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uglyducklingofthe2000s · 4 months

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I'm A Lucky Girl - LN

Summary: Y/n is a podcaster with a very small following, but fans find out about her possibly having some ties with Lando and their most recent episode gains some very large attention.

Kind of always horny!reader and always horny!Lando

Themes: Mentions of rough sex (the best kind obviously) and injuries from sex, general possessiveness and possessive marking, cockwarming is very much present (because guilty pleasures always win out w me)

Lando isn't toxic or like nasty, he just likes seeing evidence he was there and assert his dominance.

"Y/n won't tell me anything about this man she may or may not be dating. But I want you to tell our little family of listeners what happened when you went to the doctors recently." Y/f/n smirks shifting in her seat as she looks pointedly at y/n who has already turned red. "Air it out, baby girl."

"You are so wrong for this." Y/n laughs before groaning and throwing her head back. "Alright. Fine."

Y/n doesn't necessarily care about sharing this stuff. What she cares about is the fact she in fact hasn't told the guy about what the doctor discovered.

"I was having some stomach pains the day after having had sex with this guy." Y/n explains earning a hum from y/f/n encouraging her to keep talking. "So I went to the doctor when it didn't go away after like a few days. They got me up in the stirrups which was worrying and they looked at my poor vagina which was apparently still a little puffy looking and this was like 3 days after. Looked IN my poor vagina and said that I had managed to bruise my cervix really bad. Like I mean I couldn't see but she looked like she was so concerned."

"Yeah, and what happened after that?"

"She asked me if I was safe at home, if I was in a relationship and if the person I was dating was treating me alright."

"And tell them what you said? Tell them!"

"I said the bruising is as a result of him treating me better than alright."

"You hoe! You fucking hoe!" Y/f/n cackles, hysterical from the story while y/n laughs pretty hard since while it's pretty embarrassing. She also just knows that she will never live it down. "So you got fucked so good and so hard, you have a tummy ache because your cervix is soo bruised and then you tell a concerned doctor not to worry because your man doing it all right."

Y/n laughs even harder at the summary of her situation. It's all true.

"The best....oh god, the best part is that...I haven't seen him, he travels for work. And I haven't told him, so he doesn't even know." Y/n adds through her laughter feeling tears because it's just too funny to her now she's really saying it outloud.

"So it was goodbye sex right?" Y/f/n asks making her groan and slump in her chair a little. "That's a yes everyone. So when you see him again, because I know it's not quite something so official but like you will be seeing him again. When that happens are you just going to let him bruise your cervix up again?"

"Yes. Best sex I've ever had." Y/n laughs before she shifts slightly then sighing. "Anyway, yeah that's my life right now. Or at least my sex life. That's how it's going."

"You enjoy it and that's all that matters." Y/f/n smiles while she nods in agreement to that.

The episode went up and initially got their usual listeners attention. Which isn't much, only a few thousand but it's a little community of people who consistently give their support.

Y/n is actually just chilling on her sofa coming up with some ideas for the podcast and trying to figure out some social media post schedules when there's knocking on her door. A specific knock that she really wasn't expect.

She gets up moving to the door and before she can properly greet him, she's picked up with the door being kicked closed before she is pressed against the back of it, caught in a heated kiss that is hot and a little bit sloppy but in the absolute best way.

His lips finally please her own but only so he can latch onto her nipple that he's freed and exposed to the cooler air by pushing her t-shirt up for his own access.

"L-Lando." Y/n whines hoping he'll slow down just so she can catch her breath.

"Sorry, I just had to get you riled up." Lando smirks still holding her but gently placing her down. "How are you?"

There's a glint in his eye, a glint that screams "still bruised?"

"No need to get cocky. I know you listened tot he podcast." Y/n states rolling her eyes while Lando's smirk shifts to a grin. "Reign it in."

"Did it not hurt?" Lando questions making her roll her eyes.

"No. I would've told you." Y/n points out while Lando hums and sucks in a breath before redirecting his attention to her boob that now has red marks on it.

"I missed you." Lando groans then sighing. "Can you keep me warm?"

Y/n wouldn't say that sex was the reason for liking Lando, but it certainly seemed to be a basis of their relationship. So when she finds herself sitting on his lap with him seated in her as she straddles him, she feels like for most people this wouldn't be so normal so early in the relationship (is it even a relationship yet?) but she feels like they've settled into a good dynamic.

"Are you still bruised?" Lando asks while gently rubbing her thighs which she feels him twitch inside of her.

"I don't know, it's been nearly two weeks. Maybe still a little bruised." Y/n laughs a little before she sighs gently looking down for a moment till Lando speaks up again, this time with a much softly voice.

"I missed you while I was gone." Lando states making her look at him with a small smile. "I was thinking actually, maybe you could...come to the next race with me."

"That sounds like an awful idea." Y/n jokes before tilting her head in thought for a moment. "I would like to go and support you at a race."

"Yeah?" Lando smiles making her nod. "Good. I want you there at the next race."

"Ok. I'll be there." Y/n nods before shifting. "Can we have sex now? I'm...I feel like I might not last long if we keep in this position."

"Well not you're just tempting me to see exactly how long you can last in this position." Lando smirks immediately earning a whine since she was really hoping he'd slam her into the sofa and abuse her cervix, g-spot and clit till she was seeing stars again.

Safe to say the man is a multi-tasker who is more than efficient with his hands and other body parts that he thinks he can find a use of.

Walking into the paddock with Lando, she is completely sure that people don't recognise her. Which makes sense, she has no position in the F1 space. Like her and y/f/n's podcast has never even addressed the existence of F1, so it's not like anyone would guess she was talking about Lando who was the cause for concern from a doctor.

They're not holding hands and she's placed herself slightly just off walking on the other side of Jon, ever so slightly behind him to maybe gain the least attention. She also remains focused on her phone to try and just be nothing but a background character that no one notices.

"Y/n." Lando calls suddenly making her look up to find him waiting for her with his hand held out. "Come on, I want to give you a tour before I have to jump into working."

"O-Oh." Y/n smiles moving over to him moving to take his hand which earns a smile from him before he moves his hand up to cup her face to hold her as he leans in to kiss her.

"Are you ok?" He asks making her look at him and smile lightly with a quick nod. "Are you sure? You're not usually this quiet."

"I'm not?" Y/n laughs feeling herself begin to over think that comment.

"No, but usually you are quite vocal with me between your legs and I guess right now I'm not in that position." Lando smirks earning an eye roll as she begins to feel her face burning as blood rushes around in her veins trying to figure out whether it needs to be in her head or her crotch.

"You are so annoying." Y/n murmurs while he laughs beginning to move them through the paddock before they finally get to the McLaren unit where he actually changes from a non-McLaren branded outfit to his usual papaya polo. "Should I start dressing on brand for you then?"

"Only if you want to be going back to the doctors and asked about a bruised cervix." Lando shrugs as if that didn't just make her mouth go a little dry.

The effects this man has on her is unnatural.

"Y/n, come back to me." Lando chuckles making her snap her eyes to him. "I like this effect I have on you. Usually I assume it's just because we're alone at your place. But this is nice too, knowing it's anywhere."

After being spotted with Lando at several points, one of which she looked very much disheveled and roughly neatened up as she exited the McLaren unit with him looking like he was trying to hide his smugness. His fans quickly found her podcast and that followed with them both hating her and going feral over her talking about an "unnamed" man she was spending time with bruising her cervix.

Then upon her appearing more then began to see glimpses at the side to Lando that he really keeps exclusive to her. Just brief moments that fans and people within the paddock were managing to capture.

A few fans called it the "scorpio in him surfacing". His possessive glares whenever she would talk to another guy that seemed a little too close in proximity to her, usually followed by Lando shifting closer.

Someone managed to get a picture of what appeared to be hand marks on her neck as she exited the paddock at the end of the day after a race with Lando and it was obvious to everyone from Lando's smirking glances at her as they walked that it was a post-race celebration.

"Stop paying attention to that and pay attention to me." Lando demands managing to smoothly grab her phone, locking it in the process before he manages to toss it onto a nearby seat in the hotel room. "Can you keep me warm and we cuddle?"

Fans weren't wrong about post-race celebrations and the truth is they didn't stop in the paddock. It's the day after and she's sore, even if she had the best time and would do it again in a heartbeat. Temptation plays a part in cockwarming and she isn't sure she can handle a round, but equally she doesn't want to say no.

"Yeah." She nods making him smile before she climbs on top of him once he's laid on the bed and she slides down on him. Shivers ripple through her till he's fully in her. There's a brief wince that she can't hide.

"It's alright, we're just going to stay like this." Lando soothes as she leans forward to cuddle him, feeling him kiss the top of her head as she nuzzles her face into his neck. "I love you."

Y/n takes a moment to process his words, but the smile that he feels against his neck let's him feel some relief knowing she's at least happy to hear the words.

"Guess everyone is right. I'm a lucky girl." Y/n laughs unintentionally making him nearly groan at the feel of her tightening around him before she shifts her head back to look at him. "I love you too."

"Guess we're both very lucky then." Lando smiles before she kisses him then returning to nuzzling into his neck.

"Can we stay like this for a while?" Y/n whispers making him nod.

"I'll sleep every night like this if you let me." Lando chuckles while poking her side. "So long as it isn't hurting you, we can stay like this till we're kicked out the hotel."

"Good." Y/n mumbles with a smile since actually she could definitely call asleep like this.

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gallusrostromegalus · 6 months

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In honor of the season, what are holidays like in the spirit world? Have they been infected by Christmas yet? I imagine they inherit some popular ones from the world of the living, but also the unique holidays of the afterlife must be wild.

You come to me, on the eve of the High Holiday of Halloween, and ask me about Christmas??

I'm kidding, you're asking about holidays in general but my unsuspecting Agnostic Ass just got jumpscared by Mariah Carey, and I'm sensitive. It's not the season. Not for another 48 hours at least. Do Not Violate The Sacred Treaty.

...

Anyway, this ended up in my drafts for a few days, so: Christianity has not really gotten a foothold in soul society, but via cultural osmosis "Xmas" has. Nobody in a Shinto afterlife believes in monotheism, but they love a holiday and a Saint is practically a Kami anyway, but.... It's "Xmas" because the holiday in no way remotely resembles Christmas as practiced in the living world.

---

Scene: 4th Division hospital, a few days after Rukia is rescued and Aizen departed for Las Noches:

"-CHAD!!" Ichigo bellows, almost falling in through the doorway of the hospital room, wheezing.

"I am very sure you are not supposed to be out of bed." Chad frowned, looking up from the copy of the history of soul society Captain Komamura had lent him to read while he recovered.

It was strange, to be in the care of the very people he had thought to be senseless killers not two weeks ago, but he was finding the Shinigami a generally agreeable lot. Even if the captain that controlled the hospital reminded him unpleasantly of a nun with her chaste dress, soft voice and understated but constant threat of violence.

"YOU NEED YO HEAR THIS-! He- hee-" Ichigo stumbled over to his bed and curled up on his side overcome with giggles.

"... I'm beginning to think I am incorrect." Sighed the pale-haired man at the door, frowning down at Ichigo.

"Jushiro Ukitake, I don't think I've had the pleasure of your acquaintance yet, Mr.-?" The man introduced himself and offered Chad a hand.

"Uh. Yasutora. Sado Yasutora. But everyone calls me Chad." He mumbled, cautiously shaking hands with the stranger. "You're um. You're Miss Rukia 's boss, right?"

"Yes! I believe you are her friend with the pet parakeet and good throwing arm, yes?" Ukitake beamed at him and Chad was suddenly struck by the idea that he'd seen Ukitake at a family reunion before - Impossible, obviously, but the man had the intense aura of a distant uncle. "Good show that, she loves being hurled at an opponent!"

"Oh. Thank you." Chad mumbled, Ichigo finally catching his breath. "...What are you incorrect about?"

"Christmas, apparently." Ukitake frowned, and Ichigo dissolved into snickering again. "He says you're something of an expert on the actual mythology, I only have third-hand accounts, you see-"

"No!" Gasped Ichigo, reaching over to tug at Mr. Ukitake's sleeve. "You gotta tell him!"

"I am Catholic, yes." Chad nodded. "-go on. It can't be less accurate than the version Dr. Kurosaki- Uh, Ichigo's dad- gave me last year."

"Yeah it can-" Ichigo wheezed.

"Well, ah- Christmas is a birthday celebration for an important religious figure, right?" Ukitake tried.

"Yep!" Chad nodded, giving Ukitake a thumbs up.

"The birth of Rudolph, the Star-nosed reindeer?" Ukitake tried.

Chad stared at him blankly for a moment, before his thumbs-up slowly wilted into a thumbs down and Ichigo vibrated silently with hysterics. Chad opened and closed his mouth a few times, hand waving, then covered his mouth, searching for words. Eventually he reached out and gently put his hand on the captain's shoulder to explain as delicately as possible-

"...No." Said Chad.

Ichigo rolled off the bed with a dull thud.

"-I am, however, fascinated." Chad elaborated. "Please continue."

"...I'm really sorry that I am this ignorant of your religious dogma." Ukitake winced.

"It's- don't worry about it. Tell me what you think happens on Rudolph's birthday." Chad said, sitting back and pressing his hands together.

"Well- oh, how does it start? Right- there's the Monks- Saints? that give out presents to well-behaved children during the winter holidays- Saint Claus, Saint Nicolas and Saint Kringle. And they're all very old men, and with good judgement about who does and does not deserve presents, so they're called the three wise men!"

Ichigo made a noise like a teakettle from the floor.

"Oh. Oh no." Chad giggled.

"And they travel the entire world giving out presents, but that's A Lot of houses and it was taking them longer and longer so they prayed to... I forget the name Catholics have for Amaterasu. Guadalupe?"

Chad made a noise not unlike a violently squeezing a rubber duck, and started to shake.

"-So they pray for some help getting all the presents to the children, and Whoever She Is says they're doing good deeds, but she wants to see if they're REALLY worthy of that kind of miracle, so she sends them on a journey to recover some lost holy treasures, and on the way each of the holy men wrestles with and tames a demon representing some vice or another-"

"-I. I think you've gotten the Star of Bethlehem mixed up with The Journey West." Chad realized, hands pressed together in front of his face.

"Yes that's right! She marks the direction they're supposed to be going with a bright star! So they go West, following the star! "-Ok the three wise men traveling from the east following a star part is, in fact, accurate. What's this about demons?"

"It's some sort of allegory about how all the Saints are virtues so the demons represent the vices people fall into around the holiday- Being punitive or penurious and ruining good things for others. They all had weird names-" Ukitake frowned.

"What's going on?" Captain Kyorauku asked, sticking his head in the door.

"You'll know!" Ukitake chirped with excitement. "-What are the three demons the saints conquer in the Christmas myth?"

"Krampus the Child-beater, Scrooge the Miser, and... Ah fuck I always mispronounce the last one. He's green and he sucks? The Goonch?" Shunsui frowned.

"THE GOONCH?" Ichigo shrieked from the floor.

"I. I think you mean The Grinch." Chad said, experiencing a brand new combination of horror, delight and fascination that felt like the emotional equivalent of a shrimp color.

"That's him! Oscar The Grinch!" Shunsui nodded. "Why, its only August? Also, what's Kurosaki doing on the floor?

"We are apparently very misninformed about the mythlogical origins of Christmas. This amuses Kurosaki to the point of hysterics." Ukitake explained, lightly nudging Ichigo aside with his foot and sitting on the foot of Chad's bed.

"Your version is so much better." Chad said, vibrating with excitement. "What are these treasures they're supposed to get?"

"Oh you had to ask- Shunsui love, you were the one that heard it all from Captain Kuchiki when he did his tour in the living world."

"Oh for fuckssake of course it's Byakuya-" Ichigo groaned from the floor, and Ukitake gently kicked him in the ribs to shush him.

