#I think that. their wings are super fucked up because they couldn’t form fully

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

Changed my design for this bitch a bit

[andi-dromeda]

This is a rough idea of what their god forms could be. I’m sure they have many though and definitely too many for me to draw.

I gave Grant sheep eyes, sheep horns, a wolf tail and a wolf cut to show his sheep and wolf thing. Then for the Hunter I decided to give him a scythe.

Tara’s hair is supposed to look like sea foam, I gave her vines for her earth connections and then to show her sky stuff I gave her lots of stars and one eye to be sun-like and one eye to be moon-like. @autisticrosewilson said that so I did that because they are very smart and have good taste.

@autisticrosewilson also talked about Jason being the most split of the three and having other versions of himself following him around and whilst he can hear them, he can’t see them. He also just generally can’t see magic that well. Until they all ascend, some massive part of their powers is kept from them. Jason can’t see magic correctly and has something like the mist from Percy Jackson going on. To him they’re certainly in new outfits but Tara’s just wearing a sundress, some heels, a slinky on both legs and a top hat. Then Grant’s just wearing a crop top, a mini skirt and some sandals. He’s enjoying the view but is aware he isn’t seeing what’s really there.

Tara’s vines aren’t glowing because the way she’s held back is she can’t use any of her sea and sky powers. She’s limited to just earth until she ascends.

Grant has bad hearing when it comes to magic but most crucially danger. Sheep have similar hearing to humans but wolves have amazing hearing. As a god he’d have super hearing on par if not better than superman’s but he can’t access it until he ascends. His bad hearing was one of the things that made his first death kind of inevitable as a mercenary. If it hadn’t been the serum that killed him, it would’ve been him not being able to hear threats. At some point Slade started to think Grant as a kid just kept ignoring him but in reality until Slade got close enough Grant couldn’t hear a thing. (Because Slade sucked!)

For Jason’s design I kind of just slapped Shera together with a slightly altered colour palette and I was done. @autisticrosewilson mentioned Jason’s birds being robins and shrikes so I decided to give him grey, see through wings.

Then you have the Ghost and the Robin. I didn’t read Gotham war because I’m a Jason fan and whilst I can enjoy angst, I can’t stand DC fucking him over all the time and never having anything get resolved. However, I did enjoy the artists using his hood to completely cover his face in darkness and just showing the whites of his domino. For Robin I just copied his Robin costume pretty much. I drew both of them with smaller lines to make them look less there, if you get me? They’re both holding weighing scales which is Jason’s thing.

Tara has a harp because she plays with the strings of fate. Grant has a scythe because I thought he deserved it. Jason got scales because justice stuff but also I thought it’d be funny if he ever tried to use them for baking. I know those are different scales but I think Jason deserves to use his scales and all blades for dumb stuff.

Also Grant has yellow eyes. Tara has one yellow, one white. Jason has white eyes but black and white to resemble his domino masks. Even with a bare face, his masks and personas have become such a part of him that now he’s got domino eyes. In my au, Jason started off with brown eyes. After dying, his eyes went kind of grey. I’m a golden Lazarus pit truther especially because in lost days the Lazarus pit is literally gold so when he crawled out his eyes were gold but after a week or so they went green. After he died again by the batarang Bruce threw, he woke up with blue eyes and he figured it was the universe mocking him for wanting his father’s love. The only thing he will ever have of Bruce is his training, his trauma, his hatred and his eyes. Also, whenever he uses the all blades, his eyes go black because the all caste have fully black eyes and white hair. When he ascends or whenever he gets close to ascending, his eyes go black and white.

[the-bau-quinjet]

heyy do you think you can do a steve rogers x reader where the rest of the avengers try to matchmake them because everyone ships them (& everyone knows that they're both in love with each other besides themselves LMAO)? it would be EXTRA amazing if you could make it such that the reader is smaller/shorter than steve? personally really love the height difference in a relationship but if not it's fine too! thank you so much, have a great day ahead xoxo

Set Us Up

Warnings: 2455

Word Count: crude language, but mostly fluff

a/n: This took me a hot minute because I couldn't think of ways for everyone to try and set them up lol, but I think this is super cute! I hope you have a great day too!!

Masterlist

"He totally has a thing for you! Nat, back me up." Wanda turned to the redhead.

You, Wanda, and Nat were supposed to be training. Instead, the two of them have been trying to convince you to make a move on Steve. As if that would ever happen.

"She's right." Nat replied calmly.

"Would you two stop gossiping and just train with me! Please!" You have never confirmed your crush on Steve, but that didn't mean your two best friends didn't know about it.

"Y/N, I'm serious. That man is crazy about you." Wanda tried again while Nat easily defended your attack.

"Wanda, he's my friend. That it." You refused to make eye contact, knowing she would she the longing in your eyes. Instead you kept advancing on Nat.

"Friends don't look at each other like that." Wanda smirked, knowing you'd fall into her trap.

"Like what?" You continued sparring with Nat.

"Like he wants to fuck you against any flat surface available." She stated matter-of-factly.

"Wanda!" You finally turned to her. Unfortunately, that was the point where Nat went on the offensive.

She easily tackled you to the ground, unable to stop her own momentum. She folded you like a pretzel, resulting in a very pitiful whine from you.

"Ow." You complained from the ground, not bothering with trying to get up.

"I know exactly what you need." Nat smirked devilishly. "Steve!" She called across the gym, only making you wince further.

"Steve! Can you do me a favor?" Nat asked the super soldier, knowing he was never one to turn down a friend in need.

"'Course, what do you need?" He made his way across the gym to where you were still sprawled out on the mats.

"Y/N just took a pretty bad beating. Can you help her stretch?" Her and Wanda wore matching smirks despite trying to hide them. "I'd do it, but I promised Wanda I'd help her with something, and we have to go now."

Steve barely had time to respond before the two women were making their way out of the gym.

"Hey, Y/N." He greeted you kindly, looming over your body which was still on the ground. "Are you okay?"

You huffed, glared at the door where your friends just abandoned you, and then smiled at Steve. "Yeah, Wanda just distracted me and you know what that means when you're sparring with Nat."

He grimaced slightly, imaging the beating you just experienced.

"I've definitely been there." He gestured for you to put your foot in his hand. "Here, give me your ankle."

You followed his instructions, lifting your left leg until he grabbed onto your ankle. He slowly pushed your leg forward, helping to stretch your hamstring.

You couldn't help but laugh at the way he had to bend over slightly to fully push on your leg.

"What's so funny?" He tickled your leg before gesturing for you to switch.

"Nothing. You're just really tall." You snickered again at his hunched over frame. Your foot didn't even reach his hips, meaning his back was arched at an odd angle to give him the correct leverage to help you stretch.

"Maybe you're just short. Ever think of that?" He raised a brow, dropping your right leg back to the floor. "C'mon, give me your hands."

You raised your arms up like a petulant child, knowing he would have to bend down to reach your hands.

He rolled his eyes at your childish behavior, but ultimately bent down to grasp your hands. He pulled you to your feet a bit too harshly causing your body to stumble into his.

Your head landed squarely against his chest, really showing off the height difference.

"See," he put a hand on top of your head. "You're just short."

You shoved him slightly, backing away from his warm body. "That may be true, but that doesn't mean you can go around saying it." You playfully glared at the much taller man.

"I'm sorry. Come with me, I'll make you a smoothie to make up for it."

Despite your best efforts, you couldn't keep the grin off your face.

"Deal."

You just knew Nat and Wanda would be all smirks when you inevitably filled them in on this whole encounter.

-

"Who moved all the mugs?" You muttered to yourself. You spent the last five minutes standing on the tips of your toes trying to reach the mugs that, for some reason, had been move to the very top shelf.

Then you spent another five minutes looking for the step stool you kept in the kitchen.

You were about to resort to climbing on top of the counter when Steve walked into the kitchen.

You didn't even have to ask for his help before he was walking up behind you and reaching for a mug. His body briefly brushed against yours as he pulled the mug from the shelf, plopping it down on the counter in front of you.

"Thank you." You smiled at him, unsure if you could form any additional words.

"Anytime, short stuff." He smirked.

"Hey! It's not my fault someone felt the need to reorganize the cabinets." You whined. "Who does that?"

"I think it was Tony." He chuckled. "He said something about helping two idiots realized they're in love." He shrugged.

"That man is so weird." The two of you laughed, completely oblivious to Tony's plan.

-

"You ready to go, punk?" Steve could tell just by the look on Bucky's face that something was up.

"What did you do, jerk?" He eyed him suspiciously.

"Nothing!" He quickly looked down the hall, knowing you and Sam were supposed to emerge any second.

"Sam! You promised you would take me to Coney Island today!" You followed him down the hall, not realizing Bucky and Steve were already in the living room.

"I know, but I can't! I have to fix my wings." He glanced at Bucky conspiratorially. "Tin man, Tony said he needs you in the lab. Something about updating the tech in your arm."

Bucky looked back at Steve.

"Sorry, man. Gotta go." Bucky went to leave, but turned back before he made it out of the doorway. "Why don't you and Y/N go?"

"That's a great idea!" Sam added on. "You two go have fun."

The two of them ran from the room together before you could protest.

"Looks like it's just you and me." You smiled at Steve, grabbing your purse and heading for the door. "You coming?"

"Definitely." He smiled right back at you before leading you to the car.

The car ride took a while, but it felt like no time at all while talking to Steve.

"What's your favorite part?" He gestured to the park map as the two of you walked in.

"I've actually never been before. That's why I was so bummed when Sam said he was busy." You looked around the park entrance, taking in all the bright colors and happy people.

"I'll just have to show you all of my favorite parts then." He smiled at the look of wonder on your face, slowly reaching for your hand.

"I'd like that." You bit your lip nervously, butterflies swarming in your stomach when he took your hand.

He showed you around the entire park, starting with the rides. You went on every ride you could, only stopping when a fan asked for an autograph or a picture from one or both of you.

"Those are all the best rides." He smiled confidently.

"Really? No ferris wheel?" You pouted a bit. "I've always wanted to ride a ferris wheel."

"Don't worry, we will." He grabbed your hand again. "It's better to save that for the end of the night. Right now, it's time for games."

You couldn't help but smile at his antics. He genuinely looked to be having the best time in the world, and you honestly felt the same way.

"Lead the way."

The two of you made your way to the arcade, where Steve let every kid beat him.

His face lit up with joy watching them celebrate beating Captain America at various carnival games. When the game seemed unbeatable, he would win and let the kid choose a prize.

At the last game, he whispered with one kid as you looked on suspiciously. The little boy grinned, nodding his head in complete seriousness before turning back to the game.

When Steve won, the little kid smiled bigger than anyone else had all day. Steve walked back over to you with an enormous gray teddy bear.

"Your losing streak ends." You gestured to the bear.

"Yeah, well little Michael over there said I needed to win a prize for my pretty friend. He said he'd throw the game for me." He spoke with complete seriousness, causing you to giggle.

"That might be the cutest thing I've ever heard." Your face was the epitome of heart eyes as you looked between Steve and the bear. You pulled him into a massive hug before finally stepping back and trying to calm down.

"What's next?" You grabbed the bear, holding it tightly in one arm.

"Food!" Again, he held your hand as he lead you around the park.

He walked with you along the boardwalk, pointing out various spots to get different foods. Some had been there since he was a kid, others were clearly newer.

"This used to be my favorite." He smiled fondly looking at the Nathan's Famous sign.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" You walked confidently up to the window only to realize you had no idea what to order. "Steve! What should I get?"

He laughed at the panic on your face. Without even realizing, he put his arm around your shoulder, drawing you closer to him. You went easily, leaning into his touch.

"Can we get two Coney dogs and a large order of fries?" He asked the attendant taking orders. "Do you want anything to drink?" He looked down at you as though this were an everyday occurance.

"A slushie!" Your eyes went wide, a giddy kind of excitement growing in you.

"And two cherry slushies, please." He fished out his wallet with his free hand, still holding you close.

You moved to get money as well, but Steve shook his head. "This one's on me, sweetheart."

You all but melted at the pet name, hiding your smile by burying your head between your bear and his chest.

You signed a few more autographs and posed for more pictures while you waited for your food. A little kid came up to the two of you just as your order was called.

"I'll get it." You gestured for him to talk to the child.

"Captain America!" The little girl smiled widely when Steve crouched down to talk to her. "Are you on a date?"

Steve's face reddened at the question, but it made him think. "You know what, I think I am." He shook his head when he finally realized that Bucky and Sam set the two of you up without either of you realizing it.

"My mommy's gonna be sad. She said you're really handsome." The little girl laughed.

"Well, she's right. He is really handsome." You whispered conspiratorially as you returned with the food.

The little girl laughed before running back to her mom.

"C'mon, we can go sit on that bench." Steve gestured to an empty bench overlooking the beach. The two of you joked and laughed while you ate, but Steve couldn't stop thinking about the little girl's question.

"It's beautiful." You looked out over the sand. The sun was low in the sky, reflecting off the water.

"Breathtaking." Steve agreed, his eyes focused on you rather than the view.

"It's later in the day. Does that mean it's time for the ferris wheel?" You smiled widely, a common occurrence for the day.

"Yep. The ferris wheel is the very last thing to do before leaving." He threw away the trash from your meal before taking your hand in his.

"Why's that?" You looked up at him curiously.

"It's slow enough for you to enjoy the ride, even after eating. Plus, you get the best view from the top when the sun is setting." The two of you stood in line as he explained his reasoning.

"I guess you really know all the best tricks." You smiled at him, hugging the bear to avoid any embarrassing actions.

"Not really. Just the old ones." He joked.

"Steve Rogers! Did you just joke about your age?" You gaped at him playfully.

"Hey! If I can't joke about your height, you can't joke about my age." He pressed a hand to his chest in mock offense.

"I guess that's fair." You nudged him with your shoulder, but he remained solid as a rock.

The two of you sat next to each other in the cart, placing the stuffed bear across from you.

"You were right. This is an incredible end to a marvelous day." You looked out over the park, taking in the pink and orange hues from the sunset.

"Y/N... I think Sam and Bucky set us up." He looked at you nervously.

"Yeah, they did a great job of it too." You replied easily, having realized much earlier than Steve what was going on.

"You're not upset?" He questioned, a confused look on his face. You decided to respond with an unfamiliar amount of bravery.

"Steve, I had an incredible day. The only way I'd be upset is if you didn't kiss me at the end of it." You smiled shyly.

"What if I kissed you now, even though it's not technically the end?" His smile matched your own.

"That'd be okay too."

"You both leaned in, meeting in the middle for a soft and romantic first kiss. His lips moved against yours as if they were made for each other.

"Steve?" You pulled back for air.

"Yes?" He smiled blissfully, forehead still pressed against yours.

"I think we're the idiots in love with each other." You whispered softly, thinking back to what Tony had said.

"I think you might be right."

He smiled, pulling you to kiss you again.

"Steve?" You pulled back again, a bright smile on your face.

"Yes?" His eyes remained closed, just breathing in the moment.

"The ride is over..."

His eyes snapped open, a blush painting his cheeks when the ride attendant awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Sorry!" He jumped from the ride, grabbing the bear in one hand and you in the other.

"Where to now?" You questioned, laughing as he pulled you through the park.

"Home, so I can end this date right."

Permanent tag list:

@averyhotchner

@jesuswasnotawhiteman

@strawberryspence

@sebastnstn

[lizardkingeliot]

So, do those of you currently reading time cast a spell on you (but you won’t forget me) remember that scene in chapter 4 where Quentin shows up for his tutoring session and Eliot says he wants to go to the edge of the campus and manipulate the magic of the wards so they can fly? You know... this one:

Only they never end up making it there because they start bickering the second they leave the library? Well, in the rough draft of this chapter I initially had this scene... ending very differently. And they also weren’t going to fly, they were going to... well. I think I’ll just let y’all read it for yourselves lmao. I think I talked about this a bit on twitter when I was working on the chapter so if it sounds familiar that’s probably why. ANYWAY. I have a ton of deleted scenes from this fic, most of which will never see the light of day, but I woke up this morning with the urge to share at least part of this one so... I guess that’s what I’m going to do.

This is super rough and unedited and honestly not up to my usual standards, but... you know. Rough drafts tend to be that way. It’s also all over the place in terms of tone and where they were at this point in the fic lmao. This might be bordering on crack honestly. Which is why I just scrapped the whole thing and went a different route in the final draft. Anyway. Shutting up now. This is about 2k words so I’m putting most of it under a cut...

—

Trudging across campus two paces behind Eliot, Quentin was stricken by the overwhelming feeling that he was trapped inside a dream. The eerie, quiet campus, lit only by the waning moon and a few dots of light spilling from the various student houses. He looked back over his shoulder, spotting the Cottage in the distance, the dim orange glow of the front bay window swimming in his vision like a boat lost at sea. 

As they approached the outer edge of the grounds, Quentin could feel the magic of the wards, buzzing on the air like insects. Bone-deep reverberations, strains of music swelling from within. He’d never been out this far before. The line where Brakebills ended and the real world began. Where there was nothing but the boat house and the wind. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He breathed in deep, the scent of the Hudson rushing nearby filling his senses as Eliot came to a sudden halt in the dark.

“Here,” Eliot said. Quentin could only just barely make out the shape of his elegant fingers pointing just ahead. “Can you feel the energy? I guess the Naturalists come out here sometimes and use it to light their bongs.” He laughed, a sound that warmed Quentin underneath his jacket at once. “And occasionally singe their own eyebrows off in the process.”

Quentin looked back. They’d come out to a place that the light from the Cottage couldn’t reach. Eliot formed an orb between his hands and pinned it overhead, a grapefruit sized pendant of magic swaying gently in the breeze. He stepped into Quentin’s personal space, giving him the once over. Head-to-toe and back again, settling at last on Quentin’s eyes.

“So,” he said with a smirk. “Cavaleri Animation. My memory of the First Year curriculum is a little hazy, but they’ve dazzled you all with that one already, yes? Turning your marbles into little glass animals, you know the one.”

Quentin nodded. “Yeah, um… but Alice was the only one who could actually get hers to work.”

Swift and warm as a pulse, Eliot’s hand curled around the nape of Quentin’s neck. Heat spreading down the column of his spine like a flame catching a wick. Thumb teasing over burning flesh. Eliot’s lips ghosted over his ear, not quite touching. Still, Quentin swore he could feel his smile. “Well,” he said, soft and dark, “I’m here now. And you’re going to do it. And it’s going to work.”

Quentin’s hand was bunching up the back of Eliot’s cardigan. He didn’t know when that had happened. The hum of the magic was making him dizzy. For a moment, it was impossible to breathe. His body a tight line of tension and desire. Eliot pulled away and Quentin released his hold, staggering a little as he tried to regain some semblance of control.

“Um, okay…” Quentin ran a hand through his hair in a half-hearted attempt at centering himself. “Why, uh—why do we have to do that here? We could have just done that spell in the library.”

“Because,” Eliot said with a tip of his head, “I have a theory.”

“A theory?” Quentin frowned. “You brought me out here for a theory?”

“More of a hypothesis really,” Eliot said with a wave of his hand. “But I think it’s going to work.”

“Great,” Quentin said with an exasperated sigh. “Dicking around with unstable magic in the middle of the night. What could possibly go wrong.”

“Look, it’s going to be fun,” Eliot said with that casual little air of his. “And we probably won’t explode even if I’m wrong. So we really don’t have very much to lose.”

“Okay, I’m—” Quentin threw his hands up. “For fuck’s sake, El, can you just tell me what we’re actually doing out here?”

“We,” Eliot said very slowly, reaching inside his cardigan, pulling a sliver of magenta colored glass out of the pocket of his vest, and looking through it, “are going to tap into all that crazy energy and make your little glass marble friend into a very big animal friend and take it for a spin.” He passed the sliver of glass over to Quentin. “Take a look.”

Quentin stared at Eliot for a very long time before relenting. “You’re actually a crazy person, you know that?”

“I think you mean certified sorcerer genius, but I’ll take it.” He gestured with a nod of his head. “Go on. It’s balls to the wall out here. So much energy we could power a fucking nuclear reactor and I doubt Henry would notice.”

Quentin looked through the glass, moving it from one eye over to the other. At first, it was impossible to make sense of what he was actually seeing. A latticework of stars. Billions of them it seemed, all bumping up against one another in a wild, cosmic dance. A galaxy of intersecting lines and patchwork patterns shimmering like the wings of a dragonfly. And every now and then, a spark. Popping off into the dark like fingers desperate for the night. Quentin handed the glass back to Eliot with a shake of his head.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Don’t be boring, Quentin,” Eliot said. It made Quentin’s chest ache with its normalcy. Like their past couldn’t touch them out here. Like out here with their bad ideas and their wild magic, maybe they could have some hope to start again. “But maybe… maybe don’t make anything that wants to bite our heads off.”

“Okay, so…” Quentin sighed with his whole chest. “To recap: you want to steal unstable magic from the wards of the school where we’re both currently students to make a giant glass animal that hopefully doesn’t swallow us whole so we can… take it for a ride?”

“Yes,” Eliot said, like it was the most obviously brilliant thing in the world. “Don’t make that face with your face. Tell me you’ve never wanted to ride a rhinoceros.”

“We are not riding a rhinoceros, Eliot. Absolutely not.” 

“Well, okay…” Eliot’s hand on his nape again. Heat, fire, a five alarm blaze encircling his neck like a collar. “If you could ride on any animal, real or imaginary—”

“The Cozy Horse,” Quentin said without thinking, heart pounding like hoofbeats trapped inside his chest. “Um… it’s from the Fillory books, uh…”

Eliot laughed softly. “Okay.” His hand slid down to Quentin’s shoulder, gripping it possessively. “Tell me about... the Cozy Horse.”

“Um…” Quentin squeezed his eyes shut, took a breath, shook his head. Eliot’s hand was stroking up and down the expanse of his upper arm and shoulder, making everything go all fuzzy in his brain. “It’s just, uh… it’s this horse that Jane rode on. It’s, uh… really tall. Like a hundred feet. Like a clydesdale on steroids.”

“You won’t ride a rhinoceros but you’re perfectly fine with a horse that’s a hundred feet tall?”

Quentin turned his face upward, trapping himself in Eliot’s gaze. Sinking, flying, falling. Close enough to kiss if he only went up on his toes a little. Tucked inside the safety of his warmth. Quentin wanted to burn, to melt into a puddle at Eliot’s feet and slosh around like muck. “I…” Quentin swallowed. “I don’t think the Cozy Horse would hurt us. It’s basically a giant stuffed animal.”

Eliot grinned, gazing down at Quentin for a long beat before pulling away. “Okay then,” he said, taking a few steps down the path under their feet. “Show me Cozy Horse.”

Quentin reached into his pocket, knelt down, set the marble on the path. “I don’t understand how I’m supposed to… harness the magic of the wards.”

Eliot made a circle with his thumb and forefinger, peering through it with one eye. “Just leave that part to me,” he said absently. “Go on. Make your horse. And don’t say you can’t do it. We both know that you can.”

