#I just have several going at one time so progress is a bit slow
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quirkyfries · 4 months ago
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Thought I would share a page of my sketchbook as an apology for no serious art uploads in a hot minute, lol. Ft. Mayday, this was done with some art supplies I scavenged from around my house. I’ve packed most everything else away as I am moving states. :’)
Technically unfinished because I lost my yellow highlighter, but whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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ssahotchnerr · 1 year ago
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Aaron having to bring his daughter with him to work for whatever reason? She’s tiny enough to not be running around and mainly just sleep on his chest all day. It’s fall outside and she’s in a warm teddy bear outfit so it’s literally like a stuffed animal on his chest as he works. She wouldn’t remember anything she saw in files but he makes sure her head is never near anything bad. Makes his heart warm and happy when the others realize that she’s there and coo over her and the outfit. Penelope takes pictures of them to send to you too 😭🖤
soak it in
i'm going to CRY cw; fem!reader, girl dad!aaron, small foyet reference
aaron's entrance into the bullpen piqued the interest of several, as it was different from any other, usual morning. not only was his briefcase in hand, but also a carseat, and a diaper bag was slung proudly over his shoulder. there were smiles from the team, some small nudges to look amongst the other units, as today's visitor was easily welcomed.
during breakfast, you had been notified your dentist appointment had been moved up, due to the office closing earlier within the day for whatever reason. with such short notice and jessica being unavailable, aaron was the obvious solution, and your daughter came to work with him - until you were done running a few errands and could drop by to retrieve her.
for the meantime - as she was there - aaron opted to work strictly on the no-pictures-included files. while she was never in close proximity to a file regardless, and today's onesie's hood happened to shield her eyes, and her little mind wouldn't process or remember anything - aaron didn't want to take any chances. he yearned to keep his daughter as far away from that, all the horrors the world possessed, for as long as he possibly could. jack had gained the knowledge - that monsters were real, just in human form - sooner than he would have liked. sadly.
currently baby girl was tucked into his chest, her right cheek smushed against him. she dozed off not too long ago; she had gotten a bit antsy and luckily his swivel desk chair allowed him to slowly rock her as he worked, in addition to soothingly shushing her, whispering that it's okay; ultimately calming her down. her little fingers found a near death grip on his shirt, clinging onto him as she slept.
when he had felt the pull of fabric, he gazed down and couldn't help but smile. aaron also took a moment, to soak it all in. the window of time where this was possible, was limited; her against his chest, small enough to be cradled in one arm, quiet and secure in the comfort of his office. all in too fast progression would aaron blink, and she would be way more interested in exploring and bouncing off the walls.
the thought immediately snapped his heart into two. if only she could stay that tiny, forever.
as he wrote, flipped a page, switched files, aaron was extremely careful to his movements. he tried not to rustle her, despite her being comfortably laid in his not-preoccupied-by-writing arm.
the sudden creak of his door lifts his eyes, penelope entering. the quietest of aw’s leaves her as she approaches, with an extra spring in her step at the sight before her. in addition, she doesn't hesitate to whisk out her phone.
"i didn't know this cutie was here today." the words leave her in a gentle, yet high, pitched tone, giddiness laced within. her jaw fully drops as she catches sight of the cozy onesie the littlest hotchner inhabits, "oh my god look at her outfit!"
“garcia.” aaron lightly warns as her volume heightens, his eyes flicking back up to her from his paperwork, his pen slowing.
“i know sorry sorry, i just neeeed to share the cuteness with the mrs.," penelope grins, aiming her camera at baby girl, and aaron, snapping a few pictures. "this is just, too dang adorable. she needs a copy, i need a copy, and i'll make you a copy too, sir."
that tugs aaron's lips into a smile, a small chuckle leaving him. "she's cute, huh?"
"um hello? cute doesn't even begin to cover it. please tell me you're the one who dressed her today. if yes, i might have to scream. just might."
"not today." aaron admitted, dropping his pen and fixing the small hood, which had fallen a bit too much in front of baby girl's face. again, his lips couldn’t help but pull into a smile. god, he loved being a girl dad, and a dad in general. "but, i may have picked it out."
"i was right. i'm going to scream." quick to realize what she said, penelope held out her hands in defense - before aaron even had the opportunity to open his mouth - clarifying with wide eyes. "internally! i'm screaming internally."
aaron took a slight pause, before speaking. “actually, about the copies - ”
penelope’s shoulders dropped in defeat, her lips pulling to the side - an equivalent to an ‘eek’. “was i too enthusiastic?”
“on the contrary,” aaron’s expression softened, laughing gently as to again, not rouse baby girl. “would you mind bringing me two? i’ll need one for in here, and for my wallet.”
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moonsaver · 9 months ago
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Brain rotting with the image of Veritas on his knees, pleading but also demanding..
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"Dr.Ratio–"
"Veritas."
He insists, cutting you off. The small beat of silence is enough to deafen both of you, but you continue with a deep breath,
"..Veritas. Please. I can't ever consider this so please stop asking me–"
"I am begging, [Name]. Do you think any person of social standing would be on their knees right now?"
He looks at you with fervor in his eyes, brows tense from anxiety and poorly hidden desperation,
"[Name], just think."
Another beat of silence. He takes it as his initiative to continue,
"Think about what I am willing to offer. Imagine every detail of the life I am offering to you, [Name]. I am pleading to you."
The grip of his sturdy hands tightens over your knees, digging into the hollow where your bones end,
"Doct– Veritas, I.. can't. You know I can't accept such a condition.."
Your hands nervously but gently try to push his off, crescent marks forming from the digging of his nails into the thin skin of your knees, but he doesn't budge. His palms form warm sweat on the skin from the prolonged contact, not daring to move an inch. His chin ghosts the inside of your thighs, as he leans over more, looking up at you.
"[Name], we can go over this many, many times. You should have already come to know of my desperation. I will make compromises, so make up your mind. Time is a thin, linear membrane that continuously flows and awaits for none."
His eyebrows furrow even more, the nervous desperation being slowly replaced by irritation, and anger. Your back has started to ache from how tensed up you've been, your neck hurts from being held at an awkward angle, looking at Veritas. Just how long have you both been talking?
"I.. I don't know, Veritas.."
You've mentioned his first name this time, without any mishaps. Progress. Slow, but progress – he notes.
"I have made a multitude of compromises to our situation and agreement. Are you really not satisfied? What do you exactly desire?"
His tone is warning. He knows what you may say, and what you have been for the past several times. You know despite having him on his knees, he's the one deciding and placing every piece of the puzzle anyway. He won't extend any mercy to you.
"I.."
You bite your lip.
Freedom. You want to be out of his grip. Once and for all.
He knows.
He doesnt care.
"..Nothing. I just.. need some more time. Please."
Your voice comes out a bit softer than before. His grip relaxes on your knees, the skin finally decompressing a bit, given the extra space. The air sneaks in from small gaps, cooling down the skin coated with a thin layer of sweat.
"I trust.. you will make the right decision."
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helloledena · 4 months ago
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Uh-oh... I'm falling in love~
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Synopsis: Kakashi though he had everything under control, especially his feelings. But one ninja from Village hidden in mist was enough to change that. Oh how wrong he was...
Pairing: Kakashi x Reader (but in Kakashi's pov 🙂‍↕️)
Content: fem! reader, slow burn, strangers to "something" to lovers, light smut, mention of depression, lot's of thoughts, lot's of confusion.
Word count: 8.3k (😬)
A/N: Kakashi's character is so complex and hot and hard to write and hot and tragic but hot, so yeah, love him so much *.*
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pervert.
When the saleswoman at his favorite bookstore gave him a raised eyebrow, all Kakashi could do was smile while scratching the back of his head in a manner that reeked of humor.
"I understand why you wanted to read Make-out Paradise… but now even the other two books?"
"What can I say, it really drew me in."
"And.. you say you've read it..."
"Yes, I've read it three times already, I think it's time to find out what happens in the sequel, don't you think? Hahaha" he let his body wiggle a little, and his free eye rolled up into a smile.
"Pervert," the girl muttered as she slid off the counter and went to get more books.
The ninja tiredly scanned the other books on display on the counter. The well-known novel "Life of a shinobi: Honor or Death" caught his eye. With a soft sigh, he picked up the book, turned it upside down, and began to stare at the wall clock that didn't actually work.
He would never admit it out loud, but reading an erotic novel, in which the most exciting thing is actually the various lovemaking positions, had become his new favorite way to distract himself. The distraction from the dead bodies he was cleaning after massacre several months prior; from the feeling of total guilt of allowing Itachi, the boy with soft eyes and always a calm expression on his face Itachi, to go and slaughter everyone in his clan; from death of his friends..
Not to speak of it, he realized that nothing calmed him as much as re-reading the same book with the light and warm plot. The fact that he could relive what he knew would end well gave him a sense of comfort that he hadn't experienced in a long time. Life was bearable again. Just a bit. Just a little bit more, he didn't want to kill himself.
"Your books,"  mumbled the saleswoman into her chin, still clearly under the impression, as she quickly took the money from him "enjoy the rest of your day."
"Thank you. Be sure that I will. Ha! I mean... not in that way..." the now blushing girl looked at him as if he had gone completely mad. He felt his own cheeks slowly warming up "well, anyway... I'm going now. You! You have a nice day... really nice day..."
His smiling aura slid at a moment as he left the shop. He put the third part of “Make-Out” in his shoulder bag, while opening the second one as he walked slowly in an unknown direction. What is he gonna do now? Maybe he should go to get some ramen? But he failed to keep Obito's promise, he couldn't save Rin from death, his father wasn't there to see how much he had progressed. Perhaps he could go back to that cursed rock again. Yeah, that seems like better idea.
"Kakashi!!!" he heard Gai shouting for him from a distance "my eternal rival!!!! Come! Let’s see who can drink more sake before nightfall!!"
But he just continued walking, looking at the first page of the book. He reminded himself that if he does not get involved no one would die because of him. If he doesn't intervene, it wouldn't hurt as much if someone from them died. If he doesn't get involved, perhaps those damn stubborn people would finally realize how truly awful person he is.
When he reached the next corner between streets, he was about to run the rest of the way, but a melodic voice froze him in his tracks.
"Are ninjas in this silly village not taught manners?" He turned and saw a girl leaning against one of the buildings at the corner. How, in the hell, hadn't he noticed her presence before? He decided to let his visible eye wander into a something that seemed like smile.
"I really don’t know what you’re talking about…"
"Pfft" the girl continued to lean her head against the wall, staring at Kakashi with a smirk on her face; her relaxed body language contradicted the words she spoke to him, as if she wasn't intimidated in the slightest "The famous copy ninja Kakashi Hatake, known to all bounty hunters, his name written in more bingo books than can be counted... Yet, you appear to be even more of a creep than the old man who wrote that perversion you're reading"
Kakashi felt strange at her words, gripping his kunai knife tightly in the pocket of his pants. Was she an enemy? He quickly surveyed the area suspiciously as he seemed to be merely searching for a more comfortable way to stand. Hidden Mist Village headband... what the hell?
"Well.." now he was looking cautiously in the direction of the girl "you talk about manners, and you didn't introduced yourself... very hypocritical, don't you think?"
"Hmmm" the girl smiled again, and then pulled out a scroll from her pocket that opened in front of Kakashi "I have permission. And besides, I'm done with my work for now, so I’ll be leaving today. I was just wondering if you really are as cold hearted as everyone says..."
"And?" he looked away from the scroll, returning his gaze to the book that he still held open in his left hand "are they right?"
"I can only say that I'm disappointed" he felt the girl shrug her shoulders "well, see you next time, pervert."
He just hummed. Before he turned and continued walking towards that cursed, stupid rock, he heard the voice again.
"Oh, and did you hear," he looked and she was smiling very widely; something hot filled his stomach "that now the 4th part is being written? I mean, the creepy old man... you already know who I'm talking about."
She winked and disappeared from his sight as silently as she had come. As he continued to observe the now empty space where she had been a second ago, he felt feverishly lucky that he had not learned the girl's name. And if something happened to her, her name would not appear before his eyes in his nightmares.
mercy.
It was the 4th day of the chunin exams and Kakashi couldn't sit and wait any longer. The link with the birds that were relaying information about the happenings had been cut since Orochimaru had magically appeared, then disappeared. He felt nervous. He felt nervous and noticed that it came out in the way he peeled an orange, in the way he would grip the doorknob when he left the room to get some air, and in the way his leg bounced every now and then.
Perhaps he shouldn't have been so harsh with Iruka a few days earlier, saying that his students were now warriors. But he knew that if he had shown even a fraction of the insecurity he felt, his decision would not have carried the authority that now have. So because he wanted his ego to remain intact he left the company of the other jonin, who would probably feel his nervousness at any moment, then climbed onto the roof of the Hokage building and let the sun caress him.
They have the best chance to survive in the shinobi world if they ruthlessly face every obstacle. They have the best chance to survive in the shinobi world if they ruthlessly face every obstacle. I did not send them to their deaths. I did not send them to their deaths. Kakashi repeated those sentences to himself more than he would like to admit.
With big sigh he opened the 3rd book of Make-Out and stared blankly at the pages.
"Hahahaha, wait, wait, you're still reading that nonsense? How long has it been? 4 years?"
His smile curved beyond his will, though she didn't see it because of his mask. He didn't hear her when she got closer to him, like few years prior. How wonderful...
"And who are you?" he looked at her now with his head tilted to the side.
"Oh, that hurts, you know" said the girl with a sneer in her voice, sliding next to him "I know I'm not that *ultra famous* like you are, but we've already met. Plus even I have a target on my head now. These criminals' bingo books, blah blah" and Kakashi was aware of that. When he was in the Land of Waves on a mission with his team, about a month ago, he took Zabuza's bingo book with him. As he flipped through the pages he saw a familiar face, although for a moment he was slightly unsure if it was the girl he met a few years ago. The scar on her cheek was new...
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Name: y/n
Rank: unknown, approach with caution
Village of Origin: A Hidden Mist village, Land of Water
Known Techniques: water manipulation, blood manipulation
Orders: wanted dead or alive
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"Ah, many new faces lately..." he cooed while watching over village in those quiet moments. How the hell she keep finding him when he is alone? And he didn’t have much alone time since becoming leader od Team 7.
"By the way, your kids are holding up well there, as far as I could see" - now he looked at her "if I hadn't seen other things in my life, I would say that they are very young. But we both know it could have been worse. They'll finish the obstacle... they had that crazy determined look in their eyes about half a day ago."
"Search birds are not working for 3 days now."
"Ah well, we "watermen" don't use birds for surveillance. That's what you should have learned at your sweet little academy."
"The fact that you're not on the organizing team for this exams and yet have your own means of monitoring shouldn't surprise me?" Kakashi knew more than he asked. The ninja of the Village Hidden in the Mist were not at all interested in the official ninja ranking that the other villages held so dearly. They were ruthless warriors, deadly as soon as they left the academy, probably even then at chunin level. Now this is simply gathering information… he was aware of that from the moment the first registration from that village for the chunin exams in the last 7 years came. Only Kakashi wanted to know why…
"You know" the girl now closed her eyes and laid so still for a few minutes that the copy ninja thought she fell asleep "even though the rest of the ninjas in my village are furious because of what happened to Zabuza, I'm very grateful to you. I mean, I really wasn't the least bit touched by anything that happened to that... that.. him. But the way you treated Haku's body…"
Kakashi felt his stomach acid rising in his throat. Haku... another mistake of his. Another victim of chidori that shouldn't have been. Haku had a soul as pure as snow, Haku should have escaped... Haku shouldn't have ended up like Rin.
"In any case" now she opened her eyes, slightly teary, keeping Kakashi rooted in place "you showed mercy that our village has not experienced in a long time. Thank you for that. Especially since it was a boy who was kind."
Kakashi let out a soft breath although to his ears it was almost as loud as a scream. No one had ever seen him that way. No one had ever called him merciful... He felt dizzy... what the hell was this woman doing to him...
"Didn't you say last time that you made sure I'm cold-blooded like everyone says?"
"I think I actually said that I was disappointed. And by disappointed, I meant that I was expecting someone with a dirty aura, and I got something completely opposite."
Kakashi hummed, now loking at the village. But still feeling her eyes on him.
"And didn't you say you don't remember me?"
"Huh. Tushe."
stupid distraction.
Ever since he saw y/n at the time of chunin exams, Kakashi actually, even 6 months later, hasn't stopped seeing her. It turns out that y/n has actually been in high demand in the Lands of Water since last January, with a huge bounty on her head. Words circulated that with her blood manipulation, she forced the Mizukage's own brother to cut himself bit by bit with his blade until he died by his own hand in a pool of blood. Rumor has it that she left a letter written in his blood which said that his death was compensation for the rape of the girls from the Village Hidden in the Mist, one of whom is her cousin. Since blood revenge is completely justified in the villages of more southern longitude, the Mizukage made all the criminals of those villages duty to kill y/n on the spot or bring her alive. That's why she is in all bingo books.
