#CLUTCHES MY CHEST AND WHEEZES

[nightfuryblue19]

HOLY. WHAT. OH MY GO

@nightfuryblue19 your tag about being friends with toybox inspired me DREAMS CAN COME TRUE!!! here are you 2 hanging out :3

[waspgrave]

Moving boxes while you have a cold is um….agony.

[pigswithwings]

hi hi hi just wanted to say that i think youre so cool. seriously. love seeing your ideas whether it's in writing or drawing or any other art form ...... always happy to see that you like my stuff too like yesss yesss that's the awesome mutual stamp of approval. hope you have a good day : ) !!!!

AHHHHH AHH OKAY!!! THANK YOU!! I LOVEYOU!!! HOORAY

[letsriddlemethislucifer]

[undreaming-fanfiction]

Eddie goes to a very interactive and scary haunted house with CC. They get separated, one thing leads to another, and Eddie finds himself crouched behind a dusty curtain, trying to evade a masked killer with a spiked bat.

But then his smart watch lights up, and he realizes that he needs to turn it off.

Except his shaking fingers accidentally press the "find your phone" function. One moment, Eddie is suppressing his labored breathing. Now, he's scrambling to turn off his phone as it keeps screeching "I'M HEEEREEEE!" in an obnoxious voice.

The curtain opens and the killer stares at him from above. Even with the mask on, he seems disappointed.

Eddie just stares at him.

The killer stares back.

Then, as an act of mercy, he takes Eddie's phone and turns off the noise. He returns the phone and uses his bat to give the gentlest bonk to Eddie's head.

Eddie still stares and isn't moving.

The killer sighs, removes his mask - and wow. Maybe fear scrambled Eddie's brain, but the guy's so cute!

"Oh wow," he whispers. "If I knew you were so pretty, I would have let you catch me sooner."

He half expects the guy to be disgusted, but he just snorts. "That can still be arranged. But now," he lowers his mask back, "you have five seconds to start running. And if I catch you, you don't get to ask for my number."

Eddie runs like hell. He makes it past the exit gate, he rolls on the floor, wheezing and sweating. But he still finds the words. "Your...oh fuck, my ribs...your name...big boy? And number?"

The guy didn't even break a sweat. He walks up to Eddie, takes his phone and types in a number, plus a name - Steve.

He cocks his head to the side. "My shift ends in three hours. Try not to disappoint me again, hm?"

And then he leaves.

Eddie's friends stare at him, having witnessed the whole scene. But Eddie doesn't explain anything, he just clutches the phone close to his chest and says: "I'm gonna marry that guy."

And surprisingly, he ends up being right.

[ervotica]

please don’t go, i love you so

pairing: young!coriolanus snow x reader

warnings: a lil toxic!coriolanus, he’s rough with r, possessive talk, quite tame in this but imma tamp it up soon, a bit of making out and being lovey

note: i do not careee about who likes this character or who doesn’t okay i am writing about him because he is literally one of the hottest men i’ve ever seen, kay? i’m not here for moral dilemmas thank u, enjoy (yes i will follow up w smut and my young!coriolanus snow reqs are OPEN!) please please remember to comment and rb, it helps me so much!

hunger games masterlist

Coriolanus is possessive.

It sickens him to his very core, sends nausea rolling like a wave through his chest; he’s not a child. Yet, the mere sight - thought - of you engaging with any other man, even innocently, is enough to have him seeing red: white-knuckled, muscles drawn taut like a bowstring, ready to eliminate any and all threat standing between him and his girl.

It's the way those boys look at you. As if you're a piece of meat, a toy to play with that they're just begging, aching to sink their teeth into, to leave a permanent mark on. The boys in this district are barbaric- that's what Coryo thinks anyway. It's disgusting, the things that he knows they think about you.

It's been a long day in District Twelve. Coriolanus' grey jumpsuit rubs and itches and his skin crawls with an uneasiness settled at the pit of his stomach. It's a warm day, his skin sticky as he peels the top half of the jumpsuit from his slender arms and ties it neatly around his waist. The grass by the lake is damp with the leftover dew from the morning.

He catches sight of you amongst the trees, weaving and bobbing through the undergrowth as you do, your lithe fingers brushing against leaves. Your head dips and then raises as his tall figure creeps into your peripheral vision. A smile graces your features, real and earnest with all your teeth.

There’s a slight waver in your countenance when you catch Coriolanus’ own expression; his brows are knit, pushing his forehead into a crease, lips pushed together tersely.

You walk straight into his arms, balancing yourself on one leg and pushing your shoulder underneath his armpit. You needle your way in, your forehead rested against his chin, so close you can feel his breath against your face.

“Hi, gorgeous,” you murmur. You reach up to push out the ridge in his brow and your thumb traces the bridge of his nose in a way that couldn’t be perceived as anything other than unbridled affection. “Something wrong?”

His slender fingers settle against your waist. You shiver at the contact when he spins and pushes you back into a tree. The bark digs into your back as you shuffle to meet his eyes— his eyes that have suddenly clouded with something dark and possessive.

“What is it?” you ask again; your voice is becoming more strained the longer he stays quiet, your own hands snaking up his arms like vines and squeezing.

He shakes his head and drops his face to look at you properly.

“Nothing. I have you.”

“Okay.” You click your tongue, tilting your head at him. His face gravitates towards yours, breath hot and mixing with your own. “You gonna kiss me or what, handsome?”

He doesn’t need any encouragement, surging forward to catch your lips between his own; his hands are rough, kneading the soft flesh of your hip. His other makes its way up to your jaw, fingertips pressing so hard you’re sure he’s branding you. You’ve never been kissed like this, with such fervour and passion and need. You gasp into his mouth and your arm wraps around his neck to pull him further into you.

“Coryo,” you pant.

“Shh,” he forces out, his fingers suddenly an iron grip around your neck; the hollow of your throat is bared to him and bobs under his cruel touch.

“Coriolanus, that hurts,” you say, strangled. His eyes are alight with a fire, a blazing inferno roaring in his head as he squeezes your throat and laughs.

You wheeze, clutching at his wrist in an attempt to loosen his grip. He obliges you, running a thumb over the indents he’s left in your soft skin to smooth them away.

“You know I’d never hurt you, right?” he asks. His head drops to the juncture of your neck, arms hooking loosely around your middle as he relaxes into you. “I just wanted to feel you. To know you’re mine.”

The incident is forgotten as soon as it ends. He has a charm in that sort of way; you don’t see his faults even when he shows them to you clear as day. You’ll never see what’s right in front of you even if he wants you to.

“Of course I’m yours, Coryo. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“The way they all look at you here…” He falters. “Like they all want you. Like they want to take you away from me. You’re mine- they have to understand that.”

“No one could take me away from you,” you giggle, your temple resting against the tip of his shoulder so you can duck your head to meet his eyes. “I know where I belong. And that’s right here with you.”

“Good.” He mouths at your neck like a man starved, arms coming right up until they’re hooked just underneath your own. He pulls away heaving for breath.

“Wanna show me just where you belong?”

[omegalomania]

i think it should be noted that pete specifically has this shirt because joe got it for him!

(the shirt was $500; the band took joe drag racing for his 32nd birthday and it seems that joe got pete this shirt on the same day, perhaps as a thank you?)

pw finding his holy grail 💘

• Metallica - Cap’ns of Krunch Krew vintage t-shirt

[peachessndreamss]

Weirwood Tree

Summery : While in labour with their second child, Cregan and his wife take s short walk to the Weirwood tree to help get things moving.

Characters : Cregan Stark x f!wife reader (no use of Y/N)

Warnings : Pregnancy and childbirth (nothing explicit)

Word count : 3k

A/N : Turns out you never shake being a Stark girl, Ily Cregan so much.

“I’m sorry t’say it, my lady, but your labours have slowed up,” the midwife said softly as she drew the sheets back over Lady Starks bent knees before dipping her hands in a bowl of water. 

“Slowed up?” Lady Stark repeated incredulously, dropping her head back on the feather pillow, “but it's been hours already,” she added, tears burning her eyes. 

The second child of Lord Cregan stark and his lady wife was in no rush to make their way into the world. Despite the frequency and strength of her earlier pains once the midwife and maester had been sent for, everything seemed to have come to an uncomfortable halt.  

The midwife had brought her ancient grandmother along with her, known through Winterfell and the winter town as Auld Joan, she had been a midwife in her own time and had delivered Cregan's father and uncle. She was mostly blind and deaf now but still attended births but spent most of the time sitting as close to a heat source as possible and dispensing wisdom if necessary. She was currently sitting in a chair next to the roaring fire, her ancient hands clasped on her lap, knuckles bulging out of shape and fingers curled like claws. 

“I know it's been a while,” the midwife said soothingly, placing a warm hand on Lady Stark's knee, “but sometimes it's just like this,”. 

“The last one wasn't like this,” Lady Stark grumbled, her mood darkening as she tried to shift around into a more comfortable position. 

“You mustn't compare one with another,” the midwife soothed before touching a cold cloth to the lady's forehead. 

“A walk will geyit moving ,” the old woman wheezed from her seat by the fire, “no’ this lying about,”. 

The maester, who had been mostly disinterested in proceedings up until this point shot the old woman a dark look, he was standing in the far corner of the room, a leather case of vicious metal tools clutched jealously to his chest. His grey robes matched his grey and sickly looking skin. He wasn't particularly interested in births or deaths or the everyday ailments of life and resented being summoned to the birthing room of any woman. 

“This position is agreed upon as being the correct way for labouring mothers,” he said coldly in a clipped southern accent. 

“Agreed by men who know nothing about it,” the crone grumbled. 

“What does she mean?” Lady Stark asked the midwife who was now gently feeling the swell of the lady's belly. 

“Baby's not quite in righ’ place, that's why things have slowed,” she explained as she pressed on the left side of the belly, Lady Stark winced, “but grandmother thinks a little walk might get things moving again,”. 

The midwife glanced over at her grandmother who had closed her eyes and was now looking peaceful in the flickering light of the fire, she looked back at her lady and dabbed the cloth over her cheeks before putting it back beside the bowl of cold water. 

“What do you think?”Lady Stark asked. 

She shrugged, making a point not to look towards the maester before replying. 

“It helped me with mine, and it wouldn't do you any harm,”. 

The maester opened his mouth to disagree and lady stark held up her hand to silence him. 

“Just walking through the keep, out into the godswood for the fresh air should do it,” the midwife continued. 

The lady nodded and lifted herself up onto her elbows, she addressed the maester, privately enjoying ordering the sour faced man about. 

“Lord Cregan is outside the door, fetch him in,” she said. 

Cregan Stark had paced the halls outside of his wife's rooms since he'd been asked to leave them several hours before. While he wasn't accustomed to being removed from parts of his own castle he respected that father's, even lords, were not expected to be present at the births of their children,so he was surprised to hear the door opening when he was fairly certain nothing much had happened yet. 

“My Lord?” The voice of the maester echoed off the walls as the lord strode into view, “your wife would like to see you,”. 

He nodded, his face stern as he stepped past the man and into the warm, dark room. 

“Seven Hells,” he murmured as he pulled at the collar of his shirt, instantly feeling the heat of the room rolling over him like a wave, sweat breaking out on his forehead and upper lip. 

As he looked around the room he was surprised to see the midwife helping his wife into her fur boots, a long, heavy cloak already covering her shoulders. 

“Going somewhere?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

She turned her flushed face to him and smiled. 

“Yes, we're going for a walk,”. 

Cregan’s brows rose but he nodded without further comment, knowing better than to ask questions.  He watched nervously as the midwife helped his wife to her feet, ready to spring forward at any moment if it looked like Lady Stark might lose her balance. 

Once he was happy she was safely on her feet, Cregan stepped towards them, offering his arm to his wife, who took a small step and linked her arm through his. 

“Twice around the godswood’ll do it,” Auld Joan spoke from the chair, she opened one ancient eye that could just be seen through the folds of skin that made up her face. 

“Or as far as you need’t,” the midwife added, her eyes flicking towards the maester. 

From the darkest corner of the room the maester muttered under his breath “foolishness” but no one else could hear him or pay him a moment's more attention. 

As the Lord and Lady of Winterfell stepped out of the stifling room and into the cooler corridor of the keep they both gave a sigh of relief. As they walked they instinctively drew closer to one another. Finding comfort and strength in each other's presence. 

“This is an unexpected pleasure,” Cregan said as they stepped through the door of the keep and into the much colder air of the inner bailey. The ground was a mess of mud, straw, snow and grey brown slush that cracked and crunched under their boots. 

“Yes,” she agreed, her hand tightening on his arm as her foot slipped a little on a patch of hidden ice, “Auld Joan felt this would be the best way to get things moving again,”. 

Cregan nodded, “She's seen a fair few babes born in her time, she knows what she's talking about,” he paused and took a deep breath of cold air, “I think she might have even delivered my grandfather,”. 

“Surely not!” She exclaimed, looking up at her husband's handsome profile, “that would make her more than a hundred years old,”. 

“I've heard of stranger things in these parts,” Cregan said with a shrug. 

They walked quietly together, moving slowly and carefully through the slush.

“Not as easy as last time then?” He asked as they made their way past the archery butts where the young men of the household were practising and past the stables with their snorting horses and young boys shovelling straw. 

“No, this one seems to have an obstinate Stark streak in them already,” she replied with a soft laugh that sounded like music to Cregan's ears. 

“I seem to recall your own family are known for their stubbornness so I won't be taking all the responsibility for that,”. 

“Pigheadedness, I believe my father called it,” she replied with a laugh, Cregan gave his own snort of laughter. 

“Your father certainly has a way with words,” he agreed. Recalling a few choice phrases her father had used for him during their courtship. 

As the pair crossed into the godswood the sounds of the keep and the town beyond the walls seemed to fade away and they became the only two people in the world. The ground was covered in a dusting of snow which had frozen overnight and now crunched under foot. From the dark canopy of the trees small birds sang between themselves and bounced from branch to branch, leaves rusting and falling to the ground in their wake. 

