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avengerscompound · 3 years

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It’s You and Me - Chapter 8

It’s You and Me: A Hawkeye Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing: Clint Barton x F!Reader

Word Count: 1724

Rating: E

Warnings: Mentions of past abuse

Synopsis: You and Clint Barton go way back. Since you joined the circus as a child, he took it upon himself to keep you away from the people who really wanted to hurt you. For years the two of you danced a line between dark and light.

When he chooses light the two of you go your separate ways.

Fifteen years later he tracks you down. Those feelings the two of you shared never went away, but now he is not only an Avengers but a single father. Can the two of you make it work after all this time when your lives have gone in such different directions?

A series told in flashbacks and current day.

Chapter 9: Then

“Welcome to the ring, the man who can’t miss - Hawkeye!”

The crowd cheered and Clint cantered his horse out into the ring, he climbed up, so he was standing and waved to the crowd as he did a lap.

“And the girl he can’t seem to hit, Sugar Snap!”

You rode out, first flipping off the front of your horse and then back on again, before bringing your horse up beside his, so the two of you were riding, standing up, side-by-side. “Ready?” Clint said.

“Always,” you replied.

You sat back down and spurred the horse on. As you took the lead on Clint, you collected your bow and an arrow from one of the clowns standing at the side of the ring. Clint did the same as he passed them and watched as you got into the handstand position on your moving horse. The crowd went deadly silent as you knocked your arrow with your feet, Clint got into the same position. You loosed the arrow as you passed the target, hitting it dead center. The crowd erupted in applause but before it even reached its peak, Clint loosed his arrow with his feet and it hit yours, splitting the shaft right down the middle.

The crowd went berserk. You and Clint, both vaulted off your horses and landed side by side in the middle of the ring, your arms raised. You bowed together, first to one side of the crowd and then the other, soaking in the applause.

You were 18 now, and the act was flawless. The ringmaster always had you opening these days, and it had been a long time since anyone had approached either of you about doing any of their criminal dealings. There had been an incident a year back where Clint had discovered Jacques with a load of stolen money and when he’d gone to turn the swordsman in, Jacques attempted to kill him. Clint had ended up with two broken legs, and his brother Barney had left the circus to go to college to get away from everything the circus was not long after that. He had asked Clint to go with him, but Clint had been so high on this rush of what he could only call fame, that there was no way he could let it go now.

Besides, he had Eden and he knew that if he left the circus it would mean leaving her too and he was not willing to do that.

Some of the clowns brought the rest of the equipment in and Clint put his quiver on his back and grabbed his bow. The next part of the act was about precision archery, acrobatics, perfect timing, and making sure he selected the correct arrow for each shot.

He turned and aimed an arrow so it looked as if it was aiming at you, but was in fact aiming at a small target stuck to one of the tent poles just next to the audience. Close enough that they could all see how he hit the target and that it would feel like they were at risk, but not so close that there was in any risk at all.

You ran backward and did a backflip, just as you launched yourself up off the ground, Clint loosed the arrow and it sailed under you, hitting the center of the target with a thud as you landed back on your feet. You began to run around the outside of the arena, and he loosed arrow after arrow in front of you, and you flipped over each one again and again, to the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ of the crowd while each arrow hit the target perfectly.

When you reached the target board, Clint changed the arrows. He began to loose them so each hit about a foot apart and a foot higher than the last, forming steps up the board. You climbed them as they hit, so it appeared as if you were stepping into the air and he was catching you with the arrows. When you reached the high wire platform above, Clint moved into a different routine.

He hit moving targets, including pinning three small targets that swung down from three different directions and pinning them together with one arrow. He hit targets while he was flipping from one platform to another. All the while soaking in the attention from the crowd. Above him, you were getting into a harness that would only be visible to the keenest of eyes.

When you were secure, you began dropping things on him. He started by quickly loosing arrows, sometimes three or four at a time, and pinning each item you dropped to a different target around the tent. Then he switched, dropping his bow and arrow and picking up a sword, as each item fell from above he sliced it in half.

A few of the clowns came out with big trench coats on and carrying umbrellas. You began dropping water balloons on them and while everyone was distracted, Clint put on his special trenchcoat and hat. It was the one designed for the finale of the routine. It had a locking mechanism in the arm that allowed him to catch you on the blade of a sword without his arm jerking on impact.

A huge bag of confetti dropped and exploded, queuing the clowns to scatter. You dropped a few more things down on him, letting Clint use his left arm to slice them in two, to show the crowd that the sword was real and not blunt.

Then you jumped. You spun in the air, corkscrewing down toward him, he brandished his sword, and when you hit the springboard, you jumped up and flipped. Clint switched hands and lunged forward, the elbow mechanism locking in place so the flat of the blade was facing up. You landed on it, sending a shock through his arm. Everyone clapped and you curtsied while standing on the blade. Clint moved to grab you in a large over-exaggerated way and you backflipped catching the brim of his hate with your toe and flipping it off his head. You landed and ran forward, catching the hat on your head.

The crowd erupted, everyone getting to their feet and cheering for you both. You helped Clint off with his coat and both of you bowed as your horses cantered back into the ring. You each ran to your horse and vaulted onto it’s back, taking a lap. Maynard entered the ring with his whip and took his spot on a podium in the middle as the clowns rushed in and cleaned up. “Let’s hear it again, for Hawkeye and Sugar Snap!’

The crowd applauded more and Clint followed you out of the ring. “And now, our very own Garden of Eden!” Maynard called, and Eden ran out past Clint, winking as she passed him.

Clint got off his horse and rolled his shoulders as you approached him. “I think I need to work on that first jump. I felt that arrow,” you said.

“You always say that, and I always tell you it’s in your head,” Clint teased. He walked over to the lip of the curtain and looked out at Eden as she did her contortion act. You stepped up beside him.

“Just before I came out, Jacques approached her and said something about some art job,” you said.

Clint bristled. He’d been hearing rumors about an art job for the past few days. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, mostly because he just tried to steer clear of all of that. There had definitely been a meeting with some art guy and the Ringmaster. Clint had remembered seeing the bald man with his black turtleneck and rectangular framed glasses talking to Tiboldt about the circus performers coming to some art museum as part of a charity gig. “She’s probably going to be part of that charity gig.”

You shrugged. “Yeah, maybe.”

Clint turned and looked at you. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Nothing,” you said, though he wasn’t convinced.

Clint had managed to get you to legal age without any more explicit photos being taken, but he knew Jacques still had a habit of sniffing around you. Barely legal wasn’t as good as illegal, but it would still make him money, and you had other things to offer now. The ability to parkour was a huge advantage to them, and you were very good with a blade. Clint knew that while the act was as good as it was, Jacques couldn’t threaten to have you kicked out, but he could offer you things and Clint wasn’t totally sure if you would always say no. Not if it was something like breaking and entering, and if this was some scam being organized by Tiboldt, then he was the boss, and if he said jump, you jumped.

“Sugar?” Clint pressed.

You huffed. “Wanted me to help him break in and help them steal some art. Said Tiboldt wanted everyone on the job.”

“Sugar!” Clint yelped.

“I said no!” You said. “Who wants a bunch of dusty old paintings anyway?”

“You think he’s trying to recruit Eden?” Clint asked.

You shrugged again. “Probably. Or Tiboldt already has and he was just passing on a message.”

Clint sighed, he wanted to believe that she wouldn’t be involved in anything like that, but love and trust were not things that were linked very strongly for him. “She wouldn't, would she?” He asked.

You shrugged again. “I dunno, Clint. You know her better than me. I do know that just about everyone else here would.”

He shook his head and stepped away from the curtain. “I’m gonna take a shower. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You nodded and didn’t say anything. Just as he moved away he looked back at you. “Hey… thanks… you know…? For letting me know.”

You nodded and folded your hands over your chest. “Anytime, Clint. You know that. It’s me and you.”

Clint wasn’t so sure about that. He’d believed it before about other people who had let him down. But as he sized you up, he thought maybe of all the people in this circus he was supposed to think of as family, you might be the one that fit the description best.

// NEXT

#clint barton #clint barton x reader #hawkeye #hawkeye fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #reader insert #it's you and me

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oooooocheshirecuntoooooo · 3 years

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In the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere ..... Oh the adventures we had with a hooker. All. Night. Long. 😂

It involves me, my husband, our 18 & 3 year old daughters, a cop and the hooker ... oh and a store clerk and her son. And for real. All night from like 12:30am to 7 am. And now I am home, but without the van and three of the kids didn’t make it home with us.

The following story is absolutely, 100% true. Although it’s not the kind of exciting you’re used to hearing from me, it’s still pretty bizarre. 😂

Just to give a little back story to help paint a clear picture .... So, we always go to my in laws for Christmas but we usually only stay maybe 3-6 days or so depending on how things fall together. This year we decided to stay through New Years because of some drama back at our home. My mother lives on our property and is mentally ill, and we’re pretty sure dementia is setting in. She’s never been an easy person to be around and we have always fought constantly but I have tried to take care of her anyway because she’s the only mom I’ve got, ya know? The last couple years though she’s gotten a lot more aggressive. In July she assaulted her doctor over the mask requirement and even had to go to court over it. Then in august she assaulted me, tried to choke me to death in my own home and in front of my kids. Of course I over powered her and forcefully pushed her out of my house, so yes she sustained bruises and such from that but that’s the extent of it. (She told all of Facebook in a public post that I beat her up every day and that kind of thing. She posts almost every day that she’s being abused, etc. Shes called the police at least 4times in three months. She tried to accuse me of elder abuse and even said I neglect and abuse my kids. Four times they have come out and investigated and not only said they see no signs of child or elder abuse, or anything to backup her claims. They talked to the kids and quickly agreed they were all fine too.

So fast forward to Christmas Eve. We were trying to load up the van to leave for our trip. We couldn’t hardly get it done because she was hounding us so much. When we were done I sent the kids to the car while hubby and I grabbed the last few bags. I blinked and she was charging toward the kids and yelling things at them like “you’re going to be a whore like your mom when you grow up. You wanna suck dick for a living?” And “I hope you die slowly and are alone and afraid for hours before you die.” The oldest child there that day was 12. And no, I’ve never worked in prostitution before. She began to charge toward me when I yelled at her to get away from the kids. Hubby told her to go back in her house and she wouldn’t. Kept coming toward us. So he pulled out his pistol, didn’t cock it or anything, and said again to go back in her house. So she called the police again .... 🙄

So we stayed longer trying to talk to the family lawyer and get a game plan. We’re following through with pressing assault charges so I can get a restraining order, and we’re filing for eviction. So we got all packed and ready to go and noticed liquid under the van. The power steering pump went out and the line busted all over everything. So that set us back another couple of days but we got the line and the pump replaced and tested everything and it looked good. It was late but we decided to set out anyway. We knew we’d get in late but the advantage to that was my crazy mother would be asleep and we could at least get in and unload the van in peace.

About 12:30 the battery light came on and we weren’t near ANYTHING. Somehow we made it another 20 miles or so until we got to a small town we’ve never stopped in before. We stopped at a gas station and barely got in the lot when it died. Hubby tinkered with some things and it looks like the alternator. Apparently some power steering fluid got in it when it busted but we couldn’t see that at the time, including the mechanic neighbor friend helping with it.

So we’re an hour and a half from home and totally stranded in the middle of the night with, thankfully, only two of our kids - the 18 & 3 year old. We make the calls for roadside assistance and I begin calling everyone I know that might can come help us. It’s freezing and none of us packed coats because it’s not usually this cold down here this early in winter. Hubby was wearing shorts even. So we take turns going in the store and sitting in the van with our things - there’s a large fully loaded cargo bag on the roof and a bike rack with two bikes on the back. Figured if we left it alone for a long time those things at least would disappear, essentially given the atmosphere of the place.

In all the moving around and the cashier asking questions and getting to know us and the situation we were in, this big eyed, buck toothed, scraggly little older, black lady who looked like she hasn’t bathed in years starts talking to hubby about what’s wrong with the van. He goes back to tinker with it often hoping he’s wrong about the alternator or that he missed a loose connection - anything that might help us get out of here l, if not home. I am watching cars like a hawk because you wouldn’t believe how many would pull in, loop the parking lot while staring at us and leave again. It started feeling like sharks circling and a feeding frenzy building up. So I’m on edge and I make sure the pistol is within reach at all times. So this little trashy lady keeps talking to him about the mechanics and trying to troubleshoot it. Lemme pain a more accurate picture: this spun out little crack whore was chasing the dragon, looking for it inside the oil reserve, the transmission fluid ..... she keeps pulling out the dipsticks, shaking them like a Polaroid picture and slinging fluids everywhere and then says “I think it’s your starter.”

No doubt she’s trying to hustle some cash and once even asked for some gas money when’s we see the car she rode in pull away and leave her there. She said it was her brother. After awhile, hubby has had enough. He’s usually pretty patient with people who are too fucked up to reach reality but this isn’t the time for all that. Not only is she a hindrance, she keeps snatching his tools and once even his phone out of his hands. I was in the car and I heard him yell “carry your ass already!” If he’s talking to even an annoying stranger like that, I know shit is hitting the fan. Me? I’m Irish. I would’ve done popped off at her which is why I was avoiding her completely. So I got out and joined him and started yelling at her to fuck off. She will take a few steps away and come back but she does finally go all the way back in the store, both of us cussing her the whole way. I blink and she back in his face again. She keeps saying random shit like “anything you can do I can do better” and “I helped you and you just turn me away. That’s not what the Bible says” and “God got me. I don’t need you. I pray for you”

I’m beyond pissed. I’m cold —- and I loath being cold — and I’m tired, it’s now like 2:30 or 3, I’m feeling vulnerable just by being broke down and especially with the toddler who can’t do anything to protect herself or understand what’s going on and who is extremely sensitive to any type of anger or tension (she cries hysterically when her siblings tickle fight or pillow fight and are laughing) and with all I’ve been dealing with with my mom lately I just have no give a shit left in me. So I jump out and say loudly “should I get the gun for you?” He said “it’s starting to look like it.” And I handed it to him and he put it in his pocket - more just wanting to communicate and it wanting to draw on her because that could invite charges for him potentially and we already have enough legal drama waiting at home. She slowly starts walking backward and keeps running her mouth. I forget what she said but she flipped my bitch switch again and I found myself screaming “Don’t make me cut a bitch!”

She said “what did you say?” And I pulled out my pretty pink and Pearl, large and extremely sharp pocket knife and extended the blade, “I said if you don’t carry your ass I WILL cut a bitch!” She nodded that smug kind of nod and kept going, “aaaiiignt”

The car that brought her there and left came back. She got in it and it left, stopped about 20 feet from the parking lot and she appeared to be forcefully shoved out from the way she rolled in the grass. But she goes walking the other direction so we figured she was gone. Meanwhile though in that amount of time I already dialed 911. The operator connected me to the local station and I spoke to dispatch. I kid you not, less than 60 seconds later an officer was there. We later learned he parks in a dark spot across the street of this divided highway. He even saw some of the commotion but couldn’t tell from the angle that it was heated. He tells us all about her, how she’s the local “hooker” / crack whore, along with her sister and mother. When I said we could tell she was drunk or inebriated or something he said, “more like high as a kite in with a jet pack!” I have seen a lot of people high in my years but I’ve never seen anyone act like she was so I asked, “On what?” He just shrugged “likely a combination of things. She’s a non discernment, equal opportunity junkie.”

Would you believe she showed up again while he’s talking to us? She tried to act like they were friends “hey! I know you. You’re married to my kin ...” He kinda yells at her and smirks “you a damn lie and you know it. I’m not even married.” Tim and I both glanced at his hands, his wedding band plainly visible. I got back in the van because my teeth are chattering so bad I can’t speak anyway. He puts her in the back of his car and talks to my husband again. He tells him he’s use to her and is going to take her to a relatives house where she goes when she needs to sleep it off for a day or two. He leaves and about 20 minutes later he’s back. Apparently he almost ran out of gas and he wanted to check in on us again. The jokes flew about how awkward that would look if he ran out of gas and was on the side of the road with the town hooker and all. He was a really nice guy and stayed with us most of the rest of the night. He said he got off at 7 and if we still didn’t have any help to give him a call, giving us his cell number.

So, at the same time I’m trying to get something done about the tow truck that needs to come get the van and find someone to come get us. The first wrecker — BROKE DOWN ON THE WAY TO PICK US UP! I was starting to feel cursed! The second wasn’t informed this would be a “long haul” tow and he only does local. Third times the charm right? Apparently so this time. He was a nice guy as well and took extra steps to keep the bikes and things secure on the trip.

We even had talked to hubby’s parents when we very first broke down. They were asleep but I was able to text my kids that stayed behind to spend another day or two with them, and they were coming up anyway to do some work on the property up here and file the eviction. So the boy, who will be 11 tomorrow, and the 12yo girl woke them up and told them we broke down. Apparently the 8 year old had already gone to sleep. His parents got up and talked to us and they were like, we’ll work on it and let me know what you find out. What the insurance company will do. So when the tow truck showed up, at 4:30, we asked if one of them could come get us because all the insurance company said was “MAYBE a supervisor could make an allowance for a Lyft or something like that but it didn’t seem a highly probable option. I realize we were 3 hours from his parents but they got up and stayed up from the first time we called and father in law could’ve gotten us and most of our stuff in the van and gotten us home, and him back to his house, before lunch and then slept or done whatever work he felt was more important than our safety. I’m kinda ticked about that. So we get what things we can’t live without immediately and head into the store to wait for a solution to arise, or friends to wake up! I was the last one going in and I was shivering so bad I dropped the things in my hands. I bent down to pick them up when two large shoes stepped in to my view, directly in front of me.

I stand up and then continue looking up to find the eyes looking back at me - a huge ‘cornfed’ red neck man who almost is convincing at appearing to be tough as nails, but I see the gentle kindness in him immediately. However, when he named the itty bitty, no red light havin’ isolated little farm town we live in I was flabbergasted. I actually stuttered and just made noise instead of words when I tried to respond. He even chuckled and playfully’ mocked’ me but was even kind about it. It was more like he got a kick out of how taken off guard I was. He said “Do y’all need a ride to (hometown)?” in that extremely slow, drawn out way the redneck Southerns do. In a minute I nodded and said “How do you know that?” I continued walking in the store as I spoke and of course he followed and opened the door for me. Hubby had run back and flagged down the tow truck before it left, remembering the car seat was left in it and that would be essential to getting us home. He had already talked to the man but j didn’t know that. In fact, in all the in and out that night hubby and my older daughter had told the cashier bits and pieces of the situation and it hit a point where she realized help wasn’t coming very fast and didn’t want to see any more trouble fall on us like with the oh so classy hooker we had already met. So she called her son, knowing this was the kind of thing he was always looking to do. He kept telling us that he just really liked to drive and it was no big deal and that he had time to get us there and back home before work even. After debating over it for what felt like hours but was probably only 5 minutes hubby and I decided it was probably the smartest option. He usually has a pretty keen sense of a persons character pretty quickly and so does my 18 year old - although it still needs to be fine tuned a bit but that will come with time, maturity, and unfortunately, heartbreak. We felt like we had a read on the kind, older lady cashier too and she even said “It’s ok. He’s my son. He’s not gonna hurt you or anybody that doesn’t try to hurt him first.”, laughing the last few words out and the glances between them revealing some inside joke / event. So we went ahead and got in his little car - which was more like a jumbo Geo Tracker and I honestly wondered how he ever fit inside. It wasn’t the best looking thing, kinda shabby and needing a lot of TLC, but for us it may as well have been luxury. It was a diamond in the rough, symbolic of the man who offered to drive us an hour and a half to get us home, and then back, before he went to work that day. By the time we got him we knew his life story - 33 and already a survivor of the heart attack they call ‘the widow maker’. We instantly fell in and we’re good friends. By the time we got home - at 7am - we hated to see him go. Of course we had a little Christmas gift cash on us and gave him a little something for his trouble, especially since he wouldn’t come in and let me make him something for breakfast. As I hugged him bye I told him “I will forever call you ‘My Angel Michael’. He said, “Well thank you ma’am. It was my pleasure.” and with that, he drove away.

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sablelab · 4 years

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Covert Operations - Chapter 141

SYNOPSIS: Jamie and Claire sail on to the picture-perfect Whitehaven Beach where Jamie has organised a romantic picnic in a secluded area and to see the phenomenal swirling white sand formations from Hill Inlet.

Chapter 140(S) and all other chapters can be found at … https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

THANK YOU so much for reading my story, liking or reblogging it and for your lovely comments on the last chapter. I hope that you will all enjoy this chapter as well.

CHAPTER 141 (S)

There was a gentle breeze off the water today as they sailed along and not a cloud in the wide, blue sky. If felt as if they were the only ones alive in these vast waters of the Coral Sea and had the whole of the Whitsundays to themselves. The day so far had been so memorable that Claire was soaking up every minute of her first time to this part of Queensland. Snorkelling had been so much fun. She’d loved every minute watching all the beautiful marine life that lived beneath these waters on the reef. Everything had been magical and just being with Jamie and seeing him enjoy himself as much as her had been the icing on the cake. She didn’t know what he had in store next but she was feeling quite peckish and hoped that they would soon be where they could have a picnic.

As Jamie masterfully skippered the yacht, Claire came up behind him leaning over him and slid her arms around his waist. She propped her chin on his shoulder and brushed her lips on his tanned skin already showing signs of some sunburn. Seeing the slight redness, she kissed across his shoulders from one side to the other. Jamie could feel the smile on her lips and was sorely tempted to lay anchor then and there in the middle of the sea and carry his Claire to the sleeping quarters and spend the rest of the day making love. But he had other plans that he knew she would love. They could finish this when they returned tonight and make love under the stars instead.

“Thank you, Jamie,” Claire whispered against his ear.

Her warm breath fanned his lobe and when she captured it in her teeth, he turned around to face her wrapping his arms around her and holding her close against his chest.

“What for Sassenach?”

“Today has been magical so far.”

“The day is but young mo ghràidh. There are still places to explore where we are going.”

She pressed closer in his arms, hiding her silly smile against his shoulder. “I doubt it can be any better than our snorkelling but whatever it is Jamie I will love it too.”

“I know ye will Sassenach.”

Claire gasped and pushed away a little to see the smirk he was not in any way attempting to hide. She lowered her hands and grabbed him on the butt cheeks.

"Just what are you up to Fraser?” she teased knowing that little inflection in his voice was a dead giveaway. She knew then that Jamie had arranged another something special and she was thrilled.

“So, what are we going to do? You’re not going to make me walk the plank are you captain?” she said in jest.

Jamie placed his hands to her hips, and sliding them lower, brought his Claire up against him suggestively. "And what plank might that be Sassenach?” he whispered seductively against her ear rotating his hips against hers in playfulness.

Touché! she thought knowing immediately she’d been outfoxed because he’d jumped on her words with a double meaning and with actions too. However, she could give as good as she got and replied with her own ambiguity well aware now of her euphemism.

“Well Mr Fraser … I guess you just might need to wait and see.”

