#I didn’t expect how drastically different it would feel

[hisfavegirl]

The Edge of Desire - Jacaerys Velaryon x Wife!Reader.

Summary : You had entered his life like a storm sweeping through the desert sands. A princess of Dorne, your heritage was as fiery as the blood of Old Valyria that coursed through his veins. Your union had been born of political necessity—an alliance to strengthen Rhaenyra’s claim and solidify ties between the Targaryens and the Martells. But what began as duty quickly became something far deeper, far more consuming. Jace had not expected to fall so utterly, so fiercely. Yet with every smile, every glance, every whispered word exchanged beneath the stars, he found himself more ensnared by you. In you, he saw a partner, an equal, someone who challenged him and brought him peace in equal measure. And in him, you had found not just a husband but a man who would move the heavens and earth for you.

Word Count : 12,4k

Warning : just a lot of sex.

Jacaerys Velaryon Masterlist.

House Of The Dragon Masterlist.

and also big thanks to @zaldritzosrose for let me using yours beautiful dividers 🫶🏻.

The sound of crashing waves filled the air as you sat in the garden of Dragonstone, the salty breeze brushing against your skin. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink. The soft rustle of leaves mingled with the distant roars of dragons, creating a melody that had become the soundtrack of your days here.

Life had changed drastically since you married Jace. No longer the daughter living in the shadow of court politics, you were now the wife of the next heir to the Iron Throne, tied irrevocably to Rhaenyra’s cause. The weight of that knowledge rested heavily on your shoulders, but the solitude of the garden offered a brief reprieve.

You closed your eyes, savoring the moment of peace, until you felt the warmth of familiar arms wrapping around your waist.

A smile tugged at your lips even before you turned. You didn’t need to look to know who it was. “Jace,” you murmured softly, leaning back into his embrace.

“You always know it’s me,” he said with a quiet laugh, his chin resting on your shoulder.

You opened your eyes, gazing at the horizon. “Who else would it be? You’re the only one who sneaks up on me like this.”

Jace chuckled, his grip on you tightening slightly as he pressed a kiss to your temple. “It’s because I know where to find you. You’re always here.”

“Where else would I be?” you replied, your tone light. “Dragonstone isn’t exactly brimming with excitement.”

He pulled back slightly, just enough to turn you around so you were facing him. His dark brown eyes, so much like his mother’s, softened as he looked at you. “Are you unhappy here?”

You shook your head, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from his face. “No, Jace. I’m not unhappy. It’s just… different.”

“Different how?” he asked, his voice gentle.

You hesitated, searching for the right words. “I suppose I miss the familiarity of Sunspear's. The life I knew before. Here, everything feels so… heavy.”

Jace’s brows furrowed as he studied you. “If you’re unhappy, we can go back. I’ll speak to my mother—”

You placed a hand on his chest, cutting him off with a small smile. “It’s not that simple, Jace. This is our life now. Your life. One day, you’ll be king, and Dragonstone is just the beginning.”

He sighed, his hands resting on your waist. “You’re my wife. Your happiness matters just as much as any throne or crown.”

Your smile softened, touched by his sincerity. “And I am happy, Jace. As long as I’m with you, I’ll always find happiness.”

His expression eased at your words, and he leaned in to press a soft kiss to your lips. The kiss was gentle, a silent promise that no matter how heavy the burden of duty became, you would face it together.

When he pulled back, his lips curved into a small smile. “You always know what to say to calm me.”

“That’s because I know you better than anyone,” you replied teasingly, poking his chest lightly.

Jace laughed, catching your hand and intertwining his fingers with yours. “Come, let’s walk. The dragons have been restless today, and I want to make sure they haven’t decided to scorch the gardens.”

You laughed, allowing him to lead you through the winding paths of the garden, the sound of your joined laughter mingling with the roar of the dragons above. For now, the weight of the future could wait. Here, in this moment, it was just the two of you.

As you walked along the edge of the beach, the cool breeze tugged at your dress, the fabric flowing with the wind. The rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the shore filled the air, but it was the darkness that slowly crept in around you that made the evening feel more intimate. The sky was turning a deep shade of blue, almost black, and the first stars began to twinkle overhead.

You shivered slightly, feeling the chill of the evening air seeping into your skin, and when you noticed Jace glancing at you, his eyes twinkling with a quiet amusement, you couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" you asked, trying to ignore the slight tremor in your voice as you hugged your arms around yourself.

Jace chuckled softly, the warmth of his breath brushing against your ear as he leaned in. "You're wearing that dress, and it's cold enough to make me wonder if you've forgotten what season we're in."

You rolled your eyes but couldn't help the smile that tugged at your lips. "I'm fine, Jace. Let's go back to the castle. The cold doesn't bother me that much."

But he shook his head, his fingers brushing your exposed skin as he reached for you, pulling you closer with a gentle but firm tug.

"No, you're cold," he said softly, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "And I can't let my wife freeze, can I?"

Before you could protest, he enveloped you in his arms, drawing you into the warmth of his chest. His embrace was comforting, but you couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement as he held you close. Jace's lips brushed against your forehead, a soft, teasing kiss, before his mouth trailed down to meet yours.

The kiss was tender at first, a quiet exploration, but it deepened as his hands slid to the small of your back, pressing you closer.

The cold wind still whipped around you, but with Jace's warmth surrounding you, it seemed to vanish entirely. Your breath hitched, and without thinking, you responded, your arms winding around his neck, pulling him even closer.

Jace's kiss grew more insistent, and you could feel the pressure building as his hands roamed, tracing the curves of your body through the thin fabric of your dress. The gentle sound of the waves crashing on the shore was drowned out by the beat of your own hearts, racing in the quiet night.

"Jace..." you murmured between kisses, your voice shaky. You pulled back slightly, looking up into his eyes, dark and full of desire. "It's getting late, and people will wonder where we are."

His breath was ragged as he gazed down at you, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "Let them wonder," he whispered. "Let them talk." He kissed you again, his hands sliding lower, demanding more from you, more of your trust, your willingness. His touch was gentle but filled with a quiet power, pulling you deeper into the moment.

You couldn't deny him, not when he looked at you like that, when his touch made you feel like you were the only person in the world. The cold air seemed so far away now, replaced by the warmth of his body against yours, and the promise of what could come next.

"Jace….." you breathed, your voice catching in your throat, torn between the need to go back and the desire to stay. "We can't... not out here."

But Jace's smile only widened, and with a playful glint in his eye, he kissed you once more, pressing his lips firmly against yours.

"Why not?" he murmured against your lips. "What's wrong with the night? The world is ours, and right now, I want you to be mine, completely."

His words made your heart race even faster, and though a part of you knew you should stop, another part of you couldn't resist. You melted into him, your worries forgotten for just a moment, as you let yourself be consumed by the warmth of his touch, the passion in his Kiss.

The sound of the waves crashing against the rocks echoed faintly as Jace led you toward a hidden cave at the edge of the beach. The soft glow of the moonlight barely illuminated the entrance, casting long shadows that made the space feel secluded, almost like your own private world.

"Jace, what are we doing here?" you asked, a mix of curiosity and nervous excitement in your voice.

He glanced back at you with a sly smile, his hand firmly holding yours. "We need a little privacy, don't we? The castle is too full of eyes and ears."

Before you could respond, he turned and pulled you gently into the dim cave, the air cooler here but somehow charged with a tension that made your pulse quicken. You barely had a moment to take in your surroundings before Jace's hands were on you, his lips capturing yours in a fervent kiss.

Your back pressed against the rough surface of the cave wall, but you hardly noticed the discomfort with the way Jace was holding you. His hands slid to your waist, pulling you flush against him as his lips moved hungrily against yours.

"Jace..." you murmured against his lips, your voice trembling with a mix of need and uncertainty.

He pulled back slightly, his dark eyes locking with yours, filled with both tenderness and desire. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, his voice husky. You shook your head, your breath catching as his hands tightened on your hips. "No, don't stop..."

That was all the encouragement he needed. His lips found yours again, and his hands roamed your back, holding you close as if he couldn't bear to let you go. When he kissed the corner of your mouth and trailed his lips down to your neck, you couldn't help the soft gasp that escaped you.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured against your skin, his voice thick with emotion. "Every time I look at you, I feel like l'm losing control."

His words sent a shiver down your spine, and you arched slightly against him, your hands clutching at his shoulders. "Jace... someone might notice we're gone..."

He smirked, his lips brushing the sensitive spot just below your ear. "Let them notice. Let them wonder where we are. I don't care."

His hands slid to your waist, pulling you even closer as he continued to kiss you, his lips and tongue leaving a trail of heat along your skin.

The rough texture of the rocks behind you only heightened the intensity of the moment, grounding you in the reality of his touch.

You let out a soft sigh as his lips returned to yours, your hands finding their way to his hair, tugging gently as you lost yourself in the moment. The cave, the beach, the entire world outside seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of you.

"Jace..." you whispered, your voice barely audible as his lips hovered just above yours.

"Yes?" he asked, his voice deep and laced with affection as he gazed at you. You searched his eyes, seeing the love and devotion there, and smiled softly. "I love you."

His expression softened, and he leaned in to kiss you again, this time slower, more deliberate, as if savoring every second. When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against yours, his hands cupping your face.

"And I love you," he said, his voice steady and filled with certainty. "More than anything."

The cold night air brushed against your exposed skin as Jace's hands worked skillfully, peeling away the layers of your gown with deliberate care. His lips never left yours, the heat of his kiss contrasting sharply with the cool breeze. You gasped softly into his mouth, your breath hitching as the wind sent a shiver through you, but his touch was there-warm, reassuring, and full of promise.

"Are you cold?" Jace murmured against your lips, his voice thick with concern and something darker, more possessive.

You shook your head slightly, your fingers tracing over the planes of his chest as you tugged at the tunic he wore. "Not when you're here," you whispered, your voice trembling slightly, both from the chill and the fire building between you.

He smirked, his hands steady as he slid the gown from your shoulders, his fingers grazing your skin and leaving a trail of heat in their wake. "Good," he said, his tone low and rough. "I don't want you thinking about anything but me right now."

You leaned up to kiss him again, your lips brushing against his in a way that was both tender and insistent. His tunic finally slipped from his shoulders, and you let your hands explore the hard lines of his chest, the muscles beneath his skin flexing under your touch.

"Jace," you whispered, your voice barely audible over the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

He paused, his dark eyes locking onto yours, his expression softening for a moment as he took you in. "Yes, love?"

You hesitated, your cheeks flushing slightly. "! just... I want this. I want you."

His eyes darkened, and the corner of his mouth quirked up in a satisfied smirk. "You've always had me," he replied, his voice husky. "And you always will."

With that, he lowered you gently onto the sand, his hands cradling you as if you were something precious. The rough texture of the sand beneath you was a sharp contrast to the warmth of his body as he hovered over you, his gaze sweeping over you with a hunger that sent a thrill through your entire being.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, his voice filled with awe. His fingers trailed lightly down your side, leaving a tingling sensation in their wake.

You squirmed slightly under his touch, your breath hitching as his hand moved with agonizing slowness. "Jace... stop teasing me," you managed to say, your voice shaking with both frustration and anticipation.

He chuckled softly, the sound low and rumbling in his chest. "Patience, my love," he said, leaning down to press a kiss to the hollow of your throat. "I want to savor every moment of this."

His lips continued their slow journey along your neck, his kisses leaving a trail of heat that seemed to seep into your very soul. You arched into him, your hands tangling in his hair as you pulled him closer, desperate for more.

"Jace," you murmured again, your voice a soft plea.

He pulled back slightly to look at you, his expression a mix of love and desire. "I'm here," he said, his voice steady. "I'm yours. Always."

As he lowered himself back down, his lips finding yours in a kiss that was both passionate and tender, you felt the rest of the world fade away. There was only Jace, his touch, his warmth, his love. And in that moment, nothing else mattered.

The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was drowned out by your heavy breaths and soft cries of pleasure. Your fingers tangled in Jace's hair, pulling him closer as his lips continued their agonizingly tender assault on your most sensitive spot. His hands gripped your thighs, keeping you in place, refusing to let you escape the intensity of his attention.

"Jace," you gasped, your voice breaking as your body trembled under his relentless ministrations. "Please... I can't—"

He lifted his gaze, his dark eyes locking onto yours with a mischievous glint. His lips glistened, and he smirked as if pleased by your desperate state. "You can," he murmured, his voice low and soothing. "I know you can. Let go for me, my love."

Your head fell back against the cool sand, your body arching as another wave of pleasure crashed over you. You moaned his name, your voice high and breathless, and he hummed in satisfaction, the vibrations sending shivers down your spine.

"Jace, please," you begged, your voice trembling with need. "I can't take anymore."

He chuckled softly, the sound deep and filled with amusement. "Oh, but you can," he replied, his hands sliding up to grip your waist firmly. "You're stronger than you think, and I want to see just how far I can take you."

Your nails raked across his scalp, and he groaned softly at the sensation, his lips never leaving your skin. Every nerve in your body felt like it was on fire, your senses overwhelmed by the intensity of his touch.

"Jace," you whimpered, your voice breaking as tears pricked at the corners of your eyes.

He finally slowed his movements, pressing soft kisses to your trembling thighs before climbing up your body. His hands cupped your cheeks as he leaned down to kiss you, his lips gentle and tender against yours.

"You're incredible," he murmured against your lips, his voice filled with adoration. "Do you feel how amazing you are? How perfect you are for me?" You nodded weakly, your body still trembling from the aftershocks of your release.

As the night wrapped around you like a velvet blanket, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore was drowned by the quiet, intimate sounds shared between you and Jace. His body pressed closer to yours, his touch tender yet filled with the kind of passion that only he could give you.

You gasped softly as you felt him trace the inside of your thigh, his fingers grazing your skin with care. Your breathing hitched when he positioned himself and slowly, carefully, entered you. The warmth and connection were instant, making you both moan in unison at the feeling of being so utterly connected.

"Gods," Jace murmured, his voice low and shaky as he leaned down to kiss the corner of your lips. "You're perfect, every part of you."

Your legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, drawing him closer, making him groan deeply. His head rested in the crook of your neck as he started to move, his pace deliberate and gentle, his touch worshipful.

You arched your back to meet his rhythm, your hands gliding over the hard muscles of his back, nails grazing his skin lightly.

"Jace," you whispered breathlessly, your voice filled with longing. "I-"

"I know," he cut you off softly, his lips brushing against your ear as he increased his pace just slightly. "I feel it too."

He kissed your collarbone, his hands gripping your waist as he adjusted the angle slightly, making you gasp loudly. Your fingers tangled in his dark hair, tugging gently, earning a deep groan from him that sent a shiver down your spine.

"You're mine," he said, his voice rough with possession as he pulled back to look at you, his amber eyes blazing with intensity. "All of you. Forever."

His movements became quicker, more desperate, as though he couldn't get enough of you. You felt overwhelmed by the intensity, your body trembling as you clung to him, utterly powerless beneath his gaze and his touch.

"Jace-" you moaned his name, your voice breaking as the pleasure built inside you like a tidal wave.

He growled softly at the sound of his name on your lips, his hands gripping your hips firmly as he drove into you with more urgency. The raw need in his eyes only fueled the fire in your own body.

"You don't know what you do to me," he rasped, his voice thick as he watched you fall apart beneath him. "I lose myself in you, every time."

Your nails dug into his shoulders as the overwhelming pleasure tipped you over the edge, and you cried out his name, your entire body trembling as you reached your peak.

Jace's movements became more forceful, more urgent, and every thrust sent waves of pleasure coursing through your trembling body. You gasped his name as his grip on you tightened, his pace relentless.

His hand found yours, his fingers intertwining with your own as he pinned it above your head. With his other hand, he cupped your cheek, his thumb brushing lightly over your skin before tilting your face to meet his intense gaze.

"Look at me," Jace demanded, his voice low and gravelly. The authority in his tone sent a shiver down your spine, and you obeyed, your eyes fluttering open to meet his. His amber eyes burned with a mix of desire and pride, a smirk tugging at his lips as he watched you, utterly undone beneath him.

"You're breathtaking," he murmured, his voice softening for a moment before his expression shifted into something darker, more possessive. "My wife. My princess. And look at you now... completely at my mercy."

You whimpered softly at his words, your body responding helplessly to his every touch and movement. Jace's laughter was low and deep as he leaned down, brushing his lips against your ear.

"The mighty princess of Dorne," he whispered, his breath hot against your skin. "Reduced to this... trembling and begging beneath me. Do you know how much I love seeing you like this? Completely mine."

You couldn't respond, your voice stolen by the overwhelming sensations flooding through you. All you could do was cling to him, your body arching to meet his rhythm as he continued to push you closer to the edge.

Jace's hand on your cheek slid down to your neck, his thumb pressing lightly against your pulse point as his smirk widened. "You were made for this," he growled. "For me. Say it."

You managed to whisper, "I'm yours, Jace... yours to claim, to ruin."

His eyes darkened at your words, and his grip on your neck tightened slightly-not enough to hurt, but enough to make you feel the power he held over you. "Good girl," he muttered, his voice dripping with satisfaction.

Moments later, your body betrayed you, shattering under his relentless pace. You cried out his name, your body trembling violently as the waves of pleasure consumed you. Jace wasn't far behind, his movements becoming erratic as he chased his own release.

With one final thrust, he groaned your name, his body shuddering against yours as he found his peak. He stayed there for a moment, his forehead resting against yours as the two of you caught your breath.

"You're mine," Jace whispered again, his tone softer now, filled with a deep affection that contrasted with the raw intensity from moments before. "Always mine."

You nodded weakly, your body spent and your heart full. "Always," you whispered back, your voice barely audible but filled with conviction.

Jace smiled, brushing a strand of hair from your damp forehead before leaning down to press a gentle kiss to your lips. As the waves outside continued to crash against the shore, the two of you lay tangled together, lost in the warmth of each other's embrace.

As you tried to catch your breath, you felt Jace stir beneath you, his body once again responding to yours. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he shifted, his strong arms gently guiding you to sit atop him. His hands lingered on your hips, holding you steady as he gazed up at you, his eyes a mix of unbridled desire and tender affection.

"Looks like you're not done yet, my love," Jace murmured, his voice low and teasing. He brushed his thumb over your breast, his smirk growing wider. "You wanted to ride a dragon, didn't you? Now's your chance."

Your cheeks flushed at his words, and he laughed softly, his hands encouraging you to move. Tentatively, you began to shift your hips, eliciting a low groan from him as your movements brought the two of you closer again.

"That's it," he whispered, his voice strained with pleasure. "Take your time. Show me how much you want me."

You couldn't help but smirk down at him, placing your hands on his chest for balance as you started to move with more confidence.

Each roll of your hips drew a deep, guttural sound from Jace, his hands gripping your waist to guide you as he gazed up at you in awe.

"You're... incredible," he breathed, his amber eyes never leaving yours. "Do you have any idea what you do to me? How perfect you look right now?"

You smiled shyly at his praise but didn't stop, your movements becoming more deliberate as you found a rhythm that sent waves of pleasure coursing through both of you. Jace's hands roamed up and down your sides, his touch setting your skin alight as he leaned up slightly, capturing your lips in a searing kiss.

Breaking away just enough to speak, he murmured against your lips, "You're the only one who could ever make me feel this way. My wife, my princess, my everything."

His words spurred you on, and you moved faster, drawing a low growl from him. Jace's head tilted back slightly, his eyes fluttering closed as he let himself get lost in the sensation. "Gods, you're amazing," he muttered, his voice rough.

You leaned forward, your lips brushing against his ear as you whispered, "I'm yours, Jace."

At your words, his eyes snapped open, and his grip on your waist tightened. "Say it again," he demanded, his voice filled with both passion and possession.

"I'm yours," you repeated, your voice trembling with emotion as you met his gaze.

Jace let out a deep groan, his hands guiding your movements as his hips rose to meet yours. "Good girl," he murmured, his voice laced with pride and love. "You were made for me."

Jace let out a low growl, his hands gripping your waist as he shifted your position effortlessly. In an instant, he had you beneath him, his body pressing against yours as he moved with swift and deliberate precision. Without hesitation, he buried himself deep within you, drawing a sharp gasp from your lips as his movements became rougher, more demanding.

Your fingers found their way to his shoulders, clutching him tightly as your back arched, your body responding to his intensity. The sound of your heavy breaths and desperate moans filled the air, mingling with the faint crash of waves in the distance.

"Jace," you managed to gasp, your voice trembling as his pace quickened, each thrust powerful and unrelenting.

His eyes locked onto yours, darkened with a mix of love and lust. "You're mine," he growled, his voice rough and filled with raw emotion. "No one else will ever get to see you like this, hear you like this."

You nodded frantically, your body trembling beneath him as his words sent shivers down your spine. "only you Jace," you whispered, your voice barely audible over the sound of your shared passion.

A smirk tugged at his lips as he gazed down at you, his movements never faltering. His hands roamed your body, memorizing every curve, every reaction as he drove you higher and higher. "Look at you," he murmured, his tone almost reverent. "So perfect, so beautiful, and all mine."

Your head tilted back, a loud moan escaping your lips as he shifted slightly, his movements becoming even more precise. The sensation was overwhelming, and you clung to him as waves of pleasure coursed through you.

Jace leaned down, his lips brushing against your ear as he whispered, "I love the way your body responds to me. The way you give yourself to me so completely."

Jace growled low in his throat as his movements became more forceful, each thrust a deliberate reminder that you belonged to him and no one else. "You're mine," he hissed through clenched teeth, his hand gripping your waist tightly, pulling you back against him.

Each powerful motion sent waves of pleasure crashing through your body, making your moans echo across the quiet shoreline. Your fingers dug into the sand, your body trembling beneath him as you gasped, "Jace, I... I can't—"

"You can," he interrupted sharply, his voice thick with dominance and desire. "You will. You'll take all of me because you're mine."

Before you could catch your breath, he shifted suddenly, flipping you over so that your chest pressed against the cold, damp sand. You barely had time to adjust before he entered you again, filling you completely with a sharp, relentless thrust that left you crying out his name.

"Look at you," he growled, his hand tangling in your hair, pulling your head back just enough to prevent your face from pressing into the gritty surface below. "You're perfect like this— right where you belong. Beneath me. Completely mine."

Your body trembled at his words, his deep, possessive tone weaving through the haze of pleasure that clouded your mind. "Jace... please..." you begged, though you weren't even sure what you were pleading for.

He smirked, his free hand gripping your hip to keep you steady as he thrust into you harder, faster. "Please what, my love?" he taunted, his voice low and teasing. "Tell me what you want. Say it."

"I'm yours," you gasped, the words spilling from your lips without hesitation. "I belong to you, Jace."

"That's right," he murmured, satisfaction lacing his tone as he leaned over you, his chest brushing against your back. His lips grazed your ear, sending shivers down your spine. "You'll always be mine. No one else can ever touch you like this."

His hand slid from your hair to your shoulder, holding you firmly in place as he continued to take you with an intensity that left you breathless. Your cries grew louder, blending with the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the rhythm of his movements driving you closer and closer to the edge.

"Come for me," he commanded, his voice a rough whisper against your ear. "Let go, my love. Show me you're mine."

With one final thrust, your body gave in, the overwhelming pleasure pulling you under as your release shattered through you. Your cry of ecstasy echoed into the night, and Jace wasn't far behind, his groan of satisfaction vibrating through you as he followed you over the edge.

He collapsed over you, his arms wrapping around your waist as you both panted, trying to catch your breath. For a moment, the world was still, the only sound the gentle lapping of waves against the shore.

Jace shifted slightly, pulling you into his arms as he whispered, "You're mine, now and always. Don't ever forget that."

You nodded weakly, resting your head against his chest as the warmth of his body shielded you from the cool night air. "I'll never forget," you murmured, your voice soft but certain.

As the two of you lay together on the sandy shore, wrapped in each other's embrace, you felt a deep sense of belonging that no words could ever fully capture. Jace's arms were wrapped tightly around you, his chest pressed firmly against your back as the cold sand beneath you made you shiver.

His warmth was a comfort, but your body was trembling from exhaustion, your breathing uneven from everything he had already put you through.

You felt his hand trail down your leg, gripping your thigh as he lifted it slightly. The movement sent a jolt through your already tired body. "Jace.." you whispered weakly, your voice barely audible over the sound of the waves. "Please... I can't. Not anymore..."

He chuckled softly, the sound low and husky in your ear. "You can," he murmured, his breath warm against your skin. "You're strong, my love. You were made for me-for this."

"Jace, no," you pleaded, your hand weakly gripping his wrist as he positioned himself behind you. "I'm so tired... Please..."

But he didn't stop. Slowly, deliberately, he began to move again, his motions gentle but unrelenting. "You can take it," he said softly, his lips brushing against your ear. "You're mine. You were made to take everything I give you."

You whimpered, your body responding to him despite your exhaustion. His free hand trailed along your waist, his fingers tracing patterns on your skin as he whispered, "You're perfect like this. So soft, so beautiful... and all mine."

Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes as your body surrendered to him once more.

"Jace... I..."

"Shh," he interrupted, his voice soothing but firm. "No more protests. Just let me take care of you."

His movements remained slow and calculated, each one sending waves of both pleasure and frustration through you. Your body was exhausted, but the way he touched you, the way he moved, made it impossible to resist him.

"You feel that?" he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "This is us. This is how we're meant to be. Together. Always."

You could only nod weakly, your body melting into his as he continued to move. He pressed a kiss to your shoulder, his hand gripping your hip tightly as he pulled you closer to him.

"I love you," he whispered, his voice breaking slightly as his pace quickened. "And I'll never let you go. You're mine, now and forever."

His words sent a shiver down your spine, and despite your exhaustion, you found yourself clinging to him, your body responding to his every move. As the waves crashed against the shore, you lost yourself in him once more, your heart and soul entirely his.

The cold air wrapped around you, but it was nothing compared to the heat of Jace's body pressed against yours. Your limbs were heavy, your strength long gone, yet Jace's frustration drove him forward. His hands gripped your hips tightly as he pulled you onto his lap, your back flush against his chest, and you could feel his ragged breaths against your neck.

"Jace..." you whimpered weakly, your voice trembling. "Please... I-"

He silenced you with a sharp thrust, pulling a loud cry from your lips as your head fell back onto his shoulder. His laughter was low and rough, resonating against your skin as he pressed a kiss to the side of your neck. "You're too perfect when you're like this," he murmured, his voice filled with both adoration and desperation. "I can't stop-not when you're mine like this."

Your fingers clawed at his thighs, searching for something to anchor yourself as he moved faster and deeper, his pace merciless. Every movement sent waves of pleasure crashing over you, his name falling from your lips in broken cries.

"Jace... it's too much," you pleaded, but your body betrayed you, arching against him as he hit that perfect spot once again.

He chuckled darkly, his hands sliding from your hips to wrap around your stomach, holding you in place as he drove into you. "Too much?" he teased, his voice dripping with mockery. "Yet here you are, clenching around me, begging for more with every little sound you make."

You shook your head, tears forming in your eyes as the intensity overwhelmed you. "Jace, please..."

"Please what?" he growled, his lips brushing against your ear. "Do you want me to stop? To let you go?"

"No!" you gasped, your voice cracking as your hands flew to his arms, gripping them tightly. "Don't stop... just... don't stop..."

"That's what I thought," he said with a triumphant smirk, his pace growing even more brutal. "You're mine, love. No one else gets to see you like this, to hear those sounds you make, to feel you like this. Just me."

Your body trembled uncontrollably, his words and actions pushing you closer to the edge.

Jace groaned as he felt you tighten around him, his grip on you tightening as well. "That's it," he growled. "Let go for me. Scream for me. Show me you're mine"

With one final thrust, the pleasure consumed you, and your cries echoed through the air as you fell apart in his arms. Jace followed soon after, his deep groan filling your ears as he buried himself inside you one last time.

You collapsed against him, your body limp and shaking, but he didn't let go. Instead, he held you close, pressing soft kisses to your shoulder and neck as your breathing slowly returned to normal. "You're perfect," he murmured against your skin. "Everything about you is mine, and I'll never let you go."

You nodded weakly, too drained to respond with words. In his arms, even amidst the overwhelming sensations, you felt safe. For better or worse, you were his, and he made sure you never forgot it.

The first light of dawn filtered through the mouth of the cave, casting faint golden rays against the rugged walls. You caught a glimpse of it as your gaze wandered, but Jace wasn't interested in the approaching day.

His focus remained solely on you. His breaths were heavy and filled with determination as he stood, his strong arms lifting your exhausted body as if you weighed nothing.

"Jace.." you murmured, your voice weak but laced with exhaustion and yearning.

He didn't answer. Instead, his lips grazed your ear, and he whispered, "I'm not done with you yet."

The words sent a shiver down your spine as he adjusted your legs around his waist, holding you tightly against him. Your body responded instinctively, and your head fell onto his shoulder as he positioned himself once more.

The moment he entered you, a loud gasp escaped your lips. The new angle made you feel every inch of him, and your arms clung tightly around his neck for support. Jace groaned deeply, his face buried in the crook of your neck as he began to move. Each thrust was firm, deep, and deliberate, his pace quickening as he felt your body adjust to his.

Your head tilted back slightly, resting against the cool rock wall as the sensations coursed through you. "Jace... we shouldn't..." you managed to say between gasps, your words faltering under the overwhelming pleasure.

"Shouldn't?" he repeated, his voice rough with amusement and desire. His hips snapped forward, making you cry out. "You think I care about what we should or shouldn't do right now? The world can wait, but I won't."

His strength was unrelenting, and the way he moved left you at his mercy. He held you steady, his hands gripping your thighs as your back pressed against the cave wall. The harsh texture of the stone was softened by the warmth of his body shielding you, and though the position should've been uncomfortable, the sensations were too intense for you to focus on anything else.

"You're mine," Jace growled, his teeth grazing your shoulder as his movements became faster and rougher. "Every part of you belongs to me. Don't ever forget that."

Your cries filled the cave, blending with the sound of the distant waves crashing against the shore outside. "I-I won't," you stammered, your voice trembling as you struggled to hold onto any coherent thought. "I'm yours, Jace. Only yours."

Hearing your admission sent him over the edge, his groans growing louder as he pounded into you with abandon. He could feel your body trembling, your walls tightening around him as another wave of pleasure threatened to overwhelm you. "That's it," he whispered harshly. "Let go for me again."

You couldn't hold back. With a loud, shuddering cry, you surrendered to the euphoria, your entire body quaking in his arms.

Jace followed closely behind, his release spilling into you as he held you tightly against him. His breathing was ragged, his face buried in your neck as he slowly came down from his high.

The world was silent except for the sound of your labored breaths. Jace shifted slightly, keeping you in his arms as he stepped away from the wall and gently lowered you onto the soft sand. He hovered over you, brushing a strand of hair from your face as he gazed down at you with a mixture of love and pride.

"You're incredible," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "I don't think I'll ever get enough of you."

You managed a weak smile, your fingers brushing against his cheek. "The sun's up," you said softly, your voice still shaky. "They'll wonder where we are..."

"Let them wonder," Jace replied with a smirk, leaning down to capture your lips in another slow, lingering kiss. "For now, you're mine. And I'm not letting you go."

It had been hours since the first light of dawn broke through the mouth of the cave, yet Jace showed no signs of exhaustion. His pace was relentless, his movements fast and rough, leaving you utterly at his mercy.

Your body was weak and trembling beneath him, each thrust sending shockwaves through your already overstimulated senses. You could barely catch your breath, your cries of pleasure and frustration filling the cave as you clung to him for support.

"Jace... please," you whimpered, your voice hoarse from the constant moans and cries he'd drawn from you. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes, both from the overwhelming sensations and the sheer intensity of his movements. "I can't... I can't take it anymore."

But Jace only laughed, the sound low and rough, filled with satisfaction as he watched you fall apart beneath him. His dark eyes were full of desire as he leaned closer, his lips brushing against your ear. "Look at you," he murmured, his voice thick with pride. "Completely ruined. All because of me. Do you know how beautiful you look like this? So weak, so vulnerable... so mine."

You tried to respond, but the words caught in your throat as another wave of pleasure crashed over you. Your back arched off the sand, your fingers clutching at his shoulders as he continued his merciless pace. Jace groaned deeply, clearly reveling in the way your body responded to him despite your exhaustion.

"Stop? You're asking me to stop now?" he taunted, his tone playful yet dominating. His hands gripped your hips tightly, pulling you closer to him as he moved even deeper. "Not until you've given me everything. Every last cry, every last moan... every last piece of you."

You could only gasp in response, your head falling back as the sensations overwhelmed you. Your body felt like it was on fire, every nerve ending alive and tingling as he pushed you to the edge once again. "Jace... I can't..." you whispered, tears streaming down your face as your body trembled beneath him.

But he was unrelenting. His lips found your neck, peppering it with rough kisses and sharp bites as his hands explored your body. "Yes, you can," he growled against your skin. "You were made for this. Made for me. And you'll take everything I give you."

You cried out again as he adjusted his angle, hitting a spot that made you see stars. Your walls clenched tightly around him, drawing a deep groan from his lips. He was close, you could feel it in the way his movements became even more frantic, his breathing heavy and uneven.

"That's it," he rasped, his voice filled with both urgency and desperation. "Come for me again. One more time. Let me feel you fall apart around me."

You had no choice but to obey. With a loud, shuddering cry, you surrendered to the pleasure, your body convulsing as waves of ecstasy washed over you. Jace followed moments later, his groan echoing in the cave as he buried himself deep within you, his release warm and overwhelming.

For a moment, neither of you moved, both of you breathing heavily as the intensity of the moment began to fade. Jace finally collapsed beside you, pulling you into his arms as he pressed a kiss to your damp forehead. "You're perfect," he whispered, his voice filled with a tenderness that contradicted the roughness of his actions moments ago.

You managed a weak smile, your fingers brushing against his cheek. "You're insatiable," you murmured, your voice barely audible.

"And you wouldn't have me any other way," Jace replied with a smirk, his fingers gently tracing patterns along your back. "Rest now, my love. Because when we return to the castle, I'll remind you all over again who you belong to."

The soft light of dawn illuminated the path as Jace carefully helped you into your gown. His hands were gentle, his touch lingering on your skin as he adjusted the fabric to ensure it sat perfectly. Once you were dressed, he bent down and scooped you up into his arms without hesitation.

Your legs were far too weak to carry you back to the castle after everything the two of you had shared that night. You sighed softly, resting your head against his shoulder, hiding your face in the crook of his neck as he began the journey back.

