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#whoops I messed up my tags!
deoidesign · 8 months
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IF YOURE LOST YOU CAN LOOK AND YOU WILL FIND ME
TIME AFTER TIME
IF YOU FALL I WILL CATCH YOU ILL BE WAITING
TIME AFTER TIME
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faerun · 4 months
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some lavellans
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defyingthefates · 10 months
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With the revelation that Orym had a feeling Laudna killing Bor'dor would give Delilah a foot in the door again, and let it happen even as Laudna turned to him as a lifeline to stop herself. And with the Expanse and its characters on the brain. I'm just thinking about how sometimes, even in the absence of evil necromantic soul parasites, the important question isn't "is mercy the morally correct choice?" it's "is revenge the right choice for us?" It's about self-preservation. About staying the person you want to be. The person you need to be to keep putting one foot in front of the other every day. The person you can look at in mirror every morning. It's about knowing your friend will be disproportionately burdened by that choice and chosing to intervene. Not even necessarily to stop the killing altogether, just to stop your friend from hurting themself in the process. ("You're not that guy" but "I am that guy." "It's not about [them]. It's about us." "It wasn't mercy. It was vanity. I didn't want to think of myself as someone who wanted vengeance.")
In that moment Laudna needed someone to step in for her. To take the weight off her shoulders. I don't think Laudna wants to be the kind of person who kills to satisfy feelings of revenge (even without the threat of an evil necromancer hiding in her soul). Imogen pulled her back from the brink before. But this time she wasn't there. And Orym, in her stead, let her fall. When he could have chosen to intervene. Ashton too, to an extent, although in the moment it was Orym that Laudna looked to for restraint. Either of them could have made the kill instead. That this also put Delilah back in the picture... well that just makes this situation all that much worse. How does it feel to know that your friends let you free-fall into the dark? How does it feel knowing you let your friend free-fall into the dark? Worse, how does it feel to know you gave them that final shove over the precipice?
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rabbitclown · 2 years
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Hangin' on to the edge of tomorrow
its you and me against the world lil buddy
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pand1on · 1 year
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little extremely sketchy preview of my first Arcane AU design, Maria!
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It was kind of a no brainer to have her in Vikor's place, she is a Robotnik afterall, she's gotta be the inventor. On top of that I really didn't want to erase her chronic illness. Considering her illness in canon is so vague, I'm going to go closer to Arcane and it'll be a progressive degenerative disease. The visual parts of that are next to be worked on. Also obviously she's older than like. 12.
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withoutawar · 2 years
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#withoutawar is an independent & selective roleplay blog for marvel’s STEVE ROGERS , influence drawn from MIXED MEDIA including the MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE , earth-616 , EMH , AA & personal head-canon.
as told by CHAE , she / her , 25+ , gmt + 11
QUICK LINKS : GOOGLE DOC , PROMPTS , RE: STEVE .
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endlesscacophony · 2 years
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Me: I defeated Signora!! Woo!!
@inanthesis: you need her boss drop materials to level Thoma's talents
Me: D:<
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padfootastic · 2 years
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Okay lemme see...
I'm interested in seeing your bingo for
Sirius
Slughorn
Adrian Pucey
Luna Lovegood
ooooh hello! 💜💜 this was fun ngl really made me think bc,,,very random names,,,,
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notes: sirius my absolute beloved <3 this man could actually commit all the crimes he’s been accused of (in the books & by the fandom) and i’ll still go to bat for him 100%. and see, the marrying him thing is me absolute overestimating myself bc he’s so out of my league lmao but also,,,,will i give up on the opportunity? nah. (also getting sirius is 1 for 2 deal bc james comes along too *wink wink*) the everyone but me thing is very tongue-in-cheek because there’s actually a good chunk of people i agree with on here but i don’t think any of them even come close to my levels of apologism for him (which,,,might be a point in their favour lol). i feel like atp people must be sick of hearing my thoughts about him 💀
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notes: ah slughorn my problematic fave (lies. that’s actually the elder malfoys or voldy). see, the thing is, this guy is such an old white man ykno? coasting by on networks and connections, never noticing structural inequality & thinking individual action is where it’s at, fucking ridiculous as hell and a massive coward. but there’s also something rly fun about him lol idek if i can explain it but he’s one of the more harmless adults in the hp universe imo. the kind you’d go to for the good kush ;)
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notes: see the only reason i know about this guy is slytherin!harry fics where he takes on some weird mentor role, or hermione fics where she’s paired with him (i once read one where she was with 4? dudes, i think, and he was one of them) but otherwise i could not pick him out of a line up, hence the dynamic thing. also every time i read his last name, i picture someone violently throwing up.
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notes: luna is precious and i love how much potential she has as a friend, a character, and just general wine aunt ykno? turning her into a meaningless batty weirdo was so, so rude of the fandom and whenever i come across good luna characterisation, i feel v happy. it’s why i think she’s deeper than she seems because like, idk, she feels like one of those stoners who’ll unlock the secrets of the universe if they’re high enough.
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kiwisbell · 3 months
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Gloves Off [joel miller]
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You enjoy watching him bleed, but you love to watch him succeed. He builds ‘em up just to knock ‘em down. He’s The Contractor, and he’s your reigning king of the ring.
my masterlist!
pairing: boxer!joel miller x f!reader
tags/warnings: 18+ (MDNI), no outbreak!joel, blood and violence (by virtue of joel’s career), boxing, joel’s got that dawg in him, established relationship, oral fixation, weightlifting, cleaning wounds, protective!joel, soft!joel, joel is a munch, cockblocking, fingering, squirting, riding, unprotected piv (let's not follow this example), creampie, cum eating, dirty talk, light choking, mirror sex, “she” pronoun used — switches to “you” a little ways in & stays that way, some light playful smacking, some light playful blasphemy, a hint of exhibitionism, they're a bedroom-ceiling-mirror couple™️, no i do not know the intricacies of boxing, it's violent and i'm just a girl
word count: ~ 9k
read on ao3!
a/n: this is mostly porn and some very light plot. we're mostly just establishing these two for now – but more will come in the future as i build on this universe! thank you so much mya @cavillscurls for beta reading this mess, for giving joel's girl her fightin' name, and for generally holding my hand. ilysm honey
dividers by the lovely @saradika
follow @kiwisbellupdates and turn on notifications if you'd like to be notified when i post a fic!
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It’s loud. Loud enough to bruise. Monstrous pulses of bass resonate from the ground into veins and lungs and muscles. No choice but to swallow. 
In those rare moments when the music recedes, it's the swell of the audience, the cloying aroma of beer and the crunch of peanut shells underfoot. It’s the rapacious jeers and whoops from a crowd who refuses to let silence infest. Chest-deep belching and beer-guzzling and bet-placing. Illicit handshakes that become permissible for the next hour. 
The lights of the arena dazzle—rhythmic hues of flashing yellowblueorange strobing brilliantly above to the throbbing bass. He always gets uproarious applause, makes an indelible impression: the stoic, humble shake of his wide shoulders as he bounces impatiently on the balls of his feet, the royal blue robe embroidered with gold, the eager kiss he gives his girlfriend as she gently slips the fabric off and gives him a brilliant smile. 
He isn't shy about the way he takes his girl into his arms, one big callused hand pulling her in at the small of her back. The audience roars. Cameras flash. Some sort of pre-fight ritual, some unfamiliars presume. Presses go wild for shit like this. Maybe he’s doing it for the cameras. 
Then he cups her face, her ear comfortably situated between his thumb and forefinger, briefly bunching her hair in his fist before he lets her go. And—no, this isn't for show. She says something nobody but he can hear, slipping his robe over her own shoulders, too-big and draping off her body, and he grins crookedly, half-listening to his coach rattle off the game plan. 
She kisses him chastely on the cheek, but it lingers, some whispers—promises, maybe—softly exchanged. Then she saunters off, hips swaying, tying his robe around her waist. 
“And now—”
The drawl of the announcer heralds a cheer. 
“Your heavyweight champion, your boy in blue, your reigning king of the K.O.—”
Another piercing uproar. There are few here in Austin who favour the opponent. They toast their cups of foamy beer to the man approaching the ring, still bouncing and shaking out his limbs and popping in a mouthguard. 
“You know him. You love him. You enjoy watching him bleed, but you love to watch him succeed. The Contractor—”
It’s his girl who screams this time, banging the flat of her palms on the floor of the ring, her eyes alight with excitement. Under the robe wrapped around her body is a tight black dress. She's a picture of paradox. Elegance rubs up against the ravenous spirit of the arena. The lights dance in her eyes. Hunger thrives in those irises. Her eyes don't waver from the man entering the ring. 
“Joel Miller!”
He slips under the ropes and raises his fists, now adorned in bright red gloves, high in the air. He’s dressed in blue shorts that reflect the strobing colours, torso bare, greying hair tousled. Tousled, no doubt, from her fingers. He stands like a Grecian statue before the crowd, made to be admired, and yet they feel distinctly as if they have intruded on an obscene, private moment. 
The judge, dressed in an old polo and a pair of dress slacks, exuding the illusion of propriety, enters next. Joel doesn't smile or wave at the crowd. Fans know his shtick—the cold, calculated killer with the K.O. record last season, disinterested in reputation, a man of focus. But he glances down at the girl just outside the ring and winks. Her answering grin tells a story. But it is not one for the cameras and the press and the beer-guzzlers. It’s just another length of the thread spooling between them. 
The opponent arrives—some up-and-coming challenger who goes by Ricky The Great and wears a plastic gold crown as he emerges from the darkness; yawn—and the audience promptly begins their jeers. It’s Texas. Here, Joel Miller owns the scene. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. 
Ricky The Great, all glamorous smiles and brush-offs in the face of so much heckling, shrugs off his fire truck-red robe and climbs into the arena. He bumps gloves with Joel, who kneels down and bumps gloves with his girl’s bare fists. The judge speaks to both of them—something about a clean fight, nothin’ dirty now—and the crowd draws a collective breath. The music peters. For a moment, there's silence. 
The bell rings and the roar of the crowd crescendos. 
Joel makes the first hit. He doesn't bother circling his opponent for long; he strikes precise and true and knocks Ricky’s head back. The rippling of his muscles as he throws his first punch is taut, intricate. A delicate transfer of energy. There's none of the same finesse in the way Ricky strikes: he’s flighty, uncertain, too stiff in his attacks. But he’s got strength, and his blows land. 
The first strikes Joel on the left side of his face, a low thud of impact that makes the audience recoil. 
She’s lurching forward, spitting venom, hurling fire at the challenger: Oh, fuck that! Is that all you can do? My mother’s dog hits harder than that!
The Contractor shakes it off, back on the defensive, and look at the boy in blue carry the fight, he’s got his arms up to block the next, and he’s returning each punch like he’s making conversation, and folks—folks!—the first round is over, the Contractor is fired up, and he’s not going to let another hit get past him, don't mess with Miller, folks, don't mess with Miller!
With a thick forearm, he swipes his sweat-matted curls away from his sticky forehead and lowers himself into the opposite corner from Ricky The Great. 
“You gotta keep your guard up, Texas,” says a sweet, sultry voice—she’s hopping up into the ring, handing him a water bottle. “Don’t get cocky.”
He squirts the water into his mouth and all over his face while his coach Fred takes a knee beside him. “Yes, ma’am.” 
“Your lady’s right. Don’t gotta be on the offensive the whole damn time. Hit him, but hit him smart. He’s a rookie.” Fred claps him hard on the shoulder. “Yeah?”
Joel nods, his brow lowered, his face set in a firm scowl. The Texas Hold ‘Em, she calls that look. Means he's done playin’.
Fred smacks him twice on the cheek. “You gonna fight like you mean it?”
“Goddamn right.”
“You gonna hit the kid like he owes you money?”
“Goddamn fuckin’ right.”
Fred grunts, satisfied. “Good. Then get your ass up and fight like a man, so you can take your girlfriend to dinner. Eh, asshole?” 
She bites her bottom lip. “You gonna take me out?”
Joel inhales sharply through his bruised nose as she toys with the tie of the robe around her waist. “Tomorrow night,” he says. “White Rose.”
“Yeah?” Her eyes are doe-like. “Better win this fight, then, Texas. Maybe I’ll treat you.”
She slips under the ropes and winks, settling in for round two. Joel knocks his gloves together and stands up, shaking himself out. 
Ricky The Great is giving him a great, bloodied smile, rolling his head around his shoulders. “Hell of a fight you put up,” he says good-naturedly as they meet in the centre of the ring to bump gloves again. “Hell of a pretty girl, too.”
A minute narrowing of brown eyes gone beetle-black. A careful and measured silence as he awaits the next words he knows will decide the course of the night. 
“You’ll let me have a go with her after, right?”
The bell chimes. The crowd roars. 
Headlines stamped bold-faced on front pages by morning will only beckon a bigger crowd by the next fight. 
RICKY THE GREAT K.O.’d IN SECOND ROUND: THE CONTRACTOR REIGNS
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You listen to the rhythmic thud, thud, thud of his fists hitting the bag as your teeth absently chew the end of your pen to plastic mulch. 
His back is facing you, huge and muscled and rippling with every blow he lands on the bag. Gruff exhales are punched out of him, the deep purple hue of the bruises on his chest pulling taut over tanned skin. He's quiet, typical after a fight, the adrenaline of the ring accumulating in the weight of each punch. 
“Joel, honey, a couple venues are asking for you by name. Say they want you in… let’s see, Wyoming, New York, and Las Vegas. Should I tell them you're local only?” 
He doesn't answer, the rhythm of his punches never faltering, the cascading path of his spine flexing, dripping beads of sweat. There are dimples in his lower back. 
“Joel?” 
He isn't just letting off steam. 
He’s mad. 
You sigh, peeling yourself away from your desk and placing your hand between his shoulder blades. He shows his blows, grasping the bag to keep it still, his head briefly lolling low as you rub his sweat-slick back. 
“Come with me,” you say softly, pressing a soft kiss to one of the bruises on his shoulder. He takes a moment to shuck off his gloves, dropping them to the floor and following you to the desk. His hands are still wrapped, knuckles bruised beneath. You guide him gently to sit in your chair while you shuffle through items in the drawers to produce a cloth. You wet it with your water bottle, now lukewarm, and gesture for his hands as you sit on the desk. You begin to unwrap the gauze on his left, letting it rest in your lap. 
You make quick work of the wraps and his split knuckles, gently cleaning away the dried blood and making sure no dirt has accumulated. He flexes his fingers when you're finished and seems to relish the twinge of pain that accompanies it. 
“You should take it easy on your hands after a fight, honey. Rest up before the next.”
It's lost on him, of course. He hardly sleeps. But he nods, one hand on your thigh, rubbing circles over your hip bone. “I know.”
You smile faintly, touched by his attempt to placate you despite the distant glaze over his eyes, and begin to clean the cuts on his face: one on his lip, his chin, and just below his swollen eye. To his credit, he doesn't flinch much. You've been patching him up long enough. 
“Wanna tell me what happened, Texas?” 
His eyes shutter, head ducked to evade the tender press of the washcloth to his chin. You frown. “Joel.”
He just shakes his head. You shouldn't have to hear shit like that. And he knows that you know, but you don't say a word, humming softly, the melody of letting it go. Joel grasps your free hand and threads his fingers through yours, his mouth meeting your unmarred knuckles. 
“Baby,” you coo, “I need to get you cleaned up. Look at me.”
He lifts his eyes as best he can with one sealed a quarter shut, and you click your tongue softly. “Nobody gets a hit in on my man. Fucking asshole.”
“‘s okay, baby.” He kisses the inside of your wrist and you bite down on a laugh when his moustache tickles your sensitive skin. “I’m okay. Had my coach there with me.”
“Fred’s a pretty good guy,” you say coyly. 
Joel hauls you abruptly onto his lap. You yelp, winding your arms around his neck to steady yourself. His lips find your jaw, ghosting along the line of it. “You know I ain't talkin’ about Fred.”
“Take it easy,” you implore him. “You’ve got a split lip and a swollen eye, killer. Can’t go getting all sweet on me.”
He harrumphs, your grumpy old dog, and continues to kiss you anyway, nosing at your cheek so you’ll turn your head to the side. He places his lips on your pulse point and lets them linger there awhile. 
At last, he tells you the truth. “He asked if I’d share you.”
You scratch your nails at his scalp, tousling his sweaty curls. “Hmm. Wouldn't be the first time. Remember Galveston?”
His grip instinctively tightens around your waist. “Fuckin’ asshole.”
“You got him good, though.”
“Goddamn right.”
“And I got a real nice night out of it. Fuck, that hotel room. The continental breakfast. The bath.”
“That fuckin’ dress,” he adds, nipping your jaw. “Could've eaten you alive.”
“You did.”
Joel chuckles, kissing his way back to your mouth. “Never goin’ back to that bar again, though.”
