#Last Longer Than 7 Days Stunning Cool Ideas

[sashketter]

The Captain and the Senator

Chapter 6 - Offerings to the Moon Goddess

Summary: After the assassination attempt on Senators Avi Singh and Riyo Chuchi and the destruction of the Teth base, Rex and Riyo spend a week together on Pantora. The clones, the Pantoran guards, and even Chairman Papanoida and Admiral Coburn try to check in on them from time to time.

Word count: 7.8k

Warnings: SMUT. Porn with Plot. PiV, fingering, unprotected sex (no glove, no love), anal, multiple creampies, cum play, cum as lube, squirting, oral (M receiving), a hint of breeding kink. A shadow of armor kink lol Interludes of plot and fluff.

Notes: This takes place immediately after season 3 episode 7 of The Bad Batch, “Extraction.” In my outline for this chapter, I wrote, “MAKE IT NASTY. FILTHY. EXPLORATORY.” The point was for Rex and Riyo to get some action away from the action 😈 Please don’t mind the lack of foreplay - I just didn’t want this chapter to go longer than 10k, so each round starts in medias res. That’s right, rounds 😉 They deserve all the orgasms after the harrowing events of “Infiltration” and “Extraction” 😌 Please enjoy the phallic symbolism of the gifs below.

Chapter 5 - Table of Contents

“Need a break?”

“Do you?”

Rex realizes long after that he never actually gave an answer. He had simply smiled and pulled Riyo, giggling, back on top of him.

Her moans reach across the room and reverberate back in his ears. The air is warm and thick, and for a moment, Rex thinks of the jungles on Teth. Navigating the wild terrain was less tiring than keeping Riyo in her current position. His muscles ache, and his skin is on fire, but he doesn’t falter. She’s so close.

Rex sits upright on her king-sized bed, his legs bent and wide and his arms supporting his weight behind him. Riyo arches and grinds in his lap. She pulls on his shoulder with one hand and pushes on his thigh with the other. Her hips rock back and forth in a rhythm that mesmerizes the Captain. She throws her chin to the ceiling and leans back, her pastel hair undulating in waves behind her with each thrust. She finds purchase at his root and searches for something deeper.

The sun was starting to set when Rex had reached Pantoran City. Weary and disheartened, he left Echo, Gregor, and Howzer on Orto Plutonia and sought out the Senator. Losing any one basecamp, when their network of strongholds was still so small, would’ve been catastrophic, and the one on Teth had been the biggest and safest. The clones who had followed Rex’s coded messages to grid square U-12 had all felt calmer in Wild Space, far from the Core Worlds and the eyes of the Empire. Now Rex wanted nothing more than to forget his bright ideas, numb the pain of losing so many brothers in one night, and clear his heavy head. Naturally, he thought of Riyo and their trysts together.

She dives to new depths and comes with a force that sends her forward, crashing into Rex’s chest and propelling them both back to the bed. Rex lands on his back with a grunt, too stunned to do more than keep his hands out of Riyo’s way. She pushes herself back up and grinds, drawing out her orgasm. Her hands grip his pecs, and her hips rock violently, knocking the breath out of Rex with each forward swing. Her clit rubs roughly on his pubic bone, and she reaches for the ceiling with her moans. She keeps her pace, determined to bring Rex to his own release, but exhaustion creeps along the edges of her thrusts. She stops, his shaft still hard and sheathed to the base, to catch her breath and watch the Captain.

“Are you alright,” she asks lightly. She can feel the sweat on her skin start to cool and her muscles start to ache.

“Yeah, just,” Rex groans and tries a smirk, “just admiring the view.”

His movements are stiff, his mind still leaden with the last few days. Riyo is determined to elicit his usual postcoital chortles. She leans down and presses gentle lips to his rough mouth, prodding her tongue and diving deeper into him. His arms wrap around her torso, and her hands find the sides of his face. He plants his feet and thrusts up.

“Mmm!” Riyo turns her mouth to moan, bringing her jaw to Rex’s lips. He licks the skin below her ear and turns her moan into a gasp. Her hands snake under his head to pull his mouth closer.

“Tell me what you need, Rex,” she pants between his thrusts. She yelps when his teeth and tongue graze the pulse point below her jaw. “How do you want me?”

Rex pumps his hips slow but hard. “Like on— unh— Orto Plutonia. In— oh, kark— the chair.” He savors her warm walls, but needs something else to empty his mind.

“You want my mouth.”

Rex laughs low in his chest. “Sir, yes, sir. ” He bites down gently on her shoulder. Riyo squeals, and he feels her walls flutter around his shaft.

She turns her head and savors his sweet tongue, his soft lips, his burning stubble. She nips lightly at his bottom lip and sits back up onto his balls. “As you wish, Captain.”

~~~

“Senator?” Roland knocks on Riyo’s apartment door. No answer. “Think she’s in there?”

“Where else would she be?” Filip acts nonchalantly.

Vetro crosses his arms, annoyed. “How does she keep sneaking away from us?”

“Rex knows a thing or two about bypassing security.” Filip himself had shown the clone captain the administrative codes that opened all of the Senator’s office and apartment doors.

“They’ve been getting pretty close, haven’t they?” Vetro smirks.

“Think he’s in there, too?”

“Negative. He’s on Teth.” Vetro tries the Senator’s passcode again and meets the same red light. “The guys at the meeting with Senator Singh said the clones caught the assassin and are going to try to get some intel out of him.”

“Why don’t you two get lunch?” Filip wants to end the discussion, lest more details of the secret meeting start to spread. “I’ll stay here in case she shows up.”

“Want your usual at Hogan’s?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Filip waits for the two to turn the corner before he punches the administrative code into the panel. The door slides open. The room is dark, the curtains still drawn closed. The guard crosses the floor and turns on the lamp next to the sofa. He sighs in relief as he spots Rex’s helmet on the coffee table. Relief quickly turns to surprise as the muffled sounds of moaning and rhythmic banging reach his ears from the Senator’s bedroom. He turns and leaves quickly and quietly.

“Dank farrik, they’re still going at it?”

~~~

Riyo grips her sheets as Rex works languidly behind her. Her arms fall forward, and her chest meets the bed, sending him into her at a new angle. His grip on her hips keeps them upright and her knees wide apart. He drives in and out slowly, teasing her.

“Rex, please,” Riyo whines as she pushes up slightly off the bed and turns her chin to her shoulder. “Faster.”

Rex hums low in his chest. His hands leave her hips and find the bed next to her shoulders. He leans down and kisses the space between her shoulder blades. He thrusts his hips forward and receives a delicious moan in return. “Give the order, Senator.” His voice rumbles down her spine to where they meet.

She giggles. “Fast and hard, Captain.”

His hands find her hips again, and he keeps a pace that has her voice reaching for the high ceilings. He remembers how quickly she came on Orto Plutonia, bent over just like this and slamming into his desk. She’d shown him the bruises on her thighs the next morning, and while he kissed each purple patch, she’d rubbed his scalp and crooned into his ear, “You’re welcome to leave your mark on me anytime, Captain.” They were late to breakfast.

Rex suddenly remembers something he had tried that night but didn’t finish. Keeping his hips’ quick pace, he spits on her puckered hole and presses a thumb lightly over the opening. Riyo moans and pushes back for more pressure.

“You like that?” His voice is honey in her ears, thick and sweet.

She nods furiously. “Top drawer— unh, yes!— on the right— mmph!— bedside table.”

Rex withdraws carefully and returns quickly with the bottle of lube. Unsure of how much she can take, he applies a few drops on her small hole and resolves to save his cock for later. He’s sure at this point that she’ll want more later.

He reinserts his shaft into her slick heat and pushes his thumb into her tight hole at the same time. He starts slow, keeping his thumb still and crooked to the knuckle while he rocks his hips steadily. 

“I can— unh— take more— oh!— Rex, please.”

He stills to free a hand and grab the bottle again. He applies more lube as he withdraws his thumb, massaging the gel around her hole. Wasting no time, he inserts two fingers to their first knuckles and waits for Riyo to flex and breathe. She arches her back and raises her hips higher in the air.

She groans in frustration. “Deeper, trooper!”

Rex laughs and thrusts his hips again as he pushes his fingers to the second knuckle. Riyo moans deeply and pushes back to meet him. He alternates his thrusts, withdrawing his fingers back to their first knuckles as he buries himself to the base and pushing his fingers deeper as he pulls back to his cockhead. Soon, his hand’s pace matches his hip’s.

Riyo buries her face and moans in the sheets as Rex feels her inner muscles start to squeeze tighter. The hand on her hips moves to find her clit, and a few heavy circles send her over. She turns her head to breathe and moan into the air.

“Don’t stop,” she whines. “Come for me.”

He withdraws his fingers from her puckering hole and welds both hands to her hips. He speeds up and dives deeper, harder. His balls meet her clit in wet claps, his grunts overpowering her moans. He watches her creamy, white release coat his shaft. His balls tighten, but he has the presence of mind this time to ask.

“Where?”

“Inside, always.”

He groans desperately at her qualifier, the promise of more cum to come. He doubles over and pushes in as far as he can before coming. His left hand finds the mattress while his right arm circles Riyo’s waist, pressing his clenching abs into her lower back. He presses his lips and groans into her right shoulder. She leans into him as she feels herself get wetter the longer he comes.

Riyo reaches for the back of his head and brings his mouth to her neck. “Atta boy, trooper,” she breathes low in her chest. “Mission well-done.”

He laughs and rests his cheek on her shoulder, still catching his breath. “So good.” He thrusts shallowly, earning him light mewls. “So beautiful— mmm— and so karking good to me.”

“Keep coming, Captain.”

“What?” Rex stops midthrust.

Riyo chuckles. She pushes up and brings them both upright onto their knees. She rocks her hips back and forth, and Rex finds himself— “Still hard.” She leans her head back to look up at him. “Up for more, trooper?” 

In the past, Rex had credited his quick recovery to the Kaminoan’s engineering. The clones were designed to withstand many different stresses for long periods of time. He doubted Nala Se had sexual endurance in mind, but it was a happy side effect of their physical fitness, a battlefield advantage deployed by millions of clone troopers to satisfying ends for their various partners galaxywide. Now, however, Rex wonders if his willingness to endure comes from one partner in particular.

He laughs and pushes Riyo’s chest back down onto the bed. He spreads more lube on her hole and pushes his thumb in all the way. She gasps and pushes back into his hand.

“Ready, baby?”

“Always, Capt— unh!”

~~~

“How long does it take to debrief the Senator?” Howzer paces the command deck.

Gregor laughs. “You really think that’s all they’re doing?” He mans a console on the wall tracking a storm four klicks southeast. “It’s been more than a rotation.”

Howzer stops in front of the viewport and scoffs. “We don’t have time for—” 

“Look, Howzer, we’re all hurting from Teth.” Echo’s eyes glaze over the holomap of Scarif flickering over the central platform. “Rex is just dealing with it in his own way.” He knows exactly how the Captain liked to relieve his stress. Everyone in the 501st seemed to have a story of one of his liaisons, though they always plead ignorance when pressed.

“You don’t think I have someone I could be—”

“Shtupping? Karking? Making love to?” Gregor keeps his eyes on the panel while he lists off more euphemisms. “Screwing? Humping? Playing hide the salami?”

“Howzer, if you want to go, go. It’s not like we have the manpower to do much of anything right now.”

“But we should!” Howzer whips around and pulls on Echo’s attention. “Now’s the time to regroup and—”

“And we will. But listen, when we agreed to join Rex, we agreed it was a choice.” Echo steps down from the platform and meets Howzer by the viewport. “If there’s someplace else you’d rather be, then be there. We won’t stop you.”

Howzer knows that Rex had given Echo a similar speech before, to great effect. He knows he’s about to be taken down a notch in the gentlest terms.

“For now, Rex and I agree that we need to take a break, just for a few days. We’ve been running on fumes at lightspeed for a while now, and we’re no closer to Tantiss than before. If we’re in this for the long run, we have to pace ourselves.”

Howzer sighs and stares at Echo. The Corporal was always uneasy at rest, especially after his return from Skako Minor. Even Rex sometimes marveled at his doggedness. In the brief time they’d known each other, Howzer had never known Echo to back down when moving forward was an option. That the hero of Anaxes was suggesting retreat in every sense of the word meant that they were in greater trouble than it seemed and that any action now could mean more catastrophe later.

“Rest and regroup,” Howzer confirms. Echo nods.

“Hey, for what it’s worth,” Gregor claps a hand on Howzer’s spaulder, “I don’t have anyone to suck me off, either.”

Howzer shoves the cackling commando, but can’t help the smile on his face. He thinks of Daesha. If only he could rendezvous with his seela hirani, he wouldn’t be lashing out at his brothers, but he knows it’s still too dangerous to reach out and risk her safety. He shakes his head.

“Hey, maybe we should head to Pantora for a little action of our own.” Gregor’s optimism knows no bounds.

Echo rubs the back of his neck. “Ah, I don’t know. I’m a little rusty.” It suddenly occurs to the Corporal that his distaste for solitude had left him with almost no time away from his brothers to find relief like Rex had. Either the opportunity never presented itself or he was preoccupied. He can’t decide which is worse.

Gregor punches Echo’s shoulder. “It’s settled then! C’mon, I hear from the guys at New Kamino that the ladies who visit them are as pretty as the Senator.”

~~~

Beads of sweat roll down the sides of Rex’s face, and it takes all of Riyo’s strength not to lean up and lick. She doesn’t want to break his concentration. He’d planted his foot on the floor for leverage, finding the bed too bouncy, but kept his other leg up on the mattress for the support and angle needed to send Riyo’s moans an octave higher. He steadies his torso over his arms planted next to her waist and swings his hips wide and hard. He drops his head to kiss the valley of her breasts before taking a pert nipple into his mouth. Her hands find his jaw to keep his lips on her. He maintains this pace and position until he can feel her walls start to tighten. Then in an instant, Rex is gone, and Riyo is empty.

She looks up and finds him already halfway down her body, a smirk on his lips. She nods and widens her legs to accommodate his shoulders. His left hand finds the inside of her thigh as he sucks on two fingers on his right hand. Without thinking, Riyo sits up, gently grabs his hand, and twists his wrist so that the pad of his thumb can comfortably meet the flat of her tongue. Rex lurches forward, mouth still open and surprised by the move. She seals her lips over his knuckle and sucks, moans, and massages him with her tongue in the way he’s familiar with.

A string of spit hangs between them as she returns his thumb. She breaks the bridge with her tongue and bites her bottom lip. He lunges forward and lays his tongue on hers. They fall back to the bed with heavy groans, Rex slotting effortlessly between Riyo’s legs. With her attention elsewhere, he finds her folds, pushes in his two wet fingers all the way to webs of his hands, and presses his dewy thumb in tight swipes across her clit. The onslaught raises Riyo’s back off the bed.

But he isn’t just pumping into her. He’s searching for something, massaging and laying the pads of his fingertips on every inch of her walls, looking for the spot he knows will undo her. He twists his wrist, hooks his fingers, and tries new angles until he feels Riyo lift nearly all the way to sitting, her legs try to close around him, and her voice rise even higher in a choked gasp. He looks up in time to catch the most exquisite look on her face: mouth open, forehead furrowed, eyes dark with hunger and longing, and her cheeks nearly as purple as her lips. Not quite an orgasm, but close. He’s found it.

Rex redoubles his efforts on her clit and forces Riyo to fall back onto the bed and writhe in earnest. She tries to close her legs for relief from the onslaught, but Rex is quick to wedge his shoulders between her knees and keep her open as he works his hand past exhaustion. He’s determined to make her squirt.

“Riyo,” Rex says firmly. “Look at me.”

She forces her eyes open, but with difficulty. Everything feels too much and not enough. But she knows he’ll stop if she doesn’t follow orders, so she meets his gaze. “Don’t stop,” she gasps out, her abdomen beginning to spasm.

Rex nods. “Sir, yes, sir.” He adds a third finger to her weeping hole and brings Riyo to sing even higher.

She can’t make sense of the competing sensations in her lower body. She’s familiar with the delicious, molten pleasure building where Rex’s hand is. But just beyond, she feels muscles clench, holding back something new. She looks down and finds Rex watching her closely, his mouth open and seeming to mirror her own look of ecstasy. She bites her lower lip and giggles before he pushes a little deeper and empties her mind.

“Come on,” Rex seems to say more to himself than Riyo, “c’mon, baby, I know you can do it.”

All of a sudden, the dam bursts. Muscles she never felt unclench and spasm. Her ears start ringing, and her vision goes white. She can hear herself screaming, feel herself thrashing on the bed, and even see herself gush a waterfall onto Rex’s arm, but it’s all oddly disembodied. It’s the most intense orgasm she’s ever had.

And all through the blinding, deafening implosion, Rex keeps working his hand inside her, never letting up on the sweet spot he found and coaxing more out of her. More slick, more screams, more squirming. He draws out her climax and doesn’t stop until her voice is raw and her body goes limp. Pure exhaustion overtakes her, and she passes out.

Riyo’s unsure of how much time has passed, but she wakes on her side, facing Rex and the night sky outside the windows on her left. He’s on his back, his left arm tucked under his head and lost in thought staring at the ceiling. She drags gentle fingertips down his bicep, and he turns his head with a smile.

“Welcome back.”

Riyo hums and asks softly, “How did we get here?”

Rex smiles fondly and brushes the backs of his fingers on her cheek. “With a little luck.”

“No, I mean on the floor.”

“Oh! I, uh, well, we…” Rex clears his throat and searches for more delicate words. “I forgot to put a towel down. We made kind of a mess up there.”

Riyo looks up at the bed towards her feet. Rex had pulled everything but the damp sheets onto the floor. Her pillows and plush comforter create a nest, with the Captain and the Senator warm in its center. If not for the thick area rug underneath, she might have noticed sooner.

“I was able to clean you up, but the bed, uh… well, you might have some explaining to do.” Rex blushes and gives her a sheepish look.

Riyo laughs as she pulls herself into his side. She tries to bury her growing giggles in his chest but is met with the rumble of his own laughs against her cheek.

She kisses his right pec. “Well-done, Captain.”

“I aim to please, Senator.”

Her hand traces the ridges of muscle on his abdomen. “You know, on Pantora, they say every ounce of cum from your partner is a blessing.”

“What?” Rex is stunned but curious. His left hand comes down to play with her wandering one. Their fingers tangle as she tells the story.

“From the Moon Goddess,” she clarifies. “The story goes she was very lonely out here, all alone in this sector of the Outer Rim. The pirates and sailors who passed through would only stay for a night or two and never return. Long stretches of time would pass between each new visitor, so in order to make them stay, she would have sex with them and use their cum to bind them to her.”

Rex roars with laughter. Riyo matches his volume.

“I know, but listen. She tried using her own cum, but it wouldn’t hold the travelers to her for long. She discovered that if she combined her cum with theirs, it created a stronger bond. The more she made her partners come, the longer they stayed.”

Rex suddenly understands Riyo’s prowess.

“Nowadays, that means the more your partner comes, the stronger your bond will be, and the better the blessings from the Moon Goddess.”

“Is that why you kept me going?”

“Did you want to stop?”

Rex chuckles. “Point taken, Senator.” His left arm finds his head again. “And what did the Moon Goddess think about sex without attachment?” 

Riyo freezes. It was just a story, but was he looking for a genuine answer?

“Maybe some of those sailors didn’t want to stay.”

Riyo leans up on her elbow and tries to read Rex’s face. Is it an idle question? She stares at him for a long moment before voicing her courage. “I won’t just be another notch on your armor, Rex.” 

He blinks at her, shocked. “I didn’t think you were— are— would be. Riyo, I—”

“You’re free to leave.” She sits up, but fears meeting his gaze. Sadness starts to saturate her voice. “I won’t bind you if you don’t care to be bound.”

Rex props himself up on his elbow and meets her at eye level. “I wasn’t asking for myself. It’s just that us clones are used to moving on from locations quickly. It was part of our job as soldiers. Itchy feet might even be part of our design.” In fact, he was sure of it. He’d heard his brothers brag about their exploits enough to know that the majority of them wished to remain unattached.

He presses his lips to her shoulder and looks up. “But I have a feeling if other Pantorans are as observant of the Moon Goddess as you are,” his left hand squeezes her thigh pressed against his hip, “the clones here won’t ever leave the sector.”

Riyo smiles and blushes. She should have known better than to question Rex’s loyalty. He had sought her out, after all, instead of drowning his sorrows at the bottom of a tihaar bottle or with the many willing Pantoran women at New Kamino. She shifts her shoulder away from his lips and meets his mouth with hers. They fall back onto the floor as they kiss.

“Bind me all you want, baby,” Rex ghosts over Riyo’s cheeks as he kisses her tattoos. “I’ll always come for you.”

Riyo laughs at the double entendre. She opens her eyes to a self-satisfied smile on Rex’s face.

“Are all clones this corny?”

“Now, Senator, don’t stereotype, I was just—“

“I don’t mean to, but I swear Gregor is worse!”

Rex laughs and flops onto his back.

“Anyway,” she leans over him and presses soft lips to the sun-shaped scar on his chest, “I’d say sex is all feeling, Rex.” She starts to leave a trail of wet kisses down his torso. “It’s sensation—” she traces the dips in his abdomen with the tip of her tongue and lays a warm palm on his happy trail— “and anticipation—” her fingernails graze lightly from his navel to his base— “and release.” She squeezes and slides her hand along his shaft.