"Uhhhh... Let's see-" Shunsui scratched at his beard."There's Eight Lost Treasures, they're all magical bells that give anyone who rings them supernatural abilities- there's the Bell of Speed, Bell of Grace, Bell of Balance, Bell of Cunning, Bell of... ah fuck. I always forget the two in the middle... -Oh! Bell of destination- not like fate, like, always being able to find your way to where you're going. Bell of Affection, Bell that gives power over wind and Bell that gives power over lighting!"

Chad blinked at him, then slowly crumpled into a ball.

"...Mr. Yasutora?" Ukitake asked, gently touching his shoulder.

"This is amazing. I love it. I'm going to die." he whimpered, voice high and tight as he struggled to breathe from laughing.

"We may have already lost Mr. Kurosaki." Shunsui muttered, poking Ichigo's shoulder with his toe. "Anyway, they conquer the demons, get all the magical bells and make it to the distant city, aand Amaterasu says 'Great job!" Ukitake continued, enthusiastic as they approached his favorite part. "-But she says 'Here's your final test: I'm going to give a special gift to one of these creatures, you tell me which is the most deserving of my favor.' and then she turns them loose in some kind of farm with talking animals. They're all good and noble animals that have done many brave deeds- dogs saved children from drowning, horse that ran across a battlefield to deliver a message that stopped a war and so on- eventually the saints find a brand new baby fawn with a bright red nose. Since it was born just that morning, it's never done anything of note, and the other animals don't really like it because it's red nose means its kind of sickly and it cant see well so they don't want to play with it."

"YES!" Chad cheered, making the connection.

"Oh, that part is right?" Ukitake perked up.

"Not even remotely, but it's amazing. They pick the fawn right?

"That's right! The saints tell Amaterasu that the Baby deer Rudolph is the one that deserves her blessing, because while all the animals here are noble and good, no good deed is better than another, and of all the animals, the sickly little deer is the one that really needs her help."

"Oh no." Ichigo whimpered from the floor. "That's actually like. genuinely heartwarming."

"Amaterasu applauds them, because they've made the right choice, and she gives the power of the star to the baby deer so it very literally glows like a headlight, and She turns the eight magical bells into a herd of deer that all have the powers the bells they were made from had, so Rudolph has a family and the three wise men have a team of nine magical deer to pull the flying sleigh she gives them, and then they are able to deliver all the presents to all the children of the world in one night, and they do it every year on Rudolph's birthday, because he was the first one to receive a proper Christmas present!" Ukitake finished, giving Chad an excitable two thumbs up.

Chad, slowly tipped forward, faintly hissing with silent laughter, then rolled off the bed to join Ichigo on the floor. Ukitake peered after him with concern, until chad slowly raised a weak, shaking hand up to give Ukitake a thumbs up back.

"-What I can't figure is how the bucket of fried chicken fits into all that?" Shunsui pondered, and the boys shrieked with laughter.

#AEIWAM #An Elephant Is Warm And Mushy #Bleach #Bleach fanfic #chad yasutora #jushiro ukitake #shunsui kyoraku #ichigo kurosaki #Christmas mention #new frontiers in Syncretic Mythology #five or six kinds of blasphemy in one go

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steddieas-shegoes · 1 year

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Baby formula was expensive, and Eddie knew the fact that half of the container being spilled on the counter would probably cause Steve to have a heart attack.

It was an accident, obviously. He didn’t just decide to dump half of the powdered gold that fed their newborn daughter on the kitchen counter.

And Steve wouldn’t be mad about it. He didn’t get mad about accidents.

But he would definitely spiral about how that was two days’ worth of bottles for Ella and how they had a budget.

Eddie told him many times they were fine. He had more than enough money in savings from the band’s success, and he knew Steve had his own trust fund that he’d guilted his parents into letting him keep as a way to apologize for never being around in his childhood.

Money wasn’t really an issue for them.

But Steve was still careful with it, and Eddie loved that about him.

Other than their house, they’d never made major purchases, and stuck to necessities only with occasional extra spending for birthdays and Christmas for their loved ones.

But after they adopted Ella, Steve turned into a penny pincher. He stocked up on everything from diapers to formula to baby soap any time there was a sale, and refused to buy the “fancy” brand that had the same ingredients and vitamins as the generic store brand.

Eddie loved him.

But he was very worried about Steve finding out about this.

Maybe if he just cleaned it up and then pretended Ella had had a few extra bottles?

No, then he’d panic that her food intake was abnormal and he’d call the pediatrician and Eddie would have to backtrack and then Steve would be mad.

He pulled the trash can in front of the counter, swiping his hand across quickly to get most of it into the trash.

As he moved the trash can back to its usual spot, Steve came around the corner with Ella in his arms, cooing at her.

God, he was born to do this. Eddie was gonna do everything he could to give him the six nuggets he wanted so he could watch him in his element for as long as possible.

“Say hi to Daddy, Ella,” Steve said before looking up at Eddie, who was wiping down the counter furiously.

Not fast enough if Steve’s face was any indication.

“What are you doing?”

Dammit.

“Just cleaning.”

“You’re wiping the counter.”

“Yes.”

“You never do that.”

“I just finished the dishes so I thought I should.”

“You do the dishes all the time and never do that.”

He was so suspicious. Rightfully so.

Eddie knew he was found out, or if he wasn’t quite yet, he would be as soon as Steve saw the trash.

He sighed, letting his head fall down and his chin hit his chest.

“Eds, what is it?”

Steve was walking behind the counter, concern on his face. Concern for Eddie. Concern he didn’t deserve.

“I spilled something, it’s not a big deal.”

“Okay. But you’re being weird about it so it makes me think it is a big deal.”

And then he saw it. He must have, because Eddie watched him freeze in his tracks and stare down at where the trash is.

“Stevie, it’s not a big deal. I’ll go get another can to make up for it.”

“What happened?”

“I was measuring out her nighttime bottle and knocked the can over.”

“That’s a lot of formula.”

“I know.”

And then Steve started laughing.

It startled Ella in his arms and she let out a whimper like she was about to start crying.

Steve handed her to Eddie so he could lean over, hands on his knees, and laugh louder.

“Ella, your dad’s lost it.”

“Sorry,” Steve said as he tried to gasp for air between hysterical laughter. “Just- you were so serious. Why didn’t you just say that?”

Eddie knew he wasn’t seriously asking that.

“Sweetheart, you’re kind of insane about this stuff. In a good way! I love you because you’re a little crazy! But like, that was a lot of formula and it’s wasteful and costs a lot to replace.”

Steve’s face went serious.

“Baby, you don’t think I’d be mad about an accidental spill, do you?”

Oh no, he was hurt.

Eddie hurt his feelings.

“No! No. It’s not that. It’s just you’re so serious about the budget and this would mess it up.”

“It’s just a little. And it’s not like we actually have to live so tight.”

That was suspicious. What the hell did that mean?

Steve wasn’t changing his mind on the budget, was he?

He must’ve done something.

“Oh my god. What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Oh yes you did. Your face is bright red and you look like you committed a felony. I would know what that looks like since we’ve committed at least two together.”

Steve somehow blushed harder.

“It wasn’t a felony.”

“Aha! But it was something!”

The tables turned awful quickly. Eddie didn’t know how, but he’d take it. Anything to get the focus off of him.

Ella was gurgling in his arms, eyes flitting between the two of them like she was watching a tennis match.

“Well, you know how we talked about getting an RV, right? Since we had Ella now and might try to adopt again? Since it’s one of the things I want more than anything?”

“You bought an RV.”

Eddie was smirking at Steve, who probably expected him to be upset, but Eddie was thrilled.

Not only would they be able to travel the way Steve wanted to, Steve had thrown their budget right out the fucking window.

“I put a down payment on an RV. I told them I had to talk to you first.”

“This is gold.”

“We did technically talk about it already.”

“We did.” Eddie bounced Ella in his arms and looked down at her. “Wanna go on a road trip, angel?”

“So you’re not mad?”

“Sweetheart, I’ve been waiting for you to spend my money for years. This is the third best day of my life.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

Eddie walked up to him and kissed the corner of his mouth, then his nose, and finally his lips.

“I love you and your crazy budget.”

“I love you and your ignorance of how money works.”

“That’s why I have you, sweetheart.”

Steve rolled his eyes but nodded.

“We can pick up the RV tomorrow if you want.”

“Did you plan our first trip yet?”

“No.”

Eddie raised a brow at him.

“Yes.”

Eddie jumped up once, making Ella giggle.

“Where are we going?”

“I figured you’d wanna take Wayne to the Smoky Mountains.”

Of course he did. Of course he thought about what Eddie would want and what would make Wayne happy and what he could do to make it happen.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Then I guess we better make a stop at Wayne’s house tomorrow with the RV.”

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #tumblr drabbles #stranger things #dad steve harrington #dad eddie munson #domestic fluff

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peachywritesstuff · 1 year

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Ghostface!Xavier headcannons

Warnings:mentions of stakking,killing(duh),a little of soft! yandere!Xavier, Xavier taking "I will kill for you" to the next level.this ended up being hella long. I got carried away

When the killings first start. You obviously don't know Xavier was behind them. And he make sure you didn't know either.

He was very good at keeping the whole thing a secret.

Like you never suspected your sweet boyfriend to be the one behind the murders.

But... who said he was doing it alone?

Cue Ajax and Xavier killing victims together.

Xavier would do prank calls to his victims.

Fucks with them for a while before killing them.

And he kills all his victims in different ways so whenever the police would find a body it would look completely different then the last body they found

There was times he would come back bruised or a little bloodied(not his blood) from his victims fighting back,but he just say that it was just paint or he went a little to far in fencing.

Now on to you.

You were his sweet precious baby,and he wasn't gonna let anything happen to you.

And he is definitely not afraid to kill for you that's for sure.

He would watch you from afar and make sure you got to where you were going safe and sound.

So the guys that would bother you? Suddenly they end up missing. The guy that was flirting with you? Babe,he dead in a ditch somewhere.

If a guy decides to hurt you? Oh Xavier sees red and goes fucking crazy.

I mean look what happened with Rowan.

He.got.fucked.up

But anyways back to you.

He didn't mean to kill Rowan infront of you.

He just saw red when he saw what he was doing to you. He didn't see or hear anything else. The only thing on his mind was to kill him

He didn't stop stabbing the fucker until he heard your cries.

And as much as he enjoyed watching him choke on his own blood he hated to see you so hysterical

It broke him to see you cowering beneath a tree,covered in Rowan's blood,and shaking like a leaf.

His heart shattered when he saw the look on his face when he took his mask off.

That look alone almost made him want to stop the killing. He never wanted the love of his life to look at him that way ever again.

Keyword: Almost

He approached you so cautiously,like a scared little animal that he was afraid would run away.

And you tried.

He caught you very quickly and dropped the bloodied knife to the ground when kept starting it and crying even more.

You tried to push yourself away from his embrace but he held you tighter. Rocking you side to side as you sobbed in his arms.

You were shaking so bad he thought you never stop.

He carried you back to his shed leaving Rowan's body behind,and you were quiet as a mouse.

No he didn't forget the knife,his mask,or his camera. He wasn't stupid.

Still in a state of shock.

You flinched when his hand reaches up to wipe to wipe Rowan's blood off you and he paused and gently grabbed your face with his hands.

"I would rather die then to ever hurt you baby." He looked deep into your eyes. Filled with so much love,and sincerity. How can these hands who have killed countless people,hold you so gently? Like you were a proclain doll?

You were still sitting there in shock and disbelief.

Everything seemed to make sense now, times he would disappear and come back late at night,the "red paint" that was on his clothes.

When you saw him killing Rowan... he was an entirely different person and it scared you so much

The boy you knew since you were 14 was a ruthless killer and never thought you would use Xavier and serial killer in the same sentence.

"Do you like it?" Xavier made eye contact with you. "Killing." He looked down at his feet,his legs beginning to bounce.

"Yeah," his voice cracked a little. "Yeah I do."

You let out a shaky exhale at that.

He admitted that he was the one that killed Tyler and some of the other previous victims

He decided to leave out Ajax for now

Yall sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Him looking at you and you avoiding looking at him.

You asked out of the blue if he would ever thought of killing you and he practically yelled out a 'no'.

After witnessing the murder of Rowan.You never fully got use to him being Ghostface.

Obviously you never told a single soul

Wednesday is suspicious

But yall's relationship dynamic changed after that.

Xavier was surprised that you decided to stay with him even after that happened. I mean, after the talk in his art shed,you ignores him for a week. He thought the relationship was as good as gone.

Xavier didn't throw everything at you all at once which you were thankful for.

Because it took you months to be comfortable with your killer boyfriend's schedule.

At the beginning you felt so much guilt. Knowing who the killer was but not saying a word about it.

But it was the love of your life,you couldn't just rat him out and leave him in a prison to rot for the rest of his life.

I mean look at Wednesday's family

With all that being said,let's talk about when you do feel comfortable about the whole thing.

Now,Xavier is very deeply,in love with you. Think him as Gomez really.

He can and will kill for you

So if you were making it known you wanted someone dead or just bluntly say it then that person would end up being dead by the next morning.

No questions asked.

You also may or may not have developed a knife kink or a hand kink over the process of a few months.

And Xavier takes a full on advantage to that.

Xavier will literally drop dead if you want to join in on the killing.

He would die a happy man.

#xavier thorpe headcannons #xavier thrope #xavier x reader #xavier x you #percy hynes white #wenesday #xavier thorpe x reader

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mylifeisfruk4ever · 8 months

Text

"What the fuck?"

Selina felt that those three words were enough to describe her whole relationship with Bruce Wayne. First as Batman, then as Bruce.

She had thought there might be something between them. Luckily it had passed, and a weird friendship had developed between them. Which might make some people turn up their noses since she was a thief and he was a vigilante but Bruce hasn't been so uptight lately and as long as Selina didn't kill and steal only who deserved it, they were fine.

Still, what the heck?

"Oh, Brucie is growing up," Harley said, all too pleased.

She was upright on the bed, while Pamela sat on the other side trimming her nails, seemingly ignoring the ongoing conversation.

Fuck house arrest for both of them. Why had she accepted? Oh yeah, they were friends.

Alsp, Bruce hoped that with her, Pamela and Harley could direct their impulses towards more correct forms of fighting for their principles, without involving innocent people.

So far it wasn't going to be great, but at least Harley had dumped her clown ex, for good this time, so it was a win.

(Probably more thanks to Pamela than her, but details.)

"Let me get this straight…you, mister, I don't look anyone in the face and if you talk to me for more than five minutes I'll start crying, you want….I can't believe I'm about to say it…learn how to seduce a man."

"Exactly," Bruce replied, as he petted one of Selina's cats.

"Just…why?"

"Who cares?" Harley broke in.

"He finally wants to step outside his boundaries! You have my respect!"

"It's not about going outside my boundaries. It's about planetary security."

"Really?" Selina said, half joking.

"Superman is powerful enough to destroy the planet."

This knocked Harley over, and Pamela finally stopped pretending not to pay attention.

Selina didn't know whether to laugh hysterically or slap him on the head, "Do you want to seduce Superman?!"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"To discover his weaknesses and use them against him when his powers drive him insane."

"Wow, talking about trust issues," was Harley's comment.

"I like to be prepared," Bruce said.

"What did the boy scout do to make you fear that he might become world dictator at the slightest provocation?"

The man pouted adorable, and grumbled. Selina still wasn't an expert at translating each other's mumbling but she swore it was something like smiling too much, and I don't trust him, he's got something to hide.

Harley said, "Isn't Superman having an affair with that reporter? Lois Lane?"

"She is General Lane's daughter. A close relationship is not advisable."

"She seems to know him well. Why don't you ask her?"

"She wouldn't answer me, so as not to betray him. Everyone says he's a hero."

"And you obviously don't believe it," Selina suspected.

"No."

"What makes you think he might be interested in men?" Selina asked him.

Harley laughed, "Cupcake, no completely straight man would wear pants that tight."

"Same conclusion I came to."

Oh good. The fate of the world was entrusted to a pair of tight trousers.

"Besides, I've done some research on him, and I might be his type. At least physically. What I lack is the ability to seduce him to lower his defenses and believe me harmless."

