#( so far above me yet know my heart belongs to only him: firefly )

[forcebewitht]

Ma Belle Evangeline (Malleus Draconia x Reader)

...This had been the most fun evening Malleus had in centuries. The enigmatic Fae prince was positively beaming out a warm smile, and the lovely individual by the name of Y/N currently walking beside him seemed to be enjoying themselves just as much. The two had spent the evening examining the school's various gargoyles and other stone-like structures for a bit of a relaxation period for them both. Lilia had to subdue Sebek's nerves and Silver's questioning all at once in order for the two to head off alone. The mysterious Vanrouge seemed to enjoy the smile that the prince got upon his pale features whenever he would be around their beautiful self and form- so, what kind of "father" would he be if he didn't help his little family along as best as he could, hmm~

Malleus strolled to a nearby tree, the moonlight utterly radiant against both of the figures cloaked in the night. His lips perked up into an all too soft smile as he allowed a hand to trail up within the high branches. Spring was in full swing- so the heavenly aroma of cherry blossoms drifted into the senses of the lovely person below. A perfectly pale pink bud is plucked from the tree above, the Fae turning his body. He smiles even more...Great Seven, the way their skin glistened in that moonlight made them look like an angel….

"...Here, my dear Y/N~" Given a motion, Malleus gently had them turn their head in his general direction. The flower is tucked behind their ear as the Draconia male hums at his work. "A perfectly soft flower to celebrate your eternally soft beauty…." Malleus smirked in an almost dopey way upon his own words, his heart nearly leaping from his chest when he hears the bright Child of Man giggle. Ahhh, his heart was all aflutter now~

...Soon, Malleus led them to a spot off to the side of a nearby creek. A little picnic area completely set up with a blanket, basket, a candle, and some glasses were all properly positioned for the arrival of the two. The Fae couldn't contain his smile at the sight of the individual's eyes lighting up like that. Such a joy. However, upon spotting their partially arched brow at the sight of the basket, Malleus laughed. "No, before you ask, Lilia did not prepare this for us~" That got an exhale of relief to release from the lips of Y/N. Thank goodness.

Malleus assisted the lovely person in order to sit upon the blanket spread out on the ground. Yeah- it took Malleus a second because, let's be honest- he's pretty tall! However, he soon was able to sit beside them on the ground. Fireflies immediately began to float up around the night sky as the two huddled together under the stars. The food is soon retrieved and placed out onto little plates- he had made cute little sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Maybe that's why he kept flexing his hands every now and then. How cute! A bottle of a sparkling cider is soon retrieved and poured into their glasses. Malleus drew the sweet dear to him, now smooching the top of their forehead. They then both dig in, idly chatting away here and there and laughing into the night…

….And soon, Malleus retrieved one of the various instruments he could play- a bass. He smiles, now gently cracking his knuckles. In a sudden sweet yet swift change of events, the Fae began to sing. "Look how she lights up...the sky...ma belle...Evangeline~" His deep, soothing voice dipped in and out of each note with ease, his lips perking up into a soft smile at their own shocked reaction. "So far above me...yet I...know her heart...belongs...to only me~" Malleus soon stood up, fireflies soaring over to the bass to play it for him. He had them stand up, now singing sweetly into their ear for a moment before he began to spin them around. "You're my Queen of the night...so still...so bright...if someone as beautiful as she….could love...someone...like me? Love always finds a way….it's true...and I love you...Evangeline~"

Lilia stood behind a tree, grinning. He began to softly play a trumpet along to the beat, Silver and Sebek working together to have the cherry blossom petals fall down around the pair as they waltzed. Malleus smiled at their assistance, continuing on with his little princess/prince. "Love is beautiful...love is wonderful...love is everything….do you agree?" Y/N is hauled up into the air and lightly spun around, the prince chuckling at their cute little reaction. "...Shall we see?" Guess he couldn't pronounce that French part right. That's cute. He soon brought them back down to the ground on their feet, slowly dipping them to the floor. "Look how...she lights up...the sky. I...I love you….my Y/N~" Malleus gently tilted the head of the Child Of Man a bit as they linked their arms around his neck softly. He smiled down at their form, gently kissing them into the night as Lilia's trumpet played them out.

Cherry blossom petals scattering down all around them, the prince and the princess/fellow prince held each other in their arms into the night...for they were his Evangeline.

~End~

(Hello hello, dear Readers~! Decided to edit a little writing of mine from a while back to be readable for one and all~! I'm debating creating the 18+ blog still with writings- and I am also waiting on replies from my latest poll post, so I'd appreciate feedback~! Until next time 💕✨️)

[ofpearlsxgods]

( @hidden-among-you​ ) has been dragged into the locker !!

For someone who claimed to be prepared for anything and everything, Sohyang was caught by surprise when it started raining. She should’ve paid more attention to the weather’s forecast and should’ve brought an umbrella with her, just in case. After all, it was winter and it could start raining anytime. Like now.

Fortunately, she and Yugyeom were almost home. They went out to have lunch and once they were finished, Sohyang insisted that he had to see what her cousin got her for Christmas - a large Snorlax stuffed plush. She might need some help deciding where to put it, and the fact that it started pouring had them hurrying inside (which was probably not a problem for Yugyeom and his Sonic-the-Hedgehog--like speed).

“You should take a shower. I’ll get some of Dohwan’s cloth-” Yet before she could finish what she was saying, Sohyang sneezed and sniffed. “I’ll get some of Dohwan’s clothes for you. He won’t be back until later, so don’t worry.” Even if he did, she doubted her cousin would mind Yugyeom wearing some of his clothes.

[scarymoosh]

brightburn

contains: angsty, but very much in love chilumi

word count: 1159

a/n: hey there! just had some thoughts for Childe and Lumine I wanted to write down aianxjsn. my dearest @xdilucx, I know it’s not xiayu but I hope you like it!

——————————————————————————

She was really something else, sitting here beside him, so close yet so far away. Knees pushed against her chest, arms wrapped around her legs, as if she wanted to protect herself from something, from him. Yet, despite those makeshift walls, she was as unguarded as she had ever been.

This he knows.

Her gaze is fixated on the ocean in front of them, seemingly taken with the push and pull of the tide. He wonders what could possibly going on inside that little pretty mind of hers, what thoughts made her stoic turn solemn. Those golden eyes of hers, so brilliant and bright, like diamonds mined from the depths of the starry sky, seemed sunken into the very sea she was staring at.

Her mind was treading dark waters, he thinks, but that was a place solely meant for him. It’s funny, because Childe has been drowning for a very long time, a lone narwhal exploring a depth opposite of the sky she belonged in. He does not remember the last time he had looked at his reflection and saw light inside them. And Lumine, which quite literally means light, was made of it.

Lumine could take on many forms of light, each with its own certain intensity. There was the shimmer of sass whenever her and Paimon would bicker, a subtle glow that still made people look, and then there was this radiance that comes when she has a sword in hand, the kind that stuck behind closed eyes like a sun speck after looking directly at it. But right now, she was nothing more than a twinkle, subdued and soft, like the stars just outside of Liyue. And it wasn’t that she was being outshone, but rather, she was resting, much like all else do at night.

He honestly doesn’t know which one he loves more.

Sure, he was originally taken with her in battle. After all, he believes that is his sole reason for existence, that his measure could only be worth something if melee was in the equation. Childe detests anyone and anything that is weaker than him because he learned how the world works the hard way. Or least, stumbled upon its darkest secret.

But Lumine…she was much more than strength. She was not of this world, and that was much bigger than anything he could ever achieve, could ever be.

Being around her made him want to live outside of crusades, for once. The feeling is an unfamiliar one, but it has not gone away since the day she came into his life, striking suddenly across his path like a fissure of lightening against a thundering sky. And although it was a big burst, it never touched his sea, not even his long narwhal tooth.

He was lonely, but so was she. Lumine was tiny, her reputation only making her stature a mere afterthought, and it is because of that that people often forget she is just a little meteor that fell into a foreign world. An alien, if you will.

Lumine was light, but she could never be a firefly, otherwise Childe would’ve put her in a jar by now. Though, she was far better than an animal, and he was no better than one.

She was of the sky and he was of the sea. So how they were here now, sitting along the beach like two normal people, was beyond him.

Was he this in love that it hurts? Childe has only ever known pain. And if he can’t make out this other emotion he has been feeling, he’ll continue to hurt himself in some way until someone guides him to the surface of his dark, dark ocean.

“Childe?”

Finally, something more than the waves rushing in his thoughts.

“I think I’m going to say the craziest thing in my existence.”

Oh? “And just what would that be, my lady?” he doesn’t look at her when he asks this, doesn’t know if he’ll lose himself to those golden hues. Many find themselves lost at sea, but what do you call it when you are out amongst the stars? Maybe the sky was no different than the sea. They were both outlanders in their own rights.

For the next few moments, she’s quiet. Beside him, she clenches then unclenches a fist, opens then closes her eyes, trying her best not to burst between the seams. She could explode into a million little pieces, much like a firework display at Lantern Rite, and maybe that’s just how these next few words will sound.

“I’m in love with you.”

His breath hitches in this throat.

She gulps. “I…I’ve been in love with you, for a while now.” Then she chuckles, exasperatedly. “Gods, you have no idea what you’ve been doing to me, villain.”

Finally, he gathers the courage to look at her. The bone at the bottom of her palm is pressed against her forehead, blonde bangs tangled in her fingers, gold eyes lidded but unblinking. Her other hand rests atop her knee, flat but with the tips of her fingers curled into her skin, as if she is trying to stabilize a ship in the middle of a storm out at sea. She is an image of disbelief.

“You really are a villain,” she continues, almost teasingly, “for making me feel this way.” There is a small smile on her lips now and his heart clenches at the sight.

“Pretty girl,” his voice is barely above a whisper as he leans in. “I’d say you’re just as bad as me,” he nuzzles her temple lovingly, “because you make me feel the same.”

Then before he knows it, he blinks and then she is looking at him, golden gaze as pure as diamond. And then he kisses her.

It is a delicate thing at first, the kiss. They get the angle all wrong, noses knocking awkwardly against each other while their hands and lips try to find their rightful places. Their eyes are closed, so they hesitantly reach out and cling to one another as if they’re searching through the dark.

At last, he sees the light, this time in the form of a lantern, floating gently down till it reaches the surface of the ocean at is him. It lingers long enough for the narwhal to reach the surface, to touch the light like his lips touching hers. It stays above water like she remains in his arms, even long after the kiss dissipates much in the same way a sparkler fizzes out.

Childe thinks of how long he’s waited, all the uncertainty and all the loneliness and all the heartache. And all of it has been worth it, for this, for her. It burns to nothing beneath her lips, reduced to ashes by the stroke of her fingertips against his cheekbone.

She is fire, too.

He prays that his waves won’t ever douse out her light.

[mother-shipper]

I Could Not Ask You Where You Came From

I Could Not Ask You Where You Came From:(AO3) Tired of being such a disappointment to his father, six year old Steve decides maybe it would be better for everyone if he just...disappeared. When a human appears in his forest, Billy wants him gone. But what should have been a quick ridding of a pest, soon turns into something longer, better, lovelier.

Steve ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. He didn’t care anymore. It was dark and the brush was high, the twigs and saplings cutting against his skin. The light of the moon barely broke through the canopy, and Steve could only just make out the trees around him. It was dangerous. He knew that. But… why did it even matter anymore? He wouldn’t be leaving the forest. That was the point. His feet hit the dirt, loud in the silence. All the creatures of the night had gone quiet as they always did when predators came near. Steve didn’t know how long he’d been running or how far from home he was when his foot caught on a tree root. He was sent flying forward, hitting the ground hard. He whimpered as pain rolled through him, sniffling and finally letting the tears flow. He couldn’t even run away right. He couldn’t even get kidnapped. His father was right. Steve was a disgrace and that was all he would ever be. He sat up and wiped at his nose with his sleeve. Who was he kidding? Even the fae wouldn’t take a child as useless and stupid as him. He moved to lean against the trunk of the nearest tree, pulling his knees up to his chest. His own father didn’t even want him. Steve buried his head in his folded arms and wept, the pain in his heart winning out.

When the sun went down, the forest came to life. Flowers started to glow, pinks and purples dotting the forest floor and shedding their light on everything around them. The stags wandered the tall grasses, their racks taking on the same ethereal glow. Small birds, the color of glittering jewels, flitted about. Everything came to life in a way no man had ever laid eyes upon and as the forest woke, so did her guardian. 

Billy rose from his nest, stretching his arms high above his head and his wings out so wide the feathers quivered. He rubbed at one eye and looked down from the heights of the tallest tree in the forest. Moths came to flutter about his head, playing under and around his horns. They spoke in whispers, telling him the news of the land. He laid his head on the edge of the nest and listened, eyes still heavy as he fought sleep. But there was something that snapped him awake instantly. A human. There was a human in his forest. Billy's bright blue eyes snapped open and he growled. 

"Where?"

The moths whispered to him and flitted away, winding around and down the trunk of the tree. Billy spread his wings wide, flapping them once, twice, then dropping out of the canopy. He spread his wings and let them catch him. They carried him on the wind, gliding through the trees. Mushrooms and frogs scuttled along beneath him as he flew but he wasn't looking to play. Not right now. Not with a threat in their midst. 

Billy was fast and silent. His feet touched the ground and he spotted it. It was so… puny. Billy crept closer, inspecting. It was all curled up, sniffling and crying pathetically. Billy tilted his head curiously, eyes narrowing. It could be a trap. Humans were vile, sneaky creatures. They couldn’t be trusted. But… he’d never seen such a tiny one. This didn’t look like any man he’d ever seen. Billy leaned in carefully, sniffing at it. It smelled human. Billy’s nose wrinkled in disgust. The human’s head lifted suddenly, brown eyes big and wet and startled where they fixed on him. 

“You’re a human,” he said, eyes narrowing. “But you’re so small.”

The human sniffled and wiped at its eyes. “So are you.”

Billy growled at that, puffing himself up as big as he could get, feathers fluffing up indignantly. “I’m big enough!”

The human stared at him, transfixed on his wings and his horns when it seemed to dawn on him. His face turned nervous. 

“Are you here to steal me?”

Billy snorted. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re a fairy.”

“Oh.” Billy didn’t know what he was talking about but this human said it so confidently that Billy didn’t want to seem stupid for not understanding. He paused. “No. Are you here to kill me?”

“No!” The human shouted. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re a human,” Billy sneered. 

“I… no.” The human stared at him for a moment. “I’m Steve,” he finally said. Billy didn’t answer. “If you don’t want to steal me then why are you here?” Billy folded his arms over his chest, leaning over Steve. “Do I come to your house and ask you why you’re there? No. This is my forest. You don’t belong here, so get out!”

Steve looked wounded by that and it gave Billy pause. He thought the boy might start to cry again. 

“Why are you here anyway? All the animals your kind like to murder are sleeping. You won’t find anything to hunt.” “I didn’t come to hunt,” Steve said softly. “Then why. Are. You. Here?!” Billy asked, punctuating each word with a stomp of his bare feet. “Go. Home.”

“I can’t,” Steve answered quietly. “I… they don’t want me there.”

That caught Billy off guard. Didn’t want him? “But… surely you have a mother,” he spat, “a father. A family.”

“He hates me,” Steve said, his voice small and thick with coming tears. “I make him mad all the time. And that makes my mom sad. Then they fight and it’s all my fault. So I left.”

That made Billy’s chest ache. The smell of gunpowder and burning flesh filled his nose and the angry screaming of men ringing in his ears threatened to take over and he had to shake it away. 

“Well, you can’t stay here. No humans are allowed in my forest. Not ever.” Steve sighed sadly. What was he going to do if even the fae didn’t want him? He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even know where he was now. Billy planted his hands on his hips, shaking his head.

“You wouldn’t make it out here anyway. You should be happy I found you before the bears or the wolves.” He held out a hand for Steve. “Come on. I’ll take you back to your village.”

Steve took Billy’s hand reluctantly and let himself be pulled up. Billy’s strength surprised him as he found himself on his feet in a split second. It was as if he weighed nothing. The fairy let go of his hand and turned to survey the area. After taking stock of their situation, Billy nodded to himself. 

“Alright. This way.”

Billy took the lead and Steve followed close behind. Right before his eyes, Steve saw the forest start to transform. Reacting to the presence of its guardian, it all came alive. He stared in awe as the world around them shifted. The darkness was chased away as bluebells bloomed and cast a blue glow at their feet, lighting a path through the trees. The moss gave off a bright, fluorescent green light in speckled patterns. Fireflies started to float through the air, circling around them.

“Wow,” Steve breathed. He stopped, turning to take it all in. One of the fireflies lighted on his nose and Steve giggled. He crossed his eyes, trying to get a better look at it. “What?” Billy asked. 

“It’s so pretty,” Steve answered. “Is this what it usually looks like?”

“No.” Billy leaned down, touching one of the bluebells gently with his fingertips. It sparkled at the contact and made the softest, sweetest ringing sound Steve had ever heard. “The humans still rip the flowers up this far in. There’s way more closer to the heart.” “I wish I could see it.” 

Billy turned to Steve, looking him up and down. He took in the awed look on Steve’s face, the gentle way he scooped the firefly from his nose to cradle it carefully in his hands. 

“Come on,” he told Steve, turning off the lit path. “If you think you can keep up, that is.” 

Steve watched as the fairy took off at a run, dumbfounded for just a moment before his brain caught up.

“Hey, wait!” He followed after the winged boy, running as fast as his feet would carry him. He never took his eyes off the glistening, black plumage and yet he was suddenly gone. Steve skidded to a halt. He looked around at the darkened forest again searching for any sign of his guide. 

“Where’d you go?” He called. Steve turned in a circle and looked up into the treetops. Curling his hands around his mouth, he shouted. “Hello?”

“Shhh!”

Steve reeled around. Blue eyes stared into his, so close they nearly touched noses and Steve shrieked. He stumbled backwards, arms wheeling to try and keep balance and Billy hooked a finger in his shirt, tugging him back into balance again.

“Are you all this easily startled? And loud.”

Steve didn’t answer, just tried to catch his breath from all the running and the scare on top of that. Billy smirked. 

“Alright. I guess I’ll take it easy on you.” He turned away again and laid his palm against the bark of the nearest tree. Everything began to glow again. This time there were more colors. Pinks and purples mixed in with the blues of the bluebells. The trees glittered with their speckles of green and even the mushrooms started to give off soft light. A new pathway was lit, showing them the way to wherever this fairy boy was leading Steve. 

Steve didn’t ask questions. He followed after the other boy again, sticking closer this time. The shining eyes of owls and lizards and other night time creatures looked out at them from the trees and Steve wanted to stop. He wanted to look at them all up close. To touch them. Instead, he stayed with his guide as they moved ever forward. Billy slowed to a stop on the path, turning to face Steve. 

“Close your eyes,” he demanded. 

Steve covered his eyes obediently. Satisfied, Billy pushed Steve through the opening in the trees and out into a clearing. 

“This,” he said smugly, “is my forest.”

Steve peeked through his fingers carefully at first. He gasped and dropped his hands at once in awe of what was before him. The whole place sparkled with light. There was a pond, the fish beneath the water lighting it with their scales all glowing in different colors. The cattails waved back and forth, bathed in the light of both the water and the dragonflies that clung to them, looking like they were made of glass. Fireflies and moths floated around in the tall grass. It was the most beautiful thing Steve had ever seen. 

“Pretty,” he breathed. Billy smiled proudly.

He walked past Steve out into the lush, tall grass and flopped down into it. Fireflies clustered where the grass had curled out around him, almost like a cradle. He stretched his wings out beneath himself and sighed.

“How come it never looked like this before?” Steve asked, crouching down at the edge of the pool to look more closely at the gemstone fish gliding along beneath the surface. “The grown ups all say it’s so dark and scary out here.”

“Because,” Billy frowned. “The forest doesn’t like them. It hides from monsters.”

“But… Mr. Hopper says the monsters are in the woods. He says they eat kids like me up.”

“Well, he’s a liar,” Billy snapped, sitting up. “Humans are the monsters. They come into the forest and just take things that aren’t theirs. They cut down the trees and kill the animals and pick the flowers without even asking.” Billy curled up into a ball then, arms wrapping around his knees. “Humans ruin everything.”

Steve stared at the fairy boy, eyes wide in surprise. He had never done that. Ms. Joyce and his mom and his dad had never done that. But… Steve thought of his father. He thought of the screaming, the anger, the disappointment. His eyes turned sad and he looked down into the water, swirling his fingertip in the coolness of it as the fish circled. 

“I think my daddy’s a monster,” he nearly whispered. 

There was a silence that hung in the air between them, both lost in their thoughts which were more similar than they knew. Steve could feel the other boy next to him though he never heard him move. It was still, quiet, comfortable. Then a hand just barely nudged Steve and he tipped forward.

“Hey!” He shouted indignantly just before he fell forward and splashed into the water. It was just barely deep enough for Steve to go completely under and he surfaced, spluttering. 

“What was that fo-!” The fairy wasn’t on the bank where Steve had last seen him. 

He brushed his sopping wet hair back out of his eyes and scanned the shore, turning to find Billy only inches from him again. Only his eyes peeked above the water and they sparkled with mischief. Billy came up, cheeks big and he spit a fountain of water at Steve.

“Hey!” 

Billy laughed and Steve felt the annoyance bleed out of him. Instead, he looked at Billy, the water dripping from his blonde curls and glistening droplets clinging to his freckled face. He looked happy. Steve liked to see the boy happy. He splashed Billy back and the boy sputtered in surprise. He hadn’t expected retaliation but he took it in stride and splashed back at Steve. It turned into a water war, the two of them bobbing around the pond on their toes and aiming swipes at each other. 

They were having fun but it was still the middle of the night. The water was cold and only getting colder and Steve, being human, could only handle so much. His lips started to lose color and his teeth chattered but he still kept going, not wanting to give in to Billy. The fairy noticed though. He stopped splashing and grabbed Steve instead, pulling him onto the shore. They were both breathless but giggled happily. Billy shook himself off, water flying everywhere and making the dragonflies scatter. 

Steve curled into a ball, shivering and teeth chattering through his grin. He had never been allowed to play like this before. His father didn’t like him to associate with the commoners. He told Steve it “made them think too much of themselves.” Now that he had the chance, he didn’t want it to end. But Billy seemed to have other ideas. He sat behind Steve, not caring that he was getting all wet again and wrapped his arms around the shivering, human boy. He pulled Steve in close and curled his miraculously dry wings around them both. 

“Why didn’t you say you were cold, stupid?”

“I’m f-f-fine,” Steve tried to argue as though his chattering wouldn’t give him away. “Y-you’re j-just m-m-mad I was w-w-winning.”

“Were not,” Billy huffed.

“W-were t-t-too.”

Billy rolled his eyes. “You can’t get too cold. When things get too cold, they die.”

Steve just shrugged. “W-wouldn’t have to g-go home then.”

Billy frowned but didn’t answer, just curled tighter around Steve to warm him up. They sat together like that for a while, Steve asking questions about the forest. 

How did the plants and bugs glow like that? Could everything in the forest do it? Which tree was the tallest? Which thing was his favorite? Steve’s favorite were rabbits. Did he have any rabbit friends?

Billy listened and answered as best he could. Magic. Not everything but a lot of them. His tree was the tallest in the whole forest. He liked the luna moths the most and he was friends with everything that lived in his forest. 

“Everything?”

“Of course. It’s mine. I take care of it and I take care of them.”

Steve huddled closer. “It must be nice to have so many friends. I wish I had some.”

“You don’t have any friends?” Billy asked. Steve shook his head.

“Daddy says I’m not s’posta mingle with the commoners. He says I need kids of status to play with. But we’re the only blue bloods in the village so I’m not allowed to play with anyone else.”

“What’s a blue blood?” Billy asked, his nose wrinkling.

“I dunno,” Steve shrugged. “But dad says we’re the only ones.”

Billy huffed. Humans were so strange. 

Birds started to chirp in the trees, waking with the first lightening of the sky. It wasn’t yet sunrise but the inky darkness was starting to lift and go gray with the first signs of morning. 

“Come on,” Billy said, standing them up. “I’ll take you back now. I know a shortcut.”

A now dry and warm Steve followed after Billy reluctantly. He didn’t want to go back. He had planned on disappearing. But the forest wasn’t his home. It was Billy’s. They moved through the trees, flowers blooming up to guide them just as they had before and it wasn’t long until they reached the treeline. Just beyond the brush, Steve could see his house, still and quiet as his family and the servants slept. 

“I’m Billy,” the fairy told Steve, breaking his train of thought. He looked over but the boy was looking straight at the dirt, hands behind his back. “And… you can come and visit the forest again. If you want to.”

“Really?” Steve smiled wide.

“Yeah,” Billy told him. “You’re okay. For a human anyway. So you can come back.”

Billy brought a hand out, revealing one of the bluebells. He offered it to Steve. “Just ask the flowers. They’ll show you where to go.” 

Steve took the bluebell with a smile, holding the flower in his hands gently. 

“And make sure you give it water, okay?”

Steve nodded. “I’ll take good care of it. I promise.” 

Billy watched Steve cradle the flower he’d given him as if it was the most precious thing in the world and it made his heart flutter in his chest. 

