#I’m somewhat joking but not enough I’m afraid

[lady-raziel]

I think my parents gave me a cursed object for Christmas

[bodybaggage]

Ghostly Heir or Batty Custody?

DP X DC

———

The Justice League Watchtower was an advanced piece of technology, housing the world��s greatest heroes. But even in a place dedicated to protecting the Earth, some things were simply unavoidable—like gossip.

It had started innocently enough, as these things often do. Superman, having just returned from Gotham, was discussing the latest developments in the Batcave with Wonder Woman over a cup of coffee. The conversation was meant to be private, but when you have people like the Flash who can be in and out of a room before anyone notices, privacy is a relative term.

“So, Batman has another kid?” Superman had said, trying to keep his voice neutral.

Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow. “Another one? Are we running a daycare now?”

Superman shrugged. “Not sure. But he’s different from the others. White hair, glows a little. Bruce is being… secretive.”

“Bruce is always secretive,” Wonder Woman pointed out.

“Yeah, but this one seems—” Superman’s words were cut off as the Flash zoomed by, pretending to be busy with something else. The two superhumans exchanged a glance but said nothing more, knowing that once the speedster got wind of something, the whole League would know within the hour.

And they did.

Back in Gotham, Bruce Wayne—better known as Batman—was oblivious to the brewing storm. He sat in the Batcave, going over the latest reports on Gotham’s criminal activity with his usual intensity. Beside him, a ghostly figure floated lazily, occasionally glancing at the screens with mild interest.

Danny Fenton—known to most as Danny Phantom—had been in Gotham for a few weeks now, lying low while he figured out how to deal with some supernatural issues back in Amity Park. Clockwork had suggested Gotham as a good place to lay low, citing the city’s reputation for attracting all sorts of weirdos. Besides, Clockwork had argued, Batman wouldn’t care as long as Danny didn’t cause trouble.

And for the most part, Danny hadn’t. He’d stayed out of Gotham’s wayward criminal elements, kept his ghostly powers under wraps, and only occasionally wandered the streets at night to stretch his legs (or float, as it were).

Of course, he hadn’t counted on the Bat Family.

Damian had challenged him to a duel within minutes of their first meeting, insisting that he prove himself worthy of staying in the Batcave. Danny had countered by turning intangible and letting Damian tire himself out, which only seemed to frustrate the young Robin more.

Tim had interrogated him about the nature of ectoplasm and ghost powers, scribbling notes furiously as Danny tried his best to explain without giving too much away.

Jason had simply grunted, muttering something about “another brat” before disappearing on his motorcycle, while Dick had been the only one to offer a somewhat normal welcome.

“You’re like, what, the seventh kid Bruce has taken in?” Dick had said, clapping Danny on the back. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

“I’m not staying here permanently,” Danny had replied, but Dick had just laughed, as if Danny’s words were the punchline to a joke only he understood.

Things had been relatively quiet since then—until now.

It started as a low hum, a barely noticeable vibration in the air. Alfred, the ever-watchful butler, was the first to notice something amiss.

“Master Wayne,” Alfred said calmly, setting down the tray of tea he’d just brought in. “We appear to have… company.”

Bruce looked up from the Batcomputer, his eyes narrowing as the hum grew louder, evolving into a low rumble that seemed to shake the very foundations of the Batcave. Danny, who had been floating upside down, lazily spinning in midair, suddenly snapped to attention.

“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is,” Danny muttered, his expression turning from bored to annoyed in seconds.

“I’m afraid I cannot,” Alfred replied, his tone as even as ever, despite the growing disturbance.

The rumble turned into a roar, and suddenly, with a burst of green light, a swirling portal opened up in the middle of the Batcave. The vortex crackled with energy, and from it stepped a towering figure clad in ghostly armor, a crown of ectoplasmic fire atop his head.

Pariah Dark, the Ghost King, had arrived.

“BATMAN!” Pariah’s voice boomed through the cave, rattling the glass cases that held the old Robin suits. “I, Pariah Dark, King of the Infinite Realms, have come to challenge you for the custody of my heir!”

There was a moment of silence as the words hung in the air. Danny facepalmed, groaning audibly. “This is not happening.”

Bruce, for his part, remained as stoic as ever, though his eyes narrowed as he assessed the situation. “Your heir?”

“Yes, my heir!” Pariah bellowed, his eyes glowing with ectoplasmic energy. “The boy you have taken into your care! I will not allow this—this mortal to usurp my claim!”

Bruce’s gaze flicked to Danny, who looked thoroughly unamused. “Is there something you forgot to mention?”

“Oh, come on!” Danny threw his hands up in frustration. “This isn’t what it looks like! I’m not his heir, and I’m definitely not up for custody!”

Pariah seemed undeterred by Danny’s protests. “You defeated me in battle, boy. By the laws of the Infinite Realms, that makes you my heir! And now this Bat-creature seeks to claim you as his own! I will not stand for it!”

Bruce’s expression remained impassive. “I’m not trying to claim him.”

“See?” Danny gestured to Bruce. “Totally not trying to claim me. So you can just go back to the Ghost Zone, Pariah. No custody battle needed.”

Pariah’s eyes narrowed, his fiery crown flaring. “The only way to resolve this is through combat! Batman, I challenge you to a duel for the boy!”

Bruce glanced at the portal, calculating the odds. “And if I refuse?”

“Then I will take the boy by force!” Pariah declared, raising his massive sword, which seemed to materialize out of thin air, crackling with ectoplasmic energy.

Danny floated down between the two, trying to keep the peace. “Guys, let’s just calm down. No need for a duel. I’m fine. No one’s taking anyone by force.”

Pariah looked down at Danny, his expression a mix of paternal concern and royal indignation. “Do not worry, my heir. I will defend your honor.”

Danny groaned again. “I don’t need my honor defended. I need you to stop making this weird.”

Before Danny could protest further, Bruce stepped forward, his voice as calm as ever. “Very well. A duel, then.”

“Seriously?” Danny looked at Bruce, incredulous. “You’re just going to agree to this?”

“If it ends the situation quickly, yes,” Bruce replied, his tone as dry as ever. “This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with an overprotective guardian.”

Pariah raised his sword, clearly satisfied with the outcome. “Prepare yourself, mortal! I will not hold back!”

“Hold on, hold on!” Danny zipped between them again, clearly exasperated. “We don’t need to do this! Pariah, go back to the Ghost Zone. Batman, you don’t have to fight him.”

Pariah looked genuinely perplexed. “But… the honor of the Infinite Realms demands it.”

“No, it doesn’t!” Danny insisted. “The Infinite Realms don’t care about some weird custody battle! Besides, I’m not a kid, and I’m not staying here permanently! I’m just crashing for a bit!”

Pariah frowned, lowering his sword slightly. “You… are not staying?”

“No!” Danny said, exasperated. “I’m not staying! I’m not your heir! I’m just Danny, okay?”

The Ghost King looked around, as if trying to process this information. “But… you are under his care. It was reported by reliable sources.”

“Reliable sources?” Danny echoed. “Who told you that?”

Pariah seemed to hesitate for the first time. “A rather talkative sorcerer in a trench coat. He mentioned it while muttering about ‘bloody bats’ and ‘undead nuisances.’”

Danny blinked, realization dawning. “Constantine. Of course.”

Bruce’s expression remained unchanged, though there was a faint glimmer of irritation in his eyes. “This… Constantine has been spreading rumors?”

Danny sighed heavily, feeling more tired by the minute. “Look, can we just forget this whole thing happened? Pariah, you go back to ruling the Ghost Zone. I’ll handle Constantine. And Batman, you can go back to doing… whatever it is you do.”

Pariah Dark seemed to mull this over for a moment before finally lowering his sword completely. “Very well. But know this, boy—if ever you require my assistance, you have but to call.”

“Sure, sure,” Danny muttered. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

With one last, dramatic sweep of his cape, Pariah Dark stepped back into the swirling green portal, which closed behind him with a final, ominous crackle.

For a moment, the Batcave was silent. Then Danny turned to Bruce, looking both sheepish and annoyed. “So… I guess I should have warned you about that.”

Bruce simply nodded, his expression as unreadable as ever. “Next time, try to keep your interdimensional family disputes to a minimum.”

“I’ll do my best,” Danny promised, floating back toward the Batcomputer. “But with my luck, that’s not gonna be easy.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it,” Bruce replied dryly, already turning back to his work. “And tell Constantine to keep his mouth shut.”

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Danny muttered, rubbing the back of his neck as he floated back to his usual spot, thinking about the supernatural messes that seemed to follow him wherever he went.

As the Batcave returned to its usual state of brooding silence, Danny couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, Gotham wasn’t the best place to lay low after all. But with the alternative being another encounter with Pariah, he figured the Batcave wasn’t so bad—at least, not until the next interdimensional incident.

[yanderenightmare]

Bakugou Katsuki

♡ TW: omegaverse, size difference, reader's second gender is omega, so there are mentions of pregnancy, somewhat subjugating omega politics, old-fashioned high-class politics of sorts

♡ prequel to this

♡ GN reader

His eyes are garnet and slim—you can’t make up your mind if they’re judgemental or just assessing. Either would be allowed, of course. The point of the date is for him to decide if you’re sufficient or not.

And yet, you’re the one taking him in. His main is ashen blonde, boyishly spikey and wild—not fine-kempt and slick like you’d pictured. He didn’t have any grey hair either, or stubble, or wrinkles. Though he’s still much bigger and burlier than they are, he can’t be any older than the eldest males back at the institution.

He’s obviously an Alpha, and still, it’s so odd.

“You’re young,” you end up saying.

His nose scrunches. “No younger than you.”

It must have sounded accusatory, even when you only meant to point it out for yourself. You probably ought to have said it silently, inside yourself, and not out loud like you did.

And so you apologize, “I’m sorry, I was—I was just expecting someone older…” You try smiling, but the thought of him actually having been older makes your throat tight, and you swallow thickly instead. “Much older.”

He sighs, looks off to the side instead of at you. His brows tighten—you probably want someone who’s already got a house and a car and a boat on a lake, not to mention a good salary and not the intern pay he’ll be living off of for at least the next year or so. His foot taps beneath the table. You feel it in the floorboards. “You disappointed or somethin’?” he grumbles through grit teeth and a slim frown.

Your eyes widen, and you shake your head, blruting, “No!” You even jump out of your chair, both hands slamming flat on the table, making the napkin-wrapped cutlery clatter within their confines. 

Quickly, but too late, you realize you’re causing a scene. Cheeks burning, you look around before settling down again—you’re not making a very good first impression so far.

You take a breath, confessing, “I mean, I’m happy,” You place your hands in your lap and then start fiddling with them. “This way, we can be together for a long time…” Your voice is breathy as you let out a somewhat apologetic sigh, smiling some. “If you’ll have me, of course.”

He doesn’t say anything, and you don’t dare look up to gauge his expression.

You end up laughing nervously in the silence, feeling the joke arise before you're able to dispel it. “I was afraid I was gonna have to be your nurse soon.”

His foot stops tapping. Then he scoffs.

You perk up again, fumbling over your newest mistake, already apologizing a second time so far, “I’m sorry, that was rude. You’re just not what I was expecting—I’m a little caught off guard, is all.”

He huffs, then grins. “That’s okay. You don’t gotta apologize.”

You both sit in silence after that. You pick your nails more. All the questions you’ve prepared are useless given his age—he doesn’t have an answer to how many kids he wants from you. Probably. It somehow feels strange asking him when he isn’t in his thirties or forties or early fifties.

You look at him in askance. It really is odd.

“You can ask—if you’re curious,” he sanctions.

You really want to, but you’ve made enough mistakes already. Your teachers wouldn’t be proud if they witnessed you acting so childish and not as the proper little lady they’ve trained you to be. 

“No, I shouldn’t.” You shake your head and look down at your lap.

“Come on, you don’t gotta worry about being rude with me,” he insists.

You bite your lip, feeling fidgety in your chair, peering up at him. “You sure?”

“Hit me.” 

The question leaps from your tongue before you have the mind to regret it. “How can you afford this?”

He leans back in his chair. “I can’t—not yet. My folks are paying.”

You hum—that makes more sense. “They must be nice,” you say.

“They try,” he agrees.

There’s a silence again. You don’t have anything appropriate to ask. You were more prepared to talk when spoken to, to answer his questions about your health and hobbies, all silly things that make you cute and likable, but given he’s your age, none of it seems any interesting. It seems he doesn’t have much to ask, either.

“I was unsure about this,” he declares after a while. “To be honest with you, it was all my mom’s idea. I didn’t ask for it…” With a pause, he picks up the menu that had been lying undisturbed in wait for his decision. “But, she tends to be right about most things. So, I think I’ll take the offer this once.”

He lets you decide without ordering for you. Neither of you decide to drink, even though you’re both old enough. The conversation is awkward, but you giggle a couple of times and he smirks in turn. You hadn’t anticipated it—this feeling. You’d anticipated the nerves and the tension—but not this other thing, this sweet fluttering feeling blossoming in your belly, flirty and fizzy. Is this what they call butterflies?

He’s left asking himself the same question.

♡ BAKUGOU KATSUKI masterlist ♡ BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA masterlist

[wonysugar]

don’t modify | jang wonyoung

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ. everyone adores you (at least i do) — matt maltese

synopsis : everyone knew jang wonyoung had standards, but you were afraid you didn’t meet them like she initially expected you to.

pairing : stuco!wonyoung x gf!femreader

genre : smut, it’s kinda sweet i think

tags : wlw, hurt/comfort(?), fem!reader starts doubting herself, self-esteem issues, yn overthinks everythingg, YN YOU’RE GIRLFRIEND ENOUGH, <//3, couplez are very present haiii, i care them so much, jiwon is stewpid (affectionate), and rei lives for it, LESBIANS, worried gf wony, she loves yn guys, GUYS, now onto the sex, semi-public sex, so risky sex, ooouh scandalous, fingerfucking, making out, LOTS of it, kinda body worship, clit play

warnings : this fic contains self-esteem issues and lack of confidence, be warned :]

word count : 4,8k

a/n : heyyy… DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THATTT I’VE BEEN BUSY💔💔i’m trying to work on as many fics as i possibly can when i have free time, this is one of them<//3 i hope you like it, i personally don’t know to feel about it butfkdmfm yeah

i also kinda didn’t proofread this; it’s almost 2 am as i’m typing this out and i’m EXHAUSTED,,, if you see mistakes of any kind just please ignore,, for my sake

man, student council really was no joke.

sitting at the same table as your girlfriend, wonyoung, and her peers, you could feel the undeniable tension in the air. 

this was originally gonna be a double date, but it very quickly turned into a last-minute student council meeting, for some unknown reason. you weren’t part of said council, therefore had no clue what the hell they were on about this entire time. all this talk about budget, organized events, it all made you dizzy. the only thing that was keeping you somewhat calm was wonyoung’s warm presence and the slow jazz music that was quietly playing from the vintage jukebox, the one sitting in a corner of the place. 

you accompanied your girlfriend thinking this was going to be a cute opportunity to meet the two other girls! yknow, knowing that they seemed to be very close friends of your girlfriend’s, you figured it would’ve been nice to get to know them but it now just mostly feels like you infiltrated a top secret reunion that no one else could know about. 

and the funny thing? you were already somewhat nervous to meet other student council members in the first place, and this wasn’t helping. now, it’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but the first time that you met your significant other… yeah, you were mostly intimidated by her beauty and maturity, but also by her status in the school. it’s almost like you felt bad about crushing on somebody as influential on campus, let alone eventually dating her. so, i guess you could say meeting anybody equally as important as her fellow stuco members was something that made you rather anxious; what if they thought of you as clumsy? dumb? or even worse, not good enough for their president, their best friend?

quickly interrupting your train of incredibly messy thought, the blonde girl, whose name you don’t quite remember, spoke up. 

“nevermind any of that! we came here, on a week-end, with the intention to relax, to have fun and to finally take a breather from everything stressful that’s been going on in our lives, and what did we end up doing? talking about the school’s budget, like we always do. seriously guys?” she watched how the two other girls averted their eyes, clearly guilty. 

she especially noticed how you seemed to be uncomfortably shifting in your seat whilst they were talking, so, giving you a subtle reassuring look, she added on.

“let’s leave it for when we’re at school and not in front of y/n, how’s that sound?”

the two other girls looked at each other, then you, and eventually nodded. just like that, the tension in the air disappeared, and you already felt calmer.

but not calm enough to be confident about meeting your girlfriend’s friends and actually enjoy this small get-together.

however, you couldn’t sit there and pretend that the silence that settled in between all of you wasn’t a comfortable one, especially with the way wonyoung’s hand rested on yours, it was a nice contrast to what was actively going on in your mind.

until it was brutally killed by the dramatic sigh that came from the familiar tall and bright haired girl’s mouth.

“well, i’m pretty damn hungry, aren’t you guys hungry? cause i sure am pretty fucking hungry!“

you internally laughed, acknowledging that she was naturally quite funny. you apparently weren’t the only one to think so, considering how that also earned a small giggle from the almost just as tall girl who you assumed was her girlfriend, since she was practically always looking at her with heart-shaped eyes, regardless of the situation; you could tell when a girl was whipped for another, and it was as clear as day. 

she was more than whipped for the blondie.

“you know jiwon, if you wanted to get up and go order, you could’ve just said that.” she said, smiling at the girl in question and looking stupidly in love. 

“well yeahh.. but it’s essential for everyone to know how famished i am at all times, darling; my hunger is everyone’s problem, i thought we knew this!” was what jiwon said back, her bright smile making the dimple on one of her red cheeks, her left one, even more prominent than usual, since it’s quite literally always visible. that earned a playful eye roll from the other girl as she continued giggling. 

the pet name helped confirm your theory that those two were a thing.

“you guys want anything?” she softly asked, quickly making sure.

“nope! we’ll get something later, thank you rei.” was what wonyoung responded before warmly looking at you, slightly tilting her head in a way that silently asked you if you felt like ordering. you politely declined by shaking your head, hand waving around as you’re doing so, for extra insistence.

after that, they stood up together and proceeded to walk towards the counter to order. their hands were grazing each other’s for a little moment as they talked, almost hesitant. that is, before jiwon gently grabbed the other girl’ hand and intertwined their fingers together, both now having acquired their place in line. smiling to yourself, you also particularly noticed how jiwon, her face now completely red, seemed to trip on literal air as she walked with the reason for that was giggling endlessly. 

man, what a match they were, you thought.

rei, if you remembered her name correctly, was soft spoken and careful with every little thing she said and did, her gentle tone offered some sort of contrast to jiwon’s, who on her part, was louder, more outgoing and spontaneous. being polar opposites, they complemented each other amazingly; from their behavior all the way down to their body language, it was impossible to miss how different yet similar they were.

it seemed as if wonyoung noticed you staring at them from a distance, so she assumed it would’ve been a good idea to give you a little bit of funny context. “can you believe they’re not dating yet?” she asked, looking at them with you.

“wait.. what? they aren’t?” you exclaimed, surprised at the almost unbelievable information your girlfriend just dropped on you. well there goes your theory, “are.. are you sure?”

amused, she shook her head, eyebrows raised, “mmhm.” she said, putting emphasis on the first m. “i swear at times it feels like i hear them gushing about the other way more than i see my own mom.”

you giggled, your eyes darted back and forth between her and the other girls, in disbelief. actually.. the more you looked at them, the more whatever wonyoung said seemed to be true; despite being this close and intimate with each other, there were signs of uncertainty, as if this was new for the both of them. like when jiwon seemed to avoid rei’s gaze whenever she spoke, or maybe even when rei seemed to blush at quite literally anything silly that came out of jiwon’s mouth, which was very often, by the way.

“crazy, i know.” she laughed, staring at the two with you. “i mean, they practically are by now, they’re just not aware of it themselves yet.”

okay yeah, you thought, nodding at your girlfriend, it made sense. 

they did look like a newlywed couple if they didn't know they were married, and that just made it all the more endearing to see, honestly. you were glad wonyoung was friends with such kind-hearted and genuine girls. 

that somehow contributed in bringing back that nerve-racking doubt you had ever since you stepped foot in here, however, and your amusement was once again quickly overshadowed by worry. see, those two seemed so happy with each other, despite not even dating, that it got you thinking about your and wonyoung’s relationship. 

rei and jiwon sort of reminded you of what you and your girlfriend were, way back before you started dating, back when she knew absolutely nothing about you and was instead curious regarding your person, intrigued.

you thought that maybe you didn’t end up exceeding her expectations like she initially believed you would, that you maybe weren’t as interesting of a girlfriend than she would’ve hoped, that she could do so much better than you. 

hell, maybe even the two friends you were staring at prior thought so.

you noticed how wonyoung stared at you with a focused expression, the one she always had on whilst she tried to comprehend something complex, whatever it was. many things elicited that reaction, sometimes it’d be an important yet contradictory school document, other times it’d be an attempt to read something that was written in one of the languages she’s not so familiar with, as rare as that was. 

right now though, she was probably trying to read you, a language she thought she was perfectly fluent in, yet was always met with a hard time understanding completely.

then, upon realizing that you were staring back at her, her eyes widened ever-so slightly and she gave you a warm smile. doing your best in not letting your insecurities spill through the cracks of your face, you smiled in return, as to not potentially worry her.

“we’re backk!” announced jiwon in a sing-song tone, quickly catching both you and wonyoung off-guard as she obnoxiously placed her tray down on the table, almost dropping it. rei’s, on the other hand, was set gently on the wooden surface whilst she carefully sat down on the seat, smiling to herself upon staring at the delicious looking food, completely disregarding the conversation happening right beside her. 

you nodded to yourself, that was truly respectable.

“already?..” asked the tall and brown haired girl in response, wearing a mischievous smirk girl at the blondie before continuing, “and here i thought that we were finally gonna have a break from you.” jokingly groaning and rolling her eyes.

“never gonna happen, unfortunately for you.” jiwon giggled at the banter, grabbing a handful of fries from the tray in front of her before forcefully shoving it into the other girl’s mouth, cutting the latter successfully.

that earned a giggle from everyone at the table, but rei’s tiny and polite laugh was especially noticeable among the bunch. 

turns out she always listens when it’s about jiwon, huh.

—

“what about you, y/n?” asked jiwon, distracting you from the conversation you were about to engage in with the delicious burger that nestled in between your eager hands. you looked at her, allowing her to carry on, “are you volunteering anywhere?”

all of a sudden, all three different pairs of eyes were on you, and you only. 

you cleared your throat, setting the hamburger down, now having caught a glimpse of what the conversation was actually about. volunteering, huh? is that a thing that student council casually members do when they’re bored..?

you didn’t want to seem like an asshole, but it’s not like you could afford to lie, either, especially not when wonyoung was staring at you so intently, like she was excited to merely hear you talk.

you felt guilty for even placing a word.

“oh uh,” you focused your eyes on the table, unsure of your response and the reaction you would get. “i would, but i barely have the time, unfortunately.. you know, with my job and all..”

“you know,” rei chimed in, shaking her medium-sized soda drink around before taking a sip, “you can say that you don’t care enough, we won’t judge.” she said in a joking manner, earning laughter from everyone at the table.

that was a joke, it’s obvious that everybody would be laughing. 

“ahah, yeah..” 

except you, of course, the best you could do at that moment was crack a slight smile since you were basically stuck inside of your own head by now, contemplating whether they were actually making fun of you in your face or if you were just overthinking everything again, just like you always do.

man, with each thought you had, you felt uneasy. the more they talked, the more overwhelmed you felt, especially if the conversation revolved around you;  self-consciousness wouldn’t even begin to describe it, despite your desperate attempts to sit and actually enjoy the moment, as well as the food in front of you, for that matter.

but alas, that annoying voice in your head had won again. the same voice that always goes on and on about how every person around you thinks you aren’t enough, and that you’re uninteresting and unlikeable, sometimes just plain annoying. 

that got the best of you today.

you reluctantly stood up, which caught the two girls’ attention, but especially wonyoung’s, all of their eyes perking up at you. “where you going?” asked jiwon.

“just the bathroom.” you replied almost immediately, “sorry, you guys can keep talking, i won’t be long.”

you make a beeline for the restroom after rambling out those words, not looking back for even a second. you push the door open once you get there, quickly closing it behind you before turning the sink on and looking at yourself in the mirror. 

get it together, y/n, you told yourself, don’t embarrass her any more than you already have.

you proceeded to splash some cold water onto your face, taking advantage of the fact that you conveniently decided not to wear any makeup today. to call it refreshing would be an understatement, as it helped you gain back composure.

that’s when you heard, and noticed from your peripheral vision, the restroom door cracking open. you turned off the running sink in hurry and turned to the door, wiping the water off of your face with your palm and forearm.

“..you okay?” 

“huh? yeah..” 

she looked at you some more. it was clear that she did not believe you for one second, she therefore locked the door behind you, as to not have anybody interrupt. she was going to ask again, however, she refrained from doing so and let you speak of your own accord.

you quickly understood that she was going to ask again, however, refrained from doing so and let you speak of your own accord. you took a deep breath, then you allowed your vulnerability to manifest itself through your words, just this once.

“..i just feel like.. i don’t know—“ you tried finding the right words to say, but nothing could potentially make the situation any worse than you’ve made it, “are you happy with me, wonyoung?” 

long pause. a very long pause.

she furrowed her eyebrows upwards, “…what?” her voice was now just above a whisper as she processed your words, slightly shaking. despite how subtle it was, you heard the fear in it. “o-of course i am, why wouldn’t i be?”

“i just feel… i feel like you deserve better than me.” you turned away from her, your eyes settling on the mirror before you, once again. “i’m sorry, i don’t wanna be annoying—“

“do i make you feel that way?” she asked almost immediately, cutting you off. her expression giving away her heavy dejection despite her best attempt to mask it. “do i make you feel like you’re not enough?”

hurting you is the last thing she would ever want to do, she’s certain she’d rather die a horrible death on the spot than cause you pain.

“no, of course not!” you responded just as fast, your gaze meeting hers as you turn to face her once again, “you’re great towards me, amazing, even. it’s… it’s just that, i’m scared that you’re doing it out of pure guilt.. is all—”

she, in response, was no longer taken aback. finally having understood what was on your mind throughout this whole outing, her worry evaporated from her face, leaving room for a sympathetic expression, “guilt?” she walked your way and stood beside you, her big hands now cupping your cheeks and holding them in a warm, loving embrace. “if i really was dating you out of guilt, would i really ask you to go out with me to meet my friends?”

“i don’t want you doubting my love for you ever again, okay?” she added, her eyebrows furrowed, now looking practically offended. “i mean, come on, let’s not forget that i have standards.”

interpreting your silence and the way you looked up at her as uncertainty, she continued, smiling at you, “and you exceed every single one; you’re amazing, y/n. you’re gorgeous, so incredibly smart, talented, understanding, so kind and genuine, too. the list could go on, honestly, but most important of all, i love you, i love you so much, and there is truly nothing in this world that’ll be able to change that.. i never, ever, wanna hear you say any of that again. also, never scare me like that? ever?”

“but—“

“nuh uh!” she hovered her index finger over your mouth, silencing you before you could protest, “no buts! you’re perfect and i’m very incredibly lucky to be with you, that’s final.” she insisted, before mumbling to herself, “also, i should probably tell rei to cut it down on the sarcastic jokes, shouldn’t i.. she gets comfortable way too easily—“

“no wony, i know she meant no harm. plus, i would’ve found it funny if i wasn’t so in my own head..” 

she sighed, then nodded. and as corny as it was, that whole conversation was enough to fully reassure you again. you cracked a shy and content smile, to which she happily reciprocated whilst gently stroking your hair with her hand, leaving a loving kiss on your forehead. “i love you, wonyoung, i’m sorry.” you muttered, barely audible. 

she groaned, having heard you, and rolled her eyes jokingly, “will you stop apologizing so much?” before smiling with nothing but love and admiration in her eyes, “i love you too dumbass, so much, and i’m afraid i’ll never stop.” she added, before leaving a small peck on your lips.

you returned the kiss, having wonyoung leaning into you and gently pushing you onto the sink. your hands went on both sides of her face and cupped her cheeks, your girlfriend melting into your touch with a smile immediately before pulling away and looking into your eyes.

now being in the right headspace and paying proper attention to her appearance, you just now noticed how good wonyoung really looked that day; her long brown hair perfectly straightened at the top and being more on the wavy side on the ends, the whole hairstyle being all, quite literally, tied together by a lavender-coloured ribbon. you’ve also noticed that she decided to wear her favorite  navy blue and white striped knit sweater and tucked it under the waistband of her blue denim jeans, incredibly effective in drawing attention to her waist whilst also keeping a cozy look.

she looked beautiful, there was absolutely no doubt about that, but your mind kept wandering further. you thought about how much more beautiful she’d look wearing nothing, before being hit with the sad truth that the two of you are in a public bathroom, and that the latter was very unlikely to happen.

still though, you smiled to yourself as your eyes trained down on her body, getting lost in dirty thought before looking up at her again. once your gaze met wonyoung’s, you watched her lips form into a stupid smile before she spoke again, making you realize how dearly you missed listening to her honey-like voice despite having heard it roughly 30 seconds prior.

