#puff writes

Your neighbors are the worst.

Ideally when you found this apartment, it wouldn’t have killed the landlord to let you know the walls are thin here. Actually it might not even be that the walls are thin. It might be that these motherfuckers are so damn loud that no matter the thickness you’d still be able to hear the moans. The begging. Not even your pillows can save you because you swear they have a sixth sense for when you’re trying to drown them out.

You don’t even know these men but you know their names.

Who the fuck names their kid Wash? Or North?

Normally this wouldn’t really matter if you think about it. It’s just people banging each other. It happens everywhere in the world.

Normally it wouldn’t bother you in the slightest.

It totally shouldn’t bother you.

Except whoever is on the other side of your wall likes making the one named Wash beg. Loudly. And Wash likes to whine and whoever is fucking him (you’ve counted three names in their activities so three people) doesn’t even bother with a gag. It’s like he’s moaning in your ear when they go down on him or fuck him. It doesn’t even matter how thick the damn walls are, he's just that damn loud. 

The last two months you’ve been dealing with this.

And so tonight when you go to bed, you just pray that the three neighbors you have go to sleep too.

….

The mailbox is by far the most peaceful place in the building. You kind of enjoy making your trips there- it’s just a trip down the elevator and then a few turns til you get to the room where the mailboxes are. It’s normally empty so you have the room mostly to yourself to sort through whatever bills and credit card offers you’ve been sent.

Today there’s a man by your mailbox.

Your first mistake was thinking it’s the mailman when he’s obviously not in uniform. Your second is assuming he’s trying to steal your mail- but when you get closer to confirm you see it’s not your box that’s open but your neighbor's box.

The loud neighbors.

The sex neighbors.

Every hair stands on end.

The man is tall- blonde with pale skin. He looks comfortable as he sorts through the stack of envelopes in his hands the same way you do yours. He doesn’t even really notice you, which gives you a minute to look him over. Gym rat comes to mind first- the jeans he’s wearing look more painted on than anything. His thighs in particular have your attention when he shifts his position, making the denim move over them in a way that has you eyeing them more because you’re sure you’ve never seen a man with better thighs in your life. Or ass. He does have a nice ass.

You reach a hand up to press over your mouth- but that action has your keys jingling in your hand which gets his attention.

There’s no more time to oogle when the gym rat sex bastard turns around and offers you a smile. God, even his face is unfairly pretty. He has some shadows under his eyes but those blue eyes have you swallowing a bit. Was this York? Or North?

It takes a minute before you blink back into the conversation you were apparently a part of. “Huh?”

“I was asking if you needed to get to your mailbox. Am I blocking the way?” He rubs the back of his neck. The voice- it’s soft. He sounds relaxed if not a little sheepish. It’s still a toss up between York and North because their Wash is loud enough you could probably know what he sounds like as soon as he talks to you. If he ever talks to you. 

Instead of becoming unbearably annoying toward him you just nod and point to the box next to his. “Yeah. I’m unit 203.”

Surprise laces his features. Oh you want to become unbearable about this but it’s also unfair. 

This is one of three men.

Three men who made it an unknown mission to ruin your sleep schedule.

He seems nice and a little cute if you’re being honest- no. He’s hot. There’s nothing movie star quality about his looks, yeah but just being around him for a couple of minutes is enough to see why he has sex with two other people in his home all the time. 

Maybe it’s better if you don’t bring it up. If someone you didn’t know brought up your sex noises you think you just might swan dive off your apartment balcony. At the same time you’re almost certain that if they all keep making porn star noises next to where you sleep you’re gonna have to tell them to just start their OnlyFans and get you in on the money as compensation for lost sleep and a number of other problems accrued in the last two months.

By the time you even think to say something he’s saying a goodbye with a kind smile and you’re left standing there wondering if you just hallucinated him.

….

The drive home from the office is dull. 

The exhaustion doesn’t help really. Last night seemed to be the worst night yet by far.

Four rounds. The one named Wash was bordering on screaming.

What were they doing to him to get him that loud? Was it that good? Judging from the physique of the blonde man you met in the mail room it seemed like he had the stamina to keep things going unless they were taking turns-

You’re so preoccupied with trying to figure out the logistics of how your neighbors are banging that you barely heard a yell before noticing you were about to run a man over in the parking lot. The blonde looks completely hassled as the tires screech from how hard you slam the brakes- thankfully you don’t actually cause an impact with him but the expression of sheer anger on his face is enough for you to back up and go back to your parking spot you missed.

Shit, this was how you were gonna get evicted wasn’t it? Not from potential stalker or murder charges but almost committing vehicular manslaughter.

“I’m so sorry.” The word vomit comes before you think to stop it. “I am so sorry. I didn’t get enough sleep last night and my head’s been a little weird which is no excuse for almost running you over-”

The anger in the man’s expression dissipates a little at that and he clears his throat awkwardly. The tenor tickles something in your memory before he finally speaks.

“Don't worry about it.”

You almost drop to your knees.

You almost ran over the screamer from next door.

This is Wash. This is the man who might be singularly responsible for said lack of sleep if he didn’t live with sex fiends like the man from the mailroom. You wonder how he deals with it. His roommates? His boyfriends? They seem to be menaces. Horrible sexy menaces. Does he know that he’s that loud? Should you maybe ask them to keep it down? Part of you ponders if he’s bothered by the noise too until you remember that this is the one making the noise an issue in the first place because he’s the one who manages to drown out the bed banging against the wall.