“Aly is worried we won't have enough time for her when the baby arrives,” Lady Stark said as they passed under the first dark boughs, “she kept asking me if we were going to send her away when I was putting her to bed last night,”. 

“She's a sensitive soul,” Cregan replied with a soft laugh, his mind wandering to the little girl who was at that moment playing in the same nursery he played in as a child, waiting for his own younger sibling to be born. 

“I dread the day we do need to send her away,” she lamented, drawing her body even closer to his in the cold air. Her free hand resting low on the swell of her belly. 

“We've many years before that day, my love,” he soothed, “and perhaps many more babes to fill our home,”. 

Lady Stark laughed softly, feeling the dull ache of her labours growing in strength as they followed the well known path through the trees.

“You are insatiable, always wanting more,” she said softly and Cregan laughed. 

They had been married 6 years and now were as comfortable with one another as any married couple could expect to be. Having been friends before they’re union had made things easier but the months after Cregan’s return from war had tested them to their limits. The time spent apart had been long and difficult for the both of them, when Cregan had left he was already old beyond his years but on his return he was darker and colder than the longest winter night. He’d forgotten laughter, softness and gentleness and his first few months back in Winterfell had been fraught as the two learned to live with one another again and find their way back to the happiness they’d briefly shared before the dragons tore the realm apart. 

The followed a well trodden path through the woods, her arm wrapped tightly through his and his hand resting over hers, warm and solid. As they walked, Cregan listened to her breathing, noticing every change to her breath and hitch in her voice. He was ready to take her in his arms at any moment to rush her back to the midwife if was necessary. 

They turned a corner in the path and were now on course to the weirwood tree, its ancient face seemed to watch their approach and its blood red leaves reflected in the black water at its roots. 

Suddenly Lady Stark stopped, her free hand going to her belly with a sharp intake of breath, she groaned, her teeth biting into her top lip as a strong contraction wracked her body. Cregan tightened his hold on her, fear gripping at his heart and twisting his stomach. 

After a few seconds of pain her face relaxed and her eyes opened, her cheeks were flushed with colour and despite the cold there was sweat at her hair line. 

“I think this might be working,” she said with a small smile, “or perhaps the baby can feel the tree,” she added, glancing toward the weirwood. 

“A good Stark then,” Cregan replied, forcing a lightness in his voice he didn’t feel. 

She stepped toward the tree and he followed her closely, never letting her more than an arm's reach from him. Once close enough she placed her hands on the tree, feeling the rough bark rasp against her skin. 

“Do you think the old kings of the north were born under this tree?” she asked, turning her face up as a shaft of wintery sunlight broke through the dense leaf cover, “snow and leaves for their midwife?”.

Cregan raised his eyebrow in thought for a moment before replying. 

“They were certainly conceived under it,” he smiled.   

“Yes, I remember the stories,” she agreed, turning to look at her husband and seeing the playful glimmer in his eyes. 

During the long months of the war she’d found comfort in the thousands of books in the Winterfell library, starting with the histories of the North going all the way back to the first men and how those ancient kings of the North did everything important in their lives in sight of a weirwood tree, they were born, married, made oaths and died as close to the trees as they possibly could. The histories had included stories of rituals the ancient peoples had contrived to conceive their children under the boughs of the weirwood trees, they believed these children would have the gifts of prophecy or live impossibly long lives because the powers of the tree flowed through them. 

“Perhaps, when you’re healed, we should try it ourselves,” Cregan teased. 

“When this one is delivered I’ll let you know if you’ll be welcome in my bed again,” she replied with a sly smile, before adding “my lord,”. 

Cregan gave a bark-like laugh, stepping closer to her and slipping his arm over her lower back and around her waist. She turned to face him, moving her hands from the ancient and cold bark of the tree to the living warmth of his shoulders, she studied his features before taking a deep breath and letting her forehead press against his. Another contraction wracked her body, she groaned and gripped tightly at the fur and wool of his cloak, taking strength from his body into her own. 

“I think we need to go back,” she said softly, their foreheads still pressed together. 

“I think so,” he agreed without hesitation.

Keeping his arm wrapped around her waist the two of them turned, she leaned heavily on Cregan as they completed the loop around the godswood and headed back through the castle courtyard. The space now almost completely empty as most of the household had been summoned for the midday meal. 

The progress was slow but they soon made it back to Lady Stark’s chambers, the room was cooler now, the windows had been thrown open but the coverings drawn across them to keep the room dark. The two women were sitting by the fire, talking quietly while the maester was still standing in the corner of the room, glaring. 

The midwife jumped to her feet and took Lady Stark’s arm, allowing her to slip from Cregan’s hold and move toward the bed. 

“How are you feeling my lady?” the midwife asked softly. 

“It helped, the pains are coming much more quickly now,” the lady replied. 

“Baby will be here soon,” the midwife agreed, “perhaps before the noon meal is over,”

Lady Stark glanced over her shoulder at her husband pausing by the door. His broad shoulders blocked out almost all of the hallway behind him.

“I want you to stay,” she said softly as she was helped back onto the bed. 

He smiled but shook his head. 

“This is not my place” he said softly, as he felt a burning sensation at the back of his throat and in his eyes as he fought the sudden overwhelm of emotions. 

“Thank you, my lord,” the old crone said from her seat, “we’ll take care of them,”.

Cregan nodded, knowing well enough when he was being asked to leave, he gave his wife a final look before stepping out of the room and closing the door behind himself and resuming his pacing. He wondered if his own father had paced nervously or if he had taken to the woods to hunt until the deed was over with and the child was cleaned and neatly wrapped in a blanket. He couldn’t imagine being any further than the castle gate while Lady Stark laboured. 

As the midwife predicted the midday meal hadn’t finished before there was the high pitched, squalling cry of a newborn that caused Cregan to stop in his tracks and lean heavily against the wall of the hallway, his hand clutching at his heart that was beating fast enough to burst. 

The door to the chambers opened and the midwife stepped out, a smile on her face as she saw her lord in a moment of unguarded emotion. 

 “A son, my lord, hale and hearty and with plenty to say for himself,” she said, the sounds of the crying child still coming clearly from the room behind her. 

“God's be praised,” Cregan said, his voice cracking with emotion. 

“Come meet him,”. 

Cregan felt his knees turn to water when he stepped into Lady Stark's rooms, the sight of his beloved wife cradling a squalling newborn was a joy that pierced his heart like an arrow. 

“Your son, my lord” she said with a tired smile, turning the bundle just enough for Cregan to be able to see the child's face. 

He stooped and took the child, cradling him close to his chest, for a few seconds the child stopped wailing, his blue eyes opening wide and taking in his first sight of his father. The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds, Cregan's own eyes filling with tears. One hot tear was about to track down Cregan's face when the baby in his arms screwed his eyes shut, opened his mouth and started to howl, his cries even more desperate than before. 

Lady Stark laughed from her seat on the bed, holding her arms out to take the child back. 

“Give him back, you're upsetting our son,” she said, grinning at Cregan who jealously clung onto the child, rocking him gently and trying to sooth the screaming babe. 

“Sorry my boy,” Cregan said softly, “but you'll just have to get used to me,”.

[heartfullofleeches]

[Fast Food Reader walks into work wearing a handmade crop top of their usual work shirt. They walk up to the front where the janitor and bathroom succubus stand.]

FF Reader: Hey guys.

Bathroom Succubus, wearing a bikini top: Oooo someone's feeling adventurous today.

The Janitor: .....Stomach.

FF Reader: [sighs] Yea, it's like a billion degrees outside so I had to do something. Thankfully i had a pair of scissors in my bag.

Bathroom Succubus: Part of it's probably because of all those people randomly combusting into flames lately.

The Janitor: I can see your stomach....

FF Reader: Yea? What? Want me to just take the whole damn thing off so you can see my bare chest too?

[The Janitor lets out a wheeze akin to the sounds of a dying animal as they buckle down to their knees - one hand clawing at the counter as the other clutches their heart]

Bathroom Succubus: Uh-Oh, looks like someone broke the janitor again.

[A woman bursts into the restaurants as screams can be heard from outside]

"MY HUSBAND IS ON FIRE!"

Bathroom Succubus: Just a second, ma'am. We've got problems of our own to deal with.

[The bathroom succubus gathers some water from the soda dispensers and splashes it in the janitor's face]

[rottenfyre]

⸻ ꜱ ᴛ ʀ ᴀ ʏ ʀ ᴀ ᴛ ⸻

Pairing: Yandere Viktor x Fem Reader Part 1

Summary: He was just walking at night. Everything was quiet. Everything was fine. What could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: Y/n is mentally ill, Viktor is not really obsessed in this part, more like a slow burn.

Notes: I just start watching Arcane but I think I know enough to write about the characters ig? But if I get something wrong I apologize. English is not my first language. Hope you enjoy!

The streets of the Undercity were always cloaked in a heavy, oppressive silence after dark, punctuated only by the occasional sounds of life: a distant shout, the clatter of boots, or the hiss of steam pipes. Viktor didn’t mind the quiet. He’d grown used to it, his mind finding comfort in the routine of walking home, his bag of scavenged parts clinking softly at his side.

Then something hit the ground in front of him.

Hard.

The sound came first, a sharp scrape followed by a low thud that made him jump. Something had landed right in front of him, and for a heart-stopping moment, Viktor thought it was a body.

She was sprawled on the ground, her limbs at odd angles, her chest still. He froze, his mind stuttering to process what he was seeing. A girl. No older than him, dirt-streaked and wild-looking, like she’d been dragged through hell and spat out. Her hair stuck out in every direction, matted and tangled, and her clothes were little more than tattered rags.

For a split second, he thought she was dead.

His heart was pounding, his breath quickening as the shock began to settle into a nervous dread. What was he supposed to do? Call for someone? Leave her here? She looked so small, so broken. He couldn’t just—

Her eyes snapped open.

“Hi.”

Viktor jumped so hard he almost dropped his bag. She smiled up at him, bright and casual, like she hadn’t just fallen from a deadly height and scared the life out of him. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Before he could recover, she tilted her head and said, “Can you keep a secret?”

“Wha—”

Her grin widened as if he’d agreed, and suddenly, she lunged at him.

Viktor barely had time to react before she tackled him, pushing him backward and forcing him against the wall of the alley. His bag slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground as she pressed her small, trembling body against his.

“Don’t move,” she whispered urgently. Her eyes flicked toward the mouth of the alley, her body tense like a cornered animal.

He tried to push her off, glaring at her. “What are you—”

She clapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him. The pressure on his mouth tightened as she leaned closer, her body trembling against his. “Don’t breathe,” she whispered urgently, her lips barely moving. “They’ll hear you.”

Don’t breathe? How does she expect me not to—

His lungs began to burn, and panic surged as he realized she wasn’t going to let go. She was staring at the shadows now, her entire body tense like a coiled spring, completely focused on the approaching danger. She didn’t even seem to notice the way he was clawing at her hand, his vision starting to blur from lack of air.

Finally, the shadows passed, and the sound of boots faded into the distance. She exhaled sharply, releasing his mouth as if she’d just remembered he existed. Viktor collapsed forward, wheezing, his hands clutching his knees as he struggled to breathe.

“Sorry,” she said, not sounding particularly sorry at all. She tilted her head, watching him with a strange mix of curiosity and amusement. “Didn’t mean to almost kill you. You okay?”

“Okay?!” he rasped, his voice hoarse. He straightened, glaring at her. “You—what is wrong with you?! You nearly suffocated me!”

She blinked, her grin returning as if he’d just told a joke. “Yeah, but you’re not dead, so it’s fine.”

He stared at her, utterly baffled. “Fine?! I could’ve—” He cut himself off, realizing it was pointless. She didn’t seem to care.

Instead, she crouched down, picking at the dirt under her nails like they hadn’t just been inches from being caught by enforcers. “You shouldn’t be out here, you know,” she said casually, her tone conversational. “It’s dangerous.”

Viktor’s jaw dropped. She’s the one warning me about danger?

“What were you even doing?” he demanded, his voice sharper than he intended.

“Running,” she said simply.

“From who?”

She jerked her thumb toward the direction the enforcers had gone. “Them.”

His frown deepened. “Why?”

Her grin stretched wider, a flicker of pride in her eyes. “Saved someone. They were gonna beat the hell out of him. Couldn’t just let that happen.”

Viktor blinked, startled. “You… saved someone?”

“Yup.” She reached into her pocket and pulled something out. A rat.

She held it up like a prize, its tiny body squirming in her grip. Viktor recoiled.

“This guy!” she said cheerfully, as if she hadn’t just produced a filthy rodent from her pocket. “He told me. Said they were after him. Begged me to help.”

Viktor stared at her, completely at a loss for words. “You… saved a rat?”

She nodded, then tilted her head toward the rat as if listening to it speak. “What’s that? Oh, you’re welcome! Don’t mention it.”

“...You’re talking to a rat,” Viktor said flatly.

She glanced at him, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Of course I’m talking to him. He’s the one who needed help.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache forming. “You are insane.”

“Probably.” She stood up, brushing herself off. Despite the bruises already forming on her arms and the fresh scrapes on her knees, she looked completely unbothered. “But I’m alive, and so are my friend, so we’re good.”

The rat squeaked, and she smiled at it. “He says you’re rude.”

Viktor closed his eyes, inhaling deeply through his nose. Why is this my life?

She stood up suddenly, cradling the rat in her hands. “You should go home.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but she was already walking away, her steps light and carefree as if she hadn’t just caused chaos in his otherwise quiet night. She paused at the mouth of the alley, glancing back at him with that wild, mischievous grin.

“See you around,” she called, disappearing into the shadows before he could respond.

For a long moment, Viktor just stood there, staring at the spot where she’d been. He felt like he’d just been hit by a storm, his mind still struggling to process what had happened.