He hadn't heard much about on whose permission she was in Konoha before, but when Tsunade came back and became Hokage she gave y/n asylum and declared her an auxiliary force. It turns out that during the chunin exams, she helped the village a lot in monitoring the enemy even though she didn't have to and therefore Tsunade befriended her very quickly.
What Kakashi really couldn't understand at the begining was how everyone got close to her so quickly. He found himself pretty often following y/n as she moved around Konoha, looking for anything that would make his suspicion justified. He watched when she stops by the market for fresh fruits and veggies, or talks to Kurenai in the street with a big smile, or when she practices her water control by the stream next to half a kilometer from the memorial stone. He wished he could just stand next to her and feel the warmth radiating from her up close again as she squirmed when she talked.
Which was out of the question now, sure, because she didn't want to talk to him anymore. But it certainly didn't stop him from being attracted to her warmth. Of course, it wasn't like that for the whole 6 months, it even seemed to him that she enjoyed being in his company for the first month. She kept popping up, each time making no sound as usual and going on and on about how Naruto had gotten stronger, how Kakashi needed to be more gentle with Sasuke, how maybe it was better for Sakura to learn 1 on 1 new techniques to help her reach personal, not someone else's potential. She told him how in her village she liked to go to the banks of the harbor early in the morning and look for children who were fishing by themselves and to use her "magic" to pull out a few fish. They would laugh and call y/n princess of the sea. With a very serious expression on her face she listed endless crazy reasons why Kakashi could wear a mask and swore in front of everyone present (even though they were actually alone) that one day she would find out what his face looked like. And when she talked she was beautiful.. actually, she was always beautiful. He mostly listened in silence, allowing the warm feeling in his chest to grow little by little with each of their conversations. He realized that he began to take the path to the memorial stone more often where there was a better chance of her jumping out. Once, she even came along with him as far as the stone itself, bowed and stood quietly for a while before whispering "at least you have a place to mourn your loved ones."
 However, that huddled routine that Kakashi looked forward to more than he'd like to admit stopped 10 days after Sasuke disappeared, and he ran into her for the first time after the failed mission. "You shouldn't blame yourself, you did everything you could" she was silent for a few minutes "I don't think you really could have stopped him.. you said yourself that Sasuke was stubborn. If you managed to bring him home, the question is whether he would still want to be a part of the team...". When Kakashi was still silent and tried to turn and leave she spoke again "When I lost my cousin I couldn't sleep for days, I blamed myself and wanted to die. But I realized that what was happening to us was inevitable, if she had survived then maybe the Mizukage would have sent his guards and...” “You trying to cover your guilt with failed excuses shows what person you are like.. I will not live in such a miserable field” when the anger came out of him with that sentence Kakashi realized how wrong he was and tried to speak again, but a cold "I got it, go bathe in guilt if that's what you want" cut him off with eyes that glared at him. Y/n left after that and didn't speak to him again to this day.
So he was left to watch her from a distance. In moments when he felt lonely he blamed her. He often let his frustration get the better of him and then tried to talk to others about his doubts and pin his ugly feelings on y/n. Unfortunately for him, everyone loved her, starting with Gai who was finally getting a talkback about the flower of youth and someone with whom his passionate level would be similar.Kurenai finally felt close to a female ninja and laughter could always be heard from Tsunade's office when she was in. Genma showed a closeness to her like he hadn't with anyone in a long time... Kurenai even mentioned that they went on a date after some difficult mission. Which is perfectly fine and didn't leave Kakashi choking on a feeling he hadn't felt before at all. Hot again, but not in a nice way, it even felt a little like anger. And now he was standing in the Hokage's office wondering how a ninja with chakra that was impaled on a water core could cause so much fire.
"Well Kakashi, it's time for another S-rank mission" Tsunade smiled at him, holding sake in her left hand. It was already dusk and her paperwork work was due in about an hour, so her advisors weren't in the room "I hope you had enough time to rest."
"And if I said I didn't, it wouldn't change the situation much" he wasn't looking anywhere in particular while keeping his hands in his pockets. He was on the last mission for a full 3 weeks. Of course he was chakra exhausted. Of course he felt tired. Of course he wanted to do nothing but sleep, read Make-out, and visit the memorial stone. And check out what y/n is doing…
"You know yourself that the level of missions has increased since the death of the 3rd Hokage and the destruction of the village. All our enemies strike us now because they're hoping to catch us in weakness. Unfortunately we don't have enough jonin to cover the steady increase in S rank missions...so there is no time for long breaks. This one is especially hard, so you'll get an escort."
"Ah, escort..." now he was looking at the ceiling, how interesting tiles... "didn't you say that sending couple jonin rank ninjas on a mission is a waste of resources? That it should be done only in exceptional cases? Or you've actually started caring about me? In that case my heart is about to break…"
"This is an exceptional case, Kakashi" Tsunade got up from the chair and sat on the table directly observing Kakashi "the fact is that many jonin go on missions with their genin and chunin and they consider it a kind of vacation, because all those missions are B rank at worst. However, that privilege has been taken away from you since Sasuke escaped and Naruto went to train who knows where with Jiraiya" when she noticed that Kakashi would not respond to her remark she sighed deeply and continued "since this mission involves going into enemy territory you will take escort."
"Enemy territory?"
"Land of Waves to be precise. Y/n was already notified this morning that she has been assigned an S rank mission and will need to be your guide and support."
"Y/n?!" Kakashi felt his anger spreading through his body, so he tried with all his might, fists clenched in his pockets, to calm his breathing; he spoke very slowly and quietly "y/n has a huge bounty on her head in those villages. Or did you miss that? They will kill her as soon as she gets close."
"The scroll that was stolen is very important to Konoha, Kakashi " she held the tip of the nose with her eyes closed "y/n knows the risk and she accepted it. It was her duty at the end of the day" as she looked at him determinedly "as it was yours to take orders from the Hokage. You have a mission to complete, and for efficiency you'll bring a guide with you, who, if I must remind you, is also a jonin who does S-rank missions. You will take care of each other."
"You can't send her with me" he couldn't stop his legs from getting a little closer to her "you can't send her there, it will only be a big distraction."
"The decision has been made" she handed him the scroll looking at him resolutely "the deadline for the mission is 1 week. If you do not return by then, help will be sent to you. All the details are in the scroll, I expect a successful report when you return. That's it, you can go."
"But, Lady Tsunade –"
"That's it Kakashi" a small crack was heard from the wood of the table that cracked under Tsunade's pressure "you can go."
Damn it he thought.
i’m so sorry.
"Of course you're late" y/n looked at Kakashi leaning against the wall of village gate, her bag on the floor between her legs.
"You won't believe what an infestation of angry geese was in front of my house" he smiled at her, scratching the back of his head.
"Yes, yes. Move then..." she just walked away leaving him standing there for a few moments staring at her. He wondered if she knew where he was going before every mission. He wondered if she could see through his acting with that haunting gaze.
-
After few hours passed, in not so pleasant but endurable silence, air was getting colder. Kakashi felt his fingers slowly tingle, frantically trying to warm them in his pockets.
"Fuck.." muttered next to him y/n holding a finger in the air that was covered in water and her chakra "fuck, fuck."
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly, observing their surroundings. They were around 25 kilometers away from Konoha for a pretty short time because they were running most of the way wanting to reach the border of Land of Water by evening. It's only about an hour to the small town. They were currently in an open area and Kakashi desperately wanted to get out of the way as soon as possible.
"Once every few years Land of Water gets a period of so-called „false winter“"y/n blurted out through her teeth, keeping her gaze still on the water that was wrapped around her finger "you see? There is a thin layer of hoarfrost gathering on the surface. It's not cold enough to freeze, but maybe, in 2 days, it will be enough."
"And what do those winters look like? Should we expect snow?"
"Probably not. The problem with this winters is that they are very cold and wet. On the other hand they never last more than a week. But people freeze to death because winters come so suddenly, so we have to be very careful. And of course, to return home as soon as possible."
"Clearly..." Kakashi spoke in a moment, swearing at his fate. This mission probably couldn't get any worse.
He watched y/n wipe hands on her pants, and warming the hand she had attached the water to by slowly blowing into it. He couldn't resist the urge and slowly put his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him with a look that almost brought him to his knees. Honest, clean, which allows the color of her eyes to completely come to the fore.
"Don't worry" he said quietly, now in some incomprehensible fear of not scaring her further, and with a huge desire to slowly dance his fingers on her face... to get rid of every concern "we will finish this mission successfully. Everything will be alright."
"Mhm" the girl in front of him uttered a falsely cheerful voice "and even if something happens, you won't have to swim in pool of pathetic excuses so I'm not even worried about you" she slipped out of his touch with the speed of an eye blink "it's time to go and find a room if we don't want to sleep in the cold."
"Y/n..." he tried
"Come on" she interrupted him already ready for a new round of running "don't lose sight of me."
-
When they arrived at the room they had barely rented as it was the last one in a shack at the very end of a famous town, within reach of a Village Hidden in Mist, Kakashi thanked every exalted being that existed for the 2 large separte beds in their room. As he made the beds, placed the maps on the floor of the room, took the food out of his bag, he listened to the sound of the shower coming out of the bathroom and suddenly he felt terribly hot. Although he had never been intimate with a woman... or anyone really, out of constant fear of getting hitched and that person dying, Kakashi actually often felt very lustful. It had appeared in flashbacks before, when he saw a pretty girl at one of his missions, when he passed a public women's bath, when he was reading his books... however he had never wanted something or someone so much that it made him act on that lust. The present moment, on the other hand, was driving him completely insane. Yes, he thought y/n was very very beautiful and her strong character was surprisingly attractive. He thought her smile was as sweet as honey and there was nothing warmer than her beautiful disposition. And yes, sure, one time when they happened to be together in a bar with mutual friends, not talking to each other of course, he got surprisingly turned on by one look at her bare legs. Although now he thought that that arousal could not even be considered arousal because what he was feeling right now was 10 times stronger. When he realized that if he continued like this he would either go crazy, or unwillingly go and do something.. with her, or cum within a full minute Kakashi went into deep concentration considering the mission.
After a few minutes y/n came out in a plain t-shirt and shorts, no bandages on her arms and legs so now he could see a lot of small cuts on the lenght of her arms. He felt that she could see that he was looking at her and he just kept his eyes on her waiting for her to speak.
"We have very hard endurance training as kids" y/n muttered noticing Kakashi is staring at her "they're not as gentle with us at the academy as they are with you. Especially if you are female."
"I understand" he looked at her with full attention "it must have been difficult for you."
"Of course it was" she threw herself on the bed with a sigh, letting her wet hair fall on the pillow "although we don't talk much about it. What happened happened."
"Does it bother you that I saw?" he left the question floating in the air. Her thighs were dripping with water that she hadn't wiped off. He wondered what it would feel like to run his lips over them.
"No" she fell silent a little and looked him directly in the eye "even though I don't agree with you about some things, I believe you. I've seen how you treat others. You always put someone else's life before your own and I really appreciate that. So the result is that I'm not ashamed of who I am right now. At least not in front of you."
Kakashi's legs walked on their own towards the bed where y/n lay. He wanted to comfort her, he wanted to kiss every cut on her body, he wanted to show her that she can show her vulnerable side. When she saw him coming towards her y/n sat down in a meditation pose leaving room for the ninja to sit on the other end of the bed which he did. When some time had passed Kakashi removed the headband from his other eye and looked at her with both eyes open. He noticed how the girl in front of him was trying like hell not to stare at his sharingan now, her eyes darting left and right as she paid attention to both eyes.
"I'm so sorry" mumbled Kakashi "I'm so fucking sorry for what I said the last time we spoked. If I could, I would do everything differently."
She watched him quietly. Then uncertainly reached out a shaky hand and touched his scar just below his eye which made Kakashi wince. What the hell was he thinking?! If she wanted to, she could have dug out his eye and taken it to the enemy!
"Sleep. Tomorrow is a tough one" he spoke harshly when, without looking at her again, he stood up and went to take a shower. Then hating himself, he entered the room again and saw her pretending to sleep with slightly red eyes from crying.
regrets.
The next day, they were already passing few small communites, moving through the Land of Waves. They only had a few more hours of walking left before they entered the Village Hidden in the Mist, and darkness was already slowly falling. Both of them had bought long coats on their way out of the city, so that the cold, which was slowly but surely getting into their bones, could be endured. However, Kakashi was feverishly aware of one thing – this all seemed too easy. They hadn't encountered a single ninja so far, there was no sign of anyone noticing who y/n was and the road was passable without control.
"Probably because of the cold " y/n mumbled trying to gather the cold mist into droplets on her palm when Kakashi shared his worries with her "I told you people doesn't handle it well enough in these parts."
"Hmm" he watched as the mist and chakra slowly danced and merged at the tip of her palm, making water "it would certainly be good if we didn't linger here for much longer. Considering how in demand you are here and how cold it can be."
"It's good that we left most of the things in that hut" now she let the water slowly drip from her fingers "being overloaded would only slow us down. And since sleeping in any hut here is not an option because of our bountys, and sleeping outside is not because of the cold, we can only finish the mission tonight and return to the hut tomorrow night."
"Sure thing, lady" he hummed.
-
It was the dead of night when they were half a kilometer from the base, which did not seem protected. Guards were probably inside because of the cold, Kakashi thought. The fog enveloped them and honestly suffocated him slightly even with the mask he always wore. When the wind blew, it would whip his face and make him shake for a moment. It was very cold. He watched as y/n looked at the white rabbit with small cut on right ear in confusion, crouching. He took out his kunai sorry little guy.
"No" she spoke quietly next to him "white rabbits are not always a distraction... don't worry."
"I hope you didn't trick me...trust me i will find out and it won't end well for you."
She glared at him, tilting her head to the side... a sarcastic smile moved to adorn her lips.
"How are you not ashamed?" she whispered, but because of the silence of the night he heard her very well "I sacrificed myself for your village in this half year than for mine my whole fucking life" she poked him in the chest with her finger "I was more polite to you than you deserve. And I would have fucking killed you in your sleep last night if I wanted to."
"You remained as fiery and hot as the last time I saw you" spoke a voice from the shadows behind them. Kakashi lifted his headband and grabbed the shuriken in his pockets. However a stiff y/n caught his attention more.
"Y/n" the copy ninja cracked "y/n what's going on?!"
"Shino..." she whispered confusedly looking into the darkness. How the hell do these swamp ninjas manage to be so damn quiet??
"What's up beautiful," out of the darkness, where y/n was looking, a tall ninja came out with the band of the village hidden in the mist hanging around his neck. His entire body except face was covered in bandages and a blade similar to Zabuza's was attached to his back… this is not good "you know I missed you."
"You tried to kill me" Kakashi watched y/n holding outstretched hand in front of her, chakra on the surface of her palm trembled slightly "I trusted you and you tried to kill me."
"Princess" a sneer was heard in his voice, he raised both hands above his head as if he wanted to show her that he did not want to hurt her "business is business, nothing personal."
"I loved you and you tried to kill me" her voice trembled as she turned her hand upwards and the ninja fell to his knees still with a smile on his face, his blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight
Kakashi tried to use the Sharingan to quickly assess the situation, but realized that there was nothing to be gained from it. The fog was too thick, the night was too dark and he didn't fucking know what to do. Should he summon Pakun? Should he kill the asshole on the spot?
"I see you still like bad boys, princess. But you yourself know that in the end you are regretted by everyone, in the end everyone sees how weak you are." Shino spoke with difficulty on his knees, a grimace on his face, probably due to blood manipulation "you still chose none other than Kakashi of sharingan. I'm impressed" he was looking at Kakashi now, a dirty smile returning to his lips "you know the redwater brothers want you dead ever since you killed Zabuza... that wasn't nice of you Kakashi."
"Ah, business is business, isn't it, nothing personal" Kakashi smiled with his eyes.
"Hah" Shino looked at y/n again "honestly, I never even loved you. What has to happen happens."
Then several things happens at once. Kakashi saw the ninja on his knees turning into water with his sharingan, and heard rustling behind them. Fucking water clone.
"Fucking shit -" Kakashi whispered furiously under his breath, quickly turning on his heels and activating chidori. A few seconds passed before he stood behind y/n shielding her back and pierced the spot where Shino's heart was with his chidori. The ninja fell from his hand, along with his blade with a dull thud. Kakashi turned to look at y/n who was looking at him with wide eyes and felt a searing pain in his chest. With a low curse he fell to his knees as he realised that he was almost cut open in half.
"No!" y/n shouted as she quickly knelt in front of him with her hands glowing with chakra "Kakashi, Kakashi, keep your eyes on mine."
Is this it? He thought as his head reeled. Although his eyes seemed to be open, he saw nothing. He only heard the soft sound of chakra vibrating somewhere nearby and shallow breats. Maybe some whimpers. But he wasn't sure.
"Kakashi! I will never talk to you again if you die now" a distant soft voice cracked "I can't lose you. I don't want to lose you."
"I l-lied" he spoke quietly, not sure if she heard him at all, but he tried anyway "you are very brave... so brave it scares me... So, of c-c-course you are not week. Of course you're not a dis-straction. Of course I don't regret going here with y-you."