There’s a deep part of you that wants to be honest but how the hell do you tell the man you know exactly what he sounds like when he orgasms?

“I-” You start awkwardly but something closes up in your throat. You can’t say it. “I really am sorry.”

He ruined your sleep and you’re apologizing?

“No, don’t worry about it. I have trouble sleeping sometimes too.” I bet you do is on the tip of your tongue but you bite it back to stop yourself as he continues. “It’s a small parking lot. I probably could have skated away if I had noticed you sooner.”

Skated?

Eyes trail down and- yeah. He has a skateboard.

And trash bags.

“You were… taking the trash out? On a skateboard?” You look back up at him with an eyebrow raised and the man full on blushes, rubbing his neck like he got caught with his hand in a cookie jar. It blows you over mentally. Now you see why they fuck him as hard as they do- each freckle on his face stands out when he blushes.

Something settles in your chest and you take a deep breath.

“Well.” He looks up- fuck. His eyes are brown. Finally you noticed the blonde hair and dark roots. “If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you let me know Wash.”

You turn on your heel before you see his reaction to it but two steps in he calls after you. “I never told you my name-”

“You didn’t have to!” You call back to him without looking. “I live next door to you!”

Atem:

I see Atem as an artistic skater first and foremost. He certainly has fantastic technique, but he doesn't prioritize huge jumps and a high volume of point-heavy elements in his routines, but rather aims for a maximum artistry score. Atem embeds a lot of emotion from personal experiences into his choreography, and he and Mahad spend a lot of time on the story he wants to tell when putting together and choreographing his performances.

When Atem skates, it's very fluid; perfect transitions between footwork and spins, effortless jump landings, and he does a LOVELY ina bauer. He's all about a little flow and sparkle with his costumes as well, shunning what he calls the "boring" black body suits where the only exciting thing might be a V neckline. Again, the story has to be told from every angle.

Jumps he competes:

Quad Toe Loop

Quad Salchow

Triple Lutz

Triple Flip

Triple Loop

Triple Axel

Routines:

Gala/Exhibition:

NO GOOD - KALEO (skated by Lukas Britschgi)

A fun routine to show off a little bit more dynamic and edgy performance, one that Atem can really have fun with.

Golden Hour - JVKE (skated by Junhwan Cha)

I LOVE Junhwan's skating and I think it complements what I want to Atem very well. This is a routine in development, and not at competition level, so Atem skates it at performances. He has plans to maybe adapt this into a pair skate, if even he were to have his feelings formally accepted by a certain hockey captain....

Free Skate:

O + Arrival of the Birds - Coldplay/Cinematic Orchestra (skated by Adam Rippon)

Ahhh. I have so many things to say about this routine. Adam Rippon put his EVERYTHING into this, and I pertnear cried when I watched him skate it for the 2018 Olympics. Given that, I felt it perfect for Atem's free skate. On another note, I feel like emotionally the music maps well onto how he's feeling about skating. Without giving too much away, this program is both an acceptance and a mourning of what used to be, but is no longer.

Short Program:

Hallelujah - Thomas Feiner (skated by Dennis Vasiljevs)

Dennis is another very graceful, emotional skater, and another good fit for Atem's strengths. The song is a classic, and one that evokes emotion and artistry. A good match in Atem's competition line up to "O + Arrival of the Birds", I think.

Seto:

Where Atem is an artistic skater, Seto is a technical powerhouse. He's all about perfection and refining his elements, as well as big airtime on his jumps. He prefers to let the music choices handle the more emotional aspect, and believes that technical points will bring him farther than the artistic component. This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he has the emotional competence of an avocado. Nope, not at all. He and Pegasus argue constantly about whether or not he should try for a few more artistic points, as well as the footwork elements of his choreography.

Seto is a very powerful skater, and prefers to start with his biggest jumps right off the bat. When he does footwork elements, even they are stronger and more.... aggressive, I guess, compared to a skater like Atem who has a very graceful flow. But that's what makes Seto such an exciting performer to watch. Sharp lines, sharp edges, and an icy gaze that could freeze hell.

Jumps he competes:

Quad Toe Loop

Quad Salchow

Quad Lutz

Triple Flip

Triple Loop

Triple Axel

Gala/Exhibition:

The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy (skated by Daisuke Takahashi)

A routine that's still very masculine but adds a little bit more flare and emotion than what Seto usually skates. This is him letting out his inner rebel that he was never allowed to be as a kid (under Gozaburo's iron fist), but still stays with him even now. Basically the skating version of "You're Not Me" lmao.

Free Skate:

I Am Not a Vampire (Revamped) - Falling in Reverse (skated by Ilia Malinin)

Ilia takes what Evgeni Plushenko had and perfects it, in my opinion. A great combination of Plushenko's masculine, strong skating combined with the gravity-defying jumps that unfortunately, Plushenko's injuries kept him from landing consistently. Given that, I feel like this routine is perfect for Seto. Also, I feel like he would like how edgy and dark the song is.