He’d started a good-and-proper fight in the dive bar that night a few years back over some piece of shit who pinched your ass in front of Joel. Your killer had made quite the reputation for himself… after you and Fred bailed him out of the county jail with a decent rap sheet to take back home as a souvenir. From the proud gleam in his eye that night, you guessed he'd happily paste that record to the refrigerator if he had his say. 
“I don’t know, honey. Folks in that town know not to mess with Texas.” 
He gives you a hard look. Goddamn right. 
“You had me going there for a minute during that first round,” you tell him, cupping the good side of his face. “You feel okay?”
He studies you, fingers idly tracing your vertebrae. “Yeah, baby. I’m good.”
“You still feel like that dinner at the White Rose?”
He grins crookedly. “If you let me pick your dress.”
You smile, brushing some wet curls away from his forehead. “Anything you need.”
Kissing him deeply, you lick your way into his mouth, your thighs hugging his hips. Joel groans, pulling you snug to him by the small of your back, and you feel him begin to fill out his shorts, his length warm and heavy against his leg. You roll your hips, desire tingling at your fingertips and spreading inward. 
It’s warm and sticky, this love he has. It’s the way the sunlight glues a gold shine to his skin when he first wakes and it’s the boundless crooning melody of “Purple Rain” in your ear as he's winding down from a fight. He’s the muggy fingers of dusk, languid and lazy on your body, gold darkening to black as you become a thing he seeks to cover, conceal, make only his. 
He suffocates. It’s how he best knows to show you his love. 
Joel tugs your hair so you’ll tip your head back and leaves sloppy, open-mouthed kisses up your throat, stern in his nibbles and bites, teeth scraping along the cut of your jaw. 
“Joel…” 
“You know what I need.” Joel jerks his chin in the direction of the bench. “Go and spread ‘em, nice and wide for me.”
Oh, you think, noting the tension that still coils in his shoulders. Oh. 
Your heart thunders as you obey, crossing the room and lowering yourself onto the adjustable bench, thighs straddling the cushion. Joel’s eyes are catlike, pupils puffy, predatory. He prowls toward you, dropping to one knee, near-clinical in his assessment of your posture, your heaving chest, the slight quiver of your thighs as he lifts his hands to squeeze your soft flesh. 
“Wanna see you,” he says plainly. “Show me.”
You’re giddy with excitement as you lift the hem of your top and toss it aside, giving him a good view of the white lace cupping your breasts. Joel hums, shifting closer, easing your thighs open to fit his broad shoulders. 
One of his hands migrates from your hip to your ribcage, his thumb brushing over the soft swell of your breast. You shudder, letting him explore you, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows. 
“Take this off,” he says. You reach for the clasp of your bra and let it join your discarded shirt. The rough pad of his thumb rolls gently over your nipple as your skin puckers and you begin to stiffen. 
“Joel,” you whisper. He tuts you into silence and warms your sternum under his palm. 
“Relax, baby. Let me see you play for a little while.”
Leaning back on the bench, your hand trails down your body, fingers dancing on your soft, sweet skin, and Joel’s licking his lips before you can even reach the apex of your thighs—lifting your skirt and showing him the simple cotton panties covering his meal. You’ve darkened the fabric with your arousal. 
“Goddamn vision,” says Joel. “So fuckin’ pretty. You need someone to pay her some attention?”
“Please,” you mewl, your fingers swiping lightly over your clit. “Please, baby, I need you so bad.”
Joel lowers himself beneath your skirt and presses a soft kiss to your pussy over your panties. Your hips buck instinctively, seeking his mouth, but Joel presses his palm flat against your lower belly. 
“Joel…”
“Lie still, sweetheart. I need a taste.”
You whine, a bit petulant, but let him take his time, his tongue darting out to lick you over your underwear. The muffled pleasure makes you choke on air, your head falling back against the bench. You lose sight of his head under your skirt, unable to grasp his hair or guide him closer, unable to do anything except let him take what he wants. 
Back when he used to smoke, Joel found a replacement drug between your legs. He’d lick and suck at your clit until he no longer craved the sweet stick of nicotine to his lungs; sometimes, on fight nights like this one, he’ll spend hours with his mouth on your body to quell the buzz of adrenaline that beat his heart against his ribs. He needs his hit in the shape of you. 
His new habits had carried over in the years since he quit. Now, he’s dimpling your thighs with his fingers, keeping you spread open as he teases you with his mouth, making out with your pussy. He swallows your sweet little moans and inhales your scent and loses himself entirely in the pleasure of being between your thighs. 
“Fuck, baby—” Your voice breaks into a whimper as he at last shifts your ruined panties aside and slides his hot tongue through your weeping slit. “Ahhhh, fuck. Yeah, right there.”
He groans at the first real taste of you, drenched and puffy and practically crying for him, your hips grinding in time with the swirling motions of his tongue. The sting of the cut on his lip, soaked in your wetness, does little to deter him. He delves into you, the slope of his nose pressed against your sensitive little clit as he glides the tip of his tongue around your hole. Your hands find your tits, squeezing and rolling your nipples between your fingers, head lolling against the cushion of his bench. 
Joel slides the flat of his tongue through your slit repeatedly, lavishing attention on your folds with his lips, kissing you deeply and fervently, the consistent pressure pooling in your core. Your stomach tightens when he sucks your clit between his lips, moustache prickling your thighs as he hugs your thighs around his shoulders. They rest on his back, your toes curling with the mounting pleasure as he flicks his tongue over your slick pearl and takes it into his mouth. 
“Ohhhh, yes. Yesyesyes, just like that. Fuck, baby, that feels soooooh!”
Joel growls, crushed into your pussy, deafening himself as he holds your thighs firm around his ears, split knuckles stinging. He needs this. He’ll die if he doesn't have this. Your gooey-sweet body cups him in a soft, glowing light, warmth wiggling out from the core of you and splitting him down the middle. He eats you until you're sobbing his name, begging to come, jerking your hips around under the weight of his tongue against your clit. 
“Joel, I’m…”
He knows. He can feel it. You pulse slowly, rhythmically, your stomach tight and your hips grinding up into his face. With one finalistic twitch of your thighs, your leg kicks out, and you come, your head thrown back against the bench, your entire body seizing with Joel’s head fixed between your legs. 
He doesn't stop when you begin to shiver on your way back down, licking up the release from your tight little hole and slathering it over your folds just to drink it back up again. You give him a gurgling moan, reaching down to shuck your skirt up and reveal his face: pupils wide, fingers dimpling your thighs, he looks intoxicated. Gently licking your puffy clit, he swirls his tongue over it, and you gasp, your fingers curling in his sweaty locks. 
“Joel, up,” you plead, tugging on his hair. He groans, absconding from your oversensitive pussy, his mouth leaving messy kisses up your belly. 
He rests his chin there, looking dazedly up at you. He slowly drags his tongue over his bottom lip, his moustache slick with you. Your thighs suffer a phantom twitch as you watch him idly clean himself up. “Kiss me,” you croak, hauling yourself upright and cupping the back of his neck in your hand. 
He does, licking at your kiss-bruised lip, begging for entry. You grant it, tasting your own release on his tongue, a little dazed yourself by the heady tang. Joel’s big arms wrap around your hips, pulling you closer by the small of your back. He breaks the kiss just to tilt your chin up with his nose and nestle his face in the crook of your neck. 
“I’m all yours, Texas,” you whisper, letting your eyes flutter shut. “Always have been.”
And the smug bastard grins, the shape of it burned into your throat. “Yeah, I know.”
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“Miller, your girlfriend's here.”
Ben doesn't even bother to look up from the books as you breeze past his desk with a paper bag in your hands. 
“Hi, Ben,” you chirp. 
“Hi, honey. He’s in the ring.”
“Thanks!”
Joel, meanwhile, unstraps his gloves, clapping Hank on the shoulder. “Good fightin’, man,” he says. 
The younger guy wheezes out a cough as he sheds his own gear. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll get the shit kicked outta me by you anytime, Miller.”
You appear around the corner, all smiles, carrying his lunch. Joel hops down from the ring and scoops you up in his arms, setting you down on the edge of the platform. You playfully dig your heels into his ass to pull him closer. 
“Smells so good, baby,” he says, grinning against your mouth, the kiss turning into a mess of lips and teeth. 
“Me or the food?”
He gives your ass a swat. “What'd you bring me?”
“BLT on rye from Nico’s. Because you didn’t eat breakfast,” you say pointedly. 
Joel drops his forehead to your shoulder. “Shit. Sorry, coach.”
“You can apologise later,” you purr, tilting his chin up with your fingers, “the way you do best. For now, just eat.”
“Get a fuckin’ room, Miller,” booms Willie from the opposite side of the gym, barrel-chested and big-headed, wailing on the pads his much smaller trainer holds at arm’s length. You roll your eyes, handing the sandwich to Joel. 
But he puts his hands right on your ass and yanks you closer, his teeth gnashing out to catch a nipple through your dress. “Don’t you dare go all male,” you chide. “You're just hungry.”
“Fred won't let me fight him,” grumbles Joel, unwrapping the sandwich and diving in, one hand still kneading your ass. His second nature is touching you. His fingers drum along your vertebrae in the back-and-forth rhythm of a fight. 
“That’s because Fred wants you fighting strangers only,” you remind him, plucking his towel from the rope and tousling his sweaty curls. “And so do I.”
You dry him off, sweat and a little blood soaking into the pile, as Joel buries his face between your tits. You smack him upside the head.
“Miller,” calls Fred, hurrying toward the pair of you, “I need a syllable.”
Joel huffs, dropping into a chair and pulling you with him. You toss the damp towel aside and brush his curls away from his forehead. He continues to devour his sandwich like it's his last fucking meal despite your slow downs and don’t chokes, one strong arm banding around your waist. 
Fred tucks a cigarette behind his ear, his eyes a little wired. “I’ve got Danny Cain on the phone in my office, and he's asking' for you.”
You frown. “He reps The Preacher.”
“Yeah. He fuckin’ does.” Fred sounds damn near breathless. “And The Preacher wants to fight you, Miller, so you'd better get into my office and answer that fuckin’ line.”
Joel pats your ass and stands with you. “Jesus, Fred, all right. C’mon, baby.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, the coach plucks the cigarette from his ear. “I’m going for a smoke. Don't fucking fuck each other in my office, or I swear to God—”
“Keep your whistle on, Freddie,” you call over your shoulder. You can feel the backdraft of the steam billowing from his ears when Joel gives your ass another firm swat. 
“Baby, this is huge,” you tell him, locking yourselves inside Fred’s office. His line blinks red. “If you can win against the Preacher…”
“I get to rub it in that God-fearin’ asshole’s face forever.”
“And you’ll steal his record.” You playfully gnash at the tip of his nose, and he grabs a handful of your ass, pulling you with him. 
“You're goddamn right I will.” Joel grins, lounging in Fred’s chair and picking up the receiver. “Miller.”
His hand beckons you as he tucks the phone between his chin and shoulder. You slide back into his lap and put the phone on Speaker. 
“It’s good to finally talk with you, Joel.” It's the gruff drawl of Danny Cain, extremely-former heavyweight champ. “My guys and I have been sniffin’ after you for a while now.”
Joel draws little rings over your spine with his fingers, connecting them like links on a chain. “Y’know, I used to watch your fights as Genesis all the time with my pops before he went.”
You nip his ear over the subtle dig. “Listen, man, after the ratings you drew in for the fight against that idiot kid the other night, it’d be idiotic not to put you up against David.”
Your brows lift suggestively, and Joel’s teeth gleam in the relative darkness as the corner of his mouth pulls up in a crooked smile. “That so?”
A brief pause. You picture Cain’s chest deflating in a cold sigh, frost creeping over all that he breathes on. “That's so. Ratings gold, and we’re willing to split the difference on travel if you're willing to meet in the middle. Crowd’ll go crazy to see the biggest names in heavyweight knock skulls. If you agree, I’ll be calling your agent.”
Joel’s grin widens, calluses playing upon the soft flesh of your inner thigh, inching his way under your dress. “My agent will be mighty pleased to hear from you,” he says, punctuated by a firm press of his palm to your warm core. “Better be nice to her. She can be a real biter if you ain't careful.”
You grasp his wrist and use his hand to pull your panties aside, bringing two of his fingers to swipe through your slit. Joel watches them emerge glistening, eyes slits beneath his lashes, as Cain says, “Gonna need a yes or no from you, Miller.”
Joel’s gaze is hawklike as you bring his fingers to your mouth and slide your tongue along their length. “Yeah.” His voice is coarse as the white scarring over his knuckles. “Yeah, you got yourself a deal.”
Cain grunts his approval, and you both clock the gentle scratching of pen on paper. “Is your agent around to talk now, or should I wait ‘til later?”
You lift your brows, sealing your lips over his fingers, letting them slide, hot and wet, down your throat. You taste the tang of your arousal, blooming outward from your core as Joel’s free hand greedily bunches the fabric of your dress. You’re pressed flush to his chest, your tongue licking sweat and slick from his fingertips. 
“Sorry, Danny, my agent’s got her mouth full at the moment. Can’t quite talk.” 
Joel’s pupils are puffy in the darkness. Your body is illuminated by the small window in Fred’s office. He likes it when he's swallowed by black. You're the one who looks best in the light, anyway. “Later’s good. Lookin’ forward to takin’ down your Preacher.”
“Careful, Miller. Ego like that will get you in trouble,” says Cain.
“Ego’s got me this far,” says Joel. He’s stopped listening. “See you in confessional.”
And he hangs up the phone, yanking you around the waist so you're straddling his hips, sitting nice and pretty on his lap, his fattening length sitting heavy against his thigh. 
Your smile is a wicked, crawling shiver that begins at his tailbone and creeps upward. “You Godless bastard.”
“Tell me all about it,” he says, reaching around your body and shucking your skirt up around your hips. “C’mere.”
You bite down on your grin, cupping his cheek in your palm and kissing him. Joel capitalises on his chance to swallow you whole, prying your mouth open, sliding his tongue along yours, his palms sliding up your arms, conjuring goosebumps. 
“My beautiful girl,” he groans, nipping hungrily at your bottom lip. “My perfect, sweet, mean fuckin’ girl. Gonna take down that goddamn Preacher. Gonna take you to Italy.”
“Mmm, Italy.” You sigh happily against him, tasting memory. Gelato and baked ziti. Suntanning on white sand. Rolling around beneath fresh linens and lounging, catlike, on beach chairs, a drink always in hand. The cloying coconut notes of sunscreen and the supple flesh of your ass as he took his time rubbing it all in. “I miss Italy.”
Joel preens at the sound of you practically purring, your body flowering for him, nuances hidden in the slight swirling of your hips, the greedy fistfuls you take of the hair at the nape of his neck. He tilts his chin up, drinking down the proximity of you, your skin silk and perfume and memories of years he’s given you. Your lust-soaked pupils expand, wet and rimmed red near your waterline, desperation you will not vocalise. He watches you teeter on the precipice of your pride and pulls you closer, priming your body to tip sweetly over the edge. 
You gasp into his mouth as he hooks his fingers beneath the straps on your shoulders and abruptly yanks down the top of your dress. The fabric pools at the flare of your waist, your nipples stiffening as your tits confront cool air. Joel’s eyes droop, black as pitch, watching the light shift over your heaving chest. 
Your breath catches when he touches you. And his hands are there, because they must be, because there is no other choice, curling around your ribs, thumbs brushing the supple swell of your breasts. The shiver wrecks you, coiled tight around your spine, your underwear dampening. You sit right atop his thick, persistent length, grinding absentmindedly to relieve the pressure winding around your stomach, and the fact that you’re in Fred’s office becomes a microcosm of you-and-Joel. There is nothing but. 
Joel studies you like he’ll be tested: eyes following the path of his hands, he does not once blink, that suffocating black gaze cupping hot wax over your belly, letting the makeshift bowl tip out in increments. He knows how to keep you alight just long enough to turn needy, desperate, close to inhuman. 
“Baby,” you croak, watching the callused tips of his fingers meet your nipples, pinching softly, not quite enough to hurt, just enough to feel it in the steady dripdripdrip of your arousal. You’re pooling in your panties, heady and warm and too-big for this small, small room. Need pushes outward against the walls, boxing you in tight, locking you in gravity with his body.
Joel clicks his tongue. “Be nice ‘n’ quiet, now. Fred’ll have a bird.” 
“Oh, please.” Fred doesn’t know half the things you’ve done in his office. You grind down on Joel’s erection and watch his bared teeth glimmer. You need him now. 
Head swimming, honeyed and slow, Joel languidly nuzzles his face between your breasts, alternating between soft licks and playful bites. Your sternum is electrified, your bare skin humming for his touch. Joel cups the scruff of your neck in his rough hand and leaves open-mouthed kisses from your throat to your jaw. You moan, your head lolling backward, cradled safely in his palm, pushing out your breasts to give him better access. He grins, chest puffing up, leaving a deeper-than-usual imprint of his teeth in your pulse point. Your answering shudder, your throaty little groan, your tug on his hair, bordering on painful, please him to no end. His cock twitches underneath you, aching to be freed.