The air was still and cool as the two of you entered the grand hall of Dragonstone. The moment you stepped inside, the familiar voices of Rhaenyra and Daemon echoed through the chamber. They were engaged in quiet conversation by the fire, but their words trailed off the moment they noticed the two of you.

Rhaenyra’s eyes narrowed slightly as she took in the sight of you in Jace’s arms, your cheeks flushed and your head tucked against his shoulder. Beside her, Daemon arched a brow, a knowing smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. The two exchanged a glance, one filled with unspoken understanding, before their expressions shifted into subtle amusement.

“Finally decided to return, have you?” Rhaenyra said, her tone light but tinged with a teasing edge. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she folded her arms across her chest. “I was beginning to wonder if you two had gotten lost on the beach.”

Jace didn’t stop or even acknowledge her words. He strode past them without pause, his focus solely on you. “She needs rest,” he said simply, his voice firm yet protective. “It’s been a… long night.”

Daemon let out a low chuckle, shaking his head as he watched the two of you disappear down the corridor. “A long night indeed,” he murmured under his breath, his smirk growing wider. Rhaenyra glanced at him, her lips twitching as she suppressed a laugh of her own.

“Young love,” she said softly, though there was warmth in her voice.

Back in your shared chambers, Jace gently laid you down on the bed, brushing a strand of hair away from your face as you looked up at him with tired eyes. “You should’ve let me walk,” you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper.

He shook his head, leaning down to press a soft kiss to your forehead. “Not a chance,” he said firmly. “You’re mine to take care of. Now rest, my love. You’ll need your strength for tonight.”

You let out a soft laugh despite your exhaustion, reaching up to cup his cheek. “You’re insufferable,” you teased, though there was nothing but affection in your tone.

“And you’re perfect,” he replied with a small smile, his hand covering yours. “Now sleep.”

You stirred awake, the hazy remnants of sleep still clouding your mind. It wasn't the soft rays of sunlight filtering through the curtains that had woken you but the gentle movements of your body. Blinking slowly, you opened your eyes, your vision adjusting to the dimly lit chamber.

Jace was there, his body hovering over yours, his face illuminated by a tender, almost reverent expression. He moved with slow, deliberate care, as if afraid that he might disturb you from your rest. Yet the sensations coursing through your body betrayed him, pulling you fully from your slumber. You let out a moan, involuntary sigh, and your fingers instinctively reached up to brush against his cheek.

His lips curled into a lopsided smile as his eyes met yours. "I was trying not to wake you," he murmured, his voice low and warm, carrying a tinge of amusement. His hand caressed the curve of your side, his thumb drawing soft circles on your skin, sending shivers down your spine.

"You call this not waking me?" you whispered breathlessly, your voice barely audible as you felt his every touch, every movement. There was no annoyance in your tone, only a teasing edge as you gazed up at him with tired but adoring eyes.

He chuckled softly, the sound vibrating in his chest as he leaned down, brushing his lips lightly against your temple. "You looked too peaceful, too beautiful," he confessed, his breath warm against your skin. "I couldn't help myself. It's impossible to resist you."

You moan again, your body relaxing beneath his as your fingers slid into his hair, tugging gently. "You're impossible," you said, though your words lacked any real weight. Instead, they were laced with affection, your heart swelling at the sight of him looking down at you with such devotion.

Jace's movements remained slow, tender, as if savoring every moment, every sound you made. His hand traveled down to rest on your waist, gripping you gently as he tilted his head, his lips trailing soft kisses along your jawline. "I should've stopped," he murmured against your skin, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. "But the way you looked, lying there so serene... it drove me mad."

He let out a quiet laugh, your nails grazing his scalp as you closed your eyes, leaning into the feeling of his lips on your skin. "You're incorrigible," you teased, your words faltering slightly as his hand found a new spot to explore, his touch making your breath hitch.

"But I suppose... I don't mind."

His grin widened at your response, his lips finding yours in a slow, lingering kiss. "Good," he whispered against your mouth, his voice thick with affection and desire. "Because I'll never stop wanting you-not in the quiet of the morning, not in the dead of night. You're mine."

"Yours," you echoed, the word spilling from your lips as you gazed up at him, your hand cradling his face.

He pressed his forehead against yours, his movements steady and sure as he wrapped you in his love, leaving you both breathless, lost in the quiet intimacy of the early morning light.

Your gaze shifted toward the open window, where the sun hung high in the sky—a clear sign that morning had long passed. Before you could dwell on the thought, your attention was abruptly pulled back by a sharp, deliberate thrust from Jace, causing your body to arch slightly beneath him.

"Eyes on me," he murmured, his tone commanding yet laced with affection. His smile was both playful and possessive as he leaned closer, his hands gripping your hips firmly to keep you in place. "You don't get to drift away, my love—not when I have you like this."

You let out a soft whimper, your body surrendering entirely to him. His movements grew faster, each one more deliberate than the last. There was no hesitation, no restraint, just the steady rhythm of his devotion and desire.

"That's it," he praised, his voice warm and teasing as he watched your every reaction, his smile broadening at the sight of you. "You're so good for me... so obedient."

Your breath hitched at his words, your hands clutching the sheets beneath you as he continued. Jace noticed every little movement you made, the way your body responded to him without hesitation. It only encouraged him further, his grip tightening as he pushed deeper, faster, his focus entirely on you.

"Jace," you gasped, his name falling from your lips like a prayer.

"That's right," he replied, his voice thick with pride and hunger. "Say my name. Let me hear it, love."

His pace quickened, his thrusts hitting a spot that made your body shudder uncontrollably.

You arched your back, pressing into him as a wave of pleasure coursed through you. Jace leaned down, his lips brushing against your ear as he chuckled softly.

"You're perfect," he whispered, his breath warm against your skin. "My perfect wife... always so willing to give herself to me. I'll never get enough of you."

You could barely form a coherent response, your body consumed by the sensations he was drawing out of you. All you could do was hold on, your hands sliding up to grip his arms for support.

Jace's movements grew rougher, his determination evident in every powerful thrust. He groaned lowly, his voice thick with pleasure. "Look at you," he said, his tone tinged with adoration. "So beautiful, so utterly mine."

The room filled with the sounds of your ragged breaths and his deep groans, your body trembling beneath him as he brought you closer to the edge once more. With one final, deliberate motion, he sent you spiraling, your body arching beneath him as a cry of pleasure escaped your lips.

Jace slowed his movements slightly, his forehead resting against yours as he caught his breath. He smiled down at you, his hand brushing a stray strand of hair from your face.

"I love you," he murmured, his voice soft but filled with conviction.

"I love you too," you whispered, your voice trembling from the intensity of the moment.

The air in the room grew heavier, the sunlight pouring through the window almost forgotten as Jace's movements became more relentless. The pace he set was unyielding, his determination clear as he focused entirely on you. Your breaths turned to gasps, your gasps to cries, filling the space with the sound of your surrender.

"Jace," you moaned, your voice breaking as the pleasure surged through you. His hand gripped your waist tightly, steadying your trembling body as he continued to drive into you with purpose.

"You're so beautiful like this," he said between breaths, his tone a mix of adoration and possessiveness. "So loud for me... Let them all hear you. Let them know that only I can make you feel like this."

Your heart raced at his words, and before you could respond, Jace shifted his position. His hands slid down to grip your thigh, lifting one of your legs and resting it on his shoulder. The new angle sent a shockwave through your body, and you arched your back instinctively, a loud cry of his name escaping your lips.

"There she is," Jace growled, his voice thick with satisfaction as he pressed deeper. "That's my girl. Say my name again."

"Jace!" you cried, your hands clutching at the sheets beneath you as the intensity overwhelmed you.

"Good," he murmured, his smirk evident as he leaned closer, folding your body slightly to deepen the connection. His movements became harder, more deliberate, his focus entirely on pushing you to the edge.

Your head fell back, your vision blurred as the pleasure consumed you. You could barely think, barely breathe, your body responding entirely to him. "Please," you whispered, though you weren't sure what you were begging for.

"Please, what?" Jace teased, his voice low and rough as he slowed his movements just enough to make you whimper in frustration. "Tell me, love. What do you need?"

"You," you managed to gasp, your voice trembling. "I need you."

"You have me," he assured, his tone softening for a moment. "Always"

With that, he resumed his relentless pace, his hand gripping your thigh tighter to keep you in place. Every thrust was calculated, every movement designed to pull you closer to the edge until you were trembling beneath him, unable to contain the overwhelming sensation.

"Say it again," Jace demanded, his voice thick with need. "Say my name.'

"Jace!" you screamed, your body arching off the bed as another wave of pleasure crashed over you.

He groaned deeply, the sound vibrating through you as he watched you fall apart beneath him. "That's right," he said, his voice full of pride. "You're mine. Only mine."

His words were the final push you needed, and you shattered completely, your cries filling the room as your body trembled in his grasp. Jace didn't stop, riding out your high, your body too weak to resist as Jace repositioned you. His hands moved with purpose, lifting you gently before bending your body over the edge of the bed.

You braced yourself against the mattress, your muscles trembling as he took his place behind you.

"Look at you," Jace murmured, his voice low and dripping with satisfaction. He ran his hands down your back, tracing the curves of your body with a possessive touch. "The proud princess of Dorne, brought to her knees by her Targaryen husband."

Your breath hitched as he leaned forward, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear. "Doesn't it feel right, my love? You were made for this-for me."

Before you could respond, he began to move, his pace slow and deliberate, as if savoring the moment. The sensation pulled a soft whimper from your lips, and your fingers gripped the sheets beneath you for support.

"That's it," he said, his voice almost taunting as he quickened his rhythm. "So beautiful, so perfect like this."

Your body surrendered to him completely, the exhaustion from the night before mixing with the pleasure coursing through you. All you could do was moan softly, each sound spurring him on further.

Jace chuckled, his hand threading through your hair and tugging gently, forcing you to arch your back. "Look at you now," he continued, his tone teasing but full of pride.

"The fierce princess, bowing to her dragon." You couldn't find the words to respond, your mind clouded by the intensity of it all. He leaned closer, pressing a kiss to your shoulder before whispering in your ear. "Say it, love. Say you're mine."

"I'm yours," you managed to gasp, your voice barely above a whisper.

"Louder," he demanded, his grip on your hair tightening slightly as his movements became more urgent.

"I'm yours!" you cried, your voice echoing through the room.

"Good girl," he growled, his tone filled with satisfaction. He released your hair, his hand trailing down your back and gripping your waist firmly as he continued his relentless pace.

Your body trembled beneath him, each movement drawing you closer to the edge once again. Jace's laughter filled the air, his pride evident as he watched you fall apart under his touch. "No one else will ever have you like this," he said, his voice low and possessive. "You belong to me-forever."

You nodded weakly, unable to form a coherent response as he pushed you closer and closer to your limit. The combination of his words, his touch, and the intensity of the moment overwhelmed you completely, leaving you breathless and utterly at his mercy.

As you clung to the bed's edge, breathless and trembling, the knock on the door echoed loudly in the room. Both you and Jace froze for a moment, your eyes widening as you recognized the voice of his mother, Princess Rhaenyra.

"Jace," she called, her tone firm but laced with concern. "She needs her rest. Don't forget you've both had a long night."

You felt a rush of embarrassment wash over you, your cheeks burning as you buried your face into the pillow, hoping the mattress could somehow swallow you whole. But Jace, utterly unbothered, leaned forward, his chest pressing against your back as he whispered in your ear, his breath hot against your skin.

"Shhh," he teased, his voice low and playful.

"Let's see how quiet you can be, my love."

Before you could even respond, he shifted his grip on your hips and thrust deeply, hitting that spot that made your whole body jerk with pleasure. A strangled cry escaped your lips despite your best effort to stay silent.

"Jace!" you hissed through gritted teeth, your voice a mixture of a plea and frustration.

At the door, Rhaenyra sighed audibly, seemingly suspecting exactly what was happening. "Jacaerys Velaryon," she called again, her voice sterner this time. "Don't make me come in there."

But Jace only chuckled, his laugh low and rich with mischief. He moved his hand to your mouth, brushing his fingers gently against your lips. "Bite down if you must," he murmured, his tone dripping with amusement. "But you won't stop me."

You glared at him weakly, but your resolve was already crumbling as he began moving again, his pace deliberate and calculated to draw every sound from your lips.

"She'll leave," he whispered, his lips brushing your ear. "Eventually."

Despite the knock and the muffled voice on the other side of the door, Jace seemed determined to push you to your limits. He quickened his movements, his hands steadying your trembling body.

"Let her hear," he muttered, his voice dark and possessive. "Let her know you're mine. Completely. Utterly."

You tried to stifle your cries, biting down on your knuckle as Jace drove you higher and higher. Your body betrayed you, trembling and arching beneath his touch, a breathy moan escaping when he hit that devastating spot again.

"You're not very good at staying quiet, are you?" he teased, his grin evident even if you couldn't see it.

Outside the door, there was a pause, followed by a resigned sigh from Rhaenyra. "I'll have someone bring breakfast later," she muttered, her voice fading as she walked away.

Once the sound of her footsteps disappeared, Jace let out a triumphant laugh. "See? I told you she'd leave."

You could barely form a response, your mind hazy and your body too overwhelmed by the relentless pace he set. Jace leaned down, pressing a kiss to your temple. "Now, where were we?" he asked, a devilish grin on his face as he resumed his movements with renewed intensity.

As Jace shifted your position, turning you to face him, his hands gripped your hips firmly. His intense gaze locked onto yours, a fiery mixture of hunger and possession flickering in his eyes. His thumb brushed your cheek for a fleeting moment before he gripped your jaw, tilting your face upward to ensure you were looking at him-and only him.

"I want to see you," he growled, his voice low and thick with dominance. "Every moment. Every expression. I want to see how I ruin you."

Your breath hitched as his words sent a shiver down your spine. Before you could process them, he pulled you closer and buried himself deeply inside you, eliciting a loud gasp that filled the air between you.

"Jace..." you moaned, your voice trembling, your hands instinctively clutching his shoulders as though they were your only anchor.

"That's it," he murmured, his lips brushing yours in a teasing kiss before pulling away, leaving you chasing him. "Hold onto me. Take me in, every inch of me."

His movements grew sharper, more deliberate, as if determined to push you past the edge. He tightened his grip on your jaw, forcing your eyes to remain on his. "Don't look away," he commanded, his voice a mix of demand and adoration. "I want you to remember this. Every time I claim you, I want you to know who you belong to."

Your body arched beneath him as he quickened his pace, each thrust pulling a cry from your lips. "Jace," you whimpered, your voice breathy and strained, your body trembling under his relentless onslaught.

"Say it," he demanded, his tone fierce as he leaned closer, his forehead pressing against yours. "Say you're mine."

"I'm yours," you managed to breathe, your voice quivering with pleasure and submission.

"Only yours, Jace." He let out a low growl of satisfaction, his hands slipping to your waist and pulling you flush against him. "Good girl," he muttered, his lips grazing your ear before trailing kisses along your jaw.

Your body betrayed your every intention to hold back, clinging to him tightly as you felt yourself unraveling. "You're squeezing me so tightly," Jace teased, his voice a mixture of amusement and pride. "You don't want to stop, do you?"

You could only shake your head weakly, tears pricking the corners of your eyes from the overwhelming sensations he was coaxing from you. "i'm not willing to stop actually," he whispered.

As you reached your peak, your cries became louder, echoing through the room as Jace drove you to the edge and beyond. His name fell from your lips like a prayer, and his gaze never left yours, drinking in every ounce of your surrender.

When the wave finally passed, your body fell limp against him, trembling and spent. Jace gently brushed the damp strands of hair from your face, his expression softening as he pressed a lingering kiss to your forehead.

"You're perfect," he murmured, his voice a mixture of awe and satisfaction . "My perfect wife. My everything"

As you lay there, your body trembling and spent from the intensity of it all, Jace let out a low chuckle. His eyes glimmered with a mix of amusement and mischief as he continued moving, his pace steady and unrelenting.

"You've came so many times," he murmured, his tone almost teasing as he leaned down to brush his lips against your ear. "And yet I'm not done with you. Not even close."

Your body arched involuntarily at his words, a soft whimper escaping your lips. You felt helpless under his control, your limbs too weak to resist his every move. "Jace... please..." you whispered, your voice barely audible, laced with both exhaustion and desperation.

He smirked, clearly reveling in your state. "What's wrong, my love?" he asked, his voice dripping with mock concern. "Tired already? But I still need you... I still haven't come."

You turned your head slightly, your gaze drifting to the bedside table. There, the faint glint of a glass caught your attention. Your foggy mind struggled to piece it together, but the realization hit you like a wave. You knew what that glass contained. You knew what Jace had consumed before he brought you to this state.

"Jace..." you managed to breathe out, your eyes darting between him and the glass. "What did you... drink?"

He followed your gaze and let out another low chuckle, his hand sliding down to grip your waist as he continued his unrelenting pace.

"Ah, that," he said, his voice filled with amusement. "Let's just say I had a little help. Something to make sure I could keep up with you tonight. Or rather..." He leaned down, his lips brushing against your collarbone," something to make sure you couldn't keep up with me."

You gasped, your hands instinctively gripping his shoulders as another wave of pleasure coursed through your body. "Jace... that's not fair," you whimpered, your voice trembling as you felt yourself spiraling again.

"Not fair?" he echoed, feigning innocence as he pressed a kiss to your jaw. "What's not fair, my love? That I want to make you feel this good? That I want to take my time with you?" His pace quickened, drawing another cry from your lips. "You're mine, remember? And I'll have you however I want. For as long as I want."

Your body trembled beneath him, the combination of exhaustion and overwhelming sensations rendering you completely at his mercy. Despite your protests, a small part of you relished his relentless devotion to your pleasure.

"Jace... please," you whimpered again, your voice breaking as he pushed you closer to the edge once more.

He cupped your face with one hand, his thumb brushing against your cheek as he stared deeply into your eyes. "Shh," he murmured, his voice softening for a moment. "You can take it, my love. You were made for me. For this."

Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as you felt yourself unraveling again, his name spilling from your lips like a prayer.

The sound of the waves crashing outside the castle seemed to synchronize with the relentless rhythm of Jace's movements. Your body trembled violently, consumed by another wave of pleasure so intense it left you gasping for air. You couldn't stop the broken moan that escaped your lips as your body arched beneath him.

Jace let out a low chuckle, his breath warm against your neck. "Look at you," he murmured, his voice tinged with amusement and pride. "Completely undone, all because of me." His eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he watched you shatter beneath him, your body quivering uncontrollably.

"Jace..." you whimpered, your voice trembling as tears pricked the corners of your eyes. "Please... I can't..."

But he didn't stop. He couldn't. His movements were fast and demanding, his hands gripping your hips tightly to keep you in place. "Oh, no, my love," he said, his tone soft but commanding. "You're not done yet. Not until I decide."

You felt yourself slipping into another wave of unbearable bliss, your hands clutching at the sheets beneath you as you cried out his name. Your entire body felt like it was on fire, and the intensity of it all left you weak and vulnerable.

"Please, Jace," you pleaded, tears streaming down your cheeks as your body betrayed you, responding to him despite your exhaustion. "I can't take any more. Please... stop."

He leaned down, his lips brushing against your ear as he whispered, "Oh, you can take it. You were made for me, remember? For this. For me." His voice was laced with possessiveness, each word sending a shiver down your spine.

His pace quickened, drawing another sharp cry from you. Jace smirked, clearly enjoying the way your body responded to him, no matter how much you begged for mercy. "So beautiful," he murmured, his tone softening for a moment as he pressed a kiss to your temple. "So perfect."

"Jace, please!" you cried out again, your voice breaking as another wave of ecstasy crashed over you, leaving you sobbing in pleasure.

"Shh," he cooed, his hand gently brushing your hair away from your face as he continued to move within you, his pace unrelenting. "Just let go, my love. Let me take care of you."

Your body shook uncontrollably as he pushed you to your limit, your cries echoing through the room. Jace groaned deeply, his grip on you tightening as he finally began to chase his own release. His movements became more erratic, his breath ragged as he buried himself deeper into you.

When he finally reached his peak, his body shuddered against yours, a deep groan rumbling in his chest. He collapsed beside you, pulling you into his arms as you lay there, completely spent.

Jace pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, his hand stroking your back soothingly. "You're incredible," he whispered, his voice filled with adoration. "I'll never get enough of you."

As the exhaustion consumed you, your body still trembling from the aftershocks, Jace held you close, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

"Rest now, my love," he murmured, his voice soft and tender. "You've earned it."

You fell into a deep sleep, your body utterly spent and trembling with exhaustion. Jace watched over you, his chest tightening with a mix of guilt and affection. He gently swept a strand of hair from your damp forehead, leaning down to press a soft, lingering kiss there. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, his voice barely audible. “I’ll take better care of you.”

Carefully, Jace slipped out of the bed, his every movement cautious so as not to disturb your rest. He picked up his discarded tunic from the floor and slipped it over his shoulders, sparing one last glance at you. The sight of you so vulnerable and at peace made his heart ache with both pride and regret. Determined to make amends, he decided to fetch food and drink for you, knowing you’d wake hungry and drained.

As he made his way through the corridors of Dragonstone, his footsteps echoed faintly against the stone walls. His mind replayed the events of the previous night, a mix of satisfaction and shame swirling within him. He hadn’t intended to push you so far, but his passion and love for you often made him lose control.

When Jace entered the grand hall, he immediately froze. His mother, Rhaenyra, was standing near the table with her hands clasped in front of her. Her sharp gaze cut through him, her expression a blend of disapproval and subtle amusement. Beside her stood Daemon, who, in stark contrast, had a wide smirk plastered across his face.

Daemon was the first to break the silence, clapping his hands slowly as his laughter echoed through the hall. “Well, well, well,” he drawled, his tone dripping with mockery. “Look who finally emerged. I was beginning to think you’d taken permanent residence in that bedchamber.”

Jace’s face turned a deep shade of red, and he ran a hand through his messy hair, his embarrassment palpable. “Daemon,” he said tightly, trying to maintain his composure.

Rhaenyra’s lips pressed into a thin line as she looked him up and down, her eyes lingering on the faint red marks on his neck. “Jacaerys Velaryon,” she said sharply, her voice carrying the weight of a reprimand. “You’re my heir, and as such, you’re expected to conduct yourself with a certain level of decorum.”

Daemon let out another chuckle, waving a dismissive hand. “Oh, come now, Rhaenyra,” he said, his grin widening. “Let the boy enjoy his marriage. Don’t act as if we were any different.” He turned to Jace with a wink. “Your mother may try to deny it, but I can assure you, we were far from discreet when we first wed. Isn’t that right, my love?”

Rhaenyra shot him a glare, her cheeks tinged with the faintest hint of pink. “That’s hardly the point, Daemon,” she retorted, though her tone was less sharp now.

Daemon smirked, clearly enjoying himself. “The point,” he said, turning back to Jace, “is that you’re young and in love. Passion like this is rare, and it’s not something to be ashamed of. Just… perhaps be mindful of the volume next time, hmm? The walls here aren’t as thick as you might think.”

Jace’s ears burned with humiliation, and he quickly looked away, mumbling, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Rhaenyra sighed, her expression softening slightly. “Jace,” she said, her voice quieter now. “I know you care for her deeply, but she’s not as resilient as you might think. Don’t push her too hard. She’s not just your wife—she’s your partner. Treat her with the care she deserves.”

“I will, Mother,” Jace said earnestly, meeting her gaze. “I promise.”

Daemon clapped a hand on Jace’s shoulder, his grin never wavering. “Good lad,” he said. “Now go take care of her. And next time, perhaps don’t look so guilty when you wander into the hall. It makes things far too easy for us.”

Jace nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips despite his embarrassment. He continued on his way to the kitchens, quickly gathering a tray of food and drink before returning to your chamber.

When he entered the room and saw you still peacefully sleeping, a wave of love washed over him. Setting the tray down, he sat beside you, brushing a gentle hand over your cheek. As he watched you, he silently vowed to be the husband you deserved—one who cherished you, protected you, and loved you with every fiber of his being.

Tag list : @danytar @julessworldd @hangmanscoming @yazzzmints @giirlinblack @searatarg @vaelry

[sunnibits]

very random rambling real quick but god today it’s really hitting home today how crazy special and significant it is that school is like,, actually a safe space for me now. like, I’ve obviously been conscious of how much more enjoyable and comfortable I feel here compared to the rest of my school experience, but it wasn’t until I was talking to my mom in the car saying like “yeah well I’d rather be in class today then depressed by myself alone, I have my favorite class today and I need that right now” and she commented on how glad she is that my college is a safe space for me. and I was just like. damn. I didn’t even think about it like that but that’s actually so insane?? bc like??? school has very much NOT been a safe space for me for a loooong, long time.

school was always some place I wanted to escape any chance I got, somewhere I dreaded going to, a place that made me feel deeply uncomfortable and depressed all the goddamn time, something that I didn’t want to be involved in any more than I needed to. so the fact that going to my classes for college not only feels comfortable, but actually feels GOOD???? like, I actually feel better after engaging in that environment?? that’s just,, such an incomprehensibly drastic change for me, and the impact it’s had on my daily life is really evident. it’s really a feeling that I truly never thought I’d get to experience again, and I am so deeply fucking grateful to have it.

so, yknow, I guess it’s just something that I really don’t take for granted, and something that I’m so glad I get to have especially in times like this. I honestly don’t know how I would have coped if I’d had to attend some shitty high school class today half-full of Republican boys and teachers that refuse to correct them, desperately trying to grit my teeth and keep my head down and not think about how angry, disrespected and unsafe I feel. I’m so relieved that I made the right decision by going here. I’m so happy I get to have a good school experience again instead of permanently ending on the incredibly sour note of my senior year. and I’m so, SO fucking relieved to be surrounded by a community that I can actually feel safe in, and truly be a part of.

anyways. I love art school <3

[caffeinewitchcraft]

AITA for divorcing my vampire husband because he lied to me about his human job?

I (542 vampire) and my husband (260 vampire) have been together for a little over two centuries. There’s a saying in the vampiric community that it takes a century for a tryst to become an enduring partnership and another century to become soulmates. I thought that was true and that Matthew (using his real name because fuck you, Matthew) and I would be together forever…until this week.

First, let me explain a few things to the mortals here. I don’t mean that negatively – I came here specifically to get the opinion of those with a finite lifespan. However, I want to be fair to Matthew as much as possible and some of his decisions are very immortal-minded.

Both Matthew and I are vampires who have chosen to forsake some of our powers in exchange for the ability to daywalk. We made the transition together on our 100th anniversary almost 115 years ago. It wasn’t an easy transition for me. I was very dependent on human blood and I spent the first twenty years in almost constant sleep as my body adjusted to running off of less lunar magic and more solar magic.

It really felt like I was losing everything. My body got physically weaker and my powers began to disappear one by one. It felt like every time I woke, another part of me was missing. One day I could turn into a wolf, the next I could barely turn into a vapor. I could command a legion of undying servants, and then I could barely convince the mailman he didn’t see me levitate down from the second floor.

Matthew, however, took to daywalking like a werewolf to a sheep farm. He barely seemed to feel the pain of losing his power, maybe because he was so much younger than me. Whatever the case, he was out all the time once he stabilized. He would be gone for days sometimes and when he came back it was with fantastic stories about the humans’ new inventions or the new structures being built in whatever town we were in.

I’m not saying I regret transitioning. Just that Matthew and I had very different experiences. It felt like he barely changed at all while my entire being got rewritten. Being immortal makes you comfortable in your own skin. I never doubted myself or my power after I turned 100. But becoming a daywalker made me feel like I was being born as a human again. It was humiliating and vulnerable. I have to admit there were times I resented how easily Matthew did it. I blamed him for not supporting me like I thought he should. I would daydream about draining a human in front of him, showing him what I thought of his fascination with them. I had all sorts of vile and vengeful thoughts. I’m not proud of the person I was and now I’m grateful Matthew wasn’t there to see the lows I sunk to.

Despite all my awful thoughts, I didn’t quit. I don’t know why, but I didn’t. I stuck with it and, day by day, things got easier.

After 26 years I began to stabilize. The benefits of being a daywalker slowly blossomed before me.  Now I can say that I am completely happy with my daywalker status and all the changes it’s brought.

I am the most mentally stable I have been since my Turning in 1482. It’s like I’m awake. The fits of rage that used to consume me for months at a time have completely disappeared. I don’t experience the same level of obsession I used to which has freed up a lot of my time that I used to spend stalking my victims.

However, that drastic of a change would be challenging in any relationship. Matthew and I ended up together because of my obsessive nature. Our relationship became strained when that part of me went dormant. He expected me to follow his immersion into the human world just as I had followed him in his revenge quest against his Master. He expected me to support him wholeheartedly and with everything I was. He wanted sacrifices from me that I used to not even flinch at before making. But something was just…different. We wanted different things. I wanted different things.

Matthew was obsessed with being the perfect human. He craved full immersion. He still makes it a point to get a human job every twenty years or so. Me? I’m happy to live off our investments and some mild mind control while enjoying the art and theater community the humans have evolved.

It got bad. Some years, we spent like ghosts in our own house, drifting by each other without a glance. Other years, it was like we were spies behind enemy lines. He would do whatever he could to thwart me and I would go out of my way to ridicule him. Our vitriol poisoned the earth. Matthew didn’t speak to me for a full decade when that poison killed off an entire town.

About twenty years ago, it all came to a head. We had a serious sit-down talk about our relationship. It wasn’t easy. What they say about teaching an old dog new tricks is sometimes true. Matthew wanted me to be as involved with the humans as he was. He wanted me to care about them like he did. I wanted him to travel with me like we used to and not just hop from town to neighboring town (which he did to maintain a human identity with references so he could keep working). When it became clear that we were at an impasse, I brought up the idea of separation.

Separating in the vampiric world isn’t easy. There are a lot of alliances and blood oaths to be considered. Over the two centuries we spent together, we became known as a unit to a number of supernatural entities that we maintain an uneasy truce with. Separating would mean creating new oaths and alliances with the same individuals. And there was no guarantee that those individuals would make new pacts with both of you. A LOT of vampire couples end up in blood feuds while separating. Neither of us wanted that.

There was also, of course, the emotional side of things. While a lot of immortals tend to only feel muted emotions (especially vampires as old as me), Daywalking had made both of us more sensitive than we’d been before. We were both attached to the memories we shared and neither of us could imagine life without the other. After 200 years together, it felt like Matthew was my right arm, and I his. When I brought up separation, we both felt it like we were discussing an amputation.

After about a year of talking, we finally reached an agreement. We didn’t want to separate, and so we would compromise. I wouldn’t interfere with any of Matthew’s human jobs for the 15-17 years if he could hold them without arousing suspicion. In exchange, he would take a year off to go traveling with me before finding another town for us to live in. In between my trips, he would go to plays and galas with me to enjoy human artistry at least once a month.

Maybe our deal was in his favor. At the time, it felt practical and fair. A year of traveling wouldn’t undo Matthew’s string of connections. We would still see each other frequently by going on dates that I liked. Matthew would get to stay immersed in the human world at the level he wanted, and I could stay within my comfort zone.

Which brings me to my current problem.

We are currently at the start of one of Matthew’s work cycles. He’s been everything from a fireman to a politician to a subway worker to a barista. He craves knowledge and connection to a terrifying degree. If it weren’t for how we move every 20 years and he goes without protest, I’d call it obsession.

This cycle, Matthew told me he was going to be a teacher. I was hesitant. While the humans have become more tolerant and less violent over the years, that doesn’t mean they will tolerate us near their young. Enough humans know about vampires that staking in the modern era is a real possibility. Matthew could incite an angry mob against us or, heaven forbid, get a vampire hunter on our tail. I have yet to be shot, but I hear that they have silver bullets that hurt like Hell.

When I voiced my protests, Matthew reminded me about our agreement. He said that I wouldn’t interfere with his jobs and he’d go to all the plays I liked. He even pointed out that, as a teacher, he could get us into high school plays and expositions. I was uneasy, but agreements are penultimate to immortals. I silenced my objections and let him get a job as a science teacher at a local high school.

When Michael has had jobs in the past, I’ve never really paid attention. One time he was a state senator for ten years and I never even heard him speak. I didn’t consider it worth my time to hear whatever his facsimile of a human would say. Real humanity is in the art they create, not in the parody Michael enacts.

But this one…I couldn’t ignore this one. Maybe it was because I was still uneasy about his proximity to human young or maybe I could sense his lies even at the beginning. Whatever the case, I watched him.

The first thing I noticed was the hours. He would go to work early and would often come home when it was time for us to sleep. When I asked him about it, he said that he wasn’t used to grading and that he had underestimated what it took to put a good lesson plan together. I visited some online forums and that’s apparently reasonable for first year teachers.

He would also sometimes go in on the weekends. He missed one of our dates because there was a “grading emergency” that needed his immediate attention. Something about a student’s test getting lost and then found and he needed to input their grade before the deadline which was on Saturday. Humans like silly rules like that so I didn’t even look that one up. I just reminded him that he couldn’t miss our dates again or else he was breaking our deal. He apologized and said it wouldn’t happen again.

Then about three months into his new job, the phone calls started. We have a private room in our house for when we need to talk without any visitors overhearing. Michael moved all his school supplies in there, saying that he needed a silent space to concentrate on his grading. Whenever he got a call, he would never answer it in front of me. Instead, he’d say “Sorry, work” and just go into his office.

I also noticed that he didn’t dress very professionally. Human fashion changes quickly so it didn’t register at first. A sweatshirt here and there slipped past me, and also the Gucci slides. When he started wearing baggy jeans and jerseys to work, I noticed. I may not be up to date on all the newest fashions, but I do go to classy events. I know what a slob looks like and it didn’t sit right with me that he was wearing that to school. When I asked him about it, he always had an excuse. “This is what everyone wears” and “It’s a theme day” or, bafflingly, “It’s spirit week!”

I tried to leave it alone. The reason we have stayed together for so long is because of our agreement to not interfere in each other’s lives. But between his hours, the phone calls, and his appearance, something didn’t add up.

Then, last Thursday, he missed another one of our dates. We were supposed to go to the Nutcracker together. Even though I prefer matinees (when the cast is fresh), I agreed to get us tickets for the evening show so that he wouldn’t have to leave work early. When he wasn’t there at 7pm, I called him and he didn’t answer. Then, when I called him again, his phone was switched off.

I was furious. I spend nearly two decades in these tiny towns so he can live his human fantasy and he can’t even show up for one two hour show? It was the first time since becoming a daywalker that I felt that angry. I was scared about what I might do, so I made myself go home to wait for him.

