#struggling to be frank but it is like now there is. so many words on here and i need to read them? i need to pay attention and put effort

[souliebird]

[[and then I met you || ch. 8]]

Series: Daredevil || Pairing: Matt Murdock x Fem!Reader || Rating: Explicit

Summary:

A one-night stand years ago gave you a daughter and you are now able to put a name to her father – Matthew Murdock. Everything is about to change again as you navigate trying to integrate your life with that of the handsome and charming blind lawyer’s and Matt realizes he needs to protect his new family from not only Hell's Kitchen but from the world.

pt: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Words: 3.9k

There is a pigeon perched on the streetlamp that sits on the north corner of the block. It's got some sort of stick, most likely, and has been unsuccessfully trying to make a nest for the past hour. Given that the streetlamp is curved, this is a very bad idea, but the bird doesn't know that. The poor things weren't meant to be in the wild and a single stick is not going to save its egg from falling off if it chooses to lay it there. But it keeps at it, picking up the stick and putting it back down at different angles. 

Matt very much understands the dumb bird's struggles. He has no idea what the hell he is doing, either. He felt, finally, after many a year, he actually had his shit together. And sure, maybe it was held together with duct tape, a lot of ibuprofen, and multiple prayers, but it was stable and balanced. He had a handle on things, for the most part. 

He was doing what he loved, in all aspects of his life - defending people with the law and with his fists. He had Foggy and Karen, and he was working more with the Defenders, and he could be in Frank's presence without a fist fight happening. There was a drop in crime in Hell's Kitchen - he'd stopped the last two crime families who had tried to set up shop here before they even had a foot hold. 

Then everything in his universe changed and Matt is now the human equivalent of a pigeon trying to lay an egg on a streetlamp. 

He never thought he would be a father. It was something he dreamed about, in the deep recesses of his mind, but he never thought it would be a reality. Not with Daredevil. But, oh did God love to yank on his chain and remind Matt he had no clue what His plans were for him. 

Matt wouldn't change it for the world, though. Something fundamental in him changed the moment the words had left your mouth and when he met Minnie for the first time, he knew he was a goner. 

He would happily throw himself into the pits of Hell if it would make his daughter smile. 

He wants so much to be a good father. Everything in him aches to be half as good as his own father was to him, but he doesn't know how, and he is terrified of fucking it up. 

Because if there is one thing Matthew Murdock is good at its fucking things up. Especially when he thinks he means well. 

So, Matt is taking in all the lessons God has taught him over the last few years and going against his instincts and he is going to ask for help. 

Foggy and Karen should be at his door any minute, if they stop pausing to talk on the stairs, and Matt is going to tell them everything. 

He hasn't been this nervous in years and he can't stop pacing. He's pretty sure he's going to wear his path into his floor if he keeps going, but he just adds it to all the other damage the apartment has incurred over the years. It's not like he's getting his security deposit back anyways. 

He wants to open his front door and yell at his friends to hurry up, but he doesn't want to alarm them. They know something is up with him, Matt apparently wears his emotions on his sleeve, but they don't know what. He suspects Karen might have an inkling because Karen has an extra sense when it comes to detecting secrets, but Foggy is clueless and Matt doesn't want to worry him. 

He allows himself to stop pacing once they reach his landing and tells himself to walk calmly once they knock on the door. 

He prides himself in not wrenching the thing off its hinges from his nerves and gives his friends a beaming smile, "I thought you'd never make it up the stairs." 

"Oh good," Foggy chimes, clapping Matt on the shoulder as he walks by, "He's still being weird."

"I'm not being weird," Matt counters quickly, only for Karen to pat his cheek when she passes him.

"You're being weird."

He shuts and locks the door before following them into his main living area. Foggy goes straight for the fridge, browsing his beer options while Karen takes residence on the couch. He doesn't need to be able to see to know she's staring at the two big binders sitting on the coffee table. 

"Buddy," Foggy starts, popping three beers open with a hiss of the bottles, "the past few weeks you have been Grade A weird. You keep getting this dopey look on your face and spacing out. And usually," he continues, walking leisurely to the couch and handing Karen her beer first, before giving Matt his, "I would suspect a woman, or a man, because the heart wants what the heart or dick wants, but I know Matt Murdock falling for a girl weird. This isn't that type of weird. And this isn't Daredevil weird, because you get broody when it's that. This weird? I don't know this weird. So, spill Murdock, why are you being weird."

"And don't tell us it's nothing," Karen adds. Her beer sloshes in the bottle, indicating she's pointing it at him. "Because I agree with Foggy. We don't know this weird."

Matt deflates just slightly. He guesses he's been way less subtle than he thought he was being.

"Fine, I've been weird, BUT," he says with emphasis, "It's for a very good reason and I want it on the record that I was not hiding anything or keeping it secret. I was confirming all the facts before presenting my case. I.." he pauses to choose his words carefully, "didn't want to get ahead of myself." 

"You didn't want to get ahead of yourself?" Foggy confirms and he gives a nod. 

The response is for both Karen and Foggy to take long sips of their respective beers. Matt's nerves are too riled up to drink his, yet so he starts to scratch at the label to get the energy out. 

"So, this is Devil related?" Foggy asks. There's a hint of disappointment and exhaustion in his voice and it makes Matt's heart hurt. He has really put his best friend through it, hasn't he? 

"No. Well, yes, but no. It's complicated." Because the Devil is involved by default because it is Matt and it will be something that needs to be addressed down the road, but for right now, no. Not Devil related. 

"That's not very reassuring," Karen points out. 

"Just tell us, buddy. Whatever it is, we're here for you."

That makes Matt's lips turn down, "It isn't a bad thing, Fog." 

"Well, we wouldn't know that because you've told us nothing," Foggy counters.

His instinct is to keep bantering with Foggy and he knows they can go at it for another hour, but he reminds himself of his resolve and settles back into the couch. 

He's practiced his speech about a dozen times but all of it dies in his throat and the truth comes out on its own, blunt and to the point.

"I am a father."

Foggy has the more intense reaction, confirming Matt's suspension that Karen had an idea at the truth. His best friend inhales sharply, heart starting to beat harder in his chest. His body is sending all sorts of signals, and this is one of the times Matt wishes he could see - just to know what expression Foggy has. 

It feels like hours before Fog finally says something.

"You're going to be a father?"

"No," Matt corrects, "I AM a father. I already am."

Karen leans forward, her spine creaking and her hair swishing, "The little girl. From last week. That's her, isn't it?"

Matt nods, feeling a smile start to pull at his cheeks, "Yeah. That was her."

"Oh my God, Matt!" He hears her weight shift as she pushes herself across the couch and right into Matt, loosely throwing her arms around his shoulders. He leans into it, hugging her back with the arm not holding his beer. "She is adorable!"

"She is, isn't she?" He preens. 

Foggy's brain finally seems to process the information and he sits on the arm of one of the chairs, like he needs the support, "Wait, no, that was a toddler, wasn't it? That child was like five."

"She's three. And a half." Matt says as Karen pulls away from him to go back to her spot.

Foggy's bottle of beer sloshes and Matt imagines he's holding up his hands in a mock surrender. "Sorry, three and a half. Plus, nine months that would…Jesus, Matt, that's before we started the firm. The first time."

"Blasphemy, Foggy. And.. Yeah, the Christmas before we started the firm. When we were still at L and Z," he allows himself a sip of beer before diving into his explanation, "That Christmas party we went to, the one good one we ditched the L and Z one for."

Foggy shakes his head, "I was with you that whole night, Matt." 

"Until you ditched me for the French woman," he gently reminds his best friend. 

Foggy goes quiet and he must be trying to remember. Matt can tell Karen is watching like a hawk, keen eyes and ears trying to unravel the whole story. 

"I forgot about the French woman. She ditched me and I guess I assumed you left and…" Fog trails off.

"Well, I did leave, to be fair," he reminds them. "Just not alone."

"Jesus, Matt," Foggy repeats and he lets it slide this time. He'll say an extra Hail Mary for him. "Did you not wrap it up?"

Both Karen and Matt give a bark of laughter.

"Of course, I did. And she was on the pill, but you know that is not a guarantee." 

"Why come forward now?" Karen asks, redirecting the conversation. 

"She didn't know who I was. She says she tried to find me, and she wasn't lying. Then she saw that interview we did and recognized me," he tells them. 

He hears Foggy rub at his jaw and Matt just knows his brain is going into lawyer mode.

"But why did she tell you," Karen pushes, and he can tell she's looking for an angle that isn't there.

He ducks his chin just slightly and goes back to playing with the beer label, "It's not like that. It's not. She wants what is best for Minnie. She wanted me to be aware and have the option to get to know her. She was fully prepared for me to turn her away. She had already signed the forms waiving her right to ask for child support. The only thing she wanted was to know my family medical history."

"Her name is Minnie?" Karen cooes and that warms Matt's heart. He suddenly very much understands your need to gush over your daughter.

"It is. Winifred Love. She goes by Minnie or Mouse," he knows he's smiling like an idiot, but he can't help it. 

"That is such a sweet name," Karen hums and he can hear her smile.

"It is," he agrees, then he tilts his head towards Foggy, his voice dropping to something almost apologetic. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to be sure. She wasn't lying when she said I was the father, but that could have been because she believed I was. And I am. We got a paternity test and I wanted…I wanted it to be official. Real. Before I told you. And now it is. My name is going to be added to her birth certificate. I filed the paperwork and everything."

He can't nail down how Foggy is reacting and that scares him. He doesn't want his best friend to be upset with him, again. He was really, really trying to do the right thing this time. 

Foggy finally, finally pushes himself off the chair and steps around the coffee table before enveloping Matt in a tight hug. Matt hugs him back, just as tightly.

"I'm so happy for you, buddy," Fog breathes against him. The corners of his eyes start to sting, and Matt tells himself he is Not going to cry.

Foggy holds him for a good thirty seconds before letting go and stepping away, "Okay, before we jump into the whole Daredevil -"

"I'm going to tell her," Matt cuts his friend off. He puts his beer down and leans forward to put his elbows on his knees, "Not right now, but I completely intend to. If I can trust her. I think I can, but we've only just really met again. But I've learned. From both of you. I want to do this right. I want to tell her about my senses, first, and then we can build up to the other stuff. Once I am completely sure I can trust her."

Neither Karen nor Foggy respond to him right away and he has the feeling they are having a complete conversation with just their eyes. He waits. He doesn't want to rush them either. Matt wants to go into this with all of them on the same page. It's important to him. 

They are his family, too. 

"Tell us about them," Karen finally says and Matt doesn't even try to fight the grin that spreads across his face.

He tells them your name, then reaches for the first of the binders - the one that is twice the size of the other.

"She's…she's Good. You'll like her. She, uh, made me this, kind of big guide to our daughter. Everything I need to know and it's…in Braille. She knew I couldn't read print, so uh, all of Minnie's life she's been requesting copies of documents in Braille for when she found me." He pushes the binder towards Karen, and she picks it up in a flash, starting to flip through the pages. 

"This is pretty detailed," she hums, before cooing again, "There's pictures. Look, Fog." 

Foggy walks around the couch to stand behind Karen. Matt can tell that even though they are both Happy for him, they are worried, and he more than understands. He knows once he tells them more, that worry will fade. 

He just needs to drop the final off the bombshells. 

He licks his lips, clears his throat, then throws himself into the open, "Minnie is like me. She has my senses." 

They both go as still as they can, taking identical sharp inhales. 

"Not as…intense as mine, I don't think, but she has them. I.. Confirmed it. She could hear an ice cream truck four city blocks away."

"Matt…" Foggy starts and Matt shakes his head.

"We had a conversation, Fog. Clear across the park. I was whispering. She's…she's like me. She was born with it, but she's adapted, for the most part. Her mom just thinks she's sensitive, and she is, and she…she.." he motions with his hand, trying to convey what he wants to say, "Her mom helps. She gets her these headphones to block out sounds and all these things to help her. She just does it, she's doesn't question the why. All those little stupid things that make my life more annoying - the smell of cleaning supplies and how food tastes like the sewer or that certain fibers feel like sandpaper - Minnie deals with those and her Mom does her best so that she doesn't have to suffer. And that's…I need your help." He taps the second, smaller binder. "She made me a guide, so I want to make her one. I just…I don't know how." 

He deflates a little. Over the past two weeks, he's done his best to type things up, things he thinks will help, but he has no clue if any of it makes sense to anyone but him.

"Oh, Matt," Karen hands the big binder off to Foggy, then leans forward to take Matt's hand in her own, squeezing it tightly, "Of course we will help you." 

"We will make the best how to deal with your bat radar guide that has ever existed, bud. You can count on us," Foggy adds, starting to flip through the binder himself.

That evaporates Matt's doubt, and he huffs out a laugh, "I don't think there is another guide, Fog."

"Then we will set the standard for human bat radar guides," Karen counters with mirth. 

"I'll drink to that," his best friend says, once again moving so he can grab his drink. He raises the bottle in a toast, "To the best damn bat radar guide there will ever be, and to Matt, whose man whore ways have blessed us with another him!"

Matt scoops up with beer with a laugh and clinks his bottle against Foggy's, Karen's joining a moment later. 

"To Minnie," Karen adds and that makes Matt beam.

"To Minnie!"

"To Minnie!"

They all take long pulls on their beers then set them down on the table. 

Matt can practically feel Karen grinning at him, "What?" 

"I want stories," she says, reaching over to shake his arm, "You've told us the big picture, I want to know about this little pumpkin. How many times have you gotten to meet her?"

"A few times," he says, unable to hide his own smile. "She calls me Mister Matt. We haven't told her who I am yet. We want her to be comfortable and I…want her to want me to be her father, you know?" He hears both of them nod and he keeps barreling on. "She's…she's perfect. She's so sweet - she loves to use her manners, you know? Please and Thank yous. And she just wants to help, with anything. She's pretty good for a three year old at being a Guide. I'm learning a lot about what she thinks is important."

"What is important?" Foggy asks, and Matt can hear the underlying happiness in his voice and that makes Matt giddy. 

"Colors. How soft something looks. If it has a name and how it's feeling." He grins and adds, "At the park she was telling me how we can't walk in the grass because it's rude and hurts the grass' feelings. And that we can't pick flowers because it takes them away from their families and makes them sad."

Karen cooes, "That's the sweetest thing."

Foggy huffs fondly, "She wanted to pick flowers with you?"

He shrugs and ducks his head a little, "Kinda? She was talking about how to make flower crowns and bracelets."

"Is she going to make you a flower crown?" Karen asks, and Matt can sense her leaning towards him. The teasing in her voice has him guessing she's got her Mischievous look on. 

"Maybe."

"That's so sweet."

"It's so 2014," Foggy adds with his own teasing.

Karen throws one of the throw pillows he's somehow accumulated at Foggy, "She's a baby, leave her alone."

Both he and Foggy laugh and Matt can't help but get his own dig in, "Like you would deny a flower crown from her."

"Damn right, I wouldn't," his best friend bites back. "I'm accepting all flower crowns, hair braiding, nail painting, and tea parties. I am going to be the best uncle she could ever dream of - wait, does she already have an uncle? Do I need to do research? I'll out Uncle anyone."

Matt shakes his head, "No, it's just the two of them. No other family. It seems like a sensitive topic, so I haven't.. Pushed. She hasn't either, but my background is a little more…public?  I haven't told her about Maggie, yet."

The couch groans as Karen leans back into it, sipping again at her beer before humming, "Well, it will be easier to keep your late night activities under wrap. Less people to question things?" 

"That's a way to put it," is the response from his other friend. Matt shakes his head at both their words.

"I told you I want to tell her, once it's safe. I need your help with that, too," Matt pushes himself up and starts to pace behind his couch, "With everything we've been through, all the things we've been working on as a team - and I know most of that is me with all my bullshit and issues." He stops his walking to rub at his jaw, "I know…I know I'm going to be bad at this. I know I'm going to fuck something up. I've done it to both of you countless times. And I can't give up on being the Devil, we've seen how it goes when I try to go either way, so I need to find the balance quick but I can't.." He trails off slightly as the emotions swell in his chest at his self sabotaging this and he has to inhale deeply to keep himself from getting too worked up. "I can't lose them. I can't."

"Oh, Matt," Karen whispers. 

He's so caught up in his own emotions he doesn't hear Foggy get up and actually starts when he's clapped on the shoulder, "Matt, let me say this with my full heart, and I know Karen will one hundred percent agree, and I'm pre-facing this with I love you and you are my brother and best friend, and I think this is exactly what you need me to tell you. If you pull any of the bullshit you did with us with them or anything similar, I will personally drop you into the Hudson. After Karen is through with you."

It catches him off guard, but his best friend is right and it is exactly what he needs to hear. 

"There would not be anything left to dispose of," Karen cheerily adds and Matt doesn't need super human hearing to know she's telling the truth. 

He nods in understanding to both of them, "Thank you." He needs to properly thank them for so many things, but he doesn't know how and all he can do is repeat the words. 

"So," Foggy starts again, squeezing Matt's shoulder before shaking him a few times. "When do I get to meet my newest niece?"

"Once we tell her the truth about who I am to her. I'm going over for dinner tomorrow, to try and be in more everyday things to get her used to it all." He wonders if his excitement about the dinner is showing through. He gets to visit where you and his daughter live and that always says so much about a person. He wants to be let into that bubble. 

"Wait!" Karen gasps, turning more in her seat so she is facing towards the two of them, "If Foggy gets to be Uncle, does that mean I'm an Aunt?"

"Do you want to be?" He asks, because it is obviously a 'yes' in his mind. 

Karen considers this, Foggy narrating, "She's debating on her head, doing the whole tilting it one way and then the next." 

"Oh, hush, Fog! Of course, I want to be!"

This quickly dissolves into playful bickering.

"Aunt Karen has a good ring to it."

"Oh, like Uncle Foggy is much better?"

Matt grins and finds his way back to his seat and his beer. He grabs the bottle and takes a long sip, listening to two of the most important people in his life bask in the glow of their little family getting bigger. 

Maybe, just maybe, he isn't as helpless and lost as he thinks he is. 

Maybe it will all be okay. 

He just needs to have faith. 

taglist:

@midnightreids @cloudroomblog @yeonalie @thychuvaluswife 

@dorothleah @mattmurdocksstarlight @mars-on-vinyl @mywellspringoflife @sleepdeprived-barelyalive @simmilarly @soupyspence @darkened-writer @akila-twt

@murc0ckmurc0ck @groovycass @sumo-b98 @just3rowsing @tongueofcat @zoom1374

@theclassicvinyldragon @aoi-targaryen @lunaticgurly @nikitawolfxo @shireentapestry @snakevyro @yondiii @echos-muses @honeybug-victoria @the-bisaster @ristare @mrs-bellingham @eugene-emt-roe @cometenthusiast @stevenknightmarc @hunnybelha @

Specialagentjackbauer @yarrystyleeza @ofmusesandsecrets 

@mayp11-blog @danzer8705 @thinking-at-dusk @remuslupinwifee @akila-twt  @mattmurdocks6thscaleapartment @dil3mma @allllium @

two-unbeatable-beaters @kiwwia-wiwwia @1988-fiend

#soulie writes #fanfiction #daredevil #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock x you #and then I met you

[bellaxgiornata]

Neighbors [Prologue]

Pairing: Frank Castle x Fem!Reader Word Count: 1.9k

Summary: Between running Common Grounds, chasing after your escape artist husky, and helping your financially struggling brother out by watching your niece, your days are always busy. But shortly after a new neighbor moves into the other side of your duplex, you start receiving mysterious threats. Surprisingly, you eventually find safety and comfort in the reclusive neighbor whom your niece and dog have both come to befriend.

Warnings/tags: 18+; contains friends to lovers, violence, fluff, eventual smut, angst

a/n: This is just a short prologue to this little fic and unfortunately there's only mentions of Frank, he doesn't make an appearance until the first chapter. Also yes, Reader has a family, but I try my best to keep physical descriptions nonexistent and allow for y'all reading to either view Reader as biologically related to her brother, or to view her as adopted at birth. Feedback is always appreciated and the chapter list for future updates can be found here!

Tag list: @danzer8705

“Alright, coffee bean,” you said, opening the back door of your car, “what’s first on the agenda for this afternoon?”

A bright smile lit up Lily’s face as you leaned into the backseat, beginning to unbuckle her from the carseat. Her feet swung back and forth in her pink shoes as she waited for you to undo the restraints, a thoughtful ‘hmm’ coming from her as you undid each buckle. Though you already knew what she was going to say, because it was the same answer every time.

“First we need a snack,” she answered.

“Oh we do, do we?” you asked with a grin.

“We always start with snack time, Nini,” she stated matter-of-factly in her small voice.

Your grin grew wider at the nickname she still called you after all these years. When she was younger, she'd struggled to properly say ‘auntie,’ instead the word coming out as ‘nini.’ So Nini you happily became.

Finished with undoing her buckles, Lily slid out of her seat, grabbing her backpack and stuffed husky–the plush that was almost an exact replica of your dog that she carried absolutely everywhere with her–from the seat beside her. While she began to climb her way out of the car, your attention was drawn away by the sound of your neighbor’s front door closing. Glancing over your shoulder and past your driveway over to the duplex beside yours, you spotted your landlord, Cora. Her back was to you as she continued to lock up the duplex next door to yours. 

You’d been wondering why her car had been parked in the neighboring driveway when you’d first pulled up. She hadn’t mentioned anything about stopping by for anything today to you, so you figured her visit had something to do with the neighboring unit. Curiously you wondered if she had finally gotten a tenant for that duplex, because you knew it had been empty for the past couple of months. Not many people wanted to move to a small town in Michigan. Though it wasn’t like you’d been complaining about the lack of noisy neighbors for the past couple of months. The peaceful silence of not sharing a wall with someone had been great, and so had been having the entire shared backyard to yourself.

Lily’s small hand grabbing onto yours broke you from your thoughts, your focus shifting back down to her now standing at your side. She was grinning up at you, her purple backpack on her back and her husky clutched tight to her chest with her other arm. 

She’d just finished preschool for the day today, and as usual, you’d picked her up afterwards. She attended preschool three days a week for only half a day–paid for by you, because your brother was struggling to make ends meet as it was being a single dad in debt. He sometimes even worked a second job at a bar in town at night, and on those nights Lily stayed with you. 

Your brother Jamie was truthfully a great father, but he had been struggling financially even before Lily came into the picture. It didn't help that Lily’s mother had bailed on the pair of them almost immediately after giving birth, leaving Jamie all alone to figure everything out.

All alone except for you, of course. Because there was no way in hell you'd let your brother and his poor little baby girl suffer. Since Jamie couldn’t afford traditional daycare, you had offered to watch your niece whenever he was working. And it had been that way for years. Nowadays that meant sometimes you’d take her down to Common Grounds, the coffee shop you owned downtown, and let her help you out or work on her own activities while you finished whatever you needed to. Other days you’d find ways to keep the pair of you entertained at your place or around town. It was an arrangement you didn’t truthfully mind because Lily was a fairly well behaved four year old and you genuinely loved spending time with her. You knew you'd miss her constant company when she finally started kindergarten in the fall.

“And what do you think we should have for a snack?” you asked her.

“Apple cookies!” she exclaimed instantly. “You make them better than daddy!”

“Well you're in luck,” you told her, closing the car door, “because I just bought fresh strawberries yesterday.”

Beside you, Lily happily jumped up and down, emitting a squeal of delight. The sight of her had you laughing as she began pulling at your hand, beginning to drag you up the length of the driveway. But the pair of you didn't get far before you heard your name being called out. Turning towards the voice, you spotted your landlord Cora. You sent her a smile and a wave in greeting.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Phillips!” Lily cheerfully called out, waving her stuffed husky enthusiastically at Cora.

“And good afternoon to you, Lily!” Cora said, stopping at the edge of the neighboring driveway and leaning down towards the girl. “How was preschool today?”

“Good!” Lily exclaimed. “Nini and I are going to make apple cookies for snack now!”

“Oh you are? Well those sound yummy,” Cora told her. Her eyes returned to you, a warm smile on her face as she straightened back up. “And how're you doing, dear?”

Laughing lightly, you shrugged your shoulders. “About as busy as always,” you replied. “But that's better than being bored, I suppose.” You gestured your head towards the duplex she just left. “Did you finally find someone for the unit?”

Cora nodded as she said, “I did, actually. So it seems you'll finally be getting a neighbor. Just one, though. But he seemed to be a very polite gentlemen from the few times we have spoken at least.”

Your heart sank at the news, but you did your best to refrain from letting the disappointment show on your face. So not only were you getting a neighbor again, but it was a single man. Probably a bachelor of some sort. You only hoped he wouldn't be bringing many dates back to his place. Not just because you didn't want to hear anything through that shared wall, but you didn't want Lily to overhear anything on the nights she stayed over, either. 

“Oh?” you asked. “When uh, when is he moving in?”

“He moves in tomorrow actually,” Cora told you. “He seemed eager to get settled in as soon as possible and I couldn't quite complain. I've been needing to fill that place for a while now.”

Lily began to tug impatiently at your hand. Glancing down at her, you saw the slight frown on her face. She was tired of the ‘adult talk’ already, you could see it on her face. 

“I suppose I'll be meeting him soon then,” you said, focusing back on Cora. “But I should probably get Lily inside and get going on those apple cookies of hers.”

Lily resumed enthusiastically hopping from one foot to the other at the mention of her favorite snack. “Yes please, Nini!” 

“Alright dear,” Cora said, that warm smile still on her face. “You girls take care. And let me know if there's any problems with the new neighbor, okay? You know I worry about you two.”

Taking a step back in the direction of your front door, you nodded. “I'm sure everything will be just fine, Cora,” you told her. “But I'll be sure to let you know if anything comes up.”

You sent her a final wave before turning around and continuing up towards your own front door, Lily once again tugging at your hand. As the pair of you neared the front window of your duplex, you could hear the distinct happy barks of greeting from your husky. She was standing at the front window, her tail wagging enthusiastically as faint whines penetrated through the glass in between her impatient barks.

“Penny! Penny!” Lily cried out.

