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bluebird722 · 3 months

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After a Long Day

Summary: After a long day of working, a little private and family time are all Jean needs.

Rating: T for nudity

Pairing: Jeankasa

Author's Note: So...I noted in "Beyond the Tree on That Hill" that I was not entirely pro-Jeankasa but liked to read fanfiction and look at fanart. Well...now it's become my OTP, especially factoring in his character development throughout the series! I definitely have more drabbles coming, but this one took only an hour to write.

At last, the day was over. No more paperwork, or catching up on current events. No more writing letters to schedule appointments with overseas officials, or reading up on politics. No more reflecting on past pilgrimages, or reading up on notes from his fellow ambassadors from their previous posts, for future meetings. It was time to call it a day.

After a nice, hot dinner with his family, Jean eagerly hurried to the bathroom blessed with indoor plumbing, turned on the phonograph, took off his clothes, and dipped himself into a hot bath. Leaning his head back over the edge of the tub, draping his arms over the smooth sides, and parting his legs helped him release the stress from his body. For some reason, he felt like he could breathe easier as though the hot water was like a sponge absorbing all the tension. He kept his eyes closed for two minutes, slid his head into the water, and pushed himself up to wipe his face.

He swung his legs side to side, alternating between hitting his knees or moving them together. Making himself relax was itself stressful, but the music really helped. He didn’t know the music or composer, just that the genre was called jazz, but he didn’t really care to know the details. It was just something he knew about because Nicolo had the music player at his restaurant and played jazz for private dinner parties. Jean ignored the chill over his wet skin and watched his bent legs move along to the music.

Knock, knock.

“Jean?”

Only two people would be forgiven for interrupting his private time. He smiled without looking up. “Yes?”

“May I come in?”

Jean pulled apart his legs again and struggled to not smile. “Yes, you may.”

Mikasa–his darling Mikasa, his beautiful wife of three years–walked into the bathroom and hurried to the sink. “How are you feeling? Better?”

“Much,” he sighed. He hung his head back again. “Care to join me?”

Mikasa huffed, though he barely heard it over the running sinkwater. “Maybe later.” After she dried her hands, she walked to the back of the tub and, to Jean’s surprise but overall delight, knelt behind him and wrapped her arms around him from behind. Jean moved his head to touch her shoulder and breathed in her sweet scent. “Better?”

“Much more,” Jean sighed. Her touch was like magic in healing him. She didn’t care that his wet hair was making her clothing wet. One hand drifted over his bare chest and stroked both sides of his collarbone. “I could stay like this forever.”

Mikasa kissed his cheek. “So could I.” She grabbed the shampoo bar and ran the square over his head. Jean tilted his head so she could lather the shampoo throughout every inch of his hair, including his nape and behind his ears. Jean remembered when they were first married, how they used to take baths together and wash each other’s hair out of the love they had for each other.

Now, he had an even greater reason to love her.

Mikasa took her time with his crown and temples, her fingers massaging his scalp and quick to prevent anything going into his ear. Jean stared at the phonograph playing music and closed his eyes with a smile. He needed to close every day, good and bad, like this. His wife moved her hand, tickled his throat, and snaked down his chest, ribcage, and abdomen to finger the small hairs under his abdomen.

Jean chuckled and slightly shivered at her gentle, ticklish touch. “That felt nice,” he said seductively. He received a kiss on the cheek and more tender strokes over the hairs around his more intimate region. Reluctantly, he pinched his nose and slid his head underwater one more time, where she helped him rinse the suds from his locks.

When Jean sat back up, Mikasa patted his hair dry and folded her hands over his heart. “Are you truly happy with your life, Jean?” she asked. “I know today was a stressful day for you.”

“I am,” he said, “but yes, I was ready to be done.” Jean lowered himself into the bath water and stared ahead. “It’s not that all this research is burning me out, but…” He closed his eyes. “I had no idea it would be so hard thinking of compromises when you’re meeting with two countries at war with each other. It seems like every time you come up with a good idea, it could jeopardize even part of the other country’s economy somehow, or it violates their law in another way.”

Mikasa pouted, something she rarely did unless she, too, could understand the challenge of avoiding catch-22s in peace negotiations. “I don’t know how to help, though,” she said.

