#( c: the master of the night )
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I did a collaboration art with @kazinsblog â¨
She made the sketch and I lined/colored it. I even tried to be a little ambiguous and attempted to make detailed backgrounds for the first two panels. (then went back to simple and flat in the third)
I tried to draw out Makotoâs crazy penthouse in Kanai tower, referencing some screenshots I had on me. First panel is the open door of the bedroom leading to the main area, while the second panel I tried to draw out Makotoâs bed. I headcanon that he uses all the pillows on his side of the bed if heâs unwell, and uses the turquoise ones to prop himself up
Makoto, what is your house? XD
Anyway, the comic illustrates Yuma taking care of a sick Makoto. He runs out to get medicine for him, but comes back to him working despite his poor health, worsening his condition. He looks even more pale, and is drenched in sweat. (I gotta make âem look as ill as possible lol) This sends Yuma into a mini fit scolding his homunculi twin endlessly. Then he shoves the medicine he bought down his throat xD (that was a little addition that I made) The brothers are fighting lol
It turns out kazin and I share a similar affinity for sick whump, as well as targeting Yuma and Makoto. So we may make more comic art collabs in the future. I had a lot of fun lining and coloring this c:
#rain code#master detective archives: rain code#master detective archives spoilers#rain code spoilers#yuma kokohead#makoto kagutsuchi#art collab#pixeldoodles#whumpcode#makoyuma#yuma then proceeds to confiscate all his stuff#this was my first collab I've done in a LONG time#but this was really fun to do!#though it took me the whole night#since I wanted to try to make detailed bgs#but I had fun! it came out better than I thought c:#thanks for letting me work w your sketch op! <3#i love my little rain clone whumpees sm <3#illness whump#sick whump#whump art#fever whump
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real talk: lxl should continue to explore romance fantasy concepts in their songs. itâs clearly working for them~
#typical prince aesthetics in romeo/julieta and nonfan⌠and now historical rofan in meotoâŚ#(and thereâs also whateverâs going on in tsuki no hime but that has no mv :( sadge)#sorry guys i still have meoto on the brain pls suffer with me~~~~~~~~~#but mannnnn. i was struck by sudden inspiration for a meoto au a n d#well. ig now i understand why they skipped over the falling in love phase. romance is hardddd#i want to subscribe to the meoto expansion pack p l s i need to know what their deal is~~~~#bc man. how in the world did they go from complete indifference to promising to stay together forever hello#what happened???????? excuse???????????#man. m a n. ok i think im done for the night. i hope#LXL MEOTO CRISIS 2K24#(but if anyone here wants to get into the otome isekai genre in general⌠i recommend starting off with â¨s u r v i v i n g r o m a n c eâ¨#(itâs a great story and itâs still modernised enough to ease into the genre. and after thatâŚ)#(you can just go for the series with the most interesting premise/prettiest art/both tbh)#(though i personally recommend â¨the perks of being an s class heroine⨠â¨the villainessâs stationery shop⨠for milder content)#(and thereâs also some series with both isekai and regression.)#(like they isekai after their 1st life in 20xx-> live out their 2nd life in the fantasy world -> regress to a point in their 2nd life)#(for that type i kinda like â¨i shall master this family⨠though ngl iâm mostly reading it bc i think the aunt is very pretty)#(a nd thereâs the occasional modern regression story but thatâs pretty soap drama-esque and the one i read got ridiculous at times lmao)#(but ofc the ones with less romance focus are fun too~~~~ like stories with multiple isekai-ed people for one)#(b u t i digress i think iâll stop here before i lose the plot any longer ahaha~~~~)
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hello my darling lin đ i'm afraid i can't keep it to myself any longer, i must know all about your character tags, they're simply too intriguing đ.
Ahhh, my loveliest Lizzie! Thank you so much for sending this ask my way, it was such a lovely and generous surprise to find in my inbox today! đĽšâ¤ď¸ I have a lot of different tags for five separate works so, please, bear with me as I briefly try to elaborate on all of them skdskfjsksfjsk. I apologise beforehand for my seemingly endless rambles, though I hope it will turn out to be interesting nonetheless! đĽ°â¨ď¸
VOIEVOD:
The majority of my tags come from my medieval magnum opus sksksk because numerous distinct characters are already detailed and elaborate in my mind â letâs dig into them! I do have to confess that some of these tags have yet to make a proper appearance, but I have prepared them in advance, just in case.
( oc: if i cannot move heaven i will raise hell ) â Vlad Dracula. This phrase is a well-known quote from Virgilâs Aeneid: âFlectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.â I have always felt that it perfectly encapsulates Vladâs entire life â he is quite the prototype of a Machiavellian ruler willing to resort to more violent methods if needed (which we know very well from history, after all). Throughout the works, he repeatedly acknowledges his belief that he is destined for hell and expresses his willingness to sacrifice his soul for the greater good of his people. And he is also a very strong-willed and stubborn person who will always find a way to achieve his goals, whatever it costs him.
( oc: sanctuary ) â CÄtÄlina. At first, I greatly hesitated to use this symbolism as I truly believe this remarkable woman is defined by much more than her role as the royal mistress and the mother of the voivodeâs sons, and I try to depict that individuality of her character. However, this role does significantly influence her life and defines many of the decisions she makes. Throughout their relationship, Vlad sees CÄtÄlina as his sanctuary because she accepts him as he is, loves him despite his perceived defects, and offers him a sense of belonging and peace. Sure, he loves that she keeps him on his toes, but this acceptance and the notion of having a kindred spirit give him the feeling of healing and safety. He can take off the many masks and let himself be exposed as he is, deep down. She also serves as a sanctuary for their sons, acting as the familyâs anchor since they spend most of their time with her.
( oc: golden child; lion boy ) â Mehmed the Conqueror. His tag comes from the beautiful poem written by madzieloss on Tumblr, with the whole quote going, âGolden child, Lion boy; Tell me what itâs like to conquer.â I initially tried to use one of Mehmedâs poems from his diwan to make it a bit more personal, but this particular poem works perfectly because it encapsulates Mehmedâs whole essence â the Sultan of the Empire, the gifted child, the great conqueror. I also love using the recurring theme of gold and sun for his character. Gold represents the splendour of the Ottoman Empire, as well as his personal visuals (a lot of rich clothes and jewellery, the gilded Ottoman armour, his ginger hair and beard). Sun is the lovely little dichotomy seen in his character as it is both radiant and invigorating (his manners, generosity, education, intellect, aspects of rule), and merciless and blazing (his cruelty and the destructive sides of his politics towards other countries). Like the sun, he can either help grow or burn everything down.
( oc: the dragon ) â Vlad Dracul. I hate admitting that I could not come up with anything even remotely unique for Vladâs dad as his moniker Dracul literally means âthe Dragonâ skdhskfskdks. However, the nickname was used for a reason, and we do not fix what isnât broken in this house. The dragonâs role in medieval symbolism reflects a complex interplay between themes of heroism, morality, and the battle between light and darkness â on the one hand, the creature is seen as a protector and symbol of power, strength, and courage, but on the other hand, a dragon also represents a cunning and dangerous figure. He is called âthe Dragonâ both by people who admire him and despise him, so it shows the double meaning and the complexity of a rulerâs nature. At the same time, the meaning also spills over to his private life as he is both a figure of protection and (unwilling and unintentional) destruction to his family.
( oc: of burning martyrdom ) â Mircea Dracula. The eldest sibling is without a doubt the most tragic figure in the entire story, and I wanted his tag to reflect the tragedy and inevitability of his fate. He was killed at nineteen at the hands of his fatherâs enemies and in the cruellest way imaginable, and the âburningâ part hints at some of the circumstances of his death. In his own way, he dies as a martyr because he dies refusing to give up his beliefs â and he is a martyr figure because the majority of his short life is marked with great struggles.
( oc: keeper of secrets ) â Alexandra. This tag is supposed to represent all the inner turmoil and complexities fighting one another inside Vladâs younger sister. Because the two siblings share most of their personality and physical traits and are also close in age (there is a three-year gap between them), Vlad has always had a fond spot for his little sister and always considered her his little confidante â hence the meaning of keeping secrets. In return, Vlad has always been the brother who has granted Alexandra the most freedom and experience. She also keeps many secrets because there is a lot of her she has to repeatedly suppress inside of her â as I have mentioned, Vlad and Alexandra are quite alike, but Vladâs personality tends to be accepted more while the same traits in Alexandra are often frowned upon.
( oc: cel frumos ) â Radu Dracula. My laziness shows here once again as that is Raduâs moniker, meaning âthe handsomeâ or âthe beautifulâ. Radu has been given a fair share of horrible portrayals in media over the years, so I aim to further develop his character and show the varied aspects of his personality that are frequently overlooked. I initially tried to find something that would suit his complicated character but eventually settled on the nickname itself as it nicely shows the irony of his life and the most defining issue of his life â always being disregarded and reduced to only a sliver of his being.
( oc: cel mare ) â Čtefan the Great. (Or, as I like to call him, Fane.) There is no possible tag that would fit the famous Voivode of Moldavia and Vladâs cousin (Vladâs mother was a Moldavian princess) more than his own nickname, âthe Greatâ. He is considered a national hero in both Romania and Moldova and undoubtedly earned his monicker through his actions.
OPEN HEART:
( c: i rise with my red hair and i eat men like air ) â Laura Levchenko. Her tag comes from Sylvia Plathâs poem called Lady Lazarus and, although I wanted to find a fitting quote from Lesya Ukrainka to represent Lauraâs roots (that form a great part of her being), this one has the right amount of sharpness and edge fitting for my darling spitfire. Her fiery hair is undoubtedly one of her trademarks, and the quote also represents an independent spirit that will not be pushed down by being seemingly âinferiorâ. It also shows her own stance towards men, beginning with the painful experience with her dad and marking her whole life, as well as people who look down upon her.
( c: veni vidi vici ) â E.R. This is incredibly embarrassing because I was desperate to find something better for Ethan, something more fitting for his character⌠but there it is skdksfksldls. I do not think this quote even needs any introduction, so I will mention instead that âI came, I saw, I conqueredâ expresses the way Ethan achieves everything he sets his mind to, as well as the ferocity with which he pursues all his goals. When we compare his character to Lauraâs, it might also imply the briskness with which he achieves certain things in life as a straight white American man â as opposed to Laura who is not only looked down upon for being a woman but also has to face a lot of xenophobia in her life. (You also want to re-enact the Ides of March on him sometimes but⌠I digress sksksk.)
CRIMES OF PASSION:
( c: this ghost sitting year after year upon my heart ) â Milena Rosa. This quote comes from Federico GarcĂa Lorcaâs play Yerma, in Spanish being, âeste fantasma sentado aĂąo tras aĂąo encima de mi corazĂłnâ. I have to admit that I have yet to get myself familiar with Milena and craft her character in detail the way she deserves, but we know from canon that Jimmyâs tragic death greatly defines not only her own inner life (because she battles with all the demons his loss has inflicted upon her) but also the trajectory of her future career and the purpose she finds in her mission.
( c: bleeding sun ) â T.T. Trystanâs tag is from Lucie ThĂŠsĂŠeâs Poem, and the full quote goes, âHandsome as life and poison. Sun-blood handsome. Bleeding sun.â This was an instant fit because Trystan is undoubtedly the product of the environment he grew up in â Drakovia is both a place of beauty and vibrance, but we know its regime is bloody and deadly. Trystan will also never suppress the essence of who he is, and his character is both full of life and somewhat fierce (sometimes even violent) in nature. A lot of my worldbuilding for the story comes from my own experience as an Eastern European, and this little corner of the world is brimming with endless contradictions, so I tried to come up with something that would evoke that as closely as possible.
THE WAYHAVEN CHRONICLES:
( c: i am the sea and nobody owns me ) â Kimberley Cunningham. Kimble is my TWC newborn that I have only recently crafted into a character she should have been from the very beginning. Her tag is actually the legendary quote uttered by Pippi Longstocking which, apart from its fierceness, also fits Kimberleyâs playfulness and carefree approach to life. She is a rebel through and through in every aspect of her life, which stems from the disastrous nature of her relationship with Rebecca. Her main objective in life is to do the exact opposite of what she is told, and she enjoys shocking people around her. But, just like the sea, she can be tempestuous and unpredictable, and some of her decisions can be quite destructive. Kimble ends up in the love triangle which kind of mirrors the rest of her life â initially harmless fun turns complicated and messy.
( c: a ribbon of loneliness ) â Sydney Brannagan. My poor baby Syd has been characterised through his melancholy since the very first moment, so I needed to find this little nugget that would instantly evoke his inner world. Then I found this quote by Jenny Slate that goes, âI think Iâve come to terms with the fact that there will always be a ribbon of loneliness running through who I am.â Loneliness runs through Sydney not only in the sense that he is such a sorrowful soul, but also because a part of him always feels so detached from others. All his life, he has felt like he has to prove his worth to his mother to feel accepted, and he also unconsciously builds a wall around him as the time goes by. In the professional setting, his personality does not stand out in any particular way â he is diligent and polite, some might even consider him a bit bland.
BLEEDING HEART:
I do feel like I need to give a bit more context for this interactive fiction beforehand, especially because there is only Chapter 1 out so far. The story is a retelling of Bram Stokerâs Dracula through the point of view of Mina Murray, and the first chapter already explores several wonderful themes I cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on! I have a very clear idea of who I want Mina to be, how she struggles in the setting and society she lives in, and how her personality drives her emotions and decisions. I do not know if my personal HCs will align with the story as it progresses, but there is nothing this user cannot tweak to her liking skdhskfjfksks.
( c: growing fruit around cyanide ) â Wilhelmina Murray-Harker. Minaâs tag is a part of a poem from a collection called Swallowtail by Brenna Twohy and goes, âPeach pits are poisonous. This is not a mistake. Girlhood is growing fruit around cyanide. It will never be your for swallowing.â Essentially, it encapsulates the conflict between who Mina seems to be on the outside and who she truly is on the inside. I have always felt like the Victorian times were one of the most suffocating periods for a woman to live in, and Mina always has to suppress a huge part of herself to somehow âfit the mouldâ, hence how she grows fruit around cyanide. Just like the society, her relationship with Jonathan also suffocates her â her engagement is a choice made out of reason, but she does not feel fulfilled with him in practically any way, which ultimately drives her into the arms of Dracula.
( c: the master of the night ) â Count Dracula. His tag is just the tweak of the quote from Bram Stokerâs Dracula: âListen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!â Since he commands all the creatures and phenomena of the night, I have changed the bit to the âmasterâ. I wish I had anything interesting to add to his character but, so far, I am waiting to see what he turns out to be like in Bleeding Heart â I know we are able to make him be the big villain or give him redeeming qualities, so I will wait and see which route will seem more fitting to me though I do play around with the idea of making Dracula more redeemable and a different character more villainous). Also, Count Dracula the Vampire has absolutely nothing to do with Vlad Dracula the Voivode in my fictional world â I know merging the two into one character is very popular, there is even one novel that did this that I absolutely love, but⌠not happening here lmao.
#ask reply#lin rambles#character tags#( oc: if i cannot move heaven i will raise hell )#( oc: sanctuary )#( oc: golden child; lion boy )#( oc: the dragon )#( oc: of burning martyrdom )#( oc: keeper of secrets )#( oc: cel frumos )#( oc: cel mare )#( c: i rise with my red hair and i eat men like air )#( c: veni vidi vici )#( c: this ghost sitting year after year upon my heart )#( c: bleeding sun )#( c: i am the sea and nobody owns me )#( c: a ribbon of loneliness )#( c: growing fruit around cyanide )#( c: the master of the night )
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I'm so interested in your Anastasia au! will you tell us more?
yes of course i will! @revalito and i are genuinely so elated that so many people like the au HEHJKSDHJKS i will always want to talk about it trust
i don't know if there was something specific you wanted me to talk about, so i'll just talk about their time in the cloud recesses when they were younger =]
as i said before in my tags, wwx found lwj sitting outside the gentian cottage waiting for his mom and that's how they first met--he brought him a blanket and something warm to drink and offered to sit next to him. after that wwx would find lwj every now and then and hang around a bit but not for long. that does.. imply that his parents died sooner but well. HEJDSJKSD we figured one of the servants was his dad's close friend that agreed to babysit wwx for a while before they died, so now at least wwx has someone that was considered family (and that can tell him about his parents)
wwx didn't actually start working as a servant until he got older and that's when he was really allowed to interact with lwj. silly little comments turned into prompts to speak more and eventually, they'd have "conversations" (lwj would listen, wwx would talk) as wwx did what he had to. one day lwj asked wwx if he would be allowed to be a personal assistant on a quick task he had to do outside of the cloud recesses, and of course that's allowed. and that's the loophole they found to spend more time together =]
lxc knows about lwj's crush. he could read it on him easily HEJKSDJK i'd like to think one time wwx was called in to serve something to them, and as he did he made some comment to lwj. lwj acknowledged him with a small uptick of his lips and lxc was just âď¸âď¸âď¸ HEHKJDHJKDHDJK he starts making excuses for wwx to go see lwj. the first time he asks a servant to call for wwx bc he needed something delivered to his brother it started a rumor within the servants immediately. this is where the teasing among them began HEHJKSDJKSDK lxc is the main reason why eventually wwx is the main servant/one of the only servants for lwj
wwx starts learning about cultivation in his free time--and we'd like to think the gusulan sect would set aside a teacher for willing servants on their breaks--but he never attends any actual classes. it isn't until they accept guest disciples when they're around 15/16 that he even entertains the idea. he probably makes a side comment to lwj, like "ah, guest disciples⌠it would have been nice to attend a class or two.." and lwj is immediately like i'm on it. he talks to lqr to attend the classes and ofc here lan qiren doesn't Need lwj to be a good example to wwx like he does in the novel, but we think lqr would still want to show him off HEHJKSJKSD also, lxc is probably like "it would be nice if wangji had more friends =] perhaps if we have wwx in there (someone he is already comfortable with) he would be more willing?" and that seals the deal HEJKSDHJKSD wwx is invited to his classes to be a "personal servant" to keep up appearances, but he is there to learn.
of course some other people there aren't to keen on the idea of having a servant in the class with them, so this time when lqr calls on wwx, it's not to test him, it's to prove his worth. he knows wwx and lwj are friends so in his head, his justification is that disciples are offending wwx -> they're offending lwj -> lwj is his nephew -> they are offending lqr too. ofc. HEHJKDSJKSDK lwj defends wwx in his own ways.
nie huaisang is the first to go up to wwx to chat and they become good friends, and since wwx is friends with lwj, nhs becomes friends with him too. it's a funny dynamic but lwj inwardly thinks it's nice.
thank you sm for asking! <3
#ask#ender-manly#mdzs#anastasia au#wangxian#sorry about the delay! i am in the midst of finals HEHJKDSJKSD one more to go tho! WOOO#also hades (revalito) has their asks open if anyone would like to ask about the fic or just see his comments on the au too =]#aight now onto some extras for those w the patience to read my tags HEHKJSHJKS they Absolutely have really cute moments in this time#like one time wwx got sick so he couldn't serve lwj and around lunchtime lwj was finally like 'hey wheres wei ying?' and the servant was#like 'he's sick. but yknow.. even tho the servant quarters are on the other side of the cloud recesses its still in the same place' so that#night lwj goes to visit wwx. everyone is like omg second young master? and he's like um.. can i see wei ying please?#they take him to wwx's room and wwx is So embarrassed bc he just knows he looks as sick as he feels but lwj is just worried about him#also another time when they're outside of the cloud recesses wwx is walking and talking not looking where he's going. he trips off a small#cliff. lwj catches him ofc thats how he is and wwx is like 'hehehe :)c lwj guess what?' 'mn?' 'i Fell for you ;D'#now theyre both blushing. theyre so cute. cant fucking have shit in detroit HEHJKDHSDKJHJSDK#god i could go on forever but i wont. unless someone asks. insert eye emoji HEHKJKSDHJKSDHJK
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aeneid 6.638-41, 6.672-5 trans. a.s. kline / plutarch, life of tiberius gracchus 9.4-5 trans. perrin
#aeneid daily#now i understand that this is a parallel for me and me alone and also it is barely even there. BUT. but.#(and bear in mind idk what plutarch's source for this speech was + he was writing After vergil)#a) i think it is very interesting that tiberius gracchus says that about the lack of graves. when the air and light thing in the aeneid is#in The Underworld#b) 'they are styled masters of the world' / the (future) glory of rome shown to aeneas in aeneid 6 vs like. the pessimistic reading of it#via dead marcellus. sure is something#c) something something the gracchi -> chain of events -> the social war. and it is VERY fun to think about the social war in the bg of#the aeneid.#d) um. lucan. this parallel literally was only noticeable to me because of the What If The Popularis Ghosts Did Underworld Agrarian Reform#And Redistributed The Elysian Fields thing in the pharsalia#which is mostly?????? me going haha. what if. but also. WHAT IF??? i do think it's There even if it's not the main thing happening in that#whole situation. and now im like. what if this is yet another instance of 'something cool in lucan was actually also in vergil all along'#much to consider. when it is not The Night.#aeneid#plutarch#beeps
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@hana-akari @reddawnmultimuse
#so im being dumb in disco.#ooc: {i'm just so tired}#i found this ship meme and liked it.#some of these ships are disco only too lol#V: Gonna tear you apart p i e c e by p i e c e; Lyn Domen!Soul Reaper AU (Bleach)#V: I LIVED BITCH; and have a serious headache- ; Lyn Domen!Arrancar AU (Bleach)#V: The day has turned to night ; Can you save me from the light? Narvi Sasaki (Bleach)#MASTER OF PUPPETS I'M PULLING THE STRINGS; Sasori#đ¸She reminds me of the trees in the spring!đ¸; Sakura#đ¨Character artđ
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Hating Game
Pairing: dbf!Joel x Reader
Summary: Celebrating your dadâs birthday at the yacht club becomes damn near unbearable when Joel Miller brings a date along too. Jealousy and hate sex ensue.
Warnings: 18+. Food fight turned hatefuck (donât ask). Cockwarming and semi-public sex on the bridge deck. Oral (m! and f!receiving). Daddy kink. Dirty talk. Age gap. C*mplay. Katoptronophilia. Orgasm denial. One risquĂŠ Viagra joke. Drinking games. Descriptions of vomiting. Joel cockwarming you while smoking a cigarette <3
Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4
"Can ya try that one more time, sweet pea? For daddy?"
You can. Try, anyway. Controlling your tongue while heâs buried so deep inside you is a far harder task than expected, though. Especially when heâs so still.
Joel sees it. Feeling a twinge of pity, he leans over your body and digs his hips even deeperânot thrusting, but still granting a modicum of friction as he takes another drag of his cigarette. The hot, heavy throb of his girth pulses like your own fucking heartbeat, and your eyes roll back.
An orangutan on roller skates wouldâve had more grace.
A grizzly bear in hibernation mightâve been more lively.
A fucking cross-eyed octopus reciting Shakespeare wouldâve been less strange, alarming, and painfully awkward to see than your fatherâs best friend the week after heâd railed you senseless in the front seat of his car.
Joel Miller had shown up with a date, for Christâs sake.
Of course, youâd been three cocktails deep and playing stack cup with a random group of gentlemen on the bridge deck at the time, but that was almost immaterial. This was your dadâs fifty-first birthday partyâone of the rowdiest nights the Austin Yacht Club had yet to seeâand yeah, you planned on getting belligerently shitfaced on Dirty Shirleys and obscene amounts of catered food.
Youâd never thought to bring a date of your own, though.
That was just distasteful and crass, all things considered.
Presently, you slammed your ping pong ball to the tabletop and watched it make a wide arc over your cup.
âFuckfuckfuuuuuck,â you whispered low as the man four spots down made it in, and the man after him bounced the ball straight into his own on the first go. He moved the tall, swaying stack of red Solos immediately to your right, and you knew from the jump you were fucked.
Tommy Miller was a master at stack. You could already see the sly smile on his face from the corner of your eye.
Just as MĂśtley CrĂźe gave way to Hall & Oates on the speakers overhead, Joelâs brother crammed his stack of cups over your own and made a smug, triumphant bow.
âAll you, kid,â he grinned and slid the second to last cup in your direction.
You couldâve cursed his whole bloodline, Joel included.
There was no way in hell you were getting stuck with death cup againâthe last, cruel punishment for the loser of the game a mix of three different types of liquor, soda, and a spritz of Natty Light. Filled to the brim and waiting to be downed by whoever didnât sink the final shot.
You squared your shoulders and locked the fuck in.
Bounced the ball once. Twice. Christ, this was hard. The man to your left was struggling too, but he seemed just as determined and twice as skilled, and you were pretty buzzed. A second later, he made it in and, of course, slid it right back to Tommy, who was practically overcome with laughter.
âMILLER! MILLER! MILLER!â Men were not creative when it came to chants. Or beating fists on furniture.
âQuit shakinâ the shit!â Tommy roared, tapping his ping pong ball deftly onto the tableâs surface.
You blinked a few hazy, anxious thoughts out of your head and tried with everything in you not to miss this shot. The instrumental bridge of âManeaterâ was sinking its teeth in your soul and taunting your nerves to no end.
You took the ball, swallowed hard, watched the cup, and flicked your wrist, at last, from a singularly perfect angle.
The ball was a millisecond away from making it in.
Tommy Fuckstick Miller managed to stack you first.
A chorus of obnoxious, wholly drunk howls rang loud in your ears, and suddenly, the attention was back on you, the unhappy victim of the gameâs most gruesome drink.
You didnât hesitate. You pinched your nose and guzzled from the cup before the torment could go on any longer.
You did well at first.
Opened your throat like a pro and cleared it down to the last fourth of the drink, to the point where you could see the slick white bottom side of the cup clear as day.
Your mouth had just flooded with the final draught of death cup when a familiar guitar riff caught you off guard.
You werenât sure why it had to happen that way, but after being forced to listen to the song some five thousand times on your road trip with Joel, the tenor of Billy Joelâs voice was like nails on a chalkboard to you now. Grating. Nauseating.
Vomit-inducing.
Swiftly, you ran to the nearest railing and lost your last drinkâand your whole dinnerâover the side of the boat.
You yakked into Lake Travis like you never had before.
And, just as that stupid, forever-tainted song surged on, you heard footsteps approaching. A momentâs pause. Then a hand on your back. Patting gently and, seconds later, lowering a cup of water to the side of your head.
Your face was still dangling upside down off the yacht. You didnât want to be touched.
âGo to hell, Tommy,â you muttered.
âYou first,â he said, chuckling.
You didnât sit so much as slump back onto the deck with your head in your hands. The whole boat had gone sideways in your mind, and Tommyâs outstretched arm looked more like a bubbling lump than a friendly gesture.
You groaned at the sight of the cup and shook your head.
âIâm alright, okay. Iâm good.â
Then, when the cup didnât waver:
âCan they change the fucking song already?!â
Tommy cocked a brow and squatted down next to you. He set the water aside.
âGot a problem with dad rock or somethinâ?â he smirked.
You shook your head noâit wasnât the music that was making you sick but the man Tommy called his brother that made you wanna vomit again. The thought of that man tangled up with a svelte brunette who looked fresh off the cover of Sports Illustrated when he couldnât even be bothered to shoot you a text after the condom broke last week. Like he just didnât give a shit if you were alive, dead, or pregnant with his child. Unfortunately, you had nothing more to throw up, and your eyes were on fire.
Tommy slung an arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his side. Took a handkerchief out of his pocket.
âNo more Dirty Shirleys for you, young lady,â he chided, dabbing lightly at the tears that had trickled out.
âNo more men for me,â you grumbled quietly.
You couldnât see it then, but you could feel him trying not to smile. He tugged you closer.
âBoy trouble, huh?â he said, âWhose ass needs kickinâ?â
Your brother, actually. Curb stomp that fucker, please.
You shrugged instead.
âSome guy from school.â
Tommy nodded, waiting for you to elaborate. When you didnât, he just assumed you wanted to keep it to yourselfâwhich you didâand squeezed your shoulder softly.
âWellâŚyou know youâve got your dad, me, and Joel to beat the shit outta any guy, any time, any place, right?â
You wished it were that simple. You wiped your nose and nodded all the same.
âAndâŚâ Tommy started again, working slow to get you back on your feet, âMost guys your age donât know their ass from their fuckinâ elbow, honeybun. Donât take it too personal if heâs dumb enough to lose a gem like you.â
The corners of your lips twitched slightly at his words. Almost smiling by the time he had you up on your feet.
âThanks, Tommy.â
âAnytime, kiddo.â
You mightâve rolled your eyes when he pinched your cheek, but the water he held back up for you to drink looked far too appetizing, and you knew he meant well. You took the cup from him and started to chug.
Again, youâd almost made it through the whole refreshment when a sound threw you off. Abruptly.
âWhere have you two lovebirds been?!â Tommy chirped.
You lowered your water and almost regurgitated again. Bile jumped up in your throat, and you just narrowly managed to keep it all down with a cough and a sputter.
Joel and Ms. Centerfold were at the far end of the deck.
Joel was tucking his dress shirt back into his pants.
Are you fucking kidding me?
âGettinâ nasty on her daddyâs yacht? Thatâs bold,â Tommy cackled, nudging you playfully.
