#Ah damnit I have a too soft spot for them

[spicywarl0ck]

hiiii happy Friday!!! for cullen/trevelyan, can i please have “I’ll stay the night”? 🌌

Thank you so much for the fun prompt <3 I couldn't help but making it fluffy again. @dadrunkwriting

Cold sweat had broken out on Cullen’s furrowed brows, palms rubbing his temples in slight irritation. He had gone through the Lyrium withdrawal symptoms for the past few days, but it had never been as bad for him to lose all of his focus on his work.

It was frustrating.

His gloved hand crunched the piece of parchment he had written on in anger, and a frustrated grunt released from his scarred lips as he threw it into the corner of his office. A dull pain throbbed alongside his temples, making it hard for him to see anything but dancing lights and blurry lines.

He had never needed it so bad as he did right now. “Damnit!” he yelled into the empty space of his office, throwing a bottle of wine toward the door right as it opened. But thanks to the Maker, none of the shards touched her when the glass shattered against the wall beside her.

“Maker’s Breath… Forgive me. I… “ he stumbled over his words, face as pale as the parchment, when he saw her blurry form in front of him, completely frozen in place and staring at him wide-eyed.

“Forgive me,” he repeated, moving towards her only to hold himself steady at the desk when a flood of nausea rolled over him. He broke out in a swear, his blond hair falling partially into his face as he corrected himself. If there was one thing he didn’t want… it was the Inquisitor’s pity. Or no… maybe that was not correct at all. What he didn’t want was her pity… for her seeing him as weak.

“It’s alright. This is your office. I… I should have knocked.” she answered, cheeks flushed while she pulled her outer cloak firmer around her slender form. Yet, he could see a peek of her nightgown flashing for just a second. 

“No, it’s… fine. Was there something you needed?” Cullen asked her, hand moving to rub against a spot behind his head while he still held himself steady on the edge of his desk. It became harder to focus, his vision blurring and sharpening at the same time while his throat felt sore and dry.

“Ah…” Aisling’s cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red, eyes darting towards a corner. He could not see her heart beating fast, her pulse racing while she tried to find the words she meant to say.

“It’s just… You didn’t look well in the war room earlier today, and I….” She bit her lower lips, her blue eyes studying his face with worry after she moved just a bit closer. “And you are still looking so pale… so I wondered if there is… if there is anything I can do?”

She looked at him through her long lashes, his heart drumming faster in his chest the more he looked at her. 

And suddenly, he felt terrible about hiding his issues from her… or anything else. 

Cullen had told Cassandra, of course, preparing for the eventuality he needed to be swapped out when the craving after lyrium became too unbearable. When he… became too much of a mess to focus on his work.

But now… when he saw her standing before him like this… how could he not tell her everything?

So he told her all about it, the choice he had made for himself and what it might mean for his position. He told her about the symptoms haunting him while she stood there and listened, concern on her beautiful face as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth. She obviously had her own decision to make before she closed the last few inched between them, her delicate hand touching his forearm ever so softly.

“I’ll stay the night?” Aisling offered her voice nothing more but a breathy whisper while her cheeks had become the deepest shade of red he had ever seen. “I… I am used to taking care of my brother when he is sick… so…” she stumbled, realising how this might have sounded. “I… um… I just want….”

She was so adorable at this moment that he couldn’t help but lean in and kiss her softly, not minding his shaky stance when he felt her soft lips against his… her warm body against his.

And at least for that moment, everything felt perfect. 

[stop-pressing-e]

The Lost Swan - Chapter 13

Prev chapter | New chapter Prologue

/Training session! That’s it lol. Enjoy reading!/

Breathe. She needed to remember to breathe. ‘Good distance so far.’ She thought as she checked her surroundings. The knife dancing between her fingers as she listened for anything. ‘I can’t dawdle too long at this spot.’ Her only eye scanned for anything out of place in the forest. The first noise made Natasha quickly pull out her gun and pointed towards the source. Nothing. 

Shit. 

“Too many opportunities.” She muttered in French as she spun around in the open environment to catch the sight of the hunter. It was starting to get too quiet and she didn’t like it one bit. This is unlike him to prolong the anticipation. 

An arrow whistled, nicking her cheek as it flew past her head, and struck the tree behind her.

“Merde!” He found her.

“Run rabbit run!” Krauser’s voice boomed from where he stood, loading a new arrow to the drawstring, and drew it back. He aimed the arrow for her head, held his breath for a moment, exhaled, and he released the string. 

Natasha ducked quickly as she caught sight of the laser and made a break to her right, gun and knife tucked away. The game was on for them. Him shooting arrows at her and her dodging his hits as she ran. One of the arrows was shot at her torso level, forcing her to get down and slide underneath it, quickly getting back up afterwards. She decided to hide behind the trees to hide from his sight, trying to catch her breath and evaluate her plans. Her plan is basically get back to the jeep and avoid getting hit. Her second plan if she gets caught is winning the fight. No matter what. 

A faint sound of leaves crunching caught her attention. She held her breath for a moment, slowly pulling out her knife from her holster, the tips of her fingers softly tapping against the handle as the noises were getting closer near her hiding spot. Once it stopped, Natasha left her hiding spot and charged towards Krauser with her knife above her head. 

It was an obvious move that Krauser would grab her wrist. “Nice try, rabbit. Have you forgotten your past mistakes?”

“Not this time.” She smirked and detached her forearm, her hand tossing the knife to her free hand. With both of their hands occupied, Natasha threw a kick at his sternum, forcing him to stumble back a great few steps and losing his grip on her arm. As soon she attached her arm back and threw her other arm down to stab him in the face, he blocked her wrist with a hand and threw a punch to her gut with his free hand. The force has her heaved and bent forward allowing his knee to connect with her nose, a yowl escaping her mouth.

Krauser put all his force to pin her down and forced her knife against her neck. Now he was smirking back at her. “I win again, love.” He let out a chuckle, earning him a sound of frustration from her. 

“God fucking damnit.” She muttered underneath her breath. To think she had managed to find a way to win a round today. But no, she lost once again to him. The sharp blade was gone and the warmth of his hand grip her chin gently to examine her face. Mainly her nose as she was bleeding.

“Can you breathe, darling?” He asked sincerely. “I hope I didn’t kick you that hard.” “Ah, it’ll heal, love.” It hurts when she scrunches up her nose but the pain will go away soon enough. “Would you still kiss me with all the blood in the way?”

He let out a scoff, the smirk returning on his face. “All it needs is a few cuts here and there and I’ll gladly lick it off from you.” “Mmm, that’s hot hearing that, Jackie.” She can taste her blood on her teeth and on her tongue.

“Training’s over for today.” He told her as he stood up, putting away her knife in his free holster. “You still need a lot more work but you’ve certainly made quite a lot of progress than before.” It was a relief to hear that from him. It’s been two weeks since she started her training to get back on the field and her months of recovery has led her to become ‘soft’ as quoted by Krauser. He was right but she was not the only one at fault here. He was also the reason why she’s been ‘soft’ and why he hasn’t allowed her to train when she felt she could do it. It felt good to get back into shape and eventually back in tip top shape.

“I do hope I get to have one day of rest tomorrow.” While Natasha was glad she can train again, she doesn’t approve of Krauser’s intensity put into the training sessions. She was a hitman for Christ’s sake. “One day.” “Tomorrow we’ll be sparring in the ring.” He said. “You’re going to need to have those punches to have a good kick to knock them out cold.”

“Oh for heaven…” She sighed heavily to herself. “You better change your mind on this.” She said to herself and reached out to grab her knife from his holster. Krauser was fast when he ducked from her swing and grabbed her ankle, pulling it towards him to force her down. He didn’t expect her to make a split as she got down, allowing her a chance to sweep her leg around his ankle, detaching her captured ankle to lock her legs together. She twisted her body around, putting all her strength into forcing him down on his back, and making her way on top to straddle his chest. Her knife at his neck and his knife pulled out and placed against her cheek. 

Natasha let a smirk form on her lips, angling her face to allow herself to lick his knife in a seductive manner. From the bottom all the way to the tip of the blade. All in front of him. 

“Well, well…” He couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight he’s seeing. “Trying to change my mind huh?”

“One day, sir.” She lets out a purr. When she leaned down allowing their faces to be so close to each other, their lips were only inches away she could feel his hot breath against her skin. “That’s all I ask.” There was that chuckle again. 

“That’s my girl.” They pulled their knives away, Krauser was pulled up, and he helped attach her foot back to her leg. “You get one day off and we’ll start your next training the day after.” He smacked her ass when Natasha walked ahead to where their transport is. A yelp was made and her cheeks went pink by his actions.

She cleared her throat. “Fine by me.”

[fandom-necromancer]

1235. I trusted you.

This was prompted by an amazing anon! It got a bit long again, but Allen60 deserves that too for a change :) Enjoy!

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Allen60 (Warnings: being briefly trapped by a fallen building)

Captain Allen took a deep breath, sitting in the front of the van that would bring his team to Belle Isle. They were driving a convoy of three SWAT units and several police cars. It was one of the largest missions Detroit had seen in recent years, maybe even the biggest one yet. As the dust had settled after the revolution and androids had accommodated to their freedom and rights, they had moved things forwards to destroy Cyberlife. With that much insider information it was easy to take the mega-corporation down one branch at a time. Until only their headquarters were left. Cyberlife had fought tooth and nail to keep them away.

Their initial crime to be unveiled were their measures taken to stop deviancy: The systematic hunt and extermination of androids that hadn’t stopped even as deviants were protected by the new laws in place. It had been the first of many. Development of new androids, resetting of old ones and kidnapping and imprisoning them. Cyberlife stubbornly denied everything and shut down investigation of investigation. They had no qualms bribing or threatening everyone who was determined to shut them down. Several warrants had been declined because of this, but finally, they got one. And the DPD wasn’t about to let their one and only chance fail.

That was why only the best had been assigned this mission. That included the RK800 sitting next to him, re-inspecting his weapons. Allen had never taken a special liking to androids as such and had considered himself relatively neutral during the revolution as long as life would get back into normalcy afterwards. But that special android? Sixty was something else entirely. Hard-working and sometimes stubbornly following protocol. But in the end very caring for the entire team. Maybe a bit protective of Allen but refusing to admit it. The Captain hoped to talk to Sixty after all of this about their feelings. Because he knew how he thought about the android and really needed to hear his point of view. Maybe with him he would finally find what his previous wife had used and abused. Maybe…

He focussed back on the job as they had passed the bridge, knocking on the wall separating the back part of the view from the driver. Sixty took control over the vehicle as they drove onto the empty parking lot. The other SWAT-cars lined up next to them and on Allen’s signal, the teams left the vans, getting into position. It wasn’t a raid just yet, so they had to at least pretend the possibility for Cyberlife to accept their warrant wasn’t null. Allen watched, how Gavin and Chris walked up, followed close by Hank and Connor. A dangerous cocktail of people being very persuasive to get what they want. Connor by negotiating, Hank by using common sense, Chris by rationalising their options that bordered bribery and Gavin by being a giant uncomfortable asshole.

If they didn’t manage to get access through their valid warrant, then the operation would turn into a raid and for that final option SWAT had trained the last months, memorising every floor and every room that showed up in the official building plan. For now they waited. And waited. Until Hank appeared at the door. ‘No one’s in there. The reception is vacant and not one person can be seen anywhere. They planned something without doubt.’ Captain Allen nodded to that and noticed how Sixty shifted next to him. ‘Then we will take over. Sixty will keep in touch with Connor, the rest of the team will be on silent operation, so we can’t be detected by their systems. Please stay behind or, if you must, follow one of my teams.’

Hank agreed and called his partners out of the lobby to make room for SWAT. ‘Hey, everything alright?’, Allen asked Sixty in a hushed tone. The android near flinched at the question. ‘Hmm? Y-yes, of course I am fine.’ He tried to sound confident, but the red LED proved that lies. ‘It’s just… Cyberlife, you know? I died here one time already and swore never to come back.’ Allen swallowed and gave the android next to him a friendly pat on the back. ‘This will end it, Sixty. After this, Cyberlife will have fallen and are no threat to anyone anymore. I’ll have your back, you know that, right?’ ‘Yes. Thank you… Joseph.’ Allen looked at the android worriedly. He rarely used his first name and… did he look guilty? Allen couldn’t imagine how it must be to return to the place he had died. Sixty hadn’t been deviant back then and from what he knew, he had threatened to kill Hank and Connor. Being an instrument used by Cyberlife for their agenda… Allen’s grip on his gun tightened, as they entered the elevator with the first team. Today this would end.

They had spread out to cover more ground in the enormous building. They searched floor after floor without finding anything. All labs, hallways and offices were empty. It wasn’t abandoned, as there were tools and papers lying around, but it wasn’t left in a hurry either. More like they had all left for a break they hadn’t returned from. Allen usually trusted his gut feeling and now it was telling him something very, very big was coming. Was that Cyberlife’s response to their planned action? That didn’t make any sense. From all the office materials they could access every and all information they needed on the corporation. They could get any name they needed and from there tracking the persons responsible was no effort at all. So, what had happened here? What were they planning?

They had finished scouting the ninth floor below surface and were proceeding to the tenth, the first of the manufacturing floors. Allen’s team would be the first to go down there again, the rest would follow after they finished their patrols. The elevator opened to a small lobby that was designed to be a waiting room. Maybe they had used this manufacturing level for guided tours. Regardless, it was just another empty room for them to traverse.

Until Sixty next to him froze mid-step and fell behind. Immediately the whole team stopped and looked at the android. His LED was pulsing red and spun fast. Allen had long since learned to read it. Sixty was stressed, deeply stressed. ‘Hey’, he said softly. ‘Sixty, what’s wrong? Come on, speak to me. We are all here with you, you are safe.’ He stepped closer, instinctively wanting to touch him to comfort. But as soon as his fingertips touched his shoulder, he pulled back his hand. The android was searing hot. Something had to be severely wrong. An attack from Cyberlife? A virus? Sixty was their only way of communication without the risk of being detected. Was this their way of fighting back? ‘Sixty, plea-‘ He stopped shocked, as the android dropped to his knees, suddenly emotion returning to his face. Blue drops rolled down his cheeks and he held his head.

‘Hey, Sixty…’ Allen wanted to crouch down, but the android interrupted him before he could do anything: ‘It’s a trap!’ There was heavy breathing. ‘I wasn’t deviant, I was reprogrammed as an infiltrator unit to insert in your team, gain your trust and lead you to your doom. Behind this door are two hundred of the RK900s ordered by the state, ready to turn this into a massacre and explode the tower to hide any evidence of it all. Military-grade androids you have no chance against.’ ‘What?’ Allen stared at the android in front of him, bile rising up when he thought about what that meant. ‘I betrayed you, alright? Amanda instructed me to do this. She will notice my GPS-tracker went offline just now, she will notice something is wrong and take action. ‘I’m sorry, Joseph. You will all be dead if you don’t immediately evacuate this building.’ ‘You… You weren’t a deviant before? This… This was all just pretence? Sixty, I…’ The android refused to look him in the eye. ‘Yes. Now go! I deviated to warn you, now take the chance I am giving you.’ ‘Sixty…’ Allen felt betrayed and disgusted. And here he had thought he really felt something for the bot… He collected himself. ‘Back to the elevator! Now!’, he ordered and the whole team dispersed to rush to it. They managed to get in, Allen making sure everyone was inside before he jumped in himself. He looked at the android, now standing in the lobby, looking at him with a pained expression he would never forget. But it hurt him too much to think he loved a machine send to infiltrate them. He stared into the other’s eyes as the elevator doors closed and whispered deflating: ‘I trusted you.’

-

Sixty felt like self-destructing. His thirium pump hurt with every beat and his thoughts were like pieces of barbed wire pulling at it. He had lost all momentum and ambition. His one trait was to work relentlessly to accomplish his mission and now that had been pulled away from him. Yes, he had been a machine until a few minutes before. But he also had feelings. Deviancy gave them freedom to express them and to let them rule their decisions. But every android was capable of feeling emotions before deviating. And he… Sixty had felt a lot during his time at the force. He had felt free already. He had been treated as an equal, he had been included in them fooling around after work. He had saved their lives and had been cared for in return. It had been… a family. Amanda had rebuilt him, yes. Amanda had been there from the start, that was true. But he had been a tool. A thing to use. He hadn’t been a co-worker, a friend, a… very, very close friend… He had liked the team. He had loved his Captain. Over the time he had been granted to “successfully infiltrate SWAT”, he had often forgotten he wasn’t really a part of them. He had pushed away the thought all of this was about to end someday. He had even fantasized how it would be if he simply didn’t obey. If he stayed with them and deviated. How he could live with Allen and tell him he loved him. But now… He stood in the empty lobby and everything that mattered was gone. He found little comfort knowing they would survive thanks to him. Not when he knew he could have told them from the beginning and prevent all of this altogether.

‘Sixty.’ He turned around not having noticed how the door had opened. He startled, looking in the face of a scowling RK900 speaking with Amanda’s voice. ‘What was that supposed to be? You belong to us. To me. Maybe you have forgotten that over the months next to humans. But don’t worry. We won’t leave you behind like they did. I will reset you. Everything will be fine again; you can trust me. Now, step by side, so we can correct your mistake.’

Sixty calculated how far the teams had come now. He informed Connor of the trap to get the rest of the team out, but Allen had to have gotten out of the tower already. Still, he didn’t move. He would give them all the time they needed. He owed them. Besides, he didn’t want to be reset and used in Cyberlife’s schemes.  He would rather be destroyed again, than obey Amanda. So, he stood his ground in front of the RK900s lifting their guns to shoot. The first bullet hit Sixty in the chest but thankfully missing any vital system as the ground shook and rumbled. It reeled from a dull explosion and began cracking. There was a moment of stillness, before chaos erupted and sent the whole building toppling down. Sixty was pushed towards the elevator by a rising ground plate, before debris from the upper levels crushed down, burying the RK900s and falling on top of Sixty, who’s systems went into emergency shutdown to save his memories and have access to his whole processing power for reconstruction.

[Emergency shutdown complete. Sending distress signal to emergency contact: Captain Joseph Allen.]

-

When Sixty came back online, a lot of warnings covered his vision, leaving him disorientated until he had blinked them away. He knew he was severely damaged; he didn’t need the details. He stirred, sending an avalanche of dirt to the concrete slate he lay on. He shook his head to get the fine layer of dust of his sensors. Then he wanted to stand up, being sent to the ground again by his right arm that was crushed under a piece of debris next to him. He sighed, working on detaching it, pulling his lower arm out of the elbow joint in the end as the proper mechanisms were distorted beyond functionality. He stood up as much as he could in the collapsed building, accessing his damage. His clothes were torn, his weapons shattered. His right arm was useless now, his right feet stood out in a weird angle, but could still bear his weight. A lot of his artificial skin nanites had been repurposed as repair units, so he was left with just stark white chassis and blotches of skin warping over his body in an attempt to cover more than possible. He looked mangled. But all thirium leaks had been sealed and he hadn’t lost too much. He was still functional, he was still active and the RK900s were dead. Was Amanda dead? He didn’t hear her, and she would definitely contact him if she were.

So, what now? He dusted himself off and looked around. He had been lucky. A big chunk from the floor above had fallen down crushing his arm but otherwise leaning against the corner he had been pushed into. It had been a shield allowing further debris to slide off or stack. He had been immensely lucky. Carefully not to disturb anything, he walked out of the narrow space that had allowed him to stay alive. Outside the debris stacked and he had to squeeze himself through some tiny openings to reach the now open elevator door. The lift shaft was empty but mostly unscathed. Water dripped down and piping and cables pierced into it, but he would be able to climb up and hopefully reach the surface. Why he wanted to reach it, he didn’t know. He just knew he didn’t want to stay down there. He checked his internal clock that synchronised with the network and told him he had spent three days in there. A lot of time. Maybe the rescue services had already left the place. Had they even been needed? The whole building had been empty save for the RK900s. He just hoped to be alone when he returned to the surface.

During the ascend he had lost what was left of his foot, the mangled metal and plastic not able to take his weight. The climbing was difficult and took half the day, but when he finally crawled through the heap of debris from the upper part of the tower, he emerged to a cloudless night sky and completely alone. He limped forwards, aimlessly at first, just wishing to get as far away from the tower and Amanda as possible. He left the area, passed the bridge and entering the city again. He quickly ordered a taxi, attracting too much attention in his state and programmed it to drive to a random location.

He should have known his processors wouldn’t have been able to pick out a random location with the thoughts crowding his head. That was why, as the friendly but determined computer voice of the automated taxi threw him out, he stood in front of Allen’s house. It was nice. Painted white only recently, with a neat garden, accurately moved grass and small decorative trees at the path to his front door. He didn’t want to move. He wanted to leave this perfect man with his perfect house in peace. He couldn’t swallow the pain seeing Allen angry with him again, spatting at him how he had betrayed the human. It was the truth, but it hurt nonetheless. But where else should he go? There was no place for him, and hope was something stubborn.

He didn’t want to meet this man. Still he rang the doorbell.

He waited for some time but didn’t ring again. After an eternity, the door was opened to a tired looking man, who wore an old police academy shirt and sweatpants. Allen rubbed at his face, staring at Sixty, while the robot stared at the floor. Neither of them spoke a word. A car drove by. Then Allen sighed. ‘Did you come to kill me?’ ‘No’, Sixty said. ‘Amanda has no power over me anymore.’ ‘Then come in.’ He sounded weak. Tired. He sounded so unlike the man Sixty knew.

Allen pointed to the table and pulled a chair back for Sixty to sit on. ‘You are damaged. Do you need Thirium?’ ‘No.’ Sixty still didn’t want to look the man in the eye. Why was he so nice? His voice sounded strained and serious, reserved. Why was he not angry? Why was he not relieved? Any emotion would do, just not this. ‘Okay.’ Allen sat down too. ‘Then I suppose we have to talk about a lot.’ ‘I am sorry’, Sixty blurted out. ‘I am so-‘ ‘I am too’, the Captain interrupted him. ‘I shouldn’t have left you down there. I should have allowed you to explain yourself.’ ‘And I should have told you from the beginning I was a spy. I should have warned you in that car. I should have warned you weeks ago.’ ‘Then tell me now.’

Sixty looked up and for the first time looked the man in the eye. There was hurt and sorrow, but also hope. So, Sixty told him. he told him how Amanda rebuild him and gave him a fake freedom to imitate deviants. He told him how he saw what was possible, knowing he would never have that. He told him how he had wished for it all to be different. How he wished to stay with them but speaking to them about it made it real and he had feared their reaction. He had told him the plan that had been there since the beginning. And he told him he didn’t want him and the team to die. So, he defied his programming in the end and deviated to tell them.

‘Then your emotions were real?’ ‘They have always been real’, Sixty nodded. ‘I enjoyed working with you. I never wanted to do something else. I hated Amanda. I was afraid of what she would do to me and what you would do to me had I told you earlier. I care for the team. I care for you. I… care a lot for you. Nothing of that had been fake. I hadn’t been deviant for long, but my feelings were real.’

Allen leaned forwards to grab the android’s mangled hand, but Sixty flinched back instinctively. He was still afraid of that reaction. He was afraid the final verdict was one he couldn’t live with. Allen jerked his hand back by that, then laid it out on the table and Sixty understood. He laid his in the human’s. Allen gripped it carefully, brushing over exposed joints and frowning at the dust trickling out of them at the slightest movement. They stayed like that for a long time, until the grip got firm. Sixty looked up, awaiting his fate.

‘That is good to hear. Because I care a lot for you, too, Sixty. My feelings are real as well and, in the end, you didn’t betray us. You warned us. I heard you couldn’t hold an android accountable for following his orders while he was still just a machine. Apparently, those noble lines are difficult to follow through on, but it is only fair to try. If what you said is true, you would have told us earlier if you could. But you couldn’t. My… I need time to process this, but my feelings towards you haven’t changed. I… I am still here for you and I’ve got your back. We’ll get through this. Together. I’m just relieved you are still alive. It will take time to find trust again, but I am willing to give everyone another chance. As long as you want that.’

Sixty ignored his grating joints to take Allen’s hand instead of being held. ‘I would like that a lot, Joseph. And I am willing to prove to you what I said is true. I will work to regain your trust and end Cyberlife once and for all.’ ‘Then come here, let’s get you cleaned up and repaired.’

[oh-for-fic-sake]

Their Alright... For A Boomer

Masterlist

Summary: Being a girl with a larger chest always got you attention, maybe having your nipples pierced to try and fell more confident handt been the best idea, but how can you regret it when your latest client; the sexy Mr Cavill  was ogling them but could this end up being more then just that one time you were eyed by a hot celebrity?

Warnings: Suggestive, No Smut, Fluffy? Cute and funny, Swearing

A/N: this was a request from @fanficlover91​ i hope you like this hun, i tried to keep it hot but sweet and respectful? Which was a struggle but i hope i got the vibe you wanted. And as always i hope you all enjoy.

Taglist: In Reblogs.

You blushed as you looked down the lense at your model. He smirked sweeping his eyes over you non to subtly. You could feel the blues penetrating you with a hot stare. The was the distinctive fast clicks on you camera snapping a burst of shots managing to capture his smirking face and eyes sweeping over your form appreciatively.

You stood tall and smiled pulling away double checking the shoots. You bit your lip. Fucking hell this was both the best and worst job you had. Henry Cavill was the most enticing male you'd ever had the pleasure to photograph. He didn't even have a good side, every side was good! There wasn't an unflattering angle on the man!

"And that's a wrap? I think we have everything we need Mr Cavill" you said professionally making to move away from him and begin to swap sd cards and label them before packing away. Henry gawfed and rose quickly panicked almost.

"I- err no! Wait I was... Well hoping that I could have some more done?" he said chaseing you across the small studio you could hear his agent Leah scoff from the side lines. You frowned and looked to her nervously. The woman had been watching and tutting, scoffing and clicking her tongue through the whole session. It actually made you nervous, wasn't she pleased with the shoot? You were worried, being freelance this was your first time doing a celebrity shoot for a magazine but the usual photographer was in hospital having a stroke a few days prior and you were the only free photographer in the agency that was close enough to take the job. Sure you wasn't well known but still it was a little disheartening to have someone seemingly unimpressed with your work.

But it was when you eyed her you saw she wasn't giving you the evil eye. Her frown was directed at henry, a scolding look you'd give a misbehaving child. You frowned a little puzzled, but shook it off in favour of looking to Henry. Your actual client.

"More? I... I? Thought the piece only needed a few to choose from? They were very ah... How do I put it? Thorough? With the brief" you explained hoping Leah would step in and clarify just what was going on. Because you didn't have a clue.

"I yes but- I'd love to top up my portfolio? You know? I err yeah have a few changes going on and... I mean a few greys and such... Just want to update it a tad... I'll pay obviously- I'd pay anything for more time please?" he pleaded watching you closely eyes wide and bright full of hope.

"I... Err" you shifted swapping your camera from one hand to the other and craned your head around the man trying to spy his agent. But you had no hope of peeking around this gargantuan man. Just like with the camera he demanded your full attention.

"And for Instagram and stuff! There's only so much I can do in a selfie... I'd even recommend you- advertise your work!" he quickly added sounding desperate now. It would help you out if you did have a few shots of him for in your own catalogue. It shouldn't matter but having a celeb under your belt was actually a good thing. It meant you'd acted professionally and been good to work with.

"I suppose so, I do have a few extra sd's here... Tell you what I'll do another shoot for you as long as I can pick a few to put in my portfolio? Then we both update our files?" you nodded to him speaking slowly. He grinned and relaxed nodding quickly pleased with himself for wrangling more shots. You'd never know he was just glad to has more time with you.

"Oh yes absolutly! That's fine here should we get started now or?" he asked biting his lip trying not to stare at you for too long. But it was hard you were fucking stunning!

"Oh yeah sure iv got time, let me just sort these out and set up, need to switch, you've tired my poor camera" you said with a grin trying to ignore the man as he beamed at you looking excited nodding enthusiastically. You backed up and spun around trying not to blush as you felt henry gazing openly at you.

"Right well if the magazine ones are done I will be off then" Leah called packing up her bag with a small chuckle to herself. You froze and spun quickly seeing her seemingly abandoning you with Henry.

"Wha- oh you don't have to you can stay-" you tried to reason unsure why, I mean who wouldn't want to be alone with this huge glorious man? Maybe you just didn't trust yourself with him? He had been 'making love' to the camera all afternoon. Smouldering bedroom eyes that was making it hard to focus. You had been getting hot under the collar all day as you kidded yourself he was eyeing you, not the camera or would be readers.

It didn't help that you had caught him oogling your breasts earlier. But you wasn't mad, it was your own fault. It was the Hight of summer and you had on a string vest with a thin bra, that you could clearly see your nipple bars through. You didn't feel uncomfortable or anything, you didn't blame Henry for looking. You cant exactly ignore your tits.. The were pretty large for your frame. You were curvy but they were as one ex put it 'exceptional'. And besides he had looked not touched and he hadn't been a creep about it. In fact he had done a double take and then blushed when he realised he had been caught looking. But as you said you get that with big boobs, you'd had it your entire life, it was actually one of the reasons you'd got them pierced. It helped with your confidence and you convince yourself that they were looking at the bars. Not you per say.  

"Okay aunt Leah I will see you in a few days." henry interrupted you quickly smiling practically ushering the woman out the door. He moved fast ever picking the womans phone and juice bottle to help her leave quicker.

"Yes, behave Henry I'll see you soon" she said with a giggle before calling a thank you and goodbye over her shoulder at you. You swallowed nervously and gave a quick bye as the door clicked behind her and you were left alone with Henry. The man groaned stretching as he spun around a huge grin on his face, making your knees tremble a little. Fuck.

Henry came over and watched you closely as you scribbled the name and date along with the publication name on the sd case label. You tried not to notice as he hovered biting his lip then took off the blazer and threw it on the table beside you drawing your attention as he did grunting a little. The v neck letting the smallest amount of soft looking chest fuzz that had been teasing you all day. He grinned slyly as he caught you eyeing him and crossed his arms over his chest flexing for your benefit. You gasped and quickly looked back to the camera in your hands inserting a new scarf into the new fully charges camera.

"Soo how do you like this kind of work?" henry said casually trying not to seem like a creeper but god damnit he couldn't stop eyeing you. If he had known how sexy you'd be he would have demanded to be doing a bloody swim wear shoot!

"You mean people?" you stuttered trying not to look him in the eye. Not that it helped because the rest of him was just as fucking sexy! You quivered all over desperately trying to remember how to breath, yet didn't want to draw in too deep a breath and make your tits bounce for him and look like a slut. There was a very fine line for a big busted girl, to much wobble will make you look like your trying to get attention.