Only, he never came home that night. At 3am, he sent me a text apologizing and promising to make up our date on Saturday. But the Nutcracker was only playing until Friday and that would be too little, too late. To be honest, it already was. I texted him that and he never responded.

He never ended up coming home last weekend. I texted and called him probably a dozen times and he never responded. I got angrier and angrier as the days dragged by. Did he think I was someone to be taken lightly? Did he not realize that the fragile agreement between us was all that was keeping us from separation?

Yesterday (Monday), I couldn’t take it anymore. If he wasn’t going to come home or respond to my messages, then I would go to him. If he was so obsessed with this new job that he would ignore me for it, then I knew exactly where to find him.

I arrived at his school at 10am. I researched enough to know how to go to the office and sign myself in. I asked the office assistant which room Mr. Duetto was in.

The lovely young woman looked confused. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give that information out to anyone but family,” she said.

“I am his only family,” I said.

She clicked a few more keys and looked more confused. “His paperwork only shows his mother, Delilah Duetto.”

That’s right. His mother. But I still didn’t understand then.

“That’s me,” I said.

“You are not the mother of 17-year-old.”

“I’m his wife,” I said.

She was upset by that. I won’t bore you with every detail, but I had to alter her memories so she wouldn’t call the police. I may not look like someone who has a teenager, but I also don’t look like a teenager. I ended up having to alter her memories so she wouldn’t call human CPS on an apparent adult swearing she was married to a minor.

I went home and broke into his office. There weren’t any lesson plans. There were no graded papers. There were syllabus from different classes, homework with his name on it, and a few polaroids taped to the bottom of his desk of him at a party with children.

Human children. I don’t honestly know which is worse.

(EDIT: I know the child part is the worst part. I misspoke because of my anger. It’s not the humans’ fault that my husband is a pervert.)

I broke into his laptop and used that to check his text messages. He’s been texting like a high schooler. He’s been to parties with them, listened to their problems and even fabricated a few of his own. He’s caught in some sort of weird love triangle where a freshman girl likes him but his “best friend” likes her. He has texted both of them about it, promising his “bro” that nothing is happening and then turning around and leading this girl-child on.

Some choice quotes: I should know better than to get close with you. You and I come from very different worlds

To which she replied, lol maybe we should let our worlds collide

!!!!

I find the entire situation disgusting. Matthew is several centuries older than them and he definitely knows better. He’s literally wearing the sheep’s fleece amongst the flock. He has no business forming relationships with human children and even less pretending to be one of them. He’s not a baby. He is over two centuries old!

What is he doing flirting with a child? It’s vile and disgusting and I was set to kill him for it.

I confronted him about it when he came home last night. I told him that he was sick and dangerous and if he loved humans then he needed to stop immediately. I told him we either left town today or I would make sure he never set foot back in that school in a way he really wouldn’t like.

 He threw a huge tantrum over my invading his privacy. He shouted at me that I had broken my promise to never interfere in his job. He called me controlling and crazy.

I told him he was the crazy one for chatting up a child. He told me he wasn’t, she was just his friend. I asked him to read their texts out loud if he was being so friendly. I also pointed out that there was no way a 260-year-old vampire is a child’s friend.

He told me I was a hypocrite because I basically cradle robbed him (we’re almost 300 years apart.) He said if anyone was disgusting, it was me for taking advantage of him.

I pointed out that he wasn’t a child, he was over 60 and had already been a vampire for four decades. He argued that that was basically being a child in vampire terms.

I was so angry at that point that the house was shaking. I told him if he felt that way, then we could get divorced right then and there. That that was what I wanted to do anyway because I couldn’t be married to a pedophile.

He asked me if I was seriously going to start a blood feud over him immersing himself in human society. I said no, I’m starting a blood feud because he’s become every predatory stereotype humans have of vampires.

He called me a hypocrite again and told me he was leaving. He said not to call him unless I was ready to apologize. I told him that the next time he sees me, he’d better run before I showed him the real difference between us. And it wasn’t just 300 years.

When I calmed down, doubt started creeping in. From an immortal perspective, what he’s doing isn’t really wrong. I hate to say it, but most immortals don’t view human lives as significant. I know a few vampires who would say that divorcing because he’s playing with his food is idiotic.

Plus, there’s the agreement to consider. During our fight, Matthew pointed out that being a student is a job to humans. So therefore I didn’t have the right to interfere. A big part of me thinks that’s bullshit, but a small part of me wonders if he’s maybe right about that?

I also have to ask myself why this even bothers me. I’m the one in the relationship that is aloof from humans. I’m the one that’s always saying we are from different worlds (Yeah, he stole that from me) and for good reason. 

But over the years, I’ve become fond of humans. No immortal makes art like them. I may not remember my time as a mortal, but there are works that give me a sense of nostalgia. Sometimes I think I can remember being a child myself, standing in a field like in Monet painting, staring at the wheatstacks and waiting for the miller to come. 

The thought of Matthew playing with them makes me sick. It’s like even after all the years of him living amongst them, he thinks of them as props in his twisted play. It’s even worse that he’s doing this to children. 

I can’t help but think something went really wrong with my husband when I wasn’t looking. At the very least, I’m planning on divorcing him. But would I be the asshole if I killed him too?

 Separating from him will be violent and messy. There will likely be human casualties. But I don’t see any other way. So, I ask.

AITA for divorcing my husband for lying to me about his human job?

----

Thanks for reading! I loved answering some of the responses I got when I first posted this over on my Patreon (X)!

These collaborative story telling pieces are the highlight of my week. Next week's story is about a witch who wants to know if she should attend her high school reunion even though she's responsible for stripping two former classmates of their magic...

Please check that out here (X) if you''d like early access! Otherwise I'll see y'all next week :)

[lemonlover1110]

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Sukuna

[Chapter 8] Bargain

← Previous Chapter - Story Masterlist

Pairing: Trueform!Sukuna x f!Reader

*happy new year🫶

Discord +18 - Twitter - Ko-Fi - Bluesky

There’s been a mood shift in the room. You weren’t cheery before per say, but you definitely weren’t like this. It feels as if the place has shifted from a warm orange hue to cold blue. 

Perhaps it was always like this and he didn’t notice. He’s come to see you in a different light after you announced that you didn’t care for the babies. He shouldn’t care if you want the babies or not, as long as you nurture them when they’re born– Yet, he can’t help but dwell on the thought.

“Are they kicking?” Sukuna asks, watching as you slowly eat the food that’s in front of you. Maybe things look more drastically different since his perspective of you has changed, but some things are absolutely different. You’re barely talking.

Sukuna is trying to make conversation with a woman for fuck’s sake. A woman is only good for having sex in his eyes, he shouldn’t be trying to make conversation.

“No.” You answer as you continue to quietly eat your dinner. 

“You’re going to give birth soon, no?” He questions and you shrug. You’ve lost track of time. Winter has just begun… Or is it ending soon? Days all seem the same that you’ve lost track of time. You’re due sometime in the spring, that much you know. “Will you use your words?”

“How do you want me to respond? I don’t know, my dear king?” You respond and he furrows his brows. He doesn’t like the hint of attitude that comes with your words. But there’s something Sukuna knows: beggars can’t be choosers, therefore he won’t reprimand you for speaking to him like that.

“The servants are working on clothes for them.” Sukuna announces, and you don’t react in any way. It’s fine, he didn’t expect you to. Though he won’t lie and say that he isn’t looking at your face to see some sort of excitement at the mention of the babies. He doesn’t know why, but he wants you to get excited about them.

“I’m finished. May I go to sleep?” You question, as you try to get up from your seat– A true struggle lately considering your belly is huge.

“Since when do you care to ask for permission?” He replies, and he’s met with a cold glare.

“I’m your prisoner, am I not?” You respond, and Sukuna realizes that your recent behavior is all tied back to that.

You’ve been having nightmares lately, and it becomes hard for Sukuna to ignore. It’s every night, and he isn’t sure what to do. At first he would simply watch you as you helplessly tossed and turned, but lately they’ve gotten more intense. Sukuna can’t stand and watch.

He’s growing soft, he knows he is. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be holding you to his chest, hand caressing your back. He needs you to rest enough, and that’s not possible if your nightmares get the best of you. If you’re tossing and turning, calling out for help then you’re not resting. 

He wants to know the root of the bad dreams, but he doesn’t care enough to look into the issue. He doesn’t mind this position though, holding you is like holding a little warm ball. He’d never say it outloud, but he’s cold; he won’t shiver or tremble, but he’s still cold.

“Sukuna.” He’s falling asleep, but your soft voice wakes him up. “What are you doing?”

“You have nightmares.” He informs you, as if you were unaware of your own dreams. Is this why you haven’t been waking lately? Has he been comforting you?

“I’m sorry.” You feel the odd need to apologize, something that irritates Sukuna’s ears. It ends up with him scolding you,

“You don’t ever apologize.” Which is quickly followed by another apology from you. He can’t win with you, and it’s fine. He won’t scold you again. Sukuna can’t help but ask, “What have you been dreaming about anyway?”

“Nothing.” You answer, which makes Sukuna put you back down on the futon. Of course you won’t open up so easily, but it frustrates him. His behavior is what dug him into this hole, he shouldn’t care. 

“Do the babies cause you discomfort?” Sukuna questions, and you chuckle.

“When do they not?” You respond. “Falling asleep is a struggle, it’s no surprise I’m having nightmares.”

“Are you having nightmares related to them?” Sukuna questions, and you remain silent. While Sukuna would take that answer as a yes, he isn’t sure this time around. He isn’t great at picking up social cues, but he’s pretty damn sure that he’s on the receiving end of the silent treatment. 

Sukuna takes a long time to think about this weird situation. He asked Uraume about this, but they didn’t have a good answer– Then he asked Hina, an answer that he quickly dismissed. He tries to recall what that answer was.

Then it dawns on him, “A woman dropped off a baby.”

“Your next meal, huh? Enjoy.” You respond, and Sukuna rolls his eyes. You’ve gotten bold, he’ll give you that.

“I don’t eat babies.” He answers. “Babies that are dropped off are raised as servants.”

No answer.

“You can ask Uraume if you want to visit him tomorrow.” Sukuna adds, and your interest is piqued.

“Him? It’s a boy?” You question, and Sukuna hums in response. You furrow your eyebrows, realizing that Sukuna is doing this for a reason. He wants you to look at a baby and think of the children that you grow inside of you. It’s not going to work though, there’s no way in hell that you’ll end up caring for his kids.

“Do you want to meet him or not?” Sukuna presses for an answer, wondering if Hina’s advice is any good. He might just kill her tomorrow if you refuse. Though, you adore Hina and he has to get on your good side so he might just spare her.

“Sure.”

“Uraume, why are you here?” You question when Sukuna's dear servant comes into your room. You rarely see them unless Sukuna is around. Sukuna is tending other business which means that you’re alone– Alone in the sense that he isn’t breathing down your neck, you’re still being watched by everyone else.

“King Sukuna told me you were meeting the baby. He wants me to take you there.” Uraume answers, and you sigh. He’s set on you meeting that baby, he so desperately wants you to change your mind. You can’t help but find it odd, he wants you to love the babies that you grow inside of you.

“Let’s go.” You respond. Uraume gives you a subtle nod before they turn around and leave the room. You follow behind, mentally preparing yourself to not fall for Sukuna’s dumb trick. Perhaps you should’ve turned him down last night, you're not the strongest when it comes to children.

You get to see a side of the palace that you’ve never come across. As you walk past everyone, you’re reminded that you hold some sort of power; a power that you forgot you held since Sukuna is constantly next to you. They bow down to you as you simply walk past them, as if you would actually do something to them.

Uraume leads you to the kitchen, where two women try to calm down the crying baby. Uraume is about to speak, but you shush them before they can say anything. You can read their next move, you don’t want the woman to stop simply to bow down to you.

“Let me hold him.” You tell the women, who have yet to realize who you are. They hand him over to you, desperate for a solution. The sound of a crying baby is absolutely not pleasant.

“Oh, look at you.” You gush at the boy who wails. He’s hungry with no way of feeding. “He’s too young for anything solid, huh?”

“Yes–” One of them speaks, until she realizes who you are. She bows down, and her colleague quickly follows suit. You nearly roll your eyes at the action, as if this wasn’t what you wanted when you asked Sukuna to marry you.

“Stand up.” You order, and they’re hesitant, but they do as you tell them. “What were you saying?”

The women look at each other, afraid of how to proceed. Regardless, they have to answer. “Yes, he’s too young for solids. We’ve never had a baby this young in our quarters, and we’re not sure how to proceed. We need a wet nurse but none of our servants are currently–”

“I’ll do it.” You cut her off as you stare down at the hungry baby. Oh, he looks so much like your Haru, you’d never forgive yourself if the baby died of hunger.

“My queen, that’s not appropriate. King Sukuna would be livid.” Uraume chimes in, though their words fall on deaf ears. 

“Uraume, I’m going back to my room. I’ll tell Hina to give the baby back.” You tell them, bouncing the baby, hoping that the cries die down; you know it’s helpless, the baby won’t stop until he’s fed. 

“My queen–” Uraume begins, but you begin to walk away. You’re smiling at the baby as he cries. Even when he’s crying, he looks so darn cute.

“Oh, how could someone abandon you? You’re so cute.” You tell him, as if you didn’t feel the same way about your babies– And you try not to think about it, but maybe Sukuna’s plan is working. There’s a twinge of guilt as you think about your refusal of loving your babies. 

Maybe the stupid monster has a brain after all.

You lied, you were planning to hand back the baby boy as soon as you fed him, but he’s still in your arms. He looks at you with his beautiful brown wide eyes, and a smile on his face. You can’t let him go. You don’t doubt that he’ll be treated well, but he can have anything he needs right beside your side. Additionally, he makes great company. 

“Oh, that stupid monster’s plan is working.” You mention as the baby yawns in your arms. You can’t fathom the thought of someone leaving this precious baby behind. Except, Sukuna’s sons will be nothing like this calm baby.

“Hina!” You call out, and the woman is in your room within seconds. She bows down her head, and waits for your order. You smile down at the baby in your arms as you tell her, “Get him a warm blanket.”

“King Sukuna–” She begins, but you cut her off before she can finish her sentence. 

“Did I ask about Sukuna?” You question, and she shakes her head. “Then you’ll do as I say. Get him a blanket.”

“Of course.” She responds, nodding her head before walking away. It’s a risk she’s willing to take, even though there’s the possibility that Sukuna won’t be too happy. You were supposed to simply meet the baby, not get attached. There’s nothing she can do now, the matter is out of her hands.

“I hope his babies are as cute as you are.” You murmur as you bounce the baby in your arms. His little eyes are shutting on their own, and you stick out your bottom lip as your little pal begins to drift to sleep.

Hina comes back with a blanket, and you almost snatch it from her hands to cover him. 

“When is the monster coming back?” You ask, knowing that Sukuna is going to force you to give him back. Sure, he suggested the idea but he won’t want you to keep the baby by your side. “Who’s going to feed him if Sukuna takes him from me?”

“I’ve ordered some servants to find a wet nurse, he’ll be fine.” Hina answers but you don’t like that answer. You’re not sure why though, it’s for his own good.

“Can I keep him with me forever?” You’re perhaps a little drastic. You’ve grown attached rather fast– Well, it’s not necessarily hard to grow attached when you’re lonely. 

“My queen, you know that King Sukuna would never allow it.” Hina reminds you, and you can’t help but sigh. She’s not wrong. “Plus, you’re expecting two wonderful babies.”

“They’re not going to be like this…” You comment, and Hina can’t help but chuckle. Babies are babies, whether they’re Sukuna’s kids or not.

“My queen, you do realize that they’re going to be babies.” She responds as your eyes linger on the sleeping baby.

“They’ll pop out with four arms and a tummy mouth—“ You begin, wondering how his babies will end up looking. How much different will they look compared to the rest?

“My queen, you do realize that they’re half of you as well?” She reminds you, and you furrow your eyebrows. They’re also your babies… They will carry your blood whether you accept it or not. “They’re not just King Sukuna’s babies, but yours as well.”

“Of course.” You nod, staring down at the baby. She’s right, even if they come out with four arms and a tummy mouth, they’re still your own blood. Whether you love them or not, won’t change anything.

“He’s here.” Hina informs you as she hears the loud footsteps from far away. For some odd reason, you feel your breath get caught up in your chest, knowing that he’s approaching. 

Hina bows down the moment the door to your room opens, only to not be acknowledged in any way by him. Sukuna’s eyes directly land on you, quickly going to the boy that you hold in your arms. He’s wrapped in a blanket that was made for your sons.

“Get out.” Sukuna says, and Hina stands up to do as he says. Though it’s not quick enough for him, because he proceeds to yell, “Get out!”

“Oh, you’ve woken him up.” You’re annoyed as you hear the crying baby. Just when he’s finally resting, he’s woken up by a screaming monster.

“Why were you feeding that baby?” Sukuna tries not to yell, knowing that he’ll just make matters worse by raising his voice. You’re shushing and bouncing the baby, trying to calm him down. Sukuna won’t be so accepting unless you tell him what he wants to hear.

You’ll tell him whatever he wants to hear.

“Your plan worked.” You tell him, standing up from your seat. The anger from Sukuna fades away, as curiosity overtakes him. “I’ll love your babies.”

His eyes widen, and he feels… Joyous? He’s happy. He likes the fact that his plan worked. Though he doubts that it’s going to be easy. You’re holding a baby in your arms, you must want something more.

“As long as you treat him like your own, I’ll love them.” You respond as you hand the baby to Sukuna. He glares down at the screaming child, wondering how the hell you’ve become so attached to this little human in a matter of hours.

“What?” Sukuna questions, refusing to hold the baby in his arms. You have to repeat yourself,

“Treat him as your own son, and I’ll be the mother you want me to be.”

[kryptznnn]

♛- Hypnotized

🃜🃚🃖🃁🂭🂺🃜🃚🃖🃁🂭🂺

🃜🃚🃖🃁🂭🂺🃜🃚🃖🃁🂭🂺

➸ INTERESTS; - pro-hero! katsuki bakugo x f! intern reader

➸ BACKGROUND; - (requested submission by @nivphcyo) As you reached your early twenties, you successfully received a part time job as an intern within a specific pro-hero’s company. More specifically one you’ve had a crush on since your teens, so you do everything in your power to make him see you the way you do him.

➸ WARNINGS; - wc. roughly 1.5k, employee x boss trope, friends with benefits, working environment, age gap (48 & 22), smut, slight dirty talk, daddy/sir kink, overstimulation, p in v (unprotected), orgasm mention (both m & f), oral sex (f!receiving), marking/hickey mentions, kissing, romantic gestures, romantic tension, sexual tension, indecision, etc.

➸a.i; - thank you for the req!! sorry it’s short but i hope you enjoy it and it’s within what you expected, i had fun writing it!! xoxo

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖ ⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

song recommendations:

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖ ⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

His eyes hadn’t left your figure as you walked into his office for the second time this week. Your heels clicking onto the clean tile floors as he watched from his desk, slowly covering his mouth with his hand before dragging it down and looking away.

He soon stood up, buttoning the single button he had removed on his tuxedo jacket before walking over to you and leaving his hand out to shake. You took it and shook it politely, now making eye contact with him before he let your hand go and looked away.

Katsuki Bakugo was one of many things, a pro-hero, a model, a former teacher, a former husband, and a current businessman. Out of all of his professions has he never encountered a problem as great as the one in front of him today. You were a problem, you always had been since you first started several months ago.

As he went over your files and heard of the others within his firm speaking of you he hadn’t taken much thought into it, but when you came into his office all cheerful and happy he knew. He knew how much of an issue this could’ve spiraled into if he didn’t get control of himself.

He was too old to be dealing with this, far too old. The only thing that could make others not tell it either was possibly the fact that his natural hair color was so light, practically camouflaging the grey hairs that made their ways out from his scalp. He could tell of course, he always has been able too, and even as he let his beard grow out slowly he could tell. The small dashes of grey and sand that seemed to mix together within his beard proved it.

By some miracle that he might’ve prayed for, he gained a compliment from you on your first encounter, complimenting his hairstyle along with his beard. You spoke of how it suited his figure and level of maturity, that you liked it, and honestly the way you spoke he was sure you had purred the words out instead of spoke. Whatever it was had him hooked, he was hooked onto you even though he knew he shouldn’t have been.

If anything you were a little under half of his age, and towards some alarm it hadn’t bothered you, but it had to him entirely. Let alone the fact you were his employee, working towards his firm to support his work as a pro-hero, knowing he would retire soon enough further down the years.

He wasn’t sure what had switched within you or what caused you to make such a drastic thought, but when you began to come to work with different attire it awoken something in him. Your skirts getting shorter or tighter, wearing your tuxedo jacket less and less within the firm unless there was a change in weather. He hated it, he hated what you were doing and he hated how it made him feel.

He also hated how whenever you would walk into his office and did that little thing you’d do with your hands or face before letting your hair down slightly. You were teasing him, you both knew it, you loved it and you loved watching his expression. The two of you had already knew he was drawn to you, so overall if you were flirtatious or teasing there was nothing he could do to stop you or say to stick professional, because deep down in his dark desires he loved it.

He wasn’t sure if it was just lust or love, maybe a mixture of both, but he didn’t want anything else to do with anyone unless if it was you. He was just as quick to call you into his office to listen to your reports as much as he was jealous when you would be on break with other men in the firm. He would always keep his eye on you from afar, gritting his teeth as he watched you laugh with them, sway your hips, flip your hair to tie it back, reapplying parts of your makeup.

You knew better than to do things like that when he had his eyes on you, of course you didn’t actually know that, he just assumed you did. He thought the ideas and hints between the two of you were made clear without sharing any words, but apparently he was wrong. This alone has now brought the two of you here, into his office late at night after everyone’s shifts had finished.

He now was quick to offer you a seat in front of his desk as he walked over to the large glass window behind him, serving as a wall as he looked down towards the dimly lit city. He took a sharp deep breath attempting to push down the sinful thoughts he had of you earlier before speaking.

“L/n, you are one of the hardest working women I have here in my firm, and you’ve also been here for nearly a year now.” He started, still looking out the window but speaking loud enough for you to hear, your eyes were glued onto his back with furrowed brows, thinking to yourself what he must’ve been waiting to say or break the news to you.

“But I’ve also taken notice of your sudden relationship with one of the other male coworkers recently, and must ask if things have remained professional between the two of you.” He spoke, slightly turning his head over his shoulder awaiting your response, you immediately began to stutter before speaking.

“Of course sir, there’s nothing happening between us. We just joke around too much about personal stuff and other things.” You spoke in a worried tone, shaking your head slightly as you raised your hands to speak with them. He only looked back out to the window again before speaking, huffing as he did so.

“So him speaking this morning of how he was going to quote on quote ‘Fuck you senseless until you can’t think’ was also a part of the joke?” He said, his voice laced with anger. If anything even if he wasn’t turned around you could see the thick vein that would appear out of his forehead and throat out of frustration.

Honestly you were taken aback by his saying, not even aware that he had said nothing like that. You wore a shocked look on your face, thinking back to him and shuddering at the feeling of him saying those things with the other guys. You quickly realized that your silence might’ve been taken as an answer and stood up in a rush to defend yourself.

“No sir, under no circumstance was I even aware that he had said any of those things about me. I am entirely sorry, I’ve let this strain out too far, I never knew he was that type of person.” You stated, now standing up and attempting to make your way over to him slowly.

He caught onto the click of your heels again, his attitude less angry now as he could smell your perfume from behind him. This wasn’t fair, no matter how hard he tried or how upset he was at the world he could never be with you. It was as if the universe itself was teasing him instead of you, taunting him with something he had been craving, desired, but couldn’t have.

You were everything to him, and he knew it, you were intelligent and charismatic, if anything your personality was the entire opposite of his and he adored it. You gave him hope, and just by several conversations with you or about you he realized exactly what you were to him. There was even a time where he had opened up to you about his ex wife, to which you laughed at her traits and compared yourself to him, saying you would never do such things or even dream of acting that way.

And he seconded it, believing every word you said and even added that whoever you were with in the future would be lucky to have you. Then refraining back to business as he always had when the tension between the two of you became too strong. Now he had to stand here and settle this with you, his feelings included.

“I trust you.” He spoke, now turning around slowly to look at you. You only looked at him with a worried expression as your heels clicked to a stop, looking into his eyes with a slight frown. You only replied in agreement before speaking again, this time your tone hinted seriousness.

“I like my men much more older than me anyways.” You added, smirking slightly as you watched his body stiffen as his breath hitched. He quickly made his way around you before taking a seat at his soft chair at his desk, his back now facing you. You only raised a brow and made your way over to him waverly.

This was wrong, he thought to himself about everything, anything that could die down the feeling of excitement he felt when you spoke those words to him. He was old enough to be your father if he wanted, let alone the fact you worked for him, it was forbidden, everything about it was.

A large emphasis on was, because as of right now he had you spread across his desk. Your back laid flat on the harsh cold wood as your legs were spread. Your face was flushed and your hair had been a mess, let alone the lipstick you wore, as it was no surprise that your clothing had been practically forced off, scattered across the floor behind you as he ate you out.

Your small moans and mewls were like music to his ears as he hummed in satisfaction listening to you. He was intoxicated by you and everything you did, so when his grip on your thighs tightened from how hard you gripped his hair and your rambling had gotten louder he wasted no time in applying more pressure. The sight from his point of view was for sore eyes, watching as beads of sweat trickled down your throat and forehead out of concentration, and your hair sticking to parts of your face. Even every now and then when you would whimper and throw your head back as tears rolled down your cheeks, he loved it.

“Sir, I’m so close, please- fuck.” You whined, your legs now taking the initiative to press closed, nearly closing his head in between as he held your legs spread, only humming in response to which your body shook, feeling the vibrations in your clit.

Sooner than later your orgasm had washed over you harshly, your back arching as you mumbled over and over lines of curse words. Attempting to wash over your high you practically began to ride his face, heavy moans and grunts leaving your throat as you seized, now attempting to sit up straight to look at him.

He had a large grin plastered on his face, a mixture of saliva and your remains coated his lips before he licked them and yanked you closer to him. His now unbuttoned shirt was being removed as he wore a wife eater underneath, you placed your hand on his chest, quick to roll it up as he removed it.

For someone within his late forties his body was to kill for, he might’ve lost a lot of things or changed on various occasions but his body and physique wasn’t one of them. You quickly looked away flushed and drew your hand away, only for him to pull it back and place it back over his torso.

“You asked for this remember? Now help me out.” He spoke, now drawing your attention back to him before unzipping his pants, his painful erection now springing free as he pulled down his underwear. You took action before he could, your cold hands dragging down before making your way to it, hearing him hiss as you pressed your thumb over his tip.

It had leaked of pre-cum and if you hadn’t known any better when you picked up your head to look at him it seemed as if he was embarrassed by it. You wasted no time before aligning yourself against it, rubbing up and down on it attempting to coat it in your slick before pressing it towards your entrance.

Quickly catching you by surprise Katsuki slammed into you, his thrusts quick and rough as you yelled at the sudden movement towards how sensitive you were from your primary orgasm. Your hands made way to his shoulders, practically hanging onto him for dear life as he bent down and whispered into your ear.

“Whatcha think? Gonna be my little work slut? Huh?” He asked, pulling back slightly as he was answered with your moans getting louder before playing with your nipples with one hand, as he placed the other one down on the desk beside you as leverage. The way you moaned several names towards him and cried underneath him gave him his answer, especially with how quickly you were nodding now. He was surprised at first seeing and listening to you, muttering the words ‘daddy’ and ‘sir’ repeatedly, it had awakened something in him he hadn’t expected.

He only chuckled at you before releasing your nipples from his grasp and pushing down on your lower abdomen, his large hand finding way over your pelvis. His smirk had now widened as a realization came to mind before he spoke again.

“Can you feel me right here? Yeah? You feel daddy inside you?” He asked with a coo, almost as if to mock you before your tears become more, nodding to him as your nails were now digging into his skin as your legs were left lifted into the air. Somehow by your surprise your left heel had still remained on your foot, your stockings now full of sweat and having a large tear in the middle between your legs.

“Please, please sir, I can’t” you whined, now changing the name you had called him prior between daddy and sir. He only persisted you could as he angled himself deeper inside of you, hissing as he felt you continue to tighten around him, your gummy walls weakening him.

It hadn’t helped that now it felt as if he was destroying you from inside out, his tip brutally brushing against your cervix with each thrust. Causing your curses and babbles to become louder and louder as he lowered his hand to play with your clit as your leg had now recoiled back. Your knee had been bent entirely and you could feel your heel brush against your bottom as he did so.

You felt yourself about to give out before being snapped back into reality as a familiar feeling brewed in your lower belly. The feeling was more intense than before as you now began whining and repeating the same actions as before. Katsuki could already tell that you were close, but he still kept his eyes locked onto your face.

You looked pretty, he thought to himself, beautiful even. Worn out and flushed beyond the point of coming back, heavy breathing and salty skin from your sweat and small hickeys that danced across your collarbones. Without any thought he leaned down to kiss you, his eyes closed as you kissed him back, his tongue asking for entrance which you obliged as he explored your mouth.

It hadn’t helped how you moaned into the kiss when you reached your orgasm, quickly making his cock twitch from inside you. His heavy pants and worships of praise and slight degrading quickly came to an end after you reached your high, quickly pulling out of you before reaching own orgasm, stroking himself shortly before his release coated your lower belly.

As you both breathed heavy and looked at the mess you had made around his office you smiled slightly at each other. You soon laid out back on his desk as you now felt tired, feeling him wipe on your lower stomach with some sort of cloth before kissing you there.

This was going to be the first of many incidents within his office as his intern, that you both knew.

⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖ ⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

✴🕷 please do not copy, plagiarize, edit, or translate any works submitted by me. all works are originated and all other pictures used within those works are online images. thank you!! @kryptznnn

[joelsmochi]

Dirty Lies

SUMMARY: Joel realized how much you matured since he last saw you 4 years ago and can’t resist you. WARNINGS: age gap [reader is 22, joel is 35], smut minors dni, no descriptions of reader aside from having shoulder length hair & having a girly sense of fashion, pervy!joel, shy-ish!joel, needy!joel, reader seduces joel. 18+ WARNINGS: infidelity if you squint (technicalities people), brief objectification, masturbation (f), oral (f receiving), dirty talk, reader was a lying little shit in high school but it paid off WC: 7.3k [please read author's note]

A/N: this was originally going to be a 15k word long smut as part of my LDR series, but........ I figured the more parts I can make out of it the more content I can produce, so here is part one of Us Against The World. Enjoy :) Edit: I’m rereading this and noticing a few typos, I apologize about those! Grammarly isn’t so helpful sometimes…

series masterlist | main masterlist

There you were in your blue tank top and yoga pants laying with your father’s dog in the middle of the front yard. You had just returned from New York a few days earlier from college, which your father amicably told Joel about over a few beers the week before.

Joel was expecting to see your 18-year-old self: long hair, sparkly eyeshadow, dressed in your late mother’s hand-me-downs from the 80s. But that was no longer you.

You dressed more modern and age-appropriate. Your hair was shorter, looked curlier, and you had highlights. Your eyebrows were thinner and your face was free from the loud makeup your teenage self was accustomed to. Joel would make jokes from time to time about how he believed you were just born with glitter all over your eyes.

Joel felt a little silly thinking you wouldn’t have changed. Who doesn’t make a drastic change when they leave high school? He hadn’t found the time to stop by and say hello but he wasn’t necessarily rushing it.

He’d met your father when you guys moved in next door in 1993 and he remembered you introduced yourself the second you saw him and Sarah playing outside despite your father’s protests.

You told Joel about how your dad was only being grumpy because he’d just turned thirty-six. Something about getting old. You didn’t bother to retain that information.

But here you were: all grown up. It reminded Joel of the day he overheard you and your best friend talking about how handsome you thought he was. He wondered if you still felt that way.

You sat up, feeling the sense that someone was watching you; your eyes scanned around until instinct made you look to the same window Joel was standing in.

For some reason, he didn’t feel embarrassed about being caught staring. He offered you an energetic smile and you took in his appearance.

He hadn’t changed much — his hair was a little longer and he had a few more fine lines across his face, but he was still the handsome man you remembered and admired.

You stand up and walk over to the window prompting him to open it.

“Hey, creep,” you teased with a big grin, “how ya been?”

Even your voice sounded different with its blend of Texas and New York. It was sultry with a hint of confidence. He tried not to let his weaknesses show.

“I’m doing all right… Sorry for starin’. Could hardly tell that was you,” he responded.

You just barely saw his eyes glance down to your chest, and it made you smirk.

Had this been any other man you’d have your fist meeting their jaw, but it wasn’t any other man. It was Joel. You hadn’t forgotten that he was attractive, but you did forget just how attractive. Or maybe his sexiness came with his age.

Not like it mattered anyways. It wasn’t like you could make a move.

“I been gettin’ that a lot… Dad tells me you’re a contractor now with Tommy.”

Joel nodded and said, “Yep, hated workin’ for other people, so…”

You were unsure if you were being awkward or if it was just… Awkward.

“Cool. Yeah, no, I get that. How is Tommy, by the way? Is he still really cute?” You giggled.

This made Joel roll his eyes. “Not cuter than me,” he answered begrudgingly. You watched how his eyes faltered again, trailing from your lips to your belly ring. “Your dad let you get that?”

You scoffed and waved your hand lazily as if you were swatting his condescending tone away. “One, Dad can’t tell me what to do with my body. And two, Tommy was always the cuter one.”

“S’that so?” Joel grunted as if he were tempted to laugh.

You gave him a cunning look and nodded. “Yeah. But you were always more handsome.”

Joel found himself blushing at the compliment, trying to wipe the redness away with his calloused palm to no avail.

You let out a quiet teetering laugh and looked back to make sure your dog was okay for a moment. “He get that dog after I left?”

Joel focused on you again and confirmed it once he noticed the dog again. “Yeah. I think your dad likes having something to take care of.”

You looked back into Joel’s eyes and bathed in them for a moment. He seemed more like himself, more certain of who he was. It made you a little sad to know how much time has passed, but maybe it was better this way.

“He was always like that. I think it started after… Well, you know.” You took a deep breath and tried to change the subject. “How’s Sarah? She still my little rockstar?”

“She’s more of a pop star, now,” he said. “She still wears that bracelet you let her have, the… The silver one.”

Your chest swelled with joy and you couldn’t contain your excitement. “Really?! Aw, man, that’s so cool. I remember I would throw a fit if I didn’t have that damn thing on.” The dog barking grabbed your attention once again. He was just barking at the mailman but settled once the worker started petting him. “Sorry!” You shouted before returning your focus to Joel. “Well, Joel it was nice seeing you. We should… Catch up. I could use some… Life advice.”

