#I'm always late with character birthdays but hey... we are still is December

[ralibo14]

Little late, but... Happy birthday Yuugo! 💗🥳

Just a little something, I wrote. I know I'm a few days late but I hope it's readable 💗. Enjoy. (If not interested in the one shot or you have no time for it, it's okay🥰. Art is here, you can skip the rest of the post, no hard feelings 🥰😁)

Short stories from the

Demon World:

Ever wondered what happened on the other side of the world, while you were living your casual life? Then one day the news was full of strange kids appearing all over the world. You think you know the full story, but you don't.

“I was forced to write this!”

At least that's what I would like to say. It would be a lie though. I want to… no… I have to write this, so everyone will know him, so no one will ever forget about him.

Even when remembering hurts, even when I'm bad at writing and even worse with typing words into a laptop keyboard. This feels hella weird and not grand enough for a person like he was. He deserved to be here and tell this tale himself. Now you are stuck with my shitty writing, which is relying on other people's memories and the tales from an old traveling journal. So enjoy… I guess– Ray.

Christmas with Them.

(24th December 2040, B06-32 Shelter)

Yuugo's Pov:

Being alone for years can really scramble your eggs. What? You don't believe me? I've been alone in this bloody shelter since 2032. And my brain makes me remember all the meaningless memories that only bring more misery in this already lonely solitude. This is the eighth Christmas I have to spend completely alone and I can't do anything about it. I think I will just lay on my bed and wait for the painful nostalgia to pass by. Ya know… the more I think about it the more clear it is.

There are a few days in the year where being born can backfire you later in life. For example if you were born on the same day as one of your relatives, you can forget about getting all the attention. Or if you were born in the summer… Well sorry to tell you, but all of your friends are already on vacation somewhere far away. New Year's Eve? Everyone is either already asleep or drunk themselves under the bench. Sorry. Valentine's Day? Ugh! I don't even want to think about it. All that lovey-dovey crap… makes me sick. Halloween or the Day of the Dead? I'm sure you are always THRILLED to celebrate your birthday. But even that can't compete against the worst birthday of all time…

Which birthday is the worst then? I tell you… mine. I was born on the night of December 24th. Yep. You're reading that right. I'm not fucking with you, that's my actual birthday, talk about bad luck, huh?

“But hey, doesn't that mean you get double presents?” you might ask which to, I would say: ‘Bullshit’!

Or maybe you guys are right. Maybe in the Human World it works like that but on this side of the world it's nothing like that. I mean in Glory Bell, in the House it wasn't so bad because Christmas wasn't about presents there. Of course everyone got something small from our caretaker and she always remembered that it's also my birthday. So I got a bigger present each Christmas than the others and that made most of the kids jealous in the House. Funny, I almost forgot, but that's how Lucas, Dina and I actually became close friends. We were friends before but it was mostly because we grew up together. Our trio’s friendship had its highs and lows, but hey which friendship hasn't?

I remember a particular low pretty clearly. Lucas, that kind hearted idiot, from all people got jealous on one Christmas, it was my eighth or ninth birthday and I got a cool model airplane. Ya know, the one with the double wings and turnable propellers. He simply pulled the box out of my hands, locked himself into the House’s library and refused to give it back. It needed our beloved Teacher and Dina’s combined effort to convince him to give my gift back. Later our caretaker sat down with him and told him that he shouldn't be jealous, since everyone gets birthday presents and mine just happened to be on the same day as Christmas.

That of course didn't change the fact that when Lucas first came to me to apologise I didn't even listen to him. I simply stood up and walked out of the room. Later he tried again, I gave him an ‘Get lost!’ look and shoved him in the shoulder as I walked past him. That rust haired idiot thought it was an invitation to try again or maybe he thought that ‘Third times the charm’ and approached me again at night when me and Dina sat in the dining room trying to build my present. I still remember that conversation as clear as day and oh boy. I would smack my young self on the back of his neck for being a smartass little rascal.

_____________________________________

(24th of December 2025, Glory Bell; Plantation 4)

“You're doing it wrong Yuugo. If you have to force it then it doesn't belong there” Dina sighed, gently scolding me.

“The manual says it goes there so…grr the hell!? Why doesn't it work? Piece of shit!” I muttered under my breath.

“Language!” my friend shot a glare at me. “You know that Miss Ruelle doesn't like when we talk like that”

“She is with the little ones outside and they are snowball fighting. I doubt she will hear me from there” I rolled my eyes, shoving away the half done model airplane “I gave up! It's impossible to build! Must be broken or something”

“Don't you think you gave up a bit too fast Yuugo?” Dina chuckled while inspecting the toy. “You're almost done, just a few more piece…

“Why do I need to build it?! Why couldn't our Teacher give me an already built one?”

“I think it's like those tests she gives us. Where we… have to work in teams to solve a problem” someone said from the door.

I know the voice and at the moment I didn't want to talk with him.

“Get lost! No one asked for your opinion”

“Don’t be mean” Dina whispered to me “Oh, hey Lucas! Come sit with us” she waved at him with a smile.

“Oh nyenyenye come Lucas sit with us. You're such a traitor” I whispered, mocking the blonde haired girl next to me who shoved her elbow between my ribs under the table. Needless to say, that made me shut up pretty quickly.

“Are you guys still building the airplane?”

“Yeah, but we could use some help… I don't understand this kind of thing and Yuugo is as stubborn as a mule”

“Dina, you are my closest friend and I respect you but… shut up” I groaned under my nose while softly banging my head against the dining table.

“Is building the airplane really this hard?” Lucas sat down across the table.

“Why do you care? Do you want to steal it again?”

“Okay, okay. Fair point. I deserved that” he sighed tapping on the table. His expression looked guilty. “Yuugo, I'm so sorry about earlier. I really got jealous and…”

“You behaved like an asshole?” I lifted up my head from the table.

“Heh yeah… I guess I was kind of an asshole”

“And?” Dina grinned at the rust haired boy.

“I'm sorry for being jealous and it won't happen again” Lucas muttered, still not looking at me. “I acknowledge that it's your birthday present and I won't attempt to steal it again.” I huffed while my blonde haired friend seemed to accept this apology.

“Well it's not like I can stay mad at him for long” I thought, standing up and ruffling his hair. “Fine. Come here ya idiot. We are all good”

“Really?”

“Of course you dummy!”

“Just don't do it again Lucas” Dina kindly chimed in.

“Yeah, you know if you asked me I would have shared it with you”

“So… does that mean I can help you build it?” my rust haired friend grinned at me.

“What do you think?! Of course ya can!” I laughed.

_____________________________________

A lot of things happened after me and my friends left Glory Bell following the path of William Minerva. Lot of things happened after we left our new home, the B06-32 shelter and headed towards our next goal, which was Goldy Pond. There I… I faced many horrors and most of them still haunt me in my dreams. I lost everyone I ever cared about, my younger ‘siblings’, my comrades, even my closest friends Dina and Lucas and I blamed myself for these horrors. For thirteen long years I blamed myself. I completely abandoned hope and only concentrated on my own survival.