“Actually, baby, go ahead and be as loud as you like. I sign his checks.”
Your reproach is halfhearted, muffled in his throat, the echo of the fightin’ bell vibrating low in your body. “I sign his checks,” you point out, nibbling his earlobe, your fingers tugging his too-long curls. He needs a cut before his next fight. 
Joel chuckles, pressing his fingers to your clit over your ruined panties. “You need me in here? Need me nice ‘n’ deep?” 
You moan like a whore at the friction, hips bucking. You pulse uselessly, emptily, the slow grind of your clit along his length not enough. “Joel, please… fuck, I need… need you inside. Please fuck me, honey, please. I’ll die if you don’t fuck me.”
“Oh, baby,” he says mockingly, shifting your panties to the side and sliding his fingers through your soaked slit. “So fuckin’ wet. Poor baby girl needs a mean old man to show her a good time.”
Your eyes are frenzied, wild, sweat glistening at your temples. You nod frantically, your hand dipping between your bodies to squeeze his cock over his shorts. Joel grunts, fisting your hair. “I need it,” you mewl. “Fuck, I need it. Need your big fucking cock. You’re so big.”
The harsh rapping of knuckles on Fred’s office door deters neither of you. Still grinding, still palming at him, you don’t stop, arousal clouding your judgement. “Dirty fuckin’ girl,” Joel grits out. “He’s right outside. You wanna make him mad?”
You whine. You don’t want to piss off Fred—not really. 
But you’re nodding anyway, rocking yourself against him, puffing out incomplete wisps of his name that dissipate as smoke on the air.
The knocking escalates, now desperate.
“I swear to God,” shouts Fred, pounding hard on his door, “if you two don’t stop right now, I’m banning the both of you for fucking life.”
Joel groans, letting Fred hear it, his forehead resting against yours. “Goddammit.”
You pout, hips slowing to a crawl on his lap. Your core is still tightly-wound, his erection no less firm against your inner thigh, but the moment has passed. For now. 
“Later,” you whisper.
He gives your tits a fond squeeze before he helps you secure your straps back over your shoulders. 
Later. 
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“Just like that, baby. Good. That’s a good girl.”
“It doesn’t feel right, Joel.”
“That’s because you’ve never done it before. It’ll take time. Now, c’mon, arms up.”
You huff, raising your fists the way he’s taught you, letting him adjust your stance as he circles you. “Higher,” he says plainly. You obey, your left hand obscuring your face; Joel curls his own fist around it and untucks your thumb. “Thought I taught you how to throw a good punch. What’s this?” He wiggles your thumb. 
Your Joel is all business when it comes to self-defence. Your face warms as he puts his hands on your waist to shift your feet, but he’s clinical. He doesn’t let you steal a kiss or flirt your way out of a lesson.
Plenty of time for that once I know you’re safe, he says. Bastard.
“That’s good, baby. Much better.” And fuck it all, his praises make you a little more pliant to his commands, buzzing with the prospect of finally getting him into bed tonight. If you listen, you’ll get out sooner, and you’ll get his dick. You cycle your mantra in your head as Joel lifts his naked palms to you. 
“Now,” he says, “you ready to fight?”
You glare. “Not before you announce me.”
The grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. He may be stern about your teachings, but he’s a sucker, and he’s always been.
Joel raises his voice to a rare boom, alerting those few stragglers still packing up their gear around the pair of you. “You know her. You love her. If you don’t, you better check your goddamn priorities. You wanna see her kick some ass.” He’s cupping his hands over his mouth and mimicking the roar of the crowd. “She’s The Agent, and she’ll sign your contract… for termination.”
A few stray whoops and whistles erupt from the meagre crowd. You take an extravagant, swooping bow and bring your fists back up at the ready. 
“C’mon, now. Show me what you've got,” says Joel, clapping his palms together and presenting them for you to punch. “Keep your guard up.”
You only waver for a moment, and you’re certain he sees the frown that ticks across your brow. “I don't wanna—”
Joel shakes his head, beckoning you with a flick of his fingers. “You can't hurt me, baby. C’mon. Be mean. Be a killer.”
Your face screws up in concentration as you aim a blow at his palm. You’re thrown off balance more than he, who barely budges. He steadies you with a hand at your waist and merely repositions you to hit him again. The only satisfaction you find is in the demarcated circle of tender pink that’s begun to grow where your punch landed. 
“Not bad, if you could stay upright,” says Joel.
“Do you want to get your dick inside me tonight, Miller, or would you prefer to sleep on the couch?”
His crooked smile ignites your competitive side. “Hit me again.”
“I was put on this earth to be pretty and shout at people, Joel. I was not meant to fight. That’s why you’re here.”
“And you do a beautiful job, baby. Now, hit me.”
Throwing less of your body and more of your arm into the second blow, you manage to strike at his hand hard enough to rock it backward. He grunts his approval and nods for you to go again. “Don’t overextend your arm. You’ll pull somethin’ that way. Keep it tight to your body, block your precious organs, and hit me nice ‘n’ controlled.”
You’re alarmed by the low pitch of his voice as he instructs you, the timbre pulling taut at your core. It’s the same tone he uses when he wants to direct your body, mould you the way he likes, make you bend to the shape that pleases him best. Your fist tightens and you hit him again. 
For making me wet at the gym, you asshole. 
You throw another punch, remembering to keep your arm tucked in, your gut protected, and a satisfying groan rumbles in his chest.
“That’s it, baby.”
You’ve backed him into the corner of the ring, his spine on the ropes, your knuckles stinging from impact after impact until—
“All right, killer,” he says, closing his hand around your fist when you land your final punch. “That’s enough. Your knuckles are gonna split, and it’s my job to be the bloody one. Right?”
Your chest glistens with a thin smattering of sweat, your noses mere inches apart as he sweeps his gaze over your weary body and licks his bottom lip. Your mouth opens as if to catch the breath he lets go.
He brings your sore hand to his mouth. “Home?” he says gruffly.
His moustache bristles around the crest of your knuckle, mouth pursed to slot perfectly in place. There are few spaces he could occupy that don’t feel as right as this.
His mouth is on you before you’ve turned the key to the front door of your home. He stumbles with you in his grasp, his hard chest flush to your back, walking you toward the bedroom with little ceremony. He’s feverish in the way he mouths wetly at your throat from behind, his fingers splayed over your belly to maintain his own balance. Still, his desire is clumsy, staggering, his other hand kneading your ass despite the fact that it’s wedged between your bodies. 
“Easy, Texas,” you laugh. It turns breathless as he sucks on your pulse, his hot mouth drawing blood to the surface just beneath your jaw, the hairs of his moustache tickling your sensitive skin. Your hand flies back, burying your fingers in his locks, as Joel’s grabby hands fiddle with the straps of your dress. 
“Want it off,” he grumbles. 
You coax him with a couple slow downs while he fumbles with the fabric, and he just shakes his head. “No. Want it off. Lift.”
“Caveman.” You roll your eyes, raising your arms above your head to placate him. He tugs your dress up and over your head, tousling your hair in the process, reaching around your body to squeeze your tits in his hands. 
Another laugh bubbles up. “No taking it slow tonight?”
He lands a smack on your ass. “Fuck that. Bend over.”
Your shared bedroom boasts a California King, a smattering of houseplants (your idea—for fresh air), and a mirror on the ceiling, directly above the bed. That was Joel’s idea. 
Giggling, you lower yourself over the mattress as he drops to his knees behind you, kissing all the way down your spine, mouthing at the small of your back, hands roving and groping. He squeezes your hips, pinning you against the mattress, his hot breath lifting the hairs on your skin. His lips are wet, warm, pliant against your core—and you choke when he slathers his tongue over your panty-covered asshole, his huge arms hugging your thighs around his ears. 
“Joel, holy fuck. Oh my God—”
He bites into the flesh of your ass, his fingers sliding achingly slow up your inner thigh. Your mouth hangs open, cheek pressed to the mattress, as he slides your panties aside and licks a hungry stripe between your folds. 
“Ohhhh, God, baby, yeah. Yeah, keep going. Please keep going.”
And he may be a complete asshole, but he’s nothing if not indulgent—so he yanks down your panties, grabs you by the hips, and roughly turns you on your back.
“Keep goin’?” he says gruffly, pressing his middle and ring fingers to your tight hole. “Then look up and watch yourself come in that mirror, baby.”
You shudder, tilting your chin up to catch your own eye in the mirror on the ceiling. It’s fucking obscene to see yourself spread out on the bed, Joel lying between your thighs, your chest rising and falling in the dim light of your twin orange lamps. You watch his hand creep up your belly, pressing gently on your sternum as if to anchor you in place, and a whimper leaves your mouth when he dips his head to taste you. 
His fingers slide through your wetness and stretch open your cunt as he laps lazily at your clit, keeping you malleable and relaxed and soaking-fucking-wet. Your back arches into his rough palm, a crescendo of Joel oozing from the corners of your mouth. He hums, adding to the chorus, his fingers’ percussive rhythm (in-out, in-out, punctuated by a tortuous curl against your sweetest spot) dragging out the song of your pleasure. He’s an expert by now. A fucking maestro.
“Ahh, yes, right there,” you gasp, your fingers threading through his hair, “rightthererightthererightthere! Yes, yes!”
You squeeze him as he fucks you with his fingers, relentless in the pursuit of his victory, your high. His lips, briefly mesmerised by the crease where your thigh meets your hip, now migrate to your pussy, flattening between your folds and flicking at your pearly wet clit. In the mirror above your head, you see the flutter of your thighs, the intake of breath, the greedy curl of your hand in his locks.
He’s going to fucking kill you.
You taste iron and realise you’ve bit your lip. Joel, of course, occupied by your pretty clit but spying to make sure you’re still watching your reflection, spots it, and slides his hand to your throat, squeezing gently at the pulse points on both sides before he slips the pad of his thumb past your bottom lip. 
You moan around him, your jaw forced open, blood smearing around the tip of his thumb, mingled with saliva. It blinds you, the fucking filth of it, as he removes his thumb only to hook his hand around your chin and flatten two fingers to your tongue. 
He likes to open you up this way. Your body takes him in so readily, happily sucking on the fingers in your mouth and squeezing down on those in your pussy like a goddamn bear trap. His healing knuckles sting from the sensation of being trapped deep inside you, where he fucking belongs. Tongue lapping at your clit, a cat to milk, Joel watches as your body begins to writhe underneath him, your eyes still dutifully fixed on the mirror, and he knows. 
He knows exactly the tells you begin to display for him: the hitch of your breath halfway up your throat, the way it hollows in a little pool, the perpetual grinding of your hips against his face. Your stomach is tightening, your cunt slick with the relentless push-pull of his fingers.
He removes his mouth briefly from your clit, using the heel of his palm instead, letting you roll your hips up against him. “Gonna come, baby?” he asks, a little breathless, eyes wild and black. 
You nod, whining, your fingers tugging at his scalp until tears prickle in his ducts. He groans, biting into your thigh, and watches as your pussy convulses, a drop of your own wetness splashing onto his forearm. 
A minute tick of his brow. 
Oh, yeah. He knows. 
“Fuck,” he says under his breath, the frothy slick of your arousal webbing between his fingers. “Yeah, you’re gonna fuckin’ come. You’re gonna get me all fuckin’ wet with this creamy pussy, baby.” He grins at the sight of the tears slipping from your eyes, your eager sucking as you take his fingers down your throat. “You’re gonna watch yourself squirt. You hear me?”
Your thighs twitch, your hips bucking in his hand, and he feels fucking strong. He feels like the goddamn winner. 
He takes his fingers from your mouth so he can hear your cries, your bruised lips spilling over with molten gold pleas and chants. It’s garbled, it’s nonsense, you’re coming—
And Joel, the fucking asshole, gets you there with a smile on his face, his palm rubbing hard against your needy clit, his fingers curling into the spot that forces the pressure up, up, out…
“Thaaat’s it, baby. Soak me, c’mon. Get me all wet.” 
“Joel, Joel, Joel, ffffffffffuck—”
It’s the intermittent hiss of a pressure-release valve, your juices splattering onto Joel’s chin, glistening obscenely in the hairs on his chest, your hips bucking wildly against his face. He growls into you, his hand pressing down on your belly as he fucks his fingers in and out, in and out, the filthy shlick of your wet cunt warming your cheeks. Joel’s mouth is latched to your hypersensitive clit as you writhe beneath him, lengthening the torture just enough to make you scream, your thighs suffocating him. 
More wetness spurts from your cunt as Joel retracts his fingers. Crawling back up your body with gentle kisses to your soft, sweat-slick skin, he pulls you slowly back into yourself, no longer staring absently at yourself in the mirror but blinking up at him, a sleepy smile crinkling the corners of your eyes. 
“Knew you could do it,” he says with a crooked grin. 
You smack his shoulder. “You're such a dick,” you croak. 
“That any way to say thank you, baby girl?” Joel takes your nipple between his teeth and playfully swats your other breast.
You tug his hair. “Joel!”
“Not quite.” He presses his lips to your sternum, his hands kneading your tits. 
Your moan is soft and sighing, your hips wiggling underneath him with what little room you have. “Mmm, yeah. Like that, baby. Touch me.”
“All I ever wanna do”—his mouth moves, carving a path to your jaw, the strong curve of his nose tilting your chin up so you’re forced to watch yourself in the mirror once more—“is touch you.”
His dick is a heavy, throbbing weight in his shorts, which he shucks down with little ceremony, tossing aside his shirt and socks so he can hover, skin-to-skin, above your body. 
Briefly, he studies you, swiping your tears away with his thumb, his arm flexing next to your head. You smile through your daze, cupping his cheek in your palm. The prickling of his beard makes an imprint on your skin as he nuzzles your hand.
“Your turn to watch,” you whisper, brushing the pad of your thumb across his chin. “Lie on your back.”
Joel rolls you on top of him, sitting atop his length, hot and pulsing beneath your messy cunt. You place your hands on his chest, gently rolling your hips. Joel groans, his hands flying to your hips.
“Jesus, baby.”
“You need someone to take care of you, Texas.” Your hands caress his chest, the rippling muscles of his biceps, the taper of his waist. “You worked hard today. You signed a deal.”
“You signed a deal. Shit—” His voice breaks as you take a playful bite of his throat, smacking your flank in feeble retribution. “Shit, baby. Sit on my dick.”
“You wanna come?” You grind down on him, coaxing precum out of his tip and cleaning it off his belly with your finger. Joel watches with lidded eyes as you spread it around your used clit. “Watch the mirror, baby.”
With your guidance, your nose tilting his chin skyward, Joel obeys, admiring the curve of your naked spine in the mirror, the way your body undulates on top of him. You're a fucking vision. He’s void of a reason you’d pick him, but your reverent hands are trailing up and down his muscled torso, and Joel doesn't give a fuck why as long as you keep choosing him. 
You finally reach between your bodies and sink down to the hilt. He bares his teeth, fingers ironclad around your hips. You’re careful in your study of him as you lift yourself up and drop back down, admiring the cut of his jaw as he keeps his head angled toward the mirror. 
And fuck, he stretches you—wrenched open around him, you’re consumed, filled to the throat, ruined, and Joel’s pleading with you to move, baby, but you don't know if you can. Your thighs tremble with the effort, your body weak from your orgasm, and you feel you’ve all but failed him until his hands begin to slide up your spine and pull you down, flush to his chest. 
“Just like this,” he says into your ear, wrapping his fist around your hair. “C’mon, baby. Ride me just like this.”
Your teeth latch onto his shoulder as you bob up and down on his dick, eliciting precisely the strained groans you want to hear from him. “That's it,” he huffs, his mouth perpetually open, sliding against your temple. 
He's still watching you writhe in the foggy mirror, the delicious dips and planes of your figure haloed by the fuzzy light pooling in the room. His cock twitches inside you, hot and wet and so fucking tight, your chests sliding together with the rhythmic dance of your joined bodies. 
It's a tangle of limbs and extremities and it smells like the musk of sweat, sex, perfume still lingering. It's the dizzying scent of your shampoo. It's your mewling cries of his name as you ride him like a spoiled fucking princess. His balls pull tight, his head swimming, spiralling with the feel of you so warm and soft in his arms. 
Joel’s tongue loosens, his high a foregone conclusion. “You wanted to ride me in that chair today. Ain't that right, baby girl? You wanted to get fucked all loose right out in the open. I’d do it. I’d sit you right on my dick in front of everyone else and let ‘em see how fuckin’ pretty you are when you come. None of ‘em could touch. All of ‘em wanna fuck you. They think you’re so goddamn pretty, so tight and soft. You wanna show ‘em?”