“You better,” he answered. “And I’ll know if you don’t.”

Steve just smiled wider. “I’ll come play again soon. Promise. Bye, Billy!”

Billy watched Steve go, feeling an emptiness settle in his heart. Steve would come back. He promised. And Steve wasn’t like other humans. Billy trusted him. With a flutter of wings, Billy was gone, returning to his forest as Steve settled down in his bed.

“Are you the only thing from the story books?”

Billy tilted his head curiously at Steve. The two of them walked along the forest path, Steve doing his best to keep up with the forest guardian. 

“What are those?”

“You know,” Steve insisted, climbing over a tree root that Billy floated over with ease. “Storybooks. Once upon a time and happily ever after? Princes saving princesses, knights, all that stuff.”

Billy shook his head. “You’re so weird.”

Steve paused there, astride the root of the tree, and looked at Billy in surprise. 

“You’ve really never read a story before?”

“Reading is a human thing,” Billy sneered. “We don’t need your symbols. We tell our stories.”

Steve rolled his eyes, used to Billy’s distaste for things he deemed too human by now. He’d been coming to the forest for a few years by this point and he was still learning new things every time he wandered there.

“But are you the only one?”

“The only what?” Billy asked.

“The only magic thing. There’s fairies in the books but there’s different kinds. Big ones and small ones and mean ones and nice ones. And there’s magic animals too.” 

Billy smiled. While it was decidedly human, he couldn’t help but love Steve’s curiosity. The wonder he found in the mundane, as if every day was his first. Billy led Steve further along. He took him deeper into the forest than ever before. They pulled to a stop at the foot of the most magnificent sight to behold in such a magical place. The tree was huge. Hundreds of years undisturbed had allowed it to tower above all the others. It was so thick around it would take ten men at full arm’s length to wrap around it. Steve stood and stared up at it, awestruck.

The heart of the forest.

Billy made a gesture with his hand and one of the roots beneath Steve shuddered. Steve yelped in surprise and clung to it as it started to rise. It pulled itself up and out of the dirt, stretching higher and higher toward the canopy until it paused at the top. Cradled at the apex of the branches, safely hidden in the thick leaves, was a large bird’s nest. It was big enough to fit two adults and Steve gaped at it. 

Billy landed inside it, plopping down cross-legged in the center. 

“Come on.”

Steve hesitated. He looked over the edge of the tree root, seeing just how long the way down was which made him cling tighter. 

“Don’t be a baby,” Billy told him, rolling his eyes. “You won’t fall if you’re in the nest.”

Steve took a deep breath, closing his eyes and letting himself slide down the root until his feet hit the edge of the nest.

“There you go,” Billy told him. He reached out and tugged Steve gently backward. Once he was safely on the floor, the root began its descent back to its home in the dirt. 

“What lives here?” Steve asked, marveling at the structure that surrounded them. 

“It’s something very dangerous,” Billy said. He narrowed his eyes, curling his hands into menacing looking talons. “A beast with claws and horns.”

Steve swallowed hard, holding onto Billy. His eyes flicked around, looking for any sign of the creature.

“It’s really strong and fast,” Billy continued. “And it’s the handsomest thing in the whole forest.”

Steve snorted and shoved at Billy’s chest, laughing as he realized what Billy was doing.

“You doofus.”

“What?” Billy grinned. “You asked.”

Steve looked out over the forest from above, seeing just how far it reached. He could see for miles. Even Steve’s village was visible from their perch, the tower of the manor jutting up among the distant, simple cottages.

“You can see everything from here.” “Yeah,” Billy told him. “That’s kinda the point.”

Steve ran a hand over the lip of the construct. “It's softer than it looks. Did you build it yourself?” Billy grimaced and looked away. Steve had noticed that every so often, one of his questions would strike a nerve. Whatever it was that was upsetting him, Billy never said and Steve didn’t push. 

“Hey,” Billy said, recomposing himself with a plastered-on smile. “You wanna see something cool?”

“Yeah!”

Billy rose to his feet and moved gracefully along the ridge of the nest. He circled around to one of the thick arms of the tree. Laying his palm against the bark, he whispered something under his breath that Steve couldn’t make out but that tickled his senses. As he spoke, vines began to materialize and weave themselves along the branch. They made their way down to the nest and began to ensnare it with long, green tendrils, weaving around until the outer walls were covered in an intricate pattern. Steve watched with wide eyes as the vines settled before bursting with pink blooms. 

“Pretty!” Steve ran a finger gently over one of the velvety petals. “How do you do that?”

“Magic,” Billy answered, plopping down beside Steve again. 

Drawn by the flowers, butterflies came to surround them. They fluttered around the nest, landing on the blooms to drink their fill of nectar. Steve was completely enraptured by it all. A butterfly landed on his shoulder and Steve marveled as he heard a tiny voice in his ear. 

“The forest is the town of trees

Where they live quite at their ease,

With their neighbors at their side

Just as we in cities wide.”

 “They can talk?” Steve asked, turning to Billy.

“Sort of,” Billy answered. He leaned back on one arm. He raised the other up, held out a finger and one of them landed there, lazily flapping its wings.  “They can only repeat things they’ve heard and usually only in those funny patterns.” 

“The world is so full

of a number of things,

I’m sure we should all

be as happy as kings.”

Billy smiled softly at it. “I think it makes it easier for them to remember.”

As though the flowers were an invitation, all sorts of things began to gather around and join them in the tree top. There were lizards that glimmered like jewels darting around and clinging fast to the rough tree bark. Birds flitted around the branches above them with feathers that seemed to glow under the sun as they chirped to each other in harmonies. Mushrooms scuttled around on tiny legs, laughing and chasing each other around at their feet.

“Is it what you expected?” Billy asked.

“Better,” Steve said, cradling one of the little mushrooms in his palms where it bounced happily. "What about unicorns?" Steve asked, eyes wide and bright. 

Billy's face fell again.

“No,” he answered solemnly. "They left… when she left."

"Who?"

Billy didn't answer. He went quiet, fists clenching at his sides.

"Are you okay?"

Instead of answering, Billy stood. He took two steps back to the edge of the nest and, without a word, dropped backward and fell head first from the tree. 

“Billy!”

Steve rushed to the side and leaned out, looking for any sign of the other boy but… there was nothing. It was as if he just vanished. 

“Billy,” he said, softer this time.

There was a sudden tap on his shoulder and Steve startled, reeling quickly around. Billy was there, standing behind him as if nothing had happened and cradling something to his chest. 

“What are you-” Steve started.

Billy cautiously opened his cupped hands and a little reptilian head poked out. Its scales were a fiery orange color, its belly a bright yellow and pale, tiny horns sprouted from its head. Its blue eyes raked over Steve suspiciously before crawling out of Billy's hands. Its long, slinky body scaled Billy's arm to perch on his shoulder. A lengthy tail curled around it, leathery little wings flapping.

Steve stared at the creature, open mouthed and starry eyed.

"Is that a dragon?!"

"Her name's Max," Billy said softly. "She's the only one left so I have to keep her extra safe. Even if she's a pain sometimes."

Max snorted indignantly and nipped at his ear. Billy flicked her nose in retaliation. "Most of the time!"

Steve smiled. "I think she's pretty."

Max turned her attention to the human in their midst and tilted her head curiously at him. She was hesitant and didn’t seem to trust him, much like Billy when they first met. Seeming to decide he wasn’t worth her time, she made her way down Billy’s body again. The mushrooms surrounded her immediately and began climbing all over her in delight. They bounced and circled her, trying to coax her to play with them much to Max’s clear displeasure. She squeaked her offense and tried to nip at them but they were fast. Steve knelt down and gently shooed them away and Max took the available escape by slithering up Steve’s arm instead. From her higher perch, she gave another indignant squeak at the little creatures below. 

Steve laughed and Billy felt his heart flutter in his chest.

Steve stepped carefully through the house, mindful of the creaking boards and the rickety third stair. He didn’t need anyone waking up. It was hard enough to get time to himself these days. Father insisted he had to learn to be a gentleman and that meant more tutors than ever before. That meant sitting at a table for hours getting rapped on the knuckles for picking up the wrong fork, people constantly pushing and pulling him upright to keep his posture perfect. It meant falling asleep when he was meant to be studying the great poets and his father being even more demanding of him. Steve didn’t have a free moment during the day and he presumed that was intentional. 

He donned the dark cloak he kept tucked in the cupboard beneath the staircase, pulling the hood over his head as he carefully crept through the kitchens to the servants’ entrance. It was small and hidden and much quieter than the ornate, front entrance. It also led directly to the gardens which was the fastest route to his goal, the reason for his father’s hawklike focus on his whereabouts. Steve slipped into the darkness of the forest. 

Navigating the high brush and dense undergrowth was second nature by now. Steve didn’t deviate from his original path, heading steadily deeper until he was certain he was no longer visible to the sleeping houses of the village. When he was sure it was safe, he paused and reached into his breast pocket. From it, he pulled the beautiful, clustered bluebell. It had survived through eight whole winters, never faltering. It was Steve’s most treasured possession. Cradling it in his hands, he whispered to it.

“Take me to him.”

He watched as the flower began to glow just as it had every time before. It wasn’t long before the rest of the forest followed suit. Dormant flowers opened and luminesced and the fireflies Steve so loved came to swarm around him in a flurry of light. He smiled as they rose around him, letting them guide him along the path. Steve loved this place so desperately. He felt wanted here. He felt whole in its wild embrace. Flowers and fireflies and so many other animals came out to greet him and followed along closely. He was no longer a predator here. He was a guest. A friend. But the most important creature was still missing from the scene. 

Steve kept going, deeper and deeper until he reached the heart. Dropping his hood, Steve smiled and approached the trunk. He laid his palm against the bark reverently. The energy pulsing beneath his touch was comforting and it never failed to inspire awe in him. There was so much life here. It was home to so many things. It was the epicenter of the magic that protected this forest and all that called it home. Steve laid his forehead against it and smiled. 

“May I go up?” he asked politely. There was a rush of warmth through him. Permission. Carefully, Steve found a familiar foothold and started to climb. Hand over hand, picking around for each safe place to put his weight, Steve made his ascent. He knew this tree better than his own home by this point and the creatures of the forest surrounded him in welcome.

He was just over halfway up when his confidence betrayed him. He got careless and missed his footing. Steve slipped, his eyes wide with fear as he realized he was plummeting back to the forest floor. His stomach was in his shoes and his heart raced as branches and leaves blew past him, none of them strong enough to catch himself on. His brain finally caught up with what was happening and Steve closed his eyes and let out a terrified scream. Then everything just… stopped. There was no rushing wind, no sensation of falling. Hesitantly, Steve peeked one eye open. 

Billy smirked down at him, his eyes shining with mirth and his arms supporting all of Steve’s weight where he cradled him against his chest. He held Steve as though he weighed nothing, his otherworldly strength making the task look laughably easy. 

“That’s five,” he teased, setting Steve back on his feet on the forest floor. “You’re such a clutz.”

“That is not five,” Steve argued, his cheeks flushing pink as he pouted at Billy. “I would have been fine if I hadn’t been distracted.”

“But you were,” Billy argued smugly, “and you fell and I saved your life. For the fifth time.” “You could have just helped me up in the first place,” Steve complained.

“Where’s the fun in that?” 

Steve sighed, rolling his eyes at the fairy. Billy was taller now, Steve only just surpassing him. His blonde curls were longer, thicker and wild looking. His appearance was starting to shift as Steve’s was. Baby fat still clung to his freckled face but the rest of him was getting steadily leaner. Steve had become more lanky than lean but his body was still plump and rounded in places, belying his tender age of fourteen. 

“Well, if you’re going to be that way, maybe I’ll just keep my gift to myself,” Steve huffed.

Billy’s eyes went wide and his smug face fell.

“Wha- I-” Billy spluttered. “You can’t do that! I saved your life!”

“And then you made fun of me.”

“That’s not how presents work,” Billy pouted. “You can’t just change your mind.”

Steve gave an exaggerated sigh, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. 

“Fine. I guess you can still have it,” he teased.

Though he tried to seem disinterested, Steve was too good at reading Billy by now to miss the undercurrent of excitement and anticipation. He reached into his pockets, finding the cool, leather binding he was searching for. Steve pulled out one of the small poetry books his tutor had given him, offering it up for Billy. He wasn’t a big fan. Most of the time, he didn’t understand the appeal of the pretty language and imagery. Why not just say what you meant? But Billy loved it. Steve had taught him how to read long ago and the other boy could never get enough despite his initial dismissal of reading and writing as “human stuff”. Steve wondered just how excited Billy would get if he knew about libraries. 

Billy took the book in his hands, turning it over with starry eyes.

“It’s a poetry book,” Steve told him. “I know you like them and I thought maybe you could teach the butterflies some new ones.”

Billy ran his palm over the cover, feeling the dips in the leather where the letters were painted in a glittering gold. 

“Aren’t they going to notice when you come to class without it?” Billy asked.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Probably. I’ll just tell them I lost it. It’ll take at least another month to get a new copy from the bookseller so I won’t have to sit through any more poetry lessons in the meantime.”

“No,” Billy said, rolling his eyes. “Just lessons on how to eat and stand and dress and ugh! I don’t know how your kind has survived this long if you’re still learning all that.”

Steve laughed. “It’s not really learning how to do those things as much as it is learning the proper way. I have to learn how to be a gentleman.”

“That’s dumb,” Billy said, nose wrinkling. “Why can’t you just be a Steve?”

Steve felt his heart twinge at the question he’d asked himself so many times. Why couldn’t he just be him? Why wasn’t that enough? But those arguments with his father were fruitless and only widened the rift between them and left his mother upset. 

“It’s not all bad,” Steve told him instead. “Some of it I actually like. I’ve had a few dance lessons now and they’re actually enjoyable.”

Billy rolled his eyes harder, letting his head drop back and groaning dramatically.

"Why do humans have to put rules on everything?” He protested. “You don't learn dancing. You feel it."

"But sometimes the learning is the fun of it,” Steve told him. “Here. Let me show you." 

Steve stepped up to stand toe to toe with Billy, gently taking the book from his hands. Max glided over next to them, coming up to about Billy’s hip now and finally able to support her own weight with stronger, more practiced wings. She took the book from Steve and headed up the tree with it without being asked. It would go with all the other things Steve had gifted Billy, tucked away in a little hollow where it would be safe.

Billy looked flustered as Steve turned his attention back to him and took his right hand. 

“This hand goes here,” he said, guiding Billy’s hand to rest on his shoulder. 

“And this hand goes here.” He clasped Billy’s waist with his left hand, the palm fitting there like it was made to. “And…” He clasped Billy’s free hand in his, holding them up to shoulder height. 

“There,” Steve said, smiling at Billy. The boy’s whole face burned red, his blue eyes staring pointedly at Steve’s collarbone, refusing to meet his eyes. “This is stupid,” he grumbled but Steve didn’t pay it any mind. 

“It starts like this.” Steve took a careful step forward with his left foot, giving Billy time to move his own foot back. 

“Then this.” He moved his right foot forward and to the right, waiting for Billy to follow. Billy stared down, trying to keep up with Steve’s movements and pick up on the pattern.

"Don't look at your feet. Just follow my lead." 

"Why do you get to lead?" Billy protested. 

"Are you teaching me then?" 

"Alright, alright."

His feet came together, right foot back, left foot back and left, feet together and back where they started.

“See? It’s easy.” 

“I don’t know,” Billy said. “This is weird. And there’s not even any music.” “Sure there is,” Steve told him. “Just listen.”

Billy paused, straining his ears to hear but there wasn’t anything coming from the town he could pick up. 

“I think you’re hearing things.”

“Nope. It’s all right here,” Steve insisted. He started to move, counting out loud to himself in threes. 

One. The croak of a frog. Two, three. Crickets chirping. One. An owl hooted. Two, three. Doves cooed to each other in the trees. 

Billy stared at Steve in awe. He was listening to the forest. The sounds Billy knew so well he all but tuned them out by now started to jump out one by one, coming together into a beautiful symphony. Steve listened to the forest and heard it singing to them.

Billy moved with Steve, letting the human that had bonded so deeply with his forest guide him. Steve smiled encouragingly as they moved just a bit faster. “See,” he told Billy. “You’re getting it.”

Yes, Billy thought, he was. He let his wings spread out behind him, broad and strong and, with one powerful stroke, lifted them both off the ground. The rush of air swirled around them, picking up the leaves and flower petals in its pull. The fireflies followed in a brilliant display and they were surrounded by a glowing cyclone. Steve laughed brightly as he watched them but Billy’s eyes were only for Steve. When the human’s chestnut eyes met his, shining and happy, soft, he couldn’t have stopped if he wanted to. Billy pulled Steve in closer to him. Their bodies pressed together and Billy hesitantly moved in. 

His eyes slid shut and his lips pressed against Steve’s. Steve breathed in sharply, unprepared for the sudden gesture and even less prepared for the spark it sent through him but that didn’t stop him from kissing Billy right back. It was awkward and chaste, neither of them knowing what they were doing, only that it felt… right. Like Steve’s hand on Billy’s waist, it fit. 

They separated and Billy pressed his forehead to Steve’s. 

“I… that was-”

“Good,” Steve finished, hearing the uncertainty in Billy’s voice and stopping it in its tracks. “It was good.”

“Yeah?” Billy asked softly. 

“Yeah,” Steve breathed back. He smiled wide and leaned in to kiss Billy all over again.

Steve laid in the tall grass, staring up at the stars and tracing the constellations with his finger. 

“That one’s Ursa Major. The bear,” he explained. Billy snorted a laugh and pushed the hair back off Steve’s forehead, the human’s head pillowed in his lap. 

“I think you’re seeing things.”

“No, really. Look,” Steve told him, tracing the lines again. “There’s the head and the body and there’s the legs.”

“They all just look like stars to me,” Billy said, shrugging. “What took you so long today? I thought you were done with your human lessons.”

Steve rolled his eyes affectionately. “They’re fancy human lessons, thank you very much. And yes, I’m done with my lessons.” Steve paused, staring up at the sky again. “I had to help with preparations. Apparently we have guests coming. Some nobleman and his wife and daughter are coming to stay with us.”

“Don’t they have their own home,” Billy scoffed. “Why do they need yours?”

“I think dad just wants to show me off,” Steve said. “He’s always so worried about appearances. I guess now that I’m eighteen, he figures I know enough to not embarrass him and he wants to compare me to the other nobles.”

Billy frowned at that. Why should Steve be measured against other humans? As if any of them could compare to his Steve anyway. Steve was so special no other human could ever hope to measure up. More important than that was how much Steve seemed to hate so much of this high society stuff he was forced into. 

“Why don’t you just leave?”

Steve laughed. “And go where?”

“Here.”

Steve looked up at Billy in surprise and Billy stared back, cradling Steve’s cheek in his palm. 

“You could stay. Live here with me. You never have to go back to that house or those people again.” He stroked his thumb back and forth over Steve’s soft skin. “We could be together all the time. Just like this.”

Steve looked at Billy longingly. To live here and leave all of the trappings of his life behind, all the expectations, to be with Billy, sounded like a dream. But…

“My mother,” Steve said softly, his face falling. “She always tells me I’ll disappear in here. She begs me not to come because she’s afraid of losing me. I couldn’t do that to her.”

Billy frowned, turning his head away.

“I want to,” Steve told him. “You know I do. Being with you is what I look forward to every day. It’s what’s kept me going this long. But I have a responsibility to my family too.”

“They have a responsibility to you, Steve. They’re supposed to love you. The real you. Not turn you into some performing pet to entertain their friends.”

Steve’s chest ached. He knew Billy was only angry on his behalf but hearing it so bluntly from the other boy’s lips made it hit so much harder. 

“They’re humans, Steve. They won’t stop until they’ve destroyed you just like they do everything else.”

“I’m human too, y’know,” Steve said softly, stopping Billy short. “Aren’t you worried I’ll ruin this place? Ruin you?”

Billy’s brow furrowed, his lips pressing together in a thin line. “That’s not… It's different,” Billy told him. “You’re different. You’re not just a human. You’re Steve.” Billy leaned down, folding himself almost in half to touch his forehead against Steve’s. “You’re my Steve.”

Steve reached up, tangling his fingers in the wild mane of Billy’s curls. “And you’re my Billy,” Steve said softly. “That’s never going to change.” 

They stayed that way for a moment, the two of them just soaking each other in. They didn’t have much longer before Steve would have to make his way out of the forest again. He would have to return home to his family and his duties and Billy would be left to wait for his return. 

As the sky turned from black to grey, Steve and Billy said their goodbyes and Steve took the familiar path through the forest, crept through the gardens and into the stillness of his home. He came through the kitchens, tucked his cloak back into the cupboard and rounded the stairs, ready for bed.

“Did you think you got away with it?”

Steve froze, ice flowing through his veins and chilling him to the bone. James Harrington was perched at the top of the stairs, his face stony, rage simmering beneath the surface and burning behind his eyes.

“Father, I-”

“Do you think this is a game, Steven? Do you enjoy getting the whole town talking about the Harrington boy making deals with the fae?”

“I haven’t-” Steve pleaded but his father cut him off harshly once again.

“I’ve given you everything, boy, and this is your idea of gratitude? Have you any idea how much your education cost?”

Steve glared at his father, his jaw set. “I never asked for that.”

“No. Of course not. You just expect everything handed to you. You have no regard for this family or how hard I worked to make the Harrington name mean something!”

“I don’t care about titles,” Steve snapped. “I don’t care about classes or all these made up rules! Why do humans have to put rules on everything?!” 

The second it left his mouth, Steve knew he’d made a big mistake. The silence was deafening between them. His father’s face went pale, his expression horrified.

“I-I… I didn’t-”

“So it’s true,” James hissed. “You’ve seen the devil, boy.”

That made Steve angry. No one would speak about Billy that way in his presence.

“The only devils I’ve seen, father,” he spat, “are among men.”

It was quiet again, the rage in his father visibly building. He went purple with it before his arm flew out and he grabbed hold of Steve’s upper arm with a bruising grip. 

“Clearly you can’t be trusted with your own safety,” he growled. “So I’ll have to save you from yourself.”

James dragged Steve along by the arm, pulling him so forcefully Steve struggled to keep up. He tried to fight his father’s grip but the man’s hand was like iron around him. He hauled Steve up and up and up, dragging him up the stairs to the tower. At the top of the staircase, he threw Steve forcefully through the open door. Steve hit the floor and slid, his back colliding with the opposite wall.

He cradled his arm, staring at his father in anger and fear.

“The lady Buckley will be arriving in three days time,” James roared. “And when that happens, you will be wed.”

“What? You can’t-!”

“I can and I will! And until that happens, you will remain here. Perhaps you’ll come to your senses by then.” 

His father slammed the door shut and Steve’s stomach dropped when he heard the lock click. 

“No.” Steve scrambled to his feet and threw himself at the door. “No!” 

The handle wouldn’t turn no matter how much he tried. In blind fear and rage, he pounded against the heavy, wooden door over and over, screaming to be let out. They couldn’t do this to him. They couldn’t lock him in here like some prisoner. He screamed himself hoarse, desperate for his freedom, wishing he’d never left the forest and stayed with Billy like he wanted. He wished he’d stayed home.

Billy was sick with worry, pacing circles around the heart of the forest. Something was wrong. Steve hadn’t come back yesterday. Not in the light of day nor the dead of night. Steve had never just not shown up before and Billy was at a loss. He couldn’t exactly go looking. What was he meant to do? Walk the streets of the village asking if any of them had seen Steve? Billy could never bring himself to set foot on the desecrated land, the stolen forests of men. And if he was seen… It was sickening to even think about.

No. Billy could never go to Steve. But he wasn’t alone in his concern. The whole of the forest was restless. He needed answers. They all needed to know if he was safe. Billy stopped pacing and reached out a hand. A mocking bird flew down from the trees and settled on the offered perch, watching Billy intently. 

“I need you to go to the village. Listen to everything. If anything happened to Steve, they’ll be talking about it, right?”

“Listen to everything,” the bird repeated, mimicking Billy’s voice perfectly. 

“Good. Go.” 

The bird flew off, leaving Billy behind. It flitted from tree to tree, lighting on branches and making its way through the forest to the village. It was a lot of ground to cover for a little bird but she would do her best. Everywhere she saw humans together, she would land and listen. 

“That Jim is so handsome, isn’t he?” 

“I heard he used to be a knight before he came back here. Such a shame about his daughter though.”

Nothing about Steve at the laundry pool then. She took flight again. The window of the bakery was her next perch.

“I don’t know how they expect us to finish such a big cake in such a short time.”

“They’re paying us well enough to rush it. Don’t complain.”

“Still, it’s not going to be nearly as pretty as it could have been.”

Nothing here either. She took off again, this time to the town square. There were many humans gathered here, all setting up for some sort of gathering. The ladies weaving flowers into an archway were where she found what she needed.

“I hear the Buckley girl got caught in bed with her handmaiden,” one woman half whispered. “Everyone’s talking about it. They say it’s why she hasn’t been able to find a suitor back home.”

The other woman clicked her tongue and shook her head. “How unfortunate. She’s such a pretty girl too.”