Then almost a year ago a bunch of idiots bursted into my life, full of ambitions, dreams and hopes. It was sickening really, I wanted all of them gone, but no matter what I did. How many times I threatened to kill them they just wouldn't leave. Ya all remember what I said about hitting my younger self on the back of his neck for being a rascal right? Well I had that feeling tenfold when I first met Emma and Ray. Then those two… no the whole group managed to do the impossible. They gave me back the hope I lost. Antenna dragged me out of the shelter and Cyclops basically kicked my butt back to Goldy Pond because that purple eyed idiot refused to let his best friend die. And then they gave me back not just hope but also someone I thought I had lost forever. Lucas! I will be grateful to Emma and Ray and all of those amazing, headstrong idiots for reuniting me with him until the day I die. But if anyone from y'all who are reading this tells them that, I will make you sleep a night out of the shelter, kapish? They also made me, me who always loathed my birthdays, enjoy it once….

_____________________________________

(24th of December 2046, B06-32 shelter)

Third Person Pov:

The shelter was buzzing with life. A little more than 60 people gathered under the shelter’s trapdoor. They all seemed excited about something. The trapdoor opened with a quiet beep and a white haired boy’s grinning face appeared.

“We are totally snowed in” Oliver's voice was basically ringing with excitement. “The whole Wasteland is demon clear. Everyone dress up warmly!”

All the kids started cheering as they ran towards their rooms to get their winter clothes.

Yuugo watched them and rolled his eyes, trying to mask the grin tugging on his lips.

The little ones were asking for this for weeks, while the Kvathidala search group can use this day as a well deserved break.

“Yuugo, come one! You don't want to miss this out!” Emma peaked into the kitchen, smiling brightly.

“Yeah Geezer, what are you waiting for? You always say you want to throw things at us. Now you can do it without any consequences! Don't tell me you're scared of a little snowball fight?” Ray joined in the conversation with a huge grin on his face, resting his chin on the red haired girl's head.

“Speaking of the most troublesome pair from the Search group” The black haired man thought to himself.

“I'm coming, I'm coming. You go ahead ya rascals”

“In that case… tag you're it!” the freckled girl tapped Ray on the shoulder and started running.

“Hey! Not fair!” the dark haired boy complained jokingly, chasing after her.

The two oldest Grace Field kids left the kitchen, their laugh and cheerful shouts echoed in the hallway. They were already in their thick, warm winter clothes. Yuugo shook his head, smiling.

“Now, they are finally behaving like kids should” he murmured under his breath while going to fetch his own winter clothes. “Ray's birthday is next month. Who else has a winter birthday? I should ask Lucas” his thoughts trailed towards the children as he climbed up the ladder to the surface only to immediately get hit by a snowball in the face.

Yuugo's Pov:

“Eek! Sorry Mister! I thought that you would be Don!” Thoma’s voice shouted.

“You little… when I catch you!” I whipped down the snow from my face, jumping at the snow, already forming a ball-like shape from it and throwing it towards the boy. Unfortunately someone stood in front of Thoma receiving the unpleasant icy surprise instead of the boy.

“Oh shit…” I thought “Lucas, why are you in the way?!”

“Oh so you threw the snowball” the rust haired man laughed. “If I didn't know you Yuugo, I would call you childish”

“Yes because of… huh?! Where is Thoma?”

“He went after the others” Ray chimed in.

“And where are the others?”

“The other side of that hill” the black haired teen pointed across the white landscape. “Anna, Nat, Zack and Oliver took most of the kids to sleigh with them. I think Nigel even built some skis and snowboards. They are testing them” he stood next to a huge snowman, while lifting up Chris in piggy back style so the little boy could place the carrot as the snowman’s nose.

“Then why are you still here Cyclops?”

“Don't worry Geezer, once we finish this we get out of your hair.”

“We?” I started to get confused.

“Theo said he never had a chance to build a snowman, since there weren't big snowfalls in the past few years in his Plantation so we thought we would make up for that” Jemima smiled, stepping out from behind the thing, bringing a few pebbles for the snowman’s buttons, mouth and eyes.

“And Ray is here to make sure we don't get buried under the snow” Theo said, shooting a thankful glare at the older boy.

“He is totally acting like a mother hen” Lanni brought himself two big sticks and immediately received an annoyed glare from Ray. “What? It's true. You are always worrying.”

“Because you and Thoma always do something that you think it's funny while in reality it's dangerous”

“Oh here we go again…” the blond haired boy rolled his eyes.

“I don't know Lanni… I think Ray is in the right here” Alicia handed the black haired boy an old scarf, which he put on the snowman.

“Ugh… of course you say that”

“Lanni enough. How about you help Theo decide what hat should our snowman have?” there was a little warning in Ray’s voice.

“This is the subtle way to say ‘Shut the fuck up’.” I thought to myself “Damn! Maybe I should ask Cyclops to teach me how to do that”

“And now you're sounding just like Mom…” Lanni continued and Ray's eyes shot up at him. For a second his expressions seemed shocked with a dangerous light shining in his eyes.

“You're on thin ice, Lannion.” he said, gently putting down Chris from his neck and hiding a good amount of snow on his hand

“Yeah? And what will you do about it? Put me in a time out, like she used to when we were still in the House”

“No” Ray calmly walked over to the blond haired boy, messing up his hair “I think this will do the trick” he grinned and put the snow under Lanni's winter coat.

“Ahhh! Ray! Ahhh! What is wrong with you?! You know how freaking cold this is!?”

“Yeah, I know. Come on Little man, turn around. Back to the shelter. We are going to have a serious talk” The black haired boy grabbed Lanni's arm and I physically had to restrain myself from laughing.

“And what about the sleigh?” Jemima asked quietly and Cyclops' eyes immediately grew wide, then he looked at me with almost pleadingly.

“Fine…you can have this Kid” I thought. “Lucas, would you be so nice and join me on a walk? I have a revenge to get back on Thoma” I turned towards my partner.

“Sure, come on kids! Let's leave your very nice snowman here and join the others” he smiled, herding the kids towards the hill.

“Thanks” Ray whispered.

“You owe me one, Night owl” I scoffed with a smile.

_____________________________________

Hours later, when all the kids got tired of sliding down and climbing back up to the hill. We started to head back to the shelter. Lucas and I closed the line to hide our tracks, so no wild demon could follow it. We were walking for quite a while when Lucas spoke up.

“You seem grumpier than usual. What's wrong?” he asked as we watched the kids in front of us.

“It's just…” I sighed. “This is the first Christmas I spent with others after a really long time”

“We missed out a lot of Christmas haven't we?” Lucas sighed.