Jamie laughed and kissed her brow as his hands moved from her backside to wrap around her waist. Instinctively Claire leaned into her love and gave him a kiss on his laughing mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“How would ye like tae steer the yacht Sassenach? Do ye think ye could handle that?” he asked turning her around once again until she was facing the steering wheel and nestling against his body.

“Aye, aye captain. I think I can handle that.”

He placed Claire’s hands on the wheel and placing his own over hers leaned into her body as his warm breath brushed against her neck. Claire could feel Jamie’s body’s response to her nearness and taking advantage of his vulnerability she wriggled a little against him. In so doing she was happily aware of the guttural groan he smothered against her neck.

“I think I can handle that … very well.”

He kissed her on the back of the neck once more. “Yer going tae be the death of me Sassenach but I am going tae die a happy man.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Having Jamie pressed so close against her body as he rested his head on her shoulder was having an amazing effect on her senses. Claire could feel every nuance of James Fraser’s virile body and it was making her a little breathless. The fact that his head rested against her shoulder was another matter altogether. Jamie took every opportunity to unnerve her as she tried to keep the yacht on track but having him so close was doing her head in. He was taking great delight in teasing her every chance he got for he knew that his every move or touch was sending lusty thoughts through her head. Claire sighed when he moved her Kaftan away for greater access to her neck. His lips brushed her naked shoulder but when his teeth nipped at her skin, she thought she would collapse in front of him if it weren’t for his arms around her waist. Delicious sensations of his teeth biting her skin caused her to sigh.

“Ye taste salty Sassenach. I like it.”

“Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ, James Fraser. You certainly know how to break down a girl’s defences.”

“Only yours Sassenach … only ever yours,” he replied as his warm breath washed over her skin leaving goosebumps in its wake. “Do ye want me tae stop?”

“N-no …”

“Well then … I guess I will just take another wee bite,” and Jamie proceeded to do so. Claire dropped her head to the side giving him greater access to that tender spot behind her ear that was particularly sensitive to his caresses. She knew he would nibble there next.

“Jamie?” she murmured.

“Hmmm?”

“Will we be there soon?”

“Why Sassenach? … Too hot for ye here on the yacht? Do ye need tae cool down a wee bit?” he replied languishing kisses from one side of her neck to the other as Claire moved her head to the other side for better access.

She was slowly self-combusting with his gentle caresses and stumbled with her answer. “Yes … well no … Maybe … I’m hungry,” she finally was able to blurt out.

“So am I …” he replied giving her one last nip to her collarbone before giving his Claire some respite from his advances but again issuing her with an innuendo that she knew he would follow through on when given half the chance.

“You’re incorrigible James Fraser,” she admonished at his cheeky reply.

Jamie merely laughed out loud with hilarity.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Standing together they sailed the yacht to their next destination content as they were to explore what else the Whitsundays had in store for them. Jamie had put in the coordinates for Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island, the picture postcard jewel of this area and where he had planned to have a romantic beach picnic with his Sassenach. This piece of heaven on earth was iconic and famous for its fairytale pure, fine, white silica sand washed by the beautiful crystal clear turquoise, green and blue water that lapped at its shore.

The journey didn’t take them that long and the time flew by for both of them until soon up ahead they saw the coastline that was their destination and they continued to sail to the northern side of the seven-kilometre stretch of brilliant white sand. A stunning coast with towering hoop pines, diverse vegetation pouring out towards the open sea, swirling white sand and the clearest blue water both had ever seen surrounded them the closer they went deeper in to the bay. It was like an oasis in the sea, with crystal-clear water and a pristine environment untouched by any development.

Claire had been so caught up in admiring the vista that she didn’t realise they had almost arrived until Jamie lifted her hand and kissed her fingers, “Well Sassenach we’re nearly there.”

He followed the coastline around until he found a concealed gem, a secluded spot hidden behind rocks on the northern end of Whitehaven Beach. Jamie safely anchored their yacht in a sheltered place leaving Claire to drink in the gorgeous sight. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the fresh salty air into her lungs. When she opened them, the view was absolutely amazing as her gaze took in the wide-open ocean and blankets of white sand and the total beauty of this gem of the Whitsundays. This insanely beautiful, unspoiled beach with the pure silica sand was a brilliant luminescent colour. It was truly breathtaking and was just like a snapshot taken right out of a travel magazine.

This spectacular spot to spend their afternoon had her intrigued. Silhouetted by mountains covered in reddish rocks and tufts of green foliage and the impossibly white sand of the beach was truly beautiful. The water was so clear that Claire could see to the sandy depths. The hidden bay was incredibly lovely and was the perfect place for a quiet swim, a spot of sunbaking and their picnic in this slice of heaven that they had all to themselves. Here they could experience the beauty of Whitehaven Beach in privacy away from any other day trippers to the beach and climb to Hill Inlet Lookout for the best view of the area of the stunning swirling sands.

“It’s absolutely spectacular Jamie … a little piece of paradise,” Claire finally said slightly breathless and awe struck.

“Aye ‘tis mo nighean donn,” he replied casting his eyes to the scene before them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jamie quickly organized their rubber dinghy for the short tender into shore for the rest of the day with the supplies for their picnic and any gear they might need for a day on the beach. They both got in the dinghy and he started the outboard motor and set it on course for the secluded beach at the tip of Hill Inlet. In next to no time Jamie had beached the small craft on the sand and pulled it a little way up the beach just to be on the safe side. Claire watched her love return to the dinghy to collect their belongings and then again to help her get out of the craft. Her eyes took him in from his hypnotic blue eyes, to the little grooves that furrowed his forehead and to the ginger beard growth on his jaw that made him look like a bold, swashbuckling pirate. What she saw left her breathless. James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser was one mighty fine specimen of manhood. Reaching out his arms towards her, Claire put her arms around Jamie’s neck as he lifted her from the dinghy and carried her up the beach before letting her glide slowly but sensually down his body.

When her feet touched the ground, Claire was amazed at the sensation she experienced. The tactile sensation was surprising, for there was nothing better than the feeling of sinking her toes into the velvety texture of the sand. It oozed through her toes like the ripple of water in a stream and it felt so soft and silky smooth against the soles of her feet. Claire wriggled her toes in the soft consistency of the sand and looked up at Jamie with a huge smile on her face.

“I feel like I’m walking in a dream, like I’m on a soft, cool cloud. It feels wonderful.”

“Aye, it’s nae coarse at all Sassenach.”

Leaning down Claire took a handful of sand and let it slip between her fingers. She glanced back up at Jamie with an astonished expression on her face. “I have never felt sand like this before.”

“Neither have I. I read it’s the silica which gives the sand its unique white colour and verra fine powdery grain, Sassenach no wonder it is so soft.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They walked along the beach to find a perfect spot to chill out for their picnic. Because the sand was made of a pure silica composition, it didn’t retain heat, and even on this hot day, it was so nice and cool to walk but there was also something odd that they noticed. It felt as if the fine, white, velvety sand was talking to them as it made an unusual sound under their feet as they walked along.

“Did you notice that noise Jamie?”

“Aye … I did Sassenach. The sand is whispering tae us like barking spiders.”

“Spiders don’t bark Jamie,” she giggled as she watched what he did next.

“Aye they do … and it sounds just like this. Listen Sassenach.”

Claire couldn’t stop laughing as Jamie demonstrated the squeaking sound that his larger feet made when he walked in the sand. This James Fraser was so uninhibited and carefree that seeing him like this was a revelation. He was so relaxed and happy-go-lucky that she couldn’t help but feel his infectious happiness too as she emulated what he’d done in the sand as well. The sound of their laughter filled the air as they happily walked along hand in hand until they settled on the picture-perfect spot to make base for the rest of the day and for their romantic picnic in this idyllic setting.

Whitehaven Beach was sheltered from the open ocean by the other islands in the Whitsunday group and the outer reef. In the distance they could see their sleek, white yacht anchored like a cork bobbing on the water just waiting for their return. From their vantage point they could see sparkling crystal blue waves rippling along the shallow shoreline and an endless beautiful azure blue sea stretching for miles along the coastline giving them a picturesque view as far as the eye could see. There were no big waves or rip tides to worry about and the water was very tranquil. This was the perfect spot for swimming, for the crystal-clear turquoise water looked particularly inviting on this hot day as it sparkled in the sun. After their romantic picnic, they could laze on the beach or cool off with a quick dip in the balmy tropical waters this afternoon if they wanted to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

However, they didn’t take a swim once they had finished eating, for Jamie and Claire decided to make the short 1-kilometre return walk up the hill to Hill Inlet Lookout instead. It was only a short walk from their base and they happily made the journey up the slight incline to the viewing platform. Although it was a little steep in places, it was not too difficult for walking with plenty of steps along the way to offset the gradient of the hill and besides Claire had Jamie to help her navigate the walk. A large goanna basking in the sun scurried back into the bushes to climb a tree to escape as their laughter disturbed him from his little nap. They just noticed the flash of its tail as the creature made a hasty retreat away from the humans into safety. Looking up, they saw a white bellied sea eagle soar high overhead patrolling the area looking for prey and watched as it dived down into the water then fly back up with a fish in its beak. Despite being only half-way up the track, vantage points gave them great views over the inlet. Signs erected along the way gave them an insight into the unique lifestyle of this area’s Traditional Owners, the Ngaro People who occupied this region over 9,000 years ago. They could even see their white and sliver yacht in the distance in the vibrant blue water cupped by the rugged earth.

In no time Jamie and Claire had reached the lookout and it was well worth the walk to get the great view and they were captivated by the sight before them. Taking Claire’s hand in his, Jamie guided her hand towards the breathtaking sight before them, his voice filled with joy as he pointed out another spectacular sight to behold of the ever-changing shapes of blue water and white sand created by the moving tides. Few experiences could compare to what they saw from this vantage point. They were able to see a panoramic view of the beach below and the surrounding lush, green tropical islands that took their breath away. From the lookout they could see a magical picture of the twirling pattern of dazzling sand through the turquoise and aquamarine water. The outgoing low tide had shifted the sand and water to create a huge swirling fusion of colours and patterns where the magical waters and sand danced together below in the tidal lagoons of Hill Inlet.

The whirling colours of both were brilliant. They were fascinated by the way the swirling soft, snowy, white sand meandered along the inlet like a mythical Dreamtime snake. The island was now towering over the water curving along the glittering ocean and they saw a magnificent humpback whale out at sea migrating north from their feeding grounds in Antarctica to the warmer waters here in the Whitsundays. It was a phenomenal experience and truly breathtaking and one of nature’s masterpieces to witness. As they stood admiring the vista, Jamie glided his hand over Claire’s shoulder to rest on her arm and drew her close. Sighing, she contently rested her head on his shoulder.

“It’s so beautiful,” she breathed, unable to tear her eyes away from the view.

His gaze was suddenly preoccupied not with the panorama but with the woman by his side. Jamie however, had eyes only for the exquisite view of his Sassenach.

“Aye … “tis.” He replied hugging her to his side but again his words were ambiguous. “The view I can see is the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen.”

His Claire was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and knowing that she was her old self again was all that he needed to know. Their time here in the Whitsundays had done her the world of good. She was healthy, relaxed and radiant. Claire Beauchamp was also a wanton witch who had bewitched him over these past days and the thought of returning to Section One was an anathema to him. His Sassenach had recovered from her trauma at the monastery in this environment as too had he until they had been swept up in the paradise they had experienced. Just watching his Claire awestruck made it all the more special knowing that they had experienced this magical place together. They had certainly created beautiful memories that would sustain them when they returned to Section One.

The world had passed them by and they had relished every day spent here and every day they had left was indeed sacrosanct. When the time came for them to leave it would be extremely hard knowing that what awaited them back at Section was manipulation by their leaders, surveillance of their behaviour and the constant threat of danger that they faced when on missions. However, together they were strong and united and he knew that they could and would survive the challenges that lay ahead. But for now, they would make the most of every single moment they had left however much time that was.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Making their way back down to their secluded beach, Jamie and Claire walked along the sand close to the lapping waves crashing onto the shore. Darting back and forth happily they caught each little foray of rippling water swallowing the shore and licking at their calves. The water felt refreshing after their little hike while the breeze was a cool caress across their skin. They laughed as the water flowed over their toes as they stood and waited for the next wave to cover their feet before returning back to the sea. This was the most perfect day and any thoughts of Section One had been erased from their minds. There was only the two of them in paradise. Two lovers ambling along the most perfect beach on this most perfect day. They could want for nothing more to feel invigorated and alive.

The solitude and beauty of this spot really hit them both as they strolled along hand in hand leaning into one another and smiling. They could hear a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets fly overhead making their way to the native flowering trees for a feast on the pollen. As they looked up, they saw the beautiful rainbow plumage of the little parrots with a green with a blue face, and an orangey red breast. They were chirpy little birds, noisy and chattery as they flew to their feeding place in the trees behind where they had set up for the day.

“Oh, look Jamie! … I can see another pod of dolphins,” Claire exclaimed as they wandered along the shoreline. They stopped and stood together for a moment watching the sea creatures frolic and dive in the water.

They were so relaxed as they walked along the beach with not a care in the world other than to enjoy this special day in the Whitsundays. Jamie had his arm around Claire’s waist while her hand rested on his tummy as they looked at each other happily and so much in love. He pulled her in a little closer to his body, kissed her and before Claire knew what he was doing, Jamie scooped her up into his arms and twirled her about. Kicking her feet up and down in the air and laughing she placed her arms around his neck, and as her lover carried her along the beach, she peppered his face all over with kisses of her own. Claire was so happy, that she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face as their laughter rang out loud and clear echoing along with the sounds of a kookaburra.

The two of them were in the best place ever emotionally since they had left Section One and these idyllic days spent on their downtime had been so special. Although they both knew that all good things eventually did come to an end, that was the furthest thing from their thoughts, for nothing could mar this wonderful day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued next FRIDAY 28th AUGUST

#jamieandclairecrossover #Jamieandclairefanfic #jamieandclaireau #the lallybroch library #outlander fanfiction #crossover outlander/lfn spies modernau #LFNoutlander #covert operations

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kingliamrys · 5 years

Text

First Date

Book: Mother of the Year

Pairing: Thomas Mendez/ MC (default Tara Day)

A/N: hi! here is yet another Thomas fic. I’m not gonna lie, I kinda struggled with this one because I didn’t want to dissappoint. so I’m sorry if it’s not my best! this is based on a request that I combined from @cxld-play on Thomas x MC first date and @drakewalkerfantasy “Can I kiss you?” and “What in the world did I do to deserve someone as amazing as you?” thanks for the requests!

Tara took a shaky breath and smoothed down her dress, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Tonight, was the night. The night she’s been looking forward to for a week. It was her and Thomas’ first date.

Tara purchased a dress from Carmine’s that was on the clearance rack. The dress hugged her perfectly in all the right places. She had light makeup on and pinned some hair back so it wasn’t in her face. She felt and looked beautiful.

“Wow Mom! You look like a Princess.” Zoey said, walking into her bedroom.

Tara smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you, baby. You ready to go to Luz’s?”

Zoey nodded, taking Tara’s hand and eagerly leading her to their car.

After the short drive, they arrived at Thomas and Luz’s grand estate. Tara still couldn’t believe that he lived there.

Zoey eagerly ran up the steps and knocked on the door. Tara followed behind, not walking as fast due to her heels.

The door swung open and Tara had to stop her jaw from dropping.

Thomas looked, for a lack of a better word, smoking hot.

He was wearing dress pants, but a more casual button up with a sports jacket. His hair was styled to perfection.

Thomas had the exact same reaction. He felt his heart begin to race and he gulped.

“Tara. You-wow, you look stunning.” He said breathlessly, shamelessly looking her up and down.

Tara blushed and bit down on her bottom lip.

“Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.” She said, smiling at him.

Thomas returned her smile.

“Ahem.” They heard from between them. Zoey was standing there, watching the whole exchange.

Thomas cleared his throat, his cheeks turning a shade of pink.

“Oh, uh, right, come on in.” He said awkwardly, stepping aside to let Zoey and Tara in.

Zoey giggled and instantly looked around for Luz.

“Zoey! Hi Zoey’s mom!” Luz said, suddenly appearing.

She startled both Tara and Zoey.

“Luz! You scared me. Were you hiding?” Zoey asked.

Luz nodded. “Yeah! I have to show you where I was. Our babysitter will never find us.”

Zoey giggled and got ready to follow Luz.

“Wait Zoey!” Tara said, kneeling down to her level.

“Promise you will be good for the sitter?”

Zoey nodded and threw her arms around her mom’s neck. Tara closed her eyes and hugged her tight.

“Alright you two, have fun. I love you Zoey.” Tara said and kissed her forehead.

Thomas hugged Luz and gave her the same warning to be good for the sitter.

The girls ran off, holding hands.

Thomas and Tara shared a laugh.

“Those two are trouble.” Thomas said, shaking his head.

Tara nodded in agreement. “Oh, for sure.”

“Let’s get out of here while we have the chance.” Thomas said, taking Tara’s hand.

Both parents said bye and thank you to the sitter before taking off.

Tara’s leg was bouncing the whole ride to dinner. With one hand on the steering wheel, Thomas’ other hand was holding Tara’s.

He looked over at her for a brief second.

“You okay?” Thomas asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

Tara snapped out of her thoughts, turning her gaze from out the window to Thomas.

“Of course. I guess I’m just a bit nervous.” She said with an awkward laugh.

“I am too.” He said, releasing a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

Tara raised an eyebrow at him.

“Really? You don’t seem like it.”

Thomas glanced at her again. “I’m a lawyer. I’ve learned to be good at hiding my nerves.”

Tara smiled.

“That’s an unfair advantage.”

Thomas smirked at her and shrugged in response.

He pulled into a restaurant that caused Tara’s face to scrunch up in confusion.

“Is this…a barbeque place?” She asked.

Thomas parked and shut off his car.

“It sure is. I can take you to a fancy restaurant if you want, I thought this would be more fun.”

Tara laughed and nodded.

“Let’s go!”

Minutes later, they had a mountain of food. Ribs, chicken, mac n cheese, corn, coleslaw, you name it.

They got a few odd looks, as they were dressed up for a fancier occasion.

Tara and Thomas both had bibs on from the restaurant to prevent barbeque sauce from getting on their clothes. Their fingers were covered in sauce.

“This is the best rib I have ever had.” Thomas said, taking another bite.

Tara nodded in agreement, mouth full of food before swallowing.

“Agreed. I didn’t know that barbeque could be this good!” She chuckled.

After they finished eating, their stomachs full, they used a wet wipe that the restaurant provided to wipe their fingers.

“You have some barbeque sauce on your face.” Thomas said, pointing to the spot beside her lip.

Tara stuck her tongue out and licked around her lips.

“A bit more to the right.”

She tried again but missed.

Thomas chuckled.

“Here, let me get that for you.”

Thomas leaned over the table. He swiped his thumb gently across the barbeque spot on her face.

Time slowed as they realized how close they were. Tara could feel Thomas’s breath against her skin. His gentle touch set off a thousand butterflies in her stomach.

Thomas gulped and looked into her beautiful eyes. She was stunning. Being this close, he could see the faint freckles on her nose.

“Tara... Can I- Can I kiss you?” He asked, his voice almost as quiet as a whisper.

Tara nodded and smiled.

They moved simultaneously, their lips finding each other and locking in a passionate embrace. Their eyes fluttered shut.

Tara wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to pull him closer. Thomas ran his fingers through her hair.

The angle was awkward, with Thomas leaning over the table to reach her, so they regretfully pulled apart.

“That was…wow.” Thomas said.

Tara agreed, blushing profusely.

“Wanna get out of here?”

Hand in hand, they were strolling along a nearby waterfront.

It was a beautiful night. The sky was so clear that you could see thousands of stars in the bright sky.

Thomas pulled Tara to a stop.

“Tonight, has been amazing. I haven’t felt this way, this... happy, in, God I don’t even know how long” Thomas said.

Tara couldn’t keep the giddy grin off her face.

“What in the world did I do to deserve someone as amazing as you? Thomas asked her softly. He gently cupped her face in his hands, thumbs stroking her cheeks as he looked into her eyes.

Tara shook her head. “I ask myself the same thing about you every day. After Guy...” She began, taking a deep breath. “I-I didn’t know if I would ever find someone who would treat me as amazing as you do.”

Tara said, blinking away tears.

Thomas smiled and kissed her forehead.

“I’m so lucky to have you. Thank you for being so patient with me. I know it must not have been easy. With me being so slow to open up and move on. I really appreciate it.”

This time Tara leaned in, pressing a soft, loving kiss on Thomas’ lips.

“I’m the lucky one.” She said, bumping Thomas’ nose with hers.

#playchoices #mother of the year #moty #thomas mendez #thomas mendez x mc

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a-simple-imagine · 4 years

Text

Stay With Me

Synopsis: Y/N tries to convince Rose to give up on Abra (Set during the events of the movie Doctor Sleep)

Pairing: Rose the Hat x True Knot member fem!reader

Words: 3k

A/N - I’m told I shouldn’t be in love with Rose the Hat because she like tortures kids or whatever but I see that as like a minor flaw. My new calling in life is writing Rose the Hat stories for a niche market of one

Warnings - Swearing, sexual themes, blood, mentions of violence, murder and pain. Doctor Sleep spoilers I guess??

It had been years and yet you could recall the day she turned you like it was yesterday. From Crow Daddy abducting you to waking up in a bed you didn't recognise. A place you didn't recognise. You remember the fear that coursed through your veins as she approached you. Her bracelets jangling with each step. Her style was very bohemian; it suited her well. A hat sat on top of her mangled brown locks. A cup steamed between her palms. She didn't look like a creepy psychopath, in fact, she was probably the most beautiful woman you had ever seen but looks could be deceiving and you could sense her intentions weren't pure. Ever since you were little you had been able to sense danger. It always started as a weird pull deep in your stomach. The closer the connection to the person the more intense it would become and this woman was like a bright red warning sign. However, every word that came out of her mouth was calculated but gentle. She spoke with such care that it was weird to experience. This woman sat down next to you, her eyes drifting over you. She smelt... earthy? Not in a bad way, it was intoxicating. She made you an offer that you couldn't refuse unless you wanted to be their dinner. The ritual that followed caused pain so intense you felt like your head was about to explode. Every cell in your body burning you alive. Trying to destroy you. She told you it wouldn't hurt; no fear but this was horrifying. Fingertips pressed into your skin as she tried to keep you focused as you writhed around. Nails scraping the ground like it would somehow help. Tears streamed down your face as your grip on reality faded away; desperate for a breath of fresh air. To this very day, you've never felt anything quite like that and you never wanted to again. It was perhaps a fate worse than death.

Eat Well. Live long.