“Still,” the first woman said again. “I don’t think it’s quite on the same level as our lordling. I wonder if they know what they’re signing up for. Disappearing into the woods like that and coming back ever since he was a child? It just doesn’t make sense unless he…”

“Oh yes,” the other agreed. “I heard from one of the servants that he confirmed it himself. Confessed it right to his father’s face that he made a deal with them.”

“Oh dear. I think someone ought to warn the Buckley’s, don’t you? That’s nothing to muck about with. Imagine the effect such a thing might have on their children.”

“You’d better not,” the second woman hissed. “If it gets out we blabbed to the Buckley’s and ruined this arrangement, Lord Harrington will make our lives a living hell and then throw us to the wolves.” She fastened on the last flower, wiping her hands on her apron. “Young Lord Steven will be wed tomorrow and that’s that.”

There it was. That was what she needed. 

“And that’s that,” she repeated to herself, startling the women below. 

“Oh, you nasty thing,” the first woman scolded. “Shoo! Off with you.”

She swung a rag at the mocking bird, chasing her off the archway. That was okay. She had to get back anyway. She had to report back to Billy. She made her way back through the forest just before the sun began to set. Billy was waiting, curled up in the hollow of the tree with his treasures. He had the book of poetry open, the binding of it cracking in places and worn smooth in others. Max was curled up around the rest of the trinkets from their human to protect it. Only Billy was allowed to touch the hoard. The mockingbird landed on Billy’s knee, shaking out her feathers and looking up at him.

“Well,” Billy asked, setting the book in his lap. “Did you find anything out? Is he okay?”

The mockingbird lowered her head, hesitating. 

“Young Lord Steven will be wed tomorrow and that’s that.”

Billy’s heart sank. No. That couldn’t be right. Steve wouldn’t marry someone else. He loved Billy. He said so.

“I have a responsibility to my family too.”

His stomach sank and he felt like he would be sick. His chest tightened and his vision blurred with tears. 

“I’m human too, y’know. Aren’t you worried I’ll ruin this place? Ruin you?”

Billy gasped for breath around a sob. He should have known better. You couldn’t trust humans. They take everything and leave you bleeding. He looked down at the book in his lap and the overwhelming grief was replaced with anger. How could Steve do this? How could his Steve, the one who gave him everything, who chased the loneliness away, be so heartless? How could he abandon him to loneliness all over again?

Billy roared, slamming the book shut and throwing it as hard as he could. It spiraled away through the trees, crashing somewhere out of sight. He moved to the pile of things Steve had given him. The stuffed animal, the flower crowns they made together, the toys and all the pretty rocks he found but refused to take because they belonged to the forest, every last thing was thrown from the tree. One by one, they flew from view, landing wherever they may. Billy never wanted to see them again. He never wanted to see Steve again. He never even wanted to hear his name. 

Never again would a human be allowed in his forest. Never again would anyone be allowed in his heart. 

When it was all gone, Billy stood there panting. His chest and shoulders heaved with every breath. He threw his head back, letting out a roar that echoed through the trees and rattled the ground. Everything fell silent. So painfully, deafeningly silent. He was so angry. He wanted to fight, to hurt, to take. But there was nothing left to throw. Every sign Steve had been here was gone… Steve was gone. And just like that, the anger leached out of him. It dissipated like the morning fog and all that was left was the hurt. All he had left was an empty sadness. There was a hole in his heart. Billy dropped to his knees and wept. 

He wept for what felt like an eternity. He wept until he had no tears left to give. Max curled around him, laying her big head over his shoulder to pull him close to her scaled chest. She had never seen Billy hurt like this. Nothing here did save for the trees, the last living witnesses to his first earth shattering heartbreak. Only they and Billy remembered the forest that was and the wound of losing their matriarch, Billy’s mother. Only they could see the scars it left behind.

When he was exhausted, Max carried him out of the hollow and up into the nest. He laid there in silence, draping himself over the edge and playing idly with one of the pink flowers that still decorated his home. The sun had sunk down, giving way to darkness. Billy just felt… numb. He glanced up, his eyes landing on the village and sending another spike of pain through his heart. But something gave him pause. 

The tower. There was a light in the window. Billy had never seen it lit before. He was filled with anger again. Perhaps that was Steve’s bride. She must be up late, glowing in the excitement of tomorrow and knowing she would have Steve all to herself. Billy growled. He needed to see her. He needed to know just who would presume to steal Steve away from him.

Billy got to his feet, brow furrowed and jaw set. He dropped from the tree, free falling until he came close to the canopy of the smaller trees. His wings snapped open and he pulled up sharply into a glide. He let himself coast on the air currents as he made his way silently over the woods instead of through them. Let the humans see him and heaven help any of them that had something to say about it. He approached the tower, pulling up to land on the outer sill. The gust from his wings blew the windows inward, extinguishing the lamp that had led him here so the glow of the moon was the only light pouring into the room. 

A gasp drew Billy’s attention to the corner of the room where a figure was huddled. There. This had to be her. But something didn’t feel quite right. It was no woman, he realized. He sniffed the air and picked up the familiar scent of Steve. Steve and tears. Billy stepped down off the sill, bare feet hitting the floor soundlessly. He could see Steve better now, bathed in pale blue light. He was curled in a ball, his eyes puffy and cheeks tearstained. He looked so small. So lost. In an instant, Billy was brought back to that first night in the forest and he could see clear as day the lonely little boy who’d come into his forest looking to disappear. 

Steve half laughed and half sobbed as he realized Billy was really here. He sniffed and wiped furiously at his eyes, turning to Billy with a watery smile.

“Are you here to steal me?” he asked, his voice unsteady. Billy’s heart skipped a beat.

“Are you here to steal me?”

“Why would I do that?”

Billy dropped to one knee in front of Steve, cradling his face in his hands so gently. He leaned in and kissed Steve for all he was worth, searing his claim into Steve’s very soul. Steve returned it with all the need and fear and relief that had ruled his world for the last two days. Fresh tears spilled over and as they pulled apart, Billy brushed them away.

“Forever and ever.”

Steve choked out a sob and threw himself into Billy’s arms. Billy held him tight, burying his face in Steve’s shoulder. He didn’t dare let go, lest Steve disappear all over again but he soothed him just the same. 

“I’m here,” he told him. “I’ve got you now. You’re mine. My Steve.”

“And you’re my Billy,” Steve cried. 

The sound of footsteps thudding up the stairs pulled them from the moment, reminding them they weren’t out of danger just yet. Billy growled, standing to his full height and facing the door with his wings spread wide. He dared any of them to try and lay a finger on Steve. He would kill every last one of them. 

“Billy,” Steve pleaded. “No. Please. Just get me out of here.”

Everything in him wanted to stay. He wanted to make an example of them for anyone who would ever dream to take Steve from him again. But…

“Please,” Steve breathed, leaning against Billy’s back. “I want to go home. Take me home.”

It was a plea Billy couldn’t ignore. They were nearly here. If they were going to run, they would have to act fast. Billy grabbed Steve and ran for the window. The wooden door burst open behind them, men screaming at them to halt. But Billy paid them no heed. He gripped Steve to his chest and dove through the open window, ascending steeply. 

“Steven!” a voice boomed. “Don’t you dare!”

Billy paused, turning to look at the arrogant old man that leaned out the window. The man that dared to spew threats. Billy clasped Steve to him and breathed in deep, letting out a roar that shook the very ground. All the glass in the house shattered, the sharp tones ringing through the air in resonance with the frightening sound that poured from deep in Billy’s chest. The look of fear in the man’s eyes gave Billy more satisfaction than it probably should but he couldn’t be bothered to care. He turned away, back toward the forest. Back toward home. 

“I’ve got you,” he told Steve gently. “We’ve got you.” Below them, the forest began to light up, welcoming them both in. 

“You belong to the forest now.”

Steve clung to him. “Part of the forest,” he said, his voice soft and reverent.

“That’s right. And it will always protect you. I will always protect you.”

[ruewrites]

Building Home

AO3

WBT

Ship: Solomon/Asmodeus

Word Count: 2000

Warnings: None

A/N: I cannot begin to describe how happy I am to kick off Solodeus Week by bringing back WBT once again. I've been hella pumped since I saw college AU. (Do I project a little bit onto this AU? Oh definitely. No question.) But hey! I hope you guys enjoy! Comments are appreciated <3 Stay tuned for more content for Solodeus Week! (I did a combination of the two prompts for day 1)

Asmo plopped on top of one of the larger boxes taking up space in the small living room. This was temporary, just somewhere to stay for the next couple of years. It felt odd moving to such a tiny place after living in the big house he'd been in for years with his brothers. It seemed too quiet to him, even with neighbors just across the hall. He never thought he'd come to miss their noise, yet here he was. How were they doing? Did they miss him? Lucifer said he would always have a place to stay no matter where either of them ended up, but would he really? He wasn’t that far away from them, and yet hours felt like forever. Homesickness krept into his stomach, and just like on the car ride here, tears started to prick at his eyes.

He never imagined he could feel like this.

Excited to start his new life with Solomon, but sad to leave his old one behind.

The remaining rays of sunlight crept through the window and glinted off of his engagement ring. Creating tiny fireflies dancing across the walls of the room. Delicate fingers moved around the band, shifting it back and forth. He'd gotten used to playing with the ring, shifting it back and forth in his fingers and playing with the gemstone in the center.

A huff and a final box dropping to the floor brought Asmo's attention back to the doorway. Solomon brushed his hands off and smiled up at him before joining him. He pecked his lips so sweetly, brushing his thumb along his cheek catching a few of the tiny tears on his way.

"Welcome home."

"It feels more like a box kingdom or a warehouse to me," Asmo murmured, glancing over at the mountains of boxes spread over what would be their living space. This certainly didn't look like home, and Asmo wasn't sure when it would start feeling like it either. Especially since it was temporary in the grand scheme of things.

There was still so much to do.

Returning their rental first thing in the morning.

Unpacking all of their boxes.

Putting everything away.

Introducing themselves to the neighbors. What would their neighbors even think of them? A young couple moving in next door, engaged right out of their undergrad, unsure of what their future holds...

It would be at least a day or two before they got it all done, and the very idea made Asmo ache. There was so much more Asmo wanted to be doing with their time together before Solomon's coursework started up and before his internship really kicked off. They were both going to be so busy soon and the uncertainty that came with not entirely knowing what these new experiences would be like had his stomach churning.

And it was all so much for temporary.

"But it's our box kingdom."

"That doesn't make me feel better Solomon."

Solomon chuckled and kissed him before moving over to look at the boxes, "Well, maybe you'll feel a little better after a full night's rest. Do you remember which box we put our bedding in?"

A full night's rest. That was rich coming from his fiance who couldn't start a healthy sleep schedule to save his life. The only thing that ever made it better was the promise of Asmo being in bed to come cuddle up next to, and even that was debatable when finals week rolled around. The man lived on coffee and shots of espresso. Now that he was in a graduate program, Asmo would be working double time to make sure Solomon balanced school and everything else in his life in a healthy manner.

Asmo hopped off of the box he'd claimed and started to help going through the boxes. He'd had luck finding pans, lights, picture frames, but no bedding. Not even a blanket. Part of him worried they overlooked packing any, but the more rational side of him remembered how picky he'd been about buying a set. There was no way he forgot it. He would never, ever, forget something so essential to his sleep routine. But that would just be his luck wouldn’t it? He wasn’t feeling great and the universe wanted to make him feel even worse. Both he and Solomon stood over the final box, neither one making a move to open it.

"Solomon."

"Mhm?"

"If it's not in here I'm going to cry."

"Yeah-"

"That is a threat, not a promise."

"Oh I'm aware."

Solomon knelt down and started peeling off the tape keeping the moving box sealed. Asmo's heart raced with each passing moment. It had to be in there. It just had to be in there. Finally, the tape snapped back and the box popped open and fluffy pillows sprung forth, propelled by the blankets and comforters beneath.

Oh Asmo could have cried out in relief right there. The move had been stressful enough without the fear that they hadn't gotten everything. He took the soft sheets in his own hands and held them close. He would have a comfortable place to sleep tonight. He wouldn't have to pester his brothers to drop off bedding. His brothers wouldn't be able to make fun of him for forgetting bedding. That was the last thing he needed to add to the stresses of moving in.

But on the other hand, if he had forgotten them, he’d be able to see them.

Solomon tugged on the blanket before nudging up against Asmo’s shoulder. “You know… The living room is a lot closer than the bedroom,” he said, “Do you know what I’m thinking?”

Asmo chuckled and moved away from him, “I’m your fiance not a mind reader dearest.”

Solomon’s kisses were always wonderful no matter where he placed them. Warmth spread from his cheek throughout the rest of him as Solomon’s lips made contact with his skin. He felt some of his anxieties leave him right there. Oh how Asmo adored this man.

“Well,” Solomon’s arms came around him, his lips close to his ear, “I was thinking about when we were kids. How we always had the best sleepovers. We’d sneak snacks from the kitchen, stay up past our bedtime, watch movies we weren’t supposed to-”

He allowed the sentence to trail off, and when Asmo looked at him he saw the hopeful little glint in his eye. Their long history together was special, and their weekly sleepovers were no exception. It didn't matter the weather, who's house or what they planned on doing. As long as they were together, they were guaranteed to have the best of times. Asmo could leave him hanging. He could decide to not finish his train of thought and to pretend he didn’t remember. But he couldn’t be that cruel. So instead he pecked Solomon’s lips.

They were sappy.

But Asmo liked it that way.

“And we made the most amazing pillow forts,” he finished.

“Exactly.”

Asmo spun out from his arms so he could face him properly, “We have work to do and you want to procrastinate to build a fort? For shame my darling. For shame.”

He gave him what he wanted. Now he had to tease his fiance. It wasn't something to question. It was mandatory.

“And you’re saying that you don’t want to have a pillow fort and relive our fun childhood days Mr. Morningstar? Days when we didn’t have to worry about being adults or doing adult things?” Solomon followed after him for getting about the blanket and grabbing at his waist once more, “I don’t think you should be shaming me.”

"Being an adult isn't all that bad, we still get to play house," Asmo let his head rest against Solomon, coaxing him into swaying with him for a moment.

"Playing house never involved rent, or work, or real college classes."

"True," certain parts of adult life did suck, "But we can also do fun things like get married and move in together."

"And make pillow forts?"

Asmo smiled, "And make pillow forts. I suppose."

Even if it was full of boxes, this place was home. Well, that wasn't entirely true now was it? Home wasn't just any place he moved into. Home was wherever Solomon was. This place wouldn't be home if Solomon wasn't here. He was home, and Asmo would follow him anywhere. A house was empty without him and the bed would always be cold. He brought life and color into the rooms he walked in.

Solomon was comfort.

Solomon was belonging.

Solomon was the drive and encouragement that Asmo needed in his life.

"In that case, can we make a pillow fort before my classes start?"

Asmo tilted his head, as if thinking over the possibility. They did always have fun making them, even if they needed help from time to time.

The packed boxes did have one perk after all. They served as the pillars of their little kingdom, standing tall and proud above the couple. Pillows outlined their forms as their limbs were tangled together, blue light from their phones casting light shadows over their faces.

Solomon tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and Asmo leaned into his touch. "Isn't this fun?" Solomon's voice sent a shiver through him. His voice was warm and smooth, it was something that Asmo would never tire of, not for as long as he lived. "It's just you and me, in our own little kingdom."

Asmo nodded as he let out a soft hum in agreement.

This was comfortable. This was familiar. The soft beat of Solomon's heat lulled Asmo into security. It was gentle, consistent, and Asmo's guidance.

"Asmodeus," Solomon's grip tightened, "I promise, I'll do everything in my power to make this place home."

Asmo's hand moved up to Solomon's cheek and his thumb slowly moved along his milky skin. Solomon loved him. Solomon truly and honestly loved him. No conditions, no second thoughts. That love was all he needed.

He was afraid, he was unsure what the future would bring. He knew that their lives would keep changing and moving along, that they were still going wherever they were taken, but he did have Solomon.

Solomon, his wonderful fiance.

Solomon, his constant morning star.

Solomon, his meaning.

Solomon, his rock.

Solomon, the man who would do anything for him and have his back no matter what.

One day they would live together in a nice house, they'd both be successful, they wouldn't have to worry about what came next. But for now home brought him here, and home was staring back at him with big grey eyes. He was right where he belonged surrounded by boxes and a blanket shielding him from the world.

Perhaps Solomon had known how he’d been feeling, maybe he’d been trying to alleviate some of his hope sickness. Perhaps Solomon was feeling homesick himself. Even if he didn’t know, having Solomon around made him feel better. Yes he still missed his family dearly, but they promised to call and visit him. He would see them again. If anything, Lucifer would make sure they had another family gathering.

But now was his time to spread his wings.

Now was his time to start a branch on their family tree.

Now was his time to start building, expanding.

Even if Solomon didn’t know how he was feeling, Asmo still felt safe and at peace in his arms. Memories of popcorn and movie nights and small fairy lights flooding his senses. A worriless past became his present. Years of playing house were finally becoming a reality. Just like then he could share it all with Solomon. His other half, his completion, everything that made his little world good and beautiful.

He was going to be fine.

He was going to be safe.

He was going to be happy.’’

For the first time, Asmodeus learned a word he thought he already knew.

"Solomon, you are my home."

[wincore]

nct dream + fantasy creatures (halloween edition)

note: it is here at last im late but i wrote this in a span of a few hours because halloween is my favourite time of the year! happy spooks everyone !!

disclaimer: everything written here is a work of fiction and is not affiliated with any real person whatsoever. the myths have been slightly tweaked to fit the  story therefore they might not align with traditional beliefs.

huli jing!renjun

you gaze in awe at kun’s words

‘really?’ you ask ‘those really exist?’

‘i don’t know about that, but don’t you go looking for them. they might not be kind.’

you nod your head vehemently 

‘of course not.’

lessons are boring in the village but sitting in the garden with kun and hearing his stories always cheers you up

‘...well, if i were to find one, how would i know?’ you ask

there’s a pause before kun laughs

‘a fox’s tail is not so easily hidden’

you puff your cheeks

that doesn’t help

the breeze is light today, the trees in various warm shades and the frogs sing their lullabies

you could stay here on the soft grass forever if you could

it’s calm and perfect here

but then the bell chimes two and you’re off to class again

you breathe in

you’ve heard of the huli jing before but what you didn’t know is the possibility they might be real

you shudder

you’ve heard far more tales than kun has told you about the fox spirits and their gorgeous tails, all nine of them golden

you know how they pose as beautiful people to lure the villagers out and then rip out their hearts and livers and inhale their essence - their hunger insatiable

but kun says they might not all be bad, some swallow the essence from nature, some might even help people

not all of them are bad

you scoff

who would ever believe monsters could be kind?

the story kun told you was about the old man living by the forest 

he said that the man once fell in love with a huli jing himself and was eventually betrayed

yet he still stays by the forest, praying for the safety of his long gone lover

you breathe out

you think you’ve had enough stories of these terrifying creatures

the breeze has turned cold, you notice, as you run back to class

the night is even colder

‘kun?’ you call 

he should have come back an hour ago

you gulp when you stare at the path to the forest beyond the faded red gates of the shrine

you just need to get to the first clearing - that’s where the woodsman’s settlement is

but what you don’t expect

is to find your brother and the woodsman in arms, eyes trained on a figure sitting lazily atop the cottage roof

and then you see the tails

they’re not golden but they glow pure white, lush and grand 

and although the boy they belong to is rather skinny, they give him a weighted look

you can’t hear them speak from behind the tree but they appear to be in disagreement

kun stands by, his face worried while the woodsman raises his axe

you don’t think you’re supposed to be seeing this

there’s a shout then a yell

then the fox is gone

you look around desperately - what if he’s near you, what if he attacks you?

but you see kun making his way towards the village and stumble into a bush to avoid them

you hold your breath till they pass you

you’ll follow them back at a distance - that’s it. you don’t want to get kun worried now

‘and why might you be here?’

you whip around to meet the boy with golden eyes

you let out a yelp, stumbling backwards only to trip over a shrub and onto the ground

he takes a step forward, crouching to meet your eyes

‘leave’

your heart is hammering but you can’t look away

he’s frowning but he looks absolutely ethereal - eyes, nose, lips and of course, his tails

‘i can feel your pulse, you know? i can lower it if you want’ he speaks softly

his voice is surprisingly civilized for a creature born of wild magic

‘i never ask them to be so fascinated with me’ he continues, his voice still low

you feel yourself drawing closer, your heartbeat no longer erratic

his tails are around you

and they’re as soft as they look, you find when one brushes your skin

‘you’re a pretty one’ he whispers 

his mouth is near yours and you can feel him breathe you in as he keeps his arms on either side of you

‘but i don’t play games with prey’

angel of death!jeno

you focus on the horizon beyond the fields

it’s hard to see when the moonlight is the only guide, night curling around your shoulders

the fog is thick, almost as if it’s smoke

you take a sharp breath

then you fire the first arrow

there are no heroes or villains in war - only victors

you’ve seen far too many die here, innocent souls

but death does not care for that

the battle spills over - the cause forgotten

and yet, people die for it

death might not even be that bad. in fact, he’s pretty cute

your eyes meet blue in the midst of battle and you clench your jaw

you don’t think it’s time yet

contrary to what everyone believes, death is not clad in black but in white

his eyes are icy blue and he holds a bow that appears to be made of grey mist

and would you dare say he’s handsome? 

only behind closed doors in hushed whispers, only to him 

but then again, the angels of death look different to all

and to you, he’s an archer

the soldier beside you falls, an axe to his chest and a pale arrow marked above it

has he marked everyone today?

a white arrow flies past you, the sound leaving an echo in your ears

you turn to find the boy - the angel, messenger, whatever he is - standing by the rock jutting out of the ground

he lazily fires his arrows, all of them hitting their marks

his eyes are brighter at night

the sounds around you are discordant

a cleave swings over your head, undoubtedly hitting someone marked

you drop low, inevitably nearing the messenger

‘are we fighting alongside each other now?’ you joke, your eyes keeping track of movement around you

‘i’m only doing my job’ he says quietly

‘why is it that we always meet, jeno?’

you fire three arrows at a charging swordsman

‘you should tell me that’

you chuckle

‘i missed you, if that makes it any better’ you say

he laughs, the sound otherworldly

it’s quiet between the two of you as the night rages on

‘will you mark me today?’

he turns to you, no particular expression on his face

‘will you run again?’

‘i might unless you tempt me.’

he frowns

there’s a silence that makes you lose your words

his hands are red but none of the blood his and you almost get a glimpse of his sharp teeth and hollowed eyes

‘you can run but only for so long till my arrows find you’

he leans closer, his breath chilling over your mouth and eyes ever glowing

‘i will claim you.’

‘i know’ you whisper, finding your voice again

he pulls back smiling, his teeth sharp

‘i hope you remember me the day you do’ you say before he parts, a low hum tuning its way to you in response

the mist curls around his fingers, the fields almost barren now

you’ve flirted with death before - several times actually

perhaps it’s time you stop running from him

witch!haechan

this is not where you’re supposed to be

this is definitely not where you’re supposed to be

you were running from your friends trying to steal your candy but you might have ran a bit too far 

you aren’t familiar with this part of the neighbourhood at all

you walk around aimlessly - how did you even get here?

the place has gone overboard with the halloween decorations - or perhaps no one’s home

the buildings are lifeless, some of the taller ones faded beyond repair

there’s something eerie about this place you can’t quite put your finger on

well till you run into a boy and make him drop all his books

‘ow...’

he glares at you

‘i’m sorry!’ you say, frantically picking his books up

he narrows his eyes at you as he stands up, as if he can’t quite figure you out

‘is that...blood?’

your eyes trail to your knees, strangely bloodied and bruised - perhaps you hit the ground too hard 

but funnily enough, you didn’t feel any pain until now

‘come on, my house is down the corner. i’ll get you some bandages’ he offers

‘oh, thank you...but i should really be getting home...’

‘it’s okay. you can repay me with your candy.’ he grins, his smile boyish and oddly comforting

you raise an eyebrow

‘alright. you can’t have more than one, though.’

‘aren’t you a little too old to be trick-or-treating anyway?’

‘it’s a uni event. aren’t you a little too old to be mooching candy off someone?’

‘there’s no age limit for that’ 

you laugh as he takes the books from you, leading the way down

‘i’m haechan, by the way.’

‘i’m (name).’

as if the neighbourhood couldn’t get any creepier, the mist here seems to glow green and the fireflies twinkle with a certain malice to them

haechan’s apartment, however, seems to have skipped halloween altogether and jumped straight into christmas

the lights are bright and colourful, with an odd fancy mask hanging from the doorframe

when you give him a look, he pouts

‘i don’t like the dark.’

he seems to be living alone, apart from a small black cat which comes hurling at you the moment you enter

‘woah’ haechan yells, removing the cat from you ‘what did jeno feed you? how are you so heavy?’

you laugh as he puts the cat down, bitterness never so apparent in a cat

the next to greet you is a frog, plopping right on the table by which you’re sitting

you gasp at it’s sudden leap, placing a hand over your heart

‘why do you have a frog?!’