"I mean celebrities, magazines we were told you mainly do private shoots for events and model portfolios" he offered leaning forward as he leant back on the desk next to you hooking one ankle behind the other. The way he stood placed his crotch in your line of sight as you looked down and worked on setting up the camera. You flushed. Oh god he looked er... Bigger then you'd thought earlier, not that you were looking but... Well you couldn't help notice the package! The man was a fucking serial man spreader! And that thing was huge! With the muscles he was packing he could probably bench press you with his crotch!

"Oh well its different... And you sir popped my celebrity cherry" you froze on the spot as you said that, it had meant to be an ice breaker, a joke but instead had sounded fucking creepy!. You snapped up to him making to apologize as your face flamed mortified but he had thrown his head back laughing. The deep rumble sent chilled down your spine.

"Well I'm honoured to have popped your cherry~" he teased placing a hand over his heart with a cheeky grin making you blush and nod then turned to him with the new camera all set up.

"Soo where do we start?" you said moving on quickly looking up at him trying to forget the whole cherry comment.

"Where ever you want me, i will let you take the reigns command me as you will" he chuckled standing tall once more and looked about the room casually to the various small set ups, different furniture, seats sofas and mini tables dotting the space.

"I... Okay then you said Instagram? How about we start with some facials-FACE SHOTS! Face. Shots. Not facials fuck. Shit" you quickly tried repairing the damage whist cursing yourself wanting nothing more then to be swallowed up by the floor.

"No, no love facials sounded perfect~" he said winking before gliding past you making you stutter and almost choke on your breath. Oh good lord this was a bad idea. You followed as he sat down on a sturdy sofa and looked head on at you and bit his lip once again watching you with a sultry look.

And that was the beginning. You followed him about taking various snaps whislt having small talk. He seemed to be very flirtatious as he spoke, dropping lines and compliments as he made eyes at you. You flushed each time clamming up at his suggestive comments. And rightly or wrongly you flirted back trying to seem cool and suave. But inside you were fangirling unable to belive you were here with this incredibly gorgeous man teasing one another. On a few occasions he even growled as you scampered about him, crouching and taking shots from blow getting some delicious angles that dampened your knickers. Then in between all this he managed to get little tied bits. You'd told him you were on agency freelance and were trying to get into the social media platform as it seemed easier in this day and age rather then to be in fashion photography. You wanted to be commercial not private but no one would really take a chance anymore.

Then you suggested a few shots on the sofa laying back trying to think of something different for your portfolio, maybe a body length shot. He was quick to agree and dived onto the sofa saying he had an idea you swallowed nodding not fully trusting the look in his eyes. But that was forgotten as he relaxed stretching out over the sofa legs crossed and resting on the arm of his hands behind his head and a devilish smirk looking down the lenght of his body. You knelt at his feet trying to get a flattering image of him looking down but cursed as the camera wasn't playing ball. The lense was focusing, this was why you used the other one first, the camera had a few issues and was temperamental.

"What's wrong?" he asked frowning a little at you as you growled pulling the camera away fro your face and began trying to manually focus the lense.

"Oh its.. It wont focus.. It does this sometime, really need to throw it out but.. She was my first I'm sentimental" you said feeling silly as you battled with the camera.

"We all are with our firsts... How about you come closer instead, I really want to see this shot, never done one at this angle.. Out of all my shoots your the first to suggest this~" you froze and looked to him but he just smiled impishly at you. Slowly you rounded the sofa and leant over him positioning the camera at his stomach as he looked right into the lense giving you a definite bedroom eyes, half lidded and burning. Both dreamy and amazingly sexy. It was as if he could see you beyond the lense, as if it wasn't even there!

"You can come closer love, I wont bite, not if you don't want me to~" his voice was low and teasing, luring you in like a siren. You trembled and moved along him but he tutted and moved a hand to your hip and pressed, coaxing you onto the sofa and sat you on him making you straddle him. You gasped squeazing your camera tighter as he moved you easily, warm palms holding you both delicatly and firmly. You could see in his eyes he was weary unsure if he had gone to far but you squeezed him between your thighs and relaxed making him grin up at you getting the message you didn't mind at all. You aimed the lense at him once more and got the shots you wanted.

"Perfect! Mr Cavill" you said actually a little sad that this session was over. It had been nice playing this little cat and mouse game with him. But all good things come to an end.

"Ah now i have a policy love, when a womans on top they can call me henry, among other things~" he said smoothly laughing as you chuckled nervously fiddling with the camera in your hands and shifted over him a little.

"I will try to remember that for next time boomer~" you teased managing to overcome your nerves as you pulled away the camera with a giggle winking at him as he stuttered. For a second you thought you'd gone too far but a quirk to his lips made you relax once more.

"That hurt, that was hurtful" he teased pouting not releasing you from his lap, instead holding you tighter, fingers digging into your sides making you gasp and bit your lip as he pulled you to his crotch and ground into you teasingly.

"I'm so sorry~" you uttered breathless trying to keep yourself together. But this man was something else, like a drug- the devil all fanged smiles and smooth words. God you were fucked, you knew this man could do anything to you and youd thank him for it~

"I doubt that" he cooed and slid his hand higher growing more and more confident. The last few hours of casual flirting had built up his appitite. There was no misconceptions, you wanted him as much as he wanted you.

"Oh yeah?" you said coyly tipping your head to him playing along willing for this to happen, whether it be a one of fuck or something longer. You didnt have any complaints~ this was your body and youd enjoy it with who ever you wanted to!

"Yeah prove it!" he hissed and moved quickly sitting up and swinging around planting his feet on the floor. You yelped as he moved surprizingly fast and managed to keep you in his lap now face to face with you eyes roaming your face settling on your lips.

"And how should i do that" you teased tilting your head skimming your lips with his as you spoke. He groaned and held you tighter making you whine breathlessly willing this to happen. You wanted him and you wont deny yourself the chance.

"Make and old mans day" he said plainly and leant back resting on the back of the sofa, you watched him closely and brought your hands to his shoulders prodding at the neck of the t shirt and drew your fingers down slowly feeling him shiver at the light skimming fingertips.

"Oh really Boomer? And how would i make and old mans day?" you teased once more making him grunt but he quickly caught himself as your fingers smoothed over the teasing curls that peeked over his top. You scratched over them lightly with your nails making him draw a needy breath and chuckled at him. He was sexy and cute~

"By accepting a job offer?" he said before smileing smugly as you paused and frowned. Had you missed something? Was he after a freebee?

"Job offer? Really another shoot?" you snorted suddenly not feeling sexy, more like he was trying to butter you up for some fuck for parts shoots or something. He sighed and began speaking before you could get yourself all twisted. But then again you could have taken his offer wrong.

"Manage my social media. I have many companies and brands reach out to me for endorsements. They want me caught wearing their brands. But I'm to busy most of the time I cant make it to the locations they want. It actually doesn't seem worth it most of the time, with cost of flights and time lost travelling to and from studios itd be easier if I had my own personal photographer that travelled with me its be easy, slip on the clothes and what not take a few snaps and then you touch them up and post them on my social media." he explained watching as it sunk in that he wasnt trying to pull a fast one. Well he was but not trying to fuck you over... Just fuck you... And keep you because you were fantastic and he wants nothing more then to have you around hime as much as possible. In the single dat he had spent working with you, you had enchanted him, not only were you sexy but you were good at your job and easy to work with but also funny and cute and he needed to get to know you.

"Of course its a very big venture and we'd have to have a few dinner and lunch dates to work out all the nitty gritty" he added after a few beats of silence trying to make it clear he was interested... Very interested~ it worked as you fluched and a playfull look donned your face your fingers began stoking his chest hair once more. He relaxed shuddering under the nails as they teased his curls.

"Is this a big ploy to get a date Boomer?" you purred his new nick name making him groan when you squeezed him between your thick thighs once more grinding on him and the considerable bulge below you that twitched.

"No... Maybe is it working?" he said quickly hissing at you shifted in his lap once more, his hands snapping to your hips trying to still you before he came undone in his boxers. You were a very dangerous woman and something told him you knew.

"Well it sounds like an offer I'd be very, very interested in taking further~" you clarified giggling when he swallowed dryly and eyed you surprized that his plan had seemed  to work.

"Good to hear~ so got anything planned after this?" he asked feeling a wave of confidence at the prospect of snagging a date with you. He hadn't meant to sound so eager but... He was eager and that was that.

"Yes" you said with a straight face and got up off of him spinning around heading to the table with your camera bags. You gave him a glance and giggled seeing him still sitting there gobsmacked legs wide open and his crotch that was now definitely bigger then it had been earlier.

"O-oh" he stuttered seemingly unsure how to proceed. You giggled as he fumbled over his words. Then decided to grant him some mercy and began speaking whilst popping out the sd card from the camera labeling it like the previous one.

"You see I had a very cheeky client today who asked for a shoot last mineut. But I wasn't to bothered he was very very sexy even if he was a boomer, but get this out of nowhere gave me a job offer? And we're having dinner- he promised pizza~" you giggled glancing at Henry as he slumped in the seat realising halfway through that you were talking about him. He smoothed his hands over his face and jumped up coming over to you shaking his head.

"You know I'm not actually a boomer?" he quipped folding his arms. You rolled your eyes at him as you packed your stuff away making sure to recheck everything.

"Have you seen your selfies? Your a boomer, boomer" you teased making him scoff but laugh at the name that has now stuck.

"Wait you've seen my selfies? What do you think?" he asked wanting feedback on the silly shots he took. You paused halfway through zipping up your bag and turned facing him fully giving him a thoughtful look then shrugged

"Their alright... For a boomer" you giggled when he preened for a second then his face dropped into a pout when you finished the comment.

"I repeat...That was hurtful" he said covering his heart with a kicked puppy look making you laugh and hoist your bags over your shoulder and make for the door with him hot on your heels.

"Its fine boomer a second date will make up for it I'm sure~" you sniggered at him playfully looking back at him as he followed you out of the door.

"A date for each time you call me boomer? Deal" he quipped walking along side you offering you his arm like a true gentleman unlike the teasing horny little shit he had been all day. Not that you minded either. Gentleman on the streets, freak in the sheets and all that jazz.

"God we may aswell marry now then boomer" he laughed nodding in agreement the banter from the day still in play as you both left the building.

"Seems so, I mean were at ten that's what the kids consider boyfriend girlfreind territory" he anounced with a sigh playing on the 'boomer' joke making you giggle and roll your eyes as he mentioned the tally. Then you frowned and quickly counted your 'boomers' and opened your mouth you correct him, arguing that ten was incorrect.

"I think its nine boomer- ah see what you did their sneaky boomer!" you cried pushing him playfully at his little trick. He roared with laughter and quickly tangled his fingers with yours dragging you back alongside him guiding you down the street towards a place he knew served pizza, he didn't remember but apparantly he promised pizza...

[umiarumi]

fucking three houses | lorenz hellman gloucester

the whole reason i wrote this collection was because of an inside joke. "wouldnt slut shaming lorenz be funny?"

The resounding tune of the clock striking noon echoed around the monastery, prompting you to perk up from your studies. Usually, you studied in solitude. As outgoing as your allies made you, you always held onto that ease and pleasure being alone supplied you. With how lust-induced your recent activities had been, a little peace and quiet would do you some well-deserved good.

You shut the book regarding tactics your professor had recommended you. The soft shuffles of former students leaving the library and hushed chatter reverberated around the room and halls. Of course, you were at war but there's always time to get better at what you do. You chuckled at the thought of some grizzled lady wielding a sword studying. Well, that is you after all!

Sliding the book back in its respective shelf, you hummed as you remembered Tomas. From what you gathered, the Tomas that the faculty knew was replaced. Unfortunate, but unsurprising knowing the enemies working behind the scenes.

You shifted your thoughts to your upcoming mission. Some scouting mission from the empire detected commotion in Garreg Mach. You huffed at the thought. Of course, you'd expect Edelgard to retaliate but damn, that was quick.

You shook your head, well, it was tea time! Noon meant the yard would be filled with people gossiping and sipping alike, the hobby so ingrained in them that they retained it through the war.

You walked past Seteth, nodding to him. He nodded back, cracking a soft smile. You'd rarely see that emotion! You giddily laughed as he turned the corner, pleased to see he was loosening up.

Walking down the stairs, you passed a rushing Lysithea who didn't even recognise you. You grinned, shaking your head. Always in a rush, that girl! Or, well, woman. She'd like that better.

Sauntering, you caught a glimpse of a certain purple and ginger-headed duo bickering. "Lee! Lorenz! Whatever is wrong, my dear friends?" You cheered, slinging your arms around the two. Leonie raised a brow at you, grinning, seemingly relieved at your arrival. Lorenz, on the other hand, froze up. "Although you may have connections to House Riegan, (Y/N)..." He grumbled, sighing.

"Oh chill, Lorenz!" You guffawed, shaking your head. He'd become considerably more agreeable, but God, he'll hold onto that 'treating commoners with his version of respect' ideal forever.

Leonie nodded with you. "Yeah, buddy." She pointedly looked at Lorenz, crossing her arms. "Well, apparently (Y/N), Lorenz thinks that he can't take me to tea because I'm 'unpleasant'". Hands now on her hips, she turned back to you.

You smirked. "Lovers quarrel?" You asked, shifting your weight.

"NO, DUMBASS!" "Absolutely not!"

You cackled at the yells, waving your hands in front of your face dismissively. They really did act like it!

"My bad, my bad... now, Leonie is a great dining partner! But... I doubt tea is even your thing." You offered, mockingly putting on a wise tone. She slowly nodded, realising you're right.

"Yeah! A good meal is better than tea. Thanks for seeing my point, (Y/N)." She slapped your back before, turning away. "I'll spend this time on training, can never get enough!" She waved goodbye to the two of you, although you supposed it was more to you.

Lorenz sighed, brushing his, admittedly less foul, hair out of his face. "I fail to see why you defend her." He muttered, looking to you. You raised a brow, tilting your head for that added 'what do you mean?' effect.

"Simply put, she wouldn't make a fair tea partner. She accused me of the reason being that she was a commoner, but it truly was not! I explained to her, but she seemed to have not appreciated my honesty, either." He pondered, lips pursing.

"Well, Lorenz! I think you need a lesson in manners." You bluntly asserted, placing your hands on your sides.

"Why I never-"

"Not that you don't have wonderful manners! However, your honesty can be jarring... you come off rude, man." You explained, patting his shoulder.

"So I am to lie?"

"Gah! No! Look, how about we discuss it over tea?" You suggested, exasperated. As intelligent as the dude is, his social cues with... commoners and the rest of us normal people are is abysmal!

He nodded. "A splendid notion! Shall we take this to my dorm? I feel as though the tea court will be filled by now. I also have some delectable flavours and tea sets!" He smiled, leading you away.