"Look at me, I'm begging you."
The last atoms of power Kakashi focused on what appeared to be y/n's face. When his vision sharpened a little he saw a smile or a twitch, he wasn't quite sure, and the beautiful color of the eyes that he had come to love so much.
"You are so beautiful."
lavander.
When Kakashi woke up in a dark room that smelled of lavender he was sure he was dead. He tried to blink hard a few times and shake the sleep from his eyes before he managed to sit up. His mask was still there, though he was dressed in plain clothes and covered with a thick blanket. Although he was warm, the air in room was cold. He realized that he was in the hut where he and y/n had left their things before they went to the Land of Waves. When he turned to the right he saw lavender in a pot and a small letter. He took the letter and began to read.
By all accounts you should wake up before I’m back. I left medicinal herbs, tea and food on your table. Don't even think of touching the bandage. I managed to sew up the wound completely, but it's better that the bandage soaked with medicinal water stays until I return, just in case. Of the flowers in the local flower shop, there were only lavenders because of the winter, I hope you are not allergic. Hehe. I went to get that stupid scroll and finish the mission so I'll be back soon. Don't follow me. You lost a lot of blood and strength. Please wait. I'll be back, trust me.
P.S. I didn't peek under your mask. Pinky promise.
-
Those few hours in which Kakashi drank all the tea, ate all the food and thought about the best way to go after her, felt like days. He realized with great amazement that y/n had somehow managed to heal entire wound which now only itched, not hurt. He felt very exhausted as he looked out the window at the rain falling wrapped in a blanket. It must have been terribly cold outside. How many days did he sleep? How is y/n? Is she hurt? What if they catch her and kill her? What if she's already dead? How many days has she actually been out of the hut? If she is dead he will kill everyone who is responsible. But he is responsible... He let his guard down and let that jerk almost kill him and that's why y/n is out there alone now. He won't be able to live with himself if she's dead. He was too tired. He will rest for only half an hour more and then he will leave. Towards her. Yes, that sounds like a good idea.
Knock knock.
Kakashi stood up with his heart pounding. They found him. But if they found him that means they will wait there for y/n to come back and then kill her easily. He took the kunai, opened the sharingan eye and cautiously approached the door. He wouldn’t let that happen. When he flung open the door he saw y/n with gentle eyes watching him, a scroll in one hand, a Shino’s blade in the other. She was wearing a normal ninja uniform and was soaked to the core. Y/n smiled widely at him but fatigue was very visible on her face. Her body was shaking uncontrollably from the cold.
"Oh thank heavens, you're awake" it came as sigh from her lips "I didn't want to drop any of this on the floor. Sorry if you had to get up. Everything went smoothly. Mission is complete."
He quietly helped her inside, took the things from her hands and put them on the floor. When he went to turn on the shower so that somehow hot water would warm up y/n he realized that there was no use because the water had frozen in the pipes.
"The shower doesn't work" he rasped and realized that it was probably the first thing he had said in days "change into something dry. We need to warm you up."
Kakashi then placed 2 blankets over each other on his bed and pulled y/n who was now only in a t-shirt and shorts (because that was the only thing dry) into bed with him. He hugged her tightly, limbs completely intertwined, his hands rubbing hers, trying to bring some warmth back into her body. All this with full awareness of how she was lying next to him in just shorts and a t-shirt. He fought the growing erection in his underwear, thinking about anything but the woman in his arms that he wanted more than anything else.
"I thought you were going to die" she spoke quietly against his chest, probably more to herself than to him, but he certainly heard her very clearly.
"You saved my life, Thank you" he mumbled against her hair.
Now she cocked her head hard and fast locking her eyes with his, fire in them, just the way Kakashi loved it.
"If it wasn't for you, I would be dead" she snapped angrily, holding his gaze with hers, now he kept his sharingan eye open "I just did one tolerable, but miserable thing."
"You are extraordinary. Really. I’m all heald now thanks to you. When I woke up today I felt like whole new person. Thank you" he lightly touched her cheek with his hand "And I don't know if that went through your crazy little head, but the last thing I want is to let people I care about die while I'm just watching from the sidelines. That very much includes you."
As if momentarily embarrassed, she looked away from him and brought her head back to rest on his chest. She breathed deeply.
When he noticed that the normal temperature was slowly returning to her body and the shivers stopped being so strong Kakashi let out a soft laugh.
"I don’t believe a thing you say,"
"What?" y/n cocked her head again looking into Kakashi's one open eye with a confused expression. That made him grin even wider.
"I don't believe you didn't look under the mask."
The girl in his arms scoffed looking at him with mocking eyes "My curiosity is big, but not so much that I want to play dirty. If i really wanted to see what's underneath I'd make you show me yourself."
"And?" Kakashi felt his breath slowly run out of anticipation "do you want to see it that badly?"
She looked at his mask silently then studied his open eye.
"You want to show me?" she asked quietly, and he just continued to watch her, with an unknown glow. She slowly removed both hands from the blanket and ran her fingers to the top of his mask. Her hands were shaking slightly and Kakashi realized with something, ah here it is again, very warm in his stomach that she wasn't shaking from the cold this time. Y/n slowly removed the mask from his face as he watched her carefully. When the whole cloth was finally removed, she sighed deeply. A soft smile graced her lips.
"Ah, what a disappointment" her gaze circled all over his face "nothing of the huge lips and horse teeth."
Kakashi felt his lips curl into a smile. He hugged her a little tighter.
"You are so beautiful. Gorgeous even." she looked him in the eye and now he was terribly, terribly hot all over. No one ever addressed those words to him. His body just moved closer to her until her lips were only inches away from his. He felt her breath brush his lips. He was waiting for her to do something… anything.. to give him the green light. Because no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't move on his own. Such tender and fragile moments were not frequent in his life, and suddenly he was terribly afraid of breaking this too. However when y/n pressed her lips to his all worries were quickly erased from his mind.
They kissed deeply and slowly as he ran his hands all over her body. He made sounds he didn't know he was capable of, but realized that nothing compared to her sighs and moans from the kiss. He slowly moved from her lips to her neck which he had been watching for so long as they talked months from now, taking deep breaths.
"How perfect you are" he murmured as she melted in his arms. She ran her hands first over his shoulders, then his back, finally letting her hands go under his shirt. He moaned burying his head deeper into her neck.
"Kakashi..." came out of her mouth like a plea, as if it was too much for her.
"I know y/n, I know," he breathed a big, hard sigh as he held her hips tightly so she wouldn't move against him anymore. It was very clear to him that she felt how much he wanted her. And he now wanted her to show her how much he wanted her "can I touch you?"
She looked at him with a warm look and red cheeks, then nodded briskly.
He let his hand dance from her neck, over her stomach, down to her lower abdomen where he pressed his hand firmly.
He kissed all over her hands, all the little cuts he'd seen just a few days before.
"Perfect. So fucking perfect. Lift your hips for me pretty girl" he whispered softly.
When he took off her shorts and realized how wet she was, he almost cummed In his pants at that moment.
He just touched her enterance briefly and she moaned leaning into his touch. Nothing has happened yet and he was so fucking turned on. Turned on by her smooth skin, maddening smell, her sighs, moans... This is 100x better than any erotic novel. He slowly kissed her clit, than licked it experimentally. Y/n closed her eyes and left her hands flying to his hair, hips bucking up to meet his mouth.
'Look at me, let me see you" he darkly whispered against her pussy, looking at her with his both eyes. He then licked and sucked her swollen clit, eyes never leaving hers, making her moaning mess.
"Fuck Kakashi, fuck" she cried pressing one hand against her mouth, than changing mind and letting that hand grip on his hair too "i need you now. Please."
He stopped for a second watching her.
"Are you.. -"
"Yes, yes, and don’t you fucking dare to leave now."
"Sure thing pretty lady" he smiled against her heat.
He took his time, exploring every exposed piece of skin now that he took her t-shirt off too. He blinked open the sharingan again and he was so damn happy that he could predict how she would react to every touch. He looked at her; sprawled out underneath him, with her face flushed, lips swollen.
"Have I ever told you that you are perfect?" he had that boyish smile now, looking at her lovingly.
"Pervert" she grinned while kissing him quickly.
"Ah yes" he left few kisses to her neck again "I remember you calling me that a few times" he put his fingers on her clit making her to squirm with embarrassment.
"Please Kakashi" her voice was so fucking sweet "I need you. Please."
"Need you too" he mumbled against her lips "so much. My beautiful girl."
Then all he could feel was her. She clouded all five senses and he felt like he was going insane. It was over far too quickly.
"Madness" he whispered in her ear and nuzzled her neck, thrusting deep and steady "you are madness."
He gave a few last thrusts and reached down with his hand to help her finish. It wasn’t long until she was writhing and whimpering underneath him.
He kissed the top of her head before he pulled her into him protectively, feeling sleepy. Enjoying the feeling of her skin flush against his, her sweet smell and now steady breaths he felt his body completely relaxing.
As he slowly drifted off to sleep he asked quietly against her hair "do you want to go out sometime?"
343 notes · View notes
dancingtotuyo · 7 months ago
Text
High Infidelity Part V
Joel Miller x Female Reader
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Rating: Mature Explicit
Summary: Tommy is released, but he only pushes you further into Joel's arms.
Tags: Tommy x Reader, Joel x Reader, Tommy's Wife Reader, infidelity, emotional affair, slow burn (as much as you can get for 5 chapters), Tommy goes to jail, Reader has had a child
Warnings: prison, mentions of war, fighting, LOTS OF TEARS, emotional and physical affair, cheating boundaries, smut (P in V), Oral sex (F receiving)
Notes: And so we reach the end of this story. I know there's a lot to wrap up. Thank you all for all your amazing comments and thoughts over the last month. It really means the world to me.
I know I say this every chapter but a huge thanks to @janaispunk and @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin. They have beta'ed every chapter one top of listening to me scream about this story for hours over the course of months! I adore you both so much
Words: 7234
Series Masterlist | Author Masterlist | Daily Clicks for Palestine & Other resources
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They warn you that Tommy’s transition home will be difficult. An adjustment period they call it. You prepare for him to struggle, thinking he would try to leave the house in search of trouble, but it’s the opposite. Joel picks him up from work in the morning and drops him off in the evening. Then he goes out on the back deck and drinks sitting out there in utter silence. At first, you join him, letting Nathaniel play in the backyard but he refuses to talk, hardly looks your way. Sometimes he tracks Nathaniel, but not all the time. He seems so far away, like he had those first couple months home after Desert Storm, but he came back to you, as Your Tommy. At least for a little bit. 
At night, he pulls you into his arms without a word. He holds you until you fall asleep, but on several occasions, you wake up in the middle of the night to an empty bed. Usually he’s sitting on the bed or standing as he stares out the window. Sometimes you hear him pacing the house. You don’t talk about it. You don’t talk about much anymore except for the weather. He’s ultra focused on the weather it seems. 
He hasn’t tried to touch you. Sexually that is. Any kiss he lays on you is chaste almost like it’s his duty, but sometimes you catch more behind it, like he’s pushing down his own desires. When you try to progress things, he walks away. 
It hurts. A lot. 
You have Julia and Micky over for dinner a month after Tommy’s release. Tommy comes out of his shell a little bit. He wears a smile, laughs with his head thrown back at some inside joke Micky cracks. He looks easy, relaxed for once. Under the table, his hand lands on your thigh sending little jolts of electricity through your body. He’s feeding you more and more loose threads of his old self to hold on to. The ever present tension in your chest eases. You hate that it feels like you can breathe again. A small, small assurance that he will come back to you in time. 
Micky and Tommy take the boys outside after dinner. Micky talks about a support group for Veterans he goes to. You watch from the window, you can’t hear them, but you see when  Tommy brushes him off, his body going rigid. You try to push it out of your mind, but you already feel the threads slipping through your fingers as you push back tears with a glass of water. 
Tommy goes to bed before you that night, but when you slip into bed, he still pulls you into his arms. When you wake up a couple hours later, Tommy stands by the window, gazing out of it like a statue keeping watch. 
You don’t usually say anything. You don’t let him know you know he’s not sleeping, but something tugs you into an upright position. “Tommy.”
He doesn’t respond, doesn’t move. You get no indication that he even hears you. You throw back the covers, joining him next to the window. You repeat his name, laying a hand on his shoulder. You catch a small twinge in his jaw. “Come back to bed?”
His eyes dart from the moon to his feet. He leans away from you, just enough for you to pick up on it. You can’t ignore the stab of hurt that shoots through your body. Your hands fall back like you’ve been burned. You wish you had the energy to yell at him, fight him, but you don’t, so you crawl back into bed, back turned to him. Silent tears soak your pillow before you fall back asleep. 
Tommy’s gaze moves to your still frame, praying for a release from the chains he can’t seem to shake. The ones that he keeps hurting you with, but he doesn't know where to find the keys. 
So life continues like that. Weekly dinners with Micky and Julia, glimpses of Tommy and threads that slip through your fingers. Most days it feels like one step forward and two steps back. Your patiences frays, your emotions unraveling each time he pushes you away only to pull you close at the end of the day. You’re not sure what does it, if you’ve reached the end of your rope, completely unraveled, or multiple tantrums Nathaniel threw all day, but when he reaches for you one night, you snap. 
“Stop.” You pull out of his reach.
“What’s wrong?”
Dry laughter falls out of you as you roll out of the bed. “What’s wrong? What’s not wrong?”
“Baby…”
“No, you don’t get to try and soothe me!” You bite your lip, trying to keep the tears of the past months from your eyes. You can’t break down right now, in front of him. “You’re pushing me away! I’m trying to be here for you, I really am, Tommy, but I am exhausted! I don’t know what to do.”
He looks away, body looking deflated. “I don’t know why you’re still here.”
“No- Stop,” you hold your hands up. “You know why I’m here. I love you, but love only gets us so far.”
“I’m trying-”
“No, you’re not.”
“You don’t know-”
“People who are trying don’t sit out on the porch and ignore their family every night! They don’t ignore their wife!”
“If that’s how you feel, maybe you should just leave me now!” he snaps. “No need to delay the inevitable.”
It pulls the air from you like a punch to the gut. Tears well in your eyes. “Is that what you want?”
He looks away from you again. You march up to him, grabbing his face, forcing him to look you in the eyes. “Tell me!” 
There’s nothing in his eyes, they’re the same eyes you fell in love with, but they’re hollow now. It sends a heartbreaking chill through your body. His eyes fall to the corner, the only way he can get away from your searing gaze. 
You drop his face, stepping away before you lose it in front of him. “Okay then.” 
You can’t stay here, in the room, in your home. Tommy hangs his head as you flee from his presence. The house rattles when the front door slams behind you. Only then, does Tommy let the apathy bleed out of his body and the tears fall. 
A knock on the front door jolts Joel awake. The TV plays lowly, casting harsh light and shadows across the dark living room. He feels confused, disoriented. Another knock pulls him through the fog a little bit. He opens the door to find you, tears streaming down your face. You push past him, crossing the threshold without an invitation. You don’t need one. 
“What’s wrong, Darlin?”
You inhale, preparing to let the words out, to scream if necessary, and then your whole chest quivers, and the tears pour out again sending you into a blubbering mess. Joel’s arms wrap around you, pulling you to the couch before you collapse right in front of him. 
He leaves you for a minute. The faucet runs in the kitchen. Joel sets a cool, heavy glass in your hands, watching over you with concern knit brows. Every time you try to talk, your chest rattles again and tears overpower you.
“It’s okay. Take your time.”
You sip at the water, rotating between complete serenity and total chaos. Every time you think you might be able to speak, the words turn into incoherent sobs. Finally, you give up trying to talk until the glass is empty. Joel takes the glass from your hands, setting it on the coffee table. You don’t attempt to talk until your breathing is fully evened out. Joel holds your shoulders, thumbs running smoothly over your skin.
“I’m just so fucking tired,” you say. “All the time.”
Joel frowns. “Tommy?”
“He won’t talk to me.” The tears gather behind your eyes again, creating pressure in your head. You feel the blubbering start to return. “I knew things would be hard, but he just acts like I’m not even there half the time.”
“Is he going out again?” 
You shake your head. “No- he’s home all the time, sulking, being mad at the world for whatever reason he can come up with. I’ve tried so hard. I don’t know what else to do.” Hot tears spill from your eyes. “It shouldn’t be this hard. I’m used to doing everything alone- but now I’m doing it with a ghost in my home. It wears on a person, and tonight- “ It hurts like citrus in a fresh cut to think about.  
“Come here.” Joel sighs, feeling his heartache for you. He pulls you into his chest, allowing you to soak his shirt until it sticks to his skin. His hand caresses your back, doing his best to soothe you as best he can. Though by now, he’s a pro at it. 
Eventually, your head falls into his lap. The sobs don't seem to rattle your body the same, but the tears don’t stop. 
Annoyance begins to grow in Joel. How many more times does he have to do this before you come to your senses? He thought Tommy’s stint in prison would help, yet here you are still crying on his couch. This can’t keep happening. It’s not fair to you. 