Rex groans. “And here I thought I had more experience.”

Riyo keeps her lips on his abdomen as she starts to pump. “I guess I outrank you there, Captain.”

~~~

“Standing guard alone, Tival?”

Tival straightens his posture as Chairman Papanoida and an unfamiliar officer reach the door. Normally, he would stand at attention, but the sight of the Imperial uniform has him gripping his blaster in anticipation.

“No, Chairman.” The guard keeps his gaze straight ahead under his visor. “Filip’s using the fresher.”

“He’s still here?” Papanoida rubs his chin. “Dedicated man, he is.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is the Senator busy? We need to speak with her about the assassination attempt a few nights ago.”

“S-sir?” Tival wasn’t on duty that night, but he was under the impression that only the guards and the clones knew about the bomb and the assassin. Local holonews had merely reported a fire in an empty restaurant caused by a gas leak.

Papanoida cocks an eyebrow at the guard’s attempt at ignorance. “I managed to convince the Assembly not to pursue an investigation into signs of foul play, but Chi Eekway may have a harder time convincing the Senate of Senator Chuchi’s innocence.” He sighs and shakes his head. “Her constant disappearances are causing concerns about her fitness for office, not just on Coruscant but here at home, too.”

Tival remains silent and motionless.

The Imperial officer steps forward and puts a hand on the guard’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Tival. You can speak freely. I know all about Captain Rex and Senator Chuchi’s efforts to help the clones.” The guard’s visor turns towards the officer. “I’ve been assisting them myself, though not as extensively as the good Chairman here.”

“You’re being modest, Admiral. You put yourself at great risk every time you return to Coruscant with fewer men.”

Tival’s visor turns towards the Chairman.

“Goodness, where are my manners? Tival, this is Admiral Coburn. His fleet is using our airspace for—”

“Off-world training exercises.” The guard’s shoulders drop, and his chest decompresses. He nods at the officer. “It’s good to meet you, Admiral. Captain Rex and Senator Chuchi speak very highly of you.”

Coburn smiles and nods. “So, may we see the Senator now?”

“Uh, actually, sirs— er, Admiral, Chairman, she’s—”

“Rex is in there.” Filip appears from behind Coburn and Papanoida.

“Ah. Debriefing the Senator, I imagine.”

“In a manner of speaking, sir, yes.” Filip clears his throat and smirks underneath his helmet’s visor.

Surprise flashes briefly on the older gentlemen’s faces before they turn to each other with knowing smiles.

Papanoida sighs as he turns to Filip. “How long have they been at it?”

Coburn laughs. “Chairman, haven’t you heard? Clones are famous for their quick recovery.”

“So are Pantorans, Admiral. How do you think I fathered so many children?”

Filip and Tival turn towards each other, unsure of how to react, as the elder statesmen share a laugh.

Coburn claps a hand on Papanoida’s shoulder. “Well, I know better than to get between a soldier and his sweetheart.” He winks at the guards.

The Chairman smirks at his new friend. “I suppose our business can wait. The Senate doesn’t reconvene for another two weeks.” He turns towards Filip. “Tell the Senator to go easy on the Captain.”

Coburn laughs anew as Papanoida leads him back the way they came. They’re halfway down the hall when the Chairman snaps his fingers and turns around on his heel.

“Oh, and don’t let the Senator keep Rex for longer than a week. Our business can wait, but I’m afraid the Assembly may start to ask questions after a few more days, and that would be embarrassing for all of us.”

“A week?” Coburn is shocked. “What makes you think they’ll be at it for that long?”

Papanoida smirks. “Let’s just say our dear Senator takes after our Moon Goddess.”

~~~

Rex can’t keep his eyes off where he and Riyo meet. Each time he comes, she purrs, “Keep going, baby.” And each time, he finds the stamina to obey her command. He hasn’t left her heat in what feels like an hour. Thick, white ribbons of cum accompany each thrust and leak onto her folds, her thighs, her sheets, his shaft. They squelch as loud as they moan.

After Riyo’s first orgasm, Rex starts applying lube to her puckered hole and gently edging more of his thumb into the tight space. Two orgasms later, he’s two fingers deep and working his digits to broken moans. When she starts to rock back to meet both his thrusts, he knows she’s ready.

He leans over her arched back and rumbles in her ear, “Ready for more than my fingers, Senator?”

Riyo releases the pillow in her mouth and turns her head, pressing her cheek to his. “Want to come in my ass, Captain?”

Rex barks a laugh. He’s not used to lewd language from her.

She pushes herself up on her palms, a little confused. “What?”

“Nothing.” He kisses her shoulder. “Who knew Senator Riyo Chuchi had such a filthy mouth?”

She tilts her head back and croons in his ear, “How many times did you come in this mouth, trooper?” She nips at his pulse point below his jaw.

Rex groans and responds by sheathing his fingers and giving a swift thrust of his hips. Riyo groans, and her holes pinch. He growls into her neck, “I need something tighter than your mouth right now.”

Riyo’s laugh turns into a sigh as Rex withdraws his fingers. He kisses the space between her shoulder blades before withdrawing his shaft, too. She gasps and whines in protest.

“I know,” he soothes, “almost there.” 

As Rex straightens up on his knees and throws the latex glove he’d used with the lube in the direction of the waste bin, Riyo flattens and flips over onto her back. She catches sight of Rex’s cock swaying and hanging heavy, thick with their release. He looks down and catches her.

“Like what you see?”

She giggles. “You look good in our cum.”

Rex quirks an eyebrow and puts his hands on hips, posing. He points his chin towards the space between them. “So do you.”

He reaches for the towel and condom on the bedside table, wiping his shaft clean before stretching the latex down to his base and coating it with half the remainder of lube. All the while, Riyo watches with her legs crossed up in the air and her hands spreading the globes of her cheeks. She doesn’t want to waste the good captain’s work. Rex laughs when he finally sees her in her awkward position.

“Ready for me,” he manages through giggles.

She smiles and stretches her back. “Always, darling.”

Rex’s hands run down her legs before he spreads and folds them against her torso, canting her hips up. She squeals when he stuffs a pillow under her hips, bringing her closer to him. He lines himself up with her newly gaping hole, pushes his head in, and waits. He watches Riyo carefully, waits for her sighs to settle, until she nods and pulls on his wrists. He pushes in a little more and earns a deep moan.

As Rex starts a slow pace, he stuffs a finger in her folds. Riyo giggles, and a wide smile breaks out on her face. He adds a second finger easily, alternating his thrusts like he had before. He feels their combined releases leak out with each inward push, their cum joining the lube around his shaft, thick and smooth. He scoops his fingers up to his mouth and moans as he sucks on their juices. He watches Riyo watching him and plunges his fingers back into her overflowing chasm.

“Want a taste?”

She nods eagerly, her mouth and tongue already open and waiting. He uses three fingers to scoop up more.

“Ungh! Rex!” Riyo grabs his wrist and sends him deeper. “Don’t stop!”

He laughs. He straightens his fingers and pumps faster in both holes. Rex bends and finds her mouth, giving her a taste of them. She grabs his neck and pulls to seal their tongues.

Rex loses his rhythm and thrusts with abandon. His balls find her cleft while his thumb works her clit. He keeps his fingers seated, palm up, and tickles the sweet spot on her walls. He breaks from Riyo’s lips and lays wet kisses on each breast.

Riyo comes first. Rex withdraws his shaft before she starts to writhe off the bed. He keeps his fingers seated and pumping until she squirts. This time, he’s ready with a towel underneath and doesn’t push her to exhaustion. He removes his hand when her back finds the bed and her moans turn to giggles.

He rips the condom off his shaft and starts to line himself up with her folds. Riyo stops him with a hand to his thigh. “I have a better idea,” she croons.

She sits up and swivels around on her tailbone. She flips over the pillow that had been under her hips and lies down on its dry side, her hair fanning out over it. She scoots her shoulders up on the pillow and tilts her head back, creating a wedge under her neck that’s now stretched to the ceiling. She raises her arms and makes grabbing motions at Rex somewhere above her line of sight. “Come on, trooper.”

He stares in shock. “Uh, Riyo, are you sure?”

She smiles wide and quips, “I thought you liked my mouth, Captain.”

Rex chuckles. He throws the towel to the side and moves her hair to get closer. “Yeah, but I’ve, uh, never done this before.”

Riyo’s right hand finds his shaft and pumps. She raises her left index finger. “One tap to keep going,” her middle finger joins her index, “two to pull out so I can breathe.” She finds his thigh and demonstrates the code. He nods and groans. “Go slow if you’re worried about hurting me, but I can assure, Rex,” she brings his cock down to suck on the precum beading on his head, “mmm, I can take it.” She lifts his shaft and licks his balls. He moans and reaches one hand to squeeze her breast, the other to support her neck. She uses both hands to grab his hips before adding, “You took my offering. Now I want yours.”

~~~

“Hey, you’re new!” Gregor points and extends a hand out to the young Pantoran guard.

“Uh, yeah.” He looks to Roland who nods. “I’m Timo. You must be the clones on Orto Plutonia.”

“How can you tell?” Echo and Howzer roll their eyes at Gregor’s attempt at clone humor. The commando laughs before the guard can answer. “Nice to meet ya, Timo. I’m Gregor. This is Echo, and that’s—”

Howzer bangs on the door. “Rex! Give the Senator a break! We need to talk!”

Roland shoves the clone from the door. “Howzer, are you out of your mind?”

“You just let them go on for four rotations?”

Timo’s jaw unhinges. 

Roland shrugs. “It’s not like he’s hurting her.”

“Have you seen them?” As happy as Echo is for Rex, he knows the longer the Captain is away, the harder it will be to bring him back.

“No, but we leave them food, and the trays are always empty a few hours later.”

Howzer shakes his head. “Un-farking-believable. REX!”

Gregor huffs and crosses his arms. “I wish I’d had that kind of service on Coruscant.”

“After Abafar?” Echo never tires of hearing the commando’s stories of returning to the Republic. It was a comfort to know he wasn’t the only outlier.

“Yeah. I went to see my girl. She was shocked to see me alive, but we must’ve spent—”

Echo waves his hand. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Gregor laughs and elbows Timo with a wink.

Howzer’s comlink beeps. He hits his vambrace hard, and Rex’s voice comes out at full volume.

“Howzer, I swear if you don’t shut the fark up, I’ll knock you into next week!”

“Rex, you sithspitting scughole, if you’re going to get your karking rocks off, you could at least tell us or leave us with orders. We can’t just wait around while you f—”

“Howzer, my apologies.” Ever soft and light, Riyo’s voice comes through the comlink. The clones and the guards stare at each other in rapt silence. “I didn’t intend to keep Rex for so long. I promise I’ll return him in a few days.”

Howzer clears his throat, his red-faced anger blanched to embarrassment. Even the Pantoran guards had noticed the Senator’s unique ability to cool the clones whenever they were angry or irritated. They knew this wasn’t just shame. “Uh, no worries, ma’am. I-I was just,” the clone searches for a better word but can’t, “worried.” He pinches his eyes shut and shakes his head.

“I can assure you, Howzer, we’ve been taking plenty of breaks. Tell the boys I said hello. Good day.”

The channel closes, and the hallway fills with Gregor and the guards’ laughter. Even Echo can’t contain the smile on his face. He pats Howzer’s shoulder and tries to soothe his chagrin. 

“Satisfied? Come on, I’m hungry.”

Timo chirps, “Do you guys make a habit of barging in on each other like this?”

Gregor jabs his shoulder. “Only when it’s fun.”

“To be honest,” Echo muses, “if we didn’t, we’d never make it to the field.”

~~~

“I’ve never had anyone put my armor on for me.” Rex stands at the foot of the bed where Riyo stands behind him, her feet sinking into the mattress. She inches his backplate around until the magnatomic gription panels on his bodysuit take it from her fingertips.

She leans into his left ear. “Think of me as your handmaiden.” 

Rex chokes at the memory of their first morning after on Coruscant. He thought she had forgotten, too sleepy at the time to register his mistake. He smiles as his embarrassment turns to pride at the thought of her remembering every detail of their times together.

Riyo steps down off the bed and faces him. He smirks as he watches her tilt her head and readjust his cuirass over his plackart. The Captain appreciates the Senator’s attention to detail. He crooks a finger underneath her jaw and tilts her head up for a soft kiss.

Rex starts to pull back, but Riyo curls two fingers into the neck of his breastplate and pulls him back down. She rubs her lips and cheeks against his jaw.

“What are you doing,” Rex mumbles through pursed lips.

“You shaved last time.” Her cheek finds his, and his growing giggles tickle her ear. “I like this feeling better.” She pulls back and smiles.

Rex chuckles and pulls her back in. “I should’ve known you’d like me rough.” He rubs his short beard into her neck and shoulders. Her hands find the nape of his neck and pull him even closer. Their laughs fill the room.

“I like you however I can take you, Rex.”

His arms wrap around her waist and pull her up off her feet and into his cuirass. She frames his face and kisses his jaw and cheeks, turning his head towards the wall opposite the windows. Rex catches the glint of something gold on Riyo’s bureau. He recognizes their shape immediately.

“Senator, why do you have two blasters?”

She answers between pecks of his jaw and cheeks. “Gifts” kiss “from the Chairman.” She presses her nose to his jaw to tilt it up. “After the meeting” kiss “with Senator Singh” smooch “the Chairman thought,” she moves to his mouth, “I should be armed” kiss “in case you” kiss “aren’t around or,” she kisses the scar on his chin, “my guards are” smooch “indisposed.”

Rex savors the warmth of her hands and the soft, damp plush of her lips. “Do you know how to use them?”

“Just pull the trigger,” she mumbles into his neck.

Rex huffs. “There’s a little more to it than that.” He moans as she presses her tongue behind his ear. “Mmm, I can show you.”

She stops to look him in the eye. “Counting on it, Captain.”

Rex lets her slip back down to the floor. “Why two? One is enough.” He spies the faintest lilac on Riyo’s cheeks.

“You use two,” she says sheepishly. “To be honest, I’m not very comfortable with blasters, but I thought of you and…” She trails off and shrugs. She looks up, and Rex is reminded of the shy Senator trying to speak up for the Talz all those years ago.

Rex smiles. “Don’t tell me I inspired you to take up dual-wielding pistols.”

“You inspire more than your brothers, I hope you know that.”

Riyo lets her words hang in the air as she walks around Rex and grabs the last pieces of his armor off the bed. He slots himself behind her, his hands on her hips, and kisses the side of her face. She spins around and wraps her arms around his waist, bringing his belt behind him and snapping the buckles into place in front. She kisses his cuirass before turning back around for his kama.

“I could get used to this,” Rex mumbles idly. 

Riyo hands him one panel while she fastens the other under one of his holsters. “There,” she looks up and smooths over his breastplate. “You’re good to go.” Her hand reaches up to his left spaulder, its blue stripe brighter than the one on his right. She looks around the room. “You’re missing a piece here.”

“Mm, don’t need it anymore.” Rex shifts his shoulders. “Lighter this way.” He looks down and palms the sides of her waist. He wonders if she’s made the connection to their conversations on Orto Plutonia. Giving up the symbolic piece of his armor was nothing compared to her giving up the power and privileges of her senatorial seat, but he did it for her.

She rubs his rerebraces. “Guess I should stop calling you Captain then.”

“You can call me anything you want, Senator.”

Riyo keeps his gaze and tugs lightly at his belt with each suggestion. “I know ‘darling’ is okay.”

“Mm-hmm.” He pitches forward an inch.

“Sweetie?”

“Sure.” He rocks back on his heels.

“Captain of my heart?”

Rex laughs and sways. “Absolutely not.” He’s determined to contain his corniness to himself, but Riyo keeps a tight smile on her face. He stops and blinks in surprise.

“It’s yours, Rex,” she says softly.

“Riyo…”

She looks down, a little embarrassed. Her voice is low and husky. “I know what we’re doing is dangerous, but I nearly lost you twice in one rotation, and I,” she searches for the courage to look him in the eye, “wouldn’t have been able to do much of anything about it. And that,” Riyo’s eyes betray an internal battle that she’s losing, “frightened me, more than I thought it would.”

Rex watches her carefully. He had never entertained a steady partner before, too busy with his duties and worried of putting them through heartache if he never returned. He knew most beings weren’t as resilient as clones when it came to loss. But after two assassination attempts in quick succession, and one of them effective enough to bring down an entire base, he wonders about the value of his life to the people around him who weren’t clones.

Chairman Papanoida, Admiral Coburn, Trace and Rafa Martez, dozens of Pantoran guards, the citizens at New Kamino, even his Imperial contacts – he had gotten to know all of them better in one year than some Jedi generals over the course of three. This was the longest he had been on a mission, one singular purpose driving him into the lives of more people than he’d anticipated for longer than he’d ever been engaged. And at the center of all those connections was Riyo Chuchi, the one person who did more to help his cause than anyone else. Without the Republic’s regulations and rotations of deployment, Rex realizes he had opened his life to a close approximation of stability and, with it, the possibility of a regular relationship with someone who shares his goals.

Rex remembers their first night together and the conclusions he had settled on before bedding the Senator. Adapt and survive. In a changing galaxy, it’s the only way to live. Clones were never meant for love, never meant to share the lives of those they protected, but neither were they meant to survive, and yet millions remained. He remained, and for however much longer he had left, he resolved to do everything he was never meant for.

The Captain holds the Senator’s hand in both of his, his gloves rough but warm. “I don’t know how much a clone’s heart is worth,” he grabs her chin to tilt her gaze to his, “but mine is yours, too.”

Riyo smiles and comes up on her toes, Rex bends down, and they kiss for what feels like the first time. Before, their lips had merely provided pretext to ecstasy and exhaustion, but now they kiss for a closeness no amount of physical effort could reach.

She breaks first but keeps her breath on his lips. “Would you do something for me, Rex?”

He rests his forehead on hers. “Anything.”

“Take one more offering before you go.”

He chuckles. “We’re having a sweet moment here, and all you want is to—“

“For your safety and my peace of mind, please.” She kisses and whispers over his lips, “Leave with a happy memory.”

Rex blinks at her. “You’ve given me a week of happy memories I don’t think I’ll ever forget.” He straightens up and gently squeezes her arms. “And I plan to make more with you.”

She smiles. “Exactly.”

He laughs at being outmaneuvered by the Senator’s wit. As much as he enjoyed the story, he didn’t really believe in the Moon Goddess. But Riyo did, and he believed in Riyo, and that was enough for him.

“How do you want me?”

She sits at the foot of the bed, widens her legs, and tugs on his belt. “On your knees.”

(Footnotes here.)

[hughshannon1994]

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[waitimcomingtoo]

The Cup

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Synopsis: a monogrammed mug might be the thing that exposes your relationship with Peter to the Avengers when there’s a strict “no dating” rule being enforced

Warnings: I’m sorry if your first, middle, or last name begins with a “p”. Also this gif is a total spoiler with no context for this story

Masterlist

There was a rule in the Avengers tower: Avengers were absolutely not allowed to date each other. It was a stupid but reasonable rule, considering Nat and Bruce’s relationship had caused fights, tears, and chaos until dating among Avengers was inevitably banned, exactly three years before you and Peter joined the team.

Peter had been an Avenger for eight months before you came along. In that time, he'd become good friends with the other Avengers, or at least that’s what he told Ned. Peter was regarded as more of a son among the Avengers, never really seen as an equal. Before you, Peter was teased daily for his intelligence and bad habit of spewing out scientific facts no body asked for. Whenever he started going off on the theory of momentum or how a star was formed, a collective groan could be heard from Earths mightiest heroes. He would laugh it off and stop telling his fact, but it stung a little more each time it happened. But keep in mind, that was before you. 

You took a breath and entered the elevator. You smoothed your shirt with your hands and folded your lips into your mouth. You were surprisingly nervous, expecting the other Avengers to look down on you for being younger. Just as the elevator doors were about to close, you heard a voice call out.

"Hold the door please." The voice said. They sounded frantic so you quickly stuck your hand in the door so it wouldn't close. To your surprise, a dark haired boy around your age got onto the elevator with you. He was slightly out of breath from running and his curls were going in every direction. You could feel your face heat up and smiled shyly at him. He smiled back.

"Thanks for holding the door." He said once the elevator started going up.

"No problem." You answered. You already had butterflies in your tummy from your new job, and the adorable guy riding in the elevator with you didn't help.

"How come I've never seen you before?" He asked. You were pleasantly surprised that he had kept the conversation going.

"Today's my first day. I'm the newest Avenger.” You explained and he nodded.

"Well it's nice to meet you, newest Avenger." The boy said, extending his hand for you to shake. You prayed your palms weren't sweaty and firmly shook his hand.

"Thanks. And it's Y/n.” You told him. He smiled upon hearing your name as he realized it’s was his new favorite name.

“I’m Peter.” Peter told you. “I’m really glad to see you joining the Avengers. You have no idea how desperately we need more girls on the team. Last week, Nat wasn’t here and Bucky and Sam got tied in a knot. No one could pull them apart until she got back.” Peter blew out a breath as he remembered the incident. “Plus, it’s nice to have someone my age.” He added shyly.

From then on, you loved Peter.

“I’m actually really glad to see you too. I thought all the Avengers were gonna be older than me.” You said with relief. “I’m glad I got to talk to you, Peter. It's nice to have a friend on my first day." You said as you walked out of the elevator together.

"Yeah. Friends." Peter smiled widely.

