#Bound and Determined made me laugh out loud

[fel-09]

Well thought out plan

The chaos began with your innocent laughter, echoing through the room like a mischievous melody. You had made the bold decision to tickle him—a choice that, in hindsight, might not have been the wisest. He despised being tickled to the very core of his being, and the look in his eyes quickly turned from surprise to unrestrained irritation.

"Wait—no, stop!" His protests were loud and frantic, but your playful determination knew no bounds. You darted forward, your fingers aiming for his sides, only for him to catch your wrists mid-air. His reflexes were annoyingly quick, and before you could comprehend what had happened, he had shifted his weight and maneuvered you with startling ease.

Now you found yourself trapped, sandwiched between his powerful thighs. His legs were strong, firm, and unyielding, locking you in place with no room to escape. It was an unexpected turn of events that left you both bewildered and oddly amused.

“Let me go!” you gasped, squirming against the iron grip of his thighs.

“Not a chance,” he replied smugly, leaning back slightly, his hands resting lazily on his knees as he watched you struggle. “You brought this on yourself.”

Your hands instinctively grabbed at his hips for leverage, your fingers pressing into the taut muscle beneath his skin. “I can’t breathe!” you whispered dramatically, your voice a mix of mock desperation and amusement.

“Oh, please,” he retorted, rolling his eyes. “When you actually start suffocating, maybe then I’ll believe you.”

What he didn’t realize, however, was that you had planned this all along. Every tickle, every laugh—it had all been part of your grand scheme. And now here you were, exactly where you wanted to be, ensnared between his thighs, savoring the warmth and the proximity you had orchestrated so cleverly.

If only he knew the truth.

______

New Year's gift for @bel0ved-heretic

[amongemeraldclouds]

Things I’ll Never Say

Why say things out loud when you can write them all down in a journal? No need to inconvenience everyone else with silly declarations of love that’s only guaranteed to break your heart. So what happens when your enemy - of all people - finds it?

Lorenzo Berkshire x Reader

“Is it that, or is it because you’re in love with me?”

Thanks to @thatdammchickennugget for the prompt. Here's my official entry for the Hogmarch challenge, prompt one. 1k words.

Author’s note: The way I screamed when this idea came to mind! Journaling is such a big part of my life, I’ll take any and every chance I can to incorporate it to my stories.

Indented text are journal entries.

Warning: Cursing, no use of y/n, slight angst but it’s kinda cute. Fluff express coming through!

✿ Masterlist

“Stop copying my notes!” I hiss at Lorenzo, moving my arm to cover my parchment.

“Come on, I missed class today. I need to catch up,” he says, tugging at the arm of my sweater.

“Go ask your friends,” I retort, moving my arm away from his grasp.

“You know they’re not in that class, just you,” he insists.

“Oh we’re not friends,” I deadpan.

“It won’t take long,” he tries again.

“If you weren’t busy sleeping around with everyone, Berkshire. You would have made it to class this morning.”

 He leans in to my ear and whispers, “I’ll make it worth your while.”

I grab the nearest hardbound book and swing it in his direction. Thwack! It strikes his shoulder.

The librarian looks at us sternly. “Your final warning was just given five minutes ago. No noise in the library!” She points her finger to the exit, “You two, out!”

“Great. Thanks for that, Berkshire. Good luck with your notes.” My face gets hot with embarrassment as I gather my things and rush off to the exit.

Enzo spots a black leather bound journal in the area you just vacated. He takes it with him as he exits the library. She’s always writing in this notebook. I’m sure she won’t mind if I take a peek, I’ll give it back to her anyway.

He damn well knew you would mind. When he reaches a quiet corner of the hallway, he proceeds to turn the cover anyway.

I know, I know. I’m not supposed to like Lorenzo Berkshire. Why the fuck did I just draw a heart over the “i”! That’s it. I’m losing my mind! I can’t be caught liking the boy who spewed the word mudblood in my direction our first year. Like it’s my fault I was born into my family. And screw him okay, muggles are awesome. I can break my own heart with my misguided affections, but I’d rather die before I ever let him break my heart. So before I check myself into a mental asylum, I need to just say this somewhere. Anywhere. A last ditch effort to save my sanity.

He’s the intrusive thought I love to entertain in my head.

As a dare, he took off his shirt at the party. My toes curled. I pretended not to notice him.

I heard him laughing with his friends. I love the way it lit up his face.

I saw him enter his dorm hand in hand with a girl. I never wish to be her, another one night stand. Once would never be enough. 

I nearly kissed him again.

He helped me pick up the pile of books I dropped at the library. He seemed kind and concerned. Ha! Who am I kidding?

I count down the hours until I see him again.

Maybe in another lifetime it wouldn’t matter: bloodlines, social status, and hierarchies. So unnecessary.

I noticed the veins in his arm at quidditch practice. I tried not to bite my lip. What must it be like to be wrapped in those arms?

And there he was again with his stupid hair breaking my stupid heart.

Enzo hears determined footsteps approaching and he shuts the journal, hiding it behind him.

“Fine, Berkshire,” I sigh when I reach him. “Here, take my notes,” I say, handing it out to him.

He quirks an eyebrow.

“Weren’t you so desperate to get them earlier?” I fold my arms. “I will not be part of the reason you fail in class.” I point at him, “you and your dumb ass can very well do it yourself. I have more important things to worry about.”

“Is it that, or is it because you’re in love with me?”

My brain short circuits, the fire freezing in my veins. How the hell does he know?

He smirks, pulling out a familiar black journal. My eyes widen.

“On second thought,” I say, stepping back. “It doesn’t matter,” I turn around and walk away. “Fail class for all I care.”

I’m yanked back when I feel Enzo’s grip on my wrist. “Wait.”

My heart thumps in my chest. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. He knows!

“I’m sorry,” he says. What? I turn back, my confused expression directed at him.

“That I called you a mudblood,” he explains. “I was a dumb ass when we were younger.”

“Finally, we agree on something,” I state, trying to mask the tremble in my voice.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you back then and I was prejudiced. Over the years, I enjoyed watching your passion for magic and studying. How you light up when you talk to your friends about a book you just read. And how you’re always the first to volunteer when someone needs help. You have this fire and warmth in you and I just need to be around it all the time. I’m reduced to being a moth to your flame and I don’t mind it at all.”

I blink, speechless.

He takes a step forward, voice softening. “Why do you think I tease you all the time?”

“Well how the fuck was I supposed to know?” The anger not quite there in my voice.

“I just wanted a chance to talk to you and I thought you hated me.” He brushes the hair from my face and cups my face. “Clearly, I was wrong.”

I roll my eyes, “Oh no, I do hate you.” I falter, “but maybe I kind of, just sort of, like you too.”

He grins. “It seems there are things we need to talk about. Will you go on a date with me?”

My heart stutters. “You already know my answer.”

He laughs, “stubborn as always. I’ll take that as a yes.” He pulls me in for a hug. 

Oh. Being wrapped in his strong arms is even better than I imagined. I rest my head on his shoulder when a thought occurs to me.

“You’re sure this is not just some elaborate ploy for me to keep giving you my notes?”

He sighs, “of course not, just enjoy this moment."

He moves his mouth to my ear, "But if you do, I solemnly swear I will make it worth your while.”

I don't hit him this time.

✿ Masterlist

A/N: For those who get the Avril Lavigne title reference, here's a tight hug for you! ♡

I may or may not have also had a place where I wrote down love confessions for someone I couldn’t have. Some of those may or may not have been included in the journal entries.

Two fics published in one day? Who is she?

[beomie3]

to the mountains - huening kai

pairing: best friend! hueningkai x reader

summary: your friend group decides to take a weekend getaway trip to the mountains, but it isn't until you stay in a cabin in the woods that your crush on one of them begins to make itself known. mutually :)

wc: 5k

content: best friends to lovers, cozy woods fluff, the rest of txt is mentioned, light cursing, handholding, cuddles <3, and smooches ^3^

♬🌲soundtrack:

to the mountains - lizzy mcalpine

meet me in the woods - lord huron

let’s go outside - far caspian

apple cider - beabadoobee

evergreen - richy & the coal miners

home - edith whiskers

calico - haux

alps - novo amor

sparks - coldplay

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

you trailed your fingers along the soft wind; feeling it grow colder as you watched rows and rows of pine trees line the road, ears popping as the car climbed elevation.

you looked over at the dark-haired boy next to you; your best friend kai who was in the driver's seat, both hands clutching the wheel. a laugh erupted from your mouths when his voice horrendously cracked as he attempted the high note to a song playing on the radio, his contagious dolphin laugh echoing through the car as you both laughed your asses off.

“maybe i should've taken taehyun up on the vocal lessons," he says once he catches his breath, mentioning your guys’ other friend, who also happens to be the best singer you'd both ever met.

you snorted, patting him on the shoulder. "i mean you could right now, he's in the backseat," you motioned to the back where your friend taehyun lay sound asleep, headphones snug as he leaned on the window.

kai muffled a laugh with his hand, looking at the sleeping tae through the rear-view mirror. "oops! i totally forgot he was here," he giggled quieter now, trying to forget how he was once screaming the lyrics to a song.

"kai- we planned that taehyun would come with us and that the choi's would all follow us in yeonjun's caravan. actually- i wonder if they're there yet." you leaned against the window, checking the “six lo$ers” group chat to see if your other friends had arrived to the cabin.

"oh, no, we're definitely getting there first, i need to make sure i get dibs on the room with the comfiest bed," kai stepped on the gas, determined to reach the destination before the other three boys who would surely compete for the same thing. you laughed, rolling your eyes. this is going to be fun.

~

with a minute to spare, kai pulled into the gravel next to a large pine tree in front of the cabin you’ll be staying in, quickly opening your doors and running out of the car once he took the key out of the ignition.

“crap where’s the key?!” he patted his baby blue hoodie frantically, seemingly unable to locate the key to the cabin’s front door. your heart nearly stopped when you heard the familiar honk of a black caravan pulling into the driveway as well. shit! it’s our competition.

"kai hurry!" you held his arm, pulling at his hoodie impatiently as he was starting to panic and screaming his loud, usual screams you were long used to. you stuck your tongue out at beomgyu as he was quickly unfastening his seatbelt and went to open the car door but it was locked, turning to yell at yeonjun which was silent from where you stood.

“quick get in!” at the last second kai found the key in his jean pocket, quickly unlocking the door and shutting it behind the two of you before beomgyu could reach it as he was sprinting towards you. all you heard was his pounding fist and yells on the other side, telling you to open the stupid door!

you and kai stood shoulder to shoulder, backs to the door huffing and laughing as you made it inside first. you didn’t think the shenanigans would start this early on in the trip. but all six of you together? it's certainly bound to happen.

you give kai one look before he grabs your hand, pulling you into the cabin which is quite larger than what you expected. you didn’t quite get the chance to take it all in since you were being pulled down the hallway by your best friend, but it’s warm, wooden interior and cozy ambiance certainly made you feel right at home.

“quick! we need to find the room with the comfiest bed. they have a spare key and they’ll get in soon,” kai whisper-yelled as he pulled you into the nearest room, adrenaline pumping, jumping onto the bed together and rolling around in it before moving to the next.

the next room was a bit bigger, but the moment you hit the mattress, you felt as you had just fallen face down on a rock. “solid no!” you jumped up laughing and the two of you moved to the next room excitedly.

soon enough, you heard the front door rattle and you both jumped on the last bed, immediately hitting jackpot. before you knew it, beomgyu ran into the room with a mischievous look on his face, grimacing at kai. “they’re in here!” he motioned to the other two boys, immediately sprinting over to the bed.

beomgyu jumped right on top of kai, wresting one another and you helped kai by pushing gyu’s arm off, failing miserably when yeonjun also piled on top. soobin just watched from the doorway, shaking his head. “you realize there are other beds right? and where is taehyun?” soobin’s question made everyone stop in their tracks and look at one another.

“he’s still asleep in the car.” kai laughed and you all ran out to wake the poor boy up.

~

the warmth of delicious soup soothed your vocal chords after hours of karaoke in the living room with the boys, eating it on the back patio with kai as the rest of them were either inside napping or doing silly little things in their own world.

the two of you lounged on folding chairs like a storybook elderly couple on a sunday morning, basking in the crisp forest air as you observed the vibrant green trees. occasionally spotting an exuberant looking bird and excitedly pointing it out to one another.

“shh!” kai quickly shushed you as you were in the midst of slurping your soup, stopping abruptly with wide eyes.

“do you hear that?” he leaned in closer, pretty eyebrows furrowed as he cupped a hand to his ear. you shook your head, quietly setting down your soup.

“i think it’s…running water?” he looked over at you quizzically and you really tuned into the noise, at first only hearing the occasional chirp of a bird or wind through the pines, but then you began to faintly hear it. like white noise. water trickling down upon rocks in the distance.

your eyes lit up and kai was quick to notice, his bright smile spreading from cheek to cheek. “wanna go look for it?” he nudged your foot with his, both sporting mismatched fuzzy socks.

“what kind of question is that?” you scoffed, raising a brow; you didn’t even have to explain yourself for him to know it was a solid yes.

kai had a habit of grabbing your hand and pulling you along with him, that’s how your friendship separated itself from the rest of the boys since long ago. he was known to be the closest to you out of everyone, considering you were always practically attached at the hip.

and so he did his usual; grabbed your hand and pulled you into the cabin to get on shoes before heading out in search of this mystery body of water.

beomgyu lay asleep on the floor like an old watchdog, missing his opportunity to tag along when you and kai soundlessly slipped out of the front door.

you followed right behind him, quick footsteps in the gravel and then onto dried leaves and twigs snapping beneath you once you reached the forest. you both swiveled your heads all around and above you, infatuated with the way the tall evergreens and pines tower up into the sky, nearly disappearing into the foggy clouds.

the fresh, pine-scented afternoon air tickled your nose as it was much colder than what you were used to down in the city, but it was more refreshing than anything. it felt good to get away. to be in silence. especially getting to see all these amazing sights with kai.

you only whispered to one another, needing to be extra quiet to be able to hear in which direction the water was coming from. the sound did indeed grow louder, signifying you were getting closer.

kai beckoned you over to where he stood, eyes wide. you jogged over, crunching leaves under your feet as you reached him. low and behold, you had stumbled upon a tall, but gentle waterfall, it’s water cascading down upon large rocks.

your head reached his shoulder when you stood next to him, always a perfect place to rest it as you both looked up at the shimmering water, astonished smiles on your faces.

you made your way over to the body of water surrounded by rocks at the waterfall’s base, occasionally getting splashed by cold droplets that ricochet off of the large boulders.

“kai? what are you-” you shot him a confused glance as he bent down to take off his shoes and socks, slightly rolling up his shorts.

“we’re getting in silly!” he threw his leg over one of the rocks bordering the edge, screaming when his feet were submerged in the ice cold water.

“we’re?” you crossed your arms over your chest, raising an eyebrow at him as he held his hands out to you. you knew kai pretty well— he wouldn’t sabotage you by throwing you into the water like the others would. you trusted him to be gentle and civil with you, as he was more sincere than anything. of course, he loved to joke around but he knew you would despise getting thrown into ice cold water.

you removed your shoes and rolled your pants up before taking his soft and warm hands in yours, feeling his attentive eyes on you as you carefully dipped your foot in, the breath leaving your chest at how freaking ice cold it was. of course, your penguin-like friend was able to get in effortlessly.

“this is impossible ningning!” you grabbed his shoulder for support as you clenched your jaw and stepped all the way into the ice-cold water. he hid the small blush on his cheeks of the endearment of his name he so loved hearing you say.

the two of you waded over to the waterfall, hands occasionally brushing as you were careful not to slip over the moss and small pebbles under your feet.

your necks swiveled to look up at the waterfall, cold water pelting you as you stood mere inches from the cascading water. mesmerized, your hand drew out to run your fingers under the cold stream; kai following as he smiled at the icy sensation.

you watched your hands under the falling water, the only sound in your ears of it plunging in front of you, too loud to hear anything the happy boy next to you had said. you wiggled your fingers under the cold stream, numb by now that you didn’t notice the tips of your fingers had trailed onto huening’s under the water.

he stood there, a bit surprised, but subconsciously moved his fingers slightly closer to yours, hand nearly on top of yours. it wasn’t until he turned to look at you that you felt the need to hide your face, feeling your cheeks grow red and afraid he would notice.

something about the air. about being alone with kai in the forest. you had always found him pretty but right now— right now his beauty struck you in a way you felt your heart beat in your chest. sunshine radiating behind him like a golden halo over his dark locks, dreamy eyes and a smile to melt over. what is happening?

with a shy smile he interlaced his fingers with yours, opening his mouth to say something but not even bothering because what he had to say would be drowned out by the waterfall. so he began to pull you under the waterfall with him, your eyes widening when you realized what he was doing, but your heart took over and inevitably followed.

it was like ice, drenching your right shoulder and then your head and down your hair, then your left shoulder and you were completely submerged, mouth open at the sheer shock as it took the breath from you.

your best friend’s hair had matted down completely to his forehead, covering his eyes completely which drew a hysterical laugh from you. he reached up with your conjoined hands to sweep the hair over his forehead.

he showed you a toothy grin and you couldn’t help but examine his face through the sheen of water, beginning to fawn over droplets scurrying down his pretty nose.

you thought maybe you’d been staring for too long, darting your eyes away from him and over to the rocks around you, curious about the small flowers growing between the cracks.

yet, you caught him staring at you from out of the corner of your eye, small smile on his lips as his eyes darted around your face. you couldn’t avoid the small flutter in your chest.

you and kai were usually on the silly side. prolonged eye contact and blush on one another’s cheeks not exactly what you two usually share.

“whatttt?” you yelled over the roar of water, tilting your head to one side, noticing his apparent nervousness when he shyly looked down at your hands.

taking a small step forward, leaning in close so you could hear him over the roar of water around you, chest nearly pressed to yours.

he opened his mouth to say something and nothing came out but a small laugh, apparently nervous to say whatever it was. you cupped his cheek as to comfort him, suddenly aware of your gesture and shocked as to what you were doing. you’d never touched kai in such an affectionate way.

“you can say it, kai.” you assured him, your voice loud enough for him to hear. how couldn’t he hear you anyway? his face was a mere 3 inches from yours. you felt slightly uneasy at this proximity but you also kinda really liked it? your emotions buzzing all over the place at this unprecedented tension.

but kai didn’t say anything, he just stood there, looking at you like you were the beautiful waterfall in the forest, taking in all of your natural beauty.

out of no where, you leaned closer, standing on your tip toes and pressed your lips to his cute nose. what a stupid, stupid idea. what the hell am i doing?

but he found it absolutely adorable, face scrunching and high pitched laugh exiting his lips.

“you like my nose?” he asked you quizzically, and you nodded, having to look away with a slight tinge of embarrassment, squeezing your eyes shut.

then grabbing your chin to angle your face back to his, still flustered, he musters up the courage to look you in the eyes, flicking them down to your lips and back up to admire you.

you were simply overtaken by his dark brown eyes; noticing the way his pupils dilated as he focused nearly into your soul, sinking into the dreamy trance that you never knew your best friend was capable of pulling you into in this way.

in a million years, you never thought you'd share a kiss under a freezing cold waterfall in the middle of the forest with kai kamal huening. but here you were, leaning into him, the nearest proximity you ever had since knowing him, not paying any mind to the occasional shivers and goosebumps pelting your body.

he closed the small gap that was left between your lips and you stayed there, slightly squeezing his hand as your heart felt it would beat out of your chest. the kiss was short and sweet and you almost wished it had been a little longer. but kai pulled away slowly, his cheeks the reddest you had ever seen them.

“and i like your lips.” he giggled, eyes nearly shut with how big he was smiling. you never knew kai felt the same way about you until now, dropping small hints along your friendship that you didn’t quite pick up on until now, only now getting his message with a sweet peck to your lips.

by now, your body was frozen and you pulled kai out of the heavy stream with you, not able to withstand it any longer since the adrenaline was wearing off and you could now begin to realize just how cold you were.

you wrapped your arms around your body to withhold as much body heat as you could, violently shivering with how cold you were. kai was cold too, but he made warming you his priority, wrapping his arms around you to hopefully try and help.

“here, stand on my feet,” he requested and you did just that, balancing on the tops of his feet as he walked the two of you over to the exit, helping you over the rocks and getting your shoes and socks for you.

you smiled, the only warmth in your body provided by his kind gestures that would melt anyone’s heart.

“race you back?” you looked down at him as he tied your shoe for you, his eyes flicking up quickly at the sound of those words. and before you knew it you were sprinting after kai in the woods; feet numb but heart warm and racing just as fast as you were after him.

~

“never seen that hoodie on you, is it new?” yeonjun asks as he stirs his hot cocoa, gazing at him from your spot in front of the fire place.

“oh it’s kai’s, actually!” you sip your apple cider, snuggling into the oversized baby blue hoodie that kai lent you a couple days ago once you returned from your freezing cold adventure.

“oh so now you’re wearing his hoodies hmm?” beomgyu nudged you, a mischievous grin on his face as he wiggled his eyebrows at you suggestively, exaggeratedly winking at yeonjun from where he stood in the kitchen.

the boys had began to notice your closeness with hueningkai especially recently on this trip, due to the fact you two would sneak out at random times and leave them without a clue as to where you two were.

of course, they knew you were always close in comparison to everyone else, but recently, they hadn’t even seen you two much because of how much time you were spending together out who knows where.

they made conspiracies that you guys were secretly dating and would go out on little cute dates everyday, that’s why you wouldn’t tell them. yet they secretly cheered kai on because he was so happy lately. and when kai was extra happy, everyone was extra happy.

and to be honest, that conspiracy didn’t sound too completely far from the truth. ever since you and kai had kissed at the waterfall, you had grown even closer; your bond deepening and tangling so much that it was almost confusing. you hadn’t felt this way for anyone before and it confused you that it was your best friend; you didn’t want to ruin what you had.

but you wanted to be with kai every second of every day. and he wanted to be with you.