"Ability you think we have?" Selina asked, not sure whether to feel offended or not.

"Gotham is very sexist," Bruce said.

"You did your best to manipulate men who thought they knew better."

Pamela smiled, "I'm liking this one."

“I told you Brucie's one of the good ones,” Harley genuinely smiled as she said it.

"And he's a weirdo, like us."

Selina wanted to moan. This is what happens when you make friends with strange vigilantes. She said, "So Superman has a thing for brunettes. Good to know. Have you thought about what to do in case your brilliant plan fails?"

"It won't fail," he said confidently.

"You don't know," she insisted, trying to give him some common sense. A futile undertaking, it was Bruce she was talking to.

"Superman is overconfident. He will fall into the net."

"Definitely not dressed like that honey," Harley commented, taking a long look to Bruce.

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?"

"You look like a creepy stalker," Selina said. Army jacket, hat, scarf to cover her face and mascara for her eyes. Bruce was a walking fashion insult. They're definitely going to have to fix his wardrobe, make him wear things that flatter his body and…

Oh god, she was totally on board with that plan, right?

#fanfiction #books #au #quote #superbat #superbattinson #battinson #the batman #gotham #gotham sirens #selina kyle #bruce wayne #harley quinn #pamela isley #the batman 2022 #autistic bruce wayne #batman fanfiction

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justlemmeadoreyou · 8 months

Note

love, love, love your work.

could you maybe write a piece where it's harry that's a bit insecure because the reader wants to keep their relationship very private and not tell people about it?

and i love love love you!! thank you for reading my work and sending this request! ❤️

Insecure

pairing: boyfriend!harry x reader

word count: 2.1k

warnings: kissing, fluff, a bit of dirty talk

my masterlist! | ask box

"Just 10 more minutes, please, H?" you pouted, snaking your arms tightly around his chest, to try and keep him in bed. Unfortunately, he had an interview to go to.

"Y/n, baby, you know I have to leave soon. And I haven't even taken a bath."

"So leave without taking a bath. You smell so good anyways" you slid up and kissed his pecs, looking up at him with doe eyes.

"That's it. I'm getting out." he gently picked up your arms and kept it on the bedding beneath, and quickly jumped off the bed.

"Nooo" you whined, and crossed your arms over your chest.

"Okay. If I hadn't gotten out, you would've found another way to make me stay." He bent over and picked up his clothes, strewn across the floor from the night before.

"Nice ass" you remarked, making one last attempt at making him stay.

"Not gonna work" he replied, and finally picking up his clothes. He made his way to the bathroom, and closed the door.

You sighed, and slumped back on the bed, pulling the blanket to cover your body, you closed your eyes, waiting for him to come back.

He came back about half an hour later, and you'd already fallen back to sleep. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he slowly made his way over to your sleeping form, and climbed on the bed. He leaned over, and shook his wet hair over your face.

The tiny water droplets showered on your face, and you immediately pushed him away, and he fell on the bed. He started to laugh hysterically, holding his stomach.

"Not funny" you said, wiping off the water. Giving him an angry look, you turned to the other side.

"Hey, I was just playing."

"Sure you were"

"So listen, how about we go to dinner after I come back? You be ready and I'll pick you up?"

"Oh…"

"Think about it, text me before 4. We'll go to that fancy italian place y’like.”

“But-there'll be paparazzi, right?”

“Yeah. Obviously” he chuckled “So?”

“I don’t know, Harry, it’s just–I don’t want people to know yet, like, officially.”

He frowned, his heart sinking a bit.”But there's already pictures of us outside the gym from last week-and that actually means something, right? And, we both wear promise rings. One close up and they’ll figure it out” he said, pulling up his pants he had laid out the night before.

“Yeah, but that’s kinda–different? I don't know. Going to gym together dosen’t really do what going to dinner together does. Please, Harry?”

“Mmm, okay.” he buttoned up his shirt, and pulled on a loose cardigan, and went into the closet to choose footwear.

“So, that would mean I have to say I’m single when they ask me that today?”

You thought, and felt a bit sad. You wanted to go to the tallest building in the world and yell, “I’m dating Harry Styles, bitches!”. But, you couldn’t. At least, not yet.

“Yes?” you murmured, hoping Harry would hear. You also hoped he wouldn’t be sad, or feel bad.

“Yeah, alright.” He walked out wearing white vans, that complemented his blue jeans.

“How do I look?”

“Great” you replied.

“Quick, give me a hug and a kiss before I leave” he walked to the corner of the bed, while you peeled yourself off, and walked on your knees to the edge, the blanket still draped over your body.

He leaned down and kissed you, and you snaked his arms around his neck. He pulled away quickly, and put your back down. He smiled, turning back and waving at you as he left.

As soon as he got out of the room, his sile turned into a frown. He sighed, as the guilt and sadness took over him. Why did you not want anyone to know? Like, both of your friends knew, and people would find out eventually, but still.

Why?

He respected your decision, and would never go against it. He wouldn’t tell people till you were ready. But, what if you won’t be ready? Ever?

Taking his shades and keys, he left the house.

. . .

The interview went great, as he had expected. Better, actually. Whenever he was asked a question about a significant other, he brushed it off charmingly, and thankfully, they didn’t ask any more nosy or follow up questions. He loved interviewers like that.

On his drive back to his shared home with his “girlfriend”, his mind was clouded with thoughts. Why did you not want anyone to know? Were you ashamed? Did you not want your family to know, so they wouldn’t judge you? Maybe your parents didn’t approve you dating a famous person? Maybe you didn’t want to be seen with him like that? Was he that bad?

These things, and some much worse clouded his mind, against his better judgement. Harry wasn’t perfect per-se, but he tried. He knew he could be a bit too much at times, but he worked on that.

Turning over to the last turn towards your house, he took deep breaths, and wiped a few tears off his cheek with the back of his cardigan. He stayed in the car for a few minutes, to let the rednes in his eyes and sadness on his face fade away.

Walking up the path to the main door, he didn’t want to go inside. If you didn’t want to be seen with him, why were you even with him in the first place?

He rung the doorbell, and felt the patter of feet of you making your way to the dor. The door clicked open, and then there you were, with a the soft, glowy face and a lovely smile, holding a spatula. he took a step in, and leaned in to kiss you. You held his neck with the other hand and kissed him back. He snuck an arm around your waist, as the other one closed the door shut behind him.

The kiss wan’t just a quick peck, and you wanted more. Your hand travelled up from his neck to his hair, gently tugging at it. Harry released a filthy moan into your hot mouth, and that was it for both of you. You dropped the spatula on the floor and held onto his shoulders, as he gripped your hips and lifted your up. Your legs wrapped around his waist, he made his way to your bedroom.

“You smell so fucking good” you said, peppering kisses over his cheek. Travelling down to his neck, where you bit his earlobe and kissed his neck. Harry was getting impatient, and he quickly jogged the last few steps, finally reaching your bedroom.

He went straight to your shared bed, throwing you into the centre. You fell with a soft thud, your hair bouncing and framing your little face perfectly. He climbed on the bed too, hovering over your body. Your lips intertwined again, but this time, it was hot tongues and moans into each other's mouths.

Harry wrapped his hand around your throat, and pushed you down. His tongue made its way into your mouth, tasting you. You moaned, as his tongue glided with yours. You had been impatient since the morning, and he was finally giving you what you wanted,

His hand travelled down, pulling the loose string of your sweats. You lifted your hips up, and he slid them off your legs, throwing them away. He was still so much fully dressed, and you wanted to get him naked. Touch his chest and pepper kisses all over it.

You pushed him off to the side, and quickly climbed on him, perching your hips on his waist. You could see his jeans thickening, and you pulled off the cardigan, throwing it on the bed.

Harry wanted to do this. To have sex with you. Eat you out. But, his mind wasn’t letting him. He still kept thinking everything he was while driving, and if he didn’t talk to you about it soon, he would go mad.

He grabbed your wrists when you tried to unbutton his shirt. He sat up, holding your waist so you wouldn’t topple over. Your eyes widened at the sudden halt, and you gave him a confused look.

“H-what–?”

“Can we talk?”

“Right now?” you saw the look on his face. He looked desperate, and…sad. “Okay. What happened? Tell me.” you held his hand in yours, gently kissing his knuckles.

“It’s just–I keep thinking about why you-you don’t want to tell everyone we are dating. It’s driving me mad. Is it me? Am I not worth telling everybody? Is there something wrong with me?”

Your heart broke into a million pieces when he said that. He looked so sad and broken, because of you.

“What? No! Jesus! Harry, why would you even think tha?”

“I’m sorry. This-nobody has ever asked me to keep our relationship a secret and I–I can’t just stomach it. I need to know why?”

“Hey, don’t apologise. Alright? It’s not your fault. “

“Then why?”

“Ok. Here it goes. The reason why I don’t want to tell everyone yet is because-It’s probably stupid.” you slumped, now feeling embarrassed at your reason for all this.

“No, it’s not. Tell me.”

“It’s me. I just think that I can’t compare to anyone–literally anyone you’ve dated before, and it makes me really sad. And when everyone–your fans, your family–they find out, they will think low of me, and that you are probably doing me a favour by dating me. And I know it’s hella stupid, but I am not ready for all the judgement and comments and paps and–”

“Hey! It’s okay. Don’t panic. And I get you, okay. Dating someone like me can be a bit…overwhelming? at times. I am so used to everything that I just don’t realise that you could feel burdened by everthing. And I know how my fans can get sometimes. I love them, more than anything in the world. It’s just–they get defensive and often judge-y of the person I date.”

“I know! And I’m sorry if I made you feel bad about yourself.”

“No, it’s okay. I just wished you could’ve talked to me about it sooner. And hey, don’t ever feel like you’re not enough. There’s a reason why I’m not dating anyone else but you. I love you and I want to be with you. And don’t worry about my family. They are great people. They don’t judge the people I date. They are really, really good people.” he lifted your hands with his, kissing your hand and knuckles, like you had kissed his.

Your eyes were wide, and your mouth fell open. It was the first time he had said I love you.

“What–happened?” he asked, a bit concerned.

“You–you love me?” you replied, eyes welling up with tears.

Now, his face mirrored yours.

“I–I don’t-I didn’t–You don’t have to say it back.”

“Of course I do. I love you too, H.” a tear rolled down your eyes, and you quickly got up and kissed him.

He kissed you back, wiping the tear off your cheek.

“I love you so much. So, so much.” you told him, kissing both his cheeks.

“I love you too, baby. And we don’t have to tell people if you don’t want to. We will, whenever you are ready.”

“Thank you. You are the best. I don’t deserve you” you turned, sitting down on his lap.

“Sure you do. Now, what are we eating tonight? I’m hungry.”

“I made pasta. The spatula—I threw it on the door” you laughed, and he started to laugh with you.

“God.” he shook his head, and you looked up at him.

“C’mon, get up. I need to freshen up.”

“But this–” you looked down between your thighs, where your panties had soaked through from your activities earlier.

“What? Oh! My baby got wet, didn’t she?” you nodded, looking at him with doe eyes, hoping he’ll do something.

“Well, you’ll have to wait till after dinner. Then, I’ll carry you back here like I did before. Lay you down sweetly on the bed. Then spread those pretty thighs of yours, and eat your pretty pussy out. Till you’re begging me to stop. The, I’ll fuck you, and make you look into my eyes, while I tell you how perfect you are. And I that I love you, every time you come around my cock.”

You pressed your thighs together, while he described everything he was going to do to you.

“You’re not helping”

“Wasn’t planning on, love”

. . .

might do a part 2!! 😚

if you like it, please like and reblog!! any feedback is much, much appreciated!!

taglist:

@freedomfireflies @gurugirl @thechaoticjoy @styleslover-1994 @gem1712 @ellaorchard @bxbyysstuff @opheliaofficial07 @rafaaoli @tchlamqtsgf @the-mouse27 @indierockgirrlrl @vrittivsanghavi @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @drewrry

let me know if you wanna be added or removed!!!

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freedomfireflies · 1 year

Note

hi bestie, can i request smth where harry is filming dwd and olivia keeps trying to get at harry and hit on him but he denies her every time and one day where reader comes to set she and harry are both in harry’s trailer but olivia doesn’t know reader is there so she tries hitting on harry again and starts saying rlly inappropriate things and reader hears and puts her in her place and says that if she ever talks to harry in a way other than a precessional way she’ll expose her or something? idk if that made sense haha and harry gets all happy and is like you are my lord and savior 😭 can you make reader a really bad bitch 😭😭 💕

Hi! Yes, so, I’m changing things a bit because I’m personally not a super big fan of bringing Olivia herself into this kind of stuff but I’m absolutely keeping the premise!! Just changing the antagonist to someone fictional instead! Obviously you can still picture her if you’d like but I hope this will be okay and that whoever asked will still enjoy 😭💞

“‘I know exactly where you can stick that can of tuna, Jack-ass.’”

Harry smirks, eyes peering over the top of his script at you. “The line is, ‘Hi, honey, welcome home.’”

“Oh. Weird. I must have gotten a different script cause mine definitely says the other thing,” you reply innocently, batting your eyelashes as he exhales a soft laugh. “Yeah, see…right there. Jack. Ass.”

“Oh, it does, does it?”

“It does. Strange, huh?”

“Uh-huh. Very.”

You bite at your lip to refrain from grinning as you return your eyes to the page. “Okay, well…I think you’re good for tomorrow’s scene. I mean, it’s kind of all about her, anyway, so…no one will really be paying attention to you.”

“Gee, thanks,” he snorts as he straightens up on the small couch, tossing the script to the side.

“Hey, am I wrong?” You blink. “Hello. Florence fucking Pugh is in the same frame, I guarantee you nobody is looking at you.”

“Oh, well, I’m flattered,” he retorts, hand coming up to his chest in faux appreciation. “No, really. Give me another compliment. I think I’m blushing.”

Your eyes roll playfully as you gingerly chuck a water bottle at him. It flies across the tiny trailer and whacks him in the stomach as he flinches, laughing as it falls into his lap. “Hysterical. Truly,” you bite back. “Been a movie star for five minutes and think you’re the shit.”

He tosses his arms along the back of the couch, settling in a bit further as he nods at you. “S’been at least ten minutes, love.”

“Right, and to this day, iCarly is still your best work.”

“…you know what, I’m not even gonna argue with you on that one. I really did shine.”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“Sucked the shit out of that water bottle.”

“You really did.”

“Oscar-worthy, I’d say.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

He eyes you from his spot, sensing your teasing tone, and before you can clock his sneaky intentions, he’s lifting the water bottle into the air, twisting off the cap, and flinging the water at you.

You gasp as the water effectively drenches your hair, face, and chest. You attempt to shield yourself by throwing your arms up, but it’s too late, and Harry lets out a deep, guttural laugh.

“Oh, you dick,” you squeal, immediately standing as you throw him a peeved look. “See, this is why I don’t take you home to my mother.”

He’s wearing a shit-eating grin as he watches you scramble to the bathroom. “Oops.”

“Oops my ass.” You attempt to wring some of the water out of your hair as you glance at your reflection in the tiny mirror. “I can’t go out there and let Chris Pine see me like this!”

Another laugh. “Why not?”

“Because I love him and I have mascara dripping down my face,” you huff, swiping a knuckle under your eye. “Oh, God, this is bad. Okay, gimme five, I gotta reset.”

“Babe,” he calls with another chuckle. “You look fine—”

“Bite me!” you retort quickly before slamming the door shut. “Shit! Where’s my setting powder?”

You hear him snort to himself from the other side but soon turn your attention back to the canvas that he so elegantly ruined.

It had taken you twenty minutes to get the eyeliner wing this sharp.

You frown as you get to work, and for the next couple of minutes, your focus remains on your own reflection as you hear Harry humming to himself on the couch.

And then…the humming stops.

“Hey…?”

“Hey, so sorry to bother you. I just wanted to check in before you leave, make sure you’re doing all right with the revisions.”

You pause, leaning a bit closer to the door as a second voice enters the trailer.

“Oh…yeah. Went over it this afternoon. I like it, it sounds good. I think it’ll be really impactful.”