“You are now,” he whispered, “by being here…but it would be nicer…if you took off your clothes and came in and let me love you up–”

She interrupted him with a kiss beside his eye but was giggling. She smoothed her hands down his arms to lace her fingers between his. He folded his arms so both pairs of hands were crossed over his chest and turned his head. She kissed him, first gently and then with more intensity.

Jean kissed back just as hard. He could never tire of kissing her. He kissed her even when she was sick. Every kiss was a promise that more would follow, in good and bad times. He freed his right hand from hers so he could cup her face and deepen the kiss. With her left, she pulled his face to hers, sucking on his lips like they were a juicy fruit. Jean wondered if she suspected how hard he was becoming and that a familiar tugging was growing between his legs.

A loud wail broke apart the couple and shifted them into parent mode. “She’s hungry,” said Mikasa. “I can tell.”

Jean chuckled. “Nine months in you, and you can tell when she’s too warm, too cold, or too tired. Heck, I still can’t believe you can be in a different room from her and know when she needs changing.”

Mikasa, chuckling, reluctantly stood up and left the bathroom. Jean had one minute to himself and the music, and then she returned with her blouse untucked and her baby girl at her breast. No matter what mood he was in, Jean never felt anything other than pure delight to see the one person he loved more than anything else in the world.

Mikasa hummed to baby Sasha for five minutes until she stopped eating, and propped her onto her shoulder to pat her back. Jean smiled watching Sasha turn her head and flex her fingers until she let out a soft belch. “Want to say hi to Papa?” Mikasa whispered. Immediately, Sasha lifted her head, and when she saw Papa, she held out her arms to the man in the bathtub.

Jean happily took her after Mikasa stripped off the baby’s clothes and diaper, and held her up so that her feet touched his chest. “Yes, baby,” he cooed, “even Papa needs bathtime, but not as often as you, because you soil and spit over your clothes every day.”

Sasha, who was already showing signs of her first teeth coming in, still stuck out her tongue between her gums in a smile, like she knew what he was saying. Jean lowered Sasha into the water up to her navel, and then back on her feet onto his chest. He kissed her cheeks and whispered how much he loved her that he didn’t even pay attention to his wife until he heard a splash. She had already disrobed and seated across from him in the tub, her bent legs together. Jean’s smile widen. “At last, you decided to come in.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes, blushing. “She did spit milk over my blouse, so I might as well.” She hugged her legs and watched Jean plant kisses to Sasha’s tiny stomach, the inside of her forearm, and the back of her hand. Watching a father give love to his child warmed Mikasa every time, but seeing the way Jean fussed over and dote on their little girl, their Sasha, made her want to cry in delight.

Normally, Sasha hated bathtime, but she happily splashed her hands into the surface and kicked water to her father’s shoulders. Jean noisily kissed her cheeks to increase her laughter and pulled her up and down into the bath. “We haven’t even had a whole year with you, Sasha,” he said, “but I think I know now the best way to make sure you don’t whine when it’s bathtime. Of course, your mama and I will find out how to make it easier when you’re a little older and more bratty, but we will still love you with all our hearts, and more than anything else in the world.”

Sasha giggled, but then her smile fell. Her eyes crinkled like she was ready to cry.

“She’s hungry again,” Mikasa easily detected. She reached for their baby and sat up to easily guide Sasha’s mouth without dipping her ear under the water. Every time Jean watched his wife nurse their daughter, he noticed that she herself made a face like she was on the verge of tears, like it was the most beautiful way to bond a mother and baby.

“Stay right there,” said Jean. “I’ll be right back.”

Mikasa watched him stand up from the tub (and always admired how fit and toned his naked body was), dry himself, wrap the towel around his waist, and leave the bathroom. He came back with his sketchbook and charcoal.

“Aren’t you–”

“It shouldn’t get wet,” he reassured her. “I’ll put it away when she starts kicking.” Jean quickly opened to a blank page and stole every detail he could, from the reflection of his wife’s knees in the water, to the curl of Sasha’s fingers, how Sasha’s cowlicks hid her face except the roundness of her cheek, and the adoration on Mikasa’s face when she studied her daughter.

Sasha finished before Jean was completely done, but he finished what he knew from memory as Mikasa patted her back. This time, after Sasha belched (and drooled out a little milk), she nuzzled her face into her mother’s neck and closed her eyes. Jean had enough space on his page to bring to life what he saw but did not want to commemorate with a camera.