Your face was bloodless. Every last ounce of pretense and decorum had spilled out with your dinner, before, and now you were just staring at Joel blankly. Numb.
You watched him shove the last clump of his shirt under the waistband and straighten up slightly. The woman at his side flashed you and Tommy a blinding white smile.
âMight say the same for you,â she called back. She seemed to be eyeing you both with a half-curious look.
Tommy made a face as if to say âyuckâwhat the fuck?â and threw his arm around you again, shaking you lightly.
âSheâs like my little sister, Ashton. Youâre fuckinâ gross.â
Little sister. Nice. Like a knife twisting inside your gut.
If Joel took any notice of the comment, he didnât show it. He just stood there, dull and impassive as a loaf of bread. Every coarse lineament of his face was unreadableâjust as bleak, bland, and uncaring as the eyes staring out of it. Then he fished around in his back pocket and pulled out his lighter and a pack of American Spirits. He passed the latter to Ashton and leaned over to give her a light.
Throwing yourself off the boat seemed like the most logical next move out of anything available to you.
Thatâs when you knew you were off your shit and needed to leave the bridge deckâimmediately.
âNeed a drink,â you mumbled, starting off the other way.
Tommy was hot on your heels, following fast after you.
âThatâsâ thatâs actually the last thing you need, I think, sweetie. How âbout some lemonade?â
âCan you spike it with bleach?â
âWhat?â
âNothing.â
Tommy followed you down the staircase straight through to the galley, past the throngs and pockets of partygoers crowding the main dining area. Hitting the bar was a bad ideaâwait staff knew you well enough to sense when you were utterly trashed, sad, or bothâso you slipped toward the wine cooler and quickly sidestepped Tommy.
âNo! No way. Nuh-uh.â He was still trying to block your access to the fridge when you grabbed hold of the door.
âHair of the dog, Thomas.â
âThatâs not a thing. Thatâsâ you just projectile vomited off the deck, dude. You need a breather.â
You stopped just long enough to let Tommy pry you off the refrigerator handle and back to the kitchen island. You were pissed off, sure, but also not nearly prepared for another drop of alcohol if you were being honest with yourself. Your head was still spinning when you sat down on the counter.
Once you were settled, Tommy got to rifling through the cabinets, and you pressed a hand to your forehead.
âSo how longâs that been going on?â You couldnât help it.
âWha- oh, Joel and Ash?â Tommy hummed from deep inside a cupboard. He came out with a small blue box.
You winced at the nickname. Watched him go from the pantry to the sink, fill a glass halfway, find a spoon, and tear the box in two, along with a couple chalky tablets.
âTheyâve beenâŚweird.â The sentence was punctuated with a pinch of his brow and a frown. He started stirring.
âWeird how?â
Your feet were dangling over the edge of the island; you pretended to gain a sudden interest in a smudge on the toe of your shoe.
âWeird likeâŚI donât know,â Tommy tossed the spoon in the sink and turned back to you. Holding out the cup, âTheyâve been âfriendlyâ for yearsâAsh is a coworker of oursâand Joel swears itâs nothing moreâŚbut I dunno.â
He ended his speech again with that weird intonation and grimace, like he wasnât so sure if he believed what he was saying himself, then shook his head and shrugged. He watched you take a sip of the Alka-Seltzer and urged you to get the whole thing down. It tasted like shit.
âChrist, thatâs salty,â you coughed.
You didnât want to keep going, but Tommy tipped the glass back in your hand and made you finish.
âItâll help with your stomach,â he said before strolling over to the caterersâ fridge to look for bland food options.
âSo if theyâre not a thing, whyâd he bring her here?â
You didnât care what Tommy thought of your questions. He knew you were eager to hear the tea in any situation.
You watched as your friend procured a hand of bananas and some bread. He gave the fruit to you and took the bread over to the toaster, where he dropped in two slices. You couldnât quite tell if he was contemplating an answer, didnât want to spill, or hadnât heard the question at all. He snagged a plate and a butter knife while you peeled apart your snack, silently dying to know the truth.
At length, Tommy shrugged. Again.
ââCause Joelâs a goddamn drama queen and doesnât know what he wants, I sâpose,â he said.
Ainât that the truth.
Then, after a minute:
âHad his panties in a wad ever since he went to Boston.â
You stiffened hearing that. You couldnât pretend to be invested in your shoe scuff, the floor, or the food in your hand any longer. Your eyes flitted up to Tommy to see if his expression had shifted any.
It hadnâtâhe was just looking for strawberry jam.
âYou hitched a ride home with him then, didnât you?â he asked casually.
You swallowed and nodded. You watched Tommy retrieve the two freshly-warmed pieces of toast that jumped up to greet him and, having found the jam he wanted, slapped them both on a plate and lathered them up. You muttered a quiet âthank youâ as he slid them over.
You were almost too scared to ask more questions, but you knew you had to find out. About Joel, Ashton, anything Tommy mightâve gleaned about your trip home from Boston. You found you could hardly sit in one place and had to step off the counter to eat your food.
âJoelâs been, uhhâŚhow do Gen Zâs say it? Trippinâ balls?â Tommy reached for a banana himself and started in.
âTweaking,â you corrected him.
âTweakinâ, yeah. Joelâs been a real fuckinâ tweaker lately.â
âIn what way?â
âJustâŚshuttinâ himself in is all. Wouldnât talk to me or your dad or anybody for days after he got back. Didnât show up for our monthly Bingo matchup at Mandoâsâand he hasnât missed one of those in almost six years.â
You pursed your lips, equally mystified. You knew just how seriously your dad and his friends took those gamesâhow rare it was for Joel to turn down any opportunity to drink, play Star Wars-themed Bingo, and shoot the shit with his buddies over Coors Light and cheese curds. You took another bite and waited for Tommy to continue.
âAnd thereâsâ there was thisâŚthing heâ I dunno.â
Suddenly, it seemed your friend had lost the power of coherent speech, and he was rubbing the back of his neck, flashing a half-sheepish smile, and shaking his head. Contemplating whether he should share something with you and ultimately deciding against it.
You raised both eyebrows.
âWhat?â
âNah, itâs dumb, really.â
âTell me.â You took a far-too-large bite of your banana and had some trouble getting it down.
âWell, heâŚâ Tommy trailed off, shifting his gaze from yours to take a look at his own shoe, for a second, âWhen me and your dad were riding with Joel to a work siteâŚwe, uhâŚfound a box of Plan B in his glove compartment.â
Half-chewed banana and toast almost flew across the room while you spluttered and choked and just barely managed to cover your mouth to keep it all in.
âRight? Threw me for a loop, too,â Tommy grinned as you beat your chest with a fist and fought to keep yourself breathing, âYour dad damn near had a baby when he picked that little box and those booty shorts up himself.â
When he what?! You wanted to scream, just picturing your straight-laced, conservative father flipping a Plan B box between his hands, in shock, and thenâŚyour shortsâwhen the fuck had you taken your shorts off again?
Right, when you were busy trying to scoop some more of Joelâs jizz from your cunt as he raced you both to CVS.
Good times.
You held your hair back and leaned over the sink, spitting two more chunks of banana and bread down the drain. Tommy reached around behind you for the spigot and filled another glass with water as he tried not to laugh.
âEasy, now,â he said, patting your back like heâd done for you before, âJoel didnât happen to mention this lady friend to you now, did he?â
âNo,â you choked. You wiped your mouth clear of any spit and food residue and slowly blinked down into the sink, feeling an old wave of nausea begin to settle over you. Accepted the new glass of water from Tommy and hoped he wouldnât notice the tremor in your hand as you did.
The man seemed completely oblivious. Still standing close behind you, Tommy rubbed circles in your back and leaned a little closer.
âDeath cup really got ya, huh?â He smirked, and you realized then that he very much was like an older brother. This whole situation with Joel was fucked on so many levels and would be fucked tenfold if Tommy ever found out.
You turned around and felt yourself steadied between two warm, broad palmsââWanna sit? Lie down?ââand then you were shaking your head, reaching for another banana and trying like hell to seem semi-composed, though every neuron in your brain was firing away at a million miles per second and your legs were feeling like scrambled eggs.
âIâm okay.â
âYeah?â
Suddenly, one of Tommyâs hands had moved up to brush a few strands of hair from your face, and you felt your skin radiating raw heat. A deep-seated anxiety, too.
Heâs going to find outâwhat if he already knows?
What if Joel tells Tommy?
What if Tommy tells dad?
Your mind was reeling, on fire, still working in earnest to find something to tell your friend to say you were fine, just dizzy, and definitely not fucking his big brother.
Your brain was drawing blank after blank after blank.
Just then, a clatter sounded nearby. Both of you jumped.
When you shot a look to the source of the intrusion, you nearly folded into Tommy from secondhand humiliation.
âNice hands, feet,â the younger Miller called over to Joel, who was currently trying to recover the dozen-odd pots and pans heâd knocked over at the threshold of the room. You stared at the two in a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and disgustâthe latter reserved exclusively for Joel.
You set your drink down, held your hand over your stomach, and pretended to head for the bathroom.
âBe right back,â you muttered, brushing past both men.
You knew you wouldnât be back at all if you could help it.
Still clutching your banana in one hand and your raucously churning tummy in the other, you climbed the galley stairs fast to get back up to the bridge deck. You almost tripped over both your heels trying to make it up the steps so quick, desperate for solitude and quiet.
Another hair metal hit from the â80s was playing overhead, but fortunately, the deck was free of people. You stumbled over to one of the catering tables, looking helplessly for something that might settle your belly, but no, this sickness was coming straight from your headâfrom that insufferable munch of a man, Joel Miller.
You gingerly approached the railing behind the table and prepared yourself for another round of dry heaving.
You rested both elbows on the metal, looked out toward the dark, glassy water beneath you, then hung your head in abject defeat. You slid your tongue across the roof of your mouth and waited for the vomit to come.
The only thing that followed were footsteps.
Heavy, thunderous sounds making their way up the stairs.
âStay back, Tommy. Please.â You raised a hand to the man approaching softly behind you, not turning your head, âThat Alka-Seltzer stuff didnât work for shit.â
âShoulda stuck to water, sweet pea.â
That made you pivot.
Not a quick tilt of the head or a twist to the side, but a full-fledged 180-degree spin on your heels, hand to your gut, what-the-FUCK-are-you-doing-here turnaround.
You stared ahead and felt sicker than you had all night.
Then, pointing one crooked, accusatory finger his way without thinking, you hardly knew or heard what you were saying before the words came out. It sounded a little something like, âJoel, you goddamn fucking idiot.â
Joel didnât flinch.
In fact, he seemed supremely unfazed.
He just held your fuming gaze and frowned.
âYou tryinâ to fuck my little brother or somethinâ?â
Your hand had closed around your banana on the table before his words had hung in the air for even a second. You flung the fruit full-force at his head, enraged.
Unfortunately, you were drunk and your aim was shit. Your yellow boomerang-like weapon of choice barely made it within three feet of its target before it glanced off a light fixture and struck the ground with a thud.
Accuracy be damned, you werenât quite done.
âYou left the fucking Plan B out for my dad to find?!â
Just when Joel tried to answer, or perhaps hurl another accusation in your direction, you stuck your hand in the closest catering tray you could findâa serving of green peas, as it was. You lobbed a handful at the man as he started to draw closer, and this time, you managed to land a pretty hefty spray. Joel only rolled his eyes.
âI didnât leave it thereâyou did,â he retorted.
âMy shorts, too?!â
You grabbed another fistful of peas and threw it. Joel was able to dodge it right before making it to the other end of the table. He gripped the edges of the wood in both hands and stood sternâimposinglyâopposite you.
âYour shorts, your fuckinâ problem, sweets.â
Just when you reached for another green pea projectile, he surprised you and made for the tray right beside it.
Shortly, a glob of garlic mashed potatoes struck the front of your dress and slid slow, almost sluggishly down the pristine pink silk fabric before falling at your feet. Joelâs aim was evidently much better than yours.
You brushed what chunks of food you could get off your chest and pinned him with a wide, incredulous look.
âYouâre a Grade A fucking asshole, you know that?â
âYouâre a bit of a shithead too, potato tits.â
âFUCK you!â
âAlready DID!â
You wouldâve flipped the whole table if it were in your power to do so. Wouldâve toppled all the tables, kicked the chairs, took a lighter to the curtains and sent the goddamned yacht down in flames if you had toâthat was how much you despised the man in front of you.
Instead, you threw your hands up and stormed off.
âMaybe I will fuck Tommy!â you barked as you started toward the stairs, âIâll fuck your brotherâs brains out, and you can screw Ashton all you want, how âbout that?â
Youâd made it about two feet before Joel grabbed hold of one of your wrists and yanked you back. You didnât hesitate to throw a gruffâand ultimately fruitlessâpunch that hit him square in the chest. He didnât budge.
âYou donât mean that,â Joel sneered. He shook your whole frame with one simple flick of his forearm.
âIâll tap your whole bloodline like a keg, Miller. Try me.â
Again, you tried to shake him off, but the hand only constricted around you tighter. Then it was walking you backwards, slowly, almost carefully, until your back was to a wall and your eyes were searching his, angry as ever.
âYouâd break your daddyâs heart with that one,â Joel said just above you, voice lowered considerably.
âYeah?â you challenged, âMaybe if I was less of a shithead I would care what my dad thought. But Iâm not. So I wonât.â
âWasnât talkinâ about your father, darlinâ.â
Joel was good.
He was an insufferable ass and he was good.
Then you remembered the radio silence over the past seven days and the fact that he may or may not have fucked someone else earlier that nightâpossibly right where you were standingâand he lost all appeal real quick. You shoved him hard in the chest once more.
âDonât play that shit with me. You, of all peopleââ You made as if to read him the riot act but cut yourself short, deciding it wasnât worth your time explaining human empathy to a man who believed bootcut jeans and all things Ely Cattleman were peak fashion, and just learned what ovulation was last week. Then, sliding along the wall and trying to head to the stairs again, you felt Joelâs leg slot between your own.
âWhat did I do?â he said, curious.
Before you could answer, his thigh had stirred in place, grazing lightly over the spot the hem of your minidress had exposed to him. You ignored it.
âDoesnât matter,â was your non-answer.
Joel seemed intrigued by the ambiguity and only lowered his head to get closer to yoursââThen whyâre ya so mad youâre throwinâ dinner food at me, darlinâ?ââpuffing warm breaths on your neck and only smiling when you flinched back. He took your response as a cue to keep pressing, both figuratively and physically.
âJust wanted attention or somethinâ? That what it is?â Joelâs voice was as saccharine as it was taunting, words paired with a hand circling light across your thigh. He wasnât moving in, and it was tearing you to shreds inside.
âFuck your attention, and fuck you, Joel.â
Words hardly reflecting how you felt internally.
Swiftly, then, the hand at your leg was raised to your faceâcupping it with a bit more force than you expected. Joelâs grin stretched even wider.
âAttention and discipline,â he mused aloud, âTwo things dad never gave his little girl growinâ up, I see.â
Before you could reply, he was squeezing your face even tighter and nodding his head, as if already anticipating your answer. Then, somehow lower, âSuch a filthy mouth on her, too. Never knows when to keep it shut and how to be polite to someone who fucked her so nice already.â
You mightâve whimpered if you didnât also want to throat punch the motherfucker and knee him in the balls. When Joel started stroking your cheek, you groaned instead, and you hoped he would hear it as chagrin, not arousal.
âI can help with both of those, yâknowââ His thumb rubbed a little harder, and his leg moved up. You pressed your hands flat to his thigh to keep him from teasing, but the man would do no such thing to oblige you. In fact, he just shifted his leg back and forthâŚand back, again. A ripple of bliss from the friction sparked low inside you.
âI can give you attention, and I can scrub that mouth clean if thatâs what you really need,â Joel continued, âJust say the word, darlinâ.â
âFucker.â That was your word.
And it worked well enough for Joel.
In the next instant, he had you half-carried, half-dragged across the deck and thrown onto the table where youâd lost that dreaded game of stack. Solo cups still littering the surface, and puddles of beer soaking in through your dress, you made a sound of disgust and tried to thrust yourself up, just to fail. You squirmed and swatted at the man standing in front of you, who easily kept you pinned to the surface with one palm laid calmly on your belly.
He reached into the back pocket of his trousers and retrieved his lighter and cigarette pack.
âSomeone could catch us,â you hissed, helpless, unsure of what else to say to show you werenât giving in just yet.
Joel lit up in four seconds flat. He sucked in a breath.
âI roped off the stairs coming up,â he replied.
He what?
You moved back, slowly, on the surface when Joel worked a hand to his belt buckle, and you heard half a dozen plastic cups fall to the floor behind you.
You would not be his dateâs sloppy secondsâever.
Joel yanked at your thighs and pulled you back to be straddling his hips, shrugging his pants down; you couldnât bear to keep looking when he lowered his briefs.
He took another drag and eyed you hungrily, happy to see you all sprawled out and pretty before him. The tight fabric of your dress had cinched over your hips and left you bare to just panties, making him grow even harder.
âJoel.â
He worked his dick out of his pants and moved the head to trail slow along the seam of your barely-clothed cunt. Even through the lace, he could feel how wet you were. He notched the tip at the space where your panties had parted just slightly to the side and felt your arousal pool even wetter around the end of his member. He grunted.
âJoel, Iââ
âDaddyâs gonna give ya attention, sugar. Hold still.â
You couldnât. Wouldnât. You splayed your fingers over the hand that was trying to guide his cock into you and clenched your jawâevery carnal fibre in your being telling you not to do what you were about to try anyway.
âYou fucked her didnât you?â
Joel flicked the ash off his cigarette, âNo.â
âYou brought her here.â
âHad to.â
Your face was flushed and likewise flooded with smoke, curling slow from Joelâs lips before it painted the air an opaque, muddied grey above you. You wriggled your hips away from his, and for once, he didnât try to stop you.
âI saw you tucking your shirt in. Tommy said you fucked!â
âTommyâs about one fry short of a Happy Meal, honey,â Joel puffed once more, âHeâs always sayinâ shit like that.â
Incredibly, heâd managed to use about a dozen funny words in that old Texas lilt and still say so little to actually answer your question. When the pinch in your brow told him you werenât quite satisfied, Joel let out a sigh.
âAsh spilled pebre on my shirt. I had to change.â
Oh.
âAnd youââ you started.
ââhave no fuckinâ right to know, one way or the other, because youâre the one who said weâd just âfuck and forget it,â remember?â Joel interrupted, reminding you of your own curt words from your Bronco boning session.
Again, you tried to speak and found yourself spoken for, Joel carrying on as casual as ever as he sucked the last life-breath from his cig and stared you down, cynically.
âYour dadâs the one who made me bring her tonight. Said I seemed âdownâ since the last gal I fucked wasnât aroundâI didnât have the heart to tell him it was his daughterâand here we are,â Joel smiled, wryly, and flicked his cigarette into the lake. You wouldâve liked to tell him littering was a crime that trashed us all but refrained.
You were too busy staring at his lips, wondering why he hadnât kissed you yet. You reckoned all the pea flinging, swearing, and swinging mightâve played a small part.
At length, Joel slid a new American Spirit out of its pack and wrangled you back to his hips as he lit up again.
âHappy?â he said, after a beat.
You werenât sure whether to nod or cross your arms. Beckon him in with both hands or kick his bunched-up pants, belt, and boxer briefs away altogether and keep the bratty act going. You didnât like being wrong.
At any rate, it didnât matter. Heâd called you on your bluff.
Still smoking, still smiling, still happy as a clam at high tide, Joel pressed his length straight up to your folds and watched you squirm on the wood underneath him.
âGonna listen now?â he hummed.
âUh-huh.â
Good, his wretchedly deep brown eyes seemed to say. Good that you were here, good that you were spread wide and supine beneath him, good that youâd gone all soft and pliable under his touch and were watching him now with a look that said youâd let him do just anything.
Good that he could fuck you.
Great that he wasnât planning toânot fully, anyway.
Joel wasted no time taking your answer in the affirmative to slip past your panties and push deep inside your sweet cunt. When your walls stretched and cried all around him, he sighed and gripped your legs even tighter. He gritted the cigarette between his teeth and brought your ankles to rest over his shoulders, sinking in even deeper. Then he had to hold steady inside you and keep you flat on the table in front of him, and just when you whined to fuck me now, Joel, fuck me right now, daddy, please, he stilled. He took a big, long drag and didnât move an inch.
Heâd teach you some discipline one way or another.
âJoel, please,â you groaned again, hands bracing the table to start fucking up and down on his shaft, before he put a stop to that fast and held you firmly in place, âPlease, Joel, I need you so fucking bad, daddy, please.â
Joel tapped his ash to the side and ignored your pleas.
He felt your walls contract around him and tried not to grunt. He focused instead on the smoke overhead.
âWanna say that nicer?â he asked, deadpan. Then, staring expectantly down at you, while you flushed and struggled to stay still, âKeep that mouth a little cleaner?â
Fuck, did he have that father-figure tone down to a T.
You laid there before him and almost forgot his cock was wedged inside you for a second. He seemed so sincere.
âI wanâ want you to move, daddy, I-I-I donât know how else to say iâ FUCK!â Your pussy spasmed around him when the tip of his pubic bone grazed your clit. That squeaky clean mouth of yours was nowhere to be seen.
âMhmm,â Joel nodded anyway, pretending to be observing your behavior as he might for a clinical trial. Like he was testing a new drug, not his dick inside your cunt, practically clenching in Morse code around him.
âCan ya try that one more time, sweet pea? For daddy?â
You could. Try, anyway. Controlling your tongue while he was buried so deep inside you seemed to be a far harder task than you couldâve ever expected, though.
Joel sensed it. Feeling a twinge of pity, he leaned over your body and dug his hips even deeperânot thrusting, but still granting some modicum of friction. The hot, heavy throb of his girth pulsed inside you like your own fucking heartbeat, and your eyes rolled back.
âFucking shitsucking DICK BITCH CUNT! FUCK!â
Sounding every bit the uncouth novice in a COD lobby chat circa 2009, you knew you didnât have the faintest hope of earning Joelâs strokes now. You hated yourself for itâand Joel, too, for subjecting you to such cruel and unusual punishment for just needing to fuck him hard.
You were desperate and heated. Five seconds away from yanking your sex off of his and going to town with your own fingers, you felt a palm press down on your tummy.
Damn Joel and his super-sized hands.
You could barely breathe, much less pry yourself off.
Joel was quiet and calm. Stuffing you full and puffing away at his cigarette the whole time. He smirked.
âAinât that difficult, honey,â he said, hardly losing his will or his sympathy when you shot a raw glance his way, âStay still on this cock and ask daddy nicely, âsâall ya gotta do.â
He could tell by the look in your eyes you couldnât stand to play niceâbut needed to cum. He watched you swallow your pride, soften your eyes just a bit, and when you felt you might implode from all the feeling, whined,
âPlease make me feel good, daddy, please, I need it.â
Joel breathed and eased back just an inch, lowering his hand to thumb softly at your clit. You keened.
âThatâs my sweet girl.â
Still just rubbing that bundle and looking down while you came unraveled, Joel thought you perfectly sublime. Heâd kill to keep you there like that, eyes rolling and skin soaking the table beneath you both in sweat and arousal. He stared down at the place your bodies were connectedâa sliver of his cock visible and soaked with your juicesâand he felt a wave of desire crest over his mind. Panting, quietly, he brought one hand to your hip and kept the other working furiously over your clit, trying to ignore the urge to rut inside you. It was self-discipline for him, too.
He wouldnât let you know that yet, though.
He crushed the cigarette between his teeth and kept still.
âYa like that, sugar? Like daddy stuffed inside this pussy, makinâ ya beg real pretty for me?â His husky Southern drawl ran like molasses off his tongue, thicker now when he was balls-deep and half-drunk off your cunt.
You watched his mouth, intrigued, and saw a long line of spit drip deliciously from those pretty, stubbled lips of his to your lower ones, making the spot more filthy and warm as your fluids mixed together. Still, Joel didnât move a thing more than his thumbâbut the sounds from you both were growing louder and more desperate.
The gentle squelch of spit, sweat, and arousal running all down your pussy, paired with those noises you made when you were feeling this good and squeezing him tight, was enough to send Joel straight over the edge. Now he didnât have the strokes or any motion to focus on before him, just youâhe flicked his cigarette away the second he sensed you were getting close yourself.
âSweet little thing,â he cooed, still rubbing in circles, âHowâs my baby feelinâ?â
You clawed at the table beneath you and knocked your head back once or twice on the wood, humming a quick, âGood, daddy, goodâ in the most hoarse and pathetic voice youâd ever used, and Joel smiled. You hadnât cursed out loud in a minute and seemed to be taking his touches well. Heâd have to give you some form of reward.
Gently, Joel pulled back and made a shallow thrust inside you. Both your body and his jolted with pleasure.
âFUân stuff, fun stuff,â you hissed, trying hard to mask the expletive.
In truth, Joel was struggling too. Just one stroke inside you and that coil inside him was about ready to burst.
âFun, huh?â he teased, keeping his motions down to quick pistons as he laid his palms flat on either side of your head, âDaddy make ya feel fun-ny, does he?â
âYeah, he does, heâ ah, SHIT right there, right there!â
Evidently, heâd found your G spot.
Joel stilled inside you as soon as the foul word escaped.
You whined. Loud. Almost tempted to burst into tears.
âNononono, that doesnât count, Joel! That doesnâtââ Your voice was shortly supplanted by a whimper when the man went back to thumbing your clit, hips rendered still once more and cock wedged deep inside your core.
âWhatâs it gonna take to make you behave for me, huh? Do I have to talk to your daddy again?â Joel seethed.
You shook your head quick and felt him circle your clit even harder, more punishing now. Your body craved the friction from his cock but could barely contain the words that were coming out now. You pinched your eyes shut, feeling your orgasm creeping closer and closer, and whimpered gently, desperately, âFuckfuckfuuuuuck.â
Whether it came down to making terrible plays at stack cup or getting your clit torn apart by Joelâs thumb, you simply could not keep the filthy language at bay.
You werenât going to listen, that much was clear.
Joel had no choice but to make you learn a different way.
So, prying his fingers and his cock from your cunt, he reached across for your hips insteadâpulling you off of the table and pushing you down to the floor, at his feet.
He smoothed a palm over the top of your head and fisted your hair in one hand, his cock in the other, and brought his hot, swollen, slick-coated length within an inch of your face, stroking fast.
Your gaze flitted from the sight in front of you to Joelâs eyes, back and forth, stunned and in utter disbelief. As you felt your own climax crumble and recede from you at once, the sound jumped up your throat before you could stop,
âWhat the FUCK is your problem, Joel?!â
âThere it is,â Joel just flared his nostrils as he jerked himself above you, âThereâs that nasty fuckinâ mouth.â
He pulled your head even rougher and tipped your chin back to meet the scowl on his face. Pleasure had almost swallowed the man whole, yet his expression scarcely betrayed a trace of it, eyes cold and jaw clenched tight.
âIf that mouth canât be good for me, can it open real wide and show me how a dirty slut does it?â
You were beside yourself. Holding his gaze like a bomb might go off in his brain any secondâsomething youâd be happy to seeâyou scowled as well. Begrudgingly, and knowing Joel wouldnât ease off of this punishment until heâd made you pay for your language, you nodded.
âWhatâsâat?â Joel snapped, stroking himself even faster, âWhat do ya want me to do, sugar?â
You gritted your teeth and silently wished they were crushing his balls to powder between them.
âWantâŚyouâŚto cumâŚon my face.â
âLittle louder, sweet pea, canât hear ya from up here.â
The sound of his palm working over his cock again and again, shimmery and slick with your arousal soaking it, was almost too much to bear. You watched, forlorn and silently boiling with rage as Joel stared down at you, as merciless as heâd ever been. Mocking, almost, it seemed.
âWant you toâŚcum on me, please.â
âOne more time, darlinâ,â Joel pressed, pupils blown wide with desire, âBe real sweet and say it one more time fââ
âI WANT YOU TO CUM ON MY FACE, YOU FUCKER.â
That sparked the first real smile on Joelâs lips youâd seen in a while, and then he was watching you cockily, nodding.
Before you could even think to blink, stand up, or storm off again, you felt a fat, sticky-wet glob of warmth hit your cheek. Then another. Then another. Then another. You winced and flinched back, but Joel held your head in place, in front of his cock, and gripped you firmly as he unloaded rope after rope of his cum all over your face.
By the time he was finished, your skin was glistening. Coated in the stuff and still blinking through strings of the hot, sticky mess as Joel stood over you, chest heaving fast as he pumped himself through his release.
Must be fucking nice.
When the downpour had slowed to a trickle, two thick fingers swiped at a dollop of cum on your cheek. Then, wordlessly, they moved down to your mouth.
âOpen,â Joel commanded.
Youâd barely parted your lips a quarter of an inch when he pushed both digits inside. Swirled them around in your mouth and made sure to cover every soft, wet contour and crevice before pulling out with a pop.
He wiped at your other spend-streaked cheek and repeated the action, plunging his fingers in and out of your mouth to make sure you cleaned him thoroughly. This was more of an act meant to tease than anything else, you knew, almost demeaning in the way he stood there and nodded his head while murmuring, ââAtta girl.â
You hated how much you liked that stupid show of dominanceâand, even worse, how good he tasted.