“Oh, good. Good, yeah. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to watching you and Florence bring it to life. I’ve said it before, but we really are just so lucky to have you both on board.”

You finally recognize the voice, placing it to the face of the film’s director, Angela. And now that your curiosity is satisfied, you return to your task as the conversation continues to slip underneath the door.

“Hey, it’s all thanks to your vision,” Harry is humbly responding. “I just feel lucky to be a part of it.”

A bit of silence as you swipe your lipstick along your bottom lip before you hear the sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs and into the trailer.

“You’re such a doll. No, really, that’s such a kind to say,” Angela gushes. “You know…this whole casting process was really just…it was so stressful there for a minute but after I saw your audition tape, I just knew you’d be our Jack.”

“Listen, I’m just glad it worked out the way it did. It’s kind of nice to dip my toe into this side of the industry and I’ve got a lot of really great mentors to help me along.”

“Oh, absolutely. I mean, we just have such a fantastic cast. You’re in great hands.”

A beat.

“And, you know, I’ve said this before but…if you ever need anything at all, you just need to let me know,” Angela says. “You’re my top priority, and I want to make sure you feel taken care of.”

“Thanks, that’s really—”

Suddenly, it goes quiet. Far too quiet and for a moment, you wonder if they’ve left the trailer altogether.

You step out of the bathroom and glance both ways, just to check and make sure he didn’t leave you behind.

But instead of an empty trailer, you find Harry.

And Angela.

And her tongue.

Down his throat.

Your eyebrows just about fly off your forehead as you clear your throat and call, “I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something?”

Terrified, and a bit pale, Harry leans back and catches your eye, expression frazzled like a deer caught in headlights.

Angela, however, is a bit slower to remove herself from his body, finally stepping back with a bit of a wounded smile. “Oh, my gosh…I’m so sorry. This…this isn’t how I wanted you to find out, I—”

“Find what out?” you ask just as Harry says, “I’m sorry, what?”

She quickly looks between you both, palm hovering over her mouth as if stunned. “Oh! I’m…I’m sorry, I thought you told her.”

“Told me what?” you repeat, stepping closer, and looking to Harry.

Poor thing looks like he’s about to keel over.

“About…our…arrangement,” she answers shyly, and your eyes narrow.

Harry blinks. “We…what? What arrangement, I—”

“Oh. That arrangement. Got it,” you cut in, nodding as you finally put the pieces together.

Both Harry and Angela turn to look at you, surprised.

“Yeah,” you agree, taking another step as you meet her eye. “Yeah, no. Florence told me about this thing you do where you try to fuck your actors and exploit them for fame. Oh, and how your entire marriage is a sham, and you’re trying to get out of it by pretending you were the innocent, bad-ass feminist just trying to do her job when you were blackmailed into sleeping with your costar.”

She swallows as Harry’s jaw nearly drops.

“Oh, she also told me that if I were to find you…arranging yourself on my man, then I should remind you of section 15, paragraph 3 of the contract you signed,” you add, arms crossing over your chest. “Does that…ring any bells?”

Her cheeks flush. “Look, I wasn’t trying to—”

“I’m sure,” you hum. “But you did, and now you’re done. Thank you so much for stopping by. Buh-bye now.”

And with that, you gesture toward the door.

A rather petrified Angela stands to her feet, knees a bit wobbly as she makes her way for the exit.

And just before she can close the door, you call, “Oh, and just a little tip…when you see the officers? Don’t run.”

The door slams shut before you have the chance to see her expression but something tells you…it was everything.

Now, you turn to Harry, still glued to the small sofa. “Anything you have to say for yourself?”

He straightens up, nearly tripping over his tongue as he begins to explain, “I promise, I don’t know what happened, she just put her hand on my thigh and suddenly it was, like, all the way up my thigh, and her mouth was like…right there, and I didn’t know what to do, and I wasn’t sure what was even happening, or if it was part of the script or something, and I—”

You close the gap between you and take his face between your palms. “Harry?”

He winds down to a stop. “…yeah?”

You grin. “I love you.”

Utter relief floods his features as he sighs and melts back into the cushions. “I love you, too. Thank you, by the way. Ironically, she tasted like canned tuna.”

You laugh as you flop down beside him, whacking at his chest on the way down. “Ew. Poor Nick.”

“Right? iCarly would never do this to me.”

For a moment, you can only chuckle, and despite the rather interesting turn of events…you can’t deny your joy.

“No,” you agree with a grin. “No, she would not.”

~ Full Masterlist

~ Other Harry Blurbs

#harry #harry styles #harry Edward styles #harry styles fan #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles one shot #harry styles blurb #harry styles request #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #blurb #request

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whalesforhands · 9 months

Note

Hi!<33 hope your having a great day!<33 let me just say that I love your geto x reader x Gojo x Shoko stories! They're so funny and sweet! I just love how you write them and their dynamique with the reader! And once I started reading the series I couldn't stop imagining the trio finding out one day after she didn't attend class that poor reader is sick! 🥺 How wold they take of her? (I can't stop imagining Geto and Gojo arguing with eachother while Shoko snuggles with reader and feeds her soup 😂)

Anyway if you don't want to do this ask that's fine! ☺️ Lots of kisses and continue the good work! 💕 (If I mispelled something wrong sorry! English's not my first language)

in sickness and in health (geto x reader x gojo, shoko x reader)

this is totally not just me trying to tide you all over because the main series is taking a long time to write

masterlist

warnings: sick ppl are gross, wear masks, wash ur hands, celsius is used instead of Fahrenheit bcs i say so

You should’ve heeded your body’s warnings to you. Laying in your bed, thermometer sticking out of your mouth as the fever relief patch on your forehead sticks despite your sweat slick self.

Hearing the beeping, you eyes glazed over as you pulled the instrument out, saliva feeling repulsively thick as you stared at the thermometer screen, your breaths short and your pajamas feeling abnormally warm, sticky and gross.

39.4 °C.

You’re absolutely burning up. You shouldn’t have gone with that plan. You knew. You knew, yet you still did it anyway.

“Just get on!” His arm is waving at you from afar, his white button up billowing in the summer breeze.

“Come on, trust us!”

“Plus!” He smacks a smiling Suguru’s shoulder. “Suguru doesn’t skip leg day!”

You should’ve never trusted him. You and Shoko both. Not when he had all 4 of you squeeze onto that bicycle.

“WAHAHAHAH!” Gojo was hysterical as he laughed at your three river-soaked forms. Laughing merrily at his dry and perfectly put-together state from using Infinity to save himself.

“You all look terrible! AHAHAHAHA!” He’s pulling out his phone to snap a quick selfie shots. You’re helping Shoko, shifting a lock of her wet hair away from her face to reveal her grumpy expression.

“Come here.” She beckons you closer, a sweet smile, dripping with anger on her face as her hand moves to tuck your wet hair behind your ear.

Suguru grunts as he looks towards his significant other’s camera, eyes flittering to both you and Shoko sharing secrets as she cups a hand over your ear. You’re both fine. That’s a relief.

His eyes focus back on his still cackling boyfriend. His brown eyes darken with a thirst for payback. “Satoru~, help me out why don’tcha?” A chirp sweetened with an affectionate tone, a benevolent smile bestowed as he holds an amicable hand out, waiting to be helped up as he sits in the water, drenched to the very bone as his now translucent shirt begins to stick to his skin.

You hear Gojo snort in retort, waving off the black-haired sorcerer. “Ya think I’m gonna fall for that? Try harder, babe.” He’s very obviously eyeing the now more exposed Geto, before his eyes met yours. Prepared. Ready.

Shoko is done, her gaze surreptitiously meets Suguru’s own.

“Satoru…” Your watery eyes and helpless expression meets his, a tremble pairing your frowning lips and gem-like eyes shining with your feeble tears.

“Are you not going to help me…?”

Hook, line and sinker.

“L-look, it w-wasn’t on purpose,” He’s gulping as he starts to trek into the water, his shoes getting soaked. Infinity has been forgotten. “I only wanted to-!”

He’s tackled back by 3 weights, all landing on top of him as they start to laugh and splash water onto his still surprised form.

You’re nauseous, head on your far-too-warm pillow as you smile slightly at the memory. Okay. Maybe it was worth it. Just a little.

(You do feel a little better.)

You feel another wave of queasiness hit you once again, your hand over your mouth as you gag, yesterday’s dinner threatening to crawl up your oesophagus and cover your freshly changed sheets with bile.

Oh.

You’ll have to send Shoko a text. You hope she doesn’t mind being disturbed when class has only just begun 2 minutes ago…

——

Insistent knocks at your door wake you into consciousness, your eyes snapping open and trying to clear your cloudy sight.

“C-come in!” Your voice is rough, a consequence that occurred after throwing your guts out in the bathroom. Your stomach hurts, the acid eating at its inner lining as it growls for food.

You haven’t eaten. You probably smell bad. You look horrible.

“A-actually- P-Please don’t come-!” Too late. Your room’s been intruded by 3 individuals.

“Your favourite nurses are here to soothe you back to health!”

You internally groan at the boisterous loud voice. Shoko had told all of them.

——

You see a disgruntled Satoru, cheeks puffed up as he marches into your room with a just as displeased Shoko crossing her arms and pouting.

They’ve been kicked out of the kitchen by a fed up Suguru.

“What do you mean we can’t just buy her instant porridge from the convenience store? It’s instant!” Gojo waves a whisk around as he dons the frilly pink apron, head on Geto’s shoulder and leaning onto him.

Suguru wants to smack someone. He holds himself back as he washes the rice, despite the disturbance, sleeves pulled up to his elbows as he swirls the water within the pot.

It’s for you. It’s for you. It’s for you. It’s for-

“Because it’s not healthy-“ His anger becomes slow irritation as he feels a vein pop when he sees Shoko poking the sweet potato with a pair of scissors.

“Both of you.” His smile is menacing as his aura overtakes the room.

“Get out.”

That’s why both of them were here now, fluffing your pillow, wiping your head with a cold cloth.

“Do you want to change clothes?” You hear Shoko whisper, her voice lulling and pacifying your senses as Satoru does his one task of continuously dabbing your head with a warm cloth.

(He was making a mess of everything else. Shoko delegated him to cloth duty.)

You can only muster a nod. Your clothing is uncomfortable, and she must’ve noticed.

(“Gojo.” She smiles at him as she caresses your warm face. “Get out.”

“Again?!”)

——

She’s helping you out of your clothing, your front slumping into her shoulder as she undid the buttons of your pajamas, the washcloth dragging gently across your damp skin.

Your guilt is starting to kick in.

“I’m-“ Your voice is starting to die. “I’m sorry for being such…” You suck in a breath through your sick haze. It’s hard to breathe. “A burden.” You do. You’re so weak. So useless.

Getting this sick over a culmination of your own horrible habits. Not eating enough, not sleeping enough, not getting enough liquids in during the day… Not taking care of yourself.

You did this to yourself, yet they have to clean up after you. They, who had their lives put together, their own lives to live. Yet, they’re wasting time caring about you.

Do they think you’re doing this only for their attention too? You’re not surprised if they ar-

“Don’t be sorry for things that you’re not at fault for.” Her tone is dismissive but firm. “We’re here because we want to be. Stop being such a downer.”

A pat to your cheek despite the blunt words. A reality to your delusion.

She cares. They care. Deeply.

You could almost cry at her genuity. Scratch that, you already are.

You hide your face away into her shoulder, tears starting to gather.

“…thank you.”

(“It’s not fair that you had to kick me out to do that! I could’ve done it too!”

“Pervert.”)

——

“Aaa…” You’re opening your mouth just as Gojo flies another ‘aircraft’ into it.

(You’re embarrassed. He wouldn’t give it to you any other way. Or normally.)

“Good girl!” He’s ruffling your hair, grin stretched wide across his lips in pure elation as he feeds you.

“Just a few more bites then you can take your medicine!”

You swallow down the piping hot rice porridge that Satoru personally blew on to cool down, the lingering ginger and chives leaving a pleasant aftertaste in your mouth.

“Is… Did you get the syrup version…?” You stare, afraid as you see Suguru holding a tray with the familiar dark liquid and brand, coupled with a tall glass of water.

Satoru’s sunglasses suddenly glint. “Is someone scared of a little medicine?~”

——

Suguru presses the spoon against your trembling lips as you hesitantly part them, allowing the disgusting liquid to run down your throat as he immediately hands you the water.

Your face is grimacing in disgust, in pain and revulsion as you hold the water in your mouth, struggling to swallow down the vile substance.

(You eventually do when Suguru lightly places a hand on your shoulder, relaxing you.)

Applause reverberates throughout your room.

“Congrats!”

“Good job.”

“See? I knew you could do it.”

“…are you all making fun of me?”

masterlist

Notes:

Geto would’ve been the one feeding you, but he saw how dejected Gojo was at not really being able to ‘care’ for you other than being the errand boy sent out to buy the cold medicine.

You drank that medicine after you were promised crepe cake from that nearby bakery.

Shoko was the one who brought up that compromise.

The trio actually wanted to leave the lesson immediately after Shoko got your text. Yaga denied them, but he let them off early on purpose.

Yaga visited your dorm when all 4 of you were in it, coming in to check on you.

He hopes none of 3 get sick from spending so much time with you. Especially with how they basically fell asleep around your bed.

“Kids.” He mumbled, throwing blankets around all of them before he turned the lights off, gently shutting your door.

#geto x reader x gojo #jjk x reader #gojo satoru x reader #whalewrites #getou suguru x reader #dyf au #ieiri shoko x reader #satosugu x reader #jjk fluff

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ama0310 · 5 months

Text

The President's Daughter

Character: Finnick Odair

Requested: No

Type: Angst/Fluff

Summary: Arianna Flemings-Snow, the adopted daughter of Coriolanus Snow, bravely volunteers for the 75th Annual Hunger Games. Yet, her courage comes at the cost of confronting not only the repercussions of re-entering the deadly arena but also the profound challenge of sharing it with the man she passionately loves.

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

“Finnick Odair, right?”

Haymitch nods points towards the screen, “ Yes, he won his games at fourteen. Youngest ever. Extremely humble.”

“You’re kidding right?” He looked like the most narcissistic show off known to man. His stance. His waves. His stupid smirk. He looked as if he were happy to be returning.

“Yes I’m kidding. He’s a...” Haymitch dramatically flips his hair” …peacock. A total preener but he’s the Capitol darling. They love him here. Charming , smart, and very skilled at combat—especially in water.”

Peta leans forward glancing at the screen, “What about weaknesses?”

“Well two. First Mags.” A frail looking wrinkly woman pops on the screen. “ She volunteered for Annie. Mags was his mentor and basically raised him. If he’s trying to protect her in any way it exposes him.”

Katniss stares at the screen seeing the women bravely volunteer for the young girl in hysterics, “A guy like that has to know she’s not going to make it. I bet when it really comes down to it, he won’t protect her.

Sadness flashes through Haymitch’s eyes, “Well Katniss, I just hope when she goes…she goes quickly. She’s actually a wonderful lady.”

The silence fills the room before Peta asks, “And his other weakness?”

Haymitch lightly smirks before passing to the next district when a beautiful girl with hair as white as snow comes up. “ District 5. Arianna Flemings. Mostly known as...”

“President Snow’s daughter?” Katniss snaps her head to Haymitch. Eyes widened.

He tilts his head a bit. “Adopted. She won her games at fifteen. Everyone and I mean everyone fell in love with her. She was the purest of the pure. The cutest of the cute. And the most dangerous of the danger. After one of the tributes killed her district partner all hell broke loose and she murdered the last seven remaining tributes within two hours with one. singular. knife.”

Peta shook his head in disbelief, “If he adopted her then that means he has to have some sort of heart. And he’s letting her go back to the games?”

Haymitch holds out his hand signaling for the kid to stop talking, “Well, there were rumors about Snow not really adding Arianna’s name into the reaping; however, when her childhood friend was reaped she immediately volunteered. Flabbergasted everyone.” The video shows Arianna immediately protesting and volunteering the moment her friend’s name dropped. The horror on everyone’s face was telling how much the district loved her.

