#<- those two I don’t have but I’m adding them cus I’m sure they can relate to the experience a bit

[nunyverse-scribe]

This is going to be more on the ranty side, but one of the hardest things about growing up socially/developmentally slower compared to my peers is getting rid of the habit of undermining my own intelligence.

I did not mentally mature at the same rate as a normal child would (biggest example I can provide is me being as old as 10 speaking and acting in a toddler-like manner despite having the capacity of higher vocabulary), and because of that I was definitely labeled as the stupid and weird one, and a “special case” for sure (in a derogatory way, because I know I definitely WAS a special case). Even to this day, I my mom will say things such as how I’m good with kids (I’ve always just had this caretaking instinct for those younger than me even when at an age that I’d be considered a kid) is because I’m “mentally as mature as they are.” And it certainly didn’t help that academically I was always better at reading and writing than I was at math and science in a household that prioritized STEM over humanities and treated me stupidly for it (and even in the humanities department I didn’t hit all cylinders, I was super bad at history until high school when I viewed it from a different angle because I’m bad with numbers and couldn’t memorize dates). Not to mention my stutter problem, bad brain fog, and overall terrible memory that makes sounding smart in a verbal conversation something I’m likely never to accomplish.

And to be honest I didn’t even really care about the treatment from my bullies, I cared more for the scrutiny provided by the adults in my life, and especially my parents. I have very vivid memories of feeling like a “black sheep” within my family because I felt like nobody understood me nor was anyone trying to provide me guidance in a way that I could understand. I was just hit with criticism and dissatisfaction for not living up to the neurotypical standards that especially my mom wanted my to meet.

And in the past few days I’ve been thinking particularly on how this ingrained mindset of me being stupid influenced my friendships, primarily how I acted in them. I remember it was 11-12 I started building some foundational friendships, and I remember in any group I managed my way into, I not only established myself as the “stupid, unserious friend” but I also actively leaned into that role. I made it known that I was the stupidest and most immature one in the group that acted on impulse and had a plethora of stories from childhood to back that up. Unless I was hanging on by a thread and couldn’t keep up the act anymore, I’d diminish my problems to nothing more than a joke. And if I engaged in a serious conversation, it’d be about something my friends were well-versed in and likewise I was always the novice to the subject that knew very little. When high school came around, that was subdued but still prevalent. And throughout my high school career I was under the impression that I was the most unaccomplished in my friend group and one of the dumbest ones. I remember being so scared to see my percentile despite having a high GPA, convinced I’d be low or average, only to be in the 89th percentile and the by the end of the year be in the Top 10 Percent of my class (and what’s crazier is that that’s not the thing that made me start thinking all this).

And to this day, I will treat myself as unserious (to the point where there was one mental illness thing that even a lot of my friends were making fun of me for because I set that precedent and I realized I Do Not Like being the excessive butt of the joke 😭) and sometimes I will still lean into being unserious and jokey about topics and things I care about, even when I don’t necessarily WANT to, because I notice people listen to me more that way compared to when I take what I’m talking about seriously. My entire social life I have let myself become a clown. I’ve convinced myself that it’s what I deserve, because I’m “stupid,” and that being treated with dignity and respect as opposed to weird looks or condescension is a novelty that I graciously get granted from time to time but am not required to receive.

And the one (1) thing that made me realize that my self perception of my intellect is so far removed from what it actually is was a conversation with my brother. He’s someone that knows I am horrible with social cues, he’s seen me do out-of-ordinary things that would get me called the r-slur most likely, he also grew up hearing my parents call me slow and even admitted that he believed it because of how often he heard it pointed out. And he said it was now, when we’re adults and we have deeper conversations, especially about sociology or about the human mind, that he realized how emotionally intelligent I am. That there is no doubt that I am very far removed from basic understanding of social cues and how interactions are meant to operate, even when I think I finally got the grasp on it (but I never will and I’ve had plenty of painful reminders of that 💀), but that he finds it thought-provoking to have a conversation with me on human behavior and societal problems and where they stem from and the historical patterns of it. He called me the smartest person he knows when it comes to that specific measure of intelligence. And it shocked me, because that’s never something I really expected myself to be told. And I think about that a lot, because it made me realize something I didn’t realize was a problem before.

Him telling me that is going to stick with me for a long time, because it was in that moment when I realized how lowly I thought of my intelligence, purely because I didn’t fit a mold that both capitalism wanted and that a neurotypical society wanted. And it made me realize how that outward perception of me becoming my self-perception influenced what box I put myself into and likewise how I let myself get treated.

And like. I don’t know if anyone else can relate to that. But it just makes me ache a little bit to think of how much better I would have been off if I didn’t have such a warped perception of myself. And I sort of wish constantly that I didn’t make it that it’s now easy to not take me seriously, and that I made it easy to talk over me, and that I made it easy to view me as this discombobulated mess of a person, and that I made it easy to make it that the most effective way I can get people’s attention is via jokes or even that people feel they can turn my serious talks about things I’m passionate about into jokes.

And I know it’s not all my fault, I know it’s much more complicated than that. But like. Holy shit. I wish I had more reminders throughout my life that I’m not as stupid as I was made out to be.

[icequeenbae]

Hi I saw that your requests are open! Can I get a scenario of Aphelios and his non celebrity s/o going on a secret date at night in seoul?

Pairing: Heartsteel!Aphelios x Reader

Established Relationship, slice of life, romance, fluff

Warnings: none? This is pretty mellow stuff lol

Word Count: ~1.3k

Author’s Note: Hiii! Thanks for the request, sweetheart! I couldn’t make it any shorter but please enjoy~ These HEARTSTEEL requests are fun haha Here's some bf!Phel for you!

© Please do not copy/ post on other platforms without permission.

‘What are you doing? Phel…’ You lowered your voice, tugging your boyfriend away from the ramyeon stand.

He was way too enthusiastic about you finally having a date, and now tried robbing the CU store of all its instant noodles. While wearing a mask, too. Like a proper thief.

‘We don’t need 10 packs of ramyeon, it’s just the two of us. The members aren’t going to turn up out of nowhere, I’m hoping?’

Aphelios gave you a meaningful look and shook his head. He sure wanted to add something, but his hands were busy holding all the packs.

‘Let me help you with that.’ You said, grabbing some of those to put them back. ‘You don’t even like this flavor.’

After you quickly sorted your selection, he floated past you to the refrigerated shelves. Pointing at the tiny soy sauce eggs, he looked at you for feedback. You nodded and checked what else was there.

‘How about regular boiled eggs too? We can put them in the ramyeon.’

Aphelios eagerly got some of those as well, clearly liking your idea.

‘Should I get a basket for all this?’ You asked, looking at your poor boyfriend, holding all of the food in his two hands.

He shook his head, but you didn’t listen and still got it to make it easier for him.

‘Put them here. And let’s get some banana milk.’

You didn’t have to specify that you liked the light one. He quickly picked out the package with a blue label, adding it to your basket.

‘Do you want some sausage?’ You asked him.

Your boyfriend shook his head, and then tapped onto a plastic container with triangle kimbap, asking you if you wanted one. When you turned it down, he tugged you by the sleeve of your hoodie to the drinks area.

‘You want iced coffee? Isn’t it a little too cold outside for this?’

He seemed unsure.

‘Let’s get more snacks instead?’

After he agreed, you dug through a separate snack section, picking out a few packs that you’d never tried before. Then Aphelios added your favorite grape jellies to your already outrageous variety.

‘If we continue like this, our next stop would be the pharmacy.’ You commented, evaluating the contents of your basket.

Aphelios huffed out a laugh and shrugged, silently saying ‘Who cares?’

You peeked from your spot, making sure there weren’t too many people at the checkout, and led him there quickly. After paying for everything and pouring hot water into your thermos bottle, you had to tear Aphelios away from the ice cream fridge on your way to the door before you were finally on your way.

When out in the streets, you were usually weary of someone recognizing him, so you tried to keep it casual, walking slightly ahead or behind him. Especially in the evenings, when the Seoul streets were quite crowded. However, you chose a workday for a reason – you’d noticed that there were fewer people hanging out early in the week, so this time you managed to make your way to a less packed area for your impromptu date.

Although Aphelios was usually pretty careful about it as well, this time he took your hand in his, making you fall into step with him instead of marching ahead. As you strolled along the Han River, he pointed to a nice empty spot for you to settle on.

‘No neighbors, nice catch,’ you chuckled, and he squeezed your palm playfully as if to say ‘I did well, didn’t I?’

You got a blanket from Phel’s backpack, lay it on the ground and dropped on it victoriously.

‘That’s a nice view,’ you said, watching Aphelios, who stood in front of you, checking out the Han River, which was beautifully lit by the city lights.

He turned to you, ready to agree, and caught you staring at him. He raised an eyebrow in a silent question, and you looked down at the blanket.

‘To each their own.’

Your boyfriend placed the bag of snacks in front of you and sat down, fishing out his phone. He typed something up and pressed the button, which played the sentence in his voice. Something he worked out with one of his buddies.

‘See something you like?’

The artificial voice lacked the degree of sass you knew was incorporated in that question.

‘One could assume so,’ you shrugged, playing it cool.

Both his eyebrows went up, and then he narrowed his eyes, returning to typing.

‘I hope I didn’t misunderstand when you suggested eating ramyeon so late at night…’

You gasped, and he was obviously amused by your reaction.

‘Don’t be naughty.’ You told him, busying yourself with unpacking your food.

He kept watching you intently until you couldn’t take it anymore.

‘What??’

He shook his head, refusing to reply. And as you pouted at him for this, he quickly leaned in, tugging his mask down, and gave you a clandestine kiss. It was a fleeting contact, yet it managed to heat up your cheeks nicely.

Content with the result, he joined you in making your table for tonight, a ghost of a smile still decorating his lips. Oh, he thought it was so cute! He didn’t even have to speak to make you flustered.

You sighed, watching him take over the preparations. He opened the two biggest cups, or bowls, rather, of ramyeon and poured some hot water into them, using chopsticks to hold the lids closed.

‘The eggs,’ you reminded him, and he hurriedly rummaged through a pile of your snacks to find them.

He made an undefinable noise when you tried to take one to help him peel them, so you simply sat back, watching him do it. A few minutes later, your noodles were nice and ready, and so were you. As you opened the lid, you finally grasped how cold you were getting. However pretty the night view of the Han River and the bridge over it was, the cool breeze could not go unnoticed.

You slurped your noodles simultaneously. It tasted really good for some reason – you weren’t sure if that was because of the cold, or the excitement of you being here, or just having Phel’s intimate company… Maybe it was all of those combined? In any case, the hot noodles worked well for you in these circumstances.

But still, Aphelios noticed that you were beginning to tremble and motioned for you to drink the broth too.

‘You too. It’s pretty chilly out here, huh?’ You replied before gulping the warm spicy broth.

He did the same and then put his bowl down, scooting closer to you. Taking the freed part of your blanket, he used it to cover your back and his.

‘Thanks, Phel,’ you mumbled, still chewing your noodles.

He typed up his reply.

‘It’s windier than I thought. Let’s finish our ramyeon and move.’

‘But I like it here…’ You protested. ‘I like our little picnic. You know I don’t get alone time with you that often…’

He chewed on his lip for a few moments and then cocked his head to the side again.

‘What?’ You asked, demanding interpretation.

‘I can hear the clanking of your teeth, babe. I must take you somewhere warm.’

He studied your disappointed face and typed something else.

‘We can still be alone there?’

That sounded a little more promising.

‘We won’t have to break any laws to be alone, I hope?’ You inquired, recalling that one time when he basically hijacked K’Sante’s truck to take you to the seaside.

The mischievous smile on his face told you all you needed to know.

Oh well. If it was worth risking it all with anyone, you’d do that with Phel.

Non-EXO masterlist

Masterlist

A/N: Ahhh, hope you enjoyed this Aphelios scenario~ Please don't forget to comment and reblog if you want to support me 💕 I will take a few more requests, so hurry up and drop an ask if you want me to write some more Heartsteel~

[inotanzen]

any headcanons for how inotanzen got together in a relationship? was it all at once or did two of them date before adding the third in? how’d they realize their feelings, etc? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

hey,, hey anon? i love u. it's like u read my mind. i legit had Just thought to myself that i wanted to talk about sweet, innocent getting together stuffs ;;

i was gonna ask modern or canon but i. don’t care rn i’m gonna do both cus i feel like it lol

tbh i’ve sort of already written this w my very first fic Home and looking back i don’t think it would go Too much diff in canon hm. LOL they’re all just such oblivious dumbasses focused on so many other things they wouldn’t really notice? until all of them were so far gone it’s painfully obvious to everyone but them? bc that’s canon in my mind. cough

and then post (non-heteronormative) canon they either have to part ways for longer than normal or one/two of them gets injured and the others go into a panic realizing they can’t live with out any of them and it’s all weepy and cute and they have to try ad figure out why it feels so much different than anyone else. i legit think it could be the same for any combo as well, like. they’re all equally as gone for each other. mutual confessions go about like,

tan: wait u guys have liked me this whole time? ino: obviously, gonpachirou! headbutts are meant for attracting mates. zen: i thought his question was the stupidest thing i’ve ever heard, but actually- that was. (good thing he’s a morosexual.)

and then it gets to be all awkward and adorable not knowing what’s changed between them, where do they go from here and by that i mean zen gets to be that way. and ino gets to be completely unbothered with just a slight increase in pda once he knows that more stuff is acceptable, while tan only wants everyone to be comfortable and happy :’) he just joins ino (however unconscious ino’s effort may be) in making sure zen knows everything is exactly the same as it’s always been, he can just like. ask for a kiss now if he wants or w/e LOL

in modern, things are both more simple and more complicated. less actual danger, but more emotional and societal worries. if we’re not going with gakuen or my modern au, i actually think it’s pretty likely tanzen don’t cross paths with ino until they’re already dating after suffering thru aforementioned “got so close everyone assumed they were dating already” and zen cried about his feelings while tan told him in the nicest way possible how dumb he was for thinking his feelings weren’t mutual. then ino causes them trouble in a similar manner to canon and zen gets to be mad he finds the annoying guy hot while tan says he’s “not that bad”

zen thinks he’ll eat his words when ino gets more vulgar and handsy with both of them to bug zen even more until he realizes tan doesn’t.. care lol bc he can tell ino is holding back (he’s seen how ruthless ino can actually be in sports/p.e., this is clearly not anything malicious) but he’s also kind of a meanie and can tell it flusters zen too, he thinks it’s cute :’)

once ino starts hanging out with them like he’d been there all along tan offers up the idea of asking him out bc he knows zen would never dream of it and can tell he’s relieved esp since they’re not really familiar with those sorts of relationships outside what they’ve heard of rumors about the schools art teacher. ino is.. ino xD and accepts like it was the most obvious thing in the world that they would like him, of course, and zen gets to once again curse his attraction to himbos.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Imagine taking in Mako and Bolin off the street and Mako becoming protective over you.

Warning: Brief street harassment which some readers may find triggering

You were home alone one day when you heard a noise in your back garden. You peaked through the blinds and found two men crouching low in your flower beds obviously hiding from someone. You figured it was the police until you saw Shady Shin’s gang members poking their noses around. You watched curiously and saw the boys made no movement towards the house or to steal anything, they were just hiding but the gang members were rapidly getting closer. So, not really thinking, you opened the back door and hissed at them to get inside. The smaller of the two bounded inside but the taller one paused before sighing and following. You shut the door and turned off the lights. “Who are you and why...” the smaller one started but you shushed him as the gang reached your house. They peaked over the fence but not finding anything moved on. “They’re gone but I wouldn’t go out so soon” you explained turning to face the two men and you finally got a good look at them. The tallest one was very obviously fire nation, chiselled chin, paler skin, amber eyes. The smaller one looked younger and definitely earth nation by his stature and features. They looked very different but there was an air of similarity between them. “Why did you help us?” the older one asked and you just looked between them “are you brothers?”. “We are!” the smaller one cried “Nobody ever works that out! I’m Bolin and this is my older brother Mako”. You nodded looking between them “I helped you because I didn’t want the gang to get you, I don’t know who you are or what you’ve done but I’m pretty sure you don’t deserve what they’d do if they caught you”. Bolin nodded “they’re mad cus we left the gang, we were only in it until we paid off our debt but Shady Shin wanted us to stay so we ran off”. “Bolin!” Mako cried “shut up!”. “Why? She’s not going to go rat on us after she saved us”. The older brother eyed you suspiciously “but what does she have to gain by saving us?”. “Maybe she just wanted to help?” you replied and Mako frowned not believing you. “Look my family will be home soon, my mom and dad are both pretty smart, they’ll be able to get you out of the city and somewhere safe so just sit tight for a while okay?”. Mako looked like he wanted nothing more than to run away but he glanced at Bolin who was sniffing the air “are you cooking something?”. You smirked and led him to the kitchen “it’s only cabbage soup but there’s plenty if you want some?”. “Yes please!” Bolin cried and Mako sighed “Bolin....we can’t pay her”. “You don’t need to pay me” you told the fire bender “my parents would kill me if I charged someone in need”. “We don’t take charity” the older brother snapped and you sighed “well don’t think of it that way, think of it as being a friendly neighbour”. Bolin stared at Mako pleadingly and Mako sighed “fine Bolin you have some but I'm okay”. “Suit yourself the offers there” you shrugged and led Bolin to the food.

While Bolin was eating you noticed Mako standing weird and frowned “where is it?” you asked and Mako jumped. “What?” Bolin asked but you kept your eyes on Mako “where is it?”. Mako looked down “i don’t know what you’re talking about”. You rolled your eyes “my dad’s a nurse, I know how someone looks when they’re injured”. Bolin gasped “they did stab you! Mako why didn’t you tell me”. “They didn’t stab me...it’s just a scratch” Mako said as Bolin started to tear up. You took out a first aid kit and put it on the table “if you show it me, i can help before my dad comes”. “No” Mako said “i’m fine”. You rolled your eyes “i’m not going to hurt you, just let me help”. Mako sighed and lifted up his shirt. Bolin gasped “ow no Mako you’re going to die!” and Mako glared at you. “No he won’t Bolin” you said calmly “he will need stitches which I can’t do but I can clean and bandage it till my dad gets back, okay?” you asked Mako. Mako seemed very angry at the whole situation but sighed “fine” and allowed you to approach him. You had just finished cleaning the room when the door went and your parents and 3 younger siblings all walked in. Everyone paused and you turned to them. Mako threw his shirt down immediately and Bolin stood up so quickly he almost knocked the table over. Your parents took in the situation and nodded “what's happening and how can we help?”. 

You explained the situation to your family and they agreed to help. Your father stitched Mako up and you helped as your mother talked through their options. Your parents didn’t even ask what the brothers had gotten into or why they were involved with the gang in the first place. They just asked questions to assess how the brothers could get to safety. Your mother asked if they had any other relative that could help but Mako shook his head “we don’t have any other family”. “Well, we do have some distant relatives in Ba Sing Sei” Bolin added. “But we’ve never even met them” Mako cried “why would they take us in?”. Your father went to speak when someone knocked loudly on the door. “Stay here” your mother said and your father nodded “y/n finish this off for me”. Your parents headed to the door and you worked on sealing and bandaging Mako’s wound. 

As you were working you heard the door open and your father ask “can i help you?”. “We know you’ve got them so let us have them or else yeah?” a voice responded and Bolin froze “that’s Hulo and Chehe!”. Mako stepped forwards and you grabbed his arm “no don’t, you’ll make it worse”. I’m not letting your parents endanger themselves for us” Mako cried and gently removed your hand. After commanding your siblings to stay put, you and Bolin scrambled after him. You saw your parents arguing with two men but they paused when they saw Mako. “Ahhh decided to give yourself up eh Mako? You always were the smart one”. Mako stood up taller and didn’t let the pain of his wound show “don’t hurt any of them, we’ll come with you” he spoke confidently. “Not a chance” your mother said and she stepped right in front of the man blocking Mako from his view. You saw the man pause at your mother’s act and they frowned recognising her voice. Your mother was well known in the community, she owned a store not far from your house and was well-liked for being a kind woman always available to help others. You knew she’d helped some of the gang with their wounds before and sure enough so did the men. “You’re the woman from that store, you patched me up once after a fight....I didn’t realise this was your house Ika”. Your mother nodded “it is and anyone in it, is my responsibility”. “Yeah but see they’re shady Shin’s men....”. “They said they paid their debt” your father piped up “this isn’t Shady Shin’s territory, if he lets them go he won’t be bothered by them ever again, we’ll make sure of it”. The men looked at your father and then to your mother “you can promise that?”. Your mother stared back at them “you have my word”. The men stared before looking away “that sounds reasonable but if we see either of them near our territory....”. “We understand” your mother nodded and the men walked away. Your parents closed the door and Bolin cheered “you saved us!” rushing to hug them. You laughed as did your siblings who had not listened to you but Mako just stared. “Why did you do that?” he asked “you know they could just come back now you’ve stood up for us?”. “Then can try” your father smiled “but me and Ika are known for being able to handle ourselves, we’ve always left the gangs alone and they’ve left us alone too, I think we’ll be okay”. Your parents led you back to the kitchen but Mako wouldn’t budge. “But why risk it?” Mako asked “for someone you don’t even know! You put all your children at risk” Mako said gesturing at you and your siblings “just for 2 strange boys? Why?”. Your father frowned but your mother shrugged “because we hope that if something happened to us another person would do the same for our kids” she said simply “the world’s a cold place but it only gets colder if we turn our backs on those in need, I’m not sending you or your brother back out there because it’s the right thing to do, it’s that simple”. “Really?” Mako asked and your dad nodded putting his arm around your mother “yes”. Bolin grinned “i think i’m going to love it here” and Mako frowned “we’re only staying for one night”. Your father went to argue but your mom silenced him with a look “if you say so but you can have a room in the attic for as long as you need it, it’s not charity. We can help you find good jobs and you can pay a small fee for the room and food. But if you’d rather go out in the cold and make it on your own...that’s okay too”. Mako looked down and you smiled at your mother and how clever she was. Your family started dishing out food and you smirked as Bolin took a seat at the table for seconds. Mako let you finish bandaging his wound but didn’t sit down, he stood by the window. Your mom glanced at him and then at you “y/n why don’t you show Mako the room, the two of you could clear out some of the stuff in there?”. You nodded and looked at Mako “this way”. Mako followed you through your house and you smiled “our house is nice but it has a few quirks you should probably know about” you explained “don’t step on the 8th step, the living room door doesn’t close properly....ow and you’ll probably have to bend your head on all the stairs but it’s a good home. Small and crowded but nice” you said and Mako nodded in response. You could see why nobody figured Bolin and Mako were brothers, they couldn’t be more different. You could hear Bolin downstairs chatting loudly while Mako just followed you silently. You reached the attic and flicked on the light. “Wow, this is bigger than I expected” Mako said and you nodded “my mom used it as an office but now it’s mainly storage”. Together you and Mako managed to clear most of said storage and revealed the two beds in the back of the room. “You’ll need new bedding and it might smell a bit musty but we can air it” you said smiling and Mako paused “why are you all so nice?”. You paused “I don’t think we are....we just do what anyone would do”. Mako shook his head “no you don’t...trust me I’ve met a lot of people and they’d sooner chase me and my brother away from their lawn than give us a meal and a bed”. You shrugged “my parents both came from humble beginnings but they had kind people who helped them, maybe that’s why they’re like they are....either way I’d say stop questioning why life’s throwing this at you and maybe just say thank you?”. Mako looked down and nodded “I’ve been rude, I apologise. Thank you for...this, it all happened because you let us both in...so thanks”. You grinned at how awkward Mako was when you heard footsteps and Bolin and your parents appeared. “This is our room?” Bolin cried and you laughed how everything amazed him. “For as long as you want it” your father nodded and Bolin dove on a bed “and we get our own beds too! Mako this is amazing isn’t it!”. Mako nodded and turned to face your parents “thank you for everything”. Your parents blinked in surprise and you smiled just a little bit proud. “It’s no problem” your mother replied and Mako looked down “if it’s okay with you...the plan you said before, could we maybe try that?”. Bolin gasped in suprised and your parents smiled. “Of course” your mother smiled “for the next few days just lay low and rest up and then in the next few weeks we’ll find you a job you like and go from there, sound good?”. Mako nodded his head and looked from your parents to you finally “yes, thank you”. You smiled “no problem” and Mako smiled softly back trying to return the gesture. Your parents smiled glancing from you to Mako. “We’ll let you boys sleep now, let us know if you need anything, bathroom’s second door on the right and there’s food in the kitchen if you get hungry”. “We’ll be okay” Mako said seeing Bolin’s eyes light up at the thought of thirds “thanks again, see you in the morning”. “Good night” you smiled and Mako nodded “good night”. “Good niggggght” Bolin sang and you laughed before following your parents downstairs. “I think we’re going to like it here” Bolin said sleepily into his pillow and Mako nodded “yeah maybe”. “They’re all so nice! I can’t believe y/n just saved us like that and her parents, they’re all something special aren’t they?”. Mako nodded “they sure are”.

2 months later

The house was definitely more crowded with Bolin and Mako in it. The attic was just big enough for them but between you, your 3 siblings and your parents, the two men were noted. The house was always bustling with movement or noise and Mako and Bolin fit right in with that aspect. Bolin was loud and friendly so got on with everyone easily and even Mako began to open up and talk more. The brothers were both very polite and while they laid low from the gang they offered to help in the house as much as possible. Even when Mako got a job (your parents refused to make Bolin work given he was only fifteen) he still pitched in with the chores like you and your siblings did. The main things the brothers did was help your mother with the store and shopping. They were now the strongest people in the house so it made sense but you also got the idea they were protective over your parents after what they’d done for them. You saw the way Mako would give up his chair for your ageing father or how Bolin would pass your mother the first bowl of food and grew fonder of the brothers every day.

Bolin soon felt like another brother but Mako didn’t. There was something about him, his calm attitude or insanely handsome features, that made you excitedly nervous to be around him. You soon realised his cold exterior was an act he had to wear to protect him and Bolin but there was no need for it anymore and you noticed it rapidly slipping away. The more relaxed and genuine Mako became the more you liked him and the closer you became. Bolin would often rush right into whatever game your brothers were playing, being loud and boisterous like them, whereas Mako and you would usually end up on the outskirts avoiding the conflict. You soon came to love the evenings you spent sat in a corner of the living room together and knew you had a small/huge crush developing. You blushed easily around him and both seemed to awkwardly get caught in situations that made your feelings even more obvious.