Mikasa waited for Jean to finish to reluctantly stand up, dry herself one handedly with a towel, let her husband tuck it around her hips, and carry the baby back to her nursery. Jean used this opportunity to drain the lukewarm water and pour in clean water, with a scrubbing of soap for bubbles. When Mikasa came back, she discarded the towel and sat across from him again.

It seemed so long ago, Jean reflected, when he was first attracted to her with all of that long, beautiful black hair and was devastated when she agreed to cut it off. Now, her hair was longer, and he was even more in love with her now. She never tired of hearing him say, “Having Sasha made me fall even more in love with you. I didn’t know how much I could love you more than romantically until I watched you go through labor and give birth.” Of course, Jean had no idea how much he could love or give love until the very moment that Sasha was born. He could only attribute that to the warrior woman across from him, tired from breastfeeding but happy to resume time alone with her husband.

Jean kissed her knee and stroked the cap under it. “I’m always telling you how much I love you, how you and Sasha are the most important things in the world and in my life.”

“Yes.” When she reached forward to stroke his wet hair farther from his forehead, he kissed her skin.

“Well, you have no idea how important you two are to me, how you both make me feel after long, stressful days like today.” He kissed her knee again and decided to peck down her shin later that night in the comfort and protection of their bedsheets. “At the end of the day, I remember why I’m doing this and not letting your embroidery become our sole source of income–so that you and I can watch Sasha grow up healthy and happy, no threat to her life or future, and maybe give her little brothers and sisters, in a peaceful island.”

Jean leaned over Mikasa’s knees, put his hands on either side of her, and kissed her. “Then you and I can continue to live in peace, and we can grow old and pass the same, after a long, good life after everything.”

He noticed that her small smile grew wider. “That’s a future that I want to work for as well,” she agreed. “I would be happy to spend the rest of my life and my bed with you.” She put her hands on either side of his face to kiss him deeper; he gently put his hands on her arms. Jean didn’t know if they were going to make love later, either right there in the tub or within their sheets, but he did not want the night to end.

#jean kirschtein #jean kirstein #mikasa ackerman #jeankasa #mikasa x jean #jeanmika #mikajean #fanfiction #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin

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cleverthylacine · 2 years

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fiddleford and jazz for the ask game?

OK! Re Fiddleford - if you love Fiddleford, I'm sorry, because...

I don't.

First of all I spent the first 26 years of my life in West Virginia and Kentucky so when this was the "Appalachian" character in Gravity Falls in the first season, before we knew his history, I was completely fucking PISSED OFF about that. That's where "why do they look like that" comes from. Sure we have people that look like that but they're not the majority, and so does every other fucking place in the world.

Second of all, I still don't like him. I have a lot of sympathy for him with regard to having to put up with Bill but that's where it begins and where it ends. The rest of what we know of him is as follows:

He had some kind of relationship with Ford, quite likely romantic and certainly queer, but after they graduated he fucked off to the suburbs and got married to a woman who was taking care of him, because before big tech got big, in the 1970s, that's not what your house looked like if you were someone like him. People who aren't me don't all know how Earth worked in 1982 so I don't blame anyone who wasn’t even born then for thinking he'd already hit it rich on his own but no, someone had to be supporting him, and to those who say he got married and had Tate after he left Ford, I'm just going to say that Roe vs Wade was passed in 1973 and even if you were drunk enough to screw him after he gave himself brain damage, would you actually have a kid with him? Plus, who was paying for the house?

Second of all, he dumped her to go back to Ford and his kid hates him. In other words, he's a shitbag at handling his relationships. He was queer until graduation, married because it was the thing to do in the very early 70s I'm sure, almost certainly wasn't honest about his relationship with Ford, and abandoned his kid. He sent giant robots after his wife who divorced him, which he bloody well earned.

And then he started a conspiracy secret society to erase people's memories whether they wanted them erased or not.

I don't. like. Fiddleford. And I do NOT ship Fiddauthor. Honestly I always ship Ford with OCs because there's nobody in the canon but Jheselbraum who deserves him and (hahaha) Valiska Courinna, my OC, did most of the stuff that Jheselbraum did, in my RP and in my fic, before Journal 3 came out and I even knew about Jheselbraum's existence.

Sorry. I know some of my mutuals ship Fiddauthor really hard, so I usually keep my mouth shut about it as I believe that everyone has the right to ship what they want, but from a canonical perspective, I think both Fiddleford and this ship suck.