Joel brushed your tongue with another fingerful and watched you bob your head in time. He hummed his approval and scanned your face for any spend left over.
There was a lot. He paused, as if considering something.
âDrop âem.â Joel motioned to the straps of your dress.
You did as he said and pulled both bands down at once. When your breasts spilled out of the fabric, you watched Joel lower his gaze and, fixating on the spot youâd just exposed to him, take twoâno, threeâcareful fingers to collect the remainder of himself and spread it downward.
Joel took his cum and smeared it all over your tits.
He was equal parts meticulous, gentle, and gratuitous in doing so, and he took pleasure in every second.
With a heavy-lidded, glossy gaze trained unwaveringly on your chest, Joel rolled each nipple between forefinger and thumb and fell into a trance. Rubbed you up and down every inch he could find and groaned at the sight. Glazing your skin all over with him and savoring it.
You couldnât deny the feeling of being marked in a way so degrading, dirty, and adoring at once had a dizzying effect on you, too. The look in his eyes, and the soft brush of his fingers, almost quelled your rage entirely.
Almost.
When Joel pulled your spaghetti straps back into placeâand you, in turn, back onto your feetâyou yanked away. Forcefully. While Joel straightened up, silently cursed his bad back, tucked his dick in his pants, and started to reach for your waist, you jabbed the fastest, fattest, fuck-your-whole-family middle finger in his face and took off.
âHoneyââ
âDonât.â
âBut Iââ
âHave some goddamn fucking nerve.â
Youâd nearly made it to the staircase again, heels turning to start down the first steps, when Joel sidestepped at lightning speed and blocked off your passage. All you saw then was the front of a starch white dress shirt and a light patch of chest hair peeking out from the highest button, crowding your vision, moving in time with every manoeuvre you tried to make around him. He smelled like sweat and fresh citrus. Perhaps a hint of vengeance.
You wouldnât meet his gaze when he grabbed your face. Tried to shrug him off when he made as if to pull you into a hugââAre you off your shit?! Are you?! People are right downstairsââand Joel just smiled. Grinned like a jackass eating briars, about five times too smug for his own good, and drew you into his chest by gentle turns.
You werenât sure why you recoiled when he kissed you.
Hell, youâd done it a dozen times beforeâalbeit a bit more frantically, in a way to say âI need to fuck youâ when words just wouldnât sufficeâbut this one was different. Deeper. Joel was gripping both sides of your face and still grinning as he kissed you, feeling your muscles slacken some and your frame meld gently into his.
You hated it.
âI missed you,â Joel murmured between kisses.
Hated him.
âHowâs my baby been, huh?â
Oh, you know, just waiting. Hating you a little. Hoping we didnât inadvertently create a baby ourselves, courtesy of your prehistoric condoms.
âI missed you.â Gently. Again.
You tensed in his hold when his lips trailed down to your neck. You felt a low flutter. It was like your feet had been glued to the floor and your tongue left wholly immobile; you let Joel caress, kiss, and whisper down your skin like every cell beneath his touch wasnât seething en masse.
Your stolen climax. Broken condom. Close call with your father and Tommy. Radio silence ongoing for days.
You couldnât wrap your head around any of it, or him, or how grossly inconsistent the manâs every move upon you now seemed to be with the way heâd acted all week.
Joel slowly descended your body.
âLike I said, honeyâŚyou fuck with my head,â he said soft against your dress, then your legs, then the space in between them.
âMakes two of us,â you grumbled back.
You braced your weight against the railing over the stairs just behind you when he slipped your panties to the floor. Then he tucked them snug into one of his back pockets and brought his face to your wet, aching core.
âDiscipline doesnât come easy, does it?â It sounded like something trapped between a question and a declarative coming out from the side of Joelâs mouth.
Fortunately for you, he didnât try to clarify which of the two he meant, or do much else at all except eat your pussy from that point on. He kissed your thighs, gripped them tighter, then wedged his face between them while you held fast to the metal behind you. You stifled a moan when his tongue traced over the seam of your cunt.
You didnât have to like the man to love what his mouth could do for you, you silently reminded yourself.
Love it you couldâand would. Without shame.
Granted, you were still sensitive as all hell from your last almost-orgasm of the night, but Joel knew how to work his lips and tongue around it. He swiftly lapped between your folds, teased a finger at your hole, and wrapped his warm lips around your clit to suck once or twice, and you were damn near ready to spiral in seconds. You fisted the soft salt-and-pepper hair at the top of his head and rutted your hips in short, shallow motions against him.
âGood girl,â Joel crooned, welcoming each thrust with another swirl of his tongue, âThatâs my sweet baby.â
âJoel.â
You traded expletives for the simple repetition of his name, not wanting the pleasure to stop. Joel hummed and sucked and held your legs around him even tighter.
You sighed, almost whined, and dug your fingertips into his scalp, feeling your climax building quick inside you.
Joelâs mouth was working faster, sucking harder, drawing smaller and crueler circles, lapping eagerly against your arousal and giving it everything he had, it seemed, to work you up to your release. He grunted when you yanked hard on his hair but didnât stop.
In fact, the bastard just kept trying to talk you through it, fluid movements of his own tongue and lips be damned.
âDoinâ so damn good for me, sweet pea, keep goinâ.â There was an apology in there somewhere, working hard to atone for the orgasm heâd denied you right before.
Four more flicks of his tongue and a gentle endeavor to pump his fingers in and out, again and again, right above that soft, spongy pad of pleasure deep inside had you teetering over the edge of a cliff.
You tore your gaze from Joel for a second, preparing for that sweet and lusty consummation, when your head turned to the side just slightly. You almost groaned.
Your own hot, flushed, and fucked-out reflection was the first thing to greet you in a sliver of a mirror on the wall. Just beneath you, as you couldâve expected, there was Joelâkneeling between your legs with his chin tipped up, beard coated in moisture and pleasure and warmth. You werenât sure why the sight from this angle had such a strong effect, but something about the full view of your bodies in motion gave your stomach a pinch. A burn. You ogled the glass and made a sound audibly higher in pitch than a whimper as Joel suckled and tongued at your clit.
You came just like thatâgripping the rails, fisting his hair, rutting your hips, and staring implacably at that mirror.
When Joel resurfaced, you were still fully transfixed.
Gawking at how fucking nice he looked between your thighs. How filthy it all was to be seated on his face and cumming for his tongue while the rest of your fatherâs dinner party mingled blissfully unaware downstairs.
When you saw Joel rise, you jerked your head back.
You werenât sure why it felt like being caught, but it did.
Just as you began to murmur some half-assed apology his way, you felt hands on your hips and a rock-hard bulge at your rear as Joel spun you round in front of him.
He shoved you flush against the mirror so your tits were pressed up to the glass. He gave you a quick once-over.
Slid the straps of your dress off your shoulders and shimmied the fabric down your chest, once again.
With your breasts splayed out in front of you and your hands pressing hard on the mirrorâas if letting up the slightest bit might send you straight through itâyou tried to crane your neck. You felt the sticky squelch of cum and fresh spit painted over your chest, muddying up the glass with every movement you made. Your chin dug deep in your shoulder as you cocked your head to the left, eyes searching for Joelâs behind you.
You heard the clink of a belt, followed by a rustle of fabric. Then a hand slamming close beside your head on the mirror, while another worked industriously to free his cock from the confines of his trousers once more.
âJoel,â you breathed, still tender from your climax.
âHm?â
He was gruff as he rubbed and smacked your bare ass with his cock. Let it rest on the soft, fleshy shelf between you two and teased his length over that space.
âDid someone take his little blue pill today?â you teased.
âFuck off.â You saw a flicker of a smirk in the mirror.
No way Joel Miller was getting a full-fledged erection twice in the same ten minute span. That shit didnât happen outside the realm of porn flicks and a womanâs wildest fantasies when it came to men Joelâs age. He knew it just as well as you but tried to feign indifference when he pressed the head of himself to your folds. He did, however, suck in a breath at the new sensation.
He could do this.
He could cockwarm you raw, tonguefuck your cunt, ravage and render you all but brainless on the surface of that mirror, and still have the wits about himself to take another breath. He could show those shit-for-brains college boys heâd been battling for days in the depths of his mind how much better he could fuck you than them.
Really, Joel was just manifesting at this point.
He hadnât busted a nut and fucked this quick since Bill Clinton had been in office. All hat and no cattle whatsoever for this pussywhipped cowboy.
âBetter hope I go easy on ya, sugar.â
âBest believe I wonât.â You wouldâve winked if you werenât so bone-crushingly aroused and fresh off your peak.
Joel had just chuckled, more than a touch nervous, and began rubbing your warmth to coat himself in itâangling his slightly apprehensive penis up to your cunt when you straightened some. Rather than keep your tits to the mirror, you chose to press your back against him, ass snug to his front and eyes roaming wildly over the reflection of your two forms. Both of you flinched when the head of his cock hitched around your entrance.
Joelâs Adamâs apple bobbed in his throat just over your shoulder. He pressed a kiss to your skin.
âGotta be the sweetest thing I ever seen,â he whispered into your ear. Meeting your gaze in the mirror and lifting his hips just so before breaching your folds.
He hoped youâd take it for sweetness and not just a vicious strain of anxiety or weakness as he prepared for the first thrust. Heâd need a second, a minuteâmaybe a goddamned hour, if he was being real honest. You were too damn pretty to be fucked by a two-pump chump.
Joel nudged his nose against your ear and tried to stall. Pausing a beat.
âNever been humped and dumped before, yaknow.â
Waitâthe fuck?
That came out wrong.
You cocked a brow and tilted your hips. You didnât seem keen on talking but had no choice but to humor him.
âThe hellâs that supposed to mean?â you hummed.
Joel balked at his own stupidity, trying, and failing, to remove his foot from his mouth and remedy his words.
âI mean, Iâ I get it,â he returned, too fast for his liking, âIâm no texter myself, I justâŚthought, uh, maybeââ
âMiller. Spit it out.â
Your body was all but leaking arousal before him and the man was trying to divert the conversation toâŚphones?
Joel winced.
Felt his member deflate with embarrassment just a bit.
NO! No. No. JustâŚfuck. Stay hard. Please, stay hard.
Heâd done it to himself. Tried to hamper sex for a second too long just to give his dick a fighting chance at survival and ended up mucking things up supremely. Per usual.
âYou never texted me back.â He sounded blunt now. Rushed.
Joel watched you raise both eyebrows.
âTexted you back?â you scoffed.
âYeahâŚtexted, called, snipchatted, whatever.â
Your face didnât change despite the glaring Gen X error.
âYou never texted me, Joel!â
What?
Suddenly, the dick wedged between your legs and hovering over your cunt seemed to be the last thing either of you could be bothered to worry about.
âIâveâŚbeen texting you all week. Called a few times too.â
âLike hell you have. You ghosted me and went off the grid this whole fuckinâ weekâTommy said so, too.â
Joel cringed again to hear his brotherâs name brought up in this context and shook his head. You were wrong.
â512-867-5309. Been trying to talk to you all goddamn week, see how you were, and you never responded,â he said, indignation creeping into his tone against his will.
At last, your expression dropped.
From furious to frowning to just fucking annoyed. Your lips were drawn tight in a line across your face.
âMy number is 512-867-5305, dipshit.â
âHuh?â
â5 at the end, not a 9.â
ââŚNo.â
âYeahâŚâ
Shit.
Joel Miller had made his fair share of flubs in his life, but fucking up the phone number of his best friendâs daughter whose pussy heâd accidentally cum inside the week before seemed almost criminal. Too fucking asinine and rookie-level dense to ever recover from. He blinked.
âThought youâŚhated my fuckinâ guts,â he confessed.
You threw your hands up in disbelief, frustration. Fury.
âI doâ believe me, I do,â you snapped, âBut not for that.â
âThatâ meaning the last time you two bumped uglies. Joel wasnât sure whether to take heart or step back.
âWhatâsâat mean?â he asked.
You pushed your feet a little further apart on the floor and pressed back into Joel. He took that as a decidedly good sign and reached for your hip. Then took his cock, again, which had invariably twitched and swelled up at the smallest motion from you.
âMeans weâve got plenty of reasons to hate each other, but fuckinâ ainât one of âem,â you shrugged, angling your ass in the perfect place for penetration. Joel was just about back to full-mast and buzzing as you spoke, âI can get over the wholeâŚold dude tabooâyou being dadâs friend and allâI just couldn't stand the thought of you leaving me in the lurch when shit got weird at the end.â
âWeirdâ meaning risky. Virulent. Damn near catastrophic if it ever came to be that one of Joel's swimmers had latched onto one of your eggs and knocked you up. The fear of pregnancy, and every bloodcurdling, awkward conversation to ensue, had been amplified tenfold by the thought that Joel didn't even care one way or the other and couldn't be bothered to text, call, or otherwise show that he didn't totally regret what you'd done in his car. You could handle a clean break, but leaving it on such uncertain terms had been torture. At length, you sighed.
Joel was nosing behind your ear now, a bit less tense.
A little more laid-back and warm this time around, as he, like you, had gotten to exhale a breath of relief realizing that neither of you had deliberately tried to fuck the other over, or ghost, just yet. You'd been pissed at him all night, and he'd been busy barraging a perfect stranger somewhere in Austin with strings of texts and calls all week, but the two of you were ultimately OK. For now.
âBut you still hate me, huh?â Joel spoke low against your skin and felt you soften just a little.
You nodded, careful not to slacken too much.
âMhmm.â
Now Joel was almost glad to have taken that brief, heated detour, because his dick had made a complete comeback and was aching to tease you some more. He grabbed the base of his length and slotted it slow as ever between your folds. Rolled his hips forward and pushed you both a little closer to the mirror. One of your hands flew up to steady yourself, and Joelâs hand followed. He laid his palm over the back of yours and pressed in.
âItâd be a real shame if you do,â he said, smirking as he notched the tip of his cock just within the tight ring of muscles at the groove of your cunt, âFor a second there I was starting to think you mightâve liked fucking me, too.â
In the next second, Joel was easing inside you. Feeling you arch into the motion and grabbing hold wherever he could across your front, he pulled you into his chest and felt a streak of coarse pleasure lick up the full length of his spine. Your walls were squeezing him in a brand new way, a novel position, and he was starting to fear there wasn't any place he could fuck you that wouldn't send him veering for release within his first two strokes inside.
He bucked his hips a little something like an amateur, he thought, getting used to taking you like this. You were moaning, holding his fingers between your own atop the mirror as you squeezed your pussy tight around his cock, and he hoped that meant you hadn't minded the few stuttered, desperate strokes he'd delivered at first.
âI loveâŚfucking you, Joel,â you seethed at last.
Then, wordless as it was pointed, finding his gaze in your reflection, âI still hate you, Miller. Thereâs a difference.â
He slammed into your ass and quickly got the sense that you liked it this fastâloving, lusting, or despising him otherwise. Almost needed it a bit frantic and rapid-fire when he was fucking you from the back, he reckoned.
Joel looked you in the eye from his view behind you in the mirror and saw it clear as day. He almost grinned.
You were wildly fucked out and in need of quick release.
For once in his life, he could oblige you on that, easy.
He slid his cock in and out, rutting much quicker than he ever thought youâd want it, and he grunted. Slipped a hand between your thighs and felt you pulse around him, involuntarily, when his fingers found your clit. He could tell by that grip, and those febrile little whimpers, that you were loving this just as much as him and probably were as close, if not closer, to a new, shuddering climax.
Joel plunged deep inside your cunt and drew you closer.
Taking your throat in one hand, he nudged your body into the glass and smirked, drunk with the feel of you.
âYa like it when I fill this pussy, huh? Love feeling me deep inside this needy little hole?â he murmured, slow and taking care to draw out the syllables in each word.
You nodded that you did. Rocked your hips back to meet his thrusts and moaned.
âI love it, daddy,â you managed weakly, âLove it so much.â
The fingers at your clit increased in speed, and Joel rutted into you even harder, relishing the soft squelch between your bodies as he moved. Then he reached for a fistful of your hair and, instead of pulling back like he might normally have done, he pushed in. He pressed your face in the mirror, turned to the side, and pistoned his hips even faster. Felt your moans spill out across the glass and mix with his own, and he couldnât help but let a raw, primal impulse take over his thrustsâand tongue.
âYou make the prettiest fuckinâ noises, yâknow that?â Joel breathed, hunched over and close to your ear.
Before you could so much as acknowledge his praises, bob your head, or moan in response, he shifted the hand in your hair again. This time turning your face toward the mirror, he brought your lips within inches of the glass and made you watch him fuck you, again and again.
You trailed your gaze over your full reflection and almost whined out loud, ripe with desire and ready to cum just seeing how good he looked as he took you from behind.
With his brow furrowed, pupils blown, hair a fucking mess, lips parting slightly with the strain of every grunt and moan, and hips rolling repeatedly, furiously into your own, Joel looked about as handsome as you thought youâd ever seen him. You felt the soft nudge of his tummy behind you, the tightened grip on your hip and in your hair, and within seconds, you were nearly there.
âMy pretty. fuckinâ. girlââ Joel managed through gritted teeth, each word punctuated with a thrust, ââand her pretty. fuckinâ. moans.â Then, bringing his beaming, sweaty expression right next to yours in the mirror, âReady to cum for me, pretty girl?â
You curled your toes into the floor and nodded, slotting your fingers through his own when he planted a hand above you again,
âSoâ so close, daddy.â
Joel squeezed your fingers back. Kept your faces damn near side-by-side in the mirror and relished the marked change in your features when he grazed that spot inside. You let out the filthiest, fuckdrunk moan and didnât need another strokeâyou came around his cock with a tight, pulsing spasm, seizing his hand, rocking your hips back into his hard as the pleasure washed over your body.
Joelâs cock absorbed every last delicate throb, hot and heavy enough to send the man spiraling himself. He braced his front tight against your body and kept fucking you through your release, groaning a vicious, desperate bout when he felt that deep-seated urge to spill his seed.
Fuck. Heâd have to pull out. Now.
Just as his own climax was close at handâclose as he could ever, or should ever feel it while still inside youâJoel reached down for your hip to pull out and cum all over your ass, but he was brought to a stop. Swiftly.
To his surprise, it was you pulling off of himâsliding off his cock and dropping to your knees as if to take him in your mouth.
Thank fuck.
Joel grabbed his dick as quick as he possibly could and moved to start stroking himself over your face, when your hand closed around his own. Stopping him. Again.
You grinned.
Feeling the slightest twinge of retributive pleasure at seeing him like this, just like heâd had you, your smile stretched even bigger. Joel couldâve wept at the sight.
You brought your lips to his cock and grazed it, barely.
âWanna try something fun?â
He knew better than to let a moan slip at a time like this.
Not when he was sitting at the dinner table; not when he was surrounded by the people he knew and loved the most. Not when he was celebrating his best friendâs fifty-first birthday, and certainly not when that manâs daughter was currently perched between his thighs, out of sight from every eye at the party but his.
Joel lifted the tablecloth. He almost came on the spot.
This was your idea of âfun.â
Payback by any other name wouldâve smelled as sweet.
Seeing your mouth open wide and your lips curled tight around his hot, throbbing member, Joel couldnât help but ache for reprieve, or else a split-second lapse of judgmentâone where he forgot all sense of decorum and simply went to town on that pretty little face of yours. But, as it was, the rest of the party was totally oblivious to your absence, and he didnât want to draw attention to it, or him, by roughfucking your mouth.
That would come later.
No, now he would let you glide your mouth gently over his shaft, leaving trails of thick spit and hints of a shiny pink lip gloss in its wake. Heâd let you bob your head softlyâself-assured in a pace you got to setâand he wouldnât lay a finger on your face or let a thrust of his get in the way, because this was all about you giving him the pleasure. Maybe making him squirm just a little, too.
That didnât mean he couldnât steal a glimpse every now and then and pin you with an expectant look when he wanted something done his way. The room was dimly lit and everyone in it drunk; Joel would gladly take the risk.
âYou can go deeper than that, sweet pea.â
âNope, three-fourths ainât enough, I need your mouth around me whole.â
âYou did wanna make daddy feel good, didnât ya, sugar?â
He didnât have to speak a word of it out loud for you to know what he meant. What he needed. You loosened your jaw and stretched your lips even wider, whining just a little when the head of his cock grazed your tonsils.
âFuck that feels nice,â Joel said aloud.
You froze.
Then, without missing a beat, you heard him continue just as comfortably, speaking to the people around him,
âYâall feel that breeze cominâ in?â
Sick fuck. You continued to suck him anyway.
One hand braced tight against Joelâs leg and the other moved shamelessly between your own, and you tried not to moan, but the sound escaped anyway. No one heard it, but Joel felt it reverberate down his shaft, and he gripped his glass of Merlot like a vice. Your dad shot him a curious look from across the table but said nothing.
âCanât get enoughâa her, huh?â Tommy grinned beside him.
âWhat?â Joel faltered. Set his drink aside carefully.
Down below, you dragged your mouth just far enough to take his tip between your lips and suckle. Joel grunted.
âThe wine,â Tommy said, still smiling, âYou must love it.â
Joel let out another strangled breath that he tried to pass off as a chuckle and nodded.
âGot me on my fuckinâ knees,â he admitted.
And that was the truth. Starved for air and blinking through tears as you knelt down to blow him, it was still you with the chokehold on Joel, and both of you knew it.
Try as you might to convince yourselves otherwise, the man was enrapt. Too spellbound to turn down your offer of sucking him dry under the dinner table just minutes after heâd almost cum all over your face, Joel was in it, and he was in it deep. It was just that small matter of you being his best friendâs daughter that made him loath to admit it. At any rate, he had your tongue licking strips up his cock and felt a sudden, sharp clench in his stomach.
He knew he wouldnât last much longer. Neither would you.
Joel couldnât see it then, but youâd practically soaked your own hand from how hard youâd been rubbing your clitâignoring his orders not to touch yourself thereâso turned on from just sucking his dick and needing to feel relief while you selflessly, secretly pleased him beneath the table. While Joel reached for another draught of wine, you brought one hand to his balls and kept the other at your cunt, triple-tasking like the efficient little slut he needed you to be: sucking, cupping, and rubbing all at once to get the two of you off in one minute or less.
You guided him down to the furthest place in your throat, then pushed him even deeper. You gagged just slightly and felt a hand reach down for your cheek. A thumb began to rub at the tears welled up at the corners of your eyes.
âSweet thing hasnât felt a man this deep before, huh? Wanna swallow some more?â
You nodded that you did. Couldnât actually hear him now, or see much else besides the soft tufts of hair on his belly, but you could feel a light, heady warmth seep into your brain.
You rutted your hips and just hoped no one dropped a fork nearby. Bucked desperately into your hand and felt the heat start to swell to a whole new feeling, and suddenly you were whimpering, whining on Joelâs cock from under the shade of the table and cumming all over your fingers.
Joel returned a quick smile from your father and cracked a joke about the Super Bowl. Raised his hips just the slightest bit and wiped one of your tear-soaked cheeks.
âAlmost there, hon, keep that throat open for daddy.â
All you could do was cry and try your best. Wild feelings from both the slow, deep facefuck he was giving you and the flurry of euphoric aftershocks coursing all throughout your body made it almost impossible to bear, but you obeyed your sweet and strong and steady-handed Joel and sensed a blossoming desire crop up for something else.
You wanted to taste him as he blew his load in your mouth, flooded your tongue with his spend, and painted every inch of your insides with that hot, sticky stuff.
You needed him whole.
Your Joel.
In tune with your thoughtsâor perhaps just overcome with a need to see you before he reached his peakâJoel raised the tablecloth the slightest bit when Tommy wasnât looking. His gaze locked on yours, and his tongue darted quick between his lips. He cocked a brow. Brushed his thumb again and looked down as if to say,
âYa want this, darlinâ? Want all of me?â
You gave a soft nod, and that was all he needed.
No sooner had you given him the green light than his cum went pulsing out in ropes, coating your throat and eventually your whole mouth as you held still and took it all.
There was so much more than you thought. So much of Joel that had been waiting to give your mouth a proper fucking glaze that once heâd started he just couldnât stop. Above the table, your dad shot a pointed look in his directionââYou good, man?ââand it took every ounce of strength in Joelâs body to grit his teeth tight and nod.
Heâd filled so much of your mouth it was spilling out.
You tried to hold steady, keep your movements extra slow. Youâd heard your dadâs voice and just knew thereâd be a lot more on the line than Joelâs dribbling seed if either one of you fucked up now. Your breath caught in your chest, and you felt too afraid to even swallow.
âI justâŚcame,â Joel started, and your head almost cracked on the wood surface from how abruptly you flinched back,
ââto the realizationââ
ââthat youâŚare soâŚmotherfuckinâ old, my friend.â
Your fatherâs laugh was the first you heard, followed by Tommy, his friends, and a dozen other party guests.
The next thing you felt, to your complete and utter shock, was Joelâs cock brushing your cheek. Then your lips. Then your tongue. He slid his still-hard member through the âoâ your mouth had made in awe and started to move in gentle motions back and forth, like a man all but aching to get a feel for your wet, sodden walls.
A man who couldnât risk a glimpse now, but wanted more than anything to see the mouth heâd just filled.
Your fatherâs words hadnât even cooled in the air.
Joel Miller, you sneaky, freaky fuck.
As the laughter subsided, and Tommy scooted back in his chair to take leave of your table, you felt a spark ignite. Whether it was yours or Joelâs or both your perverted minds suddenly alight and insane with the same thought, you couldnât be sure, but you could make out the sound of a tablecloth flipping back up above you.
Joel slipped his dick out of your mouth and grinned. Took a firm hold of your face under the table so his fingers were coaxing your jaw to unhinge before him.
It was the lowest, slowest, menacing sort of sound youâd ever heard from him before, but it was his all the same.
Speaking to you now, softly, âShow daddy, darlinâ.â
You thought you might like to see him that way forever.
Eyes honey-soft and glazed, thumb toying at your lip. Chest heaving up and down in time to your own breaths and growing ragged as you opened your mouth to him. He was sated and somehow unfulfilledâa bottomless pit of raw prurience as he stared down and held your gaze. Hair tousled, pants unbuckled, cock resting comfortably against your cheek, the man looked wonderfully undone and half in love with your sweet face peering up at him.
You couldnât deny you loved doing this, too.
Youâd just wished he saw Tommy before Tommy saw you.
#C*MPLAY IS BACK IN A BIG WAY#IT NEVER LEFT#joel miller smearing it on YOUR FACE????? IN THIS ECONOMY???#i would never shut up#i already never shut up but especially then#joel miller#joel miller tlou#joel miller smut#joel miller imagine#joel miller one shot#joel miller x reader#joel miller fanfiction#the last of us#tlou#the last of us fic#joel miller x you#dbf!joel
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đđđŤđđ§đ đ đŤđ¨đŚđđ§đđ˘đ đđĄđ˘đ§đ đŹ đđĄđ đŽđŠđŠđđŤ đŚđ¨đ¨đ§đŹ đđ¨ đ°đ˘đđĄ đ˛đ¨đŽ
ft: kokushibo tsugikuni, douma, akaza soyama, sekido, karaku, urogi, aizetsu, nakime daki and gyutaro
Writing block got me and it was tragic
# kokushibo ! â
KOKUSHIBO who really likes to spar with you. Even after you start dating, heâs not really the one who knows the proper way of asking you on a date or just to spend time so heâll spar with you. He enjoys training in general and being able to spend time with you at the same time makes it things so much better. Youâll end you understanding why he wants to spar so much eventually and end up asking to spend time with him to give him the proper courage.
# douma ! â
Since he canât really feel emotions properly DOUMA really likes seeing yours. He asks everybody in his cult for every romantic thing couples do and tries every single one of them on you. He observes how your face moves and your reactions to everything intently and it pleases him seeing somebody can feel and do so many things at once. He believes it romantic knowing he caused it, and you just have to endure it every day all day.
# akaza ! â
AKAZA who just likes talking over tea. Heâll invite you over whether youâve just seen him or youâve been around him already he still snags to have his designated tea time. Akaza just likes sitting in scenic locations during the night and just talking with you. He doesnât mind what just to spend time with you. It reminds him of his wife, not directly just the feeling. He isnât sure why heâs just sure he feels very nice when heâs around you.
# sekido ! â
He complains way too much for his own good. To the point SEKIDOâS complaints turn into compliments. He doesnât even realize it but on days where heâs complaining about everybody and your next on the list he just ends up complimenting you instead. Heâll throw this in âWhy are you so pretty? Itâs irritating how you distract me?â he wouldnât even realize he said this. Donât put it out to him if you want him to stay âcalm.â He means everything he says but heâll never admit it.
# karaku ! â
KARAKU can get really annoying because he just likes to tease you. Every chance he gets to poke at you heâll take it. Heâs always trying to flirt with you whether heâs serious or just messing with you it doesnât matter to him. He always means every sky word he says to you and heâll make sure you know to. It always makes his day being able to spend time with you like this. Even if heâs getting on your nerves every time you see him around the corner.
