt luckier than in the passenger seat of your truck.
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tj17 x reader: an unorthodox take on what it means to be high school sweethearts.
(warnings: blasphemous filth, unprotected penetrative sex (m on f), hair pulling (ugh, the curls. the curls you guys), oral sex (f on m), crazy amounts of tension and bad communication and self-doubt and pain (you guys know me, just keeping it light!), obviously i'm forgetting things but all my usual stuff.  please be warned, don’t read if you’re not 100% sure.)
(a/n: oh my god, my favorites. this has been so long in the making it's honestly kind of embarrassing. first off, it's 20k words (longest one yet! just couldn't help myself). anyways, i give you one of the most special and personal stories i've ever written (and honestly, i'm not sure why - something about the topic of beauty and being yourself and the relationship with the home is going to do it for me every time). thank you for waiting patiently. there's a lot going on here, and lots of plot holes, so if it doesn't make sense in places, don't tell anyone. no, i don't know anything about baseball or influencers. yes, i'm obsessed with mattias samuelsson (his voice is my favorite in the league). and yes, dylan cozens is a librarian who wants to be on jeopardy. and of course jack quinn is jj peterka's barback. this may or may not have been inspired by a crisis i had about my high school ex a bit ago (he was so good to me! and it was probably just because we were kids! but what if no one is that good to me again!). jesus sorry about that, i don't know what came over me. what else? oh, yeah, when i am describing beauty here, please know that i am talking (i'm being dead serious) about kindness. if i have learned one thing throughout my life, it is that a genuine smile and a listening ear is all it takes to get pretty privilege (use it!). this is not a "she's not like other girls" story - the opposite, actually, i hope. i chose tj17 for this because he is the epitome of the hometown sweetheart that you just keep coming back to (look at that laugh!). playoffs soon? (i love when everyone gets all angry and bloody in pursuit of the cup). pretty, pretty please, tell me what you think. i've got lots in the works. i'm sending so much love to you and your snakes. make space for yourself in the places you've outgrown. until next time, all my love).
you could admit that it had probably been too long. too long since you'd last ventured back to your hometown, which, to your amazement, as you drove down main street towards your parents' house, looked almost exactly the same as you remembered it.
you could have come home for senior spring break, or for christmas, but you hadn't - it had to have been since thanksgiving, then, which had practically been an overnight trip.
thankfully, it didn't appear that you had missed much. it was all the same tall pines around the outskirts of the avenues, the same town square with the same family-owned shops, same bar (under new management), same stone library steps and street lights that needed repairs.
the directions on your phone were more so a comfort than a necessity - you'd know the way to your street blindfolded, maybe dead, but it was sort of nice, in a way, to think that you needed help getting there. to think that you'd grown up so much that you no longer knew this place the way you know the songs your dad played in the car on the way to school - entirely and wholly, if not a little senselessly.
in what felt like a blink, you already had made it into the driveway, your subtly luxurious suv suddenly feeling much too big and attention-grabbing. you felt as if you might as well have been driving a limo, maybe one of those sleek borderline race-cars in some flashy color.
you put your car in park and unbuckled your seatbelt, your hands gripping the wheel so hard your knuckles paled.
"arrived at home," the robotic voice from your phone said, which made you choke out a short laugh. in all ways but the ones that mattered, yes, you supposed, this was home.
would it be frowned upon to leave the car running? just in case you needed to make a quick exit? you groaned, laid your head down against the steering wheel, careful not to press your forehead down hard enough to honk.
this was exactly what coming home always felt like - frustration to the point of madness, but control to the point of lunacy. home left you crazy, either way.
you were pulled from your anxious haze by a ping from your phone. the name you saw across your screen made your heart stutter.
are the rumors true?
is the starlet back in town?
you sighed, couldn't help the tiny smile that pulled at the corner of your lips, regardless.
even though you were no starlet, even though the thought of small-town rumors made your breath feel short and shallow.
as much as coming home made you want to tear out your hair extensions one by one, as much as the monotonous continuity of this town made you almost dizzy, there was one thing, one person, rather, whose relentless sameness you looked forward to, every time, without fail.
and that person was tyson jost.
you'd known tyson practically forever, or at least for what felt like forever, ever since him and his family moved next door the summer before middle school.
you still remembered seeing him for the first time, watching from your bedroom window as he carried boxes from his mom's minivan up his driveway.
it had started as all lovely things did - so naturally it was hard to pinpoint how exactly it had started.
you swore you could remember him meeting your eyes through the window, his unruly hair in his face, the easiest smile you'd ever seen stretching across his mouth, only barely visible above cardboard flaps.
but, as you'd learned long ago, your memory wasn't always the most trustworthy of places, knew that it could be dramatic and volatile, at times, so you didn't dwell on what exactly had been the beginning of you and tyson.
all you really knew was that all through middle school and high school, he had been your everything.
your school bus seat buddy, your locker neighbor, your smile across the classroom.
he cheered the loudest at your tennis matches, and you never missed one of his baseball games. he was over yours doing homework every weekday, you were the first person he picked up when he got his license. he was your secret language spoken between opposing open bedroom windows.
of course, as he shed his baby face and you got your braces off, things changed a bit, but not really.
you were still his stop it, tys, giggled under your breath when he'd make goofy faces in class, just to get you to laugh.
he was still your you'll be there, right, kid? spoken so earnestly the morning of the championship game, something like worry clouding his usually relentlessly bright eyes. worry that had floated away when you'd hugged him close, mumbled your of course into his chest.
and his constant support, his never-wavering smirk of a smile, it was exactly what you needed during one of the most turbulent times of your life.
high school is weird for everybody, but it was especially weird for you, whose observant tendencies lended themselves to deep, deep emotions that you felt almost physically.
you were a people pleaser, an approval seeker, and at some point you began to realize that others weren't always as forgiving as you were. that other people may not give you the benefit of the doubt, as you tended to afford them.
it got worse when you realized you were pretty.
sometimes, it felt as if you had been beautiful since you could listen, since you could first turn your gaze on someone and make them feel heard, make them feel seen.
and that was a big part of it all - your quiet kindness, combined with that lovely smile, with that careful posture and easy laugh - it seemed that others had become acutely aware of your beauty long before you had.
you caught on, eventually.
you were sixteen when you started to feel the weight of male attention on you in the hallways, when your bare legs in the warm weather started to feel heavy with expectation, when you started to notice how groups of girls would turn and giggle behind their hands when they thought you were just out of earshot.
it was exciting, at first. girls wanted to talk to you, to be close with you. guys wanted to hang out with you. people wanted to give you things, seemingly for nothing.
you distinctly remembered one humid night, in tyson's bedroom, just after he had driven you both home after his practice. his hair had been damp at the roots, his face still a bit flushed in that rosy way you loved.
he'd been scrolling on his phone while you worked on a geometry problem set, half-focused, the other half telling him about the senior in your econ class who'd asked for your snapchat.
you could still picture his narrow gaze, barely looking up from his screen.
"you know he doesn't want to, like, marry you, right, kid?" he'd said, and it was so flippant that it jarred you.
you'd looked up, blinked, felt suddenly so embarrassed you thought you might be sick. "what?" you asked, "yeah, of course, i just-"
"like, he knows nothing about you besides you being hot," tyson finished, almost coldly, rolling onto his side on the beanbag he was sprawled across.
and he was right, obviously, but it felt really mean, somehow, felt like tiny drops of flame were pricking at your cheeks. you felt, to your dismay, that you actually might cry.
"why do you have to say it like that?" you'd asked, hating how pathetic your voice sounded, how it broke towards the end.
this must have gotten his attention, because when tyson finally looked up, his eyes flooded with gentle apology. he let his phone fall to the side, opened up his arms in invitation.
"'m sorry," he mumbled into your hair when you joined him on his beanbag, let him wrap his arms around you. "'m sorry, kid, know that was mean. 'm just jealous, i think." his tone was so matter-of-fact, not trying to hide anything. you supposed he had always been like that.
you laughed into his breastbone, felt the warmth of him all over your face. "you're jealous?" you asked, "what do you have to be jealous about?"
he gave you your favorite kind of smile, the one that made your stomach flutter. "maybe 'cause you're in my room, and you're smilin' 'cause of some other guy," he mused, which made you look up at him, find completely genuine adoration saturating his gaze.
you hummed.
"and 've been tryin' to get you to see that i like you, and it hasn't been workin'-"
your heart stuttered, because of course you liked tyson. how could you not, when he was your everything? when he had been the one who stood by you, before everyone else had seemed to catch on?
"you like me?" you had whispered, almost like a prayer, and his big, beautiful eyes had shimmered with something lovely. something almost bashful.
you swore you could feel something rumbling against his chest. "well, yeah," he said, "but, i don't wanna lose you, kid, so if you don't feel the same way-"
you'd cut him off by pressing your lips to his in a kiss that felt like sunshine, like a sigh of relief, like pillow forts and fall foliage and sunday morning waffles.
so, from then on, not only were you the beautiful girl, you were the beautiful girl dating the budding baseball superstar.
as such, you were seventeen when you realized that as much as it may have seemed that people wanted to give you things, they wanted to take things from you more. much more.
still, as long as you had your small group of friends, and your grades, and your parents, and tyson, you told yourself you didn't really need everyone to love you.
as long as you were kind and generous and empathetic, everything would be fine.
it grew tough to turn the other cheek all the time, though. especially when guys didn't seem to respect that you were in a relationship, when people were starting rumors about you sleeping around, when girls tried to get with your boyfriend again and again and again just to prove they could take him from you. of course, they never could, but it hurt nonetheless.
still, you'd go to every one of tyson's games, as long as he'd jog to the fence afterwards to give you a goofy kiss, like he'd missed you, even for just the few hours he'd been playing.
you'd endure the snide comments in the stands about your outfits as long as he'd whistle, wrap his arms around your waist, pull you back against him and tell you that he almost dropped an easy ball in the third because you'd looked so distracting.
you'd let people assume you were dumb and obnoxious and entitled as long as he'd ask you about your advanced calculus tests, your data analytics internship, your speech and debate competition.
and that was enough. for high school, that was enough.
inevitably, it became clear that people wanted what you had, no matter what it was, no matter how hard you had worked for it.
you were eighteen when you realized you could make a career of people wanting things that you had.
social media was something you stumbled upon accidentally.
just a random post one day, a couple of pictures of you on the tennis court, a few of you in the stands at one of tyson's games, and suddenly you were flushed with followers and likes, more than you knew what to do with.
of course, this only made the rumors worse, but your friends thought it was funny, and tyson thought it was awesome, so you didn't mind. you just continued posting exactly what you always did - your outfits and weekends and dinners and the like - nothing crazy, always tasteful.
it was only a matter of time before brands were reaching out to you, before you suddenly had the need for management, before your social media accounts actually started to become a source of income.
you recognized how lucky you were for this to even be an option for you - how it was mostly because of something as shallow as appearances, how there was nothing more vain, more potentially vapid than social media.
you never cared about the numbers of it all, though, never looked twice at pictures of yourself, never scrolled through your notifications or comments. tyson was always the first to like your posts, anyways, always commenting first! followed by a string of incoherent emojis (usually including the flame one).
he'd text you, too, after you posted, something like love the filter on the second photo! or quite the handsome hand in the fourth :) about a picture of your coffee that he was holding. enough to let you know that he looked at every picture, that he supported you unconditionally, even though you, yourself, sort of thought the whole ordeal was kind of stupid, that social media was dumb and not worth anyone's time.
you were at a bit of a crossroads towards the end of high school - you wanted to get a college degree, that was non-negotiable, but it seemed too good to be true that you could be paid just for being yourself online, just for developing a personal brand.
it seemed too good to pass up.
before you knew it, it was time to apply for college, and it only made sense for you to aim for schools in los angeles, across the country.
just as it only made sense for tyson to play for the national championship winning state school, only a forty-five minute drive from your hometown in upstate new york.
long distance loomed over the two of you like a thunderous cloud, and the weight of it felt heavier than just breaking up, even though splitting up with tyson was still the most painful thing you'd endured.
you still remembered him dropping you off at the airport, insisting on carrying your suitcases all the way to security, even if he had to leave his truck idle in the drop off line, even though he was probably going to get a ticket about it.
of course, you still remembered how his bright eyes had gone glassy, how he still tried to smile even through his slightly quivering bottom lip. how he'd shuddered in your embrace when you hugged him goodbye.
"you'll come back, kid?" he'd asked, almost pleaded, into your shoulder.
"of course, tys," you'd said, but even the memory of the words felt weightless. "don't forget to call me, okay? every day, if you can."
he'd laughed, then, short and choppy, wiped at his nose with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. his voice was wobbly. "'d never forget," he said, and it felt true, then.
and so you and your everything went separate ways. you fell into a routine in california, balanced school and your job as an influencer. tyson had a routine of his own, too, practice and lifts and games and the odd class.
you called everyday, in the beginning, heard about how everyone was really good here, how he was nervous on the field for pretty much the first time ever, how classes were hard and everything was hard without you.
you told him about how smart the girls in your classes were, how you really, really wanted them to like you, how you found yourself going to baseball fall games just because it was familiar.
he'd gotten a sad sort of tone in his voice, then. "how's their shortstop?" he asked, and your stomach dropped, because that was his position, and you had a feeling you knew what he was looking for.
