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inlovewithquestionablecharacters · 7 months ago

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Aemond X Velaryon!Reader: An olive branch

Warnings: smut, oral (f receiving), fingering, talks of marriage, fluff, no use of y/n, female reader, incest ( because its hotd so of course), Velaryon reader, not proofread.

Word count: 2K

You watch Aemond move, his sword singing gracefully as he practices his fight moves. You hear Helaena hum to the twins causing you to turn to face her. A small smile appears on your lips as you watch the children play. Heleana looks up at you suddenly, her eyes moving over your face before smiling at you.

“What is it?”

“I’m excited.”

“Whatever about?”

“The wedding of course.”

You didn’t know about any wedding that was to take place soon. You eyed Helaena ’s handmaidens curiously seeing the way they looked around with odd expressions. You’d been raised alongside Heleana's all your life and unlike your brothers you had developed a friendship with your aunt. People often judged her words, believing she was mad, but you always tried your best to understand her. Even so there were moments where you simply couldn’t make out what she was talking about.

“I think you're confused, your grace. I don’t think there are any weddings to be celebrated soon.”

“Not yet but there will be.”

Before you could ask what she meant Aegon burst through the doors. You rose for your seat excusing yourself from the room. You exited the doors not realizing someone was in front of you until you collided with them. Your body stumbled backwards losing its balance but before you could fall a hand wrapped around your waist, holding you upright. Your eyes found Aemonds, mouth opening slightly as his gaze penetrated you.

“Sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

You could feel the heat of Aemond’s palm on your waist, causing your cheeks to heat up. You’d always had a soft spot for Aemond who, unlike his brother, had always shown you kindness. Well, as much kindness as he could give to the bastard daughter of his sister. Your family was complicated but you always tried your hardest to get along with everyone. You did it for your mothers sake, knowing she had had to deal with a lot during her life. There was one small issue however. A secret you’ve kept hidden for years. Over the years you’d developed a somewhat overbearing desire for Aemond. You had thought it was merely because you'd become older and your body longed for pleasure but you realize you only ever felt flushed around the older Targaryen.

Your gaze would linger on Aemonds frame whenever he was in the room, your eyes falling on his long hair and strong features. You knew you would have to marry one day, your brothers had already been promised to their future wives but your mother had yet to suggest a husband for you. As the tensions rose in the household you couldn’t help but think that perhaps an alliance was overdue. And what better way to secure an alliance than through marriage? But you never brought it up, keeping your thoughts concealed form everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

Helena knew of your thoughts. She was the only one you had confided in. You’d done so because you felt like you could trust her and because you needed to get the idea off your mind before it consumed you entirely. You never expected her to tell anyone and even if she did you assumed they wouldn’t believe you.

You’d been wrong.

Aemond stared at you, his touch lingering on your body even after it was clear you had regained your balance. He often caught you glancing in his direction but he never thought much off it. He’d been teased his entire life and he knew his eye made people curious so he always assumed you were looking at him in judgment. It was only when Heleana told him of what you’d said to her that he realized he’d been completely wrong. You weren’t looking at him in disgust but rather in a longing manner. He couldn't seem to get the thought out of his head. You’d grown to be a beautiful woman and you were strong like him. In a lot of ways you two would make a wonderful match. But he knew if he wanted this to work the way you’d thought he’d have to move fast.

“Aemond.”

Your voice called him back to reality, lips pursing as he finally released your body. He gave you a small smile, his lips becoming a thin line as he did. He was always so shy looking when he was around you. It was a lot different from how he looked when he was training. You moved your hands over your dress, trying to straighten out the fabric.

“Is that new?”

“Oh. Yes it is. I thought it’d be nice to wear something different for dinner. Does it please you?”

Aemonds brows furrowed at your questions. Why did you care about what he thought of your clothes? But then he caught sight of the way you looked at him. Like a small girl waiting for approval. He couldn’t help but smile at your delicate nature.

“It's beautiful. Just as you are.”

Aegon's voice rang through the halls as he called out for his brother. Aemond bowed his head to you slightly before making his way towards the door you stepped out of a couple of moments prior. Before entering he turned to look at you once more.

“See you at dinner.”

You nodded at him, watching as he entered the room before you began rushing down the hall. You walked fast through the castle, desperately trying to get to your chambers. You suddenly felt the need for a bath.

Hours later you make your way down to the dining room, your dress trailing behind you. You walked into the room being greeted by the sight of your family. Your mother smiled at you as you made your way towards your seat. She placed a kiss on your head, her hand moving to grasp yours beneath the table. You leaned into your mothers caresses, closing your eyes.

Aemond observed the exchange from the other side of the table, a bitterness filling him. Rhaenyra was always gentle with her children, showering them with love at every opportunity. Aemond couldn’t help but feel jealous. The feeling faded a bit when he remembered what he had planned for tonight. If everything went well soon it would be him who held onto your hand.

The dinner went on as it usually did, an eerie feeling surrounding the table you feasted on. That was how it always was with your family, one never knew when a fight might break out. Music filled the room causing your brother to rise from his seat. You watched Jace make his way to your mother, offering her his hand. She took it, allowing him to guide her into a dance. Heleana eyed Aegon, awaiting him to invite her to dance as well but he was far too focused on the ale in his cup to notice. You gave Heleana a sympathetic look.

“May I have this dance?”

You’d been so focused in observing the others that you hadn’t noticed Aemond make his way over to you. He stood beside you, his hand outstretched in invitation. You looked up at him in surprise for a moment before getting up from your seat and taking his hand. He led you to where your mother and brother were. You caught the way your mother gazed at Aemond curiously. But soon enough the only thing you could see was Aemond. He took the lead, guiding you through the dance effortlessly. His movements were perfect and precise while yours were fluid and natural. A perfect contrast to each other. Once you were finished Aemond turned to face the table, his hand grasping yours.

“I have an announcement to make.”

The older members of the family eyed Aemond, trying to figure out what he was about to do. You prayed he was not about to do something stupid. You couldn’t handle a fight tonight. To your surprise, and to everyone else's, Aemond turned to look at your mother.

“I would like your daughter's hand in marriage.”

Alicent lifted off her chair slightly, looking at her son with wide eyes. That was the moment that it became clear to you that Aemond had decided this by himself, he had not been guided to take action. He was doing this because he wanted to. Your mother hesitated for a moment before her eyes moved to look at your face. You knew what marrying Aemond would mean. You knew the consequences and you knew the duties you would have to perform but all you could think about at the moment was the feeling of his hand in yours. You gave your mother a small nod.

“She accepts your offer.”

Heleana let out a delighted squeal, rising from her seat to make her way over to you. She pulled you into an embrace which you happily returned.

“I told you it would happen.”

She had in fact warned you but you would have never guessed this was what she meant. Alicent rose from her chair raising her glass to you and Aemond.

“To the happy couple. May your union symbolize the bond of our houses.”

“Now and forevermore.”

Aliecent turned to look at your mother and you could swear you saw them share a small smile.

Later that night you were getting ready for bed when there was a knock on your door. You expected it to be your guard so you simply yelled out.

“You may enter.”

But instead of being greeted with the face of your guard you found yourself gazing up at Aemond.

“Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine. I just wished to see my wife.”

It felt odd to hear him call you that.

“I’m still not your wife. We have not been married yet.”

“But we will be. Might as well begin referring to you as such.”

“Well then husband, what makes you come to my room at such an hour. You should be sleeping.”

Aemond walked around your room, taking it in. You watched him move around until he was closer to you.

“I tried but sleep seems to be avoiding me. I couldn’t get these thoughts out of my head.”

“What thoughts?”

He gazed at you, his hand moving to rest on your cheek.

“I wish to taste you.”

You let out a soft gasp at Aemonds words, his piercing gaze making you flush.

“We cannot.”

“Why not?”

“We aren’t married yet. It’s a sin.”

“I don’t care. The gods will understand.”

His hands moved over your nightgown, fingers grazing the skin beneath it. You leaned onto the bed, taking a seat. Your head spun at the feeling of Aemond’s skin on yours and even though you knew this was wrong you couldn’t get yourself to stop him. Aemond moved to sit on his knees before you, his hand moving to inch up your dress. He placed a kiss to your shin making you sigh. His hands moved over you gently revealing more and more of your skin to him.

“Aemond i-oh gods- i need you to-”

“Shh, I know.”

He looked at your bare pussy, observing the way it glistened. He leaned his head forward, his tongue darting out to taste you. A moan ripped out of your lips at the feeling of his tongue on your folds. You gripped onto the sheets, breathing heavily as Aemonds tongue continued to move against you. He groaned into you, lapping at your cunt in desperation. He hadn’t expected for you to feel this good. Your hand found his head, unconsciously pushing him closer to you.

“Ah Aemond i’m close.”

Aemond sucked on your clit, his fingers moving to help him make you reach your orgasm. It didn’t take long before your body was launching forwards, a cry of Aemonds name on your lips as you came. Aemond rested his head on your thigh, his eyes moving over the outline of your nipples through your nightgown as you breathed.

“Satisfied husband?”

“For now.”

Aemond rose from the ground, moving to place a gentle kiss to your temple. You closed your eyes allowing him to caress you. And just as he had entered your chambers he exited them, leaving you to think of what was to come on your wedding night. Maybe this marriage would be more fruitful than you’d initially anticipated.

#smut #smut fanfiction #smut tag #prince aemond #aemond targaryen #aemond one eye #hotd aemond #aemond x reader #aemond fanfiction #aemond smut #aemond x you #velaryon reader #house of the dragon #hotd smut #hotd fanfic #hotd x reader #hotd x you

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aventoru · 7 months ago

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heartbreak is one thing (my ego's another)

character(s) : michael kaiser

warning(s) : kaiser calling people clowns, idiots in love, oblivious reader, kaiser being a tease, kaiser being annoying, kinda situationship at first, just kaiser 😔, profanity from song lyrics

a/n : this was kind of based off please, please, please because the lyrics r so funny!!! kaiser def acts like a little shit in this but he's sweet to y/n in the end so 🫶

as much as you hated to say it, you had a crush on michael kaiser. and it wasn’t simply the usual one-time attraction, your crush on him was long-lasting.

of course, you knew of all his glaring red flags. you witnessed firsthand his egotistical personality on and off the field, his…colorful choice of words, and his cold hearted treatment towards others. you had never seen kaiser even blink in another person’s direction and you were sure he dating life was non-existent. not only that, the way he called isagi yoichi a “clown” should have been enough of an ick for you.

but you felt that with you, he was different. (this feeling was so cliche you cringed every time you experienced it.) even though your crush on kaiser made you look at him through rose-tinted glasses, you couldn’t let go of the nagging feeling that you might have a chance with him.

kaiser had always been kinder to you than he was to others. you couldn’t recall all the times he held your bag for you or took you out for food or gifted you your favorite character’s merch.

and that was probably the starting point of your delusions. unfortunately, your feelings had reached a point of no return. you felt like bursting every single time he breathed next to you. considering how you were sporting a very bright red blush every single time you made eye contact with kaiser, you assumed the entire team (including him) would have found out about your crush on him by now, but luckily for you, they haven’t.

so, you’ve decided that before everyone managed to find out and embarrass you for your little crush, you would go one step ahead and confess to him. today.

it was another successful victory for bastard munchen and there was a house party being hosted that evening. all the players were attending and other influential figures and close friends were invited as well, one of them being you.

so, you got your makeup done nice and your cute outfit on. you realized that if you were going to be rejected, the least you could do was look hot. the moment you stepped outside, you instantly regretted your impulsive decision to confess to kaiser today. but you had to, because you didn’t trust yourself to act normal around him any longer.

“hey, y/n!” ness called out to you as soon as you walked through the door. “hey, ness, where’s kaiser?” you asked, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. “hmm, looking for me, darling?” kaiser sauntered up behind you, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you flush against his body. “well, uhm, since you’ve found him, i’ll be off!” ness took that as his cue to leave. you breathed a sigh of relief as you were finally alone with the bane of your existence before turning to said person.

“kaiser, don’t call me that, it’s so embarrassing!” you struggled to release yourself from his iron grip on your waist. “so, what did you need me for sweetheart?” kaiser leaned down to make eye contact with you. “i need to talk to you about something. and enough with the petnames, kaiser!” you tried your best to glare at him. “okay, let’s go outside then,” kaiser smirked before grabbing your hand and pulling you along towards the entrance. you stumbled slightly before catching up to him. thank god the lights were dim enough to cover the blood rushing to your face.

“so, what’s so important that you needed to tell me alone?” he asked. “uhhh actually, i’ve been wanting to tell you this for a long time now but…” you look to the side and purse your lips, the nervousness was really catching up to you now. “but??” kaiser pressed on, a teasing smirk on his lips. you finally get the courage to finally make eye contact with him before blurting out, “i like you. a lot.” a moment of silence passes by. as you waited for his response, the only thing you could think was

i beg you, don’t embarrass me motherfcker.

“i know,” he said, the smirk he was wearing growing even wider than before. you felt yourself getting irritated at his nonchalant attitude. “then reject me so i can get over it,” you cover your face with your hands, bracing yourself for the feeling of heartbreak. but it never came.

“why would i reject you?” kaiser questioned. “huh?” you looked up at him confused. “why would i reject my favorite person in the world?” kaiser grabbed your waist, pulling you against his chest. “you what??!?” you look so utterly confused kaiser wanted to kiss you stupid. “don’t you get it? i like you, too, silly,” kaiser fully embraced you. his hug was so tender and loving that you almost succumbed to his teasing. almost.

“wait…were you playing dumb all this time just to tease me?!” you exclaimed, jumping away from his warmth. “nooo why would i do that?” kaiser spoke in a serious tone, although the giddy smile on his lips said otherwise. “you-i can’t believe this, do you know how embarrassed i am every time you’re around?” you were exasperated at this point. “honestly, y/n, do you think i’ve simply been nice to you all this time?” kaiser sighed at your obliviousness, “but i guess it’s only fair that i confess, too.”

“go.” a stroke to your hair. “out.” a caress to your cheek. “with.” a fleeting kiss on your lips. “me.”

kaiser pulled away to admire the dazed look on your face as you finally said what he wanted to hear for so long. “okay, i’ll go out with you,” you smiled brightly at him. “see? now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” he smiled back just as brightly. “but you better not embarrass me kaiser,” you warned as he led you back inside, hand in hand.

“hey everyone, i have a psa to make!” kaiser spoke over the microphone. “Y/N AND I ARE DATING SO BACK OFF ALL YOU CLOWNS!”

you hung your head low as kaiser left the party with you soon after, claiming how he wanted to spend the night with his s/o instead.

this man will never fail to embarrass you, but it was totally worth it.

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azrielmasterlist · 25 days ago

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His Shadows & Their Starlight

Storyline:-(Ver.2.0) Azriel is sitting next to Elain as you sit by the fireplace reading. You've been staying with Azriel, Cassian, and Rhysand for the past two months in Velaris. You're a mortal but Rhysand says you have different abilities that no mortal should be able to have. For example, winnowing or teleporting. Azriel is in love with Elain Archeron even though Elain already has a mate.

Word count:- 1.7k

Warnings:- Insecurity, Lonliness, Jealousy, Angst.

Series:- Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Chapter 4: The Shadow's Embrace

Isla's POV

The weight of Velaris pressed against me, invisible yet suffocating.

It wasn’t the city itself—Velaris was beautiful, a sanctuary carved out of light and dreams. It was the expectations, the constant reminder that I was living in a world far beyond my own. Powers I didn’t understand coursed through me, untamed and unpredictable. Most days, I felt like a child stumbling through the dark, reaching for something solid but finding only shadows.

And yet, it was the shadows that seemed to understand me the most.

Azriel’s shadows had become a constant presence in my life. They moved around me like silent sentinels, their dark tendrils curling in ways that felt almost… affectionate. They offered a solace I didn’t think I deserved, a quiet reminder that I wasn’t as alone as I felt.

But Azriel himself—he was another story.

I found him in the training yard one morning, his back to me as he worked through a series of precise movements with his blades. His wings flared slightly with each strike, the muscles in his back rippling under the soft light of dawn.

For a moment, I simply watched him, my heart pounding in a way that had nothing to do with fear.

“Are you going to stand there all morning?” His voice was low, tinged with the faintest hint of amusement.

I flushed, stepping into the open. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Azriel lowered his blades, turning to face me. His expression was unreadable, as always, but his shadows stirred at the edges of his form, shifting like they were pleased to see me.

“You’re up early,” he said, his tone neutral.

I shrugged, wrapping my arms around myself. “Couldn’t sleep.”

He nodded, his gaze lingering on me for a moment longer than necessary. Then, without a word, he gestured for me to join him.

Training with Azriel was… intense. He didn’t coddle me, didn’t treat me like the fragile mortal everyone else seemed to see. He pushed me, challenging me to face my fears and my limits.

But today, I wasn’t up for it.

Halfway through our session, I dropped to the ground, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. “I can’t,” I said, my voice cracking.

Azriel stood over me, his brow furrowed. “You’re stronger than this, Isla.”

“Am I?” The words came out harsher than I intended, but I didn’t care. “Because I don’t feel strong. I feel lost. Like I don’t belong here. Like I’m drowning.”

For a moment, Azriel said nothing. Then, slowly, he crouched down in front of me, his shadows curling around us like a protective cocoon.

“You’re not drowning,” he said softly. “You’re learning how to swim.”

The words hit me harder than I expected, and before I could stop myself, tears filled my eyes.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” I whispered.

Azriel didn’t respond, but his shadows moved closer, brushing against my skin like a gentle caress. I closed my eyes, letting the sensation wash over me. It was like being held, like being wrapped in a warmth I hadn’t realized I needed.

For the first time in weeks, I felt safe.

But when I opened my eyes, Azriel was gone.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

That night, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. About the way his shadows had comforted me, the way they seemed to know exactly what I needed.

It wasn’t just the shadows, though. It was Azriel himself. He was distant, yes, but there was a depth to him that I couldn’t ignore. A quiet strength that drew me in, even when he tried to push me away.

I found him in the library later, sitting alone at a table with a book in his hands. His shadows were restless, shifting and curling around him like they couldn’t decide whether to settle or flee.

“Am I interrupting?” I asked, hesitating at the edge of the room.

Azriel looked up, his expression guarded. “No.”

I took a deep breath, crossing the room to sit across from him. “Thank you,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“For what?”

“For earlier,” I said, meeting his gaze. “For being there when I needed someone.”

His jaw tightened, and he looked away. “It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” I insisted. “You didn’t have to stay, but you did. And your shadows…” I trailed off, unsure how to put it into words.

Azriel’s gaze snapped back to mine, something flickering in his eyes. “They shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not their place.”

His words stung, but I refused to back down. “Maybe it’s not their place, but they did it anyway. And I’m grateful for it.”

Azriel shook his head, standing abruptly. His shadows swirled around him, agitated. “You don’t understand.”

“Then explain it to me,” I said, standing as well. “Help me understand.”

He turned away, his wings tensing. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you make me feel things I’m not supposed to feel!”

The words burst out of him, raw and unguarded. For a moment, the room was silent, the weight of his confession hanging between us.

“I didn’t ask for this,” he said, his voice quieter now. “I didn’t ask for any of it.”

“Neither did I,” I said softly.

Azriel’s shoulders slumped, and for a moment, he looked more vulnerable than I’d ever seen him. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice barely audible.

Before I could respond, he was gone, his shadows trailing behind him like a dark tide.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

In the days that followed, I found myself avoiding him, unsure of how to face the emotions his words had stirred within me. But his shadows—they didn’t seem to understand the concept of distance.

They were always there, always reaching for me in moments of quiet. They were my comfort, my solace, even when their master couldn’t be.

Slowly, I began to realize that they weren’t just shadows.

They were Azriel’s heart, laid bare in a way he couldn’t bring himself to show.

I didn’t know what it meant, this connection we shared. But I knew one thing for certain: I wasn’t ready to let it go.

Taglist:-

@donnadiddadog @wintersquirrel @rcarbo1 @onebadassunicorn-blog

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angelwings-crossbowstrings · 1 month ago

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Chapter 36

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Allusions to abuse

A/N: This feels more like a filler chapter, just carrying the story further with no real plot. Maybe that’s just the way I see it. The prison is on the horizon!

That first conscious breath when waking was still such a treasured moment. You could smell nature, taste the crisp cold, hear the sequestered tunes of the wild, and even venture to forget that death walked. For that handful of invaluable heartbeats, life was normal.

That particular morning was different. You still experienced those precious few seconds of tranquility, your lips nearly curling into a smile when your brain—still hazy from sleep—realized it was dawn. Walkers had not stumbled upon your camp. No one had died. There were no screams. It was pleasantly quiet aside from soft gurgles and coos.

You felt no panic when your hand touched the cold ground, finding Birdie to be gone. Even without her verbal cues, you could sense she was close by and so was Daryl.

“Doin’ a awful lot’a jabberin’, lil’ Bird.”

His reposeful tone harbored an inkling of amusement. Your eyes opened slowly as if you feared making a sound that would disrupt the moment. Daryl was sitting with his back against a tree, knees drawn up to pillow a blanketed bundle of Birdie. One tiny hand was wrapped around his index finger while her other limbs were secure beneath the warmth of the fabric.

“C’mon, gotta keep ya snug here. S’too cold.”

Craning his neck, he pressed the gentlest of kisses to little fingers before pulling his own digit free in order to tuck her hand away. The baby did not care for the idea, grunting and passing gas in protest. Daryl huffed a laughed through his nose.