He picked up his bag with a sigh, shaking his head. “She’s insane.”

Viktor wiped the sweat from his brow as he leaned over the rickety workbench, his hands busy tightening a bolt on his latest contraption. The hum of the old generator filled the small workshop, its dim light flickering in time with the buzzing of loose wires overhead. The Undercity was quiet for once, save for the occasional shout in the distance.

It was peaceful. Or, at least, it had been.

“Viiiktorrr!”

The sing-song voice startled him so badly that he dropped the wrench. It clattered loudly to the floor as he whipped around, his heart racing.

And there she was.

She leaned casually against the doorframe, an apple in one hand and her rat perched on her shoulder like some demented pirate. Her grin was wide and far too pleased with herself as she tilted her head, studying him like he was the intruder.

“Why—how did you get in here?”

She grinned, unbothered, an apple in her hand as she lazily leaned back on her elbows. “You didn’t lock the door, genius. What if I was here to rob you?” She took a loud bite of the apple, the crunch echoing obnoxiously through the small room.

“I don’t have anything worth stealing,” Viktor muttered, turning back to his work and deliberately ignoring her presence.

“Well, that’s sad.” She hopped off the bench, wandering around the room like it was her personal gallery. “This place is… cramped. Smells weird too.”

“It smells like grease and metal,” Viktor said dryly, narrowing his eyes at the mess on his table.

“Exactly.” She wrinkled her nose before holding up a mangled piece of scrap. “What even is this?”

“Put that down.”

She made a dramatic show of tossing it over her shoulder—thankfully onto a pile of equally worthless junk—and walked over to him, planting herself directly in his line of sight.

“Guess what,” she said, leaning in with a grin.

Viktor sighed, running a hand down his face. “I don’t have time for games.”

“That’s a boring guess. Wrong!” She plopped the apple onto the workbench and reached into her pocket, pulling out a very familiar rat.

He groaned. “Not that thing again.”

She gasped, clutching the rat to her chest as if he’d insulted her firstborn child. “Richard is not a thing, Viktor!” she half-yelled, her voice indignant.

“Richard,” Viktor repeated flatly, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, Richard!” She set the rat on the table like a proud parent. “He’s very sensitive, you know. You should apologize.”

“I am not apologizing to a rat.”

“Then I’m not leaving.” She grinned, folding her arms like she’d won.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered under his breath, pushing his chair back and pointing toward the far corner. “Keep him away from my tools. And don’t touch anything.”

She pouted, scooping up the rat and tucking it into her pocket. “Fine. But you’re no fun, Smarty.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Why? It suits you.” She tilted her head, smirking. “Besides, you talk all fancy. It’s cute.”

“I do not talk—”

“Yes, you do,” she insisted, mimicking his accent in a way that was both wildly inaccurate and annoyingly exaggerated. “Eet’s naht a secret, ya?”

He groaned, turning back to his work. “If you’re here to annoy me, you can leave.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Vitya.” She hopped off the crate, leaning over his shoulder to peer at the contraption he was working on. Her breath tickled his ear, and he tensed, trying to ignore the way she was so close.

“What are you even working on?” she asked, her voice full of curiosity.

“A stabilizer,” he replied shortly.

She leaned in even closer, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him work. “For what?”

“For something you will break if you touch it,” Viktor shot back.

She gasped again, this time in mock offense. “I would never!”

He gave her a pointed look, and she immediately grinned, not even bothering to deny it.

“Y’know,” she said after a while, her voice oddly thoughtful, “you’re doing that wrong.”

“I am not—” Viktor froze, frowning as he turned to her. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged, taking another bite of the apple. “That thingy. It’s supposed to go there, not there.” She pointed with the apple, juice dripping onto the table.

He hesitated, frowning at the wire. She wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t about to admit that. “And what would you know about engineering?”

“Nothing,” she said brightly. “But Richard does.”

He turned to look at her, dumbfounded. “The rat?”

“Yeah,” she said, nodding like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He’s very smart. Aren’t you, Richard?” She scratched the rat under its chin, cooing at it like a mother with her baby.

Against his better judgment, Viktor adjusted the piece to where she’d pointed. To his disbelief, the mechanism clicked into place, the spring he’d been wrestling with finally snapping into alignment.

“See?” She leaned in closer, smirking. “You’re welcome.”

He stared at her, bewildered. “How—?”

“I told you. Richard is very smart.” She wiggled her fingers at him, laughing when he rolled his eyes.

“You are insufferable,” Viktor muttered, turning back to his work.

“And you’re boring,” she countered, leaning against the workbench and smirking at him. “But you’re lucky you have me. Otherwise, this thing would’ve blown up in your face.”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If you’re going to stay, at least don’t—”

“Touch anything? Got it,” she said, immediately picking up one of his tools and inspecting it.

He groaned, muttering under his breath in his native tongue. She just grinned wider, spinning the wrench in her hand as she leaned in closer to watch him work.

“See?” she said after a moment. “This is fun. Like teamwork.”

“This is not teamwork,” Viktor grumbled, already regretting every life choice that had led to this moment.

But as much as he hated to admit it, her advice—whether it came from her or the rat—did help.

“Hey, Smarty?” she said suddenly, her voice softer this time.

“What?”

She smiled, her grin less wild and more genuine, though still laced with mischief. “Don’t forget to lock the door next time. Richard and I might not always be the ones sneaking in.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

She gave him a mock salute, tossing the apple core onto his workbench despite his protests. “Catch you later, Smarty.”

And just like that, she was gone, leaving him to stare at the space she’d just vacated. Viktor shook his head, muttering under his breath. “That girl is going to be the death of me.”

From the corner of the room, Richard squeaked, and for a moment, Viktor thought he almost agreed.

“You walk too slow,” she complained, glancing over her shoulder. “You’re lucky I have patience.”

Viktor snorted softly. “Patience? That would be a first.”

She giggled, stopping abruptly in front of him. Before he could ask what she was doing, she pulled out a piece of fabric.

“Turn around,” she ordered.

Viktor blinked, confused. “Why?”

“Just do it!” she said, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. “It’s a surprise, Smarty. Trust me.”

“Somehow, that is not very reassuring,” he muttered, but he complied, turning his back to her. He stiffened as she tied the fabric around his eyes, her fingers quick and confident.

“Why the blindfold?” he asked warily.

“Because,” she said, her voice unusually soft, “I want to make sure you trust me. I trust you, after all.”

Her tone caught him off guard, the sudden sincerity cutting through her usual chaos. For a moment, Viktor hesitated, his instinct to question her motives clashing with something deeper, something harder to name.

“…Fine,” he said at last.

“Good!” she chirped, back to her usual self. “Now, no peeking.”

She grabbed his arm, tugging him along with surprising determination. He stumbled a few times, half-expecting her to lead him into a wall or worse, but she guided him steadily, her grip firm and warm.

Finally, she came to a stop. Viktor felt her hands brush against his face as she untied the blindfold.

“TADA!”

Viktor blinked, his vision adjusting to the dim light. Then he took in the “place” she was so proud of.

It wasn’t a place at all—not really. They were in an abandoned corner, tucked between crumbling walls and piles of junk. Her “home” was a patchwork of scavenged materials: a makeshift roof of tarps stretched across beams, a tattered mattress shoved into one corner, and a collection of odd trinkets arranged on a broken shelf. It was… bleak.

She stood in the center, beaming at him like she’d just unveiled a grand palace. But when he didn’t say anything right away, her smile faltered. She shifted her weight, looking down and twisting her fingers together nervously.

“You don’t like it?” Her voice was small, hesitant in a way that was so unlike her usual bravado.

The words snapped Viktor out of his shock. “No! No, it’s not that.” He stepped closer, shaking his head. “I just… I wasn’t expecting this.”

She tilted her head, her grin slowly returning. “What were you expecting?”

“Well…” He hesitated, gesturing vaguely. “I thought you were… a stray.”

For a moment, she stared at him blankly. Then she burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching her stomach. “A stray?! What, like Richard?”

Viktor crossed his arms, waiting for her laughter to subside. “You can’t blame me for thinking it. You never stay in one place for long.”

“Fair,” she admitted, wiping a tear from her eye. Then she grabbed his hand, tugging him toward her shelf of trinkets. “C’mere, you’ve got to see this!”

She picked up each item on the shelf—a cracked pocket watch, a jar of mysterious glowing liquid, a rusted gear—and explained its significance with the excitement of a child showing off their toys.

“Look at this! I found it in a pile of junk. It’s still got some working parts!” She set it aside and picked up something else. “And this? Don’t even get me started. I bet I could make it do something cool if I had more time.”

Viktor watched her, his heart sinking. She was like a child showing off a collection of treasures, her enthusiasm genuine and almost heartbreaking.

“This,” she said, holding up a jagged piece of glass, “is my favorite. It reflects the light just right when the sun hits it.”

“And when does the sun ever hit it?” Viktor asked dryly, though his lips twitched with the ghost of a smile.

“Details,” she said, waving him off.

Despite himself, Viktor couldn’t help but feel… pity. This wasn’t a home. It was barely a shelter. And yet, she looked at it like it was a treasure trove. She didn’t even seem to realize how precarious her situation was.

But as she talked, Viktor noticed something else—something that unsettled him as much as it intrigued him.

She wasn’t stupid.

The things she said, the way she pieced together scraps and made connections that no one else would think to make—it was… brilliant, in its own way. Unorthodox and chaotic, yes, but undeniably sharp.

And yet… she was clearly unwell. The way she talked to the rat like it could understand her, the way her mood shifted so suddenly, the way she clung to this place like it was the only thing tethering her to reality—it all painted a picture of someone barely holding herself together.

“You don’t talk much,” she said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.

“I’m listening,” Viktor replied.

“Good.” She smiled, setting down the glass shard and turning to him with an intensity that made him feel like she was looking straight through him. “Because I think you’re the only one who ever does.”

The weight of her words settled over him, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

“I should go,” he said finally, his voice quieter than usual.

Her smile faltered again, but she nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

As he turned to leave, she called out after him.

“Hey, Smarty?”

He glanced over his shoulder.

“Thanks for coming.”

Viktor nodded, his chest tightening as he stepped out into the dark streets. The image of her standing in that pitiful excuse for a home, smiling like it was the only place she’d ever belonged, stayed with him long after he left.

Viktor was lost in his work again, the world outside his dimly lit workshop fading into nothing more than background noise. He liked it that way. The soft clink of tools and the occasional hiss of steam were soothing in their predictability, a stark contrast to the chaos that so often surrounded him.

Then the door slammed open.

The noise jolted him, his tool slipping and clattering to the floor. He turned sharply, irritation flashing across his face—until he saw her.

She stood in the doorway, swaying on her feet, blood staining her clothes and dripping onto the floor. Her face was pale, and her wild grin was a shadow of its usual self.

“Hi, Smarty,” she said, her voice faint and trembling. Then her knees buckled, and she collapsed.

“Shit!” Viktor scrambled toward her, dropping to his knees beside her limp body. His heart pounded as he gently turned her over, his hands trembling.

She was a mess. Blood smeared her face, matted her hair, and soaked through her tattered clothes. A gash on her forehead bled freely, her stomach was stained dark with more blood, and—Gods—her hand. Two fingers were gone, the stumps crudely wrapped in a filthy piece of cloth.

“Stay with me,” he muttered, his voice shaking as he checked for signs of life. Her chest rose and fell, shallow but steady. Relief flooded through him, but it was short-lived. She needed help, now.

Without wasting another second, Viktor lifted her as carefully as he could, carrying her to the workbench. He swept tools and scraps onto the floor, clearing a space to lay her down.

Her head lolled to the side, and he caught sight of the deep cut along her scalp. Blood trickled down her temple, pooling beneath her. He swallowed hard, grabbing a clean rag and pressing it against the wound.

“Why do you always have to get yourself into trouble?” he muttered, his voice tight.

She didn’t answer, of course. Her eyes were closed, her expression strangely peaceful despite the state she was in.

Viktor worked quickly, cleaning her wounds with the limited supplies he had. The gash on her head was bad, but not fatal. He stitched it carefully, his hands steady despite the fear clawing at his chest.

Then he moved to her stomach. He hesitated for a moment before pushing her shirt up, revealing a deep, jagged cut just above her hip. Blood oozed from the wound, staining his hands as he worked to clean and bandage it.

“You’re going to be fine,” he said, more to himself than to her. “You always fight back, don’t you?”

But when he unwrapped her hand, his breath caught in his throat.

Two of her fingers were gone, the wounds raw and poorly bandaged. He couldn’t stop himself from staring, his mind racing with questions. What had happened to her?

Once her wounds were patched as best as he could manage, Viktor sat back, his chest heaving. His workshop was a mess, the floor streaked with blood, but he didn’t care. All that mattered was the girl lying unconscious on his bench.

He pulled up a chair, his legs threatening to give out beneath him. Resting his elbows on his knees, he buried his face in his hands.

“You’re going to drive me mad,” he whispered, his voice thick with frustration and fear.

For what felt like hours, he stayed by her side, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest. He couldn’t shake the image of her smile, the way she’d said “hi” like nothing was wrong. Even now, as she lay broken and bleeding, he could picture her laughing it off.

But this was different. This wasn’t some harmless scrape or reckless stunt.

And as he sat there, the weight of it all settled over him like a suffocating fog. She didn’t have anyone else. No one to look out for her, to keep her safe. No one but him.

It had been three days since Viktor had found her, bloody and broken, lying in his arms, barely clinging to life. Three long days of constant vigilance—watching over her, cleaning her wounds, trying to keep her alive. And yet, every time he thought she was stable, every time he thought she might pull through, the weight of the situation would crush him all over again.

Viktor hadn’t left her side. He hadn’t dared. Every time he thought about stepping away—just to get a bit of fresh air, to get something to eat—he’d look at her pale, unconscious form, and the thought would vanish. He couldn’t leave her like this.