“and what are you looking at exactly?” she tilted her head slightly, flirtatiously sliding her hand up and down your sides as she awaited your answer.

it’s crazy how your girlfriend of several months could still manage to turn your stomach to literal mush, every single thing about her made you short-circuit; her mannerisms, the way she talked to you, the way she always put her hands on the right spot, her smile… she was clearly out to get you.

and it didn’t look like that was going to change anytime soon.

“..nothing,” you replied, taking a short pause as you took in all of her features, before adding on, “you look good, babe.”

that pet name made sense again, you felt like yourself again.

“yeah?” she spoke back, now placing her two hands atop each side of the sink that you were already leaning on. her face now mere inches away from yours, your nostrils suddenly invaded by the hypnotizing smell of the sugary, expensive perfume she had on, the one that drove you nuts, “thanks for noticing.”

it took one last dorky smile from her before you officially lost your shit and pulled her back in for a kiss, this one hungrier than the previous, and it didn’t take much for wonyoung to acknowledge the desire you felt for her, either. she’d also be lying if she said she didn’t want you just as much. 

you could taste the cherry lip gloss she had put on previously as your lips danced in sync with hers, 

“wait,” you said in between kisses, “what about the others?”

“oh don’t worry,” she chuckled, wearing a knowing expression and slightly shaking her head in amusement at the thought, “they’re definitely keeping each other distracted. i would even go as far as to say that they completely forgot about us even coming along in the first place.”

as insane as it may sound, you could totally picture jiwon completely discarding her food and endlessly rambling about quite literally the dumbest thing ever whilst rei admired her silently, listening to every word the other girl spoke, entranced as she took tiny sips of her drink, perhaps as an attempt to make the moment last forever.

the two of you giggled to yourselves, seemingly having thought of the exact same thing before the urge to have wonyoung ruin you in this very bathroom hit you once more, only harder this time. 

it didn’t take long for your girlfriend to lean back into you, now making her painfully slow way down to your jaw, then to your neck, planting messy and lazy pecks across the skin. you felt her smiling against you with relish, taking in each and every soft noise that escaped from your mouth. her hands were growing more and more curious by the second, which caused them to explore and slide further down from the spot they initially settled on; your lower stomach and waist. they eventually worked their way up your black pleated skirt, teasing your entrance through the soft fabric of your already damp underwear.

that went on for a long while, so long so that you felt the pool in between your legs growing with each rub of the finger she gave you.

“god, look at you,” she then whispered against your neck, marking it up right to her liking, “perfect, always so perfect for me.” and watching you not-so-subtly grinding your hips against her hand at the words, longing for any sort of friction you could get. 

“wonyoung–” you whined out quietly, using all of your willpower to not make too much noise so as to not let the other people in the restaurant hear you through the closed door. she heard you though, she heard you loud and clear and that was all that mattered to her. she pretended that she didn’t, however, and pulled away from your neck to properly look at you to raise a knowing eyebrow at you. the back and forth motion she was doing on your clothed pussy now much, much slower. “what was that baby?”

“please.” you breathed out shakily, “i need you.. bad.”

“do you now?” she responded, cocky.

you nodded almost immediately.

she let out a tsk sound in response, “couldn’t even wait ‘till we get home, huh?” that confirmation was all it took for her to finally push your panties to the side just enough to be able to spread your cunt and squeeze her fingers into it, which was very wet enough to welcome her digits, she slowly inserted them further in. 

“so impatient, just for me, right?” she whispered, watching you as you nodded once again, this time more keen. she then paused, quietly taking in all of your reactions to her different  words and teasing, more than satisfied, she scoffed, “fuck, i love you—“

she pressed her lips against yours again, eager; she truly couldn’t get enough of you, everything about you was all she could ever want. you couldn’t help but let a guttural groan escape from your lips in response to her two fingers fully sliding inside of you in one swift motion, filling your insides up perfectly. you were undeniably loud, but the kiss definitely contributed to quieting you down, muffling the noise of your pleasure, the squelching sounds of your pussy being the only audible thing occupying the air.

it didn’t take long before she started pumping her fingers in and out of you, finding a slow and steady pace before fully ravaging your core. she quickly pulled away to catch a glimpse of the scene happening on the lower side of things; her hand reaching into your skirt and working its magic. the sight of that worked the both of you up even more, and she would’ve completely gotten rid of every piece of the clothing that’s in her way to you right then and there,

but then again, this was a public bathroom.

and you two were very quickly reminded of that once you heard knocking at the locked door, as well as tussling of the doorknob. wonyoung and you froze, albeit a very polite pair of knocking and turning, it scared the shit out of you.

“y/n? wonyoung? are you guys okay in there?” you heard rei’s easily discernible voice on the other side of the door. your eyes darted between it and wonyoung, mere inches away from you (who also seemed visibly panicked, as well as amused.)

well wonyoung was incredibly wrong in assuming they forgot about you two.

in a silent, mutual agreement sealed by a nod, you came up with a pitiful excuse, fighting back every potential shake of your voice that could manifest itself, “y-yeah, uh, i’m just fixing up my makeup and—“

suddenly, you felt your girlfriend’s thumb pressing on your sensitive and swollen bundle of nerves without warning, and began to rub it in a slow and painful circular motion, wearing a slight smirk while doing so. your stomach immediately dropped at the feeling, and your first instinct was to bite your lip as you tried your hardest not to moan out wonyoung’s name out loud,

obviously, you wanted to, but couldn’t; especially not when rei’s on the other side, worried about you two.

the tall brunette threw you a teasing glance, her expression practically reading ‘go on, keep going.’ so, as a matter of principle, you did. you pulled on her knit sweater in overwhelm, oh so desperate to just cum already and not risk getting caught and definitely kicked out, just imagining that walk of shame gave you goosebumps, “w-wonyoung’s with m-me.”

“okay! oh and also, jiwon wanted me to ask if you were gonna finish your food.” 

as bad as it was, your thoughts at that moment resembled ‘oh my god why isn’t she leaving yet’, especially when your love thought it was an amazing idea to casually fingerfuck you again, her fingers finding their familiar pace and curling against your g-spot perfectly. you kept tugging on her top, mouth slightly agape in surprise and overwhelming pleasure as you tried to come up with an answer.

“yes!” you cleared your throat after having that first word coming out a bit too excited for your liking, then continued, “yes, t-tell her she can have all of the remaining fries s-she wants.” you looked at wonyoung with hooded eyes right after slurring out those words, shaking your head in desperation. not at all in the right state of mind to even listen to her friend’s response who then thankfully left, you mouthed the words ‘i wanna cum so bad.’ to her.

she was gonna keep teasing you, but she decided that you’ve endured more than enough for that day. with her other hand, she settled her palm onto your mouth; she knew how loud you got when hitting climax. a few more pumps of her fingers into your puffy cunt was all it took for you to grip onto her sweater as you came all over her hand, eyes rolled back whilst you moaned and pleaded into her hand, bucking your hips into her and riding your high on her palm, her thumb still pressing your clit.

pulling her slander fingers out of you, she quickly made you taste how good you were and made sure you thoroughly and carefully licked every inch of it clean as you hazily muttered ‘i love you’s in between lick and sucks.

one thing was for sure, sitting back down at the table wearing underwear full of your slick was definitely an element of great embarrassment,

but at least you were now fully reassured that dating you was not at all one for wonyoung.

[bisexualiteaa]

Okay so this has been spinning in my head since I watched the series and it might come across as a but of a strange one 😅

BUT, please could you write one where the reader is pregnant(by someone else), meets Cooper along the way and they hit it off, they go through the pregnancy together, they then in the end they raise this little baby together. Sort of cute fluffy and a lil smutty too. Thank you! ☺️

A Slice of Paradise

Cooper Howard x Pregnant! Fem Reader (SMUT MDNI!!)

CW: slight OOC Cooper, slight deviation from the show, slight deviation from the game, pregnancy, pregnancy cravings, pregnancy hormones, blood, canon typical violence and gore, dirty jokes, cursing, talk of kinks, biting, 🩸 kink, p in v, unprotected seggs, p0rn with little plot, mention of knives, possible grammar/spelling errors, not proofread

AN: thank you anon for your request! My apologies that I’m getting to these asks so late, life has been rather eventful and I’m only just getting back into the swing of writing after forever long writers block. 🥲 I thank you for your patience and apologize that there isn’t a whole lot of fluff in this one but that it absolutely has ✨S P I C E.✨ Hope y’all enjoy my attempted return to writing for our dearest cowpoke, love you all! ♥️

Taglist: @expirednukacola

Trying to survive out in the wastelands while pregnant was not how you had imagined your life to be when you first found out that you were going to be having a baby. When you had first learned that you were pregnant, you were living comfortably within one of the vaults that dwelled beneath the irradiated surface. You had been matched with a fellow vault dweller who they deemed befitting in their mission to “help repopulate the surface” and in an effort to help your people, you agreed to the arrangement. The overseer, and all the other scientists and workers within the vault, claimed that there was no residence or anything living in general, up on the surface and that it would be up to you and your neighbors to fix that. Never in a million years did you think that vault life would go to such complete and utter shit that you would have to come to the surface in order to survive. Never in a million years did you also think that you would find anyone up here willing to stick by your side and not try to kill you in your sleep, and when you did, you had never expected your company to be that of a Wild West cowboy styled, bounty hunting ghoul. Needless to say, life up here was so vastly different than what they had spoken of in the vaults, that some days you swore it couldn’t be real, that it was all just one big fucked up dream that you’d wake up from any time now. But no, this was all very much real. If you made it out of this alive and long enough to see the world even somewhat recover, you were going to write a book on the long list of weird shit you’ve been through.

“I said, give me the damn supplies. NOW!” you spat angrily, pointing the barrel of your gun directly to a raider’s forehead as an extremely angry scowl came to rest across your face. “I suggest you do as the lady asks, kid. She ain’t someone you wanna mess with” Cooper spoke chillingly with a grin, knowing your pregnancy hormones were in full effect today, leaving you moody as all get out, and on days like this, you weren’t afraid to cause bodily harm, or worse, to get what you wanted or craved. Your baggy shirts hid your pregnant belly well, though you were only just now reaching somewhere around four months along, you still didn’t want strangers knowing you were pregnant. God only knows what people do out here to women with babies, and the last thing you needed was someone thinking it made you weak enough to take advantage of.

When the raider’s reaction wasn’t quick enough to your liking, you fired on him without a shred of remorse. Stepping past his limp, dead body to retrieve the box of supplies that you demanded for the bounty Cooper had completed, along with a healthy amount of caps, stimpacks and other supplies from off of his body. “It’s gon’ be one of those days, huh?” Cooper asked, taking the box from you because he might not be the kindest man, but he wasn’t about to make a pregnant lady lug a heavy box of supplies across the desert either. Granted, he knew it was probably wrong of him to insinuate what he had or to poke fun at you the way he was, the grimace and absolute apathy on your face as you shot the raider in cold blood gave him all he needed for his answer, but he knew all too well how to poke the bear, and enjoyed doing so far too much for your liking most days. “Yes. I’m fucking hungry, craving that stupid cram and he was pissing me off. Took too damn long to give us what we’re owed” you answered, your hand coming to your stomach as you complained. “We? That’s a bit of a strong word there, little lady. ‘Cause if I recall correctly, it was me who finished that bounty” he said, enjoying getting on your every last nerve on the worst days possible to do so. It was sadistic sure, but it reminded him of the days when his ex-wife was pregnant with their baby girl. In a twisted sort of way it reminded him of home. “You tryin’ to tell me you’re gonna leave a pregnant lady out in the desert all by her lonesome? Damn, I knew you were cold, didn’t think you were that cold” you joked back, making him laugh dryly. “Oh trust me honey, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet” he said, making you laugh. Thank god you were on his good side, you’d seen all the horrifying things he was capable of, or perhaps all the things he’s let you see that he was capable of. Regardless, you were glad he considered you a friend rather than foe.

Well, friend was a strong word once upon a time, but now? You two seemed to tread on a line somewhere between platonic and romantic, jumping back and forth between it like a tricky game of hopscotch. Though you could never be sure, like the rest of the ghoul, he was shrouded in much mystery. His heart and intentions were certainly no exception to that. “Woulda at least let the poor kid have a chance first, unlike you. So I guess you ain’t gettin’ that much farther behind me there, girly” he commented, making you chuckle at the remark and you supposed he had a point, you really didn’t give the raider enough time but your patience has been running thinner and thinner as of late. So you did as you always do, blame the pregnancy and what the hormones were doing to your brain, or make a snide joke at Cooper. “I’d blame the baby again for it, but maybe you’re just a bad influence” you quipped, making him chuckle dryly. “Honey, I am an awful influence” he replied, making you laugh as you both walked. “You aren’t so bad sometimes. But maybe it’s just ’cause you like me” you responded with a devious grin, making him shake his head playfully in denial. “Best watch it, my kindness’s got limits darlin’ and they get smaller and smaller everyday” he said, making you chuckle. “Likely story. I cook too good for you to kick me to the dusty curb” you teased, and it was true, you were too good at cooking but also too good looking to pass up. More personally, you were a reminder of the good ol’ days before all the wasteland bullshit started. A reminder of the family he once had. He craved oh so desperately to have that little slice of heaven back, and you scratched that itch in a near perfect way that he just couldn’t let you go. Whether he liked it or not, he knew he was growing attached, and as much as he didn’t like it, he knew there was no helping it either. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe if you felt the same way he did, you both could have a little family together once your baby was born. A daydream he often thought of, but that was for another time. Right now, he needed to focus on keeping you safe as you both looked for a spot to shack up for the night.

As you made it somewhere safe, or as “safe” as safe gets out here for the night, you didn’t waste time making some food to keep you, the baby and Cooper fed after a long day’s travel. “That looks about as appetizing as a hog’s ass in swamp water” he spoke as he looked to your bowl filled with Blamco Mac n Cheese and cubed up Cram all mixed together in instant mash. “Don’t judge me, it isn’t me that’s wanting it so damn bad, it’s the baby” you replied, making him chuckle. Sounded exactly like what his ex-wife used to say when she had some outlandish craving when she was pregnant. “Besides, that’s coming from the one that eats people” you quipped as you horked down your entire bowl with lightning speed, making him tilt his head to the side. “Touché” he responded before turning your way when he caught you standing up out of the corner of his eye. He watched as you rolled your tense shoulders and attempted to massage your lower back to relieve the ache that began to culminate there but with the displeased look on your face, it appeared your efforts were fruitless. You hobbled over to sit by the fire, finding yourself walking rather funny from the ache in your feet and the tension throbbing in your tight calves. “You’re a walkin’ hot mess there, girlfriend” he teased, watching you squat to sit down next to him as you attempted to rub your back once more with a pained hiss. You gave a defeated, and equally pained, groan after chuckling at his quip. “Tell me about it. Had I known I’d have to manage up here, I’d have never gotten pregnant in the first place” you replied, rubbing your stomach after your hands once again could not provide you the relief from the tension your body craved to be freed from. “How far ‘long are ya now?” He asked, and you genuinely had to sit there and think about it for a moment. You figured with the way you were only really just starting to show more prominently that you were just about four months along, but you couldn’t honestly remember no matter how hard you tried. “What day is it?” You asked genuinely, making him laugh. “Shit, you don’t even know. That’ll be one hell of a surprise down the road when it pops out at the worst possible timin’” he joked, making you chuckle. “It’ll be a blessing, to finally stop carrying around the extra weight right on top of my bladder and allow some other things to shrink down a little bit maybe” you said, making him hum in amusement.

“I think it looks good on you. Plump is hard to come by these days and you sugar, got one nice lookin’ peach” he said shamelessly, making you laugh as he talked about your ass. “That why you like makin’ me walk in front of you all the time?” You asked with a grin, making him grin. “Can’t say it ain’t one of the reasons” he replied, making you laugh. “Careful, hormones are one hell of a thing to mess with when you’re talking to a pregnant lady. Suggest you don’t go starting something you can’t finish there, Coop” you threatened playfully, making him chuckle at your response. “Oh I can finish it, don’t you worry. It’s you that wouldn’t be able to keep up with me, sweetheart. ‘Specially not like that” he said, making you grin and give an intrigued hum at the challenge he was presenting you with. “Ain’t no love makin’ up here baby-doll, it’s straight up fuckin’. Sure we take our time with it, make ya feel good because it ain’t easy to come by, but it ain’t nothin’ like that soft vanilla shit you vaulties do” he said, making you grin as you leaned back on your hands and you saw the way his eyes almost immediately roamed your body. From your neck, down to your full tits that seemed to have gotten a little bigger since last time he looked at you real good, then to that cute little bump in your tummy, down to your hips and thighs that he just wanted to get a nice handful of. He wondered how soft you would feel in his rough hands, if you’d like the contrast. “Oh yeah? Think I don’t have kinks and shit like that just ‘cause I was in a vault? Can promise you some of us “vaulties” get our rocks off in similar ways to you wasteland folk” you responded, waiting to hear what his rebuttal would be. “Oh yeah? Like what?” He asked, watching you grin to yourself as you gave a soft chuckle. Normally you would never forgo this type of information about yourself, but it was a whole different world up here in the wastes, and this was a whole different you from that woman who came stumbling out that vault just some few months ago.

“Well, obviously one of those kinks is what got me pregnant in the first place” you started, making him chuckle because despite it not being anything crazy, it was still a little more interesting than some. “I like being choked, but I feel like everyone likes that one so that might as well still be vanilla” you said, making him laugh because you were right, that shit isn’t a kink up here, it’s standard practice. “So you think you like it rough, huh?” He asked as he pulled out his hunting knife, cleaning it while you both conversed oddly casually about kinks. His question made you blush a bit, it caught you off guard that he put two and two together so quickly. “I don’t think, I know I do” you answered truthfully, making him grin. “Hell, I bet you ain’t seen rough. I’d reckon you ain’t ever been manhandled by someone or used as a means of blowin’ off some steam” he said, looking at his reflection in the knife and watching the way you looked at him as he handled it. You might have thought he missed it, but he noticed the subtle way your thighs clenched together as he fiddled with it and talked about you being used and tossed around like a rag doll. “I have, just not…well, it wasn’t very good but they at least tried I guess?” You said, almost as if you were asking him and not telling him, making him laugh. “You askin’ me or tellin’ me? ‘Cause you sure as hell don’t sound so sure anymore” he replied, making you sigh. “Fuck it, who am I kidding? It was fucking awful. It wasn’t at all what I wanted it to be” you quickly admitted, making him hum in reply. “I will say…you’ve made me discover a few new ones since we started traveling together” you said almost nonchalantly, and that most certainly caught his attention. “Oh yeah? And what might those be?” He asked, genuinely curious of what he could have done to awaken something in you. “People in my vault were afraid to be rough, whether during sex or not but you aren’t and I like that a lot about you. I know you probably think I’m joking when I say I like “rough” or think I have no idea what rough entails but I do. I like being tied up, having knives involved, and getting manhandled and stuff like that” you said, making him chuckle at the very innocent seeming you, admitting to liking dangerous things. “That so, vaultie?” He asked, not wishing to admit just how much your bashful admission had gotten to him and instead was thankful for making you roll your eyes at the nickname to avoid catching sight of the issue beginning to grow in his pants at all the ideas now rummaging through his brain like a rampant wildfire. “That why you like starin’ at my knife each time I use it? And why you didn’t protest when I tied you up when we first met?” He asked, and you were almost mortified at his question, knowing now that he’d noticed all the times you’d sat there, infatuated by the way he used it. Embarrassed that he caught the look in your eyes the first time his fierce ones met your own as he bound your wrists together and walked around with you like a prisoner on a leash. “Yeah…didn’t think you caught me on it though. But enough about me and my kinks, how ‘bout you? What about sex with you is so different, huh?” You asked, trying your best to move the subject away from you but your question was like the cherry on top of his fucked up thoughts, making an evil grin stretch to his lips as you laid the perfect opportunity out for him to take.

“How ‘bout you come and find out for yourself, sugar?” He asked, taking you off guard by his advance, but you couldn’t deny the way it sent a surge of heat straight to your core at such a straight forward answer. The pregnancy hormones had been eating you alive lately, making you stare at him in ways you shouldn’t have, thinking about him in ways you knew you shouldn’t. Old you would have kicked yourself for thinking the way you had been and allowing yourself to seem so desperate, but you two were close enough at this point. It wasn’t as if you were stooping low enough to just fuck some random stranger. Well, scratch that, you sort of did that already because that’s how you wound up pregnant in the first place. Thanks Vault-Tec. Maybe it wouldn’t be so wrong, or seem so desperate of you after all. He chuckled at your look of shock at his reply, making you blush in embarrassment that you were nearly frozen, unsure of what to do or what to think when you normally always had something to sass him back with. “C’mon now, surely ya didn’t think this wouldn’t end up happenin’ did you? We been layin’ it on thick with each other f’ too damn long now to play that game” he said with such confidence, it almost pissed you off but you couldn’t be mad, not when the pregnancy hormones made you so incredibly horny for this man that you could hardly think of anything else. Your mind was swimming at all the ideas of what he could be capable of, what he had the potential to do. You were left truly wondering just how different, and possibly how much better of an experience it would be with him rather than the last time you’d had sex. You wondered if it would really be any different than what you and your fellow vault dwellers were accustomed to or if maybe he was talking up a big game to get you interested. Regardless of whether it was talk or not, it had the effect on you he was hoping it would, because now you were past the point of pretending you didn’t want to find out, you needed to know. You felt as your core began to ache, excitement beginning to collect in the pit of your stomach as your panties grew damp at all your dirty thoughts. “Honestly I…I-I didn’t know it passed your mind like it has been on mine” you admitted with a deeper blush, making him chuckle as he moved closer. “So ya do think of me? Well ain’t that cute” he replied. “Hard not to think about you like that when I’m watchin’ them nice big hips sway whenever you walk in front a me” he added, making you chuckle as your cheeks burned about as hot as the campfire. “I haven’t uhh…I haven’t *done anything* since I got pregnant so, I’m not really sure how to go about it but, if you’d be willing, I’d like to find out just how different it is to be with you” you said so sweetly, almost innocently and damn it if it didn’t make him feel some type of way. He chuckled to himself a little. “Looks like you’re in luck then. Even luckier that it’s with someone who’s got a little more experience in this field than the average hit ‘n quit” he said, and that’s what stopped you for a moment. Was that all that this was going to be for him? A one night thing to settle some curiosity, then go right back to the way things were? After all this time spent traveling together and getting close to him, you didn’t want that to be the case. It was in that moment you’d realized just how much you genuinely cared for the ghoul who was in your company.

“On one condition” you said, making him raise a non existent brow at you, curious to hear what you had to say. “It’s more than just a one time thing. I don’t…I don’t do flings. Call me a “deluded little vaultie” for it or whatever else you want, but I only want this if you want it to go somewhere, even if it ain’t anything more than a fuck buddy situation” you said, and truth be told he wasn’t completely sure on what he wanted. He knew it had been a long time since last he had a chance to do something like this with someone, and that he liked you but he also knew the thing going on between you had been going on for long enough, why not see where it goes? “Trust me sugar, if you’re still here travelin’ with me, ain’t none of it gonna be without somethin’ behind it. Had you asked me when we first met? I’d have told ya different, but against all better judgement ya managed to get me attached to ya. This is me tellin’ you to pay your consequence for bein’ such a damn tease all the time” he responded with a grin that relieved your every nerve, his hand coming to grab yours and moving it to the tent in his pants to prove his point, making you grin and chuckle. “Didn’t know I get you that worked up” you replied teasingly as you moved closer. “Imma let you in on a simple rule I like to live by, little lady; you cause it, you fix it” he said, and you grinned as you grabbed his hand, pulling it to slide beneath your shorts to rest outside your panties that were getting wetter and wetter with your excitement. “Looks like you got some responsibility to take too then, cowpoke” you said with a grin, and that’s when he knew this would lead to something good.

You smiled into your shared kiss, shocked to find the slightly chapped, thin irradiated lips to feel so nice against your own. It wasn’t sweet like the kisses you’d had before, it was carnal, passionate even. Driven by pure lust and god did it make you melt. Your hands came to rest on the back of his neck as you straddled his lap. Your knees were dug into the sand beneath his sleeping bag without a care in the world as his hands groped your ass and sensitive tits. You moaned as his lips and teeth soon worked at your weak spot on your neck, making you roll your hips against him as your eyes fluttered shut. You held onto him as you rocked your hips back and forth, earning a groan from the ghoul below you. “Fuck, Cooper…please” you whined, making him pull away from your neck to click his tongue at you. “You can beg all you want, but I ain’t skippin’ over the good parts just ‘cause you’re gettin’ antsy” he said with a grin up at you before popping open the buttons of your beat up flannel shirt and latching onto one of your breasts, sucking on the sensitive bud. You normally were self conscious of the fact that you’d foregone wearing a bra in favor of comfort, but in this moment you couldn’t be more thankful that it was one less article of clothing to worry about taking off. You moaned as his fingers toyed with the other side, pinching harshly as his teeth would occasionally nip at your perked bud or the soft skin around it, but being sure to give your tits equal love and attention. Rather shocked that you hadn’t yelped or drawn back at his rougher display to your overly sensitive nipples, he continued. “Fuck…” you whined, feeling as one of his hands dragged down to the waistband of your underwear, before working his hand beneath it to your clit. His fingers worked tight circles along your aching bud, leaving your head devoid of all thoughts as he brought you the pleasure your body had been craving for ages. You hated the way you felt so close to your impending release already, having been pent up since even before leaving the vaults, and now that you were pregnant, you were even more sensitive to it all. “Oh god, Cooper…” you panted out, your strained, pleading voice like music to his ruined ears as you moaned his name. “Doin’ good for me sweetheart” he praised, only adding fuel to the fire that was ready to consume you at any moment.

You moaned blissfully at the pleasurably painful stretch of him working his way inside of you finally. God how you ached for that feeling, to be stretched and filled in ways nothing else could give you other than him. “Damn you’re a tight little thing” he commented, already moving and setting a pace without giving you time to adjust. It was bliss, the painful draw out but the pleasurable thrust back in. You just couldn’t get enough. “Normally this is where I’d throw you around and fuck you absolutely stupid, but last thing I want is t’ hurt that baby” he said, making you wish you could know what it felt like to be used by him, to be thrown around and taken by him but you knew you couldn’t, not yet. “Maybe I’ll just give ‘em a sibling instead, how’s that sound, sweetheart?” he asked in your ear in a low rasp as the sound of skin slapping skin started to fill the air. A pleasant, tingling shudder ran down your spine at the prospect of it, clearly he hadn’t forgotten that first kink you’d told him about. He gave a grin, feeling the way your walls fluttered around his dick from his words, and seeing the effect it had on you left him nearly feral. Guess you weren’t lying when you said one of those kinks of yours was the reason you were pregnant. “Yeah? You’d like that wouldn’t you, sweet thing?” He asked, knowing the answer but he loved the way he had you absolutely cock drunk on him too much to not try and hear from you. “Yes! Fuck, I’d love that, please!” you said through your moans, making him chuckle. “I betchu would” he said all smug and proud. “Bet you get off on the idea ‘f fuckin’ someone who could rip you t’ shreds, dontchya sugar? Ya like it dangerous” he said, making you shake your head yes in reply. “Yes! Fuck- Cooper!” You moaned into the midnight air, your back arched from the ground as you moved your hips to meet his thrusts, desperately chasing your high. “Look good like this, sprawled out below me all helpless and vulnerable. I could just eat you alive” he said with a sadistic grin, his lips just below your ear, his breath ghosting your neck as he rocked his hips into you. “Bet you’d taste so fuckin’ good” he added, groaning through gritted teeth as he watched your engorged tits bounce with each harsh thrust, fighting the urge to sink his teeth into your soft, smooth skin. “Why don’t you- fuck! Have a taste and find out?” You replied, making him look up at you with a wild look in his eyes. It was untamed, feral even and by god if they weren’t the most magical words he’d ever heard. “Shit, don’t play with me” he said, looking at your neck and shoulder, practically drooling over the idea of how you would taste. “I ain’t playin’, bite me” you insisted, and with that, he surely wasn’t going to pass down such a beautiful opportunity.

