#I sent off the other one I finished and now i'm solely working on this current one so hopefully it won't take too long

[derelictheretic]

okay i've drafted a post for the chibi headshot kofi comms, I'll schedule it to post sometime in February so that gives me time to finish this current comm 😤

[nekomamiiz]

third time's a charm

kuroo x fem!reader

wc: 4k

warnings: 18+, post time-skip!kuroo, husband!kuroo, various pet names in place of y/n, domestic vibes, mentions of ovulation and pregnancy, masturbation (f), some spit, oral (f receiving), lots of teasing, soft dom kuroo, some nipple play, heavy breeding, impreg, multiple orgasms/creampies... it gets really wet, hot and messy, cockwarming, my extremely poor writing skills!

a/n: weeeee i'm out of hiatus.. sort of... this is just a lil something i was messing with before my break. finally after 2 years i finished it lol. anyway,, this is pure smut like barely any plot besides kuroo putting a baby in you and extremly self-indulgent but i hope yall enjoy it!! big thank you to @retrofang for beta reading some of this bad boy and the entire server for putting up with me heheh! likes and reblogs are always greatly appreciated. thank you for reading <3 kiss kiss

banner and dividers by @/cafekitsune

After months of carefully calculating, tracking, and monitoring your cycle, the time has finally arrived.

Ovulation week.

You quickly text your husband when you receive the notification on your app. The little chime went off before you left the house for work. It must really be perfect timing, and he immediately replied. 

Tetsurou <3 — I’m on my way back home. Don’t leave yet and call out for today.

— Actually, go ahead and put in your vacation request now. I’ll be there soon. 

Your reply was a simple heart emoji. You’d get yourself relaxed and ready while you wait for him. 

There wasn’t much to do. You had already showered this morning and made the bed before ‘leaving’ for work. As soon as Kuroo sent that text, you put your comfortable house clothes on and lit a few candles around the bedroom. The only thing left to do now is prepare yourself.��

So, that’s what you did. 

About half an hour later, Tetsurou walks through the front door of your home. He slips his shoes off, then his coat and that’s when he hears it—a soft and needy whimper of his name. 

As he pushes through your bedroom door, his eyes find your body already glowing with a sheen of sweat and so beautifully spread out on the edge of the bed. He licks his lips at the sound of your cute little moans and the slight squelch of your pussy. 

It all sounds so wet. 

You have two fingers inside yourself, stretching and stroking the walls of your perfect cunt, offering Kuroo the perfect view. His breath hitches at the sound of your moans becoming louder now that your eyes are solely on him, and his mere presence is enough to make your body shiver with desperation.

“Tetsurou,” you whine his name as your fingers pick up their pace in stimulating your sensitive pussy. Now leaking with a desire to have him buried inside you. 

Kuroo’s eyes trail down your body. He watches closely at how your chest heaves, how you twist your wrist so your fingers can reach the right spot inside, and how you whimper when you can barely get there. You’re putting on a show just for him, and he eats up every second of it. 

“Fuck, baby. Look at you,” he quietly groans at the lewd sight presented to him. 

He’s already palming himself through his slacks, using his other hand to remove the buttons of his shirt. He’s not in any rush, simply relishing the sight of you building yourself up to release, but you both know it’s not enough. The way you writhe and squirm on your shared bed has his body temperature rising, and he can see your want for him dripping out and onto the sheets below you, making such a pretty mess that he can’t wait to clean up. 

“You’re so fucking wet, baby girl,” he says as he steps out and away from his pants, kicking his boxers to the side. “Were you getting yourself ready for me?” he asks with a slight pout on his lips. 

You nod your head as one of your hands quickly finds its way to your breasts, kneading at the sensitive skin and pinching your nipples between your fingers. Another whine escapes you at the added stimulation; add the sight of Kuroo fully undressed in front of you, spitting into his hand and stroking his cock—your mind quickly spirals. 

Kuroo settles on his knees at the foot of the bed, licking his lips as he stares down at all the slick collected between your thighs. He wastes no time leaning down in front of your aching pussy, and he smirks at the way you continue to desperately fuck yourself with your tiny little fingers. 

“Gonna let me taste,” he asks softly, looking up at you through the valley of your breasts. 

Your face is sweaty, and that faraway look in your pretty eyes is making itself more noticeable. Kuroo knows you're about to cum, and it's a face he loves to see. 

With another simple nod of your head and a quiet ‘yes,’ Tetsurou gets to work. 

He spreads your legs further apart and tosses them over his shoulders, tugging softly on your hips so you can be closer to him. His actions rip an excited squeal from your mouth, followed by your sweet giggles. 

You continue playing with your pussy, only tracing soft circles on your clit. Kuroo smiles at all the wetness collected on your fingers and takes hold of your wrist to remove your hand. He licks his lips before popping your glistening fingers in his mouth, sucking down all of your sweet juices and humming at the taste of you.

“Taste so fucking sweet for me, baby,” he coos while kissing your wet fingertips. 

He’s looking at you with eyes so full of love as he continues worshiping your body, kissing your hips and inner thighs. He groans when he sees more slick dripping out of you, biting down on your thigh and devouring the sight of your perfect cunt clenching around nothing. 

He needs to be inside you right now, but he also can’t help teasing you with his tongue for a bit longer. He licks a long, heavy stripe up your sensitive folds, groaning at the taste of you and how your entire body shudders beneath him. In this position, you’re at his mercy, his hands only holding your hips in place while you scratch and squeeze at his forearms from the intense pleasure he’s giving you with his mouth.

Kuroo chuckles against you, finding it so cute how you buck your hips in search of him. He’s already nibbling on your clit the way you like. What more could you possibly want? 

“What’s wrong pretty girl?” he asks, placing a soft, wet kiss on your clit. “Not enough for you?”

You whine at his question. He knows the answer, but he wants to hear you say it and the need in your voice. 

“Want you inside me, Tetsu,” your words come out as a needy whisper, mewling in ecstasy as his fingers trace little circles on your thighs. 

Tetsurou hums in satisfaction before he dives back into your aching center. He teases your entrance with his tongue, poking the wet muscle in and out while he presses down on your clit with his thumb. He can feel the way you shake under him, your thighs quivering when he adds more pressure to your bundle of nerves. So close. 

His gaze trails upwards, admiring every dip and curve of your body until he lands on your beautiful face. He finds your eyes already focused on his every movement, your brows pinched in an expression of pure pleasure, and your mouth parted in a silent moan. 

You trap his head between your thighs, back arching off of the bed as your body vibrates from your first release. He greedily slurps down whatever you have to offer, moaning and growling into your sensitive pussy, allowing your orgasm to rip through your body in soothing waves. 

The look in your eyes is slightly distant—Kuroo thinks—and he still hasn’t bred you the way he wants. He’s not unfamiliar with your increased sensitivity during this time, but it’s far too early for you to be this stimulated.

“I’m not even finished with you yet, beautiful, and you’re already lookin’ so fucked out,” he teases, voice sweet yet equally rough. 

He crawls up the bed, pressing kiss after hot kiss on your skin as he makes his way face to face with you, large arms cradling either side of your head. His cock is ready and burning hot as it bobs against your lower lips, causing you to hiss at the slight overstimulation. You feel a few beads of precum fall and drip onto you as he captures your lips in a near-violent kiss. His intent seeps into your mouth, and he silently declares what he’s always promised. 

“You’re going to look so fucking beautiful when you have my babies growing inside you,” he says, low and slightly out of breath. 

The statement shocks you somewhat at his use of plurals, and you return to reality instantly. “One baby at a time,” you pout playfully, kissing him again. 

He pulls away and smiles so wide that it shows in his eyes, “I know. You know what I mean, I just want a big family with you.” He leans back down, placing soft kisses on the side of your neck, laughing through his nose as you smack his bottom. 

Your shared laughter fills the bedroom, the world outside these four walls completely nonexistent as you share sloppy kisses for what feels like hours. However, Tetsurou plans to claim you as if it were the first time all over again, and he wastes no time doing so. 

A warm hand snakes its way down the side of your body, tracing your curves with such care that he almost can’t handle the thought of being too rough with you. He is going to worship you today and ensure every ounce of his love shows in every move he makes and every kiss he leaves on your skin. He reaches between you—using two thick fingers to swipe through your folds—gathering enough slick to lube up his already weeping cock. 

He pumps his fist once and then twice before pressing the tip of his dick onto your clit, causing you to moan in pleasure at such little contact. Using his hand to gently rub his cockhead in figure eights around your pussy, he continues to tease your folds until finally deciding he’s gathered enough of your wetness to press into you—something he has been waiting all day to do. 

With as much time as he spent between your thighs, he is surprised at how tight you always are for him, and you can’t help but whine at the intrusion. His cock is so warm and feels so heavy; you might come undone from this alone. 

Kuroo starts to pump only a third of his length in and out of your quivering hole. Trying so hard to hold back all of his primal urges and working on building you back up again slowly, moaning in your ear as he relishes in the warmth the two of you share. Finally bottoming out inside you, he feels you convulse beneath him. Your arms wrap around his neck, fingers tangled in his mess of hair as you tug slightly at the roots. 

“My fucking god, you feel amazing,” he says, clenching his jaw as if he hasn’t made love to you countless times, as if he hasn’t felt the heaven that resides between your thighs for years before this moment. Testsurou raises his head, looking at you, swiping a thumb across your cheek. “Tell me what you want, my love,” he demands, kissing you and resting his forehead against yours. 

He thrusts, slow and soft, and you spread your legs wider, thinking it would invite him to go faster, but he denies you. 

“I want all your cum inside, Tetsurou. Need you to put a baby inside of me,” you mumble breathlessly against his lips, grinding your hips to try and pick up the pace of his teasingly slow thrusts. “Please, baby,” you beg. 

“Is that all, pretty girl?” he asks, pulling out of you almost entirely and thrusting back in—quick and rough. You moan his name as the lewdest sound of skin against skin echoes throughout the room. One. Two. Three sharp thrusts followed by your sweet cries of ‘yes, yes, yes,’ and it’s then that he begins to fuck you with absolute purpose. 

Your hands have a mind of their own as they travel the expanse of his back, through his hair and back down again, nails leaving red trails on his skin while your thighs slide up and down the side of his body from the rhythm of his thrusts. 

His chest brushes against yours just right, stimulating your nipples and causing you to moan his name. He knows you so well and responds by leaning down, capturing your breast in his mouth as he opens wide and sucks hard, his teeth teasing your peaked nipple as he pulls away. He lingers momentarily, alternating between swirling his tongue and using his teeth to stimulate you. 

With a wet kiss, he pulls away, wrapping his arms around you and leaning back on his haunches as he holds you close. Your chests heave, and your skin slightly sticks together, the slickest part being where the two of you are connected, and he shudders at how quick you are to wrap your legs around his waist. 

“I can’t wait to make you a father,” you say, your eyes locking on his as you mewl from how he fills you in this position. The tip of his cock is surely hitting your cervix, and the familiar throb you feel while he pokes and prods inside has you grinding in circles against him, desperate to meet his thrusts. “You’re going to be an amazing father to our children, Tetsurou,” you whimper as your eyes meet his. 

He groans at your admission, his brows knitting together as he bites his lip in response. Both of his hands find their way to either side of your hips, gripping your skin and lifting you to speed up the pace. Your lips meet in a messy clash, your teeth scrape his tongue teasingly and he begins to unravel just in time with you. 

“I love you so much, angel, and I’m so glad I get to spend the rest of my life with you,” he declares, moaning breathlessly and going up in pitch with each word. “So fucking beautiful,” he rasps out, his lips meeting yours again while his hands dig and squeeze into your skin. 

A few more thrusts and lifts of your hips, and you can feel how close he is. His arms are beginning to tire, but he still hasn’t had enough of you. 

“I can feel you about to cum, Tetsurou. Please give it to me,” you sigh against his lips, locking eyes as you feel him begin to spill his hot load inside. 

“Fuck! You feel so good, baby,” he says as he lays you back down. “I’m still not finished with you yet, my love.” 

This time, he grabs one of the many pillows at the head of the bed, and you instantly know what he has in mind. You instinctively lift your hips, and he gives your ass a soft squeeze before you back settle down, perfectly propped for him to reach deep inside and plant his seed. 

Once you’re both comfortable with the position, he gets back to work, grabbing you by the meat of your thighs and spreading you open. He shivers when he sees a dribble of cum slipping out and down the crack of your ass—this is unacceptable. 

Golden eyes find yours as his fingers swipe up the mess he made. “Can’t waste a single drop,” he says, sucking his lip between his teeth, fucking his cum slowly back into you with his fingers. 

Wet squelches ring through your ears as you focus on his hand pumping in and out of you—the other gripped tight around the base of his cock, edging himself. The rough callouses on his fingers stimulate your gummy walls so well, and he knows what he’s doing to you. 

“Enough with your teasing, Tetsurou,” you huff out in short breaths, reaching down to take hold of his wrist. “Because I’m not finished with you either, my love,” your smirk mirrors his own. Guiding his hand out and up towards your lips, you suck on his wet fingers, moaning at the taste of your combined juices—a little salty but so fucking sweet. 

Laughter once again fills the large room as he moves to hover over you, licking your lips and having a taste for himself. 

“Always so eager,” he chuckles, moving to kiss your neck, sucking softly. 

Rolling his hips back and forth, he slides his length between your folds, tip catching at your entrance two or three times. He still gives you nothing—not yet—because telling him not to tease you only makes him want to do it more. 

As if sensing your annoyance, he gives in, guiding his cock to your entrance once again; he settles back on his knees, pressing inside of you inch by inch. Those skilled hands of his begin sliding up and down your thighs, deciding on gripping your ankles and resting them comfortably on his shoulders. 

The meat of your thighs lay flush against his chest; you can feel the heat radiating off of him along with the sweat that coats his defined abdomen. His large arms wrap around your legs, pulling you flush against him, and you revel in the feeling of his cock finally reaching that deep place inside. 

Kuroo stays there for a moment—perfectly still—kissing your calves, taking a bite here and there. You stare at him in complete awe as he begins to thrust in and out, tip prodding at your cervix each time. His eyes pinch shut, cheek resting against your calf as he loses himself in the feel of your warm walls squeezing him tight.

“Feels good,” you whisper, offering him a sweet smile before biting your lip and tossing your head back onto the plush mattress. You reach out to him, silently asking to hold his hand, and he doesn’t hesitate to intertwine his fingers with yours.

Using your hands as leverage, he speeds up his thrusts, setting a brutal pace as he pulls you in closer and closer, mumbling words of praise through pleasured groans. His cock throbs inside of you, nearing another release, and his balls feel heavy as they slap against your ass with every sharp thrust. 

“Gonna cum again,” he grits out, hips faltering in their rhythm just as he spills his load inside of you for the second time. He chants your name while mumbling ‘fuck’ and ‘yes’ a few times, grinding into you to ensure his cum stays buried just as deep as he is.  

Releasing your hands, he runs his over the skin of your thighs, rubbing and scratching in soft circles. He takes your legs and folds you in half, your ass lifting off the pillow just slightly as he leans into you. His kisses are sloppy and wet, and he grips your thighs like a lifeline as he begins to jackhammer his cock into you. 

Wet squelching becomes the only sound you can register, drowning out his mumbled words of praise. You admire how beautiful he looks, lost in pleasure, eyes raking up and down your body, both of you glistening with sweat. 

He slowly builds you up to another orgasm, your body shaking the closer you get, and your pussy clenches around his cock in a vice grip. You can’t get enough of him, from the way his hands grip your skin so gently, the wild strands of black hair sticking to his forehead, down to the teasing words he showers you with throughout. 

You cum, your body trembling as Kuroo tries to keep you still, his nails surely leaving crescent marks on your thighs. He rises—no longer crowding over you—chest heaving and dripping in sweat. His amber eyes appear darker than ever as he continues to pound into you, overstimulating your pussy beyond what you can handle. 

“Don’t stop, Tetsurou,” you beg, wrapping your hands around your legs, spreading yourself so he can focus on his current task. His hands move to your hips, pulling you closer to meet every sharp thrust. 

“Third time’s a charm, right baby,” he teases, unable to help himself. “Squeezin’ me so fuckin’ tight,” he chokes out, face contorting because he knows you did that on purpose, but he laughs anyway. 

His cock throbs inside of you, eyes zeroed in on that thick creamy ring coating the base of him, and the sight makes him groan—sucking in his bottom lip. There’s so much cum dripping out of you with every thrust in and out, and he fucking loves it. 

“Keep going, baby,” you encourage him, nodding your head when you feel his hips falter in their movement. “Give me everything. I want it all, Tetsurou,” your words come out in broken cries, relishing the sight of him coming undone. 

A few more thrusts and his cum fills you— so warm and thick—thicker than the previous ones. There’s no doubt in either of your minds that this will take; he just has to stay inside a little longer. 

Releasing your grip on your legs, you finally relax, setting your feet back comfortably on the mattress. Kuroo continues to rock his hips slowly, pushing his cum further inside of you, his mind elsewhere as he flits his gaze between your face and your pussy. 

“You look so pretty with my cum inside you, princess,” he nearly giggles, satisfied with his work and the euphoric look in your eyes. “Think we can keep this up for the rest of the week?” he asks, breathless, offering you that same sideways grin you fell in love with years ago. 

This makes you toss your head back, mirroring his laughter and clenching around him with every exhale. You reach your arms out, and he leans back over you, placing several kisses on your chest and neck—his nose brushes against your cheek, waiting for your response. 

“Let’s get some rest first. You look like you’re about to pass out from dehydration,” you say, amused at his shift in demeanor. 

His arms wrap around your frame, rolling you over so you now lay on top of him, fingers tracing invisible words on your back. He is still inside you, keeping his seed nice and warm, not allowing a single drop to escape.

“I made sure to have plenty of water today, and you know I can go for hours when the moment calls for it,” he delivers his statement with one shallow thrust, just enough to rub against that spongy spot inside. 

Too overstimulated to try for another round, you place your palms on his chest, resting your chin on the back of your hands as you admire his features. He plants a few pecks on your forehead before he moves a hand to caress the side of your face, thumb swiping gently on your cheek. His eyes bore into yours as you lay there for a minute or two, taking each other in. 

“You think that was enough?” you ask, nuzzling your cheek deeper into his palm to place a kiss on his wrist.

“If that wasn’t enough,” he looks down, gesturing at the mess of cum between you. “I’ll make sure it will be by the end of the week,” he says reassuringly, leaning in to claim your lips in a kiss. 

After today and the amount of cum dripping out onto the mattress, you do not doubt his ability to put a baby in you. 

The rest of the week continues the very same, and if you thought you’d already made love on every surface of your home before, then you’re wrong. Kuroo finds new places to take you that you never thought imaginable, and his stamina has become endless in his mission to get you pregnant. 

➣

About a month and a half later, you find yourselves hovering over the bathroom sink, waiting for the plastic sticks you arranged in a row to reveal their results. It’s only been a few days since your period was supposed to arrive, but you can’t help being excited at the possibility. 

Minutes pass, and the first stick displays two pink lines, the second and the third following right behind with the same result—you both lean in closer. Tetsurou’s eyes quickly shift between the instructions, the test, and your face. He takes in your expression—shock and absolute joy— and pulls you into a tight hug, lifting you slightly off the ground as happy tears fall from your eyes. 

He kisses your face, setting you back down to leave another on your lips. You hum against him in complete bliss, satisfied with the results of your love. 

Tetsurou pulls away, sporting the cheekiest grin that nearly stretches from ear to ear.

 ��Told you I’d make sure it was enough.”

don't forget to like + reblog and let me know what you think ! love yall <3

[thegodthief]

What do you want to be having conversations about?

(also you should have some or the rest of your ice cream today)

-Sunlight

I keep forgetting the ice cream is still in the freezer! A perfect pint, still sealed and waiting for my indulgence. (sigh)

Honest Confession: I have no idea how to make small talk.

Now that the heat wave in SoCal has ended and we actually have a cloudy and sodden morning, I've been watching the evacuation warnings and orders for the three big fires here slowly being downgraded and rescinded. So there's some good news.

I spent the week going through clutter that I had been putting off for years. After all the paperwork was sorted through, it was 5% keep and file, 5% shred, 90% toss. So much unnecessary stuff that at the time felt critical but in hindsight, was just so much unnecessary stuff. Found some things that hurt to look at, but that's my past, not my present, process and move on.

Old Bitch Advice: You are never too old to put whipped cream on your hot drink. If anything, your age is justification enough.

I want to talk about witchcraft again, but I don't know how. My entry into witchcraft wasn't by books, movies, or by a strange relative with strange amulets and good candy. The path that led me to witchcraft started at a Christian church's altar, and it really does infuriate me to see folks going on about how their witchcraft is not violent or is filled with love for all things so when you see people being different in their witchcraft, they're just being loud for no reason.

The scars on my ribs would like to have a conversation with the hands that would have held me down for the sin of being different. Because it took decades for me to see and understand, but my witchcraft is violent. It is not fueled by the love for all things, but by the love of the self, the love of my self, the fervent desire to live that could not be exorcised from me no matter how diligently the flesh was tested.

It feels like no one wants to talk about that. But a lot of people will throw money at the aesthetic of that. As long as we don't talk about that now, because we're all part of a modern and civilized society.

(deep sigh)

I want to talk about my dreamwork again. I realize that I never will. It's not just that having a full time job now devours much of the time I would have used typing up what happened. It's not just that the only readers will be scraper bots looking for new sources to plagiarize. It's that things have become so complex that even readers from the Before Times (before the lockdowns) would be hard pressed to keep up.

I'm sorry, I'm guessing you sent that ask to cheer me up and to help me connect with others again. And here I am, looking at the barriers I have put up and realizing that I am as much in my own way as the culture I am bitching about.

And I don' t know how to come around that.

Just like I don't know how to beat Shamura's ass (Cult of the Lamb) without taking a hit in the process. I am one achievement away from 100% and that damn spider is getting on my last nerve. I didn't get into the game until after the follower level cap so I missed that chance. Will create a new save file for the sole purpose of snatching that bandage off their head. They are just too strong in post game, so my strategy is to min-max the cult from the start until I get to Silk Cradle, and then I will be subject to the whims of RNG for the perfect combo. Keep that damn blunderbuss away from me, purgatory is for the bishops, not for me.