“Gonna need ‘nother diaper if ya keep that up.”

A tiny mouth opened as if to squeak but stretched wider in a yawn. The action had the archer laughing again, an actual quiet chuckle. Extending a finger, he tapped Birdie’s cheek and watched her root around for a source of food. You could watch him interact with her all day long without an ounce of boredom. Not if she had anything to say about it, however.

“Guess m’gonna hafta wake up your mama, huh?” The blanket bulged and shifted with the movements of little limbs beneath it, squeaks and grunts heightening in their insistence. “Okay, okay. M’a get ‘er.” Daryl cradled the baby across his chest, her weight resting on his right forearm so that he could use his left hand to push himself up. Truthfully, he could have simply outstretched his leg and tapped your shin with his boot, but he never was one for making anything easy on himself, was he?

You contemplated closing your eyes, feigning sleep in order to give him those few moments he had thought were private. Having waited a fraction of a second too long, you were caught blinking up at him just as he began to crouch. “Hey.” The image of his fury was a vivid snapshot seared into your memory. Were things really okay after everything the previous day? Daryl narrowed his eyes, staring almost coldly at you before bouncing Birdie gingerly.

That was more than likely a no.

“Bird’s hungry. Ya wanna—” He motioned broadly toward your torso. “Ya can do the thing an’ I can give ‘er a bottle if ya don’t want ‘er ‘round.”

Ouch.

“Daryl.” You sighed, sitting up with your sleeping bag pooled around your waist, only then registering the other voices and sounds. Everyone was already moving about. You had been so transfixed on the moment between father and daughter that you hadn’t noticed. “Of course I want her.” You reached upward before withdrawing. “Do you want to feed her?”

“Wanna do everythin’ for ‘er.” He replied without missing a beat. “But she needs ‘er mama too.” He said while adjusting the baby to support her properly as he waited for you to make a decision.

“I’ll feed her and then pump what I can so you can feed her next time, okay?” He jerked his chin in agreement. Shedding your jacket, you pulled one arm from your sweater and unclipped the bra. The fact that he turned his head when your breast was exposed unearthed so many emotions, bile creeping into your throat.

“A’ight then.” Daryl offered the squirming bundle, softly shushing her in such a way that made your heart melt, the puddle of it aching in waves. With a forward tilt on his knee, he helped support Birdie’s head while you adjusted her at your breast, his fingertips brushing against the outside curve of your skin. The gentleness in his expression toward Birdie turned pained, his gaze averting quickly as well as his hand. “M’a go see if there’s anythin’ I can get for some meat.”

Bracing the baby firmly with one arm, you leaned to clasp Daryl’s wrist, flinching when his attention snapped toward you. For so long, you had been prominent in your belief that he would never hurt you. Now? After his words from the day before? Your faith had waned.

“You could stay.” The way your voice vibrated, the words stuttering off your tongue, was awkward. Even through the rough patches, you had fought boldly to hold on to the woman you had been, the one that had filled your father with such pride. If he could only see you now. You had cried, begged, and made decisions that would have had him turning his back on you in shame.

Daryl didn’t appear to know how to respond, to neither your words nor your touch. His eyes flickered from your fingers to your eyes and back again, blue pools so deeply betraying his uncertainty and confusion to a level so bare that you feared he would lash out. When he didn’t, when he remained stock still and silent, it occurred to you that maybe he didn’t know how he was supposed to react.

That was it, wasn’t it? He knew you weren’t trying to hurt Birdie. He understood you were only trying to maintain a measure of safety, that what you were doing was something you didn’t want to do but felt you had to do it.

On the opposite side of the same coin, the thought of your capability to consider such a method had awoken a fear in him, memories of a time when he had been defenseless. In the face of that onslaught, he did the only thing he could do to protect his daughter. He had run.

You weren’t dealing with Daryl’s anger.

You were dealing with his pain.

That made the situation no less volatile. A vulnerable, confused Daryl was not the easiest version of him to manage. Honoring your theory, you allowed your fingers to loosen. It was important for him to have some sort of control and you would grant him that.

“I’d like it if you’d stay here with us.”

His eyes narrowed. Daryl was far from clueless. He could sense the shift in the atmosphere, but an opening had been left for him, a way to retreat. A sliver of tension melted from his muscles, you could feel the taut tendons relax beneath your touch.

“A’ight.” He rasped, unceremoniously tipping back onto his ass. You weren’t sure if the space he left between the two of you was intentional. It didn’t matter. He had chosen to stay, the implications of that decision still unclear.

Your smile was a tight line, gaze lingering on him for a moment before you looked down at Birdie, her eyes heavy-lidded as she suckled, little hand wrapped around Daryl’s finger. When had he reached over? Her skin was so pale in comparison, soft and delicate where Daryl’s was tan and calloused. Those hands were so gentle with your daughter. With you.

You longed to return to that time, when it was all new and a path was being carved toward a future together. Would you ever be that way again? You had to try. For Birdie and for the sake of your own heart.

“I’ll never make a decision about her again without talking to you.” You blurted without looking away from the tender moment. There was an unnerving silence that awoke a nauseating fear inside you. “Please talk to me.” You continued to avoid meeting his eyes. “I’m not willing to lose this—us.”

“Ain’t losin’ nothin’.”

Your head snapped up to find him watching you, expression hard and wary. “I’m—you’re not—”

“Nah.” Daryl shook his head and sniffed, rubbing his cheek against his shoulder as if alleviating an itch that may or may not have been actually there. “Just—I dunno.”

You wanted to tell him you got it, that you understood, but you didn’t. You couldn’t possibly. His trauma was wound so deep within the tendrils of his soul that it was possible some had become permanent, never able to heal. He would need to work through this, but he wouldn’t do it alone. You could still support him. Not understanding didn’t mean not caring.

“I love her, Daryl. I was—I am—struggling, but I love her and I’d never hurt her.” You blew out a breath through pursed lips, holding his gaze despite the myriad of feelings that stirred behind your ribs. “I love you.”

He blinked fast, his eyes wet. He sniffed again, his jaw ticking as he looked away, side to side, up then down, anywhere but at you. “Y/N, I—”

“Hey, Daryl?” You turned to glare over your shoulder at Glenn. He was looking straight up, likely to avoid seeing your breast even as Birdie had the nipple sealed between her lips. One day, the lovable idiot would learn to read the room. “You think you can could go see about some game? I know it’s cold, I know, but we could use—”

“No, he can’t.” You snapped with a little more vexation than you had expected or meant, but from the way the man flinched and started backing away, your point had been made.

“What’d ya do that for?” You found Daryl’s angry eyes awaiting you when you turned around, though he was working hard to heat the pointed glare. “Can speak for myself.”

The sigh that left you was nothing less than exasperated. “I know you can but we,” you freed a hand from beneath your daughter to gesture back and forth between her and yourself, “need you here.”

He was at war with himself, that much was obvious, blue orbs flitting back and forth. He had responsibilities tearing him in two, his duty toward the group in the throes of a never ending battle against his commitment to you and Birdie. You thought he would give in to the demands of Rick and the others, and you couldn’t fault him. Your heart sank when he stood and moved out of your view.

“Daddy’ll be back, baby girl. He’s just going to—” The weight of a blanket settled across your shoulders seconds before Daryl lowered himself to sit at your side, his hip and shoulder pressing against yours. He didn’t smile, still tense and circumspect, but leaned closer, nearly resting his head against yours so he could stroke the baby’s cheek.

“Told ya I can speak for myself.” He huffed. “And m’gonna stay right here.”

#murda writes #daryl dixon #blood ties #the walking dead #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x female reader #daryl dixon twd #daryl dixon the walking dead

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papayatori · 8 months ago

Text

Fall away (p5)

Inumaki Toge x fém!reader

Had I lived a life of weakness, or was I simply realizing just how strong everyone else around me had become? I stood in the middle of the training yard, fending off attacks from Yuta. He had decided to be my sparring partner today.

He had introduced himself to me earlier, almost shaking from his own nervousness. He was Inumaki’s best friend, I knew I would have to talk with him eventually, but today seemed off to me.

I knew that he was on a mission with the others, but I had no idea that when he’d gotten back that he would have a sudden interest in me. Though, I had learned recently from Gojo, that we had similar abilities. While Yuta failed to use a technique like the rest of us did with the exceptions of Maki, he still possessed a cursed spirit within himself known as Rika. Maki had warned me of her, as she had had a flaming jealousy of Maki from their first meeting. The only explanation of this was that Maki was another female that knew Yuta; though the flame in her eyes and the blush creeping onto her cheeks explained something entirely different. I kept that to myself in case Maki ever tormented me about Toge again.

“You’re fast, but your punches are pulled.” Yuta stated confidently with a small chuckle. I grimaced, noticing the gazes of our peers on the sidelines.

“Im not pulling punches, Yuta! You have a katana.” He shrugged, throwing it to me.

“Now you have a katana. Let’s see if we can fight evenly now.” I glared at him, readying myself for the next battle.

I completely willed my cursed energy to my core as Toge had instructed. I felt it flow through my body, pulse in my veins. I figured the only way to wield a weapon with zero cursed energy would be to use my own, I allowed it to flow into the wooden katana all at once, pushing as hard as I could to focus the energy. I saw Yuji give me a thumbs up from the sidelines.

Yuta now had Maki’s staff in his hands. She was standing awkwardly beside Panda with no explanation. I knew she must have given it to him.

He threw the first attack, nearly sweeping my legs out from under me. I had been distracted and he had used this to his advantage. I stood completely, dodging his next move with ease. Our weapons were crossed, and I pushed him further back, causing him to falter and stumble slightly.

“Fast and strong, I see.” I didn’t bother responding, only pushing further into battle.

I swiped at him with the katana. He narrowly blocked before twirling the staff. I blocked with my forearm, allowing the sting to flow through me and create more cursed energy. I focused it all into the katana, swinging at the arm that held the staff. My eyes widened.

The wooden katana had shattered as he easily blocked the blow and knocked me from my feet. He poked my forehead with the staff before offering me a hand that I reluctantly took to stand up once again.

“When focusing cursed energy into a weapon as you have just done, it can be vital to succeed; however, when done too hastily and forcefully, it will cause damage to you rather than your opponent.” He spoke clearly as if he had had experience. I nodded, taking note.

“So, by pushing cursed energy gradually, it will be more effective.” He smiled.

“Correct.”

We had met the others on the sidelines, allowing for criticism on both ends of our fight. Toge took my hand, sizing me up for any injuries that might need tending to. He smiled down at me before tugging his scarf back up to hide his markings once more.

“Salmon.” He stated, congratulating my progress as he always did. It was my turn to smile at him this time.

“I still have much to learn, Toge.” He nodded in agreement.

So much to learn and so little time to do so. Gojo had informed me early this morning after a night of celebration that the group had returned safely that I was to go on my first mission today. I had finally spent the night in my room again, too scared to sleep but too scared to call for Toge. Yuji had checked on me a few times, which I was grateful for, but it didn’t help the sleepless night that I endured. Now I was to go on a mission?

“You will be accompanied by Fushiguro, mostly to spectate you in case the time is of need, but accompanying you nonetheless.” I nodded blankly, his words barely registering.

Now, we were being sent to an abandoned school on the outskirts of Tokyo. I had never even heard the name before, surprisingly. I suppose it had been cursed for some time now.

Ijichi drove us to the spot, lowing the veil and wishing us luck. He didn’t speak much I had come to realize, but a colleague regardless. Besides, that made things easier on me.

“The spirit is possibly a low grade 3, I doubt it will give you any trouble considering your skills, y/l/n”. He had said to me beforehand. Megumi had listened in, taking in the debrief with open ears. He didn’t speak much either.

We slowly walked into the horrifying building. Graffiti covered the gates and the outside walls.

“Kids must hang around this place a lot.” Megumi noted. “Be on the lookout for innocents.” I nodded, keeping my weary eyes as peeled as possible.

Our footsteps echoed in the hallways, they seemed to stretch for miles. I had decided to sweep the second floor myself, keeping Megumi to the first floor. I figured we’d get more done that way.

“If you see anything, don’t immediately attack unless you know for utmost certainty that you can handle it by yourself.” He kept his voice low, but it was still lethal.

“I’ll be ready.” He nodded, continuing down the hallway as I ascended up the rickety stairway.

Every little noise I heard made me jump. Fear brimmed my senses, sending my pulse into fight or flight. A rat scurried across the floor with a squeak, causing me to almost lose balance.

Pull yourself together, y/n. It’s just a mouse.

I heard a growl from somewhere in front of me. It sounded hungry, needy. Almost immediately, I felt the presence of whatever cursed spirit lied beneath the folds of darkness that blanketed the hall. I heard slow footsteps followed by a small chuckle. A cold chill traced my spine.

Disobeying every intelligent cell in my body, I walked further into the darkness. The hum of cursed energy released itself upon me. I focused it, sending it throughout my body. I unsheathed my katana, remembering my training with Yuta yesterday. My muscles still ached even after.

Though I could see nothing, I could feel the direction the spirit was. Its cursed energy seemed to be the strongest inside one of the classrooms. Reluctantly, I opened the door, whirling around for any immediate dangers.

I can see nothing here.

I heard another soft chuckle followed by a bellowing groan. The sound of saliva hitting the floor woke me from my internal slumber. I felt my organs rearranging themselves as my eyes darted to the corner of the room to be met with an ugly, humanoid being like the one that had entered my room all those nights ago. My fear overtook my emotions. My heart plummeted quickly, feeling every muscle in my body tense as the thing lunged for me.

I instantly threw myself into battle, swiping my katana and trying my best to focus my energy at the same time while my fear seemed to control my movements. I couldn’t let my instincts take over, as if something was holding me back.

“Don’t be afraid, little one. I don’t bite.” It cooed before lunging itself at me once more. I swung the katana with force, starting to regain control of my muscles again. I smiled lightly at the beast.

“I don’t know this fear in which you speak of, I’d like to meet them someday.” I said with a chuckle, slicing into the arm of the beast. It screamed loudly, probably alerting any bystanders of its presence.

It slashed its claws angrily, trying its best to regain the upper hand. My smile had grown ferocious, my cursed energy pounding within my veins. I focused it gradually in the katana as Yuta had told me to. I was starting to enjoy this.

My instincts had started to kick in. I dodged every attack with minimal effort. It hissed and screamed and wailed as I continued to wear it down. A slash to the arm, a cut limb, an elbow to the face. My cursed energy poured through my body, hounding the spirit with no trouble at all.

“You don’t know fear, yet you tremble where you stand.” It mocked me. “It’s so strong I can almost taste it.” I smirked, twirling my katana from my back and readying myself once more for an unpredicted lunge. I stared into its black eyes, feeling the void within. I felt the anger, the urge to kill on instinct. It welled within the spirit, overriding every other emotion. Ichiji had awoken it from its slumber with the veil, the only thing it wished to do was reside happily inside the haunting school. I spat at its feet.

“Is that why you’re bleeding and there isn’t even a scratch on me?” I laughed at it, mocking its very existence. “I’ll allow you to go back to sleep if you’d like. Though, this privilege will be much more permanent.” It attempted to attack, but I easily countered. I had started to lose myself in the bloodthirsty rage that was cursed sorcery. I laughed as I cut through its chest, into the place where its heart should have been. I pulled my sword free, watching it fall to the ground with a thump.

It was still alive, but only at my mercy. I heard its jagged cries, I felt every welled emotion releasing itself into my mind relentlessly. I saw my own death once again flashing behind my lids every time I blinked. It’s hot blood dripped from my blade.

“How does it feel to sleep?” I asked it, beckoning it to answer to me. It growled, looking up at me with a malicious grin.

“I’ll never be able to answer you that. I’ll only be reborn once more. This time, I’ll be stronger, and your life will mean nothing-“

I had placed my hand on its head, gripping it hard enough to bruise. It winced, baring its jagged teeth. I laughed again.

I felt the energy within it decreasing as well as its malicious emotions. They seeped into my skin as the beast had started dissipating. I heard rushed footsteps from down the hall.

“Y/n!” Megumi called in terror. His eyes grew large at the sight unfolding before him.

I gripped harder, feeling its life drain into the palm of my hand in the shape of a bronze orb that was colored like the spirits skin. It whirled and buzzed within my grasp. Megumi tried to run to me, but his muscles wouldn’t move.

It felt as though I weren’t myself, as if I was spectating and watching whoever was controlling my body. Without a second thought, I shoved the orb into my mouth, swallowing it whole.

“Y/n?” Megumi had frozen in shock. He had no idea what he had witnessed, and truth be told, neither did I. Before I could answer, I dropped to my knees. I was shaking violently. The aftertaste in my mouth tasted like death itself, the taste alone making me gag and wail. I felt a tear fall from my eye.

“Are you okay?” Megumi asked, rushing towards me. “What the hell did you expect it to taste like!?” I ignored his comment, not able to speak anyway. My cursed energy had felt stronger, lighter. My senses felt almost heightened as I stared up at Megumi, who was also trying to make sense of whatever the hell was happening.

“Did I really swallow that thing?” I asked, finally regaining my ability to move without throwing up. He gasped.

“Did you not intend to?!” He shouted, frustrated. I felt sorry for him.

“Not exactly.” I stated, standing and dusting myself off. Blood that wasn’t my own coated my new uniform.

We walked out together. I noticed Megumi looked roughed up a little, I suppose he had encountered a spirit of his own. Ijichi didn’t say a word as the veil was lifted and we drove back to the school.

Inumaki was pacing his room, not wanting to train with the others today. He had blocked all possibilities of something happening to you out of his mind just to keep himself sane. He hadn’t known you for long, and he didn’t exactly know how he already worried so strongly for you; but he did know you were a lot like Yuta. He knew your past wasn’t the best, he knew some of the things you struggled with, and he also knew that you had just learned many things about your family and your history that probably didn’t sit well with you. Not to mention, you hadn’t stayed with him the night before, and he hadn’t been able to see you before you left.

He heard a knock from the outside of his room, and without thinking he immediately opened the door. Gojo was standing there.

“Fushiguro and Y/l/n have returned, I figured you’d want to know. The others are making their way down as we speak-“ without uttering a word or letting Gojo finish, he pushed past him and started sprinting towards the main entrance. He had to make sure you were okay.

Gojo chuckled, watching the lovestruck boy run after the girl he didn’t even realize he loved.

I stood at the gate, Megumi beside me as Ijichi drove the car around to park. God knows how long it’s really been since we left, and I felt the weight of my lids drooping with every movement. I glanced around at the school that was shaded in orange from the setting sun. Had it been all day? I figured it would’ve taken longer than that.

Without warning, I was tackled in a bone crushing hug. I looked over, surprised to see the platinum blonde boy squeezing me to death. He pulled away quickly, eyes growing wild at the blood staining my uniform. He grabbed my hand and instantly started running back inside. I had no choice but to follow behind him, my entire body aching with each movement. He didn’t slow his pace until we reached what I knew to be rather familiar: the infirmary.

“Tuna, tuna!” He said, his lungs struggling for air. I looked at him, feeling his every crazed emotion. Had he forgotten to put up a mental shield?

Shoko looked me up and down, inspecting my entire body. I felt like I was being judged, I didn’t like this. I flushed.

“I don’t see anything wrong with her, Inumaki. Is everything alright?” He bowed to her slightly in thanks.

“Bonito flakes.” He said simply. I gave Shoko an apologetic smile.

“I’m not really sure, either honestly.” I said, still shaken from the soul I had absorbed. She noticed me stifle a gag at the thought, though she didn’t mention it.

Gojo walked in behind us with Megumi, who seemed to be slightly injured himself.

“You forgot the injured one, Inumaki.” He stated with a small smirk. I rolled my eyes, knowing what he was thinking. He turned his attention to me. “I believe we have some things to discuss?” I nodded, expecting fully for Megumi to mention something about what he had witnessed. He sent me an apologetic look to which I smiled back.

Gojo led me out of the room, leaving Inumaki pacing the hallway as I stood in Gojo’s ‘office’ once more.

“Did you really swallow it?” He asked me, no humor sweeping his tone whatsoever. He was dead serious. I felt the tension in the room rise significantly.

“Yes.” I stated simply. “I’m not even fully aware of why I did something like that. I didn’t feel completely in control. I was sort of living off instincts purely.” He nodded.

“Fushiguro mentioned that, too. Though, you don’t even have a scratch on you, and I’m certain that was at least a semi grade one cursed spirit. You spoke to it?” I shrugged.

“We had a conversation, yes.” He hummed.

“The fact that it not only could understand your Japanese, it could also form sentences that you could understand as well, is utterly terrifying to me.” He stated before continuing. “Though, something else is also concerning me quite a bit.” He started.

I tilted my head slightly, not exactly sure what he was leading into.

“Why did Inumaki tackle you?” His grin grew wider and wider as a blush grew on his cheeks. I scowled, pointing at him.

“Now isn’t the time for that, Gojo!” I yelled, walking for the door. He continued to giggle.

“Keep living in denial, y/l/n!” And I continued out of the room without another word. Toge was waiting outside with a small blush tinting his cheeks. He must have heard Gojo’s teasing.

Despite the excitement of today, I was absolutely exhausted. Toge grabbed my hand, sensing my exhaustion, and led me to my room. I didn’t even bother changing, I just flopped onto the bed while Inumaki sat at my feet. He kept eyeing me, as if still worried something was wrong with me. I sent him a questioning glance, he pulled out his phone and started typing once again.