~

and at sunset, you and kai escaped again. hand in hand running into the woods as it was now your favorite place to go.

each time you ran off into the forest, you found something new about each other that you hadn’t known before. hell, you had even discovered what each other’s lips feel like the very first time you even ran off.

you spent your time climbing trees and sharing snacks amidst a deep talk and of course laughter, then carving both of your initials in whichever tree it was, marking it yours.

when you got too tired of walking, kai would carry you on his back, not minding at all. he enjoyed it actually, always offering to give you piggyback rides no matter how tired he got.

you would occasionally go back to the waterfall, sitting on the rocks or skipping stones across the water to see who’s would go further.

today kai wore a loose, earth-toned wool jacket with nothing under but a dainty silver necklace, zipped up enough to expose a bit of his chest. it drew your eyes like a magnet to his pretty collarbones glowing in the setting sunrays.

“i like this jacket on you,” you gingerly traced your fingers along the woven material, a shy smile on your lips. your compliment made his heart skip.

of course, you two were still bestest of friends, doing goofy things and blabbing about anything and everything. but when you caught his eye or exchanged a small compliment, you both got so shy and quiet and blushy around each other.

you were both aware of another option you had now, completely new and foreign to your relationship; the small kiss from a couple days ago. you held the memory fondly since the moment it happened, warmth spreading across your chest at the thought.

your head rested on his shoulder, watching the waterfall together as you decided to look up at him, eyeing the plush of his lips.

“can we..try it again?” you sort of beat around the bush, hoping kai would pick up on what you were throwing down. you felt too shy to ask your best friend directly if you could kiss him.

“what, race to the cabin?” he furrowed his brows and you laughed, head falling back onto his shoulder.

“i meant-”

“i know y/n, just messing with you,” he nudged you, a sweet smile on his lips.

somehow, it felt natural, like this had been something you had both long wanted to do. like something you were made to do. you kept the comfort of your head on his shoulder and he leaned down to place his lips on yours, slowly melting into the kiss with your eyes fluttered closed.

you could sense everything better now; the warmth of his soft lips, the subtle taste of the watermelon you had snacked on earlier whilst sitting atop a tree, the subtle cool breeze blowing pieces of your hair astray. you enjoyed it even more now, since the first was a bit interrupted by the freezing cold waterfall.

after a few moments, you broke the kiss with an interrupted thought, staring into his eyes and then trailing your gaze to the water where you stared at your reflections. his broad shoulders like a large blob in the water, then yours a smaller blob. it was always like this; next to one another for as long as you could remember. you love kai. and you don't want to ruin what you have.

“this…this won’t ruin our friendship, right?” you were hesitant to look up at him in the eye as you slowly look back up at him, almost worried he would regret it.

but he only smiled, shaking his head.

“never, y/n. you’ll always be riiight here,” he pointed to his chest, at the spot right over his heart. you warmly smiled, finding him the absolute most adorable boy in the world. how could you not have the biggest crush on him?

it all made sense now. kai was everything you wanted and needed in a partner, in a friend, in a lover. but you always pushed away any sort of feeling in fear of losing him. but how could you lose him- how could you lose him if he's always been by your side through it all.

“forever.”

~

the front door creaks as you both sneak back into the cabin, completely pitch black as the boys had gone to sleep, considering it was half past midnight.

you both tip-toe down the dark hallway, finding every room was closed and in use except for the one at the end of the hall; the one you and kai had claimed on the first day.

you could see his pearly smile faintly in the dark, silently cheering that they didn't all steal the room with the comfiest bed. you held onto his arm as you blindly walked down the hallway and into the room, flicking on the dim night light to provide just enough light to see his soft facial features, hair slightly tossed by the breeze seeping through the window.

you two were long past the i'll sleep on the floor so you can have the bed phase of your friendship, so you shared the bed as it was normal for the two of you. and through all these years, never once had it felt uncomfortable even in the slightest. all you ever did was look up at whoever's bedroom ceiling in deep conversation and occasionally kick at each other's feet under the covers.

tonight, a certain tension blanketed the two of you as you lay next to one another, pinkies interlaced under the sheets as you stare up at the high ceiling of the cabin, listening to the subtle whir of wind through the trees.

you felt cozy here, in this little cabin tucked away in the wilderness with your best friend(s). you almost wanted to snuggle into him, but that had yet to be established.

“i like you, kai.” your voice suddenly emerges lowly from the still room, the sound of his rustle under the blanket apparent as he tightened his pinky around yours. turning to face you, you did the same, facing one another with cheeks squished to the pillows.

"a lot." you whisper with a growing smile, just inches from his lips as you stare into the chocolate glimmer of his eyes. you could feel your heart pounding in your chest and drumming into your ears.

with a gentle finger, he lightly tucks away a stray piece of hair behind your ear, bringing intense warmth to blanket your cheeks. you couldn't quite see in the dark, but his were dusted with a rosy tinge as well.

“does this mean we can cuddle now?” his voice comes out shyly, smiling and red in the face at his own question.

you giggle, nodding and smiling so big that your eyes are nearly shut, slowly scooching closer to kai. almost unsure as to go about this, considering it's your best friend you're cuddling.

but you just go for it; pressing your chest to his, wrapping your arms around his torso, snuggling your head into him, cheek pressed to his warm neck and filling the space under his chin perfectly.

he wraps his arms around you and pulls you close, silence filling the room again once you both find the spot you are most comfortable in. you can hear his heartbeat as you breathe him in; warm calico fabric like fresh laundry. the closest you've been to this comforting scent that you wanted to be engulfed in eternally.

"i'm glad we agree, but i like you more," he adds. you giggle, burying your face into his warm chest and you can feel his smile grow with the way his voice flows like it always does when he's brimming with happiness, picturing his cute face in your mind and what he looks like right now.

"at the waterfall i did what i've wanted to for so long." his voice vibrates on the crown of your head, feeling his chest sink as he exhales, relaxing into you; relieved to confess what always weighed on him. eyes fluttering shut as he enjoys your warmth and the scent of your hair curling into his nose, tracing light circles into your back.

you pull your head away to the beautiful sight of his face, looking up at him and finding his eyes shut but then flutter open to look down at you, his lips curled into a pretty smile and slightly parted, looking too good not to kiss.

and so you lean up slowly, inviting him to lean down and close the gap for your third kiss, feeling his heart pound against yours. you're infatuated with the way his hand always comes up to cup your cheek, savoring every moment he had with you. in this moment, your love grew for your special boy, falling for him evermore.

~

"kai over here look!" your feet patter against the snow as you run towards familiar rock formations, sprinkled with snow as you point at it, covered in white.

he runs up, giving you a large hug from behind, his large wool jacket engulfing you in its warmth, a kiss to your cheek; now a normal thing.

summer and autumn had passed twice and your souls had intertwined more than you could even fathom; ever since your best friend had become your boyfriend, your life became filled with so much pure happiness that you could easily mistake any day for a fairytale.

with the help of his grasp, kai hoists you up so that you sit on the rock he had brushed the the light dusting of snow off of, threading his arms through yours to hold your waist as he places his chin in the crook of your neck.

it just felt so natural, like this was what the two of you were born to do. always destined to be together and never, ever apart.

the bitter winter breeze wasn't so bad with his warmth seeping into you, cradling you so good and you swear you'd never felt comfort until you fell in love with this boy.

after a few moments of enjoying the view of the frozen waterfall, kai pulls his arms away from you and instead dangles his dainty necklace around your neck, the same one you noticed two years ago in this same place.

the small bead at its end weighed down onto your sweater, drawing your eyes down to the sparkling jewel; noticing it was the shape of a heart. a token of his diamond love for you.

"i wanted to give this to you then," he whispered, a sweet smile on his lips when you turned to face him.

your eyes said it all, holding the words i’ll love you forever in them without having to say a word. he just knew.

“my heart is yours.” he says as he embraces you, hardly able to contain your emotions as you hug him even harder, as hard as you could, for that fact.

his love felt like warm blankets on a cold morning, a crackling fireplace as you sip warm apple cider, cuddles during a midnight storm, the much-needed hug after a long day. he felt like home.

"race you back?" he tilted his head with a sly smile, helping you down before disappearing off into the woods. you chased right behind, sure to beat him this time.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

a/n: this is a very late hueningkai bday fic!! i share an august birthday with him so i wanted to write a comforting fic for our bdays lol :) hope everyone enjoys and happy late bday to anyone who had one in august or having one soon (yeonjun fic coming soon)!! 🥳 love u all <3

[leaderpinhead]

Malleus - Generational Blessing

Day 27 of Fluffcember 2024 Prompt: Family Gatherings (Fluffcember) Rating: Teen Characters: Malleus, Silver, Lilia, OCs Pairings: Silver/OC, (background) Leona/Yuu Notes: Yes, this is the future children episode of fluff, and the AU where Leona/Yuu prevails.

A pair of large blue and purple eyes stared up at Malleus from the cradle. Malleus stared back, determined to outmatch the human child’s gaze. The stare possessed the innocence only a child could feasibly portray. A part of Malleus wanted to help preserve that innocence. 

But life could be cruel, and it was his duty to prepare the child for any potential hardships. “Listen to me, child of man. You must steel yourself for the challenges you will face. The world can be cruel and harsh to the innocent. Strangers may wish for your demise; friends will carve the deepest betrayal. Your loyalty will be tested, and your strength matched by your foes. Your spirit must stay strong but keep your heart malleable. For the worst enemy may one day be yourself. Never shut out those who love you the most. And with that, I gift you with Discernment. May you distinguish those who mean you harm but find lifelong friends to welcome into our fold. Be sensitive of your inner strength and turmoil and have the diligence to preserve yourself. Be wise, be charitable, and you shall thrive.” 

With a gentle wave of his hand, sparks of green magic descended over the cradle. They gently landed on the babe’s face and disappeared. Malleus waited for the child to respond. Purple and blue eyes continued to silently stare at him, but he could see a keen intelligence shining deep within the child’s gaze. Malleus smirked. Even young children knew to be in awe of a fae’s gift. 

The babe’s entire body jumped with a sudden hiccup. A loud fart echoed through the small cottage. Lilia’s high-pitched laughter soon followed where he stood in the kitchen. “Sounds to me like someone may need a diaper change!” 

Malleus huffed and stepped away from the cradle. The babe babbled, and little fists lifted into the air as if to stop his withdrawal. It worked because Malleus quickly returned to the cradle’s side. He extended a finger for the child to grab and smirked at the strong grip. There was little doubt in his mind that his goddaughter would become a strong warrior. 

A light chuckle beside him made him turn away from the babe fiercely kicking out of the blankets swaddling her. Silver gently smiled down into the cradle, and Malleus could immediately see the similarities between the two. As he should, considering Silver was the girl’s father. Her heterochromatic eyes were only one facet of Silver: Malleus could easily identify the same chin, nose, and ears between the two. Her fair blond hair and feisty attitude were all her mother. 

“Phyllis does say Oriana has perfect timing,” Silver said. He pulled the blanket back up to cover Oriana. She aggressively kicked it off again. “She will be a handful the older she becomes.” 

Malleus widely smirked. “Of course, she will be. With me as her magics tutor, she will be leaps and bounds ahead of her peers when she finally enrolls in Night Raven College. She will be a fine rival to Kingscholar’s progeny!” 

“Leona’s son should be walking now,” Silver said. As if the basic skill of walking should be a compliment. Malleus would see to it that Oriana was flying by the end of her first year! “It’s also a little too early to tell if Oriana has magic. Magic sometimes skips a generation in Phyllis’s family.” 

Malleus frowned and glanced into the kitchen. He could see Lilia happily zooming around the small area with Phyllis following him around like a confused chick. Every time she attempted to help him with a task, Lilia chided her with a laugh, “Don’t be silly! You’re my guests—go prop up your feet while I spoil my first grandchild!” 

Malleus leaned over the cradle and whispered, “I also gift you with an iron stomach for the moments Lilia foils your Discernment. Beware the dishes that look like rainbows. They are deadlier than the piles of ash.” 

Oriana blew a wet raspberry, which Malleus interpreted as her full acceptance of his wisdom. He nodded and addressed Silver once more. “My goddaughter will be the greatest mage of her generation.” 

Silver sighed, and his smile looked tired. In fact, most of Silver looked tired now that Malleus got a good look at him. The shadows under his eyes weren’t from the faulty lightbulb in the lamp Lilia refused to replace. If Malleus didn’t know any better, he would have said Silver wasn’t getting enough sleep. 

“I have no doubt Oriana could be a formidable mage under your tutelage,” Silver slowly said, “but if she doesn’t have magic she will still have the opportunities to be the greatest in whatever arena she chooses. If she wishes to become a knight, then she will be a formidable knight. If she wishes to become a scholar, then I have no doubt she will become one whose works will be quoted for decades.” 

Malleus emphatically nodded. “Of course. She will be all of those and more.” Malleus lifted a hand and made crushing motion with his fingers. “She will be superior in all ways when compared to Kingscholar’s boy.” 

Silver emitted a tired sigh, but it matched the return of his tired smile. “I was hoping Oriana and Haki could be close friends as they grew up.” 

“They may be close friends in the same manner Kingscholar and I are close friends. The rivalry brings us closer.” 

Oriana’s coos stole Malleus’s attention. She grabbed his pinkie when he offered it to her. He hummed a lullaby and watched her blue and purple eyes slowly drift shut. They shot open again when Lilia poked his head between Malleus and Silver to peer into the cradle. “How is my lovely first—and certainly not last—grandbaby? Grandpappy Lilia has prepared a scrumptious meal for you!” 

“Lilia!” Phyllis’s voice sounded strained from the kitchen. When Malleus glanced back at her, he found her battling to keep a bubbling pot from overflowing. “I told you, Ori is still too young to eat your food.” 

“Phooey! It’s been months since I last saw my grandbaby. Surely she’s old enough now.” 

“We visited last weekend.” 

“Months!” 

The door to the cottage suddenly flung open and loudly slammed against the wall. Sebek gasped for breath in the doorway, his hair uncharacteristically disheveled. Under his arm was a giant stuffed crocodile. He pointed an accusing finger in their direction. “Silver! How dare you not inform me you were visiting? I had to hear the news from my sister!” 

Sebek’s loud voice was matched only by Oriana’s louder shrieks. Malleus glared at Sebek, who looked completely flabbergasted by the reaction. Lilia cooed over Oriana while Silver carefully lifted her from the cradle. The babe only calmed when Phyllis abandoned the pot to cradle Oriana in her arms. 

Lilia giggled as Sebek profusely apologized and shoved the crocodile into Silver’s confused arms. “To think it was only a few years ago when you boys were just as tiny. Now, here we are: three generations of family I could never have imagined having. It brings this old soul a kind of joy I don’t think I could ever fully describe.” 

Malleus frowned as old memories threatened to sour his mood. He shook his head and decided to enjoy the show of Sebek attempting to convince Oriana to accept him only to have the girl scream every time he stepped too close. There were no tears in her eyes, and Malleus assumed she already associated loud screaming with Sebek. It meant she had a keen intellect already at such a young age. 

He doubted Kingscholar could say the same of his son, considering the last time Yuu had invited Malleus to Sunrise City the boy was still drooling on his teethers. It was truly a shame that the boy inherited Kingscholar's curse to always come in second place. Malleus supposed his blessings were simply superior. 

[sorceresssundries]

A Battle of Wits

Summary: As an arrogant wizard and a jaded cleric set out to find a suitable campsite, tensions rise between them. Tav finds herself wrestling with Gale's shadowed past, as well as other feelings which are starting to make themselves known...

Word count: 3,4k

Notes: SFW. Felt the need to write a one-shot which featured a more arrogant version of Gale than in my longer fic.

It had been two days since Gale had disclosed his dark secret, and Tav had decided she preferred the enigmatic stranger to the apparent ‘open-book’ he had turned into. Now that everything was clearly laid out, it was as though the flood banks had burst  and the constant stream of references to being Mystra’s chosen were wearing Tav thinner by the hour. 

The two of them had been tasked with finding an appropriate location for their merry band to set up camp, as last time Astarion had lumped them alarmingly close to a pack of Gnolls. His scouting privileges had since been rescinded, and instead he had been demoted to foraging duty with Wyll -  to the vampire’s loud and dramatic disappointment. This left Tav to navigate the nearby woodland alongside the insufferable wizard to try and find a suitable resting spot.

“There was this one particularly riveting occasion, where Mystra twisted the weave into an exceptionally elaborate piece of magic which allowed me to pleasure…

"I'm going to stop you right there," Tav declared, halting in her tracks and fixing Gale with a stern gaze. She folded her arms across her chest, her expression blazing with disapproval. "I do not want to hear any more disturbing stories about you and your... mother of all magic," she emphasised, her tone leaving no room for misunderstanding. She couldn't bear to entertain any more of his unsettling anecdotes.

"Envy is a predictable response from a devoted cleric such as yourself," he continued, his tone dripping with condescension. His casual demeanour contradicted the gravity of his situation, an arrogance unbefitting someone carrying a self-assembled bomb in their chest. "But I wouldn't expect you to grasp the complexity and intensity of our relationship."

“Listen wizard” Tav retorted “I serve with appropriate devotion. I am not blighted with the arrogance of believing I should be entangled with the deity who decides my fate and guides my hand” 

He laughed in a pitying kind of way which made her want to rip out his stupid little earring. “She was more than my deity, she was my lover.”

“There is no ‘more’ than a deity.” Tav sighed in frustration, determined to end the conversation and talk of it no longer. Gale was a man lost. She was bound on a journey with a vampire, a Sharran amnesiac, an extinguishing barbarian, a tortured Warlock, and Lae’zel - who quite frankly was a breath of fresh, albeit sharp, air compared to the others. 

Gale was the biggest challenge of them all. At least Astarion, the vampire spawn, was transparent in his values, a quality Tav could begrudgingly respect. Self-serving, untrusting, and manipulative, Astarion possessed qualities Tav, with her decades of clerical service to the downtrodden, could navigate. She had faced the darkest corners of humanity, offering healing and support to the most burdened and jaded souls society had cast aside. Dealing with Astarion was familiar territory.

Gale was… complex at best and a dangerous hypocrite at worst. While he professed a deep-seated value for kindness and the safeguarding of the vulnerable, his path was often clouded by impulsive decisions and an overbearing sense of self-importance. In him, Tav glimpsed the flicker of greatness which he seemed determined to extinguish. He could be a beacon of light, if only he wasn’t obscured by the fog of his self-delusion.

"I could delve into exquisite detail about the intricacies of our romantic entanglement, but I wouldn't want to overstimulate your senses," Gale's smug smile returned, his tone dripping with self-satisfaction. "So, I'll leave it to your somewhat limited imagination, shall I?"

Tav tilted her head ever so slightly, a gesture laden with subtle disdain, and let out a dramatic exhale. “Yes, what an arousing thought. One of countless wizards plucked and discarded by Mystra. A drop in an infinite ocean. How impressive you must have been.”

Gale's pride remained unshaken "I was quite impressive, actually. In various aspects. The youngest chosen in a century..." he bragged, his blind arrogance failing to grasp the heavy undertone of exploitation in his admission. It made Tav feel sick. “That was before I was cast aside and abandoned, obviously.”

“Tough was it? Moping around on your sunlit balcony in the city of splendours, caged in a luxurious prison of your own making?” Her mind wandered back to her days in the lower city of Baldur's Gate, where poverty was an ever-present spectre. There, her sanctuary had been anything but opulent—a humble cleric's tent nestled in the harbour, among the downtrodden and destitute.

While others struggled in the comforts of their gilded towers, Tav laboured tirelessly amidst the suffering and hardship of the masses. Her hands, calloused from endless toil, offered solace where there was none. Exhaustion had been her constant companion, born of the ceaseless tide of poverty that swept daily into her little tent. Some she could aid, yes, with her limited skills and the grace bestowed upon her. Yet, for many, the damage ran deeper than flesh wounds, and her healing incantations were mere whispers against the roar of their suffering.

How vividly she remembered those penniless urchins, the spark in their eyes smothered by the weight of their burdens. She recalled the heart-wrenching sight of a child slipping away in the grasp of a grieving mother unwilling to let go. In that moment, she was not just a healer, but a bearer of sorrow, tasked with the duty of ushering a fragile soul into the afterlife.

As Gale raised his finger, poised to deliver what Tav anticipated would be yet another vexing remark, the murmur of voices drifted toward them. With swift determination, Gale ushered her behind the shelter of a nearby tree, their bodies pressed close to conceal themselves from prying eyes. His back against the rough bark, he drew her against him to minimise their silhouette against the midday sun.

Tav couldn't stifle her yelp as she found herself with Gale’s arm around her waist. His hand swiftly covered her mouth, preventing any further noise she might have made, eliciting from her a muffled protest that manifested as a defiant 'hmph'. Gale couldn't help but give a low chuckle at her discomfort.

Tav tried to focus on what the approaching voices were saying, but her thoughts were muddied by how soft the skin of his hand was against her lips. This spoiled magician had obviously never done a hard day's labour in his life, everything about him seemed to get her riled up. What a frustrating, arrogant, soft, lavender scented…

She lost her train of thought as the voices became clearer.

“...hidden it away from camp. Don’t fink she trusts the others not to fuck about with it.”

“I don’t even know why we shittin’ bothered. It’s just a bit of wood shaped like an old man. Betcha couldn’t even bash someone over the head with it.” 

“It’s not for bashing, you mush-minded lump. It’s for fuckin’ with the druids. Those animal-wankers will be all over the place with their precious idol gone. And now Mistress Minthara knows where the grove is, it will be easier to kill ‘em all. I can’t wait to tell her.”

“She won’t fuck you, you know. She’s some kind of Drow princess, and you smell like shit.” 

Gale’s breathing had quickened at Tav’s ear, surely he wasn’t scared of a couple of Goblins? 

So, the Drow had figured out the location of the grove. It was inevitable really, Goblin search parties had been increasing by the day and with the added pressure of the Tiefling refugees, the sanctuary of the glade was becoming more and more difficult to keep hidden.