“Wait, you too? Really? You didn't celebrate with the kids at Goldy Pond?” my eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“No, not really. Occasionally we had time to sit down together and eat a meal in peace but usually we had to spend most of our free time planning the final battle”

“Oh yeah… right. Sorry” I nervously run my hand through my hair.

“You know you don't have to walk on eggshells whenever we mention Goldy Pond, right?”

“Then why do I feel like I have to?”

“Because you're an idiot?” the rust haired man offered.

“I'm serious Lucas. Oh god! I wish I wasn't a coward and went back to the Hunting Ground! Then…

“Then they…” he pointed towards Emma and the Grace Field group who were currently climbing back down on the shelter’s ladder “...wouldn't have had you here to help them. I'm not happy about the missing time either. I hate how you were alone for 13 years, but let's be honest. Emma and the others would not accomplish this many things this fast if you weren't here”

“Ah… well damn. I guess you are right about this” I muttered under my breath.

“What? Sorry I didn't hear you” he grinned.

“Oh my god Lucas…I swear you're dancing on my nerves on purpose” I thought but in the end I just sighed. “I said you were right, ya idiot.” I grumbled which caused him to chuckle.

“Good to know I can still rile you up” the rust haired man laughed as he started to climb down the ladder.

_____________________________________

Third Person Pov:

“So you really did that on purpose. I'm offended” Yuugo gasped, a false annoyance swiping into his voice as he landed on the solid floor behind his rust haired partner. Only to find himself in the dark corridor, alone. “Oh haha Lucas. I'm not eight anymore, I'm not scared of the dark”

There was no answer, but some faint whispers were coming from the room with the piano in it.

“What the hell? Are all the gremlins playing hide and seek?” the black haired man switched on the corridor’s lamps. “And where the hell Lucas went to?” he slowly walked towards the room as the whisper got louder and louder.

He turned to the next corridor, went straight to the room’s door and now he was able to hear some words.

“Psst… keep it down… he is coming” various children's voices mixed together.

“Oh yeah. They're definitely playing hide and seek” Yuugo grinned, pushing down the doorknob. “Found ya little rascals!” He opened the door only to get blinded by someone who turned on the lights.

“SURPRISE!” the younger kids yelled jumping at the man “HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUUGO!!!” the older kids choir joined in, leaving the black haired man speechless.

A confetti cannon popped open, covering the man with colorful confetti papers.

“Wha… what…What's going on?” his voice faltered, still not quite believing what he saw.

“Well… we thought that this year we would celebrate your birthday instead of Christmas” Emma smiled at Yuugo. “Lucas told us it's today and since last year we met in January. We thought that this year there's no way we will miss out on it.

“The most tricky part was to make sure everyone kept the secret until today” Oliver joined in placing a party hat in the hands of the still shocked Mister.

“But… But you… You guys… How in the world?”

“Give us some credit Geezer.” Ray chuckled, placing the hand crafted confetti cannon onto the table. “We organised an escape plan and an attack plan in the same year and we were on our own for that most of the time”

“Keeping a surprise party as a secret for a few months was child's play” Don nodded.

“They're fascinatingly creative” Lucas patted Yuugo's shoulder from behind. “Only Anna and Pepe asked a question about which plant can replace sugar. They did everything else on their own”

“We also made presents. I hope you will like them” Alicia hugged the black haired man.

“Yes, there are over there Mister. You can open them whenever you want” Jemima pointed at a chair full of wrapped boxes.

“We wrapped them up” Lanni and Thoma grinned.

“More like, you annoyed me and Ray as we did it” Gilda scolded them gently.

“When did you have time to decorate? To place the presents here? To… well… To do all of this”

“Come on Mister, did you really think it was a coincidence that you had to come with Chris to the hills today?” Zack shrugged with a smile on his face.

“Lanni and I were the decoy… he overplayed his part though” Ray sent an angry glare towards the blond haired boy.

“Hey, I already said sorry ten times. When will you let it go?”

“That insult was way under the belt” the dark haired teen groaned under his nose, but immediately stopped moping when Nat sat down to the piano.

Yuugo's Pov:

“I was told that you don't like the ‘Happy birthday’ song so mind if I play ‘Quiet night’?” Nat looked at me.

“Ah… no, no, not at all… ya go ahead Kid” I muttered, trying to find against my emotions.

He started playing and oh boy, he was good. Way better than we were back in Glory Bell when our Teacher tried to teach us this song.

“Well this is definitely not helping to fight back my tears” I thought thinking that was it, but nooo, because the kitchen door opened. Anna and Pepe carefully brought in a tray of cake with candles and everything. I spent the next hours surrounded by this found family of mine. Opening hand made presents, eating cake, which turned out delicious by the way and just being in the moment. Because this night the outside world with the demons, with all that pain from the past seemed to cease from existence.

_____________________________________

“So? How do you like this birthday?” Lucas' voice felt light thunder in my eardrums pulling me back to the actual conversation I was in. I turned towards him.

“You! You set this all up?”

“I merely dropped some words here and there. It was all the kids’ doing” he smiled, joy was twinkling in his eyes. “Don't tell me you don't like it”

“Are ya kidding?! This is the second best birthday I had in my life”

“Second?” he was surprised. “Which one do you place on top if not this?”

“When a certain rust haired idiot got jealous and stole my present” I grinned at him and watched his reaction.

“Oh my god! You're such a jerk, you know that” Lucas laughed, then placed his head on my shoulder. “In some way I miss it.”

“The House?”

“No…” he shook his head lightly, his voice quieted down. “The company” he looked up at me and my tears suddenly threatened to fall.

“Hm…me too. I miss them so very, very much. But if I learned anything this year, it is that nothing and no one really dies. You know how many times these little rascals remind me of our friends, hm?” I whispered, putting my head on top of his. “Everything lives on in some way as long as someone is there to tell their story”

“Yeesh, when did you get so wise?” my friend's voice faltered.

“Comes with age… I guess” I shrugged not finding more words.

“Happy birthday Yuugo” Lucas looked up at me, gently squeezing my hand.

“Merry Christmas Lucas” I answered softly, squeezing back his hand.

The End💗

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR DECEMBER:

//Hey all.

//As we all know, it's coming to the end of the year, and we're approaching December time, which is usually the time of year where I start dishing out a bunch of special stuff for the followers.

//Regrettably, I still cannot give a guarantee when I'll be able to return to making the story, but I am trying my hardest to get my affairs in order so that we can come to that.

//One way or another, the story isn't over, regardless of how long it takes for us to get back to it. And the good news is that for December, I have a few really cool goodies for you. Both related to the blog, and otherwise, as well as a few announcements:

//Okay so for my first announcement, I kind of want to get the "bad news" out of the way first. And I use quotations, because hopefully, no one will mind too much.

