#I was worried she didn’t but she looked into something I was interested in and it makes me sick with happiness

[aisiedaisie]

Royal Flush

Authors Note: I'm currently recovering from surgery so I apologize for a lack of updates. I am recovering well, thankfully, but it's been really difficult to sit and write for long periods of time... I'm so sorry!!! However, we finally have an update~ If there are any grammatical errors I apologize most of this was written via voice to text my little loophole for writing right now.

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

Pairing: Poly!Marauders x Fem!Reader WC: 3.7K

Morning arrived with an unceremonious jolt as a series of sharp knocks shattered the fragile peace of your slumber. You groaned, barely able to push yourself upright before the door creaked open without waiting for your response.

Molly strode in with a bounce in her step, the morning sun catching on her copper curls as they bobbed with her movement. She wore her usual mischievous grin, her hands planted firmly on her hips like she was about to deliver some grand proclamation.

“Good morning, my lady,” she chimed, her voice dripping with exaggerated sweetness.

Still groggy, you blinked at her, confusion clouding your mind. “Molly— what are you—”

Before you could finish, she closed the door with a deliberate click and leaned against it, her grin widening. Her expression practically sparkled with mischief, and you suddenly felt very exposed.

“A little birdie,” she began, her tone light and almost singsong, “told me something very interesting this morning.”

A faint sense of dread began to creep into your chest. “What do you mean?” you asked cautiously, though a part of you already suspected where this was heading.

Molly tilted her head, her coy expression unwavering. “Oh, nothing much. Just that my brothers—lovely lads, part of the Griffyn Guard, as you know— happened to spot someone leaving your chambers at an awfully early hour.”

Your stomach dropped. Bolting upright, you felt the blood rush from your head, leaving you dizzy. “What?” you croaked, the word barely audible.

Molly raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying your flustered reaction. “Don’t look so scandalized, my lady,” she teased. “They weren’t sure who it was at first— until they got a better look. And wouldn’t you know it, the person bore an uncanny resemblance to Sir Sirius Black.”

Your heart leapt into your throat as her words hung in the air. You scrambled for a response, but your tongue felt like lead.

Molly’s grin turned positively feline. She crossed her arms, her eyes twinkling with glee. “So,” she drawled, “is there something you’d like to share? A midnight rendezvous, perhaps?”

You gaped at her, heat rushing to your face. “Molly!” you finally managed, your voice a mix of exasperation and embarrassment.

She chuckled, pushing off the door and sauntering closer. “Oh, don’t worry,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “I’m not about to start spreading tales. But you can’t blame a girl for being curious.”

“Nothing happened,” you sigh, waving a hand dismissively toward Molly’s pointed, curious stare. “He was just helping me back to my room after I went for a stroll in the gardens.”

Molly tilted her head, her auburn curls swaying with the motion, her brows raised in a way that told you she didn’t believe a single word of it. Still, she offered a shrug, deciding— for now, at least— not to press the matter further.

“If you say so, my lady,” she said with a sly smile that suggested she wasn’t quite finished teasing you.

_____

The rest of the early morning passed in a whirlwind of Molly’s endless energy and rapid fire explanations as she led you through more of the castle. At last, you discovered the kitchens, tucked away in a cozy corner of the palace. The scent of fresh bread and simmering stews greeted you as Molly proudly declared, “And here’s where the magic happens.”

You were introduced to the bustling cooks and kitchen staff, their aprons dusted with flour and their sleeves rolled up as they worked around the large stone hearth. They greeted you warmly, one even offering you a freshly baked roll that you nibbled on thankfully as Molly dragged you back into the halls.

From there, she brought you by the meeting rooms, where, unsurprisingly, the princess was once again trapped in an endless string of meetings.

Mary and Marlene stood near the door to the meeting chamber, their postures casual yet attentive.

“Lily is still in there?” You ask, your tone equal parts amused and exasperated.

Mary sighed, crossing her arms as she leaned against the stone wall. “Still in there,” she confirmed with a knowing look.

“We can’t even go inside,” Marlene added, gesturing toward the grand double doors. “It’d be overkill for all of us to just stand around waiting for her highness. Besides,” she added with a grimace, “I’m not sitting through another one of those meetings unless I’m being forced.”

Mary turned to you with an understanding smile and waved you off. “Don’t worry about her. Our lady is used to this. She’ll find us when she’s free.”

Before you could even offer to wait with them, Molly was already ushering you away, her hands lightly pushing you down the hall like a mother shooing her child away from adult conversations.

“Come on, no use hovering around,” she said cheerily. “Let’s find something else to do.”

You glanced back over your shoulder at the closed doors of the meeting chamber, feeling a faint pang of sympathy for Lily. Then, sighing in resignation, you allowed Molly to steer you away, her chatter quickly filling the quiet corridors as the castle unfolded before you once more.

_____

You spent the remainder of the morning seated by the window, warm sunlight streaming through the frosty glass, as Molly animatedly filled the air with her knowledge about the capital’s shops.

It had started with a simple question about winter dresses— your wardrobe clearly unprepared for the fast approaching frigid temperatures— and Molly had launched into a detailed breakdown of every reputable boutique in town.

Her enthusiasm was contagious, her smile bright as she spoke of fabric selections, embroidery styles, and which tailors were secretly overrated. But as her words spilled forth like a rushing stream, you began to feel the sheer amount of information cloud your thoughts.

“Thank you, Molly,” you said finally, with a gentle laugh that masked your slight overwhelm. “When I’m able, I’d like to go into town to—”

Molly, never one to hesitate, practically bounced in place. “We can go now, if you’d like, my lady!” she offered eagerly, already standing and smoothing down the front of her skirts in preparation.

You glanced at the small ornate clock perched on the vanity. The delicate golden hands crept closer to midday. Your heart fluttered, and you quickly shook your head, reaching out to grasp Molly’s hand before she could get too far. “Perhaps tomorrow?” you suggested gently.

Her brows lifted in curiosity, the question clear in her expression even though she didn’t voice it.

You averted your gaze, busying yourself by tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear, and answered her unspoken query. “I promised Sir Sirius I would meet with him today. Around noon.”

Your voice dropped slightly, softened with a tone you hadn’t intended to use. Your head bowed just enough to mask the warmth spreading across your cheeks, though you doubted Molly missed it.

The memories of last night— the way Sirius had lingered just long enough for you to feel his sincerity— still hovered fresh and vivid in your mind.

Molly’s lips quirked upward, a knowing smile tugging at the corners. “Ah, I see,” she teased, leaning closer in mock secrecy. “Well, far be it from me to come between you and a certain knight, my lady.”

“Molly…” you groan, your cheeks as warm as they could be as you shoot her an admonishing look.

But she merely laughed, her giggles bright and carefree as they echoed through the room.

“Well, we should doll you up then,” Molly declared with a mischievous grin, already eyeing your hair and outfit as if she were mentally drafting a plan. “Not that you really need it—"

“It’s not a date,” you interrupted with a soft laugh, shaking your head at her enthusiasm.

Molly’s brows rose ever so slightly, clearly unconvinced. “Not a date?” she repeated, a teasing lilt in her voice as she crossed her arms.

You rolled your eyes, though a faint smile tugged at your lips. “It isn’t. I was asked to meet with Sir Sirius, Sir Remus, and His Highness after his classes this morning,” you explained, watching as her smile grew impossibly wider.

“Even more reason to doll you up!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together as if your explanation had only solidified her resolve.

Before you could protest, Molly had already begun rifling through your wardrobe with the fervor of someone on a mission. “Let’s see,” she muttered under her breath, pulling out gowns and holding them up against the light. “Too formal… too plain… oh, this one!” She spun around, holding a light blue gown trimmed with silver embroidery that shimmered faintly in the morning light.

“Molly, really—”

“Oh, hush,” she interrupted, her tone both firm and playful as she laid the gown on the bed and began fussing with your hair. “You may not think it’s a date, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look stunning. You’re meeting with the prince, my lady. A little effort never hurt anyone.”

You sighed in surrender, letting her take the reins as she braided your hair into an elegant, simple style. As she worked, her chatter filled the room, alternating between playful teasing about your 'not a date' and genuine compliments about how the color of the dress would bring out your eyes.

By the time she was finished, you couldn’t help but admire her handiwork. The gown fit perfectly, and the subtle sparkle of the embroidery caught the light whenever you moved. Your hair, braided and pinned just so, framed your face delicately.

“There,” Molly said with a satisfied smile, stepping back to admire her work. “Now you’re ready to meet your knight—and your prince.”

You shot her a pointed look, but the warmth of your smile betrayed you. “Thank you, Molly. But really, this isn’t—”

“Save it,” she interrupted with a wink, shooing you toward the door. “Go on, my lady. You don’t want to keep them waiting.”

As you left the room, you couldn’t help but feel a slight flutter of nerves mixed with anticipation. It wasn’t a date, you reminded yourself again, but something about the way Sirius had smiled at you the night before made it hard to ignore the possibilities lingering in the air.

_____

The walk to the library was nerve wracking. Your heart thrummed in your ears, each step feeling as though it drained the energy from your body. Yet, despite the nervous fluttering in your chest, you pressed on, determined to keep your promise.

Soon enough, you found yourself standing before the grand double doors of the library, slightly ajar to reveal a world of endless shelves and tables bathed in soft golden light.

Pushing the doors open wider, you stepped inside. The scent of parchment and aged leather greeted you, a soothing yet slightly overwhelming aroma. Rows upon rows of books stretched toward the ceiling, interspersed with towering ladders that hinted at the sheer scale of the collection.

At the center of it all stood an older man, his back straight and his movements deliberate. He cradled two hefty books against his chest, his expression warm and inviting. For a brief moment, you swore you'd seen his face before, and then it struck you— this must be the prince’s tutor and, by extension, Remus’s father.

The realization had you bowing your head quickly in a polite gesture as you stepped aside to let him pass.

“Ah, thank you, my lady,” he said with a gentle chuckle, his voice kind and refined.

You murmured a soft response, still bowing your head slightly, and watched as he left the library. The sound of his footsteps faded into the corridor beyond, leaving you alone with the three figures still in the room.

James sat at one of the tables across from Remus, a scattering of books and scrolls spread between them. James’s hand rested lightly on the edge of a page, mid-turn, while Remus appeared to be explaining something, his tone low and measured.

And then there was Sirius, leaning casually against a bookshelf just behind James. His dark hair fell across his face in soft waves, and his arms were crossed in a way that gave him a roguish, unbothered air. Yet the moment his gaze landed on you, his posture shifted ever so slightly— his shoulders straightened, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at his lips.

“Well,” James said, his voice breaking the quiet reverie. He closed his book with a soft thud and grinned at you. “Look who decided to join us.”

You smiled nervously, stepping further into the room. “I hope I’m not interrupting,” you said softly, your gaze flitting between them.

“Not at all,” Remus assured, his tone steady and reassuring. “We were just finishing up.”

Sirius pushed off the bookcase then, walking toward you with an easy grace that belied the warmth in his stormy gray eyes. “You made it,” he said, his voice quieter than usual, though the smile on his lips widened ever so slightly.

You nodded, feeling your cheeks warm under his gaze. “I promised I would try to come by.”

James exchanged a knowing look with Remus, who merely raised a brow in quiet amusement before returning his attention to closing the books in front of him.

“Well,” James said, clapping his hands together and standing. “Since we’re done with lessons for the day, why don’t we get out of here? The library’s a bit too stuffy for a proper conversation, don’t you think?”

Sirius turned back to look at you, waiting for your response. Your throat felt dry, but you managed a nod. “That sounds lovely.”

“Perfect,” James said with a grin, looping an arm around Remus’s shoulder as they began to gather their things. Sirius lingered at your side, his presence both grounding and slightly overwhelming.

As the four of you made your way out of the library, you couldn’t help but feel a strange mix of ease and anticipation— like the faint hum of an incoming storm.

Though you trusted their lead, uncertainty began to creep in when you realized you had no idea where you were heading. Lingering just a step behind, you took note of every turn, trying to memorize the path. You knew it would be just your luck to wander into an unfamiliar wing later and find yourself hopelessly lost.

That thought proved prophetic when James turned into a hallway you hadn’t seen before. The cold, bare stone of the earlier halls gave way to a long, deep red carpet that ran the length of the corridor. The walls, too, grew more ornate, boasting intricate carvings and golden accents. This wing was somehow even more luxurious than the one you had been staying in with Lily.

The opulence only deepened as you were led into a sitting room. The space was warm and inviting, the kind of elegance that whispered of understated power. Wine colored velvet couches framed a glass table adorned with delicate gold trim, the craftsmanship so fine you almost hesitated to look too long. 

Sheer white curtains framed tall windows, allowing sunlight to filter through the leaves of trees outside. The dappled light danced across the room in soft patches, adding a gentle glow to the otherwise regal atmosphere.

“Have a seat, my lady.”

Remus’s calm, steady voice drew you out of your thoughts. You blinked, startled by how deeply you had been observing the room, and turned to find him gesturing to one of the couches.

“Oh,” you breathed, your cheeks warming as you realized you had been standing there for longer than was intended. “Thank you.”

With a soft nod, you stepped forward and sank into one of the couches. The velvet cushions were as plush as they looked, enveloping you in a quiet sort of comfort. It was a stark contrast to the fluttering nerves in your chest.

James and Sirius took seats across from you, Sirius choosing the armrest rather than the couch itself, while James lounged with a carefree ease that only seemed to amplify the princely air about him. Remus, ever the gentleman, settled beside you, though he left a polite distance between you.

“So,” James began, his tone bright as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What do you think of the castle so far?”

“It’s… breathtaking,” you admitted honestly, your gaze flicking around the room once more. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how grand it all is.”

James grinned, his hazel eyes sparkling with amusement. “You’d be surprised. Give it a few weeks, and you’ll be wandering these halls like you own the place.”

“Or,” Sirius interjected, his tone light but teasing, “you’ll get hopelessly lost and end up in the kitchens. Not that it’s a bad place to be.”

You laughed softly, shaking your head. “I’m trying to avoid that fate, but I can’t make any promises.”

Remus chuckled quietly beside you, the sound low and warm. “If it happens, you’ll have plenty of people willing to guide you back. Sirius especially seems to enjoy playing the knight in shining armor.”

Sirius shot him a playful glare, but there was no heat behind it. “I don’t see you volunteering to help.”

“That’s because I have faith in her sense of direction,” Remus replied smoothly, his lips quirking into a small smile as he turned to you. “But should you need it, I’d be happy to help as well.”

The warmth in his gaze made your heart skip a beat, and you found yourself nodding before you even fully registered his words. “Thank you, Remus. I’ll keep that in mind.”

James clapped his hands together, breaking the quiet moment. “Alright, enough teasing. Let’s enjoy ourselves, shall we? We’ve got plenty of time before duty calls again.”

The casual rapport in the air eased the last of your nerves, and you allowed yourself to relax into the couch, a soft smile gracing your lips. 

Sirius was the one to break the comfortable silence, his voice smooth but direct as he leaned forward from his perch on the armrest. “So,” he began, his grey eyes flicking between you and the others, “how did you want to go about this?”

His words hung in the air like a thread waiting to be pulled, and the mood shifted ever so slightly.

Remus let out a quiet sigh, his hand lifting to pinch the bridge of his nose in obvious exasperation. “Must we always jump straight to the point, Sirius? Can we not ease into this for once?”

James, lounging with his typical air of princely mischief, bit back a chuckle, his amber eyes glinting with amusement. “I hate to say it, but Siri has a point. I think being upfront might actually help here, Rem.”

At that, Remus’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling, the smallest twitch of a smile betraying his otherwise irritated expression. “Fine,” he relented, gesturing loosely with his hand as though passing the baton. “By all means, one of you take the lead.”

James straightened a little in his seat, clearly ready to jump in, but Sirius beat him to it. His gaze settled on you, steady but not unkind, the sharp edges of his humor softened for the moment.

“We wanted to talk to you about something important,” Sirius said, his tone unusually measured. “And, well, it’s not exactly the easiest thing to bring up.”

You tilted your head slightly, curiosity sparking in your chest as you met his gaze. “Important?” you echoed, your voice tentative.

Remus sighed again, though there was less frustration and more resignation in the sound now. “Yes, important,” he confirmed, sitting up straighter as if to lend weight to his words. “It concerns you… and us, I suppose.”

James, ever the bold one, leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees his hands intertwined as he grinned at you with that boyish smile. “We’ve all grown quite fond of you,” he said, his tone light but earnest.

Your brows knitted together in confusion, and you glanced between the three of them. “I… don’t quite understand,” you admitted, your heart thudding louder with each passing second.

Sirius exchanged a brief glance with James, then Remus, before turning back to you. “We’re trying to say that we care about you,” he explained, his voice softer now. “Not just as acquaintances or friends. Something more than that.”

The room seemed to tilt slightly, your breath catching as the weight of his words settled over you. “You mean… all of you?” you asked hesitantly, your cheeks warming as you tried to process.

Remus nodded, his expression as calm and reassuring as ever. “Yes. All of us.”

James smiled warmly, the sincerity in his eyes dispelling any lingering doubt. “You don’t have to give us an answer now,” he said quickly, his tone gentle. “We just… We just wanted you to know how we feel.”

Your gaze dropped to your hands, which were clasped tightly in your lap, your thoughts a whirlwind of emotions you couldn’t quite pin down. When you finally looked up again, the three of them were watching you with varying degrees of hope and apprehension, their vulnerability as evident as if they’d laid it bare.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” you whispered, your voice barely audible. You were flattered— their words sincere, their intentions genuine as far as you could tell— but something inside you hesitated. “Is it not too soon to talk of being so taken with someone like this? It’s barely been three days since—”

Sirius’s faint smile softened further, his usual cocky demeanor tempered by a rare tenderness. “Then don’t say anything,” he murmured, his voice low but steady. “Just think about it. That’s all we ask.”

You nodded slowly, your chest tight with a mix of uncertainty and something far warmer, something that made your heart ache in the most confusingly wonderful way. “I will,” you promised, your voice steady despite the turmoil within.

The three of them seemed to relax at your words, and James, ever the optimist, clapped his hands together with a grin. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, shall we order some food? I’m starving.”

The tension in the room broke like a wave, leaving behind a tentative sense of relief. You couldn’t help but laugh softly, the sound a welcome release after the intensity of the moment. 

“Food does sound good,” you admitted, allowing yourself a small smile.

As the conversation shifted to lighter topics, you found yourself glancing at each of them in turn, the weight of their confession still lingering in the air between you.

You didn’t have all the answers yet, but for now, you were content to simply exist in this moment.

tag list: @amatoanima @wolfstar4everbitches @bugworldsworld @ilovejamespottersomuch @garden-h0bbit @dearmy-diary @yejiswifex @bmyva1entine @emerald-jade1 @miliokumura3 @amandinhagg @thewitchesofart

[doctormonocat]

Replaced

Self Aware! Rafayel x Unaware! Player

Can you guess which other game character this is inspired by? I will be doing a series for each of the LADS boys being self aware. A little angsty, once again. It will hopefully become clear, but this is a story about Rafayel, your favorite LI, becoming self aware, and eventually being replaced by Caleb. I just picked Caleb bc he just released, but Sylus or any LI released after start would work. Hope you enjoy! I'll prolly do a part 2. A bit long, sorry!

Self Aware! Rafayel who becomes aware slowly but surely. Rather than an instant moment of understanding, he begins to recognize new things in his world, things he didn’t understand before. Things seem… out of order. Time is disjointed, his senses thrown into a black void just as often as he is alive. 

Self Aware! Rafayel realizes he is a game character long before he ever becomes aware of you. His existence seems to dull with each passing day before he meets you. His life, his suffering, his love… none of its real. He realizes that he is pre programmed into a virtual reality. But he wonders, why? And why does he feel a sort of… presence? 

Self Aware! Rafayel who feels the presence everywhere. In his battles with his… lover? (is she still? Does he even want her to be? Rafayel doesn’t know. Even she seems fake now) There is an unknowing force watching him. Despite the oddity of it, Rafayel isn’t alarmed by it. If anything, it’s comforting. Warm. It feels like his first hug after a life of being touch starved. 

Self Aware! Rafayel becomes addicted to the presence. Comforted by the ever watching force. He looks forward to his limited interactions with it in that cafe everyday. His dulled world begins to spill with color. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who one day sees… you. You’re the presence that’s been there for what seems like years, the only thing allowing sunshine to pour into Rafayel’s darkened world. He preens under your attention, feeling like a deep sea fish seeing the light for the first time. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who finally realizes his world is a dating game. It's a bit of a shock, but a surprising comfort. You had become his everything before he was even aware who you were, and being able to actually see you everyday has only deepened his feelings. So, learning that you joined this game to date the characters, and that he is your main focus is a relief. He feels requited. You care about him just as much as he does you (maybe not quite as much, he realizes. Currently, you are his only tether to realness, and are still unaware of his awareness or his feelings. But, it won’t be like that for much longer). 

Self Aware! Rafayel who is aware of the other male love interests, but doesn’t pay them much of a mind besides the occasional twinge of jealousy. After all, you only complete their events out of a sense of obligation. But he is your focus. You pull for his cards, spend your in game currency on his outfits, and have him accompany you for card games and plushie hunting. It’s clear to him, he is your favorite. And he hopes that when he makes you aware of his presence too, that your favoritism will turn into something more. So, in response to those other boys, all he does is give you a pout the next time you visit him in your cafe. But, seeing your smile in his presence makes the painter’s grumpy mood vanish quickly. He loves your smile, direct just at him; teasing, joking, and flirting all the time just to see it whenever he wants. Yeah. He needs to see that smile more often.

Self Aware! Rafayel who wants everything to be perfect for when he confesses. He’s been picking up some coding skills on the side, trying to keep it hidden from you as he carves out a small place in his world just for you to. The perfect place by the beach, with the perfect light. The perfect gift (a painting of you), the perfect words to say to make you understand the depth of his sentience and of his love. His perfect moment. He’s worried he might spoil it accidentally though, with the extra attention he’s been lavishing on you. You’re just so cute, that every time you cheer after the two of you win a battle together he can’t help but laugh along. He’s a little tired of waiting, but he still wants everything to be perfect. He just hopes you can chalk up your excellent luck pulling cards and his extra smiles to a new game mechanic. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who is vaguely aware of the announcement of a new male love interest. Colin? Or maybe Cade? Who cares? Rafayel’s been your favorite since launch. Truly, he doesn’t pay too much attention. He’s too focused on making his confession to you just perfect. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who starts paying attention when he hears it come from your mouth. 

“Caleb is almost here!” You say, cheerily. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who feels his heart clench a little. Now he begins to remember the details clearly. Caleb. Thats his name. The jealousy he feels is a bit more papabile than it has been before with the other boys, feeling like a heavy stone pulling his heart down into a dark ocean. He remembers you playing that chapter with that… man… in it a couple times, but he dismissed it as you trying to better understand the story. He knows it's not because you want to see that guy. Is it? 

| | | | |

Self Aware! Rafayel who doesn't realize how black everything has been until he’s let out into the light again. How long has it been? He feels his body physically react when he checks your phone’s internal clock and realizes a month has passed. His world had become dull again without you at least visiting him; fake, and flat and just black. It scares him for two reasons. The first, that without you he might stop being aware, stop existing as he is now. He might start being like the other nothings that populate his world without you, pre programmed to run in circles. It terrifies him. And the second, that something might have happened to you in the time you were away from him. He is even more scared that something in your large and expansive reality might be able to harm you. With his dulled senses, he hasn’t felt your presence visiting him at all in the past month (that went by all too fast to him. Add that to his growing list of things that will keep him up at night.)