He was exhausted. His hands were sore, his body stiff, but he refused to leave. His thoughts had been a blur, haunted by the image of her pale, still body, unable to understand why she wasn’t responding. Why was she still unconscious? Was there something else wrong with her?

This time, though, he’d gone out. For a brief moment, he had left the room, telling himself that she was stable. Just long enough to bring back food. Nothing elaborate—just enough to feed them both, something to give him the energy to continue.

He walked back in, the familiar scent of stale air mixed with fresh food filling the space. He set the food down on the small table beside her makeshift bed, a little too loudly.

And then, as he sat beside her, something happened that made his blood run cold.

He noticed it.

Her chest… didn’t rise.

For a split second, everything seemed to freeze. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her.

“No, no, no…” he whispered, his fingers trembling as he reached out to touch her neck, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. He put his fingers under her nose to feel her breathing, but it remained still.

There was no breath. No movement.

He felt a coldness seeping into his veins as panic set in. She’s… she’s dead? His mind couldn’t process it. There was no way. He hadn’t let her slip away. He couldn’t have.

His hands moved frantically to her chest. He placed his ear against her ribs, trying to hear any sign of life. He focused—listened—his heartbeat thudding loudly in his ears, trying to block out the noise in his head.

And then, he heard it.

A faint thump.

His breath caught.

A heartbeat.

A heartbeat?

But then—

“Ouch!”

Viktor jolted, pulling back as pain shot through his side. A small, sharp pinch had found its mark, right in the flesh of his ribs.

“Surprise!”

Viktor froze, staring at her, his eyes wide with disbelief as she sat up, her disheveled hair falling around her face. The woman who he had thought was dead, the one who had terrified him with her stillness, was now grinning at him like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Her laugh echoed in the room, light and teasing, as if nothing had just happened. As if she hadn’t nearly killed him with worry.

“What the hell?!” Viktor shouted, standing up abruptly, his face flushed with anger. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

She didn’t even flinch. She just sat there, grinning like an impish child who had just pulled the best prank of the century.

“You… you think this is funny?” His voice was tight with frustration as he paced around the room. “Does it amuse you to scare the hell out of me?!”

Her expression didn’t change, though her smile faltered slightly. She didn’t speak, just tilted her head slightly as if he was the strange one in all of this.

Viktor took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, though the anger was still boiling in his veins. He turned back to her, glaring. “Do you have any idea what I’ve been through these last three days?!” His voice cracked slightly, but he pushed on. “I thought you were dead, and I—I—I couldn’t…”

She was still silent. Her eyes just stared at him, wide and calm, watching his outburst with something akin to amusement, as though he were an animal in a cage.

His fists clenched at his sides, and he exhaled sharply through his nose. “Why won’t you talk?”

And then, just as Viktor was about to say something else, she spoke.

“I’m happy.”

The words were simple, quiet, almost like a child speaking a secret. She smiled again, the soft curve of her lips more genuine this time.

“You’re happy?” Viktor blinked, taken aback by the simplicity of it. “What, are you out of your mind? How can you be happy after all that?!”

She nodded, her expression almost serene. “Yeah, I’m happy. I’m happy because you were worried about me.”

Viktor stared at her, his face hardening. He couldn’t even process what she had just said. “You think that’s funny?”

Her smile didn’t falter. “Not funny, no. Just… good.” She tilted her head, looking at him with those wide, knowing eyes. “Good that you care.”

Viktor clenched his jaw, trying to fight back the swell of emotion that threatened to overtake him.

He didn’t want to care about her, not this way. Not after everything. He didn’t want to feel this deep, gnawing responsibility for her well-being. But… she had a way of making him feel as if he had no other choice.

“You’re insane,” he muttered under his breath, his tone barely holding back frustration.

She let out a small, soft laugh, almost like she had just cracked a secret code. “Yeah. I guess I am.”

Viktor closed his eyes for a moment, pressing his fingers to his temples as if he could somehow chase away the headache that had started to form. He was trying so hard to stay composed, trying so hard to make sense of all of this, but it felt like the more he tried to control it, the more chaotic it became.

He took a deep breath and then looked at her again.

She was still looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

“I’m not happy you put me through hell,” Viktor said quietly, his voice rough with the weight of his frustration. “But I…”

She leaned forward, her smile widening slightly. “You do care.”

Viktor’s lips twitched. He bit his bottom lip hard enough to almost taste blood. He knew she was right. Damn it, she was right.

“I don’t know what to do with you,” he said under his breath.

She giggled. “That’s okay. I like it that way.”

“You’re lucky I don’t just leave you here,” he muttered, though even as he said it, he knew he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

She was right about one thing—he had been worried for her. He hadn’t even realized how much until she finally woke up and proved how absurdly difficult it was to understand her.

But her smile—it was the same smile, the one that hadn’t changed since he first met her, the one that made everything she did feel... wrong.

“Don’t go,” she said softly, her voice suddenly serious.

Viktor looked at her, his expression hard. “I’m not going anywhere.”

And in that moment, Viktor realized just how tangled they both were—trapped in this strange dance, this odd connection. She had no idea how much she scared him. How much her antics were eating at him. But for some reason, he stayed.

And somehow, that was the scariest part of it all.

@ʀᴏᴛᴛᴇɴꜰʏʀᴇ 2024. ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴄᴏᴘʏ, ᴛʀᴀɴꜱʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴏʀ ᴜꜱᴇ ᴀɴʏ ᴏꜰ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋꜱ ʜᴇʀᴇ ᴏʀ ᴀɴʏ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴇʙꜱɪᴛᴇꜱ.

[suiana]

(yandere! psycho x gn! reader) (shitpost)

"will you be the air to my lungs?"

"sir, i am your therapist."

he stares at you for a second, blinking slowly before he starts wheezing, clutching his chest tightly.

"oh no... oh dear me! i am... dying of an asthma attack now... I'm afraid i need... air..."

you stare at the dramatic male, an exasperated expression on your features. you stare at him in distaste, finding his presence more and more unbearable by the second.

seriously, you were his therapist for god's sake! why does he keep trying to get together with you of all people?!

"get up. i will not tolerate your dramatic acts anymore."

you merely comment on his behavior with a judgmental glance, turning back to type away at your laptop as you tune out the male's whines.

god, sometimes you wonder why you became a therapist when you have to deal with people like this.

[halcyone-of-the-sea]

Between Dreams and Sugar

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x F!Reader

Synopsis: Your screams will haunt his dreams until the day he dies.

Word Count: 5.1k

Warnings: Torture, gore, angst, violence & death, suggestive joke, fluff, happy ending, rescue fic but who rescues who...>:)

A/N: Guys, I have a confession - I don't think I can write Ghost properly lmfao. This is horrifically mid.

*I do not give others permission to translate and/or re-publish my works on this or any other platform*

There was so much blood coating your body that you had forgotten where the wounds were and weren’t. It flowed from you like viscus water—a homogeneous mixture of congealed shades of red like rubies except for the simple fact that this was not beautiful; it was not desired or sought after. 

 On the ground, soaking in indistinguishable pools of crimson, ripples are sent out when your limp foot twitches mutely in its clutch. That was all you could do now. Twitch. Writhe. They didn’t even bother tying you to the chair anymore—just let you slouch half out of it like a school kid who had gotten too drunk the night before. 

Hell, you wished you were drunk. 

“Sergeant.” 

You wished you could feel your fingers. You wished you could move your neck up from its bend position as if it was a wilting flower; hair stuck to your skin. Blood dribbles out of your mouth. Drip…drop…drip…drop. 

You’d bitten your tongue open in a vain attempt to stop yourself from screaming, hadn’t you? You…you can’t quite remember.

“Sergeant!” Groaning long and low, the violent chills that wrack your form only serve to make yourself bleed out faster, tension forcing precious life fluid out from burst veins and slashed ankles. 

Cuts far span your legs and shoulders. Your back is nothing more than a painting of burns coated with sweat and infection; puss sticking you to the backrest of the chair like yellow-colored adhesive. Your clothes are the opposite idea of modesty. Tattered, torn by blades to create harm. Fuck, could you even breathe properly anymore?

Lungs only create a wheeze—you’re not getting enough oxygen to function. 

A dark growl bounces off the walls.

Ghost struggles against his binds, uniform also in a state of disarray with very obviously broken ribs and bruised chest. Splotches of yellow-white mounds signal blunt trauma over the pale skin that’s already laced with old scars. 

They’d all but anchored him to his chair—and even then the red marks that blister are a signal of the brutality of the large man as he peels back his skin to try and struggle himself out. 

You whine, the loftiness stuck in your brain addictive; to pull back that curtain was as much of a struggle as staying awake. That harsh Manchester accent was something to draw closer to, though, professionalism a key to the lock on your failing consciousness. The reminder of companionship.

“G…” Your vocal cords fizzle, “Ghost…” 

“Open your eyes.” Every word was enunciated, deep and guttural.

Parting your lips, more blood drowns your lap in thick globs, and soon your battered throat vibrates with coughs that make you see stars, mild panic the moment you realize that you can’t breathe. 

Jerking forward, you gasp, eyes snapping open as your neck bends ahead in desperation. Mucus and other bodily fluids spray over your lap, tinged scarlet, but the blockage in your throat is dispelled as your broken ribs quiver in agony. 

Whimpering like a kicked dog, you wonder how long it’ll take for Ghost to realize getting you to focus on him was pointless. If this all continued, you’d be dead within the day. 

But you entertain him.

Head slowly balking back as your jaw hangs loose, you rest it on the wooden frame behind you as softly as you’re able with a most likely concussed brain and a fractured skull. Only one eye opens, and even then it’s half-glued to your cheek with dried blood. 

Ghost’s balaclava had been ripped off. It felt wrong to see him in the open like this. Exposed. It was quite obvious he disliked it just as much as you did. 

Blue eyes blazed at you; blonde hair going this way and that as crimson fell down the swell of his Adam’s Apple from a very broken nose. That gaze was unrelenting, and even with your blurry vision, you knew it would be unwise to look away. 

His stubbled jaw sets as a heart can be seen skipping beats in his breast. You were totally out of it, enough so that you missed the way his lungs slightly released when you had pulled yourself back to the present. 

The gulping sigh.

“That’s it, Sergeant.” You cough once more, wet and haggard, and your head falls back to your chest before you have to force it back up on shaking muscles. It was getting harder. “Easy does it, then…Thought I lost you.”

“C–can’t,” the useless feet flicker over the ground, sloshing through fluid in unstable jumps as you slur out, “Hurts, Ghost.”  

A slow and dark inhalation meets your ears before a sudden grunt of a struggling body; jerking arms as the chair squeals with old nails being torn out. 

“I know, Birdie, I know.” His tone is lesser now as he bites back a curse as the blisters on his arms pop, the rope burns turning a vile color as his muscles strain, “But you keep those pretty little eyes on me, yeah?” 

It wasn’t supposed to go like this. 

Black Operations were dangerous, yeah, but never had the Lieutenant been so down in the gutter as he was right now. Mainly because of you, no, entirely because of you. He could withstand months of torture—mental and physical—with no problem. He’d done it countless times before. 

But never had he been forced to watch someone hurt you instead of him.

They would come in every day, these pitiful excuses for German drug runners, and would make him watch as they ripped open your skin with blunt knives and other tools coated in rust. Questions would be asked—questions that Ghost knew he could not answer even if it was you who would get punished. 

Every time you would flinch when the door to this concrete basement opened, it was harder to keep his tongue from wagging. He was watching you die; letting it happen. 

Fuck, it made him sick.

Ghost violently reems a shoulder up and down, not caring about the long stripes of now oozing blood on his forearms or the pain that the action brings bone-deep. There was so much scarlet flowing from you. Too much.

What he knows for certain is that he can’t let you die here. He’d never forgive himself for that.

How is she still conscious? The question was utterly genuine as Ghost’s dead eyes narrowed dangerously, sparking with urgency at the uneven risings and fallings from your chest. 

“Fucking hell,” the Lieutenant growls, each word punctuated by a desperate attempt to free himself. He had to get you out of this. You were his responsibility; his team. 

His…Ghost pants, sweat dripping down his arms.

You didn’t abandon him, how could he do the same to you? When questioned you hadn't given up his true name, hadn’t blabbered to save your own skin so you could avoid a horrible amount of pain. Pain that Ghost knew well. 

Pain that was never supposed to be known to you.

Your screams would haunt his nightmares until the day he died. 

“Ghost,” blue eyes freeze, snapping away from the sight of the bone around his wrists becoming visible through a thin coverage of remaining flesh. He pauses like a guard dog. Your optic was glinting, flicking with failing consciousness. The movement of your chest sputtered as the man clenched his teeth together. “You’re hurtin’ yourself.” 

“‘Bout to do even more damage, yeah?” he gets back to it, working enough blood into the rope to make it slick; dripping. “If it’ll get me out of these bastard things.” 

The weak smirk on your face gives his brows a deep furrow, sweat glistening on his forehead.

A part of him hated you. Hated you for the way you had this effect on him. He shouldn’t care if you lived or died—that wasn’t his cross to carry. 

But you’d made him soft these last few months. Soft, and weak, and disgustingly concerned for your safety. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t Ghost. 

“Gonna b…bleed out, y’know.” Your tongue slips, mind so loose that anything that comes to the front slips out like water from a slip-and-slide. Fingers twitching, your limp body grows so cold that you shiver. 

“Negative.” Ghost barks, slipping one hand partially under the restraint and his flesh, acting as a zipper, starts to go with it. He hisses under his breath, body hot and spilling. Mutilating himself. “Shut your damn gob.” Blood splatters to the floor, “I’m gettin’ us out of ‘ere.”

“Tell me a joke.” Blue eyes flicker, blonde lashes slipping over pale cheeks. 

You feel another wave of pain shutter through you—one that makes you whimper as quietly as a soft breeze on a summer day. 