You did not stay friends long.

The day you joined the team, the Avengers were getting ready to go on a mission involving a creature who liked to hop between earths and cause chaos. You sat quietly in the corner of the quintet and watched everyone interact. You didn’t add anything to the conversation, but laughed and smiled where necessary. You felt pretty invisible but you were okay with that for the time being. It was your first day and you didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. You were perfectly content with staying silent until Peter started going on about a multiverse.

“I can’t believe there’s actually a multiverse. Ive always read about them, but I never imagined it being real. This means there’s a universe out there where I’m stronger than Captain America.” Peter said excitedly.

“Doubtful.” Steve cut in.

“I mean, can you guys believe this? This creature can just hop to different universes as it pleases.” Peter went on. “I thought that was just theoretical. I mean, that completely changes how we understand the initial singularity. We’re talking about an eternal inflation system. And how does that even work-“

“Peter, you’re doing it again.” Sam sighed.

“Sorry.” Peter shrunk down in his seat, a look of hurt appearing on his face when he noticed the annoyed look on the Avengers faces. You noticed the look too and frowned.

“He does this a lot. You’ll learn to tune it out.” Bucky said to you.

“It’s just really cool. We’re talking about an eternal inflation system. And how does that even work-“ Peter said sheepishly before Sam cut him off.

“Peter! I’m sorry, he’s-“ Sam began the explain.

“Wait.” You cut him off and looked at Peter. “Let him finish.”

“What?” Sam asked.

“What?” Peter asked in confusion, as no one had ever taken interest in him before.

“I want to hear the rest.” You said seriously. “What were you saying Peter?”

“I was just wondering how the multiverse worked with all the quantum realms. This has got to affect the space-time continuum in some way. That’s all.”

“That’s really cool, Peter. You’re really smart.” You said sincerely. You didn’t like the way his intelligence was treated as a nuisance with the other Avengers. You definitely isn’t like the sad look that crossed his face when they told him to stop. You just wanted to make him feel good.

“Thank you.” Peter said, in a little disbelief that you actually cared.

“No problem, Peter.” You smiled.

You ignored the shocked looks from the rest of the Avengers, or maybe you just didn’t see them. You and Peter looked at each other from across the jet and you winked at him.

You found Peter the next day sparing with a hologram. The hologram was much larger than Peter, but Peter was clearly winning the fight. You noticed Peters eyes darting around as he looked like he was figuring something out in his head. You didn’t want to interrupt, but you were too curious not to ask.

“What are you doing, Peter?” You asked him.

“I’m figuring out the momentum of his swings so I can match his force and overpower him even though he’s bigger than me. My mask usually does it but I’m practicing doing it myself incase my mask breaks during a battle.” Peter explained as he continued fighting.

“So you’re doing all that math in your head?” You asked in admiration.

“Yeah. It’s not that hard once you get the hang of it.” Peter shrugged, watching you carefully to see if you were actually interested or just teasing him. “But sometimes I forget to carry the one.”

“And all the Avengers just watch you do this and see it as normal? No one says “wow Peter, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen” or anything?” You wondered.

“Uh, no. Not really.” Peter said.

“Well, Peter.” You laughed. “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

From then on, Peter loved you.

Three weeks later, Peter kissed you in the training room when no one else was around. He tasted like Gatorade and mint and heaven.

Six months later, you were in love. You were spending every waking moment together, and by default, loving every waking moment together. There was never a time when he was more than 10 feet away, and that was how you liked it. From sparring to movie dates in Mr. Starks home theater to making burnt cookies for the rest of the Avengers, you were inseparable. The only problem was, you couldn't tell anyone that they were together.

The rule still stood and you worried if anyone found out, you’d be kicked off the team. This lead to secret hand holding under the table and quick kisses when no one was looking. It was an okay system, but it wasn’t great. Peter was dying to tell the other Avengers that he was dating you. All the men on the team had taken quite a liking to you. They were never disrespectful, but your beauty and abilities often came up when you weren’t around and the telling smiles that crossed their faces made Peter a little angry. He knew it wasn't their fault, but he couldn’t shake the jealousy. You were stunning and they had no idea you were taken. If the guys knew you were his girlfriend, they'd back off immediately. But, no one was allowed to know.

One hectic morning, your alarm didn't wake you up. You’d never actually set your alarm, because you’d fallen asleep in Peters bed while watching a movie together. You were still at his apartment at 7:13 when you had to be at the tower at 7:30 for a meeting. Peter was nowhere to be found, and you assumed he let you sleep because he thought your alarm was set. You rushed to get ready, grabbing whatever shirt you could find, which happened to be one of Peters button downs, and threw on some pants. Rushing into the kitchen, you found Peter with two cups of coffee already made and a small smile on his face. You sighed in relief that he was all ready to go and gave him a kiss, longer than you were accustomed too since no one was around. You grabbed your cup of coffee and headed out.

Once in the tower, you sat at the conference table and took a deep breath. You had gotten to the meeting on time, walking in a few minutes after each other so it wouldn't be suspicious. You took a big sip of your coffee when something caught your eye. Specifically, the giant red "P” on the front on the cup.

Luckily, Peter was sitting directly across from you. You snapped your fingers harshly to get his attention. Peter looked up at you and smiled, his smile quickly fading when he saw your angry expression.

"What's wrong?" He asked. You said nothing, instead, just held up your cup. Peter grimaced when he realized his mistake.

“Oops. Just trade cups with me. It's fine." He assured you. You quickly switched cups and you relaxed as the other Avengers walked in.

"Did you hear from Bruce? I think he said he was gonna be late.” Peter asked you to look like you were having a normal, platonic, conversation.

"I don’t think so. I’ll check if he texted- Oh God you freaking idiot." You deadpanned the last part as you stared at your cup.

"What? What's wrong now?" Peter asked, confused by your seemingly uncalled for insult. You again said nothing, but just held up your cup. This time, there was an even bigger, purple "P” on the front. Peter bit his lip.

"Oops." He repeated. “Nice shirt, by the way.” He smirked. You looked down and realized you were wearing his shirt in addition to drinking from his cup. Your day could not get any worse.

"Oops? Is that all you have to say?" You asked in a harsh whisper.

“Y/n, its fine. No ones gonna notice." Peter said calmly.

"You think they won't notice the giant purple "P” on my cup? My name is Y/n L/n. There's no "P” in that!" You exclaimed. You continuously checked to see if anyone was listening as you scolded Peter.

"You can say the “P” is for your middle name." Peter suggested as he took a sip of his coffee from your matching cups.

"My middle name is Y/m/n.” You whined, knowing his plan wouldn’t work.

"Really? That's so pretty." Peter said with delighted surprise.

"That's not the point, Peter.” You groaned. “The point is, if I'm caught drinking from a cup that has an initial other than my own, namely your initial, people are gonna get suspicious."

“Or, consider this. Close your eyes, manifest with me.” Peter said as he shut his eyes. “No one will care."

"I'm already wearing your shirt, which means I smell like your cologne. Now, I have a cup with your initial on it. Someone is gonna put two and two together." You panicked.

"Or, consider this, really manifest with me this time. I didn’t see you manifest before, no one will care." He said again with an innocent smile.

"Why couldn't you given me any other cup? And why do you own so many monogrammed cups?" You inquired.

"You're blowing this out of proportion. It's no big deal. No one will even notice." Peter repeated. You wondered how he was so calm when your jobs were at stake.

"Hey, Y/n. What's that “P” stand for on your cup?" Tony asked as soon as he entered the room. You shot Peter a look that made him shrink into his seat.

"Who cares? No one will notice! It’s just a cup! No need to get jazzed up about it.” You said sarcastically, catching the attention of the other Avengers.

"Oh, I'm the one who's jazzed? You're freaking out over a cup." Peter retorted, in full volume now.

"Speaking of the cup, why is there a “P” on it?" Sam asked, pointing the cup out so everyone could see it. You couldn’t help the loud groan that escaped your mouth.

"It stands for panda.” Peter blurted. “Y/n loves pandas.” You looked at Peter with a lethal glare.

"Why wouldn't you just buy a cup with a panda on it?” Bucky chimed in. You shrugged and looked at Peter.

"That's a great question, James. Peter, why don't you answer?" You said with a fake smile.

"Because Y/n likes to be unique." Peter explained meekly.

"Does the "P” on your cup also stand for panda?” Sam asked Peter. Peter looked down at his cup and sighed.

"It sure does". He said weakly.

"Interesting. I would've guessed the "P” stood for “Peter” or “Parker”, since you two are clearly dating. But I guess I was wrong." Sam shrugged casually as you and Peter froze.

"You know that we're dating?" You asked in shock.

"The whole team knows.” Steve cut in as if it were obvious. You looked around the room and everyone just shrugged as of to confirm Steve’s words.

"But what about the rule?" Peter asked, dumbfounded.

"That rule hasn't been effective for months. I stopped enforcing it last January.” Tony laughed as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"What? How come no one told us?" You asked.

"Because if you knew, there'd be non-stop PDA and none of us wanted that." Nat answered.

“So you let us think we were keeping it a secret for six months?” Peter demanded.

“Secret? Did you think none of us noticed that Peter became left handed six months ago so he could hold your hand with his right one under the table?” Tony pointed out.

“We all knew, we just didn’t care. We’re happy for you guys.” Steve smiled again you.

“Oh.” You said. “Thanks guys.”

“You’re welcome.” Tony answered. “Just keep the PDA to a minimum. I don’t want any spider babies around running here.”

Seven years later, you and Peter were married just a few miles from the Avengers tower.

After the ceremony, you sat in the kitchen while Peter finished bringing in the wedding gifts.

“I have one last gift for you, Mrs. Parker.” Peter came from behind you and kissed your cheek, setting a small gift box down on the table in front of you. You opened it up, finding a mug with a script “P” on the front. You laughed at the sight, remembering the incident in the conference room all those years ago.

“There. Now you do have a “P” initial. You can use this with no questions asked.” Peter said with pride.

“I love it.” You told him honestly. You smiled and made some coffee, just so you could use your new cup.

Tag List 🏷

@maybemona​ @foreverxholland​ @writing-for-hours-on-end​ @lavender-writer​ @captainmandeestudent17​ @whatareyouhidingpeter​ @takenbyheartstrings​ @ultrunning​ @imyourliquor-youremypoison​ @theolwebshooter​ @andreasworlsboring101​ @guksmyfav​ @waiting-to-be-myself​ @letsloveimagines​  @peterparkoure​ @a-villain-vying-for-attention​ @justcallmehitgirl​ @averyfosterthoughts​ @jackiehollanderr​ @tiny-friggin-human​ @celestial-skylines​ @loveat2am​ @mara-twins​ @iamaunicorn4704​ @delicately-important-trash​ @mjspxrker @spideygirl2003​ @the-crazy-fanfictionist​ @kii-mii​ @maryjanee23​ @spacebitch2​ @vgiselle​ @geeksareunique​

[marshmallow-phd]

Healing Touch

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Yixing x Reader

Summary: Medical school abroad was the last line on your to-do list before starting the rest of your life. Everything was going according to plan. Everything, that is, until tragedy strikes your campus. In the wake of a professor’s untimely death, you’re partnered with the cute boy with a breathtaking smile in the newly combined labs. You find yourself unable to resist the dimples and shy glances, but his life is here with no plans of leaving. Will you continue on as planned or will you accept the hand that Fate had dealt you?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I Final

**

The door to the bathroom slammed behind Yixing as he plastered his back against the cinderblock wall. The bathroom was empty, thank goodness. His heart was pounding, beating in rhythm to the pawing of the wolf. It growled at him to go back, to find you and claim you. He fought against it. Barely. 

All this time you had been here, on this campus, and he never even knew it. How many times had he come close to almost running into you? Almost had a class with you? How many times had he walked into the student union or a lab or any other classroom and missed you by mere seconds? Having met you now, under these circumstances – it almost felt like Fate was taunting him.

Sliding down to the floor, Yixing let his head fall back against the paint-flaking stone. A small smirk tugged at his mouth. He’d found you. Like a flower blooming for the first time… you were beautiful. Your smiles had been small but stunning. When your hair fell like a waterfall hiding your face, his fingers twitched to push it behind your ear. Yixing had found girls pretty before, but you – you were fascinating. Like seeing a close up picture of a new planet a million lightyears away for the first time. As quiet as you were, he was determined to flip over the stones and discover what lied underneath.

Elation soon gave way to worry, though. Now that the first step was done, he had to proceed with caution. He didn’t want to scare you off or come on too strong. Knowing himself, he could get too excited and push you too far before you were ready. 

And then there were the headaches. And the lost time. He needed to find the cause of it. He needed to understand what was happening to him. Because the last thing he would want is to hurt you.

Pushing himself back up to his feet, he went over to the sink and turn the cold water on blast. He cupped some of the water in his palm and cooled off heat radiating from his neck. Icy droplets rolled down his back and over his shoulders. It helped, sparingly. He gave a single glance in the mirror before turning off the water and walking out of the bathroom.

He knew that going to his next class would be a useless action. Paying attention was out of the question. There were ways that he could catch up in his spare time. Right now, he needed to be in a place where he was both surrounded by people (to keep himself in check), and yet alone for his thoughts. So, he headed for the student union. The buzzing of a hundred conversations hit him as soon as he stepped through the doors. None of them were clear, too intermixed to be deciphered. Perfect. Now he just need to find an empty table in a corner and-

“Hey, Yixing!”

Yixing blinked, searching around for the one who had called his name.

Baekhyun was standing up in his seat, waving an arm back and forth to get Yixing’s attention. The latter sighed. Maybe this was better. Maybe being alone wasn’t a good idea after all.

Sitting with Baekyun was Chanyeol, Jongin, Sehun, and Kyungsoo. Jongdae, Yixing knew, was in class. However, Minseok was usually with them. He must have been somewhere off with his mate. A quick surge of jealous struck through Yixing’s veins, but he tampered it down quickly. Soon enough he would be there, too. Soon enough.

Careful to keep his face as neutral as his facial muscles would allow, Yixing headed over to the others, dragging a free chair over from a nearby table.

“Playing hooky?” Baekhyun teased.

“Just didn’t feel like going to class.” It wasn’t a complete lie. Nor the complete truth. The statement fell somewhere in the middle. Like most things he said these days. 

“Are you sweating, hyung?” Sehun asked from the other side of the table.

Chanyeol sniffed several times. “You still smell like your body wash. Is everything okay?”

Jongin pointed at him. “Your collar’s wet.”

Yixing shifted in his seat. Was it too early to tell them? Was it news that he should share with Junmyeon first? He knew he would end up going to Minseok at some point. Who better to go with for advice than the one person who’s lived through it already? Maybe even Ji Yeon might have a few words of wisdom for him. All five of his brothers were staring at him, waiting for an explanation, fictitious or otherwise, for this out-of-character behavior.

“She’s in my new class.”

“Who is?” Chanyeol asked.

Yixing didn’t reply right away. The words were sticking to the tip of his tongue like fly paper. Maybe he should just say “never mind” and go on with his day. This wasn’t the right setting to share this information. He shouldn’t have said anything. He should have waited until he got back to the farmhouse. He should have discussed this with Junmyeon and Minseok first. As much as he loved Baekhyun, he had a feeling this news would get back to the rest of the pack before he had a chance to tell them himself. Would Jongdae start to avoid him, too?

Before he had a chance to backtrack, Kyungsoo caught on. “Ah. You mean, her, don’t you?”

Yixing swallowed, the muscles in his throat contracting, making the motion difficult. Slowly, almost like a fishing bobber in the water, he nodded.

Letting out an exasperated scoff, Baekhyun hunched down in his seat. “This feels way too fast. I thought we would have time after Minseok until the next one.” He straightened up before leaning in close to Yixing. “Are you sure it’s your mate? Are you sure you just don’t think she’s really pretty?”

Yixing shook his head. “Minseok is right. The feeling is different. And immediate. It’s her.”

“Well, better you than me.”

“But think of the nice excuse it would give you to break up with Daisy?” Chanyeol teased.

“Who said I wanted to break up with her?”

“You did,” Kyungsoo deadpanned. “Last night.”

Baekhyun feigned being taken aback. “W-well, that was last night. I changed my mind. This morning.”

“I hope your mate gives you hell,”Jongin laughed. He turned to Yixing. “Is she pretty?”

Yixing didn’t dare fight the grin spreading across his face. He nodded eagerly. “Yes. Very. Very pretty.”

“So, you gonna tell Junmyeon?” Baekhyun asked.

“Of course. I will tonight. Back at the house.”

“At least we’ll get to see this play out more. I feel like we missed the good stuff with Minseok.”

“It’s not a movie for your entertainment,” Kyungsoo scolded.

Baekhyun simply shrugged, turning his attention back to the food in front of him. He’d gotten his teasing out of the way. Oddly enough, Yixing was feeling a little lighter. He hadn’t kept the secret long at all, but that was what a pack was for. They were there to keep you steady and to lean on when things grew tough. He could go to them for advice – well, some of them. Others were good for a laugh and help ease any weight that was baring him down. Each member had his strength, for which he was grateful. Three additional faces appeared, stopping him for a moment. But then Baekhyun started imitated one of his professors and Yixing was pulled away from the past and back to the present.

However, even as he smiled and laughed along with the others, one thing refused to leave him: Would you be safe? With his current… predicament, he worried about you. If anything were to happen to you – especially because of him – he would never be able to forgive himself.

Silently, he vowed that he would put an end to this rogue wolf – no matter who it was.  

**

Perhaps walking wasn’t the best idea at the moment. It was chillier today; a cold front having moved in from somewhere out west overnight. The jacket you wore was thin, the wind sliding through the threads with more ease than water through a drain. But it seemed silly to take the bus with such a short distance between your apartment and the university campus. Certainly not worth the anxiety it would create.

Yes. It was good to walk. Good to get the exercise. And by the time you make it to the courtyard, you would be used to the cold. For now, you zipped the closure up to your chin and tucked your arms in as close to your chest as possible.

The campus felt like a ghost town when you arrived. Most of the students were taking refuge in the buildings, hiding from the wind between the walls decorated with tutoring flyers and motivational posters. Part of you thought to maybe do the same, to cut through the buildings to get a relief from the depressing weather, but that would take you longer. None of the buildings were straight shots. You could endure it. Or else, you could end up as another frozen statue on the grounds that would occasionally get covered in toilet paper or streamers by pranking students. At least you would actually look like something if that were to happen. Most of the artwork was of the abstract kind.

Not that that was a bad thing. Most of it was quite interesting. But it gave you a headache, turning and twisting your head to look at the statue from a new angle, the picture changing each time. You preferred less complicated, more obvious art. Old portraits or watercolor landscapes were the sections of the art museum you spent the majority of your time in. It didn’t need to be complicated to be art, in your opinion. Every new artist was trying to “say something”, which was fine. It was their art and they were allowed to do with it as they saw fit. You were just the kind of boring person who liked a pretty picture, no added thinking required.

Yes. Boring, indeed.

“(y/n)!”

You stopped walking, confused as to who could be calling your name. Glancing over your shoulder, you saw the new boy from your human physiology class – Yixing. He was jogging up to you, cutting through the grass, not caring if the canvas fabric of his Converse ended up soaked. He was huffing only the slightest bit when he came to a stop beside you. The tiny corners of his lips were slightly turned upward. You’d only met him a few days ago. How could he be seemingly elated to see you? 

“Hi.”

He wasn’t the least bit discouraged by your steely reception. “Are you on your way to class?” He pointed in the direction of the science building. You nodded. Lying would make you have to take a weird, long way to the classroom and even then, you couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t see you in the hall. Besides, after your first class you would be seeing him again, at the same table. “Can I walk with you?”

Those five little words sent a surge through your brain, frying the motherboard and sending you into disfunction. Why did he want to walk with you? Pound, pound, pound your heart was going in your ears. He was smiling broader now as he waited for your answer. Surely, there were better available options in girls to walk to class.

“Why?”

Your hand nearly snapped up to your forehead. Where! ‘Where is your class’ was the question you were meaning to ask. But your brain was too focused on why he was asking you that the signals got crossed somewhere and the wrong thing came out.

The smile faded. “Oh, um… I just saw you and thought that maybe if we were headed in the same direction….” He cringed, his hand reaching behind his head to scratch nervously at his scalp.

“Sure,” you said without giving yourself a prior warning.

The smile snapped back into place. “Okay. Great.”

Neither of you moved. You were sure that part of the idea of “walking to class together” included actually moving your feet, but you didn’t start heading towards the building. Yixing didn’t budge either. He kept smiling at you.

A sudden burst of icy wind picked up. The gust bit right through your jacket, causing you to shiver somewhat violently. Your teeth were still chattering even as it died down again.

“Are you cold?” Yixing asked worriedly.

“No, I’m fi-”

He ignored you as he slipped his bag off his shoulders and removed his much heavier bomber jacket. He draped the jacket over your shoulders and replaced his bag. Now he was left in only a black T-shirt, but he seemed unaffected by the cold. Not even goosebumps gave away if he was uncomfortable or not. “I hope that’s better.”

You were hit with an overwhelming pine scent. Normally you hated the smell. It reminded you of those old car air fresheners that would hang from the rearview mirror. But this particular type… it was a struggle not to breathe in deeper. You didn’t want to come off as weird.

Or, weirder that you already were.

“Thanks,” you said shyly, unable to meet his eye. “We, um, we should probably start… walking.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re right.”