Back on Etheirys, I have finished the MSQ, but haven't started on any optional dungeons or the Arcadion. I know I have plenty of time, so I've been working on leveling the other classes to 100 instead. All the other classes. I'm not sure if this is a cry for help. As much as Warrior got buffed, Dark Knight got neutered. I didn't understand why the fuss over the changes to Black Mage until a raider explained to me what those changes meant in Savage raiding because the changes to the timing and cooldowns have pretty much scrambled everything.

Once I get my crafting classes up to 100, then I will enter the real endgame for FFXIV: GLAMS!

My apologies for the word vomit. I didn't think anyone would actually ask me anything and I don't know how to respond in a socially adequate way.

(looks out the window)

And now it's too cold for ice cream.

[audrey-carr1]

Do we have any Hetty X reader smut coming our way soon? I read Chapter 3 of Baroness Makes House Calls and now I need more 😂

This took me way longer than I thought! I hope this was worth the wait! Here is 4000 words more or less of pure smutty smut.

If you want more, Prize will more than likely have some in future chapters.

warnings: 18+. MINORS DNI, AU-modern era setting, Hetty x fem!reader,

Read on Ao3 or continue below

"What do you mean my suite has already been checked into? Last time I checked I’m the only Mrs. Woodstone," you say.

"I apologize for the delay Mrs. Woodstone, I promise we will have this situated promptly," The clerk says.

I roll my eyes behind my sunglasses. I'm already tense and tired from extensive travel. While I know it wasn't this person's fault as to why the mishap has happened, I can't help but feel the irritation start to rise. 

"Is there no other suite available? I do not care if it is a standard one at this rate, " I suggest wanting to get off of my feet as soon as possible. I'd sleep on a pull-out couch if that meant I could close my eyes for a moment.

"We are booked solid, Mrs. Woodstone," The clerk says apologetically.

"This is the last time I leave booking a suite with my assistant," I mutter under my breath. I step away from the desk and pull out my phone to see if there are other hotels nearby. 

"You must have terrible staffing if they can't manage to properly book you a suite," I hear a familiar voice from behind me say. 

I quickly whip around to be met by my wife. I almost jump into her arms if it weren't for the two of us being in public. The irritation I felt instantly melts from my body as I see her smile. 

"Hetty! What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Cleaning up what would have been a disaster at one of the franchise offices. I wasn't aware our schedules overlapped otherwise I would have had a key sent down for you," She says pressing a quick kiss to my lips.

It quickly dawns on me, "You checked into my presidential suite!”

"I believe it is mine, but we will see whose card gets charged, and that'll settle this," She says snaking her arm around my waist. She has that mischievous gleam in her eyes that I adore. 

Turning around I go back to the desk and grab the clerk's attention. "Excuse me, I believe the mistake has come from us both being Mrs.Woodstone. I apologize for the trouble,” I explain.

The hotel clerk seems to thank their lucky stars and simply gives me an extra key to the room. The clerk has a bellhop to assist me with my luggage while Hetty and I make our way to the elevator hand in hand. 

“Weren’t you going somewhere if you were in the lobby? I can get to the room myself if you were going to do something,” I say finishing up an email on my phone. 

“And miss precious time with my wife? Absolutely not.” Hetty says. 

I  make a beeline towards the bedroom once we arrive at our suite. I immediately shrug off my trench coat and kick off my heels. I sigh in relief as I balance on one foot and try to rub relief into the other sole of my foot. 

"Long day?" Hetty asks already lying on the bed. 

"Hetty, you have no idea," I groan while wiggling my toes. 

Hetty moves into an upright position, and motions for me to sit on the bed. When I do, she doesn't hesitate to pull my feet into her lap. Her hands instantly get to work massaging the soreness from my feet. I take a moment to take in her appearance. Her hair pulled up in a bun with a few curly pieces framing her face. She wears a dark teal pant suit, and the blazer opens revealing her white button down which she has already undone the top buttons on. “How long are you in town for?” I ask. 

“I check out in the morning, this was a quick turn for me. What about my love?” Hetty responds

“Also a quick turn for me. There is no rest for the wicked,” I say. We both smile at my words. 

 She switches to the other foot and works her fingers into a particular sore spot. I bite my lip to keep myself from making too much noise. 

"Hetty, your fingers know exactly how to make me feel good," I sigh

"That's not the first time you've said that," Hetty says with a smirk.

I blush at the double entendre of my words. Hetty's hands travel from my feet to my ankles.

"Have I ever told you that you have very comely ankles," Hetty says.

"Are you quoting Bodices and Barons in bed?" I ask.

"Maybe," Hetty says her hand continuing upwards. "How about you rid yourself of this dress and I will show you how else my fingers can make you feel good." 

Her fingers dance along the hem of my dress. I tuck my legs to the side of me and lean in to peck a quick kiss to Hetty's lips, "As enticing as that sounds, I am hungry."

"I'm hungry too you know. Practically famished," Hetty purrs. Her voice dropped into her sexy low register. She has that suggestive look in her eyes that on every other occasion would have me jumping out of my clothes and into bed. 

 I feel my body start to react. She begins to lean forward causing me to fall back onto the pillows behind me. She leans over me like a predator over prey before claiming my lips in a searing kiss. 

The kiss doesn’t last long as I pull away before I fall even more under her spell. 

"I am hungry for food," I say catching on to what hunger she was referring to. I slip from underneath her and stand up while I still have the ability to. 

I try not to laugh as Hetty rolls her eyes and huffs in annoyance. "My dear, that is why we have room service. We have other people to do the work for us. Besides I am not letting you walk in those heels after all that work my magic fingers did to fix those little feet of yours," Hetty says 

"Fine, you have my permission to order anything for me. I am going to shower. I need to wash this day off of me," I say turning to leave but Hetty pulls me back in.

“Why are you teasing me like this? First, it was the noises you were making during your massage, and now you want me to wait out here while you shower. We haven’t showered together in months,” Hetty’s head falls into my chest, and I place a manicured hand on top of her head. Her arms wrap around me in an attempt to keep me in place. 

“Are you pouting?” I ask trying to get a peek at her face. 

“I do not pout,” Hetty’s chin now resting on my breast, “But at the moment I am whining. We have not seen each other in over three months. That was in September!”

“We saw each other for Thanksgiving,” I remind her. 

“Do not patronize me, you know exactly what I mean when I say we have not seen each other. We had guests, and no opportunity for any of the ‘seeing’ I would have liked to do. Unless it was you who wanted to be put on the table instead of the turkey,” Hetty says nipping at the skin of my breast.

I gasp as her tongue licks the line of my cleavage, “I apologize for teasing you, but the sooner I shower the sooner we both get what we want.”

“Fine, but do not take forever!” Hetty says releasing me. 

“ I would do no such thing,” I say. 

—----------

As I finish toweling off in the bathroom, I hear the door open and a cart being wheeled into the room. I hear Hetty thank whoever is at the door. Once I know the other person has left, I wrap the towel around myself.  I emerge from the bathroom and smirk when I see Hetty’s jaw tighten in frustration.

 Oh she is more wound up than I thought. 

“Food here?” I ask already knowing the answer. 

Hetty nods not taking her eyes off of my towel, and gestures towards the cart of food. 

“I can’t even wait to get dressed, I want it right now,” I say opening up one of the food trays. I smirk at my choice of words as I watch Hetty close her eyes and take a calming breath.

Hetty clears her throat, “That one is mine, I actually got you this.” She opens the other food tray to reveal your favorite meal. 

“Oh darling you know me so well,” I place a quick kiss on her lips and take my tray into the small dining area of the room. I hear Hetty inhale and then exhale before I hear her footsteps coming towards the room I’m in. 

“I know what you’re up to. I can see it in your eyes,” Hetty says. 

“See what?” I feign innocence before taking a bite of my food. I forgot that I barely had a good meal while traveling today. The flavor of the food caused a moan to escape my lips. This time I did not do that on purpose, but it still has the desired effect.

“If you do not stop that, I will end up bending you over the table and taking you right here,” Hetty says gripping the end of her fork tightly. 

“Promise?” I ask with a head tilt.

 I let my fork linger on my lips before smirking and returning to my meal. Hetty’s eye narrowed, and if looks could kill I would not be laughing at the moment. As much trouble it may cause me, I enjoy getting Hetty worked up like this. Whether she wants to admit it or not, she likes it too. She goes to say something, but she decides not to. Opting to sip her red wine instead. 

We finish our meals, Hetty only eating less than half of hers, before I open our dessert trays revealing our creme brulees. 

“I would like to enjoy dessert before you have your way with me, I believe you are capable of waiting a little longer aren’t you?” I ask. I dip my spoon into my dish breaking the sugar crust and taking a scoop of the custard. I bring the spoon to my mouth and look Hetty in the eyes as I make a show of eating the contents on the spoon. I close my eyes and moan my delight at the taste of my dessert. 

My eyes open when I hear the scrape of the chair against the floor. A blur of what I assume is Hetty makes her way over to me. She takes the spoon from my hand and grabs my wrist. The spoon clatters against the table falling to the floor. She says nothing as she leads me to the bedroom stopping once we stand at the foot of the bed. 

She rips the towel from my body throwing it haphazardly across the room. The unexpected chill of the room caused me to shiver.  One of her hands immediately dives between my legs, the pad of one finger circling my clit. 

“Oh,” I moan. 

“If I were not driven to insanity, I would take my time with you. I’d tease you just as you’ve teased me, maybe even more until I you soaked and weak-kneed,” Hetty says against me. Her breath is hot against me before she gently scrapes her teeth on the side of my throat. 

“You don’t have to tease me, I already am,” I groan as she continues to rub her finger against me. 

Hetty lays a bite against my neck and quickly soothes sharp gestures with a slow lap of her tongue. I shiver again but this time in anticipation and tip my back silently asking for more. 

“Look at you begging, and you were just the tantalizing tease only moments ago,” Hetty says, “Now what if I decided to stop? To leave you aching for my touch.”

Her finger adds a little more pressure but still circles my clit slowly. 

“What if I left you on edge until the next time we are together? You know how our schedules are, it is luck we have this moment, and I will be taking full advantage of it,”

The pressure Hetty had on my clit lightens, and my hips buck searching for more.

“You got me so worked up I could not finish my own desert, but that’s fine. I had something else sweet in mind anyway,”  Hetty says into my ear. 

Her finger dips lower between my legs swirling the wetness she finds at my entrance. My eyes flutter close at the sensation. I bring a hand up to her still-clothed shoulder to steady myself. She removes her hand, and I whimper at the loss. 

My eyes open just in time for me to see her bring her finger to her mouth. She wastes no time enjoying her little treat, sucking on her finger in the most sinful of ways. She moans to herself, and her eyes close for a moment before opening again to eye her prey. She grabs my face pulling me into a kiss. I grasp at her pulling her as far into me as I can. Her clothes scratched against my bare body. I taste remnants of myself and the wine she had for dinner on her tongue. Hetty breaks the kiss but not before nipping at my lower lip. 

“Bed. Now.” Hetty points to the bed. 

Without waiting, I do as told stumbling gracefully on the bed, not breaking eye contact. Hetty’s eyes are dark with arousal. Her chest heaving. She begins to undress herself. Slowly she unbuttons her top revealing a lacy, dark teal bra underneath. My mouth goes dry at the sight I wish she was closer so I can feel the weight of her breasts in my hand. To bury my face in the softness of her cleavage. 

Hetty finishes taking off her blouse and lets it drift down the floor. This whole time her eyes have not left mine, the intense eye contact makes me want to press my thighs together in search of some relief. 

“Spread your legs,” Hetty says.

With no hesitation, I spread my legs, and Hetty smiles.

“To this day I do not which stars to thank for gifting me the utmost, beautiful wife,” Hetty says crawling on the bed.

Hetty’s hands take one of my legs in her hands. She is slow in her movements. Kissing her way up starting from my ankle all the way up to my inner hip. Deliberate and calculated with each kiss, and then repeats the action on the other leg. 

“You smell delightful. I just know you’ll taste even better,” Hetty says.

I try to control my breathing to not give away how much I want and need her. She senses this, and I can her hear mocking me in her head. Oh love, you won the battle but I’m winning the war.

Hetty’s mouth descends on me without warning. 

“Oh fuck!” I gasp.

Her tongue is everywhere at once not allowing me to settle in the feeling of her in one place. Her hands move under and over my legs to better her grip as she drinks greedily from me. 

My fingers thread themselves between her curls, and my nails lightly scrape her scalp, gasping when I feel her responding moan against my sensitive flesh. I gently rock my hips against her mouth but am thwarted when one of her hands comes back around to keep my hips in place. 

“Do not rush me. You will get what you are given,” Hetty says before going back to the task at hand.

Hetty moves to gently suck on my clit before her tongue moves down to my entrance. The stiff muscle teasing me before entering. My eyes roll back. I feel like I might burst, it’s been too long since I’ve had this kind of pleasure. Even my own hand could not bring me to heights that Hetty is able to. 

She removes her left hand from my hips and I feel two of her fingers circling my entrance. She enters me with ease, and my back bows at the pleasure. Her fingers offer a delightful stretch as she slowly pumps her fingers. 

“So wet…so warm… so mine,” Hetty murmurs, punctuating each phrase with a kiss to my sensitive core.

“Yes, all yours,” I slur. My head tossing against the pillows. 

My body feels taut and ready to burst as pleasure ignites every nerve in my body. My mind becomes useless for intelligent thoughts. The only word echoing through my mind. Hetty. Hetty. Hetty. Over and over again. Her fingers curling inside me, and I feel my walls squeeze around her.

I come with her name on my lips. I relax back onto the mattress, biting my lip and breathing harshly through my nostrils. 

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are when you’re coming? It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I want to keep that image lock in my memory, so I’m going to keep doing this until you can’t take anymore. Okay?” Hetty asks. 

I nod. 

“Ah Ah,” Hetty rebukes. Her fingers stop their stroking pulling out until just the very tips of her fingers remain, “Use your words,”

“Yes,” I rush out. 

Hetty smiles that devilish smile. The one where she knows that she got what she wanted, “Good girl.” 

Hetty’s fingers push back into me going a little deeper than before. Her thumb circles my clit in a maddening pattern. 

I manage to fight through the orgasm-induced haze to beg, “Kiss me.” 

She obliges immediately. I nibble at her bottom lip and she parts her lips enough for me to sneak. Our tongues collide, swirling, and exploring the other. I move my hips to her thrusts, easily matching the rhythm she set. Hetty breaks the kiss to watch.

“Look how pretty you look fucking yourself on my fingers,” Hetty chuckles darkly. She looks back up at me. I know that I must look so far gone. 

I whine at the praise feeling myself clench around her fingers. Her fingers find my G-spot and she applies almost the right amount of pressure to send me careening over the edge. 

Hetty loves driving you crazy on purpose to see what would tumble from your lips as you lose yourself in ecstasy. Hetty keeps her fingers pumping at a steady pace, not allowing you a moment of reprieve. Watching as pleasure tumbles over you and washes over your face. Hetty smiles when she feels the telltale sign of your climax. Your spasming against her fingers, and the excess fluid coating Hety’s fingers. Hetty watches as your hands ball into the sheets grasping for purchase. Your hips stuttering while still trying to keep up the pace. 

“Oh, how much I have missed her” Hetty muses to herself.

“Heavens, I wish you could see how beautiful you look. Your eyes glazed over, your luscious lips parted just so. Are you going to come for me? You know you deserve it. With all the hard work you’ve been doing. I bet you haven’t come this hard since we were last together,”

I do not respond, the only sound in the room is the sound of my wetness as her fingers pump into me. Hearing her voice always had this effect on me, and she is more than aware. 

Her fingers stop thrusting, but her thumb continues to rub against my clit. My legs shake in pleasure as I fight to keep them open. It took one more thrust and a calculated swipe against my clit for my back to arch and stars to explode behind my eyes. 

“What a good girl,” Hetty coos in my ear. Her tone is dark and sultry. 

 “Just like that pretty girl. You’re coming so hard for me,” Hetty says. She moves lover to take one of my breasts in her mouth. Sucking and biting on the erected flesh.

“Henrietta!” I cry out. Tears at the corners of my eyes. 

I collapse on the bed exhausted trying to catch my breath. I feel myself throbbing against Hetty’s fingers, and she removes her fingers slowly. Hetty bends down closer to me to kiss me. This one is lighter and softer than the ones before. 

I watch through half-open eyes as she brings her fingers to her mouth once more. Before her soaked fingers can reach her own lips, I quickly grasp her hand and bring the digits to my awaiting mouth. Hetty watches in surprise as I suck her fingers swirling my tongue around them, tasting myself. If I thought her pupils were large before. Now they are blown. I hear her take a steadying 

“I see why you prefer me over dessert,” I say letting her fingers go. 

“How about one more?” Hetty asks. She takes my breast in each hand kneading them. 

Hetty was not one to people pleaser,  but she does have a knack for making sure her wife is pleased in every aspect of life. Especially in the bedroom. 

“Can I have my wife once while I am still of sound mind?” I ask Hetty.

“I can wait,” Hetty says placing a kiss on my breast then taking a nipple and swirling her tongue around it. 

“That’s not fair Hetty!” I whine.

“Oh, now the tease wants to talk about fair?” Hetty asks with a raised eyebrow rather amused. 

“Please?” I ask. 

“And what is that you want?” Hetty asks not sure if she will indulge my request so easily.

“You…on my face,” I say

I watch Hetty’s throat bob as she swallows hard. 

“ I know you want it. I know you must be so worked up,” I tease. My own hands come to breasts. I bring my head up to them. Kissing them, pinching and pulling on her nipples until they stood fully at attention. 

Soon I have Hetty on my face grinding against my mouth. My fingers dig into the flesh of her backside, as I worship her core with my mouth pulling sounds of praise from her lips. I look up at the sight above me. Hetty’s breasts sway freely while one of her hands runs through her hair. I revel in the taste of her coating my tongue and chin with her juices. Her thighs imprison my head as she jerks above me. Her breathing rough and ragged while she thrusts into my mouth. 

“Oh yes darling, just like that,” Hetty praises.

She grunts before saying, “Flatten your tongue.” 

I flatten out my tongue, and Hetty’s head throws her back. Her curls messy and bouncing as she rides my face. I know now what she was talking about earlier. Seeing your lover come undone was one the best art to witness and it is elating to be the source of said beauty. 

“I’m so close… fuck…so close,” Hetty gasps and her hand comes down to her clit. Pinching and rolling it between her fingers. 

I  feel her body begin to tremble as she approaches her peak. I hear my name tumble from her mouth over and over again like a chant. Her eyes are closed practically screwed shut as she chases her release. Hetty’s movements become faster, a bit more erratic, and finally, she cries out. I take that moment to grasp her hips pulling her further down onto me. I move her hand away from her clit and pursue it with my mouth. I suck with fervor causing Hetty to scream in surprise. 

Eventually, she pushed my head away, sensitive to the touch. 

“Oh..darling…enough…” Hetty pleads, “I can’t take anymore.”

I press one more kiss to her core making her twitch. I release Hetty from my grasp, and she slowly climbs down the top of me. She lays down next to me and wipes my chin. Kissing me softly, still recovering her energy. She takes time to gather herself, and she grabs one of my hands bringing to her lips to kiss the knuckles. 

“I have missed you,” Hetty says. 

“I have missed you,” I respond placing a chaste kiss on her lips. 

The rest of the night is filled with bliss as we discover each other all over again. Months of pent-up tension finally released as our moans and sighs echo off the wall. There is no need for words as groans and whimpers of pleasure communicate our feelings for us. 

[discord-and-the-blog-of-chaos]

When Worlds Collide

As the camera starts out staticky, you can hear a dark chuckle. Once the static clears out, a rather strange, mixmatched, dragon-like creatures comes into view.

"Hello, everypony! Should I say everyone. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony!"

"Originally, I wasn't scheduled to make my Tumblr debut until much later, but a certain mod informed me that desperate times call for desperate measures. Something on the line of... 'notifications'?"

"Though as exciting as it is for me to show my face early, my only complaint would be the fact that I have to SHARE this blog with others. But I suppose this will have to do for now. Perhaps if things go well here, I'll be able to have my own personal blog down the line..."

"With that being said, let's get this show on the road! I've been sent here to summon several muses here that I'm sure you'll be happy to see! After all; a lot of them are people you've met before I assume?"

And with that, Discord snapped his fingers. Just like that, tons of people(and one pony), appear. They look around in confusion before turning to face the odd creature that was before them.

“UwaaaaaaAAAAAAHHH!!!”

The spikey-haired boy ran into hiding. Oddly enough, two of them looked and dressed exactly like him. One went after the more timid version to check of him, while the other had bandages, all over his torso, arms and legs(I have no sprites for that one! T_T)

"W-what that f&ck is that?!?!"

'Kyaaaaaaah! It's a monster!'

"I'm going to assume that this is the creature who brought us here. But... why?"

Discord was rather disappointed by certain reactions as he turned away.

"A simple 'thank you' would've sufficed! But I suppose most of you aren't much a fourth-wall breakers now aren't you...? How rude! To think I actually did this to help you all on your current predicament-"

Before the draconaquus could finish his sentence, a certain pink pony zoomed in and gave him a super tight hug from behind.

"GYAAAAAGH!!!"

"Discord! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you sooooooo much for bringing us all together! I'm so happy to finally be able meet all my neighbors at once! I thought it going to take like... foreeeverrr to meet a few of them at a time! And I SO thank our mod a bejillion times for this too! And that best part is... you now get to be a part of this too! This is the best! Decision! EVERRRRRRRR!!!"

"C-can someone... please give us a promo... before Pinkie Pie... breaks me in half...?"

(Hello everyone. Mod Princess here. So basically, this is a chaos blog mashing @ask-timid-makoto-naegi, @danganronpa-v3-demo-au, @your-pink-party-pony, and @sole-survivor-makoto-naegi altogether. This is being done due to the recent changes on tumblr regarding the notifications. I figured that I'd have some fun and add Discord from MLP into the blog as well.