Self Aware! Rafayel who is scared now for an entirely different reason. He manages to use his coding skills in the brief time period where you are visiting to tether himself to the game outright. At least it will be harder now to pull him away from you. Even if you stop visiting, he’ll be aware. But with that, comes an even worse realization. You’d been here, actually. In the game, playing as usual. Just not with him. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who wants to cry and shout all at once. Who the hell is this Caleb, and how dare he take you from him (he tries to push down the feeling that you have betrayed him as well. He doesn’t want to fall into that rabbit hole of resenting the only thing that makes him feel alive). So, instead he blames this… usurper, who has stolen your love, your light, your attention away from him. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who has a plan to get your attention back. Screw the perfect moment. He just needs to confess the next time he sees you. You’ll throw away apple boy the second you realize you have a sentient fishie who loves you more than anything. 

Self Aware! Rafayel begins to slowly realize a couple of harrowing things. The first, that you haven’t visited him in a long time. The last time you did, his first gasp of air in over a month, seemed to be irregular, if not a fluke entirely. You were too focused on Caleb (the name still sickens him to think about) to spend anytime with him anymore. Who knows if you would even give him the chance to confess. The second, even more harrowing thought. Was it your attention, your love, that brought him sentience? If so, could that same awareness be brought to another? Would Rafayel’s competition soon extend to another man who knew of your existence just as he did? The third, that it might not even matter for him or the “colonel” either. You had discarded and neglected Rafayel so easily when a new shiny toy came into your view. Did you even see him as real? Would you ever? Were you even capable of that? 

Self Aware! Rafayel chose to push that thought down deep. He would cross that bridge when he got to it. No, he should deal with the problem at hand. Caleb. Just the very thought of him made fire burn in Rafayel’s veins and a sting like salt water in his throat. At the very least, he should deal with this so-called replacement. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who knows deep in his soul, in the very essence of his being that you love him. You’ve just been… distracted. Tempted. Lured. But Rafayel knows about luring also. He is a siren, a vision of seduction and temptation. Colonel apple can’t compare. Rafayel will use very weapon in his arsenal. His newly acquired coding skills will force you to see him, force you to let him win your love back. He’ll shower you with gifts, with digital seashells, in game currency, and his sweet words. He’ll hold off on confessing, just until his competition is not even a memory in your mind. 

Self Aware! Rafayel decides that even if that fails, he has other ways of convincing you to his side. He wonders what would happen if he were to alter the game code, to make Caleb repulsive to you, or even better, gone (the thought of messing with the game code, with the very essence of the world does still make him a bit queasy. Perhaps that will be his last resort). Instead, he wonders what would happen if he decided to find Caleb in his world. Maybe a recreation of a certain explosion might be in order, certain to actually find it’s target this time. 

Self Aware! Rafayel who is becoming desperate. He’s willing to do anything. Even if it means removing all other obstacles by any means necessary. You will love him again. 

After all, why wouldn’t you? With no one else but him and you, everything will be just as it should be. 

[just-dreaming-marvel]

Love That Burns ~ Ending 2 ~ 61

LOVE THAT BURNS MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 2,490ish

Summary: Laura seems to be moving on with her life and you aren't taking it well.

Notes: Please share reactions! 

Reminder: I DO NOT do taglists. Please don’t ask. Please follow and interact! I appreciate any reblogs, likes, comments, and asks!

Wade sat in the library in the TVA where all the files where kept. B-15 walked over and dropped all the files on you and your variants on the table.

“You know, for an all powerful agency, you sure are behind the times,” Wade commented, eyeing the paper files. “Maybe I can do you a solid and also digitize these?”

“We’re not looking for that, Mr. Wilson,” B-15 responded. “These files are not to leave this library and, trust me, we will know if they do.”

“Don’t worry, if these files don’t have anything useful, I won’t be taking anything from them.”

B-15 sighed. “Good luck, Wade. I hope you find something that could help Y/N. She deserves an easier life.”

Wade nodded as B-15 left and he focused in on the files. “Okay, let’s see what we can find to save my Buttercup.”

~~~

You didn’t believe Logan when he told you that Wade was off on some mission the X-Men recruited him to be on. He had clearly forgotten that a younger version of you was with the X-Men right now. But you didn’t question it. Though you were beginning to worry as it had now been weeks since you’d last seen him and your life was much quieter currently.

“Mom! Mom! Mom!” Laura called, bounding out of her room and down the hall.

“What’s going on, kiddo?” You asked as you wiped your hands off on your apron. 

“I got in!”

“What?” You felt like your heart stopped.

“I got into Columbia!”

“Oh my gosh, Laura!” You quickly brought her into a crushing hug as a few tears slipped down your cheeks. “I’m so proud of you, sweetie. So proud.”

She pulled away slightly. “Mom, please don’t cry.”

“Can’t help it. I’m just so proud that you’re my daughter. When do you start?”

“Actually, there’s a few half semester classes I’m interested in and I already contacted my counselor and they said I could start next week.”

“Next week?” That had you wanting to cry harder, but you held back.

“Yeah! Oh, and I got a job on campus that will allow me to put money towards tuition and give me a little scholarship.”

Your world was spinning faster now. “And when do you start that?”

“I’m actually going to get ready and head there.”

“Laura… how long have you known about all this? There’s no way this all happened today.”

Laura sighed. “I’m sorry, mom. I guessed that you might have a hard time so I made sure I had everything in order before telling you.”

It made you ache to hear that she was worried about you, especially knowing that she was right. “No matter what, I’m still proud of you, but next time please just tell me.”

“Okay, mom. Sorry.”

You pressed out a smile. “It’s okay. Go get ready.”

~~~

You could feel your powers tingling beneath your skin as you paced the living room. You were anxious with the fact that Laura didn’t feel like she could tell you everything and the fact that she was growing up and moving on. Laura has been your whole world for years now and now she was growing up to take care of herself. What would you do now?

“Hey, doll,” Logan greeted. He had gotten off of work, cleaned up, and was coming over to see if he could help you with dinner. “What— Y/N? Is everything okay?”

“No,” a sob tore through your throat causing Logan to quickly move in front of you.

“What’s going on?”

“My daughter’s growing up and I don’t know what to do.”

“Where is she?”

“Working. Just got a job without telling me. Got accepted to college without telling me. All because she was worried about how I’ll react and now I’m over here proving her right!” Flames shot up your arms.

“Woah!” Logan threw his hands up. “Okay, breathe, darlin’.”

“I can’t,” you gasped, lungs feeling like they were on fire.

Logan’s hands grasped your arms, ignoring the flames as they burned him. “Yes, you can. Follow me.”

“She’s— she’s growing up— she’s been— my whole world— what do I do now?”

“Oh, doll. You’re still her mom. Always will be. And you’ve done a fantastic job in raising her. But it’s time to start focusing on yourself.”

You shook your head. “I don’t want to be alone… I wasn’t supposed to be alone.””

“You’re not alone, you have me. Always. But I need you to try to calm down. You’re hurtin’ yourself and I can’t handle that.”

“I’m sorry. I’m trying.”

“I know, I know. How can I make it better?”

“Just… don’t… leave…”

Logan shook his head. “Never, darlin’. You’re stuck with me. Follow me. Deep breath in, deep breath out.”

Logan and you began to take deep breaths together. Yours were shaky and broken by the sobs than had now become hiccups. Logan kept his eyes locked on your eyes, wanting you to understand that he wasn’t going anywhere. As your breathing calmed, so did your flames, revealing that both of your arms were burnt. The pain hit as soon as the final flame was extinguished. Your knees buckled but Logan quickly caught you.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered as he picked you up. “I’ve got you.”

Logan carried you to the bathroom and set you on the counter. He quickly grabbed the burn cream and wraps. You cried softly as he worked carefully to take care of your injuries. Whenever a whine or whimper would slip past your lips, Logan would pause.

“You’re doing so good, darlin’,” he would say softly. “You’re so strong. I’m so proud of you.”

You tried to take his words to heart as he continued to take care of your burns. But the insecurities still slipped in. “I hate this…” you murmured. “I hate that my emotions control my powers… that my healing is too slow… I hate being weak.”

“You are not weak.” Logan couldn’t stand it when you talked badly about yourself, ever, but especially now with his emotions rapidly growing for you.

You scoffed. “Right now, I feel pretty weak.”

Logan finished up getting the wrap fastened before gently taking your chin and forcing you to look at him. “You’re not weak. You do not get to speak badly about yourself anymore, got it? Especially when it’s lies comin’ out of your mouth.” The seriousness that was shining through Logan’s eyes, had your heart stopping for a moment. “No more lies about yourself.”

All you could muster up was a swallow and a nod. Logan’s hand moved from your chin to cup your cheek. His thumb lightly brushed against your skin. 

“Do you need any meds?” He whispered, doing his best to keep you tethered to the moment because he could see that your energy was fading.

“Yes,” you breathed out.

“Alright. I’m going to get you into bed and then I’ll bring you some meds.”

“I don’t want to go to bed. I’ll stick to the couch, just… no bed, please.”

“Okay, doll. Whatever you want.”

Logan carefully carried you out to the couch and handed you a blanket before rushing to get some water and medicine for you. You quickly took them when he came back.

“Stay with me,” you requested. “We can turn on a show or something… I just don’t want to be alone.” 

“Of course,” Logan replied, grabbing the remote and sitting next to you. “Here.” He offered you the remote.

You shook your head. “Just put on something, I don’t care.”

“What’s your favorite show?” You told him what it was and where to find it. Logan turned on the first episode and glanced over at you. He noticed that you hadn’t placed the blanket over you yet. “Do you, uh, not want the blanket? I just assumed since—“

“No, no, I do. My hands are just hurting.”

He reached over and laid out the blanket over you. “All you need to do is ask and I will help you.”

“I know… thank you.”

He’s lips lifted up in a slight smile. “Anytime… I, uh… Do you, um… Well…”

“Lo,” you lightly laughed. “Just spit it out.”

You had been calling him ‘Lo’ a lot more lately. He didn’t think he liked nicknames until you started using them. Now, it made his heart soar to hear you call him that.

“Dinner,” he finally said. “Do you want me to make dinner?”

“We can just order in,” you stated. 

“I don’t mind. Besides, Laura should be home soon and she’ll need food.”

“I can help—“

“No,” Logan stood up. He gently grabbed your shoulders and maneuvered you to lay down on the couch. “Rest. I can handle a little cooking. And let me know if you need anything, doll.”

The tv show quickly went ignored as you watched Logan work in your kitchen. He cooked with such an awkward ease, if that was even something one could do. You couldn’t help but think how handsome he looked as he worked. The thought quickly took you by surprise and you shook it off. It was only because he looked like your husband… right?

Logan’s hands were trembling slightly as he felt your eyes on him. He had been hoping that you’d rest and let him embarrass himself in the kitchen in peace. Seemed like that wasn’t going to happen though. Logan tried to ignore your gaze and seem confident as he continued to work. 

Minutes passed and eventually you fell asleep due to the exhaustion of your flames and your body taking forever to heal. Logan kept working, knowing that your body needed fuel to help continue healing though he knew that it would take a week or two for your burns to disappear and leave scars behind. He turned away from the stove for a brief moment, only for the food in the pan to quickly catch on fire.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed.

You woke up as Logan tried to put out the flames, yet failed. The flames seemed to only grow bigger when his attempts. As quick as you could, you got off the couch and headed for the kitchen.

“Mom?” Laura called as she entered the apartment, immediately on alert at the smell of smoke. “Mom!”

You waved your hand, extinguishing the flames. You gasped as the amount of energy that took from you. Your knees buckled causing Laura to leap over to you and hold you up.

“Mom!” She exclaimed, taking in your full appearance. 

“Y/N!” Logan fretted as he saw how weak you had quickly gotten.

“What the hell did you do?” Laura glared at Logan.

“I—I—I was just cooking dinner and the pan caught on fire.”

“That doesn’t explain why she has bandages up her arms!”

“I’m… I’m… fine…” you tried to tell her, panting through every word. 

Your knees buckled again and Logan’s arms hurried out to help you but Laura pulled you away.

“Get out,” she ordered.

“Laura,” you rasped.

“Get out!” She repeated, yelling at the man in front of her.

“It was an accident, Laura,” Logan tried to explain. “I was just trying to—“

“I don’t fucking care! Leave! Get out!”

You could see that Logan felt guilty when his gaze met yours. You wanted to reach out and comfort him and to tell Laura that nothing was his fault, but you didn’t have the energy.

“Come on, mom,” Laura said as lifted you up and carried you down the hall to your room.

Logan watched with sad eyes until you both disappear into your room. Then he got to cleaning up the mess that he had made in your kitchen. Laura tucked you into bed, making sure that you were all settled before closing the door and going back out to the living area.

“I told you to get out,” Laura fumed.

“I’m just cleaning up the kitchen,” Logan mumbled. “Then I’ll go.”

“You’ve done enough for today. I told you not to hurt her, that includes her powers.”

“I know.” 

Logan wasn’t going to argue with Laura on this. He knew that he had caused the drain in your energy with the kitchen fire. He also knew that Laura was mostly talking about the bandages on your arms and he wasn’t going to tell her that she was the main cause of those. She didn’t need that guilt on her. He would take that for her.

“Just get out, Logan,” Laura stated again. “I can handle it.”

Logan sighed, knowing it wasn’t worth fighting her on this. He glanced down the hall, staring at the door he knew you were behind. “Please let me know if either of you need anything.”

“We won’t.”