# urogi! â
He brings you like a lot of gifts, weird ones sometimes to. Since UROGI is still half bird he ends up deriving some traits which includes some of their romantic behaviors. Anything he finds intriguing or fits you heâll bring it to you as a gift. You end up having alot of random jewels and necklaces hanging around, other times heâll bring you food. Not food you would eat though, more food he and all his bird friends you think he has would like it much better.
# aizetsu ! â
He really loves just spending time with you, as AIZETSU likes to take walks with you in the night. Just being able to do something peaceful and quiet with you around makes him feel much better about everything. Itâs a breath of fresh air especially if Sekido has already made his ears fall of by lashing out again like normal. Be able to not being under a state of stress while embracing your presence is something he likes. He tries holding your hand but is only ever able to intertwine your pinkies if u donât ever take the lead.
# nakime !
NAKIME simply just enjoys playing music for you. She just likes sitting by you and playing her biwa, as she tries to learn all the different songs you like and sheâs very intent on mastering all of them. Nakime always ask you for any tips or critiques as she always takes any consideration you have for her and is very appreciated at your insight. Itâs a very calming activity she enjoys but sheâs always careful not to mess anything up in the infinity castle while playing.
# daki ! â
She wants to do her skincare with you when she gets the time. Due to DAKI being the courtesan skincare is very important to her, and she wants to make sure yours looks as good as her as well! Be prepared to be sat down with her for nearly two hours as she makes sure both yours and her skin is shining by the time sheâs finished her routine on both of you. She thinks your presence there makes things more bearable for her and it pleases her when you stay around for much longer.
# gyutaro ! â
GYUTARO stares, like a lot. He canât really help it he just ends up staring at you! He isnât the best at expressing what he feels about you and ends up just staring at you to admire you. You catch him just gazing at you alot lost in thought and normally have to snap him out of it. Gyutaro appreciates your patience and putting up with him all the time, knowing heâs going to do it again in the near future. He really canât help himself as in his eyes you truly are perfection to him. He just doesnât know how to tell you.
#demon slayer#kimetsu no yaiba#kny#demon slayer x reader#kny x reader#x reader#fluff#headcanon#kny fluff#@.komoboko writes#kokushibo x reader#kokushibo tsugikuni x reader#douma x reader#akaza x reader#sekido x reader#karaku x reader#urogi x reader#aizetsu x reader#nakime x reader#daki x reader#gyutaro x reader#kokushibo#douma#Akaza#sekido#karaku#urogi#aizetsu#daki#gyutaro
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Sham Sacrifice
(Hi it's time for my favorite headcanon)
...
Vlad Masters sat firm and proper on the Fenton Family couch, legs crossed, teacup pinched in his fingertips, fighting subtly against the sinkhole that came with the mistake of taking Jackâs usual spot on the couch. He appeared with all the same charm and delightfulness of an ant swarm rearranging your picnic.
Danny stood at the doorway, just-still-in-the-kitchen, just not inviting himself to join the adults in the living room where Jack boomed and rambled and Vlad sat so stiff and polite and nice that his tea in his hands was going cold.
âOh, Danny youâll love this storyâDanny, you should join usâDanny this was, what, summer of â84? When was that heatwave, Vladdy? The one where youââ
âThereâs no need to bore Daniel with the mad ravings of two old kooks, Jack. Kids would rather be off at the mall orâsome store, surely. No need to stick around Daniel on my behalf. I assure you I wonât be offended if you leave.â
âNo worries, V-man. Iâm good right here. I love hearing Dadâs stories." Danny met Vlad's challenge, speaking with more poisonous courtesy than Vlad had proffered first. "In fact I think he should tell a few more, if heâs got more in mind.â
âIn fact I do have more in mindââ Jack answered.
Neither Danny nor Vlad were listening to Jack. They held eye-contact, Danny with a stern unblinkingness of a sheepdog on duty. A lot was said without words. A lot was understood when Vlad decided to visit through the front door. Vlad only used the front door when he wanted something.
And it was never good when Vlad wanted something.
ââthe core reactor project, yeah? That summer? That was in the lab with no A/C. Top floor. We were sweating like pigs, all of us. And I dared you to eat the really moldy pizza from our fridge the night before and you ralphed right intoââ
ââSurely you remember this more fondly than I do. Daniel, really, you can go.â
Not a chance.
âActually,â Danny answered, brightening some as his opportunity struck. âI am interested in this. For science class I need to write a report on the invention of an important piece of technology. I was gonna ask Mom and Dad about the Ghost Portal. And now that youâre here, I can get the whole history.â
Jack made a giddy little noise. He leaned forward, words primed, but Vlad was quicker to the draw.
âSorry to say, your faith in me is unfounded. I wasnât the portal guy back in collegeâthat was always your mother and fatherâs passion project. I was their skeptic.â
âBet thatâs got you feeling pretty foolish right now, doesnât it V-man?â Jack chided, a quick jab to Vladâs ribs that nearly unseated the teacup from his suspended saucer. âConsidering the fully-functioning portal right beneath our toes.â
âI hardly feel foolish, Jack. Your calculation for the portal in college was never going to work.â
âWhat do you mean? Of course it did.â Jack thumped the ground with his foot. âItâs running the old girl right now.â
At this, Vladâs eyes narrowed. For the first time heâd been shaken off whatever skeezy machinations had brought him in. His pride was being challenged, and by Jack no less.
âAbsolutely not. With that calculation? Absolutely not.â
âWell forget the tea biscuits Vlad, because youâre going to be eating your words in a second. Mads, hold my spot,â Jack said, as if anyone was planning to take his spot. He bounced from the couch, scooted from the living room, and vanished into the dark maw of the lab stairs, leaving only the waning beat of his footsteps behind.
His absence filled only a swallowing few seconds. The footsteps returned, bounding upward, creaking with his heavy cadence, and Jack bounced back into the room in much the manner he left. A pad of yellow lined paper was clutched in his hand. When he dropped it on the coffee table, it revealed row after row of tight scribble, churning math, carrying down the page and occupying two entire pages more that Jack flipped through.
âSame baby I came up with in college. It just needed heavier dampening and higher voltage than what we made back then. The portal downstairs has that in spades. Well, in like two-thirds of a spade.â Jack tapped something on the last line. âThe projection was still only hitting 70% of the threshold we calculated to reach dimension penetration. But itâs an art, not just a science. We fired it up anyway, and it took!â
Vlad grabbed the paper pad, agitated. His eyes ran over it. Then again. Until he settled on one line, a firmness overcoming his face. He tossed the pad back onto the coffee table, and Vlad leaned back into the couch, arms crossed.
âThe lambda, Jack.â
âThe lambda?â
âCheck it again.â
Jack did, lips pursed, pad of paper nearly swallowed in his big meaty hand.
âWhat about--?â
âIt squares. The units donât balance otherwise. It originates from an integration step of Îť*âÎť/ât. It squares.â
Jackâs brow remained furrowed, firm, until delight cracked into his eyes, and he let out a laugh.
âGods, my handwriting is gonna be the death of us. Mads,â he tapped something unseen on the second page. âThatâs the genius of Vladdy. Cracked this puppy wide open with just a glance. I never noticed that in all my checking. That explains the missing 30%, at least. That explains how the portal took. Lucky for you Danny that Vlad was hereââ
âJack,â Maddie said.
ââyour report can have the correct formula. Itâll beââ
ââJackââ
ââA+ worthyââ
ââJack,â Maddie said, curt. âLambda is the ambient ecto-energy. Itâs a few ten-thousandths of a unit.â
âItâhuh.â
Maddie had surfaced a pen from her pocket. She sheared a few blank pages out from the back of the pad and started the formula fresh. She made quick work of copying it over, quicker work of solving it through â lambda-squared intact.
She hit the final line and hatched a pen mark beneath the number. Jack stared, confused.
âThat canât⌠no.â
He repeated the same. New pages torn loose. Formula copied over, processed, line by line by lineâlambda squaredâby line by line by line.
Jack settled on his answer. Same as Maddieâs.
Confusion made his face tense.
âSo itâs not 70% of the way to the threshold⌠Itâs 0.013% of the way to the threshold.â
He held the pen hard, his whole body holding firm and taut as the gears turned in his head. Jackâs eyes flickered across the formula, again and again and again. He looked to Maddie, like a dog issued a command he did not understand.
âBut it worked,â he said, small. âBut it worked.â
Jack stood, robotic almost, eyes lost in something far away. He disappeared into the lab almost as quickly as he had a few minutes before, but now he exited with a smoothness and a quietness so very uncharacteristic of him. It bothered Danny, somewhere deep in his gut.
Maddie followed, a possession matching Jackâs.
Dannyâs fingers curled and uncurled. Heâd succeeded. Heâs successfully interrupted Vladâs⌠whatever this was. But the disquiet infected him. He didnât like it.
âSo what does that mean?â Danny asked, perhaps to Vlad. âWhatâs wrong with the calculation?â
Vlad sipped on tea ice cold.
âWho knows?â Vlad lied.
âŚ
The math didnât work.
Maddie and Jack burned through paper, burned through pencils, burned through hours.
The math didnât work.
Clothes stuck to skin. Sweat lingered fetid and stale in the cold basement air. Exhaustion beat like a slurry through their veins.
The math didnât work.
The portal supervised all, placidly green, the light for their table, the light for their work when the lightbulb overhead burnt clean out and neither Jack nor Maddie could be pulled away to replace it. It stood, it watched, a testament of contradiction to everything they could not solve on paper, and yet everything they built directly into the fabric of reality.
And it should never have worked.
They threw every radical what-if theyâd ever conceived over 20 years of ghost research.
The ecto-ether layer.
The latent activation stitches in space fabric.
The anti-ectomatter collision proposal.
The positive-feedback crystallization theory.
And still nothing worked.
All together, every crackpot theory in their favor taken for granted, racked them up to an activation energy 200x more potent than the calculation, and still just 2% of what would be needed to rip open, and hold open, a stable fissure between their reality and the ghost zone.
Maybe by pure luck, unfathomable luck, Fentonworks basement was directly situated atop a natural portal.
Maybe that would explain ripping it open. It did nothing to explain the stability. Natural portals were unstable by definition. There and gone in a few seconds. Not hours, days, weeks, months, a year, that the Fenton Portal had been open. Never so much as faltering.
It was late. 3am ticked away to 4am, and 4:30am. The discarded paper stacked higher than Jack and Maddie both. Calluses oozed from their hands at another attempt, and another, and another.
Maddie flipped through a folderâs worth of yellowed papers, aggressively thumbed over and over after two decades left untouched. And she settled on the one sheâd passed over a few dozen times already, always seeking something else, something better.
This time she unsheathed it, and she placed it on the lab table.
ââŚIf a mouse died. In the machine. If a mouse ran through the machine and accidentally bridged two live wires, and died of violent electrocution. 500 milliamps. Instantly melted into the circuitry.â
Maddieâs mouth was cotton-dry while she wrote. Ambient ecto-energy was low. Always very, very low.
Unless something very, very bad happened to something with the capacity to become a ghost.
The numbers wove. Maddie started the formula fresh, and it was pure muscle memory. A mouse. A big mouse, even. A 99th percentile beast of a mouse. And a wire that had been wired incorrectly. Something grounded that never actually grounded. An absolutely horrific amount of electricity.
0.37%, by pure numbers. If she included every permissive crackpot idea they had thrown on top, it topped out at 6% of the needed activation threshold.
Not a mouse.
âA cat,â Jack said, words gummy, tongue dry, face tired. âIf weâve got mice down here, maybe⌠a stray cat wandered in. Chased the mouse.â
Maddie nodded. It didnât matter if it made sense.
She penned it in. A large cat. A devastating electrical short. Cats carried more ecto-potential than mice did. Ecto-potential did not necessarily go up with size. It went up with complexity. The things with the most ecto-potential were the things that most became ghosts.
1.45%, by pure numbers. 18% at absolute, absolute crackpot best.
âA dog,â Jack proposed with a shaky laugh. He swallowed. âA mouse⌠chased by a cat⌠chased by a dog⌠all electrocuted at onceâ
Maddie didnât say the thing they both knew, which was that both of them would have noticed the evidence left behind by the electrically exploded pieces of a dog.
Maddie did it anyway. A mouse and a cat and a medium-sized dog, maybe just small enough to notice no evidence of, all together. All at once. All violently ripped apart, sacrificed to a machine still asleep in its wall.
Mice did not often make ghosts. Cats did not either. Dogs, occasionally. But infrequently. Very infrequently.
37%. At best.
âJack.â
âMaddie, I know justâmaybe something really smartââ
ââJackââ
ââlike an octopusââ
âJack.â
âI hear, maybe, pigs are smart. If it wasââ
Maddie was writing, already. Not for a pig. Not an octopus. Jack watched, and he knew what the numbers meant. The ecto-potential she penned gave her away. An ecto-potential that high.
65kg, an estimate
10,000 milliamps, a catastrophic accident, a death certificate.
A humanâs amount of ecto-potential.
Maddie wrote.
And she wrote.
And she did not apply a single crackpot theory, not a single discredited proposal, not an ounce of exaggeration.
138%.
Threshold, and then some.
Comfortable, easily, then some.
For the first time, after all the hundreds of times she and Jack had penned this equation over the course of 2 decades, the number met her and Jackâs threshold.
A breakthrough.
A revelation.
A pure eureka moment.
Jack and Maddie were silent.
Alone in a humming basement. Alone with only the soft swirls of the portal for company, happy, stable, purring its contentment, singing to the cold air.
âIt has to be something else,â Maddie said. And she said it weakly. And she said it childishly.
âYouâre right. It canât be this,â Jack echoed. âIf someone died down here, weâd know. Dead bodies donât walk away. Weâd have seen it. O-or even if, if the body got stuck in the portal, weâd have heard of someone going missing.â
Maddie sat, quiet. A thought held her mind hostage.
âUnless they didnât go missing,â Maddie said, and she said it barely audibly. âUnless the portal spit them right back out.â
âThenâthatâs what I saidâa dead body, on the floor, weâd have seen.â
âNot a dead body.â
âIt had to be lethal, Madsââ
âI know Jack. But if they died, here, in the portal Jack, then their ghost did not get ripped away from the body and sent to the Ghost Zone. âŚThey ripped the Ghost Zone here.â Palms slick with sweat smoothed over her notes. She pointed to one specific line and found her pen tip trembled no matter how badly she stabilized it. âThe ecto-potential of a creature is how strong of a pull their ghost creates on the Ghost Zone. A strong enough pull means the ghost can reach the Ghost Zone and stabilize, like a fish reeling itself up, yeah? We agree on this Jack, yes?â
âYes,â Jack answered.
âItâs what makes the math even work, Jack. Someone dying in the portal didnât reel themselves to the boat. They reeled the boat in. Jack, they brought the Ghost Zone hereâŚâ Maddie wasnât breathing right. She pulled sweat-soaked bangs away from her face. âTheir ghost never left their body Jack. They died, Jack. And they walked back out.â
ââŚNo. No,â Jack said. âNo, they didnât.â
âThen what?â Maddie asked.
Jack stared. He looked away. He didnât like the expression on Maddieâs face.
âItâwhat about the ecto-ether theory?â Jack said, of the theory theyâd tested and retested and tested all over, all night. He grabbed his pencil back up and pointed it aimlessly at Maddieâs piece of paper, pointed end out in self-defense. âIf the ecto-ether is maybe⌠if itâs only 250-times stronger than we calculated. Then it couldâŚâ
Jackâs voice died. His pencil hung idle. Maddieâs paper remained unblemished.
âIf it⌠was a pig,â Jack offered. âIf it was a pig that died in the portal.â
âHow, Jack? How would a pig get in? We lock all the doors at night, Jack. No one else can get in, Jack. Itâs just us, Jack.â
Jack and Maddie were not there when the portal turned on.
Maddieâs statement carried two possibilities. Only two. Both felt like claws digging all the flesh right out of Jackâs heart.
âI want⌠I want to try the ecto-ether theory again,â Jack choked. âI think itâs the ecto-ether. I think itâll work.â
Jack slid a piece of paper over, already covered in scribbles. In its single untouched corner, he started the equation for the several-thousandth time that night.
Above their head, birds were singing.
Sunrise hailed unseen from the windowless laboratory.
âŚ
At 6am, Vlad answered his cell phone. The reception crackled, struggling through the layers of sheetrock above his head.
âVlad?â Maddieâs voice crackled. âSorry, did I wake you up?â
âNot at all my dear.â Vlad leaned his weight against the wall, playing with the singsong melody in his voice. âBut you sound exhausted. Is anything the matter?â
âYes. Well⌠Yes. Jack and I haveâall nightâtrying to fix the equation.â
âNaturally.â
âWe found something that maybe works.â
âOh?â Vlad asked. He straightened, pacing now, cracklingly attentive. âAnd what might thatââ
âIf someone died. Activating the portal. We have an on-switch inside the portalâs interior. The trigger we use to press it is external to the portal, of course. But if someone went inside the portal, and they pressed it directly, and if they died, and pulled the Ghost Zone hereââ
Vladâs red eyes reflected pools of iridescent green. He twirled his free hand in the fringes of his cape, tongue working over the fanged edges of his teeth. He stared, consumed, forward.
ââand just, you, I was thinking, youâre the only other expert Iâd trust to⌠maybe weigh in.â
âWhat does Jack think?â
âHe denies it. Heâs still. Heâs trying other theories.â
âWell who knows, surely? The answer may lie somewhere you havenât looked.â
ââŚIâve looked everywhere, Vlad. That's the thing. There is no more âsomewhere elseâ. Iâve looked.â
âYou sound like your mind is made up.â
âI just⌠if maybe you have some idea.â
âAm I meant to talk you out of this idea?â
âVlad.â
âDo you think I have some secret information you donât? Sorry to say, Iâm just your skeptic.â Some noise came through muffled from the other side. Vlad flashed a smile. âButâŚas your skeptic I will offer you thisâIt all sounds a bit absurd, doesnât it? To kill someone and have them come back intact and⌠for you to never notice? Who would they be? How would they be? Surely not human anymore, surely. How would you never notice?â
Vlad paced forward, booted feet clicking along his laboratory floor.
âIt would be ridiculous,â he continued, with a building crescendo, âso unfathomably self-centered surely, to not notice something like that befall someone so close to you, who died at the hands of your own invention? âŚIf Iâm correctly inferring who, in your household, you suspect of having activated the portal?â Vladâs tongue lingered along his teeth.
Maddieâs line held, quiet. And the seconds of static drew long.
âAh, apologies. Iâve overstepped,â Vlad continued. âI meant this as a vote of confidence in you. You and Jack both. Two people as attentive, caring, compassionate as yourselves. You would notice. I promise.â
âYouâre⌠Okay, thank you, Vlad. I appreciate it.â
âIs there anything else, my dear?â
âNo. No. Thank you, Vlad. Iâll think about this.â
Maddieâs line clicked dead. A chuckle built to Vladâs lips and he let his head tip back with mirth. It lasted only a moment. He stowed his phone. And as if the interruption had never happened, Vlad reaffixed his attention on his own portal swirling in front of him. It bathed him, swimming green, purring contentment.
And Vlad vanished into his portal.
(Chapter 2)
#danny phantom#dp#dp fanfiction#GIVES YOU THIS GIVES YOU THIS GIVES YOU THIS#its my favorite headcanon so here you get a fic of it
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đ Subtle Aphrodite Worship đŚŞ
Make your body wash/shampoo/conditioner rose scented
Have a rose or sweet scented candle that you light (doesn't have to be on an altar)
Create a skin/body care routine
Have perfume/cologne that you dedicate to her
Wear jewelry that reminds you of her
Carry a pocket charm that reminds you of her (dove works well in a Christian household and is a sacred animal of hers)
Keep a small picture of her in your wallet
Have a dove or swan stuffed animal
Have imagery of beaches, seafoam, seashells (especially clams), wings, hearts, swans, pearls, or doves around
Wear a locket with a picture of someone you love or of her
Give compliments to strangers
Drink water regularly and dedicate a glass of it to her
Collect seashells (if possible)
Collect things you simply find pretty
Plan your outfits/wear clothes that make you feel good
Keep a journal of poetry dedicated to Aphrodite and love-related topics; can also be a general positivity journal or diary (maybe a diary in a way of writing letters to her but saying a code name instead of "Aphrodite")
Keep heart-shaped imagery around
Embrace yourself; give yourself love
Forgive yourself of past mistakes
Give yourself compliments; start small if needed; I recommend doing this in a mirror
Pin up pictures of loved ones on a mirror or wall
If possible, burn some incense in honor of her; strawberry always has a great smell to it
Watch a love-focused movie (romantic or platonic)
Listen to or read stories about acts of kindness and love
Paint your nails or wear make-up (if you enjoy those things and are able to)
Listen to music that makes you feel good; dance to it like nobody's watching!
Have a party where you and your friends create drawings, items, or crafts that you can decorate your rooms with c:
Start a flower garden, especially with roses; tend to a plant
Practice compassion, especially towards yourself
Fall asleep/meditate to the sound of ocean waves or singing birds
Listen to/sing love songs!
Spend time with loved ones
Have a friend's night; go out on the town together, watch movies, go camping, etc.
Spend time with your pets
Take a shower/bath, especially with rose petals and candles (SAFELY!!!!)
Visit a nearby ocean or body of water; stand in the water (if safe) and ground yourself there
Write about your crushes
Make a list of qualities you'd like in a partner; make a list of qualities you don't want (like green flags and flags)
Take a walk alongside a beach/body of water
Take care of your personal hygiene
-
I may add more to this later, but here is my list of subtle ways to worship Aphrodite so far! Worship can absolutely be discreet, and if it needs to be for safety or the like, know that the gods will almost certainly understand. Take care, y'all! đŠˇ
Link to Subtle Worship Master list
#aphrodite deity#aphrodite worship#helpol#hellenic polytheism#hellenic pagan#deity worship#pagan tips
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đđđŹ, đŚđđŹđđđŤ | đđ§đđ¤đ˘đ§ đŹđ¤đ˛đ°đđĽđ¤đđŤ
pairing: anakin skywalker x fem!padawan!reader
summary: Your master is horny and frustrated, he looks for release at a nasty gloryhole in coruscant⌠only to find out that that perfect pussy heâs fucking belongs to his padawan.
c/w: gloryhole, p in v, masturbation, power imbalance (very nasty idgf im sorry im horny)
discord - twitter: anakinsdove. -PART 2-
đŤđđŞđŽđđŹđđŹ đđŤđ đ¨đŠđđ§! ・ďžďžď˝Ľď˝Ąď˝Ľďžďžď˝Ą ďžăLove you
đ/đ°: 1,838
Heâs frustrated, Anakin wonât hide it anymore, he even yelled at you this morning, but as soon as he saw your pretty eyes pout at him he regretted it, itâs not even your fault, youâre learning, heâs your master, heâs supposed to teach you, itâs just⌠you jumping around and swinging your lightsaber does something to him⌠and he knows it shouldnât.
It doesnât matter anymore, how hard and fast he fucks his fleshlight, how hard he grinds against his mattress trying to chase an unsatisfactory high that leaves him as soon as it arrives, the painful dry orgasms he craves and hates, how painfully hard he grips his cock, nothing is enough, not anymore, he craves something else.
someone else
Someoneâs pussy he knows he shouldnât even think about, but he wonders⌠he wonders if someday heâll be able to fuck it⌠how tight and wet you must feel around his cock⌠could you even take it? Could his sunshine of padawan handle him? Heâll be gentle, heâll be rough, heâll be anything you want him to be
Anakin sits on his bed late at night, however this is coruscant, theres always some sort of party going on somewhere, bars, loud noises and music, flashing lights, even nasty gloryholes, this planet is wild⌠the Jedi temple is luxurious and quiet on the surfaceâŚ. But in the lower levels of coruscant there are⌠some interesting things happening, but heâs a Jedi, he knows itâs not right, heâs not sure what part isnât right, but thereâs something that doesnât click.. maybe itâs the fact that paying for some services are just not what he wants, he wants your stupid creamy fucking pussy wrapped around his cock⌠what would you call him? Master? Anakin? And thereâs the other fact that itâs avoid being recognized with his Jedi robes and his lightsaber⌠he must go undercover if he wants to get what he wants.
As anakin prepares himself for an adventure he takes a peek of the empty hallways at the Jedi temple, everyone asleep, everyone doesnât have the same problem as him⌠itâs quiet and peaceful⌠he remembers that place, Obi wan and him tracked a criminal a few alleys away, the discrete yet inviting place hiding beneath the shadows⌠*is that?* *Donât even say it AnakinâŚ.* Obi wan said with an unamused expression⌠of course it fucking is.
And now his feet has finally led him hereâŚ.
The first thing her sees is lady.. well only her hands.. her face is covered by a piece of wood, completely anonymous⌠great, like this heâll just have to imagine itâs you⌠he hope it does the trick, he hands her some credits without saying much⌠then he takes a deep breathe *Focus Anakin⌠focus* he tells himself⌠but the loud slapping noises and moans keep distracting him, he feels some sort of sense of guilt, he knows heâs better than this, but again heâs not⌠and the last thing he thinks before opening that stained curtain is⌠Obi wan should never know this⌠Y/N should never know thisâŚ.
And finally he sees legs spread and in display⌠the wood creaks beneath his feet, the loud moans Turing of his brain, men acting like animals as they fuck a pussy, theyâre in heat, just like him⌠he even sees some men on their knees eating out some women⌠interesting⌠who said chivalry doesnât exist anymore?
He stops in front a pair of legs⌠all pretty and spread wide, inviting, a puffy clit that begs to be touched and rubbed nicely, fuck⌠those pretty legs look just like yours⌠just like yours⌠when you swirl around and he takes a small glance of that set of thighs under your skirtâŚ
But heâs nervous⌠the consent has been already given right? He doesnât have to talk to her or even know her name⌠it doesnât fucking matter because sheâs not you⌠he holds onto her thighs squeezing softly as the girl adjusts slightly feeling that sheâs about to have some company, and just as his touch arrived is gone again as they leave goosebumps, he unbuttons his pants slower that he shouldâve, he grasps his cock over his boxers and releases it giving himself a few strokes to get himself rock hard, fuck heâs about to get it⌠he needs it so so so so so fucking bad, he needs her, heâŚ
He rubs his cock against her clit, slapping his tip against it gently as he hears a small gasp behind⌠*cute* he thinks to himself⌠fuck it he deserves this.
He pushes himself all the way in
Grabbing onto her ankles and starting with a relentless peace, the girl cries out, he shouldâve given her some time to adjusts but he just couldnât control himself⌠he pushes his hips forward trying to get his dick as deep as possible as he throws his head back⌠âfucking- heâllâŚâ he hopes heâs not fucking a virgin but this girl feels like one, she feels the way you wouldâve feel wrapped around him, youâre so⌠youâre completely devoted to him, your life is Jedi training with your master anakin, missions with Anakin, free time with Anakin⌠youâre his, youâre his youâre his and only his⌠then why is he fucking this random girl? Why wonât you love him the way he loves you so he could be fucking you instead⌠this infuriates him as he pistons her harder⌠faster, his fingers digging into her skin leaving marks, he doesnât know if itâs allowed or not.
He huffs and growls trying to control his anger⌠sweet moans filling his ears and emptying his thoughts⌠fuck she sounds just like you
He feels a deep connection to this girl heâs fucking, the force, something? Or itâs just her tight pussy? Gummy walls massaging him so fucking nice, his balls pounding agains her cute asshole, he chuckles as he watches her hips struggle against the hardwood, struggling to stay still, he licks his fingers and starts massaging her puffy clit, rubbing nice and slow⌠nice and slow, contrasting with his brutal pace
Y/n, Y/n, Y/n⌠One day heâs going to take youâŚ. One fucking dayâŚ
A bead of sweat falls from his forehead, he ignores the noisy looks from people as they see the young hot man fucking the young hot woman like an animal, his hips move expertly against yours, he knows what heâs doing and it shows, and thereâs not much to do than to trust roughly to fuck his frustration out, he loves this, the feeling but he wants more, a deeper connection, to look into your eyes as he fucks you, your nails digging in his back as he fucks you so hard it hurtsâŚ
He pushes herself deeper as the girl cries out because his tip is kissing her cervix a painful kiss.
This girl is wet⌠and sheâs getting wetter every seconds, he feels the little splashes her pussy is making against his thighs⌠cute.. sheâs squirting, anakin rubs her clit faster, you would arch your back right now wouldnât you? If it were you obviously⌠he sees the girls hips raise a little and he knows sheâs arching, her pretty feet shake over his shoulders as he keeps pounding her
His hips falteres as he nears his release, cock twitching and pulsating nice inside her velvety pussy
âKeep going!â
Shit, her voice even sounds like yours and he knows heâs imagining it because heâs whipped but this only enhances his experience⌠heâs breathing heavily, heâs panting as he tries to keeps some noises from escaping but they do.. and finally he cums⌠she squirts and itâs all fireworks and aftershocks, spasms and pure pleasure, his legs wobble, he put on quite a showâŚ.