“Are you feeling okay?” The robotic voice of his phone said. I nodded slowly with a small smile, motioning for him to unzip his collar. He did so hesitantly, giving me a shy smile.

I sat up straight, wrapping my arms around him. He flushed slightly and his muscles tensed before easing into my embrace.

“I’m fine, Toge. I promise. I’m just exhausted. I didn’t really sleep last night.” He coughed lightly before typing again.

“Why didn’t you come get me?” His phone spoke again. I chuckled.

“I didn’t want to be a bother to you anymore than I was.” He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. His touch was gentle, caring.

“Never.” He muttered. His voice never ceased to make my heart melt, no matter how much he spoke.

He kissed me softly before pulling away just as quickly. Neither of us were aware of what we were now, but we both knew we liked this. My face was a mess, I wanted more but I was exhausted.

I buried my face in his shoulder, feeling his heart beat faster. His warmth comforted me, his touch slowed my anxiety.

I fell asleep thinking about Toge once again, erasing the gruesome sight I had been forced to play in only hours before.

Sorry this one’s so short! A lot has been going on recently 🥲

Tag list: @grilledbananas @sillygoose3082

#fall away #jjk inumaki #jjk fanfic #jjk x you #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #jjk #jjk fanart #jjk spoilers #inumaki toge #inumaki x y/n #inumaki x you #jujutsu kaisen inumaki #inumaki x reader #inumaki smau #inumaki fluff #inumaki fanart

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writingtraumaforever · 2 months ago

Text

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 32

Notes: Guys, I suck at writing anything action sequenced. Apologies for my very obvious dodging of this.

Summary: Sonic interrogates Amy, but it backfires. Shadow and Rouge infiltrate Eggman’s Base.

UC Masterpost!

Link to my AO3!

Start:

“So..”

“Yes??”

“You and Shads talked this morning, huh??”

“Oh yes, it was very nice to hear about his world and his life!”

“Uh huh..”

Sonic and Amy have been flying for nearly twenty minutes, spending the first bit catching up. Amy has been enjoying her travels. Coming across new places, helping those in need, mending broken hearts with her kind spirit.. spreading her love to the world just like she wanted. It’s beautiful. And so painfully in character for her, Sonic thinks. She really is so great. He often wishes he was more like her.. able to speak and act on his heart so freely and boldly. Instead, he finds emotions difficult and overwhelming to process most the time, sticking with his classic trio of cocky, optimistic, and spunky.

No room for anything else.

There’s been nothing pop up on the energy radar yet, so they’re simply cruising currently and waiting on a reading. And why not ask about Shadow??? He’s the whole reason they’re here, after all. It’s not weird or anything.

“So he tell you all about yourself in his world??”

“Yup!” Amy grins, talking through the headphones Tails installed so they didn’t have to shout to speak, “Apparentlg were pretty good friends in his world. He considers me something like a sister.”

“That’s sweet,” Sonic smiles a bit softer hearing this, finding it kind of precious in its own way.

“Mhm, I like to think our Shadow sees me that way too. Even if he doesn’t admit it as easy,” Amy giggles with a roll of her eyes.

“He definitely seems to have a soft spot for you,” Sonic agrees with a little smirk, eyes staying on the radar for any signs of energy spikes.

“Of course he does. Everyone does. I’m practically a national treasure,” Amy teases with a sassy little flip of her hair.

Sonic grins at this, “And humble, too.”

“Oh, as if you’re one to talk!” she sways at his shoulder playfully over his seat, Sonic chuckling in response.

He really missed having her around..

“It was actually really interesting hearing how he’s a part of our team in his world, though. Didn’t realize how much that alone would change things,” she sighs a bit, “..As nice as it all sounds, I do miss our Shadow, though.”

Sonic nods a bit at this, “He may hate me, but I sure wouldn’t know what to do without him sometimes.”

“Oh Sonic, please,” Amy scoffs, “he doesn’t hate you.”

“He tell you that??”

“Well—.. no,” she stumbles, “But he never had to! While you may irritate him at times, he’s always spoken highly of you aside from the playful jabs here and there. He respects you a lot, always has.”

Sonic snorts, “Yeah. Okay.”

“It’s true!” Amy defends, “You don’t actually believe he hates you, do you?? I know you two have had your moments, but hate?? That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think??”

“You’re lecturing me on being dramatic??” Sonic huffs with a playful grin in his voice. He glances back over his shoulder to find her giving him a very pointed look. He clears his throat and turns back around,

“Look. All I’m sayin’ is if our Shadow found out I was hurt through that little dimension communicator thingy, he definitely wouldn’t be acting how Shads was.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Amy knits her brows at this, “He may not have been as panicked, but he would’ve absolutely been worried.. He would’ve likely been wanting to know you’re okay at the very least.”

“I dunno, Ames..” Sonic shrugs, “unless you know something I don’t..?”

There’s a long pause.

“…Like what??”

“I dunno,” he shrugs once again, trying to be nonchalant, “You got to talk to him all morning. Figured you might have learned somethin’ is all.”

“You’ve been with him longer than I have,” she replies, and Sonic can hear the way she’s forcing casualness, “Whatever I know, I’m sure you do too.”

“I dunno. You’re real easy to open up to,” Sonic tilts his head with a sly smile in his tone, “Might’ve felt more comfortable telling you things than me.”

“Doubt it,” she mumbles, rolling her eyes at Sonic’s obvious attempts to snoop, “Whatever it is you’re trying to pry out of me, Sonic, you’re just going to have to ask him yourself.”

“Me?? Pry?? Why Miss Rose, I’d never,” Sonic gasps as if her accusation had simply slain his heart.

Amy just snickers at this with a shake of her head, “See? Dramatic.”

Sonic chuckles at this, “Learned from the best.”

“As if!”

They both laugh a moment, and it’s really nice..

They use to do this a lot together.. just go for flights or random walks to chat or run errands..

“I’m more interested in what you’ve been up to,” Amy says after a moment, and Sonic suddenly feels nervous.

“Uh— what ya mean??” Sonic asks with a tilt of his head.

“Since we’ve all been gone!” Amy grins as if it’s obvious, “I figure with all of us out of you’re hair, you’ve been thriving! All that freedom and time, it’s all you’ve ever wanted, right??? Surely you’ve travelled more and seen new places and learned new things. Maybe even a few solo adventures?? I wanna hear all about it!”

Sonic swallows hard. He should’ve seen this coming eventually. There was a point in time where teamwork was a nuissance to Sonic. When having Tails and Amy chasing behind him felt more like being held back than anything. When he saw friendship as chains that kept him on the ground when he just wanted to fly. Commitment was a curse and a home was a prison.

Now??… In some ways, he remains this way. Still craving freedom and the unexpected twists life and adventure can throw at him..

But he couldn’t imagine any of it without his friends.

Not having Tails, Amy and Knux around has made him realize how truly alone he is.. how much he needs their presence, or he’s left with nothing. He’s become reliant on their companionship, their loyalty. And that’s not fair of him.. to ask them to stick by his side and go no further than that?? He’d be the one holding them back..

But without them.. he’s lost who he is. What he’s suppose to be.

If not a brother.

If not a friend.

If not a hero.

If not a rock.

If not a god..

Then what???

Amy is waiting for his response, and he has to give her something or she’ll become worried. And he doesn’t want that. It’s the last thing he wants..

So just as he opens his mouth to spew lies and toxins, a high beeping begins sounding from the radar.

Saved by the emerald.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to take a rain check on that convo, Ames,” Sonic replies, beginning to press buttons to set coarse towards the energy source, “We got an emerald to nab!”

—

“Ya’know, when I agreed to go on an incognito mission with you, I was thinking more along the lines of subtle espionage..,” Rouge huffs through her comms, watching through the vents as Shadow smashes and rages onto the poor helpless robots below down the halls of Eggman’s base.

“I’m providing a distraction,” Shadow grunts back, landing another air kick that slices right through all the wires and metal of the buzzbomber.

“Didn’t need a distraction to begin with,” Rouge rolls her eyes with a grumble. This Shadow is definitely not a spy in his world, that’s for certain. He’s got more similar fighting tactics to that of Sonic: rushed and instinctual. “Could’ve gotten in and out of here without being detected at all. Now we’re going to have to worry about having Eggman up our—“

“Tails is trying to regain contact! He needs this emerald!” Another grunt as he chaos spears the hell out of seven motobugs.

“He won’t be regaining contact if we’re too busy adding more problems to our current situation,” Rouge argues, crawling through the vents until she sees something shining through one of them. A wicked little grin curls onto her lips, “Would ya look at that..”

“Find it??”

“I found an emerald. Two, in fact. Looks like the doctor’s been busy..”

Shadow feels relief at hearing this. One emerald would be great, but two?? That’s even better odds for Tails to be able to connect their worlds.

Taking his frustration and anxiety-induced tension out on the last of the robots in the hall, Shadow skates towards Rouge’s location.

“I have your coordinates locked in. I’ll head to the emeralds. You take care of getting the intel on the Time-Eater.”

Rouge groans a bit, halting her work on unscrewing the vent with her manicured nails, “I can’t even get one???”

“Now’s not the time, Bat,” Shadow snaps, sliding under lasers that shoot out from the security system in the walls. There’s been no signs of Eggman. Not even his voice over the intercoms. He wonders if he’s even here. If he’s not, he’s surely been alerted to the infiltration.

“Calm your quills, I’m heading to the main computer he keeps his intel stored in,” Rouge huffs, rolling her eyes and yeah. He’s not her Shadow. Her and her Shadow work so well together. Trust each other. There’s none of this rushed and pettily planned out nonsense. She tries not to hold it against him, though. He has been trained by Sonic, not GUN. And he’s a bit emotional right now if his reaction to his world’s Sonic’s distress call is anything to go off of.

“I’m nearly to the emeralds,” Shadow responds, pausing outside the door of the room they’re locked inside and taking a few steps back to prepare to blast inside, “Any signs of trouble for you??”

“Nope. Been undetected so far,” Rouge replies, glancing down at her own watch that’s standard GUN tech. It’s currently jamming any radars or cameras that may pick up on her presence, “But you do know that when he sees his robots split in half or with giant holes in them, he’s going to know it’s a hedgehog’s doing.”

“I have more alarming things to worry about than the doctor’s vengeance,” Shadow remarks before pausing to charge himself up and then—

“Chaos Blast!”

An explosion sounds through the facility, Rouge jolting slightly at the initial shock before her eyes widen and she speaks into her comms, “Was that you???”

“Yes,” Shadow pants, walking a bit tiredly into the room he’s now busted into.

“Are you alright???”

“I’m fine,” he huffs, grunting slightly as he walks to the encased emeralds. Side by side and entrapped by lasers, “But the emeralds are closed in by lasers.. I need to shut them off.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem for—“ she then pauses, sighing a bit, “Right. No spy training. I forget.”

“I may be able to figure it out,” Shadow replies, moving to the control panel nearby, “I may not have spy training, but I have super fox genius training..”

Rouge smirks a bit at that, finally coming across the room she’s been looking for and kicking the vent in to hop down.

A blast like that will have more of Eggman’s reinforcements searching the facility, so time is of the essence.

The room is lined with large technical equipment, rows and rows of computer storage and blinking lights and flashing gizmos. She’s pretty use to these kinds of rooms. All big facilities have them. GUN does!

Taking out a USB drive, she walks to the nearest output and plugs it in. Pulling out a tablet sort of device from her bag after, she begins typing away and searching through files.

“Gaia, who the hell needs this many files???” she huffs in frustration, scrolling through all the intel with her eyes searching for ‘TimeEater’.

“Apparently a man who tries and fails to take over the world on the daily,” Shadow grumbles back, focused on trying to unlock the laser security around the emeralds still.

“I’d say you’re right, but I’m willing to bet half of this is just selfies of him, Orbot, Cubot, and the new one—“

“Sage,” Shadow corrects.

“…Right,” Rouge’s brow quirks at the fact he knows that bit of information, “So she’s in y’all’s world, too?”

“Yeah. Has been for about a year, now.”

“And you’ve come across her??”

“I was there when we first met her,” Shadow replies casually, not really thinking much of the conversation since he’s focused on getting those lasers gone.

“So you saw Starfall Islands???”

“Mm,” he nods. Rouge doesn’t see it, but she knows Shadow’s hums and huffs and grunts enough to know it was a yes.

She ponders this a moment, brows furrowed in thought..

Knuckles said that what happened on Starfall Islands was pretty intense. Especially for Sonic..

She can’t help but wonder if Shadow was with Sonic through most of that, or trapped in some sort of Cyberspace like Knuckles, Amy and Tails..

Now isn’t the time to question it all, though, her eyes finally finding the TimeEater files and opening them up.

“Got it.”

“You got the files??”

“Yup. And there’s a lot, so hopefully we’ll have enough for the kid to use,” Rouge responds, already transferring them to her hard drive.

“Any luck with the lasers??”

“I think I’ve almost got it..,” Shadow mutters back, resorting to instead fall more on his technical skills than hacking knowledge. Ripping the panel from the side of the controls, he reveals all the wires underneath. After examining them a moment, he finds what he’s looking for and pulls a few of the wires out.

“This will either work or really sting,” Shadow mumbles to himself, taking the two exposed wires and slowly touching them together.

There’s a spark.

And then the lasers shut off.

Smirking proudly to himself, he stands and walks to the emeralds, “I got ‘em. Rendezvous where we broke in.”

“On it.”

#shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #sonadow #fanfiction #my writing #my fanfiction #sonadow fanfiction #uc series #rouge the bat #amy rose #eggman #I o robot I’m #sage robotnik #uncontrolled chaos #sth

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maimingaffairs · 2 years ago

Note

Can I request something where fem reader maybe has a very unusual ability and everyone fears her except for Aleksander who finds her fascinating, and he trains her annd saves her from ridicule amongst other Grisha? Ambiguous ending, maybe two parts??

hi im so sorry I have been so awol... I've been so busy and such. but i love this request and I love u anon and I love literally everyone who comes across my work. MWAH big kisses for you all.

word count: 5.2k

warnings: mentions of blood I think.. nothing really

Fascination (Aleksander Morozova x fem!reader)

Life had altogether not been very kind to you.

Every wayward turn and harsh awakening in your life had brought you to this very moment.

Your arms were held tightly at your sides by two very tall and very strong Corporalki in red. You’d given up on fighting them off; it was clear they-and you- weren’t going anywhere. You let them drag you roughly towards a large tent, settled amongst other smaller tents and small stands and groups of soldiers. You sniffled quietly and turned your head down to your shoulder to try and rub tears off of your face against your cloak.

A particularly hard shove was given to you just as you reached the opening of the large tent, and you stumbled forward, almost falling to your knees. You would have fallen, if the two men at your side weren’t still holding you, leaving you to partially dangle from their grip before you had to stand back up weakly. You had only just gotten back to your feet before you were pushed down to the ground and released. You caught yourself on your hands and you let out a quiet whimper as the gravel ground dug into your palms. You kept your head down for a moment, staring at the dirt, trying to make yourself as small as possible.

Eventually, you had the nerve to lift your head, and you wished you’d kept it down. A handful of Grisha in colorful keftas stood around a table and stared down at you with something between disgust and disappointment.

And then there was him.

Clothed in all black save for the little peek of red around his collar, stood The Darkling. The Grisha’s very own general.

He looked down at you quizzically, as if you were a puzzle he was yet to finish putting together. No one spoke for a long time. Or perhaps it wasn’t a long time. You weren’t sure, time seemed to be passing so slowly that you could count your heartbeats comfortably without rush.

“What is this?”

His voice was dark and it made you look away from him, though you could tell he hadn’t looked away from you.

“The deserter, Sir. The Siphoner.” Someone answered, and you assumed it was one of the hulking men behind you.

“I can see that. Where?” He asked. His voice was eerily emotionless, commanding silence and respect from everyone in the room. It practically made you shiver.

“Attempting to get across the Shu Han border. An informant found her and subdued her until we arrived.”

The memory made you wince. Being held in a cellar for days with your hands bound apart from one another in the freezing cold.

It wasn’t like your hands would’ve been of use anyway. You needed your own powers to do that.

That of which, you lacked.

You could only siphon through contact and emulate for a short period of time. If you were to touch an Inferni, you could be called an Inferni for a little while. Same with Heartrender, Squaller, Healer, all of it.

When you were tested as a child, you had clearly tested positive. Your parents had been elated, thrilled that you’d been gifted. Not many parents thought that way, you’d come to realize. From there, you’d been whisked away to train, to advance your abilities. The odd thing was, it didn’t seem like you had any.

It slowly became evident, though, that you were simply using other’s powers around you. You would hold your friend’s hand and shortly after be able to do what they could.

It was rare, they said, but not impossible.

They also claimed it to be dangerous.

You were labeled to be dangerous.

Really you weren’t, at least, you didn’t think so.

After this had become known, no one hardly ever wanted to be around you, and it was like that for years and years until you were enlisted to join The Second Army as a healer. Sometimes. When other healers were willing to let you use their powers. It wasn’t as often as you might think, though. Apparently the process was tiring and painful, though you’d never felt a thing.

Eventually it had become all too much. The loneliness, the constant ridicule, their constant disdainful stares.

So you ran. And you had made it nearly. You’d been away for months, hiding away from and avoiding anyone who might turn you in.

Gravel crunched under a pair of black boots and you lifted your eyes just slightly, pulling yourself back to the present moment.

“Look at me, girl.”

The Darkling’s voice chilled you to the bone and you didn’t dare disobey him. You slowly lifted your head to look up at him and he was already staring down at you. He eyed you as if you were a marvel, a creature walking around with two heads. Curiously, fascinated.

Slowly, like a predator engaging its prey, The Darkling crouched down in front of you and grabbed your chin. He searched your face as if he had to be sure you looked the part.

Maybe you did.

Your face was dirty and tear streaked, and your hair was askew. Your clothes were a sight to see, as well, covered in dirt and tears. All in all, you looked exactly like you’d been running for months.

“Clear the tent. I will question her alone.” He said suddenly and let go of your chin. He stood up and you felt as if you could breathe properly again now that he was no longer touching you. Everyone slowly filed out of his tent and you stayed on the ground, either too weak or too afraid to rise up to your feet.

When it was only the two of you left in the tent, you slowly willed yourself to look up at him as he still stood over you. You were hardly surprised to see him staring down at you still, his gaze unwavering and hard.

“Can you stand on your own?” He asked, nodding down at you.

You couldn’t find your voice, but you laid your hands flat on the ground and shakily pushed yourself up. You stumbled forward a bit and prepared to crash back down to the ground, but The Darkling had reached out and grabbed your upper arms, steadying you enough to regain your balance and stand.

Now he was fully able to take you in. He looked you up and down and studied your tattered clothes and your frail stature and he folded his arms over his chest.

“Are you mute?” He asked sharply and you simply shook your head in reply.

You didn’t dare look into his eyes again. You were terrified already, and looking into his eyes gave you the feeling that you were staring right into a vision of your own death.

“Y/n L/n. You are being accused of deserting, not to mention you are known to hold an odd little ability that could be fatal to your fellow Grisha. You can stay silent, that is fine by me, but if I were you, I’d start explaining yourself quickly.” He stated grimly.

You clutched your hands together nervously and you opened your mouth, a very quiet whine escaping your lips.

“Am I to be killed?” You had meant for it to sound more casual; stronger. Instead your voice wavered and your bottom lip trembled.

“You are not.”

You weren’t sure if you were relieved to hear him say that or not.

You gave him a little nod and he reached out and grabbed your shoulders, none too gently, at that. You winced a little and shied away from him as much as you could in his grip.

“Answer my questions truthfully and you will not be punished as a deserter. You will not evade punishment entirely, but I will make sure you receive nothing too harsh.”

You gave him a shaky nod and wondered what he meant by ‘nothing too harsh’.

“You ran. Why?” He asked and then he released your shoulders, leaving you to sway just a bit.

“I just…” burning tears of shame gathered in your eyes and you looked down to the ground and you bit the inside of your cheek, “…I was so tired of being alone here. Everyone avoids me, as if I’m a disease, and when they don’t, they’re often times cruel. I don’t have anything or anyone keeping me here, why is it a crime that I ran? It is not like anyone wants me here, much less you.” You stated and finally looked up at him.

With your head upright, the tears spilled out of your eyes and down your cheeks, and you turned your head away from him, looking off to the side of the tent. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t even move. You wanted to look at him, to see if there was an indication of what he might say or do next, but you kept your eyes away from him.

You sniffled a few times and brought your filthy sleeve up to your face to wipe it, but a hand on your wrist stopped you.

“Don’t. Your clothes are filthy.” He said, almost as if he were correcting a child. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it into your palm and gave you a nod.

You stared down at it as if it might grow a mouth and some teeth, but after moment you slowly lifted it up to your face and dabbed your eyes with it. You reached out shakily and offered the handkerchief back to him, but he shook his head.

“No. Keep it. You’ll likely need it more than I.” He replied and you nodded once, biting down on the inside of your cheek.

There was more silence and you shifted your eyes downwards to your shoes. You didn’t need to look up to know that his eyes were on you.

“Siphon from me.” He suddenly commanded, and this had you widening your eyes and turning to look at him.

“No, Sir, I have been given strict orders to never siphon, it’s not natural, it’s an abomination of the Small Science.” You protested but he simply shook his head.