Jazz is cool, sexy, and funny. There's not enough of him anywhere. They should have spent more time on Jazz. Mirage is a bougie wannabe Jazz and not nearly as cool. I adore JazzWave as a sexy rivalry even though RavWave is my OTP (it's not like they're strictly monogamous LMAO) and if you've got far enough in Voice of Stanix to be past the point where Jazz shows up you probably already knew this. He is also very open and loving and I think he is almost certainly poly.

There are not a whole lot of Autobots I like all that much (compared to the number of Decepticons I fucking adore) but I love Jazz and I would bang the hell out of him if, you know, allowances could be made for size differential and the relative tolerances of flesh and metal. I feel like he would be really smooth and really good at it. He's just adorable and fun. And also an incredible special ops dude and good at assassination and sabotage but um, we all know that's what I like in a mech right?

#ask game #sorry fiddauthor friends #jazz #fiddleford mcgucket #jazzwave #ravwave #ravwavejazz

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magmacannon · 2 years

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OC ask meme lets go 16-20 and 31 & 32

YEEHAW let's do it... these are fun ones thank u

Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? Best biologist would be Yarrow if he actually focused on it because organic sciences come more easily to him, but also he might not be the best because his focus would be everywhere. Roman is the secondmost likely to do well at it because he's a giant nerd who lives for school and knowledge and just always does that with all his classes.

Any OC OTPs? oOO with my own guys not as much but me and my wife have a few... huge shoutout to the OGs Roman and Vince, still going strong quite literally 14 years now! (Of my own characters besides this I think I'm... forming an otp for two skyship captains... late-middle aged milf rivals is very tempting to me)

Any OC crackships? fjfhd GOOD question. I think Yarrow smash or passing every character I have is very funny as an idea, and maybe the funniest possibility is like. the absolutely world-ending relationships between the primal gods of my setting (the giant 200 mile centipede has the hots for the unknowably huge primal god of earth, go girls!!!)

Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why) Okay choosing one is hard but I've been thinking abt him a lot so it's time to talk abt Yarrow!! Yarrow was the first developed OC that I made that wasn't either Just Me but slightly different (i.e. Roman) or tied/inspired by some sort of media (FR, other games I'd played) and like... idk!!! He's very important to me because of that but because he was the first character that I sat down and purposefully made a detailed background for, and is still one of the few characters I have that is intensely bold and has hard edges to him. He represents overcoming obstacles to me and becoming genuinely good person because you want it even if you're not perfect or 100% successful all the time, and then applying that same grace to others. Also he's fun to get clothes designed for and can be a goofy guy on the side which means I have fun with him in serious and silly situations.

Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)? Of my developed OCs that I can think of off the top of my head, Roman and Yarrow and Sgositova can for SURE sing and do so enough that others would know about it. Roman's a tenor with the best overall vocal skill of the bunch (he can get very loud if he wants to and still sounds pretty good!), Yarrow's a high baritone who has evolved to be a little more smooth jazz than his original voice claims (somewhere in the slider between Michael Buble and Frank Sinatra), and Tova's the worst singer technically with the most gusto and she's a husky-voiced alto (sea shanties will do that). OCs that can sing decently but don't do it often are Rho (higher alto than Tova, could sing lounge jazz if she wasn't shy) and Leynth (tenor as well, beautiful voice but has trouble with breath support and holding a note without accompaniment).

Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really) Gonna pick someone I haven't mentioned as much it's time for Grey because I think his blog would be objectively funny. Grey's blog is aesthetic black and white photos of modern architecture, grandiose party aesthetics, jewelry and suits (with links to buy them that were either there or he added on his own), and advertisements for his own business products (assuming they existed). He'd tag things with a three digit code depending on type and would have everything queued and genuinely it'd be hard to determine whether his account was a personal or company account until one day he posts something notably horny or extremely emotional and then quickly covers it up with about 80 reblogs.

Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? Roman.............................................................. just because he'd be a miserable little bastard who's nearly crying and says "who's there????" at every noise. Special mention to Dehiscence for being the monster in a horror game tho they'd do well.

#ty so much for the ask!!! I'm gonna get to the rest of them tomorrow hehe #c: Roman #C: dehiscence #c: yarrow #c: sgositova #c: leynth #c: rho #c: grey

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magicshopaholic · 7 months

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Ooojhh 56 and 60 😳😳👍👍

Since there’s no pairings mentioned here, I’ll do it for all the ones that are actually couples, so Namjoon, Taehyung, Jungkook and - since they did date once - Jimin.