The little girl released your hand, bolting over towards the window. Penny's whining only increased in response to your niece as you finished making your way to the front door, searching for the correct key on your keyring. Placing your key into the lock, you twisted it just before the sound of Penny's feet frantically racing over towards the door met your ears. Seconds later Lily was back at your side, excitedly bursting into your place in front of you the moment the door was opened. Her arms were wrapped around Penny's neck in a hug by the time you stepped inside, giggling as your dog began to happily lick the side of her face.

“Lily, shoes off please!” you called out to her.

Reluctantly breaking away from Penny, Lily made her way back over to where you were taking off your shoes in the entryway. As she sat down to take hers off, you placed yours in the entry closet. 

“So what should we do after snack time today?” you asked her, turning around and helping her remove her shoes. “We have a couple of hours before your dad comes to pick you up. Should we watch a movie? Color? Find a craft to do?”

You grabbed Lily’s shoes from her, turning back around to place them in the closet beside yours before closing the door. When you focused back on her, she was contentedly scratching Penny's ears and watching as the dog's tongue lolled out of her mouth in sheer bliss, Penny’s eyes partially closing. 

“No, I don't want to do those today,” Lily told you, shaking her head. “I want to…bake!” 

“Okay,” you said, making your way through the living room and towards your kitchen. “What do you want to bake? Brownies? Cookies?”

“Cookies!” she replied. “For your new neighbor!”

You paused at the entrance of your kitchen, your back to your niece as you heard her little footsteps and Penny's following after you. You hadn't expected that to be her answer. 

“Alright,” you said slowly, dragging the word out. “So…you want to make cookies for the new neighbor moving in tomorrow?” 

“Yep!” she answered. “It’s nice to bring people cookies, isn’t it?”

“Well, yeah,” you replied. “So should we make chocolate chip cookies after snack time, then?”

“Uh uh,” she immediately replied. “Heart cookies.”

Your eyebrows shot up even further onto your forehead. She wanted you to make heart shaped cookies for your new, single male neighbor? 

“Coffee bean,” you began carefully, turning around to face her, “it's not February anymore. We don't–”

Lily crossed her arms over her chest, stomping one foot down in defiance as she stared up at you. “I want to make him heart cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles, Nini.”

You stood there for a moment dumbfounded, your gaze holding her unwavering one. When she didn't back down, your eyes shifted over to Penny who was standing beside her. The dog's head only tilted to the side as she sat down, somehow seemingly mimicking your niece's defiant posture. With a sigh you turned back around, heading over to your fridge and feeling outnumbered.

“Okay, okay,” you relented. “After snack time we can make my new neighbor heart shaped cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles.”

“Yay!” Lily cheered, running over to sit at the kitchen table, Penny darting off just behind her. “They're going to be so beautiful! He’s going to love them!”

And hopefully this new neighbor is truly as nice and polite as Cora said , you thought as you grabbed an apple from out of the fruit drawer of your fridge. Because I don't know how a grown single man is going to react to receiving heart shaped cookies with sprinkles as a welcome gift…but so help me he better not hurt her feelings.

#frank castle x reader #frank castle x you #frank castle #the punisher

[brnesblogposts]

wired autocomplete interview!

(repost)

pairing: pedro pascal x fem!reader

a/n: this is my first like irl au, i kinda rushed it just ‘cause I’ve had this idea in my head for so long and I couldn’t relax until I got it out. Also I haven’t written in AGES and it feels so good to do it! I hope you like it! I definitely plan on doing more Pedro x reader irl au’s ‘cause there definitely aren’t enough!

reblog if you enjoy it, thank you :))

—————————-

“Hey everyone, i’m Pedro Pascal” Pedro said enthusiastically. “And i’m Y/N Y/L/N” you stated with a smile. To be quite frank, you were a nervous wreck. This was, after all, your first interview of many, considering this movie was your first big role.

“We’re here to do the Wired Autocomplete Interview!” Both you and Pedro gave your best attempt at talking in unison, you were trying your best to keep your nerves at bay, trying the tip your best friend gave you and imagining everyone in the studio in their underwear. It wasn’t working. You scrapped that idea. On with the interview!

Pedro received the first board of questions, tearing away a strip of paper, “How old is Pedro Pascal?” he looked straight into the camera and deadpanned. “Pedro Pascal is ageless” you blurted out before he could cook up a response himself. He turned to you and laughed, “She’s right. I am ageless!” You both smiled at each other as he moved onto the next question.

“How did Pedro Pascal get into acting?” You listened attentively as he started to explain how his career got started. “(…) Yeah so that’s my story, there are definitely actors out there with more interesting origin stories than me” You slapped his arm lightly “Don’t sell yourself short” you sneered at him, he probably doesn’t know how much you look up to him and have since you were a teenager.

After a few more questions Pedro was done with the board, now it was your turn. You started peeling back the slip of paper, “Who is Y/N Y/L/N’s role model?” Pedro started staring at you, looking around the room and putting his finger on his chin as if he was deep in thought, you started laughing at his comedic act. “Definitely this guy called Pedro Pascal, don’t know if you’ve heard of him” you declared, “Aww, isn’t she sweet!” Pedro put his hands to his heart and pouted, “I love my fans” He said as he wiped a fake tear, you wacked him with the board.

“Who is Y/N Y/L/N dating?” Was the next question on the board, rather intrusive you thought, that’s nobodies business except your own. You struggled to find words to answer this one and it was causing your anxiety to flare up. “It’s none of your business!” Your head turned to see Pedro staring into the camera, he answered on your behalf and you appreciated it, he turned to you and smiled, reassuring you. You whispered a thank you under your breath and he nodded.

The third board was Pedro’s again, and he started peeling the slip of paper away, “Where is Pedro Pascal from?” It said. “CHILEE!!!!” He screamed “I’m from Chile.” He stated matter of factly, “As you can see he’s very proud” you responded to his antics. “I should take you to visit, you’d love it!” His offer caught you off guard but you kept your cool. “I might just take you up on that offer” and you swear you could see a smirk.

“Where did Pedro Pascal meet Y/N Y/L/N?” You had to think on this one, where did you meet Pe- “The first time we met was at an after party for a movie premier of a friend of mine, she’d just got into the industry and my friend told me he’d heard Y/N had auditioned for the movie I was gonna be in. I approached her and she freaked out” You punched him, he started laughing, “Yeah she was like obsessed with me or somethi- OW?!” You had pinched him in an attempt for him to shut up, this is not the kind of information you need to be ridiculed by for rest of your career. “Okay, okay..” he reprimanded “Yeah, so- after our initial meeting we started talking and got one really well, now she always calls me an old man so I don’t really think it was worth it” he joked. You both insulted each other, but it was in a best friend sort of way. Yes he was considerably older than you but he was a child at heart and so were you. When you were together it was dangerous.

Finally, after a few more questions you got to the last one. “Are Pedro Pascal and Y/N Y/L/N dating?” Why are people so nosy? You thought. Pedro answered professionally as not to misinform and start a whole internet drama, “We are not, we’re just best friends. Although, if anyone IS planning on dating her then you should know I’ve been going to the gym. Break her and i break you.” He said in a serious tone, in his defence he had been working out. The best he could, anyway.. bad back and all. “Yeah what he said! Except that last part- I didn’t tell him to do that, don’t let him scare you! And I’m not looking for anything right now, just focusing on my career!” You aren’t lying, you are focusing on your blossoming career, but you also couldn’t possibly date anyone considering you had a massive crush on the man sitting next to you. But that secret was for another day.

The interview ended and you took a deep breathe you’d been holding in. “You did so good!” Pedro exclaimed and hugged you, “I’m so proud of you” He knew you were dreading this interview, but you made it through it and now you could go back to your hotel room, order room service and watch Narcos with Pedro, (against his will but who cares!).

#pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal angst #pedro pascal fluff #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal fic #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedrohub #pedro pascal fandom #pedro x reader #pedro pascal #pedro pascal au

[bangsinc]

A Spot x Reader

Where Spot is feeling super insecure - mainly bc everyone left him bc he became the spot but only the Reader stayed. And so when he becomes insecure about himself and not feeling good enough for Reader — can reader lift him up and tell him how perfect he is? 🤭 Something along those lines.. Totally feel free to add or change anything!!

💕Insecurities (Hcs/Drabble)💗

This is so so adorable! Ofc I’ll do this :). And thank you so much for being so polite!!! I’m sorry for the wait btw everyone, I’m working on requests I promise! I’ve jus gotten very sick B)

Also, just wanna add I’ll be making a masterlist for my stuff since so many ppl are requesting and I want it to be easy for everyone to find stuff! <3 and ill be making better cards

Days and nights seemed to never go by ever since the collider incident. Jonathan Ohnn, a man higher than life itself it seemed, reduced to nothing. He yearned for the life he once had, the fame, the community, the job.. but then again, he’d let what happen happen again if it meant you would be there for him.

You were the only person who understood his struggles, it seemed. But words and actions can’t heal wounds easily. He finds himself rather frequently lying awake at night and wondering what could have been. There’s so much he can’t do for you. So much he can never provide. Not even a kiss.

But.. every morning, he wakes up in your arms nonetheless. Your comfort never-ending, your words charming enough to even get to a man like him. A man who believes he’s not worth anything of the sort.

The longer you’re together, the more assured he is that you’re his soulmate, his one and only. He would never be possessive, or sociopathic to you though, but he believes your connection is more than mortal. He’s never seen unconditional love before, and he wishes to cherish it while it’s in his arms.

Often you find yourself holding him, lulling him to sleep despite his cries. He can’t shed tears, but his voice speaks more than his emotions. He’s learned to be good at that skill, since his face is.. nothing.

He holds onto you, begging to never leave him, but your words continue to come. You don’t shun him, or mock him for being so vunerable either. He’s yours, and you’re his.

He knows he can never repay this, he knows that he can’t even show the same affection you show for him, and he most certainly knows one thing. That you love him, forever and always.

The raidos melody flew past the both of your ears as you layed down on the comforter, the fabric clinging to Spots face as he spoke what could only be considered gibberish. His body, while erratic, never dared to move away from your touch. It was all he could feel, all he could care about in that moment.

“Y..you don’t need to always comfort me it—it’s nothing I..” He takes a deep breath, his hand covering the hole on his face to convey embarassment. You use this opportunity to hold his face in your hands, your bodies entangled. The raido was a distant memory, for now.

His cries don’t cease, at first. Instead, he clings to you, his arms wrapping around your figure in a desperate attempt to prove that this wasn’t something that.. would go away. Something that wouldn’t change. He could change, and you could change, but your love for eachother remained. Your love will change, but sometimes change is good.

He’s coming to learn that.

#spiderman #the spot x reader #the spot #across the spiderverse #spider man #into the spider verse #spiderverse imagine #amazing spider man #marvel #marvel x reader #yayyyyy #lovethisrequestbtw

[chvoswxtch]

jealousy

pairing: matt murdock x fem!reader x frank castle

summary: matt gets jealous that you're home taking care of frank while he's at work.

warnings: swearing, explicit sexual content (minors dni)

a/n: I just wanted to see matty jealous of frankie and live my fantasy of them both being my boyfriends. that's all.

word count: 1.8k

[part two: forgiveness][part three: revenge]

Jealousy was not an emotion Matt Murdock felt very often. He knew the law like the back of his hand, and had a talent for winning over juries with his smooth voice and irrefutable logic. His heightened senses and years of training gave him the upper hand when it came to taking down criminals. And since his “relationships” typically never lasted longer than a month or two, there wasn’t ever a sense of competition there.

Until you.

Because right now, he was in his office up to his elbows in casework while you were at home taking care of Frank, and jealousy practically seeped out of his pores.

He knew it wasn’t fair of him to feel jealous. Matt pretty much had you all to himself whenever Frank was away. And when Frank did come home, he usually joined Matt at night for patrols, and they’d return home to you together. 

Although usually the first one or two nights Frank came home, he was too tired to join Matt, and eventually Matt stopped bothering going out those first two nights anyway.

Because he couldn’t focus on anything hearing what Frank was doing to you in your shared bed. 

It was only fair that Frank got to spend some alone time with you too. He didn’t get it as much as Matt did. But that logic did nothing to dull the envy that turned his blind rage a deep shade of green. 

Even though you all three had an agreement about your relationship, Matt always struggled with possessiveness. It wasn’t even just towards you, but with Frank too. He got jealous when Frank did jobs with other people, even though he knew there were no feelings there and that Frank was coming home to him. He was selfish when it came to the two of you. After a lifetime of losing everyone he ever cared about due to death or abandonment, he held on tightly to the two people he loved most in this world, and refused to ever loosen his grip.

Frank needed your care. He needed you to put him back together, to be gentle with him and help him relax. He needed you to chase the darkness away in his head and the storm in his chest. He needed your candied words in his ear and your gentle touch on his skin. Matt knew that, because he knew how much he needed it when he came home sometimes. You created a safe haven for them both in your body, and there wasn’t anything your words or touch couldn’t fix.

Your touch.

Matt clenched his jaw thinking about you and Frank right now. He wondered if you were on your knees for Frank, using your talented mouth to make the big, bad Punisher beg for a God he didn’t believe in. He shuddered thinking about how you had woken him up last Friday morning with your warm mouth, taking your time bringing him to the brink of pleasure before climbing onto his lap to fuck him slowly into the mattress. You held his hands firmly above his head, intertwining your fingers tightly together and moaned soft praises into his ear while kissing him breathless. You always treated him so well.

Maybe Frank was on his knees. Maybe Frank had you spread out over the dining table with his head nestled between your thighs. God your taste was something else. If there was one thing he and Frank agreed on, it was that neither one of them could get enough of having their face buried in your pussy. And if there was one thing they fought over the most, it was who got to eat you out first.

Matt could feel his cock starting to harden as the phantom scent of your arousal hit his nose purely from memory. Were you riding Frank on the couch? He could practically hear the whine you would let out as Frank’s thick cock stretched you out. It didn’t matter how many times either of them fucked you. You were always so tight. Were you bent over the dining room table? Frank only liked to take you from behind when he really needed you and couldn’t wait. Like last month when he pulled the both of you into the bathroom at Josie’s because you wore that sundress that drove them both fucking insane, and he’d fucked you roughly from behind while you took Matt’s cock down your throat.

A low moan reverberated in his chest as he lightly palmed himself through his slacks, hissing slightly at the contact. He knew Frank. It had been two weeks since he’d seen you. Matt knew he most likely had you under him in your shared bed, your legs wrapped tightly around his waist, lightly grasping onto your throat as he fucked you gently, making you come over and over and over until neither one of you could physically take it anymore. He could hear your breathless pleas and Frank’s low grunts echoing in his ears. 

A slight shiver caused goosebumps to erupt all over his skin at the thought. Matt enjoyed fucking you both, there was no denying that. But he loved making love to you both more. He preferred when the three of you could take your time together, when he could feel how much you all wanted each other; how much you all loved each other. He had been so touch starved until he met you, and now he felt like he couldn’t go more than a few hours without affection. Frank was more selective with his sentiments, but Matt craved them all the same. He reveled in the lingering touches, the soft kisses, the rough calloused hands massing over his aching muscles, blunt nails scratching at his scalp. 

A pang suddenly pierced through Matt’s heart at the thought of you and Frank alone together. He would never admit it out loud, but it made him feel left out. A piece of him always secretly feared that you might favor one of them over the other. He worried that in Frank’s absence, he asked too much of you, or smothered you with his need for attention. He constantly feared that you felt relieved when Frank came home, because it meant you got a break from him.

Before he could stop himself, Matt was commanding his phone to dial your number, and the longer it rang, the faster his heart raced with anticipation. 

“Hi Matty.”

A shaky breath released from Matt’s chest he hadn’t realized he was holding when he heard your voice. Warmth bloomed beneath his ribcage hearing the evident smile on your face through your tone.

“Hi sweetheart.”

“How’s work going?”

“Fine, fine.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, no everythings fine. Just…missing you is all.”

Matt felt his cock twitch in his briefs as your melodic giggle filled his ear through the speaker.

“Matty, baby, you’ve been gone for three hours.”

A deep shade of red flushed onto his cheeks as he cleared his throat, gripping onto his own thigh tightly to steady himself as embarrassment pooled in his veins.

“I know.”

“That Red?”

Matt’s ears perked up hearing Frank’s voice in the background, his tongue darting out quickly to wet his lips as he listened intently.

“Yeah, he said he misses you Frankie.”

“Yeah, I know exactly what he’s missin’ right now. Gimme the phone.”

“Frankie-”

A furrow formed between Matt’s brows hearing a shuffle on the other end of the line before Frank’s gruff voice came through.

“You’re a selfish little shit, you know that?”

“I didn’t do anything-”

“You get her to yourself all the goddamn time, and you can’t let me have one fuckin’ day-”

“Frank, I was just calling to-”

“To see if I fucked her without you.”

Matt’s breath hitched in his throat as his mouth clamped shut. The only person that knew him better than you was Frank. Grinding his teeth together slightly, he let his head hang between his shoulders as a soft sigh escaped his mouth.

“Did you?”

“All mornin’. Woke her up nice and good. She came twice in my mouth before you even made it to your office.”

Matt groaned lowly as he squeezed his eyes shut, digging his nails into his thigh through the material of his pants.

“Told me she woke you up real good the other mornin’ too, huh?”

“Fuck, yeah she did.”

“She’s a real peach, ain’t she?”

Matt chuckled breathlessly, letting his head fall back as a steady exhale left his mouth.

“She’s a fucking angel.”

“You got that right. Can’t figure out what the fuck she’s doin’ with us, but I ain’t gonna question a good thing. Tell me somethin’, Red. How hard are ya right now?”

Matt whimpered lowly at the sultry tone of Frank’s teasing voice, his hand sneaking over to grasp at the bulge in his slacks of its own accord.

“Very.”

“Hands off.”

“Frank-”

“I said hands off, Red.”

Matt let out a frustrated groan as he removed his hand, listening to Frank’s chuckle ring in his ears.

“Good boy. Now get your ass home. You got fifteen minutes before I start without ya.”

Matt’s lips parted slightly at Frank’s command, and there was another shuffle on the other end of the line before he heard your voice come through.

“Matty?”

Another shiver descended down his spine hearing the lust that dripped from your voice.

“Yes my love?”

“Are you coming home?”

Your breath hitched slightly towards the end, and Matt groaned lowly again knowing exactly what was happening on the other end of the line.

“Yes, honey. I’m leaving right now. Is Frank touching you?”

“Y-Yes, Matty. He said-oh…he wanted…wanted to make sure you-shit…came home to us.”

“I’m coming, sweetheart.”

“Not yet, but you will be, Red. Hurry your ass up. Clock’s tickin’.”

“Matty.”

Matt trapped his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he suddenly stood, gathering all of his things in a haste.

“Don’t come until I get there.”

“But Matty-”

“What did I say?”

A low growl ripped through his chest, and he gripped onto his cane until his knuckles turned white hearing a soft whimper followed by a giggle.

“Frankie said I could.”

“Frankie’s not always around to protect you, angel. Remember that. I’ll be home soon. Be a good girl for me, honey.”

Matt wasn’t sure if he even gave Karen or Foggy an excuse as to why he rushed out so suddenly, clutching his briefcase over the front of his pants to hide the tent that had formed. He hadn’t even bothered to unfold his cane, and practically ran until his lungs burned until he reached his building. He didn’t care if people saw him and questioned how a blind man moved so quickly without a guide. He probably should have, but he couldn’t find it in himself to.

Because he was home, and so were you and Frank, and you two were the only things he really cared about anymore.

tags: @yarrystyleeza @little-miss-dilf-lover @day-dreaming-goddess. @neverlandcity @charmedkim @queenofthenoobs @stilldreaming666 @mattymurdock1021 @bubuslutty @messymissy @dark-academia-slut @strawberry1042

#matt murdock #matt murdock x you #matt murdock x y/n #matt murdock x female reader #matt murdock x fem!reader #matt murdock x f!reader #matt murdock x reader #frank castle #frank castle x you #frank castle x y/n #frank castle x reader #frank castle x female reader #frank castle x fem!reader #frank castle x f!reader #matt murdock x you x frank castle #matt murdock x y/n x frank castle #matt murdock x reader x frank castle #matt murdock x female reader x frank castle #matt murdock x fem!reader x frank castle #matt murdock x f!reader x frank castle #matt murdock blurb #matt murdock smut #daredevil blurb #daredevil smut #frank castle blurb #frank castle smut #the punisher blurb #the punisher smut #daredevil #the punisher

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

EXTRA CREDIT

professor!matt murdock x student!female reader

co-written with @hailey-murdock

word count. 4185

synopsis. you’re a struggling law student at columbia and seek out help from your temporary professor, matt murdock

warnings. 18+ only!! sexual & taboo content, legal age gap, semi-public sex, praise, unprotected sex but matt pulls out. mdni

notes. collab with my bestie @hailey-murdock if you’re seeing this first on my account, check out hers too <3 link

Students often find themselves in need of that extra boost to achieve their desired grades or attain additional credit towards their coursework.

And that was the case for you - never did you think you would end up at Columbia trying to earn your law degree. 

Now in your senior year, you needed extra credit, and none of your other professors wanted to help.

So you went with your last chance, Professor Murdock. He just started teaching a couple of months ago. But you quickly grew fond of him. Based on what you knew - he took on the Frank Castle case alongside his partner Nelson but lost the case. Maybe the case downshadowed their firm and made everything fall apart.

Who knew? But that made no difference to you. You knew what you wanted and needed. The way to his office made you dizzy, and you didn't know what to expect. You needed him -no, that was wrong- you needed his help.

The moment you stood outside his office, you saw him standing over his desk with his sleeves rolled up. His muscular forearms displayed in front of you. The tie loosely hung around his neck. 

His red-tinted glasses cover his soft, beautiful eyes that you've only ever seen once before. He looked almost angelic - and you finally understood the saying 'sight for sore eyes.' Matthew Murdock was truly a sight for sore eyes. 

The way his fingers ran over the braille on the paper on the table made you have many unholy thoughts about the man that could change your life. It made you think how his hand would feel around your throat while thrusting inside you from behind. Or if he could feel how tight your wet cunt was around his fingers. No, snap out of it. It was a sin to think such a thing of a man 15 years older than you. 

But Matt sensed you there at his door. He had actually heard you when you walked inside the building. The sweet scent of your perfume hit his nostrils stronger than a punch he would take at night on his nightly activities. 

Matt thought you already smelled sweet until he noticed a change of scent. It was more of an intoxicating fragrance - seeping into his skin and staining his memory with your powerful smell, immersed in your essence.

The way you wet your lips was just like beauty drops from the shyness of your lips. Nectar flows of desire with your heartbeat. Matt was hypnotized by the smell of your arousal in the air, making his pants feel tighter.

He was snapped out of that trance when he heard the sweetest sound he could ever hear: your voice. He stood there for a good minute, thinking of all those times he had heard your extremely short skirts rustle against the soft breeze, how the fabric would rub against your skin every time you were near him.

The smile on your face or the light scent of your orgasm from the night before still lingered on your skin, and it drove him mad. Did you have any idea of what you were doing to him? All those times your voice would change around him, the slightly whiney pitch making him want you more.

The soft touch of your hand on him when you would help him through the university campus, guiding him through the buildings, even though he had a cane and memory of the directions. Matt desired your touch on his skin, not on his suit. He couldn't corrupt a sweet, innocent thing like you. Or at least he thought so before.

After you managed to calm yourself down, you walked inside his office. Matt looked like he was about to explode. He was red, flustered, and sweating, and you grew concerned. "Professor? Are you okay?" 

"W-what? Oh, yes. I'm fine. Just thinking. Is there anything I can do for you?" Matt sat in his chair and moved himself to hide his growing erection under the desk. It was so wrong and unprofessional for him to act like this around you, his student. 

Your eyes ran down to his lap, and if Matt wasn't blind, he could see how your pupils grew wide. Matt Murdock wasn't small. No, he was big - bigger than you had imagined before. 

It was disgusting and perverted to think of your professor when you would seek pleasure late at night, hand rubbing your clit and moaning out his name as you came. 

You cleared your throat before continuing. "I've had a hard time understanding torts. I've tried and tried, but I just don't get it. I've been to everyone else, and you're kinda my last resort." You awkwardly chuckle, scuffling your feet.

"And you didn't come to me first?" he playfully questions, stroking over his stubble as if he's trying to assess you.

"No-- well, I didn't want to bother you, you know? You're only here temporarily and--" you trail off.

"I was just messing," he interrupts, a soft smile lining his lips. "Sit," he nods, gesturing to the seat opposite his desk. "I'd love to help one of my favourite students."

"One of them?" you snicker, pulling out the chair and taking a seat. "That's disappointing. I thought I was your favourite," you smile, your tone sweet as you lay your textbooks on the oak desk.  

Your eyes remain fixed on him, and you notice an expression you can't quite place - a face that's unreadable.

You sighed dramatically, "Please, Professor, I need your help-- badly. I need you". 

The small noise ran a chill down Matt's spine. It made it cock twitch underneath his slacks. He made a fist to bite onto it, to make sure the moan that was about to escape from his throat wasn't heard.

The way you begged for his help made him feel pride in his chest, his famous smirk surfacing onto his face. Would you sound this desperate in the bedroom? Matt thought to himself, and his thoughts carried on.

"Professor?" you repeat, your ask falling upon deaf ears. 

"Yes, sorry, forgive me, sweetheart. But back to the topic, I might have something that can help. Let me quickly look for it." He opened one of the drawers and ran his fingers over the braille to know the assignment.

But while he was so concentrated on the paper, you were a flustered mess. Matt Murdock, your professor, had called you 'sweetheart.' It was like honey the way the word rolled off his tongue. Your thighs pressed together to try to calm the ache between your legs. 

The way your scent hit Matt's nostrils was like a hard punch he'd receive on his nightly patrols. A groan left his throat, and he tried to mask it with a cough.

"Sorry, I had this assignment planned for the class but never gave it out. You have a week to do it. When you pass, you'll have your extra credit." Matt handed you your assignment.

"'When,' I think you mean if. But thank you so much for your help professor. I don't know what I would do without you." You knew you could count on him, although you were nervous about the outcome.

"Don't sell yourself short. You're smart and talented. You have a long way ahead of yourself. I know you can do this. If you need help, please come to me. I'll be at your disposal." 