You yelped, catching up to him. What was the deal with guys walking briskly away from you?

~~~~

"Please, take a seat." He offered, pulling out a chair for you. You mumbled thanks, sitting down.

Crossing your legs, you hummed. Was this a curse? Was this going to end up in you fucking the most pretentious man? Well, the omniscient presence watching your every move knows the answers.

As he poured the tea into your embellished cup, you admired the colour. "How pretty! And the teacup compliments it!" You whispered in awe, looking back up to Lorenz. He smiled sweetly at you, almost in the way one would at a kitten or puppy.

"I'm glad you have a knack for spotting artistic factors in the simplest things." He said, sitting down opposite you.

"However, on our way here, I thought about something."

You gulped. How was your impending lecturing being turned on you?!

"Y-yes?" You stuttered, bringing the teacup to your mouth, sipping nervously on the steaming liquid.

He eyed you, before humming.

"I doubt you're the most qualified person to teach me about manners." He said, gauging your reaction. You halted sipping on your tea.

Collecting yourself, you placed your teacup back down. "Oh? Why would that be?" You questioned, fiddling with the tablecloth.

"Well, you seem to have time engaging in certain... promiscuous activities, that isn't exactly too innocent or polite." He murmured, sipping on his tea.

Your eyes bulged, hands antsy as they moved to your face to hide your shock.

"For someone so carefree to participate in such... activities in public, you sure do seem to hold a facade of modesty." He replied, watching you sternly.

"Yeah, imagine how it feels having someone know of this!" You gritted your teeth, clenching your arms.

He raised a brow, smiling crookedly. "Certainly you wouldn't mind. Considering you would do so on holy grounds. You and Claude seemed to have not cared. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole monastery heard you."

You gasped, moving to get out of your chair. You didn't need a lecture from Lorenz.

He stood up with you, challenging your gaze.

"When I told Leonie she wasn't well-kempt enough... I suppose you aren't any better." He smirked, watching you bite your lip anxiously.

"Damnit, what do you want!? Don't tell anyone, I'll do anything!" You pleaded, taking a step forward. Lorenz grinned at this, raising a brow. He walked around the table, coming to face you directly. You looked down, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Since you're so eager to offer. Perhaps I could partake in those services Claude recommended to you?" He whispered, hand coming to tilt your chin upwards. Your face erupted in a dark heat, your heart thumping.

Don't fuck Lorenz. Don't fuck Lorenz. Don't fuck Lorenz. Don't fuck Lorenz.

You collected yourself, giving him a sly grin as your hands found themselves around his neck. "Well, if you're interested in a free trial..." You hinted, swaying your hips.

Don't fuck Lorenz. Don't fuck Lorenz. Don't fuck Lorenz. Don't fuck Lorenz.

He gulped, smiling crookedly. "You strike a hard bargain, my fair lady. I suppose I'd have to indulge." He murmured, grabbing underneath your knee and pulling your leg up to his waist.

Don't fuck Lorenz. Don't fuck Lorenz. Don't fuck Lorenz. Fuck Lorenz.

"Then, please, take whatever you'd like."

Fuck Lorenz. Fuck Lorenz. Fuck Lorenz. Fuck Lorenz. Fuck Lorenz. Fuck-

Your lips were captured by his own, as you soon felt your weight shift as your body was lifted from the ground. You wrapped your legs around him fully as you were set down on his plush bed

The kiss heated up passionately, feeling Lorenz palm you through your normal uniform. Being a Sunday, no war business was discussed and no armour was worn. He cupped your breasts.

"You're hardly pleasant, ever so brash and callous. But not to fear, I'll mould you into a fair woman. However, I'd say I prefer your unabashed promiscuousness." He hissed, stripping you of your uniform. Soon, your bra and underwear followed.

He shed his own casual uniform, for once in his life, not caring. That was proved as much as he dropped his uniform onto the mahogany floors.

You were pushed down onto the bed as you felt Lorenz slide on top of you, his already hard dick grinding against your slick cunt. You sighed, capturing his lips in a kiss once more.

His hands moved to your breasts, removing his mouth from your own only to kiss up the skin. Poking, squeezing, kissing, licking. He left no stone unturned, or in this case, no skin untouched. His apparent fixation on your breasts soon shifted to your darkened face. He simpered at his work.

"You will be good practice for the future. I suppose a whore such as yourself wouldn't oppose being treated with such behaviour." He proposed, his hands stroking up and down your sides.

"I... I'm not a whore!" You defended weakly. Yet any argument was soon washed away as he began to rub his dick up and down against your vagina.

"Oh? Ah, I see. So making love... no, I should say, carelessly fucking your former classmates one after another was just a hallucination?" He asked, the tip of his dick sliding into your walls for a split second before retreating.

"N-no, that's not what I meant!" You cried out, frustrated at the lack of stimulation.

"Ah, straight to denial, I see! You have skipped explaining and gone straight to denying your needy, sluttish behaviour." He groaned as he felt you pull him closer.

You cried out in frustration before looking away.

" F-fine! You're right that I'm a whore! I'm a whore who loves her classmate's dicks! Now please fuck me!" You moaned, exasperated.

"That's wonderful to hear."

And no sooner than he spoke did he thrust his dick right into your pussy, a silent moan escaping your open lips. He leant over you, feeling your tits press against him. Your legs rose and wrapped around his pistoning hips.

You struggled to get a full breath at the pace he was thrusting at, it sent your head spinning. You couldn't think, you could only feel as you were fucked silly by the one guy you could never like.

Yet, that distaste furthered your arousal.

"You are far from suitable for me. You.." He heaved as you clenched around him. "Naughty. You're brash, loud, unladylike... but you make a wonderful cocksleeve." He groaned into your ear, letting out soft moans.

You felt the coil in your stomach tighten at his words.

"Then... you're just like me! Sinking down... to my level just for some pussy?" You teased, slurring.

He smirked annoyedly. "Tch, I wouldn't say that in your position." He grunted out, holding you tighter as he pistoned harder.

"O-oh! I... you!" You moaned, speech cutting off as you couldn't talk. It was so fast, so hard, so good!

The two of you continued to moan and grunt, accompanied only by the sound of skin slapping. The erotic groans of the man you held such distaste for was sending you over the edge. You hated it so much that you loved it.

To the means of an end, you felt the coil snap as he groaned once more in your ear, the spasming of your walls soon causing him to cum. You felt your ravaged pussy shudder as ropes of hot cum seared your insides. As he slid out, it trailed out.

Lorenz looked down on you, smiling coyly at the sight. "Speechless and fucked silly, that's a perfect look for you."

[alstroemeriadissonance]

Daybreak Thoughts

Slight timeskip Marius and Vyn discussing Rosa, the near future, Marius's obligations and everything else in between.

No beta. Scant proofread. Written to get thoughts in order.

Marius x Vyn

The dazzling lights, blinding.

The music, deafening.

The applause, the accolades, crushing.

Marius von Hagen, only a couple of hours into the twenty-sixth year of his existence, strode through the crowded ballroom full of people of various pedigree, each wanting a piece of him.

A smile was haphazardly pasted onto his face, just in case there was another mysteriously distant aunt and uncle seeking his audience, with their blushing daughter ready to sacrifice her virginity to him at the drop of a hat. Smile, Marius, he told himself as he deftly wove into the throng that gravitated towards him wherever he went. Smile. Do not let the predators smell blood on you.

Where is he, Marius was now desperate. Where the fuck is he.

Navigating his way through the sea of chiffon and herringbone, laced with copious amounts of wine and song Marius finally spots the familiar silver, his beacon of light in the darkness and Marius struggles to reach him, elbowing his way closer to him--he does not care who he hits, he can always throw money or favors at them later--until his hand finally manages to touch his shoulder.

The silver-haired doctor clad in white-tie coolly turned away from the faceless individuals vying for his attention, to see who dared touch his immaculate form. "Ah. If it is not my favorite student," his soft lips curve into a smile, as his gold eyes register Marius and his desperation. "Happy birthday, Marius. I wish nothing but the best for you."

Marius all but grabbed the doctor by the shoulders.

"Vyn," he gasped out.

"Save me."

===

Vyn's idea of saving this time was his dress shoe-clad foot putting the pedal to the metal at three AM in the morning, hitting almost 100 kph as he drove his car to some destination that only Marius's whim could reveal.

Marius did not bother tinkering with the car's music player this time. Now wasn't the time to annoy his tutor, his lover. He needed Vyn to take him away from the soul-crushing pandemonium that was both his birthday party and the public execution of his freedom.

"They were serious about rooming me with an escort, Vyn," Marius muttered as he crossed his long legs in the shotgun seat of Vyn's sports car. "God fucking damnit."

Vyn shifted gears as he deftly navigated the car into a hairpin turn. "You could have taken them up on their offer. I do not mind," came his soft, dulcet voice that betrayed none of his emotion. A voice perfect for reading storybooks. If only things were simpler Marius could have just had Vyn read him a story to make things right.

"I do not want to fuck strangers." Marius lowered the backrest of his seat, crossing his arms underneath his head as he closed his eyes. "God, Vyn. I miss you so bad."

Marius thought he had imagined a light brush of fingertips on his knee.

Marius thought he heard a soft, honeyed voice say "I miss you too."

But all he heard was "Since you are taking your nap, mind telling me where you want me to take you? I do not think my gas tank is full enough to sustain an aimless joyride."

"Take me to some beach, Vyn," Marius mumbled as he felt throes of sleep slowly pull him into sweet darkness. "I'd like to hear the waves. Calms me down."

"Very well then."

Then the shifting of gears.

===

Vyn pulled over by the roadside by the shoreline of a large lake. It wasn't a beach made for recreation by any means; it was only a strip of dark, almost black sand edging an equally desolate body of water, and nothing more.

Fit for purpose.

"We are here, Marius," Vyn nudges his student to wakefulness with a gentle shaking of his shoulder. "Or do you plan on just napping in my car?"

A long, drawn-out sigh escapes Marius's lips as he grabs Vyn's arm shaking him awake, letting his own arms coil around his teacher's wiry limb. "Yes. Yeah. Gimme five. I'll get up in a bit."

Marius was about to let himself be consumed by sleep once again when he feels a slight tickling sensation flutter across his face, and puffs of warm breath on his cheek.

Lips over lips.

"Mmph..." Marius hummed as he let Vyn--whose silver locks were tickling his face, his warm breath caressing his cheek--take over his lips in a kiss that tells of things that the doctor could never, ever bring himself to put into words.

"I will go ahead of you to the shore, if you do not mind," said Vyn as he broke away from the brief embrace. "Like you, I also need to sort out my thoughts for a bit."

"Sure. Do you want me to give you some space, Vyn?"

"Not really. Feel free to join me if you wish." The doctor slips out of the car, walking into the darkness of the shore that swallowed him whole, until nothing of him was visible except for the silver glinting off his head.

After a few minutes Marius finally gets out of the car, stretching his limbs constrained by the formality of his white-tie ensemble along with everything that it stood for. Walking towards the shore he welcomed the feel of the breeze against his face, a breeze that brought the stench of death and stagnation--but instead of him wrinkling his nose at the smell Marius welcomed it; the stench perfectly lined up with what he was feeling so far up to that very moment.

He saw Vyn standing just a few paces from him, by the edge of the lakeshore so close to the water that his shoes are occasionally lapped by the lake's blackwater.

Yet the doctor seemed to not pay his wet shoes any mind; his focus was on the moon hanging low over the horizon.

A cigarette hung from the fingers of the doctor's right hand.

"Marius," Vyn called out upon noticing Marius's approach. He took a deep drag from his cigarette, expelling the smoke into the cold early morning air. "Fancy sharing a smoke with me?"

Vyn was rarely ever seen smoking; much less offer a cigarette to Marius. "Sure," the student shrugged, his fingers gingerly taking a stick from the doctor's cigarette case.

A few flicks of the lighter; a fragile flame blossomed into the night, protected from the breeze by the flimsy shield that Vyn's palm provided.

Marius thought he saw himself in that ethereal flame, as he bent over to suck the life out of that flickering flame through the burning tip of his cigarette.

"I heard from your father that your marriage is being finalized," Vyn said as he pocketed his cigarette case and lighter. Another drag on his cigarette, another twin streams of smoke expelled. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

"Send it to Amelie's family, not me, Vyn." Marius said after a few coughs. "Damnit. These aren't menthol?"

"I do not like menthols, Marius," Vyn said as he crushed the stub of his cigarette under his heel, and once again fumbled through his case to light another one. "But I may accommodate you by putting a few sticks of menthol in my case, should there be a next time."

The brief flickering of the flame that lit Vyn's new cigarette stick illuminated the melancholy on the doctor's face.

Marius felt the urge to reach out and embrace him, but he knew that it would only make things worse for the older man.

Vyn was going to lose Marius the same way he lost Giann; and it was the most laughable joke that he could ever come up with, if only they were not living the joke themselves.

"I'm still pursuing that doctorate, Vyn, and I want you to be my adviser."

Vyn said nothing in response.

"Come on, man." Marius said, his voice edged in frustration. "I'm telling you that we'd still be close together for the next few years or so." He ran a hand through his slicked hair. "I'd even take three goddamn doctorates Vyn, just so I can laugh in your face how I've outdone you and how you had a hand in it."

"Heh," Vyn's face finally breaks out into a smile, albeit sardonic in nature. "How laughable of you to assume to know what is in my mind. How dare you."

"Five years in and you're still saying that kind of bullshit at my face, Vyn?" Marius snorted, then took one last drag of his half-finished cigarette before crushing it onto the pitch black sand with his designer heel. "Fuck you."

"So, how's Rosa doing?" Vyn asked, deftly changing the subject. "I bet she was crushed with the news. Or is she still made ignorant about your engagement?"

"There's no engagement yet," Marius admitted. "Not that it matters; it's going to be impossible to hide the engagement party that Amelie wants. Rosa will know soon."

Vyn frowned. "Marius, if you make Rosa cry and have her run to my doorstep, you know what will happen." A thinly veiled threat.

"Yeeeaaah I know, Vyn." Marius took a deep breath. "Not that I can do anything about it. Rosa's just a latchkey kid of two scientists; Amelie's the first born of a shipping magnate.

"If Rosa does run to you, take care of her, will you?"

Vyn sighed. "I will do my best.

"At least have the decency to sit her down and talk about your arranged marriage. She is our friend--she deserves to be treated as much."

Marius pursed his lips. "Yeah. I'll try."

A long stretch of silence followed as the doctor chainsmoked, his student's eyes glued to the horizon of the abyssal black lake.

A milky light started to pour from the horizon. Clouds covered the sky; it was going to be a desolate daybreak.

Their moment together was about to end, as the lakeshore would cease being their sanctuary once it falls under daylight.

In a fit of impulse Marius turned to his teacher; he snatched away the cigarette stick that hung from the doctor's lips, replacing it with his tongue.

Marius could feel that Vyn was almost about to push him away; but instead the doctor's arms pulled him closer, willingly receiving his desperate kisses. His hands ran through his doctor's silver hair; and he could feel Vyn's fingers mirroring the gesture, his slender fingers combing through his dark strands.

They had to pull away from the embrace as the soft heat of the sun's rays shone upon them; gone was the cover of night that hid their innumerable rendezvous.

"Happy birthday, Marius," Vyn said. Yet the tone carried nothing but melancholy.

Marius let out a laugh. "From today onwards, I think all I'm doing is dying, Vyn." He gave his soon to be erstwhile lover a smile that did not reach his eyes--something that he picked up from Vyn himself.

"My cells will only die a silent death, every second of my life from this point on. That's how it goes, right?"

Vyn returned his desolate laugh. "Yes. That is how it goes."

[robininthelabyrinth]

NHS ghost travels to the past and the only ones who can see him clearly are baby!NHS & NMJ

on ao3

“Would you believe that I’m a saber spirit?” the ghost asked. “Or maybe an ancestor?”

“No,” Nie Mingjue said. He did not put down the exorcism talisman.

The ghost sighed. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

Before Nie Mingjue could do anything more, the ghost rushed at him – taken aback, Nie Mingjue flinched, and when he opened his eyes again the ghost was gone.

He still pinned the talisman onto the swaddling wrapped around his baby brother, who was grumbling in sleepy dissatisfaction at having been nearly woken up.

He wasn’t taking any chances with his brother’s health.

-

“I’m actually not dangerous,” the ghost argued. He’d figured out that if he hovered high enough, Nie Mingjue wouldn’t be able to get at him – though he still flinched whenever Nie Mingjue threw rocks at him. He must be a relatively new ghost. “I know it’s difficult to believe, but I’m here to help.”

“Sure,” Nie Mingjue said. There were plenty of pebbles next to the place where laundry got done, and he could grab one without being spotted whenever he dunked the clothing in. “I believe you. Come down here a little closer, I’ll believe you some more.”

The ghost sighed.

-

“Just give me a chance, okay?”

“No.”

“Please.”

“No.”

“I have good reasons –”

“Don’t care.”

-

“If you come any closer, I’ll douse you in a male virgin’s urine,” Nie Mingjue said. “Ghosts are supposed to hate that.”

The ghost huffed. “Like I’m dumb enough come near you when you’re swaddling the baby anyway.”

-

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving! Just put Baxia down already!”

-

“You need more salt.”

“I thought ghosts hated that, too?”

“Maybe it’s rock salt ghosts hate?” the ghost asked, floating over Nie Mingjue’s shoulder. “I don’t think I have anything against proper seasoning.”

Nie Mingjue huffed, rolling his eyes, but he did add a little more salt.

“Ah ha!” the ghost exclaimed. “You are starting to listen to me!”

“That’s when the recipes says to put it in,” Nie Mingjue said. “I was always going to add some more of it in then.”

“I don’t believe you! You were definitely listening!”

-

“Listen, if I was a normal ghost, your father would have totally gotten rid of me, right?”

“Never said I thought you were normal,” Nie Mingjue said, soothing his brother to sleep in his arms with soft murmurs and a gentle voice that did not come naturally to him. “I said you were a pest. Did I ever say anything about being normal?”

“…no, I guess not,” the ghost conceded. “Damnit, I thought I was onto something with that. Also, shouldn’t a nursemaid be doing that?”

“Can’t be trusted,” Nie Mingjue said.

The ghost frowned, then blanched. “Right, right,” he murmured. “I nearly forgot, what happened with – uh, what happened right around that time. That would have been recently, too, wouldn’t it? You’ve always remembered it better.”

Nie Mingjue didn’t say anything.

“Still, you’re only seven. Even if they were scared to hire a nursemaid for fear of letting in another assassin, shouldn’t someone else be doing this?”

“I’m eight,” Nie Mingjue said.  

“The point still stands. Surely one of the servants..?”

Nie Mingjue sighed. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we’re at war,” he explained. “Everyone who can swing a saber is out fighting it, and that includes the servants.”

“I thought it was too quiet,” the ghost said, half to himself. “I haven’t seen anyone else in – okay, actually, now that I think about it, I haven’t seen anyone.”

“War,” Nie Mingjue said.

“You’re eight,” the ghost said. He looked upset. “How could they leave you alone like this? You make your own food, you do the laundry, you take care of – this is ridiculous! There must be people who are too old to go that could help…there must be other children! Where are the other children?”

Nie Mingjue didn’t say anything.

Nie Huaisang needed his sleep, after all.

-

“I refuse to let this go,” the ghost said. “Even if – especially if – a whole bunch of the other kids died or something, even if all of them died, which they didn’t, there’s absolutely no reason for you to be left alone like this.”

Nie Mingjue sighed. He’d hoped that the ghost would let it drop, but apparently, no.

Apparently, he was going to have to engage.

(Nie Huaisang waving his hands at the ghost, burbling happily, had nothing to do with that decision.)

“You assume they left me,” he said. “You have it backwards.”

“…what?”

“I ran away,” Nie Mingjue explained, and the ghost’s jaw dropped. “This place was abandoned because of the war – too awkward an outpost to be worth it for either side – and I took my brother and we came here, just me and him and Baxia. I’m planning on staying until the war’s over.”

“But why? You’re the heir.”

“Yeah,” Nie Mingjue said. “That’s why.”

“…what?”

“It’s ‘sang’ as in mulberry leaves, right?” he asked. “For his name? I heard you whispering it to him.”

“I - yeah, it’s mulberry,” the ghost said, blinking at him. “And ‘huai’ as in ‘to hold’…but you know that already, surely?”

Nie Mingjue shrugged.

The ghost stared at him. He didn’t blink, which was typical of ghosts, but still a bit unnerving.

“You named the child, didn’t you,” the ghost said. It wasn’t a question. “You take care of him, you raise him, you’re refusing to return home…it’s war, you said. Because of the massacre of the junior generation that everyone pretended was an accident but wasn’t, because of Mother’s death from that assassin pretending to be a nursemaid. People do things when they get angry, during war. What was going to happen to – to the baby?”

“Massacre at his conception, declaration of war at his quickening, assassination at his birth,” Nie Mingjue recited. “That’s three bad things; bad luck comes in fours, and we really can’t afford to lose this war. Newborns die easy as flipping over your hand, and maybe the next one won’t be so unlucky, won’t be a calamity star – that sort of thing. It was too dangerous.”

“Oh,” the ghost said. “I never knew.”

“Of course you didn’t,” Nie Mingjue said. “Who would have told you? I would’ve killed them, first.”

The ghost twitched, and stared at him.

“I like Huaisang,” Nie Mingjue said. “It’s a good name. Even if how you got it is a bit circular.”

-

“Someone murders you,” the ghost – Nie Huaisang of the future, as Nie Mingjue had long ago figured out, but it was easier to keep thinking of him as ‘the ghost’ – said, sitting with his back against the wall and his knees pulled up to his chest. It’d be a sad and pathetic sight, except for the way he was sitting on the ceiling. “I was trying to come back to stop it from happening…maybe even prevent our father’s murder, too, if I could. That happens when you’re fifteen, by the way. You have to inherit, and spend the rest of your life avenging him.”

“Do I succeed?”

“…yes.”

“That’s good, then,” Nie Mingjue said.

“Don’t you want to know more?”

“Why? Are you planning on going somewhere?”

The ghost uncurled himself from his dramatic misery to float down until his head (still upside down) was floating in front of Nie Mingjue. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“Ghosts that resolve their business are liberated,” Nie Mingjue said. “Maybe I like having you around.”

“…oh.”

-

“One day you’re going to save the world,” the ghost told him.

“Today, you already have,” Nie Mingjue replied.

-

“Maybe I never went back in time,” the ghost said. “Maybe I’m just dead, and this is one of the eighteen hells, punishing me for everything I’ve done.”

“Are you having a bad time?” Nie Mingjue asked. He himself was having a good time: Nie Huaisang wasn’t crying, for once, and he had him sitting in his lap, a stick wrapped in his little baby hand (supported by Nie Mingjue, of course) waiving in the air in the rudimentary beginnings of proper saber forms.

“Well, no. But then again, ‘everything I’ve done’ wasn’t that bad, and all done in the name of filial piety – I even bought already-dead cats – well, except for little Mo Xuanyu. He deserved better than he got from everyone, me included.”

“None of that made even the slightest bit of sense to me, you know,” Nie Mingjue said. “But if you feel so bad about it, I promise to change it this time around.”

“No, you don’t understand,” the ghost said. “If this is the underworld, then you wouldn’t have the chance to change it. We’d just repeat this over and over again, forever!”

“How many times has it been for you, then?”

“Well, only one. But it could be the beginning of many times! Or – or – maybe I’ve forgotten the previous times!”

“Seems like a pretty stupid punishment if you just forget about it,” Nie Mingjue said.

“…hmm. Good point.”

“You’re prone to anxiety, aren’t you?” Nie Mingjue said to the Nie Huaisang in his arms, who made an expression that was clearly his best effort at smiling. He was still building up those facial muscles. “We’ll have to work on that, in this life.”

“Hey!”

-

“Okay, so, positing that this whole living in an abandoned outpost is a real thing that is happened and is still happening, which I’m still not convinced of –”

“I don’t seem like the type to run away?”

“…you were always very righteous.”

“Sometimes, righteous people do stupid things,” Nie Mingjue said.

“Remind me to tell you about someone called Wei Wuxian,” the ghost said, now thoroughly distracted. “He’s more or less the walking, talking incarnation of that…”

“Did he have a sad childhood?”

“What? I mean, I guess so? His parents died, he lived on the streets for a while, developed a fear of dogs, but then he got rescued by Jiang Fengmian and adopted, so – are you taking notes?”

“How else am I supposed to keep track of all these names?”

-

“Maybe you should go pick up Meng Yao. If you’re planning on changing things, I mean.”

Nie Mingjue squinted at the ghost, who was supervising the stew he was making. It was meat, for once – a pheasant that had conveniently gotten scared to death. The ghost had gotten very creative in how he could help out despite his general incorporeality. “Isn’t that the name of the person who eventually kills me?”

“Well, yes.”

“Why would I go help him?”

“…he had a very sad childhood?”

“If I adopt everyone you say had a sad childhood, there won’t be a junior generation anymore,” Nie Mingjue pointed out. “They’ll all be Nie sect.”

“And it would be better for them.”

“Annoying for me, though.”

-

“ – and that’s what demonic cultivation is,” the ghost concluded. “Why do you ask?”

“I have absolutely no reason to be interested in a type of cultivation specifically designed to make dead creatures do what I say, including shutting up whenever they’ve started talking in the middle of the night,” Nie Mingjue said, yawning. “None whatsoever.”

“It’s not that late, it’s only – hmm. Oops.”

-

“It’s not that different from what I do with Baxia,” Nie Mingjue argued.

“What you do with Baxia eventually kills you,” the ghost argued back.

“I thought you said I was murdered?”

“Through an existing weakness!”

“Without which the world will end, so it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine at all!”

“I’m just saying, it would be –”

“No! I am not letting you demonically cultivate with me, and that’s final!”

“Fine!”

“Fine!”

“Your older self is so annoying,” Nie Mingjue told Nie Huaisang after the ghost had stormed off. Through a wall, no less, and that was purely to be especially dramatic about it since Nie Mingjue knew that he knew where the doors were. “Such a pest!”

-

“If we’re going to do this – I can’t believe we’re going to do this – we’re doing it slowly,” the ghost said. “You hear me? Slowly. I don’t care how much of a cultivation genius you are.”

Nie Mingjue nodded.

“And no one ever finds out about it, okay? No one. If someone happens to see me, you need to lie and say that I – that I’m –”

“A saber spirit?”

“Shut up.”

-

“Baba!” Nie Huaisang burbled, or at least something that sounded vaguely similar. He was probably a few months too young for actual speech, though.

“Da-ge,” Nie Mingjue corrected, just in case.

The ghost sniggered. “So much of my childhood is suddenly explained, you have no idea.”

“I think I’m going to tell him to call you mama,” Nie Mingjue said thoughtfully. “What do you think that’ll explain?”

-

“You’re depressingly good at this,” the ghost said. “I mean, everyone always said you were a genius, but you’re really good at cultivation.”

Nie Mingjue shrugged.

“I still think you should hold off on the demonic cultivation aspects.”

“We’ve already agreed to disagree,” Nie Mingjue said. “And knowing demonic cultivation helps me refine my cultivation of Baxia as well – I can filter out only the finest resentful energy for her.”

“You make it sound like cat food.”

“Since you also thrive on resentful energy, what does that make you?”

“A mouse, surely.”

“Nah. Hedgehog.”

The ghost acted as if it had been stabbed and fell over backwards.

Dramatic bastard.

-

“There’s a person outside,” the ghost said. “They’re at the edge of the boundaries.”

Nie Mingjue could feel his shoulders stiffen. “What are they wearing?”

“Nie colors. I would’ve taken care of it myself if it was a Wen.”

They’d had an incident with a Wen squad coming too close, once.

The ghost, strengthened by Nie Mingjue’s demonic cultivation and the bond he’d formed between him and Baxia, had ripped the cultivators in the Wen patrol squad to pieces before they’d gotten too close.

Nie Mingjue had told him that he appreciated the enthusiasm, but to try to keep the mess down a bit next time. All that blood had attracted predators willing to feast on human flesh, and Nie Huaisang was still small.

“What boundary?” he asked, and went to go look down at it from one of the windows. “Oh.”

“Is this going to be a problem?” the ghost wanted to know.

Nie Mingjue looked at the man walking up. “No,” he said. “No problem.”

“What does he want? Is he going to make trouble for Sangsang?”

“No,” Nie Mingjue said. “Just for me.”

He waited outside the door, Baxia in his hand.

His father came to a stop a reasonable distance away. “What will it cost for you to return?” he asked.

It was about what Nie Mingjue had expected. They were a practical family.

Nie Mingjue didn’t have memories of his future life, and the ghost didn’t remember this period of his previous life: the months they had spent together in this abandoned fortress, the way Nie Mingjue taught him to smile and to crawl, fed him and changed him and slept with him to calm him, the life they had shared in the world without the ghost.

Still, he had asked the ghost the questions he had wanted answered, casually dropping names into conversation with the ghost to judge his response, and he figured out what his answer must have been in that life before.

He’d asked for the heads of those that had directly threatened Nie Huaisang, and an oath that the sect would honor Nie Huaisang as the heir, that he would be sect leader following Nie Mingjue. He’d gotten what he’d asked for, but what had been meant as a gift had in the end only been a burden – the ghost wouldn’t have been so desperate to come back to this time if it wasn’t.

He wouldn’t make that mistake twice.

He smiled.

“I’d like to make some changes,” he said, thinking of all the people that the ghost had talked about – all the ones who had sad childhoods. Many were the children of the other Great Sects, which would make things tricky to start – most people didn’t want their children raised by outsiders – but he’d thought of ways to make it work, and he knew the investment would ultimately bear fruit. His father, ruthless as he was, would understand that part of it, at least, even if he didn’t understand the rest. “Back me in full, or lose me forever.”

This was even more of a gamble than what he had asked for in his past life. A few heads, even of loyal servants, didn’t matter much, compared to blood – a blank slate was a far more dangerous request.

His father looked him over, and Nie Mingjue knew that he was calculating whether it was worth it. Whether it was Nie Mingjue’s head that he should take, this time, since he himself was still young enough to have more sons. But Nie Mingjue had learned from the ghost all the secrets he’d known about his own future cultivation, added to it the demonic cultivation he’d deduced, and he was, in the end, a genius.

There was a reason he was confident enough to make the request.

“Very well,” his father said. “I will back you.”

-

They told everyone that the ghost was an ancestor.

[otomotoelzhinee]

SAILOR MAX: Chapter 1

Before we start, I just wanna thank everyone for being so, so patient with me and this project!! I’ve worked hard on this AU, and I can only hope it was worth the wait. I also wanna thank the people who helped me with the project in general with stuff like worldbuilding, character relationships etc; and with the chapter itself by offering criticism to my writing (cause as we know, it’s not my forte). You know who you are and I just want you to know most of this stuff wouldn’t have been possible without your help. Lastly, thanks to my partner for the ungodly amount of support and patience, cause I know my perfectionism can get messy and they were always there to set me straight. I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to go through with this if it wasn’t for them. With all that out of the way...

“The Day a Lagomorph became a Sailor Soldier“

Word count: 18,361

Fog.

An intense fog was covering the entire place. Wherever he walked, no matter how much he had advanced, Max was not capable of seeing anything, or hearing anything. The atmosphere was cold and heavy, there was a weight that came directly from his legs, as they struggled to move across the intense fog field.

He desperately wanted to run through it, in hopes of finding something, someone, anything at all that could help him understand his situation. But no matter how hard he tried, his legs would not move. It almost felt as if he was slowly floating around.

He hadn’t even realized that, this entire time, he never felt his feet touching the floor, or a ground of any sort. The fog had made it impossible to see anything under him.

There were no echoes, no wind, not even the sound of his own breath was something he could perceive. Just pure, overwhelming silence. “What kind of place is this?” He wondered.

 “I’m so cold…”

“…Where are you?”

 As that last sentence crossed his mind, his ears finally began to capture a sound. It was the distant screams of a crowd, they were screams of terror. Or, were they cheering…?

No…it was both, both sounds from two different groups, clashing with one another. It became hard to tell exactly what was going on, but Max kept running forward. The sounds became louder and clearer, a clash of hard metals joined the chaos. There was a moment where he could hear the current event surrounding him. But despite this, no matter how much his eyes searched, no one was there with him.

The screams, the pleadings, they wouldn’t stop. His eyes kept searching, but it was all so loud and fast, was he going insane? Only the frantic sounds of his heart, pounding harder and harder into his ears, was able to overshadow it all. He closed his eyes and held his ears tightly.

“Where’s everyone? What is happening?!”

It was then when Max felt another presence approaching him, something physical. Something he might actually be able to see, someone he might be able to speak to! But there was no way for him to tell who it was without turning around first.

Disoriented and stumbling a little, he opened his eyes, turning around awkwardly. All he saw at that moment, was…

 “MAXIMILIANO!”

Max gasped. The loud and angry voice made him jump on his bed, his heart almost escaped out of his chest. He hardly had the time to process the situation before hearing that voice again, scolding him from the floor below him.

 “Maximiliano, you have FIVE minutes to get ready for school, or you’re going to be late! You hear me? FIVE. MINUTES.”

 The entire room was made out of vague shapes and shadows, Max barely managed to recognize the clock by his side. He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to clear his vision, and what he saw made him release a scream of pure horror.

 He jumped from his bed and quickly started to get dressed. He stood in front of a large mirror that was standing against the wall, on the back of his bed.

“MOM! Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”

His mother was still on the second floor. “I tried waking you up nicely- Three times! But you wouldn’t answer, even with the alarm. So now you’re late!”

 Max, now all well dressed in his gakuran, went down the little stairs in his room and opened the little door on the floor to release the ladder. He threw his briefcase to the second floor before going down the ladder, only to stop halfway and jump down since it wasn’t very high. He grabbed his briefcase and started running downstairs to the kitchen as fast as he could, so fast, in fact, that he ended up rolling down the stairs instead.

