#I think you should get to play around with darker themes

[zenithsturniolo]

SCREAM, BITCH - ghostface!chris x blogger!reader

♬ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ series intro | 1 |

chapter one: user 187 is now following you

this chapter will contain.. stalking, online surveillance, obsessive behavior, mentions of murder, themes of isolation, and strong language. wc: 1.2k series summary: a dark, twisted slowburn where obsession bleeds into desire. you're a true crime blogger. chris is the masked stranger recreating your cases. dual povs, filthy tension, and cliffhangers sharp enough to scar. it’s not just stalking - it’s seduction. not just fear - it’s fascination. you wanted a story. he wanted you. now you’re both in far too deep.

♯ reader pov

who's watching? tell me, who's watching? who's watching me?

you don’t notice him right away. not because he’s unnoticeable — no, he’s anything but. it’s more that he’s familiar. a fixture, like the bittersweet cling of espresso on your tongue or the soft whir of the café's ancient ceiling fan. he’s threaded into your mornings so seamlessly, you’ve stopped questioning it.

he’s already there when you unlock the front door, hunched against the glass, hoodie up, airpods in. the early fog curls around him, softening the hard edges of his frame, but it doesn’t touch him. he looks carved from it. unbothered. waiting.

you flash a tired smile out of habit, and he returns it with one of his own — lazy, boyish, like he’s never harbored a dark thought in his life.

“you opening up just for me?”

his voice is syrupy — thick, golden, a little dangerous if you listen too long. smooth enough to catch you off guard, but not sharp enough to bleed.

you roll your eyes, the keys jingling in your hand. “you know the drill. get in, sit down, and don’t judge my playlist.”

he always judges. it’s practically ritual. you’ll press play on some haunting Lana Del Rey ballad or a chaotic collision of true crime podcasts and r&b, and he’ll shoot you a mock-offended look over the rim of his drink.

his name’s chris.

you call him “mr. pepsi” because his drink orders sound like a dare — cold brew with four espresso shots and a splash of vanilla. a concoction for someone who seems half-fueled by caffeine, half-fueled by some darker current.

but he’s kind. attentive in a way that feels deliberate. always tipping more than he should. always asking about your blog, your writing, your life — lingering a second longer than necessary. like he’s cataloging it. and today, he’s no different.

“working on anything juicy?” he asks, balancing his drink between ringed fingers.

you shrug, wiping down the counter. “nothing you’d wanna read. it’s fucked up.”

his smile curves sharp. knowing. “i like fucked up.”

you laugh it off because it’s easier than digging into the strange way his eyes catch the light — like glass splintering under pressure. you tell him to shut up. he leaves after an hour, promising to see you later, like always.

routine. safe. familiar.

you never think twice.

—

by the time your shift drags itself to a close, your body feels splintered. your spine hums with dull, angry aches, and your feet burn with every step. the grocery bags dig into your fingers on the walk home, biting little crescents into your skin.

you kick the door open with your hip, the scent of stale coffee and city rain clinging to your jacket. your keys clatter into the ceramic dish by the door. the apartment sighs around you — quiet, save for the low hum of your laptop screen still open on the couch, casting ghostly blue light across the room.

you move on autopilot. water hissing onto the stove, bubbles snapping against the pot. you open facetime.

he answers before the first ring even finishes.

chris’s face fills the screen — messy curls, a loose tank top baring a constellation of freckles on his arms. sprawled across his bed like he’s been waiting for you.

“chef mode?” he teases, voice a low, scratchy lull.

“pasta night,” you murmur, tossing a fistful of spaghetti into the boiling water.

he grins — slow, lazy, like he’s savoring the image. “save me a bite.”

you roll your eyes but warmth blooms in your chest anyway, traitorous and soft. you like the way he talks to you, like you’re something he’s already halfway claimed.

the conversation drifts, background noise blending with the clatter of plates and the thick, comforting scent of garlic. he tells you about a podcast he binge-listened to; you talk about the blog post you’re nearly done with.

“it’s a weird one,” you say, voice dropping as you stir sauce into a simmer. “the lakewood strangler. old case. real fucked.”

“give me the quick version.”

you oblige — missing girls, same stretch of isolated trail, strangulation, peculiar signatures nobody could ever piece together. the mystery of footprints vanishing mid-path.

chris hums quietly under his breath. “you always write about killers like they’re puzzles.”

“aren’t they?” you ask, only half-joking.

he’s quiet for a beat too long before murmuring goodnight.

you don’t dwell. you plate your pasta, pour a glass of cheap red wine, and collapse onto the couch, laptop warming your thighs. your blog post blazes on the screen — paragraphs of gory fascination, cold case theories, criminal pathology.

you read it through one last time. every brutal detail. every chilling quote. every twisted breadcrumb.

then you hit publish.

it goes live at 9:37 p.m.

you don’t expect fireworks. your blog usually simmers before it sparks. so you cue up a mindless show, twirling pasta absently, brain half-scattered between the glow of the TV and your screen.

then — buzz.

one notification.

then five.

then seventeen, snowballing faster than you can blink.

your heart hiccups in your chest.

your posts don’t move that fast.

you swipe to your dashboard, fingers trembling.

a new user. no profile picture. no bio.

user 187.

they're clawing through every post you’ve ever made — liking, commenting, reblogging with cryptic little phrases. most are just emojis.

🔪 👁️ 🩸

your stomach flips, nausea curling cold and sour.

at first, you think stalker. a fan. maybe someone from the café who dug too deep. you tell yourself it’s not that weird. it’s not.

you click absentmindedly to the news.

your breath freezes in your lungs.

BREAKING: YOUNG WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN LAKEWOOD NATURE RESERVE.

your wine glass slips from your fingers, shattering against the hardwood.

the TV blares in the background, some canned laugh track ghosting through the apartment, but all you can hear is the blood pounding in your ears.

on screen, a reporter clutches her microphone like a lifeline, her face bloodless against the crime scene's yellow tape. behind her — a sliver of woods.

familiar.

too familiar.

“-victim was discovered late this evening by hikers. the body bears signs of strangulation and unique markings consistent with the decades-old cold case known as the lakewood strangler-”

you can’t breathe.

you posted the story thirty minutes ago.

and the murder is a carbon copy.

every gruesome detail — ones you dug out from buried police reports and half-rotted forums — laid out, chillingly exact.

your phone buzzes again.

user 187 commented on your post:

you forgot the part where she begged.

the words claw into your chest, sharp enough to tear.

your phone slips from your shaking hands, thudding against the floor like a gunshot.

you’re frozen. paralyzed.

your body knows what your mind refuses to accept.

this isn’t a prank.

this isn’t coincidence.

this is real.

no one knew you were writing that story.

no one — except maybe—

you scroll with clumsy, desperate fingers.

user187 reblogged your post with the title:

next up: hollywood. tell me what she’ll scream.

your stomach lurches, bile burning the back of your throat.

because hollywood is the next case you were planning to write about.

and you haven’t told a single soul.

find parts of this series here !

a/n: next chapter is yummy trust🤞🏻thank you @owensbabygirl for proofreading ilyy

🏷: @drewswife @k4urltzx @courta13 @briizysturn @y2kstarr @chriscantwhisper @tezzzzzzzz @adorechris @cherryystemm @dolliraez @rriverscuomo @sturnsblogs @mattspillowprincess @mattsplaything @sturns-mermaid @auttysturnz @sonnyangelsweetiee @izzylovesmatt @ribbonlovergirl @k4urltzx @matts-girlfriend @pair-of-pantaloons @444sturns @weron1ka

divider by @anitalenia

this series is a work of fiction created for entertainment purposes only. all characters, events, and dialogue are entirely fictional and should not be interpreted as real. any similarities to real people or events are purely coincidental. credit and respect to all creators who’ve inspired similar works before me. I claim ownership only over my original writing, ideas, and interpretations. please do not repost, plagiarize, or steal. reblogs and love are always appreciated.

© zenithsturniolo

[aphverse-confessions]

I don't think rewriters are bad people for not writing every single character as a good person. The canon series doesn't even make them all good. Including the uncomfortable and dark content doesn't make people bad or mean they support it.

With the recent influx of cannibalism, do we seriously believe those people support eating folks? No. Why do we think or assume people are evil or bad for writing other similarly dark themes? A lot of people include themes of abuse, like making parents bad, because it's an outlet for themselves, do we just hate venting and victims? It's weird.

( not "proship". just think it's weird to shun or attack people for writing abusive garte or keeping the whole ein thing)

.

[seaofreverie]

The biggest problem with trying to come up with a dream Sparks setlist is that I truly want them to play just about every song. Or at least 80% of them, would that really be too much to ask..

[i02dollia]

ENHYPEN AND THEIR KINKS ˎˊ˗

think about me. think about me only. no one else.

ᝰ.ᐟ pairing. boyfriend!enhypen x male!reader

warnings. suggestive + smut. sexual themes. male on male, slight member on member as well. size kink—yes. breeding. orgasm control. food play. impact play. some praising. masochism. basically.. just sexual stuff. yay!

HEESEUNG . . is such a masochist!

he not only enjoys watching you in pain but he also likes when you’re aggressive with him as well. slapping is hee’s favorite thing to do during sex—slapping your handsome face until your poor cheek is a dark red color god he could cum in his pants from the sight of it. extra points if you slap him back, especially after kissing.. he loves it. he needs it. he dreams about it. he’ll promise to fuck you so good afterwards if you keep slapping him just the way he likes it—which is quite rough. need him

JAY. . is so obsessed with being in control!

orgasm control is what I’m thinking. he loves being dominant and in complete control, jerking your cock off until you’re nothing but a whimpering and whining mess underneath him begging to cum. he’d tell you no of course and kitten lick your swollen tip until you saw stars—the room becoming darker and darker. “cum” is all you needed to hear and jay just loved it. how fast you came undone for him and how badly you shook.

JAKE. . is sickly obsessed with breeding!

this man never pulls out and even if you asked him too? the answer is no. why would he need to pull out when it’s his favorite thing to do. stuffing your ass full of his cum was what made him cum so much and you should be thankful for it. jake constantly brings up how much he adores your prefect ass and he just can’t help but to.. well, spill inside. you’re so warm and he’s so deep sometimes that it’s just so hard not to cum inside. it gives him a good feeling especially since he knows you’re his and only his, even if he invites heeseung to come and play with you both. he’s always all yours.

SUNGHOON. . loves how much smaller you are!

oh god. this man loves how much smaller you are compared to his much taller and broad frame. especially during sex—he’ll point it out as if you’ve never heard him talk about it before. wanting to cage you in and keep you so small and little underneath him. it makes his cock twitch and that’s when he asks you to get on your knees, staring down at your smaller frame and build while he stands so tall and broad. “cutie” he comments. since you’re much smaller than him you’re not able to touch cocks so he’ll rub his cock against your tummy—enjoying how it looks and feels.

JUNGWON. . is always in need of food play!

after hours and hours of practice he gets home around dinner time but.. it’s typically always after dinner when you’re having your dessert—fuck he loves it. especially after being pushed and shoved all day by the members or their managers he wants you and feels adventurous. pulling out the whipped cream and having you both take turns putting a little on the tips of your cocks, sucking it off or covering each nipple and playfully licking and sucking it off. honestly? he likes when you’re in control. he’ll invite jake or jay over to come watch because for some reason that makes this ten times better—making his own members watch him.

SUNOO. . is in awe of all types of praising!

his heart skips a beat and his cock twitches in his sweatpants when you praise him for being good at something—during sex? god he’s such a mess. a cute mess and shy ): his cheeks get so pink and he cutely nods wanting more and more—no! needing more. he’ll praise you and thank you for always taking such good care of him even if you’re also a bit shy. he likes it when you agree to let him be dominant and praise him for doing such a good job and being in control. he loves it.

so! this is of course just 6 members and I do apologize but I didn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable if I added niki! you can give me feedback about how you feel with niki involved with smut! I’ll of course do fluff for him but I’ll hold off on the smut or suggestive for now so no one is uncomfortable or weirded out by it! hope you can understand <3

[fancyperfectionsweets]

Ketu (South Node) in synastry 🏚️

The last time I did an astrology observation, a lot of people were curious about South Node synastry. I'm making a seperate post about it. Please keep in mind that the house themes also play a role here so check them too.

☀️ Ketu-Sun synastry: This synastry is where the Ketu person reprsents a darker emotional side of the sun. They do and speak what the sun wants to say. The sun person usually holds back on these words because it'll be "socially unacceptable". The non-chalance of ketu attracts sun. Very similar to sun-ascendant aspect. The connection feels fated. However, the sun is the one creating this effect on the ketu person. The ketu person can feel truly understood.

🌜Ketu-moon aspects: you know the on and off couple? The one that dates around but ends up together after all? Or where they say that the other one is never off their mind because the person feels like "home"? Yep, that's what this synastry is. The ketu person just unlocks a portion of "home" and "comfort" in moon's head and it's absolutely bonkers from there. This synastry can also prove painful if the ketu person doesn't reciprocate because why are you making the moon feel things when you don't want to keep her??

🗣️ Mercury-ketu in synastry: this is more tricky but if "you just always know how to say the right words" was a synastry, this would be it. I have this with my boyfriend and he's literally the most comforting person ever 🥺. He knows what to say at the right time even though he's super blunt. For some reason, I just cannot find fault in his words. Also, a good placement if your turn on is dirty talk.

🧨 Mars-Ketu synastry: how do I explain this synastry when the only thing i can think of is "I'll beat the crap out of you". And no, ketu isn't feeling this way here. Mars is. Even in harmonious relationships, the Mars person can feel this urge to tussle with ketu. Rile ketu up for a reaction. The ketu person could be just minding their business while the mars person is sitting there thinking "hmm, can I get a rise out of this mf?" 😂😂.

Now this synastry can go either way. It can be 1) I'm going to make him/her so mad, they'd wanna spank me harder today 😈 or 2) yeah, I WANT to pick up a fight just cause 🙂🔪. Be careful. The second one can get toxic pretty soon.

💅 Venus-ketu synastry: this one I talked about previously. Venus-ketu is the most "I was fated to meet this person" placement ever. Ketu activates venus like nothing. House themes matter here a lot, btw. Because venus will activate according to the house theme. I had a ketu-venus synastry with a friend and she used to just pop up in my dreams randomly. I have a 12th house Venus. 12th house is the house of the hidden: dreams, alternate reality, spirituality. It was annoying because why you hijacking my dreams to love you harder?? 🤨

🔮 Jupiter-ketu synastry: has anyone told you that you're lucky for them? You probably had this conjunction with them. The ketu person not only feels fated but feels "lucky" to jupiter. Jupiter wants to keep ketu in their life because they just make things feel mystical and magical (for the better, of course). This placement can breed obsession from jupiter's end if they aren't careful.

🪐 Saturn-ketu: unpopular opinion but to me, this spells as a long term connection indicator. And no, I don't mean positive. Since Saturn is a "slow" planet, it takes a bit of time for it to get activated in any dynamic. However, once it does, it can sort of create a push and pull. The saturn might look to "dominate" ketu in this aspect. For example, if you have this conjunction in the 2nd house, Saturn person may think that you're too idealistic and don't care about your savings and then try to "guide" you. The ketu person though, might see saturn as too intense and want to show saturn how being anxious about savings has it's downsides. This relationship does have the potential to grow but in my personal opinion, this placement should be aspected with other positive synastries because it can effect long term themes of the relationship.

👹 Ketu-ketu synastry: This is the "I get why you're like this" synastry. I have this with my best friend and her habits make sense to me somehow? Even her "I just did it cause" things make sense to me. This is a very ride or die placement. I love this more with friends though cause you can go through periods of detachment and still fall back to the same place like nothing changed.

🌀 Pluto-ketu: the pluto person is left thinking"why did I like you almost instantly? What is this magic?". The ketu person could be openly intimidated and interested in pluto. However, pluto's first instinct is to be attracted and then left questioning as to why. Ketu isn't their type exactly so why do I feel this way? Could be so cute if they take time to get to know each other and then start the relationship.

👯 Ketu-Rahu synastry: "why are you so obsessed with me?" Placement. Lol. This is like meeting one of those people who you don't understand why they like you? You just don't get it as the ketu person. Rahu has their set of reasons. But the ketu person is always secretly thinking. I mean.. I don't see your point? Ketu can also feel bad about this at times. However, once you push through, ketu can actually have aspects it likes about Rahu and keep it around for the "vibes".

[enchantresss97]

Wicked Ties-Chapter One

Characters: Roman Godfrey(Slightly AU Roman is not in high school anymore, the action happens in present times) x Reader

Description: When Roman Godfrey comes seeking your help, you greet him with a blade to his throat. Witches and upirs have been enemies for centuries, and their own past is stained with betrayal. But with danger closing in and his hunger spiraling out of control, you are the only one who can save him. Bound by need, torn by desire that threatens to consume both of you, your wicked ties may destroy you both.

Warnings: dark themes, magic, witches, upirs/vampires, blood, death, SMUT, sex (most of the types).

Word count: 4158

A/N: This will be three chapters story, I really hope you will enjoy it. Happy reading! ❤️

Roman Godfrey was a lot of things but never a fool. He should have known better than to trust a witch.

But desperation had driven him to her. The hunger was getting worse, his control slipping. He was running out of ways to stop himself from tearing through flesh and draining every last drop of blood from the people around him.

Dr. Pryce had been his last hope. If anyone could have found a way to fix him, it should have been him. He had watched Pryce lie to him, experiment on him, twist his life into something unnatural. The man had promised control but had only made things worse unleashing his power. It was because of him that Roman had become this. A monster driven by hunger, barely able to hold himself together.

So, Roman had torn his throat out. Slowly. Deliberately. Let the man feel, just for a moment, what it was like to be powerless under something stronger.

Killing him didn’t change anything. It didn’t make the hunger disappear, didn’t make the need any less unbearable. It just meant he was out of options. Through out the year he tried to find many ways to escape this nightmare. Sure, he enjoyed the power who came with this, a little too much actually but not being able to control the hunger was the only reason couldn’t let it go the idea of a cure.

So, he turned to something older, something darker.

The witch had promised answers. She had let him believe she had the knowledge to fix whatever was inside him. Instead, she played him for a fool.

She was ancient, a powerful force feared even among the Sabat. Her knowledge and strength were unmatched, her reputation etched into the hearts of every witch who dared to cross her path.

But Roman hadn’t cared about any of that when he stood before her, rage burning in his veins.

She had made him believe she could help him. She had let him think that she could fix the monster he had become. The Sabat revered her, she had led them, taught them, and shaped them into what they were and the coven trusted her implicitly. She had seen centuries pass, seen the rise and fall of many so yeah, he had fallen for it, just as he had fallen for every other promise of salvation all these years. But when he finally understood that she had been playing him from the start he snapped.

In a fit of fury, Roman had killed her. There had been no warning, no calculated move. Just pure, raw rage. Her laugh still echoed in his mind, mocking, cruel, dismissive. She had thought herself untouchable. But Roman was done being a puppet, done letting anyone control him. So, he had torn her apart, ending her life in a moment of overwhelming fury.

And since a bad thing never comes alone, of course he knows that the witches would never forgive him for it. She had been too important, too powerful to be disposed of like that. Her death would send ripples through the coven. They would come for him. He needs to be one step ahead.

And that left him with only one choice:

Now, he stood at your door. The only person who could help him. The thing was, you weren’t exactly on good terms.

You hadn’t been since high school, before either of you knew what you truly were. Back then, Roman had been just a boy, and you, a girl with the world ahead of her. But everything changed the moment you both found out the truth. The truth that tore you apart.

What you had back then was innocent, sweet even and that’s rich coming from an spoiled brat like Roman. But then you found out about each other, the power dynamics shifted. You learned what you were, and so did he. And as it always went with your kind, the attraction was undeniable, but so were the consequences. Your relationship had ended badly. Too much power, too much darkness, too many things left unsaid.

Now, Roman stood on your doorstep, desperate for your help, he hesitated only for a moment before knocking on the heavy wooden door. The night air was thick around him, the scent of damp earth and smoke lingering. He knew you were there, he could feel it. A moment later, the door creaked open, revealing your silhouette against the dim glow of candlelight. You didn’t look surprised, just annoyed.

But neither of you spoke. You stood there, frozen in place, just staring at each other. Even though you knew he was coming, the sight of him still knocked the breath from your lungs. He looked…different…older, rougher. His eyes were darker, haunted, but his presence was still overwhelming, suffocating even. And despite how much you hated it, your heart ached at the sight of him.

Roman didn’t fare much better. He had prepared himself for this, convinced himself that seeing you again wouldn’t mean anything after all these years. But now that you were standing in front of him, the memories hit him like a punch to the gut. You looked the same. Still had that fire in your eyes, that confidence that made his blood rush and his heart race. Yet there was something colder about you, something guarded, and he couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of him.

He swallowed, a smirk slowly creeping onto his lips to mask the sting of nostalgia. “Long time no see,” he said, his tone casual. Too casual for what lay between you.

You didn’t look at him, instead tracing your finger over one of the tarot cards on the table. “What the fuck are you doing here, Roman?”

He didn’t answer immediately, just watched you with that lazy, arrogant smile, trying to hide the way his pulse was still racing from just seeing you again. “Missed me?”

You shot him a glare over your shoulder, your eyes sharp as glass. “Try again. Why are you here?”

He pushed off the doorframe and took a few steps closer, his gaze never leaving you. “I need your help.”

A humorless laugh escaped your lips. “My help” You turned fully now, eyes narrowing. “After what you did?”

Of course you already know what happened. Roman tilted his head, feigning innocence. “You’re gonna have to be more specific. I do a lot of things.”

That was it. You shot up from your chair, the knife already in your hand, and in a flash, you were in front of him, the blade pressed to his throat. He didn’t flinch, didn’t move, just looked down at you with that same cocky expression.

“Relax, baby,” he purred. “You’ll cut me before we even get to the good part.”

You didn’t bother responding, just pulled back and swung the knife again, aiming to slice his cheek. He ducked, catching your wrist mid-swing, and twisted your arm behind your back, pressing you against the wall.

“Getting feisty already?” he whispered against your ear. “You always did have a short fuse.”

You gritted your teeth and stomped down on his foot, making him loosen his grip just enough for you to break free and punched him in the jaw, the force making him stumble back a step.

Roman wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smirking when he saw the faint trace of blood on his skin.

You spun around and aimed a punch at his jaw again, which he dodged this time, but not without brushing his fingers over your waist. The touch sent a jolt through you, one you hated yourself for feeling.

“Can’t we just talk like adults?” he taunted. “Or are you gonna keep trying to take my head off?”

You threw another punch, and he caught your arm, smirking down at you. “You really think I wanted to kill her?” he asked, voice dropping to something almost serious.

You yanked your arm free, shoving him back. “You’re a fucking monster, Roman. You don’t care who you hurt.”

He clenched his jaw, something dark flashing in his eyes before he plastered on that smug smile again. “That’s not true, and you know it.”

You scoffed, muttering a quick spell under your breath. The room suddenly filled with an electric pulse, and Roman felt his legs buckle as the force knocked him down to one knee. You moved in to kick him, but he caught your ankle, pulling you off balance. You landed on top of him, and before you could move, he had you pinned beneath him, wrists trapped above your head.

He leaned down, lips brushing the side of your throat. “You’re so fucking stubborn,” he whispered, his voice rough. “I didn’t want to kill her. She wouldn’t fucking help me. She just kept pushing, saying I was a monster. Said there was no cure, that I should just accept what I am.”

You struggled against his grip, glaring up at him. “So you killed her?”

His expression darkened, but he didn’t move. “She lied to me. Promised to help, then called me a lost cause. I snapped. Didn’t even realize what I was doing until she was already bleeding out.”

Your breathing was ragged, your heart racing against his chest. You hated how his scent still messed with your head, how the warmth of his body made your skin tingle.

“You’re just trying to manipulate me,” you hissed, turning your head to avoid his gaze.

He let out a low, frustrated growl. “You really think that little of me?”

You met his eyes, and for a moment, there was something raw in them, something unguarded. But you couldn’t trust it. Couldn’t trust him. You pushed against his chest, trying to shove him off, but he didn’t budge.

“Get off me,” you snapped but he didn’t move.

You shot him a glare, then mumbled another spell, the air around you warping with heat. Roman flinched, forced to release you as the energy crackled around him. You scrambled to your feet, grabbing for the knife again, but he intercepted, catching your wrist and spinning you around, trapping your arm behind your back. Your body was pressed against his chest, his breath hot against your ear.

Both of you were breathing heavily, chests heaving with the aftermath of the fight. His grip was firm but not painful, and you could feel every hard line of his body against yours.

For a moment, you froze. Your mind drifted back to high school, back when you and Roman were inseparable. He was always handsome, undeniably so, with a lean frame that moved with effortless grace. He was good looking, but now? Now he was something else entirely.

The boy you once knew was gone, replaced by a man, a raw, intimidating presence. His body was bulkier, his muscles more defined, his chest pressing against yours in a way that made it impossible to ignore just how much he’d changed. There was a heaviness to him now, a strength that sent a jolt of awareness through you. He wasn’t the same person. And God, did you feel it.

Back then, Roman was still discovering who he was, barely scratching the surface of his power, unsure how to control it or even fully understand what he was. But now? Now he radiated power, a force that could crush anything in his path. There was no hesitation in his movements, no uncertainty. He knew exactly what he was, and how dangerous that knowledge made him. Stronger than ever. Definitely, far more dangerous than you ever imagined.

And then, there was his appearance. Impeccable, like something out of a high fashion magazine. After finding out that he’s the only heir of the Godfrey Industry, Roman started to carry himself with the poise of someone who had everything, a figurehead of the Godfrey empire. His clothes, tailored to perfection, fit him like a second skin. Sharp suits that spoke of wealth, power, and influence. It wasn’t just a look; it was a statement. A fashion icon in his own right. Oh and he definitely kept that throughout the years. The way he moved, the way he held himself, his every detail screamed control and authority. And even in this chaotic moment, you couldn’t help but notice it.

“Please,” he whispered, pulling you to reality. This time his voice wasn’t cocky or mocking, just desperate. “I didn’t know where else to go. I can’t control it. They’re going to come for me.”

Your pulse pounded in your ears, his voice sending a shiver down your spine despite everything. You wanted to push him away, wanted to scream and curse him, but something in his tone made you hesitate.

His forehead dropped to your shoulder, and his hands loosened their hold, just enough to give you space if you wanted to pull away. But you stayed still, caught between your anger and the way his body molded against yours.

“Please,” he repeated, softer this time.

Your breath hitched, and for the first time since he walked through the door, your firm stance is starting to weaken.

You both stood facing each other, the air still thick with unspoken emotions. The fight had died down, but the tension between you two had only grown. You shook your head, clearly frustrated, but with an edge of determination. Your arms crossed, facing the reality of the mess Roman had made.

“You really have no idea what you’ve done, do you?” you said, your tone sharp, but beneath it, you couldn’t help the edge of disbelief. Roman’s careless actions had just thrown him into a storm, and you were the one left trying to figure out how to stop it.

“Hiding isn’t going to work” you said without waiting for his response, moving back to your chair, the subtle grace of your movements betraying the storm inside you. You sank down, the heels of your boots clicking softly against the floor as you reclaimed your space. The Tarot cards that had been spread out in front of you now felt like the only thing grounding you.

Roman raised an eyebrow, the cocky smirk still on his face, but it faltered when he saw the serious look in your eyes. “You don’t want me to hide? I thought you’d be all for that,” he taunted, though there was a flicker of concern beneath the bravado.

But one thing that apparently never changed? His dirty mouth. And his arrogance. Even now, with all the changes, Roman was still the same bastard he’d always been. He still knew how to push your buttons with every word that left his lips, his cocky attitude never fading.

“Shut up, Roman,” you said, your voice firm, staring at him, almost incredulously. “The coven won’t just let this go. You know that, right? They will come for you.”

Roman leaned against the table, his posture casual, but the desperation in his eyes was clear. “I don’t know what I expect to do, but I need you to help me. You’re the only one who can.”

You took a deep breath, your fingers brushing against the edges of the cards. Slowly, deliberately, you began gathering them together, the soft shuffle of the cards a steady rhythm as you stacked them. They had always been a way to focus, to clear the noise from your mind.

You reached for the cigarette case on the table, effortlessly picking up the long cigarette holder. You slid the cigarette into its end and brought it to your lips, the holder dangling elegantly between your fingers. The smoke curled lazily from your lips as you took a slow drag, eyes never leaving Roman.

Roman raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth curling into a smirk. “I didn’t know you smoked,” he remarked, his gaze still on you.

“Well, I learned from the best,” you replied, a hint of playfulness in your voice while you shuffled the cards once more in your hands.

You could feel the old familiarity settle in the room, and your mind briefly drifted back to a different time. Roman teaching you how to smoke for the first time. It was supposed to be innocent, just a few puffs shared between you two but every time you tried, you both ended up closer than expected. His hands, guiding yours. The way his lips brushed against yours as he demonstrated how to inhale. And somehow, every lesson ended the same way: both naked moaning each other’s name.

Roman’s eyes had darkened slightly, and you could tell he was thinking about the same thing. And for a moment the sound of the cards sliding against each other was the only noise in the room. You drag once more from the cigarette and then spread the cards back to the table with slow precision.

“I’ll talk to the coven,” you said finally, your voice cold, calculated. “I’ll explain it, make them understand. But you need to keep your mouth shut and let me handle this. The witch you killed, she was kind of the leader, I’m sure you already know this by now. After her, there were others in the hierarchy. I will speak and I’ll deal with them. You don’t get to say a word.”

Roman took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. “Smart? You mean playing nice with them? I’m not sure that’s my style.”

“You don’t have a choice,” you said, your voice low but firm. “Now pick a card” you continue without looking up from the cards you’d laid out before him.

Roman raised an eyebrow but didn’t hesitate. He moved toward the table, his fingers brushing the cards as he chose one with deliberate slowness, flipping it and then gave it to you. You watched him closely, a faint smile tugging at the corners of your lips as you analysis the card.

Your eyes met again and you saw Roman ran a hand through his hair, his mouth twisting into a rueful grin. Another gesture who reminds you of the old Roman, he always used to do this, apparently he still does.

“I know I fucked up,” he said, the cocky edge to his voice still present, even as he tried to show some kind of regret. “But I didn’t have much of a choice.”

You gestured to the cards. “Pick another one.” You said ignoring his statement.

Roman hesitated for only a moment before he reached out and drew another card, his hand still steady, but you could see the tension in his movements now.

“So, what does it say?” He asked studying the new card, trying to read something in the design, the symbols but he knows shit about tarot reading. You didn’t let him see your reaction, but you were scanning him, watching him carefully. The way he looked at the cards, the way he hesitated, everything he did had meaning to you.

Neither of you spoke, but the air was thick with the weight of the unspoken, everything that needed to be said, but wasn’t.

“Not everything is meant to be said aloud.” You finally broke the silence.

Roman stared at you, his frustration clear, but he knew better than to push you. Not yet, at least. He was here because he needed you, and clearly you weren’t about to make this easy on him.

“I’ll talk to the coven,” you said again after few seconds, “But you really need to let me handle this, Roman, no more tricks and no more loosing control. And no promise this will work.”

Roman shifted, standing a little straighter. He didn’t like it, but he knew it was the only option. His usual cocky, self-assured attitude flickered, but only for a moment.

He stepped closer, his gaze drifting over you in a way that sent a shiver down your spine. “You’re so confident,” he said, his voice lowering to a near whisper. “You always were.”

You didn’t step back, holding your ground. “I’ve had to be. But I’m not the one who killed a high-ranking witch, am I?”