“I am in charge, and I order you to. Clearly it’s natural enough. You were born with it. You weren’t the first and you won’t be the last. You’re just very, very rare. Now, do as I say, and siphon from me.” He commanded once more, his tone authoritative.

You eyed him very cautiously and then you raised your hand up away from your side. Your hand visibly shook as you moved it towards his, and he seemed to get the idea, because he lifted his own hand and moved it towards you. You gave him a little nod and then wrapped your hand delicately around his wrist. His skin was smooth and cold under your touch and you fought back a chill. He just felt like one of the shadows he could summon.

Slowly, you began to draw his power into your own grasp, and you closed your eyes, focusing on the connection between the two of you now, the ebb and the flow of energy from his wrist to your hand. He stood as still as a statue, and after just a moment, you let go of his wrist and pulled your hand back to your side.

You looked up at him as he rolled his wrist a bit and flexed his hand, staring at his skin. You almost expected something to be on it, but it was as flawless as it had been prior.

“That’s all?” He asked and then raised his eyebrow, “You could have taken enough to overpower me and leave the camp and escape. Why didn’t you?” He demanded.

You blinked in confusion, taking a half step back. He was right, you could have. But you didn’t want to. Why didn’t you want to?

“I don’t know, Sir.” You answered timidly and wrung your hands together nervously.

“I do.” He replied.

You looked at him curiously and then he gave you a smile.

It wasn’t a nice smile. It was a cold, ostentatious smile.

“Despite being lonely, you don’t want to be truly alone.”

The ride back to the Little Palace was a very uncomfortable one.

You’d been cleaned up after your meeting with The Darkling. He’d demanded that someone clean you up properly and get you in some clothes that weren’t in ruins. Once you’d been put back together, you sat quietly in his tent before he came back and told you that he was taking you back to the Little Palace. He did not give you a reason as to why, but he did assure you that you were not going to be punished.

You sat in a carriage with one other Grisha now. He wore a purple kefta and his short brown hair sat on his head messily, falling into his face and around his eyes. He hadn’t spoken more than two words to you, but you didn’t feel any sort of contempt in the way he acted. He quietly read from a book across from you, and you pulled your legs up with you on the seat.

You didn’t have a kefta, so instead you’d been given a long grey coat and a tan fur cloak to keep yourself warm in. You absentmindedly picked at your already torn up cuticles and you heard a little sigh from the man in front of you.

“Stop. You’ll make yourself bleed and you’re going to hurt yourself.” He stated and you looked up at him. His book laid in his lap and he was now looking at you, or specifically, your hands.

“It’s a bad habit.” You answered and looked down at your lap.

“It is a bad habit, indeed. So I think you should stop. Before you pick your fingers raw.” His tone had a hint of concern in it that you hadn’t heard directed at you for quite a long time, and it was enough to bring your eyes up to his.

“Well, that’s kind of the point of it being a habit. I can’t really stop.”

“You can. You just have to commit to it mentally.” He argued and then closed his book, setting it aside next to his leg on the seat.

“I don’t think I have any of my wits about me mentally, so I guess I’ll just have to attempt breaking this habit at a different time.” You said with a very dry chuckle.

The man flashed a sad little smile at you and then he shook his head.

“Does anyone have their wits about them, really?” He asked and then looked around the carriage briefly before settling his gaze back on you.

You shrugged at the man and then he leaned forward and offered you his hand.

“I am David.” He introduced himself to you, and you blinked a few times.

If he noticed your hesitancy, he didn’t move back or make it known. Instead, he kept his hand patiently in front of you until you reached out to grab onto it gently, giving it a light shake.

“I’m y/n.” You finally said in return.

David seemed to be pleased with your interaction, because when you two pulled your hands away, he gave you a kind smile and then picked up his book again.

“You aren’t in trouble, you know,” David began and then opened up the book once more, “The Darkling wants you at the Little Palace so that he can keep an eye on you. Your safety was no priority at the camp. He didn’t like that very much.” He finished and then buried his nose back in the book.

David’s words took you by surprise and you blinked a few times, “What do you mean by that?” You asked and eyed the man in front of you.

“I mean exactly what I said.”

“Yeah, but I don’t get it. Why does my safety matter enough to bring me to the Little Palace?” You asked, confusedly. The Darkling shouldn’t care about your safety. You’d met him for the first time only eight hours or more ago, and it wasn’t an overall pleasant meeting, and he received you with little to no kindness.

“Well, you are a Siphoner? Are you not? You can be utilized quite effectively with proper training.” He responded in a monotone, not bothering to look up from his book.

You scoffed and crossed your arms over your chest like an indignant child.

“You’re mistaken. Trust me. I’ve been told otherwise my entire life.” You stated.

This pulled his attention away from his book and he glanced up at you briefly.

“Then you have simply been surrounded by people who don’t understand the use of power.” He replied and then gave you an awkward little smile.

You didn’t reply to him after he said this, you simply sat back and leaned your head against the wall. You hadn’t realized just how exhausted you were until you were in the carriage, and your eyes now felt heavy and you could feel your surroundings start to feel only half there. You pulled your arms underneath the thick cloak and you let your eyes fall closed, unable to escape the grasp of sleep that pulled you deep beneath its depths.

Days had passed, days mostly spent sleeping and having short and quiet conversations with David. You didn’t realize just how tired you were until you had gotten a taste of sleep. Real sleep. Not just little naps while you were on the run. Days of waiting were not in vain, though, because the second the carriage rolled up in front of the Little Palace, you felt a bit of relief. Now you could sleep in a bed, at the very least.

The doors opened to the carriage and a tall man, clothed in a bright red kefta motioned for you to get out of the carriage. You carefully clambered out with David following silently behind you and you stood awkwardly at the foot of the steps that led up into the palace.

A hand pressed itself into your lower back and you spun around to see the Darkling standing at your side. His shoulders were squared properly and his face was as cold and emotionless as stone, eyes reflecting the same expression. He glanced down at you and began to gently lead you up the steps, bringing you into the palace.

“You have been asleep each time I have come to check on you.” He remarked as the two of you moved down a grandiose hallway. His tone was not accusatory, nor was it annoyed. If anything, he was slightly amused.

“Well, I don’t think I’ve had a secure situation to sleep in for the last three months so this has been nice.” You replied quietly and looked down at your feet as the two of you walked.

He hummed and let out a small chuckle, “Secure situation? Meaning…?”

“Meaning your soldiers have been hunting me down for three months and I haven’t had a moment where I haven’t needed to watch my back.” You replied, your tone clipped. You instantly regretted it, too.

He didn’t say anything for a moment and then he tapped your back just once, and you could barely feel it through your cloak, “Well, you are the one that decided to run. Though you have my apologies for the rough treatment leading up to when you came to me for the first time. Is that a fair trade?” He asked, a thin, forced smile playing upon his lips.

You studied his face for a moment and felt your mouth go dry. Of course you’d looked at him before but it’s as if this was the first time you were really seeing him. His dark eyes stole the breath right out of your lungs. His face was chiseled by the hands of saints and his skin was flawless. You blinked a few times while you stared at him and then you let out a quiet scoff.

“An apology, while unexpected, isn’t that fair all things considering.” You replied and then pressed your lips together tightly.

The two of you came to a door that was across from a set of double doors and he pushed it open, nudging you inside with the hand that was against your lower back. You looked around the room that he’d led you into and you gave an approving nod. There was a large, four poster bed with a canopy and cream colored sheets and beautiful furniture made of deep, rich woods. A bouquet of wildflowers sat in a vase atop a the vanity and you turned to look up at The Darkling.

“I hope your quarters are suitable.” He murmured as you took a step away from him.

“They’ll do just fine.” You replied and then rubbed your eyes a few times, still exhausted from your journey.

You felt a hand on your back again and you slowly turned your head around to see him peering down at you.

“You can rest here. Without fear of being hunted.”

“It’s persecution I fear now.”

He was silent for a moment and then he let out a small sigh, shaking his head just once.

“I will not allow anyone to speak down to you. You are Grisha, whether your talent is rare or not.” He finally said.

“Me being Grisha changed nothing before.”

“Well it changes everything now.” He said sternly.

“Why? Why are you being… so benevolent?” You asked and then raised your eyebrows, “I’ve spent my entire life being ostracized, persecuted, belittled… all because of this ability I have. And you’re telling me that you never once even heard about me until I ran ? I know that’s a lie. Why am I important now?” You demanded and then made the mistake of locking eyes with him.

He didn’t say anything for a long time. Instead he kept his eyes on yours unyieldingly. He didn’t let up on his gaze for a while, and when he finally did, you felt a weight lifted off of your shoulders.

“You’ve always been important. I just never knew to what extent until now. You are of great help to me and I’d like to train you according to your gifts. My sincerest apologies for not being more diligent when it came to your treatment.”

His voice was low and it demanded your attention. Demanded your reverence.

“I’d like to sleep.” You whispered, shying away from his burning stare, boring into your face like hot coals.

“Of course.”

His voice was as smooth as silk now as he moved away from you and in a few fluid, almost melodic steps, moved towards your bed. He pulled the covers back and motioned towards it, turning his head back towards you. You eyed him cautiously before you kicked off your boots and shrugged off your cloak, leaving them to be the only mess on the pristine hardwood floors. You made your way to the bed and climbed onto it, laying on your side so that you didn’t have to look up into his eyes again.

He tucked the blankets around your shoulders and then he let out a quiet chuckle; nervousness overcame you like a disease.

“You are afraid of me.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” You protested before you could even think.

“I make you nervous.”

“Don’t you think you make everyone nervous?”

“Not everyone.”

“You’re wrong.”

He thought for a moment after you spoke and then he moved away from your bedside and walked towards the door.

“Get some sleep, y/n. Come find me when you wake.” He commanded, though his tone was light; nearly on the cusp of gentle.

As he left the room, you were left with the parting gift of sudden silence. You stared at the wall from your position on the bed and your mind ran wild. What if no one liked you here? What if things were the same? You didn’t want to go back to being alone, and you didn’t want to keep feeling alone. Then of course, there was the Darkling, who was mysterious and ambiguous in all endeavors, who all but promised you that you’d not be lonely. You doubted that highly.

Though his presence wasn’t overall unpleasant, the air around him was thick and filled you with an odd nervousness. Perhaps it was the fact that he was so regal and matter-of-fact; stone cold. Or maybe, it was how beautiful he was. You didn’t expect him to be so breathtaking, though you’d heard before that the Shadow Summoner was a sight to see.

Whatever it was, it didn’t allow you much sleep.

“You’re not very good at focusing.” The Darkling remarked as you drummed your fingers against your upper arm.

“I can focus when I’m intrigued.” You stated quietly and twirled a bit of your hair around your finger.

“Then we will go again. And again. And again until you’re ‘intrigued’.”

He was referring to using his power. Power that you’d siphoned from him. He’d been training you- or trying to- for days now. Trying to get you to use what you’d siphoned. It had been easy with other powers. Normal powers. For some reason though, it was much harder to utilize what you’d taken from The Darkling. Nothing seemed to be working, and you were growing bored and frustrated.

You looked up at him as he stood above you while you sat at his desk and you folded your arms over your chest in an insolent fashion.

“I’m tired and this is getting old. I can’t do it obviously.” You huffed and he let out a quiet groan.

“You wondered why you had no friends before and I can answer that for you right now.” He snapped, and you looked up at him, shocked.

“Excuse me?”

You could tell that he regretted it by the way his face twitched and softened and he let out a sigh, “It’s this damned attitude of yours.” He mumbled, “You’re so negative.”

“Right.” You snapped back at him and then turned your head so that he was no longer in your view, “And by the way, I have nothing to be positive about. Deal with the negativity.” You said, irritatedly.

His hand laid itself on your shoulder and you heard him sigh, “I know this is arduous work. But you can do it, you know.” He murmured, gently rubbing your shoulder back and forth.

You slowly turned your head to gaze up at him and you shook your head once, “I would’ve done it by now.” You muttered and then leaned your elbows down against his desk.

He pulled his hand away from your shoulder and he reached out and extended it towards you, palm up.

You stared at his hand confusedly and he wagged his fingers just slightly.

He wanted you to take his hand.

You eyed him cautiously and looked him up and down for just a moment before you shifted a bit and laid your hand gingerly in his own. His slender fingers clasped your hand gently and he looked down into your eyes with an almost eager stare.

“Try now.” He ordered, tone soft.

You looked him up and down before you eyed your joined hands and then you shook your head, “How is this supposed to help?” You asked quietly, but he didn’t answer.

His answer came as a feeling, as if his touch was tugging at something within you, that started in your fingers. Only as a tingle. Then, slowly, it spread up your arms and through your entire body. It was electric, it was empowering, and before you knew it, wisps of shadow were rolling off of your fingertips. Slowly at first, but soon it became more rapid, and the shadows grew larger, and larger, and you gasped. You went to push even more shadows out through your fingers, when the Darkling pulled his hand away from yours and looked down at you as if you’d stolen his very breath away from his lips.

A strange look settled behind his dark eyes and he reached up to take your face in his hand, holding it by your jaw. Gently, he turned your head side to side as if he were examining a rare stone and then he shook his head. Curiously, he brushed his thumb against your jawline and then he let you go.

“You’re a marvel.” He spoke reverently, his eyes staring down into yours.

“I hardly think-“

“No. Don’t argue with me. You could be anything. Everything. You’re dangerous.”

You blinked a couple of times and then you shook your head, your hand traveling up to your face, fingers brushing against the spot that he’d just held, “What was that?” You asked and then held your hand up, wiggling your fingers.

He took your hand in his and examined it closely, as if it was the most unusual thing he’d ever seen in his entire life.

Finally, he let your hand go after a few moments and he looked down at your face, a little smile playing on his lips, “Have you heard of amplifiers?”

“Of course I have.” You retorted, lowering your hand down into your lap.

He gave you a little nod, but said nothing further before he just shrugged and sat down on the corner of his desk, looking down at you. You sighed, exasperated. Oftentimes, the Darkling left you with more questions than answers. You came to the realization that this was simply one of those times. You slowly rose from the chair you sat in and you smoothed down your grey kefta and cleared your throat.

“It’s getting late, sir.” You remarked, doing all that you could to evade his gaze, even if you still felt it on you like a thousand suns.

“Indeed.” Was all he said as he continued to sear you with his stare.

“Your staring is creepy, you know.” You drawled, drumming your fingers on the sides of your kefta.

A little laugh fell from his lips and you had to make sure you heard him correctly. You looked up at him, surprised, to see him smiling down at you as if you were the most amusing thing in the world to him.

“You fascinate me, that’s all, miss y/n.” He said, a playfully lilt in his normally stern tone.

“Never been told that before.”

“Perhaps you should get used to hearing it.”

Perhaps you would.

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #shadow and bone imagine #aleksander morozova imagine #aleksander morozova #aleksander morozova x reader #the darkling x you #the darkling x reader #the darkling imagine #the darkling imagine #the darkling #general kirigan imagine #general kirigan x reader #general kirigan #ben barnes x reader #ben barnes imagine

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rogueddie · 2 years ago

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Half Life / I Want Your Video

The world doesn't end. Somehow, they win. Somehow, they all make it out the other side- not unharmed, not by any stretch of the imagination, but they're alive. They're going to heal, recover...

It's Nancy who suggests they have a big celebration. And, with the town almost completely, they have free reign of The Hideout.

Joyce somehow talks Hopper out of supervising, convinsing him that Mrs Henderson will be fine on her own.

She is- but not for the reason Joyce might have told Hopper.

"Steve!" Robin screams over the music, stumbling into him. "Shut up talking to Eddie! It's our song!"

"Nooo!" Steve whines, despite stumbling after her. "It was going so well! He was blushing!"

"I don't care! Dance with me!"

Steve tries to give Eddie an apologetic wave, whooping at him instead when he notices that he's blushing ever more.

They're both drunk enough that they don't realize that they're the only ones actually using the space they'd cleared, acting as a makeshift dancefloor.

Not that it would bother them if they'd noticed; it simply means that, in their attempts to hear each other over the music and 'crowd', they're shouting loud enough for anyone and everyone to hear what they're saying.

Most people can't understand them through their slurring.

Steve isn't sure when Robin took her shoes off, only knows that at some point they end up in his hands.

"Bobbie!" He eventually yells, struggling to grab onto her shoulder as she bounces around. "Gotta break! Taking a break!"

"No! Eve, this is our song!"

"I don't know this song!"

"It's ours!"

"I'm- smoke!"

She pretends to gag, but doesn't try to stop him when he tries to head outside this time.

He doesn't realize that he's been followed, until the door squeaks open almost as soon as it clicks shut behind him.

"You doin' alright?" Eddie asks. He grabs the lighter out his hand, lighting his cig for him.

"Thanks. Jus'a headache, no worries."

"I can take you home if it's getting too bad," Eddie offers.

Steve stumbles with how hard he shakes his head, so much that Eddie has to dart forward to hold him steady.

"Can't go!" Steve complains. "Bobbie wants to stay till the end of the night!"

"I'm sure she can survive one night without you. If your head is hurting you-"

"Noooo," Steve tries to slap Eddies hands off him, flailing slightly. It only makes Eddie smile, like his sloppiness is something endearing.

Damn sober drivers, Steve thinks.

Eddie heaves a great sigh, throwing his head back dramatically. "Alright! But if I even think you have a migraine, I'm dragging you out of here."

"Promise?" He tries fluttering his eyelashes. It looks more like he's struggling to squint.

"What are you doing? Stop that."

"No," Steve teases, patting his cheek. It only makes the blush more obvious.

He darts back inside, laughing with how giddy he feels. He's been struggling to make progress with Eddie for weeks- who knew some alcohol-enduced confidence is all he needed?

"There you are!" Robin shouts, skipping over to him. She thrusts her small bag inte the hand not holding her shoes. "Why were you do long? I almost died! Of lonliness!"

"As if! You can never die! I got your back!"

She whoops- in response, or to the song, Steve isn't sure.

#stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #robin buckley #platonic with a capital p #ficlet #decideweekprompt #cw drinking

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dailyadventureprompts · 2 years ago

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Monsters Reimagined: Svirfneblin

While not as problematic or desperately in need of an overhaul as some of the other monsters in this series, I thought I'd share my take on the deepgnomes to round out my posts on duergar and drow as well as my overall thoughts on life in the underdark.

To put it simply the Svirfneblin fall prey to the one note lore that d&d even more than their subterranian neighbors, having a backstory that effectively amounts to " they live in caves, like gems, and don't trust outsiders". Picking around some different soruces though I found some interesting tidbits about how the gnomes fled underground leaving behind cities upon which people built new settlements, and talk about how their distrusting natures come from living in such a dangerous place as the underdark. This got me thinking about societies where secrecy was key, and cultural touchstones of fleeing underground to avoid disaster.

TLDR: My take on the deepgnomes has them as a fusion of brits during the blitz, survivalists, and the "preparing for armegeddon" culture of the cold war. Their society is suffused with a deepseated worry that the end is coming soon, whether it be a ruinous diaster, an attack from outside, or simply the end of the world. To brace against this ever-approaching calamity they stockpile, build hidden vault cities, and etch their history onto monuments and time capsuls so that the survivors won't have to rebuild from scratch. They build ramparts and artillery batteries in the tunnels of the underdark to defend against foes they haven't met yet, and dig ever deeper hoping to find a home where nothing can find them.

Imagine the party is traveling through a mistshrouded stretch of the underdark only to stumble across a village of deepgnomes hidden away in a terraced valley of mossfarms and blindfish shoals that you'd absolutely mistake for a naturally bountiful area if you wern't looking for it. The svirfneblin shun the use of fire outside of a sheltered hearth and never talk above a whisper, but after days of interrogation the party are deemed not to be spies of "the enemy" and allowed to move about the village with supervision. It is a quiet and placid existance, cut off from the wider world, and the party bears witness to the season's harvest being brought in. While a portion of it is preserved and placed into the village's larders, a far larger potion is prepared according to a "state standard" and put aside under strict guard. A few days later, a signal sounds and everyone retreats to their hidden dwellings. From the home of their hosts the party watch as caravan of other deepgnomes comes into town and loads up the harvest without a word being exchanged. Later, the villagers reveal that they don't know where the food goes. To a city they suspect, but the name and location of it was not haded down by their forebearers after the village's founding. Their best guess is that the tribute is to support the war effort, though how long the war has lasted, and who it's against is for anyone to say.

I wanted to preserve an element of svirfneblin's simplicity but use it as a front, a mystery for the party to poke at rather than that being all there was to them. The culture of jewlsmiths with a deepset connection to elemental earth is still there, but I want it to smack the audience in the face when they realize that it's not just pretty jewlery that the deepgnomes are adept at building, but arcane/blackpowder artillery.

The element of secrecy and paranoia likewise lets the dm play with what deepgnome society is REALLY like, beyond the rugged survivalist enclaves. Is there some great sage soverign maintaining an archave with knowledge about the coming end of days? A desperate ruin where survivors live off the tribute of other settlements while battling in the shadow of shattered art? A toltalitarian bastion building up their warfooting for a tactical fist strike?

Also, I wanted to pay tribute to the fact that the neblin part of the svirfneblin name has to do with mist, and I just liked the idea that their parts of the underdark were cloaked in constant fog as a means of weaving their gnomish illusions.