Things had certainly changed since then. It had taken you a lot of soul searching to adjust to being part of the True Knot but over time they had become your family. You still didn't quite have the stomach for snatching children or the atrocities that followed but you had come to understand that the world wasn't so black and white. Most of life sat in the grey area in between. With lives as long as yours and connections vast, consequences no longer existed. The shine was a rarity that was purest in children. The steam they produce is vital for your survival, it's nothing more than hunting for food. Rubes kill animals for food what’s the difference? Or at least that's how you rationalised the situation. Maybe you had just become numb to it all. You personally never actually hurt anyone. Rose had always had a sort of soft spot for you and you liked to use it to your advantage. She had never forced you to do anything you didn't want to which was primarily all the sadistic, gritty tasks. However, you would do the grocery shopping whenever somebody asked or you enjoyed cooking so big meals were never an issue. Why you still ate normal food was beyond you but they got a kick out of it. Helping with the day to day tasks made you feel like you were still helping out. It was unsurprisingly hard to watch somebody you were so utterly enthralled with do such horrid things. Often you'd find yourself diverting your eyes only to hear the cries of terror. Pain purifies steam so does fear. You don't understand why but it was part of the process. You could practically feel the pleasure she derived from it in every shotgun kiss shared between the two of you. The embraces could be considered magical. They made your heart melt and tasted like the greatest thing in the world; always left you craving more steam and craving her. She was always so intimate with you and over time you let yourself fall so stupidly in love with a complete monster. Rose the Hat was many things. She could be described as evil, manipulative, even intimidatingly disgusting. She had done awful things that your heart seemed to so easily ignore just because she was also rather charming. She genuinely cared for the people in her life; she was almost motherly towards them. And she was certainly very easy on the eyes. You adored her in ways you had never experienced before.

"You doin' okay, my sweet?" Rose's voice drifts into your ears bringing a small smile to your lips. You glance back at her from your spot on the edge of the watchtower, swaying your legs in a repetitive motion. She was in her usual spot, legs crossed for meditation. She looked so pretty and peaceful.

"Mhmm. Just thinking about life." You admit softly, turning back to nature. You enjoyed being up here. Rose, on the other hand, didn't like it so much when you disturbed her and often you'd respect her authority. But sometimes you came up here when she wasn't too busy or just to relax alone. It helped clear your head when you watched the others. That smile faded away as you feel a pit in your stomach grow. You had been sitting on an uneasy feeling for a while now but you had decided against telling her. The sole reason for staying behind was to comfort her the way she always did for you. Before you could warn her, Rose just started groaning uncomfortably loud. Scrambling up, you rush to her side. Whatever was happening, she seemed to be in excruciating pain. Shit, she was probably gonna be mad that you didn't warn her. With such a faint feeling, you never expected anything major. Maybe the lack of steam was affecting you more than you thought. When she finally calmed down, she remained still breathing heavily. You placed your hand on her back but she shoved you away, climbing down the ladder. You follow quickly behind her; keeping a reasonable distance between the two of you.

"Crow has her." She growls; a bitter unforgiving anger laced in her otherwise beautiful voice. "The others... didn't make it."

Your brow furrows but you don't dare ask what happened. It had become pretty clear anyway so there wasn’t a need for details. You cautiously walk up behind her, wrapping her in your arms and placing a chaste kiss against her back. In response, she took one of your hands and brought it to her lips. "I..." Trailing off before so much as a full word is uttered, you hesitate to continue. You can't imagine she'll like what you have to say even with the best of intentions. "Rosie... I'm glad you stayed behind."

Her body tenses and you instantly regret having said anything at all. It was completely selfish and yet still so still true. The others were like family but your connection with them was nothing compared to your feelings for Rose. Although You had struck up quite a bond with snakebite Andi. Forcing her way out of your grip, she disappears into her Earth Camper and you decide not to follow her just yet. Instead, plopping down on a fold-out chair, you stare up at the pink and purple hues that coloured the sky. If you just left her alone, maybe she would calm down a little. You can't even begin to imagine how she must be feeling right now having endured all that. You still felt sick which wasn't a good sign. If you were at full strength maybe you could have predicted this but Rose was right in saying you haven't been eating well. Not for a long time. You finally work up the courage to go inside, peeking your head in first before barging in. Your lover was just sitting there staring out the window into the woods. She sighs loudly. "What's gonna happen to him?"

You're surprised she even talks to you as you come to a stop. "I'm not sure," you shrug. "but it's obviously not good." You approach her cautiously, looking out into the woods. There was once a time where being out here would have creeped you out but now you were the monsters that lurked in the dark. "You wanna take a nap with me? Crow won't be back for hours and you're just gonna drive yourself crazy sitting here." You take her silence as a no and so you leave her be. Climbing into her bed so you could keep an eye on her. You liked how small her bed was - if you could call it that - it always made you feel closer to her. It doesn't take long for you to drift off, you hadn't exactly been bursting with energy lately.

A blood-curdling shriek dragged you kicking and screaming back to reality. Jerking up in bed to see Rose on the floor. Her eyes shone brightly as she cried out in absolute agony. "What's wrong?" You wonder, shoving off the covers. Tears fell silently down her cheeks, her jaw tense in pain. You rub your eyes a little, you hadn't been out that long had you? Using your thumb, you slowly brush away any signs of her sadness. It seemed a lot worse this time like she was much more distraught. "It's crow isn't it?"

You meet her once shimmering eyes. Every ounce of softness burned by the fire of her anger. You've never seen her this mad before; it's... scary.

"I want that little bitchchild." She spits through gritted teeth. You back away from her, giving her the space she needed to not burn you in the crossfire but apparently, that's not what she wanted this time. She reached out for you and you take another step back, hitting the wall.

"Are you scared of me, my dear?" You almost admit the truth but you figure she already knows and that's why she asked. You liked her caring side but when she got angry it was better to steer clear. Shaking your head, Rose walks towards you and pulls you against her chest. Her embrace welcoming and tight. "I'm going after her- we can still track her." Rose huffs, loosening her grip just a little so she could look at you. There was a look of crazy determination on her face that made your heart ache.

"Please don't," you whisper softly. Burying your face in the fabric of her dress. Inhaling her like you never want to let her go.

"Y/N-"

"Something really bad is gonna happen." You interrupt quickly. "I- I can't lose you too."

She offers you a small smile. "You don't have to come with me but I have to do this."

"No, you don't," Your voice surprisingly firm as you scowl at her. There was a little smirk on her lips like she was proud. "We can find someone else, another kid- I don't care."

"You will when you're fucking starving." Rose snaps harshly. You let your head fall so you wouldn't have to look at her anymore. Rose was in charge and you had to respect her decision even if it was idiotic. The brunette places her hand softly against your cheek and you instinctively lean into her touch. She lets her forehead fall against yours. "You trust me, right?" Eventually, you nod a little. "Then trust me to do this. If not for ourselves than for the others that that little bitch murdered."

You could beg and plead until you went blue in the face but it wouldn't make a difference. Rose has becoming consumed by her obsession; motivated by her anger. This was no longer just about getting Abra, it was about revenge. She'd never been good at letting things go. She had lost her family so quickly. Felt them die one after the other like a game of dominos. There was no way to fix that. Even if you could find other rubes, the chances of them being as powerful as Abra; someone who got inside Rose's head like walking into a store would be almost impossible. And so you had to trust her even if it made your insides burn. "When are you going?"

"I got a little time." She forces you to look at her. Pressing your lips together softly at first but with increasing intensity. You could feel her pain in the way her teeth bore down into your bottom lip as she guided you towards the bed. Her knee speeding your legs apart. The metallic taste of blood dripping into your mouth when she pulls back. Her eyes were dark with anger or lust you couldn't be sure. "Will I feel it when you die? Since you feel it when we do?"

A soft sigh slipped into the air. You could tell she didn't want to talk about this and not just because it was killing the mood. "How bad is it?"

"Nauseating, a little better being so close to you but it'll get worse as you leave."

A gentle kiss was placed against your forehead. "You've always been too soft for your own good. Maybe I should have been tougher with you- made you carry your weight a little more."

"You like me because I’m soft," you argue, an amused smile spreading over your lips. "Makes me easier to manipulate or so you think it does. I just... go along with whatever because I wanted you to like me. I relish in the way you treat me."

"Oh my love, I know that. I can read your mind after all." Rose chuckled softly.

"I don't like when you're in my head." Her lips connect with yours once more.

I know.

Palm against her chest, you push her away again. She may be running off to her own doom but you couldn't ignore how you felt about her or the sick feeling beginning to fester. Something really bad was gonna happen and you can’t help but wonder if this would be the end for her too. Would they then come after you? "I don't know if I can last by myself."

"You definitely can't." She answers instantly and you're a little offended she's so quick to dismiss you but she was right. " but you won't be alone so it's fine, Y/N." She let her thumb dance softly over your cheek.

"When have I ever been wrong," you ask, a little too aggressively. She stops her movements for a second before continuing. "Tell me that what I'm feeling right now isn't a sign that you're not gonna make it. Promise me you'll come back and I won't bring it up again."

Her beautiful eyes drift to your lips but you're sure it's just to avoid looking you in the eye as she lies to you.

"Your wrong this time." She answers clearly. "I'll come back so please just... relax for me, my love."

You keep your word despite every part of you screaming to stop her. There was nothing you could do anyway. Her powers were far stronger and she had the stomach to do anything to get what she wanted. Her hand slips down to your neck where she sinks her teeth into your shoulder. An unexpected whine escapes into the air causing her to smile against you. Your arms wrap around her, pulling her flush against you. Pressing into her in order to be as close as possible. To feel every part of her just in case it was the last time. You rolled your hips against her knee which was still so conveniently placed between your legs. Rose sucked on your collar bone; marking you as her own. Dull waves of pleasure spilled through every part of your body until she stops you. Holding you down. Hand wrapping firmly around your neck. "Such a needy, girl." She hums, kissing you slowly. You try to move your hips again but her grip around your neck tightens so you stop. A whine slipping past your pouted lips. "Slow down, my sweet. I wanna taste you."

Rocked from your slumber, no words are shared between the two of you. Not so much as a plead for her to stay or an admission of love as you watch her gear up to dive further into the black hole of her obsession. She opens up a few special canisters she’d been saving. Inhaling the steam, on the last one she told you to join her. Giving you one last shotgun kiss. You noticed her hand was completely healed which meant she must have her strength back. You were feeling better too; stronger so it should have been no surprise when you felt like we're gonna throw up right here and now. You silently wish for a change of heart knowing she's probably spying on your thoughts but she was already out the door. It was still dark out. You're reluctant to go after her in case you touch her and witness her fate. So you stay by the door, feeling the cold air in nothing more than one of her shirts. The jeep roars to life and without so much as a glance back she drives away. You remain there until she's out of sight and you're left to play with the ghosts of a once lively campsite. For a second you're at peace and then her voice filters into your head.

Trust me. I'll get her. The tears you had managed to subdue no longer cared for composure and you begin to silent sob for a woman whose fate was yet to be sealed.

#rebecca ferguson #Rose the hat #doctor sleep #the shining #stephen king #Rose the hat x reader #the true knot #Stay with me

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6919mmallaby-blog · 4 years

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Why SMS Marketing isn’t Dead – and How to Generate More Revenue through Intelligent Growth

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Optimism Bias and Strategic Misrepresentation -

by Michael Mallaby

August 18, 2020

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Let’s start with killing the myths that SMS messaging is finished…

SMS is the most widely used data application in the entire world

Approximately 3.7 billion users around the world send and receive SMS

Response rates via SMS are 8 times that of email

Texting is more popular than voice calling, especially among youths aged 16 to 24

96% of UK smartphone owners use SMS

Texting is now the second most common use for a mobile phone. The first is for checking the time and the internet usage is quickly growing

Sending patients text reminders about doctors’ and dentists’ appointments could save the NHS up to £150 million a year.

Text messages are usually read within 15 minutes of being received and responded to within one hour

Texting is more popular than voice calling, especially among youths aged 16 to 24

Some pretty impressive numbers ....

80% of the Millennial generation say their phone is the first thing they check when they wake up.

The point here is that people keep their phones handy and are always ready to use them to find information or check the latest social media updates.

Open rates for texts vastly surpass email (which dwindles at 24%).

It’s clear that we’ve become dependent on our phones, which then opens the door for testing new mediums to reach consumers. Mobile advertising works, but only if your message makes it to the consumer’s inbox, and only if your ad is mobile-optimised.

SMS Messaging is the only way to steer clear of the noise and get a positive Return on Investment.

Most online marketers laugh at the idea of SMS marketing because they think it’s more regulated than email marketing. But that’s a misplaced assumption. If you don't have a system that is focused on mobile-targeting tactics, then this is costing you conversions, clients, and revenue.

Meanwhile, SMS marketing is almost happening underground - ready in the background, waiting for you to capitalise on it.

Here’s how and why you should revisit SMS marketing to generate revenue.

The many advantages of SMS Messaging

If you think Facebook and Instagram has good engagement numbers?

Wait until you see what SMS text messages get.

Benefit No 1

Texting has by far the best engagement rates of any marketing medium.

Emails may be left unread for days. Phone calls can go unanswered, but text messages are almost always read immediately after they’re sent.

We have already shown the dismal open rates for email. The average CTR for PPC ads is even worse at 2%. The fact is that SMS Marketing is under-rated, under-appreciated and in many cases under-used....

The likelihood of getting your message to the intended target is substantially higher than with email, PPC, organic, or social media.

But nothing great comes without its catch. It’s neither ethical nor legal to send unsolicited messages with text-message marketing, so you need to have a simple opt-in system. That’s where the power of the opt-in offer and discount coupon comes in…..

Fortunately, customers then have an easy, friction-less, way to opt themselves in — or out — straight from their mobile phones with most text-marketing services.

Here are some of the advantages of mobile text messaging.

Benefit No 2.

Trackable platform: You can easily track the performance of each SMS Message and each campaign.

There are countless texting platforms that allow you to manage your campaign all from your desktop.

With the 2m-pmc Intelligent Growth SMS Marketing System, we provided a detailed report on the SMS messages sent, the scale of the businesses subscriber list and the number of messages that are successfully delivered.

As the Business Owner – you then see how each promotion or message sequence has performed - focus on the successful campaigns – ditch the ones that don’t perform so well, and continue to grow your followers and subscribers, - growing your business all the time.

Benefit No 3.

Interactive content: Mobile messaging makes it possible to get feedback from your recipients quickly via a quick tap on the ‘reply’ button or a click on your link.

You can deliver quick, simple messages that direct subscribers back to your site.

A short sweet message – built around providing value to your prospects and clients means that your open rates and the customer side engagement with your business will help rocket your client base and your sales.

You can send customers to a web site, to a sign-up form, to a specific campaign or offer – and through their proactive decision to engage with your business, you in return get them on your list of subscribers as a new customers – so you can market to them directly, with up-sell, new offers and new products.

It’s a short and sweet message – getting straight to the point with a free offer or incentive so they get value and you gain a new customer…. The typical and proven Win-Win approach….

And, of course, the whole system and point of delivery was built for the mobile phone – so there are no configuration issues, no sizing, no scaling, … - it just works !!!!! – And it is all perfectly optimised for the mobile.

Benefit No 4.

Immediate delivery: Once you press “send,” your message goes out instantly.

You can set up a campaign and have hundreds of messages sent to your tribe and to your customer base almost immediately.

You have a quiet day in the restaurant, so you need to offer incentives to fill up your restaurant on a Tuesday evening… You need to fill your calendar and appointments on a Wednesday afternoon.

The Solution to these dead spots in your business - Simple, - just send out the SMS message telling all your customers of the offer, the discount coupon or the reducing availability – and fill up those gaps fast…

Benefit No 5.

Personal touch: Sending a text message via your mobile device gives you an informal opportunity to personalise the message.

Personalising the message also makes the campaign more engaging. Use words like “You” and “I” is a great approach and technique for driving engagement.

If you know your customer base, if you know what they like, and then you send them all SMS messages offering them more of what they like - how cool is that ! What could possibly go wrong ?

So - The opportunities with SMS Messaging are endless.

You can personalise your message, direct users to web pages, videos, where they can win coupons, and track every step of the conversion process.

So Here's How It Works...

The basic components of SMS marketing

The two basic components of a typical SMS-marketing campaign are the keyword and the phone number. Here’s an example:

Text “PIZZA” to 555 5555 for our SUPER DISCOUNT CODE!

“PIZZA” is the keyword that gets placed in the body of the SMS message.

“555 5555” is the specific phone number set up at the SMS exchange that then manages the process. This logs your tribe and subscribers, and then from your own mobile phone, as the business owner, you can then text all in your subscriber list with an SMS message offering the next GREAT DISCOUNT, the next BIG EVENT, - or the recent NEW PRODUCT or SERVICE.

Your best customers are your existing customers – and marketing directly to them – to get them to engagement more often with your business – and spend more when they are there – is the most cost effect route to increasing Your Revenues, Your Sales and Your Profits……

All of this for the cost of a text message ! – Not a bad ROI – in anyone’s language….

The Opt In ...

When a customer sends that initial message, they’re “opting in” to your campaign. It’s as simple as that. From there you can do a few different things.

Go ahead and send them a single, automated response to follow up and let them know what to expect next. Or you can just add them to a list that will send additional texts over time.

For example, you could send. “Text ‘YES’ to receive weekly coupons.”

Once they’ve opted in, customers can also respond to your messages with sub-keywords.

For example, sending the phrase “Hours” could trigger an automated text to send business hours and “Stop” could remove the subscriber from the list.

Allowing customers to use sub-keywords gives them a way to interact with your business. It also enables them to opt out of your campaign if they wish to stop receiving messages.

Once you’ve got the basics in place, there are a number of added value elements that bring even more power to the process.

The best SMS Marketing tactics...

Mobile texting tactics can be diverse, but they should be pretty familiar if you are already running social media promotions and running marketing strategies.

The SMS Message is a great compliment to these platforms and marketing approaches – as you can drive the message to their phone – you are not waiting, or hoping, that they visit your web site, see your Facebook advert or latest catch up with your current marketing campaign.

For example, you can send coupons, drive traffic, or engage people through fun, simple games.

Here are some of the best potential uses for SMS marketing.

Top Tip #1

Coupons: Send customers exclusive deals.

Start by creating uniquely-generated coupon codes to prevent non-subscribers from taking advantage of your deal.

That way, people have to subscribe to save.

Check out this example, where a coupon code will be sent to the customer, offering a discount.

Plus, the subscriber gets an extra incentive for taking this additional step. Customers don’t have to take an extra step to pay when they want to rent movies.

Top Tip #2

Drip campaigns: Send automated messages based on how long customers have been subscribed.

Think of this as just another form of marketing automation.

You can create triggers or tailored responses depending on each individual’s status.

In the context of coupons, for example, you could send a 5% off coupon right after a subscriber signs up, a 10% coupon after three weeks, and a 20% off coupon after two months.

The longer they stick around, the bigger the potential bonus. So you provide incentives for the actions that you want, - and best of all, you can schedule these to run automatically.

One will be sent as soon as a customer signs up or opts in. That way, you don’t need to keep sending individual messages.

Top Tip #3

Poll your customers: Let your customers text different keywords to cast a vote.

With most services, you can run polls to collect responses over a period of time and graph the responses from your online dashboard.

These are relatively simple when you think about it but they offer an interesting content piece. You can add in links to quizzes or other content on your business web site, links to videos. – the options are only restricted by the imagination and the range of marketing strategies that the business wants to deploy.

You can use the results internally to improve your operations, using the data form the SMS exchange, the various promo campaigns and the resulting increasing in revenues…. The numbers will prove what works – what doesn’t, - and there is no guess work…. Meaning you can target your next campaign based on the successes and you can ditch the failures….

Or you can reuse the results in both blog and social content to leverage your unique, proprietary information.

The people who left an answer will also be more eager to find out what the eventual results were and even help you share them.

Top Tip #4

Run a contest: You can have customers sign themselves up for contest by texting a particular keyword.

Once again, this is a standard marketing tactic. You can select winners from everyone who opts in, or you can also give away a smaller prize to every person who sends in a text with your keyword.

You can even use it as an opportunity for cross-promotions.

Top Tip #5

Send photos and videos: In addition to general SMS texting, you can send images.

Let’s say you wanted to send an eBook preview or another image-style CTA.

This can be done a number of ways - with hyperlinks, tying together different elements of a coordinated marketing campaign.

Use Facebook to grow your SMS list

Instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket, use multiple channels to segment subscribers.

SMS and Facebook Ads are excellent on their own, but they can be even more powerful when you use them together.

I recommend checking out Facebook’s Lead Ads and Posts to integrate with your SMS Message campaigns.

Lead ads are great for collecting data and information to build up a large subscriber base.

Once we’ve got the basics in place, then we have a platform on which to build a host of smarter, automated systems, from Zapier integration to working with Chat-Bots… increasing your business presence and building greater customer engagement – All of which supports business growth, increased sales and increased profits…

Conclusions

So, let’s be honest, SMS marketing can be seen as old tech, and somewhat outdated, - but it has evolved a lot over the last few years.

Recognising how the use of the mobile phone has exploded, how the number of SMS Messages has increased globally, how social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are an everyday part of the current "Normal" – then SMS Messaging has a big role to play for any business that works in the B2C or B2B sectors.

People carry their phones with them all day – some even keep them with them through the night. We get up in the morning and check the mobile before we make the first cup of coffee.

If we don’t have the mobile to hand – panic sets in, … with the fear in case we miss out on something.

So, by getting your current customers and all new customers to opt in, chances are they are there for life – to ensure that they are never going to miss an update or offer from your company ever again.

Start with exclusive offers to generate a huge list of subscribers quickly and with mobile messages, you can be sure they won’t sit unopened or unread for days like emails, - especially if they’re personalised for the recipient and sent from one of their great suppliers – their favourite restaurant, their favourite bar, their club, their gym…. The list is pretty much endless!

Use SMS to send coupons, poll your customers, run competitions, send photos, and drive sales. So, get creative with your text offers and watch your ROI grow fast.

Best of all, you can get started within around one week.

Sign-up, we take care of all the techie stuff, - we’ll get you a dedicated phone number that you manage from your existing mobile and then the scale of the benefit is really up to you…. So how far do you want to take your SMS Message Marketing ???

Use the 2m-pmc Intelligent Growth System – you know it makes sense….

2mpmc.com

2mpmc.com/intelligent-growth

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About the author

Michael Mallaby

I’m Michael Mallaby and I’ve worked in FTSE 250 companies, set-up a number of businesses, currently work with specialist Mergers and Acquisitions networks and Investor groups and have supported businesses, successfully securing +£millions in either working capital or equity backed support. Formal certification as a Risk Management Professional, an Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – ACCA Business Valuations practitioner and completed the Effective Angel Investor programme. Recognised as a subject matter expert in the field of Project Management, supported by MSc in the subject, with published articles in the global APM Project Journal magazine.

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#Intelligent-Growth #SMS-Messaging #Business-Growth #SME-Business

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ohnoyoonoh · 5 years

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2042 | chp. two: shit, don’t fucking lick the evidence. | dbh!jaehyun | reader-insert | 1346 words

[ warnings ] ⚠️enter with caution, readers⚠️ strong language, depictions of murder, gore, drug-use, death, slander and abuse against androids, violence.