The two of you finally headed for the science building. You each stepped in rhythm with the other, falling into the pattern with such a natural ease that it made you curious. Your nerves were on high alert around him, but not in a way that made you scared of him. Not the “he’s going to kill me” kind of nervous. Just… on edge. You weren’t sure why he was interested in you – whether platonically or something else, you hadn’t figured out yet. You weren’t the typical college student in your experiences. Anxiety over social gatherings tended to limit your outings. Not that you minded. You needed to keep up the good grades to get into the university you wanted and the extra time spent studying helped. Your family was your main social outlet, but you didn’t see anything wrong with that.

The bad thing was, you knew how your family reacted and came to decisions in most cases. That sense of familiarity was lost when it came to other people, so you never were quite sure how to read them.

“What’s your first class?” Yixing asked as the building came into view.

“Organic chemistry,” you replied. Not your best subject, if you had to admit it. Biology was more your strong suit. “What about you?”

Yes. Good counter question. A natural one to ask. Right?

A dusty pink bloomed on his cheeks. “Psychology.”

You frowned. Those classes weren’t held in the science building. Those types of classes were the rest of the therapeutic college – several buildings away. Pointing to the doors that the two of you were now stopped in front of, you said, “Then why-”

“I saw you and wanted to say hi.”

Okay, like stated earlier, you weren’t the best at reading strangers. But you could almost feel your aunt nudging you with her shoulder in her cheeky fashion. And you would have to agree with her, it did feel like there was an air of flirtation underneath the innocent sentence.

“You wanted to say ‘hi’?” you repeated

He scrunched up his shoulders guilty. “Yeah. I thought that – since we’re going to be partners for the rest of the semester – that it wouldn’t hurt to get to know each other?” His eyes flickered down to the cement and then back up at you. “Is that alright?”

That simple movement made your heart flutter. “I guess so.”

Not the exact answer he was hoping for, judging by his reaction. He released his breath through his nose and nodded, his lips puckering a small amount. “Okay. I’ll see you in class.” You weren’t given a chance to respond before he stepped around you and headed off.

Now you were the one who felt guilty.

All through class, you struggled to absorb the material more than usual. You felt like a jerk to someone who was only trying to be nice.

No. Nice wasn’t the right word to use. Polite seemed too small a word as well. His interest in getting to know you seemed genuine, sincere. You were the one quick to pull away. You couldn’t help it. And you had immediately regretted it, wishing you could rewind and try a different response. Yixing made you more nervous that usual, which only overloaded your brain even more.

By the end of class, you’d settled on apologizing. You’d practice the speech over and over again in your mind to make sure that it made sense and conveyed what you were sorry for. And hopefully didn’t create a bigger mess.

Since you were right around the corner, you made it to human physiology early. You took your time taking out your supplies and lined them up on your side of the table. Every few seconds your eyes would flicker to the door in eager anticipation. The students who flowed in were never him. Oh. Goodness. Had you made him so upset that he’d decided to skip class altogether rather than sit next to you?

That fear subsided when you saw him walk into view of the open door. A shorter boy was with him. They were chatting in a friendly manner in the hallway, smiling and laughing occasionally. Yixing didn’t seem to still be upset from your earlier send off.

The shorter one, wearing a backwards cap and t-shirt despite the cold (were males really that immune to dropping temperatures?), glanced into the classroom and made eye contact with you. He whispered something to Yixing, who in turn snuck a peek of his own. He nodded to the shorter boy. The latter nodded as well. He patted Yixing on the shoulder and then left.

Oh, wonderful. Now what had you done?

Your entire speech went diving out the window as Yixing walked into classroom and sat down in his seat.

“Hey,” he greeted, throwing you off even more with a smile.

You lifted your hand and gave a rather pathetic wave. “Hi.”

“Did you have fun in chemistry?” he asked. Everything about his mannerisms reflected his earlier legitimate interest. It was almost as if the parting earlier had only been a bad dream in your head and instead had ended amicably, with no signs of awkwardness.

You were starting to relax. That was another odd thing about Yixing. Though your nervous system was on the fritz, you also felt at ease, almost. Already, you were finding appropriate and - dare you say - charming responses to his inquires and jests. “As much fun as one can with unstable molecules.”

“Better the molecules be unstable rather than the professor.”

You laughed, using your hand to cover the sound and wide mouthed expression that came along with it. Yixing dipped his head to hide a proud grin of his own. The professor walked in at that moment. You scolded yourself for not going through your speech before class had started. Yixing had distracted you. It might feel as needed now, but you still felt the urge to say the words. 

And that distraction was continuing on through the period.

He wasn’t doing anything in particular, besides simply existing. Occasionally while taking notes or flipping the pages of the textbook, his elbow would bump into yours. You would mouth “sorry” before dropping your eyes down to the paper. He never looked like he was annoyed or bothered by it. At one point, you wondered if he was doing it on purpose.

Like the last time, Professor Jiang assigned the review questions at the end of the chapter to be completed during the final fifteen minutes. It took you almost that entire time to figure out the answers. You had to keep flipping back through the chapter and skim the passages to find them. You were definitely going to have to make a note to review this later if any of it was going to stick.  

“Are you done?” Yixing asked once he saw that your pencil was down.

“Yeah.” Your confidence in your answers wasn’t as high as last time. To your surprise, though, your answers were more or less the same as Yixing’s. Maybe something did get absorbed during the lecture. 

Taking your paper, he shuffled it on top of his to show you that he would once again turn it in for you. A pattern was beginning to form, but you didn’t want to read into it too deeply. 

Okay. It was now or never. Although, you’d forgotten large chunks of your speech, you were going to go through with it.

“Yixing?” You barely made it above a whisper, but he heard you anyway.

“Hm?”

“I just wanted to say that I was sorry. About earlier. I didn’t mean to make it look like I was trying to be rude or that I wasn’t appreciative of your….” You lost the word you were going to say. The others that you grasped on to made you cringe. Niceness? Politeness? Pity? Thankfully, Yixing didn’t need you to finish.

“It’s alright. I’m not upset. I realize that I might have come on too strongly.”

“No, no, you didn’t.”

“No, I’m sure I did. Next time, if you like walking alone, you can tell me to go away.”

You didn’t like the idea of telling him to go away. You actually kind of liked him walking you to class, now that you’d had time to reflect back on it. The gesture gave you the same vibe that teen romances had given you in high school; a strange fluttering that usually only existed in daydreams.

You weren’t sure how to respond, so you gave a silent reply in the form of a small smile. Yixing took it as a good sign like you meant it to be. Then you remembered the piece of clothing you still had of his. You started to sleep out of the sleeves, but Yixing stopped you.

“Keep it. It’s not going to get any warmer today.”

You could feel your face exploding with heat. What did that mean, exactly? Obviously, you understood the direct context, but was there another meaning behind his kind intention? Whispers erupted behind you before you could really think it through. You peeked over your shoulder to see two girls staring at you as they spoke softly to each other. Their volume was too low for you to make out what they were saying, but their eyes said enough. A few flickers toward Yixing and it was easy to interpret: they were trying to figure out why someone like him was acting this way towards you.

Curious as to what had stolen your attention, Yixing looked back at the girls as well. At their continued whispering, he narrowed his eyes and then shifted his stool closer to you. It felt… protective, almost possessive. Not in a way that made you want to lean away. It was more like he was silently standing up for you. The girls immediately snapped their mouths closed and pulled out their phones. Yixing caught your eye one more time, making you smile. Professor Jiang called time on the period and you found yourself very unwilling to move from that spot. And, it seemed, neither was Yixing.

**

Yixing ran through the trees with pure giddiness and elation flowing through his fur.

Things couldn’t have gone better this past week and a half. You were opening up to him more, talking to him without long pauses in between and letting him walk you to classes, even if they were in the opposite direction of his own. You hadn’t given him his jacket back, but he took that as a wonderful thing. He wouldn’t have taken it back anyway. There were still things that you were holding onto, things that you hadn’t let slip in your conversations. That hardly deterred him. It would take time. These things didn’t just happen. Eventually you would let him in all the way and he would show you his true self. It was only a matter of-

Yixing stopped. Out of nowhere, his vision had blurred, blackspots covering bits of the forest. He wavered from side to side as he tried to regain his footing. The tree shifted back and forth like a teeter-totter. He pushed himself forward. He needed to get back to the house. But only a few steps and his head exploded with pain. He whimpered and, after a minute or so, he fell to the ground and the blackness took over.

[kyoupann]

fic request: hyrule "getting lost" on purpose for some alone time from the group, and bringing someone with him to find a cool spot and just hang out a while! bonus if it turns out he very rarely actually gets lost and just uses it as an excuse xD extra bonus if it's legend 👉👈

Anon, I love you. You're the epitome of big brain.

Have Hyrule and Legend having a wholesome moment. It's not much, but it's honest work. <3

Bold of you to believe Hyrule gets lost easily

Being on an adventure with a party was quite different from what Hyrule had imagined; truth to be told, the thought never crossed his mind. But when it finally became a reality and he found himself surrounded by people 24/7, the closeness, the noise, started to suffocate him.

Don't take him wrong, he loves his new friends. He absolutely does. Ones more than others, but he still loves them all. But he could do with fewer people from time to time. And since some of the others didn't seem to be willing to separate for more than a couple of minutes, unless extremely required, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

The first time was almost accidental. He did go off-trail for a bathroom break, but as he waited for his business to be finished he realised how quiet the woods were; no clinking of armour, no footsteps, no small chat, just birds chirping and treetops rustling gently against each other. Just pure, comfortable quiet. He didn't even notice that he had finished already, so lost contemplating his surrounding and how much he missed this. Soon enough, he snapped out of it, fixed his clothes and started heading back to the main trail. The group was probably far ahead, so he didn't rush to reach them. Instead, he took his time, idly following the trail and admiring the beauty around him: massive trees, so tall they covered the sky, the only source of light slipping through the gaps between the leaves; so lovely and delicate and warm. Without the noise of a full travelling party, he noticed that the small creatures of the forest didn't mind his silent steps,  some hares peeking from their burrows and a couple of squirrels chasing each other down a tree trunk.

He didn't know how long it took him to catch up with the group, but he knows that it must have been a good half an hour or more; their faces showing nothing but annoyance, maybe a bit of worry etched on their youngest companion, but irritation definitely took the lead.

"Where were you?!" was the first thing one of them asked, followed by some concerned queries about his well-being.

He took exactly one second to think and answer "I got lost on my way back."

And from then on, he was never allowed to leave the perimeter without a partner. Which, mind you, fucking sucked. There he was trying not to hurt anybody's feelings, yet his answer ended up backfiring in the worst way possible; not only was it harder to have some quiet, but the group also started to underestimate his sense of direction in a way that felt almost insulting. Did he have to remind them that there are no maps in his Hyrule and yet he knows the land like the back of his hand? But go off, not like he cares, anyway.

He tried to not let it bother him, and not past a couple of days, he found a solution to the very same problem he got himself into. He started to sneak out without anyone noticing, and if they did notice, they were nice enough to not rat him out. To each their own, whatever. It became a habit, whenever he would feel the tingling sensation at the nape of his neck, he would begin to fall behind and leave the group as soon as he saw an opportunity. Often times, it was Wild and his weird wolf who found him pacing around somewhere, the blue-clad hero with a mischievous smile on his face while the wolf sported a frown, not thrilled to be on hunt duty. Other times, Hyrule made his way back to the group a couple of hours later, before anyone started arranging a rescue team for someone who clearly didn't need it. But he appreciated the sentiment; at least he knows that they wouldn't just ditch him anytime.

One day, though, he noted that their veteran was in a sour mood, more than any other day. He had no idea that could be possible, but, hey, you learn new things every day. He felt kindness fill his body more than usual and was willing to let the veteran in on his little secret. He didn't need to worry too much before turning to him as they unpacked their stuff for the night.

"Hey, I'm feeling a bit restless," he said and the other just hummed in response, "do you want to go for a walk with me?"

"No."

For a moment, he thought of dropping it right then; but on the other hand, he was feeling a tad overwhelmed by the noise coming from the guys helping the cook with dinner and the others taking care of their gear. Couldn't they be a bit more... silent? For mostly mute companions, they sure were extremely loud in their tasks sometimes.

"Please, everyone is busy," he pleaded, now moving to be face to face with the veteran, "please, Leg. It won't take long."

He saw the Legend drop his shoulders in surrender before agreeing to a short walk around the area. And as soon as they had their stuff ready, they took off.

Hyrule was excited to have some alone time after what had been entire days without the opportunity to sneak out. He didn't even mind Legend coming with him. In fact, he was delighted to have him around. While Legend often worried about his disappearing habits, he was also the most chill about it. He really liked him. He hoped that this walk would ease his mind of whatever was bothering him; he wasn't going to ask, that was not the point of this. If Legend wanted to talk, they would.

"It sure is nice around here," Legend said, as emotionless as ever, making Hyrule question if he even meant it.

There were no trees blocking the sky, the sea of constellations shining brightly above them as they walked up a hill. Hyrule guessed it was most likely a small mountain if his adventure had taught him anything. The path was becoming too steep for them to trek in a straight line. Just as soon as they got to what seemed to be a dead-end, Legend whistled, catching the traveller's attention.

"It was a great walk," he said, boots already turning around and retracing his steps. "Time to go back."

But Hyrule didn't follow him. Instead, he reached in front of him.

"Last to get to the top is a bald cuccoo," he shouted as he started his climb.

He didn't even look back to check on Legend, he knew he would be following him. They climbed in silence, saving their energy and attention for the slippery rocks that fell from their hands and under the weight of their boots.

About ten minutes later, when the moon was at its highest point, Hyrule reached a small plateau on the side of the mountain. It might not be the destination they had in mind, but he couldn't deny that the view from there was stunning. To their south, he could see the prairie they had passed through early in the day, the light of the moon illuminating every single patch of grass and rock; on the other side of the mountain, to the north, Hyrule could spot the light and smoke coming from their campsite. They weren't that far, after all. Just enough to relax.

"What the fuck? You can't just say shit like that and start climbing, Hyrule!" Legend wheezed as he dragged his body over the edge, completely out of breath and slamming his back against the cold ground.

Hyrule ran to aid him to stand up, extending small apologies as he offered his hand, his shoulders shaking with a stifled chuckle.

"What are you talking about? That was fun!"

He gave Legend the time to look around, hoping that the view would make him forget his irritation. In the end, he guesses he succeeded; a soft smile adorned the other's face.

"I wished we could stay longer, but we gotta head back."

Hyrules ears perked up in interest and a grin that showed nothing but mischief appeared.

"Oh, it would be such a shame if we got lost on our way back and we had to wait until morning to avoid getting even more lost in the dark."

It took Legend 5 seconds before the gears in his mind began to work and process what Hyrule said.

"You little shit," he punched him on his arm playfully, earning him a cackle from the traveller. "You. cheeky. little. shit." He marked each word with a punch, each less hard than the last.

Hyrule rubbed his arm, "so, what do you say?" He looked at Legend expectantly, " If you want to go back to the others, we'll go. I'm not keeping you here, but I think some time off would do us good."

It was then that Legend noticed that Hyrule had brought his bag with him. He sat down and started pulling a variety of items from it, a fabric too thin to be a blanket being one of them.

With a snap of his fingers, a nearby bush lit on fire, and in no time they had their own little impromptu camp set up.

"I have some fish if you want me to make something," he pointed to his bag, but as always, he didn't wait for a response, already elbow-deep into the bag looking for the food, "caught it this morning, it's basically fresh."

Two small fish stabbed through the middle with a stick later, he handed one stick for Legend to grill over the fire.

"So... you get lost... on purpose..."

"Yep."

"Why?"

Hyrule bit the inside of his cheek and flipped his fish over, " for the exact same reason you accepted to come with me, I suppose." He took the fish off the fire and inspected it. "Unlike most of you, I didn't have a companion during my adventures. Having someone to talk to whenever is nice and all but... well, I simply value my privacy. I like being alone."

Legend could only hum in agreement. He rolled his stick, half of his fish almost burnt, "Wow, thanks," he said, his words coated with sarcasm.

"I like being alone with you," he laughed at his own words, a bit unsure of how to fix what he had said, but no less true.

A soft smile pulled at Legend's lips. He sighed in contentment and extended an arm to ruffle Hyrule's hair.

"I like being with you, too."

[saeran-imagines]

Did you see the birthday chats from 2019? Specifically the one where Saeran (as "Unknown") invites you to come eat ice cream and watch Netflix with him? Since Saeran's birthday is coming up again, could you write what if MC had taken him up on his offer and gone to meet him? (Jindere has a video of the chats on youtube if you haven't seen it/want a refresher!) I'm obsessed with the idea of this happening and I love your writing so I'd love to read this from you 🥰

Heya! I remember those birthday chats omg, I just had to buy the picture that went along with them when it became available! That and the 707 version are just so pretty, I had them as my desktop background for a good while 🥰

I made this longer than I meant omg! I wanted to get it done in time for his birthday, which, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAERAN !! (and seven too but this blog ain’t about you ❤) I have a bias for the soft Saerans so I didn’t think I’d like writing for Unknown as much as I did, but I had a lot of fun with this 😊 I hope you all like it!

You fiddle with your phone, the broken looking chat room open to “Unknown’s” messages. That hacker… what kind of person is he? There’s no doubt he’s up to no good, but he’s never done anything that would put you in danger. Quite the opposite, actually. You have a feeling he’d rush to your rescue if you found yourself in a bad situation. “It’s my birthday today. Meet me outside the building at 8 and I’ll show you a great time.” Coming from anyone else it’d sound creepy as hell, it should sound creepy as hell, he’s a complete stranger who hacked your phone, but… the feeling of dread you imagine would come before getting axe murdered just isn’t there. And more than that, there’s something in the way he typed, in the long pauses between messages that seemed… lonely. You look at the clock- 7:50. Taking a deep breath, you force yourself up, pull on a coat, and take the elevator down to the first floor. You wouldn’t be able to stand not knowing what might have happened if you didn’t go meet this mystery person. And hey, it could very well be a great time.

You take up a position right outside the building and look around- nobody seems to be here yet. The sun has started its trek downwards, the shadow on the building long enough to reach the other side of the road. It’s a little late to be out. What does he have planned? You take another deep breath and try to relax, worrying won’t do you any good. You check your phone- 7:53. Has it really only been 3 minutes? It feels like you’ve been waiting here for hours. Footsteps followed by a figure rounding the corner next to you cause you to perk up, but another person follows shortly after and you quickly look back down again, dejected. The couple shoots you a suspicious glance, keeping enough distance from you that they end up walking on the road as they pass you on the sidewalk. You must look strange, you realize, fiddling with your thumbs and glancing back and forth in the dark shadow of a building. You sigh, this is a little ridiculous. Just as you’re considering going back inside and forgetting about this whole evening, you feel a tap on your shoulder. 

“Hey, doll,” a smooth low voice sounds from where your shoulder was tapped, and you whip around to see the source. “You actually came.” You notice his eyes first, a striking minty blue that almost glows in the dim light. Then you notice his white suit that matches perfectly with his hair, pink accents and all. Aren’t hackers supposed to be subtle? The only things about him that match your mental stereotype are the dark circles under his eyes and the mask covering the lower half of his face. Neither detract from his allure, though. He looks like you could find him on the cover of a fashion magazine. He chuckles at your stunned silence. “What, liking what you see?” 

“Ah! Uh-” you stutter out. “You just… weren’t what I was expecting.” You can’t see his mouth under the mask, but you know he’s smirking anyways.

“Oh?” he teases. “And what did you expect?” You try your best to regain your composure. This isn’t the time to be making googly eyes at strangers. God, it’s been way too long since you’ve interacted with someone. You haven’t had the chance to after temporarily moving into that apartment. 

“I don’t know, some weirdo in a ski mask?” you joke, making him chuckle again. You feel yourself starting to relax. He seems like a kind enough person, despite the teasing, and talking to him is comfortable. This night might turn out better than you expected. “So, what are we doing tonight?” 

“Well, I hope you like ice cream. My favorite parlor stays open late, I figured I deserve a birthday treat. You know, since I’ve been such a good boy recently,” he laughs. It’s a giddier laugh than you expected from him, he must have been looking forward to this for a while. He holds out his hand for you to take. “Shall we?” You pause, looking down at his gloved hand. You can feel that this is the last chance you have to change your mind, to take the elevator back up to the apartment and forget about this interaction. Taking hold of his hand would form a contract that binds you to his side for the rest of the night. After a moment of deliberating you grasp his hand, perhaps a bit too tight. You’ve already gotten this far, your curiosity won’t let the night end until you learn more about this strange man. You flash him the most convincing smile you can muster.

“Let’s go.” He weaves you through the city, taking more than a few sketchy shortcuts through alleyways and unexpected detours. He must have to be careful to avoid detection in his line of work, he’s walking as if he’s trying to confuse anyone who might be tracking him. He makes some small talk along the way, prying you for your thoughts about various RFA members and asking you about your life outside the messenger. You learn that he has a bit of a soft spot for Jumin, seeming to appreciate his cold honesty and business oriented mindset. From the short walk you’ve had with this stranger he seems to be the type to prefer fun over work, but you suppose you’ve only seen one side of him. So far, that is. 

