#I need to exorcise him from my BRAIN!!!!

[kedsandtubesocks]

I will never stop thinking about Gojo snooping on drama at family gatherings and I think you deserve to have that in your life, especially if he's gonna dish as soon as he can. Erika/Gojo for sure!

KAELAN!! YOU CAME FOR VIOLENCE WHY??? WHYYY

😫

Like…look at this moron…this absolute menace would be AWFUL at family gatherings especially mine cause this is so much drama along with the shit I probably still don’t even know he would for SURE find out about LMAO he also would be ridiculous trying to pick up on any spanish slang he can, probably proudly declare he has a good spice tolerance and then bite into one of the grilled jalapeño poppers my sister makes and would start CRYING

Oh my god I need to go lie down I can’t believe this Kaelan I love you but what have you done to me…

[that-sad-guy]

Don’t worry about it Sebastian Eustace! There’s plenty of prosecutors on the nepotism spectrum; just look at Franziska Von Karma!

[quadrantadvisor]

The Owl House takes place on a corpse. That's clear from the beginning. The people we meet, the fantastical things we see, every part of it is life that comes from death, and it's beautiful. Luz says that, the first time she's far enough away to see the bones. It's beautiful. The Titan was so full of life and magic that what he left behind could be passed on and made anew, and the people who sprung from that, who rely on it, understand that and are grateful. Everything they have is built on the bones of a god.

But what grows from the bones of children? Nothing. Nothing at all.

The Titan hunters killed children. They said they were monsters, but they were children. Children who played games and laughed and from their first conscious moments wanted to be loved and belong. And they hunted them to extinction, and kept their pristine skulls as trophies. An entire room full of them, of tiny skulls that could've become something wonderful and terrible and life-giving but never had the chance. They wear them, as a badge of honor. Look what I've done, look what I destroyed.

Philip Wittebane had been making grimwalkers for hundreds of years, sure, but even knowing that, there's so many of them. How many could've reached 20? There's piles of them, of bones and identical masks, scattered at the bottom of a pit, and god, were they dead, when he threw them down there? It's clear that he doesn't care, that the only thing that matters is disposing of them once they wear out their usefulness, moving on to the new model. Children tossed aside, left to rot and decay, and when we see them the bones are all clean.

[capripian-arts]

[ID: A digital sketch of Hua Cheng reclining on a pile of cushions, partially obscured by sheer red curtains. The red string on his finger stretches out to the side, making a heart shape, and his bored expression looks toward it. A butterfly rests on his other hand. The drawing is loosely shaded in ink textures, and the background has an orange-pink gradient tint. End ID]

tgcf sketch. hua chengzhu waits for his husband to return

[direwombat]

the novice, the scholar, and the stray dog

or, the sole remaining members of the brotherhood's (defunct) detroit bureau in ASSASSIN'S CREED: MOTOR CITY

template made by @unholymilf (tumblr wouldn't let me tag directly, so linking to the blog instead)

[dontfuckingestablishcanonicalbac]

rick's backstory introduced a lot of plot holes and basically you can either accept the pre-backstory-reveal era as its own subset of canon OR you can headcanon ways for them to make sense SO i think the main issue with the multiverse setup is birdperson, because he's presumably as infinite as everyone else BUT the way rick acts about him would only make sense if it's always the same birdperson FURTHERMORE some moments absolutely ring hollow because of the backstory, in particular any nods to rick c-137 and morty prime having interacted before rick landed in the prime dimension just before s1 such as the picture of rick holding baby morty in bird person's house and rick's memory of holding baby morty SO for the sake of narrative cohesion rick should always have been friends with the same birdperson, and to a lesser extent the same morty, and overall because rick knew the prime dimension was the prime dimension when he settled there it makes sense for him to have spent a lot of time there before THEREFORE instead of his birdperson being some random universe's birdperson it would make sense for him to be the prime dimension's birdperson AND THEN with the possibility that rick spent a lot of time in the prime dimension prior to s1 (and even the creation of the citadel of ricks) while he hunted rick prime - it makes sense for him to have exhausted earth prime for resources on where to find rick prime SO that means he may have even been around the prime dimension for morty prime's birth (maybe part of him thought morty's birth would draw rick prime back into the picture, who knows) AND SO the baby photos and memories are indeed of morty prime. ffdkffffggjtjfgggg,,,,,,,,, ,,

[irisintheafterglow]

it's all me, just don't go (meet me in the afterglow)

summary: satoru is jealous but refuses to admit it.

wc: 1.2k

cw/tags: gojo x reader, arguing, miscommunication, angst/comfort, established relationship, lowercase because this was originally going to be a short answer to a request but ended up being 1k+ words (oops)

note: welcome back gojo nation, today i offer angst that started as a fluffy co-parenting megumi prompt and turned into...this. based on the jealousy prompts from @creativepromptsforwriting !! hope you enjoy :D

likes, reblogs, and replies are appreciated <3

"you think i'm jealous? jealousy is not in my vocabulary, babe."

"mhmm, sure. you're not jealous and the sky isn't blue," you fire back without hesitation. what started as a petty argument was beginning to boil your blood a little too hot for comfort, and you couldn't pinpoint why. thoughts poked around in your mind of your boyfriend's arrogance, the need to be the best, and simultaneous fear that you were going to leave him. but, in true satoru fashion, he chose to be an enigma instead of communicating.

"i'm literally the strongest being in existence," he argues and you catch your eye twitch in the rearview mirror. "what would i have to be jealous about?" a part of you wanted to just slam on the brakes to see if he'd go flying forward but decided against it because of the other occupants in the car. as much as they tried to act like they weren't listening, the two kids in the back weren't very good at hiding their snickers of amusement. "like, really. i'm super hot, i'm super strong, i've got the voice of an angel-"

"i'm just saying, satoru. your behavior back there was...weird. i didn't like it," you mutter.

"and i didn't like how that guy was looking at you like you were some kind of dessert in a pastry shop," he counters. "i just...it's fine. you don't get it." your stomach churns unexpectedly at his tone and there's a sharp pain in your heart that you don't anticipate. you know he didn't mean it, but the sternness of his voice was sounding more hostile the longer you talked with him. it made your face hot, not in that butterflies and daydreams kind of way that he normally made you feel. this feeling was foreign and intense, a sensation that made you want to curl up and hide. it was the same feeling as when you were about to exorcise a curse.

when you were about to fight.

"what's that supposed to mean?" the atmosphere of the car changes in an instant and you can feel the effect your five words have on every occupant of the vehicle. megumi and tsumiki's gazes dart upward, eyeing you nervously while a robotic stiffness shoots through satoru's body. "what do i not get?"

"it's nothing," he grits through his teeth, but you're too angry to back down.

"it's not nothing, so spill it," you say and his jaw clenches. "why are you so jealous of some dude at the grocery store?"

"i said i wasn't jealous."

"your actions are saying otherwise." you start relying more on your instinct to drive you back towards jujutsu tech because your brain was starting to shut down.

"what, you don't believe me? why don't you just trust me?" he's on the verge of shouting at you. he never shouts at you. it terrifies you and it makes the two kids in the second row shift uneasily in their car seats. you don't know what else to say; your mind was preoccupied with not crashing the car and trying not to cry from the stifling pressure in the car.

"i-i don't like you right now," you force out. it's the wrong thing to say and you can sense satoru snap before he does.

"please, be my guest. go with your little cashier if you like him so much better," he spits and your body moves before you can register what it's doing. one minute, you're driving down the street toward the school; the next, you're turning into the nearest mini-mall parking lot, putting the car in park, and slamming the driver's side door behind you. you don't know where else to go, but all you know is that you can't stay in that car with satoru when he's like that. he'd never do anything to hurt megs or tsumiki, but being on the road in such a compromised mental state wasn't safe for any of you. so, you start walking.

the sun was nearly down and you knew it would be faster if you just sucked it up and drove the rest of the way, but something about this petty little fight was bringing up memories you didn't want to rehash. after you make it past the first stoplight, the telltale hum of your car's engine pulls up next to you, coming to a stop while you continue in the direction of the school. punching the hazards button, he jumps from the driver's seat onto the sidewalk to call after you, but you shake your head.

"babe. babe, please get back in the car," he pleads and you keep walking. "i'm sorry. please, come back in the car. i'll drive us the rest of the way and we can talk."

"it's fine," you state firmly without looking at him, "i'll walk back."

"i made a mistake. please, please come back in the car." he gently grabs your wrist to stop you and you shoot him a brutal glare from the corner of your eye, seeing him deflate in real-time. "please." smaller footsteps approach from behind him, and your senses snap back into place when you see that megumi and tsumiki followed satoru out of the car.

"he was stupid," tsumiki says and her brother nods in agreement, "really stupid."

"and if you're walking back to school, we're walking with you," megumi declares and the sentiment is enough to finally get you back in the passenger seat, staring out the window for the few agonizing minutes remaining of the drive. once you've turned on the tv and stuck a frozen dinner in the oven for the two children, you make your way to the bathroom to wash your face of its still-burning sensation. you've just finished drying your face in front of the mirror when he trudges in like a kicked puppy. you feel him before you see him, his arms wrapping around your torso and his face disappearing into your neck.

"i'm so sorry," he whispers and you swallow a thick lump in your throat. "i'm so sorry for what i said and what i did and how i made you feel. you were right; i was jealous. just...seeing you live out such a mundane scene as buying groceries reminded me that you could have anyone you wanted." you turn to face him with a puzzled look.

"what do you mean, anyone i wanted?"

"you could be with anyone you wanted," he says quietly. "anyone but me."

"oh," is all you can choke out before you pull him as close as humanly possible, holding him so tightly that he'd be a fool to think you would ever want anyone else.

"you could have any life you wanted," his voice breaks against your skin. "not one where our best friends die before they reach 20 or disappear off the face of the planet. you don't need to have this one. you don't need to stay with me."

"has it ever occurred to you, satoru," you murmur, "that maybe i want to stay with you? forever and after that?"