Short Program:

La Boheme - Charles Aznavour (skated by Nathan Chen)

Since Seto strives for technical perfection, I couldn't NOT give him a Nathan Chen routine. No movement is wasted, the movement is fluid, but unexaggerated, a perfect start to Seto's competition program. If you're wondering why Seto doesn't really have an emotional story behind his routines, it's because he really doesn't. Not yet, anyway. He looks to the podium and self-improvement for his fulfilment. But perhaps a budding relationship might be just the thing to give him something else to skate for.

She is sitting on a bench outside the Starlight Gate, trying to settle her nerves while she waits for the last of the baggage to be loaded onto the carriage that will ferry her to her homeland. The thud of a modest traveling case hitting the ground in front of her drags her attention away from the dance steps she was trying to recall. She looks up to find Obi, hands on his hips as he observes the footmen scurrying around.

“Is that all you are bringing?” she asks, thinking of the three trunks that had been required to hold the dresses and shoes that had been prepared for her trip.

“That’s all of it,” he confirms, toeing the case. Despite how light he was traveling compared to her, the tone of his voice conveys his general dissatisfaction with his baggage. Her face must convey her confusion, since he elaborates. “It’s my rule to dress so I can move about freely…” he offers, tugging ruefully at his clothes, less formal than Mitsuhide and Kiki’s usual garb, but more constricting than the lightweight gear he had worn when they first met, “But I have to wear this uniform…”

He trails off with a shrug, but Shirayuki nods, understanding the appeal of traveling light. She had done so herself during her flight from Tanbarun, throwing only the most essential of her belongings in a single bag. Left to her own devices, she supposed the belongings she would pack for a trip to her former home would still fit in that same bag. However, neither one of them has much control over the bells and whistles required for an official state visit.

That realization brings her a feeling of kinship with the habitually mysterious guard. Despite his tendency to chatter, Obi rarely said anything meaningful, let alone anything that revealed personal details or opinions. In a way, Shirayuki knows precious little about him aside from his name, and she isn’t even greatly confident in the veracity of even that. Given how much time he now spends shadowing her, he seems to have at least a semi-permanent position as her guard, so it would be nice if she could learn a little more about him.

Perhaps this trip will be a good opportunity to get to know him better…

“Obi?” she asks hopefully, “This time are you going to ride in the carriage?”

“No,” he answers, shortly but cheerfully, “I’m going to follow you on horseback.”

“Of course,” she murmurs, more to herself than anything else. His distaste for carriages was one of the few things she did know about her mysterious companion. “By the way, I didn’t know you were going to accompany me until last night.”

“Oh really?” he looks a bit uncomfortable, and pointedly avoids her gaze, hand raising to kneed at his right shoulder, “Well, I hope you don’t mind, Miss.”

“Oh no,” she reassures quickly, “I’m grateful!” She bows her head, “Thank you for coming with me.”

Her show of gratitude only discomfits him further, his fingers digging further into his shoulder. He asks if she knows about how he wound up accompanying her but refuses to provide any further details when pressed. He does mention something about Zen wishing he could accompany her. They exchange a bit more small-talk about the logistics of the upcoming trip until Lord Haruka arrives, followed shortly thereafter by Prince Zen and his retinue. The action is lost in the haze of the day’s travel, and then again in the face of being kidnapped – twice! – and nearly being sold into slavery. She does notice him rubbing at the joint a few more times on their return to Wistal, but honestly attributes it to a nervous habit given it most often appears in moments of tension or discomfort.

In fact, it’s only after he follows her to Lyrias the second time that Shirayuki realizes Obi’s nervous tic is – at least partially – more than that. It’s chilly at best in Lyrias, and bone-chillingly frigid at worst, and the frequency of his kneading increases as the temperature drops. She begins to notice the degree of discomfort accompanying the motion during their first winter in the North, on a deeply subzero day.

Shirayuki reluctantly emerges from her blankets, instantly regretting the decision when the chill of the floor seeps through her thickest pair of socks to freeze her feet. She figures there is no recovering the heat she has lost at this point, and bundles up to make her way to the lab. Surely some academic had figured out how to maintain a comfortable temperature in the laboratory building on cold days, right? Unfortunately, that assumption is sadly untrue, and the research wing is somehow even more frigid than the rest of the keep. And so she joins the others, huddling close in a pile of labcoats and scarves, staring desperately at their manual-less and sadly unlit coal brazier.

“Well, don’t you all look cozy,” Obi drawls, sweeping into the room along with a draft of chilly air from the hallway. He looks remarkably comfortable despite the weather, but is dressed notably warmer than usual, including a fur-lined cowl and half cape. “Did someone steal the lab coal bucket or something?”

“Save us Obi,” Suzu groans from his place in their sad pile, “They left us alone with no heat.”

“So they have, must be a new recruit on heating duty this morning,” her knight laughs, now long past the mistaken assumption that learned academics could perform day-to-day tasks with ease, “Let’s see if we can’t figure it out.”

And of course, within a few minutes, the brazier is lit and warmth slowly begins to return to their frozen bodies. Since the brazier took the full coal bucket to load and light, Obi also leaves to refill it for them from the common storeroom in the basement. As he settles the bucket back down, Obi narrates the lighting and refilling process to Suzu, who nods along agreeably as if they do not both know the knight will surely need to rescue the academics from their chill again in the future. As he chatters, he puts down the heavy bucket, then raises a hand to his shoulder and works at it absently. For a split second, she sees a slight grimace pass over his features, but it vanishes quickly. Her brow furrows, and she moves towards him, concerned he may have pulled something hauling that bucket around, “Obi-”

“OH MY GOD!” Yuzuri shrieks upon her arrival to an unexpectedly warm lab, “IT’S ACTUALLY WARM HERE, WHO DID THIS???”