"We need to question them," With a deft flex of her tadpole connection, Tav probed her thoughts into Gale's. Each time she delved into his mind, it felt oddly intimate, a sensation amplified by their current proximity—her back pressed against his chest, his hand firmly covering her mouth.

“Ok, let me - i’m much more capable at the art of negotiation than…”

“No. I'll do it. You’ll just piss them off.” 

His hand dropped from Tav’s mouth, and she turned to glare at him. His pupils were wide, and breathing still heavy. His eyes seemed to flicker over her face and settled for a brief moment on her lips. The close contact and the heat of the day must have been addled her brain, she thought to herself.

Quickly and quietly she rummaged through her backpack, and pulled out a leather dog collar and a bunch of rope the group had found earlier. Tav had been saving it for Scratch, but she was very much going to enjoy putting it to a different use. 

“Put this on.” 

“Excuse me?” Gale held the collar up to study and his distaste was clear in her mind “I am an infamous, educated, revered…”

“You’re a whiny prick. Now put it on.” 

He grumbled intelligibly to himself as he fiddled with the strap around his neck. The leather pressed tightly around his tanned skin, and the small silver tag sat pretty in the hollow of his throat. Tav made a small sound of smug satisfaction at the sight of him, and the silver tag bobbed tellingly in response. She then bound his hands with the rope, and tightened it just a little more than was necessary. She was surprised that didn’t complain, the only noise between the two of them were his increasingly heavy breaths. He must be nervous, Tav thought.

It only took a couple of seconds for Tav to cast a quick spell to change her appearance to that of a dark-skinned under-elf, and Gale quickly picked up on her plan.

“Oh for the love of…” he exclaimed out loud.

“Who’s there, show yourself!” The slightly larger Goblin pointed its spear in their direction, and Tav took pleasure in pushing Gale out from their hiding place, before she swaggered out behind him.

“Oh! A drow! In the sunlight?” The Goblins looked at each other in confusion, surely only a True Soul could bear to be in this blistering daylight without any discomfort?

“And here I was thinking Goblin heads are just full of flies.” Tav sneered at the two of them.

“Why were you ‘iding behind that tree?” The Goblin did not lower its spear.

“Ah, there’s that tell-tale buzzing noise of gnats in an empty skull, or maybe it’s just because of your pungent scent.” Tav’s voice dripped with as much venom as she could muster, and Gale did his best not to turn his head to glare at her. “I was not hiding. I was allowing my recently-caught slave to grant me pleasure. It’s a warm day and I needed him to lick the sweat off me.” At those words, Gale seemed to shift a little on his feet. Tav revelled in the fact she was making him uncomfortable. 

"I've been sent by Minthara to check up on you. She said you useless cretins were taking longer than expected. She does not like to be kept waiting." Tav took a leaf out of Gale's book and tried her best to mimic the arrogant lilt that brushed his voice when he talked about being Mystra's chosen. 

“Oh.. do not fear your excellency, your loveliness, your dark majesty… we have completed our task! We buried the idol good and proper…” The Goblin bowed low in deference. 

“You buried it?! Out in the wilderness, where there are Gnolls and other wild animals clawing around for scraps?” 

“We are good at burying fings! Bozza here buried her whole family last week.” 

“That’s awful..” Gale’s reaction was instinctive, and Tav gave him a sharp shove in the back as a punishment. 

“Not really, I was the one what killed ‘em”, Bozza shrugs.

“Oh..”

“Silence, pet.” Tav pressed her foot to the back of one of Gale’s knees, causing him to drop to the ground. “You speak when I allow it.” 

Gale grimaced, he was going to be unbearable after this. 

“Good boy.” Tav purred. She could swear she noticed him shudder slightly at her words. Excellent, maybe this would knock him down a peg or two. 

Before Tav could delve further into her interrogation of the goblins, a sudden thwack cut through the air, and a well-aimed arrow found its mark, striking Bozza squarely in the forehead and snuffing her out in an instant. Startled, Tav barely had time to react before two more arrows whistled through the air. One found its mark through the second goblin's eye socket, while the other veered slightly off course, embedding itself in Tav's shoulder with searing pain.

"Fuck!" Tav exclaimed, the agony of the arrowhead piercing her flesh causing her concentration to falter, her disguise fading back to her usual appearance as she crumpled to the ground.

"Shit!" A familiar voice rang out from the nearby bushes, and Astarion and Lae'zel emerged, rushing to their aid.

"We thought Gale had been captured," Astarion explained hastily.

Gale, exasperated, raised his bound hands in frustration. "I am an exceptionally competent wizard! My knees may be a tad on the creaky side, but I can assure you I am more than capable of locating a suitable campsite without getting captured by a couple of goblins and a drow!"

“Yes, of course darling.” Astarion sneered “And that leather collar suits you quite well. A true mark of competent wizardry, wouldn't you say?" His laughter punctuated the jab as he deftly freed Gale from his bindings.

Tav's pained groan cut through their bickering, drawing their attention back to her.

"Tav requires healing, oh competent wizard," Lae'zel interjected, her voice carrying a hint of impatience. "She is fortunate it was the vampire's arrow that struck her. One of mine would have spelled her end.”

“That was your arrow!” Astarion argued.

“Chh’k” Laezel stowed her bow away and counted her remaining arrows. “Your many years have made your brain slow and your aim weak, blood-sucker. It cannot be helped. “ 

"Guys!" Tav's urgent interruption finally broke through their squabbling, drawing their attention back to the matter at hand.

“Go on then, chosen one. Do your thing.” Astarion waved his hand dismissively as he started rooting around the dead Goblins to see what goodies he could find. He started removing a pair of boots as Gale knelt by Tav’s side to examine the injury. 

“Healing magic isn’t my forte” he admitted a little sheepishly.

“Of course it isn’t” Tav panted between strained breaths. Her vision was blurring as the pain began to overcome her senses. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” His voice was coloured with offence.

“A wizard naturally blessed with control of the weave, an archmage, the chosen of the Goddess of Magic herself, and yet you never devoted any real time or effort into learning how to heal people? Why am I not surprised.”

He did not respond, just furrowed his brow as he looked through his pack to find any healing potions. 

There was another rustle from the bushes, and just as Lae’zel drew back the string of her bow for another shot, Scratch appeared wagging his tail - paws dirty from digging, and with the Idol of Silvanus clutched in his jaw. 

“I fucking love this dog.” Tav exclaimed through her pain-gritted teeth. “Good boy, Scratch.”

“Do not give that to the wizard, hound” Lae’zel commanded. “He will only eat it”

Gale dropped his attention in indignation. “Firstly Lae’zel, I do not eat magical items, I absorb the stands of the weave residing within them to sate the arcane hunger of the voracious orb which resides in my chest. Secondly, I would not dare to drain away the magic of something so significant! The trinkets that have been offered so far are more than enough to… “

Pain made the anger which suddenly coursed through Tav burn hotter. “That trinket we gave you was from one of the Tiefling refugees, who soon will be out in the wilderness with barely two coins to rub together!” she snapped, and Gale at least has the decency to redden slightly. 

“So, listen to me, former arch-wizard - everything we have is hard-won. A magical locket that was a gift from a family for saving the life of their child has now been sacrificed upon a dark altar of your own making. And it was just as significant to them, as that religious idol is to the druids.” 

“I did not mean…”

But Tav did not get to hear the end of his protest, pain and blood loss overtook her, and the last thing she remembered was the feeling of being slung over a lavender-scented shoulder before drifting away into unconsciousness. 

Tav awoke much later, the setting sun casting a soft pink glow over the Emerald Grove. The air had cooled, and the crickets began to sing their evening song. A bandage snugly covered her shoulder, and her arm was secured in a tight sling. She found herself laid out on a bedroll in the central circle of the Grove, where the Idol of Silvanus sat back in its rightful place, bathed in the fading light.

“Do not fear, all is well.” Lae’zel was sat on the ground next to her, deep in concentration sharpening a dagger. “The Idol has been returned, and the druids warned. In the morning, we must waste no more time in eradicating the goblin threat.”

Tav nodded in agreement, pain still thrumming steadily in her shoulder and head woozy from the potions she had been given. 

"You've just missed Gale explaining the intricacies of the Astral plane to me," Lae'zel said through gritted teeth.

"Oh," Tav replied, her confusion evident. Partly at how that conversation must have started, but mainly at how Gale wasn't lying dismembered at her feet. "The place where you grew up and your entire race is based?"

"Yes," Lae'zel hissed as she stalked off to practice her sparring technique, no doubt with Gale's face at the forefront of her mind as she brandished her sharpened blade with warrior's devotion.

Tav eventually stood up, still feeling lightheaded but strong enough to stretch her muscles and go in search of something to eat. As she approached a simmering cookpot, she noticed Arabella the Tiefling girl sneaking around with something behind her back.

"What's that you've got there, little one?" Tav inquired, her voice gentle as she approached the child.

"Boots that make you move faster!! Aren't they cool!" Arabella's eyes sparkled with excitement as she proudly displayed the pair of boots in her hands. "The handsom—uh, I mean the wizard gave them to me to give to my parents! He told me to tell them I found them in that abandoned Harpy nest."

Tav couldn't help but smile at Arabella's enthusiasm, her heart warming at the sight of the girl's joy. Yet, Arabella's grin faltered as realisation dawned upon her. "Oh! I don't think I was meant to tell you he gave them to me either", she admitted, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Tav assured her, placing a comforting hand on Arabella's shoulder.

Arabella dashed off to reunite with her parents, her excitement contagious as she handed over the prized boots. Tav watched with a tenderness as Arabella's mother erupted into laughter, her husband joining in as they struggled to fit the boots over her legs.

Tav scanned the room, and saw Gale sat amidst a small gathering of wide-eyed Tiefling children, his presence commanding their undivided attention. In his outstretched palm, a small purple dragon breathed delicate sparks before flitting around the heads of the mesmerised youngsters, eliciting giggles and applause. Tav smiled at the heartwarming sight, her heart softening as she watched Gale perform for the small, awestruck faces.

As the scene unfolded, one of Mol's gang approached from behind, their intentions less than noble as they deftly detached Gale's coin purse from his robes, swiftly pocketing their ill-gotten gains. Tav tensed, ready to intervene and reclaim what was rightfully Gale's, but before she could make a move, something unexpected happened.

Behind Gale's back, a subtle wave of his hand went unnoticed by the children, yet Tav caught the faint glimmer of magic. In an instant, the purloined purse reappeared in Gale's grasp, his smile warm and genuine as he met Tav's gaze with a knowing look. A subtle wink followed, and Tav couldn't help but burst into laughter, her heart light and fluttering.

Perhaps there was hope for him yet.

[mvshortcut]

for the prompt game: “you came back for me, you actually came back for me”, with any characters you want!

Sticky and Kate are holding my brain hostage tonight. Enjoy!

Read on ao3 here

Two thousand three hundred and forty one …

Two thousand three hundred and forty two …

He paused to wipe sweat from his brow again. It did no good when his palms were just as drenched.

Two thousand three hundred and forty five …

The room tilted again. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. The lights assaulted his vision; a buzzing noise resumed deep in his ear. 

Two thousand three hundred and forty nine …

He’d already checked if the room was actually tilting or if it was just a trick his mind was playing on him. Well—tried to check. He’d fished out a marble from his pocket that Kate had given him at breakfast—she’d sorted through her whole collection before finally settling on one that felt the most like him, based on some incomprehensible criteria. “For luck,” she’d said, placing it in his palm with a bright grin.

Fat lot of good that’d done him.

Two thousand three hundred and fifty seven …

He’d placed the marble against the wall to see if it actually rolled. Fat lot of good that’d done him, too. He couldn’t tell if the marble was moving with the wall or whether his vision was simply wobbly, couldn’t listen for the telltale whisper-clink of the marble in motion with the blood roaring in his ears.

But he’d found that rolling the marble between his thumb and forefinger produced a calming effect. Perhaps it was good for something after all.

Two thousand three hundred and sixty eight… or was it sixty nine …

He’d rolled the marble back and forth ten times … so that amounted to about seven and a half seconds … that is, if each roll was even with no pauses …

It was no good. He’d have to start over.

One …

Two …

Three …

A faint clanging sounded in his ear. Great. Now he was experiencing auditory hallucinations. Give it another hour and he’d start seeing things that weren’t there. Or maybe he was already, depending on whether that wall was really tilting or not.

Six …

Seven …

Eight …

Something tickled his nose. Dust, perhaps? He swiped at it with his palm, wincing when the motion rubbed more sweat onto his lenses.

Ten …

Eleven …

Clang!

Okay. That one was rather loud to be a hallucination.

Thirteen … no, fifteen …

More dust tickled his nose. He coughed. He swiped at his nose. He glanced up at the ceiling. 

Kate Wetherall grinned back at him.

“Hiya, sport!”

Sticky yelped and fell backwards off the chair.

“Yeaouch!” Kate backflipped out of the ceiling, removed her green beanie, vigorously shook it out, then settled it snug back on her head. “You okay, pal?”

“You came back for me?” Sticky gasped from the floor.

Kate snorted. “Did you hit your head? Of course we came back for you!”

He made an attempt at sitting up. His wrists wobbled. Kate bounded over and hauled him up by the shoulders, missing Sticky’s yelp.

“It’s just me on this mission, though. Stealth operation. Reynie’s off distracting Dr. Curtain, and Constance … well, Constance said that she had some ‘affairs to attend to,’ whatever that means—”

“Probably off crafting miniature dolls of us to stick pins into,” Sticky said with a tremulous laugh. He clutched at his aching shoulders.

“Y’know, I can hardly believe it myself, but I think she might actually be helping us, somehow,” Kate mused. “She had a very determined smile, even if it was a bit evil-looking, and I did hear screams from the Executives’ quarters on my way over—”

“You actually came back for me?” Sticky blurted again.

Kate looked at him sideways—actually tilted her whole head sideways on her neck to peer at him. “What happened in this room, buddy? I mean, this whole place reeks of malice. Just look at that shade of yellow … and why is that fish tank placed at that angle?”

“But why?” 

“Why wouldn’t we come back for you?” Kate said, as if it was so obvious even a baby could see it. “We need you.”

“Right,” Sticky nodded, finally understanding. “For the mission. But, I mean, Reynie’s very bright. You don’t really need—”

“Don’t bother finishing that sentence,” Kate said, utterly serious for the briefest of moments. She clapped a hand on his shoulder, and Sticky held back another wince. “Breakfast table would be real quiet without you, pal. Lunch was horrible. I don’t want to do that again.” “You … rescued me because you want me back?”

Kate rolled her eyes at him. “I haven’t rescued anybody yet. There’s still the extraction! And unless you want to stand around until Dr. Curtain comes back—”

“Right,” Sticky said, rubbing the back of his neck. He felt as though Kate had knocked him off-kilter, and he was still trying to get his bearings. “Right, let’s not do that. So? How do we get out of here?”

Kate grinned and looked up at the still-open hole in the ceiling.

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s our best option!”

“Never in a million years.”

“You’re really that against it?” Kate mused. “Well, if you say so. I do have other plans in mind. Reynie shot them down, a little prematurely if I do say so myself—I mean, there’s only a 79% chance of you losing your arm—but if you’re absolutely sure—”

“So how do we get into the ceiling?” Sticky asked.

Kate grinned. She knelt and patted her knee, clearly intending to boost Sticky up.

Still, he hesitated.

“This is gonna jeopardize the mission,” he said, though he hated to say it. “You know that, right, Kate? The best thing for everyone is if you just leave me here until—”

Again, Kate waved him off. “I promised I’d rescue you, and here I am. You’re top priority, pal. Besides, we’ll work it out. We always do!”

“How?”

“Well,” Kate said thoughtfully. “I proposed that we run away into the woods, surviving off berries and adapting to a nomadic lifestyle while we design some long-range weapons to take down Curtain … but for some reason, Constance is absolutely convinced that Curtain literally just forgot you in here. It’s well into the night by now. She can’t say for certain how she ‘knows’ this, but her idea is for all of us to just show up to class tomorrow like absolutely nothing is wrong and to tell Dr. Curtain he’s imagining things if he questions us, which, I have to admit, is pretty funny—”

Despite himself, Sticky grinned at the thought. He double-checked that his lucky marble was secure in his pocket, zipping it up to be extra certain. It wouldn’t do to have it roll away and clang through the vents above Dr. Curtain’s office. And besides. He’d really hate to lose it.

“Here goes nothing.”

Kate grinned, and Sticky flew up into the ceiling with a shriek.

[justagalwhowrites]

Beskar Doll - Ch. 23: Beloved

The Mandalorian wants to do something nice for you. It has unexpected results. A continuation of Beskar Doll Ch. 1-22 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: the Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Female Reader

Warnings: Smut. Total smut. Fluffy fluffy fluffy smut smut smut smut smut. The Helmet Stays On SMUT. There's fucking, OK? They fuck. It took 120k words to get there but they fuck. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ only

Length: 4.6k

“You’re sure Karga doesn’t mind watching the kid this long?” You were frowning, looking at a poncho for a baby at one of the only market stands you hadn’t stopped at yet. 

“He’s happy for any excuse to spoil him rotten,” Din sighed, watching you and the people go by around you. “And your rifle won’t be done until morning. There’s no reason to rush.” 

“Think this will fit him?” You held up the tiny garment. “He doesn’t have much made to keep him warm…” 

Din shrugged before pulling out credits to pay for it, handing them to the woman behind the stand. You smiled, folding up the tiny poncho and adding it to a bag. 

“Give me that,” he held his hand out and you glared at him. 

“Just because I hurt my shoulder doesn’t mean I’m utterly incapable you know,” you said. 

“I never said you were, Doll.” 

“Then let me carry the damn bag, Mando.” 

He sighed. 

“We’re taking everything back to the Crest now, anyway,” he said. “We’ll pick up the kid after.” 

You seemed skeptical but you didn’t pry. He was oddly grateful for it. Doing something nice for you was difficult. You seemed bound and determined to make it damn difficult and he couldn’t figure out why for the life of him. He was beginning to think he could spend the rest of his life trying to understand you and wouldn’t be able to unravel you. 

Night fell as you walked back toward the ship, stopping at a food stand for you to grab something on a stick that you insisted was delicious that Din could only frown at. 

“You need to be more adventurous,” you said, finishing… whatever it was you’d bought. “I’m telling you, food stands? Better than anything you’re going to find in the visiting monarch quarters on Coruscant. Hands down.” 

He shook his head. 

“I’ll take your word for it, Doll.” 

The two of you just dropped off the supplies from town - rations, some bacta, ammunition, the poncho for the kid - and started back to town. 

“It’s quiet without the kid,” you said, looking up at the stars. 

“Almost forgot what quiet was like,” Din said. You smiled. 

“Especially when you’re stuck hauling me around, too,” you teased. You were walking closer to him than usual, your arm brushing his from time to time. 

“Quiet’s overrated.” 

You considered him for a moment but didn’t say anything. Instead, you looked back up at the stars, the galaxy swirling overhead. When you reached town, you started to go in the direction of Karga’s, but Din made you pause. 

“We’ve got one more stop first,” he said. You frowned but stayed close beside him. He led the way to a louder street, the only one left at this hour that was still filled with people. Your brows knitted together, peering around. 

“Did we pick up a local job?” You asked, voice low. 

“No,” he almost laughed. “Just… come on, Doll.” 

He brought you to a cantina, one he’d passed a few times but never stopped into. He’d never had a reason to, until now. 

The bar was loud, a band playing on a small stage, lights dim. He didn’t need them, though. Your smile spread slow and broad over your face, none of the artifice that was there when you smiled for someone else. This was for you. Din spotted a small table in a corner and he put his hand on your back, gently guiding you to it. You both sat down, you immediately leaning on the small table top, getting closer to the music, eyes glued to the band. 

“Are we here for them?” You asked as the song ended, finally looking to the Mandalorian. He shrugged. 

“You said you liked music.” 

You somehow managed to smile even wider, turning your attention back to the band. Din felt like he could hardly hear them. He was too busy absorbing everything you did, the way your head ever so slightly bobbed in time, the way your teeth found your lower lip when the strings picked up, the way you sank back into him without looking or thinking, tucking yourself below his arm and resting your head on his chest. His arm slipped around your shoulders, delicately at first, before he curled his fingers around your arm, pulling you against him. You looked up at him through your eyelashes, the colored lights from the cantina casting splotches of blue and purple over your skin. 

After a while, he flagged a waitress down and you ordered a cocktail he’d never heard of, whatever it was coming out from the bar with smoke rising over the rim of the glass. You took a sip, eyes closed in pleasure, before you set the drink down and moved closer to him. 

“I’ve never done this,” you looked up at him again. “Just… gone to a bar like this. For fun.” 

“Me either.” 

You smiled. 

“We’re quite a pair,” you joked. “Very well adjusted, history of very normal experiences.” 

He laughed. 

“That’s us.” 

Watching you enjoy yourself was something he liked more than he expected - and he’d expected to like it a lot. It was as though the forcefield you put up the rest of the time was down. Your feelings weren’t couched in other things, veiled and manipulated to avoid vulnerability. You were uniquely open, like every thought that crossed your mind was written easily on your face. It was a beautiful thing, watching you feel. 

You stayed for hours. Din wasn’t about to ask you to go, you were too happy here. He’d have found a way to move in if it would let you be this happy forever. But the bar started to empty, the music growing slower. 

“We should get back,” you said, nearly on his lap. Your legs were draped over his, his arm was wrapped around you, your head against his chest. “Karga is probably ready to kill us for leaving him with the kid this long.” 

“He knew we’d be out late,” Din said. “But we should get back.” You nodded against him. 

“Let me use the fresher before we start the walk back,” you said, pulling back from him slightly. Your hand went to the side of his helmet, like you’d be holding his cheek if you could touch his face. “Thank you. For this.” 

You, mercifully, didn’t wait for a reply. You just unfolded yourself from him and left the table. Din settled the bar tab and waited, watching the bar as more patrons filtered out. He almost didn’t notice you come out of the fresher, only to be stopped by a group of men hovering near the stage. 