“Joke?” Ghost hisses, glaring over at you without heat. “The fuck are you on about?” A wobbling eyebrow raise is all he gets. 

He grunts feral-like, evocative of a bear that hadn’t gotten his supper. Your lid droops and panic spikes.

“How long can a fish breakdance for?” Ghost slips a hand free, snarling in the back of his mouth as the entirety of his left hand is left ripped open, the fissures itchy and welling. Wasting no time, the limb goes to assist the other, pulling with ripped-off fingernails at the tight knot. A side-eye is sent your way.

Only you weren't moving. Lips snap in a moment of obvious concern, not only by the tone but by the way the man jerks forward in the chair—no matter if one arm and both of his legs were still restrained.

“Love!” The door handle rattles with screeching chains, but Ghost is occupied with raging at you. Ordering you to stay awake with terrifying eyes. It was as though for the first time in a long time there was true fear in his throat. True hatred. 

Chucking voices heat veins that he had long since thought were cold, and the Lieutenant composes himself with a sharp pause. He leans back slowly into the chair; jaw so tight his molars almost crack in the back of his mouth like candy. Your face is tilted downward, and Ghost memorizes the make of it, trails his gaze slowly over every slash and cut that mars you. Feet slap off the concrete as multiple people enter the room, but it was like a switch had flipped internally, walls going up.

The mask was still there, even if all that physically remained of it was the black paint in his sockets.

He’d return every mark, from a bruise to an open wound, tenfold. But you needed to wake up first. You…you needed to.

You had to be okay.

Three men encircle the two of you, faces hidden and obviously enjoying a bit of their own product.

“Look at this, Lutz, the man got a hand out of the binding.” Blue eyes travel to stare dead-on into a pair of blown pupils; mind gone. 

The second man goes to grip your hair, forcing your head up in inspection. Ghost’s vision immediately travels over, biceps going tense like a dog with its hackles raised and vision going red. 

“Don’t worry about that. It’s one hand, what can the Bastard do?”

“Oh,” another laughs, though his body is wound tight, “careful with the woman, Alric—the beast looks like he’s about to snap at you.”  

The three share sly looks. Alric, the one with your hair in his grip, shakes your head back and forth, blood flying around in the air as your limp body jerks. Ghost lunges, but he only makes it as far as the chair allows him before he’s shoved back by a hand on his chest. 

Moving quicker than an animal, bone snaps, and an agony-laced scream echoes off the walls not a millisecond later. 

Ghost had gripped that hand and twisted, making the wrist joint completely flip on itself. Blank blue eyes watch with glints of sadistic glee as the man wails, grabbing onto himself and falling back onto his ass.

The one holding you instantly releases your hair and rushes to his friend. 

“Holy fuck!” Everyone divulges into frantic German curses, Ghost making out a command to leave and go see a doctor.

“Cheers. Good luck with that, ya’ Bastard.” Grumbling under his breath, the Lieutenant realized he was probably enjoying this more than he should, but always his attention shifts back to you. How you hang limb, battered face covered by your hair, and loss of blood steadily leaving your hands curling into the palms—

Ghost’s eyes widen slightly as the two still try and calm down their companion. Your hand. It wasn’t curled because of onset rigor mortis. You were holding a blade. 

The Brit’s large chest swells with pride; jaw going somewhat slackened as he stares at you. So you were faking it….Fucking hell, Sweetheart. 

Slowly, his vision peels to the empty sheath on Lutz’s belt. It wasn’t a big knife—nothing more than a three-inch blade on the end. But you were still conscious enough to hear these goons show up before he had; had used sleight of hand that anyone else in your situation would have just given up on. 

It was hard to hold back a low chuckle, but he managed. Fuck, you were something else.

The two unmaimed men shove the third out the door, shouting down the hallway as his sobs and sniffling nose reverberate even as he’s out of sight. 

Grunting, the Brit shifts his hips, lips pulling in a snarl at the bouncing electrical wire that goes up his ribs. Many were broken; along with his nose and a dislocated shoulder, but he knows he can deal with it. Getting you out and to the Evac point was his top priority—his wounds weren’t over-the-top life-threatening unless they went too long without treatment. 

You on the other hand. 

Lids narrow on the way the knife-holding hand shakes with exertion when simply applying pressure. If this was going to happen, it had to happen now.

“That was a nice little show,” Alric growls, standing in the middle of the two in the chairs and keeping a considerable distance farther from Ghost than you. Blue eyes blink blankly, emotions swiftly wiped away. “One-handed? I’m impressed.” 

Ghost raises a single blonde eyebrow, “More where that came from.” 

Alric smiles.

“Emil—get the gun.” Legs slowly tense, but other than that there’s no outward display of nervousness. 

Seconds later a barrel is level with Ghost’s forehead, the chilled metal pressing deep into his blood-coated skin. He doesn’t balk back, he doesn’t even flinch, just watches with a dim flicker in his optics that remains even after he blinks. Like a cat’s slitted pupils. 

It would be no use shoving the gun out of this man’s hands—he would fire before the Lieutenant was able to steal the weapon for himself. 

“I’m getting sick of this game, Soldier. We’ve been through this day after day.” Alric swipes at his nose, white powder stuck under his nostrils. Ghost can’t stop the small tick of his mouth. “Tell me who you are,” the gun swivels, and the Brit’s heart seizes up. It points at your abdomen. “Or the girl gets a nice new stomach.” 

Lips thin into a small line as hidden fury swells. 

“Alric…” Emil seems nervous, his feet shifting and hands twitching. The aura Ghost was emitting was like a dark cloud around the room; sheer size and indistinguishable emotions rose to drown out all else when a threat to the beast’s bird was brought into the picture. There had been multiple times throughout the days when the men had been scared to touch you at all for fear of the look that had been leveled their way. Those eyes…fuck it was like a demon was stuck in flesh. In blue so close to gray the color was more like the concrete of a prison cell. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“Tell me.” Alric growls as Emil gets closer to you. Ghost stays silent, unblinking as his fingers curl into fists. His knuckles crack from the force. “Tell me!”

Emil bushes your shoulder and you lunge. Bringing the blade into his chest, your form brings the both of you to the floor in a splash of scarlet and twin screams of pain. 

The Blonde’s heart seizes at the sound in an aggressive bounce.

Alric whips around, eyes widened and gun loose in his grip. Ghost wastes no time, trusting your judgment, and shoves himself forward. A shot goes off as the Lieutenant rams his shoulder into the man, but the bullet bites into the far wall instead of your back as you dig your knife into Emil’s throat; wrestling for life. 

The chair still attached to Ghost was a problem, but his body weight was used to his advantage. Sinew bunched as a growl exits his lips, Alric and him slamming to the floor in a flurry of rabid intentions and the likeness of wolves caught in a trap. Ghost’s eyesight goes red, remembering every cut and beating you went through for him in the reflection of Alric’s eyes. That pathetic drug runner had made you bleed. 

His bird doesn’t bleed.

Teeth and nails are tools kept for animals, and now that the gun was too far from grip and you were limp beside the gargling body of Emil, Ghost decided that being a bit insane might do him well at the moment. 

He had to get you out of here. And in no world was this man going to get away to live one day more.

“Please, don’t,” Alric begs, clawing at his behemoth build, “I’m not—I wasn’t—!” 

Blood-stained teeth snap into the thin flesh of a visible neck as dead blue eyes keep you in sight like a dog does the moon.

—

You don’t recall anything after slashing one man’s neck and even that is a blur of flashing colors; instances of one waxing expression waning into another. Trapped between bouts of failing consciousness and pain that could rival someone getting their bones snapped one by one. 

But you know the feeling of moss on your cheek. The shadow that sits above you and the fingers that prod at your back, pressing cooling salves of Silverweed into the burns and cuts. Your eyes weakly flicker, a low moan stuck in your throat. 

Every limb is a cinder block.

“Stop your moving.” The command was stiff but quiet, and the pressure on your spine increased. Flinching, the sensation of tight bindings all along your body became apparent to you, slowly but surely. 

“That…hell?” You cough, throat bare and dry. Sweat drips down your temple. 

Blinking rapidly, you try to focus on the cold wind whipping past your bare skin, the trees in the distance of what appeared to be a glade. The sound of a running stream makes your ears perk.

A canteen was suddenly shoved to your lips and you grunt in surprise, water slicking your closed lips.

“Drink.” You don’t argue, peeling back your lips and letting the liquid drip into your mouth, most falling to the moss under you and getting re-adsorbed into the earth. “...There’s a girl.” 

The metal container disappears just as quickly as it showed up, and you lick at the corner of your lips, cheeks burning at the comment.

Ghost kneels above you, bar a shirt, and you narrow your lids to focus on the black and blue splotches completely covering him. He still doesn’t have a mask, and you glance over the blonde stubble; the scars, and the aggressive set of his eyebrows. The blood had been washed away, and you wondered if the stream in the background of this place was still stained with crimson and the telltale black of eye paint.

“Simon,” whispering seemed appropriate, though you don’t know why. Your voice was better now but still, your body refused to listen to your instructions. Every plea to move your arms or legs was denied, sharp needles poking into your flesh that made you shake. “What…?” 

Blue eyes blink down at you, something hidden in the depths. A finger curls to flick a stray hair from your face slowly. Skin brushes skin.

“Snagged what I could before I ran off. Wasn’t much.” That harsh voice, the gravel in it. You frown weakly, your lids heavy. “Bandages. Extra shirt. Blanket I used to stop the bleeding.”

He won’t tell you he was begging you to wake up when he’d been stuffing old fabric into your open wounds. 

Coughs wrack your frame, whole body jerks that overtake what little peace there was to be found. A hand tilts your head back to the ground, patient as the other grabs your hair, peeling the strands away as a flood of vomit escapes your mouth. 

Eyes burning and face hot, you sputter as a thumb runs deep circles over your scalp. 

“Easy…” Ghost whispers, tattoos like obsidian in the darkness of the world around the two. Late afternoon and this was the first time you’d woken up since he’d been carrying you. A nail was taken out of his heart. 

Seeing your eyes flicker, even filled with the tears as they were, was a blessing he’d thank whatever God that was out there for. “Easy, Sweetheart. Breathe for me.”

“Fuck,” you gasp, shaking more than a leaf. “Fuck it hurts, Simon.” 

He shifts you slightly away from the bile, the familiar words burning his lungs. 

“Evac point is four miles.” It felt like a death sentence to you, your eyes going buggy at the thought. “I’m carrying you there.” 

“Bullshit,” you pant, wheezing. “Your arms are destroyed.” 

Ghost blinks before scowling, sending a glance to his limbs. They’re both raw and skinned, just like his fingers; red with burst blisters the size of rocks. One hurts far more than the other.

“They’re nothing.” 

“Nothing pretty to look at,” blue eyes narrow on you in annoyance, but the dry-humored Brit doesn't miss a beat.

“Seems you’re in good spirits, Sergeant. Fancy walking on your own?” Your lips flick, delirious and high off of whatever pain meds that Ghost had found when he had been carrying you out of the basement of that house. 

Try as he might, the feeling of your dead weight was worse than he ever could have imagined. So, outwardly, he stayed numb but knew that every little look from you was as beautiful as a sunrise. 

“Want me to try?” Palms begin to shift, a hand pressing deep into the moss that bends and yields to your form. 

Ghost snaps forward.

“Fucking Bastard!” He puts weight on the back of your shoulder as you hiccup dull chuckles, “Quit it! Else I’ll leave you here to annoy the damn plants.”

The threat was empty, and your eyes softened as they spread their fatigued gaze over the span of the Brit’s visible skin, glee leaking out. Ghost sighs, shaking his head sharply at you, agitation stuck in his skull as it always was.

So beastly, this man, but his hold on you was about as gentle as you could imagine. 

Your attraction to him was anything but one-sided. You knew his emotions as well as your own; it was quite obvious to everyone but him. The long looks, the concerned glances. His touch freely given.

He had given you his name and, to you, that was about as close to a proposal as a ring was. You’d kissed; you’d shared beds and shared skin. You knew when he was being horrible to himself deep in the confines of his head.

“Simon,” you whisper, and a blue gaze stays stubbornly away, glaring at your burns with venom. A tired smile peels your lips. “Simon.” 

A huff is all you get, a bush of skin as breath wafts over your bare back. Your hand goes to touch his knee, brushing softly over the torn fabric. The flinch would not be noticeable to anyone but you. Brows pull slightly tighter. 

“I had a dream about you, y’know.” Speaking hurt, but the attention that is finally brought your way was worth it. Birds chirp in the distance.

“What’s that?” 

“Hm,” you lightly nod, cheek ruffling moss as you take down slow inhalations. Staring into each other’s eyes you for a moment forget the agony under your skin. “You were trapped by a giant fish underwater.” 

A Blonde eyebrow raises, slow smirk unable to be hidden. It was impossible not to be entirely taken by you. How you speak, how you breathe. Even like this, you had placed a spell of black magic over him, binding the darkness that made up Simon Riley—Ghost—to your every action and whim.

“That right, Sweetheart? What happened, then?”

Chuckling, Ghost’s hold goes to your neck, massaging the skin so delicately that you lose your train of thought for a moment as shivers erupt, “I had to save you.”  

Lips press to your scalp, a bent nose digging despite the shifting cartilage as lion limbs shake with a want to drag you to him. Such a rabid beast that devotes himself to your life.

“You tend to do a lot of the savin’, Love.” It’s muttered into your hair, softly, lowly. Compliments are rare—Ghost prefers actions above all else—but they’re treasured. 

You know what he means.

“Yeah, I love you, too, you brute.” Deep chuckles dance in your ear, and you both stay there for a while, simply breathing in each other as the sky bleeds into the earth. So content, your heart had slowed, the salve in your wounds and the bandages compressing the areas with the most problems and forcing them to be numb. 