"i've seen better," you whispered into your phone, the weight of missing him feeling like an anvil on your chest.
even though you and tyson weren't together, in the technical sense of the word, it still sort of felt like you were.
there were guys here and there, sure, and you could only guess what a hit tyson was with the sorority end of greek row.
you pretended not to notice, on facetime, when there would be purplish bruises on the column of his throat.
you pretended not to notice how jealous it made you, that someone else knew what his pulse felt like under their lips.
just as he probably pretended not to notice when the back of some other guy's head would make an appearance in one of your posts, just enough to run up the comments.
tyson still liked every single one of your pictures, still texted you about almost every one of them, but for those ones, the ones that shimmered with someone-else-ness, he was notably silent.
neither of you seemed to like the notion that the other had an entire life away from the other. both of you seemed to agree that what you didn't see, right in front of you, couldn't hurt you.
every break though, without fail, the two of you would come home and fall back into whatever you were, without explicitly saying what you were.
all you knew was that when the two of you were home for thanksgiving, or christmas, or spring, or whatever else, your phone would light up with a text like heard you're around?
usually the night that followed would involve huddling together on the massive beanbag that was still in his room, pretending to watch a movie before his lips found yours and your hands found the warm plane of his chest. the air would be hot with the unspoken truth of just one more time, just until i leave, just for a second because i missed you.
he never treated you differently, never made fun of your job, even though it would have been so easy to, never was anything but supportive. he was the same gangly boy walking up his driveway, and you were the same shy girl looking at him from your bedroom window, even if that shy girl now had hair extensions and a bit of lip filler and received invitations for black-tie events.
tyson never seemed to care about all of that, anyways, even as years went on, and you both returned home less and less, texts and calls becoming less frequent.
now, as you sat in your car, staring at the text, there was a bittersweet sort of taste in your mouth, because this would actually be the last time.
you and tyson had both graduated about two months ago, and he had moved back home to play for the minor league baseball team, hoping to gain enough traction to eventually earn a spot in the majors.
this week would be your last week home, one you hoped to spend moving all of your stuff out of your parents' house. you planned to move everything back to your place in la, to officially make los angeles your home for the foreseeable future. it only made sense. you had an absurd amount of followers, now, and all your biggest partners were in southern california.
this would be your last week home, and then upstate new york wouldn't be home anymore.
you stared at your phone, bit your lip, contemplating what to say.
i'm home but we can't fuck because i think i'll cry if we do! you typed, then promptly deleted.
barely in the driveway, you sent instead, how did you already know?
got eyes and ears everywhere, he sent, and you could practically see his smug smile. told cozey at the library to watch for your car.
you smiled to yourself, had no idea who cozey was, but figured you'd probably meet him.
busy today? you asked.
know i'd drop everything for you, he sent, immediately, which had you blushing, had you feeling a little dizzy. but headed into practice now. wanna meet me there in a bit?
you agreed, settled on a time and got the address to meet up with him at the field, later.
for now, you exhaled a deep breath, finally got out of your car, and walked into the house, greeting your parents before heading up to your room to shower and change before you left again.
you washed the residue of travel away, tossed your sweat set in a hamper and pulled together an outfit.
after years of practice, you'd become a kind of expert in quick, easy style, in balancing what you liked to wear and what others liked to see you in.
it was warm, today, but not oppressively so, so you landed on a miniskirt and tall boots, a hoodie that made the entire look more relatable to a wider audience.
that's what your brand had come to rely on, over the years - your life was meant to appear out of reach, but only just so. just enough to entice people to try the eyeliner that you wore to an awards show, to buy the jacket you were wearing to a hockey game, to drink the cocktail in your hand on the beach.
it was a careful balance, but it was one you'd mastered. just imperfect enough to be real. just perfect enough to be an ideal.
you made your way to the address tyson had sent you, parked your car and walked to the fence by the practice field, the familiar sound of the sport making your breaths come out easier, your body feel a little lighter.
you leaned up against the old metal fence, feeling a little selfishly lucky that tyson wasn't in the majors, yet. it'd probably be a little harder to just show up at his practice, if he was.
you scanned the diamond for that familiar figure, that broad frame, the auburnish curls under the brim of a cap. you squinted, but most of the team was too far away.
"are you looking for someone?"
you almost jumped, laid a hand over your startled heart at the voice just next to you, now.
the man next to you was in uniform, so he must be on the team, but he was so far in the outfield, so isolated, it was almost comical. he looked to be about your age.
"yeah, sorry," you said, "i'm here for tyson?"
something flickered across his face at this, like recognition. you'd seen this look before, and it scared you a bit, to know that someone thought they knew something about you before meeting you, but you swallowed your anxiety, for now.
"practice is ending soon," was all your cryptic companion said, fidgeting with his glove.
"okay," you tried, "and what's your name?"
"jack," was his short answer. he had a symmetrical face that you had a feeling looked nervous at its resting state, his brown hair short on the sides, his nose almost feminine.
"nice to meet you, jack," you said, a little wary. "i'm-"
you were interrupted by a familiar laugh that had you grinning on instinct.
you looked up to see a trio of men approaching you, one of whom made your face break out into a smile you couldn't contain if you tried. you locked eyes with tyson, felt your heart almost fizz at the sensation.
the tallest of the three slung an arm around the shortest. "like we're not even here," he said, dramatic, his voice silly in its depth.
"oh, shut up, sammy," tyson said, but his eyes didn't stray from you. he looked awestruck, but not starstruck. like he couldn't believe you were here, but not because of who you were. rather, because of how much he had wanted you to be here.
it seemed that every time you saw tyson, he only got more ruinous in his beauty. he wasn't the lanky kid you'd met all that time ago - now so wide across the chest, the thigh, his arms looming large in his short-sleeve. he'd grown into his body, but his face, too, now so sharp at the jaw and nose, but soft around the cheeks in a way that made his smile crushingly beautiful.
as soon as he was in front of you, he put his hands on your waist, lifted you easily over the fence and wrapped you up in his arms.
you swore the world melted away, for a moment, as you breathed him in, not caring how sweaty he was, or that his friends were around, or how you probably weren't supposed to be on the field.
"i missed you," you murmured into his chest.
"how long do i get you?" he mumbled back, his breath hot on your neck.
"a week," you replied, pulling away, just a bit, not quite telling him the full story, yet. not quite telling him that this time, you were leaving for good.
he hummed, a half-answer, before generously turning to the group of guys who had taken to leaning on the fence.
"you met quinner," tyson said, to which jack raised a shy hand in recognition. he nodded towards the shortest of the group, the blonde, who nodded to you in greeting. "this is jj. two of 'em work the bar downtown on free nights."
you smiled. "you're bartenders?" you asked them, curious.
jj scoffed. "i'm a bartender," he clarified, a trace of an accent making his words quick, "he's my bar-back."
"don't have to tell everyone that," jack mumbled, kicking the dirt softly with one of his cleats.
"and you know sammy," tyson finished, gesturing to his side.
you peered up at the at the tallest of the bunch, whom you remembered as tyson's friend from college, one you'd met multiple times, who'd tried to get your number before he realized who you were to tyson.
"hey, hollywood," sammy asked, and you rolled your eyes at the nickname.
"i wasn't hollywood until i politely declined," you reminded him, smiling, tyson's arm tight around your waist.
sammy gave a light laugh, leaned back further. "and it was your loss," he argued.
"'m not so sure," you sing-songed back.
"careful, hollywood, or i'll cancel you," was sammy's reply, and it made you laugh, at the reminder of just how odd and unique your life was, your job.
after catching up quickly, and making plans to get drinks with them the next day, you bid your goodbyes to tyson's teammates.
as you walked away with tyson, towards the parking lot, you heard the back end of the conversation you'd left in your wake.
"what were you doin' out here, anyways?" came jj's voice.
"just in the outfield, i don't know," jack's mumbly voice said, almost embarrassed.
"yeah, right," sammy replied. "you were tryna put the moves on her, weren't you?"
you bit back a laugh as you fell into stride with tyson. nothing had ever been easier than being pressed against his side, your shoulder curling in, just to be closer to him.
"last time i saw you, you were a national champion," you said, tilting your head to look up at him, smiling. it was crazy to think that he was a professional, now.
"and last time i saw you, you were prepping for that podcast you were going to go on," he said, "how'd that go, by the way?"
you furrowed your brow. "you didn't listen? thought i sent it to you."
he flushed in that way you loved. "i listened," he admitted, "just tryna play it cool, 's all."
you laughed into him, playfully hit him on the chest, relished in the shake of his shoulders. "you're so nonchalant, tys, it's killin' me," you said, and you could almost hear his grin.
"you're sweet, kid," he said, "thinkin' i know what nonchalant means."
then you were in front of his red truck, the same one he learned to drive on, the same one he used to drive you home from school in. "you're a pro and you've still got this piece of-"
tyson opened his mouth in feigned shock. "don't you dare," he warned. "she's no hunk of junk. been with me through everything."
and you swallowed your words. because you knew he didn't mean it like that, but the truth hung between the two of you, nonetheless - that his truck had been with him through everything. that you had not.
tyson seemed to sense your shift in emotion, tried to change the subject. "wouldn't make a habit of calling me a pro, either," he warned.
"yeah?" you asked, and his eyes flashed. "gonna get a big head on me?"
he leaned a little deeper against the passenger door, a little easier. "don't spoil me, kid," he warned, and it was light-hearted, but sort of serious, too. like if you were too nice to him, too lovely, it'd make your leaving all the more painful.
you hummed, sucked on your teeth for a second, a nervous habit. "should i be mean, then, tys?" you pressed, because you missed him, like this. missed the way your breathy words could make his exhales shallow, his cheeks rosy, his eyes glossy.
he rested his temple against the window, crossed his arms over his chest. you mirrored his posture, crossing your ankles and leaning against the side of the car. "know i like you both ways," he said, low, and it had something sparking in your stomach like an old-fashioned lighter.
because you did know. you knew that as much as he liked when you whispered how pretty he was against his mouth, or through spit-soaked lips against his cock, he also liked when you pulled his head back off of you by his hair, when you murmured how greedy he was, how spoiled and bratty.
in a world that wanted to take everything from you, against your will, against your wishes, it felt like something magnificent that tyson wanted to take whatever you'd give him, so badly.
you and tyson had always felt inevitable, in a way, like no matter what (or who) you did, you'd always stumble back together.
"i have my own place, now," he said, and it was strained, almost desperate. "i could show you?"
and you wanted to say yes, so much so that you had to bite your lip to stop the words from coming out. "tys," you began, instead, because you knew that if you didn't tell him your plans, now, you'd regret it forever. you knew that to blindside him would be cruel.
his eyes shone with something other than desire, then. "i know you're not coming back, this time," he said, and you hated the resignation you'd evoked in the most hopeful person you knew. "i know i don't get you again, kid."
you sighed. you supposed it wouldn't have been that hard to infer the truth. you hadn't really been trying to hide it, only trying to minimize damages.
"i just," you said, willing any shake from your tone, looking down at your feet like a coward, "i just don't think it's a good idea for me to come over, tonight."
there was a small pause that felt like a grand piano on your chest. you could feel his probing gaze on your profile, searching for something, some sign. you felt awful that you couldn't give him one.
"okay, kid," he said, eventually. it was impossible to miss the slight disappointment that wavered in his voice. "you'll be here, tomorrow?" the unsure shake in his tone could have killed you.
"i'll see you tomorrow." you said, hopeful, even though all you wanted to do was kiss him so hard it chipped his perfect teeth. "we'll get drinks with your friends?"
he smiled back at you, but his eyes didn't scrunch up at the corners. it wasn't real, not truly. "yeah," he said, "yeah, perfect."
you hugged him goodbye and couldn't ignore how he held you, then - like your feet were buoyant in the air, like you were dreamily floating away, and he was the only thing keeping you on the ground.
that night, in your childhood bed, you slept in bouts of doubt, amidst tantrums of guilt. you slept poorly.
you had some work to do the next morning.
this "work" didn't look the same way work did for most. while you still fostered a general skepticism towards social media, you found small joys in it nonetheless. for example, you still avoided reading comments, and you never watched your videos over again after posting them, but you loved to leave kind words on the posts of people you'd met over the years, of close friends, sometimes of acquaintances.
you enjoyed the feeling of getting an especially lovely shot of your morning coffee, a unique picture of your friend laughing after pilates class, appreciated when girls would reach out to you to say how much they loved a product you'd endorsed. you liked sharing what you thought about books you were reading, how recipes you tried turned out.
you figured that it wouldn't do you much good to dwell on the seemly meaninglessness of what you did. you figured that you could make your own meaning, a meaning that involved kindness and gratitude and genuineness in a world of drama and envy and vanity.
as was the case for most things, for most jobs - there were both good parts and not so good parts.
this morning was pretty tame, in comparison to some of your recent workdays. you had a few videos to shoot (including a sort of ironic get ready with me in my childhood home), a short meeting with your management, and a brand deal to finalize.
you wanted to get all of that done before that night, so that you could fully enjoy your night out. so that you could fully enjoy your time with tyson.
thankfully, your meeting was easy, just a twenty minute check-in on your computer, and filming get ready with me videos had become something of a instinct, so that was fast, too.
for your brand deal though, you wanted to get out of the house, maybe shoot at a location with a little better natural lighting. so, after making some progress packing up your bedroom, you left the house in search of large windows and an abundance of sunlight.
your search proved successful when you found yourself at the local public library. the beautiful stone building had the most gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows, a ton of sunshine, and a big study space full of desks - perfect for the ad you were shooting for the blue-light glasses brand you loved.
you didn't want to overstep your boundaries, though, knew that different places had different policies on cameras and the like, so you approached the front desk, and the narrow-faced, brown-haired boy behind it, who didn't seem to register your presence, his face all but hidden in what appeared to be a book about the history of horses.
"excuse me," you asked, "can i ask you something?"
he looked up, his face blank, completely devoid of a reaction. "yeah," he said, plainly, not putting his book down.
"great," you replied, your smile cheery. you looked down at his name tag, saw that it read dylan. "i was wondering what your policy was on taking pictures."
"of me?" dylan asked, his brow scrunching up in confusion.
you blinked, half-laughed. "no," you began, slowly. "no, not of you."
"are you josty's girl?" was his follow-up question, and you felt your head spin in an instant, felt your heart well up at his wording. oh, no, how you weren't tyson's girl. oh, how you wanted to be.
you just tilted your head. "you know tyson?"
he nodded, his eyes careful, a little calculating. "he had me watchin' for your rover the other day."
your eyes widened in realization. "you're cozey," you said, and it came out like a laugh, because somehow such a childlike nickname didn't fit the face in front of you, the serious expression, the quiet nature.
he smiled, at bit, his thin lips curling towards the corner. "was startin' to think he made you up," he said, "talks about you so much, and we never saw you."
"oh, wonderful," you said as you dramatically covered your eyes with your palms, consequently getting a strong smell of your perfume, still potently present on your wrists. "can only imagine all the nonsense he's told you."
dylan looked a little confused, but maybe that was just how he looked. "just that you take pretty pictures," he said, "and that he's gonna be busy this week."
you could tell that there was more to what he was saying, that he was keeping something from you, something important, but you didn't pry.
"is it okay if i use that table over there to shoot an ad really quick?" you asked, pointing towards the desk by the window.
he seemed generally confused as to what you were doing and why, but he consented nonetheless.
"thank you," you said to him with a smile, "you're the best, dylan."
he just blinked at you and mumbled a yeah, no problem.
without another person there to help out, you were left to your own equipment, the dreaded tripod making an appearance to get a good shot of you in several pairs of glasses, in front of your computer, looking like you were working.
you were past feeling awkward about taking photos of yourself this way, but the ordeal had memories flooding back to you, anyway.
memories of sitting on the beach with tyson, trying to get an alright angle so that you could capture all of the sponsored swimsuit you had been wearing.