He pants and pants until his breathing finally even, he feels at peace, what every orgasm should be like, not like those painful and dry ones he gives himself, he sees his cum dripping from the girls pussy, fuck, he didnât even pull out⌠his head is pounding and he holds the girls thighs tighter⌠he feels⌠he feels a connectionâŚ. A big one⌠a deep one⌠a nice one⌠he buttons up his pants and gets on his knees, like an spell has been casted on him, he spread her legs even wider and dives in, he moans at the taste as he gives her a long lick, his lips instantly wrapping around her clit⌠he licks his cum out of her, heâs possessed, eyes rolling back into his head as he feels the girls fingers tangling on his hairâŚ. Cute little whines can be heard, heâs obviously overstimulating her but⌠he doesnât care, he doesnât care, he doesnât care, he doesnât care.
He forced his eyes to open and he looks up and sees her fingers now resting over her stomach
And he sees the delicate bracelet around her wristâŚ.
One that he happens to share with you
His eyes widen as he stands up immediately
âY/nâ he says loud enough for you to hear as his words get drowned into the loud sex noisesâŚ. The humid air and the smell of sex are prominent.
âIm sorry masterâ you say apologetic with that little voice of yours, one that indicates that you know you did something wrong but youâre not sorry for it
Now everything makes sense, he told you about this place a few months ago when Obi wan and him found it⌠the urge the intense craving and the way his legs lead him here, the connection that he felt to this person⌠why he was drawer to this pretty set of thighs.
It was all you, you lead him here, taking advantage of your connection through the forceâŚ
And he fucking loves it
He dives back in savoring your pussy, biting your button delicate and tongue fucking your hole as he tastes himself, his tongue exploring your folds⌠your fingers tangle around his locks as you cry out again, your legs close around his head and your back arches⌠perfect perfect, so fucking perfect.
He feels your back arch again and your moans get louder
Youâre so close⌠so so close.
And heâs going to drag you to the edge
And heâs going to make you cum again
Your master Anakin Skywalker is devouring you like a mad man
And itâs okay
âMaster master!â You cry out
An hour later you come out of the place as Anakin waits for you in a dark alley, he sees your with your coat and your wobbly legs⌠the walk back home is quiet, too quiet⌠no words exchanged, the aura is heavy yet not uncomfortable.. he leads you inside the Jedi temple and you walk to his quarters⌠a punishment, not in a sexual way, a lecture⌠something awaits⌠he pushes you inside and the door locksâŚ.
Your heels echoe in the darkness as his arms wrap around your torso⌠and you breathe in relief.
masterlist đŽđťđŽđ¸đśđťđđąđźđ𲠊 --- all rights reserved. no reposting/translating/ copying will be tolerated.
dividers - @i92-93
TAGS: @espinathena-17 @skywqlkergf
#hayden christensen#anakin smut#anakin skywalker#anakin skywalker x reader#anakin fanfiction#anakin imagine#anakin x reader#anakin x you#hayden christensen characters#star wars anakin#hayden christensen fluff#hayden christensen smut#hayden christensen imagine#hayden christensen x reader#star
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being julieta is s u f f e r i n g (derogatory; /srs; no /j)
#used an image from the [redacted] anime to emphasise on the sufferingâ˘ď¸#pl s lemme sleep i need to be up at 6 in the am c r i e s#iâve been tryinggngnfngngngn to sleep for the past 2 and half hours but cursed lxl ideas plague my mind instead of sleep and i auauaudufujxh#g o a w a y lxl pls come back when iâm more well rested thanks (<-says this despite usually being even grumpier with sufficient sleep)#i keep tryinggngnfng to sleeeep but i always somehow end up on the lxl side of pixiv and auauauu itâs a vicious cycle fr#a c tu al l y in tears rn pls claim me sleep i love sleep i wanna sleep 25/8 iâd marry sleep if i could so p l s. lemme sleeeeeeep#though. i did try to chase lxl away with minami and amended my kareshikaku tl a little so it reads a little better now at parts.. i think.#but that didnât help in the long run auuauauauaaaaaa i wanna sleep so bad but i canâtttttt#c. considering the thought of taking some chlorpheniramine for the drowziness side effect tbh#b u t then iâd prolly oversleep and miss work and thatâd be troublesome as heckâŚ#nvm i usually end up crashing the moment i resolve to stay up for the entire night anyway so. iâll. hope for the best.#go d. im gonna. regret posting this in the morning arenât i. <-master of regretful posts#wa it if i canât think straight atm i should just⌠tHINK BEE!!!!! THINKING BEE!!! THINKINGNFNFNFNF BEEEEEEEEEEEER
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It's a Love Story - Chapter 1
Summary:
Azriel's shadows find their master a wife.
Azriel would just really like his heart not to get broken again.
And Sky...well, she's just really surprised that that far too handsome male is interested in her at all.
Warning:
Rhys Bashing (as usual), I classified this as Azriel x OC, even when it't technically Azriel x Sellyn Drake (but we kinda know nothing about Sellyn Drake other than that she writes books so Sky is kinda an OC), Cassian is kinda a good guy for once, Azriel has a horrible time, as usual... Stuttering, toxic families (For once I do not mean the IC), Self-Esteem Issues, Secret Identity, Body Image Issues
If any of this triggers you or makes you uncomfortable, please take care of your own mental health and don't read it.
(Lovely dividers thanks to @tsunami-of-tears!)
Koschei the Deathless Sorcerer was killed by the Spymaster of the Night Court.Â
It was less dramatic than it sounded. At least Azriel thought so.Â
And if Lucien hadnât been a fucking idiot and put himself into a position to be kidnapped by the very same deathless sorcererâŚthen they wouldnât even have been in that kind of situation.Â
But he had been and so it ended with Azriel so magically exhausted that he collapsed the very same moment Truthteller stroke true once more.Â
At least Koschei was slayn.Â
And the only reason Azriel had gone to rescue the red-headed male in the first place was the fact that Lucien was Elaineâs mate. Lucien was the male Elain loved. Azriel couldnât let him die.Â
Couldnât let Elain feel the devastation of a mating bond broken by deathâŚso his decision making had been quick. Either he would manage to get Lucien freeâŚor he would die trying. There wasnât many things that he wouldnât do for the female he loved. Even when he knew it shouldnât be.Â
Azriel had never been very good at knowing when enough was enough after all, wasnât he?
No price was high enough to pay when it was about Elainâs happiness, as far as Azriel was concerned. Â
He hadn't expected to wake up, and yet⌠there he was. Alive and whole.
*I hope it was worth it, Master,* the shadows sniped at him.
He blinked, taking in the dim light of the room, taking in the familiar surroundings. His room in the House of Wind.
âYou are a fucking idiot, you know?â Cassian hissed at him from his place at his bedside and Azriel blinked at him.
"Lucien?" he brought out hoarsely.
"Not as much as a fucking scratch on him. Thanks to you," Cassian responded. "You on the other hand...Madja thought you were going to fucking die from pure magical exhaustion!"
Even Azriel he had...it would have been worth it. Lucien had made it out alive - and that was all that mattered in the end. Elain would be happy. That was all he cared about.
He didn't say that aloud though.Â
He took a deep breath, opening his eyes again. "How long was I out?" he asked.
"Three days," Cassian growled. "Three. Days."
Azriel sat up slowly, wincing at the ache in his muscles. It felt like his entire body was one giant bruise, every inch of him pained and sore.
"Lay back down," Cassian snapped.
Azriel shot him a glare, but sank back onto the bed nonetheless. "I'm fine," he grumbled. "Just tired."
"Yeah, well, we'll let Madja be the judge of that," Cassian snapped. "And when you are feeling better, I am going to kill you for going off on your own!"
Azriel just gave him a weary look. "Better me than you," he said dryly. He closed his eyes, feeling a deep exhaustion settle over him. Cassian had Nesta to think about. Azriel didn't. Azriel just had himself.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!" Cassian demanded.
Azriel didn't have the energy to answer
He dosed off, feeling the shadows twine around him. They were muttering, words he could c quite understand, bitching under their breath but for once it was comforting.
He woke up, feeling groggy and disoriented. His eyes felt like sandpaper, and his limbs were heavy. He groggily blinked at the room, feeling like he was in a haze.
It took him a moment to realize he wasn't alone. Cassian was still there, as was Madja.
Azriel groaned, pushing himself up into a sitting position. His head was throbbing, and his vision was a little blurred. He rubbed his face, trying to clear the fog from his mind. "Hey," he said, his voice rough and gravelly.
Cassian and Madja both looked at him, their expressions relieved. "How are you feeling?" Madja asked him, moving closer to the bed and waving a hand in front of his face.
"Like I was hit by a wagon," Azriel admitted. His muscles felt tight and sore, his body heavy with fatigue. His wings felt like they were made of lead, and every movement took a huge effort.
"That's unsurprising considering you nearly magicked yourself to death," Madja said gruffly. "Your body had a tremendous amount of stress and strain put on it. You're lucky to be alive."
He gritted his teeth. "Yeah, well, I didn't have a lot of other options," he pointed out.
Madja just let out a huff and began prodding and poking at his body, running her hands over his wings and checking his pulse. Cassian watched anxiously from the side, his arms crossed over his chest.
Azriel bore her ministrations in silence, trying not to wince as she poked and prodded at him. He knew she was just trying to help, but it didn't make the ordeal any more pleasant.
After what felt like forever, she finally stepped back, nodding to herself. "You're lucky, shadowsinger," she said gruffly. "You're lucky you're so damn resilient," she said, and he couldn't tell if it was a compliment or just an observation.
He looked at her blearily. "I guess I can add that to my list of things to be proud of," he muttered sarcastically.
Cassian barked out a laugh, but Madja just rolled her eyes. The door opened at that moment. "How's he doing?" Rhys demanded.
Azriel wanted to let out a sigh at the sight of Rhys. He loved his brother, but he didn't have the energy for a lecture right now.
Madja turned to Rhys. "He's weak and he's stupid," she snapped. "But he's alive."
Rhys let out a sigh, the tension in his shoulders easing just a little. "Thank you, Madja," he said. "Would you...give us a moment?"
Madja nodded, patting Azriel's leg as she got up to leave. "Rest," she ordered. "And no strenuous activity for at least a week."
As soon as the door closed behind her, Rhys turned to Azriel. "What were you thinking?" he demanded, his eyes blazing.
"I was thinking that I was saving Lucien's life," Azriel replied evenly, meeting his brother's gaze. "I couldn't let him die, Rhys."
"Wouldn't that have made it easier for you?* Rhys demanded sharply mentally. *You are the one that fancies himself in love with Elain.*
Maybe it shouldn't hurt him as much as it did. He didn't fancy himself in love with her. He was in love with her. Had been in love with her and Rhys had been the one to order him away from her, which had given Lucien the opportunity to swoop in and Elain had...Elain had given in. Given in to that Siren Song of the Mating Bond and was very much in love with her mate now.Â
It hurt to hear Rhys say it like that, like it was just some passing infatuation that he'd gotten over.
*Lucien is her mate,* he responded simply. He didn't say what he really thought. He didn't say that he would rather have Elain be happy and never talk with him again than to have her wilt like one of her flowers because her mate had died and the mating bond would be broken⌠He didn't say that he loved Elain enough, that her happiness was more important to him than anything else. He didn't say any of that.
*At least you are recognising that now,* Rhys said with a snort. Azriel didn't flinch. Didn't react.
He hid away in that little corner of his brain he went to when everything became too much. Where he could just shut up all his feelings, all these pesky emotions, and just be...nothing. Nothing. That's the only thing he still had left.
He just shrugged, schooling his face into a careless expression. "I did what I had to do, Rhys," he repeated stubbornly. "Lucien is a good male. He didn't deserve to die."
"Elain wants to thank you," Rhys said suddenly.
Azriel's stomach twisted as Rhys mentioned Elain. He felt a pang of longing in his chest, a desperate ache to see her, to touch her, to hear her voice. But he knew he couldn't. He couldn't subject himself to the torture of seeing her with her mate, seeing her happy in Lucien's arms.
So his answer was definite: "There is no need for that," he said simply.
Rhys gave him a sharp look. "Don't be an idiot," he said gruffly. "She's been worried sick about you."
But Azriel just shook his head, even as his heart thudded in his chest.
*You can keep it together for 5 minutes,* Rhys snapped into his mind.
"Rhys," Cassian said carefully. "If he doesn't want to, just let it..."
"He's being ridiculous," Rhys snapped, interrupting Cassian. "Elain is family.â
Azriel grit his teeth but didn't respond. He didn't have the energy for an argument right now. He just wanted to sleep.
*See her for 5 minute snad then you can sulk like a spoiled child until you feel better about yourself,* Rhys bargained drily.
Azriel hesitated. He knew he should see her, knew that it would make things easier for everyone if he did. But the thought of seeing her, seeing her happy with Lucien when he was so miserable, was like a knife to the gut.
"Does it even matter what I want?" he asked, his voice flat.
Rhys let out a frustrated sigh, looking at him with exasperation. "Az, stop being so damned stubborn. Elain has been worried sick about you - the least you can do is let her see that you are alive."
Azriel didn't say anything. Didn't respond. He just stared at Rhys, feeling like every fiber of his being was being pulled apart. He wanted to see her. Wanted to see her more than anything. But he knew that once he saw her, he wouldn't be able to hold himself together. He would break. He would shatter into a thousand pieces.
"Just...come on, Az," Rhys said finally. "Let her see you. She needs to know you're alright."
Azriel knew he couldn't say no. Knew he couldn't hurt her like that. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Fine," he said softly. "But just for five minutes."
Five minutes. He could do five minutes. He had to. For herâŚ
She was still as achingly beautiful as she always had been. These devasting brown eyes, the caramel curls...
Azriel's breath hitched at the sight of her, and he felt a wave of conflicting emotions wash over him. Love, longing, sadness, and that bittersweet pang of being so close to something he could never have.
Behave, Rhys warned him sharply.
He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. Trying to push back that wave of feelings that threatened to drown him. It was just five minutes, he reminded himself. Five minutes. He could do this.
The shadows swirled around him, welling up with intensity, shrouding much of his body in inky blackness and Elain flinched back from them.
She had never quite warmed up to them. Azriel was just thankful for that display, for keeping her away from him as she entered the room, Lucien on her heels.
"How...How are you feeling?" she asked him, her voice soft.
He could tell that she was worried, that she was concerned for him. It warmed something inside him, and he hated himself for it.Â
"I'm fine," Azriel answered hoarsely. "Just tired.
"I...thank you," Elain said softly, binting her lip. "If you hadn't...if you hadn't killed Koschei and freed Lucien...I...Thank you, Azriel."
Hearing her say his name again was like a punch to the gut. It was both a comfort and a torture, to be so close to her and yet so far away. He swallowed hard, biting back the words that threatened to spill out.
"You don't owe me any thanks," he said quietly. "I just did what had to be done."
"I do owe you my life," Lucien disagreed. "Thank you. Without your interference...I wouln't have survived, " he said flatly.
Azriel just shrugged, feeling a wave of bitterness wash over him. He had saved Lucien, had risked his life to save the male who was mated to the female he loved. It was a strange sort of irony.
"It's fine," he said roughly. "I'm just glad I got there in time."
He couldn't look at her. Couldn't look at Lucien. It hurt too much. So he stared at the floor, willing the shadows to consume him entirely.
"We are all just happy you are feeling alright," Elain said softly. "I...I was worried about you. Everyone was."
Azriel forced himself to look up at her, his heart clenching at the sincerity in her eyes. She really had been worried about him. "I'm alright," he promised her, his voice rough. "Really. I just need some rest."
Elain hesitated, taking a step forward. He could hear her heartbeat, could feel the warmth radiating off her skin. It was torture to be so close to her and yet so far away. It was torture to know that she was so close and yet so unattainable. He wanted to reach out, to touch her, to hold her, but he knew he couldn't. He held onto that last shred of reason he had.
She tugged a piece of hair behind one delicately arched ear...and that was the moment he saw the gold and pearl ring that decorated her ring finger.
"Congratulations." He wasn't sure how he even brought out these words...how he managed to make them sound...appropriately happy for her.
It took a herculean effort to say those words, to offer a smile that barely reached his eyes. Every fibre of his being was screaming in protest, yelling that he should have been the one giving her that ring, that he should have been the one by her side. But he pushed back those feelings, burying them deep down inside of himself. He couldn't let her see how he truly felt. He couldn't let her know how much it was tearing him apart to stand there and look at her. Look at her with her mate, with the male she loved, the one she had chosen.Â
"Congratulation," he repeated, his voice a little rougher than before.
"It wouldn't have been possible without you," Elain said, with a smile.
Azriel just nodded, feeling a lump in his throat. He couldn't find the words to respond, couldn't find the words to express the tangle of emotions swirling inside of him. He just sat there, feeling more alone and isolated than he had in a long time.
Elain took another step in his direction, seemingly ready to reach out, but Cassian intercepted her. placing a gentle hand on Elain's shoulder. "He needs his rest," he said softly. "Let's leave him be for now."
Azriel felt a pang of gratitude towards Cassian. Elain hesitated, looking torn.
"I wish you every happiness," Azriel brought out his voice hoarsely. Not even a lie. It was the frank truth in these words and Elain gave him a smile, before Lucien's hand came to rest at her lower back, guiding her out of the room.
Thank the cauldron. They were gone.Â
He slumped back into the pillow. He was falling apart. He was exhausted, emotionally and physically. He just wanted to be left alone, to lick his wounds in peace.
"Az..." Cassian said carefully, but he cut him off.
âI am tired,â Azriel said, his voice hoarse. âI need to sleep.â
The shadows swirled around him tighter.Â
Rhys and Cassian exchanged a look, before Cassian nodded, "Alright," he said. "Get some rest."
He laid down properly, closing his eyes, calling the shadows to him wordlessly. They swamred around him immediately. Damn Near suffocating him. It was the only thing that kept him from starting to sob.
The shadows embraced him, wrapping him in their inky blackness, shielding him from the outside world. They were his only comfort, just like they had been for centuries.Â
*We are there, Master.* They promised him softly. *It will be fine, Master.*
He didnât believe a fucking word they said.Â
*We are not willing to lose you, Master. We arenât interested in finding a new master,* they told him seriously. He choked out a laugh that turned into a sob.Â
*Sleep, Master. We'll keep watch,* they promised him.
And they did.Â
Bone deep exhaustion meant that at least his sleep was dreamless. At least that was given to him. It was a small mercy.Â
When he woke up again, Nesta was there, sitting in an armchair reading.
Azriel blinked, feeling disoriented and groggy. He sat up slowly, wincing as his wounds protested the movement. Nesta looked up from her book, her expression neutral.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him quietly.
"Fine," he answered, his voice hoarse. He was fine. He would be fine.Â
"Thank you," Nesta said suddenly.
Azriel looked up at her, surprised. He wasn't even sure what she was thanking him for.
"For what?" he asked, his voice rough with sleep.
âYou nearly got yourself killed to save my sisterâs mate. I think Thank you is the least I owe you," Nesta said drily.
She mustered him with grey eyes and he knew that she knew. Knew that she knew or at the very least could guess about his feelings for Elain and probably be right. She wouldn't say anything, but she knew.
He didnât want to talk about this anymore. It was over with. Done.Â
Lucien and Elain could be happy and AzrielâŚAzriel would hide away somewhere.Â
"You don't owe me anything," he waved Nesta off weakly, but she didnât seem to want to take the hint, sticking out her chin.Â
"Yes, I do," Nesta disagreed. "You are the reason why my little sister is happy right now," she told him fiercely. He swallowed down the unkind words at the tip of her tongue...didn't say anything. Didn't.... He didnât want to think about this. He didnâtâŚ
"Is there anything I can do?" Nesta asked him, her voice soft. "Anything at all, Az?" H knew that he could ask for anything and Nesta would do her level best to give it to him. She was stubborn like that. He had half a mind to ask her to use her silver flames to put him on fire and put him out of his misery.Â
He didnât.Â
Even that wouldnât fix it.Â
There was nothing. There was absolutely nothing to make it any better. There was nothing that could...that could fix the ache in his chest.
"Porridge," he said, his voice hoarse.
"Porridge?" Nesta repeated incrediously.
"Porridge with honey. I am hungry," he repeated, meeting her gaze. Food. Food. More Sleep. More Work. He could fill his waking hours with useless things and everybody would be happy.Â
Nesta just looked at him for a moment, then inclined her head.
"Porridge with honey. Alright," she agreed. Just a moment later a massive bowl of Porridge with honey drizzled on top, appeared on his bedside table, so hot it was steaming. Seemed like the house was in a mood to spoil him. He even got a whiff of cinnamon from it.
"Thank you," he thanked Nesta's creature aloud as the shadows fetched the bowl and held it up for him to eat a spoonful. "What are you reading?" he asked Nesta, changing the topic.Â
She was polite enough not to say anything about it.Â
Nesta held up her book. âThe newest Sellyn Drake novel,â she replied.
"Is it any good?" he inquired, stirring his porridge gently.
âItâs brilliant," Nesta gushed, her eyes devoured the pages as soon as she looked down to continue reading.
"You seem to really like it," he pointed out, taking another bite of his porridge. "It is brilliant," Nesta agreed readily. âThe plot is so intricate and twists and turns and the characters are so deep and complex and their emotions are so real and the romance is so...â she trailed off, blushing slightly.
He opened his mouth to respond...but then he heard her.
Mor. Of course.
He couldnât deal with Mor. Not right now. But there she was, Rhys hot on her heels.
Nesta heard her too, rolling her eyes, curling back up on her chair, making it very clear that while she was going nowhere, she was letting him deal with it on her own.Â
And he didnât want to deal with Mor.Â
But there she was.Â
Mor came strolling into the room, her usual confident smile firmly in place. Rhys just looked at Azriel, his expression unreadable.
He didn't say it. But Azriel knew. Behave. Thatâs all Rhys was telling him these days. Either it was about Elain and Lucien...or about Mor and Emerie. Like Azriel would ever do anything to put that in jeopardy. Like Azriel was a jealous child that wouldn't allow Mor to be happy on her own terms. Like...
Azriel ignored the sharp pang of hurt that shot through him at Rhys's look.
Still it was better than looking at MorâŚhe couldnât bear to look at Mor.Â
 Didn't want to look at Mor, in her usual bright red, skin baring dress, that clung to all her curves...didn't want to look at the female he had spent centuries in love with even when he had known that she was never going to return his affections...it hadn't helped him. He had still been in love with her.
And he had still hoped...hoped against all hope that maybe...maybe there would be a time where she would return his affection...that maybe there would be a time where...
But there wouldn't. He knew. He knew. And he had still been in love with her.
Would have given damn near anything for her attention, for that broad smile on her face to be directed in his direction...would have given anything for her to bound over to his bedside and envelope him in her arms...to feel her soft skin against his as she hugged him fiercely, cinnamon and citrus enveloping him.
Now...now it felt like somebody was pouring salt into a gaping wound. Now it felt as painful as the fire and oil on his hands had. She was flaying him alive and she wasnât even aware that she was hurting him.Â
"How are you feeling, Az?" Mor's voice was gentle, concerned. He knew it was genuine, knew that Mor really cared about him. But he couldn't bring himself to look at her. Not when his heart was bleeding out just from the sound of her voice.
"Fine," he answered, his voice flat. "Nothing that sleep won't fix," he promised her, even as her hands fluttered around him as she sat down on his bedside...
She was so close. He could reach out and touch her, could feel the soft fabric of her dress against his fingertips. He clenched his fists, willing himself to keep his hands to himself.
But he couldn't help it. He looked up at her, meeting her eyes. He could see the concern there, the worry. He felt a pang of guilt for putting that look on her face. He didn't want to cause her any distress.Â
"I'm just glad you are feeling better," Mor sighed, gently patting his arm. "You had us all worried for a moment there," she admitted softly.
Even just the touch of her hand felt like she was branding him. He wanted to flinch away and forced himself no to.
It was like a bittersweet poison, the way she touched him. It was so familiar, so comforting. But it was also so painful, a reminder of what he could never have.
He looked away, staring down at his hands. They were shaking, just a little. He clasped them together, the monstrous scars that covered them, standing out starkly.
The shadows trembled around him, pulling nearer, growing darker and Mor watched them with a raised eyebrow. "Worried, are they?" she teased him slightly.
*You are fine, Master,* the shadows promised him. *No more fire,* they promised him fiercely. But it didnât help. He didnât trust himself to speak without his voice cracking.
Mor seemed to sense his discomfort and stood up, her hand slipping from his arm. "Just rest and get better soon, alright?" she said softly, taking a step back.
"Thank you," he thanked her, his voice hoarse.
He risked a glance up at her, just a quick look. Her face was soft, her eyes filled with warmth. He felt his heart squeeze in his chest and he had to look away again. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.
"We should let him rest, Mor," Rhys said, giving Azriel another look.
"Right, right," Mor agreed, already turning towards the door. "Rest up, Az," she said again, giving him one last smile as she disappeared out the door.
Azriel felt a sense of relief wash over him as she left the room.Â
Gone. Thank the cauldron. He couldn't take much more of her presence, not right now.Â
He didn't even want to know why Rhys had accompanied her. Probably because he was worried that Azriel wasn't going to behave.
What was he supposed to do instead? Tell Mor about how much she had hurt him over the centuries? How she had given him jut enough scraps of her affection to make him yearn for more but never telling him that she didnât love him like that?Â
He wasnât going to do that.Â
He didn't want to look at Rhys right now, didn't want to face the scrutiny of his high lord's gaze. He just wanted to be left alone.
He knew that Rhys was watching him, that the male wanted to say something. But Azriel didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear the lecture, the warning. He just wanted to be left alone.
The room fell silent, except for the sound of his own breathing. He closed his eyes and sank deeper into the mattress. Maybe if he just pretended to sleep, Rhys would leave him alone.
"He's tired. You should let him sleep," Nesta said flatly.
Leave it to Nesta to tell Rhys to stuff it, he reflected weakly. He heard Rhys sigh, but he kept his eyes closed. And after a moment, he heard the sound of footsteps leaving the room.
He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.Â
Alone. Safe. Mostly at least.Â
Life went on. It always did.
The exhaustion went away after a few days... he caught up on Paperwork in the meantime. He sent the shadows off to find him one information or other and they didn't even bitch to him that badly, which told him that even they felt bad for him.
Behave. Thatâs all Rhys was telling him these days.
So he did. He behaved.
He did his job. He did everything Rhys could possibly want from his spymaster.Â
He didnât argue. He didnât fight. He did his job and he trained and he did everyhting that was expected off him.Â
And then he hadnât tortured himself enough⌠and he went to visit Rosehall.
Where his mother lived.
Under the Mountains had itâs own kind consequences. This was one of them: His mother didnât even want to talk to him anymore.Â
50 years without him...and his mother had made herself a new family. A family that he wasnât welcome in. A family that she wanted him nowhere near. He couldnât fault her for it. Not at all.
She had been half a child when she had had him and it hadnât been by choice.
So who could blame her for making a new family with people that werenât as fucked up in the head as he was? Not Azriel.
Azriel didnât blame her at all. Azriel left her in peace. He didn't reach out. He made sure that she was fine, that she had enough money to never worry about it and otherwise dissappeared from her life.Â
His shadows kept an eye on herâŚHe shored up the wards around Rosehall and caught a glimpse of her. And then he left it at that. She looked happy. Thatâs all he cared about.
Happy and safe andâŚshe didnât need him. She didnât want him around her either, and he could understand that too.
And still, it hurt. It hurt so fucking much.Â
ButÂ
*You know the rules,* he told the shadows quietly. *You donât need to report to me about her anymore. Keep an eye on her and only tell me if she is in danger or hurt.*
*Yes, Master,* they agreed readily.Â
So he went back to the House of Wind. Back to VelarisâŚBack to work.Â
He went back to his routine, back to his duties, back to his mask of indifference. He hid the pain behind his usual stoic facade, only letting his shadows know how much it hurt. He threw himself into his work, using it as a way to distract himself from his own loneliness.
And when he wasn't working, he would spend hours and hours in the training ring in the House of Wind, working himself to exhaustion. Anything to try and drown out the ache in his heart.
For gods sake, he even attended Elain and Lucienâs mating ceremony. And gifted them an appropriate gift. He behaved just like Rhys wanted him too.
He even summoned up a smile for them on their special day, hiding his own pain behind a mask of false happiness. He congratulated them both, feeling a pang in his chest at the sight of Elain's beaming face. But he didnât let it show. He behaved. Like Rhys wanted him too.
He stayed for the whole thing. Stayed for the dancing, stayed for the feast. Stayed until he could physically take it no more. And then he had retreated to that training ring again, beating his pain and loneliness out on whatever dummy he could find.
He was so tired. Tired of hiding, tired of pretending. Tired of pretending like nothing was wrong. He wanted nothing more than to just scream and rage and shout and cry. But he didnât. He held it all in. Bottled it up like he was so good at doing.
He was in the bathtub, sluicing off the sweat he was drenched inâŚshaking off his wings just because he could move them however he wanted to
*You should go out, Master,* the shadows suggested seriously. *Go out and find a female.*
He just snorted. *Not interested,* he sniped back harshly. *I am not getting my heart broken again.*
Everybody could just fuck off and leave him alone. Even when he was achingâŚaching for somebody in his life that loved him. For whom he could be everything. Somebody he could dote on. Somebody that wanted his attention, that wanted his loveâŚthat would like his ruined hands on their body and wasnât paid to simply acccept it.Â
*You could let us pick her!* the shadows suggested brightly.