He cleared his throat and continued, “ I imagined Snow wasn't really happy about that. That’s what he gets for adopting a victor when he’s the leader of these games." He shrugs. "Arianna is very captivating. Even Snow’s heart had to have melt for that young girl. Took her right under his wing. Obviously she was treated like a victor but most importantly she was treated like a Capitol.”

“If his daughter is that important wouldn’t he know that during the games people will be targeting his daughter. Who wouldn’t if his daughter means that much to him.”

That’s when Haymtich shook his head, “ Because my dear little Katniss… A) he calls the shots. If you haven’t realized everything in the games are controlled by him and people that love her. He’ll be hovering over you all the entire time. B) She’s a skilled competitor. Again seven tributes dead in two hours by the hands of a 110 pound fifteen year old, hello people keep up. Since then she’s never eased on her training. Obviously she’s bound to have enemies because of her father so she never stopped. Really good using her resources, excellent with knives, basically insanely dangerous. C) Finnick Odair. Both basically spent the last nine years together. Everyone thinks they’re together, but are keeping it hidden because of her father. I’m sure the President feels a lot better having Finnick with her knowing that he would risk his entire life for her. However don’t think it’ll make it easy to kill them. While you two are faking it. They—“ He points to the screen. “Are real. You hurt her and not only will you have Snow on your asses, but a trident in your chest. You hurt him and you’d have knives shoved up every hole in your body. They’re each other’s weaknesses but also strengths. They are who you want to be allies with. I’m serious Katniss don’t mess this up.”

~~~~~~~

Arianna couldn’t breathe in her dress. It’s not that it’s too tight (which it actually is), but more-so that she’s again back to where she was those many years ago.

“Breathe. Breathe. Breathe” She lightly whispers under her breath while entering to where all the other Victors were. She was wearing a beautiful white gown with red lace at the top. Her red make-up contrasting her snow-white features.

“Isn’t it Snow’s precious girl. Miss Flemings never thought I would have to see you back in the games.” She turns around and sees Gloss from Tribute 1.

“You and me both. Don’t you look as charming as ever.” She smiles graciously wrapping her arms around her friend. “Where’s Cash?”

He smiles and points behind him, “Getting the gang back together. Should we be expecting you to join us?”

Her eyes immediately try to find the one person she truly wanted to ally with. “Gloss I would love to, but I have to check with Finnick. You know wherever he goes I go.”

He nods understanding completely, “And I admire your loyalty. Please try to get him on our side. We really don’t want to have to go against either of you.”

She nods smiling softly at the man, “Speaking of Finnick do you know where he might be. He wasn’t with Mags.”

The guy pointed behind her making her turn, “I guess he’s already trying to get the Girl on Fire on his side…without telling you?”

Arianna lightly hit him, “Glossy I love you, but I hope you weren’t trying to turn me against Finnick. Like you said before I am extremely loyal.”

He chuckles before backing away, “ Didn’t hurt to try. Now go to lover boy, but please remember what I said.”

She watches him go back to the Career pack and lightly waves at them before heading towards the duo.

“Then how do people pay for the pleasure of your company?” If only she knew the truth.

She sees him lean forward, making the Girl on Fire look uncomfortable “With secrets”

Arianna thought it was the perfect time to break the tension especially since she wanted to talk to the golden boy before they had to parade themselves. “Nicky, we went over this so many times, you should never try to get with an engaged woman. Very inappropriate.” She wraps her arm his waist looking up at him. His smirk turned into a genuine smile.

He immediately looked down at the young girl smirking, “Arianna, you know I’d never try to get with anyone else but you.”

She lightly smacks his chest before looking over the girl staring curiously at the duo, “ Arianna Flemings.” She sticks her hand out smiling as Katniss took it. “ My niece absolutely loves you. She always wanted to meet you, my father never really introduced us, but you know how he is. You look absolutely beautiful by the way.”

Katniss couldn’t help but like the girl in front of her. Though the fact that she is someone that Snow cares about keeps nagging at her, the girl alone seems genuine. “I’m Katniss. I saw your games. Very impressive.” Her curt response made Arianna look at Finnick then back at the girl.

“Thank you and your game was also very impressive.” She smiles and then turns her attention to the man next to her. “Nicky, can I talk to you over there please?”

His gaze went to his angel and then to the girl who’s staring at them, “I’ll be there in a second need to wrap up my introduction to the Girl on Fire.”

Arianna rolled her eyes playfully before turning to Katniss, “It was really nice to meet you.”

The two stared as Arianna glides away elegantly. Finnick leans towards the girl with a smile, “She is off limits. You hurt her and I’ll gladly pay back the favor with your fiancé while you watch and die an agonizing death. Got that? ” Before she can answer he backs away going to find his girl.

He finally sees her talking to her district partner and then shoos him away. "Nicky? Did you really had to use that name? "

Her gaze filled with mischief yet care had him wrapped around her finger, "There's Nick, Nickey, Finnley, Finnerson, Fin-"

"Okay we get it, but there's only one name I like hearing you call me." He leans closer.

"Mon amour" She smirks before lightly pushing him back. "That's only reserved when we aren't about to dive head first into our deaths."

His smile drops, " You are not dying. Snow will not allow it and neither will I."

She caresses his face, "Finnick these are how the games are. Though my father cares for me he wants to destroy the girl even more."

He lightly glares at the girl, gripping her waist a bit tighter. " Why did you have to volunteer dammit. Everything was going to be fine, but you just had to volunteer. Why on earth did you even do that?"

She glances around noticing that people are getting on their carriage to start the parade. " I had to, love. But it's okay. I promise you, it will be okay."

The sincerity in her eyes truly made him believe it was all going to be fine even though his heart knew it wasn't.

They finally break eye contact when her partner tells her that the parade is about to start. "Better get on your carriage Snow White looks like Prince Charming needs you."

She kisses him on the cheek, "I'm not into Princes, I prefer fishermen" winking and getting on her carriage.

They both know that no matter what happens in the ring. Capitol be dam. Districts be dam. Both their goal is to protect one another no matter what the cost is.

#president snow #finnick odair #finnick x reader #finnick imagine #the hunger games #capitol #coriolanus snow #finnick odair imagine

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sucker4colby · 11 months

Text

Mixed signals

Warning: little bit of angst, alcohol

Summary: Colby decides to be a wingman for his best friend but no one can match up to him. Drunken actions lead to feelings being unraveled.

Length: 2360 words

Pairing: Colby x best friend!Female reader

I didn't participate in dating, people irritated the hell out of me and the idea of going on dates and having to start all over and get to know each new person sounded like a nightmare . The ken doll look alike my generous best friends set me up with was talking my ear off about some frat party he had attended not noticing the signals I sent of me being uninterested. He was cute but to basic for my liking and he couldn’t take a hint about when to stop talking making me roll my eyes.

I looked around the house hoping something would steal my attention from him, and lucky me I caught a pair of blue eyes already looking at me. Colby one of my best friends was observing us and he seemed to be enjoying my misery since he wore a smug smile on his face . He and Sam thought that as my best friends they had the obligation to find " the one " for me so they set me up with this frat boy we met while getting lunch earlier. I glared at him making his grin grow wider, he nudged Sam making him direct his attention over to me. I looked away from them to face my "date" who was tapping my shoulder causing me to take a deep breath in annoyance . " yes?" I asked him irritation laced in my tone. " I was just asking if you wanted to dance." He yelled over the loud music of the house party we were currently at.

I stared at him not making an effort to respond , I was hoping he'd catch on and leave me alone but he went to repeat himself once more. He was cut off by a familiar tattooed arm wrapping around my shoulder. " hey man thanks for keeping her company. We're about to head out though ." Colby told him trying to rescue me from the situation he and our other imbecile friend put me in. I didn't wait for whatever his name was to respond, I hopped off my seat grabbing a hold of Colby's hand and pulling him away.

I could hear Colby laugh before pulling me into his chest. " you were a little mean back there don't you think grumpy." He teased me making me roll my eyes. If only he knew he was the reason my dates went wrong, I pushed off him turning to face him . "Maybe if you guys stopped playing Cupid I wouldn’t be so grumpy. Are we actually leaving ?" I asked him having to look up at him since I only reached his chin. I knew my friends very well and there was no way we were leaving so early, he just used that excuse to get me away from my failed date. "Leave ? We haven't even had any fun . Come on Sam and Katrina are dancing we can probably find some shots or drinks." He told me mischief clear in his blue eyes causing a smile to form on my face.

...................

I have no idea where we got alcohol from but we had way to much at this point. I was acting on impulse and all my thoughts were nonsense. Colby wasn't any better off either and it was only a matter of time before we combined our last brain cells to form a ridiculous plan that would get us into Trouble.

It didn’t take long for us geniuses to conjure up our plan for the night. We were hysterically laughing about Colby almost tripping on the way down to the pool we found out the house had, where we decided would be the perfect place to hang out. Obviously it wasn’t a good plan considering our drunken state and mixing that with all the risk that come with a pool we were bound to get into Trouble. " Colbs we're going to get caught ." I attempted to whisper yell but it was anything but a whisper. If we were to get caught we wouldn't necessarily get in Trouble but my altered mindset seemed to think back to when we were teenagers sneaking around . " shut up no we're not , come on you're walking so slow." He playfully snapped at me poking my side causing me to squirm and giggle.

He ended up giving me a piggyback ride the rest of the way, both his hand were wrapped around my bare thighs and my cheek was pressed against his shoulder where I would occasionally blow a raspberry into his neck to make him squirm. We never minded being so close to one another but sometimes it was bittersweet because I wanted nothing more them for it to be more than platonic interactions , but I settle for it because I’d rather have this than nothing at all.

I blew one last one right below his ear before his hand dropped from under my thighs, frightened because he dropped me so suddenly I held on tighter to him and brought him down with me causing both of us to let out frightened noises as we crashed to the floor. I had no idea he was dropping me onto a pool chair but either way we landed making so much noise I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a noise complaint the next morning . We laid still for a moment before we busted out laughing.

He pushed off me sitting down and pulling my calf's onto his lap gently rubbing his hand up and down. We sat in silence enjoying each other's presence occasionally looking at each other and letting out a quiet giggle. I started getting bored again but a thought came to me and I giggled imagining it. " I dare you to jump into the pool ." I told him my bright idea looking at him with a big smile . He gave me a look of unamusement before getting up off the chair and pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it at my face. I let out a loud laugh tossing it aside just in time to see him belly splash into the pool causing me to laugh even louder. I kicked his shoes away that were laying on the ground before walking over to where he was resurfacing. I sat down removing my heels and putting my feet in, he came over resting his forearms on my thighs getting me all wet but I wasn't even a concern to me. I didn’t think he would jump in I just wanted to push his buttons a bit.

I ran my fingers through his hair causing him to move one arm down around my leg and letting his head fall over the other arm. "Sams not going to want to give us a ride if you're wet." I told him remembering our blonde friend was our designated driver. He looked up at me with his pretty blue eyes. I never let myself get lost in his eyes because I knew how easily I’d fold if I did and he could easily persuade me to do anything he wanted " we'll just walk home." He told me caressing his hand along my calf causing me to lean closer to him. " you can walk , I'm not wet." I teased him pulling at a strand of his hair. "I can get you wet ." He smirked at me but I didn't have time to process what he meant before he fully wrapped his hand around my leg and giving it a tug causing me to fall into the pool with him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me into his body since I couldn't reach the floor on this side of the pool. He laughed as I tried to move my wet hair away from my face. " Colby this dress was new and now it's ruined" I huffed out hitting him gently. "baby it was ruined when you bought it." He joked moving a hand away from one of my thighs that was wrapped around his back to a strand of hair that was still in my face moving it behind my ear. I tried to ignore the fluttering feeling in my belly I got from him calling me baby and watched him as he caressed my face. This was new, we had shared a kiss thanks to a dare and we’ve invade each other’s personal space before but this was something I hadn’t felt before. For a moment I felt like he was seeing me in the way I saw him and it had my heart racing. I let my eyes flutter shut as he nuzzled his nose into my cheek, and when he pulled away the slightest bit I anticipated that I would get to feel his plush lips against mine.

Except I anticipated wrong because we jumped apart due to a familiar voice calling out for us causing me to fall back into the water. Sams great timing ruined our moment, he was walking down the stairs with kat in tow speeding up when he saw me splashing back up coughing from the water I swallowed. Colby attempted to help me reaching out to grab me all while cursing and apologizing but I ignored his hands and swam away towards the edge of the pool where Sam held his hand out to pull me out. " what the hell are you guys doing? We've been looking every for you." He scolded us like kids but I was more focused on not meeting Colby's gaze. I was embarrassed and for some reason hurt he jumped back so quickly, I mean yeah I didn't want Sam to catch us and maybe I was overthinking things but it didn't hurt any less.

Sam was still giving us a lecture about the dangers of being drunk and being around the pool alone as we made our way up the stairs. Neither him or Kat caught onto the newly formed tension between Colby and I probably dismissing our behavior as us being drunk. Kat had gone off to get towels for us once we reached the house while Sam took us around and walked us the side walk so he could bring the car around.

Colby turned to face me once Sam was a good distance away " hey are we good, I don’t want things to be weird between us because we got caught up in the moment.” He unintentionally twisted the knife spreading the hurt I felt. But he was right, nothing happened and I was probably reading the whole situation wrong. I convinced myself I was overthinking because I was tipsy and I looked over at him forcing a smile " yeah we're good." I nodded trying to sound sure for the both of us , but I knew neither one of us was very convinced but we left it at that and waited for Sam and Kat In awkward silence.

Sam had driven us all back to their house like we had done many times before, where I was supposed to sleep in Colby’s room like I always did when I slept over. All I wanted to do was go home and try to sleep off this feeling but I couldn’t bring myself to ask them to drop me off at my house not wanting to make things worse between Colby and I . I also didn’t want Sam and Kat being suspicious of something being wrong .We said goodnight to the couple before walking into Colby’s room where I felt as if the walls were going to close in on me.

I stood awkwardly in the center of his room in my semi wet clothes shivering while he went into his closet. Had it been like any other night I would’ve jumped onto his bed or even gone to steal his clothes but I felt as foreign as the new atmosphere around us. “You want boxers?” He asked me walking out of the closet with some plaid boxers and one of his T shirts. He didn’t even need an answer already knowing I prefer shorts or his boxers over sweats for bed. I smiled at him taking the clothes before muttering a quick thanks and walking quickly to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

I gave myself a quick pep talk reminding myself we’ve slept in the same bed before. He was already under the covers on his usual side of the bed as I came out. My belly filled with butterflies and I gave a shy smile as he lifted the covers for me gesturing to lay down next to him. The bed seemed far smaller than I remembered as I tried to leave space between our bodies when I rested my head on one of his dark pillows. My body had finally relaxed settling into bed when I felt his warm hand wrap around my torso pulling me into the warmth of his body. I let out a sigh calling his name in frustration.

He hushed me before I could get out my frustration about the mixed signals he was sending me. “ can you just.. let me hold you tonight. Let me pretend that we could have this. That we could be something we’re not.” He whispered in my ear. “ why can’t we “ I asked in a small voice hurt that he wasn’t letting us try if he wanted the same as me. “Because I love you so much I don’t ever want you not to be in my life, if we change this, I don’t think I could ever go back to being just your friend after getting a taste of what we could be.” I turned my body to face his laying my forehead against his. “I don’t think I can pretend to only see you as a friend anymore colbs, i don’t think we can go back to just being friends after tonight.” I sniffled fed up with hiding my feelings for him. “What If we mess this up?” He asked his lips ghosting over mine causing my mind to fog up. “ what if we miss out on something real?” I responding before connecting my lips to his.