You arrive at your destination after around 20 minutes of walking. It’s a small sweets shop painted white and baby blue. A chalkboard sign shows the flavors of the day through the window, around half crossed out due to the business day nearing its end. You feel a light squeeze around the hand that you nearly forgot was being held by the hacker. When you look up at him you can see sparkles in his eyes. When he notices your stare he looks away, is he embarrassed? “Sorry if I startled you, darling.” He apologizes for his sudden excitement, letting go of your hand “My flavor is still in stock,” he says with a smile. “Shall we go inside?” He holds the door open for you and you thank him, walking inside and losing yourself in the sweet scent. 

“Welcome!” the chipper cashier calls out. “Do you two know what you’d like?” Your partner wastes no time in calling out a practiced order, something with mint and a waffle cone that you don’t quite catch as you scan the overwhelming array of colors and flavors. Not wanting to spend too much time gawking, you throw out a fast ‘I’ll have what he’s having’ and make your way towards the counter.

“Good choice,” your partner of the evening says with a grin. You stop him as he starts reaching towards his pocket. He tilts his head at you with a questioning stare.

“It’s your birthday, right?” you state more than ask. “My treat.” You pull out and swipe your card before he has a chance to protest. He doesn’t speak for a few seconds, not expecting this act of kindness, but he quickly recovers with a laugh and a thank you as he takes his cone. “Where to?” you ask once you both successfully make it out of the shop with delicious looking chocolate dipped mint chocolate chip ice cream cones. You want to see how it tastes, but a deep rooted birthday etiquette that lives inside of you forbids you from taking the first bite. That’s reserved for the birthday boy, after all!

“Just up there,” he points to a nearby hill. “You can see the stars really well.” You smile and nod before starting the trek. It’s a cool evening, luckily, so your ice cream only barely starts to drip on the way up. Talking to the mysterious hacker seems to get easier as time goes on. Any leftover anxiety you had fades as you make light conversation and tease each other. It feels like you’ve known him for years. You attribute at least some of it to the ice cream, his speech has become a lot more bubbly and a lot less guarded after he got his hands on his cone. You never thought you’d call the person who broke into your phone cute, but you can’t help but smile at how happy he seems.

You reach the top of the hill before you know it. A blanket is already laid out at the very top, and he guides you to sit beside him on it. It’s not a huge blanket, your shoulders are nearly touching. Which is NOT something to blush about, you tell yourself. He pulls his mask down for the first time tonight, leaving you to stare at him for a bit longer than you would have liked to. He was definitely handsome, but there’s a layer of familiarity that you can’t quite put your finger on. His pretty lips turn up in a smirk. 

“What are you staring at?” You almost miss it, but his hands fidget slightly as he asks the question. Maybe he’s a bit more insecure than he lets on? You try to get past some of your shyness for his sake, if he’s worried about his looks you’d like to reassure him.

“Nothing much, I just think you look nice,” you smile, feeling just a bit of heat creep to your face. “Now-” you quickly change the subject. “You have to take the first bite of your ice cream so I can have mine. Birthday rules, and all.”

“Okay, okay, whatever you say, doll,” he chuckles. He takes a bite, trying to catch all the ice cream that threatens to drip off. “There.” You grin and have a taste, too. There’s something about small shops that make everything taste a thousand times better. It’s the sweetest, creamiest ice cream you’ve ever had. 

“Good, right?” he asks, already knowing your answer from the big smile on your face.

“Yup!” you exclaim. You finish your treats in a comfortable silence. The stars really are beautiful from the top of this hill, they appear so much bigger and brighter without the light pollution from the city. You glance to your side to see him looking back at you. 

“Enjoying yourself?” he asks. He’s closer than you remember.

“Yeah,” you breathe. “The stars are beautiful.” His eyes are shining like stars, too. The darkness has made their unnatural color stand out even more, it would be so easy to get lost looking into them. You force your gaze back to the sky, trying to ignore how fast your heart is beating. “Are you? Enjoying yourself, I mean? It’s your birthday, after all.”

“Yeah, I am,” he says without missing a beat. “It’s not often that I get to go out like this.”

“Because of your hacking job?” you ask.

“Yeah, something like that.” He sighs and leans back, looking up at the stars once again. What kind of life does he have? It’s hard to get a read on him. You can talk to him like an old friend but you don’t even know his name. You get the feeling he wouldn’t tell you even if you asked. Better not to, then. You’re satisfied with the little snippets of him that you’ve gotten today, and if he wants to reveal more you’ll let him do that at his own pace.

“Well, I’m glad I came out to meet you then.” He looks over at you again, studying your face. Almost like he’s waiting for you to take it back, or turn it into a joke. You don’t.

“Yeah, me too.”

[nightwingmyboi]

Can I ask why you hate Batman and Robin Eternal? (it was my first DC comic ever, my dad bought it for me in one of his trips even though I didn’t know anything about the batfam or comics in general lmao). It’s been so long since the last time I read it I don’t even remember what it was about (I do remember enjoying it in that moment but it may have also been because it was a gift and the drawings were cool lol)

Aww, that’s very sweet. There are certainly bits of the comic that are enjoyable. I’m pretty sure that I’m actually in the minority when I say that I don’t care for it...but since you asked lol, there are several things about these comics that really rub me the wrong way. This is pretty negative (and way longer than I’d planned), so be warned. 

For starters, Dick Grayson was just...not treated well by his family members in these comics. It felt particularly brutal here specifically...I think because Dick would say very harmless things, and his family’s responses in return were so abrupt and unreasonably harsh. Like, Dick says that he’s glad to see Batgirl, and wonders what some kids are doing dressed as Robin...

Batman and Robin Eternal #4

And Batgirl bites his head off. Or, there were times where Dick would just be hanging out in the general vicinity, and people would just take shots at him out of the blue for seemingly no reason. 

Batman and Robin Eternal #3

It felt like he could barely breathe without someone criticizing him for it. At one point, Dick confesses that he’s feeling discouraged, and Damian’s response is to punch him in the face. 

Batman and Robin Eternal #22

Which is a pretty good summary of the family’s treatment of him in these comics to be honest. Just literally, lashing out at him for zero reason while he just takes it. 

One scene in particular that really frustrated me was this one: 

Batman and Robin Eternal #5

You know, that other time in this comic series where one of Dick’s family members punches him in the face while he, once again, takes the hit and does nothing to retaliate. Good times. 

For context...the big bad in these comics is a villain known as “Mother.” Her speciality is brainwashing. She placed several of her “children” in high-profile positions in order to enact her plans, even managing to infiltrate Spyral. In a message left for Dick, Batman specifically explains that “Anyone could be under her control, Dick. They could be people you know. People you love…they probably will be” (Batman and Robin Eternal #1). 

Unlike in Pre-52, Tim’s background is largely a mystery. He’s acting suspiciously. So, Dick takes it upon himself to investigate and ensure that Tim’s not one of Mother’s plants. 

On Tim’s side of things, he’s upset that Dick investigated behind his back and found out where he’d secretly had his parents living for their safety. Dick unintentionally brought danger to their doorstep (though, notably, no one was actually hurt). But Tim’s pissed, and punches Dick in the face. 

Not gonna lie, this was hard to take. I mean, even if Tim was in the right in this argument (which he lowkey isn’t in my eyes), that still does not make it ok for him to just punch Dick out of the blue when Dick is, as pictured above, just talking to him. 

And the hypocrisy that Tim is displaying here is stunning. How he had previously told Dick off for keeping secrets from the family by going undercover with Spyral, when he in fact had a whole secret family tucked away in a corner. How he tells Dick off now for invading people’s privacy, when just earlier in this very comic he had planted surveillance devices in Stephanie’s apartment without her consent. 

Batman and Robin Eternal #2

How Tim storms off and goes on a solo mission with Jason because Dick’s supposedly too personally invested and thus compromised, when he just got so emotionally unhinged that he lost his shit at Dick and punched him. Once again, may I just say, simply stunning. 

But does Tim ever face any consequences for this behavior? Oh, of course not! Instead, we get Jason joking about how great it is to punch Dick in the face when he is not even fighting back. 

Batman and Robin Eternal #7

And everyone collectively piling on to Dick and blaming him, even though he had legitimate concerns. Awesome. 

Batman and Robin Eternal #6

Batman and Robin Eternal #7

And Dick just continues to take it. Not once does he stand up for himself. It’s so hard to read him continually get shit on, I’m sorry. And it’s crazy how they treat him this way, and yet still ultimately look to him for encouragement and rely on him to save the day in the end? You hate to see it. 

I also didn’t like what they did with Cass. I know, I’m just full of complaints. But they really watered her down. With Pre52 Cass, you could actually describe facets of her personality. She was compassionate, had a very refreshing, sassy sense of humor, etc. She wasn’t just...mysterious action girl who has a dark past and cries occasionally. I mean, there were moments where I could see glimpses of personality (the time she visited the ballet being the main one), but on the whole she punched people when needed, and otherwise just stood there as people talked about and around her. Essentially a prop for the story. 

Batman and Robin Eternal #24

Another thing that makes me so uncomfortable (that I couldn’t pin down until I read this post here) is the fact that this comics version of events makes it so that Cass’ own backstory no longer has her as the focus; it’s not about her emotional struggles and journey. By having Cass kill Harper’s mother rather than a random man, it makes the story about Harper, and about Cass gaining Harper’s forgiveness. So...more using Cass as a prop...as an element of someone else’s story in what is supposed to be her origin! 

Honestly, I have no idea why Cass would want to stay with the Bat-family in these comics anyway...her previous mentorship with Barbara Gordon is nonexistent. She’s no longer Batgirl. The two people who were once her closest friends treat her horribly. 

Batman and Robin Eternal #3

Batman and Robin Eternal #4

As if she’s barely a person. Once again, sooooo hard to read this. Why. 

Yeah, I could go on forever nitpicking here. You probably got a sense of it already, but I absolutely despise how Tim is characterized here. Most of the time, he’s an ass. Jason also had pretty inconsistent characterization. And I really don’t like how the whole comic treats Robin like something Batman owns and is meant to benefit from, rather than as something Dick created. I don’t like how Cain was “redeemed” in the end, and that Cass took on the name Orphan instead of Black Bat or Batgirl. Once again, how is she connected to the Bat-family exactly? And I don’t like how Dick’s time as Robin is portrayed. 

The existence of this comic...drives me insane...

It’s also the worst time to be doing a “Does Batman treat his kids like child soldiers?” arc considering it is coming on the tail end of Spyral, aka that one thing that Dick did because Bruce beat the shit out of him and forced him to. 

Nightwing #30

Looking through Batman’s speech to Dick there...some of the things he says to Dick are so uncomfortably close to what Cain says to Cass. Really horrible parallel there. Why DC. 

I really don’t know why Dick was so certain that Bruce didn’t do something shady with Mother, as was implied throughout the comic, when Bruce had pulled the Spyral crap fairly recently. Idk why they didn’t play into that side of things. Like, the fact that this arc ends with Dick comforting Batman about them not being child soldiers: 

Batman and Robin Eternal #26

Instead of Batman stepping up to reaffirm to Dick that he was a good partner and a trusted ally when he spent the whole comic being insulted by his family and being told this stuff by his enemies (and flashback!Batman): 

Batman and Robin Eternal #8

Batman and Robin Eternal #12

Just sucks. I mean, Dick had just recently sacrificed everything (his family, his friends, his life, his identity, everything) to do as Batman wanted and go undercover, only to hear this over and over? To hear that none of it was enough? That he could never be enough? And Dick never gets reassurance that this isn’t true. This comic is just agonizing in so many ways. 

Obviously, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I am not criticizing this to be a killjoy? Just venting. If you enjoy these comics, you are free to continue to do you. But I am never going to like them. And when I see people championing these books as the best the Bat-fam has to offer...oof is that hard to hear lmao! Surely we can do better than all this. 

[chroniclesoferoda]

Summer Love

(This one shot is dedicated to Italian Harry.. I had thoughts 🥵�� please don’t hate it 😂)

It had been a pleasant day. The air was warm and the general vibe had been something Y/N longed for. Y/N had taken a break from university in the UK and came to Italy for a short break before her next term began.

She’d been planning a solo trip for the longest time and finally decided it was time to materialise this plan and make it come true. Y/N couldn’t be any happier. She didn’t feel the burden of waiting for her friend(s) or have the need to go wherever they did. She could execute her own plan and could feel like a free bird. Y/N had been sipping on a cool lemon ice tea sitting at a small table in a chic yet cozy cafe. She’d been noticing passerby’s and small kids playing with each other with the added background music of a local artist. It was a little past 7 and the sky had a strong tint of pink, gold, yellow and orange making the mood and atmosphere beautiful and straight out of a picture.

It wasn’t like Y/N was any less perfect. Dressed in a Medi white dress, she surely stood out in this cafe filled with strangers dressed average. Y/N truly missed no opportunity. Her eyes scanning the crowd and enjoying the live music playing, fell on a young man who’d seem to be well built, dressed in a black shirt and white trousers. She’d seen the back of this man but as he turned she realised this was none other than Harry Styles. She’d been a huge fan but could never keep up with his music since she got busy with university.

Y/N did not shift her gaze an inch. He’d looked far more handsome, taller and muscular in person. For some odd reason, she knew that he was famous, but always had this feeling that there was a completely different vibe to him. She felt it even more so, after spotting him in public.

She noticed that Harry had his gaze on her too. From afar. However the young man and woman gazed at each other with no words spoken, but just out of curiosity and amaze of how the two looked. Harry of course could not stay any longer out, and had to quickly leave the area trying to avoid the crowd. Glancing at Y/N one last time, and hitting her with a small smirk he disappeared into a lane.

Y/N couldn’t really understand what just happened. Much to her shock she never expected Harry to look back at her. She felt her stomach flip multiple times with Harry’s intimidating gaze on her but felt a strange power at the same time. After watching him disappear, Y/N too paid for her drink and left.

It had been a restless night for Y/N. She couldn’t get that look out of her mind and barely slept. The next morning she decided to divert her mind and decided to go out for a run. Before she began her run she was bumped into, rather in full force, by a masculine body which knocked her hard into the stone pavement.

Y/N couldn’t comprehend what had just happened and the young man had fallen on top of her too. She gathered her senses and looked at who it was and found that it was Harry. Harry had already been staring at her and smirked. He quickly brushed himself off her and offered his hand to help her up. While holding his hand she realised how soft and plump they were yet firm and steady at once. She noticed how his muscles and his chest flexed when he lifted her up. Harry had secretly stole a gaze of her chiseled abs that peaked from her crop top.

She’d realised that he’d actually aged well and had developed a fantastic physique.

“I’m sorry, love. I shouldn’t have been this careless.” Harry started the conversation as he looked at her with the same gaze he did the previous evening. Y/N had a smaller frame but definitely defined and curvy. “I’m alright. Not sure how lucky my cards are today to be bumped by Mr. Styles himself.” Y/N said as she realised that she’d been too blunt in her flirting which she usually isn’t. “I’m sorry, that came out so wrong. I should go.” Y/N said as she began heading the opposite direction. Harry had a much larger frame. He moved to block her prompt exit and said “Hold on. Give me an opportunity to apologise to you properly. At least tell me your name.” “I’m Y/N..” she said as she felt that same strange power while looking at him.

Y/N.

Harry had been struck by how stunning she was. That feeling was mutual. He apologised properly and the two parted ways. Harry walked backwards gazing at Y/N and Y/N had turned around looking at him and smiling one sides for the first time driving Harry crazy. Harry never believed this would happen to him. He was instantly attracted to this young woman he’d seen only twice in his life. He knew she was something else. And had a feeling she was definitely a “no-bullshit” person. And that attracted him more.

It had been Y/N’s last day in Italy and she had decided to go for a movie. (yes much like the chance of this one shot coming to life, there is no coronavirus!!!) She had quickly bought her snacks and rushed into the theatre. She didn’t realise who she sat next to. Harry.

Harry quickly glanced to the woman who sat next to only to double take and realise who actually sat next to him. Y/N.

The two of them gazed at each other smiling softly, but feelings mushy and excited inside that they had met each other again. “So we meet again.” Harry said and he took a kernel and popped it into his mouth without breaking the eye contact. “So we do.” Y/N said as she bit into her watermelon slice and made herself comfortable next to Harry.

“So Y/N what do you do?” Harry asked her and much to her surprise she couldn’t believe that he remembered her name! “I’m getting my masters in criminal law and criminology in the UK. I thought I should go on a solo trip sometime in my life, so hear I am!” Y/N tell him as he nods his head and thinks to himself the courage and bravery she had unlike the women he’s met in his life who wouldn’t take a trip alone to a foreign land. “How has the experience been for you?” “It’s been rather amusing and definitely the experience I needed. Would’ve been a lot better had I bumped into a stranger everyday though.” Y/N says as she winks at Harry unable to believe where all this confidence was coming from. “Oh is it? I second that myself. This trip has been quite something else for me too. Many thanks to a charming young woman who couldn’t get her eyes away from me.” Harry said as he stole another popcorn kernel from her.

Another person who was watching the movie in the theatre disturbed by the two of them talking hushed them. “Sorry! Will keep it down” said Harry as he came closer to Y/N’s ear where his warm breath which had smelled like the popcorn he’d been secretly stealing from her bucket hit her ear immediately making the hair at the back of her neck stand “You are beautiful Y/N. I apologise if I seemed creepy earlier, but you’re difficult to look away from.” He said as he nudged her cheek with his stubble covered cheek which made her feel a 1000 different ways. Harry’s scent had been strong, though not overpowering. It had a powerful effect on her and she couldn’t breathe for a second unable to accept that all this had been happening with her. “You’re far more beautiful than you look Harry” Y/N said as she placed a tiny kiss on Harry’s ear.

She did not have any idea of the effect she had on Harry. With another short glance, Harry, while rubbing his stubbly cheek on hers gently placed his lips on hers where his moustache slightly tickled Y/N in the most pleasing manner. Softly kissing each other, Harry played with the ends of her hair and slightly tugged on it and curling it with his fingers while Y/N drew random patterns on Harry’s arm and played with the hem of sleeve slowly putting her hand inside it and massaging his arms gently.

The movie had seemed to come to its end but Harry and Y/N couldn’t pull away from each other. When they did, they knew this was something that couldn’t go forward. It was just a summer love. And the two softly smiled and sat there in each other’s company until they had to leave...

I AM SORRY IF THIS WAS SHITTY!! Ugh but these are my thoughts of Italy!Harry 😫😫😫

[wings-flames-and-thirium]

Chapstick | Tomura Shigaraki

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVOURITE CRUSTY BOY! He deserves some soft feels so here you go.

Warning(s): none

Taglist (aka tagging the people I know who also like Shigaraki): @shinsouzone​, @suneaterssun​, @kingtamakimurder​, @katsukisprincess​, @magpie-scribbles​

It was eerily quiet at the bar given that the last rays of sunshine had just disappeared. There was no light coming in through the blinds anymore, the only source was the lamp standing in the corner which dipped the the room in a soft light. The only sound that could be heard came from the living room where Shigaraki sat hunched over at the sofa, dark eyes wide open as he stared at the screen. He was as highly focused as ever, having just gotten to the next stage of the game he was playing. He hadn’t realized how everyone went to sleep, so deep and lost in the moment that he didn’t even notice nor mind that the hours flew by like nothing and unbeknownst to him, the clock had already ticked passed midnight. A quick glance confirmed that it was late, or early, or whatever you wanted to call it, but the fact that the day had already started and it was his birthday was an even greater reason for him to just stay here and go to sleep when everyone woke up. His birthday was never something he particularly enjoyed. Why bother celebrating the day you were born while everyone puts on fake smiles, congratulates and gives you silly gifts and sweets? He couldn’t stand all the happy faces, the fake wishes and sickly sweet cakes. Shigaraki sighed heavily and sank even further into the couch, the clock and time forgotten as he engulfed himself in the game. What else was there in the real world that he should be focusing on now anyway?

He didn’t notice when you first poked your head into the room, eyes staring at the mop of light blue hair, sighing as you made your way over to your boss. He wasn’t sleeping again. 

Life hasn’t been the easiest for the League lately. A lot of new mission, new recruits, meetings, heists, Shigaraki was working 24/7, but even you realised that since the beginning of this month, he had been working even harder, pulling all-nighter after all-nighter, all while living on a meager diet of snacks, energy drinks and the occasional green tea. There weren’t any benefits for him in doing that and if he keeps this up, you feared that he would just pass out one day. Judging by the way he was soundly smacking his lips together from time to time and rolling his tongue over them was proof enough that his life took a toll on and made his skin condition worse as well. 

You silently approached him from the side, taking a pillow from the couch before sitting down beside him, hugging the cushion to your chest as you watched him play his game. Shigaraki’s worn out body didn’t recognize the dip on the couch at first, but then his red orbs opened in surprise when he felt your presence and saw your frame sitting close to him. He felt his cheeks heat up a little, eyes focusing back on the screen. 

Why did you always have to have such an effect on him? He never showed it but Shigaraki thought very highly of you. You had been there from the start, helping him build the League and sticking by his side when his problems got worse. He recalled spending times like this with you, nights when he was restless and his nightmares got the better of him, the two of you the only ones in here as he played games and you sat beside him. His heart somehow always skips beats when you’re around and his spiraling mind can calm down for just a second. What was this? Why did you have such an effect on him? What were you doing to him? You were broken, just like him. Maybe that was what attracted him to you in the first place, that’s the only logical conclusion he could draw out of this. And for some reason he wanted to be even closer to you. He wanted you to be his. For now, however, he tried to play it cool, but he was glad to have at least someone here on this quiet night. Someone who didn’t question his decisions all the time, someone who accepted him just the way he was. 