"want me to help?" tyson had said, almost immediately, his curly hair windblown, his chest sandy and tan.
you'd looked at him with such gratefulness, then. at the small gesture that meant he didn't hate the weird life you were living - but rather that he still recognized it was you who was living it.
"could you, please?" you'd asked, couldn't stop the smile his eagerness pulled from you.
and he'd look so happy to be of service, his long fingers making your phone look like a child's toy, his tongue peeking out of his mouth as he poised the camera just so, shifting it softly between shots.
he'd let out a low whistle when you'd angle your body a certain way, mainly to showcase the cute neckline of the swimsuit, but also in a way you knew made your chest look good.
and other guys would probably let loose some snide comment about how it wasn't fair that everyone got to see you like this, how it wasn't right to show yourself off in this way.
of course, tyson didn't do that, though, was never the type for such things.
"am i drooling, kid?" he'd asked instead, leaning his face forward so you could get a better look at his mouth, his eyes sparkling. "feel like i must be, at this point."
and you'd roll your eyes at him, but your chest would feel warm and content, and you'd lean forward and kiss him softly in thank you.
then he'd smiled and scooped you up, phone forgotten on his towel, and ran you over to the ocean, diving into the waves with you in his arms as you'd squealed your disapproval.
"tys," you'd whined, once you'd both come up above the waves again. "now my hair's all ruined." you pouted, but you didn't regret any of it - not when he was looking at you like you were some kind of mermaid, maybe a siren - something or someone he couldn't say no to, even if he'd wanted to.
he'd pulled you against him, so warm in contrast with the cold ocean water, so close you could feel every ridge of muscle against your stomach. "look prettier than any picture," he'd breathed, his cheeks rosy, running his hand through your hair, so genuine it almost hurt to remember.
it didn't feel the same, now, at this sunny library desk, pretending to be someone put together. pretending to be some different person, someone so much more organized and important, simply because of the half-rimmed glasses you were wearing.
regardless, you got the shots you needed, sent them to your management to be approved by the brand, and then began to pack up your stuff, folding your tripod up and throwing your bag over your shoulder.
after checking your phone, you realized you were a little pressed for time, that you'd actually been here for longer than you'd realized.
you stopped by the front desk again on your way out, gave the attendant a small smile. "thank you again, dylan," you said.
he looked up from his book, now something entirely different, not the complete history of horses but rather the complete history of sabretooth tigers. "no problem," he said, his voice fairly uninterested.
"are you coming out with us tonight?" you asked. "to that bar downtown? what's it called?"
"the kid's line," dylan answered. you squinted, slightly, at the odd name for the bar. "yeah, i'll be there. think jj and jack are working tonight."
"i'll see you there, then," you said before turning to make for the door. he called out a quiet goodbye as you did.
it became clear, after about a half hour of you trying to get ready, that something wasn't quite right. as you stood in front of your closet and open suitcase, you blew a stray lock of hair from your face, frustrated.
you had no idea what to wear, which rarely ever happened. nothing felt right. your dresses felt too formal, your skirts too revealing, your jeans not revealing enough.
you were stuck in this weird limbo, this almost purgatory-like mental space - caught between wanting to look really good and knowing it would be a little cruel to do so, when you'd just, last night, practically rejected the one person you wanted more than anything.
perhaps rejection wasn't the right word, as you hadn't flat out denied him, hadn't blatantly lied, said no, tys, i don't want to come over, i don't want to hug you until both our ribcages crack, i don't want to hear you moan into my ear until it's the only sound i can remember.
that happy hope dying out in his eyes though, that blinking realization that this time was different, that this time wasn't going to be like all the others - it sat in the back of your head like an ancient man in an even more ancient armchair.
you sighed, closed your eyes for a moment. home had always been tough to come back to, a place you felt much too big for, like trying to squeeze into middle school jeans. it had been a place defined by mean comments that still lurked in your mind, in snarky looks from classmates and adults alike, in always feeling like you were the last to know things, on the bad end of every inside joke.
tyson had always been your exception, though, your trump card, your tangible proof in a world of through-screen praise that you were worth something.
it was dawning on you, slowly but surely - when you left in a few days, for the final time, when you didn't have him to ground you to the earth like the roots of some great maple - what then? would you even recognize yourself without the heavy knowledge that even if you had nothing else, at least you had him? what would a truly tyson-free you even look like?
you shuddered at the thought, at how much it scared you. still, the question made your decision about what to wear suddenly seem very easy. you threw on your favorite pair of jeans and one of tyson's baseball sweatshirts from high school without giving it another thought before heading out the door and making your way to the kid's line.
this bar used to be called granato's when you were growing up, but apparently the name had changed recently with the change in management. you gave an impressed sort of look as you entered the establishment. it was a lot nicer than you remembered.
you scanned the room for the group you were looking for, which was a little hard, given how packed the place was. you squinted, your gaze shifting from face to face, before you felt a gentle hand on your shoulder.
"they're over by the edge of the bar," a sweet, feminine voice said, making you turn to face a petite woman, probably about your age, maybe a little younger. she wore her smile beautifully on her round face. her black clothes and apron, along with the tray of empty glasses she was carrying, told you that she worked here.
"thank you," you said, smiling back at her, "what was your name?"
"mia," she answered, and you gave her your own name in return.
"how'd you know who i was looking for?" you asked, curious.
she tilted her head like you'd said something funny. "tyson's only been talking about you for about a million years," she said, and the information made you feel guilty and overjoyed all at once.
"i better get over there, then," you said. "it was nice to meet you, mia. i hope i'll be seeing more of you?"
she smiled. "i'm always around," she said, kindly.
you squeezed behind stools, chairs, and people to approach the edge of the bar, quickly recognizing the group of guys you had been looking for.
sammy was the first to notice you, from his high vantage point.
"hollywood," he greeted, deep and loud, "you made it."
"that i did," you said, quickly slotting yourself next to tyson and wrapping an arm around his waist, not giving yourself a chance to be timid, beating your guilt and regret to the punch. "mia showed me the way."
if tyson was reluctant to accept your display of easiness, of affection, he didn't show it, immediately tucking his broad hand into the back pocket of your jeans, the way he used to do in high school. it made you blush, swoon, feel dizzy. dizzy enough to lean your head against the side of his arm.
"mia, eh?" sammy's smirk grew teasing as he looked to dylan, who was basically melting into the wall, gaze averted. "what do you think, coz? should we get her over here?"
your eyes widened in interest. "d'you have a thing for mia, dylan?" you asked, smiling, happy to have something to focus on besides your own internal dilemmas.
the librarian gave something like a dismissive scoff, but his blush was something violent, all over his face, and he almost choked when he took a sip of his drink.
sammy basically pulled his friend from the wall by the back of his neck, slung a huge arm around his shoulder. "it's only been, what, a few years, eh, coz?"
tyson chuckled, and you felt it at your temple.
"why don't you ask her out?" you asked, to which dylan pressed his lips together, like he knew exactly what was going to be said next.
"that would require him to actually talk to her, kid," tyson said, right by your ear, his breath hot, sweet, from the cocktail he was drinking.
you winced. "oh, dyl," you said, slow, almost pitiful.
"i've talked to her," he tried, but it was weak, knowing.
sammy gave that boisterous laugh, tilting his head back. "good one, coz."
you hugged tyson closer to you, smiling into the embrace, loving how it felt to be a part of his world, if only for a bit. you realized that you were almost hungry for it - for tyson's world, his touch, just him.
such a predicament wasn't helped when he leaned down, slightly, just enough to make the music feel far away. "like your sweatshirt, pretty thing," he said, and it was the kind of rasp that told you that he'd had a few drinks before you'd arrived.
regardless, you looked up at him with an almost delirious hope in your eyes. "yeah?" you asked, reaching up to push his curls from his face, so you could see his hooded eyes.
he hummed. "know i love my number on you," he said, and your knees practically wobbled, because you did. you remembered how so many nights spent in the stands with his number on your back ended in ways that had you wondering where he began and you finished.
your heated haze was diluted when someone bumped into you with something cold, jarring you, making your head snap to your left.
you were met with a guilty looking jack quinn in all black, supposedly on the job, with a bucket of ice in his hands.
"sorry," he said, walking towards the other side of the bar.
tyson pulled you back so you were right in front of him, allowing you to relax against his chest. "watch where 're goin', eh, quinner?"
"jack," came a jj-sounding voice from next to sammy, shaking some drink together over his shoulder. "what'd i say about walking through the room with the ice?"
"to not to," jack mumbled, making you shake in a soft laugh.
jj winked at you, which made the arms around your front tighten, ever so slightly, just enough to notice. just enough to feel wanted. "sorry, beautiful," jj said, "my bar-back's not the brightest of the bunch."
"that's just mean," jack mumbled to himself as he dumped the ice in the cooler below the counter.
"no worries at all," you said, "didn't feel a thing."
dylan laughed by the wall. "don't have to lie," he said, "know he swings that thing around like a mace."
"oh, big words from the bookworm, eh?" sammy chided, leaning back against the counter.
dylan rolled his eyes. "mace is four letters," he responded. "not my fault it'd take you a few tries to spell your own last name correctly."
sammy scoffed, set his beer down. "whatever," he said, "'m gonna go talk to that smoke by the door."
there was a moment during which he waited for dylan's retort, but it never came. he shot dylan a look. "your silence is speaking volumes, coz," he said, walking away. "tell mia i say hey."
the lot of you watched as sammy approached the blonde woman with sharp features who was standing off to the side of the door.
tyson laughed lightly when his friend's posture grew suggestive, when sammy leaned down to hear the woman when the music in here wasn't even that loud.
"such a tool," dylan mumbled when sammy took her hand and kissed the top of it, like some kind of prince courting a fair maiden. by the looks of the woman's flush, her delighted laugh, the tool seemed to be doing okay for himself.
the night passed both sluggishly and too fast, defined by tyson pressed against you, the sound of laughter, the taste of some cocktail that jj had named the hollywood.
the hollywood was fruity, sweet, and pink, but it turned out to be lethal - after one you knew your time drinking was over if you hoped to drive home at the end of the night. tyson, however, had a few of them, and you could tell. you couldn't say you minded, not that much.
ever since he could drink, tyson had been a truly flirty drunk. alcohol seemed to make his hands stick like velcro to you, make his posture hunch just to be at eye level with you. with a few empty glasses came sweet words from his mouth, if not a little jumbled. his cheeks always flushed so pink, and he became even more uninhibited about showing you just how happy he was to be around you.
tonight was no different. as you listened and joked with his friends, his embrace grew steadily more meaningful, until he was practically hanging off of you like a garland on a christmas tree.
at some point, jj said something that made you laugh, and you could feel tyson's pout on the back of your neck. it made you scrunch your brow in confusion, look up at him, push his hair from his blushy face.
"what's wrong, tys?" you asked, quietly, just for him.
he sighed, and it made him younger than he was. you turned to face him, fully, wrapped your arms around his neck, ran your nails along the back of his hairline, just how you knew he liked. when he sighed again, it was in bliss. he looked at you like there had never been anyone else in this world more interesting.
"just want you, i think," he said, so blunt and honest, as he always was, and it cracked your chest in two.
"is that all?" you breathed, and you meant it as a joke, but it came out strained. he rested his palms on the small of your back.
he smiled, slightly, the corner of his full mouth pulling upwards. "yeah, nothing new," he said, "same as always." something like indecision flickered in his gaze before he pressed a kiss to your cheek, then to the other, then to your forehead, his lips so warm and doting and lovely and familiar.
your own lips parted slightly at the sensation, and you felt yourself leaning forward slightly, practically begging him to kiss you, for real-
a cold, hard, smack against your leg ripped you from your fantastical daze. once again, you turned to find jack and his bucket of ice.
"jesus christ, jack!" jj called from behind the bar. "honestly, it's not that hard!"
jack set the ice down on the ground, turned to jj with something like anger in his eyes. "why don't you do it, then, if it's so easy?"
jj shook his head like this was the craziest thing he'd ever heard. "the bartender doesn't get the ice, idiot," he said, "that's like the first rule. apologize to the beautiful lady."
jack shook his head, murmured his apology to you before taking the ice behind the counter.
sammy was long gone, supposedly with the blonde from before, and dylan had wandered off. he said he was going to the restroom, but mia appeared to have intercepted him mid-walk.
you smiled to yourself at the sight - he looked about as nervous as a person could get, hand in his pocket, the other wrapped so tightly around his glass that his knuckles were white. mia didn't appear to mind, either way, if her easy laugh and wide grin were anything to go by.
when she tilted her head back in a sweet giggle at something he had said, dylan looked just about stunned.
you turned back to tyson, wrapped one of his big hands up in both of yours. deja vu stole your breath for a second. you used to do this before big games. tyson would turn to you before he had to join the team, offer his left hand to you.
"warm her up for me, please, kid," he'd say, wait for you to run your palms over his. he would refuse to leave until you pressed your lips to his knuckles, swearing it gave him good luck, that he wouldn't play well without your seal of approval.
at this point in his career, with him playing without you, you both knew this wasn't true, but it felt true, then.
"let's get you home, pretty boy," you said to him, now, knowing he was not in a state fit for driving. "i'll give you a ride."
you leaned forward on the bar counter, not dropping his hand. "thanks for tonight, boys," you said to jack and jj. "wonderful service."
"anything for you, beautiful," jj said, wiping the counter down. you supposed that his charm must make him quite good at this job.
"'m sorry about the ice," jack said, scratching the back of his neck. "it's just really heavy."
"aren't you a professional athlete?" you teased, tilting your head.
jack looked confused at the relevance of your comment. "i guess," he said.
on your way out, you passed mia and dylan. you thanked her again for her help. "oh, and dylan told me he set aside a book at the library for you," you said, and the man in question began to shake his head vigorously, trying ever so hard to get you to stay in your lane. "right, dyl?"
he gave you an angry look that evaporated as soon as mia turned to him, looking genuinely touched. "really?" she asked.
dylan coughed. "i guess so," he said, clipped, "got a real great read for you." you made a gesture with your free hand for him to continue, to keep talking. "and you can pick it up," he paused, squinting at you, as if deciding, "tomorrow."
after that had been decided, you and tyson officially said your goodbyes. he was a little slow on his feet, but he got into the passenger seat fine, if not a bit quietly.