She quickly deduces Obi - the only non-academic in the room - is their savior, and begins to sing his praises. Her moment to bring up his shoulder is lost in the wave of well-deserved praise for her knight, and besides, she can see he is moving the limb just fine now, so perhaps it is nothing. She can always ask again later…

--

Later comes in with the winter snows, and the one-two hit of heavy winter precipitation and shoveling duty. Being affiliated with the guard in Lyrias means being on the hook for at least some shoveling - not even Lord Makiri can escape a mandatory shift or two with a shovel. This of course means Obi is drafted into service, and so on snowy days his visits to the pharmacy labs are short. On one morning after a particularly nasty snow storm, Obi manages to nab a shoveling shift near the research wing, and so has time to stop by for a chat between his other duties.

“Why is it always Thursdays with the snow?” he whines, temporarily shedding his snow-caked outer layers, “My Fridays are busy enough with the meetings Makiri makes me go to, and now I gotta take shovel shifts between them too?” He flops down on his traditional spot near the window he arrived through, and gratefully accepts a cup of tea, “Literally any other day would be fine, but we’re going on three weeks in a row of this.”

“Now that you mention it,” Suzu chimes in from his bench, “it is a little weird it keeps happening on the same day of the week.” He gets a distant look on his face, “I wonder what the actual probability of it is?”

“Oh no,” Yuzuri groans, “Please, it’s too early for math.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Suzu reassures, “Statistics isn’t really math.” He rises to start scribbling on a chalk board, “Plus it’s a simple problem - just multiply the individual probabilities of snow happening on a Thursday together, right?”

“But what would that probability be?” Ryuu joins Suzu at the board, “There isn’t an equal probability of snow on any given day of the year, let alone on any specific Thursday.”

“Well, we could at least start by figuring out a baseline probability of snow each month, I bet you someone in the meteorology group has some numbers we can start with…”

“This all sounds like math to me…” Obi mutters, and privately Shirayuki agrees.

“Right?” Suzuri nods vigorously, “It’s always like this with them, and even worse if Kazaha is around too.” She buries her head in her hands, “This one time a patient asked about the frequency of illnesses in Lyrias and…”

As his attention is drawn by Suzuri’s lively narration of the drawn-out statistical debacle that arose from that patient’s innocent question, Shirayuki notices his hand drifting up to his shoulder. He kneeds at it thoughtlessly and then rotates the joint in it’s socket. Her level of concern ratchets up - she had thought perhaps lugging around the coal earlier in the winter had aggravated some recent injury, but now that she’s thinking about it, she’s noticed him working at it fairly frequently in the weeks since. Perhaps the injury was an old one that caused a nagging pain - her grandfather had a bad knee that acted up in the cold and snow, so perhaps Obi had similar issues? There was only one way to find out.

“Hey Obi-”

“Sir Obi!” the door bursts open, and a young guard spills into the room, “Here you are, Lord Makiri has us looking everywhere for you!” The guard shoves a missive into Obi’s hands, “Urgent message from the commander, he needs you at once in his office.”

Obi glances at the note, groaning slightly at whatever it says, “There goes the rest of my day.” He nods at the pharmacists, and offers an apologetic smile at Shirayuki, “I’ll try to stop in later, Miss, but failing that, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“As soon as I can” winds up being three days, and he returns full of stories of his escapades tracking down some bandits. The intent to follow up is there, of course, but somehow it slips to the bottom of the list and asking about his shoulder is once more pushed to later.

--

Unfortunately, the departure of winter weather doesn’t take all of Obi’s shoulder pain with it. Since coming to Lyrias, Obi had in many ways come into the service of Lord Makiri, although of course his duties as Shirayuki’s knight always came first. Makiri is a man with an eye for talent, and immediately attempted to formally lure Obi into his service. Failing that, the man became determined to squeeze every ounce of utility out of her knight for as long as he can. Most days, that takes the form of running regular patrol sessions and helping oversee the city guard, including participating and offering his own unique training sessions. Other times, it takes the form of running special missions, such as the past winter’s bandit case. These things benefit Obi of course, as the regular activity combined with a steady diet of bone-sticking stews and buns had bulked him up and further sharpened his keen senses. But some of these activities took a harsher physical toll.

“Ughhhhhhhh,” Obi slumps onto the dinner table, temporarily blocking the space for his dishes, “Spear practice days are the WORST.”

“There, there,” Suzu pats his hair, “It must be so hard being a hot guard twirling cool kill sticks around while the city ladies watch.”

“Hardy har,” Obi, unamused, pushes Suzu’s hand away as he rises to a proper sit, “You’re always welcome to join in on training if you want.” The threat of physical activity immediately sends Suzu skittering back, hands raised in surrender, “No? I’m sure I could get Shidan to excuse you once a week or so.”

“I admit defeat,” and with that the researcher slinks away, leaving only Ryuu and Shirayuki at their table.

“Hard day on the fields?” Shirayuki asks, grabbing a bowl to dish out a hearty serving of their dinner of a rich pork stew for her knight.