“Do you need help with that?” your warm voice was like a soft melody in his ears and he looked at you, finally taking you in as an amused smile spread on your lips.He turned back quickly, his cheeks heating up even more. That stupid smile. 

“With what?” he shot back, slightly confused as you stared at him more intently. “You know I’m better at video games than you.”

Your chuckle made his heart throb and his stomach turn, Shigaraki’s head falling down so his hair covered most of his face. Your answer, however, was something he didn’t quite expect.

“I’m not talking about the game. I mean your lips.”

“I tried a lot of things, already, none of them ever work,” he dismissed swiftly as he continued pressing buttons.

When you suddenly moved again, he flinched, nearly grabbing the controller with all five fingers as you bent over to push yourself up on his thigh. He felt a sticky substance being dragged over his lips, the penetrating taste and smell of mint infiltrating his nostrils.

“There, better?” you questioned, as you held up the chapstick in your hand, and Shigaraki was left stunned. Touching his lips with the tip of his tongue, his nose wrinkled as the substances stinged his open lips even more now. 

“What the-? No! Whatever that was, it made it worse,” he mumbled, pausing the game to wipe the remnants off his lips. 

You pouted as you laid the chapstick to the side, an idea forming in your head which was so silly that it might actually work. And it may even help to finally get your pent up feelings for him out of your system. 

You had always admired him. His determination, his plan, his will, his power, everything. That’s why you decided to stick with him in the first place. The feelings you had long developed for him where another aspect. You could sense that he was more relaxed around you and prefered your presence over others. His skin would itch less and he would let to stay, no matter what happened. It’s been clear for you as well that you fell for him and not in a light way. Maybe tonight was the time you could finally show him this. 

“Then how about a more... natural way to moisturize your lips?” He sat his controller down as he listened to you, eyebrow raising in curiosity as you slowly scooted closer.

“Fine,” he breathed, questioning why it was so easy to comply with whatever you suggested. The was he said it was almost daring in a way, but that all didn’t matter when he felt your hand come back to place itself upon his thigh again, upper body leaning in. 

Shigaraki didn’t know what to do or where to look as your face came closer, the only reaction he knew was to shut his eyes tightly, getting ready for whatever you had in store for him. He cursed internally for letting you do these things to him. Letting his guard down and letting you get this close to him, but on the other hand, he didn’t want you to draw back. The sensation was just a little odd and foreign to him. 

When he felt a soft pair of lips colliding with his, Shigaraki felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest and he couldn’t help but open his eyes only to find yours closed in contentment as you held your position to test waters. 

Your lips were addicting. Having tasted them for the first time after longing for them for some time felt like the satisfaction Shigaraki had always craved for and he slightly opened his mouth before tilting his head to the side, his eyes fluttering shut as he gave into the feeling. 

A tender brush of your tongue against his cracked lips made him stop. Then he felt another. And then another. And another. His eyes opened slowly again and he saw the deep blush and faint smile of yours as your tongue darted out to lick along his bottom lip, along every crack and even down his scar. He felt how wet his own lips became, moisturized by your saliva, now wet and ready as you connected your lips again, making them glide over each other with ease.

When suddenly the dry air of the room hit his mouth again, his lips went cold and already began slightly cracking at the edges again. Shigaraki was unable to speak for a minute, only capable of leaning his forehead against yours as he lived in the afterglow of the kiss. 

“Can I…I need...” his head was spiraling and he began inching closer to feel what he just felt again.

“Yes.” you whispered and it was the last bit Shigaraki needed to lean forward and close the small gap between the two of you. 

The next kiss was soft yet passionate, fueled by the love you two had been bottling up for the past months, inner tension falling loose as your lips moved in sync. Tomura didn’t want to admit it, but it felt so good doing this with you. The way your lips felt against his cracked ones, your tongue gliding over his dry skin, moisturizing them with your saliva, how well you were managing with his uncoordinated somewhat sloppy open-mouthed kisses. Tomura didn’t bite, didn’t let his tongue slip out even though he was so tempted. Nothing of that sort. He just sat there and let you work your magic of placing kiss after soft kiss to his lips. They were the sort of warm and gentle kisses that made Tomura’s heart flutter the longer he held the contact. This new feeling did something more to him and suddenly he didn’t want to pull away, so instead, he moved even closer, nimble fingers sneaking around your waist and head tilting to the side as he deepened the kiss. 

When you finally drew back, he whined a little as the cold air hit his lips once more, the moisture from your mixed saliva making his warm lips get cold. His eyes stared back at you intently as you picked up the chapstick and dropped it into his lap, but he was unimpressed by that and instead, pulled at your waist to crash his lips against yours again. They were so warm. So soft. So addictive. Shigaraki couldn’t get enough. He just wanted to stay like this. Stay in your arms while exploring this new sensation spreading inside of him as your arms came to wrap themselves around his neck. 

Two things he knew for sure at that moment, though. One, he wouldn’t need that chapstick anytime soon and second, maybe his birthday wouldn’t be so bad afterall. 

[kirencer]

febuary seventh (i’m seeing you)

Y/n and Spencer's relationship collide around a single day: the one where they first looked into each others eyes.

[Or, the all of the secret love letters they wrote during the beginning of their relationship]

Word count: (part one and two) 9.2k

Relationship: Spencer Reid x GN! Reader

Warnings: Language, dub-con (pool kiss scene is depicted as something that made Spencer uncomfy), vulgar language, allusion to Spencer for a moment being horny

Rating: Gen audiences

A/N: All of these letters are rewrites of ones I got from someone, as well as rewrites of ones I gave them. Reader is GN and AFAB but a trans masc reader was more in mind (the French bits)

Part One

Y/n L/n— Jan 15 (2008) 11:31

Not sure if you'll ever read this but, je suis amoureux de toi. I love you, so much. It’s almost maddening

Sometimes, I just sit at my desk, thinking about you, thinking about us. You've stolen my heart and made a home in my mind. I love the idea of our future and I can't wait for it. I want to share everything with you; a last name; a home; a bed; a family; everything (except a toothbrush, that's a bit too close, sorry!)

Y/n L/n— Jan 15 (2008) 11:55

I can't wait to touch you, to hug you, kiss you, run my hands through your hair or wrap my arms around your hips and hold you close to me.

I can't wait to wake up next to you, to dance with you, to just be with you. I want to spend the rest of forever with you. I want to listen to your voice, to hear you talk about nothing in specific, just speaking so I hear your beautiful voice. Even if I’ve never heard it, I know it’s beautiful.

I can't wait to grow old with you. I hope the last thing I see before nothingness is you, your perfect face.

Y/n L/n— Jan 26 (2008) 22:22

This feels awkward to admit.

I usually consider myself smart, or at least good with words but with you in the picture, all English escapes me; with just a thought of you, I can barely manage a sentence, you get me so flustered I can't even think properly.

Though I'd be a damn liar if I said I didn't like the way you make me feel.

Y/n L/n— Feb 7, (2008) 04:10

Y/n L/n, I want you to be my forever, I love you more than anything (even reading and that says a lot).

I'm not feeling great right now which makes it hard to think of the words I'm trying to say but that won't really stop me.

You're the vowels to my consonants, you may not feel like a lot but you're so fucking important. I want to wake up next to you, your pretty face - have I mentioned I love your face? - holding each other, our bodies tangled together and someday having to break apart to check on our children.

I want to just exist with you, I don't care what happens as long as I'm with you. I want to dance around our kitchen at midnight, in only underwear just because, it won't matter, it's our lives and we're together. I want to just talk to you, maybe sitting on a roof at two in the morning, staring at the sky and not caring that it's out of reach because the only thing I want to touch is the person next to me.

Y/n, you are my tomorrow and I can't wait for you to be my today.

Y/n L/n— Feb 7, (2008) 11:20

I saw you smile today, like for real, in person. It was the most beautiful sight I've ever experienced. It made me feel like the most important thing in existence, it was perfect and for that moment, everything was okay, nothing mattered but you.

I didn't think I could love you more than I already did, I wasn't sure it was physically possible, and then I saw you, in person, in the town I've lived since I was 22, in the convention center I'd been so many times before.

With you sitting here the place feels important, this place is special. You're right here, right now and I've never been so happy.

I'm so nervous, but I'm happy, I mean you're here, this is all real, and god you so much more than perfect.

I can tell you really love DnD because the second I walked into the hall, I saw you were smiling.

This is honestly just a room full of nerds but that's cool, everyone's happy to be here, and I’d be the biggest liar if I said I wasn’t a nerd.

Y/n L/n— Feb 7, (2008) 19:50

I spoke to you, it took way too long, longer than I'd like to admit, but I did it.

I hugged you today, I made you smile. I wanted to kiss you, properly. I was too nervous though, I was scared. (Touches are scary enough as just a thought!) I also knew that if I kissed you it'd just make us both even more upset about being apart again. I'm so glad I got to spend almost half of the day with you, it was amazing.

We sang together and I've never felt so comfortable than in those moments, reciting poetry with you was probably the best part of my day aside from you kissing me . We also laughed together a lot and you let me lay on your shoulder, I almost fell asleep twice. It was really nice, just being with you, even though we weren't even close enough to touch each other most of the time.

I can't wait to see you again, I might count the days!

Y/n L/n— Feb 8, (2008) 01:33

I have to admit, when I first caught a glimpse of you, I only saw your hair.

The back of your head from maybe thirty feet away.

I saw your hair, and everything slowed down, I moved forward, I can't remember how fast- that part's a bit of a blur- I got closer and my whole body froze up, maybe I was still a little cold, but I couldn't bring myself to move, kind of glad my scarf covered half of my face. I watched, seeing more and more of you as time passed, just small glimpses of your adorable face, and it felt like every part of my body was on fire.

My heart was racing and I couldn't believe it, this was real, I was real, you were real and we were mere seconds away from each other, finally.

I turned around and walked out - I was overheating in my sweater – and I came back to keep watching you. This was around the time you, I think, actually noticed me, but you weren't the only one. They knew I was looking for you - well, looking at you, really. They asked questions and I gave half-witted, half-baked responses, still watching you then you looked at me, you smiled. My heart stopped and for a moment, I thought you'd killed me, with your stunning looks, obviously. I smiled back when I was finally self aware again, and the next thing I know, I'm sitting two feet away from you, and shaking.

Y/n L/n— Feb 8, (2008) 20:20

I'm starting to think I'm obsessed with you, that I'm addicted to you, anyway. That’s a bit of a problem, I’ve told you about Dilaudid so you understand why.

You asked me to sit with you and your party, I had already decided that I wanted to, and I was going to try to, I had just really wanted to be close to you, I wanted to touch you, you were so close but so fucking far.

I wanted nothing more than for you to steal my first kiss, though I knew I wouldn't mind if you didn't, I'm an impatient person, I'm perfectly okay going your speed, whatever that may be. I will say honestly, it wouldn’t be my first kiss. My true first kiss was in a pool, truly against my will. I’ve erased what I can from that and will regard the first time my lips are on yours as my first kiss.

I didn’t just end up with your party, I was a part of it. I played your character (bee-da), and I used the dice set you gave me. I was excited but I also felt the fatigue setting in. I started shifting closer to you, moving my body closer to yours. I fought to hold in a whine when you'd move in your seat, making it a bit harder for me to do what I was trying to do.

I offered you a hug, it was kind of selfish, I was truly asking more for myself than I'd like to admit. You said yes and I felt the weight on my heart disappear. I hugged you and I felt okay. It's a feeling I'd sacrifice my life to feel again. I laid my head on your shoulder and I felt you shift for me, you made sure I was comfortable, I'm not sure if you even realized you'd done it.

I was only growing more tired as the afternoon continued, I knew why (I hadn't been eating, at all, really) but I wasn't going to tell you. I began to doze off a few times, it was difficult trying to stay awake while feeling more comfortable and safe than ever before.

I just wanted you.

All I want is you

All I've wanted for a while now, is you

I want you so badly. In so many ways.

Y/n L/n— Feb 9, (2008) 08:08

I love you

The words I felt on the tip of my tongue for hours before I actually said them to you. I really wanted to, I wanted to sit next to you, mumble 'I love you' so quietly that it was just for your ears and kiss you, so that everyone saw. I didn't and I'm kind of upset with myself but I didn't want you to be uncomfortable, you'd just said you were so nervous.

I watched you eat, you didn't seem to eat much so I hoped you'd been eating before I got back. I wanted right then as we sat across from each other to announce it, so all of your friends could hear (or at least some), and say 'i love you'. I didn't, I was scared, I was nervous, of making you uncomfortable.

When I sat next to you, I still wanted to say it, I wanted to sing it, to shout it, anything and everything I could to show you just how much I love you. I tried to force the words out, they wouldn't come and for the first time in a while, I was upset with my anxiety. I kept looking at you and glancing at you, hoping it wasn't obvious that I was so upset. I want to smash my head into the table but I knew you'd notice that.

When I finally said 'I love you' the satisfaction was so great, it's indescribable. You said it back and I felt so good, I don't know why it felt so different feeling you say it, right next to me, but it was. I wanted to keep saying it, 'I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you' I didn't, I was scared to annoy you.

I wanted to kiss you, so many times that day, that still perfect day. When I first saw you, part of me wanted to run over and pull you into my arms and kiss you. I didn't, I didn't want to be the one to make a scene. I wanted to call out to you, I wanted to shout, "Y/n!" I wanted you to see me, to hear me, but I chose to wait.

When I was sitting near you, I wanted to turn around and press a kiss to the back of your head, I kept turning around, trying to force myself to do it. I never did. When we were centimeters away from each other, I wanted to press a kiss to your cheek, to your neck, your nose, your lips. I was scared of someone seeing at that point. I was kind of scared of your friends, that's why I didn't talk much.

I wanted to be closer to you, I was already so close, I was touching you for half of the day, but I wanted to be closer, I couldn't help it, I was seeing you in person for the first time, you're even prettier in person, and you smelled so nice and it felt so familiar already even though I had never experienced anything like it.

I wanted you. I still do, I always do, you're just so perfect, how could I not?

Y/n L/n— Feb 9, (2008) 09:47

You pulled my hair, I'd really wanted you to do it again. I– I had to bite my lip or I'd have definitely let out a sound, I honestly wasn't prepared for that and becoming- in front of your friends was not on my agenda, actually.

I can still feel it, the sensation of your hands reaching into my hair to run through it and tugging, I loved that feeling. And I would walk a hundred (and twenty) miles to feel it again, among everything else, I hope you know that.

Y/n L/n— Feb 9, (2008) 11:15

I love you so much it hurts.

I love you so much that it brings me physical pain to think about the fact that I can't touch you, the fact that I can't kiss you, the fact that I can't run my hands through your hair when I can't sleep at night.

It hurts a lot, but I know my patience and my pain will be worthwhile once I can do it. When I can once again see your eyes gleam with a perfect kind of joy, when I can hold you, my arms around you, and yours around me.

I swear to the gods, as soon as I'm able I'm going to see you again, nothing will stop me, I will fight anything standing in my way.

I love you so much it hurts. It's a pain that'll make me stronger. I'm okay with that.

Y/n L/n— Feb 9, (2008) 14:45

This one’s a little different. I’m sorry

When Morgan called me to say we had a case, I got upset, he knew how excited I had been to be able to see you. I wanted to yell at him and I almost did, then I remembered where I was, and who was around me. A bunch of people who didn’t deserve to watch/listen to me have a mental breakdown down on the phone, so instead of arguing, for your sake, I just agreed.

I wanted to run out there and scream at him, but I knew I wasn't thinking. i was letting my emotions take over, so i didn’t. I went back and hugged you, one last time. I wanted to cry because I knew it wouldn’t last long enough. I wanted so badly to stay there and tell my mentor to fuck off, I didn’t. Maybe I should’ve.

When I got back to my city, to my place of work, I just sat at my desk until we left for the airport. I didn’t even change. I’m surprised I didn't start crying. The relief I had felt from seeing you was gone and left behind was a frustration and want that had to have been tangible. I kept writing my next letter to you because it was my only comfort other than the lingering feeling of your presence and the memory of your scent. I ended up falling asleep on the jet, I can't remember when, I was too upset.

I woke up, some part of me expecting to be somewhere else, I just wanted to recover from the nightmare I’d had- I don’t know why it happened but it did and I wanted to cry, it felt disgustingly real. I just wanted someone to comfort me and tell me everything’s okay and that I’m safe. But I don’t have that. I’m sorry, the highlight of my day today has been writing to you and reading what you wrote.

Y/n L/n— Feb 9, (2008) 15:45

I’m so scattered right now, but I think about you and I feel okay. You’re not really just my tomorrow anymore. You are my today and my tomorrow, you have been the entire time, I’m just blind.. You’re my forever, and I love that. I keep getting lost in my thoughts thinking about you, damn, imagine if you were next to me, I couldn't possibly stay on track doing anything, you’re such a distraction. I love you.

Y/n L/n— Feb 10, (2008) 09:10

I have yet to actually tell you this and I feel kind of bad you're finding out this way but it's also the reason why I haven't told you about it.

A few weeks ago, my attacks had gotten worse and I've been fighting nightmares almost nightly.

Friday, I was really fucking nervous, I was partially convinced that you'd hate me when you saw me, you didn't though, that was relieving. I was literally shaking, I was terrified. When you said hi, as awkward as it felt and was, it made me feel less anxious. I felt bad when I left because I didn't want you to think I wasn't coming back.

I was trying really hard to seem like I wasn't about to cry but I was so anxious and I felt like it wasn't working. You didn't ask so I told myself it was fine, eventually, I was alright, it was really calming just being around you, and I liked that a lot.

I love you lots and I really hope I can come to see you on your birthday. If there is a case, I will see you as soon as I can.

Y/n L/n— Feb 10, (2008) 12:12

I had a dream

I'm glad I had it, it was nice.

I remember as I fell asleep I wished for the warmth and comfort of another human, specifically you, because I decided if I had to overheat I wanted it to be because I had my favorite person next to me. I was kinda disappointed in the gods when I woke up and you weren't there though.

I was dreaming that we were together, I've no clue where we were but we were in a bed, cuddling. I have no idea what led up to this moment, but I don't think I need to know. Your arms were around me, your hair was in my face and I could feel you breathing. It was amazing, you were talking to me, I can't remember everything you said, but there were a lot of 'I love you's and it was perfect. It was soft and warm and quiet and peaceful.

I can't wait for it to come true.

Y/n L/n— Feb 11, (2008) 19:22

When I was little, I wanted everything in my life to be big, beautiful and expensive. I wanted the perfect girlfriend (or boyfriend, I didn't care), a huge wedding, and a big family. So much has changed since then.

All I want now, is to be alive and happy with my better half, my soulmate, my perfect match. Whether that means listening to the stomping of small children early on a Saturday morning, being woken up by an impatient animal, or sleeping all day because it's just us, I want that happy, I want that calm, I want that perfect.

I want weird dates and long drives for no reason. I want stupid jokes and petty arguments. I want movie nights and warm cuddles. I want everything-

with you

All of these things are things I can't imagine experiencing with someone that isn't you. Whether it's waking up late and rushing to get ready (so cliche), arguing over what to make for dinner or saying our vows in front of everyone we love, I have to do it with you.

I don't want to imagine a world where we aren't us (regardless of who 'we' are), because that world isn't right, but this one is.

I like us. I like us a lot.

Y/n L/n— Feb 12, (2008) 09:04

My sweater still kinda smells like you. I'm wearing it today and I've just noticed. It's fading even as I type this and I don't think it'll last all day but it's comforting nonetheless. I hadn't touched it since Friday so it's lasted almost a week. I'm secretly so happy your scent has lingered, it's soft and warm and calming. (Like vanilla, you remind me of vanilla) I kinda hope I don't fall asleep at work.

Y/n L/n— Feb 12, (2008) 09:20

My mind is always buzzing– there's always so much happening, sometimes you can see it, in my eyes. There's one thing, only one, that's always on my mind.

You, Y/n L/n, you.

Even if I'm sitting doing work or if I'm reading, you're here and there and somewhere in my mind.

Sometimes you're the only thing I can think about, your soft hair, and eyes that shine so fucking bright; your warm smile and adorable laugh; your beautiful voice and perfect personality.

This is random but when you realized you were shorter than me you seemed so deflated and tried to stand on your tippy-toes and that was just precious. You had this look on your face and the way you laughed, the way your eyes lit up was just perfect.

Morgan says he’s going to New York in a few weeks. I've been asking if I could go with him because if I can't see you on your birthday, I want to at least see you again soon. And I don’t like driving. Or long train rides.

Tu fais battre mon coeur.

Y/n L/n— Feb 12 (2008) 15:30

It's only like two days away so I want to ask

Will you be my valentine?

Y/n L/n— Feb 12 (2008) 17:00

I've said some very bold things in just the past few months we've been together and I think I'm changing my mind about a few things.

I want to be a foster parent, just as much as I want my own children, because everyone deserves love.

I still don't want to try and adopt/foster babies, everyone does that, I want teens, kids who've spent years and the system because they need the most love.

I wanna know how you feel about that idea.

Y/n L/n— Feb 12 (2008) 17:12

I have a few things to say.

I was right, the smell definitely did not last all day, it was gone by lunch. The flannel still reminds me of that smell though, so it's okay.

I really hope you like long rants with no particular point because sometimes I start talking and forget how to stop, especially if I'm comfortable around someone.