//As some of you might have noticed, I kind of stopped uploading the birthday card posts for the characters, and in case it hasn't been clear, I've decided that I'm not going to be posting the birthday cards anymore.

//There are actually more than one reason for this. The primary one is it takes a lot out of me, more than you know, to keep track of everyone's birthdays, especially since we have 100+ characters, and I'm prone to uploading/reblogging the posts late, way after the birthday celebrations have happened. It's much easier for me to just stop posting the cards altogether, and getting stressed out about it.

//But another one is that up until now, I've always found a way to balance the dates out with the story, mainly through a lot of mcguffin bullshit that, not only would I much prefer not to do any more...I physically can't.

//Phase 3 has three arcs that happen at the exact same time as eachother, told from three different perspectives of three characters who will each take the limelight. I will not say who, but suffice to say it would not make a lot of sense for the birthdays to be spaced like months apart, when in-universe, these events are happening over the course of the same days.

//Let's say the arcs take me like...5 months to finish. During the time that I'm writing that arc, it would be Kyoko's birthday (October 6th), but by the time I'm finished, it's Hiyoko's birthday (March 9th). In universe, no time has passed at all, because these events are taking place within the same week.

//Yeah, not happening.

//And the last reason is because ultimately, I started doing the birthday cards to celebrate the characters and how far the series has come, but honestly? I think we can all agree that they add basically nothing to the story, and are just there to make the blog's page look prettier.

//With that being said, I hope all of you guys can wish my sister a happy birthday, because she turned 17 yesterday.

//Okay, with that out of the way, I want to reveal four big projects that I'm going to be working on around Christmas/New Years time that, hopefully, will tickle your fancy:

1 - NAEGIRI WEEK 2024

//A couple of you may remember that two years ago, I participated in Naegiri Week, which, like a lot of these ship weeks, is an event dedicated to a specific Danganronpa couple (Makoto and Kyoko in this case) where people will create art media for spaced over a week.

//In the past, I've participated in three of these events before, which were Naegiri Week, Momoharu Week, and Kazukoi Week (which was hosted by Mod Freezethunder) and those sprites are all available on @creepercraftsprites.

//I've always wanted to take part in Saimatsu Week, but I keep missing my chance to, and I didn't participate in Naegiri Week of last year, because I had a lot going on at the time, but I'm happy to say that I will be making a grand return to the event, and participating in 2024's Naegiri Week, which begins on December 23rd.

//And some of my stories even take place within the universes of my fanfics and content, including Survivor and Phantom Thieves of Hope. So stay tuned for when that drops, and you'll get to see me and a bunch of my fellow artists showing off what we've got to people for the sake of this adorable lucky student and his gorgeous detective wife.

//Speaking of which:

2 - PHANTOM THIEVES OF HOPE: CHRISTMAS CAPER

//Yeah, Phantom Thieves of Hope is getting a Christmas Special.

//Why?

//I felt like it. Fuck off and let me do my thing, lol.

//In all seriousness, my thought process behind this was that for a long time, I had considered maybe making spinoff chapters/fics for Phantom Thieves of Hope. But unlike Survivor where I usually have an excuse to do that, PToH's story is mostly consistently paced, and I don't really want to break that normally.

//But I've been thinking about what ideas I could explore in a potential crossover fic like PToH, and the kinds of interactions the characters could have.

//Phantom Thieves of Hope has always tried to prioritize the human aspects of the Danganronpa characters beyond the wacky cartoonish setting that they're placed in. Despite the horrors around them, many of them rarely get a chance to show a real down-to-earth moment as a person instead of a crazy character, and that's a lot of what PToH is about, beyond the kickass Phantom Thief fighting.

//So to sum it up, Christmas Caper is a three-part bonus story for my crossover fic, revolving around the Phantom Thieves having some Christmas fun together, and I will be posting those during the buildup to Christmas; so from December 21st to December 23rd, the same day Naegiri Week starts.

//I know that PToH and Survivor are different series, but I have realized I have an overlapping audience with both fanbases, so I figured if I'm going to announce it, I'm going to announce it here.

//I will also be announcing it this Friday for my AO3 audience when I release the next chapter.

//Now we actually get into the juicy stuff.

3 - DANGAN-CEMBER

//This is something that I'm hoping to do for the foreseeable future, and it's probably the biggest announcement that I have for this holiday season.

//To keep things brief, this is directly inspired by Team Four Star's DBCember series. For those who don't know what that is, from 2014 until 2021, KaiserNeko, Lanipator, and Takahata101 performed a yearly series called DBcember each December. In this segment, they discuss the DragonBall series in Advent Calendar mode for the first twenty-four days of December.

//With me loving my rankings, I wanted to try doing something similar this year related to the blog, to give me more of a reason to. And honestly, I have some ideas that aren't even related to Danganronpa, just to me in general.

//Earlier this year, I posted my ranking of all the Danganronpa titles featured on the blog, which would have had enough to go on, but I only came up with the idea after that, which kind of wasted it.

//So for this event, Dangan-cember will take place between the 1st of December to the 24th where I will upload one post every day as part of a top 24 ranking of some kind, going in depth on its placement, why I like/dislike it, or whatever the hell else the list entails. Christmas Day will reveal my Number 1.

//I debated it for a while, and eventually, I decided that for this year, my ranking would be...

TOP 24 DANGANRONPA CLASS TRIALS.

//Back in the day while I was still on Reddit, I did this ranking then, but my not only have my opinions changed a bit, but for this ranking, I will be including the Class trials from the Another series as well (DRA1 and SDRA2).

//And while I have already done the ranking itself in advance, this turned out to not be as easy as it feels, and I feel like talking about it might be harder.

//Unlike the rest of my rankings, I will be dedicating one post each to all of these placements, which should hopefully give me a chance to talk about them in as much detail as possible. I don't intend to do this for all my rankings; just my end of year ones like this.

//So hopefully that'll be exciting. Funny how I'm more than happy to write written essays about Danganronpa unlike anything else I need to write essays for.

//But with that all said, we have one more:

4 - DECK THE HALLS FOR A BIRTHDAY PARTY ARC

//And of course, the last thing to announce for the end of the year is our traditional "Christmas Arc."

//If you've been around the blog for a while now, you'll know that once a year, for the 12 Days of Christmas ranging from December 24th to January 5th, we have special bonus arcs for the story, mainly revolving around the characters interacting and having moments of emotional bonding and depth, centered around the end of the year and Christmas time.

//Or, alternatively, just some community events we do for fun.

//The arcs in question for these last few years have been:

The 12 Days of Christmas

The 12 Nights of Christmas

Canzanilla Cafe

Warriors of Other Worlds (Danganronpa Survivor X Death Battle)

//And yes, before anyone says it, I know that that WoOW didn't actually happen during Christmas, but that was largely because of delays on my part, and had I stuck to a consistent schedule, it would have done. The point is we do these fun little event arcs every year, if we can help it.