For instance, one afternoon you were heading out to meet a friend when Mako and Bolin appeared with your mother and the food shopping for the week. You jumped spotting Mako so suddenly and he smiled making you feel weak “hi y/n, sorry didn’t mean to scare you”. “It’s fine....” you smiled back and went to retreat back up the hall so they could pass when Mako shook his head “it’s okay I think I can squeeze past!”. You stepped closer to the wall and Mako tried to bustle past you. He lifted the bags above your head trying to pass you when Bolin crashed into him trying to turn in a hallway too narrow for his broad shoulders sending Mako crashing into you. Mako tensed trying to stop himself from hurting you and managed to not put all his weight on you. He sighed and shot you a nervous smile as you were trapped against the wall by him “sorry”. “It’s not your fault” you smiled back “stay still I think I can slip out”. You tried getting out from under his arm but that was hard. Mako tried lifting the bag but it started to rip so you told him to stop. You ended up having to climb out under his arm and above his leg. Mako was blushing bright red when you managed it and you too felt flustered. You came into the living room to let Mako pass and then stood awkwardly by one another. "So you’re heading out?" Mako asked. You nodded "yes i’m meeting my friend Geho, i should be back late". Mako nodded resisting the urge to warn you about taking the main road not the back streets, a habit he’d gotten into with Bolin that had apparently passed onto you too. You almost sensed that and smiled "i’ll be careful" and Mako smiled "good" and tried not to watch as you walked away. Mako liked you too.

Later that evening your mother realised she’d forgotten to get the meat from the butchers and Mako and Bolin offered to go and fetch it. The shop would be closing soon so Mako and Bolin hurried to the store as quickly as they could. The streets were largely empty and as the brothers stood in the butcher waiting something caught their eye. "Is that y/n?" Bolin asked suddenly and Mako’s head shot around. Sure enough there you were walking, or more like running down the street in the direction of your house. "Who is that?" Bolin asked and they watched as some boy hurried after you calling after you. "That’s her friend Geho” Mako said recognising the boy but he frowned “something is not right". When you lifted your head slightly and Mako saw you were crying he shoved the list your mother had given him into Bolin’s hands and rushed after you. He jogged over to you at a fast pace but when he saw the boy touch your shoulder, trying to make you turn around and face him, he exploded in anger. "Hey" he yelled "get off her!". The boy looked back around just as Mako grabbed him by the shirt and threw him away from you against a wall. Mako held the boy off the floor being taller and growled fire on his fingertips. "Dude what the hell?" the guy cried trying to get free and you spun stound. "Mako it’s okay! Don’t hurt him". Mako frowned "but he was bothering you". "Well yes" you nodded and Mako glared until you touched his arm "Mako it’s alright, he'll leave me alone now, right Geho?". The man glared at Mako "don’t think your boyfriend here will give me much of a choice". "Geho it’s not like that..." you started but the boy swore and just walked away "fuck you y/n". Mako glared and went to follow him when he realised you were still crying. "Y/n" Mako said softly "are you okay? Do you need a tissue? A hug?". You took Mako’s last suggestion and buried your head against him. Mako wrapped his arms around you and rubbed your back saying soothing things. Mako held you tightly for a while before it started to rain and he frowned. "Come on let’s get you home" Mako said putting an arm around you and you nodded "thank you".

Mako got you home, upstairs and into your room without any of your family noticing. You sat on the edge of your bed not bothering to remove your coat, scarf or shoes and Mako frowned "y/n what happened". You wiped your eyes and looked at him "i just lost my best friend". Mako sat beside you "how?". You sniffed and Mako looked at you "y/n?". "Geho asked me out...he’s apparently liked me for a while and i had no idea! I told him i didn’t feel that way and he got angry and aggressively persistent. He was trying to convince me to give him a chance and getting madder that I didn’t want to when you got him away from me". Mako raised an eyebrow "he got mad at you for not liking him?". You nodded and Mako shook his head. Mako went to comment on how stupid that was when you sighed "i mean maybe it was my fault, maybe i was too friendly and gave him the wrong idea, I should’ve noticed he liked me...". Mako almost produced fire that idea made him so angry. "No" Mako said firmly "y/n you did nothing wrong! Being friendly is no invitation for a guy to try something with you and you’re not supposed to always know how he feels. He’s a grown man he could just tell you..." Mako trailed off realising that applied to him too and coughed "and to blame you for not liking him...y/n he’s an asshole and you deserve way better friends than him". "But he’s my oldest friend" you sniffed and Mako shrugged "well if he’s a true friend he'll come back and apologise, i think he should beg for forgiveness personally". Mako relaxed to see you smile slightly. "And if he doesn’t then who needs him? You don’t need guys like that around you y/n, nobody should ever treat you that way". You smiled looking up at Mako "how are you so sure?". "Because it’s common courtesy, because it takes nothing to be polite. After all, friends should never blame you for your feelings or things you can’t control, because you’re the kindest sweetest person i know and if anyone does ever treat you that way i will put a stop to it". You smiled softly "like today? You were like a knight in shining armour, you just appeared out of nowhere". Mako smiled "i’m just glad i was nearby, when i saw him reach out for you...". You tensed and Mako frowned "but you’re okay, you’re safe" he rushed to reassure you. You nodded "thanks to you". "You know i can teach you some stuff" Mako told you "so you know what to do if a guy tries to grab you like that again". "You can?" you asked and Mako nodded "there’s actually a lot of ways to get out of holds and to reverse them on the person, I can show you a bunch of ways to protect yourself". "You’d help me with that?" you asked and Mako nodded "of course!". You smiled "thanks Mako that’s amazing! I’m so glad i met you". Mako’s heart lifted and he smiled "i’m glad i met you too". He wanted to tuck that piece of hair behind your ear but didn’t want to touch you and scare you after what had just happened. "I think i’m going to shower and then go to sleep" you announced and Mako nodded standing up. "Thanks for today" you smiled at him and Mako nodded "no problem and if you need me, for anything, even if it’s just to have someone with you until you fall asleep...just call me". You smiled "thanks Mako" and he focused on your watery eyes and red nose and just wanted to comfort you. "Can i hug you?" he asked and you blushed but were so pleased he asked for permission. "Yes" you smiled and he wrapped you in a hug. You hugged him tightly feeling safe there and when you seperated Mako was worried to see you were crying again. "Y/n are you alright...". "Yes you just make me feel safe" you smiled through tears "that’s all". Mako blushed and felt so proud he made you feel that way. “That makes me glad to hear, I’d do anything to keep you safe and well....all your family” he trailed off and you smiled. “Well you do so thank you...for being you I guess?” you said awkwardly and Mako laughed. “No problem...I meant what I said, just bang on the ceiling if you need me” Mako said as his room was above yours. “Thanks Mako” you smiled and Mako nodded leaving your room.

Mako closed your door softly and walked to his own room. Bolin burst in soon after and gasped “where’s y/n? Is she okay?”. “She’s alright, her friend was harassing her but I got him to leave her alone, hopefully he’ll never go near her again but if he does....”. Bolin laughed “I can imagine what you’d do to him for messing with y/n given your feelings for her”. Mako blushed looking away “is it that obvious?”. “Ow yeah to everyone apart from her” Bolin nodded “but maybe not after today”. “I’d have helped her regardless” Mako explained and Bolin nodded “yeah I know...but I don’t think you’d be so emotional and protective, all i’m saying is she might’ve noticed that”. “Maybe” Mako nodded “but after what she’s been through the last thing I want to do is to put any pressure on her”. Bolin nodded “i get that, so just let her come to you, or wait for enough time to pass and then ask her out”. Mako nodded “I think the first option” and Bolin smirked “chicken!”. Mako shook his head “you didn’t see how upset she was, I’d do anything not to see her cry again...I’ll let her come to me if or when she wants to, I’m not going to stop showing I care about her but I’m also not going to force her to decide anything, I’ll be here if she wants me” Mako said adamantly. Bolin smiled “aww my big brother all in love, so cute”. Mako blushed and pushed Bolin away from him. “You’re an idiot” he huffed and got into bed turning the light out. Mako listened as Bolin pottered around the room and he sighed. “You’re not an idiot Bolin you’re just...accurately annoying” Mako clarified. “I know” Bolin smirked and Mako rolled his eyes. Bolin was exactly right, Mako had fallen for you hard and he’d do anything to protect you. He meant what he said though and wouldn’t pressure you in any way, he’d wait for you....as long as it took.

____

I only recently realised Mako was only 8 when his parents died and he became Bolin’s guardian which made me really sad...so I wanted to write something where someone looked after Mako for once. 

[wearebothdrunk]

hey!! Can you do a pillow talk fic with sebastian stan?

yes, of course!

Pillow talk 

pairing: Sebastian Stan x fem!reader

word counting: 1712

Warnings: Smut; some fluff

Summary: Some pillow talk with you and sebastian

A/N: Thank you sm for the request! i loved the idea. i had to add some other things because i´m not creative enough to write a lot of pillow talk lmao. But hope you liked anyway. Also, this is the first time i write smut so i´m sorry if this is to awkward.

disclamer: If the Romanian quote it´s misspelled, please send me a message i took it from google translator.

Tag: @dpr-hoe

* gif not mine*

You and Sebastian were at the Marvel Studios all day because he had to do a lot of photoshoots for the new series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", in which your boyfriend was the protagonist.

You loved to be able to be with Sebastian in his work, but after 3 hours you were super tired.

"If you want, you can go home. Take the keys, I'll take an Uber," he said, grabbing your face, giving you a kiss on the forehead and handing you the keys.

" I appreciate your concern, but I think I can handle another hour and go with you," you told him handing him back the keys.

"Okay love, but at least go get something to eat"

"Okay dad" you mocked him.

When he was going to tell you something, you got interrupted by his manager. "I hate to interrupt, but they need you Sebastian for one last shot." His face dropped.

"You need to go," you said trying to give him motivation.

"Okay," he said in a sad voice.

He gave you one last kiss and left for the session.

Sebastian was always very worried about you when you went to one of his sessions or interviews because they left him exhausted, so he didn't want you to feel the same way he did.

You decided to go and buy his favorite dessert to cheer him up, tiramisu. ( i searched that lmao)

you went to a store that you knew nearby to buy some.

By the time you got back, Sebastian was being photographed wearing Bucky's suit and the Cap's shield. He looked damn hot.

"Okay guys, let's take a quick break"

Sebastian ran to you.

"You disappeared for a moment. Is everything okay?" he said giving you a soft kiss on your lips.

"Yeah, I just went to get some food like you told me to."

" oh okay. Two more pictures and I´m all yours," he said smiling and kissing you again.

"I bought your favorite! "

He looked at you confused until you showed him a bag with a box of Tiramisu.

"TIRAMISU" he shouted laughing " this honestly made my day. thank you babe!" he said putting his two hands behind your neck and kissing you passionately.

"I think I have to buy you some more tiramisu han," you said giggling

"Aren't you going to eat now?" you asked him as he put the tiramisu back in the bag.

"I prefer to eat it on you" he whispered

It took you a moment to realize. "Wait... What?" you said

"I have to go, two more pictures."

You smiled. Did Sebastian Stan just said what you think he said?!

* 30 minutes later*

"I'm ready. let's go home".

*when you arrived home*

As you passed your door´s house, you were pulled into Sebastian's arms, leaving a small, almost non-existent, space between your lips and his. You giggled and he kissed you deeply. You both took off your shoes. He began to remove your clothes, starting with your jacket, leaving it on the floor, which you both stepped over. You made all of this without taking your lips from each other. As more you went up the stairs, the more undressed you became. You both arrived in the bedroom with only your underwear on.

"Where's the tiramisu?" he said in between the kiss.

"Why do you need the tiramisu?" you said pretending not to know.

you pulled him back in for another kiss. He pushed the kiss away making you moan.

"Y/n, the tiramisu?" he said impatiently

"downstairs" you mumbled

He pushed you, softly, onto the bed, making you be lying down.

"Wait here," he said in the middle of the kiss and got up.

" don't be long"

Seconds later he was already in the room again with the bag of tiramisu. He set it down on the bed and went straight to you for another kiss.

"God I missed you," you said

"I was only gone a few seconds," he said giggling

" Yeah, but for someone that is horny, that feels like hours" you pulled him in for another kiss.

He began to remove your panties and bra leaving only your necklace on.  You began to put your fingers under his boxers to pull them off for good.

"I want to fuck you so bad y/n" he whispered.

"Then fuck me," you said.

He began to run his lips all over your body, making you moan.

When he got close to your sensitive area, you could feel his breath. You put your hands tangled in his hair preparing yourself for what was coming, but to your surprise, he stopped.

"What? Really," you said in frustration.

" calm down babe. I'm not done yet."

You saw him grab the bag with the tiramisu you bought him.

" Really?" you said

He started to take the lid off and put a spoon inside taking a little bit to taste.

"This is really good y/n," he said with a pleased look on his face.

He started to lean towards you.

" do you want to taste it?" he asked you with a smirk

" okay"

he put a small piece of the dessert in your mouth getting you all dirty.

"Oh sorry, let me clean it up" he leaned in for a kiss and created a sensation that you never felt before.

you giggled.

"It tastes so much better on you babe," he said

he started to take some more, getting ready to put it in your belly and the rest of your body.

"Do you want it?" he asked to make sure you were comfortable.

You looked at him without answering. You could feel your heart beating and were sure that he could hear it too.

"That's okay babe, we can just save it for the movie"

you grabbed his hand. "no, I want Seb" you said.

"Are you sure?" he asked again

" yes"

As he heard those words coming from your mouth, he continued what he was doing before.

As soon as you felt the dessert touch your belly you let out a little moan.

" it's cold," you said giggling

He put it in all the pleasured places of your body. When it finally got close to your core you started to moan louder.

" Seb..." you said as you felt his lips sucking the mess he has done on you.

" God, I love you sm," he said in between your moans.

When he was ready, he posed the tiramisu on the bedside table, kissing you again.

" You are so beautiful" he whispered.

he started giving you kisses on the neck, driving you insane.

"I want you, Seb"

"I want you more" he whispered putting his cock inside of you.

you both moan.

As he moved in and out of you, your breaths became heavier.

"Fuck, I'm gonna come," he said after a few minutes

"God Seb, I'm gonna come too"

he started to go deeper and faster, making you come first

" oh god, you´re beautiful baby" he let out in his moans.

You started to moan louder when he finally came.

"Fuck!" he shouted as he lay down on your side.

You put your head on his shoulder and one of your legs on top of his.

"That was good," you said, looking up into his eyes.

He smiled, " yeah, it was a very good baby," he said pulling your hair away from your face.

"Why were you so nervous when I asked you to do... you know what," he asked you

" Oh, it was nothing," you said, clearly lying to him.

"Babe, the truth please. you can feel free to talk to me about that kind of stuff. You are my pattern, I don't want to put you in uncomfortable situations. "

"You didn't put me in an uncomfortable situation. I liked it, a lot." you giggled and he smiled. "But I was just afraid I wasn't up to your expectations in sex, you know? You're the first person I've ever had a real relationship with. Before you, I only had a one-night stand, which I regret. "

"Babe, you're always higher than my expectations. sex is not what I  most like about being with you, although it is great. I asked you if you wanted to do it because I feel we have that intimacy. I've never felt as comfortable with anyone as I do with you," he said.

You smiled and held him tighter.

You started talking and talking about everything and nothing. You felt comfortable with each other after all your feeling for him was unique.

"Say something in Romanian," you asked him

"what do you want me to say"

"I don't know, something"

" hmm, vreau să am o familie cu tine" he said smiling at you.

" That was hot," you said and he laughed.

" I'm sure that's a stupid or dirty sentence by your reaction," you said smiling.

" I said I want to have a family with you,"

You were speechless, did he really felt that way?

"and I mean it" he added. "But I don't want to pressure you or anything, let's do it when you feel read-."

he was interrupted with your lips pressed against his. "Let's do it." you said

He looked at you and you could see his eyes sparkling with happiness.

"are you, are you sure, I mean-"

"yes, that's all I want with you"

he got on top of you and you giggled. " I love you y/n"

"I love you too Sebastian Stan" and then he kissed you again.

" you could teach him Romanian," you said

" him?" he giggled.

" yes!!"

" no, first a girl and then a boy," he said smiling at you.

" Two kids?" you asked him

" well, yes, a boy and a girl, but if you don't want-"

" Two boys and one girl," you told him

" hell no," he said laughing

You spent the whole night arguing and laughing about your future making you both realize that this was all you wanted for life.

( they had two boys and one girl haha)

if you want to repost my story, send me a message first.

[abraxos-the-phantom]

Scum Disciple Deleted

-scenes. Here you go @vodkassassin. Unformatted and mostly unedited save for some awkward phrasing I fixed as I skimmed through it. I have a habit of merely taking out scenes rather than straight deleting them when I don't think they work out so if you see it on the fic shhh I probably just found a better place for it, but for the most part I think these are unused

TLJ + MF; Flashback/Illusion

[Log: File:Save_??-???.?.????.log]

“You know, for a man so keen on maintaining the preference of a dignified cultivator, you are fairly quick to disband such things as you see fit,” Tianlang-jun mused.

Ming Fan threw a dirty look to the former Overlord of the Demonic Realm over his bowl of beef stir fry lily bulbs. It was a specialty in this region, boasting a sweet lily bulb due to the length of time the farmers around the area spent cultivating the plant. In other words, it was delicious and a welcome change to the guilt trip galore that was eating Lou Binghe’s cooking.

Oh to eat that delicious snow congee without feeling the compulsion to throw it all back up-

Well, no use dwelling on such things.

“Most of anything could be considered vulgar when in close proximity to you,” Ming Fan quipped, taking a generous helping of the stir-fry between his chopsticks. “If you had as much sensibility as you had sensuality, I guarantee that people would be more fond of you. Unfortunately, it is too late for me.”

“Hoh? Is that so?” Tianlang-jun’s lips curled in a smirk in spite of the fact that Ming Fan had no interest looking his way, regardless of the other demon happened to do. Some odd five or so years have taught Ming Fan that there were times when the best move for dealing with the other was simply ignoring him.

Ming Fan maintained his bland tone as he briefly paused to speak, “Yes.”

Tianlang-jun shook his head, “Honestly. Are all disciples of Cang Qiong like you, or are you just the special one.”

Said disciple only gave Tianlang-jun a significant dirty look, “You’d have to actually behave yourself to get to know another disciple of Cang Qiong.”

“Eh,” the Heavenly Demon leaned back against his chair with his hands crossed behind his head. “Too boring.”

Ming Fan made a noncommitting sound as he finally ate the last of his order, letting out a satisfied sigh as he leaned back in his seat.

“Ming Fan, a question if you are so gracious enough to grant me such a thing.”

Ming Fan only raised a brow, “You may ask, whether I answer is not on the table.”

“Why?” Tianlang-jun paused as he attempted to think about his question. “Why do you maintain this relationship of ours? It’s not as if you’re on any obligation to maintain basic relations for a political reason, and you hardly ask me anything so you aren’t after my wisdom. With Lou Binghe going in and out Cang Qiong Sect, it’s not as if I can threaten your Sect any more than I could try and fight with my son.”

Ming Fan crossed his arms, humming for a moment tilting his head just enough to convey thoughtfulness he turned to look the demon lord in the eye, “If you were to be confronted with a former enemy of a war without meaning, what would you do?”

Tianlang-jun hummed, “I wouldn’t care.”

“Exactly,” Ming Fan pointed out. “Now what would you do if you discovered you were on the wrong side of that war?”

“…I still wouldn’t care.”

“Would you?” Ming Fan hummed, “Well, that’s your choice.”

“So is that all? You pity me?”

“Not quite,” Ming Fan shrugged, idly arranging the finish plate on the table. “More like my recompense of sorts.”

Tianlang-jun’s expression was unreadable as he stared, quietly adding, “You realize that I’ve killed hundreds of cultivators like you. Your age, younger- older. It didn’t matter, they were obstacles in my path and I removed them.”

“Of that I do not doubt, but these days- the line between righteous and mad is thin,” Ming Fan snorted. “I stand at the meager in-between myself. But what else can I do? I am but a mere mortal, attempting to right his wrongs.”

Ming Fan took a final sip at his tea, “Sometimes, that is all one can do without going well and truly mad.”

Tianlang-jun chuckled, “I suppose that’s true.”

The hours seemed endless after that, a moment in time felt like hundreds upon billions as the two simply- existed.

“So,” Tianlang-jun said after an eternity’s moment. “What are you doing here Little Cultivator?”

Ming Fan blinked, “Is this not one amongst our many meetings?”

The world seem to blur around him like ink amongst a pool of water. Fading into implied images as the sky and trees distorted. The sounds of the earth quieted to a hushed whisper. Ming Fan’s eyes casted around in confusion as the lively village dulled into a dead silence.

“It isn’t,” Tianlang-jun leaned back, smirking. “You’ve spent so long with me that I am now here with you- in limbo. I’m flattered Fan-er.”

Ming Fan narrowed his eyes, scowling, before looking away, “Definitely. Tianlang-jun never called me that to my face.”

Ming Fan twisted away from the…demon for some time to think.

TLJ + MF - Actual Flashback

“You look like you went a round and three more with a golem,” Tianlang-jun tsked at him.

“Are you going to lecture me about coming out while I look like I lost against said golem or are you going to sit your ass down and have some tea like we agreed?” Ming Fan snapped, wincing as he sat.

Tianlang-jun whistled wolfishly. “Why, I never took that War God to be the kinky type.”

“Don’t be so obscene,” Ming Fan rolled his eyes. “He landed me flat on my ass almost a dozen times. Of course sitting down would be a pain.”

“You know there’s this flower that-“

“No.”

“But I hurt just looking at you,” Tianlang-jun whined like a particularly annoying brat. “One tiny little adventure to look for a flower that heals bruises instantly, it’s a Lotus of a blue hue, I hear those people from the far West have been using it for some time.”

“And then Liu Qingge will have me spar against him, again, and this hellish circle will repeat itself. I am only saved by the fact that my cultivation is not as advanced as one of a Peak Lords, otherwise I would be healed by the end of the week and my pain begins anew,” Ming Fan shook his head. “I appreciate your concern, I really do, but no.”

“Aww, well since you’re being so polite about it…” Tianlang-jun sighed and sipped from the tea. “Mn- this is good. Where did you get it?”

“Shang-shishu taught me how to prepare lemon tea before the fruits go out of season, apparently there is a sweetened-cold version of this as well, but he has yet to refine the technicalities of the ingredients. I worry for him, he always seems so busy.”

“He looks like a rodent who accidentally ate a pepper, though I suppose in this case it would be a block of ice what with Mobei-jun being his lover and all.”

“I did wonder how that happened, and worried a brief time. An Ding Peak’s disciples had said that their master would occasionally come home bruised and barely able to walk, they were rearing to go to war with the Northern Demons far before everything else happened.” Ming Fan sighed, “Well, it isn’t any of my business. I’m sure they’re dealing with the situation in their own way.”

“True that, those An Ding Peak children…physically they are weak, but it is always the weaker ones that surprise you the most. Especially when angry,” Tianlang-jun smiled as he mused. “Afterall, hornets don’t seem like much at first glance. That Mobei-jun has his work cut out for him, ah, speaking of. What of those two? Surely the boy is tip-toeing these days.”

“He tends to keep to the bamboo house, and we tend to stay far away from the bamboo house, especially at night.” Ming Fan raised his hand to drink. “That is all I will say of the matter.”

Ming Fan sighed, rubbing a hand against his eyes, “I am getting far too old for this.”

“Oh please, you’re not even a century old.”

“Hm, and yet somehow I am still significantly more mature than you. Have you reached the regression stage of life Tianlang-jun? I must say, I’m rather peeved that it’s a mental deterioration rather than a physical one for you demons.”

“Hoh?” Tianlang-jun leaned forward, smirking. “Wish to test how youthful I can be Little Cultivator?”

Ming Fan raised a hand idly pointing at the silks of Tianlang-jun’s clothes, startling the heavenly demon as he wondered just what the other had found on his clothes.

Then Ming Fan flicked up, hitting the former Demon Lord up the lip and under the nose, causing Tianlang-jun to recoil, sputtering from the unjust attack. The audacity.

“I’m sure you’d at least warm the bed,” He deadpanned, sipping at his tea without a care as Tianlang-jun sputtered indignantly.

NMJ/MF - Original Re-meeting for ch 52; added here for my convenience (cus i don't wanna make another post)

“Gather everyone who can fight!” One voice called. “Sect Leader Nie is being surrounded by a pack of hell hounds! They need help.”

Ming Fan was out and running before anyone could even blink- with only Liu Qingge and Tianlang-jun holding enough time to react by following him.

-

“Shit-“ Mingjue cursed, swinging around Bàxià to hurl one attacking hound over to the side. “Meng Yao- you alright?!”

“Could use-” Meng Yao grimaced as he had to back off to avoid the snapping jaws of another hound. “Some help.”

“Reinforcements should be on the way!” Mei Lin cursed venomously under her breath. “Just where the hell did all these damned dogs come from?!”

“We’re being overrun!” Lang Fengyi yelped as he narrowly avoided claws.

“Fuck-“ Mingjue gathered his energy, willing it to fill him once more. “Get ready to run! I should be able to distract them long enough to-“

“Don’t worry about that.”

The disciples of Nie turned to find a man arrogantly walking through the field, the hounds yipping in fear and running from him, as well as another man clad in white and silver who eyed the hounds back.

Tianlang-jun stood before the disciples of Qinghe Nie with a bright smile, “Relax now, everything will be fine.”

Liu Qingge huffed, drawing his sword, “Says you. We have to make sure he’s not overworking himself remember?”

There was a distant rumbling- an ominous presence that washed over them to the point where all the hounds began to shudder and shake in fear as they too yipped around fearfully.

Descend with great speed. Swift and merciless. Run my enemies. Leave none left alive. May death greet you well.

Formation formed.

Ming Fan dropped his sword with militaristic precision, tilting all the swords generated by his power towards the ground in varying angles.

Heavenly Wrath Formation.

Tianlang-jun looked up in the surprise, “Don’t tell me that’s-“

“It is,” Liu Qingge scowled.

“Who-“ Nie Mingjue began- before all hell broke loose.

Liu Qingge’s expression was thunderous as he swept past rows of demonic hounds, tilting on hand and waiting-

Another man dropped from the sky not a second later, catching Liu Qingge’s robes and righting him before swinging his legs on the man’s waist to get around and jab another hound in the back- Tianlang-jun was swift to join the fray, allowing the shorter cultivator to move around him to get at all the lucky hounds who managed to move away from Ming Fan’s deadly aim fast enough.