……………..

I hope you guys enjoyed !!!

#colby brock #colby brock fanfic #colbybrock #fanfic #sam and colby #youtuber #xplr #xplr club #x reader #colby brock x reader #colby x reader #imagine #sam golbach #katrina stuart #fan fiction #fan fic writing #fandom

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bewires · 9 months

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oppenheimer criticisms I haven't seen but think would be fair:

-choice to have 90% of florence pugh's screentime being "hysterical topless woman"

-movie does not pass bechdel test at all; otoh it is a historical biopic representing the life of a man to whose field of study very few women had access at the time and the movie makes a point to show those women gaining access. like. it's not a movie about women at all, and I doubt I will see nolan make such a movie ever, but beyond florence pugh's character there are some good and nuanced moments in there especially with emily blunt but also with minor characters

-early sequences of tortured baby oppenheimer dreaming the beauty of physics are very overwrought

-choice to not shoot on location in germany (look this one is just for me I have been to all the places oppenheimer studied (I am not a theoretical physics fangirl but I know several) and the only place they chose not to actually film in person is göttingen which I take personal offense at)

-they cast matthias schweighöfer in a hollywood movie. no excuses for that one tbh.

oppenheimer criticisms I have seen and think are unfair

-"nolan can't make a good war movie" bc he will not make an intersectional war movie. potentially accurate in re dunkirk, which I didn't see bc I don't like war movies, but in this case he did not make a war movie, he made a historical biopic. the war is relevant, obviously, but the movie is not at all about the battlefield or the front, it is about the life of a physicist, and yes, it's not very intersectional.

-the effects of the a-bomb on the people of japan are not given due diligence. I understand people disagreeing about this but I have also seen several posts of people going "I won't watch this but I bet it doesn't" and uh. I think it does. I think every moment in this movie after the trinity test is entirely about oppenheimer realizing the impact of his research and it is shown several times, excruciatingly, how aware he is of what the effects of the a-bomb were. we do not see the bomb, nor do we see japan, because again, it is a historical biopic about this one dude and he wasn't there. this is also the first time I have seen a mainstream hollywood movie make repeat and pointed note of the fact that in a military sense the use of a-bombs in japan was not necessary.

-movie is pro-war/glorifies the a-bomb/glorifies oppenheimer. I think the strongest case you can make is that it glorifies the a-bomb because movie splosions are cool. but I also think the movie's biggest strength is its ambiguity. whose fault is it there was an a-bomb? is it oppenheimer's? he sure thinks so! is it einstein's? he sure thinks so at least indirectly! is it the american government's? they sure think so and they're proud of it (all of these according to the various chracters of this movie). is it a good thing they developed the a-bomb? several characters have several differing opinions on this! oppenheimer himself seems very divided and unsure by the end of the movie and cannot make a judgment call. in the end (much like with cillian murphy's other iconic character who wears a hat cough cough) if people walk out of this movie as fans of the character or his actions imo that's on them and not on the authorship of the movie

#oppenheimer #I think it was a very good movie that's all #the cultural impact remains to be seen #and there are grounds for concern there #but the morality policing I will not watch the impure movie tumblr posts #really grind my gears

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thelastharbinger · 2 years

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I’m already seeing male reactors get very verbally defensive about that scene in She-Hulk where Jennifer describes how, simply as a woman, she has more experience in suppressing rage than Banner because speaking out will get you labelled “hysterical”, “emotional”, “difficult”, “too much of a feminist”, the list goes on. And if you snap back at the wrong cat-caller, you can get murdered. So now mcu bros are rushing at the opportunity to cry out “this is just another ‘marvel throwing in another woke scene for woke’s sake’. But like...it isn’t untrue. Comic nerds are all for female superhero protagonists until she, god forbids, talks about the dynamics of what it’s like to live within the confines of patriarchy.

MCU fans are always clamoring for the social commentary to be more “subtle” and not so “in-your-face”, just so they can mindlessly enjoy a punchy fighty show and not have to confront any real-world intersections with racism, misogyny, xenophobia, transphobia, all the -isms and -phobias you can imagine. Additionally, even when the social criticisms are embedded into the story, the conflicts are routinely either overlooked or watered-down and discussed at the individual-level as if these are just isolated incidents and not reflective of larger phenomena. Dudebros forget that superhero comic media, from the very beginning, has always been political. A lot of the mainstream characters we know and love today were created in response to the anti-war and peace movements during the seventies in the United States (this is also not to say that there isn’t some definite war propaganda and Red Scare-inspired comics out there either).

Comics are teaching grounds for morality, human good, and bad, power, greed, corruption. Comics have been about the social commentary from the get-go. The idea that the government (and by extent society at large) is villainizing and surveilling a specific minority group who carry varying physical and genetic traits contrasting to that of the “ideal national subject” because of a perceived inherent aggression or difference based on their physical attributes *ahem ahem mutants*...where do you think they got that from?

I literally sat through a dude being like “IN MY EXPERIENCE AS A MAN, THAT IS NEVER THE CASE! IF A WOMAN GETS UPSET AND MAKES A SCENE IN PUBLIC, THE MAN ALWAYS LOOKS LIKE THE BAD GUY BECAUSE IT IS ASSUMED HE DID SOMETHING WRONG. MEN ARE THE ONES WHO CAN NEVER BE ANGRY.” (Obviously for Black men, my argument is different because when Black men express rage, they are viewed as a threat or turned into spectacle, but the person who made this rant was not a Black man, nor was he factoring race into his argument). As if masculinity and gratuitous violence have not become nearly synonymous. When male celebrities are accused of beating their partners, fans run to their defense to say “well she shouldn’t have provoked him.” When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, the internet rooted for a televised boxing match between the actors/comedians. We all watched the Trump and Hillary debates right, where his belligerent behavior was coddled while she had to maintain composure?

We’ve collectively grown up watching male newscasters, talk show hosts, and reporters make jokes about angry women in sports, in the media or in news reports being on their periods, as a way to minimize the stressful and abusive circumstances, or people, women are subjected to. The world expects women to react to harassment with class and elegance; women’s anger, Black women especially, is never not mitigated. For male fans to come away from that scene wanting to eye roll is why the commentary is so “in-your-face” because a lot of y’all still don’t get it! Men are still finding ways to make women’s issues about them and the “loss” of their rights. In a world where Brock Turners are able to walk free, are you really trying to argue against this scene? Really? What else do you expect out of a series whose main character is AN ATTORNEY? Y’all are just not going to enjoy this series then, as per usual.

#if you're wondering who the youtuber in question is it is jaby koay from the channel #getjaby #he also has another channel but im not trying to promote his shit #he does reactions to loads of things but i literally want to beat his ass everytime he opens his mouth to make some social hot take bc #you might as well be talking to fucking ricky gervais #he gives major centrist vibes nd he's so fucking condescending nd will jump at any opportunity to mansplain things to his female co-reactor #he's like i'm woke but only to a certain point #anyways fuck dudebros #also are we gonna act like this she hulk scene is more shoe-horned in than that scene in endgame? let's be real #just say you hate hearing about any issues that affects anyone ever who isn't a white man #she hulk #she-hulk #marvel #mcu #mcu rant #tatiana maslany #jennifer walters #hulk #bruce banner #reactors

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writingreadinglurkingandsmirking · 1 year

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But I Shine So Bright - Rafe Cameron x Reader

Dear Reader Duology: Part 1, Part 2

Summary: You wake up hungover from the previous night’s party, and are struck with the realization of the conversation you’d had with Rafe prior. You decide that, yes, you should actually have that conversation with him sober like he’d suggested. So, that’s what you two do. Word Count: 5.1k+ TWs/CWs: Adult/profane language, she/her pronouns used for reader, brief descriptions of a hangover, OOC Rafe in that he's only a little crazy and is actually willing to admit he was wrong, unrealistically fast relationship re-establishment, Rafe still wants to kill that guy lol, bad example of a healthy relationship but hi this is Rafe be so for real here, Rafe obviously has pretty privilege Note: Yeah so I just decided to do the part 2 lmao so here she is. And now it has me thinking Thoughts about doing more Dear Reader inspired fics for OBX babes...like a Dear Reader duology collection sounds like a fun little project hehehe

Waking up was more painful than you’d anticipated. When you’d gone out, you never intended to get that drunk. Decidedly, you’d drank more than you had in a long while. A stupid choice all around, but especially stupid considering you didn’t have the built-in protection of…him anymore. Your girlfriends had dutifully tried to slow you down, but you didn’t listen to them.

Fuck’s sake, even his friends had tried to stop you. To be fair, they’d been more successful. Yes, the first memory you woke up to was Topper and Kelce, your ex-boyfriend’s best friends, stopping you from doing a fucking keg stand. And that was just something special considering you knew damn well that you’d been wearing a skirt with nothing underneath. So clearly your night had been just full of good choices.

“God,” you groaned, rolling over on your side. Your eyes landed on a water bottle on the side of your bed. You blinked once, twice, a third time, and then lurched up into a sitting position. “Shit.” While the sudden movement made you nauseous for a moment, you managed to resist the urge to vomit. You scrambled for your phone. It was noon already. Fuck. You saw that a group chat with your friends had blown up and you had a slew of other texts.

Where the hell did you go?

Why did Topper come tell us that fucking RAFE took you home??

Hello?? Girl what the hell are you thinking?

You better call us and tell us that you’re safe.

Dude you better not fucking sleep with him I swear to God I am SO serious.

Be like Dua Lipa and remember the new rules bitch.

Be safe I swear to GOD bestie I’ll fuck you up if you get hurt.

If you fuck him you better not let him hit raw.

BYE don’t let him hit AT ALL.

“Shit,” you hissed.

You’d thought you’d had a dream that Rafe had been the one taking care of you. A pleasant dream minus the blubbering you’d been doing. But no. It turns out you actually had been blubbering on him. On the ex who left you for no reason and with no discernible guilt outwardly shown. This just had to be a joke. It had to be. The pit in your stomach wasn’t from the aggressive hangover, it was literally just the dread that had an iron grip on you. Looking down at your phone again, you saw a text from Kelce of all fucking people too.

Lmao I know you’re gonna be hurting this morning but let me or Top know if Rafe did anything stupid yesterday and we’ll beat the shit out of him fr.

You couldn’t help but let out a high-pitched, borderline hysterical laugh at the very idea. You run a hand down your face, grateful that Rafe had forced you to take the makeup off the night before. You felt sick and awful and still somehow better than you had before. It was pathetic somehow, on some level, that spending even an hour with Rafe had the ability to make you feel so much better and so much worse all at once. So, with trembling hands, you made a move to answer.

First, to your friends.

Not yall acting like you don’t have my location. I got home safe. Nothing happened fuck off.

You then immediately silenced the group chat so you wouldn’t have to deal with it. You looked at Kelce’s and cringed, letting your fingers move.

Yeah definitely got a hellish hungover. Thanks for keeping me from doing a keg stand like a dumbass last night btw? Idk what the fuck that was about. And nah, Rafe didn’t do anything. Even if he did you wouldn’t win that fight, Kelce, be so fr lol.

The response from him came quickly.

Ah, she lives. Well, you didn’t choke on your vomit so that’s good. And hurtful, I could definitely beat him.

You rolled your eyes.

Yeah, maybe if he were tied to a chair bro. But fr, thank you for helping me out. Thank Top too for me btw.

The response took longer this time. And was punctuated by an immediate follow-up.

Course. I’ll let him know. You’re still our friend. We weren’t gonna let you get that messed up.

You should talk to your boy though. Let him know you’re good. Pretty sure he’s worried about you.

You bit your lip. Instead of replying, you instead closed that text thread and looked back to the rest of your messages. But, you were thrown for a loop when you saw Rafe’s name appearing at the top, texting you just now. You weren’t proud of it, but you had to throw yourself from your bed and empty your stomach. You blamed the hangover, but you also knew that the anxiety of facing him after the night before was nerve-wracking enough to be the culprit alone.

Once you finally cleaned yourself up, you felt a bit more human again. Only then did you return to your phone. You stared at it for a few minutes before even daring to pick it up. Then, you stared at your background - still a picture of you and Rafe, one where his smile was so big from a laugh that it crinkled the corners of his eyes and you had buried your face in his neck while also laughing. You hated that you hadn’t changed it yet, but every single time you tried to, you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. You put the phone down again.

Sighing, you reached over and grabbed the water bottle he had left you. Then you noticed he’d also left out some meds for you to take. Not letting yourself think about it or the way it turned your stomach, you took the pills and drank the water completely before letting yourself even think about your phone again. At least that was the lie you spun yourself, ignoring the way that the stupid piece of technology wove through every thought and every damn breath you took.

In an effort to pretend like that wasn’t true, you walked down to your kitchen and got a Liquid I.V. knowing damn well that Rafe would be telling you to if he were here. And, yeah, even now, the little things he did to show he cared still stuck to your bones. You hated it. Or, at least you hated that he wasn’t actually here. Some days it was hard to tell which was true and which was the lie. You wanted him, you didn’t, you wanted him, you didn’t. You definitely did—that was the truth and you knew it.

Steeling yourself, you eventually went back upstairs and picked your phone back up. Clicking Rafe’s name, you were fully prepared to ignore whatever the message was like you knew you should if you were going to get over him. But somehow, you could feel the familiar love and affection punching you in the gut.

Take the pills I left. Drink some liquid iv or whatever if you have it. Don’t forget to eat.

You inhaled shakily, thinking if you should even respond or not, worrying at your lip and tapping your fingers anxiously against your knee. But, as you did, another text came through from him.

Lmk if you need anything.

Short, sweet, and to the point.

You, your brain supplied unhelpfully. I just fucking need you.

You thought about the night before. About the words he said. About the stark honesty in his voice that you hadn’t heard in months from him. You thought about the simple promise he made. He said that you could talk about it when you were sober if you still wanted to. Did you want to? Yes. So, before you could talk yourself out of it, you clicked his contact to call him and brought the phone to your ear.

“You okay?” were the words that Rafe greeted you with. Not hello. Just concern.

“I…yeah. I’m fine,” you said when your brain finally caught up with you again. “I…thanks for getting me home. You know, and everything else too,” You paused for a moment, finishing with, “You really didn’t have to do all that.”

“Of course I did,” Rafe said, sounding surprisingly serious. “I’d never leave you like that. Ever.”

“I’m sorry I was such a mess,” you said, reflexively apologizing. “And sorry I was like…pawing at you like some animal.”

Rafe let out a dry sort of chuckle that betrayed he was at least slightly amused by some of your antics the night prior. It made your heart flutter, which just felt utterly ridiculous. He made a noncommittal noise. “I just wanted to make sure you, you know, were good.”

“No. Seriously, I can’t imagine how much worse that would’ve gotten without you there. So really, uh, thanks. I was…not thinking last night obviously,” you said. There was a pregnant pause over the phone and you realized how that sounded. “I mean I, like, really don’t drink that much!” You were rushing to clarify, anxious to make sure that Rafe knew you didn’t mean your conversation with him. “I seriously don’t even know how much I drank. I’m lucky I didn’t, like, die in my sleep.”

“I’ve seen you worse,” he said flatly. “You’d have been fine.”

“That’s when I had you, though,” you pointed out before you could stop yourself. You heard Rafe inhale sharply, saying your name but you cut him off. “Did you mean what you said?”