Logan left the apartment and Laura quickly locked the door behind him.

~~~

Laura stayed at your side all night after the kitchen was cleaned. When you finally woke, she was right there with water and medicine.

“Here,” Laura offered to you. “Take it.” You didn’t argue, letting her help you sit up and take the meds. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, Laura,” you replied. “I am worried about Logan though. Where is he?”

“I kicked him out.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“Yes, I should have. Just look at your arms, mom!”

“He didn’t cause what happened to my arms. It was me… I was upset and lost control. He found me like that and helped me through it.”

“Upset? What were you upset about?”

“That you’re growing up.”

Laura’s heart dropped. “Mom, I—“

“It’s fine, kiddo. None of it’s your fault. It’s just me realizing that my daughter is no longer my little girl and I have to let you go be the wonderful woman that I know you are.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s really not your fault.”

“I was so mean to Logan. I kicked him out.”

“It’s okay. It was all a misunderstanding. He’ll be okay.”

Laura nodded, taking a moment to think. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Anything, kiddo.”

“Do you… uh… what… well, I guess, just… do you have feelings for Logan?”

That question caught you completely off guard. “I— I— like as a friend?”

“Yes and… do you like him more than that?”

“I… I don’t know…”

Laura nodded. “I’m just asking because I want you to be happy, mom, and it seems like he makes you happy.”

She wasn’t wrong. Your happiest moments since returning to 2024 had been with this new Logan. But that didn’t been you had feelings for him, right?

“He has been making me happy, yes… and he’s taking good care of me.”

“You don’t need to admit anything to me, especially right now, but just think about it. Take notice of it. Logan seems to care about you a lot and willing to do anything for you—for us.”

You nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind… Love you, kiddo.”

“Love you, mom.”

next chapter >

[marauder-misprint]

Letters that never arrived ii

Sebastian Sallow x Ravenclaw!reader

part 1

8.1k words

cw: HL spoilers, swearing, miscommunication, fluff, angst, Y/N

You awoke with a start. There was a hand on your shoulder. You hadn’t realized that you fell asleep.

“Hey,” Ominis’s soft voice said.

You sat up quickly, looking at him with wide eyes.

“‘M sorry!” you said, your voice higher than usual.

“Potions is over,” he said, feeling you stand up. “All of your stuff is still there.”

“Thanks,” you replied, sounding rushed. “Please don’t tell Sebastian I was down here.”

You hurried out of the Undercroft, your face red with embarrassment. You were glad to not run into Sebastian on your way back to the Potions classroom. You were also glad that there wasn’t a class immediately after yours so your unmoved stuff wasn’t bothering anyone. 

“I’m sorry, Professor,” you said as you entered the room. “I didn’t expect the Amortentia to be that strong.”

Professor Sharp looked up from his desk. “That’s alright, Ms. L/N. You seemed to take it worse than anyone I’ve ever seen… Are you sure that you are okay? It may be wise to go to the hospital wing and take the rest of the day off.”

You sighed. “I think I’m alright now. But if it takes a turn for the worse, I will visit Matron Blainey. Again, I’m sorry.”

“If you are feeling alright, then I won’t worry. Just make sure to get the rest of the notes from another student,” he told you. “Oh, and Mr. Sallow seemed very concerned at your departure from class. Might want to check in with him.” 

You felt your face go bright red. All you could do was nod before turning to gather your things and then leave the classroom as quickly as you could so you wouldn’t be too late for Charms. 

---

Ominis did tell Sebastian. He hadn’t said he wouldn’t. 

“Y/N was… down there today,” he said casually at dinner. 

“What? When?” Sebastian set down his fork and fully turned toward his friend. 

“Potions. I found her asleep afterwards since I had a free period… She asked me to not tell you.”

Sebastain frowned. “She’s determined to avoid me forever, isn’t she?”

“It is very possible. Maybe Lucan can pair you against her in Crossed Wands or something. A duel might be good for you both.”

“And get myself knocked on my ass?” Sebastian laughed. 

“You insult, you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter. Sounds fair,” Ominis reasoned. 

“Who’s serving Sallow’s ass to him?” Imelda asked. “Better not be anyone on the Gryffindor team. We need to beat them tomorrow. Be at the pitch on time, Sallow.”

“No one, at this rate. My ass is my own,” Sebastian said with a sigh. 

“Out of curiosity, have you tried talking to her at all this term?” Ominis asked.

“Well, no, technically,” Sebastian said, earning an irritated look from Ominis. “But she positions herself as far away from me as she can!”

Ominis shook his head. “For a master of mischief, you certainly are not putting all of your effort into this. Maybe if you talked to her, instead of beating up anyone who shows interest in her, we wouldn’t be missing her friendship.”

Sebastian didn’t respond. He seemed completely focused on moving the food around his plate but not eating.

“If it makes you feel any better, we were not the only ones unable to reach her over the summer.”

Sebastian’s head snapped up, staring at Ominis intensely. “What?”

“She said she was unreachable all summer. Even her other friends could not reach her.”

“She said?” Sebastian repeated slowly. “When did you speak with her?”

“Wednesday,” he said calmly.

“You spoke with her two days ago and didn’t tell me?” Sebastian sounded frustrated. 

“She cornered me outside the library and wanted to know why you were beating up anyone who asked her on a date. Oh, and she wanted me to remind you that you two are not dating.”

“What did you tell her?” he asked, sounding more scared than frustrated now.

“Well, I thought it had been obvious why you had been doing that; she did not like the answer,” Ominis said with a smirk. “Then I tried to explain your implied relationship with her, which, again, she did not like.” 

“Gods, maybe a Crossed Wands duel is what I need. Then she can just kill me and we’ll call it even.”

“She could. Or you could talk to her, regain her trust and friendship, and then ask her out? Certainly both are better than sending any more potential suitors to the hospital wing.”

“Someone said he had his hand up her shirt!” Sebastian hissed. “He deserved it.”

“I heard she was on his lap and letting him. Sounds consensual.” 

Sebastian groaned. “Fine, I’ll talk to her.”

---

You didn’t want to go to the quidditch game, but Natty made you promise you’d go. You grumpily put on one of Natty’s extra scarves and stood between her and Garreth in the stands. You planned to endure their cheers for Leander Prewett for the game and then you would disappear into you room until the Gryffindor party, assuming they won. Natty also made you promise that if Gryffindor won, you would at least come to part of the party.

Like the week prior, the crowd cheered as the teams exited the locker rooms and did their warm up laps. Once again, you swore you made eye contact with Sebastian. You scowled.

“Got some distaste for Slytherin finally?” Garreth asked, nudging you with his elbow. 

You rolled your eyes. “Something like that.”

Slytherin was definitely the better team in this matchup. They took the lead right away and kept it. Sebastian’s aim was as perfect as it had been. Without Sebastian getting distracted and launching a bludger into the stands, the team was flying circles around the Gryffindors. The Gryffindor seeker saw the snitch first, but the Slytherin seeker had been closer to it and managed to swiftly catch it, ending the game. It felt much shorter than the game against Hufflepuff. 

“Damn, no party,” Natty said dejectedly. 

“I like how that’s the part you’re sad about,” you said with a laugh. 

“Not all of us got to go to the Hufflepuff one!” Garreth reminded you. 

“Have you considered just having a party on the weekend? Like next week, there’s no quidditch. Just have a party.”

“Prefects won’t stand for it,” Garreth said. “Trust me, people have tried.”

The stands emptied and students filled the Great Hall. It seemed much calmer without Sebastian starting a fight in the corridor. Without a party to go to, you planned to spend the rest of the day in your dorm. You’d get homework done and if you had time to spare, you’d maybe go to the Room of Requirement to brew potions and tend to plants you had growing up there. 

Laying on the ground in your room, you worked on a Transfiguration essay. You were proud of the progress you were making, until a first year knocked on the door.

“Excuse me, are you Y/N?”

You looked at the young girl, blinking in surprise at someone other than Constance or Samantha at the door. “Yeah. That’s me.”

“There’s someone asking for you at the common room door.”

You blinked again. “Who?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t say and won’t come in either.”

“Was he wearing green? Yellow?” you asked, trying to guess who it was.

“I don’t know,” the girl repeated. “I’m just delivering the message!”

“Okay, I’ll go see what’s up.”

You got up, leaving your homework spread out on the floor, and followed the first year down the stairs to the common room door. You half expected to see Elias there, trying to make the previous week’s snog into something more. Instead, Sebastian stood there, looking semi-nervous.

“Thanks,” you told the first year before closing the door behind you, leaving you alone with Sebastian in the stairwell. 

You took a moment to look over Sebastian, something you had both been meaning to do and avoiding. You now understood what Constance and Samantha had meant by puberty doing work on him. He was at least a full head taller than you were, his shoulders more broad. His face seemed slightly slimmer and his jaw more square. Quidditch had also been doing him well in addition to the exercise one gets in intense dueling; although part of his physique might be accentuated due to losing weight. Ominis’s words about how Sebastian was over the summer still sat with you. But Sebastian still had his warm brown eyes, casually messy hair and almost excessive amount of freckles. 

“You sent a first year for me?”

“Obviously I can’t go in myself.”

“Constance or Samantha have to be around too. You know, my roommates who aren’t afraid of you?”

“But she got you here. I… I’m not sure Constance or Samantha would’ve helped me.”

“Okay. So I’m here. What?” you asked impatiently.

“Can we talk in the Undercroft?”

“No.”

“Oh, okay. Um,” he muttered, looking a little uncomfortable. “I guess we can talk here.”

“Then talk. I was working on Transfiguration homework.”

“How are you?”

You blinked at him in surprise, like you had done to the first year. “I’m fine?”

“You ran out of Potions rather unexpectedly. I wanted to know if you were okay.”

“So you waited twenty four hours to do so. So timely.”

“You’ve become rather good at making yourself scarce.”

“My friends know where to find me.”

“I don’t like that I’m not included in that.”

“Darn. Sucks to be you then, doesn’t it?”

He pressed his lips together. 

“So… was that all? Can I go back to studying?”

“No! Please, Y/N, I’d really rather do this somewhere more private,” he practically begged. 

You shook your head. “This is private enough. Talk if you’re going to talk or I’m going back in. And then you can go to your party where I’m sure you’ll be worshiped like a king. Good game, by the way.”

“I-I… I’m sorry. I need you to know that I’m sorry,” he said, stumbling over his words.

“For?”

“I’m sorry for calling you a mudblood last term. It was idiotic of me and I spent all of summer beating myself up over it. And then you didn’t get my letter and you’ve been avoiding me since we got back. I miss you and I’m sorry.”

“What about Andrew and Elias?” you asked curtly, although pleased that he had finally apologized. 

He didn’t respond right away. “I don’t know if I am sorry for that.”

You raised your eyebrows at him. “Then answer me this. What are we?”

“Hopefully friends again.”

“And we are not…”

“Not dating.”

“Ah, good” you said with a chuckle. “You do retain some things that aren’t in books from the Restricted Section!” 

“So we can be friends again?”

“Maybe. I accept your apology but I’m not sure if I’m ready to forgive you and go right back into how things were.”

“Would you consider coming to the party?” he asked, trying to gauge where your friendship might be.

“The Slytherin party? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t really want to go if you’re not there.”

“To see if you can get what Elias did last week?” you asked with a sneer.

His eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed. “I-I was not… I didn’t mean to imply… I just meant…”

You laughed. “What’s the password? I’ll consider going if you can promise that Ominis will be there.”

“Treasure. And he’ll be there for a bit. He’ll sometimes go back to our dorm early since it does get loud. But I’ll make sure he stays around, especially if it means you’ll come.”

“I’ll come,” you said with a sigh and turned to go back into the common room.

“It’s already started,” he said meekly.

“I said I’ll come. I didn’t say when. I have a Transfiguration essay to finish.”

You then entered the common room, leaving him alone in the stairwell. In your dorm, you laid back on the floor and tried to get back into the flow of homework. It took you longer than you intended to get back into the essay, but once you were in a groove, it was finished quickly. If only that first year hadn’t interrupted you… You sighed and cleaned up your homework off the floor. You left your dorm and passed Samantha on the way down.

“Oh, are you going to dinner already?” Samantha asked.

“No, actually. I’ve been invited to the Slytherin party.”

Samantha paused, looking at you to see if you were joking. “And you’re going?”

You shrugged. “I kind of made it my mission to see all the common rooms this year,” you lied, before jokingly saying, “Maybe I’ll get some action again.”

“From who?” Samantha scoffed, crossing her arms. 

“Not sure. We’ll see who’s all there.”

You left Samantha dumbfounded on the stairs. You made your way to the Slytherin Dungeon, following a pair of giggling Hufflepuffs who seemed to have also been invited. They gave the password to the door and it was still there when you reached to open it. After you opened the door, you were greeted with blasting music and the stern face of a seventh year Slytherin. He was talking to the Hufflepuff girls before gesturing them down the stairs.

“Hold it,” he said to you as you tried to slip past him. “This party is invite only for other houses.”

“Sebastian invited me.”

His eyes narrowed. He held up a finger and yelled something down the stairwell. You waited for something to happen. After a minute, Sebastian strolled up the stairs, his face lighting up when he saw you standing there. 

“Lestrange, she’s good,” he told the seventh year, who looked annoyed at you. “You came!”

You sighed. “I did say I would. Where’s Ominis?”

“Follow me!” Sebastian said, taking your hand and leading you down the stairs. 

The music only got louder as they descended into the common room. As much as you loved Ravenclaw Tower, the Slytherin Dungeon was breathtaking. There was a certain green hue to everything, but it was beautiful and fitting. Like the Hufflepuff party, the center of the room was filled with students dancing with the outskirts of the room more mellow. Sebastian pulled you towards a student who appeared to be in charge of drinks. 

“Two firewhiskeys,” Sebastian told the student. 

The boy nodded and handed them cups. 

“I’m not really a firewhiskey girl…” you said to Sebastian. 

“You are tonight.”

Sebastian led you to another part of the common room and your jaw dropped. You hadn’t been expecting tall windows that showcased the Black Lake. To your delight, he kept walking towards one of the windows. As you approached one of the windows’ alcoves, Ominis came into view. He was sitting on the ground, clutching his own cup with his head pressed against the wall behind him and eyes closed. 

“Ominis! Guess who showed up!” Sebastian said cheerfully, nudging his sitting friend’s rear with his foot. 

“I would love to guess Y/N but we both know you do not have the courage to apologize to her.”

You sat down across from Ominis. “We need to document this. Ominis is wrong for once.”

Ominis sat up straighter, opening his eyes. 

“Y/N?” he asked. His head turned towards Sebastian. “You actually apologized?”

“Well, no need to sound so surprised. I said I would.”

Ominis shook his head. “You said you would talk to her. I half expected you to return one night begging me to help you reverse one of her hexes.”

“It’s the beginning of the night, Ominis. There is still time,” you said with a smirk.

“But you said he apologized?”

“I did.”

“For what he said. Not what he did.”

Ominis nodded, understanding what you meant.

“It is good to have you here. It will make this much more tolerable.”

Imelda appeared next to Sebastian, barely giving you a glance. She had her hand on his shoulder and was jerking him back into the party.

“Come on! Team’s doing shots!” she yelled as they disappeared into the crowd. 

After a moment of silence between you and Ominis, he spoke. 

“Do you forgive him?”

“I’m working on it. I don’t know if I really have a choice.”

He gave her a quizzical look. “How would you not have a choice?”

Sighing, you moved so that you were sitting next to Ominis instead of across from him. You looked up at the tall window, its lights dancing across your faces and the floor. It was peaceful. 

“If I tell you, you cannot tell Sebastian.”

“He would find solace in knowing you will forgive him eventually.”

“Ominis, this is… more than forgiveness.”

He tilted his head like a confused puppy. “Go on.”

“Say you won’t tell Sebastian.”

“Sebastian will know nothing of this conversation.”

You took a deep breath. “What did you smell in the Amortentia?”

Ominis was taken aback by your question, although he felt he knew where the conversation would lead. 

“Uh… Warm hay, vanilla, and cooking garlic,” he listed off. “How is…”

“But when you smelled the potion, it was just scents, right?” you asked, cutting him off.

“Yes.”

“I… I didn’t smell anything. Not really. I saw things.”

“That’s why you left so urgently?”

“I saw memories of everything I’d ever done with Sebastian. Each memory felt more vivid than when it actually happened. So, yes, there were smells, but it wasn’t like… distinct scents.”

Ominis reached his hand out to search for yours, but they weren’t next to your side so he settled with gently resting it on your knee. 

“Y/N,” he whispered, barely audible over the music. 

“I should have smelled smoke from a woodfire and fresh cookies and lemons. I love those smells. But I didn’t. I think I could be mad at him forever, but I would always forgive him.”

“Is that why you agreed to come tonight?”

“Maybe? I think it was hearing him say he missed me. Something just… clicked.”

“My word was not good enough for that?” he asked, mirth lacing his words. 

“You can explain how much of a wreck he is oh so eloquently, but there is nothing like hearing him say it. Hearing him acknowledge that he liked having me in his life. Hearing him say he’s sorry like he means it.” 

Sebastian stumbled back over to the alcove where they were sitting. He used the wall to keep him standing up.

“That was… more than one shot,” he said, gagging slightly.

“If you are going to vomit, you can do that elsewhere,” Ominis told him in a stern voice. 

Sebastian slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting across from Ominis and you, where you had been sitting when he was dragged away by Imelda. 

“Has the world always been spinning?”

“Technically,” you laughed. “But if the room is spinning, that’s because you’ve drank too much firewhiskey.”

“And vodka,” Sebastian added. “So. Much. Vodka.”

You placed your head on Ominis’s shoulder. You were holding your cup between your legs, having barely had any of it. 

“So what have I missed in this quiet corner?” Sebastian asked, looking from Ominis to you.

“Just talking about you,” Ominis answered. 

Sebastian smiled wickedly.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” you confirmed. “You’re a decent quidditch player when you aren’t aiming bludgers at fans.”

Ominis laughed while Sebastian turned a shade of pink. You smirked at his reaction. 

“I wasn’t aiming for you.”

“I know, but you still came damn close. You’re lucky Poppy values my safety.”

“I value your safety!” he defended. “Just not… his.”

“Clearly.” 

“Please, Y/N. He’s the reason that Hufflepuff is in the hospital wing,” Ominis said, still laughing. 

“What did you do?” you snapped, sitting up straight. 

“Couple of hexes. Nothing Blainey can’t fix,” he said with ease. 

“Maybe I should have held out until you did apologize for what you’ve done to the boys.”

“Larson just got a little shove. He’s fine,” Sebastian said. 

“Plus, he did not get anywhere with you,” Ominis added, not helping Sebastian’s case and he knew it.

Your gaze moved to glare at Ominis. “And what does that mean?”

With a cheeky smile, he said, “You know your snogging session with the Hufflepuff is no secret. His hand, up your shirt?”

You turned bright red. You looked down at your cup, remembering how Elias had felt you up. Then, realization dawning on you, you looked up at Sebastian.

“Is that why he’s in the hospital wing?”

He nodded, not making eye contact. You threw your head back with a laugh.

“Elias won’t be able to look at you without wetting himself,” you said. “You nearly kill him with a bludger, you throw punches at him and break his nose, and a compilation of hexes. Merlin, Seb…”

Sebastian smiled at your old nickname for him. You were the only one who had ever called him that, besides Anne. 

“Have you ever considered being, I don’t know, less violent?” you asked.

“I’m not that violent!”

“You literally put the first guy I’ve kissed in years in the hospital wing, Sebastian!” you scolded him. 

He rolled his eyes. “It happens.”

“Only with you, Sebastian. Only with you,” Ominis muttered, earning a laugh from you. 

A girl you somewhat recognized approached their alcove, looking mildly nervous. She looked from Sebastian to you with a wary look. 

“Hey Sebastian,” she said. 

He looked up at her. “Oh, hi Violet.”

Violet McDowell. That’s who it was. You vaguely recalled her being in your Potions class last term. Violet shifted her weight, casting a nervous glance at you and Ominis.

“I was wondering if you’d want to dance?” she asked, her voice soft with femininity. 

“Oh, I’m not-” Sebastian started to say.

“Go on, dance,” you interrupted. “We’ll be here.”

“Oh… Okay. Sure, I’ll dance,” Sebastian said, giving you a confused look but standing up to follow Violet to where people were dancing.

Ominis shifted his body as if he were using his full body to look at you. 

“Excuse my profanity, but what the fuck was that?”

“He should be having fun. This party wouldn’t be happening with him,” you said coolly. 

“And you think he was not having fun with us? With you?”

Rolling her eyes, you replied, “He could be having more fun.”

“Y/N, he does not want to dance with Violet. She’s a fine girl, but he would rather dance with someone else. Or talk with someone else. Or sit in silence with someone else.”

“What are you getting at?”

“That he’s been the happiest I have heard him in a while since you walked into this common room. And it is not the firewhiskey.”

“It’s the vodka,” you said definitively. “OW!”

Ominis had smacked your shoulder harder than a playful shove. 

“Don’t be so dense.”

“So he’s happy to have me around. Why does that mean he can’t dance with a pretty girl like Violet?”

“He has his eyes set on someone else.”

“Who?”

“Do I need to hit you again?”

“Please don’t,” you said, rubbing your shoulder. 

“Then put two and two together.”

“I’d… I’d rather not right now.”

“Why not? Now is a perfectly good time,” Ominis said, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. 

“Because I’m not ready to, Ominis. I need more time.”

His face softened at the intensity in your voice. He gave your knee another squeeze. 

“But you do know?”

“I won’t believe it until I hear it from him.”

He sighed. “Are they dancing?”

You scanned the dance floor, but it was so crowded that you couldn’t really recognize anyone. 

“Not sure. I can’t see him. Why?”

“Let’s go to my dorm. There’s something I want to show you.”

Ominis stood up and held out his hand to help you up. Then you made your way through the throngs of people enjoying the party. Ominis led the way with his wand pulsing red as he made his way to the boys’ dormitories. You were a little baffled to see that the dorms were arranged in a circle, all on the same level. Being sixth years, his and Sebastian’s dorm was in the center of the circle. 

Once in the dorm, you sat down in one of the chairs around the edge of the room. You watched Ominis dig through the drawers of one of the desks. 

“What are you looking for?” you asked.

“Sebastian’s letters to you.”

You gave a dry laugh. “He kept letters he never sent to me?”

“Sort of. He kept the ones you never got because the owl came back with them. And a couple of ones that he started and never finished. They have circled sentences, which I think means he liked how he phrased something but thought the rest of the letter was rubbish.”

“How do you know he has these?”

“I am a nosy bastard.”

That got a real laugh out of you. “Of all the things to call yourself,” you said. 

“Aha!” Ominis stood up straight with a decent pile of parchment in his hands. Some were crinkled and others torn. One or two seemed to be nicely folded with a string attached. 

Ominis walked over to where you were sitting and handed them to you.

“Read them,” he demanded.

You flipped through the pages quickly.

“There has to be at least twenty pages! Ominis, this feels like an invasion of Sebastian’s privacy.”

“He wanted you to read them at some point. Or he wouldn’t have written them.”

He could feel your hesitation.

“You can at least read the ones tied with string. He actually tried to send those to you. It is, well, your own fault that you never got them.”

You separated the two tied in string from the rest of the pile. You twirled the twine in your fingers, causing it to unravel.

“I don’t know… It still feels wrong.” 

“If everything goes wrong, you can blame me. Say I forced you. Because I am. You are not leaving this dorm until you read the letters.”

“Ominis, I-”

“Read them,” he urged. “You need to.”

You looked at the letters in your hands and sighed. You pulled the string on the one with the earlier date scrawled on the corner in Sebastian’s messy handwriting. You unfolded it and then paused after seeing your name. 

“Have you read these?”

Ominis’ cheeks turned light pink. “Yes. He wanted me to make sure they made sense… And they do, for the most part.”

“Okay…”

Dearest Y/N,

I hope you are safe and alive, wherever you are. Where are you? It didn’t feel right that you left without saying goodbye. I don’t like how we left things. I didn’t mean what I said. I was just caught up in what you were planning - which I still think is a bad idea. Did you go through with it? I hope you didn’t, for your own sake. 

Ominis and I made it to Feldcroft fine. My uncle’s house isn’t in the best shape, but we’re making do. Will you visit us? I want to spend part of the summer with you, my dearest friend. The summer is too long to be apart. Kindred souls should not be apart for so long once they have known each other. 

Please write back that you are okay and when you hope to visit. We miss you.

Love, Seb

You folded the letter and set it down on the table next to you, in a different pile than the rest of the scrap parchment. Ominis was sitting on his bed, seemingly watching you with his unseeing eyes. You unfolded the second letter.

Dearest Y/N,

Unfortunately, my first letter never found its way to you. I cannot explain how much I miss your presence. The world doesn’t feel right. I struggle with It is impossible to say how much I hope you are okay. I need to know that you are alive. Please, write back as soon as you get this letter. I lost Anne and Solomon. Don’t let me lose you too.

Where did you go to? You left so suddenly without saying goodbye. That hurt me and I wish you hadn’t so I could fix things. I didn’t mean to push you away from us. While I disagree with your plans, I regret how I expressed it. I never meant to hurt you. 

Ominis and I are at my uncle’s house in Feldcroft. Please visit. I need to see you before the end of summer. Or let me know where you are and I will come to you. Please, I need to see you. Every day gets I miss you.

Please write back. I need to know that you are alive and well.

Love, Seb

You folded the second letter and placed it on top of the first. You sighed. 

“I read the letters.”

“He signed them ‘love,’” Ominis said matter-of-factly. 

“I know. I read the letters,” you repeated. Your hand reached for the scraps but then you stopped yourself. “Have you read all of them?”

“No. Only two more of the unfinished ones.”

“I don’t know what the point of me reading these is. To show me that I should’ve been reachable over the summer? That I shouldn’t have left the way I did? Although I was, am, deeply insulted at what happened, I still stand by what I did.”

“Read between the lines a little bit. See how much he cares for you. How he cares for you as more than a friend.”