"you'll be good if i drop you at yours?" you asked as you pulled out of the parking lot. you knew he hadn't had too, too much to drink, that he should be fine on his own for the night, especially if his roommate, sammy, would be coming home later tonight.
tyson just nodded, gave you his address. you wanted to ask him what was wrong, why he was suddenly so quiet, but a selfish part of you didn't want to know.
he spoke, eventually, regardless. "you're so good with them," he said, and it was soft, almost wistful.
"with who?" you asked, making a right turn. you were thankful that driving gave you an excuse not look at his face.
tyson gave a vague gesture. "them," he said, "everyone. my friends, this town. you're good, here." there was a pause. "you're good with me, kid."
it was selfish and probably cruel, but you were a little grateful that he was tipsy, so you could chalk it up to the alcohol. so that you could deny it wasn't just the plain truth.
"tyson," you began, but then you bit your lip, unsure.
"wow, full name," he said, sad but teasing, like he was trying so hard not to be serious. "must've really fucked up." he turned to face you as you pulled into his driveway, and when he spoke again it was as cruel as you'd heard him. "was it something i said?"
there was a pause during which you had absolutely no clue what to say. because as much as his confession had hurt you, because of how much you knew it hurt him, these words hurt in a different way. if you're good with me had been a slow growing infection, a dull and steady pain, was it something i said was a dagger wound to the ribs - sharp and stinging with every exhale.
and it probably wasn't fair, because it hurt you only because it was true, only because it reminded you how much you were killing him. it hurt because it was guilt. it wasn't fair, because who were you to hurt, now? all because the person who had always taken everything you gave him was finally asking for something? the one thing you couldn't give him?
luckily, tyson didn't seem to want to stick around to hear your answer, instead getting out of the car with a heavy breath and walking up to his front door, unlocking it and closing it behind him without a look back.
you were practically shaking for the rest of the night, all throughout the drive to your place, as you brushed your teeth and took off your makeup, as you tucked yourself into bed and stared up at the ceiling.
you thought about texting him, saying something like you know i can't do this, but you figured it would just be salt in the wound, so you just tossed and turned all night, trying to push his disappointed tone and rosy resignation from your head.
the next couple of days passed in agony. you weren't sure if you could reach out to tyson, and he didn't reach out to you, so the countdown to your final goodbye ticked down. it felt like a waste, because you only had so many days, and you weren't even getting to see him for so many of them. all because of you. or him. or both of you.
you used your isolation as much-needed time to catch up on work and finally make some serious progress on packing up your room.
mornings were filled with brand deals and computer meetings and phone calls and filming. when the sun dipped lower in the sky, like an inflated end of summer peach, too heavy for the breezy blue sky to support, you would turn your attention to your dresser, your drawers, your storage bins.
it was fine. it was all fine - this was what you had come home to do, in the first place. this was the whole purpose of you coming home.
eventually, though, when you sighed, opened up your closet doors to tackle the very last space you had to deal with, when you realized after the closet was done, you would be done, when it registered that you were leaving tomorrow night, when you couldn't really bear the thought of not seeing tyson on your last night here, you caved.
you took the easy way out, though, didn't just text him i miss you or i'm sorry, instead pulled out the second place talent show trophy you'd found buried under tennis skirts and winter coats, took a photo of it and sent it to him.
still think we were robbed, you added, even though it wasn't true. the kid who won the year you and tyson did a magic act was a truly exceptional pianist, and all you did was gesture towards tyson's card tricks in a sparkly outfit. for the whole year afterwards, though, the two of you would joke about how the whole thing was rigged, how you demanded a recount, how first place was overrated.
it made you smile, to remember a time when the two of you were so close, when the prospect of being separated wasn't even on your radar.
you half expected tyson to ignore your message, maybe to tell you to fuck off with all of your weaponized nostalgia, but of course he didn't.
within minutes, he had sent you back a picture of his own trophy, displayed somewhere with his diploma, college degree, and all of his baseball stuff.
of course, he never would have let such a relic sink to the depths of his closet, to be all but forgotten amidst old halloween costumes and flannel bedsheets. he would never have let a reminder of you be anything but front and center.
probably would have won if you'd been running the show, he texted back, and a small smile tugged free on your face. it felt like the first time you'd smiled in days.
yeah? you responded, think you could pull off the sequins?
is that even a question? was tyson's response. you could practically see his smirk, his easy lean.
there was a second of pause as you stared at the bubbles on your screen that let you know that he was typing.
you're probably busy, he sent, but we're playing at home tonight.
your decision to go see him was made in a second, in a second that you realized tyson jost thought that there was a possibility that you could ever be too busy for him.
too scared, maybe, too self-conscious and self-doubtful, sure, but too busy? never.
i'll be there, you sent back, tacking on an i miss you, tys on the end just because it was true.
after assuring you he'd drive you home after, he texted you an i miss you, too, kid.
you finished packing up your closet, got ready for the night. you were going to get at least a few photos of you in the stands, as the ballpark lighting would add some variety to your natural-looking feed, so you decided to put a little more effort into what you were wearing, made sure to set your face well enough to last.
not enough effort, however, to refuse to wear tyson's cap from high school, the one that had his number stitched into the brim. you texted dylan, since you figured he'd be attending to support his friends, arranging to sit together once you'd both arrived.
after a final look in the mirror and a deep breath, you headed out the door and took the bus to the ballpark, turning your music up loud enough in your headphones to drown out any thoughts of doubt or guilt or regret.
dylan wasn't there yet when you arrived, so you figured you'd take the time before the game started to get those pictures you wanted. you made your way to your seat, set up the timer on your phone, went through the routine you usually went through when you were shooting in public, changing your angle or pose slightly after each shot.
you didn't spread out, made sure not to intrude on anyone's space - you were well practiced in being courteous and conscious while taking pictures.
even so, it wasn't long before you heard the distinct sound of poorly-hidden laughter just behind you, a few rows back, just loud enough and close enough to know they were laughing at you.
"is she actually doing that right now?" came a voice that you could almost recognize - if there's someone who doesn't know what a judgmental high school girl sounds like, perhaps they should consider themselves lucky.
someone else, probably her friend beside her, snickered. "probably hopin' one of the players will notice her."
at this point in your career, you were used to people not getting it - not getting you. and while you had long ago made peace with the fact that guys could just be jerks, especially when you weren't interested in them, it had always been the hate from girls that hurt the most.
it had been the same way in high school, when girls, yourself included, were still learning that life wasn't some grand fight-to-the-death competition for which the prize was male attention. you knew that if girls were mean to other girls, more often than not, it was because they had been taught that that was just the way it was supposed to be, bombarded from a young age with ideas about cat-fights and mean girls and such.
of course, having gone through it yourself, you knew that such behavior was something you grew out of, something that comes with the privilege of having close female friends, the privilege of understanding how lovely and genuine such friendships can be.
you chose to give these girls behind you the benefit of the doubt, to believe that they would grow out of their meanness. and sure, you could have turned around and snapped at them, maybe even said something about how you didn't need one of the players to notice you, because number seventeen was already yours (even though that wasn't all the way true).
you could have done a lot of things, but instead you just turned to face them and smiled.
the one on the right gave you a guilty look, like she'd been caught.
"sorry to be a bother," you said, "but do you think you could take a few for me?" you handed your phone out to her. "i'd love some from your angle. you can say no, though, no problem."
one of the thing you'd learned along the way was that it was harder to be critical about things you were directly involved in.
the pair of girls blinked at you for a second, but eventually, the silence was broken.
"yeah, sure," one said. "no problem."
"awesome, you're the best," you said, then showed her how to angle the phone and what settings to put your camera on.
she took a few and then handed the phone back to you. your eyes widened as you looked through the photos she'd taken. "woah." you looked up to meet her expectant gaze. "you're, like, really good at this," you said, because it was true - you now had several good options to post.
the girl blushed, and the sight made you really, genuinely happy. "i'm into photography," she admitted, "usually not people, but, i mean, i don't know."
her friend smiled, slapped her playfully on the arm. "don't be humble," she teased, before looking towards you, "she took my prom photos and they were crazy good."
"i believe it," you said, nodding, before gesturing between them. "do you want me to get one of you guys?"
after they agreed and handed you one of their phones, you shot a couple of them, together, arms around each other, their smiles genuine and brighter than the massive lights above the ballpark. eventually, your phone buzzed.
"i think that means my friend's here," you said, then handed them back their phone. "but it was really nice to meet you guys. thanks again for your help."
one of them waved you off. "of course," she said, "anytime."
you gave them a wave and a smile as you made your way back down to your seat, where dylan was waiting.
as you turned, you heard them begin to whisper again, but with a very different tone.
"she's, like, so pretty," one said.
"oh my god, right?" the other agreed, "and i need that jacket."
you bit your lip to stifle your smile as you settled into the seat next to dylan. it was honestly kind of crazy - how simply being kind made you that much more beautiful in the eyes of others.
"hey, dyl," you greeted, taking in the tall, thin figure to your left before narrowing your eyes. "why're you dressed like you're on the run?"
dylan scoffed, but your observation was spot on. your companion had on two sweatshirts and a bucket hat, tilted down so that his face was barely visible. "i'm not," he said. you raised a brow, to which he sighed. "mia said she was coming tonight."
you all but squealed, pressed your palms together and held the side of your hands to your lips. "why're you hiding, then?" you asked, your fingers itching to rip the hat from his head.
"because i gave her a book like you forced me to," he bit out.
"well," you said, "what book did you give her?"
"the complete history of open heart surgery," he answered, plainly.
you grimaced. "oh, dylan," you sighed. "why didn't you give her a cute little rom-com, or, like, a book with a character that reminds you of her?"
"i got nervous, alright?" he said, gesturing flippantly. "i just gave her the book i had been reading the day before."
"what's with all the complete histories, anyways?" you asked, curious. "every time i've seen you, it's been something different."
dylan cut you a side glance as the teams stilled, as the announcer introduced the anthem singer. "'m training," he said, "for jeopardy."
you took off your hat and shook your hair loose, deciding as the anthem began that there were crazier things that your hometown librarian training to be on a trivia game show.
as the music ended and you turned back to the diamond, clapping with the rest of the crowd, you searched for number seventeen, for that figure you'd know blind. you found him, his curly hair unruly even under his hat, the sight of him enough to make you practically sigh in relief.
if you hadn't been aware of how much you'd missed him, these last couple of days, the ache in your chest was making that abundantly clear, now, the weight of it impossible to ignore.
the game passed fairly predictably. tyson's team was the heavy favorite, and they had pulled away in just the first few innings. sammy was pitching a heater, and jack and jj proved to be much more of a reliable duo in the outfield than they were behind the bar.
of course, you weren't particularly paying attention to anyone besides tyson, your gaze almost glued to him under the harsh light above the bleachers.
nostalgia had become something like a dagger since you'd been home, but there was something lovely about the way sitting in the stands and watching him play made you feel.
you'd been in this position a thousand times before, through high school varsity and club teams and summer league. you'd been an observer from a distance during his college years.
and here you were, back again, both of you so, so different and yet devastatingly, beautifully the same. as you hugged one knee up to your chest, you felt young in a way you hadn't felt in years, maybe ever.
it felt so good to not have to worry about anything besides if you were cheering too loudly.
"i just don't want to embarrass you," you used to say to tyson on the drive home, when you'd bring up your anxiety on the topic.
he'd squeeze your knee, chuckle to himself. "you could never, kid," he'd say, "want everyone there to know you're there for me."
you barely noticed dylan's practically frantic search around the stands for mia, or jj and jack's dugout antics (spilling blue gatorade on each others' white pants), or sammy's loud voice basically cutting through the night air.
the only thing you noticed was tyson's easy posture, easier smile, perhaps easiest laugh. he was at home, here. he had a home, here, and there wasn't a single part of him that was embarrassed about it.
the realization made you flush with something you couldn't quite put your finger on, something like want, or maybe more like need.
something that had you crossing and recrossing your legs, adjusting the hair on the back of your neck, almost sighing with relief when the game finally ended, when you and dylan made your way to the ballpark back exit, where tyson had promised to meet you.
"well, i guess you successfully avoided mia," you said as the two of you waited.
dylan let out a sharp breath. "yeah," he conceded, "thank god."
you smiled at his tone, though - you had a feeling this was exactly what he needed to realize that avoidance was the last thing he actually wanted.
"quite the game, eh, hollywood?" came that comically deep voice, behind you, forcing you to turn and face the group of guys now coming through the open doors.
you didn't waste any time, felt like you couldn't afford to - spotting tyson's smirk-line smile quickly and making to almost tackle him in a hug.
sammy scoffed. "like we're not even here," he reiterated, before opening his arms up to dylan with that loopy grin on his face. "where's my celebratory hug, cozey?"
dylan looked positively horrified, stiffening up in the shoulders as sammy embraced him in one of the more awkward hugs you'd seen in your life.
you didn't really care, though, weren't really paying attention to anything but tyson. because as soon as you'd wrapped your arms around him, he'd done the same, dropping his bag immediately to make space for you, slotted his heavy arms around your waist, pulled you close enough that you turned your head to rest your cheek on his collarbone.
with an exhale into his neck, you had the harrowing yet comforting thought that there would never be anything as good as this.
"what's this for, kid?" tyson whispered into your hair, his nose brushing your temple, quiet, like he didn't want anyone to hear but you, like he was afraid he might scare you off.
you could have murmured something like does there need to be a reason? but you knew you both were aware of how you'd been ignoring each other for days. you knew you both were aware that you were leaving tomorrow.
"for you," you mumbled, breathing him in, memorizing him, like this.
he pulled away slightly, flicked the brim of your cap, speaking in a way that made his smile evident, his other arm still around your waist. "all for me, eh?"
you nodded, flushed, looking up at him through your lashes, eyes wide with expectation. you wanted to be all for him, so, so badly, even if it would be the last time. especially if, even. you were hanging off of his frame in a way that you thought probably made you look almost drunk. maybe you were drunk, in a sense, but not at the fault of alcohol.
"okay, well, i still need a ride home." jack's slightly louder voice drew your attention.
"how is that possible? how did you even get here?" jj asked him, incredulous.
jack shrugged, looked down, scuffing the bottom of his shoe against the pavement.
jj's head was already in his hands. "don't tell me you took one of those stupid scooters."
jack's squinty look was answer enough.
you felt tyson's laugh rumble through your body in a way that had you feeling almost limp against him. your heart felt hot in your chest.
"why can't you just drive me?" jack pestered his blonde friend. "my place is, like, two seconds from yours!"