Rafe paused. “What?” he asked cautiously.

“That we can actually talk,” you clarified.

“Are you not too hungover for this?” Rafe asked, sounding tired already.

“No,” you said bluntly. “I want to talk to you.” You huffed out a sigh. “Rafe, I need to talk to you.”

You heard him let out a sigh of his own. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

“I want to do it in person,” you said, willing to push your luck here. “I don’t want to do this on the phone. I want to see your face so I know if you’re lying to me.”

Rafe gave a similar sort of dry chuckle to before. “Have never lied to you, Princess, but sure. Fine. Today?” he asked shortly.

“Yes,” you agreed. “Today. I think waiting two months was long enough.” Rafe didn’t rise to the bait, which you were partially glad for and partially disappointed by. “How about we meet at the country club at like…six?”

“You want to do this in front of people?” Rafe asked, surprised.

“No. We’ll go down to the beach. Just easier to meet there,” you said vaguely.

The reality was the country club gave you a way to chicken out last minute that the beach didn’t. At the country club, you could hide in a bathroom. On the beach, unless you were planning on drowning yourself or burying yourself in the sand you were stuck with him.

“Okay, Gorgeous,” he said lazily, the nickname slipping easily from his tongue. “Do you want me to pick you up or…”

“I’m good,” you denied. “I’ll get there.”

“See you later then,” he said.

“Okay. See you,” you said, hurriedly hanging up before you said something stupid like I love you or just tell me now why you left me.

You spent the next few hours panicking about what you’d just done, torn between hating yourself for making that choice and being relieved that it was finally happening. You gave all of your friends in your group chat a short version of your plan. You were met with a mixture of approval and disapproval from everyone—mostly born of a desire to make sure that you were alright. They offered to come and do recon so you’d have an easy out, but you denied the need. Then, they offered to come and slash his truck tires, which you declined just like you had the first hundred times they’d offered over the past two months. After that, they settled and just insisted that you text them an update later to let them know what was going on. It was easy enough to agree to.

You make your way to the country club a little bit before six and were shocked to see Rafe already waiting there. He was sitting at the bar, knee bouncing with anxiety, tapping at an empty glass in front of him. His eyes met yours, and just for a moment, you froze in place. Slowly, you drifted over to his side and were pleasantly surprised to see that he appeared entirely sober.

“Hey,” he greeted when you found words hard to formulate.

“Hi, Rafe,” you replied after a few breaths.

He looked you up and down, an undercurrent of amusement passing through his eyes. “I’d ask if you want a drink but I have a feeling that you’d rather swallow a bucket of sand right now,” he said.

You nodded, grimacing. “Pretty much,” you confirmed. You glanced towards the door. “Wanna…go?”

God, how could this be so fucking awkward? you asked yourself. This was the man you fell in love with and knew like the back of your hand and still somehow this was wildly uncomfortable like you didn’t know each other at all.

Rafe nodded slowly, rising to his feet. He gestured for you to go first, eyes habitually roaming around the room. They landed on the guy who had been touching you the night before at the party, gross hand on your leg as if he had any form of claim to you. Rafe felt his blood boiling for a moment and had to resist the urge to go and pummel the guy’s face in. It was hard for him, at least until the guy looked over, noticing Rafe. Immediately, the creep paled to a near-ghostly white shade. Satisfied by the obvious fear, Rafe offered the guy a condescending smile, with a harsh edge to it, teeth set. He put his hand on the small of your back as you walked, guiding you forward and opening the door for you as he went. As he passed through, his eyes did not separate from the guy’s until you had exited. The message was clear, even though you hadn’t even noticed the interaction at all.

She is Rafe Cameron’s, she is not available.

As you started to walk down to the beach, almost immediately, Rafe began to feel guilty for thinking that. He’d already done enough to hurt you in his eyes. But, then again, he couldn’t deny the part of him that desperately did want a second chance to reach that famous happy end. The kind that he knew only you could give him. The kind that only came with you beside him. No, he couldn’t ignore that part of him. It made up most of him. And he knew that it made up most of you too. And that was the part that made him loathe himself all the more.

On and on down the beach the pair of you walked, alternating between a few feet and barely a few inches between you. The silence continued on until you realized you didn’t even know how to approach this conversation. You sighed, stopping in your trek, evidently having decided you were far enough from other people to have this conversation now.

“I don’t know how to even start this,” you admitted quietly. “I miss you. I meant that. I meant everything I said last night except that I hate you. I don’t. I wish I could, sometimes. But I don’t. I love you. And…and last night you said that you loved me too, still.”

“I do,” he said, shrugging, then setting his jaw to shut himself up.

“Then why are we doing this? When we love each other and we both want to be together? Why?” you asked, the words simple but desperate.

“You’re better off without me,” Rafe said, staring at the horizon, refusing to look at you.

“I’m not,” you denied. “And you’re not better without me either. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that either.” He’d been spending an egregious amount of his time high or wasted since your break up and it was impossible not to notice. Rafe glanced down at you and then back out over the water. The sky above you was morphing from its crystalline blue to the golden hues that promised night was coming soon. “I think we’re past lying to ourselves about that, don’t you? Or at least we should be.”

“I know that I’m not. But you are,” he reiterated. “I’m…an absolute fuck up. And I am only going to drag you down. That is all that I will ever be good for. You may not get that now. But you will.” He sighed and looked over at you. “I’m trying to do the right thing here, Princess.”

“Well look at that, wrong as usual,” you muttered, shaking your head. “You’re not any of that! You’re not a fuck up. You’re not going to drag me down. You are…” You gesticulated wildly, trying to have your brain magically summon the words to describe how you felt. You settled for shaking your head and gesturing around you. “You’re like a…like a fucking beacon or something.”

Rafe snorted. “Fuck me, if you think I’m some sort of guiding light you’ve lost it, Princess,” he said sharply. “I’m literally the opposite of that. I don’t…I don’t help people. I just hurt them.” He gestured towards you. “Look at my family. Look at my friends. Dragged them all down. And…I mean, just look at you. How could you think that I’m anything good anymore?” He shook his head. “No, just…no. I’m not.”

You groaned. “Stop talking about yourself like you’re some hideous monster that has to hide in the dark,” you insisted, voice growing louder. “You’re not. You’re just a man! That’s it! A fucking stupid man, who I love more than anything…who I hate to see tearing himself apart like he does. An absolutely idiotic man who I miss so much it hurts to wake up in the morning.” You deflated, shoulders slumping, and this time you were the one looking out over the water while Rafe stared intently at you. “I’m not better off without you.” From the corner of your eye, you saw Rafe’s hand run over the bottom half of his face while he shook his head. You saw him bring his hand towards his lips and your head whipped over to look at him. “Don’t bite your damn nails, when was the last time you washed your hands? You’ve touched doors and railings! This is a public beach!”

It was like a bubble of tension cracked at that and Rafe laughed. Honest to God laughed. Laughed like you hadn’t heard in months from him. Laughed in a way that made your heart flutter and your lips turn up. The laugh kept going like he couldn’t stop it, and before you knew it you were chuckling yourself, which morphed into a hysterical laugh. You swatted at his arm in the midst of your laugh, but he caught your hand and held it. After a few moments longer, you both stared at each other, calming down. His easy smile and the crinkle of his eyes disappeared, replaced by a frown and concern.

“You…you should really find another guiding light if that’s what you’re looking for. A real beacon. Someone you can count on,” he said.

“Rafe,” you said seriously, taking a step closer to him. “Look at me.” He sighed but met your eyes. You squeezed your still-joined hands and he looked down as if he’d forgotten you were even touching. “You kept me from making myself look like an idiot last night. You got me home when I actively was trying to make it difficult. You held me until I fell asleep. You owed me nothing and you did that. I didn’t even have to ask you to, fuck I didn’t even want you to be there, but you knew what was good for me. And you left out water and pills and then texted me in the morning.” You let out a short, weak laugh. “I don’t think that I can count on someone else more than you.” He looked at you as if to say your name without having to actually speak it and you rolled your eyes. “Tell me something. How often do you get second chances in life?”

Rafe looked away, tongue running over his cheek, and then he looked back. “More than I deserve,” he said shortly.

Again, you rolled your eyes. “Stop being a self-sacrificial bitch for a second,” you said. He looked at you, scandalized and you had to resist the urge to laugh, soldiering on with your point. “Tell me, without the shit, how often you get second chances in life for something that you really want?”

“I don’t,” Rafe said after a moment.

“And yet here I am. And I know that you still want to be together. And I am trying to give us a second chance. Why are you trying to refuse it?” you demanded.

“Because you actually are a fucking beacon of light,” he snapped, hand flexing like he was about to squeeze yours but stopped himself. “And I don’t want to…to fucking ruin that. I would never forgive myself if I ruined you. If I…made that fucking light go out? No, I’d never forgive myself. And I don’t want to risk you like that. Ever. And considering I’m this fucking black hole of bullshit…that is definitely risking it.”

His words resonated as if they were a tuning fork that struck and vibrated at the exact frequency of your very soul. He sighed and let go of your hand. In your shock, you let him. He moved away a few steps and paced back and forth. This time, when he brought his nails to his lips, you didn’t speak for a moment. You saw the glint of tears in his eyes and you didn’t know if they were from frustration or from sadness—both most likely.

Your brain caught up with you after a few moments of just staring at him. You walked forward and took his hand away from his mouth, moving your hands to rest behind his neck, forcing him to stop moving. Reflexively, his hands landed on your hips, holding you rather firmly to ground himself. You played with the ends of his hair, waiting for him to measure his breath once more and meet your eyes with his own.

“You’re not a black hole, idiot,” you said fondly. “You are not an irredeemable monster. You’re just scared.”

Rafe’s jaw clenched and he looked away, then back again. “I’m not fucking scared. But if I were, Princess? It’d be for good reason,” he said. “I have a lot to lose if I keep fucking up.”

“Everyone does,” you pointed out. You moved one hand to cup his cheek. “For now, if you think that I’m some mythical fucking beacon of light, then let me do it for both of us…be it.” He shook his head, blinking away tears he didn’t want to fall. “Rafe…I can handle you being stupid. I can handle your fuck ups. I have this long. What I can’t handle is losing you.” He was silent and you shrugged. “Look at me and tell me that if I walked away right now and started dating someone else you’d be okay with that.”

His eyes snapped back to you, visibly disturbed and angry. “Fuck no,” he admitted, practically spitting the words out.

“Exactly,” you said softly. His hands moved slowly to wrap around your waist more, no longer just resting on your waist. “I know that there are things we have to work on. Believe me. But we make sense. We work together. Let’s try again, Rafe.” You took a deep, shaky breath. “If you tell me you don’t love me. If you don’t want this…I’ll walk away. I won’t bring this up…won’t bother you again.”

“No,” Rafe said immediately, more firmly than even the last time. “I do love you, of course I fucking do. And yes I want you.” His voice almost immediately became choked up. “I want us. I just…”

“Are the words you’re looking for ‘am scared?’” you suggested.

“No,” he denied, using what was obviously his new favorite word once more. “Not scared. Just…hesitant to risk hurting you.”

You gave him a flat look. “Rafe, is loving me worth the risk of me hurting you?” you asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I don’t care if you hurt me.”

“So then why can I not feel the same way about you?” you demanded. “It’s worth the risk. So let’s take it.”

“You’re more important than me,” he murmured, leaning your foreheads together, initiating the touch he obviously desperately craved.

The noise that escaped you was somewhere between a scoff and a snort. “That’s the dumbest thing you have ever said to me,” you declared. “And you told me that for two years you didn’t believe that dinosaurs were real.”

Rafe laughed, weak but true and a sweet sound to your ears. As he did so, he pulled back just enough that your eyes were able to meet. “I was a child,” he defended, a tiny smile on his lips.

“You were twelve,” you corrected. “You started high school not believing that dinosaurs existed. You had to take an earth science class to realize that fossils were real.”

Turning his head, Rafe moved one of his hands to your face, holding your cheek, just like you were doing to him. “Can I kiss you to stop you from making fun of me again?” he asked softly, eyes darting down to your lips and then back up. “Or is it too soon to tell you to shut up without being an ass?”

You smirked. “Don’t worry. I know you’re an ass,” you said, leaning forward.

He met you halfway, your lips brushing together. The kiss was soft at first, sweet and featherlight as if trying to ascertain if it was really happening. That didn’t last for very long though. Quickly, Rafe’s grip on you tightened and he pulled you closer and deepened the kiss. You happily let him take the lead, letting your hands travel to the back of his neck again, longing to just sink into his embrace. When you broke apart, you both were breathing unevenly, looking at each other with vulnerable gazes.

“I missed you,” you said, voice strangely shy considering who you were talking to and how well you knew him—not to mention the fact that his tongue had been practically down your throat moments earlier.

“I love you,” Rafe said. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead that lingered, then tipped your chin up to meet his gaze, his other hand keeping you pressed firmly to his body. “You gonna be my girl again, Gorgeous?”

Even though you rolled your eyes, your smile gave you away. “I never really stopped, did I?” you posed.

He hummed, half-frown on his face, and shrugged. “Dunno,” he admitted.

“I didn’t,” you said, wanting to wipe away the insecurity from him in one assurance even though you knew you couldn’t. “I never stopped. And, for the record, I love you too. Even though you’re a jackass.” You paused. “And a little bit on the stupid side.”

Rafe’s lips cracked back into a smile that grew into something far more relaxed. “Well that’s good to know,” he murmured.

“You just have pretty privilege is all,” you murmured quietly, voice serious despite the words being joking. You looked at him as though you feared he might disappear.

He stroked your cheek, wiping away a stray tear you hadn’t realized fell, and then reluctantly pulled away from you, forcing his hands into his pockets to keep from touching you. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“We do,” you confirmed. You offered him your hand. “Wanna go get something to eat and actually, you know, do that?”

Immediately, his hand was out of his pocket, and his fingers were laced with yours. “Yeah, Princess, I do,” he agreed. “Let’s go before it gets dark.”

“How could it get dark when I shine so bright as our beacon?” you asked, teasing, grabbing his arm with your free hand and squeezing it in a half-hug.

“Jesus Christ you’re lucky that you’re so damn easy to love,” Rafe said laughing. He pulled you closer, letting go of your hand in favor of throwing his arm over your shoulder. He pressed a kiss to your temple, lips lingering, his voice going serious this time. “I love you.”

“I know you do,” you assured him. “I love you too.” He nodded, still not moving away yet. “Come on, Cameron. Let’s get a move on here. You’ll be thrilled to know that I didn’t listen to you and drink or eat much of anything today, so I am desperately in need of water or something.”

Rafe groaned. “Of course you didn’t,” he said dryly. “Come on, can’t let my girl stay dehydrated or hungry.”

With that, he started pulling you back up the beach towards the country club. And, in the back of your mind, even with the lingering uncertainty and unsaid words, you felt better than you had in what felt like an eternity. You stared at Rafe’s face—your Rafe, your stupid, sweet, annoying, perfect boyfriend—as the golden hour’s light hit him. The angelic glow that it cast on his infuriatingly perfect face was always breathtaking. But, something about him at this moment, after being so vulnerable and honest, struck you differently. You took your phone out and snapped a picture of him before he could notice or refuse and smiled down at it, ignoring the delayed groan when Rafe realized you’d already captured it.

“Come on, Gorgeous,” he complained.

“Sorry, I just had to capture the day Rafe Cameron admitted he was wrong. It’s a historical event,” you said, grinning, sending the picture to your friend before turning the phone off wanting to focus only on him.

He rolled his eyes at the jab, but you were pleased to see the way that his lips twitched up in an amused smile. The sight lightened your heart and made your lips stretch into a wider version of your own smile you’d already been sporting. And in the slowly fading light of day, there were only two things that you were certain of.