56. What do they do turn the other on/put them in the mood?

Namjoon x Kaya: For Namjoon, anything visual - so a sexy dress, anything showing off curves, lingerie. For Kaya, dirty talk, teasing murmurs, promises of what will happen once they get home.

Taehyung x Dilara: For Taehyung, smooth jazz or subtle jealousy (he’d get off on being made a little jealous, if done right). For Dilara, silent eye-fucking from across the room, straightforward dirty texts, and (sometimes) a mildly heated argument. For both, the possibility of someone walking in on them.

Jungkook x Lia: For Jungkook, lingerie would work best, and a sweaty and glowy look after a work-out. For Lia, again a visual person - skin show, either him just roaming around the apartment shirtless or definitely after a shower or a work-out with muscles freshly rippling.

Jimin x Sooah: For Jimin - would like to be teased, gentle touching and caressing, flashes of skin or sexy underwear under a skirt. For Sooah - playful, flirty banter, or desperate, in-the-moment foreplay and sex.

60. Who pulls the other closer when they’re sleeping?

Namjoon x Kaya: Namjoon, 100%. Would pull her back into his chest, even in his sleep, and would stir sleepily if he couldn’t feel her.

Taehyung x Dilara: Taehyung when they’re going to sleep, Dilara when they’re actually asleep.

Jungkook x Lia: Neither for the most part, but Jungkook would sometimes stir awake midway, pull her closer, and go back to sleep.

Jimin x Sooah: Sooah, with some resistance from Jimin until she gives up, after which he would eventually pull her back.

Asks for OTPs

#LOVED these #notes🍷#namjoon x kaya #taehyung x dilara #jimin x Sooah #Jungkook x Lia #ask game #OCs of the idolverse

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groovycat18 · 7 years

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Smooth Jazz for the ship meme.

10= OTP I would fight to the death for this ship!

Dr. Teeth/Zoot will always be my favorite Muppet ship! Like, they’re opposites personality-wise but they’d be so good together!

#muppets #the muppets #muppet ships #otp #OTP: Smooth Jazz #dr. teeth/zoot #dr teeth/zoot

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vodid · 6 years

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Look at that award-winning smile

#transformers #fanart #autobot #prowl #jazz #otp #ship #g1 #was done when i went from manga studio 5 to clip studio paint #messed around with a few new tools #as you can see the pencil isnt smooth #i love it #slightly older post #unedited version #instagram is usually edited so that they match my stupid laptop screen #vart

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soulsoffairlight · 3 months

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Teeth: *showing zoot his synthesizer* well ill let you in on a little secret of the trade cakes

Zoot: huh

Teeth: we have MAGIC you can only obtainify if another keyboardist touches you

Zoot: ...what?

Teeth: BOOP

Zoot: ...

Teeth: try it now baby

Zoot: *holds down a key tentatively*

*Keyboard starts playing the chord notes in sequence up and down*

Zoot: ....wait you're serious?

Teeth: Yep! Hehehe

Zoot: ....that's crazy!

*Teeth had the arpeggiator on the synth*

*zoot has no idea of the existence of arpeggiators*

#teeth x zoot #otp: smooth jazz #mud yaps #the muppets #muppet fandom #dr teeth and the electric mayhem #muppet mayhem #shitpost #zoot muppets #dr. teeth muppet #dr. teeth x zoot

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aondaneedles · 3 years

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Don lothario ❤️🎵🍕🐶📚🎓

❤️: OTP

Ugh, that one's hard. I don't see him with any person, in particular, just a very lonely man who's looking for a string of women to keep him busy. He's bitten off more than he can chew with Cassandra, but that is precisely why they don't work out in the end. He's not the type of man who rises above his insecurities, but who runs from them. So... No OTP, just angst.

🎵: Music they listen to

Smooth jazz. Someone told him it makes him seem cultured once (it may have been a joke).

🍕: Pizza Topping

Spinach. Hear me out: it's delicious. And healthy-ish. And he's a doctor (man, no I want a spinach pizza)

🐶: Pet or favorite Animal

He'll say wolf if you ask him, but he's had a soft spot for cats ever since he was young and his next-door neighbour had this old, stinky, three-legged and one-eyed cat. He loved her and was deeply upset when she eventually died.