#monsters reimagined #dnd #d&d #worldbuilding #underdark #gnome #svirfneblin #dungeons and dragons

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shesgotthebeststories · 2 days ago

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WHY AM I LIKE THIS?

a rosa diaz x oc fic

a fic where maddy gets overwhelmed

this is set before they got together, rosa is slowly starting to realize that she likes maddy. wrote this because i watched stephs performance of loca yesterday and cried because i had never felt so seen in my life. i highly recommend for everyone to go watch 🤍

The precinct was an overwhelming mess of noise, movement, and chaos. Phones rang relentlessly, voices layered over one another in a constant hum, and the air was thick with the acrid scent of burnt coffee—another casualty of Hitchcock’s incompetence. The fluorescent lights buzzed faintly, their artificial glow pressing down on Maddy like an invisible weight. Every keystroke, every rustle of paper, every clipped conversation slammed into her senses with unrelenting force.

At first, she told herself it was fine.

She had handled distractions before. She had worked under pressure. She had trained herself to function, to push through the static. But as the minutes stretched into hours, the overstimulation dug in like tiny needles beneath her skin, each sound sharpening until it pierced through her skull.

Her fingers trembled as she tried to type, the letters on the screen shifting, rearranging themselves into nonsense. The ringing in her ears grew louder, drowning out even her own thoughts. The lights flickered—barely perceptible, but enough to make her stomach churn.

Her shirt felt suffocating. The fabric clung too tightly, her skin itching with the need to escape it.

She had to get out.

Maddy shoved back her chair with more force than intended, the sudden crash of it toppling over behind her earning a few glances. She barely noticed. Her breath hitched, chest tightening, the sounds around her growing impossibly louder. She pushed forward on autopilot, weaving past desks, heading for the first place she could think of that offered even the illusion of silence. She barely registered Rosa’s voice as she passed the breakroom.

“Maddy?” The concern in her tone cut through the static, but Maddy didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. If she acknowledged Rosa, she might fall apart completely. The moment she reached the records room, she stumbled inside, shoving the door shut behind her. The silence was immediate, but it wasn’t quiet—the overhead lights still buzzed, the chaos of the bullpen still pressing in from behind the door, and her heartbeat was hammering so violently it drowned out everything else. She pressed her back against the door, fists clenched at her sides.

Breathe in. One, two, three.

Breathe out. One, two, three.

Her chest stuttered, her ribs locking up. It wasn’t working. The pressure under her skin kept building, her muscles wound so tight she thought she might snap apart. She clenched her jaw, her breathing growing faster, more uneven. It felt like she was burning and freezing all at once, her body caught in a contradiction it couldn’t make sense of. Then—a knock at the door. Maddy flinched violently, her breath catching.

“Maddy?” Rosa’s voice. Controlled, even. Maddy squeezed her eyes shut. Go away. After a pause, the door creaked open just slightly. Rosa peeked in, her face unreadable but her brows drawn together in something dangerously close to concern. She stepped inside cautiously, shutting the door behind her.

“You okay?” Maddy’s jaw tightened. Don’t ask me that. Don’t look at me like that. Rosa took another step forward, kneeling down in front of her, her expression softening. She reached out, a hand hovering near Maddy’s shoulder in a small, uncertain gesture of comfort. Maddy flinched back.

“Don’t touch me,” she bit out, her voice tight, strained. Rosa’s hand retracted immediately, her eyes flickering with understanding.

“Okay,” she said simply. “Not touching.” Maddy hated how raw she felt under Rosa’s gaze, like she was something fragile, something breakable. She was a detective. She had handled worse than this. Rosa exhaled slowly.

“Alright… I’ll be right back.” And then she was gone.

Maddy barely had time to process before the door opened again—this time, it was Jake. He didn’t say anything right away. Instead, he just crouched in front of her, his usual goofy demeanor absent. He met her eyes, exhaled slowly, then exaggerated his next breath.

Breathe in. One, two, three. Breathe out. One, two, three.

Maddy tried to follow, but her hands were shaking too badly, her heart pounding in her ears. The fabric of her shirt still felt unbearable against her skin, sticking to her uncomfortably. She tugged at it, desperate to make it stop clinging to her. Jake glanced at Rosa, still lingering near the doorway. “Can you grab her bag? And the jumper on my desk?”

Rosa nodded wordlessly, disappearing down the hall. The moment she returned, she handed Jake the items. He gave Maddy the jumper first, and without hesitation, she stripped off her shirt. Rosa turned away so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. Maddy pulled on Jake’s hoodie—it smelled faintly of his cologne, familiar and worn—and immediately felt some of the discomfort ease. It was loose, soft, safe. Jake, still rummaging through her bag, pulled out a hair tie. “Here.”

Maddy reached for it, but her coordination was shot. Her fingers fumbled, the simple act of tying her hair back feeling impossible. Before Jake could notice, Rosa silently stepped forward and took the hair tie from Maddy’s fingers. She moved behind her, gathering Maddy’s hair gently. Her fingers brushed against her neck as she tied it back securely, and this time, Maddy didn’t flinch. Once Rosa stepped back, Jake finally found what he was looking for—a small pink pouch. He unzipped it, pulled out a container of Sour Patch Kids, and handed one to Maddy. She popped it into her mouth immediately, chewing slowly, the intense sourness jolting her system enough to ground her. After a moment, she let her head rest back against the wall, covering her eyes with her arm. Jake looked at Rosa and gestured toward the light switch. Rosa flicked it off without a word.Jake mouthed a quick thank you before pulling out his phone and typing a message to Rosa.

“You can go back to work. I’ve got this handled.” Rosa hesitated, glancing at Maddy one last time before nodding and stepping out, making sure to close the door softly behind her.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence. The tension in Maddy’s shoulders finally began to ease, the shaking in her leg subsiding. Jake waited until she exhaled deeply before speaking. “Hey, you feeling better?”

Maddy groaned, tilting her head toward him. “Yeah. Just… embarrassed.”

Jake frowned. “Embarrassed? Why?”

Maddy sighed. “I ran out of the bullpen like a lunatic, then Rosa saw me like that.” She gestured vaguely to herself.

Jake grinned. “I’ll just tell everyone you had to take a massive dump. Real emergency.”

Maddy let out a surprised laugh, shaking her head. “Or you could say I made a breakthrough in a case and had to interrogate a perp.”

“Yeah, but my version is funnier.” Jake shifted, leaning back against the wall beside her. Maddy sighed, letting her head rest on his shoulder. For a few moments, neither of them spoke. Then Jake hesitated before asking, “So… does anyone else know? About, y’know…”

Maddy shook her head against his shoulder. “Only you and Holt. Not even Terry. It’s too hard. People don’t get it.”

Jake was quiet for a moment. “Don’t you think the squad should know? What if this happens in the field and I’m not there?”

Maddy tensed slightly. “Can you imagine what would happen if word got out? Nobody wants a detective with ADHD to be on their case. I could lose my job, Jake.” She exhaled sharply. “I have this under control. It barely happens anymore. Today just… happened.”

Jake exhaled, clearly uneasy with her answer, but he didn’t push. Maddy sat up, looking at him. “Hey, I’m okay. I’ll tell them someday. Just not today.”

Jake studied her for a moment before finally nodding. “Fine. But I’m telling Holt what happened, just so he’s aware. And you tell everyone you spilled something on your shirt.”

Maddy smirked. “Deal.” She hesitated, then pulled Jake into a quick hug. Jake was careful, keeping it loose, letting her dictate the pressure. Then she pulled back, eyes narrowing. “Wait… Please don’t tell me Rosa was here when I changed shirts.”

Jake just stared at her. Maddy groaned, covering her face. “Oh my god.”

“Hey, it’s okay! She seemed just as traumatized.” Maddy sighed before finally standing.

Back at her desk, Rosa glanced at her. “You okay?”

Maddy nodded, forcing a casual grin. “Yup. Just spilled something on my shirt.”

Rosa arched a brow but said nothing. Whatever had actually happened, Maddy clearly wasn’t ready to talk about it. So Rosa just nodded.

“Alright.”

The precinct was buzzing with leftover energy from the chaotic day as the squad unwound at Shaw’s Bar, their usual haunt after a long shift. Laughter and conversation filled the space, drinks clinking as the team let loose. Rosa leaned against the booth, nursing her whiskey as she observed the group.

What caught her attention most, however, was Jake. He wasn’t acting like himself. Normally, he’d be in the center of everything—cracking jokes, challenging Boyle to some ridiculous bet, raving about Die Hard. But tonight, his focus was elsewhere. His eyes kept flickering toward Maddy, watching her with a look Rosa could only describe as concerned. Not the casual, friendly kind of concern either. No, this was deeper. Protective. Like he was waiting for her to crack. Maddy, on the other hand, was doing a damn good job of acting like nothing had happened. She laughed along with the group, sipped her drink, and even joined in on one of Terry’s stories about his daughters. But Rosa saw the way her fingers tapped restlessly against her glass, the way she took slightly deeper breaths between sentences. She was holding it together, but barely. Then Maddy stood.

“I’m getting another drink,” she announced, slipping out of the booth. Rosa hesitated for a second before following. Maddy settled onto a stool at the bar, waiting as the bartender poured her another drink. Rosa slid into the seat next to her, drumming her fingers on the counter.

“So,” Rosa started, her voice low, “are you sure you’re really okay? Because I know for a fact that you definitely didn’t spill anything on your shirt.” Maddy froze. It was barely noticeable, just a slight stiffening of her shoulders, but Rosa caught it. Maddy turned her head slightly, eyes flicking toward Rosa’s, and for a moment, Rosa saw it—the fear. The raw, unfiltered vulnerability that Maddy had been desperately trying to conceal all night. Maddy quickly looked away, eyes fixed on the drink that had just been placed in front of her. She let out a breath, swirling the liquid in her glass before finally speaking.

“I have ADHD.” Rosa blinked, surprised. That wasn’t what she had been expecting. Maddy let out a humorless laugh, still not meeting Rosa’s gaze.

“What you saw today? That was me having sensory overload. It doesn’t happen often. I usually have it under control, but I forgot to take my meds last night, and, well… you saw the rest.” Rosa opened her mouth to say something, but Maddy cut her off.

“And I don’t want anyone knowing,” she said quickly, her tone firm. “If anyone asks about what happened today, just say I spilled something on my shirt. I’ve already dealt with enough shit about it.” Rosa sat back, studying her. She wasn’t great with words when it came to stuff like this, but she wanted to say the right thing. Maddy, meanwhile, was staring down at her drink, gripping the glass like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

“Mads, I—” Rosa hesitated. “I don’t really know what to say.” Maddy let out a short laugh, shaking her head.

“No one ever does.” She finally looked up, her expression tired. “People always think ADHD is just something hyperactive little boys who are obsessed with trains have. And that if you’re an adult, especially a woman, you can’t have it. But news flash—you can.” She exhaled, her fingers drumming restlessly on the counter. Rosa frowned. She didn’t like the bitterness in Maddy’s tone, the resignation in her voice like she’d already fought this battle too many times to expect anything different. Without thinking, Rosa reached out, resting her hand on Maddy’s knee. Maddy sucked in a sharp breath, eyes darting to Rosa’s hand before slowly lifting to meet Rosa’s gaze.

“Maddy,” Rosa said, her voice softer than usual, “I’m here for you, okay?” She hesitated before adding, “My sister’s kid has ADHD. It’s hard on her. I know it’s not the same, but… I get that it’s not just about being hyperactive or distracted. I’m sorry that you’ve had to deal with so much shit for it. You don’t deserve that.” Maddy stared at her for a second, eyes slightly wide, like she hadn’t been expecting Rosa to say anything like that. Then, slowly, she smiled. It was small but real.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

Rosa nodded, squeezing Maddy’s knee once before pulling her hand back. “If you ever need anything, just let me know. And I promise I won’t tell anyone about today.”

Maddy exhaled, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “That means a lot. And… thanks for today. It probably didn’t feel like you did much, but you really helped.”

Rosa shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. “Eh, Jake did most of the work.” Maddy followed Rosa’s gaze toward where Jake was sitting at the booth, still glancing their way every so often.

“Yeah,” Maddy said, her voice a little softer. “He’s helped me since we were kids. We’ve always looked out for each other. He helped when I shut down, I helped when he couldn’t concentrate. And if anyone made fun of him for it, I'd have his back immediately, and he did the same for me.”

Rosa studied her for a moment before smirking slightly. “So, what I’m hearing is, you two were absolute menaces in school?”

Maddy huffed a laugh. “Oh, absolutely.”

Rosa chuckled, shaking her head before clinking her glass against Maddy’s. “To being menaces.”

Maddy grinned, tapping her glass against Rosa’s before taking a sip. And for the first time all day, she finally felt like she could breathe. Rosa took another sip of her drink, rolling the glass between her hands as Maddy shifted beside her. There was a brief pause before Maddy cleared her throat.

“So, uh…” Maddy started, rubbing the back of her neck. “About earlier. Y’know, in the records room…”

Rosa glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Maddy winced slightly. “I, um—sorry for, you know, stripping in front of you.” She let out a nervous laugh, her fingers drumming against the counter. “I wasn’t exactly thinking straight, and Jake gave me his hoodie, and my shirt felt unbearable, so I just—” Rosa waved a hand dismissively.

“It’s fine.” And it was. Mostly. At least, that’s what she told herself. Because what she definitely wasn’t about to admit was that the moment Maddy had tugged her shirt over her head, Rosa had turned away on instinct, trying to be respectful—but not before catching a glimpse. A glimpse that had been burned into her mind ever since. The way Maddy’s toned stomach flexed as she moved. The faint lines of definition across her abdomen. The soft curve of her waist, the dip above her hip bones. The way her white, lacy bra fit perfectly over her-

Rosa shook her head, this was weird. Her best friend had been having a panic attack, so why the hell was Rosa’s stomach fluttering now? Maddy, oblivious to Rosa’s internal crisis, nodded. “Cool. Just wanted to make sure I didn’t, like, traumatize you or anything.”

Rosa let out a short laugh, shaking her head. “Takes more than that to traumatize me, Mads.”

Maddy grinned, finishing off the rest of her drink before hopping off the stool. “Alright, I’m heading back to the table.” She patted Rosa’s shoulder lightly. “Thanks for the talk, by the way. And for not making things weird.”

Too late for that, Rosa thought. But she just nodded, watching as Maddy walked back toward the group, sliding into the booth next to Jake, who immediately started talking to her. Rosa let out a slow breath, gripping her glass a little tighter.

What the hell was that?

She wasn’t the type to get flustered. She didn’t get caught up on things like this. She had control over herself, over her emotions. And yet, all she could think about was the image of Maddy standing there, bare skin illuminated by the dim light of the records room, the way she had glanced at Rosa so quickly, the way Rosa had to force herself to look anywhere else.

This was stupid.

Shaking her head, Rosa finished the last of her drink in one go, the burn of whiskey grounding her. It was nothing. Just a weird reaction. Probably because she wasn’t used to seeing her coworker shirtless in the middle of a work crisis. That was all.

So why did she feel like she was lying to herself?

#b99 #brooklyn 99 #rosa diaz #rosa diaz fic #rosa diaz x oc #b99 fanfic #b99 reference #brooklyn 99 fic #jake peralta #jake peralta x oc #rosa diaz x reader #brooklyn nine nine fic #brooklyn nine nine #adhd

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freckled-words · 5 months ago

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TaserTricks Misadventures

Just to get some rust off the wheels, I wrote a little intro to act as the base for where *most* of the stories will be connected to. Some will be stand-alone but still part of the whole, ya know?

If you prefer to read on AO3, here's a handy link for you CLICK ME

Let me know if you catch any spelling mistakes.

Darcy Lewis sometimes had to play “Connect The Dots” with the events in her life in order to make sense of just how she found herself in her current position.

The position of ‘Unofficial Avengers CareTaker’ that is.

Which just so happened to include Loki, God of Mischief, King of Assholes, and a condemned prisoner currently working off his crimes through community service.

Originally Darcy had come to the tower with her pre-established job parameters of keeping Jane healthy and functional, while also helping her with the data entry and machine lugging. Jane’s lab was neighbor’s with Tony and Bruce, and thanks to a connecting doorway, it was easy enough to include the Science Bros in the daily feedings and watering. (Bruce was pretty good at managing himself, but he never turned down Darcy’s cinnamon raisin cookies when she slipped them within reach.)

One trip to scary Ol’ England to fight space Elves later, and Erik came back to the Tower with them. Like Bruce he was pretty low maintenance, he just needed a gentle reminder to put his pants back on two to three times a day.

The real shift in her ‘caretaking’ parameters came when Natasha and Clint started coming by more often.

One night Darcy had been up late in the common room, the TV was on with the volume down low, an overly fuzzy blanket was wrapped around her body, and was doing her damndest to melt the nightmares out of her skull with the vibrancy of the cartoon dancing across the screen.

She swore she’d simply blinked (a super slow blink that lasted around a minute) and suddenly found Clint sitting on the couch next to her, the edge of her blanket draped across his lap and his head tipped back into the cushions with his eyes closed. As far as Darcy could tell, the infamous sniper was fast asleep.

Too tired to have much reaction (or give it much thought) Darcy shifted her blanket so it was covering both of them. She wouldn’t know if it was the presence of someone she knew to be super lethal, or just the sense of having another body around in general, but she managed to drop off into a heavy sleep pretty quick.

She got to know Clint a lot better over breakfast the next morning, and it became a friendly routine for them to crash on the couch on nights when one or the other was feeling rough. (There’d been a couple nights where Tony would stumble up from the lab and crash on whichever space was large enough, and on even rarer occasions, Steve would collapse into the recliner and do his best to sneak away before everyone else woke up the next morning.)

Natasha didn’t need caring for, so much as she opted to spend some of her free time with Darcy.

Sometimes Darcy was suddenly dragged out of the lab for self defense training (she never made it back to the labs on those days.) But more often Natasha would pop up wherever Darcy was, and inquire into everyone’s wellbeing. It took Darcy a bit of time to put two and two together, and realize that Natasha would have these pop-up chats when she got back from her missions. (Darcy does her best not to think too deeply on this, as it puts a certain degree of weight on Darcy’s casual care-taking.)

At first Steve wasn’t really taken into consideration, as he had his own place to go home too, and when he wasn’t there or the tower, he was out looking for Bucky. (The shitshow of SHIELDRA had been a nightmare and a half that left both Darcy and Jane a little twitchy for a solid two months after.)

So of course that changed when he came home one morning, bruised, battered and bleeding, with Bucky in tow.

Darcy had been in the kitchen getting her first cup of coffee when the two soldiers stumbled in. Steve gave her a nod and a, “Morning Ms. Lewis” then promptly dropped Bucky and himself into a couple of chairs.

Still dressed in her Hulk pj pants, and Black Widow tank top, Darcy muttered a quiet “Fuckin’ Mondays.” And got to work making a mountain of pancakes, bacon, and eggs for the two to devour while their wounds healed. (There were a couple feeble attempts to help, and she’d just slapped them both away with her spatula.)

Given that Tower was a reinforced fortress in the sky, it only made sense for Bucky to hide out there, and Steve couldn’t even fathom leaving Bucky there on his own, so after some strategic room shuffling, Bucky moved into a room that was situated between Bruce and Steve.

Taking care of Steve was easy, and a lot of fun for Darcy. She helped him to work through his ever growing list of things to learn and catch up on, while also getting him to give her art lessons. (They did Bob Ross paintings every once in a while, and it was always hilarious, since Steve would try and make adjustments to outdo Bob.)

Bucky on the other hand was a bit more complicated. He had enough of his memories back to know who he was, and who Steve was, but he still had some brainwashing to work through. Like Bruce, he needed a calm, no sudden surprises environment. He’d stick to Steve most of the time, and other times he’d stay in his room. When Darcy started to notice how little he would eat, and how much weight he was losing, Darcy took matters into her own hands with a gamble.

Steve was in the living room working on a field report from their last mission, and Bucky had tagged along to sit on the couch and fiddle with his phone. It was just about time for lunch, and Darcy figured sandwiches would be fine, “Yo Barnes, mind giving me a hand with this? You slice and spread, I’ll assemble?”

For a brief second Darcy thought Bucky was going to refuse, as she’d called out to him so suddenly, his shoulders had gone back and his hands had frozen mid-fidget. Steve looked up from his papers and raised a brow at Darcy, trying to figure out what she was angling for. Bucky took in slow breath, and seemed to resettle before getting up. He had a confused, yet slightly amused expression when he joined her in the little kitchen space, “What did I do to warrant sandwich duty?”

“You looked bored, that’s what.” She chided back, and pushed a tomato into his prosthetic hand and a tiny kitchen knife into the other.

He let out a huffed laugh, and settled into the task of prepping.

While they worked to make a variety of sandwiches, Bucky would grab nibbles as he went. When the sandwiches were ready for distribution, Bucky took five of them for himself.

Pleased her theory had been right, Darcy made sure Bucky helped her with at least one of the meals each day, and for the rest she had Jarvis send live video feeds to Bucky’s phone of the food being prepared.

Natasha and Steve gave her private thanks for catching the problem and finding the solution. Bucky’s thanks came in the form of brutal game nights, where they’d square off with board games and video games. Some nights it was everyone in the tower playing (Pepper was banned from playing Monopoly), and others it was just the two of them (“I saw that Barnes! If you throw that blueshell I swear to Thor I will put ghost peppers in your soup tomorrow!”)

Three months after Bucky and Steve moved into the tower, Thor returned, and he didn’t come alone.