So this is what's going to happen from here on out. Every event and starter I decide to do regarding any of my other blogs are going to start off here from now on. You also can also RP on the chaos blog if you'd like. It will just require me to use other blogs to respond depending one which of my muse(s) you are interacting with. I will also be using this blog for any and all RPs that I didn't get notified on.

Aster recommends this to me as an alternative option to constantly pinging, and so far it seems to have worked after @unofficialuserluser tested it out. So now I'm giving it a go. Fingers crossed this continues to work!

Edit 5/5/2023 - Okay so I wasn’t informed until like… just now the the problem has been fixed. REALLY wish someone would’ve told me this sooner before I went ahead and made this blog. Nonetheless, it’s here and people are already interacting. So I’ll need to figure out an alternative. If you still want to interact, go ahead and do so.

@unofficialuser(anyone you want), @werewolf-makoto-naegi @slimemakotonaegi @ask-ghost-boys @yui-samidare-reborn (anyone you want), @japanese-ultimateautism @special-encounters (surprise me), @laylayeh @tobys-multiverse-official @lre123 @ask-ultimate-personas @ask-the-ultimate-matchmaker @alizachan @coldwisped

As always, anyone who isn't tagged can also interact

[suvidrache]

No Touching

age in bio when interacting. minors do not interact.

Word Count: 644 / Read it on AO3 / Wattpad | Event List

Dante had been away all day hunting demons. It was his job to save the city - or what was left of it. 

As a child, his home had been attacked and destroyed by demons. His mother had been killed trying to find his older twin brother, Vergil. He didn't want to see anyone else get hurt. He didn't want anyone else to feel the pain that he had felt when he lost his mother. He was a young child when it happened. He didn't know why the demons were attacking. All that he knew was that they had killed his mother, and he wanted revenge. He was a part of them, but he refused to turn to the dark side. He only wanted to do good. His brother, however, chose the dark side. Vergil wanted power.

Dant had no home to go to, so when he opened up Devil May Cry, he put his bedroom on the upper floor. The lower floor was the office and kitchen area. Not many walked into the building to report things. Oftentimes, they would leave an anonymous phone call. It did worry you, but Dante wasn't afraid. He had been doing this for years.

You sat upstairs in Devil May Cry, trying on various outfits, seeing which one you liked best when Dante sent you a text message, letting you know that he was on his way home. You had already eaten dinner and told him he should grab something for himself. When he wasn't gone long, sometimes he'd forget to eat and other times he would wait until he was with you to eat. You reminded him once again to grab something for himself before returning. You had a surprise for him, but didn't want him to forget.

Dante sat in the local pizza shop, eating two large pizzas by himself. He had a rather large appetite, and it didn't bother him to eat that many. Ordinarily, he would have taken a box or several boxes home for you. However, you had told him to eat prior, so he assumed you had already eaten and there would be no point in bringing a pizza home.

He finished his pizzas and ran home. He stopped at the door and checked to see if it was locked - it was. He fumbled with his keys, nearly dropped them, and unlocked the door. He raced inside, up the stairs, and slammed the bedroom door open.

"Hey, baby. Did you miss me?"

You covered your mouth and your eyes went wide. You lowered your hand to your chest when you heard Dante's voice.

"Dante! You scared me!"

"I don't think I'm that scary…" Dante said in a joking tone.

You smiled. "Sit on the bed and you're not allowed to move." 

 "That wasn't a part of the deal… you said to come home for a surprise."

"I did, and if you want to see it, you'll have to sit and wait."

"Alright." He took his coat off and set it on the chest of drawers. He walked over to the bed, sat down, and took his shoes off. He kept his hands on his thighs as he watched you.

Your hands grabbed the fabric of your shirt and slowly lifted it. Dante's eyes and attention were solely on you, he for once, was silent as he watched you remove your shirt. Then, you slid your pants down.

Dante quietly breathed out, "Damn."

You were left wearing lingerie, and you made your way over to Dante. You moved his arms out of your way and you placed your legs on either side of his.

"Can I touch you now?"

"Yes, but I'll be the one on top."

Dante's hands were on your hips in an instant. He pulled your body against his, his lips on your neck, as he gently squeezed your hip.

© SUVIDRACHE — do not copy, translate, modify, or plagiarize my work. reblogs are appreciated!

Tag List: @sunmoongoddess / To join my tag list apply here!

[dracarialove]

📄F it, I'm posting my finished fics here, too 📄

Heartfelt Holidays

*Check the 'heartfelt holidays' tag if you haven't read chapter 1

[Chapter 3: Irish's Lucky Picnic]

Irish the Hedgehog hosts a Lucky Clover Day picnic, which Sonic and his friends happily attend. Rouge goads Shadow into going with her, as well.

Happy, upbeat Celtic music poured from the open windows of a wood cabin, floating through the chilly air of an expansive clover field while a chipper green hedgehog danced around his living room.

Making up his own lyrics to accompany the instrumental flutes and bagpipes, he tapped the soles of his shoes against chestnut floorboards and finished sealing up the last of a hundred large green envelopes.

One of them, he sent off to a specific friend – the others, he tossed into a wicker basket before donning his black top hat and jauntily strolling outside.

His peppy stride took him to the hot air balloon parked near the backside of his home, which he climbed into and got to work lifting from the grassy ground.

The balloon boasted a bold orange color with a stark white stripe across the middle, carrying the blue-eyed hedgehog in a thick woven basket only big enough for one passenger.

With fire lifting heated air into the round nylon envelope, his transport escaped the clover-ridden pasture, then floated off in whichever direction the wind blew.

It wasn't long before the letter that'd been mailed ended up on the doorstep of Sonic the Hedgehog's modest home. When he opened the front door, he saw the green rectangle lying on the stone step; curious, he grabbed it and ripped open the flap, then pulled out a mint green sheet of paper.

While scanning emerald eyes over scribbled letters, his conscious read the words, "Dear Sonic – Get yourself ready for some fun, lad! To celebrate Lucky Clover Day, your friend is hosting a Lucky Picnic in that grand old park outside the city. Swing by, enter the raffle, enjoy the music, and bring your friends! Oh, and don't you forget to wear somethin' green if you don't wanta get pinched! Cheers – Irish the Hedgehog"

"Well, I'll be!" Sonic said out loud, grinning at the invitation. "I haven't seen Irish in a while! I'd better tell the others."

The Blue Blur rushed off to recruit his friends for another holiday event, all the while his acquaintance was floating towards the city in his simplistic vehicle.

Irish kept the balloon lower than normal, wanting to just barely clear the buildings for his plan to better succeed. He'd been over a few other towns, where he'd dropped the invitations from the basket, letting them float down or be taken by the wind towards citizens at random.

Now, the cheerful young man did the same as he drifted above the city, repeatedly flicking envelopes from the remaining stack of fifty at the open space below. They gently fell and were wafted in different directions until they touched the ground or were caught by the people walking about.

In the downtown area, Rouge the Bat had begun her day, preparing her club to be opened whenever the employees arrived. She held onto a walkie talkie while taking extra care to dust the statues that dotted small sections of the casino lobby; and when she heard the crackle of a male voice come through the small speaker, it was her cue to meet with the staff.

She opened the big double doors and smiled at the bouncers who were waiting on the other side, then greeted the DJ and bartender as they walked in. Her bartender, a dark green fox, walked beside her and held up a sheet of mint green paper.

"Hey, Rou, look what just happened up town – someone was dropping these fliers from a hot air balloon." A laugh escaped his youthful voice and he handed her the paper. "I know you like parties – well, I guess it's not really a party, but... I thought you might want to know about it, anyway."

The shapely woman perused the paper as they approached the first-floor bar, then she smiled and looked up at him. "This is great! Thanks for bringing it in; I would've never known."

The two shared a chuckle and the fox took his place behind the bar. "Have fun! Tell me all about it later."

Rouge gave him a brief thumbs-up before heading back upstairs to the loft she'd made into her personal bedroom. And after flying up through the hatch that sealed off her private space, her silver heels thumped lightly on the thick wooden boards and across the small area to near the window, where her companion Shadow the Hedgehog lied eerily still on the extra twin mattress.

He was faced away, but the business owner suspected he was awake, standing next to the quiet lifeform with one gloved palm on her hip. The other hand briefly shook the green paper, rustling it while she cleared her throat to get her friend's attention.

After a silent moment, his deep voice asked, "What?"

"We've been summoned," she responded, her own tone smooth and lightened by a glossy smile.

His body turned slightly, enough to look at her with a single ruby eye. The dark hedgehog looked tired and already bored with the day, but not much grumpier than usual. "A job?"

"A party-"

An immediate groan from Shadow interrupted her statement, his form turning away again. She rolled her eyes, not surprised at his reaction, and folded the paper to be left on the nearby end table which occupied a corner. Her free hand gravitated to the other hip, both arms resting bent while Rouge looked down at him.

The irritable man grumbled, "Didn't we just go to one a couple weeks ago? What is it with you people..."

She sensed he wanted to say more, but he trailed off instead. With a sigh, she spoke, "Shadow, you've been in bed all morning. It's time to get up and do something with the day!"

He sighed as well, rather heavily, then groggily sat up and swung his legs to the side of the mattress. With the furrowing of his brow, he looked up at Rouge and replied, "Let me get my bearings. I wasn't planning on following your lead today."

"Take your time, hun." She watched him stand from the bed and stepped aside to let him pass, then turned towards him as he walked away. "By the way, slip on something green; the party invitation mentioned it's a tradition."

Shadow scoffed and knelt down to open the hatch. "Fuck that. If I'm going to this thing, I'm not wearing another stupid costume."

Rouge's eyebrows rose in surprise at his harsh reply, watching the hedgehog drop down through the open hatch to the floor below. 'Well, then... he's in a grouchy mood.'

Just outside the city, Sonic and his friends were arriving to the park where Irish was hosting the Lucky Picnic event. The area was a large, lush plot of land, with signs along the perimeter declaring it an authentic landmark.

The trees, bushes, and flowers were cared for by inhabitants who had a passion for the planet's natural beauty, allowing them to thrive in an environment where the buds would soon bloom. Each one of the gang were wearing something green, per the letter's suggestion.

The blue speedster himself had thrown on a thin, forest-green jacket to be shielded from the brisk breeze. Amy Rose sported big silk bows on both wrists, Tails wrapped an emerald-colored bandana around his neck, and Cream wore a crown made of clovers.

The group of four took in the sights of various picnic setups, seeing handfuls of green-clad people resting on blankets and sharing light meals from twined baskets.

A short wooden platform was planted near the center of the park, bearing a standing microphone and three thin podiums covered with blankets. Accompanying the platform was a speaker that played joyful, mystical music.

Amy carried the woven container with all of their food in it – and Tails held onto the blanket they would be sitting on. Now they just had to scope out the space and find a spot to lay out their own setup.

Sonic led them farther into the grassy place, and before long, he heard a familiar voice nearby. Looking to his left, the Blue Blur easily recognized his friend Irish by the loud, accented tone he spoke in; he was chatting jovially with a couple of guests not far from them.

"Hey, there's our host!" Sonic exclaimed with a smile. He took a step in Irish's direction, saying over his shoulder, "I'm gonna go say hi – you guys can choose our picnic spot and I'll catch up later."

Amy watched with dejection as her crush left their group, but was soon distracted by Tails pointing ahead and announcing, "Look, guys, that must be the table for the raffle."

The girls trailed their gazes over to a little table covered with a white cloth, erected a few yards away from the speaker. Walking over to it, they looked over the box-like contraption with a label stating, "Give coin – Get ticket," as well as the small sign next to it that read, "Raffle Entry – Feed the box a coin and take your ticket! Three lucky winners will be picked at random to receive an auspicious prize!"

Tails smiled and turned to his friends. "What do you think; should we enter?"

"It doesn't say what the prize is," Amy answered, "but if it's something really good, we don't want to miss out!"

Cream added, "It's only one coin. I think it could be fun!"

"Let's just get one ticket," suggested Tails, retrieving his coin. "That way we don't waste money if we lose, and we can share the prize if we win!"

With sweet smiles, the girls nodded and he slipped the gold disk into the slot in the top of the box. Something briefly whirred inside, then a ticket with the number 12 slid forth from the slit on the front of the box.

Tails took it and they all turned back around to search for a decent spot to set down their picnic supplies. Meanwhile, across the park, Rouge and Shadow arrived, devoid of picnic items but readily scoping out the atmosphere.

The white-haired bat showed mild interest in the venue as they walked farther in, wearing shiny jade studded earrings near the bottom of her large ears. Her partner detested the festivity almost immediately, cringing at the cheery music and disliking the overly-social aspect of a picnic event.

"This is already a waste of time," he sneered, gaining Rouge's attention. "There's nothing here for us."

"It is a little brighter out than I expected," mused the lady, "but there has to be something worthwhile to this holiday. It's not fair to hate it already."

"Hmph. We should have forced Omega to come along – at least then I would've had common ground with someone here."

Officially annoyed by his dour tone, Rouge stopped walking and turned to the hedgehog, causing him to stop, as well. "Alright, Mr. Doom and Gloom, I've about had it with your attitude today. You really woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but try turning it around and not being a complete downer."

He scoffed again, defiant of his teammate's statement, and dragged his crimson eyes away from her in a display of contempt. But the aversion of his gaze brought a mischievous smile to Rouge's face as she saw the chance to get what she wanted.

She pulled a pair of ring-shaped handcuffs from their hiding place, a tool she'd foreseen needing. Swiftly, the clever thief snapped one gold cuff around Shadow's right wrist, directly above his inhibitor ring.

The clinking sound of the clasp attaching drew the lifeform's attention, a mere second before Rouge quickly snapped the other cuff around her own left wrist.

Shock took over his demeanor and he glared at her, raising his voice to ask, "Handcuffs? Are you insane?!"

"If I am, it's because you're driving me crazy," she retorted, accusatory.

Her expression turned back to irritation as Shadow jerked his hand away, making her exclaim in an offended tone when her arm was brought along. She balled her fist and pulled back, locking her gaze to his and speaking sternly while she stood firm. "Don't forget, I can be stubborn, too. You shouldn't test me if you don't want to see it."

The hedgehog's brow furrowed more and his scowl deepened, then he reached behind his back to retrieve his Chaos Emerald – but was shocked again when he realized it was gone.

Rouge smirked, looking devilishly smug and revealing, "No way you're teleporting out of this one, Shad. Don't worry about the emerald, it's safe; I just swiped it and left it at Club Rouge."

"Damn you," Shadow grumbled. "I should've known to keep my guard up around a pickpocket."

"You have to admit I'm good." Her sly intonation was returning, the bat wrapping her cuffed hand gently around his arm. With her other hand, she began teasingly circling an index finger along the outside of his glove. "And since I'm the boss here, if you behave yourself, I won't force you to dance."

"Don't push it," replied the indignant man, who scorned her condescending flirtation by pulling his hand away.

A red and white checkered blanket was being spread out and set down by Tails in a spot with a decent view of the raised platform, where he assumed the raffle winners would be announced. He made sure not to be too near other groups, allowing plenty of space to set down their things.

But when he looked to Amy for help straightening the blanket, he saw she was distracted by something else. The pink hedgehog was gazing off with a curious expression, watching Sonic and Irish having a conversation in the distance.

When the pair broke into raucous laughter, her lips parted and she asked aloud, "What do you think they're talking about over there?"

Tails briefly looked over his shoulder at the chortling hedgehogs, then back to Amy. "They're probably catching up – after all, it's been a while since Sonic's talked to Irish."

"Hm..." wondered the girl, her mind wandering a bit too much for her own good.

Then Cream piped up, her sweet voice saying, "Amy, I think we should set up the food to be ready when Sonic comes back!"

Finally tearing her gaze away from the energetic exchange, Rose smiled down at Cream. "You're right, let's get started."

After the young rabbit grabbed the basket of food from Amy's hands, the other two finished straightening their blanket on the ground. Around the same time, the Blue Blur's empty stomach decided it was time for a meal. He wiped a single tear of laughter from the corner of his eye and grinned at Irish, then stuck out one gloved hand.

"Well, I'd better get back to my group before they miss me too much," he said, shaking the green hedgehog's hand once their palms connected. "It was great seeing you again!"

"Always a pleasure!" replied Irish, who used his free hand to raise the top hat from his head in a polite gesture.

When the speedster made his way to the picnic his friends had set up, he commented, "Man, that Irish is one funny guy! His jokes gave my stomach a workout, and now I'm hankering for a chilidog!"

Amy's eyes lit up at his statement, immediately thrusting her hands into the picnic basket to pull out a plastic box with two chilidogs inside. "Here, Sonic! I brought them just for you."

"Hey, thanks!" He took the box from her hands and sat down in between the pink lady and his fox friend, removing the box's lid while the others dug into their own prepared snacks.

A little while later, the event's festive host hopped up onto the platform that served as a small stage, stepping up to the microphone and clearing his throat before speaking into it.

"Thanks a million to ya all fer showing up to this Lucky Clover Day celebration!" he started, his accented voice reverberating across the park and gaining the guests' attention. "I hope yer all having the craic – just wanted to announce the raffle startin' in t'irty minutes! So, grab a ticket while ya can and have a chance to win one of t'ree glittering prizes!"

He gestured to the three blanketed podiums behind him, taking the microphone off of its stand and walking over to them. With dozens of people's gazes on him, the blue-eyed hedgehog began pulling off the short blankets, revealing the contents underneath as he spoke, "Beautiful as they are: ornamental Chaos Emeralds!"

Sitting in glass boxes atop the podiums were emeralds of powder pink, icy blue, and tea green. They shimmered when the coverings were removed, sun beams bouncing off the pastel colors and giving off the illusion of luminescence. A few people were audibly dazzled by the reveal, including Rouge, who was instantly interested by the gleam of the faux gems.

Irish continued cheerfully, "Now don't get ahead of yourselves! These jewels don't bear the same strength as the authentic emeralds; but their beauty is bewitching, and they're still a touch useful if you're of a powerful sort!"

With stars in her eyes, the treasure-hunting bat snapped her gaze to the raffle ticket table and pulled Shadow in its direction. "Ooh, I've got to get my hands on one of those gorgeous gems!"

Her companion grumbled apathetically as he was forced to follow, and his frustration grew a bit more as he stood next to her while she gleefully paid for a ticket.

The unhappy lifeform had his attention drawn elsewhere when he felt a sharp pinch on his left arm, crimson eyes blazing with agitation as he whipped around to face a nearby guest, yanking his arm back and balling his fists.

The beige panther jumped backwards, a bit startled by Shadow's aggressive reaction, but held a cocky expression while his pinched victim bared teeth and began shouting.

"You've got some nerve putting your hands on me!" He heard the other man snicker, then growled in response, "You think it's funny? You'll be lucky if I don't take you down for provoking me."

Rouge was familiar with the hedgehog's rising hostility and stood holding the balled fist that was trapped with hers, alert and ready to stop him if he tried to fight. But the stranger only antagonized Shadow further, replying obnoxiously, "Jeez, what's your damage? You should've worn green if you didn't want to get pinched!"

"Shadow..." uttered the ivory bat in a warning tone, her teal eyes trailing over to his irate expression.

Before the powerful man could commit to acting on his anger, a young tigress walked up to the panther, firmly planting one hand on his bicep with urgency in her eyes. "Babe, stop picking fights with people! Let's go!"

The rude guest's smirk dropped when his girlfriend flashed a stern look, and he walked away without another word while Shadow held his battle-ready stance and silently seethed. His posture didn't relax when Rouge slipped her free hand onto his right shoulder, squeezing and speaking in a smooth tone.

"It's alright, Shad," she said, trying to soothe the tension – though, she was starting to regret dragging him to the event. "That guy was an asshole. Just let it go... let me see if I won the raffle and then we can leave."

"I told you this was a bad idea." Her dark friend kept his fists clenched, straightening his stance and glaring at her. "Or do you just enjoy the needless discord?"

"Relax..." replied Rouge, dragging out the word and squeezing again. "I didn't know you were going to be this irritable."

"Then take off the damn handcuffs," Shadow hissed, shaking his imprisoned fist and causing her to let go.

His teammate shifted uncomfortably and her expression twisted to one of unease; the suspicion of her large ears lowering a bit made him apprehensive about what she was about to say. She responded, "Well... I can't. Not right now, anyway. I... I left the key back at my place."

Shadow's eye twitched at her confession, and for a moment, the woman feared he would simply start walking out and drag her along to the exit.

He was so still, his stare intense – and she stood in confusion at what he might be thinking, until the black and red hedgehog broke his silence to groan while slapping one palm to his face in frustration.

"Fine..." he spoke, his voice low. With the hand still on his face, he opened one eye to look at her and added, "I'll try to keep it together. But I won't be quick to trust you again after this."

While they talked, Sonic was finishing his meal and gazing around the venue; and when he looked over at the raffle table in the distance, he saw the pair's exchange as Shadow became more aggravated.

He could see them just well enough to recognize the handcuffs shackling them together, chuckling to himself as he deduced that Rouge had forced his rival to attend the Lucky Picnic.

The soft laugh caught Amy's attention, and she asked, "What's funny, Sonic?"

He finished the last bit of his food and pointed casually in Team Dark's direction. "Rouge and Shadow are here. Looks like he's got a bug up his butt, though; she must've convinced him to show up. I might call 'em over!"

The pink lady's eyebrows upturned in an expression of concern as she saw the black and red lifeform facepalm. "Please don't invite them to ruin our picnic... we're having such a nice time."

Sonic's muzzle was plastered with a smirk as he made up his mind to pester his long-time adversary. Feeling the mischievous spirit of the holiday, the speedster brushed off Amy's request and stared in Rouge's direction until she noticed him, then waved and flashed his teeth in a grin that beckoned her to approach. The bat ruminated for a second, then let her selfish nature take over before tugging Shadow towards the group.

"Where are we going now?" he asked when she started walking without a word.

Looking ahead, he noticed Sonic's crew directly in their path and instantly pulled back, saying, "No, Rouge, do not force me to interact with those-"

"I'm not," she interrupted, using all her strength to continue onward. "You can ignore them – I'm going to say hi. I might as well do something while I wait for the raffle to start."

They struggled against each other the whole way, which made everyone but Sonic nervous. Tails looked over at his blue friend with worry and spoke, "Uhh, Sonic? Shadow looks really unhappy..."