Roman chuckled softly, the sound rich with arrogance. “No, you’re not. But you always did like being the one in control, didn’t you?”

“Not this time, Roman,” you replied, your eyes narrowing. “But still, this time you have no choice but listening to me.”

After a long pause, Roman said, his voice quieter than before. “You know, I didn’t think it would come to this. I didn’t think I’d ever be asking for your help.”

You didn’t respond right away. Instead, you watched him carefully, letting the moment stretch. His voice wasn’t just the usual cocky edge; there was a vulnerability to it now, one that didn’t sit well with him.

“You don’t have much of a choice,” you said after a beat, your tone cold but not unkind.

You knew. Him, standing here in front of you was the last place he wanted to be. And the same went for you. Fate had a cruel sense of humor, mocking both of you by dragging him to your door.

There he was, in your space, with that same cocky smirk and unspoken desperation behind his big green eyes.

You looked at him with a sly smile, one eyebrow raised as you pointed to the cards in front of him. “Wanna pick another card?” you teased, your voice laced with a hint of mischief.

He let out a low, frustrated groan, rolling his eyes. “Enough with the card game,” he muttered, but the corner of his mouth curved up despite himself. He leaned forward, his hands pressing down on the table as he bent over it, his face just a breath away from yours. The tension crackled between you like a live wire, his scent, the expensive cologne and something unmistakably him filling your senses.

“So this is the plan, right?” he murmured, his voice low and rough, daring you to challenge him. “You’re really gonna help me?”

Your eyes traced the shape of his lips, and suddenly, memories came rushing back. His mouth against yours, hot and greedy, claiming every inch of your skin. Those full lips had kissed you breathless, whispered filthy promises in the dark, tasted every part of you. You hated that you remembered so vividly.

“Yes,” you replied, forcing your focus back to his eyes. “But what do I get in return?”

Roman let out a soft laugh, one that was both amused and tinged with something darker. “You know, you haven’t changed. Still the same stubborn, sexy witch you always were.”

You met his gaze, your pulse quickening despite yourself. The attraction was undeniable, and it pulled at you, but you couldn’t afford to let it get in the way now.

“And you’re still the same cocky bastard,” you replied, your voice sharp but with a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of your lips, leaning back, settling into the chair with an air of nonchalance.

His gaze flicked down to your mouth before meeting your eyes again, a smirk dancing on his lips. “Anything you want,” he drawled, the words coated in sin and seduction. He didn’t move back, he stayed right there, so fucking close.

You picked up the cigarette holder again, taking a slow, deliberate drag before letting the smoke curl from your lips. Your eyes never left his as you gave him a faint, almost mocking smile.

“Then we have a deal,” you said smoothly, the hint of a challenge glinting in your eyes.

His lips curved into a smirk, clearly pleased and maybe just a little irritated because he was losing control and loosing control was the one thing Roman Godfrey hated more than anything. And right now, that’s exactly what he’d done.

Given in, let himself be pulled into your plan, and surrendered to the one person he never thought he’d have to depend on. The tension between you was almost palpable, his jaw clenched as he tried to mask the frustration simmering behind those sharp green eyes.

Roman’s gaze dropped to your lips for a fraction of a second, and you saw something flicker in his expression, something primal and raw. He looked at you like he wanted to bite, to taste, to remind you that you weren’t the only one pulling strings here.

But he didn’t say a word. Just gave a single, sharp nod, his eyes never leaving yours. He hated that he needed you. Hated that he couldn’t just walk out and figure this out on his own. Hated how much power you suddenly had over him.

Your lips twitched, amusement glinting in your eyes as you watched him fight for control. You wondered if fate had been waiting all this time just to pull you back together and make you face everything you’d tried to forget.

[kwanisms]

❑ NOW PLAYING: 「 몸 (body) 」 「 FEVER 」 「 Moth to a Flame 」 

When your dad remarried after your mother’s death, you never expected to get a step-brother out of it, especially not one as mean as Christian. Despite bullying you in your youth, Christian finally mellowed out and now you have a playful and teasing relationship, like most siblings. Except Christian isn’t like most siblings. On the surface, he’s your step-brother who playfully teases you but deep down, he hides something much darker. Or the one where your hot, tattooed, older step-brother has the hots for you and thinks none of the guys you date are good enough for you so he makes your boyfriend break up with you on a family vacation and shows you that only he can make you truly happy. step-bro!Christian × fem!Reader

back || m.list || taglist || next »» ❑ WORD COUNT — 24.9k (47.3k total) ❑ WARNINGS — adult dialogue, female reader, curvy reader, mentions of: food & alcohol consumption, fictional versions of real places, axe throwing, parental death, marriage, axe throwing, infidelity & cheating; THIS FIC CONTAINS A TABOO TOPIC. IF STEPCEST BOTHERS YOU, DO NOT READ THIS!  ❑ CONTENT — slow burn, angst, smut; themes of stepcest, taboo topics, family vacation, Thailand; non idol au, step-sibling au ❑ NOTES — this is my first major DPR IAN fic so be nice. He mainly goes by Christian in this so keep that in mind. The location is a fictional version of a replace: Phuket, Thailand. I’ve never been but I did a LOT of research ((as usual)) on the places mentioned but of course, I can only learn so much from a screen. If you’re from Thailand, I don’t mean any disrespect. It’s a beautiful country and learning what I have makes me want to visit sometime. THERE ARE THEMES OF STEPCEST AS WELL AS ACTUAL STEPCEST IN THIS FIC. IF THIS TOPIC BOTHERS YOU, DO NOT READ THIS AND MOVE ON. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT YOU CONSUME. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Thank you so much for hyping me up @unholywriters you have been my rock during this long ass writing process and thank you for beta-ing for me. It means so much! Thank you to everyone else who reads and reblogs this and as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only.

MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. AGELESS BLOGS WILL BE BLOCKED.

❑ SMUT WARNINGS: STEPCEST (do not read if this makes you uncomfortable), CHEATING/INFIDELITY (i do not condone, this is for the plot) fingering (f receiving), and that should be on this part. there's more in the second part. if i missed any, just let me know!

When you lost your mother at the age of 9, the last thing you expected to happen was your father remarrying. For two years, it was just you, your father, and your sister, Emmy. Until it wasn’t and your father introduced you to his new fiancée, Kate.

At first, you were angry and upset with your father for trying to replace your mother but Kate quickly grew on you. She was a wonderful person inside and out. She filled the void left by your late mother without truly replacing her.

The only downside was, with Kate came her son, Christian.

Christian was a few years older than you and in high school when you met. You had hoped he would fill the role of protective older brother but he quickly proved you wrong, picking on you when your parents weren’t around and generally annoying the hell out of you. 

It was only you he picked on, Emmy never received an iota of his bullying and instead, he was sweet and protective over your sister but you were his verbal and sometimes physical punching bag. Not that he ever actually hurt you. It was mainly annoyances, like tugging on your hair, pinching the exposed skin of your arm from behind, bumping into you and knocking you into the kitchen island or other furniture.

It was never over the top and he always had a smirk on his face when you turned to glare at him. As you got older, his bullying became more and more incessant but he was smart and never got caught by your parents or anyone else. He saved his torment for when you were alone.

When Christian went off to college, you finally felt free. Except for when he’d come back during breaks and holidays. He was just as mean to you as ever but totally sweet to your sister. It made no sense why he was so awful to you and such a kind and caring older brother towards your sister.

When it was your turn to go to college, you applied for colleges on the opposite side of the country so you could be far away from Christian and his torment. During winter break of your freshman year of college, things took a huge turn.

You had spent the weeks leading up to winter break dreading the return home but upon arriving home, you met Christian’s new girlfriend and his behavior towards you had taken a drastic 180 and he was suddenly nice towards you. It was slightly off putting but you were thankful for the change.

When Christian graduated, he and his girlfriend got a place together and things seemed pretty serious until you returned home to visit your parents and found Christian had moved back in, albeit temporarily. He and his girlfriend had broken up due to irreconcilable differences.

That night, you and Christian bonded over the firepit in your parents’ backyard, talking about failed relationships, goals in life, and more. After that night, things between the two of you were much better. Each family function, you started to grow closer and closer and the former harsh torment turned into playful teasing on both your parts.

After you graduated, you landed a job in the city but were able to go back and visit your dad and stepmom from time to time, running into Christian occasionally. You even started seeing someone, Daniel. When things between you and Daniel were getting serious, you decided to invite him to meet your family over the holidays. Your sister and Kate adored him and your dad warmed up to him as well.

The only person who didn’t seem to like him was Christian.

Regardless, things between you and Daniel got pretty serious so when your father informed you of a family summer vacation he and your stepmom planned, it was a no-brainer that you were going to invite Daniel to join you once your dad and Kate okayed the decision.

“Did you pack your swim trunks?” you asked as you walked out of your closet, phone tucked between your ear and shoulder. You could almost see Daniel smiling on the other end of the phone. “Yes, mom,” he said playfully but you hissed. “Do not call me mom,” you reminded him.

You neatly folded the item of clothing in your hands and set it on the bed, planning your outfits for the vacation and grabbing any other essentials you would need. “I packed like three pairs,” Daniel added as you counted the number of outfits you had. “Good,” you murmured, almost not paying attention.

“You bringing any of those bikinis you bought when we went shopping?” he asked, a hint of playfulness in his tone. You rolled your eyes, your gaze landing on said bikinis. “I was,” you said, smiling as you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth. “But maybe I’ll swap them out for my old one piece.” You heard your boyfriend gasp on the other end. “Don’t you dare,” he said, chuckling.

You shook your head, your own laughter coming out. “You’ll just have to wait and see what I’m bringing,” you continued. You heard him groan dramatically. “Fine,” he huffed. “Will you model them for me?” he asked softly. Your smile returned. “If you’re good,” you answered.

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Daniel said and you imagined him placing his hand over his chest as he promised. “You better be,” you retorted. “My dad’s paying a lot of money for this vacation. I want it to go as smoothly as possible.” A brief pause fell over you before your boyfriend replied.

“Will your brother be there?” he asked. You sighed, rolling your eyes. “Step-brother,” you corrected him. “And probably? His mom helped plan and pay for this vacation so I imagine he’ll be there. It is a family vacation after all.” Silence followed once more. “Then tell your step-brother to behave. He’s been nothing but cold since I met him. I don’t know what his deal is,” Daniel finally replied.

It was true. While your sister, dad, and Kate had all warmed up to an accepted Daniel, Christian had not. He was nice as ever to you but to Daniel, he was icy and refused to warm up and open up to him. You chalked it up to him finally playing the role of protective brother, especially after your heart to heart chat.

“I can text him. Tell him to play nice,” you offered, which Daniel appreciated. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” Daniel asked as you grabbed the last few things you needed from your closet. “Yeah,” you answered. “We’re meeting them at the airport at midnight,” you reminded him. 

Once you both hung up, you tossed your phone onto the bed and started packing your clothes into your suitcase, keeping the outfit pieces together to make it easier on yourself. You eyed the bikinis you’d purchased when you and Daniel went shopping so he could get some swim trunks as the ones he had were falling apart. 

Each one had gotten a very enthusiastic seal of approval from your boyfriend when you modeled them for him, making all your insecurities melt immediately. You quickly took the swimsuits to the counter and bought them, thanking your boyfriend when you got back to your apartment.

With everything packed securely in your luggage and your toiletry bag packed with the items allowed on the flight, you went about the rest of your night, making a quick frozen dinner, showering, and climbing into bed once your outfit for the plane ride was set out.

Sleep thankfully came quickly and you only woke up when your alarm went off at 10 pm. ‘Dragging yourself out of bed before the sun came up should be a crime’ you thought as you pulled on your clothes for the day, opting for a pair of dark gray yoga pants, and a cream colored fitted shirt over a white tank. The shoes you picked were comfortable and you could take them off easily.

As you were packing up your charging cord into your purse, you heard the buzzer sound and quickly made your way into the living room where you checked the camera before unlocking the door to the tired face of Daniel who smiled upon seeing you. “Glad to see I’m not the only one suffering,” he said as you let him into the apartment.

“Got everything packed?” he asked as he followed you to your bedroom where your luggage sat waiting. “Two suitcases, a carry-on, and my bag,” you replied, patting the top of your tallest suitcase. Daniel eyed you suspiciously. “That’s a lot of luggage,” he noted.

You stared blankly at him. “Outfits and shoes for ten days, plus extra underwear and socks. Toiletries, electronics, potentially everything I might need for a ten day family vacation and space in case I buy stuff to bring back? I think this is pretty reasonable,” you answered as you grabbed your phone from the nightstand.

“I like what you’re wearing,” he said as you turned to bend over to finish packing your bag. “Have you worn this for me before?” he asked, moving to stand behind you, his eyes fixated on your ass. You stood up, backing into his hold. “I wear these to the gym,” you answered, giggling softly as he peppered the side of your face with kisses. 

“Daniel! We’re gonna be late,” you whined and he sighed, letting go of you reluctantly. “I got the big one,” he added as you grabbed your bag and slung it over your shoulder while he got the bigger backpack and grabbed the handle of your large suitcase, leaving the smaller one to you.

The elevator ride down to the lobby was quiet as you checked into your flight on the app. Your dad had sent your and Daniel’s tickets to you so you could pick your seats. You helped Daniel put the luggage in the trunk before getting into the passenger seat with your bag and finishing up the seat selection. 

There were thankfully two seats near the rear of the plane. Most people hated the back because it was close to the bathrooms but thankfully you’d never smelled anything in all the times you’d chosen the back. It was worth it to not have anyone behind you. Daniel said anything other than the emergency exit was fine with him.

As he got into the front seat, Daniel lifted a coffee cup and passed it to you and you smiled, taking it from him. “I know you hate how expensive airport coffee is,” he said as he turned the car on and carefully pulled into traffic, following the flow and the route to the airport.

The drive to the airport wasn’t long and you arrived soon, your coffee cup sat empty in the cup holder next to his. Daniel pulled into the parking garage, following the signs to park underneath and finding a spot near the elevators. Meeting him at the trunk, you gathered your luggage and made your way to the surface, following the signs for departures.

Inside, you went through security, checked your luggage and made your way towards your gate, keeping your head on a swivel as you looked for your family. As you neared the gate, you heard a familiar voice and turned around to spot your step-mom, Kate, waving at you, your sister by her side. Weaving through the other patrons, you made your way over with Daniel in tow and were instantly greeted by your sister, Emmy, with a tight hug.

Kate greeted Daniel before turning her attention on you. The relationship between you and Kate had always been good. She never tried to replace your mother and she made it clear that she was merely there as an additional parent if you needed her. You could see how much love she had for your father and by extension for you and for Emmy as well.

“You get all checked in?” she asked as you pulled back and nodded. “We’re sitting in the back,” you answered. “No one behind us,” you added. “Just the way you like it,” Emmy chimed in. You looked around, taking note of your missing father and step-brother. “Where’s dad?” you asked, looking around for him. “He took Christian to go pick up some breakfast,” Emmy answered as she sat back down, pulling out her Nintendo Switch and resuming whatever game was occupying her free time these days.

Kate urged you and Daniel to join and sit down with them while you waited for your dad and step-brother to return. Kate asked you how work and life had been going which you offered small bits of but let Daniel take the reins on that since he had more to talk about than you did.

As you were vaguely tuning into the conversation, you looked up in time to see your dad returning, a smile on his face as he carried a couple bags of what you could only assume were breakfast sandwiches. He joined the group as Kate looked up and then scanned the immediate area, no doubt looking for her son. “Where’s Christian?” she asked.

“Picking up the coffee order. We got breakfast from one place and he got the coffee from another,” your dad answered as he set one bag down and opened the one still in his hand, starting to pull out the sandwiches. “Chicken, bacon, cheese on an everything bagel,” he announced, to which your sister looked up excitedly, setting her gaming device down and taking the wrapped sandwich from him.

You watched your dad deal out the food, offering you the turkey sausage and you smiled, thanking him as you took it, grateful your dad remembered what you liked after all these years. Daniel thanked him as he took another sandwich from him. “Perfect timing,” your dad said and you looked up as Christian came into view. He carried a cardboard drink tray in one hand and in the other a brown paper bag.

“Coffee,” he said simply as your dad took the tray from him. As he opened the bag, you took in his appearance, taking note of some new tattoos he hadn’t had the last time you saw him. His hair had grown out some and he let it do its own thing, forming loose curls. He wore a fitted black tee, black sweats, and some slides with black socks. He’d been hitting the gym more and it showed in his arms.

He pulled out a donut with strawberry icing and handed it to Emmy who thanked him excitedly. As he turned towards you, he stopped, eyes falling on your figure sitting on the edge of your seat, almost as if he was taken by surprise. “Hey!” he said, flashing a smile. You got up to greet him. “When did you get here?” he asked as you hugged him, feeling his toned chest against yours as he wrapped his arms around you tightly.

“Just now,” you answered. When you broke apart, Christian turned his attention to Daniel who had gotten to his feet. There was a tense moment between them as they stared at one another before Christian finally extended a hand out for your boyfriend to take and you were relieved when Daniel did take it and they shook hands. “Hey man, how’ve you been?” Christian asked, a much different attitude than he had the last time your family had been together.

“Good,” Daniel answered. “Just been working,” he added. “Oh right, Y/N was telling us about the promotion,” your dad intervened, drawing your boyfriend’s attention away as Christian turned, reaching into the paper sack and pulled out another frosted donut, handing it to you. 

“Maple, right?” he asked, catching you by surprise. You’d always loved maple frosted donuts but you never expected him of all people to remember that detail. “Uh, yeah.” you said softly, taking the donut from him. “Thanks.”

The rest of the hour passed and finally, they called for the boarding for your flight. You joined your family, falling in line behind your sister and Christian with Daniel by your side.

Boarding the plane was a tedious process you’d done plenty of times before but once you were in your window seat, your carry-on stowed away in the compartment overhead and your bag under the seat, you were ready to relax on the flight, knowing it was about to be a long one. 

Daniel settled into the seat beside you and shuffled through the available movie options, settling on one he’d never seen before. You peered over the seat in front of you, catching sight of your dad putting something in the overhead compartment near the front of the plane. He caught sight of you peeking and waved which you returned.

The flight attendant started their safety briefing while you quickly put your phone on airplane mode and slipped it back into your bag. As you sat back up, Daniel offered you the other earbud for his movie which you took gratefully, hoping the selection he made would eat up some of the 15 hour flight.

The movie was one you’d never seen but it was also in a genre you didn’t really care for so you sort of tuned it out and didn’t really follow the plot that much but Daniel was heavily invested. Sometime well after the pilot had turned off the seatbelt sign, the urge to relieve yourself hit and you mentally cursed yourself for not doing your business at the airport. 

Excusing yourself, you squeezed between your boyfriend and the seats in front of your row to step out into the aisle and head for the bathroom, cursing under your breath at the little sign that read ‘occupied.’ Checking the other side, you could see that it said the same thing and you sighed, resigned to wait for the person inside to finish their business.

Glancing out at the other passengers, you could see your dad and Kate from where you stood. Kate was doing something that looked suspiciously like crocheting while your dad’s attention was focused on the book in his hands. As your eyes scanned over the seated passengers, you could see your sister a few rows back and in the middle section of rows but the seat beside her was empty.

‘Where’s Christian?’ you wondered. Your thoughts were interrupted as the person behind the bathroom door started to move. You could hear the airplane toilet flush and the sink turned on. ‘Finally,’ you thought as your step-brother was pushed out of your mind, the pressure from your bladder building by the second.

As the door opened, you looked up and nearly ran into the familiar face of your step-brother. “Oh,” you said, stumbling back, tripping over your own shoe as your foot slipped out of it. Before you could fall, Christian grabbed your arm with one hand, the other moving to the small of your back to stead you. “Careful,” he murmured. The exchange felt like it lasted for minutes but in reality was only a few seconds.

“Thanks,” you mumbled as your foot quickly found your shoe and slipped it back on. You shifted, pressing your back against the wall as Christian slipped past you. Once he was out of the way, you slipped into the small bathroom, shutting the door behind you and turning the lock so the sign outside read occupied.

When Christian had received his assigned seat and learned he’d be sitting with Emmy, he was glad. Not that he didn’t want to sit with your dad or with his own mother. He would have been glad to sit with them but the thought of sitting next to you on a 15 hour long flight was more than he could bear. But upon learning your boyfriend would be joining your family vacation, he suddenly wished he’d been assigned to sit with you instead.

He had no real reason to dislike Daniel the way he did and he tried his best to be civil but the fact of the matter was that he thought no one was good enough for you. None of the guys you’d brought home in the past, the boyfriends you’d had in high school or even the ones you’d just gone out with. None of them were good enough for you.

He told himself it was his big brother instincts kicking in but deep down he knew that was just the lie he told himself so he wouldn’t give into the delusions that threatened to consume him. The dark thoughts he kept buried deep inside him. The reason he thought no one was good enough for you was because in his mind, there was only one person who was good enough for you but he refused to entertain that idea no matter how many times it popped up because it was wrong.

You were his step-sister. It was wrong to even have those thoughts to begin with but he couldn’t help it. Especially now when you wore those tight yoga pants that hugged your curves and showed off some of your best assets. 

Christian cleared his throat as he returned to his seat and sat down, immediately grabbing his jacket and throwing it over his lap as he tried to will the involuntary reaction his body had to your presence away. He’d gotten good at hiding it but since it had been months since he’d last seen you, his iron will had turned into aluminum foil, easily bent and crumpled.

It had taken all of his willpower not to lose his composure the moment he spotted you in the airport, sitting there innocently as you talked with his mom and your dad. He’d nearly dropped the coffee tray and sprinted for the bathroom because of how visceral his reaction was to seeing you in those yoga pants and that fitted shirt. It was embarrassing. He was a grown man, not some hormone riddled teen.

As he sat there, keeping his breathing calm and collected not only for his sake but for your sister sitting next to him, he felt like he was calming down and able to breathe normally. Next to him, Emmy’s attention was focused on her gaming device, no doubt listening to the soothing tones of Animal Crossing as she worked on building up her island.

Checking his watch, Christian saw they still had several hours left of the flight and he decided to pick one of the inflight movie options to occupy the time and his attention, hopefully he wouldn’t have to run into you again until you disembarked at your destination and then he would have to figure out how to survive a 10 day family vacation at the resort with you.

The flight arrived on time in Hong Kong and Christian was exhausted to say the least. Upon seeing you at the gate, he could tell you felt the same way he did. The layover was thankfully not a super long one but he still had three hours to kill. When your group found the departure gate, he watched as you threw yourself down into one of the chairs and groaned as Daniel sat next to you.

A meal had been offered on the plane and while it was good for airplane food, Christian needed a meal. He glanced around the airport terminal until his eyes fell on something that seemed too good to be true. A place serving breakfast. 

“Anyone else hungry?” he asked, looking around at the tired faces around him. At the mention of food, both you and Emmy perked up. “Food?” you asked. Christian nodded towards a place near your gate. “Chinese breakfast,” he added. Your dad moved to get up but you beat him to it. “I’ll go,” you said softly. “You stay.” Your dad nodded and fished out his wallet for his card but Christian waved him off. “My treat,” he said before turning to look at you. 

“Shall we?”

You followed your step-brother to the breakfast place, looking over the menu. As you both perused the options, you heard Christian mutter under his breath. “None of these really can be taken back.” You glanced at him and back at the menu. “Should we just tell them to come over?” you asked. Christian nodded. “C’mon,” he said, nodding his head. “Let’s go get them.”

After relaying the information to your family and gathering your bags and carry-ons, you returned to the restaurant. Emmy told you to pick for her and sat down at one of the larger tables. Daniel stood beside you as he looked over the menu while your dad and Kate looked at the menu as well. 

After placing your order, you returned to the table and waited for your order to be ready. You sat across from Christian who sat between Emmy and the wall, scrolling endlessly on his phone. Emmy had dived back into her game, your dad and Kate were talking about the trip itinerary and Daniel was looking around the airport terminal, taking in the architecture.

It was part of his job. He loved design and looking at architecture from other cultures. Seeing how things were done differently was of great interest to him. His favorite structures to compare were airports and bridges. He had expressed a desire to visit Prague and see the Gothic architecture there. 

After a while, your food was ready and the order number called out. You got up at the same time as Christian to help bring the food back. At the counter, you collected a couple of the trays while Christian grabbed the others and brought them to the table. You’d ordered quite a bit just to try everything. The dishes you liked the most were the congee, the steamed buns, and the wonton soup. You got Emmy some crepes which were filled with a sweet cream filling and those were also delicious.

After finishing, your group returned to the departure gate to wait the remaining hour to board. As you waited, you decided to do your business in the airport to avoid using the airplane bathroom as often again. You got up, telling Daniel where you were going and headed for the signs that pointed to the restrooms. You found the ladies room relatively quickly and entered.

As you finished up and were drying your hands, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket and pulled it out to check. Daniel had texted you, asking if you’d grab him a coffee on your way back. You sent back a quick confirmation as you headed out of the bathroom, running right into a hard body. 

As you stumbled backwards, strong hands grabbed your waist to steady you and looking up, you met Christian’s shocked expression. “Do you often not watch where you’re going?” he joked. You rolled your eyes, fighting the urge to smile. “Only when you’re around,” you retorted. “Oh?” he asked. “Hoping I’ll swoop in and save the day? Didn’t take you for a damsel in distress,” he smirked.

You playfully swatted his arm. “Damsel? No,” you replied as you both started walking back towards the gate. “In distress? Always,” you added, to which he laughed. “Maybe your boyfriend needs to do a better job,” he mumbled and you turned to look at him. “Better job of what?” you asked, raising a brow. Christian hesitated. “Uh…” he trailed off but you playfully pushed him.

“I’m just fucking with you, dude,” you said, shaking your head as you continued forward, eyes sweeping the airport until you found a place serving coffee. Christian followed and upon realizing where you were heading, sighed in relief. “You read my mind,” he joked as you got into line. “Daniel texted me as I was leaving the bathroom. Asked me to pick up some coffee on the way back.”

Christian said nothing as you quickly pulled out your phone and asked your boyfriend what he wanted as well as asking if anyone else wanted anything. After a couple moments of typing, you got a list of items and walked up to the counter to order. You listed off the items from your phone before placing your own coffee order. Christian quickly tacked his onto the order and as you reached for your wallet, Christian used his phone to pay.

“You didn’t have to do that,” you said as he took the printed receipt from the cashier with a thank you. He turned to you as you both moved towards the pick up counter to wait for your order. “It’s not a big deal,” he said, shrugging. “I hardly ever see you except for holidays anymore,” he continued. “So I don’t get to spoil you. I see Emmy all the time and I’m always paying for her food or coffee.”

You let a chuckle slip past your lips. “That’s because Emmy is a leech,” you joked. “She always made me pay, too.” Christian laughed at your shared experience of your greedy little sister. “I don’t mind,” Christian finally added. “You both know I’d do anything for you two.” As you glanced over at him, you found him already looking at you with an expression he’d never looked at you with.

It gave you a strange feeling, your stomach fluttering. That was something you’d never experienced before. At least not when looking at your step-brother. You quickly looked away as the baristas started loading your drinks into a cardboard tray. You thanked them, grabbing the tray before Christian could, leaving him to grab the two lone drinks and straws.

You led the way back to the gate silently, Christian following behind.

The rest of the hour passed by and soon you were boarding the next plane, thankful for the relatively shorter flight you now had to take to Thailand. You led the way, Daniel following behind as you reached your seats. These were also located in front of the bathrooms about halfway down the plane. By sheer coincidence, Christian and Emmy were the row in front of you and your dad and Kate in front of them.

Daniel helped load your carry-on into the overhead compartment before adding his own while you sat by the window. You had offered to let him sit by the window this time but he declined, citing an irrational fear of window seats. You didn’t push and sat down, putting your bag under Emmy’s seat in front of you as Christian put his in the overhead compartment.

As he took his seat, you could see him glance at you and busied yourself with the display on the back of Emmy’s seat, browsing through the movies and games. After the safety briefing, you found a game you could play and connect with the other passengers and excitedly went to show Daniel but he was already into the opening credits of a movie, headphones on.

You heard a short ‘psst’ and looked up to find Christian peering at you from between the seats. “I’m checked into UNO. I’ll play with you. Emmy’s doing Animal Crossing stuff again.” You smiled and sat back to tap on the icon for UNO. You found the lobby Christian started with the name IAN and clicked on it, setting your display name as ex0ticbvtters. Upon seeing the name you picked, Christian stifled a laugh which came out as a snort.

For the next couple hours, you played UNO with him, laughing and cursing under your breath anytime he laid down a plus four or plus two or vice versa. You came out on top most of the rounds which you cackled softly to yourself about. Daniel’s movie had ended at this point and he asked if you wanted to watch another with him which you accepted.

With your attention captured, Christian decided he would also pick a movie, not wanting to play UNO against anyone else. As he put the headphones on, he thought to himself he might have to find a place selling UNO when they landed so he could play with you again.

The last couple hours of the flight went by quickly thankfully to the movie he chose and soon the plane was making the final descent into the airport. Emmy had put her device away and was excitedly looking around, trying to get a glimpse of the ocean waters below. 

Christian had been to the beach and the ocean plenty of times but he couldn’t deny the small wave of excitement that washed over him as he caught sight of the blue waters that seemingly stretched on and on outside the plane. As the plane continued its descent, Christian turned off the second movie he’d selected and pulled the earbuds out of his ears, wrapping them up and packing them away.

When the plane finally touched down, Christian rolled his eyes, resting his head back against the seat as the passengers around him and Emmy started clapping and he could only imagine the look of annoyance and disgust on your face.

The last family vacation, you’d both been forced to sit together with Emmy on a plane ride to Scotland and when the plane landed then, you had quietly voiced your dislike for people who clapped when the plane landed. 

[flashback] As those around you started to clap, Christian held back a snort as you snarkily, albeit quietly, snapped “oh yes, let’s clap for the pilots doing their job of not crash landing the plane.” Emmy had leaned forward to glare at you from the other side of Christian while he held back the urge to laugh, a smirk creeping onto his face. As Emmy settled back in her seat you glanced at him. “Was it something I said?”

[present day] Christian wondered if you and Daniel were having that same conversation now and Christian’s smile fell as the thought of you leaning over to make a snarky remark about people who clap when the plane lands to your boyfriend and not him. He pushed the thought from his mind as the plane started to make its way to the gate. “Oh thank god,” Emmy whispered from beside him. 

“I thought this flight would never fucking end.”

Christian and Emmy departed some time after your dad and his mom had already exited and they joined them to wait for you and Daniel to exit the gate.

After joining your dad, Kate, Emmy, and Christian, you followed them through the airport to baggage claim. While standing at the carousel, Christian moved into the space next to you as he spotted his bag and grabbed it. As you waited for yours to appear, Daniel grabbed his and lifted it from the metal. Finally, after everyone else and their mother had gotten their luggage, you spotted yours and moved to grab it as it moved towards you.

Christian was faster and grabbed both suitcases and pulled them from the carousel, setting them in front of you. “Thanks,” you murmured as you grabbed the handles. “No problem,” he replied as he adjusted the strap of his backpack and grabbed the handle of his own large suitcase. 

You followed behind with Daniel beside you as your dad led the way through the airport. He mentioned the last time you spoke on the phone that he was renting a 7 passenger vehicle to get you to and from the resort. As you waited for him to finish the paperwork and get the keys, you pulled out your phone and turned airplane mode off, opening instagram and scrolling through your feed.