“I’m free tomorrow night if that works?” He tried to contain his excitement.

You slowly backed away, giving him one more nod and smile. “Perfect. Just come over whenever like old times.”

Joel decided to be respectful enough to not ogle over your ass as you walked away. He turned away from the window wondering how the hell he was going to get over this… Crush?

Is that what this was? A crush?

He decided to not torture himself with his intrusive thoughts.

“Hey, kid,” Joel greeted. You rolled your eyes at the nickname but greeted him back. He entered the backyard slowly trying to get a feel for the mood. He sat next to you in the extra papasan chair and snatched your beer out of your hands. You glared at him, unable to hold it for long when he shot you that infamous smile. “Everything all right?”

He tasted your strawberry chapstick around the rim of the glass and let the taste linger on his tongue. His eyes fell to your lips as he thought about how the chapstick would taste coming straight from you. Raw and unfiltered.

You held your breath, wishing you had enough courage to ask your father these questions. It wasn’t that you didn’t trust your father, you just wanted an opinion from an outside perspective. You were hoping Joel wasn’t as inclined to protect or embarrass you as much as your dad.

“There’s this guy I’ve been dating for a few months now… I…” You sigh frustratedly with the tension surrounding the question meanwhile Joel grew tense and jealous? He asked himself why that was the way he felt about you having a boyfriend.

You apprehensively said, “We had sex a few times before I left and it wasn’t…good.”

“Okay?” Joel asked as a way to tell you to keep going.

“How should I go about telling a guy that?”

He cleared his throat uncertain of how to answer your question. He didn’t want his newly discovered feelings to cloud his judgment as the chances of you two becoming a thing were slim to none. He wouldn’t want to sabotage you or your relationships. Especially when you trusted him enough to ask such a burdening question.

Joel accepted the awkwardness of the topic and put it aside. He didn’t want you to feel embarrassed. “Well, have you tried suggesting things that he can do to make you—it feel good?” He asked.

“Yeah, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s me,” you admitted.

“Does he do the things you ask him to?”

“Kinda?” Your cheeks flushed and your eyebrows furrowed tightly.

He gave you a look that said come on now.

“He like… Does half of it?” You could just die of embarrassment right now.

“Wh—? How does he do half of it?”

You groaned obnoxiously and chugged some more beer. “I don’t know?! He does what I ask for like five minutes and then just does what he’s used to I guess.” He watched you poke your bottom lip out to pout as you stared into the glass bottle. “I really like him, Joel.”

“Does he like you?”

“Well, yeah,” you said as if it were obvious. “Fuck is that supposed to mean?”

He inhaled sharply through his teeth and stole your beer bottle again. “All I will say is that a man that truly likes you would try harder, especially during sex, and especially if you’ve told him how he could make you feel good.”

“So… What do I do?”

“Do you think he likes you?” He asked again. “Think about it for a second. What does he do for you?”

“Well, he…” Your voice trailed off into silence as your mind went blank. Surely this guy did something for you to make you like him, right? But anything that did happen to come to mind was the bare minimum. You didn’t want to give Joel the satisfaction, so you said, “I think it could work.”

“Who’re trying to convince? Me or yourself?” He saw the frustration on your face and propped a finger below your chin to make you look at him. “If a guy really likes you, sweetheart, you wouldn’t have to ask more than once,” was all he said after he took a sip of your beer.

“What do you mean?”

Joel’s sigh almost sounded irritated. “I mean… A guy that truly likes you and deserves you won’t make you suffer through sex. A real man’ll take care a’you.”

“A real man, huh?” You bantered.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Like you?”

“I’d like to think so.”

“Do you like me?”

Why the fuck did I ask him that?! You thought as soon as the words left your mouth.

Joel didn’t couldn’t answer right away. His voice just stumbled over his tongue and out of his mouth.

“I think you’re a sweet girl,” he finally said, “and you’re smart enough to know who’s worthy of your time and attention. Doesn’t sound like it’s him.”

You couldn’t defeat the growing smirk on your face as he fought the urge to look over your body. He wasn’t so good at hiding it.

You turned your body in the chair slightly and dauntingly lifted your leg to touch your bare toes against his calf. You watched his breath get caught in his throat and your mouth fell open in awe at how easy it was to get him riled up.

He looked at the ground, not moving a single inch of his body. He was overwhelmed by your confidence.

The amount of attention Joel’s given you in the last ten minutes already seemed to surpass the attention your “boyfriend” (can you even call him that?) had given you.

Your foot trailed up Joel’s leg before you rested it upon his knee; Joel’s eyes screwed shut as if he were praying to not get caught like this, but your voice brought his gaze back to you.

“You didn’t answer my question, Joel,” you whispered seductively. Your foot left his leg and you got on your knees in the chair, then you leaned forward, hands around the rim of his own seat, and leaned in devilishly close to his face. “Do you like me?”

He swallowed hard, his fingertips turning white as they pressed into the bottle.

His lack of an answer caused an impatience to grow inside you. You leaned in even closer and strengthened your eye contact with him. Your fingers absentmindedly trailed over his knee to the midpoint of his clad thigh.

His spine shivered and his arms grew goosebumps. “Why don’t you have this attitude with your boyfriend?” He asked lowly in a poor attempt to further evade answering you.

You snickered and looked over his beer-covered lips, craving to taste them. “If I’m being honest he’s technically not my boyfriend… You’re tellin’ me things about men and how they should act. It’s making me feel like… He just can’t handle me.”

He smirked at you, fighting the way his body pleaded to touch yours. “If that’s the case then, sweetheart, I don’t think he’s the one for you.”

“Oh?” You got even closer, your nose touched his and you heard him choke on his breath. “Do you think you could handle me?”

He chuckled rashly and straightened his posture, now sensing you tense up. “I could,” he confidently confessed. “But this ain’t right, sweetheart.”

“Please,” you scoff, “you can’t keep your eyes off of me.”

“If you keep actin’ like a spoiled brat you won’t be able to keep my hands off of you.”

“Maybe that’s what I want,” you retorted, a cocky essence in your eyes.

“That so?”

“Maybe you can show me how a real man should be taking care of me.”

Joel had to stop himself from speaking as it would have potentially led to consequences. His flustered cheeks and wide lustful eyes created a hunger you’d never felt before.

However, you wanted Joel to earn it. Push him to the point of begging for just a taste of you. You needed to know if he craved you. Something you longed for from other men that just could not deliver.

You hovered your agape lips over his so dangerously it tickled his nerves. You gave him a soft kiss on the cheek then sat back in your original position.

Joel was both relieved and disappointed with the kiss. Relieved it didn’t end up with his head buried between your thighs, and at the same time disappointed that it didn’t.

For the next few days, you settled into your room as best as you could and got everything how you wanted it to be. Well, almost. You wanted a shelf to go over your closet so that you could display your most prized possessions.

When the idea sparked in your head you remembered that your dad said he was going to be gone for most of the day. You figured you could hold off for one more day. That was until you heard some power tools and heavy grunting from beyond your window.

Joel.

Joel had followed your lead as best as he could and you had to admit that the lack of physical contact was making it harder to resist him.

You felt a bit strange, however. After all, this is Joel. Sweet, caring, next-door neighbor Joel. You and your friends had a crush on him and his brother, Tommy, sure, but this wasn’t that. And you surely weren’t a child anymore. But still, you couldn’t help but think of how strange the dynamic is.

It wasn’t enough to stop you from taking your sweatpants off and changing out of your t-shirt into a stretchy tank top. You poked your head out of your window and shouted Joel’s name a few times until you successfully got his attention.

“Hey!” You said with a proud smile.

“Hey, kid!” He shouted back.

“Can you build a shelf for me? I wanted to get my room done today, but my old man’s gone!”

“Right now?” He tried to seem indifferent.

You just smiled harder and motioned for him to come over. “Please?!”

He huffed and looked at his half-done project, ultimately deciding to help you instead. The sooner he helps you the sooner he could create distance, he figured. Though deep down he knew that wasn’t the real reason.

You patter downstairs to unlock the door for him. He could see from the corners of his eyes that you were half naked, only in white panties and your top.

“Couldn’t a’put pants on?” He asked grumpily as he walked past you, not giving you the satisfaction of staring. You shut and lock the door before guiding him upstairs.

“Yeah, but I figured since you were doing the job for free I could at least give you something to look at,” you flirted. He didn’t even bother trying to stop you.

“What d’ya need done exactly?” He asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“I want those shelves to hang over my closet right… Here. I have a power drill here already, I just couldn’t figure out how to get it.”

He was doing a decent job at keeping his eyes anywhere but on your body, but in his mind he had already taken your clothes off and fucked you against the wall.

“S’alright, I can get it for ya,” he said while giving you an earnest look.

“What?” You asked after a moment of silence.

“Nothing,” he answered with a shrug and a smirk. You lightly smack his arm and plop down on your bed.

You lay on your stomach and flipped through a fashion magazine, occasionally smelling some of the perfume samples. You snuck glances at Joel’s broad back as he made sure everything could be lined up, smiling to yourself at how efficiently he worked.

“How’s your boyfriend?” Joel randomly asked after about ten minutes. You looked at him through your eyelashes as he peaked over his shoulder. 

You stifled your laugh and began looking at the magazine again before answering him. “He actually ended things with me two days ago. But like I said, he technically wasn’t my boyfriend. He never asked.”

“Oh… You doing okay? Seemed like you really liked him.”

“I like someone else more,” was all you said. Joel took a second, then just nodded even though you weren’t looking at him anymore.

“This someone have a name?” He asked after a few more moments of silence.

Joel’s internal conflict was teetering between giving in and giving up. He wasn’t sure why he was so drawn to you, but that’s what fueled his filthy thoughts even more.

“Yep, he sure does.”

Your tone was the exact opposite of what you were feeling. You felt hot and desperate, but you (almost) fooled him by sounding bored. He didn’t want to give into your childish game of beating around the bush, so he kept his mouth shut and began hammering a nail into the wall.

Suddenly you had an idea. An awfully sinister one.

You tossed the magazine on your nightstand and sat up in the bed, leaning into a few pillows and angling yourself so that Joel could get the perfect view if he dared to look.

Your hands traced uneven lines and patterns over your clad breasts and you gasped softly at your nipples perking up quickly. He couldn’t hear you over his hammering.

You rid yourself of your wet panties, kicking them to the edge of the bed. You spread your legs and began working big and slow circles over your sensitive clit. You used your free hand to pinch your nipple over your shirt, the combination of stimuli making you give a more audible moan.

Joel didn’t think much of it at first — he figured you were moving around on the bed to get more comfortable. So when the next moan came and he stopped his work to look at you he was taken aback, to say the least.

He said your name, but you shook your head in protest. “Is this okay?” You asked, innocence spreading across your face.

He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe.

“Joel?” You snapped him out of his daze. “S’this okay?”

He nodded and watched your trembling hands dip down into your glistening slit, collecting your wetness and coating it over your clit. Your body was stiff with anticipation, watching him watch you.

He took in all of your beauty like the way your eyes fluttered halfway shut and how you bit your plump lip to quiet your mewls. One hand cupped your breast so gently and the other rubbing steady, taunting circles over your sensitive bud. He watched the way you pleased yourself and let this picture of you engrave itself into his memory.

One day, Joel thought, I’d be able to make her feel as good as she makes herself feel.

He ignored the hardening of his cock pressing against his jeans, not caring enough to touch himself if it meant he didn’t get to feel you. He found the situation quite sexy and the lack of physical contact made him feel good.

You were showing him that he didn’t need to touch you or talk to you. He didn’t need to do a damn thing. All he needed to do was stand there and let you look at him.

Your moans were quiet and soft, barely heard by him. You squeezed your nipple harshly and jolted at the shock of electricity it sent throughout your body, your eyes screwing shut and your legs curling up into an almost fetal position at the feeling.

He saw you swallow the lump in your throat as you looked into his eyes again, soon scanning over his body and imagining how he would feel on top of you. The imagination was more than enough to get you going.

You imagined he felt strong and heavy above you, trapping you with his burly arms and using his lean thighs to keep your legs open for him as he rolled his hips to meet yours.

You absentmindedly curled your middle and ring finger into your creamy pussy, chasing after the feeling of being stretched out by Joel. Your pussy effortlessly squelched as your discharge poured out of you like a waterfall, coating your plump ass cheeks in your juices.

You got a bit louder but remained mindful of the open windows just a few feet away. You watched the movement in his jeans from his cock that twitched, longing for just some fucking relief. But he didn’t move, he didn’t even adjust his pants. He wanted you to know that you were the one in charge and that he was willing to suffer just for you.

“Joel,” you breathed out in between helpless murmurs.

He almost caved at how sweetly you said his name like you were asking for help. You reached even further into your sex, pressing into your sweet spot carefully. You pretended it was him.

Allowing your eyes to shut and your mouth to open, your mind dove deeper into the fantasies of Joel. You imagined him fucking you slowly, steady enough to not make your bed squeak too loud. Your fingers followed your mind, bumping against your g-spot the same way you wanted him to: carefully, yet forceful.

Joel felt awkward just standing there watching you, but you looked so beautiful. Sprawled out just for him with your fingers dipping into your sopping cunt as if you were made just for him. He saw your shoulders twitch and a hiss escaped your lips.

A ripple of ecstasy shocked your nerves, your walls tighten around your fingers, and your clit tensed up with a tickling sensation.

Your face twisted from the overwhelming feeling that began to encapsulate you from your core to your mind. Your moans became shallow and louder. Your clit throbbing beneath your palm motivated your to work your fingers faster. You fucked yourself with more desire than you had before, still twisting your perky nipple between your other fingers.

You were a lot more gentle with yourself than Joel would have expected. You took your time, didn’t overwhelm yourself.

He knew he loved it when the ever-growing pressure inside of you burst into a million flames throughout your trembling body. He saw that the slower you were with yourself the more intense the orgasm was.

He accidentally groaned at the sight of you: clinging to your bedsheet with the very hand that toyed with your breast, eyes refusing to open from the immense pleasure soaring through your veins, curling up into a ball because your body couldn’t comprehend just how good you were feeling.

He noticed how your cum gushed around and below your fingers creating a wet spot on your blanket. He carefully watched as you opened your eyes, still slowly fingering yourself. You continued to feel your orgasm, exploring how much of it you could endure.

You moved your free hand to your clit and rubbed tiny and fast circles around it. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and you refused to moan anything but his name.

You shoved your fingers deep inside of you to press against your g-spot relentlessly. Your toes curled at the mix of pleasure.

You knew your orgasm was coming back more powerful than before already, and you braced yourself when your walls flexed against your fingers basically forcing them out; you chewed hard on your lip and laid your stiff fingers flat against your clit to rub from side to side at the arrival of your squirt. You squealed behind your swollen lip and let your squirt splash everywhere.

Joel palmed his rock-hard cock for some relief as he watched in awe at how you came for him. You looked so fucking delicious soaking yourself in your juices. His heart punched against his chest and his mind nearly blank, only filled with you.

Your lips formed an ‘o’ shape as you eased up on your clit. You let out sweet hums of bliss and you opened your eyes again, carefully analyzing his body language.

He practically reeked of inferiority. He was your marionette, your toy, whatever you wanted him to be. He didn’t recognize you in the best way possible. You were an unwrapped present that he couldn’t wait to open and play with. Your confidence grew at his puppy eyes that were low and dark, filled with a need to serve you.

Your fingers collected some of the creamy nectar between your folds before you brought it to your mouth and darted your wet tongue out to taste it.

You never broke eye contact once, observing how his body shuddered at the filthy action. His breath was heavy, his chest heaved in anticipation. You stuck your fingers inside of your mouth moaning at the salty goodness coating every single taste bud.

It wasn’t until your fingers dropped back down to your side and you gave him a shit-eating grin that he finally looked away, sighing loudly.

He felt ashamed of himself.

He’d known you since you were a child.

How could he ever look you in the eye again?

How could he ever look your father in the eye again?

You slipped your panties on again while he wasn’t looking and just grabbed your magazine, flipping through the pages again like nothing ever happened though the wet spot on your bed clearly said otherwise.

When Joel saw you had returned to your previous activities he did the same. Drilling and hammering your shelves onto the wall like nothing fucking happened.

“Here you go sir, you have a lovely day,” you chirped at the customer as you handed him his food waiting until he left. You turned around to straighten up the counter behind you when the bell on the door jingled. “Hello, give me just one moment and I’ll be with you!”

You gave the counter a lazy wipe with the wet washcloth before tossing it into the sink nearby and turning around, being met with a smirking Joel.

“My, my, you working at a burger joint? Never thought I’d see the day,” he teased.

You made a face and told him to shut up. You tried not to notice the sheer layer of sweat that coated his partially exposed chest. “What can I get you, sir?”

His face contorted with arrogance and he placed a hand over his chest. “Sir? You callin’ me sir now? Oh, you are just too cute.”

With a roll of your eyes, you huffed out a stream of air, waiting for him to stop fucking with you.

“Okay, okay,” he laughed, dropping the act. “Can I get a burger and some fries?”

“You don’t want a drink?” You asked before writing his order down quickly and sliding it through the kitchen window.

“Are you tryin’a make me tip you more?”

You shrugged. “Nah, it’s just that the cola here is really good.”

“Mmm,” he hummed as if he didn’t believe you.

“If you want a cola I’ll make it extra cold for you,” you whispered as if you were telling him a dirty secret.

“Mhm, okay. Fine, I’ll take your word for it. Gon’ and get it f’me then.”

“You can ask that a little nicer,” you scoffed. You walked off, breathing in a gust of smoke on your way to the soda machine. “F’here or to-go?!” You shouted.

“Mm, I was gonna get it to go, but I think I’ll stay and keep you company.”

You could just hear the smile in his voice.

“Awe, how thoughtful of you,” you bantered before rinsing out a clean cup and filling it with ice. The cook called out the order was ready and you thanked him before finishing up with Joel’s drink. You grabbed the tray and walked over to the end of the counter where the stools sat, setting the food in front of Joel with a weak smile.

He watched you closely as you leaned onto your elbows waiting for him to try his food.

“What r’ya doing workin’ in a restaurant? Didn’t you graduate for like… Fashion or some shit?” Joel asked, unable to keep his smile down at how pretty you looked in your uniform: a teal skirt and a mustard yellow shirt, but so, so tacky. You hated the fucking outfit, it was everything you would never wear, but Joel thought you made it look good.

“I did,” you confirmed, “but I wanted a humbling job before I truly entered the world of fashion.”

Joel’s thick and somewhat dirty fingers unraveled his greasy burger after he dumped the fries out chaotically. He took an unnecessarily big bite, not seeing how your eyes watched the trail of juice trickle down the corner of his mouth to his chin before he swept it set with his thumb.

“Humbling, hmm?” He questioned before swallowing his barely chewed bite. “You’re a wise girl, you know?”

“So I’ve been told,” you smugly replied. You stole a fry off of his tray and smiled at his frowning face while eating it before washing it down with his fizzling soda. “Best drink that ‘fore it goes flat.”

You walked away momentarily to help a customer that just walked in; she only wanted a dollar milkshake so you told her not to worry about paying. You took a dollar and some change from your tip pocket and put it in the register before grabbing a styrofoam cup and packing her cup.

Joel noticed halfway through you making the shake that whenever you tapped the bottom of the cup against the counter your breast jiggled against your arm. He felt the lady nearby staring at him so he turned his head just enough to see the mix of disgust and concern on her face.

If only she knew how filthy you were for him just last week…

He didn’t care enough to stop though, he just went back to looking at how your clothes hugged your body.

You finished up her shake and popped a lid on it before grabbing a straw and walking back to give it to her.

Joel heard the lady ask if you were okay, and he promptly rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and tried his best to not laugh. You were confused by her question, simply nodding your head and saying, “Yeah?”

She looked at Joel once more, choosing not to say another word before leaving.

“Fuck was that about?” You asked, watching her walk away.

“She saw me starin’ at your tits,” he said between obnoxious bites. “If only she saw—“

Your eyes widened. “Do not finish that sentence.”

“Whatever you say, doll,” he teased before taking another bite.

You pretended to be grossed out by seeing the chewed-up food in his mouth as he spoke, swatting his hand gently. “You’re so gross.”

“You love me,” he quipped with a simper. He took a sip of his drink, humming at how refreshing it felt. “This is good,” he told you.

“Told ya.”

“What time are you out?”

You looked at the door when your manager came in, apologizing for taking longer than she expected.

“You’re fine, it’s a slow day,” you told her as she walked to her office. You looked at Joel and slammed your book and pen on the counter near the register. “I’m out now. Why?”

“Your dad asked me to pick you up.”

You felt a rush of worry. “Why? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, honey, everything’s fine. He forgot about pickin’ you up today and got drunk with his buddies and called me—well, he called Tommy. Said he wouldn’t be back home ‘til tomorrow.”

You raised an eyebrow at the mention of his brother’s name. “Oh? Well, why isn’t Tommy here?” You strutted around the counter and stood next to Joel as he inhaled the last of his food.

“Think you know why,” he grunted.

Anxiety pang inside of your chest, but you convinced yourself it was excitement. You were hoping that he wanted to get you alone somewhere and fuck you into the next week.

But you didn’t want to seem desperate. You kept a straight face, waiting for your boss to come back out before getting your things and punching out.

You followed Joel to his Chevy and thanked him when he opened the door for you. He huffed when by the time he got inside the car himself you were already flipping through his book of CDs.

“I got a good one in already—“

“Is it The Writing’s On the Wall by Destiny’s Child?” You interrupted after you found said CD.

“No, b—“

“Then it’s not what I want to listen to.”

Joel endured your (arguably bad) singing for the ten-minute ride back to your house. He thought about a few things in that ten minutes:

-Sarah wasn’t home, so he didn’t need to worry about food (or getting caught), so this time was optimal to make a move on you.

-If he were to make a move on you, then you two wouldn’t get caught.

-If he were to make a move on you, how exactly would he do it?

Once he arrived in his driveway, you both stepped out of the car and he walked over to your side.

“You not working tonight?” You asked.

“No, we finished early.”

You looked at him with lush eyes and bit the inside of your mouth, a flirty smile coaxing your lips. He looked hopeful for something, anything.

“I was just gonna watch TV all night,” you started, “and maybe make some dinner. I know you just ate, but you and Sarah are welcome to come over.”

“Sarah’s at a friend’s tonight, doing some studying,” he answered. His voice trailed off as if he weren’t finished speaking his thought aloud, but you picked up where he reluctantly left off.

“Do you want to come over, then? Just you?”

He looked around the quiet neighborhood as if he had to think about what he wanted. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

You lead him to your house, kicking your shoes off at the door and he followed. He felt unsure of his decision. He wondered if this night would play out platonically and just be filled with conversation and dinner, or if this was truly the beginning of a secret he’d have to keep forever.

“Spaghetti okay?” You asked him once you both entered the kitchen, decorated with oranges and reds, and yellows, reminiscent of your late mother. You tossed your half apron on the island before making your way to the refrigerator.

You heard his feet patter on the linoleum quickly but before you could turn around on your own Joel did it, pinning your back against the refrigerator and knocking down some of the bottles inside of it.

You gasped when his fingers peacock over the outsides of your thighs, gripping at the hem as a means to pace himself.

His eyes were bright yet lustful as his proximity alone sucked the air out of your lungs. Your chests heaving against each other’s created the only other physical contact you had with him.

He then dropped to his knees before you got the chance to speak; his calloused hands rose beneath your skirt, hiking it up enough for him to pull your wet panties down to your ankles. You stepped out of them for him and he lifted one of your legs over his shoulder before meeting his mouth to your clit tongue first.

You moaned at how he just dove into it, not bothering with kissing or easing you into it. Your digits laced through his messy curls while his tongue coated itself in your juices.

His tongue did crazy laps around your clit and he smacked a couple of firm kisses in between his licks. You tried to watch his work but your stupid fucking skirt was in the way. You settled, however when his eyes opened, the only visible part of him from your view.

You tasted so good to him, he tasted your day of work mixed in with your salty precum and he couldn’t get enough of it. He moaned when you tugged at his hair, burying his face as deep as he could and closing his eyes.

You let out a stream of obscenities while using your calf to push into his back, afraid that if you didn’t hold on tight enough he’d vanish.

He wrote out his full name over your clit like he was casting a spell that anything you or someone else touched you there you would only think about him.

You were amazed at how good he was eating you out — you didn’t think he’d be bad. You just didn’t know it could feel this good. It was like you felt him touching and kissing and licking all over your body, swimming in an endless pool of dissolution.

His touch was decadent through remembering how careful you were with yourself. He wanted to cater to you and to make you feel as good as you made yourself. And on top of that, he just really wanted to eat your pussy.

Savor it.

Taste it.

Drink you until you fucking ran dry and begged him to stop.

Nothing could have torn his lips away from your pussy. Hell, someone could have walked in and he’d still keep going.

“Joel,” you gasped, throwing your head back and grinding on his face.

He loudly moaned, tightening his grip around your thighs and wagging his head furiously from side to side to provide more stimulation.

Your hips bucked into his face roughly and you screeched, pulling even tighter on his hair.

“Joel, oh—fu-fuck!”

He smirked and pulled at the skirt to unveil his eyes again. His dick angered in his jeans, but he ignored it. He’d much rather focus on the way you writhed from his touch. Your panting growing heavier fueled his already intense movements. He began to suck while still shaking his head earning another screech from you.

You never felt out of control with how loud you were before. Every motion sent a million shockwaves throughout your body. You always did a good job at keeping quiet enough so that the neighbors wouldn’t hear, but fucking hell was Joel the one to break that evergreen streak.

You felt his hot breath collide with the fluids coating your sex and his nails leave indents on your flesh.

His tongue darted out to collect a stream of your cum, but his nose butted against your clit as he continued shaking his head making your hips buck once more. Then he realized… He got to stimulate your sensitive bud and lick between your folds.

He loved it.

Your moans became more distressed and uneven; he felt you chasing that high. He wanted you to cum so fucking badly. To let all of your pent-up cum pour over him.

You held the back of his head gently and he angled it just right enough for you to ride his face.

“Use my fucking face,” he moaned loud enough between your legs for you to hear. “Use my fucking face to cum.”

Your body gave in finally at his hoarse voice; your hops sped up, still using his nose and lips to overstimulate yourself. The orgasm was forceful, your moans strident.

Joel felt a pool of your cum leak out and drip down his chin onto his neck. He watched you crumble and curl into him and he was attentive enough to hold you steady while your balance dissipated.

Your head was dizzy and your vision blurred. You slowly halted your movements and just stood there being held by him while he placed light, but loving kisses along your dripping cunt.

He finally pulled his face out from underneath your skirt and carefully put your leg down before standing. He tucked some loose hairs back or behind your ears, then caressed your cheek and gave you a peck.

You wiped some of your cum off of his wet chin with your thumb and held it up to his mouth which he gladly sucked on. He grinned at you afterward and fixed your skirt for you.

The silence was soothing because frankly, neither of you knew what to say. It left you speechless, but that could just be the aftereffect of your climax.

The night was beginning to close in sooner than either of you wanted it to. You two just talked, truly catching up on the past four years. He was a lot funnier than you remembered, your cheeks were aching from how much he was making you laugh.

"You are a real gentleman, Joel Miller. What can I say? Dinner and an orgasm?!"

He lifted you up from your spot on the couch and pulled you into his lap so that you were straddling him. "I don't have to be," he murmured against your lips. His fingers flexed into your feverish skin, holding you upright and close by. He chased you with his lips until you finally let him kiss you. "Be honest with me... Did you really think I was handsome in high school?"

Your face grew warm and you hid behind your hands in embarrassment. "Oh, my God."

"Why are you actin' all shy now?"

"Because you weren’t supposed to know about that."

"Know about what exactly?"

You crossed your arms, deciding to let him win this time. "You want details?"

He smirked and leaned back to get more comfortable.

"Well... I used to lie and tell my friends that we fucked," you admitted.

"Really?" Despite his surprise the smirk never left his face. If anything it grew wider.

You sheepishly nodded. "I used to tell them how good you were. Everything you would do to me."

"What would I do to you?" His cock was already throbbing against his jeans, and just like every other time, he ignored it.

"You would fuck me up against the wall," you explained. "Sometimes, you would bend me over the edge of the bed and spank me for being naughty. Or just 'cause you felt like it. I'd even tell them about how you played with my ass so gently because you didn't want to hurt me."

Every word went straight to his dick, making it jerk and prod your thigh.

"Maybe I do need to bend you over and spank you for all that lyin' you were doin'. Your friends probably think I'm some creep now," he said; his tone wasn’t scolding or cold. He sounded thirsty for more of you. Like his throat had already run dry despite how much of you he drank earlier.

"I'd tell them the truth, but if I were to do that now then I'd be lying again," you whispered against his lips.

"We certainly cannot have you spreadin' no more dirty lies, now. Can we?"

-

Read Part 2 here.

[diejager]

Please!!! I need more of Beta Reader x Poly 141 please!!!

Or maybe an Omega went feral of an alpha who try to do something to her and she went FERAL???

Cw: pack dynamic, Beta!reader, fluff, tell me if I missed any.

You groaned beside Gaz, walking into a crowded room with his arm wrapped around your shoulder. It smelled of rut and aggression, adrenaline laced high and drunken thrill pumping through the pulsing veins of alphas who called this bar home. It was a pungent smell, nose clogging and headache inducing to your sensitive sense. Perhaps you should have wore a blocker like the three others did, betas often had no use to one since their - and by extension yours - noses weren’t as keen or sensitive as the others secondary sexes. Betas couldn’t scent any amount of pheromone or musk, but you were the unfortunate one born with a rare disability —or so most betas considered a disability that negated their clear-minded conscience.

Logic over emotions, the mind presided over the heart of betas. It was what made them essential in a population where the leading figures had moments of hyperactivity and extreme emotional imbalance. Gaz didn’t have any issue following his expectations, cool-minded, gentle and caring, and emotionally dependable. There were such a drastic difference between him and you, grumpy, emotional and suffering from a perpetual scent-inducing headache. He could stay level-headed in all and any situation, but you caved to anger and irritation if the smells became too much. 

He was an examplary beta, yet he always praised you ad encouraged you to join them, a warm palm on your back, or a firm grip on your shoulder, Gaz was a steady rock you learned to lean onto. He was less volatile than Ghost and Price and less excitable than Soap. It almost made you loathe how comfortable he was with everyone while you still stuck out like a sore thumb after months under their care. 

And it didn’t help that Soap had managed to convince you - coerced, you mumbled - to come drink with them. The bar was packed, filled to the brim with alphas, omegas and betas, most patched with blockers over their noses, but their scent glands still stank under the thick, patchy blockers on their necks and shoulders. Price led you to their designated booth, seemingly promised to them by a higher power. They sat and chatted, boisterous words shared between Gaz and Soap while Ghost loomed over the table to your right, taking the seat at the edge in guardianship. They soaked in the comfortable familiarity: the warm lights and brick walls of the pub, the low music and loud chatter and clatter of glass. 

It was all something that would usually make someone relax and calm or happy, but it only made you squirm in your seat, occasionally bumping into Ghost to your right and Soap to your left, squeezed between two big men that smelled so strongly. It made you slightly nauseous, enough to feel a pang at the back of your head, but keep you conscious. You sighed a fourth time, shifting once more, when Ghost placed his hand on your thigh, his palm so big and hot grounding you and keeping you still to his wandering and worried eyes. 

“You all right?” The rumble of his voice had lowered to an accommodating tone, considerate of your growing aches, “Do you need a moment?”

You shook your head, mumbling a soft ‘no, thank you’, reassuring his worry and nodding to the table where Price just arrived with drinks in hand. Ghost reached for both his and your drinks, leaning into you and bathing you in his scent, the woody musk coating you in a soft layer of comfort. You were truly fortunate that their scents were the least irritating you’ve ever encountered, soft and comfortable compared to the grating and annoying musk of other teams you’ve worked with. 

Thanking Ghost for the drink and flushing lightly after Soap had leaned over and pressed his nose to yours, smiling cheekily at Ghost, you hypothesised that perhaps you could end up liking such outing and spending more times surrounding by them.

Taglist: @sae1kie @yeoldedumbslut @bvxygriimes @distracteddragoness @konigsblog @im-making-an-effort @daisychainsinknots @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @danielle143 @tuttifuckinfruttifriday @notspiders @brokenpieces-72 @petwifed @randominstake @haven-1307 @shironasumi @sparky--bunny @bloobewy @cod-z @sweetnanah @aldis-nuts @evolutionarry @kaoyamamegami @cassiecasluciluce

[graciedollie]

hi hii, all the fanfics I read the reader was very feminine, but I was thinking about how cool it would be to do one where the reader is Ambessa's guard, and is muscular and big (but also very shy), Ambessa feels attracted and wants to see if the reader is good at other things besides fighting.....🙈

do it in your own time! ❤️‍🩹

Wandering Lamb

Pair: Ambessa Medarda x MuscularShy!Reader

Summary: You were one of Ambessa’s best soldiers, doing excellent in training and on the battlefield. She was oddly drawn to you, knowing you had much potential. Though, while doing your duties, you happen to stumble upon a sight you’d never forget. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.

Warnings: Face-fucking, age difference (we love to see), fingering, just lex sesbian, praise(we definitely love to see it), Reader is Ambessa’s guard, AMBESSA HAS A BUSH (YES GOD), nothing too drastic or over the top 🎀

A/N: Hopefully this is to your liking babes <3 (i lowkey feel like my fics are going to shit cause of the decreased likes🧍🏾‍♀️)

The night hung high in the sky, casting over the land of Noxus with a thick hue of soft light. You were carefully stalking your way down the halls, panting slightly after a good day of training—well, intense. Training was, as usual, intense and sweat inducing, but you were good in training—hella good. Of course when you first started off, it was rocky as expected, but with time passing—you became one of Ambessa’s best soldiers. Sure her other soldiers did good, but you—you were a beast.

Though you were really skilled and powerful in combat, you were a shy little thing—balancing out your appearance with your personality. Body of a wolf, soul of a lamb. You were sweet and shy, but during battle—you were ruthless. As you spent your years of working your way up as a soldier, you became attracted to the one who pushed you along the way—Ambessa, Noxus fearless warlord. Now, she was absolutely stunning—nearly the beauty of a powerful goddess.

Unfortunately so, you didn’t want to seem out of order or unorthodox to have such feelings towards your higher up, which meant you had to push those feelings deep down and act normal when you were around her. Your mind was wandering with thoughts of her as you stalked your way down the long hallway, patrolling the halls as your usual duty when you weren’t fighting alongside her in battle, which was always a fine honor.