His blunt teeth sunk into the flesh of your shoulder, making you hiss as a white, hot pain coursed through the muscle before simmering into something more pleasurable. “Shit! Cooper- fuck me, that feels good” You moaned as he almost seemed to use his teeth to attach himself to you as he rutted into you with reckless abandon, leaving you writhing beneath him in pleasure. His eyes rolled back as a moan left him from the taste of your blood flooding his tongue, you were even more delicious than he originally anticipated. Crimson coated his lips and teeth, a small stream even leaking from the corner of his mouth and down the column of his neck as he detached himself from you. He’d gotten his taste, given you an experience you certainly wouldn’t forget, but the sight below him was certainly one he would forever commit to memory. The imprint of his teeth marks that marred your otherwise perfect skin, deep purple beginning to blossom around it as blood faintly trickled down your chest from the fresh wound. If you weren’t delicious before, you were absolutely delectable now. He ran his tongue along the trail of blood, the hot, wet muscle leaving a trail of saliva in its wake as he traveled back up to the source before laving his tongue across the punctures in your skin that he left. “Freaky little thing” he said, grinning at the way you had enjoyed feeling him sink his teeth into you and allowing him to taste you in such a manner. “Told ya” you quipped before being cut off by your own moan as he found that sweet spot deep inside of you, brushing past it with almost perfect precision. “Right there! Fuck, just like that. So close…” you whined, making him chuckle. “Go ‘head sweetheart, let go for me” he permitted, and with that, the coil in your core snapped, sending you toppling over the edge into an orgasm so earth shattering you swore you were no longer on this earth in that moment. Cooper was quick to withdraw from you, wanting nothing more than to feel the sweet way your gummy walls would hug him as he came inside of you, but he couldn’t bare the thought of putting that precious baby of yours at any more risk. For now he would have to settle on finishing on you rather than in you, but the sight of you covered in his cum was surely another marvelous one to behold in his eyes. From the way your eyes sat lazily half lidded, to the way his seed looked upon your chest and stomach, he had to admit, it certainly wasn’t a sight to complain about.

You both took a moment to bask in the afterglow of your orgasms, coming down from cloud nine to do your best at steadying your breathing. The gentleman he was, he helped in cleaning you up, offering you some Rad Away to take when you were finally able to pick yourself up from his sleeping bag. “Sate your curiosity?” He asked with a grin as he slipped his pants back on and his duster, lighting up a cigarette to enjoy as he sat next to you. You gave a laugh as you redressed. “Sated my curiosity for tonight, but never know what these hormones have in store for me tomorrow” you replied, making him laugh dryly. “Suppose I can’t argue with that logic” he said, making you giggle as you took the Rad Away and got ready to sleep, thankful for the warmth his body provided in the frigid temperature of the desert night air. You weren’t sure what tomorrow would bring for you two, but at least you knew it was something you both could grow to explore. Maybe that slice of heaven wasn’t such a distant memory after all.

[delusional-fantasising]

I Do Love You (Soldier Boy x GN reader)

Summary: Reader tells him 'I love you' and he gets overwhelmed and shuts off.

Warnings: Soldier Boy kinda being an asshole/biggot, angst no happy ending, trauma, sexual undertone at one moment, slight misogyny, self hatred and emotional shut off

Word Count: 1176 words

The night was young, Soldier Boy had agreed dating you during his time with your team, The Boys. But one thing was obvious, under his brave and dominant bravado he was scared of loving ever again. He didn’t want another betrayal, another heart break, it just wouldn’t let him sleep to the idea of ever loving again. He was terrified of the thought that you, the one person he had slowly began to trust without any benefits could love him.

Every woman’s words rang out in his ears whenever you smiled at him;

“They don’t and they never have. The woman are either humouring you or they’re scared of you. But none of them like you.”

“I didn’t love you, I hated you. We all did.”

Soldier Boy was sitting near you with an arms reach of you, sure there was a part that did somewhat loved you but another part of him was sabotaging himself, ‘They don’t love you. They are afraid of you.’

He wasn’t looking in your direction, he was watching a documentary with you about all the years he missed. It was hard for him to watch to learn everything that changed and forced to change so fast. He had slowly gotten used to the race change not that he had too big of an issue, sorta. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the gender roles, he found it absurd that men were no longer expected too much to have an income but more rather be expected to be emotionally available, talk things out when things get hard, respect boundaries, and empathy.

“Phht back in my day I never had to do that, women where at home and I would give them pleasure and necessities,” He scoffed as he listened to the feminist rallies that happened. You almost choked on your drink when he mentioned the whole pleasure thing, it was no joke and there was rumours from past lovers of his that his only green flag was that he was the one to go for pleasure.

“Soldier Boy, you can’t be saying that!” You laughed with very much flushed cheeks, he rolled his eyes at you telling him what to do. He wasn’t a big fan of being bossed around, he had to be in control not someone else. But then you say something that made him freeze, his hands gripping the couch arm till his knuckles went white.

“You are so lucky I love you enough to let that slide for now but you seriously got to get with the times. Women don’t want just pleasure, they want emotional connection.”

I love you…

Love.

Soldier Boy just looks away without responding to what you said initially, he was focusing on what his therapist says whenever he feels like he’s going to have a PTSD episode. (The boys forced him to go)

Breath in for four seconds

Hold it in for four seconds

Exhale for four seconds

Hold it in for four seconds

Repeat

Once he felt himself mostly calmed down he just gave a rude snarky response, his tone sarcastic, “Love. That’s a pretty big word, isn’t it? Especially for someone who barely knows me.”

“What? C’mon we have been dating for a month, you have told me some deep stuff. I just want to express some of my love for you,” You chuckled sounding confused at his sarcastic outburst but not taking it to heart since you knew that he sometimes does this to cope. You didn’t know you hit a trigger since the only one you knew about was nothing Russian around him especially the song ‘Escape’ as it triggered one of his worst episodes of exploding. Soldier Boy snapped at you and laughs with a mocking gesture as he waves his hand, “Oh so I opened up a few times and now you know me. This is crap and everyone now and days just throw that around with no meaning. I’m not some person who you can google and get all the real information about me, you don’t know anything about me besides what I want you to know.”

The bitter tone, the sharp cold glare as you could tell he was closing himself off emotionally off from you again. Trying to get distance to avoid a pain you never wish to bestow him.

“Benjamin, I want to know you then. I can’t do this if you just shut me out, I want you to feel safe around me. I really do love you,” You begin, bringing his real legal name to show how serious this conversation was. To show honesty to him and not some fake love that he has gotten in the past by a certain woman.

“Save it, I heard it all well too many times before, ‘I love you, Benjamin.’ Then follows is a knife to my back after you kick me down,” Soldier Boy spat the look of hurt in his eyes and his lip quivered slightly as he wasn’t ready for hearing someone say that to him ever again. “Benjamin I’m not Crimson Countess, I’m not going to hurt you like she did.”

“You can’t promise anything, no one can. Love is just a word, a filthy fucking lie people tell themselves to make them feel better. It doesn’t and will never mean anything to me!” He spat getting up from the couch to pace angrily not looking you in the eye anymore. His eyes getting watery at the thought of going back in the box.

The box

THAT FUCKING BOX

“That’s not true. Love means everything to me and Ben I mean it when I say I love you. Every little imperfection, even when you can being a raging asshole and slightly biggoted you have been changing for the better and I’m proud of you for it.”

Proud, he stopped in his tracks. His trembling hands at his sides turning into fists. He felt his walls of defense cracking at how much he wanted to believe your words but he just ended up muttering, “I used to believe that but love’s just a precursor to disappointment, it’s something to avoid the harsh reality of the real world… I don’t want to lead you on to disappointment”

He was avoiding being vulnerable but it was hard keeping everything bottled up. A tear was slowly building up threatening to spill, his muscles tensing up. Maybe a joke or another witty comment to brush off the stupid feelings. The feelings that made him weak.

“Ben, you won’t disappoint me.”

“Shut up. Just shut up,” Soldier Boy grumbled trying not to set off any alarms with you since he wasn’t facing you, he didn’t want you to see him cry, see him weak.

He isn’t in control

His feelings were going rampant.

You got up, sensing those tears practically going up to him softly cupping his face to make him face you. There was so much emotional turmoil brewing underneath the cold hard wall he placed up. He was scared.

Scared of you.

[angxlwritez]

Stolen Heart

➳♡゛PAIRING: Bandit/Outlaw!Geto x Princess!F!Reader

➳♡゛SUMMARY: As a princess you've been forced to marry as your fate has already been decided for you. That's until you fall in love with a mysterious stranger, leaving you to decide on if you should follow that fate or let your heart decide.

➳♡゛WARNINGS: Mentions of arranged marriage, Fantasy AU, Angst (if you squint), 2 Smut scenes (MDNI), Fluff, Oral (F Receiving), P in V , Kissing, Nipple Play, Explicit Language, Creampie, Forbidden Love, Fingering, Female Reader, Unprotected Sex. (Word Count: 5.5K).

➳♡゛A/N: This is my entry for @junevenile The Renaissance Cabaret Collab. Italics & Bold is Past tense.

The brightness of the early morning sun shone through Y/N’s chamber as she sat at her golden vanity table, her attendant assisting her with the last of her morning routine.

She’d insist that she could get herself ready on her own, as she was no longer a child anymore but her mother’s words would continuously run through her head about how improper of a lady, especially of a princess that would be.

The constant reminder that she was a princess was constantly brought up, it was something she wanted to escape, but she knew better as she’d have important duties to fulfill.

One of those important duties would include an arranged marriage, set by her parents. Y/N would marry some king or prince, specifically to gain whatever benefits both parties would give each other even if it was to some old man, her words and choices meant nothing to them and there was nothing that she could do about it.

Y/N would continuously go about it without a second thought, but that would be until she met her secret lover.

It's funny how the two met, Y/N had caught him sneaking around the palace grounds. She remembered as if it was just yesterday as the two would constantly make jokes about it.

As she was still being assisted her mind drifted off to the exact moment of when the two had met:

“May I ask why you are sneaking about?” Y/N’s head remained down as she continued to pretend to read whatever literature she had at the time, as a small smirk played against her lips.

The mysterious raven-haired stranger slowly crept out from behind the overly large bushes. As he gave her somewhat of a mocking bow, “It seems as though I’ve been caught.” He spoke as he slowly looked at her.

A playful smile flashed on her lips as she rose her head to look at him, “I guess you're not as slick as you thought. Now, I'm sure I asked you a question.”

“Princess! Princess!” A voice called out to her as she looked in the direction of where it was coming from.

Y/N’s eyes widened in panic as she looked back at the man, a hushed “Follow me,” being said as she stood up to quickly lead the way.

The man stood for a brief moment before speaking, “Are you sure that’s wise Princess?” he questioned, a slight lace of arrogance coating his tone.

She quickly grabbed his hand to lead him away, “I’m sure you don’t want to get caught. Just follow me quickly,”

As she continued to  lead to make sure she was far enough, she’d stop, catching her breath as she turned to face him.

“You didn’t answer my question earlier. And don't lie I know most of my people here,” she spoke, her voice low and sultry leaning in closer to him, a sly grin on her lips.

He looked at her, his eyes narrowed slightly as he realized what she was asking him. “Are you asking me why I’m sneaking around your palace?” he asked.

She nodded slowly, as her eyes fixed on his. “I’m a bandit,” he said, the words falling from his lips like a confession.

Y/N’s heart raced at his words, her mind racing with possibilities. She knew that she should be afraid, that she should turn him over to the guards, but there was something about him that called to her. Something wild and untamed that she couldn’t resist.

“It’s dangerous to be around me,” he warned, as his voice lowered.

She stepped even closer to the man as another playful smirk crept on her lips again, “And what makes you think I can't call my guards?” she teased.

The raven-haired stranger chuckled, “Because Princess. I know that you won’t. I believe that you're intrigued by me,” he replied, his eyes flickering with a mischievous glint.

The woman couldn't deny the truth in his words, as her attraction to him only grew stronger with each passing moment.

As she continued to reminisce lost in her thoughts, her attendant finished the last touches to her makeup, a knock interrupted the silence of the room bringing her back to reality.

“Enter,” Y/N called out, her eyes meeting the reflection of her other attendant in the mirror.

"My lady, we must prepare for the arrival of your royal family." The individual said announcing the news.

Y/N sighed knowing that she would have to put up a front again, pretending to be content with the idea of her arranged marriage. But deep down, she knew that she could never love anyone as much as she loved the raven-haired bandit who had stolen her heart.

The sound of trumpets announcing the arrival of her parents was what snapped her out of her thoughts once more.

As they entered the room, her father wore a proud smile and her mother looked as regal as ever.

Y/N curtsied as they approached, greeting them respectfully. Her father took her hands in his as he spoke, “My darling daughter, I am pleased to announce that we have found you a suitor. He is a prince who will soon be king from a neighboring kingdom and your mother and I believe him to be worthy of your hand in marriage.”

Though it pained Y/N to keep up her appearance, she tried to smile and appear happy for their sake. Inside, however, she couldn't help but think back on the man who she’d fallen in love so easily with.

But as the words fully sunk in, her heart shattered and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She continued to force a smile onto her face, not wanting to disappoint her parents by showing them her true feelings.

“I am honored to accept your decision father," she said, grateful that they didn't notice the quiver in her voice.

She could feel the weight of disappointment on her shoulders as she looked away for a mere second, taking in a deep breath before turning back to face them.

Her parents nodded approvingly at her show of obedience and continued speaking about the wedding plans before leading Y/N out of the room.

Once she left to head back to her quarters, her fingers played with the hidden small gold necklace that was given to her by Geto. Just a little after they met when they both confessed their love to each other; the necklace was a heart that had his initials on it. A simple symbol to show that she was his and that he’d always be with her in every passing moment.

It was moments like these where she needed him most.

(Y/N) hadn't told him about the arranged marriage her parents were planning on setting for her. Yet, she knew that she would have to tell him sooner than later.

She suspected that he would have known as word travelled fast around the kingdom but she still wanted him to hear the news from her himself. She was expected to be married within a few days now that a suitor was found, and she was not looking forward to it.

Tonight, the palace was holding a ball to celebrate her soon-to-be marriage and Y/N felt sick to her stomach as she knew her time was near, she wanted to cry but she blinked them away quickly as she continued to plaster the fake smile on her lips.

“My lady, are you alright?” the woman who was helping her stopped what she was doing as a genuine look of concern was on her face.

Y/N nodded her head, trying to mask the sadness that was overwhelming her. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit tired," she responded, forcing a smile onto her face. "But thank you for asking."

The attendant started to say something else before being interrupted by a knock on the door. "Excuse me, my lady," another spoke as they entered the room. "Your presence is needed downstairs for the ball."

Y/N took a deep breath, straightening her posture as she stood up from the vanity. She made her way to the door, taking one last glance at her reflection in the mirror before exiting the room again.

As soon as she reached the bottom of the grand staircase, the music started and she was greeted by a sea of guests. The room was filled with nobles and royals alike, all dressed in their finest attire.

Y/N inwardly groaned at the thought of having to socialize with these people, putting on a smile.

As she walked around the ballroom, most of the guests bowed to acknowledge her, some of them even letting out a few compliments about her grace and beauty. 

Continuing to greet the guests and make small talk her thoughts kept drifting to Geto and the imminent wedding. She couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with someone she didn't love even though she knew she had to.

A gloved hand then reached out to her, signaling that someone wished to dance with her. Y/N looked up, her gaze meeting the eyes of the prince who was betrothed to her. She plastered a smile on her face as he took her hand, pulling her close to him as the music started.

"I must say, you look quite lovely tonight," he said.

Y/N forced a smile, trying to be polite. "Thank you, your highness," she replied, her mind elsewhere.

The prince continued to make small talk, but Y/N couldn't focus on his words. All she could think about was Geto, and how much she wished he was here with her instead. She wanted to disappear, to be anywhere other than in this ballroom with this man she barely knew.

As the dance ended, the prince bowed to her, kissing her hand gently. "I look forward to our wedding day in the next few days, Princess," he said before walking away.

Y/N felt a bit sick at the prince's words, knowing that she should be grateful for the union her parents had arranged for her. But her heart belonged to someone else. This was not the life she wanted, but she had no choice. She had to marry the prince and accept her fate as a wife and soon to be queen.

Walking around the ballroom, trying to avoid any more dances with the prince, she spotted a familiar figure lurking in the shadows. It was Geto, dressed in black and wearing a mask to conceal his identity.

He caught her eye and nodded, signaling her to meet him outside. Y/N knew it was risky, but she couldn't resist the temptation. Her heart was racing as she made her way through the crowd, trying to avoid the watchful eye of her parents.

Catching the attention of one of her attendants she spoke, "Please let the Queen know I'm not feeling too well and must step away for a bit."

The attendant nodded and Y/N continued walking, feeling the weight of her dress slowing her down. She stepped outside into the moonlit courtyard where Geto was waiting for her.

"Geto," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him, holding on tightly. "What are you doing here?" she whispered, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

"I couldn't stay away. I had to see you," he replied, his voice soft and gentle. "I heard about the wedding. Is it true?"

Y/N nodded slowly, her heart heavy with the thought of being forced to marry someone she didn't love. "Yes. My parents have found a suitor for me. It'll be in the next few days. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

"I can't stand the thought of you marrying him," Geto said as he pulled away, his eyes blazing with intensity. "I'll take you away from all of this."

Y/N's heart swelled at the thought, but she knew that it was impossible. "I can't do that, Geto," she said, her voice laced with regret. "I'm a princess, and I have a duty to my kingdom and my people. I can't abandon them like that."

"But what about us?" Geto asked, his expression pained. "Don't we mean anything to you?"

Y/N's heart ached at his words, and she took a step closer to him, taking his hand in hers. "Of course, you mean everything to me, you mean more than I could ever put into words" she whispered. "But I must accept my fate as a princess and marry the prince."

"Forget your fate Y/N. Can't you see? This isn't what you want. You deserve to be with someone who loves you and doesn't use you as a political pawn. Someone who will cherish you and make you happy," Geto insisted, his eyes never leaving hers.

Y/N's resolve wavered as she looked into his intense gaze continuing to listen to him speak.

"I love you too much to let you go Y/N, especially like this. Can't you see that you mean everything to me? You're the air I breathe, the water I drink, the food I eat, my heart that beats, you're everything that I need and I can't just go on without," Geto confessed, his voice rough with emotion as he pulled her into a tight embrace.

Y/N melted in his arms, feeling the heat of his body against hers. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent.

Their lips came crashing together, fire igniting between them as they kissed passionately under the moonlight. Geto's hands ran down her back, pressing her tightly against him as she moaned into his mouth.

“There's someplace I want to show you," Geto said as he broke away from the kiss. His eyes sparkled mischievously as he took her hand, leading her to the stables. "I promise you it'll be worth it."

He helped her on the back of his horse, before jumping on himself. Y/N wrapped her arms around him tightly, as they sped off into the forest.

They traveled for a few hours until they reached a small hidden cottage, and Y/N gasped at the sight of it. It was quite small from the outside but nestled on top of a hill in the middle of a forest. A light coming from inside drew them to the door where Geto dismounted, walking over to open it.

Once inside, Y/N marveled at the picturesque landscape that laid out before her. Warm light from flickering candles adorned the walls of the spacious room, mixing with the amber glow of the fire that was spreading through the hearth. There was a large bed in the middle of the room, covered with furs, and it was the most beautiful thing Y/N had ever seen.

"Do you like it?" Geto asked as he moved behind her, wrapping his arms around her to embrace her tightly against his chest.

"It's amazing," she whispered under her breath. "It's like a fairytale. How did you find it?" she asked, a smile playing on her lips as she relaxed into the embrace, enjoying the feeling of security that was spreading through her at his touch.

"I've been coming here for years," Geto explained. "I knew I had to take you here one day and today seemed to be the day."

He kissed softly at the spot below her earlobe as Y/N leaned her head against his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh of pleasure.

She felt the warmth flooding through her body as they slowly moved toward the bed in the center of the room. They laid down on the bed, slowly peeling away layers of clothing until their bodies were bare and intertwined with one another.

"I love you," Y/N whispered, her voice laced with fear and longing. "You're my everything."

Geto leaned down, his lips kissing softly against hers, his arms wrapping around her to pull her closer to him. As he kissed her passionately, pulling her atop him in their kiss, Y/N felt herself yield to him. He was everything she ever wanted, and she didn't want to deny it anymore.

As she broke away from the kiss, her hands threaded in his hair as she stared down into his eyes. His hand roamed down her body, leaving a trail of burning desire on her skin everywhere it touched. He rolled over on top of her, his lips meeting hers again.

"I love you Y/N," Geto replied before silencing any further words with his lips.

As he kissed her, his hands roamed everywhere, caressing every inch of her until she was writhing beneath him. He smiled against her lips before he trailed kisses down her body. Nibbling at her skin, kissing every inch until she begged for him to continue.

Their hands continued to explore each other's body, as they took their time learning every curve of one another. He leaned down to kiss her neck, sucking hard on the soft flesh as Y/N arched her back to give him more access to her skin once more.

Forming a line with his kisses, he moved further down along the curves of her breasts. His lips latched onto her hardened nipple as she gasped, feeling the wet warmth spreading through her body as he continued pleasuring her with his mouth.

Licking her breasts down along her stomach, he gently spread her legs apart, taking a moment to admire her before continuing.

She could feel him smirking against her skin, knowing full well what he was about to do as he kissed wetly against her thighs.

He teased her entrance with the tip of his tongue, running it up and down before pressing it against her clit, making her moan out loudly, grabbing onto the sheets as pleasure coursed through her body. His tongue slowly spread her pussy lips before moving inside her, licking deep inside building up to a steady rhythm as she grinded against his face, groaning at the feeling of his tongue slithering inside of her.

Geto removed his mouth from her pussy to trail kisses up her body, dipping down to taste the sweetness of her mouth before hooking his arms under her thighs, lifting them onto his shoulders as he rose to then kneel between her legs.

Y/N felt the tip of his cock prodding at her wet entrance before he began pushing inside. He continued pushing until he was fully inside her hot, throbbing pussy, taking a moment to adjust as he continued to thrust in and out without pause.

"Oh, Geto!" Y/N moaned as she felt him thrust inside of her again.

"Fuck!"Geto groaned against her neck as he began increasing his speed and Y/N moaned louder with each thrust of his cock. He wrapped his arms around her waist lightly and held onto it tightly, rolling his hips against hers.

"Oh god," Y/N moaned emphatically as Geto spread his legs further, resting her back against his strong torso. She wrapped her legs around his hips as they continued to move against one another.

She leaned her head back against his shoulder, moaning loudly as he fucked her senselessly. "Geto!"she cried as she dug her fingers into his back.

Letting out another groan, Geto's hands reached between them and pressed firmly against her clit as he continued thrusting.

Geto grunted as he pulled her hips closer to his cock, grinding against her as he neared his release.

Y/N let out a scream of pleasure, feeling the current orgasm run through her body as Geto continued to pound into her. He removed his hand from between their bodies, pressing it against her shoulder, pushing down on it as he filled her pussy with his warm cum.

Still breathing heavily, Geto leaned against her momentarily before rolling off of Y/N and onto his side. She turned to face him, a smile on her lips as she looked into the eyes of the man she loved so much. He smiled back at her sweetly before leaning in to kiss her gently one last time.

"You know this doesn't make any of it easier, right?" he said softly as he trailed his fingers lazily over her stomach.

Y/N smiled sadly, shaking her head. "I know," She said quietly.

They both fell into a quiet silence as they stared at one another, never taking their eyes away from the other.

"Don't walk out of my life, Y/N," Geto begged in a soft voice before standing up to get off the bed, his eyes pleading with hers. "We'll figure it out, I promise."

Y/N gave him a bittersweet smile as she stood up, and lazily slipped back into her dress. "You should probably take me back home. They'll notice I'm gone."

Without another word, the man nodded his head as they mounted the horse and took off towards the castle.

The ride was silent, as neither wanted to break the stillness that surrounded them.

As they arrived at Y/N's destination Geto pulled the horse to a stop and helped her off, giving her an intense look as he brushed his lips softly against hers in a tender kiss goodbye and handed her one of his handkerchiefs as a token from him for her to remember him as she held onto it with both hands.

"Take care of yourself. I hope he treats you well," he whispered as he watched Y/N enter back through the castle doors and disappear within its walls, leaving him alone once more in the silence and darkness outside.

The days of her wedding were quickly approaching and all the woman could do was pray for a miracle, pray that Geto would show up and save her from this fate.

If he did, she was sure they could find some way to be together no matter what obstacles laid in their path; however, deep down she knew the chances of it happening were slim especially after she'd pushed him away.

Regardless she continued to set out to the gardens daily, hoping that one day it would be him who showed up to come and take her away. Constant regret falling over her for denying to run away with him.

As the night before her wedding quickly approached, alone in her room, she stared out of the window towards the crescent moon as she held her hand against her chest, clutching the handkerchief Geto had given her as if it meant the world to her.

Her mind filled with thoughts of him and how much she was willing to give up just to be with him.

She thought that she could go through with the arranged marriage but the few days the two of them spent apart just didn't feel right, as she loved him too much to just let him go.

As she secretly headed out to the gardens she felt tears fill her eyes as the reality that she may never be able to be with the man she loved all too much began to hit.

It was then when she had almost given up on her search, that a figure emerged between the dense trees. She looked closer and saw Geto walking towards her. He ran to meet her and he opened his arms wide for an embrace.

Y/N felt the warmth of him surrounding her like a blanket and tears rolled down from both their eyes as they embraced each other tightly, nothing else mattered except them being together now in that moment.

They held onto one another tightly for what seemed like forever until she finally released herself from him just enough so that they could look into each other’s eyes.

"I'm here Y/N. I can't let you go through with the wedding tomorrow, as selfish as it sounds I just can't let you," he soothed as he held her close to his chest, loving feeling her in his arms again. He pressed his lips against her head as they both held onto one another tightly.

Y/N looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears, and knew that no matter what trials they may face in the future they were made to be together.

Taking his hand within hers, she smiled "Take me away from here. I don't want to be with anybody else but you."

Geto smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, pulling her close to him and kissing her softly on the lips as they both disappeared from the gardens and into the night leaving the castle behind.

The journey back to Geto's hidden cottage was filled with happy tears and gentle caresses as the two traveled together, taking in every moment they had been given.

As the sky gradually changed shades from a deep royal purple to a faint orange hue, indicating the dawn of morning, Y/N and Geto arrived at their destination.

Geto helped Y/N off his horse before lifting her face so that she could look into his eyes one last time before leading her inside where he suddenly dropped down on one knee and took both her hands into his own looking deeply into them, never breaking eye contact.

"Y/N," he started tenderly wiping away all remaining tears with his thumb on each cheek. "You are my entire world and my reason for living  I can't exist without you by my side." Taking a pause until finally gathering enough strength to give her the words she had long been waiting to hear.