Joel loves his brother. He would do anything in this world for him, except when it comes to you. Because Joel loves you too. He loves you more and in more ways than a brother-in-law should. He hasn’t minded being just your brother-in-law and friend until now. You deserve better. 
When you finally sit up, wiping the tears from your eyes, he knows he won’t be able to stop the words at the cusp of his mouth. 
“What time is it?” You look at the clock on the wall with a sigh. “I should go home.”
“Darlin,” Joel grabs your chin. Your eyes snap to his. There’s a seriousness in his eyes you’re not sure you’ve seen before. “How long are you gonna let him keep doing this to you?”
“What?”
“You know what I mean.”
You close your eyes for a second. Another tear falls with your eyelashes. Joel swipes it away with his thumb. “What am I supposed to do, Joel? Where would we go?”
“You could stay here until you find somethin.”
A little huff of laughter manages to escape. “Yes, I’m sure Sarah would love having us invade her space when there’s a perfectly good house down the street.”
“She wouldn’t mind.”
“I don’t want to leave him.” You put your hand on Joel’s wrist. “He’s a dick, but I love him.”
“It’s killing me to see you like this. You deserve better.”
He’s right. You know he’s right, but there’s something else in his eyes. The way he’s looking at you. There’s a heat in his gaze, something that feels so familiar, but you haven’t seen Tommy in years, the same look you saw that night at the beach. It sends tingles through your bloodstream, little pinpricks of excitement like the night you got yourself off in his bed, said his name and then heard him. You’ve managed to push down the question until now, but you know for certain now. He heard you. You swallow, your breath feeling like it’s being pulled out of your lungs. 
Do you tell him what Tommy said tonight? Do you tell him that you heard him that night? Do you tell him you’re being pulled into different directions?
“Joel…”
His hand falls to your waist. The other cups your neck. You feel like you’re falling toward him, helpless to stop the inevitable. “I’ve got you, Darlin.”
He’s been here. He’s always been here for you at the drop of a hat. Your firm foundation when it felt like the rest of the world was sinking. You always assumed you were just a promise he made to his brother, but what he’s been to you and what you’ve been to him, it’s more than a promise to a brother. It’s more than a love for family. 
It sparks a flame inside you. You haven’t been looked at like that in years. Haven’t been touched in just as long. Tommy hasn’t made a single move on you since he got out. He’s run every time you’ve tried to initiate something. 
Your eyes dip to his lips, centimeters from your own. Joel echoes the statement again, quieter this time as your lips touch his. He shutters under you, lips quick to take over. Arms wrap around your waist. You’re thankful for it. Thankful not to have to think about any of it. Content to let him have complete control as you straddle him.
He inhales with a faint shake to his breath, lips still touching yours. Then, he returns in full force, pulling your bottom lip into his mouth. His hands crawl up your body, greedy and searching. You give in, nails wracking through his hair. Years of pent-up desire behind both of your movements. 
You play with the top buttoning of his shirt, popping them open, lightly scraping your nails across his chest. A moan reverberates from his chest. The bulge in his pants grows against your crotch, sending electricity through your veins. You tug at another button before Joel’s hand covers yours. He manages to pull away just barely. 
“What’s wrong?”
“Not here.” He pants. “Sarah.”
Your eyes widen, realizing how easily you could’ve been spotted by your niece. Joel caresses your jaw, eyes hooded with lust. He bucks his hips up, brushing your clothed crotch again. You gasp, making him smirk. 
His voice is raspy with need. “Gotta get you into my bed, Darlin.”
You barely manage to pull yourself off his lap, your legs feeling like wet noodles. Joel smiles, he grabs your hand, tugging you behind him. He’s quiet on the stairs, eyes glued to Sarah’s bedroom door the entire way up. 
His bedroom door clicks softly behind you, your shirt thrown off before Joel can turn around. He lets out an appreciative groan, pulling his own shirt off as he stalks toward you. Want pools low in your belly, the walls of your aching cunt clench. Your breath quickens as he edges nearer, a solid arm wrapping around your waist. His contained erection pushes against you making you grin. “Happy to see me?”
“More than you know,” he growls, kissing you again. Hand roaming your exposed skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake. You moan softly and then a little bit louder. Joel shakes his head. “Music to my fucking ears baby.”
He pulls and tugs at your bra, unable to get it opened to the point you’re worried he broke a clasp. Finally, you pull it over your head and let it land with your shirt. He takes you in, topless in his bedroom for just him to see. You’re a fucking work of art, water to a wanderer in the desert. 
He cups one of your breasts, pulls the other one into his mouth. You gasp, head falling back, moisture collecting in your underwear. His thumb plays with your exposed nipples while his tongue swirls over the other. You moan his name softly, being cautious of your volume.
He palms himself through his jeans, switching to your other breast as he does. You fight the urge to fall back on the bed, hands playing in his hair, nails scratching his scalp. He hums softly against your chest, sending an extra wave of pleasure through your body. He pulls back, saliva connecting the two of you, eyes glued to yours. He kisses you until the back of your knees hit his mattress, but he doesn’t let you fall to the bed yet. 
“How long has it been?” he says, muffled against your lips. His fingers play with the button of your pants
“What?”
“How long has it been?” He pulls back, the button of your pants popping open as he sinks to his knees.
Confusion flashes through your face until you realize what he’s saying, what he’s asking. You swallow, unsure of how to answer. 
“Darlin?”
It’s embarrassing because you can’t remember the last time you were touched like this. You shake your head. “I don’t know. Before?”
The sound from his throat is guttural, almost a growl. He’s been out for three months. Three fucking months and he hasn’t bothered to touch his wife. 
Joel tugs your jeans down, pressing a kiss just below your belly button, continuing down to the band of your underwear. Your pussy clenches again, dripping with need. 
“Lay down.”
You obey, bottom hitting the soft mattress first and then your back. His smell is everywhere now, seeping into your skin, just as it always has when you curled up in his bed. 
His hands run up the length of your torso, tweaking your nipples before sliding down, continuing over your thighs. He pulls your jeans free, pressing his nose to your center. “Smell so good for me, baby.”
Your stomach flutters, hips pressing into his face. He lets out a low chuckle. “I’m going to take care of you, Darlin. Don’t you worry.” 
You whine, hands gripping the sheets beside you. “Please, Joel.”
He tugs your underwear down, tortuously slow. His fingers trace down the entirety of your legs. You can see just enough under the hood of your lust-filled eyes. He props both of your legs on his shoulders, pressing slow kisses to the inside of each leg as he edges closer and closer to your core. 
When he gets there, he pauses, eyes locking on yours. It’s intentional. You have the urge to cuss him out if he doesn’t put his mouth on you soon. The need is strong enough you could cry or scream of frustration. 
Slowly, he spreads your legs, fingers creeping toward your sopping folds. He runs his pinky through them, barely nudging your clit, but it’s enough to have your back arching off the mattress. He grins up at you. He spreads you further. The evidence of your arousal glistens in the dim lights. “Fuck, Baby. So wet for me.”
You bite your lip to keep from yelling at him. “Please, Joel.” Your voice is hoarse and strained already. 
He groans, practically falling into your spread pussy. His tongue flattens against you, running the length of your folds. Your hands tangle in his hair, repeated moans falling from your lips, ones you both know you’re holding back for the sake of being quiet. You’re seeing stars and he’s barely touched you. 
Joel wants to take his time, savor the moment, memorize every piece of you. He wants to pull you apart piece by piece and put you back together again. He knows he may not get another opportunity again, but you’re addicting. He wants to pull those sounds from you on a loop and feast on your juices. He sucks your clit, swirling his tongue around it, eliciting another glorious moan from you. Each one grows louder until he pulls away for the briefest second and a pillow hits your face. 
“As much as I wanna hear you, Darlin. Use that.” He grins. “Don’t hold back on me anymore.”
His mouth is on you, doubling his efforts. Bringing you to the edge of bliss. You’re so close, moans filling the pillow case that smells like him. He inserts a finger, giving you something to clench around, softly brushing against your walls. His tongue laps over your clit and the tension building in you snaps in one beautiful crescendo. 
His thumb replaces his tongue as he works you through your orgasm, chest heaving as you catch your breath. “That’s right. Just like that.”
You toss the pillow to the side, locking eyes with him. He smirks at you, pressing a kiss over your hip. He leaves behind some of your juices, his face slick with them. Standing back to his feet, he undoes his belt shucking off his jeans and boxers. 
Your breath catches again as you hurry to sit up. He chuckles at you, catching your hands in his as you reach for him, for his cock. He pushes you back down to the bed, nuzzling into the crook of your neck. “As much as I’d enjoy that, Darlin. It was all I could do not to finish in my pants like a damn teenager.” 
Your breath quivers against him, words barely coherent in your brain. He releases one of your hands, reaching into his drawer for a condom.
 “Joel, I-” Your hand runs down his side, soaking in the feel of his skin. “Please.” It’s all you can manage. Years of pent-up desire begging to be freed. 
He smiles, pressing a kiss to your lips. You can taste yourself on him. 
He rips open the foil packet. Your eyes follow his every movement as he rolls it over his cock. Once it’s on he crawls onto the bed, hovering over you, gazing down at you like you hung the moon and stars. He’s your oasis in the desert and you’re his. Your hands roam his back and shoulders and hair. He leans into your touch, soft noises of contentment falling from his lips. 
Before you know what you’re doing, you manage to flip him onto his back. His arms fly out, a thunk sounding through the room as his wrist collides with the night stand. 
You can’t help the laughter that spills from your lips as you settle on top of him. “Are you okay?”
“Glad to see you’re so concerned for my well being.” He chuckles.
“No- Really.” But you can’t stop laughing. “Are you okay?”
“My watch caught it. I’m fine.” 
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Joel smiles, cradling your face in his hands. 
You lean down, hands spread over his chest as you press your lips to his. His hands are all over your bare skin again. He shifts your hips, positioning you over him, ready for you to sink down on to him, feel you wrap around him. 
You run your thumb over his bottom lip as his eyes roam over your face, breath held in anticipation, waiting for you.
“Are you sure?” you ask, barely a whisper. 
“Never been more sure.” His hands settle over your hips, holding them softly. 
The air seems to evaporate from the room and the world goes silent before you take that final, fatal move and sink onto him. A soft whimper leaves your lips before Joel captures your lips, swallowing it.
The moonlight reflects off his watch face. Neither of you are aware that it’s stopped, sealing your sins under its glass. 
You lay in Joel's arms long after you’ve both finished, sweaty and bare. The ceiling fan turns above you offering little reprieve. It’s nice, at first, but the longer you lay there, the longer it begins to sink in, the more you start to feel the stickiness on your skin and the unexplainable need for a shower. 
You pull out of Joel's arm’s without a word, eyes searching for your clothes strewn across the room. Why does it feel like the walls are closing in? You need to get out and think. 
“Darlin?” Joel sits up, reaching for your shoulder. 
“I should go home,” you say, rising to your feet before he can touch you. “I need to go home.”
“I told you you can stay.”
“I need to go home!” you snap, tears glistening in your eyes. This is wrong. It’s all wrong. 
“Shit,” Joel’s head drops. He lets out a huff, a hint of sarcasm to it. You grab your shirt, pulling it on, too busy locating your items to pay him any mind. “So that’s it? You’re just going to go back? Nothing’s gonna change.”
Your head snaps up as you pull on your jeans. “This can’t happen.” Your chest shakes. “It shouldn’t have happened, Joel. We both know that.”
“Or maybe it was supposed to.” He slides out of the bed, pulling on his boxers.
“Joel-”
“He doesn’t treat you right. We both know that.”
“He’s my husband!”
“He doesn’t get to walk all over you just because he’s your husband!”
“That doesn’t make this right!”
“It was the most right my life’s felt in years,” Joel says, eyes landing on yours. You bite back tears, trying not to let him get to you as you turn away, but he grabs your wrist. “It always does with you.”
You turn your head away from him without a response.
“You shouldn’t feel guilty.” His thumbs press into your palm. 
You slip his grip. “I love him. I know I shouldn’t anymore, after everything, but I do.” 
“I’ve always been here.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” You want to curse as your emotion wells up again. How much can a person take in a single night? “My life would be so much simpler if it was you.”
“It could be.”
“No,” your head shakes. It hurts more than you expect it too. You do love him. You wish it could be him. As if the past three years weren’t enough, you know what it’s like to be with him now, but it’s still Tommy, and you hate yourself for it. 
Joel seems to read it in your eyes, the sadness, the acceptance, lingering longing for what could have been. His throat bobbles as he steps back to give you space. You release a slow breath. 
“I’m sorry-”
“Don't apologize. I should have known better.”
You cringe. You want to tell him it’s not all on him, but he’s giving you an out. You’re too exhausted not to take it. “I’ll see you this weekend.”
“Yeah.” Joel moves about his room like he’s searching for something. 
You’re not sure if you should say something more, or leave. Leaving would be easier. A clean break, and you take it, but Joel’s voice stops you before you can open the door. “He wasn’t faithful to you.”
Your hand freezes over the door knob, eyes squeezing shut. You can’t do this. You can’t have this conversation right now, but your body is frozen in place. 
“I think you should know.”
Nails bite into your palms as you steady your breath, eyes focused on the wood of the door in front of you as rage begins to grow in you. “He already told me, but thanks for dredging that hurt back up three years after the fact.”
“Darlin-”
You spin on your heels. “Fuck you, Joel!” 
Joel’s eye’s fly wide. “I just thought you should know!”
“No, you were using that for your own good!” You can’t take this. Joel throwing Tommy’s betrayal in your face years after the fact is its own form of treachery.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
“I live in a constant state of hurt! You were supposed to be my reprieve!” Your fists shake, voice raising. You don’t care if you wake Sarah, you don’t care if your sins come to light. There’s only so much a person can take in a single night. “If you actually cared about me, you wouldn’t have kept that a secret for years! And you damn sure wouldn’t have used it for your own good!”
Joel doesn’t break eye contact with you, but you see the regret fill his eyes. Fire buzzes in your bloodstream and tears prickle your eyes. You’re not sure how you have any left to shed. In the blink of an eye, you flee from his room and home before he can attempt to draw you back in.
You take the long way home, letting the Texas darkness swallow you whole until you’re ready to go back home. 
The house is dark and quiet. You flip on the lamp, a deep tension forming in your head. Tommy sits on the couch, eyes latching onto yours. He looks like a lost puppy. Your breath catches. You must look a mess- eyes stained red, and clothes wrinkled. You worry you smell like sex or Joel, running over the nights happening for any chance Joel left a mark on you- not that Tommy would notice that. 
“I was getting worried about you.”
You toss your keys on the end table, throwing off your shoes with a sarcastic huff. “That’s ironic.” Tommy cringes. For once, you’re the closed-off one, too emotionally hardened or drained for his antics. 
“I deserve that.”
“Ya think?” You cross your arms. 
“Baby…” He eases to his feet. “I’m sorry- for all of it.”
“Sorry? Sorry! What the hell am I supposed to do with that, Tommy!”
He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It reminds you of Joel. The thought makes your blood run cold. “I don’t know.”
A humorless laugh leaves your throat. “You don’t know?”
“What the fuck can I say? I fucked up. Quite frankly, I don’t know why you’re still here!”
“Because I love you, you fucking idiot!”
“Why!?”
The question catches you off guard. “What the fuck do you mean? ‘Why?’”
“I don’t deserve it.”
“Wow, you’re on a roll tonight.” Your eyes roll. 
“I mean it.”
“Do you want me to leave, Tommy?” Yours and his transgressions filter before your eyes, making you cringe. Two wrongs don’t make a right. “You're done with me and you can’t bring yourself to say it?”
“I’m not good enough for you anymore!” Tears swell in his eyes. “I’ve done nothing but hurt you! But I can’t let you go!”
“I don’t want you to let me go, you big idiot!”
“Why?”
Your eyes flutter shut as you take a deep breath. Joel behind your eyelids. His stability. His care. His love. You could have that, but it would never quench your longing for Tommy. For better or worse, he’s yours. You want him even if it’s bad for you. “I don’t know.”
Tommy enters your space. His arms slip around your waist, eliciting a soft gasp from a place inside you you thought long gone. 
“You still believe in me?” He presses his forehead against yours. The callus on your heart starts to lift away, easier than you want to admit. He’s still in there somewhere, the man you fell in love with. You’re seeing more of him than you have in a long time. His hands feel hot against your back and he tugs you closer. You’re compliant under his touch. Whatever he wants from you, you’ll let him have it if he’ll just stays like this. 
You sniff back the tears, head nodding. “Yeah. I think I always will.”
“Let me make it better. I’m going to do better, Baby.” His breath is hot on your ear, lips pressing right behind it, and then to the corner of your jaw. Your body takes over as you lean into his touch. “I’m going to be here and present for you and Nathaniel.”
“You promise?” If the Tommy you fell in love with comes back to you, you won’t survive losing him again. You feel his hands in places he’s not even touching, heat sprouting all over your body. 
“I promise, Baby.” He kisses your cheek and then your forehead. 