While Tianlang-jun added to the deadly partnership with his own flare, it was the pair of Ming Fan and Liu Qingge that showed the obvious years of partnership between them- for the two had years of spars and night hunts to guide their blades where they need be.

Heads flew, limbs joining them as the immortals of Cang Qiong Sect and Tianlang-jun of the Heavenly Demon Line slaughtered the feared and the rowdy- leaving those of Qinghe Nie in awe.

“..Wei…” Meng Yao said, knees beginning to grow weak. “Wei Fan?!”

The man abruptly froze, glancing towards their direction before seeming to move on instinct- the War God sensing the sudden change and using his arm to propel him outward, allowing the man to fly across the air and land his sword true through the skull of the hell hound that was just about to take a chunk from Nie Mingjue’s side.

Ming Fan, not upset as he was, barked at them venomously, “Just what do you think you’re doing?! Fucking move! You’re in a battle field! Fight damn you! Are you not of Qinghe Nie?!”

“Teacher Wei!” Mei Lin cried- openly actually, crying.

“Oh for the love of-“ Ming Fan cursed. “I’ll take your crying and yelling and cursing later, lift your sabres and fight!”

“Xiao-Fan!”

Ming Fan turned, grunting as he launched his sword in the Heavenly Demon’s direction and skewering the hound. “What?!”

“Lower your blood pressure!”

Ming Fan felt his blood pressure rise out of sheer spite. “Fuck you!”

“A-Fan,” Liu Qingge growled. “You just performed one of the most powerful formations while silent. Calm down.”

“I can’t!” Ming Fan caught himself with a scowl. “But I’m not upset!”

“For the love of-“ Liu Qingge turned to Tianlang-jun. “Can you handle the rest?”

“Yeah I got it,” Tianlang-jun batted away a hound with his bare fist. “Just take care of our pissed off little horse first.”

Liu Qingge wasted no time, grabbing the now fuming Ming Fan, his nose beginning to trickle with a line of blood and generally causing the already shocked disciples of Qinghe Nie to panic.

“Hey,” Liu Qingge’s voice was soft as it was firm. “Calm down. Calm. That’s not a request.”

“I’m trying,” Ming Fan hissed. “You try doing this in the middle of battle.”

“Alright back up plan,” Liu Qingge turned to the still shocked Nie Mingjue. “You. Make yourself useful. He needs a distraction.”

“Wha-“

Liu Qingge shoved Ming Fan into Nie Mingjue, the taller man abruptly catching the man by the waist to steady him before something else caused him to loose balance.

Forgot one: Deleted Extra feat. Yang Yixuan + MF; written with it's og formatting since notes preserved my italics somehow

Cold wind swept past the ravine.

Shaking trees and rustling branches provided the background noise for the twittering creatures who lived in the back mountains. Within this quiet land was a surrounding of high elevation mountains spanning all around the mountain side.

There, Ming Fan sat quietly. Watching the creatures bellow- there were no humans for miles save for those few people within the Ancient Sect, and they were hardly just human anymore.

“So, you’ve finally decided to get off your ass.”

Ming Fan stiffened.

Yang Yixuan’s arms were cross across his breast, idly looking down from the view of Qing JIng Peak.

The landscape had changed much since Ming Fan had last come here, it was greener. With the trees far taller than when Ming Fan had last seen them, the older trees cut down by the ravages of war and time- but new ones taking their place. The silence too, was new. With no disciples Cang Qiong Mountain was a far quieter place than it had been during the height of its Sect Years. Some ascended, some peacefully settling into their next life, and some sticking around. Going to and fro the place carrying out errands and enacting a firm hand where the average Cultivator could not handle. The war had put a damper on such things, what with their stance of neutrality, bu it was no less somewhat of a sobering surprise that those of Cang Qiong Mountain had seen what was happening and judged it would be better to remain quiet.

He knew why of course, it was more practical in the long run for a mythical Sect, they were not here to force the future into their own hands- merely to counter the monsters of the yester years. Still. He wondered.

“You’re thinking so loud I could practically here it,” the former head disciple of Bai Zhan peak, the former Peak Lord himself, continued with a raised brow. “You’re normally quick to empty your mind and dump it onto others.”

Ming Fan scoffed softly, “Normal is a poor basis to use to pass judgement at the moment, even a Bai Zhan Peak buffoon like you should realize such.”

“…”

Ming Fan pursed his lip, anger simmering.

Settle.

Settle.

Settle.

“I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.” He said softly, allowing his fist to slack from their death-like grip.

“You just lost your brohter,” Yang Yixuan said bluntly. “You were a raving asshole when Liu-shifu dragged you here. Pretty much spat at Luo Binghe’s feet and insulted just about everyone.”

Ming Fan restrained the urge to flinch at every word.

“I’d be more than a little troubled if you didn’t act like that after losing your brother.” Yang Yixuan continued with a shake of his head. “It’s good to know that our illustrous Ming Fan is still a human.”

“Have I not proven that time and time again?”

“Dunno,” Ming Fan turned his head, the Bai Zhan Peak’s former sole disciple’s voice turning uncharacteristically soft. “You were doing a pretty good impression of acting like an immortal before.”

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from the Lost Tomb part 6.1

🎶 Back on the bullshit I never got off🎶

Is this another unnecessary story arc?? With three sections??

Yes.

Wushanju Crew Chat

Wang Meng: You know, I’m someone who appreciates consistency in my day. My life is pleasant, very few issues indeed if you ignore the big ones. And yet. Yet here we are. With unresolved messes at the end of a day.

Wang Pangzi: SOMETHIN YOU NEED TO SAY MARY POPPINS

Wang Meng: We need to talk about Huo Daofu and the glittery bead curtain.

Wang Pangzi: MY FAVE TEEN WIZARD SERIES

Wu Xie: did you turn on that suggested word thingy lol

What glittery bead curtain

Wang Meng: I closed the shop at 6:00pm this evening on the dot. I locked all of the doors in and out of the shop very carefully, especially in light of recent events. The hall leading to the back office was empty. I filed the day’s paperwork, updated and sent emails, and then spent an extra hour organizing receipts and dusting. When I came back out, there were glittery iridescent bead curtains over the front entrance to the shop.

What could this mean?

Wu Xie: uh that you need to spend less time at work?

Wang Pangzi: LOOKS LIKE WE GOT ONE FOR THE DETECTIVES. THE MYSTERY OF THE BEDAZZLED THRESHOLD COMMENCES

Wu Xie: I think we can be relatively secure in thinking a glittery bead curtain isn’t a hostile threat

Wang Pangzi: SAYS YOU

I REMEMBER YE OLDE EXPLORATION TIMES HOW FAST THINGS GOT FURIOUS

BEANBAG CHAIRS SET AFLAME AND LEFT ON DOORSTEPS AS A WARNING

GLITTERBOMBS FOR DAYS

PANIC AT THE DISCO

Wang Meng: Ugh, forget it. I should have just taken them down, regardless of who they belong to.

Zhang Qiling: They are not mine.

Wang Pangzi: A BOLD STATEMENT COMING FROM OUR PRIME SUSPECT

SOMEONE QUICK GO DRAW CHALK AROUND THE DOORWAY TO MARK THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

Wang Meng: Do we know anyone who *would* sneak in and put those up? For whatever reason, legal or not? Even as a joke?

Wang Pangzi: ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING WHETHER WE KNOW ANYONE WHO IS CHAOTIC, AN OUTLAW, A PRANKSTER AND/OR SNEAKS INTO PLACES

BECAUSE THAT WOULD MEAN OUR SUSPECT LIST IS LITERALLY EVERYONE WE KNOW EXCEPT FOR YOU.

Wu Xie: okay let’s think about this; for starters, I didn’t break into my own shop

Wang Meng: You would be in danger of doing some work in the process, that’s true.

Wang Pangzi: LOL

Wu Xie: ANYWAY let’s keep going. For example, Xiao Ge would only break in somewhere for a good reason. Xiao Ge, did you do this?

Zhang Qiling: No.

Wu Xie: okay who’s next

Wang Pangzi: YOU REALLY MISSED YOUR CALLING IN INTERROGATION TIANZHEN

REALLY PUT THE SCREWS TO HIM

IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE;)

Zhang Qiling: How can we be certain *you* didn’t do it?

Wang Meng: Admittedly that was my guess, too.

Wang Pangzi: WOW I SEE HOW IT IS

BLAME PANGZI AS USUAL

ANYWAY HOW DOES HUO DAOFU FIT INTO THIS

Wu Xie: Oh yeah him! Oops I got distracted

Wang Pangzi: UR ENTIRE HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

Wu Xie: Ugh fuck off

Wang Meng what abt Huo Daofu??

Zhang Qiling: ?

Wu Xie: oh sorry xiaoge I didn’t realize you wouldn’t have spent much time around him last year

He and I go way back

Zhang Qiling: Way back where?

Babysitters Club Chat

Wang Pangzi: I CANNOT BELIEVE HE IS BUYING YOUR INNOCENT ACT

IF YOU EVER TURN TO EVIL WE ARE FUCKED

Zhang Qiling: ?

Wang Pangzi: YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO HUO DAOFU IS

YOU WERE EXTREMELY POLITE AND BORDERLINE FRIENDLY TOWARDS HIM

Zhang Qiling: I wanted him to feel welcome. I wanted to be sure he understands he has a place here. A specific place.

Wang Pangzi: FOR A SILENT GUY YOU ARE A MASTER AT SUBTLE POWER PLAYS IM ALL TINGLY

LMAO THE IDEA OF WU XIE LEAVING YOU FOR HUO DAOFU IS HILARIOUS AND ALSO NOPE

Zhang Qiling: Rationally, I understand that.

Main Chat

Wang Meng: Huo Daofu is coming for the weekend—didn’t Wu Xie tell you? Wu Xie asked me to check in a week ahead so we could start getting ready for his arrival

Wu Xie: oh yeah I did do that

Wang Meng: Fortunately I know you and so I already went ahead and took care of everything.

Re: the trip

He made a deal with Wu Xie’s doctor that he would do periodic checkups on him here at Wushanju

Bc Wu Xie hates being in the hospital

And frankly the hospital hates him too

Wang Pangzi: FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT LOL

I FORGOT HUO DAOFU WAS DOING THAT

A VERY CHIVALROUS GESTURE

WOULDNT YOU SAY

XIOAGE

Zhang Qiling: Is it safe for him to be here with a criminal loose on the premises?

Wu Xie: Right, back to the curtain! Let’s focus on the curtain, hmm?

Wang Pangzi: I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEKEND.

ALSO WE CAN RULE OUT XIAO BAI FOR THE CURTAIN SHE JUST SENT A SELFIE FROM NORWAY COVERED IN GREEN SLIME WITH ZERO CONTEXT, UR PROTEGE INDEED

Wu Xie: okay but who else would do something so oddly charming yet illegal and—wait.

Snake Eyes Chat

Wu Xie: hey, Glasses hasn’t been in touch lately right?

Li Cu: uh nope

Unless u count the outdated memes

Why, is money or Xie Yuchen missing

Or is this curtain related, I saw Wang Meng’s tweet

Wu Xie: haha no nothing to worry about really

(I mean maybe? but who knows)

Wang Meng is probably just getting a little paranoid in his old age

Li Cu: better than getting reckless and stupid as hell in ur old age

Wu Xie: …hey:(

Unknown Number: Li Cu, we discussed this.

Wu Xie: ????????

Li Cu: *sigh* fine, reckless and stupid as heck

Unknown Number: …close enough.

Wu Xie: EXCUSE who is that

Madame, Sir, Non-Binary Tree Spirit, etc—whomst the fuck

Are you

Li Cu is underage FYI

So Im staying on this chat

Li Cu: okay first of all, it’s not like that

Second of all I’m literally not underage I s2g

u threw the embarrassing surprise bday party, okay so u should remember

And C, that’s my counselor and I invited her. She wanted to meet u and I knew u wouldn’t agree to a visit so I added her to our chat

we have been discussing u

Wu Xie: Oh wow!!!!!!!

What a surprise:)

hi so nice to meet you:)

Main Chat:

Wu Xie: RED FUCKING ALERT

FUCK THE CURTAIN FUCK THE VISIT

IVE BEEN TRICKED INTO FAMILY THERAPY BY A SMUG TEENAGER WHO TEXTS UNKNOWN NUMBERS

Wang Meng: I assume that means something to someone here?

Not my problem? Good.

Wang Pangzi: AHAHAHA GOD I LOVE LI CU

HES LIKE ADORABLE KARMA FOR ALL THE SHIT YOUVE PUT ME THROUGH

IM RAISING HIS ALLOWANCE

Wu Xie: wait i give him an allowance

has he been collecting on two allowances??

Zhang Qiling: Three. I knew about both of yours.

Snake Eyes Chat

Wu Xie: so uh may I ask your name?

Unknown Number: you can call me Ms. Lee.

Now, if you’re comfortable talking in this format, why don’t you tell me how things have been going?

Wu Xie: oh everything is normal and fine and safe as usual, why do you ask:)

Li Cu: I heard about ur necklace thing. nice of you to NOT mention it.

another dangerous adventure. again. prick.

Ur lucky your cool boyfriend cares about you so much or you’d have already died like ten years ago

Wu Xie: lol try twenty years ago

Li Cu: That isn’t funny.

Unknown Number: …What?

Wu Xie: shit ur right, okay that was a bit glib, my apologies.

…I use humor as a coping mechanism?

Unknown Number: and Li Cu, how do you feel about that?

Li Cu: he doesn’t even know what that phrase means

He doesn’t cope, like ever

In fact

It’s kind of why we met

Which is a funny story in retrospect tbh

Wu Xie: haha what are you talking about sweetie hahaha need I remind you of certain anecdotes that could idk send me to jail maybe lmao

Unknown Number: …You know, perhaps an in-person meeting might be more effective?

Wu Xie: haha such a nice idea but why

Main Chat

Wu Xie: If I go to jail, I’ll have to create alliances for protection, right, that’s how it works on tv

Who do we know who spends time in jail

Other than Hei Yangjing, he’s only ever there for like 12 hours and i suspect he just gets himself arrested bc he enjoys the breaking out process

Also how’s the curtain case coming along

Zhang Qiling: Has someone threatened you?

Wu Xie: well not yet but soon I’m sure

Wang Pangzi: WHERE WAS THIS PARANOIA WHEN WE GOT TAKEN TO THE TEA HOUSE HUH

Snake Eyes Minus Your Fucking Therapist Chat

Li Cu: okay how tf did u pull off spy and undercover shit

u are sus as hell

Wu Xie: damn son is it pick on Wu Xie night

I missed the flyers or I would’ve invited my uncles

Also re: the curtain it’s been mostly solved

Li Cu: I’m not your son, idiot.

Wu Xie: …oh. Sorry, sorry, you’re right, bad choice of words, haha

Forget i said anything

Delete this chat even

Li Cu: shit I meant

Legally, biologically, I meant—

shit

…I turn into an asshole as a coping mechanism?

Wu Xie: oh that’s all okay! I have to go do something else now let me know if you need anything okay kid thanks!

Li Cu: goddamn it calm down who’s the kid here

lemme organize my thoughts so I can articulate my emotions fuckin healthily or w/e

Ugh maybe for like one afternoon we could go to Ms. Lee together? She knows how to word stuff

Wu Xie: uh…okay.

Li Cu: Anyway you don’t need to worry abt jail

As if you would survive prison for one day you’d piss off half the place in like an hour or less

I gave Ms. Lee the heavily edited version of the desert highway to hell roadtrip and i discussed it more in terms of like “nightmarish but still wouldn’t take any of it back”

Well maybe the sand

that shit was everywhere

Wu Xie: oh kiddo. It’s fine, really…You don’t have to explain yourself to me.

Li Cu: no, no it’s just

I do technically have a dad

who is an asshole. Being a son doesn’t really mean shit to me bc it sucked.

So you need to stop backing down just cuz ur guilty abt stuff. I’m really really glad ur not my dad in a good way. Do u get what I mean there

Where’s the mafia widower I followed into hell, huh

Wu Xie: Ur a good kid, despite my influence. I’m really glad you have someone to talk to after everything I…after everything. Wow this talking through feelings thing is kind of weird but nice ur right

Jfc no wonder it took me and xiaoge so long to—you know what, we won’t get into that

Li Cu: ew tmi

Also re: this week’s recent necklace fuckery

I moved my stuff here, I live here now

So you can’t die anymore

Or else…Idk I don’t have a threat planned

anyways abt the curtain

Wu Xie: oh my god, kid…kid you have no idea

I am in tears.

Li Cu: see this is why I can’t be nice to you I can sense the hallmark channel from here

Ugh don’t be sad in ur room that’s dumb

Go hug Pangzi or something

Maybe delete this chat

Or the curtain thing

Focus on the curtain thing

Just stfu and go away

Wu Xie: <3 screenshotting this <3

Li Cu: I take back everything I said. This is why Xiao Ge sleeps on the roof. I hope the ghosts of the Wangs put up that curtain to strangle you somehow. Go die in a stupid way, it’ll suit you.

Wu Xie: lol don’t worry I’m not gonna embarrass you with it or anything

Main Chat

Wu Xie: omg guys look how cute my kid is *sending screenshot*

Wang Pangzi: I MEAN

HE IS WISHING YOU DEATH

BUT SURE

CUTE I GUESS

Wu Xie: no but read the whole thing:):):)

Zhang Qiling: It is indeed very hard to remain angry with you. And you are welcome to join me on the roof.

Wang Pangzi: UH NOPE

NOT WHENI HAD TO BLEACH THE COUNTER IN THE KITCHEN

DONT TRAUMATIZE THE EARLY BIRDS THEYRE ALREADY FREAKED OUT BY U YA HOODIE CRYPTID

Wu Xie: ok true but babe ur like a sexy cryptid

Wang Meng: so, are we just accepting that there is a glittery curtain of unknown origin, and Huo Daofu is going to have to see it while he’s waiting for you at Wushanju bc you’re going to family therapy?

Wu Xie: right

Wang Pangzi: SHOULDA TAKEN EARLY RETIREMENT HUH

Wang Meng: I’m going to go dust something.

Unnamed Chat:

Unknown number: so the curtain…

Unknown number 2: yep, not my best work but I kinda panicked last minute u know

Unknown number: what is in the water at Wushanju that makes everyone dumb and attractive

Unknown number 2: relax they’ll figure it out

[zamoimagines]

There’s Your Trouble

Word Count: 3,529

Pairings: Billie Dean Howard x Reader, Sally McKenna x Reader 

Chapters: 1, 2

Summary: You and your girlfriend, Billie Dean Howard, are staying at the Cortez for the weekend but you meet a pretty ghost. 

A/N: Chapter two is finally here! Hope you guys enjoy :)

The rest of your night wasn’t what Billie had promised. You remember telling her how excited you were to spend time with her at a hotel because it meant you both could maybe have a little alone time. She was constantly working on her show, or traveling, or doing interviews, or signing autographs on the street. This was a chance for the two of you to actually spend some quality time together. 

How wrong that assumption was. The rest of the day was spent interviewing different residents who obviously didn’t want to be filmed, and some of them even looked as if they were the ghosts themselves. Billie was so focused on learning the history of the building and asking the owners about James Patrick March. She cared more about her crew than anything you had to say. Any time you would try to speak, someone would cut you off and Billie would completely ignore that you had said anything at all. You were an afterthought to say the least. It had been this way long before you’d arrived with her at the Hotel Cortez. This seemed to be a pattern that never ended. 

Night fell rather quickly. You didn’t realize that it was dark out until you glanced out one of the windows of your room. Billie was still going on about all that needed to be filmed before Devil’s Night to her worker bees. 

“Uh.. Billie?” you tried to interject. 

“I’m thinking we can get a couple shots of the front for dramatic effect? I talked to Liz as well, she said we could see the basement if we really wanted to.”

“Billie-”

“Oh! And what if we got a scene in front of that creepy empty pool?”

“Billie, can I please talk to you for a second?”

The blonde finally turned in your direction. She gave you a wild smile. 

“Yeah! Sorry, honey. What is it?”

“Are we gonna go to the bar and get some alone time? I figured tonight would be perfect since we just got here.”

“Of course!” she replied happily. The sound of that brightened your world. 

“I’ve just got to get a few shots first.” Your heart sank in your chest. 

“Oh… okay.”

“Honey, I promise we’ll go on a date when we get the footage we need.” Billie pressed a small kiss to your forehead. “Do you want to come with us? You could see all of the chilling content first hand!”

“I-I’m okay. I think I’m gonna wait here until you get back.” 

“Are you sure, baby?”

“Yeah, I gotta unpack anyway.”

“I’ll film as fast as I can. It won’t be too long, right guys?” Billie looked to her crew for reassurance, though all they did was glared coldly back at you. They barely knew you and couldn’t give less of a shit about your romantic endeavors. She stood up while grabbing her mic before leading everyone out of the room. 

“Why don’t we just go out tomorrow night?” you offered.

“It won’t be too late, Y/N, I promise-”

“I’m just tired. It’s no big deal, really.”

“Okay, then. I’ll try not to stay out too late. I’ll see you later, sweetheart!”

“Bye, Billie.”

Alone. Yet again. Your own girlfriend cared so much more about her damn TV show than about spending the evening with you. It stung quite a bit, though you wouldn’t dare to ever let her know. She worked hard to get where she was. You just wished she would care about more important things sometimes.  

Instead of wallowing, you figured you would change into something more comfortable. You changed out of your travel outfit and immediately ditched your bra before slipping on some shorts along with a big t-shirt over your head. A sigh of relief escaped you. Folding your old clothes, you began to unpack your bag and put your belongings into the drawers of the dresser. You switched on the tv just to have a little background noise as you finished putting everything away. The only thing left was your makeup bag and a small carrier full of hygienic products. Taking the last two bags, you sauntered into the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed.

As you started to brush your teeth, your mind wandered aimlessly about Billie. You only agreed to come because she told you that she had so many things planned for you. Every business trip turned out to be all about your girlfriend and she’d always happened to just forget about every promise she made to you. This one was only proving to be the exact same. How could a damn TV show be more important than your own relationship? You didn’t understand her thought process whatsoever. 

You finished up before making your way back to the bed. Though, there was something off about the room. Something felt incredibly eerie but you couldn’t quite place what it was. Perhaps it was just your mind playing tricks on you. After all, you were spending your week in a haunted hotel, so it was probably normal to feel a little creeped out by your surroundings. 

Just as you sat down on the bed, you heard a soft humming sound. Your head quickly turned in the direction of the bathroom door. Was someone in your room? 

“My, my… You’re even prettier than I remember, Princess.” a familiar voice spoke. You nearly jumped out of your spot as you let out a gasp. 

There standing in front of the doorway was the woman you’d met from earlier. The one in the elevator. You thought you’d locked the door but perhaps you actually had forgotten to and it slipped your mind. She was still as gorgeous as ever, only now she was just dressed in a simple black nightgown. Her fingers were laced around two glasses and a bottle of some brown liquor was in her other hand. You noticed large rips in her fishnets as she made her way closer to you. 

“H-How long have you been standing there?”

She shrugged as she inhaled the lit cigarette hanging out of her mouth, “Just a minute or two. The walls are paper thin here, though, so I heard your little conversation with the girlfriend.” She paused to take a longer drag. As she exhaled smoke, she raised a brow.

“Saw her leave too. She seems a little… Prissy.” Sally added in a disgusted tone. 

“Billie isn’t prissy. She’s just well-rounded!”

“Keep telling yourself that.” She plopped down next to you on the mattress with a sly grin on her face, her cigarette draping smoke all around your body as she nestled in closer.

“Just because she’s high maintenance doesn’t mean that she’s a bad person.”

Sally handed you one of the glasses before popping open the bottle. Pouring some alcohol into your cup, she chuckled in disbelief. 

“I’m not sure I believe that. The bitch is more infatuated with her camera than her own girl.” 

Those words definitely stung. You stared blankly down at your drink as you tried hard not to think about it too much as water pricked your eyes. Sally poured her own glass then glanced back up at you. 

“Look, I’m not trying to be a debbie downer or anything. I just think it’s fucked up that she’d just leave you here.” 

“She’s… She’s just very professional. She takes a lot of pride in her work.” You tried to explain, “Besides, she said we could go on a better date tomorrow.”

She raised a brow. “A bit too professional, don’t you think? How could she pass up a night with a gorgeous girl like you?”

There was a thick silence that hung in the room.Your vision grew fuzzy as more tears welled up in your eyes, though you were quick to wipe them away to appear like you had everything together. “Oh, my poor baby girl.” Sally cooed as her index finger lifted your chin. You could see that her own eyes were watering but you weren’t entirely sure what for. She offered you a soft grin that caused the skin on your cheeks to flush; it had been so long since you’d received this sort of affection from anyone. “Why don’t we have a drink, hm?”

You looked down at the glass skeptically. Was this a trap or something? 

“I’m not sure I should-”

“Oh come on, you were gonna go to the bar earlier anyway. What’s one little glass going to do?” 

She was right. It wasn’t like you had anything better to do with your night. Rather than waiting for her to pour you a glass, you simply took the bottle from her and screwed off the cap. Your lips pressed against the mouth as you quickly took a huge swig. 

“Straight to it.” Sally chuckled as she grabbed the liquor back from you, “What a good girl you are.” 

Your whole body felt warm. So warm that you couldn’t notice that damned blush on your face was becoming more apparent. It was probably just the effects of the alcohol and not the fact that her remark had been incredibly smooth. 

Nearly two hours had passed in which you both kept passing the bottle back and forth. Each swig from the bottle made you significantly more inebriated as you both talked about everything under the sun. You told Sally about your life, and in return she told you more about herself. You’d learned that she used to be a musician, that she had been dealing with a drug addiction for decades, and that she lived here at the hotel. She even made you crack a smile or two. 

There was so much alcohol in your system now that you were completely relaxed. It was as if Sally took every problem you ever had and melted it away with simple conversation. You had to admit, no one had ever made you feel this way before. Not even your own girlfriend. 

“Can I ask you a question?” You asked, your words slightly slurred. 

“Only if I can ask you one in return.” Sally replied with a sly grin. 

“That sounds like a fair trade.” “Then go right ahead, gorgeous.”