Still feeling daring, the green-eyed hedgehog chuckled again and said, "Yeah, he looks pissed. I wonder if anyone else noticed he's not wearing green."

Amy wanted to speak out, as well, but didn't have time before the dastardly pair reached the edge of their blanket. Shadow stood as far from them as he could, his brows deeply furrowed as he looked away; Rouge allowed her cuffed left arm to be pulled in her partner's direction so long as he wasn't fighting her.

Energetically, Sonic jumped up from his spot and exclaimed, "Hey, Rouge! Funny to see you and Shadow here. I really didn't expect you guys to attend an event like this!"

"I'm just here for the raffle," the bat claimed. "Can't miss out on the opportunity to take home a beautiful gemstone."

He nodded, his eyes trailing up to the jade studs adorning her ears. "Nice jewelry – I see only one of you knew to wear green."

In a flurry of motion, three actions occurred at once: Rouge opened her mouth to reply, Sonic bounded over their picnic blanket to land an impish pinch on the Ultimate Lifeform's right arm, and Shadow turned to counter the Blue Blur after hearing his mischievous comment.

In the split second after provoking his rival, Sonic just barely avoided an attack by swerving to the left when Shadow's free hand swung around. Amy yelped at the worrying sight and held onto Cream, ready to pull her away from the action while Tails jumped to his feet.

As the enraged hedgehog's fingers – positioned in the shape of a claw – strained towards the speedster, Sonic quickly slinked behind Rouge and chuckled cheekily while she struggled to hold her friend back.

Wrapping her gloved arms tightly around Shadow's right limb, the jewel hunter pushed her shoulder into his chest and extended her wings to either side, planting both heels firmly into the ground.

"Stop!" she shouted, then glared over her left shoulder at the blue hedgehog. "Sonic, you asshole! Just had to annoy him, didn't you?"

"Yikes," uttered Sonic, his crooked grin remaining as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, Rouge, didn't know his fuse was that short!"

The half-assed apology did nothing to stop Shadow from struggling against Rouge's brace, fiery eyes burning with fury at the smug hero. His compatriot raised her free hand and placed it against his furry chest, pushing heavily to move him backwards and raising her voice. "Alright, let's go, this is only getting worse! Stopping by was a bad idea – come on, Shadow!"

The infuriated man relented enough to walk backwards as Rouge pushed him, shouting at Sonic, "You'd better watch your back, coward! Cross my path again and you'll regret it."

Slightly embarrassed at the conflict he'd caused, the speedy prankster turned back to his friends, his awkward smile fading as they all stared with disapproving looks. He walked over to the blanket again and plopped down in his previous spot, saying, "Heh... I'll, uh... I'll just stay here."

While the pair got farther and farther from the group – being watched by nearby guests and the host himself – the stressed bat spoke to Shadow, "Okay, you made your point. You were right about not going over there, happy?"

The hedgehog stopped in his tracks and grabbed Rouge's wrist, halting her and staring a blazing gaze into her teal eyes. "Happy? You've lost it. And I'm losing it, being here. This is your fault, as stubborn as you are to have dragged me here; denied me the right to leave; forcing me to hang around on your time."

His grip tightened and Rouge leaned away, her expression turning shameful. He was right on all accounts, and she had to concede that she'd pushed too much. "Y-Yeah, okay... look, I just want my prize-"

"You don't even know if you'll win," Shadow said sternly, then raised his cuffed hand to position his thumb and index finger closely together. "Rouge, I'm this close to tearing my hair out over something so stupid. And if you make me stay much longer, I'll drag you back to the club, get these fucking cuffs off myself, and disappear for as long as I want."

The intensity in his tone was almost scary, even as he held back from lashing out. Rouge knew she couldn't physically keep him there, and she didn't want him to avoid her entirely due to her self-serving actions; so, it was either lose both the coin she'd given up and the chance at owning another emerald, or let Shadow reach his limit and possibly lose him as a friend.

Just as she was parting her lips to relinquish her material desires, they heard a few solid taps against the microphone that stood atop the wooden platform. Her teammate's red eyes gazed past her towards the green hedgehog preparing to speak, which made the bat turn around to look, as well.

"Attention, all ye lads and lasses: 'tis time to pick the t'ree lucky raffle winners," announced Irish, holding his own top hat filled with numbered strips of paper.

The ivory bat looked back at Shadow, but his eyes didn't move as he let go of her wrist. He stood still while the Clover Day host rummaged around in the hat and pulled out the winning numbers: "6... 14... and 17!"

Rouge's eyes widened and she swiftly pulled the ticket she'd bought from her chest piece, looking down at the number 14 and letting a grin spread before snapping her glittering gaze back to the silent being. Shadow's ruby eyes dragged down to hers; he still seethed a bit on the inside, but he nodded nonetheless, allowing her to retrieve the prize.

Sonic's crew shrugged at the minor loss of not winning one of the emeralds, instead clapping and watching along with the other guests as the lucky ones stepped up to claim their gems. As Irish congratulated them, Rouge lifted the glass box enough to take the icy blue emerald, then turned to Shadow.

"My, isn't it beautiful?" she asked, turning it back and forth to admire the way it reflected light.

She hadn't expected Shadow to rapidly reach for the faux jewel, snatching it from the bat's hand and holding it above his head. "Chaos Control!"

Rouge had just enough time to exclaim and stare in shock before white light surrounded them, blinding the other guests briefly. And in an instant, the bright flash disappeared – along with Shadow and Rouge.

A wave of awed murmurs stammered out from the small crowds, many of them confused while Sonic's group had expected nothing less from the incensed hedgehog.

Tails was the first to speak up about it, addressing his best friend. "You really pushed him this time, Sonic. I'm surprised he didn't leave sooner; handcuffed or not."

The blue man chuckled and leaned back to rest his weight on outstretched arms. "Yeah... I guess I feel a little bad. Sunny days and social crowds really aren't Shadow's thing – I can see how he'd end up being so angry."

"Didn't you have to apologize to Knuckles at the last party we went to?" asked Amy, sitting with both fists against her hips. "Looks like it's becoming a pattern with you."

"Hey, that was different! I just wanted him to have fun." He rolled his eyes and added, "Shadow, though? He's grumpy all the time. Ya can't blame me for that!"

In the downtown area of the city, the powerful lifeform had successfully teleported himself and his companion back to Club Rouge. They appeared in the treasure hunter's loft, where the white shine of the lesser emerald faded into nothingness; Shadow looked at her and tightened his grip around the gem.

"Tell me where the key to these cuffs are, or I'll break the emerald," he spoke, his voice monotone and serious.

Offended by his actions and his tone, Rouge furrowed her brow and replied, "Jeez, you don't have to threaten me! It's in the night stand, top shelf."

She half-heartedly pointed at the small table sitting next to her own bed, and Shadow carelessly tossed the gem into her hands. While he retrieved the key – along with his stolen Chaos Emerald – the annoyed bat disappointedly studied the drained jewel, noting that it no longer shone and now held a dull pastel hue. "Ugh, you tarnished its beautiful glow..."

"Hmph. I'd say that's a price you deserve to pay," Shadow retorted flatly, twisting the small key inside the golden cuff.

The curved prison snapped open and fell from his wrist, followed by the indignant hedgehog placing the key atop the nightstand before leaving Rouge's side.

She stared with an unhappy pout as he dropped his body lazily onto the spare mattress at the other side of the small room, closing his eyes and lying with his hands behind his head.

But even as she felt dismayed by the effacement of her prize, the disheartened woman didn't desire to argue or kick him out, instead allowing Shadow to rest as he wished.

[jade-of-mourning]

for anon who sent me an ask earlier today: i'm so sorry to hear about your cat's passing. i hope this short fic from your prompt helps just a little bit.

———

The cat is young, a calico with soft white paws and soft orange ears. She turns up on the doorstep of his dingy flat one dusky evening as he returns from work, quietly curled against the barred door in the shards of light thrown onto the stairs by the flickering lamp. Mako looks down at her large green eyes and sighs, slipping the gate open to step inside and returning with a small bowl of water.

"Go along, now," he tells her after she finishes lapping at the water.

A meow vibrates in her throat.

Mako scowls. He doesn't know what she's trying to say, but he does know he doesn't have the space in his heart to care about a cat. 

He should have the space. Korra's gone, off recovering in the South Pole. Bolin's gone, off helping Kuvira stabilize the Earth Kingdom. Asami's… well, Asami's here, but they don't really talk much because they remind each other too much of what they've lost. Chief Beifong held an intervention and forced him to get out from under his desk and go invest in a place for himself — because she was tired of seeing his depressing countenance become a default constituent of this building's landscape —, so he's got space in his flat for a cat too.

Another meow, more insistent than the first.

"Don't care," he says, more roughly than he'd intended, but he's talking to a cat and a cat won't hate him for being too abrasive the way the cracks in the pavement molded him to be. He reopens his door, steps inside, and closes it on the cat.

And it becomes a routine. He doesn't know where she is by morning, even though he wakes up before sunrise no matter the day, but each time he comes back from work, she's there, meowing on his doorstep and lapping at the bowls of water he starts leaving out for her. It doesn't matter how dark the skies are, doesn't matter if he's returning at four in the morning after watching another child die from working under Viper. She's consistent and unrepentant, and she just becomes another orange-white figure in the haze of his life going in and out of work again and again.

It's raining when he comes back on a Friday night, raindrops pelting the small overhang in slates. The sky glistens like diamonds against black velvet, and Mako doesn't know why he smells wet cardboard and flooded dumpsters. The cat is present as always, face buried in her paws as she stretches in the barrier between the outside world and Mako's living place.

Mako sighs. His body hurts for reasons he's not sure of, feels small and aching and too skinny for his bones despite being more financially stable he's been his entire life.

"Come on," he tells the cat, opening the gate and widening the door further than he normally does. The cat stares up at him for a long moment, but before he can retract his offer, trots past and enters the foyer.

It's a small place. The rent is much cheaper than the apartment he and Bolin had shared before the spirit vines, and Mako likes it that way. Yellow ceiling lights, flaky plaster walls; a cramped bathroom with a mirror permanently fogged over; a bedroom with a futon pulled into the corner and a small closet filled with a week's worth of clothing; a foyer with hooks for jackets and shelves for shoes. He slides on a pair of ratty slippers Bolin had bought for him with his first paycheck, faded pink and detached soles, and pads into his room after the wandering cat.

The room is still empty. He never put anything in it, not like Asami's walls of pro-bending posters or Korra's dresser full of trinkets or Bolin's garish…everything, and none of them are around to harass him for it, so it's stayed that way. As the cat sets herself down on the edge of his futon, something small but vain in him remembers to feel self conscious for the first other living being to see his place. It looks more lifeless than an alleyway — places where stories are told in the bricks and the graffiti, the scent from the dumpsters, the lights filtering through from the main streets.

"I'm going to wash up," he tells the cat. "You can leave whenever you want."

And so the cat becomes part of his life more than he'd planned. He doesn't have anyone to take care of these days, not since Bolin found better things to do with his life and left, but he brings the cat in to get checked and feeds her and leaves the kitchen window open for her. She doesn't do much, just waits inside instead of outside for his return every night, and he gets used to it. He takes to calling her Clementine in his head and grows to talk at her subconsciously, a silent companion who doesn't remind him too much of anything bad the way everyone and everything else tends to do these days.

And then just like that, Clementine is gone.

He doesn't entirely know how it happened. He woke up one morning and she was gone as usual, and he got back later that night and she was still gone. A few days later he reads in the newspaper lit by lightning that someone ran over a cat, a tiny mention on the side column for his district, and his heavy-marrowed bones know the weight of death from love enough to know that she's dead. Something about the news in the dark of the storm feels vaguely like watching Ming-Hua in electric water.

It doesn't matter that much. Nothing much changes — his yellow-ceiling-lights, flaky-plaster-walls flat goes back to being as lifeless as it had been before, and Mako isn't the type of wallow in solitaire. He's not too devastated about her absence; he just sort of accepts it and goes forward, the way he does with every horrible thing that life won't stop throwing at him. He doesn't cry, even though he doesn't need to leave Bolin at Narook's and find an empty alley to do so anymore, because she was just a cat and Mako was always meant to be lonely.

In the walls of his dingy flat, he stands under cold water, droplets curling around the ends of his dark hair, dripping onto his shoulders like warm blood. He eats the eggrolls he picked up from the night market on the way back from work, and the grease permeates the light napkin wrapping and sets on his fingers, like spinning tools in a factory line. He washes the dishes piling in the sink and scrubs at them until his burn-scarred hands are soft, like hearts that get torn apart, and he lights a cigarette until he coughs at the smoke for the first time in years. No one is there to judge, not even silent Clementine, and Mako tells himself it's the way he prefers it.

Chief Beifong tells him to take his lunch break outside because she's sick of seeing him work through it. He walks down the block in the uniform that terrified him as a child, stares into the sun until his eyes start to water. On the street where Clementine was run over, children are weaving between upset cars, laughter spilling from their lips as they chase a game only they can see, and the space between buildings is suddenly darker when all Mako can hear is sobbing. He runs towards the alley and doesn't see a child with their head between their knees the way he expects, doesn't see defiled corpses burning in broad daylight. He steps back and looks back into the street and there's no cat with broken bones and bloody fur the way he expects.

Nothing's right. Lunch is over and he gets back to the station late, the first time in the past two years of working here that he's ever overextended his break.

Chief Beifong is standing in front of his desk. "Rookie. You're late."

"I know. I'm sorry. I… got lost in my head a little bit. It won't happen again." Mako sits down and pretends that he's not trembling, because he doesn't know why he would be.

Beifong frowns. "You don't get lost in your head. That's how you make mistakes. That's how you let people get killed."

I know. I know that more intimately than anyone else. I know, I know, I know, he thinks, over and over again; like Bolin crying night after night on the street on wet cardboard in the presence of flooded dumpsters; like the memory replaying night after night of his parents lighting the night as its torches; like Clementine arriving night after night on his doorstep waiting for him to come home.

"I'm sorry," he repeats. He's trying to make apathetic eye contact the way authority likes him to, but for some reason, he just can't muster it in his bones today.

Beifong sighs and starts to walk away, before stopping and turning back. "Kid," she says, softer, "you seem out of sorts lately. I don't know what's leaving you like this, but you know we can't have anyone half-assing their work here." She looks as though she's debating whether or not to say more, then — "Take it from me: don't get so caught up with the past. You have the present enough to deal with as it is."

Mako doesn't ask how she knows. He just nods and pulls out his pen to keep filling out documents the way he always does at this hour, and when he gets home that night, he lets the empty space in his heart hurt and miss Clementine just a little bit.

———

i wrote this in the car on my phone in a couple hours so sorry if it's a little scuffed. but again, please take care of yourself :( and i hope you feel better from being sick also!

to address the rest of your ask — i wasn't planning to write korra into this au, but i might throw in a reference at her at some point as a family friend of the air family haha. she's also aged down to thirteen in parallel to the other kids. though the fic won't go this far into the future, she'd pull up three years down the line as the swt chief's daughter coming in to wreak havoc in republic city. i do think that the idea of korra being the older teenager trying to put these kids on a leash while also being batshit insane herself is such a funny idea that i'm almost tempted to write it!

i might make stuff on the triple threats into another hc post, or even a fic at some point, but perhaps not today my friend. i do love your phrasing of "accountant streetrat dropout" though — you're so right that that's basically what he was lmfaooo. however, PLEASE keep bothering me it makes me really excited to see you in my inbox!

also side note: i'm thinking of putting some of these tumblr short pieces + some of my older small unpublished fics on ao3 by a different pseud. thoughts from anyone who happens to read through this shitfest?

[chocochipbiscuit]

🍭🌿🪄 for the writing meme if you'd like

🍭why did you start writing?

I'm going to start with why I stopped: I used to write a lot when I was younger; I loved making little books and stapling them together and wrote poetry and outlining ideas for the novel I was sure I was going to write someday. But somewhere around middle school, I was (very gently, very lovingly) encouraged by my parents to pick a more 'practical' career option. My dad pointed out that a lot of our favorite writers (I inherit my love of science fiction from my father and many of his favorites, even though my tastes have shifted over time) had backgrounds in science fiction, and at one point said something like "writers who only focus on writing aren't usually as interesting as writers who focus on living. Learn science, math, and other things, and you can always write on the side" along with pointing out that very few authors are able to make a full-time living 'just' writing.

(I want to repeat, again, my parents were very loving and supportive. They took me to art classes, museums, workshops, and gave me a lot of fun and exciting experiences. But that love also meant they wanted me to be successful and happy, and they thought that financial success might not guarantee happiness but at least it could guarantee comfort. They were doing what they thought was best, and I did what I thought was best at the time.)

So I basically stopped writing for about ten years. I did some play by post roleplaying forums and did on and off journalling and occasional poems but not much more.

Then in my mid-twenties, I was...honestly, pretty depressed and isolated. I had failed a class and had to take a year out of school. I was working. When I went back to school, I was working 20-30 hours a week on top of a demanding course load and rarely had time to see my friends, and even when I did see them, there was always a tiny bit of envy (that I worked very hard to control, because my friends didn't deserve that bitterness) that my old friends were all a year ahead of me and moving on with their lives. One of my new classmates sexually harassed me until I reported him to my academic advisor. Another of my classmates plagiarized my work. (The professor who caught it was incredibly kind; I had sent her an earlier draft because I wanted her feedback on it, and she realized that my classmate's submission essentially C&P chunks of text from mine.)

I self-soothed with fanfic. I didn't have time or energy to invest in 'new' media, or even to play a lot of video games, but fic was easy to read and devour. I started writing fic. And when I graduated and started a job when I worked graveyard shifts (thus continuing some of that isolation) readng and writing fanfic continued to be a way that I could connect to community and provided a much-needed creative outlet.

I started writing because I wanted to distract myself. I'm continuing to write because I've fallen in love with the process, the way it makes me think and re-evaluate characters and settings. (I'm even writing some non-fanfic things now because I want to experiment, to dabble and play with words in ways that aren't solely based on pre-existing media.)

🌿how does creating make you feel?

Happy! Sometimes emotionally drained (in a good way). I'm the kind of person who believes in making my own inspiration; if I only wait until I 'feel' like writing to sit down and write, I would hardly ever write! But if I have the time and energy, sometimes sitting down and trying to write a few words (usually with a 25 minute timer, go Pomodoro!) will be enough to start the flow.

🪄what is your post-writing/sharing aftercare? How do you take care of yourself or celebrate yourself when you've finished a fic?

Usually I want something sweet, then take a nap!

Thank you for the asks, I had fun! :D

(Asks are from this ask meme!)

[asksuccubussides]

What if you were an asexual succubus, wouldn't that be fucked up or what Chapter 4

Masterpost of chapters

"Dear sun I know you have things to do but it would be really nice if you could slow down so I could finish this bitch" Roman talked out loud while working on the bitch in question: a watercolor painting of the sunrise.

It was so easy to get caught up in all of the tiny wonders of humanity that he forgot truly how amazing it all was. That they had somehow figured out how to make paint in the first place. That they hadn't stopped at just oil paint or water but creating doxens of eays to make art. He really loved that.

"Mornin' morning-dove" The human Roman had stayed with the night before greeted while setting down toasts with plenty of jam on the table in front of them "Made some breakfast"

"Thanks! It looks...." He searched for the right word "...Good! Excuse me, I'm still working on my italian"

The human leaned in for a quick kiss before sitting down in the chair opposite to him. The warm light shone down onto the balcony as people began to stir and fill the streets. Roman only slept if he wished to experience dreams so this night he had decided to stay awake and people watch.

"I liked your performance last night" Roman gave the compliment mostly to keep attention from the fact that he wasn't eating.

"Thanks. I've always wanted to play othello"

"It's a classic isn't it. I've actually- Don't tell anyone but" Ro looked around as if assassins were all around before continuing "I've actually been working on translating some of Shakey-P's works into my native language!! I'm not that far yet and the others are gonna say I'm a" Human loving Patton "...A nerd! Which I'm not! I'm very cool and also manly!"

"That's really impressive. Can I read some? You're not doing it by hand are you?"

"Oh I don't have any with me" If a human tried to read the language of demons they wold get an immense migraine anyway, and eventually their eyes would bleed.

The human squinted and stopped to chuckle right when he had the toast by his mouth "It's funny. I never got what your work is?"

"You know....Performers and ESpecially dancers are my favorite type of human" Roman took the toast from his hand and laid it aside before leaning over the table to give the man a long kiss to distract the human from the topic "I'm feeling for something other than breakfast right now"

An hour or so later Roman left the man's apartment for the sole reason that it was time for the monthly meeting with his succubi squadron's manager soon and he couldn't be late. He dreaded going back to hell.

It wasn't like he could tell anyone he didn't like being in hell. What would they think. A demon living all the time on earth. Patton shit right there.

"Monthly Metting with Succubi squadron..Hah...Nice alliteration" He laughed to himself.

She walked through the corridors and noticed as some of the succubi flinched back or moved away when she came. Being a guardian angel could have been such a good job for her. If only there was a demon equivalent. They got to actually grow up alongside the human they were sent to protect. They got to actually live there 24/7. All she got while she was in hell was fellow demons avoiding her either because she was one of the "incest twins" or because they were afraid her brother's "sickness" would rub off on them.

"Hey Rowie!" One of the other succubi in his squadron greeted as soon as he entered the meeting room.

Something was wrong. All of the succubi were huddling together in a small circle while normally they were standing around with their freinds. They quickly made space for her before someone whispered to him.

"The manager Punished someone earlier today-"

"One of our?"

"No no. It was in the 7th squadron. But do you think he'll be mad still?-"

"Nevermind that" Another demon butted in "Do you know if your brother has like bettered himself??"

"Well....Uhhhh...."

The circle of succubi let up into an echo of sighs. Someone let out a string of swears punctuated at the end with an annoyed "Remmuuusss!!"

"He can't help it you guys" Another demon responded "He's sick. He just hasn't like learned to enjoy it? Or something? The right person and all that"

"How much time are we gonna give him! Even the white haired one does their job! How does he even manage to be worse than someone who literally can't hear!"