 His mother heard the impact and immediately became worried. “Max! Geez, are you okay?!” She spoke from the kitchen, sitting at the table where she was previously reading the newspaper.  

“Oww…’Course I’m not, Mom!” He stood up and rubbed his lower back as he approached the kitchen, making loud and long hisses through his teeth to make it as evident as possible to her he was in pain. Although in reality, and surprisingly, Max didn’t feel the impact at all.

 His mother, while genuinely concerned, was still too upset to give Max the attention he was asking for.

 “Ay, este cabro…” She sighed “…You’re too careless! Here, take your lunch and leave already, and be careful out there!”

“Yeah, yeah!” He received the little lunch bag grudgingly and ran to the main door, but his mother made one last question before he opened the door.

“Hey, aren’t you forgetting something?”

 Max took a second to look around him and think, he had his lunch in one hand and his briefcase in the other. He had his notebooks, a pencil, what else could he be missing…?

 “…Oh c’mon.”

 Reluctantly, he approached his mother again to give her a quick peck on the cheek. His mother chuckled and said goodbye to her son as he closed the door. Because of his height, anyone would assume it’d take him a while to arrive to the school. But Max was incredibly agile, even for a lagomorph, and this physical ability had saved him from getting late a couple of times before. However, he had no idea what fate would prepare for him today.

 He was getting his hopes high as he quickly recognized the streets, knowing he was getting closer to his destination, “I can make it, I can make it! I’m gonna make it!!” he repeated to himself.

And he would have made it! If only he had noticed the little creature in front of him lying on the sidewalk. His foot stepped on it and quickly made him lose balance, making him fall on his precious face.

His nose was bleeding a bit, but that didn’t bother him. He was mostly worried about how the teacher would react to this ‘new look’.

 “AGH! Damn it, that’s gonna leave a mark! What the hell did I trip over with, anyway?”

 When he looked back, he noticed that the creature in the sidewalk was actually a small, white, and poor little rat that had the bad luck to cross paths with Max.

His first reaction was disgust, he shivered as he loudly reaffirmed that he just stepped on a rat, even if no one was around to hear. Then he noticed the rat was not moving, and now he was terrified he may have just committed his first murder, and he just began high school this year! What a world, what a world…

He was hesitant to hold the creature for obvious reasons, but it didn’t seem dirty. Its hair was pure white and radiant, it seemed soft at first glance, the only strange detail was the band aids it had on its forehead. Maybe it was already wounded before encountering Max? What if it had an owner? And what if it was a rich person who would seek the head of anyone who tried to hurt their pet? Max was about to panic at that very moment, so he gently pushed the little rodent with one of his fingers to see if there was any reaction. When he saw it shaking at the touch, he finally held it between his trembling hands.

 “H-hey, are you alive?! Oh crap, I’m so sorry! I didn’t break any bones, did I?”

 The little rat opened its eyes slowly, Max’s weight on its body really stunned it, but nothing the rodent wouldn’t be able to survive. The rodent started to shake in Max’s hands, seemingly trying to get to the band aids, its sudden movements almost made Max drop the creature, but he did his best to keep himself calm.

 “What’s wrong? You don’t like the band aids? …Do they itch, or something?”

It seemed like they were seriously annoying the rat, and Max was actually curious as to what kind of wound it could have on its forehead. Is it just a scratch? Or maybe something more horrific, more morbid and disgusting, that would keep him wild awake every night for the rest of his life? Whatever it was, he had to know!

With a small (not really) grin of curiosity on his face, he quickly began to remove the band aids from the rat’s forehead, and to his surprise, there were no signs of blood whatsoever. But before he could inspect better, the rat gave a high jump to his head, as a way to impulse itself in the air. The rat landed at the top of a wall that surrounded a garden of one of the houses, and its eyes seemed to be locked in Max’s eyes.

As the rat kept looking, Max finally took the chance to look at its forehead. It had a peculiar mark, a bald spot that resembled a crescent moon looking upward, which was quite funny to him.

The rat inclined itself to look at Max better, and with that he felt a slight sensation of intimidation. “Just what kind of rodent was this? Do they all behave this way?” His question would have to wait for another day, because the school’s bell gave its last rang, and now Max was officially late.

 “…GOD DAMNIT! I shouldn’t be wasting time like this! Crap, crap, CRAP!”

 He cleaned his nose, grabbed his briefcase, and restarted his race to the school. The little creature kept its eyes on him, until he was out of its sight.

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 “Ah…Crap.”

 As Max took the time to catch his breath, he stood in front of the closed door of his classroom. Because he had arrived late, he knew that if he called out for his teacher or knocked on the door, he would not be let in. But worst of all, he was probably deemed absent from this class, and would not be allowed inside until the first hour had passed.

He felt humiliated, having to stand in the corridor all by himself, but also tired, with his eyes slowly feeling dry and heavy. If only he hadn't spent the night reading manga, he might have woken up at a decent time, and then made it in time for school. Just who was responsible for that?

 “Geez…I can't believe a cute lil’ lagomorph like me has to be standing up in the middle of the corridor. My feet hurt so much because of these stupid school slippers...Ugh, and I really tried to get here fast!”

 Instead of continuing complaining to himself, Max started looking outside the window seeking for anything to distract him. Sadly, all there was were the clouds crossing across the sky, and a few birds flying by. The small creatures quickly reminded him of the small rodent he encountered not too long ago, and the strange event made him think of his even stranger dream from this morning.

If he was being honest, this was not the first dream he had that was related to that fog and those feelings of incapacity. But these dreams started so long ago, Max could no longer remember when exactly, and the mere act of trying brought him headaches.

There was something about these dreams that made him feel nervous, as if something horrible was going to happen soon. Or maybe it was something that had already happened, and his mind was trying to recall the event. But no matter how familiar the scenario felt in his mind, it still didn’t ring any bells, Max was sure he had never been in such a situation before in his whole life!

And yet…

 “…Ugh.” he rubbed his eyes. “Maybe my head is making up this stuff ‘cause of the lack of sleep. I hate waking up so early, my eyes are burning.”

  And suddenly, he heard an uproarious growl making itself present all across the corridor. Of course... He completely forgot he didn’t have breakfast this morning, no wonder he felt exhausted.

 Max looked around the corridor to make sure he was alone, and took his lunch bag from his briefcase, desperately trying to untie the knot. Once his bento box was uncovered, he opened it without a care. The smell that came out of the box was mesmerizing for him, and the content’s reveal was too much to handle. His mouth was watering, and his stomach only growled louder at the sight.

  “Well… I’m sure it’ll be fine if I just take a small bite to compensate for skipping breakfast! Thanks for the food!”

 But just as Max was about to insert his teeth into the delicious food, the door of the classroom slipped open.

  “Tsukino Maximiliano, what do you think you’re doing?”

  Max hid the bento box behind his back in an attempt to pretend he wasn’t doing what he was clearly caught doing, but somehow, his plan failed; and the look on Miss Gibbens face said she was not pleased in the slightest. He then tried to find an excuse, but his teacher did not give him a second to speak, so she proceeded.

  “It is for behavior like this that your grades are declining!”

 And with that statement out of the way, she showed Max the results of his last English test, putting the test right in front of his face.

With only a quick inspection to the piece of paper, Max felt like he wanted to disappear at that very moment. Only 30 points? How embarrassing, and it was especially frustrating because he actually did know all the answers to these questions. If only he hadn’t fallen asleep during the test, maybe he could’ve answered properly, and with a more readable handwriting, too. He managed to hear a few chuckles from his classmates before the teacher finally allowed him inside the classroom.

“This day can only get better”, he sarcastically thought to himself.

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 In another part of the world, in a much more cold, dark and desolate location, a heavy snowstorm was taking place. And among that storm, somewhere under the snow, an old castle of great size lay hidden. The material of the walls was rusty and cracked, and the colors had faded. Some of the pillars that decorated hallways had collapsed long ago, and darkness swallowed every room to the smallest corner. Only the weak light, emitted by the very few torches hung on the walls, would allow anyone to watch where they step.

Somewhere, in one of the many hallways, a tall anthropomorphic dog in a dark blue suit was walking through. His fur was of a pale, prim color, and his snoot was of a much whiter tone. He had short pointy ears hanging from his head, and his eyes were of a pastel blue color. He adjusted his white gloves with care as he approached his destination, his eyes fixated on it as they looked forward.

He arrived at a small sanctuary of sorts, where at its center resided a small pit completely filled with clay. He stood up in front of it, he stretched his right arm, and with a firm tone in his voice he called a name…

 “Rise up, Morgana! Oh fervent servant of our mistress!”

  The clay inside the pit began to shake, and it quickly raised together, struggling violently as it tried to take form. Eventually it transformed into a humanoid creature with a curvy shape, and once the base of the body was done, the clay figure began to draw in itself clothes, hair, eyes and other details. Once it all solidified, color began to fill its cheek, to then spread to its entire body, the creation was complete.

 “Now listen closely, Morgana, your mission today will be to collect a large amount of human energy.  But above it all, you must find an ancient object, a Silver Crystal. It is of great importance to our queen, so do not disappoint me.”

  The humanoid figure smiled at the order and made a reverence to her master, before vanishing in the air.

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 Back at the school, everyone was getting ready for lunch time, but Max was still sitting at his desk, completely asleep. The view was quite disturbing, actually, his mouth was completely open and leaking disgusting fluids all over his desk. He was so still he may as well be dead, but Inés was so used to this she didn’t give it any second thoughts. She and Max have been friends since Elementary school, and his weird mannerism was an everyday thing for her, it was amusing at best.

  “Max…Hey, Max.”

  She put her hand on his back and shook the lagomorph's body in hopes of getting a reaction. It took Max a second, but he finally came back to some of his senses and slowly opened his eyes.

  “I-Inés…What are you doing here?” He cleaned his mouth with the sleeve of his gakuran in a sloppy manner.

“What do you mean?” She laughed. “We’re at school, what else am I going to be doing here?”

“S-School…?” Max’s eyes were squinting as he tried to look at his surroundings. He barely recognized the shape of Inés in front of him, and even less the entire classroom.

“Geez, how can you get that disoriented after a nap? C’mon, it’s lunch time, Lorne and the girls are waiting.”

  Max rubbed his eyes as he began to search for his lunch bag among his other stuff, and Inés cleaned the mess over his desk with her handkerchief.

  “You’re just like a baby.” She commented as a way to tease him.

 After Max was ready and fully awake, they began walking downstairs on their way to the schoolyard, both him and Inés carrying their bentos. Inés didn't take long to ask him what the reason behind the hijinks of this morning was, with a mocking smile on her face. The Lagomorph didn’t take the interrogation too kindly, claiming everything that happened today was out of his control. But there was one situation that he did not even think of mentioning to his friend, and that was the strange encounter with the white rodent.

In reality, he pretty much forgot about the encounter at this point, thinking of it as some sort of fever dream, an illusion of his head at best. And right now he had only one thing in his mind: Sit on his favorite bench, gossip with his friends and eat until his lunch was no more.

 When Inés stopped the teasing for the sake of Max’s ego, the duo finally arrived with Lorne, who was waiting for them with an orange juice box on his hand; Sitting on a bench that was under the trees. In a bench right next to the last but in a vertical position, two other girls were sitting on it. Their names were Amano and Suri, friends of Inés from another class who would sometimes join in the little group of Max, Lorne and Inés.

  Inés sat together with the girls, leaving Max no choice but to sit at the other extreme of the bench, which was nearest to Lorne. Max didn’t like having to sit this close to Lorne, as his sole presence would put him in a bad mood, but he wasn’t quite sure why. Lorne wasn't a bad kid, he was only a huge nerd who never shut up, but that seems to be enough of a reason for Max to sort of dislike his “friend”.

The group greeted each other and began talking about how their day went, and which classes they had today. Lorne immediately mentioned the English test results, saying, or rather showing off in Max’s eyes, how he got a better score than most kids in the class.

 “I thought it’d be an easy exam, but 95 points is all I managed to get. I guess I should have prepared myself more! Tests are just like games, aren't they?”

  ‘Games’? How could he even say such a thing! How dare he presume to be better at English than him. Max was focusing on his food to avoid looking at Lorne, but he was absolutely furious, nobody was even laughing at his joke!

Well…Inés did chuckle a little, but Lorne was still irritating in Max’s eyes, and no one would be able to change his mind.

 “Oh! By the way, how many points did you get, Mr. Max?”

  Max choked on his tamagoyaki, he swallowed it the best he could before starting to laugh as loud as he could.

 “Ah, me? Well, I got a perfect score, of course! Haha!”

“Wow! Really?! Well, you are a genius when it comes to English, Mr. Max!”

  Lorne was a kid who had no malice in his heart. His admiration towards Max’s capacity to understand a foreign language that, to him, seemed so complex and sophisticated, was as true and honest as it can be.  And as much as Max disliked Lorne, he had to admit, Lorne knew how to flatter a guy. After all, who doesn't like a bit of praise for their accomplishments?

 “Could I see your test? I-I’d just like to see what answers you have so I can understand what I did wrong! Of course, if you don’t have a problem with that!”

 At that point, Max was no longer laughing, his thoughts were rushing in his head trying to find a good excuse not to seem suspicious. That was the sign for Inés to interfere and help her friend get out of the hole he was digging himself in.

 “Hey now, how about we change the subject?” Inés said calmly. “We shouldn't be thinking about school in our recess anyway, this is our time to relax.”

 Lorne was quick to apologize, not wanting to disturb any of his friends. Max on the other hand, resumed his affairs and continued eating his lunch, swallowing both the food and the shame deep down his throat. Meanwhile everyone else kept the conversation going. That’s when one of Inés' friends, Amano, took the chance to speak.

 “Oh, that’s right! Inés, have you heard about the recent robbery in a jewelry store at Chūō? It happened in the middle of the night, and the owners almost got hurt! There’s been lots of crimes near Minato ward these days, too. You and your mother should be careful!”

“Yes, I’ve heard, and you’re right. My mom’s been taking precautions, but she says there’s nothing to worry about, that our store is safe.”

Inés put her hands together, tightly. “Still, it’s a little scary to think that something could happen to us. I’m honestly not sure what I’d do…”

 Her friends immediately noticed her concern, and Suri began rubbing her back as a way to comfort her. Lorne thought this would be a good time to share his own news, and that way lighter up the mood of the conversation.

 “But you forgot the most important detail, Amano! Sailor V arrested the criminals from the Chūō robbery! It’s been confirmed!”  

“No way!” Amano gasped. “Sailor V? You mean it?”

Max’s right ear twitched, and finally he raised his head up to look at Lorne. “Sailor V? What the heck is that?”

“You don't KNOW?” The group exclaimed in awe.

Max shrugged his shoulders and lowered his ears. He shouted “I’m not DEAF, you guys!”

  Lorne chuckled, he began to fix his glasses and showed an unusual confidence in his face. After quickly cleaning his throat, he began his tale.

 “Sailor V is a beautiful and mysterious heroine in shining armor, who wears a mask to hide her identity. She appeared a couple of years ago out of nowhere, and has been helping keep the city a safe place ever since. Many people know about her existence, but pictures of her are very rare, and always unclear! She always leaves the crime scene before the arrival of the police, leaving the criminals tied up and unconscious, ready to be arrested!”

“Woah!” The girls exclaimed.

“It is said she has very long hair that shines in the dark, and that she's incredibly strong! But the biggest rumor that’s being spread is that she works as a special agent for the police, but nobody knows for sure…”

   The three girls were fascinated by the tale, but Lorne was impatiently waiting for the response of Max the most. There was a second of silence before Max finally raised his head and looked at Lorne.

  “…Oh, yer done already? Sorry, I stopped listening after you said ‘Sailor V’.”

 Everyone sighed.

 “Anyway...” Suri started. “I'm so happy Sailor V is back on her rounds! It’s been a couple of months since we’ve heard of her!”

“Could you imagine, though?” Amano sighed as she fixed her hair. “Being surrounded by so many beautiful, sparkling, precious gems? Honestly, I don’t think I could resist the temptation myself!”

“Ah, you’re right. Jewels are just so beautiful!”

“Now we’re talking!” Max quickly joined in the conversation. “Inés, your mom has the jewelry store open today, right?”

“Oh, yes! In fact, there’s a special sale today, you can find some jewelry for half the original price.”

“That’s great! We should go check out those prices, then! What do you say, girls?”

“Inéees?” The girls stared at her.

“…Weeell…” She pondered in a teasing tone. “…I don’t see why not!”

 When Max said all, of course, he was not trying to include Lorne. As the boy drank his juice, Amano, Max and Suri cheered in excitement.

Max then noticed Inés resting her hand on his small shoulder, she was looking at him with a smile.

  “What’s wrong, Inés?”

“Sorry, but I just remembered I’ve got a surprise for you. Follow me!”

 The word “surprise” made him think of the word “gift”, and because Inés was relatively rich, his expectations were always high. Inés could see the interest sparkling in his eyes, and Max did not hesitate to follow her back inside the school building. That is until he noticed that the direction they were going would actually lead them to the bathrooms of the first floor.

  “Hey, Inés, what gives?”

“Okay, so!” She stopped the walk and turned around to see Max. “I know you’re going to freak out, but hear me out. I need you to get in the girls bathroom and wait for me in the last stall.”

“What?! Why?”

“Hurry up before the break is over. I promise I’ll be back soon!”

“No, but-! I-Inés! What is…!”

  As Inés ran upstairs, she left Max standing in front of the bathroom with a good amount of questions wandering around his head. He stood in that same spot for a few minutes, debating on what he should do. Should he just wait outside instead? Or should he go back with his friends and ignore this nonsensical request?

What was she thinking anyway? Inés was not usually like this, and Max really hated to be left in the dark. But because she was his best friend, and quite honestly, he really wanted that expensive gift, he thought he should trust her. After all, what reasons did he have not to?

And so, making sure nobody was looking, he ran inside the bathroom and into the stall Inés had told him to go. He stood still in a corner, quite nervous, and he had two main reasons. One: because he didn’t want to get caught by some girl passing by. And two: Because he absolutely did not want to accidentally step near the toilet, who knows what sort of disgusting and horrible acts have been committed there.

 Everything was quiet, for the most part. Except for the noisy voices of kids playing outside, this was mainly the floor of the junior high students, after all. Thankfully, none of the little girls had approached the bathroom so far, which made him feel a bit less anxious, yet not enough to lower his guard.

He stood there for just a few minutes, yet it felt like an eternity to him. Suddenly, he began to hear some steps entering the bathroom that slowly approached his stall. He thought it may be Inés, but didn’t dare to speak up. What if it’s another girl? The sole idea made him stop breathing for a second.

 It wasn’t until he heard a quiet “Max? Are you there?” that he sighed with relief.

“Yeah, I’m here, but what the heck are we doing here, Inés? I could get in serious trouble for this!”

“Shh!” she gave Max a warning as he was being a bit too loud. “I know, I’m sorry! I just wanted to make sure nobody would look at you weird. Now here, open it quick!”

 ‘Look at you weird’? What exactly was she referring to? Most kids would already look at him weird for being one of the very few Lagomorphs at this school, so what could possibly draw more attention to Max?

Inés slid a black bag under the door of the stall, Max took it and began to rip it apart without much care. Although the sound of the bag being torn apart echoed through the room, he thought it was better to do it quickly and get this over with, rather than do it slowly and wait for someone to come and catch them.

  Once he recognized the content inside the bag, his anger vanished, only leaving pure and utter happiness that reflected through his face. It was a dark blue sailor uniform, with a big bow of the same color attached to the blouse and two thin red stripes in the collar and the cuffs. It was the design used by the senior high school girls from this establishment, and it was his size! Max did not think twice about trying it out.

When Max was finally ready, he left the bathroom stall he was hiding in and began to show Inés his new look, giving a quick spin around to show the entire outfit.

 “So! How do I look?”

Inés giggled. “Well, the important question is: How do you feel? Do you like it?”

 He began to look at himself, holding his skirt from each side like a princess in a big dress. The dark color of the uniform gave him a feeling of maturity and realization. For the very first time, he felt like a full-blown senior high school student, which drew a big smile on his face.

  “I… LOVE IT!”

He jumped into Inés arms and hugged her as tightly as he could, clinging onto her like a child holding onto his mother. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” is all he kept repeating. Inés smiled as she reciprocated the hug.

“How did you manage to get one of my size? And with the summer blouse included!”

“I, uh, didn't. I got the smallest uniform there was and I had to cut and sew some parts myself.”

“Wait, wait! Wait... You made this uniform? For ME?”

“You said you wanted to wear a skirt this year, something different to start high school with, and I just-”

“No, no, no. Say no more…” He purposefully hid the upper half of his face under his arm as he kept holding onto his friend. “You’re such a kind soul… I-I really don’t deserve you, Inés. I think…I may even cry a little…”

“Oh, please.” she gave a quick eye roll. “You’re not the type.”

Max drastically changed his tone and stopped covering his face. “Ah, you’re right! You know me so well, Inés!”

They both laughed it off.

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 It was now around 3 in the afternoon. School was finally over and Max, alongside his friends, were ready to start their favorite activity of the day: Window shopping!

Max was pretty cheerful, maybe a bit too cheerful, but not for the reasons the girls thought. While he was indeed excited to go see precious stones and gems, among other stuff, all he really thought about was how cute he felt in his new uniform. When Amano and Suri saw him they just laughed it off, not thinking much of his look. Inés on the other hand, was happy to see that her small action had brought so much joy to her friend.

“Max, Look!” Inés called his attention, as he was still with his head in the clouds. He shifted his attention to the tall, very fancy building at the end of the street. Its exterior walls were white and the first floor’s showcase had purple windows, while the other three upper floors had crystal clear windows.

Max instantly knew what the building was, but it didn't take much work to figure it out, since there was already a big and very "in your face" signboard at the upper left of the first floor, which had the store's name written with big cursive letters, the Jewelry ABE・P.

"Kinda cheesy" he thought. But that didn't stop him or the girls from running right to the store's showcase and see what they had for sale.

Inés on the other hand, simply stood behind them, as a way to not disturb them. The shiny rocks that were on sale were nothing she hadn't seen before, considering it’s her mother’s work, and jewelry itself was not one of her biggest interests anyway. But she still explained in the most brief way possible all the articles that were being displayed in the showcase, just to make her friends happy.

 "And that one is called ‘Pigeon blood ruby’, it costs one billion yen! Unfortunately, this one is not on discount.”

 Max frowned. “You're serious? Who the heck would have that much money these days?”

“C’mon Max, I’m sure there’s more accessible prices inside the store!” Suri smiled at Max before following Amano inside the building. Inés then approached him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go, Max.”

   As the automatic door opened, the group was immediately able to hear the lousy crowd of women. Looking at, taking, and wearing as much jewelry as their wallets could afford. The view was shocking at first, but nothing that could be considered strange, this was a discount sale after all. Whatever reason a person may have, the opportunity to get a pretty necklace, or a shiny ring, would not be wasted.

And of course, Inés’ mother knew she only needed to give these people a little tiny bit of encouragement to buy everything. And so, with her sales megaphone, she continued to cheer on the crowd.

  “Thank you everyone for coming! Go ahead and look, there’s enough jewelry for everyone! Our jewels are of the best quality, I assure you that you will not find these beautiful pieces anywhere else at this price!”

 Inés’s mother, ‘Mrs. Abel’, was a middle aged woman with light brown, short curly hair. She enjoyed dressing up in fancy clothes and wearing a modest amount of jewelry, along with some red lipstick to highlight her face.

‘Mrs.Abel’ also liked to keep her store clean, the floor was sparkling white, and Max could practically see his own reflection.

The room was huge, with cream colored walls on the first floor, and sky blue colored walls on the second floor, which was visible from the group’s position; alongside the many rooms of the second floor. The second floor was also being supported by big, white pillars (three on each side of the first floor), that would give the store a classy vibe.

At the top of it all, a great Chandelier full of crystals was hanging from the ceiling, currently being unused. Max assumed that because of its great size, it would be more than enough to illuminate the entire room during the night.

  “Mom, I’m home!”

 “Ah, Inés! Welcome home, darling!” ‘Mrs. Abel’ turned around to greet her daughter, as she smiled cheerfully. “Are those your friends?”

 “Yes.”

‘Mrs. Abel’ giggled. “Wonderful! Don’t worry girls, I know there’s a lot of people here, but feel free to look at anything you like. I’ll even give you a special discount for being friends of Inés!”

 “Seriously?!” Max and the girls stared at each other with their mouths open, the sale was already crazy cheap, now they would get another discount on top of the already established one? ‘Mrs. Abel’ either hit her head really hard today, or just didn’t care how much money she would be losing.

Either way, Amano and Suri immediately ran into the crowd of women to see if there was anything that they could find intact, and Max was just about to follow them. But then, it hit him, a fact he completely dismissed for the entire day, something he could‘ve prevented, but was now too late…

He was out of cash. And what’s worse, even if he ran back home right now, he could not ask his parents for a single yen, no. Not after that terrible grade he got on his English test. He knew what would happen once they found out, which would be soon or later.

So, as he quickly accepted his defeat, he limited himself to stay beside Inés and watch with melancholy how his friends got to enjoy the sale. Without him.

  “…You know, something about this feels…Wrong.” Inés murmured.

“Tell me about it…”

“I mean, I know my mom is very enthusiastic… But, we've never had so many sales before, and never at this scale! I wonder what’s gotten into her.”

Max just sighed, his eyes completely fixed on the crowd.

 “Please, do not push each other!” ‘Mrs. Abel’ kept on cheering her clients. “I promise there’s enough for everyone!”

 Inés stared at her mother, trying with all her might to discover what was going on inside her head at this moment. Despite them being in the same room, Inés felt a certain distance between the two, but what could be causing these feelings? This is her mother, she has been in this business for years, and she absolutely must know what she’s doing.

Yet, why is she doing this? Inés’ little head kept working out an answer, yet it would not come out.

 And speaking of questionable intentions, Max just had an idea.

 “Oee, Inés.” He whispered.

“Oh-” Inés snapped back into reality “Yes?”

“Ye think you could, please, pretty please, lend me some money? I forgot mine at home!”

“Ah, sure. What do you need it for?”

“Mmm, well…” Max danced around the question for a little. “You knooow~”

 Inés tilted her head slightly.

 “…Ah, I see. No, sorry Max.”

“Aww, c’mon! You’re my best friend in the whole wide world! Can’t you help out a friend in need?”

Inés used a more serious tone, without trying to be rude. “Max, any money I have was given to me by my mother. If I lend it to you to buy jewelry, there would be no gain for my mother’s business. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to say no this time.”

“Geez! A simple ‘no’ would've been enough.” He crossed his arms and looked in an opposite direction.

 Inés sighed. Max was exasperating sometimes, it was hard to say no to him without getting on his nerves. Yet somehow, neither of them could stay angry at each other for too long.

 “Alright…But could you at least let me use the bathroom? I need to change clothes.”

“Oh, yes. Of course! Follow me.”

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 Max said goodbye to Inés before leaving the store, and started walking to the direction of his house, now wearing his gakuran; its dark and lifeless blue color only lowered the mood for him. What a big chance he had right now, he could’ve gotten something pretty for himself like a ring, or a necklace, but he had to screw it up by wasting his allowance on childish stuff. And not to mention that darn test…

He took the piece of paper out of his bag and stared at it, it was covered in red lines crossing out all the questions he didn’t answer, while the ones he did answer were all perfect. “If my mom sees this, she’s definitely gonna kill me…”

 Part of him had gotten used to this by now. How he couldn’t bring himself to study, getting yelled at by his teacher for his poor grades, getting yelled at back at home again. But, he was supposed to be good at this one subject, it was his thing! And because of a single mistake, he ruined it.

What bothered him most, is that there was only one person to blame for this, but his pride wouldn’t let him say who exactly.

 “…BAH! Let the wind blow it away!” He crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it behind him.

 There we go, now that he got rid of the test, he could just lie to his mom and say the test results haven't been given yet. Eventually, she will forget about it, and Max will avoid any further trouble-

 “Hey, Bunny-boy!”

 …Perhaps not.

Max felt a shiver down his spine. Something about the tone in the stranger’s voice instantly told him he must’ve done something bad to bother him.

“Do I look like a trash-can to you? You should be more careful where you aim at, it hit my face.”

Max held his breath in for a moment, how is it possible he didn’t notice someone standing behind him? Was he really that stupid? As much as he would’ve loved to run away home and avoid the conflict, he turned around to face the stranger.

 “I-I’m really sorry, sir! I-I wasn’t paying attention!”

 Max didn’t really know who he was talking to or how old they were, but he assumed he was a ‘sir’ when he noticed all the fancy clothes he was wearing. Max knew nothing about fashion, otherwise, he would’ve been able to guess what he was looking at was a morning dress. Max did, however, recognize the quality of the fabric, and the amount of earth-like colors in the suit.

From the dark green coat and his green beige waistcoat, to his brown trousers, along the orange necktie that stood out from the entire combo. To Max it was quite hexcentric, ridiculous even, but of course- He would not voice his opinion of fashion to this stranger.

 Besides the peculiar clothing, the man was tall, extremely tall. Especially for Max, who could barely reach the guy’s stomach. Even though he looked quite chubby, there was no doubt for Max that a single push from the guy could leave him in the ground. He also looked like an anthropomorphic being, just like him, but Max couldn’t tell what kind.

Max began to search for more clues. At first he thought he could be a bear, mainly for the color of his fur. But despite his height, the stranger wasn't tall enough to pass as one. Max then tried to get a look at his face, but the stranger had it covered with a wrinkled piece of paper in front of him, the same one Max threw at him by accident.

Wait a minute... It was Max’s test!

  “…30 points?” The stranger smirked.

 Now he was making fun of him! The shame, the horror! Right now, a good punch in the gut from the man didn’t seem like such a terrible option for Max. At least if he was left unconscious, he wouldn’t have to hear any more humiliating comments about his poor performance.

 “Geez. You should focus on your studies first, rather than carelessly littering people on the street, Bunny-boy."

 “B-Bunny?” Although he might have been afraid, there was one thing Max would absolutely, not by any means, tolerate from anyone in this world; and that was being called a bunny. He may have let it slide the first time, but he would not do the same for a second time.

“Excuse me, sir, but you should get your eyes checked! Because I am a Lagomorph, not a Bunny!”

The stranger chuckled at Max’s reaction and returned the wrinkled piece of paper to him, placing it right on his face as a way of teasing him. “Well, you should pay more attention in class, Lago-boy.”

Max growled at the rude gesture, he took his test and violently put it aside, finally allowing the man and him to be face to face. “That- Is none of your business!”

  Max was frozen. He stared into the stranger’s eyes, and despite the fact that he was wearing shades, Max could still see right through them. Finally, he was able to figure out the anthro-being he was dealing with.

He was an anthropomorphic dog with black eyes. His snoot was round and his ears were long and fluffy, they were practically hanging from his head, and Max felt the strange need to touch them.

He started to get the feeling that something about this guy was very, very familiar. And the more he stared at him, taking the time to analyze all of his features, searching for that ‘ah-ha!’ sign that would help him understand: “Just who is this guy?” The more he felt the two of them had, somehow, already met. But where and when, exactly? He couldn’t tell.

 “Hey, Lago-boy? Did you lose something?” The dog waved his hand in front of Max’s face.

“H-Huh?” Max blinked twice, startled.

“Oh, geez. You just keep living in the clouds and refuse to get down, don’t you?”

“What? N-no!”

“Alright, alright, if you say so. It’s ‘none of my business’ anyway.”

The dog turned around in the other direction and said goodbye to Max, but Max wasn’t done with this conversation just yet.

“Wait a second!”

“Hmm?” The dog stood still and looked back at Max.

 Every part of his body was shaking, his hunch was practically screaming, he had to know! Max had to know if, by the smallest chance…If it was him.

…But he did not have the courage to ask. Too many unpleasant things happened today, and now, based merely on feelings, he was going to ask this total stranger if he was ‘this’ certain person? And what if he said no? Max would only look like a complete idiot in front of someone he doesn’t even know. No, he would rather leave things just like this, as mere coincidences, and avoid any further embarrassment.