You suddenly seize, your hands grasping his hair, face buried in his throat, and you're gushing. You're fucking squirting again, and it’s everywhere: beading in the trail of hair on his belly, dripping down his balls, smearing between your bodies as you continue to ride him in the haze of your climax. 
“Oh, Jesus. Goddamn—shit—” 
Joel groans, his eyes at last shuttering as his arms wind around your body to clutch you tight. Teeth bared against your cheek, he pumps you full. It's hot, sticky, messy. It’ll need a change of bedsheets. It wrings every ounce of energy from his bones and fogs up the mirror until you're both smudges of skin and hair. 
You begin to giggle, your face hidden in the crook of his neck, your entire body trembling. Joel isn't sure what's funny, but he starts to laugh in tandem. 
“Gotta clean you up,” he mumbles, absently pressing kisses along your jaw. “Made a fuckin’ mess, baby.”
“Hmph. I’ll think about it.” You’re settling in for a winter’s nap, it seems, tucking yourself into his side. Joel caresses your back, delighted by the thrilling little shivers that visibly travel up your spine. 
His ears stop ringing after a minute or two. He stares up at the mirror for twice as long as that as clarity begins to seep back into the glass from the corners. Your lashes flutter against his bare skin every time you blink. 
“Do you really think I can beat him?”
The question lingers long after it's asked, the way smoke from a candle still swirls after it's burned out. 
You make a soft sound of acknowledgement. “What makes you think you can’t?”
“He’s a good fighter. Don’t matter that he’s an asshole.”
Your soft, melodic hum tells him you're falling asleep. “Funny. I say the same thing about you all the time.”
“Just…” He swallows. “Just promise me somethin’.” 
You lift your head, eyes alert and blinking. “Promise me that we’ll be good,” he says tightly. “That we could lose it all right now, right this second, and we’d still be okay. You’d still be here.”
You prop yourself up on your elbow. He wants to wipe away the gash between your brows. “I must not have done a very good job of lovin’ you if you really think I’d leave,” you say sweetly, your fingers trailing up and down his arm. “I’m in your corner, Texas. And it’s not just because you need me. We don’t need a big house and a pool and a home gym. We never used to have any of that.” 
You’re smiling now, eyes glittering in the relative darkness. Joel exhales, and his entire body shudders as if plucking out his lungs and lending them to you.
“I’ll love you when you win, and I’ll love you if you lose,” you tell him. “You’re my guy.”
Joel nods: a simple tip of his head. He doesn't need much more than that. 
He may not need to win, but for you, for this, he will. 
2K notes · View notes
a-hazbin-reader · 2 months
Note
Do you have Alastor x drunk flirty Reader?😞
I wanna see how flustered he is omg
As per the poll~
Alastor X Reader Headcanons
✅️Romantic
❌️Platonic
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TW: Alcohol, Drunk!Wife, Alastor STRUGGLING to contain his wife's rizz, He's embarrassed but likes it
Description:☝️⬆️
Alastor can handle his liquor pretty well, years of drinking with Mimzy has built up his tolerance to a considerable degree
As his wife, you had some tolerance but not nearly as high as your husband's, Mimzy often teasing you for not being able to keep up with the two of them
It didn't help that once the alcohol was in your system that your drunken mind just wanted your husband and his attention, so it was always painfully obvious when you were drunk
So you tried to limit yourself to a few drinks whenever you went out in order the avoid that outcome
But tonight, it had failed, Angel taking everyone out for drinks and dragging you along with them, your husband forced to tag along
Because he was not going to miss out on time with his wife, hell no, never gonna happen
You did try and keep to your limit, but the fun atmosphere and being surrounded by your friends made you loosen up a bit
Everyone kept buying more drinks and they kept coming your way, your husband started to try to drink some for himself but you had started to whine at him
"Alastor..! That's... my... my... mine..."
He squished your cheeks together to mess up your cute pout, your face flushed and stance a little wobbly
"You, my dear~ Are completely drunk right now...~"
He's a little drunk too but won't admit it
It's all he can do not to gush and coo over how cute you are, he forgot just how adorable you could be when you were drunk
You suddenly surge forward and sit yourself in his lap, arms wrapping around his neck as he struggles to balance the two of you on the barstool
"I'm not drunk~ Just needy for my husband~"
The combination of your low tone and fingers playing with the edges of his collar makes his face heat up, a small bleat escaping him
You lean against him, rubbing your cheek against his shoulder as you reach up to play with the ends of his hair instead, sighing happily
"You really are... just so handsome, you know~"
Alastor grips your hand gently to pull it away, clearing his throat before another embarrassed sound comes out, blushing slightly
"D-Darling... we're in public..!"
But you're not listening to him, your unsteady gaze on his lips and poking his nose happily
"You~ Are~ Just so~ Irresistible~"
He's mortified that your only reaction is to laugh and slap your hands over his cheeks, pulling him in for a long kiss
His ears twitch wildly as he hears the others whooping at the two of you, Angel, Charlie and Niffty being the loudest of the bunch
Alastor hardly gets the chance to catch his breath once you finally pull away, sputtering out nonsense about PDA and married couples
You don't even look ashamed of yourself, humming a song to yourself that he'll later realize was the love song you both dedicated to each other
"Darling, I think it's time for us to go home."
It's all he can do not to immediately give in when you whine and give him puppy eyes, clinging to him tightly once he picks you up
Only to feel flustered when that pathetic look turns into something more sultry and you grip his shirt to tug him closer to your face
"Alastor, you dirty rascal~ You just can't wait to get me home, huh~?"
Your laughter and teasing words make him blush more, having to look up at the ceiling in an effort to hide it
A pleasant chill runs up his spine as he feels your lips kissing along his neck, a hand sneaking under under his jacket
"Darling, please contain yourself..!"
"You never let me spoil you..! Come on, Alastor~ Let me treat you right~"
Another bleat escapes him as he quickly carries you out of the bar, only then realizing you managed to smuggle out a drink
"How in the world did you-"
You give him a sappy smile and press a finger to his lips, cooing at him like he's the one who's being silly
"I wouldn't be your wife if I didn't have ways of surprising you~"
His gaze softens a bit, and he leans down to nuzzle your head gently, savoring the soft sound that escapes your mouth
"You would always be my wife, no matter what..."
His little comment seems to sober you up suddenly, blushing and squeezing him tight the rest of the way back home, something he's grateful for
He would be mortified if anyone knew how easily his wife could fluster him when she really wanted to
He doesn't put you down until you two reach the hotel and even then he keeps an arm wrapped around you to keep you steady
"Alastor..! I can walk by myself, you know..!"
He only hums and kisses your head, not letting you go despite your whines and adorable protests
"I'm well aware, my dear~ Try to think of this as for my benefit~"
It was apparently the right choice of words because you practically purr and glue yourself to his side, putting nearly all you weight on him
"I see~ This is just another excuse to keep me close to you~ You softie~"
Another hot flush of embarrassment flows through him, too flustered to do anything other than accept the kiss you steal from his lips
And because he's a good husband, he helps you get ready for bed, getting you into your pajamas and making sure you drink some water before you lay down
Only to be taken by surprise when you suddenly tug him down on the bed next to you and roll on top of him, nearly tumbling off the bed from the momentum
"Darling! You'll fall!!"
It takes all of his strength and reflexes to grab your hips and haul you back into his lap, panting from the sudden adrenaline rush
You're oblivious to it, only leaning down to rub noses with him, a big smile on your face as you hug him
"Mmn... It's a good thing I have such a strong, powerful overlord husband to catch me, then, isn't it~?"
Maybe it was your flattery, or your adorable drunken nature, or the comfort of your weight settled on top of him, but Alastor suddenly just felt so warm and sleepy
His arms wrap around you, rubbing your back softly as he kisses the side of your head, sighing happily
"My dear, you are just such a treat... especially when you're completely and utterly drunk~"
You're already half asleep, head nestled against his chest and eyes closed, humming the same song as before
"Mn... not drunk..."
He chuckles softly and kisses your head again, nuzzling you before eventually noticing that you've fallen asleep
Alastor won't let go of you the entire night, not even when he himself falls asleep, so you wake up hungover and trapped in his arms
"Ugh... Alastor, let go of me. I think I got drunk last night..."
Your sudden struggle to escape his grip wakes him up, yawning and rolling onto his side yet not letting you go, only holding you tighter
"Mm... I told you so, darling..."
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klausinamarink · 9 months
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(saw this post and laughed at everyone’s tags and ended up writing this instead of my actual wips i should really finish whOOPs)
-
Eddie bopped his head lightly along to Mötley Crüe on his Walkman as he scribbled his ideas for the Thanksgiving oneshot. He managed to finish the gruelling biology homework and his English essay tonight, so he deserved a treat.
As he tapped his pencil against his desk, he looked up and happened to catch one Steve Harrington’s face at the window.
Eddie perked up, taking his headphones off. Steve grinned, gave his dumb finger wave, and pointed at the window. Eddie gave him a ‘wait a second’ gesture and hurried to close his door, peeking first at the living room where Wayne sat on the couch and read his newspaper. Then he swiftly moved his Mötley Crüe tape to his radio and cranked the volume up that would cover any discreet noise.
He lifted the window open, taking a moment to closely observe Steve’s face in his goofy awestruck glory. “What brings you to my balcony, Romeo?”
Steve shrugged playfully, “Doesn’t Juliet yearn for his lover to come at unknown hours under the moonlight?”
Eddie gave himself a second to turn away and cover his delightful shriek with a palm over his mouth. Goddamnit, his boyfriend is a perfect Shakespeare romantic. He leaned back in with a low whisper, “Sounds like Romeo needs an excuse to see Juliet.”
“That’ll be great since I’m literally tiptoeing on this box right now.” Steve laughed and heaved himself up with a ‘hup!’ Eddie stepped back to let his boyfriend shimmy in, but then his eyes widened in horror when he realized what was under the window in his room.
“Wait, Steve-!” Eddie cut off as Steve landed elegantly onto the small bookshelf instead of the bed because he had switched their places the previous week because his brain was on a weird day and Eddie had thought doing so might shut it up, so he has yet to reverse them.
The bookshelf toppled over on the floor, along with the lamp and other figurines. Steve himself pretty much crashed and rolled before he stopped himself on his side. He looked up at Eddie in bewilderment.
“Uhhh…”
Before either of them could say anything, Wayne burst into the room. Out of instinctive reflex, Eddie threw his bedsheets right on Steve, covering him but not really hiding him.
“What’s going on?” Wayne asked. His gaze landed on the mess and the very obvious Steve blanket lump on the floor.
“Nothing!” Eddie answered, too cheerily. “I was just dancing a lot and, uh, did this. By accident, sorry.”
Wayne stared at him, clearly not believing his ass. “…Right.” He said slowly. “Does Steve want to stay for breakfast in the morning?”
Eddie blinked innocently and, because he was the best liar in the entire world, said, “Who’s Steve?”
Steve made some muffled guffaw sound. Eddie subtly kicked him in where he hoped was in the shins. Wayne gave him another stare before coming to Steve the Blanket Lump and lifted the sheet up where Steve blinked just as innocently back.
“What’s your name, son?” Wayne asked matter of factly.
“…Steve?”
“Steve, would you like to stay for breakfast in the morning?”
Steve looked over to Eddie, who quickly shook his head no, then back at Wayne with his parent-rated charming smile. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind, Wayne.”
His uncle nodded and dropped the blanket, covering Steve again. He turned and walked out of the room, calling out, “Better not hear any more noises again!”
Eddie practically dropped to the ground, his face in his hands, and groaned aloud. This was so embarrassing. He felt Steve’s arms hugging his chest. “Eds, babe, I’m sorry but you know I would die for your uncle’s buttermilk biscuits and jams.”
He glared at his boyfriend half-heartedly. “Stealthy like a ninja, you say?”
Steve pointedly looked down at the fallen bookshelf. “Welllll, I could’ve sworn there was always a bed there-”
Eddie kissed him. “Well,” he said after they broke apart, “maybe I’ll let Romeo help me clean up and all shall be forgiven with our usual duties.”
Steve wiggled his eyebrows with a shit-eating grin. “Clean up, you say, Juliet?”
Wayne hollered at Eddie to close his bedroom door.
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starcchild · 2 years
Note
For the music tag maybe it could be ‘muse music’?
((I actually have all of my tags sorted out already on the other blog! Thank you, though! <3
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torukmaktoskxawng · 1 year
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'anla - part two
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Series Masterlist
Summary: Life on the reef has started to change the Sully kids for the better, while a storm looms overhead. Certain teenagers are in denial of each other.
Pairing: Ao'nung/Fem!Na'vi!Sully Reader
Warnings: Mature language, teenagers acting their age, time skips, strict parents, puppy love, canon compliance, slow burn, etc.
Word Count: 5k+
Tag: #'anla ao'nung fic
Na'vi Words: nivi - hammocks, marui - homes, ilu - dolphin like creatures, tulkun - whale like creatures, tsurak - skimwings, Sänrr Rong - the Glow Tunnel, spä - jump, olo'eyktan - clan leader, sa'sem - parents, Iknimaya - Rite of Passage, tsahik - spiritual leader, tsakarem - tsahik in training, tsmukan - brother, Utraya Moktri - Metkayina Spirit Tree, kuru - braid neural queue, fpxafaw - medusa
Taglist (red indicates "could not tag"): @timotheechalametishot @ghost-lantern @shadowmoonlight0604 @melsunshine @ocd-onut @purennn @themostegotisticalgirl124 @notsochillnerd @athenachu @yhern05 @amortencjja
A/N: I tagged everyone from the comment section of the first chapter who was excited or asking for part two. I couldn't respond to them in the comment section because this is a secondary account, so if you do or don't want to be on the taglist, please let me know via ask box or dm, thank you!
read it here on ao3
(I do not consent to my works being reposted or copied)
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Kiri had woken shortly after, crying, but was otherwise unharmed and showing no signs what happened had affected her. They gave her a day to recover in their home while the rest of the Sullys went about their day normally, sending Norm and Max away with heartfelt goodbyes and returning to the sea life they had started to grow accustomed to. 
Lo'ak and Y/n were put in charge of plucking barnacles off the bottom of canoes for the afternoon, and the young boy takes the time to avoid silence and boredom, "So what are you doing with Ao'nung?"
Y/n doesn't react or even bother looking up from her handiwork, "What do you mean?"
"I mean when did you guys become friends?"
She looked up then, puzzled as she stared at her younger brother, "I'm confused. Weren't we trying to all be friends?"
Lo'ak paused from working for a moment, shrugging, "Well, we were trying to just earn their respect and get along, but yeah, I guess we did come out as friends."
"I guess we're full of surprises."
"But the other night, you guys were being... weird."
Y/n huffed with mirth, "Look who's talking."
"Shut up." He snarled, "Have you guys been hanging out a lot?"
"Not really. Just a few times lately."
"Is that where you were the other night? This... Arch?"
"Yeah. Ao'nung said he had something to show me."
Lo'ak's expression goes blank, "Y/n. Dad taught us to literally never follow someone just because they said they have something to show you. He called it 'stranger danger' or something like that."
She tossed a barnacle at him, "Is this coming from the boy who willingly followed Ao'nung and his friends beyond the reef?"
"... Okay. Fine. You win."
"Besides, Ao'nung didn't phrase it like that. It was a lot less creepy."
"So why didn't he invite the rest of us to the Arch?"
"You guys had already gone for the day so he just took me." Y/n then reached over to mess with Lo'ak's hair, earning an annoyed hiss and she smiles, "Don't look too closely at it, alright? We're friends now."
~~~~~~~~~
A peaceful morning where the Sullys find themselves rolling up their nivi after a night's rest is interrupted by a horn, followed by whoops and hollers of celebration coming from outside. Confused and on edge, Jake and the kids emerge from the marui, looking around as the Metkayina jump around and dive into the water, making the newcomers curious as to what was going on.
Their answer came in the form of Tsireya, astride an ilu as she waves down her people from the water below their homes, "The tulkun have returned! Everybody! Our brothers and sisters have returned!"
Y/n looked up toward the atoll walls protecting the village from less docile nature. Emerging from the tunnels and pathways were rolling waves indicating something large underneath the water. Spurts of seaspray spring out like geysers from beneath the ocean's surface. It was a large pod of whale-like creatures, massive and slow. Their descent onto the village was graceful and one that brought much joy to the Metkayina as they couldn't get in the water fast enough.
The Sully kids couldn't wait either, jumping from the walkway around their home and into the water below. They scatter, exploring the new creatures one way or another. Tsireya had grabbed Lo'ak when she spotted him and pulled him onto her ilu, swimming away to introduce him to her Spirit Sister. Jake summoned his tsurak and both he and Neytiri take off to observe the sacred animals themselves. Rotxo had come around and pulled Kiri and Tuk away too, leaving the twins to their own devices. Ao'nung was not far behind his friend, inviting Neteyam and Y/n to come along with him to find his own Spirit Brother. All three teenagers grab an ilu and take off, making a game of chase with Ao'nung in the lead.