📚: Books they like to read

He unironically read pick-up guides at one point in his life (and he's decent enough to be ashamed about it in hindsight). Nowadays, he mostly reads medical journals.

🎓: University they attended (or not)

He's an SSU guy.

#sims #sims 2 #ask #anon #meme

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nightmaremp · 4 months

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You look lonely

Reference:

#the muppets #dr teeth and the electric mayhem #dr teeth #zoot muppet #otp: smooth jazz

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autumnwander · 1 year

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#the muppets #dr teeth x zoot #dr teeth/zoot #otp: smooth jazz #dr teeth #zoot

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alwaysmychoices · 2 years

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I think the asks link is the wrong one soo...choosing randomly 15 and 27?😊

lol, I checked and it is. Just fixed it.

This is the correct link -> Asks For Your OTP

15. Do they like the same music?

No, not even a little. They can agree about jazz and attending the opera, but other than that, no agreement. They can tolerate the other's music, but if they're working and want to listen to something, it's either something in their safe zone (which is only smooth jazz, to be honest) or they have headphones in. Charlie enjoys pop music, folk, maybe even a touch of country if she's feeling nostalgic and Ethan has the "refined palate" of someone who has never heard "Call Me Maybe" and wants to keep it that way.

27. How do they feel about Valentine’s day?

Honestly, neither particularly cares. The first few years, they made an effort to have a big Valentine's Day, but really, they're more invested in their anniversary. More Valentine's Days have ended working at the hospital or watching a movie with a bottle wine than an extravagant celebration.

Ethan loves giving Valentine's Day gifts though - largely because he knows Charlie can't complain if he gives her something ridiculously lavish or endearingly sentimental. One year, he paid off her student loans, and after thanking him and telling him she couldn't accept (which he ignored), she spent weeks complaining that she'd only gotten him a bottle of Scotch.

#asks #asks otp

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lady-of-skyhold · 4 years

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I Don’t Know What To Do With My Hands. - A CloTi Fan Fic

My first fic in a long time. What better way to get back into the swing of things than with Cloud x Tifa. My OTP. c:

- 10.5k words. Rated M. Completed.

NSFW Chapters on AO3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A strip club.

Could Zack be more of a cliché?!

The neon sign baring the name “Seventh Heaven” burned so brightly that Cloud swore he could read it through his eyelids, a headache already beginning to stir.

“Oh, don’t look like that, Cloud. It’s not that bad! It’s way more respectable than that Corneo’s gig.”

Cloud refrained from pointing out that Corneo’s place wasn’t exactly hard to beat – in entertainment value or health and safety standards. Regardless, he took notice of Zack’s enthusiasm about the club and with a sigh, pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Let’s get this over with then.”

The grin on Zack’s face was infectious even to the blonde ex-SOLDIER, a gleam in his eyes the only outward sign of amusement, but to Zack it was all the encouragement he needed. Zack laughed, clapped his hands together and strode right behind him, hands placed on Cloud’s shoulders as he ushered him off of the city street and through the door, giddy with excitement.

“Atta boy! You won’t regret this, I promise. Once we get a few Cosmo Canyons in ya, you’ll be a new man! Come on, the others are already inside.” Cloud shook his head, unsure how his introverted self ever became friends with the living definition of “extrovert” that was Zack Fair and also dreading to think what a “Cosmo Canyon” even entailed. But it was Zack’s bachelor party on the eve of his wedding to Aerith, and if this is where he chose to celebrate it then Cloud would at least try not to hate it. He’d really try.

They walked into the establishment together, Cloud with his eyes fixed on his feet and Zack strutting as if he owned the place. The quiet blonde braced for jarring club music, but it never came. Instead smooth, sultry jazz emanated from a live band playing on a stage nestled in the far corner of the room. Red curtains, faint cigar smoke and soft low lighting surrounded him.

It certainly was no Honeybee Inn.

Small round tables littered the area before the stage, candles flickering at each one. Some patrons filled these tables simply enjoying the music and a drink, their fingers drumming on the table matching the tempo of the band. Others sat in booths set to the side of the room, a bottle of champagne in a chilled bucket on the table and a beautiful woman at their side or - those Cloud quickly glanced away from - on their lap, wrapped in nothing but fine lingerie and a sheer robe.