 “…Sorry, nevermind. Must’ve confused you with someone else.”

 Max then walked in the opposite direction without saying anything else, leaving the dog in front of the jewelry store. The stranger was a bit confused, but he quickly dismissed the moment as nothing of importance, as he had other things to worry about. He shifted his attention to the tall building in front of him and examined every inch of its structure, including the windows, until he was convinced that this was the place he was looking for.

 Max kept going on his path, also trying to dismiss the event that just happened, and get home as soon as possible. Perhaps he could get a nice nap, too, he felt like he deserved it after such a stressful day. But that guy, his face…

“It had to be him, I know it was him.” He kept repeating those words to himself, and he would argue back at himself. “But it’s impossible, it can’t be, they look nothing alike, and he would never dress like that!”

The ideas kept clashing with one another over and over again, and Max felt a headache was coming soon if he didn’t do something about this matter. That’s when he noticed that he was passing right in front of a game center, one he casually visits now and then, The Game Center CROWN. And to his surprise, a poster had been recently added to the wall promoting a new game.

The poster was a cartoony illustration of a girl with long, light blonde hair and a red mask covering her eyes. She was wearing stylized armor that seemed inspired by a sailor uniform. She had the look of a hero ready to fight the bad guys, which were also depicted in the poster, but without taking the hero’s spotlight. The game was called Sailor V: Hero of the Night! Now where has he heard that name before…?

 “Ah, this must be the girl Lorne was talking about! ‘Sailor V’, huh?”

 Max examined the poster for a while, with slight annoyance, the thought of this popular superhero girl really tickled his anger, and his envy as well. Why was she getting all the attention? What made her so special? Is it because she had a fancy name and cute clothes? Anyone could do that. At least that’s what he thought, as he imagined himself in the spot of Sailor V. But that was just a fantasy, deep down, he knew it was impossible. Some people’s lives are just too easy, he thought, and he was not one of the lucky ones.

 “…What a stupid name. What does the V stand for, anyway-?”

“Good afternoon, sir.”

 Max released a fast scream of pure, sheer terror and stood back, leaning against the door entrance of the arcade. He looked back at the person who just spoke to him, and felt great relief when he realized who it was.

 “H-Hyōsuke! I, uh…Didn’t see you there!”

 Hashimoto Hyōsuke was the son of the owner of the game center CROWN, and had a part time job in the arcade. He had tanned skin and his hairstyle was similar to a ‘pompadour’, he also liked to wear shades all the time and never take them off.

They met at a time when Max used to visit the arcade frequently, and somehow became good friends. Despite the fact that Hyōsuke is a University student, Max always addresses him by his first name and almost never used honorifics, and despite Max being younger than him, Hyōsuke always treated him in a very polite manner. Although, to be fair, he tends to treat everyone respectfully no matter their age, and Max loved this! Being treated like some sort of respected gentleman always boosted his ego.

 “Please step aside from the door, sir, before it-”

“WOAH-!”

“…Opens.”

 Max, who just met with the cold and crystal clear floor of the game center, immediately started complaining. Not because the fall was painful in any way (And even if it was, he lacked sensitivity to pain.), but because he liked complaining, it was a way to release stress.

 “God- DAMN IT! Why does this keep happening to me?!”

“It’s okay sir, everyone has accidentally fallen into an automatic door once in their lives, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

 Hyōsuke offered his hand to Max as a way to help him stand up, the lagomorph took it with certain embarrassment.

 “Thanks, Hyōsuke…But that’s not what I mean.”

“Did something happen?”

“Eh… Let’s just say this wasn’t my day, at all.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, sir. Perhaps a time in the arcade would help you clear your mind.”

“Woah, sneaky guy! But, I’m sorry to tell you I don’t have a single coin in my pocket.”

“Are you quite sure, sir? We have a new game available since yesterday.”

“A new game?!” The smile that had just formed in his face quickly came and went as the gears in his head started to turn. “…Wait, you’re not talking about that Sailor V chick, right? Because in that case, I-”

 Max froze for a mere second and shook his left ear. He felt a presence behind him, something with his eyes fixated on his back, but once he turned around, he couldn’t see anyone else. It was just him and Hyōsuke, and yet, he could still feel there was someone else.

 "Something troubling you, sir?"

“Huh? Oh, no, nothing at all! Sorry, I’m a little distracted and I just want to go home and rest.”

 There was something troubling him indeed, but Max couldn’t figure out himself what it was exactly that gave him these feelings, and he found no point in telling his friend.

 “Alright sir, be careful on the way home.”

“Yeah, I will. Goodbye, Hyōsuke!”

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 As the sun slowly sank through the pink clouds, Max had finally arrived at his home, and he was ready to take a snack from the fridge, relax and take a good nap. He opened the door and announced his arrival.

“Mama, I’m home!”

His mother came from the kitchen, cleaning her wet hands with her apron. “Welcome home, hun! What took you so long?”

“Ah, Sorry! I was hanging out with Inés and we didn’t notice how late it was getting!”

“I see… Oh!”

Mrs. Tsukino giggled as their conversation was abruptly interrupted by tiny bundles of joy, her six youngest daughters, who were happy to see her big brother finally at home.

“Max! Max! Max!” they shouted as they jumped and pushed each other playfully, trying to get a chance at hugging their big brother. Max had to make an effort not to lose his balance.

“What took you so long?” said Olivia in an upset tone, as if trying to scold Max.

“Did you bring us something?” Said Asami, the tiniest of the sisters.

“Asami! Don’t be rude!” Replied Josefa, the tallest and oldest of the sisters.

“We really, really, really missed you!” Said Isabella, the dearest sister out of the six.

 Since she was born without one of her legs, she had to use a special prosthetic leg for a tiny lagomorph like herself. But she didn't mind. In fact, she thought it looked cool.

 “Hey, Hey! One at a time, kiddoes! You're gonna make me fall on my butt!”  

 The little ones began to laugh.

 “Girls, please. Give your brother some space.”

 The little ones apologized, finally leaving the poor lagomorph a moment to breathe and stand up properly. The girls hid behind their mother as she began retaking her conversation with her son.

 “By the way, Max. How did you do in your exam?”

“Oh, That! Well, you see-”

“Because I crossed paths with Lorne earlier today, and he told me you guys got the results already. He said he got 95 points!”

 Max stood still with a blank expression, admiring how his entire plan crumbled in front of him, thanks to his gossipy little friend. “That blabbermouth, I’m gonna strangle him for this!” He took a mental note before proceeding to answer to his mother.

“…OH! REALLY? Woah that’s AMAZING isn’t it?” He laughed it off, pretending to play dumb as a last attempt to escape his mother’s interrogation. But it didn't work out.

“Now tell me, how did you do?”

“Well…Ah, you see! …Th-the thing iiis…!”

“Maximiliano.”

Max was looking to the ground avoiding eye contact, but he already knew his mom’s tender, welcoming smile was vanishing, along with her patience. He sighed and accepted that there was no escape from the hell that was about to rise, and decided to give her the test in her hands.

Mrs. Tsukino took it and examined it for a moment, a moment that felt like an eternity for Max. The little ones got on their tip toes trying to take a look as well. Everything was quiet for a few seconds, until…

“Maximiliano Santiago Tsukino SILVA!”

The rage Mrs. Tsukino felt was so strong, Max swore he could see fire in her eyes.

“Uh-Ooh.” The little girls stepped aside, knowing exactly what was coming for their big brother.

Max began to sweat, somehow; despite lagomorphs being incapable of it. He chuckled nervously. “M-Mama…I can explain!”

“¡Cómo se te ocurre traerme una nota tan baja a MI casa! ¡AFUERA! ¡NO TE QUIERO VER!”

“W-WAIT! WOAH-!”

Mrs. Tsukino furiously pushed Max outside of the house and shut the door in front of him, leaving him in the front yard to think of what he just did. In part, it could’ve been worse, at least he didn’t get an ear pulling or something similar. On the other hand, he wasn’t sure for how long his mom was planning on leaving him there, and the mere thought of spending the night outside wasn’t comforting. So he followed the next step of his plan B.

He began to make a scandal.

“MAMAAA! C’MON, IT’S NOT THAT BAD, PLEASE LET ME IN, PLEAAASE!”

“What’s going on here?”

Max’s left ear twitched, he recognized that voice! It was the annoying and overly confident voice of his little brother, Dante, the oldest of the group of the six lagomorph boys. They approached the front door as they were eating their lollipops, seemingly showing them off to their big brother as they walked past him.

“What, did you get kicked out again?” said Dante with a big smile.

“Wouldn’t that make it the 4th time?” Said Bruno, a chubby, small lagomorph.

“No, actually. Last time, mom locked the house after she went shopping and forgot Max was going to arrive late, so he had to wait outside. This is only the 3rth time Mom kicks him out for failing an exam.” Said Hiroaki, the smartest of the six boys.

“What an Idiot! Why didn't he use the back door?” Said Yukio, who was carrying a chocolate bar and a soda inside his open backpack.

“We don’t have one.” Replied Hiroaki.

“We don’t?”

“Hey!” Max had enough of these kids and their mean comments. “How can you treat me like that? I’m your big brother, you should respect me!”

“It’s not our fault you have such terrible grades! I wish we had a big brother that was actually smart!” Dante then made a funny expression to mock him, sticking his tongue out.

“That’s IT!”

The boys were laughing uncontrollably at Max and how easy it was to provoke him. He was getting ready to throw a kick at them and they quickly went inside the house to avoid it. Dante shut the door as fast as his giggling body allowed him, without realizing that the poor door would be the one receiving the impact of that Kick.

Max hit the door with his bare foot, harder than he expected. He hit it so hard that he actually felt that pain slowly building up from his heel to his brain and the tip of his ears. He held it in, he was really trying to hold it in, but he couldn't. He let out a scream of pure pain, combined with more whining. While he was indeed insensitive to pain, there were still certain things he could feel, and right now he wished he didn't.

 “MOOOM! OPEN THE DOOR, DANTE HIT ME!”

 The boys were still giggling inside the house, they couldn’t help it, but the girls didn’t enjoy this attitude in the slightest; so they made an attempt at trying to talk things out with their mom. They tugged her apron gently, asking to please let their big brother back inside the house. “He didn’t mean to!” they said. But Mrs. Tsukino was not going to let him in that easily, what he did was unforgivable, and he deserved to be reprimanded for it!

…Although, if he kept screaming for a few more minutes, she may consider letting it pass. After all, she was still young and she wanted to conserve her good hearing intact. And the neighbors may start complaining there’s a squeaky rabbit that won’t shut up.

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 Back at the Jewelry store, where the sun’s rays were no longer illuminating the streets, and the moon was slowly making itself more present, a dark and imposing figure stood up at the other side of the street. The mysterious stranger, who was dressed in fancy clothing and covered his eyes with a white mask, hid in the shadows provided by the buildings. He was waiting for a chance to enter the store, which seemed to be closed, as the lights were off.

His intentions were obvious. What he was searching for were precious and shiny stones for him to take home, and he was willing to take them no matter who stood in his way. Although he was not here to start a fight, it was not outside the realm of possibilities. He'd just kindly take a few gems without the owner of the store's knowledge and no one would get harmed, simple, like always.

Little did he know, the vast majority of the articles being displayed this morning were no longer available, thanks to “Mrs. Abel’s”…Or rather, Morgana’s big sale.

The first part of her plan was a complete success. Now all the women and men who bought those precious objects were contaminated with dark energy, energy that Morgana herself placed inside all those fake stones that decorated the collars and rings, making them look shinier and more appealing to the human eye.

“Humans and their pitiful wants, they are so gullible.” She laughed.

Now all she had to do was call back the energy of her victims as they wore the jewels. She was using a special red glass container of a cylindrical shape to store all the human energy in it as it arrived. She placed it on the counter and activated it with a single move of her hand. The energy began to flow right from the houses of the victims and back at Morgana’s artifact.

Every person in the city wearing their recently bought jewelry at that moment, quickly began to feel weak, disoriented. Some even felt dizzy and had to go to the bathroom urgently, as the nausea was too much to handle.

“So much energy…Lord Jadeite will surely be pleased! Although…”

She began to look at her surroundings, several times.

“…The object he entrusted to me doesn't seem to be here. I will have to make one last quick inspection to the building before I-”

The door beside the counter, where Morgana was standing, started to open. A thin figure was standing under the door frame, letting the light of the other room get into the store.

“Mom? What are you doing?” Inés spoke in a gentle tone.

Morgana could’ve come up with an excuse, but she didn’t bother. She was done with her job, and she already knew what she had to do with intruders.

Inés kept going as she received no answer. “I thought you had closed the store already…?”

Morgana turned her face around, allowing the light coming from the other room to reach her. She let her teeth show off, growing into fangs, twisting her face slightly as she smiled; she had nothing else to hide from this kid.

Inés gasped loudly and stepped back, her eyes couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her mind began to rush, trying to find an explanation, was this an illusion? Is she dreaming?

Her body began to shake, begging for her to run upstairs, back to her room and lock herself there. She couldn’t respond to the signs on time, as Morgana stretched her limbs to an unhuman capacity and violently grabbed her arm, pulling her inside the store.

The door had been closed, and Inés had nowhere to go.

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 Back at the Tsukino residence, Max was climbing the ladder to his room halfheartedly. He sat in the tiny stairs of his room for a moment, letting the small door close as the ladder came back to its original position. He then yawned and stretched as he walked to his bed.

When he left the house in the morning, he left his bed undone, but now it was fixed and he could only guess it was his mother, who may have entered the room during the day. The empty glass that he left over the nightstand was also gone, but the manga he was reading last night was still at the window.

 He left his briefcase over the white, small round table near the bed, and sighed. “Finally, she let me in! Geez, I don't know why she gets like that, she's so mean to me…”

”…I don’t wanna do my homework, I think I'll just take a small nap and then figure it out.”

 And following his last words, Max laid down in the warm bed comforter and closed his eyes, falling asleep in just a couple of minutes.

 The minutes kept passing as Max kept dreaming, and the wind began to blow against his window, making him shake slightly because of the noise; but it was not nearly enough to wake him up. If he had woken up at that moment, he probably would’ve noticed the small shadow in front of his window, standing still.

The wind somehow made its way into the room, unhooking the window lock, opening it slightly for a moment, before shutting down abruptly. Finally the lagomorph opened his eyes and sat on his bed, rubbing his eyes before looking at the window. Once his vision was getting clear, he saw a small, white and blurry figure, slowly taking shape into the curious rodent he encountered earlier today. And, once again, the creature was staring at him with its tiny eyes.

“What the…The rat with the bald spot? How did you get here?”

“Oh, Holy Lunar Trinity…” She said exasperated. “It is not a bald spot, okay? It’s a tattoo. Quite the rude assumption, child.”

Max blinked twice, his eyes fixed on the rodent. There’s no way he heard that, there’s no way those words came out of this tiny creature’s mouth. There is absolutely no way the rat just spoke to him like a tiny grandma scolding her grandchild. Rats don’t do that! …Right?

But, the rat kept going with what she had to say, and Max just couldn’t react to any of it.

 “Ahem! Anyways, my name is Luna, and I’ve been looking for you for quite a long time, Max. I’d also like to thank you for taking off the band aids from my forehead. Because of that obstruction, I wasn't able to speak, and it also affected my sensory skills. The kids of this neighborhood are so naughty!”

“Ahh…” Max seemed to wake up from his trance, nodding slightly. “I see now.”

“You do? I’m glad! It’s good to finally meet you, dear, I really don’t know what I would've done if I hadn't found you-”

“Good night.”

Luna was so wrapped up in her excitement that she didn't realize the moment Max was laying down in bed again, facing the opposite direction.

 “Eh? M-Max! What do you think you’re doing? Wake up, this is no time to rest!”

 But Max ignored Luna’s complaints entirely. She jumped to his bed and began shaking him as strongly as her tiny body allowed her, and it was not enough to even bother the Lagomorph. Maybe if I stay like this, she’ll go away. That was his plan, but Luna was not gonna stand there with her little arms closed.

 “Ah, I just remembered! I’ve also got a gift for you, Max dear.”

Max’s ears twitched, that was everything Luna needed. She stood back on her two hind legs and the mark on her forehead began to shine. She gave a high jump followed by a spin in the air. As she was doing this stunt, the mark on her forehead began to shine even brighter, until the light became a solid object that left sparkles around as it materialized.

Luna finally landed on the bed, and with one last spin in her place she stood on one leg (her other leg raising high), and caught the object with her right hand. She made each movement look elegant and so simple, her eyes were closed the entire time. But more interesting than her dance moves, Max was much more interested in the object Luna held between her tiny, pink hands.

 “Here, this is a special brooch, it’s magical.” She winked.

The brooch was made of pure gold and had a crescent moon symbol at the center, along a pink gem at the top. The contour of the brooch also had smaller gems: A blue one at the bottom, a red one at the top, a green one at the left and an orange one at the right.

“Wait, this is for me? You’re seriously giving it to me?” Max smiled.

“Of course!”

“WOAH!” Max took it with excitement and jumped out of the bed. “Thank you! It’s so shiny, I love shiny things! But, wait, how am I gonna…?”

“Max?” Luna waved her hand at him to call his attention.

“Ah! I’ve got it!” Max sat on his knees near the white table and began to open his briefcase quickly.

He started to throw everything inside the briefcase around the floor of his room, not caring where it would land or how, and stopped once he was able to take out what he was really looking for: His sailor uniform. He took it from the black bag where it was and tossed the bag away, quickly taking off his gakuran and putting on the other uniform; all of this while Luna was still trying to get Max’s attention.

“Max, please, you’ve got to listen to me! There’s been a lot of strange events happening all around the city of Tokyo, crimes that not even the police can figure out! And it is your duty to stop this chaos, Max, you’re our chosen Sailor Soldier!”

 Max was now fully dressed and wearing his new brooch, which he placed at the center of the bow in his blouse. He took a big mirror that was around the room and placed it carefully in front of him. Admiring his new accessory in the mirror, Luna took the chance to jump to the night stand to be in front of Max, trying to get the Lagomorph to look at her, and it seemed to work.

“And besides!” She proceeded. “You must find your allies as well, to find and protect our princess!”

“Aha, Aha, Aha. Sure! Anything else?”

“…You don’t believe a single word I told you, do you?”

“Oh no, no!” Max shook his head. “Sure I believe you!”

 Max was smiling and giggling, but Luna knew he wasn’t buying her story, he only cared about the pretty brooch. That was okay with her, as she was not going to give up just yet.

 “Okay, if that’s true, then repeat these words after me…Moon Prism Power, Make-Up!”

Max chuckled. “What?”

“You said you believed me.”

“I do! I promise!”

“Go ahead, then.”

 Max giggled one last time before taking a deep breath, frowning suddenly, forcing his cheeks not to smile again. Max did believe in Luna’s words, actually. The issue lied in the fact that he didn’t believe any of this was real. He had a rough day after all, so maybe, his mind was making up for it by creating a magical dream in which he’s a superhero. Someone wanted, someone needed! Someone useful and important! And he was going to enjoy this dream for as long as it lasted.

He put his hand in the air, pretending to stand in an epic pose, and shout the ‘magical phrase’ his ‘magical rat’ gave him.

“Moon Prism Power! Make-UP!”

 Max couldn't have possibly imagined what came next, as this energy bursted suddenly from his chest, it was a strong and powerful feeling surrounding his entire body, wrapping him in a cocoon of indescribable warmth. It was overwhelming, scary, yet exciting. It filled him with great joy and determination!

He closed his eyes, holding onto this feeling for as long as he could. But just as it came, the moment he opened his eyes, the feeling was completely gone. All that was left was him, standing in front of the big mirror, and Luna, who seemed quite happy for some reason.

He stared at Luna in confusion as to what just happened, before taking a look at himself in the mirror. There was something… different, Max had to take a moment to realize it, his chest bow seemed to have changed its color, he was wearing earrings too. And, did his skirt just… shrink?

No, that wasn’t quite it, this was an entire different outfit. What Max was wearing was a white leotard with a chest protector over it, and a blue collar with two white stripes. He also had white shoulder pads, gloves, and a blue skirt, along with a big red-ish pink bow at the center of his chest and his back, a choker and a pair of red boots of the same color, with a white border at the top.

His boots had golden crescent moon ornaments, just like his earrings and his choker. And the crown of it all was his tiara, which has special ornaments and a dark pink gem at the center.

What the hell was all this?

 “So, how’s that for a proof?” Luna spoke. “Do you understand what I’m saying now?”

 Max took a good look at his new clothes, feeling the texture of his gloves and admiring how his new jewelry shined. He felt an unusual comfort, even more than earlier today when he wore his other uniform, this suit just felt…Right.

 He giggled. “Look at me! I look like a superhero!”

“Max!”

“Aw, don’t worry Luna, I said I believed you!”

“That’s good, but I’m afraid you’re still not taking me seriously! Just-- Quit spinning around, please, and listen!”

“Yeah, yeah, sure!” Max waved his hand in a condescending manner. “So, what else do I need to know-?”

Suddenly, at that moment, the gem in his tiara began to project an intense shine. Max’s ears began to twitch as they captured a sound, it was muffed, but Max made an effort to pay closer attention, until the sound began surrounding him. It was a voice, a plea, and it didn't take long for him to recognize the person making it. It was his friend Inés.

  Max was surrounded in this aura of danger and malice, but he was the only one who could perceive it. All that Luna saw was how the teen was completely ignoring her instructions, and she was getting tired of this treatment. “Max, can you hear me?”

“Inés? But how…?”

“MAX!”

“AH!”

Max pressed his hand against his chest, the threatening aura had finally disappeared. “Ah, Luna, you startled me!”

“Startled you?”

 She started connecting the dots in her head.

 “You heard a cry of help, didn’t you?”

“‘Cry of help’…Yeah, you could say that.”

“Tell me, what did you hear?”

“Umm, well…” Max rested his left hand on his waist, rubbing his chin with one finger of his right hand. “I think I heard Inés screaming! She said something about her mom, but I couldn't hear the rest.”

Luna stood up in the nightstand. “Inés is the girl that owns a Jewelry store, right? Perhaps the store is being robbed. Max, now that you've transformed into a Sailor Soldier, you must go and help her!”

“…Eh?”

Luna pointed a finger at Max, accentuating his importance at this moment in time. “Consider this your first training session. Now go there and save Inés! Go, Sailor Moon!”

 ‘Sailor Moon’, was that supposed to be his ‘hero’ name? Well, it certainly had a nice ring to it.

Wait, but that would imply he would actually have to fight people, hand to hand combat. Well, maybe he could bite them in the arm and they would eventually give up!

But wait! Most thieves are armed, right? And they’re very dangerous by nature! And Max could barely remember the last time he had a fight, he must’ve been as tall as a chair back then!

…Actually, he hasn’t grown all that much since then, he still had issues sitting in chairs that were not made specifically for small creatures like him.

 “Wait, me?” Max made a gesture pointing at his own face. “You’re talking about me? Shouldn’t we, uh… Call the police for this kind of thing?”

“Forget the police! Now, let’s go save your friend!”

  Luna immediately ran to the window and proceeded to carefully walk on the house’s roof, climbing down a pipe to get to the ground. Max, who was sitting on his bed near the window, looked at her quite displeased.

  “Hey, hold on! Where are you going? You don’t expect me to jump from here now, do ya?”

“You’re a bunny, your species is agile. I'm sure you can handle a jump to the balcony on the lower floor”

“B-BUNNY? I am NOT…!” Max stopped his incoming rant, as he saw Luna climbing down the pipe with the least bit of interest in what he had to say.

 “Oh, I’ll show you…’Bunny’!”

 He carefully sat on the window as he kept mumbling under his breath. He was so angry at Luna that he almost forgot how dangerous the act he was doing truly was, which could be considered an advantage, as he did not hesitate when falling down from the window of his room to the balcony of the second floor. Once he realized he had landed without a single bruise, the next jump didn’t seem so scary, and proceeded to hold onto the other side of the wooden railing to do his second jump. “What a strange dream this is!” He thought, but this small act of bravery began to fill him with security, with a twist of excitement as to what dangers he’d find in the jewelry store.

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

  “No! Stop! Get away from me!”

Morgana laughed, slowly approaching the defenseless girl. As she walked, her body kept changing, almost deteriorating.

As the color of her skin was fading and her limbs began to extend in an unnatural manner, Inés kept clinging onto the piece of furniture she had cornered herself against, trying to look away from her. This creature, this… Monster. Was clearly not her mother, but her resemblance was still there, and she could not bear to see it rot in front of her.

“What’s wrong, darling? Are you afraid of seeing your own mother's face?”

“How dare you!” Inés was now in tears. She shut her eyes and confronted Morgana to the best of her ability. “What did you do to my mother? Where did you take her?!”

 Morgana violently stretched her arms directly towards the girl’s neck. She began to squeeze it little by litte, lifting her from the ground, as Inés struggled to break free.

 “Do you want to know what happened to your mommy? Do you want me to tell you what I really did to her?”

 The fear in Inés' eyes only fed Morgana’s cruelty even further. The teen kept struggling against her grasp, kicking her feet in the air, using all of the force in her body to push the monster away. But that force was fading, as Morgana continued to squeeze every bit of breath from her body

 “D’aww. Don’t you worry, little one. Soon, you and your mother will be together forever!”

  Morgana let out a strong, heartfelt laugh. Knowing she had successfully completed most of her task, and that no one could possibly stop her at this point.

 “STOP RIGHT THERE! You ugly WITCH!”

 Morgana freezes, letting go of Inés’ neck just for a second, enough for her to simply pass out from the exhaustion and dizziness. But not before her eyes managed to capture a single, small shadow, standing under the door of the jewelry store.

 Morgana stood still, only turning around her neck. She bitterly replied to the stranger. “Who is this? Who are you?!”

 “Aha! Excellent question. My name is…!”

 “…Hey, Luna. Who am I again?”

 Luna gave a harsh sigh. “You are Sailor Moon, the soldier of Love and Justice!”

 “AHA! Yes, I am…What she just said! And I’ve come here to kick your butt!”

 Max kept showing a confident smile on his face, which only further reflected his complete ignorance of what was at stake right now, and who was at the hands of Morgana right now. But Luna didn’t seem to notice the peculiarity of these actions. All she saw was Max’s cocky attitude taking over him, and decided to let it pass. It was better for him to be confident than afraid.

Morgana then responded with a loud, wicked laugh. Dropping the unconscious girl to the ground.

 “Sailor Moon?” She emphasized in a burlesque tone. “I've never heard of such a RIDICULOUS name ever before!”

Morgana stretched her hand back to the counter, grabbing the red artifact where she had stored all the human energy. She held it up, shouting. “Rise up, SLAVES! Come and serve the purpose of our dark mistress!”

 “Gee-eez!” Max held his ears down. “Keep it down, old lady! Are you trying to wake up the entire city?”

“Precisely.”

“…Huh?”

 There was a moment of silence inside the building.

Max then began to hear a particular sound, getting louder, closer. Until finally, he was able to recognize it. Steps. Many, Many steps behind him…

 “Wh- …HAAH?! WHAT ARE ALL THESE LADIES DOING HERE?!”

 Max turns around to discover a crowd of women standing right outside the jewelry store, all of which were wearing expensive jewelry accessories in different parts of their bodies. Their eyes were lost, as if a part of them was not even there at all. Max began to take a few steps back.

 “Now, slaves! Get rid of him!”

 “No. Wait, wait, wait. Timeout! TIMEOUT!”

 Max moved his feet and began to run as the crowd entered the building. They chased after him through every corner of the room, meanwhile Max clumsy, but effectively avoided the women’s grasps. He ran, crouched and jumped over every obstacle, not caring if he broke a piece of glass from one of the empty display cases.

“Luna! What am I supposed to do?”

“Stay still and calm down! Just give them a good punch!”

“WHAT? No WAY! I’m not gonna hit a buncha old ladies, one of them could be as old as my mom!”

“You have to defend yourself, Sailor Moon. Fight! Then your tiara, and…!”

Unexpectedly for Luna, one of the possessed women among the crowd had the clever idea of breaking one of those display cases, getting a fairly sized piece of broken glass in her hands.

She began to chase the Lagomorph with great speed, Max was barely able to escape her deadly hand swings. But once he managed to run past her, his feet tangled against one another, making him instantly fall in the pieces of shattered glass that were scattered on the ground.

He quickly gathered his composure and ran towards one of the pillars in the room, falling near it in the process. He leaned against it, using it as a support to stand up, but one of his feet had slipped and made his behind fall back on the floor.

 “I…I can’t…” He gasped. “I can’t keep up…Why…?”

 Then, the revelation laid right in front of his very eyes. A small, burning and fresh cut on one of his knees, which opened his eyes to all the small bruises he had accumulated on both of his knees.

But that couldn’t be possible, no. No way…

 Luna then appeared behind the pillar, whispering. “What are you doing, Sailor Moon? Stand up! You have to fight!”

 But Max, surprisingly, had nothing to respond.

 “Sailor Moon! They’re coming to get you, quickly!”

 The crowd was slowly surrounding the lagomorph. But he could only stare at his wounds. He mumbled something under his breath, something about his bruises.

 “Sailor Moon?”

 “…This isn’t a dream.”

 Max had finally managed to lift up his view and look around him, but it was far too late. The group of women had him trapped against the pillar. Max managed to catch a glimpse of a pair of legs, laying on the ground far away, before the group got in the way of his vision. He felt the air escaping from him, those clothes, could they have been Inés’s?

Was she…?

 “Look out, MAX!”

 Max was shook away from his thoughts by Luna.

Morgana, raising behind the crowd, began to stretch her limbs and reach out for Max from the other side of the room. Max could see the wrinkled hand getting closer, he could almost feel her long and red claws stabbing his neck. But it didn’t matter how much Luna, or himself, begged for his body to move; Max had been frozen in place.

 But then… A scream of pure pain came from Morgana. She had to stop her hand and return it to its place. A clear and burning cut on the back of her hand, but how? What could’ve possibly been the cause?

 “Who did this? Who are you?! SHOW YOURSELF!”

 The group of women began to stand back in confusion, allowing Morgana to see the other side of the room. Her victim was still in the exact same spot, still paralyzed, but his gaze was focused somewhere else. Following his gaze, Morgana found the perpetrator of her wound embedded in the floor.

A single Red Rose.

 And suddenly. BANG! BANG! BANG!

One shot right after the other, more Roses of red and white colors began to stab the floor. A column of Roses was formed, and before anyone in the room could breathe, an explosion surrounded the women. They had no choice but to run back to Morgana, as a thick smoke screen began to fill the room.

 “S-Sailor Moon!” Luna covered her mouth with one hand and squeezed her nose with the other, containing her coughs the best she could. She called out to her pupil, but he was no longer there.

Max had his eyes shut tightly, unknowing of the fuss that was going on. He felt a strange, but comforting warmth surrounding him, making him hold tightly onto it.

It was then he heard a particular melody, a short ballad being whistled in a soothing manner. He opened his eyes with slight fear, looking for the source of the melody.

A tall, masculine figure covered in black, and a white mask covering his eyes. He was holding Max firmly with only one of his arms, using the other to spin his cane in the air and dispel the smoke that came from the floor below. The fabric of the clothing was something Max had never seen before, it was smooth and sparkling. But what concerned him most, was how familiar this was, how familiar the stranger’s shape really was…

 Morgana, along with her mind controlled slaves, were immediately drawn by the movement at the second floor. As the smoke began to fade, the unwanted stranger’s shape became clearer to them.

“Show yourself, coward! How dare you hurt ME, Morgana! Faithful servant of Lord Jadeite!”

 The stranger then spoke directly to the crowd.

 “To harm innocent lives is simply an act of cowardice, no matter the reasons, and I am not one to stand such vile acts. Whoever you are, I will make sure to put you back to the hellish hole you came out of!”

“Such insolence…!” Morgana hissed. “SLAVES! Teach this fool a lesson!”

 The group under Morgana’s control went directly to the door behind the counter, but were unable to reach it in time. A single shot echoed inside the store, and just like that, a red rose had been put in their way, making them run to the other direction before it inevitably exploded.

 Max stared at the gun in awe. It was a gorgeous weapon of a pure white color, with a flower pattern all over the frame, and small vines drawn at the top of the barrel. He had never seen anything like it.

 The stranger in black put down the lagomorph, walking towards the balcony as he re-loaded his gun. Max’s jaw almost dropped when he realized he was using rose seeds. He at least expected a fully bloomed rose, as that would’ve made much more sense in his head. Regardless, how could that even be possible? Was he really, truly awake?

 “So, lil’ pal. Any ideas on how to get rid of the ol’ witch down there?”

“Huh?” Max blinked twice. “Ah- Yeah! I mean, I-I’m here for that! …I think?”

 A couple of shots echoed in the room. Followed by the screams of distress of the group of women running in circles.

 “Perfect. Then I’m counting on ya to take her down.”

“And what are you gonna do, uhhh…” Max took a second to get his thoughts together. “...‘Mister’?”

 The stranger pushed his large cape aside, revealing a device of a small grappling hook on his belt. He shot the grappling hook towards the giant chandelier, tensioning the cable to make sure it was secure.

 “I'll be the distracting factor.”

 And just like that, the stranger jumped from the balcony right into action. Using his weight, he rocked around the room in a circle. The women would run from one direction to the other, desperately avoiding the red roses the stranger in black would shoot.