Quentin gazed up the long line of Eliot’s body. Eliot was fully focused on the wards. The sound of night, the crackle of magic. Quentin shivered under his jacket. His hands hovered over the marble, focusing his energy on prepping the glass for transformation with Dempsey's Silent Thermogenesis. Once molten, the marble could be manipulated into almost any shape he could imagine. For the Cozy Horse, Quentin didn’t have much to go on but the memory of a single illustration, and a few lines from The Wandering Dune, but he figured it would probably be simple enough. How hard could it be to imagine a draft horse the size of something straight out of the Cretaceous period?

Quentin twisted the glass under his fingers, so fully focused on his task he almost didn’t notice when Eliot began to move. When, suddenly, through the loop of Eliot’s fingers, a beam of sharp, frenzied magic began to focus on the animal he had half-formed with laser precision.

“You might wanna hurry,” Eliot said. “I don’t know how long I can hold this here.”

Quentin scowled in his direction, looping a bit of the molten glass into the shape of a tail. “You’re shit at communicating, you know that,” he spit, letting the gentle rage rising in his belly fuel his magic. “I thought cooperative magic was supposed to be, I don’t know… cooperative?”

Legs, hooves, the gentle slope of a hulking animal’s back. The wispy tendrils of a mane. Eliot was saying something that might have been a warning. Quentin was too focused on his creation to parse a single one of his words. The magic of the wards cracked like lightning. He could feel it in his hands. Quickly, almost as an afterthought, Quentin gave the beast that had come to life beneath his fingers a shimmering loop around the back of the neck that might have passed for reins if he squinted.

A single hoofbeat on the soft ground. The beam of magic stuttering through Eliot’s fingers died away, and he let out a tremendous sigh.

“Okay so... “ Quentin frowned, eyes flitting from the tiny glass horse up to Eliot’s face. “I don’t think this is going to—”

A flash, a pop, a tremendous wave of heat knocking the air from his lungs. Quentin shoved his body backward off the path and into the grass just as Eliot was running over. Kneeling down, using himself as a makeshift shield as he pushed Quentin further back away from the molten monstrosity shifting and morphing and doubling, tripling, quadrupling in size. A deep rumble, the tinkling of glass. Quentin peered over Eliot’s shoulder, his eyes moving up, up, up, trying to take in what it was he was actually seeing.

The glass horse shook out its mane, rearing up on its hind legs and down again with an earth-trembling thud. The distance from the ground to its shoulder must have been twenty feet. It had no eyes and no mouth, but Quentin swore he could feel its glassy stare boring into him. The light of the orb dangling overhead passed right through the center of its body. For a long moment, everything went perfectly still.

And then Eliot started to laugh. “Holy shit,” he said, his eyes wide as dinner plates when he turned his face to Quentin. “That is a big fucking horse.”

A laugh sputtered out from between Quentin’s lips. “Yeah, um… yeah. Fuck. It really is.”

Eliot’s body pressed right up against Quentin’s body when he turned, and leaned in, so close they were almost kissing. A pulse of heat passed between them. Quentin felt it in his chest like a second heart. “So,” Eliot said, a hand curling around Quentin’s cheek for a fleeting moment before pulling away. “You wanna take her for a spin?”

Quentin felt absolutely out of his mind. Hazy, his body a liminal space. “Yeah,” he said with a short, stuttering burst of laughter. “Yeah, why the fuck not.”

Unreality set in hard as they stood and cautiously approached. Up close, they might as well have been gazing upward at the hulking glass back of a dinosaur. The haphazard reins Quentin had created looped around the beast’s neck like a string of fairy lights. 

“Um…” Quentin laughed, tucking a tuft of hair behind his ear. “How the fuck are we even going to get on this thing?”

Eliot took his hand suddenly, threading their blood-warm fingers together. “Oh, Q,” he said with a full-faced grin, “we’re gonna fucking fly.”

[mizunetzu]

Would a fluffy Hawks x reader be okay? Like maybe the reader is just having a bad day or smthn? You don't have to do it, thank you!! 💕

aAh-ofcccc !!! Your my first request so ofc I’ll do it I wuv u 🥺🥺🥺

————

Hawks x reader - Bad Mornings

⚠️ Warnings: none

Pronouns: genderneutral, they/them

——————

The moment (y/n) woke up, they knew it was gonna be a shitty day.

The alarm clock droned on louder than it usually was. (Y/n) grumbled and burrowed their head further into their pillow.

That, however, proved ineffective as the alarm clock only seemed to become louder and louder each minute.

“God-fuckin-“ (y/n) grumbled as they slammed their fist down onto their side table, slapping it aimlessly until their hand met with the stop button.

(Y/n) laid there, unmoving, for a few seconds before groggily sitting up and stretching. They put their head into their hands, and sat there for another few beats.

Hands dove tenderly under their pillow, fishing out their phone as they yawned. Once hands grasped around the cold piece of metal, (y/n) dug it out and squinted at the bright screen.

Besides the few texts from their boyfriend Keigo, or hawks as he’s commonly known as, (y/n) scrolled down and saw the reminder they set before the went to sleep that night.

‘Reminder-morning patrol today @ 8:30 !! Wake up !!’

(Y/n’s) eyes widened as they whipped their head towards the alarm clock they silenced.

8:23 am.

8:23 am.

(Y/n’s) blood ran cold as they practically flew out of their bed, stumbling into the closet with a few “oh fuck oh shits!” to get their hero gear on as fast as humanly possible.

(Y/n) was a newer hero, so patrols were especially important. Rent and food were hard, when you only get paid when you defeat a villain or catch a criminal.

Which is why (y/n) sprinted out of their small apartment, toast in mouth, as they tugged on their remaining shoe. “Shit shit shit” (y/n) grumbled through the toast occupying their mouth.

(Y/n) didn’t stop sprinting until they reached the street, where their patrol officially started. (Y/n) doubled over, hacking and wheezing. A few people stopped and stared. A few started whispering, while some approached the hero cautiously.

After a few “I’m fine, miss. Thank you’s” and “don’t worry, I’m not being chased by a villains” the adrenaline of waking up so suddenly, seemed to dissipate.

————————

(Y/n’s) patrol was practically almost done at this point.

After walking around aimlessly, (y/n) was just about to give in to exhaustion. They wanted nothing but to collapse into the comfort of their bed, maybe with Keigo right next to them if they were feeling genero-

A loud thud coursed through the air, breaking (y/n) out from their tired trance. Another thud was heard, followed by the sound of a bank alarm ringing and a few screams and shrieks.

(Y/n) ran towards the sound, telling everyone to run in the other direction as they made their way towards the deafening sound of the bank alarm.

“Everyone, please evacuate the premises immediately!” (Y/n) shouted out, dodging the people bustling past them.

There revealed the bank in its entirety, with one wall completely decimated, probably due to someone’s quirk. Loose dollar bills flew out, as four or five people ran out of the hole in the wall, snickering and holding bags of money.

“Stop! Thieves!” Someone, presumably a worker, yelled out from the inside of the bank. (Y/n) ran towards the criminals, who spotted them and ran like mad in the other direction.

Usually, there were always a few heroes on site of a situation, so (y/n) being alone was pretty unlucky of them. Especially because they specialized in rescue situations, so their attacks were pretty shrimpy compared to your usual hero.

(Y/n) chased the group of criminals, attacking them pathetically, through the street. Many people started staring, making it way more difficult than it should’ve been.

One old man even had the audacity to yell “What are you doing? Your a hero aren’t you? Do something kid!” While vigorously wagging his cane at the poor hero.

To be honest it took (y/n) everything they had in them to not bitch slap a senior right then and there.

(Y/n’s) lungs started to burn, as they desperately attacked the villains endlessly.

When will backup come? Why am I the only one here? Why hasn’t anyone even shown u-

Just then, numerous amounts of sharp, red feathers shot through the air, rendering all of them unconscious in a second. A heavy silence erupted into big cheers, while a certain winged hero flew in, greeting everyone and taking pictures.

Crowds of people ran past (y/n), as (y/n) just slowly sank to their knees, wiping away any excess sweat that had been forming on their forehead. ‘Are you serious?’

(Y/n) let out a long, girthy, breath. They weren’t even mad, even through they should’ve been. I mean, who wouldn’t be mad when your super exorbitant boyfriend steals your rent money and, unintentionally, takes all the credit?

(Y/n) stared at Hawks with a blank expression dancing on their face. The no. 2 hero still hadn’t noticed, and was still entertaining the crowd before him.

Hawks slowly drifted over to the hero’s, before smiling and pushing through the crowd of people. He made his way over to (y/n), looming over the smaller figure.

“Yahoo (y/n)~” Keigo said with a big smirk.

(Y/n) sat and continued to stare up at him with a neutral, somewhat tired glare.

“Now-why are you looking at me like that?”

“You stole my rent money.”

“Awww....is (y/n) maaad at meeee?”

(Y/n), again, did not respond, instead, slowly sinking towards the ground further, until they were fully laying down. Keigo chuckled, but held somewhat of a concerned look in his eyes. The male crouched down next to (y/n’s) head, while (y/n) stared into the sky with tiredness gracing their features.

“Agh-Cmon-you can’t possibly be mad at me-“

“I’m just-having a long day.”

They both sat in an heavy silence. (Y/n) brought up their hands to cover their face and close their eyes. The shit eating grin returned to Hawks face.

“You didn’t reply to my messages,”

“Just let me diiiiiiiiiiiiie”

“But (y/nnnnn),” The pro hero mused, twirling a strand of (y/n’s) hair between his fingers. “If you die, who’s gonna fund my yakitori addiction?”

People started to gather around the two heroes. Some started to talk amongst themselves, while others took photos.

“(Y/nnnn)....people are star-ing~” Keigo smirked. The rookie hero finally shifted from their comfy spot on the ground, taking that as his cue to get up.

“Cmon-get up lazy,“ Keigo murmured as he extended his hand over to the lesser known hero. They took it graciously, pulling themself up to their feet. (Y/n’s) head crashes onto Keigos shoulder, nuzzling the soft fabric of his jacket. They both stood in an awkward, tired silence.

“...(Y/n), People are whis-per-ing~” Keigo droned on, slurring out each syllable. (Y/n) hummed in response, burrowing their head into Keigos chest further and wrapping their arms around his waist. The Pro Hero just sighed and rubbed soothing circles onto (y/n’s) back.

“O-kayyyyy...do you...wanna talk about it?”

Keigo felt (y/n) shift from underneath him, shaking out a ‘no’. Keigo settled his hands around their waist, resting his head on top of their forehead.

“Do you wanna...buy takeout and cuddle?”

Many, many peoples ears perked up at the statement. (Y/n) shifted again, this time nodding out a ‘yes’. If you think that Hawks shit-eating grim couldn’t get any bigger, your wrong.

‘Is Hawks dating someone?’

‘Do you think that they’re lovers?’

‘Hey-they’re kinda cute....do you think they’re a newer hero?’

(Y/n) finally registered all the people surrounding them. “Okay-up you go. How does takoyaki sound?” Keigo hummed, swooping (y/n) up in one movement.

“Hawks! Hawks! Are you two dating?” A girl ran up. Keigo pecked (y/ns) cheek tentatively. “Hmmm...I don’t know. What do you think, (h/n)?”

(Y/n) just smiled and nodded silently.

Keigo waved goodbye to the remaining crowd and took off. He leaned his head onto (y/n’s), who in return just tucked their head into the crook of his neck.

“Hey-keigo?” He hummed in response.

“Thank you.”

Maybe today won’t as bad as they thought.

———

[scoutdolphin]

Rekka Nerva’s Entrance Exam!

Hello! This is my entry for @taiyuu-oct I hope you enjoy!

If Rekka had to choose something he hates, it would be trains. Especially this train. They're so boring! You can't even look out at some beautiful scenery because this is an underwater train. There's a whole lotta nothing. Rekka felt like he could explode from the energy he had stored up this whole morning. His leg wouldn't stop bouncing. Was he annoying everyone? Maybe. He did see someone with space hair suddenly get up and leave the cart. But he couldn't stop. He'll apologise later.

"3 minutes until Taiyuu Station."

Rekka almost bounced in excitement. "Finally! Let's get this show on the road!"

-----------------

Rekka knew this was coming but he was still annoyed. Yes, he knows that everyone needs to know what to do but after the written exam, Rekka just wanted to get to the action already! He couldn't help it when his attention started to wander to the people around him. There were different levels of interesting people, ranging from a pink haired girl he didn't remember seeing to a weird galaxy man. But appearances didn't really matter to him! He looks like a demon after all, so appearances aren't very telling. Never judge a book by its cover! But, he couldn't keep his eyes off a small person with really long hair. Either they have a hair quirk, or extreme dedication to never have a haircut. He'll ask later! MIght scope out some quirks while he’s at it.

"Aaand that's all the info you need! The teachers will be handing out sheets saying what activities you were assigned and when they'll happen. Have fun hero hopefuls!" The principal, Laccadaisy, walked off stage with a beam as the teachers, Wolfsboon and Aurora, started calling out names. 

"Ah crap-I wasn't listening!" Rekka shakes his head and looks around. "I'm sure I'll be okay! I'm not great at reading and writing stuff but this is just like a gym class! ... Hopefully. I'm good at that!" 

“Nerva Rekka?” 

Almost on cue, Aurora calls out his name and Rekka starts shuffling his way through the crowd. “Ah-yes I’m here!” 

“Here you go. You’ve got Shaky Shimmy, Middle School gym Class and Just Keep Swimmin’! Good luck!” Aurora handed off the sheet to Rekka with a smile before moving on. A quick scan of the paper showed that Rekka wouldn’t have to wait long for his rounds, and Rekka could feel the relief washing over him. The last two seemed very self explanatory but… What would Shaky Shimmy hold for him? Rekka couldn’t wait to find out.

-------------

… Well. The name makes sense now. Rekka stands on the starting line with a handful of other students as they all watch the land in front of them quickly morphing and changing. Rekka takes a deep breath and wipes the nervous sweat from his brow. Laccadaisy raises her arm.

“On your marks-”

Everyone sans the galaxy energy man gets down into a sprinting start position. 

“Get set-”

Rekka looks over at Andrew? “I think that was his name…” 

“Go!”

“Ah!” Rekka stumbles as he brings his focus back to the race, noticing everyone is already ahead of him. He’s a fast runner but he’s never ran on a track like this! Rekka runs, jumps and weaves his way around the shifting landscape, laughing all the while. No reason to not have fun after all!

But time seems to stand still as a space haired boy ahead of him starts falling backwards when the land starts rising suddenly. He could let him fall. But that’s not very heroic, is it? Rekka picks up speed and stretches his arms out, scooping the boy by the arms and loosely holding him by the chest. Some flames instinctively flare out from Rekka’s back in the shape of wings, almost flapping to lift the two over the newly formed ledge. It takes a few seconds for the boy to start running again, so Rekka lets go quickly. “Be careful yo!” Rekka doesn’t leave time for the other boy to respond before focusing back onto the course.

Rekka collapses onto the floor in a vague sitting position when he crosses the finish line. He wasn’t last- but he wasn’t first. As Rekka was melting in the sun, something blocked said sun from his eyes. It was space hair boy. Naishin-Sunomu Isejin. “You alright?”

Rekka smiles and sits up. “Yea! Just needed to catch my breath! Ah- Naishin-Sunomu right? You have a sand quirk right?”

Rekka watches as Isejin waves his hand, red sand emanating from it. “At your service, want me to pay you back?”

“I wouldn’t phrase it like that but- I have Middle School Gym Class next and I was wondering if you could add some grit to my hands? Y’know, to make it easier to climb.” Rekka laughs sheepishly.

“Sure! Be careful though, if you breathe it in, it’ll go super the other way and you’ll fall asleep and fall off the rope.” Isejin takes his hands and sprinkles some sand onto them.

Rekka grins and rubs his hands together. “Thank you! Good luck with your other things!”

Isejin nods in thanks as Rekka walks to his next task, trying to keep his hands away from his face.

-------------

As Rekka looks up at the rope hanging from the wall, he ‘Hmm, no not that right now’ they had a feeling they weren’t going to do well, especially when they heard whispers of it being one try only. There wasn’t an explicit time limit so Rekka took their time circling the rope, hands drifting to his face in thought. They slowly get their hands on the rope and wrap it around their foot. With a deep breath, they start climbing. But after a metre or two, they start feeling sleepy. “Wha? But I didn’t… breathe it in…?”

Rekka took their time circling the rope, hands drifting to his face in thought.

hands drifting to his face in thought.

hands drifting to his face.

....Fuck.

Rekka curses under their breath probably too many times as they try to keep climbing, but they were starting to slow down, limbs feeling weak. Rekka considered just giving up and dropping off. But they really didn’t want that to happen. They’ve got a good sleep repellent after all! 

Rekka lifts their arm and punches themselves in the face.

They were sure that if anyone was watching them, they’d think they’re crazy but hey! It seemed to work as Rekka could feel the adrenaline starting to work it’s way through their body. The rest of the climb went by quickly because Rekka, while not the smartest, knew that one punch wasn’t going to hold off quirk-induced sleepiness for long. They slowly raise their arm and slap the ball signalling the end of the round. They all but fall to the thick floor mats and close their eyes. “I hope… no one… breathes that rope…”

-------------

After some worried questions from the teachers and a quick nap, Rekka walked to their final round. Swimming endurance. Now, Rekka doesn’t mind the water, but they do mind their hair being extinguished and people looking at them weirdly because of it. Especially considering that Tsuya, the hair quirk person as Rekka found out, was competing as well. They really wanted to befriend a lot of people but Tsuya doesn’t seem interested, so Rekka really needs to try! They take off their tank top, revealing their glowing top surgery scars. “I hope no one here is transphobic.” Everyone hops into the water as the countdown begins.

“3”

“2”

“1”

“Go!”

Rekka kicks off the wall of the pool and starts swimming with a basic freestyle, hair sputtering out after a few strokes. They don’t bother to focus on how everyone else is doing as they try their best to keep swimming straight. They can see the stone pillars but they keep drifting off course.

It ends like how Shaky Shimmy did. Not last, but not first.

“Dammit!” Rekka flops out of the water and shakes themselves off like a dog, fire hair trying it’s best to fully reignite itself. They turn to see Tsuya looking in their general direction, so they throw up a peace sign and a grin, which causes them to turn away. Rekka frowns and walks to a locker, drying himself off with a towel and looking at their sheet.

“All done huh? Might go home then…” Rekka yawns and starts gathering their things. They take their time walking to the train station, watching as other students complete their various activities or as they walk to the station as well. Ever the social butterfly, Rekka makes small talk with various people as they wait for the train, loving the interaction despite their ever oncoming tiredness. Eventually the train arrives and all the currently leaving students start boarding. Rekka plops down onto the same seat they were on that morning and pulls out their phone, calling a contact named “dad 2.”

“Rekka honey? Are you okay?”

Rekka can’t help but chuckle at the worried tone “Yea dad I’m fine- ‘m all done with the entrance exam, I‘ll heading home soon.”

“Oh! Already? I’m so proud of you my darling.”

“Thanks dad… Can you and dad pick me up from the station? I’m a bit tired…”

“Of course, lets get some take away alright? My treat.”

“Hell yea…”

“I’ll see you later darling.”

“See ya dad.”

Rekka smiles as they hang up, pocketing their phone. They knew their dads would be proud, but it was still nice to hear anyways. The train doors close and the train starts moving towards the underground tunnel. As darkness starts engulfing the train and the gentle lights flicker on, Rekka can’t help but close their eyes. The noise of the train gently quiets their hyper mind and puts them to sleep. They think they deserve it.

Today was a good day.

[purefrostbyte]

Mina - Love Yourself

Mina Ashido

Rating: sexual content (Not smut)

 Love Yourself

 Ever since you manifested your quirk people have ran away from you. You couldn’t blame them, sharp horns on your head, devil tail and claws, you were a monster. It was the reason why your parents had forced you to become a hero saying, “We won’t have a villain for a daughter.” Hell even they were afraid of you.

You got into UA fairly easily, your quirk increasing your general strength and speed while also giving you wings. You had landed second behind Bakugo, not that you really cared. You saw no point in all this, you doubted UA would keep you for long. The minute they find out the full extent of your quirk they’ll kick you, you thought.

That’s why it was so surprising to you when you found yourself moving into the dorms during break. After Bakugo had been kidnapped the school, your class especially, to move on campus for safety measures. You didn’t mind, you saw it as freedom from your parents, though they were hesitant to let you go.

You had didn’t bother making friends with anyone, you doubted they wanted to be your friend in the first place. That didn’t stop a certain pink girl from trying though. She was constantly around you, inviting you to lunch or just for girl time. You had never accepted, and ended up avoiding her where ever you went. You had developed a crush on the bubblegum girl and you figured avoiding her would be better for both of you.

It was currently weekend at the dorms, and you didn’t bother going home. You didn’t feel like listening to your parents nag at you, or the disappointed look in their eyes whenever you were around. Your heart clenched at the thought, your quirk made you unlovable to even your family. You had filled your day with small chores, cleaning up your room or reorganizing things. It kept your mind busy, which was what you desperately needed at this point.

The sun was setting, your Saturday afternoon transitioning into night. You sighed, stomach growling. You had a tenacity to not eat, it started when you just didn’t want to come out of your room and see that look in your parent’s eyes. You got up and headed down stairs, figuring you might as well eat something. Plus you thought everyone had gone home.

You were wrong.

Walking into the common room you were greeted with the loud shouting of Denki and Bakugo who appeared to be playing some video game. “Stop being a coward and help me fucking kill this bitch,” Bakugo yelled as he smashed buttons on his controller. The whole Bakusquad was sat in the lounge playing video games, snacks and glasses sprawled around them. Mina looked up to see you, a smile gracing her face, “Hi Y/n, wanna join?” you shook your head, stuffing your hands in your hoodie as you quietly made your way to the kitchen.

Mina frowned, she had been trying so hard to befriend you and all you seemed to do was avoid her. Hell she was pretty sure you had spoken more words to Mineta than her. Kirishima noticed the frown on his pink friends face, turning to watch you make yourself food. “Yo Y/n,” he called leaning over the couch. The Bakusquad watched silently, confused as to what Kirishima could possibly be up to. “We’re gonna watch a horror movie later, you should join.”

You froze on the spot before turning slowly to face him, the whole squad staring back at you. Jirou caught on quickly, knowing Mina’s desperate attempts to befriend and even flirt with you. “Yeah, not like there’s anything else to do around here.”

You stared for a bit before turning back to your food, your silence annoying a certain blonde. The whole squad knew Mina had a crush on you, and even if you weren’t into girls she still wanted to befriend you. He didn’t want to listen to Mina’s whining, that and he actually did care for his group of idiots (though he would never admit it). “Sit your ass down, or I’m gonna blow your door down and tie you to the couch.”