"why would you do that to yourself?"

"loving you is not a burden, gojo satoru. i would find you in any lifetime and i would love you in every single one," you vow and your chest aches when he sniffles softly.

"i don't deserve you. i really don't."

"maybe you do, maybe you don't, but that's not up to me to decide. so, it doesn't matter because i'm staying."

"you'll stay?"

"forever and after that."

if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on my ko-fi! you can also check out my full masterlist here :)

[artbymesa]

I'm normal about the wizard I promise

Larian can't hurt me with Gale's slow burn romance if I contribute to the pain

From the line he gives us, it seems Tara did the thinking in the way of using magic items. So the idea that Mr. Hermit never considered asking this of a person didn't feel like much of a stretch 🤣

Okay but joking aside, this idea occurred to me and I just. Needed to exorcise it out of my brain. I knew it wouldn't leave me alone until it existed outside of me lol

As tragic as Mystra's charge is, as far as I can tell Gale seems to avoid reciprocating Tav's advances until he's given it since.... y'know, he might not be around much longer;;;

The way Gale shakes in camp absolutely wrecks me. And I wanted so bad to help him more between when the last item stopped working and when he gets the charge. To do something for him, even if it was a temporary comfort (maybe lose a spell slot or two that day from the cost of something like this?). Larian has already done so, so much in the way of camp interactions like the ones with Astarion (the mirror, the scars, etc) and I am so thoroughly grateful and impressed with what we already get but aeugh, I WANT it haha

Small cameo from @chocolatefrizz89's durge on that last page since this is a multiplayer run~!

[the-travelling-witch]

𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

summary: there's nothing quite like being pampered by your partner after coming home from a fight... at least in childe's eyes

pairing: childe x gn! reader

warnings: fluff, a smidge angsty towards the end, mentions of fighting/ wounds; just a scene i had to exorcise from my brain since i'm ridiculously down bad; this is either a modern au or a 'teyvat has blow-dryers now' au, pick whichever one you fancy

genshin masterlist

“Watch it,” you threatened, though your voice lacked any sort of real bite. How could you be truly mad when Childe was grinning up at you, all boyish and playful, a strand of his wet bangs stubbornly falling back into his ocean-hued eyes?

“I wouldn’t have to if you just joined me,” the ginger hummed with no remorse, wet fingers dancing along the hem of your already soaked shirt, itching the creep under it. No doubt, he had already thought about just pulling you into the bathtub with him. “Or you could just take off your clothes if you’re so worried about them getting wet.”

“Oh, I’m sure that’s the only reason you’re proposing that, huh?” You cocked your eyebrow at him, gently sweeping his hair back again. Even after you shampooed and conditioned it, it was as unruly and wilful as the guy it was attached to. “No ulterior motives whatsoever, I presume.”

“No ulterior motives whatsoever,” Childe echoed, though his voice carried the same mischief as it did right before he splashed the first wave of water over you. “I’m just looking out for you, darling.”

“The only thing you’re looking out for are your best interests,” you snorted, grabbing the body wash and sponge, motioning for him to turn around. “Now sit still, you literal child. I don’t want to accidentally reopen the wounds I spent so long dressing.”

“You got it,” the ginger laughed, clearly not as concerned with the deep scratches littering his back. Though you really didn’t want to meet whatever had caused them, Childe had excitedly told you all about his scuffles as he came home, still high on adrenaline as you ushered him into the bathroom and peeling off his many layers of clothing.

You shook your head, dispelling the thoughts that started clouding your mind. It was a conversation you have had plenty of times before. Instead you concentrated on the way his lithe muscles flexed and relaxed under your touch, his skin as always pleasantly warm and smooth despite the faded scars littering it. You knew the origins of most, having spent many nights tracing them as you listened to the stories behind them. Sure, some were from thrilling battles, but there were also smaller, odd ones like the one where Teucer accidentally nicked him as he taught his younger brother how to prepare a fish they caught together.

When you were certain your boyfriend was all clean again, you got some fluffy towels as he clambered out of the tub, purposefully not meeting his smug expression as he caught you eyeing the water droplets running down the dibs of his abs. You were also sure there was no need for his arms to flex as much as they did as he towelled his hair dry, leaving the white fabric to rest around his neck. 

Though there was a shirt set out next to his sweatpants, he forewent it completely and you sighed as you followed him out of the bathroom with the blow-dryer in hand. Idly, Childe sauntered over to the bed, sitting down with his back to the frame waiting for you to take your place behind him like you always did.

Gingerly, you rested your legs over his shoulders, feeling his calloused palms wrap around them, his fingers tracing random shapes into your thighs and calves as his bare body radiated heat. Watching the stream of hot air tussle his fluffy strands, your thoughts couldn’t help but circle back to the bloodied wounds on his back. None of them were too deep this time, but…

There was a tap against your calf.

“What are you thinking about?” Of course, Childe would pick up on your dip in mood; he always could. He could probably also guess the direction your thoughts had turned, it wasn’t an uncommon point of discussion. “And you’d better not say it’s nothing.”

“I know I tell you all the time and you always tell me not to worry. And I do have more faith in you than anyone else, but can you be at least a little more careful?” In that moment you were glad your boyfriend was turned away from you, certain your voice would shake even more if you were to look into his eyes right now. 

Running your fingers through his soft hair, you busied yourself with parting the sections to resemble a somewhat orderly hairstyle in order to keep your hands from trembling. Still, Childe easily caught your wrists, sliding his fingers between yours as he twisted to face you.

“You really do worry too much. I’m fine, right? See, everything still attached and working,” Childe smiled, drumming his fingers across your knuckles.

“Yeah but what if something happens? Something that is outside of your control and you don’t—“ You cut yourself off, not daring to speak your worst fear into existence. It would make it seem so much realer. “Just… Ajax, if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me. I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you, if the other side of the bed was cold—“

“Hey now, none of that,” Childe soothed, reaching up to smooth out the crease of your brows. “You’ll never have to go to sleep alone or wake up to an empty bed. I’ll always come back home to you, I promise. Nothing could keep me away from you.”

The heat of his kisses spread from your knuckles all the way up to your heart, warming you from the inside out as his words soothed your frayed nerves. The logical part of your brain knew he couldn’t actually prevent all bad turns of events from happening but you willed those thoughts away. 

As you curled up under the blanket with him that night, his arm draped securely over your waist to pull you close to him and into his safe embrace, you reminded yourself Ajax had never broken his promises before. So, as the moon bore witness to his vow sealed with more kisses, you decided to believe him.

© the-travelling-witch 2024 - do not repost, translate, copy or edit and do not feed my writing to ai

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[vorfreudevortex]

a portrait of us - eleven

a nanami x reader smau

masterlist

warnings: mentions of death/suicide/blood (reader talks about suguru and yu), vomit (kinda?), and HELLA angst

notes: 1.7k words... got carried away and lowkey forgot this was an smau for a sec lmao so... tl;dr - they smooch :*

“nanami…” you finally managed to whisper, barely more than a breath.

he offered a small smile with a slight tilt of his head. the nerves in your stomach fluttered wildly. his lips parted slowly before he spoke, his voice velvety and deep.

“it’s… been a while… hasn’t it?”

you swallowed thickly and responded to him with a silent nod.

“…this painting, i-i can’t believe it. it’s magnificent. they all are.”

“thank you,” you said hoarsely. the two of you didn’t dare take your eyes off each other.

“congratulations,” he gently held out the bouquet for you. “you have always been utterly exceptional.” you slowly took the golden flowers into your arms and pressed your lips together.

“i… i have so much to say to you,” you finally blurted out.

there was a moment of quiet.

“me as well.”

you glanced down at the flowers, head lowered, eyes threatening to spill with tears. you frowned.

“nanami, i am so, so sorry.”

“you have absolutely nothing to apologize for.”

“i have everything to apologize for,” you shook your head.

“can-” his teeth fumbled with his bottom lip for a moment, anxious and scared. “would you like to talk about… everything?”

without hesitation, you found yourself nodding your head. the tears began to silently slide down your cheeks.

“when?” he breathed.

“now, tonight,” you sputtered. “if you can. if you’d like.”

“please,” he whispered.

———

you stood at the window of your hotel room, looking out at the city’s lights. you harshly wrung and fiddled with your clammy hands, still in your dress and makeup, high heels desperately kicked off as soon as you had entered the room.

it was almost midnight, but you were wide awake. your mind reeled in anxiety. you were here, you were together once again. the thought of what all you might say to him made your body buzz, so much it felt numb.

nanami had promised to meet you at your hotel after the museum’s driver had dropped you off. you were worried he would forget your room number, he hadn’t written it down. you didn’t know that that number and your face were the only things cycling through his brain as he shakily left.

a soft knocking at the door made you jump and stumble across the room to answer the door. you paused as your fingers rested on the handle. you filled your lungs with a deep, trembling breath and opened the door.

“hi.”

“hello,” he smiled, and stepped into the room.

it was quiet except for the low volume of the tv as you sat on the edge of the bed and nanami turned away to remove his blazer, laying it over the back of a chair. it revealed dark, worn leather straps of a harness that were attached to his dress pants, and a wrapped cleaver in the center of his broad back.

“oh,” you accidentally let out upon seeing the knife. he quickly turned his head to you as he finished removing the straps and resting the knife gently on the hotel desk.

“what is it?”

“your cleaver,” you cheeks flushed. “i didn’t, uh, expect to see it. and the harness and everything, i-i just didn’t know…”

“i needed something that would be more efficient than carrying it on my shoulder, just shortly after you went home,” he explained, taking something from the inner pocket of his blazer and slowly sitting down next to you on the bed. “i… thought i’d give this back to you since you’ve returned.”

you noticed his fingers trembling as he put a familiar roll of thick cloth in your hands. your let out a small gasp as you realized what it was. your stomach tumbled as you fumbled to unroll it, revealing a large sable paintbrush with a heavy, gold metallic handle.

long ago, you had wielded this brush to exorcise cursed spirits. you felt nanami’s eyes boring into you as you lifted from the case. the touch flooded your senses with distant memories and nightmares. as you tightly gripped the cool metal, you bit your lip and choked out a sob.