I've had casual conversions with my mother about you on a few occasions. She loves you and says I should run up to you this minute and carry you to my apartment. I think I’m going to listen to her.

Y/n L/n— Feb 12, (2008) 18:18

This isn't directly about you but that doesn't really matter, right?

So Morgan.

He keeps calling me straight

And if he does it again.

I will kick him.

Just letting you know in case it happens and Hotch yells at me. I love you!

Y/n L/n— Feb 13 (2008) 02:40

I shouldn't be awake right now but I am. As I sit on my bed, I can't help but think about how, if we were together, in the same bed, you'd probably be awake too by now. You'd be asking me if I was okay, I think, and I tell you the truth because I'm so bad at lying, it isn't even worth the try. You probably comfort me, pulling me into your body, wrapping your arms around me and probably kissing me. Just the thought makes me feel a little better but it's not happening, you know? You're not sitting next to me, you aren't kissing me and whispering, "I'm right here, it's okay." because that isn't true.

I just woke up from a nightmare, I can confidently call this a nightmare for two reasons, so I will. I was kind of panicking when I woke up because I was so fucking scared, I couldn't breathe (in more ways than one) and I was crying. It's disgusting and I'm still upset.

Thinking about you being here vs. not, makes it clear that I need you, so fucking much, I need you, Y/n. I love you, and I need you and I want you. It's making me crazy that I can't even say this to you right now.

Tu es mon soleil.

Y/n L/n— Feb 14, (2008) 04:15

I know, I know, my sleep schedule is terrible, I'm sorry.

Happy Valentine's day, love, I'm so happy to be 'celebrating' with you, you're the best valentine and you're my valentine.

Thank you so much for (almost) five beautiful months, I love you so much and I am so excited for forever together.

Though, right now, more than anything, I want to kiss every single inch on your beautiful body, maybe even kiss them all two or three times.

I love your eyes. They shine as bright as stars.

I love your smile, the smile you had when you first noticed me is my favorite. Your lips, which I also love, part in a perfect kind of way and I love it.

I love your lips, the look of them, when you smile, when you're serious or when you frown; the feeling of them pressed to my skin, with the passion and feeling of your love for me. I love your lips, even if you don't.

I love your nose, it's adorable and I kind of want to kiss it; it's so adorable and I love that, you're so adorable.

I love your skin, the soft burning of it making contact with mine, the feeling when you touch me. I love everything about you, even the parts I don't know yet, I love even the idea of having the privilege of being able to love them.

So on this day of love, Y/n L/n, I love you so, so much, my heart is in your hands, do with it as you please.

Y/n L/n— Feb 14 (2008) 15:40

I like the name Y/n , I can't really explain why but I do. I really like the name Y/n.

I also like children more than I thought I would. I spent an hour at my JJ’s yesterday and my godson, Henry, he makes me think even more about having kids with you.

Y/n L/n— Feb 14 (2008) 15:55

You asked me what type of pretty you are.

You're the best kind of pretty, honestly.

You're the kind of pretty that makes my heart melt.

You're the kind of pretty that makes my chest feel tight (in a good way, of course).

You're the kind of pretty that makes a bad day amazing with just one look.

You're the kind of pretty that just makes the world seem less than terrible.

You're my favorite kind of pretty

Y/n L/n— Feb 14 (2008) 20:33

I should make this quick.

You are literally the most perfect part of my life, the only part of my life I hope never changes. You'd better be my forever because I can't ask for anyone better.

I'm stocking up on so many fucking hugs for you, I can not wait to hug you again, my body craves it.

I have to go now.

Y/n L/n— Feb 20 (2008) 11:25

I haven’t been writing much, but there’s so much I want to say, even though I can’t find the words. This is so difficult. I know so many languages and yet they’re all gone with one thought of you.

Y/n L/n, you have invaded every single part of my mind, I’m more than okay with that.

The problem arises with the fact that I can’t stand not having some type of contact with you. It just feels wrong and I’m overly anxious and paranoid.

Y/n L/n, having you in my life is a gift, and it’s the best gift I've ever gotten tbh.

My mind can’t fully recall the sound of your voice when you said ‘i love you’, or the sensation of your touch (your kisses and hugs, my head on your shoulder) but it’s there, and I hope it stays, long after this moment.

It’s kind of embarrassing to admit but sometimes the reason I keep going is the possibility of you, with me again, no matter how far away that event may be.

Y/n L/n— Feb 21 (2008) 22:25

I hope your polaroid camera starts to work soon because getting pictures from you is my favorite thing ever. Morgan said I should just give you my number, but I enjoy what we have. Our letters are more than enough.

Y/n L/n— Feb 21 (2008) 23:57

It's really late

I may or may not have had a little bit of alcohol.

You're really pretty!!!!!

I may or may not be about to drink more of the maybe alcohol...

Y/n L/n— Feb 22 (2008) 14:40

You sent me a CD. I put it in my player. I see you, you’re reading me The Little Prince because you said I need something to listen to to sleep. It's the best book I've ever heard and hearing you read it makes it so beautiful, every word, it's all perfect coming from your mouth, with your voice from your lips. I could listen for literally forever. Y/n L/n you are my today.

Y/n L/n— Mar 2 (2008) 22:55

I think about our future a lot. Usually it's good, sometimes it isn't. As with all things in life, there are details. Sometimes when I think about our future I'm only focusing on the things I know I want like, you next to me- with a ring on your finger and a smile on your face, or both of us, shopping and planning for a baby, obviously our first based off of how overly cautious we're being.

Anything like that, really.

Sometimes though, I think about what I don't know, like, where are we? what's our home look like? What are our future schedules and routines gonna look like? I know I'm overthinking (I always am) but I truly can't help it, it's something that just happens?

Y/n L/n— Mar 7 (2008) 13:11

I’m upset we haven’t been talking as much but that’s my fault, I knew what kind of commitment being an agent took, so I can’t really complain, I am sorry though. I think about you a lot though, sometimes it’s just ‘I hope Y/n’s okay’ ‘I hope Y/n’s smiling right now’ or something like that. Sometimes I just think about the sound of your voice, the feeling of your presence, or just you in general, you’re always there, always somewhere in my head, on my mind. If I’m not thinking about you, I’m probably not thinking at all.

Y/n L/n— Mar 7 (2008) 18:44

Before you, I had convinced myself that love didn't exist, it wasn't something I'd ever truly felt. I thought fate was bullshit and I hated the idea of soulmates because I believed I'd never find mine. That is, until I saw your face. At that point, you were nothing more than a polaroid photo, stimuli sent from my retinas to my optic nerve. But I felt something new. Something changed, I didn't feel as cold anymore.

Before I met you, I had convinced myself, naively, that I'd be alone forever, that I'd never meet anyone who would put up with me long enough to learn to love me. And then you waltzed into my life and changed everything. It was surreal, you were too-good-to-be-true and I was as ready as I could've been for heartbreak. What I did experience was nowhere near as horrible as the feeling I get at the thought of losing you now.

After I met you, I thought about it a lot, do soulmates exist? Until that point there'd only been one person I wished to be my soulmate (which was dumb, looking back now) but some part of me was drawn to you in a way I wasn't drawn to her. My feelings for you were different from my feelings for her.

When I'd convinced myself you'd never want me, I was hurt, I'd ever felt such pain, a deep physical pain, the kind you never forget. I guess it doesn't matter now, because that's in the past and I should move on.

I have you now, and god, I've never been so happy. You, Y/n L/n, are my soulmate and I'm so glad that we were made for each other. I couldn't ask for a better partner, future spouse, or soulmate. You are my everything and you give me purpose. You are my purpose.

Y/n L/n— Mar 9 (2008) 7:45

I couldn't sleep last night, I was thinking about you and it kept me awake, I think. I tried distracting myself but I kept finding you everywhere. At that point, I just let it happen and eventually fell asleep.

I'm angry, angry that I don't get to see you, because god I love seeing your face (you are literally so fucking pretty) and I love being near you in general.

I'm scared, scared that I won't be able to see you, even when I physically can. I don't know why I just, I hate the thought but it won't go away, I just want to hug you.

Y/n L/n— Mar 23 23:47 (2008)

It’s been a while since I did this- tomorrow’s your birthday and I’m pissed because I won’t get to see you, I can’t wish you happy birthday in person, shit I don’t know if I’ll be able to wish you happy birthday at all but that’s a whole other thing. Anyway, (here’s hoping you see this on your actual birthday-) HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Things might now be great right now but you’ve been alive for all this time and god I’m so proud of you for being so strong. You are amazing and I’m so happy I know you, I hope you’re birthday is fucking awesome, if not, I guess I’ll have no choice but to do everything I possibly can to make it better. I love you, Y/n L/n.

That’s it. The decision has been made for me. I just got a call, see you in New York.

(it just turned midnight, happy birthday)

Y/n L/n— Mar 24 (2008) 21:32

I only saw you for a few hours but again it was perfect. Before I left I made up my mind to do something. Turning around I ran back to your door. You opened it up and were so confused but I didn’t care. My hands cupped your cheeks and I kissed you. I kissed you 15 more times after, and then I left for my hotel room. I left something behind though - it was on purpose - slung on your couch is my cardigan. I want you to wear it and think of me.

Y/n L/n— Mar 29 (2008) 09:48

I'm not good with my words, shocking seeing as I'm a genius but it's true. I am terrible with my words, especially when it comes to you I just, my mind goes blank and I can't even form partially coherent sentences. That's probably why I suck at talking to you, I just can't think around you, I think it's because you're so perfect, I mean, it's true and it makes sense.

I got your letter today. You’re moving to DC. I don’t think I’ve ever been more crazed or excited. Everyone’s noticed it. I love you.

Y/n L/n— February 7th, (2020) 20:28

I stopped doing this when you moved to me. Everything that could have been written was said to you.

You're different. You're changing.

It's not a bad thing, it was inevitable; I'm far from the person I was three years ago. I'm just awful about adjusting to changes.

I like that you're different, it shows you're discovering yourself, you're turning out. Your changing as a person won't change how I feel about you because no matter what, you are so much greater than the sum of your parts and I think that's beautiful. I think you're beautiful.

I could never tire of you, as cliché as it is, I fall in love with you over and over everyday. I fall in love with every new and old part of you, because they're all so perfect.

I'd be lying (a terrible lie, might I add) if I said I wasn't thinking about you every moment of every day. I'm constantly thinking of you; Maybe wishing we were together, maybe wondering if you're thinking about me too, maybe hoping you're doing okay, maybe imagining our tomorrows, maybe thinking about your smile and how it shines brighter than any and every existing light source.

I rambled, yikes.

There’s something I want to ask and it’s years overdue (sorry.) After prison I found this and two years later I know what I want to do with it. I’m giving it to you, I’m fully giving my heart to you.

Look up, bumblebee. I’m waiting.

part two

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon back with ANGST at the very last question on part 2. Im honestly not positive myself how im gonna fix it. I have ideas but still. Hopefully this isn't to long.

Rans life at Mizu: For Mizu I've changed it a bit, history is still messed up to a point. But other people like Technoblade, Philza, Sam, Foolish, etc are now included with their own rooms. Ran idolized/choose Technoblade to follow. Followers of Technoblade are the only people in the City (expect for guards or police type people, though they also tend to be followers of Techno) that are allowed to freely carry weapons (after the proper training of course). Ran choose Technoblade because he wanted to protect those he loved and he was always interested in the art of fighting. He had two mentors, a women named Alma, she mostly did hand to hand combat and defense training with Ran, while a man named Fermin was a historical teacher, and taught him the history of wars and weapons more indepth than regular classes did. He had quite a few friends, though only a few close friends he often went to play games with or have sleepovers with (if you want angst, Ran was actually the one who discovered two of his friends bodies and had to report them, forcing him to go back a few times to see their bodies). Im pretty sure I mentioned it before but the brothers had a family of 6! Their mom was Ranya and was a 20% enderman hybrid, their dad was Seth and was a normal human, of course you know the brothers, their younger brother (14 years old upon death/a year younger than Ran) was named Lias and was human, and their younger sister was Memi (10 years old upon death) and was human. Ran was close to his parents, often having Ranya read him to bed and riding Seth's shoulders when he was young. He also baby sat Lias and Memi when everyone else was out, also helping them with homework and letting them sleep in his bed when nightmares happened. He loved his family and its when the murders and sabotages started happening did he choose Technoblade as his idol, to protect his family and seem intimating to whoever was doing the sabotages. 

1: When the carriage finally stopped Cletus jumped out and faceplanted onto the ground, screaming about how he was finally free and away from all the awkward tension. Grievous, Jackie, and Isaac where all close behind, all having a similar reaction. While Watson, Charles, and Benjamin had a calmer reaction simply walking out and stretching. Ran was the last to get out, and he had to be dragged out by Watson, but he fought being dragged out. He grabbed the edges of the carriage and screamed while being forced out. Ranbob was calmer, and while jumping out he accidentally landed on Grievous, forcing his head back into the dirt, who then let out a muffled shout of alarm before immediately getting up and confronting a nervous and apologetic Ranbob. 

3: He isn't the fastest at evaluating a situation, and needs ample time to make decisions. He also isnt the best at understanding emotions at times and sometimes needs a little push in a direction to understand. Also at points he gets into situations he doesnt know how to handle at all, at those times he almost shuts down with overwhelment, and the leadership tends to go to Benjamin for a while during it. 

5: Their healing potions, so they work over time, slowly working with the body to heal and regenerate, so they take longer to fully work. Poitions work generally the same (ingredient wise), but theres more steps. For a potion of harming, first you crush up and gently mix in a spiders eye into a Awkward potion, then put it on the brewing stand for 10 minutes, then after the Poison potion is made, you get another spider eye and roll it in sugar cane until the general texture changes into a more wrinkly and powder like texture, then crush that up and mix it into the Poison potion, put it in the brewing stand for at least 30 minutes, then it makes a harming potion. The process its generally the same for all the rest of the potions, though it depends on ingredients and how long they must stand on the brewing stand. 

7: I'll try doing that, thank you! Cause Grievous is a lil shit at times and encourages  violence as long as its not against him. I know you probably expect a deep answer but thats purely the only reason Grievous encourages it. It depends on what was said to Jackie, if its something that deeply and emotionally hurts Jackie, than he'd likely discourage him, instead comforting him and convincing him if he attacked the person he'll just feel worse. But if its something he knows Jackie can handle, he'll encourage Jackie to beat em up. 

8: Watson went almost everywhere, the only places he didn't go was The End, Mushroom Islands, Badlands, Ice Spikes, and Gravel Mountains (he saw them he just didn't wanna go in them), and thats because he never came across them or traveled there. He has a long bamboo that he uses to wack people over the head with when their being idiots, he has a framed nether star fragment that he found in a ruined and abandoned village (he doesnt know what it is he just knows its shiny and cool), he has some fur-lined outfits from the time spent in Tundras, and he has a book where he records locations of interesting formations he found and just a general record of stuff (how much food he has, the season, days until winter, when he should go on a supply run, etc). When Watson still lived as a kid in a village, he often went to watch the blacksmith (also the farmers, clerics, and others) and when he was old enough the blacksmith showed him how to make a multitude of weapons with different materials. And now he pushes the limits of what he's learned from that and over the years to make brand new weapons. And since I'm not sure if you where also asking about Ran, Ran only went to Plains, Covered Forest, Tundra, Savanna, and Tagia biomes. He has a dagger (specifically a Zorlin Shape dagger) that he took off of a hunter when he killed them, has parts of iron armour (shoulder and chest pieces, with the pieces that go on his shins), again some fur-lined clothes from his time in the Tundra, a selfbow, and also has a book similar to Watson's, but his has notes of potion affects,crafting recipes, mobs to avoid, etc. Visiting the nether is not common at all! Infact no vists it expect travelers or people who get hired to go in for potion ingredients and building supplies. Jackie does eventually give up painting, and instead picks up the hobby of annoying people and just training. It actually goes pretty well, there are rules put in place during it to protect them, but other than that its generally the same as the one played in our world. Jackie wants to vist those biomes because he thinks there cool, and thinks their good starting biomes to vist for a beginner adventure. Yep, Ran says its way to dangerous to go to the nether, especially with almost no one knowing how the nether works. Though actually Watson wants to bring the others into the nether, saying its a good learning experience and no one will learn how to survive if they dont go. Ran still agures its too dangerous though, citing the Piglins and Ghasts as evidence, but eventually, after much begging and negotiations, Ran agrees to let them go. They just need to listen to Ran and Watson teach them about the nether and follow everything they say to a T while in the nether. 

9: Jackie screamed while being thrown, but after that and a bit of stunned silence, he jumped up and demanded for Ran to throw him again. So he enjoys being thrown, and sometimes he specifically requests to be thrown, so he can curl into a ball and slam into people like a goddamn canon ball. Porkius was also shocked into stunned silence, but after he saw Jackie get back up and demand to be thrown again, he just started bellowing in laughter, you could hear his laughter even echoing a bit outside of the Pit. 

10: Then you may be happy to know, but I believe at the end I'll make it so after the brothers have fixed their relationship, their still being haunted by Dream, and eventually the decision gets made to go back to Mizu and face him. Where Dream has actually escaped (Due to a big group coming in, and him being able to convince them to take the Mask with them) so now they have to hunt him down. And when they finally find him you can bet someone (or multiple people) are going to punch him. 

12: He does tell the fishermen about these thoughts once, but the fishermen sadly fail at comforting him and changing those thoughts, so he decides to keep it inside and suffer in quite. Though 2 people do see his suffering, Ran and Grievous. Grievous is debating if he should step in and ask what's wrong and if he can help, while Ran just watches (though he does feel some hurt watching his brother suffer, though he denies it). 

13: They all had a blast there, Charles showed Jackie how to make flower crowns, then they went and made one for everyone else, Ran just laid in the grass and tried to relax, Ranbob eventually joined in with the flower crowns, Watson was telling Grievous all the meaning of flower colors and what certain flowers stand for, while Isaac and Cletus chased eachother around and eventually got Jackie, Grievous, and Watson involved in a game of chase. They did leave after a General battle, as that was one of the things they had to do for Porkius to approve of them leaving. Porkius still wants them back in less than 5 years, though they can take like a year or 2 longer max. Jackie is technically a general, though the general title he has is specifically only for the Pit matches and instead is more of a like final boss title. 

14: Again its very much like a abusive relationship. Ranbob believes Dream has changed because of distant whispers from Dream (only happened while they still lived at the fishermen house which is kinda-close to Mizu) promising he has changed and he truly wants to help Ranbob, and saying how he can help Ranbob be of more use to the fishermen and since Dream did actually help Ranbob at first, he wants to believe him. But once they get futher away from Mizu, the whispers disappear, only rarely appearing in his dreams. Cletus doesn't really help, not because he doesnt care but more because he doesn't know how to help, he knows its a very delicate situation and saying or doing the wrong thing could hurt more than help, so he decided to play it safe. Charles tries to help, though he provides more physical help, like hugs to ground him or showing him how to breath again, while Benjamin and Isaac tackle the more internal issues and do so comfortingly and gently. Making it so Ranbob only notices their actually helping when he starts to do things on his own and no longer has such strong and often urges to return to Dream. 

15: One night when Ranbob is off getting firewood and Ran is off checking surroundings to make sure its safe, the Hunters actually get into the camp and holds everyone at sword and bow point. Ran sees them when coming back and actually, though hesitantly, decides to wait for Ranbob to come back. And once Ranbob is back the two make a plan to rescue them, which goes mostly well. Ran gets shot in the stomach and Ranbob gets a sword through his arm, but other than that they do manage to rescue them. Watson jokingly says how they've finally made progress and that they can now work toghere without fighting now, Ran growls at this and storms away, denying it, but Ranbob just nervously shuffles and sits down, letting Charles tend to his wounds, as Jackie chases off after Ran to tend to his wounds. I really want them to stumble across the Wild West ruins and maybe The Masquerade ruins but im not sure how I'll get them to either. 

1: Haha, ouch. Poor Ran. Nice backstory though. I can only imagine how he must have felt, coming across those. Does him choosing Techno have anything to do with him choosing to enter the Pit? Also how did Ranbob feel about killing his family? We’ve talked about the guilt about hurting Ran and stuff, but about the ones who weren’t as lucky to escape?

2: That sounds like...a scene. Funny, but probably not until a few days after it happened for the people who actually had to go through it.

3: Is Isaac the type to get overwhelmed easily? But very nice to see Benjamin helping out! 

5: So basically just tossing some real life logic in there? Hmm, interesting.

7: Hope it helps! Nope, no deep answer. That’s about what I expected actually. Grievous has that energy, y’know? Also, very sweet of Ran to comfort Jackie. Does he ever get revenge on Jackie’s behalf? He doesn’t strike me as the type to let that go, especially if it actually hurt somebody he cared for. Him otherwise encouraging it..yeah, sounds about right. Gremlin children.

8: Sounds like he’s really been a lot of places! He must know a lot, huh? Also, he just...wack? Cause that’s kind of funny. He watched others beside the Blacksmith? Did he learn anything from them? Ran personally sounds very intimidating. Though if he has potion notes, does he often make them? Is there a particular reason Nether travel is no longer common? Also, would the gang ever happen to stumble across ruins from the time of the Smp? Cause that’d be kind of cool. Jackie’s new hobby sounds very nice, I hope he has fun doing it. How long does it take before Ran deems everyone ready for the Nether? And do the Fishermen also go through, or do they prefer to stick to safer grounds?