Everyone was shocked by Bakugo’s claim. You and Bakugo shared an understanding and mutual respect for each other, you weren’t perturbed by his loud attitude and he couldn’t care less about your stupid quirk. You rolled your eyes at him, “Whatever you say Boom Boi.” A tick mark appeared and Bakugo’s forehead, but the minute you actually sat down to join them it faded away. Soon Denki and Bakugo were playing and yelling again, while the others attempted to help them.

“Left!” Kirishima said as an enemy came at Denki and soon the screen flashed showing Denki had died. “Man this game sucks,” he pouted as he crossed his arms. “Maybe it’s the player and not the game,” Shinsou said, he had recently moved to the Hero course. You watched them argue before deciding to reach over and grab the remote. Mina watched as you respawned and instantly killed half the enemies in the room, fingers gliding gracefully over the controller. “Wow Y/n your super good at this!” She chirped, drawing the other’s attention. You and Bakugo had cleared the floor and where moving to find health potions and ammo. “Use to play a lot at home,” you mumbled, “Never had anything better to do.”

The class didn’t know much about you, let alone any hobbies or personal life details. Sero couldn’t help but make an observation, “So how come you never leave the dorms?” You froze slightly, eyes not leaving the TV, “Family.” You didn’t say much else, but it spiked curiosity in them. “Oh, do they live far away?” Denki asked switching places with Mina so she could be closer to you. “I wish.” You sighed as you and Bakugo run into the boss room. Mina furrows her eyebrows at how you responded, did you and your family not get along?

“Dodge and go for the back,” you directed as the boss charged at you both in full force. Bakugo grunted, the both of you taking down the boss fairly easy. “Fuck yeah!” Bakugo yelled as the screen faded to back, signally the end of the mission. You took a bite from your sandwich as Bakugo, Kirishima, Denki and Sero rejoiced. “Thanks Y/n, we’ve been trying for weeks now to finish this mission. Honestly if it wasn’t for Bakugo’s motivation we would have quit.” Sero rubbed the back of his head and you simply nodded, “It is one of the more complex levels, took me a week before I got it.”

Soon the game was discarded and Bakugo was in the kitchen fixing up dinner, because if anyone else cooked they would probably burn down the kitchen. Jirou, Denki and Kirishima started cleaning up the mess of bowls while Shinsou and Sero went to get blankets and stuff for the movie. That left you alone with Mina. “Hey,” she said softly, as if approaching an injured animal, “You know, it was really nice of you to help us. Thanks.” She smiled and your heart fluttered, tail subconsciously swaying in happiness.

Mina found it cute how your tail moved, twitching when you were annoyed, swaying when happy or just curly slightly when you were highly focused. “It wasn’t a big deal,” you mumble, setting the controllers away. Mina giggled, your tail lightly swiped against her thigh. It wasn’t on purpose but Mina couldn’t help but clench her thighs together, she wondered what else that tail of yours could do.

You wondered where the others were, probably washing up or helping Bakugo. Mina took a deep breath, deciding it go for it like her friends had tried convincing her. “You’re really pretty Y/n.” she said and you froze in shock. You wiped your head towards her, not caring about the blush on your cheeks. “What?” you were dumbfounded, “You’re really pretty,” Mina repeated, “I also think your tail is cute, you know how it twitches and stuff.” You shook your head, “You’re crazy.”

Mina frowned, “What, why?” you looked at her before sighing. “Look, my quirk literally makes me a devil, and you’re tell me I’m pretty, cute? Don’t pull my leg.” You rolled your eyes before looking away. Mina tilted her head, “But you are pretty, quirks don’t matter. You should love yourself regardless.” She gave you smile and you couldn’t help what you did next.

You pressed your lips to hers, she tasted of bubblegum. You pulled away and stared at Mina’s shocked face. The weight of what you just did crashed down on you. You blushed before attempting you get up and leave, not wanting to embarrass yourself more. Mina moved faster, moving to straddle your legs and pulling you into an open mouth kiss. The taste of bubblegum filled your mouth and you flipped her over so that you were hovering over her. Her hands wondered up your sides before wrapping around your shoulders to pull you closer.

“We got the, Oh Shit!!” Sero yelled as he walked in on you and Mina making out. You both pulled away out of shock, faces fully red. You got off Mina, moving to create some distance. “You go Mina,” Sero chuckled causing Mina to throw a pillow at him, “Shut up!” she yelled embarrassed and the commotion made the others come to the common room. “What’s going on?” Kirishima asked confused, Sero smirked, “Mina’s getting some that’s what.”

Kirishima and Denki both started cheering, getting a pillow thrown at both of them by Mina, “Shut up you idiots.” You were still processing what had happened, you and Mina had kiss, hell fully made out and one of her friends had caught you. You pulled you knees to your chest, hiding your flushed face. Finally Mina had managed to shoo them away, not before receiving a few encouraging remarks form her friends. She turned to you when they had left, taking in your embarrassed form. “You ok?” she asked causing you to peak your head out from your legs. “Yeah…” your voice trailed off, you couldn’t really look at her with your mind wondering to what had happened moments prior.

Mina didn’t like you avoiding her so she took action, pouncing on you so that she straddled you form. You gawked up at her, “What are you-“ Mina hushed you with a kissed. She soon pulled away, “Don’t ignore me, please.” Her voice was soft and it made you weak. You sat up, bringing Mina closer to you, “Why me?” you whispered, “Out of everyone you could chose, why me?”

Mina wrapped her arms around your neck bringing your body flush against hers, “Because you deserve love Y/n, and I will make you see that.” She smiled and you pulled her into a soft kiss.

[ehstarwar]

a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves (1/8)

Rey looked down onto the empty orange bottle seated on the edge of her bathroom sink. She knew realistically that staring super hard at the bottle wouldn’t magically make it refill with suppressant pills, but she was willing to try anything this point.

The newest edition on the ever-growing list of Shit Rey Experiences', is being unable to get suppressants.

-

Rey can no longer afford suppressants and decided to take on unsuppressed life. Thankfully, Ben is there to help her.

-

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 2.3K

Read on AO3

Notes: i've never written ABO before, but good golly, i have read it and am now ready to take the plunge. plz enjoy!

Chapter 1: doth suffer a sea-change

-

Rey looked down onto the empty orange bottle seated on the edge of her bathroom sink. She knew realistically that staring super hard at the bottle wouldn’t magically make it refill with suppressant pills, but she was willing to try anything this point. Three minutes of hard staring ended up being unfruitful and Rey let out a defeated sigh. 

She had faced quite a few hardships in life. Being abandoned as a child, tossed from foster family to foster family, getting into a university 500 miles away from where she was from, affording said university until she graduated summa cum laude, figuring out a way to survive and pay her loans back simultaneously; the list goes on.

But nothing, nothing, was comparable to the hardship Rey undergoes, continually, as being an omega. 

She wishes the hardest part about being an omega was the constant degradation she experiences in the professional world. If it just meant lewd comments and occasional handsy knot-headed alphas, Rey could deal with it no problem. But the fucking heats. The claw off your skin, masturbate until your numb, loose your absolute mind heats that made being an omega a living hell. And on suppressants, that only happened once a year. 

The newest edition on the ever-growing list of ‘Shit Rey Experiences’, is being unable to get suppressants.

Her terrible insurance had now decided that suppressants were an ‘elective’ medication that omegas could function normally without. While Rey will support Senator Organa until she dies, she does wish that the senator hadn’t fought quite so hard to pass the legislation that ended the federal mandate that all omegas must be on suppressant unless mated. 

It was a huge step in the country, one that Rey had even advocated for, but one with unforeseen consequences like insurances not covering the cost of suppressants anymore. But, such is life. This was the bed that had been made for her, and this is what she would deal with. People went without suppressants all the time; progressive omegas that clearly didn’t live in the same part of town she did, but omegas none the less. 

Rey swept out of the bathroom, promptly tossing the empty bottle in the garbage, before turning to her roommate. 

“I’ve decided something,” Rey announces.

Rose didn’t look up from the television, but responded anyways. “And what would that be?”

“I’ve decided to quit taking suppressants.”  

Rose chokes on the cheese balls she’s currently shoving into her face while looking up at Rey.

“You what?”

“I’m not taking suppressants anymore.”

“Why the hell not?”

“I don’t need to. Omegas are individual, like every other designation and do not need to be medicated just to join society. Senator Organa advocated very hard to have the federal mandate repealed, and to show my support, I will no longer be taking suppressants.”

Rose looked at Rey like she was out of her mind, and she supposed she was. Betas like Rose would never fully understand what it was like for omegas or alphas, so Rey isn’t surprised that this information is shocking to her. 

“Do you realize what this will do? Don’t unsuppressed omegas have like, three heats a year? You literally hate the singular one you have, why would you choose that?” An excellent point that Rey had not considered.

“The heats suck, yes, but… maybe if I know I’ll be going through it more often, I’ll try a little harder at actually dating someone. Use it as a motivator, ya know.” The excuse didn’t sound nearly as bad as Rey thought it would, even if it was total horse shit. She also knew that Rose’s constant pushing for Rey to actually put herself out there would be placated by this answer. 

“This seems like a pretty major change just so you can meet someone. Have you tried that one app that is supposed to help match up alphas and omegas? Knot It, I think it's called? That would be a more reasonable first step than… this.” The concern in Rose’s voice touches Rey and part of her is tempted to break down and tell her the truth. But then Rose would want to help her, being a best friend and all, and Rey would be put even further into emotional debt for all the helping she’s done over the years. She decides to hold steady to her little fib, hoping that Rose will just let it go. ( A pipe dream, to say the least.)

“I’m choosing this for right now. If it becomes… too much, I might change my mind. But I’m going to try this first. It’ll be good for me, I think.”

Rey ignores the unease in her friends gaze, and goes about her business.

-

The bar is crowded when Rey arrives at Maz’s. Some sports game is on that Rey would care about more if she could afford live TV to watch it continually, but cable wasn’t exactly a standard for someone who eats ramen for nearly every meal.

She see’s the large table in the back, the one that’s unofficially reserved for her friends, and notices she’s the last one there. A chorus of ‘hellos’ greet her as she slides into he booth, and is handed a plastic cup full of PBR.

“Rey-Rey! You made it! How’s our favorite mechanic?” Poe asks, clearly already a few too many deep.

“I’m good! Have you guys ordered yet? I’m starved.”

“I ordered a big ole’ hunk of qb with extra ass!” Poe screeches, looking up at the monitors, earning an eye roll from the sober people at the table, and giggles from the drunk ones.

“Buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks with extra marinara sauce,” Ben tells her. He’s across the table from her, but Rey is pretty sure that the calves she keeps bumping into are his. Ben’s damn long legs will always be a point of contention with her. Who needs to be 6”4 anyways? It’s just gratuitous. Still, she like the person they belong to.

“Bless you,” She tells Ben, earring a sweet smile and a hint of a blush. Ben is so easy to make blush; it's one of Reys’ favorite pastimes. 

The night goes on; food is consumed in an ungodly amount of time, beer is constantly flowing, the rest of the bar dies down but they all remain. It’s nice, the little family they form. Rey would never had dared to dream of such a thing, but meeting these people was the greatest gift she’d been given. Rey met Finn the first semester of undergrad, and been a part of this group since. Through Finn, she met Rose, Kaydel, Jannah, and Poe, and through Poe she met Ben. Friday nights a Maz’s had become a staple for the last few years, one religiously followed even when they probably should have all stayed home. 

While Rey loved being in this group of friends and partaking in their rituals, she had to admit to herself that it was… a lot. Without suppressants, at least. Smells were intense, to say the least. Every thing was heightened to the nth degree and Rey had spent the last three weeks without suppressants needed to excuse herself to get a breath of fresh air, too many times to count. 

Everything smelled so, so much, and Rey had to suffer through all of it. 

But it wasn’t all bad. There was the occasional whiff of a fresh smelling laundromat, or sweet pastry that was nice to experience. And, of course, the juicy smelling alphas that usually came as quick as the went. Like right now, in the bar, Rey could smell the thick aroma of leather and pine mixed among the crowd. It was strong, even diluted by the scent of others, so she couldn’t imagine what it would be like on its own. The though made her clench her thighs together in hopes of something that would likely never come to pass.

“Rey… Rey? Are you with us?” Finn waved a hand in front of her face, snapping Rey out of her train of thought.”

“Oh sorry. I was just… distracted.” Rose ‘hrumps’ next to her. 

“We’re still on for Wednesday, right? Trivia night at Lukes?” Finn asks her.

“Yeah! Of course. I’ve been prepping for it by watching Jeopardy every night,” She tells them, earning a chuckle from Ben.

“Good. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget. You’ve been so spaced out lately,” He tells her, making Rey sink further into her seat. 

“Probably because of the suppressants. Or… lack thereof,” Rose replies, causing every sober eye to turn and stare at her. AKA Finn and Ben.

“You stopped taking suppressants? Are you nuts?” Finn asks, incredulously. 

“Thank you, Rose. And no, I’m not nuts. I’m just… choosing the natural life, so to speak.” She gives Rose a pointed glare, and tires to ignore the heated expression on Ben’s face. Finn is a beta, so his opinion will probably be a little off the mark, just like Roses. 

But Ben is all alpha. Not just any alpha; no, Benjamin Solo was 100%, grade-A, total alpha who also happened to be the biggest sweetheart she’d ever met. It was a horrible concoction that had been the subject of one too many fantasies that Rey had shoved down in lieu of friendship. 

Betas would have some idea what it meant for omegas to be off suppressants, but alphas? Alphas would bristle just at the thought of an unmated, unsuppressed omega, even if they smelled like a garbage disposal. 

“So you want to revert back to a sex-crazed lunatic that thinks water is overrated?” Finn continues to question. 

“I don’t think water is overrated even in heats. And I’ve already gone three weeks without and been fairly normal. I’m perfectly capable of handling myself without medication.” Rey keeps her expression calm and cool, but her eyes are steadfastly on her empty plate. 

“Well… good for you, I guess?” Finn isn’t totally convinced and this will absolutely come up later, but he knows not to push his luck like this in public.

Rey gives a tight-lipped smile in response, still unable to meet Bens’ gaze, and is grateful for Poe for his loud interruption that he ‘will be a trophy husband to the first gay NFL quarterback’. 

-

It’s not until they’re all standing outside the bar, in the chilly autumn air, that Rey realizes what’s wrong. She had felt Ben’s eyes on her the rest of the night, and it had taken every fiber in her being not to look at him. She knew what waited for her when she did and her inner omega wanted it too much to be a good thing. 

But what’s wrong is not that Rey has to face Ben while they wait to load their drunk friends into Ubers. What’s wrong is the way he smells. If Rey wasn’t drunk of the beer, then she was drunk off of Ben. The hints of nice smelling alpha emanated from him, even through a cloud of scents. It was deep and rich and Rey wanted to bathe in it. 

She could also feel the displeasure he was feeling and it made Rey want to throw herself on the ground and beg alpha for forgiveness. She resisted, but only just.

When it was just them outside, Rey finally turned to face him, garnering any courage she could find. 

“What is it?” She asked, aggressively, before she could loose her nerve.

“It isn’t safe,” Ben stated simply.

“What isn’t safe? Riding a bike without a helmet? Eating day-old sushi?” She retorted.

“Rey.” It was a command, even if he didn’t mean to give it. “It isn’t safe to be unmated and unsuppressed. Especially…” He trailed off.

“Especially what?” She wishes her voice were harsher to express the anger she feel within.

Ben stares at her for a minute before responding. It makes her scent gland itch. “I could smell you. Through all those people, I could smell you. What happens if a knot-headed alpha is too close to rut and you’re alone-“”

“I’m an adult. I can take care of myself. Rape is still illegal, suppressed or not.”

Bens’ jaw clench and his hands ball into fist and Rey feels her core heat.

“I know you can take care of yourself.” It’s not what she expects to hear, and the softness of his voice breaks something inside of her. Her steely expression falls and so does his.

“You’re right, I know you’re right. But this is the way it is.”

“Why?”

Rey sighs, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes before telling him. “My shitty insurance got even shittier and no longer covers suppressants. My last refill ran out a few weeks ago, and with the way my student loans are right now, I can’t afford to buy them.”

She doesn’t need to see Ben to know the way he bristles. “This is because of my mom; because of the law she passed. It’s not fair to you that-”

“Your mother has been nothing but kind to me! She is a very sweet woman who I will always support and I get why she advocated for this. Yes, this sucks, but it’s not your mom’s fault.”

Ben isn’t placated by this, but keeps quiet. 

They stay like that for a terse minute, Rey scrambling to figure out how to move on from this conversation. He speaks before she gets a chance.

“I can help you. I can get you suppressants if you want. It’s really no trouble. If anything, I kind of feel like I owe you.” Ben is sheepish when he speaks, and Rey’s heart swells a bit.

“That’s kind of you, but no thank you. I can handle this on my own.”

“You don’t have to, Rey.” His voice is low, but washes over her like a warm blanket nonetheless. “Just, please tell me if you need help. Promise me that.”

Rey doesn’t want to. She doesn’t want to even say that she would rely on him if she needed to, out of her own selfish pride, but the omega in the back of her mind screams to, at least, make alpha feel better. She knows if she does, it will help. 

“I promise.” Rey doesn’t know if she says that, or if her omega does.

[akkeyagentofhelheim]

Agents’ Imbalance

[1071.03.24 -  02:00]

Trips to the Jaw were kept to a minimum ever since the Rebellion took their residence there. Akkey and Liam had begun experimenting semi-regularly with his newfound ability, but other than that one instance where she went to him--it was perfect timing, truly, seeing Yun and Nala’s spar--, she would ask him to come to Yrus instead, to the cove. Tonight, however, she had a different purpose for visiting. A question that nagged her at the back of her mind for the past few weeks.

A portal stretched open in a place towards the far north of the old god’s bones, where the stronghold was the thickest and most isolated from people other than the scheduled entries. It was well into the night, not a cloud to be seen, swathing the landscape in light.

“I swear to Hel, you’re getting more and more difficult to find.” Akkey grumbled, one boot planting firmly into the bare ground, her arms crossed as she regarded the tall, lean figure that stood underneath a lone tree, perfectly in the guardtowers' blind spot and hidden from sight.

“Language,” Juro turned to give her his usual crooked grin. His scarf fluttered at both the motion and the wind that decided to blow in that moment. He returned her gaze properly, “Is that how you speak about your divine mother?”

“Oh, shut up.” 

He let out an annoying chuckle, before sombering slightly. Particularly since they were on the topic of maternal figures. He asked quietly, “How’d that day go? The 13th...” Her mother’s death anniversary and her original birthday was extremely recent after all.

She was slow to reply, but when she did, there was cautious satisfaction in her voice, “...better than usual, actually. Shadowing’s been helping a lot, I think.” Her eyes were cast to the side when she said that, always a little iffy on the subject.

A leaf crunched as his foot shifted, amber eyes watching her carefully, “That’s good to hear.”

“Yeah…”

Their gazes met once again, locked between colleagues that could’ve been friends, but there were too many layers to uncover, a gap between them that couldn’t meet. Physically, Akkey was older, but Juro had an ancient aura around him that seemed to keep people at a big, unreachable distance from him, despite both of them entertaining their childish side more often than average. Two powerful agents contracted under Helheim.

The wind blew again, and her long dark hair and his light fringe moved in simultaneous waves. There was a shift in energy as Akkey opened her mouth in careful question, finally deciding to break the silence, “Why are you here, Juro? Is there something wrong?”

The Bookkeeper raised his brows, smile pleasant on his handsome face despite being in shadow, “...merely enjoying a moment of solitude to myself before returning inside. What’s with the sudden interview?” His tone was low to match her caution.

She shook her head, "No. You know what I mean. Why are you here? Now?” She raised her wrist slightly to motion towards the Jaw, and Juro followed the movement with his eyes. The quiet tension between them remained.

“The battle against the Conclave was progressing. I needed to witness it for the Library.”

“By risking life and limb to save Yun?”

The mutual apprehension tangibly heightened when she asked that, and the wind dropped with it in contrast. Juro blinked. His face remained unchanged, lazy grin and calm regard towards her, but Akkey knew she had hit something. That was why she came here in the first place.

“...no.” His reply was even.

“I saw you, Juro.” She wasn’t letting it go. Unlike their last conversation as agents, when she finally understood timelines and alternate souls, and broached the topic of his neutrality. She let it slide then, but the inconsistency and sheer strangeness of it wouldn’t let her this time.

There was an effort to keep himself steady now. She didn’t miss it, as his smile became stiff. Her ears picked up on something, although she couldn’t put a pin on what it was exactly. 

She continued anyway, “I felt your portal. You intentionally opened Virion beside the construct, that was no accident. The sword. The stun. You screamed…” She pressed forward with a step, and Juro involuntarily reacted, taking his own backwards. 

“When the construct was finally defeated, you were right beside me. I know what you were up to--I was doing the exact same thing. Every decision you made leading up to that point was for the purpose of rescuing the time jumper, even ignoring Stonegit, who was just as fucked up as Yun was.” 

His breath was shallow as his cadence faltered, "I didn't…"

“No help, no harm. For twenty years, you keep preaching that obnoxious mantra to me. Neutrality, and whatnot,” she jabbed a finger in the air, pointing towards the construct that peeked over the canines, “None of that was neutral.”

The sound became clearer. It was metal against metal, linking then pulling at intervals, like they were adjusting and positioning themselves. Juro was becoming visibly agitated, and Akkey could tell he wanted to teleport away. She understood. She would have as well, if it were the past. That’s why she had to be quick.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate it. For fucking once you helped without me having to beg for it with a story. But you don’t get to break your oath, your Bookkeeper code, something that I know for a fact that you follow with every will and breath you have, so much so that you would let innocents die before your eyes--” Akkey grit her teeth at the memory from their old days, but she pushed it away, and went on, “--and then now that suddenly doesn’t matter because Yun was trapped?”

His hand had come up to his chest. Akkey saw it tremble once as the space behind him bent out of invisibility and into Virion’s physical form. Its wings were raised slightly, bristling. Juro shook his head, almost desperately, “It does matter!” 

“Then why did you save him? I was right there for Stones! I could have helped him for you, and you fully know that! I don’t go by your dumb rule! What is so special about this kid that you would do that?”

Akkey was less upset and concerned now, and just more confused as she thought out loud, albeit aggressively, “He’s… he’s… we barely know him! Sure, he told us about the Conclave in the first place. And now he’s here to fight Frigga, don’t get me wrong, I‘m grateful, I’m hopeful, I’ll be supporting him any way I can, but other than him and Milae having the same soul, he’s noth--” 

Wait… she stopped short upon the realization.

Her head swiveled to look at him, “...Milae.”

Juro jolted at the name, “Don’t…” Virion flapped its wings threateningly, hovering slightly off ground between both agents. The air from the movement blew outwards, and the wind picked up, hair and clothing beginning to flutter wildly.

“It’s because he’s Milae, isn’t it?” Akkey pressed. She eyed the golem with caution, but she was certain now, “You knew that from the beginning. With Milae… you are super--” her hands waved slightly panicked as she tried to settle on a word, “--I don’t know, weird about him.” 