[ author's notes ] unedited. please walk into this chapter with caution, descriptions of how the victims were killed. this story is a bit on the darker side as it progresses, pls keep that in mind. anteroposteriorly - front to the back, medical term. again, pls be careful. oh, does anyone wanna be part of a permanent tag list? someone asked if i had one for this series and wanted to know if anyone else was interested.

the car ride was in an abundance of silence. your mind wandered off into an abyss, constantly side-eyeing your android partner. the countless thoughts of negative opinions about the thing seemed to gather into your mind. the male android tried its best to create some sort of relationship with you, whether it be friends or at least acquaintances, judging on the questions it had asked. you grumbled your answers, which it stopped after a couple of questions. you wouldn’t doubt it picked on the annoyance laced in the third question.

“okay, stay here. don’t move,” you commanded. thankfully, it nodded, unlocking the door for you. damn, you wouldn’t guessed that an android like jaehyun would follow such simple rules, but that’s what they do. follow orders like lost puppies. this would be easier than you thought. shutting the door close after stepping out out, you peeked through the window to see it fiddling its fingers on the steering wheel. after making sure he stayed put, you walked up to the officer on the scene. pulling out your badge, the officer nodding, “serious shit in there. about to throw up seeing those bodies, poor kids just tryna live through college. heard they were progressing up in the underground rap business, too. shit’s fire when going through their files.”

the impressed expression shifted into a serious one. hand going up to stop the incoming figure, “aye, no androids here. turn back, you plastic shit.”

you turned around to find jaehyun, seeing him made you roll your eyes. didn’t you tell him to wait in the car, but you had to drag him into the house. you definitely didn’t need hansol dragging your ass for neglecting the android, “it’s with me, mech purposes.”

the officer nodded once more, stepping aside. passing through the warning hologram, you and jaehyun stride into the house. the immediate smell of the metallic blood slapped you into the face. disgusting. “i thought i told you to stay in the car.”

“your command conflicted with my orders, detective,” it said.

“don’t do anything stupid, stay out of my way. don’t need some android messing up my one chance, got it?” the response you had got was a simple nod before parting ways. one male walked up to you, finding it was lieutenant kun qian. you encountered him during your donut runs, feeling that he was some sort of stalker as he seemingly followed you every morning to the precinct. the problem was why would he follow you to the police station, but you found out that he worked in forensics department. only after accusing him during the third week of your donut runs.

“are you following me now, miss park?” a grin appeared on his face, as he stood in front of you.

returning the same expression, you nudged his shoulder, “not a chance, donut.”

he chuckled at the nickname you given him before clearing his throat, “right back on the investigation. christopher bang and seo changbin are as you know deceased. bang was found dead at the threshold of the bedroom, knife deep into his head anteroposteriorly. mr. seo was dead in the hallway with twenty-seven stabs, found mostly in his torso and one final slash through the throat. mr. han suffers a major concussion and a deep stab in his abdomen. luckily, he called 112 before dying, so we got him to the hospital.”

fuck. how the hell were you supposed to piece a theory to start with. you nodded, walking to the living room. jaehyun was occupied, kneeling at the puddle of the blood near the broken knife. watching it, the android dipped its fingers in the puddle, placing the tips of its digits into its mouth. a disgusted look on your face apparent as he looked back up to you. “is there something wrong, detective?”

“shit, what the fuck are you doing?”

“i was analyzing the evidence, i can check samples in real time. it’s a major advantage in investigations like these,” it straightened up, “i should have warned you, my apologies.”

“don’t fucking do that again, well.. shit, just don’t do it around me, thanks,” you pressed your lips into a fine line, awkwardly turning to analyze the bedroom’s evidence. passing the first body, you kneel down. grabbing the gloves out of your pocket and slipping them on, the sight of the dead male wasn’t appealing but when was a dead body ever attractive? pity. though, he seemed attractive in the pictures displayed around the walls. you searched around the male to find any evidence or anything to help your case. the stabs, some were different. the lower abdomen wounds appeared larger than the chest wounds. multiple weapons were used in this homicide. turning the male’s head, you spotted small crystals littering the male’s collar. blue ice. drugs written in your checklist of investigation situations.

this investigation is a whole mess. damn, androids are always involved. lately, the amount of crimes containing androids are unreal. but, at least it kept the police busy. you didn’t need to witness any more police officers slacking off in the precinct, but that wouldn’t cease knowing that laziness runs through everyone. leaning against the wall, you finished your search. trying to piece the evidence together, it was clearly a homicide and the android escaped. what could you do? the android could be long gone by now, but you resisted giving up, only taking a break from the investigation. your head perked up at the sound of your name, meeting a certain android’s eyes. “yes? done? because i’m ready to go back to the precinct.”

“i figured out what happened here, detective,” jaehyun said.

“alright, go ahead. i’m all ears,” you expected an answer as it’s coming from an android. but, you knew it would be short and it’s still trying to process or search for more proof to piece everything.

“follow me,” the android walked to the kitchen, he pressed a button on the table. something unlocked, as you heard the click, jaehyun lifted up the center piece of the table, you leaned over to find blue ice and a couple of bongs. touching the equipment, it was warm at touch. showing that it was recently used, the blue ice bag opened. you looked up to jaehyun who continued with its theory, “seeing the messiness of how it was placed, they must have heard the android come in. thinking that the android would tell, in their intoxicated state, the males started to gang up onto their robot.”

you nodded, wanting to see what it found from its search, “okay, continue.”

“the deviant must have defended himself, grabbing the knife. he must have slashed han jisung here, must be in the leg but the deviant slammed the male’s head against the counter. as the deviant faced mr. han while he was distracted, seo changbin used this chair to smack over the deviant. but it was ineffective. the android turned to mr. seo who must have backed off into the hallway, mr. bang must have ran into the room to hide or grab a weapon. mr. seo was going to throw the bottle, only for the android to catch his wrist,” jaehyun said, as it made its way to the said male. pointing towards the broken glass shards, the android lifted the deceased’s wrist, seeing the hand print melded into his wrist. “then, you can guess how he died. mr. bang still in the bedroom, he must have hid, which allowed the android to go grab another weapon, as the tip of the blade is chipped off. then, the rest is history, you could tell what happened with mr. bang.”

“alright, your theory doesn’t seem too bad. do you know where the android left to? i wouldn’t be surprised if he escaped,” you asked. jaehyun was certainly a know-it-all, but it was obvious that it was just its programming.

“yes, i do. his thirium leads to the attic. thirium is a substa-”

“okay, i’m not stupid. i know what powers you androids, just hurry up, so we can interrogate it.”

#jaehyun scenarios #nct fanfic #cznnet #jaehyun fanfic #@ ohnoyoonoh 2042 #nct scenarios #jaehyun imagine

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javocjovian · 5 years

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You’re Mine, SPN Bingo

Title: You’re Mine Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17444402/chapters/43991233 Square Filled: Teasing Ship: Wincest (Demon!Dean x BoyKing!Sam) Rating: E Tags: Top!Dean x Bottom!Sam, Dom!Dean x Sub!Sam, BDSM, Bondage, Vibrators, Dildos, Cock rings, Chains, Spreader bar, Blindfolds, Dirty talk, Edging, Teasing, Oral (with cock ring), Biting/slapping (mentioned), Prostate Milking, Fingering, Anal, Demon blood Summary: Sam may be the Boy King of Hell, but he’ll always belong to Dean. Word Count: 2102

For Molly666 on AO3 :)

Created for @spnkinkbingo Beta-ed by @ellekess

Quote:

Sam’s body reacted more and more with each thrust, until Sam was tossing his head to the side and lifting his ass off the floor. Dean grabbed Sam’s cock while he fucked him, stroking it with renewed interest. Sam was so gorgeous like this, being fucked with a piece of silicon and loving every second of it. Sam panted out broken words of encouragement, and soon Dean couldn’t stand the toy having all the fun.

gif collage made by me using these

You’re Mine

The denizens of Hell were used to hearing the shouts and moans of the damned, but when those sounds came from the throne room they knew to steer clear. Nights like those always coincided with that asshole demon showing up, the brother of the Boy King of Hell.

Dean Winchester.

Dean had all the power and blood lust of Sam, but none of the style. Dean was all swagger and sarcasm, coated in whiskey and topped with a short temper. Why the King of Hell let his asshole of a brother stroll through whenever he pleased was beyond them.

It was probably because they were fucking.

Becoming a demon seemed to have heightened Dean’s sexual prowess, and he’d been taking it out on Sam. There was something so sinfully delicious about making his younger brother beg for release, especially once Sam had taken over Hell as their prodigal king. Sure, Sam was drinking more demon blood than ever these days, wielding power unlike any ever seen in Hell, but it only made the twisted dynamic between the brothers all the more satisfying. Sam loved every second of it.

While all of Hell bent to Sam’s will, Dean made Sam bend over for him.

So on that particular night, Sam found himself chained to the floor where his demons awaited judgment, prostrated before the throne of Hell. The objectification of it had his head spinning, especially while Dean sat in his throne watching him come undone.

Sam was completely naked with his arms chained above his head. His legs were in spreader bars and chained to metal rings in the stone floor. Sam could move his midsection but nothing else. He had a blindfold on, but no gag. Dean liked hearing his voice crack.

“Dean…Dean!”

Dean was sat on throne chair, something he always swore he wouldn’t do, watching Sam writhe and shake on the floor. Dean had his phone in his hand with his thumb on a new app. It didn’t take long to convince Sam to try it, and the effect was instantaneous.

Sam had a silicon cock buried in his ass with a nub on his prostate, and the toy was vibrating with deadly precision. Dean upped the dial on his phone, and Sam cried out.

“Dean! Fuck!”

Dean smirked to himself.

Sam’s body was covered in love bites and red hand prints. His straining cock and balls were on displayed via a cock ring with demonic writing engraved in it. Sam wasn’t coming any time soon.

Sam thrashed and panted on the floor, shaking as the vibrator seemed to push and pull his body in every direction, sending wave after wave of arousal to his balls.

Dean couldn’t help himself. He moved from the throne to kneel over Sam. Sam’s breathing went shallow. He couldn’t see, but all of his senses were heightened by demon blood. Dean took advantage of it by tracing his thumb over Sam’s cockhead. Sam bucked and moaned.

“Swear at me all you want, Sammy. But you’re mine tonight,” Dean grinned. He bent over and just breathed on Sam’s cock, making it twitch. “And I am having way too much fun to let you cum.”

Sam sucked in a breath as Dean licked the beaded precum off of his cock. He tasted like heaven, ironically. Dean savored the flavor, then licked Sam nice and slow, making him shiver in response.

“Dean...”

“I love it when you say my name,” Dean goaded him, continuing to tease him with his tongue.

Sam’s voice cracked when Dean planted his lips down and hummed. Dean’s lips amplified the feeling of the vibrator, and Sam’s muscles trembled. Dean smiled against Sam’s cockhead.

After a few minutes of tortuously slow, indulgent licking, Dean swallowed Sam’s cock into his mouth, making Sam’s expression melt.

Dean was the only one who had ever braved Sam’s entire cock at once. Sam was big, but Dean was fearless, so he choked himself on Sam’s cock, swallowing and sucking and knowing full well that Sammy couldn’t cum.

Sam just about lost his mind. He hovered on the edge of a mind numbing orgasm, tingling as the vibrator and Dean teased him endlessly. Then Dean reached down and pushed the vibrator in deeper.

Sam keened forward, but he was held down by his many restraints. It looked more like a violent twitch than an honest attempt at escape. Dean tasted Sam’s precum as he lazily played with the toy.

Having no way to see, every sudden turn and change in pattern sparked Sam’s arousal anew. He could only lay there and take it as Dean circled his stretched entrance with the wide base of the toy, dragging the shaft of it around in his body. Then he pulled it out a bit and slid it back in, spilling lube onto the floor. Sam moaned.

The toy had all sorts of strange ridges and markings on it, and Sam had never felt anything like it. Then Dean began fucking Sam with it, stirring it deeply in his body, and Sam shouted in bliss. He tried to hump Dean’s throat, but his restraints denied him once again. The sensation spiraled uncontrollably as a result, “Dean! Please! Let me come!”

Dean smiled internally. He popped off of Sam’s throbbing cock and began sucking and nibbling at his balls instead. Sam groaned. Dean pushed the dildo all the way it, then slapped the base, giving Sam a jolt of sensation.

“You know the rules, Sam,” Dean said, “You don’t come until I’ve had my fill.”

Sam shivered. This was the biggest toy yet, and it reached all the too-good-to-handle places. He listened as Dean pulled away from his cock and took something off the throne. Sam swallowed apprehensively.

In the next second, the vibrator shifted to its highest power, and the Sam felt his arousal flush out every other feeling in his body. It was so overwhelming that Sam almost went numb, but Dean kept striking the base, causing the sensations to reignite in Sam’s body. His mouth gaped silently at Dean, speechless with the force of his ecstasy.

Then Dean bent over and tore off Sam’s blindfold. Sam’s pupils were blown and he was tearing up. Dean experienced a wave of affection so rare that it had become a kink of its own, and he smiled at Sam indulgently.

“That’s it, Sammy.”

Sam’s eyes fluttered and he gasped Dean’s name, his head swimming in submissive ecstasy.

Dean moved back to his side and resumed teasing his cock. He knew Sam very well. He knew how to play with all his most sensitive spots so that he could never rest. He knew exactly where to stroke and squeeze so that Sam dribbled precum like a fountain. At one point he dipped down and flattened his tongue between the dildo and Sam’s entrance, rimming him here and there. Sam’s whole body shook uncontrollably, and Dean smirked to himself. He knew Sam better than anyone.

He spent a while longer sucking his brother’s cock, relishing in all the sounds and moans he could draw out of him at will. He even flicked his tongue into Sam’s slit, knowing that it was the secret spot that made him freeze up with arousal.

Finally, he eased the vibration down. After being on such a high power, Sam didn’t even feel the dildo in him anymore. Dean had a feeling this would happen, so he popped off of Sam and pulled the toy out a bit. He slid it back in, fucking him with it, and Sam arched off the floor.

“Atta’ boy. Show me how good this feels,” Dean encouraged.

Dean tossed the toy aside, giving Sam a chance to catch his breath. He was sweating and shaking on the floor, his cock straining in need.

Sam knew what would happen next. Dean could see it in his eyes. Sam stared hungrily as Dean lubed himself up. Dean adjusted the spreader bar so that he could sit between Sam’s dripping, flushed thighs. Then he readjusted it so that Sam’s legs were spread wide. He slid a wedge under Sam’s lower back, forcing an arch in his spine. His hole was gaping slightly from the toy and leaking lube, and it had never looked so inviting. Dean stroked it with his fingers, then slid in just to feel his body.

Sam moaned as Dean fingered his prostate, forcing more precum out of his cock. Dean stroked him from the inside, fingering him just right so that Sam was out of his mind with lust.

“Dean…Dean, fuck me. I can’t take it,” Sam breathed.

“You can,” Dean countered, “I know you can.” Still, Dean pulled out and lined himself up at Sam’s sweet hole, “But you’re in luck. Because I’m going to fuck you anyway.”

Sam didn’t have time to register his relief. In the next second, Dean was pressing into his body and Sam was crying out in satisfaction.

“Yes! Oh f...fuck yes!”

Dean grinned breathlessly.

Once again, the throne room was filled with moans. Dean pushed in until he was flush against Sam’s ass, then he began fucking him powerfully.

The throne of Hell was nothing compared to this. Sam’s ass was Dean’s favorite sin, and he could have buried himself in it night and day. It was so tight despite the years of use, and it reacted perfectly to every thrust. Soon Dean was panting and cursing right along with Sam.

Dean raked his hands up Sam’s body, taking full advantage of his vulnerability. He groped his cock and balls, then scratched his fingernails down the underside of Sam’s thighs. Sam was in heaven.

“That’s it, Sammy. Take it. You can have Hell but, this?” Dean grabbed his cock once more, “This is mine. Every inch of you, it’s all mine. Let me hear it!”

“It’s yours, Dean! I’m yours,” Sam breathed.

Dean closed his eyes, getting a feral pleasure out of those words. They spurred him on, and soon he was grunting with every thrust, “I want you lubed and ready at all times. When you’re sitting on your throne, or giving orders, or drinking demon blood…I want you to know you’re mine.”

Sam nodded distractedly, but Dean knew it was sincere. He angled his cock into Sam’s prostate as if in reward, and Sam shouted in pleasure.

Dean’s hand left Sam’s cock at last. He found his pocket knife on the floor by his jeans and used it to cut into his own palm, still rocking his hips between Sam’s legs. Sam knew what he was doing, and he groaned in approval. Dean reached down and smeared his blood along the cock ring. It released Sam at last, and Sam felt his orgasm begin to rise dangerously.

“Dean!”

“Keep talking, Sammy. Let me hear it. Let all of Hell hear it.”

Sam gasped and stammered Dean’s name, filling him with a feral pleasure. He fucked Sam with all his might and Sam came instantly. Dean pumped it out of him with his bloodied hand, watching heatedly as Sam lost his mind with bliss. Blood and lube mixed with Sam’s cum, and Dean was soon to follow. He came in Sam’s ass with a savage groan, thrusting until the very end.

Then, they were still. Their panting echoed throughout the throne room, sounding like a hundred people had joined them. Dean stroked Sam again, getting a sadistic pleasure out of watching him squirm in post-orgasm sensitivity. But Sam loved it. He trembled and jerked as Dean played with his slit and rubbed his glans.

Piece by piece, Dean began releasing Sam from his bonds. Although Sam wasn’t going anywhere. He felt like static; like he was floating through space with no mass, just throbbing vaguely with pleasure. He felt Dean pull him off the floor and into a spooning position sitting up against the throne. He could smell blood. As if reading Sam’s mind, Dean placed his palm over Sam’s mouth. Sam drank from his brother, and Dean rested his head on the seat on his throne.

“Atta boy, Sammy,” Dean murmured, closing his black eyes in bliss.

#spnkinkbingo #supernatural #wincest #dean winchester #Sam Winchester #deanwinchester #SamWinchester #demon!dean #boyking!sam #dean winchester x sam winchester #fanfiction #fanfic #archive of our own #My writing #sarasaurusrex #molly666

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nam-nam-joon · 5 years

Text

attempting

Pairing: jungwoo x reader

Genre: university au, fluff

Wordcount: 4.9k

Warnings: a lot of attempted kisses on jungwoo's behalf, platonic relationships with everyone

Summay:

it was a game, really. him leaning in for a kiss, and you dodging him every time.

but really, he never just asked.

The tightening of his hand on your side was the only warning you got before Jungwoo’s face came a little too close and you strained your neck to get your own away from it. He didn’t follow your movement, instead resumed his former, more relaxed position, for which you were grateful.

“Ew, gross.” You commented, wiping the not-happened smooch off your cheek and detangling your bodies from each other before leaving the light brown haired guy. He pouted in your direction as you shimmied in between Jeno and Mark, currently both very busy in spooning their icecreams. Jeno glared at Jungwoo.

“Dude, chill. This is a group-hang-out, keep your flirting to yourself!”

You huffed and took another mouthful of your own ice cream. “This boy couldn’t flirt with anyone if his life depended on it. He’s just a pain.”

A grin spread on your lips as the teasing made Jungwoo’s ears heat up and he jutted out his bottom lip in fake hurt.

“You wound me! I thought we had chemistry!”

“Your mom has chemistry.” Jaehyun commented from shortly behind and Mark snorted in his McFlurry. Jungwoo’s ears were the colour of cherries now, but he laughed along with Mark.

“What movie are we watching anyways?” Johnny piped up from where he was trailing behind Jaehyun and Doyoung, waiting for Taeyong who rose from where he’d just re-tied his shoelaces. The latter took his own ice cream cup from Johnny and then both sped up to merge with the rest of the group.

“Uh…” Jeno dragged out, squinting his eyes at the still too tiny movie posters plastered over the front of the cinema that had appeared at the border of your vision, despite the glasses on his nose.

“Something funny or action-y please, I can’t take another hit like Infinity War or some shit.” You grumbled.

“IW was… like so long ago.” Jungwoo seemed to have recovered from the earlier rejection and sidled up to you once more. That was, he attempted to, but Jeno poked his elbow into Jungwoo’s ribcage, clearly showing he was not willing to give up his own spot besides you just like that. The brunet rubbed his hand over the sore spot but didn’t lose his train of thought.

“And if I remember correctly you weren’t even that much of an emotional wreck, you didn’t cry right? You were just… angry.”

"Anger is an emotion, Woo-woo.” Jeno commented quietly, looking at Jungwoo. He was met with slightly puzzled eyes and an expression the opposite of understanding.

“Good point though, I could make for something exciting, too!” Jaehyun chimed in, underlining your previous statement.

You wrinkled your nose at Jungwoo but swallowed a remark with the last of your icecream, dropping the cup in a nearby bin afterwards. The gap you’d been in previously closed in your absence. Upon rejoining the group your right side was left defenseless when Jungwoo bumped the side of his hip into yours, pushing you into Jeno’s bigger frame who immediately wrapped a protective arm around you to keep you close. You stuck out your tongue, relishing in the slightly miffed expression on the brunet’s face upon the new evolvement of the situation.

You were spared of Jungwoo’s attention during the movie, seated safely between Taeyong and Mark, who were both quick to shut up everyone who might interrupt their film-watching-experience. Only a single piece of popcorn found its way into the salsa sauce accompanying your nachos, expertly thrown in a high arch over the head of an unassuming Taeyong.

You leaned back to make eye-contact with the marksman behind this kill-shot and complimented him on it, earning a confident grin in return.

Jungwoo’s arm slinging itself over your shoulder was enough to make you suspicious. Nevertheless you smiled up at the fellow student who fell into step with you effortlessly.

“Hey Uwu, what’s up.”

He shuddered.

“Never say that again, please. I’m allergic.”

“What, uwu?”

He cringed again, wrinkling his nose, looking unfairly adorable doing so. Not even bothering to attempt to hide it, you laughed out loud, which prompted an exasperated gasp from your current attachment.

“Don’t do that too often, you’ll get the wrinkles stuck on your face.” You only noticed he didn’t look away from your gaze after you were done smoothing down his forehead with your fingers. The soft smile on his face was radiating with happiness, warming you thoroughly.

Seeing your friends happy was more often than not the source of your own increased levels of endorphins.

Before you could inquire as to why he was being so cheerful today of all days - there was a particularly nasty test coming up around noon - something in his expression changed. It was minimal and you needed a moment too long to decipher it which gave him the advantage of getting way closer to your face than you usually allowed.

“Jungw-oh my god, no!!” You took a generous step sideways, slipping out of Jungwoo’s grasp. He let you, as always, sheepishly grinning while stuffing his now free hand into his pants. His face turned towards the front, like nothing ever happened. Grumbling, you moved back into the spot by his side you had had before.

There was an ease in Jungwoo’s steps, the way he carried his jacket over one arm and had his bag slung over one shoulder.

“What got you so cheery today?” You finally asked, not being able to let the almost outright smugness in the usually so very timid guy, go.

“You.” He answered in the same breath, unabashedly turning his head and looking down on you with a smile that could light up the whole campus. You kept the most neutral, unimpressed expression on your face, only rolling your eyes at the sappy answer on the inside.