“Ominis,” was all you could say before Sebastian burst through the door, his face flushed under his freckles. 

While you had been in the dorm, reading his letters, he had been trying to find you both. He put up with one song while dancing with Violet before excusing himself to get a drink. Sebastian was already quite drunk, but he needed a valid excuse to get back to his friends that was better than “I don’t want to dance with you.” He grabbed a drink for you, assuming you must’ve finished your first by now. He was confused when he didn’t see you or Ominis sitting in the alcove by the window. He scanned the room and did a lap, trying to find you. He finished his drink while looking for you, weaving through the crowd, hoping that you just moved somewhere else in the common room. He started to drink from the cup he had grabbed for you and asked everyone around him if they had seen either of his friends. Another boy from his dorm said he saw you head for the dorms. That sent Sebastian’s head spinning: the dorms. 

You had looked comfortable resting your head on Ominis’s shoulder earlier. Would his best friend really betray him like that? Surely Ominis knew how he felt about you. He had read the letters he tried to send to you over the summer. Ominis was blind, but it only made him ten times more perceptive to the little things. Ominis couldn’t be getting what you had teased Sebastian about outside the Ravenclaw Tower when he practically begged you to come to the party.

His mind was racing as he made his way to the dorms. He burst through the door to see you and Ominis sitting on opposite sides of the room, much to his relief. But then he saw the pile of crumpled parchment, two folded letters and discarded twine on the table next to you.

“How much did you read?” 

For once, he wasn’t upset with what his mind had chosen to say. He had wanted to say “There you are!” and “What are you doing going through my things?” What he had said was an agreeable medium, although the words were laced with fear.

You turned pale. “Only the ones you had tried to send me. Ominis insisted.”

“Sure, blame it on Ominis,” Sebastian scoffed, moving to grab all of the letters. 

“It’s true, Sebastian,” Omins said. “I brought her in here. I got them out of your desk and put them in her hands. And then told her I would not let her leave until she read them.”

“And why would you do that?” he growled, turning towards his friend. 

Ominis knew he couldn’t tell Sebastian what you had told him in the alcove.

“I thought… I thought it would help her forgive you.”

Sebastian moved closer to Ominis, crumpling all of the parchment in his hands. “These are not yours to show people. I don’t go through your stuff. Don’t go through mine.”

He threw the letters on the ground and pointed his want at them. “Incendio.” 

The parchment burst into flames before quickly dying out and Sebastian stamped them into ashes. He felt emotion beginning to swim in his eyes. He squeezed them shut. 

“Fuck,” he whispered, before turning to look at you. 

“You can go, I guess. Sorry I made you come.”

“Seb,” you said before he cut you off.

“Save it. I’m not in the mood anymore. It’s best if you leave before I make an ass of myself.”

You bit the inside of your lip. Then you nodded, standing up from your chair.

“Goodnight,” you said as you disappeared through the door. 

You lingered in the corridor after the door closed behind you. You tried to listen through the door, not sure what you were trying to hear. When you heard nothing, you sighed and walked out into the party, which was still in full swing. Only a few students seemed to have disappeared. You decided your plan of action would be returning to your own house. Sebastian had been the one to invite you and Ominis was your leverage to come; both were in their dorm. You briefly considered seeking out Imelda, but decided against it since she was likely enjoying the party to an extreme extent. 

Once again, Samantha was in the common room waiting for your return. Only this time, she managed to stay awake. She was reading on a couch when you came up the stairs. 

“You’re back!” she exclaimed, immediately closing her book and patting the couch next to her. “Tell me everything!” 

You sat down and tucked your legs under you. 

“Synopsis! First, they had a seventh year acting as a bouncer. No invite, no entrance. He literally called Sebastian over to confirm that I had been invited.”

“So that’s who invited you!” Samantha interrupted.

“Yeah, but that’s a whole other mess that I have to deal with later,” you continued, ignoring the look Samantha gave you. “Anyways, they had someone in charge of drinks like Hufflepuff. Lots of dancing in the center of the common room. I spent most of the night with Ominis in a little alcove. Their common room has these great big windows that show the Black Lake. So breathtaking. Sebastian would sit with us for a little bit until someone would drag him away. He’d come and then get dragged away again. I expected that to happen since he’s their superstar beater.” You paused, taking a breath. “Ominis did take me back to his dorm, but it’s not what you think!”

Samantha’s eyebrows shot upwards and her mouth dropped open. 

“He wanted to show me some letters from him and Sebastian wrote me over the summer, but never made it to me. That’s it. I read the letters and then I left.”

Her eyebrows returned to their normal resting position. “So you drank, talked and read? Does that even count as a party?”

“Other people were dancing and doing shots. I just had different reasons for being there than the rest of them.”

“Well, did you see anything gossip worthy? Besides you going back to the boys’ dorms.”

“Oh my Merlin, nothing happened between me and Ominis. I expect you to tell that to anyone who says otherwise. He was across the room while I read the letters.”

“Fine, but gossip?”

“Not really, I didn’t pay attention to other people. Best I can tell you is that Violet McDowell asked Sebastian to dance and I don’t think he would’ve gone if I hadn’t told him to.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“So what happened to whatever went down between you three last term? Suddenly all buddy buddy with them again?” Samantha asked, leaning backwards into the couch. 

“They finally got the courage to apologize. I wouldn’t say it’s buddy buddy, but we can talk now.”

“Hmm… Oh! Constance was right. They did try to write you over the summer!”

You hummed. “Don’t say it’s my fault for being unreachable. I had my reasons.”

“Whatever!” Samantha laughed. “People tried to communicate but you cut the world out!”

“I talked to Mr. Pippin and Sirona. Mr. Brown, Mr. Teasdale, Ms. Green.”

“You talked to shopkeeps in Hogsmeade, but none of your friends?”

“I had my reasons.”

“Really?”

You could tell that Samantha was a little hurt with knowing that you had talked to people, but not any of your friends, including her. 

“Sammy, I only talked to them when I needed supplies. I couldn’t have anyone know where I was. I need you to trust me on this.”

“What were you hiding from?”

“The world,” you muttered.

“Oh, Y/N, you don’t need to hide from the world.”

“Sometimes it felt like I was protecting the world from myself, you know? It was just better for me to be in solitude. We’ll see how it is in the spring, if I have to do that again.”

“Say goodbye at least, if you’re going to disappear.”

You smiled. “I’ll try. Now, let’s get to bed.”

---

While you were glad that there weren’t rumors about you and Ominis, you were concerned that there really weren’t any rumors from the Slytherin party. Everything people were talking about seemed to be old news. You saw Ominis walking down the corridor. You hurried up to him and pulled him into the nearest broom closet.

“I am going to hex whoever just grabbed a blind-” he said threateningly before you put your hand over his mouth.

“Shut up, it’s me.”

“Y/N?” he mumbled against your hand. You removed your hand. “Why are we in a closet?”

“I need to talk to you.”

“And you can only do that in a closet?” he asked, making sure he understood you.

“I… I… um. Just hear me out.” You paused to see if he wanted to say anything before you continued. “Why is no one talking about the party?”

“They are,” he said coolly. 

“No? I haven’t heard about the party?”

“That’s because you’re not a Slytherin,” he said with a chuckle. “I forget how new you still are to everything. People don’t spread rumors about what Slytherins do at Slytherin parties. If you want to keep your invite, you keep your mouth shut. But in the common room, we talk.”

“Oh… What have they been saying?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he said teasingly. “You are not a Slytherin and this is not our common room.”

“Ominis!”

He laughed and leaned back against a shelf gently, as if making sure he wouldn’t knock anything off of it. 

“The most you’ve been in anything is people confused on why you were there. You know, being that you really haven’t been seen with us since last term. A younger student had said he thought he saw us heading towards the dorms together, but I corrected him.”

“Okay.”

You stood in silence.

“Can I go to class now?” Ominis asked.

“Yeah, go,” you responded, giving Ominis a light shove towards the door.

You closed it behind him and sat on the ground in the dark closet. Every time you thought about the party, you started to think deeply about Sebastian’s letters. You could picture them in your mind so clearly. Your thoughts traced over his messy handwriting, the certain phrases that stuck out to you.

 I want to spend part of the summer with you, my dearest friend. The summer is too long to be apart. Kindred souls should not be apart for so long once they have known each other. 

We miss you.

Love, Seb

That hurt me

I never meant to hurt you.

I need to see you. 

I need to know that you are alive and well.

I miss you.

Love, Seb

His word choice was all you could think about and you knew that you were overthinking it. You smiled at his calling you kindred souls again; it had just been something he said offhandedly when you were first getting to know each other. Apparently, he had remembered, as you did. The change between the first letter to the second wasn’t unnoticed. It changed from what could be a joint letter with Ominis to one that was only from him. A ‘we’ turned into an ‘I’ and that made all the difference. A simple request for a response turned into a need. And then there was his sign off. Love. 

You wished Sebastian hadn’t burned the rest of the letters. The more you thought about it, the more you needed to know what he had written but never sent. You hadn’t glanced at the scraps to see if he had dated them like he had dated the finished letters. Had he been attempting to write to you while you were just across the classroom? Had he written an apology with Ominis-level of eloquence that he scrapped in favor of an in-person one? Had there been more said in the scraps as Ominis implied? 

You were abruptly brought out of your thoughts by the closet door opening. Mr. Moon was standing there, looking down at you confused.

“Ms. L/N, you don’t appear to be a broom. What are you doing in here?”

“I was just… hiding.”

“Well, I found you,” he said, giving her sarcastic jazz hands. “Go hide elsewhere.”

You stood up quickly and squeezed past him as he didn’t move out of your way. 

“Yes sir,” you muttered. 

You headed to Professor Hecat’s class. You weren't sure how much time was left in your free period, but you figured the earlier you got there, the more likely you’d be able to talk to Sebastian. He usually showed up early, making it the only class he had never been late to. Despite his fascination with the dark arts that he claimed to be trying to get rid of, Defense Against the Dark Arts was clearly his favorite class. You assumed that was because the class was essentially Dueling 101. Professor Hecat knew about the students’ “secret” Cross Wands and ensured that you participated last year. You assumed it was at Hecat��s request that the other teachers turned a blind eye to the unsanctioned club. 

The class in session was just letting out when you arrived. If you went in right away, you’d have to pick a spot and then possibly move when Sebastian arrived. And you didn’t feel like making small talk with your professor. So you waited outside the classroom, leaning against the wall and watching students pass by. Leander and Garreth said hi to you as they entered the classroom. And then the person you were waiting for arrived. 

Sebastian gave you a soft unsure smile before heading into the classroom. You immediately followed him in and sat down on the bench next to him. You didn’t understand why your heart was beating so quickly. You had sat next to Sebastian hundreds of times before. You’d been physically closer to him before and never felt like this. But something about this interaction had your heart going into overdrive. And he was just taking out his supplies to be ready for class. 

“Sebastian,” you finally said. 

He stopped moving and looked at you. “Hi Y/N.”

“Why did you burn all the letters?” you asked, not caring for your bluntness.

His face turned pink. “They were my letters. Doesn’t matter why.”

“But you wrote them for me. Right?”

“I… I was getting my thoughts down on paper.”

“Thoughts you wanted to say to me?”

“Yes.” He looked away from you. This was not a discussion he thought he would be having before your Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

“Seb,” you said gently, placing your hand on his shoulder. “I wasn’t going to read the others. You have never sent those.”

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t have read the letters. They weren’t yours to read.”

“They technically were addressed to me!” you corrected him. “But can we put that aside for a second? I need to know something.”

Sebastian still wasn’t look at you, but he nodded.

“Ominis said I needed to read in between the lines and that the unfinished letters, well, were more. Should I be reading into what I did read?”

He looked at you, his face fully red at this point. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. And then he looked down at his hands. You bit her bottom lip. Despite telling everyone you weren't ready for anything, you decided to take a leap of faith.

“Do you want to know why I left Potions during the Amortentia lesson?”

His eyes met yours. “I assumed it was what you smelled. Surprised you or something.”

You let out a soft laugh. “Shook me to my core is more like it. There wasn’t a wave of scents like I had expected. It was a series of visions that were all more vivid than the actual events. It was so intense that I almost blacked out and that’s why I left. But the visions, the memories. They were all of you. Every single one. Everything from my first day here. Just you.”

You could feel your heart pounding in your chest. It was all you could feel. Sebastian was staring at you with his mouth open, not saying anything.

“So, ahem, should I be reading into your letters? Or should I adjust how I go about life?”

He abruptly stood up, grabbed your arm and pulled you out of the classroom, leaving his stuff on the desk. He didn’t say anything but within seconds, you knew that he was taking you to the Undercroft. It was too close and provided privacy. Sebastian didn’t let go of your arm until the door closed behind you with a loud clang. 

“You tell me all of that right before class?” he asked, sounding breathless. He ran a hand through his hair. “Merlin, Y/N, your timing!”

“I… I had to do it while I still had the nerve to.”

“The nerve to,” he repeated, pacing around the Undercroft and continuing to run his hands through his hair like he didn’t know what else to do with them. “So instead of just smelling… me, you saw me? And that sent you running?”

“I ran because the visions were so intense, not because they were you.” You paused and looked at your feet. “I had thought I was beginning to get over you, but apparently that’s not possible.”

“Get over me?”

“Gods, Seb, how could you not notice?” you said with an airy laugh of disbelief. “How in love I was.”

“Was?” He walked closer to where you were standing.

“I tried to get over you during the summer. Your words cut so deep. I had tried to get over you when you called me ignorant,” you said, spitting the last word out bitterly. “But I couldn’t. My heart forgives you faster than my brain wants to.”

He took another step closer to you. “Do you know what I smelled?”

“Pot roast and butterbeer?” you offered. 

“No,” he answered with a chuckle, shaking his head. “Cherry blossoms. Poppy flowers. Palo santo. Ebony.” He had taken another step closer to you with each item. 

You felt your face burn. He had just listed off the scents of your perfume. You looked up at his face now that he was standing directly in front of you. 

“That’s all I could smell. And it’s all that I smell right now.”

“So I should read into how you signed the letters with ‘love,’” you said nervously.

With a smile, he put a hand under her chin gently and leaned in to kiss her. It was soft, gentle and only lasted a moment. But it said everything written in Sebastian’s letters, the ones he sent and the ones that landed on the floor in Feldcroft. It was two kindred souls reconnecting after a brutal severing and you both knew that it was only the beginning. 

[cheshireliam]

"The Fairytale Keeper's Final Assesment" Story Event: Premium END

Liam Evans

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

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<< Liam’s POV >>

Liam: An explanation about…?  

(What could it be? I've explained most of the things about Crown’s castle, and introduced as many members as possible…) 

(I don't understand… this is about Kate, and yet I still can't understand. I…) 

Just as my thoughts reached a dead end, Kate gently cupped my face between her hands. 

Liam: … Kate…? 

Kate: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to criticise you. 

Kate: So please don’t look so hurt. 

Liam: B-but… it’s my fault for not explaining enough… 

Kate: It’s not your fault at all! 

Kate: … If anything, missing out that explanation is exactly what you would do. 

Kate kept smiling at me, she didn't seem to care about the missing explanation. 

Kate: I’m talking about you, Liam.

Liam: Huh…?

Kate: The number one thing that matters to me, the one explanation I wanted to hear the most, is about you. 

Kate’s words made me reflect on everyone that had happened today. 

[ Flashback ]

Kate: Um… when I opened my eyes, the man standing in front of me was so dazzlingly handsome, I was caught off guard.

…

Kate: Liam, do you mind it when Jude asks you for such favours? 

…

Kate: Fufu, you two seem very close. Have you been like this since the beginning?

…

Kate: What song do you like, Liam? 

[ Flashback End ]

Kate’s interest was always directed at me.

She kept wanting to know more about me. 

Kate: You showed many great things about Crown, but… 

Kate: You’re a part of Crown that’s wonderful too, you know?

Liam: ah… 

Kate: Your kind personality as a guide will surely be a prominent trait to any new members… 

Kate: But I thought it’d be nice if they could know more about you too. 

Kate: I want others to know the good things about the man I love… 

Kate: … That’s kind of biased of me, isn’t it?

Kate: Even so, this is my honest opinion.

Liam: …

Liam: Thanks… Kate. 

(I was so desperate to make Kate stay, I failed to see it.) 

(I love Crown… and I’m part of what makes Crown great too.) 

(... Once again, Kate has helped me to realise something important.) 

Kate: … One more thing, Liam. It’s about time you told me, isn't it?

Liam: Tell you about what? 

Kate: The real reason for the tour! 

Kate: I realised it from how Harrison and William were acting. 

Kate: The tour wasn’t meant for “future new members”, am I right to say that? 

Liam: I… I can’t say it. 

Kate: … I’m worried, Liam. I feel like you’re trying to bottle everything up. 

Kate: Can you share it with me? 

… And so, I told Kate everything. 

…

Kate: Fairytale Keeper assessment… 

Liam: I want you to stay in Crown, Kate. 

Liam: That’s why I planned the tour to remind you of all the good things about Crown. 

Liam: I wanted you to feel like you’d want to stay here…

Kate: So that’s what this whole thing is about…

Liam: … What do you think? Do you still want to stay in Crown? 

Kate: Of course! Please let me continue being your Fairytale Keeper. 

Liam: Thanks, Kate. 

Seeing Kate nod so firmly filled my heart to the brim with joy. 

Overwhelmed by my emotions, I pulled Kate into a hug.

Kate: … Oh, Liam. 

Liam: Mm, what is it? 

Kate: I know that the purpose of today’s tour was to make Crown appeal to me, but… 

Kate: Your explanations were very thorough and well done. I think we should make it a real thing for new members that might join us in the future. 

Kate: It’d be a shame if I was the only one who got to experience the tour. 

Liam: Then I’ll have to make some changes to the tour and add an introduction for you. 

Kate: How will you explain it? 

Liam: … I’ll say that Kate’s my personal Fairytale Keeper. 

Liam: She has an adorable smile, her words are kind, and she smells nice and makes me feel at ease whenever I hug her. 

Liam: She’s the little robin who makes me feel like life is worth living, by bringing me joy every day. 

Liam: — Kate is the love of my life. 

Our passionate gazes met, and our lips came together as though drawn to each other. We fell onto the bed holding each other in our arms. 

The agreement form I’d been so eager to fill in would have to wait till tomorrow afternoon to be submitted to Victor. 

…

Fairytale Keeper Continuation Agreement 

Here, Kate agrees to continue working as a Fairytale Keeper. 

Because I can’t imagine a future without her. 

— Liam Evans. 

…

Victor: Okie dokie, I’ve confirmed your submission. 

Liam: Thanks, Victor. Please pass on my regards to Her Majesty too. 

Victor: … Oh? Where are you rushing off to? 

Victor: I recently obtained some delicious tea and was about to prepare some…

Liam: Sorry, I’m heading off for another tour with Kate. 

Victor: Tour? I thought that was done already? 

Liam: Fufu… actually, Kate’s the one giving the tour this time to introduce my good qualities. 

Liam: She said “the one who least understands Liam’s strengths is Liam himself”. 

Victor: What a wonderful tour! You must tell me all about it afterwards. 

I gave Victor a nod and dashed off to our meeting spot. 

…

(I’m going to keep doing my best from now on… so that I can welcome my tomorrows with you and everyone else.) 

(So that the story we weave together won't be seen as a “tragedy” or “farewell tale”.)

(Until the very end… I pray that Kate and I will find happiness together.) 

…

<< Kate’s POV >>

A few days after the tour by Liam, I received a royal decree from Her Majesty.

Kate, I have heard of your excellent work. As always, I thank you for your efforts. 

Now, I have a task I wish to entrust to you, whom I know I can rely on.

I want you to assess if Liam, who bears a curse, is a suitable member of Crown. 

Note: Please take into account the cause and effect of his fits when making your decision. 

[aleksa-sims]

RL Story

Today's P’s birthday, right after christmas. (26.12) I met Sandra and Ana at Philip’s place. Nico and our little one stayed there, with Philip and Annabelle, while we girls had something else to do. Bianca (P.'s girlfriend) invited us to a beauty institute or cosmetic studio. I got lash extensions. I was so excited and curious!! I had planned to do this for a while, but never really had time for it. However, Ana suddenly changed her mind? She didn’t want to join us.

This cosmetic studio was just around the corner, so not far from P.’s apartment. As we were on the way, Bianca and her twin sister Patrica (😒) also arrived. Actually I thought Bianca was coming alone? 🤔

Maybe that's why Ana changed her mind? I really didn’t want to spend the next few hours with Patricia!!

So my mood dropped dramatically. Sandra was positively surprised. I wondered when did Sandra and Patricia become friends? Well, Sandra got this job at the dentist, thanks to Bianca’s help and there she also met Patricia. Patricia also works in this clinic, at the reception.

Anyway, Sandra is totally excited about Patricia (but also about Bianca). She thinks the two are totally nice and cool! Yea, we will see! I mean, Bianca was a good friend to me by now, but her twin sister and I didn’t know each other personally yet. We just had this stupid argument on Insta, because she was texting my boyfriend. She had a cursh on N. and that pissed me off. But that was over a year ago. Now Patricia doesn’t want anything from Nico. She told me, she has a new lover and some admirers, who keep her pretty busy. According to Patricia, all these guys look much better than Nico, which is why I don’t have to worry, she’s not interested in him anymore. 😒🤦‍♀️

My sis said goodbye to us! Too many bitches for her!

So it was just the 4 of us. Ana head back to P.'s apartment. I can understand why she didn’t want to join us, but tbh, that wasn't really nice of her, to leave me alone. (with Patricia)😒🤷‍♀️

Previous/Next

[vxlvted]

I.N. x fem!actor!reader

warnings: none i think

a/n: i got this idea from one of those skz imagines posts but i can’t remember who it’s by.

in my mind, this takes place in like 2019 or something, but i never specified a year so you can imagine it’s whenever. i wasn’t sure who to write this for, at first it was Seungmin, then Han, but I think it fits I.N most. (and Felix but, i’d already gotten like halfway through writing and was too lazy to change it)

anyway, i’m rambling i’m sorry-

It was a warm, breezy day. Different celebrities and artists walked around, greeting fans on the sidelines and answering questions from the press.

Stray Kids took their turn in front of the cameras, moving from one interviewer to the next. Currently an interviewer was speaking about their newest album, but the sight of y/n caught their attention.

“Oh my god, y/n is here.” Hyunjin mumbled and all the members turned their heads to see her. She had just finished an interview herself and was looking around, waving at fans.

“Oh, we interviewed her a while ago. Not long before you guys arrived.” The interviewer spoke. “In fact, she mentioned she was a fan of yours, and is excited to see you guys.”

Every one of the members eyes lit up.

“Really?” Chan said, the excitement in his voice evident.

“If you’d like to meet her, we can call her over.” She offered. The members all exchanged quick excited glances before nodding in unison.

Before the interviewer even called her over, Jeongin’s eyes already found her. She was standing a few feet away, her presence radiating warmth. To Jeongin, it felt like time slowed and everything around them faded into the background.

It felt like a moment straight out of one of those classic romance films when the protagonist meets their love interest. She walks towards him in slow motion, hair flowing in the wind and her face glowing, the catching the sunlight in a way that seemed to make her glow.

His heart raced at the sight and he couldn’t help but stare at her, captivated by her every move.

Y/n smiled warmly as she greeted the group, but her voice didn’t quite reach the mics. The interviewer was about to turn to find her a spare mic but before she could even move, Jeongin moved his mic to the side, holding it out for her.

Y/n smiled at him as she leaned in a bit closer to share the mic. The simple interaction made his heart race. He could feel the slight brush of her arm as she moved closer to him.

As the interview continued, Jeongin found himself enamored. He would steal quick glances at her every so often. Y/n caught his stare and smiled, their eyes meeting for a moment. Jeongin did a double take, giving her a quick, nervous smile before looking back ahead. A blush slowly creeping up his neck.

Y/n smiled softly at his nervousness, finding him adorable. Embarrassed, Jeongin refused to look her way again. Y/n took the opportunity to admire him, letting herself focus on his soft eyes, how they seemed to shine whenever he smiled. The longer she stared, the more her heart fluttered. Though she didn’t let her gaze linger, shifting her attention back to the interview.

Unbeknownst to them, Chan and Changbin caught this moment. Chan looked at Changbin and they immediately made eye contact, smirks tugging at the corner of their mouths.

Eventually though, the interview wrapped up and the interviewer moved on to find someone else.

Not wanted to stall their time, y/n waved politely. “Well, it was nice meeting you guys.” She said before turning around to walk away.

Before she could get too far Chan called out, “Wait, y/n!”. Making her turn around. “We were gonna all go grab something to eat after this. Would you want to come with us?”

Y/n paused. She didn’t want to intrude on their private time, so that’s exactly what she told them.

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude, really—“ She said, waving her hands in front of her.

But before she could finish, Changbin jumped in. “Don’t worry, you’re not intruding at all,” He insisted with a smile. “We’d love for you to join us.”

Jeongin’s face fell into a frown. He turned around and shot the two a look. A glare, really. This was embarrassing. It was clear that they were trying to set him up. But he couldn’t help the way his stomach churned with nerves.

“Hyung..” He muttered under his breath.

The look on his face sent signals into the other fives brain. Felix, ever the sweetheart, butted in next, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Come on, you’re not intruding at all.”