His eyes snapped back open and he glared at the shadows swirling around the room. *Absolutely not,* he said firmly. *I mean it, you stay out of it.*
*We canât do a worse job than you do,* they sniped at him. *Neither The Seer nor The Morrigan would have suited you at all.*
*Excuse me?!*Â
*You heard us, Master,* the shadows said, sounding far too smug for their own good. *And you know it.*
Azriel just glared at them, feeling his temper start to rise. *I know I wasnât good enough for them,* he snapped. *You donât need to tell me that.*
*You think you werenât good enough for them?!* The shadows asked him incredulously.
*They deserve better. So much better than me,* he said quietly. "I'm not good enough for either of them. Never was.*
What was he, after all? An Illyrian bastard? A monster? Either? Both?Â
He had never said it out loud before, not even to himself. But in that moment, lying in the water, his heart so raw and exposed, he couldn't help but speak the truth that he had always known but never admitted to himself. "I'm not good enough for either of them," he repeated softly, the weight of his words settling heavily on his chest.
He knew it was true. Mor was a golden ray of light, the embodiment of beauty and grace. Elain was sweet and gentle and kind, a pure soul in a sea of darkness.Â
And what was he? Damaged. Broken. Scarred. Inside and out.
He had done unspeakable things, things that would haunt his nightmares for centuries to come. He was nothing compared to them. He was darkness, they were light. And they deserved better than him, far better than him.
Even if he had loved Mor with every fiber of his being, even if he had yearned for her with every beat of his heart, even if he had dreamed of her every night, it didn't matter. It had never mattered. Because he wasn't good enough for her. And he never would be.
He wasnât good enough for Elain. The mother hadnât thought it to be prudent to make them mates. Both of his brother had been gifted with a mating bond, but not him. That should tell him everything he needed to know abotu the state of his own soul.Â
So whyâŚwhy should he even try anymore.Â
Why shouldnât he just stew in his own misery, alone and heartbroken and a monster and expect everybody to just leave him alone? There was no point of putting himself out there again. There was nothing out there for him. Nothing but more pain.ââ
So he closed his eyes again, sinking lower into the water, letting the warmth soothe his aching muscles. He let out a long sigh, his mind already racing with thoughts of his next missions, his next assignments. Because that was all that really mattered now. His job. His duties. His responsibilities. That was all he had left.
Behave. Thatâs all he was good for.Â
*Alright, thatâs fucking enough,* the shadows snapped. *You are not letting The High Lord talk to you like that any longer, Master.*
Azriel was so surprised by their fucking vehemence that he could just stare at them.Â
*The Morrigan used you for centuries to make herself feel better about herself,* the shadows snapped. *She used the feelings you had for her and that she was very much aware of to strangle you and keep you in line.*
Azriel swallowed. He knew they were right. He knew that Mor had used his feelings for her for a long time. She had led him on, given him false hope, only to yank it away time and time again. It had been a painful cycle, one that had left him feeling used and broken and worthless.
*She could have stopped at any time but she never did,* the shadows hissed. *But instead she hurt you on purpose. Instead of turning you down, she slept with other males to show you that you would never have her!*
Azriel felt bile rise in the back of his throat. Mor had flaunted her other lovers in front of him, making it clear that he would never be enough for her. She had used his devotion to her as a weapon against him, wielding it whenever it suited her needs. And he had let her. He had been foolish, desperate enough to cling onto any scrap of affection she might throw his way.
*And The Seer?! Granted she has never done that, but her feelings for you werenât particular deep when she replaced you on her affections with The Fox as soon as you werenât available anymore! If she had cared, truly cared, she would have thought about what happened during Winter Solstice,* the shadows snapped.
*And The High Lord? Donât even let us get started on him,* the shadows snapped. *You havenât even done anything since that Winter Solstice, and he keeps behaving like some kind of despotic Overlord, worried that his orders wonât be followed. If you wanted to punch him in the face, you probably had every right to it,* they mumbled.
Azriel couldnât help but snort.Â
*You deserve better, Master,* The shadows told him fiercely. *You deserve somebody that loves you.*Â
. He wanted to believe the shadows. He wanted to believe that he was good enough, that he deserved more. But the scars on his body and the memories in his mind told him otherwise. He had done terrible things, things that he could never undo. How could someone like that be good enough for anyone?
*Alright,* he finally agreed weakly. *Find me a house,* he told the shadows, as he closed his eyes.
*A house? What kind of house?* the shadows gave back, sounding surprised.
*A house,* he repeated. *A home. Somewhere in Velaris. Find me a home.* Something that could just be his.
A home. The idea sent a flutter through his stomach. He had neverâŚnever truly had a home. Had something that could just be his and nobody elseâs. JustâŚa place that was his, where he could be whoever he wanted, where he was accepted and loved...it was appealing. Maybe even more than just appealing.
He closed his eyes, picturing it in his mind. A cozy little house, just large enough for himself. Warm and cozy and filled with light.
*Thatâs what a male needs to take a wife after all, right?* He asked, a flicker of uncertainty crossed his face. Was that what he should want? What he was supposed to want? He had never really thought about getting married before. But now, at the mention of it, he couldn't help but feel a pang of longing. A wife...a family...love and companionship. It all sounded soâŚso nice.
*You want to get married, Master?* the shadows asked curioulsy. *To whom?*
*You pick,* he told the shadows. They swarmed out in pure excitment. Azriel couldnât even remmeebr the last time they had been so excited.Â
He couldn't help but chuckle at their reaction. Maybe they would do a better job than him. At least they could probably sieve out females that were in a romantic relationship or preferred females themselves.Â
*Find me somebody that I could make happy. Somebody thatâŚ.Somebody that could want me.* Some long-suffering female for whom Azriel could maybe try to be enough. Somebody that would love him.
*What should she look like?* they asked seriously.
*I donât care. Find me somebody that loves me and sheâll be the most beautiful female to me anyway.*
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OBSESSED: SHOKO (feat. The Boys)
A/N: This took an entirely different route than I expected when I first started dribbling it. This was a fun one đ¤
C/W: Cuckholding, Mature, 18+
Fact: You are the hottest woman alive.
Fact: Shoko is no better than a man.
Shoko is no better than a man because she has used you â your pictures, your smile, your tight hugs â as her personal spank bank.
Truthfully, she canât really pinpoint the moment you broke her brain.
All she remembers is that there was an inflection point in time. Before meeting you. And after meeting you.
And the funniest part of it all is that you two have nothing in common.
Shoko is a sorcerer at Jujutsu Tech. You are a normie at University of Tokyo.
Shoko can count on one hand how many people she can tolerate. People flock to you in droves. And you like it.
Shoko is red wine and cigarettes. You are champagne and birthday cake.
So how the hell did a bubble gum, pretty pink, girly girl, princess work her way into Shokoâs life? And take permanent residence in a little (extremely large) part of her brain?
Not to mention the havoc you are wreaking in her heart. Whatever is left of the cold, shriveled plumbing system keeping her alive.
When was it exactly?
Shoko lights another cigarette on her short 2 mile walk home. You have a habit of making her burn through her vices.
Was it the night you went out dancing?
When the dress you wore made Shoko see God?
You grinded every part of your mind-altering curves on her, and Shoko left sopping wet. At home she immediately reached for her vibrator. Unable to look herself in the eye for a full day after that.
Or maybe it was the time you fell asleep curled up in her lap. Wearing one of her old ratty softball shirts, smelling like her shampoo. Small, rhythmic breaths flowing from your lips.
You looked like the missing puzzle piece in Shokoâs life.
No, no.
Itâs definitely was the time you came barreling into her apartment with balloons and flowers and cupcakes that were too sweet. All because Shoko had finally mastered her reversed curse technique before the prodigal sons.
You can barely even grasp the concept of curses. And why would you?
A soft, gentle soul like you couldnât muster enough negativity to form a curse.
You live in the clouds. Among the angels. You canât see curses and yet â somehow âyouâre the most supernatural person in any room.
Sheâs completely, fully, idiotically smitten with you.
And so is everybody else.
You pretty, unaware little thing. You have the two strongest sorcerers at Jujutsu Tech and their personal medic wrapped around your dainty fingers and you have no idea.
Suguru? He stares. Vision sharper than a hawk. He watches you talk, eat, walk, text, think. Suguru anticipates your next breath and would kiss oxygen into your mouth if he could. Even still, despite how taken he is, Suguru is the best at concealing his puppy love.
Satoru is the absolute worst.
Limitless goes off the second you step into a room. And Satoru rarely clicks off his technique otherwise. Even when itâs just Shoko or Suguru around.
He all but chains you to his body. Heâs always lifting you, hugging you, carrying you, holding your hand, holding your hair. Satoru would crawl inside of your body and live there, if he could.
Then thereâs Shoko.
Who seethes when anyone looks your way. But also masturbates to the thought of other people touching you.
A fucking mess of a conundrum, right?
The first time it happened was about 8 months ago. Definitely one too many glasses of Cabernet were poured. You two were gabbing on the phone. Exchanging the best and worst sex youâve had to date.
And you. In that melodic, breathy, gossamer thin voice of yours that belongs in Heavenâs choir started saying the dirtiest things. About how cock-drunk you were. How you begged and pleaded for more. Swallowed cum like it was your only sustenance. And squirted all over your lover, only to kiss it off his face after.
Shoko touched herself until she came right then and there. On the phone. You unknowingly talking her through her one of the most satisfying orgasms of her life.
Since then itâs been a horrible habit sheâs given into time and time again.
And whoâs to say? Maybe itâs from constantly being in the shadows of Suguruâs Sun and Satoruâs Moon that thereâs comfort in watching from the side lines?
Maybe sheâs found the sweet pleasure in that pain and itâs manifested as her lust for others having their way with you? And her blind infatuation with you?
No, wait.
Not blind.
With you itâs like she has the Six Eyes. And with you, so does everyone else.
Shoko drags in a long, exasperated breath. Pausing just outside her apartment entrance, stomping out the last of her menthol.
If the time she spent mulling over you in her mind could be converted caloric energy - sheâd be a supermodel by now.
Whatever.
Todayâs the best day of the week. Friday.
Which means when Shoko opens her door, youâre going to be fussing about the kitchen. Cooking some kind of dessert for Movie Night.
The Boys usually trip over themselves getting to Shokoâs apartment after classes. But thereâs always an idyllic 15 minutes where Shoko has you all to herself.
15 minutes in Heaven. Like sheâs a damn middle school girl.
Shoko opens her door and nearly flatlines.
Youâre evil.
An evil, mean, cruel tease.
You KNOW anyone with eyes would have a stroke at the site of you.
Fully bent over at the waist, rummaging through pots and pans. Not a single blemish on your silky smooth skin. Your lilac boy shorts could not BE any tighter. And of course, theyâre just short enough to not cover the plump shelf of your lower ass cheeks.
Shokoâs hands start twitching. Like sheâs going through withdrawal.
You pop back up with a triumphant âthere it is!â An empty small pot in your hands. And Shoko thinks sheâll have to add a heart attack to her growing list of ailments.
Your matching lilac tank top is egregiously and deliciously small. The sliver of tummy between the hem of the top and waist of your shorts could bring civilizations to collapse.
Not to mention that the apartment is cold. And your nipples are so painfully responsive.
Sin.
You are sin.
Wrapped in the most beautiful frame of a woman.
âBabe!! Youâre already home. I let myself in because the icing for these cupcakes takes forever to get right.â
You flash your Colgate smile, ensnaring Shoko in your trap.
âYouâre going to give Satoru and Suguru a heart attack.â Her, youâre going to give her a heart attack.
âHmm? Why do you say that?â So non-chalant. So oblivious.
Shoko gestures to your outfit. Attempting to mirror your nonchalance. But, ironically, she can feel her face tumbling down the descending shades of red.
Genuine confusion weaves though your features and she almost screams.
âShoko please. You know they donât see me that way!â
Everyone, gorgeous. EVERYONE. Sees you that way.
Before she could edge another word out, the familiar hum of Limitless buzzing inward splits Shokoâs thoughts in half.
Dammit, theyâre early.
âDaddyâs Home!â
Satoru charges straight at you because of course he would.
âSatoru!!!â Youâre a plaything in his arms. Legs tightening around his waist.
Shoko would pay an inordinate amount of money to trade places with him.
She watches through an envy-green screen. How easily Satoru spins you and tosses you on the kitchen counter. Situating himself between your soft thighs.
How would your body bounce against his hips thrusting into you?
âYou have to taste this, pretty boy.â
Tsk. Heâs not THAT pretty.
Both Shoko and Suguru watch through parted lips as you shove half a cupcake into Satoruâs mouth. Neither of you miss how his tongue flicks between your fingers. Or how his hips lean closer to your barely clothed flower.
He lets out an exaggerated groan. âFucking, perfect. I could eat your cupcake..all night.â
âYou perv.â
You laugh and shove Satoru back from between your legs. Then turn in Shokoâs direction.
Silently curving your index finger forward, you beckon. Both Shoko and Suguru start toward you like well-trained, love-struck pets.
âNo pouting Suguru, youâre pretty too. And up next.â
And Shokoâs shoulders sink like the child who is picked last for dodge ball teams.
Her eyes trail Suguruâs back - wishing to every God she was born with a technique allowing her to take over a hostâs body.
âMe next.â He settles between your legs.
Suguru, the master of subtlety. Everyone but you can pick up on the strain in his baritone.
Thereâs something so painfully sensual about the way he grips both of your thighs. Your skin is so smooth, so pliant under his large hands. Waiting on your fingers to invade his mouth.
How pretty would your lips look like wrapped around his fingers? Do your cheeks hollow out when you suck on something larger?
Shoko crosses her right foot over the left. As if jamming her thighs together would stop the growing pool of lust between her legs.
âAlright babe, best for last. I have something for you too.â
Suguru takes his time pulling away from the warmth of your core. And Shoko has to strap her mind to her body to keep from sprinting at you.
Eventually, she nestles between your legs and is at eye level with your pert nipples. Immediately caught in a trance. So close to her mouth.
âBlushing so much!â Your thumb pulls Shokoâs focus back to earth.
Blushing so much because she wants to watch her best friends fuck you. Then lick your cunt clean after theyâre done.
âIâm not, whatâs my surprise?â
âSo demanding.â You giggle. Your palm takes away Shokoâs view of your perky, hard nipples.
âOpen.â
Shokoâs jaw hangs at your command. Cold glass hits her lips before the full bodied, decadent Cabernet does.
Red wine. Because she hates sweets.
Youâre as thoughtful as you are beautiful and everything you do is a turn on.
âMmmm,â Shoko hums and you gift her vision back.
âAmazing, right?â You take your own sip, maintaining eye contact.
Shokoâs eyes fall to your lips. And how you roll the wine over your tongue. Savoring each drop.
How would your tongue feel rolling around her mouth? Her neck? Her nipple? What kind of sounds would you make if her tongue rolled around your petals? Your clit? What do you tasteâ
âMovie time?â You break Satoru, Suguru and Shokoâs daze.
All three of them scramble around you. Grabbing your cupcakes, snacks and wine to settle in on Shokoâs huge sectional couch.
You drape your body over Satoru and Suguruâs lap. A little loose limbed kitten. Shoko situates herself on the long arm of her chair.
Far enough to drown into her own spiral. Close enough to register everything you do in the the most permanent part of her mind.
You nuzzle your cheek into Suguruâs thigh. His forearm immediately drops in front of his crotch. Undoubtedly to avoid spearing you with his manhood.
âPlay with my hair, Suguru?â
âYes. Of course.â
His free hand weaves into your hair. The soft, decadent moan you exhale sent visible shudders down their spines.
Shokoâs eyes laser to Satoruâs hands. His eyes havenât touched the screen since the movie began. His grasp encompasses your entire back thighs. Slowly gliding them up to the delicate mounds of your ass.
âGod that feels amazing.â
Satoruâs Adams Apple drags along the column of his throat. âYeah?â
âSo good.â
You deepen the arch in your back and the physical restraint Satoru imposes on himself is visible.
The only person watching the movie is you.
And the room tilts on its axis the moment you melt deeper into the boysâ hands. Their names, quiet praise, seep from your lips.
Satoru and Suguru exchange hooded gazes.
As if to commiserate about how fucking hot you are. And how itâs taking active awareness of every single muscle to not do vulgar things to you.
Not even a backward glance Shokoâs way.
Again.
Leaving Shoko out of the conversation. Again.
She angrily tosses a blanket over her lap. Frustration bubbling up her throat. Her fingers clumsily fumble with her zipper. Sheâs pissed. Angry. Fucking jealous.
And so turned on she might crawl out of her skin if she doesnât touch herself this goddamn second.
Shokoâs fingers are ice cold against her warm, wet clit. Itâs agonizing. How incredible the pressure feels.
You look delicious. So small between their laps. Far too tiny to handle them both.
But God it would be so hot.
It would be so fucking hot. To watch you choke all over Suguruâs cock. Slobber into his lap. All while Satoru bullies his length into your soft, dewy pussy. Helpless. Overstimulated.
Getting used like the pretty Barbie doll you are.
And the way they touch you, so brazenly, in front of her.
Like Shokoâs presence isnât even remotely threatening. She isnât any competition for their big hands and broad shoulders. Masculine frames. Thatâs why sheâs just sitting there. Pathetic. Rubbing herself dumb just watching.
She would be so happy, so fucking eager to lap you clean. Pet your swollen, abused folds when theyâre done with you. Hump a pillow while she sucks your nipples. Youâd moan and whine and squirm under her touch.
Would you beg? Or laugh at how pitiful she is? Getting off to remnants of you when the Boys have had their way?
Shoko accidentally choking on her own drool draws almost everyoneâs attention to her. The hand that was molesting her sensitive bud freezes.
Suguruâs eyes flicker back down to you, sleeping beauty.
Their coordinated touch lulled you to bed. Satoruâs eyes linger on Shoko long enough to make her simmer under his gaze. She blinks back to the movie, credits now scrolling up the screen.
How long was Shoko day dreaming?
âLetâs get her to bed.â Suguru gently pulls you onto his chest. You sleepily drape your arms around his neck.
Satoru follows close behind him into Shokoâs room. Because putting the smallest little kitten to bed is a two person job.
Shoko scrambles to zip up her pants and swipe the last of her arousal on the blanket. She gets to the doorway and watches the Boys dote over you in a way that makes them slightly more endearing.
You wake up long enough to murmur goodnight. Floating your arms in the air so the boys can bring their hugs to you. Both of them place quick pecks on your forehead. Leaving you with the cutest, most content smile on your sleepy face.
At least Suguru can hold it together. He weaves out of Shokoâs room quickly.
Satoru, however, keeps stopping along the 10 foot pace to the doorway to just stare. As if a monster from your nightmares will pop up the second he leaves you alone.
Shoko snorts, arms crossing her chest. âPut it back in your pants, yes?â
âLook who is talking.â Sly grin pulls across Satoruâs perfect, blinding teeth. Shoko could punch him right now.
âWhat the hell are you talking about?â
âIeiri. I have the fucking six eyes. What do you think Iâm talking about.â
Satoru wires around Shokoâs stunned body.
He and Suguru are out of her apartment before she can bat her eyelashes 5 times.
Shoko all but sprints to the kitchen. She gulps the rest of her red wine. Something. Anything to burn Satoruâs comment out of her mind. And to put out the desperate flame between her legs.
Youâre in her bed.
Sheâs just been masturbating watching her two best friends touch you.
One of her best friends is FULLY aware of this all.
Her hands shakenly pour another, head sized glass of Cabernet. Which is doing absolutely nothing for how lusty she feels right now. And everything to destroy her self control.
Why does she have to sit on the sidelines?
Why do they get access to you that she doesnât?
She downs the last few drops of red wine. Storming back to her room. Sheâs going to confront this once and for all.
Youâre strewn over her bed like a silk scarf. Rolling, tender hills of flesh. Valleys of feminine curves. Shoko grips both of your dainty wrists. Tossing you onto your back.
Sleepy groans bubble out of you. Your eyes lazily slide open. Not an ounce of concern on your face. Full of trust. Even though Shoko is glaring down at you like she wants to crawl in your skin.
âBad dream?â
âNo.â Shoko is kurt. Angry. Jealous.
âWhat is it?â
âI justâŚâ Moonlight is kissing your face in the way Shoko wants to.
âT-The boys,â Your eyes flutter expectantly. Nose crinkling in fuzzy confusion.
âThe-the boys always get to touch you. And pick you up. And tuck you in. And kiss you. And-and I-im justâŚâ
âDo you want to kiss me?â
Shoko hears her heart stop beating.
What did you just ask? So casually. As if you didnât just catapult her into ďżźanother dimension.
âH-huh? What?â Shoko didnât hear you right.
Thereâs no way.
âI asked if you want to kiss me.â Something other than innocence lines your voice. And it pets Shokoâs flame
âIâI uh. M-. Yes.â
âSo kiss me.â
Only one second of shocked hesitation passes before Shoko crashes her lips into yours.
Of course your lips taste like this. Marshmallow soft. Cotton candy sweet. Mini explosions of pleasure surge in all directions of her body.
âGod,â Shoko groans, bringing the back of your head impossibly closer to her.
Melting into the soft hills and rolls of your sweet tongue. Shoko whines into your mouth like the desperate puppy she is. Sheâs drunk. Intoxicated. And it has nothing to do with the wine.
Do you know that?
Have you always known?
How does anyone ever make it out of their embrace with you with their wits about them?
âBaby,â you sigh into Shokoâs swollen lips.
Her hands tremble against your waist. Twitching to explore. Dying to map every inch of your body.
She lets out little, staccato moans of protest when you pull away.
âFeel better?â
Your starry eyes sparkle between Shokoâs. Sleepy, pretty smile playing on your puffy lips.
Shoko nods wordlessly. Youâve already stolen her logic and her heart. Might as well add her voice to the list.
You place a chaste kiss on Shokoâs lips before cocooning underneath the sheets.
Like you didnât just make her fall in love.
âGoodnight, baby.â
PART. II
#jjk smut#jjk x reader#jujutsu kaisen smut#sashisu x reader#sashisu#shoko x reader#shoko ieiri#shoko smut#gojo smut#geto smut#jjk geto#jjk gojo#jjk shoko#jjk fanart#jjk fanfic#jujutsu kaisen x reader smut#gojo x reader#geto x reader#jujutsu kaisen shoko#jujutsu shoko#smut#jjk x you#jjk satoru#jjk suguru#gojo satoru#geto suguru#jjk x y/n#jjk#gojo satoru x reader#jjk season 2
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3.3k, joel miller x virgin f!reader
joel master list
Summary: Joel wants to find a bed before you go all the way, but neither of you can wait that long.
A/N: Follows ⨠Fires (1.6, prequel), Aches (900), and Thoughts (1.6), but can read alone.
WARNINGS: I8+, big girthy age gap (20/50s), still only one sleeping bag, pining, c*ck hunger, fingering, grinding, masturbation, oral m receiving, cum eating, unsafe P in V, reluctantly pulling out, loss of virginity, pet names, praise, POV alternates, NO Y/N.
âGod have mercy,â he mutters to himself.
He's gonna give it to ya good one day, but not yet. Not in a sleeping bag on the forest floor. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet, he tells himself . . . Your first time shouldnât be like this. Shouldnât be here. But god damn . . . Â
-------
Itâs all over your face. Heâs never seen anything like it, the way you crave his cock. You shamelessly stare at his pants. His whole body, really. You were bad enough before you touched it, and itâs only gotten worse. You canât focus, you canât listen. Itâs dangerous. He should put a stop to this, take it away cold turkey. Sleep back-to-back. But you both have needs, and he's not gonna do that.
Joel feels like he might as well be a virgin himself, it's been so long for him. Frankly, heâs dying to put it in you just as much as you long to have it. Heâs been trying to wait until Jackson so he can do it somewhere safe, somewhere a little nicer, more comfortable.Â
He wants to wait and make sure it's nice and special for you, but good lord, youâre makin' it hard. You make the sweetest little sounds when he touches you, and even when he doesnât, like in your sleep. You ask him things like, âdoesnât sex feel better than hands?â He tells you half-truths, like ânot always.â Of course it would with you. Of course it would.
-
Youâre in the forest. With dusk approaching, you're just about to set up camp while there's still light. Joel is taking a leak at the edge of a small clearing, calculating mileage in his head, counting down the days âtil you should get there. His back could use a real bed, too. He's shaking his dick dry and a twig snaps behind him. His head whips around and he reaches for his gun.Â
Itâs you. God damnit, he couldâve killed you.Â
âCan I see it?â you ask.Â
âWhat the hell are ya doinâ over here?â
âI just wanna see it.â You look down toward his jeans. âCan I?âÂ
Itâs fair that youâre curious, he knows that. You mentioned it the night before with your hand wrapped around it, I wanna see it, really see it, I bet itâs good looking. Youâve only felt it at night and caught glimpses in the moonlight. At the time, he mindlessly reassured you, youâll see it, baby, you'll see my cock, and he shouldâve known youâd spring this on him.
âNot now,â he mutters, trying to calm his heart rate. âCan ya gimme a second, honey?âÂ
âOkay.â He can hear the sadness, practically see the disappointment on your face. God damnit. He tucks himself away and zips up. You're only about eight feet away. âNow?â
âNo. Ainât nothinâ to see right now.â You probably donât realize what a big difference it can make.Â
âWhat do you meanâ
âJust trust me, itâs not how you wanna see it.âÂ
âWhy?"Â
âCause it ainât as. . .â
âAinât as what?â
âNothinâ, baby. Just not the right time.â
âBetter if weâre close together, right?â You step closer.Â
He closes his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose, and takes a deep breath. âThis ainât the time or the place, honey.âÂ
When he looks at you again, your face has fallen, and you mumble, âK.âÂ
He puts a big, comforting hand on your shoulder and walks you back to where y'all are setting up camp. âWhen we find a bed, Iâll show ya. . .â Â
"And when we find a bed," you repeat. Don't say it, don't say it, he prays to God you don't say it. "We can do it, right?" He doesn't answer. "You can put your cock inside me, right?"
Fuck, you're gonna drive this old man crazy. At least one of you needs your wits about you if you'll ever make it to Jackson. "We'll see," he sighs.Â
After a moment of silence, your voice trembles as you ask, "We'll see? Why not yes?"
"Cause we ain't gonna make it there at this rate," he complains, then sighs with instant regret. "I'm sorry, honey. But you gotta try to knock it off with this stuff."
You swallow and your eyes glimmer. "Sorry," you whisper.Â
He turns away to adjust himself, then sits down on the ground, leaning back against a log and extends an arm for you. "S'okay, c'mere."
You sit on the ground next to him. He squeezes your shoulder and changes the topic to twenty questions.Â
ââ
Heâs nicer at night. Heâs nice in the day, too, mostly. Once in a while, you can tell youâre annoying him, and you feel bad. If only he knew how many times you thought about it and didn't say something, heâd appreciate your efforts. Itâs practically all you think about. Itâs even worse now that you feel it in your hand every night, but the last thing you want is for that to stop.Â
You had been thinking about it all day when you finally asked what you thought was an easy request â if you could just see it, just a glimpse while he already had it out anyway.Â
Even if you donât get to see it, at least itâs easy enough to recall what it feels like. Smooth, warm, and stiff. Soft veins, tiny wrinkles. A leaking slit.Â
â--
âCan I taste it?â you ask one night with your little fist wrapped around his shaft.Â
He groans quietly. âYeah, you wanna taste it?â
âYeah,â you whisper, your hand sticky with the lube of your own slick, a bead of precum under your thumb. You smear the precum and let go of his hard cock, making it slap against his stomach. You take your thumb into your mouth and hum, âMmm,â at the salty taste.Â
âWhatcha think,â he whispers breathily.Â
âCan I have your cock in my mouth?â
âOh, baby, âcourse ya can.â The zipper of the sleeping bag jingles, then you hear the satisfying zzz as it unzips. He folds it down and you get up on your knees. You bend at the hip and don't waste a second. You wrap your thumb and forefinger around the base, trying and failing to make your digits touch.Â
Then, your lips wrap around the head. He inhales sharply through his teeth.
âDid I hurt you?â you ask.
âGod no, honey. Go âhead, taste it all ya want.â Â
 You curiously tongue the slit and suck for more.Â
âOh god damn,â he breathes.
You lick around it under the crown and youâre salivating.Â
He wraps his hand around yours and moves it up and down, then leaves you be. âUse your spit, honey.â You let it dribble out of your mouth and onto his tip and catch it in your fist. You kitten lick the shaft, tasting your own tang, and letting your saliva fall out of your mouth as it accumulates, occasionally sliding the open ring of your finger and thumb up and down but mostly forgetting because youâre so focused on it in your mouth.
âYa like that, sweetie? ya like how we taste?â You take a couple inches into your mouth then suck a little more of it in. It twitches against your tongue. The biggest vein throbs.Â
âAlright, baby,â he pants and takes it from you. He urgently pulls up his own shirt, slides his hand a few times, then comes with a groan, his voice and pulsing manhood making you ache with need, even though he already made you come. You stay there on your knees. In the dim moonlight, you watch his tummy rise and fall with the shiny trail leading to, and pooling in, his navel.Â
âCan I taste that, too?â you ask.Â
âYeah,â he nods.Â
You dip your tongue in the trail below his navel. Itâs thicker, headier, saltier than the precum. Itâs not every day you get to taste something new. Itâs not often at all. It's delicious.