It never took long until Jungwoo cracked and admitted to what actually had him in such a great mood. Today, it was because he finally got his car back from his parents after they borrowed it for an extended amount of time while moving places.

“We can finally go stargazing outside the city, like I promised you at the beginning of school!” Jungwoo exclaimed, twirling around to fully face you, holding out his arms in enthusiasm.

“Uh, are we remembering the same thing? I mentioned I liked your NASA shirt and you basically invited yourself into hanging out with Jeno and me, before inviting-out Jeno so it’d just be us two.” You shook your head, one corner of your mouth pulled into a lopsided grin.

Jeno, your self-anointed bigger brother, had not been thrilled by Jungwoo’s sudden intrusion into the previously calm conversation.

Now, the brunet whined and poked your side. “C’mon, I wanna celebrate having my trusty ride back! My DeLorean. My Batmobile. My Tardis-in-disguise. My ride or die. -My baby.”

You look back to him and huffed.

“Fine, you convinced me. Let’s ace the test and go for pizza afterwards.”

Like a switch flipped, the previously euphoric expression slowly faded from his face. You furrowed your eyebrows at him, mildly offended.

“No? No Pizza?”

He completely ignored your last comment, instead continuing to lose all colour in his face.

“Test? We had a test today? Since when??”

Jungwoo was still a puddle on the floor four hours later, after the test had well passed, and it took the combined effort of Taeyong and you to get him out from under the black cloud hanging over his head.

He looked slightly better once he sat down behind the driver’s seat of his cute VW, even though his eyes were still a little distant.

“Hey.” You said softly, leaning forward to catch his gaze. He looked over briefly, fiddling with the steering wheel.

“You’ll be fine. It’s not even that big part of the grade, if you really did completely fuck it up, you can still do some of the extra work during the rest of the year and smooth out whatever dent you made today.”

He sighed and placed his outstretched arms over the wheel.

“I know. I just- I completely forgot about it. How could I just, forget about it? -I don’t deserve pizza.” Another sigh, and you looked ahead again, sat on your hands.

“I’ll pay. C’mon. I’m hungry, and you know, one of those little lava cakes from Domino’s will get you your good mood back. I’m sure of it.”

He turned his head, expression still droopy and lowballing your stomach. Legitimately upset Jungwoo had an unparalleled stronghold on you like nothing else - not that you’d ever admit that to anyone out loud.

“How sure are you?”

“Like… 80.97% sure.”

You held his eye contact until he looked away and mumbled a defeated “Damnit.”

A grin spread on your face as he put the little car in reverse, guiding it out of the maze that is the student parking lot, and out on the road.

His mood did brighten tremendously after you insisted to pay once more and gave him both of the little lava cakes. He protested at first, knowing how much you liked them, until he saw you ordered cookies for yourself and finally shut up. You ended up sharing the cookies and having a cake each; Jungwoo offering to carry the boxes with leftovers once you get ready to leave the restaurant.

Your connected hands gently swung back and forth on your walk to the car, parked a few minutes away. After dropping the boxes in the trunk and closing the door, Jungwoo turned to you, one hand still resting on the roof of his car.

“I’m sorry. I can’t draw- draw? Draw. Drive. I can’t- Stop laughing, this is serious!”

You did your best to rein in the laughter that bubbled up after he’d slipped, pressing the knuckles of your fist against your lips in anticipation for whatever news he had to break to you. Jungwoo took a moment of staring into the distance before his eyes landed on you again. He opened his mouth, the corners twitching already, and you lost it once more.

“Ahem.” You cleared your throat and demonstratively furrowed your eyebrows.

“As- I was saying; I’m sorry. But I can’t drive you home right now.” He came closer, placing both his hands on your sides, tilting his head forward.

“Hmm,” You played along, linking your hands behind his neck and looking over his left shoulder. “I wonder, why is that?”

The brunet made a show of attempting to say something before stopping, rethinking it once more, before, finally, licking over his lips and deepening the stare into your eyes.

“I- God it’s so hard to say it, but… I simply… I ate too much. I can’t move one bit. So I can’t drive. I’m sorry. Looks like we’ll be stuck here, in this beautiful-” His brown eyes swept to the side, over the dumpsters and the shabby walls where the paint peeled off, the traffic sign that was so bleached by the sun it was almost entirely white. The unidentifiable pile of something a few meters away that could be garbage, puke or a dead animal. “-this beautiful place.”

You quietly raised your eyebrows, playing with the tiny tip of his hair at the nape of his neck.

“Well,” And now it was your time to lean forward, closer to him. Maybe it was the sun painting a blush across his cheeks, maybe wasn’t. “Lucky for you, I am a very able and, dare I say- great driver? So I will happily be your Chauffeur for the evening, Mr. Kim.”

Two fingers fished the keys out of his pant’s right front pocket and you slipped faster into the driver’s seat than Jungwoo could defrost his legs after you had reached into his pants.

After another heartbeat he begrudgingly joined you in his car, tensing every time you cranked the stick shift a little too unforgiving, touched your foot down on the gas a little too enthusiastically.

The city grew smaller behind you as you approached the outskirts of town, where you and, a little further out, he, lived. The sun was notably setting earlier each day.

Jungwoo’s hands tensed around each other as you momentarily looked away from the road, with one hand reaching over his lap to the small cupboard hiding behind the panel above his knees. You vaguely remembered a pair of shades in there, your fingers finding them quicker than the owner of the car could ask just what the hell you were looking for. After shaking them open and propping them on your nose you gave his baffled face a victorious grin.

"Ayyy who’s the most badass on the block now, eh?”

He laughed and bit down on his pointer finger as he looked out the passenger side of the car, but you could tell when his eyes came straying back to latch on to you.

The sun was golden, the leaves on the trees lining the street red and orange and yellow in an early greeting of autumn.

You could hear your phone ping with a new message as Jungwoo clicked his own shut and dropped it back between his legs on the seat.

“You know, if you’d tell him to shut the fuck up he’d probably leave you alone with his attempts at kissing you or all that physical affection stuff.” Jeno took his bubble tea back from out of your hands, and you stuffed them into the kangaroo pocket of the oversized hoodie you were sporting.

“Maybe I don’t want to tell him to stop.” You avoided Jeno’s caring, dark eyes, as he sipped on the tea. “Once you tell people to shut up, a part of their soul dies. At least for you.”

He continued to look at you, you could tell, but you were too stubborn to lift your view from the cracked cement tiles that made up the sidewalk.

“Maybe I like having his attention. Maybe I like the idea of the possibility of being normal.” Your voice died down towards the end.

“Hey.” Jeno’s voice was soft, the hand that fell on your shoulder gentle. “You are normal. Okay? I, as your big brother, am telling you right now. You are normal. There is nothing weird or alien about you or your orientation. Okay?”

Jeno tries, he really does, you thought as you watched him with a tilted head. A moment longer in which you tested his unwavering gaze before giving in and nodding, accepting the hug he offered.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have- My words were garbage. I’m an idiot. This is why I’m failing my language tests.”

You huffed out a laugh into his chest and playfully smacked his arm.

“You are an idiot, I agree on that. But I’ll give you another chance at voicing your thoughts a little more articulate.”

He let you pluck the drink out of his hand and take another sip, looking at him expectedly.

“Okay, what I meant was; Jungwoo? He’s a lost cause. Absolute crackhead. Totally hopeless. But I really enjoy watching you two interact. It’s cute how he always tries his latest pick-up lines on you. And I must say, you? Shutting him down every time without doing literally anything? An art. You’re an artist. And I respect, and possibly, fear, your resting bitch face - that’s a absolute unit and a force to be reckoned with. And believe me, I’m not saying you’re not capable of defending yourself in- any case. But if you ever grow tired of Jungwoo’s flirting, and want him to stop, but he doesn’t- just tell Taeyong, or Mark, or me, or anyone of us, and we’ll take of it. Okay? I’m taking my job as your bro very seriously.”

He puffed out his chest for show and you chuckled, but his expression didn’t lose its serious undertone.

“Thank you, I am delighted at your praise.” You raised your eyebrows at him, attempting a fake-eloquent english regal person’s expression. “But really, that with Jungwoo is just banter. I don’t know where you guys all read your guide on flirting, but if you think that is flirting, then what Haechan does with our tutor is like, 10th base or something.”

Referring to the eagerness of said fellow student to aide the tutor of the Math course that basically only existed so anyone who needed to study it and understood shit all in previous schools could catch up, you slurped up some of the coconut jellies. Jeno let out a sound of protest at the action and resolutely took his cup back.

“Besides. You agree with me when I say Jung-uwu is all bark and no bite, right?” At that, Jeno laughed.

“Yes, totally. He’d probably melt into a puddle of despair if someone were to actually, you know, flirt-flirt with him.” He paused, to have a moment where the image sunk into both your heads. Without a word said, your eyes found each other again, a similar expression of uneasiness mixed with laughter on your faces.

“Let’s not think about dear KJ at the mercy of a lapdancer, shall we?” The black haired male said, then, a serious expression that shifted into a face splitting grin right after the words left his mouth. You voiced your agreement in a similarly serious manner before laughing about the ridiculousness of the scenario.

“What if he’s actually really smooth though?” You continued, a finger on your lips, but the tension from before had dissolved. Jeno gave you a side-eye before buying into the speculation, and you continued to wager the arguments about any of Jungwoo’s possible, hidden mannerisms.

Nonetheless you observed Jungwoo’s actions a little closer of the next weeks.

He continued his attempts, as always, and it only added to you thinking of it as a big game of his, nothing that had actual intent behind it.

He knew you knew he was trying to land a smooch, and you knew he knew you were going to deflect. It was a dangerous game you were playing, but the thrill - at least on his side - seemed to be worth it.

Winter had come by now, yet the campus was cozy warm inside.

You met up in the library one sun-flooded afternoon, to study for the last test of the season before winter break and the new year would reset the clock on that.

Jungwoo had already secured your favourite table, right by the window overlooking the nearby park and the local lake, dubbed duck pond. The sun was filtering directly through the glass, and in an attempt to lessen the impact of the heat, the brunet had stripped off his clothing, peeled off the numerous layers until all that was remaining was a loose t shirt. His hand, supporting his head, was clamped over the junction of neck and shoulder on his right side, where his shirt had slipped aside and exposed his collar bone; his left hand busy holding up the corner of a page his eyes were scanning over.

“Heyo.” You greeted him, dropping your bag and mix of winter accessories on the unoccupied half of the table. Jungwoo looked up, and by the unfocused gaze you could tell he was still halfway going through the material in his book before he blinked and a smile lit up his face.

“Hello! Please, have a seat. Have a cookie. Make yourself at home.”

You gasped, touching a hand over your heart and batting your eyelashes demurely at the gentleman seated next to you.

“My, what a royal welcome! Ok, what do we really need to work on with you today?”

He bit off half of a biscuit that he had treated himself to, holding it between his teeth while humming and skipping through the pages closer to the window.

“Here’s- a list I made.”

The sun sped across the sky, similar to your pen and highlighter gliding over paper.

As it closed in on five, the sun dipping Jungwoo’s hair in a pretty shade of orange, you furrowed your eyebrows at one of the pages in your own notebook.

“Hey, Woo, can you take a look at this?”

“Mhm?” He had another biscuit in his mouth but placed down his folder, sliding into the chair next to yours to get a better look.

“So, this one. I think I copied it wrong - the equation doesn’t add up, does it? Can you- Do you know where I went wrong?”

“You went wrong in not following my lead.” Was the first thing coming out of his mouth after he had swallowed his cookie and you groaned. He licked his lips and grinned, apparently feeling something akin to satisfaction at your reaction.

Jungwoo suddenly leaned forward, and on impulse rather than conscious decision based on past experiences, you leaned back, avoiding contact once more. He laughed after seeing the perplexed expression on your face at the sudden, uncontrolled reaction.

The talk with Jeno, speculating about whether or not Jungwoo actually had something to back up his endless compliments and daring talks, filtered back into your head.

It was half expected when he froze as you turned the stick around and leaned in, yourself, maybe a little closer than he did.

“You wanna kiss me soo badly, don’t you…” A quick glance around the library proved the area you were sat in currently deserted. Deciding to lay it thick, you bit your lower lip, letting your gaze flicker up from his lips to his eyes. “C’mon, do it.”

You were so close, you felt when your breath touched his face. An agonizingly long moment neither of you moved. Then you leaned back, poorly attempting to hide the grin spreading on your face at the utterly stunned look on his face.

“Don’t tease me.” You whispered, and it visibly shook him. He averted his eyes and ducked his head away until you knocked your shoulder with his.

He looked back, somehow still very much resembling a deer caught in the headlights.

“So? What about this equation?”

“The-? Oh. Yeah. Uh, um. S-so, you…” He trailed off, looking back and forth between his notes and your own, trying to figure out where the mistake had slipped into your writing. You could almost see the beads of sweat roll down his forehead, similar to a cartoon character.

He was still giving you looks when you exited the quiet space of learning later on, once more bundled up against the cold that made the duck pond freeze over a few days ago.

“Aw c’mon,” You pouted, as you caught him looking away once more, his ears still considerably much redder than the rest of his face. “Are you still upset about me making an advance on you, for a change?”

He grumbled something into his scarf before meeting your eyes again.

“You’re supposed to flinch away! I- I didn’t plan for you to ever-” He stopped himself and jutted out his bottom lip. You laughed.

“Okay, I promise, I won’t tease you again. I need you functioning for my test, I can’t close the year with a bad grade.”

He latched onto the change of subject, falling into step with you literally and metaphorically.

“You won’t even know what grade it’ll be until next year.”

“Yeah but- It’s the feeling, you know?” You lifted your hands to emphasize your words under Jungwoo’s laughing eyes. “I’d like to finish on a high note. And you, Mr. You-won’t-know-your-grade-until-next-year, the God of Studies knows you could use a good grade, too.”

Referencing the completely messed up test from months ago had the brunet groaning and dropping his head on your shoulder.

“Whyyyy did you have to remind me of that… that absolute disgrace of a wasted hour of my life.”

“Because I can’t stroke your ego all the time, Woo-woo; Sometimes you need to be brought back down to reality, too.”

He lifted his head to shot you a hurt look.

“I don’t like the words coming out of your mouth right now very much. I’ll pretend you haven’t said anything.”

You both took the subway home because the front window of his trusty little car had been too frosted over this morning to get it scraped clean in the few minutes your friend had had left after oversleeping.

You looped a facemask over your ears before boarding the train, having battled a cough in the last days.

To your unfortunate luck you caught one of the first trains of rush hour, and soon enough your back ended up pressed flat against one of the separation walls, your bag held in front of you, with Jungwoo and his legs to either side of yours and holding on to a bar over your head with one hand. He sighed as another wave of people pressed into the decidedly too tiny compartment and forced him to minimally shuffle forward, further invading your personal space. Not that it mattered.

For a station, he rested his head on your shoulder while you absentmindedly scrolled through twitter. Once more the doors closed and the train jostled into movement.

“Hey.” Jungwoo breathed, and you turned your head. He was right in front of your face, noses a finger-width apart, and now he was the one biting his bottom lip. He wiggled his eyebrows and you looked away, laughing under your mask.

Without warning gravity increased as the train lurched to an unscheduled stop in the middle of the tunnel, the windows showing nothing but darkness. Vaguely you registered Jungwoo was now a lot closer than before, his elbow meeting with the plastic glass next to your head in what must have been a painful thud. For a moment you stared into each other’s eyes.

Then you closed the tiny gap and pressed your fabric covered lips on his for the fracture of a second, breaking away laughing right after. Jungwoo’s face displayed nothing but shock, for the second time today.

His eyes were wide as marbles and his mouth left agape. His ears were burning again but you only caught a glimpse of them before he buried his face in your shoulder, where your scarf spilled over your coat.

The crowd surrounding you thinned out at the next station which gave him room to breathe and seperate himself from you.

He leaned his back against the bar next to the plastic glass that you’re resting against, a hand covering his mouth.

“Space control to planet Jungwoo? Do you copy?” You asked, barely able to contain the chuckle. He shot you a glare, half exasperated and half annoyed.

“I- I told you not to-”

“Hey, I didn’t tease.” You lifted your hands in defense.

“This- No! This is not how this works.” He stared at you for a moment before turning his head the other direction. Heartbeats later he looked back, as if to check you were still there, only to avert his eyes again, flustered.

“Did you ever plan on actually kissing me?” You asked after following him when he found two free seats.

The moment your eyes met didn’t last long.

“I don’t know. I never thought this far.” He huffed out a small sigh before turning his head and finally looking at you for longer. “I didn’t have the impression you ever wanted me to.”

“Well… If you ever need someone to platonically make out with, I guess I wouldn’t mind if you asked me.”

He swallowed and nodded, busying himself in looking down at his knees.

“What about now?” His eyes were a bit slower in leaving his legs than he turned his head towards you. You lifted an eyebrow.

“I’m sick right now. I doubt it’d be worth catching a cold over a kiss.”

“What if I don’t care?” His voice was quiet, the usual playfulness gone from his expression. Both of his hands were pressed flat between his knees.

“I don’t know. Then it would be very irresponsible for allowing myself in getting my friend sick, no?”

He bit down on his lips, sighing.

“Okay, let me phrase that differently. Can I please kiss you?”

“Yes of course, Jungwoo.”

He was very careful in taking the mask off your face, curling one hand around your jaw and then leaning forward.

The kiss was very much like him; Soft, easy, sweet. Lips molding to yours in and ease you'd missed for monthsof not receiving any of this kind if attention. You broke away after a moment, foreheads touching, and smiling.

“And? Feeling the sickness yet?”

“I think I can risk one more.” The words he uttered were in such an unfamiliar low pitch it almost sounded strange.

The second kiss was similar, testing, inching forward. Until he tilted his head more and added pressure, until you felt his teeth nibbling on your bottom lip, until the tip of his tongue flickered over the spot his teeth had been at seconds before.

This time it was him leaning back, his dark eyes only leaving your mouth after a few short breaths. When a grin broke out over his face you knew you were good.

He was downright giddy, smiling at you with such pride in himself it was difficult to keep your own composure.

“You’re cute, you know that?” You shook your head, feeling his hand tightening around yours.

“You’re cuter. All flustered and bothered.” At that your eyes were quick to jump back to his face, offense written all over yours.

“Me? Flustered? Excuse you but have you-”

He dropped his head on your shoulder before you could finish, quelling the exclaim in its sapling state.

“-I can’t believe I fell for that tease. You’re a little shit, you know that?”

Jungwoo only giggled, snuggling closer.

author's note:

inspired by Jungwoo's countless (haha) attempts at kissing the other members, and on this blurb written by @zerojisung - thanks for letting me use it!

if you enjoyed this, consider leaving a comment + making my day ^-^

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grace-ko · 5 years

Text

No Room For Doubt | Self-Para

July 20, 2011

“You know this means you’re stuck with me forever, right? That’s a really long time.” Grace couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face if she tried, her hand lying on top of Alana’s. Their wedding rings seemed to be shining brighter than anything else as they sat at the table of their reception, the party happily going on around them. But Grace couldn’t take her eyes off of her wife. Her wife. God, the thought alone could bring her to tears and she had to pull her closer for a kiss. Of course they had been together for much longer but the fact that they could marry legally, make it official in a way that made it all that much more real. It meant everything to her. Meant everything to belong to a woman who she loved more than she loved herself sometimes.

“There’s nothing stuck about it, mi vida,” Alana whispered back, eyes full of love as she pulled Grace closer, her fingers sliding up her wife’s back. “In this life and every life after that,” she promised, her heart growing with warmth with the way Grace was looking at her. She was scared but certain, wondering how she got lucky enough to have a woman like Grace. A strong, loving, universe of a woman. “I love you, Gracie. Forever and ever.”

Grace scrunched her nose up at the nickname, sure that if anyone else said it she’d roll her eyes back into her head. But her smile only widened and she leaned in for another kiss. “You’re so cheesy. But yeah, forever and ever sounds good. Little grade school but good,” she joked, melting under Alana’s touch. “Now, let’s go take advantage of the bar your parents paid for!”

Their laughter could be heard finally over the loudness of the crowd and the music, their bodies inseparable as they crossed the dance floor, eyes on no one else but each other despite all the people trying to get their attention. The night was theirs and there was so much hope and excitement for the nights that were to come.

August 15, 2019

Grace took deep breathes as she drove to the courthouse to meet Amelia and Vivienne, a swarm of nerves wrapped up in sadness in the pit of her stomach. She still couldn’t believe how fast all of this was happening, how her life had seemed to be turned upside down in a month and a half that felt like the longest 24 hours of her life. She had dropped the kids off at the Clarks, confident that they’d have a much better day than she would. And she had already let Fran and Willa know that’d she’d probably show up at one of their doorsteps in need of a drink. She was prepared, had gathered her friends and family around her to be her strength.

Still, she had a moment in the car alone to think even more about how she had gotten here. Of all the years that seemed stained because of Alana’s actions, because of her own inaction. There was so much blame that could be placed on her soon to be ex wife but she knew that she had to take some of it too. Not that she’d admit that in front of her lawyer or the judge. She was just grateful it could happen behind closed doors where a court didn’t have to see her possibly fall apart. But she had done pretty well with her makeup today and she didn’t have any intention to fuck it up.

Once she parked, she took a moment to press her head against the steering wheel, reminding herself of the words of comfort her mother had given her. That and they told her they were coming to visit. Both for her and the kids, an idea that stressed and calmed her. Maybe it would be good to have the house full, less of a chance for her to notice the emptiness on the other side of the bed or in the other half of the closet. Maybe having her mother there to fill the house with the sounds of her cooking and her humming, her kids feeling spoiled by their grandparents would start to fill the hole she felt had been punched through her heart. “Breathe,” she reminded herself and finally grabbed her purse and got out of the car.

She greeted Vivienne and Amelia with a soft smile, shrugging off their questions about how she was feeling and instead asking them about what she needed. If they had everything they needed. She had been grateful for their work, for two strong women who would help her get what she needed to feel any type of closure when it came to the ending of her marriage. She didn’t think anyone who got married fully expected to get divorced but she truly had never entertained the idea of this happening. When she had said ‘I do’ she had meant it. And now, well now she didn’t know what the truth was. But she knew she had to figure out how to move on before she was swallowed up by the darkness seemingly edging towards her day by day.

She had told herself all morning that she’d be prepared to see Alana but once she had walked inside and spotted the woman at the other end of the hallway, she felt the air leave her chest and she could swear the walls were spinning a bit. Almost as if she could read her mind, she felt Vivienne’s hand lightly touch her arm and she snapped out of her frozen state and allowed them to lead her into another waiting area. Still, her heart was racing and it was starting to hit her how she hadn’t seen Alana in over a month. That her kids hadn’t even seen her aside from the lame attempt at phone calls she offered.

Grace had just managed to calm the pounding of her heart when they told her it was time to go inside and before she knew it she was face to face with Alana, only a table between them. She had to admit Alana looked tired and she hated that there was still concern lying in the pit of her stomach, still worry showing in her eyes as she looked over the woman she thought she knew better than anyone. But she didn’t say anything as she took a seat, brushing some hair from her face as the judge cleared her throat and addressed the lawyers as to how the time they were in that room would go. But before they could start she watched as Alana shifted in her seat and then asked her lawyer if she could speak. Grace wondered if she could see the disdain on her face and she sat up, ready to listen despite how much she didn’t want to.