They stopped you for a moment and you gave them a polite smile and said something before trying to leave when one stopped you, grabbing your arm - making you wince as your injured shoulder pulled - and holding you with the group. 

Din almost jumped to his feet, his fists clenched, and he stalked across the bar. The way they’d dragged you back… He couldn’t see your face, but the man’s hand was still on your arm. He was still touching you. Thought he could just touch you. 

“Look, gentleman, I’m flattered…” Din could barely make out your diplomat voice over the sound of the music. He gripped your uninjured shoulder and he pulled you back from them, putting his body between their hands and you. The men took a step back, the Mandalorian a few inches taller than even the tallest of them, his armor reflecting the lights from the stage. 

“We’re not looking for trouble,” the one who’d touched you began. 

“Yeah?” Din asked, stepping closer to him. “Then keep your hands to yourself.” 

“Mando,” you hissed from behind him but he ignored you. 

“She didn’t have a problem with it…” another one said. Mando rounded on him. 

“I do,” he said. He moved closer to the man, towering over him. 

“Mando!” You snapped. He glanced down at you. “It’s fine. Let’s go.” 

You were begging him with your eyes. He glanced back at the men before putting a hand at your back and following you out.

***

You waited until you were on a quieter street, grinding your teeth the whole way, before you turned to him. 

“Want to tell me what the hell that was?” You demanded. He looked down to you for a second before looking straight ahead again. 

“They touched you.” 

“Did you really think I was incapable of handling that on my own?” You snapped. 

“No.” 

You gaped at him for a moment. 

“Then why did you get involved!” 

He shrugged. 

“You’re…” you struggled to find the word. 

“I’m what, Doll?” 

“I’ll let you know when I figure it out.” 

The baby was asleep in his pod when you got to Karga’s. 

“You kids have fun?” Karga asked, a teasing edge to his voice. You frowned. 

“Mostly,” Din replied. “Some of the people here need to learn some manners.” 

“It was lovely,” you glared at the Mandalorian before looking back to Karga. “Thanks for keeping an eye on the kid.” 

“Sure, sure, he’s welcome any time,” he smiled. “I hope it won’t be three years before I see you again, Essa.” 

“Next time, I’ll avoid the blaster,” you smiled back. 

The walk back to the Razor Crest was quiet. The silence almost frustrated you more than the incident at the cantina. If he’d just left it alone, it would have been quiet, over in seconds. But apparently, he didn’t trust you to handle it yourself. 

“It’s a nice night,” you said when you made it back to the ship. “I think I’m going to look at the stars for a bit.” 

You didn’t wait for a response, just going to the ladder and pulling yourself up and climbing up to the top of the ship. It hadn’t been a lie, it was a nice night. Not a cloud in the sky, just cool enough that the air felt crisp on your exposed skin. Everything smelled fresh and clean. You brought your legs into your chest, wrapping your arms around your knees. 

There was the telltale sound of metal on metal and you felt the Mandalorian come up behind you, hovering for a moment before sitting down next to you. 

“Ever baffle you to think that you’ve been up there?” You asked, nodding up at the stars. “And how different it looks when you are?” 

He was quiet for a moment. 

“Sometimes.” You were both silent. He felt so close. It was almost hard to focus on anything else he was so close. 

“I’m sorry,” he said eventually. “They touched you and I lost my temper.” 

“So you didn’t think I needed your help.” 

“No,” he shook his head. 

You sighed. 

“Why?” 

“Why what.” 

“Why did him touching me make you mad?” You asked, watching him. Your voice was quiet.

“They could have hurt you,” he said. “I don’t like seeing you hurt.” 

“What is it that you want, Din?” You almost didn’t want to ask the question, afraid of what the answer would be. Your heart was pounding. “What is it that you want with me?” 

The galaxy was reflected on his beskar, the stars running over his body. It was like he contained everything, all creation present in him. He looked in your eyes, leaning in close, one hand finding your face, holding you gently. You closed your eyes, pressing your lips together as you leaned into his touch. You couldn’t help it. It seemed that anything he wanted to give you, you’d latch onto it. To him. Do anything you could to absorb it and hold it close. 

“I want to keep you safe,” he said, his voice gentle. “I want to see you. All of you. I want to know you. I want you to know me. I want you to be able to be… soft. I don’t… You weren’t made to be hard, Doll. You’re good at it. You’re strong and you’re capable. You might be the most capable person I’ve ever met. But I’ve seen you with the kid, with Layari, with people who need help, just with the worlds you’re on… you weren’t made to be hard. I want to make it so you don’t have to be.” 

“I don’t need…” 

“I know you don’t need it,” he cut you off. “You don’t need anyone to do anything for you. But I want to. I want to do things that make you smile and feel and let you be soft. I don’t want you to go through the galaxy alone. I want it to be with me.” 

“Din,” you leaned in closer to him. You could feel everything in your body. The thudding of your heart against your ribs, the gentle ache between your thighs, the way the blood moved down your limbs. Everything was heightened because he was there, so close to you, everything the galaxy had reflected in him. 

“Doll.” 

You moved - slowly, cautiously - until you were on his lap, your legs over his hips. His hands slid around to your waist. Your forehead pressed into the cool metal of his.

“You want me to stay?” You asked quietly, your arms draping over his shoulders. He had to look up at you ever so slightly from this angle, the chin of his helmet tilted up towards you. His hands slipped around to your back, pulling you closer. 

“I want you,” he said softly. “Everything with you.” 

Your core was pressed against him now and you rocked your hips against him, more on instinct than anything else. 

“What do you want, Doll?” He asked. His voice was strained, his breaths heavy. 

“You,” you breathed, your voice shaking. “Just you, as much of you as you’re willing to give me.” 

“Then I’m yours.” 

He pulled you tighter to him, his fingers almost harsh with need against your skin. The force of him pulled your bodies into alignment and you could feel him through your clothes, a soft moan slipping from your lips. You pulled your head from his and looked down at his armor, running your hands over the metal at his chest. 

“Can I…” 

He nodded, quickly, and you unbuckled his belt. It fell to the ship with a clatter that was almost shockingly loud compared to the quiet you’d enveloped yourselves in. You didn’t care. You moved on to his chest plate, freeing his cloak first and then fumbling with the straps at his shoulders until he helped you remove it, setting it aside. You touched him over the flight suit at first, with just your fingertips before pressing your palms against him, too. His eyes were on you as you explored him like this, until you found the zipper. You held it for a moment, looking at him, waiting for permission. He gave it with a single nod, and you slipped it down his body until the skin of his chest and stomach was exposed to you. 

Your eyes met his as you lowered your hand to his chest, your palm over his heart. You could feel it, beating as hard as yours. You looked down to his skin then, exploring him with your eyes and fingers. His skin was soft with a patchwork of scars, souvenirs of his survival as a warrior. You knew the cause of some of them but you wanted to know the story of each one. You wanted to know everything, all of him. 

“Can I?” He asked, looking at your shirt. You nodded. He slid his hands around to the front of you, almost reluctantly pulling them away from your body to remove his gloves before he took the hem of your shirt and reverently, slowly, lifted it over you. You fought the urge to cover yourself. You couldn’t see his eyes but you could feel them ranging over you. His breaths picked up, his hands going to your hips before sliding over your bared skin, slowly, to your waist, over your ribs, slipping around to your back to pull your naked chest to his. You gasped and then moaned at the feel of him like this. He was below you and in front of you and behind you. Utterly inescapable and swallowing everything around you. 

“Maker, you’re beautiful,” he gasped it, almost like a prayer, as he clutched onto you, pressing his hips up into yours. You rocked your core against him, acutely aware of where fabric still separated your bodies. You weren’t sure that you’d ever felt more exposed or more ready to strip away what little cover you had left. 

You worked your hips against him, moving harder and faster, your head dropping to his shoulder. One of his hands slid down your front, brushing over your exposed breasts, before slipping into your pants, gently stroking your clit, making you moan. The move and the growing need inside you made you daring, one of your hands traveling down his naked flesh and into the suit until you found his cock, hard and waiting for you. 

Your eyes went a little wide at the feel of it, you couldn’t help it. You’d been with men before, but you were positive he was far bigger than either you’d had in the past. Thick and long, you wrapped your fingers around his head and he groaned, looking down to where you touched him. You slid your hand down his hard length, the size of him forcing your fingers apart as you worked him up and down. He pressed harder against your clit and your breath stuttered in response, freezing your grip on him for a moment while you got your bearings. His hand moved further into your pants before his fingertip circled your entrance. You blushed a little, feeling how wet you were and knowing he felt it too. 

“You want me, Cyare,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but you answered it in a gasp anyway. 

“Yes.” 

“Like I want you.” 

He slid his finger into you. 

“Yes,” you managed in a strangled groan. Your hand stilled on him for a moment, too overwhelmed to think about anything but the fact that part of him was inside you. He started moving his finger and your hand slid over him again, your fingers finding the wetness at his tip and spreading it over him. Your other hand slid inside the flight suit and around his waist to his back, fingertips sinking into his skin. He groaned.

“What?” You asked, breathless.  

“No one’s ever touched me like that,” his voice was shaky. “Feels… incredible.” 

He sank another finger into you, making you shudder then freeze, body not able to do anything but focus on him stretching you. He worked his fingers into you until they were as deep as they could reach and he held them there, curving into your inner wall and pressing into the spot that made your eyes roll back and toes curl. 

“I need you, Doll,” he was panting with it. “Need to feel you, need to be inside you…” 

“Yes,” you nodded against him. “Please, Din…” 

“Need you to cum first,” he managed, moving his fingers inside you again. “You’re too tight, don’t want to hurt you… Fuck, please, Doll, cum for me…” 

His fingers were moving harder, faster, so much that you were frozen against him, unable to do anything but take what he was giving you. Your body tightened around him and you pressed yourself closer to him, feeling like you might explode if you weren’t somehow closer. 

“That’s it, Cyare,” he managed. “Give in to it, cum for me.” 

You obeyed, the unbearable tightness inside you snapping as you throbbed around his fingers and gasped his name. 

“Good girl,” he breathed as you went slack against him, leaving his fingers deep inside you as your orgasm eased, your whole body trembling with it. 

When he slipped his fingers from you, he got his cloak, putting it behind you before putting his hands on your back and rising onto his knees. He gently lay you on the cloak, kneeling between your legs. His hands went to the waist of your pants and he paused, looking at you for permission as you gasped for breath. You could only nod, quickly, and he slid your pants and underwear together down your body, exposing you to him fully. You bit your lip, your heart racing, hands instinctively covering yourself. He ran his hands over your legs until they met between your thighs, his thumbs gently running over your sensitive, wet slit.

“Don’t do that,” he said softly. 

“Do what?” You were still panting for breath, not yet recovered from your first orgasm. 

“Look insecure,” he said. “Like you’re not the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” 

He freed himself from his flight suit with one of his hands, covering his cock with your wetness. Your breath hitched at the sight of him, on his knees in front of you, one hand on his hard length and the other against your entrance. 

“Tell me if you want me to stop,” his voice was thick with want. You nodded. “Tell me if I hurt you.” 

Din lined himself up with your entrance, notching himself against you before leaning over you so your chest was against his, one of his hands cradling your head. You could feel his eyes on yours through the helmet and the thrumming, desperate need in you grew. You took a shaky breath, gave him a nod and he slowly, softly, began to sink into you. 

You groaned at the feel of it, the painfully pleasant stretch of him opening you inch by inch. It would have been overwhelming under any circumstance, the size of him alone reaching places in you you were certain no one else had ever touched as he pressed into you. But because it was him, his body inside and on top of yours, it was like something inside you broke open. Your heart ached with it. You needed to have him as close as possible - at least this close - as much as you could or you feared you’d go mad. You needed to be this full of him, have as much of him as your body could take. 

Consciously, you knew it couldn’t have been long before he was fully inside you, his hips flush with yours, his forehead pressed against your own, both of you panting for breath, but it felt like it had been an eternity. Your hand went to the side of his helmet, holding him so you could look in his eyes and feel him there, too. 

“Did I hurt you?” He asked. You could feel the head of him against your back wall, your core stretched to what felt like its limit around him. 

“No,” you breathed. “Fuck, Din…” 

He pulled back from you slowly, until only half of him remained, his eyes locked on yours before he thrust into you again. Your breaths picked up and he did it again, a little faster this time, a little harder. 

“Fuck, you feel incredible,” he groaned, pressing harder into you this time instead of pulling further back, working his hips and cock down into you instead. You moaned, keening below him, arching your back into him. “It’s like you were made for me, never felt anything…” 

He pressed harder into you and put one hand between your bodies to your clit, making you groan as your body tightened again. You worked your hips against his, your hands sliding into the flight suit to his back to hold him closer. He was inside you, making you so stretched and full and yet you couldn’t get enough of him. You needed him in your skin, your blood, needed him in a way you’d never needed anything else. 

“I need to feel you cum when I’m inside you,” one of his hands moved to your leg, pulling it tightly to his side, his fingers roaming over your flesh. “Tell me what you need, Doll. Tell me anything, I’ll give you anything…” 

“Harder,” you managed, panting for breath. “You won’t hurt me, I trust you…” 

He seemed happy to oblige, all but pinning you to the ship with the force of his body against yours, his hips nearly knocking the air out of you with each long, deep stroke. One of his hands came to your face again, holding your head still as his forehead met yours again, his fingers tangling in your hair as he clung to you. Your body grew tighter, more tense, a spring coiled to its breaking point. 

“Din,” you gasped. “I’m going to…” 

You came with a strangled cry, your back arching, and you felt him press into you and go still, his cock throbbing deep inside. His head dropped to your chest with a moan as he panted for breath and you went slack beneath him. 

The two of you stayed like that for a moment before he slowly separated from you, sliding himself from your drained body and all but collapsing beside you. The air was cool on your naked skin but you didn’t care. You wouldn’t have moved from your place beside him for all the warmth in the galaxy. 

He was still panting for breath beside you when he rolled onto his side, a hand sliding slowly over your chest, cupping each breast, his thumb gently running over your nipples, before sliding down your body to your overwrought slit. His finger slowly circled your still sensitive clit. 

“Din,” you whimpered. 

“Remember how I said we needed to make up for lost time?” He said softly. You nodded weakly. “I owe you three years worth of orgasms, Doll, and I know you can give me one more.” 

He pressed a little firmer on your clit and you groaned, reaching for his cock, but he stopped you. 

“This isn’t about me,” he said, putting your hand on your chest. “This is about you. Understand?” You nodded. “Good girl.” 

His fingers slipped lower and two slid inside your pleasantly sore center, working you slowly and gently as your third orgasm slowly built. It was soft, delicate, Din working your body as though he were an expert musician and you were his instrument of choice. 

“That’s it, Cyare,” he breathed. “You’re so close, I can feel it. Just give in to it. I’ve got you, it’s OK. You’re doing so well, just let go…” 

You groaned, body all but giving out as you came again, the pulsing in you weak and languid as your limbs went loose and numb. 

“That’s my girl,” he said gently, his fingers still inside you. He waited to slide them out of you until you turned onto your side, reaching for him. He pulled your body against his own, reaching over you to pull the cloak up and over your naked frame. You’d almost forgotten that it was chilly in the night air until he did. Your arm went over him, sliding into the flight suit to go around his waist and your fingers could be against his skin. You held each other like that for a while, sleep threatening to take you under before you were ready to give in to it. 

“Did you mean what you said before?” You managed, your eyes closed, unable to keep them open anymore. “That you wanted me with you?” 

“More than anything, Cyare.” 

You smiled a little at that. His metal forehead touched yours. 

“What does that mean?” You managed, worried the words were coming out as mush you were so exhausted. “You keep calling me that but I don’t know what it means…” 

“Cyare?” He asked. 

“Mmm.” 

“Beloved,” he said softly, his finger stroking your cheek. “It means beloved.” 

[toxicmalysh]

The link we share

Chapter 13: accidents happen

Word count: 3,032

Summary: Wanda helps you after an accident in the lab

Warnings: blood, depiction of hand injury I swear guys they will eventually be happy I'm just addicted to angst

⋆✧✦✧⋆

The next few weeks were slow, you were spending more time with Bruce down in the lab, and Wanda found herself spending more time with Vision simply playing board games and watching sitcoms.

Today you were in the lab early, or rather late as you hadn't slept yet, it was about six in the morning and you were working on the last few modifications of Bucky's grapple.

You were singing and dancing loudly whilst you worked, not fully paying attention as you spun from each side of the room. You simply couldn't help but dance whenever you had the chance.

You leaned over your desk still bouncing your leg, tightening a compartment on the hook.

“FUCK!” you let out a loud gasp as one of the punctures came loose causing a sharp piece of metal to slice across your hand deep.

“Fuckkkk.” you groaned through gritted teeth, gripping your hand tightly as you found a dirty rag not thinking about the oil that covered it.

You stood up fast, holding your hand tightly in a panic. You practically threw yourself out of the lab, bounding up the stairs skipping a few steps at a time.

You were running to the closest first aid kit which was in the kitchen. You turned the corner quickly, your eyes fixed on the green box in front of you.

“y/n you okay?” Wanda called out, she was sat at the island eating cereal, it was normal for her to be up and about this early so you weren't surprised to see her, but it did scare you.

“Fuck you scared me.” you turned from Wanda back to the first aid quickly, taking a minute as you processed letting go of your hand to open the box or to keep it there for pressure.

Wanda caught on to the blood dripping out of the rag, and your tense expression,

“What happened?” She ran over hurriedly, her voice panicked.

You clumsily tried to open the first aid box, failing as your fingers were covered in blood making them slippery.

“Whoever made these is a fucking idiot.” Wanda usually would have laughed at your use of profanity but right now she was more concerned at the sight of the blood soaked rag and the panic across your face.

“Woah woah let me help you.” Wanda took your headphones off, placing them on the side. She tried reaching for the box, opening it with ease, you reached for the bandages, but Wanda grabbed your wrist stopping you.

“You'll get it dirty wait,” she took you to the sink running the tap, speaking quickly,

“Wash it under this I'm going to sanitise my hands then I'll wrap it.” She moved confidently, calming herself instantly to take charge.

Wanda took your injured hand gently once she had the bandage, her touch soft and careful. She examined the wound, her expression serious as she assessed the damage. Blood was flowing from the cut staining your skin and dripping into the sink.

“It's not too deep but it's bleeding a lot. We need to clean and bandage it quickly.”

She spoke her voice steady ignoring her worry. Wanda put your hand under the water again, to rinse the blood and get a better look at the wound. You took your hand back slowly,

“It's alright I can fix it up.”

You walked to the end of the kitchen holding the bandage and your hand close to your stomach. Wanda's eyebrows shot up in surprise, her expression hardening in disapproval.

“Like hell you will.”

She stepped in front of you, blocking you from moving any further, her eyes fixed on yours, a stubborn determination radiating from her.

“You're not doing this alone. Let me help you.”

You stepped to the right side of Wanda trying to get past,

“Seriously, I can do it.”

Your tone was light, as if though this was a game but Wanda wasn't going to give up easily. She quickly moved to block your path again, her expression stern.

“No, you won't. There's no way I'm letting you do this on your own. You used a dirty rag for crying out loud.”

She held her ground, her arms crossed in front of her chest, daring you to challenge her, her eyes glowing a slight red.

“I'm not moving until you let me help you.”

Your eyes dropped trying to avoid Wanda’s gaze.

“Wanda seriously it's only a small cut I can do it myself.”

Wanda watched as you down played the wound. Her eyes followed you as she grabbed the bandage from her, a mix of frustration and concern as you walked past her. Her jaw clenched and her patience wore thin.

“It's not just a small cut. It's a deep cut and that needs to be cleaned and treated properly.”

She walked up behind you standing firmly.

“And I'm going to help you, so stop being stubborn and let me do my thing.”

You felt yourself grow hot at the feeling of Wanda being so close, how it was possible to be hurt this bad, and yet all you could focus on was her breath against the back of your neck.

You turned, stepping out of Wanda's reach keeping your tone stern.

“You're not my Mum, I can do it myself.”

Wanda's eyes flashed with annoyance, her patience practically nonexistent at this point. Being called ‘mum’ stung unexpectedly, causing her expression to harden further.

“Don't you dare pull that card on me. I may not be your mother, but I am more than capable of taking care of you.”

Wanda's voice was firm and authoritative. She walked forward closing the distance between you, her gaze unwavering as she locked eyes with you,

“Now stop being stubborn and let me help you.”

You walked away again, wrapping the bandage around your hand clumsily, your tone faltered in confidence,

“Can you back off? I'm not a kid, I can do it myself, I'm a medic for Christ sake.”

Wanda's frustration reached its boiling point, her patience completely snapping. She clenched her fists by her sides, her eyes narrowing dangerously at your tone and attitude.

“You may not be a kid, but you're still younger than me. And your brain is clearly not fully developed yet because you're being an immature brat!”

She stepped forward, her expression just as stern and unyielding,

“Now drop the attitude and let me take care of your damn hand before you do something more stupid.”

Your face sunk, being called stupid stung your chest, why couldn't Wanda just let you do it yourself,

“Wanda piss off already!”

Your chest ached as you walked away, fleeing to your bedroom. Wanda's eyes widened in surprise, your anger quickly giving way to a mix of disbelief and irritation. How dare you speak to her like that.

She shouted after you, her voice growing louder. She followed you down the hall towards your bedroom, her footsteps heavy and deliberate.

“No I won't ‘piss off’ until you stop being so damn stubborn. You're acting like a damn child, throwing a tantrum instead of letting me help you. And I won't just stand by and let that happen.”

Your anger was getting the better of you. You slammed the door in Wanda's face. She stood there in front of your door, her heart thudding in her chest, a mix of anger and concern coursing through her veins. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before raising her hand and knocking firmly on the door.

“Open the door.”

She demanded, her voice sharp and steady. You felt your anger waver, the idea of Wanda simply trying to help was difficult to process. You walked back out your room slowly, giving Wanda your left hand the bandage hanging loosely around it.