‘excuse me? that’s my dad.’ he calls from the washroom

you shake your head

‘i’m kidding’ he adds later, thoughtfully

your eyes inevitably stop over the wonderfully coloured jars

some seem to have trapped light, some various shades of dark liquids and some shine like molten precious stones

‘you have to pay to touch that.’

you turn around to find haechan with bandages and some antiseptic

‘what are these?’

haechan pauses

‘uhm...juice?’

you tap your foot impatiently 

he sighs

‘okay you got me. that’s trapped starlight. had to travel a lot to find that one. oh, these eyeballs are just candy. i hope. aand that’s the crushed tooth of a kraken, that’s an angel’s elixir. ooh! this one’s fairy milkshake. i’ve got a lot of that, wanna try-’

‘what’

‘do you believe in all this?’ he asks

‘what does it matter if i do?’

he grins

‘what do you say about becoming a witch’s apprentice?’

‘are you kidding me right now?’

‘wait. let me care take of this first.’

he takes a colourless gel-like substance, rubbing it over your knee with two fingers

and after a few seconds, it’s like there was never even a wound

‘and now...’ he continues, fighting a smile

he proceeds to take a purple potion, pouring two drops over the floor

a black butterfly emerges, its wings burning as it flies up into its own oblivion

he looks up and finally smiles as if to say ‘see? i’m not lying. i’ve got more where that comes from.’

you stay quiet for a while, processing everything

‘why did you tell me this? aren’t you supposed to keep things like this a secret?’ you cross your arms

‘you look like someone who could stomach the extraordinary.’

he laughs

‘it’s okay if you don’t. i’ll make you forget all of this.’

you rapidly shake your head

‘i’ll be your apprentice!’

haechan tilts his head to the side

‘but don’t forget. everything comes at a cost’

you nod

it can’t be that bad

‘i’ll have to come here every night?’ you shudder

‘don’t worry’ he laughs ‘the ghouls and demons here are all afraid of me.’

you stare at him, petrified before he laughs at your face

‘really! you don’t have to worry about them.’

you shake your head, giving him another look

but you see it over and perhaps a little bit of adventure couldn’t hurt

you look at the boy beside you, his caramel skin and honey eyes hard to not stare at

you almost blush when he meets your eyes

you take the vintage feathered pen he offers, no doubt showing off his collection and sign the contract he presents you, your name glowing amethyst violet

and in your excitement you forget to check the contract, the binding contract

perhaps you will, after a few years

when you notice how everyone around you seems to grow old, never seems to  keep up with your energy

when you see your friends get married and have children yet you can’t seem to bother

when your friends are all wrinkled yet you look just the way you did years ago

perhaps you’ll ask to see the contract and gasp

you should have been more observant

after all, in the end, there’s only the witch and his apprentice

elf!jaemin

you don’t think your pumpkin latte is supposed to glow this way

you look to the server and back to your drink

you don’t think he sees it

he smiles and walks away leaving you to your oddly gold pumpkin latte, reflecting the major part of the sunlight right onto your face

you crane your neck to catch a glimpse of the brewer

it’s difficult when his back is turned to you but he looks so familiar

you take a sharp breath when you see his face

jaemin never told you he worked here

you smile to yourself when he almost spills the coffee over

you’re always smiling when it comes to him

ever since you had seen him on campus, there’s been something about him that wouldn’t let your mind escape him

but it’s not just his face or his starry smile and kind manners or the pointed ears - there’s something about him, something secretive

you don’t believe in fairy tales but he just might be one

it was barely summer when he first talked to you

something about an assignment which you didn’t mind lending him

and you found he’s more than all the girls lining up to see him and the same shining smile he gives everyone

in his jokes, in his laugh and the way he speaks and the way he treats everyone

it’s been a while since you’ve had a friend like this

but today he doesn’t look your away, dark circles under his eyes and a drudging rate of work

you figure you should greet him after work, buy him another cup of his beloved coffee

you take the same subway ride home after all

‘(name)?’

jaemin looks surprised, a little starstruck maybe

he smiles

‘how did you know i work here?’

you giggle

‘well...i didn’t. till you made me a glowing drink.’

jaemin’s ears turn red

‘it was- it was glowing?’

‘yeah! it was all golden and glowy.’

‘uhh..’ his voice breaks and he clears his throat ‘it’s a new ingredient we’re testing!’

‘it tasted just fine though’ you assure him

he scratches the back of his head, smiling wide ‘thanks’

you hope you don’t make it awkward when you blush at the way he smiles at you, or when he holds your hand to keep you from getting lost in the crowds

‘really? jeno? don’t tell me you like him.’

jaemin rolls his eyes

your cheeks feel hot as you try to stammer out an explanation

‘i- i don’t like him. i just- i just thought he was sweet to me last saturday, that’s all.’

‘you went on a date without telling me?’ jaemin huffs

‘it- it wasn’t a date!’

‘whatever’ jaemin pouts ‘i can’t believe you like someone other than me.’

you laugh it off, his smile brighter than the stars as usual

it’s hard to not close your eyes too as he rests his head on your shoulder in the lone train compartment

it’s so peaceful like this

‘(name)? can i tell you something?’

you hum in response

‘never mind’ he says, sitting up straight

he looks at you for a long few seconds, enough to make you blush, before tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear

he stands up all of a sudden

‘wanna dance?’ he says with a grin

‘right here?’ you ask, incredulous

‘what? there’s no one here!’

you return his smile and take his hand as he pulls you up into his arms

there’s no music but you hear songs - humming full of melody and sweet words

he laughs when he sees you trying hard to not step on his feet or the focus on your face till it’s finally gone when you get the hang of it

it’s so peaceful like this

suddenly you don’t know where the train leads

jaemin still smiles

‘i like you, you know that?’ he whispers as he twirls you, hands back on your waist to hold you

the dancing never ends

‘i like you too’ you respond, not knowing why

you can smell the flowers growing around the benches, their vines curled around almost everything

you hear the bees buzzing, looking for nectar

there’s moonlight above you, the silver light making jaemin’s hair glow

he leans in, his lips just brushing yours

‘thank you’ he whispers ‘for being truly kind to me’

it’s almost dawn - you can hear the birds chirping and the moonlight wanes

it’s so peaceful like this

you think if it’s jaemin, forever isn’t so empty

you take a step off the train

and the rest is history

zombie!chenle

‘what the heck is going on?’

 you eye donghyuck and renjun at each other’s throats on the floor

you tap your foot impatiently against the wood

‘(name)! renjun brought a zombie. get him out!’ donghyuck complains

you blink 

‘he what’

‘well, what if he doesn’t want to go away?’ renjun retorts

you gesture for the both of them to stop talking when you feel a presence right behind you

you let out a sound of surprise, falling to the floor to find a boy staring down at you

a stitch runs right across his face, his skin paler than normal; his left eye is oddly translucent and his hair is a dim blonde, and overall he looks rather impish

yet he still looks like a boy nonetheless

he bends, squinting at you and you squeak, your shock getting the best of you

a moment later, the three of them burst into laughter

you frown at them

‘what’s so funny?’

you get up and face the boy

despite his ghoulish features, he still has flesh and he looks like a boy as ever

‘i’m chenle!’ he greets you with a grin ‘hyung brought me here. and... uh... i think i broke your coffee table, i’m really sorry about that’ 

his grin changes to an apologetic frown

you poke his cheek and pull back immediately, distracted

‘oh, your skin’s really soft.’

‘yeah, i used to take care of it a lot.’

there’s a pause

‘wait a minute, you did wha-’ you huff, ‘renjun aren’t you scared to death of ghosts?’

‘ghosts, not zombies’ he crosses his arms

‘ghost or zombie, he’s still annoying’ donghyuck grumbles

you sigh at the two of them

from the looks of it, however, they’ve already befriended the boy

when you turn around, you find chenle busy with the housecat, picking her up and scrutinising her

‘what are you doing?!’ you ask, panicking

‘well, it’s been a while since i’ve seen these’ 

he looks at you with a smile so adorable you lose track of your thoughts for a few moments

you cough, pretending your heart didn’t just stop

‘how long have you been dead?’

‘i don’t know. a while, i guess. ooh, do you have a piano? i’ve missed those!’

you shake your head ‘i don’t think we do.’

‘that’s okay’ he grins, eyes strangely sparkling ‘ooh, do you have a basketball court? or a car? or maybe a coffee shop nearby?’

‘there’s one down the block, i guess’ you tilt your head ‘you’ve really missed life, huh?’

before he can say anything, donghyuck calls from the other room ‘hey bighead! we’re going shoppi- er- to the playgrounds or something!’

chenle laughs, the sound piercingly loud but oddly cheerful

you smile without realizing

you never knew the dead could be so full of life

chenle then turns to you to answer ‘of course i missed this!’

you pinch the bridge of your nose but you continue smiling

there’s something infectious about him...and it’s not the zombie part

then again, your house isn’t exactly a stranger to oddities

‘come with us!’ chenle says, grabbing your attention

‘okay’ you agree

you get back to the living room to get your coat, to find renjun lying on the sofa

you need to know this

you turn to him, narrowing your eyes

‘where in hell did you even get a zombie?’

renjun scratches his head

‘you know that old guy in the robes by the graveyard? the one who carries a staff around like he’s about to summon the dead? well, he actually did that.’

‘renjun, we live in the underworld.’

‘oh, right.’

ghost!jisung

‘please just let me haunt you’

‘no’

‘...okay’

you shake your head and groan

‘jisung! see? this is why you never get anything done? ghosts aren’t supposed to be polite’

the boy in front of you scratches his head, his skin translucent and eyes cast down guiltily

‘okay try your puppy form’ you say

‘that’s not a puppy’ he begins but tones down at your stare

he sighs

the big black dog stares back at you, fur curling into mist and eyes glowing red

he growls quietly before it eventually turns into a snarl, his teeth lethal

you yawn

the dog collapses into mist to reveal jisung once more, a rather pouty expression on his face

‘nothing scares you. that’s why this doesn’t work!’

‘you’re just too cute, jisung’ you frown

he blushes, a strange colour on pale skin

‘but i’m supposed to haunt the town. only the old ladies are scared of me. and i feel bad about that.’

you laugh 

jisung might just be the cutest ghost out there

‘i’m thinking...maybe haunting isn’t my thing.’

‘but you’re a ghost! why else would you be a ghost?’

he places his hand on his chin, concentrating on his thoughts

‘i can’t remember anything about who i was. maybe i’m not vengeful’

‘it took you all that thinking to realize th- actually, never mind. maybe you’re meant to enjoy things life has to offer...after death.’

‘honestly, that sounds like a... total killjoy.’

you stare blankly at him

‘sorry, i ran out of jokes.’

you laugh at his awkward smile, patting him on his head like you do

‘well, what are you supposed to do?’ he asks

‘i don’t know. i just talk to ghosts i guess.’

jisung shrugs, sinking further onto the grass

it’s a beautiful night tonight - every night has been sweet to you and jisung since you first met

this town is no stranger to ghosts and poltergeists

of course, no one but you realizes that

some of the ghosts, you make a friend out of, some, you’d rather avoid

and there’s jisung

you didn’t know what to expect when the ghost of a giant black dog suddenly transformed into a sleeping boy

you aren’t even sure what he is, but life’s been better with him around

he accompanies you to school, listens to you throughout the lunch break, makes snarky comments during class (that you’d rather not have) and tells you all the places to find the prettiest mushrooms

it’s the first time you’ve seen a spirit so attentive

usually they just lament over their lost life, thank you for listening and go back to haunting or whatever engages them till they can finally be at peace

jisung is...a little different

for starters, you can actually touch him without diving too deep into the realm of the dead

it’s like half of him is still alive

but the mist grows strong around him

‘how’d you learn to talk to ghosts?’ jisung asks, quietly

‘well, i almost died. then i realized i can exist in both the realms.’

‘that sounds...awful.’

you laugh

‘it’s not that bad. i found you.’

jisung blushes again, you don’t know how. does he even have blood?

‘hey, what do you think happens after you’re done being a ghost?’ you ask

jisung stops glaring at the frog near the creek to meet your eyes

‘are you trying to scare me?’

you laugh

‘just thinking.’

‘i like it here’ he says ‘i like everything even if i feel less than i used to.’

‘that’s good to know.’

jisung laughs, the sound boyish and full of a certain joy you can’t put together

it should be this way

two best friends enjoying their time in a town that never lives

finding new adventures every day 

listening to new songs and dancing to the wind

getting on doyoung’s nerves together (but doyoung, of course, thinks it’s just you)

confusing jeno at the flower shop or hitting renjun with harmless little stones when he’s not looking

you trying to scare jisung (which is almost always a success when it comes to cockroaches)

jisung always putting a smile on your face with how awkwardly he scratches his head and looks away when you compliment him

it’s as close to a friendship as you can get

but you know the truth

you remember that day everything changed

you remember the boy and his pet dog sailing with you, playing around the docks

you remember the storm and how you almost died

you remember letting the rope go and watching the boy sink to the abyss

you remember despair

you remember feeling numb the week after and more

it’s as clear as day

you look at jisung, his eyes closed and his figure resting on the warm grass

this is your repentance

[musicallisto]

G'morning :) Would a sweet, familial fic with our camp bby Jack Marston and prompt: "Look a shooting star! Make a wish!" be okay to write? Been feelin' low, nowadays. Need some fluff, if it's alright with you

I told my friend a few days ago that I really wanted to write some New Year's party with a Happy Gang(tm), and then your request came in. You must have read my mind! I would love to explore more parties in my writing because Happy Gang(tm) is all I long for. Anyway, hope you like this, even if the rest of the gang is not exactly central, and sending lots of love your way ❤

(F!Reader + would recommend listening to New Year's Day by Pentatonix because it's how I got the idea in the first place, and it made me emo)

"Thirty seconds left!"

"Everyone ready!"

"Ah-- crap! My-- where's my watch?"

"Shut up, Uncle, I can't hear Dutch counting down."

"Fifteen seconds!"

"Well I can't know how much time we got left if I don't find my--"

"Just listen to him, you goddamn fool!"

"Ten seconds!"

"Arthur, John, Uncle, will you please be quiet?"

"I'm quiet. They're bickering."

"Five!"

"Cheers!"

"Not yet, you dumbass!"

"Happy new year, everyone!" Dutch's powerful voice roars out to the night sky, discretion long forgotten, sorrows fed to the flames. A cheer erupts in response. Some grab their loved ones for a good luck charm - you think you see John try to nimbly evade Abigail's kiss, before sheepishly giving in when she pouts -, some down the remainings of their bottles in one big gulp - Karen is even faster than Bill, and her loud, careless laughter explodes like your own show of fireworks -, some embrace, a glint in the eyes that could be tears hidden in their sleeves.

"To another year," Dutch breathes out, almost disbelieving that he's still alive to utter the words.

"To another century," Hosea replies, repressing a grin as he pats his oldest friend on the back.

And some, like you, observe, chest filled with warmth and stars, as the minute right after midnight, the first minute of the twentieth century overflows with joy and wishes and fraternity and love. Your family, an odd one at that, but the closest thing to a safe place you've ever known, raises a glass and a cheer for the new dawn... and first, for the new night, clean of its old grime, ready to be made into whatever the Van der Linde gang imagines.

And you imagine it grand.

Even little Jack has stayed awake for the occasion, battling his drowsy eyes and the temptation of his mother's arms to witness the commencement of his world. Abigail, although reluctant to the idea of keeping the boy up way past his bedtime, with the rest of 'em hooligans, what's more, finally gave in after John convinced her that neither of them belongs in this era that starts when the sun rises, but Jack does. Still, you've been a reliable scarecrow, all evening, keeping Uncle away from the boy - Uncle and his so-called miraculous cures for sleepiness, Uncle and his brandy, Uncle and his "it's just a little sip!". In the fireflies that shine in Jack's little eyes, awestruck at the radiant energy that runs through his aunts and uncles, his mother and father, you have no doubt that it was all worth it. If this is the world Jack is meant to see, you'd rather it start with laughter, with hugs, with joyful tales of the old times, with Javier's guitar, with Charles's subtle singing, and with Mary-Beth and Tilly's sloppy waltzes.

"Y/N! Happy New Year!" an uncharacteriscally enthusiastic Arthur exclaims, going in for a hug before you can even register if his breath smells of alcohol. You laugh against his chest, though you recognize the happy fever of a man who has scraped death way too many times to be picky about what brings him joy.

"Are you drunk already, Morgan?" you playfully retort, but you can't contain your laughter at his falsely outraged expression. It's like on the moment that marks another year, he's lost fifteen in age.

"Course not. Who d'you think I am? I'm just... happy."

"Happy suits you, Arthur," you respond, an affectionate smile making its way on your face. Everything you've been through with Arthur and the others flashes before your eyes, and you decrete right then and there that you're owed some respite, and that joy is the color that compliments best the gang's eyes.

A few moments later, when the rest of the gang has lost itself in a frenzied and clumsy dance, the most dauntless attempting to balance their bottles as they move, you come to rest by Jack's side, sitting in the grass. The air is fresher in this part of camp, devoid of fear.

"Happy New Year, Jack."

"Happy New Year, Aunt Y/N!" he sings, nodding his head to the rhythm of the dancers' feet. "Look at my Pa and my Ma!"

Following his excited finger, your eyes find two silhouettes standing out in front of the campfire. Their feet are heavier than most of the others', but you can hear their tipsy giggling and softened hearts echo every time they twirl, even from where you're sitting.

"Your Pa can dance now?"

"No," Jack hastens to answer, prouder than he should probably be, "he's improvising. He told me earlier. He hates dancing, you know? But he said he wanted to make Mama happy. And they're happy! Everyone is so happy."

You can swear, now that you heard the little boy, that John and Abigail's movements grow in elegance, this touching and life-changing elegance that things bear when they are done with love. And a wind of this same grace weaves its way into your chest, hastily pushing the laughter out of your mouth. Jack doesn't ask why you suddenly laugh; instead, he mimics it, and soon you're two hunched figures in the dark, watching a party unfurl in a clearing somewhere in New Hanover, watching the people you love most meddle together, reminisce about the old times and trip over their own feet, and the only logical, sensible reaction you can muster is to laugh.

The air has settled again between the two of you, and Jack's eyelids flutter more and more frequently, when you suddenly point at the sky, way above the illuminated canopy.

"Look! It's a shooting star, Jack! Make a wish!"

His tiny frame sits up straight again, scanning the sky for the white tear in the navy blanket above your heads. His brow furrows in concentration, and after a moment he tightly closes his eyes, as if that could, somehow, catch the attention of the burning star so very far from you, make it listen to the dreams of a child among a bunch of criminals. You've passed the age of wishing upon stars, and yet the fact that you're all living and together to mark and celebrate this oh so special night is the very symbol of the impossible. Without averting your gaze from the star's resolute course across the sky, you murmur to yourself your utmost desire. Maybe you're wishing on yourself, more than the lightning bug.

You wish that as long as you breathe, you never stop fighting for nights like these.

"What did you wish for?" you ask Jack when he's back to his senses.

The wake of the star is now long gone in the night, swallowed by the ink, but something tells you that Jack will never forget its brilliance. He still sees it, anyway. Not above his raised head, but in the campfire where his family is assembled.

"I'm not telling you! Or else it won't come true."

Leaning in with an air of conspiracy, you murmur in his ear, a secret not even the night can hear:

"I'm friend with a few stars. I'll tell them to make your wish come true. You can tell me."

After a moment of hesitation for the safety of the most crucial and closely-guarded secret in the little boy's life, he finally gives in, his face mirroring the mischievous smile you offer.

"I said I want to be just like you when I grow up."

"Just like me?"

But his little arms encircle a space that is wider than just you, that engulfs the merry chaos above your shoulder, the quiet, observant birds in the trees, his aunt Sadie whirling her knife around her fingers, and his parents now huddled together in a remote yet familiar embrace.

"Like all of you!"

You don't let the twinge of remorse get the best of your heart. Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow, the ghosts of what Jack's life could have been, had he been born in a regular family, gone to a regular school, and scraped his knees on regular grounds, would haunt you in your sleep. But for now, all you do is ruffle his hair, and bring him close to your heart for a hug.

"Oh, Jack. You'll be a hundred times better, I'm sure of it."

When your breaths synchronize, you can't help thinking that you have no desire to die, but leaving for this little boy - dying for life itself would surely be the most honorable way a lowlife like you could ever go.

"Now, mister Marston," you break the silence with a grin, standing up and offering him your hand. "May I have this dance?"

[jericho-rk3k]

A Fleeting Glimpse of Love (DBH: Connor/ Reader)

Author’s note: So I wrote half of this months ago but only managed to finish it now. Anyway, feedbacks are encouraged and until next time, my darlings!

Pairing: Connor x Gender neutral! Reader

Prompt: For as long as you can remember, you feel like there’s a gap in your memory. Who could it be; the one who plagues your dreams with incoherent bits and pieces of memories?

Warning: angst

— 🌹 —

Seconds stretched into hours, and hours into days when you thought of the gaping hole, which was expanding along the ticks of the clock, that  your heart bore, and as if the God of Misfortune decided that their first gift for you wasn’t altruistic enough, there came those shallow depressions and faults on the surface of your memories that became a sunken cave with its wall coloured in melancholy. 

The more you welcome them into your mind, the harsher their affects on you became, and the damage done to you in emotional terms was only acknowledged by you when you could finally feel the emptiness consume every bit of joy in you. Even after all these were done to you, the culprit was painstakingly yet to be found.

Ever since the injury sustained by you during the android revolution, you could feel a slight breeze in your memories which was supposed to be stacked, indicating that there was a spot somewhere along the shores of the sea of memories purposely dug by someone. The void in your heart made you feel like there was single damning piece in the entire puzzle, that was your heart, that was missing and seemingly lost in the maze of scattered emotions and memories -- damned to the point that the thought of an escape to this suffering was something that belonged to a horror film, and hope deemed an enemy of this place. 

Who was it that formed this unfortunate chasm in your heart? 

Who was it that shattered your masterpiece of a life that took years to paint -- who was it that made the canvas of life so barren and lifeless -- who was it that painted your walls black and white -- who was it that began all of this?

Brown.

After an unknown period of time, you unconsciously developed an attraction to the colour of earth: brown, the colour of the roots of ancient oak trees; of the chestnuts that provides an excellent, rich taste to the tongue; of the bitter, bold cacao that was yet to be tainted by the hands of humans, only to be turned into something that contradicted the originality; of the man-made strands of short hair that would dance along with the wind as if they bore some sensation of their own exhilaration and life; of the auburn tint in his eyes that spoke of great love, putting Shakespeare’s odes to a test. 

His eyes.

When staring into the eyes created by the clumsy hands of humans themselves, profound, were they of gauche passion of an amateur; and yet, ever so deserving of so much love and attention that it was painful. Eyes, which on the surfaces were the barks and songs of nature that you dearly loved, and as one traveled deeper, that was to gain a deeper understanding to them, one would see the side that was touched by the silvery rays of sunlight of humanity. He was just that beguiling, and the feeling of staring into those eyes of his: heavenly. 

Why? Out of all the memories of your beloved that were forcibly taken away from you, this was the one that created an abyss of sorrow that had no ends nor predictions of when it would strike you. Maybe this was because you were never really granted closure to the absence of the person who must have went through all sorts of hindrance and glory to offer them to you, and the inability to grasp even the silhouette of that person was enough to burden you with the guilt of thousands; it was as if letting something that your beloved had entrusted to you go without any vain attempt to halt its undue departure.

His love for you and only you; it amounted to the millions of fireflies during a rancorous desolate night that would guide you to a path that you have dreamed of ever since you were a child. Magical, was his love for you and only you.

By that time you were kicked out of your verdant forest of thoughts and flashbacks, you realized that you had unconsciously wrote ‘Connor’ on a piece of barren paper laying on your desk. Even if you have no recollection of when and why did you write that, you could sense a hint of intense despondency and separation of two lovers that took place sooner than what was planned by fate. 

No great importance or attention was granted to the mysterious name, but after a few restless nights and unforeseen flashbacks of the blurry past that came in a tiny debris-like manner, you decided to inquire about it from your longtime best friend and colleague, who you fortunately reconciled with after the unfortunate accident resulting in the loss of certain memories, North. 

“North?” you called out, your voice mildly shivering with uncertainty and fear, to which the reply was a simple ‘what’s up?’. “Do -- did... I know of someone named ‘Connor’?” 

If only you had the ability to observe the tiniest actions and behavioral changes, you would have noticed the lips that trembled in hesitancy; the discomfort and worry that were etched in the delicate wrinkles that surrounded the eyes, then gradually scintillated and burst into hues of passionate woe and abnormally, relief. It was as if one was watching the play of Romeo and Juliet, only to feel the tragic tale stinging one’s heart throughout the period of time in which the prominent play took place, and the difference in the ending that was yet to shock the audience who were destined to heave a sigh in relief, as if they were blessed by a happy ending to the distressing tale.

Another twist to add to the list was the shoulders that tensed up after momentarily relaxing, “Not that I know of... why do you ask?” North replied, and only if you had noticed the sudden change in the way she articulated, however you were too busy indulging in the disappointment, and for an unsaid period of time, you let loose and was soon, once again, engulfed by the profound feeling of his absence and the void in your heart.