She paced as she put two and two together, the breeze turning into a gale with her, “I thought I was imagining things. It may not be by a lot, but I know you better than a lot of people on Aidorin. You don’t stick around one person for very long other than me, and that’s only because of work. It gets in your way.”

“But you did that favour for him, with Frigga, and ever since then I saw you with him more often. Like--like a curious kid. Following him around. You went to the Fallfeast and--” She squinted. The festival was a little hazy, she was drunk, but even then… “--every time I think back to seeing you there you were with him, talking, laughing. And here… after the mass teleportations. He was worried about you. He stayed by your side.” 

“Akkey, please--” It was unmistakable now. It was the scrape of chains that filled the air, coming from nowhere yet also everywhere. A raucous cry came from the golem, training all six of its eyes in anger towards the nix. But Akkey didn’t stop, instead her brow creased further in her need for an explanation.

“You like him. Not like Dario does, no, but you--Jin Juro, Agent of Helheim, Bookkeeper of Neutrality… are no longer neutral. You’re attached to Yun Milae. A friend.”

The rush of air, clinking chains, and animal screeching that had continued to build in waves over the conversation suddenly ceased, like the world had stopped to take a breath, going completely white like it was covered in snow. Then like a dam, it broke into a torrent of magic, the golem bending out of its form in streaks of grey-blue and white, twisting in the space between them as Hel’s given magic surged above, before collecting, shrinking, and drawing itself into Juro’s staff that had appeared in his grasp.

The Bookkeeper held the stick in both hands like a sword, in a form with which Akkey was familiar, but only from him, as it morphed into what looked like a mirage of a different weapon, the base staff still in his grip but giving an illusion of a long, sharp, slightly curved blade with dancing cranes engraved into it, and a simple, squarish hilt peppered with golden flecks in the black canvas. 

He was right up at Akkey in a sudden burst of speed before she could blink, and she only managed to throw up an elemental blade of her own right on time. Weapon clashed with weapon in an explosion of energy and ice as Juro bore down on her, using his height and raw power to make up for his lack of comparable combat skills. Akkey grunted at the effort to keep herself upright as the pressure from above increased. Virion’s grey-blue and white energy pulsed once, casting Juro’s face half in shadow and half in light. It was a dull amber that stared back at her, lifeless and lacking his usual spirit, his face blank.

It sent a shiver up her spine.

A portal opened below her and she slipped through, causing Juro to lose his balance as she appeared behind him, arms raised high, ready to slash downwards in an attack from above. But he turned at the nick of time, meeting her blade of ice in a wide arc up. Again, magic collided.

The surge of Hel supplemented power blew their hair back violently, whipping Akkey’s dark locks wildly in the air. An olden, intrusive memory of another swordswoman Juro knew that looked like her crossed his mind in barely an instant, but it was enough to intensify the sound of scraping chains. 

They were locked in the struggle for another breath, before Akkey twisted her grip and sent out two shards flying from her makeshift weapon. They caught the Bookkeeper on the shoulder, slicing skin in quick succession. The pain shifted his grip and both blades slipped, and they pushed off each other in the momentary lapse, increasing the distance between them once again as power levels continued to rise, sending forceful gales in opposite, outward directions.

“Juro!” Akkey called out in agitation. This was a Juro she had never, ever seen in her life. They had sparred many a time, absolutely, but he always approached it with humour, amusement, a teasing grin pulling at his face. But this… this was nothing.

His hold on the sword became slack for a moment, letting it almost touch the ground as he trained his gaze towards her. Red began soaking the torn fabric on his shoulder as he bled, but it was short lived. Light shone from the wounds, magic pouring from it but in blues and golds instead, until it stitched the cuts close. The dark splotches of blood stopped growing.

Akkey started at the display of energy, uncertain if it was controlled or not. It definitely didn’t look intentional, but the colours and the power from it were familiar… and it wasn’t Hel’s.

“That’s yours,” she breathed, almost nervously, as she recognized it only due to recent events, “That’s from before, you used that on Yun. After the construct…” He lifted his head, and his face was finally illuminated properly by the moon, still completely void of emotion. The scars on his jaw caught light and seemed to glow unnervingly, casting a strange, unrecognizable aura on the blonde man.

Akkey clenched her fist as she approached him again, gradually picking up speed, unable to quell the annoyance in her at his refusal to give any type of straight answers,  “You said you didn’t have any! Since when did you have your own magic? Has it always been like that? Why have you never used it before?!”

Juro predictably had no reply. Instead, his enforced weapon slipped into the belt of his pants and out the side, mimicking a sheathed sword, his stance widening as his right hand hovered above the handle, eyes watching Akkey’s approach quickly closing the distance, waiting for the perfect moment. 

It came in a flash of silver and a water tendril, shooting out in a dangerously fast streak of light when Akkey threw her left arm forward like she would a ball, but much quicker and much more easily missed. But Juro met it head on. His staff unsheathed at lightning speed, swifter than any sword movement Akkey had seen before, and cleanly knocked her attack away.

But Helheim agents would as agents always would, as both twisted in a second attack hidden behind their first. Akkey threw her right arm up at the exact same point and time that Juro swept his sword arm around and willed his golem to open at the end of his weapon.

Portal collided against portal.

The characteristic hums turned into a high pitched, ear grinding whine, two frequencies twisting, looping, turning into one, then booming into a massive roar, deafening with the sound of chains that continued to scrape against the back of their heads. Agents strained as gravity and dimension warred against each other in immense tension, churning, curling, each unwilling to give in, contracting smaller and smaller into a disc as it pushed into the other, surging and fighting in a nauseating twist of magic. It crawled against skin and bone and muscle, bending, warping, pulling space and water unnaturally to its extremes in their struggle for power, building higher and stronger and bigger over the other in suffocating layers--until it could no longer hold itself in.

It exploded.

The pressure that contained it fractured, an eruption of energy flooding from between them. There was an outpour of light and colour many meters high into the darkened sky, splashing against each other then cascading with a perfect split in the middle-- blues and golds towards Juro, purples and bluey-greens to Akkey. It was bright, blindingly so, as it shattered the landscape and blew them apart, sending them flying fast and far, bouncing and rolling painfully against the cold, hard ground as the air was knocked out of them, bruising and scratching their skin.

Akkey cried out as she landed heavily on her side, covering her head while the force of the detonation of energy kept her down, a cacophony of chaotic magic that gushed across the flats of the Scrublands and crashed against the side of the Jaw like a wave of ocean water on the shoreline, but immediately dissipating upon impact. It was many seconds before it died down, the wind calming itself and the overwhelming light finally fading back into darkness, leaving only the moon and stars behind. 

The sounds of the sudden short battle disappeared, and she got to her feet painfully, cautiously observing her surroundings as it cleared, searching for her colleague. Juro was nowhere to be seen at first, but finally she saw him in the far distance, his prone figure on the ground.

Shit--! “Juro!” She immediately appeared a few feet away from him, running as quickly as her thin legs would take her.

But she couldn’t reach him before Virion burst from the weapon he used, which had fallen out of his grip and returned to its mundane pen form when the impact rendered him unconscious. It rose to its twelve foot form and surged forward in a blur of feathers, catching her torso and arms cleanly underneath one talon and dragging her into the ground, dirt piling up around her as its weight had her completely trapped. 

“Gah!” She grunted as her back hit soil once again. Virion bent its head down, six beady eyes glaring into hers as his wings bristled in anger at the provocation the nix had brought onto its master.

“V-Vir.... Let her go…” a rough voice strained to make itself heard from behind the golem as it screeched its vexation over her head. Virion twisted its long neck around to regard its master questioningly, as Juro stirred, carefully picking himself up. It bristled again in disagreement for a few seconds, but relented soon after, lifting its leg off her and sweeping its wings to land beside him, helping him up to a sitting position. He shook his head, a tiny smirk slowly creeping its way back onto his face, “I was the one who attacked first…”

Virion could only croon in dissatisfaction, nudging him to lean against it as he caught his breath. The Bookkeeper obliged, without the energy to put up a fight, as he turned inwards for some introspective examination.

The initial attack was a haze to him, in similar fashion to the incident with Sylar's body. The barrage of questions as Akkey had gotten closer and closer to the truth placed an intense amount of pressure on him, and her realization regarding Milae finally voiced things he had been denying, ignoring, finding loopholes around, and it escalated into that uncontrolled surge of emotion, forcing him to turn all senses off and let body take autonomy. 'Friend' echoed unwillingly in his mind and he threw it aside in a panic, hurriedly bringing his attention to the seal instead.

It was dangerous for a while there, but it seemed intact, starting with the Modern Bookkeeper first, his direct opposite yet the closest copy there could be that wasn't an offshoot from his timeline. Lines to several broken and jittered timelines had unfortunately snapped a little early, snuffing out their Bookkeepers' lives, but frayed threads like those were due for fracturing soon. Every time his seal was threatened, especially as of late, they were the first to go, to keep all other unbroken, stable threads unharmed. It would have ended much more disastrously if this happened to anybody other than Akkey. It was a close call.

He sighed in relief to find everything still in place, then slowly turned his head to face her, who was sitting up with great care, feeling where she would expectedly be sore in the morning. She groaned and cleared her head, “What the fuck, Juro…”

Green locked with amber, and it was a tumultuous range of emotions, anger, shock, confusion, and concern--but it was all one sided. Juro’s break in character was expectedly temporary. His mask had returned, with a lopsided grin and a raised brow, and Akkey let out a long, annoyed exhale at that, "My confusion is valid, alright, if I have to work with you until one of us dies--probably me--and you've begun acting like this, with magic of your own, then I deserve some sort of explanation--"

“My answer hasn't changed, Akkey...” he interrupted. His cadence was even once more as he referred to their conversation up in the rafters, "My Helheim contract, the Library and the Bookkeepers, my neutrality… I still won't explain. Even if you ask."

She felt a wave of unexplainable sadness wash over her when he said that. The light in his eyes went empty for a moment, a deep loneliness crossing in them, resigned to his fate of solitude and silent suffering. 

Resigned? To describe it like that was slightly incorrect, but she couldn't place it as accurately as she would like to. Intensely dependent… Unhealthily so…

Her brow creased in further worry, "Juro--"

He shook his head, wincing slightly as pain flared up down his back, yet firm in interrupting her thought, "There's a disturbance on the timelines right now, and my involvement in the battle was in the interest of that. Hence why I'm here, why I appeared near the construct." That was only half the truth, and both were highly aware. That's why Juro said it almost forcefully, unarguably the end of that conversation. 

It was several moments of stubborn egos that played tug of war, but she huffed in eventual surrender. Still, not before Akkey added a final thought, "Fine. I'm sorry for prying. I won't ask anymore," The slight insult at being kept in the dark remained, but only temporarily as she softened, regarding him with care and worry that was almost motherly, if the nix were even capable of instincts in that vein.

"But suppressing it and running away like this will only bring you greater pain later on, and you'll end up regretting it," she said. They both knew she spoke from some experience, "There is no comfort in living like this, faltering, wavering, walking the neutral line. You'll hurt a lot more people than you want to."

Her eyes bore into his this time, and he took it, unchanging, two souls who end up finding each other sometime, somehow, across timelines, in a ripple of cause and effect. 

The moment was interrupted with a shout from above, and they broke their gaze to see several guards and their dragons flying towards them, as they had noticed the explosion of power from their positions. Their fight wasn't exactly subtle, no matter how short.

"Ah shit," Akkey cursed, feeling the familiar wash of meek regret at the constant consequences of her impulsive actions. There was barely any physical damage, thankfully, but it was light and sound that definitely was not inconspicuous, "Lila might kill us…"

"And this is where I take my leave," Juro cracked a wider, cheekier grin, the previous tension forgotten, "The Commander will have my head before yours." Virion immediately swirled into a portal for a place Akkey knew she couldn't follow.

"Hey! You bastard--!" she whirled around in indignation as the Bookkeeper escaped, "Don't you fucking dare run!"

She stomped up to him, standing taller than where he sat, when his smirk lessened slightly as his tone became serious, "I am not. I think I might have some more information about Frigga, but I have to research a little more. If anyone asks… I'll be at the Library," he tilted his chin up to meet her eyes again. Akkey paused, then nodded in understanding, "Alright."

It was another heartbeat before he split his face into that exasperating smile once more, and fell backwards into the open portal, "See you later, Chief." He disappeared from sight as the dragons landed behind Akkey, who was massaging a temple in annoyance, left to deal with the aftermath by herself.

[denimjacketkisses]

Over/Under

Description: A look into where Bucky and The Agent are in this dance they call, teamwork, relationship, friendship. 

Warning: Fluff, Blood, Violence, FEELINGS.

A/N: This series, as titled in the first chapters title, is solely based around 90′ s songs, today’s chapter was inspired by a mix of Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden and As Long As You Love Me by The Backstreet Boys. This series may have one or two more chapters and then I’ll be on to the next one. So, enjoy!! 

Feedback Appreciated (:

90′s Baby || Masterlist 

Sam was injured, damn Hydra goon ripped off his wings - which wasn’t an issue, it’d happened before - but he was suspended over 30 feet in the air and that landing, well, it would have completely killed him if Bucky hadn’t thrown himself out the window of the building across and got him. The impact was still rough though and Sam needed to be taken care of, so Fury was called and Sam was shipped out back home. Making a joke about Bucky trying to become Bruce. 

The mission still needed to be completed but there were several downsides: your covers were blown, Zemo knew where you had been hiding and they knew what you were after. 

Fury had sent you the coordinates to the new hideout, a dingy hotel that was out of use for what seemed like decades. A very steep downgrade from your last zip code while on this mission. 

You watched as Bucky scanned the room, more on edge than ever since the mission began. “Buck, James. We’re fine. You can sit, get some sleep. I’ll do first watch.” Leaning up against the cold concrete wall, you continued to watch as Bucky paced. You sighed, kicking yourself off the wall and forcing yourself to take much longer strides to reach him quicker. 

“James.” Your hands found Bucky’s face. The slight stubble that rested on his cheeks tickled your palms but you had a want to stroke your thumb against his skin and feel the scrape it left behind. “Look at me. Everything is - okay. Sam is in good hands. We’ve got this.” Your eyes searched his, he was thinking, trying to form thoughts and all you could feel, was helpless.

“I know Sam’s fine.” Finally, his voice cut through the silence, the sound almost making your ears ring. “But it’s not him I’m worried about. He’s fought wars, he knew what was coming with the job, but you…” and you feel the shift, his head falling forward as if he’s ashamed to admit that he’s worried for your safety. 

“Your right. I haven’t fought in wars and I may have read some paperwork about what came with the job and I didn’t have first hand experience with Hyrda or super powered assholes; but I knew what I was signing up for when Fury asked me to be an agent.” Your hands left his face, moving towards his shoulder and you watched as he slightly flinched when your fingers came in contact with the seam of his metal arm. “But you have to believe me when I tell you that we’ve got this. I’ve got this.”

——————

It had been four months. The mission was over. Sam was fully recovered, thankfully there was less damage done then initially thought. The intel, a map with the locations of underground Hydra bases that were attempting to build Weapons of Mass Destruction out of Shitari parts, was retrieved and now being shared among the remaining agents and Avengers. All was going well, except for one thing. Bucky wasn’t speaking to you.

He had gone back to his walled off self. The Bucky you had only heard of but had never seen. All was well when you two had first arrived back. He was still training with you, still coming to Friday movie night, still making you those red velvet pancakes that you still couldn’t believe the recipe was pulled from a Buzzfeed article; but after two weeks- radio silence.

It gnawed at your brain and made you feel uneasy. A feeling he personally knew you didn’t like feeling. You were done training, helping Sam get more swing and resilience back in his left arm, and while leaving the gym, he asked: “So, what happened while I was gone that’s got Tin Man all messed up?”

Taking a deep breath, you turned around and looked at Sam a small shrug following, “I don’t know. Everything was fine. He was fine when we came back and then, nothing. I don’t know what I did wrong but I hate that he just won’t talk to me about it. I can’t be that intimidating to him, he’s the fucking Winter Solider, I just, I don’t know what to do, Sam…” 

Your eyes closed, a sigh releasing itself from your lungs. “Talk to him.” Your head snapping up in his direction. “Sam it’s not -“ his hand raised, “don’t tell me it’s not that simple, I can get Pepper to rewire the doors locking mechanisms. Just knock on his door, walk in, tell him to sit down and shut the fuck up and tell him how you feel.”

Shaking your head, you began to laugh, “Sam, I can’t just -“ once again, you were cut off, “No. You can. I know Bucky. He’ll listen, you just gotta force him to sometimes. He’s stubborn but if I know anything, he’s been a lot happier since you came around. Now, go figure this shit out. If you need me, I’ll be in the common room.” You watched as Sam walked out the gym doors, your brain scrambling to figure out what had just happened, you weren’t sure but you did know - as much as you hate to admit it. Sam was right.

You had been pacing in front of his door, you knew Pepper had already disarmed the doors locking system, Sam had at least texted you that much but you were nervous. What if you had done something? What if he hated you forever? What if he had found someone...better? You swallowed hard. It was now, or it was never. You slammed your fist on the door, “James! James, it’s y/n! We need to talk.” You waited for a few seconds, maybe even a minute - no reply. 

Your hand was on the handle and was pushing the door open, “I’m come - oof!” Your entire body slammed into what you thought was the door, but based on the soft chuckle the “door” was making, you came to the conclusion that it was Bucky. 

“Had you maybe waited ten more seconds, I would have willingly let you in. I was shaving.” Your face tilted up, meeting Bucky’s eyes for the first time in what felt like year and instead of relief you felt, anger.

“How are you so happy?! Why! Are you! So! Happy!? You haven’t talked to me in weeks and you just think you can LAUGH at me?” Your voice becoming higher with every word and Bucky for once in his life was, terrified. You felt his hands grab your shoulders and pull you into his room, closing the door behind him.

“Listen, y/n, I can explain.” He mumbled, his hands falling to his sides, he stepped back slightly to give you some space; bad move on his part since now you were stomping and thrashing all around his room. “Then start explaining because I don’t even KNOW what kind of excuse you could give me for the way you’ve been acting lately towards me. I was worried sick that something happened, that I ruined something. That I - I…”

There it was, the one thing Bucky could not stand and that was watching you fall apart. He had caused this, he had cause your fear and your anxiety to spike and he felt terrible but he also didn’t know how he was able to look at you in the eyes. Once you two had gotten back from that hell of a mission, he knew - he loved you, and he hadn’t loved anyone since, Steve. The thought of losing you, shattered him and yet all he’d done was shatter you.

Lunging forward he wrapped his arms around you, squeezing you as tightly as your bones would allow. “Please don’t cry, God please don't cry y/n. I fucked up, I meant to talk to you but I didn’t know if I could. I’m here, I’m not leaving. You did nothing wrong..” his words were fading off but he could hear your tears softly dissolving, “I’m here. I got you, I’m -“ and the air was punched out of his side by your small fist.

“That, James Buchanan Barnes is what you get for being a complete idiot.” You puffed out, your eyes red, nose stuffy, hair sticking out from the sides. Even though he was mad at himself for breaking you, he still found you beautiful, blotchy face and all; and for that, he smiled. Once again, wrong move on his part, because now you were coming at him at full force. 

“Never and I mean NEVER again, do you get to do what you did. Got it? We have issues, you talk about it. You got some kind of secret, you tell me -” a small shove to his chest and Bucky stepped back further than need be, his arms once again wrapping around you as you two collide with the bed, “and if you go to Taco Bell again without me, I’ll never speak to you for as long as I live.” 

Bucky gasped slightly, feigning a hurt expression, “I can’t help that I was starving, you were asleep and that I was too nervous to tell you something.”  He watched as your eyebrow raised, knowing full well that you were oblivious to what he was about to say. “Listen, Kid. I didn’t mean to just leave you out in the dust. I just, I don’t know how to do this anymore. It’s not really in my ‘10 Things Bucky’s good at” skillset, so I figured it would be better if I just ignored it - ignored you. Which based on how you just barged into my room, wasn’t my smartest idea.” You watched as his eyes closed and you felt his chest rise and fall as he inhaled a deep breath. “I like you Y/N, I like you a hell of a lot. I don’t want you to get hurt, I worry if your drinking enough water and eating more than just those butter crackers you're always raving about.” His metal hand sent a cooling sensation down your back and it traced up and down your spine, “I don’t like seeing you upset and I hate when I’m the cause of it. I just, I really like you and I don’t want to scare you off by saying love, but I’m pretty sure that’s the only word I can use to describe what I feel for you - unconditional love.”

The room fell somewhat silent, as you sat and processed what Bucky was telling you. He loved you. He cared for you and you knew, from what Sam had told you before, Bucky didn’t process feelings well. Especially after Steve left, so you knew how hard this could have been for him to realize. You sighed, sitting yourself up onto Bucky’s lap, your hands softly pressing onto his torso.

 “Buck..” your eyes searched his face, watching as the faded, he was waiting for you to reject him and here you were, sounding as if that’s what you were setting him up for. Your hands moved off his torso and softly landed on his face, “I’m - I’m not good at words and you know I’ve got a shit history, but you know me and you accepted me when I thought no one else could. When you stopped talking to me, I felt lost. I wondered the compound aimlessly, I couldn’t sit for longer than ten seconds, I felt on edge and buzzy. I felt like, how I felt back in the shelter. Cold, and lost and utterly alone, and I knew I wasn’t, I had Sam and Wanda but I didn’t have you; and you, James Buchanan Barnes have become my home.” 

You watched his face, eyes scanning his waiting for the fall. For him to retract what he had just said and once again leave you, alone. Instead you felt a cooling sensation against your hip, the opposite side being consumed by warmth. 

“I’m, your home?” His words caught in his throat, as if were going to cry and you didn’t know if you could stand to watch Bucky cry. You nodded your head, words being caught in your throat now, your teeth sinking into your cheek and before you could have any doubt, your eyes caught his and you finally took in a full breath at the realization that he was smiling. 

“Your my home too, kid. You’ve been my home for a long time. You know me inside and out, your almost up there with Steve.” And in that moment, Bucky realized he could say Steve’s name without feeling the world crashing around him. Without feeling the anxiety creep in his chest. He had you and he would always have Steve, that was his first love, but you - you were his first love in this century. “Doll, do you, can I..”

“If your going to be a romantic mush and ask if you can kiss me, then you better do it soon, ‘cause I’ve been dreaming about this for two years now, Borky.” A laugh escaped your lips, only to soon be silenced by Bucky’s lips against yours. It was small and quick, but filled with that love you’d be searching for your whole life. Bucky Barnes radiated all the love you’d been searching for and he was the glue that kept you together. Maybe all that talk from Wanda about soulmates is what Bucky was for you, your soulmate. 

“Now, ruin a kiss by calling me Borky again and I won’t kiss you for a week.” Bucky’s voice intruding your thoughts, “I’ll call you Borky whenever I want to call you Borky. That’s what I get as the ‘friend you kiss’ privileges.” A smirk covered your lips, a challenge and Bucky liked a challenge. The front of your shirt was being tugged slightly, your face nearly inches away from Bucky’s, his breath fanning across your lips. “Why don’t I just call you my girlfriend instead? Seem’s a lot shorter of a title.”