They weave through and around the large bodies of tulkun, dodging other ilu and Na'vi while keeping close to Ao'nung the entire time. He leads them through the chaos expertly, the three teenagers swimming quickly around a particular tulkun. Kiri, Tuk, and Rotxo were hanging onto the bull's fin and gliding peacefully through the water, the tulkun likely the reef boy's Spirit Brother. Neteyam and Y/n are only able to catch a glimpse of this as they swim by, keeping close to Ao'nung's tail until he slows down in front of a particular bull. This tulkun didn't have tattoos yet, much like Ao'nung as he signed to the twins, "My Spirit Brother."
Neteyam drifts close to the creature's eye, signing, "Greetings, mighty tulkun."
"I See you, Forest Brother." The tulkun sang as his form of speaking, and luckily, having had enough lessons, Neteyam and Y/n were able to grasp the old language.
Y/n ditched her ilu and swam up next, signing effortlessly, "I See you, Great Spirit Brother of Ao'nung."
"Hello, Forest Sister. I See you."
Ao'nung's hand gestures were too fast, and the twins were unable to read them but they had no need. The signing was not for them as Ao'nung was trying to relay a season's worth of events to his Spirit Brother, more excited than either Omatikaya have ever seen him. Ao'nung was smiling softly, and brightly as he tried to tell a story only to stumble over his own way of telling it. The tulkun in front of him chimed in as his way of laughing, urging the Na'vi boy to slow down. Y/n managed to pick up some of the gestures after Ao'nung slowed, not missing the words 'Sky People', 'Forest People', and 'new friends'.
Neteyam took a break to swim up and get some air, but Y/n managed to stay underwater a little longer. She didn't want to miss a second of this adorable interaction, and somehow found herself roped in it when the tulkun turned its eye to her.
"Ao'nung tells me that you are a mighty warrior, Y/n te Suli Neytiri'ite."
"He's being nice in your presence," Y/n signed back with a grin, "I have seen war but not been a part of it. I am too young. I am a hunter at best."
Neteyam, still treading water at the surface, takes a deep breath and simply dunks his face underwater, looking back down to locate Y/n and Ao'nung. He found them below, right where he had left them with the bull tulkun. Y/n was signing to the creature, keeping herself swimming next to his eye while Ao'nung floated off to the side, watching them. Neteyam didn't miss the way Ao'nung was staring at her, yet again, when she was not looking. The reef boy's face was calm, his lips relaxing into a soft, carefree smile, never taking his eyes off the Na'vi girl.
That evening was full of celebration, music and dancing a central part of it. Bonfires lined up the beach where the village people could still be close to their ocean brothers and sisters. Late night dives through bioluminescent waves, sending scattered stars up to the sky whenever a splash was made or a tulkun jumped through the air, cascading back down into the water.
Ao'nung kept Neteyam and Y/n with him most of the evening, adamantly talking about his Spirit Brother and the stories exchanged between them. At one point, the three of them were sitting on the edge of a rock fixture, their toes in the water below as they watched the tulkun dancing around in the distance. Neteyam rolled his eyes lightheartedly at a certain part of Ao'nung's story where his mischief had got the best of him. The Omatikaya boy took a moment to glance at his sister, then looked away-- only to double-check when he saw something that intrigued him.
Y/n was watching Ao'nung with a tender expression, her smile sweet and fond as her eyes locked onto every hand gesture and every laugh Ao'nung made, who was clearly unaware of her stares throughout his story-telling. She laughed and nodded whenever she was supposed to in between tales, urging the boy on when he knew he had an avid listening audience. Neteyam smiled, too, though he was sure it wasn't for the same reasons his sister was smiling.
~~~~~~~~~ 
After that fateful day, Ao'nung invited Neteyam and Y/n to everything. They spent whole afternoons together, sometimes sitting around on the rocks, soaking up the sun while they exchanged stories. After hearing all of Ao'nung's tales between him and his Spirit Brother, either one or both twins would tell him stories from the forest growing up. They told him everything, from their childhood to recent events before they had left their home. Ao'nung was actually a good listener if one sat him down to do so. He nodded in acknowledgment and asked questions between appropriate breaks in the stories. Neteyam could tell how much Y/n appreciated this side of Ao'nung, the girl perking up and gladly answering whatever questions he had. At the end of the day, Neteyam couldn't recall if he ever answered any of Ao'nung's questions himself, but he didn't have the heart to care.
The three were also fond of hunting together and sometimes brought Rotxo and Lo'ak along, this time within the reef and with higher spirits. Some days they would mess around too much and wouldn't catch anything, other times they used their newfound friendship and teamwork to coordinate and bring home enough fish to feed all their families combined.
Ao'nung and Y/n decide to bring all the kids to Sänrr Rong. Tuk was the more ecstatic out of all of them, but everyone was delighted by this new place they could use as a hideout away from their parents. This time, they got a chance to cliff dive from the very top of the arch. The reef kids showed them the path up but were shocked to watch the Sully kids effortlessly climb up the rock as if they were born to do so. Even Tuk showed zero signs of exhaustion as she took a stable vine hand and scurried up it like a monkey. The Omatikaya children were clearly faster and more agile climbers than the Metkayina and therefore made it to the top before the locals even had a chance.
"We'll throw you down a vine so you can catch up," Y/n jeers as she pointedly climbed over Ao'nung.
The reef boy hissed, though it appeared to be playful as he makes a point to tug her tail as she passed him. Y/n hissed back and made sure to gently shove his big forehead with her toes as she climbed before leaping out of reach. They all eventually make it to the top of the cliff, hair whipping wildly in the unforgivable winds, then the reef kids stood over the edge, looking down at the ocean water below.
"Okay! Everyone ready?" Tsireya beamed with excitement.
"For what?" Lo'ak questioned.
"SPÄ!" Rotxo hoots to the clouds as he jumps off the ledge, straightening his legs and stiffening his posture as he falls-- falls-- falls--
SPLASH.
"Who's next?" Ao'nung grinned.
Lo'ak was closest to the edge, peering over and even squinting when he couldn't spot Rotxo all the way down there, wadding in the sea, "Has anyone died doing this?"
The reef boy laughed, "If you wanna be the first, then don't stiffen your form as Rotxo did. Flail about like a screaming baby."
"Me next!" Tuk squealed.
"NO!" All four of her siblings, including Tsireya, shout in different ranges of emotion, such as fear, amusement, and seriousness.
The little girl stomps her foot, pouting as she crossed her arms, "Then why am I even here?"
"To keep me company," Y/n cut in, tugging her baby sister's arm until the shorter girl is pressed into her side. Y/n holds her tight while carefully watching the cliff, being sure to stay close to the middle and away from all edges.
"Aw, Forest Girl, you are scared," Ao'nung laughs, clapping his hands together once in amusement, "I thought you liked to fly?"
She glares at him, sticking her nose up in the direction of the cliff's edge, "That's not flying. It's falling."
Needless to say, Y/n and Tuk didn't do any cliff diving and left that to their other siblings. Kiri went first after Tsireya offered to go with her. Holding hands, the girls jump, screaming and laughing with both delight and horror. Neteyam paced along the edge of the cliff until he watched Kiri's head rise from the water, then relaxed. Once Ao'nung dared the Sully boys to race to the bottom, they were suddenly all for it, jumping off at the same time. Ao'nung took his time and teetered over the edge, grinning when he watched how nervous Y/n shuffled, keeping Tuk close to her side. The future olo'eyktan pretended to lose his balance, earning a laugh from Little Tuk and a scowl from Y/n before Ao'nung also jumped, hitting the water with practiced ease and a laugh still bubbling in his throat.
They climbed up and jumped back down several times, each time trying to persuade Y/n to jump. She put her foot down every time, even when her twin Neteyam offered to either go with her or stay with Tuk. Still, Y/n would not give into the peer pressure and Tuk was miserable by the time they returned home, squawking to her parents while stating that no one would let her cliff dive. Jake and Neytiri exchanged looks and appeared grateful when they nod to their older children with approval.
~~~~~~~~~
The Sully kids' lessons continue as usual, the older ones now granted permission to hunt in groups outside the reef if they pleased. Once they were fluent in signing, they learned to strengthen their knowledge in communicating with the tulkun for the next time. Their knowledge was tested when Tsireya, Ao'nung, and Rotxo refused to talk to them unless they used and perfected the language through signing. When Jake and Neytiri call their children home every night, they often find them sitting silently among each other, only using hand motions to communicate.
Many times, the group of friends return to the Glow Tunnel, to have fun or to enjoy the silence. Each time they all gathered at the center of the village, ready to go back to the Arch, everyone was so eager. All except one particular day, when Lo'ak was nowhere to be found once it was time to go. His absence did not go unnoticed. While Kiri decided to bring Tuk home, the others volunteered to go look for him, and hopefully, he wasn't in trouble like last time. With their newfound hunting party privileges, they go swimming beyond the reef in search of the Omatikaya boy.
They stumble upon Lo'ak by chance, and he wasn't alone. Swimming around him was an impressive tulkun, the left side of the bull scarred and missing a fin. Payakan. Neteyam and Y/n look at each other, worried, while the reef children watch curiously. Payakan and Lo'ak swam around each other like dancers, graceful and practiced. Then, the tulkun turned, fully facing Lo'ak, and opened his mouth, jaw unhinging to reveal the dark cave within. Lo'ak willingly swam in, and Payakan closed his mouth behind him. The twins went to scurry out of hiding as they watched this happen, but both Tsireya and Ao'nung stop them while Rotxo looked on, amazed.
Tsireya went on to further explain that Payakan had chosen Lo'ak to form tsaheylu, and while she appeared proud and excited at the idea, Ao'nung and Rotxo exchanged uncertain glances. Y/n had noticed this exchange, reaching out and grabbing Ao'nung's shoulder, forcing him to look back at her. When the reef boy met her curious gaze, she made movements in the water with her hands, "What is wrong?"
Ao'nung shakes his head and signs back, "Sa'sem will not be pleased."
They definitely were not. Once Lo'ak returned home with the other teenagers, word spread fast and reached Tonowari's ears. Together, he and Ronal round up the teens and brought them to their marui to have a stern lecture, berating the Metkayina children for allowing Lo'ak to bond with the tulkun outcast. It didn't go well as Lo'ak was adamant about Payakan being misunderstood and how he wasn't a killer, even by the Tulkun Way. Jake Sully refused to let his son explain and took him away to straighten him out, but the damage had already been done. Neytiri gathered the twins and followed the father and troubled son home.
They hadn't gone to the communal meal that night, instead, they ate together at home, as a family. Jake was certain that the Metkayina would only receive Lo'ak coldly should they turn up there now, so he suggested that they wait until things cooled down before returning to the village dinners. The Sullys' absence was missed that night, mostly by the children who had slowly become their friends.
Y/n was distressed when her family stayed close to their home the next morning, her father ordering the children to stay near and don't go further beyond the walkways of the village. It felt like a prison sentence to be stuck in one place when it was such a beautiful day out. Neytiri promised her children that they can move on with their lives tomorrow once Jake had calmed down and she spoke to him, but for now, "Listen to your father."
"I see that if one sibling gets punished, we all get punished now," Y/n snarled to Neteyam when she found a moment alone with her twin. Neytiri took Jake hunting with her so that they may talk, while the twins were ordered to look after their younger siblings for the night. Lo'ak and the girls went to sleep not long after their parents had gone, but the oldest son and daughter remained wide awake, talking quietly to one another just outside the marui.
Neteyam exhaled air through his nose, squinting at the dark ink of water in the distance, absently swinging one leg off the side of the walkway, "You don't mean that."
"No?"
"You're just saying that because you've been stuck here with all of us today, unable to go anywhere."
He turned and clocked the snarl on her nearly identical face, her eyebrow hairs furrowing together while she looked away, rocking herself by her heels, "I hate it."
Neteyam smiled fondly, "I know you do. You always hated small spaces. I can see why you like this place better than home."
A pregnant pause hangs in the air over the twins, the only sounds around them being the water and the village, still stirring with life as things begin to settle down. Y/n doesn't look back at Neteyam, sitting on his words for a moment until she slowly turns back, expression blank and immovable, "I don't like this place better than home. I miss home."
"Of course you do. Doesn't change the fact that you're far more free here than you were back there. You've adjusted well here, even if Dad doesn't see it," Neteyam leans over and pats his sister's knee, "He doesn't see how fast you caught onto the Metkayina ways, he just sees all the times we screwed up."
Her ears flatten as she glares at him through her eyelids, unimpressed, "You mean how Lo'ak screwed up."
"We, Y/n. We."
She rolls her sharp, yellow eyes, "If anything, Dad should be proud of him. Bonding with a tulkun is a young Metkayina's first step to their Iknimaya."
"And only you would know that because you've gotten so accustomed here."
She winced, batting his hand from her knee, "You can't talk like this when one day we're just gonna be heading home again. Stop it now. Talk less about how much we like this place and it might hurt less when we eventually leave."
"Do you want to leave?" He cocks his head, eyes scanning her face for an answer.
"... I want to see the forest again."
"That's not what I asked."
"... Do you?"
"Yes."
Y/n's eyes squint, confused, "Why?"
"I have nothing here."
"You have us. You have our friends."
"Yes, but that's all," Neteyam looks around and Y/n follows his gaze, "You have the ocean, the plant life, the sea life. The ilu, the Sänrr Rong-- everything. You love everything about this place. I only love the people. Don't get me wrong. It's a beautiful paradise and I loved experiencing every part of it... but I want to go home. I felt more at peace there."
"At peace?" The twin girl scowled, "We were at war, 'Teyam."
"Yes." She doesn't miss the way his eyes darken a shade, expression hardening into stone as he glares back out to the sea, "But war is what I was trained for."
The silence is chilling this time, Y/n's heart dropping to her stomach as guilt runs through her veins. Even as twins, Neteyam was still the older brother. He and Y/n might have been conceived during a war, but Neteyam had been bred for it, whether or not their parents realized this. Before Kiri was in the picture and before either she or Y/n had their own voices, Y/n was the one expected to be the next tsahik. With Little Y/n learning the Will of Eywa from her grandmother, Neteyam was learning to be the next olo'eyktan. He had to learn to be strong quick, to hunt quick, to think quick. Even when Y/n finally put her foot down and passed the torch of tsakarem to Kiri, she couldn't catch up to all Neteyam had already learned. She wasn't able to share that burden with her twin, and that guilt hung heavy in her heart.
"... That's not a good thing, tsmukan." She spoke gently, even her whisper sounding like a drum in the silence, "There's more to life than fighting."
"I know," Neteyam's posture shrinks, defeated, his smile not quite reaching his eyes when he glances back to Y/n, "But I haven't found what that 'more' is yet. Not for me at least... You did."
"I did?" She tilts her head curiously.
A glint sparkles in Neteyam's eye, like he knew a secret that not even his twin knew. His tail swings behind him with interest, teasing when he nudged her leg with his shoulder, "Ao'nung is good for you. And you're good for him."
He caught the flash in her eye. The flash of understanding behind the meaning of his words. The flash is there one moment and then gone the next. Y/n shifts uncomfortably in her sitting posture and nods, "He's a good friend."
"He is." Neteyam chuckles, "For me. For Lo'ak, and Kiri, and Tuk. But not for you. For you, he's 'more.'"
Quiet surrounds them once again, Y/n glaring down at her feet as if she had been caught stealing treats from Norm. She looked ashamed and belittled, likely wishing her own brother didn't know everything about her even before she knew those things herself. She swallows down whatever emotion came to mind before she looked up, stubbornly staring Neteyam down,
"I don't need 'more'. I just need this. This family is all I need."
~~~~~~~~~
The Sully family had been tense ever since Lo'ak bonded with Payakan, speaking few and far in between words to one another if found in the same space. It wasn't much significance to them whether or not Lo'ak had bonded with the outcast, but to Jake, it was all about principle. Whether or not the family was proud or disappointed in Lo'ak's accomplishment had not been said, but something heavy was floating in the air, like the calm before the storm. The idea of war was still fresh at the very back of their minds, ever looming like a vulture, waiting to strike. Something had changed the other night, shifting into place, deciding the Sullys' fates. Although, no one knew what kind of fate, and that unsettled them.
Unlike the rest of her family, however, Y/n wanted to do something about it. She started by finding the one person she knew would help her, "Take me to the Cove of the Ancestors."
Ao'nung looked up from sharpening his spear, ears immediately rising to the sound of her voice. He tilts his head and forms a closed-mouth smile, though his eyes squint in confusion, trying to solve whatever puzzle he found on Y/n's face, "Why?"
"Because you said you would take me there," Y/n quipped back, taking the spear out of his hands and backing away, "I'm cashing in the offer."
"What is 'cashing?'" He stood up, following her with his arm out, only half-heartedly trying to take the spear back from the Omatikaya girl.