But by the end of the day, you were not an Android and because of that, you failed to analyze the minuscule inconsistencies in your friend’s behavior. Perhaps fate had decided that the time when you would be blessed with refills of the gaps in your memory had yet to arrive. Perhaps fate had decided it would be best if the meeting between the both of you was the last in the blurry sea of memories. Perhaps you had forever lost his identity, and the chance for new memories to be created deemed futile.

At times when the clock struck twelve and when the moon rose proudly above the dark sky, you laid in bed, listening to the occasional sounds of fabric and comforter ruffling according to your restless tosses and turns, and as vigorous as your movements, your mind was tempestuous with indecisive thoughts and flashes of incorigible scenes before your eyes. Over and over again, you wondered and pondered about him, and whether he was dealing with the consequences similar to yours. Did he trouble himself as much as you did over the absence of one another? A thousand of questions risen and demanded to be answered but by the end of the day, a mystery and fruitless questioning were all they ever were.

Contrary to your expectations, your line of work refused you to dwell on seemingly pointless conceptions, and before you knew it, you were entangled with the police as one of the higher ups at the place of your work was accused of money laundering and scamming, and occasionally, you were called into for questioning. Despite the process being mentally and physically exhausting, you were intrigued by one of the Androids that was stationed to the case.

Brown eyes and brown hair that seemed so familiar to you, and yet, the icy blue eyes and bitter frown that looked so... strange to you, as if they were supposed to be something else— something different; perhaps it was the colour of the eyes or the way the corners of the eyes were sloped and the warmth or lack thereof from the lips. How could someone looked so familiar yet so peculiar to you?

RK900.

That was everything you knew about him, other than the fact that he worked alongside the police and was partnered with a man named Gavin Reed. So far you hadn’t made the attempt to gain some sort of answer to this mystery, and often at night, you would think otherwise. Maybe you should let curiosity take over your logical side once in a while.

Still, despite your nonexistent efforts, your eyes would often travel towards the direction of the wordless man standing beside his human mentor whenever you were bought into question. As sneaky as you thought you were, the Android was far more adept and skilled than you would have expected and had noticed your interest in him ever since day one, hilariously, but chose not to comment on the fact. That was, until one particular day when he seemed to make an abrupt decision out of nowhere to talk to you.

“Y/N,” he called out, his voice deep as the ocean, smooth as silk and as cold as the Artic, one day just as you were leaving your work building. You may not know or may never know but he had been waiting for you hours long before the end of your work hour for some reason, and despite looking as composed as a man who has reached the highest level of understanding as life, he was as curious as you were. His feelings of interest and inquisitiveness were in contrary to what he was programmed to do; perhaps they were the result from being taught by his older model.

“RK900,” you replied quite dully although you would be lying if you said you weren’t shocked at his sudden appearance. The case involving your accused superior was over recently and there shouldn’t be any reason for the two of you to meet again, right?

“I... I noticed your occasional stares directed at me, Y/N,” he stated, sounding so bitter and cold towards the world yet quite nervous that he refused to look at you. After all, you were someone unique which he learnt from him. “I know I remind you of someone,” he continued, and as soon as he finished the sentence, your composure began to eat itself and you were, once again, disturbed and bemused.

“Connor. RK800. #313 248 317. Produced in August,3038. You met him months before the final Android Revolution,” he began, his eyes occasionally flicking towards you to check your response to the bombardment of information. Surely, from the way your lips quiver and hands tremble, he knew that you were starting to remember something. He could certainly thank himself for making the decision to come to you on that day out of his own will. Things were bound to end tragically but he thought that you at least deserved to be filled of the void in your memories and heart.

“The two of you bonded rather quickly and... things happened shortly afterwards,” he continued, referring to the time you fell in love with the Android first disregarding the situation and tension between the two races at that time. At this point, he was hesitant to continue since he knew what happened afterwards.

“I... I...,” you stuttered, desperately racking through your disorganized thoughts jumbled with recovering memories for something to say. Connor. Connor. Connor. RK800. The Android who evacuated you from the riot. The same Android who captured your heart with his corky and unoriginal attempts at jokes and adorable behavior unexpected from an Android of high caliber such as him.

“Ah... how could I forget him,” you laughed bitterly as you recalled the time you spent together with you tagging along him and Hank as an eager journalist. You remembered the way you two bonded and the amusing way he worried about the risks that came with being a journalist. Despite his concerns, you continued with the job and in the end, it was your foolish drive and carelessness that led you towards your demise; with you mortally wounded due to a failed attempt to photograph the confrontation between Marcus and the humans.

Sure, you were fond of the sweet memories that came first but you weren’t so certain about what was coming at the end. Your legs were wobbling like an earthquake was just beneath the very ground you stood on, so you had to take a deep breath and take a seat on a bench bellow a nearby tree. The man near you followed suit and sat awkwardly beside you, making sure to leave a generous quantity of space between you two. Although he knew how solemn and troubled you were, he was unsure on what to do; whether to act as himself and stay still or do something according to what he would have done.

“Blood,” you mumbled, desperately wiping the hot, stinging tears streaming down your face before covering your face with her hands, plopping your elbows down on your thighs. You finally remembered, and as much as your head throbbed painfully, the excruciating pain in your chest was something else. It was simply heart-wrenching and suffocating, as if you were buried 6 feet below underneath all the memories and pain, guilt and self-blame.

Blood. The sanguine red liquid was everywhere, as you recalled, and it was yours that leaking from the wound on your head from the collision before with the concrete ground. However, you wished and wished that it was only your blood there, but at last, your pleas and cries for help went unheard. You knew and remembered the weight on your body as you laid on the ground, barely conscious but sheltered and protected from the lifeless body above you. The cold, bitter blue liquid dripped onto you from the gunshot on his forehead, and before you knew it, the last thing you saw before you blacked out flashed before your eyes at a painfully slow rate.

“Oh god... please, no, please tell me it was all a dream,” you begged to no one particularly as you broke down once again. The pain of his absence and lack of final goodbyes devoured your mentality, and the guilt and blame on no one but you clung onto you with their malicious, poisonous long claws that dug deeply into your heart.

You hoped that his lifeless eyes were the last thing that you saw. You hoped that the reality was something different. You hoped... only if you hadn’t made the stupid decision that almost took your life... only if you had listened to him... only if he was alive now. Only if you could convince yourself that things didn’t turn out the way it did. Only if you could turn back time and... and save his life. So many only ifs and so much pain; it was almost unbearable; the feeling of having somewhat brought your beloved to their demise was damning, and you felt like you couldn’t ever forgive yourself for not paying heed to his warnings.

But most of all, you cursed yourself for having the audacity to forget almost everything about him. Perhaps you wouldn’t be suffering if you hadn’t learnt about him; however, you still felt it wasn’t right for you to forget someone who sacrificed himself for you and only you.

‘If he was only here,’ you told yourself, ‘I would tell him how much I love and treasure him and never let him go.’ Only that was impossible now that he was gone definitely. He wasn’t here anymore to tell you how much you mattered to him; he wasn’t here anymore to tell you jokes that he googled on his search engine; he wasn’t here to make you smile and laugh and cherish you. One moment he was here and the next, he was gone.

“I am so sorry... Connor,” you cried uncontrollably, wanting to rip your heart at this moment as it thumped painfully and rapidly within your chest which suffocated and strangled you from within. Your cries and screams resonated throughout the neighborhood as you grieved and grieved, and desperately wished for end to these mournful feelings.

“Y/N,” the man beside you whispered gently, reaching out to grab your hand tightly to try to reassure you. The LED on his forehead whirled into a brilliant yellow as several thoughts and memories flowed through his mind, but the most prominent emotion was sorrow and detachment as he knew that these memories didn’t belong to him. It had belonged to the man you had dearly adored and loved you. He couldn’t bring himself to tell you how his predecessor passed— by desperately transferring his memories into the system and screaming your name over and over again until his voice broke and distorted into that of a horror; slow and robotic and devoid of life.

“He would have wanted you to move on, Y/N,” he said before pulling you in for a hug, surprising yourself and himself as he was unsure if that action was based on his own will or Connor’s memories. Nonetheless, the two of you stayed locked in that embrace for a long time before the agony and despair in you began to subside. When you emerged from the hug, you were noticeably calmer yet still pained to the core.

“Thank you for coming here to tell me,” you said emotionlessly and numbly with a heavy sigh, staring at your own feet and feeling your nails digging into your palm as you tried to manage your composure.

“It’s alright... everything will be okay, Y/N.” He said with a smile that seemed like a rainbow after a heavy downpour for you. It was flamboyant and abundant of emotions and familiarity. You bit your lips at the sight as you felt tears threatening to fall once again. He looked so much like him and reminded you so much of him that it stung a bit.

At the end of the day, your final wish was to be able to meet him again one day, no matter the place. Even if the time spent together was transient, it was heavenly and you were grateful.

‘I love you, Y/N.

Love,

Connor.’

[ofpearlsxgods]

( @hidden-among-you ) has been dragged to the locker !!

It has been a couple of years since Sohyang went to the seaside. Since her parents and her grandmother’s death that she and Dohwan spent their Summer working almost non-stop without a chance to travel to the coast. So when she opened her closet to check on her swimwear, it came as no surprise to her that her clothes were small on her. Right. She still had some money, it should be enough to buy a new set or two.

Sohyang closed the wardrobe’s door and sat on her bed, where her phone waited for her since being dropped after she got tired of looking at pictures of models wearing nice things. While she didn’t have a girl friend that could go shopping with her, she did have a boy friend that made a point of being present while she tried on swimsuits.

[text to gyeom-i] Hey, handsome! Are you free this afternoon? [text to gyeom-i] I’m going shopping for swimwear. Do you want to join me?

[itsakpopalypse]

Lost In a Dream

moodboard made by @memoiresofaneternaldreamer (thank you again for inspiring this fic with this beautiful moodboard and collabing with me, you're the ABSOLUTE best!!!)  Original post is here please go give love also!!

Cold sweat mats your hair to the back of your neck and around your hairline. Your breath comes heavy and hot, barely flowing out between quivering lips. 

 Kihyun.

His fingers so gentle, so soft, lips pulled back over pointed teeth gleaming in low light, flickering fire in the corner- playing orange and yellow on his skin. The air is full of him. The world is glitter and holographic rainbows and silken sheets and desire. It’s unheard of, the spark within you, far from mundane and far too perfect to explain.

You’re rolling at his gentle direction, granting him the entirety of your bared soul and silky skin from your shoulders to the widening of  your hips. His hands follow a path made for them, slowly trailing across  your burning body. “Petal, the sun will rise soon. The fog will wipe this from your mind.” His voice is resigned but sure. You know he’s right and the panic builds in your chest at the reality.  Flowers and moss surround the bed, the smell in the air is so fresh, it always is like this near him. Alive. Clean. Meaningful. The air nearly sparkles when he speaks. 

“Don’t leave me.” You whisper into the pillow, lips touching feather soft against the nape of your neck have you reeling, his fingers loop into your hair to pull it away, granting him further access to the expanse of skin beneath. His breath is warm and damp, you can feel the desperation in his touch. 

“You have me.”  He replies. True to his kind, you will  get no solid answer. “You have me and I have you. What is a little distance when your heart beats between my ribs?” 

You roll over, pulling him to hover above you so you can see the sincerity  you know is there. 

“I want you whole. Real. Not pieces stuck in my imagination. "

"I am real. This is real.  The only thing you are imagining is that-" his finger points to the door which is opening, streaks of morning light cutting through the darkness. "That is a distraction. " 

You can feel tears teasing your lashes. "I don't  want to. I don't  want to." 

You are a petulant child and you fight  the slow  slip into reality, you grasp the fullness of his cheeks,thumbs  brushing under his eyes.  

His eyes are warm and his smile is gentle,  and he holds your soul inside his as he murmurs soft promises and bids you farewell. "You must wake. But you're still mine. "

The soft rumble of his voice pulls you away. The edges of heaven slip  out of your grasp and the real world crashes down like cold water. Reality is hateful and dull, leaving you weighed down and burdened. Your skin itches with memory. You cannot see a face, you cannot  recall the substance of the dream  but you're on fire with longing. Someone is missing you as you miss them. Someone is out there. A sweetpea sits beside your bed,one that was not there when you fell asleep. Delicate, pleasure, bliss, departure after having a good time. 

It never made sense, but you had been receiving flowers with similar messages for as long as you could remember.

Soulmates weren't  anything new, but most people remembered the face from their dreams. All you remember  is fog and velvet kisses. Promises and a whisper.   It's not fair, honestly.  It's unheard of. Everyone sees their soulmate and when they meet them, it clicks. You're scared to tell anyone  you can't  see their face when you wake, so when asked you avoid it or act as though you're too shy.  The flowers also, were inexplicable. 

There's services to contact to look based on description  but you don't have one to give.  So you deflect and hope when you see them you'll just know.  

You begin getting yourself ready for work, knowing another boring day awaits, and wish you could return to the world that lives in your mind.  

------

“Y/N! There’s a customer downstairs, can you check in please?” Your boss calls from the hallway, poking his head in to catch your attention. You look up from the plants your misting gently. 

“Got it Sebastion.” You reply with a smile, setting down the spray bottle. “I’ll be right back.” You whisper to the plants, fingers gently tracing the edge of a leaf as you leave your favorite part of the job for a few minutes.

“Hello, welcome to Dream Blossoms, can I help you make a selection?” You ask as you approach the customer. He turns, and your momentarily struck. He has light pink hair, shaggy around his eyes which are warm and smiling. The corner of his lips tick up in greeting, and some warm tingle runs down your spine. You can’t explain it. It’s not the bolt of lightening you have heard is from soulmates, but the tingle is far too strong to go unnoticed. 

When he speaks, his voice is quiet but firm and it draws you nearer, your feet following a path you don’t yet know yourself. 

“Hello. I do think I could use your help.”  The base of your neck feels hot, like someone is breathing on it. It isn’t unpleasant, as it would normally be, instead it’s welcoming. 

 “I am looking for a flower that expresses sorrow. Maybe one for longing… “ He pauses pursing his lips thoughtfully in a way that is far too attractive and makes the apples of your cheeks color. “Something about incandescent happiness.”  His hands are in his pockets, but when he turns his body toward you, the draw pulls harder. 

“I can throw something together, is it, for a lover?”  You pass by him, and notice vaguely that the air near him smells less like a person and more like freshness. Clean and lively, and so so inviting. 

“It’s. For someone who is very special. They’ll understand it all together. Perhaps you can incorporate forget-me-nots?” His eyes wrinkle when he smiles, and for a moment, the very edges of his teeth seem sharper than they should, and his eyes, did they change color? 

The dreams must be getting to you, in your lack of sleep you are imagining insanity.

You eye him for a moment, desperate for a read on him. Deciding the bouquet is likely for his soulmate, you continue in your job, pushing the strange longing away.  “Okay, give me  a moment I think I can convey a feeling for you.” you incline your head to the chair in the corner flanked by orchids. “Have a seat please.”

You’d need white tulips, lily of the valley, blue bells,  cutting and arranging various flowers to fit his description. Something appeared off. Unbalanced, without a thought, you grab some white sweet pea and add it into the bouquet, pulling the entire message together .

Upon returning a short while later, you gesture to the man. “Here, I think this should be right.”

He hurries to your side, something sparkling in his eyes as he looks over your work. He looks more excited than you’d expect, his skin brushing against yours a few seconds longer than you would expect. It feels natural and you want to sigh when he pulls his hand back and clears his throat. “It’s lovely. Can you.. Tell me why you chose what you did?” 

“Of course. White tulips are best for a sincere apology, lilly of the valley indicating the return of happiness, and the blue bells for devotion, and you asked for the forget-me-nots so I assume you know they have several meanings. It’s sort of what inspired the others I picked. “

“Remembrance, connection even over time and distance, loyalty… Yes.” He nods, there's something sly in his smile, but you continue. 

“Yes.”

“And the sweet pea?” He steps a little closer, “ Why that?” He seems nearly out of breath when he asks, leaning close to you, invading the bubble you kept to yourself. You shouldn't  be okay with it, but you allow it, unable to bare backing away from the warmth that radiates from his being. He feels like life and happiness  and it sends a rush down your limbs that you can’t describe, and he hasn’t even touched you.

“It was more of a haunch. You’re apologizing but trying to show your affection. It didn’t seem like it was something too heinous, more like you had been lost to them but are coming back. Did I assume too much?”

His smile widens, his eyes wrinkling and cheeks nearly covering his eyes. Oh. It’s a beautiful sight, and one that doesn’t belong to you, you remind yourself. 

“It’s better than I could have hoped.” He replies and after paying, gives you a final smile and wave on his way out. 

You wish you understood the way your heart followed him through the doors. It was silly, and wrong. You shook off the feeling and got back to tending the flowers. Your dreams must be altering your expectations.

---

“You nearly had me.” He whispers into your neck, trailing gentle kisses across your collarbone. “This will all be better soon, I promise.“

You heave a sigh into his hair. Casting your gaze to the bouquet on the silver side table, engraved and ornate. Fireflies dance in the air around you and the skylight lets in the moonlight. You don’t know where he has taken you but you know you trust him with your everything.

“Why must we go so slow. If you found me, isn't that all there is?”

The tinkle of his laughter fills your ears, a  sound you will never get tired of. “Not so simple, Petal. You are a woman of much distrust. I have to snatch you up the way my kind always must, if I’m to have you.” His nose scrunches as he meets your eyes with another light giggle. 

"Remind me why you won't  just tell me? After all this time and you've finally  found 'day' me, but you won't just tell me who you are to me?"  

 You know you're pouting but it doesn't  feel fair. You're getting to an age where people are going to wonder if you're undeclared… if your someone is already  gone somehow. A cruel twist of fate before you'd even met. 

You don't  remember those things, of course, only the concepts around them, since your days slip from your mind at night the same way your nights slip your mind during the day.  It's unfair,  but loving Kihyun is worth it, will always be worth it.

"I'm sure you'd respond  wonderfully to 'Hello, I'm Kihyun. I'm  a fae living in the  woods past a ‘glamour and I help bring the flowers.  Oh, also I'm the man of your dreams.’" He poked your cheek gently with a laugh. "Oh! Literally. "

You scrunch up your nose in distaste but can't help the small huff of laughter. "Okay. Fine. If I heard that line I would likely never speak to you again. Cheesy." 

"You love the way I am. You have to. That’s what soulmates mean.”

You shudder as the room begins to fade, and fear clouds your eyes-you reach for him. “Not again. I’m not ready to forget you.”  

He gives you the same saddened, resigned face as every night. “You must wake. But you're still mine." His fingers begin to lose warmth against your cheeks as everything blurs.  “You’ll be with me again soon. When this is over there will be no end to us.”

The streaks of light cloud your vision and you rub your eyes. The smell of fresh flowers sours. 

You wake, and all is gone. 

----

“I never thought I’d see you sneaking around. Aren’t you supposed to be the good son?” 

Kihyun turned to meet his brother’s eyes, unsurprised he had been followed by the light footed prince. He wore a teasing smile and his dark prowling outfit, no doubt on his way into a colony somewhere to experience the nightlife without the guards. Byeongkwan was a bit more… Outgoing, than himself. 

Kihyun preferred to follow the rules, but the current situation was getting desperate. He was tired of the empty ache in his stomach when you weren’t there. He was tired of waiting for you to figure out something that was a bit too mystical for the human mind, and he was a bit too excited to hold you in the day time. It wouldn’t kill him to bend the rules a bit, just this once. After all, he was going to visit an artifact maker, not overthrow the Sirens.

“Yes well. Priorities.” He replied finally, watching his younger sibling’s smirk grow as he stepped into Kihyun’s space. Byeongkwan’s eyes sparkled and he genuinely looked full of glee at the discomfort Kihyun felt about disobeying. It wasn’t like he couldn’t do what he wanted… he was next in line for the throne… but there was a way things were done, to keep the glamour safe, and he wasn’t used to messing with the tried and true methods. 

“Priorities,” Byeongkwan replied, stepping back with mischief in his eyes still, hand raising to show the dangling chain he had unsurprisingly picked off of Kihyun. 

Always did have incredibly quick hands, that one. 

“So it’s related to your lady, then isn’t it. Y/N.” He sat in the windowsill, holding the necklace up for inspection. The royal jewel pendant on the end glittered with a rainbow prism when the light filtered through it, something akin to moonstone but with more magick, more fire. 

He squinted at his brother and held his hand out to receive the necklace. “Yes yes, you are a master of whispers and a knower of all secrets. I am suitably impressed. You can return it now.” 

Byeongkwan sighed, placing it directly in Kihyun’s palm. ”Taking it to the enchanter, hm? You want her to know. Everything. I think it’s nice.” He smiled, wholesome and for once without a hint of teasing. It would have been a pretty smile, if he hadn’t ended it with one flicked up eyebrow, closing Kihyun’s hand around the pendant. 

“Don’t lose this again.” He leaned in closer, this time with a glint that left Kihyun a little worried. “They won’t like this, and they already know.” His lips didn’t move, and his voice was too low to be picked up, it was likely he had used an enchantment of some kind, one without an incantation, which meant he genuinely believed they were being watched at this moment.

It took everything in Kihyun to not react or look for the source of the spying. Instead he smiled back in his most warm way. Nodding as he stepped back.

“She means everything, I won’t let this opportunity pass me up.”  Kihyun watched Byeongkwan’s smile take on the knowing edge that made him as dangerous as he was. The message had been received on both sides.  Kihyun needed to see you tonight, after dropping this necklace off. 

----

 “Loosen up, Y/N. You never know, you might meet your soulmate here! It’s not unusual for you to run into them in places like this.” Your friend laughed as she made a gesture to the rest of the dimly lit bar. It was open mic night and the person singing now was… less than fantastic.

Your head hurt and you wanted to leave. It was smelly and crowded and there were too many bodies in the tight space. “Right. Soulmate.” You nodded, knowing that wouldn’t happen. You couldn't even see his face how would you see him? You didn’t want to let out your secret so you forced a smile and lifted your drink to your lips. It was sweet, something that your friend had picked. It didn’t feel great going down, somewhat burning and the tingles it left in your fingertips were the only blessing. Perhaps with a buz it wouldn’t seem so sad that  you were in this place when you wanted to be at home under your fuzziest blanket in your biggest shirt. You tugged at the hem of your dress, something a bit tighter than you were used to,  but more than fitting for the scene.

“Yes. Soulmate. We are getting to be an age where we should and could meet them anywhere!” Your friend loved the idea, her smile sparkly and genuine. You matched it best you could and nodded to the change of singer, an older woman in her mid 50’s singing off key to Journey.

“Maybe there's yours.”  you teased and your friend rolled her eyes, laughing off your joke as she motioned that her glass was empty and made her way through the crowd and from your table to get a new one. 

You focused on the inside of your glass, uninterested in the crowd pushing in, when the song changed again and a voice that could only be described as hypnotic hit your ears. You looked up, shocked to find the man from the flower shop on the small stage, and somehow, his eyes found you as he sang. It stirred something in your chest, aligning the same as the other day. This time you would blame the combination of loneliness and alcohol, though. What you couldn’t explain away was the way his eyes burned into you as he sang, drifting closed only to hit notes that seemed far outside the average person’s vocal range. 

Something about him was too enthralling to miss a second of, so you drank him in thirstily, unable to quench the longing in you. When he finished and the entire bar erupted into applause, you swallowed thickly at the lump that had formed in your throat. You heard someone sit opposit you, and fully expected your friend, but were met with someone else's eyes. 

This guy… you’d seen him here on other nights. He was attractive, but he was a bit smoother than your tastes desired. His middle part exposed a regal brow set with a stud, eyes piercing and strong beneath them. He was far prettier than someone who belonged here, and he prowled the joint enough that you knew what he came here for. 

“Did you enjoy the song?” He asked voice so deep it resonated in your chest, banging around like a caged bird. His eyes flitted from the low neckline of your dress back up to your lips before settling on your eyes. 

“I think everyone did.” You replied as nonchalantly as you could. “He belongs on a real stage.”

For some reason, that amused your guest. He grinned, eyes sharp suddenly, leaning forward, all aloofness suddenly gone. 

The room felt fuzzier somehow, when he neared. “He certainly doesn’t belong here. You are right about that.”  He seemed to say it more to himself than to you, and it was strange that you felt the air a bit tinglier than before.  You glanced at your still half full second glass… you shouldn't be feeling this much this quickly.  You'd eaten.. and you'd been here over an hour…

"I.M. I think I saw your friends looking for you. Maybe you should go and meet them.”  It was him. He had come your way, the man from the shop, who sings so beautifully.  However, this time when he spoke, instead of a gentle voice, it had a sharpness to it that was unfamiliar. He seemed... Irked? Jealous? His handsome face was tight and lacked the soft smiles you had grown to love far too fast. Any trace of the pleasant wrinkles and endearing nose scrunches far gone. 

The man in the other seat, I.M as he had been called, was smirking knowingly at the Flower Guy. They stared silently at each other, one stoic, one amused. It wasn’t a cruel smile but there was an edge to it, like they were silently exchanging a conversation you weren’t privy to.  After a moment, his smirk turned to a full, bright smile, and he turned back to you, grasping your hand gently and placing a soft kiss on the top. “Pleasure to meet you, I’m sure we will see each other soon.” His deep voice had not lost its charm. 