"Will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?" he asked as he opened up a small charmed box revealing a simple but beautiful three-stone diamond ring.

Y/N felt her heartbeat quicken at the display of Geto's constant affection and love for her as she melted in his strong arms. She looked into his eyes, admiring him as she nodded her head softly and whispered a simple "yes."

"I'll be right back, don't go anywhere," Geto replied kissing her softly on the lips before he turned and ran out to get the things they would need to clean themselves up after their long journey.

Y/N stood alone in the cottage's living room as she stared into the lit fireplace, admiring the beautiful ring on her finger. She was finally free and she could finally be with him. She smiled brightly as she heard Geto entering back into the cabin carrying a tray of water and clothes to clean themselves up.

"I'm back," he said smiling brightly at her before setting the tray down on the table in front of them. "Here is everything we'll need to get cleaned up."

Y/N watched as he stripped some off his clothes as she nodded happily. Watching while Geto began to wash off all his dirtied and sweat-covered skin next to her, after a while he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Why don't you take off that wet dress and join me?"

Y/N giggled softly as she began to strip down, peeling off her soaked dress before stripping off the thin undergarments. At the sight of her, he couldn't keep his eyes off her.

A warmth filled her cheeks as she looked away, feeling timid with his undivided attention; however, Geto just smiled and pulled her towards him softly caressing the side of her face.

"Don't be shy," he whispered before leaning down and kissing her passionately against her warm lips.

Wrapped up within one another's embrace both Geto and Y/N shared a sweet tender kiss as they enjoyed each others' taste, basking in the moment. Her hands traveled up his toned chest and arms savoring each inch of his perfectly sculpted figure as their bodies moved towards the bed.

Geto kissed her gently down her neck and collarbone, causing Y/N to gasp in pleasure as he softly caressed her body before climbing back up near her neck, as steamy moans escaped their lips, tickling her ear with his hot breath.

Geto smiled against her neck having looked down at the beautiful woman beneath him.

"I'm glad I can finally be with you," he whispered before leaning back down to capture her lips again in another kiss, speaking all the words that could never come out of his mouth in such a heated moment.

Y/N smiled against his lips before wrapping her arms around him tightly, enjoying their passionate embrace as they slowly moved against each other in a rhythm. Geto softly kissed along Y/N's jaw causing her to moan out in pleasure as she arched into him further.

Geto slowly moved his hands around Y/N's body as his thumb brushed softly against her most sensitive spots. Her body quivered and trembled in pleasure as Geto increased the heat between them. "You're so perfect Y/N," he murmured against her lips before his lips descended the valley between her breasts.

As he lowered his lips and captured her left nipple in between his lips causing it to harden the sudden touch before beginning to suck on it, he gently gripped it between his thumb and index finger while he swirled his tongue all around in circles causing her to reach out and hold onto his hair, arching her back in pleasure; “Geto” she cried out as he worked on every part of her breasts, leaving love marks in a few areas.

He loved how she was so forward and intoxicating with desire. It thrilled him even further that she finally belonged to him, his princess.

"Geto.." she moaned out softly ripping the hair tie off in his hair as she felt the heat between her legs intensify. "I need you."

Hearing her shamelessly say out her need for him excited him even more as he felt his cock begin to stiffen and throb painfully against the last of his clothing, begging to be set free.

He took her hand into his own and she groaned softly when she felt the heat from his hand rub against her wetness.

Her sweet moans of pleasure echoed through the room as his fingers explored and gently rubbed against her clit. He quickly found a steady rhythm that caused her body to change from a soft tremble to a loud shudder every time he pressed against the right spot.

Y/N felt an unbearable heat rise through her veins as Geto climbed on top of her and leaned in close to her ear, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she replied softly rolling back and forth against him as she felt his throbbing erection press against her entrance ever so slightly making it hard for either of them to control themselves.

"You feel so amazing..." Geto moaned out as he grasped her rear firmly in his hands grasping her tightly against him, their bodies fitting perfectly together, he was right where he longed to be.

"Geto," Y/N whimpered as his breath tickled against her skin.

She was so wet and ready for him, she needed to feel his weight press down on top of her and have him inside of her even more than before.

Geto continued to rub against her clit before gently sinking into her inch by inch on the first thrust. The lips of Y/N's inner walls eagerly accepted him making it harder for either of them to keep going slow, as thrust after thrust each spike of pleasure coursed through Y/N's rapidly beating heart making each nerve ending in her body pulse with intensity.

"Look at me," Geto said looking deeply into Y/N's eyes, as he slowly began to thrust into her with long hard strokes fast enough to bring her right to the edge.

"Oh God!" she moaned out arching her back as one arm flung tightly against Geto’s torso while the other found its way up in his hair.

Her cries of pleasure echoed throughout the room as her eyes rolled in the back of her head, feeling each stroke of Geto's cock annihilate any coherent thoughts she had left. 

Geto passionately kissed against her neck touching tenderly as she slowly slid down from her high enjoying every ounce of pleasure his body could give her.

His hand traveled to her thigh, grabbing it tightly allowing him to pick up the pace of his thrusts on a few occasions.

Y/N whimpered as she felt her body stiffen and quiver underneath her lover again, Geto's cock found new flesh to pierce causing her pleasure to spike high and so close to reach it's peak.

She gasped loudly, covering Geto's mouth with hers and brushing her knuckles against his cheeks before feeling the waves of pleasure slowly begin to crash down onto herself. Her body exploding with ecstasy as she heard him groan out and release into her.

They both laid there silently after their orgasm, Y/N suddenly smiled softly staring into Geto's eyes as he held her close. "I love you."

The man smiled at the sweet words as he kissed the top of her head softly, "I love you too." He whispered back before wrapping his arms around her tight and pulling her close to his chest. "Now go to sleep we've got a long journey ahead of us tomorrow."

She nodded, and leaned her head against his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beating as they drifted into a peaceful sleep.

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Thus Always to Tyrants

Chapter 1: The Start of the Fall

Gem is the commander of the Wintertide royal army, Grian is the leader of a resistance hell bent on taking the crown down no matter the cost. It was only natural that they would become enemies.

Chapter 1 (you are here) -> Chapter 2

Read on ao3 ❀ here ❀

CW: past/mentioned war, non-graphic violence.

Words: 6,493

Pov: Gem

❀ ❀ ❀ ❀ ❀

The tip of Gem’s sword punctured the dummy’s chest, right through the center of the worn out fabric X sewn into its burlap surface. She planted her foot right under where the blade was buried and kicked it away with enough force to send it crashing to the ground, freeing her sword in the process. The dummy rolled away from her,  it’s sewn on face frowning up at her sadly in an almost comedic way as it went. She panted and stood up straight, rolling her shoulders to release some of the tension they had collected in the muscles. 

Her ears were met with a round of clapping, and she turned to smile at the group of young knights and squires who had gathered at the edge of the training grounds to observe her sword play. She gave an elegant, somewhat exaggerated, bow before turning to look up at the sky. She shielded her eyes from the shining rays as she checked the sun’s position. It was just about noon by this point, if not nearing it. She should be on her way, lest she be late.

“That will be all from me, I’m afraid. I’m in danger of receiving a verbal lashing from sir Impulse.” She joked to the trainees with an apologetic smile. 

“Do you really have to go?” One of the younger squires asked with big, pleading eyes. The others echoed the sentiment, all trying to convince her to stay and show them more.

“Unfortunately, yes, I do,” She said, “It’s a very important day today, as you all know, and my presence cannot be missed. Why don’t you lot work on what I just showed you until you are called to join us, and then you can show me your improvement another day. How does that sound?” There was a chorus of disappointed vocalisations, but they got back to their own work pretty quickly after a stern look was thrown their way.

She walked over to the fallen dummy and took a moment to stand it upright so that it was ready for the next person to use. She jogged over to where she had abandoned her water skin at the edge of the training ring, expertly tossing the practice sword she had borrowed into the designated barrel behind the dummies as she went. She took a few greedy gulps of sweet, crisp water before wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on her brow with the hem of her sleeve. Her clothes were damp with sweat and sticking to her skin, but where she was heading would be just as hot, if not more, so she was not worried about it. 

She really should not have let herself be roped into showing off to the younger knights and squires, but how could she not? She simply could not resist their charms; she had no choice but to say yes when they came to her on her way out to beg that she show them a few basic forms. They reminded her far too much of her younger self, she supposed. Bright eyed, full of admiration, and ready and eager to learn. There had been someone once in her life that was willing to give in to her pleas and show her everything they knew, she only thought it fair that she be the same kind of role model in these kids' lives. She would just die if she didn’t live up to their expectations. If that meant she ended up a little late every now and then? So be it.

She hooked the skin to her belt and bid the young ones an enthusiastic farewell, which they returned with varying degrees of equal cheerfulness and disappointment, and with that, she was off. She darted through the servant's entrance and into the kitchen, where she quickly snagged a bread roll out of a basket on one of the counters, giggling at the indigent shout of “Commander!” from one of the cooks as she did so. She waved goodbye to them, and they rolled their eyes at her, crossing their arms as she rounded the corner into the hall.

She made her way through the corridors with the bread roll secured safely in her bite, the loud clanking of her armor bouncing off of the high walls. As she ran, she took the opportunity to fix her bun, which had gotten rather messy during her little showing off session. She tucked loose strands back where they belonged and tightened the binding holding the bun and the braid together. It probably still looked a right mess, but at least it was a little more presentable. With her hair out of her face, she took a large bite out of the roll, groaning at the sweet, buttery taste of it.

She haphazardly shoved the rest of the roll into her mouth and chewed as fast as she could without choking. She licked the flakey crumbs from her fingers and wiped the rest of the mess off on the skirt of her dress. Not the most polite or proper, and her mama would definitely scold her for doing it, but she had not the time to worry about manners. She was going to be late; later than she probably already was.

She waved to the on duty guard at the main door and he yelled for her to have a good time just as she exited earshot. She lifted up the hem of her dress as she ran down the front steps, trying to avoid tripping over the expanse of fabric. She stumbled a little on the final step, pinwheeling her arms in order to steady herself before carrying on her way. 

She squinted against the sun in her eyes and slowed her pace to a light jog, a smile coming onto her face as she caught sight of her friends and the small group of guards waiting at the front gate for her. Impulse and Scott looked up as she skidded to a stop in front of them. She put her hands on her hips and bent slightly at the waist as she tried to catch her breath. 

“Worry not, I am here!” She proudly declared as she straightened her stance.

“Here, and late.” Scott said from where he was leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and one foot propped against the stone. His long hair was pulled over his shoulder into a braid, a stray stand of the blue locks falling into his amused face. Impulse beside him stood more casually with his thumbs tucked into the belt around his waist. The eldest man stifled a laugh at her expense.

“I will have you know that I am barely late. It is hardly even noon yet!” Gem defended with her hands still on her hips, turning her nose up at him in a playful manner.

“Late is late, Commander,” Scott laughed, his heterochromatic eyes gleaming with delight at her defensiveness. Gem opened her mouth to continue the friendly argument, but was halted by Impulse’s hand’s clamping down on either of their shoulders.

“Alright, that’s enough out of you two. Let's be on our way before our absence is missed.” Impulse said. Despite being lower in rank than her, Impulse was the oldest out of them, and one of her best friends, so Gem took no offense when he gave her a light shove in the direction of the town.

Gem took the lead as they exited the front gates, bidding the guards up at the top of the tall wall a goodbye as she went. Truth be told, it really was not too much of an issue that they were heading out a little later than what they expected. She had long ago coordinated and dispatched another unit to go ahead of them early this morning. Not only that, but her presence was not something that was strictly required, it was a personal choice. Technically there was no way for them to be late to this event. Scott simply enjoyed pulling her leg, and she, his.

The journey to town didn’t take them very long - a journey that they could have made shorter had the capital not been too crowded to bring horses on a day like this -  and in the blink of an eye they were entering the crowded city. 

Stands and carts littered the usually empty streets, filled to the brim with rare goods and flooded by customers eager to get their hands on whatever was being offered. The decadent smell of cooking meats and spices filled her nose and caused her mouth to water, the faint hint of baked goods and perfumes lingering just under the surface. Lively music filled the air, as did laughter and conversation. Over the heads of many a passersby she could see a stage set up in the center of the city square, where a band was playing the jolly tune that could be heard. 

If one was to look even further, they would also catch sight of even more booths and carts, designated entirely to games and things of the like. There were even places set up for the trading of livestock and furniture. Buildings were lined with decorations that were vibrant in colour.

The event wasn’t to officially begin for another quarter of an hour, but it appeared things were already in full swing.

The Festival of Good Tides; a yearly occurrence in Wintertide that was first established several years back after a truce had been called to end a three-year war between the kingdom and its neighbouring lands, Coral Crest. What was originally created as a way of boosting post war morale had become somewhat of a national holiday that the people looked forward to with great anticipation. Its popularity was also helped by the fact that the many activities and wares sold brought a large increase of income to the kingdom, something that many now relied on for the coming winter season, where food and warmth was a bit hard to come by without a bit of extra coin.

Though the festivities only lasted one day, the most was always made of it. Events and trading started at noon and extended into the evening until the sun had set and the stars had risen, from which point the king would make his appearance, give a speech and his blessing for the coming winter, and then the feast would begin. This grand dinner would go throughout the night and into the early morning, with more than enough food and alcohol to satisfy the masses provided by the castle.

Though it had only been a few years since the tradition had begun, its rise in popularity had been swift and widespread. People would come from all over the land just to partake in the joyous occasion, and get a piece of the financial opportunities that it offered. 

During this time, Inns would become so crowded that people even took the opportunity to rent out rooms in their own homes to travelers. It was even common for those intending to sell to camp out with their traveling carts and stalls in the surrounding woods during the week leading up to the festival, so common that there were designated areas marked and prepped for them nearly a month in advance. 

Gem never really got to enjoy the festival as the celebration that it was, preferring to act more as security so as to ensure that things didn’t get too out of hand, but it was still something that she looked forward to every year. It was one of many highlights that came from living in the capital. It reminded her of who she was here for, who she spent every day of her life training and fighting to protect.

It wasn’t too long ago that this land would have been rife with paranoia and poverty, the war having taken its toll on the people and the land itself. Gem basked in every second of the happiness that she could, while also remaining vigilant that nothing disturbed it. She would do anything to ensure that this time of peace lasted.

“I’m going to split off here,” Scott said, interrupting her thoughts. He jabbed his thumb over to the left of the path they were walking to indicate where he was going, “I think Jimmy’s stall is somewhere over there. I’m going to go see if I can haggle him out of some of the high-quality leather he sells before it is all snatched up. Assuming it hasn’t been already”

“Alright, we will see you at the feast.” Impulse said, giving him a rough pat on the shoulder as a farewell.

“Don’t forget to actually do your job while you’re at it.” Gem teased, punching him in the shoulder. She then motioned for two of the other knights to break off from the group to accompany Scott, and motioned for two others to go in the opposite direction, where she knew more knights were already patrolling. She didn’t want them too split up lest something happen and they need numbers, but it is never a bad idea to have eyes in more places.

“You know me, I’ve always got an eye out,” Scott replied.

“Give Jimmy and Tango my greetings” Gem cheerfully told him as he began to walk away, only to be met with a grimace thrown over his shoulder at her. She laughed at the expression. She knew that Scott’s relationship with his friend's partner was strained and awkward at best, and it was too much fun to tease him about it.

“I think I’m going to head over to my parents' cart. Would you like to come with me?” Impulse asked, looking around the crowded area to try and spot them over the masses.

“I think I am going to hang around the stage. A vast majority of fights always seem to break out in or around this area, so it is best I stay here for now.” Gem said, crossing her arms and scanning the crowd for anything, or anyone, that might be out of place.

“I know we’re here to keep an eye on things, but do try to have a little bit of fun, alright? This is, after all, a celebration!” Impulse insisted, gesturing towards the festivities with a broad sweep of his arms.

“I will do as I please. Give your mothers' my greetings, yes?” Gem asked, shooing him away and sending an extra knight after him with a gesture of her hand.

“Will do!” He gave her a two fingered salute before jogging away.

Gem would not lie and say she had not been tempted to go see Impulse’s parents with him. They were lovely people who adored her and always “snuck” handfuls of candy into the pockets of her dress when she wasn’t looking, but she had meant it when she said the city square and the stage were where 90% of the festival's problems broke out before the feast began, second only to the alcohol booths. Regardless of how rare issues actually were, though, she really would prefer to stay close so she can break up any altercations before they had a chance to escalate 

She did, however, make a pit stop over to one of the meat carts to buy her and the remaining knights with her a rabbit and potato skew from one of the stands a little ways away from the center of the festival. It was a divine bit of food, and she would be a fool to not get some before it was all sold out. The bread roll she had snagged from the kitchen had done little to satiate her hunger and it would be foolish to work on an empty stomach, she reasoned as she thumbed coins over to the vendor and was handed a couple of skewers in return for her payment. 

She distributed them among her remaining knights and then took a big bite out of the hearty meat as she led the way back towards the stage, just in time to catch the start of the next performance.

A stout young woman in a short sleeved, rose pink dress made her way up onto the stage with a bright smile on her face. A man followed behind her with a staff in his hand, and Gem grew giddy with excitement as she realized where this performance may be going. The man went down onto one knee and offered the woman the staff , which she accepted with a deep bow before he rushed off the stage.

She raised the staff, made of wood old and brittle with a glittering jewel entrapped in its spiraled tip, up towards the sky, and the crowd waited with bated breath. She whispered something under her breath, so quiet that it was sure not a soul in the crowd had heard her, but Gem watched her lips form the words, and she knew what was coming next.

For a moment nothing happened, and then light burst forth from the tip of the staff up into the sky in a coil of glittering gold. The strings of light rippled through the air before coming together to form the image of a bird big and grand, which spread its magneficent wings and flew over the crowd with a brilliant wooshing sound. The crowd screamed with delight and laughter as the bird let out a tremendous caw. It rose high into the sky before turning abruptly and diving straight for the stage floor. It exploded as it made contact with the ground, sending glittering shimmers of light, almost like millions of miniature stars, all across the wooden planks.

The crowd erupted into raucous cheers, which Gem joined in on, holding the now bare wooden skew in between her teeth in order to do so. The woman, her smiling face now red and shiny with sweat, bowed once more, holding her staff out to the side of her and placing a hand over her heart as she did so. She took a moment to wave to the crowd before rushing off stage to make way for the next performer. 

What a brilliant performance, Gem thought. Magic in this day and age was a rare sight to see, so even simple spells like that were enough to leave most in awe. 

Gem couldn’t even imagine what it had been like back in the day, when magic was rampant and widespread across the lands, when things like this were commonplace and about as impressive as someone tying their boots. Gem was well versed in what little there was to be known about magic, and it wasn’t a lot. There were very little records of that time long past, only a few books here, the odd fairytale there. There was barely even enough to tell the people of today that there was once a period of time where magic ruled the lands, and no one exactly knows what happened to it.

Now there were barely any folks left with any sort of magical inclination about them at all, and those who did had so little of it that they were barely able to do simple illusion spells like the one Gem just saw without being left utterly exhausted by their efforts. 

She watched several more performances after this, ranging from a man who juggled an armful of colourful balls, a woman who balanced herself on the tip of a tall, slim poll, a woman who sang a beautiful song accompanied by her husband’s lute, a man who did a magic trick involving balls of fire, and many more.

Hours had passed and the next performer was just about to come up onto the stage when Gem caught something out of the corner of her eye. A swish of red fabric that was all too familiar to her; one of the reasons she always preferred to stay on her toes. 

She inhaled sharply through her nose, sparks of anger already kindling in her chest as she whipped around to ensure it was who she thought it was, and without a doubt, it was him. There he was, standing there so close to the stage it would be no problem at all for him to climb upon it should he so wish to. He was eyeing the performer with an almost bored expression. Even with what little anonymity that stupid hood of his offered him, she would recognize him anywhere. 

She marched towards the person, her hand moving towards her sword despite knowing she could not, and would not, use it in such a crowded space. Not when so many innocent lives were at risk of getting caught in the crossfire.

His head turned in her direction, his inky black eyes lighting up with amusement as he spotted her, a smirk spread across his bird-like face. He turned away and took off into the crowd, and Gem gave chase without a second thought.

He weaved through the crowd faster and faster, seamlessly avoiding bumping into people as he moved in a way not too dissimilar to a snake in the grass. She shouldered past people, yelling quick apologies to those who shouted in protest as she tried to keep up with the smaller man, his distinctive red cloak being the only thing that allowed her to keep sight of him through the tightly packed crowd.

He led her all the way towards the bustling merchant’s area. This part of the festival was full of richly coloured fabrics that were folded neatly along the surface of the carts that sold them, and there was a large variety of rare clothing article, which hung from racks in tidy rows on either side of her, easy to knock down and cause a fuss should she not move carefully. The air was thick with perfumes and the smell of dye, the scent thick and almost overpowering to her hard-working lungs as she ran through the area with delicate movements. He threw her a devious smile over his shoulder as he ducked under a rack of brightly coloured scarves, which she darted around, knowing she would not make it under. 

She wasn’t a fool, she knew this was a game to him, and she wasn’t going to let him keep playing it.

The crowd was beginning to thin the further they got away from bustling city square, giving her the opportunity to increase her speed at last. Her armor rattled as she pushed herself to catch up to the nimble man, her blood rushing through her ears and her heart racing loudly. He attempted to duck into an alleyway, but she followed after before he could escape, turning sharply on her heels. She grabbed the back of his cloak, pulling him backwards and his hood down.

She ducked as a set of razor sharp talons ripped towards her face, messy pieces of her hair whipping past her field of vision as she grabbed the man’s wrist, bringing her palm up swiftly into his gut. He gasped as the air was knocked out of his small body. She took the opportunity to swing around into a kick, and her boot would have connected with his neck had he not raised his arms into a protective position in order to block the blow in the last moment. It was still enough to send him to the ground, however, and he hit the cobble with a bounce that sent him rolling.

He used the momentum to flip himself up into a crouching position, blood running down his chin from where he had presumably bit his tongue. His expression was still somewhat playful, but now had a much more serious glint to it. He kept his talons at the ready to counter Gem’s next attack, his body tense with anticipation. His sharp eyes were taunting her, waiting for her to make the next move as he always did.

“Grian.” She said, her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it at any moment.

“Commander” He said in turn, tilting his head unnaturally to the side, much like the owl he shared his attributes with.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, looking down her nose at him, her thumb inching her sword out of the sheath.

“Is it a crime to enjoy a national holiday like every other citizen in the kingdom?” He questioned in an almost teasing manner.

“Enough of your games! It is no mere coincidence that you would show up today of all days after months of silence.” Gem snapped, her shoulders rising in turn with the bubbling anger in her heart.

Grian, a slippery, troublemaking avian that she had been butting heads with on a near regular basis ever since she was a bright eyed squire fresh off of the snowy mountain she called home, eager to prove herself in her search for glory.  

He had made his entrance into her life in a flashy and grand fashion that was bound to leave an impression on just about anyone; an explosion in the castle's courtyard. It had been small, only enough to take out a tiny portion of the wall. It had been so clearly a distraction, but after years of war, it had been enough to cause a panic that only Gem had been levelheaded enough to power her way through. It was her quick wit that allowed her to act swiftly in the face of potential danger, and her friendly and outgoing personality that let her realize she’d never seen his face around the castle before and clock that he was an intruder. She’d taken him down before he was able to do whatever it was that he was planning to do inside of the castle, but he’d still managed to escape in the end.

Along with an increase in security and guards stationed on the outer walls, the royal army gained another knight that day. Ironic that it would be the man who would come to torment her any chance he could in the near future that would see to it that she was promoted early in her career.

They met many times after that first initial encounter, and with each one it only became obvious that his goal from the very beginning was to tear down the Wintertide royal bloodline at any cost and destroy the peace she tried so hard to protect. 

He sought to create chaos and disorder within the kingdom, and he would stop at nothing to see these goals met. It was only natural that they would become rivals, enemies that would be at constant odds with each other until the end of all things. Time and time again he would make his move against the royal family, and she was always there to put an end to it. It was an endless dance that they seemed to be trapped in indefinitely, for better or for worse.

As the years passed, he shifted his focus from the castle and the king to something else, something more attainable. He would commonly be found in the streets, yelling about injustices to anyone who would give him an ear. 

At first, no one would pay him any mind, and he would always make a break for it the second Gem showed up to put a stop to his public disturbances. Over time, however, as taxes were raised to cover the costs of damages done to the land and economy by the war, and tensions between their neighbouring kingdom rose yet again, his ideals slowly but surely gained more and more popularity. People were moved by his cause, rallied by a hatred for a monarchy they felt provided them very little protection or surety in their time of unrest. 

Suddenly he wasn’t a single person acting alone anymore; he was the leader of a group they had no way of knowing the scope of. 

They had tried to take him and his mysterious resistance down for years now, but by some feat of the gods they had managed to avoid detection, as well as capture, the entire time. Even now, it is unknown just how large his resistance is, or the names of those who operate within it, making it difficult to do anything in opposition to the group. They had only a few names for certain they could connect to him, but they have all been as untraceable as he. Every tip and clue that came Gem's way only led to empty houses and cellars with nothing but clearly fake plans and documents within them that led her and her men right back to where they had started; with nothing at all. 

All of this to say that he and his group are dangerous, effective people who should not be taken lightly, and his presence at The Festival of Good Tides bore nothing but ill tidings. 

The avian sighed in an overly dramatic, fake manner, no doubt playing it up to get a rise out of her. She was ashamed to admit that it worked.

“Fine, I suppose there is no point in hiding it from you,” He said, his face once again breaking into a wide smile, “I was looking for you, actually. I knew if I showed up to the festival you would find me within seconds and pursue me until you had me in your grasp.”

“And, why, in god's name, were you seeking to put yourself right into my hands? A bit of a foolish thing to do, if you ask me. You know as well as I do that you are no match for me, birdy.” She taunted. 

She swiftly pulled her sword from its sheath and put the tip of the blade to his unprotected neck. It was just long enough for her to close the distance between them without having to take so much as a step closer. His expression remained unbothered and playful, despite the obvious threats to his life.

“I wanted to give you a fair warning,” He replied cryptically.

“What in the hells does that mean?” She questioned, hackles once again rising.

“Something big is coming, Gem.” He answered. His eyes were wide and excited, almost manic even, as he said this. She had never seen him like this before in all her years knowing him.

“Something big? What in the blazes are you on about?” She asked, unease settling in her stomach like a heavy stone at the words

“You would do well to prepare yourself while you still can.” He said instead of giving her a real answer, “For all of our back and forth, I do not hate you. It would sure be a shame if something were to happen to you that could have been avoided.”

“Your mad rambles make little sense. Explain yourself before I have your head!” She threatened, pushing the tip of the sword against his throat further.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you anymore than I already have, but you’ll find out in due time, believe in that. The end might be closer than you think.” He said, and her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. 

He took advantage of her brief shock to sweep his leg out faster than she could react. The hard, scaly part of his taloned foot grabbed a hold of her sword’s blade and wrenched the weapon out of her hands, sending it to the ground with a metallic clatter. She shouted in alarm and leaped towards the fallen sword in an attempt to regain control of the situation, but before she could even get close, Grian pulled a bottle out from somewhere within his cloak and smashed it against the ground at her feet.

There was a flash and a popping noise following the shattering of the glass, and thick smoke billowed out around them, obscuring her vision and filling her nose with the overbearing smell of sulfur. Her eyes burned, watering fiercely as she coughed, trying to clear her lungs of the smoke.

She waved the air in front of her, looking around frantically for the avian but seeing not a single sign of him. There wasn’t so much as a feather on the ground, nor where there any footprints in the grime showing where he’d taken off to. All there was in the now vacant cobble alley was her sword, flat against the ground where it had fallen. 

“Gem!” She heard someone call out to her from behind.

She turned to find Impulse rushing towards her. He looked frantic, out of breath. A few other soldiers trailed behind him, visibly on edge as they looked around the smokey alley. Her old friend hurried to her side, grabbing her face and brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes as he turned her side to side to check for injuries. 