“Spear day,” he nods, “All the days with proper weapons are the worst.” He sends Shirayuki a grateful smile as she sets his meal in front of him, “Form this; technique that; it seems a lot of hassle when things go out the window in the heat of the moment.”

Neither Shirayuki or Ryuu can offer much in the way of commiseration, but they nod agreeably anyway. This seems to soothe Obi, and the three of them pick up their usual dinnertime ritual of catching up on the day’s events. As they chat about the usual chaos of the laboratory and the gritty details of the spear-training session, Obi begins another nightly habit - engaging in a good stretch. As he stretches out his back and arms, however, Shirayuki notices a brief flash of discomfort, and sure enough, his hand rises to work at his shoulder. Finally, a perfect opportunity to ask about his shoulder, and surely nothing would interrupt them during their dinner!

“Hey Obi, over the past couple of months I’ve noticed you -”

“Sir Obi!” a chorus of voices suddenly chimes, and their table is swarmed by a veritable crowd of young recruits, all clamoring for a private audience with Obi after his “masterful” display with the spear and his knives earlier in the day. She seethes silently as the soldiers coerce her knight into an impromptu demonstration of his skills, and then drag him off to the training fields for a hands-on lesson. It’s nice to see Obi be recognized for his skills, but Shirayuki can’t help but wonder why it had to happen today and at this exact moment. If she weren’t a scientist, she would have thought the universe was conspiring against her, or perhaps against Obi’s shoulder specifically.

--

“Shirayuki,” Ryuu appears at her desk the next week, holding out a small ceramic pot, “I couldn’t help but notice you were staring at Obi’s shoulder last week at dinner as well.” She opens the pot to find it contains a rich cream compounded with muscle-relaxing herbs and oils, very much like the one that has sat in her own pouch for the last few months, “Maybe you’ll have better luck than me delivering this to him?”

And so her one-woman mission becomes a two-pharmacist one, although neither would turn out to have luck over the next few months.

--

Things finally come to a head during their second winter in Lyrias. The first big snow storm of the year is rolling in, bringing an icy chill to the air, and a persistent ache to Obi’s shoulder with it. He’s spent an unusually long amount of time in the pharmacy today, as nearly the entire guard roll has been placed on standby to be ready to respond for shovel duty once the snow arrives. She’s been busy with her usual daily tasks, but has spotted Obi absently rubbing at his shoulder all day long.

Today, she thinks to herself, as her work day nears its end, and Obi is still idling in the lab, chattering to her about everything and nothing, as is his wont, as they have plans for dinner later tonight, Surely today is the day.

She finishes straightening up her desk, and grabs one of the pots of salve her and Ryuu have stationed in and around the pharmacy and their quarters. She turns towards Obi, opens her mouth and -

“Lady Shirayuki?”

Gods Damn It!

Turning towards the door, Shirayuki spots one of the new technicians approaching her desk. It’s painfully obvious they are nervous - their hands are practically clenched into knots - so she pushes down the urge to scream at being interrupted yet again.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“I just have a question about the Olin maris lux variety,” the technician waves their lab notebook around, “I noticed in the greenhouse that we have the temperature set to 10 degrees, but in the original technical note…”

As the technician’s question expands and becomes more and more technical, Obi loses interest and wanders over to the window, his arms crossed behind head. Shirayuki honestly wishes she could join him, as she's had this same conversation multiple times with other new technicians that assumed reading technical briefings made them experts in horticulture and pharmacy. He twists, ducking slightly to stare up at the sky, likely trying to gauge the clouds. She can practically see the gears turning in his head as he calculates if they will have time to get to and from the tent district before the snow starts.

Her attention shifts back to the student as their “question” about the growing conditions for Olin maris finally finishes.

“Well, we have learned quite a bit since our original technical note was published,” Shirayuki states, “And we’ve adjusted our rearing conditions accordingly.” She quickly scans her desk for a copy of the current operating protocol, but it must be in her lab notebook or something, “I can pass along a copy of the rearing plans to you tomorrow, and then set a meeting to discuss any concerns you have after you see those?”

“I mean, I’d appreciate that, but weren't the conditions in the original technical paper necessary for…”

As she listens to the non-question of the technician, she sends Obi a look that screams “couldn't this have been a letter?”, and catches him in the act of kneading his shoulder again. She forces her attention back to the technician, trying to speed along the conversation and get back to her evening and her long-delayed task of seeing to her knight’s discomfort. It takes far longer than she would have preferred, but some minutes later their questions are answered, at least enough for now, and the technician departs with a promise to return during tomorrow's office hours.

“Bet you are looking forward to that,” Obi quips as he approaches her desk, “But the good news is I think the snows will hold off enough to make it to the tent district and back again.” He launches into a story about another guard and their way to “read the sky” with 1000% accuracy, and distractedly kneads at his shoulder. “Probably hocus pocus, but it's probably just as accurate as Professor Green's forecast. Besides, Suzu put money in the pot on snow arriving before midnight and we all know how rarely he wins bets! Did you get in on the-”

“Is your shoulder bothering you?” she interrupts his rambling, almost disbelieving that the moment has finally come.