You nodded back, “Perhaps.”  Was all you could think to say, your cheeks were burning but it wasn’t because of I.M’s low tones or flirty smiles, or even the way his lips had grazed your hands. It was the intense, unwavering stare of the Flower Guy. You felt nearly aflame under his gaze. As I.M departed you bit your lip, almost afraid to meet his dark eyes. 

When you did, you were pleased to see the darkness had seeped out, instead replaced with a different type of intensity, but his lips were turned up at the corners now. You’d have sighed in relief but you didn’t want him catch on.

“Petal. Pleasure to see you here.” His voice was soft again, as it had been the first time you met. It sent tingles down your spine. Or was that still the drink? You didn’t know. The air was too full, too full of oxygen and you were nearly heaving from the high of it.  

“Is it? I don’t even know your name, nor do you seem to know mine.” 

An eyebrow lifted in response, tongue darting to the corner of his lips momentarily as he considered his response. “Mh. I know your name, Y/n. Petal fits you better.”

Oh. Oh. Why did that make the inside of your chest feel so full? Your head was still light and silly. It didn’t make sense, but the closer Flower Guy got, the more grounded you felt. 

“Whole.” You murmured to yourself, slipping between your too loosened lips.

“What was that, Petal?” His teeth looked sharp again gleaming behind his lips. It must be a trick of the light dancing on their tips, and the fire water flowing in your veins. 

“Nothing. Just thinking about something.” You replied, licking your lips and hoping he wouldn't inquire further. 

Your phone buzzed on the table, blessedly giving you reprieve from his eyes. 

I’m leaving with Matt. You good? 

Your friend had rekindled with her on again off again fling clearly, and while you didn’t begrudge her a good time, you also weren’t sure you were going to sober up in time to be safely home. It was best to call for a car service, because you weren’t sure walking was a great idea in your state either.

“Everything alright?” His voice dragged you out of your thoughts, a finger gently unwrinkling your brow- you hadn’t even known that you had furrowed. 

“Yeah. My friend is leaving, so I should probably try to find a way home too. I didn’t come here for me.”  Flower Guy started to look concerned, his own brows so beautifully creasing. “I’d rather curl up in bed anyway, dreams are the best part of my day.” Your teeth dug into your bottom lip, realizing the whimsy in your voice was perhaps uncalled for with a new acquaintance. 

Inexplicably, it seemed to please him though, his eyes darted to the table top and he covered his smile behind one hand, clearing his throat before smoothing his face into a more neutral position and asking you. “Soulmate dreams, then?”

“Ah.” you frown, unsure how to answer. “I suppose. I can never remember. But I wake up happy. Happier than ever.”

Something indiscernible crosses his face and he smiles again, it’s one of the extra dazzling ones where his cheeks cover his eyes and his nose scrunches. “Oh. I should assist you in getting to your bed then. So you can be happy.”

Your eyebrows shot up in shock. He-What? His hands were already rising in defense, shaking them back and forth as though to push your thoughts away, his face panicked.

“NO! Oh. No. I meant.”  His cheeks puffed as he sucked in too much air and scratched the back of his neck. “I meant it in the way where I help you get a driver and make sure you get home safe. From outside. I won’t go in... to your bed. Where you sleep that's. Uh. That’s not what I meant and…” He was cute flustered, cheeks tinging pink and words rushing out on top of each other. You couldn't help but laugh, placing two fingers on his lips to stop the babble. 

“I got it. Thank you.”

He nodded, clearly still embarrassed. It didn’t stop his lips from pouting out slightly into the pressure from your fingers, so soft and…

No. Not a safe line of thought.  You had to admit that while you had initially found him attractive, every time you saw him it intensified. You were starting to wonder what made him smile. What made him infinitely happier. Was it the person he had gotten the flowers for?

 Why were you still touching him??

He didn’t speak more as your fingers dropped from his lips, instead he stared at your hand in your lap and stood, clearing his throat again. Then he took your hand in his own to help you to your feet. It would have been suave, and gone perfectly, had not some very intoxicated patron bumped directly into you and set you off balance as you lifted yourself, so instead you stumbled and fell on Flower Guy fully. He caught you, gripping you in a sheltering way to his toned and warm chest. 

When you looked into his eyes to thank him, the room seemed to slow. Nothing made sense for a moment. The entire universe took a moment to stem the tides of time and the only thing you saw was the shine within his gaze. The truth lay there, something about fate.

“Ah! Y/N!” 

.....And just like that, the spell was broken, you righted yourself, pushing gently against Flower Guy’s chest to do so. 

“Simon.” You nodded in the direction of the interruption.  

“Why are you here? You hate going out.. You have always hated going out. It’s part of why we didn’t work.” Simon looked smug and you just wanted to turn and walk away. He didn't deserve your time, after sleeping with other people in clubs because you were ‘no fun’.

Before you could defend yourself, Flower guy smirked, that hardened expression back. Instead, he replied for you. “That’s why we are headed home. If you’ll excuse us.”  You weren’t sure how he had so quickly read the vibe, but you were thankful, and now he had rescued you in some way or another, three times within the night. 

Simon stood back, fumbling to reply as Flower Guy entwined your fingers and cast you a sultry smile, the type you had yet to see, but very much hoped you’d see more of, because it forced your heart into your throat.. “Let’s go, Petal.”  Before leading you out onto the sidewalk.

He hailed a cab and still got inside, but not until assuring you he was only doing it so he could pay and take it to his own home. 

You thanked him as you got out in front of your building, and asked him for his name.  He only smiled and said. “Next time, Petal. Third time is always a charm.”

You weren't sure why, but as the door to the cab slammed shut before you, you knew your dreams were going to be more... intense this time. 

----

 "You're impossible.  Irredeemable. I do not condone it." Kihyun is half serious and his scolding comes with the lightest of taps on your rear, as though punishment for your so called crimes.  It doesn’t last though, and as gentle as it was to start with, he runs his hands over the spots he swatted  reverently.  “It’s naughty. You are in trouble.” His lips pout prettily with the words and you want to be serious but you can’t.

You're laughing, cuddled into his embrace, you don't take offense because his voice has that teasing note that means you're about  to be complimented. 

"Am I?" You ask with softly pouted lips, gazing up into his eyes through your lashes.

"Yes. You're in a lot of trouble, Petal. You draw others to you like wil o’ whisps to a lost traveler. AND those you draw are of my people, dangerous and seductive. " he is trying to frown, and you can tell worries lie behind his eyes, but he's  too full of love for you make  to you feel any true shame. 

"Seductive? Are you being jealous?" You crave his jealousy. You know what nights it brings you when he is on fire with  it. The way it makes his movements less careful and adoring, more desirous and heady. 

You love it when he devours your love like the sweetest dessert. 

"Jealous? Perhaps. Worried? More than I can say. Impatient for you to come to me? Ardently. I want to steal you away.  Scoop you up into my arms and drag you to the veil. When I  finally get you,  you'd better be ready."  Danger sparks in his eyes. The exact type of danger that makes your skin too tight and your fingers itch to wrap around him. You love it when he pushes you to the brink of desire… 

"You're a silver tongued seducer on your own. Why would  I ever turn to another?" You question, breathless and leaning in to him as a reed sways in the wind. 

"You won't." And you know he's right.  The words drip off his sweetened silver tongue so full of promises you know he will keep. After all… fae can't  lie.

He's  laid his soul bare for you so many nights, that games aren't what  he wants. There isn't  a riddle in the way between you. Just circumstances.

 All deception would do is complicate your arrival  and his impatience is too overwhelming. 

"Because I'm still yours."  You remind him, as the fog begins to roll in with the sun, and he nods, bittersweet and determined. 

"I’ll make it right." He whispers.

You gasp awake, clutching your heaving chest and wondering why your skin felt alight.  You swallowed and gazed at the sun coming up.  For some reason, you felt so loved. Someone out there felt things for you that you could hardly fathom. You still couldn’t see a face, but some missing piece clicked now. You felt the emotions. Longing, happiness, affection, impatience.  Something was different, this morning. 

When  you saw fresh  sweet peas by your bed again you couldn’t bite back your grin.

 It would be a new day

----

The line at the cafe was a bit shorter than usual and you considered yourself lucky, hustling inside before your shift at the flower shop.  Your apron was hanging out of your jacket pocket and you were very ready for your daily cold brew. The wind wasn’t quite cold enough to bite your fingertips and force you to switch to your winter drink. 

The jingle of the bell behind you didn’t catch your attention until you smelled that strange floral freshness that drew you in. Flower Guy, it had to be, no one else could elicit the same response, your heart quickening pace and your fingertips buzzing. Should you turn around and greet him? No isn’t that strange, considering you shouldn’t recognize him by smell?? 

Stay cool, y/n, stay cool. Instead you go up and order your drink, lightly sweetened and stand off to the side pretending not to see him out of the corner of your eye. Hiding behind your hair as you lift your phone as though you are texting someone. He’s watching you, and biting his bottom lip to hold back a smile. His head tilts to one side and you notice his hair has changed a little. It’s still soft pink, but now it also has an undercut, and the way it’s swooped away from his brow bone has your heartbeat quickening, even without a solid look at him. His eyebrows lift and he seems about to say something to you, but instead goes to the counter to order since the line has moved. You notice him settle in standing beside you as he waits for his drink. 

“Petal. I told you there would be a third meeting, didn’t I?” His voice is as honeyed and smooth as ever, and you have to bite back the little noise you so desperately want to make.  

Trying to act as though you are surprised it’s him, you look up and smile gently. “Oh. Hello. You also told me that on the third meeting you would tell me your name, didn’t you.”

He does that beautiful, breathtaking smile again, the one that causes creases to form beside his eyes and lights your soul up like the sun. 

“I did. And I will. Let’s sit for a minute.”  He tilts his head to indicate a nearby table. You check your watch, unsure if you have time to sit before work. 

You have never been late before though, and your boss wouldn’t scold you if it wasn’t very late…

You meet his eyes and nod, taking a seat as he slides across from you. “I’m glad I saw you here… I was going to go by the shop soon in fact, because there’s something I needed to talk to you about. I thought it would entice you into coming somewhere with me.”

You want to blurt out that everything about him is enticing, alive, and enchanting but you manage to control it. Instead you laugh a little and look at your hands on the table, where his fingers slowly, and with plenty of time for you to stop him, gently lace in between yours on the table. Your palms don’t meet, and it’s not quite holding hands, but it means something and you can tell. 

You don’t want to be conflicted but you are, because those flowers were for some one. 

“What about your…” You search for the right word, eyes darting from his fingers to his lips to the fringe that tickles the side of his brow. “Person? The one you got the bouquet for.” You clarify.  

He giggles. 

Giggles. 

“What if I told you that was a ploy to talk to you?” Mischief sparkles in his eyes and he brushes up and down your index finger with his thumb, the tiniest touch is making your chest feel tight and full and you are realizing it is getting harder and harder to deny that this feels what people explain. This feels like soulmates? But it was a slow fall, not that instant dunk into a freezing tank of water, instead, it was like you had been in water that was warm, and it was slowly getting hotter and hotter, and you had  barely realized it before it began to boil. 

It didn’t fit the descriptions, but it meant something, it had to. 

“I would-" but you were cut off by the ringing of his phone. He gave you an apologetic smile and checked it. The frown that crept onto his face told you that it wasn’t good. .

“I have to take this.”  He said, but he looked torn and hurt by it. 

“It’s an emergency. We’ll catch up next time. Maybe fourth time is the real charm, for us.” You said with a small smile, trying to convince him you were okay with it. He squeezed your hand in his reassuringly before scuffling out of the coffee shop, forgetting his drink on the counter as he did. You got up to grab both drinks and saw a small blue box on the chair he had been in.  As you returned to the table to investigate, you saw there was  “Petal” written on it in neat handwriting.  This was for you? 

You picked up the box and put it in your jacket pocket, and hurried out in the direction he had gone, hoping to catch him in the parking lot with the coffee. 

The wind was blowing your hair into your face and making it hard to see, but you were rushing too much to care. It took a moment to go through and realize that he was long gone, and you held the two coffees and chewed your lip, trying to figure out what to do. 

“Look! A lost flower in the big city.” A deep familiar voice was too close, causing you to jump forward and spin to meet their gaze. I.M  Strange, but he seemed to know your Flower Guy.

You greeted him with an uneasy smile.  “Oh, hi, did you see… I-I don’t know his name?”

A smile slowly stretched across his face, eyes sparkling with some mischief.  “Your darling? I can help you find him. For a price.”

You squint for a moment, something about the situation felt a little.. Off?  “What kind of price?”

“Oh don’t worry. It won’t seem like much. But I may have need of a favor from you. No money or tricks. Just a no questions asked favor.” I.M looked  more honest but you still felt uncertain. Flower Guy hadn’t seemed to like him so much, unless that was just jealousy… You didn’t have much of a choice, something inside you nagged at  you that Flower Guy needed you for something. An inner calling that began beneath your ribs and wrapped into each one like a vine. The constriction was suffocating. You didn’t know why, but you knew you needed to go to him… Was it worth the price? 

Deciding that it was better to give a favor to this man than to have something bad happen, you nodded. “Alright. One favor. Within REASON.” 

The smile that slid onto his face made you question your decision but you stayed resolute.  Something was wrong, and you needed to help. 

He extended his hand to you in a deep bow, you scoffed but took it, and he lead you away. 

----

The greenery around you was lush and vibrant, and the smell in the air was the same as that ozone smell before a storm. You felt uneasy but at home all at once, and it made your skin itch as you drew your arms across your chest in defensive posture. 

Coffees long forgotten, the box in your pocket felt heavy for some reason, the air around you grew still. You eyed I.M as he turned around finally, eyes unreadable. 

“We approach the faerie ring. Once you get inside, we will have to activate it, and that will get us through the veil.” He was explaining, but it didn’t make sense. 

“The what? What are you saying?“ Your head was shaking and your hand instinctively went to your pocket again. The box was.. Vibrating?

He fully tuned to face you, heaving a sigh. “All right I will make this fast and lover boy can flesh out the details when everything is better okay? Let’s start here.” He waved around to indicate the area. “This is a portal. I protect the portal.” He points to the small grassy patch that while untouched with light, is brighter than the rest of the forest floor. It is  a perfect circle lined with flowers of exotic beauty and the air around it shimmers a bit in the dim lighting. “Your lover boy and I are both fae. I don’t need to explain that do I?”

“Ah. Maybe? I don’t know. Magic is real?” You squinted in confusion but his face fell to full deadpan in response. 

“Soulmates are basically magic, but fae are a stretch? Don’t be silly. Just like. Ground rules. Don’t give anyone your full name. Fake name or partial name only, understood? Also We can’t lie but we are really good at deceiving with words so be careful. The rest is less important. Anyway. Your darling is in there-” He points back to the ring again. “And he is probably in trouble. He gave you something today right?” 

You nod. “Well, he was going to but he got a call and left. Which you saw. He dropped it on his way out.” You fish the box out of your pocket. “It’s buzzing. Is this magic?” 

I.M looked slightly envious for a moment, tongue darting out before he replied. “Yeah. Open it. Now. You’ll need it.” 

“I wanted to ask him about it before I-” You began but when his eyes met yours, steely and serious, you decided to listen. Opening the box gently, you pulled a chord inside. It was silvery but a bit heavier than one would expect for how thin the chain was. It was a necklace of some kind, with a stone hanging from the end pendant style that seemed to be shining with inner light. It was almost opalescent, rainbows sparking inside. When it touched your skin you gasped, and electricity leapt through your body in arcs that should have left you stunned but instead left you gasping and awakened. 

The air got even more shimmery, and when you looked  at I.M he looked startled, his mouth fell open and he pointed at you while you slowly rolled your shoulders against the thrumming in your veins.  

Slowly, your regained your normal footing, realizing things felt different, inside and out. You felt different. 

“Sly.”  I.M said with a giggle. “You are one of us. Or partially. Guess my favor is even better now.”

“I don’t.” You began before things began to shift and bend around you, almost as though you yourself had a bubble around you refracting light… “I.M, touch me.” 

His eyebrows raised, but he did as you asked, lifting his hand only to have it forcefully blasted back as he reached your bubble. Sparks arched from the place he touched, sizzling as though it would burn him if he tried again.

“You absolute… This is great, turn it off so we can go and get him?” 

You nodded, concentrating on bringing the bubble in closer to your skin, then pressing itself back into the gem. You didn’t know HOW you knew to, but you knew it was the thing to do. 

As you stepped inside the fairy ring, reality itself seemed to shift. You closed your eyes and when you opened them, you were in a forest much thicker, much more foriegn. 

The wildlife was exotic, and shimmers danced into your vision.

Flashes of silk and skin kept playing in your head. Ki.. His name bounced on and off the tip of your tongue in the most irritating fashion. But you knew how he tasted, how he felt flush against you. How his lips felt pressed against the crown of your head. You knew he brought you flowers.

You knew he was yours. 

But it wasn’t time to revel in memories, so you turned to I.M who was still regarding you carefully.  “By now, they’ll have him cornered. Come on.” 

You nodded and followed but still called out to ask him who has him and why. 

“Usurpers. Your sweetheart is the 1st prince of the Seelie court, and word got out about you. You being human and all. It caused the already more tricky members of court to stage a coup. That’s where we come in. “ He waggled his eyebrows and it occurred to you that  he genuinely was a good person, if a little feisty. You liked him more each moment. 

“And how do YOU know about this plot?”  

His smile was jagged at its edges as he cut through a passage and lead you further along. “Oh. I know people, you know?”

You didn’t know, but there wasn’t time to dig into I.M’s world too deeply when you were still recovering memories as they slid into place on their own.

Laughter in sheets and silvery moonlight, nicknames and promises. Years of it, years of being his without knowing. 

You two kept mostly quiet as you slid through the tunnels. The air felt colder, but not quite damp, still, some pressure on your skin akin to humidity, but with more life set you on edge.

I.M motioned for you to come close, and pointed out into the opening ahead.

There was a ring of creatures, shades of blues and purples some with wings and some without, all surrounding Ki-, the man, your man. 

Your prince

You corrected. He didn’t look overly concerned, in fact, he almost seemed confident even surrounded as he was. You couldn’t make out the conversation but there were weapons pointed at him, and panic filled your gut.

“What can I do?”

“We’re cloaked best we can be. You’re going to have to get right in the middle of all of that and activate the gem. Do you think you can?”

His laughter soft and happy in your ear, breath bouncing off your skin sending shivers down your spine. The way his fingers traced the sides of your face. Your soulmate, yours all along.  

 You nodded with firm conviction. You would have to.  “I can do whatever I need to.” 

I.M smiled back at you, gave your hand a reassuring pat and pointed. “Then go get him.”

----

You sucked your breath in and held in on approach. You could hear your heart beating in your ears but you knew there wasn’t a choice. Thinking quickly,  you pretended to fall, the noise drawing the attention of the entire group.

 Kihyun looked up at you eyes widened,  alarmed and upset.  His head began to shake and mouth formed an “O”. The panic in his eyes made you feel guilty, but he didn’t know your plan.  

“Who is that? Is that her?”  A blue skinned creature that stood roughly 6ft tall asked with a graveled voice. 

Kihyun’s eyes were steely and angry, he looked ready to make a move and you wished you could calm him. There were too many of them and they were heavily armed. You needed to goad them into getting you closer to him.

“Aren’t we lucky.Now they can watch each other die.” A smaller one with sharp jagged teeth said, chuckling. 

“If you even-” Kihyun began before a harsh slap rang out and he fell to the ground. You lunged towards him without thinking, only to be stopped suddenly.

“Please. Let me see him.” You begged, you needed to be sure he was okay.

When a pale fae with purple hair and sharpened claws grabbed your arm you winced, he was dragging you to your feet and into the middle.  “You’ll see him. You’ll see him bleed out.” 

You were pushed towards where he was getting back to his feet, he stumbled but he caught you in his arms, trying to wrap his body around you and check you for injury. 

Electricity traveled inside your veins immediately, and for a moment you were lost in memories, lost in dreams... 

Silver moonlight in pink hair. Giggles and secrets and kisses. Hot skin on cool nights and promises made between glistening lips. The feather soft beat of his eyelashes against your cheek as he sings softly to you. The way your heartbeat syncs into his and drags you home. Home is him, and it’s all real. It’s a blur, but then it’s part of you, he’s part of you.

You see him, much younger, much more excited.

“You belong here as much as I do, this power is as much yours as it is mine. You are one of us, even if it’s just a little bit.”  His scrunched nose makes you weak with happiness and you feel the air sparkle with your combined magick. That little bit in your veins is enough to feel the words he says are true. 

“So I really won’t remember you in the morning? We only just met!”  You want to stay in this place with him.

“You won’t. Because I am not human, and neither are you. Or at least not all of the way. We’ll make it work, I’ll find my way to you.”

When you opened your eyes again, Kihyun was panicking, saying something to you, but your ears were still ringing. You smiled reassuringly and touched his face, cupping his cheek with one hand as you squeezed tight to the necklace in your pocket with the other, and the shimmering light enveloped you both.

He was smiling, then, and holding onto you as the fae outside began trying to attack, only to be bounced back by the shield that surrounded you.

“Hi,” you said to him, ignoring the ruckus, “It’s nice to see you again, Kihyun. My Kihyun. My soulmate.” 

His eyes were watering and he was laughing, holding your face in both his hands as he realized you had returned to him. “It worked. It worked and you remember don’t you?” He peppered kisses across your forehead and cheeks, with giggles. “This is real! This is real and you’re mine.”

You didn’t think before you acted, only knew that he had to be closer to you. Gripping the back of his neck, you tugged his face closer to yours and tilted your head to press your lips to his. Softly, at first, and then firmly when he breathed into the kiss and tightened his hold, hands pressing into your lower back and pulling you up into him. You swear you had never felt so full and so alive at once, his lips the perfect blend of soft and harsh. This was the kind of kiss people wrote songs about, the kind of fairy tail nonsense that was fed to you as a child. But here, in his arms, there didn’t seem to be a single thing in the world more magical than the press of his lips desperate to  know you as well in reality as they had in dreams.

You eventually pulled back, albeit unwillingly, your foreheads joined as you both caught your breath.

He glanced up, reluctant to look away but knowing the threat was still present. You followed his gaze when a huge smile lit his face.

“You didn’t have to wait so long to help out, but you always did have a flair for the dramatic.” He’s speaking to a smaller man outside the bubble, silver hair and a sneaky smile. He’s handsome too, with round eyes that tilt up at the ends. 

“We had a plan. You should trust us more.” He insists as I.M joins at his side, there’s others in hoods and robes also all around, apprehending the group

I.M looks slyer than ever, “You still owe me, highness.”

“I’m not-” you begin, only to be cut off by Byeongkwan who is smirking and Kihyun.

“You will be, pleasure to meet you, sister in law.” He winks at you and turns to make a hand sign at the group around him. “We’ll take care of this. You guys head back.”

You slowly let go of the jewel in your pocket, retracting the shimmering light. Kihyun refuses to let you go, clutching onto your hand and lacing your fingers. 

You walk off knowing that things will be okay, that whatever is next, together you’d figure it out.

----------------------------------------------EPILOGUE----------------------------------

The sheets are silken. The bedside table is silver. The room has a skylight.

You smell life and flowers and  Kihyun and the scent of your skin combined. 

There’s no fog to usher you back into the day, there is nothing rushing you away from this dream. 

You snuggle deeper into his hold, he murmurs in his sleep from you shifting, eyes fluttering open to regard you blearily. 

“Hello Princess.” His voice is lower and thick with sleep, you’re nearly overwhelmed with love,the way your skin tingles and your breath quickens at his touch.

“Hello, Prince.” You respond as his lips brush yours lovingly, starting soft and deepening as you tightened your grip. 

His fingers danced along the skin of your collar bone, drifting down your arms to stroke your skin lovingly. The heat between you was always present, but as he grunted into the kiss and rolled you onto your back, teeth glistening in the dark, you knew that this was going to be a longer night. And you had all night...

This time, you weren’t lost in a dream, you were lost in him, and that was perfectly alright....

[itsicantbelievethis666]

A Cunning Woman and a Demon -Chapter 2

1970 words. There is little to no NSFW stuff in this chapter but, as I’ve said, that’s likely to come later. For those who may have missed the first chapter, here’s the link. 

A special thank you to the following:

@new-zealand-chic @deepdisireslonging @trent7thirsting @xprincessofthefallenangels @demonkingsangel @writtingrose  @sjwrites22 @writinglionqueen @superrezzy00 @kallirevenne @neversatisfiedgirlfics @neversatisfiedgirl @sjwrites22 @theworldofotps @tacoshuimagines @writing-reigns @baratomaya @devittsslut @the-carter-mob-don @evilangel84 

For the first night in a very, very long time, I sleep well enough to dream. No shocks of pain or terror jolt me awake; the old horrors of the darkness, of seeing Bray Wyatt’s face in front of me, are largely absent. The warmth from my young companion, the bed of straw and the added cover of our robes give me rest.