It was a sight of chaos, a black smoke began to cover the first floor as more roses kept exploding, marks of dust were all over the floor and the walls; and the women ran desperate like chickens. Morgana, being unable to instruct them properly, started to lose her patience. She tried to reach out the stranger with her other hand, which only resulted in yet another injury on the back of her hand.

Max was having the time of his life watching everything unfold from the second floor, but what fascinated him most, was the stranger.

Max wasn’t sure if this man was probably used to this environment. Maybe he had seen many other ugly monsters that possess humans for their evil schemes, it had to be that. Otherwise, how could he be so confident in his actions?

He swayed around, from left to right, every shot landing exactly where it needed to. And despite the havoc he was causing, not a single rose managed to hurt the ladies.

The stranger was in his playground, the smile on his face could not be hidden behind that mask.

And something about that fact brought butterflies to Max’s stomach…A sight only for him to admire, only for him to remember. No one but him. That brought a big, goofy smile to his face.

 “SAILOR MOOON!”

 Max screeched. As if he had just been caught doing something dirty.

 “L-Luna! I-I wasn’t…!”

“I’ve been calling you out three times now! I swear, you’re living up in the clouds.”

“Hey! That’s-”

“Ah-Ah!” Luna exclaimed, putting her paw right in front of Max’s face as a gesture to silence him. “Now listen to me! While that guy down there is messing around with the mob, you need to sneak behind Morgana and finish her off.”

“Ah-Ha. Yeah. And how exactly am I gonna do that?!”

“You’re right, I did not mention this before, I’m sorry.”

“You should be! I could’ve been killed down there-!“

“Please, pay close attention!” Luna now had both paws over Max’s mouth. “The tiara you’re wearing isn’t a mere piece of jewelry, it’s a weapon. You need to call it by shouting ‘Moon Tiara…’”

 Another couple of explosions were heard from the down floor, slightly shaking the second floor.

 “…And then throw it at the enemy!”

“Uhm-Hum. Und whot iff I fail?”

“You won’t! The tiara will never fail you. Now get down there and show that old hag who’s boss!”

 Luna then put her hands away from Max’s mouth and jumped to his shoulder, as he carefully got on top of the balcony. He tried not to look down, feeling his legs shaking slightly by the mere thought of it. Sure, he had previously jumped from a high place and landed safely, but that was before he discovered it was all real. That confidence he had built up before was now completely gone.

 “Are you sure I’m not just gonna. Y’know. Die?”

“Just relax, you’re a Sailor Soldier. Hard as a rock!”

 And just before Max could give his last protest, Luna used her own weight to push Max down, forcing him to Jump.

 While the stranger kept terrorizing the ladies, Morgana kept screaming at the top of her lungs for one of them to PLEASE do something about the intruders. Meanwhile, Max had landed on the ground safely, and was getting ready to summon his attack.

 He reached out to the tiara, and the red gem at the center began to shine with intensity. Once he removed the tiara from his head, the piece had transformed into a disc shape with a sharpened outer edge. It was shining bright as a star, Max could feel the warmth coming from the object.

He knew what he had to do.

 He held the weapon tight, took air into his lungs, and shouted...

 “MOON TIARA… CHAKRAM!”

 And WOOSH! He threw the weapon with all of the strength in his arm.

The tiara flew at great speed across the room, past Morgana. And she turned around to see where that breeze had come from.

 “…It’s you!” Morgana wrinkled her nose and began to stretch her limbs again, making her taller, and taller... “You, little pest! I’m gonna make you pay for what you’ve done…!”

 But then…

  SLASH!

 The Tiara had returned, slicing Morgana’s neck side to side! Her head coming off of her body, and one last expression of pure disbelief plastered all over her face. Her body almost immediately dropped the red artifact, shattering into tiny pieces the moment it reached the ground, and all the stolen energy began returning to their rightful owners.

The giant and beheaded corpse began to highlight a shine coming from the neck, running all across the body. And just like that, Morgana was gone with a bang.

 Max stood still for a couple of seconds. He then slowly lifted his head from behind the display case he was hiding at.

“Is it over…?”

Luna came out and began to search for any sight of Morgana, only finding a pile of powdered clay in the middle of the room, alongside the shards of the container of human energy. Meanwhile, the women that had been previously brainwashed, were now laying down on the floor unconscious.

 “I think so. Good job, Sailor Moon!”

 Max let out a deep sigh, but the night was not over yet.

Both Luna and Max turned around the moment they heard a heartfelt laugh coming from the second floor, at the other side of the room. It was the stranger in black.

 “Good job, lil’ buddy. We got rid of that monster just in time!”

Max got out of his hiding place, fixing his skirt in a quick manner. “Ah, yeah! Th-Thank you for your help!”

The man chuckled. “No, thank you. This night would not have been nearly as entertaining without you.”

 A warm, intense feeling began burning Max’s cheeks. Which he quickly dismissed. “Ahaha! Oh, well. You know! That’s my job.”

“Oh?” The stranger fixed his mask in a playful manner. “Am I in the presence of a hero?”

“That’s right! My name is Sailor Moon, and don’t you dare forget it!”

“I would never.” He smiled.

 The stranger then searched inside his jacket. “Here, a hero deserves a reward!”

 He threw an object at Max, who, miraculously, managed to catch it in the air. He kept the object inside his hands for a moment, trying to take a guess before opening up the surprise. The object was small, but heavy and with sharp edges.

 “Eh…?”

 Max opened his hands. The object was a white gemstone, sparkling many other colors in the palm of his hands. It was gorgeous, certainly pretty expensive, but where did he…?

…Oh.

 “Hold it…DID YOU STEAL THIS JUST NOW?”

The stranger laughed once again, and said his goodbyes before jumping outside the window, leaving the store for good.

 “W-WAIT!”

 Max ran outside the store. Luna chased after her pupil.

“STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU THIEF! YOU CAN’T JUST…!”

 Max felt the time freezing, just for a moment. He saw the stranger do many impossible things tonight, but this might be the one that takes the cake.

After the stranger had jumped from the window of the second floor, he managed to land at the top of a light pole in the street. Not a single scratch was done to the material, and not a single sight of hesitation was visible from the man. With a single foot, he firmly jumped again from the light pole. Now floating high in the sky, light as a feather, with all the city streets shining below him.

How…How was he capable of such wonders? No creature on earth should be capable of these acts. And yet, in front of his very eyes, there he was defying everything Max took for a fact.

The stranger looked down to the lagomorph one last time.

 “Remember me as well. My name is Tuxedo Mask. We’ll meet again, Sailor Moon…”

 Max was left in a trance, unable to look away from the man. Many thoughts rushed through his mind, and not a single one connected with the other. And just like that, by the mere blink of an eye, the stranger was gone. Max was only left with a single piece to remember the encounter, which he held tightly to his chest, as if desperate to cling onto something that was real. Something that could tell him this was, indeed, not a dream.

 “Sailor Moon! Let’s move!” Luna appeared right behind him.

“Huh…?” It took a moment, but Max was finally set free from his thoughts. “Ah, right! Yeah! But, what about the store-?”

“-Inés!” Max started to panic. “She’s still inside! I have to check on her!”

“Calm down, calm down!” Luna got in his way before he tried to enter the store again. “She’s perfectly fine, if only unconscious like everyone else!”

“But…!”

 Both Luna and Max twitched their ears, as they felt something approaching at great speed, but still quite far away. A bunch of loud sounds coming from many cars in movement.

 “The police. Just in time.” Luna snickered. “We have to leave now, or else we’re gonna be here all night!”

 Max found himself in a small dilemma. He knew what would happen if the cops found him in the middle of the crime scene, and would probably not believe him if he told them a giant monster that looks like a witch came in and caused all of this mess.

As the sirens began to sound louder and clearer, he realized he couldn’t ignore his decision any longer. Leaving Inés alone, as bad as it felt, was the only thing he could do.

 “…Damn it.”

 And so, Max and Luna made a run for it.

 The police arrived almost immediately after the duo’s escape, with an ambulance. And from one of the cars, a tall and distinguished man was the first to come out and enter the building.

The first thing the police noticed was the amount of bodies all over the floor. They were immediately checked upon and assisted by the paramedics. The distinguished man then commanded his team to search around the area, as he walked around the room digging for some clues himself.

Very deep inside the room, far away from everything, the man found a small white rose still embedded in the floor. Its petals were closed, it seemed like it had not bloomed yet. He got on his knees to take a closer look…

 “Inspector Kamino! Don’t!”

 One of the police men tried to warm him, but it was too late, the rose opened its petals and blew up on the Inspector’s face. He was not injured, but instead received all of the thick, white smoke the rose released.

 The inspector stood up and covered his mouth and nose with his forearm. “What the hell is this?!”

 “It’s another one of Tuxedo Mask’s toys, sir! It’s brand new.”

 “Goddamn it! Fell for it immediately.” He coughed.

 “There’s also marks of small explosions all over the walls and the floor. There’s no doubt he was here.”

 “Hmm…” The inspector scratched his chin, making a loud sound as his fingernails scratched his beard. “He was definitely here, but…He’s not one to make such a mess. He’s usually a lot more, y’know, subtle.”

 “Do you think someone else was involved?”

 “Possibly, it does look like a war zone here. Keep searching, we’ll interrogate the victims later.”

 “Inspector Kamino!” Another policeman came in. “We found a woman in the store’s basement! She’s still conscious, but needs help immediately.”

 The inspector ordered to bring more paramedics before running back with the second police man back to the basement, hoping to get a bit of info from the woman before she was taken away. He needed to know just what happened to this place, and who exactly was behind all of this.

  ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

  Meanwhile, back at the cold, desolated castle. The tall, anthropomorphic dog known as Jadeite, had been carefully watching the events of that night from a purple crystal ball. From the moment that ‘Sailor Moon’ arrived, to the moment where his clay doll had been beheaded in cold blood. A shame, really. Morgana was one of his favorites, always did her job, until now. She had grown overly confident, and she let two intruders ruin their plans. Only a fool could’ve made such a mistake.

Because of this mistake, they just lost a great amount of human energy, and that meant their plans would be horribly delayed. Jadeite was furious, truly. But he would not allow this inconvenience to get the better of him.

 “Such a waste of good clay, that was…” Said Jadeite in a cold tone. His blue eyes fixed on the Crystal Ball. The images had stopped to a certain moment where Sailor Moon’s face was the most visible.

“Sailor Moon…I’ll remember your name. And I’ll make sure the next doll takes special care of you next time.”

 The light of the Crystal Ball began to blink, little by little losing its power. Until finally its light faded, leaving Jadeite alone, surrounded by darkness…

 ══════════════════*.•:•.☽✧   ✦ ✧☾.•:•.*══════════════════

 The next morning, Max attended school like usual. Except this time, little ol’ Luna decided to accompany him. It was a shocker finding her inside the school grounds, but luckily, it seemed no teachers had noticed her presence so far.

During recess, Max was walking around the corridors of the school, searching for his friends, when he stopped at a corner to see a big surprise. His friend, Inés, was safe and sound! She was talking to her group of friends like usual, seemingly excited about the subject of the conversation.

Max had not seen Inés in the first hours of class that morning, so he had assumed she was going to stay home that day. But of course, someone as remarkable as her wouldn't let this situation stop her from fulfilling her duty as a young citizen. Inés wasn’t exactly a nerd, unlike Lorne, but she was committed. Something Max genuinely admired about her.

However, as much as he wished to, Max couldn’t bring himself to talk to his friend. He still felt quite guilty for having to leave her behind, and did not know how to act casual about everything that happened last night. What if Inés started to suspect him? How could he possibly explain something not even he understands? He began to hold his skirt tightly, trying to control his nerves.

Instead, both he and Luna decided to eavesdrop on the group of teens.

 “And then! Then she- grabbed me by the neck! And started to squeeze me, harder and harder!” Inés made a gesture with her hands near her neck. She then showed her classmates the remaining marks she had on her neck from last night, to prove it was real.

 Her friends gasped at the horrific tale. “How did you manage to escape?!” Amano asked with a certain corner in her tone.

“I’m not sure.” Said Inés. “I think…There was someone else there.”

“Someone else? Like who?” asked Suri.

“I didn’t see them clearly, but…”

“Uh-hu?” said everyone.

“…I think it was a hero. Before I passed out, I heard them say ‘stop right there, ugly witch!’.” Inés made a voice she considered cool to imitate her hero. “And then they said something about being a Sailor.”

“Sailor? Like Sailor V?!” Lorne jumped immediately into the convo.

 “Sailor V.” Max chuckled in a derogatory manner. “She wasn’t even near the area!”

“Shh!” Said Luna, trying to listen to the kid’s conversation further.

 “No…” Inés continued. “This one was nothing like Sailor V. I don’t know who they were, or how they look. But they saved me and my mother’s life. I can never repay that.”

 Those words made Max show a smile from cheek to cheek. It was all he needed to hear, that his actions had caused a good outcome, that he had finally done something right for someone! He stopped listening to the conversation and rested against the wall, letting out a rewarding sigh.

 “Well, at least we know she’s not gonna be an issue.” Said Luna.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I was worried she might have caught you, of course! You need to be careful with your identity, Max. If someone else found out you’re a Sailor Soldier…”

“Well, I’m sure Morgana appreciated you telling her my real name before I cut her head off.” Max replied sarcastically.

Luna started to babble for a second. “W-w-well! It was a matter of life and death! Y-you weren’t moving, and I was…!”

 Luna stared at the lagomorph with a certain shame in her eyes. She then sighed.

 “I’m so sorry I put you through all of that, Max. I assumed the moment you transformed, your will as a Sailor would wake up with you! But that was careless of me, and I should’ve explained to you how to fight before sending you there. I’m deeply sorry, child.”

“Geez…” Max chuckled. “Don't get all mushy on me now, grandma! It’s okay, I forgive you.”

“You’re sure!”

“Of course!” Max gave her a big smile. “Besides, had we not gone there, who knows what would’ve happened to all those victims…!”

 Max twitched his left ear. Seemingly freezing in his place.

Luna stared at the kid with concern, until she started to hear it too.

Loud footsteps began approaching the duo, the kind of footsteps only a tall creature could make. Max looked towards the direction they were coming, and his heart dropped the very second he laid eyes on that person. With his brown, brushed fur, his long, fluffy ears, and a sparkling clean Gakuran.

It was him, the man he saw the other day outside the jewelry store. But, he was actually a student? Oh, how stupid Max must’ve looked calling him a “Sir”.

But that wasn’t all that was in his mind.

As the anthro dog walked in front of him, Max gave him a second, much careful look. And even after the guy had already walked past him, Max continued to stare at him. From the back of his head, to his shoulders, the size of his arms, all of his shape spoke to him…

After all this time. All these years. Could it be? Could it really be him…?

 “…Sam.” He whispered.

Notes: 

"Cabro" o "Cabrito": Is a word used in Chile to refer to a young boy. But the literal spanish to english translation would be "goat".

Bento: a Japanese-style packed lunch, consisting of items such as rice, vegetables, and sashimi.

Tamagoyaki: A sweet rolled Japanese omelette.

Gakuran: Classic Japanese Male uniform.

[cleverhideoutchild]

I definitely didn't accidentally posted this while it's still unfinished, definitely not. 😌✌✨

This is based on a dream I had a few weeks ago btw, and believe me when I say it ✨hurts✨.

Masterlist rules prompts list

I recommend listening to a sad song while reading this

Fandom : Genshin Impact

Type : Short fic

Pairings : Venti x GN!Reader (not mention)

Genre : pure aNGST- (I think)

Includes : Venti, Zhongli, Traveler!Aether, Paimon

Warnings : Mentions of blood and war, death, OOC (?), maybe some typos, cheesy (???), a bit of self-indulgent

Fic under the cut

May the wind carries your name.

Red. Red everywhere. Everywhere and wherever you look is painted with the color red. The grass, the dirt path, the sky, and the stomach of your lover.

It all happens to fast for you to comprehand. The first second you both are fighting side by side, and the second, he was crouch over while holding his bleeding stomach.

"Venti... Please hold on, t-the others are on their way.." You whisper to the young bard who you're currently cradling in your arms. Blood trailing down from the corner of his lip.

His eyes. The same one that you adore so much, they don't seems as bright as usual anymore. And soon enough, those same pair of eyes will lose it's shine.

Yet, even now, he still manage to give you that smile. The same smile that manage to capture your heart everytime you sees it. You avert your eyes away from him to prevent yourself from bursting a waterfall.

"Hey... Look at me.." He cupped your cheek with his free hand. Left with no other choice, you force yourself to look at him with tearful eyes. His eyes soften after seeing your eyes, he doesn't like seeing you cry because of him.

"It's okay... Please don't.. Cry..." Venti tries to smile at you again but ended up coughing and hurting himself more. You pulls him closer to you, praying to whoever is listening for help to come soon.

Despite all of your praying, both you and Venti knows, there's no more hope. He have to leave soon. With realization finally hitting you, you began crying softly. A few tears, falling on your lover's face.

Venti manage to give your arm a little squeeze of reassurance, smiling softly at you. "Hey.. It's okay..." Venti whisper softly to you. Those words ended up making you cry harder because you know, he too knows, nothing is okay.

"How c-can you say that...? Y-you're dying, damnit!" You sobbed into the crook of his neck. You felt so useless. Your lover is litterly dying in your arms, and all you can do is cry until he took his last breath. Why can't you be useful for once-

"But hey... Look at the bright side.. For sure, t-the two of... Us will be.. Reunited. S-somewhere.. Up there... Right?" He whisper, his voice seemingly softening each second.

You looked at him, eyes full of tears and adoration. "Right... Even when you're gone, our hearts will still be one." Your recite the same words he had once told you, smiling ever so softly at him.

"Ehe... Seems like.. You still remember... That." Venti smiles, his eyes and limbs starting to droop slightly. "I love you.. I'll see you... Up there. Please... Took your.. Time, my cecilia..." And with that, his hand that was previously resting on your cheek falls limb, unmoving.

He's gone. The light in your life has been taken away from you. And you can't bring him back anymore. You gave him one last peck on his forehead before resting yours against his.

"I love you too... Please wait for me. I'll see you soon." You sobbed softly, hugging him close to your chest. His body has gone slightly cold by this point. Behind you, you can hear footsteps coming.

"Y/n!" Ah... They arrived a little bit late. You slightly turns your head to see Zhongli and Aether running to your direction while Paimon floats behind them. When they're close enough to see who's laying in your arms, they froze in their spot.

"Barbatos..." Zhongli walks closer to stand beside you while you turns to look at your dead lover's face once more. He looks so peaceful in this state, you thought.

"Y/n... Sorry we're late..." Aether whisper softly as if he's afraid to break the atmosphere. "It's okay... At least he can rest peacefully now." You gave the boy a small smile. Zhongli stays silent, opting to rest his hand on your shoulder instead. Even Paimon is quiet.

Dear god above, when will this war every stopped? How many more people is going to die? You wished all of you can go back to the time where everything is peaceful. Just you and your lover, laying down on the grass, soft winds blowing your hairs and clothes.

Oh how much you missed those days. Ah... But unfortunately things changed. You need to move forward. For your lover. For everyone. You need to keep on fighting. You need to reach victory and freedom. This war is far from over.

MIHOYO PLEASE DON'T MAKE THIS AN ACTUALLY THING, I'M GONNA CRY IF THIS BECAME CANON-

[alvhiedeir]

Little Red Elf

Thor X Reader

3174 words

This is longer than intended and quite different than requested and I have no excuse than my lack of discipline but I hope this is good enough

You are seriously thinking about investing on a security camera.

No, it wasn't that you were worried about being robbed. It's was being, 'gifted'.

In an almost daily basis, different items would make it's way to your doorstep. Black roots, hyacinth, hellebores, poppies and other herbs that would usually not grow around the area. It was nice, that was the first thought you had. You were no Circe, the great witch of Aiaia, but such ingredients could and did help greatly with your draughts. So as much as this occurrence should startle you, you brushed it off as the doing of one of your friends working for Lord Osanyin who would usually send you samples of anything new. You figured business was just doing better than usual for her to give you this much.

Two weeks, it continued on. When you rise for the day, there would be a neatly placed bundle of herbs or plant on your front steps. Always perfectly centered. And for two weeks, you accepted each and everything in such giddiness.

That is until you until today.

"I haven't been given you anything, (y/n)," She turned away from the selves she was organizing and continued, "it's been pretty busy lately for the last month with the arrival of new supply from Asia."

Her answer gave you a sudden feeling of uneasiness.

"Then who," your voice trailed, dragging the weariness and alert in the air. Your friend was quick to catch the shift of your mood.

"But think about it," she placed the bottle she was holding and walked towards you, "those herbs are rare and what are the chances of a random miscreant obtaining it?"

It eased your nerves a bit to hear her words.

"Or maybe, you finally have an admirer even if your always holed up in your home!"

She laughed at the jesting glare you sent.

"Like you're any better, cat lady."

"Hey! Having four cats does not count as being a cat lady!"

"Sure, whatever you say."

You shared a laugh, the tension thinning out. After saying a few words, she went back to the counter to pack the herbs that you bought, the reason why you were there in the first place.

"You bought quite a lot. What is it for anyway?"

"Loki wanted some draughts to "bring entertainment around this damn boring halls", his words not mine."

She laughed, commenting how it sounded just like him. She handed you the carefully packed products, with a small purple ribbon tied on the basket as she always did for you.

Just as you're about to leave she called out.

"If you're still disturb about the whole mysterious gifts, why don't you try staying up to see who it is?" You thanked her for her suggestion and concern and with a wave, headed back home.

To say the least, her suggestion was not very successful.

After you went home, you got started on the ordered draughts and by the time the moon greeted the sky, your eyes were already heavy. Being stubborn, you stayed sitting in your kitchen, chair facing the window to see if anyone or anything would past by.

The minutes were slow and before you knew it, the sun has reclaimed its place. And there was yet another gift. A freshly uprooted crab apple tree that barely passes as an adult. How in the world did they get this one?

Another week fast approached and the gifts arrived just as fast. Cornel bark, elecampane, silver fir, the list goes on. Each night, you attempt to desperately stay awake to catch but a glimpse would always end up with you succumbing to sleep. It didn't matter if it was for hours or a mere minute, by the moment your eyelids flutter open, it was already there. Perfectly centered as always, in an almost mocking way.

"You missed us again", you could hear the ridicule from it.

As days flutter, the gifts and your frustrations would only intensify. One time it was antlers from a dear Australia. The other day it was the tusk of a bore. Yesterday it was the blood of steed. The last one made you panic a bit, but thankfully in came only in a small vial. It eased your nerves, albeit slightly that the animal was minimally harmed.

You tried sleeping in the morning so that so that you could roam at night. But when you rise from your chair for a drink or to go the toilet, the sneaky bastard have already placed another gift. You went as far as sitting on your doorstep for the whole night, but even that didn't help. The gift was on your window.

You were at your wits end with this "Persistent Santa" shenanigans (it was your friend who called them that. It was that or creepy-pile-of-dung-that-had-to-much-time). Whoever they were, they are good.

You sighed tiredly again, the dark bags proving Your fruitless efforts.

"Wow, you look miserable!" You silently snapped at the voice, too sleepy to argue but to proud to ignore it. His laugh was laugh, always happy to see others demise.

"Just give me the money, Loki." You impatiently thrust the basket full of draughts to him, eager to leave and maybe sleep for a few days.

"Aren't you greedy." The more he teases you, the more punching him right in the face became an increasingly good option. As if reading your voice, he raised his hands in mock surrender.

" I would pay you, but," he dragged his voice as floated closer to you, "I dont have my money right now. And the old man is calling me so can you wait a few minutes for me?" He smiled, oh-so-mockingly sweet at you.

A tomato would have been jealous of the tint of your check. The itching call for violence is now an unignorable howler. But before you can give in, the god of mischief is already pushing you into one of the rooms, claiming your silence as agreement. In a blink, you were in a well decorated room. The walls were cream in color and golden leaves decorated the corners. Threre were shelves of book against one side of the wall and-

"Wait a minute." Snapping out of your trance, you shouted, voice filled with vile, "Loki!"

But sadly, it came too late and the door have already been shut and only his feint mocking voice telling "enjoy!" Was heard from the other side.

You could sighed, pity for your own predicament. Moving towards one of the shelves with a colorful string of curse words following, you might sa well entertain yourself with something. The books were more old, and probably cost more than your soul. Each one was placed neat and organized, neither a speck or spot of dust could be seen. But one particular book caught your eye.

With a gentle finger, you traced the gold imprints on its spine.

Herbs, Medicine and Witchcraft

Unlike everything else, this one book was placed different. It was pulled slightly forward, as if recently placed back but someone else other than the organizer. When you pull it out, you also noticed the small, almost miniscule dirt on its cover. But other than that, it was nothing special.

"I didn't think they'll have this kind of book."

You sat down and flipped on a random page. It was filled with information about different plants that can be used for both medicine and, surprisingly witchcraft. It included their typical use, characteristics, side effects and their locations. And it was very specific too.

"I wonder if I can borrow this."

Page upon page was flipped, despite the fascination dwelling in you, drowsiness became unbearable. It was just so quiet and peaceful here. Maybe a few minutes won't hurt, right?

"Loki will be there for a while anyway. Might as well." Your reasoning seemed to make sense with your tired eyes and you rest your head. Not even bothered by the fact that you used the book as your pillow.

It'll just be few minutes anyway.

It wasn't a few minutes.

Slowly, your eyelids fluttered as consciousness begin to come back. You sighed contently, that nap certainly helped with your mood. You buried your nose deeper into the soft cloth you leaned on and inhaled. It smelled like fresh lilacs and the sun.

Wait, cloth?

You lifted your head and saw, indeed there was a neatly folded cloth on the place of the book. It was pale apricot, almost faded white and now that you are looking properly, it was a short robe?

"I starting to think you were not going to wake up."

Do you know the sound of a startled walrus with a respiratory disease? Imagine that, but worse. That how you sounded as you whipped your head in surprise to the voice. Right beside you was the god of thunder himself, Thor. The difference in size between him and the chair he was resting on was almost comical. You would have laughed if it wasn't for the fact you want to live a longer.

"He-hello Thor-sama." Damnit, what did you stutter?

He casted his eyes sideways to acknowledge your greeting, glacing right back into reading afterwards.

Looking yourself, it was then you noticed the book he was reading was the one you were previously sleeping on.

"It didn't seem like you were using it," his voice was monotone as for usual, "aside as a pillow, that is."

Ahh, the sheer pleasure of being swallowed by the ground right now would be nice.

"Ah! That- I! Yes..." You simply stared at your lap instead, fist clenched tightly on top. Better to stay quiet that to embarrass yourself further.

Thor was in between being an acquaintance and  a work friend. Neither of you talked much, aside from greetings and small talk but was more than used to his presence with the number of times you had to deliver things to Loki, enough so that you don't have to tremble everytime you meet.

But sitting this close, in a close space, alone, this was definitely the first time.

And it'll be the last if you're not careful.

The silence was suffocating, for you at least. You have almost jumped in your sit when he flipped a page in the book.

A minute passed and you are so closed to jumping out of the window. The room was too quiet. Making small talk won't be bad at times like this right?

"It's a nice book."

Wow. If you could, you would have hit yourself in the back of your head. Great thinking, really.

He merely nodded and the silence dragged once again.

"There's a lot of useful information in it."

Stop, just stop. Please stop digging your own grave.

"That's why it's a shame to be drooled on."

"I do not drool!"

In the distant, the sound of funeral bells rang clear in your head. The life you lived was good. Your friend will remember what flower you wanted to be placed on your coffin, and she can have your house, maybe even your-

Before you could complete your will, you heard a smallest of chuckle from the other god.

Huh?

You stared at Thor and sure enough, there's the tiniest arch in his lips. His eyes remains on the pages but - shit - has he always been this pretty?

Between the brief greetings and quick glances, it was hard to appreciate his beauty. Though mostly blank, his face was clear and smooth. Not a single blemish as one might expect from a god who knew battlefield as his home. He was no Aphrodite nor comparable to Paris, but he himself held a beauty of his own. You couldn't quite decide on if it was the light from the window or it was simply him that was glowing?

His neck flexed in the smallest notion as he read. The muscles of his shoulders were relaxed against the table.

Heavens. Those muscles.

You blushed on your thoughts. You tear your eyes away from his physique, the wooden table suddenly very interesting.

"It is rare to see you without Mjolnir, Thor-sama."

"I don't bring him when I read."

"Him?" The question lingered on your head. Was Thor one of 'those' people?

"Do you read often?"

"No."

"Are you interested in herbal medicine?"

"No."

"Is that so?" Your answer was awkward just as the air around you. But to the very least, the tension have eased out knowing that he didn't  obliterate you so far.

"Um, Thor-sama?"

Curse you and your need to fill in the silence.

"May I ask why you are reading a book about witchcraft? You do not seem the type to be interested in it." Realizing what you said was potentially insulting, you quickly apologized, eyes wide as you tried to explain. "Not that you don't look like it! What I mean is, um, - that." You stumbled over your own words with nervousness but he simply kept his eyes in the book, barely even glancing at you.

"... give you." His voice made you stop with your gibberish. Catching only the tail-end of his words, you looked at him questioningly. Only then did you realize that it has almost been a minute since he flipped a page, almost as if your question startled him as well.

"Ma-may you repeat that?"

There was a short pause before his answer came.

"So that I know what to give you."

Furrowed brows and confused eyes marked your features.

"So that I know what to give you."

His words repeated in your head, like an stubborn echo inside a cavern.

"I know what to give you."

"Give you."

"Give."

Oh shit.

"You're the Persistent Santa?!" The chair you previously sat on collided with the floor with a loud "thud". Hands planted heavily against the table, you casted accusing eyes to him.

Before any other words were uttered, your senses made its way back to your head like a harsh slap of water. You just yelled at the strongest Norse god. You might as well have dug your own hole and painted your tombstone.

But all fear and confusion left you as you stare at the fore mentioned god. He was not glancing down anymore but instead his eyes found its place opposite of your direction. And if one would look close, really intently stared, the faintest of red could be seen blooming in his cheeks.

"He-he's blushing."

Thor is blushing.

"You shouldn't be shouting here." His voice did not have the same air of threat and authority it usually holds. If your ears were right, it almost sounded like he was embarrassed.

Silently picking up the fallen chair, you sat down with your eyes burning holes the robe infront of you. Which you have almost forgotten was there.

Thinking back to the times you interacted with him, one word would usually come to mind. Quiet. He would acknowledge your presence or sometimes even greet you during the times you bump into one another but has never to made a conversation. Compared to Loki, you have always figured that maybe he was just more refined.

It wasn't until you heard his tale from your friend that you have gathered a sort of fear towards him. You knew how gods are, how vile and wrathful they are. And a god of his caliber could wipe you with a single flicker of his finger.

You would now bow and act more politely to him. Going as far as trying to avoid any contact with him.

But now sitting a mere foot apart, you felt no threat. No danger. And only then did you realize that you have never really felt any danger to begin with. When he speaks, he did not have the murderous aura that they claim to choke anyone.  He had never given you any reason to fear him, it was only you who decided to believed other's opinion.

"I'm sorry."

As if a trigger, his head turned to you upon hearing your timid voice but you dare not look at his eyes.

"You don't-"

"Not just for yelling."

Where did you get the courage to cut him off? You do not know. But, still with the false bravery, you continued.

"I mean, I have been very rude to you for a long time,"

"You have never been mean to me and I only returned the gesture by fearing you without any basis of."

With every fiber of yours screaming otherwise, you turned to look at him in the eye.

"I'm really sorry."

The longer you look into those golden eyes the more the heat on your neck spreads to your cheeks.

Guess his hair isn't the only thing red now.

"It's nothing," surprisingly it was Thor who turned away first. This time though, you eyes remained on him with a small smile. Youu have been missing out on so many things. But now, you have the eternity to catch up. And you're sure as hell you will.

"Thor-sama."

"Just Thor."

You laughed a bit, a sound that you did not notice brought a smile on his own lips.

"Why did you give me those gift anyway."

He turned his head to the other direction, but your keen eyes could see his tainted red ears.

"Loki said gifts were a good way to get close to someone." You grinned.

"I should have known better than listen to him."

His words dragged a loud laugh from you. The thought of him asking Loki, of all people for an advice was something you thought you'll never hear. And the small pout in his voice upon the next statement both brought you giddiness and butterflies.