“My comments were unnecessary, I need to stop apologising and actually work on that.”

You paused slightly, taking a breath,

“I don't like people seeing me vulnerable, that's all.”

Wanda gently took your hand in hers, a small sigh escaping her lips. Her expression softened but there was still hurt and concern in her eyes.

“I understand that you don't like feeling vulnerable darling. But you need to let people… let me.. help you when you need it.”

She said gently, her tone softer and warmer she began unwrapping the loose bandage from your hand, inspecting the cut. Your breathing picked up, panicking over the idea of Wanda seeing you like this. Wanda noticed the change in your breathing, sensing your panic at the thought of being vulnerable in front her. Her eyes met yours, studying your expression carefully, noticing the fear that lay beneath it.

“Hey, hey y/n.”

She spoke softly, her voice low and soothing,

“You're alright darling. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help, not judge”

You nodded, you had a sense of certainty in your eyes despite your rapid breathing. You trusted her.

“There you go. Just breathe.”

Wanda reassured you gently, her focus now on your hand again. With her eyes still on the injury, she spoke in a calm, steady tone.

“This will sting a bit. But I need to clean it.”

You took a breath, walking Wanda into your room, letting her set up and clean it out. Wanda gently dabbed a piece of cotton wool soaked in antiseptic over the wound, her touch delicate and careful. She noticed the way you tensed up slightly, your breathing becoming more laboured as the antiseptic made contact with the open cuts. Her voice was soothing, a calm anchor in the midst of your discomfort.

“I know it hurts darling. Just bear with me. I'm almost done.”

You looked up at the taller woman, melting in the way she was caring for you feeling comfortable in this level of vulnerability. Your eyes closed softly, your heart beating loudly at Wanda's repeated use of the nickname.

A small compassionate smile tugged at the corner of Wanda's lips. She continued to dab at the wound, the antiseptic causing a slight sting. Her eyes were focused on your hand but she could see the vulnerability written all over your face, and it tugged at her heart.

“Just a few more seconds. You're doing so well for me.”

Your body tensed at her words. Your eyes opened as you bit your bottom lip at the stinging sensation. Wanda's eyes flicked up to your face, her face catching the way you bit your lip. She found herself admiring the way your features contorted slightly with the pain. She continued cleaning the injury, her touch becoming even gentler,

“Almost done. Just a little more.”

She repeated, her voice softer, more soothing. You pulled your hand away once Wanda had re-wrapped a new bandage, fully cleaning it.

“Thank you.” you spoke softly, a closed mouth smile spread across your face, you stepped back slightly, embarrassed by how weak you’d been in front of Wanda, causing you to frown.

“I need to get back to the lab so…” your eyes motioned at the door, stepping forward slightly. Wanda nodded understanding, making her way back out of the room.

You watched as Wanda walked back to the kitchen.

Your heart warmed over such an intimate interaction. You skipped back to the lab like a child who'd just gotten an ice-cream.

In the later afternoon, Bucky had made his way downstairs to the lab, finding you working away effortlessly.

His eyes fell to your hand, his eyebrows raising slightly,

“Should I ask?”

His tone was nonchalant but you knew he cared. You waved your hand reassuring Bucky,

“Little accident whilst working on this. No biggy.”

You stood up from your chair, taking the newest extension piece, and handing it to Bucky. Bucky looked at the hunk of metal for a moment, slightly confused on how he was supposed to use it.

You took a few minutes to show him exactly how it worked and how it was compatible with his vibranium arm. You spoke about your day’s whilst you worked away on Bucky's arm.

“How are you doing though y/n/n, seriously.” you remained focused on the task at hand, speaking comfortably with Bucky,

“I've been better. I relapsed, and I keep having nightmares sometimes even just flashbacks of Jenny, they've been worse recently so I guess I've just been focused on work to distract myself.”

Your voice was calm, feeling completely safe when talking to the older man. Bucky nodded watching your face as he spoke,

“Well I'm here, if you want to talk more about the nightmares. And relapsing isn't great, but progress isn't one straight line I understand that.”

You reached over to your speakers, turning the music down slightly, enjoying the conversation.

“It's complicated. There's this girl, and I really like her. I think there's a chance she likes me too but.. I can't help but feel guilty for moving on.”

Bucky face softened, his heart aching at your words, appreciating your vulnerability,

“You're allowed to move on y/n/n. Jenny would have wanted you to. You know how she used to talk. She always told you she wanted you to be happy. If this girl makes you happy, then go for it. And maybe if you're open about the nightmares with her. She might be able to help you.”

You nodded, even though Bucky didn't know who you were talking about. You admitted to yourself, all Wanda ever wanted to do was help. It was one of her most positive qualities.

You also felt a wash of reassurance wash over you at Bucky's words. You did say to yourself Jenny would have wanted the best for you. But actually hearing it from a team member, it made you feel relaxed at the idea. Maybe you could move on. Maybe you could really try and let someone in again.

“I'm just worried she might expect things from me that I can't give her yet. It's not easy and I don't want to burden her with my issues.”

Bucky spoke calmly,

“Kid, if she really likes you. She'll understand, she won't think your issues are a burden, she'll like you with them regardless. I of all people know that our broken pieces and traumas are what make us, us. Steve and the rest of the team adore me. It's difficult to tell myself sometimes but regardless of what happened to me with Hydra. They truly care for me.”

Your composure softened completely, believing Bucky's words with confidence. You pushed yourself back on your chair as you stood, dancing slightly to your music.

“You're all good to go, try it out on some of our old iron suits.”

You programmed one of the suits to stand in front of Bucky allowing him a perfect shot. Bucky raised his arm, flicking it quickly towards the suit. The grapple released piercing the suit of armour. Bucky whipped his hand back, the grapple pulling the iron suits towards him.

Bucky grunted as he moved out of the way quickly, the suit crashing into one of the desks behind the both of you.

“Whoops”

You both chuckled together, going back to your previous discussion slowly. Working through the rest of the evening.

Wanda was laying with Vision, cuddling into his chest as they watched sitcoms. Vision let out a low laughter from time to time, confirming with Wanda that it was funny.

Vision’s humour was not something the team could put up with. Wanda was the only person who found it adorable. The pair laid in comfortable silence until the credits rolled,

“Vision.” Wanda spoke softly. Vision nodded letting Wanda know she had his attention.

“I helped y/n today. We argued a lot, don't get me wrong, but she actually let me help her.”

Her tone was curious, a mix of gratefulness and concern.

“That is progress. Is it not?” Vision spoke his voice monotone,

“It is. It definitely is. But..” she paused for a moment,

“Natasha said y/n wasn't ready to explore, whatever it was we had. Is it selfish to want to ignore her?”

Vision nodded, speaking in an understanding tone,

“It is selfish, yes. But you are human, you have your own desires and needs. If you like what you share with y/n, and feel you want to take things further with her. That is a normal reaction one might have when sharing what you two have.”

He took Wanda's hands gently,

“I believe I disagree with Natasha. The only reason Steve knows what he knows about y/n is because he pushed her. He was direct, and reassured her the whole time.”

Her eyes met Wanda’s curiously,

“I believe y/n needs someone like you, to help overcome her fears and insecurities, to show her she's not alone, and that she can not shut everyone out.”

Wanda nodded appreciating his understanding,

“But what if we argue the same way we do now, that isn't healthy.”

Vision squeezed Wanda's hand gently his tone soft,

“It is not healthy. But you argue with y/m because you care for her. Whereas y/n argues because she doesn't want to be seen as weak. If you show her, it's okay to be weak, and prove to her regardless of her emotional state you're there for her. I doubt you'd have to argue with her to help her.”

He took another breath,

“The bickering you two share however is normal, y/n has behaviours that irritate you, and you are stubborn just as she is, you two are bound to argue. But if you two didn't, it would prove you two didn't care for eachother.”

Wanda hummed, Vision’s advice was always helpful, and she felt safe with him talking about her problems.

She laid her head back down on Vision, her eyes growing weary as the next episode began to play.

Vision felt Wanda's breathing slow into a steady rhythm realising she was asleep. He felt a wash of warmness over himself, happy she was able to find sleep early, it was unlike her to sleep so easily. He spoke softly, his hand running gently through her hair.

“Goodnight Wanda.”

[dragonmama76]

Where We Fell In Love Matters

Written for @thefreakandthehair 's Summer Spicy Six Fanworks Challenge, my prompt was "rocking chair." Length: 3.5k, Rating: T

Also Posted on A03

Now 2023

“Ooof” Eddie puffed out as he lowered himself to the porch rocker.  Glancing over at the other chair he stretched out his legs and started rocking.  “Sorry, I’m late, Stevie.  Your grandchildren are running me ragged.  But I’ve got them set up with a movie and popcorn and I think they’ll stay put for now.  I remember the kids used to be a handful, no rose colored glasses here, but this generation is something else entirely.”  Feeling familiar eyes on him he continues smirking, “They are a bunch of nosy, mischievous brats who never do what they are told….”

“Grandpa Eddie!!” a small voice cries out, “Thas not true!  I’m notta cheevius brat!  I’m your little man!  You SAID!”  

“So I did, little man.  And seeing that I just set you up with a very cool movie, what may I ask what you are doing out here?”

“Auntie Robbie said not to come out ‘cause this was your special time with Grandpa Steve, but I wanted to come out to have special time with Grandpa Steve too! So I sneaked”

“Oh you did, did you?”  Eddie sighed and rolled his eyes in the direction of Steve’s rocking chair, but gathered the curly haired monster up into his lap and started them rocking.  “Well, I suppose I could share just this once.  I was just telling Grandpa Steve how much fun we had today.”

The little body settled into the warm lap and snuggled his head to Eddie’s chest.  “Mmmmm…we went mini golping!  And you won and you didn’t let ME win.”

“Golfing, yes.  And I don’t let anyone win.  I’m the best at mini golf and no one can beat me.”  Eddie grinned into his curls.

“Daddy says you never let him win either when he was little like me, but he says now if he wanted to he could beat you good.”  Eddie laughed out loud.  “Maybe he could and maybe he couldn’t, but I didn’t see him out there trying.”

“How come you and Grandpa Steve have special time every night?”

Eddie paused and looked at the boy.  It seemed like he was here to stay, so he began, “Have you ever heard the story of how your grandpa and I fell in love?  It started with a couple of rocking chairs….”

Then 1986

Steve was bound and determined to get Eddie up and outside.  The man had been staying with him for a few days after the hospital fast tracked his discharge.  The professionals reasoned he was awake, eating and drinking normally, could walk at least a few steps on his own, and (the real reason, Steve supposed) Eddie made the staff uncomfortable being a murder suspect and all.  The sooner he was out, the happier they would be.  That was all well and good, but the apartment Wayne had found for them was up on the second floor and there was no way Eddie could navigate the stairs yet.  Steve was in Eddie’s hospital room visiting when all this went down and shocked even himself when he insisted Eddie come home with him.  He was still waiting on Family Video to reopen so he had the time, his government payout had just come through, so money wasn’t an issue, and his parents were out of town indefinitely so he had the space.  Plus, his house had more than one guest bedroom including one on the first floor.  Steve made his case and all parties readily agreed to his idea.  

It wasn’t exactly what he expected.  Eddie was not a great patient.  When his pain levels were low he was great company and Steve was enjoying getting to know him without the oppressive weight of the upside down hanging over them.  They talked about music and movies and the kids and while their opinions didn’t always line up, they both enjoyed bickering like two little old ladies.  But Steve could always tell when the pain was bad because Eddie would shut down and refuse to leave his bed.  He wanted to respect Eddie’s boundaries as a guest in his home, but he also felt a keen responsibility for his well being.  Fresh air was what Eddie needed, so fresh air would be what Steve would provide.   

“C’mon Eddie!”  Steve was using his most persuasive tone in order to cajole the man into taking a few steps out onto the front porch where a double rocker packed with pillows and blankets waited for them.  It was just past sunset and the sky was still pink and creamy.  The street was quiet and the air was starting to cool down from the thick heat of the day.  

“Now listen, Eds, we’re going to sit out here for one hour every day and relax and get some fresh air.  If you want I can read to you while we’re out here or we can just talk or whatever, but you’ve got to get some exposure to the outside.  Hardly anyone ever drives by so you don’t need to worry about being seen and even in the unlikely event someone does see you and says something, I’ll be right here to protect you.”

“Fine,” Eddie groaned and then brightened, “And I can smoke?”

“Not a chance, man.  You quit in the hospital so no reason to start back up now.  If you’re good when we go back in I’ll make your favorite dinner.”  

“Mac and Cheese and hotdogs?”  Steve knew Eddie needed more fruits and vegetables in his diet, but he was dealing with a man who had the palate of a stubborn six year old so they were working up to more healthy stuff.  It wouldn’t hurt to skip the veggies this once.  

“Yup.  Now you get settled in all comfortable so we can enjoy our hour.  Do you want me to grab your book?”

Resigned to his fate, Eddie arranged the pillows so they would support his back and sides and tentatively leaned back.  “Yeah, okay, this is okay I guess. No book, we can just rock and talk.” 

Smirking, Steve carefully dropped down next to him so as not to jostle the pillows and gently set them on a back and forth motion.  Eddie closed his eyes and sighed with pleasure and Steve couldn’t resist  glancing over to appreciate just how pretty he was when he was relaxed like this.  It wasn’t particularly concerning to him that he thought of Eddie that way.  Steve had known for years that he found both men and women attractive, but growing up in Hawkins he had learned early on to keep those kinds of feelings to himself.  Even when his platonic soulmate, Robin, had confessed her affinity for the fairer sex, Steve had kept his secrets.  He knew she would encourage him, but he wasn’t ready for that kind of push.  Although, the more time he spent with Eddie the more he wondered if a push wasn’t exactly what he needed.

Steve relaxed back into his place next to Eddie and couldn’t help letting loose a small sigh of pleasure when Eddie leaned into him.  His heart felt like it might beat out of his chest, but he willed his breath to slow so as not to startle the injured man.  They rocked together slowly and allowed the fresh air to wash over them like a gentle calming wave soothing their hurts and calming their souls.  

It worked so well that Eddie allowed Steve to bully him out to the rocking chair every evening to watch the sun set.  His healing wasn’t linear, sometimes he walked and sometimes Steve had to pick him up and carry him out.  But without fail their bodies fell together in comfort and somewhere along the way, hands reached out to clasp and there were soft hesitant touches.  They never spoke of it inside the house.  Each night they came in feeling shy and a bit wary of the other as they fled to separate rooms until it felt normal to be together again, laughing and teasing and bickering.  

Eventually Eddie recovered enough to move back home with Uncle Wayne.  Steve was happy he was doing so well, but if he was being honest with himself, he was sorry to see him go.  It was selfish, but his feelings for Eddie had only grown and having him around made Steve feel like maybe he could keep him all to himself forever.  Not that he had confessed any of that to Eddie.  Especially when he didn’t know if his feelings would be returned.  So instead he helped pack Eddie’s things in the morning and drove him to the apartment Wayne had set up for them.  They lingered at the door neither wanting to be the one to say goodbye until Wayne yelled at them for letting the bugs in.  Steve managed to croak out, “Well, don’t be a stranger.”  And Eddie looked at his feet and managed a, “Yeah, you too,” and shut the door.  

That first afternoon without Eddie around felt so heavy.  Steve felt inexplicably restless and spent the day washing the guest room sheets and cleaning the bathrooms trying to keep busy.  It still wasn’t enough to fill the emptiness inside and out but he pressed on.  When the sun began to set, Steve found himself almost unconsciously grabbing a pillow and throw blanket.  When he opened the door, to his surprise Eddie was headed up the porch stairs and as Steve’s heart fluttered, Eddie settled himself in the rocking chair with a shy smile.  “I’m not late, am I?  I didn’t want to miss our rocker time.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?”  Steve grinned as he slid into the chair next to Eddie.  They rocked in unison in the quiet afternoon, hearts lighter as they leaned towards each other exchanging stories of how they had spent their first day apart.

When the hour was up, Eddie reluctantly stood and stretched.  “I’ll head out, I guess.”  

Steve found himself trying to stall, “I’m making dinner, did you want to come in -”

“I promised Uncle Wayne I’d be back for our first dinner in the new place.”

“Of course, sorry.  Tell him I said hi.  I’m so glad you both have your own space back and everything,” Steve mumbled looking everywhere but at Eddie.

“Hey, sweetheart,”  Eddie reached out and gently cradled the side of Steve’s face, “It’s okay.  I’ll - I mean if it’s okay…I’ll be back tomorrow?  For rocker time?”

“Yeah?” Steve breathed out.  “I mean, if you want.  I’ll be here.”

“Me too, baby.  It’s the best part of my day.”  and with that Eddie gave Steve’s shoulder a quick squeeze and bounded down the stairs to his van.

Steve watched him go and when he turned the corner he bolted back in the house and dialed Robin.  When she picked up the phone with a quick, “Hello?” Steve took a breath and confessed, “I’m having a bathroom emergency.”  Robin snorted and snarked, “I’m not really up to hearing about your digestive issues.”  Steve felt like screaming, “Not that kind of bathroom emergency, I mean OUR kind of bathroom emergency.”  Ever since they had been brought together by Russians and truth serum, their deepest confessions had been whispered or sometimes shouted in the comforting privacy of a bathroom, whether in one of their houses or the employee bathroom at Family Video.  “Oh, shit!”  Robin stammered, “Okay, your place or mine?”  “Mine if you can get a ride, yours if you can’t.”  “Uh…I can get a ride.”  Robin replied in a strangely vague way, but Steve couldn’t be bothered to work out her deal as he was too far gone in his own.  They hung up and Steve sunk to the floor. 

When Robin knocked and Steve opened the door he glanced out to see Nancy, Steve filed that info away for later, pulling out of the driveway.  He wasn’t sure what that was about, but today was about him.  Without speaking he pulled Robin into the downstairs bathroom and fully sat in the tub.  Robin perched on the side and waited calmly for Steve to speak.  If it was a red alert kind of emergency, she knew he would have just said so, so she could afford to be patient.  They were safe in the bathroom now and it would come out eventually.  

“Uhhhh….” Steve began.  “Ever since we came out of the Upside Down I’ve sort of been dealing with developing feelings for someone.”  

“I know.” said Robin and to Steve she sounded…sad? 

 “You do?”  he looked up, a little alarmed at being so obvious and so oblivious at the same time.   “I mean I barely knew it myself until today.”  

“Really?”  Robin asked incredulously, “It’s only natural that fighting Vecna together would bring it all back…”  

“Back?” Steve wasn’t sure what was happening, “I barely knew Eddie before everything happened.” 

“Eddie??” Robin shrieked.  

“Who did you think I was talking about?  He’s been living in my house!  I haven’t even really seen anyone else for weeks.”  

“Nancy!  Obviously!”  Robin shouted. 

 “How is that obvious?  Nancy is old news.  I mean, I’ll always love her but not like love her, love her.  That’s over and done.”  Steve shook his head.  “You know what she did to me.  I forgave her but I would never set myself up like that again.”

“Okay….okay.  I just need to reorient myself.  I thought we were going to have a very different bathroom conversation.  Eddie?  EDDIE?  I thought you liked boobies.”

“I do.  But I also like not boobies. Bisexuality is a real thing you know.”

“Is it?”  Robin asked hopefully.

“Of course it is.  Look at Bowie.  It’s why I keep saying you have a chance with Vickie.”  Steve felt like Robin’s reaction to his coming out was not exactly what he had been hoping for, but he also didn’t know what he wanted from her.  Recognition?  Excitement?  A medal?  He saw a flicker of something across her face and then it was gone.  

“So you’re definitely not still pining for Nancy?”

“No!  Why are we still talking about Nancy?  This is my big bathroom confession and I feel like maybe you are focussing on the wrong things?” 

 Robin schooled her face and got with the program. Placing her hands on Steve’s cheeks she smooshed them together.  “Look at you!  My sweet bisexual baby is having a crush.”

This was more of what Steve had expected and he huffed out a laugh.  “Might be more than a crush, Robs.”  Steve blushed and Robin gaped at him.

“Okay, then.  Well.  You’ve got to go for it.  Turn up the Harrington Charm and don’t suck this time.”

Steve ran his hands through his hair. He could do this.  He was Steve fucking Harrington and he could do this.

The following afternoon Steve spent making sure his hair was perfect, but not too perfect.  He threw on what Robin had called his slutty polo - just a touch too small so it hugged his chest and his arms, and the jeans that cradled his ass just right.  He gave himself several pep talks and was waiting on the porch when Eddie pulled up.  Steve didn’t have to overthink the wide grin that spread across his face when Eddie got out of the van.  That man was so pretty it should be illegal.  Ripped jeans and a band tee were his standard uniform, but in Steve’s mind, no one wore it better.  

Eddie seemed to sense the subtle change in the air and when he got to the rocker his gaze flicked up and down and he let out a breathless, “Hi.”

Steve’s grin widened and he shifted a little to let Eddie flop down next to him.  The rocker started it’s slow movement and Steve bravely reached over and grabbed Eddie’s hand.  He began toying with his rings and making small circles on Eddie’s palm with his thumb.  Now that he was here, some of Steve’s resolve began to crumble and he felt shy and unsure.  What if he was reading this wrong?  What if this was an insane error in judgment and he was about to ruin everything he and Eddie had built up between them?  He couldn’t look at him.  Couldn’t stand to see rejection, or worse revulsion on Eddie’s face.  

A finger under his chin lifted his face up to where Eddie was waiting, mouth a little open in surprise.  “Stevie, sweetheart, what’s going on in there?  I can hear you thinking from here.”

“I, um, I’m just glad you’re here, Eds.  I miss having you around and I’m so happy you still wanna come back here and spend time with me.”  Steve’s voice caught a little.  Damn it.  He was doing this wrong.  He had meant to be bold and brave and he was too in his head.  

“Hey, hey, hey I’m not going anywhere baby.  I always want to spend time with you, that’s why I’m here.”  Eddie’s voice was low and reassuring and Steve was grateful for the opportunity to collect himself and start again.