“Oh,” his eyes widen, and the hand immediately drops from his shoulder, “It’s fine. Just a little stiff from the weather, nothing of importance.” He resumes his prior ramble as an attempt to deflect her attention, “So anyway about the pot-”

“Obi!” she interrupts again, loudly. It startles him, and her a little too - but she's not letting this chance slip by, not again.

“Obi,” she repeats, her voice gentle now, “I know it hurts.” She approaches him slowly, reaching for his arm in a silent request for access. He reluctantly holds out his limb, and then allows her to rotate it gently.

“It’s the weather, isn’t it?” she asks as she probes the joint, feeling the tension in his muscles and the slight reduction in his range of motion, “It’s worse before storms like this, right?”

“And on cold days,” he admits, quietly, “It's always been that way, nearly as long as I can remember.”

“And spear days, I bet, because that’s what tipped Ryuu off.”

“Little Ryuu noticed too?” he asks, sounding surprised that not one but two people would care about his wellbeing enough to notice him grimacing in pain.

“Of course he did,” she says, showing him the container of salve from her desk, “He even made this batch of muscle balm with me, and helped me hide them all over the lab so whichever one of us pinned you down first would have a pot handy.” She releases his arm, and gestures towards one of the lab's exam rooms, “Now come in here and let me help you.”

"You need to relax."

"That's easy for you to say! You aren't the one- a-ahhh-"

The slide onto the length of him was met with a heady moan. Simmons was already twitching from nerves when you tugged up the oversized Star Trek shirt to pull off your panties. There had been a tremor when you suggested tonight activity.

Even if Simmons was new to physical intimacy he was just... so skittish. It could be his discomfort around women (which you both were working on slowly) but his nerves in regard to sex were the most damning thing. He'd barely lasted more than a few minutes the first time you spent the night in his bunk. His stamina was getting better but..

He moaned again as you rocked yourself down further, head tilting back. The long line of his pale throat was exposed and you were tempted to lean forward to sink your teeth there but decided against it as a wiggle of your hips helped the last couple of inches of sink in.

"Fuck." The exhale came roughly and Simmons was visibly holding himself back from grabbing you. You weren't much better; instead of groaning you just laughed, reaching to pull him close to kiss. The familiar taste of his mouth was welcome and the redhead relaxed into it. Making out always helped him not blow a figurative or literal gasket- but he tensed when you clenched on him. Then his hands were gripping at your thighs as he sighed through his nose.

You pulled back with a lick to your lips. The taste of his health smoothie was still on his tongue and now on yours as you smiled at him. "You doing okay honey?"

"You're- fuck, why are you always so tight?" The gripe wasn't intended to be mean. All it did was make you smile innocently as you rocked your hips a little and there it was; the moan on the border of being too loud. He always got noisy when you were on top of him like this. "I- I thought you said this was relaxing!"

"It can be! The point isn't to actually thrust. You just sit back and enjoy. If you still want to fuck me after you can but I want to do this so we can work on that self control of yours." When he exposed his neck again this time you didn't hold back. A lean in gave you access to kiss along his racing pulse point, nibbling that little area close to his ear that made the delicious length of him twitch inside you.

Simmons just needed to lay back and let you be in charge like this next time you both needed to let off steam, you decided. He was too pretty when he started blushing, sounded too good when his voice moaned your name loud enough you were sure the Blues could probably hear.

Maybe you were being a little sadistic when you gripped him by the back of his neck to whisper against his ear.

"You can hold it for me right? Be a good boy and just enjoy it."

The whine that followed made you grin as he struggled for a moment- but ultimately he just sucked in a deep breath before picking up the book he set aside when you came in. "Okay- okay! Fine! I can handle it."

"Good boy." You kissed his cheek and didn't miss the quiver of his thighs as you settled to lay on his chest comfortably.

....

You weren't sure how much time passed before you noticed how antsy he was getting.

He'd been stuck on the same page for the last ten minutes and the flush never really left his cheeks- Simmons had settled one arm around your waist but his fingers were tap tap tapping on your upper thigh where his hand rested now. When you bothered looking at his face you noticed that his singular pretty green was darting to you every so often.

"You doing okay?" You murmured, leaning in to nuzzle his neck. His entire frame stiffened under you when you did. The evil little smile on your face was so worth it as he tried clearing his throat.

"I'm fine." Liar. There was a barely there tremor to his voice as he flipped the page in his book. "Uh.. are you okay? Doing good I mean?"

"Peachy. Got my cute boyfriend nice and warm under me." The groan he let out wasn't even subtle. Simmons was a lot of things but good at hiding stuff wasn't one of them. "Do you want a break? I can pull off."

"No!" The suddenness made you jerk and he immediately got redder as a result, hands gripping onto your hips. "I-I mean no. No. I'm fine. It's great."

"You don't have to push yourself you know." hand on his cheek, a thumb rubbed under his cybernetic eye. "It's okay to need a break Dick. No one's gonna judge you for that the first time."

A tad bit of petulance colored the grumble he let out as he leaned into your hand. "I.. I know. I just want this to be good for you."

"It is good." You would be lying if it wasn't hot watching him squirm. Feeling him twitch. "If I didn't do this for a good reason I'd have ridden you stupid by now."

"You could not ride me stupid."

"Uh huh. Remind me how you were after the first time we fucked?"

Grumbling, Simmons reached for the book- but he paused and glanced at you again. You just beamed at him.

"You're sure? That you're okay?"