They’d all had a heads up that this might be a possibility, but no one had thought it would actually happen.

Loki, Destroyer of New York, God of Trickery and Chaos, was back on Earth…to finish his community service.

#Darcy Lewis #2012 Avengers #loki x darcy #TaserTricks #fanfiction #the start of the trope chaos #TaserTricks Misadventures

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spooo00oky · 1 year ago

Text

Siren’s Spell

Chapter three.

Pairing: siren!Wooyoung x reader

Warnings: swearing, Thalassophobia, suggestive themes, surprisingly no cliff hanger this time, more to come!

Word Count: 8k+

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! I’m so sorry this took so long to be finished but life has been so crazy for me lately. Life is still pretty hectic but I’ll be trying to write chapter 4 whenever I can! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter it’s shorter than the others have been but I still hope you enjoy this one! Please reblog to show your support it means a lot to me!

Editors note: hey if there is anything wrong with the format please send spooky a message because its kinda acting weird and ill fix it if it actually needs fixing thanks <3 - AlbedosFox

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Chapter III

I began to push away from Wooyoung as soon as we surfaced in the den. He wasn’t even bothered as I pushed against his chest, he simply set me on the edge of the pool and I quickly crawled away from him. He followed after me. He didn’t even bother to put on pants before he was grabbing my hand and spinning me around to face him.

I yanked my hand free and glared at him. “Don’t touch me.”

Wooyoung rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Are you seriously still mad over me not letting you back up to the surface? It’s for your own protection.”

“You don’t get to decide that for me, that wasn’t part of the agreement! We agreed that I would be allowed trips to the surface if I come back here every night, you don’t get to take that away from me now.”

“That was before you were attacked by a group of males. If I hadn’t been there, who knows what could’ve happened!” He started, taking a step towards me that I mirrored with my own step back. “I wouldn’t have agreed to it if I had known that it would be this dangerous for you.”

“You think the giant sea monster that likes to peep in through the hole in the ceiling is any safer than a bunch of males on the surface? Wooyoung, I’ve dealt with that sort of thing before I had even met you. I would’ve been fine without your help, I have friends to help me with that sort of thing.”

He rolled his eyes. “You mean the demon and the shifter? They weren’t even there with you when this happened, you were all alone.”

“With bystanders all around! Someone would’ve stepped in at some point,” I argued. My heart was racing in anger and my chest and face felt hot. I couldn’t let him win this argument, not this one. “You can’t keep me down here forever or else I’ll start to resent you.”

“You’ll come around eventually when you realize I’m doing this for your own well being,” he said, his expression stern. “You’re my mate, you are my first priority.”

“Use that term loosely because we’re still figuring things out Wooyoung. You barely know me, and I barely know you. You don’t get to do the things you’ve done and suddenly act like you can run my life and make decisions for me!”

“Hello.”

To say I nearly jumped out of my skin is an understatement. The new voice startled me so bad I nearly stumbled and hit the floor. Wooyoung didn’t even flinch, in fact, he only sighed before he turned to the source of the voice. I followed his gaze and saw one of the prettiest males of my life wading in the hole in the floor, and he looked between the two of us with a puzzled expression. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” His voice was deep and rich and I was instantly drawn to it. Wooyooung’s was pretty but this newcomer’s voice was downright dangerous.

“No you’re not Yeosang. My mate and I were just discussing some things,” Wooyoung said and it clicked. This was who he wanted me to meet, his friend that he thought I would get along with.

What Wooyoung said processed in my mind and I rolled my eyes. It was no doubt that Yeosang had heard everything from his expression but if Wooyoung wanted to keep matters like this private then so be it.

“Pretty loud discussion. I could hear you two before I was even near your home.” Yeosang moved to pull himself onto the edge of the pool and I caught a flash of green scales before I was averting my gaze to the wall. In true siren fashion, Yeosang was naked. Wooyoung grumbled something under his breath before he was leaving the room and coming back a moment later with something in his hand. He tossed the pair of sweatpants towards his friend and moved to step in front of me, shielding my eyes with his body.

“There are humans present.”

“Right, sorry.” Yeosang directed his words to me as he put the pants on. It wasn’t until he was clothed did Wooyoung move and Yeosang gave me a charming smile. “Nice to meet you, I’m Yeosang.”

I could feel some of my earlier anger melting away in his presence and I gave him a kind smile. “Nice to meet you as well. I’m y/n.”

“Oh you’re mad at me but you won’t be mad at him?”

I shot Wooyoung with a dirty look. “He hasn’t done anything wrong unlike you.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Wooyoung what did you do?” Yeosang said with a sigh. His shoulders slumped with a weight that I could only assume came from dealing with Wooyoung for many years.

“I didn’t do anything!” Wooyoung tried defending himself.

“That’s on me for asking you what you’ve done wrong,” Yeosang said before he turned to me instead. This caused Wooyoung to cry out indignantly. “What did this idiot do?”

“He won’t take me back up to the surface after an incident that happened on my way back to him today,” I summed it up for Yeosang. I was already starting to like him, this was someone that could put Wooyoung in his place. Hopefully.

Yeosang’s eyes widened and he turned to Wooyoung, who had the nerve to at least look guilty. “Wooyoung! You can’t just do that! Humans need sunlight to survive, they can get sick without it!”

“I’ll bring the sunlight down here to her.”

Yeosang wasn’t amused by that answer. “You’re being stupid. Do I need to bring the others into this? I’ll come back with Seonghwa if I need to.”

Wooyoung huffed. “Like he’d do anything.”

“I’ll bring Jongho and Yunho too.”

Wooyoung paused. “She was attacked by males on the surface Yeo!” He clearly didn’t like the idea of the other two people being brought into this.

“You don’t think that would’ve happened even in Socix during mating season? Use what little brain power you have, Wooyoung and think this through.”

“You guys have a mating season?” I asked, that small piece of information catching my attention.

Yeosang opened his mouth to answer before he gave Wooyoung a sharp look. Wooyoung was looking at the ground now, and it dawned on me that this was something I should’ve already known. How much was he not telling me? “You didn’t tell her that this is mating season?”

“Wait, mating season is right now?” I said aloud, my mind reeling a bit. Some beings on the surface had mating seasons at different points in the year, that I already knew. I also knew that those beings acted differently during these times as was expected. Judgment could become clouded and rash decisions were made aplenty. If Wooyoung and Yeosang were in their mating season, was me being Wooyoung’s mate a rash decision and it was only his instincts guiding him? Had I been the only person that would actually talk to him on the surface and he was drawn to me due to that? The severity of the incident earlier fully hit me then, and those males that had grabbed me were lucky they walked away alive and unharmed from the altercation.

I suddenly couldn’t look at Wooyoung right now, my gaze focused on the floor. I really didn’t want to be here right now. Anywhere but here. Was this all because of an instinct fueled endeavor on Wooyoung’s part? Did he even care about my being or was I just the closest warm body in his mind? I felt a little sick right about now.

“Y/n, don’t. I can practically see the thoughts running through your mind and I can smell you,” Wooyoung gently scolded me. He moved to grab my arm and I yanked it away before he could even touch me. He looked hurt at the sudden action but I was beyond caring at this point.

“Why shouldn’t I be thinking like this? You’re keeping things from me, Wooyoung, and I only found out about it because your friend brought it up on top of what you’re threatening me with!”

I felt tears prick my eyes and I couldn’t stay in this room any longer. I made a speedy escape and I heard footsteps attempt to follow me but I didn’t stick around long enough to see who it was. I hurried to the bedroom and Yeosang’s voice was the last thing I heard before I shut the door behind me. “Let her cool down a bit before you apologize.”

I curled up on the bed, the tears already making my vision blur. I buried myself beneath the covers as the first tear fell and absorbed into the pillow, my chest hurting with the thoughts that were running through my mind. I could hear Yeosang and Wooyoung arguing over the sound of my sniffles but I didn’t pay attention to their words. I didn’t want to. I suddenly felt so stupid for believing that Wooyoung had a genuine interest in me and for not realizing earlier that a small part of me was hoping that this would work out. I suddenly felt so alone down here and I wish I had Mingi or San or even Belle here with me right now. Someone to bring a sense of normalcy to my life right about now. Hongjoong’s presence would also be appreciated as well, a familial connection would be great right about now. He’d scold me for being dumb and jumping into things, but I’d even take that at this point. I could hear San saying “I told you so” right about now, but he wouldn’t mean it. He’d say it in the softest voice ever while hugging me and wiping my tears away, and Mingi would come by later with my favorite snacks and food and would try his hardest to make me smile. I miss my friends so much right now.

I don’t know when I fell asleep, but I was woken up to the sound of the door opening slowly. I could practically feel eyes on me from beneath the mountain of blankets I had piled on top of me. I held my breath to listen for footsteps but I didn’t hear anything. I nearly jumped when I felt the blankets begin to shift on top of me. Stupid sirens and their silent footsteps.

I didn’t move until I saw light. I was looking up at Wooyoung now, and he frowned even more when he saw my eyes that were no doubt red and puffy from crying. He looked guilty and upset and I wished I had listened to what Yeosang and him talked about now.

“I think we need to talk,” he said softly, moving more of the blankets out of the way so that he could pull me out of them. I let him move me into a sitting position before I settled in comfortably. I noticed he had shut the door behind him and I realized that Yeosang was still here if that was the case. He was giving us a semblance of privacy because I knew Yeosang could very well hear everything that was said in here.

I let out a small sigh before nodding. I felt more level headed than I had before, my anger cooled down until there was only a dull ache of pain in my chest. I was a little worried about what he was going to say next. I was worried that my fears were going to be confirmed. It was one thing to think such things but it was a whole other to hear them confirmed out loud. “I think so too. Please don’t sugar coat anything, I need to know everything Wooyoung. Is all of this purely because it’s mating season for you?”

Wooyoung immediately shook his head. “It’s not, I promise. Siren’s don’t go crazy at the sight of the first female like others do, it’s not part of our nature. Yeosang can confirm this. I made you my mate because I genuinely like you, even though I could’ve gone about things differently.”

I felt a weight suddenly lift off of my chest but there was still a small part of me that didn’t believe him. Did he really mean it or was he only saying this to keep himself in my good graces? I wasn’t going to stick around if this was all due to his instincts telling him to be a horn dog.

I must’ve had a look on my face because Wooyoung was quick to follow up on that statement. “I know you don’t believe me, and I don’t blame you,” he started, “and I’ll spend a long time making you believe me if that’s what it takes.” He looked down at his hands then, almost like he was ashamed. “And I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier. It was wrong of me to say those things and to say that you aren’t allowed back up to the surface just because I was jealous and overreacting.” His words sounded a little rehearsed and I had the sneaking suspicion that Yeosang really knocked some sense into him and made sure he had it all straight in his mind before he came to talk to me.

“And?”

Wooyoung pouted before he finished his statement. “And I won’t act like that again I promise.”

“And?”

“And I’m sorry for how I behaved when I visited you at work. There was no reason for me to act like that because we’re still figuring things out like we discussed.”

“And?”

Wooyoung’s brows scrunched up in confusion. He was obviously racking his brain for anything else he needed to apologize for. I almost felt bad for teasing him like this until his next words came out of his mouth. “And I’m sorry for being so hot?”

I rolled my eyes and pushed him away, making him laugh but his eyes were still wary. He was waiting to hear what I had to say in regards to his apology and I pretended to really think it over. I could practically hear the whine building up in his throat as I drew it out, and he began to squirm nervously. It was a nice change of pace to see him being the one to wait on me for once, anxious to hear my verdict. The roles had reversed from earlier.

“I forgive you. But,” I said quickly at his hopeful look. He settled back down onto the bed and looked at me with sparkling eyes. It was enough to melt some of my resolve. He looked so much like a puppy at that moment. A huge, aquatic murder puppy. “We’re still working on things, so the previous ground rules still apply. You also will never threaten me with not bringing me back up to the surface again, and you won’t act like an asshole when I’m around other males because we may be labeled as mates but we’re far from it, got it?”

He nodded enthusiastically. He opened his mouth to say something but I held up my hand. “‘I’m not finished.” He settled back down again and motioned for me to continue. “You will tell me everything that comes with being your mate, the good, the bad and the ugly. I need to know these things so I know what to expect. Obviously there were some things being kept from me for reasons that I don’t know.”

Wooyoung opened his mouth to say something before he closed it and sighed. “I was keeping those things from you because I thought I’d scare you off with that knowledge. You were so scared of being down here in the first place that I thought if I told you everything at first you’d demand to go back up to the surface and I’d never see you again.”

I felt a little guilty because he had a good point. I was still a little on edge being here in the den now and the strange sounds that periodically echoed off of the walls didn’t help my nerves. It’s gotten better but this wasn’t exactly home to me and he knew it despite his best efforts to make it seem like it could be. I couldn’t even say how I would’ve reacted if he had told me everything up front, but I know I would’ve still appreciated honesty above anything else. Honesty would have helped us avoid situations like this.

I sighed. “I’m sorry too then because I could’ve been more vocal about what I needed to know about all of this.” He went to speak and I cut him off before he could. “Don’t even say it because it’s true. Instead of letting things slide I should’ve been more vocal. From now on I’m going to ask more questions and you had better answer them.”

“Oh, I was going to say that you should’ve been asking questions this whole time instead of holding back,” he said and broke out in laughter as I moved to pinch his arm. He grabbed my hand to stop me and I scowled at him.

“Could you at least humor me?”

“No I don’t think I will because seeing you irritated is cute.”

I groaned and pulled my hand out of his grip. He let go and gave me a teasing grin before he spoke again. “So since you have so many questions for me, I’ll answer all that I can with the help of Yeosangie. But in order to do that we need to head to the kitchen because I made an apology dinner and it’s currently getting cold.”

“Fine fine let’s go eat dinner,” I said before I moved to get up from the bed. He helped me stand before walking out with me. I saw Yeosang sitting at the table and I gave him a small smile. A small part of me was embarrassed for the way I acted and stormed out but I reasoned with myself that it was a valid reaction. I was suddenly hit with a lot of things at once. “Sorry you had to be here for all of this.”

Yeosang waved away my apology. “Don’t be. Someone had to knock some sense into this idiot. If it wasn’t me it would’ve been one of the others.”

“How many others are there?” I asked out of curiosity. I took a seat at the table and Woyooung set a plate of food in front of me before he sat down as well. My stomach rumbled at the smell of the meal and I was pleased to see that it was one of my favorite dishes.

“There are three others in our Current. It’s me, Wooyoung, Seonghwa, Yunho, and Jongho that make up the group,” Yeosang explained. I dimly remember someone mentioning that a group of sirens was called a “Current” due to the fact that they could change whole ocean tides.

“Will I meet them one day?”

“Maybe one day, but let’s take things slow. You’re only just meeting Yeosangie,” Wooyoung said after he had sipped his drink. I nodded in agreement and took a bite of food and saw Wooyoung begin to eat out of the corner of my eye.

“So Wooyoung and I are mates. What exactly does that entail? There’s more to it than what was previously thought, obviously,” I asked. There wasn’t any bite to my tone now, only curiosity and the eagerness to know more.

“Wooyoung already said this but I’ll explain a little more. There is a bond between you now; the mating bond. It snapped into place when the courting ritual was complete and the ancient magic surrounding mating bonds sealed it,” Yeosang explained. Wooyoung provided the helpful information that it was completed when I returned his affections, aka when I gave him the coffee. “It’s not a bond like other beings where you are now one and you share thoughts and feelings between the two of you, but there is that connection of “you are mine’ and ‘I am yours’ now. Wooyoung is going through a lot of raging emotions right now that comes with the fresh bond, one of them being a heightened sense of protectiveness. It doesn’t excuse his actions but I want to put that out there to further explain why he’s more of an idiot now than he usually is.”

Wooyoung whined at the jab and Yeosang snickered, looking at his friend with nothing but affection on his eyes. I’ve only known Yeosang for a few hours but even I could tell that he truly loved his friend despite the constant teasing between the two.

“So there is a bond here, but I won’t feel it because I’m a human, correct?”

“That’s correct. You may experience similar emotions the longer you’re near him, but you’ll never experience the full extent of them. You’ll experience a few different changes now that I think about it.” He paused before he turned to look at him. “Have you explained the mating rituals to her yet?”

I nearly choked on my food and Wooyoung was even struggling to keep his composure. Yeosang watched with a raised brow at our reactions to the question, waiting patiently until we had settled down once again. “I take that as a no.”

“I never exactly had the chance to,” Wooyoung sheepishly admitted. He was suddenly very interested in the food before him.

Yeosang nodded in understanding. “You know that some beings on the surface leave mating bites on their partners to lay claim, right?”

I nodded, my hand instinctively went to my neck. Wooyoung tracked the movement with his eyes but averted his gaze when I met it.

“Sirens do that as well, but there are added steps before that. The mating mark is the final step so to speak, it officiates the bond between the two of you. Before that though you both will get an earring of a gem stone you both choose, it would be the equivalent of an engagement ring in human terms. This is an ancient tradition to symbolize that you are each other’s jewel forever or something along those lines, I don’t exactly remember,” Yeosang said with a shrug. “Seonghwa might know. He’s a romantic.”

Wooyoung snorted. “Spends all his time dreaming of love but hasn’t found it yet.”

“You found a mate only because I didn’t know better.”

Wooyoung sputtered at my comment as Yeosang burst into a fit of laughter, the sweet sound bouncing off of the stone walls. I smirked at Wooyoung and he pouted at me but made no remark back. He knew I was right.

“You were right, I do like her,” Yeosang said once his laughter had calmed down. He wiped a tear from his eye and he gave me a dazzling smile. “We can spend time together whenever you want.”

“Should’ve known you two would connect over bullying me,” Wooyoung grumbled as he stood and took our empty plates. He set them in the sink and began to wash them. “I had good intentions when I introduced you two and this is the thanks I get?”

“Thank you Wooyoung!” I said teasingly and I only got more grumbling in response.

“You had mentioned that I’d experience some different changes as well. What did you mean by that?” I asked despite exhaustion starting to pull at my eyes. I was still tired after my crying session earlier. How late was it? I’d have to make a note to bring a clock down here.

Yeosang opened his mouth but paused, his dark eyes moving to Wooyoung for a moment before he focused on me again. “I won’t explain everything because some things are best left for him to speak to you about, but I will say that you’ve already begun to experience some changes. Two of them being the fact that you’re able to tolerate the deep depths of the river and the cold temperatures of the water as well. A normal human would’ve been crushed to the pressure or died of hypothermia whenever they entered the water.”

In the chaos that had been me waking up here and sorting everything out, I hadn’t even thought things such as that. I didn’t think twice about hopping into the water and making the trip up to the surface and back again. This was partially due to my anxieties with other things in the water but I was shocked that I had jumped in like I was jumping into a kid’s pool. “Why is that? Is it because of the mating bond?”

“Yes and no. The mating bond will affect you in many different ways, but sirens are also beings infused with a very ancient form of magic,” Yeosang explained.

“Think of it like this,” Wooyoung spoke up from the sink, turning to face them now. “I’m a flame on a stove and you’re a pan. I can heat up the pan to make it hot, but the pan never turns into a flame. The pan remains a pan but it’s hot like the flame is.”

“For lack of a better way to explain it, yes, that analogy works,” Yeosang stated. “You’ll always be a human but with a few added benefits.”

“Oh,” I said thoughtfully. I’ve only been around Wooyoung for a few weeks and I’ve already begun to experience some of these benefits. What other benefits could there be? Would I start sprouting gills to be able to breath underwater as well? “Would being around you also affect my lifespan?” It would make sense after all.

Yeosang hesitated to respond and I realized the implications of my question. It could be taken as I would only use Wooyoung to live forever if what I was guessing was true. “You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.”

“It would. You won’t notice it now because the bond is still fresh and you’re young, but later on you’ll start to notice that you’ve slowly stopped aging before ceasing it all together,” Wooyoung explained, giving me a serious look. I knew the meaning behind that look and it was “don’t tell anyone”. The expression wasn’t accusatory and I appreciated Wooyoung’s good faith in me that I wouldn’t abuse this benefit and stay with him only for that. It made sense that this was somewhat of a secret that had to be kept. Sirens were already beautiful as is, I remember the stares Wooyoung got whenever he was on the surface. If others knew that being with them came with the benefit of immortality there would be dozens of people throwing themselves at the first siren they saw. I highly doubted that all the sirens were as kind as Wooyoung and Yeosang were.

“Don’t give away all of our secrets now, Wooyoung,” Yeosang sighed.

“She can know, she won’t spread it around. I know she won’t. She’s only asking because she’s best friends with a demon and a shifter,” he defended me and I was grateful for it. It was true. Both San and Mingi were immortal while I was mortal; my lifespan was not even a fraction compared to theirs. If I could change that I would in a heartbeat if it meant I didn’t have to say goodbye to them in the end.

“You have a talent for building relationships with anything that’s not a human, don’t you,” Yeosang said with a teasing grin.

“That’s not true. I’m best friends with my cousin, Hongjoong, and he’s human.”

“Family doesn’t count.”

I thought about it. “I’m using my job as an excuse. There’s only a handful of humans at my job, and it was tedious just getting an interview with Belle.”

“What do you do for a job anyway?” Yeosang asked, leaning forward in his seat. Wooyoung had returned to his seat next to me and his eyes were on me as well. I wasn’t surprised that he was curious about my career, he visited my building today after all. There weren’t many details spoken, only that it was important to me.