You feel the pull of his current tugging you back under, clouding your judgment. You should send him packing or at least to the guest room until you wash his brother’s scent from your skin, but your body calls for him. Tommy’s touch is your addiction, your late nights running wild, your stint in prison. 
His breath fans over your face and before you know it, you’re pulling his lips to yours. The undertow sweeps you away, tugging you under the surface. Tommy’s never been the safe option, but you never claimed to need safe. 
He tugs you up the stairs. The lock on your bedroom door clicks and he’s on you like a starved man, hands wreaking havoc on your body, pulling clothing from your body like pretty wrapping paper on christmas morning. It doesn’t matter that you were sated well over an hour ago, your body responds to Tommy like a horny teenager. He knows you. He knows how to touch your body just right, he knows exactly how to make you writhe and moan and scream, and he hasn’t forgotten either. He plans to put his memory to good use tonight. 
Your hands are as ravenous as his, tugging his hair, at the buttons of his shirt, and pants. His teeth scrapes your bottom lip before he lays you down on the bed, bared to him and the moon streaming through the curtains. He smiles at you. It’s breathtaking. 
He takes his dear, sweet time with you, pulling you apart piece by piece and gluing you back together. Each time your brain dares to wonder into forbidden territory, he reminds you why he’s your husband, that he still knows you better than anyone else. It erases the rest of the night from your memory and the last two years until it’s just you and him, coming together as one like it was always meant to be. You and him. Bonnie and Clyde. 
He finishes deep inside of you, a feeling you’ve missed. All of it you’ve missed. His skin on yours, sweat mingling together. You lay there staring up at him in awe. He locks eyes with you. He’s there. Your Tommy. The Tommy you see every time you think about him, with sparkling eyes and a mischievous grin.
He leans down, lips pressing to your forehead. He wipes a stray tear from your cheek. “I never want to be the cause of these again.”
“Let’s be real, Tommy, you made me cry even when things were good.”
He chuckles, falling beside you. His chest moves with his heavy panting. You think he might be the most handsome man you’ve ever met. “Yeah, suppose I did.” 
“You’re gonna try, for real?”
“I’ll probably fuck up here and there.” He gathers you into his arms, skin pressed to skin as you breathe in the same air. 
“I know you will.” You tease. He scowls, but it’s all in good fun. Another flash of fresh air, a promise that things could go back to normal. 
“I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
You laugh, fingers tangling in his black waves. His hair has gotten so long. You wonder if he’ll keep it this way. “It’s gonna take at least that.”
He nods, a hint of seriousness showing in his face. “I know.”
And you know he means it. 
“I think you should go to that group Micky mentioned. You need people who understand.”
Tommy shifts slightly. He doesn’t like the idea. That much is clear. “Baby…”
“This is how you do better, Tommy.” The firmness in your voice catches you off guard. Tommy too. 
He nods, Adam's Apple bobbing. “Okay. I’ll go.”
“Every week?”
“Every week.”
The next morning, you wake up the same way you fell asleep, in your husband’s arms. 
Tommy never says a word, but he smells it on you that night. Something familiar, but out of place. It doesn’t belong on you, but he can’t put his finger on it. He knows what it means. He’s no idiot, and he doesn’t blame you for any of it. He’s had his indiscretions. Lord knows you’re allowed yours. 
You sit on the front porch with your coffee the next morning, the creaking of the porch swing playing in the background of your racing mind. You feel guilty for all of it. What you did to Tommy. What you did to Joel. But more so, you feel guilty because you know you can keep this buried for the rest of your life if it means keeping Tommy, and you’re pretty sure it makes you no better than him. At least Tommy had the balls to own up to what he did, but Joel isn’t some random girl at a bar. He’s your friend. Tommy’s brother. If it had been some random man, you could own up to it, but not this. Not Joel. 
“Aunt Bonnie!” 
The familiar voice pulls you from your thoughts as Sarah waves from the sidewalk, other hand clutched tightly in Joel’s. 
“Hey!” You force a smile to your face, waving back to her as they climb the porch stairs. She rushes over to you, arms open to give you a hug. You return the gesture, crushing her against your frame. “What’s up?”
“We’re just walking. I wanted to come say hi.”
You kiss her cheek. “Well I feel honored. Nathaniel and Uncle Tommy are inside if you want to say hi to them too.”
“Okay,” Sarah returns your kiss, curls bouncing behind her as she darts inside. 
You keep your eyes focused off to the side as Joel’s footsteps draw closer. Your finger plays along the rim of your coffee mug. You feel small, like a child in trouble. Joel eases next to you on the swing, shoulder brushing yours as he does. You bite your lip, knee bouncing softly.
“I’m sorry,” Joel says. “I shouldn’t have let that happen last night.”
Your eyes glaze over. “It’s not all on you.”
“Let it.” Your head snaps toward him. He looks tired, like he didn’t sleep much last night. He clasps his hands together, leaning over his knees. “You weren’t in a good place. I took advantage of that. Let it be my fault.”
Tears glaze over your eyes. He’s giving you an out. 
“Joel…”
He nods at you, a silent assurance. You shouldn’t take it, but you do. You lean into it, and it covers the guilt some, even if it’s all lies. You knew what you were doing. 
He kisses your forehead as the words leave your mouth. “I’m sorry.” 
“You don’t have anything to apologize for, Darlin.” More lies to make you feel less guilty. He’ll feed them to you as long as you need him to. 
He stands up, eyes flickering between your door and the way back to his house. 
“I can walk Sarah home later.” 
“Thanks.” He nods before leaving your front porch. He doesn’t look back.  
Things with Tommy don’t magically get better overnight. Life doesn’t work that way. It takes time. It’s gradual, sometimes it feels like you’re moving backward, but slowly Tommy comes back into himself. He’s never the exact man you fell in love with, the one you married, but you’re not the same person either. Time changes things. People grow, but with some work, you find new versions of yourselves that still fit together. Most importantly, this new version is still your Tommy.
Your memories with Joel don’t go away. You keep them tucked deep in your soul, but the two of you find your new rhythm, your friendship too important to lose. 
One Year Later
The five of you gather at Joel’s on Sunday morning for breakfast, rotating houses each week. It’s a carry over from the routine you and Joel developed. It’s different, obviously. You and Nathaniel don’t stay the night. It takes time for Tommy to find his place in the well oiled unit the two of you became. It feels awkward and clunky at times, but you get through it and slowly the kinks work themselves out. 
Joel bounds down the stairs, hair wet from his shower as he joins you and Tommy around the coffee pot. 
“Figured y'all would have breakfast ready by now,” Joel says, squeezing next to Tommy to get to the coffee. 
“Last I checked, we’re guests in your house,” you say, quirking an eyebrow, teasing lilt in your voice. Joel’s eyes roll but a smirk quirks his lips none the less.
Tommy hears a ringing in his ears as the scent of Joel’s body wash filters through his senses, still strong on his brother’s skin. His eyes narrow at your and Joel’s banter. There’s nothing unusual about it. He knows you two are close. It doesn’t bother him, but he knows that scent. His mind pulls it from the fading archives quickly. He smelled it on you that night.  
Tommy sets his mug down, not saying anything as you and Joel go back and forth over breakfast traditions, the two of you falling into predetermined roles in the kitchen. You dance around each other, like a sixth sense, always knowing where the other one is and where they’re going. 
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Tommy’s  not sure how he hadn’t caught it before. Maybe his brain wasn’t ready. He’s lived a lot of his recent life in a fog, maybe it had just cleared enough now. 
He doesn’t catch any longing glances or stolen touches. Everything is above board. He knows he has no right to be angry, not after what he's done. He’d pushed you away. Maybe he even pushed you into Joel’s bed that night. Maybe there were nights before, but he hasn’t smelled another man, hasn’t smelled Joel on your skin since. You’ve spent every night next to him, in his arms, body pressed against his. At the end of the day, that’s all he needs. 
He can get past the hurt like you did for him. He can push away the questions. How long did you wait? How often did you find solace in his brother’s bed? He wants to ignore the questions, stomp them down so they don’t fester, don’t ruin what you’ve helped him rebuild. 
“Daddy?” Nathaniel tugs on Tommy’s shirt, pulling him from his thoughts. 
He smiles, pulling his son into his arms with an exaggerated groan. At five and a half, it won’t be much longer before he’s too big to pick up. It hits again, like a sledgehammer to a cinderblock wall, how much of his son’s life he’s missed. Nathaniel laughs, pressing his forehead to Tommy’s. Is there a sweeter sound in this world? 
“What’s up, kiddo?”
“I love you.” He whisper yells.
Tommy chuckles mimicking Nathaniel’s tone. “I love you too.”
Your laugh floats through. Tommy looks up to find you smiling at them, so much love and affection sparkling in your eyes. Something stirs in him, possessiveness, maybe as he strides across the room, shifting Nathaniel to his side so he can pull you flush against him. You melt against him. That’s how he knows, knows you’re still his and he's yours. He won’t ever say a word. He won’t risk losing you again or causing you more grief than he has.
Tommy grins at you, voice lowering to a growl. “And I love you, Momma.” Then he kisses you like he’d reclaiming you. 
Neither of you catches the way Joel turns his back and puts himself out of ear shot. You never catch the way his gaze lingers. He conceals the way his fingers itch to touch you like he used to. 
Nathaniel squeals in disgust, sliding out of his father’s arms. You both share a laugh and then both Tommy’s arms are tightly around your waist, lips pressed to yours again. Your hands rake through his long curls.
As long as you still look at him like that, continue to touch him like that, Tommy doesn’t care that you fucked his brother. Your heart belongs to him. 
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shadowshrike · 8 months ago
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Interfering with Halsin's Portal
It's pretty well known that there are a few situations you can get in where Halsin is well and truly angry rather than disappointed or worried, but I don't think a lot of folks know one of those situations is if you mess with his portal to the Shadowfell. It's a heartwrenching bit of acting. It's also fundamental to the plot of my in-progress fic Girdled Roots, so I figured I might share it with the other Halsin-lovers out there who have never seen it.
EDIT: Please be aware this is datamined dialog and may not be visible in game. It appears to be intended to trigger if the player attempts to enter the portal, which I don't believe is possible in the final game, or at least I couldn't find a way in the most recent version. Sharing this is simply to enjoy the incredible acting and get some plot bunnies moving, not to make any commentary about the game's canon.
Halsin's Initial Reaction
Halsin: No! Stop! Halsin: It's gone... that was our one chance. You've doomed this place to darkness! Halsin: I warned you - told you this was my burden to carry. Why didn't you listen?
The pure rage and despair is visceral. Prior to this, Halsin mentions this portal has been a century in the making, but he's so calm and measured (even upon success) that it is easy to dismiss just how much agony has plagued him as he hoped to make things right. This chance is everything to him. It has guided his every action for a century. It is a hundred years of work, prayer, and guilt to rectify the horrific fate of both land and people that came to nothing because a stranger he trusted refused to listen to him.
The portal breaking is the only time we hear Halsin speak the truth of its importance to him without a hint of emotional regulation. He is wild with pain. This man who is always thoughtful and slow to anger in the face of horror with the wisdom of age and suffering to guide him has become too overwhelmed to show any kindness.
Player response
The player is given several different ways to respond, and Halsin's reaction varies a surprising amount depending on how understandable their reason is. In most cases, he states that he needs to be alone afterward.
Option 1: I'm sorry - I acted on instinct. Halsin: Words won't repair what's been done to this land. Nothing will... I need to be alone.
You can hear the ache in Halsin's voice, but he's somewhat understanding of this response. He projects more sadness than unchecked rage. The player has admitted to making a mistake, and Halsin isn't the type of person who hold onto vengeance when an apology has been made, but he's not naive or people-pleasing enough to say "it's okay" or offer comfort either. The safest thing for everyone is for him to step away to grieve when there is nothing more to be done.
Option 2: I did all the work here - I couldn't just let you take the glory. Halsin: Glory?! There's no glory here. Now there's nothing here - only shadows and the total absence of hope. Halsin:  There is nothing more to be said... I need to be alone.
Pure fury radiates from Halsin's response if the player focuses on the idea of being some grand hero rather than actually caring for the outcome. What the player did was an unforgiveable act, dooming everything that Halsin holds dear, and you have the audacity to complain about not getting glory from it. Again, he steps away, but this feels more like he's doing it because he believes you're worthless to reason with rather than because he needs a moment.
Option 3: I saved your grove - I figured it'd be best if I handled this as well. Halsin: We were this close to healing these lands. Now your arrogance has torn open the wounds once more. Halsin:  There is nothing more to be said... I need to be alone.
Halsin is still frustrated with this response and unmistakably angry, but it's significantly toned down from the idea of wanting to go through the portal for glory. More like he thinks you're a self-important idiot than a truly terrible person.
Specialized player responses
There are also three special responses you can give if you have a particular class or diety.
Druid: I thought my powers were equal to yours. Halsin: It wasn't just power this needed - it was wisdom, understanding. I suffered along with this place for years trying to understand the curse... and it seems I will continue to do so. Halsin:  There is nothing more to be said... I need to be alone.
Interestingly, he responds much more intensely to a druid than some of the other player choices. It might be in part because he feels like a druid should know better. He lectures the player like an Archdruid would initiates in his Grove, alternating between angry and explanatory, trying to get the player to understand why they were wrong and the sheer magnitude of their error. He ultimately ends in a much more resigned place here rather than personally resentful. Like a father-figure being forced through further life trials because of a child's foolish indiscretion. Frustrating, but inevitable.
Selunite: I trusted in Selûne to guide me through the shadows. Halsin: My friend - I wish you had trusted in me.
This is probably Halsin's most simple response with the least vitriol. He fully understands this answer, even if he's disappointed by it. The fact he calls the player 'friend' suggests a certain tired acceptance of this being a natural behavior for a Selunite trying to do good. We don't see this calm in other responses where Halsin was surprised by the player's choice.
Sharran: The Shadowfell is no place for non-believers - I couldn't allow you to soil it. Halsin: I should never have trusted an ally of the Dark Lady.
If you've ever taken Halsin along with Shadowheart in Act 2, then you know he is absolutely scathing toward her and her faith. He likely isn't as angry if a Sharran breaks the portal because it is utterly predictable. It merely confirms a truth he already knew and talked himself out of. That Sharrans cannot be fully trusted in matters of their goddess, even if one was good enough to rescue his people from the goblins.
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azure-firecracker · 3 months ago
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Fic Rec Roundup!
In honor of my going off to college (my posts will be slowing down), and finishing 3 seasons of TXF, I asked y’all what sort of “special post” you wanted me to make. You voted on a roundup of some of my favorite TXF fics, so here it is! Prepare to watch me gush profusely about the phenomenal writers in this fandom.
This will be in chronological order, so first time watchers like me need not fear spoilers:)
I’m not including my own writing here, but you can find it in my masterpost.
Without further ado, let’s get into the fics!
Season 1:
starstruck by @thursdayinspace (General Audiences, 671 words): Set post-Pilot. The title says it all. This is quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever read.
Something Bigger Than Us by Mungo_of_Maundery (General Audiences, 721 words): A nice coda to Deep Throat after Scully rescues Mulder from the air base. Internal monologue is great.
humans in nature by @theswisscheeserag (General Audiences, 2,733 words): Mulder and Scully’s conversations post The Jersey Devil. Philosophy mixed with fluff and some laugh-out-loud humor. Perfectly captures the vibe of early MSR.
Still Feeling My Father Ascend by @cecilysass (Teen and Up, 13,073 words): Mulder and Scully share some tender moments post Beyond the Sea. Both of them have a lot of healing to do, for different reasons. Some of my favorite MSR introspection can be found in this fic, and you can tell how much thought and care this author puts into the characterizations. There’s also several excellent funny moments - a true gem of a fic!
Egit Genius Loci by snow_and_rain (Teen and Up, 21,937 words): Case fic set right after Beyond the Sea. Featuring early-onset MSR, angst, mutual pining, and hurt/comfort. A little whimsical, a little eerie, a little sad.
Between Two Truths by @agent-troi (Teen and Up, 1,621 words): Missing scene from E.B.E after Scully’s speech to Mulder. An excellent internal monologue from Mulder’s POV followed by some top-tier MSR banter.
the progression (and regression) of first names by skuls (Teen and Up, 5,421 words): A series of vignettes exploring Scully and Mulder’s relationship as it evolves throughout Season 1. Pitch-perfect Scully characterization and several moments that really showcase her inner conflict fantastically, but also many wonderfully tender MSR scenes (keep an eye out for the coffee scene - my favorite!)
never learned to read your mind by @swinging-stars-from-satellites (General Audiences, 1,071 words): An alternate version of Season 1 where Scully leaves after Deep Throat. Profound, heartwarming, wistful and a bit sad, this takes an interesting concept and really tugs at your heartstrings.
Season 2:
distractions by @thursdayinspace (General Audiences, 1,181 words): Post-abduction. Mulder does his best to help. Absolutely heart-melting, sweet and tender and a little sad too.
The Safety of Guilt by the_status_clo (Teen and Up, 732 words): Mulder’s guilt post-abduction. Do you like to feel miserable? Do you like to slip into a pit of unwavering guilt and wallow in beautiful words? Read this!