You snapped a quick picture of the inside of the airport to save for a post later after you got to the resort and got settled in. Daniel noticed what you were doing before going back to his own phone and as you put your phone back in your bag, you caught sight of another pair of eyes watching you which quickly looked away the moment you noticed him looking.

You didn’t have long to dwell on it as your dad got the keys and gesture for the group to follow to the underground parking lot where the rentals were kept. The sales associate led your group over to a very nice white SUV. As your dad and Kate checked over the exterior, you stood off to the side with Daniel. “Are we going to be put in the very back?” Daniel asked softly and you shrugged slightly. “No idea.”

Once your dad and Kate were satisfied, the keys were handed over and you were left to pack your luggage in the back. You helped Daniel and Christian stack the suitcases so they fit snugly before heading around to the side of the car. Emmy had claimed one of the middle seats and you sighed, resigned to climb into the very back but Christian quickly motioned for Emmy to move.

She grumbled and he was quick to remind her that the first to enter always get put in the back. You thanked him under your breath as he climbed in and squeezed between the bucket seats into the seat behind the one your boyfriend took while you got into the one behind the driver which happened to be your dad.

The ride to the resort wasn’t that long and soon, your dad was pulling under the covered entryway and parking the car. He told you all to sit tight while he checked in with the office. Up until this point, you were certain you were staying in a resort hotel but when he returned with a printout and a few keys, that idea went out the window.

Your dad handed the papers and keys to Kate as he got back into the car. “Four garden pool villas,” Kate said softly as she looked over the papers while your dad pulled the car around and into one of the many parking spaces. 

Once the engine was off, you quickly hopped out, Daniel mimicking you. Emmy and Christian followed, the four of you heading to the back of the SUV to start unloading the luggage. Your dad and Kate appeared, taking their own luggage and leading the way.

The first stop was a gate with an electronic lock. You watched as your dad put in the numbers and the light turned green with a short beep, indicating the door had unlocked. Inside was like something out of a movie. White pavement pathways wound around a lush, tropical forested area. Between breaks in the vegetation, you could catch glimpses of buildings and white privacy walls.

You followed your dad as he led the way through the maze of maintained jungle landscaping, rounding a bend and stopping where the paths branched off. To the left was a collection of four huts, all with the same beige walls and black trim around the windows. Each one had a solid white privacy fence around what you assumed was a yard.

Each fence had a dark gray solid gate with electronic entry. To the right was the same thing but mirrored. You turned to look at Daniel who was checking out the villas. He caught your eye and gave you a smile that conveyed both his excitement but also just how tired he was. You’d spent so much time on a plane and in airports and you were ready to face plant into a real bed.

“Here’s your key,” your dad said, handing a key to your sister who looked around, confused. “Do I get an entire villa to myself?” she asked. “They’re only one room,” Christian answered, a hint of amusement in his voice as your dad handed him a key as well. You could see how he watched as your dad handed two keys to you for you and Daniel. “And you two are sharing,” he said. “Behave yourselves,” he added.

Your cheeks burned but you played it cool, handing one of the keys to Daniel. As you turned back around, you caught sight of Christian’s face and you could have sworn the look on his face was a mixture of appalled and indignant but as quickly as you saw it, his expression shifted to more neutral.

After setting a time to meet up the following morning, you headed for the gate to your villa, unlocking it with the keycard and opening it. Daniel followed you in as you walked down the path to the sliding glass door which Daniel pulled open for you. Stepping inside, you quickly slipped off your shoes and dragged your suitcases inside.

The villa was as Christian described. It was one large room with a seating area between the entry and bedroom area. The searing area had two cream colored sofas with colorful decorative pillows arranged in an L-shape with a square low coffee table. Off to your left was a gray door and next to that was a sideboard table with a matching gray cabinet. 

In the bedroom area was a large king size bed, the head of the bed was pushed against an accent wood wall with off white linens and beautiful decorative pillows. Hanging from a bar attached to the bed posts was a set of white sheer curtains tied back to reveal the bed. Two more sets of curtains hung from the sides. The bathroom was off to the right and while you wanted to explore more, you were exhausted.

After getting some well deserved sleep, you got up when the alarm on your phone went off the next morning and headed into the bathroom to take a much needed shower while Daniel slowly started to stir. After your shower, you got pulled on a robe and started your skincare in the mirror as Daniel joined you, his hair sticking up in all directions.

“Morning,” he mumbled as he turned on the shower, testing the temperature until it was where he wanted it. “What’re we doing today?” he asked as he started to strip down. “We’re going to Old Phuket Town,” you replied as you carefully worked your moisturizer into your skin. “It’s supposed to be very sunny and warm,” you added as you put your stuff away.

“So make sure you dress appropriately. We’re gonna be on the other side of the island.”

As he stepped into the shower, you heard your phone going off and headed into the villa, grabbing it from the nightstand. Swiping the answer button across the screen you were greeted by the voice of your dad telling you that they were up and ready to meet for breakfast. 

As Daniel finished his shower and dried off, you got dressed for the day, opting for a pair of light wash denim shorts, a cropped white tee, white chunky sneakers and a beige bucket hat while Daniel changed into khaki shorts, a white tee and a short sleeve blue and white stripe button down, grabbing a baseball cap and sunglasses while you packed your small bag with the essentials.

Outside the villa on the path your family waited for you. Your dad had dressed similarly as Daniel and Kate had opted for a floral white sundress and floppy hat while Emmy wore a white cami with a cropped button down top, tied at the bottom and khaki shorts.

Christian had forgone the black, wearing a pair of dark wash denim shorts that cut off at just above the knee, a white tank and gray button down with short sleeves. He had a black baseball cap and aviator sunglasses.

“Good morning!” your dad greeted you and your boyfriend. “Sleep well?” Kate asked which you responded with a nod. “I was so tired last night. We didn’t even change out of our airport clothes,” you said under your breath as your group moved along the path heading for the front office and restaurant.

Breakfast was a quick affair. You grabbed breakfast from the buffet for yourself and your boyfriend while he got the coffee and joined you back at the table where you were seated between him and your sister. You ate mostly in silence ignoring the stares from your step-brother who kept looking from you to your boyfriend but whenever you looked up, he pretended as if he hadn’t just been staring you down.

You’d have to pull him aside later to ask him what his deal was.

After breakfast, you all piled into the SUV while Kate played navigator and your dad drove. The roads on this side of the island weren’t busy and the drive from the resort to Old Phuket Town took just under an hour. Your dad found a place to park and pay for all day parking and once parked and out of the car, you met for instructions. You were allowed to go off on your own and explore the area and markets but you were to meet back up for lunch at 1 pm at Maimorn Forest restaurant.

As soon as the two of you were on your own, Daniel wasted no time in renting a scooter so you could get around much faster and easier. You held on as he zipped through the busy streets, parking the vehicle and helping remove your helmet. He took your hand and led you towards a large market. 

As you walked up and down the aisles, perusing the items, you stopped to look at some of the local food and asked how much. After buying from two different vendors right next to one another, you realized your boyfriend was missing. Looking around provided no explanation to his absence and as you wandered, you finally found him making his way back to you, a lopsided grin on his face.

“Where did you go?” you asked once he was within earshot. Instead of answering, he told you to hold out your hand. You rolled your eyes but did so. Instead of placing something into your hand, like you expected, you felt something brush against your wrist. You opened your eyes and glanced down towards your wrist where a beautiful but dainty beaded bracelet now sat.

It was made out of silver and crystal seed beads and fishing line and was utterly gorgeous. “I found a lady selling these,” he said as he held your hand in place, admiring the bracelet. “She makes them in her free time and sells them here when she’s not working in her parents’ restaurant.” You looked up to meet his gaze. “It’s beautiful,” you said softly. “Thank you.”

You shared your find with Daniel, telling him you got satay and popiah. He bought a couple bottles of water from a nearby vending machine while you chowed down on your snacks. After finishing the skewers and spring roll, you continued to walk around for a while, watching the vendors work and putting on a show. 

As the day wore on, noon rolled around and you were about to tell Daniel you should be heading back when you caught sight of a familiar face. Emmy was looking around at the stalls, exploring the same market. You called out to her and beckoned her over. She turned to nudge the man next to her and when he turned, only then did you register that your step-brother was with her.

They made their way over, weaving through the crowd.

“Fancy meeting you here,” your sister jokingly said as Daniel joined you, resting an arm over your shoulders. It was casual in a way but it also felt like he was staking his claim, as if he had any competition to begin with. Christian seemed to have noticed as well but he said nothing. “How did you get here?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Scooter,” you answered simply to which he nodded. “Us too,” he replied. A short silence fell over the four of you before Emmy broke it, suggesting the group browse the market a bit longer before leaving and heading for the restaurant. Daniel walked alongside you, checking the stalls and stopping when one caught his eye.

Out of the corner of your eye, you caught something sparkly and told your boyfriend where you’d be and made your way over to find a tray of beautiful rings. As you inspected them, you felt a body slide into the space next to yours. “Getting ideas to give your boyfriend?” the voice asked and you looked up to find Christian next to you.

You shook your head. “No,” you answered, turning back to the rings. “Just looking at something sparkly.” Christian chuckled as you turned your attention towards the necklaces. “Like a little magpie,” he muttered as he followed you through the stalls. You turned to look at him, causing him to nearly run into you as you stopped suddenly. “I’d prefer to be compared to a raven,” you countered before returning your attention to the jewelry.

“A raven?” he asked as he continued to follow you. “That’s a little… odd.” You turned to glare at him but noticed the playful grin on his face. As you continued to weave through the stalls, checking the items being made and sold, you started to wander further and further from the main street and soon, as you looked up, you realized you were utterly lost.

Christian was no help, looking just as lost and confused as you. “Where are we?” he asked as you looked around for any sign of your boyfriend and sister but found nothing. “I don’t know,” you whispered, keeping your head on a swivel. 

“I don’t even know which way the main street is,” you added. “Of course you don’t,” Christian said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Just wandering without a care in the world,” he added as you started to try and backtrack. “And what were you doing?” you asked, rounding on him, the irritation clear in your voice. The smirk on his face dropped. “You just followed me!”

Christian took a hesitant step towards you. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad,” he said softly. “Whatever,” you said as you turned away from him. You started to follow a random path through the market, hoping to find either your boyfriend, your sister, or the main street. 

The market had gotten more crowded as the day wore on and you were starting to feel suffocated and claustrophobic. Your pace quickened as did your breathing. “Y/N, slow down,” Christian said calmly from behind you as he tried to keep up with your hurried footsteps.

You were on the verge of hyperventilating as you pushed through the crowd, not even bothering to be patient or polite at this point. You couldn’t breathe. With one final push, you broke through the crowded market and onto the main street with a gasp, doubling over to rest your hands on your knees.

You felt two strong hands on your waist quickly pull you back, firm but gentle, as a scooter went whizzing past, giving you two short beeps from the horn. Your body bumped into something solid and you looked up to find your step-brother staring at you with wide eyes.

He was breathing just as equally hard as you and there was a look of concern but also one of frustration. “Do you not watch where you’re going, like ever?” he snapped. The panic you’d been feeling from being squeezed into the crowd overwhelmed you and the stern expression on Christian’s face dissipated the moment tears started to form in your eyes.

“Oh,” he said softly, gently lifting your chin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to- are you–”

“Y/N! Christian!” a familiar voice called.

You turned to find Emmy waving at you as she and your boyfriend were making their way over. The cheerful look on Daniel’s face melted away the moment he saw your state of distress and he rushed over as Christian let go of you and back away. Daniel was quick to pull you into a hug, taking care to look you over thoroughly as Christian explained to him and your sister what had happened.

Daniel pulled you closer, resting a hand on the back of your head. “She’s developed a fear of small spaces and large crowds,” he said softly as his other hand gently stroked your back. “It started last summer,” he added without going into further detail.

After Daniel was able to get you to calm down the four of you made your way back to the restaurant where your dad and Kate were waiting for you outside. “How was the market?” your dad ask which Emmy immediately started going on and on about the art, the food, and more while you and Daniel followed behind.

The hostess showed you to a table and once you were seated and drinks ordered, you looked over the menu. Christian had taken the seat across from Daniel, between his mother and Emmy while you sat between your boyfriend and father. Emmy and Daniel answered most of the questions until your father directed one towards you.

You chose not to talk about the almost accident but did show both him and Kate the bracelet Daniel had bought you at the market. You could see Christian out of the corner of your eye watching you with a look of concern. He clearly wanted to discuss what had happened but like you, he wasn’t about to bring it up.

“Oh that’s gorgeous,” Kate said as you showed her the bracelet as your father nodded silently, a smile on his face. “I think beaded jewelry is so stunning,” Kate added as she took a sip of her tea. Without missing a beat, your step-brother chimed in. “I think anything looks good on Y/N.”

The comment didn’t go unnoticed and Kate was quick to agree. “You’ve always worn everything you put on,” she added. “You wear it, not the other way around.” You glanced at Christian out of the corner of your eye, wondering what the hell that was and why he said it.

“Speaking of beaded jewelry,” Kate continued. “Emmy has started making beaded bracelets,” she continued. “And some of them are so intricate and beautiful.”

And just like that, the conversation was forgotten. The server came by to take your lunch order and most of the conversation that followed stemmed around the plans for the rest of the day.

The scooter Daniel had rented was good until the end of the day so your dad agreed to rent one and the group could head over to Pho Ta Toh Sae Shrine.

The ride through the old town didn’t take long and overall, you reached the shrine in under ten minutes. After exploring the shrine and snapping a few pictures, you continued onto a popular viewpoint, Monkey Hill Viewpoint.

As you walked, various signs warned visitors of not feeding the animals and to hide any valuables. You quickly took your new bracelet off and put it in your small backpack and put it on backwards so it was on the front.

There were macaques everywhere but you rightfully kept your distance as you knew they were wild animals that were extremely agile and fast. Daniel snapped a few pictures from a distance but when someone in another party got too close and had their phone snatched, he put it away and your group decided they were done.

Back in Old Phuket Town, you decided to call it a day and returned the scooters before making your way back to the rental car. This time, you climbed into the back with Daniel while Emmy and Christian took the middle seats.

Daniel had been mostly on his phone since lunch and when you tried to get his attention, he only reluctantly tore his attention away from his phone. Something was bothering him but you didn’t want to discuss it in the car. You’d wait until you got back to the villa.

What you didn’t anticipate was the way he’d blow up at you the moment the sliding glass door shut.

You stood dumbfounded as he snapped at you about Christian’s behavior, bringing up the compliment at lunch as well as the way Christian had his hands on you at the market.

You reminded him that Christian was your step-brother and that Christian had pulled you out of the street to avoid being hit by a motorist.

Daniel insisted that Christian was behaving inappropriately but you wouldn’t hear a word of it and instead of staying and arguing, you decided to take a walk to cool off before dinner.

Your walk led you to the nearby Nai Yang beach which was mostly quiet due to it being close to dinner time. As you walked along the shore, listening to the waves softly crashing against the sand, the smell of sea water filling your nose. You carried your shoes in your hand, kicking the sand as you walked, head down, parallel with the shoreline.

The sun had set beyond the horizon, casting the sky in a golden glow, the colors of the sky fading from orange to a purple and into the darkest of blue as night started to creep in and take hold. You stopped to look out over the ocean, watching the water dance and wave as it dominated the view.

You walked up to the water, letting it wash over your feet, pulling the sand around it as it ebbed.

You let out a sigh and lifted your head, looking up at the sky, enjoying the sunset and the colors it painted. You heard a soft snap and turned to look behind you, catching sight of your step-brother who slowly made his way over.

“Hey,” he said softly as he approached. “Hey,” you said, turning back to look at the ocean. “Your dad sent me to come get you. I went by your villa but Daniel said you went for a walk,” he explained. You scoffed. “Did he tell you why I went for a walk?” you asked, curious if your boyfriend had decided to tell off Christian or not. You watched as he shook his head, a look of confusion crossing his face.

“No,” he answered, shoving his hands into his pockets as a breeze lightly ruffled his hair. “He accused you of being inappropriate with me,” you said, as you turned your gaze back to the water. Christian fell silent for a beat before answering. “Inappropriate how?” he asked.

“The compliment you gave me at lunch,” you answered. “He seemed to think that was inappropriate. And the way you saved me from getting hit by a scooter. That was apparently inappropriate, too.”

You turned your head to look at him, watching the confusion melt into something akin to annoyance and frustration. “Would he rather I called you ugly in front of our parents? I’m your step-brother but I have eyes,” he replied. “I have two very pretty step-sisters. I don’t have to be attracted to you to see that.”

You bit back the urge to smile. “And what would he have me do? Let you get hit by a scooter instead of pulling you to safety? Seriously, what is wrong with him?” Christian asked incredulously. You shook your head, shoulders shaking from your soft laughter. “I have no idea,” you answered.

“I saved my step-sister from being run over. I clearly must want to fuck her,” he joked, snorting at the ridiculousness of the situation. “Yeah, I don’t know,” you sighed. “But if he’s still being an ass after dinner, I’m sleeping in Emmy’s villa.”

“I’m sorry,” Christian said suddenly. You looked up at him. “For what?” you asked, tilting your head slightly. “For causing problems,” he answered. You shook your head. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” you reminded him. “Daniel’s just being… I don’t even know what he’s being,” you said, trailing off. A comfortable silence fell over the two of you before Christian spoke.

“Want me to talk to him?” A smile spread over your face and you shook your head. “No,” you replied. “I’ll work this out, I just need to have a talk with him. Find out why he’s feeling like he’s competing with my step-brother of all people.” Christian nodded. “And if that doesn’t work, dump him,” he said suddenly, making you scoff and gently slap his chest, making him stumble. 

“Hey, I’m serious!” he said as he regained his balance. You rolled your eyes, looking back over the shimmering water, the traces of the moon starting to peek up over the tops of the trees.“You’re too good for him anyway,” he said, his voice barely audible over the sound of the waves. “Always thought so.” 

You turned to look at your step-brother. “You’ve said that about every guy I’ve ever dated,” you said, narrowing your eyes. “None of them have been good enough for you,” he answered simply. Your expression softened, staring at him. He held your gaze, an unfamiliar look on his face. It was a sort of pained expression but not in an entirely obvious way. 

It made you wonder just what was going on in that head of his.

After a few moments of silence, you scoffed softly, turning away and breaking the tension that had slowly been building between you. “You’re impossible,” you said with a chuckle. Christian let out a breathy laugh before he cleared his throat. You looked at him. “I mean it, though,” he said, his expression softening now. “You’re too good for all of them.”

The two of you held one another’s gaze before Christian shook his head and nodded back towards the treeline that separated the beach from the resort. “Come on,” he said. “They’re waiting for us. It’s dinner time.” You nodded and started to follow him, stopping to wipe your feet off and put on your sandals.

When you met up with your family, Daniel was waiting and pulled you aside, apologizing for what he said. You decided for the sake of the trip and peace, to accept his apology but after this vacation, you were going to have to have a long talk with him about his thoughts and feelings.

The next morning, Daniel apologized again and after dressing for the day together, you met up with your family to get breakfast before heading out. The plan for the day was to go shopping and spend the day relaxing after the busy day the day before.

The ride to the mall took a little under an hour and once pulled into a parking space you walked into the air conditioned mall, taking in the sights and sounds. It was fun to explore the multiple levels of each wing of the mall. There were plenty of shops to check out and you ended up buying yourself something nice from the Saint Laurent store.

After the morning and afternoon at the mall, you returned to the resort to relax. Kate had reservations at the spa for her and your dad and instead of chilling in your own pool at the villa, you and Daniel headed for the pool by the office. It was a large, long, irregular shaped one with an island in the middle with lounges set in the ground, each with rounded seating, an umbrella, and colorful cushions.

You and Daniel grabbed one of the double lounge chairs with cover near one end of the pool. As you set your pool bag down on the seat, a light breeze blowing through the area and making the wrap tied around your waist flutter, Daniel sat on the seat beside you.

He leaned back, watching as you pulled two towels from the bag, handing one to him and tossing one onto your side before reaching into the bag and pulling out your sunscreen.

You insisted on putting it on your boyfriend as he stripped down to a pair of his new swim trunks. Once you were satisfied he was covered, he immediately jumped into the pool, lightly splashing the sides before starting to swim laps. You didn’t even get the chance to ask him to put sunscreen on you.

You sighed as you watched your boyfriend, not aware of the two people moving to the solo lounge chairs besides yours. Glancing up, you smiled as Christian and Emmy set their things down. Emmy immediately moved to start cranking the umbrella but Christian stopped her.

“Emmy,” you called, catching her attention, stifling a laugh as she looked around Christian at you. You held up the bottle of sunscreen and grimaced. “Could you help? Daniel just took off and dove in before I could even ask. Emmy nodded and moved to help you.

Christian continued to work to open the umbrella and while Emmy was busy rubbing sunscreen into your back, your eyes wandered. Christian was dressed in a pair of swim trunks that were black at the waistband, turning into black octopus tentacles over a white background. It was pretty cool and you wondered where he even found them.

Your eyes continued to travel up as he finished opening the umbrella and locked it in place before reaching to grab the back of the collar of his shirt and tugged it off over his head. It wasn’t like you’d never seen your step-brother shirtless. He’d often walk around shirtless in the mornings back home but it had been a while and he was sporting some newer ink you’d never seen.

Christian loved tattoos and he was covered in them. His arms, his chest, his stomach, and his back. He had tattoos almost everywhere. You remember when he first came home with one and Kate about had a conniption but since then, she’d grown accustomed to them and didn’t pay any mind to them.

You looked away as Christian turned to sit on the lounge chair and Emmy finished rubbing the sunscreen into your back and handed you the tube. “Thanks,” you murmured as she got up and returned to her chair and stripped off the oversized shirt she’d been wearing. She’d picked one of her one pieces, a cute tie dyed one, and headed over to the steps leading into the pool.

Daniel was still swimming laps, the soft splashing barely audible of the subtle and relaxing music that drifted out of hidden speakers around the pool. You finished applying your sunscreen yourself as Christian settled back against the lounge chair, sunglasses hiding his eyes.

Once you were finished applying your sunscreen, you got up and carefully moved the cover back and sat back down, soaking in the heat of the sun. Before long, you were reclined back, your own sunglasses on and a sun hat blocking the UV rays from your face.

Christian noticed it had gone quiet and opened his eyes, glancing to the side where you were lazing in the sun. You had removed your pink cover which barely covered anything and the moment his eyes landed on you, he regretted it instantly.

You had opted for a black and baby pink string bikini. He turned his gaze away, feeling something stirring that should not be stirring. He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, trying to force the sudden images in his mind away. He could not be thinking about that when he was right next to you.

You were his step-sister. Regardless of how he felt, you were completely off-limits. If not as his step-sister, then because you had a boyfriend. Whatever he could tell himself to justify his completely inappropriate thoughts.

He closed his eyes again and regretted that too because the moment his eyes shut, images of you in a plethora of compromising positions filled his mind and he quickly snapped his eyes open. ‘Goddamn it,’ he thought to himself. At this rate his body was going to betray him and then he’d really have problems.

He heard a rustling to his side and looked before he could stop himself.

You had gotten up and were in the process of lowering the back of your lounge chair flat so you could lay back entirely. He got an eyeful of your ass and he had to force himself to look away, his cock twitching in his swim trunks. ‘Behave yourself!’ he mentally scolded himself.

He heard you let out a soft grunt and sigh and when he looked back, you were now laying on your stomach, arms folded under your head as you let your backside get some sun. His eyes roamed over your body from behind the safety of his dark sunglasses.

He took in the curve of your ass and the way the black and pink spandex hugged your body. He took in the baby pink ties on the sides of your bikini bottoms and how easy it would be to just tug on one and your swim bottoms would come off so easily. ‘Easy access.’

He nearly smacked himself for that thought.

His teeth sank into his tongue as he turned his head away from the sight of your breasts squished against the lounge chair, the side spilling out of the side of your bikini top. It was a simple triangle bikini top and it was just barely large enough to cover most of your breasts.

His eyes kept wandering, almost as if he couldn’t stop himself. When he saw you shift, he quickly turned his head and just in time as Daniel appeared. The last thing he needed was your boyfriend accusing him of being inappropriate. Well, he was being inappropriate but no one needed to know that.

He could keep that to himself.

Daniel walked over to the double lounge chairs, grabbing his towel and started to dry himself off. Christian watched out of the corner of his eye as the man walked around to yourself, squatting down to speak to you. He couldn’t hear what was being said but you lifted your head, smiling at your boyfriend before nodding.

He watched as you lay your head back down on your arms and Daniel stood up before leaning over and pressing a kiss to your head and walked back around to grab his shirt, pulling it on and slipping on his sandals. Christian was aware Daniel was walking towards him and he looked up, reaching up to lower his sunglasses slightly.

“I’m getting some drinks from the bar,” he stated in a way that told Christian that he would need help bringing them back. Christian got up, grabbing his wallet from his bag and slipped into his own shoes. The two made their way around the pool, heading over to the bar just outside the pool area. They walked in silence as they made their way over.

Once at the bar, Christian looked over the menu while Daniel fiddled with his own wallet.

The bartender finally caught sight of them and wandered over with a smile on his face. Daniel ordered three drinks and turned to Christian, clearly waiting for his order. Settling on something that he knew would be more juice and filler than alcohol, Christian made his selection and set the menu back down. He went to fish out his card but Daniel declined to let him pay, instead putting it on his own card.

Christian thanked him and leaned against the bar, glancing back towards the pool. Daniel turned to look at Christian before glancing back. He let out a huff and Christian looked at him. “Why are you always watching her?” Daniel asked softly. “It’s fucking weird.”

Christian removed his sunglasses to stare fully at your boyfriend. “Excuse me?” he asked. Daniel turned to look at him. “You’re always watching Y/N,” Daniel repeated. “It’s really fucking weird. She’s your sister, dude.” Christian felt heat rise into his chest. He kept his cool, breathing as normally as possible as he could feel his heart starting to race.

Had Daniel caught on that much? Was he that obvious? If he was, why hadn’t you or Emmy or even your dad said anything? There was no way he was being obvious if even your dad hadn’t already pulled him aside to warn him or tell him off. No, Daniel must have been the only one to notice. Christian could work through that.

“She’s my step-sister,” Christian clarified. “And if you think I’m keeping an eye on both of my step-sisters for any reason other than their safety, you’ve got some serious issues, dude,” he retorted, staring directly into Daniel’s eyes. “They’re my step-sisters, they’re family, and as their step-brother, it falls on me to protect them when their dad isn’t around.” Christian put his glasses back on as the bartender returned, setting the last two drinks down on the counter in front of them.

Christian grabbed his drink and what he assumed was Emmy’s and started back towards the pool, leaving Daniel to collect the last two and follow behind him, albeit several steps.

Back in the pool, you had pulled the shade back over the double lounger and Emmy was now sitting in her lounge chair, the two of you chatting about something but Christian couldn’t be bothered to listen to whatever it was as he handed Emmy her drink before taking his seat. 

Daniel returned seconds after him, handing you your drink which you thanked him for and set the drink on the small table beside your chair as he sat down beside you. Christian didn’t look your way again as Daniel sat beside you, lounging and resting from swimming. 

An hour passed while you relaxed by the poolside, reapplying your sunscreen with Daniel’s help before you decided to finally take a dip. Emmy said she would join you in a minute and Christian seemed to be sleeping so you entered the pool on your own, enjoying the cool water as you swam around.

Since they got back from the bar, Daniel had been short with his answers to you and Christian was all but ignoring you so you weren’t sure exactly what happened but you were suspicious something had happened and they exchanged words.

As you swam around, enjoying the water, Emmy finally got up and joined you. While you played around in the pool the guys stayed glued to their chairs. Emmy kept you entertained with her weird antics. She could tell something was off with the way Daniel and your step-brother were acting.

“You think maybe they argued at the bar?” Emmy asked as she slowly circled you, pretending to be a crab, complete with crab hands and sideways walk. You shrugged as you let her circle you, glancing over to the side of the pool where your boyfriend and step-brother were sitting.

“Maybe Daniel thought Christian was being inappropriate with you again,” Emmy joked and you groaned, rolling your eyes. “He told you about that?” you asked, referring to your step-brother. Emmy nodded. “Which is ridiculous. Does Daniel know how Christian used to treat you? When we were kids?”

You shook your head. “I don’t know. I might have mentioned it,” you answered. “But I don’t know if he remembers.” Emmy snorted. “Well I sure do,” she replied. “He was awful to you.”

You remembered it in great detail. When your dad and Kate first got married, you and Christian did not get along. You hated one another. Christian picked on you, teasing and bullying you until you cried sometimes. You took to hiding from him the worse it got.

All throughout middle and high school, Christian was awful to you and then when he came back from college, it was like he finally grew up and was no longer mean to you. Whatever college did to him, it worked and he came back a different person.

Your eyes were drawn away from your step-brother as Daniel got up, his phone in his hand. He walked towards the edge of the pool and you swam over to meet him, breaking Emmy’s crab circle. As you reached the side where Daniel stood, he knelt down.

“Work is calling,” he said softly. “I’m gonna answer this and see what they want,” he added. You nodded and smiled as he stood up and swiped his thumb across the screen to answer the call while you pushed off the side of the pool and drifted back towards Emmy.

“What was that?” she asked when you finally reached her, stopping so Emmy could resume her crustacean activities. “Work,” you answered, eyes following your boyfriend as he walked towards the gate and stepped outside, letting the black iron fall back into place.

Your eyes soon wandered over to Christian who was still lounging but he had his phone in his hand and was scrolling through it as well. You wondered what he was looking at when a splash of pool water hit your back. You turned to find Emmy smiling at you mischievously.

You grinned and started to chase her through the water, pretending to be a shark as she giggled and swam away, letting out a small shriek every time you got close to catching her. Christian’s eyes were no longer on his phone but instead watching the two of you play until Emmy ducked under the bridge that crossed over the pool to the island, conceding her defeat. 

You laughed and turned away, noticing Daniel still wasn’t back and that Christian’s eyes seemed to be on you. His head was turned in your direction but his eyes were masked by those dark sunglasses. As you stared at him, seemingly caught in his gaze, you noticed the sun was no longer shining down on.

Glancing up, you saw clouds had started to roll in. Dark gray clouds. You turned to Emmy who was now behind you, also looking up. “We should probably get out of the pool,” you said simply and she nodded, following you to the steps. The last thing you wanted was to end up electrocuted on your family vacation.

Christian had been relaxing, almost asleep until he heard a shriek and opened his eyes. It wasn’t of fear but of play and he noticed how you were slowly swimming behind Emmy as she tried to get away. He couldn’t help the smile that formed as he watched you, a clear playful expression on your face as you swam after your younger sister.

He was accustomed to the playful antics between the two of you. Even when you were younger. You always made sure to include your sister in your play. The two of you had always been super close. Christian on the other hand had grown up an only child. He never had a sibling to share those kind of childhood memories like you had.

He was not above admitting that he used to be jealous and that was probably part of why he used to bully you so badly. He wasn’t entirely sure what drove him to bully and tease you relentlessly but as he got older and you did, he started to realize that he was attracted to you and as a result, he took the frustration of this realization out on you. In his mind, if he hurt you enough, when you moved out, you might never want to see or speak to him again.

He also knew he could never be as close to you as you were to Emmy. It was just not possible.

But as he got older and saw you mature and start dating and seeing other boys, he knew that no contact was the last thing he wanted. He wanted you in his life, even if he had to suffer because of it.

He wasn’t going to let you slip away, especially since he couldn’t have you in the way he wanted. He would settle for being in your life as your step-brother. Life was a circus and he, its clown.

Christian was drawn from his thoughts when he noticed you staring at him and it was then he realized he’d been staring at you this whole time. He knew you probably couldn’t see his eyes from where you were but he was certain you could feel his gaze on you.