//And for this year, we actually have something a little different. The arc will retain its typical character interactions and enjoyment that the previous Christmas arcs had, but unlike them, this arc, titled "Deck the Halls for a Birthday Party," will have a consistent storyline throughout it.

//Canzanilla Cafe kind of had a story with Kuripa helping Maya set up shop, but it was still very much them interacting with a random strew of characters and being good baristas and bartenders. But for this one, there's a certain group of characters it revolves around, and a plot that takes shape throughout the sequence.

//What is that plot? Well, I'm glad you asked. Let me tell you.

//This arc is the first Christmas that the Future Foundation have been able to gather for following the Factory incident, and the defeat of Organization Zetsubou. But more importantly for Class 78, this is the perfect chance to celebrate the triumphant return of Mukuro Ikusaba, who they thought was lost to them.

//Reinforced when they remember that December 24th, Christmas Day, is also her birthday.

//To reaffirm their friendship, show appreciation for what she has done for them, and to officially welcome her back to the family, the class, led primarily by Makoto and Sayaka, work with their peers and classmates to throw Mukuro a huge Birthday/Christmas surprise party, while doing whatever they can to prevent Mukuro from catching wind of it.

//Hilarity ensues.

//In summary, it is just one of those everything-has-to-be-perfect party stories where the DR1 class get to show off their bond and how much they all mean to each other. Something that, ironically, they don't do as much as the DR2 and V3 cast do. Not just in Survivor, but in the main series and in general. They have strong chemistry, but it's never really explored.

//This arc is also mainly about Mukuro, now having completed her character arcs from Phase 1 and 2, where she now realizes that she has a place in the world free from Junko's influence, and a lot of this story is about her exploring it and trying to find her place within it.

//Featuring a lot of fun little cameo appearances to boot.

//That should be about everything, so in conclusion, here is my December timeline:

December 1st - December 24th: Dangancember December 21st - December 23rd: PToH: Christmas Caper December 23rd - December 30th: Naegiri Week 2024 December 24th - January 5th: Deck the Halls for a Birthday Party Arc

//And that's all folks.

-Mod

[chalantness]

fic: I've Got You on My Mind, All the Time

Rating: NC-17 Word Count: ~5,100 Characters: Steve/Natasha Prompts: CEO Steve/Personal Assistant Nat au for sassaspazz + morning sex photoset by sleepygrimm + text edit by otptilltheend + photo (nsfw) Summary: AU. CEO Steve and Personal Assistant Nat. Also, just smut. – "Your boss expects you in his office by the time his meeting is over."

For: @loictalon, @sleepygrimm, @evanzski, @sassaspazz, @xo-stardust720, @otptilltheend

A/N: There are quite a few people that this is being dedicated to because: first of all, Happy Birth Month to loictalon and sleepygrimm, and Happy Belated Birthday to evanzski! Maybe one year I'll have my shit together and get your birthday presents out on time. But I hope some smut will make up for me being perpetually behind.

And second of all, I had planned to have a little smut week, but then belatedly realized that, hey, I have over thirty prompts to get to for my holiday giveaway and tacking on seven more so close to December probably isn't a tangible goal. But I was still wanted to thank sassaspazz and xo-stardust720 for giving me prompts for my would-be smut fest!

Excerpt:

"We don't have time for this, Steve. We have the meeting."

He arches an eyebrow. "I can make it quick."

Her heart stutters in her chest at the sparkle of challenge in his eyes. Oh, she knows he can make it quick and still oh so good. She knows quite well, actually. But, she glances at the clock and shakes her head. "We have to be in the office in an hour. Tony and Pepper are expecting us." Steve smirks, kisses her stomach. "I worked really hard on this presentation."

"I know, baby," he tells her, sliding further down the mattress, hooking her leg over his shoulder. "Which means you deserve a reward."

Read on: [ ffnet ] [ ao3 ]

The first thing she senses is him: his large, calloused hand on her hip, squeezing gently; his thigh pressed between her legs, almost innocent as it brushes against the delicate folds of her sex; his mouth nibbling on the curve of her neck, tongue teasing against her skin, lips gently sucking at her pulse.

Not the worst way in the world to be woken up.

She feels her lips curl into a smile, a warmth unfurling low in her stomach as she blinks her eyes open, vision blurring into focus on the digital clock on Steve's wall. Fuck. They really don't have time for this – not when they have to be in the office in an hour so they can prep for their client meetings. She has slides to proofread and handouts to print, and Steve has numbers and pitches to review with Tony. They don't have time, yet, her body seems perfectly content to lay here with Steve in a tangle of sheets and limbs as he slowly, lazily kisses his way down her neck, over her collarbone, lips sealing around one of her breasts and sucking with a gentle moan. She sucks in a soft, sharp breath, feels him smile against her skin.

"Good morning," he murmurs, rolling her onto her back and sucking at her again. Her fingers tuck into his hair and he glances up at her, smiling. "Ma'am."

"Hi," she says with a breathy laugh. "We don't have time for this, Steve. We have the meeting."

He arches an eyebrow. "I can make it quick."

Her heart stutters in her chest at the sparkle of challenge in his eyes. Oh, she knows he can make it quick and still oh so good. She knows quite well, actually. But, she glances at the clock and shakes her head. "We have to be in the office in an hour. Tony and Pepper are expecting us." Steve smirks, kisses her stomach. "I worked really hard on this presentation."

"I know, baby," he tells her, sliding further down the mattress, hooking her leg over his shoulder. "Which means you deserve a reward."

"Celebrating something before it's happened is bad luck," she argues, voice thin and quivering and weak, because she can feel his breath against her slick heat. He'd gently and expertly wound her up in the haze of her sleep, because she's already wet, almost embarrassingly so.

Not that it takes much effort from him to get her wet in the first place. But still.

"Since when did you believe in luck?" he asks, dipping his head down before she can respond and sliding his tongue through her folds, just barely brushing her clit.

Her moan is broken and breathy as she twists her fingers in his hair, feeling him groan against her as he licks a little harder, teasing his tongue at her entrance with every stroke. He loves it when she gets a little rough – tugs at his hair, digs her nails into his back, nips at his skin with her teeth. He remembers when he told her this for the first time, during a late night in the office, her pencil skirt hiked up to her hips as she straddled him in his desk chair and took him in deep and hard, her nails pulling at his hair and scratching at his scalp for support. He'd guided her hips over him with his hands, stared up at her with an almost dazed, drugged expression, and told her how much he loved it when she was a little greedy.

I love when you're so lost in your pleasure that you just take and take from me. You're always composed, always perfectly presented, and only I know what you look like when you're undone.

Even months later, even so established into their (albeit clandestine) relationship, the memory of that night and those words still makes her shiver.