“I’m a fashion designer for Lunar Couture,” I explained. At their blank looks I realized that they had no idea what that was. “It’s a high end designer label up top. It’s really hard to be hired by them, especially if you’re a human.”

Yeosang made a noise of understanding before he turned on Wooyoung. “You were going to just take that all away? She’s worked hard for this!”

Wooyoung sputtered at the sudden accusation and fumbled with a response for a few minutes. He settled on looking guilty for a moment. “I thought it was just to make money to take care of herself at first, and I told her I would provide everything she needed. This is the first I’m actually hearing more details on what it’s like.”

Yeosang pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is why we ask more questions before we just go dashing up to the surface.” He gave me an apologetic look. “You’ll have to excuse him, he got excited when I started discussing surface customs with him a few weeks ago and he wanted to visit as soon as he could. He jumped the gun, clearly, before I could explain more things with him. It’ll be a learning process. Wooyoung, the surface isn’t like Socix where you need to hunt everyday. Y/n has a career and it’s obviously very important to her, you can’t just take that away from her.”

“I know that now!” Wooyoung snapped before he turned to me with a small pout. “I didn’t mean to be disrespectful concerning your career. I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you, you didn’t know.” I gave him a small smile. “This means I’m going back tomorrow morning right?”

“Yes it does,” Wooyoung confirmed and I felt my smile grow.

“By the way, how do you know so much about surface dweller things?” I asked Yeosang.

“I have a friend up top who I talk to regularly, as well as making a few trips myself,” he explained. Wooyoung whined and Yeosang narrowed his eyes at him. “You don’t come because you can’t handle it. I’d like to shield my friend from you all for as long as I can.”

Wooyoung grumbled something under his breath as he slumped back into his chair. Another yawn slipped out and I sleepily rubbed my eyes, the day truly catching up with me now.

“I think I should get going. Humans need a lot of sleep to stay healthy Wooyoung,” Yeosang told him and he waved away his advice.

“I know that, I haven’t kept her awake late.”

Yeosang nodded his approval before turning to me again with a smile. “It was nice to meet you, I hope to see you again soon. If you ever need me, just call out my name. I’m usually close enough to be within hearing range.”

I gave him a tired smile. “I appreciate it, thank you. We’ll have to hang out again soon.”

Yeosang gave one final wave before he was diving into the pool in the other room. Once he was fully submerged the pair of sweatpants he had on landed on the floor with a wet slap before the water stilled completely.

Wooyoung’s hand on my shoulder brought me back to the kitchen table and I looked at him in confusion. He smiled and stood from his chair, helping me up as well. “It’s time to get you to bed if you have work the next morning.”

I nodded and let him lead me to the bedroom. He pulled out pajamas for me and stepped out of the room to let me get changed. I appreciated the privacy as I changed before crawling into bed. He heard the ruffle of the covers and came back into the room, nearly diving in beside me with a smile on his face. He made no move to hold me this time, my body was still and my eyes were already closed. He didn’t even need to sing to me tonight, my mind not even registering the noises outside of the house as it was too tired to even care. Sleep came quickly tonight, to which I was thankful for.

༄

I didn’t want to get up the next morning. It was so warm and cozy in the bed that it was hard to even open my eyes. The pillow was soft and I couldn’t help but nuzzle my head into it with a happy sigh, a smile creeping onto my face. It wasn’t until the pillow shifted beneath me that I cracked an eye open, seeing what caused the disturbance.

“Good morning sleepy head.”

My eyes widened completely at the sound of Wooyoung’s voice and I slowly realized the pillow I had been nuzzling my head into was, in fact, Wooyoung’s clothed chest. Once my groggy brain put the pieces together I quickly sat up. I stared down at Wooyoung with mild horror but he only smirked as he watched me. Of course he would’ve enjoyed the entire thing. His smirk only grew into a full smug grin when I felt my face start to get hot.

“Why were you cuddling with me?” I demanded from him, refusing to believe that I had been the one to initiate it. There was no way. He had to have pulled me closer during the night and we woke up like this. I did nothing to start this!

“I can smell your embarrassment,” he snickered as he sat up too. “That was all you, though. You’re really cute when you’re cuddly, you know that? I went to go and make breakfast and you grabbed onto me when I moved. It was the cutest thing when you started mumbling in your sleep.”

“You’re lying.”

Wooyoung’s grin turned downright sinister. “I tried to push you off so you could still sleep and I could start on breakfast but you wouldn’t let go. I’m only a man, y/n. I would never pass up on the opportunity to have my mate cuddling up to me like that.”

“Shut up!”

“You know you drool in your sleep too?”

His laughter rang throughout the room as I threw a pillow at his retreating back. He was still laughing even as he entered the kitchen and I flopped back into the bed with a groan. He’d never let me live this down now. Why had I done that? Clearly it had been subconscious I had made sure there was a healthy distance between us before I fell asleep. I’m blaming the bond even though I don’t know how else the bond is going to affect me, but Yeosang said I would experience some changes. That’s what it was and nothing else.

I groaned again. Was it a bad thing though? It was embarrassing, there was no doubt about that. We were mates though, these kinds of things were almost expected. It was going to happen sooner or later, for us it just happened to be sooner. Despite the deal we had it was me that ended up overstepping. Wooyoung didn’t seem upset though, far from it.

“Breakfast is ready, cuddle bug!” Wooyoung shouted from the kitchen, breaking me out of the trance I was in with my face smushed into the pillows.

I sighed and slowly got up and trudged to the kitchen, that smirk still on his face when I sat down at the table. He set a plate of food in front of me and took his own seat. He waited as he always did for me to take a bite and show that I liked it before he began to dig in. He was practically glowing right now and I decided maybe it wasn’t so bad that we cuddled if this was the reaction it got out of him.

“I can’t wait to tell Yeosang that you cuddled up to me this morning.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Why not? It’s adorable.”

“It’s not!”

“You were asleep during it. You don't know that it wasn’t adorable from my perspective,” he said with a grin as he polished off his food and took his plate to the sink.

I groaned one last time before deciding I’d ignore his remarks for the time being. He was clearly never going to let it go no matter what I said so the silent treatment it was for the time being.

I finished my meal and set my plate in the sink, giving Wooyoung a curious glance out of the corner of my eye. He took the plate from my hand and nodded towards the bedroom door, starting to wash my plate. “Go ahead and get ready and we can get going.”

I smiled brightly and nearly skipped to the bedroom to get ready for work. A small part of me had been worried that Wooyoung would have a change of heart after a night’s rest and would decide to keep me down here. He had been agreeable under the watchful eye of Yeosang last night, but he could have made a sudden decision now that the other siren was gone. To say I was delighted that he was making good on his promise was an understatement. The smile didn’t leave my face even as I walked out of the bedroom and to the room that Wooyoung was waiting in, already sitting on the edge of the water and his tail making small waves. He looked up when I entered and noticed the grin immediately.

“Someone’s excited.”

“I am, I thought you would change your mind if I’m being honest.”

He rolled his eyes before he lowered himself into the water below, and I had to quickly avert my gaze from his arms and the way they bulged with the motion. “I’m not going to change my mind on anything that was discussed last night, that I promise. I’ve come to my senses on subjects like this and last night won’t happen again.”

“Yeosang really did get through to you. I had expected a little more resistance.”

“Oh I still don’t like it, but that’s just instincts talking. I’m not going to control you and your every move,” he explained as he watched me carefully get into the water. “You’re not an object, you’re my equal. I mean it when I say I won’t make that mistake again.”

Wooyoung kept good on that promise as well. The day after our argument went by just like any other day, he dropped me off at the dock, using his magic to remove the water from me, and was waiting there after my day at work as well. He didn’t complain about San and Mingi’s scents on me. He only asked about how my day went as he cooked dinner for us that night. It was a very domestic moment and I felt lighter than I have in a while, like a weight was taken off of my shoulders.

A new routine started up the weeks after the incident as well. Woyooung was the designated chef out of the two of us, and I made it a point to wash the dishes that were used. The first time I had done it Wooyoung tried to refuse, but I explained that it was only fair since he had done all of the cooking ever since I arrived at the den. It would also drive me crazy if I didn’t do something around to help. He begrudgingly let me start doing the dishes but soon enough we fell into a comfortable pattern. Eventually I offered to help decorate the den but he adamantly refused to allow that. He reminded me that this was still very much part of the courting process, and under normal circumstances it would’ve been fully furnished before my arrival. He insisted he needed to finish it himself before seeking my approval and I left it at that.

Another unforeseen habit that developed over the weeks after the argument was the incessant need to be close to Wooyoung. This had started during the middle of a meeting at work and I had chucked it up to missing the familiar presence of the siren, as he had become a staple in my life now. It wasn’t until I caught a whiff of the clean scent of the river and had the urge to dive into the water where I knew he was that I knew something was different. After a discussion over dinner with Wooyoung and a lot of teasing, it was revealed that this was an effect of the bond. He’s felt it this entire time but it was taking a slower pace with me. I didn’t hear the end of it until I threatened to smother him with a pillow while we went to bed that same night.

Cuddling was also becoming more common than not. It was a gradual build up, one night a week turned to two nights a week I would wake up pressed to Wooyoung’s side or chest. Now more nights than not I would wake up with his arms wrapped around me and a pleased purr rumbling near my ear. Wooyoung never complained though, quite the opposite actually. He would tease me for it at the start of these changes, now he doesn’t even mention it. It’s become a habit at this point and a very welcomed one in his eyes. It did benefit me as well so I couldn’t complain either. The nagging feeling to be close to him that would randomly appear during the day didn’t happen as often, if at all. Wooyoung was also warm and comforting to be around, and his presence relaxed me when the sounds of the river around the den spooked me. He didn’t need to lull me to sleep with his voice as much anymore, his mere presence doing wonders to my sleep schedule now. When I brought it up to him he puffed out his chest and boasted as he told Yeosang about it the next day. Yeosang and I both rolled our eyes at that.

Work was picking up more and more with each week we drew nearer to the show. Belle was literally running around to make sure everything was ready and running smoothly, and San had taken to teleporting to the rooms he needed to be in instead of walking anymore. Mingi demanded a ban on teleporting because he had been on the receiving end of plenty of jump scares due to this. I was no better, it was bad enough I could barely hear my friends walking towards my office and it was only worse when I couldn’t hear them at all. San also liked scaring us a bit as well. It was to “keep the blood pumping” in his words. Bastard.

It was a week away from the show that I met the rest of Wooyoung’s Current. The day had been long and tiring and Wooyoung picked up on it just by looking at me when I arrived at the docks. He gave me a sympathetic smile and I nearly flopped into his arms once I lowered myself into the water. He didn’t say anything for a moment, giving me a moment to recharge as he held me and soothingly rubbed my back. I didn’t question anything because this felt comforting and natural. It could’ve been partially due to the bond but we have gotten closer over these past weeks as well, and I needed this. He gently reminded me to hold my breath and that was the only thing spoken before we were diving beneath the waves and heading back to the den.

I sucked in air once we surfaced, wiping the water away to clear my vision. When I was able to see I met a pair of dark eyes that were already looking at me. A pair of eyes that were definitely not Wooyoung’s.

In hindsight I should’ve known that the only ones inside of the den were Wooyoung and I and whoever else Wooyoung deemed trustworthy. I should’ve known that the other presence was a welcomed one if they were allowed this close but in the heat of the moment I didn’t recognize that other than someone I didn’t know was here.

My scream echoed off of the stone walls and Wooyoung instinctively pulled me closer to his chest before he relaxed and laughed. The cheerful sound made me look up at him in confusion to see that he was already smiling down at me. He turned to look over his shoulder and started to speak in a foreign language that consisted of varying clicking noises. The newcomer seemed to not like what he said because he scoffed and slapped Wooyoung’s shoulder, making him laugh more.

“You’ll have to excuse Yunho, he's been curious ever since Wooyoung told us about you,” a different voice said and I whipped my head to locate the source. Two more sirens had appeared behind me, one of them giving me a kind smile as I stared with wide eyes. “I’m Seonghwa, this is Jongho, and the one that startled you is Yunho.”

Wooyoung set me on the ledge of the pool and I took in the sirens better. They were all pretty, that was a standard for them though but Yunho was probably the biggest siren I’ve ever seen. I thought Wooyoung would be considered one of the biggest but I was proven wrong as Yunho gave me a sheepish grin.

“I’m sorry, I thought you heard me come in. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I shook my head and waved away his concern. “I’m fine I wasn’t expecting guests is all.”

“You all need to announce yourselves before you just pop up now,” Wooyoung chided them. He glanced down at me. “Today might not be the best night for visitors as well, y/n had a long day and she’s tired.”

“No no I’m fine,” I quickly said, grabbing all of their attention. I knew I was going to be too stressed to properly rest and unwind, so a distraction was welcomed. I needed something to take my mind off of work right about now. “You can stay and visit, I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?” Wooyoung gave me a concerned look. I felt my chest warm and I gave him a reassuring smile and nod. Wooyoungg’s gaze didn’t waver to see if he could detect any hint of a lie but when he found none he nodded and turned to the pink haired siren. “Did you all bring clothes or do I need to provide for you free loaders?”

Seonghwa nodded and held up what looked like a waterproof bag. It was definitely not a design I have seen before so it must be a Socix specialty. “We all brought stuff. Also speak respectfully, I’m your elder,” Seonghwa scolded him as he moved to pull himself up onto the ledge of the pool. His tail was a beautiful royal blue color that shimmered in the light of the room and it was a little hard to take my eyes off of it for a moment. I looked away when I saw Wooyoung’s narrowed gaze on me and I giggled before I moved to stand up. “I’m going to get cleaned up. I’ll be back!” I called over my shoulder before heading into the bathroom.

The warm water of the bath made me sigh and my tense muscles loosen. It definitely took an edge off of my stress, but it wasn’t going to be enough to fully relax. I worked through cleaning up and soon enough I was changed into comfier clothes and reappearing in the living room area. Everyone was seated on the mismatched furniture there, and I found Wooyoung next to Seonghwa on the couch. He was repeatedly bumping his shoulder into the taller male and Seonghwa looked less than thrilled. Jongho and Yunho smiled at my appearance and Seonghwa gave me a sympathetic smile when I took a seat next to Wooyoung and he turned his attention to me. Wooyoung leaned against me and I had to brace myself to prevent me from being squished.

“I’m sorry for him, he’s always been like this,” Seonghwa said and Wooyoung whined.

“What is it with you all and apologizing for me? I’m not bad!”

“You bite,” Jongho pointed out and Yunho nodded his agreement.

“I really hope he kept that habit of his contained to the Current and isn’t biting you. Unless he is.” Seonghwa said, his tone changing quickly as he gave Wooyoung a stern look.

“He hasn’t been biting me, thankfully,” I interjected before Wooyoung could get in any kind of trouble. “I didn’t know it was a habit of his until you mentioned it actually.”

“Good because he’s not gentle with it either,” Yunho pointed out, which earned him a pillow thrown at his head. He easily caught it and set it off to the side.

“It’s just how I show love!”

I laughed at the dynamic between all of them and it made me happy to see that it wasn’t just Yeosang that was close to Wooyoung. They were like a little family with the way they cared for each other but didn’t hesitate to call each other out when they did something dumb.

The conversation flowed easily after that, and I quickly warmed up to the rest of Wooyoung’s Current. Much like Yeosang, the others were very sweet and kind and teased Wooyoung to no end. It seemed to be a mutual arrangement though, so I laughed along with them. Wooyoung seemed pleased that I was enjoying myself if the gleeful expressions thrown my way were of any indication. I’m sure it eased some of his worries that he held close to his heart to see his mate and his Current getting along so well. It certainly was comforting to know that I wasn’t alone down here, I had some friends to fall back on now.

The discussion moved to what I do for a living on the surface and I explained I was a fashion designer. Seonghwa looked like he had stars in his eyes when I told them that, and I couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled forth at the expression. He looked too adorable to be as dangerous as a siren could be.

“Seonghwa has an interest in surface fashion after he learned a little about it from Yeosang,” Jongho explained. “He’s constantly bugging us to travel up there just so he can look at all of the stores.”

“You don’t have to talk about work if you don’t want to, I assume you’re there a lot,” Seonghwa interjected. He looked like he was about ready to jump out of his seat at this point, contradicting his words entirely.

I waved away his words with a smile. “I don’t mind, it’s my passion. There is a fashion show coming up that I just happen to have a spare ticket to if you’re interested.”

Seonghwa did partially jump from the couch this time but composed himself with a cough. His cheeks tinted pink as his friends laughed at his reaction, which I assumed was out of character for the mild mannered siren. I found it adorable when he nodded that he was interested. “I would love to.”

“You didn’t offer me a ticket,” Wooyoung pouted, leaning into me more to show his displeasure that he wasn’t included in the offer.

“I had two spare tickets. You were already invited,” I said with a chuckle. This appeased him and he stopped pouting and pulled a little of his weight off of me. Only a little though. “You both can meet my cousin Hongjoong then, he’ll be there as well. He’s the whole reason why I’m in the industry and he has his own label now.”

“I’d love to meet him if he’d be willing to talk to me about fashion,” Seonghwa stated. I was going to have a lot of explaining to do when I saw Hongjoong next. Me showing up with two giant men at my side with one of them wanting to speak with him personally and one of them as my mate was certainly going to raise some questions.

The conversation moved away from work and more towards the politics of Socix. Having heard very little about the city beneath the water I tried to remain alert with the conversation but the day was catching up with me and Wooyoung was so warm and comforting. I don’t even remember fully leaning against him and letting my eyes fall shut, but I became aware of it when the voices around me softened to whispers and I felt an arm wrap around me to pull me closer to their side.

“She seems sweet,” I heard Yunho murmur, his voice sounding far away.

“I’m glad you finally found someone, Wooyoung. You look happy. Happier than you ever were with Maggiore.” This time I recognized Seonghwa as the speaker, and I tried to stay awake for just a little longer. I felt bad for falling asleep when guests were present, and I must have made a noise because Wooyoung was softly shushing me and running his fingers through my hair. The action lulled me further to sleep and I only managed to catch what Wooyoung said before it took me over fully.

“I am the happiest I’ve ever been.”

༄

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#wooyoung #ateez #ateez fic #jung wooyoung #siren #kpop #wooyoung imagines

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itsladykit · 3 months ago

Text

Summary: Twist, Cash, and Slim discuss

CW: Mild mind-altering affects, discussion of LV, Fell-verse collaring culture, mention of murder, LV issues, and a gratuitous blow job.

They separated slowly, as if any sudden movement could cause pain. Each searched the others’ eyelights, looking for answers.

Slim swallowed, sitting back on his heels as he looked from Twist to Cash. His soul still felt hot, but there was a growing lassitude spreading through it. He wanted nothing more than to settle deep into their shared nest and bask in the warmth and safety of it.

And that was frightening, because something had just happened. Something serious and strange, and Slim knew he needed to be more worried about it. But he simply…wasn’t. Everything felt good and right with world, so when Twist said, “Food. There’s, uh. Food. Downstairs. Why don’ we eat sumthin’ b’fore tryin’ ta sort this out, yeah?” Slim just nodded agreeably. They dressed in a haze, and Twist insisted each skeleton keep his own soul in his chest. “Jus’ fer now,” he said when Slim protested.

Downstairs, Twist scooped the bag of takeout off the floor where he’d dropped it. “Fam’ly-style work fer everyone?”

Cash nodded, but to Slim’s embarrassment, he found himself purring at the suggestion. Twist paused, hearing that. Slim saw him swallow, then he put a hand low on Slim’s lumbar spine, steering him toward the table. “Alright.” He swallowed again, and Slim swore he could feel Twist’s anxiety—as if he was projecting, but of course, he wouldn’t be projecting anxiety of all things.

Even that realization couldn’t punch through the contentment warming his soul. Purring still, Slim just leaned into him and kissed him. When Twist pulled away, Slim followed, kissing and nuzzling his clavicles and sternum when he couldn’t reach his mouth. “everything’s fine,” he said, feeling Twist’s fear spike again. “you worry too much.”

Twist looped his arms delicately around Slim’s shoulders, holding him steady as if afraid he’d wander off if left to his own devices. “No ‘ffense, darlin’, but I think ‘m worried the right amount. Cash, how’re ya feelin’? Think Slim might…might not be entirely with us right now.”

Slim chose to ignore that, instead turning his attention to Cash—who was being uncharacteristically quiet. His eyelight was blown, and Slim could feel his contentment. Slim smiled placidly at him, purring again, but Cash shook his skull and looked away, fist clenched. “i’m fine,” he snapped.

“Not feelin’ a weird an’ sudden sense ‘a peace an’ love?”

Cash’s skull jerked around to stare hard at Twist, while Slim just snickered. “how—?”

Taking a breath, Twist guided Slim into a chair. “’cause I c’n feel it, darlin’. Tha’s why’m worried.”

Slim pillowed his head on his arms, sockets half-lidded. He watched as Cash started to sit across from him, then changed his mind and sat beside him instead. Under the table, Slim hooked his ankle around Cash’s, sighing at the contact. Twist set the takeout boxes on the table, disappearing briefly to grab silverware and plates. He didn’t sit down to eat with them, though. Instead, he started pacing, brow-bones furrowed.

They watched him for a minute. Then Slim said, “you’re not eating?”

“I’ll eat in a minute. Jus’ lemme—”

Cash used his foot to shove the chair opposite them away from the table, and into Twist’s path. He stumbled but didn’t fall, turning on them. “Wha' the hell?!”