“Look maybe this is all moving too fast. I know I’m the one who sent the papers but I..I was out of my mind, Grace. I’ve just been...I’ve been in a crazy place and I got lost and stressed and I just..I broke. And I left when i shouldn’t have. I made a mistake with Denise, I miss my kids, I miss you, I just, maybe...maybe we can work this out. I know we can if we try. I want it to work.” She was reaching across the table now, her fingers inching towards Grace’s. “What do you say, Gracie, huh? I mean,” she looked at the judge then back at Grace. “Maybe we could just cancel this whole thing and walk out of here? Make it work? I made a mistake. I made a big mistake. I love you.”

Was their fire coming out of her head? It felt like it, it felt like her blood was actually boiling in her body and she was two seconds away from screaming so loud the roof could probably come off the building. She pulled her hand away as if Alana had burned her and glanced at Amelia, as if asking for permission to respond, her eyes meeting the judge’s for a moment. Was this a set up to make her seem crazy? Or to gain some advantage? She didn’t know but what she did know if she couldn’t even stop the words coming out of her mouth.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Grace turned to Alana to give her, her full attention, her eyes filled with rage but her tone still level, the kind of voice she’d scold the kids in. “You have got to be kidding me because you did not drag me down here to tell me you want to call this all off. Not when I’ve paid for lawyers, not when I’ve had to prepare the kids, not when I had to stand there like an idiot as someone served me with papers in the middle of a meeting with my fucking publisher. A mistake? You’re damn right it was a mistake. But the biggest mistake you made was thinking that I’d be dumb enough, weak enough to take you back after what you’ve done. You miss your kids? Well maybe if you didn’t up and leave them like they were discarded garbage then you wouldn’t have to miss them. What happened? What happened, Alana? you realized you’re not in your 20s anymore? That you can’t keep up with some 21 year old who goes to bed at 3am and still eats dairy like it won’t impact their body down the road? Or did you realize you had a good wife, a really good wife and you threw it away for ten minutes of some tight pussy?” Grace could feel her hands shaking as she spoke but she still wasn’t yelling, her eyes never leaving Alana’s. “How dare you? How dare you pack your bags and leave? Leave me. After all the time we put in, all the work, all the love. You threw that away. You turned your back so easily and I’m supposed to what? Go weak in the knees because you called me Gracie and said sorry? You did not marry a dumb bitch and I’ll be damned if I let you walk over me ever again. You do not deserve my love any more Alana. You don’t deserve to see your kids. But I’ll be damned if I be someone who keeps them away from their parent so if you want to see them then get your shit together. But you served these papers, you, you broke our marriage. And like always, I’m cleaning up the damn pieces. So no, we will not work this out. We will not mend what you have broken to pieces. You have broken my heart enough. So for once, make a decision and stick with it. Deal with the consequences like an adult.”

Grace fixed Alana with one more look before she sat back in her chair, feeling like her heart was racing and she held up her hand, not giving Alana and space to respond. “I’m done listening to your lies, I’m done,” she replied and looked towards the judge. “Can we get this over with, please?”

She sat back in the car, the paperwork Amelia and Vivienne had given her in her hands. She felt like her chest was heavy, her head pounding as she took in the past few hours. She knew she had done the right thing but god did it feel shitty. She set the paperwork on the passenger seat and pulled out of the parking lot before she risked running into Alana and rehashing everything she had put an end to in that court room. She turned on the radio and put the windows down. She reached out to her phone mounted on the dashboard and selected a playlist Alana had made for her almost a year ago, the opening chords of the first song pulling at her heart strings, almost too perfectly timed.

But Grace didn’t turn it off, instead she reached out and turned it up, singing along as she let the tears flow down her face. “Every hour of fear I spend My body tries to cry, living through each empty night, a deadly call inside..” She practically screamed all of the lyrics as Stevie Nicks’s voice filled her car, wrapping her in the pain, disdain and deep sadness that threatened to swallow her up. But she kept singing, kept driving, beating her hands against the steering wheel, her destination unclear at the moment.

After an hour and a few more songs, she finally pulled to a stop in front of Fran’s house, wiping at her face as she got out. She couldn’t even muster a smile as Fran stepped outside to greet her and she just threw her arms around the other woman, letting the tears fall again as she held her friend tightly to her. “it’s done,” she mumbled, taking deep breathes to calm herself as Fran led her inside. “It’s done,” she repeated, sniffling as she pulled away and wiped at her face, not sure she was done crying just yet but she was trying to get it together. “It’s done,” she said one more time and swallowed thickly. “So please, for the love of god, get me some fucking vodka,” she managed to say loudly and clearly before the tears got her again.

mentioning: @amelialisbon @viviennemellina @franmellina @willadarlin@hunterxclark @dannyxclark

#no room for doubt #divorce tw #alcohol tw #just in case #self para #sp #ft. alana

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jojotier · 5 years

Note

ok this! igogusa & tsuki are peak gay/lesbian solidarity babey !!!!!

(You’re right!

And remember kids, mlm-wlw solidarity is marrying your gay best friend from childhood and then using that as a cover in a homophobic time to go have a bunch of gay affairs while you both know exactly what the other is doing and are high fiving over it)

“Hajime, you couldn’t be more obvious if you tried.”

Tsukishima glanced back at her, eyebrows furrowing. From the corner of his eye, a tall, lanky form perused a nearby stall, the ill-fitting sleeve of a long yukata spilling from his Western-style jacket. His hand was mostly covered, showing only tanned fingertips. “I have no idea what you mean.”

It was a fairly quiet day. Usually, the marketplace was much busier, bustling with life- but it was severely overcast, and a few of the older women had forewarned about rain and bad omens. Those who didn’t take shelter seemed to be made up primarily of kids and young people like himself and his “wife”, or the odd older eccentric and worker. It was nice, not to have any of the elders like Minu-san around- she’d been trying to “expose the ways of Igogusa” and Tsukishima could only bring up so many excuses to avoid being caught alone, in range for a confrontation.

“You’ve been staring, Haji,” Shizue murmured, touching his arm affectionately while slowly trying to steer him in the direction of the stall next door, “And I don’t want to hear Lady Irukagawa gossiping about my dear ‘husband’s’ wandering eye the next time we take tea.”

“I wasn’t staring,” Tsukishima said, lips pressed in a thin line, “I was just… looking at the selection.”

“You hate chocolate. Too sweet, remember.”

“… Did I say that?”

Shizue brought a hand up to her mouth to cover a giggle and a sly little grin. “Oh dear, you aren’t beginning to forget things, are you? How ever will we survive now without your mind handling matters, my darling?”

“Don’t patronize me,” Tsukishima most certainly didn’t huff, sneaking another peek at the stall beside. The man wasn’t much younger than either Tsukishima or Shizue- Tsukishima had heard he was just traveling in from Dejima, and more often than not he was stumbling around town with far too many manuscripts and papers to find someplace to settle for the afternoon. He was… interesting. It’d been a while since Tsukishima had been around any odd characters, like back when he was in the army.

“Then don’t act like a child,” Shizue retorted, clicking her tongue as she lowered her voice. She leaned down a bit, muttering, “and at least have the decency to say hello, before you start throwing pining glances around,”

“I am not throwing anything piningly,” Tsukishima said sharply, to which Shizue snickered. “I’m not pining.”

Eventually, Shizue uncovered her mouth, heaving a small sigh. “Hajime. How long have we been here?”

“… Two years…”

“And how many times have you met with a new partner?”

“…”

“I’ll answer. None. Not once have you tried to even talk to a man of your trade,” The trade, of course, being code for something far more visceral, “and the frustration is rolling off of you in waves.”

“Is not.” Tsukishima objected to that.

“Is too.” Shizue insisted. They both paused in front of the fruit seller’s stall, and Shizue started to look over the persimmons, basket hanging on her elbow. “What’s there to worry about? People like us well enough. I’m close with many of the ladies in town- you’re a respectable man. No one will bat an eye.”

Not having a good rebuttal to that, Tsukishima just busied himself with glancing towards a bookseller’s cart not too far off. He needed to replace a few manuscripts- and he was going to get a new shipment of documents to translate soon, so it would be busy. He was only so lucky as to have a lull in work like this every other week, and he hadn’t been able to take the fullest advantage of that lately…

To their other side, the traveling novelist examined a few other luxury goods, trying not to give in to the allure of foreign sweets. He had thin lips that worried, rolled, and were bitten and a little bit of a roving look to his small dark eyes.

Tsukishima thought their eyes met, for a moment.

“Hajime, seriously,” Shizue said, almost incredulous if not for the edge of smugness in her tone. “You’re absolutely ridiculous.”

“I’m just trying to gauge how much time we have before it starts storming, is all,” Tsukishima said. Shizue was about to open her mouth again, probably to keep mercilessly going at him, when there were quick footsteps approaching them.

“Shizue!”

Shizue turned, eyes widening slightly as she quickly passed her basket off to Tsukishima. “Kanako?”

The hurricane force of the smaller woman was unprecedented. If Tsukishima wasn’t used to such displays, he would have been taken aback- but as it turned out, this was a far more common occurrence than what might have been proper, and today’s embrace was a little more eager due to the distance. Kanako was a slight woman with such long hair that it was a miracle it didn’t collect twigs from her daily treks through the roughs. She seemed just as taken with Shizue and her own mess of igogusa as Shizue was with Kanako and the river of black that reached her ankles.

She hugged Shizue in a way that lingered only to those who were looking for it and pulled away, brown eyes shining. “It’s been too long! I was starting to worry I’d never find my way back-”

“As was I,” Shizue said, ever keeping up that calm facade. “You were gone for a bit… were you stolen, while I had my back turned?”

“Not at all!” Kanako said, a wide smile crossing her face. She had a crooked sort of grin, with one of her canines having grown in a twisted fashion and seeming a bit too small and sharp to fit in with the rest of her teeth. “I saw something running quick through the brush and decided to follow- you’ll never guess what!”

“Can I try?” Shizue asked, a fond smile playing on her face.

“You would have had to anyway- so I’m glad we’re on the same page.” Kanako giggled a bit, eyes crinkling at the corners with mirth.

“I think… a baby boar would catch your eye,” Shizue said, smile ticking up more.

“I mean yes… but no, not today!” Kanako tilted her head, trying not to bounce. “I can give you a hint-”

“Oh, but then that’d be cheating, surely-”

“I found… something you’d like, Shizue,” Kanako said, a slight flush coming to her cheeks. “Or at least, I think! I’m sure you would know best…”

“Oh,” Shizue said, gently hiding her own pinkened face partially behind her hand. “Well in that case… this guessing could take a bit- Hajime, dearest? Do you mind finishing the shopping?”

“Not at all,” Tsukishima said, knowing that it’d be easier for them to find a place alone in this weather. If anyone saw them, they could blame Shizue’s husband and his strange but well meaning suggestions for his wife- and they’d be in the clear. “I don’t want either of you catching a cold, in any case, if the weather starts up. Find shelter somewhere soon, alright?”

“Will do! Goodbye, Tsukishima-san,” Kanako was still polite to him, which was a little odd, Tsukishima thought- but no matter. They both were moving off, laughing secretly amongst each other and slowly gravitating towards each other’s sides, waiting for a place where they could wrap around each other without fear of being spotted.

Turning back to the fruit stall, Tsukishima went to pick up a few more bits and pay. Just as he was taking out some sen, the basket of fruit balanced on the stall owner’s scale, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Ah- Matsuo-san? I’ll pay for this man.” Tsukishima glanced over his shoulder at the soft voice of the tall man behind him, smiling benignly. Then he realized the novelist was no longer outside the corner of his eye- because he had apparently come over himself.

Matsuo gave a quiet snort and nodded. “Alright, fine,” and took the money before Tsukishima could even protest.

Tsukishima could only incline his head in a quiet thanks before he turned back towards the man, looking up at his face. There were dark rings under his eyes and hair sticking out from what might have been a carefully combed back ponytail, if not for the fact that half of his hair was falling out from his hair tie. His hands were fidgeting and quick, smoothing out the collar of his coat. “Thank you, Mister…?”

The man looked at him quietly for a moment, maybe absently, before clicking back into attention, more hair seeming to slip into disarray. “Ah-! That’s right- we haven’t met before, have we…? My name is Haseto.”

“Tsukishima.” Tsukishima curtly introduced himself. After a moment, he thought better of that curtness. “… Hello, there.”

“…” The tip of Haseto’s tongue darted out, wetting his cracked bottom lip before retreating. “… Yes, hello… it’s! Been good to meet you, then.”

And then Haseto was pretty suddenly fifteen feet away. His long legs apparently made it very easy to walk away as quickly as possible, because Tsukishima had barely registered that the interaction had ended before the squirrely novelist was halfway out of sight. Blinking a bit, he glanced at the basket and then at the retreating back of the admittedly attractive, if a bit gangly and awkward, man.

Well. That went well. Tsukishima just let out a breath and started walking, going a little way before he realized… was this basket a little heavier than before? It was almost imperceptible, really, and Tsukishima decided not to pay it any mind until he found a little alcove a little ways off to rifle through it without getting in any other shopper’s way.

Nestled between some of the plums was a glittering container made of cheap metal. Tsukishima sat back on the wooden bench and opened it, finding a small array of brightly colored bonbons.

It was small- and Tsukishima idly thought, as he slowly brought one of the candies to his mouth, that either he was getting too used to civilian life, or that Haseto must have had a quicker sleight of hand than most. It was… a bit impressive. If a little off-color.

As Tsukishima tasted the sweetness of the chocolate, he thought, he still hated sweets.

He ate three more bonbons anyway.

#golden kamuy #igogusa #tsukishima hajime #mlm wlw solidarity #fanfiction #my writing #thats just how the gay rolls babyyyyye!!!!

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scftuan · 6 years

Text

Pick Your Poison (part 9)

Genre: horror/romance

Rating: M

Characters: Baekhyun x reader

Warnings: some smexy stuff I guess???

——————————

In the days that followed, you and Baekhyun fell into a way of life that was simultaneously awkward and enjoyable.

The torments ceased (though they’d become less frequent in previous weeks), the odd conversations with Baekhyun concerning your ‘place’ in the manor also ceased.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d almost think you were simply living with a roommate.

Albeit if a roommate randomly disappeared for trips to the office and occasionally asked to feed on you.

That was another thing, Baekhyun had stopped forcing himself on you, both physically and otherwise; it was almost endearing the way he’d shyly ask to feed, if he had a heartbeat he’d probably be flushing with embarrassment.

And while all of these changes made you happy, you held an uneasy feeling in your stomach, the feeling of knowing you were still kidnapped, that Baekhyun had done things that would be considered unforgivable, and that you really should be demanding to leave right that instant.

Yet the longer you spent with Baekhyun, the further this feeling was pushed down.

You discovered that Baekhyun was an avid lover of music (particularly musicals which you often caught him singing along to at random moments), he had a tendency to scrunch up his nose when he was concentrating or was bothered by something, he was terrible at improvisational rapping (don’t ask the context), he could make a joke out of anything, his face lit up whenever he smiled (and his boxy grin was enough to make your heart do funny things), and he was only slightly self conscious about his height (which you swear you only slightly teased him about).

And it was because of these things that your uneasiness began to grow.

Because if you weren’t careful, you might just find yourself falling in love with Byun Baekhyun.

——————————

“What’s the largest city in Europe?”

You rolled your eyes, burying your face further into the book you’d randomly pulled from the library. “I don’t know Baekhyun. You’ve been alive a lot longer than I have, shouldn’t you know?”

You could practically hear his pout as he replied, “Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I’m exceptionally smart, I need all the help I can get.”

You tried to hide your grin behind your book, though somehow you had a feeling Baekhyun suspected it, “The great Byun Baekhyun, CEO of Moonlight Enterprises, admitting that he is actually an idiot.”

Glancing up from your book, you saw Baekhyun’s mouth open and close several times, as if he just grasped his confession.

It happened so fast you barely realized what was happening. One moment Baekhyun had been sprawled on the couch, busily concentrating on his crossword, the next he was standing over you, something almost mischievous flashing in his dark eyes.

“Well,’ he murmured, leaning down until he was just a little too close for comfort, “there are other things that I am extremely well versed in.”

Your breath hitched and out of surprise you dropped your book, which landed with a soft thud on the carpet, though in this situation it sounded like a gun going off.

“O-oh really?” You began, surprised to find that somehow you’d shifting onto the arm of the chair, as if that would get you farther away from the creature in front of you. “Pray, do tell.”

Baekhyun gave you that shit eating grin and continued with his last train of thought. “There are things that can’t be properly explained, rather they must be shown,” he paused here and made a point to lean closer his lips barely a breath away from the shell of your ear, “instructed, as it were.”

You swallowed down the half sigh half groan that threatened to escape you and tried to reply. “I’m afraid I do not fully understand, you’ll have to forgive my lack of knowledge.”

If you thought Baekhyun couldn’t look more self satisfied, you were wrong.

The previously mentioned young man straightened himself, tossed out a careless ‘thats what makes it all the sweeter,’ then grabbed your hand and practically dragged you out of the room.

—————————-

“Baekhyun!” You yelped, stumbling after him as he lead you up the stairs, down unfamiliar hallways, and finally into a large, dimly lit room that you had never been in before.

As your eyes adjusted to the lighting, you noticed that it was a bedroom. A bed similar to your own lay on the far wall, furnishings also not much different from your own decorated the rest of the room; the only difference was the distinct smell of pine and mint and something else. “Baekhyun,” you tried, hoping your voice didn’t shake too much, “where are we?”

You turned around to see Baekhyun, his messy hair barely disguising the hungry gleam in his eyes, standing much closer than you’d originally thought. “Well love,” he murmured, one hand moving the cup your face, his thumb caressing the soft skin of your cheek, the other hand moving to hold your waist, the grip both loose and restricting all at once, “we’re in the room where you will get your next lesson in the things I’m knowledgeable about, the first didn’t really count considering we never discussed what we had learned. Perhaps you still remember a thing or two?”

As Baekhyun’s lips ghosted across your skin (everywhere from your ear to your forehead to your eyelids to your cheek, finally your lips and then back around again), you contemplated briefly stopping this. But as Baekhyun found a particularly sensitive spot on your skin that made you sigh, you decided to let it go just this once.

Once your consent had been given, Baekhyun’s actions took an aggressive turn. His mouth trailed down to your neck, his teeth scraping gently against the skin before soothing it with his tongue and lips. Your fingers had found purchase in the fabric of Baekhyun’s shirt, your thoughts too muddled to realized you’d been moved backwards until your legs hit the bed and you fell awkwardly onto the covers, pulling Baekhyun along with you.

It was only with Baekhyun now on top of you (half laying half hovering) did you fully register what was going to happen if you didn’t stop it now.

But Baekhyun’s mouth was too distracting, his hands too electrifying as they traced the curves of your body. You barely made a sound as he tugged off your clothing, his mouth now tracing every spot his hands had been (and they’d been quite a few places), in fact you let your eyes flutter shut and allowed the sighs and soft moans you’d held back earlier to fill the room.

“Baekhyun.” You said softly, your fingers working to force him out of his own clothes (and no, you were definitely not impatient to map out Baekhyun’s body with your hands or to trace the defined muscles and ridges of his chest and stomach), you ignored his soft chuckle and instead pressed a firm kiss to his lips, effectively silencing him for the time being.

Once you were both rid of anything between you, the air suddenly became almost tense. For a moment, you both stared at each other; you became hyper aware of the feeling of him, of his skin against your own, of his hands on either side of your head in order to hold himself up.

“Y/n,” his said, his voice hoarse (from what you weren’t exactly sure), “do you really want this?”

He was giving you an out, and in that moment your heart did a strange flip, for Baekhyun had never asked for your consent before, the old Baekhyun would not take no for an answer.

And in that moment you knew.

You pushed yourself up, just enough to bring your lips to his ear, “yes.”

Baekhyun’s eyes flashed with something before he accepted your final answer, his body moving and fitting with yours so perfectly it was almost too good.

You didn’t recall much from your first time with Baekhyun, only that it had been a surprisingly pleasurable experience and that sometimes you’d wake up in the middle of the night in a sweat caused by certain ‘moments’ you’d dreamed about. But this time was different. This time you felt every press of his lips, felt every movement of his body against yours, heard every sigh and groan.

And when Baekhyun finally brought you to that moment, that moment where you saw stars and your body screamed for you to press even more impossibly close to him, where you finally collapsed together, a tired mass of tangled limbs and sweaty bodies, where you both were pulled under by exhaustion, you knew.

You knew it as you stared at Baekhyun’s now sleeping form, his ethereal beauty still enough to take your breath away.

You knew it as your own mind drifted off to sleep, one of your hands managing to tangle its fingers through Baekhyun’s.

You knew that you were very close to falling in love with him.

——————————

The days that followed proved to be a mix of good and bad.

Good because you and Baekhyun had practically become friends with the way you joked and talked with each other (though Baekhyun still steered clear of any subject involving family).

Bad because Baekhyun now used this to his advantage and found the most inopportune times to play with your body how ever he wished.

It was especially bad considering how poorly you fought off his advances. He’d discovered quite a few of your weaknesses and would always use them to stop your protests. In fact, since that second night together, he seemed to make it his mission to either

1. Get you to sleep with him in just about every possible spot in the house.

2. Use other forms of sexual pleasure (ones you were too embarrassed to even think about).

3. Or at the very least get you flustered.

Your only escape from his both wanted and unwanted attentions was sending him to the office (which he did very reluctantly these days).

It was on his days out of the house that you would find time to go and visit Jongin.

The tall boy had been acting rather strangely since that night he’d found you asleep in the stable. He still conversed well, told you jokes, gave you his dazzling smile, but there was a coldness behind it. He didn’t laugh quite so easily, he made comments that you didn’t quite understand (though you were sure they weren’t completely well meant), and his smile almost seemed forced.

Had you offended him? You’d always considered Jongin to be a good friend, especially during your first days with Baekhyun, but now you wondered if Jongin considered you the same. Perhaps he’d grown bored of your company?

Finally it became too much, and you blurted out just how you felt about the situation.

“Jongin!” You finally said, rising from your spot where you’d been sitting cross legged on a pile of hay as you watched him go about his work.

At the sound of your voice, he froze, his back (which was turned to you) turning rigid. His voice was stiff in his reply: “Yes?”

You frowned, taking a few steps closer, “Have I done something wrong? Have I said anything to offend you? Please tell me why I have suddenly gone from being a friend to a stranger so that I may fix it.”

Jongin glanced back over his shoulder at you, his expression was neutral as he replied, “You’ve done nothing wrong Y/n, I’ve simply been tired from work and don’t have much extra energy for small talk.”

The reasoning was understandable enough, yet you still felt burned by his words, as if he’d called you something degrading and told you to leave him alone.

Sighing, you brushed past him and decided to head back to the manor sooner rather than later.