"why can't you just get a functional car that doesn't need to be in the shop every other week?" jj countered.
you tilted your head up to tyson's ear as the bickering continued, as sammy egged jj on and dylan remained silent. "think we can sneak out?" you whispered.
his pink mouth ticked up at the corner. "in such a rush to get home?" he asked, and when his eyes flickered down to meet yours, you realized his question went deeper than a surface level joke.
you nodded, squeezed his bicep. "want to go home with you, tys," you clarified, and something burned in his gaze that had your knees weak.
you and tyson bid the arguing group goodnight, assuring them that you would make sure to see them tomorrow, before you left.
"just drive him home, jj," tyson called over his shoulder as the two of you walked to his truck. "'m sure he'll make it up to you."
sammy laughed loudly, at that. "yeah, sure," he said, "he'll let you split scooter fare with him next game."
tyson opened the passenger door for you, helped you into your seat before closing it, putting his stuff in the backseat, stepping easily into the driver's seat.
you leaned back against the familiar worn-in leather, the seat you'd spent practically all of high school in. this seat had been something of a throne to a younger you, and sitting here, now, it felt just as powerful. you swore you could feel the weight of a tiara on your head.
tyson smiled as he started the car, which jumped to life quickly. "think she missed you," he said, half-joking.
you ran a hand along the dash, careful. "missed her, too."
to your surprise, you found yourself fidgeting, slightly, on the drive, at red lights and stop signs.
"i can still drop you at yours, if you want," tyson said, and you could have cried at how selfless and sweet the gesture was. never pressuring you, even now. he wrapped one of your hands up in one of his bigger ones, brought it to his lips and kissed your knuckles softly. "i understand."
and maybe you would have taken the easy way out he'd offered you, it probably would have been the smart thing to do, but it was his last few words that had your head spinning. i understand. in a world where it felt like no one understood you, he did. he did.
of course that was enough to have you shaking your head, soft as a sleeping breath. you traced your fingers along his jaw, rough under your touch as he leaned into you, like an instinct, like he couldn't help it.
"i don't want you to drop me at mine," you said, and it came out sort of strained. "i want you, tys." you'd worry about the repercussions of your actions later. there wasn't room for anything else besides honesty in you, anyways.
his eyes practically fluttered shut at your words, and he let out a sound that was scarily close to a whimper. everything about him appeared so overwhelmed with lust that you wondered if he was okay to make the rest of the short drive home. "makin' it hard not to pull over, kid," he basically whined.
you pouted, just a bit. "you can wait a little longer, can't you?" you cooed, twisting one of his curls around a delicate finger, lifting your mouth to his ear. "'d rather you fuck me into your mattress than the backseat." you smiled against his neck at his feverish nod.
before you knew it, tyson had pulled the car into his driveway, opened your door for you, tugged you inside and nudged you up against the shut door with a broad thigh.
his gaze hung from your mouth like looking away would turn him to stone. when he dipped his head down to you, you felt your bottom lip quiver. he spoke, and you could feel the words on your own mouth, like it was you speaking them.
"can i?" tyson breathed, begged, his eyes so hot and hooded it should have burned you. "please?" one of his hands found your hip. "i need it."
later, maybe you would think about how it was this that seemed more off limits than anything else. it was his lips on yours that had felt the most forbidden, the most right, therefore the most cruel.
there had never been anything you'd wanted more, though, so you nodded and wrapped your arms around his neck as he cupped the side of your face in his rough hand, guiding your lips to his in a kiss that felt like a warm shower after a snow day.
kissing tyson was second nature to you, now, after so many years of practice, yet it still took you by surprise. he felt like late nights after school, like summer popsicles and picnics, like laughing so hard your stomach hurt. he felt like throwing your graduation cap, like playing catch in the driveway even though you couldn't throw to save your life, like crying in his arms the day you got your college acceptance.
his thumb traced circles into your jaw as you rooted your hands in his hair, still damp with sweat, kissing him harder, deeper, as if a whirlwind of meaning and memory and significance wasn't spinning around the two of you like a tornado. like you weren't being swept up and away.
he sighed into your mouth like he'd been holding his breath for years, and he tasted like orange gatorade, which made your head spin.
tyson had started drinking only orange gatorade junior year, when you'd mentioned after kissing him after practice one day that you liked the orange flavor but not really any of the other ones.
and here he was, still drinking it. like he needed to be prepared at all times, in case the opportunity to kiss you arose.
the realization made you well up with want as you bit down lightly on his bottom lip, rolled your hips lazily against his front, felt him already hard. he groaned, deep, and your stomach was a wave of desire.
you pulled away, slightly, watched his eyes flutter open, almost reluctant, his forehead resting against yours, your breaths hot, heavy.
you gave him a wicked smile, rolled your hips again. "already hard for me, tys?" you teased, your voice slow, false-pitying. "so needy, hm?"
"got no idea," he grumbled, his head dipping down to your neck when you palmed him over his pants. he left messy, open-mouthed kisses on your collarbone, your shoulder. when he moaned you could feel the vibrations against your skin like snowflakes. "no idea, kid."
you hummed. "want you in my mouth, tys," you said, voice rough, almost weary with desire. "gonna let me?"
he nodded, pulling you to his bedroom basically before you'd gotten the words out. "anything you want," he murmured, like a prayer, as he pulled you close against him, sat on the edge of his bed.
even in your lust-driven state, you still clocked the room around you - how much bigger his bed was than the twin he had at his parents' place. how much he'd grown, in the most intangible sense of the word.
it made you soften, slightly, made you bend down to rest on your knees, but not without a quick detour to his lips on the way there, a gentle, grateful kiss.
a kiss that had tyson's eyelids fluttering again, caught in some dreamy haze. you knew the feeling - it had been so long since you'd had him like this, and it was very likely that you'd never have him like this again. the gravity of the situation seemed to make him hypersensitive, especially whimperish and touch-hungry.
it made you want to memorize every single thing about him, his body, his sounds. it made you want to ruin him for anyone else who may be lucky enough to come after you.
now sitting back on your heels, you rested your elbows on his wide-spread knees, peered up at him as you lazily continued to palm him. his breaths came out like pants when you finally took him out, fully, spit into your hand and ran it up and down his cock in a firm, slow grip, relished in his strained groan, the way he had to hold himself up with a palm flat against the mattress, bringing the other to the side of your head, gathering your hair away from your face.
you gave a blissful sort of sigh at the sight of him, chest rising and falling, cheeks flushed, gaze so steadily focused on you as you worked his hard length. "oh, tys," you said, "why do you have to be so pretty?"
his lips quirked, ever so slightly, his brow still slightly pinched. "'m sorry, kid," he conceded, only a little smug, only a little cocky, just enough to make you aware of how wet you already were. "can't help it."
you chuckled, a light soft sound, then ran your tongue along the underside of his cock before finally moving to take the whole of him in your mouth.
you flattened your tongue against him, hollowed your cheeks, began a steady pace as you focused on his thick thigh flexing while you dug your nails into it for support, the way his grip in your hair grew desperate, hard, forcing a moan from your throat.
"fuck, 're so good at that, pretty thing," he rasped, at some point, once you'd gotten into a rhythm, once your eyes started to water and your neck started to tense, "so fuckin' good for me."
you hummed at his praise, lifted your head off of him, ran your wet lips along the length of him, using your other hand to run a thumb along the tip, couldn't help but smile against him when he shuddered, his neck rolling to the side for a moment. "taste so good, tys," you breathed, surprised at how rough your voice sounded, muffled with spit. "could suck you off forever."
and you sort of felt like you could - there was something about him, like this, so lovely and physical yet so entirely at your mercy, that made the dull ache in your jaw feel good, that made your raw throat burn like you'd just downed a shot of tequila, that made your sensitive knees and tense forearms feel sore in the best way.
there was something about knowing that, in this moment, there was no part of you that was hurting him, that every little bit of you was entirely focused on making him feel good.
"yeah?" he rasped, tugging lightly at your hair, his arm flexing to keep him upright. "love to make out with my cock, hm?"
you nodded, smiled up at him through lazy lips, your lashes long and heavy as you rested your cheek on his knee, just looking at him for a second. his hair curling into his face, a pink flush blooming up from his neck as he traced a thumb across your cheekbone, down to your swollen bottom lip, memorizing the way it felt on the pad of his finger. he wanted to remember you, like this, it seemed. you wanted to remember him, like this, too.
eventually, after a few exhales that felt weighted with meaning, he gently pulled you to your feet and onto his lap, but not without kissing you again, softer and sweeter and almost sadder, drowsy in a way that felt like lingering along the outskirts of a funeral for a loved one - not willing to leave, just yet, like your general closeness might somehow resurrect them, and you didn't want to miss it.
his wide hands kneaded at the flesh of your hips, slow and intentional, as his lips against yours grew even more sluggish, as you wrapped one arm around his neck for leverage, grasping at his firm chest with the other hand.
when he brought a hand down, shifted your clothes aside so that he could run his fingers through your folds, he hissed against your mouth, making you almost laugh.
"all this, for me?" he asked, forefinger just barely grazing your clit, making you jolt against his lap. "fuck, how lucky am i?"
you whined, let your head loll down to his shoulder as you rocked your hips against his hand, aimlessly chasing some kind of friction, relief from the tension that had been building inside of you for so long. "please, i need it, baby," you tried, "need you so bad."
he hummed, tracing lazy circles on your clit, making your breathing short and shallow, "what do you need, pretty thing?" he pressed, bringing his fingers to his lips and sucking lightly. you felt his words against your temple. "know 'll give it to you."
"can i have," you began, then whined when he teased you with a broad thumb, "can i have your cock inside me, tys?" you asked, "please, baby, 'm so hungry for it."
he groaned, and you felt it in your hair. "'course you can," he cooed as he flipped you on your back, lined himself up, the tip of his length catching against you, making your eyes flutter, "so polite for me, too."
you basically squeaked when he began to push into you, hard and deep immediately without hesitation. you had the thought that perhaps it was a little odd that somehow, even after all these years, tyson still blew you entirely out of the water, some perfect combination of a pleasure you'd never get used to and a comfort that you'd know in the dark.
he swore under his breath, so strained and desperate, as he pushed deeper into you, so slow you felt the pressure of it on the roof of your mouth, the length of him in the muscles of your thighs.
"that's it," he choked out, one hand on your hip, the other up higher, by your ribs. "fuck, that's it, pretty thing."
you reached a hand up to muffle your own sounds, because all of it was too overwhelming. when he began a steady pace, thrusting in and out with a force fueled by meaning, you whimpered against your own palm.
"oh, no," he said, low, with a spark that had you seeing stars as he picked up his pace. "know i want to hear you, yeah?" he took your hand from your mouth and pinned it to the mattress in a tight grip. "let me have it, hm?"
you nodded feverishly, interlacing your hand with his in a silent promise. "you're so deep," you breathed, "so good, tys, can't stand it."
he sucked on his teeth, moved his hand from your hip down to where your bodies met, swiping your wetness around with his thumb like he was in a trance. "yeah?" he asked, teasing your clit again, making you feel like you were going to explode, making you see fiery shooting stars at the edges of your vision. "feel me here, hm?" he pressed down lightly, increasing the sensation, making you cry out, squirm on his length.
"fuck, baby, right there," you whined, squeezing your eyes shut while his pace grew almost wretched, as his hips began to sputter and you could see his shoulders and neck tense. "wanna cum on your pretty cock, tys, please let me."
he hummed, his pace not relenting for even a second. "no one can fuck you like me, hm?" he rasped, almost delirious. "tell me, kid." he gave a quick grunt. "promise 'll let you milk my cock."
you whimpered, and even then, you sort of knew saying so would be a bad idea, but you were too greedy to care, too close. "only you, baby," you moaned, "no one else, tys, only you." maybe it would have been harder to say if it hadn't been true.
"good girl," he cooed before teasing your clit again, shifted your hips forward to hit that angle that had you moaning out his name, squeezing his cock so tightly, your high vibrating through you.
as you clenched down on him, your nails scraping at his forearm, the other hand holding onto his like you'd sink into his mattress if you let go, he came, too, warm and familiar and loud, his raspy moan rattling around in your head as he collapsed on top of you.
you let out a blissful sigh at the full weight of him against your chest, hot and damp with sweat. you closed your eyes, let yourself breathe him in, the smell of him, all of him, commit it to memory like a favorite lullaby.
at some point, he rolled off of you, but he didn't let you go - wrapping his heavy arms all the way around you, hugging you to him, letting you hike a leg up around his, rest your cheek against his chest.
his breathing was smooth, rhythmic. it made your eyelids feel heavy.
"tyson," you said, your voice drowsy, worn-out.
he cut you off by pressing his lips to yours in a kiss that felt like an apology. "tell me tomorrow, okay, kid?" he asked, and there was a shake in his raspy voice, like he was a second away from begging. "please, just," he cleared his throat, and it killed you. "let me have tonight, alright?"
you nodded, figured you could, at the very least, give him that. you could offer yourself that final indulgence.
you fell asleep in the warmest bed you could remember, to the sound of a heartbeat you knew as intimately as your own.
the next day wasn't nearly as dreamlike.
your day of departure sort of felt like a day of reckoning. from the moment your eyes opened, meeting the sunlight streaming in front the windows, you felt as if you were carefully holding a match in the middle of a gasoline-drenched room, as if one wrong move might send everything up in flames.
it didn't help that you woke up with a tyson you didn't truly recognize.
the whole morning, as you got ready, when he gave you a change of clothes, when you made breakfast in his kitchen, he acted like a man possessed, but possessed by two different entities, perhaps two different demons. one of which was a doe-eyed child, teary and whiny and just so, so devastated. the other was a cold-shouldered old man, short and snarky and grudge-holding.
it seemed, the whole morning, that tyson was constantly being torn between begging you to stay and screaming at you to just get the fuck out.
"what're your plans for today?" you asked, carefully, as you set his plate down in front of him. you weren't much of a chef, but you knew how to make eggs, and it felt kind of like a peace offering.