Redial by @theswisscheeserag (Teen and Up, 7,423 words): A frequent reread of mine! Set during Mulder and Scully’s quarantine post-Firewalker and told through a series of phone calls. This fic has everything you could possibly want: introspection, angst, fluff, humor, friendship and romance all mixed into one…it’s just really good in 1000 different ways. Endlessly rereadable.
until it heals by @actual-changeling (Teen and Up, 2,351 words): A post-Irresistible fic that captures all of the poetry, panic, and drama that is Season 2 MSR. Incredibly tender with some stunning inner monologue moments. A perfect coda to my favorite episode.
Authority and Gravity by Xecotcovach (Teen and Up, 2,338 words): Another excellent fic where Scully (with Mulder’s help) tries to deal with some of her season 2 trauma. Their dynamic here is very tender and their banter is just the right amount of sassy and quippy. Set after Fresh Bones.
If You’re Sinking, I Will Jump Right Over by SammyLovesASOIAF (Teen and Up, 1,642 words): An alternate version of End Game where things go…badly-but then Mulder has to confront his emotions!An interesting alternative, angst with a happy ending. Lovely poetic language; I have some lines from this that I remember word-for-word.
Our Town by @leiascully (Teen and Up, 813 words): Scully’s thoughts during and after the climax of Our Town. Very in-character, appropriately intense, really conveys the fear and desperation intertwined with Season 2 MSR.
Season 3:
Light in Dark Places by @agent-troi (Teen and Up, 2,697 words): Set in Season 3 but it’s really about Irresistible and Scully’s insecurities in general. Peak hurt/comfort, this one makes your heart hurt in the best possible way, and then it feels like a warm hug with the resolution.
Got You(r) Back by @shearmouth (Teen and Up, 4,933 words): This is THE injury fic for me. Set post-731. The hurt/comfort levels in here are unmatched. Scully’s internal monologue is perfect. Mulder is an actual puppy and Scully takes care of him and it makes my heart melt in all of the right ways.
stay close, listen by @actual-changeling (Teen and Up, 2,667 words): Post Pusher. Very angsty, but in the best possible way and with an extremely satisfying resolution. This fic definitely wins best-written: it’s essentially poetry, and its uses of metaphor and literary references are stunning. I can’t recommend this enough.
find me defenseless by @impulsive-astrophile (Mature, 7,421 words): Case fic! Do you like Mulder torture? Do you like badass Scully? If so, you will love this fic because it has both in spades (plus-spoilers-a wonderful ending to make up for the pain). Whenever I’m fed up with the show’s kidnapping ratio, I read this: it’s probably my most frequent reread. I will say that it is more violent than anything I’ve written, so be aware.
Unconfirmed timing but spoiler-free:
unravelling by @actual-changeling (General Audiences, 2,208 words): Scully wakes up to a familiar voice theorizing on her television. What follows is as sweet and humorous as it is charged and just a little tragic.
Shakespirited by orphan_account (Teen and Up, 13,670 words): A fic that I’m pretty sure was written specifically for me. Mulder and Scully go undercover in a Shakespeare troupe plagued by strange murders. If you like TXF and are a Shakespeare nerd, you will love this. Definition of a good time (but there’s some angst too-how could there not be?) I think there are some minor spoilers in here, but nothing to really tell you anything as long as you’ve seen up to Anasazi.
Sometimes You Need to Have Fun by @baronessblixen (Teen and Up, 1,192 words): Fluff written by the queen of fluff herself! Mulder and Scully go ice skating. It’s as adorable and sappy as it sounds.
Stupid Cupid by @mulderwearingglasses (General Audiences, 5,325 words): A Valentine’s Day fic! This features jealous Scully (a delight) as well as some excellent humor and fluff. Overall just a lovely time. There may be some minor spoilers in here, but nothing that told me anything.
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cinnamonest · 8 months ago
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Also on note of that “bone breaking” post I believe Xiao is an absolute menace to the innkeepers because of his inability to gauge human sickness and injury. He's thoroughly convinced any slight discomfort you experience is a near-death situation.
Human life is incredibly fragile. Their bodies are nearly unbelievably susceptible to death from even very mild injuries and sicknesses, they die so easily it's frightening. Which is why he has to be very vigilant with you.
You once got a bit nauseous from eating something a bit past expiry date — you insist it's just food poisoning over and over, but he practically drags you to a pharmacist anyway “just in case,” because there are many deadly pathogens and parasites humans can die from that begin this way, and you will drop dead before you even know something is wrong.
If you have a headache, it's probably an oncoming aneurysm that will cause sudden death. You may think you have a mere common cold, but he is well aware that many very dangerous and severe illnesses begin as symptoms of common colds, some of which progress so rapidly you may not have time to notice before sudden death.
You try to explain your throat hurts because what you ate is giving you heartburn, but if it has the word heart, which is a very vital organ, that can only mean you are at great risk of, you guessed it, sudden death.
More than once now you've been sleeping a little too deeply — your breaths are so slow that it looks like you're barely breathing at all, so he has to shake you awake to ensure you are still alive. Any cough or sneeze is met with this head-jerk in your direction and yellow eyes wide open staring in panic, and you have to swear up and down you just got swallowed the wrong way or inhaled some dust.
Not even period pains are safe — it's normal, so you insist, you can't hide your discomfort so you're all but begging him not to worry about it, but this one time he remembers about seven hundred years ago he once heard a villager mention a woman who had internal bleeding mistaken for just that and died, so it must be seen professionally (yes, each month). The whole concept bothers him — you're bleeding and in pain, those things are bad, how can you be sure it's the normal amount of bleeding and pain and not too much, that you're not actually five minutes away from dropping dead? That's right, you can't know, which is why you have to let him carry you to the harbor for the third time this week.
Injury is even worse — yes, he's aware that human flesh bruises easily, but this bruise is on your ribcage, and you don't recall how it got there, there are organs underneath there and you could very well be internally bleeding out.
Both innkeepers are, at this point, used to him coming bounding into the main lobby in full-fledged panic, demanding to hand over the emergency medical kit kept by the front desk so he can save you from bleeding out (you accidentally cut your finger on a splinter on the baseboard), and they no longer bat an eye or ask where you're going when he comes barging through carrying you (protesting, at that) out the door without a word before vanishing in the direction of the nearest village with a doctor… even when you try to get their help to please tell him I'm fine, they just ignore you at this point, knowing it's futile.
There's a death at the inn once — you try to be reasonable and explain that it was a very elderly and sickly man who most certainly died of natural causes, but see, you don't know for sure that he didn't have some kind of rare rapid-onset deadly illness that can spread from the bottom floor all the way up to where your room is, so it is imperative that you be disinfected professionally.
He annoys the doctors too — they're all used to it at this point too, but many of them are aware of him, and none of the humans really want to oppose or risk upsetting one of these beings they have a degree of reverence for, so much to your dismay, all of them continue to treat his concerns as legitimate, even though it's very blatantly clear to you that they're faking taking it seriously.
On the bright side, having some pity on your suffering perhaps (or being tired of dealing with the same thing over and over), the harbor pharmacist managed to convince him that an over-the-counter mild painkiller was a miracle cure for a wide variety of ailments, so unless you feel that you need more, he says, then that should be enough… which cuts down on the frequency of your unnecessary emergency care visits, but only somewhat.
At this point, surely at least one of the concerns has been legitimate, he has definitely saved your life more than once by now. And yet, you have not thanked him for this, you continue to be so naive to your own fragility and do nothing but complain about it when you literally owe him your life. Unbelievable.
But rest assured, your ungratefulness will not deter him from continuing to take the utmost care of you, he'll continue to save you, regardless of how unappreciated these life-saving efforts are.
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devildomwriter · 1 year ago
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Last Things They Say to MC
Lucifer
“Mm… What’s wrong? Are you feeling nervous? Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Believe in yourself. And if you ever need a confidence boost, just say the word… I’ll do whatever you want, as many times as it takes. Just like I did now. I know how talented you are. It isn’t easy to earn my respect, but you managed to do it. Remember that.” or “…What’s wrong? Feeling nervous? If only we could stay like this, just like we are right now… …But the ceremony’s starting. Come on, let’s go.” — (80-22)
Mammon
“Yo, MC! Let’s try that again. But this time, land on MY lap!” or “Whoa… ALL RIGHT! Like, yeah…I did! I called for you!” — (80-22)
Leviathan
“What?! A bit too far?! You think I’m taking it A BIT TOO FAR?! The whole world can jump off a cliff! Everyone except me and the great Christopher Peugeot!” or “I’ll try not to, but I can’t make any promises!” or “I knew you’d understand! You’re a true friend, MC! You’re the only one I can share this moment with! The only one who knows what it means!” — (80-16 Hard)
Satan
“That was a really nice gift shop, they had all sorts of cat-themed stuff. We should go there again the next time we get a chance, MC.” — (80-19)
Asmodeus
“Oh MC! I’ve missed you sooo sooo SOOO much!” — (80-22)
Beelzebub
“I’m putting this in the box. It’s from the RAD Sports Festival. This is the slip of paper listing what I was supposed to find during the Bloody Scavenger Hunt. I was so hungry that I accidentally ate the original slip of paper, remember? It was just as you happened to be passing by… So you wrote my instructions down for me again on a new piece of paper. And on top of that, you have me some actual food to snack on.” — (80-19)
Belphegor
“Wait though, what are you doing here? I mean, I’m happy to see you, but…” — (80-22)
Solomon
“…Good, yes. Try to concentrate your magic energy in your forehead and fingertips… Nicely done! That was great! It’s been several weeks now since we left the Devildom, but your magic is still as strong as ever. All right, why don’t we go ahead and wrap up your training here for today? You’re about to head off right now, aren’t you? Tell everyone I said hi. Well, see you later, MC!” — (80-22)
Thirteen
“…Hmph, that’s no fun at all. Without you and that sham of a magician around to keep me on my toes, it’ll be so dull here.” — (80-17)
Simeon
“Anyway, I feel like maybe I’ve made a bit of progress on my personal journey now?” — (80-16 Hard)
Luke
“Right! Thanks, MC!” or “The truth is, I’d like to snap my fingers and become a truly great angel right now. But they say ‘slow and steady wins the race,’ after all! I’ll do my best! …But I’ll try not to be too impatient about it!” — (80-14)
Raphael
“…Have you forgotten that I’m standing right here? If you’re about to have a “moment”…don’t.” — (80-19)
Michael
“Goodbye. Until we meet again, MC…” — (44-18)
Little D. No. 2
“Here you are. Your assignment!” — (65-17)
Mephistopheles
“Anyway, changing the subject…MC, you’re here on a short-term exchange, aren’t you? Just like the second time you came here. It’s the same with Solomon. Your terms should be ending soon, right?” — (80-17)
Barbatos
“It’s a good thing Levi and Beel were there to break your fall, MC…” — (80-22)
Diavolo
“Now then, MC, is there anything you would like to say?” — (80-22)
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trashyswitch · 4 months ago
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Mess With Sun, You'd Better Run
Eclipse has been trying to take over Sun's body for the past week...And Sun is having none of it. When night time approaches, Sun decides to teach Eclipse a lesson in the hopes that it would slow his progress. Eclipse will quickly learn how scary Sun can be if you toy with him too much...
This fanfic was suggested by @anxious-lee-ler. Funny fact about this fanfic: I haven't watched through all of the web series, so I got a lot of help and approval from Drew for this fanfic! As a result, I already know he really likes it. I hope everyone else likes the fanfic too!
Sun was ready to lose it. Eclipse had been driving him nuts for the last several hours! It started with little things, like giving him small headaches while gaming with Moon. But it had escalated into trying to take him over while recording videos! He’d had enough. This has to stop. He hoped some talking and compromising would lessen the constant headache taking the form of Eclipse. He just had to wait until evening took hold. 
Sun and Moon had just finished recording their episode for the day. They turned off their cameras and put their controllers down. “Alright…” Sun mumbled. 
“Alright. I think a nap is in order.” Moon said aloud. 
“Really?” Sun looked at Moon with surprise. 
“What? Streaming makes me tired.” Moon told him. 
“Sorry, just…” Sun thought for a moment. “Sorry…You go have a rest.” 
Moon tilted his head. “Are you okay?” He asked him. 
“Me?” Sun pointed to himself. “Oh yeah! Yeah, I’m fine.” He replied a bit too enthusiastically. 
Moon stared at Sun for a few moments. “...Uh huh…” He muttered. 
“I’m okay, I promise!” Sun tried to tell him, showing him a thumbs up. 
Moon sighed and nodded his head. “Okay. Have a good night.” He told him before heading into the back room for the night. 
“Good night!” Sun replied, waving to him as he watched his brother leave the main daycare. As Moon disappeared behind the curtain, Sun’s arm dropped to his side. Now was a better time than any to escape into his mind and confront Eclipse. 
“You gonna pay me a visit, Sunny? It’s been forever…” The voice in his head asked. 
Sun sighed. “Speak of the devil…” he mumbled to himself. 
Sun sat himself down onto the chair behind the main desk of the daycare. With his body resting, Sun shut himself down and went into his inner mind. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a big blur of dark orange in the corner of the room.  
“Well look who finally showed up…” The blur mumbled with a sneer. He looked annoyed, almost like he knew Sun would arrive to give him hell. 
“What’s the deal with you?” Sun asked. 
“I’m bored...It gets quite boring here after a while.” He complained. 
“Why the headaches?!” Sun spat. 
“Because you never let me have any time in the spotlight!” Eclipse yelled back. 
“And what have you done to earn yourself a chance?” Sun asked him. 
“I’ve been silent, compliant, and patient with you. I think that speaks volumes.” He clarified. 
“The only thing that speaks volumes is this constant headache that YOU started!” Sun argued. 
“Well what else am I supposed to do?!” Eclipse argued. 
“Literally anything! Anything besides giving me a mind-splitting headache!” Sun shouted. 
“Okay, then I’ll take over.” Eclipse replied. 
“NO!” Sun shouted, pushing him away. 
Eclipse growled and stomped away from him, muttering the word “Asshole…” as he kicked the dirtless ground of the inner code. 
Sun grunted to himself as he watched Eclipse act like a petulant child. He was getting nowhere with this guy. He looked up and down, trying to figure out what to do with him. How does one stop a glitch from taking over his body? Because if it were him, he would expel Eclipse from his head. Now, normally he’s not the kind of robot to wish a shut down on anyone…but it’s a little hard to keep yourself passive when you’ve been hit with a thundering headache all day. 
Sun sat himself down for a moment as he stayed lost in thought. There had to be some way to get through to Eclipse. At least, some sort of tactic to buy himself some time. He tried to think of what he would do if Moon had been bothering him. Though, Moon had NEVER stooped so low as to cause him physical pain and psychological torment. Though, there were a few times when Moon would play pranks on him or scare him…
Sun smiled slightly as he remembered those moments. Moon is such an evil prankster. And yet, he’s also quite vengeful when given the chance. The amount of times Moon had tickled him after Sun had tried to prank him back, is impossible to count on just two hands. Moon is a brutal tickle monster when provided an opportunity. And yet when it comes to Sun…He’s unbelievably playful and passive. It’s…actually really sweet. 
“What?” Eclipse spoke up. 
Sun widened his eyes slightly as he looked up at Eclipse. “Oh nothing…” Sun replied a little too casually. 
Eclipse was now staring at him, slightly unnerved. “What…are you planning?” 
Sun’s smile widened just enough to be noticeable. “You’ll see…Very, very soon.” He muttered in an almost villainous tone. 
Eclipse sighed and laid himself onto the floor. “Whatever…Don’t care.” 
Sun smirked as he saw the perfect opportunity to strike. He walked himself closer. “You said you wanted something to do, right?” Sun asked. 
“Uhhh…Yeah?” Eclipse slowly turned his head to look at him…only for him to regret it the second he saw those wiggling fingers. 
Uh oh…
“I think I have the perfect thing to play…” He heard from Sun. 
He widened his eyes with slight fear. Oh god…
“Hmm? What’s that look for?” Sun asked rather menacingly. 
…Oh god no… “S-Sun?” Eclipse stuttered, the look of fear worsening. 
“What’s wrong, Eclipse?” Sun asked him. He moved a few steps closer. “Is someone…ticklish?” He asked. 
That was all it took. Eclipse did a full 180 turn and booked it like his life depended on it. “SUN, LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS!” He shouted. 
“Nah.” Sun replied in an eerily easygoing tone. 
Eclipse slowed his running to a stop the moment he realized how far Sun’s voice had been with that last ‘Nah’. He turned around and was taken aback by Sun’s chasing tactic: 
Sun wasn’t chasing him. He wasn’t even running! Sun was skipping! Actually skipping around like a little toddler skipping through the meadows! Any other time, it would’ve been adorable! But right now? The skipping made things even more anxiety-inducing! Was Sun…toying with him?! 
Eclipse wasn’t sure what to do. With Sun just skipping his way around the code room, running felt like too extreme of an action. But…He couldn’t just sit there! He needed to keep away from the crazy daycare attendant threatening to tickle him! 