Y/n hesitated for a second then reluctantly agreed. “Okay, I’ll join you.”

Chan smirked, still not backing down. “Why don’t you give her your number, Jeongin? You can text her later about the place we’re going.”

Jeongin sighed inwardly before digging into his pocket. He fumbled through his phone for a second before handing it off to her. His face flushed a deep shade of red, but he tried to keep his composure.

“Here you go,” He mumbled, handing her the phone. Y/n took it with a smile, their hands brushing against each other. Her eyes glimmering as she typed in her number. Jeongin took the opportunity of her being distracted to give one more glare to Chan who did nothing but laugh under his breath.

As she handed the phone back, their hands touched again, sending a shiver down his spine. Was she blushing, too? He wasn’t sure but the thought sent his heart racing. He stood there feeling like he might melt right in front of her.

“Thanks,” She said, giving him a soft smile and waved goodbye.

Jeongin smiled in response, “I’ll text you later.” He managed to say and she smiled again and nodded as she walked away.

Jeongin watched as she walked off, his heart still pounding in his chest.

As soon as she was out of earshot Jeongin turned around to be met with the sight of all the members smirking. He lifted a fist and playfully hit Chan in the chest.

“Are you serious? That was so embarrassing!” He whined, his face flushed.

But, Chan could only laugh as the members began teasing him. Despite his embarrassment, Jeongin couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the girl he just met.

[zeroseuniverse]

Attention Please!

Word Count:676 Summary: Still, Jaemin remained unattached and unconcerned. At least until the day she didn’t show up to class. Pairing: Jaemin X Fem reader

Navigation

Na Jaemin had always been the kind of student teachers sighed over. He wasn’t disruptive, not at all. But his head was always somewhere else—scrolling through his phone under the desk, doodling in the margins of his notebook, or occasionally dozing off, chin propped on his hand as he stared out the window.

“Jaemin, are you even listening?” was practically a weekly mantra from the teachers.

He didn’t care. He had no interest in becoming a top student, and grades didn’t dictate his happiness. He had his charm, good friends, and his spot as the social butterfly of the class. That was enough for him.

But then there was Her.

She was the kind of student who made teachers beam with pride. Meticulously organized, always prepared, hand flying up to answer questions before anyone else even processed them. If the teacher mentioned an upcoming test, she was already planning her study schedule.

Jaemin had noticed her, of course. How could he not? She was always at the front of the room, an aura of quiet confidence around her. But the moment he actually noticed her—when she smiled at him in passing one day, thanking him for picking up her pen—something shifted.

He didn’t say anything at first, figuring it was just a fleeting crush. But days turned into weeks, and soon, he found himself sneaking glances at her more often than not.

Still, Jaemin remained Jaemin: unattached and unconcerned.

At least until the day she didn’t show up to class.

The empty desk at the front felt strangely jarring. He brushed it off, but when she wasn’t there the next day either, unease crept in. By the third day, Jaemin overheard the teacher saying she was sick and wouldn’t be back until next week.

Jaemin was surprised by the pang of worry that hit him. He’d barely spoken to her, but the idea of her being stuck at home feeling awful tugged at him. He glanced at her empty desk, then at the front of the class where today’s lesson was written in neat bullet points.

Without thinking, he opened his notebook.

---

By the time the bell rang, Jaemin’s hand was cramping. He’d written pages of notes, his usually blank notebook suddenly full of diagrams, bullet points, and important definitions. His handwriting wasn’t the neatest, but it was legible.

Over the next few days, Jaemin surprised everyone—including himself. Instead of zoning out, he was actually… paying attention. His notes grew more detailed, and for the first time, he realized the lessons weren’t as boring as he’d thought.

By the time Friday rolled around, Jaemin had a full set of notes ready for her.

On Monday, she returned. shelooked a little pale but smiled at everyone who greeted her. Jaemin felt his chest tighten at the sight of her back in her usual seat.

At lunch, he finally worked up the courage to approach her.

“Hey,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. She looked up, surprised.

“Jaemin?”

He held out a small stack of papers. “These are… for you. I heard you were sick, so I took notes. They’re not perfect, but, you know, better than nothing.”

Her eyes widened, and Jaemin felt his ears burn under her gaze. For a moment, she just stared at him, before her lips curved into the softest smile he’d ever seen.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice filled with genuine gratitude. “That’s really sweet of you.”

Jaemin shrugged, trying to play it cool. “It’s no big deal.”

But when she smiled at him like that, Jaemin realized something. Maybe paying attention wasn’t so bad—especially if it meant he got to see more of her.

---

From that day on, Jaemin started sitting closer to the front of the class. He still wasn’t the most studious, but he found himself following lessons more than before. And every now and then, when he handed her his notes or exchanged quiet jokes with her during group projects, he realized he didn’t just want to catch her attention.

He wanted to keep it.

[hxrsheykisses]

Alright so, this is requesting if maybe—perchance you could do my Oc Vierla and Pete?

I was thinking maybe they’re at the mall and these jocks come to harass her or cat call her, but Pete is having none of that so he defends his girlfriend, and with that as they exit out the mall she gives him a kiss and leaves pink lip mark on him.

Also here’s my oc, thank yiuuu :3 (I love your work 🫶)

💋 WORTH IT 💋 | Pete Dinunzio x Viera ♥️

THIS IS SO CUUUUUTE!!! I appreciate your love for my work, brings a smile to my face all the time!!♥️♥️♥️♥️💋

“Pete, calm down, it’s not a big deal, really.” Viera said softly, sending her boyfriend a gentle smile. She had a hand on his, caressing his thumb with reassurance. “Just ignore them.”

“Ignore them? Yeah, that’s rich.” Pete scoffed, glaring at the two jocks who were whispering amongst themselves while sending Viera suggestive glances from afar, laughing.

Pete couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t stand the many times he has took Viera out somewhere nice to treat her, but whenever he does, so many guys want to oogle at Viera. It doesn’t matter if they are holding hands, kissing, or doing other things that make it clear as day that they are a couple. At first, he just sucked it up and tried to push it away from his mind. Just wanting to have a good day with his girlfriend. But then these guys started to get a little too…noisy.

When they first stepped into the mall, one of the jocks whistled over at her, sending her a smirk that only gave trouble. Pete sneered at the guy before dragging Viera away who was innocently looking around the mall for any stores to check out. That already set Pete off on a bad start.

Then, another jock followed them into the food court AND paid for her food and drink while Pete was literally about to pay for the both of them. Of course the asshole didn’t pay for Pete’s shit because he was only interested in getting in his girl’s good side. He wasn’t able to enjoy his food as he glared daggers at the jock from where he was seated.

Those two encounters were pure bullshit. How does one be so bold? It makes zero sense. Now, Pete knows that he can be an asshole from time to time but he doesn’t go out of his way to go and try to steal other guy’s girlfriends like it’s a sport. He knows how to keep himself in check and knows when something is too far—at least that’s what he thinks.

Pete understands that Viera is one beautiful girl—who wouldn’t want her? But there was so much more to see other than looks. Viera is a popular girl at their school—there’s no doubt about that. Pete was lucky to even get a relationship with her. But what made her truly stand out was how she wasn’t your stereotypical mean girl—she knew that she wasn’t going to get everything handed to her on a silver platter, she treated people with respect. That’s what he liked! He doesn’t need some snobby girl who finds spreading gossip to be entertaining—but he definitely wasn’t going to just fawn over her looks. She’s beautiful, drop dead gorgeous—but she is smart, has amazing style, listens to all of his geeky interests, and not to mention how she has character. She ain’t stereotypical, she actually has her own personality! She doesn’t need validation to get through life when she has herself.

And Pete hates how that’s all that these jocks see.

Viera gave Pete’s hand a squeeze. “Oh Pete,” She shook her head, letting out a breathy chuckle. “I appreciate you for being worried about me. But I ain’t going anywhere! Those guys aren’t nothing but jerks.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Pete waved her off, looking over to the side. “I just—I don’t want people to just see you for your looks. That’s—That’s bullshit. Pisses me off.” He explained. His leg bounced at a fast pace underneath the table, trying to relieve his nerves.

“Well, they can think whatever they want too cause they aren’t going to see what they want to see. You think I care about some guys who don’t care what a girl has in stock unless it’s a pretty face? Oh give me a break!” Viera waited for Pete to say something, but he didn’t. He kept his eyes glued on the table, his jaw tight. Viera removed her hand from his to wrap around his arm, scooting closer to him. “You’re the only guy I’ll ever want, Pete.” She whispered, her voice was like music to his ears and it made his heart jump.

“…You really mean that? You aren’t just sayin’ that to—“

“I mean it all.”

Pete looked at her for a moment before a smile creeped in his face. “You’re right,”

“I’m always right.” Viera laughed.

“Yeah, okay.” Pete rolled his eyes at that. “Wanna go to that clothing shop you’ve been talking nonstop about?” Pete suggested, nodding towards the clothing department.

Viera got all excited as she stood up from her seat, dragging Pete up with her. They got all of their things before making their way towards the department, talking amongst themselves with smiles on their faces.

After Viera told Pete all of that, he felt a lot more comfortable. His nerves eased up and he was able to get back in the mood. Viera is right though, he shouldn’t stress over something like that. He knows that Viera wouldn’t just up and leave to go hang around with some jocks who only saw her pretty face and ran with it. That’s all the reassurance he truly needs—

“Hey hot stuff, could you lend me your number?”

That made Pete freeze up instantly, whipping his head to see no one other than the two jocks from all the other encounters, snickering and what not. Pete clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white with anger. It was clear that they didn’t have no shame for the shit they’ve been doing and they didn’t care to stop. Pete felt like he couldn’t keep his anger in check any longer as he unhooked his arm from Viera’s grip. “Pete?” She said, raising a brow as she watched her boyfriend storm over to the jocks. “Pete! Wait!”

With no hesitation, Pete glared at the two males, leaning close to them with a sneer. “You think your fuckin’ funny? All fucking day you’ve been catcalling MY girl! The fuck is your problem!?”

The two males looked at one another, going silent before breaking out in a laugh that only added more lemon to the wound. “And? What are you going to do about it? It’s not like she wants your nerdy ass any damn way.”

Pete was trying his hardest to not knock these guys out right now but he wanted to—he wanted to teach these guys that they needed to watch their fucking mouths. He wasn’t going to take the disrespect—he wasn’t going to allow Viera to experience such bullshit if he has the power to do something about it. “Doesn’t want me, huh?” Pete let out a scoff, rolling his eyes. “Yet she’s with me, asshole. I don’t know who the fuck you think you are but I suggest you tune it down.” Pete threatened. “My girl ain’t just a pretty face. She’s way more than that. The reason why she doesn’t even LOOK your way is because she knows that you ain’t nothing but a pile of shit who sees nothing more other than ass, tits, and face.”

The jocks looked at Pete like he had lost his ever fucking mind but Pete didn’t care. Hes had his fair share with some physical fights and this was no different. He ain’t going to sit back and allow these assholes to talk about Viera like a piece of meat, they’ve had their fun—and now it was his turn. “I suggest you keep your damn mouths shut, jackasses.” Was the last thing Pete said before turning around, storming back towards Viera, grabbing her around the waist as he sped walked with her.

… .

It was a pretty awkward silence for the remainder of the trip in the mall. There was some small talk between the two but they didn’t really talk. While on their way out, Viera looked over at Pete who was effortlessly carrying the countless of shopping bags of her bought items in his hands. “Pete?” She said softly. Pete let out a grunt in response.

Viera smiled before leaning over and planting a glossy pink kiss on his cheek, resulting Pete to stop walking and stand there in shock. “Thank you for doing that for me,” Viera said, her voice was covered with appreciation. “I wouldn’t trade you for a thing.”

Pete kept his mouth shut in a thin line, feeling the heat rush to his face. He blinked, shaking his head slowly. He coughed to clear his throat bashfully, stammering over his words for a bit. “Uh, yeah…yeah,” Pete let out a sigh. “I…I guess it was worth almost getting my ass dropped in the Mall.”

“Oh, stop it! I’m sure you are able to take those guys on!”

Pete snapped his head towards her. “Oh, stop fucking with me.”

“It’s true! I’m being serious! If it came down to me, I know you would!”

“You’re just saying that to be nice.”

“Am not!”

[tannedalien]

sypnosis: momo yoayorozu is the sugar mommy to our afab!reader and maybe it's like chappell roan core idk

i never see any love for my gurl momo cause she is so fine and the thought of her being dominant in general makes me foam at the mouth omg

warning: LESBIANS

You adjusted the strap of your designer bag, glancing nervously around the upscale café as you sipped on a latte that cost more than your usual weekly grocery budget. The rich, nutty aroma wafting from the porcelain cup reminded you just how out of place you felt. The soft hum of conversation and the clinking of fine china created a symphony of wealth and refinement, a world far removed from your own.

But this wasn’t just any ordinary café visit.

You were here to meet her—Momo Yaoyorozu. A woman whose name carried weight, whose wealth was practically legendary, and whose attention you somehow, miraculously, had captured.

It all started on a whim. A joke between friends spiralled into you creating a profile on a “dating” app that catered to wealthy women seeking younger companions. You never expected anyone to take you seriously, much less someone like Momo. And yet, here you were.

The moment she walked in, it was like the air shifted. Heads turned, conversations quieted, and for a second, it felt like time itself paused. Momo Yaoyorozu was elegance personified. Her long, jet-black hair was tied back into a sleek ponytail, and her tailored burgundy coat hugged her figure perfectly. She radiated confidence, the kind that could only come from a life of privilege and refinement.

“Darling,” she said, her voice as smooth as velvet, as she approached your table. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

You stood up hastily, nearly knocking over your chair in your nervousness. “N-not at all! I just got here,” you stammered, your cheeks flushing as she leaned in to kiss your cheek.

Momo smiled warmly, her dark eyes sparkling with amusement as she took her seat. “Good. I’d hate to keep you waiting. You’re far too lovely for that.”

Her words sent a rush of warmth through you, and you quickly busied yourself with your latte, hoping she wouldn’t notice the way your hands trembled slightly.

The conversation flowed easily, despite your initial nerves. Momo had a way of making you feel at ease, her refined demeanour balanced by a surprising warmth and genuine interest in everything you had to say. She asked about your studies, your hobbies, and your dreams, her attention never wavering.

“You’re remarkable,” she said at one point, her tone sincere. “You have such a passion for life. It’s refreshing.”

You blinked, taken aback. “Me? Remarkable? You’re... you’re Momo Yaoyorozu. You’re practically a genius, not to mention one of the most influential people in the country. I’m just—”

“You’re far more than you give yourself credit for,” she interrupted gently, reaching across the table to take your hand. Her touch was soft, her fingers warm against your skin. “And I’d like to help you see that.”

You swallowed hard, your heart pounding in your chest. “Help me… how?”

Momo’s lips curved into a small smile, her thumb brushing over your knuckles. “By giving you the freedom to pursue your dreams without worrying about the things that hold you back. Consider it my investment in you.”

Her words hung in the air, the weight of her offer sinking in. You knew what she meant. This wasn’t just a casual date—it was an arrangement. She’d take care of you, spoil you, in exchange for your time, your company.

It was overwhelming, the idea of someone like her choosing someone like you. But as you looked into her eyes, you realised this wasn’t just about money or status. Momo saw something in you, something worth nurturing.

“Okay,” you said softly, a smile tugging at your lips. “But you might regret spoiling me. I can be a little… indulgent.”

Momo laughed, the sound rich and melodic. “Darling, I’d be disappointed if you weren’t.”

The weeks that followed felt like a dream. Momo whisked you away to high-end boutiques, insisting you try on outfits that made you feel like you belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine. She’d drape her arm around your shoulders as you walked down bustling city streets, unbothered by the whispers and stares.

Her affection wasn’t just material, though. She’d surprise you with thoughtful gestures—a bouquet of your favourite flowers, a handwritten note left in your bag, a quiet evening in her penthouse where she’d cook for you herself despite her insistence she wasn’t much of a chef.

One night, as you lay curled up on the sofa together, her fingers combing gently through your hair, you found yourself blurting out the thought that had been nagging at you since the beginning.

“Why me?”

Momo stilled for a moment, then tilted your chin up to meet her gaze. “Because you make me feel like more than just… all of this,” she said, gesturing vaguely around the luxurious penthouse. “You remind me what it’s like to live, to laugh, to be myself without expectations. I didn’t realise how much I needed that until I met you.”

Your chest tightened at her words, and you reached up to cup her face, your thumb brushing over her cheek. “You deserve that,” you said softly. “You deserve to be happy, Momo.”

“And so do you,” she replied, leaning in to press a kiss to your lips.

In that moment, surrounded by her warmth and the quiet hum of the city beyond the windows, you realised you weren’t just her sugar baby. You were hers, and she was yours.

[a-sin-to-be-rin]

Cold (Part 2)

Selina is a simple woman. She likes pretty gems and a glass of merlot at the end of a long day. She’s never tried to play hero, and she’s never cared much for complicated relationships. But Batman seems intent on saddling her with everything she’s never wanted. Part of her wants to boycott anything vaguely Bat-themed. But the other part of her is pretty sure that only a monster would leave a kid to freeze to death.

Part 1

---

“You took off his mask.”

Selina jolts from her sleep, body curling protectively around the boy beside her. Her eyes search the room for threats and weapons. Her hand is reaching for the lamp, ready to crack it over the intruder’s head, when she spots Batman in the darkest corner of the room.

She jumps again, accidentally waking the boy.

“Wh- What’s…?” His glossy gaze fixes on Selina, and she shushes him softly.

“It’s nothing, birdie. Go back to sleep.”

He doesn’t require much convincing, already back to drooling on her sleeve.

“You took off his mask,” Batman repeats, walking into the light.

“Yeah. Hard to tell if he’s conscious if he’s got a mask covering his eyes,” Selina counters. “A ‘thank you’ is customary here.”

But Batman offers nothing of the sort. “You compromised his identity, and you want me to thank you?”

Selina takes a slow, calming breath. “I don’t even know who he is. Never seen him before. Never got a name. And-” She huffs in frustration. “And I took off my mask too.”

“I know who you are, Miss Kyle,” Batman growls. “I’ve known since last December.”

She rolls her eyes. “Of course you have. Look, that really shouldn’t be your first concern here.”

“Oh?” Batman steps closer, crouching so he’s at eye-level with Selina. “Please. Tell me how my priorities are skewed. Please tell me how to do my job.”

But Selina matches the Batglare with her own scowl. “Aren’t you worried about the child that was hit by a cold blast meant for you?”

Batman stands, folding his arms. “Of course I am.”

“Are you? You didn’t even try to catch him. You left him alone and injured for hours. He would have died if I wasn’t there.”

“Hn.” Batman stays where he is, completely unbothered. “But you were there.”

“And you trusted me - a rogue - to keep him alive,” Selina counters. “I could have just as easily taken the gun and left. Actually, that would’ve been easier.”

“You’re not any rogue. You’re Catwoman. A known cat lady sympathetic to the plight of children.”

“You just made that up. I hate kids.”

“Oh? So who’s that you’re hugging?”

A growl simmers in the back of Selina’s throat. “I’m keeping a child that you recklessly endangered alive. Don’t you dare pretend like you planned on my help. It doesn’t make it okay. He is your responsibility, Batman. And you failed him.”

And that does something. Batman goes quiet. He pauses for a moment and then takes off a glove, pressing the back of his hand to the boy’s forehead.

“I’ll take it from here,” he says softly. “You did well.”

“‘Well??’” Selina sputters. “I kept your child alive while he could have been dead for all you knew. And you say I did ‘well??’”

Batman’s lips trend downwards. “He’s not my child.”

“Oh my god, Batman,” she breathes. “That’s even worse. Who is he?” Selina can recall quite a few rumors about Batman stealing Robin from off the streets. Or worse, from his real family. But Selina had always assumed that Robin was Batman’s son.

But that’s evidently not the case.

“It’s none of your concern. Let me take over, Selina.”

Selina feels her shoulders tense. Her hold on the boy tightens. “I don’t think I should. You clearly don’t have his best interests in mind.”

“Robin,” Batman says, tone hardening and nudging the boy’s arm. “Robin, get up. We’re leaving.”

Robin drags his eyes open to half-mast. He’s still too cold, shaking too hard to say much of anything. And if the vacant gaze is any indication, Robin doesn’t have any clue what’s going on. “B?” he mumbles. “S’cold.”

For a fleeting moment, Batman’s expression twists into something… kinder. Is it pity? Remorse? Guilt?

Before Selina can decide, Batman’s jaw tightens, the sympathy fading from the lines in his face. “That’s an order, Robin.”

And Selina can’t take it anymore. “Would you cut it out?” she hisses. “He doesn’t even know what’s going on. Do not make me kick you out. Because there’s nothing I’d like more right now.” Her eyes narrow. Who is he to make demands, anyway? In her home? To a barely conscious child?

No way. Not happening.

“Hn.” Batman doesn’t speak right away. Selina gets the distinct feeling that he’s staring at her from behind the cowl. “Fine.” He reaches for the boy, but Selina holds him tighter, her fierce glare keeping Batman at bay.

“He almost died, Batman,” she growls. “And you want me to hand him back over to you? When you obviously don’t care what happens to him?”

“You don’t know me,” Batman counters. “Don’t pretend you do.” Then he sighs, motioning for Selina to stand. When she only gives him a quizzical eyebrow raise, he sighs even more heavily. “Look, if you’re not going to let me take him, then bring him yourself.”

“Bring him where?”

Batman runs his tongue over his teeth, cracking his knuckles absently. “You’ll see.”

Selina hates Batman. She hates how secretive and possessive he is. She hates how detail-oriented he is in his work but how neglectful he is when taking care of Robin. She hates that Robin is associated with him at all. But on the off-chance that Batman does have the means to treat ice blast-related injuries, she has to go with him. The kid deserves as much.

“Fine.” She adjusts her hold on the boy, murmuring to him softly.

“Hang on, okay? We’re gonna go out for a bit.”

Selina tucks the blanket around Robin before standing. The boy is heavier than he appears, but Selina spends her free time running around Gotham in a spandex suit. She has to be strong, or the GCPD would have caught her ages ago. And she’s plenty strong enough to carry a kid.

Batman leads her outside without another word, holding doors and picking up the blanket every time it slips off the boy.

The Batmobile is sitting right outside her apartment building, engine still humming and steam billowing from under the hood. Batman nods, and, as if by command of the nod itself, the passenger door slides open with a hiss. Cautiously, Selina sits inside, hugging the increasingly colder boy to her chest. The door clicks shut behind her, and Selina is left staring at the array of switches and dials and flashing buttons on the console. She can’t imagine a car being able to do so many different things that it requires so many controls. Maybe Batman drives an ultra-manual; not only is he shifting gears, but he’s also controlling every valve and piston.

But Selina doesn’t ask about the buttons when Mr. Grump slides into the driver’s seat. He grunts and slams on the gas. Selina could swear her organs are left behind.

Batman’s gloved fingers twist a dial all the way up, and hot air blasts through the car’s interior. Selina is already sweating, but if that’s what the boy needs, so be it. Then Batman passes over her thermometer. (He must have grabbed it when she wasn’t looking. It only makes Selina more uneasy. What else has he done that she hasn’t noticed?)

“Hey, kiddo,” Selina murmurs, patting Robin’s cheek. “We need to check your temp.”

The boy blinks at her, eyes glazed over. He doesn’t understand, and it makes Selina’s stomach flip.

“Open,” she says sternly, holding the thermometer up so the boy can see it. Then she gently pokes his lips with it, and reflexively, he opens his mouth. Selina sighs, sticks the thermometer in his mouth and then manually pushes his jaw shut. He immediately turns his head away, knocking the thermometer out. He’s shaking harder, teeth chattering and lips decidedly bluer than they were before.

Selina has had enough of this nonsense. She looks up at the Bat. “Batman. Do something.”

And for a moment, the steely, all-business guise cracks. Batman’s lenses widen, jaw clenched. “What? How am I supposed to know what to do?” His voice shakes in a very un-Batman way, pitching up from a growl to a rasp.

“I don’t know!” Selina hisses. “You’re Batman! You always know what to do. And it’s your kid!”

Batman takes one breath in and out of his nose. His grip loosens on the wheel. And then the deep voice is back, steady as ever. “He’s not my kid.”

“God, that is so not the point!”

Another heavy pause. “... we’re ten minutes out.”

Selina looks at the boy and then at Batman. He hasn’t looked away from the road for a second.

“Make it five, Batman.”

And the car, amazingly, goes faster. They make it to their destination in four-and-a-half minutes.

Batman gets out without a word, and Selina is quick to follow. The boy’s shivering has lessened, but Selina gets the feeling that that’s not a good sign.

“Here,” a man says, waving them towards a cot surrounded by medical equipment. Selina rushes over, guiltily relieved to put the boy down and transfer the responsibility to someone else. The mystery man takes over, putting in an IV and attaching wires and cords to the boy.

Taking a step back, Selina finally notices her surroundings. She finally notices that she’s in a cave.

It makes sense, in a strange, Gotham sort of way. He’s Batman. Of course he lives in a cave. Selina had just assumed that the rumors of him being part bat were just bar gossip. But it must be true, because what self-respecting human would live in a cave?

“Batman, what is this place?”

Batman throws warm blankets over Robin and then murmurs something to the other man. The man nods, and Batman leads Selina a few steps further from the cot.

Selina plants her feet in the ground. “I will not let you kick me out. Not when Robin clearly needs a responsible adult around.”