He sucks at her little bundle of nerves, presses her leg to the mattress and dips his tongue into her, and her mouth parts in a mewl. It's ridiculous how well this man knows her and her body, ridiculous how quickly she unravels at his touch, at his lips, at his kiss.

"Steve," she moans, tugging at his hair. She's not sure if she wants to pull him deeper or pull him up and over her so she can feel him before she goes crazy.

"So wet," he murmurs, lapping at her clit. She gnaws on her lower lip, rolls her head and presses her cheek into the pillow. "You're always so wet and ready for me, love."

"Come here." Her command is breathy and a little too desperate for her preference. But she hardly cares. She yanks at his hair. "Steve, come here."

He breathes out a chuckle, presses a little kiss to her folds before sliding his lips back up her body, settling over her. He hooks her leg around his hip, opening her up to him, his length brushing teasingly against her slick heat. She digs her nails into the muscles of his back, scratching, trying to bring him closer, and he chuckles again as he presses at her entrance.

His lips are tugged into a smirk. "Got to love a quickie in the morning before work," he says, and a laugh bubbles out of her.

Steve Rogers, ever the romantic.

Her laugh dissolves into a moan, though, when he rolls his hips and thrusts into her, hard and deep. Her lips part, her spine arching off of the bed, and Steve's head falls forward to press into her pillow, his lips right next to her ear as he lets out a low and rumbling groan. That groan – that first moment of pure, absolute pleasure – always makes her shiver, her body practically vibrating in delight. They have sex on a very, very regular basis, but somehow, that first thrust feels almost as perfect as their first time together. She thinks that it should worry her more, how much she feels for him. One careless, tipsy night out of town for a conference had turned into late nights in the office, making love bent over his desk, against his bookshelf, on his office lounge chair. And fuck, she thinks that should've been the first sign. She's slept with guys before this job, but it had never felt like making love.

Not until Steve. He may be her boss, and she may be just a personal assistant, but he's always treated her like something precious.

Even now, with his thrusts rough and hard and deep, he's murmuring sweet words into her skin, peppering soft kisses over her neck, gently sweeping his fingers over the dip of her curves. He brushes over the sensitive spot just under her ribs that always, always makes her body tingle and her stomach flutter and her mouth part in a plea.

He cups her cheek, smooths his thumb over her flushed skin.

"Look at you, love," he says, breath tight with exertion and arousal. "I love watching your face, watching your desire spread across your skin, watching you gasp for breath."

Her heart flutters, nails digging even harder into his back. But he doesn't even flinch. If anything, his eyes flash at her desperate, greedy touch.

"Remember that first time?" His hips snap, the angle changing as he slides his arm under the bend of her knee and presses it up higher so he can slide in deeper. She lets out a keening moan, lips parting, body arching. The memory alone is enough to make her whimper. The taste of champagne on his tongue, the floor biting into her back because they were too impatient to stumble their way onto the bed, the pretty, shimmery dress bunched carelessly over her hips and Steve kneeling in front of her, still in his suit, lips wet with her heat as he loosened his tie. Months of repressed attraction had burst in a flurry of heat and breaths, ending with a broken lamp and a torn shower curtain and the linens pulled from the bed.

"Y-Yes…" Her eyelids flutter closed. "Why do you—" She whimpers as he reaches between them, circling lightly over her clit. She's close, and she can tell he is, too.

"Because I think about it every time I'm in you. Every damn time, Nat." He groans, ducking down to kiss her, hard. "God, I'm—"

"Me too," she whines against his lips.

He presses just a little harder on her bundle of nerves, and she sucks in a gasp as her vision goes blurry and white, her desire bursting over her. She can feel how hard Steve is as her walls flutter around his length, and he moans into her ear, hips jerking harder and without rhythm as his orgasm follows on the heels of hers.

A few long moments later, once they've caught their breaths, Natasha twines her fingers into his hair and glances over at the clock again, feeling herself smirk.

"I think we've beat our record, Rogers," she says, and she feels him chuckle against her neck before lifting his head to meet her gaze, his eyes twinkling. "I'm impressed."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time you veto sex during our fifteen-minute meeting breaks," he says, and she's laughing as she rolls her eyes.

... ...

The meeting had gone spectacularly, of course. It always does when she and Steve work together on a presentation. He and Tony have been asking her to head a few marketing campaigns on her own now that she's been working with Steve long enough, and she loves it, of course. She's always been just an assistant, there to run errands and manage schedules so her bosses would be free to focus on their jobs. But with Steve, she had been more involved even in the beginning, when she had known virtually nothing about the marketing business. Steve asked for her opinions after meetings, wanted her input on their campaigns, let her edit presentations and handouts when she felt more comfortable.

She's not going to pretend that their relationship had nothing to do with the way he treated her like more than just an assistant. But she knows Steve, and she knows that he wouldn't have asked her to become more involved simply because he'd been attracted to her.

"I saw genuine interest in your eyes. From that very first day, I'd had a hunch you'd be amazing at it," he'd told her once, with a proud grin. "I like it when I'm right."

She does miss working with him, though.

Her official title may not have changed, but now that he's asking her to head some of his campaigns, she doesn't see him every second of the day anymore. She finds herself missing him a little when he can't make it to lunch with her, or when she can't attend a meeting with him because she has one of her own. It's ridiculous and she knows it, but still.

"Have I lost your thoughts to Steve again?" Pepper asks, tone colored with amusement as she snaps her fingers in front of Natasha's gaze.

Natasha blinks, lips quirking at the corners as she picks up another slide of her flatbread. "I was just thinking that I should've grabbed Steve some breakfast before his second meeting. He's got to be starving by now."

Pepper laughs. "You always worry over him."

"Well, considering I'm his personal assistant, I'd say worrying over him is my job."

Pepper tilts her head. "Right. Because that's all you are to us," she teases. "After all, every personal assistant is entrusted to head their own marketing campaigns."

"Sarcasm isn't really your thing," Natasha retorts, tossing her crumpled napkin at Pepper's plate. The woman grins, arching her eyebrow expectantly. "Fine. I miss him."

"I know you do," Pepper tells her, and Natasha knows she's being sincere. If anyone were to understand Natasha's position, it would be her. She'd gone from being Tony Stark's personal assistant to being promoted to a partner in his company, and it seems as if they've seen less of each other since they've gotten engaged. "You two will find your balance," Pepper promises, reaching over to squeeze her fingers gently, reassuringly. "It took Tony and me a month to figure out how to find time to make it to the dinner table every night."

Natasha nods, and then her phone buzzes on the table, her screen lighting up with Steve's name. She'd texted him before going to brunch with Pepper after he'd left for his second meeting of the day – just a simple I want coffee – but his response makes her nearly spit out her mimosa.

I want your legs wrapped around my head.

Her heart flutters.