“kento…” you cried without thinking. kento, convinced he would never hear you say it again, squeezed his fist at the use of his first name. the words started to pour like vomit out of your mouth.

“i am s-so sorry. i-i don’t know what happened, i was thinking too much and not at all. satoru, suguru, the star plasma vessel… it changed everything. suguru was so… so-i thought he was going to kill himself. do you remember? i was so worried b-but he said he was fine every time i tried to bring it up, everyone else…”

you were choking, gasping for air through your heavy sobs, still gripping the paintbrush. kento silently, gently reached over and wrapped his hands over yours. he didn’t speak and you didn’t dare look at him as you caught your breath.

“satoru told me th-that he died. he became a curse user and died, just last year. and yu…”

you heaved as kento’s hands tightened against yours at the mention of his friend.

“it should have been me. w-why did he protect me? why didn’t you- no, i myself should’ve stopped him. it hurts, k-kento. it fucking hurts. i couldn’t bear to look anyone in the eyes, knowing his blood on my face was because of my own actions. i couldn’t bear to see him with a sheet over his face in the m-morgue. i couldn’t bear to see you in pain because of me. i couldn't take it anymore, it hurt so badly, so i just ran. i should’ve b-been there for you, kento. but i just started running and running and when i had come back to m-myself i was so confused and realized i was on a plane-”

kento removed the brush from your hands and moved closer to you. you gasped for more air as he returned his hands to yours, fully engulfing them in his own now.

“you… you’re not at fault for them,” he whispered painfully.

“but i am, kento!” you cried, your tears falling down onto his hands. “it was me that yu died to protect. it was me that took your best friend away. it was me that inspired s-suguru to leave. it was me that helped him realize that his tragedies were because of c-civilians. it was all me. it’s all my fault.”

“it was their own decisions,” he said softly, firmly.

“i-i shouldn’t have left. i shouldn’t have left you. i hate myself for the way i went about it. i… i’ve thought about you constantly since that day. i wanted to reach back out to you so badly, but i just knew that you h-hated me and i couldn’t bring myself to do it. by the time i thought you may not be angry of me anymore, it had been years. i knew that you had moved on or forgotten, b-but i just so pathetically have held onto you. i replay our days together in my head all the time. i know i can’t say anything that could possibly make things right again…”

kento stayed silent, still processing your words. the words that he had yearned for you to say to him for a decade. his heart trembled at the thought that, just like himself, you had never forgotten him.

you didn’t even notice he was speechless. the years of love and agony finally coming to a head made words tumble thoughtlessly, almost foolishly, out of your mouth.

“i think of you every time i hold a brush. i-i’ve sketched and painted countless pieces of you, trying to hold on to the image of your face. if it’s not you, i ask myself what you would think of it anyways. i can’t help but put pieces of you in e-everything i create. kento… you’ve always been my muse. for every line and stroke i’ve ever painted, our love is in every canvas i’ve ever touched. i… i just…”

you trailed off, breathless, the thoughtless ramble finally losing steam. you didn’t know what to say anymore and realized you had cried yourself dry. you stared at kento’s calloused hands that firmly grasped yours.

it was silent, until you finally heard him thickly swallow.

“and yet,” his voice was rough and raspy. “you couldn’t even say goodbye?”

his words were not harsh. they were mournful, full of grief. you finally looked up at him, you faces just inches apart. his jaw was clenched and he fearlessly stared straight into you with red, teary eyes. you nod.

“you haunt me, kento. every night when i fall asleep i think of all of my regrets, all of them are of the reasons i should have stayed. and all of the reasons are you.”

“i never blamed you. i never hated you,” kento said softly as his trembling fingers reached up to gently hold the side of your face. you eyes fluttered at his touch.

“i needed you. i cried for you. i spent hours lying on your empty dorm room bed, imagining that i was brave enough to chase after you. but even a decade later, you never stopped appearing in my dreams. you never stopped making me smile at the thought of the love we shared… you never stopped being my darling.”

you smiled and let out a small sigh. although you had desperately hoped that he didn’t despise you, you never thought you’d hear kento truly say it. his other hand lifted to your cheek and held your head in place as he gently rested his forehead against yours.

“i missed you,” he whispered. your heart began to race when you felt the warmth of his lips being so close to yours.

“kento…” you breathed.

his name falling from your tongue was all kento needed to let himself pull you closer and finally kiss you. the feeling was so familiar it made his heart ache.

it was gentle, knowing. it was passionate, desperate. kento’s body yearned for more, but pulled away slowly after just one kiss.

his thumbs caressed your flushed cheeks as he took in the smile that stretched across your face and gleaming eyes. you wrapped your arms around him and rested your head in the crook of his neck. kento placed gentle hands on your waist and rested his chin against your hair.

“please stay,” you shyly muttered.

“you couldn’t possibly make me leave, darling.”

next: part twelve

tag list // @aporcelainphantom @bubybubsters @sad-darksoul @corvid007 @kenqki @ikon-teen @shhthisblogsasecret

© vorfreudevortex | all rights reserved. do not copy, translate, repost, or otherwise share my work.

[vid-writes]

Satoru Gojo x Fem Reader One Shot

This one shot is absolutely not for anyone under the age of 18.

Word Count: 3,474

TW/CW: Rough sex, sex with a stranger, slight voyeurism, tit fucking, back shots

Satoru was finding it rather hard to stay away from you these days. He wasn’t supposed to be pining over someone who wasn’t a curse user, but watching you work in that high-end clothing store through the window was something of a pastime for him. Your hair was always in a different intricate style every day. Your smile when helping customers was always genuine and reached your eyes. Sometimes, he even heard your laughter peal through the front window when a customer was actually funny, or your coworkers were gossiping to fill the time. He never followed you, never watched longer than a few minutes, but anytime a job brought him to this part of Tokyo, he made sure to stop by. You weren’t his usual tailored clothing store, but he was considering making the change.

The door opened with the soft jingle of the ever-present sleigh bells, and at the same time, Satoru’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Acquiring a new tailor would have to wait for another day, it seemed.

“Go for Gojo,” he said as he answered the phone.

“We need you to get back to the school. Principal Yaga is trying to convince the elders that Itadori is still dead. They’re asking questions again.” Ijichi sounds like he’s one second away from crying. The muffled yelling in the back tells Satoru this is serious.

“I’ll be there in two seconds,” he mutters and hangs up the phone. With a long sigh, he glances at you through the window one last time before vanishing into thin air.

A few days have passed since the last time the sorcerer was in this particular shopping district. Only this time, he was here on purpose and not pure coincidence. He drew in a deep breath as he pulled open the door to the tailor shop. With a vague excuse about an excursion to the other end of the island for the next week, Satoru finally found time to acquire a new tailor. You, to be precise. The familiar soft jingle of the sleigh bells met his ears as he entered the empty shop.

“Welcome to Toshiko’s Tailors; I’ll be with you in just a moment,” calls out a soft voice from somewhere deep in the shop. Satoru pulls off the thick sunglasses he’s wearing and rubs his eyes with one hand. Being able to refresh his brain might always make keeping limitless easier, but sometimes he needed a break. He figured that a tailor shop in this quaint touristy part of Tokyo wouldn’t be too much of an issue. Besides, it’s not like he hadn’t already exorcised all of the curses in this area time and again. Just to keep one particular stranger safe.

“Sorry about the wait,” a soft voice pulled him from his thoughts. He lowered his hand to find you bowed over at the waist. “I was just finishing up this week’s order for more inventory, but I’m all yours now.”

“No need to apologize so formally,” Satoru said as he leaned against the front counter. “I’m just here to take up your time for a few hours. I’ve grown bored with my old tailor and thought I would switch things up.”

You straightened back up, and that pure and genuine smile was already present on your face, “What made you choose this shop in particular?”

“Work often finds me in this area and also often ends with my clothes getting all messed up in some way or another,” he explains as he tries not to study every inch of your body. He’s never been this close to you before.

“Are you planning to overhaul your whole wardrobe as well?” It looks like you might not want to do all that extra work right now, but he wants as much of your time as he can get because he knows any interactions you will have after this will be short.

“Maybe not the whole thing,” Satoru chuckles as he rubs the back of his neck. “I would like a few new outfits, though.”

“Well then, right this way,” you say as you bow again, and he knows because of your training that you won’t straighten back up until he’s walked past. So he stares at your ass until he’s right in front of you. Once he’s passed, he glues his eyes to the wall in front of him and focuses instead on your footsteps. Confident and assured in the heels work requires you to wear.

“The second door on your left is the suite where we take measurements and where you can also try on some of the sample clothes we have available in-house,” you call from a few steps behind him.

“You guys have whole suites for tailoring customers?” He whistles, impressed and irritated with himself that he didn’t come in here sooner. Especially since he can’t get the sight of your ass outlined perfectly by the pencil skirt you were wearing today.

“We have three, actually, but this one is the only one not currently under renovation,” you say as you come around him and open the door for him. Yet again, due to training, you bow, and this time the sight of your ass makes his dick throb in his pants. The suite is almost twice the size of the main entrance, and Satoru finds himself whistling with appreciation again. The whole left wall is lined with mirrors, and on the opposite wall is a dressing room that runs the entire length of the wall. In the middle is a sitting area with tables and couches. Over close to the mirror is a dais.

“You have two options for the measurements,” you say and startle him out of his admiration of the room. “Either we can measure you with the clothes you’re wearing on, and I can adjust the usual few centimeters from there, or you can use the dressing room to strip to your comfort level, though nudity is not allowed, and we can measure you that way.”

Satoru’s dick throbs again. An excuse to be almost naked around you? He was absolutely not going to pass up that opportunity. “I’ll go strip down to my underwear then.”