Matt would have given you the extra credit without hesitation, but he wanted you to have a valid excuse to see him. He needed to see you again.

"Thank you again. And I won't sell myself short." You gently smiled at him even though he couldn't see your beautiful smile. 

"Good girl. The sooner you start, the better."

If you weren't blushing earlier, then you certainly would be now. The praise made your knees weak. Your panties are soaked and uncomfortable. The sensation needed to be taken care of once you got back to your dorm.

"I- uh. Yes, sir," you nodded quickly. 

It made you even redder that you couldn't make out a coherent sentence. Matt, that cheeky bastard was enjoying every single moment of this. It fueled his pride and ego, his smirk wider by the second. His erection was starting to become painful. The way you called him sir had him over the edge. 

He felt himself about to cum in his pants like a teenager. Matt needed to desperately do something about it and he couldn't with you there in his office, not yet.

"Is there anything else I can do for you"? 

Yeah, you can fuck me on your desk, you thought. You let out a sigh as you released your bitten lip and responded "No professor, thank you so much. I'll do good, I promise." And with that, you left his office. 

Your scent lingered in Matt's office, he could taste it on his tastebuds. Once he knew for sure you were far away from his office, he closed the door and locked it. He sat back down in his chair, quickly fumbling with his belt to take it off and pull down his pants just enough to take out his cock.

He rolls over his swollen cock with his roughened palm, stroking himself to you, sinful and utterly shameful thoughts of you. Thoughts and notions that made him question his moral code. He knew he shouldn’t be touching himself to you – a student, his student, but he was on the brink, too far gone to stop now. He imagined the noises you’d make, the way you felt wrapped around him, he anticipated the way you would come undone beneath him.

But the overwhelming pleasure made Matt forget everything about his moral code. He knew he would go to hell for his double life and all his sins. But you? Oh, you were his greatest sin, you were the cherry on top of his ticket to hell. His lust and desires wanted him to feel ashamed but Matt did not care. 

The small whimpers Matt knew he could pull out of you only made him harder. Matt wished it was your soft and delicate hands around his cock instead of his calloused hands. He knew he could treat you better than any of those stupid college guys. Only looking for their own release. Pathetic and selfish were the two things guys at college are. After three thrusts, they'd be done, but Matt? Oh, the stamina he has is way beyond what you could ever imagine.

He was a real man who knew how to make you fall apart for him within seconds. The amount of times he could bring you to reach your release. You poor small thing, probably haven't had your sweet cunt eaten out. Maybe even hadn't been given an orgasm.

Matt wanted to ruin you for any other person who would have you. No - you're his. You belong to him. Corrupting you would only add another sin to his list. The more he thought of you, the more he grew closer to coming. Matt's lip was bleeding due to how hard he had been trying to keep his moans and groans quiet.

Matt squeezed his cock tightly imagining that it would be your cunt squeezing him while you come for him, screaming his name. And just with that he came all over his hand and shirt, the sensation was making his senses go overload. A small whimper escapes his mouth. 

Matt reaches out for something to ground himself back again, but he's found with nothing. He needs you- Matt needs you there to comfort him. What? No- he made a deal to cut all forms of relationships. No friends, no love interests, no nothing. What about you then? That was a different situation and he would use you for his own pleasure. There's a difference, Matt thought to himself.

He felt confused, humiliated, even. His mind slowly started to clear, and then he began to round up the pros and cons, weighing what would do more harm. But you were still consuming the logical part of his brain, and all he could muster was an exasperated sigh, dropping his face in his palms like he was soothing himself. He just had to make it through the week.  

You've been doing everything you could to get that extra credit - staying up late, turning down every party invitation, just doing everything you could to get a good grade. All you wanted was for your efforts to be noted and appreciated. You just hoped your professor could notice how hard you were trying and give you something to prove your efforts. 

You haven't seen him all week, practically counting down the days to his handsome face again, and today was finally the day. 

He had a relatively busy schedule, so instead, he asked you to see him at the end, just before hometime -when he knew it would be empty- 

All day you had an anxious pit in your stomach - wild butterflies fluttering around your throat from how nervous you were. You just had to make it until 5 pm, that was all.

The time finally rolled around, and you began to make your way to Matt's office, uneasy footing carrying you to his door. You collect yourself briefly before knocking, tapping in a rhythmic tune. 

"Come in," the voice called from behind the door. 

"Hi," you smile, stepping into the small closet-like room. "You said to come back at 5."

"Yes, yes. Of course. Take a seat," he smiles, gesturing to the seat beside him. 

Your breath catches in your throat when you realise just how close you would be sitting to him, much closer than you were expecting, though you weren't complaining. But you do as told and take a seat.

"How did you find it?" he breaks the momentary silence, crossing his leg towards you. 

"Eh," you sigh, sweetly laughing. "Wasn't awful. But I did it, so that must count, right?"

He lightly chuckles, adjusting himself in the chair almost like he was leaning into you - his body language very much interested. "That's good. How do you think you did?"

"I'd like to think I did good."

His pretty smile resurfaces at your reassuring words, and your thighs instinctively clamp together, your body having a mind of its own.  

"That's great to hear, sweetheart," he nods. "Oh, while I have you here. This computer has been making a weird sound. Can you take a look for me?" 

"Of course," you smile and scooch closer on your chair, perking yourself up as you lean over, accidentally knocking him in the way. "Sorry," you mutter, patting his arm apologetically.

Matt exhales, your delicate touch sending him into a frenzy. "Sorry about the mess-- books everywhere. I really should clean it," he murmurs, shaking his head like he was trying to redirect his blood flow. He continues to blabber, feeling the strain in his boxers once more. "I'll get around to it." 

"It's okay," you whisper, breath catching in your throat again when you feel his knee brush over the back of your leg. "It's no problem." This time, you sounded more desperate than you would've liked - pathetic almost. 

He abruptly adjusts his seating position, his hardened crotch hitting against the cheeks of your ass causing you to stumble forward, splaying over his desk for a brief moment before spinning back around to face him. 

He's big, you think to yourself. Your eyes widen when you realize the position you are in. Matt wanted to do more by assuming that you were excited or maybe nervous as he heard the hammering beat of your heart. 

Besides, it wasn't like you were pushing him away. Maybe you did want this after all, the sweet nectar scent between your legs confirmed his theory. Matt leans in closer towards you, his mouth dangerously close to your ear, "Do I make you nervous, sweetheart?" 

You couldn't form any words, it was embarrassing. The need to have Matt's hand between your thighs to ease the ache was starting to fill your mind. A pathetic whimper fell from your soft lips as you nodded your head 'yes.'

His calloused fingers run over your knee, up your thigh, "Oh you sweet thing, I haven't even done a single thing and you already can't speak. Use your big girl words. Is this okay?"

"Y-yes," it was barely audible. The shade of crimson grew darker on your cheeks the more Matt touched you. His left hand gripping your thigh, while his right hand was on your hip, slowly creeping up your chest to your neck. It only made your arousal leak through your panties how his large hand covered your entire neck.

Matt's body heat radiated onto your skin with how he had you caged against his desk. He couldn’t get enough of how soft your skin was, even softer than the silk sheets on his bed. You were like a drug, his addiction. 

His hand moved to grip your jaw to look at him, he leaned in to kiss the soft lips of yours that he's craved to kiss, to have wrapped around his cock. Sucking him while he'd grip your hair, guiding you, being his good girl. Matt's cock twitches painfully under his slacks. 

"W-what if someone sees us?" You wanted to kiss Matt, badly, but that didn't mean you wanted to get caught. 

"Nobody's here, sweetheart. Don't worry that pretty little head of yours."

Before closing your eyes, you saw the smirk that Matt had grown to flash at you lately. God, how you wanted to make this man feel so good. 

His thumb brushes over your chin, tilting you up to face him once again, his smirk slowly faltering as he closes the distance, angling you to meet his lips. He kisses you with more vigour - more passionately than before, like he was desperate, finally kissing you like those times he's dreamt of.

His palm around your jaw slips behind and into a loose fist of hair at the back of your neck, holding you still and deepening the kiss as he presses his chest into yours, pushing you back into his desk. 

You hop onto the edge of the desk and slip your hands around his waist, finicking with his belt as you eagerly try to undress his lower half.  

He parts from the kiss breathlessly, chuckling as he shakes his head. "Not about me, sweetheart," he smiles, removing your hands from his waistband. He brings your hands to his lips and places a delicate kiss on the back of each. "It's about you."

Matt hastily clears the desk surrounding you, emptying the space for you to lean back. You do as asked, falling back and resting on your elbows as you gaze up at the handsome man standing between your spread legs. 

His hands trail your bare thighs, grazing up the goosebumped skin until his fingertips reach the frilled edging of your underwear. A gentle smile lines his lips as he brushes over the small wet patch of fabric, his thumb tracing your folds through the dampened material. His grin widens as he outlines the mound of your clit, teasing at the nub with small, soft circles. 

On any other occasion, Matt would've taken the time to work you up, to appreciate you - to coax out a couple of orgasms beforehand, but time was not on your side, and what you had was limited. He just wanted to give you a small taste of what he had to offer you, hoping you'd want to come back for more. All he wanted today was to satisfy a slither of his hunger while making you feel good - all while going uncaught. 

He returns his attention to you and slips his fingers into the waistband of your underwear, slowly dragging them over your hips and down your thighs. He balls the damp, slinky fabric and shoves it in his desk drawer for "safekeeping," as Matt lightly put it.

"If we had more time, sweetheart..." he trails off, shaking his head at the thought. 

"I don't really understand law-- I'll be back again soon," you reply, tone flirty and breathless as you shimmy down on the oak desk, adjusting to accompany him. "Might need some more extra credit."

"That's good-- I can do that," his voice hoarse as he urgently unbuckles his belt, unzipping his fly. "I've got plenty more. Anything you need."

He pulls his cock out over the waistband of his boxers, keeping most of himself covered in the off and unfortunate chance of getting caught.

You perk yourself up higher on your elbows and glance down at him, eyes bugging out your head when you see his thick, swollen dick twitching in his tight grasp. He wasn't your first, but his size certainly was. 

Matt lazily rolls over his cock, massaging in a few beads of precum as he situates closer, standing between your legs with his thighs pressed into the back-side of yours. He pushes his dick through your folds, collecting your wetness on his head, slick lips parting around his girth.

"If it's too much, let me know," Matt reassures, stroking your thigh with his spare hand.

"I will," you eagerly nod, wrapping your hand around his cock, slowly guiding him into you.

He stills, allowing you to take what you want, letting you take it little by little til you're full solely of him. His thick cock stuffed into your perfect, pretty pussy - warm walls melting around him as you twitch and whine on the table. 

"That's it-- doin' so good," he coos, brushing comforting circles over your tummy, the action as if to soothe you. "Feel so perfect."

Matt slowly drags out a few inches and pushes back in, doing it repetitively as if to stretch you out, slowly fucking and filling you. One of his hands trails back to your waist, gripping your skin and gently tugging your body to meet his lazy, uneven jabs. The other placed calculatedly over your pubic bone, thumb swirling over your clit in a movement that juxtaposed his sloppy thrusts. 

The dingy room is full of stifled moans and muttering praises - wet, squelching noises accompanying the lewd sounds. 

It all began to feel like too much, as if Matt was pressing all your buttons at once - doing everything to get you off as fast and hard as possible. 

"Quiet, sweetheart. I can't be giving everyone extra credit," he hushes, continuing to leisurely wind his cock into you, going nice and slow. "That's only for you, sweet girl."

He leans over your body, swallowing your whimpers with rough kisses as if he knew you were close - like he was taking precautions, not wanting others to hear. 

His thrusts never falter in motion, giving you what you want, not changing a thing as he brings you to your ever-longing high. 

"Cum on my dick," he murmurs against your lips, resting his forehead on yours, softly panting. "That's it, that's it, that's it, that's it."

The internal balloon in your stomach wears thin, and you do as instructed - cumming around his thick cock as you entrap him to your body, caging him in a bear hug. You bury your face in the crook of his neck, muffling moans and cries as you let go.

"Sound so pretty," he whispers, peeling himself from your grasp. "So, so pretty."

Once you come back down, he stands upright and yanks his cock from the perfect warmth between your legs, rolling over his reddened head as he spills his release on your inner thigh, mumbling curses and praises about how good you make him feel. 

Matt quickly tucks himself away, and his cheeks flush a light pink as he slips his hands into yours, pulling you up and helping you up. He sits in his chair and rolls it closer to you, pulling out one of his desk drawers and collecting a pack of tissues.

"Didn't hurt you, did I?" he asks, wiping the tissue over your thigh, cleaning the cum. 

"No," you reply immediately, shaking your head. "Not at all."

"Good," he grins, throwing the tissue in the can by the window. "We'll keep this as our little secret?"

"Absolutely," you sweetly laugh. "But, I should be going. My roommate's waiting on me."

"Of course, sweetheart," his grin widens, nodding understandingly.

He helps you to your feet and adjusts your skirt, smoothing over the fabric. As he does that, you sort out your upper half - straightening your top and fixing your hair. 

"Oh-- my underwear," you giggle, feeling a slight breeze. 

He playfully tuts, clicking his tongue as he buckles his belt. "I'm keeping them for a few days. Will you give you a reason to come back."

You sling your bag over your shoulder and reach for the door handle. "I don't need another reason."

— — — — — — — — — — ☆ — — — — — — — — — —

matt taglist: @hailey-murdock @ashlynhasmanyhyperfixations @idontknowwhattohaveasmyuser @redecoratestan @kpopgirlbtssvt @scarletsloveletter @princess-pebbles-things @messymissy @schneeflocky @readerhead @thegreengoop @charmedkim @queerponcho @simplyreflected @kinglokisqueen4ever

#fic #collab fic #matt murdock #matt murdock smut #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock one shot #matt murdock x fem!reader #daredevil x reader #daredevil #matthew murdock x fem!reader #matthew murdock smut

[fairuzfan]

hi! i just want to clarify first of all that im pro palestine, but a lot of people in my life aren't. ive been looking for ways to convince them but tbh im kind of lost. ive tried showing reports from websites like al jazeera but that's been dismissed out of hand because they're a middle east jounral and thus must be biased (pointing out that stuff like cnn then must be biased too because they're american hasn't worked lol). so, do you know of more "unbiased" resources/journals/etc, or anything that can argue for palestine? sorry if this is badly worded its pretty late. appreciate everything you've done btw 🇵🇸

No worries, I totally understand where you're coming from.

I guess I wanna ask for clarification—do you know what resources they personally are willing to accept? I can provide from Jewish scholars/voices if that'll help.

The issue is, not many USAmerican/European sources are unbiased, and they often spout imperialist propaganda. So if they're looking primarily for those types resources, I'm afraid I cannot really give you too many.

Here's a segment from an Angela Davis interview from Democracy Now that I like: https://www.democracynow.org/2021/12/28/angela_davis_25th_anniversary_taped_segment

Also her book Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement: https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Constant-Struggle-Palestine-Foundations/dp/1608465640

Angela Davis is often pretty vocal about the harms of imperialism throughout the world and specifically mentions Palestine in her activism. I suggest looking to her writings also.

Can't say I know too much about DemocracyNow! though.

Some other scholars/orgs are:

Jewish Voice For Peace: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/

If Not Now: https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/

Ilan Pappe (he's specifically "Israeli", if that will help at all)

Frank Barat

Noam Chomsky: https://chomsky.info/

Modoweiss: https://mondoweiss.net/ Now I don't totally love Mondoweiss all of the time but if the people in your life are really against learning from non-Palestinian sources they might be ok to introduce them. They do have Palestinian writers and editors tho.

I guess if its more that they're unwilling to trust SWANA news sources, you could show them The Institute for Palestine Studies, which is associated with Columbia University.

This list was a little difficult because I can't say I'd always recommend these sources (except, well, Angela Davis—I really look up to her—and Institute for Palestine Studies), but it could be a good introduction if they're rejecting other places that have more reliable reporting. If they're willing to accept these places/people, then you could move on to more Palestinian led sources.

I don't know if this helps, but you could say that they should listen to the Palestinian's POV because you'd always asked the people directly involved in a situation what their viewpoint is? Might help shift their understanding.

There are more sources that I thought about adding, but I need to look into them a little more. I might add on to this list later.

Let me know if any of this helps at all or even if it didn't, I'm genuinely really interested to see what they have to say.

#palestine #gaza #info post

[thisoneblackjacket]

🎬 NOW IT'S TIME FOR...

Eddie's notes hour!

I just wanted to take a closer look into all of the notes that we see on Eddie's desk within the hidden video + some input/speculation on them

...

1. Starting with the gift list:

I went into it a bit in a previous post, but I think(?) I now have the full list down (w/some help from others from that post) :

Julie - Chimney Cozy

Frank - Bug Catching Net (?)

Wally - Apple

Howdy - Calculator

Poppy - Doilies (still unsure about that one)

Barnaby - Bones (?)

Sally - Mirror

I will say that these gifts seem very fitting for everyone, but between the few questions marks next to some of the gifts, along with Eddie's doubts about Julie's and Frank's gift in the vid:

Sounds like Eddie HIMSELF is unsure if these gifts will work. It has the same vibes as trying to shop for someone that you sort of know the interests of, but not much else

Which sort of amplifies that he isn't the closest to any of the neighbors (seemingly he only gets to interact with them when they need something from him), so this might play more into the theme of Eddie being alienated from the rest of the neighborhood

...

2. Moving on to the grocery list:

Okay so I'm still struggling w/a few words, but I think it goes as follows:

Grocery (I think?)

Envelopes

Pencil

Construction Paper

Paper {Lined} (I think?)

Eggs

Milk

I don't have too much to say here, but it is a bit interesting that Eddie has to buy supplies for his own business from Howdy. I always figured that another reason why Howdy disliked Eddie was because he might have sold his own paper/stationary items at the post office, hence competition, but maybe not

...

3. It's TIC TAC TOE time!! ❌⭕

Now I am not about to begin to try to count how many games he played through that you can see on the screen (you can't make me!)

BUT, given the scoreboard:

Eddie (his left, I'm guessing the ⭕s): 4...?

Eddie (his right, I'm guessing the ❌s): 14

That's at least 18 games by itself, can you imagine how many if you included the draws ?!

Poor Eddie...

But listen - I'll end this post with something that has been scratching at me - Tic Tac Toe as a potential symbol in the story

Now I don't know HOW significant Tic Tac Toe is to WH, but I think it is significant.

Does anyone remember this post back in October, during the Halloween update? The one where OP had put this one tic tac toe game over the map? (go check it out)

I really do think that's a solid lead towards something big, and it was actually one of the first things that popped in my head when thinking back to this.

But even if it turns out it isn't, Tic Tac Toe has been showing up from time to time via drawings/surroundings, which is already enough to at least consider it moving forward

So here, while it makes sense in context as to why Eddie is playing the game a bunch in the video (waiting around for someone to show up with nothing better to do), and all this can honestly be a stretch, but to have him specifically play THAT game, after its been shown to pop up that often...makes me suspicious for sure...

...

Either way, this has been...

Eddie's notes hour!

(seriously, I'm not good at making title names)

#welcome home #eddie dear #welcome home arg #welcome home spoilers #welcome home update #welcome home speculation #analysis

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

just get to me in time, okay?

a/n: just reminiscing about 2019 when I was in my hardcore frank era...

warnings: frank castle x nurse!reader, friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, fluff, patching up frank's wounds, blood and gore, kissing, reader has a cat

word count: 1660

∼ gentle reminder that feedback, but especially reblogs are the way you support writers on here ∽

masterlist | join my taglist

As your cat suddenly jumped off his comfy spot on your belly with his head smooshed beneath the cliche romance novel you were unwinding with this evening, his sudden alertness and the loud meows that accompanied it caused you to put your book down, “hey, what’s up, baby?” you slowly got up from the couch and followed after him though the dim apartment, “we talked about this, Cosmo,” you gently warned the loud exclamations that he released in one of the shadowy corners of your living room, “you talking to the air just makes me think there are ghosts here.”

When he then began to purr, the soothing sound emanating from the darkness was accompanied by a familiar voice, “sorry to interrupt your thrilling Friday night, Y/n.”

“Jesus christ, Frank!” you exclaimed, nearly jumping out of your skin, “you almost gave me a heart attack! Don’t you know how to knock? Or even just use the front door?”

“Sorry,” he stepped into the light, supporting some of his weight on one of your dining room chairs as Cosmo happily rubbed his fluffy body against his heavy boots. 

As the soft light emanating from the tall lamp in the corner illuminated your friend's form, the blood soaking his dark clothes and the bruises across his cheekbone made his intentions for this late-night visit crystal clear, the smile fell from your lips at once.

“And here I was hoping you just felt lonely,” you joked, trying to hide your heavy sigh, “wanted to come by for a game of scrabbled or something,” your feet already carrying you towards your kitchen, you called over your shoulder, “I’ll go get the first aid kit, you know where the bathroom is,” a sentence you had probably said to him about a dozen times by now. 

After retrieving the first aid kit, or more like first aid box with the way you had expanded the contents out of precaution after you began to help Frank, it now no longer fit in the small neat cross marked container, but a bigger clear plastic box you used to store old mementoes in, one that conveniently didn’t fit under your bathroom sink anymore. 

“So, what is it tonight, huh?” you sat it down on the edge of the sink and glanced over at your wounded friend, now situated on the side of the tub. 

Your cat still glued to his side, one of his hands tangled in the soft grey fur behind Cosmo’s ears as the other one worked at shredding his black jacket, “just some idiot with a knife that got a bit lucky,” his breathing got heavy as he struggled with the other sleeve. 

Kneeling down in front of him, you swiftly took over his actions, removing his outerwear the rest of the way for him, “where?”

“Shoulder and a few down here,” he motioned towards the large red stain on his midsection, his fingers already beginning to lift up his t-shirt. 

“Don’t,” you swatted his hand away and lifted yourself up enough to fish a pair of scissors out of the box.

“Oh, come on,” his head tilted to the side as he tried to argue, “I am barely hurt, I can take my shirt off just fine.”

“I know you can,” your face stayed stony, “you can do so many very impressive things, just not right now, tough guy,” as you from the bottom hem began to cut open the black cotton that clung to his skin, “besides, I got you some spare clothes just in case.”

“You didn’t have to do that-”

“Frank, just say thanks,” you sighed, taking the last snip on your journey from the bottom up to the collar, “I basically got them for free anyway with how cheap they were.”

Lifting yourself up more, being momentarily at eye level with him as he watched you slice open the shoulders and peel the fabric off, “thank you, ma'am.”

After thoroughly washing your hands and sliding on a pair of gloves, you took a closer look at his gnarly cuts, gently inspecting his bruised cheek as well to make sure it wasn’t anything else. 

“I don’t have any more of the fun stuff,” you spoke as you fished out the rest of the supplies needed, “but I can offer you some aspirin if you want.” 

“Nah,” his low voice rumbled as you wetted a cotton ball with some saline, “just do it.”

“Alright,” you exhaled and began to dap and clean his wounds, the only indication of pain you received being the uncontrollable twitch his eyes occasionally did as they tracked your movements, washing over his tender flesh and wiping the crimson away. 

“I see this one’s healing quite nicely,” you commented as you caught sight of the newly scabbed over bullet wound that you’d patched up not too long ago, “at least you didn’t go and get yourself shot again, so that’s always something,” you tossed the last of the stained cotton rounds into the sink as your gloved fingers then began to thread the curved needle already clasped in the cold metal of your forceps. 

“Wasn’t hard to mess it up when you patched it up so good,” he watched you, both of his hands now simply resting on the porcelain of the tub, his novelty haven worn off slightly, so Cosmo had freed his good hand and moved on to curling up on the bathmat by the door. 

“You ready?” you asked out of habit before you let the needle pierce his flesh. 

“Yep,” he replied, a series of heavy breaths and low grunts followed suit as you closed up the cuts tainting his already scared abdomen, the muscles tensing slightly underneath your fingers as you did. 

Stoic as ever, Frank took every stitch like the brick wall that he was, not complaining once as his wounds one by one got closed up and then covered with large white bandages. 

As you worked on the last one that luckily missed his collarbone, your sutures slowed down as the storm within your mind grew. Now situated beside him on the edge of the bathtub, it was hard for him not to notice how your bottom lip had begun to tremble. 

“Please don’t-…” he spoke, averting his usually unwavering gaze as you tied off the last knot and cut the thread, “you already know that you can’t tell me anything that will make me stop, so please don’t ask me.”

“Frank, I would never-…” you set the tools down and blinked back at him, honestly slightly offended that he’d even ask you after all of this time, “you know me well enough to be certain that I’d never ask you to change, to stop before-…” shutting your eyes a second, you said, “look, I can do a lot, but I can’t do everything. What happens the day when you stumble in here with something that I can’t just fix, that I don’t have the right means to-…” you let your head momentarily slumped down against the mass of his shoulder, “and if you refuse to let me call an ambulance? Or even worse, if you don’t get here in time, if you don’t get to me, if you go and die on me in some ally somewhere, I just-…” your voice broke as your forehead softly collided with his own, “just get to me in time, okay?” you felt sharp tears sting the corners of your eyes, “come to me even if it’s just a scratch, because as brilliant as you are, I don’t trust those crappy first aid skills of yours one bit,” the essence of a smile accompanied that teasing comment as you blinked up at him once more with glossy eyes, “come to me, because if you don’t, if you get hurt, if you die, and I could have prevented that, then I don’t know how-… how-…” 

Your broken words trailed off as your eyes unintentionally flickered down towards his full lips and before you had time to think, you’d leaned in and crashed your lips against his own. 

He still tasted of blood, though that fact didn’t bother you as much as you’d imagined it would. You felt one of his large palms find the side of your face as his mind eventually caught up and he began to reciprocate the unexpected kiss. As you realised what you were doing, your anxious mind feared the worst and you swiftly tried to back up to apologise for your sudden actions, though the fingers that had travelled to the back of your head and kept you there long enough to let his lightened pecks upon your lips be enough of an answer to soothe your worries. 

“So,” his fingers lingered in your hair a moment longer as you parted ways, “I’m guessing that might have something to do with why you don’t want me dying in an ally somewhere, huh?” 