You took a deep breath as you tried to summon the right words. It might’ve been stupid, but you had a sneaking suspicion that there was something paranormal about this woman. You could’ve sworn you felt something deep in your gut telling you that it was true. The worst that could possibly happen was that she’d think you were crazy. “I’ve noticed that you’re rather unique.” You gulped, “This might sound stupid to ask, but uh, are… a-are you a-” Before you could finish your sentence, she cut you off completely. “Are you asking if I’m a ghost?” Your brows furrowed as your eyes widened slightly out of shock. It was as if she had taken the words right out of your mouth. The blonde chuckled to herself when she saw your reaction, then inhaled more smoke from her sixth cig of the night. “Yeah. I’m a ghost. Been dead for fucking years now.” She paused briefly, a fire in her eyes now. “Does that scare you?” So it was confirmed. Sally wasn’t alive… If you were honest, you weren’t sure how you felt about that. You’d seen enough of Billie’s work to know all of the signs but you didn’t figure you’d be the one that would have a run in with the dead. Shaking your head, you could feel yourself growing dizzy from this new information. You weren’t about to act like a wuss in front of her now. “Not at all.” You muttered maybe a little too quickly. Sally raised a brow at your response. “Do you believe me?” You shrugged. “I mean, you practically walked through the wall when I wasn’t looking. And you took me for a spin in the elevator earlier, which was a little eerie.” “So is that a yes?” “Yes… I believe you.” Sally looked rather pleased with you as she took back the bottle. “Good… You’re not a skeptic.” She took a swig and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I fucking hate skeptics.”

You simply just nodded along as you listened to her. If you were honest with yourself, you were still on the fence as if you actually believed her or if it was the alcohol getting to your head. You had been overthinking the matter so much that you had barely missed the other women speaking directly to you. “Shit- Sorry. What did you say?” You asked. 

“I said it’s my turn.”

“For what?”

“To ask you a question.” A mischievous grin appeared on her pretty pale lips. 

You gulped. It was just a question, and surely what she had to say wasn’t too terrible. 

“R-Right. Go right ahead, ask away.” 

Sally paused for a moment to fully pivot her body in your direction. She leaned forward a bit before asking, 

“Why do you stay with a woman who doesn’t give you the time or day?”

A much more loaded question than you were expecting. Instead of responding, you simply took the bottle from her lap and took a very long swig to avoid saying anything whatsoever. The blonde chuckled to herself as she watched you chug the liquor down. “We had a deal, Princess.” She sang out. There had definitely been a deal, and you needed to hold up your end of the bargain. 

“Billie does care about me. I promise… She’s just really busy.” You set the bottle back down before continuing, “She’s been waiting for months to get coverage on this place. There’s a reason she’s so preoccupied.” 

“I’m sure that’s what it is.” Sally scoffed. “I don’t mind, though. I’m just very happy that you like blondes.” She gave you a wink as she ashed her cigarette into the glass bottle. 

You were at a loss for words. No matter what you said, your new acquaintance never believed a word that you said despite explaining yourself over and over again. In a way, you felt completely defeated. You were defending a cause with not a lot of evidence to back you up. Sally could tell you were getting upset, for she got even closer and let out a whine of sympathy. 

“Awe, don’t pout. Here, I’ll make a bet with you.” She began, “If this Billie chick comes in here tonight and fucks you when she sees you in this number, then I’ll keep my distance and respect your relationship. But if she goes straight to bed?” She paused for a moment to discard her cigarette completely, “You have to come by my room and let me show you how pretty you are.”

The immediate flush upon your cheeks was enough for Sally to chuckle darkly to herself. You were sure you had never blushed this hard in your life. You couldn’t remember how long it had been since someone had flirted with you like this, let alone your own girlfriend. 

“U-Uh- I’m not so sure about that-” You stammered. 

“Let me put it this way; When will you ever get to tell someone that you got to make a bet with a ghost?” 

She had a fair point. Surely the drinks weren’t helping you to make any logical decisions. Your head felt like it was spinning as the words fell out of your mouth,

 “Fine. Sure, why not.” You were sure that the blonde was just bluffing, what harm was one little bet going to do? 

But oh how you would regret ever saying a damn words. 

“Good.” The next moment, Sally’s face was only an inch away from your own and those deep brown eyes were staring directly into yours. 

“How about you let me give you a sneak peek?” She whispered. 

Your breath caught in your throat. Her stare put you into a trance, though you did your best to stay grounded. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Mm, it’s only a kiss.” Her fingers reached out and danced upon your shoulder, “Maybe two.”

Before you knew it, you were paralyzed under her touch. Your eyes shut tight as if to try and wake yourself from some sort of dream, but as you did so, something hot pressed to the side of your neck. Her soft lips brushed against your skin, your heart beginning to beat rapidly in your chest. Her hand traveled up to caress your cheek and her forehead rested upon yours as you slowly opened your eyes. There was no denying there was a heated passion building inside you. 

“Come on, Princess. Let me taste those pretty lips of yours.” Her voice was so dark and inviting. You couldn’t help but swoon into her touch. 

“Sally…” You tried to protest, but you were finding it hard to resist. Your vision grew hazy the moment she captured your mouth into a tender kiss. 

You felt as if you should’ve been beating yourself up for not stopping her, but you craved the amount of affection she was offering you. After the first, she kissed you again with much more confidence. Her tongue slid against your bottom lip as if to beg for entrance. Your mouth opened with ease as she eagerly deepened the contact between you both, slowly but full of lust. A low groan escaped her which in turn caused you to whimper against her. You could tell how bad she wanted you, but more importantly, you were starting to realize how badly you wanted Sally.

You pulled away briefly to catch your breath though you managed to stay close. The other woman let out a soft laugh before practically moaning, “I could eat you up.” She bit her lower lip as her gaze studied your mouth and back up to your eyes. 

“I can’t imagine what your pussy tastes like.”

“Sally- jesus.” You hissed.

Thankfully, she rose from where she had been sitting before picking up the bottle of liquor and the two glasses she had originally come in with. Her hip was cocked out to the side as she watched your every move. 

“You just wait,” She said as she pointed toward you, “You’re gonna lose.” 

“I will not!” You rebutted. 

“We’ll see about that.” 

You moved to protest her words, but in the blink of an eye, she had completely vanished. The room had seemed to change as well for everything seemed much darker than a moment ago. The window revealed a black sky full of stars. How much time had passed? 

The faint sound of clicking heels echoed down the corridor outside your door. Billie. 

At least she was finished filming so you could forget this night had ever happened. You made sure to freshen up your hair and get into a position that looked inviting for your girlfriend to walk into, for you were sure you wouldn’t lose your end of the bet. Billie loved you, and that was a fact. She wouldn’t deny the chance to spend a sensual evening with you. 

The door swung open. In the doorway was Billie Dean, her posture slightly slouched as she flashed a winning, yet sleepy smile to you. 

“Hey, Honey. How was your night?” She asked, her voice groggy as ever. 

“It was fine.” You replied immediately. Your head was still woozy from all of the alcohol. “I missed you, though.”

Billie plopped down on the opposite end of the bed as she kicked off her heels. She shimmied out of her skirt, then worked at the buttons of her blouse to reveal her silk slip. You did your best to appear sexy but it was proving to be difficult when she wasn’t even paying attention to you. 

“I missed you too. I’m so exhausted, we spent hours wandering this place and didn’t find a damn thing.”

“That’s too bad.” 

“Yeah. We’ll try again in the morning.” Once she was situated for bedtime, Billie got under the covers next to you. She leaned over to press a soft peck to your cheek before turning around to turn off the lamp beside her. 

“Goodnight.”

“Wait, don’t you want to spend some time together?”

“I’m sorry baby, I’m so tired. Why don’t we grab breakfast in the morning? I promise I’ll make it up to you after I’ve had plenty of sleep.” 

“But-”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

She turned completely away from you and didn’t notice a damn thing. Not what you were wearing, or what you looked like, or how she had made you feel so lonely. Instead of fighting her on the matter, you sighed sadly to yourself. 

“Goodnight, Billie.” 

You turned off your own lamp before curling up under the blankets and faced where Billie’s back had turned. Tears stung your eyes once again, though you managed to stay completely silent to try and drift to sleep. You were nearly asleep when you felt a familiar sensation upon your neck; hot breathing and a soft pair of lips. A warm kiss was placed upon you as you heard Sally’s voice faintly whisper in your ear,

“I win.”

[tundrainafrica]

Title: Lovebug (7/12)

Summary:  

“It might be a bug.”

“A bug?”

“Sometimes the developers of this application make mistakes. This is our first time meeting I’m sure so…Isn’t it a bit weird that we just met for the first time and it rings like this? And for two strangers to coincidentally ring each other’s alarms?“

Levi is the developer of the Love Alarm App and Hange is married to Zeke.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Other Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Notes: Feedback is very much appreciated :D

They all called her Hange. But they said her name like it was a title, like it was something that had to be said with as little chance of a slip of a tongue as possible. It was a practiced phrase, a relished sensation.

That was the first thing that came to mind when Levi started to give a little more thought to his surroundings. There was a bigger picture that could have explained such reactions. Hange was walking next to him. More importantly, next to her was Zeke, the owner of the two hectare complex housing both a sixteen floor hospital, a medical arts building and two parking lots.

And that was just one of his hospitals. Levi liked to remind himself of that, as he followed behind, a little more perceptive than usual of the stares, the whispers and the returned smiles.

Zeke was charismatic. Hange was charismatic. When they walked straight ahead, their strides confident, Levi could only gape, slowly becoming more self conscious of his own inability to keep his back straight. Suddenly, he was aware of his own inability to greet every single one of the workers by name, greet every single stranger like he had known them his whole life.

Maybe Hange did know some of them. “Hey, Hange that one patient you just talked to, is he regular or something?” Levi asked.

Hange shrugged. “No, I just met him.”

Levi hadn’t been close enough to hear the conversation but the grins exchanged, the confident tone with which Hange navigated the conversation. They had all seemed just a little too natural at first glance. She didn’t seem at all exhausted by multiple interactions in a row.

Hange had stopped just a few inches in front of Levi before turning back at him. “You seem stressed,” she commented.

Zeke went ahead, still chatting with a balding man in a business suit. He gestured in the same manner, chattered with the same confident tone.

Yes, after staring for a little longer than what could have been comfortable. Levi had to admit to himself, he was a little more stressed than usual. “I’m fine,” he said, turning to Hange, forcing his gaze on her. Averting eyes would only make the process of being stressed, more stressful.

“It sucks Erwin couldn’t come,” Hange continued.

“Erwin doesn’t know much about how the application actually works so I’ll just document what’s needed in our proposal and we’ll just need his take on prices and on budget allocation and that’s enough,” Levi explained.

“Maybe, they’ll do it over another game of golf,” Hange mused. “If we do play golf again, would you join?”

Levi raised one eyebrow at her. “Why waste your time playing golf again?”

“To close important business deals.”

“You can do it in the office.”

Hange chuckled. “You’d be surprised how many businessmen have closed deals on the golf course. Investors don’t work eight to five jobs in the office you know. A lot of them like to play a good game of golf then go into the office and sign the actual paperwork there. It builds camaraderie.”

“Is that why you know how to play? For business purposes?”

Hange nodded. “I’ve learned golf, a few gambling games to mingle. Besides, people like to know how their business partners and their fellow investors think and what better way than watching them over a few games right?”

“I’m not a rich businessman, I wouldn’t know,” Levi muttered. He walked ahead of Hange and surveyed his surroundings. There were patients, nurses, doctors and visitors. They all had their own conversations Levi would most likely never figure out the meat of. His own disconnect from them, his much closer connection to Hange and by extension to Zeke, had made him aware of the fact that he was painfully poor.

There was a wry smile plastered on Hange's face, as if she was starting to sense the discomfort herself. “Yeah, to be honest, it is a rich man’s game. Most businessmen who play golf, have shares in private golf courses or memberships and it’s customary to invite fellow business partners for a game in your home country club.”

“How much are these shares?” Levi enunciated those words just a little slower. It was an unpleasant thing to ask that only served to aggravate his own self consciousness. Somehow, he was feeling a little masochistic at that moment.

Hange shrugged. “Depends on the club. Maybe a few tens of thousands of dollars a year, sometimes a hundred.” It turned out she hadn’t noticed his discomfort or maybe he was just too good at hiding it.

Levi still attempted a light response. “Figures why I never learned how to play then.”

“Yeah, well to be honest, although I have played as a kid, I only got to play a lot more when I got together with Zeke. His family owns shares in country clubs in a lot of countries.”

It was a question of transitivity, one Levi quickly answered. And the large numbers he was starting to lose control of in his mind, had manifested as a cough, an almost painful, raspy one.

“Are you okay?” Hange asked. It had only been a week since the drowning incident at the beach. It subsided quickly after and Levi surmised that it wasn't the fault of his own poor health. It had been his own inability to fathom numbers, to comprehend wealth and his own blatant poorness that had frozen time for him.

Hospitals. Real Estate. Resorts. Country Club Shares. Although it was only a small aspect of it, his mind was also back to tasting the free flowing tea in Zeke’s private airplane.

“I’m fine,” Levi said. I just tried to mentally calculate the amount of money your husband earns and spends on a yearly basis. A mental note he added just for himself.

Zeke would obviously have a lot of money. He would obviously be faced with the problem on how to spend the money. Those were facts Levi grappled with as he took a deep breath just to clear the remnants of burns in his throat.

And those facts only made it more difficult to move as Levi stumbled closer and closer upon a burning conclusion.

Zeke was filthy rich. Zeke was powerful.

Levi was a meagre employee who made a meagre annual salary which was probably less than their pocket money for one trip to Europe.

Zeke had proven to be abrasive, just a little bit of a bastard. He proved to be somewhat unpredictable.

Levi was under his mercy, under Zeke’s very flamboyant whims. He clambered for solace elsewhere, back to Hange who had caught up to him. Hands behind her back, she continued to walk through the hospital like she was strolling through a park.

She was a good reminder that he wasn’t alone. Hange would help him through whatever whims or threats that came with taking up the business venture of a billionaire as a typical employee. As he studied Hange’s distracted expression, Levi had to admit, he wasn’t so sure where Hange stood in that whole relationship.

Zeke loves Hange. Hange loves Zeke. But how much help would Hange be to him? Even if Hange was helpful, even if she was supportive. Until when? For how long?

He soon concluded, the only thing he could be certain of was uncertainty. What would determine the success of the application, could be Hange or it could be him. The only thing he could predict or he could control would be his own actions.

It wasn’t motivation that had him moving faster. It was discipline. “Where are we going?” Levi asked, his voice more mechanical than a second ago for sure.

“Zeke’s office is on the top floor,” Hange answered.

Levi feigned understanding. Hange had said it like she had answered the question moments back. Maybe she did and he was just a little too unhinged at that moment. Besides, they were taking too many pit stops towards the office, only prolonging the grueling journey.

Hange and Zeke were talking to everyone on the way up. After a while, Levi tuned them out, willing himself to focus on something a little less stressful like how much the finishings on the hospital could have been, how much the tiled floors below him could have cost to not gather dust from his shoes so easily.

And he thought again to every single person being paid by Zeke to even be there. Time went incredibly slowly but as soon as they arrived at the front of the room, Levi could have sworn time passed way too quickly.

“Managing a hospital costs a lot of money, Levi,” Zeke explained as he stood outside the door of what could have been his office.

“I’m perfectly aware of that,” Levi responded, mustering as much ‘professional’ as he could with that sentence.

“Well, you look a little astonished, surprised? Or maybe that’s just your natural face.” Zeke said it like it was a truth that could be easily brushed off.

Somehow, that pushed a few buttons for Levi. He clamped his mouth shut, scolding himself for not even noticing that for a good few minutes that it was wide open.

That was more bait for Zeke. “Difficult to fathom eh? Just imagine some of these machines cost more money than most people would ever see in your life.”

And Zeke had multiple hospitals, more hospitals than Levi could even count with both hands and both feet maybe, and that monkey was completely aware of how much he actually had. It was in his demeanor, his approach towards others.

The door opened with a loud click and a grating creak. “It’s been a while Mr. Jaeger, Hange,” the woman on the other side greeted.

Everyone called Hange, Hange. Levi noted once again. It only seemed natural that Hange would have preferred that anyway.

Zeke went ahead inside the office confidently like he owned the place---since he owned the place. Hange gestured for Levi to follow behind and Levi used that last few seconds to spare a glance at the small girl with black curly hair, sleepy eyes and a very mature looking face.

“You’re Levi right? Zeke and Hange told me a lot about your application and we’re very much looking forward to seeing it in action.”

Levi subtly patted the phone in his front pocket, not for anyone to see. It just served as some reassurance that he hadn’t completely forgotten it at home or it hadn’t fallen off. When he spent too much time calculating numbers, calculating assets he would never own, and maybe never even fathom, he was aware that he may have been distracted enough to forget why he was there in the first place.

“This here is Pieck,” Zeke waved his hand with great flourish. Really though, when Levi was completely aware that that man most likely owned half the country, any gesture he did could be described as something overly flamboyant.

Pieck nodded at Zeke then at Levi. “I handle the psych wards here. Hange’s been requesting permission to test here and Zeke, he’s been raving non stop about your application,” she said with wonder in her eyes.

Zeke? Talking wonders about my app? Levi attempted to sneak a glance at Zeke, withdrawing it at the last minute after noticing, Zeke was looking right at him.

“There’s a lot of potential for that application,” Zeke answered. He had shifted to a more professional demeanor.

Hange nodded. “I mentioned this over email but Levi and I have been doing a lot of testing on it. This type of technology can be used to improve the accuracy of diagnosis, the effectiveness of treatments in psych wards…”

“Yes, I read your email and Zeke and I have been discussing this already.”

Hange’s eyes widened. She turned to Zeke. “You have?”

“I’ve been working with the other doctors here on getting volunteers among the kids. We currently have an emotional management program for kids and this would be a great opportunity to see the application. We could set a date for testing the application…” Pieck looked down at her tablet, sliding her finger over it.

From Levi’s own position, he couldn’t clearly see what she was fiddling with, his own tech savvy instincts though were hinting to a calendar. He continued to watch her finger slide over it, sliding across weeks or months he supposed.

More than enough time to get an application ready for testing.

“What about sometime this week? Would Wednesday do?”

“Wednesday? To test the love alarm app?” I thought we’ll be doing it now. He turned to Hange who seemed visibly confused as well.

Hange furrowed her brows. “We could test the love alarm now,” she suggested.

“Oh yes, definitely. But what about the test build of the application we requested?” Pieck asked.

“You have a test build already right?” Zeke turned to Levi. “If I remember correctly, you mentioned working on something… Hange, you’ve been neck deep on that proposal right?”

Levi opened his mouth to speak. It’s not ready. That was a lie. There was no build but Levi couldn’t even allow himself a sliver of confusion in his expression. It was a professional meeting. He was supposed to have everything under control.

“I have been working on something…” Hange started.

But it’s far from ready. We barely have anything out.

Pieck seemed too expectant. She turned her ipad over to him, clear enough for him to see. “We’ve informed the doctors of some free time around this week. It would be best to have it before most of the younger kids go on summer vacation. The cycle of our emotion management program ends this week and the doctors are already very familiar with the kids---”

“When does the next cycle end? We could get something available by then,” Levi said.

“We won’t be holding them during the summer unfortunately. We’ll be using that time to process data and results… So would December do?” Pieck turned to Zeke.

“What do you think Hange? This is one project you want to do right?”

Try another hospital. Another group of kids. Another program. Levi’s mind was racing with too many alternatives.

“Yes, but I don’t think the test application will be ready by then,” Hange argued.

“Where are you two now in the process?” Zeke asked.

The planning stages. Levi couldn’t even bring himself to say it.

“We don’t have anything worth presenting yet,” Hange said.

“Well, we’re not asking for a perfect product.” Zeke wasn’t addressing it at Hange. HIs blue eyes were fixed on Levi. When Levi found himself unable to even force a hint of indignance out of his mouth, he started to realize, those weren't just eyes. They were millions of dollars worth of investments, billions of dollars worth of assets in one long stare.

Levi tensed up on his seat. They weren’t asking for a perfect product but with that much money on the line, he didn’t have much room for his own decisions.

“You could do something right? Take some code from the love alarm just to get something ready?” Zeke suggested. They were reasonable suggestions Levi could easily expound on himself.

“What do you have in mind?” Levi forced himself to meet the man’s eyes.

“You’re the developer. I’m merely an investor.” Merely. The word, the way Zeke had emphasized it with an almost mocking tone, implied the complete opposite. “Tell me Levi, If he put his mind into it, what do you think a developer can do?”

They didn’t test the love alarm that day. Levi left the hospital two hours earlier than planned and went directly to his office.

***

He couldn’t have gone there any slower. The train couldn’t have run any slower and of course, he probably wouldn’t have wasted so much time fiddling with the key over his door knob if his hand hadn’t been shaking.

It was as if the whole world was trying to slow him down. He had two days---less than 48 hours--- to get something for testing. With the amount of work needed, the mountains of code needed to be written, copied and pasted, tested, Levi wasn’t seeing it in days, he was seeing the countdown in his head. When he stared at a clock, he was seeing numbers moving backward, sweet sweet time, pulling away from him.

Time was a precious asset, a precious resource and somehow, such a prospect had Levi clumsier than usual. He fell into the chair on his desk with a thump. He had leaned far back enough for a split second, that he had almost expected his chair to topple backwards.

He didn’t have the time to recover from such a terrifying prospect. While his hands were still shaking, his breaths coming out ragged, Levi forced himself forward. He turned on the computer, allowing himself a brief respite while it booted up.

His work computer was still one of the fastest of his kind and had only allowed him less than a minute to catch a breath. He typed out his username, password. He opened up the server manager.

Anger. Sadness. Happiness. Levi said aloud. That was what Zeke had promised them. As quickly as he repeated those requests to himself, Zeke’s other words echoed in his head, an unwelcome visitor.

You can break down the love alarm into that right? We’re not asking for a perfect application.

He took a deep breath, letting it out as a hard firm huff more than an exhale. As if the force in his chest would be enough to wake him up. The work was overwhelming. He should  be calling someone else in to help out.

There were other factors pulling him back though.

For one, it was a Saturday. He saw himself working all the way until Monday. Just recalling Zeke's face, his question had Levi’s head spinning, his hands hovering much more quickly over the keyboard.

It was a challenge from Zeke to him. And he concluded for himself, he didn’t even wanna get Hange involved.

It would be nice to have her here---. Something inside him attempted to argue.

To cheer you on? It was a selfish proposition so Levi scolded himself and concluded that a good punishment would be to just focus.

He did first what he knew best. He copied the necessary code from both the frontend and backend. He worked efficiently. While importing data, he was copying and pasting code. While booting a phone up, he was opening necessary tabs on Github and Stack Overflow.

By the time the sun was completely down, by the time his eyes started to get just a little too crusty and a little heavy, he had a sorry excuse for an interface, a sorry excuse for an API on the server.

He looked at the clock at the lower right of his computer. Eleven in the evening. How long had he been staring at a screen? It was a waste of time to calculate that, so he quickly calculated something a little more pressing.

He had far less than forty eight hours until he needed to submit something.

He had finished a framework in only a few hours but he had more than enough experience developing the love alarm to know, the hard part wasn’t in the actual building. It was in the data loading, it was in the actual testing.

He didn’t allow himself to relax. Around three in the morning, after spending hours cleaning the interface, he fell back dead on the backrest of his seat and he allowed himself a few minutes to close his eyes.

Few minutes turned into hours in a split second. He had forgotten to set an alarm. “Fuck,” Levi hissed. That word hadn’t been enough though to carry the frustration that had bubbled inside him since hearing those words from yesterday afternoon.

What can a developer do if they put their mind into it?

Hange’s words were a savior in their own way. Levi, I’m in no hurry. Take as much time as you need. They were comforting but they didn't do much to stop Levi from sitting up and going back to work.

Had it been for Zeke? Or had it been for Hange? Or had it been his own pride that had him pushing himself to restart the boot up the idle computer.

Zeke was the important stakeholder. He held the funds. Hange was just a benefactor of the funds. Ultimately, Zeke made the final choice.

He took one deep breath, letting out a shout at the exhale. He pulled himself to a kneeling position and pressed the power button on the computer. Pulling himself up by the base of the chair, he walked sluggishly towards his white board and wrote out three words, right next to each other.

Happy. Sad. Angry.

He had no time to make an algorithm. But he could make estimates. He wrote out the basic model under each word.

“When numbers are above this line, the alarm rings,” Levi muttered to himself. When he was speaking out loud, he seemed to make some sense.

It wasn’t as easy as that though. A machine learning model after all relies on probability, it relies on prediction and the only way to get the machine to figure out probabilities was to give it data to mine from.

He turned back to the computer and typed a query. Exporting the data would take a while. Another opportunity to rest.

He used that moment to take a glance at his phone. A notification from Hange was at the top of his lock screen. He immediately unlocked his phone.

5:34 AM

Ping me if you need any help.

It was just 6:30. Hange sent the message an hour ago.

5:35 AM

Sorry for checking in late. Zeke took me out for dinner

Maybe Hange had sensed the slight irritation Levi would feel at seeing the first text sent more than twelve hours since they separated at the hospital.

5:35 AM

He wanted to spend the night with me.

5:35 AM

Just the two of us.

5:37 AM

No Phones

Out of spite or out of exhaustion, Levi kept his reply stone cold and professional.

6:36 AM

Complete the table below:

Happiness: Endorphins, Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin

Anger: Adrenaline, Cortisol

Sadness: ??????

Hange’s reply came before the data export even finished

6:50 AM

Sadness: Lack of neurotransmitters.

It was a shitty reply. So Levi gave a shitty reply in return.

6:50AM

?????

Lack of neurotransmitters? Somehow, Levi didn't trust Hange to reply on time. A quick google search later and a few hours of stress later, Levi had derived the sadness model form happiness model. The models were done, they just needed to be coded.

That did nothing to placate the turmoil inside him. For some odd reason, he thought looking at his phone could pacify him somehow.

8:28 AM

Sorry Levi, Zeke took us out golfing. I’ll try to be there before lunch.

8:37 AM

Zeke’s calling the shots today :’) I’ll still try to be there before lunch.

Levi kept his reply minimalistic.

10:36 AM

K

Technically, it was already ‘before lunch’ so Levi wasn’t expecting anything. They haven’t seen each other in a while. He whispered to himself, just to placate whatever irritation had settled within him, manifesting as an almost permanent grimace as he started to code again.

Lunch came and went quickly with a half finished burger and fries and just a passing thought that Zeke and Hange were probably having a feast at whatever country club they were in.