He inched himself closer to Eddie and slowly raised his free hand to tuck one of Eddie’s curls behind his ear.  His thumb drew a gentle line down Eddie’s jawline and he heard a sharp intake of breath.  “Eds, tell me if I’m reading this wrong and it’s totally fine.  Nothing has to change.  But - I really want to kiss you right now.  Is that okay?”

Eddie placed a firm hand on Steve’s chest and he felt his heart drop and his vision blur.  Stupid.  He was so stupid.  “Wait,” Eddie managed.  “Just, can we back up just a little?  Because my straight best friend wants to kiss me and I’m not totally sure what to do with that.”

“Uh,” Steve stammered, “Not straight?  Um, bisexual actually.  It’s okay if it’s a no though, just I know I’m not cool and I used to be a huge asshole back in high school so -” 

Steve was forced to stop as the hand on his chest fisted his shirt and pulled him so close that he and Eddie were breathing the same air.  “Yes.”  Eddie said.  “Yes I was an asshole?” Steve was having a hard time following what was happening.  “Yes, kiss me.”  And then it was happening.  

As first kisses go, this should have been unremarkable.  A gentle meeting of lips, Steve’s hands coming up to cradle Eddie’s face, tilting his head so they slotted together seamlessly.  Instead it was extraordinary.  It was brief, but charged with so much emotion it left Steve gasping for air, a whimper in the back of his throat.  “Okay?” Eddie whispered.  “More than okay,” Steve managed to say, bringing him back a second time firmer and more sure of himself.  

Now 2023

“Is this a kissing story?”  interrupted a suspicious little voice, “Mama says kissing stories aren’t propriate for me.”

Eddie jumped, having gotten lost in the swirling memories, he had forgotten about his little captive audience.  He grinned.  “Your beautiful Mama is always right and we can absolutely skip to the end past the kissing parts.  Okay?”

“M’kay!” agreed curly locks.  “Was that the falling in love part?  Did you have a true love's kiss and live happily ever after?”

“Sort of,” laughed the old man, “Never let it be said that even true love is an easy path to happiness.  There were plenty of times we argued or hurt each other's feelings.  Sometimes we didn’t even like each other very much.  But we made a promise.  You know what that promise was?”

“Was it sittin’ in the rocking chairs?”  Eddie bounced the boy up and down on his lap and smothered him with kisses, “You are my most brilliant grandchild, you know that?  Yes!  No matter what was happening with us, as long as we were both home, we sat in those damn rocking chairs and talked about our day and our family and everything we loved.  And you want to know a secret?”

The child rose to his knees in Eddie’s lap and put his ear right to Eddie’s mouth.  “Yes!”

“Even if one of us wasn’t home, the other went and sat in their own rocker and shared all about their day.  Do you know why?”

“Why?” the child’s eyes were open wide.

“Because rocker time is magic.  No matter where we are or what is happening, we can talk to each other here in these rockers when the sun is going down and the air is sweet and we always hear each other.”  Eddie’s eyes were shining now with memories and longing.

“So even though Grandpa Steve isn’t here you can still talk to him and he hears you?  And that’s why you come out every night to have special time with Grandpa Steve?”

“That’s right, little man.  And sometimes when it’s quiet and still I can hear him talk back.  Want to try?”  Eddie looked down at the child with a gleam in his eye as his youngest grandson struggled to stay still.  “Can you hear him?”

“What is he saying?”  the little boy whispered, eyes wide, mouth open.

“He says………TOSS MY GRANDCHILD IN THE POOL!”  Eddie shrieked and raised his hands as his little man screamed with joy and took off across the lawn.  Hell, his Son and Daughter in law were going to scold him again, but it had been worth it.

Before leaving to chase after the boy, Eddie turned to the empty rocking chair, “Sorry to abandon you early tonight, my love.  But I told you your grandchildren were a menace.  I don’t know who they get it from.”  As he stood to leave he felt a breeze like the whisper of a caress against his cheek.  “Love you too, Stevie. See you tomorrow.”

[1lostsoul0fishbowl]

stepping stones: a deleted scene from next time i fall (895 wc)

for @strngerpairs valentines event: greatmage (gareth x eleven)

“Look, Bear.” El handed Gareth a smooth stone she’d just picked up by the edge of the lake. “This one is so pretty.”

“Yeah, it is.” He traced one finger along the small vein of purple threaded through the gray rock, then hefted it experimentally to feel its weight. “Would make a perfect skipping stone.”

She immediately caught his hand in hers. “No, please do not throw it! I want to keep it for my collection.” The moment the words were out, though, she regretted them. Was it weird to collect pretty rocks? Would he laugh? Their relationship was still fairly new, and Gareth seemed to adore every new facet of her personality he discovered, but that couldn’t possibly last, could it?

El was still trying to determine where his line was. The irrevocable line everyone drew between cute and weirdo. The line she was bound to stumble over one day soon, completely by accident; never sure just what it was she’d said or done to cross it, only knowing with a terrible certainty, as others’ smiles went from friendly to pitying or patronizing, that she had.

But Gareth didn’t laugh. “You have a rock collection?” he asked, handing back the stone. “That’s so cool. What are your favorite types?”

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “I do not know what they are. I just keep the ones I think are pretty.” Stuffing the stone into her pocket, she braced herself for whatever comments might be coming her way.

When he didn’t say anything, though, she finally dared to glance up. He wasn’t giving her the look she’d been dreading— wasn’t even looking at her at all. He’d crouched down at the water’s edge and was closely examining the rocks there. Plucking one from the water, he rubbed it dry on his jeans and held it out to her with a grin.

“Look at that one. It’s kinda sparkly.” His eyes were sparkly, too, shining up at her, and El’s heart did a funny little flip in her chest. “You want it?”

“Yes, please.” She returned his grin with a beaming smile of her own. “It is very pretty. You do not think it is weird, to keep pretty rocks?”

He shrugged. “Nope. Lots of people collect stuff they think is cool.” He picked up another rock, inspected it, then made a face and dropped it back where it had been. “I love that little things like pretty rocks make you happy.”

“You— you do?” El felt her eyes filling with tears. He did that all the time now, just casually mentioned something he loved about her, and it thrilled her every time. He was so generous, so free with his affection; not at all like Mike, who could barely bring himself to utter the word ‘love’ to her. Gareth not only said I love you easily, but he could make her feel it too, with nothing more than a smile or a touch of his hand. She doubted herself often, but he left no room for second-guessing the way he felt about her.

His cheeks flushed pink. “I thought it was obvious that I love pretty much everything about you. Even the stuff you think is weird.” He got to his feet and took both her hands in his, sparkly rock and all. “If you’re waiting for me to change my mind about you,” he added softly, “it’s not gonna happen, Janie.”

She gave him what, to herself, she called an Eddie-look; head tilted down, eyebrows raised in disbelief. “‘Pretty much’ everything?” she echoed, and he burst out in a loud delightful laugh, just exactly as she’d hoped he would. She loved to make him laugh, loved knowing he wanted to laugh with her and not at her. “What do you not love?”

He grinned mischievously. “I don’t love how you always steal all the purple Skittles.”

Now it was her turn to crack up laughing. “But they are the best ones!”

“I know! And you never leave me any!” He swept her up in his arms, lifting her feet completely off the ground as he spun her in circles, both of them giggling like crazy. “Just once, you could eat all the green ones—”

“I do not like the green ones.”

“What about orange, then? Hmm? Nooo, you’re single-minded in your grape thievery.” It was such a silly conversation— Max would’ve called them ‘dorks’ for sure if she’d heard it— but they were laughing so hard they could barely breathe, and El could literally feel his happiness, bright and unequivocal. Just like her own. She let her forehead drop to his shoulder as she came down, breathing him in, vital as the sunshine.

He touched her chin, gently lifting her face to his. “But, other than your complete disregard for candy sharing etiquette”— she couldn’t help it, another little giggle escaped her— “other than that, baby, I really do love everything about you.” His knuckles softly brushed her cheek. “You know that, don’t you?”

“Even the weird stuff?” She leaned into his hand, savored the comforting touch. “I know I am a weirdo.”

“You’re my weirdo. Yes, even the weird stuff. Everything, Janie.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

A promise like that ought to be sealed with a kiss, she thought, tilting her face up to his; he was only too happy to oblige.

[im-657-mv]

waves of desire

[requested]

yandere pirate kim hongjoong

word count: 1101

The sounds of waves crashing made your heart slow to a steady beat. The sun warmed the cold feeling that had numbed your thinking. Isn't this what you loved? This was the future you had wanted. You've always dreamed of life out on the sea, no land to hold you back, and no one to tell you what to do.

Isn't this what you wanted...

That fateful day he saved you. He took you from the ashes of your home and village and he rescued you. He promised that you would be safe from harm, from trouble, and safe from all things that threatened your existence. No matter how big or small he had promised to be there.

You wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for him. Your rescuer, your captain, your lover. Kim Hongjoong.

He was a brave man that fought against the evil of the mainland. He was the sea encaptured within the body of a mere mortal man. Fierce and raging against all who threatened to end his rule of the vast ocean. But to those who truly knew him, he was a man of honor, of beauty, of sanctity. Hongjoong was powerful and with his crew by his never-ending side, his name was known and feared throughout the land and sea.

You love him. All of him.

His eyes. Fiery and determined. Unwilling to let go of the one thing he desires.

His laugh. Enlightening and entrancing as if the myths of sirens were real.

That's why you loved him. That's why you married him.

On the deck of a ship that rocked from side to side as the waves crashed and cheered at your union. It was all so perfect. The very life you dreamt of as a child now finally a reality.

It was all so perfect...

But your heart was racing. The sun was too bright. The waves were too loud. It all clouded your judgment, your thinking, your mind. And he... He hindered it all.

From the beginning, he said he loved you. That he would do anything for you.

"See, Y/n. Even the high seas rejoice in our bond..."

You didn't think he meant it literally. You felt sick. Your stomach turned in on itself as it threw up the food that was once there.

"Did you have to burn Y/n's village down, Captain?"

"Of course I did. I would have burned hundreds of villages for them. I would have killed thousands for them to be in my arms for all of eternity."

His words rang in your ears like a bell as they repeated over and over and over again. That pain was his fault. He burned your home down. He burned your people down. Children, wives, and husbands were all slain under his strict orders.

You had thought it was the other known bandits who targeted your home. But it was him. All this time he held you, whispering sweet things in your ears as his hands traveled further and further down. All this time his hands had the blood of your people stained on them. The blood of your parents.

And you had loved him. You had kissed him, held him, cherished him all while he had that smirk of knowing.

"Y/n you don't look so good," Seonghwa replied as his hands carefully reached to your back, but you could barely hear him. The first mate's words sounded so distant and far away that even your breathing seemed louder.

Should you jump?

But Seonghwa knew all too well before you could act on your thoughts. His once gentle hands turned rough as they bounded your hands behind your back as you thrashed in a hopeless resistance.

"Let me go, Seonghwa!" He didn't answer as he dragged your body away from the edge and toward the all too familiar Captain's Corner. You started sobbing as you continued to struggle against his firm hold, thrashing and throwing your entire body weight in desperate hopes of escaping.

Before you knew it you had arrived at the mahogany door chiseled in gold that screamed power and pure sophistication.

"Come in." His voice echoed as Seonghwa threw you into the room, locking the door as he made his way out.

"Oh baby," He whispered, getting up slowly as he made his way towards you.

"Why," His footsteps stopped as they reached in front of you.

"Why did you burn my village?" You cried out softly, pressing your face down into the floor. Maybe the smaller you shrunk the more he won't be able to see you. As ridiculous as it seems you hoped it worked, but he knew. Hongjoong knew you all too well. And he knew your hints of submission all too familiarly.

"Oh my poor baby," Hongjoong muttered in sweet sympathy. You heard his sword unsheath and you immediately grasped onto his boots deathly tight.

"Please... don't kill me..." You pleaded without looking into his eyes. His lying eyes.

"My sweet Y/n. You know I won't kill you." The metal of his sword wound up under your chin, lifting it up to meet his gaze.

"I did it for you." Your eyes gleamed as they filled to the brim with tears.

"You are my treasure, my desire...And I just couldn't have anyone else sharing you." You tried to look away but the threat of the blade was enough to keep you still.

"Now," Hongjoong whispered as he leaned forward, "be a good (boy/girl) and stay here." He stood up straight as he made his way back to his desk grabbing a few things. You stayed still afraid of what he might do if you tried to make your way out of there. Even if you did you'd be stranded in the sea, lost and at prey to the waves,

Hongjoong made his way back to your trembling body with a beautifully made porcelain teacup in hand. With utter delicacy he kneeled down, moving your head towards the mysterious drink.

"Drink up." He whispered and forced the tea down your throat. As the warmth spread threw your throat and down around your body, you began to feel different. Almost as if you were a cloud as you let the tea do its work. Your vision was next as it wanned from blurry to somewhat normal.

"Everything will be better, baby. I promise." With a gleam in his eye and a sly smile making its way across his face, you let your senses go, falling into his warm embrace.

"I will never let you go, my sweet desire."

[sentientgolfball]

Dew’s Turn

Part two

Tags: Era 3 ghouls, water ghoul Dew, elemental transition, descriptions of burning, brief suicidal thoughts, hurt/minimal comfort if you squint, polyghouls my beloved

Word count: 4459

Summary: It was time to start fresh with the Ghost Project and Ifrit was bound and determined to keep what remained of his pack safe, but we can’t always get what we want.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I wouldn’t pick anyone except for you.”

Dewdrop looked at the massive fire ghoul standing before him with a dumbfounded expression as the words started to sink in. He couldn’t be serious. There’s no way. Just moments before, Dew had been lounging in his bathtub enjoying the day off. He longed to go back and sink under the water and never come back up so he wouldn’t have to face whatever this was.

Ifrit had come to his room quietly, the first sign something was wrong. The fire ghoul was usually so loud and energetic, but when he came to Dew’s room, he seemed smaller, like someone had blown out his flame. When he knocked the water ghoul almost thought he imagined it before he heard it again.

At first he assumed Ifrit had come to blow off some steam by pounding his favorite little water ghoul into the bed. Dew was secretly hoping that was the case when he saw who was at his door. Ifrit has rarely been that close with any of the ghouls since Zephyr disappeared, and he missed the warmth that came with him. However, the moment he entered Dew’s room he could tell something serious happened. He could smell it on him, anxiety and grief rolled off of him leaving a sour taste in Dew’s mouth. That immediately made his heart spike and his chest tighten.

He’d only been on earth for a year or so, but so much has happened in that time. He still wasn’t fully adjusted to life topside and he had been quickly forced to learn an instrument he’s never seen before. He missed his pack back in the Pits. He became protective of his new one on earth as ghouls started to disappear. He was terrified of what Ifrit was going to say if he was shaken to silence. Did something happen to Mist? Is Mountain okay? Did Omega disappear too? What if it’s about Aether? The last thought made him feel lightheaded. He had been joined at the hip with the quintessence ghoul ever since their summoning day. He doesn't know what he’d do if Ifrit came to tell him another member of the pack went missing.

Almost as if Ifrit could sense the little ghoul’s anxieties he shook his head

“Everybody is fine, droplet, it’s okay.”

Dew was rigid. The pet name, coupled with the soft tone of his voice, told him all he needed to know.

“What’s going on Ifrit?” He held his breath waiting for the bigger ghoul to respond. He just looked at Dew for a long moment, admiring his features before he spoke.

“I’m getting replaced,” He said quietly, as if that would somehow lessen the impact of the words. Dew felt like a hole had opened under him and swallowed him. His stomach dropped as the words hung in the air.

“What.”

“I’m getting replaced,” He said again, this time a bit louder, “They want to start fresh. They asked me to pick a new lead or they’d do it themselves.”

Dew felt his mouth go dry. He wasn’t fucking with him. How could they replace him! Start fresh? What does that even mean? Suddenly a realization crept into his mind. His eyes snapped up to meet Ifrit’s. He looked terribly nervous.

“What about…?”

“The others? No. No Mountain and Aether are staying.”

He felt relief wash over him at that before it hit him. Ifrit didn’t say his name. Slowly the pieces started to fall into place.

“Frit… Who did you pick?” When the fire ghoul didn’t respond Dew asked the question again with a bit of force behind it. There was a moment of silence before Dew laughed dryly.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I wouldn’t pick anyone except for you.”

He stared at Ifrit in disbelief. He couldn’t be serious. It’s impossible; He wasn’t a leader, he couldn't be in charge of a whole pack. He couldn’t replace Ifrit. He was struck into silence until he realized something that could stop all of this.

“You can’t pick me. I’m a water ghoul and you need a fire ghoul to replace you.” He started to smile as if this was the most brilliant thing he’s ever thought of. That was quickly snuffed out when Ifrit started to speak again.

“You think they haven’t thought of that,” His voice cracked on the last word. Every ghoul knew the stories. The legends that it was possible to become a different element if you could adapt to it. But that’s all they were. Legends. No ghoul had ever tried it before, out of fear of what might happen if they couldn’t adapt.

Dew felt his blood run cold. All he could do was stare at Ifrit silently, begging that this was some sick prank on him.

“No,” Was all he could manage. He shook his head and started to back away from Ifrit in a panic. “No, you’re lying to me. It’s impossible. They’ll… It’ll kill me!” He tripped on the corner of the desk in his room and fell backwards hard onto the floor. He stared up at Ifrit in fear.

The scene broke the fire ghoul’s heart. The past few months had been too much for him. The disappearance of Zephyr hit him harder than anyone. Mist did her best to comfort him, but nothing seemed to work. When he found out about the plans to “start fresh” with the Ghost Project he knew he had to protect what remained of his pack.

So he made a deal with Sister Imperator. He would step down as the lead willingly so long as he got to pick the replacement. When he picked Dew he thought they’d put Mist back on bass. He could live with himself being gone, as long as the rest were okay. What he didn’t expect was for Omega to shove him against a wall days later threatening to rip his throat out.

Turns out, the quintessence ghoul had been tasked with gathering the necessary things to perform an elemental change ritual. Specifically, water to fire. Omega only put him down when he realized Ifrit had no idea that’s what the Clergy intended to do when Dew was picked as the replacement. Something about keeping tradition was all Sister had to offer when Ifrit stormed into her office with smoke rolling off of him. That was two weeks ago. He hadn’t had the strength to give the little ghoul his death sentence any sooner.

“Droplet, listen,” He took a cautious step towards Dew, causing him to crawl backwards away from him with a hiss. Ifrit stopped in his tracks and moved away so he wouldn’t scare the little water ghoul.

“Dew, please listen to me. I picked you for this because I knew if any ghoul could handle it, it’s you.”

He began to slowly crouch down, sitting himself across from the terrified water ghoul.

“I was there when you were summoned. I saw the way you clawed yourself out of the pits. I know you can be their leader.”

I know you can survive the transition. He couldn’t say the last part out loud. He didn’t want to think about what had to be done to make Dew a fire ghoul. Dewdrop slowly propped himself up so he was sitting with his knees to his chest, tail curled tightly around himself.

“When?” He whispered, still looking at Ifrit. His gills were fluttering nervously as he waited for his response.

Ifrit winced, “Tomorrow.”

He dropped his gaze, unable to look Dew in the eyes. He didn’t want to see the fear, or the betrayal.

Before he knew what was happening, he saw a flurry of white out of the corner of his eye, before he felt Dew’s entire weight crash into him. He tensed, expecting to feel the sting of his claws and fangs. He wouldn’t fight back; he knew he deserved it. But the assault never came. He slowly cracked his eyes open and looked down to see Dew shaking as he clung to him. His breath hitched when he heard him sniff. He buried his face into his white hair, pressing kisses and apologies to the top of his head. He had to blink away the tears that started to form in his eyes. He didn’t deserve to cry. This was his fault, after all.

A few moments passed before Dew mumbled something into Ifrit’s chest.

“What was that, droplet?” He forced himself to keep his voice even.

“Stay with me… Please. If this is my last night, I-“ Ifrit stopped him from finishing his thought by quickly scooping him up and setting both of them onto the bed.

“It’s not going to be your last night. You’re going to make it through that ritual and after you’ve recovered I’m going to show you all the abilities of fire and I’ll teach you how to play any song you want on guitar.” Ifrit squeezed Dew tighter as he spoke, trying to will his words into existence.

Dew looked up at him with wet eyes, “You promise?”

“Yeah. Yeah, Dewy, I promise. Anything you want and I’ll make it happen.”

“That… Sounds nice.”

“It does, doesn’t it?”

Ifrit curled himself around Dew’s tiny body, keeping him close to his chest. He would give Dew all of his warmth just to help him settle.

Eventually, the sounds of Dew’s soft sobs came to a stop as his breathing became even, and he fell asleep buried in the massive fire ghoul.

It was only then that Ifirt let himself cry.

I fucked up Zeph. I fucked up, and Dew is gonna be the one to pay for it.