Keeping your eyes closely locked around your environments, it was until then that a noise from her bedroom caught you off guard—eliciting you to swiftly move and enter her room—weapon clutched in your hand.

“General. Are you ok?” Your voice was strained with concern and curiosity, furrowing your brows tightly as your quick feet moved across the marble floors before barging into the large bathroom as you didn’t find her in the bed.

There was no apparent danger, but the sight that was before you—damn near sinful. She laid soaking in the steaming tub, rich brown skin glowing in the dim light, and silver coils crowning her head. Her eyes glanced over with a disapproving gaze before a sly grin tugged at her red lips—nearly making you weak in the knees as her gaze on you was intense.

“And what may be the trouble of you rudely interrupting me, hm?” god that voice. You always loved that voice—whether she was calm and collected or either stern and scolding. It was something you never get tired of, always imagining the way her voice would flow through your ears with her fingers knee deep in yo—unfortunately, those thoughts weren’t to be welcomed.

“Uh—I apologize dearly, General. I…I thought I heard something and figured something was wrong—I’m sorry for interrupting..” Your voice was slightly strained with nerves, practically radiating around your built body, clasping the weapon tightly in your hand as your eyes met with hers before drifting lower, but quickly snapping to her eyes.

But she knew and she wanted you to look.

Ambessa took great pride in her body—the body she put in extensive work to earn. She tilted her head to the side while eyeing you intensely and shamelessly, humming in approval with the way you were built, but was shy as hell. It was honestly endearing to her and she knew that she needed you—and she knew you wanted the same.

“Come.” It wasn’t a request, it was an order—which you gladly followed as you swiftly stalked your way to the large bath, seeing just the way her breast were visibly in the calm waters and how the light scars adorned her beautiful brown skin—god you felt that you were in paradise. Her eyes peered into yours, sensing the nervousness in your eyes as she felt a small smirk tuh at her lips.

“As you know, you are one of my finest guards and best soldier, yes?” She raised a brow at you, expecting your answer quickly, which you quickly responded, “Yes! I am…I put great work and pride in my duties and training—just as you taught me, General.”

A hum of approval was heard from her at your choice of words, clearly liking the impression you were making. Her eyes stayed locked on yours fully before trailing down your body—taking in the way your muscles gleamed with leftover sweat from training.

“And what comes with that is an reward, yes?”

You were honesty ecstatic at her words, fighting the stupid grin that threatened to ghost over your lips. Your mind was racing with so many thing—maybe she’ll do this or that or this or that—with the possibilities being questionable. “Yes…”

“Excellent. I know just the reward for such a loyal, devoted woman you are…”

You just couldn’t wait for what she had in store for you <3

This was not what you were expecting…but you damn sure weren’t complaining.

Your clothes and weapon were completely abandoned to the side of the tub, leaving your body completely exposed to her lustful gaze and wandering eyes—taking in your toned built. You felt extremely shy as you were practically on a stand and her eyes observed your body intensely—catching the litter of scars adorning your skin.

She curled her finger in a ‘come here’ motion, which you quickly pushed through the water to get to her before her hands finally roamed all over your body, “Quite the view..”

“Oh…thank you, u-uh General..” You couldn’t help the nervous chuckle that climbed from its chamber, internally face-palming yourself for doing the stupid gesture, but that was quickly pushed aside as her lips finally found your neck and suckled at the skin. A low moan escaped your mouth as her velvety tongue trailed over the delicate skin, leaving bites and kisses in her trail.

This felt like totally paradise. This is what you’ve wanted for so long. Your eyes fluttered as she slowly leaned you back to have you lay back against edge of the tub, lips never leaving your neck while her large hand ventured under the water and between your toned thighs—sliding her thumb across your slit, earning a soft gasp.

“Ambessa—“

“General.” She quickly corrected you, pulling away from your neck to take in your expressions as her thumb rubbed slow, firm circles over your aching clit—smirking at the sight before her. “You’ve peaked my interest, dear. Such a strong, loyal, and trustworthy woman you are. I respect that…”

Your hips bucked up to her touch, causing little ripples of water to scatter. Her eyes peered into yours before you turned to look away, only to be met with her other hand gripping your chin firmly and forcing the intense eye contact. “Look at me when I’m speaking to you.”

Her voice was firm and stern—the voice you loved hearing every time she spoke, god you needed her badly. You nodded quickly in compliance to her words, nodded eyes gazing into her peering ones—gasping as she slowly slipped a single finger in you with ease. Her fingers were thick, of course, but not this much. The way only one single finger felt, you were uncertain about adding another—three, at that matter.

“I-oh my gosh…General..” Your body was practically burning due to the stretch and with the sweet pleasure of her rubbing over your clit—slowly picking up the pace of her motions as she watched you intently.

You looked utterly breathtaking. Eyes were fluttering, struggling to keep eye contact. Mouth parted with gasp and low moans. Toned stomach flexing. Muscular thighs jerking with each pump of her finger and each flex of your sculptured arms as you slightly squirmed. “For a resilient woman, you are the shyest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on—how adorable.”

Your words were quickly spurring you on, moaning and grunting in response to her words—looking at her with a silent plea in your eyes, but that wouldn’t work with her. “Words or do you not want more? I’m sure you deserve an reward, no? It would be a shame if I had to take it away..”

“N-no! I…I need more…please.” Your voice was slightly shaky and strained, huffing slightly as you were worked up—already feeling yourself on the brink of combusting. She couldn’t help the smirk grazing over her lips, taking in the sight of your expressions as she added another finger—making you feel full.

“Oh…shitshitshit, General….please..”Your eyes were fluttering as they threatened to roll back, but you stayed strong as you knew she’d stop if you looked away—having this moment with her was a great honor, yes? Of course it was, with the way your pussy was gripping her fingers, enjoying this was an understatement.

“There we go…feels good to be rewarded, doesn’t it?” She hummed lowly against your lips, feeling your quicken gasps and whines as you quickly nodded, looking at her with hooded eyes, “Yes—y-yes…so good..”

“I know, I know…come for me, love..”

Her words were all the encouragement that you need, along with her thrusting her fingers quickly and steadily—earning a broken moan escaping your mouth as your thighs tensed up and jerked as the orgasm crashed over your body like a wave.

She was definitely going to enjoy a sweet thing such as yourself.

You felt you could die, but in a happy way, of course.

Here you were, face deep in the older woman’s thighs, trailing soft and delicate kisses along the toned, brown skin of her inner thighs as you were on your knees. She had her hand buried in your hair, making sure your eyes stayed locked on to hers—peering down at you with a lustful and appreciative gaze as she felt your warm lips against her thighs. “No need to be so shy, child…”

You could practically feel your body flare up with heat, besides the heat emitting from the warm water that engulfed you both. Your hooded eyes stayed locked up on hers with a desperate and needy gaze, feeling yourself getting more turned on as your hands came to rub her outer thighs and up to her ass—fondling with the soft, but firm muscle, earning an appreciative grunt as she flooded your head with praises.

“Such a good girl for me.”

“Just like that, mhm..”

“Such a pretty thing.”

“You’re so gentle. I’m not fragile, love.”

“You’re so good..”

With her words spurring you on, you felt your body buzzing with excitement to finally give her what you both wanted, no—needed. Your eyes peered up at her with a silent plead, earning a soft smile tugging at her lips. “You know what to do…”

She didn’t even have to say anything else before you spreaded her thighs further, lapping away at her folds as the grey patch of hair tickled your noses—not that you minded, of course. The taste of her was utterly savoring and addictive, only wanting to taste more of her sweet nectar as it dribbled down her thighs, your chin and your lips. Your hooded eyes peered up at you and you felt that you might just cum like this.

The way her head was titled back, lips parted with low moans and grunts, breast jerking with her slight movements and the way her hips bucked to your face. You felt her hand tightening up in your high, pulling you closer to her weeping cunt, which you happily lapped away as if you were a starved woman. It felt like such paradise between her thighs, the smell and taste driving you absolutely feral—wanting more of her.

“That’s it…right there..” Her words came out strained and husky, signaling that she was practically on the edge of cumming, but not quite—though your tongue moved expertly through and in her cunt. The grip on her ass tightened as you buried yourself deeper in her thighs, latching into her swollen clit as you sucked messily at the bundle of nerves—feeling her toned thighs start to temblor alongside your head as she tugged your hair.

A mix of a grunt and growl escaped her mouth as her fluttering eyes peered down at your hooded ones, seeing how you were completely drunk for her. Both of her hands grasped your hair tightly, holding you still as she started to grind firmly against the expert tongue and mouth—practically face-fucking you with her pussy, which you felt honor for her to do such. You might just die. Your eyes stayed locked onto hers, seeing the way they struggled to stayed focused on yours before her head finally tipped back—eliciting a groan from her sweet lips.

Your hands roamed up and down her thighs, rubbing over her ass here and there—feeling completely content, even though she was practically suffocating you with the way she squeezed the toned muscles around you. If you died, you’d die happy.

The heavenly grunts and low moans of the older woman bounced off the walls and echoed, causing a beautiful melody that replayed in your head (most likely gonna remember this to fuck yourself to later). It was such a blissful noise and her using like this was just as thrilling—feeling the aching feeling swarm between your thighs. A startled moan was muffled by her cunt as she gave your hair one final pull before she completely came apart.

Her thighs trembled, hips bucked, breast jerking with each heavy breath she took, head tilling back. It was as if you were being gifted by the higher powers—thanking them eternally for this. The grip on her thighs tightened as she completely covered your face with her release—squirting all over your pretty face before you hungrily lapped away at the mess.

She panted heavily as her head slowly looked back down at you, titling her head as she examined your disheveled face—smiling wickedly at the sight. Her hand left your hair to pull you up from your knees, looking at you with a sinful gaze before she licked the essence of her from your chin to your lips—capturing your lips in a heated, hungry kiss, earning a moan from you before she pulled away.

“Such a mess…”

hope you enjoyed dollies <3

[austinbutlerslovers]

Buzzcut

Label 18+

Summary You knew the day was coming and had mentally prepared for it—the day Austin would completely shave his head for a role.

You understood his dedication and how drastic his look would be, but what you didn’t expect is the difference it would make in your relationship.

❤️‍🔥Passionate Smut❤️‍🔥 Austins drastic hair change • relationship dynamics •fetishism • oral on fem • interchanging positions • cowgirl• missionary• P in V• orgasms • cream pie 🔗Masterlist

📖 Proofreader @purejasmine Written by popular demand🪒 *Updated: location of where he filmed the scene-Tulum Mexico 🥰

Buzzcut

You’re in Tulum, Mexico, staying in a luxurious beachfront resort where Austin is filming his latest project.

The suite is spacious and elegant, with rich wooden accents and soft, airy fabrics that sway in the ocean breeze. 

Large glass windows and sliding doors open onto a private terrace, offering a stunning view of the turquoise ocean stretching to the horizon. 

The king-sized bed, draped in crisp white linens, sits perfectly positioned in the center of the room to face the breathtaking view.

But despite your beautiful surroundings, you’ve been pacing the suite consumed with only one thing on your mind. 

Austin’s key card slides into the slot, and your heart leaps to your throat. He’s finally back. You rush to the door of the suite, nearly tripping in your excitement.

Your anticipation has been mounting all day, ever since he texted to say he’d filmed “the scene.” The one you knew was coming—the one where he shaves his hair into a buzz cut.

When you swing open the door, he greets you with his sweet charming smile that never fails to disarm you, but he’s wearing a hoodie and a cap that hide the evidence of what he’s done.

As he steps inside the door clicks shut behind him, and he wraps his arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug, his familiar warmth grounding you instantly.

“I missed you,” he whispers against your ear, his voice soft and affectionate.

You squeeze him back, hugging him deeply, but your curiosity is burning a hole through you. Pulling back, you look up at him with wide eyes. “Okay let me see it.”

He chuckles, a low sound that sends a thrill through you. “You’re not even going to ask how my day was?”

“Austin!” you whine, swatting at his chest. “I’m desperate, let me see it.”

“Alright, alright.” He says stepping back and with a teasing smirk he slowly pulls his hoodie down. Your breath catches as his neck comes into view, bare and smooth.

Then with deliberate care, he removes his hat. His hand runs over his scalp, and your heart stutters in your chest.

“Austin…” you breathe, stepping closer your hand moving on instinct, your fingers brushing over his jaw. You trail them up to his temple, your touch lingering near his ear

His hair is shaved to his scalp in a buzz cut. Gone is the tousled golden hair you’ve always loved, replaced with something new, something rugged, and undeniably masculine.

You’re shocked, taken aback by the change. You loved when he changed his hairstyles, but this? This was something else entirely.

“Do you like it?” he asks, his voice tinged with curiosity as he takes your hand guiding it to the back of his head letting you feel the velvety texture.

You can’t stop staring at him the change has brought out something different in him, something striking.

His jawline is sharper now, his cheekbones are defined and everything about his face suddenly has a chiseled, rugged edge.

“You look so different,” you finally manage, your voice surprised as your palm smooths over his head, feeling the texture.

He grins, his confidence growing as he sees the way you’re looking at him.

“Do you like me different?” he teases, his grin widening as he guides your hand down to his chest.

His words ignite something in you, and before you can second-guess yourself, you’re pulling him closer, your lips crashing into his.

He groans into the kiss, his hands sliding down your back, pulling you flush against him. The heat between you is instant, building fast as his mouth claims yours with a hunger that leaves you breathless.

You tug at his hoodie, and he helps you strip it off, his shirt following in one smooth motion. Your hands are on him immediately, roaming over the broad planes of his chest before returning to his head, and he groans when your fingertips graze along his scalp.

“Feels so good,” he whispers, his lips finding the sensitive spot just beneath your ear.

You tug at his waistband, and he immediately unbuttons his jeans, his lips never leaving your neck. His kisses are hot and urgent, his breath brushing against your skin as he works his jeans loose and kicks them off with one swift motion.

His fingers slide to the waistband of your shorts, tugging them down your hips along with your panties as his mouth trails lower, leaving a fiery path across your skin.

Your hands find his head, holding him to you as he kisses along your chest, his fingers quickly unclasping your bra before he pulls your shirt over your head, tossing it aside without hesitation.

You’re both breathless by the time every piece of clothing is removed, your naked bodies pressed together, heat and desire consuming you both.

His hands grip your waist, firm and commanding, as he guides you toward the spacious bed together, your lips never parting as you kiss.

His hands slide down to the back of your thighs, lifting you just enough to place you down on the bed.

You can feel the strength in his arms, the heat radiating from his body, and the way he’s so achingly focused on you, his blue eyes filled with desire as he kisses down your body.

By the time his lips find your clit, you’re already wet with need, your body trembling in anticipation. His hands spread your thighs, fingers digging into your skin as his face lowers between them.

He pleasures you with his mouth, his tongue moving with precision, swirling and flicking, while his hands hold you firmly in place as you writhe beneath him lost in pleasure.

You can’t stop touching him, your hands constantly moving to his head, grazing the skin.

“Austin,” you gasp, your voice breaking as he groans against you, the vibrations sending shockwaves through your core. “Don’t stop…please don’t stop.” you whisper.

Your thighs tremble against his head, and he grips your hips firmly, keeping you in place as his mouth works you over with unrelenting focus. The tension builds, spiraling higher and higher until the pressure finally snaps.

You cry out, your hands holding his head down as you push against his face, your release crashing through you in waves. His mouth doesn’t stop, his tongue unrelenting as he groans, devouring every ounce of your pleasure until you’re shaking beneath him.

As you try to catch your breath, he moves up your body, his lips brushing against your stomach, then your breasts, until he hovers over your face, his eyes filled with pride and desire.

Before he can pin you down, you press your palms firmly against his chest, catching him off guard. His eyes widen slightly with surprise, but then a look of understanding crosses his face, allowing you full control as you gently roll on top of him.

You straddle his hips, sliding your hand between your legs to guide his hard cock into you. The sensation makes you both gasp as you slowly glide down on him, his head tilting back as his hands grab your hips.

“Fuck,” he pants, his voice deep with unrestrained pleasure as his fingers dig into your skin. “You feel… so perfect.”

You begin to move, your hips rolling back and forth, overwhelmed by the pleasure of him stretching and filling you completely.

His eyes flutter shut when your fingertips graze over his head again, and a soft moan escapes your lips as his fingertips dig into your hips, urging you to move faster.

You lean in, kissing him deeply, your movements syncing perfectly as the intensity builds between you. 

His hands slide up your back, gripping your shoulders tightly as his hips buck up, thrusting his cock into you. 

You feel the pressure of him hitting the perfect spot inside you of over and over again until you orgasm, your cries of pleasure filling the suite, blending with the faint sound of waves crashing outside the open balcony doors.

You barely have time to catch your breath before he flips you onto your back, his eyes filled with determination.

He holds your wrists above your head pinning you as he kisses you deeply, his hips sliding between your thighs. 

When he thrusts into you, hard and deep, the stretch is almost unbearable, making you cry out in pleasure as his hands slide to your hips.

Each thrust of his cock feels deeper and more intense as you moan for him your hands caressing the back of his head. 

Your fingernails graze down the base of his skull and he shudders violently as a guttural groan rips from his throat.

“Fuck  … you feel so good,” he mutters, his voice rough and incoherent, completely lost in pleasure. “I… I need to be deeper, I need to feel all of you.” He whispers his words raw and desperate.

His hands move beneath your hips, tilting them up as he thrusts even harder. His lips and tongue trailing  over your throat as you gasp, your body arching beneath him from the onslaught of overwhelming stimulation. 

Your nails drag down the back of his head as you begin to orgasm, making him groan as he thrusts into you faster.

His grip under your hips tightens, almost bruising, as his thrusts become wilder, harder, deeper, driving you closer to the edge with every snap of his hips. 

The tension in his body is undeniable, his muscles straining with each powerful thrust, completely consumed by the feeling of your walls fluttering on his cock.

Your moans turn into desperate cries as the pleasure builds to an overwhelming peak. 

The tension snaps, your body shuddering uncontrollably as your orgasm crashes over you, your nails gripping his head as you scream his name.

The sound of your pleasure sends him spiraling, his thrusts growing erratic as a deep groan escapes him, his voice breaking with desperation.

“Fuck… you’re gonna make me come,” he rasps, his voice trembling, the word's breaking off as he tilts his head back, his eyes squeezing shut in pure ecstasy.

A deep, guttural groan rips from his chest as he thrusts deeper, his release surging through him with unstoppable intensity.

You feel the sudden warmth of his come, his cock twitching with every pulse. He lets out a soft, broken sound with each spasm, his hips jerking slightly as he empties himself, filling you completely.

His breaths are short and uneven as his body trembles, until finally, he collapses against you, his weight pressing you into the bed grounding you in the hazy afterglow.

His heart pounds wildly against your chest as he buries his face in the crook of your neck.

“I guess you’re… okay with the buzzcut” he says breathlessly, his voice laced with exhaustion and a hint of teasing.

You laugh between breaths, your fingernails trailing lightly over his scalp. “I’m going to enjoy every  moment of this until your hair grows back,” you pant, your voice soft but full of playful affection.

He grins, shifting just enough to look at you. “I could live with that,” he says, leaning down to brush a lazy kiss against your lips and you smile, gliding your palm over the back of his head.

🪒 End

🔗 Masterlist

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[ayakashiz]

Alien Stage R6 Analysis

VERY LONG compilation of my interpretations, impressions and unanswered questions about Round 6 of Alien Stage. I just wanted to write this to put all my thoughts in one place so I can finally rest (in pieces). TW for mentions of suic*de/suic*dal ideation.

The most debated is no doubt the kiss/choking scene and Ivan’s motivation for doing so in the first place. 

I think from the very beginning, even before R3, Ivan was planning to go out with a bang. That’s the immediate impression I got from the comic where he mocks/criticizes Sua for planning to “selfishly” die for Mizi and feel good being the “heroine” rather than having to deal with the trauma of being the one left behind. 

(I'm too lazy to edit the whole translation as of now, but might do so when I have more time.)

Ivan tells her how he’s “relieved that he’s not the only who’s that twisted” = He’s comparing himself to Sua. He thinks they’re both ‘twisted’ for planning to do the same thing, but from Ivan’s perspective, he at least isn’t fooling himself into thinking his motives are altruistic. He tasted the feeling of being ‘abandoned’, and he knows he doesn’t want to experience it twice. 

He also probably thought that his death wouldn’t be as impactful on Till as Sua’s death on Mizi, and therefore his own selfishness is more justified in his mind. This most likely plays a role in how cold and biting his words are towards Sua –he’s jealous of that difference between them.

I hadn’t noticed this detail the first time I watched the video: Not only did Till look absolutely miserable and defeated from the get go, but he completely gave up and stopped singing at some point. If you look at the video, we can hear the audio that was supposed to be sung, but Till is quiet and still, and THIS is the moment Ivan chooses to act.

Although they do not show the votes at that particular moment, stopping mid song would have definitely taken a hit to Till’s score as it’s basically forfeiting –a huge contrast to his previous match where he didn’t even let his opponent utter a single line.

In response, Ivan doesn’t just walk towards him but throws his microphone to the ground, explicitly forfeiting as well in order to then pull a drastic move like it was foreshadowed in his interview.

The kiss itself imo was the less calculated/arguably unplanned part. He could have just choked Till from the start and it would have gotten him the same if not better results (since it was the act of violence against another contestant that ultimately lowered his score and got the counter to stop). 

That kiss was authentic and for himself entirely, both as a last desperate attempt at conveying his feelings and a selfish way of leaving a strong impression on Till that he wouldn’t be able to forget (a hypocritical move going back to how he criticized Sua). In that sense, I don’t think Ivan was seriously trying to take Till down with him –although that’s up to interpretation. As I see it, that would contradict his actions up until that point.

Till was VERY CLEARLY suic*dal (once again, he gave up singing), and after the initial shock of Ivan squeezing his neck, this fiery, rebellious man who is KNOWN to fight tooth and nail, simply closed his eyes and relaxed his body, waiting for Ivan to end him without fighting at all. 

The thing is, no matter how suic*dal one may be, the fighting response when being actually suffocated is automatic and completely involuntary. People mention there not being marks on Till’s neck but I think the most telling sign is him not going red, not squirming, not struggling or holding onto Ivan’s wrists (again, expected involuntary responses), his eyes not watering or having blurry vision while we see Ivan from his POV, not opening his mouth even a little to gasp for air and not coughing or gasping either when he was finally released.

Ivan definitely had him in a strong grip, might have even made him a bit lightheaded, but the reason why Till could look so relaxed in the first place is because he had given up and was waiting for Ivan to go ahead. If his closed eyes and limp posture were due to the choking itself, he would have fallen or stumbled when being let go, but we see that his eyes open as soon as he feels Ivan’s hands slipping away and he looks shocked instead.

So then what was Ivan’s motivation, if not to kill him? Yes, there’s the already discussed plan to get himself disqualified. But Ivan glances at the screen only a few seconds after he starts the choking, confirming that the voting had in fact stopped with Till having the higher score. He then goes for one last ‘goodbye’ kiss before continuing to choke him, holding his grip even as he starts getting shot.

We see a closeup of him, his eyes and hands trembling, looking more frustrated/emotional than in Till’s first POV where he looks rather stoic. It makes me think that the reason he refused to let go was simply because he wanted Till to look at him. 

They strongly imply throughout the whole video that being annoying or mean or violent was the only way Ivan learnt how to make Till focus his full attention on him, but now even as he’s threatening his life, even as he himself is dying, even after that kiss, Till wouldn’t look. 

It took him getting fatally wounded and realizing there was no turning back to reach a state of acceptance. His bittersweet expression here reminds me A LOT of his smile after Till runs back during the meteor scene, although this one seems a lot more tender. He seems to accept the fact that Till will never love him back, but Ivan cannot stop loving him anyways and he at least got to put his feelings out there. 

(The parallels here are driving me insane. The way there is light in his eyes in both instances as he looks at Till even while 'losing him' in a way. The struggle between wanting to posses him yet realizing his free spirit/strong will is part of what he loves about him. That last genuine gaze from a character who spent his whole life putting on a mask. Yes I am very normal about this.)

Until then, Ivan’s more tender/vulnerable side is only shown while Till is unconscious or looking away.

(That soft, loving nuzzle to Till's face has me in SHAMBLES.)

But ironically, it’s only when he releases him and shows him this vulnerability without a mask that Till really looks at him for the first time. I’d go as far as to say that it was this moment, and not the kiss, that finally made Till understand Ivan’s feelings. And in turn Ivan gets that little shot of euphoria as he falls to the ground.

Going back to the survivor’s guilt… I can only imagine it’ll go completely downhill for Till from now on. Not only does he already think Mizi might be dead and is angry at himself that he couldn’t save her (as seen in the shot where he punches his own picture), but now he has most likely realized that Ivan intentionally fumbled their match for his sake –which would lead to the realization that he was the reason why Ivan chose to run back to Anakt Garden after him in the first place, and that choice ultimately lead to his death. 

Even though we see them fighting a lot as children through the videos and comics, it’s also implied that they were always together and they shared some quiet moments –the “Mizi didn’t play with you, I played with you” art, all that art of the main 4 playing together, those bright smiles as they ran away together during the meteor shower scene and Till looking so guilty when he let go of his hand. 

There are a few cute doodles of them for those who are on Patreon, and some more lore in the Anakt Garden kit –so they were at the very least friends in their own way (as best as 2 very traumatized and abused children could), constantly fighting and making up. Which God… it shows that despite appearances Till must have actually had the patience of a saint when they were little lmao.

But what I’m trying to say is that despite what Ivan may have thought, his death will most definitely have an impact on Till and the narrative going forward, and I’m excited to find out how that reflects in the final round (if the resistance doesn’t manage to get back up in time to disrupt it). 

Despite how much I adored (and SUFFERED WITH) this round, I still have MANY questions that were left unanswered, both about Ivan and Till, and the lore in general, and I wonder if there’ll be time to answer them all, as I can imagine the next MV will be focused on Luka’s perspective, the only one we haven’t been presented with.

One of the most pressing questions being: What’s the relationship between Ivan and that alien dog? Did he tame it? It is implied that it was Ivan who somehow led Till and Mizi to it in the first place in that one scene, and if so I wonder what his motivation was? Normally jealousy would be the first thing to come to mind but Ivan wasn’t interested in Till until AFTER he saw him stand up to the beast to protect Mizi, so it couldn’t have been that. 

This is something that was also teased on Patreon and I was looking forward to the explanation on the MV, but it never came, and now Ivan is dead, so the next video will most likely not be too concerned with his backstory any longer. (Which, also, I was really curious about his life in the slums before being captured, auctioned and brought to Anakt, as that would have played a huge role in his twisted personality/dark tendencies –once again teased on Patreon very briefly, but not explained beyond that frame of him looking famished.)

The second is, how is Ivan able to open Till’s collar/muzzle so easily? This is a question I’ve been having since R3, but chalked it up to Ivan being sneaky and figuring out some kind of code to the cell door and that somehow automatically deactivating the locks on the restraints… or something. But with how many times he does it in R6 with just a touch it’s very clear that that isn’t the case and also imo they’re trying to point this out as a significant detail. 

It may turn out that I’m just looking too much into it, but I find it really curious and interesting. Not only is he the only child without a collar (Mizi and Sua still had them despite being just as well behaved as him), but he seems to be the only one able to take them off –or at least Till’s. I’m pretty sure the children wouldn’t normally be able to remove them by themselves as it seems to be a control mechanism. So how can Ivan? This might explain a lot about how they were able to escape, and also add a layer of tragedy knowing that Ivan could have chosen to escape by himself at any point, but refused to leave Till behind.

Last but not least there’s all the human experimentation Till was subjected to, which was the main topic of the teaser and we see the same images show up in the very beginning of the MV. They help emphasize Till’s suffering and distressed state of mind, but then they’re never expanded on or mentioned at all for the rest of the video. That’s a huge piece of lore that I also hope isn’t forgotten.

I mean, I really doubt it will. So far VIVINOS & co. have been incredible with their ability to hold back information and release it at the moment where it’s the most impactful, which is refreshing to see. So I trust we’ll get some answers eventually. 

Really curious to know why they would experiment on an ALNST contestant in the first place, especially one that is undoubtedly talented and described as a musical genius (aka. has good odds of doing well on stage and earning the segyein revenue). A very plausible theory might just be that he was just getting constantly drugged to make him less of a threat/more submissive –like we see on the karaoke room scene. But it might as well be something bigger.

As for my expectations for the next round… I’m still just trying to process this one, as you can see by the sheer amount of text. There are many things left to address, and the Hyuna/Luka confrontation has been strongly teased. I wonder also, if the round goes on without interruption, what would Luka’s strategy against Till be? Would he go for provocation again, trying to imitate Mizi/hint to his recent trauma with Ivan? It probably won’t be that simple.

I mean, VIVINOS has been known for subverting our expectations with each round:

The ominous/callous framing that was given to Ivan by the end of Black Sorrow and the art that followed, making us suspicious of his intentions, only to have him die for love. The lifeless/doll-like framing given to Luka, vulnerable and cornered by flashing lights, only to have him be the cruelest/most calculating one (that we know so far). The rebellious, rowdy, willing to do anything to survive framing given to Till, only to have his fighting spirit completely break and willingly waiting to die by Ivan’s hands. The naive, complacent and passive image given to Mizi, only to have her snap, beat the shit out of Luka and join the rebellion –and with how things are going (and her being the protagonist) I wouldn’t be surprised if she, and not Hyuna (the one who was framed as the most strong and reliable, giving us a false sense of security going into R6), is who will have to try and rescue Till (and Luka???).

There are still a ton of things that keep me awake at night about R6 –my favorite character dying aside. I could talk about it forever, but I’ll leave it here. 

Feel free to share your theories, delusions, interpretations or any detail I might have missed with me. God knows we need group therapy after this as the cute chibi keychains can only heal us so far. Thanks for reading my rambles if you made it this far. :’)

[it-happened-one-fic]

Bridal Visions: Photoshoot #5 - Fontaine Bridal - Your Groom

Summary: Chiori teasing you when your stand-in groom for the modeling photoshoot of her Fontaine inspired bridal line was Wriothesley was to be expected. And she wasn’t being entirely subtle either. But you also couldn’t deny that Wriothesley did make a charming groom and that today was going to be a memory you treasured for years to come.

Type: Female reader/ 800 Followers Event/ series/ sfw/ fluff/ teasing/Chiori is shipping again/

Bridal Visions Series Masterlist

Word Count: 1906

I stared at myself in the mirror, my gaze sweeping over the pristine white dress that was accented with delicate lace. But I had genuinely wondered what sort of gown I’d be wearing when I’d agreed to be a model for Chiori’s new wedding line. I really didn’t think I could have been wholly prepared for what greeted me, though, and I stared at my reflection with slightly widened eyes.

“Like it?” I blinked and turned, immediately making eye contact with Chiori before I felt a smile cross over my face.

“It’s beautiful, Chiori,” She smiled at my words. Nodding her head like she’d already known that was what I was going to say as she walked over and casually began adjusting little things that I hadn’t even noticed about the dress.

Smoothing wrinkles that were in the lace that coated both my arms and shoulders, tweaking folds in the wrists of the sleeves where they flared as she spoke, “I made some adjustments when the Traveler told me you were going to be the model.”

I blinked, feeling myself smile amusedly as my eyes followed her, “Oh?” 

I couldn’t keep the humor out of my tone, and her gaze flickered over to meet mine, a slight sparkle of amusement in the red depths of her eyes as she spoke, “That’s why it’s backless. It’ll be fun seeing how your groom reacts.” 

I snorted at her words, dry even despite their teasing nature, and I shook my head even as I chuckled, “Wriothesley isn’t going to react.”

“Don’t all grooms look forward to seeing how their bride looks?” Her tone was perfectly blasé in a way that could only be described as very Chiori, and I rolled my eyes.

“Maybe, but Wriothesley’s not my groom. He’s just modeling the clothes alongside me,” Chiori stepped back as I spoke, her gaze meeting mine.

Her eyebrows arched slightly before she lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, “Well, we’ll see. And you look marvelous anyway.”

I laughed but followed her out, lightly lifting the fitted, lacy skirt of the dress as I went and ignoring the way it dragged behind me in a short train that only added to its rather grandiose look. 

I blinked into the sunlight as we emerged from the dressing area and watched as Wriothesley turned to look back at me with a ready smile on his face that automatically had me smiling back at him.

His outfit wasn’t that drastically different from what he usually wore. It was a suit in his usual shades of grey with flashes of maroon. But his choker, gloves, and fluffy coat were gone so that he looked a bit more cleaned up, and his boots were replaced with dress shoes.

And I honestly figured Chiori might be the one woman on earth that could force Wriothesley to actually clean up his appearance, even if it was just for some photos. 

But then, who knows. Perhaps he would look exactly this way if it were his wedding day.

Chiori shifted so that she was no longer blocking his view of me, and I got to watch as his pale eyes widened in surprise before he schooled his expression back to a more easygoing smile. Though I didn’t miss the knowing look Chiori gave me as she walked over to the photographer that almost had me making a face at her before I joined Wriothesley.

“What was that look about? Some sort of girl talk that I’m not allowed to know about?” He was grinning at me as I stopped in front of him, and I shook my head fondly.

“No, Chiori’s just been teasing me,” I waved away his question with a smile, but it did little to dim the glimmer in his eyes.

“Ah, about what a lovely bride you make, I’m assuming,” It was almost impressive how quickly he caught onto at least a portion of what Chiori had just been picking on me about as he crossed his arms.

I rolled my eyes slightly at his words before nodding, smiling all the while. But there was no way I was about to let him know the specifics of her teasing or that fact that it was genuinely nice to be complimented. Even if I weren’t a real bride.

But I also wasn’t going to take his teasing lying down, and I grinned at him, “Shouldn’t you worry about yourself? Many folks see you looking like that, and you might just become the most sought-after man in Fontaine.”

He snorted at my words, nodding his head with a devil-may-care grin as he responded with characteristic sarcasm, “Oh yeah, that’s totally me. Wanted dead or alive.”

I shook my head at his words, crossing my arms as I eyed him, “While I’m sure you’d make a very cute zombie, I imagine most would prefer for their groom to be alive for the wedding.”

He gave a noncommittal shrug before grinning at me once more, “Eh, details.”

“Alright, lovebirds,” At Chiori’s voice, we both turned to see her walking over. And it was beyond obvious that she’d long since abandoned her teasing in favor of a more businesslike position. Even if she was still picking on both of us lightly with her choice of words.