“Be here before lunch my ass.” Levi said those last two words with bitter burning venom, loud enough to echo in his small office space. It would be nice if somehow she could hear it wherever she was. “My. fucking. Ass. ” He repeated, channelling all the irritation, the exhaustion, the impatience into three words. In another space, maybe she could have heard it. “Fuck me in the ass.” He let out another taut swear, enjoying how that at least sent a splits econd long wave of euphoria through him.

Maybe it could count as therapy if he typed out the words ‘my fucking ass’ or ‘fuck me in the ass’ to Hange’s message box. He didn’t have to send it though.

2:37 PM

Zeke wanted to go shopping. I swear I tried to leave.

Fuck me in the ass. Levi typed. Under it, he typed something else.

Lunch time. My. Fucking. Ass.

It would have been nice to send out. For at least a few second, it sounded like a good idea to send it. Levi had enough self control though and he had enough forward thinking skills not to send it. The profanities on the message box were enough to at least calm him down.

No, you haven’t seen your hubby in a while. Take your time :-)

Was the sarcasm apparent? He focused for a little longer on the smiley face at the end.

4:35 PM

No, you haven’t seen your hubby in a while. Take your time :-) :-) ;-)

Then he added two more just for authenticity's sake. And he went back to coding, assuring himself that the burger and the regular fries would be enough to last him until he finished the damn application.

7:30 PM

Levi! You want anything for dinner?

Levi saw that message in between reviewing a hundred compiler warnings all on the same line of code. He ignored it. Instead, he decided sending himself a pull request and reviewing the code himself as a mental exercise was a better use of his time.

8:47 PM

Hey, I might be a little late. We went out to dinner but I bought you take out. :D How are things going?

Despite the compiler warnings, the code managed to compile, so Levi allowed himself the luxury of a quick break.

10:10 PM

Fine.

After replying, Levi sat up from his seat, shifted his weight to his legs one by one. The window was a good few feet away but he saw that as a good chance for exercise. He opened the window, allowing the fresh air in, first as a weak wave only thin enough to fit through the peek. He opened it a little wider, popping his head through the gap, noting how the streets were completely empty. He stared back at the clock on his computer screen.

Ten on a Sunday evening. Typical.

He sat back on the chair, with a loud and firm plop, freezing for as long as it took for the chair to stop shaking. He leaned back and pulled the test device from his drawer. A part of him was tempted to close all the Stack Overflow and GitHub tabs.

He wasn't ready to call it a day though. He didn’t trust his ability to code anything accurately with that short of a time frame.

A few minutes later, the APK file was loaded. He booted up the application, stifling a cringe at the shitty interface.

The shitty title screen with the shitty plain white background flashed on the screen.

ALAR

M

He wasn’t particularly good at front end and UI engineering so he closed his eyes and begrudgingly whispered to himself Zeke's words. “It doesn’t have to be perfect.”

Really though, it would have been nice to submit a perfect test application. Just to show up Zeke. Just to impress Hange. It would have been great and Levi allowed himself a grin as he leaned back on the chair and stared at the ceiling.

A good few hours later, he started to test. Soon after, he started to theorize something else. Maybe he jinxed it. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so hopeful.

Suddenly, he was scolding himself for just being a little too ungrateful at the shitty user interface. His mind continued to wander, his threads of imagination continued to wind, interweaving against one another, tightening to uncomfortable knots in his brain. And suddenly he was scolding himself over the hundreds of compiler warnings he ignored.

The application should alarm when someone angry, sad or happy holds it. That was how he programmed it.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to work. When his brain was muddled with confusion and eventual frustration, heavy with tension, he took a quick break to stare at his phone.

11:58 PM

Zeke got a little drunk. I just have to bring him home.

Levi decided then, (and he was certain of it), he’d rather not have Hange there.

11:59 PM

No need to come here. Go take care of him.

His phone volume had been set to the lowest level. Just in case, Levi put his phone on silent as well.

He turned his attention back to the test device. “Come on, fucking hell. Work.” Levi hissed as if the code, the computer understood anger, as if it understood frustration.

“It’s the exact same fucking code. I just changed the algorithm,” Levi said louder, as if the code understood verbal arguments.

All to no effect. So he went back to the compiler warnings.

1:38 AM

Just tucked Zeke in bed. I’m taking a cab now. I swear, I’m really on the way now.

Levi had conveniently checked his phone around the time Hange texted. He had been checking the phone anyway in ten minute intervals.

1:39 AM

No need.

He started to use his own phone for testing, just in case a diffeent device suddenly made everything work. Besides, he liked to see the notifications there. He liked her messages. Yet at the same time, he didn’t want her there. Frustrated and confused, he slid his phone towards the end of the desk and it hit the wall with a resounding clatter, loud enough to make Levi wince.

He slipped out of the chair and onto the floor with a crash, loud enough to rival the impact of the phone on the wall just a second ago. His back was sore, but still he couldn’t help but entertain the thought that he would have been willing to experience that again, just to get the application to work.

You’re angry now right? He asked himself, as he held the test device in front of him.

The alarm didn’t ring.

You’re sad? Right? He was sad. He was sure his eyes were red rimmed from lack of sleep. His eyelids were a little crusty for sure. And as the application stayed silent, stayed inactive even when it was right in front of him, even when he had dropped almost painfully on his face, the phone remained silent, still.

Maybe his application was an idiot. Maybe it fell for fake smiles. So he forced a smile then, as he pressed his back on the ground, stretched his legs forward and stared at the ceiling above him.

Silence.

He broke the silence himself, with one grunt as he slammed the phone on the floor next to him. “Fucking hell.”

The one curse had him reflecting. How angry was he? Who was he angry at? And why wasn’t the alarm going off?

Anger was a negative feedback loop. The more he let his anger take over, the more frustrated he became. Then the more the device should have rang but it didn’t. Then the more frustrated he became.

The frustration should have been enough to make it ring. If it had been working correctly.

Eventually, the anger became strong enough to take control elsewhere. It pushed him to turn towards the desk, push himself up, just high enough to be able to stretch his hand up and pull his own personal phone back down with him on the floor. He lay back down on the floor, raised his phone on front of him and booted it up. He turned on the application and looked through it again.

No response.

Happy. Sad. Angry.

No response for any of them.

A banner appeared, falling over the application.

1:59 AM

Levi, I’m here, where do I go?

No need. He willed himself to type it again. He didn’t want her there, but he did. Conflicted feelings had him frozen on the floor, the phone just above him, his eyes fixed on the screen.

If Hange came, then she came. Who was he to stop her?

2:00 AM

Do I go to your office??

2:05 AM

If you don’t answer, I’ll just assume you’re in the office.

2:07 AM

Even if I waste my time, It’s my fault anyway.

2:07 AM.

I’m sorry.

Hange wasn’t in any obligation to be there anyway. She was an investor, not an employee, he reminded himself. He was watching the banners shift like he was watching paint dry. The former though was far more interesting. More than interesting. It was a relief. It was a consolation.

It was home. In the dim room, all alone, he wanted her there. By god, he wanted her there.

There were footsteps and they quickly got louder, the sound of a bag hitting the door, then the sound of the rustle of belongings.

He had left the office door unlocked at least and she was impolite enough to barge in. He liked her impoliteness, it had just made everything flow much better.

He followed her with his eyes, as she slipped through the crack of the door. He watched closely as her face shifted from that of pure surprise, worry… Then pity.

Was that pity? Did he look that pathetic?

“Hey, are you okay?” Hange asked.

“Tired,” Levi answered. He gave her a once over, allowing himself a sliver of a smile at her cocktail dress, the jacket over her, the light make up on her face, the golden studs on her ears. God she was beautiful. “Fun night?”

She nodded. “Zeke wanted to have fun tonight. I humored him by tagging along,” she said lightly.

He’s a lucky man. “Must have been fun.”

She put a hand to his face, and gave him a light slap. “I brought takeout, some sandwiches. Did you have dinner already? We can have it for breakfast.”

She had slapped him hard, not hard enough to leave him burning definitely, but still, he felt some heat resonate from his cheeks. “I tried,” he muttered.

“Tried what?” Hange asked.

“Building the app.”

“Levi, don’t kill yourself over it. You could have asked Petra, Gunther, Eld or Oluo for help right?” It was just like Hange to mention their names like she knew them her whole life.

“They’re on leave.” It was a natural excuse and that had been one reason why he refused to ask for help. He surmised that maybe some of it had been more than that.

“I tried to ask for an extension from Zeke,” she said.

“How did that work out?” It was a half assed response at best. He didn’t want the extension.

“He said no. He expected a lot from you. Besides, he promised the hospital already… Without consulting us.”

"Without consulting us?" Levi repeated. He slammed his fist down on the floor. "Fucking hell."

"Yeah, it's our fault. Zeke did that. I should have helped you and I know I made you wait…" Hange's voice was warm, it was a melody to his hears. ".. .so when I was stuck with Zeke, I made a few calls, picked this up from a good friend of mine." She pressed something cold into his palms.

He didn't even have the energy to crane his neck.

"It's a USB, with data from previously made research, on neurotransmitters, responses from people who've taken tests. I thought it would help build the app so I made a few calls and --"

"I'm done."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm tired."

"Hey, we could cancel tomorrow. I'll just tell Pieck. We can rebuild the app, focus on getting something out."

"Hange, I'm done."

"You're giving up?" There was a crack in her voice, something that sent a twinge to him

He let out a soft chuckle. "No. I managed to make something.”

Hange's eyes widened, a smile curled up her lips. “You’re kidding.”

“But it barely even works."

"What makes you say that?"

"It doesn't ring."

No matter how angry, no matter how sad, no matter how happy, it didn't ring. The algorithm was broken. That had been Levi's conclusion. The same conclusion he had come across when they had tested the love alarm again a few days back.There were just too many compiler warnings maybe?

Hange wasn't a developer and maybe that's why she had been a little hopeful. "I'll test it out, send me the file?"

One APK file later, a few clicks on the phone, and the alarm rang in the dim narrow room.

It made his head pound, but still, it was music to his ears. He had been too tired to even let out a strong exhale, a sigh of relief. "Are you happy? Sad? Angry?" He whispered.

"It says here, I’m happy," Hange answered.

"At least we know it works," Levi said.

"Why don't we try yours again?" Hänge pulled his hand up, guiding the phone back in between his finger tips.

"It didn't work the first time," Levi argued.

"Again." Hange was insistent and at that moment, she was much stronger than he was.

He unlocked his phone, and opened the application.

"Turn on the alarm," Hänge said.

He didn't need guidance, he made the application after all. Her voice had been coaxing, she had made everything go smoother in her own way.

He dropped the phone on his chest, stared up at the ceiling, frozen as the phone vibrated in his chest. "What does it say?"

Hange let out a short laugh. "This application can read multiple feelings at the same time? Is this expected behavior?"

"Why?"

“It says you're angry."

"I'm tired. Of course I'm angry."

"And sad," Hange added.

" Oh really?" Something started to sting at his eyes.

"And guess what, it also says you're happy."

"Am I?" Levi asked. All he could feel then was relief, relief that in the end it had alarmed. "I guess that means we're at least kinda ready for tomorrow…" He could have said more, if his voice didn't crack.

"Hey, rest. It doesn't look like you slept well."

"I slept a bit last night."

"People need at least six hours of sleep at night… and really, Levi you don't look so good."

He didn't need to see it to understand. His eyes were heavy, his rims were prickling at one another and one cheek was wet, and it brought the 'wet' all the way down to his chin, in one straight trail. A few more soon followed.

Sad. Angry. Happy. But he liked to think he was just exhausted. That feeling loomed far above the others anyway.

It rang for no reason then. He concluded. Maybe it was a bug. After all, how did something just start magically working after not working for hours before that?

Hange spoke up again in the slience. "Hey, are you crying?"

He only noticed it when she asked. His mind was quick to explain it. "Sometimes, people tear up when they're sleepy right?"

***

Hange was there when he woke up and he was glad to see her. Her eager presence was a reminder enough that she didn’t have to be there.

“Happy Monday!” Hange chirped joyfully, as if that had been the best thing to say while Levi was still getting used to his surroundings.

He never completely got used to it. The back of his head was throbbing from having fallen asleep on the hard wooden floor. The front of his head pounded. He couldn’t even lift his head without feeling some protest from his back. A light prickling sensation had settled on his fingers, all extending from an ache in his wrist. “Happy Monday,” Levi muttered. Was she mocking him?

“Sorry, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to move you,” Hange said wryly.

Not moving him might have been the better option. He barely got any sleep at night. In the small office, if it were between falling asleep sitting down on a comfortable chair, falling asleep on a floor, the floor won by a little more.

The phone sat on his hand, cold and hard. Levi pulled it up to his face to check the time.

6:30 AM. Work starts at eight. Fuck. He forgot to deploy application changes the night before.

“You should take a leave.” Hange could have been reading his mind or the stress could have just been apparent in his heavy eyelids and his voice, a hoarse whisper.

“What makes you say that?” Levi asked. He had hoped to use that moment to prove how okay he was. Sitting up was enough to leave him wincing, dealing with his exhausted body that had protested such a simple movement.

“You don’t wanna take one?”

“I forgot to deploy the changes. We’re supposed to do a sanity check today,” Levi said.

“Do it over breakfast?” Hange suggested, pressing a brown paper bag on his hand. "I brought sandwiches from last night."

“You know you can go home now. We can meet later at the hospital.”

“I wanna have breakfast,” Hange said, her voice firmer than a second ago.

“Go have breakfast with Zeke.”

Hange’s face was like that of a wounded puppy. It came quickly as a flash before shifting to something a little more sly. “I’ll take you out to tea? You never had your tea time at the country club.”

It could have been tea or maybe it was the efforts Hange had taken to insist. Sometimes, insisting was more than enough. Particularly then, when he was overwhelmingly and unbearably tired.

“What do you have in mind?” Levi asked.

“We can see what’s open,” Hange answered.

He let out a sigh, as if deciding to take a break was the hardest thing he could have done. All for the sake of one Hange Zoe. On the contrary, it was a surprisingly easy decision to make.

Levi opened up the messaging application on the phone, running his mind through quick calculations. Three hours. Just enough time for quick tea, enough time to get home and shower and get back to the office by ten.

Running late. Deploy fixes to production. We sanity check when I get to the office at around ten.

He sent over that message to the group chat of his own team, making sure to tag Eld and Petra.

He felt a little guilty but something else won over. A weak suggestion, heavily supported by his sore back, his swollen eyes and his trembling hands. Maybe he deserved a break.

***

They moved the goalposts. Levi was in no shape to brave the public transportation crowds on a Monday morning with a total of less than six hours of sleep the past few hours while his mind was complete mush at having coded an entire application himself.

Hange had alternatives. “I could have called a car to pick us up.”

Alternatives Levi wasn’t completely in good terms with. “No thank you, I’d rather not impose on your dear husband.” On top of that, he wanted his tea now.

The only shop which sold tea the least painful walking distance away was the convenience store just outside the building grounds. The convenience store had enough variety that he could be at least a little creative with his breakfast.

Paper tea cup in hand, Levi popped open the cup, He had asked for an extra large cup for one reason.

The green tea bubbled inside the container and Levi was a little adventurous that morning and maybe a little crazy. The past two days were crazy. He reminded himself, obliterating the guilt and the fear of risking his own health and sanity.

He poured ten shots of espresso onto the cup of green tea. He couldn’t be too sure how it would taste. Then he remembered, no one actually drank caffeine for the taste anyway. He drank half of it in a gulp. It could have been the bitterness that burned, or the actual heat of boiling water. When he was still making a conscious effort just to be aware of the streets in front of him, just to stay sitting up on the pavement, he couldn’t be too sure.

He took a big bite of his sandwich to drown it out. Then another. Then two more before crumpling the brown paper bag and pocketing it.

Hange humored him, sitting down next to him on the pavement just in front of the convenience store. She was still in her cocktail dress, a jacket over it. The corners of her eyes were still a little darker from the make up from last night. She looked ridiculous, like an overgrown teenager out on a wild night and had failed to get home on time.

His mind was running on too many scenarios, a total waste of brain power. The espresso would kick in eventually. And maybe it had been the espresso that had him suddenly laughing like an idiot.

Or maybe he was going crazy.

“Are you okay?”

He probably was going crazy. At that point, Levi was already skimming the stages of acceptance. “Where the fuck did you even go last night?”

Hange sighed. “Drinking, a little gambling. Zeke wanted to celebrate the new deal. ”

“And that’s why you played golf that morning. ”

Hange hummed in response. “Zeke and Erwin played. I probably would have invited you but yeah, with the application… Would you have had time?”

Somehow, Levi was slightly offended that they hadn’t even invited him. He blamed the caffeine. “Really? Well, fuck it. I don’t even play golf.” The caffeine continued to bubble, the irritation followed suit. “I’m sure they had a good sleep the past few nights,” he added.

“Well, they can’t do what you did.”

“Who cares? I’m at the mercy of money--- Zeke’s money. Rich people like to throw around orders then money,  as if money’s just magic. As if developers --- employees are just bunnies or trick monkeys.”

Hange put up her hands in surrender. "You have every right to shit on rich people."

Levi dropped his shoulders and leaned back on the wall. “What can I do when millions of dollars are on the line?”

“You could have said---”

“Said no? And what? Risk losing this deal?” Risk losing you?

“I told you before, this is my pet project. This is my timeline. I can decide how long it takes. Zeke just wants---”

"Wants what?" Levi challenged.

It was a challenge for Hange but it looked like the world was on a mission to accept it. "Hange, what are you doing here?"

It took Levi a few seconds longer to put two and two together. After all, imagining that big ham of a voice within proximity of a place that sold teabags by the dollar was preposterous even for him.

"Zeke, what are you doing here?" Hange asked.

"Just need to drop a few legal documents at Erwin’s office. I saw you two on the way here, in a convenience store parking lot of all things?" His voice was judgemental, as expected. Still it was softer than that of two days ago.

It was easy for Levi to surmise that the blonde was most likely nursing a hangover. He relished the view of Zeke struggling to approach them. Misery loved company after all. Zeke’s gait was a little slower and if Levi squinted, he was sure the ungraceful wobble would have been more laughably noticeable.

“Right, you had the lawyer look over it already?”

Zeke nodded. “I’ve set up a post dated check.” He turned to Levi. “You’ve finished developing a build for testing?”

Levi managed a nod, closing his eyes as he did, to alleviate the pounding. And of course the irritation.

Zeke had been professional about the question. Levi couldn’t help but sense entitlement in it. When he was in a bad mood, any request reeked of entitlement. He spent a good few seconds after, reminding himself, Zeke was paying millions for it, and deserved every right to ask questions and expect.

“Zeke…” Hange sounded, almost breathless. “This is more money than I expected.”

How much money? Levi didn’t wanna know but from the tremble in her hands, her wide eyes, Levi didn’t think he even wanted to know.

“Think of it… as compensation for forcing you to delay your PhD,” Zeke said. “That was your plan before we got married right?”

PhD?  Now that he did think about it, Hange mentioned something about delaying a PhD, all to marry Zeke.

“Yeah, if this study… this testing goes well, I could publish it for my doctorate degree,” Hange said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. A ghost of a smile for just a second. It soon got wider.

Levi only noticed a second later, his mouth had gone the opposite direction as realization dawned on him.

Right, Hange wanted to do research.

Right, Hange wanted a PhD.

And Zeke was the one who had put everything together for him at that moment. “This is your dream right?” He pressed the cheque deeper into her palms.

Hange nodded. Was that the first time he had ever seen her struggle to find the right words?

The hints were all there. The pet project. The doctorate. Hange Zoe who was just a little too interested in neuropsychology.

Why didn’t you tell me this was your dream? This was your PhD? It seemed most criminal that he couldn't even put two and two together. Levi would have wanted to scream back then. He wasn’t in any position to break anyone’s good mood though. Hange’s smile was too wide, her eyes too bright.

“I have a meeting at nine. Breakfast?” Zeke asked.

“I had something to eat already,” Hange said. “But we could get a quick brunch.”

Zeke turned back to Levi. “You’re free to join us.”

“No, I have work at ten,” Levi said. “I’ll see you two later, in the hospital.”

“I’ll see you later.” Hange gave Levi a softer smile, one just for him. He couldn’t read too much into it then. Still, he continued to stare, as she turned back and got into the car.

Zeke stayed outside for a second, leaning on the door. His eyes fixed on Levi’s.

Tired eyes on tired eyes. Levi though wasn’t sleepy enough to hear those last few words.

“Levi, thank you,” Zeke said.

Levi was taken aback for just a second at such a seemingly uncharacteristic expression. Fortunately, pleasantries were basic and automatic if he just put on the right facade. “You’re welcome.”

He watched Zeke get into the car and he stood still for a second longer, watching the car get smaller before it turned the corner of the parking of their building. He started to reflect while recalling the interactions until then. He should have been somewhat grateful for the pleasantries exchanged. After all, the man was worth billions and there weren’t many who did receive the honor of being personally thanked by billionaires.

Somehow, that exchange had only made him sadder. Hange being there next to him suddenly going absent had only made him lonelier. He gulped the rest of the concoction of a while ago, coughing out the bitterness, shaking his head to feel that last buzz.

He checked his phone. 8am. He needed a shower before work but his legs were deadweight.

So he called a taxi, not bothering to calculate the cost. After all, he did deserve a break.

[peachyteez]

death’s grip ≫ DAY THREE, SECRETS.

the tiger hybrid managed to escape from south korea’s top illegal hybird ring fights. of course, they didn’t let him go so easily. losing his chasers in a forest, covered in blood—his and others’—he decided to accept his fate of death from his wounds until a female and two other hybrids managed to take him from death’s grip.

PART OF THE HEAVEN SERIES.

✧ taglist: @defsoul15, @choisaniskillingme, @joongiebug, @sunsethw4, @t-tbinnie, @chanyeolol, @danibookmarks, @hello-its-ya-boi, @murralyn, @alienmashup, @panini, @moon8894, @taetae123094, @luv3rxcha, @treasure-hwa, @etherealbyeol, @hwaseongzzz, @koasworld, @lovely-sanie, @orbitiiny

can’t be tagged: @yoongisleftboob

feel free to let me know if you would like to be added to the list!

✧ notes: let me know if you wanna give hongjoong a big hug cus i sure do :(

✧ WARNINGS: mention of death, and a really quick mention of physical and mental mistreatment

back。| next。

“hongjoong, please, i just need your temperature!”

“you are not sticking that thing in my mouth! there’s a red liquid in it!”

“that’s just to measure your temperature!”

for the past ten minutes, jiyu’s been trying to take hongjoong’s temperature, but the tiger hybrid blatantly refused since he didn’t trust the device. now, hongjoong was burrowed underneath the blankets, hiding from jiyu who was doing everything in her power to try to coax him out from his little blanket den. 

“please? every other hybrid uses this device and they’re okay.”

hongjoong poked his head out, only the top of his head and eyes visible. he slightly furrowed his eyebrows. “really?”

jiyu gently smiled. “i swear. would i really hurt you after what i said yesterday?”

he hesitantly climbed out of his blanket den. “i guess not...” he mumbled before sitting on the bed in front of jiyu. “okay, fine.” opening his mouth, jiyu placed the thermometer under his tongue and waited for the beep. 

she couldn’t help but chuckle at how hongjoong looked. his arms were crossed on his chest and with his little pout, jiyu was reminded of an angry tiger cub that refused to take his medicine. she accidentally let a small giggle pass her lips, catching his attention.

“are you laughing?” he asked, mock offended. luckily, the thermometer beeped. 

“you’re like a little child, has anyone ever told you?” she chuckled as she took the thermometer out and filled out his report.

hongjoong cocked his head in confusion. “no, why would anyone want to call me a child? is that an insult?”

“not necessarily. it’s like a term of endearment,” she explained. 

hongjoong had absolutely no idea how being called a child could be a term of endearment, but he nodded his head anyways. “do you call your hybrids that?” he asked, his eyes full of curiosity.

“from time to time, yes. although, they are the embodiment of children trapped in an adult’s body,” she chuckled. “especially yunho.”

hongjoong didn’t know what it was, but he swore he could see a glimmer of happiness, and dare he say, love when she talks about her hybrids. there was no trace of any maliciousness in her eyes and expressions, making him all the more curious about her. just who was she?

“but seonghwa can be like a mom, too, so it’s all the more endearing,” she shot him a smile. “you’re always so curious about them,” she pointed out. 

hongjoong flushed out of embarrassment. it’d be a lie if he said that he wasn’t curious as to how they turned out the way they were—loving and trusting a human. “isn’t it natural for a hybrid to be curious of other hybrids?” he asked, trying to play off his embarrassment.

“or you can just tell me you want to meet them,” she teasingly retorted. it’s funny how a few days ago, the tiger hybrid had been growling at her to leave him alone in the forest and. now, jiyu treats him as if she’s known him for years; she spoke with him as if he was her friend, not another hybrid that she had to care for. and she definitely didn’t look down on him. to her, hongjoong was her equal.

“...would they even want to meet me?” he asked, the spark in his eyes diminishing a little. “they probably think of me as rude and violent after that day. especially the wolf.”

jiyu frowned. “they don’t. seonghwa’s a little protective, but he warms up to people fairly quickly. same with yunho,” she reassured. “i’m sure they’d love to meet you.”

she wasn’t lying. for the past two days, the two had been pestering her with questions about the tiger. if he was okay, if he was eating, if he was happy, and so many more questions. it seemed as though they had unconsciously formed a bond with hongjoong despite not meeting him once after they found him in the forest. 

“they ask about you, you know.”

hongjoong’s ears perked up in surprise at her statement. “they do?”

she nodded. “they’re worried about you, too. i think in a way...they understand where you come from. you three are more alike than you think.”

hongjoong had a feeling of what she was trying to imply, which made him even more curious about the two. were they like him? getting the bitter end of the stick? how did they become so...trusting? those were questions that he so desperately wanted answers to. he just had to know for himself that there was a chance for hybrids like him. hybrids that were mistreated both mentally and physically. 