When you had nearly fallen asleep, Ghost had peeled back to look down at you; eyes malleable as they slipped over your battered body. 

“Hm,” he hums, reaching to his side and grabbing for the shirt he had stolen. After a few minutes of quiet curses and apologetic kisses, the large piece of fabric was over your top. The Lieutenant had begrudgingly admitted that the scraps of pants you had on now would have to do until you got proper attention. 

“Giving the squirrels a show, then, Simon?” The man rolls his eyes deeply at the sarcastic comment, rubbing up and down your legs to keep circulation going as he readies to move you.

“They better keep quiet ‘bout it,” Ghost grumbles, running a hand through his hair, “Else I’ll have to rip a few tails.”

“So violent,” You wince when your shoulder is gripped, neck limp as your upper half was rotated. Gnashing your teeth, the Lieutenant shushes you comfortably, raising your body to rest in the crook of his large arm. Muscles tense and loosen, your cheek now resting on your Lover’s pec. You hear him hiss silently at the pressure on his broken ribs as guilt hits you. “Not the squirrels’ fault.” 

“It is if they keep looking at ya. Only I get to see you like that.” Your pain-laced laugh is cut off when you’re lifted, large hands under your knees helping equalize your body. 

A strained whine exits your lips, straining to get air as you pant and clench your eyes shut. Ghost wasn’t doing much better—gritting his teeth and tilting his head back. 

Feet stumble before righting themselves, lids opening as lashes flutter over bloodless cheeks to stare down at you. 

The word seems to stop.

“...Tell me you’re alright.” You heard that for what it was—Tell me to keep going, because if you don’t then I won’t be able to. 

Blinking up at him, your nose slots under his chin as you feel him shake with exertion, lips pressing deep into his raging pulse. You swallow down saliva as his grip on you tightens, pressing you closer; giving you his body heat.

“I’m okay, Simon. Not…not lost yet.” 

“Good.” He lets his eyes close for a moment, taking you in as he lets his nose be coated in your scent, the flesh under his fingertips. Ghost knows some of your wounds reopen, and, thus, his bare feet start off into the woods. His men would still be at the Evac point waiting for them. Price would have given the order. “...I’ll be needing you ‘round. Might lose my head otherwise, eh?”

“You do seem to have a few loose screws when I’m not near.” 

“That was an exaggeration,” Simon grumbles. 

You scoff, trying not to puke at his limping steps. The word swirls, but the man carrying you stays ever clear. “No,” you whisper, “No, it wasn’t.”

Scared lips pull up, but the birds respond for him. 

Less than ten percent out from the Evac point is when you drop a tidbit of a thought to the man.

“Y’know what I want, Ghost?” The large Brit side-steps a downed tree, sweat dripping down his chin to splatter to your skin.

“What is it?” He pants, sparing you a glance as his eyebrows are constantly furrowed in concentration. Your talking made it easier to push on.

“A fucking cake. A big one.” Blue eyes blink and his feet nearly stumble to a stop before he forces on. A gasp of a chuckle makes your heart skip a beat as voices start up from the next tree line.

“Keep talking to me, Love, and I’ll buy you the whole bloody bakery.” Soldiers burst from the bushes, and Ghost calls out identification as everyone gapes. Guns immediately lower.

Medics rush forward, but still on high alert, the Lieutenant snaps at them, bringing you closer into his hold as he pushes onward. 

“Where’s the fucking heli?!” Everyone stops and points. Huffing, Ghost shoves forward. 

“The whole bakery?” You slur, giggling and feeling the kiss on your head. 

“Every bastard pastry’ll be yours. Count on it.” 

—

“Simon, you promised.” Your wheel-chair bound form pouts as the man in question deadpans from behind you, leaning on the handles. His balaclava can only hide so much.

The air is sweet with the scent of desserts and bread. 

“Birdie, you can’t eat all ‘O that, you’ll explode like you took a .308 round to the head.” The woman behind the counter pales, pulling at the collar of her shirt with her smile becoming strained.

“Is that a challenge?” You glance over your shoulder, smirking wide. 

“No,” Simon blanky states, the skin over his nose bridge and under-eye completely black and blue. 

“I think that was a challenge.” 

“It wasn’t.”

The customers grind their palms into their eye sockets, some tuning around in line and leaving entirely.

“Simon,” you intertwine your hands and lean to show him, eyes wide and pleading. “Please.” Drawing out the word, you smile with everything you can. 

The both of you connect in a battle of wills—you with that infectious innocent and sly nature, and Simon with a tight glare and tired eyes. A blatant will to please you in every aspect and a need to see you happy at all times. This goes on for a full minute before a loud sigh echoes off the walls, shoulders deflating. A hidden kiss is pressed firmly to your head.

You giggle loudly at the authoritative order.

“One of everything.”

TAGS:

@blueoorchid, @jxvipike, @revrse, @shuttlelauncher81, @bruhhvv, @kittiowolf210, @aerangi, @spikespiegell, @ghost-with-a-teacup, @1234ilikecowsthanyoumore, @uberraschungg, @neelehksttr, @shoe1412,@jemandderkeinenusernamenfindet​, @pukbadger, @omeganixtra, @nanialis, @gills-lounge, @voidinfernal, @sukunas-left-nut-sack, @untoldshortsofthefandoms, @batmanunicorns523, @icepancakes, @copiasratscheese, @besas-stuff, @marytvirgin, @misfne, @halfmoth-halfman, @lothiriel9, @anna-banana27, @jade-jax, @cl0wncxre, @emerald-valkyrie, @michirulol, @330bpm-whiplash, @lora21, @bespectacledhuman, @wolfyland07, @dilfsaremyfavourite, @astronaunt2009, @shmaptin, @levietc, @kk19pls, @semieitabby, @thriving-n-jiving, @cringe-kats, @n1choles, @gaychaosgremlin, @johnpricesprincess, @haleypearce,

[7s3ven]

FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC. platonic! task 141

( short one shot of y/n and jonny as besties )

IN WHICH… there is never a dull moment in task force 141 with you and jonny, best friends since kindergarten, together.

Notes: not following plot

—

( literally y/n and jonny )

You knew sneaking out yet again was a bad idea, especially when Price was so strict about curfew. And yet, Jonny had convinced you to go out for a little snack run. He may as well have a period with all the weird cravings he’s ranting about as you walk towards the front door.

Your hand stalls on the door knob, biting softly on your lip as you turn it. It doesn’t budge. Your heart jumps and your eyes widen as you turn you head to glance at Jonny. “Did you bring the key?” You whisper, not wanting to wake Price, Gaz, or Ghost. You could deal fine with an angry Price or Gaz since it only took one flutter of your lashes to calm them but Ghost was not so easy to persuade.

The last time you snuck out and returned home late, having attended a party all across town, you woke Ghost up and he was waiting for you in the doorway, bunny slippers on, mask barely covering his face, and arms crossed over his broad chest.

The glare he gave you still made you shake.

You watched as Jonny felt around in his pockets before he paused, mouth agape. “I thought you had the key.” He hissed back at you. You click your tongue, smacking his shoulder.

“I asked you to grab it, dumbass.” You furrow your eyebrows. “How are we gonna get in now?”

Jonny’s gaze shifted to the balcony door that Gaz must have forgotten to close. He meets your eyes and you quickly shake your head. “Anything but that.” You mutter.

As tall as Jonny was, he could barely reach the balcony. He would no doubt throw you up instead.

“I’m not climbing.” You grumble as Jonny wraps his arm around a pillar.

“Hear me out.” Jonny attempts to reason with you but you wildly shake your head, a second away from pounding on the door to get away from the madman you call a friend. “I’ll boost you up.” He shows you a gesture with his arms to reassure you, “It’ll be perfect!”

You highly doubt that. You huff as you cross your arms over your chest. “No way.” You stand your ground but a low growl has you regretting your decision.

“It’s that damn coyote again.” Jonny mutters, peering through the darkness for the feral animal that keeps digging through your trash and biting Gaz while he mows the lawn. “I’m pretty sure it has rabies.”

You’re at Jonny’s side in a second. “Oh, fuck no. Boost me up.” Your stomach lurches as Jonny lifts you. Your fingertips brush the wood of the balcony before Jonny screams.

“That thing bit me!” He shouted as you lose your balance. The two of you fall to the floor with a loud thud and you hold your breath, praying it didn’t wake Ghost.

“Man up!” You yell, slapping Jonny once more. “It’ll be fine!”

“I’m gonna have to get my leg amputated!” Jonny cried out as he clutches his ankle. You roll your eyes at his dramatic antics.

“You’re gonna wake Simon! Shut it!” You clasp a hand over Jonny’s mouth, begging him to quiet down. He licks your skin and you screech, quickly recoiling back and frantically wiping your hand on the green grass below. “That’s disgusting!”

Jonny merely sends you a mocking grin.

Through the darkness, you can hear the coyote circling you, thinking what idiots the both of you are. The animal hisses, causing Jonny to flinch and scramble back. “Every man for himself!” He screeches.

You cackle as the coyote chases after Jonny, tackling him to the ground. “Karma, bitch!” You scream. You regret your words a second later as you feel sharp fangs sink into your ankle.

With the dim porch light, you can see Jonny silently wheezing, struggling to breathe as he laughs at you wildly shaking your leg.

Between dealing with the coyote that currently had a hold of your leg between its fangs or possibly waking up Ghost, you chose the latter. Ghost would forgive you… this coyote would not.

“Get it off me, Jonny!” You scream, pulling at the animal’s tail. “It hurts! Fuck, ow! Jonny!” You manage to pry the coyote off, throwing it at your friend.

Gaz always said how there seemed to be a shared, dysfunctional brain cell shared between the two of you whenever you were together. You were starting to agree with his words now.

Jonny finally got rid of the coyote by throwing a half eaten sandwich from the trash can a couple yards over, the animal eagerly following it.

“When we get inside, you’re dead meat.” You harshly prod his chest, glaring at him.

“Let’s just knock on Gaz’s door. He’ll let us in, surely.”

You roll your eyes. “Nah, he’s gonna wake Price up to annoy us. Just lift me up again, will ya? I almost had it before that damn coyote bit ya.”

Jonny did so without hesitation, not wanting to become the victim to your bubbling anger.

You were so busy reaching for the balcony that you didn’t notice the doorbell camera turn a faint red, a sign that someone was watching.

“How long should we wait until we open the door?” Gaz asks from his position on the couch as the rest of your dorm mates watch the scene unfold through the camera.

“Just a little bit longer.” Ghost replies, lifting his mask over his mouth to sip on his tea. “I want to see one of them fall again.”

[drgnflyteabox]

the lusty cabin-dweller

pairing: ghost / Simon riley x fem reader summary: your life gets wider when you find an injured man outside of your cabin. tags/warnings: Skyrim!ghost, secrets, graphic injuries, some angst, facial injuries, nursing Simon back to health one stew at a time <3, listen to this for the vibes, vaginal + anal sex, oral (f), animal attacks, blood, processing an animal for meat and fur, violence, death (non-major), mention of Skyrim racism, softdom!Simon, some backstory, please hmu if i forgot anything, one bed trope, simon backstory adapted to skyrim lol (so past abuse, murder, theft, domstic violence) but nothing graphic w.c: 5k

Honey-nut is squealing again. Some days you think she might not be worth the milk and cheese she gives you for all the trouble she causes. A high, strange bleating cuts through the chilled night air like a knife, sharp and terrifying only for a moment.

She's been at this since Frostfall. Maybe it was the weather causing Honey-nut distress - she was getting old, after all. For a goat.

In the time it takes you to trudge out of bed, pull on a wool shift and a fur, two things happen: one, Honey-nut stops bleating, and the woods surrounding your cottage becomes deathly silent.

Two, a crunch.

Just one, but it's enough. Someone is outside.

For a brief, hysterical moment, you worry for Honey-nuts safety. Have they hurt her to be quiet? No, you'd have heard that at least. Your breath comes fast, chest squeezing. Bandits? Probably not. It's a decent hike up to your wooden cottage. But it is nearing winter, and soon it will be Sun's Dusk. It's not unheard of that they'd be looking for a place to take over for the colder months.

Your hand goes to your heart, fingertips touching your throat. Be calm, you tell yourself. You aren't helpless, look. The axe, leaning by your front door. You can see in the dark well enough, and you're more familiar with your homestead than they are.

The axe feels right in your hands. Too-familiar, weighty, deadly. You touch your ear to the door, trying to reign in your fear. Nothing. Then, a wheeze, strangled and restrained like whoever it is can't afford to be heard. But you have heard it, and you push the door open.

"Show yourself!" You shout, voice surer than you feel. Your knees quake a little, but your grip on the axe is strong.

The animal pen is a mere few steps away from your front door. Past the front garden, it's wide open aside from the little shelter you built the past Mid Year. A foot sticks out, clad in armor.

"I'm armed," you add. "You're not getting anything from me!" The world is dark, the woods quiet. Adrenaline burns in you, bright enough to guide your steps.

"You gonna kill me with that, girl?"

Gruff voice, like scraping rocks. Coming into view, you see that this man poses no threat. He's half dead, slumped and pale, clutching his side.

"Who are you? What's your business here?" The axe is a deterrent, now. Just for show. You hold it above him, but nearly drop it when you see his face. It's sliced right through the middle, from his forehead to his jaw. "Oh, gods-"

"Mind yourself with that," his eyes flit to the axe. "Or put me out of my misery now."

Your shoulders dip down, lowering your weapon. Guilt crawls into your belly and settles there when you notice that yes- his feet are armored, but the rest of him is dressed in miners attire. White, coal-dusted shirt. Workman's pants, tucked into woolen calf wraps. God, he must be freezing. Maybe that's saved his life, staunched the bloodflow. It's tacky on him, not shining wet like you expected.

"What's happened to you?" You cringe at the sound of your voice. It's gone from fierce defensiveness to cloying concern, staring only at the blood staining his skin.