âLike it,â you whisper.
âYeah? take all ya want.âÂ
You lick and seal your lips as you suck it up. You pause to pluck a hair from your teeth, then continue to his navel. You dip your tongue in and his stomach flexes abruptly. You take your mouth off and pause. âSorry,â you whisper.
âNothinâ to be sorry âbout.âÂ
You tongue his navel, then suck, and he inhales a chest full of air as you do it, his stomach rising into your lips. You lick up every drop.Â
âGood girl,â he sighs and cups your cheek. âSuch a good girl," he sighs.
â
All day you think about it in your mouth, in your hand, resting hard against your back, between your thighs. You imagine it all over your body. Doesnât matter if heâs pressing it up against your hip or resting it in the crook of your elbow, God, you just want to feel it somewhere. You try not to think about it inside you too much because that makes you want it so bad, you could cry. Like really cry.
Itâs not a want. It's a need. You see it happening everywhere you look. You see a tree, and you imagine him sitting on the forest floor against it, holding his cock at attention, ready for you to sit on it. You see another tree and heâs pinning you up against it with your legs wrapped around him, jeans pulled down under his ass as he rails you. You see a patch of moss and cluster of ferns that would be a nice pillow with him on top of you.
You think about it, and you dream about it, too. You canât help that. He starts wearing jeans to sleep, and you canât feel the shape of him quite as well against you, but it doesnât matter. The fact that itâs there and itâs hard is enough to drive you mad. Even after he gets you off, it's bound to come back at some point in the night. Worst case scenario, you lose sleep over it. Best case, it works its way into your dreams.
----
One night, you're moaning in your sleep again, and Joel can hardly take it. His cock is painfully stiff and the strain against his jeans makes him ache. His hips press into you on their own; he can't stop them. All he can do is take off his jeans in hopes that being free of the rigid confines will lend some relief. He was wearing them as an extra layer between the two of you for this exact scenario, but he can no longer bear it.
On one hand, heâs taking precautions, like keeping his jeans on. But on the other hand, in the heat of the moment, when heâs touching you, heâs taking measures to prepare you, and to see how ready you are. Lately, he scissors his fingers, inserts three to see how you take it. âGood girl, thatâs real good, honey.â He curls them inside you, âOhhh, baby, youâre takinâ this real good.â
God, he wants a bed for this. You deserve a fuckin' mattress at the very least. Heâs gotta wait. And yet now he finds himself taking off his jeans. He carefully removes them without waking you up. He lies there with his fist around his cock for a minute, still in his boxers, doing nothing but softly squeezing, as if thatâll make it go away. Then he resigns himself to the magnetism of your body. He curves his form around yours again and silently sighs as the hardness in his boxers rests against you and he wraps you in a hug. He manages not to thrust against your ass, but in no time, you're pushing yourself back against him. "Joel," you mumble in your sleep.Â
"God have mercy," he mutters to himself.Â
He's gonna give it to ya good one day, but not yet. Not in a sleeping bag on the forest floor. Not yet. . . not yet. . . not yet, he tells himself, taking deep calming breaths. Your first time shouldnât be like this. Shouldnât be here. But god damn he wants to take that tight little hole. Â
"Joel,â you whine and push back on him again. He can't stand it. He really can't. He has to wake you up.
He whispers, "Whatcha dreamin 'bout, sweetie?" then feels your breathing change.Â
When you blink awake, your hips are slowly moving, pushing your ass back into Joel's hard cock until you stop yourself.Â
"Sorry," you mumble. "Did I wake you up?" The sweet sound of your voice isnât helping.
"Don't be sorry, baby," he murmurs into your hair.Â
"I dunno how to stop it," you whisper. "I'm sorry."
"Nothin' to be sorry 'bout, baby doll." He hugs you tight. âDonât be embarrassed.â His cock swells harder against you. He whispers in your ear, "They want each other real bad, that's all."Â
"I know."Â
"Have a good dream?"
You sigh. âYeah.â
ââbout what?â
âI dunno if you wanna hear it,â you tell him. Fair enough, he's told you to knock it off, after all.Â
âSure I do, honey. Was it you and me?â
âYeah,â you wedge your hand between your legs.Â
"You want a hand?"Â Â
âYeah.â
âWhatâd ya dream?â he asks as he reaches into your panties. "God damn," he whispers. You're soaked, swollen, and your clit is throbbing against his hand. "Poor thing." He thrusts his hardness against your ass. "No wonder you're tryin' to get at this, huh?"Â
You're quiet.Â
"No wonder ya can't stop thinkin' âbout it." He thrusts against you again and moans softly. "What'd ya dream, baby?"
âIt was. . .â you can hardly form words thinking about it. It was so vivid, so real. âWe were right here, like this.âÂ
âYeah?â He uses your ample moisture to lightly rub your clit.Â
He begins to make peace with himself that this might happen before he wants. He hooks his fingers into your panties. âLetâs take these off for a lil bit, hmm? Let her breathe.âÂ
âOkay.â You bend your knees as he pulls your soaked panties down.Â
â-
"We were right here like this, in the dream?" He repeats.Â
âYou took it out of your pants,â you whisper. He moans softly, takes his hand away, and jostles behind you. Then you feel his naked cock against your skin. Your breath hitches and you whimper at the contact. He returns his hand between your legs and lazily circles your clit, pressing his naked dick against you.
"Took it out like this?" He asks soft and deep.
"Yeah,"Â
He thrusts against you and whispers in your ear, "Then what?"
"You put it between my legs."Â
He inhales sharply then wedges his cock between your thighs, shuddering as he slides it forward along your dripping seam and the head meets his fingers on your clit.Â
You tilt your hips and he whispers, "Oh, baby. Like this?"
"No, you put it inside," you whisper.Â
Joel's breath hitches and he twitches against your heat. You moan. He slides slowly through your folds to your clit and back. He tries to slow down and think it over, but there are no thoughts, just his stiff, aching cock and your tight little pussy begging for it.
ââ
âWill you do that,â you ask, looking over your shoulder but not enough to meet his eyes.Â
Joel takes a deep breath. âYou think I should? Donât wanna wait for a bed?â He thrusts in small pulses. âJust a few days, baby.â
âThey wanna be together real bad,â you whisper. âhow theyâre meant to be," you remind him. Â
Joel groans at your words. âI know, baby doll.â He takes a deep breath. âHowâd it feel in your dream?â
âFull, really full,â you tell him, then sigh. âFelt so big.â
âOhh, fuck,â Joel breathes into your hair and slides his cock against you, wet and stiff.
âIt was like I was hugging you with my, um,â you say, then swallow and tilt your hips. "Hugging it."
âGod damn,â he sighs. He pulls his cock back, and as he slides it forward again, it catches at your entrance. You spread your thighs ever so slightly. âYou sure âbout this,â he confirms, and uses the hand between your legs to nestle his tip just inside. You gasp.Â
âYeah,â you nod. âYes, please. Joel, please,â you whine. You push back on him with a small grunt, stretching yourself open on his tip.Â
âOh god, baby,â he sighs, then he holds you still and slowly pushes himself inside with a quiet groan muffled by your hair. âFuck, youâreâohh, youâre tight.â You gasp as his girth parts your walls and your body makes room for him. âYou okay?â
âYeah,â you nod urgently, and he twitches inside you.Â
You shiver with pleasure as he pushes further and sighs, âOh, baby.âÂ
âJoel,â you whine, âits so bigâ
âToo big?â
âNo,â you reassure him. âI want it.â
He pushes the rest of himself in until his pelvis is flush. He breathes heavily and mutters, âfuck.â
You moan and push back on him. âsâperfect,â you whine.
âyou like havinâ me in here?â
âI love it,â you say.Â
âAs much as the dream?â
âMore than the dream.â
âWhat happened next?â he asks
âThen you it moved like you do in my hand.â
âYeah,â he begins to rock his hips, his thick cock dragging inside you. âLike this?â
ânnngghhâyeah,â you nod then gasp as you're filled by his length again. âohhh,â you moan. "And then you came insideââ
He groans, then pants as heâs moving inside you, âOhh fuck, sweetie I canâtâohh, I canât do that, uggghhâgod damn.â
âFelt so good, like a massageâ
âOhh, baby, please donâtââ
âAnd warmâ
âFuck,â he breathes and covers your mouth with his free hand, bicep flexing under your neck as he does it. No way heâs gonna last with you talking like that.Â
He begins to slowly move again and you whimper. Youâre right, it is like youâre hugging him. Youâre so tight and wet for him, taking his cock so good.Â
"Good girl," he whispers, burying his length in you every second or so, only pulling back halfway each time.Â
"Such a good girl, wantin' my cock so bad." He moans. "Waitin' all this timeâuggh." You push your hips back to meet his thrusts. "That's my girl, takin' me so good," his next thrust is harder and you moan. "Yeah, just like that," he breathes. His hand teases your clit as he fucks you. You whimper and he repeats, "just like that," his voice shakier, his breath heavier on your ear, âyeah.â
You moan into his hand, and his fingers circle your clit. âCâmon, baby,â he pants. âGonna come on my cock?â You nod and hum your agreement. âBetter do it now, then, you can do it.â
You let go and your clit pulses madly, your walls clench down on him. It feels so good, your eyes well up in tears.
âOhh, baby,â he sighs, and suddenly pulls out. He replaces his cock with two fingers that your cunt begins to hug. âSuch a good girl, squeezinâ my fingers.â Â
His aching arousal presses against your ass, and he humps against you as he fingers you. âOhh, yea--ohhhh.â His cock begins to pulse, spreading a silky warmth across your skin. He moans and sighs as you finish coming on his fingers and his balls empty.Â
â-
He uses a shirt of his to clean you up. As his breathing calms down, he hears you sniffling. âHey, hey, you okay, sweetie?â
Youâre fine, more than fine, but you canât talk.
âShit,â he mutters to himself when you donât answer. He peeks over your side, gently stroking your arm. âHey, câmere, talk to me, sweetie.â You turn around and face him. âYou okay, honey?â
You nod and smile at him with watery eyes.
His brows knit as he finishes catching his breath. He kisses you on the forehead and wraps you in a hug. You sniffle again and he speaks into your hair. âI know that was a big deal for you, baby.â He pulls his head back and tilts your chin up. âIt was big for me too, okay?â You nod. He reads your eyes, then presses his lips into yours. He reads your face again, then repeats the kiss and you kiss him back. He kisses you on the forehead and holds you, stroking your head. You fall asleep holding each other face-to-face.
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Thank you so much for reading and engaging! Your comments and reblogs go a long way in motivation so if you liked it plz consider saying something đŤś. There's a virgin section on my joel master list right above the one shots. Left in Lincoln is a pretty similar Joel, in terms of how he is with you sexually. For more Joel POV, the most recent raider, Night Air, has a lot.
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for fic notifications, please follow @toxicfics, subscribe to notifications, and make sure your tumblr app settings allow push notifications. â ď¸ some of my fics are pretty dark.
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#joel miller x reader#joel miller smut#joel miller fic#pedro pascal fic#pedro pascal#pedro pascal smut#toxicanonymity â ď¸#joel miller x innocent reader#joel miller x virgin reader#pedro pascal characters#joel miller fanfic#tw virginity loss#Finally F*cking Friday
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â°â⤠â prince!xavier x afab!reader | smut nsfw 18+ mdni | kinktober '24 day 16 (21âŚ)
tags : long fic, pwp (with plot), porn with feelings (LOTS. OF. IT. because xavier), based off of the lightseeker myths but not lore-accurate, canon divergent borderlining on au, jeremiah as a side character, master/servant, prince/knight, forbidden love, secret relationship, devotion, angst (with a happy ending), sort of a fix-it, self-doubt (both), slight jealousy, miscommunication, arguing, teasing, sexual tension, needy xavier, making out, heavy petting, oral (both), vaginal sex, cum shot, slight somnophilia (you wake up to him eating you out), make-up sex, praise, use of âyour highnessâ âmy liegeâ âmy princeâ âmy lightâ (from reader), use of âmy queenâ âmy ladyâ âstarlightâ âangelâ (from xavier). lmk if i missed any tags!
wc : ~9.7k
an : SO THIS IS LATE (i was supposed to have finished this on the 16thâŚ) BUT⌠HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY MY BELOVED PRINCE !!! every time i revisit his lightseeker myth something in me dies <3 but despite the terrors i will continue to write xavier in soft and tender ways because i love him oh-so-very-much, and hopefully you can feel that through this. this is absolutely my beloved baby fic and probably one of the favorites i have ever written (up there with dlmly and ewflss), so i also hope that youâre able to love it as much as i do! (ALSO as usual the song adds to the feels so have fun w it i guess !! :D)
taglist : under the cut !! (SIGN UP HERE)
AO3 / KINKTOBER MASTERLIST / KO-FI JAR / COMMISSIONS
Of love and admiration that goes far beyond devotion.
Your body felt thick with sleep as you awoke. Limbs still a little heavy, only barely breaking through the last vestiges of your dream⌠You were barely aware of the rustle of sheets from below, a hand going up to shield your eyes from the sunlight. The curtains had been openedâsomething you were usually responsible for at the start of the day, whether or not you had slept in your own room.
Not that this was your room.
Soft, silken sheets of a far higher quality of your own; lavender-laced curtains⌠Dead give-aways.
This was the prince's room.
And last night, he was all over you.
In you.
The heat of his body was flush against yours, all his touches both intentional and needy, sultry movements of his hips to thrust himself deeper, and deeper, and deeper⌠Slowly the details began to flood back into your memory, effectively having your body heat up at just the thought of it. And then you heard itâyou felt it. Nimble fingers trailing over your thigh, something wet, and slimy, a familiar feeling as he languidly licked a stripe up your core.
With a gasp, your hands reached down, finding purchase in those soft tufts of white-brown hair you loved so much.
âXavierâ?!â Still groggy with sleep, you could feel the haze in your own voice, but you blinked yourself awake at the sight below you.
Xavierâs eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief.
He had his hands prying you open, spread for him to see the very evidence of your arousal, and rested his cheek against your thigh. As if to make a point, his tongue darted out to give another lickâalmost like a test. And you noticed that his face had already been covered with your slick.
âGood morning, angel,â he murmured with a smile. He had the audacity to nuzzle against your skin, quite obviously taking delight in the way your face flushed a bright red.
âH- how long have you⌠ahââ
You gasped as he pressed your thighs against your chest, spreading you more obviously open for him to enjoy. Again he leaned back down to lick at your folds, circling the tip of his tongue at your hole, and you jerked with the slight sting of sensitivity.
Sensitivity that couldn't have been there, unlessâŚ
âH-hey! Xavier⌠Whâ H-have you been doing this the whole morning?!â
He chuckled this time, hands moving to massage gentle circles at your thigh. You could see him run a thumb over the red mark heâd left on you just last night, and a shiver ran through your spine at the touch. âShould I⌠not do that?â he tilted his head. Slowly, his fingers began to move back closer and closer to your glistening heat. Your breath caught in his throat; he looked so innocent despite the way he would easily pull you into the palm of his hand.
âNo, itâs not that, just⌠I-I didnât think youâd wake me up like thisâŚâ
He smiled. âMm.â
This time, he let your legs rest back upon his mattress, and he slid up your body, the familiar heat of his skin melding with yours.
âMy ladyâŚâ he murmured. His eyelashes fluttered against your cheek lovingly, lips barely touching your skin, teasing a kiss before resting his forehead against yours. âAhh⌠Itâs just, I like staying between your legs. Itâs nice. And⌠I like tasting you. And when you cum, I like watching the way you flutterâŚâ
His voice was so soft. He spoke so genuinely, despite the mirth laced into his voice, despite the dirty words that fell from his lips. He could say it like it was normal.
He had come to be like this with you.
Not that being used to it by now made you feel any less embarrassed about it.
âMy prince, please,â you huffed, feeling your face heat up. With a whine, you poked at his chest, effectively getting him to roll off of you and settle for pulling you into his arms.
You savored the moment.
His arms wound tightly around your shoulders, and despite the more indecent way heâd woken you up, there was comfort in being so close to him, comfort in waking up next to him. His presence, as always, exuded warmth in every possible wayâyou didnât mind when his leg slid up and around you, pulling you closer, closer, locking you in his embrace.
Xavier was clingy.
And later today, he would be back in a meeting with his parents, not at the academy with you. And that was enough of a reason for him to be even more so.
âMy liegeâŚâ you murmured into his chest, nuzzling against him to offer some form of comfort backâat least, as much as he always gave to you.
He shook his head.
âNot that,â he mumbled.
You smiled,
âMy prince?â
Another shake. âNot that, either.â
You lifted your head to meet his gaze, leaning in for a quick, feather-light kiss.
âXavier,â you whispered.
And he smiled.
âXavier,â you said again, with more conviction, feeling your heart flutter at the way his eyes seemed to shimmer. âXavier.â
âJust Xavier,â he murmured. âWhen Iâm with you⌠Iâm just Xavier.â
Your eyes closed for a moment as he placed a loving kiss on the tip of your nose, and then you chuckled. âOkay, Xavier,â you emphasized his name to appease him, ignoring the frown that formed on his face when you pulled away. âYou have your duties, and I have mine. We should get up, no?â
âItâs early,â he huffed.
âYou need to be early.â
âBut I want to stay with youâŚâ
âAnd I want to lay in a bed of roses. We donât always get what we want, Xavier. Not even the Prince of Philos.â You grinned this time, leaning back down to return his earlier kisses with a tap on his nose. âUp. You know we can spend some more time together when youâre free again. Besides⌠I, too, have those training sessions to get toâŚâ
With a groan, he sat up with you, almost pretending to be sleepy by making a show of rubbing his eyes.
You scoffed. âOh, come on. As if you hadnât been clearly wide awake and working me up between my legs⌠You woke up earlier than me!â
âThat's different,â he insisted. âThat was relaxing for me. Just as last night, youâre always the most wonderful when youââ
You shoved him by the shoulder with a laugh, finally standing up from the bed and making to go and shower. You weren't surprised at the huff of indignance he let out, but you paid no attention to his sulking. The running water felt cool against the your skinâit was a nice contrast to the heat still coursing through your veins. Different from his touches, naturally, but welcome nonetheless, especially since he'd been quite busy with your pleasure mere moments ago.
Not that you hadn't enjoyed it.
Every brush against these marks on your skin had you tingling, flashing memories in your head of how his teeth would nip, how his tongue would glide over you⌠how he'd painted his release all over you, the sheer bliss at feeling such of the extent of the love the two of you shared.
You did enjoy it.
And if he had been craving it, you couldn't deny that the same was true for you.
With the shower tap closing and the curtain being drawn, you stepped out of the shower to gaze at your reflection in the mirror.
This was what it was like to be his.
You thought that you wouldn't trade it for the world.
There was a smile on your face as you stepped out, casually covered in one of the spare robes he kept neatly to the side for nights you would spend over with him. "Xavier, if you aren't up from your bed yet, you really shouldâ"
Your gazes met.
For a moment, the air seemed still. His eyes raked over the shape of your body, almost so to have you loosening the grip that held his robe together.
"A shame⌠If only I could mark you where they could seeâŚ" You watched as he made his way over to you, wrapping his arms around you in that same, familiar manner, and burying his head into your neck. âMm, youâre just so beautiful."
And you couldnât help it.
You leaned back into him, allowing his hands to trail back down over your body, loosening the robe, the pads of his fingertips grazing your skin to leave goosebumps in your wake. Again. Just as he had done that evening. Each careful caress all over you, pressing into your skin as if to leave another mark of his loveânothing visible this time, but rather felt, for though the bruises below your collarbone could have sufficed, he would always be keen on doing much more than that.
Now, his hand made it between your thighs, tracing over your folds and almost dipping insideâ
Almost.
âYour Highness,â you whined at him, promptly snatching his hand away.
The puppy-like gaze he gave you could have made you meltâin any other circumstance.
âYour Highness,â you repeated, firmly. âHands off, be a good boy.â
Something like a smirk graced his features. âAre you ordering me around?â
âYes.â
âA knight to her prince?â
You scoffed. âA lady to her lover.â
And at that, his expression softened.
Those were not often words that you said out loud.
Loverâa word so sacred, a word so pure. To call yourself the prince's lover was near suicide; a knight such as you could never truly be befitting to stand beside him at the throne.
It was not something you did often.
Xavier knew this.
"If that's so," he said gently, "then I'd be inclined to yield."
You shook your head slightly, and then before he had the chance to speakâor doâanything else, you stepped away from him to sift through his closet for one of those suits heâd always worn on days like this. With a pointed look you held it out, and it was near comical how his eyes lit up with barely-contained joy.
âWill you be helping me dress, then, my lady?â
As with anything Xavier said, his words carried with it an air of earnest innocence. Yet even the simplest things had your heart rate spiking if only for a moment.
âYou do not need my help to dressâŚâ
âMm, perhaps so⌠But I would like it.â
"An order?"
"No, but a request. From a gentleman to his lover."
He followed you only to lean in and nip at your earlobe, and it was one last means to tease before he stepped back from you only to take his turn to shower.
Cheeky.
That was one way to describe him.
Xavier just did things, and said things, and you had to wonder if all princes were every bit as lofty as he could be, butâtruly, how could you say no to that?
You wrapped his robe back around you a little more tightly, mumbling under your breath about how unfair he was, before reaching for your own uniform.
Having been carefully kept aside with last night's activities, Xavier had taken to neatly folding them up by the bedside table.
It made you smile.
The Prince of Philos was ever kind.
And though dressing yourself meant putting to rest the last remnants of his touch, it brought you back to the reality of what you were. Just as you'd said just earlierâyou had your duties, and he had his. No matter that you were His Highness's closest aid, the fact remained that the two of you lived different worlds. At times, it was difficult to comprehend just how you'd gotten this far⌠And yet, last night was more proof of it than you could ever hope for, more proof of it than you could ever dream of.
You carefully arranged your skirt, looking towards the mirror in the room to adjust the fit of your uniform.
This was what it looked like to be his.
The door to the bathroom opened.
With another turn, you padded the room to give him a little kiss on the lips, before making through with your promiseâ
His hand grabbed your wrist, and he smiled.
"Just one kiss?" he spoke, and his eyes danced with mirth. You could tell that he was teasing.
You rolled your eyes. "What would you prefer me do?"
"A little more. Please?"
Xavier was clingy.
You knew that he had every reason to be, and perhaps that was one of the reasons you indulged him so easily.
Or, perhaps, you had need for it just the same as he did.
His arms locked around your waist, drawing you close as the soft touch of his lips against yours made you melt.
He was gentle, this timeânot quite the neediness he'd displayed earlier in the morning, but he kissed you with such tenderness, such love, that it took a while before you were able to separate and⌠process.
Cheeks flushed, you took a step back from him and turned back to his closet to gather his clothes.
From then on, there was silence.
Towel off as he slipped on his underwear, you were careful with your movements, his trained eyes watching you fit his shirt over his torso. You didn't dare meet his gaze, not like thisâinstead, you remained adamant on giving attention to dressing him, fingers nimbly fixing the cuffs of his sleeves, trailing up to the buttonsâŚ
Perhaps, it was the silence that made this feel more intimate than it should.
Perhaps, it was the obvious pull you had over one another, still quite unable to get over the night that you had shared.
There was proof of it, tooânot only on your body, but on his. Small, red marks on his chest, littering around like specks of starlight on his pale skin⌠You couldn't help but reach out to touch them, running your fingers over him in a manner reminiscent of the way he'd done with you, andâŚ
Ah, you thoughtâthis was difficult.
He was neither saying anything nor doing anything, simply allowing your exploration of his body, yet you cleared his throat and deftly brought his shirt to a close. Your hands fixed the clasps and pins on his collar, and as you handed him his trousers, you reached over to gather his coat.
"You know⌠I am not to train with you today," he spoke, quietly. The first word he'd spoken since.
"âŚMm." You slid the coat onto his arms, and watched as he rolled his shoulders back to adjust its fit. "I know that. They've called you to the palace."
"I may be gone, for, perhaps, the entire dayâŚ"
You buttoned up his suit, carefully beginning to place the little pins and tassels, and you couldn't help but wonder just how it was that he wore these without feeling an ounce of discomfortâor, at least, showing it.
"I know that, too."
"Starlight."
You looked at him.
"The brooch is on wrong."
You faltered.
"âŚI know that, too."
He smiled as he watched you fumble with such a simple, menial task, and while your cheeks flushed with embarrassment, his hands met yours to help you with it.
"Let me. Before you prick yourself with it."
When you stepped back, you watched him turn to the mirror with any last-minute fixes, and reached towards the table to slip on his gloves.
Looking at him like this, you felt a lump form down in your throat.
It was different from seeing him in uniformâlike this, he looked every bit the part of the crowned prince of the nation. Handsome, charming, gentle⌠Just like every prince should be.
And just as earlier, you felt your heart tear in uncertainty, the reality of his stature laid before your very eyes.
You spoke, and your voice was quiet.
"Your Highness."
He didn't reply. You could see a small frown on his face in the mirror.
"Your Highness." You tried again.
"No."
Ah.
"Xavier."
He looked at you, then.
As if he'd been sure of what you'd been thinking; as if, although he wouldn't speak of it, he would reassure you that you were his, and he was yours.
You let out a slow breath.
"Thank you."
Your head bowed the slightest, gaze averting to your feet.
"Even just to stand a half step behind you, protecting you⌠It would have been enough. Yet still I have the privilege to bask in your love. Enough, that⌠Even amidst all this secrecy, Iâthere's nothing I could want more."
You saw soft footsteps make their way towards you, and when he spoke, his voice was gentle.
He spoke in this way to comfort you.
"If your vow is to protect me," he murmured, "then mine is to protect you. If your vow is to love me⌠then, so, too, will my vow be to love you. You are not behind me. You're with me."
A finger placed under your chin nudged your gaze upwards, blue eyes once again latched onto yours.
"Whatever the meeting they've called me for, nothing will change. I'll be by your side, always. Believe me."
And believe him, you would. Because it was all that you've ever done. You didn't know how to do anything else.
â
"Waiting on His Highness?"
You turned as a figure hoisted himself over the stone balustrade you were sitting on, settling down beside you. Familiar brown curls and the same uniform that you were wearing, he was easily recognizeable. His gaze angled towards the front as he leaned back, legs stretched and hands supporting him in his seat. "Geez⌠It's not everyday you get to see students littered around at this hour, but I must admit. There's some pretty views out here!"
He swung his feet a little, a satisfied smile on his face as he observed the entrance of the academy bathed in the glow of the sunset.
But when you didn't say anything, he turned his head to look at you, blinking curiously. "No, but really. It's Xavier, right?"
This time, you smiled.
When you turned away from him, you, too, looked at the front, scanning the gate and listening for any of those telltale hooves of horses, or rhythmic footsteps of palace guardsâŚ
Anything to signal Xavier's return.
"He's been at a meeting," you shrugged. And you tried to keep it under wraps that this was much later than you'd expected him to be occupied, you tried to keep it under wraps that you'd been feeling a little disappointed that he wasn't back yet.
Keyword: tried.
Perhaps it was a curse that the Vice Captain was just as observant as the prince himself.
"Hmm, but you've been out here for a whileâŚ" You could feel his gaze on you, almost scrutinizing, if you'd believed Jeremiah to be like that.
But you knew him a fair amount. He'd been your training partner on multiple occasions, and he had quite the reputation for being on the friendlier side amongst the Starhunters. Despite his more dramatic ways of framing things, he'd always meant wellâboth for you, and for Xavier. And while he didn't know of the relationship the two of you shared, a little part of you was fond of him for all he's done to help the prince nonetheless. You'd felt as if, that way, he's helped you, too.
A pause, a little hesitation, before you sighed. "Mhm. Not quite sure when he'll be back, but, you know⌠It's a little bit expected for me to be out here when he does. I suppose."
Not that you minded. You'd want to wait up for him, too.
"Do you⌠fancy him?"
Jeremiah's question made you freeze.
"I'm sorry?"
"Prince Xavier. Do you fancy him?"
His tone was not one that was accusatory, but purely laced with curiosity. Again, though you didn't look back on him, you could feel his gaze steely on you.
"W- what makes you thinkâŚ? I'mâI'm just his knight."
"Well, and his training partner."
"You've been my training partner, too."
"Not as much as he has, though⌠Haven't you shared the same teacher?"
You looked at him with a huff, and that smirk on his face almost made you regret that decision.
"Jeremiahâ"
"Look. I'm not gonna pry, because if you do like him, then that's on you⌠and him, I guess. But I've seen the way you look at him. Maybe nearly everyone else seems to think you hate each other, but it's always seemed the opposite case from what I've observed."
"Why are you bringing this up, anyway?"
The light in his eyes seemed to flicker away, his mouth pressing into a thin line. "I heard rumors."
His answer was short.
Vague.
With how the conversation was going, you'd think those rumors to be speculations of your relationship, but it didn't add upâJeremiah had just said it seemed you two had an unspoken rivalry.