"Are you asking because you're at the end of your rope right now? I can move if you want."

"No." The tremble came back. "I can handle it."

You didn't believe him for a second.

Time to up the ante then.

A long exaggerated yawn left you- and there was the wide eyes as you leaned back, stretching your arms enough for the fabric of his shirt to outline your breasts underneath. The novel was entirely forgotten. His hands were branded to your hips as you smiled, rocking a little under the pretense of getting more comfortable. Except you didn't stop moving. You grinded down, angling to rub your clit against his pelvis in a way that had you moaning his name quietly.

As much fun as it was watching him squirm you didn't deny all of this had you ridiculously turned on. The grinding helped a little but if you kept it up you'd probably... just....

"Fuck!"

The yelp didn't come from you.

You watched as Simmons threw his head back, muscles jumping under his skin as he bucked his hips, fucking his already deeply seated cock as far in as it could go in this point. The real kicker was the throbbing you felt- it was all too familiar.

Simmons was- He had-

"Fuck fuck fuck-" The whining was loud as he kept jerking his hips, pressing you down while he emptied himself. Expletives were loud enough that there was a bang on the wall by his bed but you couldn't focus on that. Watching him unravel just from- you leaned in and bit over his throat, feeling the vibrations as Simmons just got noisier from the extra stimulus. "Oh my god-"

"That's right baby." You cooed it into the marks on his neck. Your hips were already rising and falling as you started working yourself to the edge as well. All he did was thrash under you minutely from the sensitivity. There was a gush of his spend coating your thighs and all that left you was a whine as you fucked yourself down faster, fingers finding your own clit. "Fuck- just like that honey- such a good boy for me-"

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

See, now if he ruins you of course he has to be responsible for putting you back together. North takes his time making sure you get cleaned up and comfortable. You’ll be wrung out after he gets done with you so he handles carrying you to the shower, getting you water- if you were not exhausted you’d think it was really hot actually. (I know I think it’s hot.)

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He’s… he’s a chest man. He likes chests, he loves playing with your nipples. North isn’t really sure why that part is his favorite but it just is. He also likes resting his head there when he’s tired because even though he's a team dad he gets tired too.

North thinks his hands are pretty nice. They’re capable of a lot of things but his fingers are long, he’s good with them, so he’s confident that his hands are the best part of him.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically... I’m a disgusting person)

HE LIKES CUMMING IN YOU. This is not a joke, this is not a silly haha- okay maybe it is- but he has a thing for creampies for sure. Arguments can be made for him to cum in your mouth instead if you want- or your chest. He’d probably like that. North’s cum is pretty thick, pretty milky- it kind of has a strong smell? But like not in a bad way. The taste is bitter though. He blames it on his drinking habits.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Alright. We know North is a pretty compassionate guy. He’s very caretaking, very nice, very mothering. But this is when he’s around other people. This is his public face. The man is out to ruin people in bed. He gets off on it but won’t say a damn thing- and for good reason. He’s kind of got a reputation for being nice around others but he can totally be mean during sex if he wants to. The real danger is when he has Theta log off when you’re alone together.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

North’s very experienced. He’d had many a partner because he literally just pulls bitches like that- he’s also very observant. Nothing gets past those sniper eyes of his so he can zone in on what makes you squirm so he gets to know what makes you tick fast too.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Lap. He loves you in his lap where he can lean back and bounce you on his cock at whatever pace has your thighs shaking. He loves doing it like that. And then when he cums he holds you down so he can fill you up nice and deep- his lips are pressed to your throat so he can feel the vibrations when you make noises from it too. GOD I NEED THIS MAN HHHGNGNNG-

I will also say! He loves a tit fuck. He really does. It’s the only time he likes cumming outside you but ohhhh my god his cock against your chest just does something oonga boonga to his brain- of course sometimes he overshoots and it ends up on your face but let him cum on your chest please please please-

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

I like to think that occasionally he gets a little silly. Sometimes it’s an unintentional pun or something but you guys definitely laugh sometimes during sex. He’ll say funny stuff when you really need help relaxing or if you're in your head too much that you’re a little unfocused. It’s his way to draw you back, a subtle check in to make sure you’re good.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

Very downy. Very soft and it matches the hair on his head so it kiiiind of blends in with how pale he is but he doesn’t have much hair down there anyway. Keeps it very clean and short. There’s a very small treasure trail and it’s a lil sparse but yeah… at least it’s soft.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect...) 

For all that he loves watching you come apart he can be very sweet if he needs to bring you back. North is mostly intimate in his aftercare because he needs to do it there. It’s warm hands working to massage you while he kisses you, tells you how much he loves you and how good you were for him, and spends the whole time cuddling you. (This is all before he pulls out asjhhfg-)

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

Much like toys, he’s not a big fan of jerking it. He much prefers the warmth and softness of your body to his own calloused hand. He’d prefer your hands rather than his own if he had to be jerked off.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

A deviant. I mean not really but he likes to overstimulate you and edge you if you’re being particularly bratty- or if he’s had a tough week. Sex is one of the ways he does stress relief best so he won’t hold back if you allow him to go all out.