Instead of looking away as he had in the past, he decided to be bold and hold your gaze, feeling heat rising and his heart starting to pound in his chest. The only relief from his symptoms came when you looked away as light from the sun started to dim.

Christian sat up, removing his sunglasses to see that dark rain clouds had rolled in, blocking out the sun. He started to get up but his movements were halted as he watched you and Emmy get out of the pool. Emmy took the stairs but you had instead moved to the side of the pool, opting to push yourself up onto the side of the pool.

Christian’s attention was captured as the water rolled off your body, your wet bikini now sticking to you, clinging to your skin as if that was the only way it would stay put. As you passed in front of him, thighs jiggling with each hurried step, he noticed the way your swimsuit clung to everything.

His gaze landed on your chest, enraptured by your pert nipples now visible through the wet material of your bikini top. He tore his gaze away as you grabbed your towel and started to hastily dry yourself off. Other pool attendees had started to pack up, sensing the impending storm.

Christian threw his things back into his bag as Emmy pulled on her overshirt and you wrapped the pink cover around your waist. You grabbed yours and Daniels towels, hastily shoving them into your bag and slipped on your sandals. The three of you made your way out of the pool area as the wind picked up. Christian wasn’t sure were your boyfriend had gone but seeing as he wasn’t anywhere nearby, he assumed Daniel had gone back to the villa you two shared.

The trees around them swayed in the wind as the once gentle breeze turned violent. Christian stopped to let Emmy and you go ahead of him, making sure he didn’t lose either of you. The path back to the villas was short and both branches and leaves were dropping off the trees left and right as the wind picked up even more.

Christian made sure Emmy made it into her villa before following you to your gate. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, deep thunder rumbling in the distance as a particularly harsh wind swept through, knocking your bag out of your hands.

You scrambled to grab your things but Christian was faster. He scooped your things up, telling you to open the gate. You did so with the keycard and instead of letting you take your things, he gently nudged you into the fenced in garden as the sky opened up and rain started to pelt the ground and buildings.

You led the way to the villa and opened the door, letting Christian in behind you. Christian set your things on one of the couches while you searched the small villa for any sign of your boyfriend. “Daniel!” you called, opening the door to the outdoor bathroom area.

Christian watched as you came back in. “He’s not here,” you mumbled, looking around. Just as Christian opened his mouth to say that maybe Daniel had taken shelter somewhere else, your phone rang from your bag and you rushed to collect it, swiping your thumb across the screen and bringing the device to your ear.

A look of relief washed over you as no doubt it was Daniel on the other end. “Oh thank goodness. Just stay there until the rain’s done, yeah?” you said as you walked over, thumbnail in your teeth as you listened to whatever he had to say. “Yeah. I’m okay. I got our stuff and am back at the villa.” Christian looked away from your wet bikini clad body, moving over to the open sliding door to look out at the pouring rain.

It was coming down in sheets, rain pelting the small relaxing pool outside. Leaves and small branches from the nearby trees littered the garden. The sky had gone dark gray, blocking out most of the sun as lightning danced across the sky and thunder shook the ground.

Christian turned as you said goodbye and tossed your phone onto the bed with a sigh. “He’s at the lounge with our parents,” you explained as you walked over. Christian nodded wordlessly as he watched you approach him.

As you neared him, you became acutely aware of the fact that you were still in nothing more than a few triangular pieces of wet fabric and he, in nothing but a pair of swimming trunks. You didn’t have long to dwell on it as a particularly strong gust of wind blew the curtains that hung in front of the sliding door in.

You rushed to push them aside as Christian pulled the door shut. The motion put him in front of you with a solid wall behind you and your shirtless step-brother in front of you. Your brain was on the verge of short circuiting with the way Christian was looking down at you.

You could have sworn his eyes dipped down to look at your lips but it was so fast you couldn’t be sure it even happened. Your heart hammered in your chest as it seemed like Christian was inching closer. Or maybe you were inching closer? You couldn’t be sure when your eyes met his and it was like the world stopped. You’d never felt a pull like this before. Not even with Daniel.

When your lips were mere inches apart, you still weren’t sure who was moving and who wasn’t. Your breath stopped but just before anything happened, the shrill tone of Christian’s ringtone cut through the tension and he quickly backed away, fishing his phone out of his pocket and checking the screen. He sighed and answered it, turning away as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Yeah?” he said softly.

A sudden chill ran through you and you moved from the corner to grab something to cover yourself, pulling on a large overshirt while Christian’s back was turned. While he was occupied with his call, you turned away, panic rising in your chest. You almost kissed your step-brother.

You almost kissed your step-brother! As you tried to calm down, you heard Christian end his call. You turned to face him as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. “My mom,” he said softly. “She was checking to make sure I was okay.” You nodded, not needing an explanation.

Christian walked over to look out the glass door. The rain hadn’t let up. You slowly walked over to stand beside him, arms crossed over your chest. Neither one of you said anything as you watched the rain hit the ground, the pool, the pavement. The only sounds that could be heard was the rain on the roof and the deep rumbling thunder that grew louder as the heart of the storm drew nearer.

Christian finally broke the silence after what felt like minutes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. You turned to look at him. “For what?” you asked him. Christian turned to look at you. “For…” he trailed off. His eyes once again dipped to your lips before he turned to look away. “Never mind. Let’s just forget this.”

An odd feeling of disappointment washed over you at his words. That’s what you should do, right? You should forget this happened and prevent it from ever happening again. Why were you feeling disappointed? Christian was your step-brother and you were in a happy and committed relationship.

If so, then why was your heart sinking into your stomach?

When the rain finally subsided, Christian left your villa to return to his own and minutes later, Daniel returned, pulling you into a tight hug, kissing your forehead, cheeks, any part of your face he could reach. He had clearly been worried about you and you couldn’t help but feel guilty that all you could think about was the kiss you almost shared with your step-brother.

The storm blew itself out by morning which was good for your plans. Your family spent the morning at a place called the Gibbon Rehabilitation Project which was only a 25 minutes drive from the resort. It was a really unique and interesting experience to see the animals in their natural habitat and learn about the species and the efforts to protect them.

Afterwards, you had lunch back at the resort and relaxed in your villa with Daniel until it was time to go to the next adventure which was an axe throwing and archery place near Patong beach. The drive was nice, taking you through the mountains and forested areas of Phuket as you followed the highways and GPS. Part of the drive took you past Kamala beach and the area around it.

Upon arriving at your destination and parking, you stepped out of the car and waited for Daniel, slipping your hand into his. All day, Daniel had been more attentive, doting on you and sticking close to your side while Christian kept his distance.

Part of you was glad for the distance but what came with it was cold indifference, something you’d never experienced from him before. Dinner was a mostly quiet affair. You noticed that you weren’t the only quiet one as Christian was not engaging until his mother addressed him.

“You’re being awfully quiet,” she noted and Christian looked up, forcing a smile. “Just a little tired,” he said simply. “Well hopefully not too tired,” your dad said. “We’ve got reservations at the axe throwing place next door.” Christian forced a chuckle and shook his head. “Not too tired for that,” he said as he downed the rest of his beer.

After dinner, you headed to the axe throwing and archery range. Your dad had booked two of the stalls, both axe throwing. You’d never done this before and initially you were terrified of trying, afraid you might hurt yourself. After a drink, Daniel managed to nudge you to try it out.

Emmy was currently tearing it up in the stall next to you, throwing axe after axe and not only hitting her targets but getting the axes to stick. You allowed the instructor to show you how to stand and how to throw the axe, including the precise moment when to let go.

Your first few attempts were poor but on the fourth try, you got the axe to temporarily stick into the wood before it fell.

Emmy finished her turn, returning to the table where your dad and Daniel were engrossed in a deep conversation and Kate immediately congratulated Emmy for her performance.

Christian got into position next to you in the second stall and while you attempted to focus, he threw the axe perfectly. You watched as he threw another and then stepped into the area to collect the axes.

As he turned, his eyes met yours and you felt your heart skip a beat, cheeks burning under his gaze. He quickly looked away as he returned to the mark. You tried to focus on your own attempts but you just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it. After watching you struggle, Christian sighed, hanging his axes and climbing out of his stall and into yours.

“You’re too tense,” he said as he moved into the space behind you. You felt one of his hands on your waist and another on your shoulder. “Relax,” he said softly, almost directly into your ear. His hands then moved, placing them on the axe. “Hold it like this,” he continued. “Bring it back over your head like this,” he added before moving aside.

“Now deep breath in,” he said, his hand lingering on the small of your back. You inhaled sharply. “And exhale as you throw it.” You did as he said and brought your arms down, letting go of the axe. It spun through the air and while it didn’t hit the mark, it did hit with a loud whack, the blade sticking into the wood. You turned to look at him as Kate and your sister clapped enthusiastically from behind you.

��See?” Christian said, a lopsided grin on his face. His hand quickly lowered as he pulled away, accidentally brushing against your butt as he got out of your stall.

Daniel was still in deep conversation with your dad and your step-mom and Emmy were still cheering you on so clearly you were the only one who noticed. As you watched Christian enter his own stall again, he looked up, caught your eye and gave you a wink.

It was then that you knew he’d done it on purpose. ‘So much for forgetting it happened.’ 

When you returned to the villa, what you thought had been something no one else noticed became apparent that someone else had noticed. As soon as the glass door had shut, Daniel rounded on you, the anger on his face unmistakable.

“What the fuck was that?” he demanded, his voice raising with each word. You stared at him, like a deer caught in the headlights. “What was what?” you asked, feigning ignorance. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice what he did,” Daniel snapped as he advanced on you.

“That little stunt with the axes. Climbing into the stall to help you. The way he had his hands all over you,” he continued, narrowing his eyes. “I thought he was shameless but you? You liked it, didn’t you?” Your blood started to boil, heat and anger rising from the pit of your stomach.

“What?” you asked incredulously. “Admit it,” Daniel snapped. “You liked having his hands on you. It’s not like you did much to stop him.” You glared at your boyfriend, not believing the words coming out of his mouth. “How fucking dare you!” you hissed. “He was helping me!”

Daniel scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What, by having your ass all in his crotch?” he asked. You gaped at your boyfriend. “My ass didn’t even touch him!” you yelled back. “He was showing me how to throw the axe!” Daniel turned and stormed around the bed.

“Oh, because the instructors couldn’t do that,” he snapped. “The instructors were busy!” you retorted. “What is your fucking problem?” you snapped. Daniel glared at you, and for once in your entire relationship, you actually felt scared of him.

“My problem? I’m not the one who wants to fuck my step-sibling!”

You gasped, dumbstruck by his words. “What?” he asked. “Speechless? Did I catch your dirty little fantasy?” he asked angrily. You could feel tears welling up in your eyes and you shook your head.

“I’m not going to stand here and listen to this bullshit,” you said, walking over to the cabinet where you stored your things. Daniel watched as you collected your skincare items and grabbed some clothes and your pajamas.

“Where are you going?” he demanded as you headed for the door, phone and keycard in hand. You turned to face him. “I’m going to sleep in Emmy’s villa tonight. And until you can apologize, don’t talk to me,” you snapped, wrenching open the door and stepping out into the garden as Daniel raced after you.

“Y/N wait,” he called but you weren’t about to listen. Instead, you opened the gate and walked down the path to Emmy’s villa, pushing the button to ring the bell. She appeared moments later, opening the gate. The moment she saw you, the dam broke loose and you started crying.

Emmy ushered you inside and graciously allowed you to sleep with her that night. What you didn’t know was that Christian had been on a walk when the fight started and heard the entire thing. He made up his mind then and there that Daniel wasn’t good enough for you and if he had to purposely break you up, then so be it.

The following day, the moment between you and Christian at the axe throwing place hadn’t left your mind and the fight with Daniel had left you at odds with one another. The first event of the day was a canopy walkway tour at one of the ethical elephant sanctuaries on Phuket.

You’d dressed for the day opting for a pair of high waisted, cutoff jean shorts, a cropped black tank top, a white with black striped Japan baseball jersey and a black plain baseball cap with three rings in the bill. You wore comfortable chunky white sneakers with your outfit since it was a lot of walking.

The day was hot with lots of sun but the morning was plagued with overcast, blocking out most of the sun and making it a more pleasant day. Daniel hadn’t said a word to you since the fight and you weren’t going to be the first to break. You had nothing to say to him until he apologized.

Emmy, sympathetic to your plight, stayed by your side, keeping you company.

The tour was a fun and immersive experience, seeing the elephants up close but in a safe way that didn’t disrupt their natural activities. Many of them were curious about the presence of the people on the walkway but everyone was quiet and respectful.

You spent most of the time gushing softly over the baby elephants who were so tiny compared to their adult counterparts and had yet to grow into their large feet and equally large ears. They were so cute, chasing each other and the occasional butterfly that danced by.

Your dad wanted a photo of the family at some point and you were unfortunately squeezed in next to your boyfriend with Christian on the other side. “Can we talk?” you heard Daniel whisper in your ear. “Not now,” you murmured before smiling for the camera.

A passing patron stopped and asked your dad if he wanted one with the whole family and he said yes, moving to stand beside his wife with Emmy in front of them, Christian between you and Kate and then Daniel on your other side. Daniel’s arm was slung around your shoulders, the picture of casual but you could feel Christian’s hand on the small of your back.

It wasn’t light. He fully had his hand against your back and despite feeling comforted by this, you knew you needed to tell him to knock it off. His lingering touches, however innocent, were causing issues between you and your boyfriend.

After the picture was taken, you squirmed out of the way, linking your arm with Emmy’s and steering her away to look over the opposite edge of the canopy, pointing to the elephants on that side. You could feel two sets of eyes on you and knew that it was both your boyfriend and your step-brother but you weren’t about to turn around and look at either of them.

The rest of the tour passed by and afterwards was lunch and then the next activity which was ziplining which was fun and made you feel better, zipping through the rainforests and getting spectacular views of the ocean and mountains.

After ziplining you returned to the car to take it back to the resort. You and Emmy were sitting in the very back while Christian and Daniel had taken the middle seats. Christian was waiting behind you as Emmy got into the back. You felt his hand on your back again and turned to look up at him. “Stop it,” you snapped under your breath.

He looked shocked at your aggressive reaction. “I know you mean well but you can’t keep touching me like that. It’s causing problems with Daniel. So just… fucking knock it off.” Christian’s expressions soured and he pulled back, giving you space to get in the car without touching you again. As he got into his seat, he pulled the door shut, slamming it and rocking the SUV.

Either no one noticed or they just didn’t say anything because you were off back to the resort in no time.

Upon arriving back, you headed for your villa to collect some clothes. Daniel followed you in and stopped you as you tried to gather your suitcase. “Baby, just stop and listen. I’m trying to apologize!” he said as he grabbed both your hands and turned you to face him.

You stared up at him and waited. “I was an asshole,” he started. “I shouldn’t have said what I said and I was getting into my head about everything. I know you’d never look at Christian like that. I’ve just never seen a relationship like yours. It feels less like a brother and sister relationship,” he continued.

You sighed and nodded. “I know. Christian and I aren’t exactly traditional siblings. We never were. He used to bully me heavily. So right from the start, it was never a brotherly-sisterly bond. He was truly awful to me until he went to college. He seemed to mellow out after that,” you explained.

“It’s not a normal sibling bond because we bonded as adults, not kids. So it’s going to look different. Especially to someone without siblings,” you added, pointing out he was an only child so he didn’t really have anything to compare it to.

As promised, you stayed in the villa with Daniel that night. After dinner, and unable to sleep, you decided to take a walk. It wasn’t a long walk like you’d taken down to the beach and more of one around the resort area. As you were heading back, you caught sight of a familiar figure heading towards Christian’s villa accompanied by one you didn’t recognize.

As you got closer, you watched as Christian led a striking woman to the gate of his villa, unlocking it and gesturing for her to enter before following her in. You felt your stomach twist and an unexplainable and unfounded jealous rage built up inside you.

‘You have no right to be jealous,’ you told yourself. ‘He’s your step-brother. If he wants to fuck a random stranger, that’s his prerogative. It’s none of your business.’

You turned on your heel and headed back to your own villa, trying to put what you’d just seen out of your mind.

The next morning, you decided to put the events of the previous night out of your mind. After you went back to the villa and got back in bed, you replayed the moment over and over and tried to discern why you felt so… mad.

Christian was a grown man, capable of making his own choices. He was single, attractive, and exercising his free will. So what if he met another single guest and decided to have some fun?

What concern was it of yours?

As you mulled over it until you fell asleep you finally came to the only conclusion that made sense: you were jealous. Though you shouldn’t be. Why did you feel jealous? You had a boyfriend and not only that, Christian was your step-brother. Those were thoughts you could not, and should not, entertain.

The weather was supposed to hold out and in the morning your family decided on a trip to the nearby Nai Yang beach. You decided to wear one of your more covering bathing suits, a white leopard print one-piece with ruching on the sides.

As you packed your beach bag, Daniel stepped back into the villa and walked over, already dressed in a pair of dark blue swim shorts, white tank top with an open light blue short sleeve button down over it.

He rested his chin on your shoulder, arms wrapping around your waist as you double checked the items in your bag. “I like leopard print on you,” he murmured, pressing a short kiss to your shoulder.

“Yeah?” you asked as you tucked two neatly rolled towels into the bag before adding the other items like water bottles, sunscreen, sunglasses, and more.

“Mhmm,” Daniel replied, lightly swaying your bodies side to side. You gently removed his arms and sidestepped him to grab your black sheer kimono that hung up near the door to the bathroom area. Daniel sat on the edge of the bed as you retrieved your black sandals and went over the list of items again. “Baby,” Daniel started and you turned to look at him over your shoulder.

“Hmm?” you hummed. “Do we have to go to the beach with your family?” he asked, his tone gentle and cautious. “I know it’s a family vacation and all,” he continued, getting up as you turned fully to face him, a knowing smile on your face. “But we’ve barely spent any time together, just us,” he added.

“I understand,” you started, walking over to where he sat. He gently pulled you in by the waist, resting his chin against your abdomen as he looked up at you. With a smile, you combed your fingers through his hair. “We’ll have plenty of time to ourselves,” you reminded him. 

Daniel pouted but nodded all the same. You leaned down, pressing a kiss to his forehead before pulling away. “Come on,” you said as you grabbed the beach bag and walked over to the door, your black sandals in hand as your boyfriend reluctantly got up and followed, slipping on his own sandals at the door with you.

You had agreed to meet with your family at the beach rather than at the resort so you walked hand in hand with Daniel as you made your way to Nai Yang beach, following the paved path through the resort. Daniel took the lead, opening the gate so you could exit the villa area and walk down the sidewalk. As you walked, you admired the trees and other flora along the walk to the beach.

It was the same beach you’d taken a walk to the other night after your fight with Daniel but this time of the day it was much busier than it had been at sunset. Rows of families and couples lined the beach, some with umbrellas dug into the sand to provide shade so they could sit closer to the beach.

As you walked, you caught sight of your dad waving at you from the shade of a few trees. You led Daniel over, smiling as you reached them. “We grabbed this spot early,” your dad explained as you unloaded your bag. Your dad had managed to snag several chairs which he told you were from a local shop.

“So we don’t have to sit in the sand,” Kate said from her spot beside your dad. You smiled as Daniel picked the chair furthest from Christian, putting you between him and your sister with Christian on the end. As you unpacked your bag, handing Daniel his towel and a pair of sunglasses, you caught sight of Christian scrolling on his phone.

He hadn’t greeted you when you arrived and now he was blatantly ignoring you as you set up your space. As soon as you sat down, Emmy decided this was the perfect time to get into the water. Your dad and Kate decided to join her leaving you with your boyfriend and your step-brother.

The silence that fell over the three of you after their departure was awkward and the tension was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife. Christian seemed entirely unbothered as he tapped away on his screen and you wondered if he was texting the woman he brought back to his villa the night before.

A flame of jealous rage fanned inside the pit of your stomach but you quickly quenched it by reminding yourself that Christian was your step-brother and you were sitting next to your boyfriend. Glancing out of the corner of your eye, you could see Christian was wearing a simple black pair of swim shorts, a blank tank and his hair looked like it had been freshly washed and was void of any products.

You quickly looked away, leaning over to reach into the bag and grab your tube of sunscreen. Turning to Daniel, you offered him the tube which he took hesitantly. “Could you get my back?” you asked a little louder than necessary but Daniel said nothing, instead obliging your request.

As you turned your back towards your boyfriend, you could see Christian watching the exchange with a neutral expression. The moment you turned your gaze towards him however, he looked away, resuming his endless scrolling on his phone. Daniel finished and handed the tube back to you, declining your offer to get him, stating he just wanted to relax for a bit.

You slipped the tube back into your bag and got up, slipping off your sandals and fully removing your kimono to roll up and place into your bag. Once out of the chair, you made your way out of the shade, heading for where your dad, Kate, and Emmy were standing in the shallows.

Christian could barely keep his eyes to himself as you walked away, admiring the way the snow leopard print one piece hugged your curves from behind the safety of his dark sunglasses. As you neared the spot where your dad, Emmy, and his mom were gathered, Christian returned his gaze to his phone, but soon his eyes were wandering back to you as you joined your family.

He tried so hard not to look, he really did. He was supposed to be mad at you. Not that he didn’t blame you for snapping at him. His intentions had been anything but pure yesterday. He was actively trying to break you and your boyfriend up, knowing that Daniel was not the right fit for you. No one was.

No one but him.

His efforts hadn’t gone in vain since you spent most of yesterday away from Daniel and most of it with your sister. Daniel had said something hurtful and you’d slept in Emmy’s villa. The wedge between the two of you was pushing, forming a crack in the foundation of your relationship. All Christian had to do was keep chipping away at it and he knew Daniel would crumble and you’d be free.

Free to be his.

Christian knew it was wrong. He knew that he shouldn’t be savoring this. Breaking up a relationship was wrong on many levels but he was long past the point of caring. No one had to know he’d encouraged the break up. And no one would know.

An excited shriek pulled Christian out of his thoughts and he looked up from his phone, watching as you chased Emmy around with a piece of seaweed. An amused smile spread across his face as he watched, not noticing the way Daniel was looking from you to him and back.

“You’re staring again,” Daniel said, a hint of annoyance to his voice. Christian resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ‘Your girlfriend’s hot,’ he thought to himself. ‘Of course I’m gonna stare.’ He lifted his sunglasses as he turned his head in Daniel’s direction.

“You’re delusional,” Christian said plainly, catching the younger man off guard. “I heard a scream and looked up to find Y/N chasing Emmy with some seaweed. Am I not allowed to watch my family be silly now?” he asked, his tone a lot more hostile than before. Daniel glared at him. “Just admit you have the hots for my girlfriend!” Daniel snapped.

Christian narrowed his eyes. ‘I do,’ he thought to himself before shaking his head, letting out a dry laugh as he put his sunglasses back on. “Whatever man.” That seemed to set Daniel off further.

“Just fucking admit it,” he hissed and Christian let out an exasperated sigh, turning to look at the younger man as he pulled his sunglasses down to look at him over the rims.

“Is that what gets you off?” he asked suddenly. He watched the color drain from Daniel’s face. “What?” he asked. “Does the idea of me being attracted to my step-sister get you going? Is that why you’re pushing this so hard? Is this some weird fantasy you have?”

Daniel got up and Christian watched as he stormed over, kicking sand. “I’m not the fucking creep oggling my step-sister,” he snapped, making sure to keep his voice low so only they could hear. Christian scoffed, shaking his head as he looked down at his phone, not even bothering to answer Daniel’s remarks. 

This only served to further anger him and Daniel reacted violently, smacking the device out of his hand.

Christian glared up at Daniel standing over him. “That was rude,” he said monotonously. He tried to get up and retrieve it but Daniel quickly pushed him back into his seat. Christian could feel his blood boiling but kept his cool. Violence wasn’t going to solve this and he wasn’t going to be the one to throw the first punch but if Daniel did start throwing punches then Christian would for sure defend himself.

He tried once more to get up but again Daniel forcefully pushed him back into his seat. From where they were and the way Daniel was standing, Christian had a clear view of the beach and the spot where you were standing. He could see you watching from a distance. 

When Daniel had pushed him back down, you had started towards the pair and Christian knew he could play this to his advantage. What was said was between Christian and Daniel. No one else had heard them. From an outsider’s perspective, Daniel was the aggressor.

As you got closer, Christian tried once more to get up and as he expected, Daniel reacted the same as before, pushing him even harder that when Christian fell back into the chair, it very nearly tipped over.

“Daniel!” you called, witnessing the whole thing. You were still a good twenty feet from them and Christian tried one more time and when Daniel attempted to push him down, he was ready for him, immediately pushing him back, watching as Daniel stumbled in the sand just as you reached them. “Hey!” you snapped, moving to help steady your boyfriend.

“What is going on?” another voice said and Christian looked up to see your dad had followed while Kate and Emmy watched with worried looks from the shore. “Nothing,” Daniel started but Christian interjected. “Ask him what his problem is,” Christian stated, pointing at Daniel.

“He just started mouthing off, knocked my phone out of my hands, and each time I tried to get up to go get it, he kept pushing me back into my seat. So ask him what’s going on,” he continued. “I’m going back to the resort and until you can apologize and behave yourself, I’m staying in my villa.”

Christian moved to grab his phone from the sand, shaking and wiping it down before pocketing the device before grabbing his things, chair included, and started the trek back to the resort.

You turned, rounding on your boyfriend with an expression of confusion and anger and your father had an equally confused expression on his face.

“What is going on?” your dad asked. “I think that’s a good question,” you replied, looking expectantly at Daniel for an answer but he gave none, instead moving to sit down, crossing his arms over his chest like a sulking child.

You turned to your dad, looking for guidance but your dad was just as lost as you were. The rest of the day you spent by Daniel’s side, trying to get out of him what happened but he refused to answer you. As lunch rolled around, your family reconvened on the beach to eat some food Kate had packed into a picnic basket.

Afterwards, Emmy and Kate moved their chairs out into the sun to enjoy the warmth and the rays. Your dad opted to stay in the shade with you and Daniel who was now scrolling on his phone and not talking to you. With a sigh, you decided to head back, packing up your things. 

Daniel ignored all your attempts to speak to him. Your dad gave you an apologetic smile and asked you to check on Christian when you got back. You weren’t sure if it was the best idea but you said you’d try. The walk back to the resort was quiet as the sun started to sink behind the trees that separated the beach from the road.

Once you returned, you quickly cleaned the sand off your feet in the outdoor shower and stripped out of the swimsuit, leaving it to hang up and dry fully. You changed into the dress you planned to wear for the evening, a cute cream colored off the shoulder dress with a small red floral pattern all over it and a pair of beige wedge sandals with sparkly straps.

Once dressed, face washed and makeup applied, you decided to check on Christian, exiting the gate to your villa. There was no sign of your dad, Kate, Emmy, or Daniel as you walked around to the gate of the villa Christian was staying in. Once in front of the gate, you cleared your throat and pressed the buzzer.

After a moment and no answer, you tried again, hoping he would answer and not make you look like an idiot. After a few more moments and no answer, you were about to give up and just go back to your own villa when you heard the gate unlock and looked up at Christian appeared and the reason for his tardiness was revealed. 

He was wet from head to toe, water dripping from the ends of his hair, a thick white towel hung around his waist. You tried not to follow the droplets as they rolled down his bare chest and abdomen. “What?” he asked, sounding impatient. “My dad asked me to come check on you,” you said softly. Christian nodded, expecting you to say more.

“Is that it?” he asked. You shook your head, now desperate for him to not shut the gate and shut you out. “No,” you replied. Christian waited for you to continue speaking but sighed when you didn’t and stepped back. “Come in,” he said, gesturing for you to enter. You did and he let the gate shut behind you before leading the way back to the villa.

Inside, it was a little messier than yours, some of his dirty clothes were left in a pile near the door, a few empty food containers sat on the small table and some show was playing on the TV on low volume. On the bed were two outfits that he was probably debating between the two while he showered. You stood awkwardly by the open sliding door as he disappeared into the closet area, the door shutting behind him. You looked around, noticing the cabinet door open and moved towards it.

Was it wrong to snoop? Yes. Were you going to do it anyway? Also yes. As you neared it, you glanced over your shoulder before pulling the door back to peer inside where some of his accessories were including the very expensive watch your father had gifted him for his 30th birthday. 

As you pushed the door shut to the same position you’d found it in, you turned and your attention was caught by the small wastebasket that sat underneath. Taking a peek inside, your stomach churned and heat rose into your chest creeping up into your neck at the sight of a few ripped condom packets, clearly having been used. The green monster of jealousy reared its head but was interrupted as the closet door opened and Christian appeared in a pair of gray sweats, still shirtless as he dried his hair.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” you asked, internally cringing at the words that left your mouth. Christian stared blankly at you, stopping his motions of drying his hair. “I would fucking say so,” he snapped and you felt your heart sink. “Sorry,” you murmured. “I’ll just,” you trailed off as you started to head for the door. Before you could reach it, you felt a hand on your arm, gently pulling you to a stop.

“Stop,” he said softly. “I’m sorry,” he added. “That was really mean. You haven’t done anything wrong.” You nodded silently. “Hey,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He gently tugged your arm. “Look at me.” You kept your eyes on the floor as he turned you to face him. Christian tilted your head back with his knuckle, forcing you to meet his gaze.

Even after turning your gaze onto him, his hand didn’t move away, instead, he surprised you by tenderly cupping your cheek. “I’m sorry,” he continued and you felt him wipe under your eye and it was then you realized you had been crying. There were only a few tears but it was noticeable.

“What’s wrong?” Christian asked, eyes searching your face. “It’s n-nothing,” you stammered. “Did Daniel do something?” he asked, his grip on your arm tightening. It wasn’t in a hard or painful way but more in a protective one. You felt safe. Shaking your head, Christian’s grip loosened.

“No,” you finally said. “I thought you were mad at me,” you added, your voice small. Christian’s hand on your cheek moved, sliding down to the side of your neck. “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not mad at you. I don’t think I’ve ever really been mad at you,” he added.

Looking up, your eyes met and silence fell over the two of you. Neither one of you moved until Christian’s eyes quickly fell to your lips and then back up.

It was just like the other day after the pool and the storm blew in. The world around you seemed to slow down, a force beyond your comprehension pulling the two of you closer and closer, your lips inches apart. Your eyes fluttered shut and you could feel his breath on your skin. Just when you thought something might happen, Christian pulled away from you, turning to head over to the bed, leaving you standing there, your heart sinking once again.

“You should leave,” you heard him say softly. “I need to get dressed and your boyfriend is probably wondering where you are.” At the mention of Daniel, you glared at your step-brother’s back before turning and storming out of the villa. This was twice now he’d done this. Was it some sick game? Was he getting off on leaving you just on the edge and pulling away at the last second.

Did he enjoy making you look like some weirdo? That had to be the only explanation. It’s not like he had shown you anything to suggest otherwise. As you headed for the gate, you pushed it open, letting it slam behind you, hoping he heard it and that he knew you were upset with him. You felt like you kept getting the rug yanked out from under you and couldn’t find your footing because Christian was the one pulling the rug.

The next morning, Daniel was almost back to his usual self as you got ready for the day, dressing for hiking in the national park nearby. You chose a pair of light wash, high-waisted jeans, a black cropped tee with the words ‘LIVE LAUGH LOBOTOMY’ in red bold text across the front, a white cropped windbreaker jacket, and khaki hiking boots.

You packed some water, sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses, your hat, and a few snack bars into your small backpack. Daniel had dressed similarly to the first day on the island, khaki shorts, a plain white tee, boot socks and hiking boots, and a khaki bucket hat. 