"Oh my," Pepper chuckles, not at all trying to hide the fact that she's reading Steve's text across the table. "Well, someone's obviously not paying attention to his meeting."

Natasha feels herself smile, feels her cheeks warm. He's managed to fluster her through a text? God, that's pathetic.

She types back, Fuck the coffee, and takes a long sip of her mimosa. Pepper smirks. "Would you like me to excuse yourself to the restroom?"

"Shut up," Natasha laughs, her phone buzzing with Steve's response.

I'd rather fuck you instead.

And then, Or better yet, you should fuck me. I know you love being in charge.

It should be crime for a text to sound so fucking tempting. She replies with: Is this my reward for a job well done?

No, babe, you got your reward this morning. This is for ME, and your boss expects you in his office by the time his meeting is over.

Coming from anyone else, she suspects Steve would sound demanding and controlling, but she knows better. She knows he's unapologetic about asking for what he wants. And he wants her not simply because he's attracted to her or because he just wants to fuck her, but because he adores her. Because he craves her, craves her pleasured desperation.

She glances up when Pepper waves her hand to motion for their waiter. "I think she'll need an iced water," Pepper tells him, her expression perfectly innocent.

Natasha just smirks.

... ...

"Quite bold of you to keep your boss waiting, don't you think?" he asks, lips tugged into a bit of a smirk when she lets herself into his office. She'd taken her time coming back from brunch, knowing it would mean he would get there before her despite his request. He hardly seems to mind, though. She presses her lips together, the lock into place behind her before strolling toward him, her stilettos clicking against the floor. His eyes trace down the front of her coat, arching one eyebrow. She hadn't been wearing it when he last saw her.

"My apologies," she says, shrugging out of her coat slowly, relishing in the way his lips part, his eyes growing dark and hungry. She's still in the same blouse from earlier, but she'd removed her camisole and bra underneath, and now her nipples were hard from brushing against the material. Hard, and very clearly visible through the lace.

She drapes her coat over his desk, and it takes a long pause before he pulls his gaze back up to her face.

"Wardrobe malfunction, I'm assuming?"

She hums in acknowledgment, walks around his desk, drumming her nails on the wood as she comes to stand in front of his chair. His gaze slides down again, taking in the fact that she's hiked her skirt up a little more, enough to expose the clips of her garter belt holding up her stockings. "Unfortunately, yes," she answers, playing along, leaning over his desk to busy herself with rearranging the stack of folders. "I'd felt too warm after our meeting to continue wearing satin," she tells him, glancing over her shoulder and catching the way his eyes flash in understanding. She'd been wearing a satin bra and the matching underwear; lingerie that Pepper had gifted to her for her birthday just last week. "But I feel better now."

"Do you?" He gets up, bracing his hands against the desk as he presses against her, leaning over her. She bites on her lower lip, feeling how hard he is through his dress slacks.

He grasps her leg just above her knee, making her suck in a soft, shallow breath as he gives her a squeeze, then trails his fingers up higher. Even with her stockings as a barrier between her thigh and his fingertips, his touch sends ripples of tingles over her skin.

She shouldn't be this aroused this quickly, but she always is with Steve. The fact that she's been reading his texts over and over again hadn't helped. She'd thought of them as she undressed, picturing him typing those out to her during his meeting. She knows he must've been imagining her spread out on that conference table, dripping onto the oak wood with his face buried between her legs and her heels digging onto his back as she rolled her hips up to meet the teasing licks of his tongue, craving more friction, more pressure, more.

His hand slips under her skirt, meeting her smooth, bare skin, finding her wet. Finding her soaked.

"Fuck," he mutters, dropping his head onto her shoulder and licking at the clasp of choker on the back of neck. He glides his fingers through her folds and she makes this noise from the back of her throat, pushing back against him.

He feels harder, if possible.

She reaches behind her, grabs at the collar of his shirt and yanks his head forward as she twists her neck around to kiss him, hard and hot and heavy, her hips rolling against his hand. It's hard not to indulge if even for a little, not with the gentle, almost torturous way he's circling her clit, not with the way the lacy detail of her shirt is rubbing over her nipples.

He groans, kissing her deeper, his other hand grasping at her chin to keep her in place as her hands fumble and grasp for the desk.

She manages to slip her fingers into her coat pocket, grasping onto the cool metal, and then she catches him off guard by yanking her lips away, spinning him around and pushing him back down into his chair, moving to straddle his lap. He blinks up at her in surprise and a touch of amusement, and then she holds her hand up, dangling the handcuffs from her index finger. His eyes widen ever so slightly, lips twitching at the corners. She knows he's trying to keep his expression schooled for their little game, but she doesn't miss the hunger in his eyes, swirling and storming. She leans forward, hovers her lips over his, her hair falling around them, and he lets her grasp his wrists as she kisses him, winding them behind his chair.

He chuckles into their kiss as she clasps the handcuffs around his wrists, binding him in place.

"I thought having a personal assistant meant my hands wouldn't be tied," he points out, arching an eyebrow.

She smirks, shakes her head ever so slightly at his joke as she eases off of his lap. "Maybe that means you'll appreciate your lovely assistant more," she teases, lifting herself to sit on the edge of his desk. She tugs him by his tie, rolling his desk chair closer as she sets a heel on each of the chair arms, spreading herself for him to see.

She's wet. She can feel it.

"Fuck," he breathes, staring at her slick sex. She reaches over and threads her fingers into his head, tugging him between her thighs. He glances up at her, eyes flashing.

"Feel like giving your assistant some help for once?" she asks, relishing in his breathy laugh against the inside of her thigh.

He hums, inhaling her scent, and she swears she almost lets out a strangled noise when he tentatively licks up her center, flicking at her bundle of nerves with the tip of his tongue. He groans as if he's tasting her for the first time, the chair straining ever so slightly when he leans in closer, licking her a little harder and a little harder with every stroke.

"Oh," she moans, bracing her free hand on the desk behind her as she tips her head back, trying to roll her hips off of the table. The sweet irony of the situation is that she wishes his hands were free to touch her, to grasp her hips so he can roll his tongue in deeper, sink three fingers into her, rub at her clit. She wants his calloused, gentle, desperate touch all over her, and she digs her nails into his scalp, barely biting back a whimper as his lips close around her clit, giving a gentle suck once, twice, three times, making her hips jerk on the desk.

He turns his head, kisses the inside of her thigh. "Lay down, baby," he urges her. "Open yourself up for me."

She nods and does as he asks, laying herself back against the desk, letting her legs fall open. His tongue laps at her clit before circling, over and over, making her body tremble. Her breaths are broken, whimpers falling from her lips as she tries to roll her hips in time with the strokes of his tongue, but he's purposefully throwing her off, driving her crazy.

When she comes undone, her walls flutter, aching, her body still craving to feel him even as she's in the midst of her high and unraveling at the seams.