“Relax,” Batman says, and it’s strange. His voice is no longer the rumbling, chesty growl. It’s still deep, but it’s night-and-day with Batman’s usual voice. It’s lighter and higher. Easier on the ears and, if this is Batman’s true voice, easier on the throat. “I’m just giving Alfred space.”

“‘Alfred?’” Selina folds her arms, not sure what game Batman is playing at, suddenly giving her information about him.

“My butler.”

At first she thinks Batman is joking. And why shouldn’t she? What half-man, half-bat freak of nature living out of a cave would have a butler? “What do you even have a butler for?” she demands. “To polish the stalactites?”

“Sometimes. But only if he's in a really good mood.” The Batman voice is gone, but the tone hasn't changed. He's still dead serious. No hint of a smile. No change in his severe intensity.

“So you, Batman, live in a cave with your butler who also specializes in emergency medicine? And Robin isn’t yours but you won’t take him to a real hospital because you’re scared of the world figuring out your identity? Did I get that right?”

Batman shrugs one shoulder. “I’m more worried about his identity getting out, but… yeah.”

“God,” Selina mutters. “His parents don’t know??”

“They’re dead,” Batman bites.

Selina’s stomach drops. She pauses, takes a deep breath, and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Do not tell me you kidnapped an orphan. I swear, if you-”

“I’m Bruce Wayne.”

The words are fast and jumbled. Selina needs a second to replay the sentence in her head, trying to parse out the meaning. And then she scowls.

“You’re joking. You kidnapped a child, and you expect me to-”

Batman pulls the cowl off. And standing before her, clad in the body armor and cape of the city’s most feared vigilante, is billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. Bruce-goddamn-Wayne.

“I didn’t kidnap him. Robin is my ward.”

The Gotham Gazette’s web page flashes in Selina’s mind.

BILLIONAIRE BRUCE WAYNE TAKES IN ORPHANED ACROBAT

The news outlets had a field day with that one. There were full podcasts discussing Bruce’s capabilities as a father. Articles asking why he could take custody of a child in mere days while any average person could go years before being cleared to foster. Some even speculated that it was a PR move, with petitions urging the Gotham courts to take back custody of the boy.

Now, Selina isn’t sure whether the petitions were right or not. Bruce Wayne is far more competent than he lets on, but he’s also putting a child in danger every night. He abandoned the kid when he needed help.

“Fine. So you didn’t kidnap him.” Selina folds her arms, scowling up at Bruce. “But you put him in danger, Bruce.” She spits the name like a curse. “He might die, and you’re relying on your butler to fix things.”

“Alfred has it handled. We’ve dealt with Freeze before.”

Selina doesn’t believe him. Why should she? All he’s done since the day she met him was lie.

“Sir?” The butler has returned, gloved hands clasped behind his back. “I’ve implemented active rewarming. The boy’s core temperature is on the rise. The effects of glacialus appear to be aggressive but reversible. I’ll run blood tests, but he isn’t exhibiting any signs of chemical exposure. If you can watch him, I’ll take care of his lab work.”

“Of course,” Bruce says with a nod. He crosses back over to the boy on the cot, and Selina will be damned if she leaves the boy alone with this irresponsible, egotistical excuse of a guardian. She pulls up a chair, and that’s when things get strange.

Well… stranger, anyway.

The boy is still pale, teeth chattering with renewed strength, even huddled under odd-looking heated blankets and with a fogged-up oxygen mask over his face. Bruce shucks the gloves from his hands and brushes the hair from Robin’s eyes. Without the cowl, Selina can see everything on Bruce’s face. She watches as he knits his brow, something dangerously close to worry in his eyes.

“Br-Bruce?” Robin’s voice is muffled under the mask, but Selina would have heard him if he was speaking ten miles away. “Wh-Wh’s-?”

Bruce shushes the boy, one hand resting firmly on Robin’s forehead. “You’re safe.”

“Wh’z g-goin’ on?”

“Freeze got you. Catwoman brought you home.” It’s a very abbreviated version of events. Selina resists the temptation to elaborate. To explain that Robin had been left alone. That Batman hadn’t even asked her to help.

“O-oh. I don’... don’... ruh-remember that.”

“Memory loss is a symptom of hypothermia.”

“Oh.” Robin’s eyes slowly roam the area. “I ‘member… a lady… Dunno w-who.”

“It’s okay, chum,” Bruce hums, his thumb rubbing circles between Robin’s eyes. His voice is so… so fond that Selina almost forgets that this is Batman. This is the man who abandoned this boy. “You’re okay.”

“D-did we get ‘im?” Robin blinks faster, like he’s staving off sleep.

“Dropped him off at the GCPD an hour ago.”

“Good,” the boy sighs, sinking deeper under the blankets. His eyes flutter shut, but Bruce continues to rub circles into his brow.

There’s a long moment where Selina doesn’t know what to say. When it was just her and the boy, the truth was obvious: Batman is a horrible person. An awful guardian.

But now? Now, she’s not so certain.

“Why?” she finally asks.

Bruce jumps slightly. (Batman. She made Batman jump.) He recovers quickly, but not quickly enough to go unnoticed. “Why what?”

“Why’d you leave him?” She folds her arms, watching Bruce with a deadly glower. “If you care about him so much, why didn’t you help him?”

“Robin is my partner, Selina,” Bruce says calmly, eyes fixed on the boy. “We’re equal. And we swore an oath. If I hadn’t stopped Freeze, he would have killed others. Robin knows the risks just as well as I do.”

Selina can’t believe her ears. “He’s a kid!” Her voice echoes through the cave, making Robin stir, though he doesn’t wake. Taking a deep breath, Selina reminds herself to keep it down, no matter how much Batman deserves to get chewed out for this one. “He’s a kid, Batman.”

“No.” Bruce sighs. Something in his eyes breaks. “He’s not.”

Selina balks. “He can't be over twelve,” she growls.

“He watched his parents die, Selina,” Bruce says simply. He won't look away from the boy. “That… Trust me when I say that changes a person. It's a cruel shortcut to maturity, but it's reality. He may be young, but he's not stupid.”

“But as his guardian, it's your responsibility to keep him safe.”

“I have a responsibility to Gotham too.”

“You betrayed him,” Selina insists. “He may act older, but he is still a child. And you were going to let him die.”

Bruce’s eyes snap up to hers, fury searing into her skull. He steps back from the bed, hands coming to his sides as fists. “I took a calculated risk, Selina. I left because Dick had a greater chance with you than Freeze’s next victims did alone.”

“Potential victims,” Selina corrects, chest and face growing hot with ire. “Robin was dying then, and you were more worried about imaginary future casualties.” She does everything in her power to keep her voice down. She isn't all that successful. “How can you say you care when you're putting nonexistent victims over him?”

Bruce walks around the cot, boots silent but cape rustling. “Don't say I don't care. Don't you dare say that.” He remains a few feet from Selina, but his presence is intimidating enough to make her want to step back.

But she doesn't step back. She steps so far forward that she has to look up to glare at him. “He almost died, Batman,” she hisses. “No matter what I did, he just kept getting colder. I was thirty seconds from taking him to a hospital when you showed up. You say that you took a risk, but I was the one dealing with the aftermath.”

Bruce huffs. His breath is hot on Selina’s forehead. “I’m sorry you were inconvenienced. This was the best option for everyone.”

Selina snaps. “I wasn't inconvenienced! Robin was dying! I don't want an apology; I want you to put him first!” Her breath catches in her throat. This is hitting a bit too close to home. If she closes her eyes, she can hear her own words coming from her mother’s mouth. She can see her father lashing out at her mother. She can feel her father take it out on herself.

“You promised to protect Gotham,” Selina continues shakily. “But you’re legally obligated to protect Robin. You swore to care for him. So take care of him, goddamnit!”

And for the first time ever, Selina watches Bruce’s expression muddy with guilt. “I’m trying to make this work,” he says in a small voice. “I’m not… I thought having similar backgrounds would be enough. I… I treated him like I’d want to be treated. Like an equal. But he’s…” He swallows hard, glancing over at the boy. “I’m trying to help him the only way I know how to. But I guess that’s… that’s not enough.”

Selina shakes her head. “No. It’s not.”

Bruce sighs heavily, mops his face with a hand, and turns to face the sleeping boy. “He needs Robin. I can’t take that from him.”

“Why not? You’re just putting him in danger.”

“You don’t get it. He’ll… He’s already tried going out on his own. Even before he was Robin. Letting him work with me is my way of keeping him safe. So I can keep an eye on him. But Gotham has always been the main mission. If I can’t treat him as an equal, how am I supposed to work effectively?”

“Adjust your priorities.” Selina stands, placing a hesitant hand on Bruce’s shoulder. He doesn’t brush her off. “If Robin is your way of protecting him, you can’t put Gotham first.”

“That’s not how this works.”

Selina spins Bruce to face her, nails digging into his armor. He doesn’t push her away. “Listen to me,” she growls. “You know what it’s like to have an absent father. I know what it’s like to have an abusive one. Don’t subject him to both.”

Bruce steps away, folding his arms and letting his cape swallow him up. “I’m not his father. I’m just here to help him.”

“Apparently so,” Selina agrees, tone sharp. “But that’s not what he needs, Bruce.” She spits his name like a curse. “He needs someone to protect him. Someone to raise him. You had the butler. Robin has an angsty teen drill sergeant that sees him as expendable.”

“Don’t say that,” Bruce seethes.

“I don’t need to. Your actions proved it.”

Bruce huffs. Silence lapses for a moment. Then he speaks up, as an afterthought, “I’m not a teenager. I’m twenty-two.”

“So barely an adult. That’s so much better.” Selina rolls her eyes. “Look, here’s what I’m saying, straight up. You need to take better care of this kid, or I’ll be tailing you every time Batman goes out. You will never know a moment of peace because someone has to protect the kid.”

Bruce scowls, eyes so intense that he must be trying to fry a hole through her skull. Then he gives a petulant sneer, further convincing Selina that he’s too young to be in charge of a child. “Fine. You’re… You’re right or… or whatever. I’ll… I’ll do better.”

“Oh, I know you will,” Selina replies, smirking and reclaiming her chair at Robin’s side. “Because until I’m certain you’ve changed, I will be watching you.”

“A criminal stalker,” Bruce muses sarcastically, sitting in his own chair. “How wonderful.”

They sit in silence for another minute. As if sensing the tension, Robin - Dick - winces, dragging his eyes open. “B?” he mumbles.

“I’m here,” Bruce promises, taking the boy’s offered hand. “Right here, chum. Not going anywhere.”

He certainly won't. Selina will make sure of that.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

My other theme this week is actually based on a quote from one of your recent posts! It’s “the gentlest futures” - one story where Buck’s going a bit crazy trying to guarantee those futures for everyone he loves and another where he’s already built his own!

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ (seeing the end chapter count on this story kind of broke my brain! But it definitely fit the vibe of the last chapter - sad about an ending but so grateful for the experience! Loving these last snippets though! Seeing them all thriving in their new roles and still being a family - it’s so beautiful! And watching Buck realize he doesn’t need to hold on so tight to the 118 because he’s never being abandoned again - love that for him!!)

⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️⚖️ (oh boy Buck didn’t anyone ever tell you not to make deals with sketchy supernatural authorities? I’m definitely worried about him but it is very on brand for him to sacrifice his sanity and soul to keep the people he loves safe. I love it! And I’m very intrigued by the nullification clause - a way for the whole curse to be gone huh? Interesting…)

- PCA <3

Oh I love this!!! Great theme.

123 or 1k for ⚡️(yeah! Can't believe I really made it to the end, and I'm glad it feels like it's wrapping up in an okay place):

---

“Buckley’s still here,” Bowman says to Hen. He snorts. “That’s a shame.”

So that’s how it’s going to be, then? They couldn’t have just ignored each other? Like professionals? 

“Firefighter Buckley is a valued member of this team,” Hen fires back. And he loves her. He really does. But nothing she says to him is going to matter, when it comes to Buck. He has it out for Buck and he doesn’t respect Hen. They just need to try to get through this day with as few casualties as possible. 

This endeavor proves to be a challenge. For one, the rescue itself is getting harder the longer it goes on. The people inside are struggling. For another, Bowman loudly disagrees with Hen’s slow but steady method of evacuation. They can knock a hole in the wall and pray, but it’s a load bearing wall and the house is already collapsing. The victims could be killed in seconds. Hence Hen’s plan to stabilize what they can before sawing a small, precise gap in the wall. They can hear the victims inside. Communicate through knocks and shouts. They know they have time. 

Bowman also knows they have time. That doesn’t seem to matter to him, though. 

“The quicker we get out of this shitshow, the better,” he grits, before instructing his crew to ignore Hen’s orders and knock down the wall anyway. 

Buck has never seen anything like it, honestly. Just flagrant disregard for procedure. He may have more seniority than Hen, but she’s in charge of this scene. Eddie’s in charge of the whole damn thing. And Eddie told Bowman to assist the 118. Assist. Not take over. 

A few of the 114 firefighters look hesitant for a second. Unsure of the protocol. 

“Absolutely do not do that!” Hen says. She radios to Eddie. Explains what’s happening. Her voice is frantic. 

But they do. They do it. And despite the 118’s best efforts to reduce the damage and rescue the victims, one of them dies. 

☆☆☆

It’s a hard night. An impossible one. 

Neither Eddie or Buck seem to know how to move forward from today’s events. They both feel horrible. Drained. Defeated. They both feel guilt, even though there is a clear culprit. Captain Bowman. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” Yardley tells him afterwards, as they are sifting through so much paperwork Eddie’s vision starts to blur. “You did everything right, and a seasoned fire captain made a very bad call. You couldn’t and shouldn’t have anticipated that.”

Well, he might have. He’s heard all about what kind of man Bowman is. But Buck never had a bad word to say about his endangering people’s lives. It always sounded to Eddie that he was just a bully. Which sucks, but… Well, this is something more than that. 

“And, Eddie,” Yardley continues. “Even if we couldn’t point the blame at one person… These are the sort of calls you’ll be on from here on out. They aren’t routine. People will die. And most of the time it won’t be on you. Do the best you can, and start counting the people that survive.”

And though Eddie knows it’s good advice, he doesn’t quite feel it. 

“We saved fifty-seven residents today, Eddie,” Yardley says. 

And it should have been fifty-eight. 

“You’re right,” Eddie says.

When he goes home, Buck is in an even worse state. He’s scraped and bruised all over. He’s changed into warm clothes, and has wrapped himself in a blanket. He’s clearly still feeling the residual cold of the water. Eddie gets that. He was cold for a long time after the well. When Eddie finds him, he’s sitting up in bed, watching television. Brooke is asleep on his chest and he’s stroking her hair. Soothing himself, more than her, Eddie thinks. 

“Hi,” Eddie says softly, dropping his bag on the floor and walking to the bed to kiss them both on their respective foreheads.

“Hey,” Buck whispers back.

“Where’s Chris?” Eddie asks. 

“Friend’s house,” Buck says. “He begged. Thought it might be better anyway, tonight.”

“Which friend?”

“Duncan.”

“Is that the one with the ugly dogs?” Eddie asks.

Buck snorts. “They’re boxers. They’re sweet.”

“They’re hideous, but sure.”

Buck rolls his eyes. They’ve had this argument before. Eddie knows he’s right. Even Chris says they’re annoying. 

“You okay?” Eddie asks. He walks away from the bed to change into sweats and a tank top. He’s not as cold as Buck. He didn’t spend very much time in the water.

Buck shrugs. “I feel awful.”

“Yeah, me too,” Eddie says. “There’s going to be an investigation into Bowman.”

“Hen wondered,” Buck mutters.

“She okay?” Eddie asks. 

“She’s pissed.” 

“No kidding,” Eddie sighs.

“I don’t get it y’know?” Buck says.

“Which part?” Eddie asks. “Because we already knew he was an ass by how he treated you.”

“Yeah, but…” He sighs. “Okay, when Bobby fired me-”

“Still hilarious, by the way,” Eddie says.

“When Bobby momentarily let me go, he said he didn’t think I understood how lucky I was to be a firefighter,” Buck says. “And to some degree, he was right. I’ve never been as stupid as Bowman, but I didn’t get it as much, then.”

---

96 for ⚖️ (Nullification clause will be important!):

---

No. He’s not. He’s obviously fucking not. This is going to be the rest of his life, and he’s going to be miserable, and Eddie can say all he wants about things being okay, but he doesn’t even want Buck like this. He made that clear. So nothing is going to be okay for Buck. That was the whole point of this, right? Nothing will be okay for Buck. It’ll be okay for everyone else. 

“Just make it through the call,” Eddie says.

But it won’t end, then. It’ll never end. Maybe Billy Boils’ friends had the right idea, ensuring he’d be sent to the gallows. 

Luckily, the call takes them towards two of the ten guests Buck could single out for punishment. Meaning, he can do it. He just needs a second. It’ll make some of this pressure go away. Give him some relief. He needs that. He needs that, and then he can focus on his job.

The scene in the penthouse is sort of absurd. It’s a dual-story suite. There’s a balcony from the upper level overlooking the living area. One of the police officers on the scene explains what has happened. Two brothers, twin sons of a wealthy businessman with quite the social media following built for themselves, are staying here. The one brother has pushed the other over the balcony, where he landed directly on a glass table below. There’s a lot of blood and agonized moaning. 

The unharmed brother is sitting on a leather loveseat, cuffed. He looks dazed and teary-eyed. Potentially high. He doesn’t look mildly remorseful.

Buck can tell both brothers are targets for him. Qualified leads, or whatever. But he thinks he’ll go for the non-injured one first. 

“How long have you all been here?” Bobby asks the police officer. “Why weren’t we called sooner?”

Buck ignores the response. As Eddie, Chim, and Hen work on the injured brother, Buck grabs a flashlight from Eddie’s med bag and wanders over to the cuffed one. 

“What do you want?” He sneers at Buck. “An autograph?”

Buck literally has never heard of this man-child before today. But yeah, totally. 

“To check you for a concussion,” Buck says. 

“I haven’t hit my head,” he replies. “Just protocol, man,” Buck lies.

“Whatever,” the guy rolls his eyes. 

Buck starts a phony version of a routine check. He flies through it, not very diligent. 

“You’re clear,” he says at the end, then pats the guy on the shoulder. He’s not supposed to do something like that. But it doesn’t matter. It’s enough to get what he needs.

The scary thing is that what he sees isn’t even that extraordinary any more. The badness. The aura. The past he gets to see. It’s par for the course with what he’s been seeing lately. Misogyny, predatory sexual behaviour, general abuse of the people around him, the environment, and his wealth. Truly vapid and inhuman beliefs. Just… Grotesque. And it would have made Buck sick at first. Now, he just quickly chooses the worst possible fate and calls it a day. 

But the problem is, when Buck is done, he doesn’t feel any better. No itch has been scratched. No pressure has been relieved. He feels awful. 

His feels a constant thrum of panic. Why isn’t it lessening? Why isn’t it going away? This wasn’t the deal he made. The quota isn’t supposed to consistently increase or disappear. Right? Nemesis didn’t say anything about that. Did she? Because Buck… He can’t… He can’t live like this. 

He tries again with the other brother. Touching his arm briefly as he helps lift a backboard onto a gurney. Same shit past. Same punishing future. Same… Same nothing. No relief. Nothing at all. 

⚖️

Bobby sends him home. He doesn’t get to talk to Eddie, the way Eddie wanted to. He gets back to the station and vomits, so overwhelmed by what he’s experiencing. The physical side and the abject dread. 

“I’m still worried this is residual from your illness in the fall,” Bobby says. “I’m worried about you, Buck.”

Who fucking isn’t?

[timdrakewhump]

Something something Tim tearing up at his first Christmas with the Wayne’s because he’s used to presents being ordered by assistants while his parents are on digs and it’s always generic but Bruce gets him a personal present based off an inside joke and no he’s not crying it’s just he wasn’t sure if Bruce was just pretending to be happy he wasn’t here for dick’s sake but Bruce remembered and went out of his way to find the silly present and it’s cheap and stupid and nothing like what his parents would give him and it’s perfect because it means Bruce knows him, really knows him—

[cuteniarose]

It’s almost 6 a.m and I can’t sleep because I’m being plagued by thoughts of The Latest OC

[luvth0t]

NEED ME? ━ L.N

in which you’re on vacation with your ex boyfriend, the only man who’s been able to make you cum in recent times.

warnings; smut, unprotected sex, eavesdropping, cocky lando, ex lovers, conversations of masturbation and inability to orgasm, hair pulling, oral both receiving, overstimulation, praise, slight degradation, choking ect.

it was a throw away question. one lando probably shouldn’t have brushed off.

“you’re sure you’re fine with her coming?” max had asked so casually despite it being on this tip of his tongue for the last hour, eyes not lifting from his phone to see the way lando looked at him with raised eyebrows.

the driver said your name in confusion, even chuckled. “of course. why wouldn’t i be?” lando followed; a rhetorical question. he knew why max was asking such thing.

he watched as max shrugged, hummed mindlessly as if he didn’t have a response prepared.

“wouldn’t catch me wanting to share a roof with my ex,” max mused; putting his phone down and finally meeting lando’s eyes, glare more so, quick to put his hands up in defence. “just saying. something to think about,” max quickly added.

he had his best friends best interest at heart.

“so what? we tell her she can’t come?” lando scoffed, shaking his head as he leant back into the seat he was occupying. “we’re friends. hasn’t been an issue before.” lando dismissed.

and he wasn’t lying. you’d broken up almost a year ago, which was concerning at first considering you shared the same friend group. were friends before lovers.

but it worked, you’d remained friends. saw each other every now and then, in a group setting. you weren’t as close, obviously, but it wasn’t awkward.

“no i know,” max huffed; even rolling his eyes. “maybe two villa’s is something to think about, that’s all.” max shrugged once more. he wasn’t just thinking of lando, but you as well, his other dear friend.

the brit shook his head, not giving in to the worry max seemed to hold. “not necessary. no different than being at the same hotel.” lando concluded.

he’d seen you on nights out, had conversations with you on boats; you still got an invite and paddock pass to his home race.

there was nothing to worry about. if you two weren’t capable of being friends, such thing would’ve been exposed.

that’s what lando thought anyways.

standing on the deck of a ten bedroom villa in the south of france however, he realised maybe he should’ve considered max’s words more carefully.

small doses of you seemed to differ from your constant presence.

the break up was civil, lando was grateful for such thing. it’d been him who ended things, purely because he felt as if he couldn’t give you the time you deserve. it was a cop out, he feared, realising things were almost too good between the pair of you.

he wasn’t sure he could commit to putting you through a relationship where you wouldn’t get the time and treatment you deserved.

you took it well, an angel in fact; you wanted to hate him for it. but you couldn’t bring yourself too. selfless enough to put the peace of your mutual friends and him first. plus, losing him entirely left a bitter taste in your mouth.

you’d mourned the relationship, cried in private and cursed him to your best friend; and moved on. well, appeared to have.

it went unspoken, amongst the group; in front of you two at least, and between you two as well. not exactly something you were ready to laugh at yet. it just seemed to go… unaddressed.

until it was night two, dinner at a fancy restaurant with maybe a few too many bottles of wine meant piling into ubers to get back to the villa.

it sort of just happened, lando shuffling into the car behind you; leaving you in the middle of him and max; pietra on max’s lap and tom in the front.

your senses were consumed of him immediately, not able to avoid him considering you were practically pressed into his side in an attempt to give pietra enough room.

you glanced up at him once, smiling sheepishly to see his eyes already on you.

“you still wear it,” lando hummed casually, pinky finger reaching to brush over the bracelet he’d bought you a few months into your relationship, grazing your wrist as he did so.

your cheeks went a shade of pink at the observation, and if it weren’t for the fact you were wine drunk you probably would’ve made up an excuse as to why the piece of metal still found it’s way onto your wrist everyday.

“it’s my favourite,” you replied; glancing down at the piece as your hand moved to fiddle with it, small smile playing on your lips.

you missed the grin spread on lando’s face, a sense of pride fulfilling him as he recounted the stress it had caused him just picking out the damn bracelet. he was relieved to see you still wearing it, for some reason.

“i’ve got good taste.” lando bragged, eyes practically begging for yours to meet his again; smiling in amusement when they did as you nudged him.

you were suddenly even more aware of the closeness, the way your knees were touching, how his arm had stretched to rest over the headrest behind you. it was forced proximity sure, but an odd sense of familiarity that you hadn’t felt in a while was accompanying it.

“most of the time,” you mused, earning a nudge back ━ which had a giggle escaping you, one you attempted to hush; not wanting to draw attention to you and lando’s conversation.

if it did, the others in the car would’ve seen the way lando’s face lit up at the sound. he hadn’t made you laugh like that in months, he’d forgotten how good it felt to do so.

he’d almost forgotten how easy you were to be around. how easy it was to fall for you in the first place.

it was as if the universe was punishing him for such thing, because suddenly you were all he could think about once more.

that night, he was simply relaxing in his room; when you came waltzing in.

“p,” your voice hummed as you knocked; pushing the door open before lando could muster a response from inside. “do you have my top━ oh shit, sorry!” you’d cut yourself short when you found yourself standing in lando’s room. not pietra and max’s.

who was luckily just lounging on the bed in his joggers, not far from switching the lamp off and going to sleep.

but he had been shocked to see you enter his room in just a towel.

“you’re fine,” lando chuckled; having sit up. “we swapped rooms this morning… figured they should have a private bathroom,” lando explained; watching as your face softened in some sort of relief.

you hadn’t been crazy. regardless, still embarrassed; the redness on your cheeks clear as you nodded, cringing ever so slightly.

“right; my bad, sorry,” you repeated; not even wanting to imagine what else you could’ve walked in on.

lando simply chuckled, shaking his head as his eyes glanced over your figure just once; unable to help himself. having to swallow to not let himself think back to what he knows is underneath the towel keeping you modest.

“i’m gonna go,” you declared; sheepishly smiling as you turned on your heel; cringing once more now that you were out of sight, not hiding the urgency as you practically fled his room and slammed the door behind you.

lando hadn’t realised he was holding his breath until you left, body relaxing as he flopped back onto the mattress; a curse leaving his lips.

the next morning, you were there again. obviously. yet he couldn’t see you, nor could you see him. so technically he was eavesdropping; but it hadn’t been on purpose.

lando was out on his balcony first, which was above yours it appeared; mindlessly scrolling through his phone before arabella’s voice became audible, who you were rooming with this trip.