She pulled away from him, wordlessly moving over to her abandoned sword and picking it up from the ground. She examined the blade before turning her eyes up to the sky, where the smoke was still spiraling up towards the clear blue expanse. 

“The men that were stationed with you came to me in a frenzy and said you took off in a rush. They said may be in need of some help, and the thought of you of all people needing help against something on its own is a frightening, so I came as soon as I could.” Impulse said from behind her. “What happened?

“It was Grian.” She said, turning towards him. Then, as an afterthought, she tacked on, “And I didn’t need any help. You know me.”

“It hardly matters to me how strong you are, I will always worry for you regardless. It is in my nature.” He said with a smile, which dropped into a more serious look, “But, Grian, you say? Has he not been off the radar for months now? What’s he doing back in the capital on today of all day? Surely he is up to no good.”

She sheathed her sword, taking a moment to wonder if she should share the cryptid warning that the avian had given her. Her eyes flickered over to the nervous knights standing behind her friend. They were clearly new, fresh out of being squires if she had to take a guess. It was highly probable that they would panic upon hearing information such as this. Besides, anything pertaining to Grian and his resistance was more classified than what she was willing to share with just anyone. She would prefer to inform the king of the news, as well, and it was almost nightfall anyway so his arrival to the festival site was fast approaching. It was best she not have to repeat herself when handling such delicate information. You never know who may be listening.

“I think it would be wiser if I don’t share that with so many ears around. This is information better shared to a smaller group.” She informed him. He glanced back at the soldiers behind him and nodded in understanding.

“Let us return to the festival, this time with eyes and ears more focused.” She said, "If he shows his face again, he will not be getting away so easily a second time."

She turned on her heels and deftly made her way back towards the crowded square, the others following after all. She held her head high, posture straight and professional, but underneath the facade was a twisting feeling of unease that she couldn’t get rid of, and which threatened to force her lunch to make a second appearance. 

Her mind was racing, her chest was tight. What could her longtime rival have meant with that threat? No, that had been more of a promise than it had been a threat. But a promise of what, she didn’t know, and that is what scared her. Whatever it was that he had in store for the kingdom of Wintertide, he was so incredibly certain of its success that he was willing to seek her out to personally tell her of its existence. 

Either he was a fool, or there was something to truly worry about afoot, and something told her it was the latter since she had never known Grian to be a stupid man.

In fact he was quite the dangerous person. 

A harmless person could not gain the following and influence that he had over people in such a short time as he had. Even when the people above her had thought of him as little more than a fly buzzing in their ear, she had always taken every move he made seriously. She would be a fool herself not to treat him as the treat he really was. 

If anything, she was surprised it had taken so long for him to make his move. With the reach and numbers he seemed to have within the capital it was a wonder something “big” had yet to happen. Why now of all times? What was his game?

She looked over her shoulder at the abandoned alley one last time, her expression hardening into a determined glare. Even with her worry, she knew one thing for certain; whatever it may be that he was planning, she would put an end to it. 

He would not succeed. 

                                                ❀     ❀     ❀

“Was it necessary to toy with her like that?” His hooded companion asked from beside him, tone high and amused.

Grian stood upon the roof, the smoke bomb having given him just enough time to escape out of view. His cloak fluttered in the wind behind him and his hands clenched into fists, his sharp nails digging into his palms. His expression was blank, his black eyes watching as the commander of the royal army grew smaller the further she got from them. She’d almost seen him when she glanced back. Almost, but not quiet. 

“Not that I am complaining,” His companion pushed further upon not receiving a response, “It is rather funny, I must admit.”

“I am not toying with her,” He stated, not daring to take his eyes off of the commander until she was well out of view, “It was a real warning.”

“Even worse,” Was the reply, which was then followed by a laugh, “Now she’ll be wary, more prepared than she would have had you said nothing at all. I have to agree with the Commander on this one, Grian, this seems an odd move to make so early into the plan. After all of the work we put into this, it seems entirely counterproductive. Are you not worried she could put an end to this all before it has even begun?”

“Let her try and interfere,” He said, a smile spreading across his face as the wind picked up speed, “There will be no stopping what is to come.”

[hestella]

Hannibal Lector x reader: A new face part. 2

A/N: Someone teach Tumblr to me. It's too complicated. I'm not done watching Hannibal cause it's too hard to watch and I'm not smart enough!

Warning: Blind reader, depiction of violence, sexual violence, cannibalism, well it's Hannibal, A lot of mistakes, etc, etc.

Part 1

“Humans have constantly, somehow, throughout the entire history, made some being, or even beings, that were superior than themselves and called them God. The existence of a ultimate power has been created in all known civilizations that sustained long enough to have a written language, and for even those we don’t know had a language, we assume, that there was some type of god within their society, only they couldn’t afford writing it down.” 

Y/N’s voice echoed around the lecture hall. She was wearing a classy, somewhat antique 3-piece suit that had a dark blue color, which went well with her leather shoes too. 

Hannibal sat in the corner, watching and listening to her lecture. He didn’t see himself as much as a philosophical guy, but to be honest it was quite interesting. Her aura and her appearances made it more interesting, more mysterious along with the fact that she was lecturing about philosophy.

His thoughts were similar to others. Other students seemed to be fascinated by the subject. There seemed to be students of all backgrounds, one wearing a lab coat, one who looked like an art major, he even saw some older people who looked like other professors too.

She did not walk around the room like Will. She stood still in a podium, not even using a slideshow to teach. 

“but then, how, one might wonder, and why, could all these pre-historic people collectively think to make ‘god’? Perhaps, it has something to do with evolutionary theory?” She paused. “Any guesses?”

A few students raised their hands, but Hannibal internally tilted his head, how could she possibly see who raised their hands?

“..wow, nobody? I must be blind,” she made a joke, causing the students to laugh. “Don’t be afraid to speak out, please, I may not be able to see, but my hearing’s fine.”

“Apologies, professor. I..I think the essential part of that question is whether or not the pre-historic people knew what they were making was a real God. It may have started from scratch, like, you know, the things adults tell children to explain natural disasters and so.” A student, a bright girl, said. 

“Great. And your name is?”

“Marissa Schurr, professor.” She answered.

“Marissa, do you have any personal beliefs? I’m not asking about religion, just anything.” Y/N looked towards Marissa, her white eyes staring at her. 

“..I..I don’t know, professor, well I’m an atheist, but probably,” 

Y/N smiled faintly. “I understand. Who believes the ‘3 second rule’ here? Or even, who believes the number 13 as unfortunate or, related to death? 7 as the lucky number?” She asked the whole. 

The vast majority of the people whispered among themselves and nodded, few raised their hands.

“I assume most of you guys do believe those. None of those ‘beliefs’ I mentioned are true, we know that, but why do we believe in it?” She paused once more. 

“It’s because us, as humans, and other intellectual animals, find comfort in things that make sense. Myths can be seen as complete lies, but they are logical, sometimes because the majority of the people say it’s logical. For example, the number 13 was the amount of people that had the last supper with Jesus Christ the night he was betrayed, according to the Bible. That is why we think 13 as bad, or unlucky.” The students nodded and jotted down notes as she spoke.

“If I were to say, the reason why it rains is because someone living in the sky cries, and the rain is their tears falling, most of you will obviously, not believe me. But, if you were primitives, and knew nothing about how rain falls, you would have believed me, and the person in the sky would be your God.” 

“Would it, though, professor? I mean, just because you’re a primitive doesn’t mean you’re stupid, or dumb,” another student pointed out. 

She smiled. “To be honest, we don’t know. Why? Because we’re not primitives. We can’t unlearn what we learned. So, I’ll give you a project to find this out. Everyone take notes on this.” 

Everyone shuffled to get their papers. 

“Find a young human, a child, or someone, that doesn’t know how it rains, and also an atheist. Explain and persuade them that it rains because of some other reason, involving a deity of some form, and tell me how it goes. I’ll cold call anyone, so be prepared.” 

She held her hands together. “And that’s the end, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone else in the middle, see you next time.” 

All the students stood up, thanking her. She nodded and waved everyone good bye, reaching for her white cane, which was folded inside the podium. 

Hannibal waited until everyone was out, and headed towards her, purposefully making little noise. 

“That was an impressive lecture, Ms. Y/L/N, or should I say professor?” He suddenly spoke. 

“Dr. Lector! I felt someone familiar,” she looked towards him, a light chuckle coming out.

“How did you know it was me?” Hannibal asked. 

“It’s hard to forget a charming yet profound voice like yours, doctor,” she gave him a smile.

“Ah, you flatter me, Ms.Y/L/N.“ Hannibal’s eyebrows were raised at the unexpected compliment.

“What do I have the pleasure of hearing it again? Another case?” She asked, packing her simple bag.

“Not quite. Agent Crawford wants me to evaluate you too. Take a close eye.” Hannibal said, everything not entirely truths, but also not a lie.

“Ah. Crawford.” She muttered as she held her white cane. 

“I wish that’s okay with you?” Hannibal asked. 

“..Agent Crawford seems quite desperate for my help,” she muttered. “..don’t you think? I’m just not sure if I can be that much of help, despite having you analyze me,”

“You don’t think you’re worth a eval?”

“I don’t think I’m worthy to use taxes, to be exact. The payment is from the FBI, no? Funding of the FBI is from taxes…” she tapped her walking cane as she got off the podium. 

“You’ve done plenty, maybe more than plenty for the FBI in return, Ms. Y/L/N. And not every fund from the government necessarily comes with a return, either.” Hannibal followed her from a respectable distance. 

“Will, maybe. Me? I don’t think so.” she chuckled lightly. “It’s somewhat unethical, you know, wasting money. Especially the money collected by the government, from the people of this country…” 

Hannibal listened to this elongated philosophical rant, about the duties of a democratic country. She was more talking to herself rather than talking to him, not letting him get the upper hand of the conversation. 

Autism? His mind thought of it. But she didn’t seem to have trouble communicating. ADHD? maybe. 

Or, she just was ranting unrelated stuff to avoid him analyzing, not knowing he just did.

She tapped her cane to began to leave the lecture hall, except that there was a slight height difference between the podium and the floor, causing her to stumble. 

Hannibal rushed over and gently placed his hands on her arms to steady her. 

“Careful.” He said. 

“Thank you, what is it?” She asked, feeling the floor with her feet. 

“There’s a step down between the carpet floor and the podium.” 

“..there wasn’t one on the other side,” she muttered, slowly stepping down. 

“Yes, there wasn’t. Must’ve been a mistake,” Hannibal confirmed. 

“…well, thank you again. But I have another lecture to give today, unfortunately,” she said facing Hannibal. 

“No worries. I’ll book your session whenever you’re comfortable, Ms. Y/L/N.” 

=-=

“Wildlife hunters tend to hunt within a narrow limt. They don’t hunt the younger ones, or their parents, they don’t use extensive traps to find them, and they don’t kill endagered species. If they do, they tend to honor their bodies, at least to pay for the nature’s lose and its effects.” She told to the people performing autopsy on Cassie Boyle. 

“Since when did you become a wildlife expert?” Beverly Katz asked. 

“Last night,” Y/N shrugged. “The point is that this isn’t what the Shrike would have done to his victims. This is simply disgrace. He even put the last victim’s body back as an apology. That man would take the girl’s lungs while alive and stick her body to deer antlers? I don’t think so.”

Will nodded, satisfied that she was able to back up his point. 

“Then who do you suggest did this?” Jack asked. 

“Why are you so afraid of admitting there’s a copycat?” She asked. 

There was silence. The people who knew Jack felt their own hair stand up at her question, sensing some sort of nervousness.

“Oh, I’m not afraid, it’s just that there’s 2 killers out there instead of one!” Jack replied with heavy sarcasm.

“The copycat won’t kill another like this one. It’s a…one-time thing.” She answered. 

“And how do you know that, exactly?” Jack asked, clearly annoyed. 

“If the copycat wanted to kill to confuse the FBI into thinking there was only one killer, they would have done it already. But it’s too different, and they know it.” She replied calmly. 

“Why would they do that?” 

“…curiosity,” she replied. 

“A dare,” Will answered. 

“Hold on, you two are telling me that the copycat killed a person just to try it out?” Jack looked at them both weird. 

“..that’s what I think,” she muttered. “The timing’s strange. It’s right after the case was posted on tattlecrime, the copycat might have been interested.” She shrugged. 

=-=-

It was very early in the morning when she heard a ring on her door. 

She spent the night with Will at the motel in Minnesota, and she had to go back to Baltimore to continue her job. She just had the time to change and sleep a few hours before having to wake up and go give a lecture again. 

She stirred awake, not entirely sure if the doorbell was her imagination or not. 

But the bell kept ringing, so she reluctantly got up from the couch and grabbed her robe from where she remembered she had put. She leaned on the door. “..who is it?” She asked in a quiet voice.

“Y/N? It’s Hannibal.” 

At first she thought of who this ‘Hannibal’ was, then she realized and quickly opened the door. The scent of the morning dew and a faint smell of raw meat was the first thing she felt. 

“..is, is it not,” she touched her wrist braille clock to check the time. “..4 in the morning?” She asked, confused. 

“It is, Ms.Y/N. I came with breakfast. Thought it would be a good way to start.” 

She was still processing. “..okay, come in,” her mouth moved, however.

He stepped in, looking around. Her house was clean, nothing on the ground or visual accessories. 

“…why, um, why did you come here, again?” she asked, still sumbfounded. 

“I brought you breakfast, a little ‘get together’ time. I cooked it myself.” 

“You cook?” she muttered and hurried to turned on the kitchen lights and get out forks and knives. 

Hannibal comfortably sat on one side of the island table, taking out the things he brought. “I take extra caution on what I put in my body. A simple salad, with eggs and roasted salmon to cover the protein.” 

“..oh, actually, um..” she hesitated to say. “..I’m quite strictly vegan, so I don’t think I can eat it,” she said. “…I’m truely sorry,” 

“Are you know? That’s unfortunate. Luckly, I’ve made a simple vegan Ceasar salad too,” Hannibal took out another container and gave it to her. 

She looked surprised but got the container anyways, her nature being unable to refuse. “o,oh?” she studdered. 

In reality, it was Hannibal’s plan to test her. He wanted to see if she was really vegan, and how strictly she was vegan, acting like he didn’t know her appetite at all. The ceaser salad wasn’t even vegan, it had anchoive, well, which she didn’t have to know that.

“Please, feel free to eat it,” Hannibal insisted, not giving her time to refuse. 

She reached for her fork and hesitantly started to eat it. “…it..it’s good. Delicious,” she admitted. 

“My pleasure,” Hannibal said. “..forgive me for my curiousity, but do you cook? And if so, is there anything different, considering that you’re visually impaired?” 

“I don’t really cook, not really. If I used to cook before…before I went blind, I probably would have continued, but…I just never found food to be that worthy of spending my time.” She replied. 

“Ah. Do you drink, then?” Hannibal asked, planning what kind of wine he should give her in case he wanted to invite her to a dinner party.

“uh, I drink water, that’s all. Not really…alcohol,” she replied. 

There was silence, and then a laughter. 

“Sorry, I just…I’m so sorry.” She laughed, eating the salad. 

“Don’t be, it’s not like all people drink,” Hannibal didn’t smile, but Y/N, who could only hear his voice, assumed he was smiling. 

“I do have wine, and some whiskey, I think, if you want them.” she cleared her throat. 

“Why do you have wine if you don’t drink?” Hannibal asked. 

“Well, I get gifts, even though I tell them I don’t need them at all,��� she muttered, standing up and heading towards a wine celler. 

“Really? They send you wine gifts?” Hannibal asked, while he took out a vile of GHB from his pocket and covered the sound of it unscrewing with the sound of him clearing his throat. 

“Yeah, I guess it’s what they can give to me without getting awkward, you know?” She chuckled. 

He made a chuckling sound, but his face was still. He reached over to her salad and spread the clear GHB equally on it, before she returned with a wine bottle. 

“Do you know what this is? That’s the newest one, I believe.” She said, handing him the wine.

“A Chianti, italian wine, One of the best. I’m surprised you have it,” he looked at it, observed with quite genuine amazement. 

“Is it? Oh well, that’s my gift for this amazing salad,” she smiled and sat back down.

Hannibal stared intently at her, seeing her every movements when eating the salad with the extra ingredient he just put, GHB. He couldn’t help a smile creep up his lips as he saw she ate, her plate getting empty each second. Sep.24 edit: Asperger’s —> ADHD

Tag list:

@wolfgirl-205

(the urge to just write non-plot smut.....is the way I know I'm ovulating)

[sorrowmoons]

Tinky and Dakota Au :3

Here is a brief Au when Dakota and Tinky get together <3

In this Au, Dakota is 20! (This makes Skye 24) Dakota has graduated Hatchetfield High, and has found work as a park ranger for the time being. When she was 17, she met the LiB due to seeing them being summoned one time, and went to Skye to find out she had ties with them too. Over the months she tried to get glimpses of them around Skye, and, she was successful sometimes—but more unsuccessful most. She eventually had a conversation with one of them, being Tinky, when Skye was preoccupied with something in Anikas house and Dakota made her way outside. She came face to face with the goat boy, and she geeked out over him. In that moment, their friendship kinda begun. Dakota is extremely goofy, can’t really take anything seriously (on purpose) and is very flamboyant. Tinky is—pretty much the same.

This didn’t mean it was “love at first sight” (at least not for Tinky, lol) (I’m joking, Dakota just has an overly flirty personality and loves to pretend love sick sometimes to tease) their relationship took like.. a few years to get to the point where”dating step”. They had short conversations soemtimes, but over time they became a bit longer. Dakota matched his energy and tried to math his dark humour and Tinky didn’t mind it. It was a breath of fresh air from his serious brothers. It’s also hard finding someone who seems to be very naive to who he and his brothers are—as Dakota acts like they’ve been friends since forever. Good thing Skye made that deal (and has a terrifying being watching over her) because who knows what could’ve happened to Dakota.

Anyways, They hung out more and more, Skye knew she was getting closer to him and she did warn Dakota—but it was to no avail. Dakota really did try to listen—but she just couldn’t unglue herself from T’noy. She was just happy there was someone energetic enough to match her hectic personality.

Skye eventually became unaware of their meet ups when Dakota started sneaking after school to visit T’noy in the woods near Anikas house. They’d just goof off, banter most of the time. They’d have competitions who could send back the most insults until they ran out. T’noy won most, but Dakota won a few. She was so proud hehe

Over the months, Dakota pushed her flirtatious jokes and he eventually made one back. Yeah, Dakota went home that night and screamed into her pillow (she was so down bad already)

But she never pushed it to an obvious state of “I like you and want to be more”. She just continued her regular jokes, and he eventually got more comfortable with his. They’d became quite the chaotic pair for sureeee!

Two years later, and they have grow legitimately inseparable. They also had many close calls of “kissing” and going a little too far for how friends should touch each other.. Dakota couldn’t tell if T’noy was playing with her at this point, or he was just oblivious to it all. She would have told him months before that she really did like him, but she was afraid of rejection first of all, but she also didn’t want T’noy to leave.

Anyways, to sum it upppppp one night they got reeealllll close,,, they’d nudge up to eachother as they usually did for a while,, chatting and Dakota yapping on about her day while Tinky just hummed along. But ayooo.. why’s bros hands a little far down 😟 WHY HE GETTING CLOSEEEEE

yeah they made out heahahahhe anyways so they obviously shared the same feelings and boom bam they lived happily ever after (let’s hope)

Skye found out and was so disappointed. Like she had to place a hand on a wall and think about this for a few hours. She eventually came to terms with it and dealt with it. Though, she believed Tinky to be somewhat the nicest to Skye. Though, they all seemed ruthless to her when it came to them talking to her. She really didn’t see what Dakota saw. BUT SHES A SUPPORTIVE BIG SIS!!

Is this all for me to be able to mark Oc x canon? Perhaps BUT PERHAPS IM HAPPY AND JUMPING IN JOYYYYYY I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEMMMM PLEASE THEY HAVE A CHOLKHOLD ON MEEEE

Suggestive artwork below!!! (Nothing explicit) but themmmmmm them them

[7ndipity]

Arcade Date

Jimin X Reader

Summary: When you worry that you've screwed up on an important exam, Jimin decides to try and cheer you up with a cute date at the arcade.

Warnings: Swearing, lil suggestive,

A/N: Thanks to @minnie1013 for this request! Sorry it took me a lil while to get to it, I hope you like it!

Masterlist

Requests are open

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You're expression was noticeably deflated as Jimin picked you up for date night following your last class of the day.

“Hey, how’d the exam go?” He asked sweetly, pressing a kiss to your temple as you climbed into the passenger seat.

“Don’t ask.” You groaned, burying your face in his shoulder.

“Was it bad?” He asked, frowning.

“It felt like my brain went through one of those rug cleaning machines. I bombed, I’m sure of it.” you groaned, leaning back in your seat and closing your eyes.

You don’t know that, I’m sure you did your best.” He said reassuringly. He felt so bad for you, he’d seen how hard you’d been studying lately in preparation for this test. You’d been running yourself ragged, staying up till all hours of the night to cram whenever you could. “When do the results come out?”

“Next week.” You mumbled. “Ugh, I don’t know, can we just talk about something else, please?”

“Sure,” He agreed easily, eager to distract you. “How ‘bout we talk about the fact that you haven’t kissed me in almost six hours and I’m about to die from withdrawals?”

You let out a tired huff of laughter at that. “Alright, you big baby.” You said, finally giving him a smile, albeit a tiny one, before leaning over and connecting your lips to his, instantly feeling your body start to relax at the familiar feel of him against you.

You pulled back suddenly, looking up at him curiously as you licked your lips. “Are you wearing my chapstick?”

“Um, Maybe.” He admitted, avoiding your eyes.

“Would you stop stealing my shit?!” You shoved him lightly, laughing in disbelief.

“It’s not my fault you pick better flavors than me!” He tried to defend with a pout. “And I didn’t steal it, you left it at my place the other day.”

“Whatever.” You rolled your eyes. “Let’s go, I’m hungry.”

The rest of the drive to his place was somewhat quiet, it was clear you were still feeling down, staring silently out the window, lost in thought, while Jimin tried to wrack his brain for a way to cheer you up. Struck by a sudden idea, he made a quick left turn, drawing a curious look from you as he changed routes.

“I thought we were going to your place for dinner?” You asked.

“Change of plans, I’m taking you out.” He said simply.

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise.” He said, giving you a mischievous look before turning his attention back to the road, biting back a grin.

Several minutes later, you pulled up outside a familiar building with various game posters plastered on the windows.

“The arcade?” You looked at him in surprise. “We haven’t been here in ages.”

“I know, but I figured you deserve some fun, so here we are.” He said.

“Chim, I don’t know…” You said.

“C’mon, it’ll be good to take your mind off things. Or are you afraid of me beating you at DDR?” He smirked, raising a brow at you in challenge.

“Oh, you’re so on.” You replied.

The two of you spent the next couple hours squaring off against each other in various games, starting out light-heartedly enough, until you started to get overly competitive and started to attach increasingly ridiculous bets to each game, from having to pay for the all snacks to Jimin having to give you a lap dance for beating him at DDR.

“That one was a joke though, right Y/n?” He asked out of breath, growing nervous at your silence. “Y/n?!”

Before you could leave though, Jimin made it his mission to win you a plushie from the claw machine, spending easily twice the amount of money that the toy was actually worth in his attempt to succeed.

“Jimin, it’s okay, you really don’t have to-”

“Aha!” He yelled victoriously, holding the plush animal up in the air as a trophy before presenting it to you. “For you, my love.”

“Aww, it’s so cute!” You cooed, accepting the toy and petting its head. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” He asked, examining the toy closer. “Is it a bear or a dog?”

“It doesn’t matter, he’s our child and I love him!” You said, making his heart melt as he watched you hug the toy to your chest.

“What?” You asked, catching his expression.

“Nothing, it’s just nice to see you happy like this.” He said with a small smile.

“I’m always happy when I’m with you.” You said softly, feeling shy for some reason at that admission. “Anyway, what should we name our child?”

“Greg.” He replied without hesitation.

“GREG?!”

“What?!”

“Does he honestly look like a Greg to you?” You asked incredulously.

“You try coming up with something better, then!” He said defensively.

You thought for a moment. “B-Bartholomew.” You said slowly.

“Absolutely not.” He rejected. “That sounds like a 17th century tailor.”

“That was my grandfather's name.” You retorted.

“It was not!”

You continued to argue all the way back to the car, before you paused to look up at him, admiring the way he managed to look gorgeous even under the artificial glow of the streetlights.

“Jimin?”

“Yeah?” He replied, turning to look at you.

“Thank you for tonight.” You said, smiling softly. “You were right, I needed this.”

“Of course." He said, gently grabbing hold of your hand. “You know anytime you need a pick-me-up, I'll be there for you."

“I know.” You said, pushing up on your tip-toes to press a quick kiss to his lips.

You don’t know what you did to deserve Jimin in your life, but you would be forever grateful to

have him.

[zerosuitsammi3]

Hey there! I don’t know how to even begin with this but I’ve known I’ve preferred to be a woman for as long as can remember. I never knew what to do with these feelings so I just went along as the guy I was supposed to be. That is until the pandemic. During that time I spent a lot more time alone to process things and explore a little. And I’m in a position where things aren’t the best for my situation in any way. I come from an immigrant family and they’re not the most tolerant people when it comes to lgbt issues. I’m unfortunate enough to have grown into a big burly man body. I just got laid off before the holidays. And I’m still in a relationship that probably wouldn’t survive me transitioning. I’m 30 so I’m not asking what to do but I am pretty scared. Terrified actually. I just don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m tearing apart inside. What was your experience? I hope I’m not being too much, this is the first time I’ve said these words to anyone. I hope you’re having a lovely day.

First off *hug* I know you're going through a lot. Bottled up dysphoria can be one of the most torturous feelings. I'm sorry that your situation is so challenging as well. I wish there was more I could do to help you. But know that you aren't alone. And your experience is something others have been through as well. Many in the community have been right where you are and can empathize. As well since you asked I'll share my story, and I'll try to keep it somewhat brief.

I personally always knew I was a girl even from a young age and I never felt comfortable. But as a kid born in the 90's I didn't have vocabulary to describe my feelings and only had offensive stereotypical depictions of trans women to go off of. I remember being a kid and crying myself to sleep at night because I felt wrong and I was wishing I'd wake up and find out the life I'd been living as a boy was actually all just an intense nightmare. But since I had no access to real knowledge about trans things I just went on living as a depressed effeminate boy with zero self confidence. That is until I was about 16 and as a joke while hanging out with friends I put on my gal friends poms gear to be silly and funny. But being the short skinny effeminate emo "boy" with long hair that I was. Well. I just looked like a girl the moment I put on feminine clothing. This moment kinda changed everything. I had to stop myself from crying because of how much I loved seeing myself as a girl in the mirror. Because certainly my friends couldn't know how much I loved it. That always stayed in my mind. And around age 19 I learned about hrt. I learned real things about everything transgender without the harmful stereotypes. I began really experimenting with my gender from 19 to 23. I desperately wanted hrt, but didn't know how to get and was desperately afraid. I was constantly dressing feminine at home and masculine in public. I got so depressed not getting to be myself all the time that I attempted suicide around 21. Still have a scar from it. Thankfully I lived. After that I started to do certain things publicly presenting femme. But sadly at 24 I went deep back in the closet for professional reasons and that lead to another depression spiral from 24 to 26. Instead of attempting suicide this time I just lived an incredibly unhealthy life. Very self destructive habits. A lot of chain smoking, excessive drinking, over eating. I was killing myself in a different way. Finally at 26 I broke and said I can't live like this anymore I can't pretend to be someone I'm not. I couldn't let the fear hold me back anymore. I went to therapy. I was diagnosed with gender dysphoria immediately and referred to a local lgbtqia+ doctor's office and was prescribed hrt. After starting hrt everything in my life improved. I lost about 80 lbs of depression weight in a very short amount of time. My anxiety became manageable and in a lot of cases became non-existent. My depression went away. I became actually self confident. I was actually happy. And now I've been on hrt for almost five years. I needed this. I would've died young had I not transitioned. So I know exactly what you feel when you say "you feel like you're tearing apart inside" I don't want to tell you to just do it, just transition, given your situation and what you stand to lose. But you need to ask yourself: can you stand to live not being your authentic self? Is it worth a life of self misery to keep what you have? If it's not, then it's time to transition and be who you are.