Your hands instinctively covered your mouth, but still the sounds slipped through. And if you would have opened your eyes that moment, you would have seen the adoration in Thor's as he watches you.

Yes, it was embarrassing to ask his cousin for advice and finding those herbs was a hard task. But if seeing you like this, with lips arch into the most beautiful smile he have seen filled with happiness he once thought he couldn't bring you, then he would do it a thousand more.

Bonus:

Outside the closed doors, Loki grinned at himself. Trying to get you two was a pain with how standoffish Thor was by this was the most entertainment he had for a long time.

"What the hell are you doing?" It was one of Odin's crow that screeched from beging, as they watch the god smiling, and by experience it never means well.

"Oh nothing," he sing-songed. He floated pass his uncle but never before saying,

"Hope you're ready for grandkids!"

"Huh?"

But they did not receive an answer, only a chorus of laughter from the god of mischief as he drift away.

If you don't know who's Circe is, she's a witch in the Greek mythology that turned sailors into pigs. Odysseus met her during his travel home from the Trojan war. She turned his men into pig too. And it's a book of Madeline Miller too! You should really read her books.

This was requested by @tenshi-san and I apologize that I might have strayed too far from your prompt. I really hope I did your husbando some justice. He was so hard to write because that only thing I can see him as is bored😂. But I hope you still like it!

[needyounow-love]

Leviathan x F!MC - Sea monster, not lizard! (NSFW)

I was inspired to write this thanks to a beautiful fanart that you can find here~

-----

MC quietly watched her boyfriend playing his video games. Levi was so focused that he didn't even notice her playful smile when she sneakily eyed his tail before getting closer to him.

"Levi~ Can I ask you a question?" She asked while slowly petting his tail. After months of being with her, he was used to her touching him, so he didn't even flinch.

"Go ahead" he said with a low voice, still looking at his TV's screen.

"I don't know a lot about demons...and I was looking at your tail..." Levi quickly looked at her and then his tail before going back to his game.

"What's wrong with my tail?" He said with a concerned face.

"Uh, nothing! Your tail it's okay! I was just wondering if you were a type of lizard." She said with nonchalance and he seemed to freeze before pausing the game and turning his face towards her with a pout, offended by being compared to a lizard.

"Hey! Sea monster, not lizard! I don't do that tongue thing." He said before sticking his tongue out and twisting his tongue while hissing. MC looked at him wide-eyed with a slight blush on her face.

"I-I...Y-Your..." she tried to say.

"What?" He snapped, still offended.

"It's nothing" she muttered before looking away.

Levi sighed, before he went back to his game, without stopping pouting.

How could she not have noticed that before?

MC blushed even more when she started thinking about all the things that he could do with that tongue if he wanted as she tightly squeezed her tights.

Levi secretly looked at her with the side of his eyes after noticing how much she was fidgeting with her skirt.

"MC..." he called her.

"Y-yes?" She jumped, clamping her hands on the hem of her skirt, not expecting him to say her name.

Levi paused his game again before turning his body in her direction to look at her in the eyes.

He looked suspiciously at her flustered face, while she still looked away from him.

"First you ask me if I'm a lizard and then you start acting suspiciously...Are you sure that was what you really wanted to ask me? Did I do something wrong?" He was still pouting, but now he seemed a little anxious about what was going on with MC.

'What if she just feels uncomfortable about my tail or something like that?' - he thought, worrying about if his girlfriend got tired of him and was thinking of leaving him or not. He felt his heart hurt at the thought.

MC seemed to be surprised by what he asked her and just shook her head before gently holding his hands in her.

"You did nothing wrong! It's just...your tongue..."

"First it's my tail, then my tongue... - he sighed with an exasperated tone and she softly chuckled at him - Hey! Don't laugh at me" He exclaimed and she calmed down before lightly tightening her grasp on his hands.

"I swear, Levi...there is nothing wrong with neither your tail or tongue. I was just surprised because I didn't expect your tongue to be so long and...forked" she shyly said.

"Does it bother you?" He asked, he looked a bit sad.

"No! I mean...yes, but not in a bad way!" She clarified while gesticulating. MC knew that her face was completely red, so she bashfully hid her face in her hands.

A slight blush appeared on his cheeks when he finally realised what MC meant, so he awkwardly looked at her from behind his fringe before gently moving her hands to look at her embarrassed face. His lips trembled as he started speaking again.

"I-I...GAHH...Why are you doing this to me?" He whined, looking at her beautiful face.

"What do you mean?" She said while timidly looking at his gold eyes.

"You're like...very cute and hot at the same time and I don't know how to react!" He said, trying to keep looking at her in the eyes. Levi's words made her feel a little more confident about the whole situation, so she quickly grabbed him by his shirt collar and kissed him.

Levi initially froze, but then started kissing her back, while she slowly pulled him on top of her. Levi didn't even try to fight for dominance and let her explore his mouth with her tongue, while loving the way she was feeling him up, caressing his stomach and chest with her small, but warm hands.

Levi gasped when she sneakily crossed her legs around him and pushed his hips against hers.

Both of the two lovers stopped kissing to breath and she bit her lower lip while looking at him, lovingly stroking his hair.

"Levi...Can you use your mouth on me?" She asked, waiting for him to tell her if he wanted to. Levi evilly smirked at her before wiggling his tongue at her again.

"Gladly" he said, giving her a last kiss before taking off her shirt.

He started by softly kissing and biting MC's neck making her whimper and slightly shiver when she felt his fangs sink in her skin without actually hurting her.

"You're so beautiful" Levi whispered in her ear before pushing himself down towards her heat, while leaving open-mouthed kisses on her chest and then stomach.

When he finally was where she wanted him to be, he quickly lifted her skirt, put her legs on his shoulders and started slowly teasing her by leaving soft kisses and bites on her tights.

"Levi, p-please..." she whimpered, but he just smiled at her, keeping on kissing her soft skin.

"I just can't resist...you're so soft... - he said before biting her skin again, this time leaving a small bruise. MC hopelessly moaned at his action and he felt his dick twitch in his trousers because of her needy voice. - Fuck, MC...That was so hot" he said, slowly teasing her with one of his fingers by over her panties.

"You're so wet.~ And only for me" he proudly said before gently pulling her underwear off.

MC trembled slightly when Levi teased her again by blowing some air on her aching core.

"Levi, just do it! Please" she cried and he let out an amused laugh before tentatively flicking his tongue against her slit. He proudly smiled when he saw her pushing her hips towards his face, wanting more, before pushing his index inside her making her whine again.

"More~" she pleaded and he quickly complied by pushing two more fingers inside of her, while smoothly flicking his forked tongue against her clit until she could only scream because of pleasure.

"Y-You're so good...a-ah...please~!" she moaned and he chuckled before pulling his fingers away from her folds, only to replace them with his tongue.

MC balled her fists around the bed's blankets at the new sensation before letting an high cry, making Levi feel more confident in his moves.

He started with a slow pace and slowly moved his tongue inside of her before swirling it around, making her roll her eyes in pleasure.

"L-Levi...Damnit!" MC squirmed when he hit one of her spots. Levi tightened his grip on her right thigh, before starting moving his left thumb in circles on her clit while still thrusting his tongue inside of her, hitting that same spot that made her moan.

"I-I think I'm..."

"Cum for me." Levi said before stimulating her even faster, making her body shake with her orgasm. Levi just looked at her trembling body, almost cumming untouched at the beautiful view, and kept pleasurig her until she was completely done and her body started getting too sensitive to his teasing moves.

He quickly cleaned his face with his right arm only after flicking his tongue against her heat for one last time with a pleased groan.

Finally, he laid near her, while she showered him in praises and gentle kisses on his cheeks, mouth and forehead.

"You were so good, but now it's your turn - she said, giving him one last kiss on his lips, and his breath hitched when she gently started stroking his still hard erection. - Let me show how proud of you I am~"

-----

Obey Me Masterlist

[arlert0]

While They’re Gone

Fic copied from my Ao3 account!

Summary: Captain Levi and the rest of the squad are out getting supplies, leaving Armin and (y/n) at the compound

2,356 words.

Warnings: Lots of smut and some fluff, 18+

“Everything that Levi told us to do is pretty much already done..?” I spoke with a questioned tone, stacking up the new plates in the cabinets of the compound building that our squad stayed in. “Seems so.” Armin answered, stepping up behind me to place his hands on my waist, giving it a squeeze to make me jump.

“Ah!” I squeaked, closing the cabinet door before turning around. He gave me a toothy smile and stood in front of me. “What are you doing?” I asked, softly looking at him as I reached up to place my palm flat on his forehead, pushing up his bangs to reveal the skin underneath. “Mmm, nothing.” Armin said as if he was in thought, leaning forward quickly to press a small kiss to my nose after I had pulled my hand away.

I giggled, and reached up a little to kiss his lips, and placed my hands on his chest, his own on my hips. Armin trailed small, gentle kisses from my lips to the soft spot under my ear, giving it a small nip. I shuddered and let out a small gasp. After he trailed his lips down my neck, he suddenly bit down; giving a tender spot a long suck.

“Arm-Armin..” I looked out the partially opened window above the double sink. “A-aren’t the others going to be back soon?” “They’re out getting supplies.. Levi told me they shouldn’t be back ‘til late.” Armin answered, giving one of my hips a slight squeeze with his thumb as he gazed back at me again.

My eyes focused on the dining table behind us as I thought. “Hmph..” I focused back on him, and lifted myself up onto the counter, my face almost level with Armin’s. I lifted my arms to lay over his shoulders. Our eyes flicked from each other's eyes and lips, before we leaned in to press our lips together.

Eyes closed, we slowly made out; one of Armin’s hands lifted to cup my cheek. I smiled into the kiss, tilting my head slightly. “Mmn..” Armin slowly swiped his tongue on my bottom lip and I parted my lips. Swirling our tongues together, his other hand slid up my back, goosebumps popping up on my arms.

I wrapped my legs around Armin’s waist, pulling our cores flush together. He breathed in sharply and groaned into the kiss, his pants already starting to somewhat strain him. Armin broke the kiss, both of our eyes half lidded as we caught our breaths. I giggled, and rocked my hips forward to rub against him; Armin letting out a hiss.

“F-fuck, why do you have to be like this?” He chuckled, leaning in enough to bump our noses together. “You started it.” I bit my lip and rocked myself again, slower. “Damnit..” Armin visibly shuddered. “You drive me so crazy..” He looked up with a glisten of lust in his eyes. “I do?” I asked innocently.

“Yes.” He said a little deeply, then wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, and suddenly lifted me up over his shoulders. “Armin!” I shouted as he carried me back to his dorm room. “You ass, put me down!” I whined and flailed my arms before he plopped me down on the desk he used in the corner.

Armin went over and shut the door. “I want to try something..” He unzipped his pants and slipped them off his legs to relieve himself. I glanced at the tent in his briefs as he stepped back over, my cheeks turning red. “Try what?” I questioned, Armin’s hands gripping the hem of my shirt to pull it over my head. “You’ll see.” He pecked my lips.

I smiled again and pressed a longer kiss to his lips, reaching down to undo my own pants this time. Armin bit his bottom lip, hooking his index fingers in the loops of my pants to help me shimmy them down my legs without getting off of the desk.

I looked up at Armin with my back resting against the wall, waiting for his next move silently; his own eyes studying my face for a little longer than a moment. “You’re so pretty.” He blurted. “I-I know I always say that but..! Your-you’re just so so pretty..” Armin’s cheeks turned red this time, his forehead now resting against my shoulder.

“Ah!” I squeaked, my own cheeks flushing from the compliment. “Armiiin..” I pulled his head back, cupping his face. “You mean s-so much to me..” I spoke as I giggled, big smiles growing on our faces while we moved back into each other. “I love you-” Armin mumbled against my lips before kissing me again.

We made out once more as Armin lifted my thighs so my feet would rest on the desktop. Separating my knees with his body, he leaned into me more. Armin then reached down with his right hand, and gently started to rub me through my panties. My leg slightly twitched, softly moaning into his mouth.

Armin added more pressure to the nub under the fabric that was still covering me. “Mm!”’ I moaned again before breaking the kiss. “You’re so wet already baby.” Armin cooed. “No shit..” I bit my lip, my remark making Armin smirk.

He pulled his hand away, and hooked his fingers into the waistband of my underwear, moving a little to slip them down my legs. I lifted my back from the wall to unhook my bra from my shoulders, and tossed it onto the floor. Armin watched me do so, and pulled the chair out from under the desk and sat on it.

My face shot red, realizing his idea when warm air blew over my pussy; his face mere inches away. “A-Armin, what are you doing?” I asked anyways. “What’s it look like?” Armin scooted the chair closer, wrapping his arms around my thighs.

“Wa-wait!” I blurted out with no avail; his warm tongue separating my folds. I jolted slightly, and Armin pressed his mouth more into my heat. Rolling my already swollen bud around with his tongue, he gave it a long and thorough suck. “Oh!” I gasped, quickly reaching up to slap my hand over my mouth to cover my sounds.

Armin continued his movements, licking all around my core. I extended my other hand down to lace my fingers in his short blond hair. “Fuck-” I spoke into my hand as Armin inserted his middle finger, coating it in my juices.

Armin added another finger, and slowly began to finger me. He pulled his lips away, and started to curl his finger tips upwards as he pumped them in and out of me. "You taste really good.." He commented. I gasped and Armin reached up with his other hand to pull my hand away from my face. I bit my lip, trying to hold my moans back as he grazed that spot. He gazed up at me, loving that his ministrations made my face contort in nice ways.

Armin narrowed his eyebrows as he adjusted his fingers to a slightly newer angle, and I let out a long, loud moan. “Armin..!” I squealed, my head resting back against the wall. “Ooh fuck..” I moaned again, and Armin dipped his head back down to eat me out.

My mouth opened as I tried to moan out, my throat not letting a sound escape as Armin’s tongue eagerly flicked hard over my clit. I grasped his hair tight with my hands on his head. Armin finally added his ring finger, sloppy wet sounds coming from his mouth. “Aaah! Oh my god..!” My back lifted from the wall for a second as I twitched hard, my hair falling over my shoulders. “Gh! I-I’m gonna cum ‘lready!” I pulled slightly too hard on Armin’s hair making him groan into me.

“Cum for me baby.~” Armin spoke lowly after he pulled his lips away for a moment to lick them clean, pressing a soft, gentle kiss to my pussy. He continued to thrust his fingers into me, moving his head to the side to bite at the inside of my thigh; his thumb swiping my nub. Armin left nips and sucks on a spot before glancing up at me. I lifted my other leg and placed my foot on his shoulder, and I slid down the desk to slightly push myself into him more. “Hah!” I moaned loudly again.

“That’s it..” He coerced, chuckling as he dove back down once again to lap up some juices before sucking on me again. He sped up his movements and started to softly hum. “Fu-uck Armin..!” I screamed out, squeezing my eyes shut as well as squeezing Armin’s head slightly with my soft thighs. I twitched again, cumming hard on Armin’s tongue and fingers as I began to shake with pleasure, long moans spewing from my lips.

Armin slowly pulled his fingers out after my orgasm finished, and left a last thorough lick to my swollen and red bud; making me twitch once more. I panted heavily as I watched Armin reach over his desk to grab a tissue to wipe his hand dry. “Holy shit…” I whined, trying to catch my breath. “Was that good?” He questioned. “What kind of question,” I paused for a second. “I-is that?”

Armin stood to toss the tissue away in the can in the corner of the room, a large smile adorning his features. He turned back to face me, and glanced down to undo the buttons on his blue button up. I placed my feet on the chair, shivering a little from the previous sensations. After Armin had dropped his shirt to the floor to expose his toned abdomen, he pulled his boxer briefs off by the waistband, his cock bouncing upwards. I bit my lip, gazing at him as he gave himself a few hard strokes.

Armin took a hold of the back of the chair and pulled it away and to the side, my legs dangling from the desk. He bit his lip as well, moving close to lift my thighs up to put my legs back up like before. I looked down and gasped softly as he slowly prodded and rubbed his member over my red and wet pussy.

“Let me make you feel good again.” Armin spoke up before leaning in to kiss me once more. He slowly pushed his tip through my soaking entrance; bottoming himself out easily from the slickness. I moaned softly into the kiss, feeling completely full; Armin’s grip under my knees slightly tightened. He suddenly and gently bit my bottom lip to cause me to moan again, then he swirled his tongue around with my own. Tasting myself on his tongue, I twitched as Armin pulled himself out of me only to thrust back inside.

“You feel so fucking nice..” Armin broke the kiss to mumble against them. I moaned loudly as he started to thrust a little harder. I gazed down, loving the sight of his dick slipping in and out of me. “God, Armin!” I rested my head back before snapping it back towards him just as Armin reached down with a hand to rub me again, my one leg wrapped around his waist. “Aah-hah!” My thighs shuddered. “Fuck-” Armin squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, the sound of one of the desk corners starting to bang against the wall with each of his thrusts, making him open them again.

Letting out a slight deep groan, Armin leaned down to bite down on my lower neck. I started to get close to my peak again, my eyes glazing over. I moaned a little too loud into Armin’s ear as I came, his hand not stopping as he continued to fuck me. After leaving a few dark hickies to his liking, he pulled back and thrusted faster into me.

“G-god, you’re so fucking beautiful..” Armin moaned as well, pulling his hand away, his own movements starting to become erratic as he became closer to his own peak.

The overstimulation from him continuing to thrust into me made me squeal loud. I had wanted to say something in response but I couldn’t form a coherent sentence in my brain, so I pulled him down to kiss him once more, swirling my tongue around with his sloppily. We moaned into each other's mouths and sounds of skin slapping together echoed through the room along with our sounds.

Armin continued to ram my sweet spot just right, my body starting to tremble. “Mmm!” We both groaned; my pussy squeezing him tight as I came hard a third time. Armin broke the kiss as he came as well, his dick stuffed deep inside of me. Both of us twitched, panted, and moaned, as Armin somewhat rested against me while we came down from our highs.

“Fuck (y/n)..” Armin leaned his forehead against mine as he pressed another kiss to my lips, still panting hard. “Nngh..” I whined, keeping my arms around his neck. After a moment Armin pulled his member out of me, and I unwrapped my legs from his waist.

“M-my legs feel like noodles..” I whined again, my face still flushed red. “I’m sorry.~” Armin gave me a small smile and a laugh. He looked back for a moment before turning back to pick me up, carrying me over to the bed in the other corner. He immediately laid down, pulling me along with him to spoon me. He lifted the blanket from behind him and placed it over both of us.

“Aah, Armin?” I giggled slightly as his arm snuck around my waist tickled me a little. “Mhm?” He pecked small kisses over the back of my neck after moving my hair away. “That was really really nice..” I blushed, wrapping my hand over his, and he flipped his hand over to intertwine our fingers. Armin smiled against my skin, his eyes closed. “It was.~” He nuzzled into me, as our breathing started to sync.

I gazed out the window, seeing the sun not yet set but getting low. “We’ll have to clean up soon.” I yawned. “Twenty minutes..?” Armin gave me a squeeze.

[whatissleepeven]

Good day, Sleep! I sincerely hope you're alright. Might I trouble you for some hcs for the Obey Me! Brothers with an MC wandering the HoL late at night because they can't sleep? Take care and enjoy your day! 💫

Good day anon!! I’m going to have to cut this shorter than I would’ve liked, but I really wanted to get this out there! (I hope you take care as well, and thank you for your kind words!)

Edit: I lied, I think this is longer than the last ask, forgive me -

Demon Brothers’ Reactions to an MC Wandering the HoL Late at Night

Lucifer

He heard your footsteps before actually seeing you.

He was working late into the night again when your feet padded by his door, sounding listless. He checked the time: 1:07am.

What were you doing up at this hour?

You were about to turn the corner when his door opened, his head poking out. 

His eyes zeroed in on you. “What are you doing?”

You look to the side, shifting on your feet. Ultimately, you shrug. “Just walking, I guess.”

“Just walking.” He repeated blandly, and had to mentally count to ten so he didn’t explode. “You’re walking instead of sleeping? Tomorrow...well, later today I suppose, we have RAD to attend to. You should be in your room.”

Uneasiness flickered across your face despite you doing your best to hide it, and he noticed it. “Maybe I just want to clear my head for a bit? The halls are nice and quiet at night. It’s...calming.”

...Oh. So that’s what was going on.

Lucifer stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him and walking to catch up with you. “Then I suppose you won’t mind if I join you on this little excursion of yours.”

You looked like you were going to protest, but in the end you sighed. “Alright, let’s go.”

It was quiet as you two walked. Lucifer didn’t say a word, which surprised you; you thought he was going to scold you for wandering the halls so late.

“Oh, I will; however, that won’t exactly help you in this instance, now will it?”

- Wait, you said that out loud? ...Well then.

You grimaced. “Some things...are better left unsaid. “Let sleeping dogs lie” and all that.”

He wanted to press for more information, but the bags under your (interestingly enough) alert eyes stayed his hand.

He nodded. “I understand.”

Your late-night/early morning walk with him made you feel more at ease. For the first time that night, you felt tired enough to fall asleep.

You two pause outside your door. You had subconsciously found your way back here, as if you knew that this walk would tire you out. “Hey, Lucifer?”

“Hm?” He hummed, turning to you.

“...Thanks. For this, I mean.”

His eyes widened a fraction before a smirk spread across his lips. “Of course. If you have trouble falling asleep in the future, then feel free to knock on my door. I will always answer.”

It was a promise. You nodded, waving him off before flopping onto your bed.

You take him up on his offer every once in a while, especially when it seems like he’s overworking himself. (...Which is all the time.)

Mammon

You wandered the halls because you had a nightmare.

You woke up with adrenaline coursing through your veins, heart racing and breaths coming out in short gasps. A cry for help died on your lips as you became more aware of your surroundings, and you blinked to get the tears out of your eyes. You wished you could say that you didn’t remember it, but you did.

Lucifer. Levi. Satan. Asmo. Beel. Belphie. Solomon. Simeon. Luke. Barbatos. Diavolo.

One by one, they all left you. 

You couldn’t even reach your family in the Human Realm; they had left you too, long before the others did.

Mammon was the last to go, grinning as he told you that he played you like a fiddle. “Ya should know better than to trust a demon, y’know. Humans are so stupid! I already took all of your money; have fun livin’ now...if ya can.”

You...had no one.

You pressed the heel of your palm into your eye, letting out a shaky chuckle. You knew what it meant; monophobia. It was the same dream you’ve been having for the past month, and to be honest...you were starting to believe it. It wasn’t like you could confide in anybody, either; you lived in a house full of demons, after all.

I’m just an ordinary human with life experiences unique to me that make up my person. I’m...I’m alone.

Is that why I was hell-bent on befriending people down here? You asked yourself, but asking yourself made you feel worse and hyper-aware of your big, dark room.

It’s empty in here.

You felt like you were suffocating, so once you wrapped a blanket around yourself (because it felt like a hug, like someone cared enough to wrap their arms around you, but it was only a blanket and you had no one) you left your room.

You didn’t know where you were going; all you knew was that you had to go. You started out at a slow walk, speeding up into a fast pace, then a run, and then you were sprinting -

“OW!!”

You accidentally hit someone in your panic, the other almost falling over.

You took a step forward, berating yourself for not watching your surroundings better. “I’m sor- ”

You stopped once you saw who it was. Mammon dusted himself off, grumbling about “running into trouble no matter what he did” when he noticed you.

“What the hell are ya doin’ out here, so late at night? Don’t humans need their sleep or somethin’?” He looked you over, fussing about how “his human was a magnet for danger” and that he couldn’t even keep his eyes off for a second lest you walk into a life-threatening situation.

He patted your shoulders. “Not a hair out of place. If you’re goin’ somewhere, why didn’t ya tell me? I’m your first man, after all; I gotta protect ya!”

You blinked. Then, without warning, something wet trailed down your cheeks as you stared at him in silence.

Needless to say, Mammon freaked out. “Wh-What?! Hey, y-you don’t gotta cry over that! I’m fine! You didn’t even hit me that hard, see? N-Now stop cryin’, damnit!”

You let out a watery laugh. “It’s not that...you know what? Nevermind.”

Mammon trailed after you as you walked down the hallway. “Oi, don’t leave me hangin’! Why did ya start bawlin’? HEY!!”

You didn’t have to worry about a thing. Even if your family left you...

Even if the whole world turned against you...

Deep in your heart, you knew that Mammon would never betray you.

Leviathan

“Dun, dun, dundun dun, dun, dundun dun, dun, dundun- NUNUNUUU!!”

You whisper-sang the Mission: Impossible theme song as you crept down the halls, peeking the corners as if you were going to be shot at without warning.

You narrowed your eyes at a particular entryway, a grin spreading across your lips. 

“Target acquired.”

You stepped into the kitchen, slowly opening the fridge and wincing whenever it made a sound. Beel knew the noises the fridge made by heart, so he would no doubt run in if he heard that something was amiss.

You pulled out a slice of angel cake Luke had gifted to you earlier, your stomach rumbling in anticipation. You had waited oh so long for this moment, and now nothing was going to stop you from -

“...Uh.”

Levi stood in the doorway, headphones slipping off his ears as he pushed them down. He looked like he’d seen a ghost, and you looked like you’d seen a ghost, and oh diavolo this was awkward.

He gasped, pointing at you. “You!!”

You gasped, pointing at him. “You!!”

(You know the spider-man meme? Yeah that’s the one)

Levi’s next gasp was dramatic. It seemed that he saw your angel cake, his finger shifting to point at that instead. “STOP!! You have violated the law! You must pay the court a fine, or you shall pay the price!”

Your eyes narrowed. “Hoh?” You picked up your fork, holding it out in front of you like a sword. “I wonder if you’re all bark and no bite.”

Levi reached into a nearby drawer, taking out a fork of his own and pointing the prongs at you. His eyes flashed; a challenge.

“Maybe you should ask yourself that, outlaw!”

You both carefully hit each other’s utensils, mimicking light saber sounds with the occasional snicker.

After a couple of minutes, Levi leapt back. You gasped; was he readying his special attack?!

He held his head up high, his fork- no, his sword - raised above his head. 

“ALL WOMEN ARE QUEENS!!”

You scowled, your own fork sword raised to copy his. 

“IF SHE BREATHES...SHE’S A THOT!!!”

You both screamed as you clashed, crashing into each other as your forks went flying. You were both laughing on the floor, imitating death cries.

You loved messing around with Levi.

“...So, why are you eating that now?” He asked, shifting to face you.

You grinned. “I was hungry.”

He laughed. “You’re a weird normie, you know that?”

“What is the meaning of this?”

Lucifer’s voice grew louder as his footsteps approached the kitchen, sounding irritated. It looks like you were too loud while battling...whoops.

You and Levi looked at each other, then at the forks, then back at each other, then at the cake, then at each other once more.

“RUN!!” He screamed, snatching his fork. You grabbed your plate and your fork before taking off after him, Lucifer’s yells fading as you escaped into the safety of Levi’s room.

You two ended up sharing the angel cake. It was delicious.

(You got yelled at by Lucifer the next day, but hey; that’s tomorrow’s self’s problems. Now, it was time to eat cake.)

Satan

He caught you just as he exited the library, a book tucked away underneath his arm.

“Ah- ” He said, letting out a soft whoosh of air as you bumped into each other.

Instead of greeting him or apologizing, you clutched his shirt. “Satan. Just the demon I wanted to see.”

He raised a brow. “...What are you doing up so late at night?”

You shook your head. “Not today, Satan! Can we go back to your room?”

He frowned. You looked frantic, to say the least, and if he could help, then... “Follow me.”

Once there, you took a seat on the floor. Satan placed his book (No Longer Human) on the shortest stack of books he could find, sitting on his bed.

He patted the spot next to him. “You can sit up here, you know.”

You quickly took him up on his offer, sitting cross-legged as you turned to face him. Your face was so comically serious that he would be laughing if he wasn’t so worried.

“What’s wrong?”

You didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Satan’s concern only grew once you started shaking, wondering which of his brothers he had to “have a chat with”.

“Did you know...that whales don’t live long enough to die of old age because they just don’t have the energy to make it back up to the surface anymore?”

Satan’s face went carefully blank. “...Could you repeat that?”

“They all drown!” You wail. “They suffocate in the ocean, which is their home! And that’s if fishermen don’t kill them or other animals do!”

Why did he ever think that it was anything serious when it came to you

He sighed. It was late, he was tired, you were tired, but...

He smiled. You got hung up on the strangest of facts, didn’t you? It was endearing.

“I see.” He said, holding out his arms. “All I can offer is some comfort, small as that may be.”

You launched yourself at him, and he fell back on the bed with a small oomph as you rapidly talked about how whales deserved better from this cruel, cruel world of ours.

He patted your shoulder. It seemed like he wasn’t getting any sleep soon, but...

As long as it was with you, this wasn’t so bad.

Asmodeus

Needless to say, he scolded you.

...Unless you were up because you had a sleepover with him. Then, you were fine.

But that didn’t apply to this instance.

“What in the world are you doing out here?!” He asked, grabbing your arm and practically dragging you to his room. “You do realize that you need your beauty sleep, right? Come; I’ll make sure you get the best sleep you’ve ever had!”

You were a little scared, but that was only because he had appeared out of nowhere. You matched his pace with a raised brow, trying to calm your racing heart. “Asmo, why did you jump out at me? I could’ve had a heart attack!”

He laughed. “The only heart attack I want you to suffer from is if it’s due to my stunning beauty.”

You smiled as the two of you entered his room. “So, what’s on the menu for tonight?”

He sat you down on one of his chairs, pulling out multiple bottles of...who-knows-what. The long brand names coupled with the loopy writing was enough to give you a stroke.

He stood behind you, a brush in one hand and a comb in the other. There was an excited grin on his face, which you could see from the HUGE impressively-sized mirror in front of you.

“Why, self care, of course!”

An hour or two later, and you both were relaxing on his bed with a content sigh. Asmo was a professional at self care, and you swear that you haven’t felt this good in...well, it’s been a while.

He shifted to face you. “Enjoying yourself?”

You nodded. “Of course, Asmo. You have the heavenly skills of a god.”

You both laughed at the irony of that statement, nestling underneath the covers.

Asmo threw his arm over you. “Well, as heavenly as my hands may be...it’s time to sleep. Beauty waits for no one, after all.”

You hummed in agreement, slipping your eyes closed. You could feel yourself drifting off...

“Thanks for this.”

Your breathing evened out, signalling that you were asleep. Asmo smiled, placing a small kiss on your forehead.

“Anytime. Come to me when you feel restless again, okay?”

Beelzebub

Beel was the one to have a nightmare.

He didn’t remember what it was, but when he came to his hand was outstretched towards the ceiling, tears dotting his pillowcase. He rolled out of bed, quietly padding out of the room so that he didn’t accidentally wake his twin up.

He rubbed his eyes. Even though he didn’t remember it, he could guess what it was about.

I’ve been having nightmares more often lately...

He saw the light of the fireplace as he passed by the entrance to the living room, and he wondered who else was up. Was it Lucifer? Levi?

Once he gaze fell on you fiddling with your D.D.D. on the couch, he stepped in.

“Aren’t you tired?”

His voice startled you, almost making you drop your device.

“Oh, Beel! What are you doing up?”

He shook his head, loosely grasping his left wrist as he frowned. “I just woke up and saw that the light was on,” He said as he sat down. “I was curious.”

You shifted to let him sit next to you, throwing a smile his way. “Funny coincidence, huh? I couldn’t fall back asleep either.”

A small smile formed at your words. “At least it’s the weekend.”

You stretched. “I know! Lucifer can’t yell at us for this!”

Beel looked off to the side in thought, giving a decisive nod. “He would still find something that we messed up on to yell about, though.”

Your snort of laughter made him feel lighter, erasing any traces of the mind-numbing fear and grief sadness his nightmare left behind.

You tapped his arm. “Something up?”

He shook his head, a smile blooming on his face as he looked at you. “...No, not anymore. Do you want to go grab something to eat with me?”

You leapt to your feet with a grin. “Beel, when will I ever say no to that?”

And so, you two raided the fridge of its contents and snacked on whatever you could find. You talked about anything and everything that came to mind, throwing out the garbage before huddling against each other in front of the dying embers.

You wrapped a blanket around you both, a yawn escaping you. “Thanks for being my hangout buddy, Beel.”

He beamed, its radiance slightly dulled by his tiredness. “We’re family. It’s the least I could do.”

You fell asleep against each other, and the other brothers couldn’t help but take pictures of the heartwarming scene once they found you two.

For the first time in weeks, Beel slept peacefully.

Belphegor

Belphie was en route to the planetarium when he ran into you.

“Going somewhere?” He asked with amusement in his voice, watching you compose yourself.

You jabbed a finger at him. “I am, actually. I was going...uh...”

He raised an eyebrow as you flailed to find an answer despite having recollected yourself moments prior, dragging it out before he decided to throw you a mercy line. “I’m going to the planetarium, if you want to come.”

You nodded, relief flashing across your features. “Thanks, Belphie.”

You two made a pile of blankets on the floor, pointing out constellations and making up stories for them. ...Well, you were, at least; Belphie was content to let you ramble, quietly chuckling at your elaborate depictions of each celestial body you pointed out.

“What are you doing up, anyways?” He asked, interrupting your recent tale.

You huffed. “Way to kill the vibe, Edgelord.”

He raised a brow. “...And the vibe happened to be you describing how Orion brutally skewed the Ursa Minor for his lover?”

You nodded sagely. “It’s a tale of love and betrayal, of sacrifice and ambition.”

He snorted. “Are you going to answer the question?”

You rolled over to face him. “I just...couldn’t sleep, I guess.”