[furinana]

Megaten Furbait compilation

A list of myth characters that were depicted as animals or animals with anthropomorphic features in the Megami Tensei series that have some level of appeal to furries.

Birds, reptiles and other species included.

Now let’s start!

Garuda

Kaneko designed very, very few humanoid birds (even less featuring actual beaks) so Garuda is a big win to me. I love his playful pose from the first artwork combined with the big thigh exposition.

Anzu

The curly beard and the shining brown skin really give him an extra attractiveness.

Kabuso

I fell in love with this little fellow at first sight. The way he just looks down and has a “tch!” expression like he’s mocking you.

Anubis

I don’t pay much attention to Anubis since he’s depicted in essentially the same way in a lot of other media. His slender and sophisticated figure is still mesmerizing to stare regardless.

Quetzalcoatl

I tend to prefer his human form but Quetz’s dragon form isn’t half-bad. His pissed face like he’s mad at you for eating the last piece of ham from the fridge.

Baphomet

This goat has his horn on fire and has something sticking out of his crotch! He’s up to no good! Now that I think about it, the sword and the shield must symbolize his hermaphroditism.

Behemoth

He looks at you the same way a pregnant mother would do to her lover.

Gagyson

I’m not fond of demons with a lot of random features all over them. I forgive Gagyson because he’s bird-like and is cackling maniacally.

Neko Shogun

Is he a demon or a toy? SO FRIGGIN’ CUTE! I LOVE YOU, DAMNIT!

Hanuman

A dignified old man doing yoga. Check out the little golden monkey in his armor.

Heqet

This froggie looks so happy to see you! She’s like a character that came straight from Animal Crossing.

Dormath

Not very furry-like but at least she’s worth more than Nekomata. She looks comfy to hug. Be careful or she’ll hit you with a Macca Beam though.

Ose

There it is... the most insane furbait of the list. This fucker tricks you into thinking he’s covering himself but as soon as you look at him from behind you find out he’s been walking around with his ass completely bare. It’s like he’s tainting you to look at it. Don’t even get me started at his Hallel form.

Chironnupu

BABY YOU’RE SO CUTE!!! His tongue imitating perfectly the way a dog pants cheerfully when its owner is close!!!

Hecate

A personal favorite. As soon as you summon her, she gets ready to push you onto the bed and peg your ass.

Shesha

Shesha’s battles aren’t something exciting to remember about but I truly do like his enormous snake body. Too bad you couldn’t summon him in this state.

Fomorian

If you are into hunks, Fomorian is just your dude. Remind him not to skip leg day though.

Amon

This guy definitely fucks. Beware of his ridiculously long arms.

Ganesha

I wanna touch his fat nipples and his bellybutton.

Basilisk

Such a jolly little creature! It’s like a Pokémon! 

Jambavan

He seems way less scary once you realize he’s a bear.

Gryphon

I wanna pull his big tail and see him screaming agonishingly. Apparently his meat is quite tasty.

Azumi

Azumi might be JUST YOUR THING if you liked The Shape of Water. I wonder if her mouth is too rough to kiss.

Pazuzu

There’s something that awakens in me when I stare at his happy trail.

Kuda, Inugami and Makami

L     O    N    G

O

N

G

BOIS

Wu Kong

I like his personality in the games a lot. A troublesome kid that speaks brashly.

Girimehkala

I wanna touch his fat nipples and bel-oh wait, I already said this to Ganesha.

Cait Sith

Look at his stupidass huge boots. I love this guy.

Nalagiri

I’m not enthusiastic about elephants in general but Kaneko sure draws them in a way that makes me captivated. I like how this one feels gritty and muscular contrasting the chubby ones.

Suparna

The pre-evolution of Garuda. Very majestic. I love the extension thingies from his crown.

Mushussu

The little snark with his tongue while looking at the viewer. It’s the little details that count.

Mezuki

I hate horses. I truly truly hate horses. I’m fond of this one for some reason however. Maybe it’s the fanged teeth? Or the cute braids?

Tao Tie

You don’t wanna get on this fluffy fella’s bad side.

Kobold

I like how this Kobold has quite some feminine figure. Small hips and big boobs.

Illuyanka

A body of water shaped into a masked dragon. Kaneko really nailed on the execution of this one.

Orias

I truly don’t care about Orias but his old artwork is funny. He’s tied to his horse as if both were a present.

Hachidaiou

A rare one! And it’s a turtle! Does his shell only cover his back?

Seth

Despite his major villain profile in the lore, his personality in the negotiations sums up as “big moe beast that loves lettuce”.

Mithra

"Bro” “What is it, bro” “I tied myself all over you bro” “B-bro...”

Chi You

I know it’s just his spear but the shadow makes it seems he’s wearing high heels.

Tangata Manu

Tangata Manu is so cartoonishly weird to the point it’s adorable. Look how shitty his wings are. Poor guy. 

Senri

Furry milfs stretching? Furry milfs stretching, anyone?

Makara

Makara in Dx2 is friggin adorable. I often forget it’s supposed to be from the Dragon race because of its little Bambi head.

Heavenly Generals

Kaneko the absolute madman designed the twelve chinese zodiac animals as boss enemies. THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME HAIRSTYLE.

Kikimora

I love chickens but she doesn’t resemble one enough to be endearing on this aspect to me. I like the ‘creepy creature in domestic clothes’ image though. She even helps you with housework if she feels you’re hard-working enough!

Vasuki

This one knows he’s a bastard and is fully delighted with it.

Hresvelgr

His cute expression sure makes bird lovers like myself fall to our knees.

Cerberus

Everyone’s favorite doggie! Regardless of how generic Cerberus ends up becoming in later games, his role as Nakajima’s loyal partner or our lovely Pascal the dog makes me quite fond of him.

Kamapua’a

A pig with a cape! A PIG WITH A CAPE!

Fafnir

I keep thinking of that mission in Strange Journey where you had to casually ask Fafnir for a piece of his body. Since he’s all made of metal, I guess letting someone else borrow your leg wouldn’t hurt you.

Samael

I never got to properly use one yet in the games but I'm super fond of his design. The color palette is one of my favorites.

Yatagarasu

no talk with me im angy

[commander-rahrah]

RESIDENCY (AN OPEN HEART FIC): PART SEVENTEEN

Pairing: MC (Jordynne Holland) X Ethan Ramsey X Bryce Lahela; MC X Bryce; MC X Ethan

Masterlist: Click Here

Chapter Rating: T (Swearing)

Word Count: 3600+

Description: Ethan comes back to Boston after hearing about Jordynne’s suspension and upcoming hearing. Jordynne is upfront about her feelings to someone. Bryce finally says what he has been thinking for a while now.  

Disclaimer: Characters, storyline, and parts of the dialogue are taken from Pixelberry’s Choices. They fully own the characters, dialogue, backgrounds, etc. MC Jordynne’s background is my own creation, based loosely off of MC in-game’s personality and provided with more details.

Author’s Note: Typing up 3600+ fanfiction on your iPhone is not very fun. If my phone calls Bryce “Bruce” one more time I may rage. I have had scenes from this chapter stuck in my head FOREVER. I’m so glad to finally post this chapter because it also means I am getting closer to the 30 diamond scene with Ethan!!!!!!! 

Also, this fic is now at over 75K words total! Which is super crazy insane. 

As always any and all likes, reblogs and comments are VERY appreciated. If you would like to tagged for future updates, please reply or send me a DM to be added to the tag list. <3

PS: Speaking of the tag list, can you tell me if your tag works?! :)I’ve been having so many issues with it, and it drives me crazy. I have gone through it and edited -- realizing there was some ppl I never added (facepalm), new handles, etc. If you ever want to be removed please just let me know!

Taglist: @drakewalkerfantasy​ @owleyes374​ @lahelable​ @mayar-mahdy​ @paisleylovergirl​ @nicquix​ @emilymay100​ @octobereighth​ @llamasgrl​ @timmagicktoad​ @lilyofchoices​ @msjpuddleduck​ @mfackenthal​ @paulfwesley​ @ccolz88-blog​ @jooous​ @themingdynasty​ @perriewinklenerdie​@mindlessdreaminxo @jens-diamondchoices​ @omgjasminesimone​ @indiacater​ @chasingrobbie​ @writingsbymissy​ @binny1985​

Previous Updates: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten Part ElevenPart Twelve Part Thirteen Part Fourteen Part Fifteen Part Sixteen

Song Inspiration: Ghostin’ - Ariana Grande

I know you hear me when I cry I try to hold it in the night While you're sleepin' next to me But it's your arms that I need this time 

Look at the cards that we've been dealt If you were anybody else Probably wouldn't last a day Every tear's a rain parade from hell

Baby, you do it so well

You been so understanding, you been so good And I'm puttin' you through more than one ever should And I'm hating myself 'cause you don't want to Admit that it hurts you

I know that it breaks your heart when I cry again Over him, mmh I know that it breaks your heart when I cry again 'Stead of ghostin' him

Previous Chapter: Part Sixteen

It was weird coming back to Edenbrook.

It looked different somehow.

Did it though? Maybe Ethan’s mind was just playing tricks on him. Guilting him for walking away from the place he had called his home for ten years.

It was still early — and especially after a night of triage — there wasn’t a lot of staff yet. The soft light of the sun rising was cast into the atrium, turning the white walls and floors orange.

Ethan ducked into the elevator quickly — avoiding any lingering stares or confused faces. He wasn’t sure if anyone would recognize him without his white coat and quaffed hair. Not many people had seen Dr. Ramsey is wrinkled trousers and threadbare sweaters. But this was an emergency.

He walked the familiar path to the chief’s office — hesitating at the door before finally pushing himself to knock.

He heard the familiar clicks of Harper’s heels before she opened the door. Her expression was stunned — blinking at the sight of him. Then it turned — her eyebrows furrowing and arms crossing over her chest. She spun on her heel — going back into the room, and leaned against the edge of her desk.

“So it just took dropping her name to get you back here, hey?” Her mouth was gritted into a hard line.

Ethan swallowed, shoving his hands into his pockets, “What?”

“Holland. You quit, leave us high and dry, dodge my calls, tell me to fuck off —,” Harper’s nostrils flared, “But one message about Dr. Holland being suspended and here you are.”

Ethan wasn’t sure what to say.

She sighed at his silence, “Well, it’s too late — she’s suspended and the preliminary ethics hearing is in a few hours. You can’t vouch for her anymore.”

“She’s a good doctor, Harper. You know that.” He stepped forward — his blue eyes big, pleading.

“She is. And it’s a shame that she probably won’t be a doctor anymore after this.”

His stomach tightened as she said that. He couldn’t imagine her not being a doctor — everything she had worked so hard for. It just couldn’t happen. He opened his mouth to speak, but she caught him off.

“You can’t do anything, Ethan. You don’t work here anymore — you don’t have a spot on the panel.” She shook her head, her silver hoops dangling off of her ears, “And there is no chance you’re testifying.”

He took his hands out of his pockets, putting them out to her, “If anybody in this place knows her character it’s me.”

“Exactly. You’re too close to this, Ethan...,” Her brown eyes betrayed her for a moment, “I know you have feelings for her.”

“I—“ Ethan blinked, his mind whirling. He did — he knew, Jordynne knew that. And apparently, Harper did too. How did she know?

She noticed the quizzical look on his face and furrow in his brow. “I’ve seen the way you look at her — I can recognize it anywhere. You used to look at me like that. Once upon a time.”

The pair stood in silence — remembering the time that they were together. Before their schedules and administration got in the way. Before bitterness and tension settled in. Before everything had changed.

“I don’t even know if something’s happened between you two — and I don’t want to. But if the council gets a whiff of it, Ethan — it’s over. She needs a fair, clean trial. And having the Attending she may or may not be romantically involved with testify for her will not help.” Harper stepped forward, grabbing onto the crook of his elbow,  “I’m not just saying this as administration Ethan, I’m saying this as your friend. The best thing you can do for her, for both of you, is to stay out of this.”

He chewed on his lip — doing his best to keep his emotions at bay. He wanted to hold on — to fight. His heart wanted to so desperately. But his mind — it knew better. She didn’t need someone like him. A failure. The heartless robot.

“I won’t interfere,” Ethan finally croaked, looking down at his feet.

“Good.” She finally let go of his arm, pushing her hands back onto the desk. “So are you going to tell me why you quit?”

He closed his eyes — his throat closing up. What was he going to tell her? That he had secretly been treating a patient in the newly constructed wing behind her back? Oh, and that patient was Naveen — both of their long-time friend and mentor. And he had handed him his death sentence last week. “I can’t.”

“No, Ethan. You just won’t.” Harper let out an exasperated sigh, before moving around to the other side of her desk. “I have a hearing to prepare for, so if you could see yourself out.” She started shuffling through papers — not looking at him.

He stood there for a moment — and nothing came to mind. Pursing his lips, He turned on his heel and left her office — closing the door quietly behind him.

_______________________________________________________________________

Jordynne sat on the edge of her bed — the mattress sinking softly, the soft white duvet wrinkling. She let out a loud exhale — her face buried into her hands, arms propped up against her knees. She was still wearing her blouse and blazer — her attempt to look professional for her preliminary hearing.

She wasn’t sure if it had worked. The formal hearing was still called. Chief Emery announced her official suspension until then. Jordynne had to turn in her badge and watch as Zaid and Ines reassigned her cases to the other interns.

She needed to be confident — she knew that. Everything was on the line. But it’s what she had needed to do. Walking around the hospital, hiding what she had done was wrong. She had given Mrs. Martinez a chance — hope. And even though it hadn’t worked out the way they had wanted it, Jordynne knew that Teresa would not want her to regret it.

But she still couldn’t fight the aching inside her.

Falling back onto the mattress, her blonde hair fanned out behind her. She needed to focus on the hearing — this was her career, everything she had been working for. But she couldn’t help the gnawing in the back of her mind, the pain that felt like a knife slowly twisting in her stomach.

She didn’t want to leave Edenbrook. She definitely did not want to leave Boston. There were so many unanswered questions, so much more left to learn and explore and see. And the people.

Jordynne gulped guiltily. The people — that’s why she didn’t want to leave. Was it people? A certain person? Her mind was reeling.

A soft knock at her open bedroom door caused her to blink back to reality. Her eyebrows furrowed — she was home alone, all of her roommates where working shifts at the hospital. And Landry hadn’t been to the apartment in days. Thankfully.

The tiny form of Sienna poked her head around the door, her almond eyes soft. “Hey, how you holding up?”

Jordynne pushed herself up onto her elbows, looking at her roommate quizzically, “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“Yeah, I just came home for my lunch instead today.” She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.

“Sienna...”

Her friend chewed her lip, “I just wanted to make sure you were OK.”

“You don’t have to do that.” She played with her fingers, looking down at the worn floor of her bedroom.

“I know I don’t have to. But I wanted to.”

“Right,” Jordynne murmured. Another sigh escaped her lips as she fell back onto the mattress.

“Hey, everything will be okay. You’re gonna rock this trial.” Jordynne felt the mattress sink a little as her roommate sat on the edge of it.

“It’s not just the trial.” She croaked out, blinking away tears as she stared up at the ceiling.

Sienna’s eyebrows furrowed as she thought, “Is it Br—“

“It’s Ethan.” She blurted out, interrupting.

Sienna was quiet for a moment, her eyebrows furrowed even deeper. “Ramsey?”

“Yes.”

“Dr. Ramsey?” She questioned again.

She nodded.

“The Doctor Ethan Ramsey?” Her eyebrows raises high on her face, her neck strained as he looked at her friend.

“Sienna!” Jordynne reached behind her and grabbed onto a pillow. She hit her friend with it lightly.

“Sorry!” She put her hands up in defense, “It’s just just — Wow... Ethan Ramsey. And you mean... like...”

“Yeah.” Grabbing the pillow from the floor, Jordynne clutched it to her chest and she laid back down.

“Wow.” She repeated, “Did you...?”

“No! We — we’ve kissed.”

“When?!”

Jordynne’s green eyes focused on the ceiling again, her fingers nervously picking at the seams of the pillow, “Miami... At the conference. And again, the night we found out about Teresa. Right before he quit...”

Surprise washed over Sienna’s face, “Miami?! That was ages ago! You’re just telling me now?”

“I didn’t know what to make of it then.”

“And what do you make of it now?”

“I — I don’t know.” Jordynne let out a sigh, “But with everything going on right now with the trial, and suspension, and Landry... I have so many things going on right now, but the first thing I think about in the morning is him.”

Sienna settled into the bed a little deeper, crossing her legs and staring at her friend, “Does he know that?”

“We —,” She hesitated, “We’ve never really gotten the chance honestly.”

Sienna bit her lip, looking worried, “Does Bryce know?”

Jordynne nodded, “Mhmm.”

“And how did he take it?”

“Oh you know, like an absolute angel.” Tears welled up in her eyes, “Haven’t really decided anything — since we’re casual and uh, since Ethan and I are just — well, nothing really.”

“Wow,” Sienna repeated again.

“Yeah.”

“How good were those kisses?” A huge grin spread across her face, and she poked at her friend's side.

“Sienna!”

“What? I mean, it’s Dr. Dreamy Douche — only like half of Edenbrook staff have imagined kissing him.” She purses her lips, attempting to hide a blush, “Maybe including me.”

“Kissing him...,” Jordynne paused, thinking. “It felt right. And that probably sounds awful with hiding it, and Bryce, and it being so ‘complicated’,” She air-quoted the final word, “But it did.”

“Have you heard from him since he quit?”

She clutched the pillow to her chest a little tighter, “No.” She whispered. “I don’t know if I’m more afraid of never seeing him again or seeing him again, you know?”

“Oh, Jordy,” Sienna leaned over and grabbed onto her hand, clutching her fingers. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Coffees in hand, Bryce showed up as soon as his shift ended that night. He was greeted with shouts telling him the door was open — maneuvering into the apartment he saw the roommates spread throughout the living and dining room — picking at boxes of pizza. The familiar blonde was nowhere to be seen.

Closing the front door with his hip, Bryce walked in with his eyebrows raised, “Where’s Jordynne?” He asked.

Jackie nodded towards her closed bedroom door, before taking a large bite of pizza.

“She okay?” His eyebrows furrowed, pausing outside of the door.

He watched Sienna’s face fall before she quickly corrected it. “Yeah — yeah, she said the preliminary hearing went alright.”

Bryce studied her face for a moment, before nodding, “That’s good. I’ll— I’ll be back.” Still holding the paper cup in his hand, he used the back of his knuckles to knock quietly on her door, “Jordy? It’s me.”

He heard a soft “come in” from the other side of the door, and he slipped inside.  It wasn’t entirely dark in her room — there was a soft orange glow from the lamp on her bedside table, illuminating her figure as she laid in the bed.

Jordynne’s blonde hair was pulled up into a bun, her glasses sitting crooked on her nose as she hugged a pillow. Most of her body was covered by her white duvet, but Bryce knew she had her threadbare Oregon State sweater on.

“Hey,” He whispered, shuffling into the room and next to the bed. He placed one of the cups down on the nightstand, “I brought you a coffee.”

The corners of her pink lips tugged up, “Only you would feed my addiction at 9 o’clock at night.”

“Hey, I know how to deal with gremlin Jordynne any time of day.” He took a swig of his own hot drink, before setting it down next to hers. He carefully sat down on the bed, sitting in the space between her stomach and legs as she laid on her side. “So how was the preliminary hearing?”

“It was alright. Declan was there.” She rolled her eyes, “But this is what I needed to do. Teresa would want this.”

Bryce nodded along with her, before giving her a sad smile. “So if it went well, why are you hiding away in here?”

“I’m not hiding in here.”

“There are three large pizzas outside that make me think differently. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you say no to extra cheesy, greasy pizza.” He smirked.

“I—“ Her green eyes flickered to the door, betraying her, “I’m just not in the mood for it.”

He placed his hand on her side, squeezing her waist, “Talk to me, Jordynne.”

“You don’t want to hear it.” The pillowcase rustled as she shook her head.

“If it’s making you upset, I do.” He squeezed her again, Maybe I can fix it.”

“You can’t fix this, Bryce.”

He shrugged, “Try me.”

“It’s Ethan, ok?” She said quietly.

“Okay.” He chewed his lip, thinking for a moment, “You know, you don’t have to keep hiding this from me.”

“It’s just not fair to you. I don’t—“

But he caught her off, “Jordynne, I know exactly what I signed up for.”

She let out an exasperated sigh, “But I’ve made everything messy. And confusing. This isn’t what you wanted, I’m sure.”

“All I want is for you to not feel like this.” He moved his head until they were both looking at each other. His dark eyes studied her green ones, “So if that means Ethan... or me. Regardless of what happens, with the trial or with him I’m going to be here. Probably with coffee. Until you tell me not to be.” He slipped his hand into hers, squeezing it gently.

They stayed like that for a moment, before Jordynne sat up a little. Her face came towards his, and Bryce felt his breath hitch for a moment. Her pink lips grazed his cheek with a small kiss. “Thank you,” She whispered, a sad smile spreading across her face before she laid back down.

Bryce swallowed hard — burying the feelings that had flared up in him as she had neared his face. He had thought — well, it didn’t matter.  

He left a couple hours later — after finally coaxing Jordynne out of her room with the coffee and pizza and friends. He had sat across the table from her — unable to tear his eyes away.

Now, he was strolling down a sidewalk in downtown Boston. Opting to walk home instead of taking the subway — the crisp night air was turning his cheeks red. But he had needed the time to think and unwind. It was late now and everything felt heavy — his steps, the long, slow blinks of his eyes, among other things.

All at once the inky black sky opened to let out a shower of rain. It came down slowly at first, before turning into the large droplets that splatted against the sidewalk and Bryce’s face. Scrambling at first Bryce started to pull up the hood of his jacket, before laughing at himself. He was already drenched, soaked from the cool rain.

As he rounded the familiar corner near the hospital, Bryce’s eyes squinted at the familiar neon glow of a pub near his apartment. He could hear the thudding music from inside the building, muffled through the windows but getting slightly louder as patrons went in and out. He had never been inside before — usually opting for the familiar bar near the hospital instead.

As he got closer to the establishment, Bryce’s footsteps started to falter a little in the rain — noticing a figure stumble out of the bar. Just like him, they got immediately drenched by the rain — though the man had no coat like Bryce. He watched as he tipped his head back, letting the cold rain hit him in the face before barking out a hard laugh. Then the man looked to the side, finally noticed he was being watched.

Bryce studied his dark features before recognition washed over him.

It was Ramsey.

Ethan must have realized who he was too, cause in that moment he turned on his heel and began striding away in the opposite direction.

Anger boiled in Bryce as his steps moved faster to match with his — attempting to catch up to him. Jordynne has been constantly worrying, waiting to hear from him — and now he was in the city and still hadn’t reached out to her?

“Hey!” Bryce called putting after him, almost in a jog at this point. “Hey!”