Outside you met up with your family and made your way on foot to the entrance to the park, deciding to take a hike up the mountain to a very nice viewpoint.

Kate had packed another picnic which your dad carried on his back and Emmy was dressed for the hike as well in jeans, a lightweight jacket and hiking boots.

Christian appeared from his gate to join the group, wearing a pair of black athletic pants, black hiking boots, a plain gray tee, a lightweight jacket over his arm, and a dark gray baseball cap on his head.

The walk to the entrance to the park didn’t take long and as you reached the sign, you opened your bag to retrieve your hat, putting it on. Emmy glanced over, reading your hat and burst into laughter, prompting a chain reaction of everyone looking at you.

Your dad rolled his eyes, Kate shook her head, a smile on her face, and Christian looked as if he was trying not to laugh and the words that read ‘you can’t make a baby in the butt.’

You turned to look at your boyfriend who read the text and instead of finding it amusing, he instantly scowled and looked away. “Are you fucking serious right now?” he asked under his breath as your dad and Kate started leading the way but stopped when they noticed no one was following.

Emmy was watching yours and Daniel’s interaction like a hawk and she wasn’t the only one. Christian was also keeping a close eye on the two of you. “What?” you asked, looking at your boyfriend innocently. “First the shirt and now this?” he asked, nodding towards your hat. 

Your face fell as he glared at you. “God, you’re so fucking embarrassing,” he snapped and started forward on the trail, leaving you behind with Emmy and Christian who looked positively furious. “Hey,” Christian barked, drawing everyone’s attention. Daniel turned to look at him.

“That’s no way to talk to her,” Christian snapped, moving towards you. You watched as he took the hat off your head and replaced it with his own. “Problem solved,” Christian added as he adjusted your hat now on his head. “No need to be an asshole about it.”

Daniel said nothing, instead turning away and starting up the path. Your dad turned to follow while Kate gave you a sympathetic look before following your dad with Emmy starting up the path after them. You glanced over to your step-brother, meeting his gaze.

“You didn’t have to do that,” you murmured. “Do what?” he asked. “Stick up for you? It didn’t seem like anyone else was going to,” he continued. You shook your head. “No, I meant you didn’t have to swap hats with me,” you clarified. Christian stared at you for a moment before snorting.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” he replied. A silence fell between you as you both started to walk forward, following the footpath at a distance from your family. Your mind was swirling with questions. You had so many and weren’t entirely sure where to begin. You wanted to ask him what yesterday was about. You wanted to ask him about the day after you left the pool.

You wanted to ask him about the thoughts in his own head but instead you settled on a less loaded question. “Why did you stand up for me?” Your voice was quiet but Christian heard it all the same. He was silent for a moment, probably mulling over his response. “Because,” he started as the path turned and began to rise into a gradual incline. 

“It didn’t seem like anyone else was going to do it,” he continued. “Your sister just glared at him, your dad looked like he wanted to say something but probably didn’t want to overstep and my mom is just a general peacekeeper. I don’t care about overstepping,” he added. “If someone does something I think is wrong, I’m going to tell them off. I don’t care if he’s your boyfriend or not.”

You glanced at him as you continued to climb the path. “You deserve better,” Christian continued. “The way he spoke to you isn’t acceptable and you shouldn’t settle for some loser who doesn’t treat you with the utmost respect.” You felt a flutter in your stomach as he spoke. “You deserve to be treated like a queen,” Christian added as the path started to flatten out and you reached what looked to be a viewing area. “Don’t accept less than that.”

With that, Christian stalked forward to join your family, looking out through a break in the trees at the ocean below. Daniel stood off to the side, arms crossed over his chest and sulking like a child that had been reprimanded and you wondered if your dad had caught up to him and said something in private. As you walked over to peer over the protective fence, Christian’s words played over and over in your mind.

‘You deserve to be treated like a queen. Don’t accept less than that.’

The rest of the hike you spent time walking with Emmy and Kate. Christian kept his distance and Daniel followed behind you like a kicked puppy. When you reached the bottom of the path where you had originally entered, Christian returned your hat and you gave him his back but nothing else was said between you during the walk back to the resort.

The plan for that evening was dinner at a theater. Your dad had made reservations for the group

After resting, you changed into your outfit for dinner, a black long sleeve off the shoulder romper with white stripes and a pair of black heeled sandals with rhinestone covered straps.

Daniel chose not to attend, opting to stay behind at the villa while you went out to meet your family, speaking only to inform you of his intention to not go with you. Deciding a fight was not worth it, you only nodded to let him know you had heard him and left to meet up with your family.

Emmy had put on a cute short white dress, Kate had changed into a black jumpsuit, and your dad had dressed into something casual but nice as well. As you waited on Christian to arrive, you checked your phone and saw no new notifications. You put your phone away as Christian joined you, dressed in a pair of fitted black slacks and a long sleeve black button down.

He looked really good and you could see how the material of the shirt stretched over his muscles. Your eyes wandered down as he approached and just as quickly, you turned away. The theater was a 30 minute drive away which you spent in the middle seats with Emmy while Christian took the back.

Upon arriving, your dad pulled up to the valet and handed the keys over before joining his wife and leading the way into the building. Once inside the doors, the lobby was bright and inviting with an old time-y feel. Along the main wall once you entered were several old style ticket booths, none of them open and were merely for show.

The floor was an older ornamental style carpeting with damascus print. Following the crowd to the ticket scanners, your dad scanned all but one ticket and then you followed the crowd to a secondary lobby area where a large curved bar stood. All around you, the other patrons were dressed similarly, some even going above and beyond.

As you glanced around, you noticed several patrons were already carrying drinks and you were tempted to go grab one. After some internal debating, you decided to say fuck it and get one, excusing yourself to go get in line, unaware of the way Christian’s eyes followed your figure.

So far, Christian had kept his eyes to himself but now that he wasn’t in a car and out in the open, he couldn’t stop his eyes from following your every move. Daniel was nowhere in sight and while your dad, his mom, and Emmy were there, they clearly didn’t pay enough attention to Christian to notice his close attention to you.

He watched as you crossed the lobby to the bar, getting in line and he contemplated on joining you but decided against it. Instead he chose to look around, taking in the marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and large glass windows that looked out into the jungle.

The theater was located just outside of the main downtown area near Patong Beach and up in the mountains. Past the tops of the rainforest, Christian could see the sun setting at the horizon of the ocean, casting an orangish golden glow through the trees. He turned away from the windows to see you had reached the counter and were in the process of ordering.

The line had died down and Christian turned to your dad and his mom. “I’m gonna grab a drink, do you want anything?” he asked, getting their orders as well as one for Emmy before walking towards where you were standing. He walked up beside you just as another bartender turned to him.

“What can I get for you?” the bartender asked, wiping his hands on a towel hanging from his belt loop. “Can I get a dry martini, two bay breezes and a salted dog,” he said as he glanced behind the bartender at the glass shelves holding up various bottles of liquor.

The bartender got to work as your drink was set in front of you by another bartender. Christian watched as you pulled out your card but before you could hand it over, he called to the bartender who turned to look at him. “Add her’s to my tab,” he said. You glanced at him and rolled your eyes. “Do not,” you replied, holding out the card again for the bartender to take, which he did.

Christian watched as the bartender swiped the card and handed it back before giving you a pen and the card slip to sign. He watched as you signed before pulling out a few notes and setting them down on the slip, thanking him as you put your card away and picked up your drink.

Christian turned back as you walked away, not sparing him a second glance as the drinks he ordered were set on the counter and handed his own card over to pay. He tipped the bartender, put his wallet away and grabbed the drinks, carefully balancing two in one hand before turning to head back to where your family stood.

After a few moments, the doors to the theater opened and Christian followed as your dad made his way to the door, leading the group. The usher checked the tickets and beckoned your group to follow, leading you to your table. It was a table close to the middle with six chairs.

Christian’s mom took the seat closest to the railing with your dad next to her. Emmy sat next to the railing, across from Christian’s mom while you sat next to your dad at the end of the table and Christian sat next to Emmy, leaving the seat across from yours open. Where Daniel would have sat if he had joined.

A server came by, bringing water and skipped asking for drinks orders, instead asking if you wanted an appetizer. Christian glanced at the menu, eyes skimming over the appetizers. Your dad and his mom consulted each other and then the table and settled on an order of bruschetta and spinach artichoke dip. The server left to put the order in which gave everyone time to look over the menu and select their entrees.

Christian ended up selecting the steak to make things easy. He minded his business as everyone else placed their orders but the moment you spoke, it was like his senses were attuned to you and you only. “I’d like the Atlantic salmon but could I get some lemon cream sauce with that?” The server nodded and left to put in your orders. A calm silence fell over the table before your dad tried to stir up conversation.

Christian didn’t pay much attention as his focus was almost solely on you. Your phone was in your hand, checking the screen and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that you were hoping that your boyfriend would message you but judging by the look of annoyance on your face, Christian knew Daniel hadn’t messaged you yet.

The show started and all Christian could do was focus on you. Every time you shifted in your seat, his attention turned back towards you, watching you out of the corner of his eye. Every subtle movement caught his attention and by intermission, he had no idea what was going on. It was during intermission when dinner was served and when you decided to visit the bathroom.

Christian watched as you got up and walked away and out of sight. The server came by, taking your empty glass and replacing it with a new cocktail. One by one, the tables received their orders and when it was their table’s turn, Christian decided to get up and come find you. He made his way to the bathrooms, hoping you were on your way back.

As he got closer he saw no sign of you and upon reaching the bathrooms, he waited outside for a few minutes. He thankfully didn’t have to wait long as you came out and ran almost directly into him. Christian caught you, steadying you with a lighthearted chuckle.

His smile fell when he caught sight of your face and he suddenly knew what had taken so long. There were tears in your eyes, tear stains on your cheeks and your eyes were red. You had definitely been crying but for how long, he couldn’t be sure. “Sorry,” you murmured, trying to side step him but he wouldn’t let you, instead moving into the way to block you from going back.

“Did he say something else?” Christian asked, making you look up at him with your brows furrowed. “What?” you asked but Christian got back into it immediately. “Did your boyfriend say something else?” he asked, his tone more demanding. “Something stupid to make you cry,” he added.

You nodded your head slowly, clutching your phone in your hand. Christian looked down, spotting the device, unlocked in your hand, and grabbed it from your hand. You immediately tried to reach for it but he easily held you off as he opened your text with Daniel. “Give it back!” you whined, trying to reach for your phone but Christian was clearly much stronger than you were.

As he read the most recent texts, anger built up in his chest, bubbling up from his stomach and leaving a sour taste in his mouth. You finally were able to snatch your phone back as he froze, eyes locked on the place your phone had been in his hand only moments before. “That’s not okay,” you said as you locked the screen. Christian turned to face you.

The look of anger on your step brother’s face was unmistakable. He was livid. “Why are you still with him?” he demanded, his angry tone catching you off guard. “It’s none of your-” you started but he cut you off, advancing on you and forcing you to back up until your back met the wall. The hall was empty now with everyone back in their seats before the second part of the show started.

It was just you and Christian.

“None of my business?” he asked, finishing your sentence. “Your safety and happiness are absolutely my business,” he countered. “Daniel isn’t good for you,” he continued. Your eyes widened. “And how do you know what’s good for me and what isn’t?” you challenged, stomach fluttering at the way his eyes darkened. “Just trust me when I say that you deserve so much better than him,” he answered.

A silence fell between you that was neither uncomfortable nor comforting. It just was. Before you could say anything, Christian backed away. “The second part of the show is starting,” he said and as if on cue, the lights in the main theater started to dim. “We should get back.”

Without another word nor letting you say anything, Christian started back towards the theater with you reluctantly following him. You snuck back to your seat, finding a new drink and sat back down, glancing at Christian who had moved from the seat he was in before to the one across from you, leaving a space between him and Emmy.

Whatever his reasoning for doing so, you didn’t know and you were sure he wouldn’t tell you even if you asked. So deciding it wasn’t worth it to worry about it, you tried to focus on the show. You were able to follow a long for a while until you felt something against your leg. Glancing across from you, Christian was not looking in your direction but instead was looking at the stage, watching the performance.

You glanced under the table and noticed he’d stretched out his legs in your direction, one of which was pressed against the side of your calf. You glanced back up, hoping he’d see you out of the corner of his eye but he didn’t flinch, not even when you nudged his leg with yours. He stayed fixated on the show. You sighed and leaned back in your chair, arms crossed over your chest and turned your head towards the stage.

It was then you felt him gently nudge your leg and turned your head back towards him. His eyes were still on the stage but there was a small smirk on his face. You nudged him back and he immediately nudged you, the smirk on his face growing slightly. You slid your foot out of your shoe and nudged his knee with your toes, pulling back quickly when you saw his hand disappear under the table.

He kept his eyes trained on the stage but he was ready. The fact that he wasn’t looking put him at a disadvantage and you nudged him quickly, pulling back once more. Christian’s smirk grew still and you tempted fate, going to nudge him again but this time you weren’t fast enough in pulling away and he grabbed your ankle. You bit your lip, holding back the urge to shriek.

Christian’s grip on your ankle was tight and you were unable to pull yourself free. He tugged you towards him, making you slide down in your chair and you shot him a warning look but he wasn’t looking at you. Glancing around, you wondered if anyone was watching but everyone seemed to have their attention focused on the show.

You tried to pull away but Christian kept a tight hold on you, even going so far as to gently pull you again. “Christian,” you whispered, struggling to keep yourself seated. He was holding back a laugh but kept a hold of your ankle. Just when you were about to fall, he let go of you and you quickly pulled yourself up, pretending as if nothing had happened and glaring at Christian.

The show went on and when it finally ended, dessert was served. You hadn’t ordered anything but Emmy had ordered some kind of cheesecake, your dad and Kate were splitting something that looked like custard and Christian had ordered a drink. As he took a sip, you watched him.

“What is that?” you asked, drawing his attention. “Black Russian,” he answered. You stared at the glass in his hands. “What’s in it?” you asked. He pushed the drink towards you and you picked it up, sniffing it before taking a sip. You recoiled as you set it down. It was both bitter and strong.

“Coffee Liqueur and vodka,” Christian answered as you cringed, a chuckle leaving his lips. “It’s not that bad,” he said as you shook your head, pushing the glass back towards him. “Blech!” you whined, making him laugh as he took the glass back. “Emmy,” you said, turning towards your sister who looked up at the mention of her name. “Give me a bite of that. His drink is disgusting!”

After dessert was finished and the bill paid, your party left the theater, getting back into the car at the valet pickup and heading back to the resort with Emmy in one of the middle seats while you and Christian sat in the back. In the car, your dad and Kate dominated the conversation with details about the show but you tuned it out, staring outside the window at the dark scenery.

Emmy joined in the conversation eagerly, talking about her favorite parts while you and your step-brother sat quietly in the very backseat. As you stared outside, you felt a hand on your knee and turned to look at it, finding a tattooed hand resting on your knee. You turned to look at him, finding him looking straight ahead. Upon feeling your eyes on him, Christian turned to look at you.

“You’re bouncing your leg,” he said so softly so only you could hear him. “It’s very distracting.” You rolled your eyes, leaning back in your seat, turning your head to look back out the window and expecting him to remove his hand. Only he didn’t. His hand remained on your knee, heat radiating from where he touched you and throughout your body.

You were sure it was the alcohol but the heat started to pool in your belly and you closed your legs, hoping Christian would remove his hand then but he didn’t. Instead, he decided to test the waters, his hand sliding up to the middle of your thigh.

Startled, you turned to look at him with wide eyes and found his eyes already on your face. He held your gaze, his stare sending chills down your spine and fanning the flame in your stomach. ‘It’s the alcohol,’ you told yourself. ‘It has to be.’ When you didn’t move, Christian took that as permission to keep going, moving his hand further still up towards the hem of your romper.

The space between your thighs was starting to grow hot, arousal pooling in your panties as he held your gaze and his hand moved dangerously close to a place it should not be anywhere near. His eyes dipped down to your lips briefly but now you weren’t alone. You were with family and your dad could easily glance in the rearview mirror and see what was happening. Emmy could turn her head and see exactly what was going on between her older sister and older step-brother.

It was far too risky and too dangerous to even try anything here. But in the dark of the backseat, Christian’s hand was all but invisible. His hand slid between your thighs and your breath hitched. He paused, waiting to see if anyone noticed and when they didn’t he continued, squeezing the plush of your inner thigh, fingers dangerously close to your hot, aching core.

Your lips parted slightly as you stared at him, not daring to look away. His hand slid up further, finally making contact with your clothed covered cunt and you had to bite your lip to keep from making a sound, a moan catching in the back of your throat. The moment he made contact, Christian’s fingers went to work, pressing against the wetness that started to seep through your panties and romper.

Neither one of you said anything as he slowly started to work his fingers, massaging against you through the fabric. Your eyes fluttered shut, head falling forward onto his shoulder as his hand moved, fingers slipping under your romper and panties with ease. You bit back the urge to moan, teeth sinking into your bottom lip as you felt his fingers slide between your folds slick with arousal.

You rested your head against his shoulder, your mind hazy and cloudy because of the alcohol but also because of the pleasure. A mewl nearly slipped from your lips as you felt his fingers slip into your needy cunt, filling the space as best they could. A jolt of electricity shot through your body as he sank his fingers as deep as he could from that angle inside your velvety walls.

“Stay quiet,” he murmured in your ear, his breath hot against your skin. “Spread your legs for me.”

You did as he said, widening the space between your knees. You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth, burying your face in his shoulder as he started to pump his fingers in and out of you. “That’s it,” he muttered. “Stay quiet, baby.” A whine sounded from the back of your throat but no one else seemed to notice. Christian picked up the pace, his fingers moving faster.

“You close?” he whispered in your ear and you nodded in response. “Good,” he breathed. “Let go, baby. Let go and cum for me.” Your body slumped over, thighs squeezing around his hand as your legs shook and you came silently, falling apart under his touch.

As you were coming down from your high, the car came to a sudden halt and you quickly snapped upright, Christian’s hand disappearing from between your legs.

The car engine shut off and you glanced over at Christian, the realization of what just happened and what you’d done hitting you at once and the moment the doors unlocked and the lights came on, you were out of the SUV and heading for your villa for the night.

©️ kwanisms 2018 - 2025 | all written and artistic works on this blog are protected under copyright. reposts, continuations, and translations of my works are not permitted. All graphics made by me.

[firefly-suite]

the way 'leola's fall' and 'leola's last wish' are two pieces about the same moment and are so very different

like the absolute contrast between retelling this moment in season six and seven respectively absolutely sends me because not once do we actually see anything from leola's perspective UNTIL her last wish is revealed and then when we do it's beautiful

and you can hear this in the music

so, 'leola's last wish' is, by name, about her last wish

I wish that even in the dark Sad Afraid Alone that every child should know… You Are Loved

and it's this beautiful lyrical melody (that makes me cry every time i listen to it)

this melody is new, we've never heard it before and it's a solo violin with strings because yes, she's alone but she is loved

(begging for arc three because if we don't get a callback to this I will cry - think about the potential, miyana to her children, rayllum with any future kids etc.)

the music reflects her wish, for in the end, her last moments were of her father reaching out to her, of her father who loved her, loves her even, and telling her so

and her, as a child, only wished the same for others

and it is beautiful and so so full of love

and the piece and scene itself is the last of season seven - revealing a secret barely mentioned beforehand, but it's interesting with aaravos' themes of truth and history - that he never had the full truth - as we've spent a season or so discovering his plans and motivations but despite it all, all he has said, truths and half truths are only his. for all he doesn't lie, he doesn't tell, doesn't even know the truth about her and that's what this piece is and it's just so GOOD the way it contrasts to aaravos' perspective and consequent themes

to leola, her death and wish is full of love; in the dark, her dad told her that he loved her and always would

but in 'leola's fall' it's dark and tragic and desperate because no matter what aaravos tries, leola is going to die

this is aaravos' perspective of her death - being punished for helping, for giving magic out of kindness - and when recalling this moment, he can't see past his grief and anger and then his 'wish' is to have the cosmic council and order suffer for his daughter's death

(side note, there is something to be said about how even in this 'court' aaravos doesn't seem to like the council much anyway, and frowns when they mention the cosmic order. also at the start of this scene you can hear bell tones, like in a funeral - leola's death is a tragedy to him, and due to his grief he can't celebrate how she lived and what she did, only mourn her death. what she did - giving magic to humans - only becomes an instrument upon which he can hurt the cosmic order by twisting what she did. corrupt over compromise, indeed.)

so the piece starts; dark, sad and tragic - the strings make me think of funeral music and is reminiscent of 'the last sunset' from season one:

both pieces are string heavy with the cello as the main melody, the cello which is played by three times on screen by corvus - one of those being 'a song of love and loss' - something that could reflect leola's last wish and death

but then around 2.00, you get this shift to something far darker and angrier and at the end of 'leola's fall' you hear aaravos' theme come back - 'i see you' from season two - solidifying this moment as the root of his motivation + plans against the cosmic council and order

this theme is on the piano, almost as a solo part and the instrumentation of this really contrasts the string section from earlier and then again, earlier from 'i see you'

the piece begins with love played by the cello, a tragic love, but love nonetheless. and then at the end when 'i see you' is heard again, this is the loss, now played on the piano

this is furthered later, on the cello this time, when in 'why are you doing this?' the piece that plays when aaravos tells claudia the full truth, remembering again leola's death and expanding on his hate against the cosmic council/order. in this the strings take a backseat on the melodies which are played with other solo instruments and voice, and to me, this shows that like claudia, aaravos insists that he's the same, that he's done all of this for leola and in her name but even when the strings come back, the cello plays the 'i see you' motif and with an even darker tone to it and now his motivations have gone past his love for her and it's now his hate for the council

but back to 'leola's fall',

the piece itself is of aaravos telling claudia about leola in an effort to further her into freeing him, starting with emphasis on how much he loves his daughter but by the end there are hints to something darker, no longer driven by love instead hate, but he doesn't tell claudia this - terry is right, that even in the music it starts off as a story of love and then became one of hate

the piece starts off with love and then by the end we have his solo theme showing him as alone (wHICH i think is really interesting and @raayllum made a really interesting meta yonks ago about tdp's antagonistic isolationism which is the coolest phrase i've ever heard -also this meta is super cool check it out!!)

in the music, we can hear how leola's death is the moment aaravos was left alone to become corrupted by grief and corrupt leola's gift of magic with his own and then twisting it into his mission to destroy/hurt the cosmic council and order

i think its a semi well established fact, or at the very least within the fandom, that leola gives humans primal/deep magic (me personal opinion is that she gives them deep magic and aaravos was developing primal magic idk lol aNYWAY) but aaravos gives them dark magic and then manipulates those mages to him by promising knowledge and wordly things that are pratically child's play to him

this is slightly more plot related than the score but as he says 'it's only fiting that I deliver their fear' - aaravos wants the cosmic order and council to suffer, notably not with the magic they were afraid of, to show to them leola didn't have to die because he could break the order himself

the contrast between the two made me think of that african proverb 'the child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth' and i feel like that's what 'leola's fall' is to 'leola's last wish' which is like the light in the dark

two sides of a coin: the sun-fire if you will

(also similar to stars)

frederik wiedmann when i catch you-

[nausicaamusiclover20]

Happy Valentine’s Day to those who are in a relationship and to those still searching for love. But in both cases, I love you all, my dearest ones. And hey, if love doesn’t find you today… there’s always chocolate❤

Warnings: smut, nsfw, sex themes, mature themes, jealousy, a bit of possessive behaviour, fluff in the end

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

☙Valentine's day☙

The roar of the crowd still echoed in my ears as James Hetfield and I stepped into the dimly lit bar. The scent of whiskey, smoke, and sweat clung to the air like a lingering ghost of the night’s concert. It was February 14th, but to me, it was just another evening of heavy drinks and heavier emotions.

James had always been more than a friend to me—an unspoken tension lingered between us like a song left unfinished. A touch that lingered too long, a glance that seared too deep. But neither of us had dared to cross that line. Not yet. But tonight… Tonight, there was something different in the air.

We sat at the bar, glasses filled with burning amber liquid, our laughter echoing through the hazy atmosphere. My heart clenched as I looked at him, his rugged face illuminated by the dim light, the faintest hint of sweat still on his brow from the stage.

Then, just when I thought this night couldn’t get any crueler, she appeared. A blonde groupie, dripping in confidence and arrogance, sauntered over like she owned the damn place and plopped herself right onto James’ lap.

“Jamie,” she purred, her fingers playing with a strand of her golden hair. “It’s Valentine’s Day. When are you gonna declare your love for me?”

I clenched my jaw, swirling the drink in my glass, feigning indifference. But my sarcasm slipped out before I could stop it. “Well, he never does,” I muttered dryly, taking a sip. “He only thinks about something else.”

James turned to look at me, his smirk flickering, his eyes unreadable. There was something there—something deeper, darker—but he said nothing.

Lars, ever the shit-stirrer, leaned toward me with a knowing smirk. “What’s with you? Jealous or something?”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Jealous? Please. Actually, I was thinking about heading out. Someone’s waiting for me.”

James’ fingers tightened around his glass, but he said nothing.

Lars let out a low chuckle. “Oh yeah? Who is he?” He leaned forward, intrigued. “Describe him. What’s he like?”

I smirked, playing into it, knowing exactly what I was doing. “Tall. Dark hair. Strong hands.” I let my fingers trail along the rim of my glass. “Knows exactly how to touch me.”

James exhaled sharply, his jaw ticking.

Lars grinned. “And in bed?”

I leaned back, savoring every second of the tension. “Man, he’s divine. No one fucks like him.”

The air grew heavy. James’ grip on his drink tightened, his knuckles going white. His jaw flexed as he slowly turned to face me, his stare burning into my skin.

I stood abruptly, grabbing my coat and walking out. The cold night air slapped me, a cruel contrast to the heat bubbling inside me. I barely made it a few steps before I heard rapid footsteps behind me.

“Y/N!”

I turned, my breath hitching as James stormed toward me, his face unreadable but his eyes dark and intense.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked, feigning surprise, though my pulse was hammering.

He stopped just inches away, his breath warm against the night’s chill. “Is it true?” His voice was low, rough. “You got someone waiting for you?”

I tilted my head, smirking. “Maybe.”

His eyes flashed with something dangerous. “Ah, yeah? I wanna meet him.” His voice dropped lower, sending a shiver down my spine. “He knows how to fuck well?”

I let out a sharp, sarcastic laugh. “Oh, absolutely. The guy’s practically a saint in the sheets. You should take notes.”

James’ expression darkened, his body going rigid. Before I could react, he grabbed me—strong arms lifting me off the ground as he threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.

“James, what the fuck?!” I shrieked, kicking against his hold as he strode toward his car.

“You’ll see,” he growled.

The drive to his place was silent but thick with tension. The moment we stepped inside, he was on me—his lips crashing against mine, hands gripping my waist with a possessive urgency that sent heat pooling between my legs.

“You wanna test me?” he growled against my lips, his teeth grazing my bottom lip before he sucked it into his mouth. “I’ll fucking show you.”

His hands gripped my hips as he backed me against the nearest wall. The world blurred as we stumbled through the house, knocking over furniture, bodies colliding in a desperate battle for dominance. My clothes were gone before I could blink, my skin burning under his rough touch.

“Tell me again,” he muttered darkly, his lips trailing down my throat, his teeth grazing my skin. “Tell me how fucking ‘divine’ he is.”

I gasped, my nails raking down his back. “Fuck you.”

His hand wrapped around my throat, tilting my head back. “Oh, sweetheart,” he growled, pressing his forehead to mine. “That’s exactly what you’re getting.”

 James’ hands roamed over my skin, fingers dancing along the fabric of my dress, teasing but not revealing, as if he were savoring every tantalizing moment. “Such a pretty dress, but it’s not gonna last long,” he murmured against my ear, his breath hot and heavy, sending shivers down my spine.

With one swift motion, he gripped the hem and yanked it over my head, tossing it aside as if it were nothing, leaving me standing there in nothing but my lace panties. “Damn, you’re beautiful,” he growled, his eyes dark with desire, drinking in the sight of me. But I saw that flicker of jealousy, the way his jaw clenched at the thought of me with someone else.

“That asshole doesn’t know a damn thing about you,” he spat, the intensity in his gaze igniting my own desire.

Before I could respond, his hands were on me again, gripping my hips tightly as he guided me to the couch. “Get comfortable,” he commanded, his tone brooking no argument. I sank down onto the plush cushions, my heart racing as he knelt before me.

James lowered himself, his mouth inches from my core. “Let’s see how well he knows you,” he teased huskily, trailing his fingers along my thighs, drawing closer to that burning heat between my legs. I gasped, arching my back in anticipation.

“James,” I whimpered, urgency flooding my voice.

“Hush, sweetheart,” he replied with a wicked smirk. “I want to hear you, not speak.” He lowered his mouth, lips brushing against my panties, teasing the fabric as my body responded instinctively. “Tell me, is he better than me?” he taunted, his eyes glinting with possessiveness.

I hesitated, wanting to tease him just a bit longer. “Maybe… if that’s what you want to believe,” I replied, a playful lilt in my voice.

His breath hitched, a low growl escaping him as he pressed his mouth harder against me. “You’re playing with fire, beautiful,” he warned, his fingers gripping my thighs like a vice.

When he finally pulled those lace panties aside, my breath hitched in my throat. His tongue flicked out, teasingly slow at first, before plunging deep, igniting a fire within me. I moaned loudly, arching my hips as I dug my fingers into the couch, gripping the fabric to keep myself grounded.

“James, please… don’t stop,” I begged, my voice thick with need.

He groaned against me, the vibration sending shockwaves through my body. “You taste fucking addictive,” he murmured, mouth moving hungrily. “But I want to hear you say it. Tell me how good I make you feel.”

I bit my lip, feeling the tension building. “You feel amazing,” I breathed, my voice shaky. “So much better than I ever imagined.”

“Better than him, right?” he pressed, a wicked grin stretching across his face.

“Maybe…” I teased, confidence surging through me.

His eyes darkened further, primal need taking over. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re about to find out what ‘better’ really means,” he growled, his fingers working my clit in perfect rhythm. “I bet he never got you this worked up.”

I was nearing the edge, the pleasure overwhelming. “James… I need—”

“Need what?” he teased, leaning closer to me, his breath warm against my core.

“Just… don’t stop.”

“Good girl,” he praised, his tone sultry as he drove me to the brink. When I finally fell apart, my body quaking with pleasure, I cried out, “James!” waves of ecstasy washing over me.

His satisfaction was palpable as he climbed over me, body pressing against mine. “That’s just the start,” he whispered, his fingers tangling in my hair, tilting my head back to claim my mouth.

The kiss was hungry, desperate—filled with all the pent-up emotions we had danced around for so long. As he stripped off the remains of his clothes, I swallowed hard, taking in the sight of him.

“Now, let’s see what else you’ve been missing,” he said, pinning me against the couch again, breathless laughter accompanying his possessiveness.

“Are you ready for me?” he growled, eyes darkening with need.

“James, I—”

“Just say yes, and I’ll take care of the rest,” he interrupted, his voice low and commanding.

“Yes,” I breathed, feeling the heat pool between my legs again.

With a swift movement, he entered me, filling me completely. I gasped, clenching around him as he began to thrust, each movement pushing me closer to the edge once again. “You feel so damn good,” he groaned, eyes locked on mine as he continued to move, each thrust deliberate and deep.