He turns to the dressing room and walks inside quickly. Before he can try to talk himself out of it, he is stripping off his shirt and jeans. Once, in his boxers, he noticed there might be a slight problem. His dick is rock-hard in his boxers. He tries to will the erection to go away, and when that doesn’t work, he sighs.

After a few minutes of thinking about incredibly gross stuff, Satoru emerges from the dressing room, erection free. You are patiently waiting on one of the steps up to the dais with a measuring tape in your hands. And yup, now he was picturing you wrapping that measuring tape around his dick, and he really needed to stop. He slowly made his way over to the dais, trying his best to look anywhere other than you right now.

Once on the dais, Satoru finds it even harder not to openly stare at the reflection of your ass in the mirror. Its shape was so perfect and round, and he could almost bet you worked out religiously to maintain it that way.

“Arms out to your sides, please,” you politely inquire of him, so Satoru lifts his arms out wide. The measuring tape runs from one wrist to the other, and he watches as you produce a notepad from the inside of your jacket. He takes the time to really study your face now—the shape of your lips, the way your nose curved, how your eyes scrunched at the outside corners as you focused. You were driving this man crazy and had no idea whatsoever.

You took measurements of his torso, arms, and waist so many times he was starting to see this as torture instead of the perverted pleasure he had intended. “You may lower your arms now,” you finally say, and he nearly sighs in relief. Satoru really needed to pick better ways to meet women.

You dropped to your knees in front of him and tapped the outside of his left thigh. With ease, Satoru spread his legs so you could measure his inseam. Your fingers brushed the innermost part of his thigh, and he shuddered. You hesitated in writing the measurement, but otherwise, you maintained composure. As you wrapped the measuring tape around his thigh, Satoru shuddered again, and this time, you looked up at him.

“I get the feeling you’re not being entirely honest about your intentions here, let alone with me,” you said, and he felt every muscle in his body tense. Shit. He had been caught. Just as he opened his mouth to answer you, he noticed your eyes darkening. You moved the measuring tape to his other thigh without taking your eyes off of Satoru’s, and his cock throbbed in his boxers. So much so that not only did he see it, but he knew you had too, by the way you licked your lower lip.

“I know you’ve been watching me for months now,” you started, and he felt the color drain from his face, “and I always wondered when you were going to get up the nerve to come inside and talk to me.”

“Thinking of a valid excuse to not only talk to you but get you into a position where you and I were alone was a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Satoru explains sheepishly.

The measuring tape tightened around his thigh, and Satoru knew he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back if you gave him the green light. The tape slid from his thigh as your hands abandoned it and instead started to unbutton your suit jacket. Muscles tensed, and breath caught in his throat. Satoru watched the last button come undone and then gasped as your breasts spilled free from the jacket with nothing else underneath it.

“I’ve fantasized about you so many fucking times, so when I saw you come in on the cameras in the office, I took off my top and bra,” you declare as you shrug the jacket off of your shoulders. “Want to help me live out one of those fantasies?”

That was all Satoru needed. His hands dove into your hair, and he pushed his crotch into your face. A moan escaped your lips, so he proceeded to grind his bulge into your face. His hips rutted into your face over and over as his hands held your head firmly in place with fistfuls of hair. After a few minutes of this, he pulled his hips back and looked down at you.

“Are there any chairs in this room,” he asked as he watched you panting a little bit just from him rutting into your face. He was hoping you’d be this slutty and eager.

“No, but I can get the one from the office,” you said breathlessly as his cock throbbed in his pants again.

“Is there anyone else in the shop?”

“No, and what should I call you,” you asked as you cocked your head to the side. He smirked as he pretended to think about it.

“My name’s Gojo, Satoru, but you can call me Daddy.” He winked, and you rolled your eyes. “Go get the chair and lock the front door. Do not cover up.” The red in your cheeks was only outdone by the dark lust in your eyes.

You got up and left the room, making sure the door stayed open. In doing so, you gave Satoru a clear line of view of the front door of the shop. He listened to your still-confident heels click across the floor as your arms hung by your sides. The front door made a loud click, and at the same time, Satoru pushed his boxers off his hips and let them hit the floor.

Satoru grinned deviously as you came back in the room, dragging a chair behind you, and immediately blushed at the sight of his fully erect cock. You brought the chair over to the dais but didn’t put it on the dais. Satoru hummed as he thought about how he wanted to position the chair, but all he did was turn it ninety degrees. Now, he could see you in front of him and in the mirror. He sat down on the edge of the chair and motioned for you to come between his knees.

“Down enough that your breasts are in my lap, I want to fuck them,” he commands. So you lower yourself down until your breasts are resting in front of his cock. It’s an awkward position, but your eyes were locked on his, and your movements never faltered.

“Go on and spit on my cock so it’s wet,” he commands again, so you let a glob of spit slowly leave your mouth and glide down his cock. He groans as you both watch his cock jump from your teasing. You spit on his cock again before grabbing the base and licking up the whole length. Satoru groans again as your tongue laves over his slit a few times, and he buries his fingers in your hair.

After a good few minutes of licking his cock until your spit is running between your fingers freely, you sit back and grab the outsides of your breasts. Without waiting for another command, you lift up and then lower yourself down until his cock is between your tits and sticking out of the top. You squeeze your breasts together tighter and then open your mouth and stick your tongue out. Satoru groans as he watches your drool spill onto your breasts and finally snaps.

“Up until the tip is just barely between your tits, and then I’m going to pound them until your pretty face is painted with my seed,” he growls and lets go of your hair. You slide up until his cock is just pressed between your tits, and then stay still. Satoru moans this time before he starts to slowly thrust up into your tits. He’s still holding back, so you let out the moans you’ve been holding back. With your mouth wide open and drool spilling off your tongue so Satoru’s cock is constantly lubed up, the moans are loud and echo through the room.

His hips drew back and then snapped forward again. Then again. And finally, he was freely fucking your tits. His hips hit the underside hard enough that Satoru knew they would have bruises on them. But he also knew that he would come back tomorrow to soothe those bruises. As his cock throbbed and pounded between your constantly slick breasts, he felt his orgasm coming faster than it had in a while. His hips stuttered and then stopped as his cum spurted out of his cock in thick hot ropes that splattered all over your face, tongue, and breasts. With a loud moan, you swallowed the cum that landed in your mouth, and he groaned again.

“Are you satisfied with your service, or do you still need to be attend to Satoru,” you asked, and his cock throbbed in response.

“Stay here so I can get you something to clean up with,” he said as he slipped out of the chair. He retrieved his shirt from the dressing room and then returned to clean your face off himself. Once it was cleaned off, you opened your eyes, and he could see they were still dark with lust and desire.

“It looks like you still need attending to,” he purred. A shudder ran up your body that made him haul you to your feet and kiss you deeply. His tongue was quick to push between your lips and lay claim to yours. Satoru groaned as the taste of himself mingled with your saliva, and his cock was already hard again. He pulled back from the kiss and stepped away. With a swift movement, he turned the chair back to where the seat was facing the mirror.

“Lose the skirt,” he said as he palmed his cock and stroked it slowly. You pulled the skirt off, and it was just like he suspected you weren’t wearing anything underneath it. How could you when it was such a tight skirt? He pulled you in front of him again and then turned you around and bent you over the back of the chair. Your ass pushed against Satoru’s erect cock, and he moaned again.

“You ready for my cock sweetheart?”

“I’ve been ready for it for months now, Satoru. So please give it to me already,” you whined, and the sound made his cock throb painfully. He was really tempted to make you moan and beg some more, but he didn’t know how he would handle orgasming just from the sounds you’d make. Without any more waiting, Satoru locked his gaze with yours in the mirror as he pushed the head of his cock against your dripping entrance.

Your mouth fell open as he pushed the fat tip of his cock inside of your warm walls, and he growled as your eyes already rolled back in your head. “You might not come out of this the same.”

“I don’t want to,” you moaned as he continued to slowly slide his cock inside of your wetness.

“My cock is incredibly addicting,” he whispered as he finally fully seated himself inside of your warm wet walls. Satoru moaned again as you clenched around his full length and then did so again when your gaze met his in the mirror.

“Ruin me, Satoru,” you commanded him, and he nearly came just from that.

“As you wish,” he purred as he slid his cock back until just the head was resting inside of your pussy. He waited and watched your face until you started to squirm, which only took a few seconds. Then he snapped his hips forward and buried his cock back in you completely. He did this again and again and again. Until you were writing and whining.

“Please, Satoru, give me more,” you whined loudly. He chuckled darkly before he repeated the same motion. Pull out until just the head rested in your walls, wait until you were begging, and then bury himself in one harsh thrust. He could see tears brimming in your eyes and finally stopped teasing.

His his slammed into your ass so fast and demanding that the chair started to scoot across the floor. With a muttered curse, Gojo pulled you up by your hair until he was supporting your weight. He grunted and kicked the chair hard enough that it slid over a few feet. In a quick motion that left you gasping, he hooked his arms underneath your knees and hauled you up until your back was pressed to his chest.

“Oh, you weren’t fucking kidding,” you moaned as he raised and lowered you on his cock with the same speed and harshness as before.

“I really wasn’t,” he whispered as he kissed your ear.

“Fucking cumming,” you whined and clenched tightly around his walls. Then your pussy throbbed over and over and over as your orgasm tried to push him out. But he just kept using your weight to fuck you onto his cock. Your screams of pleasure filled the whole shop as he fucked you through your orgasm. And soon after, he could feel his own coming on.

“I’m about to cum, sweetheart, and I’d hate for my load to go to waste,” he purred in your ear as he continued to fuck you onto his cock.

“I have the implant, so please empty your load into my cunt,” you moaned as you tightened onto his cock more. His arms and hips stuttered as he started to cum, and then stopped as your walls clenched and then throbbed in time with his cock. Your scream from this latest orgasm nearly made his ears ring.

He gently slid you off of his cock and lowered you to your feet. You spun around to face him and then stepped back a few feet.