"got practice in about an hour," he said, not quite looking you in the eye as he pushed his food around his plate with a fork. "but i have to take you back to my parents' place first."
you scrunched up your brow in confusion. "why?" you asked.
he cleared his throat. "got, uh, a couple last things for you to pack up," he said, and it was quiet, soft. "before you leave." he probably didn't mean it to come out harsh, and maybe it was just you looking for things that weren't there, but you heard it, anyways. the way leave came out almost like a curse.
regardless, soon you were in the passenger seat of his truck, again, maybe for the last time. you breathed in the leather smell, tried not to ruminate on how quiet tyson was being, how unlike himself.
this was not the beautifully same tyson you knew, but you couldn't just go and ask him what's wrong? because of course you both knew.
when you pulled into the driveway just next to your own, you exhaled shakily before unbuckling your seatbelt. even now, tyson opened your door for you, helped you hop down to the pavement.
his parents weren't home, and you were selfishly grateful for it. you didn't think you could face their warm smiles, their knowing eyes. their kindness despite knowing what you'd put their boy through.
he led you up to his old bedroom, a few paces ahead at all times, like walking beside you would make you both move backwards.
when he opened the door, you suddenly felt pressure prick at your waterline, felt heat pull at the edges of your face. you had to remind yourself that you had no right to cry.
tyson cleared his throat again, went to rummage around in his closet.
as he did, your eyes fixated on the beanbag by the window, where you'd had your first kiss with him. you blinked away the thought that you'd already had your last. you missed when time felt infinite.
"right, well, here you go." tyson's voice pulled you from the hazy memory. when you turned to face him, he was handing a box to you in outstretched arms.
"thank you," you said, gently, as you took it from him, opened the top, "what's in here?"
you moved the contents around with your fingers, almost laughing at how random most of it seemed - notes from your speech and debate tournaments, a few of your tennis visors, your sparkly talent show outfit.
"just the stuff you left here," he said, obviously trying so hard to appear unfazed. "the stuff you're leaving."
his words cut you so deeply you couldn't even look at him. tears were so close to flowing it felt like your eyelids were blistering. look around at the stuff you're leaving, he said without words, look at the me you're leaving.
"what's this?" you asked, willing any shake from your voice, holding up a lump of fabric.
"few of my sweatshirts," he said, shifting back and forth on his feet. "know you have enough clothes, and stuff, but i want you to have 'em."
you nodded, could barely muster a thank you.
"and this?" you asked, confused when you held up a small photo book. when you opened it, you found polaroids of the two of you, all the way back to middle school. as you flipped through, there also appeared to be pictures from your social media profiles in there, too, like he'd printed them out.
something rumbled in his voice. "just some pictures," he said, "i kept all my favorites."
you blinked, registering what constituted his favorites - mostly you, mid-laugh, or with a wide smile, or with him. just you. you were his favorite.
you felt a tear finally fall, hang at your cheek as you looked up at him, found his face positively wrecked, his jaw tense, eyes almost scared, gaze simmering. he looked like a child. you had a feeling you looked in a similar way. you had been kids, together, after all. you were kids, a bit, even now.
and you wanted to tell him that he was your favorite, too, but you didn't recognize the voice that escaped your own mouth. "tys," you began, for what felt like the millionth time. "i'm sorry, baby, i am-"
the sound that he let out was something like a tearless choked sob, somehow even worse than when he'd dropped you off at the airport for college. you'll come back, kid? he'd asked you then.
what could you even say, now, when the answer was no?
"i just don't understand," he said, with a waver that could have brought you to your knees. "i just don't understand why you won't give us a chance." when he looked at you, you were almost shocked you didn't melt into the ground. "why won't you give me a chance, kid?"
you fumbled for words, for some semblance of reason. "because it doesn't make sense, tyson!" you said, probably much louder than you meant to. your throat was tight, your chest on fire. "we don't make sense!" you were in such different places, both in location and life.
he made a gesture, incredulous. "what are you talking about?" he said, "we are the only thing that makes sense!" this was the only time you could really remember him raising his voice at you.
you almost growled. "we're not in high school anymore!" you snapped. "we have no idea what it's like to be together, like this. we're different!"
he shook his head, stepped closer to you, took the box from you, set it on the ground, then cupped your face in his rough hands. "we're still us, kid," he said, pleading, "we'll always be us."
you wanted to believe him, but you couldn't. not yet. you looked away from his face, closed your eyes as he wiped the hot tears from your cheeks. "i'm not sure, tys," you breathed, like a secret.
there was a pause. the two of you, in some limbo, maybe purgatory. is that not what all childhood bedrooms are?
"not good enough," he said, eventually, then stepped away from you. there was a certain lightness to his voice that hadn't been there, before.
"what?" you asked, confused.
he tilted his head, wore his honesty like a crown, maybe some delicate tiara. "i'm not sure," he parroted, "your excuse. it's not good enough."
"c'mon, tys," you pleaded, huffing, "you have to see that we won't work."
"i don't," he said, plain and simple, "you can give me a better excuse after my practice."
you scoffed, felt the tears on your face still, practically harden. how you wished he would believe you. how relieved you were that he didn't.
how many times was he going to put this conversation off? just one more night, one more minute, one more second.
"eventually, we're gonna have to say goodbye," you said, and it was low, rough.
"maybe," he said, on his way out. "but not right now. i'll see you after practice."
and so he left you standing in his old bedroom, a box of memories at your feet, feeling even more confused and uncertain than when you'd arrived.
after finally shaking yourself from your daze, picking up the box, heading for the door, you turned around a final time, let your gaze drip down from the ceiling to the floor.
you'd become yourself in this room, on that beanbag, by that window. you'd become more than a beautiful girl, here. you'd become someone special.
when you shut the door behind you, it felt like half of your heart sprouted wings and flew away.
you walked over to your parents' place, next door, began to load all your stuff into the trunk of your car. you realized you hadn't even looked at your phone all morning, that work hadn't even crossed your mind.
there was a part of you that needed to talk to someone, that needed someone to understand, but you didn't know who, if not tyson.
that was how you found yourself calling up the public library as you made trips from your bedroom to your driveway.
"yeah?"
you scrunched up your face. "that's how you answer the work phone?" you asked. you could almost hear the eye roll on the other end.
"no one ever calls this number," dylan's voice said, and you were glad he recognized your voice "why are you calling?"
you sighed. why were you calling?
"is it because you realized you're not leaving?" he asked, in that matter-of-fact tone, alight with vocal fry.
"what?" you asked.
"are you calling because you realized it'd be real stupid of you to leave?" he said.
"uh, no," you said, "well, maybe. i'm calling because i'm confused."
he gave a groan. "you know, i'm actually pretty busy," he said. "i was reading the complete history of the printing press, and mia is here-"
your eyes might have bulged out of your head. "mia is there? with you?"
you could sense dylan's frustration at having to repeat himself. "yes."
"oh my god, why didn't you tell me to shut up and leave you alone? mia is there! that's important!"
there was a pause. "yes," he agreed, finally, "but this is important, too."
and there was something about him saying this to you that made you realize just how correct he was. this was important, and not just because of tyson.
"hold on," dylan continued, "mia wants to talk to you."
you heard the sound of the corded phone being passed between hands.
"hello?" came mia's cheery voice.
"hi, mia," you answered. "how are you?"
mia let out something like a giggle. "oh, i'm good, babe, i'm good," she said. "i thought i could be a better sounding board than mr. brick wall over here."
you laughed, leaned against the side of your car. "he was doing okay," you tried.
"tell me what's confusing you," mia asked, and you sighed.
"i've just been so intent on leaving, for so long," you said, "like, i've never felt like this place was my home, and tyson was really the only reason i ever came back."
mia made a humming sound in understanding.
"and we're older now, too old for whatever weird friends with benefits thing we were doing before. and his team is here, and i'm in california-" you cut yourself off, blinked.
"but," mia prompted,
you bit your lip. "but," you began, "i can't help feeling like if i leave, i'm going to regret it forever." your exhale was shaky. "i don't think i'll like who i am if i leave him behind."
the confession seemed to rise into the air and dissolve in front of your eyes.
mia seemed to grasp the gravity of it, too. "it's your life, your decision," she said, gentle as anything, "but it sounds to me like the reasons why you shouldn't don't even come close to the reasons why you should."
you rested your head against the cool metal of your car, closed your eyes.
"you can work from anywhere," she said, "but there are some things that you just can't get anywhere else."
there was a pause as you took in her words.
"and i'm not just saying that because i like having you around," mia added, in a way that made you able to picture her smile. there was a mumble on her end. "and dylan says he wants you to come to his jeopardy taping."
you laughed, suddenly feeling a sense of clarity. because you wanted to get to know mia, even more, wanted to have her as a friend. you wanted to be around to cheer dylan on when he went on his show. you wanted to be in the stands for the baseball games, to celebrate after at the kid's line. you wanted sammy to keep calling you hollywood, to be the person jack accidentally hit with his ice bucket, to be on the receiving end of jj's bartending charm.
and, more than anything, you wanted to be the person tyson embraced in a sweaty hug after his big wins and tough losses. you wanted to make him eggs in the morning and laugh in his truck until your ribs were sore and brush your teeth next to him at night.
you wanted to give him a chance. you didn't know what the two of you would look like, together, at this point in your lives, if you genuinely gave it a shot.
but, you discovered, you really, really wanted to find out.
for so long, you had been mourning the fact that you'd outgrown this place. how had it never occurred to you that you could simply make more space?
so, an hour or so later, instead of merging onto the western-bound highway, you found yourself taking a left into the parking lot of the baseball team's practice field, about ten minutes before practice was set to end.
you approached the back fence, draping your arms over it, searching for tyson's telltale figure.
"he's over there."
you breathed deeply, stilling your alarmed heart, turned to face jack. "oh, hi, jack," you said.
"hi." he picked at a bent wire in the fence.
"what're you doing out here?" you asked, looking around. once again, he was oddly far away from everyone else.
he shrugged, looked down. "don't know," he mumbled. "just in the outfield."
"right," you said, blinking at him, at how out of practice he seemed to be with regard to talking with others. you looked forward to helping him get more comfortable around you, in the future. "where did you say tyson was?"
jack pointed to where a couple of guys stood, off to the side, putting practice equipment away.
you sucked on your teeth. "d'you think you could get him over here, for me, please?" you asked.
jack didn't say yes, didn't even nod, just whistled through his teeth way louder than you thought was possible. impressed, you thanked him as tyson approached.
"sure," jack said, stiff, while he walked to join jj and sammy, several paces behind.
you couldn't really read tyson's face as he approached you, slowly, as if trying to draw the whole ordeal out. we're going to have to say goodbye, you'd said before. not if i have anything to say about it, his stride seemed to be arguing.
"kid?" he asked, adjusting his cap on his head. "what're you doing here?"
you bit your lip, gave him a look through tired eyes. tired of thinking, of grieving, of assuming the worst.
he settling in front of you, leaning towards you over the fence. "got another excuse for me, do you?"
even with his words, you could tell that he knew you weren't here to say goodbye. it was all over his face, it was burning in his eyes, it was in the palm of his hand. it was all over you, too, in the shortness of your breath, the way your lips were slightly parted, the desperateness of your lean.
whatever you were here for, it wasn't to say goodbye, which gave both of you confidence.
and you did have another excuse, sort of. but you didn't want to pain him any more than you already had. so you just reached a hand out, let him rest his rough jaw in your warm palm. you breathed out. "i'm scared, tys," you said, because it was true. the prospect of trying this out, for real, it made you scared like a kid of the dark.
his exhale was something religious. "'m scared, too, kid," he admitted, making your eyes flicker up to meet his. "trust me, i am."
you sighed, searched his eyes for something undeniable, found it there in spades.
tyson extended a pinkie to you. "but not scared enough?" he asked, waiting, his eyes sparkling.
there was a pause during which a million possibilities flashed across your eyes. what would things have been like if you hadn't gone to school so far away? what if he'd gotten a scholarship somewhere else? what if you weren't beautiful? what if he'd gotten injured? what if you hadn't lived in that house? what if he'd never moved here?
a million possibilities that didn't matter, in this moment, because this was the only true thing.
"not scared enough," you agreed, finally, little more than a whisper, locking your pinkie with his in promise.
in a moment, he lifted you by the waist over the fence, not letting go of you for even a second before his lips crashed against yours in a kiss that felt like chalk on driveway pavement and secrets whispered at night. like sharing chocolate milk at lunch and dirty shirleys at dinner. like sunshine and morning dewdrops and summertime rain.
his cap knocked against your forehead, making you smile as he took it off in an instant, held it at the small of your back.
even now, you were still the shy girl looking out of her bedroom window at the driveway below. he was still the new kid next-door, smiling up at you through cardboard boxes and crazy curls.
you were different now, but you were still the same.
"does this mean she's staying?" came sammy's too-loud voice, making you pull away from each other, just a bit.
"she's staying," you answered, brushing tyson's curls from his face. the smile your words left in their wake was something of dreams.
"alright!" jj said, giving an enthusiastic fist pump.
"who's staying?" jack asked, genuinely confused.
"welcome home, hollywood," sammy declared, in that deep drawl.
and when you looked up at tyson, found a living room in his eyes, a fireplace, an armchair, a couch by the tv, a blanket worn with use, you realized that's exactly what this felt like, what he felt like.
being welcomed back home.
fin.
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megantheebaddest · 8 months
Text
Drunk In Love
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Summary: Reader gets so drunk at the club she “needs” her best friend in a way he can’t give her.
A/n: Sorry i have been MIA.. Please enjoy my first fic about Drew 😍
“Holy shit dude, Y/n is fucking wasted!” Rudy yelled into Drew’s ear, pointing in your direction. Drew’s eyes immediately following where he was pointing. You were grinding with some strangers you just met a few moments prior. He shook his head grinning at you. He always found it entertaining when your little light weight self drank one too many.
“I’m pretty sure she just met those girls like 2 minutes ago” Rudy added, laughing. Drew laughed, nodding his head agreeing with him. He couldn’t help but watch your every move as he sipped on his beer. God, you looked gorgeous in his eyes. Your red dress riding up your thighs, your curled hair a wild mess, your makeup slightly running. You looked like you were having the time of your life. You stumbled slightly in your risky heels and had to grab onto random strangers around you to balance yourself. You looked up and your eyes met Drew’s. He melted at the sight of you stumbling towards him.
“Drew, honey.. Hiii” you screamed, plopping down on his lap. Your voice was so raspy he could barely hear you over the music. “Hi darling, are you okay?” He asked rubbing your thigh up and down, looking at you concerned. “Mhm” you hummed leaning into his neck to nibble and leave sloppy kisses on his neck. He tensed up and froze in his tracks. He knew you had to be really drunk because this was so unlike you. You guys have only kissed one time before when you both were drunk and it was never brought up again though he thought of it often.
He pulled away looking at you with a wide smile. “What’re you doing, crazy girl?” he asked giggling. “I want you” You blurted out hiccuping, lips attaching to his neck again. He was losing his mind, he absolutely loved this but hated the fact that you are drunk.