I dream of home – at least, the home I had made myself of the tiny little cabin I had found in the woods. I can see the simple shape, the Spartan furnishings that keep me sheltered and warm, the garden that feeds me and keeps me healthy, the little details that make it mine. In my mind’s eye, I can see the beds of medicinal flowers and herbs, the dark and dense trees that surround it, the brook running about a dozen yards beside it. I can see the quilt over my bed, the notebooks of my learning on the table, the simple little tools of the craft in their drawer, the crucifix on the wall to remind me that I’m not alone.  And I wonder – what it must be like now, whether it would be fit for me to live in, whether my fireflies have survived my absence.

My Fireflies – Oh, God! I remember inviting them in during a storm, then immediately recognizing in them something of myself. Whether they are the conjurations of my mind’s eye or the actual spirits of those I never knew but would have loved, they were welcome denizens of my little world. Ever since, they were always nearby – until I was taken and brought here. That I could dream of them now, and of home, is the unwitting gift of my captors, along with this new cellmate of mine.

Finn’s warmth next to me is the first comfort I’ve had in this place. Looking upon him, as my eyes open to the dim but growing light outside the barred window, brings me the first inklings of joy. He has leaned in against me, his hooded face seeming almost childlike, despite the beard. His arm is casually draped over me. It’s been some time since I’ve shared a bed, and never with one like this. Something underneath the last remnants of Wyatt’s sorcery is stirring, but such things are beyond me for the foreseeable future.

His soul is bright with virtues – brighter than mine ever was, and infinitely brighter than Wyatt’s. Throughout, there is an earnestness in him, an eagerness to connect and to build. I sense a spot of darkness in him as well – packaged tightly away, throbbing as though fighting to get out. I see the occasional furrow of his brow as he sleeps, as though in struggle. Is it the brightness that took the craft into him, or the pocket of darkness? Is that the demon I saw?

I owe Finn a debt – a huge one. He’s saved me from the corrupted spell of imprisoning Wyatt had cast; he’s freed me from the pain of the unnatural bends and twists of my limbs inside it; he’s healed me, largely, the last remnants notwithstanding. He’s taken to the craft already. He learned to restore before I had to repeat the incantation a third time. He has the gift of reception, at least; transferral won’t take long to cultivate. I will gladly teach him what I know, if he is willing. That, and what hospitality I can offer him when we leave here, might touch a shadow of returning what I owe him.

I hear footsteps above us. I know the routine by heart, even though until last night I was utterly blind and helpless and unknowing of my surroundings. Harper and Rowan are preparing thin gruel; it is what comes for me, at least. They will be here shortly to torment me with my portion, then to watch me choose survival over dignity and laugh. If Wyatt is not here to oversee them, they may try to make Finn and me “fight” for it. But they will know something is up if they see us both on the straw.  

Quietly, I crawl over Finn as he sleeps. He stirs, then tightens into a ball on the straw, pulling the hood over his head. I make soft footfalls to the middle of the cell, then enclose myself into the robe and lie down on the floor, trying hard to keep small and look broken. I then remember that Finn and I had swapped robes and that the one I now wear is somewhat smaller, and a darker colour.

Finn. A plan has taken shape in my mind. Join me. Quietly.

The robed figure on the straw quickly pops up onto hands and knees and crawls over towards me. He has heard the sounds upstairs. “Dey’re comin’,” he says. “What shall we do?”

They’ll be forced to step further into the cell than they may like. But curiosity will get the better of them. Pretend you’re me before you healed me.

He tucks his arms and legs into the depths of the robe as he lies next to me. “I don’t know if I can be much help against one o’ dem, let ‘lone de two.”

You’ll be fine, I answered. You’ve done more for me already than I can list. Now, perhaps, I can pay some small recompense for your kindness.

The footfalls above move from wood to stone, growing louder. The shouting begins from the top of the stairs. “Hey, little rabbit! Wakey-wakey! Time for grub!”

The door smashes against the wall as it opens, echoing through the cell and seemingly the entire building. Two sets of footsteps announce that both Harper and Rowan have arrived. Two mounds of sackcloth in the middle of the cell floor, however, greet their arrival in silence. I can tell they’re confused. I’m able to peek out from under the hood unnoticed.

“Hey, was Brother Bray here last night and done the same to the rabbit as to Abigail?” Rowan lays two bowls near the head of the straw. He isn’t exactly stupid, just too eager to give to Wyatt what didn’t belong to him.

“He’s too far away from here yet to put that kind of mojo on the little rabbit,” Harper replied, stepping closer to us. “We had to knock her out for him to put it on her while he was in the room with her.”

The memory came flooding back: he knew his magic wasn’t strong enough to deal anywhere near equally to me, so a blow from one of these two to the back of my neck was the first step in what they did to me. The robe next to me is quivering. Finn, my friend. Calm…. I know what to do with these two.

“Then he’s hiding under one of these,” says Rowan, who joins Harper, then gives a firm boot to Finn.

As Finn sucks in his breath from the kick, I mumble a new incantation; one I’ll not have time to teach Finn until we’ve left this place. Immediately, Rowan is thrown against the wall, landing with a thud on the straw. Harper follows him. I promptly then stand up and remove the hood.

“Vinctum,” is the only word the two lunks hear from me. Their arms and legs slap together as if two limbs are in one sleeve, and their backs are adhered to the wall. To my companion I add, The spell will hold them only until we leave the jail; after that we’ll have to run. Follow me.  

Together we leave the cell, slamming the door shut behind us. Ignoring their shouts, I lead Finn along the short hallway to the wooden stairs, scanning the periphery of our route.

Bursting through the door at the top of the stairs, we find the main room of the jail strewn with furniture. We quickly rummage through every drawer and every pile on every table, grabbing what we can use, until we come to the heavy wooden wardrobe behind one desk. Leaning against it is a hefty woodaxe.

My companion has been silent this whole time, but clearly frustrated. I could see in his eyes what the cell below would have looked like had he had his way. I hand him the axe. “Would you like to do the honours?”

“I’d be glad to,” he replied. He lifts it to look closely at the head, then grips the handle with both hands and swings it against one of the wardrobe’s doors. It splinters; the dry wood gives way easily under the axe head and loosens the latches keeping the cabinet locked. The latches fall with a tinkle to the floor and the doors swing partway open from the force of the blow. He pulls back and smashes the doors again and again, with each blow a yell of rage, until a pile of splinters has grown at our feet.

Inside lie a black leather jacket and a hard-sided suitcase. Next to them are my floral dress and my canvas backpack. Our shoes – his boots, my house sandals - sit at the bottom, along with a few odds and ends. Finn quickly snaps open the locks on the case, pulls out and dons a black T-shirt and dark blue twill pants. Meanwhile, I throw off the robe, grab the dress, then take a quick breath before throwing it over myself, smoothing it down and covering it with the robe, then strapping on the sandals. We give a quick last examination of the room, grab the first aid kit and the lunch boxes sitting near the remaining closed door, and swing it open to find a wooded path and an overcast sky.

We run. The path is covered with old leaves damp from dew, but to either side are the dense brush and undergrowth through which we might find our way away from the jailhouse, before the two companions and followers of Bray Wyatt are able to catch our trail. My companion is taller than I am; and my sandals are not quite adequate to the task, so my pace is slower. Nonetheless, I know these woods, and can conceive a myriad ways to move quickly from here to safety.

I duck into the brush and down a small incline just as I hear them stamping out of the building, farther and farther behind us as we dip and weave through the bushes and stumps, deeper and deeper and deeper, until we spot the brook and follow it upstream to a small waterfall. We are home, or near it; I climb the rocks to the crest and stop dead at a burned-out clearing, the trees ringing round it skeletal, the ground ashen. The air is silent except for the brook. Finn follows, looks around and gives a low whistle.

“He wants you gone,” he says, looking over the long-charred ruins of my little hovel and all that had surrounded it. “Dat’s what dis look like.”

I feel nothing. I knew Wyatt would try to erase me completely. This – this is something else, however. My absence was long enough that all should have grown over with grass, or ferns, or some tendrils of life to reclaim it for its own. Yet, nothing of life has even approached this spot in the years since he imprisoned me. This was a warning: an atrocity.

I step slowly, further along the brook, closer to the wreckage, until I see the final insult Wyatt has added to the injury. A sealed, half-blackened Mason jar sits, deliberately arranged, in what would have been the middle of the floor of my home. All at once, the unmitigated weight of Bray’s torment descends on me and I collapse, catatonic, to the ruined forest floor.

[dragonnadder]

Quicksilver and Pyrite

Before I begin, I should introduce. This is the first chapter of an AU Ninjago fanfiction I started post-TLNM, and plan to continue for some time. It’s been up on Wattpad for a while, but as I’m not friends with as many Ninjago fans there as here, I decided to try sharing here to see what y’all think. This also takes place after this one-shot I wrote. 

Chapter 1 - Gilded Solstice, Part 1

Zane was the first one awake. He blinked his optical sensors open and performed a brief self-scan, making sure nothing was out of place. Satisfied, he climbed out of his bed (unnecessary, he knew, but comforting nonetheless), and wandered onto the deck of the Destiny's Bounty, floating at about two hundred meters in the air and roughly a kilometer from New Ninjago City. After climbing up on top of the poop deck, he sat down and watched the clear night sky slowly fade into the sunrise of the first day of the Gilded Solstice.

Cole was next up. He burst out from under his covers and sat on the edge of his bed, panting. His dreams were bothering him again, and meditating before bed hadn't helped. He tried another breathing exercise, but his heartbeat refused to still. If he even still had a heart - he was still a ghost. Visiting Yang's temple had done nothing for him, only given him more nightmares of their last visit. With a quiet growl, he stormed out through the bedroom walls and ran a few laps around the main deck. When his legs refused to carry him any longer, he collapsed on the ground, winded but clearer of mind. After flopping onto his back, the earth ninja noticed Zane sitting on the rooftop and watching his exertion. Sighing quietly, Cole quickly made his way up to his teammate, who looked down at him with a mild smile.

Lloyd woke up to a faint banging sound under the floorboards. A glance at the other beds revealed everyone but Kai having gotten up already. Jay and Nya's beds seemed hardly touched, which was concerning. With a small exhale, he stood up and let out a small laugh/groan as he put weight on his left leg, which was asleep. Ah, First Master, he cursed quietly, half limping to Kai's bedside and shaking the older ninja awake. He stirred and got up, one hand brushing loose strands of hair out of his face. "Lloyd? What's going on?"

"It's morning. I'm gonna go look for Jay and Nya, and I think the other two are above." A yell, a clang, and a peal of laughter interrupted him, followed by indistinct chatter. "That's probably them. Care to join me?"

"Sure," Kai blearily responded, pushing himself up. A red coloring tinged the fire ninja's cheeks as he sat up and closed his eyes for a moment.

"You okay, Kai?" Lloyd asked. "Your face is red."

"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm... I'm fine." He stretches and tried to stand, but collapsed with a wince.

"You are the opposite of fine. Come on, I'll help you down." Lloyd pulled his teammate back up and supported him as they walked out of the room and down the stairs. "What happened between you and Jay?" he asked as the tingling in his leg faded and he could stand straighter. "Ever since you guys came back from that trip last week, there's been a weird vibe between the two of you."

"Nothing happened," he insisted, a small shiver running through him. "We're just-" He broke off in a fit of coughing.

"You're sick, Kai. Something happened, and now you're sick. You need to take it easy for once."

"What! I can't do that! I have three interviews scheduled for today! My fans need to be updated! I have to do things!"

"You can have Jay or Zane set you up with one of those facecon apps if it's so vital for you to contact them. But you're not heading into the city. You need to recover."

Kai continued protesting as the two headed down the corridor and stopped in front of the entrance to the mech dock the two techies had set aside for their projects. Lloyd pushed the trapdoor open, knelt, and looked around at the odd chaos the two had caused.

By some technomagical ingenuity, the inside of the mech dock was bigger than the entire ship seemed able to contain. Six color-coded mechanical beasts were arranged roughly equidistant from one another around the room. Each seemed designed after a different creature, all of which had capabilities of flight. Five of them - the red, green, black, and both blues - were sitting relatively peacefully around the hangar doors in the center room, albeit occasionally sparking from exposed wires and with various pieces of scrap metal sitting around and on them. The white mech, however, was a different story.

Seemingly designed to look like Zane's falcon, the mech was plated in silver and white with glowing blue eyes. Jay was sitting on the bird's shoulders (or whatever they were called, Lloyd certainly didn't know), yelling at the mech and waving a socket wrench wildly. His hair was vaguely poofy from being untended-to and probably awake the entire night. Nya was sitting on the ground nearby with a discarded welder and a few bits of metal, laughing.

Kai leaned over his shoulder and made a small sound of disbelief, and, before Lloyd realized what he was doing, pushed him aside and began to climb down the ladder. His grip failed him a few rings down, however, and he fell down the rest of the way, hitting the floor with a muffled whump. Lloyd quickly hurried down after him.

Jay had heard Kai's fall, and dropped his gear immediately. He slid down the back of the bird mech, which shuffled its feet and snapped its beak, and rushed over to him, Nya close behind him. He hardly noticed Lloyd coming down the ladder, all his attention focused on Kai. With Nya's help, he turned him over onto his back and checked him over for injuries, of which none were noticeable.

"Is he okay?" Lloyd asked, having come over at some point, and Jay gave a panicked laugh.

"Okay? Of course he's okay! Anyone would be okay after falling thirty feet off a ladder!" He continued ranting for a few moments more, but stopped as he felt Kai stir under his hands.

"Jay-Jay, stop panicking," his muffled voice said slowly. "It's... not helping."

"First Master, Kai! You scared me half to death!"

There was a pause.

"You scared both of us almost entirely to death," was the fire ninja's response as he slowly sat back up.

Jay laughed and hugged Kai, and Lloyd and Nya glanced between the two, obviously confused.

"Weird vibe, I'm telling you," he overheard him say to her.

"Jay, get off, now," Kai said after a few moments. He released his stranglehold and backed off as he stood.

"Where're Cole and Zane?" Jay asked after noting their absence. "I don't feel like explaining these mechs more than once."

"They're above, most likely," Lloyd replied. "I think they're-"

"Speak of the devil," Nya interrupted, gesturing to the ladder. The two missing ninja were climbing down and walking over to the other four.

"'Morning!" Zane said cheerfully. "We heard a bit of a commotion and decided to come down. Hopefully you haven't forgotten about the Gilded Solstice celebrations?"

"The... Oh, First Master," Jay groaned, putting his face in his hands. He felt someone - Kai, probably - put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We completely forgot. The mechs aren't quite finished yet, but almost all the wiring and coding's complete. Maybe you boys could help us finish up?" Nya asked.

Cole responded, "You're gonna have to catch us up a bit first, Nya. We got a lot of work to do, and I'd rather not screw it up."

Kai's mech was a streamlined firebird in red and orange whose form could be ignited with a press of a button. He was quick to point out that he could also light them up with his own powers, and was eager to test it out before being shouted down by the other ninja, for obvious reasons.

The darker blue mech was Jay's, in the form of a dragonfly/firefly fusion. The wings and abdomen of the bug would be able to light up in glowing lightning blue and course with electricity when complete. At the moment, they were just semitransparent reinforced glass or tough cloth.

Nya's mech was also a bird, designed after the legendary sigmarus, a water-elemental form of a phoenix. Painted in every shade of turquoise and ocean blue, it would be a sight to see out in the sky.

Next to Zane's falcon stood Cole's mech, a brown, copper, and bronze dragon with striking similarity to his first dragon, Rocky. Its onboard AI had been designed to mimic Rocky as much as Jay could remember, with a bit of unknowing input from Cole himself.

The final mech belonged to Lloyd. It was a serpentine, wingless dragon in various hues of green and accented with gold, a nod to his former place as the Golden Ninja. The dragon's eyes whirred to life and it looked at its blonde owner with a slightly tilted head. He waved back, nervous, and the mech responded with a small puff of warm air and a slow blink.

The six ninja set to work quickly, fixing, adjusting, and testing the mechs. Zane shouted out the time every so often, to their annoyance - the celebrations would begin at sunset, which, as Zane reminded them, was at 8:43 in the evening. About an hour before noon, Kai took one of the skimmers Cyrus Borg had built for them a little while before and headed out to the city to grab lunch for the group. By the time he got back with noodles from Skylor's noodle place, the others were about to give up and go make food themselves.

After a short lunch break, Jay and Nya were satisfied enough with their progress that the group took their mechs out for a test flight. One by one, they dropped out of the mech bay and sailed into the open sky. Although the mechs still had a few kinks to work out, Nya was happy with how far they'd gotten. They might even be able to decorate the mechs before the Solstice festivities began. They'd definitely have time to deck the ship, though.

With a bit of struggle, the ninja managed to split into two groups to continue preparing. Zane, Jay, and Lloyd stayed and continued working on the mechs, while Nya, Kai, and Cole went up and started finding decorations for the Destiny's Bounty.

As they dug around in the storage rooms, Kai was struck by the sheer amount of tea supplies. Sensei Wu had obviously been prepared for many long journeys before he was sent into the time rift. He sifted through one small container, crushing some of the leaves together on his fingers and smelling them. They smelled vaguely like peppermint and lemon.

"I found a stash of lanterns," he heard Nya announce. "We could string these up on the railings, and on the roof of the pilot's cabin."

"That could look good on the sails, too. Kai, mind lighting these up for us once we get above?"

He lifted his head and nodded. "No problem."

"We can't put lanterns on the sails, it'll impede their function and we wouldn't be able to go anywhere."

"Maybe you're right at that."

Nya scoffed. "Maybe."

"What've you got there, Kai?" Cole asked, kneeling next to him.

"Sensei's tea leaves."

"He had a lot of them."

"You could say that again."

There was a brief pause as the three remembered their old Sensei.

"How old even was he?" Kai eventually asked. "I don't remember him ever telling us, and since he's the First Spinjitzu Master's son, he must be pretty dang old."

"He mentioned to the three of us before you arrived that he was roughly a hundred and fifty, something along those lines," Cole responded.

"A hundred fifty!" Nya exclaimed, having joined the other two. "That's absurd. The average person lives for maybe eighty years, ninety if they push it. Even then, they're almost completely bald. Either something genetic in the First Master's lineage gave him really long life, or he was lying to us."

"Sensei wouldn't lie to us," Cole protested.

"Wouldn't he?" Kai challenged.

"What cause would he have to lie to us?"

"To keep us safe? To make sure we couldn't destroy him and the rest of the team if we decided to turn against him? He's already-"

"You'd turn against us? What kind of ninja are you?"

"Hypothetically speaking! Why would I want to betray you guys? You're my best friends!"

"Like that's stopped you from leaving us behind before!"

The argument raged on for the better part of a minute, until Nya interrupted with an explosive "Enough!"

Both boys turned to look at her.

"Your arguing isn't helping anyone, least of all yourselves. We have an entire ship to decorate before sunset, and you're bickering like drunkards in a barroom. We are a team, whether you like it or not, whether Wu lied to us or not, so you had better suck up the insults you're throwing at each other and help out or I swear to the First Spinjitzu Master I'll have you cleaning up the streets on your own after the celebrations are over."

Kai exchanged looks with Cole. "Understood, sis."

"Good. Now help me get these lanterns up on deck."

The team of three made quick work of hanging the red paper lanterns around the ship. Off the railings, on the roof's overhang, anywhere they would decoratively fit and not impede the function of the ship. Kai was, for once, careful not to light entire strings of lights on fire, instead focusing on the fires to make them small and concentrated, as Wu had tried to teach him from the start. Cole had found some red and gold ribbon, and climbed up the mast to decorate a bit further, while Nya fastened the lantern strings in place along the ship. The sun was just an hour or so from touching the horizon when the other group of three came up on deck and announced that they were done, and Zane brought out a meat pie for the team's dinner.

Roughly fifteen minutes before sunset, the ninja headed belowdecks to check out the mechs. After settling in and reconfirming their familiarity with the controls, the hangar doors opened, and one by one the team dropped down and flew toward the city.

The often-bustling and chaotic city was decorated similarly to the Bounty, in streams of gold and red. Glowing paper lanterns hung along rooftops and across roads, and depictions of all manner of creatures adorned every meter. Near the center of the city, merchants and food-sellers set up shop in several of the town squares and were hawking their wares as the people danced to the festive music and held cheerful conversation with friends, strangers, and out-of-towners alike. The parades hadn't begun yet, so the ninja landed on the flat roof of a tall nearby building and dismounted, telling the mechs to stay put until they were called.

"Shall we head down?" Lloyd asked with a grin, gesturing to the ground several stories below.

"Race you!" Kai responded, leaping off the building. Jay hurried to the edge, along with the other ninja, and saw him shooting fire out of his hands and feet to slow his fall. He grinned and vaulted over the side, magnetizing his hands and jumping between metal outcrops. Zane flew past him, surfing down an ice bridge forming before him, and Cole followed close behind on a flat slab of rock. Nya shot down nearby, starting a Cyclon-do spin to stop from splatting onto the ground. Behind all the rest, Lloyd swung down, carefully parkouring down the side of the building.

After regrouping on the ground, the team set off to Diamond Square, where the main festivities were taking place. They quickly split up, each heading to a different section of the square. Jay hurried to the food stalls and stared at the goods for sale. Melons and fruits sat next to cherry pies and caramels, and jerky and kebab sticks abounded. He noticed that Chen's Noodle House had set up a small shop a few stalls away, and waved as a break in the crowd appeared and he caught sight of Skylor, who grinned back. Seeing as he had little else to do, he headed over to talk.

"That's 35 back. Enjoy your meal!" she said to the last person in line, who thanked her and walked into the crowd. "'Evening, Jay. What brings you here?"

"We're waiting for the parades to start organizing," he said with an offhand shrug. "You taking part this year?"

She snorted a laugh. "Hardly. There's a chance next year, if I can get someone else to run the booth. Even then, I'd need to build a float or something of the kind, and I'm not sure how much time I have for that."

"Nya and I built our team flying mechs this year. We could probably build you one, too," Jay offered. "We could hold on to it when you're not using it, too, in case you don't have space."

The Master of Amber seemed lost for words, and perhaps the slightest bit confused. "That... that would be great," she finally got out, brushing a lock of red hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Jay."

"I'll send you a message later with details."

"Jay! Sky!" The two turned and saw Kai heading toward them.

"Kai!" she called back with a wave. "You guys are gonna be in the parade?"

"Yep! This guy-" he lightly punched Jay's shoulder "-and my sis built these awesome mechs for us."

"He told me. He also offered to build me a mech for next year's festivities," she said, favoring Jay with a small smile. "Maybe I'll join you then."

"That would be awesome," Kai agreed. "I'm gonna go find Cole."

"I think I saw him by the DJs," Jay told him, gesturing to a spot a short distance from the dancers. As he left, the music changed from cheerful and light to rock and roll.

"He's still a ghost, right?" Skylor asked, and he nodded. "Poor guy. How's he dealing with that?"

"He went to Sensei Yang's temple a few weeks back, before the whole Hands of Time thing. Thought it would help him turn back to human, but it didn't work. He's been having nightmares since then, too."

"Man."

"No kidding."

The two watched the crowd for a few minutes with a few insignificant comments about the festivities before a gong's chime quieted the city. Rising from the post he had been leaning against, Jay told Skylor, "That's our cue to prepare. See you in a bit?"

She smiled and waved him off, and he quickly headed to the building they had landed their mechs on. Zane was sitting on his falcon already, and waved a welcome to Jay as he climbed over the edge of the roof. His lightning bug (he internally chuckled at the pun) was still sitting in the same spot he had left it, luckily. It whirred to life and turned to look at him, and he patted its head before hoisting himself up in front of its wings, checking the panels and levers in its head.

The other ninja quickly appeared, and with a few last-minute power checks and décor adjustments, the group set off to where the parade was organizing.

"Ah! Ninja! We have a spot for you near the front if you'd like to walk, but it appears you've come prepared to fly. Would you like to do that instead?" An organizer dashed up toward them. Her auburn hair seemed disheveled, and she brushed a wavy lock out of her slightly flushed face as she spoke.

"We can fly if there's enough space on the roads," Lloyd responded, climbing down from his dragon, who snorted and nudged his head with its snout while Jay held back laughter at the friendliness of the dragon.

"There should be plenty if you don't all line up side by side."

"Awesome, thanks." Lloyd climbed back up and the team took off into the air, planning out some group maneuvers.

"I have a name for you now," Jay told his mech, who looked back at him and whirred curiously. "Storm. Whaddya think?" It made a sound of approval, and he grinned, patting its side.

"All right! Ninja are heading out first! Repeat, ninja are heading out!" a different organizer called, gesturing a go-ahead to the team. With a shared smile, the ninja zigzagged through the streets and entered Diamond Square as they activated their special abilities.

Kai's phoenix lit on fire as he flipped upside down and high-fived the crowd beneath him, while Nya's sigmarus seemed to ripple and glow slightly. Mech-Rocky breathed out a burst of stone and corkscrewed through the air, and Zane's falcon threw up snow clouds wherever its wings passed. Jay began channeling the lightning, lighting up Storm's transparent bits and glowing with an electric blue, and Lloyd's dragon grew semitransparent, crackling green energy wings as it swooped through the air. Jag felt a wild grin light up his face at how well the mechs were functioning, and whooped as he pulled Storm into a backwards loop.