"That's rude dude"

"I mean they have white hair for a reason they must have done something bad..I heard Remy-"

"No time for rumors. Roman C'mon our squadron would be so much higher ranked if Remus just-"

All of them quickly quieted as the door opened and Remus and Remy arrived only a minute or two before the meeting was meant to start. Remy noticed some of the succubi staring at their unaturally white hair and in response they walked with even more sassy swagger than usual before loudly slapping their arm around Roman's shoulders and nearly yelling out.

"SUP SLUTS? What's up?"

Some of them mumbled responses back though they were all directed towards Remus as they expected him to translate it for Remy.

"I can smell bullshit and messy bitches from 5 miles away 'cause I am the messiest bitche there is, kay? So if y'all girlies wanna talk some bull you better say it to my face, literally so I can read your bullshit talking lips. Alright? let this shit meeting start!"

The group of succubi quieted after that. Only some of them still casting nervous glances to Roman as if she was somehow supposed to fix all this.

Soon enough the mamager entered. His words were short and concise and he snapped at one of the succubi for not perfectly standing in line but everything went well as the squadron members began to count up how many humans they had seduced this month.

"26" "19" "31!" "23" "23 as well" "Like 18" "25"

Roman and Remy fit right in. They weren't even descernable. And then came Remus.

"5! Which is nearly double from last month!"

The manager didn't even look angry, he just looked tired as he clasped his hands together before pointing for the door "Alright, everyone except for the useless twin please leave. meeting over. Keep working as you do"

Remus felt a hand reaching out for his and looked over to see Remy staying by his side. Their sunglasses had slid down to reveal a worried look in their eyes. Roman however pushed for Remy to follow along as he left. They tried to strain against him but he kept pulling them along while Remus signed that it was okay before motioning that he was about to kick butt.

As soon as Roman had pushed Remy out into the hallway he shut the door behind them. His hand stayed on the doorknob as he stared down into the ground.

"Girl what the fuck?? You saw Orange's expression. That fuck is about to explode"

"It'll only get worse if we bitch around" Roman replied.

She started to walk around in circles speeding up the pace until the walls around here became a blur of white. Somewhere in the blur she saw Emile arriving and giving his lover a tight hug and she heard him ask where Remus was.

Remy let their tail circle around Emile and pushed him closer while hiding their face in the soft fabric of his sweater. In response he moved his tail up and down their ba-

A bloodcurdling scream came from Roman as he fell to the ground. His sight blackened completely and stayed that way.

Stuck in darkness even the floor under him felt alien. His hands curdled against the ground as he kept screaming. It felt as if needles were being pushed directly into his eye sockets. It felt as if fingers were digging in to pull his eyes out.

"Roman? Roman? Can you hear me?"

Emile's voice was so close to him but it felt so distant. Another hoarse scream left him and his hands reflexivly went up to feel at his eyes but hands held onto his wrists.

"You'll hurt yourself"

With what seemed like the snap of a finger the pain stopped and Roman's sight returned, all in an instant. All of the muscles that had tensed up in his body all relaxed making him lay complately limp on the floor, eyes wide and unblinking as he took in the light once more.

Emile's face came into view as he leant over Roman and gently cupped his cheeks "Are you okay Ro-Ro?"

"M-My eyes. My eyes. I was- I- Everything- it darkened"

"it's okay. It's okay. It's over now"

Roman suddenly gripped onto Emile's arm "Remus? What- Where's Remus"

"Remy ran to check in on him, don't worry"

Instead of listening Roman forced himself up first on his knees and then by the help of Emile up on his feet. It was only now that he heard the groans coming from the meeting room.

The door had been left half open as Emile pushed it aside. On the floor in the middle of the room Remus laid writhing in pain. His wrists twisting to scratch at the floor to the point that his joints poped. Remy sat bent down next to him while carefully stroking his cheek.

He didn't scream, he'd always been better at taking pain than his brother anyway, but terrible painful groans came from him instead. Sweat was running from his forehead mixing with the spit dripping from between his gnarled teeth.

Roman collapsed next to his brother and grabbed his hand as tightly as he could "Remus? Remus!? You hear me?"

All he got out was a groan before the pain got so bad his body restorted to trying to force itself to throw up. Sour bile rushed into his throat making him cough and spit.

"It's not permanent. it'll be over soon. Look at his eyes" Remy said but it sounded like they were trying to reassure Roman just as much as themself.

Remus' eyes were half open but his irises that were normally so vibrantly red had circles of pure white scattered into it. The same exact white that Remy's hair was.

"If his eyes were fully white i'd be permanent but- but it's like not right? Right? I'm not like seeing things? Roman you gotta nod if you see it too I can't- I can't hear if you're getting it"

Roman took his eyes away from his brother for a moment to give Remy a nod. Her tail reached out and linked with theirs and they held onto each other as if to keep each other alive. Emile joined in with keeping one of his hands on Remus' shoulder and the other on Roman's.

They all sat there and waited for the blindness to go over as Remus kept groaning and swearing and writhing in pain. Sometimes Emile tried to soothe him with words and Remy didn't let go of him for even a moment. Eventually Roman started to sob uncontrollable and he wasn't able to stop sobbing for at least an hour.

Remus started to blink rapidly as he gasped. In the course of a second his irirses turned red once more. His irises enlarged as he looked up to see his brother's face.

"Oh I know I'm def seeing hell again with how ugly you look" Was the first thing he said before laughing deliriously.

Tears were still rolling down Roman's cheeks "You stupid unserious bitch! We went blind!!"

"You went blind too??"

"Yes! For a few minutes!"

"Was it the manager?" Emile asked.

"Obviously! But it's finnnee. It was just to scare me so I can't show him it affected me in any way. No one tell him it hurt!" Remus replied.

"WHAt if he'd made it permament?? WHAT THEN!?" Roman yelled "I can't lose my sight!! Maybe you can. I bet you could survive just on playing with trash and drooling for the rest of your life but I actually have things to experience and places to see! I can't be blind!"

"Hey I'm the one who had the feeling of pins and needles in my eyes for an hour! And I still got a fucking migraine and everything is blurry so can we not-"

"YOU'RE NOT TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY ENOUGH!"

"Hey, everyone take a deep breathe" Emile interrupted while stroking Roman on the back "You've both been through a lot of pain and neither of you are in your right mind so we should take this conversation to some other time"

"Pood Goint Emile!" Remus sat up and slowly pulled himself to stand. Remy stayed sitting on the floor with their eyes staring into the floor. "I'm gonna go to bed and hopefully dream about zombies and apocalypses. You know what they say. Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the cowboys bite"

"Sleep!? You're seriously going to go to sleep Now!" Roman rolled his eyes before taking a deep annoyed breathe "You should go and work. The manager isn't going to let up on you until you're seducing as many people as we are-"

"I'm not gonna play into that assholes hands!"

"WHAT IF HE'D HURT YOU!? PERMANENTLY!! WHAT IF HE'D HURT US!"

"I would simply attac-"

"THE SHIT YOU DO AFFECTS THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU!! YOU'RE AWARE OF THAT RIGHT!???"

Emile tried to lay his hands on Roman's shoulder "Calm down please. Take a deep breathe. Remus what exactly did-"

Roman just pushed his hands away before crossing her arms "I don't want to calm down!"

"Okay, Okay. That's understandable. What exactly did the manager say?"

"I dunno. Same bullshit as always. He wanted to give me a warning for not doing enough-"

"Exactly what I said!" Roman butted in "What if he makes it permanent next time!? What if you-" She stopped midsentence to try and cover her face as tears welled up in her eyes once more.

"If he tries me I'll just gnaw his hands off and stuff them into his mouth. Easy! He won't be able to do shit!" Remus joked.

"UGH! Can you take this seriously!?"

"Nope! I'm allergic to that!" Remus replied with a grin "And actually I just now decided to ignore our job for forever and instead focus my life on making complex statues made out of boogers"

"Remus you don't have to spur the argument on" Emile tried to cut in but neither of the twins listened to him.

"And I'm gonna go do shit all Right now!" Remus flipped the double bird while backing out of the room "Bye Bye you uncreative loser!"

Roman followed Remus out of the room and when her brother didn't stop when she yelled for him to she grabbed his tail and pulled in it so hard he fell back onto the floor.

"Low fucking blow!" Remus exclaimed.

"You know just as well as I do that there are succbi that don't have sex to feed off of humans. There are strippers and exotic dancers and I know some succubi in monogomous relationships who make erotic art and like writings and stuff and they manage! You have other fucking options than to mop around and starve and not do anything! Have you even tried talking to one of the humans? Communication is like the most important thing with sex-"

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO THEM!! The only contact I want to have with a human is torturing them or ripping their fucking bones out!" Remus exclaimed while jumping up on his feet again. His tail was annoyingly smacking into the floor over and over "You're making it sound like I just haven't found the right human! You're not saying anything new!"

"I think you just wanna be able to complain and make yourself out to be a ohh so sad little bitch! While you ignore what your-"

"BLAH BLAH! Are you about to say how my 'sickness' is making shit hard for you??? Again!? I think you should try writing up a new monologue to practice in front of the mirror!"

"IT DOES!" Roman yelled so loud spit flew out onto Remus' face "IT DOES! IF you would listen for ONCE! Yes I enjoy my job but do you really think I wouldn't for once be able to go about my day going to shows and perfomances without thinking of who to suck to get in!? Do you even get the pressure I feel to make up for the lack of your work?!-"

"Make up for me?? Oh wooow RoRo-"

"All of the succubi look at me as if I'm sick! They never talk to me! because they all think I'm you! An-and worst of all" He was getting so worked up his voice was becoming unsteady "I have to CONSTALY worry over you. A single fucking day doesn't go by where I dont fear that youre going to be sent to heaven and YOU. WONT. CARE!"

Remus spun around and covered his ears with his hands while singing in his most grating voice "LALALA! NOT LISTENING!! If you want some pity you can go vent to one of those humans you love soooo much LALALALA"

"You know the reason you're broken is because you were only made so we could fullfill a fetish"

As Roman said it her tone suddenly turned cold before she let up into a laugh that sounded more like her trying to cover up a shaking cry. Remus didn't respond but he did stop and uncover his ears. He only slightly turned to look to his brother as Roman continued to talk with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"It's not like you can do incest without a pair of siblings. When they made me they Had to create a parasite like you so the humans could fantasize about us together! So we could have 'exciting' threesomes. That's why you can't do our job like everyone else! You were just-"

"That's not-"

"You were just made so I could have a twin! It doesn't matter if we agreed to never feed into the fetish we were made for! We were still made for it! And that's why you can't work on your own! And-"

"Bullsh-"

"AND YOU NEVER WILL!"

Remus tackled Roman to the ground and hit him right in the face. Not in the sibling fight kind of way. A real solid punch right to the nose. Roman kicked his feet around and swatted around with his tail to try and get Rem off of him.

A tiny crowd had gathered in the hallway which made Roman's cheeks turn red from embarasment. All while Remus hissed, snarled and scratched at him.

Roman pulled at Remus' hair to which he started biting at her ear. When yet another rough punch landed right at Roman's nose and a loud knack sounded followed by blood starting to pool out down to her lip a few demons from the crowd tried to pull them away from each other.

Even when two succubi dragged Remus away he kept kicking in the air and snarling. The succubi dropped him as soon as he was out of arm's way from his brother.

"Which one was the sick one? I hope I didn't catch anything from him" He heard one of the demons whispering while wiping their hands on their pants.

Blood was staining Roman's fingers red as she held her shaking hands up to her broken nose. For just a second her wide open eyes met with her brother's before he quickly turned around and left to earth through the closest door he could find.

--

"That fucking poop ass shit motherfucker stupid ass fuck" Remus muttered to himself. He was slouching incredibly hard while walking through the tiniest streets he could find. He snarled at every human he saw "Thinks I can't do my job. Stupid uncreative loser fucker"

The first thing Remus did was enter the closest supermarket and grab the first liqour bottle he saw before sprinting out of the store and hightailing it to a trash can which he immediately climbed into to hide.

Inside the trash can he downed the entire bottle and waited for the effect to hit like a train going off track. It tasted like piss and disinfectant, pretty nice. He found some moldy pizza among the trash and ate it as an appetizer.

Seeing the humans at the bar he entered made his stomach churn with anger. All he could think about was his dozens upon dozens of notes detailing his made up torture methods.

Instead he sat down at the bar and waited.

A guy bought him a drink. He touched his knee. His chest was pressed against the bathroom wall 10 minutes later. He was already zoning out when a hand clasped around his neck. He imagined eyes being teared out of their sockets and fingers being bit off, anything would be better than this. He was on his knees outside the bar, behind a dumpster with a new stranger. People being forced to knowingly eat poison and then slowly decay. Screaming in agony while their eyelashes were ripped out. The stranger nearly tore Remus’ shirt apart with how desperate she was. Please oh satan he didn’t want to have this effect on people anymore. He looked into the stranger’s eyes and all he got in return was a look of lust. He always hated when he had to be the proactive one. Why couldn't they let him lay back and pretend to be a corpse. A bunny being caught in a bear trap and surviving just long enough to be eaten by another animal while still stuck. He let 3 people take him to a motel. He thought a fourway would make it go by faster. He laid on his back and stared up at the stains in the ceiling while letting it happen. Maggots filling a bull’s dead and decaying body. He couldn’t breathe. A neck being cut open. He wanted to scream. Teeth melting down into the throat and suffocating the person. He wanted to kill whoever had created him. A heart being torn out of a chest. 

It was done. He’d gotten through it. One of the humans reached out for him when Remus sat up. The human asked if he was okay, if he wanted to stay and sleep for the night, take a shower, cuddle, any type of comfort.

Remus leant forward and puked right onto the human's leg. For once in his life he felt overfull. Going from barely feeding to feeding off of six humans in a night was too much.

His puke was clear and smelled like alcohol. It sunk into the cheap green blankets on the motel bed and the human quickly retreated to the shower. The muscles in Remus' stomach twitched and tried to throw up more but he forced it back down.

Soon enough he stumbled out of the motel as well and half heartedly kicked over some trash cans and tore at some bags but it made him feel so sick he had to lay down. Never feeling arousal meant his body had to force itself to react in arousal once the sex had already statred. He didn't mind pain, enjoyed it even. But feeling the same pain every single time got boring. Mind numbing even. Not to mention how annoying the blood was.

Every single time. How many times had he fed by now. How many times was he going to do it. He knew Remy and Emile had lived for over a 100 years and they didn't even look 30 years old yet.

Succubi did die naturally eventually but it could take them hundreds of years. How many times was he going to have to do this. Just to feed. just so the manager didn't send him, or Roman, to heaven.

His chest started to hurt and he got the urge to puke again but only saliva and stomach acid came up. He could feel that his brother was on earth right now. He knew Roman should feel how awful he felt.

"Romieee. RoRo. Ro-boat" He slurred out.

His brother always came to get him eventually. Even if he didn't always remember it she was always there by the bed once he woke up. Always ready to get pissed off at him about it.

It shouldn't be taking this long. She should feel it. But nobody came.

The sky was heavy with clouds and few drops of rain hit Remus on his forehead which stirred him out of his dissociative spiral of thinking. A shadown towered over him suddenly and he held out his arms while saying

"RoRo did you break your back on your way here. You were slow as hell" He made grabby hands to get helped up.

A response came but it wasn't in a language he could understand.

He looked up to see one of the people from the bar looking just as unsure on their feet as he felt right now. The human leaned down and grabbed Remus' wrist while continuing to fumble over their own words.

Remus hissed at them and clawed at the human's fingers but their grip only tightened while their other hand pressed down on his chest so hard his ribcage hurt.

The human's body weight pushed down on top of him and he felt sick as the familiar feeling of feeding seeped into him without warning. Everything was blurry as he snarled even louder this time but the human didn't listen.

It was like the flip of a switch and Remus had instantly made himself sober again. His sight became clear once more and his whole body tense.

He trashed his head around and landed a kick against the human's knee. It was enough to ruin their sense of balance and they took a few steps back before falling down on the ground.

Succubi weren't allowed to hurt humans. Remus hoped the manager would count this as just a simple scratch as he dusted himself off and got up. His feet felt heavy as he dragged himself away from the alley.

Though he cast a glance back at the human. The pitiful fleshy disgusting human.

It was all their fault wasn't it.

It was their fault he had been created to live on their lust. To live out some incestious fantasy. To be deemed sick.

It was their fault he existed at all.

......

....

..

Fuck it. He'd always wanted to taste human flesh anyway.

Remus pushed the human down to the ground again and put his knee on top of their back to hold them down. To keep their arm extended he pinned the human's hand under his foot.

The lust was completely gone from the human's expression as Remus barred his teeth before biting down into the soft flesh of their wrist.

Before they could scream he put his hand over their mouth. He pulled his head back and a chunky of meat and muscle tore off of the human's wrist. Blood pooled out onto the street as he swallowed.

[js-third-place]

I still don't know what's real and what's my anxiety, I'll try to relay this somewhere between how it felt in the moment and how it looks now.

The bookstore had 3 or 4 customers, which was the perfect amount. Enough that I wouldn't draw sole focus, not so many I felt anxious.

On my way to the book store I passed one of the lunch places I had in mind. The only one on the route and not requiring crossing 2 large streets in a terrible 6 way intersection. It was uncomfortably busy.

I did need to ask about the location of a book, and that involved hovering next to a woman at the register for an uncomfortably long time before she somewhat curtly handed me off. Not enough to ruin anything, but didn't feel great.

The person who helped me find the book and the person who rang me up were both wonderful. The latter made a joke about my very common name and when I responded the original, curt, woman got annoyed and left to the back. I can write it off as the owner trying to work but it actually registered a little bit that time and bummed me out.

Walking out, the weather was getting bad, I talked myself into hitting the busy bakery and just working it out.

On the walk over there was a couple walking into a business between us. He openly stared at me multiple times, including looking partly over his shoulder as he entered his destination. I was not holding eye contact or staring at him, but most of the times I glanced over, his eyes were fixed on me.

I panicked while ordering because I couldn't remember what their non coffee options were to drink and ended up having to come back a second time and buyba soda seperately. The cashier was nice enough the first time but cold the second. She walked away while I finished the order.

Two women were taking up 2 seats at a somewhat communal table so I grabbed one seat away from them. They were having a pretty personal conversation so I was trying to find another spot.

The runner came out with my sandwich, and we had the kind of interaction I have a lot. It starts totally normal, but by the end (2 quick sentences this time) they're looking at me as if they know something is wrong in my head. I have to assume it's my trouble holding eye contact but I'm not sure.

I don't know how to build enough confidence to look someone in the eye when every interaction just makes me feel like more of an outsider.

I noticed a table with a few dirty glasses but seemed abandoned. I asked a few other people and they all were nice and said they thought the people were gone so I settled in among the discarded trash.

I ate and read, and could see both people I had asked staring at me occasionally.

I need to stop here and say: before this crippling anxiety set in, I would treat any sort of long glance as evidence I looked cute that day. I can't pull up that kind of assumption anymore, not even by force.

There was a cute moment where a lady and her dog drew the attention of the entire cafe and I shared a few normal glances with other diners. That went fine.

When throwing out my garbage I initially felt like I was getting a weird look from 2 workers but I was able to convince myself they were probably just in conversation and I distracted them. I'm not entirely unable to correct my feelings as I go.

That's basically the end, but I want to call out my bad behavior on the wall back because I think it might be related. I saw a person doing nothing wrong but something about them just sent me to a very judgemental space. This happens a lot. I can notice if and condemn it, but I can't stop myself from feeling it. It's very clear I need more work on just existing around people.

Overall, I think I handled the situation well, but I do wonder if it was worth it. The money, the calories, the time and for not much benefit. Even if things had gone perfectly, I don't think it would have made me happier than just staying home.

My friend highly recommends. "Bourdain Days", where you pretend you're Anthony Bourdain wandering an area. Get a bite to eat, get a drink, talk to some people and do it all with his ease. It sounds amazing, and I do think it could work for me in other circumstances, but a snowy Chicago afternoon wasn't it. I also think you need a very specific kind of place, and the only place I know of in my neighborhood with the right vibe, hours, and menu closed during the pandemic.

It might be that simple. It might be just finding the place with the right vibe to accommodate. A little dive-y but clean, serves lunch but nothing too heavy, where you can order a beer and read your book. Just the right amount of busy.

I'll keep looking.

I have a single ticket for a comedy show tonight, Im going to try very hard to make it happen but I already can feel myself wriggling out of it

[dojimakaichou]

★. ―

Daigo was grateful for Melissa's reassuring touch. She was so gentle with him, and the cool temperature of her skin helped the spider finish grounding himself. Three hours — Daigo inhaled sharply and squeezed the hand he still held. He could feel her other investigating the site of the injection. It was sore there, perhaps a little swollen, but no more than if he had been given an IV in a hospital.

In short : it worked.

Daigo turned his head in Melissa's direction. His eyes could not find her shape in the gloom ; thanks to the sound of her breathing and placement of her hands, though, he was nonetheless confident that he faced the right direction. The spider smiled tentatively.

' I NEED FOOD, ' he answered slowly. ' I'M SURE YOU EXPECTED THAT ANSWER, HOWEVER. ' Daigo chuckled audibly. The horror ate a good deal of meat, especially now that the witch guaranteed his stock was plentiful and fresh. ' AS FOR THE REST . . . I AM FINE, I THINK. '

He would have said more, but something overtook his mind. It was dark, incomprehensible for the witch. Daigo's eyes glazed over as he suddenly pulled away in an effort to protect Melissa. In his weakened state, he didn't make it as far as he would have liked — he choked up the first wads of gold web into her lap unceremoniously. Although, unlike the day she appeared on his stoop, Daigo was no longer troubled by the fact that Melissa was there to witness what he viewed as horrifying. Their time had been short, but they had come so far.

Shaking fingers started to weave as Daigo hunched over the bed, just a breath away from the witch. The same color in his perplexing, solid gaze glimmered in the mess of delicate thread that soon covered them both. When he needed more, Daigo grabbed what laid between his teeth and pulled ; the sensation of it crawling up from some abyss in his middle caused him to issue a guttural noise of discomfort.

Finally, it was finished. Daigo cut the web off on the edge of his pointed teeth and grimaced. He leaned forward in order to partially prop himself up, exhausted by the way his mind was stolen from him.