“Y/n.. you’re drunk honey.” he said almost moaning. He pulled away again, causing you to groan in annoyance. “Are you ready to go? I can take you home?” He asked while looking you deep in your eyes. You looked back at him getting lost in his. Your eyes darted down to his lips and you started to lean in to kiss him.
“Y/n..” he said sternly, pulling back. “Come on, let’s go home.” he said patting on your legs to stand up. You rolled your eyes but got up nearly falling over. He grabbed your hand and made his way to the group saying his goodbyes and letting them know he’d be taking you home.
“What was all that about? huh?” Rudy said wiggling his eyebrows at Drew. He was lowkey excited because he always shipped you two. He could feel the tension between you guys but you both always denied it.
“You were right she is so wasted.. I’m taking her home” Drew said as he was dapping up Rudy. Rudy laughed and they said their goodbyes. You were so drunk you just waved bye to everyone. Drew grabbed your hand and led you out front to a suv that was waiting for him. He guided you in and gave the driver your address.
The second the car started moving you attached your lips to his neck yet again. This time he sharply breathed in through his teeth and closed his eyes. You were sucking and swirling your tongue around. You reached down and cupped his bulge. His eyes shot open and he moaned, quickly grabbing your hand and moving it.
“Y/n..” he breathed out.
You growled, frustrated that he wouldn’t let you touch him. “Please” you whined quietly.
“You’re drunk.. I can’t let you do this sweetheart.” he practically whined back.
“I’ll do anything. Please. For one minute?” you begged.
He licked his lips looking back and forth between both your eyes. He really wanted to do this but you were so far gone he’d never forgive himself. “I’m so sorry, We can’t baby” He said, sadness in his voice.
You scrunched your eyebrows together and shook your head, turning to look out the window.
“Please don’t be mad at me honey. I don’t want you to do something you’d regret tomorrow.” He said grabbing your thigh and rubbing circles with his thumb. You shoved his hand off and crossed your arms.
“I’m not drunk..” you quietly said, keeping your gaze out the window. He still had his eyes on you and he shook his head and laughed. You leaned your head back on the head rest and you were passed out within minutes. This was pure torture for Drew. He so wishes he could have his way with you but he knows you don’t mean it and you’ll regret all of this in the morning.
Drew woke you up once the car stopped outside your apartment. “Hmm?” you sleepily moaned. “You’re home honey, come on i’ll help you.” He said grabbing your hand. He scooted out of the car and turned around to grab both of your hands and direct you down out of the suv. You were squinting due to just waking up and being sensitive to the street lights. You stopped scooting and stared at Drew.
“You’re so pretty” you said, hiccuping. Drew smiled and pulled on your hands for you to continue getting out of the car.
“Come on lovey.” He said wrapping his arm around your waist as you laid your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes letting him be your full guide. Once you made it up to your apartment he helped you to your room, you flopped onto your fresh made bed and practically fell asleep. Drew was looking through your dresser for comfy clothes for you to wear. After finding an over sized shirt and some shorts for you he made his way over to you.
“Here love, i got you some comfy clothes” He says patting your bum lightly. You lifted your head slightly and immediately dropped it back down.
“Help me” he barely heard you mumble out.
He kneeled on the bed and undid the straps on your heels, removing them and massaging your feet briefly before unzipping the back of your dress for you “Roll over Y/n” he said giggling. Surprisingly you were able to. He slid your dress down and he was met with your perfect tits, you weren’t wearing a bra. His eyes widened as he kept pulling your dress down. He had to focus and remember why he was doing this.
You’re drunk.
He had to keep drilling that into his brain. He kept shimmying your dress down, now revealing your lace panties. His mouth was drooling but he remained focused and slid your shorts on and then put the shirt over your head, you naturally put your arms through the sleeves. He guided you up onto your pillows and tucked you into your blankets.
He gave you a kiss on your cheek before shutting your lamp off. He was caught off guard by you grabbing his wrist. “Please don’t leave me, Drew” She begged with puppy dog eyes. He looked over the entire bed and back to you. “Okay honey, i’m not going anywhere.” He said making his way to the other side of your bed.
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cannellee · 6 months
Note
Are you taking request at this time? If so may I request alpha!kakucho x omega!reader hc please?
TOKYO REVENGERS OMEGAVERSE ★
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୨୧ alpha! Kakucho x omega! Reader
— tokyo revengers a/b/o headcanons
cw : sex, yandereish if you squint
my masterlist : ☆
(sorry for the long wait!!)
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alpha kakucho is exactly what you would expect of him : sweet, respectful, loving, reliable, attentive, caring and composed.
he has little to no flaws as a lover and alpha.
he knows the exact thing to say or do when you're upset, anxious or needy.
kakucho cares so much for you it's frightening how dedicated he is to you, like your loyal devotee.
in other words, kakucho's a worshipper.
you're his precious omega who needs his care and attention, you're delicate and kakucho just feels so grateful for the attention he receives from you.
he's proud but most of all, he's soo grateful for how much you love him. what did he do to deserve it?
kakucho doesn't realise his own worth, he doesn't realise that he's actually the best alpha you've ever had.
he picks you up from school, a bag full of snacks. he takes you to a lovely deserted place where he can cuddle with you.
he can't help but try his best to spoil you.
kakucho is very shy about scenting you, although it's his favourite way of claiming you. he might not look like it, but he's a possessive alpha.
the first courting gift you ever received from him was jewellery, a pretty necklace. simple but fancy looking.
this was right after he knocked out two alphas who were harassing you at the back of your school building.
kakucho had finally decided to properly court you, you were perfect and despite his hesitation he would never forgive himself if his cowardice was the reason he gave you up to another alpha.
when he looked for you, he found you cornered by two alphas. the sight of your small frame in front of those beasts triggered something in him he never thought he had.
and that's precisely when you fell even harder in love with him. kakucho gave you his love and protection, he was everything you could hope for.
you can say that he's a bit controlling at times though. he tries not to, he knows he shouldn't invide your private life like this and asks you so many questions ; he doesn't want to act like your previous alpha. but he has a hard time trusting others and learning that you're meeting up with someone he doesn't know has him worried.
despite his very kind personality, expect kakucho to start a fight if you're the one involved. he doesn't tolerate any kind of disrespect directed at you.
he treats you like you're a doll made of glass, he's careful with you. that's why you're surprised the first time he raises his voice at someone else.
you're his most precious thing in his life, kakucho would never let anyone hurt you, degrade you or anything of the sort.
his life revolves around you, but in a healthy way though.
he'll see something at a store and immediately think of how you would love it. notices cute collars while passing by a shop and can't help but imagine your pretty neck wearing it, he could put his name on it, or just his initials? either way it's a sign that you're his, and kakucho is all about subtle marks of possession.
it's the same when he sees something like a big soft plushie that he knows you would love in your nest.
probably gathers a ton of gifts in a basket and gives it to you.
that's his way of showing his appreciation and gratitude for everything you've done for him and your perseverance at getting to know him. he knows he can be hard to get close to, that's why he admires how you managed to break his barriers.
kakucho is weak for your scent.
now I know every alpha is crazy for their omega's scent, but kakucho is a different breed. he's sooo desperate when it comes to his cute little mate.
always burying his nose to wherever your smell is the strongest. dropping everything he was doing when he just as simply as catch a bit of your aroma, so excited to see his omega.
he follows you everywhere too. he's quiet and collected and so polite, kakucho lets you do basically anything.
you want to buy this? fine, he will pay and only ask for a small kiss in return. you want to braid his hair? it's fine for him as long as you're happy! you desperately need a specific snack? at the middle of the night? fine, he'll go buy it for you, just stay inside in the warmth of your nest and that's enough for him!
kakucho is the best. that's it.
NSFW
now kakucho is unsurprisingly very soft and attentive when you two are at it.
he takes his role as an alpha very seriously and accidentally hurting you would make him feel so so bad.
that's why he prefers to take things slow ; he takes his time, properly scenting you to make you feel loved and appreciated.
he kisses you anywhere he can, slowing down a bit when he gets to the bite mark he did on your neck.
he 100% favours the positions which allow him to appreciate your facial expressions when he's inside you.
there are things he will never say out loud, but when he's drunk off your scent and witnessing your fucked out face, he's always saying everything that crosses his mind. and you love his honesty.
but he's always making sure you're aware he's pleased, calling you his good girl and his sweet omega. he'll never let a chance to praise you pass!
when he's in rut, he manages to keep his cool, he's composed enough to act decent around you, unlike a lot of alphas.
he will always wordlessly make you feel loved and claimed, his primal instincts taking over him for a few days.
he still remains extremely soft with you, a simple scolding from you is enough to stop him in his track.
he tries so hard to please his omega first, but when he's in rut his mind is so hazy it's hard:(
but he's not exactly rough either, just extremely possessive and protective.
growls and snarls the few days before his rut starts.
you've come to detect the signs of his pre-rut quite easily and now you're acting more clingy and submissive to appease him.
when you're in heat though, expect him to be at your side 24/7. he just can't leave you when you're in such a vulnerable state.
absolutely fucks you whenever and wherever if you're the one asking. but he will bring you back to the comfort and safety of your home first.
kakucho can't risk making you stressed although he knows he can easily protect you, you need familiar surroundings during this period.
he's really attentive and won't deny any of your request<3
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ellecdc · 2 months
Note
Love, i just had a heartbreaking thought; James' first solo excursion with Vix. He'd be so anxious and stressed because all he can think is " i wont leave without her this time" 😭
Could i request paranoid james and vix going shopping alone for the first time?? I feel that hed want one of those stretchy child hand cuff things so he wouldnt lose her
Poor Jamie. I wanna give this sod the biggest hug in the whole wide world
James was losing it - he was well aware of this. Every movement, every car horn, every bell ringing above a shop door, every person laughing or yelling brought him closer to you until you were basically wearing him like a backpack.
"Doing alright, Jamie?" You asked kindly, politely, concernedly. James wanted to shove you under his arm and take cover.
"Yeah, yup. Never better." He said distractedly as he continued to scan your surroundings.
The two of you had volunteered to pick up the cake from the magical bakery on Diagon Alley for Remus' birthday, which quickly turned into shopping for presents in Muggle London, which turned into a full on shopping spree at a large mall.
James hated it.
Being in a building felt claustrophobic and he was panicky watching you even reach for door handles - sure as all get out that the place was quickly becoming consumed by fiendfyre. He didn't fair much better outside, however, feeling as though you were both too vulnerable in the open; desperate to find coverage.
Really, he just wanted to take you home.
"How much longer do you think we'll be?" He asked you as he glared menacingly at a male shopper who had the audacity to wear all black until he left your vicinity.
"Not long, James. I just want to hit the grocery before we head back; it might be nice to have a charcuterie, no?"
James wanted to say "actually, I'm pretty sure shopping for charcuterie might be what kills us, Vix." But since that was crazy, he opted to hum in agreement as you led the way.
The two of you passed by a toy store where he saw a parent walking a child on a lead like a dog. His first thought was 'good lord, muggle parents are something else'. His second though was 'I should buy one for me and Vix'.
He turned back to the direction you two had been heading when he realized he couldn't see you anymore.
"Vix?" He said quietly as he spun in place. "Y/N?!" He shouted louder, garnering attention from the other shoppers near by.
What was he going to do? He couldn't very well pull his wand out right now. He would pull his wand out if he needed to - Azkaban be damned for breaking the statute of secrecy - but he was not going home to Sirius without you again.
"Y/N!" He shouted as he started shoving his head against the glass windows of various shops on the street, trying to catch a glimpse of you.
He felt tears prick his eyes as his breathing became faster. How could he have done this? How could he have lost you again!?
Unawares of the panic you just caused, you exited the shop with a bouquet of lilies for James - knowing he liked having fresh flowers around his home that reminded him of his 'beautiful flower' to find him spinning around frantically with tears streaming down his face like a toddler who lost their parent at the zoo.
"James!" You called as you raised your hand. He spotted you instantly and made for you - crushing your bouquet between the two of you as he enveloped you in a bone crushing hug.
"Where were you!? I couldn't find you anywhere!" He cried as he held on fast to your form. You patted his back consolingly.
"Awe, Jamie. I'm sorry. I thought you were following me - I just wanted to get you some flowers!" You explained as you pulled the slightly flattened bouquet away from your body.
All anxiety and any pretence of anger slipped away as James beamed at the bouquet. "You got me flowers!?" He shrilled as he took them from you.
You beamed right back at him and gave him another hug. "I'm sorry for frightening you, Prongs. Why don't we go to the grocery and then head home?"
James took a steadying breath and nodded at you.
"Can we hold hands?" He asked somewhat sheepishly.
You immediately held out your hand which he quickly enveloped with the one not holding his bouquet as you set off for the shops.
He didn't let your hand go until you made it into Grimmauld Place and Sirius hollered at him for making moves on his girl.
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daisynik7 · 11 months
Note
I need more good even agnst
I forgot how to spell🥴
cw: angst, sexually explicit content, language, friends with benefits 
Summary: Eren gets drunk and leaves a voicemail. 
Author’s Note: Hi anon! Thanks for this request! I went in a little different direction for this one. This is inspired by this soundgasm (listener discretion is advised). Seriously, listen to it, you will not regret it. Anyways, hope you like this one! 
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Eren stumbles in through the door of his apartment late Friday night. Armin just dropped him off, playing the role of designated driver tonight. They spent the last few hours barhopping, Eren consuming enough alcohol for both of them. To say he’s drunk would be an understatement. Right now, he’s plastered. And that’s probably what leads him to what he does next.
After messily chugging a glass of water, he collapses onto his couch, reaching into his pocket for his phone. Instagram is already open; he clicks on it, glaring at the now familiar photo surrounding the screen. It’s a selfie you posted a few hours ago of you and your new boyfriend, beaming at the camera, the caption reading Date night! 
He huffs, swiping out of the app to access his Favorites. He stares at your contact listed amongst your friends, the crown emoji right next to your name. It’s an inside joke between you two; you’re his “princess”. 
Tapping at the phone, he holds it to his ear, starting. “Hey. It’s me. You’re probably wondering why I’m calling you. To be honest, I’m pretty faded right now.” He giggles, scratching his tummy. “So whatever I’m about to say, blame it on the alcohol.”
He hesitates, taking a deep breath. “Anyways, I saw your pic tonight. The one of you and your new boyfriend.” He pauses to swallow, that last word leaving a bitter aftertaste on his tongue. “I guess you’re officially off the market now. Congrats.”