“Are you satisfied with your service, or do you still need more attention,” you asked him again.

“Oh, I’m satisfied for now, but I will be back for more,” he growled as he looked your naked body up and down and noticed you still had your heels on. You bent over at the waist into your usual bow, and he moaned.

“Then I am glad to have provided your service today and look forward to doing so again as often as you need,” you said, still bent into the bow.

Buy me a coffee?

[megamindsecretlair]

A Taste of the Divine, Teaser

Pairing: Yakuza!True Form!Sukuna x Black!Fem!reader/ plus size reader

Warnings: 18+ only, MINORS DNI. Angst. Plot with filthy smut. Mentions of violence against women. Kidnapped reader, dark elements. Monster fuckers unite. Consensual but power imbalance.

Summary: Sukuna is the mysterious leader of the Itadori Clan. When he gets his hands dirty, striking against a rival clan, he runs across a woman held captive. He cannot strike her, so he takes her to his apartment to learn what spell she has over him.

Word Count: 892

A/N: Zooted hours will always get me in trouble. I blame (affectionate) @westside-rot for my brain rot. Chuz she showed me a fanart and now I need to exorcise this from my mind 😩

Taglist: @browngirldominion @iv0rysoap @amethyst09 @ciaqui @we-outsiiiide @thecookiebratz @harmshake @umber-cinders @00aijia00 @judymfmoody @multiversefanfics @tvchi

Like he's the boss, obvs , but he's also a boogeyman in near future Japan, so high tech a bit with an old school flavor. He takes care of his enemies by eating them. He planned ahead for one of his enemies, but the enemy had the nerve to step into Sukuna's territory without a word ahead for permission. He follows this enemy to a normal house where he ambushed his enemy but notices a random woman already locked up, blindfold, etc. Sukuna is curious, first time in a while, so he spares the girl and brings her to his place.

Over the course of some weeks, he asks this girl who she is and she just keeps saying nobody. He's frustrated but for some reason, he doesn't want to kill her. A new one for him because on anyone else, he'd have lost his patience and killed them.

Also over the course of these weeks, he's drawn to her, to her stories, to the fact that she doesn't look at him like a monster. Not that she can see past the blindfold. But she's scared and yet brave enough to touch him, talk to him, demand nothing of him. Not even her freedom. She's too accepting. Too nice. Too sweet. And he wants to stamp that sweetness out. He wants to snuff it like the wick of a dying candle.

Every night he enters the room intending on ending the morbid curiosity. He cannot live like this. Not when he's trying to expand his empire. Become a king amongst peasants. He cannot be beholden to a nobody. And yet, every night he is stopped in his tracks by the sight of her shy but kind smile. The way her head tilts towards him like she's expecting him. Like she's...excited to see him.

And he finds himself revealing things about himself, about his life. And he allows her more freedom. He lets her bathe often, let's her get a little sun, feeds her better. He learned his lesson about leaving her hungry too long.

He wants to know everything about her. Every thought, every wish, every dream at night. He fantasizes about kissing her, to the point of distraction, to the point that he attends his meetings and can't hear anything over the sound of his heart, miles away, tucked into his apartment and she doesn't even know what he looks like. It's maddening. It's frustrating.

Does she think as he does? Does her heart beat faster when he's near and slow down while he is away? Like a string that somehow connected them both. He had to end it. He had to get rid of the problem.

Get rid of her and his nightmare could finally end. He would bow to no one, dream of no one, be consumed by no one. He rushed to his place, hellbent on carrying out this dastardly deed. He had to exorcise her from his psyche. Cleanse himself of this witch who surely cast a spell on him. She controlled his mind somehow, that's why his mind often turned to thoughts of her.

He entered her room. She popped up in fear and curiosity. Hell, he could smell her interest. Smell her blood too. He didn't know whether he wanted to eat her or eat her.

He pulls out his gun and brings it to her head. His finger is a whispers breath away from the trigger. She cried out, calm instead of scared. Hell, could she be more stupid? Why wasn't she angry? Why wasn't she crying or begging for her life? Why would she accept this? Who is she? What hell demon spawned her to burn him alive with?

All she does is smile at him and accept this. This cruel, cold ending. This inhumane, brutal end to a nobody. It should be fitting. It was more than she deserved. A final smile and a hand on his arm. He flexed his hand, watching her fingers dance across his skin with the movement.

It's okay, she told him. It's okay.

For the first time ever, Sukuna's hand shook and he lowered his arm. To kill you was like chopping off his own arm. He could do it, but he'd be hollow after. He placed his forehead against hers and asked her what spell she put on him.

And she answered with a soft voice, none. I wouldn't dare bespell a king.

No sooner had it left her lips did he kiss her. Giving in to the pounding of his chest and the burn in his throat to get to her.

Feel her, consume her. He ripped at her clothes and tossed her onto the bed. He fucked her, hard, punishing. The severe snap of his thighs against hers, pushing into her body with precision.

Stupid, pathetic girl. He could snap her in half and pick his teeth with her bones. And she was willingly taking him, welcoming him in her tight, dripping heat. And he'd never heard a finer symphony than the cries of her moans. He'd never tasted a finer meal than pressing his lips to hers and drinking her cries.

And afterward, when he was still around after, holding her, palm to palm, brown skin to his, he stared at the ceiling and finally understood what it was to feel fear.

Whewwwwww. Yeah ima need a series with this 😩🙌🏽The Secret Sukuna Files

[tender-rosiey]

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓 | gojo x f!reader

| pt 10 (fluff ending) |— [SERIES MASTERLIST]

a/n: WOHOOO FLUFF ENDING IS HERE! so technically this series is done, but I am working on angst for my angst lovers >:)) thank you all so much for all your support; this series wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without you guys and you all made it much more fun to write! once again, thank you all so much and I hope you enjoyed the series <333

shoko sends him back home that night, telling him that she needs to be alone so she can take proper care of you and ensure that you’re fully healed.

the moment he steps into his house, he heads to the bathroom. he hurriedly opens the faucet and starts washing his hands, time after time, each time getting more aggressive. he still sees the blood; he feels it.

after what feels like forever, he closes the faucet and rests his forehead on the cold mirror.

the fabric of the blindfold is suffocating to him.

he is torn between taking it off or keeping it on to stop his brain from intensifying what he still sees: your bloodied form.

you were smiling and so relaxed too. he never wants you to pass on with regrets, but what about him? you fade away and what happens to him now?

his fist collides with the mirror, but he couldn’t get himself to care. it could be replaced anytime; his wealth allows that.

you, on the other hand, can’t be replaced, and no amount of money will do. and so he slips into his bed, but sleep does near him for the night.

with the first ray of sunlight, gojo teleports to the infirmary. he sees shoko there, but now, she is merely doing some paperwork.

your figure is no longer covered in blood, but your eyes are closed. she finally looks up at him, “yo.”

“why isn’t she awake?”

she takes a deep breath, “satoru—“

“shoko, why isn’t she awake?”

she knows he is scared, worried, and all of that jumble of suffocating feels. you’re right there but still so far way.

she gets it, “she is okay, but I don’t how long will this state of unconsciousness last. considering the damage she sustained, it will take a while. her body needs rest.”

he is sitting right beside you, hand holding onto your own.

“…what happened?” she asks. She only knew the brief: something happened to yuuji and the moment you shifted your attention to the boy, the curse attacked viciously.

“sukuna did something to yuuji; I am guessing he wanted to take control, but I don’t know why,” satoru says, voice monotone or rather calm, eerily so.

shoko nods and shifts her attention to the door, “yuuji, you come in.”

the boy opens the door slowly, guilt painting his usually bright and smiley face, “is she okay?”

shoko nods with a small smile, “she just needs some rest. don’t worry, y/n is strong,” she says while discreetly patting gojo’s back. he nods at her, but he can’t find the energy to smile, at least not right now.

shoko walks to the door with a silent wave and yuuji follows suit, knowing his teacher would want some time alone with you. he was always empathetic that way.

gojo sighs softly and brings your hand to his lips, pressing soft kisses over your knuckles. he also finally takes his blindfold off; he wants to take you all in.

you’re alive and he can feel your cursed energy, albeit light, but it is still there. you’re alive and it’s enough, for now.

after that, he is able to go back to being all smiles and jokes with no problem. though, his students notice how he looks off to a distance and they know why.

and from then, weeks pass by like a blur. every day goes the same way: exorcise, teach, visit, and repeat. he does not let a day go by without visiting you, sometimes with his students, others with his friends, but mostly alone.

as the days go by, he also finds himself admiring you more and more. somehow, his yearning grows even more and he wants nothing but to hold you close and tell you how he feels, over and over again so you don’t forget.

truthfully, he doesn’t know how will things play out when you wake up, will you ignore him? give him a chance? he is not sure, but he would be damned if he doesn’t do his best to make you like him again.

an today was like any other day, he had just finished the classes and is planning to stay with you till dawn breaks. his hand is holding yours and his thumb slowly rubs your hand.

he sighs, “you know, in the beginning, I did start talking to you because of your technique. it excited me that someone could finally be on par with me to the point of being able to break my infinity,” he chuckles lightly.

he continues, “but as we started spending time together, I saw parts of you that I was blind to. it caught me off guard and next thing I knew, I fell for you. I don’t think I have the right to, especially with how shit I treated you back then.”

“also thinking back about it now, it was so hot of you to beat up the higher-ups,” he laughs, and it’s genuine, “who am I kidding though? I always thought you were attractive, but I just didn’t want to accept nor admit in the beginning. loser behaviour on my part, sorry.”

his hand leaves yours and his knuckles brush your cheek lightly, “so I want to lay it out now: I, the one only gojo satoru, am in love with you, and I don’t think that will change—ever to be honest.”

his chest feels lighter, much lighter. turns out that talking about everything that bothers you and letting it all out does help, who would’ve thought?

he feels something pinch his arm, “HEY! THE HELL?—“

“fucking coward, you were waiting for me to be unconscious to say that?”

satoru gives you no time to say anything else as he latches onto you. he buries his face in your hair and lets out a shaky breath.

he doesn’t cry right now, but he does feel his heart bursting in his chest.