“if you want,” she hesitantly suggested, “i can bring them in tomorrow so you can meet them. only if you’re comfortable, of course.”

jiyu had expected him to say no right off the bat, but he surprised her with a small nod of his head, a small sparkle in his eyes. “please?”

a grin slowly made its way onto her face. “alright, then. i’ll warn them to not be so overwhelming so you can get used to them,” she said before looking up at the clock. her time with hongjoong was up. “well, that’s all for today. i need to check on jungkook now.” he was a new bunny hybrid that had been admitted a week prior. “do you need anything else before i go?”

hongjoong shook his head before burrowing back into the blankets, letting out a chuff of content at how comfortable it was. “i’m sleepy...” he mumbled. 

she chuckled. “alright then. goodnight, sleepyhead,” she said before leaving his room. 

and as she expected that night, seonghwa and yunho rejoiced at the offer of coming with her the next day to meet the tiger hybrid that they’ve been so curious about while at home. “but don’t overwhelm him, alright? he’s just started getting used to everything,” she warned while stirring the kimchi jiggae that was simmering on the stove. 

suddenly, a thought crossed seonghwa’s mind. “does he know about...”

jiyu bit her lip, knowing what he was trying to ask. “no...i don’t think it’s a good idea to tell him now. he’s made a lot of progress in communication that if he were to know, he’s lose his trust in people all over again.”

“but doesn’t he have a right to know?” yunho chimed in from the couch where he was laying down. “i mean if i were on the brink—”

“i know, yun,” she squatted next to him and rubbed his head, giving him a little scratch behind his ears. “i promise i’ll tell him when the time is right. okay?”

satisfied with her answer, yunho happily nodded before getting up and bounding over to the kitchen. “last one to finish eating has to do the dishes!” he playfully shouted to seonghwa, who was caught off guard. 

“not that i mind doing dishes, but you’re on!” he called back, sprinting after the puppy to the kitchen to eat. 

jiyu snorted, amused by their antics before letting out a sigh. hongjoong was improving so much in the span of a few days that she would feel absolutely terrible if one wrong move could shatter everything. compared to a few days ago he had regained most of his energy and spark. 

so how was she supposed to tell him that he was literally on the brink of death while in the ambulance after he had passed out?

she didn’t tell hongjoong earlier, but that was the biggest reason seonghwa and yunho were worried about him. as a matter of fact, the tiger didn’t even know that he had almost died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. if he knew that humans were the cause of his near-death experience, she knew that absolutely nothing, not even their small talks and her visits, would ever open his heart again.

[starkeristheendgame]

okay so i just got my first ever massage today and holy crap it was so sensual. and i was wondering if you could write something where like tony’s had so many massages in his life that he knows where the best spots are and peter is stressed cus of college or whatever and tony gives him a massage and peter cums just from tony giving him a back massage.

Ooohhh, yes! I’m not one for massages personally because I kinda hate being touched by people I don’t know, especially like that, but I’ve given a few to friends and received a few from past lovers, so I hope this is to your liking! Thank you so so much for the prompt! I added a little dry humping in this, too, because cumming just from a spinal massage seemed a lil too unrealistic.

Super healing was all well and good, but Tony knew well enough that it didn’t mean the absence of pain. He’d been around Steve long enough to know that in some cases, it even amplified it. What was feeling your bones and muscles stretching for each other if not painful?

Watching Peter wince and reach for his lower back for the fourth time since they holed themselves up in the lab, Tony knew the answer. The kid had taken a pretty decent battering on the field - No broken bones, but plenty of taut, aching muscles.

“Hey, kid” Tony called, setting down the holo-pen he was using and motioning for Peter to join him. The boy moved happily but gingerly, overcareful of stretching too much as he bounded over to Tony’s side.

“Yes, Mr. Stark?”

“You doing okay? You’re creaking more than I do”. Tony had just began to come to terms with the fact that his age unfortunately hadn’t slowed down. He was verging on fifty, greying at the temples and finding it harder and harder after each battle. He was by no means unfit, but age was unkind to even superheroes.

“I’m fine, Mr. Stark. Just kinda twinges a little” Peter shrugged, and visibly regretted it. Tony cast the kid a pointed look, and he deflated slightly. “Okay. So...It kinda does suck. But only a little! Like, a day or two and I’ll be fine. Hot baths help, too”.

Tony gave a considering hum and reached up to rub at his jaw. “What about massages?” He asked, and Peter blinked at him.

“What, like...Some stranger rubbing you all over while you wear nothing but a towel?”

Tony huffed a laugh. “I don;t know what porn you’re watching, kid, but the majority of places ask you to wear your underwear or a bathing suit”. Peter went a pretty shade of dusky pink, eyes flitting anywhere but Tony’s face as he died a little inside.

“Uh. Well. No to either. Both! I mean...I’ve never had a massage. Its just a little weird, isn’t it? And expensive” Peter rambled, gesturing meekly. Tony supposed it was a little strange, but he was also not ill-advised of the merits of a skilled masseuse.

“Cm’ere” Tony coaxed, motioning Peter closer. The boy frowned a little, but was mostly curious as he stepped forwards, and Tony grasped him by a lithe shoulder, turning him until the kid was facing away from him, and Tony could see the smooth lines of his back through his shirt.

He reached up and set his hands on Peter’s shoulders, brows furrowing as he carefully felt about the honed muscles. God, but Peter was tense. Not coiled like a spring, but he definitely wasn’t lax as Tony pressed his thumbs gently into the meat of his shoulder. Peter jolted in surprise but visibly forced himself to relax as Tony began to knead at him, and after several moments, let out a soft sound.

“Huh. That’s...Not so bad” Peter admitted, when Tony was digging into the space between his shoulders, paddling out the tension across his spine there. Tony gave a light smile and a hum, to show that he was listening to him.

“You feel like someone just caught you jacking off, kid” he chuckled, and then paused. Perhaps...Not the greatest choice in words, and he hurried to wipe them from immediate existence. “I know you got pretty beat up out there, yesterday. How about I book you in with my guy, huh? You can see him whenever you feel too...Tense”.

“I don’t know, Mr. Stark. I mean, I don’t think I want some stranger feeling me up” Peter replied, but it was quiet, distracted as Tony let his hands dip a little lower, to the point where his spine began to broaden out into shoulderblades, pawing at the meat and bone.

“Have a think about it” Tony urged, thumbs pressing against the dip of Peter’s spinal cord, and the boy gave a muffled, sharp sound. Tony almost, almost paused, but he knew pleasure when he heard it, and continued wordlessly. And he was kind of glad he did, because when he took the selfish opportunity to run his hands down Peter’s spine, the kid truly did feel like he’d been tazed or something.

“Jesus, kid” Tony whuffed, petting gently at the locked up muscles. Peter ducked his head and then looked over his shoulder at Tony, almost shyly. Tony greeted him with a small smile and let his knuckles graze the delicate outline of the boy’s spine, not enough to really do enough except indulge himself.

“Alright, here. Sit on this chair, facing the back” Tony instructed, motioning to his abandoned stool. It had a sloped back, and Peter twisted, moving cautiously but clearly interested to see where this was going to do. He took a moment to psych himself up as he watched Peter splay those toned, lithe thighs around the chair, watched the shirt hug his back when he leaned forwards.

But Tony was nothing if not a pleaser, and he stepped forwards, waggling his fingers and then driving the heels of his palms against the small of his back. Peter made another of those soft little noises, and Tony offered a smirk, brows furrowing as he focused on mapping the lines of Peter’s body, each slope and curve and each battered muscle.

Somewhere along the five minute mark, Peter’s head was lolling and on every other press of Tony’s hands he was uttering pleasured, sighed little sounds. It sang through Tony’s veins, catering to every nurturing and giving atom in his body. Peter was growing laxer by the minute, and yet...

“Hey, kid. If you wanna get the most outta this - And this isn’t a come-on, but you ought to be laying down, and I’ve got a perfectly working bed one floor up” Tony remarked, trying his hardest to word it so it didn’t sound like he was being a leech.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter sounded sleepy, but his voice was a little higher, too, hitched like he was trying to contain himself.

“Not a come-on” Tony hurried to reiterate, hands stilling but not leaving Peter’s body. “Massages are done with you laying down, right? So you’re all relaxed and...Easier to mash up like a potato, I suppose. I can do a little magic like this, but if you want the full effect...”

He was aware of how it all sounded, and he was about to take it all back when Peter shifted, and then nodded.

“Okay. Yeah. Um. Are you sure? I mean, its your bed” Peter uttered, Tony stepping back just in time for him to swing a leg around, standing and then sitting again, so he was facing his mentor. Tony snorted lightly, and eyed him.

“You say that like I’m a wolf and its my den”.

“Well. No. But its kinda...Private, isn’t it? Like, its your space”. And. Well, Tony could understand that. He was, in fact, rather comfortable with having his bedroom as his personal space. Especially with the majority of the Avengers living at the Tower now.

It was his space, yes. Even the rare hook ups he’d managed over the years, he took them to one of the spare rooms. But he wasn’t about to tell Peter that, and he certainly wasn’t going to analyse why he was so comfortable with the idea of Peter not only seeing it, but laying in his bed.

“Its not like you’re gonna be rolling around naked in it, kid”.

And.

This is why he didn’t talk to people. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, but a shuffle brought his gaze up and he blinked when he found Peter standing, smiling at him almost meekly.

“Okay, Mr. Stark. It’ll be nice to be able to move around properly again”.

Tony opened his mouth, closed it, and turned on his heel. He’d offered; he couldn’t back out of it now. It felt hideously odd to lead the way to his room, his skin prickling and his mind like a box of angry wasps. He was hyper-aware of Peter’s footfalls behind him, light and steady.

The stairs. The penthouse main suite. Up the short steps and along the balcony. And...Right outside his bedroom door. The actual penthouse was nothing new to Peter - The two of them had spent enough time in here, as had the other Avengers, though it was by far not as heavily populated as the ‘main floor’ of the Tower, now dubbed a communal space.

And yet.

Tony pushed open his bedroom door before he could think too deeply about all of this, and swung an arm out with bravado. “Ta-Da! Here it is. My humble abode. Or...The very top part, at least”.

Tony’s bedroom was...Indulgent. His bed was a super king, and then just a little bigger. Black sheets that adorned a mix of silk of teddy fleece, and snowy-fox style fake fur throws. Ample pillows. The decor was minimalistic but a blend of regal and cool, sleek modern. Steel greys and deep blacks. One entire wall gave a one-way view of the cityscape and could be projected into anything he desired.

Besides him, Peter audibly breathed out.

“I know. Pretty lame, right?” Tony could do with more than 6 blankets. And he could definitely do something more creative with the decor. Besides him, Peter looked affronted.

“My bed came from a garage sale”.

“Ah” Tony considered, then gestured. “Go ahead”.

Like a puppy being told it could get on the couch, Peter went bounding towards it, flopping down near the centre with a delighted sound. Tony’s heart did something that defied gravity, and he let Peter squirm about for a moment before clearing his throat.

“Alright, alright. Roll over”. And he was really gonna have to stop with the puppy analogies before he couldn’t walk down the same street as a dog anymore. But Peter co,plied instantly, rolling onto his stomach with a whine of satisfaction, nosing into Tony’s sheets and...And he took the opportunity to adjust himself briefly, cursing the fact his cock had pricked up in mild interest.

“Alright. I’m gonna avoid any ‘deep tissue’ kinda territory, because you’ve never had a massage before”. And Tony knew from personal experience that ‘flying before you could walk’ was not always the best approach. Peter was looking at him again, blinking doefully and entirely too trusting, and Tony gave a light cough before he set a knee down next to Peter’s hip.

He decided on safe territory, and went back to the boys shoulderblades and upper spine, kneading intently and applying more pressure than he had before, know he knew the boy was safely and comfortably relaxed. Beneath him Peter was pliant and soft, eyes closed, arms crossed as a pillow and doing something utterly unforgivable to Tony’s heart.

He let his hands naturally gravitate towards the centre of Peter’s back, pressing at the easy slope of his spine. Beneath him, Peter’s hips hitched, and Tony fought back a smile. Involuntary movements could be hilarious. He pressed the heels of his palms down, thumbs sliding along the gentle ridges of the bone, and Peter heaved out a breath, hips pressing down into the plush bedding.

It was relatively quiet, Tony focusing on his work and Peter reaping the benefits of it with cute little noises. It wasn’t until Peter moaned that Tony realised his hips were inching quite...Rhythmically.

Doing his best not to alter his hand movements, Tony let his gaze zero in on the boy’s hips, watching as they rolled languidly and minutely against his bed. Something feral opened its eyes within him, licking its great, gaping maw. Tony sucked in a sharp breath and let his weight drop a little more, pressing Peter’s hips against the bed.

“O-Oh” Peter stuttered, and Tony couldn’t help a sly grin.

“Good?”

“Mm” Peter breathed, lips parted. Tony watched, rapt and hungry, gravitating to the space between Peter’s hips. He did his best not to make it obvious, the way he manipulated how Peter rutted against his mattress, but before long the boy was shaking and a steady stream of moans were dripping from his tongue.

Peter seemed to catch himself at one point, stiffening, cheeks flushing, but Tony shushed him cheerfully. “Hey, its okay. At least you’re not screaming in agony” he teased, and Peter giggled, relaxing again.

“I’m sorry. Its just...Its good? I mean, it hurts a little sometimes. But it feels really nice”.

He wanted, so badly in that moment, to make Peter feel even better. To drive his hips down against the bedding until he came. It was possessive and greedy, and he tried to fight it even as Peter’s sweet, high little moans filled his ears.

“Its okay” he repeated, quieter. “How does...Do you feel any better?” He asked, keeping his voice light. Below him, Peter nodded, paused, and squirmed.

“I do, yeah. Tonnes, but...I mean, I’m still a little stiff? In the middle. Maybe...Maybe the muscle is too tight? Or its not the right angle?”

Something twisted within him, warping and bending until it snapped, and he was parting his lips before he could even muster the self-control to murder the thought. “I could...Its not common. For obvious reasons. And feel no obligation to agree, but I could change the angle? Just means kinda...Sitting. On your legs. A little”.

And...Fuck. He wanted to claw the words back in, especially when Peter’s breathing hitched and he whimpered, but...Fuck. Was the kid nodding? The kid was nodding.

“Okay. Yeah. Just...For the...Benefits” Peter near whispered. Tony stared at the back of his head for a little while longer, tracing the spirals of his curls before he sucked in a breath. Right.

“Right” he affirmed, and after a moment, he brought his other leg up, so, so carefully over the other side of Peter. He aimed it close to his knee, so that when he truly shuffled across he wasn’t quite reverse-straddling the teenager. The angle actually was better, because he could pay closer attention to the alignment of his back and the muscle layout.

And now that he had better access, he began to knead at the boy in earnest, drawing soft little ‘uh’s on each press that went straight, unfortunately, to his dick.He couldn’t help the thought that this was quite possibly what the kid sounded like, stroking himself to orgasm in secret, late at night in his room.

“O-Oh. That’s...Yeah, Mr. Stark” the boy half-moaned, shaky and almost surprised, like he hadn’t ever expected it to feel this good.

Tony’s own hips nudged forwards, irregardless of his own permission, until he was all but three inches away from grinding against the teen like a...Well. Like a teen. Tony remembered all those youthful days of rutting against his partners like a dog in heat, the teasing friction that layers of clothing offered.

“Can you...Could you go lower? Like, the bottom of my spine? It feels...tight” Peter sounded hesitant, but more in the way that he typically was when asking anything of Tony. It was still fresh on Tony’s mind that it had taken the kid almost a month of being at the Tower to even ask for a drink.

“Yeah, kid. Okay” Tony agreed easily, surprised at how little his voice strained or wavered. He shuffled on his knees to adjust his balance and lowered the placement of his hands, watching Peter’s spine bow under his touch, hips sliding in an arc against his bed.

The short little hitches had Tony tipping forwards without even really registering it, and when a shuffle from Peter had Tony’s hips just barely grazing his ass, they both paused. Tony was about to open his mouth when Peter relaxed again, fingers flexing then twisting in the bedsheets, and he wordlessly continued.

The squirming increased. The moans grew bolder, less held back. Subtle nudges became flat out grinds into Tony’s luxurious sheets, and each torturous movement nudged them together in bare touches.

One particularly heavy press of Tony’s palms had Peter letting out an honest to god whine, hips pushing back against his hips instead of down against the bed, and Tony breathed out heavy, thumbs digging into his muscles. “Good?” He rasped, and Peter whimpered below him, fisting the sheets tightly and grinding back again.

“Peter...”

“I’m sorry. It just...Your hands. The bed” Peter heaved, burying his face into his arms to hide his shame. Tony found himself squeezing Peter’s hips, swallowing thickly as he looked down to see where they were connected, the jut of his hips flush against that plump, round ass he’d been doing his best not to look at for the past fifteen minutes.

“Its okay” he was speaking before he could even think about it, fingers flexing reassuringly in their perfect, fitting hold before he ran his hand down Peter’s spine, pet at his flank. “Happens to the best of us. Just...Don’t ruin my sheets”.

God. What was he saying? This is why Pepper didn’t let him do things. Or meet people anymore. Beneath him Peter’s little body hitched and he turned his head slightly, blinking back at Tony with wide, vulnerable eyes.

“Wha-?”

“Just relax” Tony cut him off, hands drifting to resume his work on that tight little knot at the base of his spine. It looked like Peter was going to protest, but then he lolled his head back into the duvet, nuzzling it with a low groan.

“M-Mr. Stark” the boy dragged out, trembling just ever so slightly under his hold as Tony drove his hips down against the bedding, and pulled them back up against his hips, where his own cock had begun to swell into a thick rise.

“You’re...Hard” Peter squeaked, and Tony ground his teeth, thumbing at a stiff slope of muscle.

“Yeah” he agreed quietly, and was surprised when Peter’s hips drove back against him. His breath stuttered in his lungs and he folded over slightly, gripping at Peter’s hips as a spark of pleasure jumped through his pelvis.

He fucked forwards against it without thinking, pressing down on Peter’s bowed spine, drawing a moan from both of them. “How close are you?” He ground out, rolling his hips languidly to ride the slope of Peter’s firm ass. Beneath him the boy whimpered and rolled his hips in response.

“Close”.

“That the skill of my hands, or the durability of my bedding?” Tony couldn’t help teasing, and Peter shuddered beneath him, head shaking slightly as he refused to answer. Tony couldn’t even feel affronted - He knew the pleasure of good bedding and sturdy mattress.

They began to move together in earnest, rutting with single-minded intent like Tony was eighteen and driven by his cock all over again (he might not be eighteen now, but the latter still largely applies). Tony braced himself, thighs tensed and body arched over Peter’s, riding his ass like it was all he was born to do even as he kept working on Peter’s spine, digging into the meat and bone until one of Peter’s arms bent backwards, searching.

Their fingers interlocked and Tony moved his arm forwards, bringing Peter’s hand back to a more comfortable position as the signs the boy was getting closer to completion became more apparent. Tony’s own pleasure was coiling through his body, taut like a spring about to release. He felt flushed, heady, cock hot and desperate.

“Mr. Stark!” It was pitched, a half-yelp, and then Peter’s body was jerking beneath him, arching and locking up, torn between fucking forwards and pressing back against Tony’s cock as the boy shuddered through his orgasm, coaxed through it by Tony’s hand on the centre of his back, pressing him down into the mattress.

Peter cums with the most breathtaking sound. A moan warped into a cry, shaking and rich with pleasure and emotion. Has the bite heightened everything? Peter’s senses are always so sharp, so raw. How did an orgasm feel, when even the sound of your own breathing could overwhelm you?

When the kid finally, finally slumps down beneath him, still pinned - allowing himself to be pinned - Tony can’t bring himself to chase his own, heat and guilt fighting an equal war in his gut.

“How do you feel?” He bit out, forcing himself to let up some of the weight. Peter had only consented to Tony making him feel good. And even then...Had it really been consent? He kind of felt like the guilt was winning out of the heat.

“I feel good” Peter breathed, head turned to blink at him lazily, sated. “Really good. I feel...Loose”.

The lecherous smirk is dazzling before he can stop it, palm sliding down the gentle slope of Peter’s spine the settle dead centre on that inviting, round ass, thumb pressing just a fraction into the dip of his cheeks, towards a wet, hot heat Tony knows awaits.

“Want to feel even looser?”

[ksqwildwest]

Top Of Head Kisses maybe?? (I feel like this could be taken in so many directions, so I kinda wanna see which one you use/default to.)

Had a few different ideas for this one! Settled on this one cus it was cute!

-----------------------

Karl still didn't know what possessed him to try and win a card game against Jack and Mason, but he knew he had started regretting it a while ago.

He had refused to play for actual money and after several consistent rounds of losing, he was very thankful for it! He wasn't even in the game anymore. Not with the three small chips he had left anyways.

Jack and Mason had noticed Karl's slowly souring mood throughout the night. To their credit they did try to go easy on him! Lady Luck just didn't seem to like Karl that much. It didn't help that he had never played their particular version of poker before.

"Alright," Karl sighed out, "I think I'm done for tonight."

The two bandits protested as Karl stood from his seat at the table.

"Look, I'm not winning and I honestly still don't understand the game here!" Karl pointed out to the two of them.

"Well it is a bit tricky to learn without stakes of some sort." Mason explained.

"I'm not playing for money."

"There are other types of stakes other than money ya know." Jack pointed out, causing the other two to pause in their debate.

Karl thought about it for a moment, "Do you mean strip poker?" He asked.

Jack let out a hearty laugh at that. "No, Jacob's get your mind out of the gutter!" He teased.

Karl rolled his eyes and started walking towards the exit.

Jack called after him, "Instead of money, how about we bet with kisses?"

Without missing a beat, Karl turned on his heel and started back towards the table. "Can you explain that a bit more?" He asked as he slid back into his chair.

"Whoever wins the round gets to give the other two a kiss in a spot of their choosing." Mason gave Jack a suspicious glare. "With in reason." Jack added.

Karl nodded, "Alright, deal." Even if he didn't win, was he really losing?

(Time skip brought to you by a lack of understanding of poker!)

Mason softly tossed his cards onto the table as the last card was revealed. "Damn, I couldn't win nothing with those cards."

"I think I have a double," Karl told them, showing his hand, "there's a two in the flipped cards and I have a two in my hand. This is a double right?"

"It is a double!" Jack cheered as Karl seemed to be understanding the game, "but I think I beat you!"

He set down his own cards, "I also got a two and I've got a five, which is also on the table. So I've got two doubles!"

Jack cheered in triumph as the other two rolled their eye's. He was the best player in town and seemed to be lucky with the cards.

"Alright alright, you gonna get your prize or what?" Mason teased as he flicked one of his cards at the winner.

Jack stuck out his tounge as he got up from his chair. He walked around to Mason first, gently holding the others face in his hands. Jack placed a kiss on the his head with an unusual gentleness, like he was holding glass in his hands.

"Mi fuego," He chirped happily. He gave Mason a quick hug before moving over to Karl.

Karl's face was held with the same care as Mason's, as if one wrong move would shatter him. A feather light kiss was pressed onto the sheriff's curly hair.

"Mi trama," Jack repeated with the same happy tone as he pulled Karl in for his own hug.

"What's that mean?" Karl asked Mason as Jack headed back to his seat. Mason gave Karl an unsure shrug.

"The jackass refuses to tell me what some of the words are," He told the colorful sheriff, "I've never heard the word he called you before though so..."

The two looked over to Jack in hopes of a translation. Instead, he gave them a deal, "beat me in poker next round and you'll find out." He challenged with a mischievous grin as he started shuffling the cards all over again.

A few rounds later held no answers, a lot of kisses, and one very happy bandit.

---------------

*mi fuego means "my fire" in Spanish

*mi trama hopefully means "my plot" in Spanish

If either of these are wrong please let me know! I'll be sure to change them!

This was mostly written on mobile, so sorry if it seems of a lower quality than the others!

[nowoyas]

Sweet Words, Sweetcheeks

A/N: Day 13 of @birds-have-teeth​’s Izumonth server collab.

Summary: It’s been some time since you and Izuku took the plunge and bought the bakery, and Izuku couldn’t be happier working together with you towards both of your dreams. Well, except for one thing. (baker!Izuku x reader)

Warnings: brush ur teeth cus this one’s straight sugar

Word count: 2100+

A mop of green hair and matching eyes poke around the corner as you enter Lemon Wedge, the bell above the door signifying your arrival. "You're back! Any issues with the delivery?"

"Not a one!" you chirp, stifling a giggle at the sight of Izuku with flour dusting his clothing, frosting smeared on his cheek. "Have any of you boys eaten yet?"

A chorus of 'yes' sounds from the back room, causing you to sigh. "Anything that isn't on our menu?"

No one answers. You roll your eyes, making your way around the counter and rattling some bags of takeout loudly. "Alright, if any of you aren't doing something you absolutely cannot put down right this moment—which at least one of you should be, given I left you guys alone to deliver all those cakes this morning—come eat your fill." The boys have been giving you the runaround all day, your normal delivery driver having called out this morning with an embarrassingly pathetic attempt to sound sick.

"I'm free!" Kiri shouts enthusiastically. 

"I am as well," Tokoyami says, dusting flour off his hands. You watch as both boys make their way to the sinks to wash up.

Izuku lets out a whine from where he stands at his workstation, painstakingly kneading bread. "This batch has thirty more minutes of kneading before it's ready to proof, but I don't want the food to get cold..."

You set one bag of food down on a clean counter for Kirishima and Tokoyami to dig into, humming as you approach your boyfriend. "They're subs, babe. You don't have to worry about them getting cold."

You set the bag containing yours and his food on an adjacent counter, popping up on your toes and making like you're going in for a kiss. He's quick to respond, which makes it all the funnier when a disappointed whine leaves his lips as you lean over and lick the smear of frosting off his cheek.

"Angelcake, don't tease me~"

You smile, nuzzling against his cheek for a moment. "Sorry, sweetcheeks. Ya had something on your face there." 

"You're lucky I've got this bread to pay attention to, you—"

The bell rings as a customer enters. You bop his nose gently. "I'll be right with you~" you croon, practically skipping off to the front counter to deal with the customer.

Izuku waits. As Kirishima and Tokoyami go off to eat, he waits. As he listens to your sweet customer service voice while you talk to the customer, he waits. And when you're done and good and the customer has been served with a smile, Izuku waits.

When you return, he launches a small pinch of flour directly into your face.

You splutter, reaching up to wipe at your face in pure shock. "Did you just..."

"Maybe," he says, trying hard not to laugh as you stand there with flour dusting your face.

"I was coming back over here to lovingly hand-feed you your sub and you just..."

"I'll still take the sub?" he tries, batting his eyelashes innocently.

You sigh, heading over to the sink and wiping your face with some damp paper towels. "Nope, you lost your chance. Eat after you get that bread proofing, sweetcheeks."