“What do you want, Lahela?” Ethan slurred, finally twisting around to face him.

“What I need,” Bryce took him by the shoulders and pulled him under a nearby awning away from the rain. His breath was a little ragged, and he took a moment to take a few deep breaths, “What I need is for you to figure out what the fuck you want.”

“Excuse me?” Ethan was looking anywhere but at Bryce. He reeked of booze — the scent lingering on him even though his sweater was soaked. And he looked like, well, shit. The surgical intern had never seen the ex-Attending look so disheveled.

“This.” Bryce jabbed a finger into his chest, “You. Whatever this is — it’s killing her.”

He studied his face when he said that — noticing the guilt that washed over Ethan’s face. He knew who he is was talking about.

“What you’re doing is killing, Jordynne. I’ve never seen her like this. And it’s because of you.” Shoving his hands back into his jacket pocket, Bryce backed away from him a little. “So decide man, do you want her? Or not? Because she does. She wants you.”

The pair were silent for a moment, tension still slowly pulling between them.

Finally, Ethan spoke again. “You just admit to losing Lahela? Your girl wants me over you?”

Bryce’s nostril flared for a moment, but he pushed the anger back down. “I could give a shit about losing to you. All I care about is her being happy. And for some god damn reason, you do that for her.

I could care less about being her second choice. I could be her hundredth choice, and I would still be ecstatic. Because everyday with her is like winning the god damn lottery. And if you don’t fucking realize that, then you need to let her go. Because it’s killing her. And I can’t watch it anymore.”  

Ethan’s steely eyes were wide for a moment, and his Adam’s Apple dropped as he took a hard swallow. “How long have you been preparing that?”

“Since the moment I found out how she felt about you.” Bryce let out a long breath through his nose, “In my head, there was a pretty good right hook to your face too. But I figure I shouldn’t do that.”

“Thanks.” Ethan breathed out. Bryce watched him stumble a little towards the curb, before lowering himself onto it and sitting down. Ethan put his face into his hands.

Letting out a sigh, he sat down next to him — feeling his jeans get soaked from the water running off the sidewalk. “Why are you being like this?”

“Well, I would approximate that I’m at 0.15% Blood Alcohol Content right now. That probably has something to do with it.”

“That’s not what I—,” Bryce chewed on the inside of his cheek, “Then why are you drinking like this? To forget?”

“Maybe to remember,” Ethan said quietly.

The pair watched in silence as a car drove by on the other side of the road — hitting a puddle and sensing a large spray of water over the asphalt.

“I’m not what they think I am.”

Bryce’s eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

“Jordynne. Naveen. Harper. All of them. I’m not what they think I am.” Ethan waved his arm at himself, sitting on the curb, “This is the real Ethan Ramsey.”

“Jordynne doesn’t seem to think so.” He gulped.

“Well, she’s wrong.” Ramsey croaked.

“Maybe you should let her decide that.” Bryce put his hands on his knees and pushed himself off of the curb. “And stop ghosting her. Talk to her.”

“I—“

“No. This,” Bryce pointed to Ethan drunkenly sitting on the curb, “Is not helping anyone.”

Finally, he offered his hand out to Ethan. He hesitated, but then grabbed onto the surgical intern's tan hand and allowed him to help him up. “I still don’t like you though.”

“I know.”

“And you don’t like me.”

“Nope.”

“But I — we,” Bryce corrected himself, “We like Jordynne. So.”

“Yeah.”

Bryce didn’t say anything else. He noticed a cab turning the corner near them, and he flagged them down with a wave. “You too drunk to remember where you live?”

“Hyde Park?” Ethan asked through the open window of the cab. He got a nod from the driver, and he pulled the door open. Ethan paused with the door open, “I’d offer to share the cab, but I feel like if you spend any more time with me I risk getting that right hook to the face?”

“Yup,” Bryce said coolly.

Ethan barked out a laugh, before giving Bryce a final nod and slipped into the cab.

He watched the yellow cab pull away, and he finally realized how long he had been standing (and sitting) in the rain for. Pulling out his phone, he sighed when he noticed the time and pocketed it again.

What had he gotten himself into?

Part Eighteen

[firesign23]

Author Interview

Tagged by: @aviss  (And @luthienebonyx while I was answering!)

Name:  Ehh, any variation of my usernames is fine. Or you can ask after we’ve talked. It’s too distinctive to put on Tumblr

Fandoms: I’m currently active in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and Game of Thrones, and occasionally still check in on the Agent Carter fandom when I have time. I’ve been fandoming for 18 years though, and couldn’t list all the ones I’ve been active in. I used to think I could, and then awhile back I was suddenly hit with a reminder that I wrote fic for X and had forgotten it entirely. 😂

Where you post: AO3

Most popular oneshot: (every single one of us) still left in want of mercy  for GoT. For Miss Fisher, the answer actually surprised me--by hits it is A Hundred and One, which made some sense because it was my first fic and hit during that huge rush in the wake of series 3. By kudos? It’s Reservations, a Mac POV of Phryne and Jack’s developing relationship. 

Most popular multi-chapter story: in the wild blue yonder, your star is fixed (in my sky)  for GoT, which is unsurprising because I only have two and that is both older and longer. A Glass Splinter for Miss Fisher, which is also unsurprising because it is oldest and longest. 

Favorite story you wrote: I always say Fear Not the Bugle, because it was long and hard and deeply personal by the end, but I think that answer changes a lot based on whatever definition of favourite I’m using.  

Story you were nervous to post: All of them, every time. But, honestly, today’s chapter on in the wild blue yonder was… I told people I was expecting rage quitting, and while nobody’s said so, the subscription count has gone down for the first time. There’s any number of innocuous reasons for that, and of course people can read what they want and interests change and so on, but it doesn’t feel like a coincidence that it came after this chapter either. I am, of course, overthinking the whole thing like hell because that’s how I roll. I’ll be over it tomorrow--the story went the way the story had to go. 

How you choose your titles: I scream at people until something clicks? I honestly… I’m so bad at picking titles. I’ll use song lyrics or poetry or quotes--lots of room for Shakespeare and Rilke with MFMM for obvious reasons, and also Edna St Vincent Millay and Anais Nin. And D.H. Lawrence, but also fuck that guy. Or sometimes I’ll just use a random word. I like to joke that I’m going to post a Phrack story and just call it “There’s smut, we all know you’ll read this regardless of the title”, but I don’t even have that going for me in the GoT fandom. THE HARDSHIPS, Y’ALL. I’m currently obsessed with finding a reason to use The Ballroom Thieves’ Bees for a fic, somehow, but I’m not sure which bit. Or which fic. It is sure as shit not going to be an angsty, canon-compliant Jaime POV of Winterfell though, that’s for fucking sure.

Do you outline: Somewhat? Before my season 8 fixit I was mostly writing casefics for anything longer than a one-shot, and I found that I had to have a super rough outline before starting so I could make sure the places clues were dropped were well-spaced and the resolution made sense on a super basic level. But this mostly took the form of a super general paragraph per chapter, and I didn’t really know how those things would happen until I get there. For yonder I have a list of shit that’s supposed to happen, maybe, and I’m winging it without knowing what’s coming in even a vague sense more than a couple of chapters ahead. Except for the final chapter, which was one of the first things I noted, back when I was telling @heavyheadedgal I wasn’t going to WRITE a fic, it was just satisfying to think about it, and anyway even if I did it would be a oneshot. 

I do, however, sort of outline a chapter when I get to writing it. Outline mostly means a sentence, maybe two, per scene--X happens, the purpose of which is Y, tone might be Z--and any scraps of dialogue/writing that had already come to me during previous writing. 

Complete: On ao3 I have… 150 or so? I think the full count is 152 or 153, and of those one is on hiatus and has been for years, one is complete but not yet fully posted because it’s for the 2019 monthly challenge for MFMM, and one genuine WIP. I have no idea what the true total over 18 year is though, other than a LOT.

In-progress: I am actively working on in the wild blue yonder, your star is fixed (in my sky) and the The Seasons Will Change Us New series (aka Minigolf AU), and have a few things like prompts that I pick at on occasion. 

Coming soon/not yet started:

I have a ton more stories in the Minigolf series--the first on the docket is a one-shot of Brienne and Jaime grabbing coffee (that’s what I’m working on), then one set over the Midwinter holiday where their skiing holiday plans are interrupted by Robert’s death. Then there is the bachelor auction fic, which is going to be great because platonic neck kisses. And a few after that.  

The third fic in the series of smutty character studies, which will feature pegging and domJaime (somehow?) and I have NO FUCKING CLUE what it will actually look like but I need it and nobody else is going to write it, so...

My next “serious” longfic will probably by the Persuasion/Anne of Cleves!AU, which is the weirdest mashup description ever. But the premise could be really great--it’s a canon divergence where Brienne and Jaime meet earlier in the timeline and become friends, then are separated by Cersei’s scheming and the ire of the court, both of them in love but not realising or able to act on it at the time. Then they meet again when she is Catelyn’s sworn sword (I’m handwaving so much politics in this fic and Ned’s death is different so Sansa is marrying Joffrey and UGH I’m not looking forward to that side of things because my grasp of canon is so bad), and there is angst and pining and strained sniping. Addam gets to be Charles Musgrove. It’s only the vaguest sort of take on Persuasion, but… The Anne of Cleves side of things is--okay, I kinda want to really lean into that inspiration, but the real point of that is to tackle Brienne’s ugliness from an angle that acknowledges that it can be a “Yes and…” situation--yes, she’s not pretty, and it can also be a constructed, weaponised attack on her. For example, I’m taking that “More of a woman’s shape” thing and running with it--she’s not feminine in build, but that gets warped into “Entirely indistinguishable from a man” by people out to discredit her, and even Jaime’s memories of her have been shaped by that propaganda.  

Look, we all know I’m writing Cocks and Robbers and it is entirely the fault of @aurora-australis-tumbles 

Do you accept prompts: Absolutely! I can be very slow at filling them though, because I… for a long time I was really struggling with writing for a bunch of complex reasons and I’m still working my way up to being able to write a lot in a day. It’s like a muscle injury that’s slowly healing, but I’m not pushing myself, and that means that I can’t currently sit down and bang out 5 or 6 ficlets in a day like I used to. 

Upcoming story you are most excited to write: Persuasion AU, I think? What I have to say about beauty is probably rather niche and not interesting to the vast majority of fans, but it’s something that I like to explore. Or the bachelor auction AU because TROPES GALORE.

Tagging @whopooh  @scruggzi @aurora-australis-tumbles @renee561 and whoever else wants to do it. I am super bad at remembering who has already done these things

[thalia-amongst-the-thorns]

Dinner and a Show

Thought I’d post something I wrote recent-ish, a continuation with my characters Indigo the incubus and Rosemary the hedgewitch who I wrote about a long time ago here!

Warning that it gets very explicit, so brace yourself...

                                                      _________

Something was off about Indigo. Rosemary couldn’t put her finger on what it was exactly,  but a cloud of oddness had hung around him all day regardless. Maybe it was because he hadn’t put up a fuss when Poppy had picked a truly sappy rom-com for tonight’s dinner-and-a-show (under the pretense of torturing Rosemary with boredom, Poppy would never admit to actually having something so icky as feelings). Or maybe because he hadn’t said much of anything the whole day, not even a peep when Rosemary asked him to tag along into town to help make home deliveries and the Widow Powell (16 ounces Drought of Peace, 8 ounces Cheer and Charm weekly) had made eyes at him like a woman half her age and with her original hips intact. 

Of course, the ultimate tell something was wrong was when Poppy actually noticed something beyond her phone screen.

“I liked his look this morning better.”

Rosemary frowned, running a dish towel over a worn mug in the shape of a smiling frog. “Whose look?”

Somehow Poppy managed to make blowing her bangs out of her eyes into an irritated gesture. She jerked one thumb back towards the living room where Indigo was cleaning up the remains of their Thai takeout, her other hand never skipping a beat as it tip-tapped on her phone, her hip resting against the kitchen counter because of course standing up straight was just too much effort.

“Indigo?” Rosemary put the mug down pointedly with more force than probably necessary. Dish duty was supposed to be a two person task. At least, it used to be. “Looks the same to me. Good thing too, it took him forever to settle on a permanent human form.” 

Bang blow paired with an eye roll. “Nuh-huh. His hair is shorter now. And his chin’s wider. Kinda like an Indian Rami Malek.”

Really? Rosemary quickly glanced through the door but Indigo’s back was to them, his dark hair up in a messy bun. She shook her head and plunged her hands back into the sudsy dish water, annoyed at herself for letting her sister get under her skin.

“Now you’re just making stuff up.”

“You didn’t even look at him!” Poppy actually glanced up from her screen, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner that was not at all appropriate for someone her age. “Come on, I know you want to.”

“Poppy!” 

“What? It’s not my fault you’ve got a stick so far up your ass you can’t see--!”

“Poppy!” Rosemary’s face burned so hot she was surprised the water didn’t evaporate at her touch. “Watch your tongue girl, you do not get to talk to me like that under my roof!”

The old cold look settled over Poppy’s face and she straightened to her full height, glowering down, hands clenched into trembling fists at her sides. Rosemary met her glare head on, face hot and dangerous. She’d been on the receiving end of many (really, most) of Poppy’s Looks and was no slouch herself. For generations the Baxter women had always had just one of those faces that made grown men worship them as goddesses or run for the hills. The two sisters took after the latter.

Poppy’s left eye twitched. She always broke first.

“Fine. Whatever.” She stomped to the backdoor, voice dripping with sarcasm as she yanked it open. 

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“Out.” Nose wrinkling, Poppy shot Rosemary a withering look over her shoulder. “Preferably somewhere where people are mature enough to get off their high horse and fuck when they want to.”

Rosemary barely registered the door slamming behind her sister, the blood was pounding so loudly in her ears it hurt. She wanted to scream. Smash all the pathetic little knick-knacks on the drying board into powder. Mix up a boiling cauldron of Elixir of Blood Rot and flood the streets.

Instead, she breathed steadily through her nose and finished washing and drying dishes.

The flush would fade from her cheeks only to return stronger as she replayed Poppy’s infuriatingly knowing look, her words that cut deep like only a sister’s could. Damn that girl. She was goddamn sixteen and had no business saying things like that to her. Especially about Indigo. It wasn’t Rosemary’s fault the demon was living with them, it wasn’t even Indigo’s fault really (not that she’d admit it to him). Just yet another one of Poppy’s messes for her to clean up after.

“So…”

Rosemary flinched so badly she almost dropped the last plate in her hands. Indigo leaned against the doorframe behind her, the living room spotless behind him.

“Is this the kind of human thing where you want to talk about it, or should I just gracefully pretend I was momentarily deaf and did not hear charming Poppy cuss you out and storm off into the night?”

“I…” Rosemary hesitated, took her time putting the plate away. Why was she hesitating? You didn’t talk to demons about your feelings. Especially an incubus. That was just asking for all sorts of trouble. “The latter this time, I think.”

“Fair enough.” Something flickered behind his eyes, but before Rosemary could register what it was a smile was stretched across his lips. “You want to watch some Queer Eye? The next season just dropped and I hear the episode with the single dad with the figure skating daughter is super adorable.”

Again, she hesitated. The dinner-and-a-show Saturdays were more for Poppy’s sake, the facade of a family dinner without the family. Ignoring tonight’s explosive finish, usually the night ended with Poppy vanishing upstairs into the depths of her room while Rosemary checked on the potions that needed to stew overnight and wracked her brain over the store’s finances before passing out on top of her bedsheets fully clothed and Indigo planted himself on the couch for his usual twelve plus hours of media consumption. Demons didn’t need sleep and the bonding curse made it impossible for him to leave the house unless Rosemary did, but he didn’t usually ask her to stay up with him. She’d made it clear she had too much work, too much stress for such things.

Indigo wiggled his eyebrows, his voice dropping into mock-seductive tones. “Come on, you know you want to see Jonathan Van Ness in ice skates.”

Well, that did sound fun. And a good distraction from angry little sisters who didn’t know what they were talking about.

“Sure.” She grabbed a bag of the horrible pickle popcorn Indigo was so fond of from the back of the cabinet and tossed it into his eager hands. “Might as well cut loose, not like there are any orders to babysit tonight anyway.” 

Of course, no new orders was its own kind of problem, but it was best not to dwell on that now.

Despite herself, Rosemary couldn’t help casting a side glance at Indigo as she followed him back into the living room. He definitely looked the same from this morning. Perfect brown skin, long hooked nose in a long face. Perfect hair, long, dark and glossy, piled on his head in a tousled bun that somehow made him look relaxed instead of disheveled. Perfect teeth, perfectly fitted button down shirt and jeans on his perfect trim body. Perfectly perfect. It’s what incubus did best.

… It was possible that maybe he was a little shorter. But everyone was tall when it came to Rosemary so she hardly paid attention to that sort of thing. And with his hair up there was no way to know if that was different…

Damn it Poppy. What did it matter if Indigo had changed? At least he was still human shaped. He used to change all the time when he’d first been summoned, trying to suit the tastes of those around him. Men, women, tall, short, muscular, willowy and all variations between and beyond. It was only after Rosemary had lectured him about how she refused to let the neighbors believe she was running a harem out of her basement that Indigo had given in and settled on his current form for going about the town. It was only natural he’d keep wearing it in private, helped to maintain the charade of humanity just in case.

Indigo queued up the television, Queer Eye’s peppy intro music filling and numbing Rosemary’s head, and the two of them settled onto opposite sides of the couch. Indigo ripped open the popcorn bag and had already emptied half of it into his mouth within the first five minutes while Rosemary curled her legs up and balanced her chin on her knees, distracting herself with five fabulous men who changed lives and hearts in forty-five minutes of less.

… And yet she found her eyes wandering over to Indigo, who thankfully kept his own gaze glued to the screen. He seemed fine. In fact, he’d been remarkably well behaved for the past few weeks. Quieter, less prone to innuendo and suggestive talk with customers in the shop. No secret flirtations or temptations, no transforming into a demon from the depths of hell and consuming souls…

A thought niggled at the back of Rosemary’s mind. When was the last time she’d seen Indigo in his true form? She’d lectured him about it two, three weeks ago? When she’d caught him skulking with Poppy in her room playing video games with, well, everything hanging out (wings, tail, horns, the whole mess). He hadn’t actually been naked, thank god, but it still didn’t seem appropriate and some boundaries had to be maintained. Guess he’d taken it to heart.

Her mind tuned in and out of the show, her shoulders hunching and knees hugged closer to her chest, vaguely registering that Jonathan was sporting a cute stubble look this season. Antoni showed the hero of the episode how to make cinnamon apple pancakes to fill the riff between him and his daughter. Bobby refurbished the home with snowy throw pillows and decorative mason jars. People laughed and no one raised their voice. 

Something brushed the back of her neck and Rosemary squeaked in alarm, hand swatting out before she actually looked over to find Indigo now right next to her with a bemused expression verging on embarrassment. His hand hovered awkwardly just above her shoulder.

“Sorry”, he said, “should have asked first, you just looked so tense…”

The muscles in her neck practically screamed as Rosemary looked down at the curled pretzel her body had formed. Now that he’d said something about it she could feel the tightness in her upper back, the subtle pounding of her temples that had started when Poppy left and hadn’t let up. 

“I’m very good at back rubs,'' Indigo said shamelessly and Rosemary rolled her eyes.

“Oh, I’m sure you are,” she sighed, but shifted over slightly so that her back faced him. She didn’t know if it was true for all incubus, but Indigo had always been exceptionally touchy-feely from the start, and not just in a sexual sense. He always wanted to hold hands, run his fingers through your hair, rest his head on your shoulder. It probably wasn’t a good idea to encourage him, but, well, he just looked so miserable when you said no and Rosemary wasn’t heartless.

Large, warm hands worked at the knots in her shoulders, pressing at just the right points so that goosebumps swept down her arms. Instantly she felt the layers of tension melt away, her head hanging down loosely and eyelids drooping. Indigo worked his way up her back, delicately kneading the nape of her neck and running his fingers through her thick afro before tickling her scalp with his nails. Little tingles of pleasure spread through her at his touch, warm and fuzzy.

Damn, he was good.

The show’s closing credits started up in the background and abruptly Indigo’s hands were gone and she heard him shift over and stand. Warmth still lingered along her skin from his touch and Rosemary had to bite her tongue to stop an annoyed huff from escaping her lips.

“Do you want to watch the next episode,” Indigo asked over his shoulder, crouched by the television. Rosemary nodded, trying to put casual indifference into the gesture even as she hoped he’d pick up where he left off on her. He smiled and plopped down next to her, disturbing the cushions so that Rosemary unbalanced and awkwardly slid over into his side. As if it was the most natural thing in the world Indigo laughed and hooked his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in so that Rosemary’s cheek rested against the crook of his neck.

Well. This is what she got for encouraging him. Damn, touchy-feely incubus.

Nothing to do but ride it out. Rosemary sighed and moved her arm into a more comfortable position so that it draped over Indigo’s lap. At least Indigo was cozy, his body pleasantly toasty, a faint musky, spicy scent coming off his skin and hair.

They watched the next episode in comfortable silence. Absentmindedly, Indigo began running his fingers through her thick hair again, gently teasing out mauve kinks and knots. He brushed a few stray hairs out of her face, thumb ghosting her lips, and Rosemary flinched. She felt his body tense, hand instantly gone from her hair. 

“Sorry.”

“No”, she said too quickly and mentally kicked herself. “It’s fine. Just surprised me.”

His muscles relaxed again but he kept his hands to himself. Regret chased by confusion mixed around in the pit of Rosemary’s stomach.

The episode was almost over when he spoke up again.

“I’m sure she’s fine.”

Rosemary glanced at the small, inconspicuous pendant of carnelian and amethyst perched on the mantel. It hadn’t moved all evening.

“I know she is.”

“She means well.”

Rosemary laughed, a short, bitter sound. “Oh no, she does not. She’s at that rebellious teenage stage where she realizes that words hurt and she can use them too.”

She was so close to him that Rosemary could hear the contemplative hum at the back of Indigo’s throat.

“Maybe. But she’s also trying to be heard and doesn’t feel like you’re listening. The only time you do seem to listen is when she hurts you.”

“I really don’t want to talk about this with you,” Rosemary said curtly. It was bad enough failing at parenting without the demon telling her she was failing.

Her head bobbed up and down as Indigo’s shoulders shrugged under her. “Hey, I’m the one who can read emotions. Your loss if you don’t want to exploit that.”

“Please, there’s only one emotion you care about.”

Indigo grunted. “I care about plenty of things.”

“Me, myself, and I are all one thing Indie”, Rosemary teased, but Indigo didn’t laugh. She craned her head back so that she could look at him, the glow of the television casting the stubble on his face into shadow. “Indigo?”

“I care about making sure the shop stays open,” Indigo said slowly, eyes fixed ahead at the screen. “I care about Poppy and making sure she stays safe even if she doesn’t want to. I care about making you safe and happy.” An odd look passed over his face and his arm tightened around her so that Rosemary’s temple brushed against his rough chin.