Similarly dressed woman floated past the two ex-SOLDIER’s as they headed for the bar, their robes open to expose the lingerie beneath and flowing behind them gracefully as they slipped past, hips swaying wide to the accompaniment of the double bass that Cloud could feel in his chest, even stood as far as he was from the band on their stage. Multiple women greeted Zack by name as they passed which said to Cloud his friend had frequented Seventh Heaven more than he let on. Zack simply shrugged good naturedly.

“Aerith’s friend runs this place, we drop off flowers every once and a while.”

He gave a small nod and spotted another woman approaching, growing nervous Cloud darted his eyes around to settle them somewhere not involving bare skin before choosing to stare at a spot on the floor where plush carpet met the dark stained wood of a dance floor. Zack felt Cloud’s shoulders tense and gave them a small squeeze while directing him towards the bar. He grounded himself in the security of his friend’s grip on his shoulder, the man literally having his back, and let his shoulders drop from up near his ears.

“Relax, man. It’s gonna be a good night. Have I ever led you astray before?” Cloud was tempted to throw a dirty look over his shoulder at him, remembering that time Zack convinced him it was a great idea to cast Fira on a camp fire during basic training. His eyebrows had never grown the same since that day.

It was a hell of a campfire though.

As the pair drew closer to the bar, they spotted the rest of their party. Barret, an unmissable giant of a man, occupied a large portion of the bar himself. He was stood gesticulating wildly as he told whoever was working behind the bar a story of his glory days as a freedom fighter, no doubt. An older man sat hunched over in his bar stool beside Barret, his elbows propped up on the bar as he sipped a whiskey, definitely Cid. And a tall, thin man sat at the very edge of the bar where it curved to meet with the wall. His back rested against said wall as he surveyed the room, from body language alone Cloud knew it to be Vincent; never one to drop his guard, Cloud revelled in the fact someone else would be watching his back.

Vincent noticed the two ex-SOLDIER’s approaching and tapped on the bar to catch the rest of the party’s attention, whom all turned and raised a glass to herald in the man of the hour, it really was a rag tag group of friends to celebrate with but Zack couldn’t have been happier to see them.

“You finally made it! Was beginning to think you’d done a runner. And I was just contemplating which kneecap I was gonna break first, for Aerith’s sake.”

Zack barked a loud laugh, and slapped Barret on the back.

“You’d have to have caught me first!” They bantered, Zack pretending to jab the much larger man in the ribs as Barret took him in a headlock and messed the raven spikes atop Zack’s head with his prosthesis.

Cloud took special notice of how easily Zack bounced off of other people, allowing a small pang of envy at his friend’s confidence before pushing it aside to enjoy his night.

Their friends parted to make room around the bar, Cloud pulling himself up onto a barstool and settling slightly self-consciously, nodding in greeting to the others before picking imaginary dust off his jeans as Zack made conversation with the bartender.

"Teef, my girl! Have no fear, your VIP is here" Zack took a small, half-bow from his seat and beamed his classic charming grin at the barkeep.

"I can see that. Good to see you, pup! What can I get for you tonight?”

A wholly feminine voice spoke up and dragged Cloud’s attention from his lap to behind the bar. The first thing he noticed was silk. Smooth, black silk.

Smooth, black, dangerous, silk.

The woman behind the bar stood wrapped in a short kimono-styled robe that caught the light as she shuffled her weight from each foot, taking in Zack’s round of drinks he bought for his party. The second thing he noticed was her hair; Cloud really wasn’t sure where her hair ended and her robe began. So similar was the sleek shine of the long, dark tresses to that of her silken robe. Despite the ribbon tied tight around her waist – Cloud paying extra attention to the way it created a dramatic curve of her silhouette- the sleek material was pulled taut and extra shiny across the fullness of her chest, trying desperately to conceal her enormous…

Wine coloured eyes filled his focus as he snapped his eyes away from dangerous territory, thankfully her eyes still focused on Zack. A blush blazed hot across Cloud’s nose. He desperately tried to look anywhere but the tempting valley of flesh that disappeared beneath the neckline of her robe and safely dropped his eyes to his lap, wishing to be back in his comfort zone, far away from jazz and alcohol and silk.

Alas, a quick elbow to his side brought him back to the uncomfortable present and Cloud met Zack’s gaze, a dark eyebrow raised as he looked at Cloud in question.

“What drink do you want, dude?” Cloud opened and closed his mouth several times, unsure of what to order, or what to say. Zack had many dealings with Cloud’s shy, quiet way of communication but never had he seen him entirely struck dumb before.