I think he might have a thing for spanking you too. It comes out of nowhere one day when you got snarky so he looms over and is like ‘don’t make me spank that sass out of you’. He says it so quiet, so casual, that you think you’ve misheard him. You had to have, right? NO. Because if you kept that shit up he has you on your knees later and he spanks you while he’s bottomed out in you so he can feel you clench on him. (And then he gets you off to help ease the pain for a bit.)

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

He’d fuck you on the communal couch in the ship. There’s a little recreational area and yes, he would fuck you there. Your clothes stay on, he can work around them, but yeah. You guys bang after hours in empty areas some

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

When you’re wrecked. He’s already turned on by then but what really cinches it for him is when you’re out of breath, flushed and probably have tears in your eyes. He thrives on seeing you positively wrecked. When you weakly scrabble at his shoulders/back/arms while North’s busy fucking you into the bed. It gets him all the harder and really makes the orgasm he has all the sweeter. He fucks you more intensely when you get like that too which just kind of… it’s a circle. It’s a cycle. (It’s like Ignorance from Paramore-)

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He’ll never do it when Theta is online. He doesn’t like pulling Theta really, that’s practically his kid, but he will not involve Theta with any intimate actions you two are engaging in. I don’t think he likes anything harder than spanking either honestly. That’s the farthest he’ll go- maybe a light spank on your bits at most- but nothing harder than that. It’s a little too harsh for him.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

He loves to go down on you as foreplay. Man’s got a thing for the way you squirm so he stuffs you full of his fingers and uses his mouth when he really wants you to get desperate. Now, he won’t do it for the purpose of getting you off though. It’s all prep work, just for a brief enjoyment, but he really wants you cumming on his cock.

Now, if you’re blowing him- he’ll let you. North finds it fucking cute when you try to take it all in and when those little tears get in the corner of your eyes if you accidentally gag on him- or on purpose. He again prefers to cum in you so if he finishes like this he prefers to do it in your mouth BUT WE MUST REMEMBER HE LIKES TITS. If you don’t wanna swallow, just tell him to cum on your chest. Problem solved.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

He likes to start off with an easy pace but it never stays at an easy pace. North uses sex for stress relief as well as pleasure so it always ends up a little fast and rougher right before he’s cumming in you. Of course he’ll fuck you slow but it’s just because he wants to see you squirm on him. He’ll slow down before you can cum sometimes and he just… loves the way your thighs shake when he does. A little frustrated whine of his name? Cute. Oh you are just… he could eat you up. He really could.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

He’ll get you off during quickies. Most of the time it’s fingerfucking you until you shake and get messy but he’s so good with his fingers. It’s easy for you to forget that with his penchant for penetrating you that he can basically play you like a goddamn fiddle when he’s fingering you. Also, if it’s somewhere kind of public he has this absolute rule of keeping quiet and if you get too noisy for his liking then he’ll punish you for that later.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Yeah. Oh yeah- he’s fingered you stupid in the locker rooms, he’s probably fucked you on the communal couch at least twice. North is all smiles and stuff while it happens but he’s more than confident enough to take risks. If you two get caught well… god you better hope it’s York. He likes to experiment with locations too- I think the riskier thing he did was feel up your ass during a meeting on a mission brief once. You might have squeaked. You might have gotten spanked for it later too.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last...)

Compared with Wash and York, his stamina is a little less but it also takes him a while to cum. And even then he drags things out. You’re having more orgasms than him. But that’s a rule for North; an exchange between you two. He gets to wreck your shit and watch you squirm in exchange for you getting more pleasure out of the deal. It’s not like it’s bad for him though. The most he can do is two to three rounds anyway.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

North doesn’t like toys too much actually. He prefers being able to do things with his own hands and bits as it were- of course if you wanna use them on yourself you can but you could always tempt him by moaning more while he watches because he definitely would watch you use a dildo or something on yourself. He gets a big head when you whine the toy isn’t big enough;;;

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Yes. Just yes. He would but you can’t fucking- he’s another one of those that will do it and you can’t really tell anyone because c’mon.. North? Teasing? York knows. York sees the look on your face sometimes after North whispers in your ear before kissing your cheek and he just knows. You can tell from the look on HIS face. North is always subtle when he teases you. It’s a hand on your thigh under the table, touching the small of your back when you’re walking and maybe it dips lower- he’s a fucking ninja when he does it.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He does it very softly. There’s noise but he focuses on praising you and or telling you how well you’re doing but his groans and noises are quiet. It’s not SO quiet you can’t pick it up though. No one will know if you’re banging unless he’s making you scream. Which… he does his best to.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

I said this a few times but you probably have gotten passed between York and North once. Or twice. Hell, maybe more than that. The best way to really get you wrecked is to have you take more than one person sometimes and York’s more than happy to help. (He thinks it’s merciful but in reality it’s playing more into North’s plans. At least York won’t edge you on purpose… you think.)

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Eight. Eight whole- god it would be so hard to fit that down your throat in practice but man I want to. It’s pale with a nice thickness to it and the head flushes a pretty pink when he’s turned on. Lollipop looking- he’s uncircumcised though. Definitely has a foreskin but he keeps himself really clean. Such a nice dick. So nice.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

A little more than average but he’s self controlled you think it would be less than what it actually is. This is because he’s busy. North has to watch out for his team, watch out for his sister, he watches out for you too- it’s a lot to do but when he has proper time to relax and do things right he’s pretty insatiable. He gets a little rougher because of it but you won’t complain, right?

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)