“I’m gonna fuck you so good,” he hissed, punctuating each word with a forceful thrust, possessive and hungry. “Better than what you had before.”

“I—oh god, yes, James!” I cried out, my moans mixing with the sounds of his thrusts. I couldn’t manage anything more than gasps—the pleasure overwhelming, my world reduced to the sensations of him moving inside me.

As James thrust deeper inside me, his breath came in ragged gasps. “Does my cock feel better than his?” he growled, a smirk curling at the corners of his lips.

I didn’t answer, lost in the overwhelming pleasure as he drove deeper, his hips slamming against me, pushing my body to the edge.

“Can you take it all?” he demanded, thrusting harder, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room.

Still, I only gasped, my body writhing in response to the sheer ecstasy of his movements.

“Do I fuck you better than he ever did?” he pressed, increasing the speed and intensity of his thrusts, each one sending shockwaves through me.

I met his intense gaze, heart racing, but I couldn’t find my voice, even as the pleasure surged within me.

“Tell me! Are you forgetting him?” he growled, thrusting even harder, causing my body to respond instinctively to the force of his movements.

Finally, I felt the pressure building to an unbearable peak, and I gasped out, “James!”

He paused, a flicker of triumph in his eyes, and then he pushed into me with an unforgiving thrust. “That’s right, scream my name. You’re mine tonight” he demanded, a wicked grin on his lips as he leaned close.

“James!” I cried out, feeling the tension coiling tighter within me.

“Good girl,” he praised, his voice low and sultry. “That’s it. Let go for me. Let me hear just how good I fuck you.”

With a few more powerful thrusts, that coil unraveled, sending me spiraling into ecstasy once again. I could feel him right there with me, his own pleasure peaking as I clenched around him, pulling him deeper.

“Y/N!” he roared, his hips slamming against me one last time before he stilled, a growl escaping his lips.

The aftermath of our reckless, feverish passion wrapped around me like a heavy blanket. My heartbeat gradually slowed to match the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. His head rested on me, his hair damp against my skin, and his arm lay draped possessively across my waist. His fingers, rough and calloused, traced lazy circles against my ribs, grounding me in the reality of what just happened.

I ran my fingers through his hair, savoring the quiet intimacy. It felt surreal—James, my unresolved tension for so long,  and now he’s lying here with me like we’d broken through some invisible barrier we’d pretended didn’t exist. I didn’t want to think about what came next. I just wanted to stay like this forever.

But, of course, James had to break the silence.

“So…” he muttered, voice rough and low. “You never answered me.”

I tilted my head to look down at him. His chin rested on my chest now, eyes glinting with something unreadable. “Answered what?” I asked, feigning innocence.

He raised an eyebrow. “The guy.”

My lips twitched. Oh, I was going to have fun with this. I gave a nonchalant shrug, letting my fingers slip through his hair. “Ah, yeah. Him.” I bit my lip and let my eyes go unfocused like I was lost in thought. “Mmm… yeah, he’s pretty unforgettable.”

James froze. His fingers stopped their lazy tracing, his entire body going rigid against mine. His jaw flexed, his eyes darkening as he pushed himself up onto one elbow. The weight of his stare pinned me beneath him.

“Is that true?” he asked softly. His thumb brushed along my cheek, the touch gentle even though the intensity of his gaze made my stomach flip. “You really got someone waiting for you?”

The jealousy in his eyes was almost palpable, but I wasn’t ready to give in yet. I raised an eyebrow, lips curving into a wicked grin. “Maybe.”

His nostrils flared slightly. His thumb drifted down, tracing the curve of my jaw. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath. He looked away for a moment, jaw tight, before his eyes met mine again. The vulnerability in that look hit me like a punch to the gut.

“That shit killed me, you know,” he admitted. His voice was rougher now, the teasing bravado completely gone. “Hearing you talk like that. Thinking there might be some other guy… someone who gets to touch you like this. Someone who…” He hesitated, his thumb ghosting over my lips. “Who gets to have you.”

My heart squeezed. I opened my mouth to respond, but the words caught in my throat.

James let out a humorless laugh, his eyes dropping to my lips. “I’ve had women throwing themselves at me for years. Groupies who don’t know a damn thing about me beyond the stage.” His lips twisted into a grim smile. “And yeah, I could’ve had any of ‘em. But I didn’t.”

I swallowed hard. “Why not?”

He inhaled slowly, his eyes meeting mine again. “Because the one I ever wanted is you”

The air left my lungs in a rush. My pulse raced, my skin prickling as his words settled in. Holy shit.

Before I could respond, James pushed himself off the bed. I sat up, holding the sheet to my chest as I watched him stride naked across the room. He disappeared into the hallway, leaving me there, heart racing and mind spinning.

What the hell was he doing?

I was still catching my breath when he returned a minute later, his large hand clutching something. As he stepped into the warm glow of the bedside lamp, I saw it clearly: a single red rose with a black string tied around its stem. Attached to the string was a small folded note.

My lips parted in surprise as he held it out to me. His fingers flexed slightly when I took it.

“I was gonna give this to you earlier,” he said, voice low and rough. “Before the whole ‘I got a guy waiting for me’ thing.” His mouth quivered in a half-smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Guess I chickened out.”

I unfolded the note with trembling fingers, my heart threatening to crack my ribcage.

Will you be my Valentine?

I stared at the words, my vision blurring with the tears that sprang up uninvited. My lips parted, but I couldn’t speak. The simplicity of it, the rawness… it shattered me in the best way.

James shifted on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “You don’t have to say anything,” he said quickly. “I just… I needed you to know. I’ve felt this way for a long time.”

I let the rose fall to the bed and surged forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him down to me. My lips crashed into his, pouring everything I couldn’t say into that kiss. His arms came around me instantly, crushing me against his chest as he kissed me back with the same desperate hunger.

When we finally broke apart, I cupped his face, smiling through the tears. “Yes,” I whispered. “I’ll be your Valentine.”

James exhaled shakily, his forehead resting against mine. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I smiled. “Always.”

He groaned softly, pulling me into his lap. His lips brushed against mine, softer this time. Slower. Like he was savoring the taste of the answer he’d wanted all along.

But I couldn’t resist one last poke. I ran my fingers through his hair and tilted my head. “Although, I gotta say… the other guy might be jealous.”

James froze mid-kiss and leaned back, eyes narrowing. “The fuck?”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

His jaw clenched, and that dark possessiveness returned, his hands gripping my waist. “Y/N…”

I couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. I let my head fall back as it spilled out, echoing through the room. When I looked at him again, his mouth was a tight line, but his eyes were soft.

“You’re cute when you’re jealous, Hetfield,” I teased, running my fingers along his stubbled jaw.

“Yeah? Keep laughing, sweetheart,” he growled, a smirk finally breaking through. “But you’re mine now. And if that imaginary asshole ever shows up…”

“Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do?”

His lips brushed my ear, voice a low, delicious growl. “I’ll remind him exactly who you belong to”

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

[writingforatwistedworld]

oooo ok ok ok

so what bout a platonic deuce, epel, and lilia with a gn reader that kinda talks out loud to themselves when they play?

like they say how much they want to be this character's brother, or how they bet this character would be a good parental figure, etc. or even when another character says/does something they don't like they kinda just, voice their opinion on it?

just their reaction to reader talking out loud/voicing their thoughts lmao srry if this doesn't make sense

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, violence, description of violence, obsessive themes, religion, war (if you squint)

Deuce Spade/Epel Felmier/Lilia Vanrouge-Player voicing their thoughts whilst playing (PLATONIC!)

Deuce is a calm guy, they said. Deuce is a chill guy, they said

Well whoever they are haven't seen him when you are around, behind the screen or not

This guy is just happy that you confide in him enough that you voice your thoughts to him

Don't mention that you are just on venting-you-thoughts mode when you play… Like seriously, don't.

He is always more than happy to listen whenever you are talking.

Could be about how much you like his newest card design but could also be about what you want for dinner. Idk? I would recommend something light like banana muffins with blueberries. It's very tasty. Trust me.

If you could see through the coding he would be like “Oh really.” and “You don't say.” or “What? Really?”

What I am trying to say is that he is probably more engaged in this “conversation than most would be

If some poor NPC “interrupts” (aka not heating what he is hearing and starting to talk) he will show them how fragile the ordinary human nose is. In other words, fist meet face. Nose make crack. NPC is screaming.

But on another note, should you voice wishing to be a family member of his, say for example his sibling, he would be over the moon

He is in lalaland, imagining how he and his younger siblings would enjoy their free time together. Heck, probably taking care of some chicks

Oh, and what if you were his older sibling? Like, wow, you would be such a cool role model! You probably wouldn't be a thug like him so that makes you even… cooler (?) in his eyes

Dude over here is having such a great time imagining being your sibling he is low-key looking like he ascended

But then he starts to imagine the darker sides of life

Like how his younger sibling could be bullied in school whilst he is stuck on this island

Or even worse if you are the older one of you two, you might start dating!

I don't know if it is funny or sad that he is feeling a sensation of loss over a sibling he never had

Like bro, chill. Don't beat up that student that looks similar to the imaginary partner you just made up in your mind. They can't be held accountable for your min-OH NO DON… Didn't he want to stop with this?

Epel is literally frothing at his mouth when he hears your innermost thoughts

Now now, I know this is creepy (like wtf get yourself together man) but I promise he is totally normal (who am I kidding he looks like he has rabies) and is also a totally chill guy (is it obvious that I am lying?)

Religious indoctrination or whatnot

Imagine, you are already isolated in a village filled with religious zealots, always hearing how great that person (you) is

And then they spill everything on their mind to you

Give him a day or two and he will be back to normal… if we ignore that poor student in the corner

Like man, you noted one single time how much you liked this NPCs design and the next thing he knows he is seeing red

It's kinda like seeing your favorite family member favoring that one annoying cousin who is related to you over five corners

Has a notebook and writes everything he deems important down… which is a lot to be fair (but let the guy have his weird hobby, ok?)

But then you mention how you wish you were a family member of his and oh my god I think he is this close to breaking the fourth wall for real this time

This hits home to him

Remember how I told you about his village's eight lines higher than this one? Yeah.

There had been others his age but they were little to none and his village is in the middle of nowhere so…

But we also know how much he loves his grandma so it is a given that he would cherish you as well

Also, his god saying that they would want to be related to him. Ugh. He is honored so much that it is disgusting

But I could see this isolation and certain closeness you only get with a sibling also being not so good for you

What if you like the other villagers your age more than him? What if his girly appearance drives you away from him? (Bro u probably more dangerous with those looks than without them bc no one expects you to be able to throw hands but go on)

This leads to more and more self-doubts until he more or less bursts and just turns into someone no one wants to be around because of how aggressive he is

Thank god for the fourth wall or else you wouldn't see him like his old, not-so-destructive self anymore

Lilia is… something

His interest in you isn't purely romantic. It started out as something more like him holding onto something so he wouldn't go mad during “those days” *add fire noises and screaming in the background*

So it's more of a “I BETTER BELIEVE IN SOMETHING OR ELSE I MIGHT LOOSE MY MIND” than “Omg I am such a good follower te-he” situation

Little to no one has had access to the Overseer's thoughts and he is just randomly hearing them whilst thinking about what to make for dinner

Like Epel, he is pretty intense when it comes to you. Difference is that Epels “interest” in you stems from a place of… let's say religious views and Lilias from “those days” *fire noises and screaming in the background intensifies*

But unlike the guy who more or less shares his height and is a cotton candy version of himself concerning their hair he doesn't write down your thoughts

Oh no

This guy listens to it like he is hearing the world's greatest opera singer perform live in front of him

Thank goodness no one other than the other Diasomnia students mention your ramblings or else there would be heads flying

What? Can't a guy hope to have some special link to his deity? God, you all are so cold. Can't you even try to see his perspective? (I am joking please don't do what he does your reaction is totally valid)

But then you once mentioned how much you want to be part of his little family and whoops- there went his sanity

What if he had adopted you and Silver at the same time?

Wouldn't that be the cutest?

Sebek is almost screaming when he suddenly hears *ahem* LILIA-SAMA cooing at nothing out of nowhere

You two would be so cute growing up together and he would be the one honored to be this close to some kind of reincarnation of his God

But- but what if he was the only one knowing who you truly were? The other Faes (Malleus and Sebek being the exceptions) can't hear you so what if… what if you were also seen as some sort of weird outsider like Silver?

Don't get him wrong, the Faes have never shown hostility to his son but there was always that certain distance, Sebek and his family being one of the few accepting the young silver-haired knight as he was

Suddenly Lilia feels a certain kind of rage bubbling up to the surface like he hadn't felt in a long time

Silver… uh… you better hide that meatclea- *coughcough* I mean, legendary sword from your father

[tadpolesonalgae]

Two-Faced[***]

Dark!Rhys x reader

a/n: Honestly I’ve tried to edit this so many times I can no longer tell if I like it or not? Also this is a prequel to Desk Pet and goes along with that universe but can be read on its own 🧡💛

warnings: non-con, shadow play(?), bdsm themes, suggested breeding kink, smut, overstimulation, somnophilia, suggested dacryphilia(?), a little peak into Rhys’ mind at the end

word count: 8,875

-Desk Pet- -Play-Mate-

——————————————————————————————————————————————

You glance into the mirror, readjusting how the thin golden chain hangs around your neck, the small pendant sitting pretty between your breasts.

Easing in a deep breath, you check everything else is appropriately placed, nothing revealing too much skin, no fabric dipping where it shouldn’t, everything neatly wrapped up. You could swear you can see how your heart pulses in your chest in the reflection, a slight shudder passing beneath your flesh as you think ahead to what might unfold.

The deep purple gown settles comfortably over your body, dark and velvety, the neckline modest without being conservative, the hem of the skirts brushing just shy of your feet, sleeves that run down to your wrists, locked in matching golden chains, slim and elegant. Your lips are painted darker than usual to match the purple of your dress, with small golden pins keeping some strands of hair in place. Is it too much?

Dining with a High Lord… Even if you’re friendly, you don’t want to suggest something you can’t give, nor flirt where you can’t fulfil.

In the recent months, you know you haven’t been imagining the intensity in his eyes, how they sweep so deliciously over you, slowly, under the guise of polite appreciation. But there’s nothing polite about the way he looks at you. How it sets your skin on fire, pulse spiking with the slightest curve of his mouth. How your breath hitches whenever his skin brushes yours, fingers grazing your waist to guide you someplace—gentle dominance that makes your body flush with heat. Even at the faintest hint of his scent, you’d found yourself seeking out his gaze, as if sharing in a forbidden fantasy together.

Maybe it’s your fault for letting it get too far. Letting it escalate without consideration for how high he might truly be able to take you. He certainly isn’t the only male in your life. You hadn’t even realised how far things had gone with Rhys until the male you’d been seeing casually had brought it up, and you’d felt a tug of guilt in your gut. The two of you weren’t together exactly, but it definitely wasn’t just sex. There was too much emotional intimacy for it to be such a black-and-white situation. Emotions bleeding over where they should have been kept in line.

A triptych of knocks are landed to your door, gentle but firm, and you tear your gaze away from your reflection—attractive as it is, you shouldn’t keep him waiting.

Easing in a breath, you open the door, pulse spiking as you take him in, raising your chin to meet his violet gaze.

On the wooden deck of your house, stood beneath the warm faelight to illuminate the entranceway, he dominates the space, your attention zeroing in on his figure, dressed immaculately as usual, shirt revealing a peak at the appetisingly tan skin beneath, a suggestion of ink peering over the hem of the linen.

“Rhysand,” you greet with a smile, opening the door wider, previous worries forgotten as he takes up your attention whole. “Rhysand?” He drawls, brow quirking in amusement as he leans forward, and you step into his invitation. “Have I done something to irritate you?” He muses beside your ear, bodies pressed a little closer than appropriate as your arms wrap over his shoulders. His palm splays between your shoulder blades, pressing you deeper into his sturdy heat, spine arching under his direction. “You show up dressed as you are—I thought you said this was a casual dinner,” you smile as you pull away, arms still wrapped around one another.

Violet eyes sweep across your features, the skin between your shoulder-blades tingling beneath his broad palm, and that intensity burns down into you. “You look like this for casual dinners?” He replies, lips curving with amusement. “I look like this for my High Lord,” you reply, rolling your eyes playfully, stepping out of his hold, already missing his heat. “Will you tell me where we’re going to dine? Or are you going to insist on keeping it a secret until the last second?”

“The last second might be a bit of a stretch,” he chuckles, offering you his arm, “but I know how you like surprises, so perhaps arrangements can be made.”

“You could winnow us there with ease,” you muse lightly, linking your arm with his, door closing at your back as he guides you down the steps leading into your front garden, then out into the street.

Violet eyes flick over you, your skin tightening beneath his open attention, meeting his gaze. “A lady deserves preparation,” he replies, heat fluttering in your lower abdomen at the sonorous drawl. “I’m sure you’d still succeed with the surprise element regardless,” you laugh, lips warm from the smile. “I suppose I could always blindfold you?” He suggests, and you gently elbow him, rolling your eyes again, trying to quell the traitorous heat that’s unspooling in the pit of your stomach. “I’d trip up and break something,” you counter fondly, swiftly averting you gaze so he won’t be able to somehow read your emotions. The attraction that always seems to become much more prominent in his presence. More pertinent, and palpable.

“I could direct you,” he replies lightly, a curve to his soft mouth, “I like to think I’m fairly good at giving instructions.”

“You’re practiced at giving orders. There’s a difference,” you counter, unable to help the smile on your lips—that’s undoubtedly shining in your eyes. “Besides, I don’t trust myself in heels.”

“You certainly picked a tricky pair,” he admits, glancing down to the thin golden strings wrapped around your ankles, disappearing beneath your dress. “I’m sure I’ll be regretting that by the end of the night,” you sigh, taking care to avoid any uneven surfaces. “If you need a reprieve, feel free to say,” he chuckles lowly, guiding you down another street, and you silently admire how seamlessly he blends in with the inky darkness of his court. “I’d be more than happy to sweep you off your feet, if needed.”

————

You’d been surprised when he’d taken you not to a pre-established restaurant but to a house he’d recently purchased by the riverside—for ample view of the Sidra, he’d explained, when you’d asked why he’d picked that part of the city.

He’d guided you in, as he usually does when you’re out together, a hand kept lightly against your lower back to keep you steady, especially when passing over cobbles. You’d noticed how his touch had smoothly migrated from lightly brushing against your skin on the way into the house, to settling securely around your waist once away from the public, a response of equal parts concern and satisfaction humming in your chest. It’s hard to keep your head when he singles you out so obviously—like there’s something special about you in particular. Something he can only find in you. How are you supposed to resist a male who makes you feel so treasured?

“You certainly succeeded with surprising me,” you smile, leaning back in your chair, content with the meal—mansaf, with goat’s meat. “I didn’t know you could cook like that?” You muse, meeting his gaze across the cozy table, tucked away in an alcove on the library he’s slowly filling up, tall windows to your right, providing a clear view of the Sidra, rooftops shadowed under the night’s sky. His smile isn’t as full as you’d hoped, instead seeming quieter than usual. “I don’t have much time to indulge anymore,” he answers, and you straighten in your seat. “It would be nice, to pursue my own interests. From time to time.”

Your expression softens as you watch him from across the table—he makes it easy to forget the things he’s withstood. It’s easy to speak with him, to be around him.

“I appreciate you finding the time to do so tonight,” you say quietly, briefly glancing down at your empty plate before returning your gaze to his. “It was delicious.” His eyes twinkle, and a small smile makes its way onto your mouth at the familiar gleam. “I’m glad you thought so,” he admits, “it’s been a while.”

“If this is how you are out of practice, it might be for the better you don’t have more time on your hands. You’d run people out of business,” you say quietly.

There’s a pause that passes between you, and you feel yourself being pulled in, already so thoroughly snared by his riptides you haven’t noticed you’ve been pulled under.

“I know it isn’t much,” you say lowly, a little roughly, pushing up from your seat to walk to his side. “But you deserve the time to indulge in your own interests, Rhys. To be able to enjoy life like the people you devote yourself to protecting do.” Violet eyes lift to yours, swirling and depthless, pulling you further down. “You’ve mentioned what that time was like,” you manage quietly, voice thick with emotion, at all he’s sacrificed to keep Velaris safe. To keep his people safe. “I can’t even imagine what it was like,” you murmur, hand resting gently on his shoulder, hoping you aren’t overstepping.

It isn’t often he talks about what had been done to him, what he’d been forced to do, but when he does…you listen. Take in every word, let him know you hear him, at the very least. That he has someone he can share his life with, someone he can come to when he’s alone, and know you’ll be there.

“You’re out now,” you whisper, “you made it.”

“I’m in pieces,” he murmurs, expression neutral despite the sadness of the admission.

“It’s okay to be in pieces, Rhys,” you reply, stepping into him when he shifts to face you, his hand coming to rest atop your own, fingers dancing to your wrist, wrapping over your forearm carefully. As if afraid to break you, too. “You’re allowed to grieve yourself, after what happened.”

His fingers tighten a little around your wrist, then he’s smoothly standing from his chair, though you don’t step back, keeping together as his hand slowly settles on your waist.

“I don’t think…” he trails off, voice breathy and hushed, and you hold him a little tighter, free palm settling on his upper arm. His throat rolls, and he pulls you the barest bit closer, bodies connecting as heat is shared and swapped, scents pushing together. “I don’t think I’m the same as I was before,” he admits quietly, violet eyes pinning you to the floor, touch pressing into your skin. “That’s okay,” you whisper, “time changes people. It’s okay to shift in essence.”

“No. Not like that,” he murmurs, lips brushing against your own, your hand brushing against his jaw, his palms wrapping tighter around you, growing more assured in their hold, like you’re becoming a part of him. “I can’t stand it,” he admits, brow pressing to your own, his eyes shut, a troubled expression on his beautiful features. “I can’t stand it anymore.”

You peer up at him, now cupping his face in both your hands, leaning into him. “What is it?” You ask softly, “you can tell me. I want to know what’s troubling you.” Violet eyes open slightly, darkened by his lashes as he looks down at you, brows furrowed in what looks like indecision. Or regret. But then it’s gone in a flash, easing out into something more calm, and familiar. “I want to be happy,” he confesses quietly, words brushing over your mouth so tenderly. “I don’t want to be alone again. How I was.”

“You aren’t alone,” you murmur, thumb brushing his cheek. “You have your family, you’re back with them again—you’re back here again. You survived.” But he shakes his head, and you push slightly closer, letting him know whatever he wants, he can confess to you. You’ll be there for him if he needs.

“I can’t stand not having it anymore,” he breathes, hold tightening on you, voice deeper, rougher, than before. “I should be happy, shouldn’t I?”

Your brows pull together, curving as you nod, wanting nothing more than to comfort him, slotting yourself into the familiar lines of his body. “Everyone deserves to be happy,” you whisper, heart aching, “even if they don’t believe so.” You swallow, feeling hot beneath his gaze, but refusing to step away, not when this is the most vulnerable he’s ever allowed himself to be with you. “If you…” you swallow again, eyes darting away briefly before returning to his. “If you know what you want…” You trail off, bewitched by the swirling intensity of his gaze. Your breath catches, aware of how close you are, how intimate the embrace has become. “…you should have it, Rhys.”

He exhales heavily, relief loosening the tension in his body, then he’s leaning forward, mouth opening over yours.

You freeze, not having expected the bold action, but quickly melt beneath his touch, all previous thought fading to nothing as his lips slant over yours, soft and hot, and his hands are moving across the planes of your body, strengthening as you’re pulled impossibly closer. He’s a really good kisser.

His tongue flicks out, and you start, reeling from his pace, but he’s gently turning you around, mouth still sealed against your own as he pushes you into the wall, hips against your own while his arm wraps tight around your waist, other hand settling over the nape of your neck that’s so small in comparison. Your palms stutter as they shift, unsure where to place them, having been swept off your feet, caught with your guard down. You hadn’t realised just how intense the attraction had become—for either of you.

Rhys makes a hungry sound from the back of his throat, and your insides flutter, spine arching into him, breasts pressing fully against his chest—but you need to slow down. You hadn’t planned on any of this unfolding so rapidly, had intended to be wary of his advances, of the mutual lust binding you together. It’s dominating; overpowering, mind-warping to struggle against, but you have enough sense to know acting on this desire will only confuse things. Mixing tender affection with the sharpened blades of lust never ends well.

“Rhys,” you murmur, pulling away enough to get his name out, but his mouth seals over your own again, and you fight to not be dragged under by hunger, by your desire to follow in his motions. This isn’t something you can rush, if you want it to work. Your hands tangle in his hair, tugging him back firmly, heat warming your cheeks. “Rhys, we—”

His hands leave your body, roughly gripping your wrists and shoving them back against the wall, hips keeping you pinned in place as he devours you, prying your mouth open with embarrassing ease, arousal making it hard to resist. His tongue stokes over your own, and a heady feeling rushes your veins, need pounding in your blood, losing grip fast as he sinks his claws into you.

Rhys pulls away from you, and you open your mouth to tell him to stop, but he’s dipping lower, attacking your neck as his canines flash, the kisses rapidly descending into untamed bites and claiming slashes of teeth against soft, unmarked skin. You gasp as he bites, putting his mark into your body, startled by your own enjoyment, how arousal is swiftly rising to meet him, as much as you’re trying to pull away. “Rhys…” you pant, struggling half-heartedly beneath his touch, enjoying how his strength dominates you, a display of power so brutal and fundamental something warms in your chest.

He releases your wrists in favour of roughly gripping your skirts, almost tearing them as they’re shoved up your thighs, making way for him as he grips you tight, hoisting you up so your legs wrap around his hips—allowing him to press against your centre, purple fabric pooled around your waist. Instinctively your arms fly over his shoulders, and then his mouth is reclaiming your own, a flashing frenzy of tongue and teeth that knocks you clean off your feet, heart pounding from the assault on your senses, the ticklish pleasure still tingling across the erogenous skin at your throat.

Your fingers shakily tangle in his hair, and he snarls into the kiss, canines scraping over your lower lip before crushing back against your mouth, the damper on his power waring thinner, and thinner, pressure straining on your bones as you tremble. He’s never come this close to removing it completely around you, and it’s terrifying, your heart pounding in your chest, pulse spiking as you begin to get an understanding of what kind of beast you’ve been taunting.

“Rhys!” You gasp as his hand palms over your breast, grinding between your thighs as he again dips down to your throat, feeling your heightened pulse beneath his teeth. Tongue darting out to taste you.

Your hands stutter over him, torn between trying to pull him away and to tug him closer, to take more of him, startled by the ferocious hunger he’s subjecting you to, and the starvation it’s bringing forth in your own body.

His fingers effortlessly slide beneath your dress, but when they brush the golden string that’s clinging to your right hip, it’s like a bucket of icy water has been speared into your bloodstream. Your palms slam down against his shoulders, leveraging yourself against the wall as you shove at him enough to push him away by an inch or two, allowing your legs to unlock from his hips, standing on your own shaky feet again, nearly collapsing thanks to the sharply-angled heels.

“Rhys, stop,” you demand breathlessly, hands flat against his powerful chest, able to feel how his magic thrums dangerously around you, beating in time with his pulse in deadly waves. “Slow down,” you breathe, gazing up into intensely dark violet, practically plunging into icy indigo, his features turning glacial as he looks down at you, caged in, your cheeks warmed from arousal. He steps closer, crowding your space, and you tense up, abruptly aware of how that lethal strength could just as easily be used against you rather than with you.

“What is it?” He drawls, the tone having hairs rising on the back of your neck in warning, a long lost sense rising from the recesses of your mind to scream its horror at the creature before you, steadily emerging from beautifully carved skin. “I…Rhys, I’m not sure about this,” you answer honestly, hands trembling over his chest, trying to even out your breaths. “I’m sorry,” you fumble, “it’s all happening so quickly—I didn’t expect anything to happen tonight.”

“Is that why you’re wearing these?” He asks lowly, and you stiffen as his fingers brush over your hip, now covered again by your dress, but you know he’s talking about your underwear, how it matches the gold of your jewellery, complimenting the regal purple of your gown.

“I—…that was for me,” you mumble, flushing, shying away from the pressure within his gaze, how his attention crushes down upon you. “So I’d feel more confident around you.”

“Confident?” He remarks lowly, roughly, the slow drag of the word tingling down your spine. “So you always wear something matching whenever you feel unsure?” You falter, glancing away, hands lowering a little but remaining against him, anxious to keep him at bay for the moment. “I’m sorry if I misled you,” you manage, forcing yourself to meet his gaze. “But I…if you’re only after sex, I can’t give you that.”

“You’d give more?” He asks breathlessly, pushing closer despite how you try to keep him away. “With someone else, I could manage a one-time thing,” you whisper, “but with you…”

A deep noise rumbles in his chest, male satisfaction resounding through you as your insides flutter, his hands coming to brace themselves on the wall, either side of your hips as he leans down, mere inches separating you. “You want something serious?” He asks quietly, roughly, and you nod, tilting your head to better see him.

His lips curve at the edges, pleased with your reply. “Then come with me,” he murmurs beside your ear, and your breaths stutter as his arousal wraps around you, stark and heady. His hand wraps around your wrist, making to take you elsewhere, but you pull against his hold. “I need you to slow down,” you manage firmly, getting stable footing on the ground—relatively stable, anyway.

“You were so eager a second ago,” he muses, the sonorous drawl returning, his eyes dark and deadly, able to scent your own arousal by now. He doesn’t release your wrist. “I’m allowed to change my mind,” you say firmly, lightly trying to pull away but to no avail. Either he doesn’t get the hint, or…you swallow thickly.

Violet eyes glint, a curve tilting the edges of his mouth. “And what have you changed your mind to?” He asks smoothly, as if indulging a child’s whim.

“I think a lot has happened tonight, and I want to go home and sleep on it,” you say, aware of how his touch is making your skin tingle. A strange weariness creeping over you, eyelids beginning to weigh as the adrenaline wares off.

A sadness flickers in his violet eyes, before it’s vanished, and he shakes his head. “I can’t stand it a moment longer,” he breathes, firmly pulling you into his body, knowing you’re unable to resist. His palm settles on your lower back, and you press your own hand to his chest in protest. “Rhys. Stop messing around,” you say, peering up at him, meeting hungry, dark eyes. “This isn’t funny. Let me go.”

“Lovely, little lamb,” he breathes, angling you so he can peer down at you, and you can feel the evidence of his arousal pressing intrusively into your middle. “You think I would joke when it comes to you?” He asks gently, violet eyes sweeping over you, and you shrink away, the ravenous lust making your legs feel weak. “I can hardly breathe right around you,” he whispers, “I ache for you. To feel you. To touch you. Don’t deny me for a second longer.”

Your lips part in shock, unable to formulate a response, and his eyes glint with approval, before he’s turning, forcefully dragging you from the room, hand shackled around your wrist as you try to struggle against him, to rip yourself from his hold, but he refuses to budge. You might as well be fighting against iron for how much give he allows.

“Rhys,” you call sharply, tugging away. “Rhysand!” You try grabbing onto a banister, but he’s too strong, and your hold slips away, heels practically clawing lines into the floorboards as you try to lean against him, to counterweight his force—to no avail. “Rhys let me go,” you bark, surging forward abruptly in attempt to knock into him, but he’s been trained as a warrior since birth, and has no difficulty in remaining stable.

“Stop struggling,” he demands lowly, piercing violet pinning you to the floor, and you’re utterly helpless as he effortlessly puts you over his shoulder, sweeping you off your feet with devastating ease. You start kicking, slamming your fists against his back, aiming either side of his spine as you scream at him to put you down, trying to dig your nails into his skin, to rip through his clothes to scratch and slice at him.