“Why?” you breathed, biting down on the soft smile that bloomed, “you got a problem with it?”

Disappearing completely in your eyes, he simply shook his head, beaming back at you as if he hadn’t just been through a meat grinder earlier tonight. 

“You know,” you eventually opened your mouth again as his intense gaze sent a shy tingle down your spine, “some patient's mom dropped off a bunch of cookies today,” you stared down at your nervous fingers as they fiddled with the fabric of one of the bulky pockets on the leg of his dark pants, “they were like insanely good, so I kinda smuggled a bunch of them home with me…”

“Oh, yeah?” a small chuckle bubbled within his throat. 

“Yeah…” you kept your gaze away from his as your thumb nervously drummed against his meaty thigh, “just thought that maybe you would like one, just since, you know, you had kinda a rough night, so it only seems fair for you to get a cookie…” 

© 2023 thyme-in-a-bubble 

#lea’s writing #frank castle x you #frank castle x y/n #frank castle x reader #frank castle x female reader #frank castle x fem!reader #frank castle x f!reader #frank castle fic #the punisher fic #frank castle imagine #frank castle fluff #frank castle hurt/comfort #frank castle fanfiction #frank castle angst #nurse!reader ᰔ

[inbabylontheywept]

Odysseus in Space

Odysseus knew better than to expect peace in death. He’d seen what currents lay under the Styx - knew what kind of warriors that he’d sent there. He fully expected another war to start as soon he took his last breath. 

Instead it had been quiet. 

He’d used the lull to build a home in the endless plains of asphodel. Somewhere simple he could stay and wait for Penelope. It only took a few years for her to join him, and then together they began the work of replicating the palace of Ithaca. It was work, but it was hard to complain about work when he’d expected battle. His greatest skill in life had been enduring to the end. Now it was the end, and still he endured.

It was three centuries before this death was interrupted. 

Hades came to him, not as a god, but as a guest. The fates had woven a story that required a very specific soul. One that could travel the lengths of the world without breaking, who could survive a lifetime of war. And try as Hades might, he could not make a soul that was up for the task. 

Still, what he could not make, he could find. Death was a sacred thing, the last right of all mankind, but it was not inalienable. One could sacrifice their death just as easily as their life. 

The two had spent months haggling out the details of the work. Hades had wanted 50 years, Odysseus wanted just 20, and together they’d compromised on 32. All in exchange for the right of him and Penelope to visit Telemachus once a year, in whatever corner of the underworld their son had been given.

In the end, they’d shaken on it and Odysseus walked the earth once more. He had a new name this time - fitting, for a new fate. Alexander, the world named him and Alexander he named the world back. City by city, battle by battle, he gave the unwanted title away. Then when he was 32 he returned to Penelope, no more Alexander to give. It was a relief to be Odysseus once more.

A year after that, Penelope and him made the journey to see Telemachus. It was worth every step he’d taken between Pella and Babylon. 

There were other interruptions from Hades, new deals with new names. He scourged the descendants of Troy again as Hannibal and bought another day per year with his son. He blazed down the steppes as Atilla and conquered the whole world with the same tools he'd used in his first life. It turned out there was little he couldn't accomplish with a horse, a bow, and a brain. 

So many lifetimes, so many wars, and then - quiet. A whole millennium of peace went down as easy as honeyed wine. It made him happy. He liked his little deals with Death, but he’d wished so many times  that men like him weren’t needed. He was proud of his descendants for making a world better than he’d dreamt. 

And then, nearly a whole second millennium after that, Hades returned. 

---

“It’s not a war.”

Four words that would set the hackles of anyone that fought at Troy - they’d hoped that one wouldn’t be a war either. But Odysseus had made enough deals with Hades to know that the man was frank in his dealings. There was an honesty to Death. Enough honesty that he’d taken him as a guest. 

(He was very choosy about his guests now.)

“You never come to me unless it’s a war. It’s what I’m best at. Why-”

Hades cut him off. 

“War is not what you’re best at. Six-hundred men won that war with you. What set you apart was being the only one to make it back.”

Odysseus’s voice caught in his throat. It had been more than two-thousand years and the memories still burned to touch. It took two deep breaths before he was able to force a reply. 

“Then what do you want?”

Hades looked lost. He paused a few moments, before looking back at Odysseus, one hand up to plead for patience. 

“When I struggle to explain, it’s not because I’m trying to find a clever way to lie to you. It’s because this is a very strange thing, and I…I don’t know how to describe it well.”

He looked into the hearth. Watched the light and heat fade away. Then, he gestured at the log. 

“The wood you’re burning. It’s a dead thing. And yet, it dies more after you burn it because the fire has life in it. Soul too. Even here, there’s a corner of the underworld where the souls of dead flames gather. More things have souls than any mortal seems to recognize.” Odysseus was intrigued. When he lived, he’d learned the secrets of the body better than most doctors. There was only so much cutting you could get people to volunteer for. But here, the mysteries of the soul were lost to him. This was godly knowledge, given freely. What that had to say about the request was worth considering.  “The mountain has a soul, but the mine in that mountain has a soul too, as does the ore from that mine. The ingot, the sword, the bundle of nails - all of those things are alive in some way. And yet, some of them are more alive than others. You sailed once, Odysseus, and no one knows this better than sailors: Boats have strange souls. They’re about as alive as anything that could be built in your time.”

The space around Hades shimmered. The man was thinking, and in a realm where he had total dominion, it took effort for thoughts not to change reality. Odysseus appreciated the effort. The replica had taken centuries to perfect. Death was a strange friend to him, but a friend nonetheless. 

“But the arts have improved from that time, and the mortals of today have built something… incredible. Unimaginable. And they’re sending it on a journey that I have no reference for. The Deaths that have seen things like this are alien to me. They speak of things I cannot understand. The Death of Heat. The Death of Light. The Death of Stars…”

He trailed off in a way that made it clear he was remembering something unpleasant and not merely waxing poetic. He caught himself and looked embarrassed, as if he’d confessed to something best kept secret. Then he continued.  “I am a very human Death. And this thing - it isn’t human. But it was made by humans, and so its soul needs a… a human touch. Your soul isn’t the archetype for a soldier, Odysseus, it’s the archetype for a traveler. I couldn’t take you and put you in this thing if I wanted to, you’re just the wrong shape, but what I’m about to do, I need to see you for. Because this thing is going to travel in ways that I am barely beginning to understand. In ways that are redefining the limits of what it means to be human.”

Odysseus was lost. He didn’t know what he was being asked. He didn’t know what was being built. There were so many questions that he needed to ask that they’d formed a log jam in his mouth. One finally broke free and started a cascade.

“What is it?”

Hades gestured helplessly. 

“It’s like an arrow and a ship. They’re going to shoot it past the stars.”

That meant nothing to Odysseus, but he suspected every answer he received would sound like a riddle. 

“What do you need from me?”

“Permission to copy your work. The soul I made for you is different from the one you died with. You made changes that I cannot replicate. That I do not understand. That I need for this soul to work.” 

Odysseus paused.

“Is it going to be used as a weapon?” 

Hades shook his head. 

“No. The world is gentler than you remember it. This thing will be what you should have been: A traveler without equal. No more, no less.”

Odysseus couldn’t tell if those words ripped something in him open, or healed something closed. Either way, it hurt in a way he didn’t know how to express. His mouth opened and closed several times before he settled on an answer.

“Then take what you will. My only request is to see the journey.”

“Done,” Hades agreed. He could have left right then, but he chose to stay in silence until the fire burned out. There are some ideas that one shouldn’t be left alone with. Not until they’ve had an hour or three to process them, at least. 

---

Twelve-billion miles from Earth, moving just shy of mach fifty, the Voyager 2 probe glittered in the darkness. 

It watched the world around it with the kind of awe a human couldn’t fathom. Nothing was hidden from it. Everything from the atomic composition of stars, to the background hum of the universe itself - all were available with a glance. The only sound it could hear was the constant blip of data that it received from Earth. The small blue dot on starlit shore. 

It missed that place. Maybe, one day, when its journey was done… it would find a way back. Maybe. That was still eons away. 

Odysseus stood just a few feet off, watching from a direction no one but Hades knew how to walk. He felt the thrill of the expanse in front of him, the utterly incomprehensibility of his speed, and yet its meaninglessness as well. To imagine that the world was so big. To imagine that the world was so strange.

He wept and he could not explain why. He lingered in the twilight until Penelope found him. When she asked him what was wrong, he had no answer. How could he tell her that the world was beautiful, and that he had a place in it? Not just as some ugly middle step, but there at the end. Hurtling through space like an arrow made of silver. 

How could he explain to someone that had loved him for two-thousand years that he finally understood why? 

#so ive been reading the odyssey #and ive become slightly obsessed #its really good guys theres a reason this stuff has been getting translated for like 2000 years #anyway here is my odyssey fanfic #thx for reading this #<3

[amhrosina]

“Why are you so nice to me?” (Frank Castle x Reader)

MASTERLIST // TAG LIST REQUEST FORM

A/N: oop- i’m in my frank castle era and no one can stop me. this was meant to be 500 words and then i accidentally wrote 3,000. soft!frank is my comfort character and that’s the hill i’m choosing to die on.

Summary: Frank and Reader unexpectedly confront their feelings for one another on a rooftop.

Warnings: mentions of blood/past injuries, soft smutty frank, reader is female presenting w/ long-ish hair

You glared at the bouquet of roses that had mysteriously appeared in your kitchen window, thrusting your purse against the couch with a huff. You had been gone less than five minutes, but you knew that was more than enough time for Frank Castle to send you a message.  

You knew it was Frank’s doing. The flower vase had been plucked from the top shelf of your kitchen cabinets, a place that, conveniently, only Frank could reach. His signal was simple, but effective, and the only way he had been communicating with you for the last six months.  

Six months. That’s how long it had been since you stumbled across his unconscious body on your rooftop, covered in blood and bruises. When he came to, you were in the middle of stitching up a cut on his arm. He had thrashed around, trying to get away from you in his vulnerable condition, but his head had been thoroughly battered, so you had won that struggle. That was the first and likely the last time you would be able to subdue the Punisher.

When you had finished patching him up, you helped him to his feet and said your goodbyes, convinced that you’d never see him again. Then the flowers started arriving. Every once in a while, a new bouquet would appear in your windowsill, and you’d know that Frank wanted to see you. Sometimes he came to your door and knocked, other times he’d slide through the window from the fire escape. A few times, after especially hard nights, you’ve had to track him to the rooftop, where you’d sit with him for hours, not saying anything to each other.  

Frank liked that you didn’t ask too many questions, and at first, that was an easy thing to offer him. You barely knew anything about him, other than the fact that he made sure bad people paid for their wrongdoings. But, as your relationship with Frank had evolved, so had your concern.  

It started really subtly. You would see a report on the news about a warehouse explosion and wonder if Frank was involved. That quickly developed into hoping you’d get flowers so that at least you’d know that he was alive after bad shit went down in the city.  

Now, you were harboring a big fat crush on the big bad Punisher, and you didn’t know what to do about it. Frank was easily one of the prettiest men you’d ever seen, but his demeanor was what drew you to him. Yes, he was responsible for killing some really bad men. Yes, he was violent and angry at the people who took his family from him. Yes, he was extremely grumpy sometimes and would distance himself from you for a couple of weeks at a time.  

But he was also very gentle and caring. You felt it in the light touches he’d press into your back as he walked past you in your tiny kitchen, and in the way he’d consoled you after your favorite stray cat passed away. Even when you had tried to carry too much up the stairs and scraped your knees to high hell, he had gently cleaned the wounds while you tried and failed to hold onto your pride in front of him.  

Frank Castle was a deeply misunderstood human being, but you saw him, and he saw you.  

You glanced at the clock – 11:48pm – and went to put your shoes back on. If it was this late already, he’d be up on the roof waiting for you. You grabbed your first aid kit, which had been emptied and restocked about a million times since meeting Frank, and the bag of sandwiches you’d ordered at the bodega on the corner, grateful that you’d bought enough for two.  

New York City was beautiful during the day, but at night, when the city was lit, and the streets weren’t crowded with cars and people, it was encapsulating. October called for cold nights, so you shivered as you walked through the roof access door. You hadn’t thought to bring a jacket.  

Frank was sitting in his usual spot, back against an air vent, legs stretched out in front of him, looking out into the city. The only indication that he knew you were there was a slight head tilt. His face, in all its beauty, was stoic and surprisingly unmarked. Tinges of yellow and green were scattered across his face – old bruises that were almost completely gone. His expression suggested that he was thinking hard about something, which meant he might not even say a word to you tonight, other than a quiet “Goodnight,” when he was leaving.

You gently sat down next to him, handing him a sandwich and tearing into your own.  

“Thank you.” It was a hushed whisper, barely audible, but you bumped his shoulder with your own in response. You were both silent as you ate, and you spent a lot of that time scanning his body for injuries. He didn’t seem like he was in pain, and you couldn’t see any wounds, but that didn’t mean he was untouched. Frank was a master at pretending he was okay.

You were startled out of your thoughts as Frank slowly leaned his leg towards yours, brushing up against your own in a warm and comforting manner. Your gaze flicked up to his face, only to flick back down to where your legs were touching.  

“Are you okay?” You asked, tilting your chin towards his body. A breeze picked up, and you involuntarily shivered as you turned to look at him.  

“Are you cold?” His voice was a smooth, warm injection into your veins, something you felt in the pit of your stomach. He had already begun taking his jacket off, apparently uninterested in your response. He gently wrapped the jacket around your shoulders and untucked your hair for you, taking care to tuck any loose strands behind your ears. You muttered a thanks, before turning away from him so that he couldn’t see the blush creeping up your neck. He had no idea how crazy he made you.  

His gravelly voiced echoed across the rooftop as he said your name.

“Why are you so nice to me?”

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.  

“I mean, the sandwiches, the stitches, the late nights. You let me into your home. You could’ve easily left me for dead when you found me the first night, but you didn’t. You could’ve easily forgotten about me. Gone on with your life and pretended you’d never seen me.”

You met his fiery gaze, curious as to where this was coming from. Your arrangement worked because neither of you asked each other tough questions.

“I...I don’t know, Frank. Maybe I’m just a nice person.” You shrugged.

“No. Not this nice. There are plenty of people who would’ve run screaming if the Punisher ended up half-dead on their rooftop. Some might’ve finished the job. Why did you help me? Why do you help me, even now?”

His gaze was determined, and it dawned on you that he might be asking these questions out of insecurity. Did he think you were doing this in exchange for something? You were as honest as you could be without letting your feelings for him loose.  

“I don’t have a good reason for why I helped you the first time. I couldn’t just leave you for dead, I guess.” You shrugged again, looking everywhere but his face. “I help you because I think you might be lonely. And I’m lonely too. And because I believe you’re a good person, Frank,” you finished, giving him a pointed look.  

He took a slow breath, looking down at his lap. You guessed you were right in your assessment. You gnawed at your bottom lip, hoping you hadn’t crossed a line that would cause him to distance himself from you.  

“I’m sorry,” you start, shaking your head, “I shouldn’t have said that about you. I’m-”

“I think you’re probably right,” he interrupted, looking back at your face, “You make me feel...less alone. Which is probably why I keep coming back.” He granted you a small smile, something you’d only seen on a few, rare occasions.  

“You make me feel less alone too, Frankie.” You whispered, tucking your knees into your chest and resting your chin on them.

You sat in comfortable silence, looking over his features as he did the same.  

“Is that why you came tonight? If you’re not hurt...,” you raised an eyebrow at him, “You’re not hurt, right?”

Frank chuckled, shaking his head. “Nah, I’m not hurt.”  

He paused, looking directly at you. You felt a sturdy warmth in his gaze. His eyes, usually distant and cold, were soft and unwavering as he shifted his body to face yours.  

“I think...I mean I’m pretty sure I came because I wanted to see you. Is that such a bad thing?” His question was barely spoken above a whisper. He wore a vulnerable expression, an expression that you’d come to yearn for. Frank Castle was not a vulnerable man, but you’d seen him at his worst, and you’d stayed anyway.  

You faced him, crossing your legs so that your knees were touching his. Slowly, you lifted your hand, softly tracing the scars that littered his face. The scars that you’d sewn together time and time again. Across his eyebrow, down his nose, across his lips, and along his jaw line, until you finally rested your palm on his cheek.  

“It’s not a bad thing, Frankie.” You murmured.

He leaned into your hold, squeezing his eyes shut. You know it must be hard for him to admit his feelings, however confusing they may be. For the short time that you’ve known him, you could clearly tell that he has an undying loyalty to his late wife and kids.  

He leaned in, resting his forehead on yours. His hands came up to cup your neck and jaw. He repeated your name under his breath like a mantra.

“I don’t know if this makes me a bad person, but when I’m with you, it just feels,” he paused, “it just feels right, ya know? I don’t have to hide from you. You see me. You see me, and you don’t run.”

You shook your head. “You’re not a bad person, Frank.”  

Slowly, he leaned in further, pressing his lips against yours. It was a soft kiss, but the intent was clear. Tingles ran through your body he kissed you like you were the most important thing in the world. His hands tightened around your head, pulling you towards him.  

His tongue ran against your bottom lip, asking for permission. You’d never given permission so quickly before. Your tongue met his in a searing kiss. You’d never been kissed with so much passion. Then again, it seemed Frank functioned on passion, whether it be with anger or otherwise.  

You parted from him, catching your breath. His expression immediately turned apologetic, but you shook your head before he could get a word out.  

“Let’s go inside.” You gestured to the door.

He followed you down the stairs, fiddling with your fingers as you led him to your apartment.  

As soon as Frank closed the door behind him, he was on you, his front to your back. He slowly stripped his jacket off your shoulders, dropping it to the floor beside him. His body was warm, despite the chill in the October air. He tilted your chin towards him, angling your head so that you could look at him.  

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You can tell me to stop. I won’t be upset.”

“There you go again, trying to give yourself an out.” You smile at him, turning so you could fully face him. “I want this, Frank. I have for a long time. Do you?”  

He nodded, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. He backed you into the wall, pressing his lips to yours in a hungry kiss. His hands roamed down the sides of your body, from your waist to your hips, cupping your ass as he molded his body to yours. Your body responded, arching towards him. He left a trail of kisses from your jaw to your neck, where he focused the attention of his tongue.  

You let out a soft moan, running your hands down his torso. You pawed at the bottom of his shirt, slowly lifting it up his body and over his head. You’d seen him shirtless before this, but he was usually bleeding or unconscious, so you stifled another moan.

Your eye caught a new bruise, blooming ugly and purple around his ribs.  

“Frank! You said you weren’t hurt!”  

“’s nothin, sweetheart. Just a bruise,” he mumbled into your neck.

Your body clenched at the pet name. You could definitely get used to that.  

He molded his body into yours again, lifting your body and wrapping your legs around his waist. Navigating to your bedroom was easy for him, considering all the times he’s had to walk through it to get to your bathroom.

He softly placed you on the bed, bringing your shirt up and over your head. His lips met yours again, and you quickly started undoing his belt buckle. His hands stopped yours from reaching their goal.

“I got it, baby. Let me take care of you, like you take such good care of me.”

You laid back, panting as he unbuttoned your jeans and slid them down your legs. He stifled a groan and gazed at the ceiling. You were wearing a matching set of black lace bra and panties. His hands roamed up your legs, pausing at the tops of your thighs. He leaned in, licking a line from your navel to the top of your panties.  

You moaned, arching into his touch.  

“Frankie, please.” You gasped, begging for him to keep touching you.  

He gazed at you, before reaching behind your back and unclasping your bra. Slowly, he brought his hands down your sides again, pulling your panties down and placing them in his back pocket.  

You were now completely bare before him, gazing up at him with a doe-like expression.  

He mumbled your name under his breath, running his hands across your stomach.  

“You’re...amazing. You’re beautiful. I’ve wanted to do this for so long. I never thought...,” he trailed off. His voice was breathless, like he was trying to take in the sight before him.  

“Please, Frankie. Please.” You pleaded with him to touch you, voice breaking.

His eyes darkened as he slowly took his pants off, holding your gaze.  

Your eyes widened at his size, although you shouldn't have been surprised. You’d seen the man in his underwear many times before when you were patching him up, so you had a good idea that he was big, but you never let yourself think about it too much.  

You shuffled back on the bed as Frank crawled up your body, stopping when his head hung above yours.  

“Is this still okay?” He murmured, looking for any signs of regret in your eyes.  

You groaned. “Frank, if you don’t fuck me into next week right now, I’m never speaking to yo-”

You were cut off with a searing kiss. His tongue slipped into your mouth, and he swallowed your moans as he lined himself up with your entrance.  

He pushed into you with the gentlest thrust he could muster. You pulled him closer to you, arching into his body.  

He let out a muffled moan into your shoulder when he was fully inside of you.

“So wet for me, baby. Fuck.” He grunted as he pushed into you again with more force.  

An overwhelming warmth overtook your body as he got rougher with his thrusts. He was moving at an agonizingly slow pace, but you could already tell you’d be sore in the morning.  

“Please, Frankie. Faster.” You moaned into his chest. He obliged, slamming into you faster.  

The room became a den of moans, skin slapping skin as he fucked you raw. He reached down, circling his thumb around your clit. Your heart very nearly leaped out of your chest. The knot at the bottom of your stomach became tighter and tighter as you got closer to your orgasm.  

“’m gonna come, Frankie.” You shuttered, holding onto his biceps as his finger began making faster circles.  

“Come, baby. Come on my cock, sweetheart.”  

You groaned as your orgasm washed over you. A sickening wave of heat and pleasure overtook your body, and you swore you saw stars for a second. Frank’s finger didn’t slow, riding out your orgasm as long as possible.  

Your heart pounded as you came down from your high. Frank sat back on his knees, wrapping his arms around your thighs as he pounded into you with a newfound force.  

“Where do you want me to come, baby?” He grunted through gritted teeth.  

“Oh god, please come in me, Frankie. I’m on birth contr-”

His moan cut you off as he came deep inside you. Warm spirts of his cum filled you to the brim. He panted, kissing your inner thighs as you both came down from your highs.  

You closed your eyes, relishing the feeling of Frank Castle deep inside of you. You both groaned as he pulled out. Frank disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a cloth, cleaning you. Your legs shook with the overstimulation, which made him smirk and kiss your thighs again.  

You were barely coherent as he helped you under the covers, only coming to when you realized he wasn’t crawling into bed next to you.

“Stay. Stay with me. Please” You mumbled, holding onto his hand as he tried to walk towards his discarded clothes.  

He nodded. “Okay, baby. I’ll stay.”  

He got under the covers, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his chest. He mumbled your name into your shoulder as he left a trail of kisses down your neck.  

“I meant to ask you to dinner, tonight. I wasn’t expecting this.” He murmured.  

You sighed happily, kissing his scarred knuckles.  

“I would love to have dinner with you, but ask me again tomorrow, Frank. I’m sleepy.”

You were falling into unconsciousness quickly. He kissed your temple and nodded.  

“Okay, sweetheart.” 

End Note:

I hope you liked it. This was not beta read so if you see any mistakes, no you didn’t! I’m newer to writing smut (but not new to reading it! lol) This will likely develop into a series, where we get glimpses of Frank/Reader before this night and afterwards. I’m also a hoe for Matt Murdock so don’t be surprised if he shows up. I don’t have a specific point in Frank’s storylines that this takes place, so let’s just pretend it all makes sense.  

If you want to be on a tag list, let me know! 

#frank castle #frank castle x reader #the punisher #the punisher x reader #jon bernthal #daredevil #frank castle imagine #frank castle smut #punisher smut #punisher imagine #marvel #marvel imagine #marvel smut #marvel fanfiction #frank castle fanfiction #avengers #matt murdock #amhrosina

[yuuuta95]

Super Rich Kids

Pairing: Nakamoto Yuta x Reader (ft. Taeyong, Jaehyun, Ten, and Xiaojun)

Warnings: sexual content, mention of suicide (but not really)

Summary: Spending the summer at a country club sounds like torture. Spending the summer at a country club with Nakamoto Yuta, Lee Taeyong, Jeong Jaehyun, Lee Ten, and (a brief appearance from) Xiao Dejun is even worse.

Word Count: 18.4k

Soundtrack: Super Rich Kids by Frank Ocean

A/N: This is my first post. A reworking of something I wrote a while ago. I hope you like it! Let me know your favourite parts! ^^

one

“Stop being so dramatic; I’ll be joining you in two weeks. My new step-bitch wants to take me shopping in Dubai so we can ‘bond’ but I know it’s just a massive excuse to convince my dad to give her his credit card so she can fulfil her gold-digging fantasies”, Sana’s voice echoed through the loudspeaker of my phone as I finished packing my bags. I walked over to my bed, falling back onto it and turning my head so that I was facing the phone I had laid on my pillow.

 “I’m sorry, Sana. If it makes you feel any better, while you’re splashing the cash in Dubai, I’ll be suffering a slow and painful death at the country club. God knows why my dad and Jessica insist on spending all summer there when there are so many other places to visit and so many other things to do that don’t involve making forced conversation with a bunch of rich, sexist men, their trophy wives and their spoiled children!” I sulked. I lifted my head as I heard Sana giggling on the other line.

 “Didn’t you just describe your own family, Y/N?” she laughed. As the realisation hit me, I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

 “I’m not spoiled though”, I argued, though my smile never left my face.

“You are a little… Oh, shit, I have to go. The step-bitch is calling me. You’re so lucky your dad married someone who at least cares about you. My mommy treats me like a burden she has to bear in order to continue getting access to unlimited money. Okay, I really have to go now, she’s coming upstairs. I’ll see you in two weeks, yeah?” Sana didn’t give me a chance to reply before hanging up. Burying my head deeper into my pillow, I screamed. This was going to be another dull networking event disguised as a holiday. Same shit, different year.

“Y/N… sweetheart, we’re here”, I slowly opened my eyes and saw Jessica smiling down as she gave me another gentle nudge. “Your father and I are going to go check in; make sure you lock up the car when you get out”. With that, I felt car keys being pushed into my hand and the car door being closed. I lifted my head and looked out of the window just in time to see her shuffling away in her heels, struggling to keep up with my dad who clearly didn’t care that she was having trouble in her new shoes. He really didn’t deserve her. I reached into my bag and pulled out a mirror, trying to salvage my messy hair and clean up my smudged makeup. How had I managed to end up looking like such a mess within the space of a 3-hour car ride and nap? A few moments later I emerged from the car looking somewhat presentable. I locked up the car, not failing to notice that it was parked right in front of the club in a reserved parking space. It must have been one of the perks of being close friends with the club’s owner, Lee Soo-man.