All the blood in her body seemed to be traveling to her head very quickly and Rosemary blurted out the first thing that floated through the mess of her mind. “Since when did you have stubble?”

“Huh?” Indigo stroked his cheek, seemingly just as surprised as her. The odd look passed over his face but Rosemary caught it this time. Guilt.

Stubble. Rami Malek’s bone structure--

“You’re doing the thing!” Rosemary broke out of Indigo’s arms and jabbed an accusatory finger at his chest. 

“What ‘thing’?”

“The thing,” she cried. “Looking at my heart’s deepest desires and twisting them to tempt me into- into fucking my soul out so you can eat it! The thing you swore not to do ever no matter what!”

“I’m not trying to do it,” Indigo snapped back, surprising Rosemary with his fervor. Indigo had never yelled before. In fact, she’d never even seen him really upset before. Not like now; he sprung up from the couch and paced, actually pulling at his hair so that it came undone and hung down to his waist.

“I- I don’t think you understand just how confusing all of this is,” he continued. “I’m used to coming and going whenever I’m hungry. I don’t stick around, why would I want to, people are so boring when they’re not fucking, all that eating and sleeping and talking about nothing at all…” He waved his hands, taking in her and the whole house. “But then you came along and I had no choice but to stay and find out just how wrong I was about everything. And now I’m feeling all of these- these things that I’m not used to feeling and I don’t know what to do with them.” In an instant he bounded forward and grabbed Rosemary’s hands up in his own. “I-I want you to be happy but I don’t know how to do that.” Seamlessly his body seemed to melt and fade, shrinking and reforming into a dead ringer for Rami Melek, eyes wide and frenzied. 

Rosemary’s mouth popped open in surprise and Indigo-Rami frowned, eyes raking her up and down but not not finding what they were looking for. 

“No, no, no,” he mumbled, body once again melting, hips widening, breast swelling until a shapely woman with freckles along her nose and waves of auburn hair clutched at Rosemary’s hands. 

“No no no”, Indigo wailed again, the sound shaking Rosemary out of her stuper. 

“Indigo, stop,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm, reassuring, “please. I don’t want you to do this.”

“But you liked it.” Indigo glanced up at her through a curtain of hair, breaths short but steadier now. “You liked that form.”

“Yes”, Rosemary admitted, “I did. But you know how you want me to be happy? Well--” she swallowed, throat suddenly dry, “- I want you to be happy too. And right now I can tell that this is not making you happy.” She ran her thumbs over the back of Indigo’s now small, pale hands thoughtfully. “Indigo… what do you want to look like?”

Indigo blinked in confusion. “Whatever you want.”

“No, not like--!” Rosemary caught herself and took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “If you want to do that it’s fine Indigo, but I meant what form you would feel most comfortable in right now.”

His brow furrowed, and at first Rosemary worried that she still hadn’t gotten through to Indigo. Maybe she couldn’t; when your whole purpose was catering to others’ desires, it made sense that you’d lose track of your own. After a moment though his form shifted again, taller and taller until his head almost brushed the ceiling and a pair of horns curled up and out from his forehead. His chest flattened and broadened, the clothes melting into his body and his skin darkening into a soft purple that deepened at his elbows to a rich black at his now clawed hands. A tail extended from the base of his spine topped with a coil of dark hair and a pair of immature wings, spiny and batlike, burst from his back.

The incubus stared down at Rosemary with golden eyes, lips pulling back from tusked teeth in a small grin.

“Better?”

“Yeah”, Indigo murmured, his voice deeper in his demonic form. He ran his claws through his still long hair, felt his horns gingerly. “It’s been a while…”

Guilt twisted painfully in Rosemary’s gut. “I’m sorry Indigo, I shouldn’t have made you change what you looked like just so that I, god I don’t know anymore, felt more comfortable…” She trailed off lamely. It really felt like a dick move when she said it out loud. 

Indigo smirked, the expression somehow enhanced by his tusks. “Please, you didn’t make me do anything. I just thought you’d prefer something more human over this.” He gestured at his body, claws trancing down his chiseled torso. Really, it wasn’t Rosemary’s fault her eyes lingered on his abs. Given that he was at least a good two feet taller than her now she was either staring his abs or straining her neck again to see his face. Not that he’d notice her noticing. Hopefully.

Indigo’s head cocked curiously.

Oh no.

“What?” Was what Rosemary tried to say. What actually came out was a pathetic squeak.

Oh no.

In a surprisingly fluid movement Indigo knelt down so that they were at eye level. Rosemary sank deeper into the couch, casually meeting his golden eyes and determinedly  thinking pure thoughts. Ever so slowly, a leer spread across the incubus’s face.

“Do you see something you like,” he asked and Rosemary burned at the smug satisfaction in his voice.

“I-I-,” she stammered, her mouth, the traitor, going bone dry. 

“You said you wanted to make me happy too,” Indigo said slowly, weighing the words on his tongue. A smile, earnest and happy, broke over his face and something fluttered painfully inside Rosemary chest. “Well, I know what would make me very, very happy…”

“I bet you do”, Rosemary managed to mutter and Indigo chuckled. Even his breath smelled good in this form, the same pleasant warm musk of his skin…

“Only if you say you want it too,” he said.

Rosemary squirmed uncomfortably, tried to keep the accusation out of her voice. “How do I know it’s what I want? Can’t you just make me…?”

She was immensely thankful that Indigo didn’t look hurt at the question, instead growing sober, eyes intense. “No. I wouldn’t do that, and I couldn’t if I wanted to. The whole point of an incubus is to tempt, to dangle humans’ carnal desires right under their noses, but the human still has to make the decision to pursue it. Comes with the whole free will thing. The sin has to be freely chosen.” 

He ran a claw delicately down the center of Rosemary’s face, traced the curve of her nose and lips.

“And my-my soul,” Rosemary whispered once she’d found her train of thought again.

“I can feed off of other things,” Indigo said, eyes trailing over her body longingly and Rosemary shivered. “It’s been a while since I last had a meal though, so best to warn you that I’ll be very enthusiastic…”

Rosemary’s head was swimming, drowning in gold and desire. It had to be a trick, some incubus trap to leave her weak and vulnerable. But… even when Indigo wasn’t around her, when she was out of reach of his potential influence, she knew how she felt about him even if she hadn’t admitted it to herself. How she’d grown to enjoy his company, to depend on him, to trust him to watch over Poppy. And even if it was a trick, it was still her choice to make. 

So, what did she want?

“You better be hungry,” Rosemary said, leaning forward so there was barely an inch between their faces. “Because I am a dish.”

She cut off Indigo’s laugh with her lips, pressing her body against his. He tasted like heat and salt and surprisingly of cinnamon on the back of her tongue, his tusks tugging at her lips.

“And here I thought I was the eager one,” he murmured when at last they broke away.

“Try to keep up.”

Indigo’s eyes flashed, and a growl built in the depths of his chest. Rosemary swallowed. Oh dear. That might have been a bit more forward than she’d intended-- 

All at once Indigo had wrapped his large hands around her waist and picked her up, pressing her pelvis to his chest so Rosemary had no choice but to wrap her legs around his torso. Rosemary gasped. She was what she liked to call ‘solidly built’, with thick arms and legs and a stomach she preferred not to dwell on, but Indigo was able to hold her effortlessly while his mouth got to work on her neck, nibbling and moaning against her suddenly very sensitive skin.

Not be outdone she threw her hips back and down, rocking as best she could in Indigo’s firm grasp, grinding against his crotch. She could feel the length of him hardening under her and he paused in his ministrations to groan into her ear.

“Not yet.”

With ease he rolled down onto the ground so that she was pinned under him, his grinning face right above hers. There was a crash as the coffee table was unceremoniously kicked away to make room. God, she’d never really appreciated how damn big he was, his form filling her vision completely.

“Not till I’m done with you,” he growled and Rosemary whimpered, heart racing.

Claws, so gentle before, hooked under her shirt and ripped the offending fabric away, revealing the pale blue bra underneath. A blush rose in Rosemary’s cheeks. There was a lacey black bra with matching panties gathering dust somewhere in her dresser, something more appropriate. Indigo had probably fucked underwear models for God’s sake, what did she think she was doing--

Indigo leaned down and pressed his mouth to her breast and Rosemary gasped. His tongue (how had she never appreciated it before?) pressed against the flimsy material of her bra, tracing circles around her hardening nimple. She squirmed and he chuckled, nipping playfully at her nipple, the pain cutting through Rosemary like a warm knife and spreading down her body to between her legs. Indigo moved on to her other breast with that marvelous tongue of his, and Rosemary grasped forward blindly, latching onto his horns with both hands and bracing herself as the intense heat and pain coursed through her again. He gave her a moment to catch her breath, nuzzling against her chest and leaving a trail of kissing along her collar bone.

“Beautiful”, he murmured against her skin and Rosemary beamed.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

She felt his lips smile against her neck before he shifted downward and she was forced to let go of his horns, his mouth now at her chest, her stomach, her hips. His hands grasped her shoulders, claws prickling wonderfully and painfully, pinning her with ease. He straightened up, straddling her, and Rosemary was pretty sure it was only because of his amazing thigh muscles that she wasn’t being crushed flat by his sheer immensity. 

Indigo’s tail flicked around his hip and disappeared from view below. Something tugged at her pants and automatically Rosemary tried to sit up. Indigo’s hands squeezed slightly, a casual show of strength, and Rosemary couldn’t move an inch.  

He sniggered. “Not until I’m done, right?”

“Right,” Rosemary gulped. How had she never realized how strong he was, how firm and steady? She was too used to being in charge, running the store and him trailing behind, the loyal assistant. It was rather enjoyable to have the roles reversed for once.

The thing continued to tug at the button of her jeans, and out of the corner of her eye Rosemary could just see Indigo’s tail coiling and uncoiling in time with the sensation. After a moment there was a release at her hips as the button came undone and Indigo deftly threaded his tail through a belt loop, pulling her jeans down and exposing her pink panties.

“What else can that tail do,” she laughed. 

A wicked look broke over Indigo’s face. Something soft tickled between Rosemary’s thighs, teasing her lips down there and sending waves of heat coursing through her. A moan slipped out of her throat and Indigo smirked.

“Now, now, we’re just getting to the fun part,” he chided, head disappearing between her legs. Rosemary bent her legs out slightly to accommodate his horns, limbs awkward and unsure, before Indigo reached out and carefully guided her knees so that they were braced against his horns instead. Rosemary opened her mouth to thank him when the words became a shriek of delight as his tongue played at the outside of her panties, pressing the fabric roughly against her as he traced her labia steadily. He moved inward and Rosemary could feel the warmth spreading through her, fast and strong, wetness forming between her legs.

His tusk scraped the inside of her thigh and Rosemary’s back arched in pleasure, fingers digging into the carpet. In one swift motion he grabbed her panties in his teeth and ripped them away, tossing them over on top of the sad remains of her shirt. Now with nothing separating them he took her up inside his mouth, tongue massaging her clitoris. Rosemary groaned, low and long, and one of Indigo’s hands slipped away to assist his tireless mouth, claws providing a new, deliciously abrasive sensation. 

Heat and delight rocked through her body, building and building to the point that Rosemary thought she’d burst from the sensations burning inside her. Panting, Indigo pulled his head back up, golden eyes hungry, her cum dribbling down his chin. Slowly he leaned over her, one hand tangling in her hair, the other reach down and guiding his cock inside her. 

Rosemary whimpered, reaching up and grabbing his horns again as he moved deeper inside her and then deeper still, filling her completely and still going. A moan rumbled deep in Indigo’s chest and the two of them rocked in tandem as he dived down inside her, bodies a tangle of friction and ecstasy. 

Rosemary cried out in joy, body slick with sweat. Oh, it was good, so good, him inside her, how he could reach parts of her she hadn’t realized she wanted touched. It was definitely something she could get used to.    

With a shudder Indigo released inside her, hot and thick, and Rosemary let loose a ragged scream, her nerves on fire. Her breath came in jagged gasps and Indigo slid himself out of her, his own chest heaving and glistening with sweat, hair sticking to his skin. 

It took a few seconds for Rosemary’s mind to piece itself back together, and even then all she could manage was a breathless, “Wow.”

Indigo made a pleased rumbling sound and stroked her hair away from her forehead. “I tend to have that effect.”

“I mean, I knew that, but still. Wow.”

After a few seconds Indigo peeled himself off of her and leaned his back against the couch, but before Rosemary could fully catch her breath he had scooped her up again and deposited her in his lap. His toned, strong arms pulled her close to his chest, his whole body enveloping her easily as his face nuzzled her hair.

“Did you like it?”

“Yes,” Rosemary said, face flushing at how quickly the answer had come. “Did you… are you hungry still?”

“I’m always hungry.” He leaned over her face and kissed her, his long hair tickling her cheeks. She could taste herself on his lips. “You are fantastic.”

Rosemary grinned and melting into his warm embrace, eyes closing.

“Care for another round?”

“Right now!” Rosemary’s eyes flew open, looking up into Indigo’s hopeful face.

“Well, ideally yes,” he admitted, “but if you prefer, maybe in a more general sense…”

“God, you’re incorrigible.” Rosemary shook her head in exasperation but the grin never left her face. “I suppose I could clear my schedule. Assuming you don’t have anything better to do.”

“Making you happy is my top priority,” Indigo said as if the words had just occurred to him. He lapsed into thoughtful silence and nodded to himself.

“Yes, uh, well…,” Rosemary mumbled, embarrassed and pleased by his earnestness, “don’t get carried away.”

Indigo made a noncommittal grunting sound and stood up, casually keeping her in his arms so that her hands were braced against his chest and he had a generous hold of her ass.

“We should probably get cleaned up.” He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “And if you’re up for it, there’s always round two...”

[scuffed-wizards]

Mctorious One Shot: Get Together

Sorry for the gap in posting, we do not really have a planned schedule of any kind so expect sporadic posts.

But...we are close to 100 followers!!! We already have an idea in mind to celebrate

So here you go, another cute af Mctorious one shot, enjoy!

Students scattered the large halls, some of them going on their way to class while others just stood around talking to their friends since they had free periods. In this case, Matt had a free period and was heading to a certain area in the garden where he would meet up with Jay. A large smile went across his face at the thought of the mess of curls, the ones which would almost seem to bounce on their own in excitement whenever the Kiwi was happy. Or how his front teeth were ever so slightly crooked like his smile, or how he would do super over the top hand motions when he was trying to be dramatic or-Okay, maybe Matt was a little observational when it came to the things that Jay did.

He shook his head, speeding up a bit as he rounded the corner to find the garden in view. Looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to him, the American was thankful to find that the only two others in the hallway paid him no mind as they seemed caught up in their bubble. Running past them, he found the small wall of the garden that he had grown used to seeing. Matt peered around before knocking once, waiting a few seconds, then knocking twice again in quick succession.

Shuffling and mumbles were heard behind the door, another second passing before the wall opened up for a split second and Matt was quickly pulled inside, the wall shutting behind him.

The American took a moment to straighten himself up a bit before turning around to face the Kiwi who had a large grin going across his face, his curls falling into his eyes and creating an almost curtain effect. Matt could only adore the adorable sight for a few seconds though before Jay was pushing his hair out of his face and starting to talk.

“I did it Matt.” He almost yelled, starting to bounce up and down in

excitement, only to be met with Matt’s confused stare as he tried to understand what he meant.

“What did you do exactly? If you managed to sneak another dragon into the castle I swear-” He started to say before being cut off.

“Okay, well, it’s a dragon but not in the way you think. Don’t give me that look, I didn’t sneak in a dragon egg or a full sized dragon. I...I made a patronus.” Jay finished off with a hushed voice, Matt’s eyes widening as a grin made its way across his face.

“You did it? Oh my god, okay, now you have to show me.” Matt nodded, sitting down in the corner of the small hedge in the wall with hopeful eyes looking up at Jay, waiting to see the figure of his patronus.

Jay took a deep breath in, glancing a look over at Matt before closing his eyes and remembering his happiest memory…

“Jay, it’s going to be okay. You should know that thing isn’t going to hurt, nor is it real.” Matt reassured him, rubbing at his shoulders as the boggart stood in front of the pair.

The boggart had seemed to shift into Jay’s worst nightmare, which shocked Matt a great deal since it was...just a dragon. Matt knew that Jay had grown up around dragons his entire life, hell, he even had a pet one back home apparently! So what made this dragon his worst fear?

It took a moment as the boggart fully formed, quickly curling the dragon’s pearly white head to the floor and hissing as its wings started to make a circle shape to make itself appear bigger. Tears were already beginning to run down Jay’s face as he stared at the form of the dragon.

“Creamy…” Jay mumbled out, dropping his wand to the floor as his grip loosened on it. Then the voices started kicking in, all of them hissing things about how the dragon was dangerous and would hurt Jay, how he was stupid for trusting the mindless creatures…

The Kiwi broke down then and there, tears falling from his face like a dam just broke within him. The American rubbed at his shoulders softly, staring at the form the boggart took and just taking it in.

“Jay it’s alright...you just need to riddikulus it, you can do it.” Matt reassured him, but Jay wasn’t listening, just shaking his head and mumbling that’d be alright.

The sounds of the boggart and Jay’s crying filled the room for a few more seconds before Matt couldn’t handle the sound anymore. “Riddikulus!” He shouted out, the spell firing quickly and causing the boggart to...remain the same? The dragon form seemed to stay, but it stuck it’s tongue out, panting like a...dog. It started panting loudly, bouncing around like it was a puppy wanting attention. The voices shifting to praise and admiration and...love. Matt noticed how the voices seemed to sound like his, but he let it slide as he started to shove the boggart back into the closet before locking it quickly.

Sniffles filled the silent room, Jay wiping away the last of his tears and picking up his wand from the floor. “I’m...I’m sorry.” Jay mumbled walking over to Matt and expecting to be called out for his incompetence with the boggart, instead receiving a tight hug.  

“It’s okay...it’s okay...it’s gone now.” The American muttered into his shoulder rubbing circles on the Kiwi’s back to calm him down. “I’m right here Jay, you’re safe.” A tight grip grabbed at Matt’s back, Jay releasing a shaky breath as he buried his face into Matt’s neck. A calming silence filled the room, a small smile going across his face as he realised that he was in love.

…”Expecto patronum!” Jay shouted, a white light shining from the end of his wand like a spotlight, a large dragon erupting from his wand and landing on the floor in a puddle of pale light, little wisps erupting from its figure as it stood in the room and took up a majority of the space.

Matt stared at the figure in pure awe, a large grin going across his face as he reached a hand out to touch the creature, only for his hand to go straight through it. “This is so fucking cool!” He shouted, continuing to run his hand through the bright light and admiring how a being of pure magic and light could look so real.

Jay stared at Matt’s glowing face, being illuminated by the patronus that stood between them, a small smile going across his face at just how amazing he looked when he was this happy…

After a few more minutes, the patronus took a look back at Jay before fading away into nothingness, the room being a lot more dim then it was earlier.

“Jay that...that’s amazing! Your patronus was brighter than any I’ve ever seen, what kind of memory could’ve made that?” Matt rushed out, walking over to Jay with one of the dopiest grins on his face. A glance was simply sent Matt’s way as the other muttered out his answer, “Love.”

A weirdly uncomfortable silence filled the room, Matt feeling his heart break a little at Jay’s sudden declaration of feelings, but smiling through it and raising his eyebrows. “Love huh? So who’s the lucky lady?” He grinned, his head feeling light once he saw the bright red colour flushing itself across Jay’s face.

“It’s not...it’s not a lady.” He shrugged, turning away so he wouldn’t have to look at Matt’s grinning face.

The American felt his heart swell a bit at that, walking over and placing himself directly in front of the Kiwi so he couldn’t deny his presence. “Who’s the lucky guy then? Is it Toby?” Matt asked, desperately hoping that Jay wouldn’t answer yes to his question.

“I’m not going to tell you.” Jay replied quietly, glancing around everywhere in the small space except at Matt, desperately wanting to avoid the question that was being asked.

“Why not? I’m your best friend aren’t I? So why wouldn’t you tell me-”

“Because I-”

“Do you not trust me to know or something? I won’t tell him if that’s what you’re-”

“I don’t want to tell you that I love you!” Jay shouted out, his eyes welling with a few tears at his sudden declaration, his heart beating harder than it ever had in his life.

Matt felt his face heat up, his stomach wanting to feel light as a kite but also exploding like he was about to throw up. “You’re...you love me?” He muttered, a large smile beginning to go across his face.

Jay just shook his head, staring down at his feet and letting out a shaky breath as tears started streaming down his face, his shoulders shaking as he tried not to have a panic attack then and there. “Don’t hate me please…” He mumbled, shaking his head.

Arms quickly wrapped themselves around the Kiwi’s figure, the American peppering kisses across his face in attempt to reassure him. “For being good at finding things, you really suck at finding the mood in a room.” He chuckled, lightly kissing Jay’s forehead.

The shaking form stopped shaking at the feeling of the kisses, his face quickly glowing bright red. “I don’t...I’m dreaming right?” He mumbled, glancing at the smiling face that stared back at him.

“I hope not, I’ve been waiting to hear you say that for almost a year now.”

“...We’ve only known each other for a year Matt.”

“Remember what I said earlier? At sucking at finding the mood in a room? Yeah, that definitely applies here.”

“Just shut up and keep kissing my face please.”

[thedeviltohisangel]

You Say It Softly//7//I Know I’m Gonna Be

Leah leaves for Stanford without Jim.

warnings for smut, dubcon, drinking, fight, language

catch up at the masterlist in my bio!

send any requests for these two my way!

Leah sat in the parking lot of the rehab facility for much longer than she had meant to. Visiting hours had started almost an hour ago but she had yet to find the courage to walk in. Today was the day that her and her parents were driving to Stanford to move her in and today was supposed to be the day Jim came with her. The day they were supposed to start their lives together. Away from Palos Verdes and his parents and the scrutinizing eye of every single inhabitant of the town.

But, instead, she had gotten a phone call from Medina saying Jim never wanted to see her again. That after the night on the beach where Leah had found him face down and close to death, he thought it was best that they go their separate ways. At first she had just been upset that Jim hadn’t had the courage to say the words to her himself. That he had tasked his sister with breaking up with her. It made her think that it wasn’t what Jim actually wanted. That he was thinking rashly and doing what he thought was best for her and that’s why she was here, to tell Jim that that wasn’t what was best for her. That she would wait for him for as long as it took for him to get well enough to move to Stanford with her. That a love like theirs was worth waiting forever for.

Finally, she flung open her car door and marched towards the brown building. Tears were already beginning to form in her eyes from not seeing Jim so long and knowing that he was so close to her but that he didn’t want to see her. Claimed he never wanted to see her again.

“I’m here to visit James Mason.” The receptionist looked at her skeptically, Leah thinking her tearful eyes probably made her look more like a hysterical girl than the young woman she was trying to be. She filled out all the necessary paperwork and went through the security checkpoint before following the directions on the wall to his room number.