You recoil into yourself when his palm connects with your hind, body going taut as you freeze, horror and terror paralysing you, and he chuckles lowly. “Like that?” He asks, voice deeper, and your stomach drops when he reaches a bedroom, able to watch as the door clicks shut.

“Rhys,” you whisper, fear pounding through your veins. “Rhys, put me down.”

Panic roils in your gut as you’re roughly thrown down from his shoulder, knees pressing together as you land on the softness of his mattress, crisp sheets rustling as you try to squirm away from him, pushing further up the bed. “Rhys— Rhys listen to me,” you try, but he ignores you, looming like a nightmare as he grips your ankle, dragging you back toward him.

“Relax,” he muses, fingers biting into your skin as he pushes the deep purple of your dress higher, until you’re certain he’ll be able to see the gold material clinging between your thighs, presented with a perfect view between your legs. “You’ll feel good. You know you’ll feel good.”

“Rhys, fuck off!” You bark, voice shaking with terror, pressure building behind your eyes. “You can’t fucking do this. Just because she did it to you doesn’t mean you have the right to inflict it on other people.”

He snarls lowly at that, pinning you down in an instant, easily slotting between your thighs, his powerful body keeping you where he wants with ease. “I thought you cared, huh? I thought you were eager to be with me. What happened to that, hm?”

“You’re sick, Rhys,” you hiss, “this is sick. You’re fucking insane.”

“It’s okay to be a little insane,” he drawls, mimicking your earlier words of comfort, given in attempts to help him, but in doing so dooming yourself. “It’s more than a little,” you hiss, teeth flashing as you try to kick him off you, but he’s pressing himself flush between your thighs, leaving you without a hope in hell.

“I deserve to be happy, don’t I?” He murmurs so softly over your mouth, and in any other context your heart would have broken at the question—that he would even have to ask. But, “not at my expense, Rhys,” you hiss, heat warming behind your eyes. “Not at our expense.”

“I’m not sacrificing us,” he counters quietly, hand coming up to grip your jaw. “I’m joining us together.” He rolls his hips against yours, feeling him against your sex, how the pressure grinds over your clit, deliciously traitorous heat gathering in response, and you’re utterly helpless as his lips curve into a slight grin, sadism gleaming from deep within his violent gaze.

“I don’t want to join with you,” you spit back, trying to push him away, but darkness gathers on his bed, keeping your wrists bound to the mattress as he lowers his mouth to your throat, kissing and biting his way down your skin, painting a pathway of bruises while his hands glide up your thighs, catching beneath the material of your dress. His lips brush the hem of its neckline, and then he’s smoothly pulling it away, leaving you practically bare.

Your High Lord pulls back, tan skin flushed, pupils dilated with dizzying hunger as he gazes down at his prey, the golden fabric clinging to your hips as you squirm, ankles wrapped in that gilded string, keeping your heels in place, the elegant little chains decorating your wrists, settling around your throat. He groans lowly, rough palms splaying over your waist, resting there gently as he rolls his hips against you, into you, taking his time pulling you apart. Savouring your struggle.

“You were desperate for it minutes ago,” he drawls lowly, right palm raising over your stomach, the pads of his fingers brushing with a feather-light touch upward, starting from your lower abdomen, gliding slowly to your sternum, pleased to feel how your breath hitches beneath his touch. “You’ll be desperate again soon enough.”

“Go to hell, Rhys,” you manage, lip curling back to showcase sharp canines—a set he’d gladly allow to pierce his skin. The only set he’d allow to mark him ever again. “This isn’t fucking okay.”

“No, it isn’t,” he breathes, and your throat rolls heavily as his fingers begin the slow, torturous descent back down your body, trailing over your abdomen, stroking down over the golden fabric, running lightly over your centre. “It’s better.”

Heat flushes your skin as his rough palms grip the underside of your thighs, just above your knees, raising your legs up and out of the way, pressing them close to your torso so he has more room. Callouses drag against your skin, a reminder of his strength, the warrior that’s concealed beneath his finely tailored exterior. He is the embodiment of power.

“Rhys, stop,” you breathe as he settles at the edge of the bed, violet eyes hungrily licking over your clothed sex. You squirm, trying to shift your hips, but his lips brush over your abdomen, and then his teeth are clasping the band of your underwear. He gazes up at you intently, slowly dragging it back—tauntingly; teasingly—until he releases it to snap back against your skin.

“Rhys…” you murmur shakily, the understanding finally beginning to dawn across you that he might go through with it. “Rhys, please. You’re better than this.” Violet gleams with ravenous hunger, dark and starved, and he presses forward, mouth a breath’s width from your sex. “Shall I show you how much better I can be?”

You swallow thickly beneath that look, but manage to nod your head. If you can just get him to pull away, to remove the bonds of your wrists…

Your lips part in a sharp gasp, writhing beneath him as he presses his face between your legs, violet eyes closing as he takes in his own heaven, submerging himself in your scent, your heat. You try to buck away from him, to get further from his mouth, but it only serves to make you more aware of how he’s invading, though his grip has lessened on your thighs.

He exhales heavily, contentedly, shifting between your legs and your muscles coil tense, nails piercing your palms as his nose brushes against… Your toes curl, thighs trying to press together, to ward him away, but he keeps you spread apart effortlessly.

Eventually he pulls back, violet eyes glued to your clothed sex as his fingers hook in the golden strings lacing over your hips, slowly pulling them away. His gaze practically glows, pupils dilating as he peels away the wet material, shame and humiliation burning hot in your gut. Eyes flick up to you, and you force yourself to meet them, to not yield and look away—to not admit defeat. “You’re wet,” he breathes lowly, roughly, depthless hunger swirling in the pits of his pupils. “That means nothing,” you hiss, trying to writhe away from him, fearing what practices his mind will conjure. “I think it means quite a lot more than that, darling,” he breathes, pulling your underwear away completely, then pressing it back to your heat.

You inhale sharply as his fingers run up over you, slow but firm strokes, circling your entrance through the golden fabric, and your pulse spikes. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing now?” You snap, voice shaking with fear, darkness now banding around beneath your knees to keep them apart as he stands, peeling your underwear away. Embarrassment flushes your skin when you catch their gleam, how thoroughly soaked they are.

Rhys’s cruel mouth curves, and you writhe on his bed, trying to turn away as he pushes the wet material between your lips, long fingers prying them apart. Your tongue recoils, trying to pull away, but his grin widens, a pleasured sound coming from deep within his chest as he feels you struggle. “Do you taste good?” He asks lowly, fingers stroking over your tongue, “like having that in your mouth? I bet you’re only getting wetter by the second,” he breathes, pupils fully dilated.

You release a sound that should be disgusted, but comes out as more of a whimper. His breath catches at the noise, able to see how his cock is straining against his trousers but he leaves himself unattended—for now.

He returns between your legs, and a noise between a whimper and a snarl rips from your throat, heat flaring across your skin as he licks up your centre, broad palms keeping your thighs absolutely open for him to indulge.

“Rhys,” you panic, feeling pressure build behind your eyes, managing to spit out the fabric that had been gagging you. “Rhys please. Please stop. We can— We can figure something out—”

His tongue swipes over your clit, making you jolt and squirm, trying desperately to thrash against his hold but it’s like being chained up, his grip stricter than iron as he applies himself, suckling at the impossibly sensitive part effortlessly, as if he’s familiar with how your body works. As if he knows already exactly where to touch, suck, and fuck to have you drooling dumb.

Breaths pant from your lips, hips wiggling as one hand trails down your thigh, and you know exactly what he’s planning to do with those long, dexterous fingers of his…exactly how they’ll feel inside of you, how they’ll know where to push and rub at to have you dripping onto his knuckles.

“You want me to stop?” He breathes lowly, roughly, thumbing at your entrance, liking how you tighten around nothing as if eager to invite him in. “You know I could make you feel like an immortal,” he growls, mouth prone to attach your clit with his tongue and teeth should you try to rebuke him. “I could take you higher…further than anyone’s ever taken you before.”

“I don’t fucking want it,” you hiss, lip curled as heat wets your eyes, trying to blink away the hot tears in favour of sending him a look of pure hatred.

Rhys blinks his violet eyes, then smiles, pulling away.

“Give me five minutes?” He muses lowly, a starving glint in his gaze, darkened and scheming. You snarl, then inhale sharply when the darkness releases you, completely freeing you. Immediately you sit upright, pulling your legs together, but refusing to cower before him—keeping your hands at your sides, gripping the sheets to prevent yourself from recoiling physically.

“You don’t deserve a single second of my time,” you spit, blinking away the tears as you snarl. “I regret how much I’ve already spent on you.”

“Not even a single second?” He laughs, hands sliding calmly into the pockets of his finely tailored trouser, perfectly encapsulating the raw power contained within his body. “I’m not sure if I can take you there in an instant without hurting you somewhere,” he drawls almost apologetically, but his violet eyes spark. “But if that’s all you’ll give me…” he murmurs, softer than a breath.

Your breathing pattern spikes, heat flushing intently beneath his gaze. Talons swiftly enter your mind, and you’re utterly helpless as your body starts to tremble, terrifying heat swelling with such ferocity your vision goes tilted, muscles feeling like custard as you fall back into the bed. Your spine arches on its own, toes curling eyes squeezing shut as he plies the orgasm from your body, easing out your pleasure while he stands at the foot of the bed, idly licking at the pad of his thumb that had prodded against your entrance.

Your lips part as it intensifies, and you scramble, thrashing in the bed, a choked noise erupting from your chest as you feel the high in your entire body, like there are hands touching, feeling all across your body, tongues lapping over your nipples, sets of teeth biting at your throat, lips sealing over your clit as fingers pump and curl inside of you.

The scream rises swiftly, limbs trembling violently as sweat is forced through your skin from the abrupt intensity, the orgasm absolutely devastating as you lose all control of yourself, moaning unabashedly as those feelings are drawn out—as Rhysand draws them out. His fingers the ones inside of you, his teeth piercing your skin, his tongue circling your clit.

“Do you want it to stop,” he muses, unable to help licking his lips at the obscene sight before him, the scent of it filtrating into his blood, rushing straight to his cock, hot and heavy between his legs.

The words jumble and melt across your mind, splashing like melted butter into your head, and struggle—for what? For more? For more.

He chuckles lowly, and you scream as he forces you through a second one, having it break like the surf across jagged rocks, arousal dripping down your thighs, webbing between your legs as you try to press them together only for the darkness to spread you apart. Definitely more than wet enough to fill a shot glass or two.

You pant heavily. Ragged, gasping breaths as wild heat ravishes your skin, pleasure bursting at the seams of your body, a perfectly ripe fruit dripping with flavour, ready to break beneath the slightest pressure from a set of sharp, piercing canines the second they graze your skin. And Rhysand is more than happy to bite.

Your eyes are squeezed shut tight, so you can only feel the mattress dip as he prowls up onto the bed, pinning you down, caging you effortlessly between his powerful, ruining arms.

The High Lord allows your orgasm to wash away slowly, bringing you back to the plane of reality he’s on, your skin hot and dewy from the intense pleasure he’s forced you full of. Your lids flutter, eyes struggling to lock onto his as violet pierces into you, doing nothing to hide the deep-rooted hunger that’s tearing him apart. He moves lazily, with the leisure one can move with when they’re in no rush, yet you can sense that undercurrent, the riptide within him that you’ve been caught in, at last dawning on you. The only other tell aside from his actions and confessions, is the strain in his jaw, wound tight as he gazes down at you, eyes so dark they’re closer to being entirely black as shadow and darkness writhes around you in a great, slithering mass, tangling with you on the bed.

“I think you’re more than ready now,” he whispers, the words dragging like gravel across bare, sensitive skin. “Are you ready?”

Tears spill down your cheeks, so turned around you feel entirely out of control. All you can remember is the sizzling burn of pleasure, the electrifying tingle of heat as it sears through your thighs, making your body feel weightless, like you’re above the clouds and bathing in starlight…starlight that’s hot and wet, that trickles down the naked planes of your body…that slips and slides where your fingers drag through it…that tastes like power and possession…laced through with iridescent violet…

A rough laugh drags from the High Lord’s throat, sensing your pleasure-induced daze, facing not even an ounce of resistance as he gently flips you over on the bed, the side of your face pressing into the soft fullness of one of the pillows, saliva pooling inside your cheek, drooling out onto the cotton as he pushes your thighs apart.

He curses lowly, eyeing the mess between your thighs, wanting more than anything to pull you to the edge of his bed, or flip you around again so you’re spread out on top of him, suspended in the air for him to play with and touch. So he can kiss, lick, bite wherever on your body he likes, so he can press his face between your legs, so he can take his time learning the pace you most like his tongue circling your clit, the pressure to apply that will most swiftly lead you to orgasm, the spots inside of you he should rub against if he wants you to soak him.

But he doesn’t. He’s waited too long.

Besides, after tonight, he can do whatever he pleases; you’ll be his. If he wants to dangle you from the ceiling while exploring your skin, if he wants to bind you to his bed while he kisses up your thighs, if he wants to seat you in his lap while he strokes his tongue against your own…he can. The thought has him growling lowly, dark power writhing beneath his skin, aching to manifest with talons and large, spanning wings, to allow proper canines to slide from his upper lip and his skin to become dark and leathery; to yield to his baser side.

You make a soft sound in the back of your throat, confused but aroused, and his cock twitches between his legs in response. Trailing a hand up the path of your spine, darkness gathers your wrists in a light coil, bringing them to cross at your back, and he swallows thickly at the imagery. Unable to entirely help himself, having only ever witnessed these events within fantasy, the darkness wraps itself also beneath your shins, raising them from the bed until your calves are pressing to the backs of your thighs, legs bent at the knee.

Breathing deeply, he pulls himself free, noting the slight tremors that run through your body, shuddering lightly from the aftershocks of pleasure, trembling beneath the beast who’s got you at his mercy. So out of it you can hardly understand what’s happening, reduced to a panting, drooling mess. A groan of pleasure rasps from his chest, guiding his tip to your entrance, and slowly…slowly easing in.

Your breaths stutter, small noises whimpering from your lips as your lids flutter with confusion, and he applies a light pressure to the base of your spine, having you curve lightly beneath him as he goes in…and in…and in. His breath fans against the nape of your neck, lips skimming the shell of your ear, and tears spill from your eyes, unable to help as you cry, unable to understand why after having had your mind so thoroughly toyed with.

Rhysand shifts, his forearm banding beneath your stomach to raise you up onto shaky knees, legs still bound while your face presses into the pillow, allowing him to press the entirety of himself inside, his hips meeting the backs of your thighs, at last finding home for that last inch he couldn’t fit into you when you were on your front. You whimper at the stretch, the fullness, the strange pleasure from having no space left inside of you. His lips press to the bare skin of the top of your shoulder, skimming the thin golden chain that remains loosely around your throat.

“So good,” he whispers beside you ear, voice shuddering as he presses his face to the crook of your shoulder, inhaling the thickness of your scent—he could come from that alone, from how you’re squeezing him, the pliancy of your body. “I knew you’d fit me perfectly, and feel how right I was.”

He shifts his weight, and your toes curl lightly, squirming beneath the pleasure, and Rhys can sense it will be a struggle to move, to gather the energy to bring a greater pleasure to both of you. It feels so good as it is, he almost doesn’t want to move, to simply bask in the wet heat of your cunt, the lost familiarity of your scent, the way your body slots so perfectly beneath his own.

You’re struggling internally, grappling for consciousness but overwhelmed by the pleasure he’s forcing into you. You can feel everything that’s happening, feel every thick inch of him that he’s pushed into you, yet can hardly even lift a finger to stop it, tears growing larger as they quietly wet the cotton of the pillow.

“Gods, you were fucking made for me,” he breathes roughly, sounding almost pained as he hoarsely whispers the confession of thought, and it has enough disgust gathering in the pit of your stomach to push you to the forefront of your mind, resurfacing and gasping for breath as you tense, awareness coursing through your blood, suddenly so acutely aware of every place you’re pressed together, every intimate touch of bare skin, and you try to recoil, to squirm away from him.

“Rhys get off me,” you hiss lowly, crying harder as you try to free yourself, but his shadows hold tight, keeping your wrapped up beneath him, physically unable to push him away or to claw at him as you would like to. Your cheek presses into the pillow, neck straining from the uncomfortable angle, the weight being pushed onto your shoulders from the position, and your gaze meets with dominating, depthless violet. You try to thrash, try to writhe away, but you can manage little more than a shift of your hips with the way he’s holding you.

“Aware again?” He murmurs softly, holding you a little tighter, pulling his hips back by a few inches, just to let you really feel as he presses back inside, cock touching against a sensitive spot that has a quiet sob escaping from your throat. “You were enjoying it so much,” he whispers cruelly, like a malevolent spirit urging you toward evil, silently goading and encouraging you away from the good, and instead forward into the bad. “Relax,” he muses besides your ear, your spine unwillingly arching as a shiver ghosts up your back.

Words of hate, of fury and disgust sit ready on your tongue, but he pulls his hips back again, and the breath you take is one you would breathe down before being dragged under a river’s icy surface. One you would take, knowing it might be your last.

He pulls out to his tip, then roughly pushes back in, pushing you into the pillow, and all sense is knocked from your head.

All sense from his, too.

A low growl rumbles through his chest, constraints dissolving to dust and ash as discipline crumbles like sand, disintegrating into nothing as both his hands roughly grip your hips, pulling back to slam into you. Deep, rough, thorough strokes that have his cock hitting spots inside of you, drool slipping over your lips as he fucks the protests out of your mind—fucks the moans from your mouth.

Your vision changes, unable to understand anything you’re seeing through the pure haze of pleasure, unable to take anymore after the two he’d forced through you without having to so much as trace the pad of his finger over your clit. And now he’s pounding into you, knocking the breath from your lungs, filling you up all the while you’re bound and tied, shackled and caged beneath him. For him to use as he pleases.

Tingling heat coils in the pit of your belly, and you’re not sure whether you would prefer the gathering orgasm to be of your own making or his. Whether you would rather it be your body naturally responding to his cruel, dominating pleasure, or for his daemati hands to have slipped into your mind again, fingers easing the puppet-strings to move in the correct formation to have the high rising so swiftly. You hardly have the capacity to consider the thought before it’s banished from your mind, darkness widening the stance of your knees on the mattress so they can twine between your legs, pushing and rubbing at your clit, slick and precum having mixed together, dripping down, slowly making you gleam with arousal that the darkness now uses to catapult you into the orgasm. Shoving you mercilessly into the boiling tempest of pleasure, holding your head below the raging waters so as to drown you in euphoria, to having it fill your lungs and burn at your eyes as it passes through your body.

Rhysand feels you trembling, crying out as you flutter and squeeze him, finding his own high with yours, canines flashing in a barely restrained snarl, teeth biting down into the appetising slope of your shoulder. He feels it as he spills inside of you, hot spurts of cum releasing from him directly into your cunt, and he continues bucking his hips to keep it all pressed deep inside, sloppily grinding against you until your body has ceased its shudders and you’re panting quietly, tears still dripping down your cheeks, nails having bitten deep into your palms but he doubts you’re at all aware of the pain in the moment.

The High Lord curses lowly, breathless as he pulls out of you, seeing how he’s coated in your arousal, wrapped in the evidence of your orgasm, a fresh wave of pleasure having soaked him in your slick, slightly creamy from his cum mixing in. He groans lowly, canine finding place in the corner of his lip as he bites lightly, stroking himself experimentally, then gritting his teeth from sensitivity.

Rhysand glances down at you, ass still kept in the air, trembling; unable to move yet from his shadows, and at once the hunger is renewed, grip tightening on himself as he hardens again. Arousal gathers within him, and he moves almost without thinking, guiding himself back to your entrance, despite how you cry as you feel him begin to push back in, forgetting you will be about to endure a fourth orgasm in less than quarter of an hour, while he is only starting on his second.

You cry out as he firmly presses back in, once again shoving the air from your lungs, and you flinch as the heel of his palm presses hard against the nape of your neck, thumb to one side while his fingers settle on the other, chaining you to the bed by your throat, and allowing him to… You swallow thickly, but struggle with his weight leaning on you.

“Rhys…” you rasp, panic setting in, realising what differences this will make; knowing you can’t take it. “Rhys… Rhys…!” You struggle frantically, arms tugging at the restraints as you try everything you can think of: thrashing against the bonds of your wrists, trying to rock your body side to side to turn over, using all your trembling strength to try and pull your legs free… “Rhys, please…Rhys listen—listen to me,” you cry, fingers moving as if trying to scratch him.

He pays you no mind, grip hardening on the nape of your neck as he pushes in, finding his pace again, following his own instincts this time, the feeling of your orgasm on his cock, how you’d fluttered around him…he’s undone.

Your breath turns more ragged, heart pounding as he increases the pace, feeling inside as it becomes rougher, more feral, more unrestrained, the damper of his power clean off as darkness sprawls across the bed. The rhythm becomes punishing, brutal bucks of his hips, and you nearly scream as he takes advantage of the position, putting his weight behind each thrust, pinning you down by your neck, fucking you into his bed with a conviction that’s obsessive.

Nails dig into your palms, muscles going taut as darkness presses to your clit, rubbing in mean, tight circles, far too harsh for how sensitive you are, thighs shaking with the cruel stimulation. You’re utterly helpless to the way your spine curves, how your toes curl, how you tighten around him with how good it feels—being so roughly treated, pleasure being so mercilessly infused into your body.

And this time, you know he’s tampering with your mind.

You scream as you come again, cock driving into you over and over until your voice gives out, his hips bucking into you in a way that has you forgetting the circumstances, silently begging for it not to end, to not let the pleasure slip away.

A dark grin curves his hellish mouth, daemati fingers effortlessly plucking on the puppet-strings, dragging the high out just as you’d silently prayed for.

But a mind can only take so much tampering. The High Lord knows this, had warned you about it himself before he’d pulled the first two from you. Yet in his haze, caught in his hunger, all he hears are your pleas, and his own mind is helpless to give more and more and more.

It’s only after he’s flipped you over, fucked you full, and sealed his mouth against your own that he realises you’ve passed out, mind exhausted from his relentless ministrations. He doesn’t want to stop, but he knows he can’t continue.

Gazing down at your body, head tipped to the side, your eyes already slightly puffy from crying, he feels a slight ache within his chest. He’s old enough to recognise regret when it appears, the cloying heaviness of guilt that’s so difficult to shake.

He brushes hair from your cheek, wet with saliva, and his thumb traces the curve beneath your lower lip, regaining his breath as he quietly looks over you. You’ll need to rest, to recuperate after the night. As much as he wants to keep you in his own bed, it will only make more damage, and he’s caused enough for the time being. Anymore and he might struggle to fix it.

As it is, he allows himself a few more minutes, leaning over your pliant body, brow pressing to your own as he cups your jaw. He supposes it’s a prayer of his own, though he can’t guess what to.

He’s not sure he wants to pray to something that would listen to him.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

general taglist: @myheartfollower @tcris2020 @mali22 @slut4acotar @sfhsgrad-blog @needylilgal022 @hannzoaks @hnyclover @skyesayshi @nyotamalfoy @decomposing-writer @soph1644 @lilah-asteria

rhys taglist: @azrielshadows1nger

[nosyp]

A Favor to the Devil

A/N = Errmm... I tried decorating it.... let me know what y'all think (i personally think it's kinda weird😭) Anyway, this story was way darker then I envisioned it so I'll probably make a lesser dark version later on. But momentarily, deal with whatever this is. 🙏 This is for @sakisakichacoreakin (sorry it was so late).

Warnings = smut🔞, debts, favors, manipulation, dark themes, dubious consent, toxic relationships, power imbalance, marking, p in v sex, threats, spit play, choking, aftercare

Pairings = William James Moriarty x fem! reader x Louis James Moriarty

Summary = Drawn into the Moriarty brothers' dangerous world, you're trapped in their dark, obsessive game with no escape.

Word count = 3.4k

Read story below 👇 (Please read warnings before reading)

The rain was pouring outside, drops of rain slamming onto the ground with a loud thud, dispersing particles in every direction around it. The steady rhythm of the water droplets created an almost hypnotic beat, the sound reverberating against the walls and filling the air with a damp, heavy scent. The precipitation put a thick coat of water along the roads.  It was as though the world had been submerged in water, each droplet joining the others in a relentless, natural rhythm. The air was humid, moist. That’s how you knew something was coming. 

You didn’t mean to come in contact with the dangerous William James Moriarty, nor his brother. But alas, the fate was sealed, and now you were heading to their residence, the very home where they stayed, hung and spent time in. There was nothing friendly or welcoming about it, as expected from the blonde Moriarty duo– William James Moriarty and Louis James Moriarty. 

You stood outside, in the cold rain, hesitating and rethinking your decision. The door felt so close… so alarming... You could feel the presence of the two brothers from the outside, despite being across the street from the building. Swallowing your pride, you clutched the handles of your umbrella, and walked towards the other side of the road, vehicles stopping at the sight of you.

The umbrella somehow started to get increasingly heavy, not from the rain, but from the pressure mounting on you. The temperature outside was freezing cold—the rain unrelenting, pouring down for hours with no sign of stopping. You could feel the weight of the moisture, the quiet anticipation hanging in the air as the distance between you and the door decreased. Each splash from the droplets felt like a cold, sharp sting against your skin, but it was the tension in the air that really weighed you down, making it harder to breathe.

You hadn’t intended to cross paths with the family at all. After listening to all those stories and rumours going around the town, you feared —no, terrified— of them. Every detail, thing, or story you’ve ever heard about them was cruel. 

At first, they’d lure you in with promises of an end, a solution to all your problems, wrapped in the guise of salvation. They offered it so easily, like a gift you couldn’t refuse. But if you even dared to reject it, they’d hang that offer over your head, a constant reminder of what you could’ve had, taunting you until the end of your life. It became your burden, a silent threat that weighed on your every decision.

Then, once you’d finally break, they’d start to take advantage of you. They’d use you and use you til you were soaked dry of all your dignity, independence, and worth. And that was the exact cycle you fell into.

You had a dirty little secret, a secret nobody would or should know. That secret was something you’d wanted to take to the grave with you. Never let it out of your own space. But somehow it reached the pair of brothers.

—

Flashback

“Y/N, I believe you have… a problem.” a blonde says, crimson red eyes piercing right through you.

Hearing that voice, you turned around, only to be met with your future tormentor. It was midnight, almost pitch-black outside, the street light flickering serving as your only source of light. You couldn’t see him clearly at all, but you could see his silhouette and that was enough for you to confirm his identity. 

“H-huh…?” you said, stammering. Surely, giving him a great first impression of you.

He wasn’t alone. No, he never was. He always had his brother, Louis, or one of his lackeys following him around. You didn’t doubt his strength, nor his power in any way, shape or form. But you know anything that had to do with him wasn’t any good.

“Well I have an---------” he says, voice ringing in your ear… before your memory started to blank out.

—

The devil couldn’t reach you, so he sent William James Moriarty. 

Your heart was pounding as you extended your hand towards the door knob. The entrance to their house was dark… terrifying. You’d much prefer to be anywhere else than here, even drowning in a sea of piranhas is better than whatever bullshit he put you through. 

Trembling, your cold fingers wrapped around the door knob… before turning it and pushing it.

Click.

The door revealed nothing but a pitch-black void, a suffocating darkness that seemed to stretch infinitely. The air was thick, pressing against your chest and making it harder to breathe. You could feel it, even before you saw them. It was as if they were already inside, their eyes trained on you from the shadows, waiting.

Your hand shook as it lingered on the door handle, the cold metal burning against your skin. Every fiber of your being screamed at you to turn around, to run, to go back. But you couldn’t. The moment you’d stepped into their world, was the moment your whole life would change. And there was no escape from it.

The door creaked as you pushed it open, the sound sharp in the silence. A low murmur stirred from the darkness, the sound of a presence moving toward you. The faintest silhouette of William appeared, his pale blonde hair catching the dim light, his crimson eyes gleaming with something dark… something cruel.

“You’re late,” he said, his voice smooth, almost too calm, as if everything was under his control. You could feel the venom in his words, the subtle threat dripping with every syllable that spilled out of his mouth.

Louis followed, his steps echoing softly behind you. The younger Moriarty’s gaze flicked over to you, piercing through your clothes, through your skin, straight into your soul. There was something predatory in his stare, something that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

“You didn’t think you could come here and leave unscathed, did you?” Louis’s voice was a low, guttural whisper, a promise of suffering that hung in the air like a fog.

You didn’t answer. There was nothing left to say.

You were already too deep.

The door slammed shut behind you, the sound reverberating through your bones, sealing you in. You were trapped in their world now, a world where every decision you made was controlled, every move calculated, every breath you took was theirs to command. You could feel the weight of their gaze on you, their presence wrapping around you like a noose, tightening with every passing second.

William stepped closer, his footsteps slow, deliberate. “I wonder… How long will it take before you beg?” His fingers brushed your cheek, the touch cold but searing, sending an electric jolt down your spine.

Louis moved behind you, his breath hot against your neck. “Begging might be a bit too soon,” he mused, his fingers tracing along your shoulder with the precision of someone who had done this too many times to count. “But we’ll get there. In time.”

Your body was betraying you. The fear, the terror, the humiliation… it was all there, but so was the unbearable pull toward them. You knew they had you. You knew it before you even walked in the door.

And you hated yourself for it. But there was nothing you could do now. 

You felt a shiver run down your spine as William’s presence loomed closer, his form now towering over you. His fingers trailed down your throat, a whisper of pressure, delicate yet firm. His eyes held a knowing gleam, a predator toying with its prey, and it sent a surge of heat rushing through you. You hated that you felt it.

"Do you feel it?" William’s voice was barely a whisper, a dark and sultry invitation. “The pull... toward us?”

You couldn’t speak. You didn’t know how to answer him, because deep down, you were starting to wonder if you even wanted to fight it anymore. The weight of everything—the fear, the disgust, the inevitability of it all—sat heavy in your chest. And yet, there was a strange allure, something magnetic, pulling you toward them like a moth to a flame.

Louis stepped forward, his hand sliding along your waist with casual ease, his breath fanning over your ear. “You’ve been running from us, haven’t you?” His voice was a soft purr, his tone dripping with amusement. “But now, here you are. Finally giving in.”

You tried to step back, but the movement felt like a joke. There was no space. No room to breathe. Louis was there, right behind you, a breath away from trapping you. And William… William was in front of you, his gaze predatory and intense, watching every subtle shift of your body as if he could read every thought you were trying to suppress.

"You don't get to decide, little bird." William’s fingers tightened, the grip around your throat firm yet not painful, just enough to make you feel the weight of his control over you. His other hand reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, his touch unbearably gentle for someone who had already shown you the darkness of his world.

And you hated that, in that moment, you wanted more of it.

Louis’s hand slid lower, a playful caress along your side, before he leaned in, his lips brushing your neck as he whispered, “Tell me, Y/N... Do you want us? Or are you still pretending that you don’t?” The warmth of his breath against your skin was enough to make your pulse quicken, an ache settling deep within you.

You wanted to push them away, to scream at them to let you go, but your body betrayed you. The warmth in your veins, the strange heat that was blooming under their touch, made it impossible to think straight.

“You’re going to give in,” William murmured, his thumb brushing over your pulse. “Whether you like it or not.”

Louis chuckled softly from behind you, his voice low and dark, “And it’ll be beautiful, Y/N. You’ll see. You’re not leaving here the same.”

Your heart hammered in your chest as the reality of it all hit you. You were trapped. Completely, utterly trapped. And there was no escape from the Moriarty brothers. Not anymore.