The crowd cheered, clearly in awe of the mechs, and chattered excitedly. Jay spotted Skylor standing with Camille and Neuro on the far side of the square and waved a hello, which was quickly returned by all three. An effusive grin on his face, he guided Storm in a glowing loop around the square and down a side road, meeting back up with the other ninja as they went up and landed on a building overlooking the square to watch the rest of the parade.

A troupe of dancers had come after the six, and were currently spinning and leaping in flashes of orange and yellow as a small group of musicians played a sprightly accompaniment. After they vaulted through, two battle suits, one in gold and green, the other in black and violet with an extra set of arms, reenacted a scene of combat that Jay recognized as Lloyd and Lord Garmadon's combat some time ago. A glance over at his teammate confirmed his guess. Lloyd was watching them with a faint mixture of a frown and a laughing smile. Beyond them, Dareth and his trainees displayed their skills, to the ninjas' hilarity.

The parade continued for what must have been an hour at the least. As they neared the end, the center of the square opened up, and more festive music began playing as couples entered the opening and began a dance Jay thought he recognized.

"Should we head down and join them?" he asked, looking at his teammates. With the exception of Cole, they all agreed and quickly joined the circles of dancers.

Cole looked at his ghostly green-grey hands and sighed. Rocky lay down next to him, and he stroked his head with one hand. "If only going to Yang's temple had worked," he said quietly. "If only anything had worked. I miss going swimming with the others. And water balloon fights. Now I can't even touch a glass of water without going paranoid."

The dragon made a rumbling sound and nudged at his side, seeming to recognize Cole's... sadness? He wasn't sure what to call it.

"I can't age, I can't eat or drink, I can't even touch half the things around me. If I stay dry, I would just... exist, possibly forever. I don't want that, but I don't want to die without becoming solid again first." He leaned back against Rocky's side and exhaled a sigh. "Am I dead already? I don't need any of the essentials of living life, but I still feel. I still hurt, and I still laugh and sadden and all of that. Maybe I'm just an in-between. Not dead or alive, just... existing, here, now. Forever."

The two sat on the roof and watched the moon cross the three-quarters-down mark, surrounded by deactivated and sleeping mechs and seeming for all the world as sentinels of a forgotten age as the dances continued below.

As the stars turned in their endless cycle above him, Cole drifted through his thoughts aimlessly. A new vision overlaid the cityscape before him - crumbling ruins colored with rust and vines, dust swirling through abandoned roads. The patterns of the Diamond Square were chipped and faded, untouched in what must have been decades, perhaps centuries. The mechs around him were rusted and torn, never again to raise their heads and spread their wings for flight. The sky was clear and filled with stars in a way the living city, the old city, never could have seen. Despite the ruins all around him, a sense of serenity pervaded the air, albeit tinged with a bit of sadness. He was the only "living" creature in this new world, the guardian of a past unremembered and watcher of a future unknown.

Here was a world where he could fit in. Here was a world where he could walk through the city without being stared at and hidden from.

Here he was alone.

In both this future and the present, Cole was still as the ghostly traces of music rippled through his thoughts and the moon slowly set behind him, marking the end of the first - and last - night of the Gilded Solstice.

[reincarnatedladywarrior]

“Untitled”

Two couples of years fleet so fast Memories blurred by tears and lies Illuminated by love and loyalty Revived through unforgotten promises   Push and pull, running in circles Out of sight but not out of mind Holding onto uncertainty Like future is guarantee   Let it go, let it be What is meant, will be Can't we trust our fate? Can't we trust our destiny?   He'll die for her But mustn’t be with her She'll die for him But shouldn't be with him   He filled her with kindness She filled him with genuine feelings They bid goodbye endlessly No one wants to leave the past they've painted beautifully   Perfect love wrecked by trusted people They know they're destined to meet But together they can't find their fate Adored foes she can’t hate   All they got perhaps was an illusion Broken hearts mend by other soul She escaped yet missed home But he had already left home   Pictures from 16th of March feels like May Day Eve She laughs in every blink of an eye It was just a dream that will never come true A wish upon the star that could never pursue   Still they wonder with its magic You can love in distance, space and time Even without a peck or a touch Choosing to stay is not too much   She loved him so much But she was afraid not to be loved back He loved her so much But too afraid to tell and ask   Insanely fighting and igniting Sequel of their story seems written in steel bars Despite of all, together they’d dreamt of living But fear of losing each other created tug of wars   They chose to hurt themselves To protect the people who love them Inseparable, conceivably hearts were entangled And souls were eternally bonded   Other halves are what they've lost and found Faith with high hopes, safe and sound Zipped arguments taught lifetime lessons Communication might resolve issues   Bulls when they clash Cats when they regret and lush Birds when they chirp romantic songs Fireflies when they lit up their worlds   Bizarre, not imprisoned yet wanted to escape No need for wings or a cape Burning clock, his lover got him locked Divine timing is what they must struck   This love would find a way Words left unsaid felt enough to say You know forever is so short to wait Even if they don't meet again, they'll be no perfect bait   She had refused queues of  suitors For her heart belongs to his past, present and future Though her heart had turned black and blue, in a golden frame she stares With teary eyes and  weary soul into a frozen picture   She began asking the universe, "If she fights for love, will she become a noble mistress?" "If he fights for love, will he become a noble cheater?" If they don't want to be a noble sinner, "to leave", is it  better?   Is it right to stay without love? Is it right to hold someone else's heart? If it's really right, why do we cry every time? If it's really right, is it right-er than being you-er than you? What is right, what is wrong? If doing what's right feels wrong, if doing what's wrong feels right.   Is it cowardice or bravery? If protecting her feelings is the highest good I'll  change my mood like I was never been in pain I'll conceal your wounds bleeding in vain   But I could not take it anymore I'll make you feel loved by all means, swear! No one can harm you now that I'm here Can I love you once more, I mean forevermore?   You're in my plans In my hopes and dreams I fear tomorrow comes and all remain in the past I'll fear more if the day changes and I did not cast   Win or lose there’s no in between Neither heaven to earth nor earth to heaven Might unite or never run to twin flames Sooner or later, a choice shall be made   Not compromising you by the situation People made my love bittersweet Wounds created countless stitches in my chest And turned me into someone else   Dancing tirelessly between seriousness and feebleness Didn't take anything so deeply and kept secrets Trusts no one, doubts myself and buried feelings with regrets Strangled my freedom and trained my thoughts   I thought I've saved you from being hurt Seems like I pushed us both into a cliff One was afraid to lose, the other was afraid to commit For she has made a promise into a leaf Whoever finds her heart on a treasure chest Shall be the alpha and omega   He can't escape the maze he built Out of the fragments of her guilt Desired and tempted but restricted Determined and willed but neglected   Heart of stone dissolves but the water isn't crystal clear Time will come, he'll be gone even if she begged and cried "Mask !" scolds the mirror, that's how she shielded  power Internally,  hiding the vibration of a crashing tower   Passion? Practicality? How would you define happiness? Stuck between crossroads, disregarded ego How come staying means letting go?   She knows what he should and will choose Glued palms wishing this path to be waded Whispered in the blue moon to be taken By someone she prayed  to be the One   In the wind she started whispering, please… Leave her when you're glad not when you're mad, Leave her with flowers not with paper cuts, Leave her with a smirk not with bloody tears, Leave her with love not with hatred.   Embrace her heart at least fake sorrow Force a dance to wave her agony Make her remember and forget somehow Memories will fade even its stormy, don’t know how   Watch her live in your gracious legacy Though warned with a tragic prophecy Athena won't just sleep and slack With a peaceful war she'll be back   Blow a little ecstasy and help her carry Caress her firm shoulders and cold cheeks with warmth Quit running in circles, walk and avoid red flags So, there’ll be no more pain, regrets nor sadness   In the tree of life, take a leap of faith Crossed-finger, sing a song of victory In darkness be the light and feel not sorry Stop worrying and in all the lies be the truth   Trust don't doubt, you'll be home tonight. Stars isn't that far, right? Winds could change, it might!   In broad daylight,  she started murmuring … When warning signs feels like butterflies When her cries always turn to guffaws When her insanity feels so in sane Will you mend her pain?   During midnight, she started envisioning a parallel universe… Days like the 18th of June he breaks the ice Drowning her again into realistic fantasies Followed by a deafening silence Perhaps both souls smell  radiating fears   Barking into the unknown perhaps they're scared of love Change is the twin sister of consequence I can hold my breath and bite my tongue Muting voices in my head saying, "Dive little dove!"   I'm not rushing but to you I'm longing I believe I already found my other half, I'm trembling In fear, excitement and joy while waiting Through rain or shine, I won't stop kneeling In a monitor, she tried peeling layers of herself… Used to be unpredictable and messy Haunting her nights, starving her days Drowning in enchanting melody Of mellow tragic songs and its beauty   Floating in space, she began pondering… Her name is a test, his name is a quest She was independent, he wasn’t patient Maybe they are meant and maybe they aren't But they knew what they've shared was heaven sent   How can they fall in love with just holding hands? Never hugged but had embraced her flaws Never kissed but had kissed his imperfections Love was the only explanation of all these delusions   Can we save us? Can we really save us? Can you do whatever it takes to be with me?   Starting to hate you but I  always end up missing you It kills her putting you in a brink but there’s no other way A culprit, she attempted murdering her heart, silly But he’s a snake, the poison and the cure   Puzzling mind games, dare me not, save She’s intuitive but isn’t that brave Pause or play injected music in her veins Head above, feet below, tearing as its seams   Word trap, sugar, sweet, please don’t lie Watch, cry, giggle, sigh When, how and why Doomed and always meant to die She thinks she’s done; tried everything that she can do Until she realized it will all depends on you She wishes she still matters to you But your smiles say she no longer do Whether you believe her or not To force you, she cannot She’ll just let my ink heart flow Regardless, if there’ll be sun or snow   She’s running out of tears Every time windows of her soul closes Dying, can’t go out of the woods Turn in two tomorrows   Pardon the liar’s sneaky behavior When things get tougher for a lame warrior She’ll say “forget” when all she wanted was to remember She’ll say “give up” when all she wanted was to stay   She’s a pain like she’s always been Pain wants to disappear for you But Pain can’t until you heal Pain is me, I’m sorry.

[hey-i-wrote-a-story]

Chapter 8 Fishing with Grandpa

           Jacob Patterson loved being a grandfather. He didn’t think he would, what with that title marking his advancing years which he’d prefer to ignore, but he loved it all the same. He was able to dote on his grandson and shower him with treats, and gifts, and outdoor adventures without fear of spoiling him. He knew that his mother would see to all the discipline and denial and all that other parenting stuff. One of the perks of being the grandad was being the fun grownup. Besides, since his daughter’s marriage, he knew there wouldn’t be a man in the boy’s life, not in the traditional sense, so he could indulge in his old-fashioned notions from time to time with model building, playing catch, bicycle repair, and fishing trips. Today it was a fishing trip.

           It had been a fun afternoon for the both of them. The learned grandad with his near-limitless knowledge of tying flies and casting rods and watching the water’s surface for signs of movement below, and the eager grandson with his excited yearning to match his elder’s skill, making progress with every attempt. In another hour or two, afternoon would give way to evening, and as much as both participants wanted to stay out until the sun set, mom had been promised that they’d be back on the shore and ready to head for home upon her arrival. Jacob already looked forward to climbing in the backseat as his grandson regaled those in the front with stories of his adventure of Fishing With Gramps as said gramps beamed with pride. But they had to get ashore first.

           “Okay, that’s it for today, Grayson”, Jacob announced, doing his best to sound stern and authoritative. “It’s time to head back.”

           “Aww, c’mon, grandpa”, Grayson whined. “Can’t we stay out for just one more cast? I’m getting really good at it, honest. Watch, and I’ll show you!”

           Jacob rested a hand on Grayson’s small shoulder, stopping the lad from reeling back for a mighty cast of his line. “I know you’re getting good at it”, he grinned. “I’d say a fair sight better than I was at your age, as a matter of fact.”

           “Really??”, Grayson glowed at the praise.

           “Really. Why would I lie about a thing like that?”, Jacob asked, feigning offense. His white moustache bristled at the edges as he grinned. “But we’ll talk about it later after we’re on dry land. About face, kiddo!”

           Grayson whirled around in the water and bobbed about a bit. Both he and his grandfather were in chest high fishing waders, the heavy-duty variety with the boots attached. Grayson loved them. He loved the waders and the vest with its many pockets for stashing lures, and bait, and a compass, and a wad of beef jerky. He was also inordinately fond of his heavy checkered shirt and his tattered cap. He loved them because his grandfather had picked everything out for him, and was dressed the same way. So if Grayson was stuck wearing a gorilla costume, he’d be delighted with that too, provided his beloved gramps was similarly attired.

           “Now, remember how I taught you to walk in those”, Jacob cautioned. “I know you’ve got the life jacket on, but I don’t want you capsizing, all the same.”

           “But it’s fun to jump when I walk”, Grayson insisted. “It feels like I’m floating on air every time I lift my foot up. It’s like I’m an astronaut on a planet with less gravity!”

           Less gravity. The kid was sharp as a whip and getting smarter all the time. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be coaching his old gramps about new-fangled fishing techniques. “All the same, spaceman. I don’t want you going under.”

           “You’d catch me”, Grayson said confidently.

           “Not if it meant dropping this line of trout”, Jacob smirked. “Don’t overestimate your worth, there.”

           “I wouldn’t sink anyways”, Grayson assured him. “I already tested it.”

           “You did what?”

           “I jumped off the dock once when I had my waders all buckled on. I floated. My feet stick up out of the water like a life raft, but I don’t sink.”

           “When the Sam Hill did you do this, then??”

“Last time we went fishing. When you had to run up to the house and told me to wait at the dock. You never said if that meant on the dock or floating close by.” Grayson snickered as he kept hopping and bounding lightly along as the water receded from above the waist to below, to halfway down his thighs as they moved closer to shore.

“You stinker!” Jacob reached out and took hold of the back of Grayson’s life jacket and hefted him up off his feet, leaving the toes of his boots to drag in the sand and silt. “It’s dock fishing for you on our next time out, you wait and see.” Grayson laughed, amused as always when his soft-hearted gramps tried to act as if he were “taking charge” as he put it. Grayson threw his head back, snorting and giggling, trying to catch his gramps’ eye. He knew that if he met his eye while laughing, Gramps was a goner for sure and would wind up laughing right along with him, regardless how hard he resisted.

But the glint of the late afternoon sun on the water made Grayson squint. Eyes closed tight, the boy could still see a field of sparkling after-effects behind his eyelids. “Ack! Sun in the eyes!”, he cried.

“Well, get’cher head back down where it belongs”, Jacob scolded. “Don’t crane your neck like a…well, a crane. Here, we’re almost out anyways.” Jacob set his grandson back down on his feet but kept a guiding hand at the boy’s back. They were almost up on the thick grass beyond the shore at this point, the water now down to their ankles. “You alright?”

Grayson rubbed his eyes and found everything back to normal when he opened them. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s okay. I’m good now.” Only then did Jacob feel it was safe to remove his hand from his grandson’s back and leave him to stand on his own. For a brief time, they both just looked out at the lake, caught up in the beauty and serenity of the water, the grove of trees on the far side, and the occasional gull flying by.

“It’s really pretty out here”, Grayson said at last.

“It is that.”

“I like how it’s so quiet and you can just look at everything without having to really listen much.” He stood for another moment and did just that. “All the little flashes of light on the lake look kind of like jewels or something”, he observed.

“Yes, they rather do at that”, the grandfather said, reflecting on how often he’d thought the same thing after a day’s fishing.

“It’s cool”, Grayson offered, not yet having the words to convey his feelings about the quiet grace of nature. Then, “I like how some of the sparkles look like they’re floating up off the water. I never noticed that before.”

Jacob was about to tell his grandson about how the combination of the lake water and the fading light of late afternoon and evening can play tricks on your eyes. Or at least he was, until he saw them himself.

“I’ll be…”, he muttered. “What is that? That’s no trick of the light.”

Small sparkling puffs of energy blew lightly across the surface of the lake towards the two fishing companions and proceeded to float up to hover around their heads.

“Woooww…”, Grayson said quietly. “I’ve never seen anything like this before!”, he exclaimed. “What are these, grandpa?”

As the small cluster of energy puffs began to whisk around them, Jacob stared intently. That was a good question. What were they? Not mere seedlings or spores—they’d not glow like this if they were. Insects? They did swarm about like bugs.

“It’s way too early for these to be fireflies”, Grayson deduced. “I wonder if we can catch ‘em in jars like them, though.” He reached out a curious finger but his grandfather brought his arm back.

“Let’s not touch them just yet, Grayson. In case they have stingers or bite, like nettles or a chigger.” Something in Jacob’s mind sensed danger. The hair rose on the back of his neck as one of the glowing wisps zipped past his head. Firmly, he took hold of Grayson by the shoulder. “You know what? I’ll bet they look even better from the grass. All glowing and floating against the water like that. Let’s get out of the water all the way now.”

As Jacob began to hurry his grandson along—not much further to go—one of the energy puffs (nettles? thistles?) flew down and landed on Grayson’s waders.

           “Hey look! I think it likes me.”  Grayson reached down to his glowing passenger--perhaps it could be coaxed to climb into his hand--when a sharp spark shot for them glowing ball and burnt his finger. “Ow! Hey, watch it!”

           Grayson tried to swat the glowing ball away, but it wouldn’t budge. “I think it’s stuck”, Grayson frowned. “G’wan, shoo!” After another ineffectual swat, there were half a dozen glowing nettles clinging to Grayson’s waders. “Gramps, they’re all over.”

           Jacob tried to swipe the energy thistles away from his grandson, doing no more than gather some on himself, which clung to his sleeves and his vest.

           “They’re sure sticky little devils”, Jacob chuckled, trying his best to hide the fear he felt rising inside him with a lighthearted tone of voice. “Let’s hurry now onto the grass and head uphill towards the cabin. See if that doesn’t discourage ‘em.”

           As Jacob helped his grandson quickly lift his muddy boots from the shallows toward the soft grass, the thistles increased in number and in aggression. The buzz that was nearly silent from one or two of them became a rising hum that rang in the ears. In moments, both grandson and grandfather’s heavy waders were covered in the glistening thistles, which began to spark energy angrily, even as more of their number settled on their victim’s sleeves and caps.

           “Grampa”, Grayson cried. “What ARE they? Why won’t they come off? Make them stop!”

           “I’m tryin’, buddy! Just hold tight!” But Jacob’s words were hollow. He couldn’t brush the stinging thistles from himself, much less rescue his grandson. Jacob swung at the floating thistles with his fishing rod, hoping to sweep them away or swat them out of the air. Neither approach worked. Soon both were engulfed in a swarm of angry sparking lights. The smell of burning fabric and melting rubber began to assault the afternoon air. The stench of burning flesh and hair was not far behind.

           “GRANDPA!!” Grayson thrashed wildly, having no more effect than anything else had. The young boy screamed for his grandfather’s help even as his eyes lost their natural color and surged with a sickly orange. The boy’s soft voice was replaced by something horrible; low, wet, and gurgling. His body stiffened and his fingers gnarled like claws. His small body jerked and spasmed so violently that it was punctuated by the sound of breaking bones.

           Jacob screamed as well, but in defiance against these tiny creatures and out of fear for his grandson whom he adored beyond measure. The last conscious thing that Jacob Patterson did was rip his fishing vest from his back and attempt to drape its underside, still free from the attacking thistles, over his grandson like a cloak to protect him. He was still moving forward, arms outstretched and vest offered, as a cloud of thistles rushed in to cover his chest and back. Jacob’s eyes went orange and his shriek of pain melted into some kind of inhuman roar as he fell upon the writhing form of what had once been his beloved grandson.

           Above, held aloft by the steady beat of huge leathery wings, the monster observed with dispassionate eyes. The destruction of these two beings was total. It was still not satisfied.

             “Is that the right time? Is the clock on your dash right?”

The nervous mother tapped the small plastic disc on the dashboard, as if the jostling of her fingernail might prompt the clock’s hands to suddenly adjust themselves.

           “Gretchen, I swear to God, you could make needless worrying a full-time career. We’re almost there. Just sit back and exhale already.”

           Judith held the steering wheel with one hand and gently guided her wife back into her seat with her right. She offered a reassuring smile while keeping her eyes on the road. Gretchen began to chew on a fingernail.

           “It’s just that we are running late”, Gretchen said, trying to justify her anxiety. “I don’t want Grayson to worry.”

           “He’s fishing with your dad, for Pete’s sake”, Judith said. “The sun could set and rise again before he noticed the time. He loves it out there. Besides, we’re only five minutes late.”

           “Closer to seven, actually.”

           “Relax. Everything is fine. You’ll see.”

           When the women pulled into the small dirt lot just off the boat launch, they both had a feeling that everything was most certainly not fine. Judith quickly turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. “Pop? Gray? You guys even in from the lake yet or are you hiding somewhere gobbling down your catch?”

           Gretchen was less composed as she leapt from the car, leaving the door opened as she ventured onto the grass and across the lawn. “Grayson honey? Dad? Where are you?” Despite Judith’s jibes, it was unlike Grayson to not be waiting for his moms as they pulled up, waving the day’s catch in the air as his proud grandpa stood behind him.  She hurried to the section of lawn that dipped down into the lake. It was her dad’s favorite spot to wade out into the water and cast his line. Every once in a great while, her father would be busy untangling lines or helping her son with the fish and would fall a bit behind in their schedule. But not today. Today there was no one. “Dad?”, she called with louder voice. “Grayson??”

           “You suppose maybe they’ve gone up to the house?”, Judith offered, although that didn’t seem likely, as they rarely went inside before dark unless there was bad weather. There was an eerie quiet to the area, as if everything living or otherwise was holding its breath. “There’s not need to get all worked up”, Judith said, in a failed attempt to prevent her better half from doing just that. “It could be something as simple as your dad needing to get something from the neighbors. Or more likely, that Mrs. McGillicuddy has got them at her place and is stuffing Gray with cookies as reward for a successful outing on the lake.”

           “Even so”, Gretchen said. “They wouldn’t have left these here.” She reached down and picked up a handsome string of trout from the ground, covered in sand and stray weeds.

           Judith was now looking around with eyes as keen as Gretchen’s. “G, look. They wouldn’t have left these behind, either.” Judith stooped down and picked up two fishing rods, one child sized and one for an adult. There was also a handful of lures scattered along the sand.

           They needed no further searching or discussion. Without another word, Judith was on her phone trying to reach Jacob. Gretchen was already dialing 9-1-1. At least one of them got an answer.

           Nearby, out of sight of the two concerned mothers, two pairs of half-melted fishing waders drifted lazily down the shoreline toward the next dock. Stray bits of cloth and charred chunks of life jacket were either stuck to them or floated alongside. A glowing and stinking orange goo oozed slowly out of the ravaged waders, sinking down to settle on the lake bed below, raising a bit of sand, its lingering heat causing steam to rise off the lake surface and disturb the algae hovering around the odd plant. As it cooled, the odd orange substance mixed with the small stones and gravel along the sandy bottom, formless and luminescent, giving no indication it had ever been the doting Jacob Patterson and his young grandson.

             High above, the monster soared. Its eyes sparked, small lances of electricity arced from one orb to the other. Things were so different now. The garb, the coverings these creatures wore, had changed drastically since last it had escaped its hellish confines. It knew now that no matter how fit its prey, lack of covering would result in its loss. And weightier skins would provide little protection were the subjects too old or too young. It was getting closer. At least there was that.

[ofpearlsxgods]

What are your muses' favorite physical features of their significant other?

sent by ( anonymous )

Kyungri - “His nose, and how it wrinkles when he smiles.”

Miran - “His shoulders, and when I lean against them.”

Jiyeon - “His lips, and how perfect they are for kissing.”

Eloise - “His hands, and how gently they touch me.”

Sohyang - “His toothy grin, and how weak I am for it."

Miyeon - “How petite she is, and how perfectly balanced she is.”

Haru - “Her thighs, and how they make me want to run my fingers over them.”

Mary Jane - “His eyes, and how lost I get in them.”

Bonus !!

Coco - “His gummy smile, and how it makes me feel things I never thought I’d feel.”

[ofpearlsxgods]

[Yugyeom to Sohyang. Mr No Filter strikes again] ❝ fuck… you can step on me in those heels. ❞

source | sent by ( @hidden-among-you )

"I’m sure that what’s going to happen at some point tonight,” Sohyang snorted a laugh at the words coming out of his mouth. Pretty sure that what he meant and what she understood were two different things. Still, she laughed it off with a light touch of pink on her cheeks.

Wearing heels was not something she was unfamiliar with. While they could be uncomfortable sometimes, especially when she had been wearing them the whole day, they also gave her some extra height and made her legs look longer. Hence why she wore them for a night out; not for the comfort but for how they made her look. But before they could go out, she needed some help to fasten up her heels. And since Yugyeom was there and had liked her heels so much, maybe he could give her a hand.

Sohyang raised her leg, the fabric of her dress slidding back ever so slightly as she moved and showing some of her thigh, as her foot brushed against his leg. “Would you be a darling and help me with it?”