“ow, ow, ow, ow,” you hurriedly say and he quickly softens his hold on you with a small mumble of a ‘sorry’.

he pulls back with a pout, “you were awake all of that time and didn’t even say anything? that is so mean!”

“I gotta make you suffer for everything you made me go through,” you cheekily reply and he whines. you flick his forehead, “you still have things to make up for so don’t think I let you off the hook, completely.”

he laughs it off and grins, “so do you at least feel the same way?”

you smile and shrug, “who knows?”

“hey now, i laid my heart out here—“

panda smashes through the door, “I HEARD Y/N SPEAK!” he gasps when he sees you waving, “Y/N IS AWAKEEEE!”

“Y/N-SENSEI!” you hear nobara and yuuji wail before they tackle you in a hug, knocking their teacher out of their way, “WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH! GOJO-SENSEI IS SUCH A LOSER TO BE AROUND!”

“at least wait until I get out or something,” he grumbles but quickly smiles when he hears you chuckle.

“ooo, down bad,” panda teases and gojo nods, proudly.

maki, toge, and megumi finally enter. maki grins, “welcome back!”

megumi walks towards you, ignoring everyone else and hugging you, “I was…worried you wouldn’t make it.”

you knock on his head lightly, “hey, don’t underestimate me and I missed you too.”

megumi pulls back, cool as ever then looks at his friends who are all still shocked from what they just saw.

gojo just chuckles, “didn’t you guys know that y/n and megumi are pretty close? it makes me jealous sometimes.”

you ruffle megumi’s hair, giggling, “my little boy.”

he sighs, pink coating his cheeks, and looking away.

gojo pulls him back by the scruff—they’re like cats you note. then gojo gets close to you and with a snap teleports you somewhere.

you look around, cherry blossoms and flowers.

you’re in kyoto.

you raise an eyebrow, “really now?”

he is wearing a hat-sized flower on his head, “I have to go all out; plus, I was never one for mundane, things!”

he is quiet for a moment, “I am sorry for everything.”

“it will be okay,” you softly say.

it’s a start so he will take it.

he looks at you intently, a smile plastered on his silly (pretty) face.

you deadpan, “I am not kissing you with that flower thing on your head.”

he pouts, “y/nnnnn!”

“no!”

he pulls you closer and starts tickling you, “always so mean! won’t even give me a chance!”

you squeal with laughter and try to push him away, “let me go!”

he smirks, evil man, “never!”

you both calm down after a moment. you look at him with a smile.

you press a quick peck to his lips and look away, a little embarrassed, “that’s all you’re getting.”

he chuckles and the grin never leaves his face.

“so you did kiss me with the ‘flower thing’ on my head.”

“oh shut up.”

“shut me up yourself,” he smirks and you roll your eyes.

in the end, he was the one who had to wait; if it was up to him, the wait was really worth it.

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copyright © tender-rosiey

do not copy or plagiarize or you will be reported

[arcanarix]

Fated Divergence, Ch. 3 // Yandere! Suguru Geto X Non-Sorcerer Darling

AO3 (+ prev. chapter)

When Satoru examined the parking deck, he sensed a surge of overactivity from low grade curses. Many which he could exorcise himself in practically nanoseconds. He recognized a few—and he knew that Geto had visited here, after all.

Hospitals were already a breeding ground for curses, but there had to be some other trick of Geto’s sleeve. There needn’t any reason to add more chaos here.

When he saw him with you, he wondered what Suguru could want, because on the surface, you didn’t seem like anyone who stood out.

Until he met you the other day, of course, because even he couldn’t deny, he sensed some kind of power dormant within you. Not cursed energy, or anything of the sort… in fact he didn’t have a word for it. The power coming from you felt like a purity, something untouched, untainted even from the horrors you must face as a nurse here and in general as a human being. Perhaps Geto sensed that as well, because above all nothing got the guy’s dick harder than a powerful tool.

Somehow he doubted Geto wanted you for a tool, though; it didn’t seem so.

Maybe not in the traditional sense.

“What’s your game, Suguru?” he mused out loud as he exorcised a demon just before him, one that Geto unleashed himself. He paused, glancing over at a car that he recognized had severe damage to the rear-end of it. Tilting his head, he inched closer.

That didn’t look like damage from a typical accident…  upon further inspection, the bumper had some indentations, like something bit it.

…and then he noticed a cursed spirit attached to the roof of the car, inside.

Grumbling, he managed to absorb that one as well.

“Gojo?”

He turned on his heel, and found you, with a dumbfounded expression on your face.

“Uh, yeah, we still don’t know who did that.” You gestured to the damage to your car. “I’m taking it to the shop tomorrow to get it repaired.”

So, it was your car then.

“Ah. Sorry, I guess I let curiosity get the better of me,” Satoru replied, adjusting his blindfold. “You already done for the day?”

You shook your head. “Nah, I’m just on break.”

Satoru grinned, resting his hand against your car like he owned it. “Oh, yeah? So, what do you do on break? Surely not to chat it up with beautiful men like me?”

Oh, he hoped you bought into the act. He knew how to play it cool when necessary.  

You eyed him with a hint of confusion before glancing down at what you held in your hands.

“Hide in my car from people and eat my lunch…”

He glanced at your bento box, and then back at the car, and then back at you, who looked drained as hell from a tough shift that wasn’t even over yet for you. His face fell.

He could take a hint!

Sort of…

“Oh, well then pardon me for intruding on your alone time. I was just exploring.”

“Right,” you remarked, your tone incredulous while taking out a slip of paper and scribbling something down. “If you wanted my number, you could just ask instead of doing all of this extra shit.”

He stared for a moment, a little befuddled. Did he expect more resistance? Maybe a tad.

Well, he did need your number, but not for the reasons you were possibly thinking.

Even if you were beautiful. He knew better than to do anything. Even now, he wasn’t about to meddle in his ex best friend’s love life.

Not unless he had to save you from a gruesome fate—being in Suguru’s radar was already a prescription (heh, he couldn’t help it) for disaster.

He felt a certain responsibility toward you, just like he still felt a responsibility for Suguru. Suguru wasn’t himself anymore by a longshot—even what he preached now didn’t align with what he believed in once before.

It was almost like putting young teenagers on the front lines to do an adult’s job was damaging to a young brain. Now Suguru became a shell of himself, a slave to the negative emotions he consumed from humans.

Realizing he was still staring at you, he adjusted himself. No need to make this situation more awkward for either you or him than it already became.

“Sorry,” he replied with a bashful smile, rubbing the back of his head as he accepted the slip with his free hand. “Well, that was easier than I thought it was going to be. You don’t seem like the type of lovely lady who impresses easy.”

You snorted. “You thought correct. I was half expecting you to reject me because you were taking so long to say something.”

“No! Of course not. Who could pass someone like you up?” He waved as he gave you some space. “Well, stay safe, alright?”

Stay safe? Seriously? He berated himself in his mind as he retreated, refraining from wanting to smash his head into something. Wouldn’t that just spike her anxiety up even more…?  

-- -- -- -- --

Peaceful sleep didn’t come to you that night.

You woke up in cold sweats, panting as you tried to remember you were safe then. Whatever you dreamed about, it couldn’t hurt you. But what you saw… it felt too real, yet you didn’t want to believe in this spiritual whoo-whoo shit. Not until you had enough evidence, because you weren’t about to fall for this shit.

Still…

It felt like numerous eyes from a monster glared back at you, and while you tried to sleep, it felt like hands roamed all over your body, exploring your most intimate parts.

Sleep paralysis? This didn’t feel like sleep paralysis at all.

But somehow you still didn’t believe in whatever horse shit Suguru Geto and the sort of people he attracted believed in.

You sighed, laying back in bed, pondering your options.

Then incessant buzzing of your phone had you jump in your spot.

At this hour? You glanced at the time on your lock screen. It’s 3AM…

Gojo: Hey. It’s Satoru Gojo. 😎

Oh, right. You’d given him his number. Maybe you were hoping for something to come out of this, but you doubted anything would. You idly wondered what he looked like without his blindfold on—he seemed full of it when it came to his appearance, so he better be able to back up those claims.

Smiling in spite of everything, you texted him back.

You: Hey, Gojo. Can’t sleep?

Gojo: eh, my bedtime’s not for another hour

You did a double take at the time.

You: you sleep at 4AM?

Gojo: and get up at 7 🫡

You: you in the military or something?

Gojo: in a way, but no

Gojo: hey listen, be careful around suguru

You quirked an eyebrow at that. Again with the cryptic bullshit? You had little patience for it but decided not to pry.

You: I don’t really trust the guy anyway?

Gojo: good. He’s more dangerous than you think, alright? If you need anything, call me

You: thanks, gojo

You eventually managed to get some sleep.

You decided you’d endure those nightmarish ghouls for now.

-- -- -- -- --

“Your patient died,” Mei announced as you entered the clinic the next day. The toll last night’s broken sleep took on you was evident—deeper set bags under your eyes, your face looked pale, like you’d just seen explicit horrors you couldn’t describe. Which wasn’t far off.

You glanced up at her, perking an eyebrow.

“Which one? I treat every patient on this floor,” you reminded her.

She froze, unsure of how to approach the matter, clearly.

“The young girl, Asuka Tanaka. The one who was supposed to be discharged today.”

Your eyes widened as the realization dawned on you, and you wanted to deny it.

“She was perfectly healthy!” you reasoned, and you tried to shake off the emotion from your tone, but you couldn’t. Why that little girl and not any of your patients on the verge of dying, anyway? That would have been at least easier news to break to their families, but how would their parents react to their perfectly healthy daughter dying when she was suppsoed to go home?

“We know,” she sighed. “We don’t understand what happened. One of our other nurses found her… and it was…”

“What happened to her?” you demanded.