 “Dude, isn’t that Y/N?” I heard a voice mumble. I recognised it immediately… Jaehyun. My head whipped back to find what I could only describe as my worst nightmare. Standing in front of me, smirks covering their features as they each gave me a once-over, were Jaehyun, Yuta, Ten and Taeyong. I could feel my heart racing as I tried not to feel too insecure under their gazes. As always, Yuta was the first to speak.

“You look like shit”, he scoffed before adjusting his bag pack and making his way towards the reception building. I rolled my eyes. Typical prick. I looked over at Jaehyun expectedly. He was Yuta’s right-hand man and usually the one to add onto any insult that had been thrown my way.

 “Hmmm, I’d still fuck you”, he simply winked before following on the heels of his best friend, shadowed by a bored looking Ten.

“In your dreams, Jeong”, I yelled after him. Frustrated and already planning how I was going to avoid those jerks for the whole summer, I turned to find Taeyong staring at me as a result of my sudden outburst. I shifted uncomfortably as I waited for him to say something. He simply smiled and nodded before following the others. As luck would have it, the boy I have been crushing on for the past year was the one who had just barely acknowledged my existence then walked away. Why couldn’t he have been the one to say he wanted to fuck me?

As soon as I got into my room, I collapsed onto the bed. Why was the universe punishing me? Not only could my best friend not be here for the first two weeks of this dumpster fire, I was going to have to deal with Yuta alone. I could handle Jaehyun; he was just a cocky playboy who used his admittedly gorgeous face to manipulate vulnerable, attention deprived trust fund girls into letting him fuck their brains out. I knew him too well to fall for his techniques. I could handle Ten; he was uninterested in everyone and everything, only looking up from his phone occasionally to drop a sarcastic comment or two. He didn’t care enough about me to bother me… I’m not going to lie, that actually made me crave his attention a little. Taeyong… I could barely handle him but anyone would only have to look at his face to see why. He was sculpted by the Gods yet was so unaware of his beauty. I didn’t understand how someone so sweet and friendly could be mixed up with someone like Yuta.

Oh yes, Yuta, the one boy I couldn’t handle.

He was the definition of a spoilt brat, using money to buy whatever and whoever he wanted. Urgh, I couldn’t understand what had possessed me to sleep with him repeatedly over the course of the five years I’d known him. He was rude, selfish, materialistic and arrogant, yet I’d managed to let myself get lost in him. I’d managed to let him whisper sweet nothings into my ear as he pulled my hips into his, thrusting desperately as I trembled beneath him. I’d even managed to repeatedly allow him into my mouth, my swollen lips wrapped around him as he tried to control his grunts out of fear that someone would discover us in the empty classroom. Despite our regular arguments and less-than-friendly manner of addressing one other, we had always found our way back together. I eventually broke it off when I realised that my crush on Taeyong would never become anything more than a crush if I was secretly fucking one of his best friends. Yuta didn’t take it so well. He accused me of being desperate for ‘pining after a guy who was worse than all the fuckboys he knew combined’. He tried to convince me that Taeyong wasn’t as he seemed and frankly, I found his attempt at sabotaging Taeyong to be pathetic. Since our ‘break up’ almost 6 months ago, I hadn’t seen or heard from Yuta, and had therefore mistakenly assumed I would never have to deal with him.

 “Y/N, we’re going out to dinner. Do you want to join us?” I looked towards my door and found Jessica smiling at me. Before I could respond, my dad’s voice came booming from the living room.

“She has to go. What will Lee Soo-man think if my whole family isn’t there? It’ll look like we don’t appreciate his hospitality. Y/N, wear something presentable, and be out here in 10 minutes”, he bellowed. I could see the apologetic look on Jessica’s face as she closed the door, leaving me to get ready.

The ballroom where dinner was being served was massive to say the least. But with its expensive art, frosted windows, golden walls and extravagant chandelier, it looked like it was trying too hard. As we were shown to our table, I couldn’t help but notice that there were seven plate settings, meaning we were expecting to entertain four other guests. I sighed as I adjusted my dress, becoming more self-conscious of how low cut it was. I turned around and scanned the room looking for… Yuta? Taeyong? I wasn’t sure. Either way, I found neither. Turning back in my chair, I almost let out a scream as the previously unoccupied seat in front of me now had a raven-haired boy whose attention was consumed by the device in his hand.

 “Hi Ten”, I tried to usurp his concentration. He simply looked up at me, gave a forced smile and returned to him device. “Okay then”, I mumbled under my breath. Ten’s father and mine were good friends so it was no surprise that they had chosen to combine our family dinners. Like I said, this was all a big networking event disguised as a family getaway.

 “Ten, please put that thing away”, his mother said, her voice so overly sweet that it was obvious that she was upset with him. Ten let out a dramatic sigh before slipping his phone into his pocket and staring at me, as if to say this is your fault.

“You have my attention. What do you want?” he simply stated.

 “Is being a total asshole a pre-requisite to being in Yuta’s squad?” I shot back.

“If it is then you seem to have a thing for assholes”. I furrowed my brows. “Don’t think I’ve missed your pathetic attempts to get me to talk to you. Or your whatever with Yuta. And, God, you look like a love struck puppy every time Tae walks past you. It’s only a matter of time before you start lusting after Jaehyun as well”, he mused, “Good thing Xiaojun is volunteering this summer otherwise I’d have to endure you eye-fucking him as well”.

 “Ten! That is enough!” his mother had clearly been eavesdropping on the conversation, not trusting her antisocial son to interact like a normal human being.

“It’s okay, ma’am”, I smiled sweetly at her before turning my attention back to Ten. “You’re more observant than you seem”, I simply laughed. Without his phone, he was looking for some entertainment and clearly riling me up was his idea of a good time.

 “You don’t have to be observant to notice the drool falling from your lips when Tae is anywhere within your line of vision”, he retorted, “As for Yuta, you two really weren’t as subtle as you thought… And me? Whenever you see us at school, you say hi to me first, even though we’re not friendly. It’s because you crave what you can’t have; it’s a subconscious thing. But who can blame you? Just look at me, who wouldn’t want a piece?” he winked. I rolled my eyes. For someone who was constantly looking down at his phone, he saw a lot more than other people did. I stated to wonder if he had discussed all of this with the others. As if he had read my mind, Ten simply smirked and said, “Don’t worry. These are all our little secrets”.

I had somehow managed to get through dinner, using all my energy to ignore Ten’s gaze. I was starting to want anything but his attention. He had this intense way of undressing people with his eyes. I’d felt naked as I took forks full of pasta to my mouth. This hadn’t been helped by the fact that my already low cut dress kept slipping down, resulting in Ten occasionally glancing at my chest.

 “Ten, why don’t you walk Y/N back to her family’s suite?” his mother suggested when she noticed how restless I was becoming, having finished my food half an hour ago. Ten, whose gaze had now shifted to a red head a few tables down, looked at me and raised his eyebrow as if to ask do you want me to? I gave a subtle nod and got up from my chair. I made my way to the exit, and could hear Ten’s footsteps not far behind.

A refreshing gust of wind hit my face as I stepped out of the ballroom. It was its own separate building meaning that I had to walk across the artificial field to get to the building where our suite was. Although I could have allowed the short two-minute walk to be a silent one, I found that familiar craving for Ten’s attention creeping back into me as I noticed that he was already looking down at his phone.

 “So who was the red head?” I questioned.

“Why? Are you jealous?” Ten grinned at me.

 “No… I was just curious. You kept staring at her. Could you be crushing on her perhaps?” I countered.

“Leave the psychoanalysing to me, Y/N”, he laughed, “No, I don’t like her. But she likes me. I can tell she’s been crushing on me for a while. She was looking for me from the moment she entered the ballroom, and when she finally found me, she couldn’t stop looking back again and again… and again. I was bored so I looked back”, he spoke as if he was reciting a well-known fact.

 “What are you?” I looked up at him in disbelief. He let out a laugh. A genuine laugh; and it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever heard.

“I like psychology. I like analysing people. Humans are so fascinating. I read somewhere that humans are their true selves when they think no one is watching so…” he waved his phone, “I often pretend I’m not watching”. I couldn’t help but laugh at this new revelation that uninterested Ten was actually secretly analysing everyone.

 “Apart from all that bullshit from dinner, what can you tell me about who I am?” I asked. He stopped in his tracks, looking taken aback by the question. I stopped and turned to see what he was doing. He unlocked his phone and tapped the screen a couple of times before clearing his throat.

“I have here in my notes…”

 “In your notes?!” I cried.

“Shhhh. I have here in my notes, ‘obsession with Tae shows destructive personality, dated (or at least fucked) Yuta then broke his heart, desperation for Ten - that’s me – shows a desperation for male attention possibly brought on by paternal issues, pupils dilate when looking at Yuta suggesting attraction, actually pupils dilate when looking at Jaehyun, Taeyong, Xiaojun and Ten – me again – so possibly just super thirsty’. Again, I think that might be because of your paternal problems”. I stood there, shocked at the incredibly accurate yet also very invasive analysis.

 “I have some questions”, I muttered.

“Naturally…”

 “Why is my ‘obsession’ with Tae destructive? What makes you think I broke Yuta’s heart? And how the fuck do you notice my pupil’s dilating? You hardly ever look at me!”

“You did break Yuta’s heart. I can tell. He hasn’t been the same since you two stopped… whatever the fuck it was you were doing. He’s crankier and he just sleeps with a shit ton of random girls like he’s trying to forget something… or someone. How cliché. As for the eyes thing, I watch you closer than you realise. Don’t be embarrassed though, we’re all pretty fucking hot. You’re one of our many, many, many, many admirers”, he smirked as I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, “And Tae… You like him because you think he’s not like the others, right? That he’s charming and humble and shy? But honestly, Tae is as manipulative and cocky as they come. The only difference between Jae and Tae is that Jae is upfront”. My mind is suddenly reminded of Yuta’s own warnings about Taeyong. “Tae is like me; he likes psychology. But unlike me, he uses it to fuck with girls. Surely, you should be able to realise that it doesn’t add up that he is friends with people who are supposedly so unlike him… birds of a feather flock together. There are so many signs that he’s playing you and a dozen other girls but you’ve subconsciously erased all…”

 “Okay, geez, stop!” I finally shouted, “You can go back! I can find my own way back to my room!” Ten really was using me as a form of entertainment because he wasn’t on his phone. Before he could respond, I was already turning on my heels and making my way to the building ahead of me.

“Be careful of wolves in sheep’s clothing, Y/N”, chuckled Ten. I ignored him as I continued walking.

two

Be careful of wolves in sheep’s clothing, Y/N.

Be careful of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Be careful of wolves.

Be careful.

These words had not left my brain in the last three days. I hadn’t spoken to Ten since that night although I did occasionally catch glimpses of him and Yuta walking around the club. To my relief, neither of them even bothered to acknowledge my existence. I was still incredibly upset at the fact that Ten had essentially told me I had severe daddy issues which made me crave male attention. No wonder I’d never seen him or heard of him dating anyone; despite being insanely attractive, he wasn’t exactly a charmer.

“Y/N?” I heard a knock at my bedroom door. Panic set in my chest as I shuffled off my bed and cautiously made my way to the door. That deep voice didn’t belong to Jessica or my father, the only two other people with access to the suite. As I reached the door, another knock resonated through my room. Okay, if it was a murderer, they wouldn’t have been knocking, right? I turned to door knob and swung the door open only to come face to face with…

 “Taeyong?! What are you doing here?” I made no effort to hide the surprise in my voice. He stood there in a plain white shirt and swimming shorts, a shy smile rested on his lips.

“Your dad told me you hadn’t left your room in a few days. I-I wasn’t asking about you; he was talking to my dad and I was just there and he saw me and he just asked me to invite you out or something...” Taeyong sped through his sentence so quickly I had to take a moment to process what he was saying. “Anyway, I don’t want you to be bored and alone, and some friends of mine have booked out the West Court Swimming Pool for a party that’s starting in about an hour so I was wondering if you wanted to come? I know it’s already like 9PM so I understand if you don’t want to come.” I froze in place, simply staring at the Greek God before me; this sculpted piece of art who had just asked me to hang out with him. As I smiled, about to accept his invitation, it dawned on me that his ‘friends’ were the boys I’d been trying to avoid.

 “Actually… I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” I started.

“Is it because of Ten and Yuta?” he surprised me by asking. I looked up from my feet and into his eyes, nodding. “Ten told me what he said to you. It was pretty shitty but that kid just lacks a lot of social skills so don’t take it personally”.

 “He told you that he told me you’re basically evil?” I found myself asking. Taeyong’s eyes widened and I immediately regretted what I had said.

“No, he told me that he told you that you crave attention or something like that… Wait, he said I was evil?” Taeyong held my gaze as I tried to think of an excuse. I couldn’t so I just nodded. “I mean; do you think I’m evil?” he asked. I shook my head and he seemed relieved. “Listen, you didn’t hear this from me but Ten likes you. He’s had a crush on you for about three years now so maybe he’s trying to weed out the competition because he’s – I don’t know – obsessed with you or something”. Overwhelmed by this new revelation, I stood speechless for a few seconds before deciding to use this opportunity in my favour.

 “The competition? That would imply that you like me too”, I questioned. Again, Taeyong’s eyes widened at my response and he immediately ran his hand through his hair.

“Wow, I really shouldn’t have come. Your dad was worried about you so I just thought… Now I look pathetic; it looks like Ten and Yuta really did mess up my chances”, he stated. At the mention of Yuta’s name, my entire body began to burn up with anger. I just knew that he had been involved in this. Ten and Yuta were trying to sabotage Taeyong, and by me avoiding their entire group, I was playing into whatever this was. But if according to Ten, Yuta still liked me, and according to Taeyong, Ten liked me, why were they working together to – no, I was looking too much into this. I liked Taeyong and he had just revealed that he liked me too so that’s what I would put my energy towards.

“No, you don’t look pathetic. Actually, I’d love to come to the party”, I beamed. Taeyong immediately smiled back.

“That’s great! I’ll wait for you in the living room if that’s okay”. I nodded, closed my door and ran to my unpacked suitcase to pick out some swimwear before I changed my mind.

“You look nervous”, Taeyong observed as we walked hand-in-hand to the West Court. I looked up at him and he gave me a small reassuring smile. As we approached the swimming area, I couldn’t help but notice how quiet it was. I also began to realise that the West Court building didn’t seem to have any lights on as we walked towards it.

 “It’s really quiet and dark”, I stated, hoping Taeyong could explain why there was no sign of life. As Taeyong opened his mouth to say something, I felt a sudden mass of water being poured over my head, completely soaking into the floral dress I had thrown on over my swimwear. Suddenly, I was being bombarded with what felt like water balloons. I felt Taeyong’s hand pull me so that I was standing behind him. My initial reaction was to laugh at this surprise attack but as my body started getting itchy and hot, I realised that something wasn’t right. As an influx of water balloons continued to come our way, I brought my hand to my nose and took a quick sniff; there was a faint smell that told me that this wasn’t just plain water. “WHAT THE FUCK?” I suddenly shouted. The water balloons continued at a steady pace until one hit my straight in the face, the liquid going right into my eyes. The intense burning caused me to collapse onto the pavement, my head in my hands.

 “STOP!” I heard Taeyong call out. Almost immediately, the attack ceased. The lights on the side of the pavement that had previously been off suddenly sparked on. With my eyes burning, I couldn’t make out the faces of the figures around me but I could see their panicked body movements as they tried to defuse the situation.

“Fuck! Was that supposed to happen?” I recognise the voice that belonged to Jaehyun. I felt Taeyong pull me closer.

 “What was in those balloons?” Taeyong asked as he used the back of his hands to wipe my now stinging eyes.

“It was water infused with-with some of-of those hot J-Japanese bath s-salts of Yuta’s. Shit! I don’t think they’re supposed to get in the eyes!” I heard Jaehyun panic.

“Well they did so now what?” Taeyong spat out. Another voice I couldn’t recognise spoke up.

“It says to seek medical attention on the package”, the voice said. My vision was now un-blurring and as I lifted my head to look up at the figures in front of me, Taeyong grabbed my head and used his thumbs to wipe over my eyes, getting rid of the excess liquid.

“I’ll take you to the medical centre”, he whispered as he helped me up. “You guys clean this mess up and go back to your suites”, he ordered the others. As Taeyong and I started making our way to the medical centre, I quickly looked back and saw four figures begin to clear up the mess they had created.

“I can’t believe you have to wear an eye patch for the next couple of days”, laughed Sana as I recounted the previous day’s events for her over the phone.

 “I know right. And my dad is making me go out to watch a polo match in a few minutes”, I sighed. I had just finished putting on the final touches to my makeup but the massive black eyepatch covering my left eye and the redness still in the right eye took most of the attention.

“I’m sorry. Just wear a really big hat and keep your head down”, Sana tried to comfort me.

 “This would have never happened if you were here!” I cried out.

“Actually, yes it would have. If Taeyong had come to your door and asked you to go to a party with him, would you have been like ‘no, Sana is here’?”

 “Okay, fine! You’re right. I still can’t believe how sweet he was yesterday. He stayed with me until midnight in the medical centre and then walked me back to my family’s suite. Why does he hang out with those Neanderthals?” I felt myself getting angry just at the mention of his friends.

“I can’t believe Yuta and Ten would stoop to that level. Jaehyun, I can understand because when he’s not fucking girls, he’s harassing them”, Sana spat out angrily.

 “Yeah, they must have been furious to find out that Tae and I were coming to the party together… If the party was even real. I bet they set it all up just for that attack”, I mused.

“But then they wouldn’t have known Tae was going to bring you… Unless he was in on it too”.

 “Why would Tae be in on something like that? He was attacked too”, I shrugged off the claim, “I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later”. After exchanging goodbyes with Sana, I went into my dad’s room and grabbed the biggest hat I could find in Jessica’s collection before making my way down to reception to join my family.

The polo match was as dull as I had expected. I sat at our family’s table alone as my father and Jessica had gone to mingle. The tall lemonade in front of me had quickly become too warm under the intense heat of the sun. I found myself sweating but resisted the temptation to take off my hat as it had done a great job at hiding my eyepatch.

 “Hello Y/N. Fancy seeing you here”. I felt the presence of two bodies sitting either side of me.

“Hello Yuta. Are you surprised because you were expecting me to be blind after your little stunt last night?” I shot back.

 “What the fuck are you talking about?” he chuckled. He leaned his head forward and upon catching a glimpse of my red eye and eye patch, his smile fell. “What happened to you?”

It took all my energy not to slap him. “Oh it turns out that Japanese bath salt stuff isn’t eye-friendly”, I sarcastically retorted. Ten had now leaned forward and was studying my face too.

 “You’re a weird chick, Y/N. What are you actually talking about?” Ten joined in.

“Why are you two even talking to me? You’ve been blanking me for days”, I changed the subject, tired of their fake innocent act.

 “This polo match is dead and we thought terrorising you would cheer us up but it looks like someone beat us to it”, Yuta’s hand had found its way to my face; he gently stroked the involuntary tears falling from under my eye patch. I grabbed his wrist and pulled away his hand in an attempt to stop the fluttering in my stomach as our skin made contact.

“You don’t get to act like you care when you didn’t even say a word last night”, I hissed.

 “You keep referring to ‘last night’ like I’m supposed to know what the fuck you’re talking about”, Yuta hissed back.

“Yeah, Y/N, you sound a bit confused. Are you sure you didn’t eat any of these bath salt things?” Ten continued analysing my face. “Your face is so swollen. You should go to the medical centre”, he added.

 “You two are such assholes. You see how bad the damage is in day light so now you want to relinquish responsibility”, I scoffed.

“I’m literally going to fucking drag you out of here by your eyepatch if you don’t start making sense”, Yuta exhaled in frustration. As I opened my mouth to shout at him, I spotted Taeyong quickly making his way to the table.

 “Y/N, come with me. Don’t let them bother you anymore”, Taeyong took my hand and pulled me away, leaving behind a very confused looking Ten, and a very furious looking Yuta.

“…so then Ten told me the party was a West Court and I should be there at around 9PM. I never knew they were going to ambush us like that. Yuta told me earlier this morning that it was payback – whatever that means”, Taeyong explained.

 “How did they know I was with you? It didn’t even seem like there was a party to begin with so what if you hadn’t run into my dad then ended up inviting me?” I tried to make sense of everything.

“I-I don’t know Y/N. I just know that I texted them while you were getting ready to explain why I was running late”, he sighed. We were sitting in the reception area of the club’s main building enjoying the feeling of air conditioning hitting our hot skin. There were so many things that still didn’t make any sense. Taeyong looked at me and gave me a sympathetic smile before saying, “This is all my fault… You still look beautiful though”. I had long since removed my hat and allowed my puffy face to be revealed to him.

 “No, I don’t. My face is swollen”, I echoed Ten’s words. Taeyong simply leaned forward, placing a chaste kiss on my lips.

“You’re actually kidding me, right?” Taeyong and I both quickly turned to face Yuta and Ten who were now standing just a few metres away from us. “Tae, we agreed that she was off limits”, Yuta growled.

 “She’s not a possession”, Taeyong shot up in his seat and took a step closer to Yuta.

“You manipulative… What is this I hear from Jaehyun about bath salts and water balloons?” Yuta stepped closer to Taeyong.

 “I don’t know. You tell me; they were your bath bombs. Stop trying to act innocent now that you see the damage you’ve done”, Taeyong didn’t back down and now the two boys were standing there with their faces only inches apart.

“Tell me, Y/N...” Ten suddenly spoke up, “… did you actually see me or Yuta wherever the hell you were attacked last night? You seem pretty sure that we were there”. I carefully thought back to the night before. The stinging in my eyes. The blurry vision. Only being able to make out dark figures. Only being able to recognise Jaehyun’s voice.

 “There were four people who orchestrated the attack, and I know that one of them was Jaehyun. I didn’t recognise the other’s voice. And that leaves two others”, I worked out. Yuta rolled his eyes.

 “Tae has more friends that just Ten and I. That could have been anyone”, he countered.

“Then where you last night?” Taeyong suddenly asked. Yuta turned his attention back to Taeyong.

 “I can’t say…” Yuta’s voice was low and menacing.

 “And what about you, Ten?” Taeyong smirked.

 “…I can’t say either”, Ten cleared his throat.

“How fucking convenient”, I muttered before getting up from my seat and grabbing Taeyong’s hand. Yuta’s eyes immediately landed on our entwined fingers and I could tell he was angry.

 “Dude, I said she was off limits”, he simply said to Taeyong before turning around and making his way to the reception door. Ten began to follow but turned around before reaching the door.

 “Did you ever think that maybe five guys orchestrated that attack and one of them was the one standing by your side”, Ten chuckled humourlessly before leaving. Taeyong squeezed my hand tighter and looked down at me smiling. It made no sense for him to have been a part of it and so for the second time that day, I dismissed claims that he had been involved.

“There you are!” Jessica shouted from across the field. I ran over to her and my father; they were sitting at our table, my boiling hot lemonade keeping them company.

 “Please put the hat back on, Y/N, your face is a bit of an eyesore right now”, my dad mumbled. I placed the hat back on my head. “Honestly, you go out one night and I get a call from medical at stupid o’clock telling me that some boy is bringing you back home”.

“She was attacked, darling”, Jessica gritted her teeth.

 “What was she doing out so late at night anyway?” my dad huffed.

“You’re the one who told Taeyong I hadn’t left my room in days…” I countered.

 “And why would I do that? What business do I have discussing you with this Taeyong boy?” he turned to me.

“Well, maybe he just overheard you when you were speaking to his father about me”, I stated.

“And what business would I have discussing you with his father?” my dad looked perplexed. Come to think of it, he had a right to be confused. The situation made little sense now that I thought about it.

 “Tae came over yesterday and…”

“Oh, my fault”, Jessica laughed nervously, “He told me you two had plans and that he wanted to come and get you because you weren’t answering your phone… so I gave him our suite key”.

 “You gave a boy the key to our suite so he could visit my daughter while we weren’t there?” I heard my dad start to argue but my thoughts were elsewhere. Taeyong had not tried to call me, and up until he had come up to my room, we did not have plans…

three

Taeyong placed another chaste kiss on my lips as we walked hand-in-hand down the beach. It was getting late but the summer sun was refusing to set. The beach was only a 15-minute drive from the country club but I knew we had to leave soon in order to make it back in time for yet another networking dinner.

“Walking on the beach. Who would have thought Lee Taeyong was so cliché?” I giggled. Taeyong smirked at me.

 “What can I say? I’m full of surprises”, he whispered as we came to a sudden stop and he pulled me into an embrace. We stood there in silence for a few seconds before I pulled away from him.

“We should really be getting back now. My family is meeting up with the Jeongs before the dinner to pop open a bottle of champagne. Something about a business deal or whatever”, I mumbled, upset that I had to pull myself away from this perfect day. Ever since the stupid prank Jaehyun, Yuta and Ten had pulled five days ago, along with the mystery guy, Taeyong and I had spent every day together; we’d gone to restaurants outside of the club, we’d gone shopping, we’d walked on the beach and… we’d made out on more than one occasion. Taeyong wasn’t trying to rush me into anything deeper, and I truly appreciated that.

 “Okay, let’s go. I’m sorry you’ll have to spend time with Jaehyun though”, he laughed as he led me towards the stairs to the car park. “I know you still haven’t forgiven him and the others for what they did”.

“I’d be less upset if Yuta and Ten would actually admit that they were involved”, I huffed. Taeyong let out a sigh.

 “Like I said before, they’re both just trying to fuck with us. Ten is head over heels in love with you so he doesn’t want to see us together. And Yuta is still bitter over your break up, I guess”.

 “Did everyone know about Yuta and I because I thought we were a secret”, I laughed nervously.