William’s grip on your throat loosened, just slightly, but his eyes never left yours. “I hope you’ve been prepared for what’s coming, little bird. Because once you’re ours, you’ll never be able to escape.”

And that sealed your fate. Now you were their property.

—

In the blink of an eye, you found yourself trapped beneath William, his body pressing down on yours as his hands planted firmly beside your head on the bed. The bedsheets underneath you were soft, brushing your skin so gently with every movement. You didn’t doubt that it was made of the most-expensive silk ever found. 

“Are you ready Y/N?” he asks darkly, but you knew it wasn’t even a question. More of a warning of what’s to come.

William lifts one of his hands to unbutton your sweater, while the other leans on the bed, the mattress visibly dipping to the side under his weight. He expertly uses one hand to undo the buttons, one by one. His body heat was radiating to you, providing you with a faint warmth.

That was until his demeanour changed. Before you could even react to the shift in his expression, he grabbed your chin with a forceful grip, tilting your head up to make you look into his eyes. His hand forced you to open your mouth and his eyes gleamed with something dark, something unnerving. Without a word, he let a thick stream of spit fall into your mouth. The action was sudden, almost cruel, leaving you frozen in place as a twisted smile tugged at his lips.

Then you felt Louis's hand grip the edge of your pants, giving them a firm tug. His hands then tugged a bit more, and he pulled them off with one swift motion. It revealed your underwear, it was a lacy, pink victoria secret underwear that you didn’t mean to wear. It was only your last pair, so you were practically forced to. But you probably wouldn’t can’t blame them for thinking it was for them.

“Oh… What is this?” William says, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

His long fingers land on your panties, tracing the lace pattern. “Was… this perhaps for us?” he asks.

Fuck no. But that’s not what you say of course.

“Y-yes…” you mutter underneath your breath, gaze looking in any other direction but his eyes.

Following that, he ripped your panties apart with just his arms. The sound of the fabric tearing was horrifyingly loud. He tore at your shirt after that, the fabric giving way under his hands like it was nothing.

Soon enough, your whole body was revealed to the two brothers. They had been ogling at you since you first met them, and you knew this was just going to make it worse.

In a flash of a second, William was tapping his tip onto you… it was dripping with precum and was a flushed red. He pushed it in slowly, letting you adjust to his girth before starting to thrust in and out of you.

Thwap Thwap Thwap

The sound of his skin slapping onto yours echoed around the room, repeating repeatedly in and out of your ears. The heat inside you grew the more he went on. “Mh- Mhh!” your moans silenced by your unwillingness to let him win.

Louis's hand closed around yours, pulling it up with a deliberate motion. He moved your hand to wrap around his cock, making you stroke him while William was still thrusting deep inside you.

The pleasure began to build relentlessly, an electric current racing through your veins, each pulse sending waves of overwhelming dopamine flooding your senses. It was almost too much, but you couldn’t pull away… couldn’t stop.

“M-mmh!! Wi-William!” a moan escaped from your mouth, voice filled with plead. Plead for… more…? Or for less…? 

Your mind spun, thoughts colliding in a chaotic whirlwind. It was like trying to catch fragments of your sanity in the storm, each one slipping through your fingers just as quickly as you could hold onto it. Which was… for a fleeting moment. Like a flash.

The room was dark and it felt like the walls were closing in on you despite you not being able to see them. Everything leading up to this moment was… destiny.

A destiny you could not escape. Them.

Louis’s hands guided yours to help you pump his cock, your hand matching his pace. While William’s rough thrusts hit your cervix over and over again, sending you into a spiral.

“F-Fuck!” you let out.

It felt like your high was coming, a slow burn that built with every touch, every pulse of pleasure. The world around you faded, everything but the electric buzz coursing through you … becoming distant and unimportant. Your breath quickened as the overwhelming sensation crept closer, the tension tightening in your chest.

That was until… William suddenly stopped and his face started huddling in your neck. His lips pressed onto your neck and started nibbling on the spots, leaving behind dark marks, staying as a reminder of who owns you. 

His assault on your neck didn’t last too long for it to become unbearable but enough for it to feel traumatizing. He slowly lifted his face from your neck, his breath still warm against your skin. For a moment, he was unnervingly quiet, and the silence only made you more uneasy. You could feel his gaze lingering on you, calculating, as though you were a puzzle he had yet to solve.

Then, without warning, a cold sensation dripped onto your skin. The suddenness of it made you freeze in place, your breath catching in your throat. He had spat on you. The shock of it, combined with the lingering heat of his presence, made your mind spin, unsure of how to react.

“Louis, your turn.” William says in an authoritative tone.

Louis' eyes widened for just a split second, a flash of something unpredictable flickering within them before his expression returned to its usual calm composure. His lips curled into a faint, dangerous smile as he leaned in closer, his face hovering just inches from yours.

"You like that, don't you?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight of his words hung heavily in the air between you, making the tension in the room feel suffocating.

The proximity of his face, the almost imperceptible warmth of his breath brushing against your skin, it was like he was daring you to do something, to react in any way, to surprise him. But you were frozen, unsure whether to fight, flee, or give in.

Louis’ gaze never left yours, the tension between you both thickening as he leaned closer. His breath was slow and deliberate, each exhale warm against your skin. You felt his lips hovering dangerously near, but it wasn’t his kiss you had to fear. It was far from that.

Then, without a word, he tilted his head, and his eyes locked onto yours, full of knowing intent. The air around you both seemed to still as you watched him, his lips curling slightly. And then, slowly, a droplet of his saliva escaped, slowly oozing from his mouth as it landed against your lips, a cold and unexpected touch.

The sensation was jarring, different from anything you’d expected, and it made your heart race. For a moment, the world seemed to pause as you processed what had just happened, feeling the weight of his gaze, the unspoken power behind his actions.

"You think you're in control?" His voice was a low growl, each word dripping with something darker. His hand reached up to gently put back his spit into your mouth, fingers light against your skin.

"You belong to us now, little bird," he added, the words like a sharp whisper in your ear. "And you’re going to learn just how much you do."

Then, William started drilling into you again, cock pulsing in and out of you in an endless cycle. Your walls tightened around him, pulling him in more, eager to reach your high, your climax. 

And it finally came, you came. All over them. Leaving a huge giant mess of your fluids and theirs. The bed was soaked with all your cum and sweat, cum still oozing out of your wet pussy.

When everything slowed and the storm of sensations faded, Louis and William remained close, their hands soft against your skin, grounding you. Louis's touch was gentle as he cupped your face, his fingers brushing away the sweat that clung to your forehead.

“You did so well,” he murmured, his voice laced with tenderness.

William finally pulled out, leaving you feeling empty but more relaxed. And he, ever the silent guy, placed a warm hand on your lower back, rubbing soothing soft circles as if to remind you of the safety and care in this moment. “Breathe,” he whispered, his tone steady and calm.

The overwhelming tension began to ease as they helped you to sit up, one of them handing you a glass of water. You drank greedily, still catching your breath, and felt yourself starting to come back to earth.

Louis pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head, his lips lingering for a moment before he pulled away, his eyes searching yours for any sign of distress. “How do you feel?”

Safe. Protected. But those words seemed too vulnerable, so you simply nodded, a small smile tugging at your lips.

“You’re alright,” William said, brushing a stray strand of hair from your face. “We’re not going anywhere.”

They stayed with you, no longer in the dominant roles they'd just held, but as calm anchors, ensuring you had everything you needed to feel grounded once more. The storm was over, but the connection remained, deep and unspoken.

[npookie0]

Reader x Ronin, alternate ‘good’ ending where instead of kissing or stabbing Ronin the reader decides to stab themself as a form of dedication to Ronin? He said he wanted a body, and they were more than willing for him to get their heart (literally)

I fear this may be too dark, so please ignore it if you don’t feel comfortable with it ❤️ I understand themes like this can be uncomfortable to write !!

Submitting Your Aorta to The Devil.

☪︎ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･❂

Trigger Warnings

Gore

Blood

Su1c1d3

Spoilers for Ronin ending

Obsession

Ronin™

6 tws? Hah, that's a devilish number...

☪︎ ･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆･ﾟ ･ﾟ·:｡･ﾟﾟ･❂

This was the day.

The day on which you would meet your beloved Devil. Oh that man who drove you absolutely crazy. The man who made a fool out of you with words alone.

Now here you are, in front of the purgatory, dressed up for that special occasion in your favourite clothes. You put your hand to your heart, the organ was beating so loud, the sound was ringing in your ears.

You took a deep breath to calm you excitement before you stepped into the damned alley. There was gore splattered all over the walls, grafity hidden behind blood and guts, body parts laying on the ground like regular trash. Most people would throw up at such sight, but you my love are far from being like most people, your morality is gone at least most of it.

No normal person would stay in that server and dance with the devil just to end up wrapped around his fingers.

Ronin took his sweet time shaping you into whatever your current form was. He was your muse, but you were his canvas. The canvas he had complete control over...

You didn't have to wait long for him to arrive. You heard the sound of heavy steps from behind and a quiet chuckle, chuckle you know oh so well.

"So we meet!" He said, his voice excited and amused. You turned around and scoffed at his shit-eating grin.

"Always the devil Ronin Beaufort."

"Aren't you a pleasure?" He chuckled at your answer and walked up to you dangerously close. "Gotta say, seein' you in person makes me feel some type of way. An' I wonder how you feel about, well..." He paused and pinned you to the wall.

Mouth close to your ear, hot breath against the sensitive skin of your neck. Oh how beautiful your devilish lover is. You felt the blush creep onto your cheeks, your breath hitching in your throat.

"Do you like me now, darlin'?" His voice dark, full of mystery and fascination, The closure makes the butterflies in your stomach fight to rip it open and fly out of your body in a bloody massacre.

"I do." You replied without any hesitation. Why lie? The devil knows you too well anyway.

"Oh, to speak the truth, the truth, anything but the truth!" Ronin's eyes are full of confidence, and something else, something way darker that is buried deeper, deep enough so unwanted eyes won't see. "Write me a love note, darlin'?" He asked in mocking amusement.

"I know your name , I could end you." Lie. Of course you wouldn't end him. Your lungs are filled with him, your brain can think only of him. You could never call the police on him.

"Hah! Coulda, woulda, shoulda." He started, looking deep into you eyes. "You could end me, you should end me, but would'ja end me?" His whispers filled your ears, caused you to shiver under his gaze.

"..." You didn't answer, didn't have to. It was the devil's speech after all.

"I don't think so! Where are the boys in blue? Why is it jus' us in my favourite gruesome alley? Why is that even after knowing who I am, you still wanna see me?" He paused, moved his mouth closer to your ear. "Some might say you're obsessed, even."

You took a deep calming breath. You couldn't just play his way now, could you?

"Why did you invite me to the server?" You asked in the most collected voice you could get out of your vocal cords.

"I did it for you. You were starving, so i gave you insatiability. You wanted inspiration, so i became your muse. You wanted love, darlin', so I gave you love. Isn't it everything you ever wanted?" The sound of his voice made your whole body boil. You wanted to do so many things right now. But you needed to listen to him, his words were like some sacred speech that was the most important moment in your entire life.

"I think you always knew. C'mon, why didn't you leave? Call the cops? There were so many... opportunities." Another pause. "If I may... I think you're a little too in love." He sounded like he had the greatest time of his life, just fucking with your head like he always did.

He gave you a new form, a new way of life. Ronin made you feel alive again. Oh but how could you thank him for that? What would satisfy the Devil?

"I told you baby. I'm your little wish fulfilment. I'm what you dream of. Isn't this a story for the ages?" He smirked. "C'mon! Tell me what you want. Do you hate me? Do you love me? Are you gonna kill me? I've got a knife right here. Or are you kissing me, darling? How much do you feel?" These words were what you needed.

Ronin has told you so many times about taking your aorta. He used his threat of slicing your throat open as love confessions. He wanted a body. So why don't you give him what he wants?

You smiled sweetly, innocently even.

You slowly moved you body closer to his, brushing you lips against his. But before Ronin could kiss you back, you snatched the knife away from him and without any second thought you stuck the knife deep into your chest, but far from the heart to avoid the most important muscle.

Ronin backed away in surprise, watching with wide opened eyes as blood splattered around your chest, turning your clothes dark red. He held you by firmly by your waist, shock in his eyes.

"What the hell Y/N?" He asked, voice shaken.

"You wanted a body Ronin, so I am offering my own as a proof of how crazy I am for you. Claim my aorta, steal it while I am still conscious." You had to take deep breaths, mixed with coughs while you spoke.

Ronin's expression was a mix of shock, love, fascination and a small amount of despair.

He chuckled darkly and kissed you hungrily, after all it was the last kiss you will ever share.

"Your wish is my command, darlin'. I will claim your aorta, steal it beating and hot." He whispered against your lips and you could feel him cutting you deeper with the knife, making it easier for him to take what was being gifted to him as a form of sacrifice for his love,

As your mind was somewhere between reality and death you could feel Ronin's skilled hands move inside of your chest, the sound of breaking bone and tore flesh was like the finest song for your sick romance. Ronin's hands were stained with your blood, it looked like every piece of your body wanted to be connected to Ronin to leave a stain on him forever.

Before you took your final breath and Ronin took what he wanted from the depths of your chest, he placed a kiss to your forehead and whispered against your hair.

"Thank you for this wonderful gift, my twisted fallen angel." And with that your heart was kept safe between the devil's fingers, where it was from the very beginning and your lifeless body was gently laid down in the centre of the purgatory.

Oh, what a beautiful love declaration it was.

[lambcultist]

The TLOU fandom is so sensitive and those ppl are migrating over into the Arcane fandom and spreading their pro-censorship agenda

it's so unfortunate. i'm not much older but i feel as though most of the people spreading these narratives are actually on the younger side and it can be pretty obvious. i feel like many of them first got into fandom spaces during 2020 and did not care to learn the 'etiquette'. i miss when fandom was just a bunch of weird kids :(

i grew up with unrestricted internet access (not good! which is also why i do not allow minors to interact with me!) and have been in fandom spaces since around 2014. i always understood the concept of ship and let ship, dead dove do not eat, and don't like, don't read. we are losing the sacred texts <//3

i know this is me preaching to the choir here, because only my followers will read this and pro-censorship people will refuse to read all of this, but i need a rant.

censoring fanworks is bad. posting a (correctly tagged) dark fic on ao3 or tumblr, which are places that are supposed to be mostly free of censorship, is very different to posting something like that on apps that have strict guidelines against this. if these people don't understand the history behind ao3 or the fanfiction.net purge, even the tumblr purge, they shouldn't be talking about these things. i'll always be anti-censorship because we have explicit evidence that it is harmful.

if we censor fanfiction, who gets to decide what is and isn't moral? what is and isn't a moral representation of darker topics? what topics should be allowed? because i can tell you right now, the complexity of this discussion will result in everything except for fluff being purged—and sometimes even fluff could be considered bad (e.g. hurt/comfort fics). with the way that conservatism is heading right now, and the actual published books that might be banned in the united states soon, who is to say we will still be able to write slash fics anymore? in the us, a bill is being drafted to force people to verify their id before using sites like ao3 so that people won't be exposed to porn or lgbtq+ content. this is exactly what i mean when i say we should not be censoring fanfiction. it harms everyone, not just people who write questionable content.

i don't understand people getting their panties twisted over coming across this stuff, and deciding to go harass the creators who (more often than not) are mentally ill and coping. i do not understand how sending people death threats puts you on a higher moral ground than them. if people cannot separate fiction from reality, that is their own problem—they should be thinking critically about everything they engage with. playing a game like tlou and then drawling the line at fics with themes like stalking and kidnapping (which happens similar in the source material!!!) is strange.

because nobody is forcing these people to read these fics. most of the time they are tagged correctly. you have the choice whether or not to read something. i have things i won't read or write about and that's fine, i just state it in my blog rules and move on. scroll away from any fic with those topics. i am starting to think these people do have some level of morbid curiosity that makes them read triggering stuff, but they suffer a moral panic over it, which is why it bothers them so much that they go out to harass people.

it's absurd. we are seeing a very concerning rise in purity culture and conservatism lately. i am just confused by it all. these debates hardly existed a while ago. unfortunately if you use the internet, you will always come across unsavoury things. thankfully fanfiction is fiction. it isn't harming anyone. there are honestly far worse things out there.

little nervous to post this as i have just rambled on and on and i am actually afraid to receive hate—but these are my thoughts on the matter.

also adding: i miss the arcane fandom when only season one was out. i also miss the tlou fandom from before the hbo show got released (especially because a lot of new fans will be blatantly zionist and deny the grosser aspects of it) when the fandoms were a little smaller, especially here on tumblr, it was very safe. now between racist jayvik shippers and people who simply cannot think with nuance to save their life, it's a hellscape

[rafes-slut]

Tango of Destruction

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Female Reader Warnings: Dark themes, toxic relationships, manipulation, emotional abuse, intense sexual tension, psychological games, slow burn, rough moments, explicit content.

Summary: It takes two to play the tango—one to lead and one to follow, but sometimes the dance is one of destruction, not passion. You and Rafe Cameron are locked in a vicious cycle, a tangled mess of love, hate, and power struggles. Every time you push him away, he’s right back at your door, eyes smoldering with an intensity that pulls you in despite yourself.

---

The door slams shut behind you, the heavy thud vibrating through the walls of your apartment. The silence that follows feels suffocating, pressing against your chest. You can still feel the lingering weight of his presence, the heat of his touch seared into your skin as though he’s still standing behind you. You breathe in sharply, trying to steady your racing heart, but the tremor in your hands betrays you.

Rafe Cameron has a way of getting under your skin, carving himself into every inch of your being, and every time you think you’re finally free, he’s right there, pulling you back into the storm. His eyes—those damn eyes—follow you even when he's not around. The intensity in them, that look like he’s somehow seeing through you, past the walls you’ve built, past the lies you’ve told yourself. And the worst part is, it works. Every. Single. Time.

You drop your bag to the floor, finally letting the exhaustion of the night wash over you. He’s done it again. That sick, twisted tango between you two. The game you both play, a game where the stakes are your emotions, your sanity, your very heart. And no matter how many times you try to walk away, no matter how many times you remind yourself of all the reasons why you should leave him behind, Rafe always manages to lure you back in with that intoxicating mix of charm and chaos.

The door creaks open again, and before you can react, his silhouette fills the doorway. You freeze, panic flooding your veins. How the hell did he get in?

He leans against the doorframe, his posture relaxed but predatory, eyes scanning you with a hunger that makes your stomach churn—though part of you knows it’s not entirely disgust. It’s something darker, more primal.

"You didn't think you could just walk away from me, did you?" His voice is low, rough, like gravel scraping against your skin. There's an edge to it, a challenge, like he’s daring you to defy him.

You want to shout at him, tell him to leave, but the words get caught in your throat. His presence fills the room, suffocating, demanding attention, forcing you to acknowledge him.

"Rafe," you manage to whisper, trying to steady your voice. "You need to go. This isn't… this isn’t good for us."

His smirk is sharp, cruel, and it makes your chest tighten. "You think I don’t know that?" He pushes off the doorframe, taking a step closer, his movements deliberate, calculated. "But here you are, standing in front of me, just like always. You can pretend to hate me, pretend to be done with this—" He takes another step, closing the distance between you, his eyes never leaving yours. "—but I know the truth. You can’t walk away from this. You never could."

He’s right. God, how could he be right? You feel the pull in your chest again, that sick, twisted longing that rises every time he gets too close. You want to push him away, to slam the door in his face and lock him out of your life for good, but your body betrays you. Your pulse quickens, your breath hitching, and you know—deep down—you want him here.

“You can’t keep doing this,” you whisper, your voice shaking. “You don’t get to just—”

He’s in front of you now, his hand on your jaw, forcing you to look up at him. His thumb traces the curve of your cheek, the gesture tender but laced with something darker, something dangerous. "I get to do whatever the hell I want," he murmurs, his lips hovering near your ear. "And right now, I want you. Right here. Right now."

His breath on your skin makes your pulse race, your body betraying every protest your mind tries to form. You should hate this. You should hate him. But when he pulls you in, when his lips crash against yours with an urgency that leaves no room for anything else, all you can do is respond. You feel your knees go weak as his hands grip your waist, pulling you flush against him.

Everything is a blur of heat and desperate touches. His hands are everywhere, claiming you, marking you, as though trying to prove that you belong to him. And in this moment, with his mouth on yours, his body pressed against yours, the world fades away. There’s only him and the electric pulse of your heart, beating in sync with his.

But the kiss turns possessive, too aggressive, and the intensity of it leaves no room for air, for clarity. Rafe pulls away just enough to look at you, his breath ragged, eyes filled with an emotion you can't quite place. "You can try to run, but you’ll always come back to me. You always do."

His words hit you like a punch to the gut. He’s right again. No matter how many times you try to escape, no matter how many times you convince yourself that you deserve better, you always find yourself tangled in his web, caught in the rhythm of his twisted dance.

He leans down to kiss you again, more tender this time, as if he knows the battle you’re fighting within yourself. His hand slides down your back, pressing you against him, and for a moment, the weight of his touch is the only thing that feels real. You should stop this. You should tell him to leave, to never come back. But your body betrays you once more, and you find yourself kissing him back, giving into the rhythm he’s set.

You pull away from Rafe, but his grip on your waist doesn't loosen. Instead, it tightens, forcing you to remain within the circle of his arms. His eyes lock onto yours, and in them, you see the storm brewing—a mix of frustration, desire, and something darker that makes your stomach twist.

"You can't keep running from this," he growls, his voice laced with a dangerous calm. "You think you can push me away, but you're just making it harder for yourself. You know that, don't you?" His lips brush against your forehead, a touch that should feel gentle, but somehow feels like a threat.

Your chest rises and falls with each uneven breath, your mind spinning, desperately trying to grasp onto something solid. "You don’t get it, Rafe," you whisper, but the words feel weak, feeble. "I don't want this. I don’t want you."

He scoffs, a dark, low sound that sends a chill down your spine. "You don’t get to say that. Not after everything we've been through." His fingers thread into your hair, tugging your head back so he can see every inch of your face. "You want this as much as I do. You always have."

You try to fight it, to hold onto your resistance, but there's that look in his eyes again—the one that makes everything inside of you burn with a desperate need you can't deny. Your mouth goes dry, your heart racing in your chest, and you know he's right. God, he's always right.

"Stop," you mutter, barely a breath escaping your lips, but you know it’s a futile attempt. Rafe isn’t the type to stop for anyone. Especially not you.

"You always beg me to stop," he murmurs, his voice turning into a low growl. "But you never want me to. Deep down, you love this." His words cut through the haze in your mind, and you know he’s not just talking about the physical. He’s talking about everything—the games, the tension, the endless back-and-forth that leaves you both broken and reborn every time.

You shove against his chest, finally creating enough space to breathe, but the way his gaze follows you, like he’s a predator and you’re the prey, makes you freeze. “I’m not a toy for you to play with, Rafe.” The words come out more desperately than you intended, the pleading evident in your voice.

“Is that what you think this is?” he says, his lips curling into a smile that’s anything but comforting. He steps forward, forcing you back a step. "You think I’m just playing games? That I don’t want you?" His voice drops to a whisper, heavy with something that makes your heart skip a beat. "You’re mine, whether you like it or not."

The weight of his words settles in your chest like a stone, suffocating, heavy. He steps forward again, and this time, you can’t move, can’t bring yourself to push him away. Something in his gaze holds you in place, a raw, primal need that cuts through the air between you both.

"You know what I want," he says softly, his breath hot against your lips. "And you want it too." He trails his lips down your neck, pressing small, almost tender kisses to your skin, each one sending a tremor through your body. "Admit it," he whispers. "Admit that you’re just as tangled in this as I am."

You should say no. You should push him away and remind yourself that you can still walk away from this toxic dance. But every touch, every word he speaks, pulls you further into the chaos. Your hands shake, your body betrays you, and when you look up at him, the answer is clear in your eyes.

"Fine," you breathe, the word slipping from your lips before you can stop it. "I want you. I can’t help it. But this—" you motion between the two of you, "—this isn’t love, Rafe. This is destruction."

He leans in, his mouth claiming yours in a fierce, possessive kiss, a kiss that steals your breath away and leaves you wanting more, needing more. There’s no tenderness in it, just raw hunger, a desperate, burning need that drowns out everything else.

"Love?" he chuckles against your lips, his voice dripping with disdain. "Love is a game for weak people. What we have is so much better than that. This is real, this is raw. You can’t fight it anymore." His hands move down your body, tracing the curve of your hips, making you shiver under his touch. "And you know what? Neither can I."

He steps back, his eyes never leaving yours, and for a moment, you're both locked in a standoff. The tension between you could snap with the slightest movement. He’s waiting for you to make the next move, to admit to yourself that you’re as lost in this as he is.

“I won’t stop, you know that,” he says, his voice low, a warning wrapped in an invitation. “I’ll keep coming back. Keep pulling you into this until you can’t remember a time without me."

You want to hate him for it. You want to scream, to run away and never look back. But deep down, you know you're already lost. The tango has already begun, and you're both caught in its twisted rhythm. The destruction is inevitable, and part of you doesn't want it to stop.

Rafe steps toward you again, but this time, you don’t push him away. Instead, you let him pull you in, your body surrendering to the pull, even as your mind tries to resist. And as his lips find yours once again, you know this is the beginning of something that could ruin you both.

The heat of his body against yours is overwhelming, a constant reminder that you’re playing a dangerous game. Every movement he makes, every subtle shift in his posture, feels like a challenge. Rafe knows exactly what he's doing—he knows how to make you weak, how to make you crave him, even when every fiber of your being screams to fight back.

He pulls away just enough to look at you, his hands still gripping your waist with a possessiveness that makes your stomach twist. The air between you is thick, charged, like a storm ready to break.

"You think you can control this," he says, voice low, almost mocking. "You think you can keep pretending you’re the one calling the shots. But you’re not. You never were."

You don’t say anything. What’s the point? He’s right. Even when you push him away, even when you tell yourself you’re done with him, there’s always that pull. Always that need to feel his touch, to be tangled in his mess.

He steps back slightly, studying you, reading every inch of your face. His eyes flicker down to your lips, then back up to your eyes, and the way he looks at you—like he’s already won—makes your chest tighten. But you’re not ready to give in completely, not yet.

“Don’t act like this isn’t what you want,” he says, his voice almost a whisper, but it cuts through you like a knife. “I know you better than anyone. And deep down, you want this chaos. You need it. You need me.”

The words hit you like a blow, but you try to steady yourself, shaking your head as if it would somehow make the truth less real. “I don’t need you, Rafe,” you say, your voice shaky but defiant. “This—this isn’t love. This is just two people tearing each other apart.”

He doesn’t respond immediately. Instead, he moves closer, his presence suffocating as he leans down to your ear, his breath hot against your skin. “Love is a lie,” he whispers. “It’s a fairy tale for weak people. You know what this is? This is real. This is fire. This is destruction. And in the end, you’ll burn with me. You always do.”

Before you can respond, his lips are on yours again, this time with a hunger that leaves no room for argument. His hands roam over your body, tracing the curves of your hips, your thighs, and you can’t deny it anymore—you want him. You want all of it, the darkness, the heat, the madness.

He pushes you backward until your legs hit the edge of the couch, and before you can sit down, he’s there, his hands gripping your arms, his mouth trailing down to your neck. The kiss is rough, almost bruising, but there’s a tenderness to it, a rawness that makes your pulse race. You can feel the tension between you both, thick and oppressive, and you know that it’s only a matter of time before everything cracks.

“Don’t pull away from me,” he growls, his voice hoarse as he moves to hover over you, his hands never leaving your skin. “I’ll break you if I have to, but you won’t be able to resist. Not anymore.”

You want to fight back. You want to push him away and demand that he respect your space, your boundaries. But his words, his touch—they make it impossible. You’ve never felt so out of control, so utterly powerless, and yet, in this moment, there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to fight it. Maybe you’re just as broken as he is.

His lips crash down onto yours again, this time with more urgency, more need. It’s a desperate kiss, one that leaves you breathless and wanting more. Your hands slide up to his chest, feeling the tension in his muscles, the power he exudes, and you realize that you’re lost. There’s no escaping this. Not now. Not ever.

“Rafe…” You manage to whisper his name, but it’s a plea, not a warning. You’re not sure what you want anymore—whether it’s to pull away or to let him consume you completely. His name sounds like a question, but it’s already too late for answers.

“You’re mine,” he says, his voice dark and filled with that same undeniable possessiveness. He pulls back just long enough to look at you, his eyes dark with desire. “And you’re going to learn that the hard way.”

[theresattrpgforthat]

Alright, I have a weird one. Are there any TTRPGS that revolve around Coral? That, or have coral as an important element of the game?

Oh my gosh my ask box apparently ate this for MONTHS and finally decided to spit this back. Let's see what we've got!

THEME: Coral

Descent into Midnight, by Rich Howard, Taylor LaBresh, and Richard Kreutz-Landry.

At its heart, Descent into Midnight (DiM) is a game about community, family, and hope. It's a tabletop roleplaying game that takes place in a technologically advanced aquatic civilization whose culture has never been touched by humanity. Bioengineering and psionic, or mental, powers allow the strange and varied species to communicate and interact with their surroundings no matter their physiology.

In the game, players take on the roles of guardians, defending their community from a physical, emotional, and even existential threat. The game focuses on the relationships between the guardians, the inhabitants they protect, and their internal struggles and dreams in the face of a corruption that threatens to change their world.

You can play as whatever you like in Descent in to Midnight, including fish, plants, even abstract concepts - so a shelf of coral isn’t really that much of a stretch. The playbooks (yes, playbooks, this is a PbtA game) are centred more about your personality, and what you look like is secondary. The game is designed to take a turn for the darker before it pushes towards hope, so I think your game experience will be different depending on whether this is a one-shot or a long-form campaign.

Delve Deeper, by Maik.

A complete new game of under-oceanic adventuring and exploration. 

Play as intelligent oceanic folks such as the cephaliin octopoids, the crustaciin crab-folk and the fish-like merfolk and explore the coral reefs, open seas and abyssal trenches in search for adventure, pearls and treasure.

You don’t play as coral in this game, but you’re certainly exploring it! Taking nods from games such as Troika!, Electric Bastionland, and Brave Zenith, this game feels solidly inside the OSR camp, but with a special love for the wacky and weird. If you want to have a particular connection to the coral reefs, you’ll likely want to play as a Merfolk, who build cities from the coral and rule as a matriarchal society. This game is full of lore, but not extensively so - it’s only 33 pages long in total. But I think you’ll probably come away from reading Delve Deeper with a pretty strong sense of what this underwater kingdom is like.

Reefs of Despair, by Zaftikat

You are a sea anemone, stuck firm in an ocean that will soon be inhospitable to you. Grapple with climate change as you explore fatalism and ennui.

Sea anemones aren’t coral but they’re kind of close right?

Now this game is neat. It uses popcorn as a resolution mechanic - how cool is that? You have to pop the popcorn in a stove-top vessel, rather than a microwave, because you have to count how many popcorn kernels pop at first pop - the more there are, the better your outcome. Apart from that, your character has two stats: Ennui and Fatalism. These stats rise and fall similar to the way stats raise and fall in Honey Heist - with a similar outcome if you get too high or too low, by ending the game. There’s also a third end state for what happens once you’ve popped all the kernels, but I’ll leave that one for folks who decide to download this game and read it.

The game also is donating proceeds to the Coral Restoration Foundation, so in a roundabout way, I guess it was about coral all along.

Other Games You Should Check Out

Bones Deep, by Technical Grimoire. (You should really check this one out.)