“since when did nicolas get ripped,” she’d posed to you, peering at the man who was dipping in the pool; your eyes following her gaze from where you both sat in deck chairs; smoothies in hand.

“he’s always been cute,” you pointed out; shrugging ever so slightly as you adjusted the sunglasses atop your head, rolling your eyes the moment you caught glance of arabella’s grin.

“and he’s always been into you.” arabella chimed, and you should’ve expected her to steer the conversation in such direction.

lando whoever, who hadn’t scrolled past the tik tok which was playing for the fourth time now, had not expected such words.

his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. you and nicolas? yeah right. you two were close friends, he knew that much. but nothing more. surely not.

“we’re friends bella,” you dismissed; shaking your head. slightly flirty friends as of recent, you’d admit. but just friends.

“so? doesn’t have to stay that way,” arabella had grinned ━ and lando felt betrayed; as if it should be him the pair of you were talking about. not nicolas.

“yes it does.” you laughed. “i’m not dating within the friend group ever again,” you spoke in such certainty it had lando confused, he didn’t think it faired that bad the first time.

but he also wasn’t opposed to your declaration. not that he was close to nicolas, in fact he probably knew him the least. but he was a brother of a childhood friend, who’d tagged along the last few trips. and lando had no complaints of the guy.

“don’t be silly,” arabella huffed. “i’m not saying fall in love with him. just that he could end the sex drought you’re stuck in.” arabella hummed, your eyes widening as you hit her softly.

“what? no one can hear us!” arabella spoke dramatically, and you rolled your eyes; no argument because you figured she was right.

however she wasn’t, because lando was still listening. and his interest had suddenly spiked.

“i am not… stuck in a sex drought,” you huffed; not sounding one bit convincing as you glanced at the pool. “men just suck. i’ve given up on having an orgasm.” your words were dramatic, and playful, but still a bit of truth to them.

suddenly lando felt guilty for overhearing, or purposefully listening, but he couldn’t help but be intrigued.

your words made no sense to him; considering nights with you would always lead to multiple orgasms for both of you.

and it wasn’t as if you were short on options.

“gotta do everything yourself these days,” arabella sighed out dramtically in agreement; but she had a boyfriend, and your friendship with the girl wasn’t one for many secrets; you knew she was only ‘relating’ out of sympathy.

truth was; since lando, nothing or no one could compare. not even your own damn fingers.

“can’t even get myself off.” you huffed out almost ashamed, and you only whined when you met arabella’s shocked eyes and slack jaw.

lando suddenly felt intrusive, and flustered from the idea of you touching yourself; one he’d grown familiar with due to long distance. suddenly he was standing and ready to walk himself inside in his room.

“is your body like… broken?” arabella sounded bewildered, and you could only huff.

you’d blame it on stress, or any of your medication if it was possible; you’ve heard stories, knew there could be many reasons as to why your sex drive and urges have suddenly changed. none aligned with your circumstances however.

“just deprived i think,” you sighed.

lando needed to get his mind off your sexual need’s immediately, deciding to go on a run with max to occupy himself. to get you off his mind.

and it worked, until he got back to the villa. hot and out of breath, he found himself in the kitchen ━ pouring a glass of water with ice, eyes wandering out the fold out doors that exposed the luxurious back yard. decking, sun lounges, a pool; and his closest friends.

and his ex girlfriend. in a little bikini. with another man’s hands on her.

he couldn’t help but scoff at the sight, you resting on your stomach as nicolas rubbed sunscreen into your back ━ watching as you grinned and spoke up to him momentarily. you were flirting, he knew that look.

his takeaways from his… eavesdropping, was that you didn’t plan to pursue nicolas. so what the fuck was this?

he wanted to laugh, you were going to seek answers to your problems in nicolas? he almost felt offended; if you needed good sex so badly he felt as if he was the obvious candidate.

“careful mate, you’re staring,” max’s words snapped lando out of his thoughts; causing him to glare at the man quickly, bringing his glass to his lips, unaware that his grip was so tight his knuckles were white.

max’s amusement only escalated, eyebrows raising as he chuckled quietly.

“i wasn’t.” lando murmured, leaning back against the counter. “just didn’t know that was a thing,” he tried to shrug off; eyes returning to where you now sat up, rubbing sunscreen into nicolas’s back now.

had he been oblivious to the pair of you?

“i don’t think it is.” max shrugged, following lando’s gaze momentarily, not overanalysing the sight. everyone was friends here.

lando looked to max in doubt, to check if he was being serious.

“does it matter if it is?” max questioned, sassily too, almost a challenge; and lando was quick to scoff ━ mustering up the best chuckle he could to appear as unbothered as he wanted to be.

“no,” the mclaren driver answered almost too quickly, clearing his throat slightly. “i hope it is. would be a good match,” he overcompensated; left to only flip max off as he chuckled and hummed unconvincingly.

“whatever you say,” max mused.

lando wished he was being honest, but as time passed by it became quite clear he was lying.

dinner that night you were sat at opposite ends of the long table, like usual; regardless, lando’s eyes were trained on you for the majority of the night.

you and nicolas of course. who’d snagged the seat next to you.

forced to watch as you shared food, laughed and chattered away in your own little world.

lando felt sick from the sight; that used to be him. should be him. and while he could only blame himself for it not being him, it was a cruel reminder of what he’d lost.

he felt utterly helpless however, because there was nothing he could do.

he couldn’t even express his dismay to anyone as he watched nicolas help you in the car. left to watch as you both giggled and stumbled up to the villa ahead of the group.

he wanted to intervene, to make his presence known to hopefully at least make it awkward. but he couldn’t bring himself too.

not when you’d been such an angel in the breakup, made things so easy for him from the start of the relationship to now. it just wouldn’t be fair to ruin this for you.

even though it was all he wanted to do.

he noted how you two were first off to go ‘sleep’ that night, halfway through the movie that had been put on. and he suddenly wished he’d downed a few more glasses of red at the restaurant, maybe then he wouldn’t have the capacity to brainstorm up everything and anything you and nicolas could be doing tonight.

he wasn’t going to say it was what kept him up, tossing and turning and unable to fall asleep; but it definitely played on his mind.

it was starting to make sense to him at least; he hadn’t been around you without distractions since the breakup. it suddenly became clear how helpful those distractions are.

3:42 the clock read.

lando hadn’t gotten a second of shut eye, and after two hours of laying there; he conceded. deciding to get a glass of water as if that would be the solution to all his problems.

instead he was just met with the problem itself; you.

surprise, surprise. nicolas was not the answer to your prayers.

you were already keen to tell arabella ‘i told you so’ when you returned to your room. having spent the night in nicolas’.

he was a nice guy, until the clothes came off.

it was nothing new, you on top; he came. you didn’t. he then tried to get you to finish with his fingers, and you faked an orgasm when it became clear he wasn’t finding your clit any time soon.

your frustrations had now multiplied, it felt pathetic. you were ready to give up.

you snuck out the moment he fell asleep, in the kitchen to get a glass of water and for a few moments to yourself.

“shouldn’t be surprised you’re up,” lando made his presence known, having debated running back to his room when he noticed you occupying the kitchen.

typical.

“needed a drink,” you hummed sheepishly; and for some reason when your eyes met his you felt intimidated; as if you needed refuge, turning back around to the fridge to fill your cup up with ice.

maybe it was because you were already sexually frustrated. or the fact you were stood with your ex boyfriend after sneaking out of another guys room.

“same,” lando hummed; moving behind you to grab a glass for himself, and you could feel him waiting behind you as you poured water into the glass.

“nice night?” lando asked when you moved aside so he too could fill his glass, not looking at you for the time being so you wouldn’t decipher the motives in the question. he didn’t need you to know how concerned he was with your night.

you nodded quickly, humming as you still had a mouth full of water, leaning against the counter now.

“yeah, yeah,” you spoke; pursing your lips. it had been. until it wasn’t. “restaurant was lovely,” you smiled; shifting on your feet slightly as you took in his appearance, even in the dull lightly.

his messy curls that look slept on, slightly tired eyes. he looked cozy.

lando nodded, so much on the tip of his tongue. maybe if it was a different hour of the day he’d have the common sense to not speak his mind, but he was slightly sleep deprived and going insane from his own thoughts.

“you know my balcony is above yours,” lando told you; randomly, your eyebrows furrowing ━ coughing out a slight laugh. you weren’t sure where this conversation was going to lead, your guess was awkward silence. not him blurting out something… irrelevant.

it took a few moments for it to dawn on you, the slight curve of lando’s lips into a smirk causing your eyes to widen in realisation.

you’d only been out on the balcony once today.

“oh my god,” you mumbled; cringing as he chuckled, shaking his head ever so slightly. “shut up!” you whisper yelled, leaning forward to whack his arm, which only had him laughing once more as his hands flew up in defence.

“i wasn’t eavesdropping! i swear,” lando mused, shaking his head as your eyebrows raised.

“great, so you just happened to hear all about my sad sex life,” you huffed, and lando couldn’t help the small smile that was refusing to leave his lips; always having adored the sight of you flustered and sheepish.

it didn’t help, the sight of you wearing what seemed to be just an oversized shirt. reminiscent of how his shirts would drape over your body.

“yeah,” lando confirmed sympathetically, causing you to whack him again; no force in your actions as you groaned audibly.

you couldn’t think of anyone you’d rather not hear that conversation; ever so grateful you hadn’t been completely honest with arabella.

you would die of humiliation if you’d told her how you compared every man to lando, how you found no one was able to make you feel anywhere near as good.

but regardless, there was a level of comfort. you trusted the man in front of you.

“nicolas though hm?” lando spoke light heartedly, reminding you of the man you’d just been in bed with.

was it bad he’d slipped your mind completely? having forgotten that he was who sparked such conversation this morning.

“did he make you cum?” his follow up question had you dumbfounded, having not expected such blunt words as your lips parted. “can i ask that?” lando added with a reassuring laugh. but you knew that look in his eyes.

they were darker than usual, he was staring at you intently; practically begging you to step closer.

“no,” you cleared your throat, opting for honesty. “he didn’t.” you huffed, eyes avoiding his for a moment as if you were ashamed. as if it was your fault.

the relief lando felt was pathetic, not that he wished a bad time upon you. or anyone for that matter. but god it felt like the door had been swung right open for him.

he was right; of course nicolas wasn’t going to do it for you.

“i know you can make yourself cum.” lando chimed, pushing himself off the counter and taking a couple steps towards you; ridding any distance as he stood in front of you. “used to be able to at least, seen it myself,” he told you as if you could forget.

you swallowed intently, the tension now almost suffocating. sleeping with an ex was something you swore against; recipe for disaster. but it seemed awfully appealing when it looked like lando did right now.

your cheeks were pink, thinking about the countless times you’d gotten yourself off on facetime calls with the driver, purely because neither of you could wait any longer to see one another again.

“not the same anymore.” your voice was barely above a whisper, it didn’t need to be; not when he was only centimetres away, looking down at you as if he was ready to ravish you.

lando’s eyebrow raised at that, eyes flickering across your face.

it wasn’t the same, you’d worked out the hard way. you only relied on your own devices when you had no other choice; and with that would be lando on the of phone with words of encouragement and direction.

“what, need me to talk you through it again?” his words were teasing as his hand moved to cup your cheek; your stomach turning at the thought. at the fact he seemed like he knew that would do it for you.

you let out a slight breath, shaking your head but you held little confidence in doing so.

“need me to touch you?” he added on, offer sounding almost like a request; words so hushed you could’ve missed them. but you didn’t, you heard him loud and clear.

his eyes were pouring into yours as if he pitied you, but the smirk on his face showed he wanted nothing more than to be the one to solve your problems.

you didn’t even need to think about it, no ifs or buts entering your mind; nothing could make the idea of him seem unappealing.

“please,” you mumbled; eyes pouring up into his, watching as a wicked grin spread on his features; one that made your knees weak.

it was all lando needed to hear, lips pressing against yours in an instant; it coming back to the pair of you quickly. feeling so natural, the way your body melted into his touch; the way your lips moved against each other.

your hands finding a grip on his shirt as his spread across your hips.

lando didn’t waste any time; he wanted to make you cum.

he wasn’t sure if it was because it seemed like a challenge, or because he missed you; but god did he want nothing more than to make you feel good:

his knee pushed between your thighs first, your legs spreading; immediately aware of the finger he was tracing up your inner thigh.

as much as lando missed the feeling of your lips against his, he loved watching you react to every touch and feeling. pulling away but not creating much distance as his fingers brushed over your clothed folds.

you took a sharp breath, shifting your weight to lean against the counter as the anticipation built within, eyes locked on his as he teasingly brushed your clothed clit as well.

he could feel your soaked panties, a wet patch that you knew wasn’t there when you first entered the kitchen.

“you know it doesn’t make sense,” lando started speaking through a breath; his fingers pushing your panties aside with ease, swiping through your folds; spreading your wetness to your clit. “because you’re always so easy for me baby,” he practically cooed as he slipped two fingers inside you.

your jaw fell slack, hips pushing against his hand lightly as you whimpered; cheeks hinting at his taunting words which you’d almost forgotten about and how crazy they drove you.

his free hand returned to your cheek, cupping the side of your face and adjusting your head to ensure you were looking up at him; his head tilting ever so slightly as he gazed down at you.

“so responsive,” he added in a hum; looking incredibly smug, thumb settling on your clit ━ and the moan that escaped you as he circled your sensitive bud had lando’s jaw clenching. he’d missed your pretty sounds.

he was toying with you, teasing. his fingers moving slowly, thumb only lightly circling your clit. yet you hadn’t felt this good in fucking forever, face contorting in pleasure proving such thing.

lando could get lost in the sight, not able to help himself from wanting to give you more.

his fingers gradually picked up the pace, thumb applying more pressure now; but it was when he curled his fingers, grazing that spot he never failed to miss, that you hadn’t been able to find, that a slightly louder moan escaped you.

“ah, ah,” lando hushed you; tapping your cheek lightly. “gotta be quiet baby,” lando hummed through heavy breaths, hating that he had to ask such thing of you.

he wanted to hear you lose control, hear you scream his name like you had countless of times. but he’d hate to be interrupted and have the current sight cut short.

you whined quietly at the request, biting down on your bottom lip as you tried to keep any noise at bay; knowing you had no choice. waking anyone up would be less than ideal.

but somehow, the thought of being caught was the least of your concerns.

your back arched when he added a third, thumb still expertly playing with your clit; your quiet whimpers and moans were growing in volume once more.

lando took matters into his own hands, the hand cupping your cheek shifting so he could tap his pointer finger on your bottom lip; and he had to shut himself up this time as you invited two digits past your lips without second thought.

“fuck,” he mumbled out; eyes fixated on the way you looked up at him with his fingers in your mouth; so similar to the sight of when you’d suck him off. his hard on was almost painful.

your moans were muffled now, thankfully, as your hips pushed forward once more; slowly losing control over your body as the pleasure continued to build.

you’d made a mess on your thighs, his fingers working in and out of you perfectly; beginning to curl his fingers repeatedly had your eyes rolling back.

“yeah, right there baby?” lando mumbled; despite you unable to respond. “gonna make a mess on my fingers yeah? think you deserve to cum,” he smirked ━ and if you could’ve you would’ve cried out, nodding quickly at his words.

your stomach tightened, it was sudden; more sudden than you remembered, lando having caught on to the fact you were cumming before you did; squeezing his fingers as you came undone.

his body was practically holding you up against the counter, vision going white for a moment as your muffled moans filled the air, hips bucking involuntarily once more.

lando wanted to curse himself for ever depriving himself of such thing, watching as you shook in front of him; fingers moving to let you ride out your high, until he was pulling them from your panties, and mouth respectively.

your eyes fluttered open, nothing but awe as you gazed up at him through hooded eyes; panting ever so lightly.

he was smiling cockily, if he didn’t know the root of your issue before, he did now. the way you needed him.

you couldn’t even crush his inflating ego, not when he’d made you cum so hard in a matter of minutes; giving you what you’d been chasing the past few months.

he was about to kiss you again, after moments of admiring your face; but the sound of a door shutting had the moment ruined, reminding both you and him of where you are and what you’re meant to be.

definitely not meant to be caught having a moment at 4 in the morning.

lando was quick in taking a few large strides across the kitchen, positioning himself on the other side of the island as you quickly tugged your shirt down and ran your hand through your hair.

when pietra walked in, it was an innocent sight. plenty of distance between the pair of you, not enough lights on to expose your flushed cheeks or lando’s glistening fingers.

you pretended to be surprised as you brought your glass to your lips, leaning against the counter because your legs were still shaky, lando nodding towards the blonde.

“can’t sleep?” lando hummed in question.

“need to fill my water up.” pietra nodded with a smile, eyes flickering between you in suspicion for a brief moment as she realised this was almost an awkward thing to walk in on. you and him.

if only she knew.

you nodded in agreement, raising your glass of water as lando let out a small chuckle.

“if you need a late night snack, the donuts are great,” lando spoke again; your eyes falling onto him, and you were sure your face was bright red as you watched him bring his fingers to his lips; licking them clean.

you coughed on air, playing it off as if your water went down the wrong way; pietra oblivious as she nodded with a smile.

“i’ll keep that in mind.”

the smirk he’d sent you was sickening, and with that he was saying good night and excusing himself.

lando ended up needing a cold shower that night, with his own hand and images of you burned into his mind.

you were hoping your head would be clear when you woke up, but it was only more scrambled.

you’d gotten what you wanted, was it greedy to only want more?

“good night?” arabella had questioned you, sitting next to you on the long dining table; bowls of cereal in front of pair of you; and the smirk on her face was quite telling.

except she didn’t know the half of it.

“yeah, yeah it was good,” you hummed; eyes shifting to the other end of the table; where lando sat, already staring at you. the mischievous glint in his eye had you looking away quickly, the sly smirk not helping you in trying to play it cool to arabella.

you knew he was listening.

“did your… problem get solved?” arabella attempted to ask without outing you, so oblivious to the fact lando could easily piece together her words.

your eyes narrowed towards her, as if to say ‘shut up.’ which she only looked back at you with wide eyes, finding herself quite discrete.

“well?” arabella pushed, whisper yelling.

“yes,” you huffed; in hopes she would shut up, you could feel lando’s eyes burning into you. the man who solved your problem, unbeknownst to arabella who thought it was nicolas who was responsible.

“ah! how exciting,” arabella grinned; standing up and taking her bowel to the kitchen, only then did you let your eyes fall back on the british driver.

who looked oh so amused, you had to flee; following in the girls steps.

it set the tone for the next few days; longing looks, tempting smirks and lingering touches.

you couldn’t bring yourself to go out of your way and seek more of him; despite how much you wanted it. nicolas had been forgotten about, failing to explain your sudden interest and now lack of in the guy.

lando was all you could think about. how couldn’t you? he’d fingered you in the kitchen, bringing you to a mind blowing orgasm you’d been craving; one you hadn’t experienced since him. and once again, it had gone unaddressed.

the tension was clear; you got peace from the fact he was in the same boat as you.

you hated that he’d walked off so smug that night and you yourself had nothing to brag about, left to accept the fact that you needed him. had missed him.

and he knew it.

so maybe you were tactical, every day the dresses got shorter. bikini’s got smaller. you wanted to see him squirm.

which was easy.

it was ridiculous, how often you felt his gaze burning into you; feeling the heat on your skin from such thing. you’d blame the hot summer sun for the the constant blush on your cheeks but in reality it was him.

made to feel better by the way his jaw was constantly clenched. hands fiddling with one another. leg bouncing impatiently because he was furious with the fact you were no longer his, he couldn’t whisk you away and tear your clothes off like he wanted too.

left to simply stare. dwell on the facts. wish that he somehow gets a moment alone with you again.

there were sliding doors.

two minutes alone underneath the cabin on a boat, both trying to find something to drink. he swore you were about to kiss him before max came bouncing down the stairs.

you’d all gone out one night, somehow it was only you two left at the bar. lando was convinced this was it, he was going to drag you off to the bathroom.

but then arabella appeared, demanding shots.

you’d never admit that you went out to the kitchen most nights, hoping he too would be awake at such ridiculous hour again.

you tried not to get frustrated, even with the knowledge there was only a couple days till you’d be flying back home to reality.

finally however, you got lucky.

lando had gone on a run; unbeknownst to you, who had slept in.

you rejected plans of going to a winery, choosing for a day by the pool to save energy to go out tonight like planned.

your group of friends had attempted to protest your decision, but you insisted. bribed them with a promise you would do some baking while they were out.

that’s where lando found you.

stood in the kitchen. of course.

tiny bikini. typical.

and no one else in sight. lovely.

“smells fucking amazing.” lando hummed; slightly breathless as he sauntered into the kitchen, moving to stand against the island ━ a safe distance between the pair of you.

the voice had startled you, jumping slightly as you turned around.

you smiled appreciatively at his words, attempting to not stare at his exposed torso. tanned skin, beads of sweat decorating it. his muscles only more prominent as he crossed his arms, flexing invitingly.

“would feel bad letting such a big kitchen go to waste,” you explained; shrugging ever so slightly as your eyes returned to the chocolate chip cookies you were currently making. refuge from the sight of him.

he chuckled, and nodded; not that you saw. but his eyes didn’t leave you.

he should go up to his room.

“who’s home?” he couldn’t help but ask, feet planted. he wasn’t going anywhere.

the question had you facing what you were trying to ignore; the fact it was just the pair of you. it was dangerous knowledge.

“just us,” you spoke through a breath. if the tension wasn’t clear before, those two words had it falling upon the pair of you like bricks.

lando nodded once more, lips pursing. you were so tempting. this was what he’d been hoping for. he was impressed he even had the mental strength to consider running off. hiding in his room till your friends returned.

that idea didn’t last long though. moving towards you, you heard him approaching; his presence was demanding.

he was behind you, causing you to freeze. breath stuck in your throat.

“you’re driving me crazy.” he’d whispered, despite no fear of anyone overhearing; and you had to shut your eyes for a brief moment when his lips grazed your ear, ensuring you knew just how in reach he was.

you found some solace in his words, confirming your suspicions. reassuring to know you weren’t the only one going crazy. the only one feeling nostalgic.

“how so?” you played dumb, bottom lip rolling through your teeth ━ regardless your head tilted aside as his lips grazed your skin again, his breath fanning your skin.

you heard him grunt, and it would’ve made you giggle if you weren’t fighting off the urge to jump his bones.

“don’t act like it’s not on purpose.” lando huffed, hands moving to play with the fiddling strings of your bikini, fingertips only just brushing your skin.

you had to draw in another breath, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable. you needed some sort of power, just a physical reminder that he too was struggling despite his admission.

so you turned on your feet, eyes flickering up to his as you shrugged your shoulders; breaths slightly irregular from the closeness. right in front of you. trapping you against the counter.

“know you haven’t forgotten that all you need to do is use your words if you want me to fuck you,” lando spoke before you could, oozing cockiness despite his wandering eyes and tense jaw; his patience wearing thin.

once more you were cornered in the kitchen by his attractive frame and blunt words that had your thighs squeezing together.

“goes both ways,” you chimed; worried if you didn’t speak now you wouldn’t get a word in. you knew how this went; it was only a matter of time till you were a mess in his hands.

his eyebrows raised, he even scoffed; if he wasn’t so eager for you to go on he would’ve reminded you it didn’t.

lando always had a kink for making you beg.

“i already got what i wanted,” you hummed; hands moving to rest on his toned abdomen, running down and across the muscles before finding the waistband of his joggers. “something you want?”

your teasing tone had lando remembering just how worked up you got him, how frustrating and almost annoying you were. how annoying it was to deal with your antics that was.

“the other night was more than enough for me baby,” lando mused; not cracking, even with your hands on his body. “always look so pretty when you cum.”

you wish his words didn’t have such a visible effect on you. how flustered you got clear by the way the blood rushed to your cheeks, even while you stood here playing with the waistband of his pants.

it was pathetic; neither of you wanting to crack first, wasting precious time because you both really thought you were above this.

able to be friends. exes who wouldn’t go back to each other.

you knew he wasn’t entirely lying; of course you could remember how you were gifted a man who got off from getting you off. how he’d spent nights with his head just buried between your thighs. making you cum countless of times before he got his dick wet.

“cold shower treat you well?” you huffed; not letting him get away with such thing. as if he wasn’t standing here with the need to fuck you.