The piece spread across Melissa and the blankets was one of the spider's largest yet. This was a particularly intricate picture. Centered in the shimmering art was the image of a massive, somewhat distorted female joro spider ( presumably the creature himself ). Standing in front of him was the slight figure of the witch, whose raised hand rested on the monster's bowed head. They were surrounded by a dense forest filled with trees of varying kinds.

Daigo was firm that he couldn't tell the future — that he did know. His weaving was a mix of his own desires or thoughts and his mother's impulses. It was as much her creation as his, which is why creating them in this feeble and lesser body required a degree of possession. Therefore, the beautiful art glittering around the pair was not what Daigo saw would happen ; it was what he ( and his Goddess, to an extent ) hoped for, deep down. Not only the creature's freedom . . . but his continued companionship with Melissa. It was as if his Goddess sent her approval for the trip ( and reinforced the witch's role as the sole mortal she would share him with ). Daigo coughed, palms pressed to his stomach where that infernal eye burned.

As Daigo stirred and slowly regained consciousness, Melissa was dutifully informed of the fact thanks to their bond rather than any muscular cues; it was only later that the hybrid seemed to recover the ability to move, but it had been enough for the witch to gather his initial impressions - that the man had been thinking of her (just as he had seemingly been doing before dozing off) was just impossibly sweet; the brunette desperately wished to say something about it, but kept it like a precious secret to herself.

After all, Daigo was vulnerable - he had no idea of the things he had just thought of in his stupor and Melissa did not want to further overwhelm or shame him. In fact - knowing that the child of the ancient goddess thought of her in that way warmed her little black heart; as if it was another piece put together in a great puzzle, a step towards the right destination. The witch knew they were soulmates - but it would be much more pleasing if Daigo came to that conclusion by himself.

Once they disentangled, the woman took the chance to sit up again, briefly stretching her limbs. The couple of hours (by her estimation) which had gone by were not awful on the body - Melissa was used to be still like a corpse; the main reason that she sat up was to watch Daigo and inspect him for any concerning signs, while further holding out a hand when he invariably seemed to be ready to talk.

At his questions, the woman smiled. The way that translated in the gesture was by turning her palm upwards, linking their digits in a gentle way and which allowed her to stroke the back of his hand with the pads of her fingers. 'It was wonderful - I sensed nothing from you; just silence. It would seem that we were very successful; you just had a deep, dreamless slumber given all I could sense while touching you.'

A humming sound came next, and Melissa looked away, towards the bedroom door - their belongings were in the living room and she would need to grab a watch. 'Give me a moment, I'll retrieve a watch,' she explained, leaving the bed for a minute since she feared it would be too soon for Daigo to move. There was something nearby - one of man's wrist models left on a table, borrowed by the witch when she was running errands and didn't know how to check for the time on the device Gomez had gifted her (and, well, Daigo didn't have any pocket models around).

"Two hours and a half; almost three," the woman murmured, then climbed back on the bed to clasp their hands together again and repeat that into his mind, smiling and proud of how much they had achieved. 'A little under 3 hours, Daigo. Considering the small dose we gave you for the test, I think we can safely get to an amount that will help you sleep during the entire flight time. How do you feel now, though? Anything bothering you, apart from the soreness?'

The watch was placed on the mattress and the woman reached for his arm - as always, her fingers were slow moving to give the hybrid an indication of destination; the objective was to check for the place where she had injected the sedative, trying to check for any allergic reactions or negative side-effects... But he seemed fine; it felt like it would all work.

[wolfofartblock]

Trying to get some semblance of a story put together for the Researchers Au because I want to be consistent with what I draw, but I'm not a writer lol, so this is going to be long, it might run on and on, it'll probably be full of typos and errors because I'm also listening to music while typing it up, and more so please be patient >.> Things stil might change but for now I'm mostly satisfied with this.

Researches in the south pole find two creatures trapped in ice, as if they were frozen in the middle of a big fight. Both are cut and thawed out to be studied.

Dr. Mercer is such an important and world-renowned scientist that the (corporation/organization/government/idk) that the team works for lets him do whatever he wants when it comes to the research project. This includes him being the sole person allowed in the labratory containing the first creature's body (Alex).

Dr. Mercer was weirdly obsessed with Desmond, but also really hated him. Didn't think he deserved to be there, just like most of the scientists there, but to the extreme. While studying the creature he comes to theorize some of its abilities, including how it's able to consume and replace any organism, but of course this is just at theory and he needs a ginea (<- how do you spell that) pig.

Dr. Mercer then lures Desmond into the lab and attempts to get the creature to eat him. This backfires. Even while trapped in ice and subsequently the cyropod, the creature was aware of the presences and actions of each person at the station it came into contact with. It kind of liked Desmond and it was aware of what Dr. Mercer was trying to do. So it ate him instead. Easy.

Desmond obviously sees this, tries to tell the others but is not believed when "Dr. Mercer" appears behind him looking just fine and clearly not eaten. The real Dr. Mercer had never shared his theories with anyone, so no one suspected a thing.

Once everything is settled (for the night), Desmond goes to bed and the creature disguised as Dr. Mercer (Alex) goes to find the creature #2 to finish what they started however many thousands of years ago, but it's gone. No where to be seen. He thinks maybe it took advantage of the chaos Desmond caused running down the station's hallways screaming about Dr.Mercer's death. He swears and leaves the room.

For the next week Alex takes advantage of Dr.Mercer's refusal to allow anyone into the lab, pretending to hole up in there studying while actually crawling around through vents and pipes trying to find signs of the other creature so that he can take them down. Instead all he manages to do is give Desmond 20+ heart attacks a day and once again every time Desmond tries to tell someone he just saw something, he's brushed off, but at the same time some are worried. They think the isolation is getting to him, the way it did to his predecessor, Clay. They ask Alex to keep any eye on him because they've "noticed" the two getting closer recently anyways, but Alex was already watching him due to other reasons: already being 100% Desmond is a human since they were in the same room together when everything went down (or at the very least, that his locations can be checked and verified in some way or another the day of) (Thank you @teecupangel for that!)

At the start of the second week (as in week 2 since Dr. Mercer was eaten), one of the many sled dogs go missing. Desmond is distraught and some of the others at the station go from worried for him to scared of him. There's talk of sending him home or possibly getting him into some trouble. He's reprimanded and sent on his way. It's after this that him and Alex really do start to become a little close. There's still some odd behaviors from him here and there that weird Desmond out (stuff that Desmond would've easily connected to Alex being one of the creatures had the rest of the station not already convinced him he's being paranoid/crazy/needs help/etc.).

At the start of the third week, another dog goes missing. Desmond is once again pulled aside but this time with the promise that soon he will be returning home. He's either 1) incompetent and can't take care of them properly or 2) doing something to them and it's scaring the other station members (alongside his other recent actions). He finally goes to confront Alex about everything, because he knows that Alex knows something. Alex finally admits to being creature #1 and answers every question Desmond throws at him. He also admits he needs help finding creature #2 and Desmond is probably the only one who's able; Alex stating that he's noticed Desmond's abnormally keen senses for a human (or maybe that he might have a 6th sense altogether) and his knowledge of their environment and survival skills (thank you @twitcherpated-replies) would go a long way. Desmond says he wouldn't be able to because he leaves at the start of week 4. Alex says by then it might be too late. Creatures like them get stronger the more they eat, and the fresher the food they eat is. Alex being the good creature he is has been eating normal human food, and while it doesn't do much, it keeps him sustained. After some talking, Desmond of course agrees to help. They share whatever information they have with each other, anything and everything (turns out Desmond has way more information than Alex does because like he said, Desmond has something of a 6th sense and has noticed more wrong at the station than he's let on to others), and come up with a list of suspects that creature #2 could be: Daniel Cross, Elizabeth Greene, Lucy Stillman, etc. (thank you again @teecupangel for that one)

While carefully observing their suspects, Desmond questions how they're going to stop creature #2 if it's stronger than Alex. Alex brings up a drug Dr. Mercer had created called bloodtox, one that he was going to use on Alex had things actually gone according to his plans and Alex had eaten Desmond. They have three viles. Alex has one, Desmond has another and the last is back in the lab.

Finally, the day before Desmond is set to leave, they confront their #1 suspect, Lucy. While doing this, they're stopped by creature #2 revealing itself and the fact that it was just sticking close to Lucy because she was a really good scapegoat for them. A big fight ensues.

Alex's syringe is broken in the fight against creature #2. Desmond's syringe is broken while luring creature #2 away from Alex's unconcious body, letting himself get chased down multiple hallways and even thrown around a little. Rebecca runs into a security room and puts the building on lockdown (think of the doors closing in among us lolol), momentarily cutting creature #2 in half long enough for Desmond to get up and run and hide (2 doors closed in on it). The entire time it tries to go through the station, Rebecca is slamming doors in its face or turning on something or another to slow it down. It finally gets fed up, stares into the nearest camera at her, and flings itself into a vent. Desmond realizes creature #2 is no longer after him but after her and goes to stop it. Lucy and Shaun are left to find the last syringe. After some debate between each other they take the bloodtox out of the syringe because clearly these things aren't working. They find an empty spray bottle and decide that it'll just have to do. Desmond gets to the security room just in time to save Rebecca and Alex gets there just in time to save the both of them, but creature #2 is still stronger and the presence of Rebecca and Desmond is a little bit of a hinderance. Finally Shaun and Lucy show up and just start spraying creature #2. It's working, it's getting weaker and weaker. It tries to swat the spray bottle out of their hands but unlike the syringes, it can't shatter on impact with the ground or wall, so Alex just picks it right back up and keeps spraying them.

Finally the fight is over, Alex wins and consumes creature #2, to the horror of everyone but Desmond.

[husbandohunter]

Moments of Despair #1 [Genshin Impact/Diluc x Reader]

Synopsis: “The man who was on fire and realized it too late.”

(A series of works where the boys deal with the passing of their beloved).

Albedo's despair

Warnings: angst, tragedy, major character death, graphic depictions of violence perhaps

(A/n): Had these ideas for a while after reading @/serensama To Mourn series of another fandom. So much sorrow and feeling I just was inspired to write 😫

_______________________________________________

The moment you fell lifeless in Diluc's arms, he wanted to disappear.

It was raining again, he had always despised the rain. How it trickles down the slope of your cheek, like tears falling from the heavens. The sight of it mixing with your blood creating a thin stream of red rivers flowing beside him. They patter down obnoxiously because time didn't care, the gods don't care, the world didn't care. You were just a small fragile person to their eyes but to him you were his light. A candle that used to shine in his dark world was now dissipitated by the waters of reality.

Many droplets have passed and he was still holding you. Diluc could do nothing but stare. He hadn't shed any tears nor could he make a coherent sound. Perhaps it was because his tears have long run out when his father was held in the very same way. Or it was because he was heartless. He's usually told for being cold and indifferent. But the pain clenching in his chest was proof that he still had one (proof that it was still beating), much to his dismay. It would be better if he didn't.

So why can't he just look away? Your wounds, your bruised features, everything now etched so deep into the back of his conciousness that is was starting to awaken his worst nightmares. They were the source of the bile growing in his stomach. The irony stench filling up his nostrils felt so sickening. He couldn't turn away. You're dead. You're dead. You're dead. As if reality had yet to register, or maybe he refused to accept it, Diluc helplessly gazed down your body with blank and empty eyes.

"Master Diluc..."

Jean's voice called out to him pitifully. He rises up with his back turned, ignoring the stares given to him, "Leave. The knights of favonius are not needed here."

"But she's a Mondstadt citizen," The anemo user retorts, slightly taken aback by his impassive reaction, "It's my responsibility to ensure this case doesn't go unnoticed."

Unnoticed. Diluc scoffs in his mind, what a tasteless joke.

"It seems you weren't listening," he announces as his head was turned ajar so they could see the deep hatred glowing red in his eyes, "Leave. Now."

Jean's lips trembled before barely being able to say, "Alright" and retreating her knights back to the city. Kaeya narrows his gaze at his bother, the sorrow was evident through his pupils. He steps forward until he was arms length away from his brother. Too little too late, another failure was added to the belt.

Kaeya was a man of many words but for once he was at loss of what to say. No underhanded suggestions, no ideas taunting him to spill his thoughts, he simply asks Diluc, "What are you planning to do now?"

Silence. Kaeya couldn't predict what sort of expression his brother was making as he looks at your corpse. It brought a heavy weight of unsettlement upon him and here he thought he had already grown used to his brother's quietness.

Slowly, he turns around while letting the water pour down his face. Kaeya tightens his jaw as Diluc drags his feet towards him, stopping when their shoulders were parallel, "It's none of your concern."

"You're just going to leave her here?"

There was a slight pause which was enough of an answer. The Cavalry Captain sighs when he watched him walk away, what was the point of asking when Kaeya knew Diluc so well? He glances at your form before swiftly shutting his eyes.

It was his concern.

-------

A week later, the staff of the Ragnvindr household could hardly recognize their Master's appearance. They knew not to bother him when he decides to lock himself in his chambers. Diluc drowns himself with work from hours to no end as he connects the findings of the person that took your life. As expected, it was one of his enemies- a fatui member. The question was, which one?

"Master Diluc, I beg of you, please take care of yourself," Elzer pleads.

The pyro user didn't bother to spare him a glance or look at the tray of food he carried.

Food...you always brought them whenever he had to work overtime.

"I do not remember specifiying anyone to be allowed in my office," he voices aloud, "If it's related to business affairs simply leave that with Adelinde and I'll take a look at it tomorrow."

"I understand. But you've been working all day and night yet refusing to take any breaks in between. At this rate, you'll harm your health."

The feather pen in his grip kept dragging it's course, "This is beyond the duties assigned to you Elzer."

"That's because it was a request sent by your father," he adds, knowing that stepping over his boundaries may cost him, "If Master Crepus was still here, I'm sure he would have said the same thing."

Taking a deep breath, Elzer lays out his last card, "And also your wife."

The pen slows into a halt.

No one had brought you up until now. Elzer anxiously watches his Master shifting in his seat, his red bangs covering half of his face but he could still see the frown pressing firmly on his lips. It wouldn't be a surprise if Diluc suddenly bursted at him for mentioning such a sensitive topic, all that matters was his master's well being and Elzer was willing to risk everything for it. But nothing. Diluc turns his attention ever so slightly at the tray he carried.

"Fine, but I'm not eating that."

"What? Wasn't this was her favourite-"

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

Elzer furrows his brows before sighing, "...No, Master Diluc."

He exits the room while carrying the fresh dish of Once Upon A Mondstadt that you loved so much. The door closes with a soft click and he was alone again.

People found it strange how Diluc seemed so vacant to your passing. He didn't even show up at your funeral. Instead, he continues his duties as a Mondstadt nobleman like usual while taking care of business matters associated with the winery. Except those who were close to him could see the difference in his actions. Apathy, he was so mechanical in every task he did. Like a marionette attatched on strings, a doll without a soul. After all, his soul died the moment when yours did too. What remains was a shadow of Diluc and a being existing solely for revenge and duty. He was nothing but a remnant.

Fatigue begins to wash over him and he fights to stay awake. Because once he gives in it will all be over. Once he closes his eyes, he would see your face with a multitude of images from the past. He would hear your voice calling out his name from a distant space as it echoes off the walls of his mind. He would fall into a dream where you were still with him and as always, waking up to see that it was never real.

I should have pushed you away.

Because what hurt Diluc the most wasn't that you were gone, rather, it was how you were still here.

Then you'd still be-

Something breaks and it turned out to be the pen he was holding so tightly. Only now Diluc realized how fast his heart was thrumming as beads of sweat began rolling down his forehead. Focus. Don't waste time. He won't grant himself the liberty of anything when your murderer was still on the run. Every wound they inflicted on you was going to be returned in tenfold. He'll make sure of it. That's why, he refuses to think about you at all. Diluc occupies his mind with other matters since at this point, work was the only efficient method of keeping his sanity in tact.

She needs you to focus.

The door opens and Kaeya enters the room while holding a document, "We found the guy."

His reaction was immediate, "Where?"

"Hm, now that we meet, it's actually quite debateable," The captain notes wryly, "When was the last time you've gotten proper rest?"

"I don't have time for this, either you tell me or I'll do it by force."

Kaeya couldn't help but sigh, "Apologies but you don't seem to be in any state for a fight. I'm sure you know how it would end up if you were to face your enemy right now."

"..."

"Diluc, this isn't healthy," Kaeya asserts, it's been a while since he sounded so sincere, "I'm not here to prevent you from doing what's necessary however, perhaps it would be better if I finished it in your stead."

"No," Diluc stubbornly answers, "Hand that over."

"...Heh, then there's really nothing I can do to stop you it seems," he whispers with a sad smile, "At the very least, be careful."

"I intend to," The pyro user snatches the paper parchment out of Kaeya's hands before opening the window, "Also, if Elzer returns, tell him there's a few errands I have to take care of."

The night was a full moon and the sky was empty, Diluc leaps off the edge and disappears into the darkness. There was no telling of what could happen next. Since you weren't here, it was up to Kaeya to watch over him.

-------

The claymore dropped to the ground with a clang as it soaks up the blood of the fatui he just killed.

Diluc was tired, so tired.

He slumps down against the wall from pure exhaustion, all that adrenaline and hatred went up in fumes, leaving behind whatever was left in his heart: nothing. Two hours, not even that far from Mondstadt, the fatui hid in an abandoned building as he cowarded for his life. When Diluc arrived, he never expected this monster to be so weak. This was the person who murdered you? A pathetic nobody that was simply following orders? This was the reason why he lost you forever?

In the end, the only one to blame was himself, for being weak and unable to protect you. He was supposed to be your hero ("Darknight hero," you'd always tease), the rock that shields you just as you had been the warmth he longed for many years, did he give you enough? Was this enough? He thought avenging your death would grant him a peace of mind and the justice you deserved but deep down, he knew it will never be enough when it comes to his love for you.

"Diluc."

He closes his eyes, he hears your voice. He was so tired, it wouldn't be a surprise if he started hallucinating.

"Diluc."

"I'm sorry..."

The man lets out a trembled breath as he apologized to the image of you in his mind. I'm sorry I failed you. They were repeated like a mantra in hopes to reach you somehow. Of course that was impossible, his feelings, his emotions, love and sorrow altogether will never reach you again. And your arms that once comforted him and brushed his hair with a soothing voice, saying everything will be okay, where are they now?

"Diluc."

"Stop," he didn't want to hear your voice.

"Diluc, I'm here."

"Stop..."

"Diluc..."

He jolts his eyes open and lets out a yell, what was he saying? He doesn't know. All he needed now was to drown out the fake voices mocking in his head. Diluc grabs the nearest object and shatters it against the floor, the dam was broken and it flooded uncontrollably, breaking everything in it's way. The abandoned house was filled with loud cries of a man sobbing with agony like a broken-hearted child. He crumbles to his knees and falls to his side, lifting his forearms while clutching his face.

And screamed.

Archons, what did he do to deserve this? Why do the people he cherish get taken away from him? Diluc never wanted to be the Darknight hero if it meant having his father perish in his arms. He didn't want the feeling of stabs against his chest with every breath he took. He didn't want to feel cold while knowing it was because you weren't here to hold him. He didn't want your voice, your pictures or your memory.

He wanted you.

"(Y/n)..." he chokes. Rolling to his back, Diluc moves his arms to cover his eyes, letting the tears run down to his ears, "(Y/n)..."

For who knows how long, he lays there in the abandoned building and mourns. Diluc doesn't have the strength to move from his position, he found himself staring mindlessly through the cracks of the roof when his voice had gone hoarse. The corners of his eyes still burned and his head was throbbing with so much pain. Maybe he should just stay here but the thought of being in the same room as your murderer was unfathomable.

Picking up his claymore once again, Diluc drags himself out of the door. Where would he go? It's not like he had a home to return to because home was when he was with you. A doll without a soul, the marionette moves as if the strings have commanded him to do so. Where ever it takes him, he didn't care. He just knew he had to go.

[hogwartsmarvelmommy]

Second chances and unspoken promises (TH) 🔥

Word count: 7.2k

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Summary: three years since the fall of your secret relationship, and a journey back to the place it all started. You could be leaving even more heartbroken, or maybe the stars will align and it'll be your time.