She pointed at Wriothesley, and I watched as he straightened like he was at attention, doing my best not to laugh at him as Chiori spoke, “You’re a big boy, so here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to scoop up Y/n bridal style, and we’ll go from there.”

I blinked at her words, briefly surprised, before I glanced over at Wriothesley, who merely shrugged, apparently unbothered by the plan, “I suppose bridal style is fitting.”

Chiori ignored him as she continued, turning to face me, “Here, this’ll be your bouquet.”

I accepted the flowers hastily, a small arrangement of rainbow roses, before I glanced back over at her in time to see her turn on her heel and start walking off. Her exit from the space our signal to get into position.

I glanced over at Wriothesley, who was eyeing me expectantly, before I stepped closer and shifted my bouquet to one hand as I reached up to rest a hand lightly on his broad shoulder. 

He hesitated only briefly, glancing with slightly raised eyebrows at my exposed back that he could now see before he shook his head with an amused smile. Almost like he somehow knew about Chiori’s plot.

But then, as quickly and easily as could be, he scooped me up like I weighed nothing at all. One of his arms wrapping around my back while the other hooked itself under my knees so that I was cradled against him as he straightened.

I felt my eyes widen as I hastily wrapped my arm around his shoulders so that my hand rested against his neck while my other arm flailed slightly with the bouquet. And I could feel him chuckling at my startled reaction.

I frowned at him slightly as he adjusted his hold, bouncing me slightly in a move that I was positive was intended to get yet another reaction from me.

“I didn’t expect to go up that fast,” Even as I scolded him while simultaneously defending my reaction, I could feel myself steadily relaxing and trusting him to hold me up as he grinned at me.

“Apologies,” Despite his words, I was almost certain that he didn’t feel bad in the slightest. His tone certainly didn’t make him sound that way, and the mischievous glimmer to his eyes wasn’t convincing either.

I frowned at him for just a moment longer before I looked towards where Chiori stood beside the camera, her expression thoughtful as I called out to her, “What now?”

Silence stretched as she frowned at us thoughtfully, and the photographer leaned around her camera to look at the two of us after briefly glancing at the designer, “How about you two improvise something? Anything romantic should do.”

“Improvise…” I trailed off and looked over at Wriothesley, whose eyebrows had arched at our instructions.

He shook his head slightly, half-glancing my way. And I could almost see the cogs in his head turning as he muttered to himself, “Something romantic, huh?”

I tilted my head, adjusting my grip on him slightly so that I wasn’t quite so stiff as I felt a teasing smile slip onto my face, “I guess you could always sing or do something equally cheesy like they do in the movies?”

He snorted, automatically shaking his head as he shot down my playful suggestion, “Yeah, no.”

He paused, looking over at me with a grin that was steadily spreading across his face and had my eyebrows arching at him, “I might have an idea, though.”

“Oh?” I questioned him before nodding slightly, because at least he had an idea. I couldn’t say the same for myself, “Well, what do you need me to do then?”

He was grinning fully now in a way that promised that either a snarky line or some form of shenanigans was coming. But he only said one word, with amusement already coating his tone: “Relax.”

Barely even had time to frown at him in confusion before he spun, causing my eyes to widen before I abruptly started laughing in surprise at his antics as my skirt swung out in response to his motions.

I curled forward and towards him as laughter bubbled out of me, and I could feel both my skirt and veil fanning out around us as we spun with him holding me tightly to him.

Distantly, I could hear the camera snapping pictures at the speed of light, catching every moment of our interaction until he slowed to a stop. Laughing along with me, now with our foreheads pressed together from where he’d leaned down slightly.

And after a brief moment he let out a sigh as our laughter trailed off, and he set me down, still grinning from ear to ear, “Alright. Down you go.”

I was only briefly wobbly as I found my footing while I leaned against Wriothesley, and Chiori walked over with a slight smile on her face as she watched the two of us with crossed arms and a far too smug expression, “That should be perfect.”

She paused, glancing at Wriothesley thoughtfully as she gestured towards me, “What did you think of the exposed back?”

I whirled to look at her, her name slipping from my mouth in a shocked, half-betrayed exhale as he nodded. And, calm as could be, he gave a shrug paired with a slight, “I thought it was a nice touch.”

She looked at me with a smug smile, her eyes glimmering, “See? I told you.”

I all but scowled at her as she turned to walk away, abandoning me as Wriothesley turned to look at me with arched brows. Leaning forward slightly as if he were sharing a secret as he half-whispered his question, “Is that what the girl talk was about?”

I glanced his way, briefly meeting his gaze before looking away again as I thought of Chiori’s teasing. Because I knew exactly what she was getting at with all of her remarks about me being his bride and him being my groom, but I wasn’t about to mention all of that to him as I trailed off, “Amongst other things……”

If you would like to read more:

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[darkmist111]

Something I wish was talked about more is that Percy wasn’t told about the full Great Prophecy until days before it was set to occur.

And the implications of who knew, and how it changes the view of people’s actions in that context.

Let’s start off with who knew for sure, Annabeth, Luke, Chiron, and all the gods.

Annabeth has been the one that’s been analyzed the most I think. Her abandonment issues, combined with the knowledge that the best friend she made and boy she loves most likely has a expiration date. She pulls away and is reluctant to open up on her feelings. She spends alot of time bracing for pain she thinks is coming.

Chiron spends a good portion of the time being honestly very pessimistic with Percy, talking about heroes that died tragically, gods that probably don’t care, and honestly usually looks at Percy like he’s already dead. There are many times in the book where Chiron gets a far away look and Percy thinks he’s thinking of fallen heroes but it might be he’s thinking about how the Hero before him is due to die in a couple years.

You will never catch me defending Luke Castellan’s actions, but with the context of the Great prophecy, I can understand how in a twisted way his actions might have made sense. If this kids is gonna die in a couple years anyway why not kill him now? Why wait just so he can die a slower death possibly in service to a broken system. It also kinda makes sense why he wouldn’t recruit him, since he’d be just recruiting him to die for his cause instead of the gods. That part is speculation though since he has no problem later sending demigods to their death for his cause.

The gods are pretty easy to tell with their motives, self centered, they care more about their survival than a single mortals’. Poseidon however is honestly painted in a pretty bad light. The apology of “I’m sorry you were born” takes a different meaning when you think he know that Percy is gonna die. “I’m sorry you were born only to die.” Not only that but his distance to Percy even after his heritage is revealed takes a different tone. Is he avoiding puting time into his son not just because he is a god but because he might die? Granted he’s immortal so Percy was going to die anyway. But did he avoid telling Percy because he didn’t want him to think less of him?

And then we get onto who theoretically knew.

Specifically, did Sally, Grover, or Thalia know?

Sally Jackson is a goddess let me just preface that, but much like other goddesses she’s not perfect.

Is it possible Poseidon told her of the prophecy? If she knew is it possible she hid it from Percy? I love Sally but she does have a habit of keeping things that could hurt Percy from him until the last possible moment. And honestly this is much worse than the other things she’s withheld from him.

Did Grover know? Even with the empathy link, it transfers emotions more than thoughts. Which brings us to another interesting point. If Grover knew the Prophecy did he form a Empathy link knowing he would probably die in a couple years? Or did he not know and Annabeth Chiron and others failed to tell him that? We’re people expecting Grover to die in a couple years? Was he informed? Did people try to get him to cut his Empathy Link, without telling him? Did Juniper know?

And finally we have Thalia, the most underutilized character in all the series, and I don’t feel like I’m exaggerating when I say that.

Did Thalia know and when did she know it? Did she know before being turned into a Tree? Did she know after she was revived? Did she know during the Titan’s Curse? Did she know after she became a hunter? All of these can drastically change how her choice at the end of Titans Curse could be viewed.

If she knew before her death, it adds a layer to Luke and Annabeth, not only was their friend killed but most likely, another will be killed in her place.

If she was informed after she was revived or knew during Titan’s curse it adds a level of stress from her perspective, not only did she die to save her family, one who became a traitor and sacrificed the other to unleash a Titan, but she is know being told she’ll probably die in a couple months to a year.

And if she was informed after she became a Hunter? Did that make her regret her decision? Second guess herself? Did she feel guilty because she basically sacrificed Percy to save her own life? Did she try and avoid Percy out of guilt?

And I think what’s really interesting is that if Percy wasn’t such a good guy, and was more pessimistic and darker in how he view people and these motivations, he could easily reinterpret people’s actions with the prophecy in mind to their worst possible conclusion.

Him getting together with Annabeth only after the Great Prophecy could be seen as her writing him off as not worth it like so many others in his life, only willing to take the leap after the threat had passed.

He could see Chiron holding back on training because Percy might not be alive long enough to make full use of them. Writing him off as another tragic hero.

He could see Luke as worse or better, understanding that the gods do use them but also seeing Luke as another mentor giving up on him as a lost cause before really getting to know him.

He could see Poseidon withholding the truth as a manipulation tactic to give him the illusion of hope up until the point where he can’t back out anymore.

He could see Sally starting a relationship and trying to build a life while Percy is going through these trials as her preparing for her son to die, trying to make it so she has a life that can survive his death.

He could see Thalia’s decision to trust him with the prophecy, not as one of faith but avoiding death by using him as a sacrifice. Her doing the same thing Luke did, and what Percy wouldn’t do to others like Bessie.

Honestly the only one that couldn’t be spun in a bad direction is Grover. But if Grover didn’t know than I can imagine Percy would be angry at those that didn’t inform him since Percy’s life very much is linked to Grover’s. Did Juniper know her Boyfriend was also marked for death?

All of that being said Percy really is a good guy.

I sometimes forget how compassionate he is without thought, even to those who don’t deserve it.

It would be so easy to be angry bitter and spiteful when you’re told you only have a few days to live. To be resentful and cruel to the people that kept it from you.

He’s always known he could die but he also always had that little bit of hope dangled in front of him, the idea that not all heroes die gruesome painful deaths, that he could end up like his namesake.

But he isn’t and doesn’t. When people say they were doing what they thought was best he believes them. He doesn’t follow blindly but he doesn’t hate blindly either.

That’s why he’s the Hero of Olympus.

[fool-tarnished]

"Remember me" - Chapter 1 - Kakashi Hatake x Reader

Synopsis : Born in Konoha, [Y/N] wasn't necessarily known as the most impressive or powerful ninja, but rather for her kindness and compassion. She became like an older sister to Naruto and a loyal, faithful friend to many ninjas in Konoha. Without even realizing it, she had earned a special place in the heart of one particular ninja with grey hair. But everything changed the day the Third Hokage entrusted her with a mission from which she would not return unscathed. Pairing : Kakashi Hatake x Reader If you want to read Yamato's version, you can find it here.

Warnings : Violence, memory loss

Inspiration : Remember me - d4vd

Words : ~ 3000 A/N : Hello there ! Here's the first chapter of a new story for Kakashi. There'll be many chapters (i don't know how many yet) and i'll do the same one for Tenzo/Yamato if some are interested (with a similar first chapter, but the rest won't be the same). So I hope you'll like it ! Thank you all for the likes and reblog ! And sorry for the mistakes, I'm not a native english speaker.

Next chapter →

Long before Naruto left with Jiraiya, the Third Hokage entrusted you with a mission. A mission that, of course, you wouldn’t undertake alone, but whose duration was impossible to predict. A mission that wasn’t supposed to be particularly dangerous either, but it still worried the young ninja, who had asked you to decline it and stay in Konoha.

You and Naruto had known each other for a few years now, and a sort of sibling-like relationship had formed between you. You didn’t necessarily show it, but you cared for each other as if you were almost family. The young blonde deeply appreciated having someone by his side he could consider an older sister: because yes, you were much closer in age to his famous sensei Kakashi than to him.

On the day of your departure, Naruto couldn’t help but ask you to promise that you’d go to Ichiraku together upon your return. That you’d promise to come back as soon as possible and, of course, without a scratch. A promise you made without hesitation and one you hoped to keep.

Kakashi, on his end, with whom you had built a connection during your time in the Special Forces, also came to say a few words before you left. Your relationship with the Copy Ninja was quite peculiar. You were close yet distant, making it complex between the two of you and in the eyes of others. You had never really put words to what it meant, and it hadn’t seemed to bother either of you.

At least, until things began to change for you. You were afraid of not returning, not just for Naruto’s sake but also for Kakashi’s. Yet, the fear was drastically different for each, which led you to question how your relationship with him had evolved. The feelings you experienced at the thought of leaving without knowing when you’d return and see him again weren’t the same as those you had for your other friends—Kurenai, Iruka, or Asuma. Something had shifted within you, and you hadn’t had time to reflect on it before being assigned this new mission.

"Be careful, [Y/N]. You wouldn’t want to miss the promise you made to Naruto. And don’t forget, you also owe me a replacement for that Icha Icha volume you ruined during our last training session," the grey-haired ninja said, with a smile you could easily discern beneath his mask. You left with your team, giving them one last look and a wave. Kakashi didn’t take his eyes off you until you were out of sight. ________________________________________

Crossing the Land of Wind had proven to be more arduous than expected. Whether due to the weather, unfortunate encounters, or other unforeseen events, it took you several weeks to reach its far edge. The team leader was the only one privy to the mission's details, and your task was to ensure their safe passage and protection. After finding the messenger, you set out again, this time for the Land of Earth. It was a particularly lengthy mission, but it seemed to be of critical importance to the Third Hokage, who had strongly emphasized its success at any cost. As for the contents of these messages? None of you had the slightest clue.

The journey through the various lands and the delivery of these messages ultimately took several months. You hadn’t faced any overwhelming challenges—just minor injuries, small delays, but nothing insurmountable. Nevertheless, the desire to return home grew stronger with each passing day. Every team member began to feel the absence of their loved ones, some even missing their children. As for you, you missed Naruto’s antics, the humor of your friends, and… the Copy Ninja, but for reasons that had become much harder to define.

It was during the final leg of your journey that these new feelings surfaced most clearly.

In the Land of Lightning, things took a turn for the worse. While crossing the vast expanse of rocks and mountains at night, you encountered a group of ninjas whose origins and true intentions you couldn’t discern. Everything happened far too quickly for you to fully grasp what was going on. A confrontation broke out, and the team leader made the decision to prioritize delivering the message, splitting the group in two.

This left you with just one teammate to try to hold off the enemies and buy time for the other two to escape.

The opponents didn’t seem particularly strong, but fighting at night clearly put you at a disadvantage. Fatigue began to take its toll, likely contributing to the event that would change everything for you.

As you saw several shurikens speeding toward your teammate, you decided to deflect them with your kunai to prevent him from being injured while fighting one of the attackers. What you failed to notice, however, was the unstable ground beneath your feet. Perhaps it was a combination of exhaustion, an unstable surface, and a strike from one of the enemies that caused you to begin a long fall from the rock where you had been standing. Without fully understanding what was happening, you desperately tried to grab hold of something—but it was futile. Your head struck a rock, and everything suddenly went black.

________________________________________

After spending more than a year and a half on the mission and successfully completing it, the team leader and the member who had accompanied them set out to search for the two ninjas they had left behind in the Land of Lightning.

It didn’t take them long to find their first comrade, who had been taken in by the Hidden Cloud Village, where they were treated and waiting for the team’s return. As for you, however, the story was different.

They found no trace of you—only your headband, which did little to encourage their search given its poor condition. They spent several weeks in Kumo, hoping to uncover information or even the faintest clue about your status or whereabouts, but their efforts turned up nothing.

Eventually, they returned to Konoha, disheartened, but determined to deliver their report to the Hokage and hand over your headband. Yet, much had changed since their departure. ________________________________________

"The mission is complete, Lady Hokage. All the messages have been delivered."

Tsunade carefully observed the ninjas standing before her.

"However, we couldn’t find [Y/N]. Only her headband was recovered. We don’t know if she’s dead or missing."

After uttering these words, the ninja lowered their head and placed the headband on the Hokage’s desk. Tsunade furrowed her brow slightly before picking up the object and examining it closely.

"Tell me everything about this mission," she said, her gaze still fixed on the damaged headband.

________________________________________

"We’ll probably run out of firewood tonight. I’ll go fetch some."

The elderly woman standing beside you gave a faint smile and nodded. She was preparing one of her famous soups, a recipe you now knew by heart. Its aroma always brought you comfort, especially in the winter.

Dressing warmly to head outside, you opened the door and carefully closed it behind you, letting out a sigh. The cold was so biting that you hurried to gather the wood and return inside. It was a ritual you had carried out every winter for the past two years, and to you, it felt as though you had never known anything else. In truth, you weren’t even sure if you had known anything else.

Everything was hazy—you remembered nothing beyond these moments spent in the little house nestled deep in the forest. How had you ended up there? Where had you come from? Why did it seem as though you couldn’t recall anything from before this home?

Poor Yubaba didn’t seem to know any more than you did. She would simply tell you that you asked too many questions whenever you embarked on this inner quest about your past. She’d say that everything would come back to you one day, but for now, your mind and body needed rest.

And you didn’t understand those words either. Why would you need rest? Was it tied to the headaches you frequently experienced?

Taking a deep breath, you firmly grasped the bundle of wood before stepping back inside the house. You placed it in front of the large fireplace that illuminated the modest living room where the old woman spent most of her time.

"This should be enough for tonight. But I’ll have to chop more for tomorrow," you said.

She turned to you gently, lifting the large pot and carrying it over to the table.

"Take off that heavy coat, Fubuki, and come warm yourself up and eat. It’ll do you good. Don’t forget your tea—it’ll help with your pain."

Nodding, you finally shed your warm layers, returning to your usual attire, and sat down at the table. Fubuki. It sounded strange, almost like it wasn’t real. Like everything around you.

And yet, how could you truly question the only things you knew when the rest of your existence was nothing but a massive void?

"Thank you for the meal, Yubaba," you said softly.

________________________________________

"So, how did the training go? Did it pay off?" Tsunade asked, seated at her desk.

"You really think we’d have come back if we hadn’t made any progress?" Jiraiya retorted, hands on his hips.

"We’ll see about that," she shot back, before Naruto jumped in with questions.

Kakashi was outside, seated near the window. Book in hand, he was quietly listening to the conversation inside. Naruto was back, and while the Copy Ninja was glad to see his student again, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of unease at the possibility of a certain topic coming up.

Tsunade had informed him months earlier that your team had returned from its mission. While Kakashi hadn’t shown it openly, he had been eager to see you again. The unpleasant news of your absence had shaken him more than he let on. Something deep inside him had stung sharply when the Hokage mentioned your damaged headband, accompanied by a lack of any additional clues—no body, no clear information about your fate.

He had stayed silent, though his face betrayed more than he intended. The Hokage hadn’t known what else to say and had simply expressed hope: the absence of a body might mean you were still alive, somewhere. And that one day, you might find your way back to Konoha.

Kakashi hadn’t responded. Instead, he abruptly changed the subject, redirecting the conversation to Naruto’s return and what lay ahead. The abruptness of his shift had startled Tsunade, but she didn’t push him further. She could tell he had emotionally shut himself off, erecting a barrier around him that might take time to dismantle. While she had tried to offer hope for your return, even she was unsure if there was anything left to hope for after so much time had passed.

"Well, Naruto, you’ve certainly grown," the silver-haired ninja remarked as Naruto leaned through the window, looking for him.

"And you haven’t changed a bit!" Naruto shot back.

With that, Naruto vaulted through the window. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a copy of the book that always seemed to brighten his sensei’s day.

"I’ve got a present for you, Kakashi-sensei!"

Shaking with surprise and joy, Kakashi accepted the book from his student under the watchful eyes of Sakura, Tsunade, and Jiraiya.

"By the way, do you know where I can find [Y/N]? It’s been so long! I’ve got a gift for her too!"

Kakashi’s gaze froze on the book in his hands. He took a moment to compose himself, considering how to respond.

Sensing that the conversation might take an unpleasant turn, Tsunade stepped in.

"She’s on a mission. She’ll be back soon, Naruto. For now, I believe you have plans with Kakashi."

Kakashi let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes briefly.

"I’ll be waiting for you at Training Ground 3. See you later," he said before disappearing.

Naruto turned to the Hokage, stepping back into the room with a questioning look.

"Do you know exactly when she’ll be back? She promised me ramen at Ichiraku!"

"Maybe we should head to the training ground, don’t you think, Naruto? You’ll see her when she gets back," Sakura chimed in with a soft smile, trying to steer him away from further questions.

"Fine, I guess. Anyway, Kakashi-sensei is probably already devouring his book—did you see his face?!"

________________________________________

After the young ninjas left the room, Jiraiya stepped closer to Tsunade. "Was she killed on the mission?" he asked bluntly.

"We don’t know yet. But I’m not sure it would be good for Naruto to know about the situation right now, especially since he’s just come back. Let him settle in first."

"I’m not so sure he’ll appreciate you keeping this from him. I only saw her briefly before leaving with Naruto, but he cares about her deeply."

"He’s not the only one. But I don’t think he’s ready to hear the truth just yet."

Jiraiya sighed and lowered his gaze. Glancing outside for a brief moment, he turned his attention back to the Hokage.

"The Anbu will eventually find her—or figure out what happened to her," Tsunade said firmly.

The ninja let out a small sound of surprise before smiling. "I see. You haven’t given up. Who knows about this?"

"No one, aside from the Anbu team assigned to the search. It’s better that way."

"And Kakashi?"

A brief silence hung in the air before she replied. "Kakashi doesn’t know either."

________________________________________

Months had passed, and Yubaba’s health had continued to deteriorate. The herbal treatments she made herself no longer seemed to be enough, and no matter what, she refused to see a doctor or go to a village to seek treatment. Despite your attempts to convince her to go to Kumo, she stubbornly insisted that it was pointless and that it would pass on its own. The day she could no longer even get out of bed, you decided, despite her protests, to take her to the Kumo hospital in one last hope of helping her.

________________________________________

After long hours of walking, you had finally arrived at the Hidden Cloud Village. Thanks to some passersby, you were able to get the old woman to a safe place so she could receive care. The doctors informed you that it would take some time, and that it was best for you to return in a few hours while they did what was necessary. This is how you found yourself wandering through the village, exploring the area as if you had never seen anything like it. It was pleasant to walk around in a place with other faces besides Yubaba's, to discover new places outside of the forest you knew by heart. But the noise of the passersby gave you a headache, and you would sometimes grit your teeth when sudden bursts of pain hit you. After a few hours of wandering, you made your way towards the hospital. Night was beginning to fall, and there were fewer and fewer people outside. The small street you were walking through was particularly quiet and empty, which reminded you of the calm of Yubaba's little house. But this calm only lasted for a brief moment. “[Y/N]?” The name you heard seemed to resonate inside you, but you didn't stop walking, simply furrowing your brows slightly. Your progress was halted when two figures suddenly dropped down from the rooftops and positioned themselves in front of you. Ninja uniforms, definitely, with a mask on each face. Exactly the same outfit. You stopped dead in your tracks, opening your mouth slightly as if to protest, before turning your head to see if you could retrace your steps. But two other figures had just landed as well, blocking your way. “I don’t know what you want from me, but I have nothing on me,” you said, your gaze filled with concern as you slowly raised your hands in front of you. The two figures facing you exchanged a glance before looking back at you. “You don’t recognize us, [Y/N]?” one of them asked. You couldn’t even identify who had asked the question, as fear was starting to rise within you. “You must be mistaken... I’m not [Y/N]...” “We’ve been searching for you for months.” “I... Why? I’m just here to care for the woman I live with. I don’t know what you want, but I don’t know you.” One of the two ninjas facing you leaned toward his colleague to whisper a few words before turning back to you. “Did you desert? And Naruto?” The headache was intensifying, and emotions were surging inside you, though you didn’t really understand why. “I... I don’t understand... What are you...?” Your vision was starting to darken, and breathing became more and more difficult. You began to feel an icy chill in your chest as the figures in front of you became increasingly blurry. Before you could finish your sentence or find your words again, everything went black.

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 62]

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-

Nia and Tobias get some time to relax and check out Kaleido Bay before solidifying their plans to find Xerneas.

“Oh! Tobias, look at these!”

Nia knows this is the fifth time today she’s called him to her side with the same level of excitement, but she can’t help it! Kaleido Bay is just made for overeager tourists like herself.

Besides, Tobias doesn’t seem to mind her enthusiasm. He looks up from the other side of the merchant stall, dry amusement on his face, and wordlessly skirts around other tourists browsing the merchant’s wares to reach her side.

“What did you find now?”

Nia points out her newest marvel: little sculptures crafted out of shells and stones and chunks of coral. They’re lined up across the counter, depicting…Pokemon? Nia thinks they’re supposed to be Pokemon. They’re kind of silly-looking, though, with proportions that even Nia can tell are way off.

They remind her of something she’s seen in the human world, when her and her family visited the beach and perused the endless little shops made specifically for tourists. Shells and rocks and googly-eyes haphazardly glued together to form palm-sized sea turtles and fish.

Tobias cracks a smile, picking up what Nia thinks is supposed to be a pichu. “Didn’t know there was a water type pichu out there.”

“Would that make it a beach-u?”

Tobias barks a laugh.

Nia beams, pleased with her accomplishment. Her eyes linger on her partner, trying to gauge how he’s feeling as he looks through more of the silly figurines.

It’s been nearly two days since their fight with Dismas. Nia’s ribs are finally well enough to walk around—sore, with stabs of pain if she laughs or inhales too deeply, but manageable—so they’d decided to browse the tourist shops of Kaleido Bay before heading back to Will’s settlement. According to Tobias, a merchant cart willing to take passengers is scheduled to leave town in the early afternoon, so they should be able to hitch a ride with them then.

Tobias seems to be doing as well as he can be, considering the circumstances. Nia’s relieved by that. Her heart still hurts every time she remembers his cries the other night, when he wailed into her shoulder and grieved all that he had lost.

“I should’ve died with her. I couldn’t even avenge them! What good am I if I can’t even do that?”

Nia had fought off a burst of panic at those words, staying wide awake even when Tobias had eventually drifted off. She’d held him close with a lump in her throat and frantically wondered if she needed to do something more drastic to keep him safe from himself.

The next day he’d seemed more lost than actively interested in harming himself, but she still felt herself tense every time he drifted off into thought, eyes glassy and brow furrowed, or when he had to leave the room for a few minutes.

He’s still quieter than usual, and that makes her worry, but Nia also can’t help thinking some part of him seems…lighter, almost. Like a weight she’d never noticed him carrying has finally been lifted away.

Even the way Tobias is picking through the merchant’s goods is different. He’s eyeing them with actual interest, which she usually wouldn’t expect from him. She can’t tell if the change is just him trying to distract himself, or if he’s actually letting himself relax for once. Letting himself take in the world around them rather than charging after Team Zenith with no allowance for trivial things.

Maybe Nia is just overly optimistic, but she can’t help hoping something good came from Tobias meeting Dismas and learning the truth.

Tobias snorts, catching Nia’s attention again.

“Look. It’s the jerk from the prison.”

Nia looks at the little shell creature in his hands: a grumpy bipedal sea turtle, with a rocky shell. A carracosta, Nia knows now. Its eyes are mismatched, one higher than the other, giving it a ridiculous expression.

Nia laughs, then winces when the action sends a bolt of pain through her ribs. Tobias winces too, looking torn between apology and being just as smug about making her laugh as she was for him.

“I think I prefer this version,” Nia says, taking the little figure to turn it over in her hands.

It’s cute. Much cuter than the real version they’d met yesterday, at least.

They’d been expecting a visit from the officials at the prison after everything that went down, but Nia still hadn’t been prepared for the carracosta who was sent to inform them of the aftermath of Dismas’ escape and subsequent recapture.

The carracosta did confirm right away that Dismas was safely secured and had been assigned a constant guard for his transfer to an even higher security prison in Ghatha. After his little stunt with the shackles here in Kaleido, they aren’t taking the risk of leaving him alone before his trial.

Tobias’ relief had been palpable after that piece of news, his tight shoulders slumping.

Unfortunately, the agent’s tone had hardened immediately after.

—————————————————

“I do have a matter of security to discuss with you both.”

Nia sends a nervous glance Tobias’ way. He’s holding a poker face better than she is, but she can see the tension hidden in his spine.

The carracosta lets that heavy sentence sit for a moment. Then he continues. “D22 was a high-security prisoner. A D-rank team with no official connection should not have had the clearance to speak with him.”

Nia cringes. They’re not just in trouble, but big trouble. She’d half-expected them to be, with how they’d used Rosalind’s connections to blackmail their way into Dismas’ cell, but…

Well, this is coming back to bite them much sooner than she’d feared it would. Guilt and fear eats at her in equal measure, but she keeps her mouth shut, staring down at her lap.

She doesn’t want them to get in trouble with the law, but she also doesn’t want them to get in trouble with Rosalind. Nia doesn’t want to imagine what the hatterene would do if they sold her out.

Nia half-expects Tobias to lie and get them out of this, but he also stays silent, apparently deciding that such a game would be too dangerous with the authoritative carracosta.

The atmosphere in the room is stifling. Choking. Nia thinks she’s sweating under her fur. Can she sweat? She’s wondered about this before. She’s basically a dog, so she thinks she just sweats through her paws and—

The carracosta grunts. “I see you two are going to be just as stubborn as Jude.”

Jude. The drednaw they blackmailed to let them into the prison. Oh, jeez. What happens if no one talks? They don’t torture people for stuff like this, right? Do they throw them in jail?

Just as panic starts to bloom in earnest in Nia’s chest, the carracosta sighs.

“Fine. We aren’t going to push for a statement that would likely just be a lie.”

While the tone isn’t scolding, per se, and the words aren’t outright condemnation, the meaning is clear.

They messed up. They did something that bent the rules, at best, and the officer in front of them is well aware of that. Even if he can’t accuse them outright.

Nia barely resists looking at Tobias again, swallowing hard and keeping her eyes down.

She can feel the burn of the carracosta’s accusing stare. “Considering you weren’t the direct cause of D22’s escape attempt and you did recapture him, we’ll be lenient this time. Tapu knows he would’ve done more damage without your intervention.”

Nia holds her breath.

“I’ll be letting your guildmaster know to keep an eye on you two for suspicious activity, but we won’t actively restrict you from missions. Consider this strike one on Team Scarlet’s record.”

Nia finally lifts her head to peek at the carracosta, unsure how to feel. Part of her didn’t even think they could get a mark on their record like that. Could their Seeker status be revoked entirely if they got too many?

That thought carves a pit of shame in her stomach. They never should’ve worked with Rosalind in the first place. And they definitely shouldn’t have done something as low as blackmailing Jude, no matter what he might’ve done to get in Rosalind’s books.

Is he going to be okay? What if he gets fired from the prison for this?

Nia swallows back tears.

They might be the reason someone loses their job. And they’re going to have a mark on their record. That means August will know about it, right? She can already imagine the shame of talking to their guildmaster with that weight hanging over their head.

Tobias, on the other hand, seems relieved at the sentencing, apparently more aware than Nia of exactly how badly this could’ve gone. He nods. “Thank you.”

The carracosta doesn’t smile. He looks at the two of them for another moment, then simply turns to leave.

“W-Wait!” Nia says, unable to stop herself. She knows asking about Jude would be a stupid idea, and some cowardly part of her doesn’t really want to know. But there are two other Pokemon who have been on her mind ever since waking up here in the clinic.

The carracosta stops.

“The guards. The ones who escorted us into the prison. Are they, um…okay?”

The carracosta looks back at her, something in his sharp expression finally softening. “Miroslav won’t be on duty for a long while, but he’ll live. Toko’s injuries were minimal. She asked that I thank you both for making sure the two of them made it out alive.”

Nia melts with relief. It’s so strong it almost overshadows the guilt she’d been wrestling with before. “Thank you.”

The carracosta leaves without another word.

Nia and Tobias wait another minute in heavy silence. Finally, when they’re both convinced the carracosta is really gone, they exhale.

“Well, that was terrifying,” Nia murmurs, sweeping her hands back over her ears.

Tobias makes a quiet sound of agreement, pinching at his eyes. He looks like he’s thinking hard about something, so Nia watches him and waits while her heart rate slows.

Sure enough, he eventually speaks up. “We shouldn’t take any more missions from Rosalind. At least for a while.”

Nia straightens, surprise clear in her voice. “Really?”

Tobias had never flinched at the idea of working with Rosalind. Even after Asra, when Nia thought it was too dangerous to keep pursuing her leads, he’d been adamant. She would’ve thought that after Dismas, after Rosalind’s lead pulling through more than ever before, he would be even more stubborn.

Tobias huffs a laugh. “I know. Just…”

It’s clear he doesn’t know how to articulate what he’s feeling. Likely wrestling with the fact that they’d almost died—again—as well as the more severe consequences they just barely sidestepped with the law.

Whatever made him change his mind, Nia isn’t going to argue. “I’m fine with that. That guy was almost as terrifying as Rosalind.”

Tobias makes a halfhearted attempt at a laugh.

———————————————————

Even now, surrounded by happy chatter and the tropical beauty of Kaleido Bay, that conversation weighs heavy as stone on Nia’s mind. She hates going against the rules, and she hates getting in trouble. She hates that they have a mark on their record now, and that they’ll have to face August’s disappointed gaze without being able to explain themselves. She hates that they’ll likely never know how their interference affected Jude. Grumpy as he was, she still didn’t want to get him in trouble.

They’re supposed to help people, not hurt them.

Nia sighs, wincing as the motion strains her ribs. Then she shakes her head to dispel the gloomy thoughts. They can’t do anything about it now. She’ll just have to make sure they don’t hurt anyone else in the future. Especially not for their own gain.

Nia and Tobias wander away from the craft merchant’s stall, strolling through the city and taking in the sights. The salty breeze is balanced out nicely by the midmorning sunshine, and the sky overhead is a deep blue that makes the surrounding ocean shimmer. The bright buildings and even brighter merchant stalls are eye-catching and cheery, making for the perfect distraction from anxious thoughts.

The Pokemon crowding past them are clearly in high spirits, too, chatting and laughing with one another as they shop. Families corral excited children who are grasping sweets in sticky paws, and friends nudge one another to point out their next destination. An adorable couple passes by them, linked arm in arm. Mid-conversation, the taller one dips to give the top of their partner’s head an affectionate nuzzle.

Nia smiles at the gesture, then looks at Tobias. To her surprise, he’s also watching the couple, brow furrowed. Nia tilts her head at him, and he quickly glances at her before looking away, face warming as he hurriedly points out the next stall.

It’s a familiar little shop, and Nia perks up. “Oh, the glassblowing shop! Can we look around for a bit? I didn’t really get the chance the other day.”