He twirls a strand of his hair around his finger. “You look really good in that picture, by the way. That dress you’re wearing is one of my favorites because…” he snickers to himself, recalling that specific memory. “Well, you know.”
You wore that same dress the night you and Eren started sleeping together. The two of you got drunk at Mikasa’s birthday party, and you admitted to him how you haven’t had sex in months. He volunteered to change that for you, as long as the two of you only remain friends. At the time, Eren hated the thought of being in some sort of committed relationship. The furthest he was willing to go was friends with benefits, and that’s what the two of you became.
“I bet your new boyfriend doesn’t know how good I fucked you in that dress.” He sucks in a breath, cock throbbing in his pants, face flushed as he speaks. “Is he a better fuck than me? I bet he isn’t. You always go so crazy when I’m inside you.” He palms his erection, squeezing the phone closer to his ear. “Remember when you squirted all over my fucking face that one time? Had that clit swollen and raw on my tongue, that was fucking amazing.” Giggling again, he unzips his pants, sliding his jeans and briefs off, wrapping his fingers around his shaft. 
“I’m sorry I’m like this. I just saw that picture of you tonight and I got so…” he doesn’t finish the rest of the statement. Instead, he strokes his cock, imagining you riding him on the couch the way you do. Slow and sensual at first, rocking your hips on his lap. Gradually picking up the pace, bouncing on his cock, thrusting your ass against him, warm mouth moaning into his ear. That’s his favorite; the couple of seconds right before you come, how high pitched your whimpers get, especially as you breathe out his name. The way you unravel around him, melt into his body, a perfect fit in his arms.  
He pumps his cock fast in his fist, coming quick to the thought of you. Tissues in hand, wiping up his mess, he sighs into the phone. Voice trembling, he asks, “Do you still think about me? I know we kinda stopped hooking up once you met…whatever his name is. And I know we were never exclusive or whatever, but…” He gulps loudly, nervous for what he’s about to admit. “I miss you.”
This is what he wanted. What he asked for. Friends with benefits, no strings attached. He made that clear from the beginning, and you agreed to it, no problem. When did it all start to get so muddled? Was it when he realized being with you was way more fun than being with his friends? Being alone?
He remembers that night on the balcony. It was his birthday, and he was having a small gathering at his place. The two of you went outside for some air and alone time. It was a normal conversation, but somewhere in the middle, you said something that stuck with him. I hope you’re happy.
He clicks his tongue, deciding to let it all out. “It should be us, y’know. You and me. Not you and him. It’s my own fault it didn’t end up this way. I was too much of a fucking coward to tell you I love you. Too much of a coward to admit it to myself.”
“Anyways, it doesn’t matter anymore since you’re with somebody else now. I don’t want you to listen to this and feel sorry for me. It’s not your fault at all, and I’ll be okay. I just wanted you to know how I feel about you. And if he ever breaks your heart or hurts you in any way, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll fucking kick his ass if you want me to. I’ll always be here for you.”
After another deep breath, he ends the call with his parting words. “I hope you’re happy, princess. I really do.”
He takes his phone away from his ear, staring at the screen, still stuck on his Favorites list. He checks the call log and notices that the call never even went through. With a heavy sigh, both relieved and disappointed, he sets his phone down on the coffee table, leaving it as he shuffles towards his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. 
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accioprocrastination · 9 months
Text
Another Bad Date
Bradley Rooster Bradshaw x Reader
A/N: I haven't proof read this so it's probably terrible but here's a fluffy meet cute.
Summary: Reader meets Rooster
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The date starts worse than you were imagining... Tyler has already: ordered food for you, got you an alcohol free drink after you said you wanted a gin and tonic, commented on your figure and checked someone out across the room. You've not even been here 30 minutes and you need a reason to leave.
Excusing yourself to the ladies room, you take your bag to go text your best friend for help.
Scrolling quickly to find her name on WhatsApp you type your message:
I need an excuse to leave a date early
Phoenix is across town in the hard deck when her phone pings with the text message. Hangman comes up behind her to give her a beer but reads the text over her shoulder.
"Family member was in an accident; Friend is having a crisis; my ex just text me; I'm sick; I'm needed at work" he reels off his answers, placing the beer in her free hand. Phoenix gives him a look of disapproval in response.
"Don't read my texts Bagman!" She orders him.
"What does your friend look like, If she's hot I'll go be the crazy ex." Hangman winks at Phoenix.
"Absolutely not! It's Y/N, she's not your type and I'm not saving her from a shit date by pushing her in your direction." She states rolling her eyes as he smirks.
Nat this is urgent help me. You text again to chase up her answer, needing a response as soon as possible lest Tyler thinks you've got some form of gastrointestinal problem.
Sighing at her slow typing you exit the bathroom and collide straight into a tall brunette guy, dropping your phone in the process. "Shit, sorry." You instantly start apologising as he stabilises you, placing his hands on both of your shoulders.
"Are you good?" He asks moving his hands down your arms slightly, leaving goosebumps in their wake as you nod. "Yeah, are you?" You respond as he reaches down to grab your phone. He laughs slightly at your concern and says, "I'm bigger than I look, I think I can take it."
"You know Phoenix?" He queries, unable to stop himself looking at the screen as he hands your phone back over to you, enlarged on the contact photo of her from how you were holding it before you dropped it. "Yeah, I met Nat when she was in flight school. Guessing you're an aviator too?" You respond glancing him up and down to assess the outfit - not really something her associates would be caught dead in but he's toned and has got expensive sunglasses attached to his Hawaiian shirt so it's not completely out of the realm of possibilities.
He nods with a smile blossoming on his face. "Yes I am. I haven't seen you around before; I wouldn't forget that face." He remarks making you blush slightly.
"What do you do?" He asks unsure of whether you're in the Navy or know Phoenix through something else.
"I'm definitely not a pilot, as you can see I have zero hand eye coordination. I work for the government." You say with a giggle, not really telling him anything about your job.
"Ooh pretty and smart." He doesn't register himself thinking aloud until it is too late.
"What brings you to fighter town, this is literally the middle of nowhere." he remarks. You smirk slightly because he's right.
"Work asked me to come here for a bit... I live in Washington so not really used to having so little to do here." You comment.
"Do you want to get out of here and grab a drink?" He asks. You look between him and the table where your date is sat.
"Sorry if that's too forward, I haven't asked anyone out in ages... For all I know you're here with someone, there's no hard feelings if you say no." He waffles, nervous talking.
Your phone pings with a text presumably Nat responding to you.
"You're cute, I think I could make that happen." You say to the beautiful stranger whose name you're still unsure of.
You glance down at your phone to see a list of excuses signed off by Hangman. You roll your eyes having met and disliked Jake from the offset but his list gets so obscure by the end that you have to laugh.
"Boyfriend?" He raises an eyebrow, suddenly concerned that you are laughing at your phone.
"No but I am here with someone... I was literally just texting Nat for excuses to get out of the tinder date from hell, but it looks like Hangman has taken her phone judging by the unhinged message he just sent me." you explain the situation.
"He wants me to tell this guy that I've got to go because my fish drowned." you state in utter disbelief at Jake's list of excuses. The brunette chuckles across from you, and gives you such an animated smile that you feel your heart flutter in your chest.
"Give me two minutes to go let him down then we can leave." You state looking up from your phone and into his honey brown eyes.
"Okay, I'll go tell my friends that I am abandoning them then we can figure out where to go?" He questions raising his eyebrows. You nod in agreement and temporarily part ways.
*
Tyler has a momentary meltdown at you saying this is not going to work out and decides to start shouting at you from across the table. Bradley is back by your side in under a minute backing you up.
Once he's spoke Tyler down he grabs your hand and pulls your out of the restaurant.
"Thank you." You say squeezing his hand.
"No need to thank me, that guy was an asshole." he says making me smile slightly.
"Maybe if I went with the fish excuse he wouldn't have been so pissy." You mutter making him giggle.
Your phone pings with another text, Hangman still clearly has Nat's phone and has sent you a photo of your best friend head down on a bar. You smile at the photo, knowing he's gentleman enough to take her home and make sure she's okay.
You turns the phone around so Mr Hawaiian shirt can see what you're giggling at. "Ooh that looks messy! Thank god we don't have an early start tomorrow" He says sarcastically.
You're so glad that you don't have to deal with their kind of early starts... Morning people are unhinged.
"Do you want to go to the hard deck and meet up with them or should we go get food?" you ask him.
"Definitely food!!" He responds excitedly jumping.
"Great that's the right answer! Where's good around here?" you look to him for an answer. He looks around thinking for a minute.
"Nowhere in our immediately vicinity stands out but there's a really good place like 30 minutes away, they make a mean Hamburger." He exclaims.
You nod, "That sounds perfect, lead the way!"
"Whose car are we going in?" He asks me.
"I walked here from my hotel, so yours." I answer. I'm not afraid he's going to kill me because he just saved by life from my incel of a date who seemingly hates women, and I can see his dogtags under his shirt, so I know he's telling the truth about knowing Phoenix. That instantly put me at ease because she is an amazing judge of character.
"Where were you from before Washington, you sound English?" Bradshaw remarks.
"Yeah, I grew up over there in a tiny town in the Midlands... I moved here after uni." you answer.
"What did you study?" He asks walking alongside you to wherever he's parked.
"Pol sci and international relations." You respond.
You two mindlessly talk about your lives and what got you into your careers as you continue to walk to his car.
After what feels like twenty minutes of walking you stop and turn towards him. "Are you really shite at parking or something?" you question with a smirk held on your face.
He starts laughing.
"I got a lift here, I'm parked at my place." He responds grinning ear to ear. "It's just around the corner." He adds as you give him a look of disbelief.
You're watching him intently as you round the corner, noticing the sudden purpose in his step as he walks towards not a car but the front door to his apartment.
"I feel like I was warned about stranger danger." You say meeting his eye as you cross the threshold. The corner of his mouth lifts slightly into a smirk.
"You also agreed a burger in a place thirty minutes away was a good idea, so welcome to the only place that's good around here." He says leading you into his kitchen.
"Ah... Very smooth." You say as he swings open a cupboard door and raises two bottles in what you presumed was going to be a silent question: wine or gin.
"I can offer you some uncomfortably warm wine or gin... but I'm not sure if I have tonic?" he says raising his eyebrows, tone of voice implying he's asking you if he has tonic water somewhere.
"Wow, I can see why this is your favourite place around here. I bet the reviews are glowing." You tease him. Bradley doesn't verbalise the butterflies that break out in his stomach in response to your wink.
He laughs about to feel guilty for bringing you back here to his limited drinks options when he opens a different cupboard and pulls out a single can of tonic.
"Ah there we go - one of us can enjoy our evening." He says making you giggle.
He raises both again at your lack of a definitive answer.
"I want the gin but I feel bad that you only have one tiny tonic water... If you want that I'm good to go on the warm wine front." You respond and he gives you an unreadable look that you don't recognise.
"What was that look?" You whisper feeling oddly nervous at how good looking this man is.
"What look?" He whispers back, the look no longer visible on his face. His eyes are squinting, laughter lines visible on his face as he stares back at you full of a giddy playful energy.
You watch in silent amazement as he pours your drink without breaking your eye contact. You know without tonight going any further, without even knowing his name - this is not a one time thing.
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epiemy · 2 months
Text
Jason Todd x Fem!Reader from our reality! Pt. 2
Warnings: just cursing (you’re a crazy bitch and Jason too)
Part 2 of 5 - Part 1
A/N: I missed this app so fucking much but I’m back :) hope you like this part of a series project.
Sorry for Grammar mistakes, enjoy!
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"Oh boy, we are going to have a big job with this one." Words from a tired Jason.
“Hey, I’m still here, you know that?” You speak in disbelief. It still felt like a dream, where else would you get to see your favorite characters? You had never been able to shift before, so you faithfully doubted that was the case.
Jason just rolls his eyes saying “Unfortunately I noticed, you won't shut up for a single second” - and there goes your sympathy with him.
“Why are pretty people always jerks? - You're an exception Dick, shush” You say but stop as soon as you see Batman's cloak coming towards you, no longer able to control it, you end up smiling more than you've ever seen in your life, after all he was her childhood hero “My gods, Bruce Wayne? Batman? I could pass out!”
“Jason, no!” Dick speaks in warning before the youngest even opens his mouth, but even so he lets out a sneer and says:
“I could make YOU pass out” Jay mutters and you give him the middle finger “You already did that, idiot”, turning your attention to Bruce.
“Why is there a teenager in the cave, who apparently knows our secret identities? I'm only going to ask once” Batman speaks monotone and looks at the boys with his arms crossed and his mask removed.
“Ehm… well… funny story” Tim starts to say while scratching his head lightly, but Jason rolls his eyes.
“I brought her here, I heard some druggies talking about a girl falling from the sky and I went to check it out. I don't know how a demon can fall from the sky but there she is” He speaks ironically and you just stick out your tongue, murmuring that the only demon in this house was him. The boy continues “When I got close to her, she was cursing more than a sailor and had a fangirl attack shouting “Jaaaaason”, I erased her and brought her here. History end"
Bruce raises an eyebrow at Jason and sighs deeply, rubbing his temples. He honestly needed a break from all this, he couldn't take it anymore. “Currently, Barry informed us that there was a rupture of some barrier between universes caused by some meta, it turns out that she was brought from another reality and that is possibly why she knows our identities. Am I correct, miss..?”
“Y/n, and yes you are right. Finally someone with neurons- no offense Timmy” You mutter and the boy just shrugs, then continues talking “If the kid idiots had listened to me instead of fainting, I would have told them that in my reality you are all characters from a brand , so I theoretically know everything about each of you.” There was a silent pause “That seemed kind of scary, my bad.”
Minutes later, Bruce releases you from the place where you were tied up “As long as we don't know what happened, you are welcome to stay in the mansion, Alfred is already aware of this conversation and will prepare a room for you” He speaks calmly, you he just nods with a small smile in gratitude. He turns to his children “You. I want everyone in the mansion during this time, apparently you don't have an alternative version of her in this universe and she will have to stay here for some time, so we need to train her” He says leaving the Batcave.
“Soooo… Dick, can you and your nice ass show me my new room?” You say with a wide smile and you only hear Jason snort in the corner “What’s up, red bird? Do you want to show me instead of Richard? Come on come on, take me then” A hand sign is made by you, as you walk towards some stairs where Bruce had gone but Jason grabs your waist, changing the direction to the left “Oopsie, thanks kitty” You hear the laughter behind you.
“You’re going to be the death of me,” Jason says, walking up the correct floors with you.
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