When she purposely kept the weapon out of his reach, Ao'nung smirked, taking a huge step forward so he could stare smugly down at her with their subtle height difference. They were close, close enough to share the same air, and despite Neteyam's words playing back in her head, despite the shame and guilt in her gut, Y/n stomped it down and stood strong.
"It means I want you to stand behind your word." She matches his grin with one of her own, ignoring the heat threatening to rise up to her face as she purposely kept eye contact, "You promised to take me to the Cove. I want you to keep your promise."
She stepped away then, never taking her eyes off him until she fully turned back in the direction she came, walking away with the spear still in hand. She could feel his eyes on her, a thrill running up her spine at the mental image of it. An even bigger thrill, the one led by a horn of victory in her head, went through her whole body when she heard Ao'nung dutifully following her without complaint and without question.
They summoned nearby ilu and fled without another word. They dive down deep into the water and only resurfaced when they had left the sea wall and village behind. Once Y/n inhaled the crisp air, she tosses the spear back to Ao'nung, who effortlessly caught it with a grin of excitement and promise, "Follow me."
~~~~~~~~~
A feeling of familiarity took hold of Y/n when she emerged from the water and looked up to find floating islands all around her. An instant smile graces her face, looking around at all the floating rocks, surrounding a wide circle of water at the center of spectacularly arched rocks easily identifying this sacred place. It wasn't entirely like the Hallelujah Mountains. These floating islands were smaller and floated horizontally, like large stepping stones leading up to the heavens above.
Ao'nung emerged and looked around, unimpressed, "This is it."
"It's beautiful."
He shrugged, "It's not much."
"To you, maybe," she grinned while pointing up at the floating rocks, "To me, I see the potential of kicking your ass climbing up those islands."
He laughed, "Careful what you wish for, Forest Girl."
"Is the Tree on one of those islands?"
"Nope." He smiles slyly, "I'll give you another guess though."
She flashed an odd look before looking around, finally staring down below, into the water. Ao'nung dismounted from his ilu and drifted over to Y/n, "Remember, I'm just acting as your diving partner today. We always have to pair up here. One has to watch over and monitor the other while they connect to our ancestors. Got it?" She nods. "Let's go."
The Na'vi girl sinks into the water with him and they submerge after she takes a deep breath. They swim down, side by side, as they approach the large, underwater Spirit Tree. Instead of limbs hanging down like Y/n was used to, this tree's arms reached up, flowing in the water like an overlarge, glowing anemone. Y/n reaches out and gently touches one of the luminous, graceful fronds, smiling to herself when it tickled her palm to greet her.
Ao'nung chirps low in his throat, like a baby crocodile, to grab Y/n's attention. When she turned her head in his direction, he moves his hands about, "The Tree is called Utraya Mokri. It gives breath when the kuru is connected."
Y/n nods in understanding, reaching behind and taking her braid in hand. She gently offers the tendrils to reach out and curl into the ones belonging to the Tree and closed her eyes.
Ao'nung dutifully keeps watch while Y/n connects with his ancestors. The Tree glows and looms beautifully over him, but he's not paying attention. He's seen the Tree hundreds of times and while it is beautiful, it's nothing new. Y/n, on the other hand, is new, and his attention would rather fixate on her than the Tree he's grown bored of over his young life. Her braided hair floats around her like fpxafaw, and her tail, usually dormant, twitches occasionally in response to the bond. Her fingers, all five of them, still delicately hold her braid to the Tree's fronds. Her hands weren't as strange as Ao'nung initially thought. In many ways, he reasoned the extra finger was good for some things-- like the punch Lo'ak fooled him into taking. If nothing else, an extra finger just means more to hold.
Y/n's body jolts and Ao'nung is torn from his traitorous thoughts. He swims forward and wraps his whole hand around her arm and then her kuru lets go of the Tree. Y/n's eyes flutter, still closed, a little dazed and overwhelmed from the whole experience as expected. With Ao'nung's support, she's brought back up to the surface and she slowly remembers to breathe again, now that she didn't have the Spirit Tree to aid her. The two young Na'vi stay there, treading water as Y/n catches her breath, and once her head is no longer foggy, her eyes appeared saddened, an expression that irritated Ao'nung for some reason.
"Not what you were expecting?" He asked light-heartedly.
"It's just..." she shook her head, bottom lip pouting with her eyes lowered, the water reaching up to kiss her chin, "I was hoping for answers."
He didn't ask, but maybe he should have. It's something that would continue to gnaw at him as the rain clouds float overhead. It would gnaw at him as he expressed on returning home before the storm, it would gnaw at him as their swim back resulted in silence and pouring rain. It would continue to gnaw at him as they approached the village, his ears rising to attention when the horn sounds, his blood cooling in fear and worry.
"Find your family."
"Why?" Y/n asked as her ears lowered in concern, loose hairs plastered to her forehead, "What's wrong?"
"It's a war cry. My father has called for a war meeting."
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A/N: Not sure when 'part three' will be out, but it'll likely be longer than normal. Thank you so much for all the support and love I have seen from my very first Avatar work! It motivates me to continue doing what I love!
part three
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madelynraemunson · 14 days
Text
CASUAL part 2
see part one here.
modern!incel!asshole! eddie x fem!reader
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It’s 7 in the morning. Eddie is seen doom-pacing in the halls of Hawkins High.
a/n: i promised y’all part 2 so here ya go. let’s make him pay. 💋 also shout out to @love-anonymous-writer for bringing this universe to life. a little angst here and there is good for the soul <3
who got the last laugh?
[WC: 1.1k words]
“Please respond…please respond…please respond…”
The soles of Eddie’s shoes slam against the tiles of Hawkins High as he rushes to your locker. Meanwhile his entire soul has left his body.
You didn’t answer any of his phone calls. All the texts he sent you were left on read. Having been so accustomed to your instant replies, Eddie essentially catapulted himself into a full-blown panic last night when he saw the ominous text you sent him...and the nothingness from you that followed soon after.
The crickets of Forrest Hills that taunted his eardrums later that night served as a vengeful metaphor of the brick wall you built between you and him. The girl who once gave him everything has now started giving him nothing. You’re nowhere, but everywhere. It’s like you’ve become a ghost.
When he sees you, color drains from Eddie’s guilty face. You look so beautiful today, hair curled down to the small of your back, a nice simple dress and some slippers, with makeup ever so gracefully applied. A class act, even when plagued with the utmost disrespect.
“Hi," he says to you as he approaches.
“Hi.”
As far as Munson knows, he no longer exists to you. He's a shadow now, a carapace of a boy you used to love 'cuz now — after hearing what you heard in his trailer — you know he's not the same boy that made you feel all the butterflies. That boy is long gone. You even start to wonder if that version of Eddie even existed.
“C-can we talk, please?” he requests.
“What’s to talk about?” you challenge him, stoically. “Don’t wanna annoy you with my rambling.”
“You never annoy me…” he attempts as you mindlessly comb through your locker for your homeroom notebook.
“Mm.”
You were casual about it. Too casual about it.
“You… uh…” he clears his throat. “You made me cookies yesterday?”
“Yeah,” you shrug. “I was at your door for quite a while so you must’ve been busy. Cookies were taken care of though.”
“I see…” Eddie mutters as the pieces all start coming together.
He thinks about how he always leaves his windows cracked open. His uncle would whoop his ass if he hot-boxed the trailer again, so it became a habit. But the trailer park is small, and on certain afternoon, if someone from a nearby unit had dropped a pin, Eddie would hear it. Suddenly, fear arises in him.
Surely, you didn't hear everything he and The Boys™️ said. He had his headphones on and he couldn't have possibly been that loud, could he? Unless technology failed him again.
The warning bell sounds throughout the halls and you excuse yourself from the narrative. Eddie tags after you like a lost puppy, nearly tripping on his shoelaces along the way.
"W-wait!"
The first class of the morning is homeroom. A class you unfortunately shared with Eddie, Grant, and Harmony.
You didn't want to see any of their faces. Eddie's face would serve as a reminder of how fake and construed the fucker is. Grant's would remind you of how insignificant you were to the guys (despite how welcomed they made you feel at the start). And Harmony. Harmony's beautiful face — with a body far too developed for a girl in her grade to match — would only remind you of the fact that the girl didn't inherently do anything to you... other than be beautiful and get caught in the crossfire of horny, greasy teenage boys.
It’s a fucking mess.
You swallow hard and keep your chin up regardless. Because what other choice do you have? You either feign your confidence or let irrelevant boys crush it.
You continue strutting over to your seat as Eddie trails behind at a measurable distance. Along the way, you inevitably run into the Junior Queen of Hawkins High herself, Harmony Heathers.
Harmony issues you a sweet smile. You smile back at her in return. And you didn't even need to turn your back to know that Eddie most likely did a double-take when sliding past her.
The late bell rings, indicating the start of class.
“Okay,” your homeroom teacher Mrs. Helleck exhales as she clasps her hands together. “Good morning everybody. For Red Ribbon Week this week, we’re gonna be doing a group project. Worth 20-percent of your grade.”
The class erupts in agonistic groans while Mrs. Helleck attempts to calm them down. You feel Eddie’s gaze burn into you, indicative to the fact that he was looking forward to using you again like he always seems to do. This time around it would be for a grade instead of a two-pump fuck. But you had something else in mind.
“You will be doing a presentation,” Helleck continues. “With a partner of your choice. Your job is to create a slogan along with a list of reasons why you should stay away from drugs.”
“Drugs Instead of Hugs,” Grant mutters to Eddie.
The general vicinity collectively praises his lukewarm wannabe 4-Chan edged joke.
You roll your eyes while your poor homeroom teacher tries to proceed with her instructions, despite the immature snickers.
“You will be presenting with your partner on Friday. Do not wait until last minute to do this assignment please. Deadlines catch up to you fast.”
Mrs. Helleck makes her way over to you.
Like Dungeons and Dragons, everyone in the class is assigned a “classroom role”. You’re the leader of the pack, the ‘foreman’, to which you never understood because up until today you never had the confidence to call the shots. The alphabet has never been on your side anyways.
“Now dear,” your teacher smiles down at you. “Since your last name starts with an A, you get first choice. Who would you like to work with?”
Eddie’s gaze is extra fixated on you now. It gives you a greater deal of satisfaction than tossing those cookies ever did. It was you who had the reigns now, instead of those woman-patronizing incels.
You start to smile connivingly, to which the guys start to gulp over. You can tell they’re putting two and two together, their two brain cells collectively working over time to discover that you had a delicious upper-cut up your sleeve.
It’s the very least they can do. If they wanted to taint your name to smithereens in your absence, you’re sure as hell going to give them something else to lose their minds about in Math 3.
And when all eyes are fixated on you, you tilt your chin up to project your voice. You want to make sure everyone, especially Grant and Eddie, hear you loud and clear when you sinisterly announce,
“I pick Harmony.”
tag list: @damp4eddie @eddiesguitarskills @babygirl229 @love-anonymous-writer @ziggeddie @socially-awkward-eliza @shesahellfirebabe @ali-r3n @yourdailymemedelivery @mincloud @jupitersnights @ineedtosusoutmyreadinglist @whisperingtales @fearlessreid @emma-munson
divider by: @benkeibear
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mochinomnoms · 5 months
Note
Hiii! For the Hanahaki event can I request Vil (romantic) with prompt #7? A gender neutral reader would be appreciated, thanks!!
Also if youre up for it maybe prompt #12 with Ace (Platonic) with the reader’s object of affection still being Vil? This prompt with Ace is too funny for me to ignore I just HAVE to sneak him in 😭😭
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vil schoenheit, platonic!ace trappola x gn!reader [tags] – fluff, humor, semi enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, sickenly sweet [wc} – 3,458 prompt 7: “I've heard of wearing your heart on your sleeve, but wearing petals in your hair is a whole new level of fashion statement.” prompt 12: "No, I haven't been growing marigolds out of my ass. Why would you even ask that?!” note - writing this was surprisingly hard. but i got it and i think it's very cute, i just hope Vil is mostly in character :skull: also i don't know german so idk if the nickname is an accurate translation! comments loved and appreciated! a floral inconvenience
Marigold: often used during festivals like Diwali and Navratri, marigolds symbolize purity, auspiciousness, and the divine.
You were going to murder him. 
“Heyyyyyy Prefect!” Ace gave you a cheeky grin as he held your glass bottle of very expensive salicylic acid serum, balancing it precariously between his fingers. “What about this? Can I take this—whoops!”
“ACE!”
You shrieked as the bottle slipped from his fingers, only to be caught by his other hand, an infuriating grin still on his hand. 
“Hehe, relax! I’m just messing around—oh shit!” The bottle slipped again from his fingers as a now panicked Ace scrambled to capture it. “Oop. Got it. It’s fine.”
“Oh my gooooooooood, Ace, I’m going to fucking kill you, give that back!” You snatched the bottle from his hands, giving him a good kick behind the knees as you walked past him. 
“Owwwww, Prefect, why are you so mean to me?” Ace pouted as you put your serum back on your desk with the rest of the skincare Vil had gifted everyone at the start of the SDC training. Ace continued whining as he packed his bags to go back to Heartslabyul, being left behind by Deuce who went to get snacks from Sam’s with Epel. 
He felt bad that all the food you had was cursed by Vil at the beginning. 
“It’s almost like you want me out of your dorm, kinda rude, you know.”
“You know what’s rude?” You smacked down the pillow Ace threw your way as you huffed, “Your face. Ugly ass, you know you had a room next door, how’d all your stuff end up in my room?”
Ace shrugged as he shoved his wrapped up sweater into the now bulky backpack he’d brought over, throwing himself onto your bed and grunting as he bounced on the squeaky frame. 
“I don’t know, how’d you burn the Queen of Hearts’s statue—”
“That was you—”
“—the world will never know.” 
You rolled you eyes as you laid on your stomach next to him, hugging a spare pillow to your face. Closing your eyes, you sighed as the events of the last few weeks replayed in your head. Between acting as manager for the SDC group, to barely keeping up with classes, to Vil’s overblot, you were utterly exhausted. Speaking of Vil…
“Ah, that’s right, I should check on Vil before he leaves. I wonder if he’s doing okay?”
“With you at his beck and call? Perfectly fine, I guarantee you.” Ace yelped as you smacked his side, giving him a red-faced glare. 
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Ace turned on his side with a teasing smirk. The kind of smirk he gave you whenever he wanted to fluster and embarrass you in front of your friends and teachers. 
“It means whatever you want it to mean. Maybe someone should consider not acting like a little kid with a crush whenever they’re around Vil—owowowowowow—stop hitting me!”
You pounded your fists onto Ace’s sides and back as he tried to roll away from your reach, arms cradling his head in meek protection. He managed to roll off the bed, turning over to look at you briefly to stick his tongue out and politely flip you off. Ace let out a small shriek as you launched off the bed after him, running out of the room into the hall and turning into a goosechase. You could practically hear the yakety sax song playing in your head as the two of you pushed past Jamil and Kalim, the former crying out at you in annoyance. 
“Watch it!”
Ace practically threw himself down the stairs, jumping past four whole steps, using the banister to whip him around into the main hallway where he ran into the living room. Finally catching up to him, Ace positioned the coffee table between you two as he continued egging you on. 
“Ayeeeeeee, embarrassed Prefect? Gonna throw a fit?” Ace let out a low cackle as you both shifted around the table. 
“Gonna throw your ass into the fucking sun, little bitch ass! You got something to say then fucking say it!” 
Ace snorted as he pointed behind you. “You’re one to talk, you wanna talk about the marigolds coming from behind you? It’s like you’re growing a garden out of your ass, wanna talk about that?”
“The fuck? I haven't been growing marigolds out of my ass. The hell you’re talking about,” You turned your head to look behind you, still growling at him now with confusion. “Why would you even ask that—WHAT THE FUCK!?”
You hissed as you jumped backwards into the table, the edges jamming into your skin. Behind you had been a long trail of beautiful, shimmering orange flowers. Upon closer inspection, you were pretty sure they were marigolds. 
“...Ace, this is your fault.” 
“What! Nuh-uh, I’m not the only with flower sickness—”
“The fuck is flower sickness?”
“You know, hanahaki? The love disease? How do you not know what flower sickness is, it’s like basic 8th grade bio—”
“I didn’t go to school here, dumbass!”
Ace’s mouth formed an ‘oh’ shape as he remembered. “Oooooh yeah, I forgot.”
“Forgot what? You little potatoes are acting awfully rowdy so early in the morning.”
You looked up to see Vil standing in the hallway, a bemused Rook behind him inspecting the flowers on the ground. Vil briefly made eye contact with you, both of your sharing a small smile before an irritating, itchy feeling made its way in your throat. 
You felt a hand pack your back as you started roughly coughing up several bunches of marigolds into your hands as Ace grimaced. 