Tobias nods his agreement, and the two of them split up to peruse the wares carefully laid across the counter of the building’s wraparound stall.

Last time, a blue monkey Pokemon with long, curled hair atop her head had been behind the counter—a simipour, according to Tobias—but this time around the merchant is a stoic-looking fire type, though he too looks strikingly monkey-like. He’s orange like Tobias, with a long fire-tipped tail and intricate blue markings over his eyes. A monferno, Nia thinks.

Nia doesn’t pay him much mind, startled instead by the little blue monkey also flitting about behind the stand, pulling herself up to be able to see over the counter and talk to customers. She’s just a kid, clearly, but for a moment Nia feels a phantom pain on her upper arm, under where her scarf is tied. They’d fought a panpour once before—an outlaw—and for a moment seeing such similar features throws Nia for a loop.

But this panpour is much smaller, and the spitting image of the simipour Nia had spoken with days before. There’s none of the outlaw’s malice on her cheerful little face, and the blue of her fur is a darker hue than his.

Nia manages to pull her eyes away, instead focusing on the beautiful glassworks on the table in front of her, shining and sparkling in the sun. After a moment of hesitation, she dares to pick one up to see it more clearly.

It’s a Pokemon—a seahorse of some kind. Unlike the wonky proportions of the shell figurines they saw earlier, this statue is intentionally styled, the curves of it elegant and acting as a perfect balance to the sharp points of its frills.

Nia carefully puts the statue back, eyes scanning the pieces until she stops at one of the more abstract works. It’s the color that she notices first, a turquoise blue that matches Nia’s aura almost perfectly.

It’s shaped like a flame, or maybe a drop of water, with wisps of glass curving upwards and intertwining with one another. The thinner ends are almost transparent, and the thicker base has incredible depth, blue like springwater.

It’s gorgeous. Nia hesitates before picking it up in her hands, running a thumb over its smooth surface.

She really, really wants to buy it. Maybe she’s just a sucker for souvenirs, but it’s so well-crafted and it feels…personal, almost. Like it was made for her.

Nia examines the little price tag tied around it, frowning. She can afford it, surprisingly, but it would clear out her personal funds entirely. She doesn’t think she can justify spending that much. What if she needs that money later? Or what if Tobias needs it for something that his own funds or the team’s can’t cover?

Nia reluctantly puts the statue back down.

“Aw, I really like that one!”

Nia looks up, surprised to lock eyes with the little panpour. She has her arms crossed on the counter from the other side of the stall, a grin on her face.

“I helped Dad make that, y’know!” She adds, clearly proud.

Nia blinks, glancing over at the monferno. He’s on the other side of the stall and talking with Tobias, who actually seems to be responding willingly, if not a bit awkwardly. His arms are crossed over his chest but his expression is open and oddly attentive.

Man, Nia really wants to know what he could be talking about so happily with a stranger. Maybe he feels more comfortable because they’re both fire types?

But Nia has her own conversation partner.

She smiles at the little monkey. “It’s gorgeous. You did a great job on it!”

The panpour smiles wider, showing off sharp fangs. “I know! Is it just too expensive for you?”

Nia shrugs with a regretful smile. “A bit.”

The panpour doesn’t seem offended, thankfully, just nodding in response. “I’d ask Dad to give you a discount, but he’s real strict about that kind of stuff.”

“It’s a fair price,” a deeper voice calls, and both Nia and the panpour jump, looking over at the child’s father. The monferno is walking over to join their conversation, and he ruffles the poof of fur on the panpour’s head as she shrieks with laughter.

“I-It is!” Nia agrees. “I’m just a bit tight on money right now, unfortunately.”

Tobias trails around the stall after his fellow fire type, stopping at Nia’s side. He tilts his head, scanning the goods. “You wanted to buy something?”

Nia gestures at the blue flame-like statue with a smile. “Isn’t it pretty?”

Tobias picks it up, just as delicately as Nia had. “…It is. Good craftsmanship.”

“You didn’t answer before,” the monferno says gruffly, looking at Tobias. “You interested in glassblowing?”

To Nia’s surprise, Tobias hesitates. He glances at her, as if embarrassed, before nodding. “Couldn’t do it myself, but it’s impressive.”

“Why not?” the panpour chirps, pointing. “You’re a fire type. You have good hands for it.”

Tobias looks uncomfortable, shrugging. “Don’t have time to learn. I’m a Seeker.”

“Doesn’t mean you have to be a Seeker forever!” the panpour says brightly.

The monferno grunts in agreement. “You don’t have to make a career of it, either. Let me know if you’re ever interested in learning and I can help you get started.”

Nia blinks, surprised by the generous offer.

Tobias looks equally thrown. “Really?”

The monferno shrugs. “Sure. Not many fire types ‘round here for me to pass the craft on to. Just don’t go stealing my customers.”

Tobias laughs at that. “Don’t think I could even if I wanted to.”

“It’s all practice.”

Tobias hums, staring down at the glass piece. “I’ll…think about it.”

Tobias ignores the surprise that Nia knows is written all over her face. He idly looks at the glass flame’s price tag himself before putting the piece back on the table. He glances at Nia. “You ready to go?”

Nia’s eyes linger on the statue, but she shakes her head and smiles. “Yeah. Let’s go before I make an impulsive purchase.”

The two of them say goodbye to the merchant and his daughter, trailing farther down the street.

As soon as they’re sucked back into the crowd, away from prying ears, Nia looks at Tobias. “I bet you’d be good at it, you know. If you tried it.”

Tobias snorts. “Glassblowing?”

“Yeah! You’re already good at guitar. Like that girl said, you have the build for it.”

Tobias’ mouth twists. “…Let’s save the world before we start looking for new hobbies.”

Nia wilts. He does have a point.

Tobias frowns, looking her over. “You okay? We can take a break.”

Oh. He must think she’s getting tired. He isn’t wrong, per se—the constant ache in Nia’s ribs and the tense way she has to hold herself IS exhausting—but that wasn’t what she’d been thinking about.

But if he doesn’t mind…

“Could we rest? Just for a minute.”

Tobias nods, looking around before leading them to a little island of shade in the sea of sun. It’s cast by a large bush of flowers, taller than they are, and the little wall containing the plant is the perfect size for them to sit on. Nia eases herself down with a relieved sigh.

Tobias stares at her, brow furrowed. “You’re supposed to tell me when you need a break.”

Nia gives him a smile. “I don’t need a break. It’s just nice.”

Tobias rolls his eyes. “Well then tell me when it would be nice to have a break.”

Nia bites back a laugh. “Will do.”

Tobias nods, then leans against the wall as well, the two of them falling silent to people watch. Tobias fiddles absentmindedly with the satchel looped around his shoulder, sharp claws kneading the fabric like a cat. Adorable.

Minutes later, Tobias suddenly straightens up. “Hey, do you mind waiting here for a minute? I’m gonna, uh…go back and get that monferno’s name. Just in case.”

Nia blinks. “Oh! No, go ahead.”

Tobias nods, mumbling that he’ll be right back before slipping away into the crowd. Nia watches him go, relieved that he’s still thinking about the future and what might make him happy down the line. She’s been worried about that more than ever after his breakdown the other night.

Satisfied, Nia tilts her head back to close her eyes and enjoy the weather.

It doesn’t feel like long at all before Tobias returns, readjusting the satchel on his shoulder.

“Hey!” She greets. “Did you get his name?”

Tobias freezes. “Yeah. He’s, uh. Rico.”

Nia gives him a funny look. “You don’t sound super confident about that.”

Tobias doesn’t answer, instead looking her over. “You ready to walk again? We can wait here a while longer if not.”

Nia shakes her head, slowly getting to her feet. “No, I’m good. You sure you don’t want me to take the bag for a while?”

Tobias grabs the bag almost protectively, glaring at her. “You’re not carrying the bag when you have a cracked rib.”

Nia lifts her hands, palms out, in a peace offering. “Okay, okay! Don’t worry, I’m not gonna steal it from you.”

“Good.”

Nia shakes her head, smiling, and follows Tobias back into the thick of the market.

They spend the rest of the morning that way, drifting through town and browsing the shops. They even stop for lunch at a delightful little cafe with a clear view of the ocean.

By early afternoon, Nia is exhausted and more than ready to get off her feet. Tobias checks the sun’s positioning in the sky before leading them first across the bridge to shore, then along the hot sand of Kaleido Bay’s beach.

Finally, they reach the path they took when arriving here, where the sand meets firmer soil. A merchant cart awaits there, with a giant Clydesdale-like Pokemon the color of clay at its front and a kecleon checking the cart’s contents. Tobias pays the little chameleon for a ride back north, then leads the two of them to the back of the cart.

Tobias climbs in first, then helps Nia up into the cart. Nia sits as soon as she’s in, collapsing back against some bags of…grain? Rice? Whatever it is, the bumpy texture is welcome if it means she can lean back and relax her sore ribs.

Two other Pokemon, lone travelers by the look of them, also climb into the cart shortly after, giving Nia and Tobias a cordial nod before finding their own places to sit.

Tobias settles down next to Nia, eyeing the strangers for a moment before deeming them innocent enough for him to relax, too.

Nia doubts he’ll be able to sleep, though. After a moment of deliberation, and figuring that her worrywart of a partner would just tell her to take the chance to rest anyways, she tilts her head back against the bags to close her eyes.

Nia falls into a light doze, somewhere between asleep and awake. The bumpy movement of the cart as it starts up and travels along is strangely soothing, and must nudge her closer to Tobias, as warmth spreads through her side and the faint scent of her partner wreathes around her. He doesn’t protest, though, and the soundtrack of their journey—the faint rustle of the winds through dry grass, the rhythmic hoofsteps of the horse Pokemon pulling the cart, and the quiet conversation of the other travelers in the cart—becomes a wash of white noise.

Nia barely registers that any time has passed before she’s being nudged awake. She lifts her head, blinking against a haze of sleep. “Hm?”

“Time to get off,” Tobias says, looking amused.

Nia makes a quiet noise of protest, but doesn’t put up her usual fight since she knows the rest of the caravan is waiting on them.

Nia pushes herself to her feet, wincing when the motion pulls at her ribs. Yawning, she clumsily follows Tobias off the cart, accepting his help without a thought.

The trail back through the tall grass to the mesa in the distance seems both impossibly long and strangely short. Nia shakes off her clumsy, half-awake steps as she goes, needing to be alert for the climb up to the cliffside village.

It’s sunset when they finally arrive back at the gates to the human settlement.

Slate isn’t the one guarding the entrance this time. Instead, a bipedal yellow lizard Pokemon with a sun-like collar and black scales covering his head and neck greets them with easy familiarity. Nia remembers seeing him around the settlement a few times before she and Tobias left for Kaleido, so the lizard must recognize them in turn.

Even with her nap on the way here and the walk up the mesa, Nia is still trying to shake off the last dregs of sleep. So it takes a moment to register when a familiar voice yells at them from above.

“You’re back!”

Nia startles and looks up. Junie dives at her from the nearest rooftop like a tiny, feathery comet.

“Wait, don’t—!” Tobias shouts.

Even though some part of her knows it’s a bad idea, Nia can’t just not catch Junie. So she opens her arms, and Junie barrels into her, making Nia stumble back with a yelp. Tobias’ hands steady her.

“She’s hurt, you idiot!”

Junie immediately flails out of Nia’s arms to flutter in the air in front of them. “What?!”

“I’m fine,” Nia says, trying to smile instead of grimace as she straightens up. “My ribs are just a bit sore.”

Junie’s face falls. “I’m sorry, Nia! I should’ve checked first but I was just excited and—wait.”

Oh boy. Here it comes.

Junie looks between the two of them with angry suspicion, fluttering just a bit higher to be at eye-level. “You got hurt. I told you not to get hurt!”

Tobias sighs, arm still looped loosely around Nia’s back. “Our visit to the prison didn’t go as planned.”

“Ya think?! I swear, I can’t leave you two alone for a second! I was getting worried since you weren’t back yet and I knew you got into trouble, but I told myself, ‘No! It’s only been a couple of days! How could they possibly find trouble that quickly?’ Like a fluffy little—"

“Junie!” Nia says. “Breathe.”

Junie’s beak clicks shut.

Nia wordlessly holds out her arm as a perch, like a hawk handler she remembers seeing at the zoo when she was young.

Junie hesitates, but after a moments she settles on Nia’s arm, nearly weightless. Nia thinks she sees her feathers trembling.

“I’m okay,” Nia soothes.

“You’d better be,” Junie grumbles. But the words are weak, no bite behind them at all. She turns her glare on Tobias next. “You hurt too?”

“No.”

Nia frowns at him.

“Ugh, fine. It’s just my side. But it’s already mostly healed.”

Tobias lifts his arm to show where fresh bandages sit plastered across his side after Dismas snagged him with a claw.

Junie doesn’t look pleased by how casual he’s being. “You two are walking disasters, you know that? C’mon, let’s get you some food before you keel over.”

Junie flaps back into the air, giving them another quick scan as if to assure herself they’re in one piece. Then she nods and leads the way to the cafeteria.

“Well,” Nia says, giving Tobias a teasing smile. “She didn’t chew us out too badly.”

Tobias snorts. “Bold of you to assume she’s finished.”

Then he seems to realize all at once that he still has an arm wrapped around Nia’s back. He yanks himself away with a flush, muttering something about hurrying up before Junie comes back.

Nia chuckles, following her partner as he chases after their friend.

————————————————————

When they’re done eating and catching Junie up on their trip to Kaleido Bay—which did indeed include a second round of scolding—Nia is more than ready to go back to the inn and flop into a nest. She crosses her arms on the little table they’re seated at, easing herself into a slouch to rest her head and relax.

“So,” Tobias says, lowering his voice and ducking closer to Junie. “What’d we miss here the last few days?”

Junie chirps a laugh. “Nothing warranting that sort of tone, Mr. Suspicious. I was a little distracted by Asher, but I didn’t see anything obvious. Rosalind left soon after you two, and Will seems to be really into his research. Fidel just keeps the place running smoothly, as far as I can tell.”

Tobias slumps, clearly disappointed that his suspicions about Will still have no backing. Nia tries not to feel smug about that and doesn’t really succeed.

Junie opens her mouth to say something else, but her eyes flick past Nia and Tobias, towards the door of the establishment. “Well, speak of the devil. Or his dog, at least.”

Nia looks over her shoulder, immediately spotting the tall figure of Fidel. The zoroark is standing in the open doorway of the building and clearly looking around for someone.

His ears perk when he catches sight of the three of them. He weaves between other tables and patrons to reach their side.

“Good to see you two made it back safely,” Fidel says with a warm smile.

“Mostly safe,” Junie corrects with a dry look.

“Good to see you too, Fidel,” Nia says, pushing past another scolding with a smile. “You looking for someone?”

“You three, actually,” Fidel chuckles. “I heard that you and Tobias had returned, so I thought I’d let you know personally that Will has some information to help with your search for Xerneas. However, since it’s getting late, you’re more than welcome to wait until morning and get some rest first.”

Nia blinks, exchanging a surprised look with Tobias. She honestly hadn’t expected Will’s team to find anything in…what? Two days? Three? And she is awfully tired, but…

Well, the thought that they could get some answers or at least a little direction before bed is a nice one.

Both Tobias and Junie look to Nia to make the decision, seeing as she’s the most injured and in need of rest.

“Let’s go ahead and meet tonight,” Nia says, slipping out of her seat and stretching carefully. “I’m just going to be thinking about it all night anyways if I go to bed now.”

“I’m sure Will will be pleased to see you,” Fidel says with a smile. “He can be impatient when he wants to get something done.”

And with that, Fidel steps back and waits for the three of them to gather their crumbs and trays into a tidy tower on the table before leading them outside.

Junie, apparently deeming Nia too injured to act as her usual perch, instead settles on the satchel at Tobias’ hip. He glares down at her, but doesn’t try to push her off, so she wiggles into her spot with a smug fluff of her feathers.

Nia bites back a smile and soaks in the easy atmosphere of the settlement as the Pokemon—the humans—around them go about their evening.

Fidel leads their group back through the same building as before, down the electric-lit tunnel and to the quarters hidden within the cliffside. It’s cooler here, a slight dampness to the air and to the stone underfoot.

Will is alone this time, sitting at the table with a few sheets of paper in one hand and a cup of something hot and steaming—tea, Nia thinks, by the scent—in the other.

He looks up when they enter, red eyes brightening. “Ah, welcome back! I see Fidel found you all. How was your trip to Kaleido?”

Nia grimaces, making a so-so gesture with her hand before glancing at Tobias.

Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t look eager to share. He crosses his arms. “Fine.”

There’s an awkward beat of silence after that.

When it’s clear Tobias won’t be elaborating, Will claps his hands to move them along. “Well, I for one am happy to see you back safe and sound. I’m sure you’re tired, so I’ll cut to the chase. Fidel told you that we’ve made some progress on our research?”

Will gestures for them to sit, so they all gather once more around the stone table. Nia has to ease herself onto the stool, and she waves off Fidel’s concerned look.

“So whatcha find out?” Junie asks with a tilt of her head.

Will gathers up the papers in his hands, splaying them out in front of him. Nia leans forward to read them herself, but the scribbled notes—written in more than one handwriting—are tough to parse, especially upside-down.

“While we don’t have anything like exact coordinates, we do have a better idea of where Xerneas may have decided to rest.” Will points at a particular block of text, written in a hurried scrawl. “We confirmed first that her proximity is indeed close to Yveltal, which we expected considering that the two of them are so intertwined in legend.”

“They are likely sleeping within sight of each other,” Fidel adds. “Almost certainly on the same continent.”

“Great,” Tobias says, voice heavy with sarcasm. “But we don’t have time to search entire continents.“

Will smiles, a gleam in his eye. “True, but I’m not finished quite yet.”

He flips through his papers again until he finds what he’s looking for.

“Here! Xerneas and Yveltal always choose different locations for each sleep cycle, but the environments where they rest always tie into their natural roles.”

“Meaning..?” Nia prompts.

“Meaning that while Yveltal would likely settle somewhere barren of life—a harsh environment with few plants or Pokemon—Xerneas would likely settle down in a very different kind of environment: somewhere absolutely teeming with life energy.”

“Xerneas disperses life energy into the world when she wakes,” Fidel elaborates. “In order to prepare for that moment, she needs to feed on the ambient life energy around her as she sleeps. Yveltal, however, consumes life energy when he wakes, so he needs a barren environment to empty those stores of energy into when he falls into sleep. The two of them are push and pull, like the tides. You need both to keep this world in balance.”

“Even more astonishing,” Will adds. “Both of them can tap directly into this life energy as if it were one connected system. A great tapestry made up of every living thing, from plants and Pokemon to the fabric of this dimension itself—which is likely why Giratina is hoping Xerneas can prevent or at least heal the break in the dimensional border. With their power, Xerneas and Yveltal can restore energy where it is lacking, and remove energy where there is an excess.”

Nia nods slowly, trying to take all of that in.

“So they can both just…feel all of the life energy, everywhere?” Junie asks, uncertain. “Like, all of it in the world? Even us?”

Fidel hums. “It’s said that all life energy in the world is intertwined, in a way, so yes. I have no idea how, or how the legends access it, though.” He gives Nia a brief smile. “You’d have to ask one of them yourself, or one of the Pokemon more attuned to life energy, such as the lucario and riolu.”

Nia blinks, leaning back as all eyes turn to her. “Don’t look at me! I can see the aura of other Pokemon, but I can’t do anything like that!”

“Have you ever tried?” Will asks, looking at Nia thoughtfully.

“W-What do you mean?”

“Tried tapping into the life energy outside of other beings,” Will clarifies. “Plants. The dimensional border. It would be fascinating to learn how deep your aura powers go.”

Nia won’t deny that the idea does pique her curiosity, but it sounds much too powerful an ability for her to have in reach.

…Then again, Nia hasn’t ever tried looking for life energy outside of other people, and she certainly hasn’t tried anything like Xerneas and Yveltal seem to be able to do. Affecting that greater tapestry of aura threaded throughout the world. Adding to it, or taking it away. Interacting with it directly.

It all sounds kind of overwhelming. Maybe that’s something she can look into later, when she’s back at the guild with Avery and Val.

“Okay, put the aura experiments on hold for a minute,” Tobias sighs. “Right now, we have to focus on the mission. We know Xerneas will settle somewhere lush, and Yveltal will hibernate somewhere barren. That doesn’t narrow it down much.”

He has a point, unfortunately. If that’s all they have to go on, the duo could be anywhere. Xerneas could be resting in a forest, or under a field, or within a coral reef. She might even be sleeping below a city. Yveltal, likewise, could be sleeping in the desert, or the arctic, or even on the ocean floor. There are endless locations that would fit the bill for both.

Will’s excitement dampens. “You’re correct, unfortunately. We do have one other clue at the moment, but I’m not sure it’s of any help.”

“What is it?”

Will flips through his papers again, frowning. “Yveltal apparently cocoons himself in a very peculiar kind of crystal when he hibernates. Sometimes it can crop up in excess in the environment around him, giving a hint of his presence. However, if those crystals have yet to be discovered anywhere, then…”

Then they’re out of luck.

Still, as silence falls over all of them, Nia frowns. Something about that phrasing—strange crystals—tickles at her brain. Where has she heard something about that before? Recently, even?

It takes a moment, but then it hits her.

“Carnelian!” She gasps, hands smacking the tabletop. She looks at Tobias. “Didn’t Carnelian say he was called to investigate some weird crystals under the Silenfroar mountains?”

Tobias’ brow furrows, and Nia can tell it takes him a moment to place the name of the sableye they’d saved, when they were stranded in that dungeon with the crew of the Aqua Jet.

Then his face falls slack with surprise. “He did.��

“The Silenfroar range could certainly be considered barren of life,” Will murmurs, glancing at Fidel for confirmation. “It’s a very harsh, snowy land, yes?”

“Our guildmaster trained in a village on top of those mountains,” Tobias protests. “Pokemon live there.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean Yveltal couldn’t still be nearby,” Fidel says. “He destroys life energy, but that doesn’t mean someone would die from living near his resting place. Just that anything more fragile, such as plants, likely couldn’t grow in the area. Which wouldn’t stand out as strange in such a desolate environment.”

“So you think there’s a good chance Yveltal could be there?” Nia asks.

Fidel nods. “Likely inside one of the mountains, if he’s stayed hidden for so long.”

“So if we assume Yveltal is in the mountains somewhere, we should be able to limit our search for Xerneas to the areas around Silenfroar, right?” Tobias asks.

Will shakes his head. “No, we shouldn’t just assume we can use the mountains as a starting point. We can’t afford to be wrong and waste time searching the areas nearby when we know we have to be efficient about all of this. We’re on a time limit.”

“But how can we know for sure that Yveltal is actually there?” Junie asks.

“Simple,” Will says with a smile. “We check for ourselves. If we can confirm Yveltal’s presence in the mountains, then we can use Silenfroar as the anchor point in our search for Xerneas with full confidence.”

That does make sense. The world is on a time limit, so they can’t afford to be looking in the wrong area only to never find the legendary because Xerneas is somewhere else entirely.

“So does that mean we need to go to the Silenfroar mountains?” Nia asks, looking to Tobias.

“I would prefer to look into this myself,” Tobias admits. “But I don’t know if we’d be the best choice for that. We aren’t the fastest Seekers in the guild, so August might decide to send someone else.”

“Like a flying type?” Junie asks with a tilt of her head.

“Normally that would be the fastest option,” Tobias agrees. “But I know the Lexym mail ‘mon can’t deliver anywhere in the mountain range because the air is too frigid for flight. Prone to blizzards and avalanches, too. So August would probably have to send a land ‘mon.”

“There are a lot of grass and bug types at the guild, though,” Nia says. “We would at least have an advantage in the snow, right?”

Tobias’ muzzle wrinkles as if he disagrees with that sentiment, but he nods all the same.

“Stop by your guild first and see if you can convince your guildmaster,” Will says, flipping through his papers. “I would prefer to work with ‘mon I know I can trust on this. On that matter—Fidel?”

The zoroark straightens to attention.

“Could you accompany Team Scarlet to Silenfroar to look into this? I’m sure they could use a helping hand, and there’s no one I trust more.”

Nia expects Fidel to agree instantly after how loyal he’s proven to be, but instead he falters, looking torn. He glances at the tunnel leading back outside. “I wouldn’t mind, but…”

“You know we’ll take good care of Asher in your absence,” Will says, giving Fidel a soothing smile. “Please, Fidel. I need someone to give me the news right away once Nia and Tobias return to their guild, and there’s no one I trust more with the job.”

Fidel still looks reluctant, but he forces a smile and a nod. “Of course. I’ll talk to Asher.”

“Good.” Will nods and looks back to Nia and Tobias. “Fidel will accompany you two for the time being.”

“We didn’t ask for an escort,” Tobias growls, crossing his arms and glaring at Will.

“Tobias,” Nia sighs. “C’mon, you just said it’s going to be a rough trip. We need all the help we can get.”

Tobias clearly isn’t convinced, but he relents under Nia’s pleading expression. “Fine.”

“Does that mean I can come too?” Junie pipes up.

Everyone turns to her, surprised.

She chirps a laugh. “C’mon, you can’t expect me to sit out on saving the world! Bo will understand.”

Nia exchanges an uncertain look with Tobias. “It…might be dangerous, Junie.”

Junie scoffs. “Duh! That’s why I’ve gotta come along! Look at what happens to you two when I’m not there to keep you out of trouble.”

She gestures at Nia’s ribs and Tobias’ bandaged side.

Oh. She’s worried about them. Of course she is, after hearing about their fight with Dismas.

Nia softens, glancing at Tobias. “What do you think?”

Tobias shrugs. “Whatever. Just don’t complain when it’s freezing cold in the mountains.”

“That’s what I’ve got you for!” Junie chirps. “You’ll be my walking heating pad.”

Tobias rolls his eyes, but doesn’t push any further.

“Good. Now that that’s settled,” Will says, hands clasped as he looks between them. “Be careful if you do find Yveltal. Do not under any circumstance wake him, as he could go on a rampage if he’s roused early and Xerneas isn’t awake to calm him. Just confirm his presence or the lack thereof, then report back as soon as possible.”

Everyone around the table, even Tobias, gives a solemn nod.

“I suppose we should leave first thing in the morning, then?” Fidel asks.

Will gives him a sympathetic smile. “Time is of the essence, old friend, so yes. I’ll send one of our night fliers to the nearest travel outpost right away to hire flight ‘mon for the trip. It’ll be much quicker if you can leave directly from the settlement in the morning.”

Fidel nods. “Understood.” He turns to the Nia, Tobias, and Junie. “Rest up tonight at the inn, and be ready to go by dawn. Make sure to eat breakfast before we depart.”

“Yes, Dad,” Junie jokes under her breath. Nia bites back a smile.

“Then you’re all dismissed,” Will says. “Good luck and stay safe.”

Fidel murmurs his thanks and hurries out of the room, likely to find Asher. Nia and Junie give their own thanks before getting up to leave, too.

Tobias groans as he stands. “Guess we need to see if there are any winter cloaks in our size at the guild. We can’t go somewhere so harsh without protection.”

“Oh! No need for that,” Will says, catching them before they get too far. He gives their surprised looks a smile. “Our seamstress here in town already has some snow gear prepared for the coming winter. She’s likely still in the shop if you want to stop by yet tonight. Feel free to grab whatever you think you’ll need, free of charge.”

Nia blinks. “Oh! Are you sure? That’s awfully generous.”

Will waves them off. “Of course, of course! You three are working to save the world—I think we can spare a few coats and scarves for that. Besides, Florence knows she’ll always be properly compensated for her work.”

Nia glances at Tobias and Junie. Tobias doesn’t look thrilled about being indebted to Will in any way, but he doesn’t argue. Junie, on the other hand, chirps a happy, “Thanks!”

The three of them head outside, and Nia takes a breath of crisp evening air, feeling a pang of longing when she catches the smoky scent of the settlement’s fire pits and hears the distant sound of the band they’d listened to the other night. She wishes they could’ve stayed here just a bit longer, but unfortunately the end of the world waits for no one.

Tobias starts walking. “C’mon. Let’s get this over with before the shop closes for the night.”

Oh, right. Clothes! Nia perks up, and she can see her own excitement reflected in Junie’s eyes.

“Shopping trip!” Junie crows, pulling ahead of Tobias and drawing looks from a few passing ‘mon.

“Shopping trip!” Nia echoes, much quieter but no less eager.

“Shopping trip,” Tobias monotones, with all the excitement of someone about to be tortured.

Nia giggles as Junie cackles, the three of them quickly tracking down the tailor shop they’d seen in the days before.

Warm light spills from the windows, the lack of flicker telling Nia that this building must be one of the few with electric lighting, like the tunnels. When they head inside, a bell jingles overhead to announce their arrival.

Nia’s eyes jump immediately to the colorful swathes of clothing crowding the large room. Some clothes are hung on horizontal wooden poles like makeshift store racks, little islands of fabric with just enough space between them to act as cramped walkways. Other clothes line shelves and closet-like alcoves set into the walls.

Everything seems to be roughly organized by size, a rack of clothes along the left wall boasting cloaks and dresses and robes long enough to be curtains, though they’d probably fit Maggie or August well. Conversely, racks on the right side of the room look more like baby clothes or pet outfits, some even tiny enough for Junie’s small frame.

Accessories, jewelry, and even shoes are also shelved here and there between clothes and near the register.

While it’s immediately clear that the fabric options aren’t as diverse as Nia is used to, with nothing plastic or synthetic in sight, there is an impressive variety of styles and colors. It almost feels like Nia’s back in the human world again, shopping with her mom or Toni.

Nia swallows back a sudden surge of longing, and tries to focus instead on the good feelings the shop’s familiarity brings.

“Hello.”

A Pokemon, presumably the Florence that Will had mentioned, is looking at them from the front desk. She’s a tall black Pokemon with white ribbonlike adornments atop her head and chest. She has a pouty purple face and pale blue eyes framed by hair-like disks on either side of her head. She reminds Nia of a particular style of fashion from the human world, one she thinks was popular in Japan.

Regardless, the Pokemon has a long piece of fabric laid across the counter she’s sitting at, one end of it held carefully in her hand. A threaded needle floats in the air just above the piece of cloth, surrounded by the purple glow of psychic energy.

“We’re closing soon,” Florence says, going back to her work. Her needle moves with confident, elegant movements, dipping in and out of the fabric. “But you can take a look around if you’re quick.”

“We’re here on Will’s orders,” Tobias says, eyeing the contents of the shop like they’ll bite him. “We need snow gear fit for the mountains.”

The needle stops sewing for a moment as Florence glances up at them again. But then she shrugs and goes back to her work. “I’ve got a few pieces that would fit you three in the back section. Check there.”

Tobias nods, apparently not bothered by Florence’s less-than-social behavior, and leads the way through the shop. Junie hops from rack to rack above their heads, starry-eyed as she looks around like a kid in a candy store.

Nia can relate to the feeling. While the impressive craftsmanship and the sheer number of pieces in the shop would be thrilling enough on their own, some part of Nia is also excited by the idea of wearing clothing again, weirdly enough. She’s long since gotten past the embarrassment of being “naked,” as long as she doesn’t think about it too hard, but there’s something distinctly human about clothing that she’s eager to reclaim.

Tobias finally stops in front of a rack of clothing made for Pokemon around their size. He quickly pushes through summery shawls, skirts and robes to reach the smaller selection of winter clothing at the end. He flips through the thick fabrics for a moment, skimming past clothing clearly made for quadrupeds, and stops at a deep navy cloak that hangs heavily on its makeshift hanger. After looking it over for a moment, he pulls it free, draws it around his shoulders to check the fit, and flips the hood over his head. It doesn’t drag on the floor, and it seems to sit comfortably around his shoulders and tail.

It looks nice on him, too, the dark tone complimenting his bright orange skin and cool blue eyes.

Tobias nods and pulls it off, draping it over his arm. “Done.”

Nia blinks. “Just like that?” She glances at the nearby floor-length mirror, slightly less smooth than human mirrors but effective enough. It must’ve cost a fortune, rare as mirrorstone seems to be in this world. “You don’t want to see how it looks or anything before deciding?”

Tobias raises a brow. “Why would that matter? It’s heavy enough and it fits. Does it look stupid or something?”

“N-No! It looks nice on you,” Nia assures. “It goes well with your eyes, actually.”

Tobias blinks, clearly surprised. Slowly, a flush spreads across his cheeks and nose.

Junie snrrks a laugh from atop a nearby rack of clothes. “Well, if Nia thinks it looks good, that’s all that matters, right?”

Nia frowns up at her. “Don’t you think it looks nice?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Junie assures, waving her off with a wing. “Looks great. Now if you need me, I’ll be looking at the little chihuahua-sized stuff over here.”

Junie hops a few racks over, where notably tiny clothes are hung, and starts picking through them to find something for herself.

Tobias is strangely quiet after Junie’s cryptic comment. He holds his cloak closer and shuffles over to look through some knit hats instead of commenting.

Nia’s shakes her head and takes Tobias’ place, looking through the small selection of snow clothes. There are a few cloaks like Tobias’, and she can imagine he chose that option because it’s what he’s used to. Less restrictive than most human-styled clothes.

Nia can’t help being drawn to the more coat-like options, though, with sleeves and a line of buttons down the front. She feels strangely nostalgic as she runs her fingers over soft, thick fabric stuffed with down.

How difficult was it for the seamstress to adapt to working with these kinds of materials? Is it hard to make thick, hide-like cloth without animal pelts or plastic? What about the downy feathers stuffing the coat, which would’ve had to have come from a Pokemon? Molting feathers, maybe.

Nia’s musings stop when she comes across a cream-colored coat, with adorable charcoal buttons off to the side and large pockets. It has a heavy hood, too, with little slots in the fabric for ears.

Nia pulls it off the rack and slips it on, pleased to find that other than the sleeves being a bit long, it fits perfectly, snug and warm.

“What do you think?” Nia asks, stepping back and giving a little spin.

Junie, struggling into something like a winter vest with a disgruntled Tobias’ help, stops to look. She lights up. “You look adorable! Don’t you think so, Toby?”

Tobias spares Nia a glance, face reddening again before he looks back at Junie, yanking her into the vest a little rougher than necessary. “It’s fine. Is it warm?”

Oh. Nia actually feels a little disappointed by his lackluster answer, for some reason. But at least Junie likes it.

Nia nods, moving to look at herself in the mirror, pleased by the coat’s color against her fur. “It’s really warm! I’m still gonna grab a hat and scarf, though. Tobias, do you need a set?”