The only thing he could think of doing was talking to him. “S-Sun please stop!” Eclipse tried to reason with him. 
“Oh now you wanna reason with me?” Sun asked, pausing for a moment with his usual genuine, yet slightly eerie grin. 
“Yes! Anything to stop you from trying to tickle me!” Eclipse reacted. 
“Tickle you?” Sun tapped his own chin as he pretended to think. “Now why would I do such a thing?” 
“I-” Eclipse growled. “YOU TELL ME!” 
“Hmmm…Maybe it was because you were trying to take me over all day.” Sun explained in an off-hand way. “Or maybe it was because of the overwhelming headache I had been getting due to someone changing up my coding.” Sun also explained. 
“I-I didn’t know tampering with your code would give you a headache!” Eclipse argued. 
“Hmmm…Is that so?” Sun walked himself closer. “Y-Y-Yeah! H-Honest!” Eclipse put up his hands in arrest. “P-Please…” 
Sun reached out his arms as he got closer and closer to the different-colored daycare attendant. Eclipse looked super nervous. What does he do?! Is Sun gonna tickle him? Or is he gonna tell him something? Does he run again? Does he reason with him some more? Or does he take it? So many questions, and little to no answers in so little time! Fearing the worst, Eclipse closed his eyes and braced for impact…
“Boop!” 
“eeEEEK!” Eclipse hugged his side and doubled over. 
“Ho ho HO!” Sun let out in the same signature tone. “Looks like Clipsy IS ticklish!” Sun declared. “This MUST be investigated!” 
In no time at all, Eclipse felt the giggles overwhelm him the moment Sun’s fingers made contact. As Sun would quickly find out, it wouldn’t take much to get Eclipse to laugh. Just a few pokes to his thin belly would make him jump and guffaw. That, followed by a few flutters to the neck, followed up by a few scritches to his rays, were all it took to make Eclipse curl up and giggle like a little child. “EEheeheehee! Wahahait! nonono dohohon’t!” He reacted, wiggling his rays in an attempt to stop Sun’s nimble fingers. 
“My goodness, you’re more ticklish than I thought! It’s funny, I almost want to forgive you!” Sun admitted. 
“Ihihi’ll nehehever forgihihive yohou!” Eclipse shot back. 
Sun chuckled. “Funny how you think you still have control over me.” Sun teased. “If you had been more polite, maybe I would’ve gone easier on you!” Sun sighed. “But I guess that would be asking too much from you.” He concluded. 
Eclipse tried to move his rays away from Sun’s agile fingers. But this did pretty much nothing. All it did was give Sun more rays to tickle. “Suhuhun plehehehease-” Eclipse squeaked as he felt yet another ray being scratched. “NAHAHA! DOHOHOHON’T!” 
Sun gasped. “Oh my god- The back of your rays are worse?!” Sun reacted. 
“YEHEHEHES! CUT IT OHOHOUT!” Eclipse tried to push him away. “STOHOHOHOP!” 
“Oh Clipsy, Clipsy, Clipsy…” Sun dodged his hands and kept on tickling. “You can push all you want to. I dare you to try and push me off!” Sun added. “But we both know it won’t work.” He teased.
Eclipse, thinking he could still get away, started covering up his rays instead. Maybe with no rays available, Eclipse couldn’t be tickled so vigorously. 
“Goodness me! What a move!” Sun reacted rather dramatically. “Looks like I’ll have to go somewhere else…” Sun started to stroke his chin similarly to an adult with a beard. “Where else should I go next…” Sun asked aloud. 
Eclipse stared at Sun. “Are you…playing with me?” He asked. 
“Me? Playing? Oh no no no!” Sun said in the most playful voice possible. “Sun would NEVER play! Especially when it comes to something as serious as a takeover! That would NeVeR happen!” He kept on saying sarcastically. 
Eclipse was too busy staring at Sun, to fully comprehend his words. But he could very easily read his tone and facial expressions quite clearly…
And holy crap…He’d never seen Sun act like this before! Not even with Moon! And Eclipse had been observing their relationship from within Sun’s mind for several months now! He was only now starting to take over Sun’s body! 
‘So why is Sun acting like this with me?!’ Eclipse thought to himself. 
“I thought you’d never ask!” Sun declared, reading his mind. 
Wait, WHAT?! HE HEARD THAT?!
Sun giggled and raised Eclipse’s chin. “Because it’s funny seeing you stumble and fall while executing your mission! You’ve been so busy trying to take over my body, that you haven’t even taken the time to realize who you were messing with!” Sun declared. 
Eclipse widened his eyes as an electronic shiver went up his spine. Okay…maybe he underestimated Sun. 
“Oh! And I know what tickle spot to go for now!” Sun declared. 
Wait, NO! 
Suddenly, Eclipse felt a hand grip his knee joint…and in no time at all, Eclipse felt himself get flipped upside down. “aAH! Sun, stop! What are you doing?!” 
Sun giggled. “It’s obvious, really. You are a small part of Moon’s code! Isn’t that right?” Sun asked. 
“Y-Yes, but-” 
“Then you’d have at least 1 similar tickle spot to Moon!” Sun declared rather happily. But his demeanor quickly changed the moment Sun raised his hand up so he could see Eclipse eye-to-eye. “And that’s perfect for me…because I happen to know Moon like the back of my hand.” He mentioned. 
Eclipse tried to knee Sun with his free leg. “Damn you!” He shouted. 
Sun caught his other knee with no issue at all…almost like he was planning for Eclipse to kick him. Sun moved it out of the way slightly as he made a clicking sound. “That’s not very nice, is it?” He said, staring into his soul. “Physical violence? AND bad words?!” Sun lowered his hand and flipped Eclipse around so his face was looking away from Sun. “You’re just begging for it, aren’t you?” 
Eclipse gulped. “B-Begging for what?” 
Sun laughed as he grabbed slightly below both knee joints with only one hand. “Oh! Begging for tickles of course!” Sun declared. “And my favorite little tickle spot to go to when Moon’s being extra mischievous…” He brought his fingers closer. “-Happens to be the back of these special little knees.” With that little mention, Sun started fluttering and scratching his evil little fingers against the pit of the right knee first. “Right about here.” He added. 
Eclipse gasped before throwing his head back with a yelp. He wheezed and covered his mouth, attempting to prevent Sun from getting what he wants: Confirmation. But oh god, was it difficult! The desperation to laugh was almost agonizing! But the last thing he wanted was for Sun to figure out that he and Moon share a tickle spot! Maybe if he holds out long enough, he’ll stop! 
“Oh?” Sun looked down, and noticed Eclipse’s hand placement. A little smirk filled his face. Ooooh, he could have fun with this~ 
Sun looked up. “I guess this one isn’t very ticklish, huh?” Sun asked, acting none-the-wiser. “Maybe this other knee is worse?” Sun asked as he switched to his left knee pit. 
Not expecting this change, Eclipse accidentally let out a whimper and a snort. Widening his eyes, he tightened his grip on his own mouth and began to pray that Sun didn’t hear him break. 
Oh, but Sun heard it. He heard it loud and clear. But why let Eclipse know that, when he could continue to toy with him instead? That sounds so much more fun! “Looks like this one isn’t very ticklish either!” Sun reacted, moving his fingers away. “I could’ve sworn they could be ticklish!” Sun exclaimed as he stroked his chin. 
Eclipse let out a slow, but comforting breath. God, that was close…But did he do it? Did he convince Sun that he’s not ticklish?!
“Well that’s a shame…looks like I was wrong.” Sun mumbled aloud. “I guess you’re not ticklish there like I thought.” Sun added. 
Eclipse was flabbergasted. He couldn’t believe it! It worked! It actually worked!! 
Oh…but Eclipse quickly realized the truth…and it was all revealed to him the moment he felt skittering fingers against both pits of his knees.
“BWAHAHAHAHA!” Eclipse tried to reach up to stop him. “WAHAIT!” He shouted. 
“Sorry Clipsy~” Sun watched Eclipse crash down the moment his fingers moved primarily to the right knee pit. “But liars don’t get to have mercy! At least, not yet~” He teased more. 
“aAAAHAHAHAHAHA! DAHAHAHAMMIHIT!” He threw his head back with a long, slightly evil cackle. 
“Ooooh! So it looks like those eeeevil cackles of yours are more genuine than I expected!” Sun reacted. 
“SHUHUT UHUP! YOHOHOHOU-” Eclipse screeched as the left knee pit was attacked next. 
“Ah ah ah, Careful of your words, Clipsy~” Sun teased. “We don’t want you overdoing yourself, do we?” Sun warned in a playful tone. And yet, that playful tone almost made the warning sound a lot more intimidating. Whether this was his intention, is up for debate. 
But all Eclipse could worry about was how overwhelmingly tickly this was. Everything in him wanted to fight him and get out of this as quickly as possible. But the other part of him knew that resisting may make Sun go worse on him. And on another hand…
This punishment could’ve been a lot worse…He had to give Sun credit where credit was due. Never in his mind, would Eclipse even think about using tickling to subdue someone. And…Oh my god, it actually works! And it almost makes him want to take the idea and use it against Sun. Maybe with this strategy, Eclipse could weaken Sun enough to take control of his body and follow through with his original plan. But for now, Eclipse could feel himself getting tired. So as much as he hates resorting to such extremes, he needs to ask for mercy or beg for him to stop. 
“HAHAHAHA! SUHUHUN! MEHER-MERCYHYHYHYHY!” He shouted at him. 
“Oh, what was that?” Sun reacted with shock. 
“MEHEHERRCYHYHY! PLEHEHEHEASE STOHOHOHOP!” He yelled to Sun. 
Sun chuckled and stopped his fingers. “Fine, fine. You can have a break.” He gently lifted Eclipse up by his back, and placed him onto the ground of the headspace. “Are you done with your special takeover?” Sun asked. 
“Yeah…I’m done.” Eclipse said with a hidden little smirk. He’s not really done. He’s just saying what Sun would like to hear, so Eclipse can get away without pushback. “I won’t try to take over.” He looked down more. ‘Yet.’ He said in his mind. 
Though Sun heard his extra word, he still accepted his decision. “Alright.” He muttered, breathing a sigh of relief. Though he knew the takeover would come eventually, Sun was just glad he had gotten the code under temporary control. This would give him more than enough time to come up with other ways to stop Eclipse’s eventual takeover. 
Sun took over his body again, and turned himself on. He opened his beady white eyes, and looked around the room. It looked like he was…on his couch in their hidden bedroom.
Wait…didn’t he shut himself down in the main daycare? Why is he on his couch? How did he get to his bedroom? 
Sun pulled himself off the couch, and noticed the blue blanket around his chest. And on the blanket, was a note: 
[Hi Sun. Found you sleeping in the daycare. Guess you didn’t make it to bed, huh?
Good night Sun. 
~Moon🌙] 
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inuhalfdemon · 4 months ago
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Well, hello there, you wayward sinner... and welcome to my fanfiction Masterlist! There's a bit of everything for everyone in here, so please do mind the tags. Peruse the collection at your leisure, or send me a request. If anything you find is to your liking, I always do appreciate comments, likes and reblogs! Enjoy!
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Dirty Dealings: (Mature; M/F) Addie LaRue makes a deal with the Radio Demon; she has immortal life but, no one remembers her... [Slow burn, fluff and smut, humor and suspense, the end will ruin you...] Status = COMPLETE (71,953 Words)
No One Can Know... (Explicit; RadioApple/AppleRadio) Alastor makes a deal with Lilith Morningstar that involves: the Radio Demon getting something he wants and Lucifer helping him through his rut. [Angst and smut, violence, some fluff, on-going story that will hopefully be following with the show...] Status = COMPLETE/HIATUS (74,669 Words)
DisPOsable: (Explicit; RadioApple/AppleRadio + One-sided Radiostatic) Alternate Universe fic where Alastor is found badly injured and tagged as a Disposable/DiPO demon. [Unique story, dark themes and content, on-going mystery, exploration of aftermath from severe trauma and violence...] Status = IN PROGRESS
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Zoology Series: (Y/N) You are a new resident to the Hazbin Hotel. You majored in zoology when you were alive so when you meet Alastor you can't help but make him uncomfortable... [On-going humor, poking fun at characters and random animal facts...]
The Chain Game: (NSFW - RadioApple/AppleRadio) Alastor is at the King's mercy; if he answer's Lucifer's questions with honesty, one chain is removed. If he lies or refuse to answer, one chain is added... [Brain-rot smut, BDSM, bottom Alastor, surprisingly funny ending...]
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Never Changes His Stripes: (Alastor and Niffty) Alastor and Niffty share a cute moment together. [577 Words]
Dealing In Truths (I/II): (Alastor and Lucifer) Both Alastor and Lucifer agree to a deal of truths... [Quick Snippets]
Down Day/Out In The Bayou: (RadioApple/AppleRadio) Alastor notices Lucifer is not himself. [1,748 Words/2,289 Words]
We Dance To The Masochism Tango: (RadioApple/AppleRadio) Charlie insists that Alastor and Lucifer choose a song that they can dance to together for the next hotel activity. [1,306 Words]
Deals Made In The Dark: Alastor's staff mysteriously comes back to him whole and intact... [1,173 Words]
A Birthday In Hell : (Alastor x Reader) Alastor is your partner and it is your first birthday in Hell... [548 Words]
Lucifer + Alastor + Reader: You are having an issue involving a condition with your heart, Lucifer and Alastor are there to help.
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Enjoy The Silence: (Alastor x Addie LaRue) Through their connection, Alastor feels that Addie is alone and needing... [1,090 Words]
You Caught Me At The Rut Time: (Alastor x Reader) You are a female red deer demon meeting Alastor for the very first time and it just so happens that you both are feeling ruttish... [3,193 Words]
Hang In There: (Alastor x Reader) Alastor welcomes you to his bed. There is just one rule... [4,576 Words]
Sex Ed 101: (RadioApple/AppleRadio) Alastor and Lucifer explore a couple of new things... [2,846 Words]
We Interrupt This Meeting (RadioApple/AppleRadio) Lucifer gets horny in the middle of an important meeting and Alastor is...accommodating. [2,768 Words]
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1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5
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valorant-drabbles · 1 year ago
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Hallo! I'm the one who requested the iso x reader from last time (^v^)
I was wondering if you could make a part two showing how they slowly progressed with each other if it's alright since I really loved the first part and I'm brain rotting hard about Iso
PS - I'll go by ♠️spade anon from now on
Not me accidentally creating a multi-part slow burn Iso fic!! Oh boy
Could be seen as platonic or romantic… but if people want a part 3, it’ll definitely be more romantic.
Gender neutral reader!
Word Count: 1.5k
Warnings: Mild Cursing, Spoiler for Part 1 of this fic
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Cold Shoulder
Reader x Iso
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |
It had been about three weeks since the incident; since you and Iso had your little quarrel, and inevitably having started to understand one another. It was definitely a challenge for you, since you’d struggled for years when it came to getting along with people outside of work hours. Thankfully, Iso was proving to be extremely patient and courteous towards you and your growth. That wasn’t to say he didn’t get irritated every so often if he noticed you slipping back into your old, cold habits…
But you were making a genuine effort. What more could he ask for?
Despite it only having been a few weeks, you and Iso had started getting along quite quickly. He’d made it clear that you were always welcome to join him if you were feeling lonely- and considering your friend quantity in the Protocol was quite low, you were finding yourself ‘lonely’ often. It was strange- last month, you were completely fine being on your own. And now, if you went a few days without a casual conversation with somebody… you felt an odd emptiness inside your chest. A yearning for connection that you’d thought you’d severed long ago.
There were many days where Iso would return to his room after training to find you sat on his bed, listening to the playlist he’d shared with you. Usually you were reading, or watching movies on your laptop… passing the time until he’d return and possibly join you. Iso knew you had a bit of trouble asking to spend time together, so when you were in his room- it was kind of obvious why you were there. Once he’d shower and change clothes, he’d settle into bed and join you in whatever you were doing.
Overtime, this became routine. On days neither of you had a mission, you’d spend time together in the comfort of Iso’s room… quietly bonding, occasionally starting conversations- though usually it was Iso initiating. After all, even after all this time, he still found you to be absolutely fascinating, and desired to learn more about you.
“What do you think we learn from fighting ourselves?” Iso’s voice cut through the current silence filling the bedroom, causing you to look up from your book, eyebrow raised curiously at the sudden query.
“… what?”
“Ah- sorry. That came from nowhere.” Iso apologized quietly, his gaze sheepishly moving away from where you were watching him. “I was just… thinking about our mirror selves. From Omega Earth. How they look and act almost exactly like us- and our teammates as well.”
“Mhm. What about them, though?” You questioned further, noticing Iso shift in his seat.
“I’ve… had this question on my mind ever since I saw myself on the other team. ‘What do we learn from fighting ourselves?’… I’ve asked a few of the others, but… honestly, none of them had an answer I was looking for.” Iso grimaced softly at the memory of him asking Phoenix this question, only for the Brit to cockily answer ‘How much better I am compared to that fake me!’.