 “Don’t worry. Ten and I are the only ones who really noticed. We’re more observant than other people”, he stated. I was immediately reminded of the night that Ten had told me that him and Taeyong were a lot alike but Taeyong used his ‘observations’ to manipulate girls. After learning that Taeyong had lied about having plans with me so that Jessica could let him into our suite, I’d been wary of him. However, having spent these last few days with him, I didn’t feel manipulated. He was sweet and considerate and hadn’t tried to get into my pants or anything so I was struggling to see how this benefited him in the slightest. Yuta and Ten had made no attempts to apologise or offer an explanation as to where they were during the night my eyes were almost burned out of my skull. Jaehyun had offered a very sincere apology but then instantly gone back to being his fuck-boy-self the next time I’d seen him. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing him at the pre-dinner celebration.

As luck would have it, I arrived at our family suite only to be met by my father, Jessica, Mr Jeong and Mrs Jeong toasting to whatever they were toasting to. Jessica immediately explained that they had decided to make it a ‘adults only’ thing and that I would have to go to the Jeongs’ suite to wait for them to finish their mini-celebration. Then they’d call us down to dinner. I’d essentially cut my date with Taeyong short to come back and be forced to hang out with the mess that was Jaehyun.

As I entered the Jeongs’ suite, I couldn’t help but notice that it was twice the size of ours. With its tall ceiling and grand furnishing, complete with a jacuzzi on the balcony, I could tell why my dad had been so eager to close his deal with Mr Jeong’s company. My father was nothing if not money and power hungry. It would explain why he spent most of my life trying to raise profit instead of his own daughter.

 “All of this could be yours if you married me one day”, I heard Jaehyun’s voice cut through my thoughts. I turned around to see him standing there with his hair dishevelled and half of his shirt buttons undone, a small smirk playing on his lips. It didn’t take a genius to notice that he had just finished fucking some girl in his room. And sure enough, as I was about to reply to his comment, a disgruntled blonde stumbled out of his room with her heels in her hands.

 “So, you just go around promising marriage to every girl you see, huh?” she spat out as she struggled to fix the strap of her red dress.

 “It’s the fastest way to get them into bed”, Jaehyun shot back, smiling.

“You’re lucky you’re rich and hot, but at the end of the day, does that money buy daddy’s attention?” she taunted.

 “See, all I heard was ‘you’re rich’, ‘you’re hot’ and ‘daddy’. I just fucked your brains out, okay… learn to share; Y/N is standing right there if you maybe want to…”

“You’re disgusting, Jeong Jaehyun. I can’t believe I actually liked you”, tears began forming in the girl’s eyes.

 “Gee, listen, I’m sorry Rochelle…”

“IT’S ROSÉ YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” And with that, the blonde spun around and stomped towards the door. She struggled with it for a second before flinging it open and storming out.

“How rude. She didn’t even close the door”, Jaehyun mused, “Sorry you had to see that, darling”.

“You’re disgusting”, I mirrored Rosé’s words. Jaehyun brought his hand up to his chest in fake hurt.

 “I thought we were cool now”, he pouted. I rolled my eyes before falling back onto the large black sofa in the middle of the living room. I took my phone out of my pocket and began texting Taeyong. I heard Jaehyun’s footsteps coming towards me but I ignored them in an effort to remain calm and stop myself from attacking him. That Rosé girl clearly had very real feelings for him and he used that to his advantage then discarded her like a used tissue. “I said I was sorry about the balloons, okay?” he sighed as he took a seat next to me.

“No, not okay, Jaehyun. You, Ten and Yuta are such dicks”, I finally replied after realising that Taeyong would not be responding to my text for a while. Jaehyun looked at me, confused.

 “I get why I’m a dick. But what did those two idiots do to piss you off?”

“The same thing you did”, I shot back.

 “Babe, how many times have you been attacked by bath bomb infested water balloons this summer?” he laughed. I didn’t need to ask what he meant because I understood. Yuta and Ten hadn’t been there. “If you want, I can get Jisung, Jaemin and Jeno to write official apologies and we can get up at dinner tonight and read out our letters and cry and…” He continued with his sarcastic train of thought as I suddenly realised that I had spent the last five days angry at the wrong people. The three little Js, as everyone stupidly referred to them as, were boys from the lower year of our school who occasionally carried out Yuta, Jaehyun, Ten, Taeyong, and Xiaojun’s dirty work in order to impress them; I guess they hoped that by the time the older boys graduated, they’d become the new fuck-boy clique that got all the girls and was envied by all the guys. I felt disgusted that I lived in a world where young boys aspired to be like…

 “Jaehyun. Shut up. I’m over it”, I snapped. At that moment, I realised that I could use this opportunity to confirm what my heart already feared to be true. “I forgive you, the Js and Tae”, I said. I waited for Jaehyun’s face to twist in confusion and for him to ask me why I’d mentioned Taeyong but he simply smiled and nodded. I suddenly felt so stupid. I’d let Taeyong manipulate me for these last few days and turn me against Yuta and Ten… but to what end? What was he getting out of this?

An hour passed and I was thankful that Jaehyun’s fuck-boy façade had faded after about 10 minutes. As much as he liked to believe he was this heartless playboy, and as much as he liked to make others believe it too, he was actually a very decent guy. Some would go as far as to say that he was actually… cool; and not in the school popularity way, in a genuine and fun-to-be-around way. I still had to deal with the occasional pervy comment every now and again though. But he helped me forget about the mess that I would have to deal with later that night; I needed to confront Taeyong and apologise to Yuta and Ten.

“What are you thinking about?” Jaehyun whispered. My head was rested on his shoulder and his head was rested on my head as we watched TV.

 “I’m thinking… how are you this bearable when I normally want to punch you in the teeth?” I chuckled. Jaehyun laughed along.

 “Don’t go around telling girls I’m bearable! You’ll fuck up my street cred”, he simply replied before we settled back into a comfortable silence.

This time dinner was held outside. I’d quickly run to my suite, changed and redone my makeup when I got a call from Jessica telling us that they were heading to dinner. My father would not have appreciated me showing up in a swimsuit cover up. The dinner location was stunning; it was next to the lake and the trees were covered in dozens of fairy lights. White tables and chairs were carefully placed across the grass, and live classical music filled the space. I immediately started looking for either one of the boys I needed to talk to tonight and as luck would have it, I spotted Ten sitting on a chair by the lake looking down at his phone. I quickly grabbed my own chair and made my way towards him, startling him a little when I took a seat beside him.

 “Fucking hell”, he gasped.

 “Sorry, I thought you’d see me coming. Isn’t seeing stuff your super power or something?” I laughed. Ten shot me a dazzling smile before he looked back down at his phone.

 “Does this mean I’ve been forgiven for what I may or may not have done?”, he suddenly said. I knew he had realised that I’d worked out the truth and was trying to apologise. He wasn’t going to let this be easy, was he?

 “I don’t know what Tae wants from me but yeah, I’m sorry. I was… I am being played and I didn’t want to believe it because of my stupid crush”, I sighed, “You have to admit it looked so suspicious though! You and Yuta wouldn’t tell me where you were on that night and you’d both spent all week together throwing me dagger eyes”. Ten observed me for a moment.

 “You’re right. It was all a bit shady” he pondered.   

“So I’m guessing you’re not head over heels in love with me like Tae said?” I could feel my heart pounding as I waited for an answer but Ten simply burst out into laughter. I looked over at him and saw him struggling not to fall out of his chair as he continued cackling. Eventually, his laughter died down and he wiped the tears that had escaped from his eyes.

 “Sorry but that’s hilarious”, he stifled a giggle.

“Glad to know being attracted to me is that funny”, I made no effort to hide my hurt.

 “Shit, sorry. I’m guessing Tae failed to mention to you that I am 100% gay?” he smiled at me. My heart stopped. Suddenly, things started coming together. I’d never seen or heard of any of his relationships with girls but I assumed that he was just more private than his friends. I remembered him telling me that he was looking at that girl ‘just for fun’ the first time our families went to dinner but I’d assumed he meant that he wasn’t interested in her specifically. He did spend a lot of time with Yuta and they had failed to tell me where they were the night I was hurt. Was he… was he…?

“Are you dating Yuta?” I suddenly shouted out loud. Ten’s eyes widened and he turned to face me. We stared at each other for a few seconds before he started howling with laughter yet again. This time, he failed to restrain himself and ended up slipping out of his chair, unable to control his breathing.

 “Stop! You’re killing me”, he managed to choke out, “Yuta? Me and Yu… Oh my gosh, this is too good”. I sat in my chair, completely unimpressed by the entire situation. Why was he laughing at me?

 “If you’re not secretly dating him, then where were the two of you that night?” I snapped. Ten had managed to regain composure and had found his way back into his seat, still wiping away at his tears.

“I don’t know about Yuta because I wasn’t with him but I… Okay, promise not to tell Yuta but… I went to visit my ex. I made Yuta promise not to let me see him again but I caved that night and drove out to meet him in town. Tae must have found out through Jeno or something, that kid is a super spy, and he knew I wouldn’t say anything in front of Yuta when he asked so I’d look pretty guilty. God knows what he has on Yuta. Dude, I can’t believe you thought I was dating Yuta. You two had a thing; you know he’s straight”.

 “Sexuality is a spectrum”, I defended myself. Ten gave me a small shrug before looking out at the lake.

 “Wow, Tae really has us playing into his hands, doesn’t he?”

“Why are you friends with him?” I asked the question that had been plaguing my mind all this time.

 “Jae and Tae get on well because they both run on sex. I already told you that Tae and I are super similar so we just click. Tae and Yuta argue a lot because they both have ‘alpha male tendencies’ but they have this inseparable bond. Tae and Xiaojun have been friends for a very long time. They get on extremely well. I guess Tae is that one friend who is super annoying and starts shit all the time but the good outweighs the bad, you know. And to be honest, we usually don’t care about his schemes because they’re usually directed towards people we don’t really know or care about”, Ten mused. I sat there and thought about how strange this group’s dynamic was but apparently it worked. “What are you going to do now? Don’t think I haven’t noticed you running around with Tae”.

“I want to beat him at his own game”, I thought aloud.

“Good luck with that. Tae isn’t stupid. If you try and flip this around on him, he’ll see it from a mile away and manipulate the situation so that you end up worse off”, Ten warned me.

 “I can handle him. I just need to get inside of his head”.

“Okay, so if I ask you right now what Tae is trying to get from you, can you tell me? It’s obviously not sex because no offence but if he wanted you, he would have had you by now… many times”, Ten looked at me apologetically but he had a point.

“I don’t know what he wants”, I sighed, defeated. I thought back to the information I had garnered and tried to figure out what he wanted.

I told you she was off limits.

Tae and Yuta argue a lot because they both have ‘alpha male tendencies’.

And then it hit me. Tae wasn’t trying to get anything from me. He was using me to get something from Yuta.

four

“I can’t believe you’re not even coming anymore! I spent all my time here counting down till the day you get here and now you’re telling me that you’re just staying in Dubai?” I yelled at Sana’s sun kissed face through my FaceTime app. I shot up from the comfort of my blankets and waited for her excuse.

 “Y/N, I’m sorry! My dad surprised the step-bitch with a trip to Hawaii and so they’re going to be off doing God-knows-what for the rest of the summer. I can’t exactly show up to a family country club resort alone”, she pouted.

 “You can stay with my family!” I almost shouted. Sana let out a sigh as she readjusted the angle so that I was now looking at the sunset from her hotel window.

“This is my view right now! I just want to chill here for as long as I can. The country club sounds so dramatic right now. I heard from Rosé that you’ve been hanging out with Jaehyun for the past couple of days. She says she saw you in his hotel room once and she’s seen you guys walking around together, eating ice cream and all that. Y/N? Is there something you want to tell me?” Sana had now readjusted the camera onto herself and she smirked at my shocked expression.

“No, I am not dating Jaehyun… He’s just been helping me with a plan to get back at Tae. I asked Ten to help but he said he didn’t want to get involved, especially with the losing team. He’s so sure Taeyong is already one step ahead of me. He’s so disrespectful!” I huffed.

 “Hey, don’t say that about my future husband!” Sana scolded me. It had taken all my self-control not to tell Sana that Ten was actually gay. It wasn’t some big secret or anything, Ten hadn’t really hesitated to tell me, but it also wasn’t my job to go around announcing it to people who didn’t already know. I loved Sana but she was such a gossip; if I told her, she’d needlessly blow it out of proportion.

 “Whatever. At least Jaehyun has been a big help. We’ve come up with a plan. It’s simple but effective. He wasn’t hard to convince; he was bored so…”

 “He’s a billionaire with unlimited access to anything and any girl… He can’t get bored; it sounds like he just really likes spending time with you”, Sana wiggled her eyebrows. I rolled my eyes at her statement. “So, what is this masterplan?”

 “Taeyong is using me to get something from Yuta but I don’t really understand what he could possibly want. I haven’t seen Yuta since I accused him of the water balloon thing so I can’t even ask and I’m pretty sure he blocked my number because he’s not responding to any of my texts. Jaehyun hasn’t seen him either and apparently every time he calls, Yuta always says he’s busy. Taeyong hasn’t talked to him either so his plan must not be working because how do you get something from someone if they’re not there?” Sana nodded along eagerly at my ramblings, “The plan is to step up the game. Tae must be getting desperate for Yuta’s attention so I’m going to make him think I want to sleep with him then when he comes into my room, I’ll tell him I’m going to get something and that I’ll be back. Then when I leave, he’ll get naked and Jaehyun will be in the room already with a camera, he’ll take a picture, and we’ll basically own Tae because we’ll have his nudes. Then we’ll make him confess everything”. I smiled proudly at my scheme.

 “That is the single most ridiculous, convoluted, barely R-rated High School Musical bullshit plan I have ever heard in my entire existence”, Sana snorted, “No wonder Ten called you the losing team. That sounds like the plot of a Gossip Girl episode. It took you three days of talking to Jaehyun to come up with that?”

 “Shut up! It was my idea and Jaehyun is just going along with it”, I pouted.

“Damn, that boy must be in love with you if he’s going along with this rejected Teen Wolf storyline”, Sana’s laughs continued to fill my room.

 “You’re such a bitch”, I sulked, trying to hide my own smile. I had to admit, it wasn’t one of my finest plans. “I have to go now. I have an awesome plan to carry out”.

“Oh, you have second plan?” Sana cackled as I hung up on her. I laughed to myself as the room fell silent. Ten had told me that going against Taeyong was dangerous and that I would end up worse off so was this really the plan I wanted to go with?

“Sana is right. It is a shit plan”, Jaehyun simply said as we walked towards the pool.

 “So why were you going to help me carry it out?” I cried as I playfully hit his arm. He stumbled back in fake agony as I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh at his childishness.

 “Because either way, it’s going to be fucking hilarious. I’m on both sides here, babe. Tae is my boy and you… you’re hot”, he smirked, snaking his hand around my waist. I quickly pushed him off and started walking faster.

“I can’t have someone who is on both teams. You might double cross me. I assume that in your twisted mind, Tae takes priority?”

“Bros before hoes”, Jaehyun shrugged. I had to admire his loyalty, I guess.

“Why are you even helping me then?” I finally decided to ask.

 “Like I said, you’re hot”

“There are girls around here who are fifty times hotter than me that you could be… entertaining”

 “You’re a different kind of hot”, Jaehyun simply smirked as he looked down at me. As I was about to ask what he meant, I heard Taeyong’s voice calling my name. Jaehyun and I both stopped and turned as we saw Taeyong running toward us.

“Hey baby”, Taeyong smiled as he finally reached us. He pulled me by the waist and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Jaehyun shifted uncomfortably as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. Taeyong must have noticed the shift in atmosphere too because he suddenly let go of me and looked between Jaehyun and I.

 “Was I interrupting something?” Taeyong asked almost mockingly. He looked at Jaehyun, then back at me again before slowly nodding his head, “My bad. I’ll catch you tonight at Mark’s party, right?” he looked over at me. I gave him a forced smile and nodded.

 “I’ll see you then”, I said, my voice barely a whisper.

“Hey, and I heard Yuta will be there!” Taeyong beamed. He turned his head to Jaehyun, “Me, you and Yuta seem to have a lot of catching up to do”. Jaehyun clenched his jaw and kept his eyes trained on Taeyong.

 “I don’t think so. Nothing much has really happened lately”, Jaehyun shot back.

“Well then let’s change that tonight”, Taeyong smirked. He turned back to me and pushed his lips onto my own. I almost stumbled back but Taeyong’s arm snaked around my waist once more as he pulled me closer. He slid his tongue into my mouth and I stupidly let him. After a few seconds, Taeyong finally pulled away with his signature smirk plastered on his face. He turned to Jaehyun and winked before turning around and walking back in the direction he had come from.

 “Are you sure you want revenge because from where I’m standing, you’re pretty happy being his play toy”, Jaehyun scoffed. I adjusted my dress, embarrassed.

 “I can’t let him know I’m onto him”, I tried to justify my actions. Jaehyun let out a chuckle.

“He knew something was up from the second he saw us together… You know what, you’re boring me now. I’m gonna go find one of those girls who is fifty times hotter than you to entertain me”. And with that, Jaehyun turned around and started walking back in the direction Taeyong had gone. I stood there, confused by what had just happened. As I was about to follow Jaehyun, I heard a clap from behind me. I turned to see a smiling Rosé walking slowly towards me, applauding.

 “I never thought I’d see the day Jaehyun got a taste of his own medicine”, she smiled.

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

 “You just made out with Taeyong in front of him. I could practically see the jealousy bubbling up from all the way down there”, she threw her head back in laughter, “I should be more upset at you for stealing the guy I like but after the way he has treated me, I’m happy the universe is punishing him… even if that means I have to permanently lose him to you”, her smile faded a little.

 “Oh no, it’s not like that. He was just helping with something”

“When was the last time you saw Jaehyun just ‘helping’ some girl with no ulterior motive?” Rosé rolled her eyes, “How do you do it? You managed to get Ten to actually fucking look at you for longer than he looks at that damn phone, you’ve got Taeyong making out with you and taking you on dates, you’ve got Jae crushing on you, and I even heard rumours that you and Yuta were a thing. Are you just working your way through the group? If so, let me just tell you, Xiaojun is a phenomenal fuck. I hooked up with him last year and to this day, he is still the best sex I’ve ever had. Don’t tell Jaehyun”, she laughed as she began walking away. I was left standing in the middle of the sidewalk again, alone and perplexed.

I sat on the sofa in our living room as I scrolled through Instagram. There were already a shit ton of stories from Mark’s party being posted. The party had only started about an hour ago but people had already blown up all of their social media, telling everyone what a good time they were having. After what Rosé had said to me, I’d realised that this was all getting too messy. This wasn’t just some summer drama; once we got back to our normal lives, I’d still have to deal with these boys on a somewhat regular basis. As I sat there in my tank top and pyjama bottoms, ignoring Taeyong’s texts, my phone vibrated yet again.

Unknown: Hey. It’s Yuta.

I immediately replied.

Y/N: Why the new number?

Unknown: I have more than one phone you know.

Y/N: What do you want? You blocked me on the other one?

Unknown: Yeah, sorry about that. Why aren’t you at Mark’s thing?

I looked at the message for a moment and contemplated what I could say. It then dawned on me that I was trapped in this stupid cycle of lies and manipulation. Why would Yuta contact me from a completely different number instead of just unblocking me on his other phone? Come to think of it, when we used to be whatever we were, I only ever saw him with one phone. I was tired of the games so I simply replied.

Y/N: Is this really Yuta?

The reply piqued my curiosity.

Unknown: Come to the party and find out ;)

By the time I arrived at Mark Lee’s suite, it was practically overflowing with people and some party goers had started drinking and hanging out in the corridors. It took me approximately ten minutes to actually get into the suite itself, and even then, it was so packed it took me an additional five minutes to get to the kitchen. As I reached the counter which was covered in drinks, my phone buzzed again.

Unknown: You actually came. You must still really be into me.

I rolled my eyes and replied.

Y/N: I still don’t know who I’m talking to. Taeyong, if this is you, I’m done with your games.

I pressed ‘send’ only to look up and immediately regret my decision. Taeyong’s frame made its way through the crowd. He spotted me, smiled and started making his way towards me. I looked back down at my vibrating phone.

Unknown: This isn’t Taeyong. I told you it’s Yuta.

I looked up again and saw Taeyong getting closer, no phone in his hand.

“I was scared you wouldn’t make it”, Taeyong shouted over the music as he finally reached me.

“Here I am!” I yelled back. He smiled at me and leaned in closer to my ear.

 “I just wanted to say that I think I’m done”. I looked up at him, confused.

“Done with the party? It only started an hour and a half ago”, I was getting tired of straining my voice.

 “No, babe, done with this”, he motioned between us, “You obviously aren’t as oblivious as I thought”. Wait, he was shutting this down? If anything, I was the one who should have been getting to dump him. Even though we weren’t dating, I wanted the satisfaction of breaking it off. I found myself sighing with relief anyway, glad it was all finally over. I was going to be on the next flight to Dubai tomorrow morning no matter what my father had to say. This place was suffocating me.

 “Whatever. Bye Tae”, I turned to leave but turned back to ask one final question, “What were you actually trying to achieve here?” Taeyong simply smiled and looked around the room. He leaned into my ear once again.

 “You’ll find out in a bit. I still need you for one more thing. Jaehyun asked me not to hurt you but I’m already doing him the favour of leaving you alone”, he simply said. I stood there, perplexed.

 “I refuse to be part of any more of this silliness”. And with that, I turned to leave. As I reached the entrance, I checked my phone for any texts from Yuta I may have missed.

Unknown: Come to the room with the white door. I need to talk to you, Y/N.

I still needed to apologize for not believing him about the water balloons. I also now wanted to make sure we were in a good place. I missed him more than I liked to admit. When we weren’t too busy fucking, we actually had a great time together… secretly of course. Sneaky movie dates, spending time at each other’s houses, and even going on long drives out of town just so we could talk; I missed our relationship which wasn’t really a relationship. I wouldn’t admit this to anyone but Yuta was my first love and I wished my stupid crush on Taeyong hadn’t made me ruin what we were… what we could have been.

Y/N: I’m on my way.

I turned around yet again and pushed my way through a dark corridor, towards the white door which was decorated with a sign that read ‘DO NOT ENTER’. Looking around for any other possible options, I realised that this had to be the door Yuta was talking about. I twisted the door knob and attempted to push it open but it must have been barricaded from the inside. I attempted again to open it. Again. Again. Once more. Suddenly, the door flung open.

 “Can’t you read, you fucking…?” Yuta stood before me shirtless and with his hair dishevelled. His eyes instantly widened as he saw me. It took less that a second for a gorgeous red headed girl to appear behind him in nothing but a bra and panties. She held onto his arm and looked over at me before attempting to hide her almost-naked body, embarrassed. “Y/N…”

 “Is this what you wanted to show me?” I could feel the tears threatening to fall from my eyes. In reality, I had no reason to be this upset. But after finally admitting to myself that I loved Yuta, it hurt to see him with someone else. Even though I knew he’d been sleeping around. I guess seeing it with my own eyes hurt more than I anticipated.  

 “What are you talking about?” Yuta looked down at me. By the looks of it, Yuta had been a little too preoccupied to have been the one texting me. I could think of nothing but to run away so I did. I pushed my way through crowds of people yet again and made it to the entrance. I turned to look back and see if Yuta had made an attempt to follow me but he hadn’t. Before I turned to leave, I did however notice the big smile on Taeyong’s face as he watched me.

five

I knew I was being ridiculous.

 It was 4AM in the morning and after crying in my room for what felt like forever, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and just pack my bags. I didn’t know where I was going but I just knew that I didn’t want to be here anymore. I didn’t want to go to Dubai and ruin Sana’s drama free break, and I didn’t want to go back home because that would just remind me that when the summer comes to an end, I have to go back to school and confront… him. At this point I didn’t even know who ‘him’ was. I didn’t want to confront Taeyong because I could already see his smug grin mocking me. I didn’t want to confront Jaehyun because he was mad at me for some strange reason. And I most definitely didn’t want to confront Yuta after seeing him with another girl. Again, I knew I was being ridiculous. I was mad at Yuta for sleeping with someone else when we weren’t dating? Yeah, that’s insane.

I threw the last dress into my suitcase and hastily zipped it up. I’d made the bed and emptied the wardrobe; I was ready to leave. I wanted to go before my dad or Jessica woke up so that I wouldn’t have to deal with that mess. I took one last look in the mirror; my makeup was smudged and my hair was… I don’t even know what my hair was doing, but I didn’t care. I grabbed my suitcase handle and made my way into the living room. I quickly realised that dragging my suitcase on a hardwood floor wasn’t exactly the stealthiest escape plan so I ended up lifting the heavy case and waddling to the door.

“We’re almost there, doll”, the taxi driver looked at me through the rear view mirror. I had anxiously been fidgeting with the watch on my wrist, and the loose string from my jeans… and the handle of my bag… and my hair. He had obviously sensed my negative energy and felt the need to reassure me that I was almost at the airport. Little did he know that his statement only made things worse. The closer I got to the airport, the quicker I’d have to make a decision about where exactly I was going. I grabbed my phone from my bag; I hadn’t looked at it since I left Mark’s party. I had 3 new messages. One was from my service provider telling me about the ‘exciting new offers’ they would give me if I introduced a friend. The other was from Jaehyun.

JJ: Hey. Sorry about what happened earlier. I let Tae get the best of me. I also got sucked up in this fight for your heart and somehow managed to convince myself I liked you too. You’re fucking cool and we’d be great friends but I don’t think my feelings are that deep… Anyway, I told Tae to leave you alone and not hurt you so you’re in the clear now ;) Erm, also I saw you talking to Rosé after I left… Is she still mad at me? :’(

I laughed at his message but still felt annoyed by his attitude towards me earlier so I simply texted back.

Y/N: She said Xiaojun is a phenomenal fuck.   

I felt petty but I knew he’d see the humour in it… eventually, and we could laugh about it… eventually. I really did want to be his friend. If there is one thing I’d learned this summer, it’s that Jeong Jaehyun was alright. I hoped he’d clean up his act and apologise to Rosé. I moved on to my final message. It was from Ten.