Tobias grunts an affirmative. “Probably. Didn’t get a chance to grab anything else before this little idiot recruited me.”

“Hey! Excuse me for never dressing as a bird before. I don’t have hands, Toby—it’s hard!”

Nia chuckles as she picks out a matching hat and scarf set for both herself and Tobias. A deep scarlet combo for herself, and a cream set the same color as her coat for Tobias. That way, they’ll still look like a team even when they’re all bundled up.

From there, it takes twice as long as it did for Nia and Tobias to get Junie’s snow gear figured out, mostly because she has to consider her wings. Eventually, though, they manage to stuff her into a combined snow vest and cloak, and she seems pleased by the slits on the sides of the vest that allow her to slip her wings through to fly, while the cloak sitting on top of her wings should still keep her warm when she’s on the ground.

Junie, of course, picks a bright yellow hue from the few color options available, which makes her stand out like a sore thumb in the shop’s dim light.

Tobias looks so tired. “Is that really the color you’re going with?”

“It is a little bright,” Nia admits with a smile. “But I like it.”

“It’s your favorite color. Of course you like it,” Tobias huffs. “I think she looks like a combee.”

Nia blinks, surprised and delighted that Tobias remembered that little fact about her.

“Yep, this one’s good,” Junie confirms, looking smug that her choice has the bonus factor of annoying Tobias. “Now help me get back out of it. I’ve still gotta grab an itty-bitty hat and scarf before we leave.”

They manage to untangle Junie from her outfit and find a hat and scarf that she approves of, which are of course dyed an obnoxious pink color. At this point, Nia is pretty sure she’s picking such bright hues just to annoy Tobias.

Tobias, likely catching on to her game, steadfastly refuses to comment.

The seamstress doesn’t give them any trouble about payment, luckily, and even hands them a thin fabric sack to carry everything in. Nia makes sure to thank her before they leave, taking the bag and swinging it as they walk out of the shop and back to the inn.

They’d fallen into a comfortable quiet as they left the shop, but Junie speaks up now from where she’s nestled between the top of their satchel and Tobias’ side. Her voice is unusually quiet.

“Hey, Nia?”

Nia’s worried by the bird’s suddenly downcast expression. “What’s up?”

“Could you help me write a letter to Bo when we get back to the inn? Since Will’s having our ride come here, I won’t get to see the big guy before we go to your guild. I don’t want him to freak out when I don’t come back home after a few days.”

Oh, Nia hadn’t thought about that. The skarmory would be beside himself if Junie didn’t return when she said she would, and Nia has no idea how long Junie will be with them at the guild while they try to track down Xerneas.

Nia feels a stab of guilt for involving Junie in all this, despite her insisting on tagging along.

“Of course, Junie. Are you still sure you want to come with us? N-Not that I don’t want you there, but…”

Junie actually seems to consider backing out for a moment, but then she shakes her head, giving Nia a smile that falls flat.

“No, I wanna go. Someone has to keep an eye on you two, and saving the world should be fun. I just…don’t want him to worry, y’know?”

Nia gets it. She nods. “Yeah. Let’s write that as soon as we get back, okay? We can mail it off tomorrow before we leave.”

Junie looks relieved. “Thanks, Nia. You’re the best.”

Nia smiles, and Junie moves the conversation onto lighter topics, rambling about what tips she might learn from the flight ‘mon during their trip tomorrow.

They’ve got an early morning ahead of them, but Nia thinks they’re ready for it.

[wsoc-gay]

World Cup Results II

Part 1

Ona Batlle x Reader

Summary: The beginning of Ona's Pregnancy

A/N: At least one more part to this of the pregnancy, might continue it after the baby too. But if anyone has a request please feel free to put it in my asks! I work much better and faster with ideas. I'm open to writing anything, smut, fluff, angst, kid fics, just let me know what you want to read!

You and Ona couldn’t be more excited on the drive home from the clinic. Neither of you could wipe the smiles off your faces as your hands were held together and rested in your girlfriend’s lap. The entire ride home was full of loving sentiments exchanged to one another and plenty of blushes being spread across faces. 

Arriving home began your new train in following the advice from the doctor as closely as possible as well as going a bit overboard. Your girlfriend was starting to get annoyed with you, but even she would admit it was sweet how caring you were. Ona never opened her car door, never lifted anything too heavy, didn’t carry her bags to training, and you hardly let her do household chores. Every night for dinner you cooked a meal full of all the proper nutrients the doctors had advised eating and made sure to buy Ona only the best prenatal vitamins.

You both had agreed to not tell your teammates until you reached the 15-week mark, until then Ona didn’t have to alter her trainings and could still play in games. You had let the coaching staff and medical staff know as soon as you found out so they could monitor the Spaniard closer, but as of now you wanted to keep it on a need-to-know basis.  

It was around the 8-week mark, right after the first ultrasound, that some of your teammates began to catch on that something was happening. Any slight bump or tackle Ona took during training led to you sprinting to be by her side checking up on her. The brunette found it sweet but needed you to let up a little bit before they had to tell your team sooner than expected. 

Your worries weren’t without their reason, the chance of miscarriage was drastically higher through IVF and until Ona was outside her first trimester you had every right to worry. The days leading up to your 8-week scan were some of the most stressful days in your recent memory. You and Ona both were worried sick about having the scan show that you had lost your baby.

Ona was more stressed than you were due to her late-night research of her symptoms which often times resulted in her reading many horror stories of parents going to the first ultrasound and finding no heartbeat. The internet on top of her raging hormones led to many tearful nights where you tried to alleviate her fears but knew that the only thing to help the brunette’s anxiety would be seeing your baby. 

Thankfully one day after training the two of you were able to go to the clinic for the scan and see your baby for the first time. Tears immediately came to both of your eyes as the doctor told you your baby was not only alive, but healthy and thriving inside your girlfriend. You weren’t one to cry, but Ona made a comment that she thinks you’ll be a mess at every ultrasound, and you couldn’t help, but agree. There was something about seeing your baby on that screen that made everything seem more real. Therefore, the attentiveness only got worse.

Your English teammates were the first to confront you about your recent behavior. The pair was sat alone at a table during lunch when Lucy pulled you into a seat, “What’s wrong with you?”

You gave the older woman a confused look, “What the hell do you mean?”

Kiera slapped Lucy’s arm and muttered something you couldn’t quite make out under her breath. She looked over to you, “What Lucy meant to say,” She sent the brunette defender a glare, “Is that you’ve been acting a bit different during training recently.”

You truly hadn’t caught onto what they were referring to yet and raised an eyebrow at the pair, “Is this your guy’s subtle way of telling me I’ve been playing badly?”

Lucy slapped the back of your head and groaned, “No you idiot,” You slapped her right back, “Every time someone so much as touches Ona you act like she got shot.” Lucy slapped you again, “And you’re always watching her like a hawk,” You slapped her back.

Kiera grabbed her arm before she could retaliate, “Would you two stop acting like children already.”

This wasn’t surprising behavior for you and the outside back, ever since you arrived at Barcelona the two of you grew much closer. Lucy helped you a lot to settle into the team and lifestyle of Spain, so overtime you grew a lot closer. Hence, why she was one of the first ones to notice a change in your behavior.

You suddenly realized what they were referring too and tried to hide it best you could, “I’m not acting any different, I always worry about her.”

Lucy gave you a dumbfounded look, “Yeah, but this is even pushing it for you,” She began to dramatically mimic you, “Oh my love, Ona, someone leaned on you during our full contact sport, and job, are you sure you’re going to survive this,” She leaned back with an arm laid against her forehead dramatically. 

You started slapping the older brunette again, “Oh shut up, I am not acting like that.”

Kiera sighed and pushed the two of you apart, “Would you two seriously stop it,” she looked at Lucy, “Luce stop being dramatic,” and then turned to face you, “You’re not acting like whatever the hell that display was, but you are acting extra protective over her.”

You ultimately made up some excuse about Ona having reinflamed her ankle and that you wanted to make sure she didn’t seriously injure it again. The pair of English women didn’t seem to believe your excuse, but let you go on your way.

On the ride home you had told you told Ona about the confrontation with Lucy and Kiera which she followed up by agreeing that you needed to tone down the protectiveness and worrying. She had begun to notice it too and believed it was sweet but agreed that it was about to get out of hand and was only a matter of time before more of your teammates began to catch on. 

---

It was a couple weeks later, around the 12-week mark, when Ona was quieter than usual after training. The car ride home was nearly silent, but you didn’t mention it and assumed she was just tired. As the pregnancy progressed Ona was starting to become increasingly more tired throughout the day, so you assumed that alongside the hard training today was the cause for her quietness. 

It wasn’t until a little later when you walked into the living room and found the Spaniard sitting on the couch with her head in her hands that you finally asked, “Is something wrong babe? Are you not feeling well?”

Her head remained in her hands as she softly muttered out, “I need to tell you something.”

You quickly sat down next to her with you hand on her thigh and concern lacing your voice, “Is it the baby? Do we need to call the doctor?”

She quickly sat back and leaned against the couch quickly alleviating your worries, “No, no the baby is fine. It’s just, es posible que accidentalmente le haya contado a Aitana sobre el bebé.” She had rushed out the last sentence in Spanish making it difficult for you to understand.

“Slower, por favor, you know my Spanish isn’t good when you talk fast.”

“I accidentally told Aitana about the baby today,” Feeling increasingly guilty she began to ramble, “I know we didn’t want to tell people about the baby this early, but she cornered me and you know I’m bad at keeping things to myself when someone asks and it just slipped out. I am so sorry mi amor.”

You chuckled at her rambling but let out a sigh of relief knowing this was the cause to Ona’s mood shift and not something more serious. Ona and Aitana had always been close, growing up playing for the academy together and since Ona returned to Barca they became even closer, so part of you was more surprised it took this long for her to find out. The outside back also was known for being bad at keeping secrets. Anytime someone would ask her about something she wasn’t supposed to talk about she would begin rambling making it obvious that she was hiding something and would usually end up saying it anyways.

You dropped back to lean against the couch and moved your hand from her knee onto her, hardly noticeable, bump, “Oh thank god, you had me worried, love.”

Ona covered your hand with hers, “There is nothing to worry about, I’m sorry she found out.”

The outside back when onto explain that Aitana had cornered her in the locker room after training when the rest of the team had already filed out. Instead of the usual comments which were about how protective you had become, Aitana had brought up how happy the two of you had seemed and that you were touchier than usual. She also had picked up on Ona subtly rubbing her stomach and your hand grazing over it after you would hug. She had straight up asked Ona if she was pregnant, and there was no escaping it from there, your girlfriend didn’t know how to lie.

“And you know I can’t lie, amor, she caught me so off guard and I must’ve taken too long to try and come up with an excuse, but she just pulled me into a hug saying how happy she was for us.”

You laughed again, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to pull the smaller girl into your side, “I’m more surprised you lasted this long without everyone finding out.”

Ona rubbed a hand over her stomach instinctively, “As long as everyone keeps bringing it up to you instead of me, we should be okay, there’s only three weeks until I can’t play in matches anymore and then we’ll have to tell them.”

You looked down to her face as you smoke softly, “We can tell the team now if you want, you’re out of the first trimester, we just saw the baby, and everything is healthy, there’s no big reason to keep it from them anymore.”

“No, no, I like just keeping it to ourselves. Our own little bubble outside of football for now,” she leaned up to connect your lips softly and full of love.

---

Aitana did much better of a job keeping the secret to herself than you originally expected. The midfielder took her job as being the best friend and only teammate who knew very seriously. Anytime your teammates would begin on the topic when she was around, she would quickly shush their comments and would back any lie you made up to cover your secret. 

You and Ona were grateful for her efforts, but in a way, it only increased your other teammates suspicions. You also were now partially convinced much of the team actually already knew what was going on. As the last two weeks have gone by Mapi, Ingrid, and Alexia had completely stopped asking anything about the topic. Originally Mapi had been one of the most vocal players about finding out what was going on, but now had completely stopped in her efforts. 

The truth was Ingrid, being the observant and caring teammate and friend that she was, had picked up on the same signals Aitana had. She obviously told Mapi about her suspicions who then confided in Alexia about them. Therefore, they came up with a plan to get the two of you to admit it to them. 

It was after the last game of the season before the Christmas break that Alexia decided the team would go to a club to celebrate before everyone left to their respective homes. You and Ona were going to see your family in England for the break, so you tried to get the two of you out of going by saying that you had to finish packing before your flight. Alexia wasn’t taking this as an answer and needed the both of you there to try and get an admittance from you, therefore, said it was required team bonding and you had to be there. The original plan was for Alexia and Mapi to call Ona out on not drinking and essentially for her to expose the pregnancy, but this plan was quickly stopped when the two of you entered the bar, keys in Ona’s hands, clearly having drove the two of you there. Anytime she was asked about a drink it was easy for her to say she was driving that night, plus she didn’t have to lie so there was no worries about her slipping up.

Alexia and Mapi were still trying to come up with a new plan when, surprisingly, you were the one to let it slip.

You were sitting at a table with many of your teammates while Ona was dancing with Aitana, Patri, Claudia, and Cata when a guy walked up behind Ona and placed his hands on her hips. You were on your feet and dragging the man off her before she had the chance to pull away.

The man turned around to be face to face with the hands that had just pulled him off the girl he was obviously interested in, “What the fuck do you want?”

You stood tall with your chest puffed and harshly spoke, “I want you to get your hands off my girlfriend.”

He scoffed, “Girlfriend? Sorry bud, I don’t think she’s the girlfriend type.”

You laughed, “Sorry, bud, but I’m the one she’s woken up next to for the past 8 years so I think I might know her a bit better than you.”

“Yeah, well I didn’t see you anywhere until after I came over so looks like I’ve beat you to it.”

“Oh, fuck no,” You tried to shove past him to get to Ona, but he moved to block your path.

“Why don’t you prove it to me then?” By now a decent amount of your teammates had noticed what was going on and began to come over to help deal with the man.

This sent you over the edge, it might’ve partially been at fault to the alcohol you had that night, and you being a little more than drunk already. But with one big push to his shoulder you announced, “I think the fact that she’s pregnant with my baby proves enough,” this left him shocked and gave you enough time to walk over to Ona with your back turned to the man and place a hand on the side of her face, “Are you alright, love?” Most of your teammates were now standing around you with their jaws hanging open clearly in shock.

The man clearly wasn’t over the embarrassment yet, as he pulled your shoulder back to face him and landed a hook across your cheek, you threw one right back getting him across the nose before security was dragging him away just as Lucy was doing the same to you. You looked back to find Ona and saw Alexia standing in front of her having clearly dragged her back and away from you and the man, likely assuming the altercation may escalate and after your confirmation didn’t want the Spaniard anywhere near the potential of a fight.

After clearing some things with the security guards, they let you stay and Lucy was dragging you over to the table many of your teammates had gone to sit at, the rest following close behind you. 

Ona slid into the booth next to you with a bag of ice in her hand, and reaching up with her free hand to grab your chin and turn your head to assess the damage, “Are you okay? You know I hate it when you do that.”

You were waving your arm dramatically, clearly still affected by the alcohol in your system, “He wanted to take you home I was protecting you both.”

She had a soft smile and pressed the bag of ice to your cheek, which you took over holding against your face, “I know you were, but you could’ve gotten hurt a lot worse.”

“I don’t care,” You leaned closer to whisper in her ear, clearly having forgotten you had already spilled your secret, “You’re carrying precious cargo, Baby Mami.”

Ona chuckled and patted your thigh, “No point in whispering now, amor, you already announced it.”

You turned to see the rest of your team giving you both dumbfounded and shocked looks, but Alexia, Aitana, Mapi, and Ingrid just smirking to themselves.

Alexia was the first to speak up from across the table, “So, you two are having a baby?”

You moved your free hand to rest on your girlfriend’s stomach and smiled as Ona replied, “Yep, baby y/l/n-Batlle is due in May. We were going to tell you all after the break, but tonight was my last match for the season, I’m about to be fifteen weeks, so no more matches.”

You were met with a lot of congratulations from your teammates when Lucy finally connected the dots and pointed at you, “So this is why you’ve been so unbearably protective over her recently.”

You defended yourself, “She’s carrying precious cargo, that’s the future best player in the world in there,” You patted her small bump, and the brunette covered your hand with hers.

This caused a smile to breakout on Ona’s face and laughs spread around the table. Ona had decided you had enough to drink, and she was exhausted having played 70 minutes today, so announced that you would be heading home. It took a few minutes before you were finally out the door, having to go through and hug every one of your teammates and being told congratulations by each one of them. 

The next day the two of you flew to England for the first half of break, you would spend Christmas with your family before coming back to Spain to spend the rest with Ona’s family who you saw more often. 

Since the secret was already out to your teammates and your families had already known for weeks while home in England you and Ona were able to tell a few of your England and former Arsenal teammates you were closest with. 

While in London and met up with Leah, Lia, Lotte, Alessia, Beth, and Viv for lunch to share the news with them. Leah was especially moved when you told her, having been much like a big sister to you during your time at Arsenal. She couldn’t get past how grown up you were and that now were having a baby. Alessia did a lot of claiming that this all happened because of her setting you two up. While you’ll go to your grave denying her you can’t help but thank her slightly.

---

Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoyed! Again, please leave any requests or prompts in my asks!

[incognit0slut]

Right Kind of Wrong (10)

She never thought she would be involved in a murder investigation and encounter her one-night-stand again, the awkward guy who isn’t exactly that good in bed—Or is he? Offended by the sentiment, Spencer is determined to prove her wrong… But as he gets tangled with the beautiful stranger, he realizes there is more to her than what meets the eye.

Part Summary: she finds herself as a pivotal lead in the case. wc: 4k

Series Warnings: 18+ explicit content, graphic details of murders, mentions of suicide

a/n: I’m so sorry this took so long. I realize I’m not smart enough to be writing a crime-mystery plot so this went through a lot of editing😭

Other parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Y/N NEVER THOUGHT SHE WOULD SPEND HER MORNING THIS WAY, the unfamiliarity of this foreign place had her questioning how her life turned out the way it did. Becoming a witness to a heinous crime was already overwhelming enough for her, and now sitting in this cold, empty interrogation room was making her lose her mind.

She had never thought of being in this situation—a scenario that solely belonged to crime novels and thrilling movies. Yet, here she was, feeling more uncomfortable as time passed by. She slowly glanced toward the two-way mirror and the thought of watchful eyes observing her every movement intensified her discomfort, leaving her feeling judged and exposed. But above all that, there was one question that seemed to float at the top of her head.

Was Spencer there?

She heaved out a sigh. The one time she allowed herself to indulge further with her one-night-stand, it didn’t go the way she expected. She had thought that maybe—maybe—opening her heart was something she could try again. After a long time of not wanting to be romantically involved with anyone, waking up in his bed hadn’t seemed so bad...

Now it was just wishful thinking, her past naive self becoming a mockery to her now.

She was engrossed in her own thoughts when the door to her left suddenly creaked, drawing her attention, and she couldn't stifle the disbelief laugh slipping through her mouth.

"Out of all the agents in this building and they decided to send you?" She wondered as Spencer cautiously walked into the room with a file in his hand. "Isn't this against the rules?"

"What is?" He asked, pulling out the chair across from her.

"Questioning someone you know personally."

He regarded her with a look she couldn't quite decipher. Something about him seemed so different, it was baffling how someone could change so drastically in such a short period. Last night he had been sweet, attentive, and full of affection. But now, as she looked at him, it was as if he had morphed into a completely different person. The warmth that had once radiated from his eyes was replaced by a distant, guarded gaze.

Spencer Reid and Doctor Reid were really two different people.

"My personal matters won't intervene in the work I do."

"Somehow I doubt that," she murmured, watching as he sat down. She leaned back and crossed her arms. If he was going to act like they hadn't spent the night sleeping on the same bed, she might as well give him the same reserved attitude. "So, what now? Are we going to continue where we left off?"

"Actually, there's something else I'd like to know." He pushed the folder in his hand across the table and opened it. "I'm aware that you were associated with Harvey Webb?"

What the—

A sudden chill ran down her spine as the name slipped from his mouth. It was the last person she wanted to remember, a name she had fought so hard to push into the depths of her subconscious. But now it all came rushing back, threatening to engulf her in a wave of memories. She saw glimpses of piercing eyes that held malice, a voice dripping with menace, and a presence that loomed like an ominous shadow.

As she laid her eyes upon the files in front of her, a shiver coursed through her body. The face that stared back at her from the photograph was etched with lines of time. His eyes, once filled with unsettling intensity, now bore the weight of years gone by, their depths guarded and inscrutable.

"Why are you showing me this?" She asked quietly, trying to think of any possible reason why she was forced to recall her past.

"Did you know him?"

With a hesitant pause, she uncrossed her arms. "I did."

"And how did you know him?"

"He—" she stopped, trying to decide how to describe the nature of her relationship with that awful, dreadful man, and finally responded with, "He was my landlord."

"Was that all there is? Was your relationship with him simply one between a landlord and a tenant?"

She met his gaze. "What are you trying to imply?"

"One of our agents visited his wife before this."

Oh.

This was probably why he seemed so guarded, his words laced with a hint of something familiar yet unspoken. She was sure he already knew what happened. It was in the way he carefully chose his phrases, the slight pause that followed, and the knowing glimmer in his eyes that gave it away. But even when the buried memories were fighting to resurface in her head, a sense of unease gripped her. Why was he delving into her past?

"Why are you—" She shook her head. "What does he have to do with the current case?"

There was a pause before Spencer replied, "We believe he might be a link to the investigation."

She narrowed her eyes. "How?"

The room suddenly fell into an uneasy silence, punctuated only by the quiet hum of tension that seemed to hang in the air. Their eyes locked.

"Let's make a deal," he suggested. "If you answer all the questions I have for you, I'll tell you what you want to know."

She considered his words and slowly nodded. "Fine," she agreed. "But you probably know who he was to me if one of your agents had already questioned Mrs. Webb."

"I want to hear it from you."

The weight of her past bore down upon her, pressing against her conscience. She understood, with unwavering certainty, that the time had come to lay bare the chapters of her history that she had kept hidden. With a breath that carried the weight of her past, she finally mustered the courage to speak her truth.

"Harvey and I had an affair."

A subtle change swept across his face as her words hung in the air. His expression remained stoic, a reflection of the knowledge he carried within him. She wasn't sure how much he already knew, but she continued.

"It wasn't my proudest moment," she admitted. "I was young, it was my first time in the city and I got this great apartment at an affordable price. Harvey helped me when I moved in so we talked a lot back then and easily became friends. He eventually mentioned how his divorce had gotten to him very badly, and I... I guess I took pity on him."

"He told you he was divorced?"

"Yeah, he told me the property that he owned, this apartment building of his, was the only asset he got for their divorce settlement. I was too young and naive to even consider he could be lying, I guess I was too smitten by the attention he constantly gave me."

"How long did it happen?"

"A couple of months. It wasn't until he kept on disappearing that I started to suspect him. He said he had to go out of town for his work, but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to follow him one day." She gave him a pointed look. "Turned out he wasn't leaving town, he was going back home to his wife and kids."

"What happened then?"

"I confronted him about it..." Her body shifted uncomfortably. "That was when I realized how messed up he really was."

"What do you mean?"

"Harvey was a manipulative son of a bitch." He raised his eyebrows at her choice of words, which she shrugged in return. There really was no other way to describe him. "It was as if a switch had turned inside him the moment I confronted his lies. He became overbearing, controlling, possessive, and just—he became someone I was very afraid of."

He studied her closely, trying to decipher the unspoken layers of her narrative, the nuances hidden beneath the surface. "Did he ever hurt you?"

“Physically? No—well, there was this one time he got physical when he got so mad, but that was it," she confessed as her past flashed through her mind. "Although mentally, he was draining me. He would often threaten to harm me, or himself, if I ever left him. I think he was also diagnosed with a lot of mental disorders."

"Was his wife aware of everything happening?"

She nodded. "One day I visited their house when he wasn't home and confronted her about everything. Instead of blaming her husband's questionable behavior, she blamed me for ruining their marriage and started calling me a slutty home wrecker."

"Did he find out about this?"

"Yes," she replied. "He was not happy about it."

"And how did you get out of that situation?"

"I got accepted for the current job I work at now."

"He was fine with that?"

"I didn't tell him about it." She looked down, her gaze focusing on her hands sitting in her lap. "I had to move my things secretly whenever he went home to his family. When most of the stuff I needed was secured at my new place, I finally left, changed my number, and never looked back."

"You never saw him again after that?"

"The next time I heard of him was his own obituary printed on the paper." As the weight of her past slipped into the open, exhaustion suddenly settled over her. Her gaze then flickered toward the files on the table. "Now will you tell me how he's linked to the case?"

Spencer’s attention was completely focused on her, analyzing every detail of her movements. He paid close attention to the way she shifted in her seat, the way she blinked, and the way she tilted her head. "Were you aware of how he died?"

"Yes, he... he hurt himself."

Spencer shook his head, the lines on his forehead etched themselves deeper, highlighting the concentration etched upon his features. He leaned forward, his movements deliberate and controlled, as he turned the files over, taking out a few pictures before presenting them in front of her. "We believe his death was a homicide."

"What?" Her eyes widened in surprise as she gazed at the collection of photographs spread out before her. She should be appalled by the amount of blood seen in the shots, but her eyes darted across the blotched writing carved along the bruised skin. "Something was written on his arm?"

"You didn't know?"

"Of course not, why should I know of this?" She glanced up and was taken aback when she noticed the same doubt on his face she saw this morning. Her heart sank as the realization washed over her like a chilling wave. "You're still pining me down as a suspect."

"Your personal connections to all three victims have raised some concerns," he pointed out, voice carrying a controlled intensity, each word measured and deliberate. "And what's even more concerning is that they all had somehow wronged you in the past."

She suddenly felt a surge of anger as he leveled his accusations. Her lips thinned into a tight line, and her eyes narrowed as all her frustration and tension bubbled over. "I had nothing to do with their deaths."

"So it's a coincidence that they all suffered the consequences of their actions that affected you directly?"

"Just because I had issues with them doesn't mean I'd resort to murder," she spat. "Why are you so persistent in painting me as a suspect?"

"Your past grievances with these victims paint the picture." Spencer leaned forward, his palms pressed firmly against the cool surface of the table. His eyes, narrowed with determination, locked onto hers with palpable intensity. "Tell me, do you have an alibi for the times of their deaths?"

She leaned forward and held his gaze, not wanting to back down. "I'm not responsible for any deaths, so no, I don't have an alibi for something I didn't do."

"That's a very vague answer."

"You don't say?" She responded sarcastically. "Are you going to dump me with facts on how my body language is being defensive right now?"

"Would it help you to answer my questions clearly?"

She felt her patience breaking. She had been doing her best to remain calm and collected, but as his gaze remained fixed on her and he continued judging her with that harsh stare, she finally snapped.

"You know what, you want an alibi? I'll give you a damn alibi."

The tension she had been holding in her body suddenly exploded. With every inhale, her chest tightened, a reservoir of pent-up emotions yearning for release. And then, like an unleashed storm, she let it all pour forth.

"According to his obituary, Harvey Webb's death happened on Halloween and that was when I attended this stupid party held at the office. I was in the parking lot when Jamison called for my help before I scurried back only to witness his death. And don't get me started on Kevin Marshall."

She steadied her gaze on him.

"I studied his files for work so I'm aware of the time frame when it happened, and for someone with an eidetic memory, you sure had forgotten where I was that night so let me help you jog your memory back, Doctor Reid, because I spent the night in your bed before you fucking kicked me out the door!"

A heavy silence settled upon them only to be broken by her labored breathing and the pounding of her heart.

Had she really said that?

Y/n was never one with a foul mouth, but with the way the cuss word flew out of her lips in the heat of the moment, it was clear to her how furious she was. Although she did feel a sense of relief as if a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders after speaking her truth... But at what cost?

The room seemed to hold its breath, suspended in a fragile stillness, as his eyes locked onto hers. The weight of her words settled between them, casting a heavy shadow in the room. And there he sat, frozen in the moment, his face etched with shock and surprise. His mouth opened and closed, but no words emerged, as if the force of her words had momentarily robbed him of his ability to respond.

She wondered what was going through his mind right now. Was he processing her words, attempting to unravel the layers of her frustrations? Or was he grappling with his own emotions, struggling to find the right words to respond?

And suddenly she couldn't take it anymore, feeling an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washing over her. All of the emotions unleashed during her frustrated rant had left her feeling drained. Every fiber of her being ached for respite and seeing him again felt like an additional burden she wasn't ready to bear. So she let her eyes fall on the two-way mirror, focusing in nowhere particular.

"I want to request another agent in here."

She noticed the way his shoulders tensed from the corner of her eyes but decided to ignore it, keeping her gaze on her reflection instead. And just as she was about to accept the fact that nobody was going to listen to her, the sound of the door opening echoed throughout the space, its noise cutting through the silence.

A dark-haired woman stood by the entry, her hand gripping the door as she focused her attention on the only man in the room. "Dr. Reid, I can take it from here."

The weight of the situation suddenly settled him. He studied the woman sitting across from him who was trying to maintain her control. But beneath it all, he saw the cracks in her facade, the vulnerabilities concealed beneath her frustration. It became clear that her actions, though seemingly distant and cold, were rooted in a desperate attempt to protect herself from further hurt.

And he was responsible for it all.

With a heavy sigh, Spencer finally rose from his seat, the chair scraping against the floor as he pushed it back. His mind was telling him he was only doing his job, yet his heart was pointing out the unfairness of his judgment of her. And for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do.

"There you are," Emily announced, walking into the meeting room as she spotted Spencer standing by the large board adorned with webs of information, his back facing her. "Are you okay?"

Spencer turned around and regarded her with a sigh. "No."

She gave him a sad smile. "She left already." Then she crossed her arms, studying the way his expression fell at the mention of the woman she had questioned for the past hour. "Do you really think she has anything to do with the case?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, then shook his head, his shoulders dropping at the revelation of his words. "No."

"Then why were you being so hard on her?"

"I... I don't know."

As her gaze focused on his face, she observed the flash of vulnerability that briefly danced across his features. His eyes darted away, evading direct contact, betraying a flicker of unease that she couldn't ignore.

"I think you do," she noted. "I think you have this logic in your head that if she had something to do with the case, you'd have a reason to stop getting involved with her. But now that you know she's innocent, you think it's too complicated to harbor your feelings after the way you accused her. "

He drew his eyes back to her. "I thought we agreed not to profile each other."

"I wouldn't consider this profiling when you literally have your heart on your sleeves."

He let out a sigh, his voice trembling as he mustered the courage to acknowledge the truth of his actions and the pain he had caused. "What should I do?"

"You're asking the wrong person for relationship advice here," Emily remarked. "But what I do know is that if you wronged someone, you apologize."

But was it enough? Was apologizing to her enough to compensate for the hurt he had put her through?

Guilt has a funny way of coming after the moment has passed, like a relentless pursuer in the shadows of our conscience. Right now it was sneaking up on him, resurfacing with a relentless grip on his emotions. After he left the room, he got inside the small space behind the two-way mirror, continuing his job as an observer instead of the one questioning her.

Hotch had looked at him pointedly when he stepped to his side, and although his boss kept his mouth close the entire time, Spencer knew he was secretly assessing him with judgment. Especially when, after observing Y/n behind the glass, it was clear that she wasn't a suspect. He saw the scars of his misjudgment etched upon her face and the guardedness in her eyes.

It took him as an observer to comprehend she was innocent, that the darkness he had attributed to her was merely a reflection of his misguided assumptions. But it was too late now. He had allowed his biases to cloud his judgment, staining their relationship—or the potential of it anyway—with a hue of mistrust that was now difficult to wash away.

"I don't think she'll ever forgive me," he admitted, feeling dejected.

"Reid, you haven't even tried, and even if she won't, I'm sure you'll find a way to fix it." As the weighty words of their conversation hung in the air, a playful spark suddenly ignited in her eyes. "So."

Her teasing look cut through the tension, catching him off guard. "What?"

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," he quickly responded.

"After all that tension between you two and you're still denying it?"

"She's—" he stopped. "I'm not sure what we are, honestly."

Emily let out a soft chuckle. "Well, any type of relationships are complicated. That's why I don't bother with them anymore." Her eyes then shifted behind him, noticing the numbers written on the board that wasn't there the last time she was here. "What do you have there?"

Spencer let out a sigh of relief. Her request to shift the conversation to something else offered him a lifeline, a respite from the vulnerability of delving into his own feelings. A flicker of gratitude flashed in his eyes as he realized that she had unknowingly granted him an escape from his discomfort.

"I did the geographical profiling and these numbers are each respective coordinates of the location where all the victims were found." Emily nodded and he continued, "Basically, I did a coordinate rounding to eliminate the decimals until I come up with two digits for each location."

"And you think these numbers mean something?"

"They must. Here, take a look at this." He motioned her to step closer toward the round table before showing her the map he had drawn over with his handwriting, highlighting three precise locations that formed a triangle. "Even when Harvey Webb wasn't found at his house, he was found at his apartment which was technically his second residence. The same goes for Kevin Marshall, his body was found at home."

Then he pointed at one of the marks located at the top of the map.

"But Jamison Lynch was found at his workplace. The Unsub must have a reason to commit the crime six blocks away from his house."

Emily scanned the map before turning her attention back to the board. "So these numbers represent each location? Eleven is the first victim's residence, ninety-one is the second victim's workplace, and nineteen is the third victim's apartment?"

"Precisely."

"You know," she started, head tilted to the side and eyes piercing onto the numbers presented before her. "The third victim is technically the first victim if you consider the timeline."

As her words lingered in the air, a spark of realization ignited within him. It was as if a puzzle piece he had been searching for had finally fallen into place. "Wait." He walked over and grabbed the marker by the table. "You're right."

Emily watched as he rearranged the line of numbers.

19 91 11

"Does that mean anything to you?"

But Spencer couldn't hear her, his head was already turning its gear as shreds of evidence he had gathered these past few days swarmed his mind. "The Unsub has the same MO in all the victims and they're fixated using verses from the bible so if those numbers have an indication of that conviction then the first two digits could be the number of The Old Testament which means—"

He quickly wrote down his next words.

"Psalm 91:11," Emily read out.

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways,"Spencer recited. "That's it—a guardian angel."

Emily's eyes widened as she stared at the revelation before her. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place, revealing a connection that had eluded her grasp until now. It was as if a veil had been lifted, granting them to reshape the narrative of the case.

"Y/n isn’t the killer," she mumbled, turning her head towards him. "She's being protected."

He returned her gaze with the same disbelief.

"Someone else is doing it for her."

>> NEXT PART

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