“sit. down.” Cash held Twist’s eyelight.

With a sigh, Twist pulled the chair straight and sat. “Happy?”

Slim pushed a fork and a carton of food toward him. Twist sighed again, looking between them. He ran a hand over his coronal suture, scratching. “Right. Listen—”

“you said we’d eat first,” Slim observed.

“Yeah, I did. Tha’s why I got you two settled—but I need ta figure out what ta do with ya now!”

Slim just pushed the carton closer. “it’ll get cold.”

“It’s already cold! Look, jus’ lemme—”

“twist, just eat the fucking food,” Cash said around a mouthful of noodles.

Before he could protest again, Slim said, “you’ll feel better if you do.”

Twist looked between them and sighed, reaching across the table to steal one of the dumplings. Instead of eating it, though, he began pulling it apart. “Don’ s’ppose either ‘a ya know what happened, do ya?”

Cash shook his head, but Slim hesitated. “you don’t think….” They looked at him, and despite the contentment still thrumming through his soul, Slim fumbled his words. Taking a breath, he signed, “it couldn’t be a soul-bond, right?”

Cash waved him off. “that’s a myth.”

Twist’s brow-bones furrowed, and he shoved the ragged dumpling into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Finally, he said, “Think ya might be onto sumthin’, sweetheart.”

Cash glared at him. “it’s a myth,” he said again.

Twist shook his head. “No, it ain’t.” He was solemn and serious, but his anxiety had obviously settled now that they had a plausible answer. “Makes sense, too. C’n feel the two ‘a ya, here—” He tapped his sternum, over his soul. “—an’ I don’ know what else it could be. Question is, whadda we do ‘bout it, now?”

“nothing, because that’s ridiculous!” Cash snapped. Slim and Twist studied him, both of them sharing a quick glance. Under the frustration, they could sense his rising fear.

Gently, Twist said, “Nah, sweetheart. Ain’t a myth.” He swallowed, and Slim felt his LV stir. “Knew a place. Specialized in….” He lowered his head, running his hands over his skull. “In matchin’ a monster with their ‘perfect mate’.” He shuddered. “Had a stable ‘a sweetpieces, an’ they claimed they could force a bond.”

Cash’s cheekbone was pallid, and Slim had trouble swallowing. “that’s just rumor, not proof.”

Twist laughed and offered a cruel smile. “Yeah? How ‘bout this? They, uh, wen’ outta bus’ness ‘cause even the king wouldn’ cross some lines. Set the dogs on ‘em.” He snorted and patted himself for a cigarette—sighing when he realized he was still mostly naked and missing the pack. “Anyway, ya wan’ rumor—rumor is, it didn’t work the way they advertised. Turned strong monsters weak—made ‘em slaves ta the ‘pieces they were bound to. An’ tha’s the real reason the king cracked down on it. Couldn’ abide any weakness in ‘is monsters.” He searched the room. “Fuck I need a cig—”

Cash disappeared, then reappeared with a pack. He shook a cigarillo into his hand before shoving the pack at Twist. Sitting heavily, he took a long drag before asking, “how, then? you can’t soul-bond by accident!”

Twist snorted, smoke curling from his mouth. “Wouldn’ call that an accident, darlin’.”

Cash glared. “oh, so you intended to tie your soul to ours?”

Twist took a drag, shaking his head. “No. But I felt yer souls’ cryin’ out, an’ I answered.” Leveling a look at them, he said, “There’s a diff’rence b’tween an accident and jus’ not givin’ a damn ‘bout the consequences. Maybe I didn’t know what was gonna happen, but I wasn’ gonna leave ya hangin’ like that, souls screamin’.”

Cash quieted, and Slim felt his soul warm at Twist’s words, his contentment returning. Twist looked between them, absently tapping the ash from his cigarette. “But you two…don’ think ya had much choice in all this, didja? Yer heat—”

“no,” Slim said, placid and sure, “i chose too. i wanted you—both of you. and i was going to accept whatever you offered.”

Cash swallowed and stood, but he didn’t move after that. He just stood there, paralyzed. Slim could feel the confusion of emotions tumbling through him—fear and uncertainty, but also a bone-deep satisfaction and fulfillment, his possessive streak mellowed to something more contentedly secure. He didn’t say anything, but Slim could feel him grappling with his own decisions, his own role in their current situation.

Finally, sitting back down, he agreed, “it wouldn’t have happened if we weren’t in heat, but that’s not why it happened.” Hands on the table, he looked between them. “so? what do we do about it?”

“Could try ta break it—”

“no!” Slim’s soul leapt at the suggestion. They both looked at him, sockets wide. Slim swallowed, but said again, “no.” A beat later, he added, “please.” His throat closed around all the things he couldn’t say.

Before he could lift his hands to plead his case, Twist just nodded and said, “Alright. We don’ break it—you okay with tha’, Patches?”

Cash was still looking at Slim. “yeah. i’m okay with that.”

“Right, then.” He scratched along his jaw. “So.” He stopped, apparently unsure what to say. None of them spoke, but Slim could feel their emotions through the bond, like an echo of his own.

“…it feels right,” he said after the silence stretched too long. “don’t you think?”

Slowly, Twist nodded, though his gaze was fixed on the burning cigarillo between his fingers, watching the smoke curl upward. He looked thoughtful and self-assured, but Slim could feel his apprehension. Cash didn’t react at all, but he radiated satisfaction and disbelief—as if he thought he’d gotten away with something.

Briefly, Slim wondered what they sensed from him.

Then Twist cleared his throat. “We can’t tell anyone ‘bout this.”

Cash glared at him. “why? ashamed of us?” His words were biting, but they could feel the fear behind them.

Twist just rolled his eyelight. “Fuck off—I ain’t ashamed ‘a shit.” Slim smiled a little, settling back into the contented warmth of the bond. “’m worried, though. If ‘berry finds out….”

Cash snorted. “yeah? what’s the pipsqueak gonna do?”

Twist eyed him. “Darlin’, he’s Fell—same as you, same as me. Don’ f’rget that.” He twisted the cigarillo between his fingers before bringing it to his mouth to take a drag. “There’re ways ta kill a monster without raisin’ yer LV, ya know.”

Cash and Slim fell silent, sensing Twist’s seriousness. Exhaling smoke, Twist continued, “Anyway—if we’re doin’ this, we can’t jus’ drop it on ‘im. He’ll be pissed, an’ he’ll retaliate—an’ ya won’ ever see it comin’. Got me?”

Slim and Cash shared a look, then nodded. Softly, Slim said, “i…i’d rather not tell razz either. at least, not yet.” He tried not to flinch, imagining the look of disgust on his brother’s face. It wasn’t fair—Razz had been working hard to mend their relationship. The worst he’d likely do now was raise a brow-bone. Still, Slim couldn’t shake the instinctive wince.

Cash laughed bitterly. “at least we don’t have to worry about mine.” Twist flinched, but Slim jolted at the mention of the brother Cash never acknowledged. Before anyone could react, he added, “so how do we handle this, then? we can’t keep this a secret forever.”

Twist didn’t say anything. Cash stilled beside him, and even without the bond, Slim would have felt the icy fury radiating from him. “you son of a bitch. you still think we’re going to let you go. after all that. you think—” He took a shuddering breath, as if he was too angry to keep speaking.

“Darlin’….”

Cash pointed at him. “don’t you fucking ‘darlin’ me. what part of this don’t you understand? we’re not letting you go.”

Twist sighed, running a hand down his face. “Ya say that like I wanna leave, but that ain’t it. Tolja—I’d stay, if I could. But my LV ain’t goin’ away, an’ this—” He twirled his hand, gesturing to encompass everything that had happened between them. “—don’ change that. Hell, might even make me more dangerous fer ya."

Cash’s jaw popped, but before he could speak, Slim held up a hand. “promise us something, then.”

“Whaddaya wan’, sweetheart?”

Slim swallowed and exhaled slowly. “promise us you’ll try. you let us help with—” He fumbled a bit but held onto his words. “—with your spider problem. and we look for solutions to the lv problem. heading back underground is a last resort, and we start treating it like that instead of an inevitability.”

Cash looked at him, nodding, but Twist just eyed the cigarillo pinched between his fingers, cherry burning. “twist.” Cash’s voice was a low growl. He looked and sounded angry, but his soul bled desperation.

Head bowed, sockets shut, Twist just asked, “What if I hurt ya? Either ‘a ya? Ain’t—ain’t like we got a big margin fer error, here. All I gotta do is fuck up once, an’ one ‘a you—hell, both ‘a you could be dust. I can’t risk that. Ain’t right, ain’t fair—”

“since when has life ever been fair?” Cash asked. “to any of us. and stop treating us like we’re helpless little sweetpieces. you said it yourself—we’re fell, same as you. we didn’t survive our ‘verses by hiding in a corner and waiting for someone bigger and stronger to come along and protect us. you know what hotland in my ‘verse was like; you know the kind of shit i had to deal with. and slim—”

“i backed my brother in every fight. took most of his kills so his lv wouldn’t get too high.” Until he was forced to stop, at least.

Cash nodded, and Twist was at least looking at them, now. “see? so quit your martyr routine, stop treating us like victims, and let us fucking help you.”

Twist’s eyelight flicked from Cash to Slim. He took a final drag on his cigarillo before stubbing it out. “Alright.” He nodded a little. “I promise—both ‘a ya.” He offered a wan smile. “Ain’t convinced this’ll have a happy endin’, but…” He swallowed. “’m willin’ ta try.”

Cash relaxed into his chair and gave a stiff nod. “good.” He jabbed a fork into his noodles and resumed eating, apparently satisfied that everything was settled.

Slim looked back at Twist. “so, what’s the plan for handling blackberry? cash’s right—we can’t keep this a secret forever.”

Twist poked listlessly at the box of fried rice. “Gotta talk to ‘im. He ain’t gonna like tha’ I spent yer heat with ya—”

“it’s none of his business,” Cash grumbled.

“I know! I know.” Twist sighed, running a hand down the back of his neck. “Maybe…maybe we start slow, yeah? Let ‘im think we’re dating? Least we c’n get ‘im used ta the idea b’fore we….”

“announce our soulbond?”

Slim started laughing, and both turned to look at him. “nothing, just—stars, we did this all backwards, didn’t we?”

Twist smiled a little. “We don’ have ta do it like this, darlin’. Could do this the ‘right’ way, yeah? Start with datin’ b’fore we jump headfirst inta the rest ‘a this. There’s gotta be a way ta break the bond.”

Slim was more prepared for it now, so he didn’t react to the sudden queasiness the suggestion inspired. Instead, he shook his head firmly. “i want to keep it. we can try breaking it if this doesn’t work out, but…i want to try. with the bond.”

Twist looked to Cash. “Sweetheart?”

“you heard the man,” he said, dismissing the question.

“Yeah, an’ now ‘m askin’ you—do you wan’ this? Really?”

Cash paused to glare at Twist. “you’re fishing,” he accused.

Twist sighed. “I’m not. I just—I need ta know yer doin’ this ‘cause ya wan’ to, not ‘cause we jus’…fell inta it.” Cash didn’t reply, and Twist sighed again. “Darlin’, you been tellin’ me ta leave ya ‘lone since the moment we met. Ya can’t blame me fer thinkin’ maybe yer jus’ doin’ this ‘cause ya think ya gotta.”

“as if you haven’t spent every minute sending me mixed signals,” he snapped. “the constant flirting—until i make a move, and then suddenly i’ve misunderstood things.”

Slim froze, looking between them. He rarely felt like an outsider with them, but he could suddenly sense their shared history—the weight of it. Twist softened, nodding as he looked away. “Right,” he said, scratching that spot at the back of his jaw. “Tha’s fair. I’ll go first, then. I wanna give this a try, too. An’—fer the record, ya didn’ misunderstand.”

Cash’s skull jerked. “what? then why—?”

“’cause, darlin’. Didn’ wan’ ya ta come ta me ‘cause ya felt obligated. Like ya owed it to me. Wan’ed you ta wan’ me, same as I wan’ed you. ‘sides, we couldn’t trust each other back then. Wasn’ the right time.”

Cash swallowed, his throat so dry they heard a soft click as he did. “right.” He nodded, looking away. “then…i think we understand each other. we all want this.” He swallowed again, and Slim smiled a little, reaching for his hand. Cash’s fingers squeezed tight around his own. “and we’re going to give it a try. right?” They all nodded, and Cash exhaled. “good. now can i eat my noodles?”

Twist laughed, reaching for the takeout box. “If ya share.”

Cash immediately pulled the box close and twisted his body, guarding the food. “get your own.”

“Aw, c’mon, darlin’—” Slim hooked a finger around the lip of the container and pulled it away from Cash, pushing it toward Twist with a wink. “Thanks, sweetheart.” He scooped a small pile onto his plate, then pushed the box back toward Cash. “Think by now you’d know it’s more fun if ya share.”

Cash froze with his fork poised over the box. All of them felt the rush of heat that flooded the bond, and Slim’s soul contracted, fresh mana dripping from the crease. Cash glared at Twist. “eat your food, then i’ll show you exactly how well i can share.”

Slim swallowed as both of them eyed him. Twist smiled slowly. “Yeah?” To Slim he asked, “Think yer up fer it, darlin’?”

His mana lines pulsed, and he nodded vigorously.

Later, curled between the two, Slim stared up at the ceiling. He was pleasantly sore, marked by bruises and bite marks. His soul hummed in his chest, answering Twist’s near-constant purr, and the pulse of satisfied greed emanating from Cash.

He shut his sockets. It seemed impossible that he’d find himself here, like this, with them. So fucking happy it seemed like his soul could simply drift away.

And yet…here he was. Here they were.

He curled onto his side, looping an arm over Twist’s hips. He roused briefly, then curled closer, nasal aperture buried in Slim’s throat. Slim smiled at the contact, petting along his spine—and quietly pitied the monster that would try to take him from them. Ella really had no idea what she’d reap, planting such seeds.

Twist nuzzled closer, and Slim felt an embarrassing twinge of need flicker through him. His soul felt tense and tight, just on the verge of cramping. He shut his sockets and tried to force his soul to relax. Both Twist and Cash had just fallen asleep, and they’d been more than thorough in their attentions. Not to mention all they’d done earlier in the day! He shouldn’t need more than that.

He exhaled slowly, feeling the tightness in his soul blossom into pain. On instinct, he pulled Twist close, scenting him. It eased the ache, but Twist stirred in his arms, sockets flickering open. “darlin’?” he slurred, “you okay?”

“fine,” he said, again stroking Twist’s spine. He was—or at least, he should be.

“’fine’, huh?” Twist shifted slightly, so he could survey him. “Ya know, lyin’s gonna be a lot harder, now ‘at I c’n tell yer words don’ match yer feelings, sweetheart.”

Slim winced. “heat’s keeping me awake. that’s all.”

Twist—too tired for real enthusiasm—nonetheless snaked a hand between them, fingers skating over his pubic bone. “Need help with ‘at?” His voice—low and throaty—sent a ripple of want down Slim’s spine, and the careful brush of his fingers ignited the mana pulsing through his marrow.

Still—“y-you’re tired. you were asleep—”

Twist snickered, rearranging their positions. “’s alright, sweetheart. ‘s what ‘m here for, yeah?”

Slim’s magic started to manifest, condensing around his pubic bone. His pussy was still sore, but his cock formed readily, already aching for attention. Twist smirked and settled between his thighs. “wait.”

Twist paused. “Wha’s wrong, darlin’?”

“i-i can tell you’re not….” He swallowed. “you’re tired. and you don’t really want….”

“Ah.” Twist sat back on his heels, looking down at him. “Ya mean I ain’t in the mood? Tha’s it?”

Slim nodded, and Twist smiled at him, the expression warm. “Well, sweetheart, if it bothers ya, then we don’ gotta. Yer right—an’ I don’ think I’d be up ta anythin’ too advent’rous right now.” He winked, still smiling. “But I think I c’n make this quick. An’ then we c’n both go back ta sleep. Sound okay ta you?”

Slim could sense the truth in his words. Twist was tired, and he would probably rather be sleeping. Nevertheless, he was willing, and under that, he was concerned. Still….

“you don’t…you don’t mind? it’s not too much?”

Twist chuckled softly, running a warm hand over his thigh—and igniting the marrow wherever he touched. Slim gripped the bedsheets, trying not to react, but Twist just smirked. Even when he wasn’t in it for his own pleasure, he played dirty. “Nah, sweetheart. Don’ mind. An’ yer not too much—neither ‘a ya. Tolja I’d look after ya, an’ tha’s what ‘m gonna do. Now, ya ready?”

Slim swallowed and nodded, shutting his sockets as Twist took him in his mouth. Slim pressed a hand over his teeth, not wanting to rouse Cash. Large hands locked around his thighs, holding him in place while Twist bobbed his head. Slim’s hips twitched, but Twist’s grip was solid. It was good but it wasn’t enough—Slim needed more pressure, more depth. This was almost teasing.

A soft whine escaped him, and Twist slowed his pace, teasing in truth. On instinct, Slim reached for his skull, but the moment he touched him, Twist pulled off with a soft pop. “Hands ta yerself, sweetheart. I’m drivin’.”

The command sent a jolt through his soul, and his mana lines pulsed with want. Twist caught his eyelight, smirking. Still holding his gaze, he licked a slow stripe up the underside of his cock, tracing it from base to tip. When he tongued the slit, Slim gasped, arching.

Twist chuckled, murmuring, “Gotta do this again later. When I c’n take my time with ya. Look so nice like that, flushed fer me. Leakin’ fr’m here.” He tongued him again, and Slim whined, foot flexing until the bones began to cramp. “Ever tried soundin’, sweetheart? Think ya might like it.”

The image the suggestion evoked—himself bound, his lovers holding him, torturing him in the sweetest way—made his hips buck, and fresh mana wept from the head of his cock. As his arousal crested, Twist wrapped a heavy hand around the base and pumped, thumbing the head. Another whine escaped him as his pleasure began to build. “Tha’s it, darlin’. Tha’s it.” He closed his mouth around the tip, hand still flexing over the base. He hummed, hot mana closing like a vice over his cock, and Slim peaked, spilling into his mouth.

Twist sat up, purple mana streaked over his jaw. He swallowed and Slim pulled him down for a kiss—not giving him the chance to wipe his face. A low growl vibrated Slim’s throat, the taste of himself in Twist’s mouth quelling the heat more than the orgasm had.

Twist pulled back just enough to ask, “Better?” Still recovering his breath, Slim nodded. “Think ya c’n sleep now?” He nodded again, and Twist rewarded him with another kiss. “Alright, darlin’. If it starts botherin’ ya ‘gain, then you wake me up, yeah?”

“but—”

“Sweetheart, I’m here ta look after ya, an’ yer gonna let me do that, understand?”

Slim smiled as a softer sort of warmth spread through his soul. “alright.”

“Good man.” Twist kissed him again, then settled against his side once more.

Slim shut his sockets, the heat in his soul mellowed now to contented warmth. A soft thrumming started in his chest, not quite drowned out by the louder purr Twist answered with. Slim smiled, again wondering how he could be so lucky.

As he turned to wrap his arms around Cash—and to allow Twist to spoon him from behind—the tag on his collar jingled quietly. He paused, suddenly aware of the weight on his throat and the layers of meaning it signified.

The first thought that bubbled up was the hope that Twist and Cash could replace the old, worn collar with their own. The next was the realization that it wouldn’t be right to ask. Twist had made it clear his experiences with Fell-verse collaring culture were not positive ones. Slim couldn’t ask him to take part in it. Besides, they weren’t Underground anymore. It didn’t mean the same thing as it had.

His soul ached a little with the thought. He liked having a physical reminder that he was loved and would be looked after, liked being so publicly claimed. He would miss that, he realized. Then he realized something else.

“Darlin’?” Twist murmured. “You okay?”

“y-yes. just…” He swallowed, tugging on the leather. “there’s one person i have to tell, as soon as my heat’s over. she’ll want to talk to you too. both of you.”

“’kay?” Half asleep, he sounded confused but mostly unconcerned. Then he asked, “’she?’” and Slim winced.

“chantelle.”

For the second time that night, Slim felt Twist’s LV spike. Slim stilled. Earlier, it had mellowed quickly, giving him little time to sit with the sensation. Now, though, he felt it boiling through the bond, like a tea kettle left on the hob. He swallowed, not sure what to do.

Twist sat up, and Slim turned to look up at him, still tugging on his collar. “Ya never told me,” he said, mana dripping from his cracked socket. It looked like molten gold in the dim light. “Never said who had….” He exhaled slowly, deliberately.

Slim didn’t know what to say to that. He cringed, pulling in on himself. Shame roiled through him. Of course he should have said. He should have known—

Twist pulled back, shaking his skull. He covered his cracked socket, as if to stem the flow of mana. “Don’ do tha’,” he rasped, “Ya ain’t got shit ta feel guilty ‘bout.” He exhaled slowly, and Slim could feel him wrestling with the LV, trying to bring the boil down to a simmer. “I’m, uh, gonna go downstairs. Make some tea. I’ll see ya in the mornin’.”

He pulled himself from the bed as if it pained him, then jumped to the living room from the attic access. Slim watched him go, mute.

The bed felt cold without him, but Slim didn’t dare try to call him back.

#twist papyrus #sf papyrus #swell papyrus #twistedpuppymoney #life cycles #my work

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