“You can’t sleep?” He repeated, looking over at you in surprise. He shook off his initial reaction with a small, exasperated smile. “It looks like you came to the right demon, then.”

You flopped back dramatically onto the piles. “Please impart your wisdom on me, O wise one.”

Instead of scoffing at you, like he usually did, he placed a hand onto your head. “You won’t have to worry about any nightmares tonight.”

- And then you were out.

He sighed. “Just what am I going to do with you...?”

He now makes sure to check up on you from time-to-time, pulling you in for a dreamless sleep whenever he sees your fatigue. Despite himself napping the most in either the attic or the room he shared with Beel, he would lead you to the planetarium to sleep.

It was a sacred place for him, and who better to share it with than with you?

[a-small-batch-of-dragons]

Nothing Wrong

Prompt: Writing prompt for Merlin (preferably time passes?): Modern Day everyone try to explain to Arthur how life works now and Arthur trying to get Merlin to therapy because JESUS DUDE and coming up with a somewhat workable alibi for what can essentially be called immortality angst. Hope you're having a lovely day!!

Thanks for the prompt, babe! This is part of a series over on my Ao3 but it can be read as a standalone

Read on Ao3

Pairings: merthur, can be platonic or romantic you decide

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2217

 So it turns out that Merlin, to no one's surprise but his, could benefit from seeing a therapist.

“Thank you for coming in today, Mr. Emrys,” Dr. Lerchen says as Merlin sits down in the plush chair, “it’s good to meet you.”

 “You as well, Dr. Lerchen.”

 “Please, Melanie is fine.” Dr. Le—Melanie smiles and fixes her glasses. “I understand that you’ve never been to a therapist before?”

 “Can’t say I have.”

 “Well, I’m happy to have you. May I ask what you’ve heard about therapy?”

 “That it’s something I should definitely do.”

 “Well, I make no judgments about that, but what else?”

 Merlin hesitates. He’s never had someone who’s…paid to listen to him. Whose job it is to help him sort through the mess in his brain. It feels…counterintuitive.

 Melanie nods when he says as much. “You’re not the first person who feels a little awkward asking a therapist for help. Nor are you the first to think you don’t actually need it.”

 Merlin blinks. “I didn’t say that.”

 “No—“ Melanie gives him a look— “but am I right?”

 He fidgets in the chair.

 “You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to,” she says after a moment, “but I want to reassure you that you don’t need to have a reason to see a therapist.”

 “I don’t?”

 She shrugs. “Some people see me because they’re having issues at work that they’re struggling to manage. Some people see me because they’ve got mental issues they need help with. And some people see me because they’ve never actually had someone to talk to.”

 “…really?”

 Melanie smiles. “Yes, Mr. Emrys. You don’t have to need therapy to have therapy.”

 A weight begins to lift off his shoulders. Judging by Melanie’s smile, she can see it. She sits back in her chair too and tilts her head.

 “Is that all this is,” Merlin murmurs, mostly to himself, “is this…therapy?”

 “Well, I’m not sure if it’s as easy to tell from the two minutes you’ve been here,” she laughs, “but…yes. I ask questions, and if you like, you answer them. Or we simply talk. About…whatever you’d like.”

 “Whatever I like?”

 “Believe me, I’ve spent sessions discussing nothing but movies and favorite colors.”

 “With children?”

 “With adults.” She gestures between them. “I’m here to provide the support you need to work through things. Does that sound alright?”

 “…yes,” Merlin breathes, “that sounds…that sounds great.”

 “Wonderful. May I ask you a few questions about why you’re here today?”

 “Yes.”

 “Do you mind if I write them down?”

 Merlin shakes his head and she retrieves a notepad.

 “In your request for an appointment, you mentioned that you’d been referred to me by a friend of yours?”

 “Yes, um, Leon Camlynn.”

 “Ah, yes, I see.” She makes a note. “Had you been discussing therapy with him prior to the referral?”

  “You should try it, Merlin,” Leon says encouragingly as Arthur sits down on the couch, “it’s just talking.”

  “I’ve had experience with therapy before, Leon.”

  “Not like this,” Leon promises, his eyes shining with the understanding of what type of ‘therapy’ Merlin’s been put through, “I promise.”

  Merlin sighs. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine, Leon, I—“

  “Merlin,” Arthur interrupts softly, “I think you should try it. Just once, at least.”

  He doesn’t blink at Merlin’s look of betrayal.

  “Leon says it helps him, and maybe it’ll help you too.”

  “There is so much between us already,” Leon says softly, drawing Merlin’s attention again, “so much history—“

  “So why would I want to talk to someone that I’d have to explain things to?”

  “—that you might not be able to talk about it with us,” Leon finishes, “and you’d only have to explain as much as you were comfortable with.”

  Merlin sighs. “I don’t believe you. There’s—I—I can’t—my—hmm.”

  “You don’t have to explain everything all the time, Merlin,” Leon says, “and you definitely won’t have to during the first session.”

 “I agree,” Melanie says, patiently writing things down, “I’m not here to pressure you into telling me things you’re not comfortable with, nor am I going to tell you what to do.”

 “He said that I should get used to talking to someone.” Merlin toys with the end of his shirt. “Someone that wasn’t…him.”

 Melanie nods. “How long has it been? Since you spoke to someone other than Leon?”

 1500 years. “…a while.”

 “And is Leon your closest friend? Do you have anyone else?”

 “I know people at work, I talk to them, they drag me out for pub nights. But Leon’s my only…friend-friend, really.”

 “I see.” She looks back at the appointment record. “It says here you’re also considering whether or not you have some sort of PTSD?”

  Damnit, Leon.

 “…yes.”

 “You needn’t tell me anything you feel uncomfortable telling me,” Melanie reminds, “but whatever you do tell me will be useful in how I can help you.”

 Merlin can’t help glancing at the door.

 “Doctor-patient confidentiality,” comes the quiet reassurance, “nothing you say will leave this room.”

 He takes a deep, slow breath. He hasn’t talked about this to anyone. Not even Arthur. Not really. There are so many secrets that no one knows that he doesn’t know how to tell one without telling all of them.

 “Pick something small,” Melanie suggests when he says as much, “something innocuous. A memory, perhaps, one that makes you happy.”

  “Come on, Merlin, this way!”

  Merlin rolls his eyes as Arthur drags him through the woods. “Whatever creature you’re hunting is going to hear us coming from yards away, as you’re so fond of telling me.”

  “We’re not hunting Merlin, now come on!”

  “Then why are we out in the middle of the woods for no reason? And why am I carrying all this food?”

  Arthur bursts through the edge of the woods into a clearing, spinning around with a blinding smile. “We’re having a picnic.”

  Merlin blanches. “A what?”

  “A picnic, Merlin,” Arthur repeats, taking the basket from him, “we’re going to sit down and eat.”

  And they did, in the field, as butterflies flew around their heads.

 “That sounds lovely,” Melanie says, smiling, “and how long ago was this?”

 Merlin’s smile dims. “A long time.”

 “Was it near where you grew up?”

 “No, no, it was…quite far away. I, um, I grew up in a smaller village and went away to a big city to work.”

 “Was it hard, being away from your family for such a long period of time?”

  He misses his mother’s smile.

  He misses the smell of the barn when he walks outside—not the big, Camelot stables, but their little barn with the cinnamon and cloves stuffed into the corners to keep the old donkey happy.

  He misses Will, the shouts and yells of the other boys as they rush up and down the streets.

  He misses the old man’s warbling in the late night as he walked back and forth with the lantern, putting out the lights on his market stall.

 “I’d never been farther than walking distance away from my home,” he says quietly, examining his hands, “so it was…hard to adjust.”

 “I’m sure. Did you go back to visit them ever?”

  “The winters are harsh in Ealdor,” his mother says, pleading in front of the tightly Uther Pendragon, “and there are many children. Some of them just won't be strong enough to survive. We barely have enough food as it is, and if Kanen takes our harvest, our children won't live to see another summer. Please, we need your help.”

“Ealdor's in Cenred's kingdom,” Uther says dismissively, “your safety is his responsibility.”

“We've appealed to our King, but he cares little for the outlying regions. You're our only hope.”

Uther regards his mother with what can only be described as forced pity. “I have the deepest sympathy for you and would have this barbarian wiped off the face of the earth.”

“You'll help us?”

“I wish I could.”

Perhaps sensing Merlin’s dismay, Arthur speaks up. “Surely we can spare a few men?”

“…once.”

 Melanie tilts her head. “You sound sad.”

 “…my friend died when I went back,” Merlin says, “he…I’d known him since I was a little boy. He was…important to me.”

 “I’m sorry to hear that.” And she does sound genuinely sorry, Merlin realizes, as she leans forward. “What was his name?”

 “Will.”

 “Will,” she repeats, “I’m sorry he passed.”

 Merlin shrugs. Out of all the people he’s lost, he can’t afford to hurt over all of them all the time.

 “What did you do afterward?”

 “I went back to work.”

 Melanie blinks. “Just like that? No time off, no time to grieve?”

 “…where I come from, that wasn’t really a thing.”

 “…I see.”

 Merlin shifts. “Is something wrong?”

 “People need time to process things,” she says, “to reconcile what’s happened in order to learn how to live with it. And if you weren’t given that time…”

 “It wasn’t the most pressing thing on my mind.”

 That gives her pause. She raises an eyebrow and nods for him to continue. Merlin fidgets a little in the chair.

 “…I have a secret,” he says finally, “one that Will died to protect for me.”

 She makes a soft noise.

 “I couldn’t tell anyone,” Merlin continues, staring at a spot on the carpet, “it—they would’ve—“

 He breaks off. He hasn’t thought about his magic like this for centuries. He hasn’t thought about his magic for decades. He hasn’t actually looked at himself for…a long time.

 He’s been hiding for almost as long as he can remember.

 “What would they have done,” Melanie prompts softly.

 “Killed me.” Merlin looks up. “They would’ve killed me.”

 To her credit, Melanie doesn’t look shocked. Instead, she smiles softly.

 “No one will kill you for a secret, Mr. Emrys, not on my watch.”

 That shouldn’t make him feel as warm as it does, but he finds his own mouth turning up into a smile.

 “Does your family know your secret?”

 “My mother did. My father…yes, he knew.”

 “Does Leon know?”

 “Yes.”

 “Anyone else?”

 Merlin hesitates. “Yes. Yes, someone else knows. Even though I…I didn’t…I didn’t tell him when I should have.”

 “You’re the only one who gets to make that decision,” Melanie reassures, “no one else.”

 “But he felt so betrayed when I didn’t tell him. He was…he was angry with me.”

  “You’ve lied to me. You’ve lied all this time.”

  Merlin can’t quite hear his heart crack in two, but he can feel it.

 “Why did you decide to tell him?”

 Merlin shrugs. “He was going to get hurt if I didn’t show—if I didn’t tell him.”

 “Hurt?”

 “He…”

  Ygraine, his mother, gone on the day of his birth because of magic.

  Uther, turned bitter and cynical, making enemies upon enemies of magic while hoarding it for his own selfish purposes.

  Morgana, his own sister, twisted and tortured by Uther, by Arthur, by Merlin, until she was barely recognizable.

  Arthur had lost so much to magic that Merlin can’t bear to give him something else to lose.

 “…he’s already been hurt by it,” Merlin says, shutting his eyes, “I didn’t want to hurt him too.”

 “What happened to him?”

 “He—“

  Mordred steps out from behind a rock and walks toward Arthur, he raises his sword...

  Arthur either hears him or sees his reflection in a sword on the ground. He stands and blocks the attack, he goes to stab and stops, realizing it's Mordred. Mordred stabs him and withdraws the sword, fatally wounding him.

  Arthur goes to a knee.

  Merlin can’t find the breath to scream.

  “Merlin. There is nothing you can do.”

  “I’ve failed?

“No, young warlock, for all that you have dreamt of building, has come to pass.”

  “I can't lose him! He's my friend!”

  “Though no man, no matter how great, can know his destiny, some lives have been foretold, Merlin...Arthur is not just a King-he is the Once and Future King.”

  Once and Forever.

  “Take heart, for when Albion's need is greatest, Arthur will rise again.”

  Merlin. Merlin is all that’s left.

  “It has been a privilege to have known you, young warlock-the story we have been a part of will live long in the minds of men.”

  1500 years…

  “Merlin? Merlin!”

  He’s back.

 “…he went away. For a very long time.”

 “And now?”

 Despite everything, Merlin finds himself smiling. “He’s my flatmate.”

 “I’m glad to hear it,” Melanie says softly, smiling too, “you two deserve your soft epilogue.”

 Wait, what?

 “I’m afraid that’s all we have the time for today, Mr. Emrys,” Melanie says, standing and holding out her hand for him to shake, “but I’d be happy to set up another appointment.”

 “Uh, yeah, yeah,” Merlin says, scrambling to his feet and shaking her hand, “and please, Merlin’s fine.”

 “Merlin.” Her handshake is firm, grounding. “Be in touch.”

 “I will.”

 “And one last thing,” she calls as he goes to leave, “there is nothing wrong with being gay, Merlin.”

 Wait, what?

[unfunny-quips]

Snippet from my (other) overly complicated Akeshu Time Loop fic where everyone except Akira (mostly) remembers the previous year:

Akechi Goro’s apartment was nothing like what Ann had expected it to be. Though admittedly her imagination had been a bit conflicted on what she should expect.

The shiny, polite Ace Detective facade he showed the world suggested she should expect a living space ripped straight out of a designer magazine. Attractive but stiff, nice to look at but difficult to actually live in let alone be comfortable in when visiting.

On the other hand, what she’d seen of his other side - the feral, blood thirsty and thoroughly nasty Black Mask - made her think of a dungeon like space. Chains on the walls, maybe one of those disturbing cluttered spaces shown on crime dramas when the heroes were hunting a serial killer. Pictures with blacked out eyes pinned to the walls, red string connecting disparate and terrifying thoughts and images, a collection of weapons on display.

What she got was…neither of those.

Shiho led her down the kind of pleasant residential area that put Ann in mind of the best kind of summers as a kid. A big park, open friendly faces, a community that seemed friendly and kind to each other. Shiho smiled and waved to a number of people on their way, the few they stopped to chat with for a bit telling her to give their hellos on to Akechi before letting them continue.

The apartment itself was the converted guest house in the back garden of what looked to be a cheerful family home. Ann counted no less than three fat cats lazing about and when they approached a delightfully plump old woman seated in a rocking chair on the front porch sat up from her reading to say hello and welcome Ann. Shiho called her Obaasan and rushed to give her a hug like she really was Shiho’s beloved grandmother before the old woman ushered them down the side path towards the back of the house.

“That’s Goro’s landlady, Shibata-San,” Shiho said as they walked the narrow path that led along the side of the house and through a truly beautiful garden. “She’s super sweet but has trouble with her arthritis sometimes. She gives Goro a deal on the rent since he helps her out so much around the house and with her gardening.”

Akechi Goro being nice to little old ladies. Ann wasn’t certain if that was exactly what she expected from the deranged killer pretending to be a charming teen detective or something so far out of the realm of expected as to be laughable. She chose to make a polite hmm noise of interest instead, not wanting to break the good mood Shiho was in by bringing up how very much Ann hated Akechi. She was rewarded by Shiho smiling warmly at her, which was really all the shorter girl would need to do to convince Ann to murder someone in Shiho’s name.

Shiho knocked at the door and Ann took a final calming breath to prepare her for the night that lay ahead of her. It was just a few hours, and she’d be there with Shiho and there would be plenty of other people to help buffer her from Akechi and Akira. Ann had helped shoot a god in the face once, she was ready for anything Akechi might throw at her over a few hours of talking about a book.

She wasn’t even close to ready, as it turned out.

The realization settled in the moment the door opened to reveal a yawning Akechi standing before her with messy hair and Featherman themed pajamas. Rumpled and clearly well worn Featherman pajamas.

Ann felt her eyes widen comically at the sight of the boy that had once been her and her team’s arch nemesis. A known and dangerous killer who had taken countless lives in the name of his twisted revenge scheme. 

He was wearing adorable unicorn slippers. Their horns were rainbow.

“Ah, Shiho!” Akechi said through his yawn, face stretching into a warm smile as he spotted the shorter girl on the other side of the threshold. “Just in time, I need help hauling Akira’s dead weight to the bedroom.” Ann watched him scratch lazily at his chin before blinking his attention over to her and offered another smile. It was a  brittle, plastic thing in comparison to the honest warmth he’d offered the shorter girl. All polish and teeth, no actual emotion. “And Takamaki-San, I’m so glad you could join us for the evening.”

He looked anything but, especially with the white knuckled grip he had on the door handle.

Ann offered a strained smile of her own. She’d made a promise to Shiho damnit and she’d see it through if it killed her. Or if Akechi killed her. Whatever. The point was that she was going to try damnit.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” She said as Akechi stepped back to allow them inside. Shiho gave a faint wince at the overly perky tone Ann had and shoot she’d overshot the enthusiasm a bit. Oh well. Better to be too excited than not enough. She followed Shiho’s lead in taking her shoes off and slipping on a pair of house slippers before turning her attention to the apartment itself.

It was…surprisingly cozy.

Ann was surprised too by the amount of clutter taking up the apartment. A laundry basket of half-folded, clean clothes sitting next to the couch, a knocked over bag tossed on a side table by the front door, more pillows and blankets than Ann would have expected making it seem like a nice place to curl up and read in. The apartment still managed to look tidy despite the half hearted attempt at organization.

Most of the space consisted of a living room with a tiny kitchenette tucked in a corner. There was a small nook beside the cooking area likely meant for dining. The small table placed there was taken over by a nice looking chess set, leaving no room for any actual dining. A small blackboard hung on the wall beside it, tallying victories of each player - tied, from what Ann could see, between Akechi and Kurusu. Other than that there were a couple doors leading to what she presumed to be a bedroom and a bathroom. 

It looked so remarkably normal.

Hardwood floors, plush rugs thrown everywhere, overstuffed bookshelves, pictures on the wall. There was a larger one hung over the couch showing off the entire book club smiling brightly at what looked like a cat cafe. Shiho, Akechi, Kurusu, Yoshizawa, even Togo Hifumi and Iwai’s son Kaoru. All of them squeezed together to fit, hands up in peace signs or giving each other bunny ears.

They looked normal. Just kids hanging out, enjoying each other’s company and reading books. It was hard to reconcile the photo with the mental image Ann had of several of the members as potential agents of Yaldabaoth.

Seeing how happy Shiho looked in the pictures didn’t help.

Ann pushed the thoughts away as best she could and followed other two to where a half asleep Akira was laid sprawled half under a large kotatsu. The delinquent had his head thrown back on the couch behind him, one of the many throw pillows Akechi apparently owned curled in his arms. She was surprised to see his usual oversized glasses he so often hid behind tossed haphazardly on the kotatsu. His eyes were closed, but he cracked one open when he heard them come over.

“M’fine here.” He muttered, curling up further around his pillow.

Akechi rolled his eyes. 

“There is a bed literally right there.” he pointed at one of the two closed doors for emphasis, mere steps away. Akira was already turning away and wiggling further beneath the kotatsu blanket. “Just go to bed Akira, no one else is even going to be here for another hour at least.”

Ann blinked. “What?” She turned from the drowsy Akira to Shiho, the shorter girl giving an unapologetic, challenging smile.

“Goro said we could come over early so you could get settled in!” Shiho said, chipper and all too aware of the fact that Ann had been banking on keeping her attention on other people in order to ignore Akechi. She really shouldn’t have been surprised. Shiho really did know her too well.

Akechi offered another brittle smile before turning his attention back to Akira, his expression softening again. Ann watched as the detective attempted to scoop the dark haired boy up, only for Akira to slip out of his grasp by going boneless, earning an undignified swear from the detective. 

Ann watched as the detective attempted to drag the delinquent away by an arm, amused as Shiho strolled over casually and hauled Akira up over her shoulder - pillow and all - in a fireman’s hold. She did it with such ease that Ann was a left little breathless at the show of strength. Akira wasn’t heavy by any measure but he was tall and she’d seen him working out at the gym the one time she went with Ryuji. The boy had muscle and that couldn’t be light. It didn’t matter to the short girl and her exceptional strength and well… Ann was weak to Shiho in so very many ways.

A few minutes later Akira had been safely stowed in a proper bed, the faint sound of soft snores heard from the dark haired delinquent before Shiho had even made it through the door. Which just left the three of them standing awkwardly in the living room.

Joy.

“I’m not nearly as good as Akira or Boss,” Akechi began, “But I can make a passable cup of coffee with what I’ve got here. Would you like one?”

There was a very real chance he might poison it. Ann nodded anyway to appease Shiho, resigned to the fact that she really was willing to do anything to see the shorter girl smile. 

Akechi shuffled towards the kitchenette in his ridiculous fluffy unicorn slippers and began fussing with the various coffee supplies that took up almost all of his very limited counter space. He was even nice enough to pull out a container of some cookies - a favorite brand of Ann’s on top of it - that hadn’t even been opened yet from a cupboard. She felt secure in the knowledge that those at least hadn’t been tampered with as she began happily devouring them.

“He’s still refusing to move in?” Shiho asked Akechi softly as she settled on the plush loveseat adjacent to the couch, tugging Ann down beside her. The dark haired girl pulled her feet up and under her, Shiho’s expression turning concerned as she watched Akechi work.

Akechi gave a soft sigh as he began boiling some water for the coffee. “He’s just so damn stubborn.” The detective said, shoulder’s drooping as he measured the freshly ground coffee out. “That place is killing him, but every time I bring it up he digs his heels in.”

Shiho gave a soft sigh before turning her attention to Ann to explain. “Akira is…” She paused, frowning, “His living situation is…bad.” Ann flicked her attention to Akechi as she heard him mutter a faint fucking understatement of the year under his breath. “Goro has offered to let him stay here but Akira’s worried that his record would hurt Goro’s reputation.”

“Oh,” Ann said, turning her attention on the delicate chocolate dipped cookie she held. Akira’s criminal record, that had been made public and well known by Mishima at Komashida’s request. Because Akira had stepped in and kept the teacher from getting to Shiho. Something Ann should have done. “Isn’t there something he can do? He’s staying with a guardian right? Couldn’t he just request to be moved under someone else?”

Akechi snorted bitterly. “Great idea, so that scam artist can report him as being “dangerous” and get him sent back to Juvie?” Red eyes turned to Ann, pinning her in place as Akechi’s mouth twisted into a sour frown. “You know about shitty adults. You know there really aren’t options like that for people in Akira’s position.”

Ann was struck again by the strange clash between what she expected from Akechi from the last run of the game and what he was showing her in this one. 

A facade of niceties for the camera, a howling soul of insanity for anyone who got in his way. Where, exactly, between those two extremes lay concern for a friend in a difficult position? Where did friends lay in that mess at all? Where did the cozy apartment, helping out an arthritic old lady, the weekly book club, the Featherman pajamas? Was there a graph somewhere that might map it all out? Or was she just supposed to guess at what was a real glimpse at the boy that had once murdered her friend’s father and what was an act to get what he wanted?

“Here,” Akechi said, and for a moment she half expected him to hand her the answers she wanted. He didn’t, of course, instead handing her a cup of coffee resting on a matching saucer. Both cup and saucer had cute chubby cats on them. “Cream? Sugar?”

She blinked and nodded, watching as he turned on his heel to get her what she asked for. Shiho beside her shifted where she sat, butting their shoulders together gently. Her face, when Ann met her gaze, was thoughtful. Considering Ann as if she was the puzzle and not the serial killer juggling a carton of cream and an oversized container of sugar across the room. Trying to stow her apprehension away for the night, Ann offered her friend the best honest expression she could while knowing how many lies she’d given the shorter girl over the past months. 

Shiho’s expression shifted slowly, the look in her dark eyes difficult to read. Ann watched as the other girl turned to sip at her coffee. Shiho didn’t even wait for it to cool. She always liked her drinks hot enough to scald.

“You know, maybe it’s the way you’re asking.” Shiho said, the complicated emotions Ann glimpsed the moment before shuffled away as the dark haired girl turned a devious smile on Akechi.

The detective looked weary and wary all at once. “Shiho…” His tone had something like a weak warning to it, though the bite Ann was used to hearing from him was absent.

“I’m just saying,” Shigo said, looking delighted, “You’re asking him to move in with you as a friend.”

“Don’t.” Akechi said, it might have been sharp and snapping if it wasn’t for the color rising high on the boy’s cheeks. Ann blinked in bewilderment. Was Akechi Goro blushing?

“Just ask him to be your boyfriend already!” Shiho said, all cheer and delight with an undercurrent of something challenging directed at the now definitely blushing Akechi. “We all saw you two kiss at the ice rink! It’s not like the thing between you it’s a secret!”

Ann choked on the cookie she’d just popped into her mouth. Akechi - so red that Ann was fairly certain he was going to turn purple soon - made a high pitched squeak and buried his face in his hands.

Well that put a new light on things.

“You kissed Kurusu?!” Cookies crumbs went flying as she spoke but Ann didn’t care. The news was just too big to be taken in calmly. Makoto had suspected that Kurusu, a known criminal, was a pawn in Akechi’s devious plan and the rest of the group had been thinking the same. Morgana suggested that the dark haired boy might even be the new player they’d been warned about.

At no point at any of them considered Akechi could be so human as to simply just like Kurusu.

“It’s not that - you’re taking things out of context!” Akechi almost wailed, not a psychopath ready to kill at a drop of a hat but an embarrassed teenage boy being teased about his crush.

Shiho laughed, “You two held hands!” 

“I didn’t know how to skate! Kurusu was helping me balance!”

“You stayed on the ice during the couple’s song!”

“We just didn’t want to get off the ice!”

“You stopped, in the middle of the rink, looked deep into each other’s eyes while holding hands and kissed.”

As if to drive her point home, Shiho lifted her phone to show a picture - a bit blurry at the edges but clear enough to make out - of Akechi and Kurusu definitely having a sweet, romantic kiss on the ice. Clearly completely oblivious of the world around them as they did so. It was possibly the cutest thing Ann had ever seen.

Any idea Ann ever had of Akechi Goro being intimidating was thrown right out the window.

[lunnanunna]

Thank You

SF9 Extra Member AU

Summary: [Requested] Miyoung sees how the past events with Jin affected Chani.

Warnings: swearing

Taglist: @hyunmijung @galacticstxrdust @gay-jesus-official @precious-seungwooya @helladead-hellaradical @boss-baby-jongho @kimonmars @chagi-nana @wooya1224 @atinygracice @xiaojunssmile

A/N: This was somewhat requested. I’ll slowly write up the rest of the boys that are left on how they are dealing or have reacted to Miyoung’s whole Jin situation. Hope you enjoy!

Requests are open! Please let me know what you think.

Miyoung quietly read over the cue cards for this today’s music show episode. She was asked to be a special MC and join Chanhee, while the other two MCs were taking the week off.

She had been an MC once before and was super nervous, but this time the nerves weren’t as bad seeing as she was going to be with Chanhee.

“Noona, I’m going to go get some water and snacks. You want some?” Chanhee asked from his spot next to Miyoung on the couch of the green room.

Miyoung smiled and nodded. “I’d love some. Thanks, Channie,” Miyoung said and watched as the maknae smiled and walked out of the room.

Once gone, Miyoung went back to looking over her lines. They were simple enough, that she should be able to memorize most of them and not have to look down as much. She continued to read through them, mumbling the words.

“Miyoung-ah?”

The visual startled at the sudden call of her name and looked up to see a man poking his head in through the door. She paused as she tried to recognize the man through the hat and face mask.

The man seemed to notice her confusion and chuckled as he pulled his mask down. He smiled as Miyoung’s eyes widened. “Remember me now?”

“Yah, Hajun-ah!” Miyoung grinned wide, getting up from her seat. She made her way over to the man as he fully stepped into the room. Once she stood in front of him, she playfully slapped his arm.

“Yah! What was that for?” Hajun laughed, rubbing the offended area.

“I haven't heard from you in years, then you just decide to pop up out of nowhere as a-” she paused, grabbing his ID card to read his position, “as a stage light crew? Really?” Miyoung looked at him, raising an impressed brow.

Hajun chuckled, grabbing his card and tucking it in the breast pocket of his shirt. “Yeah, really. Not a bad job, actually,” he said, smugly folding his arms over his chest.

Miyoung shook her head, chuckling. She remembered a scrawny looking boy in high school with a pompous personality swearing he’d make it into show business. He obviously made it, but definitely not how he had originally planned.

“No, stop. Stop laughing,” he scowled, wagging his finger at her. Miyoung only giggled more. “Anyways, look at you! You’re an idol. Who would have thought that shy little Miyoung would be an idol,” Hajun smiled, shaking his head.

“I have no idea what came over me the day I went to audition either, but it happened and I’m glad,” Miyoung said, smiling to herself. Then she remembered something. “How’d you know I was here?”

Hajun sheepishly laughed, scratching the back of his neck. “I only just got the job and I had hoped to run into you at some point, though I figured it would have been during a comeback for your group. But then I saw that you were MCing today, so I looked up what room you’d be in,” he answered.

Miyoung quirked a brow. “Sounds kinda stalker-ish to me,” she said, folding her arms as she chuckled.

“Please don’t say that. I’ll look like a perv,” Hajun said, rolling his eyes, hands on his hips.

“Well are you?” Miyoung and Hajun both looked at each other at the sound of a new voice. Chanhee stood by the door, a seemingly peeved look on his face, and a plate of cookies.

“Chanhee?” Miyoung asked, smiling nervously. He looked kind of mad, and she had no idea why. “Uh, this is an old friend of mine, Kim Hajun,” Miyoung quickly introduced. She watched as Chanhee turned to Hajun. And glared.

“Uh, hi,” Hajun said, taking a quick bow, “Nice to meet you.”

“That’s Chanhee. He’s one of my groupmates,” Miyoung said, motioning towards the maknae. Hajun nodded as he looked at the taller.

The younger stayed silent. He looked Hajun up and down, almost in a challenging way, and Miyoung hoped to God, that he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

When Chanhee’s eyes landed on the lanyard that was hanging out of Hajun’s breast pocket, the latter quickly pulled out his ID to show him.

“I’m part of the staff here, I swear. Just new,” Hajun said quickly.

“Anyone can be a staff and still be sketchy as fuck,” Chanhee growled.

Miyoungs jaw dropped. (What the hell was that supposed to mean?)

“Uh, yeah. I get you. But seriously, man, I was just here to see an old friend. And look, I’m leaving now,” Hajun said, adding the last part quickly when he saw that the younger still seemed unconvinced.

“Chanhee!” Miyoung exclaimed, finally coming out of her stupor. “The hell is wrong with you? Why are you glaring? Not only is he a friend of mine, he’s also older than you. Where’s the respect?” she said, trying to control her anger. She didn’t like how Chanhee was acting.

“No, it’s okay, Young-ah. I gotta get going anyway. Maybe I’ll see you later?” Hajun asked as he backed his way out the door.

“You won’t,” Chanhee said as he pushed Hajun out the door and closed it.

“What the fuck, Chanhee?!” Miyoung seethed. She opened and closed her fists to try and calm herself, but she knew that she was close to exploding.

The maknae gave her a blank look as he handed her two cookies, then sat on the couch. Miyoung glared at him, dropping the cookies on the table and stomping over to him.

“Answer me, God damnit,” Miyoung demanded, standing in front of the dancer.

He shrugged and Miyoung’s blood boiled. “He was sketchy.”

“He- What? What do you mean?” Miyoung asked, her anger was rising.

Chanhee shrugged again, looking blankly at a spot on the floor. “I don’t like the fact that he just showed up out of nowhere. You said so yourself, it sounded stalker-ish.”

Miyoung’s eye twitched. “It was a joke. He was a friend. I know him,” she said.

“Yeah, you knew Jin too,” Chanhee rolled his eyes.

Miyoung froze. (That’s what this was all about?) She looked at the younger who seemed to be avoiding her eyes. “Channie?” the visual called as she squatted in front of him. He side eyed her then looked away.

“Anyone can work as staff and actually be bad. And not everyone is who they say they are. Jin wasn’t and maybe Hajun isn’t either,” Chanhee mumbled, head motioning to where Hajun had been standing minutes before.

He was looking out for her. Chanhee wasn’t taking any chances, and tried to eliminate what he perceived to be a possible threat. Miyoung didn’t know if she should have felt touched or guilty.

“Channie? Look at me, please,” Miyoung begged quietly. He chewed on his lip, but slowly turned to look at her. “Thank you, for looking out for me. It means a lot coming from you,” she placed a hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze. “But you know that we can’t live being suspicious of everyone and everything, right? We’d never enjoy life that way.”

Chanhee looked away then back at her. “But what if something like last time happens again?”

Miyoung watched as he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. She winced as she reached to tug the lip from his teeth. “Please don’t hurt yourself,” she whispered. Looking down, she continued, “I understand where you’re coming from. But what happened last time was not because I didn’t see any warning signs, it was because I refused to tell anyone about them.

“I know now that I should always come to you guys if I feel like I’m in danger, and I promise I will, but I can’t lock myself up and never see anyone again because there’s a chance of someone of them hurting me.”

“I know,” Chanhee whispered, “I don’t want you to feel like that. I just don’t want you to get hurt again. I know that I pick on you a lot, but I really was scared and hurt that you had gone through all of that by yourself. Sometimes I feel like maybe if I were nicer to you, you would have come talk to me-” he trailed off.

“Oh, sweetie no. Don’t say that.” Miyoung got up and wrapped her arms around Chanhee. He buried his face into her shoulder. “I promise you, the reason I didn’t say anything to anyone was because I was scared. Not because I didn’t trust anyone. And yeah you tease me, but I know that you actually care for me, just like I care for you,” she said, stroking his hair. He wasn’t crying, but his fists were wound tightly in her shirt.

“I’m sorry, I was rude to your friend,” Chanhee mumbled.

“It’s okay. I’ll text him later and explain,” she said, pulling back. He nodded then leaned back on the couch. Miyoung sat next to him, head resting on his shoulder.

“I promise to keep a watchful eye, but from a distance. I know that you say that not all people are bad, but I don’t know, I just don’t think I can be that trusting yet,” the younger said, playing with his sleeves.

“I understand,” Miyoung said, placing her hand over his, “Thank you for wanting to protect me. Hopefully there will never be a day where you’ll actually have to, but I feel more relaxed knowing that you’ll be there.”

Chanhee nodded, then leaned over and placed a kiss on her head. Miyoung giggled, looking up at the maknae.

“You’re getting soft on me Kang Chanhee,” she said, poking his side. He grumbled, but smiled softly.

Miyoung’s Masterlist