You took a moment to ponder his question. This was something you genuinely appreciated about spending time with Iso- he posed questions that made you think. Nothing too philosophical, usually… but it kept conversations interesting, and additionally helped the two of you learn more about how the other thinks.
“I guess… we learn our weaknesses.” You answer after about a minute of silence. “Though it’s not ideal… there’s certain circumstances where our double will be better than us at something. It’ll reveal a weak point in our abilities… and give us something to work towards improving. Alternatively, we learn the weakness of our double, and how to potentially exploit it if need be.” Your shoulders shrugged slightly, as you bit gently at the end of the pen in your hand. “It can also help us to… uh…”
Your hesitance to speak further piques Iso’s curiosity, and his gaze moves to you. He can’t help but notice your cheeks glowing a faint shade of red. You seldom showed emotion like this… allowing yourself to be embarrassed or even revealing a moment of weakness. Despite his desire to urge you into finishing your thought, he knew pushing you to answer would just make you uncomfortable. And, there was the possibility it could cause you to throw out your walls again, giving him the cold shoulder again- he couldn’t risk that. So, he waited.
As much as you wanted to change the topic or just… leave the thought unfinished, Iso’s eyes on you made it clear that he really wanted to know what you were thinking.
“Y/N?” Iso called out quietly. A sigh escaped you reluctantly, as you turned your body to face away from him slightly- only so that he would have trouble seeing how flushed your face had become.
“It… it also helps us to… see what we couldn’t see before. In our own teammates.” You finally continue, deciding to occupy your twitching hands with twirling your pen between your fingers. “How much our team would do to… to protect us. In the face of danger. The threat of death is always so real when you know the enemy won’t hesitate to kill you… sometimes you forget how dangerous it can be. How quickly you can lose somebody. And… how… if a teammate dies, you might go about the rest of your life… regretting that you never got to know them better. Or you might die with the same regret…” You swallow.
You thought back on the day you nearly died at Pearl almost every day. It all felt so surreal… the rush of emotion you felt when you saw Iso in danger? The searing pain from the bullets that had pierced your body?… the last thing you see being Iso using your Operator to take down the approaching threats…
His words echoing constantly in your mind.
“Don’t you dare die on me, Y/N.”
You’d always been so cold towards him… never giving him any reason to like your company. And yet… Iso risked his own life to save yours. With no hesitation.
“Y/N.” It was only after feeling Iso’s hand on your own that you realized he’d been calling your name. His voice was gentle, worry lacing the elegance he spoke your name with. His gaze on you was equally as concerned. It was only in that moment, seeing your own reflection in his eyes, where you notice you’d started crying.
“Shit.” You pull your hand away from Iso’s, and quickly moved to wipe your face of any tears that may had fallen. This was… new. You never let such fragile emotions show in front of the other agents… you only ever let out your piled up emotions behind closed doors, where nobody could see. Where nobody could know. “Sorry, I don’t… know why I’m crying. Can you just forget I said any of that?” You requested, though your voice wavered as you spoke, making you cringe internally. Were you truly so emotional when you thought back on that day…?
Without another word, you found yourself being pulled into Iso’s lap, his arms wrapped around you comfortingly, yet not intrusively. Physical contact wasn’t something you were used to either, but… in that moment? It felt… incredible. You needed this… so badly. For how long you’d needed it for, you didn’t know. You just knew you never wanted this moment to end- as soft as that sounded.
“I’m… not going to let either of us die with that regret.” Iso promised ever so softly, with his head resting comfortably against your shoulder. “And believe me, I don’t intend on dying anytime soon. So you don’t have to worry to much about missed opportunities to… get to know each other. And stuff.”
You kept your face hidden away from Iso; thankful he wasn’t making an effort to look regardless. You felt incredibly vulnerable in that moment… so you truly appreciated that Iso was making the effort to give you some level of privacy. At least as you attempted to pull yourself together again.
“I… I’m glad that… you didn’t give up on me.” You mumble gently against his chest. “… even though I was kind of an asshole to you.”
“Oh, no. You were a total asshole.” Iso chimed. You could just hear the grin on his face through his voice. It made you want to strangle him… not to death, per se.
“… besides. There’s no way I’d give up on someone as… incredible as you.”
Iso’s hand managed to find yours once again, and slowly, gently, you found your fingers intertwining with his without even thinking about it. The previously jarring silence in the room had been replaced with an air of comfortable quiet, as the two of you sat in each other’s company.
You never thought you’d have this thought towards another agent… but…
You really did enjoy Iso’s company. To what extent?… You were unsure.
Yet you enjoyed it regardless.
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comicaurora · 1 year ago
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Hello! I wanted to send my appreciation to you as a longtime fan of OSP and Auroura! I am an English Major with ADHD and your content always makes me inspired and my English Lit. Brain very happy with how good your storytelling is.
My question is what stories inspire you to write or make you want to sit down and tell a story? Your content makes me want to work on my projects, but my Adhd only last as long as I am not disturbed (i.e. need to eat or get up and move). You have always been upfront about your Adhd so my second question is how do you keep focused on your story and not burn out? (Talking as someone who is writing a novel as their thesis)
You have been a great inspiration over the years and someone I look up to as a storyteller! I wish you focus and luck! => 💝
Woo! Interesting questions!
When it comes to inspiration, I haven't really found a pattern for what works and what doesn't. The majority of the time, only new experiences/stories I haven't seen or read before work for me - rewatches and re-reads, while much more comfortable for my brain, don't tend to translate into creative inspiration for me - but it's not like a specific genre, or even a specific kind of relaxation, consistently work for me.
The way my brain works is a bit "no take only throw", as it were. I want to just sit down and make solid, steady progress in a predictable environment with a routine, but what I need is to try new things, go outside, take risks - because all those things give me new material to work with and refill the creative gas tank. When I'm stuck, I can't just hit the gas and punch through the block - I need to back up and try a new angle.
The good part of all this is that whatever engine that's running my subconscious is actually pretty good at signaling what it needs. The ADHD brain will be repelled by activities that aren't working for it and drawn to the things it needs at the time, whether that's creative energy or exercise or cleaning or doodling or listening to music or suddenly binge-watching a show that's not even all that great, and once it's got what it needs out of it - whatever that is - it'll be repelled again, either spitting out a sudden burst of creative energy or retreating to its den to chew on whatever it got out of the experience for a more slow-building reward. Little bursts of motivation and creativity pop up all throughout the day, and if you can pivot to the activity in question - or at least note down the idea you just had - you'll be able to harness that pretty nicely.
This "system" really only works for me because I have an extremely unstructured schedule and nobody relying on me to be consistent moment-to-moment. If I'm following the creative needs of my inscrutable Better Writer In The Back Of My Head, I can't be worrying about things like a consistent lunchtime or classes or a 9-to-5. All of my observations are caveat'd by the fact that I am ridiculously lucky to have the kind of freedom of movement and schedule that I can focus entirely on getting to know my brain better.
When it comes to staying focused on any one project, I've reluctantly concluded that the only way to win is not to play. Creativity needs time and diversity to recharge, and when you stall out in any given work session, it's usually because you're out of gas. This is why I maintain several projects in varying stages of "for my eyes only"-ness - a sketchbook, private writing projects, patreon doodles, music practice; even in the large-scale projects like the channel and the comic I have multiple angles of attack at any given time, where I can as needed switch between scripting, research, drawing frames, storyboarding more plot onto the end of the comic's current draft and lining/coloring/background-ing the finalized pages of the comic chapters earlier. This lets me maintain semi-steady progress on average, even if any one facet of the process is left by the wayside for potentially even weeks at a time.
If you're working on one writing project, one novel, I'd recommend giving yourself some time to do small-scale side-hobbies. It won't feel like they're helping, but they are.
I've started to think of inspiration rather similarly to the way I think about nutrition and digestion. It's a somewhat arcane process that, despite being a part of me, I don't exactly understand what's going on under the hood. If you eat only one thing, no matter what that one thing is, you're going to end up sick because you're lacking all sorts of niche micronutrients. If you parcel out a specific space of the only things you're allowed to eat, you might not get sick (as quickly) but you're likely going to become increasingly miserable as you think of the things you're not allowing yourself to try, or slowly build up highly specific forms of malnourishment by avoiding certain things entirely. But if you start listening to your body and try eating what it says it needs at any given time - oh, I could go for a rice bowl right now, oh I don't think I'm feeling something sugary today, man I could really go for some grapes - you're likely to hit a broadly good balance of health because you're hitting a broad range of things your body needs, even if you don't know all of their names or calorie counts, and your body is putting those resources to good use without your conscious input. Between my brain and my stomach, I only trust one of those to actually understand what a stomach needs to do its thing - and between me and my creative brain, most of the time it feels like I just work here.
I hope there was something helpful in all this!
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lovelykil · 5 months ago
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killua hcs with a s/o at a skatepark but they’re insanely terrified and are basically useless without one of those help bars for people who can’t skate (that you can take around cause it has wheels) and their just scared of falling 😔
…can you tell why I’m doing this request ☹️
ANYWAYS! Take care and stay hydrated!! 🔥🔥
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headcanons─
: ➛killua
hc; skating
note; skatepark? Do you mean like a skating place sorry if I misunderstood this 😭😭 I LOVEE SKATING
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If killua can skateboard, he can definitely skate on wheels as well
it was a cute date! (platonic or not) Taking you to a skating place buying the tickets and finding the size for your skates, everything was running smooth
once he got his skates on he made his way on the floor, waiting for you to join only to be puzzled at why you looked so nervous.
well a minute later after revealing your 'embarrassing' truth most definitely he lets out a giggle but went with you to get those helping bars for people who haven't exactly mastered gliding against the hard floor just yet.
well the silverette is a tease so he definitely makes fun of you but not harshly... so while he skates beside you just get ready for annoying comments from him.
but he does care trust 😭
tries to help you in his own weird killua ways he takes into consideration your fear of falling so he keeps by your side if you need him and doesn't skate off
maybe after a bit of using that skating bar he would tell you just to hold his hand.
a BIG move for him, kinda smooth in a way, no? LMAO
he probably got annoyed with going slow so he just blurts out to hold his hand so he can just help you himself.
you're very skeptical of this, not even daring to let go of your magnificent helping bar.
"you're not gonna like pull a stupid move are you?" You ask. He's blushing at this point from his words but responds quickly with a grumble.
"no I'm not, you just look stupid right now little kids use this thing.."
"okay you don't need to be an ASS."
"will you just take my HAND?"
you take his hand, somehow trusting him and leaving your helping bar for a stumbling little kid. You look over your shoulder at the kid in shock, he was right .
during the silly date or whatever this hangout is, he very carefully skates alongside you. Teaching you as you two dance across the rink you may have gripped his arm a few... or several times out of fear to which a very familiar pink hue appears on his face
he's flustered but he composes himself so he can teach you some more and HOPEFULLY get you to let go of him, but let's just be honest he secretly doesn't want you go just yet.
when you eventually get the hang of it you start to do it yourself and he watches you with caution, you beam and smile when you move even if it was just a few inches away from him
it was progress !
"holy shit I'm doing it! Killua I'm doi—wAH" You start to wobble which makes you lose your balance but thank GOD this boy is fast he catches you before you fall straight on your ass
"for about 3 seconds."
"hey it's a start yeah?" you nervously smile up at him.
"idiot." He smiles back
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bomberqueen17 · 7 days ago
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lurkey lurkey
so i had in my mind been like "when the farm season is over i'm gonna get so much done" and also in my mind been like "bitch be real i am going to be decompressing uncontrollably and will achieve nothing" and just as one might have predicted, i have split the difference, spinning wheels wildly and also achieving little.
i did do a final definitive trial of ADHD meds, long put-off because the season was too hectic, and decided that yes, my impression of July was correct, I suck at being medicated LOL
I did start publishing the 150k of incoherent fanfic I started writing in August while insane, and I might keep going on that; there's a small audience but a lovely one
and I really really did take the characters from that fanfic and shove them into a new story and I have written several tens of thousands of words of notes but in the last couple of days I actually think I have begun to write a draft. So.
If anyone is interested in possibly doing some beta-reading, even just cheer-reading, of a draft of an original novel about bisexual tall ship sailors in a solarpunk setting, I should mention that the stay-at-home wife is turning out to be the B-plot heroine (it might actually be the A plot) and the Admiral's sassy gay socialite husband is doing some heavy lifting I hadn't expected, but on the other hand, the children are less onscreen than I'd expected. And I'm not sure where the sex is going to fit in, if at all. But there is still an OT3.
So let me know about that. I'm not quite ready with a shareable draft but I'm two chapters in and cautiously optimistic that this is actually a story. Maybe?
But I'm about to head back to the farm for the turkey processing ordeal, which is a solid week of extremely hard work with a major holiday in the middle with family obligations and then more work immediately afterward, so I don't expect to have time to work on it for a bit. But it's ruminating in there, I promise.
I have a snippet, which is a first-- everything I've written so far I've hated upon rereading, so that's why I think I'm making progress. I've renamed everyone but kept the first names mostly, where I didn't swap genders. This is the opening of chapter 2, so we've already had Technology Backstory With Smart Wifey, and Action Sequence At Sea With Explosions, and now it's time for Character Backstories:
Someone shouted his name from down the street, and Tom laughed aloud, handed his datapad to the mildly alarmed merchant captain walking beside him, and turned, holding his arms out and bracing himself to receive the sudden arrival of thirteen stone or so of Yardley at full velocity. James always jumped and Tom always caught him, that was how it had worked since they were about thirteen, and he spun around to absorb some of the excess velocity and then kissed James soundly on the mouth before setting him down.  “Atkins, you fucker,” Yardley said. He’d knocked both their hats off. He was tan, straight off a run from around the Storms, and had been long-scheduled to meet them here. Constellation’s limping had slowed them down so much they were eight days overdue, so he’d likely been hanging around a while now. “I hear you have a good excuse for being late.” “I don’t know that it’s good,” Tom said, retrieving their hats and putting Yardley’s back on him. Then he realized it was the wrong hat, so he switched them. “But it couldn’t exactly have been avoided.”  James grabbed his face in both hands and kissed him again, and it could read as just friendly to a casual observer but Tom knew it was not, and smiled, curling his tongue wickedly but briefly behind James’s teeth before pulling back. James kept hold of his face and frowned. “You look like shit,” he said. “Thanks,” Tom said. “You look like you’ve been lying around Barka drinking and fu--” He rerouted the sentence, remembering they weren’t alone. “Making friends.” “Well,” James said modestly, preening, “naturally.”
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siblingshuffle · 2 months ago
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Day 7: Secret
I had several ideas for this one, and eventually decided to do Dr. Light’s last and most secret project.
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As you can see, I tried to put a bit of… idk, character? into the paper. It’s not been taken the best care of (100 years in a place that looks like this probably didn’t help the condition, and even then you can probably tell that it was through a couple mishaps during Dr. Light’s life).
(Also I like to imagine he has really bad handwriting which is why so much of it is basically illegible lol)
Lore and Actual Design Reference below!
As mentioned before, no Robot Master lacks a function and all (except for 3 total) had the three laws. I think it’s time to elaborate a bit as to why.
Over the course of his career of building Robot Masters, Dr. Light’s stay-at-home children were the most humanlike due to their independent thought. He knew he was going in the right direction, but they still had limits. They could never quit their job, and had to follow orders when they came from a human superior. To the humans around them, they weren’t really “people” so much as they were tools with a personality; interchangeable with a talking wrench in.
So, Dr. Light got to work on Xote (Aka “X”) as the first Reploid.
It’s demonstrated across the X series that none of the above limitations apply to Reploids. They may be built with a purpose in mind, but they aren’t bound by the 3 laws and can decide for themselves what they are and what they do. For just a few examples:
Pretty sure Alia was a scientist for a little while there before becoming a navigator
Axl quitting Red Alert of his own volition
Zero & X becoming friends despite the latter being created to destroy the former
All of the “new gens” that “went Maverick at will”
The fact that Mavericks can (and do) harm humans
X deciding to become a Maverick Hunter at all
And that’s just the ones that I, a mostly Classic Series fan, am aware of. There’s bound to be even more that I’m NOT aware of!
(This isn’t to say they aren’t still seen as tools sometimes. It’s a very slow progression until they’re on fully even footing.)
So, uh, the TLDR of that all is that the biggest difference between Robot Masters and Reploids is that Robot Masters can’t decide with the same freedom what they want to do with their lives for themselves and can’t really do anything against humans unless under very specific circumstances
Sorry about the rambling lol
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X’s design!
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Forgot to note:
Since Reploids have that much more autonomy there are like. Resources & stuff for Reploids that want to “grow up”. X gradually upgraded from being around 12-13 (pre-games) to like 15 (MMX1) to, in X8-ish, being like a full-grown 20-30-year-old adult. (Add that to things Robot Masters can’t do that Reploids can lol)
X doesn’t have a model number.
Zero does have a model number, because 1) he didn’t know all of Light’s plans and 2) Wily leans more into the “my robots are tools” line of thought. But Zero doesn’t give a heck about his past canonically so even if he doesn’t know that he definitely doesn’t care lol
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