“I forgot that they’re not from here, so they got no clue about hanahaki…or any other illness…huh it’s kinda a miracle they haven’t gotten sick from something else yet.” Ace hummed, as he leaned down to look at your face. 
You made eye contact with your peripheral vision, motioning Ace to lean closer into you and horasely whispered, “Come… closer…”
Confused, Ace obliged, ear up to your lips, giving you the perfect opportunity to sock him straight in the gut. Your dear, beloved friend gagged from the pressure, hands cradling his stomach as he fell to his knees, groaning in pain. 
“Y/N…” Vil sighed in exasperation, walking over to give you a gentle flick in your forehead as he chastised you. 
“It’s unbecoming of a friend of mine to be so belligerent, do you really have to be so crass with all your friends?”
You clicked your tongue, licking the spit from your lips. “I’m not with you, besides Ace deserves it, you know how he is.”
“Mm-hmm, and how long have you been coughing out the flowers, meine Süße?”
A pleasant warmth flooded your cheeks at the nickname. You choose to ignore the tickling sensation of marigolds growing from the tops of your head, which instead formed into sneezing fits. 
“I've heard of wearing your heart on your sleeve, but wearing petals in your hair is a whole new level of fashion statement.” He remarked, leaning down to observe the blooms. “Now, answer my question, meine Süße.”
“Achooo! Ugh,” You sniffled as you replied, “Um, not that long—achoo!—ago, ugh. Just today—”
“Ah! The little trickster started expelling the belles fleurs approximately a month and a half ago!” Rook chirped, a little too happily for your tastes. “Two weeks after we began training for the SDC.” 
Vil let out another sigh as you whipped your head to glare at Rook, hissing out, “What. The. Fuck.”
“Excuse me?! Language Y/N!” Vil barked at you, making you flinch and burst into another coughing fit. Noticing this, he softened his voice, though the blonde still sounded angry.
“That’s nearly two months with the flower sickness, have you been taking potions to help with the symptoms?” 
You shook your head, clearing your throat. “Ahem, no, uh. I didn’t know that there was medicine for this kinda thing, haaaaa I just figured I was being pranked by someone.”
You heard a snort behind you as Ace stood back up, grumbling, “Of course you would, dumbass.” 
“I will actually kill you—”
“You will actually not.” Vil placed a gentle hand on your upper back, guiding you to the front door. “Rook, ensure everyone packs up and cleans their mess by the time we get back, I believe Kalim may still need help packing up.”
“Oui! How kind of you Vil to escort our lovely Trickster to get them a remedy for their affliction!” 
Rolling your eyes, you let Vil guide you out of the dorm, calling out to Ace, “Don’t forget to grab the rest of your stuff, it’s still in my room!” 
“Okayyy!” 
With that, the door shut behind you two as you began a pleasant walk over to what you assumed would be Sam’s shop. A pregnant silence fell over you two as you walked down the pathway leading to main street, having to maneuver past the alchemy building and botanical gardens. You were hyper conscious about his hand that remained on your back, which is when you started another coughing fit. 
“Oh you poor dear, did you really have no clue what was going on all this time?” Vil spoke to you in that soft tone that he’d been reserving for you since you first became friends, a few months ago. You’d gone into the Film Research Club interested in working as a stagehand, plus you had a good working knowledge costume design and general clothes repair, which was sorely needed. 
It’d been an incredibly rocky acquaintanceship at first, as Vil made subtle, snide remarks on your disheveled appearance, while you shot back with loud, brass comments on his ‘Regina George wannabe’ act. Now, he didn’t know who Regina George was back then, but took offense that a ‘dirty, lumpy potato would have the audacity to insult him’. 
He only kept you on in the club because no one ever willingly signed up for backstage work, and you only requested free access to spare cloth and sewing materials to fix your clothes. Vil was also more than happy to point out how scruffy the patches all over your uniforms made you look: 
“You certainly fix the part of the ramshackle Prefect, now don’t you?”
Though, looking back on it now, you’re pretty sure he wasn’t aware that everything of yours was either found in Ramshackle’s attic or bought with the meager allowance Crowley gave you. Shortly before finals, Vil found you crying in an isolated part of backstage because another first-year permanently bleached your only jacket during a botched potions class.
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“What’s going on back here, practice your scenes upfront with the rest of us, I don’t care how ugly you look crying—Prefect?”
You jumped, scrambling to get back up from the dusty corner you’d shoved yourself into. You awkwardly wiped the tears from your face, wrapping your arms around yourself as you gave Vil a feeble glare.
“What do you want Vil, I already told the others that their costumes wouldn’t be ready yet, if you want me to get stuff done, you gotta stop annoying me—”
“You’ve been crying.” His simple statement shut you up, as he approached you with a firm look on his face.
“…Yeah, stating the obvious much?” you muttered back, finding the scuff marks on the ground very interesting. Vil let out a sigh, reaching into his jacket to take out an off-white, embroidered handkerchief.
“I’m trying to be sympathetic. Ugh, you’re all red and puffy, let me see.” Vil tipped your chin up with his fingertips, gently patting at the tear streaks on your cheeks. “You look worse than normal…is the red bleach stain on your uniform meant to be a fashion statement?”
Pausing at the stuttering breath you took, sniffling, you answered, “No, some dumba—”
“Language”
“—Some jerk,” you drawled, “from my last class messed up his potion, and it got all over me. Stained my only jacket, right when it starts snowing, too.”
Vil raised a brow at you, leaning back once he was satisfied with your dried cheek.
“Only one? Even Ruggie has a few spare uniform jackets from Leona, did you seriously not think ahead to purchase a spare?”
You half-laughed, half-scoffed at his statement.
“You think Crowley gives me enough money to buy another jacket for his bougie ass—I mean, fancy, school? I barely have enough to feed myself and Grim between the roof caving in and the water pipes breaking. The bathroom flooded again last week.”
You sighed, rubbing your temples as you felt a migraine coming in, unaware of Vil’s growing horror.
“I was lucky enough to find my uniform in the attic, it waaay too big and makes me look homeless, but at least it keeps me warm…now it just looks even more like shit.”
You finally looked up at the blonde, expecting him to lecture you on your foul language. Instead, you were surprised to see Vil’s horrified expression.
“What do you mean, you barely have enough for food?”
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It was then that you discovered that no one outside your group of friends were really aware that you were stuck on campus, victim to Crowley’s whims and needs. You know the others in Heartslabyul were faintly aware of your predicament, being from another world and stuck until Crowley found you a way home. Ace and Deuce did their best to help repair things around the dorm, but could only do so much. Savanaclaw and Octavinelle knew of the disarray of your dorm, but based on comments from Leona and Floyd, weren’t aware of just how much you were struggling just to eat and sleep. 
Ruggie definitely was, seeing as he occasionally slipped you a spare meat bun or snack that he happened to buy extra of when running errands for Leona. Ruggie was a real one, as long as you didn’t point it out. 
Since that day, Vil had sort of taken you under his wing, along with Epel who you hadn’t met yet at the time. You had to give him credit, he wasn’t the villain you’d made him out to be in your head. And Vil admitted, he enjoyed that you were quick on your feet and enjoyed your banter, as long as it was unique to him. 
He spared you his previous uniforms that he’d grown out of his freshman and sophomore year, minus the band and vest, watching as you mended the waist and ends to fix your stature. More often than not, especially after hearing that you’d be stuck by yourself during winter break, Vil was sending you care packages with personal hygiene products from brand deals he never took. He’d send fabrics and sewing supplies with sewing patterns. Vil even started buying you breakfast and lunch once back to school, though you refrained from joining him for dinner in Pomefiore. 
In exchange, you managed to replicate, with his help, some of the scripts for the more famous musicals from your world. You even told him who Regina George was! He still wasn't fond of the comparison, but did find the musical intriguing. Vil was fascinated by the works of art your world produced, and just slightly enamored in the way you described them with glee and fondness. Still, the exchanges still felt a bit uneven.
You’d once made the joke that he was practically a sugar daddy, just without the sugar. He snapped back, “Well, I’m not stopping you, now am I? I’ve never had a sweet tooth, but you’re more than welcome to give me thanks, meine Süße.” 
(You spent that night screaming into your pillow with a red-hot blush while Grim looked on with concern.)
Truly, you two had developed an unlikely friendship, one where you both spoke your minds to the other with no hesitation or fear. Which is why the lack of conversation at the moment was slowly driving you insane. 
You sneaked a peek at Vil, taking a sharp breath as your eyes met his own. It seemed that he was watching you with his very lovely, sharp purple eyes. The thought sent a hot flash through you as you sneezed a flurry of petals and pollen. 
“Ooof, ugh, this is gonna make my allergies go haywire.”
“Sam will have some potions that will help with the symptoms, though you will have to confront the root of the cause.” Vil slid his hand down to rest in your mid-back, rubbing his thumb against you in a soothing motion, though it cause you to shiver and flush. 
“Yeah, okay.” you managed to squeak out, groaning as you felt the tickle of glowing marigolds pop up on your skin and in your hair. “Ummmm, so how do you get rid of, uh, Ace called it hanahaki?”
Vil nodded and opened his mouth to speak before being interrupted by the faint screaming of your name. Both of you looked down the path, where you saw Deuce running over to you two, followed by a confused Epel chasing after him. 
“PREFECT! PREFECTPREFECTPREFECTPREFECT—” 
Yelping as Deuce skidded to a half and grabbed you by your arms, shaking you with intense concern, you managed to reply a stuttered, “W-w-what?” 
Deuce paused his shaking to give you a concerned lecture, “You didn’t tell us you had the flower sickness!? Why didn’t you say something, you’ve been running around for SDC all this time—”
“You too—”
“But I’m not sick!” Deuce dug through the paperbag you’d just notice he was holding and shoved a pale pink potion in your hands. “Here! Take this!”
Before you could even touch the bottle, Vil plucked it from a confused Deuce’s hands, studying it with scrutiny. 
“Hmm…This is an average allergy relief potion for hay fever, did you actually ask Sam for a hanahaki symptom relief potion, or did you just grab the first thing you saw off the shelf?”
Deuce visibly deflated, opening his mouth to sheepishly reply before Epel interrupted him with a harsh, “I told him to ask, but he got all riled up and started yammerin’—I mean, uh, talking about getting the Prefect help immediately.”
Vil sighed, handing Deuce the potion back and shooed the two away with a wave of his hand. 
“Just go back, I’ll handle it, just make sure your messes are all cleaned up before we get back.”
The two replied, “Yes sir!” and continued on their path, waving goodbye to you. Though you could hear Epel mumble to Deuce, “Those are marigolds, right? I think Vil’s favorite flowers are those, you don’t think…”
You slowed down to ponder Epel’s words, remembering what Ace initially called the illness. 
“Vil…Ace called it a love sickness…would these flowers related toooo, I don’t know, a hypothetical crush somehow?” 
Vil briefly opened his mouth, closing it as he hesitated to speak. You think you could make out a soft blush on his cheeks. 
“Yes. Your hypothetical crush must favor marigolds. Can’t say I blame him, I’m fond of them myself…” 
The two of you made eye contact, a knowing look in his eye and tone making your heart skip a beat and you look down in embarrassment. 
“Oh…I see…” You coughed awkwardly, a few petals flying from your mouth. “So you said there was a way to get to the root cause?”
Vil hummed, stopping at the entrance of Sam’s shop to turn to you with an unreadable expression. 
“Yes, as an illness based on love, appropriately the cure is to confess your feelings to the one you’ve found yourself fancying.”
A cold flash went through your body as your stomach dropped. Again. “Oh.” The thought of confessing to Vil made you sick, like you could puke at a drop of a coin at any moment.
“I wish you’d mentioned something sooner, I could’ve helped you…ease into it.” Vil murmured,  his hand moving to cradle your cheek. He squished your cheek with a fond look in his eye. 
“I know it’s a daunting task…I won’t rush you into it.” Vil moved his hand to brush your hair away, leaning down to place a soft kiss on your forehead. “When you’re ready to say something, just let me know.”
Leaning back, VIl covered his mouth to hide his amused smirk. Your face was a blazing red as the marigolds grew a trail down your neck and chest. He motioned for you to follow him into the shop, holding the door open as he held a hand out to you. At the moment, you’re having a hard time imagining why he’d only ever been typecast in villain roles, he looked more like an enchanting love interest catered for you specifically. 
“For now, I’ll be by your side. I will wait for you, meine Süße.”
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redhairedwolfwitch · 1 year
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Sombra y Amor
First part - Sombra y Fuego
A/n: I forgot where I was going with this part 2, but I have a vague idea of a timeline running up to the 2023 summer transfer window👀 but keep in mind it's set in the 2021/22 season in this part so whoops. I decided to be nice since I passed my driving theory test today:)
Summary: R’s family were family friends of the Putellas family, R grew up with them, goes over to help establish Manchester United WFC whilst studying there, over the years befriends some Dutchies and Ona when she arrives too.
///
Whoever organised the villas for Ibiza clearly thought you needed to be babysat. You were in the room next to Alexia’s, and Alba was in the same villa too. 
The agreement for your birthday was two celebrations, one in Manchester, which you had with your United teammates, a celebration that ended with you waking up the next morning with Ona using your chest as a pillow, and a teasing text on your phone from Jill, about how you fell asleep on the call with her. 
The other celebration would be in Ibiza with as many of your Spanish national teammates as possible, plus, much to Alexia’s resistance, and Jenni’s encouragement, Jill had tagged along, meeting some of her Wolfsburg teammates in the process.
You weren’t going to admit that you’d been staying up to work on your final assignment of the trimester, the part-time degree taking up chunks of your time when you weren’t training for a match or participating in said matches.
Your sleep schedule was a mess though because of it, Ona having woken you up so you could both get to the airport in time to head back to Spain being one of the more significant events. Or how you slept on Ona’s shoulder for most of the flight back.
Footsteps approaching your room were the first thing you heard, but whoever it was knocked gently, waiting before opening the door slightly, then walking in. You ruled out Alba, Ona and Jill, and nobody else would walk into your room whilst you were sleeping but one. The knocking and waiting, the door opening slightly to peek in, it was Alexia.
“Buenos días mi pequeña sombra… are you awake? I hope you are, Jenni’s plan was to dump water on you, but I said I would check first…” Her voice was soft, reminding you of when you were a child, sneaking into her bed when you had nightmares. You would choose Alexia over Alba then because Alba accidentally rolled you out of her bed, waking up the entire Putellas household because you had hit your head on the way to the floor.
A soft groan left your mouth as you rolled over, leaving space for Alexia to sit on the edge of the bed, her hand gently pulling down the back of your pyjama shirt from where it had rolled up.
“Hm… buenos días…” you whispered, rubbing at your eyes as you rolled over to look at her.
“What’s wrong? You have that look on your face- the same one you had when… what’s bothering you?” You trailed off, avoiding admitting what you had thought of last time Alexia had that expression on her face.
“You re-signed with United?” Your signing with United in 2018 had taken Alexia, Alba and Eli by surprise, but you explained your reasons well, for the three year contract anyway, but now you were tacking on another two years, taking you up to summer 2023.
“My degree… It's taking longer than I thought, since it’s part time, but after the lockdowns, the universities got better at online work, so I’m ahead… I re-signed because it’s going to take another year at least, and United is getting better. Ona’s contract is until 2023 too, if they activate the option year. The WSL is fun, and it’s not like Barcelona needs Sombra.” You replied, about to bury your face in your pillow but Alexia let out a sigh.
“By the way, thanks for kicking Chelsa’s ass in the finals.” You changed the subject, seeing the disappointment in your older sister’s eyes at you saying Barcelona didn’t need Sombra, referring to yourself like that.
“Come on, get dressed, you’re missing breakfast. Jenni, hold off on the water. Sombra is awake.” Alexia nudged you, calling out to Jenni, who let out a bored groan in the hallway, peeking her head in as Alexia nudged you again, spotting you going back to sleep.
“Finally!” Jill teased you whilst Ona laughed, but you chose to ignore them both in favour of breakfast, sitting down next to Ona with Jill opposite you. You could feel other eyes on you as you realised that Alba, Jenni and Alexia were all watching you three.
“Hoe zijn je nieuwe teamgenoten?” 
Jill let out a chuckle before replying in Dutch, the two of you chattering away as Ona looked overwhelmed, but a smile lit up her face when she saw the looks on the other Spanish players’ faces.
“How much of that do you understand?”
“Jackie’s Dutch lessons are really good, plus I like the looks on everyone’s faces when faced with a language they don’t understand.” You shrugged, before Jill said something in Dutch that left your face burning.
“Ik probeerde dat te vergeten." 
Jill laughed at that, leaving you to huff as your sisters looked confused, and Ona shook her head in amusement, having a slight idea of what was happening.
“Let’s move on… what are we doing today? Also where is everyone else?” You glanced around, taking another bite of your breakfast.