“Urm, he’ll just have what I’m having.”

“Coming right up.” She answered Zack.

Cloud once more dropped his head, content to listen to his friends chatter around him. He was too preoccupied staring a hole into the bar floor to notice his closest friend tilt his head to one side like a curious dog, and narrow his eyes as he examined him.

Too deep into his thoughts, Cloud was oblivious to his audience as his eyes drifted up from the floor ever so slowly to settle on Tifa’s back while she got to work preparing drinks on the other side of the bar.

Although the silk gave no hint of what lingerie lay beneath - such as the sheer robes the dancers wore - from this angle, anyone sat at the bar could see the outline of suspenders clipped onto stockings just out of sight beneath the hem of Tifa’s robe. A dark line ran down the centre of her stockings, the entire length of her leg, and Zack watched as his younger friend’s eyes followed, marvelling at the length and strength of each leg, topped off with black stiletto heels with red bottoms.

In all the years of their friendship, Zack had never witnessed Cloud take interest in a girl before. Suddenly, his friend’s new found muteness made sense and an idea began to form in his cunning mind.

Without turning his head from Cloud’s direction, Zack spoke.

“Hey, Teef? Have you still never danced yet?”

“No, I'm just a bartender Zack.” Her modest answer floated across the bar as Tifa continued making drinks with her back to the party.

“Would you consider a private?”

“Remember you're marrying a friend of mine tomorrow, Pup.” She laughed.

“Oh, it’s not for me. It’s for him.” Cloud’s head whipped round to catch Zack’s knowing smirk before Tifa turned to face them.

“Zack, what are you up to?” Tifa placed her palms down on the bar and cocked one hip. Eyebrow raised in question.

“Well, y’know, I was just thinking. Doesn’t Johnny like to stop by around this time?” Tifa showed only a small amount of panic as her eyes flickered to an old clock hanging on the wall behind Zack’s head, he was right. Within the next 10 minutes Johnny would surely arrive to begin his nightly routine of flirting – borderline harassing- Tifa until the end of her shift.

“Your point being?”

“Well, my buddy Cloud here gets a little overwhelmed with crowds, and I feel bad for dragging him way outta his comfort zone for my big night. Why not take care of 2 birds with one stone. You both get to hide in a private room until the coast is clear and my friend here has settled into the night. I know you'll take good care of him.”

Tifa turned to look at Cloud who refused to make eye contact and had one hand nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“I don't know, Zack.”

“I’ll pay double what you’d make out here on bar. No Johnny, no pressure to dance - just serve some drinks to this poor Chocobo head and make my bachelor party a little easier for him, huh?”

Cloud was expecting a polite decline, maybe a “Thanks, but no thanks” after he felt those red eyes of hers take note of his nervous fidgeting, and yet -

“Alright, I’ll do it.” Cold sharp nervousness spread from Cloud’s stomach and sent a shiver up his spine, his eyes zipping between his friend and the barmaid incredulously.

That was unexpected.

“Excellent! You’re an angel, Teef!” Zack slapped a hand on Cloud’s shoulder and gave him a wink, Cloud gaped.

“I know.” She said cheerily and finished preparing the drinks Zack ordered, setting them down in front of each of them. A Bloody Mary sat in front of Vincent, another whisky for Cid, a surprisingly fruity smelling and colourful cocktail sat in front of Barret and two shots were placed before Zack and Cloud.

Stepping out from behind the bar, Tifa turned towards Cloud and gestured for him to follow. She offered him a warm and friendly smile that lit up her entire face, a smile which made Cloud’s Adam’s apple bob on a visible -and almost audible- gulp.

Zack picked up his shot and placed Cloud’s in his hand.

“Hey, do me a favour, enjoy yourself.”

Looking nervously at his shot, Cloud clinked it against his friend’s glass; downing the shot in one go, both grimacing at the burn of alcohol and the following shiver that racked through their bodies.

Cloud took one last deep inhale, pushed himself off of his barstool and followed that dangerous silk further and further away from his comfort zone without daring to look back.

“He’s a goner.” Spoke Vincent, quietly.

“Oh yeah.” Remarked Zack, as he giggled at his smitten friend following the barmaid like a lovesick puppy dog.

#cloti #Cloud x tifa #tifa x cloud #zerith #zack x aerith #Yuffientine #If you squint #FFVII #FFVIIR #Fanfic #My writing

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