Rafe didn’t give himself nearly enough credit.

You weren’t going to make the same mistake as him.

Taglist: @joselyn001 @caughtinthetides @proactivetypaperson @abbybarnesstuff @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @fangirlfree @antagonize-me-motherfucker

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theshelbyclan · 1 year

Text

Getting away with murder

Summary: Teddy knows she can get away with murder when it comes to her brothers, but maybe she really did go too far this time

A/N: I have no idea how this one started, where the idea came from, but I had a vision and couldn’t let the idea go... enjoy!

Words: 3324

*****

“Oh,” John took a deep breath and turned to his sister. Then he whispered again, “Oh, Teddy... oh, you didn’t...”

“I didn’t mean to!” she hissed back, “Obviously, this is not what I had in mind either!”

John looked at Arthur again, who had just walked into the shop. It was still early, so only the Shelby’s were present. Thank God. Suddenly, John burst out laughing, but luckily he was too far away for Arthur to hear. To Teddy he said, “Well, it was nice knowing you.”

Teddy fidgeted nervously, “What do I do? Do you think I can fix it?”

“That?” Giggles erupted from John now, “Absolutely not.”

“Fuck...” Teddy sighed deeply, “Tommy’s going to kill me too.”

“Look at your oldest brother, fucking look at him! Look at what you’ve done to the poor man!” John pointed, his voice nearing hysterics now, “And you’re afraid of Tommy?”

The truth was, Teddy wasn’t quite sure who to be more afraid of. On the one hand there was Arthur, who would indeed explode, but his temper was like dynamite and therefore short-lived. Then there was Aunt Polly, who raised her with an iron fist and seemed to have a wide variety of punishments at her disposal when needed, all of them horrible. And lastly, Tommy, feared by all and with good reason. Just the thought of his piercing eyes made Teddy knees wobble.

“Stop laughing!” she hissed, “I’m going to get killed no matter what, so what the fuck do I do now? Maybe I can, you know, make it a little less bloody?”

He looked down at his youngest sister and John could feel a little pang of sympathy for her. In many ways, the two of them were alike: they often didn’t think their actions through. And here she was again, finding herself in serious trouble, as she so often did. He did want to help, mainly because he liked her too much to be killed this young, “Maybe if you tell Tommy what happened. He always likes that, when you’re honest, you know? Just tell him you made a small mistake.”

“Mistake?” Teddy spun around to face him, “a fucking small mistake? How in the hell am I going to pass that off as a small mistake?!”

“Tell him you had a seizure?” John giggled.

Teddy rolled her eyes, “Perhaps they won’t think it’s me.”

“Oh, they will. This has ‘Theodora Shelby’ written all over it.”

“Fuck.”

John looked at his sister again, who was biting at her nails nervously. People often thought she sought out trouble, and they were right, but not as often as everyone thought. Sometimes, bad things just seemed to happen to her as a result of some very bad judgement. But she didn’t mean for it to happen, not really... “Come on,” he grabbed Teddy and dragged her towards Tommy’s office, “It’s like a bandaid, alright? Just rip it off and do it quick!”

“No! John, no seriously I can’t...” Teddy protested, but he had his hand firmly on the cuff of her shirt and there was no escaping him. And before she could protest again, he’d pushed her into Tommy’s office.

Stumbling in, Teddy almost tripped over her own two feet. As soon as she met Tommy’s eyes, she turned around again, but there was John blocking her exit and he pushed her closer to him at once. Trapped between two brothers, Teddy couldn’t see a way out.

A massive toothy grin was plastered all over John’s face as he said, “Tom? Teddy here has something to tell you.”

“You fucking prick,” Teddy hissed at him, but that only caused him to laugh more.

But Tommy was busy, he was always busy, and whatever it was, he wasn’t in the mood for it. Still, he was the first one responsible for Teddy and he never tried to evade that responsibility. So, he demanded in a very strict and brotherly fashion, “And what exactly is John talking about, Teddy?”

“I don’t have a clue...”

Icy-blue eyes glared at her and Teddy gulped. Then he demanded, “Did John, by any chance, tell you I’d go easier on you if you told me yourself?”

Teddy’s jaw dropped. How the fuck did he work all of that out in just under a minute? How in the hell was Thomas Shelby, her brother, practically clairvoyant when it came to her mischief? And again, he could read her mind, “Gypsy witchcraft.”

So Teddy conceded, “Yes, he did.” She looked over at John, who was standing in the corner now, chewing his toothpick. It was like he was watching a film and enjoying every second of it. Silently, Teddy cursed him, even though she knew she’d gotten herself into this mess in the first place.

“Sit.” Tommy demanded, “Explain.”

Teddy sat down carefully and tried to find the best words she could, just to make this a little bit easier on herself. But there were no right words. “I wanted to help Arthur.”

As soon as she mentioned the word ‘help’, John burst out laughing again. Tommy held up a hand to silence him and narrowed his eyes at Teddy, “Help him with what exactly.”

“I thought... maybe he wanted to look a bit more like us?”

“In what way,” Tommy sighed and lit a cigarette. He’d spend twelve long years with his sister already, and still she managed to surprise him every day. So, he was mentally preparing himself for the worst, just in case.

“You know,” Teddy still tried to evade the question, “we’re dark and he’s... ginger?”

“Not anymore, he’s not...” John sniggered in the corner.

Tommy raised his eyebrows in question and waited for his sister to continue. As he waited, he tried to think like Teddy and imagine what she’d gone and done now, but for all his gypsy witchcraft, he still couldn’t worm his way into his sister’s crazy mind.

“I might have made a small mistake, Tommy,” Teddy finally confessed, echoing John, “when trying to fix Arthur’s hair.”

Tommy turned to John abruptly and he spoke to him like Teddy wasn’t even there anymore, “What the fuck has happened to Arthur’s hair?”

“Tommy, listen...” John held up his hands like he wanted to make clear he had nothing to do with this whatsoever, “I don’t know what she did to him, but the poor bastard looks fucking terrible.”

The older brother frowned again and leaned over his desk to study the guilty party’s face up close. She, in turn, tried to curl up in her chair, praying to God she could just disappear. But just as Tommy was about to open his mouth, a knock on the door sounded.

“What!” he barked.

“It’s me, Tom. I’ve got these papers for you to sign. Can’t work them out. Some boy dropped them off for you...” a familiar voice stumbled on the other side.

Tommy shot John a strict look and Teddy an absolutely lethal one. Then he called out, “Come in, Arthur.” And he quickly poured himself a drink, preparing himself for whatever the fuck was to come.

But he wasn’t prepared. As soon as Arthur stepped into the office and Tommy took one look at him, he spit out part of his whiskey across the table. Teddy wiped it gingerly off her face and tried to make herself even smaller. John, meanwhile, was dying.

Arthur, however, didn’t seem to have the vaguest idea what was going on. “You alright, brother?” he asked Tommy, as he handed over the papers.

Tommy managed to stumble, “Yeah, bad quality, that’s all... I’ll, Uhm, I’ll take a look at these, eh?”

“Right, well...” Arthur pointed at John suddenly, “What the fuck is wrong with him?”

“You dropped him as a baby, remember?” Tommy waved a dismissive hand, “He’s mad, ignore him. I’ll get these papers back to you as soon as I can, alright?” Teddy had to admire his ability to adapt.

“Yeah...” Arthur shot another look at John, who had his mouth covered with a hand now and appeared to be either laughing or choking, it was hard to tell. But he decided to just leave it be and left the office soon after.

Apart from the occasion snort from the corner, the office was dead silent once again. Finally Tommy spoke, “You fucked up his hair and he has no idea.”

Teddy quickly started, “I didn’t mean for this to happen, I swear, Tommy! I just made a small mistake!”

“A small mistake is when you accidentally drop a plate or lose a fucking button, Teddy, but that,” he pointed, “is something else entirely.”

“It’s not that bad, though, is it?” Teddy whimpered.

Tommy raised his eyebrows and sighed. Then he decided, “You’re on your own. You’ve officially gone too fucking far now and I’m not helping you.”

“But Tommy...”

“Nope! You’ve made your bed. I’ve told you again and again, Teddy, one of these days you’re going to get yourself killed and you’ve done it now. Congratulations.”

“Please, Tommy!” she pleaded, “It was an accident! I’ll do anything, I swear!”

“It was an accident, eh?”

“Yes! Well... sort of.”

“Oh, sort of...” he coughed a laugh, “So not really.”

Teddy sighed theatrically and was completely desperate now, “Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it, alright?”

Tommy tried to do everything in his power to keep himself from smiling and he had managed so far. He slowly lifted his cigarette up to his lips and mused, “You’ll do anything?”

“Yes.”

“Without protesting or scheming? And without one fucking question in the fucking process?”

“Yes, fine.” Teddy sulked a little.

“Good!” Tommy stubbed out his cigarette and allowed some mirth to find its way onto his features, “Well in that case, you can start by telling me how exactly you managed to dye your eldest brother’s hair green!”

*****

Arthur Shelby sat in his office, surrounded by books and papers. He’d recently gotten into business with a local breeder and it had proven profitable, but there was a lot of paperwork involved.

“I need a drink,” he mumbled to himself.

As he crossed the betting shop, he saw no one because it was still early, only his youngest brother Finn. “Morning,” he greeted him, “Did you get the papers?”

Finn nodded wordlessly, with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“What?” Arthur demanded.

His brother pointed slowly at his head.

“Oh, right,” he nodded in reply while opening the door to go outside, “Almost forgot my cap. Thanks, Finn.”

After a few moments, Finn moved and muttered to himself, “Fuck. Teddy’s really done it now...” And he quickly went on his way to try and find her.

“So that’s why!” Finn burst into Tommy’s office as soon as he had spotted his youngest sister sitting there. “I knew you weren’t buying it for yourself! You hardly even bother to wash, let alone be pretty...”

“Thanks for that, Finn,” Teddy grumbled.

“I don’t mean that,” he protested, “I mean, you’re not like the other girls, who brush their hair and...”

Tommy held up a hand to silence him, “Bought what?”

“I think you’re very pretty, Teddy,” John smiled at his sister.

“I do too!” Finn sighed, “I just meant...”

“For fuck’s sake!” Tommy called out, “Teddy, you are beautiful and anyone who tells you different can fuck off. Now, back to the fucking business at hand: buy what?”

“Hair dye.”

A long sigh followed.

Teddy tried her best not to meet his eye, “I bought some black hair dye for Arthur. How was I supposed to know it would turn his hair green?”

“Because his hair is ginger, that’s why,” he replied darkly, “You really should have more girls as friends, Teddy, they probably could’ve told you this.”

“Oh...”

John swallowed some more laughs and asked, “What do we do?”

“There’s nothing we can do. We just have to make sure he doesn’t go out like this or we’ll lose all the respect we’ve earned around here.”

Finn dragged his feet across the floor a little, “Tommy, he just went out.”

“Fucking hell.”

“I made sure he wore a hat, so that’s something?”

“Right,” Tommy slammed a hand down on the table and decided he’d spend enough time on this nonsense, “Teddy, you are going to find your brother and you’re going to tell him what you did to the poor bastard.”

Teddy protested, “Tommy, I...”

“Nope!” he interrupted, “No more fucking excuses from you. Now, either you find a way to fix his hair or you convince him to cut it all off. I don’t give a fuck what you do, but you are going to repair whatever damage has been done to the good Shelby name, alright?”

“Yes, Tommy,” Teddy gave in, and with a heavy heart she stood up and left the room, with Finn in tow.

Only after she’d closed the door behind her, Tommy allowed himself to smile.

“Arthur is going to go mental,” John commented dryly.

“Just go and make sure that he hits a hole in some wall and not our beloved sister, eh?”

John turned around and just as he opened the door, said, “You know, if this was anyone else, you would’ve cut her.”

“Yes,” Tommy sighed, “but it’s Teddy and she can get away with murder with me and she fucking knows it.”

John turned smirked and turned to leave. But Tommy added, “So do you.”

“You’re going soft, big brother!” John called down the hall as he walked away.

“Am I?” Tommy muttered to himself, “Maybe I just have too many fucking younger siblings... Fuck, I am going soft.”

But the truth was, he’d always been soft for them. And he knew it.

*****

Flitting from corner to corner on the streets of Small Heath, Teddy shadowed her big brother Arthur. He’d gone down to the Garrison to pick up another bottle of rum, but luckily he hadn’t taken off his cap inside. Now, he was making his way back to Watery Lane.

“What are you going to tell him?” Finn whispered.

“Anything but the truth,” Teddy mused, but she hadn’t decided on a strategy just yet.

Carefully, the two siblings followed their brother inside. But their stomachs dropped when they realised Arthur was talking to Aunt Polly and as he did, he reached upwards to take off his cap.

“No, no, no, no!” Teddy called out, but it was too late.

Polly’s mouth fell open at the sight of his green hair, but quickly narrowed her eyes at her niece, sensing the culprit at once.

“What?” Arthur asked, completely oblivious.

“You may want to sit down for this one...” Polly told him in a low voice.

“Someone tell me what the fuck has been going on!”

Suddenly, Teddy had a thought and exclaimed, “Can I cut your hair, Arthur?”

He took a swig from the bottle of rum, “Why the fuck do you want to cut my hair?”

“I want to be a hairdresser someday!” Teddy tried her most angelic smile.

“Theodora...” her aunt warned darkly, but Teddy ignored her, praying to God she’d survive both Arthur and Polly’s potential wrath.

“Please, Arthur? It’s been getting way too long and Tommy tells me we have to protect the good Shelby name.”

He reached up and felt at his hair. Nobody dared breathe. “Alright,” Arthur finally agreed, “but don’t fuck it up! I don’t want to walk around Birmingham looking like some bloody circus act.”

Finn almost choked.

“Great!” the twelve-year-old devil beamed, “I’ll get the scissors.”

But in the kitchen, Aunt Polly hissed at her, “You are going to explain this to me and it better be good, or I’ll make you regret even getting up this morning.”

She gulped, grabbed the scissors and took a deep breath. Then she draped a cloth around Arthur’s neck and started snipping. “Not too short!” he warned, but it had to be. Luckily, the roots were still ginger, so she didn’t have to go completely bald to save him, but long tufts started falling down all around him.

Pretty soon, all the green was gone and somehow, Arthur looked more like John than he’d ever had done.

But he wasn’t satisfied and as he felt at his head, he bellowed, “What the fuck did I tell you! Fucking hell, Teddy, you’ve probably made me look like some fucking choir boy!

“Just wear your cap,” Finn offered. “You look a lot better, Arthur.”

“Do I?”

Teddy grabbed the mirror off the wall and showed him. Arthur sighed deeply: he hated it. Still, he didn’t want his little sister to be hurt, so he said, “Maybe hairdressing’s not for you, Teddy. Or maybe you just need to practice some more, but not on me! But I can live with this...”

“Thanks, Arthur,” Teddy smiled and he had to smile back at her.

“Right!” Finn concluded, “Guess that’s that! Remember Teddy, Tommy wanted you to do that thing?”

“What thing?”

Finn eyed the green hair scattered around on the kitchen floor. It was only a matter of time before Arthur would notice. “You know,” he stumbled, “that thing... at the Garrison?”

Teddy suddenly understood her brother was trying to save her, once again, and nodded slowly. But one strict matriarch demanded, “What thing?”

She turned on her heels and lied, “Oh, nothing really. But Tommy wanted me to gather some of the betting slips and make sure the Garrison books are all in order, because I’m good with numbers, you know?”

“And what are the odds?” her aunt narrowed her eyes again.

“They’re not good.”

Polly nodded, “I’d say they’re looking very bad.”

Teddy sighed, “I agree.”

Arthur frowned, “Are we still talking about horses?”

“Yes,” both women replied in unison, even though they weren’t.

“Right,” Arthur shrugged, “Then fuck off, Teddy, and go and do as Tommy told you. Finn, clear up this mess.”

Quick as a flash, Teddy was out the door and Finn immediately gathered as much of the hair as he could, suddenly hopeful that Teddy was actually going to get away with it. Then he left as well.

Polly was left in the small kitchen with Arthur. As he felt at his hair again carefully, he muttered something about getting back to work. Polly meanwhile noticed just one tuft of hair still lying on the floor and she picked it up and stuffed it down the pocket of her skirt. She had no idea why she was even protecting her niece, but she was.

“Give me that.”

Polly looked up questioningly at Arthur, who had turned around again.

He held out a hand, “I’ll keep that.”

“So you did see.”

“As soon as she made the first cut.”

His aunt handed him the bit of hair and carefully Arthur tied a piece of string around it.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked.

He shrugged, “The damage was already done.”

Polly smiled. In many ways, Arthur was the one that did surprise her the most.

“Are you going to tell her?”

“No,” he decided. “Let her think she got away with it.”

“She already thinks she’s brilliant,” Polly huffed, “That one always seems to think she can plan and talk her way out of anything.”

“And she’s bloody right, isn’t she?” he affirmed affectionately, before walking away.

“She has to learn some time!” Polly called after him, even though she knew it was no use. They worshipped the ground she walked on and nothing was going to change that, not even one harsh and determined aunt who sometimes feared the moment Teddy would have to venture out into the real world, where things weren’t so easily fixed. But let her keep her innocence just a little while longer, that’s what Arthur had meant and she knew it. She understood it even.

She would have to learn eventually, but evidently, not today.

*****

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