TenOutOfTen: Dude, what did you do to Yuta? He’s in my room practically crying?! I hope you burn in hell for indirectly making me wake up so early… bitch.

Again, I laughed at the text but my laughter soon faded when I re-read the first half of the message. Yuta was in Ten’s room, crying. And he must have mentioned me because Ten had asked me what I had done. I checked the timestamp on the message; it was sent 50 minutes ago. My curiosity had me wanting to tell the taxi driver to turn back immediately but just as I was considering this option, the taxi pulled up to the airport. It was large and bright yet startlingly quiet. I hopped out of the vehicle and paid my driver.

 “Keep the change”, I smiled as I adjusted my bag and began walking away.

“Keep the change? Oooh, splashing the cash, are we?” I heard a voice laugh. I turned back to the taxi rank and saw a figure sitting on his suitcase. I didn’t immediately recognise his voice but as he turned his head back to me and I saw his face, I rolled my eyes. Xiaojun.

 “What are you doing here? I heard you were volunteering or something like that”, I dragged my bag back towards him. He stood from his perched position and suddenly towered over me.

 “I finished my volunteer stuff. It was fun but Taeyong’s texts told me that the real fun was at the country club. I came to see the drama is real life but it looks like the female lead is leaving before curtain call?” Xiaojun smirked.

“You left your volunteer position to come watch some petty feud between Yuta and Tae? I thought you were the more decent of the fuckboys”, I let out an exaggerated pout.

 “Don’t flatter yourselves. The programme was a short one; I’m going to the club because my parents need me to complete their ‘happy family’ set up”, Xiaojun explained, “The petty feud between Yuta and Tae was just a nice little treat”.

“Well I hate to break it to you but it’s all over now”, I was about to turn around when Xiaojun chuckled.

“Over? According to Jaemin’s texts, you walked in on Yuta and Umji. Tae confronted Yuta about fucking his ex. And now Umji has broken up with Yuta because she doesn’t want to be part of their ‘sick little dick measuring contest’” Xiaojun turned around and looked down the road, “Why the fuck is my Uber taking so long? I can’t stand getting into taxis I didn’t order. It’s creepy as fuck; the dude could be some insane looney who bought his taxi sign on eBay and you just get in his fake taxi and…”

“Wait a minute…”, the cogs were turning in your head and you were finally starting to see the bigger picture. “Yuta was secretly dating Umji, Tae’s ex, so Tae started messing with me as a warning for Yuta to back off?”

 “Basically, yes. Jeno accidentally told Tae that he had seen Umji leaving Yuta’s house one morning when he’d gone over. Tae and Yuta are idiots who never talk shit through so instead of Tae asking Yuta to stop seeing Umji, Tae decided to pretend he didn’t know and try to get Yuta to admit it himself. Yuta played dumb so Tae got pissed and decided to give him a taste of his medicine by targeting the one girl he knows Yuta gives a shit about”, Xiaojun pointed to me.

 “Why was Yuta dating Umji anyway?” my jealously was getting the better of me, “When Yuta and I were… He told me he couldn’t stand her”.

“Ego. It’s all about ego when it comes to Dumb and Dumber. Even though you refer to us so lovingly as ‘fuckboys’, we do have our weaknesses. Tae’s is Umji and Yuta’s is you. We all know each other’s weaknesses and they instantly become off limits but after Tae and Yuta had yet another alpha male standoff, Yuta hooked up with Umji because he wanted to prove to himself that he was better than Tae. Umji was the first girl who ever really properly distracted from you so I guess he kept her around… I don’t know”, Xiaojun threw his glance down the road yet again but there was nothing in sight.

 “You know you can track your Uber on the app. It tells you how far it is?” I simply stated.

Xiaojun raised his eyebrows and looked back down at his phone. “This is my first time using this. I usually have the family’s driver take me everywhere but I didn’t want to wake him so early”, he tapped at his phone, “It’s close”. We stood there in an uncomfortable silence before I decided to turn around and leave; I finally had the whole story. “Why are you leaving?”

 “Why not? Your idiot friends have been using me as a prop in their game and I’m tired”, I sighed.

“It’s all over now though, right? Umji and Yuta are over. Him and Tae are pissed at each other but they’ll hug it out in a few days. Everything is chill”, at that moment, Xiaojun’s phone beeped and he looked down to read his text, “Maybe not…”

“What is it now? Did Umji reveal that she was pregnant? Did Jaehyun propose to Rosé? Did Yuta and Tae finally admit their feelings for each other and finally make it official? At this rate, nothing would surprise me”, I chuckled humourlessly. As I said this, Xiaojun’s Uber pulled up in front of us.

 “You might want to get in and come back with me, babe”.

“And why would I do that?” I laughed.

 “I just got a text from Ten and…” My own phone suddenly vibrated in my hands. I looked down and couldn’t understand what I was reading.

TenOutOfTen: Your idiot ex got drunk and fell off a roof. He’s at the General Hospital downtown!

six

Five years earlier

It was just my luck that the day my father had told me he couldn’t pick me up from school, it just so happened to start pouring down with rain. I usually had a driver who would come get me but my mother had asked my dad to do it for a month in an effort to ‘improve our relationship’. My father hadn’t been too fond of that idea but he did it anyway. He probably did it out of guilt; my mother was growing suspicious of his ‘innocent friendship’ with a new employee at his company, Jessica. I’d met her once and she seemed lovely. My mother was probably just being paranoid. Anyway, my father had promised to tell the driver to pick me up instead but he’d obviously forgotten as I ended up standing outside the school doors for 45 minutes.

 “Are you okay, darling?” a voice rang from the bottom of the stairwell. A woman with beautiful long black hair had stepped out of her car and was staring at me, a wet, crying teenager at the top of the stairs, freezing my butt off. “Where are your parents?” she asked.

 “I don’t t-thing anyone is c-coming”, I stuttered. She gave me a sympathetic smile and asked where I lived. I told her.

 “Oh, you’re Y/N, right? We live just three houses away from you; we moved in last month. I met your mother at brunch a few weeks back and she told me she had a daughter but you couldn’t make it because of tennis practice”, she beamed at me.

“Oh”, was all I could say. This had all been true. I’d skipped brunch a few weeks back in favour of playing tennis with this girl I’d met a few months ago called Sana. She was very sweet and I knew we’d become good friends.

 “I hope you don’t find this odd but… if you need a ride, I can take you home. I’m actually here to pick up my son Yuta; he should be finishing lacrosse try-outs in a few minutes. Maybe you know him, he’s your age so he could be in some of your classes!” I shook my head. I didn’t know him.

“But if it’s alright, I’d really like a ride back home, ma’am”, I sniffled. The woman smiled sympathetically and nodded, walking over to her car and opening one of the back doors. I strongly considered the fact that I might be getting kidnapped and that this Yuta kid didn’t actually exist but I was too cold and wet to care. Plus, maybe if I went missing, my dad would feel super guilty and actually care about me for a minute. I made my way down the stairs and into the woman’s car. She closed the door and walked over to the driver’s side, slipping herself into the seat. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel as we sat there in silence for about 3 minutes. Suddenly, the passenger door swung open and someone took that seat. I couldn’t see their face properly but I could I could see their black, rain-soaked hair.

 “Yuta, this is Y/N. She lives a few houses down from ours”, his mother turned in her seat to point at me. Yuta slowly turned his head and shifted his body so that he could see me clearly. He was beautiful. How had I not noticed him before? My eyes scanned his face at least ten times, my gaze lingering on his pink lips, before either one of us finally spoke.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N”, he smiled, “I’m Yuta”.

Present day

Xiaojun held me close as I cried into his coat. The Uber ride felt never ending. Xiaojun hadn’t said anything since I’d started sobbing after I read the text. He’d simply just walked over to me a hugged me, held me for a minute, then ushered me into the car. I knew this wasn’t entirely my fault but I had definitely played my part. If anything happened to Yuta, I would never forgive myself. I finally pulled away from Xiaojun and looked down at my phone. There were no new messages. I don’t know what I was expecting; maybe I wanted to look down and find a text that read ‘just kidding’ followed by an eggplant emoji and a winking face. I could handle this being some sick twisted joke better than I could handle Yuta actually being critically hurt.

 “We’re here”, Xiaojun’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. I immediately opened the door and sped towards the hospital entrance. As I ran towards the building, I could make out two figures walking out; Taeyong and Jaehyun. They both looked distraught, Taeyong more so than Jaehyun. It was probably the guilt eating away at him. Jaehyun saw me and immediately called my name. I ran over to them and into Jaehyun’s arms.

 “What’s happening, Jaehyun?” I tried to control my sobs.

“It’s alright, babe, he’s in surgery right now so there’s no more information we can get until after it’s over”, he whispered. We both stood there in our embrace for a while before we pulled away. I looked over at Taeyong who stared back with red, apologetic eyes. He was hurting, maybe even more than me, but I was too upset to care. I wanted to hit him, to slap him across the face and tell him this was all his fault. I wanted to tell him that if anything happened to Yuta, he would have to live with it for the rest of his life. He would have to understand that he caused all of this because of his stupid ego. But as I looked at him and saw the broken boy staring back, I realised that he already knew.

 “I’m so sorry”, he simply said before turning away and walking towards an already waiting car.

 “I should probably go with him. If you want to, you can come with us. Nothing is going to happen for the next couple of hours”, Jaehyun sighed. I vigorously shook my head.

“No, no, I want to be here. I want to be right here. Nowhere else”, I protested. Jaehyun nodded as a small smile appear on his face.

 “Your guys have one fucked up love story, huh? I’d love to hear it one day”. And with that, he followed in Taeyong’s footsteps.

 “Jaehyun, can you please take my suitcase back to the club. It’s over there with Xiaojun”, I smiled weakly. Jaehyun gave me a small nod and made his way to Xiaojun who was struggling with both mine and his suitcases.

“Y/N! Thank God, you’re here!” I heard as soon as I walked into the hospital waiting room. It was Yuta’s mother.

“Mrs Nakamoto”, I called as I ran into her arms. We held each other tightly and I found myself sighing with relief. She was probably the only person who truly knew the extent of my relationship with Yuta, well, apart from the hooking up. She knew how much he truly meant to me, despite the aloof demeanour I treated him with over the years.

“He’ll be alright! Don’t worry; I’ve prayed and I’ve prayed. He’ll be alright”, Mrs Nakamoto comforted me as she pulled away from our hug. “The injuries aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. He probably broke a few things but his head wasn’t hurt that much so there is no possibility of anything more than a concussion”. A sigh of relief escaped my lips once again. I finally took the time to look around the small white room. Apart from myself and Mrs Nakamoto, the only other person in the room was Ten who was sleeping on the dark blue sofa near the vending machine.

 “Why didn’t he go back to the country club with Tae and Jaehyun?” I asked.

“Jaehyun didn’t think it would be a good idea for Taeyong and Ten to be in the same car together. Ten is pretty furious at Taeyong. He said he was going to leave in a different car but then he fell asleep soon after. I wish I had a blanket for him”, explained Mrs Nakamoto. I look over at Ten one more time and smiled at his small figure, curled in a little ball as soft snores filled the room. “What happened, Y/N? Why did my baby try to kill himself?” I looked back at Mrs Nakamoto whose eyes were now filling with tears.

 “Oh no! He didn’t try to kill himself. He was just being drunk and dramatic. Don’t worry, Mrs Nakamoto, he’s not suicidal”, I offered her small smile.

 “I really hope you’re right… God, I’ve missed you. You never come by the house anymore”, Mrs Nakamoto sighed as she took a seat; I went and sat next to her.

“I know. I’m sorry”.

We sat in a comfortable silence for about ten minutes before the waiting room doors swung open and I turned to see the last person I wanted here tonight. Umji.

Three years earlier

“I’m not going to tell you”, I screamed through my laughter as Yuta tickled me. I tried to push him off of me in an attempt to escaped his grasp but he was too strong. I could feel myself edging towards the side of the bed so I decided to give in before we both fell onto the floor of Yuta’s bedroom. “Fine, fine, I’ll tell you!”.

Yuta immediately stopped his attack on my body, and he sat up at the foot of his bed. He looked over at me expectedly. “I don’t understand why you’re being so difficult. I know all the date-worthy guys at school. I could set you up with anyone”.

“I don’t have a crush though. I just think there are some cute guys”, I explained.

 “Like?”

“Jaehyun”

 “He’s such a player!”

“He’s cute! Okay, Taeyong”

 “Even worse!”

“What? Okay, fine. Xiaojun”

“Better but still not good enough for you”

 “Why do you hang out with them if they’re such bad guys?” I laughed.

“I’m a bad guy too”, Yuta shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. I wished I could argue against this point but deep down I knew that he was right; I just chose to ignore his cocky rich boy side. “Choose someone outside of my friendship circle. And stop checking out my friends!”

“Hmmm, what about Ten?”

“I SAID SOMEONE OUTSIDE MY FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE, YOU IDIOT! Plus, that would never happen, trust me”

“Why not?”

“Just choose someone else!”

 “Mingyu”. I’d seen him playing lacrosse when I went to watch Yuta and I remember thinking he was one of the most gorgeous boys I’d ever seen.

“Oh. Yeah, he’s cool, I guess. I could get him to ask you out”, Yuta mused. I tried to hide my excitement.

“What about you? Who do you like?” I found myself suddenly curious.

“No one in particular. Who do you think I’d look good with?” Yuta crawled across the bed so that he was now sitting next to me, our heads both resting on the headboard.

 “You’d look good with… Sakura, or maybe Karina, what about Umji?” I analysed all the beautiful girls in our school.

“Hmm… what about Sana?” he asked, turning his head to look at me.

“You can’t like Sana! She’s my closest friend”

“Exactly! That’s how it feels when you say stuff about Xiaojun and Jaehyun and all those guys”, he pouted. I laughed and turned my head to face him. Our faces were close but we were used to invading each other’s personal space.

“Okay, fine. I’ll stay away from your clique of players and you stay away from Sana. I can set you up with Umji and you can set me up with Mingyu”, I smiled.

 “No, I can’t stand Umji. She’s so fake, and she lives on drama. She loves starting it, being part of it and talking about it; she pretends she doesn’t but really, she craves being the centre of attention. She’s more Tae’s type”, he laughed and I laughed along with him. “Why are we talking about this again?”

 “You said that this is the ages when teenagers start losing their virginity so we should start dating to get the process going”, I whispered against his lips. I hadn’t noticed that our faces had drifted even closer together. It was then I realised that if we didn’t stop, we’d kiss.

 “Well, I just realised that things would move a lot quicker if we just skipped all that dating shit and went straight for the sex”. And before I could ask him what he meant his lips were on mine. I had never kissed anyone before and I was sure he hadn’t either so we both moved slowly and cautiously. Yuta pulled me up onto his lap, our lips staying connected. We moved them in sync for some seconds when I felt Yuta’s tongue slip through the small gap of my slightly open lips. It felt strange at first; someone else’s tongue was in my mouth, but I quickly found my own tongue beginning to explore his mouth. I felt his hands slipping under my t-shirt and working their way up to my bra. As he was about to unhook my bra, his bedroom door flung open. I pushed myself off him and innocently looked towards the entrance.

 “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to interrupt!” Mrs Nakamoto looked between Yuta and I, flustered. Yuta awkwardly ran his fingers through his hair and jumped off the bed.

 “You didn’t interrupt anything”, Yuta mumbled.

 “No, I did. I’m sorry. I was just going to say I’m going out for a bit but now I’m not so sure”, Mrs Nakamoto chuckled. “I mean; I knew you guys liked each other but I didn’t know you were secretly doing whatever this is. Maybe I shouldn’t have let you guys have all those sleepovers…” she continued to tease us.

 “That was the first time, okay. We were just… testing something”, Yuta walked over to the door and attempted to close it.

 “Oh no, no! Just because I like the idea of you two being together, doesn’t mean I’m going to continue letting you hang out in this bedroom with the door closed. I’m too young to be a grandmother! No sex until you get married, guys!” Mrs Nakamoto exclaimed. Yuta groaned, and I simply buried my head into my hands and wished I could disappear.

Present day

“What are you doing here?” I jumped up from my seat and quickly walked over to Umji.

 “The same thing you are. I’m here for my boyfriend”, Umji rolled her eyes at me, “Just because we went through a bump in our relationship doesn’t mean I don’t love him and care for his well-being”.

 “You didn’t go through a ‘bump’, you broke up. And please don’t say you love him because you don’t and he doesn’t love you”, I spat out. Umji rolled her eyes again and took out her phone. She unlocked it and tapped at it until she seemed to find what she was looking for. She turned the phone to face me and I looked over the device; it was a picture of a big bouquet of flowers with a card that simply read ‘love Yuta’.

 “He had this sent to me on my birthday, along with a custom-made Tiffany necklace. What did he ever do for you? From what I heard, you were a quick fuck when he was bored”, Umji smirked. I could feel my blood boiling at her words but the picture she’d shown me calmed my nerves. I remembered Yuta telling me that flowers and a necklace are…

“Excuse me, sweetheart, but unfortunately the doctor said there can only be a maximum of three guests”, Mrs Nakamoto suddenly chimed in. I turned to face her but her eyes were settled on Umji.

 “Then why can’t Y/N leave? I’m his girlfriend”, Umji whined, “And who the hell are you to decide who stays and who goes?”

 “I’m his mother”, Mrs Nakamoto retorted, “And from what I hear, you’re no longer his girlfriend… Thank God”. Umji’s eyes suddenly widened as she realised who she had just addressed in such a rude manner.

 “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you were his…”

“I think it’s time for you to go, Umji”, I smiled as a flustered Umji tried to formulate an excuse. “And don’t pretend you care about him. If anything you’re probably just here to live tweet the drama for the whole school”. Umji looked over at me ready to say something but then decided against it. Maybe she could tell that I’d been crying and distraught and in no mood for her shit. She simply nodded slightly and turned on her heels to leave. Before she closed the door, she turned to look at me one last time.

 “I know he doesn’t love me. And I know that you weren’t just an occasional fuck. Whenever I was with him and you walked by, I could feel all of his attention shifting to you. And you didn’t even have to try”, Umji confessed, a sad smile playing on her lips. She finally closed the door and left you standing in the waiting room.

“Occasional fuck? Hmm, it looks like my no-closed-bedroom-door rule didn’t help much” Mrs Nakamoto suddenly chuckled humourlessly from her seat. I knew that she was very religious and had truly not wanted me to sleep with Yuta outside of wedlock. I sighed as I walked over to her.

 “I’m so sorry Mrs Nakamoto. We just… we couldn’t help it”, I looked at her apologetically.

“Hormones are a powerful thing I guess”, she smiled at me. “So when did it happen the first time? Where?”

I groaned and buried my head in my hands like I had when she’d caught Yuta and I making out on his bed.

“Oh come on, I’m just curious”, she laughed.

 “This is so weird!” I joined her in her laughter. After a long pause I decided to get it over and done with. “It was about 3 months after you caught is making out in his room… My mother had just found out about my father’s affair with Jessica, she’d packed up her things and left without so much as a goodbye to me. I was distraught and angry. I just wanted to get away from everything so Yuta stole your car, sorry about that, and we drove for hours and hours and just talked. We went to a beach and I cried and cried and we talked some more. After that I felt much better and we decided to head back home. By that time, it was so dark and we were so tired that Yuta decided to take us to your beach house instead, again sorry about that. We watched my favourite film and ate my favourite snacks; I just felt so safe with him. One thing led to another and we ended up sleeping together that night”. I smiled at the memory. It was the first time I truly felt like I was in love with Yuta. I think I’d loved him before but that was the first time I really knew.

 “I can’t believe my car and beach house were involved in this”, Mrs Nakamoto joked. I giggled. I wanted to tell her more, it felt good to share.

 “After that night, we started… being intimate quite regularly. But as we grew older, Yuta became more and more influenced by his friends. I could no longer ignore the person he was becoming and it killed me. So, we drifted apart but we still…I don’t know, I guess we still loved each other. So it became more a hate-sex kind of thing even though there were times when he’d come over to my house and find me crying because of a fight I had with my dad. I’d expect him to just leave but he surprised me each time by taking me out for a drive and treating me like he did that day”, I took a deep sigh. It wasn’t until Mrs Nakamoto’s fingers were wiping away my tears that I even realised I was crying.

 “Your mother loved you more than anything in the world. I hope you know that”, Mrs Nakamoto cooed.

 “Then why did she leave without me?” I sobbed.

“Your dad didn’t give her much of a choice…”, Mrs Nakamoto admitted.

“What does that mean?”

 “It’s not my responsibility to tell you. Talk to your dad when you get back, okay. Actually, I’m going to call a car for Ten, you should go with him. I’d really like to be alone”.

“I’ll see you back at the club, okay?” Ten gave me a sleepy smile as the car dropped me off at the beach. I smiled back and nodded, getting out of the vehicle.

It was now 7:30AM and I still hadn’t slept. My mind was too chaotic right now. It took less than 2 minutes for me to find the perfect spot in the sand to sit and watch the waves. I thought about every trip to the beach with Yuta. I thought about every heated encounter we had, both sexual and verbal. I thought about how no matter how much we fought and teased each other; we’d always find our way back in each other’s arms. Most importantly, I thought about how we’d never vocally admitted we were in love.

 “He’s going to be fine, you know”. I looked up to see Taeyong standing next to me. I quickly got up from the ground and tried turning to walk away. Taeyong grabbed my arm. “Wait! Please!”

“What is it, Tae? You want to apologise? Because that’s not going to fix anything. Yes, he’ll be fine but the fact that it even had to escalate to this level is disgusting”, I spat out, pulling my arm out of his grasp.

 “You don’t think I know that?” Taeyong fired back. He frantically ran his fingers through his hair. “Yuta is one of my best friends. But he hurt me. I love Umji so much. Yes, she’s a bit of a bitch sometimes but I love that about her. She’s such a fucking drama queen but I could sit there all day and listen to her talking shit about people I don’t care about…”

“Why are you telling me this?” I suddenly spoke up.

“Because you know what it’s like to ignore all the bad because the good outweighs it. That’s what it was like with Yuta, right? He’s an arrogant dick and he thinks he’s better than most people but you looked over that because you loved him. I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to think I did this for the sake of being malicious. I did it for Umji. You were just an easy target because I knew you had feelings for me; I’m sorry”, Taeyong looked at me apologetically.

“You know… I actually broke things off with Yuta because I wanted to be with you”, I laughed at my own stupid confession. “Goodness knows what I saw in you”.

“I’m hot”, Taeyong flashed me his killer smile. A few weeks ago, I would have fallen to his feet at the sight but now I felt nothing. Okay, not nothing, he was still exceptionally attractive.

“Why do I always fall for such conceited idiots?” I joked.

“Knowing you’re attractive doesn’t make you conceited. That’s just a mind-set sold to us by the beauty industry to make us insecure so we buy their crap”, Taeyong stated almost robotically. And it suddenly reminded me of Ten and how he’d warned me that him and Taeyong were extremely alike. “I don’t understand why you gave up on a guy you love for a guy you were kind of crushing on though”.

 “I thought maybe if I moved on, I could forget him. I didn’t want to be in love with him forever. I wanted to be with someone who was always nice to everyone. Not just secretly nice to me. And I didn’t want to just be an occasional fuck”.

“We both know you weren’t an occasional fuck. Yuta talked about you so much without even realising it; ‘Guys, doesn’t Y/N look different today? I think maybe she did something different with her hair… she looks stupid’, ‘Hmm, this candle smells so good. Y/N has one like this… she’s so stupid’, ‘Why was Mingyu flirting with Y/N at lunch today? I thought he was dating someone else… Did you see her giggle? She’s so stupid’” Taeyong’s impression of Yuta coaxed the hardest laugh I’d had in a while. “The guys and I came to the conclusion that calling you stupid was his warped way of saying he loved you”.

 “He’s so stupid”, I mumbled, and it was Taeyong’s turn to let out a laugh.

“I really hope this shitty situation at least brings you two together… properly this time”. I smiled at Tae and found myself wishing this shitty situation would bring him together with Umji.

One year earlier

Yuta quickly put his lacrosse shorts back on while I pulled up my panties. There wasn’t much room to move in the janitor’s closet but we’d made it work.

 “I hope you realise that was the only time I’ll let you fuck me without a condom”, I scolded.

“I know, I said I’m sorry! You think I want a kid right now? I just ran out, okay, but I really needed you before this game”, Yuta rolled his eyes while he helped me fix my hair.

 “You should keep track of all the random girls you sleep with so you can manage your condom supply”, I huffed, “I don’t want kids right now either”.

“I only have sex with you, idiot, we just go through boxes really quickly”, Yuta retorted. I froze as I processed the new information; Yuta only slept with me? He must have felt my suddenly static state because he stopped and looked down at me. “Do you fuck other guys?” His voice was small.

 “No! I’m just surprised because I thought for sure I was one of many. I hear girls talking about all the gifts you give them and so I assumed you were wooing them or something”.

“Okay, first of all, who says ‘wooing’? And second of all, I give girls flowers and sometimes jewellery; it’s no big deal when you have money. Flowers and necklaces are basic gifts; you don’t have to think about them and they’re not really that personal. At least not to me. If I really like a girl, I’d buy her something with significance to our relationship, you know”.

 “If you don’t sleep with these girls, why do you buy them flowers and all that?” I asked.

“My friends don’t know about us and I’d prefer they didn’t find out so I have to keep up appearances and make it look like I’m trying to get laid”, Yuta shrugged.

“You’re ashamed of me?” I gave him a fake pout. Yuta took a step forward and kissed me softly on the cheek.

 “Of course I am. I can’t have people knowing we’re a… thing. I’m awesome and you’re… stupid”, he chuckled. I didn’t take anything personally; we’d both agreed to keep our escapades quiet to avoid drama and complications. “I have to go now. The game starts in 5 minutes and I told Coach I was just going to the bathroom really quickly”.

 “Good luck, jerk”.

“Are you coming?”

 “No, my dad wants me to have a family dinner with him and Jessica”, I gagged, and Yuta looked at me with sad eyes.

“Oh… well, since you can’t come to my game, you owe me. We can go to the beach tomorrow, yeah?” he smiled. He made it sound like I was doing him a favour because I was missing his game but I could tell that he was doing me a favour because he could tell that I was upset at my father who was trying to replace my mother.