He whines at your dismissal, but can't step away from the bread. You get back to work cleaning, stifling your giggles when his attempt to protest (something along the lines of "I've been kneading bread all day") is cut off by the phone ringing. You answer it in a second, waggling your fingers at Izuku teasingly.

"Hello, you've reached Lemon Wedge Cakes and Bakes, this is [name] speaking! How can I help you?"

Izuku turns back to his bread with a sigh. At least you didn't get a chance to question him. He'd almost ruined—well, that's not important. When you return from jotting down the call-in details, his transgression is forgotten, and you feed him bites of his sub between kisses and clean dishes.

~

Izuku leaves the bakery for the night before you do. Often, since you live together, either your shifts are at the same times to make transportation easy or he'll simply hang around and relax while waiting for your own shift to end, which usually results in him helping you with closing whether you want him to or not. Most nights, however, if schedules and workloads don't permit, he'll head home first to buy dinner for the both of you to eat when you're home, usually being too tired from being in a kitchen all day to get back in the kitchen to handle dinner. Tonight is one of the nights in which Izuku goes on ahead, leaving you to handle the storefront and get everything closed up while the high schooler at the register handles the last of the sales for the night.

When you finally arrive home, it's hours after Izuku, and honestly, you're excited to just get off your feet, crash on the couch, and watch some vapid reality show with takeout balanced on your chest and Izuku's hand in yours. What greets you, though, isn't takeout and reality shows. Izuku's head pops out from the kitchen with a broad grin. "Welcome home, angel!"

The living room is clean, the dining room lit with candles as the smell of something homey greets you. Izuku's hair is fluffy and damp, implying he's taken a shower since his shift at the bakery. You hear the sound of water running, then Izuku rushes over to meet you at the door with a kiss. "I missed you," he breathes against your lips, effortlessly picking your feet off the floor with his hug.

You snort, playfully pushing him away. His arms hold you tight to his chest, though—no escape from Izuku's love. "Izuku, it's been four hours."

"Four long hours!" 

You giggle and kiss him on the nose. "I missed you too." Your arms wind around his neck, rewarding his affection by relaxing into his hug as he sets you down. "What's all this? I thought we were getting Chinese tonight."

Izuku rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I thought I'd—you know, do something nice for you. You're always taking care of me, and we've been working so hard since we bought the bakery, and..."

Another soft kiss, this time pressed to his lips. "You cleaned everything up and cooked for me?"

"Myeah," he says, muffled as you continue to press kisses to his face. "There's cake, too."

"Oh, Izu. I love it. Thank you so much." As you pull back, prepared to sit down, kick your shoes off, and finally eat, a thought occurs to you. "Does all this have anything to do with why Denki called out this morning with no notice claiming to be suffering a, quote, '24 hour leprosy attack'?"

"Don't be mad, he tried his best," Izu says, ruffling your hair. "Are you hungry? Because the food's ready if you are."

"Hungry and exhausted." You press into his touch with a smile. "I swear I could marry you." Whatever he mutters in response, you don't quite catch. "What's that, Izu?"

"N-nothing!" he squeaks. "Come on, you should sit down. I'll get your food." He disappears into the kitchen, stumbling on the step into the elevated area with a yelp. "W-what do you want to drink? Is champagne fine?"

"Are you trying to seduce me, Izuku Midoriya?" you tease as you wriggle out of your jacket and kick off your shoes.

"[name] we've been dating for four years."

"And?"

"Of course I'm trying to seduce you," he calls, stifling laughter. "Gotta give you a reason to stick around, you know?"

"As if you're ever getting rid of me." You make your way across the room, draping yourself in a chair dramatically. "Honestly, how am I ever going to thank you for this one, babe?"

He emerges from the kitchen, setting a glorious-looking plate of food in front of you. "W-well, you don't have to, but there is one way you could thank me."

You raise an eyebrow. "Oh?"

He sets his own plate of food across the table, smoothing his hands over his pants almost... nervously? "Hold on." He disappears back into the kitchen.

"Wait, no, get back here, tell me what I can do!"

After a moment, he returns, taking level, even breaths as if he's trying to calm himself. "You sure you wanna know?" He smiles, one that's almost forced. You'd be worried for him if you weren't used to his random bouts of nerves. 

"Tell meee," you whine.

He chuckles, circling around behind you so your head rests against his stomach. One arm comes around to hug you as he crouches behind you, pressing a kiss just below your ear. "Okay, okay. Just close your eyes and be patient, okay?"

You grin, but acquiesce, closing your eyes as he brings a hand up to cover them for an added layer of protection. "I-I've never been very good with words, s-so please don't make fun of me if I mess this up."

"It only adds to your charm," you tease, feeling him shuffle around behind you.

"[name]," he whines, "I said be patient."

You mime zipping your lips, letting him continue. He curses under his breath, fumbling for something that just thumped quietly against the floor, and you patiently wait for him to collect himself. He inhales, exhales, and starts again. "Okay. I... I said this earlier, but since we bought Lemon Wedge and started pouring everything into it, you've been working so hard, and I really can't express to you how much your support means to me." The hand that's been frantically shuffling behind your (and—you assume—his) back comes to rest on your chest, a quick kiss being pressed to the top of your head before he continues.

"I've loved you for a long time, longer than the years we've been together. But in the past two years, seeing you put your all into something that's my dream as much as it is yours... I've fallen in love with you all over again, and um..." He pauses for a long moment, taking several deep breaths. "Man, I can only shut up when I need to be able to talk, huh?"

"It's okay," you coo, still unable to see. "You know I'm listening no matter what."

He groans, resting his head atop yours for a moment. "See, you're perfect. Ever since we met, you've been nothing but supportive. I've always been a little insecure, but I've never once doubted that you loved me, because you've always shown that you care. Listening when I talk, even when I've gone off on some crazy tangent and I'm just thinking out loud. Bringing me food during the day so you're sure I've eaten something healthy. You mean the world to me, angelcake. There are days I'm sure I wouldn't have even bothered getting out of bed if I didn't know you'd be there with a smile. And I know, we already live together, I already wake up to you every morning, and that alone is more than I ever could have hoped for, but... wait, hold on, a-are you crying?"

"No," you sniffle, tears running down your cheeks. "Finish your sentence, 'Zuzu."

He presses a quick kiss to your cheek, stopping a line of tears in its tracks before finally removing his hand from your eyes. You gasp at the sight, though really, you already knew it was coming. "If you'll have me, [name]... I'd like it if we could... if you'd..." He lets out a tiny groan. "Sorry, sorry. [name], will you marry me?"

The ring resting on your chest is beautiful. An iridescent fire opal in the center, ringed with small diamonds and emeralds that instantly call your boyfriend—no, fiancé to mind.

You nearly fall off the chair as you flip around to tackle Izuku, crashing your lips to his as he yelps and steadies you. "Hey, c-careful, you could get hurt!"

"It's okay," you sigh against his lips, tears streaming freely down your cheeks. "You'll always catch me. Of course I'll marry you, Izuku. I'll marry you a thousand times, a million, even. Every day you'll have me, if you want it."

Izuku's tears join your own as he sits back, pulling you into his lap on the dining room floor so he can hold you close. "I'm so—so glad."

The dinner is spent in giggling tears as the two of you move to the floor to eat in each other's arms. It's hard to pull away from him, even when you've both decided you need to get off the floor and at least move to the couch. You spend the night cuddled up close to him, admiring your engagement ring with a soft gaze.

Tags: @tooloudarts​ @sapid-rose​ @xxangelpridexx​ @birds-have-teeth​ @icythotsenpai​ @warmchoccymilk​ @wesparklebitch​ @izoodles​ @fujimoribaby​ @my-bnha-things​ @denise-the-death-goddess​ @themerpenguin​ @sincerebubbles​ @themmmelissa @fudobaby​

[chaoticminhos]

swim captain (oneshot version)

pairing: bang chan x reader

genre: smut

warnings: possessiveness n jealousy

word count: 4398

a/n: swim captain was originally written as a one shot before i decided to expand it to a series, so here is what the series sprouted from :):)

“okay, starting positions! ready, dive!”

the coach's voice echoed through the swimming room, followed by several splashes of the boys jumping into the water as cued. they began to resurface, and the coach spoke up again.

“nice form, boys! hwang, remember to keep those arms straight!”

the team lifted themselves up from the water and got back into position to dive again. you were supposed to be adding up money from the swim team fundraiser, as a good team manager would, but you couldn’t keep your eyes off of the boys. or more specifically, one boy. bang chan.

chan, one of the most popular boys in your high school, captain of the swim team, star athlete, arguably one of the hottest and most attractive boys ever to exist... the list could go on forever.

with him being the captain of the team and you as manager, the two of you knew each other well enough, but you’d never hung out with him outside of swim practice or swim team parties like you would with a few of the boys from the team. although you only hung out with a few of them regularly outside of swim events, you were close to all 8 of them, and they were all close to you, too.

having been managing the team for a few years now, you’d gotten used to talking to chan without blushing and stuttering on every word. however, you never managed not to get flustered by the way he looked in his swim uniform.

this practice, he was in blue swim shorts and a tight black swim shirt that left nothing to the imagination. it was nothing different than what the rest of the team was wearing, the other boys wearing practically identical outfits, and you couldn’t say they didn’t look amazing either, but chan always managed to take your breath away.

you were snapped out of your head by a voice of one of the boys.

“y/n! swim team party after practice, you coming? it’s friday night.”

minho walked up to you while drying his hair with a towel. it was unfair how not a single boy on the swim team was unattractive. although you had a crush on bang chan, to say minho never made your cheeks turn red and stomach do backflips would be a lie. he was easy to talk to and one of your closest friends on the team. he was one of the boys that you actually hung out with a lot outside of practice and swim events, and during swim events when the boys weren’t busy, you could practically always find him by you.

“i know what day it is, minho. and yeah, if you give me a ride, sure.” you smiled at him.

“i’ll give you a ride alright, baby.” he winked at you and you threw your pen at him. typical minho behavior, flirting with anything that had the physical ability to blush.

“go get changed, idiot.”

“okay,” a smirk played on his lips, and he leaned down so his face was level with yours, “but only if you help.”

he was close enough now for you to hit him with your hand and not just a pen, so you did.

“lee minho! is it even safe for a lady to be alone in a car with you?” you joked.

he was about to launch back a playful reply, but someone answered before him.

“don’t worry, y/n, you won’t be alone. i’m tagging along, too.” chan said as he walked past, wrapping his arm around minho and guiding his team member to the changing rooms.

you muttered a small “oh, okay!” as they left.

a few minutes passed by and the boys began trickling out of the changing room in small groups. felix and changbin walked out together, and not long after, minho and chan followed. felix nodded his head at you.

“y/n, need a lift to my place?”

ah, so that’s where the party was tonight.

“she’s with me.” minho chimed in, wrapping his arm over your shoulders. you pushed him away from you.

“minho, you’re still soaked, get off of me and stop getting me wet!”

tightening his arm around your shoulders, he teased you, “you won’t be saying that later.”

before you could scold him, chan lightly slapped him across the back of his head.

“stop flirting and let’s go.” the action and words were playful. for some reason, it upset you that he didn’t seem bothered by minho’s constant flirting with you.

minho’s arm flung off your shoulder and he ran after chan, smacking him hard on the arm.

“that hurt, asshat!”

chan insisted you sit in the passenger seat, saying it would be rude if he made you sit in the back. minho agreed, but his reasoning was “chan’s an asshole. assholes don’t get shotgun.”

it wasn’t a long drive, felix only lived a few blocks away from the school. minho’s radio was playing music softly through the car. the song switched and you reached for the volume, turning it up. your favorite artist was playing, a rap group called 3racha.

“you like this kind of music?” chan asked.

you turned around in your seat to face him, “yeah, it’s my favorite!”

chan hummed in response just as minho’s car pulled into felix’s driveway with the other several cars of the other team members. it seemed like you were one of the last, if not the last to arrive.

you stepped out of minho’s car and made your way to felix’s front door, not bothering to knock and instead just walking in. minho and chan followed close behind.

“there they are!” felix yelled, “i’m telling you y/n, should have rode with me, you guys are the last ones here! minho drives like a grandma.”

you laughed at his joke and minho huffed out an “i do not” before making his way to the kitchen and swinging felix’s fridge open, pulling out two cans of soda and tossing one to you.

there was no alcohol at swim team parties, the boys knew if they were caught with alcohol or drugs or anything of the sort, they’d be kicked off the team and taken off college swim lists, and none of them wanted to risk that. plus, they were crazy enough without alcohol.

“come on dude,” chan spoke, “no drink for me?”

minho popped his can open and took a drink, “nah, i like y/n. i don’t like you.”

chan laughed at the playful banter, making his way to the fridge and pulling out his own drink before heading to felix’s living room where the rest of the boys were.

they were sat in a circle on felix’s floor. you chuckled at them, “what game is it this time? truth or dare? never have i e-“

hyunjin cut you off, “spin the bottle.”

confusion washed over your face and you opened your mouth to protest, but hyunjin barked out a laugh.

“joking y/n, you don’t have to kiss any of us.” he paused, raising an eyebrow, “unless?”

you tried to look frustrated at his teasing, but you couldn’t help but laugh. to be honest, you liked that the boys were all comfortable enough to talk to you like this. it meant they saw you as part of the team and enjoyed having you around.

hyunjin scooted closer to changbin, who was beside him, and patted the ground for you to sit. you took his invitation, plopping down next to him. minho sat on your other side, and chan found his way across the circle next to felix.

hyunjin nudged you, “it’s truth or dare, by the way.”

you nodded. it was a common game at swim parties. it was easy and it was a good chance to tease everyone, so obviously the boys enjoyed it. they never made you do anything that could make you uncomfortable, either. they never even suggested it.

“okay,” felix began, “i’ll start. minho, truth or dare?”

“dare.”

“take your shirt off.”

minho rolled his eyes, “man, that’s so boring. everyone always ends up shirtless when we play this, except for y/n. give me a dare that you’d give to anyone, regardless of who it is.”

now, it wasn’t that you wanted minho to take his shirt off, but something about him implying that you’d back out of a dare upset you.

“who says i wouldn’t do that dare?”

everyone’s eyes snapped to you. a smirk formed on minho’s lips.

“yeah?” he pulled his shirt over his head, setting it behind him. “y/n, truth or dare.”

refusing to back down, you kept your eyes locked to his, “dare.”

“take your shirt off.”

as you reached for the bottom of your shirt to take it off, chan spoke up.

“come on dude, we agreed nothing that could make her uncomfortable.”

your head snapped to chan.

“you guys agreed on what you are and aren’t allowed to dare me?”

he nodded. you should have been heart warmed that they cared enough about you to lay down rules with each other, but again, you didn’t like the idea that they thought you’d back out of dares that the rest of the team would do without a second thought.

“no, chan.” you began, eyes meeting minho’s again, “it’s fine. you’ve all seen me in a swimsuit before, this is no different. plus, i don’t want you guys to hold back just because it’s me. i’m part of the team too.”

minho raised an eyebrow at you, “you sure, y/n?”

you nodded at him, hands gripping the bottom of your t-shirt as you lifted it over your head. you tossed it next to minho’s and turned back to the group. the boys cheered, “damn, y/n, okay.” felix laughed.

despite your previous statement about it being no different than a swimsuit, you felt more exposed than when you were swimming with the boys. maybe it was because you were in a light blue lace bra that was manufactured primarily to look cute while being taken off, but you weren’t going to back out now.

as the game progressed, your anxiety went away and you didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, especially when none of the boys treated it like it was weird, at least not that you noticed. of course they made comments and flirted, but that was nothing different from usual.

you swallowed the last of your soda, leaning close to minho and telling him you were going to get up and grab another, asking if he wanted another as well.

you stood to leave to the kitchen, and jisung stopped you.

“where to, princess?”

you turned your empty can upside down with a pout, “my soda’s gone.”

jisung nodded, “get me one, too.”

a chorus of “me too” sounded through the room

you nodded back, about to leave again when chan jumped up, “i’ll help.”

you smiled at him and walked into the kitchen, grabbing cans out of the fridge and handing them to chan one by one, counting them as doing so to make sure you got the right number.

“you’re kinda badass,” chan chuckled as you handed him another can, “you know that?”

you laughed, “not really. i’m just playing how the rest of you are.”

taking half of the cans from his hands, you made your way back to the room with the rest of the boys.

“dude, just do it, you know they both want to.”

“i’m not gonna dare them to- oh, y/n, chan! you’re back!”

you frowned, handing a can to jisung, who had cut off his own sentence.

“dare who to do what?” you questioned. as the boys were focused on answering your question, you reached one of the closed cans to minho’s neck and touched it to his skin, causing him to yelp and jump away from you, bumping into jeongin, who immediately shoved the older boy off of him with a huff.

“jesus christ, y/n, that’s cold!” the circle laughed, and you forgot about your earlier question, continuing the game.

“okay, truth or dare, hyunjin?” said seungmin.

“truth.”

“who’s cuter, kkami or y/n?”

you laughed as hyunjin pretended to be deep in thought, “don’t tell kkami, but no one beats y/n.”

the group laughed, and you leaned into hyunjin, giving him a quick hug.

“i’m honored that you think i’m cuter than your dog, hyunjin.”

he laughed, hugging you back.

“minho, same question, y/n or your cats?”

disregarding that he never said truth, a small smirk played on minho’s lips.

“do i get a hug if i say you, too?”

you rolled your eyes and pretended to be annoyed, “i guess so.”

“in that case... i still have to say my cats.”

you moved your hand to hit him, but he caught your wrist, moving his other hand to grab your other hand to stop you from hitting him with that one, too. you laughed at him, moving to free your wrists from his grip, but he held on tight. with one tough pull, you fell backwards towards hyunjin, who moved so you wouldn’t fall on him, your back colliding with the floor instead. minho fell with you, landing above you but putting his weight on his elbows to keep himself from crushing you.

you laughed as you tried to wrestle your hands from his grip, and he laughed along with you, easily keeping you pinned down. after a few seconds of laughing and complaining, you stopped struggling and huffed, staring up at minho.

“that’s my good girl.” he released your wrists and climbed off of you, sitting back in his spot.

you blushed at his words and glared at him, but made no attempt to hit him again, figuring that wouldn’t work out for you. instead, you reached out and grabbed his soda, taking a drink from it.

“hey!” he yelled, laughing. he went to grab it from you, but you pulled it back too quickly, spilling some onto yourself.

“fuck.” you set his soda down, looking at your now soda covered bra.

“i don’t see a problem,” began minho, “just take it off.”

you chuckled at him/\. typical a minho response.

“in your dreams.”

he reached behind himself and handed you his discarded shirt to dry yourself with. it worked slightly, but not enough to get everything out and make it comfortable to wear again.

“yeah, this isn’t gonna work.”

“want me to take you home?” minho offered. for once, he wasn’t joking or flirting. you guessed that he actually felt bad for you spilling the cola on yourself, even though it really wasn’t his fault.

“yeah, if you don’t mind.”

minho handed you your tshirt and moved to stand up, but a voice interrupted him.

“actually, i was gonna head out too. i can take y/n home.”

minho laughed, “dude, i drove you here.”

chan shrugged, “i’ll take felix’s car.”

felix groaned, “chan, you can’t just take my car whenever.”

chan leaned over to a coffee table beside felix and grabbed his keys off of it.

“yeah, i can.”

“really chan, it’s okay, i can take her home.”

chan’s eyes snapped to minho, and you’d never seen his eyes like that. he looked angry.

“why are you so hell bent on taking her home, minho? i said i got it.”

minho wasn’t one to be spoken to with attitude. he let out a dry laugh, “what the fuck is your problem, chris?”

chan began heading for the door, motioning for you to follow him.

“you can’t really expect me to trust you alone with her this late at night, can you?”

minho laughed again, “seriously, chris? are you fucking joking? it’s y/n.”

chan took a step from the door and towards minho, “wouldn’t put it past you.”

minho took a step towards chan but you stepped in his way, wrapping your arms around his torso. 

“don’t fight, please.” you muttered into his side, loud enough for him and chan to hear.

“i appreciate you for offering min, but chan can drive me.”

damn you and your ability to calm him down with a simple hug. minho sighed and wrapped his arms around you. he held you close to him before prying your arms off of him and grabbing his shirt from your hands and keys from his pocket and walking out the door. 

“fine.”

it was clear from the fact that he didn’t mean for you to follow him.

chan watched him leave, eyes not leaving him until he was out of the room and he could no longer see him. chan waited until he heard minho’s car start up and drive away before speaking again.

“let’s go.”

you slipped your shirt over your shoulders and headed towards chan, looking over your shoulder and muttering a soft “bye” to the rest of the boys, who were still sitting silently, processing what had just happened. chan headed to the door without saying goodbye.

he opened the passenger seat door of felix’s car for you, waiting until you were in to shut it behind you before climbing into the drivers seat and starting the ignition. you watched him place his hand on the gear shift and noticed he was still tense.

“chan, what was that?”

he switched the car into reverse and checked behind him before backing out.

“what was what?”

“that entire thing. there was no reason to yell at minho like that.”

he shifted the car into drive and headed the way towards your house. 

“he started it.”

you were trying to be calm with chan. he never acted like this and you’d never seen him get so close to physically fighting one of his teammates, but he was being short with you and it was beginning to piss you off.

“he didn’t start anything. he was just trying to take me home.”

“and then do god knows what.”

“and drop me off and then leave like he always does!”

he scoffed, “yeah, you two seem awfully close for him to always only drop you off and leave.”

“chan, he’s my friend. are you seriously implying that we have something more going on?”

“i don’t know,” he began as he pulled into your driveway, “maybe.” he put the car in park, “seems a lot fucking like it.”

you scoffed, “oh my god, what the fuck does it even matter? you don’t own either of us-“

“it matters because he knows damn well it pisses me off and he begs to be in your pants constantly anyway!”

“all of the boys act like that! does that mean i’m fucking every one of your teammates?”

within seconds of that coming out of your mouth, chan had unbuckled his seatbelt and had his face inches from you and one hand on your thigh, the other gripping your chin and forcing you to look at him.

“you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“w-what?”

“fucking my teammates. you’d like it, wouldn’t you?”

you stared at him, anger fading and being replaced with embarrassment and arousal.

“come on, y/n. you can’t tell me you’ve never thought of it, not when you were so eager to strip in front of all of us just a few hours ago. tell me,” he leaned in close to your ear and you could feel his breath on your neck, “who do you think about the most often?”

you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding and he chuckled.

“is it minho? hyunjin or jisung?”

“no”

“no? then tell me who, angel.”

your eyes connected with his. you were nothing if not honest.

“you.”

that’s all he needed to connect his lips to yours. his hand moved from your chin to tangle in your hair, and your own hands found their was to his arms, holding onto him like he was your lifeline.

he wasted no time licking your bottom lip and asking for entrance, to which you didn’t fight. his tongue molded with yours and you subconsciously rubbed your legs together, body craving friction. you didn’t realize you had done it, but chan did. he smirked against your lips, “your parents home?”

“no, couples vacation.”

“good.”

he separated himself from you and exited the car, you hurrying to do the same. he stood behind you and wrapped his arms around your torso, kissing up your neck as you dug through your bag to find your house key.

when you finally unlocked the door, the two of you stumbled into your house, and immediately he pressed you against the nearest wall and shoved his tongue back into your mouth. you moaned into the kiss and he smiled against your lips.

his hands fisted the bottom of your shirt, a silent way of asking if it was okay to take it off, and you replied by putting your arms up to make it easier to slip off your shoulders.

his hands moved from your waste to your thighs and he ordered you to jump, and you complied. he separated his lips from yours.

“where’s your room?”

“through the living room and down the hallway.”

he nodded, following your directions, knowing the general layout of your house from having been in it before.

he kicked your bedroom door shut behind him and gently sat you down on your bed, a contrast from how rough he’d been previously. he detached his lips from yours and moved them to your neck, wasting no time in sucking a hickey onto the soft skin. he continued kissing his way down your body, stopping when he reached your waste line.

he looked up at you, “is this okay?”

you nodded, “please, chan.”

he pulled your pants and underwear down your legs in one motion. you whined at the feeling of the cold air hitting your soaked heat.

“so wet, babygirl.”

he wasted no time connecting his lips to your core, tongue working through your folds and around your sensitive clit.

you twisted your fingers in his hair and moaned loudly at the way his tongue and mouth was making you feel. he hummed against your heat, causing you to arch your back and rut your core into his face.

he pulled away, “you’re so vocal and sensitive, baby. how long’s it been since anyone’s touched you?”

a while”

his lips found their way back to your lips, and you moaned at the taste of yourself on his lips.

“days, weeks, months?”

“weeks.”

“who was it?”

“what?”

“who was it, the last guy you fucked?”

“does it matter?”

he growled against your lips, “it matters, y/n, because if it was minho, hell, if it was anyone on the team, i’m going to paint you so pretty, so full of my marks that he won’t even think of touching you again.”

you moaned at his words.

“what? like that idea? want me to paint you so full of my marks that everyone knows you’re mine? want everyone to see the marks and know you’re getting fucked real good?”

“fuck, chan, please.”

he separated himself from you long enough to take his shirt off before connecting his lips back to yours and moving a hand down to undo his pants.

“give me a name, baby.”

“fuck, i don’t know his name. some guy from the opposite team from the meet a few weeks ago.”

you heard his belt hit the floor.

“you’re such a slut, you know that? first, you’re all over my team and then i learn you don’t even bother to get a name before letting someone use you?”

his hand reached behind your back and unclipped your bra, finally tossing the dirty material off of your body, leaving you completely bare. you felt him line his tip up with your entrance.

“i don’t have a condom, is this okay?” he muttered against your lips, “we can stop if you want.”

instead of replying, you wrapped your legs around his torso and pulled him closer to you, causing his tip to begin to stretch you.

“you’re so eager, been wanting me for that long?”

“yes, chan, please just fuck me already.”

he connected your lips again as he began to sink into you. you moaned at the stretch, it was a foreign feeling after not having been with anyone for a few weeks, but it felt so good. chan gave you time to adjust before he began to slowly slide in and out of you.

you could tell he was trying to be gentle with you and trying not to hurt you. it warmed your heart, but you wanted more.

“faster, please.”

he picked up the pace, and it didn’t take him long to find a sweet spot. you moaned his name loudly when he hit your sweet spot.