“We don’t understand. Not fully,” she replied, tone steady and careful. “But it looked like someone came to…”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes, unable to listen or even make out what Mei was telling you, but you knew better than to get too emotional in the workplace. You had no choice. You always delivered this type of news to patients and patients’ familiies every damn day, but why did this feel so sudden to you?

“Do her parents already know?” you found yourself asking, as your lower liip quivered. That poor girl was barely 6 years old.

“Yes, they came in this morning to pick her up…”

“Oh God,” you sighed, trying to steel yourself from these emotions. You had a shift to finish first before you could fully process what happened. This was just part of it all, unfortunately.

“We’ll have dinner soon this week, yeah? On me.”

You smiled, having turned off your emotions for now. Came with the profession. “Sounds good. Thanks.”

“So wait,” Mei began, and you paused, becknoning her to continue. “Who was that guy you spoke to the other day?”

“Still so invested in my love life? At a time like this?”

Mei couldn’t help but sigh.

“Listen! Mine is nonexistent so I’m living vicariously through yours. Forgive the abrupt change of topic, but I just wanted to know, and perhaps it’ll serve as a distraction for you too.”

You pursed your lips. Typical Mei, all about the gossip.

“He was just asking me about Crazy Cult Man.”

“Is he a wanted man, or something? Well… in some cases, that’s true,” Mei hummed, “Lots of people joined that cult just because he’s hot.”

You shrugged. “Like Hell if I know. That guy just kept warning me away from him, but it’s not like I’m interested.”

“Damn, if you’re not, do you mind sharing with me?”

You groaned at her antics, rubbing your temples. Way too early for this shit!

“Mei!”

“Can you blame a girl for trying?” she pouted those pretty red lips of hers. If Mei had a little more confidence, she could get any guy she ever wanted.  

“You’re impossible.”

She shrugged. “You love me anyway.”

“Alright, you doofus. I’ll see you later.”

You had to put on your big girl pants and finish the rest of this goddamn shift. You had some new patients come in from last night, something about a lot of vomitting and nausea and a whole other plethora of symptoms that didn’t point to anything untreatable, at the very least.

What you didn’t expect to find as some new patients was two twin girls sharing a room, having fallen ill. Those two girls whose caretaker happened to be—

“—Suguru? What a…surprise to see you here.” No, you weren’t all that surprised. But you were surprised to find that he really did take care of twin girls, and it wasn’t just an act.

��Ah, I didn’t think I’d run into you again so soon,” Suguru replied. “It seems that my girls got some food poisoning from that bakery, so we had to take them here.”

Those two girls didn’t look too pleased to be here from their expressions. They looked fearful, but you figured that was expected. Nobody liked being in the hospital, even for something as typical as food poisoning. That and they still seemed young, teenagers at most, and everything about the hospital seemed scary.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” you replied, surprised that you could keep an even tone. “The doctor will be here soon, but judging by the severity of the food poisoning, it looks like your girls are going to be here for a few days.”

The twin with the brown hair glanced at Suguru. “That bites…”

“I told you not to eat too many of those Danishes,” he chastisted like a stressed out father would. You would smile at the scene if you didn’t know what sort of person Suguru was. Which you only had an idea, but that was enough to go off of for you.

“They were too good to pass up, Geto!” The other twin, who had blonde hair, replied.

“We’re sorry, Geto,” the blonde twin added.

“It’s alright, Nanako. I just hope you’ve learned your lesson this time around. We can’t keep losing money to things like this.”

Hospital bills definitely aren’t a joke, you mused to yourself. Even for someone as rich as Geto.

“So you already know this person, Geto?”

“Yes, Mimiko. She’s also fond of those Dansihes you both like so much.” It sounded like he was trying to sell them on the idea of you. Suguru glanced at you while he was speaking to his twins, and you felt something churn in your stomach. You swore you wanted to vomit yourself right then; something about his presence overwhelmed you, overstimulated you in the worst way.

He frowned, sensing your discomfort. With an all knowing glint in his eyes, he spoke up.

“Having nightmares lately, my dear?”

You froze.

“How did…?” you trailed off, feearing the answer.

“You look exhausted fighting it off,” he explained. He observed what was around you, the same way Gojo did when you met him. So there were things going on around you? You didn’t believe in this stuff, but if it was going to help you…

“You felt like numerous eyes were looking upon you. You woke up in cold sweats. Do you want me to help?”

You stared blankly at him. “Are you saying you can do something about this?”

“I can put it all to rest. Just leave it to me.” He glanced at the twins. “Watch closely, my loves.”

Within seconds, you felt your exhaustion vanish into thin air as he acted as though he absorbed something from you.

“Let me know if you sleep better tonight.”

You didn’t know how to react.

 “Alright. Well, let’s focus on your twins’ recovery.”

You glanced out the door to find the doctor down the hall.

“She’s almost here,” you continued. “I’ll step out for her.”

“I must get going, my loves,” Suguru announced, planting a kiss to the crowns of both of their heads. “Be nice to those treating you. Should everything go well, you’ll be back home by tomorrow at the earliest.”

He followed you out the door as the doctor stepped into that room.

You turned around. “Yes?”

“I’d very much enjoy if you stopped by the temple sometime. The girls are eager to get to know you. I saw it on their faces.”

“Th-that’s very kind of you to offer, Suguru, but—!”

He raised a hand to stop you, and you knew better than to test his patience.

“I insist, darling. I’d love for you to come after the girls feel all better from your clinic’s top-notch treatment. Them getting sick felt like the perfect opportunity to take them here even if I could treat them at home.”

“I don’t recommend that at all. If it was a mild case of food poisoning, then perhaps, but—!”

“—I believe you’re just the nurse here, darling. We’ll see what the doctor orders.”

No man alive was ever allowed to talk to you like that. You swore you felt a nerve snap, but you refrained from showing too much emotion. You doubted you could do much to deter or intimdate him, anyway.

“Might I have your phone for a moment?”

You knew better than to reject him. You offered your phone with a new contact page open for him to enter.

“Thank you, my dear. I sent a text to myself so I got yours as well.” He flashed his own phone.

Fantastic… you thought, biting back a sigh.

“We'll see you tomorrow, then."

“Very well. Until tomorrow, darling.

-- -- -- -- --

The night fell silent. You relaxed in your bed, focusing on your breath work. It was part of a therapy exercise you learned some time ago, something to help calm your nerves and help you sleep.

Something you so desperately needed.

Unfortunately, your quiet time was interrupted by your text message notification.

Groaning, you swiped your phone from the nightstand and saw who it was from.

Gojo: hey, just checking in

You: hey. I could be better for sure

Gojo: what’s up?

You: we lost a young patient today. No more than 6 years old.

Gojo: god, that’s terrible. What happened?

You: no one really knows, honestly.

Gojo began to call. You answered with a defeated sigh.

“Hey. Figured hearing a voice would be better than measly text,” he greeted over the line.

You giggled, your voice dripping in sarcasm. “My hero.”

“Feel free to call me that all you want!”

You giggled again. He was actually kind of funny.

“Are you going to be okay?” His tone seemed genuinely concerned.

“I will be. I’m just so sad for her.”

“You never get used to it, huh? The loss.”

“Not at all,” you replied. “Doesn’t matter what anyone says about professions like these.”

“I can definitely understand. Hey, like I said, I’m a call away.”

“Hey, wait, Gojo…” You bit your lip. Should you say anything at all?

“What’s up?”

“Geto came by the hospital today too.”

A pause. A long, uncomfortable pause. That same churning feeling in your stomach returned. Weren’t you supposed to say something?

“He did?”

“Yeah, his twins got sick with food poisoning,” you explained. “They’re still there.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

Should you keep going?

“He… he kept inviting me to his temple.”

“Don’t go,” he replied a little too quickly. You paused this time. Of course not. Why the hell would you ever want to go there?  

“I know,” you assured him, sighing. “But… if he really is as dangerous as you say, what if he tries something?”

“I’m here,” he told you, tone gentle and confident—like he appeared to be. “Don’t worry.”

“You’re laying it on real thick, Gojo,” you found yourself saying while chuckling.

“Hey, I’m just happy to help those in need.”

You couldn’t help the smile on your face.

“Thanks for checking on me, Gojo. But enough about me. How are you?”

You spoke on the phone for a bit, before Gojo had to hang up—something urgent with his job came up, he mentioned, and that he would check up on you later in the week. You fell back in your bed, staring up at the ceiling. He seemed like a genuine guy, but you doubted anything would escalate.

That night, in spite of the terrible day, you slept like a baby. Completely out like a light. No nightmares, no eyes, no creatures, no cold sweats… nothing. It still didn’t mean you believed in any of this; perhaps it was just coincidence. Nothing beyond that.

You weren’t going to seek Geto’s help for anything.

You knew much, much better than that.

-- -- -- --

“Hello, Nanako, Mimiko,” you greeted the next day when it was time to check their vitals.

“Hello,” Mimiko responded in a robotic tone.

“Are we set to go home yet?” Nanako asked, “Hospital stays are so boring!”

You chuckled, “We’ll see if the doctor says you’re ready to go.”

“Awwww,” Nanako huffed.

“You’re so dramatic, Nanako,” Mimiko quipped, “Geto influences you too much with those theatrics of his.”

“Speaking of, did he come to see you today?”

“He’s on his way,” Mimiko responded with a nod. “Geto looks like he really likes you, ma’am.”

“If Geto likes you then we have to like you,” Nanako piped in with an animated expression. “He has great judge of character.”

“Does he now?” you inquired, but you didn’t expect anyone to answer that—mostly talking to yourself.

“Ah! Hello, my loves,” Suguru waltzed in with some bouquets of flowers. “I have bought these for my girls, and a bouquet for you, my love. You seemed like the daisy type?”

Of course he was right about that.

You accepted the bouquet graciously, never mind the tightness you felt in your chest. “That’s kind of you, Suguru.”