he smirked at your words, your attitude more so; the playful banter having been something he’d missed. something that wasn’t the same since things became platonic.

“did the job.” he laughed, hands still ghosting over your hips. “jealous i can still get myself off?” he couldn’t help but chuckle; and your jaw dropped at him using confidential information against you.

your hands still on his stomach, whacking lightly which he only chuckled harder at; and if you weren’t embarrassed you’d be taking in the way the smile was lighting up his face.

“that was not something you’re meant to use against me,” you practically grumbled; eyes narrowing up at him and he practically awed at the sight, adoring eyes and all as his hand moved to cup your cheek. his grin not matching the sympathetic eyes.

“i’m sorry,” he mumbled jokingly as he leant forward; not giving you time to reply as he put the both of you out of your misery, lips connecting with yours.

it wasn’t what you’d both expected, the kiss to finally ease the tension that had been building ever since a few nights ago in the same spot; the kiss was slow. passionate and deep, but not rushed.

it didn’t last long; but was nice in the moment however. to feel him.

the urge to feel more however was soon too prominent.

your hands that had linked behind his neck soon tangled in his hair. the grip he had on your waist soon moved to your ass, squeezing the flesh within his hold which had you leaning into him.

he lazily dragged you back with him, his back hitting the kitchen island as he practically held you against his body; lips moving in sync.

you felt his hard on with the movement, contained by his joggers; your own excitement jumping as your hands left his hair to snake down between your bodies; palming him.

the groan against your lips only motivated you; and while you wish you could do what he does, stand here and tease him; you were too keen to get your hands on him. to hear more of those pretty sounds he makes.

so you simply smiled up at him as you pulled away; bending down and settling on your knees; hands tugging his pants and underwear down with you; revealing his cock.

his breaths were a lot heavier as he watched you, leaning back against the counter ever so slightly, gaze fixed downwards as a small smirk tugged on the corner of his mouth.

he hissed as your small hand wrapped around him; thumb swirling the precum ━ you loving every bit of knowing how turned you got him from just a few words and the sight of you.

he wouldn’t ever deny it either; no one did it for him like you did.

“look so pretty on your knees,” lando praised; eager to gain back some control, despite knowing he’d do anything you asked of him right now; your hand feeling much than his did the other night.

you were eager to continue to please, so you didn’t waste any time in taking him in your mouth. it was as if he knew such thing, by the way his eyes were peering down at you.

his head fell back at the sensation, one he’d missed ━ arms flexing as he gripped the counter; a few curses strung together tumbling from his lips as you practically took him in whole first go.

his tip hitting the back of your throat did little to deter you. it was natural, as if you’d done such thing only a few days ago; not months ━ second nature as your tongue swirled his cock.

your eyes remained up, looking through your lashes as your head bobbed ━ knees uncomfortably shifting against the tiles but it was the last thing on your mind with the beautiful man above you.

taking in the way his abs flexed, neck strained and lips parted as you sucked him off ━ gagging occasionally but both of you knew that was no issue.

“missed this fucking mouth,” lando grunted, hand moving to tangle in your hair; both to keep it out of your way and to just have some sort of hold on you.

he was blindsided with pleasure, more than he remembered he’d be. your bikini did little to leave much to the imagination from his angle, watching as your breasts bounced with every movement. matched with your doe eyes, his jaw was slack.

you hummed as he tugged your hair lightly, the sensation one you always welcomed; and he too was reminded of such as he felt the vibrations around him. tugging again with a little more force.

his groans were gradually becoming more regular, hips bucking once or twice ━ pushing his cock further down your throat each time.

“just like that baby, always so good for me,” lando breathed, eyes screwing such momentarily as his head fell back once more.

you almost whined at the vision, wanting to scramble to your feet and kiss at his skin, feel all over him.

and he’d be happy to let you, he was hesitant in having you get him off first regardless; you hadn’t left much room for argument with good reason.

but right now he had no complaints, moans growing slightly louder in volume ━ grip tightening on the strands of your hair. he didn’t give you any warning as he came, but you didn’t need any.

the way he twitched in your mouth, you didn’t miss a beat ━ swallowing all you could; revelling in the way your name left his lips.

your mouth left him with a pop, gazing up at him to meet his adoring eyes, staring down at you as if you were the greatest thing to grace the earth.

because he did think of you as such. you continued to amaze him, he didn’t grow immune to such thing; just had managed to avoid the fact for a while now.

you stood to your feet, relieving your knees of the discomfort; a coy smile plastered on your lips at him panting and flustered.

you felt even, for the other night; reassured you weren’t the only one in need.

lando couldn’t complain either, couldn’t throw a playful comment towards you ━ not when you stood there with messy hair and swollen lips. all he could think about was turning you into a whiny mess, desperate to have you at his mercy again.

it was clear neither of you knew what to say in the few moments of silence; shamelessly admiring the other, catching your breaths. it wasn’t awkward however.

you were happy to feel his lips on yours once more ━ his hands not shy in wandering your body this time, sliding down to your thighs and hoisting you up immediately.

he was swift in turning around and placing you on the counter, stood between your legs as he hummed against your lips.

it wasn’t until his mouth ducked to your neck, then your collar bones, becoming harder to ignore as your head fell back, growing hot from the kisses he placed where-ever he could, that you spoke up.

“should go to your room,” you managed to get out, watching him through hooded eyes as he simply grabbed the material of your bikini to let your breasts fall free, kissing at the skin of them afterwards.

it wasn’t that you were worried on being walked in on, you had the house to yourselves for at least a couple more hours. you knew that. more so just the knowledge this wasn’t your house.

his eyebrows raised as he looked back up at you, hand sprawling over your stomach as he pushed you back slightly; your body blindly following the suggestion as you leant back on your hands.

“i paid for this villa baby, if i wanna fuck you on the counter i will,” lando murmured, hands spreading your thighs further apart; putting you in no position to argue you.

how could you? his words sounded like a promise, one you could only hope he would keep.

you nodded pathetically, suddenly aware of his hands resting high up on your inner thighs; suddenly aware of your own arousal and need for him.

he discarded of your bikini bottoms with ease, admiring your frame for a few moments as his hand reached to squeeze your breast, nipple rolling through his fingers moments later.

“lando,” you breathed; almost in warning, almost a whine. your legs were still spread and you were already resisting the urge to squirm. your patience non existent.

he only grinned, a slight chuckle maybe as his hands pushed your legs further apart once more.

“i got you baby,” lando hummed. “always so needy for me, you need me yeah? don’t you?” he spoke teasingly, tone painfully sweet as his fingers traced over your soaked folds.

you wanted to curse his obvious teasing, point out how you hadn’t been so cruel. but you knew it’d be no use.

you were scared to admit such thing, huffing as your hips bucked upwards momentarily.

“want to hear you say it.” lando grunted when he realised you weren’t planning on speaking; pinching your clit to get his point across, a strangled moan escaping you as your lips parted, falling into submission.

“need you.” you whined almost shamefully, head falling back as if the ceiling would offer you refuge from his hard stare. “please,”

your pleas were always music to his ears, so much so he debated with the idea of teasing you some more; to draw more whines and please out of you. but the way you were spread for him, so ready; he couldn’t help himself any longer.

you yelped at the sudden feeling of his mouth on your clit, sucking at your sensitive bud; not expecting such feeling as your eyes rolled back.

his hands manoeuvred your thighs to place your legs over his shoulders; giving him full access to your core as sweet moans started to escape you.

“o-oh my god,” you whimpered; eyes flickering to the sight of his head between your thighs ━ back arching as his tongue swiped through your folds, assaulting your cunt relentlessly as if he was starved.

you’d been reminded of how good his fingers were; so much so you hadn’t even considered getting his tongue again.

his large hands were squeezing your thighs, a bruising grip to keep you in place; eating you out expertly.

“lando━ feels so good,” you moaned as if that wasn’t clear by the way your hips were pushing against his hold. your right hand left the counter, moving to tangle in his curls, something to grab.

his blue eyes ventured to the sight of you momentarily, and he groaned into your cunt as he took note of the way your face was contorting in pleasure, how your body flinched with every move he made.

whimpers and moans were free falling, lando enjoying every single one ━ glad you could be as loud as you wanted, as loud as he made you.

you knew you were approaching your high shamefully fast, but had little room to care when you’d failed to reach it so much recently.

lando knew your body too well, could tell by the way you were tugging on his curls and creating more force against the hold he had on your thighs that you were about to cum.

he wanted you to let go, tongue flicking and nose bumping your clit ━ you orgasmed hard, suddenly; cumming on his tongue with what almost sounded like a squeal.

he didn’t stop, letting you ride out your high ━ before pulling away, wiping at the corners of his mouth.

you were mistaken however in thinking you would have time to catch your breath, not getting a word out before lando was moving only one leg off his shoulder and sliding two fingers into your entrance suddenly; thumb landing on your sensitive clit.

your body almost didn’t know how to react, falling back onto your hands that found the counter you sat upon once more to stabilise yourself.

“s’ too much,” you whimpered ━ legs attempting to squeeze shut, failing with the angle caused by one leg draped over lando’s shoulder, which allowed his fingers to hit deep within you.

lando hummed in amusement, knowing how much you could take. knowing you always said that, just to whine and cry out if he were to stop.

“too much?” he mocked; fingers curling and your body jerking. “want me to stop?” he breathed; smirking oh so cockily because he knew the answer. chuckling as you shook your head ‘no’ incredibly quickly.

“didn’t think so,” he huffed; thumb speeding up on your clit, rolling over the bud continuously. it was pure ecstasy, the overstimulation overwhelming your entire body.

his breaths were heavy as he admired you, the way you were shaking beneath him. reminiscent of how easily he could you like this, of the nights he made you cum four or five times before fucking you.

it killed him he didn’t have the time to do so again. but he couldn’t possibly complain right now.

“making a mess baby, all over my fingers,” lando spoke; the filthy sounds of his fingers moving in out of you filling the room, and you weren’t sure you’d last much longer when he entered a third. “so greedy. gonna cum again aren’t you?”

it was like he was three steps ahead of your body, leaving you to whine and nod pathetically.

“yeah? that what you want? to cum again?” lando spoke once more; watching as your head fell back, your eyes screwing shut and it satisfied him to see you feel the pleasure he was giving.

he was hard again, purely from his name sounding so fucking incredible as you moaned and moaned, from the perfection you were.

his hand grasping your cheek had your eyes flying open as lando tilted your head forwards to look at him, eyebrows raised in expectance.

“words pretty girl,” lando reminded, chin still between his thumb and index finger ━ struggling to focus on him with the numbing pleasure that was causing tears to form.

you nodded, before processing what he’d said. words. right.

“please lando,” you gasped; eyes pouring into his, pleading with his as your back arched and legs shook. you weren’t sure you’d be able to stop yourself. “gonna cum,” you whined.

lando felt it had been far too long to be cruel, so he simply hummed in appreciation; smiling lazily as he pushed you over the edge as he curled his fingers once more.

your vision went white, screaming his name as you came again, all over his fingers.

lando’s bottom lip rolled through his teeth at the sight, able to take in every moment, no restraint for either of you and it felt fucking amazing.

his hands gently moved your leg off his shoulder, stood between them as his hands massaged your thighs comfortingly, giving you a few moments to come down and catch your breath.

your eyes fluttered open, and immediately you were smiling stupidly at the sight of lando; his own grin mirroring yours as he hummed quietly.

“you’re so beautiful,” he whispered; unable to stop the compliment from escaping him, and your smile only grew; knowing you’d disagree if you caught sight of your tangled hair and flushed cheeks. 

it had your stomach flipping, men compliment you all the time. only lando would gain such a reaction.

“got another one in you?” his question was gentle; the sparkle in his eye daring, and you had no hesitation in nodding.

“need you inside me,” you mumbled, causing the driver’s smirk to return to its rightful place ━ glad your wants were shared.

you may have gone a long time without, but your stamina hadn’t faulted.

lando was tugging you to the edge of the counter at that, and you easily got lost in the kiss that he placed upon your lips; rough and messy as you melted into his hold.

it’d caught you by surprise, when he tugged you down onto your feet, spun your round and bent you over the marble surface; a gasp escaping you.

“missed you so much,” lando sighed; ushering your legs apart as your breath hitched in your throat. you didn’t know what to focus on, his words, your position or the feeling of his hands on your ass.

the confession wasn’t one you’d hold onto, you knew better than to cling to words uttered during sex. but god it felt great to hear.

“missed you too,” you assured him back, moan slipping past your lips as you felt his tip press against your folds; but he made no further movements.

your hips shook slightly, attempting to entice him ━ so needy despite having cum twice already. you just wanted him. all of him.

his hand moved up your back, tangling in your hair and creating a makeshift pony tail ━ one he tugged on immediately, your head snapping up.

“what did i say earlier? about using your words?” lando leant forward, lips grazing your ear; cock pressed against your entrance, causing you to cry out.

your body was overstimulated, tired; tired of his teasing. out of practice to predict his wants.

“want you to fuck me,” you whined quickly, rushing your words out as your hips pressed backwards. “need you lan, please,” you whimpered; sounding oh so desperate lando couldn’t possibly deny you.

he entered you without any more warning, bottoming out as your walls wrapped around him; your gasps intertwining as you gripped the counter below you.

the cool surface against your front did little to cool you down, moaning at the feeling of being so full. full of him again, after so long.

too long.

“always take me so well,” lando grunted in your ear; giving you a few moments to adjust before he was dropping your hair and standing up straight ━ hands finding your hips now.

his thrusts were harsh, rough and deep; not too slow or too fast, ensuring you felt every inch of him as your aching cunt squeezed him.

every move had your body jolting, moans escaping you; the counter and lando the only reason your legs were able to stay upright.

“so-so good,” you stumbled out, eyes rolling back as your body fell limp, unable to process the pleasure you were feeling. what you’d been deprived of and craving.

the driver too was losing himself in the feeling, head thrown back as he moved in and out of you ━ sounds of skin slapping filling up the large and empty space.

it was a mutual feeling, as to why the fuck this didn’t happen sooner. how on earth you two had been in such close proximity throughout the months and not gotten to this point yet.

safe to say keeping your distance now would be difficult.

lando felt the need to be closer, as if he needed more of you despite having you already at his mercy.

his hand found your neck with ease, wrapping around your throat and guiding your head up ━ causing you to stand up right, back against his chest.

he didn’t apply pressure, yet, but just the feeling of his large hand wrapped around the base of your neck had your legs feeling weaker; split open on his cock meaning lando’s body was the only thing holding you up now.

“feel good?” lando’s question was just him chasing praise, knowing you were fucked stupid; but he couldn’t help but want to remind you just who was the reason you could barely form sentences.

you nodded as much as you could in his hold. always nodding, he could ask or say anything and you’d find a way to say yes.

“only i can make you feel this good hm? only i can make you cum?” lando didn’t stop running his mouth, basking in the fact it was him that had the tears spilling out of your eyes. a sense of pride washing over him.

you choked out a yes, his thrusts having only gotten faster ━ and when his hand applied pressure to your neck you were almost certain you were in heaven.

“so perfect, so fucking perfect for me baby,” lando grunted in praise; and the kiss he pressed to your shoulder blade was a vast contrast to the treatment of your cunt.

it really was too much, the few tears and whimpers made that clear to lando; you were only moments away from cumming again and the thought alone had his own high dawning on him.

“come on angel, cum on my cock. cum for me,” he was speaking in your ear again; and you practically screamed as your third orgasm hit ━ body falling limp in his hold.

the way your walls squeezed him had him cumming with you, groaning as his forehead rested on your shoulder ━ erratic breaths filling the room as he stilled inside you.

all his touches were suddenly delicate, pulling out of you as he moved you to lean against the counter, still holding you up slightly as you caught your breath.

it was a comfortable silence, his hands ghosting over your waist as you pressed your eyes shut for a few moments.

you’d expected some sort of regret. an immediate now what? for one of you to panic or flee.

but instead, neither of you wanted the moment to end.

“want to join me for a shower?” lando broke the silence, a half smile that had you feeling an odd sense of relief.

one he felt too when you smiled right back, and nodded in agreement.

he’d chuckled, you would even go as far as to say he was grinning; hands grasping your thighs and picking you up with ease, carrying you off towards the bathroom.

when your friends returned you had been on the sofa, lando out by the pool ━ strategically placed to avoid suspicion, already under the assumption someone would’ve brought up the fact it happened to be you two who stayed back today.

chatter filled the room immediately, lando trudging in to greet everyone. you having stayed seated, purely because you didn’t trust your legs.

“burnt cookies y/n?” max had spoke across the room; having been first to stumble upon the overdone batch sat on the kitchen island you’d spent the last 15 minutes sanitising.

your cheeks flushed, purely because you could sense lando’s eyes burning into you.

you could picture the cocky smirk plastered on his face.

“yeah. my bad,” you laughed sheepishly.

and you were glad to be the only one paying attention when lando passed the back of the couch, finger grazing your shoulder as he did so.

“my bad,” he corrected; your eyes meeting his smug ones in passing.

━━

a/n: did y’all miss my shitty endings???

anyways idk what this is but here it is

unedited atm so apologies xox

as always appreciate feedback so so much, love u all and hope u enjoy 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

[lidiasloca]

hi!! can you write Azriel x reader (established mates) where reader is worried Azriel only wants to be with her because they're mates but in reality he's been in love with her for centuries but thought he didn't deserve her or something like that. maybe angsty at first because she's kinda avoiding him but with happy ending please and thanks :')

is it love, or just the fear of loneliness?

azriel x reader

summary: Is Azriel’s love for you born from only the mating bond that he was always so desperate for—or was his love always there, hidden beneath the surface? As doubts rise, only he can reveal the truth.

You were on your second refill when you realized Rhys and Cassian had drunk the rest of the bottles themselves.

“I mean,” the High Lord started, already laughing at his story. “I mean—”

“What do you mean, Rhys?” Feyre asked, watching her mate stomach the influence of the wine.

“I mean,” he tried yet again, but his laughter kept interrupting.

Cassian was chuckling as he eyed him with half-closed eyes. “Finish the sentence, brother.”

“I’m trying,” he laughed, now looking at you. Then to Azriel at your side, whose face lay freely joyful.

“I mean, do you remember,” he asked Cassian, “how all Azriel could talk about was having a mate?”

You could feel through the bond the quiet embarrassment of your mate.

But they didn’t, so Cass continued. “Oh—yes. He was desperate.”

“I want a mate? When will I find a mate? Where is she?” Cassian imitated with a stupid voice.

Feyre’s little giggle wasn’t half of the hysterical roars of the Illyrians. However, Az, instead of laughing, gave you a quick shy glance.

Rhysand had a hand on his stomach as he continued laughing with no end. Feyre gave you and Azriel an apologetic look. “Rhys, you are very drunk, my love.”

But Rhys’s eyes widened with a thought. “Do you remember—do you remember when Azriel got drunk?”

Cassian's grin only grew. “Oh, gods. It got even worse.”

“I want a maaaaate,” Rhys drawled, his imitating voice even worse than Cass’s. “Where is sheeeee?”

You couldn’t help but snort, trying to catch Azriel’s eyes. When he didn’t let you meet his gaze, you shifted your attention to your ring, instinctively rolling it. 

“Alright, that’s enough for tonight,” Feyre said softly when Rhys tried to gulp down another glass of wine.

“What do you mean? We're just getting started,” Cass said, then turned to you. “Y/N, you don’t know how much we owe you.”

“Yeah,” Rhys nodded. “I don’t think I could’ve listened to one more hour of Azriel begging for a mate.”

At least now, Azriel was smiling faintly, as if remembering. As if grateful.

But something in your chest… pained.

You suddenly felt it difficult to get air into your lungs, as if you were falling from great heights. 

He was desperate for a mate.

You never let your mind linger there for too long, it always hurt too much. You were scared of what you might grow to believe if you looked at the puzzle pieces for too long.

Desperate.

“I think I’m going to sleep.” The words spilled out before you could muster a believable tone. “Good night,” you said as you rose, not daring to look back at your mate’s face as you headed to your room.

Trying to make no noise, you slowly closed the door of your room and leaned your back on it.

The questions in your head were far too swift for you to dodge them.

What if that was all you were to Azriel? His mate?

Did he only want you because of the bond?

Because he finally found what he was desperate to find? Not necessarily love—but a mate.

‘He was desperate.’

You and Azriel had known each other for many years, and Azriel had barely noticed your existence.

You even believed he avoided you.

He never spoke to you, never looked at you for too long… until the bond snapped for you both at the same time.

And then, and only then, had you found the bravery to get to know him, even asking him out yourself.

Then, and only then, had he started to grow interested in you.

Everything… everything was just because of the mating bond.

A light knock sounded, startling you enough to take a step away from the door.

“It’s me,” the voice said. Azriel’s voice.

Not now. Not now.

You quickly wiped the tears from your face and took a deep breath.

You found that worried look on your mate when you opened the door, and it made it an effort not to cry again.

“The party is over?” you asked, trying to sound somewhat calm.

“I… I’m here to see if you are alright.”

You made yourself breathe before you fainted. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You left,” he said as he came inside the room. “You seemed… sad.”

You closed the door and watched as he silently awaited your answer. It didn’t come.

Azriel took a step, leaving no safe space between you. One deep breath and your skin would brush his.

“Tell me, love. What is it?”

You shook your head.

“Is it… is it about what they said? About me?”

You didn’t say anything. But you didn’t shake your head either, so he took that as a yes.

There was something wary in his eyes as he asked, “About the mate thing?”

You felt dizzy, like you were falling from a cliff.

You had to hold on to somehting.

You tentatively took his index finger between your fingers, making him look down at where your hands joined. A faint smile bloomed on his worried face. “Are you mad at me about it?”

“No,” you murmured. “Not mad.”

“Then?” he urged, moving his other hand to cup your cheek. “You… you feel so quiet on the other side of the bond… I can almost not feel you at all.”

You met his eyes, saying sorry over and over through the sad colors on yours.

“I just,” you breathed. “I just thought about what they said, that you were desperate. And it made me think if maybe… if maybe you only wanted me because I am your mate. Not because—” You had to look away from his face. “You love me.”

Azriel’s long moment of silence was torture, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything else.

At last, he spoke. “Y/N, look at me. Please. Look at me, my love.”

You did, even when you felt another tear slipping down your cheek. He gently wiped it away.

“I love you. I need you to know that. I love you more than anything in this world. And I don’t love you because you are my mate.” More tears rolled down, yet these were not sad. “I’ve loved you long before I knew you were my mate.”

Your mouth opened partly at his confession, yet you didn’t know what to say.

He understood your confusion and further explained. “I did, Y/N. For so long, I loved you from a distance. From the moment I first met you, and you spoke—not to me, but… just hearing your sweet voice, I realized I was going to fall for you.”

“What?” you whispered low enough you weren’t sure he had even heard you.

But maybe he did, for he nodded, caressing your cheek with heartbreaking softness. “I thought you would never like me back.”

“But- I thought you disliked me, Azriel.”

His brows furrowed and his hand fell from your face. “Why would you ever think that?”

“Because,” you said. “You never spoke to me. You didn’t even look in my direction. And when you did speak to me, all you said was one word, nothing more.”

A sheepish smile appeared on his face. “Well, I was… shy around you. It wasn’t easy to talk to you, or to stare too long without making a fool of myself, so I tried to avoid both.”

You tried to take in his words, finding it very difficult to digest this new reality.

He had been in love with you… and you hadn’t even noticed.

“Y/N,” he spoke, seriousness lacing his words. “That ring,” he gestured with his chin, and you looked down at the golden band with a diamond on your finger. “I…”

“You what?”

“This is embarrassing,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. “I bought that ring the very first day I met you.”

You were pinned in place, failing to even breathe or blink.

“What?” It seemed like the only word you knew.

“It’s both romantic and psychotic, I know,” he smiled.

You inhaled deeply, meeting his gaze. “You knew? You truly knew it was…”

“You?” he finished. “Yes.” 

You couldn’t help but smile at the sincerity in his words. Azriel pulled you gently into his arms as you let the warmth of him embrace you.

It was no more than a whisper, yet you heard him murmur against your temple, “From the very first moment, I knew, Y/N.”

You closed your eyes, finally accepting the fall.

-Charcaters by Sarah J Maas

azriel masterlist

a/n: what is this thing with your titles being a question, lidia? mmmm, 🤷‍♀️. anyway, hope you like this one, thanks for the request. and have a wonderfull 2025!!