He was curled up on his tiny bed with his back to the door. She felt her heart skip a beat at just the sight of his chocolate hair and broad shoulders. “Hi, Jim.” Her voice sounded weak and broken to her own ears and she hated herself for it. Ever since she had admitted her love to Jim she had always promised herself she would be a source of strength for him. Now more than ever he needed strength around him and not some blubbering little girl.

“I thought Medina told you I never wanted to see you again.” Jim had spent the previous night and the entire morning crying. He knew that this was the day she was leaving. Leah was leaving Palos Verdes behind and he could not have been happier for her. The only thing that could have possibly brought her back was him and he needed to make sure that would never be an option for her. If only he could have gone with her, but he couldn’t. After the night at the beach he had realized that he was never going to be good enough for her. Could never be the man she needed and deserved. If he was such a shit boyfriend he didn’t want to think about what kind of husband or father he would be. Leah deserved the absolute best. Not some washed up addict that couldn’t even make it to prom or her birthday because pills were more important.

“I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. It didn’t feel right.” She stepped further into his room, wanting desperately to see his face one last time. As soon as she was about to round the corner of his bed in order to face him, he rolled over. “Jim.” Leah wanted to cry. She had thought she would be able to convince him to not give up on them but his actions...maybe she had been mistaken in thinking that this wasn’t really what Jim wanted.

“You need to go, Leah. I don’t want you here. I’m sorry if you thought differently.” He thinks he was about to cry again. So, so badly he wanted to turn around and get one last glimpse of her before she left his life forever. But he knew that if he looked at her then he wouldn’t be able to let her go and he had to. For her sake.

“I’m sorry too,” she whispered, “I won’t keep you long then. I’ll give you back this ring you gave me since I guess it doesn’t fucking mean anything anymore.” Jim flinched at the sound of the ring hitting the bedside table.

“I gave it to you. You can keep it. I don’t want it.”

“I don’t want it either, Jim! I don’t want to ever remember the stupid boy I let myself fall in love with just so he could break me like a little twig! Toss me aside like I didn’t save his life.” It was a little below the belt but Leah didn’t care. If she truly was never going to see Jim Mason ever again then she was going to let him hear it. “I wrote you this letter too. You can just throw it out since I disgust you so much.”

“I never asked for your help, Leah. Please let me sleep.” His own heart was shattered beyond repair as he heard her sniffling behind him.

“Goodbye, Jim. I hope you find a way to have a happy life. You of all people deserve to be happy.” Her fingers twitched at her side with the desire to touch him. To feel how soft his hair was, to smell him, to feel his warmth one last time before it was all ripped away from her.

She managed to fully hold her tears in until she had cleared the doorway to his room, practically running out of the building and collapsing by her car. She doesn’t know how long she sat in the parking lot crying and cursing God for bringing Jim Mason into her life just to rip him away. And she doesn’t know that back inside, Jim Mason was crying himself to sleep with a broken heart.

----

“Do you think you’re gonna go to the party at Declan’s tonight?” Leah had managed to successfully almost complete her first full semester at school. For the first couple of weeks she had thought about Jim and kept herself locked in her apartment so she could cry about him in peace. Eventually, she had cried out all of the tears that she had left in her body. She thought that if Jim deserved to be happy, then maybe she did too. She joined a couple of clubs, tried to talk to the people around her in class and even asked some of the tennis team to hang out outside of practice. The change in social pace was good for her. If she kept herself busy, then she didn’t have time to wonder what Jim was doing.

“I don’t know. Are you going?” She was sitting under a tree with her friend from tennis, Emmy.

“Yeah that kid from our Politics class said he was going and wanted to hang out if  was going too so I have to go.” Leah chuckled as she popped a couple more cheez-its into her mouth.

“He’s super into you, Emmy, I think you should go for it.”

“Come and be my wing woman! Please please please please-”

“Oh my gosh! Okay, yes I will go with you and help you get laid.” Her friend clapped with excitement.

“I never convince you to go out with me this is so exciting! Will you let me do your hair and makeup? Pick out an outfit for you?”

“Yeah you can come to my apartment tonight and we can order food and get ready together.”

“Perf. Gonna make it so you get laid tonight too,” Emmy replied with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Leah felt the color drain from her face at the mere mention of being with someone who wasn’t Jim. She had gotten over the sadness of their relationship and the end of it but she hadn’t yet broached the idea of getting with someone new.

“I don’t...I’m not…”

“You won’t be ready until you just do it, Leah. That boy broke your heart and he’s a total dick for doing so but the best way to get over him is to move on. Prove he really never meant anything to you.” Leah nodded along even though she knew that Jim had meant everything to her. “Promise me you won’t close yourself off from all attention tonight?”

“Promise,” she replied. She was just hoping it would be quick and painless.

----

Leah had lost Emmy awhile ago. Her claim of going to get them refills for their drinks having been sidetracked by a boy that had intercepted her along the way. Now, she was sitting on a couch trying to not listen to the obscene sounds of the couple making out next to her. Once the first moan fell past the girl’s lips she quickly scurried off the couch and over to the countertop of the kitchen where the drinks and mixers sat.

“Having fun?” It was Declan.

“Yeah that couple over there was getting a little to into it for me to be near them so I escaped to the alcohol,” she replied as she finished mixing vodka and diet Coke in her red cup.

“Maria is famous for being loud, her and Emmett can wake the whole house up some days.” Leah giggled and brought her drink to her lips.

“Are you having fun?”

“I am now.” He rested his side on the countertop next to her so their faces were closer together. She blushed and had to look away from the intensity of his gaze. It felt good to have someone flirting with her, to know that someone besides Jim was attracted to her. That she might be able to feel desirable again.

They stayed in the kitchen exchanging flirty comments and Leah worked her way through enough drinks that she was starting to feel a little buzzed. “You want me to give you a little tour? I know a couple spots where the air is a little cooler.” Now that he mentioned it, Olivia was beginning to feel a little warm on the crowded lower level.

“Please.” She downed the rest of her drink before leaving the cup on the counter and taking Declan’s hand as he led her upstairs. Most of the bedroom doors were closed and had socks on the handles but Leah was thankful she could not hear what was going on in them. When they reached a room with the door open, he gestured for her to head inside. “This is your room?”

“Magical place,” he answered. Leah sat down on his bed, surprised to see that it was made, and Declan sat down next to her.

“What’s so magical about it?” she asked quietly.

“Let me show you.” He leaned in and Leah found herself not moving away, accepting his lips on hers. They were different from Jim’s but not necessarily unpleasant and as their lips continued to move together, she found herself leaning in for more pressure. Again, when his hand rested on her thigh and began to move up under the hem of her skirt, she didn’t push him away. She kept thinking about what Emmy had said; that the only way to get over Jim was to just do it. Rip off the bandaid. So that is what she was doing. It wasn’t as though she had never had sex before and needed it to be special and not in a dark frat bedroom. She could do this. She could do this. She could do this.

It was then she decided to take the lead and speed up the process of forgetting Jim Mason. Her fingers ghosted underneath his shirt before lifting it over his head and tossing it to the side, Declan discarding her tank top along with it. She had forgone a bra that night due to the thin straps and she suddenly remembered how exposed it made her feel to be naked. “You’re hot,” he breathed into her ear as he began to move forward so she had no choice but to lie down on her back. His proclamation wasn’t that poetic and the way his hot breath was hitting her face almost made her feel as though she was suffocating.

“Declan, I-”

“Shh, Leah, it’s okay. I have condoms.” She repeated to herself that she could do it. That it would be better for her in the end to get over Jim by having sex with Declan.

“Okay,” she replied meekly as though that had been what her worries were about. He disappeared from the bed and came back with no pants and a condom around his length. He merely pushed the crotch of her underwear to the side and slipped himself right in without even a second thought. Leah felt something rise in her stomach that was entirely unpleasant. She looked away in horror as he began to thrust vaguely like a dead fish with the oddest sounds fall from his mouth.

“I’m so close.” Her eyes squeezed shut and she prayed that it wouldn’t last much longer. Nothing was more important to her than being able to run away quickly once it was all over. Sex with Jim had never been like this. He always took his time with her and made her feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. Nothing ever felt wrong with Jim. Ever. If it felt bad then she knew they would find a way to work through it and make it good again.

Declan finished with what sounded like a pig being led to slaughter and then collapsed next to her on the bed. “Thanks. I needed that.”

“I’m gonna go.” Leah did not care if she looked cray or inconsiderate but she had to leave. Tears were threatening to spill over onto her cheeks and there was no way she wanted anyone in that frat house to see her crying over sex.

“Okay. I’ll see you around?”

“Sure. We have urban history together.” She doesn’t know why she said that. That sounded stupid. She left before she could even see if he would have a reaction to her statement. Her feet carried her down the stairs and out the door where she broke out into a sprint, pausing only to text Emmy that she had gone home.

Leah found herself under the massive tree near one of the visitor parking lots. It was where she ate lunch everyday and got most of her homework done. It had brought her great solace since moving away from home to sit under that tree and listen to music or read a book. She knows Jim would have loved it too. Goddamn it. There she went thinking about him again. It was infuriating the way he was constantly plaguing her thoughts. The sad thing was, she thinks he was the one person who could make her feel better right now. Jim always made her feel better.

She knew he had gotten home from rehab a couple weeks ago because she made Medina promise to at least keep her updated on his well being, she didn’t want to harbor ill feelings towards him only to get a call one day that he was no longer in a good place. As she plopped down under the tree and stared at her phone she decided there was no harm in calling him. She felt like absolute shit and if hearing his voice even for a moment would cure that, then she was willing to take the risk.

Jim stared at his phone in disbelief as Leah’s picture displayed on it. His first thought was that in must be a butt dial and he should just ignore it but then his mind went to the dark place of something being wrong and someone was trying to let him know.

“Hello?”

“Jim?” He could hear her sniffling.

“Leah? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” He got up from his bed and went to shut the door to his room. The last thing he wanted was for Medina to hear who he was on the phone with and to start jumping to conclusions.

“I’ve just had a really horrible night. I thought talking to you might help.”

“Okay...do you want to talk about it? Tell me what happened?” He thinks it must have been truly horrible for her to decide to call him. It had been so long since he had heard her voice though and his heart was soaring.

“You have to promise me you won’t get upset...I had sex at a party.” He had no right to be upset and he knew that. But that didn’t stop the rage from pooling in the pit of his stomach. Something carnal inside of him was telling him it was wrong for her to have been with someone else. He was feeling an animalistic urge to claim her as he once had. The image of another man making her feel good, making those perfect little moans come out of her mouth, getting to witness the way cute way her nose scrunched right before she came was making bile rise in his throat. He closed his eyes to try and get the room to stop spinning.

“Did you...did you not want to? Did someone touch you without your consent?” Jim would have no problem getting in his car right now and driving to Stanford to beat the shit out of anyone who hurt her. In fact, he would relish the opportunity to do so.

“No. I didn’t exactly say no. It was just the worst experience of my life. He made me feel so icky and gross and with you it was-” She stopped short of finishing her sentence. There was no way she could put that on Jim. Start reminiscing about how great their time together had been and how much she missed him. That wasn’t fair to either of them.

“I know.” With him, with her, it had been soft and loving and fun and felt like they had always wanted it to. It had felt like forever. Jim hates that he had chased the high of pills and alcohol instead of the high that Leah gave him. Maybe he’d be happier. She wouldn’t have had to experience what she had tonight. Maybe her tears were all his fault, as they had been before, and that was truly horrible. “I don’t want you to think, Leah, that just because we aren’t together romantically means that you can’t ever talk to me. I’m glad you called me tonight.”

“I’m glad too. I knew hearing your voice you make me feel okay again and I was right.” During this brief exchange Jim had begun to realize that he didn’t just miss having her as his girlfriend but missed just having her as a friend. Somehow, that felt worse. Made him feel emptier. “How are you, Jim? I haven’t spoken to you since…” Since he was in rehab and told her he never wanted to see her ever again.

“I’m good. Moved in full time with my dad since Mom wasn’t good for my recovery. I’m doing outpatient therapy stuff, I talk about you alot...I enrolled in a couple classes at the community college but I don’t know what I want to do yet. Was doing some homework when you called.” She felt tears of happiness well in her eyes and how good he sounded. How he was getting better and putting himself and his health first.

“Jim, I am so happy for you. Like, words cannot even convey how proud I am of you and the life you have now.” And how badly she wished she was living it with him.

“Well, what’re you doing? How’s tennis? Do you like all your classes?”

“Yeah I’m the only freshman who didn’t get hazed because they said I’m too nice,” he giggled along with her and was not surprised at all by that fact, “All my classes are good. I’m trying to not raise my hand too much so I don’t look like a total nerd.”

“You’re the smartest person I know, Sugar, so you-wait I mean, Leah, sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“I love when you call me that, Jimmy.” Hidden in her words was that she still loved it, still loved him and missed him. “I should get going. It’s late and I wanted to write a paper tomorrow.”

“Can I stay on with you until you get back to your apartment? Make sure you get home safely?” And so they did. Leah kept her phone glued to her ear as she walked back to her apartment even slower than usual so she could prolong her time with Jim.

“Sadly, I’m home.”

“That makes me happy. I can sleep easier tonight knowing your home safe.” He didn’t want to admit that there had been nights where he had wondered how she was and what she was doing and if she was okay and that he spent the rest of the night arguing with himself over the merits of calling her or not.

“I really enjoyed talking to you, Jim. Do you think...do you think we could do it more often?” For a second she was afraid that Jim was going to laugh at her and make a comment about her being needy or clingy or say that he had gotten over her so why couldn’t she get over him.

“Yeah I enjoyed talking to you tonight, too. Anytime you need me, I’m here.” A piece of him he hadn’t known was missing seemed to click into place. Maybe he missed her more than he had admitted to himself.

“Okay, Jimmy, have sweet dreams.”

“You too.” He let out a deep sigh as the sound of the call ending echoed throughout his head. He looked at the profile picture he had assigned her and felt a deep ache in his chest before it hit him. There was no reason for him to suffer through these feelings of missing Leah.

----

Her class on classical civilizations had sucked the life out of her. The straps of her backpack felt like hot pokers on her shoulders and the sun was so bright and she had forgotten her sunglasses and the squinting was giving her a headache. At least it was Thursday so she only had to get through one last hellish day before she could sleep for two days straight.

She kept her head down as she exited the building and began the calming walk back to her apartment. It was the loud sound of something heavy dropping against the walkway that caused her to look up. And at first she thought she was dreaming. There was no way she was this lucky. There was no way life would be this kind to her.

“Hey.” It was Jim. Jim Mason was standing only a few feet from her. She looked from side to side thinking someone was going to jump out and tell her it was all a joke. But, even if it was, he was here. He was here and it made her so happy she wanted to cry cause there was no other way to let the emotions out. With a sob, she ran towards him and he caught her in his arms easily. Because they were always meant to be together.

Her legs wrapped around his waist and he held her against her like she was a life ring and he a man found at sea. He started to cry too as her lips pressed shaky kisses to the skin of his neck, spinning around in joy at the feeling of being loved by her.

“You’re here. You’re really here...Why are you here?” He let her unwrap her legs from his waist so her feet could plant firmly back onto the ground but her arms stayed wrapped around his neck. “I should slap you for all the horrible things you said to me.”

“And I’d deserve it, a thousand times over, for making you feel like that.” He smoothed her hair back from her face so he could get a proper look at her. “I did it because I didn’t want you ever coming back to PV. I wanted you to be able to get away and be free to live your life without all those people constantly looking over your shoulder.”

“Sprinkles, loving you made me feel free. I never felt trapped when I was with you.” The tears fell from both of their eyes again as they simply looked at each other. Leah hadn’t changed much since the last time he had seen her, maybe she was a bit more toned from her tennis workouts but she was still the angelic creature he had dreamed about ever since she left. He still looked like her Jim but a healthier, fuller version. There was color to his cheeks that seemed to have filled out a bit, the bags under his eyes no longer looked like they were weighing him down. His blue eyes seemed clearer without the red veins spidering through them.

“Can you slap me before I kiss you? I deserve it and I don’t want you ever feeling regret for not doing it.” Leah laughed but obliged, actually putting some effort into because he did deserve it. He had hurt her. She had been hurt by the one person she had trusted and loved the most.

“Now kiss me, James Mason.” And oh how sweet it was. Every nerve ending in her body came alive as his lips pressed against hers. They slotted together perfectly and satisfyingly like a key into a lock. His thumb stroked her cheekbone as her toes strained to raise her high enough for more of him. Now that he was back, Leah doesn’t think she will ever get enough. Now they knew what it was like to be without each other and they each vowed to themselves they would never go through that again. “You wanna go back to my apartment?” Her lips were puffy and red and her speech was slightly slurred from the want coursing through her body for him.

“I’m gonna cum in my pants if we don’t.”

----

Leah wasn’t even sure if she remembered to shut the door to her apartment behind her, breathlessly trying to rid herself of her clothes so her whole body could feel Jim. Every piece of her had missed him and wished to be reacquainted. Jim only managed to get his shirt off before she pushed him onto the couch and straddled herself over his lap. “Missed you so much, Sugar,” he groaned as he nipped at her jawline, “Wanna show you.” His hands slid around her so he could get a full grip on her ass while her hips began to slowly rock back and forth over his hardening length. Jim hadn’t had sex since the last time he slept with Leah and was afraid that he wasn’t going to be able to hold on long enough to properly love on her.

“Feel so good, Jimmy, missed this feeling so much.” As her pace began to pick up, he delivered little spanks to her ass and drank in the sound of her moans with each hit.

“Want to put my hands all over you. Erase anyone elses touches.” As far as Jim was concerned, no man besides him would ever touch her again. It was that overwhelming, carnal urge crashing over him again. Mark. Claim. Repeat.

“Please,” she whimpered as she felt a distinct feeling pooling in the bottom of her stomach, signalling she was close. Just as she was about to be put over the edge, Jim stilled in a familiar manner with closed eyes and a steady moan falling from his lips. Leah looked down to see that the wet spot she had left on his pants looked a lot bigger than it had just a moment ago. “Sprinkles.” Jim knew what had happened, had felt the distinct feeling of it happening, but he still was hoping that when he looked down at his crotch it wouldn’t be true.

“Fuck, Leah, I am so sorry...It’s been so long and I’m so hyped to see you and be with you that I must have-”

“It’s hot.” He looked up at her with disbelief.

“It is?”

“I have such an effect on you that you can’t even control yourself. I might come just from the realization of the power.” Leah surged forward and captured his lips back into a bruising kiss and returning to her original goal of coming herself. “I’m gonna get myself off on your thigh and then, we are going to my bedroom and I want you to fuck me, Jim. Hard.” He was not used to her being this way but it was turning him on nonetheless.

“Fuck, I’ll cum in my pants more often if makes you like this.” It was true, he would.

“Jim,” she panted as she gripped his wrist in the name of anchoring herself to him and the friction he was providing. Sometimes, when she was close, things got too sensitive for Leah and she needed to focus if she was the one trying to make her come.

“Let me see you, Sugar, everything I’ve missed. Come for me.” With a whine, the muscles in her thighs tightened and then released in the most blissful feeling of existence one could ever imagine. Jim watched in delight as she came all over him and for him. Fuck had he missed the sight of her falling apart like that. “I missed you so much, Leah, I love you so much. I’m gonna love you forever this time, I promise.”

“Promise?” she teased as he stood up with her legs wrapped around his waist in order to relocate them to her bedroom where he had a promise to fulfill.

“Yeah. I brought that ring back. I think after I fuck you, you should put it back on.”

“Happily.”

----

“I cannot wait for you to experience my favorite tree! It’s literally my favorite place on the entire campus, so relaxing and quiet.” Jim had met Leah outside the building of her last class with the promise that she would show him around campus and introduce him to people along the way. Though she made sure to warn him that many of them harbored feelings of ill will towards him. She also assured him that she thought they could fix that.

“Is that the one?” He pointed towards the tree in question, Jim already knowing why it was her favorite based in the nook in the stump she could nestle in and the fact it was shady on this warm California day.

“Yeah that’s-” she paused as they got closer and she recognized one of the boys playing football. “Actually, let’s find somewhere else to sit.” Her grip tightened on Jim’s hand and she turned around in the hopes she could drag him away.

“What? It’s your favorite spot. I wanna sit there with you. Kiss you there.” It was romantic and everything Leah had dreamed of when she would sit under the tree by herself and miss Jim like it was all she knew how to do.

“Jim, one of those boys-”

“Hey, Leah, long time no see. You never texted me back after the other night...Though I see you’ve already hopped onto your next dick.” Declan had broken away from his pack of friends to come talk to her. She never wanted to text him back and was hoping he would never ask her why. But with the way he was staring daggers into her and Jim’s intertwined hands, she thinks he might have expected her to respond.

“I’m sorry?” Jim’s voice had taken on a protective edge. He knew immediately this was the guy Leah had slept with a few nights ago. They had spent almost all of last night talking about their time apart and of course Declan had come up. The two of them had talked through their feelings on the situation and had come to a complete understanding that it meant nothing and was a horrible experience and that neither of them would ever have to suffer from the touch of another again. Nothing else needed to be said about it.

“She’s a slut, just so you know. I fucked her just the other night and now she’s probably riding your dick.”

“Jim,” Leah tried, tugging on his hand but he didn’t budge. She sensed that the disrespectful words towards her were starting to hit a sensitive nerve in him.

“Don’t talk about her like that, got it?” He still kept his grip on Leah’s hand, he’d take on the whole with one hand if she was holding the other one.

“He’s not worth it, come on.”

“Listen to her. Probably so loose anyways from my dick you won’t get off with her.” When he ripped his hand from her grip she knew nothing good was going to come of it. His fist connected with Declan’s nose with a sickening crunch and she noticed the blood almost instantaneously. Leah’s hands covered her mouth as a gasp of surprise snuck out, Jim drawing back his arm again and again.

“You owe her a fucking apology for saying shit like that.” He grabbed the other boy by collar and hauled him up to a standing position, practically dragging him over to where Leah stood.

“I’m sorry,” Jim shook him a bit as a way of saying that that wasn’t good enough, “I’m sorry for speaking disrespectfully to you. It won’t happen again.” He let go of him after that and Declan ran off back to his group of friends.

“That wasn’t necessary. You didn’t have to do all that.”

“I did. I wanna be the man you deserve, now that I’ve kicked the pills and stuff. You deserve so much better than some boy. You deserve a mature man and I want to be that for you. That means protecting you from dick wads like that guy.”

“That sounds a little antiquated, don’t you think?” She was slightly teasing, stepping closer to him so their foreheads could knock together.

“I’m trying, Leah, because I love you and I don’t want there to be any reason for me to lose you again.”

“I know. And all I can ask of you Jim is that you try.” She kissed him slowly, Jim relishing in the feeling of the ring, back on her fingers, digging into his cheek. “I love you so much, Jim. Forever and ever.”

“Yeah. Forever and ever.”

Tags:

@langdonslove

@tickled--pinkmoodpoisoning

@aveiangdon

@avesatanormalpeoplescareme

@langdvn