You were definitely planning on tossing those straight in the trash.

You set them aside.

“Have you considered my offer, my dear?” Suguru asked, and you froze. You weren’t looking forward to answering this because you weren’t sure how he would handle rejection. You had to do this… smoothly.

As delicately as possible, like you were handling some fine China.

“I’m afraid there’s no room in my schedule right now to visit any time soon.”

“Ah, that is a shame,” Suguru replied with a click of his tongue. “We’ll work things out, I’m sure. The girls are eager to know you more after you treated them. Isn’t that right, my loves?”

The two twins nodded.

“She’s nice,” Mimiko stated. Suguru petted her head.

“Indeed.”

Using his twins as leverage over you? Oh, that was just diabolical.

Once you took the twin’s vitals, you stepped out of their room with your new bouquet in hand, taking it to your office to dump it into the trash. Your heart pounded out of your chest. At the very least, it didn’t seem likely that Suguru would cause any havoc in this setting. But now he had other means to torment you, and he hadn’t tried just yet.

You feared for the worst—and a part of you feared for your life.

[svgvru]

sorry for my messy english because i'm also dying for nanami in the newest chapter. 😭💥😭💥

---

with this i have the small headcanon that he sometimes likes to be quite freakish in bed to get off some steam after work (bcus stress is not good for you!1!) so, the only person he allows treating him like a personal fucktoy and cumdump is m!reader. and m!reader loves it.

. . . ALL I NEED IS MY BODY! MY TIP PINK JUST LIKE SALAMI!

𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈 is a stressed man. you always have to tell him to take breaks and relax even for a moment. hell—he's twenty-seven looking thirty-seven. it doesn't help that he's a sorcerer! his shoulders are all tense and rough, your sure if he did go get a massage they'd believe he was a stone wall. a combination of gojo's irritating tendencies and exorcising curses was a lot for him.

normal methods of stress relieving don't work—whether it be squeezing a ball, that he always breaks, or exercising . . . it never works. and he doesn't want to end up like shoko. one time he found three packs of cigarettes in her office "in case she ran out," which she often does. what other way to healthy relieve some stress like sex? as you always say, "stress isn't good for you!"

he'd never allow someone else to treat him like this. he'd never allow someone to touch him like this.

but he can't exactly think about that can he? loves having sex with you. its the one time can finally shut his brain off. he can finally relax, no longer having to act like this big strong man who needs to save others. he's simply taking your cock like he should! when let you finally fuck him dumb, that's when he's really found heaven. your cock flunging in and out of him without a break.

he can hear the sticky slaps of his skin to yours, loads of cum ticking to the both of you. normally, he'd be upset by the mess. but as of right now, he can't so much as think! so go ahead, use him as a cumdump, squeeze and grope his body, take the stress away from him as you gain your satisfaction.

all you need is his body, all he needs is yours.

didn't know if u wanted this to be super long or anything. this is just a thirst 😅

[direwombat]

Havent seen any wips today so im just gonna go ahead and post what i slammed out last night

Tagged last week by @kittiofdoom

Tagging @socially-awkward-skeleton, @adelaidedrubman, @detectivelokis, @baldurrs, @strangefable, @fourlittleseedlings, @confidentandgood, @sstewyhosseini, @purplehairsecretlair , @roofgeese, @funkypoacher, @poetikat, @aceghosts and anyone else with something to share (but also no pressure!)

Here's a fully self indulgent scene from MUCH later on in kneeling at the crossroads where jacob officially falls in love with syb. Brief context is that he found her in a near hypothermic state in the woods and took her back to the closest cabin. this takes place after her body temperature is back up to (mostly) normal

In the few minutes it takes for Jacob to go out to the shed to retrieve more firewood, Sybille has pulled on a set of the cabin’s previous inhabitants clothes and has gone to work raiding their pantry. Between the rabbits Jacob had caught the previous night before he found her shivering on the ground and the mason jars of vegetables she finds in the cupboards, she has enough to make a halfway decent rabbit stew. Throwing on an apron, she clears the counter and begins skinning and gutting the rabbits.

She doesn’t look up from her butchering when Jacob walks back through the door, a stack of chopped and dried wood tucked under his arm. The heavy thuds of his bootsteps stop abruptly and the door clatters shut behind him. “You should be in bed,” is all he says.

She looks up, glaring at him as she rips the fur from a rabbit's body, perhaps a bit more violently than she intends. The tremor in her bones has yet to subside, but she’ll be damned if she sits aside like a helpless waif while Jacob does all the work.

“You ain’t a nurse and I ain’t a child to be taken care of,” she says. Her attention focuses back to the dead animal as she slides a short-bladed poultry knife across its belly, mindful not to pierce the intestines. “B’sides,” she continues, pulling the guts from its abdomen, “if I have to eat another thing straight from a goddamn tin can, I swear to God, Jacob, I will riot.”

For a long moment, the only sound filling the cabin is the squelching as she thoroughly disembowels the animal. Blood and viscera cover her hands, and when she realizes Jacob hasn’t moved from where he stands, rooted by the front door, she clenches her jaw and glares at him once more.

And just for a moment, the sharpness to her gaze falters. The way he’s looking at her isn’t one she’s seen before. Hunger, lust, anger -- she’s seen all sorts of dark and sordid things burning in his eyes during her many, but brief, encounters with him. But what swims behind that unwavering glacial stare is beyond her comprehension. Were it worn by anyone else, she might have called it gentle or soft.

But Jacob Seed is not a soft or gentle man. She’s fucked him and walked away with bruises and an ache in her hips often enough to know.

Her canines flash dangerously. “You got somethin’ to say?” she snaps.

“No,” he says shortly, and he turns away, moving towards the fireplace with stilted steps. She scoffs and rolls her eyes, but she can’t help but notice the way the tips of his ears glow a bright pink.

It must still be cold outside.

He restokes the fire, and she’s grateful for the heat that quickly blossoms through the living space and kitchen. The chill had returned to her fingers, but as the fire warms and as she kicks on the gas stove to begin cooking, the trembling subsides. She throws butter into a cast iron skillet to brown the meat while sautee-ing a medley of vegetables in even more butter in an old and well loved Dutch Oven. The wafting aroma of garlic, onions, and cooking meat swirls around the cabin, and while her stomach growls loudly, for the first time in weeks, she’s actually excited for her next meal.

Even more so when she finds fresh thyme growing in the window box above the sink.

She busies herself, cleaning as she goes to keep the mess to a minimum and giving the pot the occasional stir after she’s dumped all the ingredients into the stock. All the while, she hums old French songs from the records her maman used to play.

Things feel…normal. Like if she closes her eyes, she can pretend she’s back in that little house in Falls End and it’s her brother sitting on the couch. He would come up behind her and sneak a bite. She’d whack him on the hand with the wooden spoon, but then they’d both laugh -- Dear God, when was the last time she laughed?

But that little nagging voice -- the one that won’t let her have nice things; the one that keeps her alive -- reminds her that things aren’t normal. The man sitting on the couch isn’t her brother. The man sitting on the couch has repeatedly hurt her and the ones she’s sworn to protect. She wipes her hands on her apron and looks at him, just barely making eye contact before he swiftly averts his gaze to stare at fire dancing on the logs.

Things aren’t normal. Things aren’t ever going to be normal again.

But maybe…maybe here in a cabin tucked away from the rest of the world, she can pretend for just a while longer.

She gives the pot another stir, testing its thickness. It’s a little on the watery side, but well within an acceptable range for something nice and hearty. Bringing the spoon to her lips, she gives it a taste as well. Her eyes roll back into her skull and the moan she lets out is embarrassingly orgasmic. Jesus Christ, it’s been so long since she’s had a hot meal.

And then, without thinking, she calls Jacob over. “Hey,” she yells over her shoulder. “Get your ass over here.”

There’s a beat of hesitation before there’s the sound of a body lifting off a leather couch. Jacob awkwardly ambles into the kitchen, coming to stand on the other side of the island counter.

Choosing to ignore the strange distance he left between them, she dips the spoon into the pot, scooping up some stew before holding it out to him. A ritual leftover from her life before the Reaping. One inherited from her maman. “Here,” she says. “Tell me what you think.”

He stares at it, steam rising up from the chunks of meat and carrot. Then, his eyes flick to hers, meeting them with an equal intensity.

She scoffs. “I ain’t poisonin’ you, if that’s what you’re worryin’ about. You know I’d stab you in your front.” She pushes the spoon closer towards him. “C’mon.”

Slowly, he circles around the counter and stands in front of her. His eyes dart between the spoon and her face just for a moment before he’s tentatively brushing his fingers over her hand where it grips the handle. Rough calluses drag against the comparatively softer skin of the back of her hand leaving sparks in its wake. Her breathing hitches and heart flutters peculiarly -- fear instinct, she tells herself; he could so easily break her wrist if he wanted.

But he doesn’t.

His hand settles over hers, dwarfing it completely. Nice and warm, like it belongs there. He leans down, eyes falling shut as he brings his mouth to the spoon’s bowl. She never noticed how long his eyelashes were. His lips smack wetly against the wood and she holds her breath as he draws back. His eyes remain closed as he chews, thoughtfully savoring every single flavor he possibly can.

Her heart thuds in her chest and she’s sure he can feel it where he holds her hand. She looks at him expectantly and when he finally swallows and opens his eyes, that strange look he had given her before is back.

“Well?” she asks, swallowing thickly.

“It’s, uh…” he coughs awkwardly and snatches his hand away. “It’s good.”

Sybille lifts her brows. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he grunts.

That breath she’d been holding releases, but her heartbeat has yet to slow. “Good,” she says, turning away, submerging the spoon back into the stew and hiding the flush crawling up her neck. “Because you’re helping me eat it. And if you add salt or pepper, I will be offended.” She gives him a quick glance from the corner of her eye, finding him looking adorably uncomfortable. “I’m kidding.”

Her lips quirk up. “Mostly.”