He breathes hard, staring at you a moment. It's hard to tell what he's thinking, what he's feeling. Outside of obvious pain. Leaves around you shiver in the breeze, a light snow beginning to fall when he finally speaks.

"Bandits," he grunts. "An ambush." Every word is a fight, a wheeze. Empathy drives away caution and you drop your weapon in favour of kneeling beside him.

"Come on, then. Let me help you," lifting him is a monumental task, even with him helping. He's as big as horse, thick as one too. Legs like tree trucks that hold him up just barely, feet sliding weakly on the uneven ground.

Looking back, Honey-nut watches you bring him through the doorway with a judgmental twinkle in her eye. Maybe it's time for goatherd pie.

///

Your bed is too small. His feet hang off comically, and the wood creaks under his weight. It'll have to do. Your mother would have beaten you black and blue for this - for inviting a stranger in, for settling him in your bed without so much as a what’s your name? But you know how to stitch and turning away someone in as bad a shape as he is would weigh on your conscience.

You light the sconces along the wall, and then a lantern to keep by his bedside. Warm, orange light fills the cottage, flickering every so often, inspiring calm.

"I'm no healer," you warn him. "Nor an alchemist." It’s not necessarily a lie. You had done a brief stint as a volunteer for the temple of Kynareth, lending your hands and your time to help nurse wounded soldiers. There had been supervision then, though. Guidance.

"I’m shit out of luck for choices, sweetheart,” his facial wound leaks a little when he speaks, blood running down the side of his face in thin rivulets. The wound at his side, however, is what worries you the most.

“Let me,” you murmur. Your fingers find the edge of his shirt, pulling them out of his pants, and up, up, gently. Looking him in the eye, watching his pain win over his weariness.

Another gash, swaddled in cloth wrapped sloppily around his middle. Without moving him you have to cut them off, slicing off his shirt at the same time. This one bleeds sluggishly, skin shredded, like he’d been dragged over coarse rock.

He words slur, energy leaving him. Mumbles under his breath things you can’t make out, and don’t try to. You’re busy rinsing, cleaning, and patting his ribs dry. Tensing every so often, he breathes hard through his nose to offset the pain. Mumbles some more, hands making fists.

It’s bad, but he’ll live. Exhaustion might trump over all, anyhow, what with how his eyelids have begun closing. Through the slit of them his eyes are pale, like sunlight through deep blue ice. Blonde lashes, stark against the dirt and coal smearing his skin.

You work in silence, letting him sleep through this one so he’ll hopefully be unconscious for the work you have yet to do on his face.

“Who did this?” You whisper to no one. You’re a breeze in the night, alone, hunched over this man and wiping his face with a cloth.

Clear of blood and grime, you gather a sewing needle and dip it into the lantern flame. Stitching is easy, but on his face? You falter a moment, worried, until you think of how proud men often are of their scars. Boasting battles won and creatures slain.

It’s that thought that pushes you through to the end, weaving the needle through until he's sewn and clean of blood.

///

Sweat and iron. The smell of it, sharp and salty, sea foam and earth, is the first thing you're aware of.

Then, the light of morning. Pale, almost white, invading through the windows in rays. A chill. Your eyes open with a not insignificant amount of effort, back twinging in different places as you become aware of the world again.

"Awake?" You startle, jerking up. It's the man from the night before, laying as he was, a little curled against the pain and big as an ox. "W's startin' t'think you'd sleep all day."

"It's morning, is it not?" You're not used to talking this early - or at all. "How's the- how are you feeling?"

He grunts, shuffling. His wrapped side has some blood peeking through, little spots of leakage, not enough to lose your head over. His face has swelled some overnight though, and you're awake enough now to hear the muffled quality to his voice. Part of the cut pulls his upper lip tightly. You wince.

"Just wait. I have something for the," you pause, crossing your space on stiff legs to find the bookshelf. Clay pots, glass bottles, books. Ah, here it is. "For the pain." It's some elixir. Purchased the last time you'd made the trek to Markarth from Muiri, the alchemists apprentice. It brings forth a distant memory of pain, of twisting your ankle running after Honey-nut.

Your ankle hadn't quite healed right, but this was good for when winter came and stiffness made the pain worse again.

He eyes you wearily as you approach. Suspiciously. As if you haven't been helping him out of the kindness of your heart…

"This will help," a promise.

"Don't need'it." He slurs, then cringes as it pulls his lip again.

"You'll recover faster if you're in less pain."

In the end he acquiesces, if not just to take the edge of the purpling that's beginning to show on the edges of his bandage. Broken ribs, maybe?

///

Chores need to be done whether or not there's an obstinate patient in your bed. Honey-nut needs to be milked, and she fights you every step of the way. You discover her pen open from last night and sigh with relief that she's still there.

The chickens have laid eggs for you, and you collect them diligently in your apron. Then, the garden. And finally a sweep of your traps in the woods.

Just one rabbit, but it's enough. You hope the man likes stew, and that his swelling goes down enough for him to tell you his name.

///

He tells you his name is Ghost. Strange, but you've heard stranger. Maybe he's a follower of Namira, you wonder not without an inkling of apprehension. Ghost is quiet, even as he heals. After you'd made yourself a straw bed on the other side of the cabin, you'd wake to him sitting up and stretching. Testing himself. Always silent.

The exhaustion was the worst of it. One nearly empty bottle of elixir later, the swelling on his face has gone down significantly. His ribs sore but on the mend. It was sleep that he needed, and lots of it.

Days passed like this. Switching bandages, wiping and cleaning, cooking enough stew for two. Nearly a week until he was up and about insisting to help around the cottage.

"No need," you tried to gently push him back into the warmth of the open door. He was too big, and having none of it. "You'll be better in no time."

He was just so tall. Were he to stand still at your doorway, half his face would be covered by the top of it. Despite his condition, you could tell that your initial comparison to a horse was completely on the nose. Stocky as a boar, arms thick as mammoth tusks. Hairy like blonde wheat shining in the sun. You'd noticed as much, watching him rest, watching his eyelashes flutter on his cheeks as he dreamt.

///

Ghost works like you're paying him in gold. He sweats, arms swinging down over and over again above the chopping block. There's enough wood to last three winters now - maybe four. Every job he takes is finished to excess. Your roof has never looked better, re-thatched in rotting places and swept clear of mildew. The old wood fence in your garden? Replaced.

Honey-nut finds her new favourite person when he dismantles what he calls shoddy work, and rebuilds her a shelter twice as big. The chickens are still weary, but enjoy receiving the kitchen scraps he tosses.

"There's really no need for all this," you insist again, because he's come back this afternoon with an elk on his back.

"Didn't need to fix me up, either, did'ya?"

You break it down together. Ghost does the harder part, while you take cuts of meat to dry for jerky. The rest will go into a venison casserole, with juniper berries.

"Hey- Ghost?" You call. He's skinning the rest of it for furs. "I'm off to gather some berries for dinner."

A nod, and you're off.

Your basket is old, woven, carried once by your mother and now you. Silly, but special all the same. It's stained with many years of berry collecting, many years of winter nights spent tucking into fruity crostatas or summers full of juniper mead.

The hills are rife with the low, rough trees. They grow like weeds here in the Reach, mountain pocked with patches of light green and little blue berries. Once, as a child, you'd made the mistake of eating one straight off the branch. Bitter as burnt coffee, it was lesson you'd learned through tears of laughter with your mother. A happy memory.

Does Ghost have a family? You wonder again about him, about why a man like that is wasting his time mining. He could've climbed the ranks as an imperial and been a General or - divines forbid - a stormcloak. You prayed he wasn't so craven as to follow Ulfric and his band of Nord supremacists.

It's this distraction that leads you right into the waiting jaws of a sabre cat. Quick and silent, it reminds you of your patient for an absurd moment before you're tripping backwards, basket full of berries scattered and forgotten. Your hip makes contact with the ground hard, pain lancing through your joint like a spear.

Fuck, how could you be so stupid? This was a mountain, leagues away from the nearest town. Sabres, bears, wolves. You'd always, always used awareness as a first precaution. Sight, sounds, keeping your ears tuned to the slightest crack in a twig. If not, there was the bow and arrow stowed away under your bed.

Now, you were caught unawares. Muscles under it's fur rippled, a low growl in it's barrel chest, creeping toward you. Adrenaline burned through you like a fever, hot and electric all at once, freezing you in place by the weight of your heart in your stomach.

Stendarr's mercy, dying from an animal attack after living years on the craggy peaks of the mountains, avoiding ambushes and robberies. Living on goats cheese and chicken eggs, nothing yet achieved. What a waste. Miserable, hopeless tears prick at your eyes. Your breath leaves you in quick, desperate puffs. Running wasn't an option - it would only encourage the sabre. Sovngarde, here you come-

"Aaarghgh aaaaa!" A roar. Loud, ringing in your ears, as fierce as a cave bear. It's Ghost, jumping through the brush towards you with his arms above his head. "Bugger off!" He's screaming loud, voice cracking a little, the stitches at his lip tearing just enough for droplets of blood to fall.

"I'll put you down!" It's nonsense, but it's loud, and he's massive. Taller than the sabre even if it stood on two legs. When he reaches you, he steps in front of you. Shields you.

The face-off is likely less than a few minutes, but it feels like time moves as slow as honey. Ghost faces of the sabre, screaming like a madman, beating his chest and waving his arms. It creeps backward, hissing and fighting, but is cowed by his stance and size.

When it's disappeared through the maze of juniper trees, he turns to you. Extends a palm rough like bark.

"How long have you lived here, again?" His voice grates as usual, made worse by his shouting.

Your face heats in embarrassment. "A few years. I'm not usually so distracted," you dust your dress, patting yourself. Twigs and dirt fall from the wool. "I swear. I got lost picking berries."

He snorts, like you're stupid. You feel stupid.

The basket is half empty when you call it quits, tired from fear. Ghost is hunched beside you, holding his ribs again, rubbing his lip almost compulsively.

"Stop that, you'll get a thicker scar," you reach for his elbow.

"Don't care much about that, love," he shrugs your hand away.

Dinner is made in silence. It's a miracle you have the energy, but while you're physically drained your mind is running in circles. You watch with concern as he sits gingerly back on the bed. The pain in your hip pulses with sympathy, pulsing heat travelling down your leg and up your back.

"Need me to take a look at anything?" Besides his obvious discomfort, you'll have to fix his face back up. You'd prefer for him to be in a welcoming mood.

"I can handle it," Mr Stoic over here. "Did'ya take a fall?"

You drop dried frost mirriam into chopped, boiled potatoes. Then a pad of butter.

"Yes, but I'm alright," the cream sauce comes together, ladled over the venison. You're out of eidar cheese, but Honey-nuts goat cheese crumbled over everything is perfectly fine. Ghost eats like a furnace taking coal, anyhow.

"Let me see," he's up close. Again, you've been taken unawares. A sharp inhale like a gasp, heart beat picking up, breathing in the smell of him. It's gone from bloody to pine, to earth, to fresh wood. His hands find your hip and you hiss, trying to jerk away. In doing so you press your side into his chest, curled close, warm not just from the fire. "It's alright, sweet girl." He murmurs into the top of your head.

This tenderness is new. His fingers are as gentle as you've seen them in the last few weeks, pulling up the thick skirts of your dress and assessing the tender skin. It's a little hot to the touch, painful. The rough pad of his thumb brushes against you softly, making you whine.

His lips brush your hair, not quite kissing you, but affectionate nonetheless. You're close enough to see his throat bob when he swallows.

"Just a bump, huh, sweet girl?" He takes over, mashing the potatoes, setting out plates at your little wooden table, guiding you by your lower back.

You eat in relative silence, thighs brushing, a tension bubbling to the surface like stew on the fire. He spares you a few glances between bites, still wincing whenever he has to bend down.

"I'll take a look at that again before bed," you speak through a mouthful of creamy venison.

Sure enough, he's reopened some of his stitches. Not worst case scenario, but you spend a few minutes hunched over and bandaging him up again. He stares at you intently, eyes so clear and focused you wish he wouldn't. It makes your hand shake.

Moving to get up and back to your straw bed, his arm shoots out as quick as an arrow and takes your wrist in his hand. His stare is the same, squinting at you like he's waiting for you to confess something. Like he's waiting for you to give in.

"You're not sleeping on the floor," he says, sure, chest puffed. "Not with your hip. Come on now, come lay down." Gently, he tugs you down. Protests make it to the tip of your tongue and nowhere else, not with the promise of a mattress on your sore muscles and screaming hip.

It's too small though, much too small. Already he was hanging off, shoulders taking up the entire width. You curl forward, on your good side, facing away from him and into the dark. The cabin is still warm from cooking dinner.

His breath puffs on the back of your neck, hand finding your arm and stroking up and down. Soothing you. He curls around you, following the natural bend of your body.

"Simon," he whispers.

Your brow almost touches your hairline. "That's not my name."

"No," his reply is half spoken, half physical. He wraps an arm around your shoulders, bicep under you, cradling you, his big bear paw hugging your shoulder. A stray pinky ventures dangerously close to your nipple, fingers spread. "It's mine."

The world widens. "Yours?" You breathe in, out. It's trust, is what it is. He's giving you a piece of himself, this stranger, for you to hold. "Simon," you taste it in your mouth. "Simon."

He laughs against your hair. "Was watching you," he confesses. "After we got- after the ambush. Walked for days, till I found you."

"How long did you watch?" You're curious, if not a little suspicious. "You weren't casing it, were you?"

"No, nothing like that. Couldn't keep walking," he sighs loud like a dog. "Hadn't eaten, hadn't drank. Needed to know if you were somewhere I could stay."

"That's why Honey-nut was losing her mind," the realization is half funny, half scary. By the eight, you really hadn't noticed someone living so close-by for so long?

"Honey-nut?"

"You've met her, Simon. She's the goat."

"Ah," he snorts. "I've been calling her Molag-Bal, for how she's got us in the palm of her hand."