“They went to rent a boat.” Jenni explained, as you got up to make a drink, following you over to make a coffee.
“A boat?”
“Yes. You can reenact Titanic.” Jenni smirked, but you frowned in confusion, taking a moment before realising.
“I’d understand that reference, if I had actually been awake during that movie.” You retorted, watching as Jenni removed the teaspoon from her coffee cup. 
“Have you told Alexia about when we’re back in Barcelona? What did Mapi say?” Jenni asked into her coffee, sparing a glance in the direction of your sisters as you hummed.
“Mapi offered to do it herself, but Alexia would kill her. I haven’t told Alexia, but I think she’s still a little offended that I went with Alba for my fourth one, instead of with her. She had a media thing so couldn’t go with me.”
“Fourth? It is like you are growing up before my eyes!” Jenni teased, grinning as you grimaced into your drink.
“You’ve known me for years-”
“What are you two talking about?” Alba raised an eyebrow, walking over to make herself a drink.
“Nothing!” “Nothing!”
///
“Are you sure those three aren’t all dating?” Lola gestured to where you, Jill and Ona were on the dancefloor together.
“We’re sure, but… I don’t think our baby sister realises anything beyond trying to annoy Alexia.” Alba replied before disappearing onto the dance floor.
“Annoy you?” Lola enquired, turning to Alexia, who rolled her eyes, swaying to the music slightly as she turned to look at Lola, no longer watching you, Jill and Ona.
“My baby sisters… who have somehow disappeared?” Alexia frowned, looking over the dancefloor again to spot Ona dancing with Leila, and Jill was talking to some of her Wolfsburg teammates.
“Maybe they wanted some air?” Lola suggested, looking over the dancefloor and seeing no indication of you or Alba anywhere.
///
You had to grow out of sneaking into Alexia’s room as you grew up, because she grew up too, and you saw her less and less due to football. Instead, you’d lay awake at night, staring up at the ceiling trapped in your thoughts. Sometimes Alba would find you kicking a football outside, or Eli would wake up to find you studying at the dining room table in the early morning.
Exiting your room at the villa, your feet were soft against the floor, tapping your knuckles against the door you needed carefully, waiting before opening the door enough to peek in hesitantly. It was only when you saw that it was safe that you slipped into the room, curling up on the floor next to Alexia’s bed.
You tried not to flinch as you heard the bedsheets rustle, but Alexia was peeking over the bed to look down at you curled up on the floor.
“What’s wrong? You had a nightmare? Why are you on the floor?” Alexia whispered into the darkness, hearing you let out a sigh.
“I can’t sleep. Jill admitted she’s had feelings for me for a while, but she’s leaving for Germany, and I’m not going to see her unless Spain plays against the Netherlands and I’m on the roster. We both accepted it was a missed opportunity, but it still hurts.” You wrapped your arms around yourself, curling up further on the floor until Alexia reached down to rub your shoulder.
“I’m sorry, mi pequeña sombra, although, you’re not that little anymore…”
“I’m still five years younger… even if I’m not that toddler running after you and Alba anymore.” You replied, leaning into your sister’s touch as she huffed.
“The ball was bigger than your legs but you wanted to play with me. You would cry if I wouldn’t let you. Mi pequeña sombra… my little shadow…”
“Too long for a jersey. I still remember when they started calling me Sombra, but it didn’t warm my heart like mi pequeña sombra did. You called me just Sombra once, and I wanted to cry. You’re my sister, even if we’re not blood. You, Alba, Eli, you’re more my family than… them. I love you.” your rambling was cut off as Alexia shifted in her bed, wrapping her arms around you to pull you into her, the hold reminding you of when you were little, clinging to your big sister after nightmares had woken you up.
“I love you, mi pequeña sombra, my littlest sister… Does Alba know about it?” Alexia hummed, gently rubbing your back as you shifted.
“Yeah, we talked the entire way back here from the club, I think I wrecked her plans to dance with whoever she was eyeing at the club but if Ona saw me cry, or Jill realised her confession made me cry… Alba’s had my back ever since she threw a boy in the mud for trying to kiss me.”
“¿Qué?” Alexia almost flew up from the bed, confusion all over her face at what you had said, quickly asking when this had happened, and where she was at the time of the event.
“We were at the park. You had gone off to play football with the big kids, and I wasn’t allowed to join you since I was seven, you were twelve, Alba was nine. I’d played with the boy before on the playground, but I don’t know why he thought kissing me was a good idea. Alba spotted it, shoved him into the mud and glared at him, he cried, and I cried too when Eli came over… and that’s the story of how a boy was almost my first kiss.”
“Remind me to thank Alba. Wait, almost your first kiss… who was your first kiss?” Alexia asked, but you were either asleep, or pretending to, as Alexia got no answer. Who your first kiss was was something only you and some of the Spanish squad from the under 17’s championships in Iceland knew.
///
Your sleeping-in habit was apparently contagious. You and Alexia both were still sleeping when Alba went to check on you, finding your bed empty, so she headed towards Alexia’s room, finding you asleep, having stolen the blanket from a sleeping Alexia, and your foot was dangling off the bed.
A shriek echoed through the villa, leaving everyone else in the villa, and outside it in the pool to immediately look around, wondering what had happened.
“Alba! Don’t do that!” you yelled, having awoken to a hand grabbing your ankle, whilst Alexia flew up at your shriek, protectiveness in overdrive until she realised it was only Alba pranking you.
“Lo siento, but you left your foot dangling over the edge.” Alba smirked, but you huffed, glancing around to realise you were not in your bed, or your room, and the three of you were not alone.
“Buenos días, everyone!” you got out of bed, heading into the hallway, bypassing the audience to head to your room to get ready for the day. It wasn’t until they heard another shriek for Ona that had them hurrying to your room, finding you jumping around.
“What’s going on?”
“I got my grade back on my assignment, the one I stayed up until 2am to finish, I got 75! That’s a first class!” you exclaimed, jumping around in excitement as Ona eventually realised what you had said, and what assignment you were talking about, quickly jumping into your arms to join your celebrations.
You didn’t see the way your sisters exchanged looks, because you were busy jumping around with Ona in your arms, grins on both your faces.
///
Floating in the pool, you stared up at the blue cloudless sky, the water rippling gently against your skin.
It was only when you heard a sploosh, eyes staying on the sky as the water rocked you roughly, turning your head to spot Ona swimming towards you.
“What are you doing?” Ona enquired, floating on her back next to you.
“Just thinking.”
“Be careful!” Ona teased, making you huff and roll your eyes, spotting a lone cloud drifting over.
“You, thinking can be dangerous, Sombra.” A new voice teased, making you and Ona sink instead of float, hurrying to swim over to the edge of the pool where Laia Aleixandri stood with a smirk.
“Charming… so, are you going to stand there like a lawn ornament or swim with us?”
“You two weren’t doing much swimming.” Laia deadpanned whilst Ona frowned.
“Lawn ornament?”
///
“Do you know who the first kiss was with?” Alexia quietly enquired to Alba, spotting you, Laia and Ona chatting in the pool.
“You don’t?” Alba went to tease, but Alexia’s sigh was enough to stop Alba from teasing her older sister, “I just know it happened, no details, too awkward to talk about it, but it was with a girl.”
“When, Alba, when?”
“That football trip in Iceland.” Alba replied, trying to recall more.
“In 2015?” Alexia perked up, trying to recall who would have been on the Spain squad back then.
“Hey, we’re getting ready to go to the restaurant now!” Lola called out, whilst Jenni tried to jokingly wrangle everyone out of the pool with a broom.
“Why are you so interested in my first kiss anyway? It’s not like I know who yours was, or that I want to…” you dramatically grimaced as Alexia let out a gasp, whilst Alba snickered, watching on as Alexia went to tease you back.
“So it was in Iceland with the under 17’s… you’re close to a lot of our national teammates-” Alexia began but you ducked behind Ona and Laia.
“Was not us!” the two defended themselves, hurrying after you as you all went to get ready for the restaurant, not going to dinner in your swimsuits.
///
“You’re so nosy today.” You pointed out, sipping your drink through a paper straw as Alexia put down her glass.
“You never told me-”
“The entire concept of a first kiss is awkward, and I haven’t spoken to her in a while because she plays in Spain, like nearly everyone else on the national team besides Ona, who isn’t going to tell you, and neither is Laia, who I also haven’t seen in ages so…” you shrugged, turning to talk to Laia, whilst Alexia sighed.
“First kiss, that happened already?” Lola turned, raising an eyebrow as she remembered you from years ago, how little you were.
“Five years ago apparently… no idea who it is, but someone from the national team during the under 17’s in Iceland. Not Ona or Laia…”
“Maybe you should drop it, Sombra does not have to kiss and tell.” Jenni suggested, leaving Alexia to nod in agreement, especially since dinner was beginning to arrive.
“You never told her?” Ona whispered, leaving you to shrug.
“You know me, I don’t realise people like me until it’s too late. Carmen, Jill, there was even a girl at school, we were fourteen. No point telling my sisters every missed opportunity of a relationship.” You explained quietly, poking at your meal with the fork, your appetite gone as you recalled what Jill had admitted to you yesterday.
Ona frowned slightly, reaching over to take your hand and squeeze it gently, gaining a forced smile from you in response which she shook her head at.
“How about we celebrate your assignment grade, that first, not your first kiss?” Ona asked, making you laugh slightly too loud as you gained the attention of some of the others.
“Fine, fine, yeah, let’s do that.”
///
Heading back to Barcelona, your sisters had noticed your sneakiness, but hadn’t been able to figure out why. Jill had left to pack up her stuff in London for the move to Wolfsburg, so it wasn’t about her.
“Have you seen-” Alexia began to ask Alba, but Alba already knew, since you three were supposed to be going out for dinner with Eli soon.
“Out with Mapi and Jenni-”
“Dios mío, they went out to get tattoos.” Alexia let out a sigh, but Alba wasn’t done.
“Leila and Ona too.”
“Sure, everyone else… didn’t even ask me.” Alexia began to sulk, much to Alba’s amusement.
///
“Happy?” Leila enquired, turning around to see you were giving Ona a piggyback as the five of you walked through the streets of Barcelona.
“Sí!” you grinned, but let out a groan when Jenni leaned back to pat your head, making a remark in Spanish about how you were growing up before her eyes.
“You’ve known me for years!”
“You were so little!” Jenni replied, pretending to wipe away a tear.
“And now I live in another country to play club football whilst studying for my degree, and have a few tattoos so…” you shrugged, shifting slightly to not drop Ona.
“You have more than a few!” Ona cut in, gaining Mapi’s attention.
“The ones on my ribs are private!” but what you said didn’t help, as Mapi looked between you and Ona on your back.
“But Ona saw them?”
Jenni and Leila stopped walking to raise eyebrows at you and Ona then.
“We share a flat, and we don’t have a shower curtain, it’s a pane of glass.” You deadpanned, about to retort when your phone began to ring in your pocket, “I’m going to be late for dinner, look, if you’re that interested in my tattoos, I’ll snapchat you… just not the rib ones, Alexia looked murderous when she found out Ona saw one, and that Jill went with me to get one done…”
“Alexia looked murderous about that? Good luck to whoever you end up dating!” Mapi deadpanned, noticing the look on Ona’s face as you huffed.
“No, too young to date!” Jenni cut in, with Leila agreeing, whilst Mapi began to laugh and Ona buried her face in your shoulder to hide her laughter.
“Literally the same age as Ona!”
///
Heading back to Manchester, you hugged Alexia, Alba and Eli tightly, not wanting to let go but your home was in Manchester, at least for the next two years.
“Ay, you’ll miss your flight.” Alba poked you in the sides as you fumbled with your suitcase handle.
“You have to go, mi pequeña sombra.” Alexia hummed, noticing your hesitation, but you nodded, smiling softly before turning to walk into the terminal.
///
Spain didn’t qualify for the Olympics in Tokyo, so you and Ona were well rested by the time that pre-season for the 2021/22 season began. Starting with some club friendlies, then the WSL began. The first game back against Reading was memorable, for more reasons than one, as Ona had scored the second goal in the match, Kirsty getting the first, and you scoring the third one.
The first game back was also memorable because of the meowing you heard on the way back from the cafe you had picked up breakfast from for you and Ona the morning after. You both had the day off, but you had volunteered for breakfast, allowing Ona some more time to sleep.
You froze at the mews, glancing around but there were no signs of the source. Paper bag of breakfast for two in one hand, you hummed, glancing around to try to get closer to the source of the voice.
“Oh, no, poor baby, no, I’ve got you, I’ve got you… Ona’s gonna kill me, I’m bringing home more than just breakfast.”
///
Ona didn’t expect you to bring a soggy stinky cardboard box back for breakfast, a box that happened to be transporting a furry meowing creature that was determined to try and eat the breakfast you bought.
“I’m going to find a vet now, just don’t let any of the breakfast get eaten… also, I’m not sure how long the box was in the bins outside the cafe, so… be careful of fleas and ticks.” You grabbed your phone, starting to google, while Ona looked in the box to find the meowing creature trying to climb out. The breakfast sat forgotten on the kitchen counter as you and Ona began to sort out the latest edition to the household.
///
The fuzzball had no identification, and since being found in a soggy cardboard box near the cafe, was assumed to have been abandoned, meaning that after a few pouts between you and Ona, the cat was staying.
“Desayuno.” You ran your finger over the fuzzball’s head, the feline still not happy with the veterinary handling, but was also happier to be out of that box.
“Breakfast? You want to name the cat, breakfast?”
“Yuno for short. I went out to get breakfast for us, and came back with it, and a stray cat, thus, we have Desayuno… Sombra-Batlle.” 
“Desayuno Sombra-Batlle?”
“I don’t go by my surname, and legally I’m not a Putellas, so… okay, no Lion King moment for Yuno-” you immediately put down the flailing fluffball who wasn’t enjoying being picked up and held in the air.
“Maybe once Yuno is bigger.” Ona shrugged, looking over at how the fuzzball was now exploring the flat.
“We have a couple of neighbours who can watch Yuno when we’re on away trips.” You added, following the fuzzball around the flat as Ona playfully rolled her eyes, getting her phone out to text Alexia.
///
“How many tattoos do you have now?” Vicky glanced over at you as you held the cafe menu between your fingers in thought, turning it over to make sure you’d considered all the options.
“More than my sisters think I have, but last time I went was with Mapi, Jenni, Leila and Ona in Barcelona a few months back…” you turned the menu over again, not seeing the look on Vicky’s face.
“Did you five book out an entire studio or something?”
“The others have connections, plus it was an excuse to hang out with them, bringing everyone together. Although Alexia gets grumpy every time I come back with another tattoo she didn’t know I had planned. She just needs to wait until her birthday. Tattoos, no matter your background, they bring you together, y’know…”
“That is far too philosophical for someone who used to hide behind Alexia at national team camp.” Vicky pointed out, making you falter, but Ona’s return from the cafe bathroom was enough of a distraction for the conversation to be forgotten.
///
An instagram notification distracted you from your reading, glancing up from the online textbook on your laptop to your phone to look. Yuno’s eyes opened slightly to acknowledge the movement of your arm, but the cat stayed put, happy as could be curled up in your lap (regardless of the fact you were starting to need the toilet.)
“Ona, did you tag me in something on your stories?” You enquired, but Ona had gone to her room for something after the two of you had had dinner, leaving you with a stubborn, sleeping Yuno.
Opening your phone to see what Ona had tagged you in, you chuckled at the photo of you reading, with Yuno in your lap, asleep.
Your phone buzzed again, reminding you of the time as you saw Jackie’s text, quickly opening zoom to join the group call that Jackie had sent you a link to.
“Hoi!”
///
Ona raised an eyebrow as she exited her room, hearing you talking to someone, and as she entered the kitchen, she glanced into the living room to spot you on the couch, on video call to a chunk of the Netherlands national team that you had crossed paths with at Arsenal and through knowing Jackie. Jill was part of the call, the defender discovered as she walked over to the couch, falling into frame of your camera as you leaned back to acknowledge her.
“Hoi, Ona…” you murmured, smiling as Ona sat next to you, waving to the camera. She didn’t know Dutch, but she could still pet Yuno, who stretched in your lap, a paw pressing into your stomach that made you grimace slightly. Yuno had developed a sixth sense that involved being able to press paws over your internal organs.
You froze at a comment made specifically in Dutch so Ona wouldn’t catch on, feeling your face burn as you murmured back a “misschein.” Maybe.
Maybe you looked at Ona like she hung the stars in the sky. Just maybe.
/// hopefully some translations ///
Buenos días mi pequeña sombra - good morning my little shadow
Hoe zijn je nieuwe teamgenoten? - how are your new teammates?
Ik probeerde dat te vergeten. - I tried to forget that.
¿Qué? - what?
Lo siento - I'm sorry
Dios mío - my god
Sí - yes
Desayuno - breakfast
Hoi - hi
misschein - maybe
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