[perhaps-in-anotherdream]

[CN] Victor’s HS SSR Story: Carefree Years (Eng Translation)

⌚Warning⌚ This post contains detailed spoilers for a story, 岁月无忧, that is yet to be released on the global server! ♡

Do remember to read the event stories beforehand for further info and understanding: ♡ || ♡ || ♡ || ♡ || ♡ || ♡ || ♡

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【Subbed Video】

Work in progress, will add the link once it’s uploaded :>

【Transcript Version】

[Notes]: The story is told from young Victor’s perspective + includes the narrator’s POV towards the end sporadically~ 💕

—

【Chapter 1】

It’s early autumn, and Loveland City hasn’t yet shaken off the lingering summer heat. The breeze, still carrying the residual heat, slips through the cracks of the windows into the dormitory, dispelling the slight chill. 

The hour hand of the alarm clock by the bedside is about to point to six. I roll out of bed, pick up my toiletry bag, and turn around, heading for the door. 

—

Once I’m done freshening up, I plan to go to the cafeteria for breakfast before heading to the classroom to drop off my backpack. 

Considering the time required for submitting summer vacation assignments, preparing for the first class, and accounting for any unforeseen circumstances… 

I should have enough time before I need to be at the playground at 7:30 to confirm the final proceedings with the emcee of the flag-raising ceremony. 

??: Morning, Bro Vic~ 

A slurred voice sounds from the side just as I wipe the water off my face, and then that familiar face comes into view. 

With his mouth full of toothpaste foam, Zheng Xi tilts his head back and makes gurgling sounds as he rinses his mouth. His hair is so disheveled that it could hide a couple of eggs within. 

Victor: Morning.

Victor: It’s rare to see you not stepping on the dot. 

Zheng Xi: New semester, fresh start. Besides, we can’t lose face to our seniors. Must follow the examples of Bro Vic! 

Victor: Don’t make things harder for yourself, and don’t end up straining your neck when the time comes. 

Zheng Xi: …cracking cold jokes on such a hot day. I must thank you for it. 

As he speaks, he haphazardly wipes his face a few times and then carelessly tosses the toothbrush into the washbasin. 

— 

The corridor has become much livelier when I walk out of the dorm room again after changing into the school uniform and hanging my backpack over my shoulders. 

Accompanied by the sound of flowing water, the jingling and clattering sounds reverberate through the corridor in the early morning. The doors of different dorm rooms swing open and then close, as if orchestrating a concerto unique to high school life. 

Walking beside me, Zheng Xi suddenly begins to talk. 

Zheng Xi: You haven’t said hello to our new roommates yet, have you? One of them was in Section 6, and the other was in Section 9. 

Victor: Oh, didn’t we have a quick encounter earlier? 

Zheng Xi: Saying hello means introducing yourself, not just exchanging a brief glance and nodding, okay? 

…it seems like one summer break isn’t enough for someone with a young-at-heart mentality to have much growth. 

Victor: If only you could channel this meticulous attention to every wording in your reading comprehension, “Empress Dowager Hu” wouldn’t call on you to answer questions every class. 

Zheng Xi: Don’t jinx me! Also, my mom practically had detained me these past two months to catch up on Chinese. Who knows, I might have improved by leaps and bounds. 

Zheng Xi: Speaking of which, why would teachers like “Empress Dowager Hu” who receives awards yearly, teach liberal arts classes? Oh well, damn lucky Wu Xing! 

Victor: Well, that’s not necessarily the case. 

Victor: I’m afraid pulling up the Chinese language grades for a student like you who is biased towards specific subjects is more about showcasing your skills. 

As expected, the wails of anguish resound. I shake my head helplessly, finding myself already somewhat accustomed to this. 

I just can’t wrap my head around how this guy who’s been getting nearly perfect scores in math since the first year of high school can be so one-track-minded in other subjects. 

— 

As we walk into Section 1 of the first year, I find that quite a few students have already arrived. Among them are both familiar and unfamiliar faces. 

Some are in groups, chatting about their summer vacation experiences, while others sit alone at their desks, organizing their textbooks. 

I cast a brief glance at the seating chart on the blackboard and quickly find my name. 

Surprisingly, it’s the same seat as before. That’s actually good. 

Just as I’m about to lift my foot, I notice the person next to me is still squinting while trying to find his name. 

Victor: You can stop searching; you’re in the first row. 

Zheng Xi: … 

After setting down my backpack, I find that inside the desk, there’s a carton of milk, its outer packaging still oozing moisture from the condensation.

Whose is this? And why is it placed here? 

Before I can even inquire, my arm is poked with a pen cap. 

I tilt my head and see a boy I’m not that familiar with pointing at the milk carton in my hand. 

Boy: Um… I put it there. Don’t take it the wrong way–– I’m just helping someone out. I’m delivering it for a girl who used to be in my former Section 6. 

Zheng Xi: Whoa–– it’s been ages since I’ve seen a scene like this. I almost feel like I’ve traveled back to our first year. 

Zheng Xi walks over to poke his nose in as he hears the noise, wearing a gossipy look. 

Zheng Xi: I know many folks from Section 6. Who is this brave soul? Spill the beans. 

Boy: Uh, she specifically told me not to disclose her identity… 

Zheng Xi: F*ck! Quite smart to keep her identity under wraps. It’s a shame, though, cause she’s also fallen into the pit. How come she hasn’t heard about our Bro Vic’s wide reputation for being strictly incorruptible and not getting anywhere near girls? 

He lowers his voice as he speaks, feigning a sense of mystery. 

Zheng Xi: Besides, there’s a name this guy keeps murmuring about in his dreams all the time…

Victor: Was your summer vacation too boring since you had to keep these words pent up for two whole months? 

Victor: Here, drink this to moisten your throat. 

Victor: So you don’t get stuck while trying to recite Classical Chinese in the first class. 

– 

I toss the milk to him, grab the speech notes, and stand up to walk out of the classroom. Sure enough, a wave of cries akin to “wailing ghosts and howling wolves” follow from behind.

Zheng Xi: See– see! Such foul temper and unapproachable look on his face! I bet it won’t be long before everyone who wants to give him a gift will be scared away! 

It’d be the best outcome– ideal to avoid any complications. 

– 

I stride down the stairs with big steps, until the refreshing air fills my nostrils. 

Victor: [murmuring to himself]  …how could I possibly sleep-talk in my dreams, [sounds as if he’s telling himself–]  idiot. 

Thinking about Zheng Xi’s incessant chatter leaves me speechless. Even though they all unanimously claim that I do mention that name in my sleep, I remain skeptical. 

While searching for information about the orphanage incident, it's highly likely that I came across the compiled data from the past few years. 

Inhaling a deep breath, I continue walking toward the playground. 

To be honest, I’m not oblivious to the significance of those gifts and the feelings that can blossom at this age. It’s just that, personally, I don’t find them as something necessary. 

Time has always been best spent on more important endeavors, whether achieving short-term goals or paving the path for long-term plans. From this point on, it’s crucial to be adequately prepared. 

Anything unrelated to these matters is just a waste of time. 

I take another turn, and sunlight filters through the greenery, casting vibrant patches on the plastic athletic track, creating a colorful dance. 

It’s 7:10 sharp, right on the dot. 

— 

[Tidbits]: For those who are unaware, all the dream-talk is a reference to Victor’s R&S “Six out of Seventeen,” (find the translation here by @/cheri-translates), which touched upon the extent of his long and strenuous search for MC— including the little crumbs as how he’d call a girl’s name in his sleep and his roommates would tease him about it– which we got to see a bit here as well. I do VERY HIGHLY recommend reading all the canceled R&S for yourself because if you haven’t, you have NO IDEA what you’re missing out on! ༼⁠;⁠´⁠༎ຶ⁠ ⁠۝ ⁠༎ຶ⁠༽ 

—

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—

【Chapter 2】

Victor: Teacher. Reporting! 

The people in the office glance up at my voice, the rapid movement of their pens coming to a pause. Teacher Hu adjusts the wire-framed glasses on the bridge of her nose, displaying a composed smile. 

Teacher Hu: Come in, Vic.

Teacher Hu: Here— the mock Chinese exam papers for our section. Take them and hand them out. I’ll discuss them during the class later. 

As she speaks, she taps the stack of test papers on her left with the tip of her pen, then retrieves a laminated file from the drawer. 

Teacher Hu: In here, you’ll find the scores and class-grade rankings for each subject this time. Help me attach them to each student’s respective test papers one by one. 

Teacher Hu: We have an eye exercise break during this class, right? You can stay here and get everything organized before going back. Here, the paperclips. 

Victor: Roger. 

Once Teacher Hu finishes speaking, she resumes grading the papers with her head lowered. It seems … she is grading the Classical Chinese reading exercises from yesterday evening’s self-study session? The moment this thought springs to mind, I quickly glance over. 

Luckily, I answered that set of questions quite smoothly yesterday. 

Thinking this way, my fingertips subconsciously relax as I untie the knot. As expected, the report cards are sorted by student ID. 

Just as I’m about to begin flipping through them from the back, Teacher Hu’s voice sounds right on cue. 

Teacher Hu: Vic, you did quite well in the exam this time, but there is still room for improvement. Your math teacher, Mr. Gao, also asked me to commend you properly. 

Victor: …thank you, Teacher. 

Teacher Hu: Zheng Xi-- that kid has also made some progress. It looks like he’s finally catching on. 

Victor: I’ll relay the message on your behalf and tell him to keep making persistent efforts. 

Soon, I spot my own name among the array of report cards. 

Chinese 132, Math 140, English 125, Physics… 

Victor: [sighing LONG and HARD in disappointment] … 

My gaze at once shifts towards the ranking listed at the bottom of the paper. 

Section Ranking: 4th, Grade Ranking: 13th. 

My heart, which has inexplicably leaped into the air, temporarily settles back into its original place. I continue with the sorting, but my thoughts involuntarily begin to decelerate. 

Thankfully, I’ve performed decently in the physics and chemistry exams, and my ranking is still within the range I had set for myself. 

However, my English score is unexpectedly almost 10 points lower than my estimated score. So, where did things go wrong? 

The classroom bell chimes, and the music for eye exercises flows through the air. I’m unable to come up with an answer, so I just subconsciously speed up my movements. 

Teacher Hu: Xiao Luo turned in the participant list for the Autumn Sports Festival yesterday. I noticed you signed up for the friendly soccer match? 

Victor: Yes. There aren’t many students in our section who play soccer, and I’m somewhat familiar with the basic rules and regulations of the game, so I thought I’d participate to make up the numbers. 

Teacher Hu: That's great; participating in this kind of activity is a good thing. It's important not to focus solely on academics; diverting some of one’s attention to meaningful activities like this can also contribute to their self-development. 

Teacher Hu: Don’t you think so, too? 

I nod in agreement, vaguely sensing that Teacher Hu’s words seem to carry an implicit meaning. After picking up the file bag and exam papers, I slightly bow in her direction. 

Victor: Teacher Hu, I’ll take my leave now. 

Teacher Hu: Sure… ah, Vic, there’s something else I wanted to ask you. 

Teacher Hu: Wu Xing from your former section, is it true that he is dating the academic representative from section 3? 

Victor: Is it? I’m not too sure about that. 

Teacher Hu: Weren’t you two dormitory roommates? 

Victor: Yes, but that was last semester. Since this semester began, I haven’t really seen him much. 

Victor: Regarding your question, the response would be more accurate if he answered it himself. Would you like me to summon him for you? 

Teacher Hu: Hahaha, no need for that. 

Teacher Hu: Those friends of yours who hang out with you should learn to take a page from your book and invest their time and energy in more meaningful pursuits. 

Teacher Hu: Alright, you should head back now. 

– 

Following my parting with Teacher Hu, I walk in large strides toward the academic building— a melodious tune wafts through the campus, melding with the breeze. 

I’m afraid “Master Hu,” asked that question, likely because Wu Xing’s results in the mock exam didn’t meet expectations. 

Admittedly, I “did not disclose the information I knew” earlier, but to be fair, I indeed haven’t seen him around much at all, not only during this semester but throughout the entire summer vacation. 

Rarely, when we finally managed to schedule a long-overdue soccer match during our free time from makeup classes, this guy who prioritizes his date before friendship flaked out on me. 

Victor: [scoffing, BUT BAOBEI YOU’RE GONNA DO THE VERY SAME THING 10+ YEARS LATER 🤣]  How childish. 

– 

I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or one of those cases where “if your heart ponders something, there will be some sort of corresponding response,” but this “ex-roommate” of mine, whom I haven’t seen around much, shows up out of the blue right after taking his name, for the first time in ages. 

Wu Xing: Sir Vic— VIC— TOR— 

A sneaky voice suddenly drifts from the classroom’s back door during the lunch break. Wu Xing cautiously waves his hand, approaching the unfamiliar classroom with a hint of nervousness. 

Feeling a bit resigned, I walk over and offhandedly close the classroom door behind me. 

Victor: Doesn’t your section have you guys work on test papers during lunch break? 

Wu Xing: Does your section still have you guys work on test papers during lunch break? 

Our questions sound in unison, inexplicably making me laugh, but then I quickly refocus on the matter at hand. 

Victor: You need me for something? 

Wu Xing: For something big. Is Lao Zheng not around? 

Victor: I haven’t seen him. 

He asks as he peers into the classroom through the rear window a couple more times before finally speaking solemnly, as if it truly is something of utmost urgency. 

Wu Xing: Well, let’s go then. Time is of the essence. 

– 

I could have never imagined that the “something big” he was talking about was actually buying snacks from the convenience store outside the school gate. 

The aged iron gate, entwined with crawling vines, has a mottled appearance. Even though the lock is dangling loosely, it offers a firm barrier. The air carries a subtle scent of iron rust and the dampness common to the equipment room. 

The hand clutching the paper money reaches through the gap between the railings, and when it is withdrawn, it holds an assortment of snacks in various packaging bags. 

I hardly ever come to this place, and the handful of times I have been are all thanks to my dormitory roommates. 

Victor: So, this is what you referred to as “something big?” I’m out of here. 

Wu Xing: Ack, Sir Vic, don’t! Don’t roll the dice yet. The “iron rooster” is on patrol duty today. If he catches us, it’ll be bad news. At the very least, we’d probably have to sweep the playground for a whole month! 

Victor: And you’re still going to “commit the crime in broad daylight?” 

Wu Xing: [dramatically]  I have reasons for which I must take this risk. 

Victor: …if it weren’t for your talking nonsense, everything would’ve already been bought. 

As if finally remembering his purpose, Wu Xing briskly rushes toward the iron gate and calls out to the convenience store owner while cupping his throat. 

On his way back, he is busy hiding two large packs of “Meow Meow Snow Cookies” in his school uniform jacket. 

He nonchalantly tears open one of the packs while walking over, and then he stuffs two pieces of snow cookies into my hand without any explanation. 

Victor: No need, keep them for yourself to snack on later. 

Wu Xing: No, no, it’s all thanks to you that I could carry out this daunting mission smoothly. Thank you, my greatest ex-roommate, my former class monitor, my… 

Victor: [sighs helplessly]  …shut up. 

– 

Not wanting to waste more time, I off-handedly stash the two snow cookies into my pocket and motion for him to hurry up. He continues walking alongside me, matching my strides, until we reach the academic building. 

The grating noise created by the plastic rubbing against something makes me furrow my brows, and I can’t help but offer a warning. 

Victor: Your classroom is at that end of the corridor. 

Wu Xing: I’ll go to section 3 first. 

Victor: … 

Wu Xing: LuLu didn’t do well in the mock exam. I think she cried. Her eyes were red when I saw her at the cafeteria during lunch. 

Wu Xing: Although she hasn’t mentioned anything, I’m afraid she might think our relationship is interfering with… 

Wu Xing: I don’t know how to make her happy; I can only think of buying her the Meow Meow Snow Cookies she loves. Bro, say, girls would usually feel happy when they eat something they like, right? 

Victor: [softly]  …I think you might be the one who would be even happier. 

— 

[Tidbits]: kept the notes for last so as not to break the flow— 

✦ uhh they have so many nicknames, ofc it’s expected and relatable LMAO, but GODS THEY ARE a PAIN TO TRANSLATE HHH. Victor addressed Teacher Hu as “胡师太” which I translated as “Master Hu.” In Chinese, it’s essentially another sarcastic play on the other nickname they have for their homeroom teacher, “Empress Dowager Hu,” the message behind which is self-explanatory LOL. 

✦ “Prioritizing date before friendship” – the phrase here was 重色轻友, which in more causal English terms would be “hoes before bros,” haha. 

✦ “Iron Rooster” – here, I did the literal translation of “铁公鸡” to retain the sarcastic effect. It in simpler terms refers to someone being a cheapskate or miserly. 

✦ “Meow Meow snow cookies” (喵喵雪饼) – as the name suggests, they are similar to your usual snow cookies, only cat-shaped and much cuter LOL. 

✦ Victor’s final line about you being happier than the person receiving the gift— yes, as you might’ve already presumed, it’s the 2nd reference to MC in this story, and also a theme that runs through Victor’s contents pretty often— when they’re happy because of you, the cheery smile on the person’s face apparently brings you more joy than the person themselves. 

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 3】

Xiao Luo: Victor, how about we play some soccer later? Maybe you could show some of your footwork to the team? 

Despite seeing the expectant look on his face, I still shake my head. 

Victor: Sorry, but today won’t be possible. I can return to the dorm on Sunday morning and have the entire time afterward for practicing. 

Victor: I’ll compile the fundamental tactics and rules later tonight and send them to you on QQ. As for my footwork… I’m an amateur, so the most I can do is share some of my experiences during the actual training session. 

Xiao Luo: Sure thing! Just give me a knock tonight! 

– 

As I walk out of the school gate, the last rays of the setting sun cast a soft, crimson halo over the bustling streets. 

The charm of Friday lies precisely in this, rendering even the usually ordinary sunset into something particularly romantic. 

Soon, the No. 923 bus arrives, and after the crowd has boarded, I stand close to the handrail and shift my backpack to the front. 

The bus isn’t overly crowded at this hour, which makes it easier to fetch one’s belongings without causing any inconvenience to other passengers. 

– 

With this thought in mind, I grip the handrail with one hand while my other hand reaches into the front compartment of my schoolbag to retrieve the vocabulary notebook. With my fingertips, I flip through the pages one by one. 

A few points I lost this time were in vocabulary and grammar. It looks like I need to consolidate my understanding of these error-prone areas much more. 

I concentrate on each letter in the notebook, quietly repeating every word three times in my mind before turning to the next page. 

For a moment, the clamors surrounding me seem to grow muffled. I feel as if I’m isolated in a space of my own, able to hear only the voice of my mind crystal clear. 

Even the passage of time seems to slow down. 

The window’s shadow on the edge of my vision is rendered a hazy tint, slowly receding, but it also sharpens the clarity of the words in front of me. 

Although these words aren’t my first language, as long as I grasp the arteries and veins that connect the word roots and affixes, the rest is simply a process of putting them together and restructuring them. 

The patterns that dictate how the world operates also follow this principle. 

Firstly, one needs to understand the distinct characteristics of different things, then find their respective gaps–– and finally connect them, akin to joining mortise and tenon. 

This way, the correct answer is plainly evident. 

The sky outside the window has gradually begun to darken. I weave through the crowd to the back of the vehicle and take a quick look at my wristwatch. 

The hour hand ticks down one notch, and the time is about the same as what I had in mind. I should still be able to make it to Dawn Market before it closes for the day even if I hit traffic. 

Auntie Zhang usually doesn’t close her stall this early. I’m just not sure if I’ll be able to get any of the fruits Dad loves. 

I subconsciously look at the condition of the road ahead, feeling a slight hint of impatience creeping in. 

Victor: Yes, I can still make it in time. 

– 

By the time I arrive home, it’s slightly past 7 o’clock. 

Swiftly, I put down my schoolbag and change my clothes. I then step into the kitchen, don an apron, put the clams in a bowl to let them soak, and simultaneously begin cleaning the scallops. 

Just as I’m serving the garlic-steamed scallops on the table, I hear the door lock turning in the porch. 

Victor: Dad, you’re back. 

Papa Li: The flight got delayed, so it took longer than expected. Ah, you must be starving, aren’t you? 

Victor: I’m fine. You go and take a rest for a while. I’ll call you when the meal is ready. 

After saying this, I wipe my hands dry and pick up his suitcase propped against the doorway, placing it in the study. When I return to the living room, my father has already rolled up his sleeves and is standing by the dining table. 

Papa Li: I was wondering why the entire house was filled with the aroma of food as soon as I walked in the door. It turns out that our master chef has once again prepared a grand feast. 

Victor: It’s not that over-the-top, just regular home-cooked dishes, that’s all.  Victor: But I do have the clam stew and garlic butter scallops that you love. 

Papa Li: Well, it sounds like I must be in for a treat. 

Papa Li: What are you still stir-frying in your pan? Here, let Dad exhibit some tricks for you. 

My father seems to be in a good mood. It’s probably because the work on his business trip has been exceptionally successful. Although doing things myself would be more efficient, I naturally can’t dampen his spirits. 

I smile and lend him a hand. 

Papa Li: How’s school been going recently? Are you settling into your new class well? 

Victor: It’s going pretty well. We got our mock exam scores and class rankings today, and overall, they’re within the range I expected, except for some mistakes I made in English. 

Victor: I’ll show you my report card after we’re done with dinner. 

Papa Li: I’ve always been confident in your academic performance. What about things outside your studies? Have you been busy with student council duties recently? 

Victor: Hm, we are gearing up to organize the Autumn Sports Festival soon, and lately, I’ve been exploring potential sponsors among educational organizations and bookstores that have shown interest. 

Seeing that he hasn’t shifted his gaze, I contemplate for a moment and add. 

Victor: In my free time, I’ll be playing soccer with the others. I’ve signed up for the soccer tournament in the sports festival. 

Sure enough, my father appears visibly happier upon hearing this and even teases me a little. 

Papa Li: Such opportunities don’t come by often, so you’ve to make sure to give it your best! But son, you haven’t played as much soccer as you used to since you’ve grown up. Are you sure your skills are still sharp? 

Victor: How about personally inspecting my skills tomorrow morning? 

Papa Li: Hahaha, are you “throwing down the gauntlet” to me? Alright, alright, no problem, let’s have a friendly showdown. 

Before we know it, the family dinner wraps up amidst an atmosphere steeped in laughter, something we haven’t done in a long time. 

It’s almost ten o’clock by the time I finish my homework, and I notice that the light in my father’s study is still on. After hesitating for a moment, I go back to my room, pick up the notebook from my desk, and knock on the door of his study. 

– 

Papa Li: Vic? Why are you still up? 

Victor: I’ve got a few questions that I’m having a bit of trouble understanding. 

I flip my notebook to the most recent page and place it in front of my father, briefly giving him a summary of the few stocks that I’ve been researching these days. 

My father comprehends the situation and begins circling things in the notebook, gradually clarifying the puzzles that have been plaguing my mind. 

Seeing that I haven’t said anything in a while, my father gently taps on the table with his pen. 

Papa Li: Is there a part you didn’t understand? 

Victor: No, it’s not that. I’m just glad that I’m in a simulated investment scenario where there’s room for trial and error. 

Papa Li: Real business transactions can also withstand trial and error. Son, there’s no one or no circumstance that can bring overnight success. 

I understand what my father is saying, but it’s precisely because I understand these principles that my resolve to achieve my goals becomes even more steadfast. 

It’s also because I have experienced that feeling of powerlessness, where I was helpless to find a way out, that my conviction has been more solidified— I must advance at a faster pace. 

Victor: I’ve got it. Thanks, Dad. You should get an early night. 

Papa Li: But judging by your achievements of the past few years… 

As if he has suddenly remembered something, my father takes out a somewhat aged notebook from a drawer. 

Inside the notebook, there are meticulous records of the maintenance cost I’ve earned every year for Vic Vic through simulated investments, starting from my junior high school days. 

Papa Li: It looks like you’ll get there earlier than you had planned. 

Victor: My goal is to round off the remaining amount in the next three years. 

Victor: I was quite conservative in my calculations back then, but now I’m confident. 

– 

In the blink of an eye, the preparation phase for the Autumn Sports Festival is in full swing. Adhering to the “first-come, first-served” principle, there’s a constant rush of people in the venues and equipment storage areas. 

It appears that this enthusiasm has got the entire school’s faculty and students immersed, as evident in the ongoing internal meeting of the student council. 

I close the proposal document in front of me and turn my gaze to the head of the sports department who has been talking confidently since the beginning of the meeting, putting forth all kinds of budget-busting ideas. 

If memory serves, he only joined the student council this year. While it’s understandable to have such drive when taking on a major responsibility as this for the first time, it’s not surprising that his ideas are so impractical. 

Victor: We are organizing a sports event for the school, not the Loveland City Youth Sports Meet. 

Victor: Before asking me if I can secure such a large budget, shouldn’t we first consider the already existing conditions? 

Victor: Even if we manage to lock in sponsorships smoothly, I’m afraid we don’t have sufficient space and workforce to sustain it. 

Head of Sports Department: But I’ve discussed this issue with Xiao Sun from your External Affairs Department beforehand, and the proposal he’s handed in today is actually twice as substantial as what he initially suggested. 

Victor: That’s the very reason why having this meeting today was essential, isn’t it? 

Victor: To prevent the possibility of others misinterpreting due to the spread of incomplete information inappropriately. 

The other party doesn’t seem to have anticipated that I would respond this way, rendering him silent for a moment before he speaks again. 

Head of Sports Department: Doesn’t the External Affairs Department need to hold another meeting to discuss this? Or is Student Council President Victor implying that we don’t have any room for further discussion? 

Victor: First and foremost, whether the External Affairs Department needs to deliberate on the conclusions drawn from today’s general meeting, I will make that assessment. 

Victor: Secondly, “we” are not the ones who get to negotiate this. Because this matter has never been about any of us individually, from the outset to the conclusion. 

Head of Sports Department: [sarcastic laugh]  Heh, I’ve heard rumors that the External Affairs Department is managed by an autocratic approach, and today I finally got the chance to witness it first-hand. 

…I can hardly believe someone would make such an elementary-school-student-style remark in this situation. 

Victor: If labeling me with a derogatory term as “autocratic” can make things seem more reasonable, then I don’t find any objection to your remark. 

Head of Sports Department: … 

Victor: I apologize for taking up everyone’s time. The Executive Committee and the Secretariat, please inform me as soon as you have made your decisions, and I will make further improvements to the proposal. 

After finishing my words, I pick up the folder and turn around to exit the conference room. 

— 

[Tidbits]: 

✦ regarding the “arteries and veins” (脉络) and “mortise and tenon” (榫卯) parts— I decided to do their literal translations despite initially going for metaphorical terms, to show you guys the way Li Zeyan writers think + how they wanted you to grasp just how immersed he was and how passionate he is in general about learning that he is subconsciously relating things like this. 

✦ Dawn Market and Auntie Zhang are references to his S2 Company Project, where we met this old lady and learned the precious story of how Victor would visit the market with his dad when he was a kid. I don’t remember her name on the EN server LOL, so used the original one as it was. 

✦ The stock research, simulated investment, and paying for Vic Vic’s (the panda Yan Yan) upkeep fees – these are all references to Victor’s 4th birthday story, where after learning that the panda’s adoption fee had to be paid on yearly installments, 15-year-old Victor decided to put his knowledge about simulated investment to action and use the profits from investments to pay the panda’s upkeep fees. And sure enough, his investments were successful, and at the time he had told his dad that he’d be able to pay his dad all the adoption fees back over the years by the time he was 25. But as we saw in this story, in 2nd year of his senior high school, he had cut that time down to only 3 years, and he did not need those years in full either~ :’) 

✦ And as for using the “Papa Li” term of address instead of “Victor’s Dad”–– it was a force of habit LOL + I wanted to retain the personalized feelings here haha (,,>ࡇ<,,)

—

•─────⋅◍♡◍⋅─────•

—

【Chapter 4】

As the other person reiterates his “refusal” attitude once again, I take a deep breath and reach out to loosen my tie. 