She grips onto his hair, scratches her nails over his scalp as she rolls her hips, riding out her orgasm. He keeps licking at her, gently sucking at her little bundle of nerves until she's shaking and trembling and gently pushing at his forehead.

He licks at her once, twice, three more times, before pulling away, and she blinks her eyes open to find him staring at her, mouth wet and hair pulled in different directions.

Fuck, that's a good look for him.

"I really want to touch you," he says, voice gruff. He looks as disheveled as she feels.

She lifts herself up and kisses him, presses her tongue against his. She teases him by sliding back onto his lap, reaching around to run her fingers over the smooth, cool metal of the cuffs around his wrists, giving the chain a gentle tug. Then she smiles against his lips, pulls her hands away as she meets his gaze and shakes her head.

"Tease," he murmurs, grinning like an idiot. Like he'd known she wouldn't let him free just yet, and he doesn't want her to, either.

She laughs as she straddles his thigh and rolls her hips, feeling the material of his slacks brush against her slick folds, making her shudder. She hooks a hand over the back of his neck to anchor herself, grinding down on his thigh as her free hand slides down his chest, cupping where he's hard for her. He groans, head falling back, and she licks up the column of his neck and nips at the underside of his jaw. Seeing her dressed the way she is had gotten him hard, but eating her out? That had turned him positively rigid. She knows that he's aching.

"N-Nat—" He swallows, tries to jerk his hips up, but she pulls her hand away and fists the material of his dress shirt instead. He groans out a laugh. "You're killing me, darling."

She tips her head up to lick the shell of his ear. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replies, voice gravelly, almost pained with his desire. It makes her smile, her stomach flipping.

"I miss you," she says, barely above a whisper as she places a line of wet kisses along the line of his jaw.

"Nat, stop for a second," he tells her. She does, leaning back to meet his gaze. He tips his head forward to kiss her, gently at first, almost tentatively as he licks the seam of her lips before pressing inside. He takes his time kissing her, tasting her, and she feels herself grow wetter just from the sound he makes when she nips his lip. Then he parts their kiss and brushes his lips to the corner of her mouth, the apple of her cheek, the bridge of her nose. "I've missed you, too, Nat." Grinning, he kisses her forehead. "It's been a tough week."

Her chest tightens, just a little. Yes, it has. Though it had been quick, this morning was the first morning in a while that they've gotten to enjoy each other.

It's been hard lining up their schedules. They're in and out of meetings at different times, take their lunches at different hours. More often than not, one of them has to stay late and the other has to go in early. If not for the fact that she'd basically move into his apartment, there would probably be days where they'd miss each other completely.

It's strange for her to go from seeing him all the time, every moment of the day, to catching him for ten, maybe fifteen minutes at a time. She still sees him around the office all the time, of course, but it's different. She can't remember the last time they sat down and had a cup of coffee together.

"But if this"—he rattles the handcuffs—"is how you cope with missing me, I don't have any complaints."

He's grinning again, eyes sparkling in mischief, and it makes her laugh. She reaches down and palms the front of his slacks, feeling her pulse thrum as his eyelashes flutter closed and he lets out a low groan. "I'm trying to be serious here and all you can think about is sex?" she asks, teasing, giving a gentle squeeze the way he likes it.

"Shit," he mutters through a laugh, squirming under her touch. "Can't exactly blame me, can you? Not when you come in, wearing that, cuffing me to my own chair."

She hums, starts rolling her hips again, harder, squeezing her legs around his thighs and throwing her head back at a particularly rough brush of his slacks against her bundle of nerves. She can practically feel him responding under her hand, pulsing against her palm.

She digs her nails into the back of his neck, holding onto it like a lifeline as she grinds her hips faster, almost erratically, feeling her orgasm rapidly coiling in her stomach. She knows that she can barely concentrate on her own hand, that her fingers are fumbling around him, uneven and tormenting, and she hears it in the rasp of his voice when he says her name. But somehow, despite how much he must be aching, it doesn't surprise her when he pushes his mouth next to her ear and tells her, "Touch yourself." Her gaze snaps onto him from underneath heavy eyelids, his expression pulled tight with his arousal. Still, he commands, or maybe pleads: "I know you're close. Let go of me and touch yourself the way I would."

She pulls her hand off of his length and slides it through her slick sex, circling her clit, accidentally brushing it once, twice, three times, the same way he teases her.

"I think I'll come just from watching you, Nat," he says, his voice heavy and thick. He sounds like he could. He sounds as breathless as she feels.

And that alone is almost enough to send her over the edge.

She reaches between them and all, somehow, gets the buckle of his belt undone and pulled from the belt loops despite how much she seems to be shaking. He groans as she touches him, pulling him from his boxers, and then she's lining him up at her entrance and sinking over him, taking him in deep.

Their moans vibrate through the air, filling the wide, open space of his office, that's how loud they are, how relieved yet desperate they sound.

She digs one hand into the muscles of his shoulder, the other grasping at his tie in her fist as her spine arches, and she tosses her head back when he shifts beneath her and brushes against that sweet spot that sends a burst of white-hot desire through her veins. She can hear him murmuring her name over and over again, his phrases broken and barely coherent over the haze of her approaching orgasm as he tells her how much he loves her, how amazing she feels, how perfectly they fit together. And then, when she's right on that edge, she tugs his lips to hers and kisses him. She thinks she nips his lip when her orgasm bursts over her, but if she does, he doesn't notice. He's too busy falling over that edge right with her.

She curls forward, clinging onto him for support as his body goes limp beneath her, their bodies riding the last tremors of their orgasms as they come back down to Earth.

"It's possible," he says after a long moment, through labored breaths, "that the entire floor might have heard us."

"I think the entire building heard us," she rasps out on a laugh, reaching into the pocket of her skirt for the key to the handcuffs. Her fingers fumble with it a few times, but she finally gets them unlocked, and he tugs his hands free.

She grasps one of his wrists, placing a kiss to the red lines that had been rubbed into his skin, and then repeating the gesture to the other wrist.

"I'm alright," he promises, waiting for her to nod in acknowledgment before gently prying from her grasp so he can tuck his hands into her hair, pulling her in for a soft, sweet kiss. She hums against his lips, her body melting into his. She feels sated all the way down to her bones, in the way only making love to Steve can do. "I could've done it, you know."

"Hmm?" She leans back to find him giving her that crooked, almost boyish grin of his.

"I could've come without being inside you, just from watching you," he clarifies. "I think, even if you weren't touching me, I would've come. Just because it's you."

"I know," she says, meaning it, feeling a flutter of pride and complete adoration unfurl in her chest. She's known that she has that effect on him, but it's still a little exhilarating every single time he tells her as much. "That's what made me want to reward you," she admits, kissing his dimpled cheek before drawing back to smirk. "But we'll get to that next time."

His eyes sparkle. "Whatever you say, boss."