“oh my god- chan, right there.”

he groaned at the way you said his name. he loved knowing you were making those pretty sounds because of him.

it didn’t take long before you were close to finishing. chan brought his hand down to your clit, rubbing harsh figure eights as his cock pumped roughly in and out of you, abusing your g-spot with every thrust.

you clenched around him, nails digging into his shoulders as you came. he rode out your high before pulling out and cumming across your lower stomach.

he dropped himself on top of you, holding himself up with his shoulder so his full weight wasn’t on you. when he finally caught his breath, he stood and walked to your bathroom, grabbing a clean towel and bringing it to clean you up with.

he placed a soft kiss to your lips, “how are you feeling, baby?”

you smiled into the kiss, “couldn’t be better.”

“i’m glad.” he moved to lay beside you, pulling the blanket to cover both of your bodies and pulling you close to him. “i’m sorry i got so angry. i just hated seeing him all over you like that and not knowing what it meant.”

you chuckled again.

“it’s okay channie. to be honest, it was kinda hot.”

his laugh was the last thing you heard before you drifted off to sleep in his arms.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #136: Illyasviel von Einzbern

Today on Fate and Phantasms we tap into our inner magical girl to build Illyasviel von Einzbern! So weird how they made a servant with absolutely no media depicting her other than FGO. Maybe they were going to do something else with the design and never got around to it, like with Proto Cu?

Anyway, it’s time to suit up and punish evildoers in the name of the moon cell!

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Oh hey another Emiya.

Race and Background

Like Mash and many other Homunculi, Illya’s race gives us a bit of trouble. Unlike Mash, however, Illya is being made after Tasha’s Cauldron came out, so we can always make her a Custom Origin. This gives her +2 Charisma for extra magical abilities, the Tough Feat for an extra 2 HP per level so she doesn’t die on impact with existence, and Persuasion proficiency to convince Emiya to let you have cookies before dinner, even if this one is from another universe.

You’re part holy grail, which is one hell of an inheritance, so the Inheritor background should be perfect for you. This gets you Survival and History proficiencies.

Ability Scores

First, make your Intelligence your highest score. Most innate magic comes from charisma, but a lot of yours got siphoned into your sister, so you’ll have to be clever with what’s left over. Second highest is Charisma, of course- even with a lot of your magic missing you’re still a force to be reckoned with. Also you’re a kid, and kids are cute. After that is Dexterity, because fighting Bazett is more “avoiding Bazett” than anything else. Your Strength isn’t great, you are still a child after all. Your Wisdom is even worse though- you go with the flow, and that includes making a deal with Ruby, so... not great decision making on your part. Lastly, dump Constitution. Some people would argue that surviving Quintett Feuer’s effects on your body makes you pretty tough, but that also means your own magic is already weakening you from the inside out.

Class Levels

1. Wizard 1: I promise we’ll get Ruby in a second, but first we have to make sure we don’t die on the way. As a first level Wizard you get proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saves, as well as the Arcana and Medicine skills for more magical girls and magical medicines. You also learn how to cast Spells prepared from your spellbook by using your Intelligence. For the sake of brevity here we won’t go into all of them, just expect all the big blasty ones to make the list. 

Aside from that, you should definitely pick up Mage Armor to make your AC 13 plus your dexterity modifier. 14 is definitely better than 11.

2. Wizard 2: Second level wizards pick their specialty, and I’ll be honest I was super close to going with Evocation for their overcharge ability at later levels. That being said you’d probably like immediate results more, and nothing more immediately changes our options than Bladesinging! As a bladesinger you could wear light armor if you really want to, but your magical girl armor will be protection enough. Similarly, you get another weapon proficiency, but you’re already proficient in quarterstaffs, which is the closest thing to magic wands we have. You also get Performance proficiency to really sell the magical girl bit.

You also learn a Bladesong that you can start as a bonus action. It lasts for a minute, or until you’re incapacitated, put in heavy armor, or use two hands for an attack. While active, you also get a bonus to your AC equal to your intelligence modifier, get an extra 10 feet of movement speed, have advantage on dexterity checks, and add your intelligence modifier to concentration saves as well. You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus.

You should also learn the spell Healing Elixir either this level or the last for some experimental medicine!

3. Wizard 3: Third level wizards get second level spells. I’d go for the destructive ones.

4. Wizard 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to round out your Dexterity and Intelligence. Remember: odd numbers make PCs cry! You can also get Levitate for some early flight, and Alter Self to take care of your magical girl transformations.

5. Warlock 1: With base defenses secured, it’s high time to get a stick we can shoot magic out of. Your magic comes mostly from the Holy Grail, so Genie sounds like a pretty good translation. You get Pact Magic that you can cast using your Charisma, plus some extra spell slots that recharge on short rests. They don’t mix with your wizard slots, but you can use any available slot for a spell, so don’t worry too much.

You also get a Genie’s Vessel, a tiny object that you can jump into for a Bottled Respite. That’s not in character though, so we won’t go over the exact details here, but you can do that once per long rest.. While touching it, you can also invoke the Genie’s Wrath, adding your proficiency bonus in thunder damage to one attack roll-based piece of damage per turn.

For your warlock spells, Eldritch Blast is a must for any caster on the go, and Prestidigitation will help with minor magical effects. You can also Detect Evil and Good to seek out cards wherever they may hide, and Charm Person. That last one’s not really magic, you’re just cute.

6. Warlock 2: Second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations to customize their magical girl journey. We’re taking Agonizing Blast now for extra damage on eldritch blast attacks, and a little something something at level three. 

To keep up the damage even when it’s not your turn, grab Hellish Rebuke to blast enemies as a reaction.

7. Warlock 3: Third level warlocks gain the Pact of the Blade, allowing you to summon Ruby as an action, creating a magical weapon. You should also pick up the invocation Improved Pact Weapon to turn her into a spellcasting focus (and get +1 to attack rolls and damage) now you have your own magic wand!

You can also cast Phantasmal Force to create any kind of magical effect you might need to blast a single person. They have to make an intelligence save (dc 8+proficiency+charisma modifier) or they fall for the illusion completely, to the point that they can even take damage from it.

8. Warlock 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Strength so we can actually use Ruby, and you also learn the cantrip Sword Burst for some cutting magical attacks, as well as the UA spell Mental Barrier, which gives you advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saves as a reaction. You also get resistance to psychic damage! You may not be that wise, but you do have magical defenses.

9. Wizard 5: Fifth level wizards get third level spells! Fireball is a typical blaster choice, and Fly will give you your first bout of liftoff that you can actually control! Every good magical girl can fly, after all.

10. Wizard 6: Sixth level bladesingers can make an Extra Attack each attack action, and you can also replace one of those attacks with a cantrip for proper magic wand attacks.

11. Wizard 7: For your fourth level spells make sure to pick up Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere so you can turtle up using your magic barriers. It creates a magical hamster ball for a large or smaller creature for up to a minute, and nothing can pass though it, and nothing inside can damage anything outside or vice versa. If the creature you’re enclosing is unwilling, it can avoid entrapment with a dexterity save.

12. Wizard 8: Use this ASI for more Intelligence to gain extra AC and stronger spells.

13. Warlock 5: Fifth level warlocks get third level spells like Wind Wall for another kind of magical defense, and you can also use your Mask of Many Faces to Disguise Self at will for unlimited card use.

14. Warlock 6: As a sixth level genlock, your Elemental Gift gives you resistance to thunder damage, and your ultimate magical girl transformation gives you a flying speed for 10 minutes as a bonus action. You can use this a number of times per long rest equal to your proficiency bonus.

Since your concentration is no longer needed for flying, you can use it for spells like Spirit Shroud instead to make your attacks with Ruby a little bit stronger, adding cold, radiant, or necrotic damage to your strikes.

15. Wizard 9: Fifth level spell time! Just grab the big blasty ones, that’ll be fun.

16. Wizard 10: Tenth level bladesingers learn a Song of Defense, letting you burn spell slots to reduce incoming damage by five times the slot level while transformed. Blocking Bazett entirely would probably cost a ninth level slot at least, but it’ll hurt a bit less when she slugs you! yay....

Also, Legend Lore lets you ask Ruby about whatever magical nonsense you run into, and Wall of Force gives you yet another magical blockade to keep your friends safe.

17. Wizard 11: Another spell level obtained, another new tier of blasting spells for you to play with!

18. Wizard 12: Use your last ASI to bring your Strength up one last time. Now you and Ruby are a force to be reckoned with!

(Also, Create Homunculus will let you, that’s right, create a homunculus. I’m sure Irisviel would love to see her daughter get into the family business.)

19. Wizard 13: Your seventh level spells are as high as we can get this build, but that’s still another set of blasting spells you can use!

20. Wizard 14: Your capstone level grants you a Song of Victory, adding your intelligence modifier to melee attack damage while using your bladesong.

Pros:

Thanks to your warlock slots and arcane recovery, you recover spell slots at a prodigious rate, meaning you’ll rarely be completely out of magical power.

Concentration free flight is fantastic, especially on a build that can abuse the range like you can. Fling fireballs all you want, with no fear of reprisal!

On the rare occasion where you run out of mana, you can still be a respectable melee fighter, with 19 AC and a very painful Ruby Wallop with Bladesong active.

Cons:

You’re mostly wizard, and we dumped constitution. Even with tough helping out, your HP is still really low. If you take a paper cut you’ll be in Power Word Kill range.

You have limited time transformations. Generally speaking I’d think six minutes of Bladesinging and sixty minutes of flight would be enough, but if your DM likes to space out encounters you might be in trouble.

Multiclassing bites us in the ass again, locking you out of ninth level spells and splitting our casting modifiers. Trying to be good at hitting people also doesn’t help much.

[aspenflower17]

Finding You (Part 16 of ??)

Hello metal husband and readers! Welcome to another update to Finding You! What’s on tap today you ask? Well, just keep reading and find out! New here and don’t want to spoil the story? Just hop on over to Part One through this link, and you can read through!

Word Count: 3,558

Tags for the Tagged: @simpingforsatan @naimena @hachimochi @wrathandgreed @magi-minminxiii @rensphilia @a-dream-at-night @chloelikesobeyme @getbehindme-satan @theuglypugling @oofthelazyweeb @solomonismyman (If you want to be added to my tags list, just say the word down below in a comment or a message, and I will get you added to the list :D)

Trigger warnings: One character’s a total douche, talk of war and death

Mc twirled the pencil she had been sketching with debating if she should ask the question she had been thinking about. Her and Michael were the only ones in the room and no one would be coming in for quite awhile. This was probably the best time she’d get to ask, "Hey, Michael. Can I ask you a question?"

He looked up from his book, "Yes? What is it?"

"Well, I was reading a book the other day, and I came across something odd. It… it was about the Avatar's Fall," Mc couldn't look at Michael, so she just continued, "Eyewitness accounts say there were eight angels that fell that day. So, I was wondering: Was there an eighth angel who fell that day?"

The silence was heavy, threatening to crush Mc. After a long moment, Michael's voice sounded lowly, "And just why were you reading about something like that?"

"Meeting them in person got me curious."

"And you would believe an eyewitness account over the teachings of the Celestial Realm?"

"Well, not necessarily. I just was curious since I'd never heard of there being another angel who Fell."

There was silence, and Mc still couldn't make herself look over, "I suppose just because some of them have paid attention to you makes you think you know all about demons.”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it then? If you haven’t forgotten, demons will lie about anything. Sinning comes naturally to them. In fact, the seven you keep coming into contact with are the embodiment of some of the most damaging sins. The lower demons are even worse.”

“I just want the most information possible. If there was another angel who fell that day, shouldn’t we tell everyone?”

“You forget your place, Mc. You may have luxuries other angels do not possess, but that does not raise your station.  Questioning Father’s teachings. To believe something a demon wrote about another demon-"

"I'm not really questioning. I was just confused because-"

"And now you interrupt me? Just who do you think you are? I am an archangel, and the only reason you've been allowed down here. You are a simple angel that we have allowed to express her talents throughout the three realms. Do not make me wonder if it was the right decision."

Mc flinched at the door closing. Though he hadn't slammed it, nor had he raised his voice, she had felt the waves of displeasure rolling off of him. The threat about sending her back to the Celestial Realm had her really nervous. Before she was aware of what she was doing, the message had been sent.

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

“I could’ve come to the castle.”

“Hmmm… I don’t think that would be for the best right now.”

Satan cocked his head, “Did something happen?”

“Kind of. Anyway, thanks for meeting me here.”

“Of course. Is there anything in particular you’d like to do?”

“Well, I kinda thought, since I have an invitation and all, that you could show me around the House of Lamentation.”

“I… I mean, if you want to. I’m warning you now, it’s almost never calm there. My brothers are… a handful.”

“Sounds great!”

Satan looked over in shock, “Seriously?”

Mc nodded her head, “I grew up with calm. I want some excitement.”

“Well, be careful what you wish for.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

“GIVE ME BACK MY LIMITED DIAMOND EDITION SUCREY FRENZY SIGNED POSTER MAMMON! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT’S WORTH!”

“Course I know what it’s worth! Why’d ya think I took it in the firs’ place?”

“SO YOU DID TAKE IT!!!”

“Oh. Whoops! Forget I said anythin’.”

“MAMMON!”

A blur of demon shot past Mc and Satan. All Mc could make out was white and brown, before Leviathan went past, considerably slower than Mammon, but still fast for a demon. At least, Mc thought it might be Leviathan. The shy purple haired demon was now in all black, with black horns and a snake-like tail. He also looked like he was going to rip apart his brother.

Satan sighed, continuing forward, hands in his pockets, “Welcome to the House of Lamentation.”

“Shouldn’t we do something?”

“Hmm? Oh, about them? I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Ah. I see…”

“We should probably get you out of the immediate vicinity though. There’s no telling what those two idiots might do.”

“Where should we go then?”

“Hmmm… Well, since we’re close, I guess we could start with the kitchen.”

“Sounds good to me!”

As they walked, Mc looked around her. Though the decorations were both a tad macabre and extremely grand, she found herself… comfortable. The candle light cast everything in an almost cheery glow, and the atmosphere, while a little daunting, made her feel like she was…

“... Home.”

Satan stopped dead in his tracks, and turned slowly towards her, “W-wait… Hwat did you say?”

“Oh, did I say that outloud? Sorry. That probably sounded really weird,” when Satan didn’t answer, Mc continued a bit awkwardly, “It’s just… This is the most comfortable I’ve been in a brand new place in a long time. I thought maybe my attraction to the Devildom was just because of how novel it all is to an angel. But�� Being in this house, it just makes everything feel more like… Home,” Mc looked up to see Satan looking at her with a very tender but sad look, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. Let’s keep going.”

When they got to the kitchen, Belphegor and Beelzebub were there, former hiding his head in his arms and the latter consuming a concerning amount of food in a very short time. He stopped when Satan and Mc entered the room.

“Burfy! Wrok hus herr!”

“Hmmm? What? Who is it?”

“Ots Emm Fee!”

Belphegor lifted his head tiredly, but smiled when he saw Satan and Mc, “So, you took us up on the invitation?”

“Yup. Satan’s showing me around.”

“Do you guys want some food?” Beelzebub asked, mouth cleared for a second.

“Well, I-"

"Here. You can have this," Beel said, grabbing her hand and dropping what looked to be a kind of sweet bun in it. He gazed at it for a second then looked at her and grinned before walking back to his food pile. 

"You should eat it," Satan said quietly, " He doesn't share his food with just anybody."

"Oh. Okay," Mc said, looking at the sweet. She took a small bite and then her eyes grew wide before eating the whole thing.

"Thought you'd like it," the Avatar of Gluttony smiled.

"It was absolutely delicious! What was it?"

"An orange roll. It's a human word treat."

"I'm going to have to have Luke make it later."

"Did he come with you?" Beel's eyes were shining. 

"Ummm… Not this time."

"Oh."

"I'll make sure to let him know next time I'm coming."

"Please do," Beel said, smiling again. 

"Well, I'm going to continue our tour if that's alright."

"Yes, please do," Mc smiled, turning back to him.

"Have fun you two," Belphie said, dropping his head back onto his arm.

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

Mc and Satan progressed through the house. The feeling of familiarity just kept growing as they went. There was a room off the kitchen that Mc felt very drawn to. Satan said it was just an unused bedroom, nothing of note, but it did nothing to curb her interest. In fact, it made her want to see what was inside even more.

When they got to the library, they had to stop because Mc was so excited. No matter how many library’s she saw, personal or otherwise, they never failed to excite her. The fact it was the personal library of the Fallen was not lost on her.

“Do you want to stop here for a bit?” Satan chuckled.

Mc turned to him with wide eyes, “Can we?”

“Of course. Spending time with books is always time well spent. Anything in particular you’d like to look for?”

“Ummm… Do you just want to give me a tour?”

“Of the library?... Hmm… I suppose I could do that. Lucifer does like it organized a certain way. And, of course, if there’s a book that catches your eye, all you have to do is say the word and we can stop to read.”

“Oh, that’s what you’re really after,” Mc teased.

“Well, can you blame me? Reading with someone in companionable silence is one of life’s greatest joys.”

“Well, I suppose it is nice to just sit and read with Sim, though he’s probably the only one I’ve read with.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Most other angels don’t just sit and read very often. Unless it’s scripture.”

“Sounds about right,” Satan said, rolling his eyes and starting to climb the stairs that lead to the second story of the library.

The “certain way” Lucifer liked the books to be organized was by genre, then alphabetically by author.If an author had multiple books, they were to be then sorted alphabetically by title, any series sorted by the first book’s title then in order. Many of the books were old though in impeccable condition. Mc was impressed by the breadth of selection available, and she could sense some spacial magic at work which housed more books than what was visible to the naked eye. While browsing, Mc found a book that looked interesting, and carried it until the tour was over. Satan happened to have a book in a hidden pocket in his jacket so they decided to sit and read awhile. Instead of the ground floor, Satan knew of a little nook on the second story which had a cushioned window seat and two plush reading chairs, so they went and sat there.

Though the story was interesting, she just couldn’t get into the book she’d grabbed. Her mind kept wandering back to her earlier conversation with Michael. She didn’t know how she could have brought up the subject in a way where he wouldn’t have gotten so upset with her. He’d reprimanded her before, but never had he been so dismissive and final about it.

“Are you alright?” Satan’s voice cut through her thoughts. She looked over to see him watching her.

She suddenly felt embarrassed, and averted her eyes, “It’s… Well, I got reprimanded by Michael.”

“Why?”

So Mc told him about her search for information, how Barbatos had told her to ask Michael and his rebuke. When she finished, Satan’s face was impossible to read. He was silent for long enough, she was concerned she had offended him somehow. Finally he spoke, “Lilith. Her name was Lilith. If you want some answers about what happened, I think Lucifer would be the best person to give them to you. I would suggest Beel, but he has enough trauma about what happened as it is. I don’t even know if he remembers, or if he’s blocked it…”

“Blocked what?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Satan knocked on a bookshelf on the ground floor. A deep voice sounded from behind it, “Enter.” At the word, the bookshelf sung open to reveal a secret room. Despite wondering what was going on, Mc was both delighted and intrigued.

“You guys actually have a secret room behind a bookcase?!”

Satan shrugged, “Yeah. The house has a lot more secrets too. It would’ve been my room had I not lost a bet with Lucifer. Now it’s his office,” and with that, he walked in.

The whole room was a lot cozier than Mc would’ve expected. Austere and imposing yes, but there was a level of warmth and comfort to the room Mc would never have expected.

“Satan, what is it?” Lucifer sat at his desk, quill scratching across some paperwork. He hadn’t looked up.

“Mc has a question for you.”

This got him to look up, “Ah Mc. How can I help you?”

“Oh, if I’m interrupting something I can come back later.”

“I could use a break anyway. Please continue,” Lucifer sat there expectantly.

“Okay. Umm…” the memory of Michael flashed through Mc’s mind, and she winced a bit, but continued on with her story. Lucifer’s eyes darkened the further into the story she got. When she got to Michael’s chastisement, Lucifer got up from his chair abruptly, and went over to his window, back to Satan and Mc. Mc faltered in her story, watching as his clothes changed, horns pushing up and out from his head.

“I told her you’d be the one to ask,” Satan intervened, coming to stand behind Mc.

“Why? You know everything. You were there,” Lucifer asked, back still turned.

“You know the whole story,” Satan shrugged, eyes on the black clad figure.

Lucifer was silent and unmoving for quite awhile. Mc’s tension was on high alert for quite awhile, not seeing the horns retreating, until he finally spoke, “Before I begin, I feel I must warn you. You are going to hear things you probably won’t like or agree with. You are not to interrupt me. There will be a chance for me to answer your questions at the end, but only at the end. I will not explain my actions. The only person I answer to is Lord Diavolo. Whether you believe them correct or not, I am not embellishing the truth nor am I trying to hide from it. Knowing all of that, do you want me to continue?”

“... Yes. I would like to know the truth,” Mc answered confidently, though the fact he was still angry put her on edge. She knew he wasn’t angry at her at least.

The eldest, having calmed down enough to revert out of his demon form, came over and sat behind his desk. Satan came and sat next to her, earning a look from Lucifer, “You’re going to stay?”

“She is my guest.”

Lucifer raised his eyebrows, but said nothing, turning his attention back to Mc, “Have you heard about the Great Celestial War?” Mc nodded, and he continued, “No doubt you’ve heard their version of what happened. Probably talks about me and my brothers rampaging around the Celestial Realm until they finally cast us out?” Lucifer looked to her for confirmation.

“More or less,” Mc conceded.

“I am sure they make me out to be a villain in every way?”

“They say before you became angry, you were the model angel.”

“That is… interesting to know. Thank you for that. Now, where to begin?... Do you know anything about our sister?” Mc shook her head no, and Lucifer sighed angrily, “To think they just… Lilith came into my little makeshift family with Beel and Belphie. They were almost triplets in a sense of the word. Beel was the sun, Belphie the moon and Lilith the stars, though I would argue she shined the most brightly out of them. She was... angelic. They should really point to her as the model angel. She was everything an angel should and could be. Though they were all very close, once Beel made himself my bodyguard, Belphie and Lilith spent a lot of time together. Belphie had a habit of going off the the human realm whenever he could, which was not seen as a good thing, though he knew how to keep himself unattached to the humans he happened to meet, so no one could really do much more than grumble. That is, until Lilith started going down him.

Her heart was so pure and full of love, she ended up falling in love with one of the humans she met. Belphie tried to talk her out of it, but it was no use. When the rumors started, I asked both of them what was going on. From what they both said, it was love at first sight. Though I was furious, I went down myself to meet the man in question, and found myself unable to criticize her. He was everything I could have wanted for my sister. 

Unfortunately, he was mortal and he came down with a serious illness. Lilith was devastated. We all tried to tell her this was a good thing. He was a good enough person he would probably join us in the Celestial Realm. I even spoke with my father and got permission for her to lead him to the Celestial Realm when he passed. She wouldn’t listen however. He had told her all about his dreams for the future and she couldn’t let his life end. SO she concocted a plan. I wish she would’ve told me about it earlier, but I only found out about it after the deed had been done. She took a Tarel fruit and fed it to him,” Mc gasped despite herself. That fruit was precious. Michael himself wasn’t allowed any unless Father approved of it. Lucifer didn’t even acknowledge the outburst, “He recovered, obviously, but the damage was irreversible. As punishment for her sins, my father decided she would be put on trial, though we all knew the outcome, “ as did Mc. Either death or complete exile. They were essentially one-and-the-same.

“I had… many issues with the Celestial Realm and how it was run. How it probably still is. I was able to put those all aside however for the sake of my family and my position. This however,” and Mc could see the rage that still filled his eyes, “I could never forgive. Not if it meant the death of our dear baby sister. All my brothers felt the same way, especially Beel and Belphie. We all decided we were going to do something about it. Despite what anyone might say, I did try to go the “correct way” in the beginning. Supplications to my father. Speaking to others that might listen. I think we even tried a petition at one point. Very few would listen. I think there was a level of envy from most of the other angels. They saw in Lilith all their shortcomings, and so they had latched onto the one “bad” thing anyone could ever remember her doing.

“Tensions came to a head one day when I told my father and Michael I would do everything in my power to keep Lilith safe. Michael then looked me dead in the eyes and told me my sister was going to be punished, even if he had to do it himself. I left that meeting trembling with rage, and that’s when I knew I would wage war against anyone who tried to hurt my family, even if that meant fighting my father myself. I flew into the sky that day and sent my declaration of war over the entire Celestial Realm.

“Some came to our aid, but most sat on the opposing side. The war was long and bloody. Many that had flocked to our aid perished, low ranked angels who didn’t stand a chance against the likes of Michael and his bow. On what would come to be known as the last day of the war, we had so few left, my precious family had to be put near the front of the battle. Everything was going fine, and we were actually winning when I saw Michael emerge from the enemy forces. He had spotted Lilith, standing with Beel and Belphie, and I could see his intentions before anyone else. I tried my hardest to reach the three youngest, but a large crowd of angels came to attack me. Whether it was his plan all along to keep me tied up with so many, I don’t know. All I do know is that by the time I had fought off all my attackers it was too late. He had strung three arrows pointing them at my family. They all knew it was coming too, and I watched the panic set in to all three of them, with Beel in the middle. He chose to save Belphie. Lilith went down with an arrow to the wing, which was then followed by three more arrows shot by others, one to her other wing, one to the stomach, and then one to the chest. She looked over to me as she started falling and I…” Lucifer’s voice broke and he had to take a second to compose himself, “Well, let’s just say I will never forget it. After the shock had worn off, I flew after her as she fell. I tried to shoot down as fast as I could hoping to grab her, but it was no use. She crashed into the Devildom, wings singed body broken.

“I didn’t tell anyone about that day for a long time. Eventually I did tell Barbatos and Lord Diavolo who Lilith’s murderer was, which is why Barbatos knew who to send you to for answers. The fact Michael wouldn’t come clean about the whole thing, and that they’ve essentially erased her from history… It makes my blood boil. To see Diavolo acting so chummy with my sister’s murderer…” Mc could see, through the film of tears blocking her vision, Lucifer’s horns starting to emerge again.

Without thinking, she crossed over to him and hugged him, openly weeping. The thought was appalling. Whenever people spoke about the Great Celestial War, they always spoke of Michael’s brilliant  tactical genius. They spoke of how he’d helped crush the rebellion, though they had never gone into detail. She now knew why. Lucifer was taken aback for a second by the behavior, but eventually hugged her back.

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So, yeah. That happened.

Likes, shares and comments all vm appreciated. 

If y’all got the reference in the beginning, I applaud you and offer the chance to quote her magnificence in the comments or you could send me asks and I will reply with another quote (please take me up on this!)

Part Seventeen