The sunlight at high noon is somewhat glaring. After stuffing the proposal into my backpack, I walk mechanically towards the subway station. 

I still have more than enough time before the cram classes, and this morning has gone well as I successfully negotiated for most of the sponsorship according to the plan. 

Apart from… 

I can’t help but sigh, kneading my throbbing forehead. 

Perhaps because it’s the weekend, as I pass by the park, I hear the animated sounds of laughter and cheerful voices. 

It’s as if I’ve caught the contagious effect of that simple joy, I subconsciously change my path and sit down on a bench nearby. 

All of a sudden, I loosen up a tad and my mind involuntarily begins thinking back to the wall I’ve hit just earlier. 

— 

───── [FLASHBACK BEGINS] ─────

Victor: Mr. Yu, the significance school sports day holds in high school activities is quite evident, whether in terms of its overall scale or the level of importance placed on it by both teachers and students. 

Victor: And with the level of publicity in an event such as this, it’s without a doubt that it can boost your campus market share, while simultaneously deepening the profile of your company. 

Victor: In my opinion, this collaborative effort is one that demands minimal investment but yields rapid returns. 

Victor: Please take a look at our proposal, and if you have any questions, we can discuss them right away. 

The man in the impeccably dressed suit and shoes in front of me remains completely silent, waiting patiently until I finish speaking. Then he sits up straight on the couch, courteously accepts the folder from me, and places it directly onto the table. 

Mr. Yu: Your arguments are very sound, but there’s no need for us to invest in the school. 

Victor: Do you have any concerns, or are there any aspects of the proposal that you currently find unsatisfactory? 

Mr. Yu: Hahaha, Victor, you seem to have missed the point of what I meant. 

Mr. Yu: As a matter of fact, your proposal is already very well-rounded. To be honest with you, among all the proposals I always receive, many from adults don’t even measure up to yours. 

Mr. Yu: But you must know that what you’re confronting are people, not only proposals. 

Mr. Yu: There’s nothing wrong with being considerate of all aspects, but people are incoercible, let alone businessmen who always prioritize their interests above all else. 

───── [FLASHBACK ENDS] ─────

— 

Suddenly, something lightly bumps against my feet, snapping me back to reality. 

It’s a soccer ball. 

??: Sorry—— 

An unfamiliar voice sounds not far away, and upon lifting my head, I see a group of young boys waving at me, dripping with sweat. I knowingly rise to my feet and lift my leg to kick the ball back to them. 

The ball is passed with perfect accuracy to the feet of a young boy not too far away. 

??: Thanks, buddy! 

Sunlight filters down the gaps between the branches and leaves. I incline my head to gaze at the dappled light spots it creates. 

On this day, I’ve come to understand that many things don’t yield results based on the perfection achieved by one individual; there are numerous external factors at play. 

And that, one should always be prepared and have a well-rounded plan in place for everything. 

– 

The highly anticipated Autumn Sports Festival has lifted its curtains on a bright and beautiful morning. 

With the piercing sound of the whistle, the friendly soccer match is down to its final five minutes. 

Under the scorching sun, the grass field sizzles beneath our feet, and the striking 0:1 on the scoreboard has got everyone in the Section 1 team with their hearts hanging in midair. 

However, as if the situation is not already bad enough, more troubles keep coming one after another. Not only are we behind in the score, but our goalkeeper has also been red-carded and sent off the field due to a mistake while charging out. 

My gaze shifts from the glaring red card to the referee’s finger–– pointing at the 12-yard mark. 

??: You’ve got to be kidding me! A penalty kick at this moment–– they’re giving us the full “red-card” combo! This is ridiculous! Can’t we protest this? 

??: Come on, move along. The match is over. 

??: It’s really a pity for the Section 1 team. The two teams were neck and neck for so long, and I thought a miracle might really happen. 

??: You’re overthinking it. It’s already a miracle that they managed to persist until now. Among those students of Section 9, six of them are sports prodigies, you know. 

The ceaseless buzz of murmurs and discussions lingers around me from all directions. Fine beads of sweat cling to my neck in disarray, and I wipe them away in irritation, my toes finding themselves stomping on the ground several times. 

The current situation is indeed far from optimistic. 

If we bring in a forward as a substitute for the goalkeeper, the odds of winning the game will be completely against us. 

Given that nothing can be done about the 10 vs. 11 situation we’re already in, what can we possibly do to level the score? 

My brain spins at a lightning pace, and suddenly, a somewhat bold idea springs to mind. 

With almost not the slightest hesitation, I raise my hand to draw the referee’s attention, requesting a substitution. 

Xiao Luo: ...but you hardly ever took on the role of a goalkeeper in the practice matches we had before, and now to substitute as... 

Victor: The key is not just to defend the goalpost. 

I interrupt the sports committee representative and earnestly shift my gaze to the coach and the team members on the field. 

Victor: Being a midfielder, if I take on the role of the goalkeeper, to some extent, it will create a similar sense of skepticism in the opposing team. 

Victor: Now, at this point in the game, it essentially boils down to a competition of stamina. 

While speaking, I turn my gaze to the substitutes who are about to replace the wingers on both sides. 

Substitute teammate: But doesn’t that mean we’re giving up control of the midfield by doing this? 

Victor: You’re right. But without taking risks, there will be no reward. 

Victor: My strategy is not something I can accomplish relying on my abilities alone. I need the trust and cooperation of every single one of you. 

Victor: I will surely block the penalty kick. 

After putting on the protective gloves, I clap my palms together vigorously twice, and in my peripheral vision, I can see the penalty taker also walking to the designated spot. 

Drawing a deep breath, I walk to the side of the goalpost, slightly arch my body, and then fix my gaze straight ahead. Inadvertently, I raise my hand and gesture towards the completely unguarded opposite side. 

For a moment, it feels as if all the eyes in the entire arena have turned towards me, causing me to fall into a trance and giving me the sensation as though I can hear the sound of time ticking away. 

Another whistle blows. 

The opponent clearly hesitates for a moment, as if trying to decipher whether my action is intended as a provocation, or it has some other meaning. 

But all of that is unimportant at this moment. 

He had already lost right at the second he hesitated and did not take a decisive shot. 

And that second was all I needed. 

── 

Xiao Luo: Victor! You’re really something! I can’t believe that pulling off such an unconventional strategy secured us a narrow victory! 

Victor: It was merely a draw, nothing more. 

Teammate: Well, that still counts as a victory in our book! Let’s go to Lao Beimen’s street stall; I’m treating everyone to soda, ice-cream, and grilled sausages! Victor, you coming with us? 

Victor: Sure, let’s go. 

Xiao Luo and Teammates: YES! 

Watching my fellow teammates, who have shared the sweat and toil, beam with expressions of elation as if they have scored a goal, I find myself smiling along with them. 

The afternoon heat is yet to subside, and pedestrians are seeking shelter beneath the shade of the trees as they move forward. Only we continue to walk under the sunlight, chatting and laughing among ourselves as we walk down the footbridge. 

The lady working at the newspaper stand places the newly arrived comics in a prominent spot, then sits down in the shaded area, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan; 

The bright and youthful college students walk hand in hand, their phone charms clinking together, producing a crisp sound; 

Clad in their uniform, the junior high schoolers sport headphones as they wait for the bus to arrive. Who knows what they’re listening to, whether it’s some English listening exercise or popular music; 

The fine beads of sweat glisten with a radiant glow between the young boy’s hairline, while his red sportswear is eye-catching and vibrant, epitomizing the most splendid appearance one can have at his age.

I tighten the cords of my drawstring bag a little and skillfully keep the ball bouncing on my toes, maneuvering around a few bicycles on the lane without any people, and then use a bit of force to toss the ball in the air. 

The attempt to catch the ball with my knee isn’t executed perfectly, and the ball slightly slips out of control. 

I jog a couple of steps to catch up, throw the ball again, and catch it once more— and like this, I indulge in this self-amusing routine tirelessly. 

A light sheen of sweat lightly dampens the ends of my hair. I fling my head back a little and quicken my stride, allowing the gentle breeze to whisk away the residual heat. 

Even though it’s merely a school-level sports event, triumph always feels great, especially when your own efforts are so clearly visible. 

There are still two more intersections to go before we reach Lao Beimen’s stall. As I watch the several spiritedly hopping figures ahead of me, I decide to bring my own little celebration to an end. 

After all, this was merely a school-level soccer match; I couldn’t let satisfaction be so readily apparent on my face. 

The soccer ball bounces and produces a firm sound, while the fluttering clothes closely trails its trajectory. 

It’s only the sunshine that knows the young boy has been unknowingly sporting a smile at the corners of his lips, unmistakably revealing a look of satisfaction. 

────── ••• ─────

💘 【Calls】: Here!

───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

【Anika’s Ramblings】

—

[muzzlemouths]

I'm glad I didn't die before I met you (this is the first day of my life)

Ten years have passed since you first brought Sun and Moon into your home (and to that extent, your life), and as it happens, today is your anniversary. You talk about the past and reminisce the best of your memories, your love persisting even in the midst of a storm.

After all, you aren't going to let anything dampen your special day.

Sun & Moon centric // Wordcount: 8000 // AO3 Vers.

You check and double-check the ingredients for the umpteenth time to ensure that everything is there and in its place. The pasta is set out in its neat little box on the counter, sat beside two wine glasses and a dreamy chocolate cake. The homemade sauce - an old family recipe - waits patiently in the fridge beside a biscuit tin and potatoes for roasting, eager for its time to shine.

A rather fancy dinner that only one of you could fully enjoy, but they both assured you they didn’t mind pretending for the sake of such a special night. You had joked about recreating the trademark spaghetti scene from Lady and the Tramp, and Sun returned the humor by stating that you could always tape one side of the noodle to his mouth (anything to make you happy) which had you both in a fit of giggles. Tonight meant the world to you - all of you.

It was your anniversary, after all.

Sun himself was outside, for now, tending to the garden. You could see him from the kitchen window, bowed over your tomato plant and speaking with it fondly, a habit you grew to expect - and love, for that matter - even if it did take him ages to get from one crop to the next because he couldn’t resist striking up a conversation with each leaf.

He says something or other to a tomato smaller than the rest (a gentle encouragement, if you had to guess) before straightening up and looking your way, evidently having felt the eyes on his back. Not that he minds; rather, he looks to you with a broad smile and waves, beckoning you to him. You laugh, shaking your head, and humor his wishes.

The sky is somewhat overcast when you make it outside. Not stormy by any means, but a broad enough cloud coverage to keep you mostly in the shade as you make your way to his side, a gentle breeze accompanying it. “What are you still doing out here?” You ask him with a smile, “It’s getting dark already, you know. Our garden needs sleep as much as I do.”

Smiling, he waves you off and instead bends at the knees, gesturing toward the tomato plant. “Look at this!” He beams, pointing out one specific tomato, “It wasn’t nearly this big just a few days ago. It’s doubled in size practically overnight!”

Your own knees bend with an aged groan and you crook an eyebrow, looking in the direction he points to find the runt of the bunch. Sure enough, it’s grown to be quite the shiner since Sun first began giving it special attention. “Well would you look at that,” you give it a whistle, “I guess constructive criticism works on plants, too.”

“No criticizing here!” Sun corrects with a sharp grin, “Just good ol’ fashioned tender loving care , is all.”

“And a healthy dose of Vitamin D straight from the source,” you snicker. He doesn’t immediately get it, so you jab a lighthearted finger right in the center of his chest, “You know,” then turn it upward, “the sun?”

A short beat, then he’s bent over with laughter and pretending to wipe a tear from his eye, “Hardy har har,” he sneers through a smile, “very clever, sunflower. I’m afraid that particular ability isn’t quite in my skillset.”

You give him a shrug, “I’m not so sure,” a casual hum, “you always brighten my day.” (I love you)

Another beat, quiet as the sky, and you swear he blushes red as the roses behind him, “Flatterer,” comes his reply, “but the sun has nothing to shine on if not their favorite flower,” sweet as honey and twice as smooth, “don’t you think so?” (I love you)

“Hey now, mister,” you waggle a finger in his face, a poor attempt at hiding your own cheeks, “I was trying to compliment you , you know, don’t go turning it around on me now.” Your head shakes back and forth and a sigh escapes you as he responds to your taunts with more laughter. Just past him, the rosebush dances in the wind. You march past him and towards it, reaching in blindly, “Do you know what today is?”

“Of course,” he follows, a new shadow enveloping you from behind. Sun’s arms wrap around your waist and he sets his chin against the top of your head, “It’s our anniversary, love. Did you think I forgot?”

“Not at all,” you hum, “maybe I just like hearing you say it.” Your hand upturns the petals on a rose in full bloom, admiring it fondly. Sun had planted these himself. Something nips at your palm, and drawing it away from the bush reveals the smallest bead of crimson.

Sun tsks behind you, reaching for your hand before anything can be said. He brings it above your head and plants a kiss just beside the spot. “A temporary fix,” he tells you with a wink, “until we get you a proper band-aid.”

You turn, slow, to face him. He releases you only to catch your hands again once you’re in front of him, gathering them in his own hands and giving a gentle squeeze, then raising both to kiss at your knuckles. You look away, fumbling for a moment. “You’re always such a sap,” you tell him in a whisper, “come on, you’re going to make me do something I regret.”

“Oh?” With a devilish look in his eyes, he once again raises your hands to his face and, this time, he kisses every finger one by one, sneaking a look in your direction after each, “What about now?”

A whimper escapes you, soft and fond, you melt under his eager touch. Then all at once you pull away from his grip and surround his own wrists, tugging him down to your level for a proper kiss.

He is warm against you, an embrace you never want to leave, but eventually you find yourself needing air.

Winding back, breathless, you look at him with a half-lidded expression.

He returns it with a gaze like he’s mesmerized, still leaning into you, he smiles at you as though he’s looking at a work of art, “Do you regret that?”

“No,” you whisper in reply, finding yourself driven forward for seconds, “not at all.”

One of his hands wiggles free and wraps around you, cradling at the small of your back and pulling you in close until you’re fully pressed against him, and he returns the kiss with a third - just to the left of your lips - then another at your cheek, and your jaw, another still, at your nose and then your forehead, and ten more everywhere in between until you’re squeaking with giggles and forcibly pushing him away.

But he isn’t done. “It’s our anniversary,” he repeats, grabbing for your other hand and crossing his fingers between yours, “ten years, you know.”

“I know,” you smile, “I just said as much, didn’t I?”

“You also said you liked to hear it,” he reminds you. His fingers unwind a moment after, drawing yours upward in a similar manner before pressing your hands palm-to-palm, his dwarfing your own. “So much has changed since the day we met,” he says, stars in his eyes, “your hands were so very soft, back then,” his fingers curl over the top of yours, “now they’re tough from years of work, calloused from the garden,” they intertwine, again, and he goes out of his way to brush over the ring, “so much is different, now,” his eyes find you again, and he’s choked back, “I’m so glad I was there to see it.”

It catches you off guard. Even — if not especially — after all these years, he knows just how to strike straight for the heart. “Hey, none of that. If you start crying I will, too!” You whine at him, but you don’t stop him or dare pull away, instead you tug his hand (still warmly in yours) against your cheek and brush a kiss to his palm from there, “I’m glad, too,” you whisper after a moment, “I can’t imagine my life without you now,” you give it a gentle squeeze, “both of you.”

He somehow goes softer at the kiss, his other hand raising to cradle your cheek, “Oh, don’t say that. I’m sure you could have done better than us,” he insists with a halfhearted chuckle, “you always impressed us, I bet you could have anyone you wanted.”

“What if the person I want is you?”

He pauses, eyes widening as though you’ve confessed for the very first time, and not the tenth, or hundredth, or thousandth, and it puts his new hardware to work; from where you’re standing, up against his heart, you can see the faintest puddle of artificial tears beginning to form under his eyes. “Well,” he sniffles despite the lack of an actual nose and leans in, touching his forehead to yours, “I suppose I can’t argue with that, can I?”

“Mmmhm,” you hum against him, closing your eyes, “I don’t regret choosing you, not ever,” you promise, “if I could go back in time and do it all over again I would, and I would choose you every time.”

Sun had always been sentimental. His new ability to shed tears didn’t change that, only made it more obvious, so you aren’t at all surprised by the trickle of them kissing your cheeks from where he’s pressed against you. “Thank you,” he says softly, “it’s the same for us. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Then a bubbling of laughter escapes him, tickling your ear, and he hushes the internal monologue of, ‘ WIll you two get a room already’ from Moon who, for all intents and purposes, can’t be seen with his face in his hands, blushing with twice the ferocity of either of you.

“Besides,” you continue, finally taking the time to pull away so you can view him in full, “if you want to talk nostalgia, we can’t forget how you used to scare away any potential partners,” you poke him gently between the eyes, “ both of you. Don’t think I never noticed.”

‘Uh oh’

“You knew?” He squeaks in return, “It was a bad habit, I’ll admit, a-and if you ever told us to stop we would have. Right away!”

“I know,” you nod, “but I didn’t mind it,” and a sneaky grin comes to your face, “maybe I even enjoyed it a little. Seeing you two get a little jealous.”

“I’m not sure that’s the correct word for it,” he laughs. Possessive is a truer way to put it, but the feeling had never culminated in anything more than puppy guarding you from strangers (and lying about your relationship status from time to time). “Alright, what about the first time we confessed,” he says, “if we’re reminiscing, and all. Do you remember?”

“Of course I do,” you tell him, “it was right before I got you out of that damn pizzaplex—”

“Language, please.”

You chuckle, “—and again immediately after, like just the once wasn’t enough. You and I were laying in my backyard and—”

“You were teaching me how to spot the clouds,” he finishes for you with an enamored smile, “it made me happy just to be outside, but even more that it was you who brought me there. You pointed out a cloud that looked like a heart—”

“You said it was yours,” now your own eyes begin to sting, your emotions threatening to spill over in the moment, “you told me you loved me. Over and over, until I was sure of it.”

“And I’ll do it again,” he muses, finding your hands in his still, as though you’ll never let go, “I love you,” he says, soft as his heart, “I love you more than the clouds and the birds and all the rainbows in the sky, I love you more than I have the capacity to say.”

You pull one of your own hands away to rub at your eye, and a minute later his follows, gently stopping your hand from the act so he can brush the tears aside with his own thumb. You chuckle beneath his touch with a melty whine, “Look what you’ve done,” you tease, “now we’re both crying.”

An idea strikes you then, and you’re quick to act on it, taking his hand in yours and swiftly pulling him away from the rose bush and out of the garden entirely. Just outside of it is where you flop down onto your back, dragging him with you, and the grass catches your bodies with a soft thump.

“What are we doing?” He asks you with some laughter.

“Cloudspotting!” You say like it’s obvious. Lifting your chin, you look to the sky and point out a particularly odd looking shape. “Look, there! That one looks like a dog.”

He follows where you point. “I see it,” Sun hums, then points to one just beside it himself, “What about this one? It’s like a big oak tree.”

“You’re right! And just under it, that flat cloud with the whisps by it” — your grin broadens, “that could be a tree swing. I used to have one as a kid.” You look across the sky, seeing what else you can find, “Oh, what about that one?” Your finger points just over his head, “It looks kind of like a butt,” you giggle over the idea of it, “don’t you think?” but you hear nothing in return. Eventually, you turn to look at him, “Sun?”

He isn’t playing, anymore. Rather, his eyes are set fondly on you. How long had he been watching you like that?

“Hey, I can’t play this by myself,” you gently jab an elbow against him, hoping to distract from the color rising, again, to your cheeks, “You can’t just stare at me all day, you know.”

“I can’t?”

“No!” You laugh, turning back to the sky, now, “Here, look at this one. I think it could be a car. One of those old fashioned ones.”

Again, there’s no response, but a half-second later your view of the sky is obscured as Sun rolls over and on top of you (careful to avoid crushing you) and leans in with a sly smile, “What about now?” He cooes, “See anything special?”

You bite back another laugh, “Well of course,” you tell him with a nod, “I see the one and only sun, in fact. The most beautiful star in the sky.”

“Mm,” a tint returns to his cheeks, “flattery will get you no where, dewdrop,” despite this, he closes the distance between you and presses a heartfelt kiss to your lips, only deepening it when he feels you embrace both sides of his face with your hands and draw him in closer.

“I dunno,” you hum between breaths, “I think it got me somewhere.”

“Don’t get cocky,” he draws away to look at you, doe-eyed, and it looks like he has more to say, but he freezes before any words spill out, and blinks down at you with a confused expression.

“What?” You stuff down your disappointment in the moment being interrupted, “Is something wrong?”

“I think—” his expression sours into a squint, “I think the sky spit on me.” His faceplate lifts to the sky to get a better look, and the result is immediate; as soon as he’s not there to shield you, a drop of rain lands right in your eye.

“Oh, shit —”

“Language”

“Sunny, it’s raining!” You sit up to your elbows, “I thought it wasn’t supposed to rain until tomorrow.”

He swipes a finger over his mouth (as though that does anything) and holds it up to the sky, “Maybe a shift in the wind,” he tells you with a hum, “it might have brought the storm in faster than expected.”

“Oh, are you a meteorologist now?”

He faces you again with a lighthearted scoff, “Just making observations,” he says, and he climbs off of you in one fell swoop, extending a hand in your direction, “come on, let’s get inside before it comes down any harder.”

“I’m sure it’s just a sprinkle,” you say, taking the offered hand and allowing him to hoist you up by it, “but I don’t feel like getting rained on so uh, yeah, let’s head inside.”

Thunder booms overhead. Sun flinches, sticking to you like glue, and you help each other make a mad dash inside as the rain turns from a drizzle to a downpour in the blink of an eye. 

Once inside, Sun reaches for your nearest towel (the rag that hangs over your oven handle) and begins to wordlessly dab away the water on your skin despite dripping all over the floors himself.

You put a hand over his to stop him, “Do you have any idea how badly I need to throw that rag in the wash?” You ask with a chuckle, “I want to go take a hot shower anyway. Stay here and I’ll get a proper towel to dry you off with.”

“And then dinner?” Sun asks with an eager expression.

“You’ve got to wait a bit longer for that,” you tell him, “it’s not for a few more hours, still, and I have homework to do until then.”

It’s not a sentence you ever thought you would catch yourself saying again, but as luck would have it you decided some years ago to give college another go. It isn’t a decision you regret, even if the homework is a lot - as an understatement - and the deadlines remind you of years spent in teenage panic.

Sun helps. He was more than eager to offer his help, in fact, and his constant encouragement is what keeps you going most days. Right on cue, he dabs one last time at the inside of your wrist, and kisses the spot of skin soon after, “I’ll get the book out,” he tells you.

You answer with a fond nod, “Alright, you sap. Let me go get you that towel.”

-

Somewhere between you getting in the shower and getting out of the shower, Sun left a fresh towel (warm from the dryer) right where you could reach it. You give the act a fond shake of your head before getting dressed, heading out of the bathroom and down the hallway, where you see him preparing a cup of tea for your study session.

You’re used to microwaving it and popping a bag in, but somewhere in the last ten years Sun insisted on a kettle, and you were hard pressed to argue. Now, him making you tea before you sit down to study each evening has become something of a routine. Intricate rituals, and all that.

“What is it today?” You ask.

He looks up from the cup, where he’s just finished stirring in a spoonful of honey, “Chamomile,” he answers, “thought you might like to relax after your shower.”

“Mm, I didn’t know we had any of that left,” your hands cup around the mug, bringing it to your lips. You blow on the drink until some of the steam dissipates, then take a slow and careful sip, coming back with a smile, “Perfect as always,” you tell him. “Thank you for the towel, as well. It was a nice surprise.”

Sun beams at the compliment, “Well, you know I’m good at surprises,” he answers, then gestures for your livingroom, your homework book already fitted snugly under his arm. “Shall we?”

He politely leads you to the couch and takes your tea, and sets it on the coffee table to the side, then takes a seat on the couch and happily pats his lap with an expectant (and hopeful) grin. You humor him with a roll of your eyes, and lay down on the couch in your usual study position — that is, with your head in his lap.

Here, he opens up the book to your bookmarked page and begins to read its contents for the current chapter, the heavy pitter patter of rain outside easily becoming background noise.

This goes on for a couple chapters. Sun reads the page and every so often asks you a question, and you discuss the lesson with the occasional break to sip tea and take notes. You flip on a lamp as the sky darkens with time, the rain raging on outside, without a care. You’re pleasantly warm right where you’re at and more than content to stay that way even as Sun closes the book to end that day’s study session. In fact, you have half a mind to find a blanket and nap just like that until dinner time.

Unfortunately, the weather has other plans.

A more violent gust of wind rushes against the windows, whistling against the frames. Sun looks up towards it with a concerned expression that you’re quick to hush away with a squeeze of his hand. “Just the wind,” you assure him, “the windows will hold just fine.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” he admits with a sigh, “it’s getting awfully dark out there, don’t you think?”

“Sun,” you give him a quizzical look without moving from your spot, “it’s evening, remember. The time it normally gets dark?”

“You know what I mean,” he tuts, reaching down to honk your nose, “it’s darker than usual. The rain is really picking up, and now the wind is at our door. Isn’t it dangerous?”

You shrug, not really caring, “We’re safe inside, Sunny, I promise.” Your words apparently bring him little comfort, given the sour expression he gives you, “But if it would make you feel better I can go check the weather report, see where that big bad storm’s headed next.”

This brings the smile back to his face, “It would bring me some relief to know we aren’t in the thick of it, yes,” he answers you honestly, “but don’t be too long, or I’ll start to worry the storm got you.”

Your laugh is punctuated with another roll of your eyes, “Alright, alright, let me up then.”  It’s figurative, said in jest as he’s not actually holding you down in the slightest, however, not one to miss an opportunity, Sun suddenly doubles down and wraps his arms around you right as you’re readying to stand up from the couch. 

He brings your back to his chest, pulling you into a full sit in his lap, and covers the back of your neck in kisses everywhere he can reach, quickly reducing you to a fit of laughter as you squirm to get away.

“Quit it!” You shrill around the attack, “Come on, do you want me to go check the news or not?”

“Just a few more,” he promises, and suddenly he’s standing, hoisting you into a bridal hold and going at your upper body with a fervor, laying down a smooch on any exposed skin he can find until you’re shrieking with laughter and playfully batting him away, a fruitless endeavor that only makes him work faster.

“C-Come on—” your feet kick at him, hands pushing against his face.

“Mm!”

“Sun—” you gasp for air, “ Sunny— ”

“Not done!”

He peppers another few at your jaw, then another dozen down your chest, bringing your belly in close—

and blowing the biggest, sloppiest raspberry against it.

“Hey!” You shriek, “Enough, enough you big goof! You’re going to make me pass out. Put me down!”

“As you wish~” he cooes, and just as soon he’s dropping you from a few feet above to the plush couch below, where you land with an oof and a soft thud, your head spinning as you come back into focus and glare him down with a not-really-mad expression. “Now, about that weather report?” He grins like he hadn’t just been the one keeping you from it, “I’m going to get a head start on dinner while you’re at it.”

“Mhm,” you scoff, not entirely convinced that he isn’t getting on the task solely to keep you from seeking retaliation. “I’ll get you back for that, mister, mark my words.”

He gives you a wink. You return it with a softening smile. With that, you escape behind him and turn down the hall, and head for your bedroom so you can flip to the weather channel for a quick and easy idea of what’s coming your way. 

You dig around for the missing remote for a minute to the sounds of Sun getting into the pots and pans in the kitchen. A minute later you find it, hit the button, flip the channels, land on the right one, and—

Oh.

Oh no.

Leaving the tv as is, you quickly make your way down the hallway again, ready to swallow your pride and admit that Sun may have been more right than you wanted to believe. 

“Hey so, about that storm--”

It’s then that a particularly loud rumble of thunder echos overhead and instantly, your lights flicker, then go kerpoof , launching the house into total darkness.