You chose to ignore the jolt of something you felt as your arm brushed against his, believing it was just your active imagination.

But you weren’t sure if it was your imagination when you looked back and saw Jongin staring darkly after you.

——————————

It was nearing late afternoon when you got back to the manor, Baekhyun nowhere in sight. Shrugging, you’d gone about the rest of your day as if nothing was amiss (though the image of Jongin’s expression as you left never left your mind).

Afternoon and evening passed, and by nightfall you were starting to become worried. Baekhyun still had not returned from work, and the shadows that filled the place, mixed with your own uneasy thoughts, began to play dark tricks on your mind.

What if Baekhyun was hurt? What if he’d just abandoned you, leaving you to die in this house alone? You mind swirled with every situation imaginable, though it still didn’t prepare you for what happened when he arrived.

You had stayed on the couch, knees pulled up to your chest and arms holding onto your legs as you huddled into yourself, your teeth chewing at your lip nervously. The sound of a door opening and closing startled you from your bubble and you jumped up, forgetting to proceed with caution as you rushed into the entry hall.

You barely withheld a scream as you took in what was before you.

It was Baekhyun, his hair in his face, his breathing shallow, his skin turning pale and his cheeks taking on an almost sunken look.

But thats not what scared you. What scared you was the amount of blood that covered him. His clothes remained intact (although he’d lost his suit jacket), albeit dirty and stained with blood; you noticed also that the blood seeming to actually come from him, and that his hair had been matted by the dirty substance.

“Y-Y/n,” he said weakly, his body half slumped against the door. You didn’t have time to properly react as he collapsed, his eyes closing as he landed with a hard thud on the ground.

Before you could stop yourself, you had sprinted over to him, you body kneeling and your hands moving to drag at least half of Baekhyun into your lap, his head resting against your arm as you cradled him as close as you could manage and his bloodied form just brushing against your legs.

“Baekhyun!” You exclaimed, “Baekhyun wake up!”

Baekhyun groaned weakly, his eyes fluttering. You could barely assess the damage in the dim light, but you knew Baekhyun was hurt and that he needed something quick or else-no, you wouldn’t think about that.

Not even stopping to think, you took your free arm and pressed your wrist against his mouth. “Baekhyun, Baekhyun,” you murmured, “drink this please.”

You could tell Baekhyun wanted to protest, but in his half delirious state he obeyed, his lips finding purchase against your skin as his teeth sunk into your veins.

You bit back a whimper and let him drink, the color immediately returning to his skin with the more blood he took. When he seemed properly fed and you were beginning to feel slightly lightheaded, you gently pried your arm away from him (though he offered some strong resistance at first before seemingly coming to his senses and releasing you).

A moment later, Baekhyun sat up, his face turning to you as he looked at you in shock (you chose to ignore the thin trail of blood that trickled from his mouth).

Under his gaze, you quickly looked down at the floor, suddenly feeling embarrassed though you didn’t know why. “What?” You mumbled, not bothering to look back up.

“Nothing.” He said disbelievingly, “It’s just...thats the first time you’ve let me drink from you without asking.”

You looked back up at that revelation, your eyes locking onto his as a million things went through your mind that you both did and didn’t want to convey.

“Yeah,” you said, the sound coming out soft and breathlessly, “I guess I did.”

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frogocado · 6 years

Text

Take Care of Me (Damien Haas x Reader)

You and Damien have been hanging out ever since you joined the Smosh crew four weeks ago. While your friendship has been mostly platonic, you get wasted at a party and being the only person who isn’t drunk, Damien drives you home to take care of you.

I started this about a week and a half ago and it turned into something cuter than I had planned. Alcohol is one of the main themes in this! If you become uncomfortable at any point, please don’t feel like you have to keep reading. I still love you.

“Surprise!” Everyone shouted as you entered Shayne’s apartment. You let out a screech, eyes wide as you looked at everyone.

“Drop it, drop it!” Shayne shouted to Damien, who pulled a string that dropped a sloppily written banner. “Happy 1 Month at Smosh, Y/N.” You had exclusively asked for this to not happen, knowing the same stunt had been pulled for all of the new recruits as the company grew. It was seen as a way of helping everyone feel welcome, but surprises were as scary to you as jump scares.

You tried to turn around and hide your face, but Boze’s arm slung over your shoulder and steered you to face the group again. She had told you that Damien and Shayne had wanted some Scrabble revenge from your weekly game night two nights before. Despite being upset with her for setting you up, you were always down for anything when she was by your side. She was your best friend in the office, hands down, always building each other up to do more and more silly things to cheer everyone up around the office. You felt yourself slowly turning red as everyone clapped and whooped for you. “Speech, speech, speech!”

You covered your face as everyone quieted down. “Thanks for coming, I-I think,” you began, uncovering your eyes with a warm hand. Boze pretended to hold a microphone in front of you and you looked around at everyone, trying to find Joe’s face. “This wasn’t in my contract,” you said finally and everyone began to cheer and clap again.

You felt like you blinked and suddenly you were in the kitchen with Boze, Matt Raub, and Shayne as they poured shots for you to share. You had known from previous parties that this was what they did to get them all to a slight tipsy, but you weren’t as prepared. It had been a while since you had gotten drunk and by your third, you were already at your limit. Somehow, a beer had entered your hand and was halfway gone and you milled around the apartment, feeling much better about the surprise now that you were close to being wasted.

"Thanks for organizing this,” you said to Shayne, standing on your toes to hug your friend close after finishing your second round of Mario Kart with Damien, Sarah, Noah, and Keith.

“Oh, it wasn’t just me,” he said, nudging his head toward Damien. “He planned most of it.”

“You did?” You drawled to Damien, giving him a hug as well.

He laughed sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders as you stepped down to look at him. “Yeah, you know. You’re my friend and when Boze told me how angry you would be about surprises, I figured I’d pitch in to make it sort of okay.”

You pulled back to squint at him, as if forcing your eyes to focus would help you be at least a little bit more sober for this exchange to save a bit of professionalism. You felt a burp coming on and excused yourself, getting into the bathroom only milliseconds before you got sick.

You heard a knock on the door before it opened and Boze knelt down next to you. “You okay, Y/N?”

“Drank too much,” you murmured as she collected your hair to move it out of your face with one hand, her other rubbing your back soothingly.

“You lightweight,” she teased lightly before leaning out into the hallway to call Joe over.

The two of them talked in soft voices before you saw Joe leave, going back into the main room. “Joe’s trying to see who can drive you home. Sorry you got wasted during your surprise party,” Boze said as she gently helped you to your feet, searching for a spare toothbrush in Shayne’s bathroom.

You swayed, holding the sink for support. Damien appeared in the doorway, looking worried. He winced when he saw the contents in the toilet. “Oh, gross.” He noticed the toothbrush Boze had found and knocked it out of her hand, forcing the flush lever down before either of you could react. “Don’t use that one, it’s Shayne’s!”

Boze put up her hands defensively, giggling a little bit. “Yo, Y/N, imagine if you had brushed your gross puke teeth with Shayne’s toothbrush. Your friendship would be super over.” The two of you began to laugh as you imagined it before your swaying brought everyone back to reality.

“C’mon, Y/N,” Damien said, his hand gently on your wrist to guide you out of the bathroom. “I’ll drive you home and clean you up and you can just go to sleep.”

“Just inviting yourself over to my house, eh?” You joked with him as you handed over your keys and the two of you walked out together to your car.

As Damien drove you the ten minutes back, you rested your head on the cool glass of the window, trying to keep your stomach and insides from swaying on every turn. “You okay?” He asked when you two were a block away. You closed your eyes, giving a soft noise in response so you could avoid nodding and talking. You felt his hand cover yours and squeeze. “Almost there.”

After parking, Damien had an arm around your waist to guide you into your house since you were still shaky on your feet. “First on the agenda is you brushing your teeth.” He smiled to himself as he helped you to the bathroom before disappearing to go get you a glass of water. As you brushed, you felt embarrassed and silly. Your friend had had to drive you home from a party that was supposed to be about you, all because you couldn’t handle your alcohol.

“Breath check,” Damien joked as you two met in the hall after you had finished.

Biting your lower lip for half a second, you pressed up onto your tip toes and crashed your lips against his. His entire body tensed, his hands on your shoulders as he backed himself up a step. “Whoa, Y/N–” he said, eyes wide. The water had spilled and he was quick to put it down, a hand brushing at his now wet shirt. You giggled as you fell forward against him, trying to find his lips again. They always looked so soft and his body was always so warm and it was the only thing you’d been thinking about since the Denny’s incident two weeks ago when you had forgotten your jacket and Damien had sat in the booth next to you, rubbing your shoulders.

But then his hands were gently holding onto your forearms, thumbs rubbing against your skin as he gently pushed you backward onto your stable feet again. “Slow down there, friend, you’re quite wasted.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me?” You asked, lower lip jutting out in a shameless pout.

“That’s not what I’m saying–” His eyes met yours and he let out a tense breath, shaking his head as his eyes drifted down to your mouth. “Fuck, you’re cute. Okay, listen, you’re really drunk and I would never, ever kiss someone when they’re this gone, even if I really wanted to, because I’d be taking advantage of a situation. Let me just… help you get to sleep, okay?”

You couldn’t hide your disappointment but nodded all the same. He let go of your arms and picked up the water again. “Okay,” you agreed, frowning at the spot of water on his shirt.

Damien guided you to your room and onto your bed where you struggled to unlace your shoes. He smiled and knelt on the floor, helping you. “Here,” he placed the water on the table next to your bed and guided you to lay on your side. “Anything else you need? I was gonna head out if you think you’re alright.”

Your eyes were half closed and you reached out, grabbing his arm. “Two things,” you murmured, struggling to open your eyes all the way. He seemed to find this amusing and an infuriating smirk stretched across his lips. You held up one finger, squinting at him. “Please stay.”

“Done,” he responded immediately. “Thing two?” Your eyes were closed again, though you felt like they were somehow still open and you were helping him set up a spot on the couch.

“Y/N?” Damien questioned as he grabbed the spare pillow off your bed and your eyes opened, gazing down at him setting up a small spot to sleep on your floor. This was… unexpected. “Did you fall asleep? I thought you had two things to tell me.”

“Oh yeah,” you yawned, your arm lazing off over the side of your bed. “Sometimes, our friendship is annoyingly platonic.”

Damien laughed, as he got up to turn off the light. “I agree. Goodnight.”

Sleep overcame you too fast for you to respond.

You woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and squinted at the light coming in through your shades. There was a bottle of Tylenol next to the glass of water on your table and you sat up, immediately taking three and chugging the bottle of water.

As you started to get up, you noticed the small space where Damien had slept next to you, his shoes sitting neatly next to the edge of the blanket. The memory of what you had done flooded back to you and you groaned, flopping back onto the pillow. When you finally gained the courage to face your friend, you wrapped your blanket around your frame and head to protect you from the sun as you entered the kitchen. Damien stood at the stove, cooking a pan of eggs. “The beast emerges,” he teased nodding toward your coffee pot.

“Thank you,” you mumbled, voice hoarse from the pain in your throat as you cleared it away, pouring yourself a cup. You leaned against the counter and watched him serve you both the breakfast he had prepared for you. “That thank you is pretty encompassing, you know,” you told him as you sat up on the counter, leaning against the side of the fridge. “And I’m sorry.”

“You’re welcome. Does that mean you remember what happened last night?” Damien asked you, eyes down. “Is that why I heard you awake before I saw you awake?”

You nodded into your eggs before looking at him. "Parts of it.” His eyes met yours and he chuckled. You felt like you might melt on the spot and you were unsure if it was because he didn’t know how charming he was when he was insistently respectful and gentle or from the pain oozing away from your pounding head.

When Damien finished his eggs, he placed his plate in the sink and turned to you where you still sat on the counter, knees pulled up to your chest as you scrolled through your Twitter feed. “Do you remember what you said to me last night? About how you felt like our friendship was annoyingly platonic?” You felt the color drain from your face, thinking that had simply been a dream you had drunkenly conducted in your sleep in order to cope with your own actions.

Now he was grinning. “I guess not.” You groaned, hiding your face in your blanket. You had completely forgotten the conversation you had had before falling asleep, only vaguely remembering the kiss, even.

“I suck, I’m so sorry,” you said into your muffled arms, looking up after a couple of seconds.

“Listen,” Damien said, watching you closely. His eyes traced the curl of your lips before you could notice and by the time you saw him looking at you, it was already intently to meet your eyes. “I’m not upset, I just want someone to be able to fully consent to anything I do with them.”

Your eyebrows furrowed, too hungover to quickly figure out what he could possibly mean. “That just wasn’t the way I thought we’d kiss for the first time. It wasn’t that I don’t think about you.”

You straightened up a bit and the two of you smiled gently at each other. Damien moved closer to you slowly, allowing time for both of you to change your mind if it was needed. When he was close enough for you to pick out all the colors in his eyes, he mumbled gently, “just so we’re clear, I’m gonna kiss you now.”

“God, do you ever stop being a nice guy?” You responded before tugging on the front of his shirt.

He didn’t get a chance to answer as your lips met. It was the same lips, the same heat, but now he relaxed against your frame, taking a step closer to be in a better position to reach you the way he wanted to. Your hand rested on his cheek, the other still holding a handful of his t-shirt. This time, when you pulled away from him, his lips were slightly parted and he made a noise like a hum, forehead pressing against yours.

“That’s what I wanted our first kiss to be like,” Damien admitted, unable to hide his smile.

“Can we just forget the other one that happened, then?” You requested, mouth reaching for his again.

Damien laughed, mumbling against your lips. “Gladly.”

#damien haas #smosh games #smosh #damien haas fic #damien haas x reader #smosh games imagine #damien haas imagine #this is once again #a novel #mine #fic #100n #500n #!!!

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drones-of-innocence · 6 years

Text

Universal Gravitation

O~o~O

The silence was deafening. There was nothing, nothing at all except for the spots of light, too far away to make out. And even then, he was becoming blind to them. They must have meant something up close, but from so far away, they were reduced to meaninglessness.

The soft murmurs of the transmissions had been the only sound in the cabin. Quiet, technical conversations went on, too low for him to comprehend them, as he never bothered to listen anymore. But still, the meaningless words had provided some semblance comfort. The faint droning of men and women at home, up at all hours had become dimly familiar, even if they spoke about aerodynamics and computer science that went beyond his understanding. The condition of the computer’s program, the status of the thermal protection system, and the effect of debris on the outer hull, anything that could possibly go wrong was being accounted for. He could have understood if it made a difference, but he’d learned to tune out the noise.

He had been gazing sleepily out his window, into the stark cosmos. Before him was history in the making, the sharp outline of Mars to his right. He remembered when Mars was nothing more than a big yellow star in the sky on a clear night, back when his fantasies ran wild and free. Back then, Mars was just a distant thought, a dream underlined by a reluctant understanding that it wouldn’t happen within his lifetime. And still, he dreamed. As a kid, his bedroom wall was lined with poster after poster of the planets, his ceiling dotted with glow-in-the-dark galaxies. When he closed his eyes, he was up there, sleeping among the stars.

Blinking at the large, cratered expanse before him, he reckoned he finally caught up with his imagination.

“Jones. Jones, do you copy, over?”

He had faintly recognized his name distantly in his thoughts, only to realize he wasn’t dreaming. Jolting, he quickly reached to press flashing light on the communicator. “Yeah, Capcom, I’m here. I dozed off for a moment, over.”

There was a short pause, after he released the button. As he was staring up at nothing, the reply came with a faint warble of amusement. “How’s it looking, over?”

His eyes wandered to the red planet. “Beautiful, just beautiful. The pictures just can’t compare to the real thing, over.”

He could hear the smile. “I can only imagine, Jones. Over.”

Falling quiet, he had wondered what Mars looked like from the shuttle’s camera. He imagined a somewhat grainy, rose-tinted hue, with an overly saturated image that exaggerated the color of Mars to a blood orange. Perhaps there’d be some disruption in the signal, some static that would send Mission Control into a momentary panic to regain contact. It had been a cold reminder of how far away he truly was, alone. Kilometers upon kilometers, he’d heard the distance so many times. Numbers were easy to look at, but hard to truly comprehend.

The process of falling into Mars’ orbit would begin in a few hours, and that would be the true test of NASA’s past thirty years. It would be the first time a manned spacecraft would orbit Mars. The shuttle would use a technique called aerobraking, which would take advantage of the planet’s own atmosphere to slow down and gradually fall in. The process would take roughly another six months, if all the previous probes were anything to go on. The best mission control could have given him was an estimate.

He was dizzy, but it wasn’t because he was spinning. Consciousness rolled over him like a wave, like the oceans he would never touch. He wondered; what had be become now? Where he had once been the dreamer, perhaps he was the dream. A dream that failed instantly and forever ago, and it would take approximately three minutes for that information to reach earth. Light was the fastest messenger of them all, but it wasn’t quite fast enough.

“Jones. We are detecting a slight disturbance, over.”

Perhaps those minutes had passed already, perhaps the light had opened their eyes.

“Capcom to Jones, there appears to be something wrong with the program, over.”

Some might see it as a great tragedy to learn from. Others likely saw it as millions of dollars in wasted technology.

“Jones, please respond, over.”

He felt like he’d been asleep for less than a minute when he jerked awake, only to realize Mars took up most of the window. He had stared, slack jawed for a moment, just trying to process the sheer detail he could see. With no special equipment, he make out craters and the volcanoes, seeing with his own eyes just how red it was. No image could accurately describe the planet, but he tried to imagine how he could portray it back home. Mars was the color of monarch butterflies and leaves in the fall, it was the color of the orange callas in his mom’s garden. It was the color of the sodium street lights on rainy nights back home, back where he knew all the rules.

Figuring he must have been asleep for at least three hours, he remembered clumsily pressed the communicator. “Could you repeat that, over?”

Immediately, Capcom came in. “Jones, the computer is not responding to our commands. You’re going in too fast. Over.”

“What should I do?” he frowned, glancing around at the flashing lights warning of building heat. He pressed the keypad a few times. “It’s not showing me anything wrong on my end, over.”

He was another tick on a list of many mistakes. Gazing at the distant, orange marble, he understood for the first time that he was very small. His miscalculation was one of many, and that was the way it was supposed to be. How would humanity make any progress otherwise? Even in failure, he served a purpose to better everyone. Sacrifices had to be made for the greater good, even if it meant leaving behind everything he ever knew.

The next reply didn’t come until after a long moment of hesitation, and it had worried him. “It appears to be a glitch of some sort due to some damage on the shuttle. You’re going to have to do manual override to correct the trajectory.” a heavy sigh made it through the speaker. “You’ll have to listen very carefully to our exact calculations. One degree off and you’ll either burn up in the atmosphere or go careening into space. Over.”

He remembered thinking it suddenly felt very warm in the cabin. With an unsteady hand, he had pressed the communicator. “Understood. Over.”

The buzzing chatter of the voices back at Mission Control seemed more excitable, then. He looked up once more to the window, where Mars gazed back at him with it’s rusted brilliance. If he held up a hand, he felt like he could touch it.

He remembered, with fond tears stinging his eyes, when he was a boy, desperately trying to recreate the stars with LED lights in his room. Endless hours were spent tracing constellations and galaxies, trying to make his sky map as accurate as possible. His father had helped him build a telescope so powerful he could make out the craters on the moon in blinding clarity. On road trips out in the country, he always insisted stopping at night so he could have a chance to gaze up at the stars and pick out every one he knew. The light pollution in his city was too heavy for him to see the real ones, but Mars always managed to peek out through the urban gloom.

Now, he couldn’t pick out any stars. He had never seen this sky. And yet he’d looked upon it all his life, with a three minute delay.

“Okay, Jones. You’re going to have to turn right 2.363 degrees. Over.”

He let out a shaky sigh. “Copy that, over.” he carefully gripped the joystick and started to tilt it ever so slightly. The monitor told him how far he was turning, and he could see the slight shift out his window.

Mission control began buzzing again once he hit 2.363 degrees, and he held steady. “Jones, you have turned just two degrees. Over.”

Frowning at the monitor, he tapped it. “Two? The computer says I turned 2.363. Over.”

A different voice took over for Capcom. “He did. He turned 2.363 degrees. The computer is steering it back to the original trajectory.”

“The program must still be online.”

“Jones did the proper procedure for manual override! Why is it online?”

“The computer is not responding to his commands. The computer thinks it needs to stay its course.”

“But he followed our calculations exactly! Run the numbers again.”

At the flurry of conversations that tumbled over one another in increasing panic, Capcom came back on. “Jones, it’s going to be okay. The computer has a glitch, all of us back here are working to fix it. Hang in there Jones. Over.”

It was cold. He had been told all his life how cold space was, but he never could truly understand until he was there himself. If he squinted, he could make out the stars that had eluded him before. He could make out colors he was certain the cones in his eyes weren’t designed to process. The universe was beautiful, full of wishes and dreams. But it was a very cold and lonely place to be.

He waited for mission control while the computer steered him along.

“Commander Jones,” a woman spoke up. “The computer is dead set on its course. It won’t allow you or mission control to adjust it. It’s responding to the debris that struck the outer jet.”

He pursed his lips. “You’re about to shoot through Mars’ atmosphere. The shuttle is too big and it’s moving too fast to latch onto the gravitational pull. There’s a very large chance the shuttle will burn up in the atmosphere before it can make it back out.” Capcom explained. “There’s nothing we can do. I’m sorry.”

Burying his face in his hands for just a moment, he swallowed down a thick lump in his throat. A drop of sweat fell on the control panel. “Is there anything I can do? Over,” he rasped, even though he knew the answer.

“...No. Nothing.” Capcom reluctantly let out. “Over.”

Fifty-five million kilometers away. Fifty-five million kilometers and he wouldn’t be going home. He gasped weakly, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be walking up to the porch of his parent’s house, where he imagined his mom was planting more orange callas. Perhaps his dad would be reading the news in his old rickety chair. The little brick house in the little cul-de-sac in the little city was too big for them now. He let out a choked sob at the image, the idea unbearably more painful than anything space had waiting for him. Who was going to tell his mom?

He struggled to breathe, and his voice wobbled as he pressed the communicator. “Understood. Over.”

The cabin suddenly felt too stifling. He wrestled off the seatbelts and held on to the arms of the chair so he didn’t float away. He checked the screen for the distance from Mars and velocity he was heading towards it. All kinds of measurements were laid out for him in neat tables, telling him their information in bright green numbers. The numbers should have grounded him, but instead they made him feel further from earth than he really was. In an instant, he decided he didn’t want to burn alive in the atmosphere.

Mission Control’s buzz grew again once he opened a door. “Jones? Jones, what are you doing, over?” the worry was obvious in Capcom’s voice.

He pressed on his earpiece. “If I’m going to die, Capcom, I don’t want to go without trying to fix it.”

When all the people working Mission Control started yelling, he sighed with an empty grin.

“What does he mean? What’s he doing?”

“Fix it?”

“Jones, stay in your seat! You’re going to hit some debris in the next hundred kilometers.”

“Why is he up and about?”

Capcom had to raise his voice to be heard over Mission Control. “What?! Jones, you might get pulled in by Mars!”