Warnings: some angst, fluff, smut. Secret relationship. Talk of a long secret relationship during early years. Break up, slight insecurities, overall I think that's it (let me know if you see anything I didn't mention)

Additional warnings: oral (f receiving) fingering, showering together, unprotected sex (don't be silly)

A/n this took me so long to finish 🙄 but here it finally is 😁

~~~

Your tires skidded to a stop on the blanket of white snow that led up the driveway of the large secluded cabin. The weather had progressively gotten worse from when you had first begun your drive until now, visibility dwindling quickly due to the large snowflakes fluttering down. You were sure with how heavily the snow was falling, by morning all the cars that lined the large drive would be covered. 

It had been a few years since all of you had made the journey up, everyone's life becoming jam packed, and busy. This trip itself was a last minute plan. Sam had called just a few days prior, insisting you join. Something about a dire need for nostalgia or something to the effect. 

The December's up here we're rough. Quite often having blizzards that would bury the cabin owners in for days, but even that didn't stop the Hollands. This year only the three eldest boys, and close friends Harrison Osterfeild and Tuwaine Barrett, had made the trek up, knowing the weather forecast was warning of a hefty snow storm. 

You had been coming up to the Hollands family cabin since you were a tot, when your parents would accompany you, you were on every trip, so much so you had your own room, separated from the boys as you were always the only girl. This cabin was the place you had your first kiss, the place you lost your virginity, and it was also the place your heart had been broken into a million pieces. 

You weren't sure exactly what had made you say yes, knowing the last time you stood inside the four walls, your world had crumbled down around you. Maybe it was curiosity, maybe it was just because you were reluctant to believe that that had really been the end.. three long years, and you were still just as in love with him as you were the first time you kissed him at only eleven, under the stairs in the potter closet. 

You took a deep breath before shutting off your engine, not actually prepared to deal with the chill that was going to take over as soon as you opened the door to walk to the boot and collect your bag. You pushed the door open, swinging your feet out to the plush snow that was still coming down, you could get your bag and run, but that ran the risk of falling on your ass and making yourself freeze, or you could just endure the two minutes max it would take you. 

You relentlessly walked to the back of the car, grabbing your heavy bag and lighter one as well before walking up the not so recently shoveled path. 

You could hear the words echoing in your head as you neared the front door. "Your not enough y/n, your not worth it," the words had shattered you, making you feel less than a dirty tissue. You stood in the door that day, as you watched the love of your life leave, destined to do spectacular things, leaving you behind and broken. The worst part? No one had ever known what had gone on between the two of you. Years, of secret meet ups, stolen kisses, and dumb excuses. 

The closest anyone had ever come to finding the truth was the winter of 2018, when Sam had seen Tom leaving your room in the middle of the night, hair a mess and sweaty as he sneaked back to his room. Somehow you had managed to convince him he had imagined the whole thing.. you still weren't sure how that had worked in your favor. 

You took the final steps to the large oak door, glancing at the slab of concrete that held each of your hand prints embedded next to your names, ordered from oldest to youngest. Toms, yours, Sam's, Harry's and then Paddy's little baby hand, him barely being a year when you had made the sweet memory.

"Alright," you whispered as you turned the handle stepping into the toasty cabin. The smell of pasta hit you instantly, something you were sure Sam was whipping up. You heard loud conversations coming from in the main family room, with light music playing in the background. You dropped your bags down next to the staircase, slipping your boots off and onto the mat, and then stripping your heavy coat off, leaving you in just leggings, a light hoodie, and your maroon beanie. Nerves picking up at this point, unaware of who was here yet, and how you would be greeted, having not seen everyone in so long. There was a pattering coming towards you as you looked over to see the grown staffy running at you. "Hi Tess," you sang as you got to her level, letting her greet you with slobbery kisses. "Missed you too darling," you told her as you scratched her head. 

"Tessa?" Tom called, rounding the corner and stopping at the sight of you with the pup, a sight he had seen before, when she was smaller, and you were his. "Hi," he whispered. 

You glanced up, smiling before getting to your feet, Tess not leaving your side. "Hi Tommy," you said, barely above a whisper. Neither of you moved, standing there just looking at each other as if you were in a standoff, waiting to see who would do or say something first. 

"Hey Tom do you- oh my god Y/n's here," Harry yelled pushing past his stunned older brother to wrap you in a long overdue hug. "Missed you kid," he told you, squeezing you too tight. 

"Harry," you giggled, swatting at his curly red hair. 

"Sorry, sorry. It's just been so long," he pointed out.

"Y/n?" Sam's voice was eager as he rounded the corner, nearly in a Sprint as he made his way to you. "God I'm so glad you came!" He screeched as he lifted you into his arms.  

"Me too," you hummed, returning the hug. 

"C'mon, let's go introduce you to everyone," Harry urged, grabbing your hand. 

"Everyone?" You asked in confusion. 

"Harrison, Tuwaine, and Sam's girlfriends," Harry told you. You nodded, not being aware there would be other girls on the trip. The news actually excited you, maybe the estrogen would calm the boys down from being so rowdy and rambunctious. 

"Grace, Molly, Clark-" Harry announced, making the three girls turn towards you. "This is Y/n y/l/n, our oldest friend,"

The three girls got up making their way to you, as the four of you exchanged pleasantries. 

"We have heard so much about you!" Gracie exclaimed. 

"I'm really glad to finally not be the only girl up here," you admitted as you were ushered over to sit with the three of them. 

Meanwhile, Tom was still standing in the front hall, not sure what to do with himself. He had thought that seeing you would be easy. You were just y/n, after all. But when his eyes met yours, the pink hue of your cheeks and nose, sent his mind rushing back to years prior, when he would pull you into the potter closet, freshly in from the snow, kissing the tip of your nose and cradling your hands as he attempted to warm you up. You would never know how much he had loved you, how much he had appreciated and cherished every stolen moment the two of you had shared together, up until the last one. The words still burned his throat, remembering the look on your face as he said them, desperate to not hurt you, but he somehow had managed to screw that up. He had just wanted to let you live your life, not following him around as his life had gotten too overwhelming, he hadn't wanted to put that stress on you, knowing you would have endured it for him, even if it killed you. 

But to see you, just a few steps from him, letting Tess slobber on you with her kisses, nose red, cheeks rosy, in your signature cold outfit, wearing his old hoodie. He wanted to take it all back, he wanted to have crossed the distance pulling you into his arms, burying his face in your neck as he whispered how badly he missed you, and then to pull away, to meet your lips with his, in a warm kiss, a kiss that would bring it all back, every broken promise, every missed opportunity, every longing feeling..

"You alright mate?" Haz asked, bringing Tom out of his head.

"M'allright," Tom lied, knowing Harrison could see right through him, he was the only one who knew, knew how desperately Tom had loved you, how crushed he had been when he called things off, how hard it had been as he walked away from who he was sure was the one. You had been his first, first kiss, first shag, first love, first heartbreak… and he desperately wanted you to be his last. Last love, last kiss, last goodnight, last person he held in his arms on his deathbed. He was sure there was no way, not with the look you had given him three years prior, tears threatening to spill over the brim of your eyes, bottom lip quivering, as you just watched him leave, watched him walk out of your life with no promise to ever return..

This was sure to be a long trip.. 

You nestled your way between Harry and Tess laying your head on Harry's shoulder with your hot chocolate in your hands listening to the conversation they were all having. The fire in the wood burning stove was blazing, radiating a heat that was warming you all to the core. Dinner had come and gone with some slight small talk, leading to everyone shifting to the family room. Sam was in the middle of telling Tuwaine something, to which you weren't paying attention when Molly asked you a question. 

"So y/n, do you have a boyfriend?" She asked, politely.  Your cheeks flushed red as you lifted your head from where it was resting on Harry's shoulder before. 

"No, no boyfriend," you told her with a chuckle.

"Really?" Grace interjected, now solely intrigued with the gossip. "How long since you had one?" She wondered. 

"Three years, actually, pretty close to the day," you took a deep breath all to aware of Tom's, eyes directly on you from across the couch. 

"Three years? Must have been some heartbreak," Clark said, a pitying look on her face. Truth be told, Tom was never your boyfriend, never having put a label on whatever it was the two of you had been doing, but she was right, it was definitely 'some heartbreak'.

"Yeah, I just wasn't enough," you said quietly, an ache in your chest knowing the man who had said those words sitting just a short distance from you. 

"No way," Clark shook her head. "He wasn't good enough for you," she shot you a sweet smile. 

"That's true," Tom muttered from where he had been sitting quietly on the couch, making all the girls turn towards him. 

"Did you know him?" Grace asked. Tom's eyes widened, realizing he had spoken too loud. 

"I- yeah," he sighed, knowing they were going to quiz him on the subject now. 

"Was he awful?" Molly wondered. 

"No, he was great," 

"He was an ass," 

You and Tom had spoken at the same time, you looked up, eyes meeting him in a lingering stare. "He was great," you repeated, not looking away from him. 

"How could you still think that after what i- he said to you?" Tom asked. With your attention fully on him, you could almost forget the others in the room with you.

"He was young, I was younger. Life caught up with us and made the fantasy we were living too real too fast, doesn't mean I have to hate him. I still love him, never stopped…" you reached next to you scratching in between Tessa's ears. "Sometimes you have to push past the hurt to try and understand other people," you whispered, not daring to look up. 

"Is he your soulmate?" Harry asked. You looked besides you, not even aware that he had tuned into the conversation. 

"I don't know," you chuckled. 

You looked across from you to see Tom's sight glued to his hands in his lap, completely unreadable.  

"Have you been with anyone since?" Grace asked, everyone turning to you. 

"Like?" 

"Sexually?"

"Oh," you felt your cheeks heat up at the question. "No actually, he's the only man I have ever been with," you admitted, making Tom's head shoot up to look at you, shock plastered on his face. 

"Three years?" Harry gasped, Dramatically sliding down as though he was wounded. "That's too damn long to not be laid," he told you. 

"I agree," Grace giggled. 

You shook your head and let out a chuckle. You had never been able to bring yourself to move on, fear that it would be betraying your heart, which clearly belonged to someone else, after so many years, it still belonged to him.. 

It was nearly two am when the welcoming conversation died down, Clark and Sam excusing themselves first, followed closely by Harry, and Then you. 

You grabbed your bags, heading up the stairs to the room that had been yours for so many years. The door creaked open, as you pushed through, dropping your bags at the end of the old bed before switching on the lamp. A picture of you and Tom neatly placed in a frame next to it. 

You could still remember the day it was taken, Niki had been following behind all of you as you hiked up the big hill to sled down. You had lost your balance, falling over and pulling Tom down with you, into a soft pile of snow. The smiles on your faces as you had been giggling were so pure, filled with love and adoration. Even Niki could see that, snapping a picture of the moment to be frozen in time forever. 

You walked over to the bed, sitting down lightly as you watched the snow fall from out the window. The view was mesmerizing. The white blanket covering the ground making it impossible for it to be dark. 

You had forgotten how at home it felt here, being where you had grown into a woman, almost every important defining moment happening within these four walls. There was a soft knock on the door. 

"Yeah?" You called out. The door creaked open, and Harrison's head peaked in. 

"Can we talk for a sec?" He asked you. 

"Sure," you nodded to him, before he finished opening the door and walking over to sit beside you.

"I know it really isn't my place to tell you this, but he loves you. He's crazy about you, and that never stopped," he looked over to gauge your reaction. 

"Haz," 

"Y/n, I know that what he did was awful, but you have to know his intentions were pure," you took a deep breath and nodded before sitting back to hear what he had to say. "You knew how busy he got during the civil war, and then with homecoming and infinity war it was even worse, he didn't want to put you through it anymore. With Endgame, and Far from home he had almost no time to do anything else. And he knew it was going to be that way, he knew he wasn't going to be able to be there for you," he explained. 

"He told me-" 

"I know. I know what he said, and I'm not saying you have to forgive him, but just know, he didn't mean it, okay?" He looked at you with his soft blue eyes, trying to fix his best friend's mess. Honestly, what Tom had done hurt you, but you knew he hadn't meant it, there was no way he had meant it. 

"Okay," you nodded. 

"Okay, got to get back to Gracie now," he told you as he jumped up and rushed out. You turned your attention back to the window, hopeful that this trip would get you answers, or at least some closure.

You opened your eyes to the splattering noise at your window. You could see the remnants of an exploded snowball splattered about. You rolled out of bed, pulling the fuzzy blanket that had been on top of you around your body as you made your way to the window. Sam was bundled up, running as Harry charged at him, a freshly made snowball in hand as Tom stood holding Tessa's leash as he watched his younger brothers goofing off. 

He glanced up to the window seeing you looking down at him and lifted his hand in an awkward wave. You giggled and waved back, walking away from the window, and making your way downstairs. The quietness of the house led you to believe everyone else was still asleep. You walked over to the still lit wood stove and tossed in a few more logs to ensure the heat would continue. 

You had never been a great cook, you were actually certifiably bad, but you still decided to go to the kitchen and begin to pull out the ingredients for breakfast. 

You were on your tiptoes about to reach the flour when you heard the front door open and felt the gust of wind. 

"What are you doing?" Sam asked casually as he walked up to the fire sticking his red hands out to get warm.

"Breakfast," you proudly stated. 

"God, no, please y/n, anything but that," Harry groaned as he made his way in. 

"Hey!" You pouted. You couldn't actually be offended, you would have probably ended up giving everyone food poisoning had you gone through with the cooking.

"Don't bully her, she's not that bad of a cook," Tom said as he rounded the corner pulling the beanie from his head to expose his crazy hair. "She makes some mean cookies," Tom reminded them. 

"Oh no," Harry groaned, falling back onto the couch. 

"Baking and cooking are two completely separate things Tom," Sam started. 

"You had to open that can of worms?" Harry asked, looking at Tom. 

"See the science behind-" 

"God! No Sam!" Harry groaned again, making a giggle erupt from your chest. 

"I want to hear Sammy, tell me," you instructed leaning against the counter. Sam shot a cocky look over to Harry before turning and lecturing you for the next thirty minutes on the differences in cooking and baking, and why chefs were not considered bakers and vice versa. By the end you were sitting at the kitchen island as Sam finished the pancakes and bacon. 

"Interesting," you mumbled as he slid a plate of food your way. 

"It truly is," he agreed. You grabbed your fork beginning to eat the food on your plate when you felt a hand on the low of your back. You glanced up with your mouth full to see Tom standing beside you, not even aware of where his hand was placed, or if he was, he wasn't showing it. "Here," Sam said as he slid the plate to him. 

"Thanks Lad," he said as he sat down onto the stool next to you, hand leaving your back as he moved it to grab his fork. He noticed the look on your face of shock. "You alright?" He wondered. 

"Uh- yeah, I'm okay," you nodded, turning your attention back to the food In front of you. 

One single touch and you were completely undone, couldn't even muster the ability to speak. What were you supposed to do for the next week and a half? You weren't sure you could manage… 

"Morning y/n," Clarke said as she walked up behind you. "Morning handsome," she said to Sam.

"Morning beautiful," he said before rounding the counter to giver a quick peck and set a plate In Front of her. "Eat," he instructed. She sat down next to you and started to eat the food. Soon enough everyone had woken up and eaten breakfast. 

"We should go up to the hot springs," Harry said from in front of the fireplace. 

"Awful idea," Harrison laughed. 

"Why?" Gracie asked suddenly. 

"The water is nice and warm, but then when you get out you're still wet and have to hike back down to the cabin, it's miserable," he explained quickly. 

She nodded, "yeah we will pass," 

"Okay," Harry shook his head, "Sam? Clarke?" 

"Yeah we will go," Sam answered. 

"Cool, y/n? Tom?" 

You glanced up from where your nose had been buried In a book having heard your name called with Tom's. "What?" You asked. 

"Hot springs?" 

"Ohh, yeah, I'll go," you sent Harry a smile and glanced over to Tom who had raised brows. 

"Count me in too," he said, not looking away from you. 

"OK, I'll go see about the other two," he announced, jumping to his feet. 

"Don't barge in Baz, you'll see something you don't want to see,"  Harrison laughed, causing everyone else to give a disgusted groan. "What? You all believe they have been "resting" all morning?" He asked. 

"No but you didn't need to say it," Clarke laughed burying her head back into Sam's shoulder. 

Everyone walked ahead of you through the soft snow. The hike up the hill itself wasn't extremely hard, but with the added difficulty of the freshly fallen snow, it seemed to be a much more daunting task. The hot springs were just a little past the sledding hill, and should have only been about a ten minute walk, but you were sure it was easily minute twenty by now. 

Tom could see you struggling, just like old times, he fell back from the rest of the group until you caught up with him. "Here," he said, offering out his arm. 

You grabbed it eagerly, as you attempted to keep your dwindling balance. "thanks," you mumbled as the two of you began to walk. 

"How have you been?" Tom asked quietly. Looking over at your rosy tinted face. 

"Alright, working a lot.. you?" You asked.

"Working," he agreed with a chuckle. 

"The Netflix film was good," you told him.

"You watched that?" He wondered. You could sense the surprise in his voice. 

"Of course Tommy, I've watched everything you have been in," you chuckled. 

You could see from your peripheral vision that his cheeks seemed to get a darker shade of red. "Your favorite?" He asked. 

"Most definitely civil war," you said. "Recognize that butt anywhere," you giggled. 

"Oh shit up," he groaned, rolling his eyes. You couldn't help the nostalgic feel that washed over you

You and Tom trailing behind, lost in your own conversation, while everyone else was way ahead, not minding the two of you. You're not sure how no one ever caught on to the two of you, you were sure, had you been an outsider looking in, it would have been painfully obvious as to what was going on. 

"You remember winter of 17'?" You asked. 

"Hard to forget, we came out here almost every day," Tom chuckled. 

"That year was a good one," you sighed. 

"Winter of 18' was pretty good though," Tom said, glancing over to you. 

"The beginning," you nodded. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" 

"It's ok Tommy, I know you didn't," you told him, a sudden sadness in your eyes as you cut him off. 

"I wish I could take it back," he whispered. 

"Do things differently?" You asked. 

"Yeah, I wouldn't have hid what we had, you deserved to be shown off to the world, not pulled into the closet Every Time I wanted to kiss you," he explained. 

"Hey," you said, "I have some of my best memories in that potter closet," you teased. 

"Yeah," Tom sighed. "I do to," 

You both walked in a comfortable silence before finally catching up with the others at the natural hot springs, the water letting off a beautiful steam, surrounded by white fluffy snow. 

"It's gorgeous out here!" Clarke exclaimed as she shimmied out of her clothes to rush into the water. 

"Not as gorgeous as you, sweetheart," Sam teased. 

"Blegh," Harry faked a gag. "Stop being so gross," he told his twin. 

"Oh, piss off Baz," Sam quipped back. 

She was right though, it was a gorgeous sight, and it brought back many fond memories to be back. 

"Ok, y/n, craziest sexual experience?" Clark asked as you all settled in the hot water. 

"What?" You asked shocked. 

"She does this, you'll get used to it," Harry told you. 

"Oh, well.. what classifies as crazy?" You asked.

"Public, secret, kinky.. whatever you can think." She explained. 

"Ok, well I guess there was this one time, up at a ski lodge. We were stopped on a trail because someone had eaten it pretty badly, and so we just went behind the trees and-" 

"Y/n!" Tom interrupted. 

You glanced over to him to see his face red in shock, and noticed the other three also had a shocked look on their faces.

"What?" You asked quickly. 

"How do you and Tom have almost an identical story?" Sam asked. 

You felt your stomach tighten up. Of course this hadn't been a new question. You should have just lied and kept the story to yourself. "I.. I don't know," you said pathetically. 

"Y/n.." Harry deadpanned. "Who was it with you at the ski lodge?" 

You felt your face flush even redder, as you didn't know what to say or how to get yourself out of this mess. 

"Oh My God!" Sam exclaimed. "I knew I wasn't fucking crazy," he announced turning to Harry. "I caught Tom sneaking out of Y/n's room one night!" 

"Wait a minute-" Tom interrupted. 

"No. No, you two were shagging," Sam accused with a bony finger pointing at Tom. 

"Sam it's not-" 

"You're not denying it?!" Harry gasped looking back and forth between the two of you. 

You sighed loudly as you looked at Tom, who looked just about as embarrassed as you felt. 

"How long?!" Sam asked. "When did it start?" 

Tom sighed before shooting you an apologetic look. "First time was in 2013," Tom said. 

"2013!? Thomas! You lost your virginity to Y/n?!" Harry exclaimed, completely shocked.

"That was after two years of a lot of kissing and hand stuff," Tom admitted. 

"Tommy!" You exclaimed, throwing him a look. 

"Let me get this straight," Harry chuckled dryly. "The two of you started to mess around at 14 and 15?" 

"More or less," you told him. 

"And you just kept it hidden?" Sam asked. 

"I mean… yeah," Tom admitted. 

"So how long did it last?" Clarke asked. 

"Until the winter after Infinity war," Tom said. 

"Thomas, that's like seven years," Sam pointed out. 

"Well if you count from the first time we kissed then-" 

"Tom stop," you instructed. "Yeah me and Tom, did things, and we hid it because we knew it would cause problems," you explained.

"For who?" Sam asked, confused.

"For us," You told him, "Tom was twenty two and I was twenty one and I told him that I would come with him, but that meant Making things real between us, and leaving the little bubble we had created, so he called it off," you explained. 

"Is that what you think?" Tom asked. 

"No, that's what happened," you told him.

"No, you had just been accepted into uni, and I had to leave for filming, and I told you I didn't want to be without you, so you offered to give up on uni. I couldn't let you do that, I needed you to live out your dream, that's why I called it off," Tom admitted.  

"What?" You asked shocked. 

"You thought this whole time I was scared to commit to you?" Tom wondered.

"Umm, yeah," you admitted. 

"I feel like this is a very private conversation," Clarke whispered to Sam. 

"Shh, it's about to get better," he told her quietly. 

"Y/n, I only did what I did because I was so in love with you," Tom whispered, as he moved closer to you. 

"Tom, you told me and I quote 'you are not enough y/n. You're not worth it'" you reminded him. 

"Only because I couldn't see any other way to get you to let me go, it was wrong, and I shouldn't have said that, because I didn't mean it…" he explained. His eyes were warm and genuine as he brought his hand up to your cheek. "The only thing I ever wanted with you was the real deal. I wanted to bring you home to my parents, even though you grew up knowing them. I wanted to have you on my arm at the premieres and at random galas I have to attend, but I knew that uni was your dream, and you worked so hard for it, I couldn't be the reason you missed out on that," he explained. 

"I graduated early," you blurted without thinking. 

"What?" Tom asked, eyebrows furrowing together. 

"I graduated last month. A year early, I got my bachelor's degree in business," you told him.

"Y/n, that is amazing," he exclaimed, pulling you into his arms. 

"Yeah, I achieved my dream," you mumbled against his chest.  

"That's so great, I'm so proud of you," he told you before Pulling back and crashing his lips into yours, for a moment you nearly forgot about the company that was with you, being completely captivated by his lips on yours. 