Evidently, the power has blown out.

“Well that’s just great,” you sigh from the hallway. Maybe your plans for dinner tonight would be getting an update. “Su—” you stop yourself before the name is fully out, thinking better of it as the situation fully dawns on you. “Moon…?”

“Here,” comes his gravely voice from a few meters away. There’s a flash of lightning from the window, and in the brief time it illuminates your kitchen you can see his form — brandishing a knife, of all things — then your perception of him is again reduced to the trademark crimson glow.

You squint in his direction, taking a few measured steps forward, and blindly, in the dark, “Do you wanna tell me why you’ve got a knife, buddy?”

“Are you scared?” He cooes, much closer now, “Think I’ll do something mean?”

“Hardly,” you snort in return. After ten years, there’s not a single part of you that’s scared of Moon anymore, knife or not. “Seriously, though. Why the weapon?”

“Was cutting potatoes,” he answers from the dark. “Well, Sun was. Then the power—”

“Yeah,” you interrupt him with a sigh, “it’s an ongoing issue.” 

Reaching into your back pocket, you retrieve your phone and turn on the flashlight, careful not to shine it immediately in Moon’s direction. Sure enough, there’s a cutting board out on the counter and two potatoes already thinly sliced for roasting. It looks like the lights went out as he was getting started on the third.

Moon lowers the knife and settles it against the cutting board with a quiet tap. He’s squinting just beside you, attempting not to look your flashlight in the eyes. “Guess we’re taking a raincheck on dinner,” he says — and you don’t need to see his cheeky grin to know it’s there, “Get it? Rain check?”

“Ha, ha, very funny” you roll your eyes.

 He points toward you a second later, his finger showing up in the thin stripe of light, “Any way you can turn that thing down?”

“No can do, knife boy,” you shake the phone a little for emphasis, “This is the only light source I’ve got. Unless there’s a secret nightlight mode you’ve kept hidden from me all these years.”

“Maybe if I still had my uniform--”

“Oh come on, are you still mad at me about that?”

“The stars glowed in the dark, remember?”

“It had holes , Moon. Both of your uniforms did. Remember that ?”

He answers you with a clipped grunt, shrugging, “What about candles, then? You’ve gotta have one or two around here. Easier on the eyes.”

The suggestion makes you pause. True, candles would certainly be perfect for this exact situation (romantic, too), and you knew for certain there were a handful of them lying around your house, but… “Are you sure?” Your phone lowers slightly, allowing him the chance to look you in the eyes, “That’s a lot of fires at once, even if they're just little ones.”

Another shrug, this one heavier. It’s obvious he gave it some thought. “Nothing we can’t handle,” he assures you, “besides, anything is better than being blinded by your phone.” There’s a pause, then his teeth rise into a smirk, “You know, I can see just fine in the dark. I could always lead you around—”

“No, no, that’s alright,” You wave at him, “candles it is.”  Swiveling on your heel (and taking the light with you, much to his relief) you head out in search of enough candles to light at least the most important rooms until the power comes back on.

You manage to find most of them in your bedroom, the majority having been ones you bought but could never bring yourself to light. There’s two more in the bathroom, one in the cupboard, and a whole box of cheap tea lights in your closet. Now all that was left to do was find the lighter, and that’s where the real challenge was.

In the kitchen, Moon can be heard putting away dinner (or what was started of it, anyway), and apparently working on a worthwhile replacement. You thought about just ordering a pizza, but you’d never forgive yourself for doing that to the delivery guy.

You’ve looked in every nook and cranny for the stupid thing by the time you head down the hallway again, searched high and low for a lighter you know you own, and have found yourself right back in the kitchen and rooting through the cabinets there. 

Just as you’re readying to give up on the search, you hear a familiar click from the kitchen, and turn to look over your shoulder from where you’re crouched in front of the cabinets to see a tiny flame beside two red eyes. “Looking for something?” He asks with a low chuckle.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact,” you take it from him with a scoff, “Where was it?”

“Kitchen drawer,” he shrugs, “first one.”

“Of course.” You look back to your phone again and check the battery level, grimacing as your eyes read a weak 22%. “Shit, I forgot how much the flashlight drains my battery.” You decisively turn it off, for now, “Wouldn’t be such an issue if I could charge my phone, but with the power out…” you squint into the darkness, attempting to make out the group of candles that had been laid out on the counter, “Maybe I could light one, and then carry that one around while I light the others—”

“I could help,” Moon says, stopping you mid-thought. 

Your weight shifts from foot to foot, a nervous fidget, “How would you do that?” You ask, “I can’t see a thing like this, Moon.”

The light of his eyes illuminates his expression, easing it into something fond, “You will just have to trust me, then,” he tells you softly, “here, let me show you,” and he comes up behind you, reaching around through the darkness to take your hand, resting his own overtop. He guides you, blind, to the wick, and you trust him enough to not flinch when you hear the lighter click , his fingers over yours and shielding you from the flame’s small heat.

“There, see?” His head dips to whisper into your hair, then falls an inch or so, and he presses a kiss against your ear.  You go rosy beneath it. 

 “How chivalrous of you,” comes your reply, “I’m not convinced you aren’t just trying to show off that special night vision of yours.” 

The smell of vanilla lavender wafts through the air, this little flame easily illuminating your countertop on its own. You breathe in deep, then exhale with a smile.

“Me? Showing off?” He sneers against your ear, “ Never . I’m only trying to help, starlight.”

“Mmhm… and do you expect to ‘help’ me this way with the other fifteen candles, too?” You scoot it forward on the counter, safely tucked away.

“Well,” another kiss presses against the rim of your ear, then a second to your temple, “I’m not sure there’s any other way around it. Is there?”

“I suppose not,” you hum yourself, smiling softer against each kiss.

“Besides,” his thumbs swipe smooth circles over the back of your skin, “this way I get to hold your hands for as long as I’d like.”

Your chin raises to look directly upward, finding his eyes, “Don’t get all mushy on me, now,” you chastise with small laughter, “if you go and say something like that I’ll start to think you cut the power just to spend time with me. You know you can always just ask to hold hands, right? Really, the storm isn’t necessary—”

“Hush,” his neck turns, face meeting yours as he shuts you up with a kiss square on the lips. He keeps you there, hands in yours and arms wrapped at your waist until your neck is straining and your smile melts against his own.

Warmth pools in his cheeks and at your lips, radiating from behind his chest, and you shudder. Then you shiver. This time for an entirely different reason. Only then does he pull away, looking concerned.

“Just a little cold,” you reassure him, “I think the heater turned off with the power. I’ll grab a blanket from the closet before we have dinner.”

Moon nods, but he isn’t looking at you as he does. Instead, his eyes drift past the counter and into the livingroom, roaming the darkness where you’re left blind. “You know…” and he pauses, as though giving it a good amount of thought, “your house has a fireplace, doesn't it?”

You turn to your side so you can look at him - or what little you can see of him, anyway,  “Well, yeah,” you agree with a nod, “but that’s not one little flame, Moon. I mean, we’ve never done it—”

“I want to try,” he says - then, before you can argue, “Sun and I both. We’re ready to try.”

“I…” It’s a dangerous idea. You trust them to go at their own pace, and you had been - for years now - since the incident that first lead to you taking them away from the plex in the first place. But then there was the nightmares, the bad memories, the way that for years they would flinch at the sight of fire on a television screen or shy away from your oven when it grew too hot.

But Moon had braced you against this small, innocent flame, and he seemed sure. Somehow, they both did.

Maybe they were ready for the real thing, too.

“Alright,” you finally agree, “but if it gets too much, you have to tell me immediately, okay? That’s the only way I’ll agree.”

Moon smiles down on you and draws one of his hands from yours, extending only his pinky in your direction. “Promise,” he says. You shake on it. He brings another candle front and center. “Until then, I’m not letting go of your hand.”

You busy yourself with the fireplace as soon as your house isn’t covered in shadows. In a way, it looks nice like this. Romantic, even, if you ignored the storm raging dark outside.

A few yards away, Moon works in your kitchen to finish making up something for dinner. You’re still a little peeved about all your hard work going to waste, but Moon assured you it could be a special dinner for another day. Twice the dates , he said, and you found it hard to argue with that.

At last the embers catch onto the wood you’ve placed inside, and a warm, vivid fire consumes the small area in patterns of quick kindling. You lean back against your heels with a successful huff of breath. Moon watches from behind the counter, saying nothing, and you try your best not to stare at him for any sign of discomfort.

But a minute later he returns to you, not minding the fire in the slightest, now, and extends a plate from his hand.  A turkey sandwich — far from the fancy dinner you had planned — but he’s cut it into the shape of a heart.

“Happy anniversary,” he says, and it’s the most sincere he’s been all day, “sorry it’s not spaghetti. Best I could do.”

You take it with a wobbling smile, already feeling yourself on the brink of tears again as you stare down at its poorly trimmed shape, “It’s perfect,” you whisper.

In fact, you think it might be better than anything you could have planned.

He seems relieved to hear it, relaxing at the shoulders. Finally, he turns his head to look into the fire, not immediately saying anything, and you grow worried.

“Are you okay?”

His gaze returns and, with it, his smile, “Never better,” he says, and you think he really means it, “just admiring, is all.”

“The fire?” You ask, “Or…”

His smile turns toothy, riling into a knowing smirk that makes you warm at the cheeks. “Sure,” he says at last, “the fire, too.”

You rub at your face, willing away the color there, “Alright, romeo, calm down,” you tell him with a laugh. As you relax, the feeling blooming in your chest becomes a different kind of fond. “You know, it feels like just yesterday that you were setting up pretend fireplaces on my laptop. Do you remember that?”

“Hard to forget.” He closes the distance and sits down across from you, crossing his legs against the floor. “That was the year Sun burnt the cookies.”

“And the year you made me that sweater,” you remind him - a notion that finally has him looking away with a flush, “It’s a little worn now, but it’s still my favorite, you know.”

His cheeks glow under the light of his eyes, and he doesn’t fight them, instead looking toward the fire with a bashful smile. He doesn’t say anything, but you know he hears you. You know he’ll think about it for the rest of the night.

Feeling wholly content in having flustered him up, you finally take the time to dive into your turkey sandwich, enjoying the dinner twice as much as you thought you would. Moon remains silent as you do, and you don’t mind that. The crackling of the fireplace is enough between the two of you.

It isn’t until you finish up the last bite that he looks your way again, and when he does it’s with a small bout of laughter. He moves your plate out of the way and rests his knees in front of yours, then outstretches a hand and, smiling still, he gently dabs away a bit of condiment from the corner of your mouth.

It’s a silly move, and one that makes you feel entirely childish up until he leans forward and presses a gentle kiss against the spot, wherein you feel yourself growing hot under the collar all over again.

He pulls away, but you catch him by the shirt. “You missed,” your reply comes before he has a chance to question it, hands winding tight in his collar, you bring him back to you for a proper kiss. Something soft, something tender, and you find the warmth in your chest against his rages so much hotter than the fire at your side.

He draws from you again, slouching lazily in your hold, and presses a smaller peck to your nose. “Now who’s the sap?” He tells you with a whisper. You only hum in reply. 

And you whine, a little, when he properly pulls away from you again, but you know you can’t keep him there forever. 

Still half-lidded yourself, you sigh wistfully and lean back against your wrists. “Well, what should we do now?”

“Go to sleep?” he says flatly.

You have half a mind to toss the plate at him, “Not happening,” you tell him through laughter, “we only just ate dinner, it’s still way too early for sleep. Come on, Moon, you’ve gotta have more ideas than that.”

“You’re always so picky,” he offers you a roll of the eyes. “Well, what’s your suggestion?”

“Tough luck, starlight. Looks like you landed on another licorice space. That means—”

“I know what it means.” You grumble, sticking your character in the same spot for the third consecutive time. “You know, when I suggested we play a board game I wasn’t expecting you to be so good at it.”

“Maybe I’ve just got a lucky hand,” he purrs, fanning himself with the card in his hand, “besides, you’re the one who chose Candy Land. You had every chance to pick a game you didn’t suck at.”

“Hey!” You pick up a spare gingerbread pawn and chuck it at him, smirking as it lands with a sharp metallic ting against his arm, “I’m still not convinced you’re playing fair. I don’t know how, but you’re definitely cheating.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself.”

He draws a card, grins, lays it on the table. Moves his piece forward nine steps.

“Oh, come on !” You toss your hands into the air, “How is that fair? I swear this is the fourth time you’ve pulled that card.”

“Starting to sweat yet, star?” He sneers, “We’ve been playing for an hour already, you might as well just admit defeat now and save yourself the dignity.”

“Dignity!” You scoff, drawing a card, “I’ll show you dignity!”

Two purples.

Your gingerbread pawn is forced back six squares.

Glowering deeply, you keep your eyes on the board so you don’t have to see the shit eating grin on his face.  “Not a word, star boy,” you hiss, “not a single fucking word.”

“I hadn’t said a thing,” he cooes, “I’m too busy taking measurements to bother watching you lose.”

The card wrinkles in your hand. Against your better judgment, your eyes snap to meet him, “Taking measurements?” You ask through gritted teeth, “For what?”

“My crown,” he’s quick to say, “you know, for when I reach Candy Castle.”

Your other hand tap tap taps against the board with methodical precision, the shadow of competitiveness overcoming you for a brief second like a werewolf resisting the call, “Oh you’ve done it now, buddy. I am coming for your ass.”

He laughs - it’s brighter than every candle, warmer than the fireplace - and it’s almost enough to make you relent. Almost. He draws a card and moves forward five spaces. “I have all the patience in the world, star,” he tells you, “I can wait here all day for you if needed.”

“Moon, so help me—”

“But hey, at least you’re handling your defeat well,” he continues, “I’ve seen children throw whole life-changing fits after losing this badly.”

You roll your eyes, “Well, I’m not a child,” you state with a blatant huff, “and frankly, you’ll never have to deal with that again.”

“Never?”

“Of course not,” you reach for another card, “ours will be raised better.”

You pick up the gingerbread pawn. Hold it mid-air. Suddenly, your eyes raise to find him staring open-mouthed in your direction. Oh.

“Our—”

“I-It’s your turn!” you’re quick to cover the tracks, but not quick enough. Moon sets a hand on yours so the pawn is settled against the board, and you relent, letting it go with a whine. “Moon, please,” you beg him, “can you just go?”

“I’m skipping my turn,” he says, “keep talking.”

“Well then I’ll go again!” You reach for another card with your other hand. 

He reaches forward, stopping this one in its tracks, too. He says nothing, this time, but instead curls both of your hands properly into his and gives them a squeeze. You know he’s looking at you, looking expectant , but you can’t bring yourself to raise your eyes from the board.

“Hey,” he whispers, and it’s so soft, so patient, that it finally draws your eyes to him, “if you’re really against it, you don’t have to tell me. We can drop it and keep playing the game,” he says, “but I—” and there’s a look in his eye that you can’t quite place, “I’d like to hear it. We both would.”

Oh, god. Both of them were listening?

You feel him give your hands another encouraging squeeze. There’s little point in hiding it now that the cat’s out of the bag, you suppose, but admitting to it this early still takes guts.

“I…I’ve been thinking about it, lately,” you confess, “the thought of having kids. Or — adopting, even. But,” your eyes shy away from him once more, guilty, they fall back to the board, “I was worried you wouldn’t like the idea. Like…maybe you’re tired of taking care of kids, you know? And you’re finally free of the obligation. I didn’t want to put that kind of responsibility on you again.”

You hold your breath, keeping it tight to your chest. For the longest time, only the fireplace fills the silence, its snapping embers keeping you company as Moon says nothing.

And then you hear it. Something so small and soft, you nearly miss it; a shaky breath. In, out. You finally dare to look up at him again.

He’s crying.

Not just a single tear, and not a puddle under his eye, but a smooth river that runs down his cheeks in even rhythm. Immediately, you worry you’ve said something to upset him terribly. The pain from that notion is relentless, stinging you sore, but you try to remedy the situation while you still can. “Fuck, I s-shouldn’t have said anything, I’m sor—”

“We’ve been waiting,” he cuts you off, as though suddenly finding his voice again after it was stolen from him, and he raises your hands together and against his wetted cheek, leaning into it, now, his smile returns with shaky courage, “we’ve been waiting for you to ask this whole time, star. Waiting for you to say something.”

All at once, relief floods you, the breath returning to your lungs like a mighty gust of wind, and for the first time that day you finally let your own tears fall as heavily as they please.

“Why didn’t you say anything!” You ask through the sniffles.

“We didn’t want to rush you,” he gives your hands another squeeze, “but we wanted to, Sunshine. Each day, we wanted to.” The name catches you, and your confusion must be obvious because he is quick to continue, “Did you think Sun would miss out on this conversation?” He laughs tearfully, and it’s only then that you see the straight-toothed smile, the way a single ray is peeking out from under the hat, “We’re both here, love. We’re both here for you.”

A joyous sob escapes you, a wonderful, grateful feeling bursting from your chest in warm abundance, “So you’re okay with it?” Another tear falls hot against your cheek, “You want to do this?”

“We’d be—” laughter cracks from his throat, “— over the moon , starlight.”

That’s all the confirmation you need. In only a second you’re across the boardgame and all but crawling into Moon’s lap. His arms outstretch to catch you, and your legs swing to sit on either side, wrapping at his waist as you hug him so tight your bones tremble with the effort, and he kisses you, and kisses you, and kisses you—

Breathlessly you draw your face into the crook of his neck, nuzzling against his chin, and for this one brief moment you’re the happiest you’ve ever been.

“We can start the paperwork or—figure things out tomorrow,” you mumble against his throat, “is that too soon?”

He forces your chin back and kisses you deeply and with a passionate fervor, dipping you, inch by inch, until your back presses neatly against the messied game board, following you every step of the way, and suddenly he makes a grab for your ankles.

“We can’t wait that long,” he tells you.

The rain pours, the fire roars.

You are home.

[multi-fandomsfreak]

hello, hope you're doing well you're the only one on this site who writes for exe's/horrorbrews and i can't be more grateful. if it's not too much of a bother, could i request for some general relationshipp headcannons for GB Mario?

GB Relationship Headcanons

Hey there thanks for the ask!

I’m glad you enjoy my exe/horrorbrew content. Honestly I rarely see those types of fics of them not just on tumblr but on other websites and often re-read existing ones so I’d thought I could provide it. Hope you like it. ~ J/Blaze

Pronouns: Not Mentioned

Warning: ❌

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: GB

Proofread: ❌

Credits: Art by Mario Madness Crew (Edited by Me) + Banner by iHugYeojin (Edited By Me) on Pinterest

———————————

- I just want to say for those who want to be in a relationship with GB is to be prepared for him. As much as I love him and I don’t mean this in a bad way but he really is something. I can imagine him as some sort of trickster regardless of if he is in a relationship or not. He likes to tease you; he's just naturally like that. Seeing your reactions to it is what strives him to be around you. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t respect your boundaries. If you genuinely want him to stop then he will. He really likes you and wants to make sure you're comfortable especially when it comes to someone like him.

- I like to think that he is surprisingly clingy, especially around you. You could literally be doing something minding your own business then you would feel his arms wrapped around you with him clinging onto you for dear life. You can’t do anything without him being near you. Obviously you don’t really mind this because everyone has that thing about them but if you think about it it’s kind of creepy that one minute you're alone the boom he’s suddenly here. It definitely catches you off guard more than enough times.

- He’s also very flirty towards you and I mean that. He’s REALLY flirty towards you. As mentioned in my first point he likes to tease you and he usually does it by flirting with you. He ranges from complimenting you to straight up just touching you. As suggestive as it sounds he just likes to feel every part of you. From your face to your body, he likes every part of you regardless of what you look like or if you're confident in yourself.

- Creepily enough he knows what you like and often likes to get said things for you. He often remembers what you mentioned towards him for example if you offhandedly said you wanted or liked something expect to see it in your room the next day or even sooner.

- I like to think it would take him a bit to get him jealous but when he does get jealous it’s really bad. He doesn’t outright say or show that he is but it’s kind of obvious when he is. You just have this feeling that he is and you are usually right. Like some secret sense. You can probably guess from the other exe’s/horrorbrew fics but obviously due to his nature and personality, he could do a range of things to people he is jealous of. He definitely isn’t afraid of using his other form to at least scare those people off. If he is feeling somewhat nice enough. But he doesn’t like to use this form when around you because he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable because he lets his emotions get the better of him.

- He also likes to keep what happens to him and his victims away from your business, only telling you if he absolutely has to but regardless he keeps it to himself. Obviously it doesn’t change the fact that you know what he is, you knew what you were getting into when you first met him and started developing feelings and pursuing said feelings with him. But you kind of appreciate him being careful around you to be honest you rather not know what he does.

- He honestly appreciates you sticking around him. Even with his nature you still stick around him. All teasing and joking coming from him aside he doesn’t really know what he would do if he hadn’t met you. Like sure he would be doing what he usually does but without you or getting to see you after all that, seeing your face realizing he’s back and immediately going up to him. It just sounds boring to him without you and he doesn’t want to imagine it actually happening.

———————————

[bluehoodiewoozi]

DRABBLE MARATHON #4:

LEE JENO + autumn leaves

1,4k words /// genre: fluff /// warnings: adult language.

In which he confesses as autumn leaves fly by.

The swing set in the park became your spot somewhere in the middle of your 2nd year. It was on an old playground, barely lit by a single yellow lamp post. Most parts of the playground looked too rusted to be safe, but the swing set hadn’t broken even once in all your months of visiting it.

Jeno always met you there, his smile bright and adorable even on his bad days. 

He often stopped at the playground after his nightly bike rides. He thought meeting you there, on the tired swing set, had been the best stroke of luck of his entire life. 

Soon, it became a tradition to tell you ‘hi’ when he saw you sitting on the swing as he was passing by. Then he started taking breaks every time he got to the playground, hoping that you’d show up as well. And then, before long, the two of you met up there almost every night, talking about everything and nothing, eating convenience store snacks and trying to coax passing stray cats to be your friends (they never did agree though). 

On this night again, Jeno biked through the park, coming to a halt when he saw your familiar figure. 

“Hey,” he called out as he approached and you offered him a smile as you often did. “Isn’t it cold?”

“Just cold enough,” you replied and continued swinging. “How was your ride?”

“A little more slippery than usual,” he admitted and took his usual seat in the swing next to yours, kicking his tired feet a little for some momentum. “There are a lot of leaves and puddles around. I almost slipped twice” He sighed in defeat. “I don’t think they clean the streets a lot.”

You chuckled. “Might have to start carrying around a rake yourself.”

“Do not tempt me,” he joked. “How was your day?” He sat up straighter all of a sudden, eyes wide. “Oh! Didn’t you have that academic writing seminar today? How was it?”

You shrugged. “It was fine.”

He smiled at that. “Wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be, huh?” You nodded somewhat shamefully, well aware of the nonsensical panic you had rambled to him about just the night before. He clicked his tongue. “If only someone had told you so…”

“If only,” you played along and kicked your feet a little harder to swing higher than him. He gasped theatrically at that before following suit. Soon your laughter echoed between the trees, alerting passers-by of your joyful presence. 

As your feet grew tired, however, (much faster than Jeno’s, as much as it pained you to admit), you slowed down again. You watched him for a while as he kept swinging, the cold autumn breeze messing up his fluffy hair. 

“Hey, Jeno?” you found yourself asking. 

He hummed in response. 

“What’s your biggest fear?”

He answered without missing a beat, “Bears.”

You snorted. “What?”

“What?” he retorted, slowing down so he could calmly explain, “They’re freaking terrifying. Why are they so big? Why are they everywhere? Why do they eat everything? You can’t even run away from a bear because it out-runs, out-swims and out-climbs you. Absolutely fucking terrifying.”

“I–” You had to admit he had a point.”Okay, so, I meant from a more psychological, existential point of view. Like, is there some kind of a life event you’re afraid of?” Seeing his puzzled expression, you added, “I’m terrified of life after graduation, for example. The uncertainty of the future.”

“Oh.” He paused to think, staring up at the starry sky. He then nodded and looked at you again. “Bears.”

“Jeno,” you laughed, “I’m serious.”

“Okay, okay,” he chuckled and took a moment to really think about it. “I guess… Confessing my feelings?”

“To who?”

“There just is one person.” He smiled to himself and you felt a pang of jealousy as you realised how much he must’ve adored this person. But then his smile faded, becoming just a quirk of his lips but not quite reaching his eyes anymore. He sighed. “But I don’t think they like me back.”

“Why do you think that?” you wondered. “You’re a great guy.”

He shrugged solemnly. “Maybe. But am I a great guy for them? Am I what they look for in a guy? Or am I just a hopeless romantic who’s never meant to be more than a friend?”

“That’s a depressing thought,” you muttered out loud without really meaning to. “I mean, if you have those thoughts every time you have a crush, will you ever find the courage to actually find someone to spend your life with?”

He groaned at the thought, his head falling back as if it was getting heavier by the minute. “Don’t do this to me. It’s, like, 10 pm. I am not in the mood for a therapy session.”

“Sorry,” you whispered and reached over to pat his shoulder. He leaned his head forward again, resting his cheek against your hand. “If it counts for anything, I think you’re great. I’ll always be your friend, whether you find that someone or not.”

Jeno’s breath hitched at that. “You mean that?”

“Of course.” Even if it kills me inside to never be more than that to you. 

He bit his lip, nearly drawing blood, before sitting up properly and looking you in the eyes. “We can’t be friends anymore.”

Your life seemed to flash before your eyes. “What?”

“Wait,” Jeno lifted a hand, folding all fingers but his pointer, his eyes squeezing shut painfully, “that sounded really wrong. I’m– Uh… Let me try again.”

You weren’t sure you wanted him to try again.

“(Y/n),” he took a deep breath and forced his eyes open again, “I don’t want to be your friend.” 

He paused, trying to find the words to say before you lost all hope in him and walked away. To be fair, you were on the verge of doing just that. He grabbed your hand to prevent you from doing so. 

“I want to be more than that,” he breathed out, his hand shaking in around yours, “I want to be the person whose home you go to at the end of the day, whose bed you take your afternoon naps in, whose arms you run to when you celebrate something. I want to be the person who knows all your favourite songs, all your embarrassing childhood stories, all your favourite snacks. I want to be your person.”

Your brain worked double-time to process the information. With wide eyes, you pointed at yourself. “I’m the person you like?”

He nodded, a tight smile on his face. “I like you.”

“Why?” you couldn’t help but ask, unable to believe someone like him – a varsity athlete, a straight-A student, the face of the university’s soccer team, a man carved by the angels – could have feelings for you at all.

He chuckled. “How could I not? You’re amazing.”

“But… I’m just me and you’re–”

“Don’t pull the rom-com lines on me, please,” he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut. “Just rip the band-aid off and reject me.”

You frowned. “But I don’t want to reject me.”

His eyes opened, sparkling under the streetlight. “You don’t?”

You shook your head and smiled at him. “No.”

“Then…” He let out a noise of confusion as his face scrunched up in thought. “What? You really– You like me back?” 

You nodded and it made him spiral even more. “Are you sure? You don’t have to pity-confess. I’m fine. I’m a big boy. I can handle rejection. Don’t– Don’t play with my feelings like that… They’re–” His voice cracked. “They’re fragile. I’m… fragile.”

“I really like you too,” you confessed, squeezing his hand. “I think you’re amazing too.”

He blinked rapidly, unable to fight the smile appearing on his face. “You– Me– Like– Oh my god, I could cry.” He let out a giddy giggle – much resembling a little kid getting told he could have ice cream for breakfast – before reaching for your other hand as well. Once had both of your hands in his, he cleared his throat. “Then, and I can’t believe I get to ask this, but– uhm– Can I be your boyfriend?”

When you matched his giggle and nodded, he swore he would remember this exact moment for the rest of his life and cherish it as his most precious one: your bright smile and star-filled eyes, complete with the autumn leaves flying by in the background. 

A/N: the fact that i've been an nctzen since 2019 and this is my second ever uploaded nct fic is a little concerning tbh