He tried to be as quiet as he could so as to not disturb his sleep. He’d need his energy for tomorrow. There were a few times Ifrit had to turn his head and bury it into the pillows to stop a sob from breaking the silence of the evening.

~~~

Dew began to stir as the soft knocking turned into a pound. He cracked open his eyes. It was still dark out. He groaned and moved to get out of bed when he felt himself being squeezed. That’s when he remembered; Today was the day he would die. The pounding at the door was only getting louder. Ifrit was staring at the door with a growl deep in his chest.

“Frit, please.”

He knew he wasn’t going to let go of him unless he practically begged. Hearing Dew’s voice broke him out of the spell. He looked down at him with soft eyes and a flicker of hesitation before he slowly let him go and got up to open the door.

There stood Mountain, looking like someone had punched him in the gut.

“Omega… Sent me to come get you both. Said something about needing to start it before the sun started to rise.”

Mountain was usually pretty calm, but when he spoke, there was nothing but venom in his words. The scent of fear and hatred made Ifrit want to puke.

“Thanks Mountain, just give us a moment.”

The earth ghoul nodded and Ifrit shut the door. He turned back to Dew who was sitting on the side of the bed, back towards the door. Before Ifrit could say anything he slowly got up and walked to his dresser. He dug around before pulling something out. He held it to his chest for a moment before walking over to Ifrit.

“Hold out your hand,” He whispered. Ifrit did so without hesitation. Dew shakily placed the object into his hands. When Ifrit saw what it was he gasped. It was a silver grucifix necklace.

“Dew… This is what I gave you when you were first summoned. I didn’t know you kept it, I never saw you wear it.”

“Take it back.”

He blinked slowly, “What?”

“Take it so you have something to remember me by.”

Ifrit just stared at the necklace for a moment before closing his hand and clutching it to his chest, “I’m not keeping it.”

Dew looked like he was going to protest before Ifrit continued, “But I’ll hold onto it for you. I’ll give it right back when I see you after the ritual.”

He gave Dew the best smile he could manage. He had to believe he’d make it, that there was an ounce of truth to the legends.

Dew took a deep breath and pounced on Ifrit, wrapping his arms around him. Ifrit immediately returned the hug.

“I’m scared.”

“I know.”

“Will you be there?”

“I won’t leave. No matter what.”

Ifrit pulled back from the embrace to gaze at him. He took time to memorize Dew’s features. His piercing blue eyes, his pure white hair, the fins on his arms and tail, the way his gills fluttered. He squeezed Dew’s shoulders affectionately before pressing his forehead against the water ghouls. He was about to say something when Mountain knocked on the door again. He sighed and whispered something to him that made Dew rigid.

The two then pulled away from each other and left the room, following Mountain to wherever Omega was waiting for them.

Mountain led them outside to the very edge of the tree line. It was still dark outside, but the first rays of the day were starting to peek through the horizon. The Ministry was still visible from where the ghouls stood. The building was still dark, not a single soul had risen yet. As Dew walked he looked up at the sky, focusing on the few stars that still hung in the fading night. When his eyes caught on Venus, he muttered a quick prayer that he would be strong enough to live, and if not, that the rest of the pack would be okay without him. When the three ghouls were only a few feet away from the scene, Dew stopped. He couldn’t go any farther. His legs wouldn’t work. He stared at the piles of wood, at Omega muttering to himself as he read the ancient manuscript in his hands, at the knife Mist was holding.

He couldn’t do this. He didn’t want to die. He couldn’t care less about what element he possessed, but the thought of dying, the thought of just burning to nothing but ash, made him lightheaded.

His ears started to ring as his chest tightened. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. The only thought that went through his mind was I’m going to die as he felt his knees give out from under him. He barely registered that Mountain and Ifrit were crouched next to him trying to get his attention. All he could do was stare into nothing as he tried and failed to get his breathing under control. He hadn't realized he had curled in on himself until he felt his claws digging into his scalp. In that moment he wondered what would happen if he just dug his claws into his gills and pulled until his hands met in the middle. It would be quick. It would hurt a lot less than whatever was about to happen. It would be the same result, and at least there would be something left of him.

He only realized he had started to actually squeeze his gills when he felt hands on top of his. He looked up and was met with a pair of purple eyes looking at him with fear. Dew wanted to cry but he couldn’t. He was still shaking. He still wasn’t grounded enough to understand what was happening.

“Aether?” Was all he could manage to squeak out. If the quintessence ghoul spoke he didn’t hear it, all he felt was his arms wrapping him tight against his body, practically crushing him. With the weight around him, Dew finally started to feel like he was back in his body. He took a moment to breathe in Aether’s scent. The last time he’d ever do so.

“Aether, it’s going to hurt. I don’t want it to hurt.” He whined against his neck.

Aether took a breath before speaking, “I’ll do what I can to make it not hurt. The moment it’s done I won’t leave your side. You won’t have to feel a thing.”

As if to emphasize his point, he let a small amount of quintessence magic spark to life on his fingertips and through Dew’s body. He felt his whole body relax as the magic made his muscles loosen. He wanted to stay like this forever, curled up in Aether’s arms where he knew he’d be safe. The thought that this could be the last time he feels Aether’s touch made his stomach drop. He had only just gotten used to the constant closeness of him, and now it was about to be ripped away.

He had been so absorbed in his thoughts he hadn’t realized Aether had kept talking.

“I’ll be right there when you come back to us… Please just come back to us. Please just stay.”

Dew honestly couldn’t tell if he was talking to him or if he was talking to himself. He didn’t care either way, as long as Aether kept talking.

“Dewdrop.”

The scene was broken by the sound of Omega’s voice cutting in. There was no malice in it, it was actually the softest Dew had ever heard Omega speak his name. He cautiously lifted his head from where it was buried in Aether’s neck. He let out a gasp when he saw Omega’s face. His expression was pained, but that wasn’t what had caught Dew by surprise. It was the fact that he could actually see his face. Unlike the rest of the ghouls, Omega tended to stick to the rules and traditions of always wearing his mask. The only other times Dew had seen him without out was the day he was summoned, and one night when he was sneaking into the kitchen he caught him slipping out of the papal chambers.

Once again, the seriousness of the situation settled deep within Dew. It was too late to turn back, to do anything really. He had to face it. He had to be steadfast if he was going to survive. He took one final deep breath and pulled back away from Aether just enough to look at him. If he was going to die there was one last thing he wanted. He desperately crashed his lips against Aether’s, practically head butting him in the process. It wasn’t the first time they’d kissed, and Dew hoped it wasn’t the last, but if it was he wanted to convey every unspoken feeling he had to him. Aether kissed him back just as desperately. He reached a shaky hand up to hold the water ghoul’s face, using his quintessence to let Dew actually feel everything Aether felt for him.

After a moment, Dew broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Aether’s. He sucked in a breath and then untangled himself from his grasp and stood. He clenched his hands into fists and felt his claws prick against his palms.

“I’m ready.”

His voice didn’t shake, it didn't crack. His jaw was set in determination as he looked at Omega. He needed to live. Not just for himself anymore, but for Aether. For Mountain and Ifrit. For all of them. He thought back to last night as he approached Omega and Mist. If Ifrit believes I’m strong enough, then I am.

He watched as Aether, Mountain, and Ifrit came to stand behind Mist. Omega looked to the East and narrowed his eyes

“It’s time.”

He put down the ancient looking manuscript and began arranging the various types of wood. It was a mixture of ash, willow, and birch. Mountain helped him with this task. They arranged it in a way so that Dew would be able to lay fully stretched out on it. He tore his eyes away when he heard Mist approaching him. He wanted to reach out and have her hold him, but he couldn’t. He knew if he did he wouldn’t let go. She held the knife she had been carrying in one hand while the other came up to rest on his shoulder. She pressed their heads together. She didn’t say anything, she didn’t need to. She had spent all her time with Dew when he was summoned, teaching him how to play bass and how to live on land with a new body. She had watched him come into himself. While the other ghouls were leaning on false hope, too scared to think about what it would be like with no more Dew, Mist truly believed he was going to come out on the other side, and that was enough for her. He’ll be scarred, but he’ll still be her Dew, and that was what mattered most.

“You’re stronger than you know, Dew,” She said as she slowly brought the knife to his chest. She placed the tip of it just above where his water mark was on his sternum. She let it rest there for a moment. He sucked in a breath at the feeling of the cold metal. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen, but he had an idea when he felt Mist begin to add pressure. Carefully, she began to carve as she repeated a phrase in Infernal. Dew had to bite his lip to keep himself from crying out. Aether tried to move forward to relieve the pain but Omega’s voice rang out

“Don’t. The process has begun. If you do anything now, you’ll mess it up.”

Mountain and Omega stood by the wooden altar watching as Mist did her part. Aether slunk back to the sidelines with an apology.

When she was finished, his chest was a bloody mess. She has carved a pointed side up triangle over his water mark. The symbol for fire. He watched for a moment, mesmerized by the little rivers of blood dripping down his chest.

No turning back.

Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion as he walked over to the wooden altar. He looked between Mountain and Omega and briefly wondered if it was the earth ghoul who had somehow managed to get ahold of wood from trees that grew in such vastly different areas. Almost as if he read his mind, Mountain nodded and spoke,

“They each mean something.”

“Oh? What are they?” Dew asked, trying to distract himself as Omega helped him lay down on the wooden altar. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

Mountain shook his head, “I’ll tell you when you wake up.”

Dew laid there on that wooden altar. A funeral pyre, really. He stared up at the sky as Omega and Mountain backed away. The day was bleeding into the little remains of the night sky. The stars weren’t visible anymore. He took it all in, enjoying the soft light of dawn. Even if he survived the transition of elements, this would be the last time he’d see the sky as a water ghoul.

Will the world be different when I’m a fire ghoul? He mused as he tried to not focus on the sounds of fire springing to life or Omega’s Infernal chanting.

“Ifrit. The fire,” Was the last thing Dewdrop heard before he felt pain like he’d never experienced before.

The first thing he felt was the heat of it all. It was too much for his amphibian-like skin. He could physically feel himself dry out. That feeling lasted for about 10 seconds before all he could feel was pain. It felt like someone had dropped the sun on him. He could feel his soft fins being burnt off. He felt like his skin was melting off and dissolving away. Everything was simultaneously too bright and too dark as the smoke from the wood started to rise. He only realized he had been screaming when he started to cough and choke. His gills fluttered uselessly as he tried to take in air. He couldn’t breathe. He started to flail trying to get away from the pain, but two hands held him down. Ifrit’s hands. This was the last thought Dew had before he became unconscious as his body burned.

Dewdrop was dead.

~~~

“He has to stay in the fire. It has to reach his core,” Omega kept a firm hand on Ifrit’s shoulder as he held Dew’s body in place, “If it doesn’t… Then the ritual will be a failure.”

Then he’ll be dead.

The true meaning of his words were left unspoken. Everyone knew what he meant. When Dew’s body had stopped moving and the screams had quieted, Ifrit finally removed his hands from the fire. That’s when Mist and Omega took a hand in theirs and squeezed. They were the only three to remain. Mountain had taken Aether back to the Ministry once the ritual had started, the sounds and smells of his companion burning to death was too much for him. If it wasn’t for Mountain holding him back, he would’ve ran over to extinguish the flames. He was acting on instinct. No one could blame him though; Not only were the two closer than any of the other ghouls, but he was quintessence. He could feel every emotion Dew was feeling. It was a miracle Omega was still standing that close to the pyre.

The three ghouls stood there for a long time, letting the reality of the situation sink in. There was nothing more they could do now, they just had to wait. It was only when the sun had fully risen did Omega turn to gather the excess materials and leave. Some time passed before Mist turned towards Ifrit, who had taken a seat right next to where the wooden altar was burning away.

“We should head back. Staring at it isn’t going to make him wake up any faster.”

Ifrit shook his head, “Omega said he has to stay in the fire. I have to make sure it doesn’t go out.”

To emphasize his point his eyes began to glow like embers as he stared at the pyre. He began to pool his magic into the flames to keep them strong.

Mist sat with him for a little while longer, until she couldn’t take the heat anymore. The morning sun and the proximity to the fire had started to dry her skin. Ifrit didn’t even notice her getting up to kiss him goodbye. He didn’t even realize she had left. His sole focus was on keeping the flame. He got Dew into this mess and he was going to make sure he came out alive on the other end.

[the-white-soul]

*Nothing happens for the second that they enter. If it felt abandoned around the amalgams, it was ten times more empty now. An eerie silence fills the hallway, making their footsteps sound out of place. Something taps Noelle's ankle, urging her to keep moving.*

*The same stillness looms in the air with each step that their light-hearted conversations could not stir. It feels pointless that they had come here, and that they were looking for nothing.*

*A blur of color suddenly whooshes past Noelle's side where Frisk stood, followed by a loud bang. By the time she turns her head, if not frozen in place like a deer in headlights, Noelle can see then bound to the wall with pale green vines strapped over every limb, holding them slightly over the ground. Flowey had appeared on the opposite side of them, watching Frisk with a slightly sympathetic look, as if he didn't want to do this. Or maybe he was mocking them.*

*Next to the little plant was the enormity of the determination extractor. Its hollow eyes and odd shape take the resemblance of a monsterlike skull, with its gaping, twisted jaw facing Frisk directly as if it would consume them.*

I know I said two more chances, Frisk. But I feel bad for you. With your stubborn mentality, you'll never be happy. So defiant and demanding... thankfully, I know how to help you!

*Flowey smiles with excitement.*

We just need to get it over with quicker than I thought. Heehee... it might hurt quite a bit. Are you comfortable?

(Frisk) "*laughs in a way that shows they are a bit afraid but still in a mocking tone* Hey Noelle you hear this? This dumbass flower actually believes he can force me to be nice! *Stops laughing and looks Flowey dead in the eye* Listen. Do you even know the first thing about determination? I'll explain it so dumbed down even you can understand. Determination is how much you're willing to do something and work on a task. It's the only thing that's been keeping me alive. However, do you think that's the reason I am who I am? I'm a jerk because it makes life easier. If you take away the determination I'll become more of an asshole. Like it or not Buttercup, this isn't a part of me you're extracting from me. It's much more complicated. I am me because I love monsters. I loved them so much that I went against everything I believed in besides what my father said. I became a jerk to save monsters like you. I should've known that you brought me down here to extract determination from me. It's the only good thing Alphys made. *Spits at Flowey* One thing if you haven't been listening before is I'll never love you. I hate you. Let me go right now. Fuck you, you piece of shit."

(Noelle) "Flowey, I know I said I'd do whatever you said and I will, just please think about this. *Puts her hand on one of Flowey's stems* Is this what you want to be known as? I know you're better than this. Kara knows you're better than this. Think of Kara. Are you really going to risk all your friends just to be with this..."

(Frisk) "Fuck-face?"

(Noelle) "Yeah, Fuck-face. I can't pretend I don't have problems as well, but I know you can do better. Don't try to fix everyone. Some people can't be saved. You spent all your time trying to help everyone around you. Why don't you finally do something for yourself and only yourself? I am still under your control. How about you force me to help you. Hell, I'd rather you torture me right now. Again, I will go with you since my hands are tied but please, you deserve better."

[mighty-need]

i kind of want to write an Invader Zim (ZaDr) Black Butler AU but I cannot get past the prologue, send help

„Once you have chosen this path, there will be no turning back.”

The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. Dib blinked multiple times, but it did not help against the mist clouding his eyes. He swiped at his tears, but only managed to smear the blood from his hands into his eyes, making him blink even harder.

“The path to heaven will forever be blocked.”

Dib fought out a scoff at that. “Do I look like the kind of guy that cares about that?” His voice sounded unnaturally loud to his own ears, shaky but still with a resolute determination ringing through. He heard how his words made the being pause – and then, he thought he heard it laugh. The shadows surrounding them seemed to move, long black tendrils shaking and winding in the low light.

“Now stop the stupid warnings”, Dib said, his fists shaking. “I did the ritual. I made the sacrifice. You are bound to serve me!”

A scoff. Then, the darkness seemed to clear, or rather, move. Dib thought he was able to make out some limbs in the shadows, black and endless, moving in ways barren of any logic, barely grazing him from all sides before something akin to hands suddenly grabbed both of his arms.  A pair of pearly white teeth, pulled into a grin, appeared right in front of his face and Dib stared at it, transfixed, as it started moving along to the voice of the demon.

“But the dramatic words are half of the fun, don’t you think?”

Dib grimaced and pulled away his arms. The demon let him go – but then, he let a hand wander through Dib’s hair, soft at first, then harshly pulling at it. Dib stumbled another step back, and the hand him alone.

“But I like determination in a human”, the demon cooed. His voice had a dangerous, impatient edge to it that made Dib’s hair stand on end. “What is it that you want? Money? Women? Power?”

A hand grabbed the back of his head, turning it from side to side where Dib could make out glimpses of all the riches the demon was able to grant in the surrounding shadows. He felt how its black tendrils moved against his skin, snaked around his body and ensnared him in their gentle embrace. Somehow, he wasn’t afraid to lose his balance and fall – he felt strangely weightless, as if he was in a completely different sphere than where he had been a few minutes ago.

“I could give you anything you want, with just the snap of my finger”, the demon told him. “However depraved, however impossible. Just as long as you let me feed on your soul when the deal is done”, he whispered, close to Dib’s ear now.

Dib shivered. He had known about this detail beforehand, but there still had been some part of him hoping it might not have been true. The sacrifice should have been enough.

“I know my part of the deal”, he said, clenching his teeth. He could feel how his words made the tendrils vibrate in excitement. “However,” he continued, louder, steeling himself. “Regarding your part, I will not be satisfied with one measly wish.”

He felt the demon slightly pull back, and somehow, it made him miss its touch. “What could it be that you want instead?” it asked.

Dib stretched his hand out into the darkness and pulled the shadows back towards him. The demon seemed to still.

“I want you to serve me. To protect me, to follow my commands, to stay by my side until the very end.”

The whole room seemed to be breathing, the black mass pulsing with thought as Dib stared deep into the darkness.

“Demanding, I see”, the demon chuckled, before its tendrils around Dib tightened and its mouth hovered closer once again. “Unfortunately, I don’t make deals like that”, he continued sharply. “Without a goal in sight. We both have to benefit from this deal after all.”  

He was all smiles again and Dib clenched his fists while he tried to stay composed. “I know”, he replied. “I’ve read about it. But I have a plan. I need you to stay by my side – until I reach my end goal. Then, the moment I’m finished, you are free to kill me and take my soul. Does that sound better?”

Silence encompassed them for another moment, swelling until Dib thought he couldn’t breathe anymore. Then suddenly, the blackness tightened around his hands. Dib could feel the blood on his palms being scratched free as the shadowy claws transformed into light green hands with black fingernails that were scraping against his skin. The shadows around him flickered once more as the form in front of him condensed into the form of a human, a little shorter than Dib, with short black hair and dressed in a slick black suit. His skin, however, was of a light green tone and his eyes were glowing in a dangerous red.

“How exciting. I think this might turn out interesting”, the demon smiled with low eyelids, before slightly bowing with one arm in front of his torso. “Then from now on, I will take the form as your butler Zim”, he offered, grinning. Dib noticed that his teeth seemed unnatural as well – they were slightly too long and too sharp, like teeth in the mouth of a predator. And suddenly, he leaned in very close again, and it nearly made Dib jump back.

“And you are sure? From now on out, there will be no turning back – I will stay by your side no matter what. And your soul”, he said, blinking with one eye each. “will belong to me alone.”

Dib gritted his teeth and stared right back at the demon, Zim, and against his instincts that were screaming to run away from this monster, he leaned in even closer, until their faces were mere inches apart. “I know what I’m in for, I’m not stupid. I just hope that your services will be worth it.”

Dib flinched as Zim suddenly harshly grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand up between them.

“Oh, they will be”, he said, his eyes not leaving Dib’s while he knelt down and gently let his finger wander over Dib’s palm. “Are you ready?” he asked then, quieter.

Dib nodded, and then hesitantly added: “I’ve been ready for this my entire life.”

And Zim smiled at him, before his eyes started glowing as he burned the demon mark deep into Dib’s skin. His smile widened as Dib started to scream.

[crucioslut]

'You just go ahead and get some sleep, I'll be fine.'

Bellatrix's blueish blackened eyelids were as heavy as boulders, yet each time they threatened to flutter closed, her head lolling down or to the side, she fought it. Determined to remain awake and alert, no matter how loud her fatigued body cried out for rest.

The prior weeks (Or, had it been months by now?), had been entirely overtaken with long excersions, demanding battles and the kind of anxiety that drifted in and out right at the forefront, mocking as it did. The Order was consistently getting smarter and stronger, growing in numbers and power just the same. Everybody could feel it. No longer was the opposing side absorbed by fear. They'd become driven by something else and radiated confidence that for the first time was palpable.

It made Bellatrix Lestrange positively sick. She would kill all of them, if it was the last thing she ever did. One-by-one, slowly and exquisitely. And when she was finished slaughtering the swine, she would collect all of their filthy heads and present them to her Master. She would make him proud. Just as she always had.

The Death Eaters who remained faithful to the cause all of these years later were tired. They were overworked and losing faith. This was the unspoken truth.

The two witches found asylum in a leaky cave. Hidden away following a particularly intense ambush by the order, resulting in the women losing the rest of their camp as they all fled in different directions. They found cover in the mean time, waiting for Lucius, Dolohov and the others to return and taking a much needed moment's rest. Bellatrix had jumped onto a tall rock and climbed to the top of it, shining a bright purple light from the tip of her wand inspecting the surroundings they'd all occupied minutes prior, the area still piping hot with the remnants of magical war just outside of their cave.

"There's nothing I can see." Bella muttered to her daughter, intently searching for any signs of invisible traps cast by the enemy. "But those pigs are getting clever, Delphi. I don't trust it. We'll stay put until the others return." She said, hopping off the rock. "Better them than us."

At this, Bellatrix began to laugh, her cackles bouncing off the walls and echoing eerily throughout the dripping cave as she recalled her brother-in-law getting blasted right onto his ass just minutes earlier. "Knowing that uncle Lucy of yours, he will simply walk right into it without so much as checking." Bella shook her head, her laugh dying down to nothing. Her expression twisted into something most scornful and sour. "Useless thing, he is. I ought to kill him along with the rest. He's holding us back." She hissed.

Bellatrix slumped down next to her daughter on the ground, releasing a sigh she hadn't known she'd been holding in. They were already filthy and there was no point in wasting the energy casting the dirt and grime away when they'd find themselves covered once again shortly after.

Bella's eyes lazily rolled over to the member of the order that lay helpless next to them. bound and silenced by magic. The iridescent rippled vines binding the red-headed witch's wrists and ankles swirled, shining most brilliantly in waves. Still the witch gave it a good fight, attempting to scream but nothing came out. Bellatrix and Delphini both feeling the intensity of the other witch's focused wandless magic trying desperately hard to free herself, and both easily opposing and overpowering it each time.

The girl wriggled and squiggled, hysterically, attempting to do anything to free herself.