He had pulled out the spacesuit, he struggled to fasten on the first layers. The cap and liquid cooling suit were difficult to put on. “I’m far enough away. I’ll take the SAFER to launch myself away. I’ll be fine.” he reassured Capcom, adjusting the cap around his earpiece.

Mission Control had become incomprehensible, filled with people lecturing him about decision making and safety in space. He couldn’t distinguish any of their voices and didn’t bother to try. He fumbled with all the pads and slid on the gloves as quickly as he could. There were so many pieces to put together, but the metal bands were difficult to fasten in zero gravity. Still, he managed to wrestle on the pants and top, and finally put on the helmet.

The lectures had stopped, and had instead turned into pleas for him to respond. He slid the SAFER on his back and ignored the proximity alert for Mars’ atmosphere.

“I’m here, Mission Control.” he spoke with a resigned tone. “I’m just going to hop out and tinker with the jet.”

Before anyone could speak up again, Capcom came back on. “You sure about this, Jones?”

He wondered how far along the shuttle had gotten. Had it burned up already? There wasn’t a way for him to tell anymore. He hoped the shuttle made a pretty show of comets and shooting stars on Mars. Maybe they could get some images of it at home.

“I’m sorry, Capcom, I’m sorry Mission Control,” his chest heaved, and he struggled to form words as he spun wildly out of control. “Tell my parents I love them. Over and out.”

His oxygen tank was running low, the notification in his helmet warned him. He had a little over three minutes left. Smiling wryly, he laughed with a fluttering breath, the irony making him feel ill.

The SAFER helped him slow down his spinning, but there was no way for him to completely stop it. So he spun in the middle of nothing and everything, watching his timer run out. He couldn’t even see earth anymore, or at least, he couldn’t recognize it. It probably wasn’t distinguishable from the other stars. If he looked upon all of them, at some point he hoped he’d be looking at the earth. He had read somewhere that the desert was beautiful because somewhere, it hid a well. The stars were beautiful because somewhere, they hid a rose.

He looked down at the suit, at the emblem proudly smacked across his chest. Out here, it was meaningless. Out where no one could see him exactly as he was, he had lost all connection to his home. Even if his death supposedly meant more than just a light going out, what were the ripples in the water that he made? Did a bright future for the race really mean the mothers and fathers of those fallen in the cracks had to grieve alone? Did that mean he had to grieve alone for the future he allowed, but would never see?

Finding himself grateful for the timer, he tried to picture his mother’s face. When it was too hard, his eyes screwed shut and he smacked his helmet trying to wipe his tears away.

There was less air, and his lungs struggled to take in what little was left. His vision was blurry now, wet and unfocused. His eyelids fluttered, wanting to close, but he fought. He fought to see earth one more time.

And suddenly, there was light.

He moved to shield his eyes at its brilliance, but it went past any shade to take away any darkness. Any darkness was banished from him, squandered and defeated to nonexistence. It burned in his eyes, for he had not seen such bright light in nearly a year. He had been away from the light for far too long. “Do not be afraid,” the light told him gently, with a voice as smooth as silk.

The light hurt too much for him to want to understand. “I’m not afraid,” he wheezed back, the light even invading all his senses. And he meant it; the light never drove him away. He thrived under it. His skin had gone pale from being deprived of his sun for so long. And still, it burned him. “I’m alone.” his voice cracked, breaking him open and letting the light inside.

The light dimmed just slightly, enough for him to try and open his eyes. “No,” it disagreed with him. “You are never alone.”

Squinting at the figure before him, he saw a vague image of gold and white. As his eyes adjusted, he got a clearer and clearer picture of the being that shined. He could make out green eyes peering at him, alight with certainty and life. “What do you mean?” he asked, slowly adjusting and picking out more and more details. Two wings kept the figure aloft, and a gold halo was perched just above its head. He didn’t think he’d ever seen such a flawless form in his life. Trying to move his arms towards the angel, he struggled to take a full breath, his lungs unable to take what little was left.

The figure smiled at him, and reached towards his face. The angel’s hand went right through the glass visor of his helmet and rested on his cheek, his movements elegant and fluid. “Loneliness is impossible.” he explained. “At every moment, there is a force at work, breathing new purpose into all living things. There is a gentle pull that binds us. Each of us are drawn together by this tiny, wonderful force, and it works all across the cosmos in its own mysterious way. Everything that happens is a result of this unique gravity, be it life or love. It draws everything in the universe together, but at the same time, it has to pull some things apart.”

Nothing he said made sense. He wasn’t sure how to respond. Smiling somewhat sadly, the angel continued at his silence. “That gentle pull brought you into existence, on nothing more than a whim. It made you who you are, carving you like the water carves a canyon. It leaves wonderful mark, but to do that, it had to take away the dust first. This force brought you here. And it brought me here with you.” the angel smiled soothingly. “So you see, you are not alone.”

He took in a shuddering breath, glancing once to the oxygen level. “I wouldn’t call it ge-gentle.” he rasped, and the angel laughed warmly. “Why did it take me here? Why did it bring you?” He looked upon the angel with absolute awe, trying desperately to understand.

The knowing smile the angel gave him was positively radiant. “You see, there?” he pointed off in the distance, and by following his hand, he could pick out a star. “That is your home. The future of your kind depended on your mission. Though it doesn’t feel like you accomplished anything, just know that you are the first rain that washed through the plain. One day, a beautiful canyon will take form, all because you took the first step. Few of us get to be catalysts like you, as most of us are content with our place in the universe. Humanity has a wonderful future ahead, and you made it possible for them. You’ve served them well.”

The star in the distance was so fuzzy, he could barely recognize it. He was quiet for a long time, his eyes wandering in and out of focus. The colors all seemed to bleed and swirl together, so far from him and so close to each other. He briefly saw an image of orange callas and newspapers in the dark. The light could only illuminate that which was so distant. His suit warned him with a soft noise that he only had a minute left.

He didn’t feel like rain. He felt like dust, destined to wander forever. And if he was dust, then the angel must be the wind, gusting wild and free and taking him along with it. Though, he didn’t resent the angel, or the wind for acting out their purpose. Instead, he just wished his own purpose allowed him to go home one more time. After all, he figured he was only human, catalyst or not. He suddenly wished that he had been content with his place when he was a child instead of dreaming of the stars. At least then, he wouldn’t be so lost.

“Where am I going?” he asked quietly. “What happens now?”

The angel hushed him. “Save your breath, my love. It’s time to go.”

His lungs strained for air. The angel smiled and leaned towards him, pressing his lips to his forehead. The universe pulled him along, and his eyes started to close. He saw the LED lights, the glow in the dark stars that dotted his midnight walls. He saw his mother’s colorful garden and his father’s old chair. He saw the driveway and then the street, the small city and the state. He saw the continent and the earth before him, shrinking away out of his sight.

The angel shrouded him with his wings, embracing him as the tears froze on his cheeks. He looked with unseeing eyes upon the earth one last time. Just as he took one final, shuddering breath, the angel leaned in close to him to whisper in his ear.

“The dreamer always eventually becomes a dream.” he said. “It was only a matter of time.”

O~o~O

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hanzier · 6 years

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Richie Tozier was 17 years old that summer and gloriously self-destructive. Much like Bev, he had just finished barreling through an awful year. Although, unlike Bev, he did nothing in attempt to prevent himself from spiraling- instead he let himself fall. No house, no health insurance, no future plans and no problem with any of that. He had his job, his friends and enough weed to keep him in a permanent state of semi high.

It could be said that much like Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier was at an all-time low. But, Richie didn’t consider himself to be any lower than he’d always been. Over the course of the summer he had many opportunities to change that, and though he took advantage of a few of these well…

Like I said Richard Tozier was tragically self-destructive, but more on that later.

Richie was seldom caught frowning in the company of Bill Denbrough.

The pair could have close to intense arguments and still have a hint of amusement in their voices and a tug at the corner of their lips. They just played off of each other’s goofiness and complimented each other in such a way that only brothers could. Richie loved being around Bill, because his smile was infectious.

But as of present, Richie was not smiling at his best friend. He was, in fact, almost ready to toss him out of a window. Which would be difficult, considering they were walking down the deserted main street.

“Three god-damn shots and a beer!” Richie was incredulous and speaking to no one in particular, “How the fuck-“

“Rich, knock it off. He apologized.” Bev’s voice called from behind him, he turned around.

Bill was slung over her shoulder, a goofy grin plastered on his intoxicated face, “I didn’t mean to flush them I swear, Rich.”

Richie blinked furiously as he heard Eddie giggle somewhere to his right, everything was already kind of hazy and that damn sound made the world go blurry.

He soon realized that the additional fuzziness wasn’t due to Eddies laugh, but to a drunk Stan Uris knocking his glasses off of his face.

Two large blobs knocked into each other to his left and Stan murmured, “Whoops, sorry Rich.”

Richie blinked again, unsure of where they had fallen on the dark pavement, he was too high for this, “Mother fucker…You know, Denbrough, this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t flushed my fucking contacts you drunk slut.”

Eddie’s giggles started again, “Drunk slut?” He was closer than Richie realized, right next to him, actually. And Richie really wished he could see what the hell was happening as more giggles erupted from everyone in the group.

“Here ya go,” Richie felt his glasses slide onto his face from someone below him.

He looked down at Eddie who was very much in his space, and seemingly decently intoxicated. Richie liked that he wasn’t as uptight as he’d been that morning. He seemed like he was having fun, and Richie got a little selfish thrill knowing that he had played a small role in making that happen, (although some could definitely be contributed to his two shots of tequila and a hit from Richie’s own blunt).

Eddie had been kind of closed off at first, but Richie wore him down with a few mom jokes and an inappropriate amount of touches for someone he had just met. By the time they left the apartment, Eddie had been calling Richie a ‘blind want-to-be stoner’ with a glimmer in his eye.

Richie grinned, “Well thanks, doll. I was getting tired of not seeing that pretty little face.”

Eddie just rolled his eyes, stepping back out of Richie’s space.

Richie turned around to see what the laughter had been about and realized that Stan had been impersonating him with a large pair of sunglasses on, feeling around Bill’s chest and Bev’s hair as if he were blind.

“Hardy har har. When did you become such a menace, Stanny?” Richie laughed, enjoying the rare sight of his most responsible friend letting loose.

Stan was by no means the stick in the mud strangers had mistaken him for, due to his clean-cut look, but he defiantly didn’t indulge in shenanigans as often as Bev, Richie and Bill.

“I learned from the best.” Stan said with a smug look, his hand still firmly placed on Bill’s bicep.

Richie raised a brow, but didn’t say anything, instead putting on his best Scottish accent, “Tha’ ya did, Stanleh.”

Bev groaned under Bill’s weight, “Stan, you gotta keep him up. He’s way too heavy for me.” Without waiting for a response, she tilted to the left, unloading all of Bill’s mass onto Stan’s shoulders.

He didn’t seem to mind.

She skipped a few steps forward to Eddie, who was suddenly looking much more bitter than he had just moments before, “I hope Mike remembered the oreos. I’m really craving double stuffed.”

As if on cue, Mike Hanlon: knight in shining armor, emerged from the 7/11 brandishing a cure for the munchies, rather than a sword. In Richie’s expert opinion, sour cream and onion chips were much more impressive than any medieval weapons. But, that could have been the weed talking.

Eddie was the first to Mike, nearly snatching the bag out of his hands. He grabbed a water bottle and the back of pretzels and made his little way over to Bill and Stan.

“Here, Bill. Try and sober up a little so that you don’t fall asleep before we get to the beach.” Eddie held out the opened water bottle and Bill took it with unsteady hands. Stan held it to his mouth instead and Eddie deflated a little more.

Richie watched the interaction in awe, “The kid is six feet tall. This isn’t even close to his first time drinking… How is he still such a massive lightweight?”

Bev giggled sifting through the shopping bag as she sat on the curb next to Mike, “God had to give him some flaws, right?”

Mike snorted and popped an oreo into his mouth. Richie and Beverly looked at him in awe, “Why’d you just eat that?”

“Oreos are vegan,” Eddie entered the conversation, the same slightly sour look on his face, “Mike told me before when I was asking how he survived on that diet without junk food.”

Bev’s face contorted in horror, “What the heck are they made out of then?”

Mike shrugged, “Chocolatey goodness.” he offered them around the group and Richie took six, and sat down next to Bev. He looked across the street at Stan and Bill while he munched.

The pair was sitting on the opposite curb, sides pressed together, Bill’s head on Stan’s shoulder, while Stan held the bottle of water to Bill’s mouth.

“How long has that been going on?” Richie directed the question at Eddie, leaning back on his hands and looking up at him for a change.

Eddie rolled his eyes, “According to Ben it hasn’t been going on. But, they’ve been awfully close all year.”

Mike spoke, clearly noticing the sore spot and trying to change the subject, “Ben’s the one who broke his leg right?” Eddie nodded, “He’s getting his cast off in a week, so he’ll be joining us soon enough.”

Bev hummed, clearly not as interested in this as she was in the situation across the street. She leaned her head on Richie’s shoulder, the proximity made him smile and he gestured to her bag, she handed it over knowing exactly what he needed, “So did either of them say anything…”

She trailed off nodding across the street and Richie dug through her extensive collection of lipsticks, clothing swatches and what would be a suspicious zip-lock bag to most, finally pulling out a cigarette. She lit it for him with her sparkly hot pink bic. He liked it when they were in tune like that. It was getting rarer and rarer.

He inhaled sharply, staring at Eddie.

They both knew what she was really asking.

Had Bill come out?

It was a good question. One that Richie was sure he knew the answer to. One that Richie was sure Eddie needed the answer to.

Eyes never leaving Eddie, he blew out a stream of smoke.

Eddie shrugged, trying and failing to come across as nonchalant, “Stan came out a year ago. He told us all about how he liked you last summer, Mike. He said all you guys knew.”

Mike smiled fondly at the memories. But that wasn’t the answer Bev was looking for, she opened her mouth to pry again. She really could be quite the gossip, Richie recalled the hours she and Stan blabbered on over the phone.

Richie wasn’t particularly interested in talking about Bill all night while he sat twenty feet away, “Yea, no one was particularly surprised about that one.” He said flatly. The topic of coming out was not one that Richie was at all fond of.

Mike spoke, “We should get a move on if we want to even make it to the bonfire before it gets shut down.”

Richie leaned forward, gently shaking Bev off, “Big Bill! How ya feeling, fella?” He made his way across the street to Stan and Bill, who both looked a bit better than they had five minutes ago.

They albeit leapt apart at the sound of his voice, “Much better, Rich. Sorry about the contacts, they were just so slimey…”

Stan grimaced, standing up to adjust his pants. Richie offered Bill a hand up, which he gladly took, standing much steadier than he had before.

“See,” Mike said, crossing the street to meet them, “All you needed was a little break and a little water. Let’s try to pace ourselves for the rest of the night.”

Richie laughed, knowing that Mike was trying to be reasonable, but also knowing that across the street Beverly and Eddie were smoking another joint.

“All right, losers, let’s roll out.”

When the finally stumbled onto the beach, the bonfire was roaring.

About forty or so kids were scattered a few yards from the lifeguard stand, around a burning pile of wood.

“PARTY’S HERE!” Richie hollered and was greeted with a roar of approval from the people he was jogging to.

Eddie didn’t know what to do. Parties were something he had steered clear of ever since a disastrous encounter on Halloween in freshman year. He looked to his left and wished he hadn’t.

Bill and Stan were laughing to themselves, sharing a new bottle of beer, closer than they needed to be. Eddie wondered when the germs had stopped bothering Stan.

Feeling uncertain, he followed Richie. Mike was preoccupied spinning in a circle with Bev on his back, both of them laughing wildly.

He made his way over to the bonfire, the heat greeted him before anything else.

Richie was standing with his arm looped around a blonde girl’s shoulder, she was wearing a red lifeguard hoodie and handing him a red solo cup.

Eddie teetered on the edge of the fire for a moment before the sound of Richie’s voice permeated his thoughts once again, “Everyone, this is Eddie,” he had his solo cup raised in Eddies direction, “Give him a warm welcome, it’s his first time in Paradise.”

From what Eddie could tell, these kids would cheer at anything, because there were several shouts of approval from the group.

Someone handed him another drink and Eddie realized he was still too sober to deal with such a new social situation.

Bev and Mike came to his side and Bev looked at his drink, “You want that? I can light up with you instead.”

Eddie looked at the drink and shrugged, “I’m gonna be honest, I’ve only smoked a few times. So, for now I’m a little more comfortable drinking.”

He didn’t need the drink, it was only a beer but he was already feeling light and floaty. He drank it anyway.

Time was drifting at an odd pace, as it tended to do when you were drifting under the influence.

There were claps on the backs and informal introductions and Eddie found himself successfully distracted from everything he wanted to be distracted from.

He wasn’t a fan of the music, rap wasn’t something he was too fond of and it was blaring. But he was a fan of the way Bev was dancing to it, twirling by herself, offbeat and happy.

He stood from a log he didn’t know he was sitting on and joined her to the back of the crowd. It was a bolder move than Eddie usually made; he wasn’t one to go to parties, let alone dance with girls at them. But, he had already become very comfortable with Beverly, and the alcohol and weed were certainly making things easier for him.

He grabbed her hand and she giggled. She jumped up and down with him until he tried to spin her, failing miserably because she was about an inch taller than him.

They both collapsed into peals of laughter and Eddie continued to forget that Bill and Stan had disappeared the moment they stepped on the beach.

The stars were shrouded in a fog of sorts. It took Eddie a few seconds to realize that was because of the smoke.

Richie walked over with the blonde girl, interrupting the dance.

He squeezed his wiry frame between the dancing pair, pressing himself almost flush to Eddie and spoke, “Mind if I cut in? Estelle wants a word with our Bevie.”

Richie was leaning down to Eddie, almost blocking his view of Bev, but he could just see her pick up her bag as the blonde girl whispered something that made Bev frown.

“I guess… what’s that about?” Eddie pried, feeling loose as Richie swayed in front of him.

The taller boy grinned, “Estelle is a client of Bev’s. She’s also a life guard. Cute huh?”

It wasn’t a question. It was a challenge. And Eddie was too drunk for it. He was about to fail miserably.

Eddie shrugged, finishing off his drink, “I’m not really into blondes.”

“Red heads then, right?” Richie had an infuriatingly sly look on his face and Eddie prayed to whatever god was listening that this stranger didn’t know what he was trying so hard to hide.

“You mean Bev?” He wasn’t convincing enough. His voice cracked and Richie smirked. He hoped his breathing wasn’t as shallow as it felt.

“No, not Bev- our other resident ginger B.” He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world and his casual tone made Eddie’s blood boil, “You have a crush on Big Bill too right?”

Eddies world was crumbling and he couldn’t make a sound, but Richie was gladly jabbering on.

“I’m starting to think it’s some sorta rite of passage to fall for the fucker… Bev was head over heels for the guy. They only hooked up a few times, but she gushed about him for weeks. Obviously, she’s over it now, but Christ, did ya see the look on her face when she saw how hot he’s gotten.”

Richie didn’t notice that he was more or less talking to himself, “Now Stanny- I’m surprised he didn’t have higher standards, but have you ever seen a kid so in love?” He laughed, “Besides from looking in the mirror, I guess.”

Richie hadn’t meant to be malicious. He was high. And he was perpetually jealous of Bill. He was also maybe trying to get a rise out of Eddie, in a twisted attempt to see if he was right about his hunch. He was teasing for entirely selfish reasons, he knew there was no positive outcome, but like I said, Richie Tozier was incredibly self-destructive.

And once he started talking, he couldn’t stop.

But Eddie knew none of this. He simply knew that this boy had uncovered his darkest secret in mere hours and was making fun of him for it.

He was still going, as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket, “Tell me, what is it about Billy that makes your knees quiver? Gotta hand it to him, he has some charm if he can rope three-’’

Eddie managed to regain control of his mouth, “I’m not gay,” he snapped, “Especially not for Bill.”

Richie put the cigarette to his lips and lit it with that tacky lighter once again, “Whatever you say, Eds.”

“Don’t call me that!” His voice was shrill and he tried to get a grip, but it was easier said than done.

His breath was shaky and far too thin. He felt like he was having an asthma attack and then he felt stupid. Because his asthma was fake. So, Eddie just stood there breathing in and out while Richie abused his lungs.

One…two…three… inhale. One…two…three… exhale. One…two…three… one…two…three…one…two…three…

He wasn’t sure how long they stood like that, but they had long since stopped dancing when Mike greeted them with a blissful grin. Eddie wished he could reciprocate it.

“Hey, guys. You seen Bill or Stan?” he sounded genuinely concerned.

Richie grinned around his cig, “They ran off the second we got here. They’re probably in the dunes, sucking face.”

Mike frowned, “Well, I’m gonna look for them. You should get Bev out of here, Rich. Someone heard sirens…said the cops were on their way.”

Richie’s whole demeanor changed and he dropped his cigarette, “Okay. Call me when you find them.” He looked down to Eddie, “C’mon, Eds. Looks like the party’s over.”

He walked off, expecting Eddie to follow him. And Eddie wanted to do nothing less than sprint in the opposite direction, but his body was feeling the toxic mix of anxiety, alcohol and weed and his brain wasn’t working. He was scared if he let Richie walk off, he would be stranded on the beach for the rest of his miserable little life, so he followed the douche.

Bev was making a drug deal in the dunes when the sirens got closer. She pocketed the cash and zipped up her bag, quickly turning on her heel.

She tried not to panic, it was always worse when she got in her own head, so she merely sped walk for a minute. However, the second she heard the tires screech she took off in a sprint.Someone was calling her name. She moved faster and crashed squarely into the guilty party, “Rich,” she breathed out.

“Hey Ringwald, a little faster maybe?” She started moving again, barely registering that Eddie was also running alongside them.

There were kids scattering every which way and the music had shut off. It was pitch black on the beach; the cops had put out the fire and the only source of light was from a shitty streetlamp on the board walk. The only thing that could be heard now was chaos.

“Richie!” A deeper voice called out from a few feet ahead. It was Mike, gesturing wildly for them to hurry up, “Stan and Bill are out already. Hurry!” They finally reached him, he was holding up the wire fence that stretched from the bottom of the board walk to the sand.

Bev was the first to throw herself under it. It smelled awful and the sand was wet and cold but she crawled like her life depended on it. Because it did.

Stan was holding up the fence on the other side and she slipped out, hearing the other boys struggling behind her. There was another cop car driving towards the boardwalk.

The second she saw Mike stand up she yelped, “Book it!” And the six of them took off into the dimly lit street, leaving the blaring sirens behind.

Heyyy guys enjoy chapter three! Any feedback is welcome, I’d love to hear what you guys have to say about the story so far. :)@

@fuckuris @dewdropseddie @richietoaster @sad-synth @rrichiettozier @its-stranger-than-you-think

#reddie #reddie au #reddie fanfic #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #bill denbrough #beverly marsh #mike hanlon #ben hanscom #stan uris #it 2017 #it au #it fanfic #stenbrough #ITW #katie writes

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