In your head, you could thank Xavier's constant invitations to spar with him for that.
"What⌠rumors?"
"Well, the meeting. He's been summoned to the palace, right? There's been talks of an arranged marriage, and⌠Well, you know. I have my suspicions about the meeting being related to that."
Oh.
Something in his words stirred uncomfortably in your stomach, and your gaze moved from his face back down to your feet.
An arranged marriage.
Of course there was an arranged marriage.
"We both know Xavier's of Royal blood." Jeremiah continued, but his voice carried a softer tone, and he nudged at your arm in a means to somehow lighten the mood. "I mean, we all know that. And, you're an official knight, and everything, so I'm sure you know that really well. So, it's just⌠like that."
You let out a slow breath.
"âŚYeah. It's just like that." You could mumble out the words, yet saying them out loud did little to soothe the discomfortâinstead, it made them sound all the more real.
Whatever words he'd said to you this morning, whatever words he'd said to you the night beforeâsweet words, loving words⌠He meant them, you knew that he did. But that wasn't the issue. Because often times, even a prince had truly too little of power to act against the monarchyâand Xavier wasn't even on good terms with his family in the first place.
If a marriage had truly been arranged, he'd have had little say in the matter.
Neither did you know if he truly would sacrifice so much just for you.
"You okay?"
Jeremiah pulled you out of your thoughts, and only then did you realize the way you'd been carelessly wringing your hands in an effortâthat clearly failedâto distract yourself.
You offered a sheepish smile, "Yeah."
And while he seemed doubtful, he no longer pushed.
Instead, he got up.
"Well, anyway. Just food for thought. Listen, I'm not going to stop you from liking him⌠But just be careful, okay? I'd advise you not to get too attached. For your own good. As your friend, I care about you, too, you know?" He gave you a reassuring pat on the back, and then he stretched.
There was a wistful smile on his face.
"Geez, I know how it feels, though. There's just something about being so close with a member of Royalty. When it dawns on you, you really realize that you're worlds apartâŚ" he shook his head. "You know what they say. Perhaps the prince is like a star in the sky, meant to be adored from afar."
You placed your hands nearly on your lap, and watched him move back over the balustrade and onto the path of the corridor. "Leaving?"
"I'd stay and keep you company, but His Highness might get the wrong idea," he laughed, shaking his head.
And though he made to walk away at that moment, he paused.
With a little wink, he gestured to youâ"Though, hey! Nice fighting today! Always a pleasure to train with you."
You rolled your eyes, but a smile peeked at the corners of your mouth. "Go flirt with your other girls, Jeremiah."
He grinned. "Flirt? No idea what you're talking about, milady!"
And in a few moments, he was gone.
You turned back to the gate, running over his words like a record.
Perhaps the prince is like a star in the sky, meant to be adored from afar.
And maybe, you realized, Jeremiah was exactly right.
But you wondered who would have been lonelier that wayâthe star at the top, or its gazer down below.
That night, you walked to your dorm alone.
â
The pattern repeated itself.
Several days had already passed, and night after night you would find yourself waiting at the front of the academy⌠to no avail.
You could go to the palace yourself.
It wouldn't be unwelcome; you were not forbidden, nor was it unusual.
Yet, something in your deepest instincts told you not to.
And the rest of the knights had nothing to say about his whereabouts.
"So you're still waiting."
You didn't need to turn around to see who was talking; this was a voice you'd come across much more often as the evening neared.
"As his knight, I would," you replied, plainly.
And again Jeremiah moved to sit beside you, would spent a couple of minutes out of his day to keep you company for a while.
You'd suspected this to be similar.
Yetâ
"Not this time."
Instead of actually sitting down, he offered his hand for you to take, and only then did you look at him inquisitively.
"Huh?"
"Well, it almost looks as if you haven't done anything for yourself lately. I'm just looking out for you!"
"But, if the prince comes back and I'm not present to greet himâ"
"He'd be back with palace guards with himâ"
"But I promised I'dâ"
"Miss, with all due respect, I don't think His Highness would have wanted you to wait on him like this everyday, either."
Your mouth shut.
Jeremiah had an eyebrow raised, a very pointed expression on his face that made you feel a little sheepish.
In some ways, he was right. You had been prioritizing awaiting his return, and as a result of that, your own personal joys had fallen a little bit neglected. These days, your trainings and classes were the only joys you could findâlittle sparks of conversations here and there, and occasional check-ins from Jeremiah himself, too, butâŚ
You found that it was difficult to find all that much joy without him.
You knew it was stupid.
You knew it was dangerous.
If Jeremiah had been right, and Xavier had gotten caught up in the plannings of an arranged marriage, then, youâwhat was your place, but that of a knight?
A knight, whether close to His Highness or not, was not truly required to wait after hours simply for his return. Not that you were overstepping your boundaries, but it was not a duty that was needed. You had been doing this of your own accord; using duty as some feeble excuse both for yourself and for others.
Jeremiah had warned you not to get too attached.
You knew, deep within your heart, with all the love that you had for himâŚ
It was already too late for that warning.
The least you could do, you supposed, was take it easy, just a little bit.
Slowly, you stood up, using his arm as leverage to stand, before dusting off the skirt of your uniform. Your expression softened. "Yeah. Right. A few moments⌠A few moments shouldn't hurt."
"Of course it shouldn't!" he scoffed. "Come, quickly. I've heard from Sarah that you haven't had any starbread for days now, and it's supposed to be your favorite. She's worried about you!"
The last time you'd spoken to Sarah had been yesterday. She had been your training partner that dayâone of your other friends amongst the Starhunters, a headstrong individual you enjoyed spending time with.
And she'd been right.
Perhaps, you'd barely eaten much the past few days, but it had included your avoidance of the cafeteria's starbread your friends had known you to adore.
Unintentionally, of course.
But now that Jeremiah has mentioned it, you suddenly missed the fluffy taste that melted in your mouth, and a small smile formed on your face as you allowed the male to drag you towards the cafeteria.
It was past dinnertime.
It would be closing soon.
"Okay, stay put. Don't you dare think of going back there just to check on the gate again. I'll be quick and get you one!"
It was his own way of offering you comfort.
â
You saw him.
Jeremiah had gotten you your starbread as it began to rain, and while you were able to offer a thank-you in return for his kindness, he was off in the direction of his dorm area with a barely-discernible mumble of panic.
The raindrops were loud.
You watched his figure retreat before you looked out of the stone hallway, pattering drops making splashes onto the ground.
Uncomfortable.
Rain had never been your most favorite thing in the world.
The star-filled sky was less visible now, a gloomy mist seemingly covering the campus you'd grown so fond ofâŚ
You saw him.
Before a split-second decision to step out into the rain, an umbrella was placed over your head.
You saw him.
"âŚXavier."
â
The walk was silent.
Everything was silent.
Nothing more had been spoken as you walked back to his room, nothing more had been spoken as he reached for a towel to dry off your hair.
The warmth of his touch.
The warmth of his presence.
You felt as if you could melt at it, your eyes tearing up at the mere scent of his cologne that you'd spent daysâweeksâwithout it near you.
Without him near you.
But you didn't speak.
Not even as he tried to meet your eyes, not even as he set the towel aside to hand you his robeâhis robeâthe very same robe you'd used on the day that he'd left.
Instead, he was the one who spoke first.
"You should take a shower, since you've been in the rain. You'll get cold, and uncomfortableâŚ"
Still, his voice was soft.
It was almost as if everything could go back to normal like thisâlike nothing had changed, and this was still⌠Xavier.
This was still Xavier.
He'd promised nothing would change.
You believed him, didn't you?
"I'll⌠boil up some tea for you in the meantime."
He was taking care of you.
He'd been in the rain, too.
He had barely dried his own hair.
He walked over to open the bathroom door for you, before moving to search for the tea you'd always particularly liked.
But you were supposed to be the one doting on him.
"A princeâŚ" Your voice was soft, barely a whisper, as you looked down. The soft carpets of his room allowed you to sink into the flooring, taking comfort in the feeling. "A prince should not be doing so many favors for his servants."
There wasn't a reply.
He'd paused, thoughâthe rustling had stopped. you could tell.
You didn't raise your head to look at him.
"âŚAngel?" he murmured.
Ah.
"Since when⌠did you think about things like that with me?"
And this time, you didn't reply.
â
Your mug.
He'd saved your mug.
And in it was, as he promised, tea well-prepared in your favorite flavor.
Yet, it was still quiet.
He'd been sitting on his bed, reading, once you'd come out fully changedâhe, too, had prepared one of his sleepwear for you to use for the time being, and though you were practically swimming in it, it was comfortable.
It smelled like him.
Slowly, you padded your way across the room to sit beside him, your mug in your hands as if to warm you. The rain hadn't stopped, pelts of raindrops hitting the window with no signs of stopping anytime soon. The view outside was just as gloomyâyou could hear the gale of the wind hitting the panel, and you were more than grateful to be inside a building.
He shifted. The book was placed down.
"How have you been?"
You felt an arm wrap around your waist, andâand you couldn't do this.
Not like this.
Nothing will change.
But not like this.
"XavierâŚ" your eyes closed, and your voice pleaded with him not to pretend.
"Xavier, please. Not like this."
Not like this.
He pulled away from you, but your chin tilted upwardsâthere they were.
Those blue, blue, crystal blue eyes.
"Starlight. Are you okay?"
"âŚNo."
It took every ounce of your strength just to whisper.
"What is it? If you needâ"
"You were gone."
He blinked, looking at you carefully as you spoke.
"How long?" Your gaze dropped back to the ground as he released you. "Do you know how long it's been? It's been weeks."
"AngelâŚ"
"I waited. I waited. But I hadn't heard a single word about you from anyone, and I thoughtâI thought, maybe, you wouldn't be returning anymoreâ"
"No⌠no, that's not it, angel, I simply got caught up with the matters at handâŚ"
You knew it was true.
You knew you were likely being unreasonable.
Yet the frustration building in your chest did little to help you.
"But you could have let me know somehow!"
This time the cry you let out felt choked out; unnatural. As if you couldn't understand why so much of you hurt, when this could easily be resolved if you could talk about this normally, and yetâand yetâand yetâ
"It feels⌠It feels like you've been avoiding me."
Xavier didn't reply, and you took the chance to look up at him.
"I havenât seen you at all since then. Since your meeting. Itâs almost as if youâve been avoiding me, so just, tell me I'm wrong. I heard from Jeremiah thatâ"
It was Xavier's turn to frown.
"Jeremiah? Have you been spending a lot of time with him? I saw him with you whenâ"
"That's what you get from that?! Just the mention of his name?!" you cried. "It's not evenâheâs been keeping me company, Xavier. You know, like a friend? Like someone who cares?"
"âŚHe gave you the starbread."
You buried your face into your hands.
"I'm trying to have a conversation with you!"
"I just wanted toâ"
"Xavier⌠Did you even want anything from that night?"
You heard him draw in a breath. The silence that followed was deafening, the air around you delicateâas if your question had torn through the thickness of all that tension, and now⌠Now, it could almost shatter.
"This⌠is that what this is about?" he whispered. "Do you regret it�"
There was concern in his eyes when you looked at him. And it felt real.
Just as real as the memories from that night, just as real as the marks he'd littered all over your skin, just as real as the fullness of him that you'd felt deep, deep inside you.
The first time.
The first time you had ever dared to go so far.
âŚYou didn't regret it. You shook your head, despite the way your lower lip trembled as you prepared to speak again.
"I could never."
Your voice was barely a whisper.
"I wanted it. Of course I wanted it, Xavier, but⌠But did you?"
Yet you were met with another silence, and the very fact that there was no immediate reply had your heart shattering to pieces.
His answer did nothing to repair it.
"I wanted it," he murmured. "I did. But⌠I don't know it it's something we should have done."
Your head shot back up to look at him again, and this time, the tears you'd worked so hard to hold back began to fall.
"I can't believe you."
With trembling hands, you stood up, mug almost haphazardly placed back on his nightstand.
"How could you⌠how could you be so unsure about it when you⌠When we⌠We had sex, Xavier, and youâŚ"
"My lady, you know that's not what I mean. I told you⌠You can always stay with me. You mean everything to me, it's just⌠It is not so simple right now. Give me time to sort this out."
"But how does that help us now?! Do you think doubting everything right now takes away the fact that it happened?"
"Angelâ"
"You can't call me that right now!"
"But we knew this would happen. We both knew it, these risks, the complications of being in this relationship. We're not supposed to be together."
We're not supposed to be together.
In every sense of the phrase, you knew he was right.
You could have waited until he was king.
You could have waitedâyou could have waited.
You could have waited until he could act without the bars of higher authority.
Neither of you did.
You knew as well as he did that a secret love carried with it the risk of being torn apart.
We're not supposed to be together.
No, but you loved him.
And it was selfish of you.
But you did.
And hearing those words from his mouth felt something akin to a sword being stabbed to your chest.
We're not supposed to be together.
A final straw.
We're not supposed to be together.
"âŚI see."
You turned around and walked away.
â
This time, it was your fault.
You'd keep your responses short, limit them to greetings whenever you could. Though you would stay by his side whenever necessary, you wouldn't tilt your head up to gaze at him, wouldn't step a little bit closer. It had been days since your argument, and you had been the one to avoid himâor, at the very least, avoid him as much as you could.
You were a knight in service to him.
It wasn't as if you never saw him after that, but you'd kept your distance.
Perhaps you just needed time.
Xavier had asked for itâhe wasn't stopping you, wasn't trying to breach the distance, kept the air between you stale just as you had been doing.
Perhaps he needed time, too.
The reality of your relationship was heavy, both on you, and on himâbut, you knew, most likely more on him than you in the first place. He wasn't sharing the burden with you, after all. You knew you'd acted too rashly on your frustration that night. But, in this situation⌠With this atmosphere⌠Things couldn't go back to normal with just a good night's sleep. They wouldn't. Perhaps the both of you knew that.
You approached him first. The clocktowerâhe often went there to be alone. It was quiet, and peaceful⌠and in the evening glow of the moon, a certain sense of melancholy settled over it. Xavier rarely had moments of rest, not as the prince of a nation⌠Yet, here, you could see little glimpses of the person he wished himself to be.
The clocktower was a little sliver of freedom for him.
"Xavier."
You called him out, voice soft and carried by the breeze. When he turned, the flowers gathered in his hands brought a skip to your heartbeat.
Ah, heâŚ
"I⌠didn't know how to give them to you."
Blues and yellows. Not particularly a bouquet, but almost enough to be oneâsmall flowers circled around in his hands, tied by a dainty little ribbonâŚ
Forget-me-nots.
The representatives of the planet of Philos.
Fidelity. Faithfulness. Love.
A promise.
"I'm sorry."
Those were the words he spoke as you approached to take the flowers in your own hands.
"No⌠I'm sorry."
You sat down on the brick-lined surface, him taking the spot beside you, andâyou couldn't help it. Eyes closing, you leaned against his shoulder, nuzzling into the soft warmth you had come to love so much. His response was immediate. Fingers reaching up to run through your hair, loving strokes and a kiss against your foreheadâŚ
You missed this.
"Do you thinkâŚ" you whispered, peeking upwards as you settled into him, eyes moving over the stars in the sky.
It was a quiet, clear night. The stars were plentiful.
Perhaps the prince is like a star in the sky, meant to be adored from afar.
Your hand reached out towards the stars, and your fist closedâyou could imagine flicker of light in your hand, but you knew it wouldn't have been a star itself.
"Do you think⌠The stars are our of reach?"
Xavier held you close, nuzzling into your hair.
He didn't speak.
"You only ever see them when it's dark. When the sky is clear. It feels⌠fleeting, even for something we see every night. Temporary. As if they could sift through your fingers, if you could ever think to hold themâŚ"
Your gaze moved from the sky and back to him, shifting to see him more clearly.
You didn't stop him when he dipped his head into your neck, placing soft, gentle kisses over you skin.
"Xavier," you said again, quietly. "Do you⌠think about me that way? About us?"
He let out a slow breath. It brought goosebumps to your skin, and you had half a mind that he'd intended to leave a mark on you right thereâbut he pulled away.
Brilliant blue eyes back on yours, and something like a wistful smile gracing his features.
"To be honest⌠I do."
It was an answer you expected.
He pulled you back to lean against his chest, and then, too, did his eyes drift upwards towards the sky.
"Because of how things are, it's very easy to end up losing someone you care about. I could make one wrong move and lose you. But⌠above everything else⌠there's no sense to the meaning of living if you aren't here with me."
You closed your eyes. The steady thrum of his heartbeat allowed you to hang onto his words, lulling you into the security you felt in your arms.
"If the stars are fleeting, my starlight⌠Then, I'd do my best to follow wherever you go. I'd want to." He sighed. "I'm sorry."
He said it again.
Something in your heart told you that his next words would be difficult to digest.
"You were right. I was avoiding you a little⌠but only because I didn't know what to do. I know there have been rumors. If you've heard them, then⌠you're hearing from me now that they are true."
"âŚYour engagement."
"An arranged one. I have yet to offer my acceptance of it."
A wry smile made its way to your lips.
So Jeremiah was right.
Yet as it stoodânone of this had ever been anything he'd wanted.
The first time you met, you'd spent several years into your formal trainings without him.
The first time you met, you had your destiny laid out before you.
The first time you met, you pledged wholeheartedly, deep into your heart, that this was the man you would vow to protect.
But the first time you met, Xavier hadn't smiled at all.
He was the prince of Philos.
Rumored to ascend the throne, rumored to lead the countryâhe was, and always had been, held in such high, prestigious regardâŚ
But the first time you met, Xavier hadn't smiled at all.
He'd never wanted any of this.
He didn't choose which family to be born into; he didn't choose the path that he now walked upon with chains around his ankles.
He didn't choose to be betrothed to someone else.
"I still choose you."
He chose you.
And yet the pain in his voice could only tell you that it wasn't an easy choiceâ
He chose you.
Because he would willingly chase after something so fleeting.
Perhaps, it was in a similar way that you had chosen him.
He let out another sigh, and his face buried into your hair. "I have little say in the matter, even if my heart had already made its choice long ago. I no longer know what to do. It's frustrating⌠and I'd distanced myself because of it."
This time, you shook your head.
"The truth is," you laughed a little bit, more at yourself, more out of pity, "I'd been selfish on my part as well. I know⌠I know that we'd started this together. I know that we've known from the very start that things might not go the way that we want it to⌠butâŚ"
This time, it was you who sighed. "But still, I, too, choose you. I want you. And⌠I've always wanted you to know, thatâthis love, I have, for you⌠It's more than this situation calls for, and enough for me to believe that things will work out."
"AngelâŚ"
"I think, maybe it's because I feel so strongly that I'd gotten so frustrated. Because sometimes⌠Sometimes, it feels as if you don't believe I could love you so much⌠that it would be easier for you to let me go now than to force me to go through all of the turmoil of seeing this through, whenâwhen it is already too late for that."
Slowly, your turned your eyes back to look at him.
"My prince⌠it's too late for that."
His hand moved to silently tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, the intensity of his gaze nearly causing you to falter, but you didn't.
You couldn't.
Youâ
You had chosen him.
"Xavier, I love you. I choose to love you, and I choose you, and I choose everything else that comes with this choice, and⌠I know, I know that you love me back. I have never doubted it. But⌠Your Highness, believe me. I can love you the same way⌠I can love you just as much. Trust me to do so, and don't keep me in the dark about it. Please. Your Highness, believe me."
His forehead rest upon yours, and you knew that it was not easy for him to agree with you.
Xavierâalways so willing to give you all of his love⌠yet when it came to him, he didn't know how to accept it.
And instead of words, his lips pressed back onto yours, hand gliding upwards to pull you into this love he had that he could only show you this way otherwise.
Your eyes closed, and he whispered:
"Please, my lady⌠Could you stay with me again?"
â
Warm water ran over your skin, a lull of comfort.
You weren't used to thisâthe way his arms, wet from the shower, wrapped around your torso, lavishing soap onto your arms, your chest⌠He was so gentle. The way he rubbed into your skin was soothing, already enough to make you melt.
And though the air around you stayed silent save for the rushing sound of water, you've never felt so⌠relaxed.
Xavier had insisted.
He'd claimed that you had spoiled him far too many times for him to count, and the least he could do was return the favor somehow.
But you didn't believe him, not really. You thought he always spoiled you. Even a glance your way was enough to fill you with joyâhe just didn't know that. Despite all that you'd said at the clocktower a few moments ago, it was difficult to explain to him how much you loved him.
You leaned back, a soft sigh of satisfaction leaving your lips. As the motion put you back under the spray of the shower, your eyes closed, and he promptly reached out to lower the pressure.
This time, his hands were in your hair, gently easing your head back, rubbing his fingers into your scalp. It took a moment for him to reach for the shampoo, before he was spreading the bubbles over the top of your head.
Cherries.
The scent made you smile.
It was his shampoo he was using on you, and you found that you didn't mind at allâthis was his scent.
This was what it⌠felt, to be his.
Careful touches massaged the soapy, sweet-smelling bubbles into the hair, precise with the pressure and precise with his movements. He was dedicated, and delicateâjust right, just perfect.
In the end, he truly knew you just that well.
And his hands slipped down from under your hair, rubbing in circular motions. The pressure of the showerhead had been turned back up again, and while one hand took to shielding your eyes from the rinse of your shampoo, his other slid down to caress you.
To feel you.
Something told you he was holding back a little, both at his own expense and at yoursâyet his hands stroked over your body under the pretense of rinsing, motions becoming a little more sensual with every second that passed. His thumb rubbed your hipbone, up and down, up and downâŚ.
And then his hand made it between your legs.
Soft caresses on your inner thighs, an occasional squeeze here and thereâŚ
By now he'd finished rinsing your hair, and rinsing the soap off of your body, and his chin rest on your shoulder.
He had both hands free.
One running over the side of your bodyâyour arms, your waist, before moving up to cup your breasts⌠while the other edged tantalizingly close to your core, the heat of his touch almost making you want to press your thighs together.
Almost.
He pulled away.
That smile on his face was familiarâsatisfied, and knowing, and just a little bit proud of himself. And up close like this, you could see every spark of joy in the depths of his eyes, every inch of skin you wanted to kiss. His hair stuck to his forehead, eyelashes wet with little droplets.
When your eyes met, he chuckled. It was a sound that echoed beautifully in his little shower space, warmth spreading through your chest almost immediately.
It was a blur from there. You'd hardly remembered it.
Shower aside, you'd found yourself straddling his hips, his body splayed out beneath you. Familiar silken sheets that adorned his bed rustled in disarray, and with a groan, his hips bucked up into you.
The gaze that he held was unique, only to you.
One of loveâof wantâof need.
"Beautiful," he whispered. "My starlight⌠you are beautiful."
Though his breathing was shallow, he reached up, cupping your cheek.
And you smiled.
"So are you, my prince." A slight, almost testing grind against his throbbing cock had his breath hitching, and his hand falls back down to grip the sheets.
Your eyes softened.
"XavierâŚ" you murmured. "Are we sure of this? For you, right now⌠is it worth it? Do you think so?"
He pulled you down for your lips to touch, an ever so slight peckâone to reassureâand he smiled back.
Soft.
Knowing.
This time, certain.
"It's worth it," he spoke. His voice rang true. "You're always worth it, angel." His hips rolled up against yours, and you could see the way he cherished the gasp you let out. "You always have been⌠you always will be. You are worth every pain and every struggle I might have to bear. So much so that if I am to die by your hands, then so be it. It would be an honor."
A slow breath fell from your lips, and you hadn't realized until that moment how much you'd been holding in. You shook your head, despite the giddy smile that had since formed on your features.
"Silly," you let out an airy laugh. "My liege, such devotion from a prince shouldn't be directed at his servantâŚ" when he frowned, you reached over to ease the furrow of his brows, "âŚbut rather his servant towards him."
This time you gathered his hands to pin back against his pillows, rolling your hips once more, sliding your folds over his cockâand you let out a shaky sigh.
"I'd say it back," you whispered. "You are worth every pain and every struggle I might have to bear⌠I would lay my life for you, my prince. My heart, and my body, and my soul⌠are all yours. And it is an honor."
You smiled, "Your Highness, believe me."
This time, he does.
You could see it in his eyes, in the way the tension in his body had melted away.
And when he smiled, you nuzzled against himâ
And you slid down his body, taking his erection into your hands.
"A-ah, angel, what areâ ohâ"
You watched the tips of his ears flush bright red as you kissed at his thighs, grazing your thumb over the tip of his cock. The pre-cum that had oozed out had you spreading it over his shaft, coating him with wetnessâand you took your time. Every movement was slow, and careful. You enjoyed his reactions, every little sound he had no choice but to let slip through.
"Angelâangel, pleaseâ"
A soft chuckle.
"An order?" you murmured.
He groaned as you leaned in to place tiny little butterfly kisses around his tip, and your eyes crinkled with delight.
His hips jerkedâ"N-no, just⌠a reqâa requestâ" A gasp. "From⌠F-from a gentleman t-to hisâ his loâovâahhâ"
You could laugh with glee at how responsive he was, and, almost as if rewarding him for it, you opened your mouth, molding your lips around him and slowly sliding him into your throat.
The moan that he let out was beautiful.
Continued slow movements, you began to move your head up and down, up and down.
It didn't take long.
Perhaps it was the tease; perhaps it was how much he'd been holding back all this timeâhis hips lifted up slightly, pushing himself deeper into your throat, and your eyes shut.
"A-angel!" he cried. "Oh, myâ my lady, ohâ mnh, s-so goodâ"
Your hands ran delicately over his thighs as you sucked, bringing your head up to the tip and circling your tongue around it before taking his cock back into your throat.
His groans grew more frantic, his hips stuttered.
And then before you could think, and just as your fingers had wrapped back around his cock, every intention to stroke his length, his hand was firmly placed on the back of your head. He began pushing youâyou'd take him deeper, as deep as you could, his hips rutting up into your mouth in a desperate frenzy.
You moaned around his length as your eyes closed, and you could feel the way he was throbbing.
"Pleâ pleaseâ please, angel, starlight, I wantâ want to be inside youâ" His voice was becoming hoarse. Less coherent.
He was losing himself in the pleasure, just as you'd wanted.
"Hnngâ angel, please, I misâ m-miss you so bad, miss how warm, Iâ haahâ ahhâ!"
He cried out your name, his thrusts becoming more frantic.
And you pulled away.
"W-waitâŚ!"
You wiped the slick off of your mouth and cherished the protest he'd only barely choked out. "You asked," you panted. "You asked me⌠YouâŚ"
You didn't finish your sentence.
He had spoiled you enoughâyou would comply with his every requests, and spoil him.
In an instant your warm, wet walls sank down onto his length with a lewd squelch, greedily taking all of him. You leaned forward, moaningâ"Xavier. Xavier⌠XavierâŚ"
He choked on his moans as you began to bounce over his cock, desperation just as well matching the way he fucked up into you.
Not enough.
Not enough.
Your movements were frantic, a messy chase of your highsâ
But your legs could give in.
Not enough. Not enough.
"X-XavierâŚ" you whimper helplessly, voice shaky, distorted with the movements of your hips. "Mnnh⌠Xavie⌠Pleaseâplease, Y-Your Highnessâ my light, my everything, myâ my prince, make me cumâ!"
His actions were quick.
You sank into the mattress as his figure caged you between his arms, hovering over you, panting, pantingâyou squealed as he began to slam his hips into you, and this⌠This was enough.
Despite every rough slam of his cock deep into you, he leaned in to whine into your ear, occasionally turning his head to pepper your face with kisses.
Gentle enoughâdesperate enoughâloving enough.
"Xavier!"
With a final cry of his name, you crashed, trembling around him and clasping his arm so tight that you were sure your nails had dug into his skin to leave a mark.
"Xavier⌠XavierâŚ"
Your chest heaved, and your hand fell limp back to your side as he kissed you.
He kissed you, and kissed you, and kissed youâhis hips losing their pace, before heâ
"M'gonnaâgonnaâ nnhâ! Ah!"
He released all over your stomach, shooting his cum out onto you, leaving a sticky mess on your body as he hung his head.
Arms on either side of your body, he desperately tried to catch his breath before he could look at you.
"Ah⌠ahh⌠haah⌠Th-that⌠Y-you were soâŚ"
You smiled, reaching up to run your hands through his hair. "Very good," you murmured, all praise. "You made me feel so, so good."
He sat up, looking at you as his expression contorted into one of pure, unabashed adoration.
You almost rolled your eyesâ"We have to shower againâŚ" you sighed, though the smile never left your face.
He shook his head.
He took a few moments before he'd come back with a wet towel to wipe you clean, and thenâas if having spent every ounce of his energyâfell on top of you like a weighted blanket.
"Xavierâ!"
"Mmn. Let's cuddle firstâŚ"
He spun you over to have you back on top of him, and cradled your figure close. Your head rest upon his chest.
"My Queen."
Your eyes widened.
"My Queen."
He repeated it, firmlyâsurely.
His head buried into your hair, and you heard it again.
"I believe you. I do, and I will, and youâyou will be my Queen. I will make sure of it. Beside me, with me."
A slow, shaky breathâ
"Your Highness, believe me."
an : have you figured out yet that i love phrase repetition
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