"Enough!" Bellatrix shrieked, whipping her across her face with her wand sharply, leaving behind a welt. "You should be thanking us that you're being left alive. Sit still! You're making me dizzy!"

Bella's head rest against Delphini's shoulder once their prisoner had settled, eyes threatening to shut once again. "You okay, Dove?" She muttered, yawning. A hand moving to hold onto her daughter's arm affectionately.

'You just go ahead and get some sleep, I'll be fine.' Delphini said.

But her mother's eyes widened at that, sitting back up and getting to her feet. "No." Bella said, sternly. That was not an option.

Instead, Bella paced their pretty little prisoner, speaking to her as though she'd be able to respond. "The Dark Lord won't be very happy to me if I brutalize you too badly before he's even gotten the chance to look at you..." Bella's voice was gentle and low, a tactic that drew people to her, that voice nearly warm and inviting. She leaned down and swiped her thumb over the red head's forehead to clear hair away from her face. The younger witch flinched and attempted to squirm from her touch, gazing up at the older witch in total and complete fear.

Bellatrix grinned wide, exposing teeth like a hungry wolf.

"...But I'm sure we can still have some fun."

@daughterofyourdarklord

[clansayeed]

The Evening ― a Bound by Destiny drabble

⥼ Summary ⥽

While Nadya is busy making friends among the Ball's other human guests, Adrian and Kamilah retreat to the vampire-exclusive La Soiree. It is there that Adrian meets a pair of vampires with which to spend the evening... and finds himself caught up in the scintillating air of their natural mystery.

note: This piece takes place during Bound by Destiny, during the events of Chapter 10: The Cellar. It is not necessary to read to understand Book 1 or the Oblivion Bound series, but it does provide a fun insight into both Adrian and the original characters Valdas and Isseya.

word count: 4,175 rating: mature content warnings: language, blood drinking, vaguely-described sexual situations find out more: HERE

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

[READ IT ON AO3]

By the third time Kamilah sweeps her gaze across the room he’s had enough.

“You don’t need to babysit me all night. Do you think I’m going to up and retreat the moment you turn your back?”

The look she gives him isn’t entirely unwarranted; a simple arched brow and the kind of breath that shifts her bosom at the top of her corset but serves only to be seen and understood.

For as long as he’s known her, Adrian has been fascinated with Kamilah’s skill of speaking columns without so much as an utterance. Maybe it comes with age. More likely it’s just something uniquely Kamilah.

“Give yourself a tad more credit Adrian.” She curls a single finger in the air; summoning a serving boy from out of his line of sight and plucks her choice of dark amber liquor from his offered assortment. “‘Retreat’ is not a word in your lexicon.”

The same silver tray is offered to Adrian. He declines, and the servant flits away.

“You know what I mean.”

Kamilah savors her drink for a long moment. “Perhaps I did, once. Now, however, I find myself in need of a translator where you are concerned.”

And… well, isn’t that entirely not what he was expecting. “What’s that about?”

“It is about the changes I’ve seen in you over the last few months. I’ve yet to determine whether or not to be concerned.”

“A chan—” But before he can even get the full question out, Kamilah cuts him off.

“Do not play the fool to me. Never to me.”

Eyes sharp as the daggers she collects so avidly; plum-tinted lips curled into a frown usually reserved for literally anyone else. All of her discontent plain to see despite the heady fog of incense that curls around the foyer and its guests.

But it’s not exactly difficult for Adrian to figure out the source of her ire. The unspoken name that’s kept her on her toes.

Only Adrian wouldn’t dare do anything but call Nadya a profoundly positive influence on his life. Not even just his—Kamilah’s, too. How long has it been since he’s heard even the whisper of amusement curled into the corners of her mouth? Or seen a kindness as simple as slipping Nadya her Clan symbol so she wouldn’t have to brave the train ride without them at her side?

One of his great personal tragedies of the last century was being forced into the role of silent witness to the hardening of Kamilah Sayeed’s heart. And yet she sits here in front of him and implies he’s the only one changed by the strange yet welcome break in immortal tedium ignited by their wondrous new human friend.

Alas, Adrian isn’t the least bit surprised.

He’s young (compared to her, anyway), but not stupid.

Before Adrian can speak a word in his own defense a familiar and throaty laugh catches the pair’s attention. It has Adrian looking beyond her shoulder while Kamilah twists lithely to join him in watching Lester’s entrance to the evening’s events.

To no one’s surprise their fellow Council member has arrived with a beautiful woman gracing each arm. Mortal, given the flush in their cheeks — and no doubt a disturbingly small fraction of his presumed age. He postures; he always does. Loud bellowing guffaws and over-exaggerated reunions with old friends he will need plenty of liquor to recall the names of.

By the time he’s made his way across the foyer there’s an entire Castellanos entourage on his heels. And as quickly as they gathered… they all vanish together too. Gone behind one of several doorways draped in maroon velvet.

Attentions turning back to one another, the looks Adrian and Kamilah exchange make his heart feel a little bit lighter. Even when they aren’t eye-to-eye on one thing, they will always be on the same team.

“Well we know which salon to steer clear of.” Adrian muses.

“I would venture caution even to those which share a wall with his den of debauchery.”

That, however, brings up the unspoken discussion neither of them have wanted to set in motion. The one where they discuss their own and each others’ participation in the soiree’s intended purpose.

Kamilah is certainly dressed for it. And Adrian isn’t even the only one around them wearing a simple suit — sometimes what is not revealed is just as tantalizing as what is, after all.

So he sighs, accepts defeat, and politely stops the closest server for his pick of red wines on offer. “I’ll stay—salut,” his raised glass meets hers between them, “but I’ve got too much on my mind to even think about… joining in.”

Knowing it’s the best she’s going to get out of him, Kamilah accepts this and begins to unwind herself from the supple leather sofa.

“One of these days you might want to try not shouldering the world’s every burden.”

“One of these days.”

“And when such a day comes, I might just die from shock.”

“Just don’t resent me for being your demise.”

With a bemused little smile Kamilah bends down to bestow chaste kisses to his cheeks. It’s enough to give Adrian a strange yet fleeting sense of relief. “I cannot make any promises about not holding it against you,” she teases. “But in all seriousness— do try to find something to keep you entertained tonight. You might even find yourself enjoying what opportunity comes along. It does so only once a decade, if you recall.”

Then Kamilah takes her leave. Adrian watches her go for lack of anything better to do… though the sight of her greeting an unfamiliar woman with a coy smile and friendly kisses isn’t exactly easy on him. He’s glad she’s giving into the opportunity to let loose even a little bit — but knowing what Adrian does about Nadya and her feelings towards Kamilah…

Well, he’s frustrated. Torn between two loyalties. But that’s nothing new.

La Soiree is still in its early hours. Eventually the foyer, still bustling with the last wave of attendees under the impression fashionably late has modern relevance, will be no more than an echoing chamber. And Adrian still doesn’t know if he plans on being one of the scant few left behind.

Wistfully his thoughts drift—unsurprisingly—to Nadya and the Cellar party happening below. Maybe he could pop in. Could check and just make sure she’s acclimating and finding friends and doing well. But would the attendants even let him in…?

The other end of the long couch sighs. Drawing Adrian’s attention to the man helping himself in taking up Kamilah’s place.

He gives the stranger a polite nod out of sheer courtesy — already readying himself to stand and take his leave.

“Surely there is enough room to share?”

Adrian blinks, startled. Looking back at the man but unsure of what to say.

“Yes, you,” the stranger offers a small chuckle and a sweeping hand to all of the empty cushions around them. “There’s no need to leave. In fact, I invite the pleasure of your company.”

The pleasure of his company? Words no doubt carefully-chosen here… of all places.

“Unless…” The man shrugs one shoulder before looking up at Adrian through obviously lowered lashes. “You have a prior engagement, of course.”

Something about the unspoken implication rubs Adrian the wrong way; and makes him debate staying solely to prove the man wrong. There’s a touch of the sinner in the glint of the stranger’s honeyed eyes and the almost predatory way he watches Adrian while sipping his drink.

Apparently… he’s doing this. Adrian sits back down… and tries to reassure himself of the feeling that he may not have really had a choice in the matter. Of course he did.

… Right?

The other vampire doesn’t bother hiding the victory lacing his smile. “Forgive me, where are my manners…”

He extends a dark hand… and the moment Adrian reciprocates the other takes it as unspoken permission to snatch up the empty cushion between them.

“You will call me Valdas.”

Oh will he? “Adrian, Adrian Raines.”

Only Valdas doesn’t relinquish his grip so easily. Leaving Adrian watching with growing confusion and unease as he turns over their joined hands with a tender curiosity.

“Ease the tension in your jaw. It isn’t good for such a handsome face to always look so displeased with the world.”

Reluctantly, Adrian does. “I don’t think I look… displeased,” and brushing the barely-concealed compliment aside… “May I have my hand back, Valdas?”

Apparently not. Well-trimmed nails brush along the inside of his upturned wrist. They linger in the same way winter just won’t let the city go in February. The barest touch dragging along the lines of Adrian’s palm in a way only a lover’s should.

Valdas hums as if pleased. “The trained eye can always tell who among us are survivors of the days of old. Indulge me this, Adrian Raines — I would put you at two, three centuries walking?”

“Pardon?”

“You are pardoned. I’m asking for your age, young man.” Which is a strange endearment to hear from someone who looks pretty close to him in physical age at the very least. Adrian can almost imagine a bit of a baby face hiding under that thick and well-trimmed beard.

While asking someone’s age isn’t any taboo among their kind—especially those gathered at La Soiree—Adrian can’t help but feel a little bit uncomfortable; sharing his age with a man he’s only just met. It’s a clear indicator at the very least that he’s not from around New York or the surrounding states. If he was he’d know Adrian by sight. And age has always been an important measure of decorum — among the Council anyway. It’s why the likes of the Baron will always hesitate before crossing Kamilah; or even Adrian himself for that matter.

Kamilah had even explained to him once the importance of age in the old European vampire culture. How it dictated everything from eye contact to forms of address to even whether you could speak to someone at all.

If Adrian’s placing this Valdas’ accent even remotely geographically close… these could be dangerous waters ahead.

Subtly, Adrian tries to coax his hand free. “Is it that important?”

He fails. Earning instead the stroke of a roughly calloused thumb over the top of his palm. “My curiosity has you uncomfortable,” Valdas answers; a statement that leaves Adrian slightly taken aback.

“Well, no, I —”

The other vampire’s grasp tightens suddenly. It’s minuscule, but definitely noteworthy.

“I do not ask the same thing twice.”

That Adrian doesn’t have a hard time believing. At this rate it’s just easier to answer and get it over with. “I’ve never had a reason to count the years off,” he coolly lies, but still offers, “somewhere over the head of two hundred and fifty, though.”

His acquiescence is met favorably; an almost proud curve added to Valdas’ smile while he nods.

“Yes. I thought so.”

“How could you tell?”

Valdas seems glad Adrian asks. He gestures with a sweep of his thumb over calluses so old Adrian often forgets they’re there; no more important or defining unto him than the scar on his foot from the angry end of a horseshoe nail in his youth, or the chip on his bottom tooth he had been forced to wait for modern dentistry to finally get corrected.

Judging by the way Valdas looks at them, too, their permanence is kind of the whole point.

“The evidence is here, do you see? So many of us lucky enough to have survived have telltale marks such as these. Marks from a farmer’s labor or a blacksmith’s skill. Yours, Adrian, are a tad more distinct though. I would recognize another soldier’s hands anywhere.”

There was once a time when Adrian would have recoiled at the assumption. It didn’t matter if it was true or not. But Gaius has been gone for so long, now. Titles like Soldier, like Bloodqueen, have faded into nothing more than words; as mundane as their current occupations of CEO and Council Member.

“You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes, huh.”

Valdas again shrugs a single shoulder. Then he turns his own hand up and into Adrian’s cupped palm to reveal his own similarly rough hewn skin.

“Deduction has its uses to be sure. But I’ve found experience to be a far more adept means of investigation.”

At least Adrian can take his hand back, now.

“Well I guess my eye isn’t as trained. I hope you’re not waiting for me to guess your age.”

“Why would I, when the time it would take you to do so even close to accurately could be spent in far more amicable ways?”

In the time it takes Adrian to realize his intended insult, Valdas throws his arm over the back of the couch and allows himself to sink further into the pliant leather for comfort.

Well, Adrian thinks, there are worse ways to spend the evening.

He could be in the same room as Lester.

“I take it you are local to the area?”

Adrian nods. “Well—Manhattan, yes.”

“I mean to say that this is not your first of these events.” Valdas gestures broadly to the foyer around them; growing more empty with every passing minute. The intricate and semi-sexual dance of small talk and choosing partners seems to be nearly over.

Ah. “Oh, no then,” he answers. “What about you?” Since it’s highly unlikely his companion is here for someone’s Debut.

“‘Tis our first on this continent. Though the Balls of old hosted by the young Lord Lafayette weren’t so specific in nature back then — they never were.”

There’s… quite a bit to unpack there in a simple statement; and Adrian doesn’t really know where to begin. Maybe that’s a good thing—famous last thoughts—when Valdas reaches forward and cards a surprisingly gentle touch through his hair.

Adrian should be leaning away.

Why isn’t he leaning away?

Because apparently once again Kamilah is proven right — only this time she isn’t even here to reap the spoils of her victory. And because maybe it has been a while since Adrian has… indulged himself with the company of another. It’s not as though Valdas isn’t an attractive man; that’s not it at all. He just isn’t the first person Adrian would have picked out in a room full of equally eligible vampires ranging from casually friendly to just plain horny.

So where does that leave them?

It leaves Adrian speechless; a wordless yet not entirely unwilling participant to the way the other vampire takes slow and purposeful advances. It’s not like Valdas is trying to lure him in falsely with a ruse. They both know exactly what’s going on, what each movement and action mean, and what they could very well build up to.

And Valdas is surprisingly patient as he waits to see if his affections will be reciprocated… or politely refused.

Adrian Raines is a polite man by nature. However he doesn’t refuse.

The rough pad of Valdas’ thumb swipes over Adrian’s bottom lip slowly and with care. Pressing down with the barest of pressure; just enough to feel the tip of his nail on his front tooth.

There’s a point to this brief hesitation. Now would be the time to tell him to stop, if that’s the plan.

Instead, Adrian asks— “Which party would you be referring to, exactly? The Ball, or La Soiree?”

The answer to Adrian’s question lies not in words, but in the way Valdas moves his hand to hold the other’s chin with thumb and forefinger; in the way Adrian follows by allowing his head to cant to the side, welcoming a warm exhale of breath on his neck.

Valdas’ lips tease just shy of a kiss. There’s the tickle of his facial hair that Adrian hasn’t felt in—phew—at least two decades, maybe more? Sensations both familiar in theory and new in specific experience. All that and the air of hunger that hangs over them, sultry and sweet.

Adrian’s half-lidded eyes briefly sweep the room around them in a daze; looking but not really seeing anything from beyond this moment the men have sealed themselves in. Why would he even bother — when there’s still so much to be taken in from the awakening his body is undergoing?

That strong grip winds its way into Adrian’s coiffed hair — clutching at soft strands and digging into his scalp. Like the hand’s owner was born in the tumultuous storm straddling pleasure and pain and has never left it.

“May I?”

Two words given breath and life wet against Adrian’s throat. He isn’t given the chance to answer… but he doesn’t need to when blunted teeth suddenly give way to something sharper.

The lightest twitch is all it takes for Valdas’ fangs to pierce Adrian’s flesh. It’s a carnal act as much as it is a relief; eliminating the need to navigate the murky waters of speech any further.

They sit together, each man’s existence honed in on the other, for what feels like an eternity. The soiree, the Ball itself; everything could continue to move and flow around them and Adrian is quite sure he would be none the wiser.

Yet every time he reaches out to offer some kind of physical reciprocation, Valdas declines. Whether it’s seeking out his cheeks or hair, trying to skirt touches to his neck or shoulders… even when Adrian tries to switch subtle tactics and goes for the buttons of Valdas’ dress shirt with certainty—the other man pushes his hands back in a silent command to simply enjoy. To allow himself to be enjoyed.

The next attempt becomes his last. Rejection joined this time by punishment of Adrian’s hands held bound in his own lap. He really doesn’t have a choice after that.

Somewhere in the din of it all the hairs on the back of Adrian’s arms prickle with gooseflesh. It’s enough to drag him into awareness beyond the heated coil burning in his belly and back to the world that—somehow, like a fever dream—exists outside of Valdas’ extremely talented mouth.

They are being watched.

They are being enjoyed.

One of the staff tries to offer the woman an hors d’oeuvre; just doing her job, being polite. But even from across the room Adrian can see the tension rippling underneath supple olive skin; can sense it in the shift of her lithe body under the dim lighting of the chandelier, and in the way the sheer veils that cover just enough of her skin glide effortlessly along her body and curves.

She is dark black hair in ringlets around sharp cheekbones and a sharper jawline. One eye the color of a tree in morning light and the other an ivy-toned green; both pupils blown wide and black and seemingly endless. And her smile… oh how her fangs catch pearlescent in the light.

He has absolutely no idea who she is.

That doesn’t stop her from staring at them with eyes giving new definition to the word desire.

But the attention starts to unnerve Adrian slightly. Enough to make him twitch and move under Valdas’ continued bloodstained attentions — though his body isn’t sure where to go.

Judging by the tightening grip on his hair… nowhere.

But even through whatever lusting frenzy has him so enamored, Valdas doesn’t ignore the chance of ambiance. Rather than pull back entirely he simply shifts; coyly tucking his face into Adrian’s fluttering pulse in order to cast a subtle glance at what exactly has his new treat ready to flee.

“Ah, yes,” he croons, a familiarity in his tone that catches Adrian off guard, “she can be rather… intense at first. But I assure you darling, she means no harm. Well… none that will go unrewarded anyway.”

Blinking through the haze of Valdas is harder than Adrian expected it to be. “You… know her?” He asks.

Only the second the words pass his lips he no longer needs them. Only then does he remember Valdas’ earlier choice of words—

“…our first time…”

—and it all makes sense.

“She’s your… partner.”

Valdas chuckles lowly; lets his rumbling voice thickened with arousal burrow itself a home beneath Adrian’s skin.

“To call her such a plain term is almost an insult — not that you could have known. If my beloved is merely my partner, then this—here, you and I—is nothing more than a business-like chat.”

Which they both know is an understatement. Point proven when Valdas finally releases his wrists, reaching between their entwined bodies to palm the evidence of Adrian’s enjoyment of even the little they’ve done so far. Finding him full and aching; eager for release against the tight fabric of his suit slacks.

“I can’t recall business ever putting me… here.” Hard, confused; the itch of the role of prey tingling the base of his spine in a way it hadn’t since Adrian was Turned.

And all-too-quickly due to that woman’s unwavering stare.

Valdas wrenches Adrian’s focus back from across the room with a squeeze. Watching and relishing every expression flickering across Adrian’s face with rapt obsession. “I’m gladdened to know you aren’t opposed to Isseya’s voyeurism.”

Any protests that might have been are thus no longer. They die on the tip of Adrian’s tongue; swallowed down so quickly he almost chokes on them in exchange for the moan Valdas pulls from him when he skillfully destroys Adrian’s button fly without a care.

His head falls back against the back of the chaise, his world sent off-kilter, everything distorted at the edges of his sight.

Only to be brought back by the slow and purposeful approach of the tigress called Isseya.

Deceitfully delicate hands fall on his shoulders. The whisper of a soft thumb stroking the juncture where Adrian’s neck meets his shoulder that quickly grows heavy. Effortlessly she is holding him down — pinned and prone.

Isseya leans over him then — fully aware of how her supple breasts follow the curve of her spine to lean just within reach of his parted lips. But the kiss she captures Valdas with becomes a form of distraction all its own.

Humans invented monogamy because to them life was fleeting. Vampires have a very different mindset—and rightly so. There are dozens of ways two (or more) of their kind can define the relationships they have between one another and all together; probably even more than Adrian knows.

But as he watches their tongues tangle soft and exploratory, two of Valdas’ fingers tucking under Isseya’s chin and the control held in such a simple touch… Adrian quickly learns, and understands.

Calling her partner really was a kind of insult. It belittles them and what they are together; what they have. What they let wash over Adrian in building desperation and raising volume wet and eager and only continuing to grow.

What would it be like to kiss someone like that, Adrian finds himself wondering. It’s not an answer, but as if under a compulsion he watches himself lend Valdas a hand by hooking his finger into the rope belt hanging low on Isseya’s hips — like that could somehow hold her there.

The couple press their foreheads together briefly before parting in a silent reckoning. Isseya’s gaze trails lazily back to Adrian like he’s an afterthought.

Oh, yes. You exist.

“You always find me the prettiest presents, My Beloved One.” Her voice rings like chimes on a twilight breeze.

With a chuckle and a nod, Valdas resumes his earlier pursuit — fingers dipping steadily below Adrian’s bespoke waistline to take his arousal in hand. “Who said he was yours?”

“I did.”

“I rather like him for mine own.”

“Cruel, lover.”

Adrian wants to interject; though at the moment his brain is likely to say something stupid about not belonging to anyone, about being his own man. But it’s difficult to think when he’s… like this.

“Strong jaw, good cheekbones… You know I love the cheekbones.” Yet even the bare minimum of a compliment feels, coming from her, like worshipful praise.

His stare is glassy, and he looks up at Isseya with acceptance as well as desire. Another minute more and Adrian worries he might find it impossible to deny them both of anything. Especially the inevitable.

Maybe that’s the whole point.

“Does he suit your vision of the evening, my love?” Valdas asks, words breathed like worship into Isseya’s slender neck. The vampiress hums at the affection and question both, sweeping Adrian up in another of her all-consuming gazes.

“I’d have to taste of him, first.”

Rather than give her an answer, Valdas simply turns to Adrian with a single eyebrow raised.

The unspoken question hangs loudly between them all.

Well? The choice is his.

Well…

Adrian watches his hand cup the back of Isseya’s neck, pulling her in for a kiss.

There are worse ways to spend the evening.