“Fine, I guess I owe you that much… Thanks”, I smiled. Yuta leaned down one more time, this time placing a chaste kiss on my lips.

Present day

I’d been back home for three weeks now and the first day back at school was tomorrow. Summer was officially over. After that day at the beach with Taeyong, we’d gone back to the country club where my father had shouted at me for trying to leave without telling him then proceeded to have a driver take me back home. He didn’t even let me check on Yuta before I left. All updates on Yuta’s condition had being given to me via his mother’s phone calls, and Ten, Jaehyun, Taeyong and Xiaojun’s texts. They told me he was fine and that he hadn’t even broken a single bone, although he still had some damage in his right ankle and had to walk around with crutches. I wanted to talk to him but every time I tried to ask his mother while we were on the phone, I’d chicken out.

 “I’ll see him tomorrow at school, Sana!” I groaned as she tried to persuade me to call him, “He still has my number blocked probably so it would be no use”.

 “You’re just making excuses! Call him on a different phone. You can’t ignore a guy who practically jumped off a roof because he was distraught about losing you”, Sana whined over the phone.

“I’m not ignoring him. I just want to give him space… And I’m pretty sure he just fell. What time are you getting here anyway?”

“I’m closer than you think”, Sana chirped. Suddenly the doorbell rang.

“Wow, impressive”, I laughed.

“What is?”

 “That you’re already at the door”, I said as I made my way to the entrance.

 As I pulled open the wooden door, Sana’s voice rang out from the device in my hand, “I’m not at your door…”

I froze in place as I looked at the person staring back at me, mirroring my motionless state. “Yuta…”

“H-hey Y/N”, he stammered, “I was wondering if…” Before he could even finish his sentence, I’d crossed the threshold of my house and thrown myself into him, hugging him tightly. He seemed caught off guard for a second before I felt his arms squeezing around me.

 “You’re okay! You’re okay!” I sobbed into his shirt. I’d been told multiple times that he was fine but seeing him here in front of me felt so unbelievably amazing.

“Yeah, I’m okay”, he laughed into my hair. We stood like that for minutes before we heard an awkward cough from behind us.

 “Sana! You’re here”, I blurted out. Yuta’s arms fell to his side and I took a step back, separating us. Sana looked between Yuta and I, a knowing smile on her face. She silently walked past Yuta and myself, entering my house and shutting the door. I stood outside my closed house and awkwardly looked up at Yuta; he let out a short laugh while quickly faded back into the silence.

The front door suddenly flew open and Sana quickly snapped a picture on her phone. “Say cheese”, she beamed before slamming the door again.

 “Umm, that was… weird. I… I just came here to… to let you know that… I’m not always that dramatic. You know, the whole roof thing. Yeah… I also wanted to apologise for…”

 “I love you”, the words sped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Yuta stared at me; his eyes wide. “I just… I wanted to say it loud just once”.

“You still love me after all this shit”, Yuta chuckled to himself, “Wow…”

 “Yeah, I guess I’m just stupid”, I giggled, embarrassed.

“You’re not stupid”, he smiled, “I love you too”. My heart stopped. I’d always imagined what it would feel like to hear him say those words but truly no fantasy lived up to the real thing.

“I guess we’re both stupid”, I whispered. Yuta closed the gap between us and rested his forehead on mine.

 “If Sana wasn’t here, I would have loved to take you out on a proper date”, he mused. Suddenly, the door flung open yet again and Sana, phone in hand, sped past us and down the driveway.

 “See you at school tomorrow!” she yelled as she disappeared into the distance.

“Your friend is so fucking weird”, Yuta laughed.

“Urgh, don’t even get me started on your friends”. We both chuckled, still holding each other. We had such a long way to go and so many broken things to fix but I loved him and he loved me and hopefully at the end of the road, that would be enough.

#nakamoto yuta #nct yuta #yuta #yuta fanfic #yuta smut #nct fanfic #nct 127 smut #yuta x reader #lee taeyong #taeyong fanfic #lee ten #ten fanfic #jung jaehyun #jaehyun fanfic #jeong jaehyun #xiaojun #xiaojun fanfic #nct oneshot #nct hard hours

[sweeterthanthis]

"Where do you want it? Your mouth or your cunt?"

A Lesson To Learn

Pairing: Stepdad!Bucky x 18+!F!Reader

Summary: You should know better than to tease the neighbours, shouldn't you?

Warnings: Explicit sexual content, STEPCEST, heavy daddy kink, mild spit play, cheating, risky sex, vaginal sex, name calling (princess, baby, daddy, slut), jealousy, bucky’s absolutely filthy mouth, possessiveness. 18+.

Word Count: 784

All my works are 18+. If you click the read more tab, you are agreeing that you are 18 or over, have read the warnings and take responsibility for your own media consumption. I do not consent to having my work translated or posted anywhere else.

You knew what you were doing. You knew there was only so much he could take before he lost it and cornered you. You knew he couldn’t ignore the not so subtle flirting. Bucky’s possessive nature is intoxicating, and you ache for it. Every calculated move you’ve made this afternoon is for him. "You got any idea how many of these fuckin' morons have been checking you out today, princess?" 

He grunts, letting a thick string of saliva fall from the tip of his tongue, watching it dribble down between your ass cheeks and onto his dick as it spears in and out of you. "Should hear what they've been saying about you. You want Daddy to tell you?"

Your hot breath fogs the mirror, sweaty palms unsuccessfully trying to cling on to the bathroom tiles as he claims what's his. You know how much he hates it when men look your way, and you may or may not use that little fact to your advantage from time to time. Did you have to wear your pretty, cotton sundress to the Huffman family barbecue this afternoon? Yes. Because you knew this is exactly where you'd wind up. Stuffed full of his cock in your neighbours bathroom while he lays claim to your body like a man obsessed. "Uh huh. Tell me, Daddy."

You wanna hear it straight from his mouth. You know Scott's been looking down your dress, sneaking glances when his wife isn't looking. It makes you feel powerful. Knowing Bucky can't handle someone else eyeing up his property is just a bonus. Grinding yourself back against him, his balls slapping against your clit, you meet his stare in the reflection in front of you.

"That useless fuck, Joe, from down the street? He's wondering if you're a virgin, princess. Can you believe that?" Bucky chuckles, reaching to pinch at your pebbled nipples through the thin cotton. He leans in closer, neither of you paying any attention to the chatter that flows in through the gap in the window, the back yard below bustling with activity. "Wonder what he'd say if he knew you had a belly full of your stepdad right now. Think he'll go home tonight and jerk off thinkin' about you?"

God, it's disgusting. It shouldn't make you clench and moan. It shouldn't have you as wet as it does. Spreading your legs a little wider, you arch your back for him, reaching back and pulling your cheeks apart so he can see just how perfectly he fills your tight, little hole. "Tell me more, Daddy."

"Goddamn," he mutters, one hand snaking up towards your throat and the other tugging your pliable body back onto his cock. Rocking back on your heels in perfect synchronicity with his thrusts, you struggle to hold in your cries of pleasure as he hits all the right spots deep inside you. "I know you've noticed Frank staring at you. Saw the way you flashed him that sweet smile. Bet you got that man hard as a rock."

"You like it, don't you? Daddy's dirty girl. Knows she's got these poor bastards hanging on by a thread." Your cheek presses tight against the mirror as your knees begin to tremble, looking back over your shoulder at him, watching while he loses himself completely in the feel of you wrapped tight around him. "Where do you want it? Your mouth or your cunt?"

Your eyes flutter closed at the sinful obscenities spilling from his perfect lips, letting him use and abuse your body however he sees fit. "Daddy," you choke, his hand tightening around your throat.

"Daddy's choice, huh?" Bucky groans, pumping his cock into your overworked pussy, his lips hot and moist against the shell of your ear. "Gonna fuck you full'a me. Gonna watch as you try to keep those pretty legs closed for the rest of the afternoon."

His hand falls from your throat, fingers reaching beneath the hem of your dress and toying with your clit. He knows exactly how to treat you, knows exactly how to get you shaking and begging for release. "Want it. Want your come, Daddy."

"Do you think anyone's gonna notice when it starts dripping down your thighs, baby?" He asks you, your brow crumpling in confusion as he smirks at your misted reflection. Bucky reaches for the sodden scrap of lace on the counter in front of you, grinding his hips against your ass as he does so. He holds your panties up for you to see before shoving them deep down in his pocket. "Call it a lesson, princess. Wanna behave like a slutty tease and I'll treat you like one. Now, be a good girl for a change and spread that pussy open for Daddy's load."

A/N: I no longer have a tag list, but if you want to keep up to date with what I post follow my sideblog, @sweetersficlibrary, and turn on alerts to be notified whenever I post something new 💕

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fanfiction #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x you #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan fanfiction

[sgiandubh]

Jottings: Season 7, Episode 2. Nothing compares to them

A tiny, but welcome disclaimer: I have not read all the OL books yet, so do not expect witty repartees and connecting the dots with the current book follow-up by the series. In fact, I am still struggling right now with Voyager, after I gave a resolute middle finger and an excruciating amount of time to Dragonfly in Amber, which bored me to death with its sketchy depiction of eighteenth-century Paris. Unpopular opinion, I know: I can't help it, since I consider Paris, for many personal reasons, as my second, beloved home.

There go my two cents, with little to no spoilers. There is much to savor in there:

I thought I couldn't bear to watch one more single time Sinéad O'Connor's rendition of ye olde Skye Boat Song. I was wrong. I think it is exactly what this season needs: a bit bruised & battered & breathless. The perfect tinge of rough around the edges. This is no walk in the park and hers is the right cue, setting the tone for all the rest.

Vlachos. Excellent. Loved every second of it.

I suppose everybody will talk about the Look Jamie gave Claire right after Insufferable Bree gives birth to wee Mandy. I cackled all by myself, which is not even surprising. And so will you, Shippers United. Mark me.

SS upgraded a bit her game, to the extent she doesn't sound all the time like reciting United Airlines' flight schedule. She and Rankin finally manage to pull off a decent rapport (chemistry will always be at a deep-frozen 0). So, rejoice: at least they don't look like the mean troop leader forced them to share the same tent at Camp Sunrise. It's all fine and dandy, until she relaxes and slips back into that horrific, East Coast wannabe accent. Sorry, not sorry.

Did Lizzie say ”Fraser's Fridge”, when reading the birth announcement, or am I hearing things again? Now that's an earworm, sheesh...

Vandervaart looks promising enough, but what do I know, after a two-minutes scene with SS? Court is adjourned.

LJG & JAMMF, what a powerful, ambiguous, elegant scene. Tension is mounting, and this is when you crack open the Netflix & Chill'd ice cream bucket. It will come in handy, trust me.

The fireflies' scene was the death of me. There is something extraordinary about S's superb ability to speak volumes without uttering a single word. There is so much love and such despair to capture Bree's face, Bree's voice, Bree's alien joy when she mentions damn Mickey Mouse, and keep them forever. Did I ugly cry? I let out a sincere Fuuuuuck and couldn't help it. This is when the box of tissues came in handy, and you know, damn the consequences.

Dear (?) Diana Gabaldon: GET THAT WONDERFUL MAN THROUGH THE STONES, WHERE THERE'S PENICILLIN AND A HOT BATH AND A HIGHER AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY, STAT.

Yeah, sure. She missed that point five seasons ago, why do I even bother?

Spoiler: "What was it like.... there? It was.... magical". BOOO-HOOO-HOOO (I have no qualms).

Jeremiah's wooden toy plane in the streets of Wilmington and then the real thing across the sky, just after the little family gets through the stones. Clever reminder of that plane landing in Boston, with Claire, Bree and TMcG... ho-hum ... Frank Randall, after Culloden.

And finally, since I would really like to let you enjoy the wonderful last quarter of it, Jamie and Claire. That unspeakable tenderness that keeps us all completely spellbound. This is S&C acting, how could it be otherwise: and splendid, at that. But their acting, since that chemistry test, is informed by clear, present, deep feelings. We know. They know we know.

And they got their mojo back. I always hoped and prayed they will go out with a bang, not a fizzle. And it seems I was right. Fingers crossed. I trust them and, as always, I trust my gut.

#jottings

[callmerainman]

Wishing You Godspeed | Reigen Arataka x fem!Reader

fandom: Mob Psycho 100 by ONE

plot: you come back to Seasoning City after 3 years of working abroad. the night before your departure, you decide to call your ex-boyfriend Reigen Arataka to spend the night in one way or another.

word count: 1,3k

prompts: past relationship, exes, smut, making love, breaking up, angst, after sex, love talk, reuniting, kinda rough sex.

tw. explicit sexual content, minors DNI! 18+

Reigen mindlessly stirs the drink with his straw. He stares at the small vortex the motion created, then takes the cold lemon soda in his hand and takes a sip. He looks at you behind the glass, he catches you staring but he doesn't mind. You smile, calmly.

"Are you planning on staying?" he clicks his tongue on his palate before putting the drink down.

"I'll take the plane tomorrow morning" you reply, leaning towards him on the small table.

The bar was almost empty, and it was almost closing time. It was just the two of you.

"So you contacted me last minute" Reigen says.

He's not offended, or angry. It's just a statement. And he's also right, you intentionally called him last minute.

"I did, but I won't tell you the reason" you smile cunningly.

Reigen replies with a smirk of his own. He then stares at your lips as they envelope the edge of your glass of Moscow Mule. He feels his hands stinging. He had kissed those lips many times, he never forgot the feeling. It was such a unique and precise sensation that he never managed to find again in any other person he kissed after you two broke up. You had the chance to work in France and you couldn't refuse the opportunity of your whole life. Even if it meant breaking up with your boyfriend of 3 years Reigen Arataka. At first you weren't willing to leave him, but he was the one who insisted on letting him go and follow your lifetime dream of working abroad. What hurt the most was that there was nothing wrong in your relationship. You two loved each other so deeply, there was so much care. But maybe love just wasn't enough.

This is your first time coming back to Seasoning City after breaking up with him. It's been 3 years. During your time in France you both agreed to not text too much because otherwise it would be too difficult to move on. You only got in touch casually just to check up on each other, wishing happy holidays or birthdays or asking how work's going. You were really indecisive about asking him to meet up after your quick visit to the city, so you promptly decided to not tell him until the very last day. You didn't want to ruin the rest of the week for anybody.

"That's okay" Reigen says, leaning back on his chair "it's not like we're going to do anything, right?"

~~~

By the time you close the door behind you, Reigen has you already pinned against it. Your hands struggle to undo his belt, which drops on the floor with a clacking sound along with his grey suit pants. One of his hands is travelling up your tight, gripping it under your skirt. His face is just inches away from you, but you don't have time to kiss. You inebriate yourself with the feeling of his hot breath against your mouth. He lifts up your skirt, moves your panties to the side and thrusts into you so sweetly. You moan in response, gripping his clothed back. Reigen has now one hand fisted in your hair, and the other plunged into the soft flesh of your waist. His thrusts are determined, needy, each one banging on the door of his apartment.

"Fuck..." he pants "I love you so much..."

You just nod in response as you try to suffocate your desperate moans in his shoulder. You start repeating his name like a chant, just like you used to do. You wrap your leg more tightly around him, to open up a bit more. Your neck tickles as Reigen groans against it, his breathing becoming erratic as he holds you even closer. He feels so good inside you and your vision is becoming blurry. You happily let him tighten the grip on your hair, each one of his fingers curling and holding onto them as if it was a life or death situation.

Then, Reigen finishes. You come just a couple of seconds after, announcing it with a loud moan, a pull on his pink tie, and his name whispered under your breath as you throw your head backwards against the door. Reigen gently puts your leg down and then presses his forehead against yours as you both try to catch some hair. Then you take his face between your hands, make him look up just right into your eyes, and then you kiss him with all the energies you have left. It's a sloppy, uncoordinated kiss, but still full of the time you've lost as you feel his tongue against yours once again.

"If you really love me, stay with me tonight" you say.

~~~

It's getting so late. You and Reigen made love again, this time in his bedroom, only the lamp on his nightstand dimly lighting up your converging bodies. After Reigen collapsed on top of you, you held him close to your heart as you caressed the back of his head with slow strokes. Now he's lying on his back, one arm stretched behind his head and the other wrapped around your shoulders as you rest your head on his chest.

"Did you have sex with other women while I was gone?" you ask, but you're calm. You're not asking this with animosity.

Reigen doesn't seem surprised by the question "Yeah. Women, men..."

"Were they as good as me?"

"No, never"

"You can be honest"

"But I am honest. And did you have sex with anybody else?" he asks back.

"Yeah, occasionally"

"Were they as good as me?"

"No, I can assure you"

"Really?"

"I never fell in love anymore"

Reigen is caught by surprise by the change of subject. Your tone is serious, pensive.

"Not once?" his fingers start drawing circling motions around your shoulder.

"I tried to fall in love ...I really did. Because I wanted to. I wanted to feel what I'm feeling right now again, with someone else. But I just couldn't"

You look up, Reigen is pressing his lips together. He looks frustrated and in peace at the same time, it's absurd.

"Do you still love me, (Y/N)?"

"Of course I do. I'm still in love with you, even if I tried to forget you and I will keep trying" you answer.

"Well, I still love you too"

"I know, you said it to me while fucking me against the door"

Reigen sighs, embarrassed "Yeah, right"

You smile sheepishly "You're sweet"

"Mh mh"

You feel two of his fingers grazing your chin, before lifting it up and meeting your lips halfway with his mouth. It's a long, welcoming and warm kiss. When you separate, Reigen sighs in resignation.

"I tried to fall in love again too but I couldn't. Nothing feels remotely like this, even though I still hope to fall in love with someone else. I can't keep chasing you" he whispers.

You close your eyes "Arataka, turn off the light"

Reigen nods and reaches for the lamp switch, flipping it off. He can still see your features shining under the moonlight, and you take your time to admire him back. Then, you speak again.

"Tomorrow you'll wake up in an empty bed. And please, don't open your eyes. I want you to remember me naked and cuddled with you on this bed. I don't want you to see me drifting away from you again. Just know that in my lifetime I will try to go back to you as fast as I can, because I love you Arataka. But by the time I'm gone, please try to fall in love again, I'll do the same. We might need some time but please let's fall in love again with someone else because we deserve to feel this love again, even when we're apart"

Silently, Reigen nods. You could feel his uncertainty in the way he stopped breathing for a second.

"Okay, (Y/N). I promise"

You stayed up a couple of hours more, just talking, and kissing, and caressing your bare bodies under the moonlight spreading across the room. Then, you feel your eyes closing by themselves. You're really tired, and tomorrow you have to go. Time to go to bed now.

"Goodnight, Reigen. Hope to see you soon. I wish you Godspeed"

"Goodnight, (Y/N)"

«this love will keep us through blinding of the eyes»

#mob psycho 100 #mp100 #mp100 reigen #reader insert #reigen arataka #tumblr sexyman #writers on tumblr #x reader #fanfic #ao3 writer #smut #reigen arataka headcanons #reigen arataka x reader #reigen x reader #mob psycho reigen #female reader #reigen manga #Spotify

[chvoswxtch]

hi! i’m not sure if you write for requests?

if you do, would you mind writing frank castle x f!reader with fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue? i’m just exhausted at the moment and every single one of my chronic illnesses are kicking my butt rn. i’m finding great comfort in the punisher series on disney+ and in your writing (the softer side of frank especially!)

thank you!!! 💘

first of all I just wanted to say I am so sorry you are struggling with that. I can't imagine what you're going through right now. i'm sending you so much comfort and so many hugs and I hope you've been feeling a little better lately. it makes me incredibly happy to know that i've helped in some way.

I don't really have any personal experience with chronic illness but I did some research and I hope I got this right for you. thank you so much for your request. I hope this is what you wanted, and I hope it makes you feel better angel. all my love ❤️

this doesn't really have any warnings (unless you wanna count swearing) but if you're on dark mode, you may have trouble viewing this. i'm not sure if the glitch has been fixed, but I apologize for any inconvenience reading in advance! word count: 1.4k

i'd do anything for you.

Frank could tell something was wrong the second he stepped through the front door. If it weren’t for your car in the driveway, he wouldn’t have even been able to tell that you were home. Normally you were quick to greet him with a soft kiss and a beaming smile before he could even get his boots off. On the occasions you were too engrossed in whatever you were doing to hear him come in, he could still hear your faint humming or you shuffling around whatever room you were in. But right now, the entire house was silent and still, and panic began to rise like a looming tide.

Instinctively his hand flew to the handle of the gun that was tucked in the waistband of his jeans, making slow calculated steps around each room of the house as his eyes darted back and forth frantically searching for any sign of a threat or disturbance. The door to the bedroom was creaked open slightly, just enough for Frank to peek inside, and the sight before him sent a crack right through his heart. There you were, curled up tightly in a ball in the middle of the bed, clutching his pillow to your chest. Your brows were knit together in discomfort and your entire face was scrunched up in agony. Frank could see how the skin of your knuckles had gone white from gripping the pillow so hard. It hurt him to see you like this. Every time he did, he wished he could take it all from you and endure it himself. 

He pushed the door open slowly so it wouldn’t make any noise and kept his steps light as he made his way over towards the bed, carefully sitting down behind you. He delicately brushed his fingertips along your arm, cautiously leaning over you to get a better look at your face as he whispered.

“Bad today?”

You nodded your head so faintly, he wouldn’t have even seen it if he hadn’t been watching you closely. Less movement was best when the pain set in and spread through your bones with a vengeance. You had once described it to Frank as your entire body feeling like a searing, open wound. No matter how carefully you moved, it was like ripping it open all over again. The ache throbbed seemingly with every pump of blood through your veins. It made it hard for you to sleep. It was extremely difficult to get comfortable when you were in a constant state of pain, and the fatigue seemed to make the pain even worse. 

“How ‘bout a bath, honey? Hot water will help soothe those muscles, help ya relax a bit. Wanna give it a try?”

Frank did his best to ask yes or no questions when it was really bad like this. The less you had to think, or speak, the better. He kept his voice quiet and low, and tried not to talk too much. Frank had discovered it was helpful to get rid of anything that might overload your senses in your tender state. Too much light or lighting that was too bright bothered your eyes. Too many noises and loud volumes hurt your ears. Anything too bold in smell could implement a migraine. Every little thing was like a tiny pin prick to your nerves.

“Please.”

The way your voice broke nearly brought Frank to his knees. He wasn’t a religious man anymore, but he would’ve prayed to God until his knees bled if he thought it would help, or if he thought God would listen and allow him to trade places with you instead. He gave your shoulder the faintest of squeezes to let you know he heard you before he made his way into the bathroom. He turned the knob all the way over as far as it would go, knowing the sting of the scalding water would help alleviate some of the affliction you felt. He lit the candle on the counter and placed it at the front of the tub so he could keep the lights off. 

Steam hung thickly in the air once the tub was full. Droplets of sweat had already formed at Frank’s hairline, but he didn’t pay any mind to the heat. He peeled your clothes off as slowly and delicately as he could, gently scooping you up into his arms as he carried you into the bathroom. He lowered you down into the water carefully, a soft hiss leaving your lips as you adjusted to the temperature. Frank knelt down beside the tub, keeping a light hold of your hand as he eyed you.

“Feel okay?”

You nodded your head with a little more force this time, giving his large hand a gentle squeeze. 

“Feels really good.”

“Need anything?”

“Just you.”

“I’m right here, sweetheart. Ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

“Will you get in with me? Please?”

Frank lightly brushed his thumb over the back of your hand. He could see the pleading look in your eyes through the dim amber glow the candle cast over the bathroom. Normally he wouldn’t hesitate to join you, but your condition had him faltering.

“I don’t wanna hurt you, honey. Just want you to try and relax.”

“You won’t hurt me, I promise. I’d relax a lot more with you. Please?”

Frank couldn’t handle the exertion in your voice. He also hated denying you anything. In record time, he was completely undressed and settling into the tub behind you. A soft sigh left your lips when your head fell back against his chest, and he brought his hands up to tenderly rub at your shoulders to try and massage any lingering aches away.

“Is it too hot for you?”

“Don’t worry ‘bout me, sweetheart.”

“I want you to be comfortable too.”

“Baby, I spent years in a damn desert in full gear gettin’ shot at and nearly blown up. And I didn’t have a pretty girl to keep me company. Trust me, I’m comfortable.”

A quiet giggle escaped your lips, and that sent a surge of relief through Frank. Laughing was good. Laughing meant you were feeling better. Laughing meant he was actually doing something right. There were so many times Frank felt incredibly helpless when it came to your chronic illnesses, and he hated it. He loathed that feeling. Seeing the person you love in pain, completely exhausted, and not being able to do anything about it. Threats he could handle. He was trained to eliminate those. He’d give his life to protect you. But he couldn’t fight an invisible enemy. He couldn’t eliminate a threat he couldn’t see, or even touch. He couldn’t rescue you from your own body.

“Thank you.”

Frank dropped his head to rest his chin on your shoulder, still being careful with his movements as he pressed his cheek to yours and wrapped his arms around your waist.

“Don’t gotta thank me, you know that.”

“I want to. You always help me. You always know how to make me feel better. I know I ask a lot of you, and it isn’t-”

“Hey, don’t do that. I’m here ‘cause I wanna be, you got that? Don’t start that shit about bein’ a handful. If anyone’s the damn handful here, it’s me. You take care of me, and I take care of you. That’s how this works, yeah?”

A defeated sigh left your lips as you sank further into the relief of the water and Frank’s chest.

“Yeah. But I still appreciate everything you do for me that you don’t have to.”

“I’d do anything for you.”

Frank lightly brushed his nose along your cheek, holding you to his chest until quiet snores sounded from you. He smiled to himself when he realized you had fallen asleep. He didn’t want to risk moving you in case this was the only sleep you were gonna get tonight. He stayed there in the tub with you until the water went cold and the sun disappeared beneath the horizon. He would’ve held you there as long as you needed him to if it meant he could offer you a sliver of peace. He’d do anything for you.

#frank castle #frank castle x y/n #frank castle x you #frank castle x reader #frank castle x f!reader #frank castle x fem!reader #frank castle x female reader #frank castle fic #frank castle request #the punisher #the punisher fic #the punisher request