"I want to say I didn't see that coming," Sam chuckled. 

"I didn't," Harry admitted. 

"Awweee," Clark exclaimed. 

Tom pulled away, whispering a quick sorry before moving back to sit down, but not letting his hand leave where it rested around your waist. 

You spent the next two hours at the hot springs explaining how you snuck around for so many years without anyone finding out. 

You walked up the steps to the back door of the cabin completely frozen from your wet undergarments underneath your clothes. "I call shower first!" You exclaimed running through the door and straight through the kitchen and the living room towards the stairs. 

"Have fun?" You heard Harrison call out. 

"Frozen solid, I'll answer when I've thawed," you called back. 

You slipped your clothes off before you started the water, letting it warm up. You slipped your chilled body into the warm stream, feeling the pins and needles from the sudden temperature change. 

There was a soft knock on the door before it opened. 

"I'll be fast," you called out not knowing who had come in. 

"You're going to use all the hot water," Tom's voice teased. 

You peaked your head out the curtain seeing him leaning against the counter with a smirk on his face. "I don't take that long," you told him. 

"You know, we could just shower together, save water." He told you. 

"What an environmentalist, you are," you teased. 

"Is that a no?" He Wondered. 

"Did I say no?" You asked, feeling your stomach fill with butterflies. 

You heard him chuckle before the sound of a zipper. "Y/n?" He asked. 

"Yeah, Tommy?" You bit down on your bottom lip waiting anxiously.

"You can tell me to leave, I'd understand it if you didn't want me around," he nearly whispered, fear lacing his tone. 

"Tommy," 

"Yeah y/n?" 

"Better get in here before I use all the hot water," you quipped. You didn't have to tell him again, with one swift motion, the curtain opened just enough for him to slip into the rather small shower. His hands found your waist almost instantly, pushing your body against the cold tile, crashing his lips into yours. It was nothing new, you had done this so many times before, but there was just something different about it. Maybe it was that you hadn't been with him in three years, or maybe it was because now you weren't hiding, or maybe, just maybe, it was because life had finally aligned just right, and it was your time. 

You reached your fingers up to the nape of his neck, fingers twiddling with the curls. His fingers dug into your hips as he pushed his bare body against yours. 

Your skin burned under his touch, a fire blazing inside of you. Tom's lips moved from your mouth down to your jaw and then to your neck. 

"Y/n?" Harrison's voice called out, you hadn't even heard the door open. Tom lifted his head from your neck and you clasped your hand over his mouth. 

"Yeah Haz?" You asked. 

"You and Tom talked?" He wondered. 

"Little bit," you admitted as Tom chuckled, shaking his head. 

"Good, good. Was worried he was going to be a puss and never admit his truths to you," he said, making Tom furrow his brows together. "He can be a real div, ya know. Never knows the right thing to say," at this point you rolled your eyes knowing very well that Harrison was more than aware that Tom was in the shower with you, and was just trying to push his buttons. Which seemed to be working. Tom gripped your wrist pulling your hand from his mouth. 

"Hey mate, while I do love hearing about my flaws," tom said, "I'd really like to make up for losing the last three years here, so unless you're trying to hear that-" 

"I'm going," Harrison chuckled, exiting the bathroom in a rather quick fashion. 

"We will never live this down," you pointed out. 

"Honestly y/n, who cares," he whispered, returning his lips to your neck, sucking slightly on your sweet spot. 

Your fingers laced into his curly hair tugging lightly. "Tommy," you whimpered. 

The thing that had always been so easy between the two of you was that Tom had helped you discover yourself. Everything you had ever wanted, Tom had given you,  he was one one of the most understanding and patient men you had ever met. So as you withered away under his lips on your neck whimpering his name, he knew just what you wanted. 

He slipped his hand from where it was placed on your hip, down to your aching core. 

"Right here, darling?" He asked as he pushed his knee between your legs, giving him enough room to slip his hand between your thighs. 

"Please," you begged. His fingers slid seamlessly through your already soaking folds. 

"Always so good for me," he whispered into your ear, making your knees feel weak. 

He trailed his fingers through your folds and right up to your clit, rubbing slight circles on the little bundle of nerves. You dropped your head to his shoulder, letting out a moan. 

"Tommy- s..So good," you told him before he gently pushed a finger in. 

"Still so tight I see," he whispered, slipping another finger in. 

You lifted your head Back up, crashing your lips into his. His tongue swiped across your bottom lip, and you eagerly gave him access. It was a heated mess of teeth clashing as neither of you seemed to be able to get enough of the other. Tom curled his fingers inside you, making you gasp as he found the right spot. You threw your head back, hitting the tile wall a little harder than you intended.

"Right there?" He asked. 

"Mhmm," you panted as you felt the band in your belly getting ready to snap. 

"Want you to let go, pretty girl, can you do that for me?" He asked.

His words pushed you over the edge, hips moving on their own accord as a pornographic moan left your mouth.  

"That's it my pretty girl," Tom cooed as he worked you through the high, eyes never leaving you. 

As soon as your legs quit shaking and the quiet whimpers stopped leaving your lips, Tom pulled his hand from where it had been between your legs, bringing the two fingers he had buried inside you up to his mouth and sucking them clean. 

"Christ Tom," you groaned. 

"Was that good princess?" He asked.

"So good," you nodded, pushing your lips back against his.

KNOCK* KNOCK* 

"Y/n! You're going to use all the hot water!" Sam called through the door. 

"Probably should get out," Tom chuckled. 

"Yeah," you agreed. 

You turned the water off, quickly hopping out and wrapping a towel around your wet body, Tom doing the same thing. 

You picked up your clothes before opening the bathroom door to Sam standing there, waiting. Your cheeks went rosy as you walked out of the bathroom first. 

"Sorry," you mumbled, making your way down the hall to your room. Tom stepped out with his clothes, turning down the opposite side of the hall to his room. 

"In the shower?!" Sam groaned. 

"Sorry mate," Tom chuckled. 

You got to your bedroom, dropping your soiled clothes into the hamper before rummaging around for some comfy warm clothes. You settled on an old hoodie that you had stashed in the wardrobe (you were pretty sure it was once toms) and a nice pair of fuzzy pajama pants. 

You collapsed onto your bed, hair still wet and mind going a million miles an hour. Your door creaked open, and you didn't even have to look up to know who it was. 

"You alright?" Tom asked. 

"More than alright," you answered, not even looking over to him. 

"So you graduated?" He asked. 

You propped yourself up on your elbows. "I did," you nodded. 

He nodded, a smile spreading over his face. "What are you doing now?" He wondered. 

"Haven't really decided yet," you admitted. It was the truth, you had barely moved your stuff out of your dorm and back to your parents house, you weren't sure exactly what you were planning to do. 

"Can I throw you an idea?" Tom asked. 

"Please," you giggled. 

He walked over, plopping down on your bed, pulling you into his lap so you were straddling him. 

"Come with me," he whispered. 

"Where?" You giggled, wrapping your fingers in his hair. 

"Anywhere, everywhere, just stay with me?" He begged. 

You leaned forward resting your forehead to his and sighing."Tommy, I never wanted to leave you in the first place," you admitted. 

"I love you," he told you, looking into your eyes, with his honey golden brown ones. 

"I love you," you whispered. Tom leaned more into you, lips searching for yours. His hands grasped your ass as he pressed your lips together eagerly. It was like he said, you had to make up for the lost three years. 

You let yourself get lost in Tom's lips, feeling like a lovesick teenager all over again. You rocked your hips against his as you kissed, feeling him growing beneath you. 

You continued your movements, pressing your core harder against his growing bulge, making him groan into the kiss. You knew what you were doing, bringing Tom to the point of no return.   

“Y/n” Tom groaned into your lips. 

“What is it, pretty boy?” you asked as you let your lips travel down to his neck, nibbling and sucking on all the exposed skin. 

“I want you,” he whispered, hands running up and down your covered back.  

“You have me,” you chuckled against his skin, “You have always had every bit of me,” Tom clutched your ass as he flipped you on your back, returning his lips to yours in a demanding, intention filled kiss. His hands traveled to the hem of the hoodie, before he pulled it up lightly. You sat up pulling it over your head and tossing it to the end of the bed. Tom doing the same with the shirt he had on, before finding his way back to your body. 

“God i have fucking missed you,” Tom groaned as he trailed his lips from yours to the valley of your breasts, pausing at each one to pay your nipples attention. You groaned as his lips enveloped the hardening bud, while he took the other in his fingers. He knew what you liked and how you liked it, and he knew how to get you right to the point he wanted… you begging for him. He moved his lips farther down your abdomen, sucking gently before making it to the bend of your pajama pants. He hooked his fingers into the waistband, shooting you a look, waiting for confirmation. You quickly nodded. He pulled the pants down your legs painfully slowly as he drank in the sight of your body. 

“So perfect,” he complimented as he took the pants from around your ankles, dropping them to the floor. He had your leg in his grasp and took the opportunity to place a kiss on your ankle, trailing them gently and slowly up your legs, making the ace you felt in your core intensify dramatically. “Oh Tommy,” you groaned as he placed a kiss on your bundle of nerves. 

“What is it, love?” He asked innocently from between your legs. 

“Tommy please,” you let out, fingers intertwined in his messy curls. “Please fuck me,” you begged. 

You saw the smirk flash across his face as he pushed himself up from in between your legs crashing his lips into yours. You reached down as you eagerly attempted to rid him of his sweats, failing miserably in the heat of the moment. “I've got it,” he chuckled as he peeled the fabric from his body, freeing his aching cock, from the hold of the fabric. Just the sight of him there, naked, between your legs, hand wrapped around his hard member was mouthwatering. 

“Ready,'' he asked as he ran his tip through your soaking folds. You nodded eagerly as he slowly sank into you, stretching you beautifully. 

Three years, but it was still like muscle memory. Your hands grasped at Tom's neck as your legs snaked around his waist. “Want me to be gentle?” He asked as he bottomed out. 

“We have the rest of our lives to be gentle,” you told him. “But right now,” you lifted your lips to his ear as you nibbled on his lobe gently. “I want you to wreck me,” You whispered, making a guttural groan leave his lips before he began thrusting into you. 

Your head fell back onto the bed as tom pounded into you, back arching from the mattress as each stroke of his cock brushed eagerly on your g spot. You could feel yourself already clenching around him. Barely any time and you were already about to give in. 

Tom's movements slowed suddenly as he brought his lips to yours and kissed you. “I'm sorry, y/n, you'll never know how sorry I am,” he whispered. 

You couldn't stop the tears from rushing to your eyes at the sentiment behind his words, knowing how sincere he actually was. 

“I forgive you Tommy,” you whispered, kissing him deeper. His movements quickened once again, as he pushed you closer and closer to the edge. “Tommy,” you whimpered as you felt your walls begin to clench around him. 

“Me too baby,” he groaned as you felt him twitch inside of you. You brought your lips back to him as you both fell over the edge, a beautiful symphony of pure ecstasy taking over both of your bodies. 

Tom fell beside you, arm draped over you as you both laid there, chests heaving and legs shaking. “Can't believe I lasted three years without you,” Tom mumbled. 

“I don't know how you did it,” you teased. 

“Y/N,” He said seriously. You looked at him with furrowed brows. “I was serious, come with me, be with me?” you felt the breath hitch in your throat as you watched the nervousness take over him, awaiting your answer. 

“Yes,” you whispered as your head nodded. Tom's face lit up as he pulled your body against his, lips clashing again, but in a different way, a way that felt like it would be forever. An unspoken promise being sealed between two people desperately in love after all this time. 

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[trollishly]

Valkyrie Pt. 5 • Ivar X Reader

A girl shows up bloody and beaten to Kattegat. The Queen and her sons take an interest in the girl, especially Ivar.

Warnings: Gore, Swearing, Mentions of sex, Angst, Anything you'd expect from Vikings

The harsh chilled wind of Kattegate’s forest whipped the the thick furs that laid upon her shoulders. The forest seemed to be alive, as the trees whined and creaked as the gusts only became stronger. Her breathing became heavier as she quickened her pace towards her desired destination, ambitious for what she seeked.

Her eyes light up as they finally fell upon the individual, though she couldn't help but shiver as her feet finally met the front of their seated position. 

“The Queen...“ Slightly bowed the being, words slurring from their twisted lips. “Ancient One,” Quipped Aslaug as she tucked her gown to kneel before him, “you know why I am here, we’ve spoken of this matter before.“ Rushed the Queen in a desperate manner. The Seer let an exasperated grunt, his grotesque tongue running along his lips in thought. “The girl from your vision, you speak of her, you’ve spoken to her.” Hummed the cloak individual, while Aslaug only nodded hoping for him to continue.  

"Well what is it that is troubling you my Queen?" Aslaug rolled her eyes slightly, "I wish to know if my visions are once again correct, or am I mistaken and she is actually a threat to my kingdom?"

"You ask difficult questions, always questioning." He grinned, "However, I shall give you comfort by saying that what you see, is in fact true my Queen." Aslaug let out a breath of relief she hadn't known she was holding, refraining from smiling, which she found herself doing more often as of late. "The gods have blessed us with a great gift..." Croaked the Seer, "A Valkyrie." Spoke the two in unison.

•••

Soft knocks echoed throughout the quaint room, and with nobody acknowledging it, a hush voice followed. "I'm coming in." Spoke Ubbe as he push the door open which dragged along the uneven floor.

There laid Frode, in bed and struggling to inhale evenly. His glazed over eyes drifting to look at the intruder. Ubbe watched as the boy clench his hand firmer around the one that laid upon his, the hand belonging to non other than his sister.

Y/n was slouched against Frode's bed, half her weight on her knees and the other on the edge of the bed. She looked as if she hadn't slept for days, which was half of the truth. If it weren't for Y/n's recent episodes of passing out, she would've been up like usual, her sleep schedule being far from healthy.

"Is she asleep?" Asked Ubbe, stepping further into the room. Frode tried to speak in denial, however, he found himself unable to speak, his voice caught in his throat as another fit of coughs erupted from him. With Frode at a loss, he was not able to warn Ubbe as he reached out to shake his sister awake. Y/n flinched harshly from his touch, rolling away from him and onto her feet. They both stood still, however, Y/n seemed to be on guard due to his presence. Ubbe tilted his head, trying to catch the girl's gaze, but she seemingly refused, not wanting him to see her at her weakest, as her eyes were red and puffy from her night's worth of crying over her brother.

"Sorry to disturb, but my mother asked me to invite you to come eat with us." Ubbe simply said, "I would of sent a thrall, but it seems you've scared them all half to death." Chuckled the man as he refrained from coming any closer.

"No, but thank you." Replied Y/n, turning to tend to her little brother once more. Frode quickly grasped his sister wrist and pulled a pleading face at her. "Y/n, you were never one to deny food, please go. I promise I will be fine." Comforted Frode as he begun to push Y/n away. "You need fresh air, you shouldn't be near me. I am not well," he paused briefly by taking a breath as he tried not to cough, "with you still being injured, it could become deadly if you were to stay near me and get sick." Finished the boy, relieved to see that his persuasion was beginning to work as his sister's frown lessened.

"He'll be fed and watched yes?" Questioned Y/n as she turned to face Ubbe. He nodded reassuring her, "A thrall will tend to your brother's every need."

Y/n began to debate in her head, not for long though, as her thoughts were interrupted by a loud growl that came from her stomach. "Okay." Agreed Y/n begrudgingly, as she came to pushed the hair from Frode's face before leaving the room with Ubbe following closely behind.

•••

"Uh- pardon?" Stuttered Ubbe shaking himself from his trance. Y/n spoke up and repeated herself, "I said, the Queen is very generous. All of you are, you could have left my brother and I to die." Expressed Y/n as she kept her head facing fowards as she walked alongside the prince.

Ubbe blinked down at the girl, inspecting her appearance, which he did more often than he'd like to admit, especially in the little time he was in her presence. "You should thank the Queen, yourself." He said, looking away when he caught himself staring. "She knows something we don't- a-and I trust her enough to follow her blindly. Not only because she is my mother, but because I believe she is fit as ruler." Spoke Ubbe, his tone indicating he said more than what he intended to.

Y/n's forehead creased slightly at the mention of his mother's knowledge of the unknown, but let him be, by keeping silent as they finally made it to the hall.

Bickering could be heard from a table of cluttering cutlery, a whine drawing the attention of Y/n. "Mother. Tell them to stop tormenting me." Mischievously spoke, who Y/n now knew as Ivar, as he held a hand of a thrall, who sat rigid beside him. His head was lolled to the side as he looked pleadingly towards his mother with a pout.

Ubbe walked ahead of the girl, a snort coming from him due to his little brother's banter. This causing everyone's eyes to not only land on Ubbe, but Y/n as well. Ubbe eyed a seat from across the room, rounding the table and sitting besides Hvitserk, who's eyes kept flickering between Ivar and Y/n curiously, as he continued to shove food into his mouth.

At the speed of which Thor would strike his hammer, Ivar shuffled in his seat, removing Margrethe's hand from his lips and dismissing her with just a wave of his arm. Y/n stood quietly, unsure with what to do with herself, before realizing something that could have been crucial.

"My Queen." Announced Y/n as she bowed her head in respect, looking at her through the thick of her lashes. "Morning Y/n. I am pleased to see that you've joined us once more. Please, take a seat beside me." She said, gesturing to a spot in between herself and Sigurd. As Y/n approached, the Queen gave Margrethe a narrowed side glance, "Get our guest a chair." She stated firmly, causing the thrall to panick as she left her spot beside Ivar and walking towards the nearest chair. Both her and Y/n reached for the chair, clutching it at the same time.

"Please, there is no need." Y/n said gently, lifting the chair from Margrethe's grasp and placing it in its spot. The slave just stepped back and scanned Y/n's form before looking away in a submissive manner.

As Y/n took a seat, the Queen continued their discussion before Ivar had been interrupted. "Now Ubbe, when will you have children?" Asked the Aslaug as she gestured to him with a napkin in hand. He grinned, "I probably already have!" He joked causing the others boys to break out in laughter as he pick at his food to throw it towards his mother. "No I'm serious, each and everyone of you should have a woman by now, even married." Spoke the Queen genuinely, as she looked to each of her boys. All of them eyed each other before shrugging without a care and focusing back onto their food. The Queen pinched the bridge of her nose as she shook her head, turning to face her attention to Y/n.

"It seems my boys are far too immature to have a wife, let alone children, don't you think Y/n?" Smiled Aslaug at the girl, which made the boys pause in their gluttony. Y/n found herself a little caught off guard, as she was never the one to get romantically involve, spending most of her time training or raising her brother.

"I don't believe my opinion would have much value my Queen." Began Y/n as she kept her attention solely on Aslaug, "But since they are the King and Queen's children, heirs are expected from them..." Aslaug seemed pleased with Y/n's answer as her lips quirked slightly, "Hmm, and do you have a husband, or lover, for that matter?"

Y/n cringe internally, knowing what Frode would say to the Queen if he had the opportunity. "I don-" However, Aslaug cut her short. "I'm speaking nonsense aren't I? Of course you would. You are a very beautiful young woman, and a shield maiden I assume?" Rambled the Queen which seemed suspiciously intentional. Y/n's mouth was left agape momentarily before she quickly closed it, "Yes, I am a shield maiden my Queen." She said keeping her answer curt.

Hvitserk began giggling cheekily, as he watched the way Ivar strained himself by pressing his palms against the bench. Pushing his torso upwards as he leaned on the table, in hopes of getting a better view of his mother and Y/n as they conversed. Sigurd scowled at his little brother's enamored behavior. Still upset at his earlier possessiveness of Margrethe, especially after she had confided in him the night before.

"As I was saying, you don't need to love the woman to breed with them." Explained the Queen, making Y/n bow down to eat her soup as she try her hardest to block out the conversation; one that she had already deemed as a personal family matter. As Aslaug continued to chatter, Y/n's eyes scan the room as she spooned the food into her mouth, making accidental eye contact with Hvitserk as he copied her actions. He grinned at her as the soup messily dribble down his chin, until an aggressive voice broke his playful staring.

"What is wrong with you?" Quipped Ivar as he now leaned further onto the table staring daggers at Sigurd, "Nothing is wrong with me," spat Sigurd making Hvitserk and Y/n glanced at each other, with Hvitserk widening his eyes at her humorously. "I just wanted to know if she has love anyone except Harbard..." Silence followed making Y/n sit up uncomfortable, "You remember Harbard don't you?" Sigurd continued sparing everyone a glance but his mother.

Ubbe sat stoney still and so did Hvitserk, but Ivar pushed on, with his arms now crossed loosely, "Of course she has loved another," he stated to Sigurd while nodding. "She has always loved me... isn't that right mother?" He urged while smiling at his mother, his eyes briefly catching Y/n's, who was sat just behind Aslaug from his position. However, the Oueen didn't speak and just nodded as she swallowed her drink discreetly.

Y/n's eyebrows raised at Aslaug's reaction, wondering as for why the Queen wasn't being more reassuring to her son, "She just pities you Ivar, just like the rest of us. Y/n probably feels sorry for you too, especially when you look at her with so much desperation." Ivar flinched at Sigurd's words, anger and embarrassment building within him. "and sometimes, we wish mother had left you to the wolves." He smoothly said, as if it weren't something completely vile. Y/n couldn't comprehend how someone could be so cruel, mainly to their family.

"Sigurd!" Demanded the Queen, with Ivar continuing to glare at his brother trying to sort his feelings internally, "What?" Was all he replied with, before resuming his breakfast.

Y/n found herself wanting to put Sigurd in his place, but refrained from doing so as nothing but consequences would come from it. A drag of a chair turn Y/n's attention back to Ivar, as he was now standing tall at the end of the table. This caused Sigurd to haphazardly throw his spoon onto the table, scoffing at Ivar's display.

Ivar began scooting from his seat, supporting his weight briefly on his mother's chair, with her cooing at him to calm his temper. Her attempts went unnoticed as he continued, with his left hand wavering, before it had finally landed on the back of Y/n's chair. Ivar and the girl gazed at each other, with her turning within her seat to make room for the young prince. Ivar was now hesitant, mainly now that he was the closest he had yet been to Y/n, not helping himself as he caught of whiff of her aroma that furthermore attracted him to her. Ivar's forearm gently grazed Y/n's hair as he pulled himself from one chair to another, as he heard Sigurd still taunting him.

"Come on Boneless!" He teased as he stood from his chair now that Ivar was near. Everyone was now standing, Y/n situating herself just behind Ivar. Bowls and utensils fell to the floor as Sigurd pulled a chair from underneath Ivar making him collapse with a painful sounding thud. Y/n reach down to help him, but pause as Hvitserk gestured to her not to from the corner of her eye.

Ivar's frustrated huffs filled the room, his nostrils flaring as he forcefully began to drag himself towards his target. Sigurd's harmful jabs continued, with the Queen now walking up towards Ivar and passing Y/n, who couldn't help but stand and watch how this would play out.

Sigurd seemed to grow tired of this little game, quickly turning and pushing the doors of the hall open, making the bright light bleach the room with a stark white wash, highlighting Ivar's enraged features.

Ivar chased Sigurd out of the room causing a loud scream to rip from his throat, with the Queen attempting to hold him back.

•••

End of part 5.

•••

Notes: Thank you all so much for 50 followers! Had to finish and post part 5 today for you all!

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