"Simon!" You shriek with laughter, shaking until he squeezes you from behind. So close his heartbeat taps against your back.

///

A week goes by, and each night is the same. You wake together, sleep together, eat together. Simon regains his strength and his wounds turn into scars. His face is deeply marked, but you've never known him another way. Truthfully, it adds to his handsomeness. There's a ruggedness there that one can only develop living in the rough.

The air gets colder, frigid in the mornings and nights. Light snows have begun falling, and Honey-nut begins her bleating until you put up the winter wall of her shelter, boxing her in. The chickens slowly cease laying eggs, bundling together, clucking at Simon when he checks for the seasons last bounty.

The time to make a trek to Markarth is creeping. You need dried goods, grain, seeds for spring, dried meats, elixirs - everything. It'll be your last trip before you're stuck in the freezing mountains with nobody but Honey-nut to talk to.

Books are your salvation during the cold months.

"I have to get supplies soon," you break the news to Simon early in the morning, when the light just barely creeps over the craggy peaks of the mountains. "In Markarth."

There. It's over with - telling him. You know you're being a coward by not asking directly, but you need to know. What is he going to do now that he's healed? Spend a few more months with you? You're still mostly strangers, practicing domesticity together, but strangers nonetheless.

"Can't go to Markarth," he says.

"Why's that?"

Simon looks at you then, eyes hard and tender at the same time. He grimaces a little, scar twisting wit his expression.

"Used to work there," A pause. "Used to… mine there."

"What?" Cidhna mine is for prisoners. You take a small step back, shaking your head. "What?" You repeat. Cidhna mine? Is that how- oh. His injuries, his waiting to see who you were before approaching. By the gods, you've been tricked!

"You tricked me-" you start, upset. Was he a killer, a robber? Images dredged from the recesses of your mind float to the surface. Men, fire, your mother cut down before you.

"No, no," he interrupts. He's shaking his head, not quite stepping forward but leaning toward you. Eyebrows drawn up, palms facing you in supplication. "Sweet girl, I," he looks around then, as if the words will appear written in smoke from the hearthfire. "Listen to me please," he pleads.

"Tell me what you did!" It's a near-shout, but you're upset. He's been cozying up to you while running from the law. Not that you're a total stickler for rules, but the men at Cidhna mine aren't there without reason.

The most secure prison in Skyrim.

"I will, I'll tell you. Just sit down please, sit with me." He pats a chair, sitting in the one beside it. Beseeching you. "Cm'ere, sweet girl. M'sorry."

///

You sit quietly while he tells you, choking a little on the rising tide of emotions. The biggest question is should you believe him? This story of his past, his father, a childhood spent learning to steal and bully to survive. Elixirs for a brother hooked on skooma, food for a mother grown sickly from her husbands abuse. Eventually getting rid of his father altogether, and wining up in Cidhna.

"If what you say is true," your voice wavers, throat tight with emotion. "Why not tell me?"

He shrugs his shoulders, looking up for a moment as if asking the divines for guidance.

"You never asked."

For a moment, you want to be indignant. You laid with him, cooked for him, wiped blood and sweat off his brow.

But he's right. You never asked, never thought to - just wondered, minded your business, content to help someone in need of it. The feeling of betrayal loosens in your chest, releasing it's vice grip on your heart, a calmer acceptance taking place.

The position it leaves you in is awkward, even if you're content to believe him. You've been too yielding since you met him. Accepted him into your home, accepted his story. Ambushed by bandits? A silly lie, now that you think of it. Vague, believable. Easier than explaining that guards had slashed him as he escaped imprisonment. That he couldn't go back because he was so recognizable.

You don't speak as you get ready. It's not an angry silence, but one brought by embarrassment. How stupid he must think you are, cozying up up to him like that.

The question of where he'll go burns still in your mind, in your gut. You're nervous, fingers shaking a little as you wrap long strips of warm wool on your calves, forearms, and between your fingers. Your dress is double-layered, boots sturdy.

It's a trip and half, lugging everything. You're on foot until you reach the nearest inn, and from there you rent a horse and cargo carriage. Easier from there, with Jazbay the white mare to pull you along.

"I know someone in Cidhna," Simon interrupts your thoughts. He's always tall, imposing, a little intimidating. Now he looks as sheepish as a man like him can look. "Could you…" He extends his hand, a letter clasped in it.

You grimace, but nod curtly.

"Thank you, honey," he breathes a sigh of relief. Honey. That ones new. It fills you with warmth.

"You're welcome to stay with me," you blurt. Impulsive, stupid. Brought on by the familiarity of his affection. "For the winter, I mean."

He's across the cabin in two steps. He presses his front to yours, hands cupping your cheeks, thumbs gently rubbing your cheekbones.

He kisses you, then, and everything slides into place. Your stomach tightens, hands coming up to grasp his shoulders, gasping into his mouth. It's wet, lips smacking noisily, the only sound in the near-frozen forest. Acceptance, sweet and buttery. This is a man whose never had a home.

"I can't stall any longer-" you try. He interrupts you with his mouth again, long kisses like it's reviving him, revitalizing him. "I gotta-"

"Shh, sweetheart," he hums lowly. Gods, you've never been this wet. It soaks into your cotton underwear, clit pulsing in time with your heart. "Let me take care of you, yeah?"

///

He's so solid, firm muscle and hard cock. It leaks between his legs, bobbing with his abdomen where he's kneeled on the floor, face in your cunt.

"Simon!" You're shouting, unabashed. Years have passed since anyone's touched you last, and you're sensitive as a maid, gripping his too-long hair almost meanly. Simon licks you like a starving man, slurping, letting you drip and then sucking it off your skin. His fingers find the entrance of your pussy, fitting himself in two at a time.

Once you've begun, you can't stop. He fucks you on the bed, letting it creak dangerously. Bends you over the table, cock dragging in and out of you deliciously. You shake and shiver in his arms, wrung out and insatiable all at once.

"Can I have you here, sweet girl?" He thumbs at your other hole, dipping in, kissing your inner thighs.

"Yes, gods yes, Simon," you drag his name out. Si-i-mon. It sounds good that way, breathy, not spoken but moaned and screamed. It's late evening, dark, colder now that you haven't lit the fire.

No need, when his cock is as hot as coals and slides between your arsecheeks like a divining rod. Your pussy is aching and hot, too-sensitive. You're belly down on the bed again, hands gripped in the sheets.

When you deliberately relax your muscles, he fits his fingers in your ass using come as lubricant. Spits down onto you, watches you start to rub yourself into the bedding desperately.

"None of that," he pants, pulling you up by your hips. A whine builds in your throat, which he shushes by pushing his other two fingers in your cunt. You yelp, moving toward him and away from him. He keeps you still, firmly holding your hips.

You come, tears beginning to leak into your sheets, when he presses his cock against the notch of your hole and pushes in.

A long, deep groan from the pit of his stomach starts and doesn't stop until he's sheathed. You're frozen, stuck in a gasp that doesn't end, filled to the brim.

Simon begins to rock, shallowly, stealing your breath and breathing it back into you with every thrust. It's then that you begin to make sound, crying out and fisting the sheets, rocking your hips with him. He reaches around, leaning down to kiss your shoulders and play with your clit at the same time.

"Not gonna last," he says into your skin. "Gonna come inside you again."

You're easy - so sensitive that if he breathed on you long enough you're sure you'd peak. His fingers twisting and pinching your clit is pure madness, and you tighten like a vice around him as you yowl your last orgasm of the night.

His hips snap into yours roughly, abandoning your clit for the flesh of your hips, pounding, dragging, grunting into you as he finds his own release.

Half-asleep, you fell him roll over onto his side and turn your head to face him. He's smiling lazily, stroking your skin, still sweating from exertion.

"I'll come with you tomorrow," he whispers.

"I thought you couldn't come to Markarth?" Confusion prickles at you, brows coming together. He finds the furrow with his thumb and smooths it away.

"I can't, honey. But I can come down and wait for you."

"You will?" Hope rises in you, in tandem with affection.

"Always," his voice is a soft murmur.

"Tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow. Goodnight, sweet girl."

<3

[mammonsrockstargf]

700 WIVES

contents: solomon x gn!reader, fluff, fluff, fluff, repost

"Is it true that you had 700 wives?"

Solomon looks up from his book to where you're lying on his bed, homework in hand. He'd convinced you to take the class "Rhetoric 101: How to Win Any Argument with an Angel Using Biblical Quotes" because he thought it'd be fun to watch you try to spark up an argument with Simeon. It was a nice perk that you could study together.

It hadn't even occurred to him that he might get mentioned in the coursework. You read over the pages, your eyes brimming with amusement.

"What could you possibly need 700 wives for?" you ask, and he shrugs. "Mostly politics and gaining land," he says, but you don't seem entirely convinced, as the corners of your lips turn upward.

"Might I remind you that this was happening during a period of 80 years?" he says, attempting to somehow save his reputation, but you just raise your brows at him.

"That's still like nine wives per year, though. How on earth did you have time for that?"

You're beginning to laugh now, really laughing, the kind that makes Solomon’s heart pound slightly and he has to fight a smile.

"What, they'd get like a month and a half each before you were on to the next one," you continue, wiping the tears running down your cheeks.

"Actually, I never even met most of them," he says, hoping to help his cause, but it only causes you to laugh even harder.

Solomon huffs and pretends to read his book again, letting your laughter subside. You slowly calm down and pick up your book but once you read the next line of your homework, you're laughing again.

"You had 300 concubines? How is that even possible?" you cackle, and Solomon rolls his eyes.

"That was a rumour. I did not have that many," he says, but you're far gone, clutching your belly as you gasp for air.

"I'll have you know that having a pact with the Avatar of Lust gives you a very high libido–" he begins.

"Oh, trust me, I know," you wheeze. He's on you in a second, pushing you down on the bed, placing a hand on each side of your head. You giggle when he presses kisses to your face, to any surface he can reach, your cheeks, your forehead, your nose.

"Stop," kiss, "teasing," kiss, "me!" kiss, he whines, but you've only just begun.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my lord, it's just that I haven't seen you in three years; you've been so busy with all your wives–"

Solomon shuts you up with a kiss on the lips, and you bury your hands in his hair, leaning into it. Your lips move against each other languidly, as he savors every inch of you, before he pulls away. He lays down on top of you, using your chest as a pillow, refusing to move an inch.

"Sol, you're crushing me," you complain, and he grumbles. He presses a kiss to your collarbone and grabs your homework, throwing it into a corner of his room, before getting comfortable again, this time crushing you a little less. You run your fingers through his hair, humming softly.

You both know that it doesn't actually matter how many wives, concubines, or past lovers he's had. Sometimes Solomon thinks that it's all just been a buildup and that none of it actually mattered.

His real life didn't begin until he met you, and he's completely fine with that.

"Sooo, did you have a favourite? Or perhaps 30 favourites?"

"Oh, shut up."

masterlist | divider by cafekitsune

[ervotica]

𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞. [𝐟.𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐫]

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: when you think finnick’s in danger, there’s nothing you wouldn’t do to protect him. or, that time the mutts impersonated your fiancé and you lost your shit.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: canon level violence, finnick is cute, reader is traumatised and also crying. overall not my best writing but it’s something.

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: apologies for my absence guys, life has been kicking me in the ass of late. here’s an apology fic, i know it sucks i am very rusty in the writing department. love ya🫶

Finnick has been gone for ten minutes when the birds start circling; he’s disappeared into the trees, aimlessly digging when the sounds of flapping wings and voices hit the group’s poised ears.

You’re stumbling into the undergrowth at the first threat of danger, the breath quick to steal from your lungs as his voice rings in your ears.

“Y/N? Where are you? Help me!” Finnick’s voice calls, low and pained and drawn out terribly. Every sensible explanation dies, shrivels up and blackens in your head and you’re running towards the sound, swatting leaves and fallen branches out of the way.

“Finnick!” you shriek. “Finnick!”

Your heartbeat thumps in your own head, blood rushing and pounding when you trip and stumble your way further into the trees.

Peeta and Johanna are behind you, their grappling hands doing little to stop you on your rampage.

“They’re jabberjays, it’s not real!” Peeta tries to coax you down but it’s no use, you’re in a blind panic.

“Finn!” you scream for him again. “Finnick!”

Every awful scenario floods your head at once, of Snow and the Capitol and the torture they could inflict on him. It’s the only way to hurt you, hurting him, and Snow knows that.

Your cheeks are hot and damp with tears as you spin, frantic and wide eyed and desperate to catch a glimpse of Finnick; Johanna seizes you from behind, pushing you down to the ground and holding you there. When you thrash and lift your head, her hand clasps the back of your neck and forces your nose into the damp floor.

“It’s not real!” she growls.

He’s still screaming. Screaming for you. It hurts your ears and grabs your chest with white-hot panic, pure and unrelenting.

By the time the hour’s up, you’re limp, breath ragged and laboured. Johanna manhandles you up until you feel the bark of a tree digging into your back; you hiss and push her away indignantly. You have this far away look in your eyes, glazed and unfocused, only snapping to attention when a pair of footsteps bowl through the trees and crouch next to you.

“Finn,” you whisper, trembling as he wraps thick wired arms around you and pulls you flush to him. His pulse is fast and hard like a drum pressed to your cheek, his chest heaving as you climb him.

“It wasn’t real. I’m fine, we’re fine.”

You gasp and wheeze and clutch at him like he might slip away, a fist in his sandy hair, your shoulder wedged under his armpit. His grip is like iron around your waist and his breath is warm and comforting on the juncture of your shoulder.

“You’re okay,” you mumble, repeating over and over as though you’re trying to convince yourself.

“I’m okay. Look at me,” he demands. His hands are warm. “It wasn’t real.”

“Not real.” You rake fingernails across the nape of his neck, squeezing to keep him close. Your breath is ragged. “We’re fine.”

“There’s my girl.”