9: I bet the first time the fishermen saw that show they were surprised. And honestly, Porkius, I’d laugh too. 

10: I am happy to know that! Well, not the escape bit, but the punching, for sure! You go, guys, punch that neon green slimeball!

12: Oh no. Does Grievous ever step in?

13: Sounds like they had a good time, I’m happy for them. And a final boss title? Is Jackie like a final boss? What differs between them fighting as the general, and as a typical gladiator?

14: Hm, that’s not good. What is good is that he’s getting away from Dream’s influence. Did that have anything to do with the group deciding to head to Subbin? 

15: Well, progress is progress! Surely it’s a step in the right direction, right?

Also, not really a Brothers AU question, but as you may have noticed, I pinned a post of all the AUs on here, and I was wondering if you’d like me to put yours on there too. Obviously, I’d put it as yours. I wanted to earlier, but I figured it would be better to ask, so tell me your feelings on that.

[tumbling-odyssey]

Games I played in 2020

Just felt like getting my thoughts out on all the games I played this year. I’ve been wanting to do something like this for years but I always let it pass me by. Well not this year! Fuck you laziness! 

I played the first half in 2019 but finished it in 2020 so I guess I'll count it. DQ11 was my intro to Dragon Quest and what a good starting point. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best traditional JRPGs on the market. Characters, story, combat, it all clicks in just the right way to make a flawless game... until the end credits roll that is. 

I have no idea what happened with the post game but by god does it dive off a cliff. It undermines everything you worked to do in the main plot. The characters act brain dead and it shamelessly reuses events from the main game. Please pick up and play DQ11 but for the love of god just stop when the credits roll.

Doom is a game I knew I'd like. The heavy metal ascetic and soundtrack were right up my alley, but I just never found the time. With Eternal on the way though and having found it on the cheap at a pawn shop I figured there was no time like the present. Needless to say but I was right. I loved everything about this game. The thrill of combat, the screech of the guitars, and the silent take no shit attitude of Doomguy. Make no mistake though, I SUCK at this game. I played on easy but still got my ass handed to me on the regular. But I don't care, I was having way to much fun.

I flipped my shit when this game got leaked at the tail end of 2019. Zero 3 is my all time favourite game. To celebrate this getting announced I went and 100% Zero 3 as I hadn't done it on my current cart, and Zero 3 was still the first thing I played when I got this collection! I love that game to death and I’m glad to have it on modern consoles again. As I was under a bit of time crunch with other games releasing soon I only played 2 other games in the collection Zero 4 and ZX Advent. Until the DS collection those and 3 were the only Zero/ZX games I had so I have a lot of nostalgia for them. 

Zero 4 hold ups better then I remember. Not as good as 3 but a damn solid game with tweaks I honestly wish hit the series before its end. I remember having issues with the stage design and ya it’s not perfect, but it’s far from as bad as I thought. For ZXA this was the first time I beat the game on normal difficulty. For some reason the ZX games have always given me more trouble than the Zero games, so finally beating one on normal was very exciting. Maybe I can now finally go and beat ZX for the first time...

The Mystery Dungeon series rising from the depth to punch all those unexpecting in the face was a very welcome surprise. I had a lot of hype going into this one as I have very fond memories of my time with Red Rescue Team and even more with Explorers of Darkness. And the game lived up to it! The remastered music is great and crazy nostalgic, the 3D models are well used and don't feel as stiff as they do in the core series, and the QOL changes are near perfect... So why did I drop this game like a rock once I finished the main quest? 

Anyone familiar with Mystery Dungeon will know that the post game is the real meat of it. The story is short and all the really cool shit comes in after it's done. But I just couldn't bring myself to put more time in after I finished said story mode. I'm definitely chocking that up to me just not being in the mood then an issue with the game. Here's hoping we get an Explorers DX sometime soon. That will fucking hook me for all it's got.

Second verse same as the first. I loved this game and sucked at it horribly. Out of all the games I've played this year Doom Eternal is the one I want to go back to the most. I was not the hugest fan of some of the changes made and retained a stance that I liked 2016 better. First person platforming has never been a fun experience in my opinion and Eternal did little to change that. And I know this a lukewarm take at best but fuck Marauders!. They are so unfun to fight and ruin the pace. The Marauder in the last mook wave took me so long I was worried I wouldn’t be able to finish the game. But the more I've seen of Eternal after my playthrough makes me think I was being far to harsh. I haven't played the DLC yet either. Mostly cuss I haven't heard great things about it. Gonna wait for the rest of it to come out to see if it's worth getting. Might just replay to whole game at that point to see if it clicks with me better.

This was my second favourite game of the year, and was going to take the top slot until a certain other game came out. Addressing the elephant in room right away, I hated the ending. But I was expecting something like that, I think we all were. I won't let the ending ruin the rest of the game though. Not gonna let 1 segment colour everything that came before it. We have to see how the later parts play out to truly see if this ending was trash or not anyway. 

It took Square over a decade but they finally got an action RPG battle system that works and feels good to play. This may be my favourite battle system in an RPG period honestly. All four characters are a blast and it only gets better the more time you spend with it. Figuring out the nuances of each character’s skills and how to combine them not only with the skills of the others but how to enhance them with the right Materia set. This makes fights thrilling and satisfying when you finally best whatever was giving you trouble. Tis was the best way to bring 7′s mechanics into the modern landscape while also fixing the BIGGEST issue the OG had. The fact every character feels the same aside from Limit Breaks. 

All this on top of graphics that just look fucking stunning, a few glitched out doors aside. Fuck I still feel blown away looking at the characters models (mostly Tifa) and see how god damn pretty everyone is. Also Tifa’s Chinese dress is gift from the Gods and I still haven’t picked my jaw up from the floor after I first saw it.

In my circle of the internet there was a lot of hype for this game. So much so that I ended up buying it to see what all the hubbub was about. I had never played a Streets of Rage game before and my only experience with beat'em ups was playing a LOT of Scott Pilgrim and last year's River City Girls. Turns out Streets of Rage plays quite a bit different and it kicked my ass! So sadly I had to switch to easy to make it through but I still had a fun time with it. 

I started playing mostly as Blaze but once Adam hit the scene oooooh fucking boy. I didn’t play anyone else. There's a deceptive amount of content in this game. You can unlock almost every character from the previous games and all of them rocking their original sprites and moves. If I had more of a connection with this series I'm sure I would have gone nuts on unlocking everything. I stopped after my one playthrough and I was happy with that. Always glad to support a long overdue franchise revival.

To properly talk about P5R I think I need to air a lot of my feelings on the original game and the importance it has to me. You see, prior to 2017 I barely played games, only sticking to specific franchises. AKA Pokemon and Mega Man/Mega Man like games. Until 2016 though I still bought a lot of games. Eating up Steam sales and deals I found at pawn shops. This lead to a Steam library and shelf filled with games I've never touched outside of maybe an hour or 2. So in 2016 when I took interest in the newly released Kirby Planet Robobot I made a deal with myself. I could get the game but I HAD to beat it.  And I did just that, gaining not just a new fav Kirby game but a new rule for game purchases. If I knew I wouldn't beat a game I was not aloud to buy it. Now what does ANY of this have to do with P5 you may ask? Well... almost everything.

 I was immediately interested in P5 when it hit the west in 2017. I loved the 20 or so hours I but into P3 years ago and really liked the P4 anime I had watched around the same time. So of course with all the hype around it I wanted to dive into the series full force with P5. But I knew myself. Putting over 100 hours into a game was beyond me and I had a weird relationship with home console games as I was predominately a handheld gamer. Add in the fact I didn't even have a PS4 and I was convinced P5 would be something I always wanted to play, but never would. So when I went to the mall with a few friends and they showed me that P5 had a PS3 version, I had a dilemma on my hands. I knew I wanted to play it and I now had a way to do so. But doing that would require me to change 2 HUGE hang ups I had with games. Would I being willing to waste 60 bucks with so much working against me? Apparently I was. I immediately started going to town on this game. Making sure I spent no less then 2 hours a day playing NO MATTER WHAT. Which may not seem like a lot but it was to me... at the time.. I also had just moved to my current house, so coming home from my still relatively new job and going straight into P5 was the first real routine I formed during this heavily transitional part of my life. 

I of course ended up loving P5 and put 200 hours into it. As such my outlook on gaming was forever changed. Console games were no longer out of reach and I knew I could handle playing monster length game. I started playing way more games then I ever did before and trying out generas I never thought I would play. P5 is the main reason for this and why I'm able to make a post like this. To actually touch on Royal though? It's unarguably the better version of the game and Atlus learned all the right lessons from P4G. The new characters are great and the added section at the end is possibly the best shit Atlus has ever written. I only wish Yoshizawa joined the party sooner so I could play as her more. 

The release of this really came out of nowhere huh? Wayforward announced it was being made mid way through 2019, then there was its weird half release on the Apple store... and then suddenly it was out! Very little fanfare for this one. Is that indicative of the games quality? Luckily no. Seven Sirens is a solid addition to the series and follows up Half Genies Hero nicely. The game goes back to Shantae's Metroidvania roots and makes a TON of improvements. 

Transformations are now instant instead of having to dance for them (don't worry dancing is still in the game) making the game feel more like Pirates Curse in its fast flow. They also added the Monster Cards which take heavy inspiration from Aria of Sorrow's Soul system. A feature I'm happy to see in any Metroidvania since Aria is one of my all time favourite games. Sadly though the game does not take the best advantage of these improvements. 

Over all the game feels kinda empty. The dungeons aren't super exciting to explore nor are they challenging in any way. And the plot is very repetitive, with each dungeon repeating the same beats. Really this game feels more like set up for a better game down the line. The mechanics are all here and Wayforward has a solid art style with the sprites from Half Genie Hero. Hopefully they capitalizes on this for Shantae 6 and we get the best game in the series.

While it may not have been the most thrilling game, Seven Sirens really put me into a Shantae mood. So much so that I went back to play the 2 games in the series I had never touched. This being the first game and Risky's Revenge. Shantae 1 really is a hidden gem in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, it's the definition of jank, but there's a lot of heart to this game. The sprites are great, the soundtrack is good, and the characters are funny... but it's still on the OG Gameboy and that's a massive hindrance for any game. I'm hard pressed to recommend this with how poorly its aged but I think it's better then it looks. 

Risky's Revenge on the other hand was a game that shocked me by how little it had to offer. I know this game went through a hellish development and what we got was far from what Wayforward planned to make, but it's hard to imagine a world where this was the technical BEST Shantae game. It's not a bad game by any stretch... just a boring one.

For the record my ranking of the games goes Pirates Curse>Half Genie Hero>Seven Sirens>Original>Risky’s Revenge

Sword and Shield are mediocre games at best. I know, real steaming hot take there. I managed to make my Sword playthrough a lot more fun by not spoiling myself on the new Pokemon designs for the first time since Gen 3. Either way, I enjoyed myself enough that I didn't mind playing more of it with these DLC campaigns. Plus I love the idea of Game Freak switching over to this method as apposed to making a third version, so I wanted to support it. 

Klara is a fucking top tier Poke Girl both in design and personality and is probably the highlight of Isle of Armour. GF actually went out of their way to give her multiple expressions to sell her toxic bitch personality and I love every minute of it. She sadly drifts into the background for the second half of the DLC’s story which hurts an already rough section even more. Not more then having to grind Kubfuu all the way to fucking level 70 though! That put a serious hamper on my motivation to finish the story but I pushed through anyway. Having to solo the tower with Kubfuu was at least a fun challenge though, as was the final fight with Mustard. Fuck the Diglett hunt though. Ain’t no one got time for that.

Crown Tundra may be my fav of the 2 though even if there isn't a character as good as Klara in it. The hunt for the legendaries was just pure adventure and I had a fucking blast doing it. The joy I felt when I figured out Registeel’s puzzle put a smile on my face unlike any Pokemon game since I was a kid. The whole Regi stuff was honestly a nice Nostalgia trip to my times with Emerald. The story around Calyrex was enjoyable, even if I still hate its design. Not revealing the horses before release was a good call to as it gave an honest surprise. Having to chase down the Galar forme Birds in the overworld is a great way to evolve the roaming legendaries idea and I hope GF sticks to this. Plus the Galar forme birds are some of the best legendary designs since Gen 5 and I love Chocodos way to fucking much. 

Here we are folks, my GotY. I love Panzer Paladin so fucking much. A combination of mechanics from Mega Man, Castlevania, and Blaster Master? Sign me the fuck up! This game is tailored made for me and I knew I had to play it once it started making the rounds on social media. I'll admit though, I was a bit worried when the the first full trailer dropped and showed the weapon mechanics. Breakable weapons that you have to sacrifice for checkpoints and power ups? I'm not sure about that.... Luckily I was being a complete moron and those mechanics are near perfect. 

I love the set up of each boss being a mythological creature from different cultures. They didn’t just pull the easy ones either. A lot of these things I learned of for the first time here. I love how Grit controls. Using the upward stab as a double jump and being able to pogo off enemies Shovel Knight style just felt great and satisfying. Flame was limited but it made her sections feel tense. She does more damage then you think she could at first glance. Also the only way to heal Grit being to use pods that only Flame could access was a cool idea. 

I am begging you Tribute Games, you have to make more Panzer Paladin games. Slap some new upgrades on Grit and expand what Flame can do and you have an even better sequel  on your hands. Also maybe not have so many 'gotcha' moments with enemy placement. That's really my only complaint about the game. Great music, great sprites, giant robots, unique premise, and a reference to Canadian legends. The ultimate self indulgent game for me.

It felt super out of left field for Curse of the Moon to be getting a sequel. The games fucking amazing but it was really just a tie in for the main Bloodstained product. Not something I expect to get a continuation. Either way I was pumped. If this was even half as good as the original then I was in for a great time. Which held true... cuss this legitimately is only half as good as Curse of the Moon. I still like the game, quite a lot actually. I mean how could I not with a fucking Corgi piloting a Death Train Mech. 

Something was just missing here that never made this click like the first game. Maybe it was the stage design, maybe the bosses, maybe the fact that it's a bit to long. I'm not sure. All I know is I couldn't bring myself to play all the modes like I did in the original. . Stopping part way in to the one where you can get the first games characters. I want to go back some day... I just don’t know when someday is.

This was an announcement I never saw coming. A Gundam Verses game coming to the west? That hasn't happened in the entire time I've been a Gundam fan. I had played a bit of Full Boost on my old roommates PS3 thanks to him having a Japanese account and I played Force on the Vita a few years ago. But to have the latest version fully translated with open servers? Holy hell that's a dream come true. 

Having the open betas every weekend leading up to launch was some much needed fun during this shit hole year. I had a lot of fun just fucking around with different suits and seeing what I could do with 'em. Absolutely trashing two Bael players as the Kapool is a memory I'll keep with me for a long time. Fucking danced on their graves. This gave me some new appreciation for suits like the Baund Doc and Hambrabi, the later becoming a lowkey fav as it was my main.

I've fallen off with the game in the last few months but I definitely want to go back. I hope to start learning the game and take parts in tourneys when cons aren’t death sentences anymore.

It felt like everything in my life was SCREAMING at me to start the Yakuza series. From 2 of my friends playing 0 recently, a youtuber I following live tweeting as he played through the WHOLE series back-to-back, and Yakuza 2 having a run at AGDQ 2020. Plus the constant pleas to play this series you get from following Little Kuriboh on Twitter. I finally broke and picked up 0 in the middle of August. Boooooooooy howdy did I not know what I was getting in to. And no I don't mean the content. I knew Yakuza was a series of wildly conflicting tones between the main story and side quests. What I mean is the length. I legit thought this was gonna be a 20-30 hour game. When i reached hour 30 of my playthrough and realized I wasn't even close to a conclusion, I think I knew I had bitten off more then I was planning. That misstep aside I ended up loving this game and want to play the rest of the series.... I just need to rest up first before I dive into Kiwami 1.

 Let's actually talk about the game for a moment here. Kiryu and Majima quickly clicked as likeable characters to me and I cared about their stories. Combat is fun and the multiple styles are all great.... though both the default styles take a while to get there. The mad rush I felt at the end was fantastic and the last bosses are a joy to fight. Only real complaint is the pacing of the side stories. I loved being able to just stumble into various different events while on route to the next plot objective. But this became less common as the game went on and side stories started getting more tucked away. Also hot take here, the host club mingame is more tedious then fun and I like Kiryu’s business stuff as I could do that in the background. I’m excited to dive into Kiwami and probably Kiwami 2 this year... Though I’m not sure when just yet.

Just gonna say it flat out, I think this is better the the 2018 game. The smaller scale helps in this style of game and Miles just naturally has a better move set then Peter. I'm not sure if they actually tightened up the combat system or if they just threw less bullshit enemies at you but fighting feels so much better in this one. Traversal is better too,  simply because they changed the button for tricks. In the original you have to hold down 2 face buttons to enter trick mode??? In hindsight that was such a bad call. 

Having both the heal and venom powers run off the same meter was a good idea. Making the choice between keeping yourself alive guaranteed or potentially ending a fight quicker/disposing of a problem enemy is super fun. The player having to make small choices like this during combat is what helps it not be brainless. I love all the different venom skills you get. While they all achieve the same thing in stunning opponents, how you achieve that goal is up to you. Do you want to just slug the bastard, throw 'em up in the air, tackle the shit out of them? The choice is yours. 

Only real big complaint is certain upgrades being NG+ locked. I know you want to encourage replays, but this is a shitty way to do it I feel. Also can we retire Rhino for the next game. Man has had 2 shitty boss fights now and I need a break. Between this and Spider-Verse, I'm honestly starting to like Miles as Spider-Man more then Peter.

I got this game more on a whim then anything. I was definitely interested when it was first announced for the west. Vanillaware's beautiful art style in a story about giant robots beating the shit out of Kaijus? Sign me the fuck uuuuuu-oh wait it's an RTS? I had never played an RTS's before, mainly due to the sheer concept stressing me out. So I let it fall to the wayside. The game started coming up again though towards the end of the year with GotY on everyone's minds.  This revived my interest, especially as what I HAD planned to be playing around that time was... well. Cyberpunk. Don't think I need to say much more. Also I had worried for nothing as the Real Time Strategy was not that Real Time. 

This game really lays on the analysis paralysis once you're out of the tutorial. Do you want to fight, do you want to do story, who's story do you want to do, what branch should you follow, how much should you play with this one character? It's very overwhelming at first. I decided to not go ham on just one character and swap around all the time. The twists in this game are equal parts exciting and infuriating. Learning something new always came with the caveat of more questions, or something you knew 'for sure' being disproven. Like when I learned 1 characters was actually 4 separate ones! Anyone that's played knows exactly what I'm talking about. 

Natsuno ended up being my fav and not just because of.... obvious reasons. BJ was cute if unfortunately named and her relationship with Mirua was my favourite in the game. Not that there was much competition except for maybe Ogata and Tomi. I ended up really liking the combat but I can see why RTS fans say it's the weakest part. It's far from complex and I had a winning strat by the third or so real fight. Aka spam turrets and have the Gen 1′s gank all the bosses.

One quick thing I want to share was how I beat the boss at the end of Area 2. The one where Inaba is singing. I had Hijiyama use the limit break skill to bum rush the boss right off the hop. I took out half its health in one hit but Hijiyama’s Sentinel was on death’s door. Only thing that saved him was sending in Amaguchi to blow up a bunch of missiles. Hijiyama took it out on his next attack but lost his Sentinel at the same time. It was a real clutch victory and crazy fucking anime. 

The best way to really describe Carrion is that it's a fantastic proof of concept. Can you make a game where you play as The Thing? Why yes, yes you can. Carrion just needed a bit more tweaking to really bring this concept home and be the A+ game I know it can be. As it is now the game is a bit empty. The level design is super samey and the lack of a map is fucking brutal at points. I know it would make no sense for a blob monster to have a map but somethings you just have to gameify for convenience. The level design must have done something right as even though I was completely lost I still moved from area to area properly. Hell by the time I actually looked up a map I had 1 more item to get and I learned I was one door away from beating the game. 

I love the idea of losing mass as you take damage and gaining more by eating people, but having abilities tied to size was a terrible idea. It just leads to tedium as I have to go and shed myself to the right size, do the puzzle, then of course I'm going to go back and rebuild myself to see if I can do the next segment at full power. Just make it so you can swap between abilities using the d-pad or something. I hope this game gets a sequel just so this sick ass concept can be fully realized.

[yourfavoriteagent]

Your Midnight Company Part 3

Hey guys! Here’s part 3 I promised! I hope you’re liking the series so far! I’m having a blast writing it!

Also found on my AO3: Here!

Content Warnings: None

It had been three days and you’ve only heard from Spencer a few times, he texted you briefly the first night he got there but other than that it’s been short check-in texts for the most part. One day he was waiting for his boss to get back and he had a moment to talk. He told you it was a rough case but they think they’re getting it and how he should be back within the week. He also mentioned how he was excited to see you again which made your heart do cartwheels in your chest.

———-

S: ’guess who’s coming home! :)’ ‘you???” S: ‘wow how’d you get that so quick? Yep! We lift off in an hour.’ ‘how was the case?’ S: ‘I can’t talk about it but it wasn’t an easy one, I’m just glad it’s over’ ‘aww, I'm sorry :/ I’m glad you’re coming home, unfortunately, I don’t work tmrw but I work Thursday so you should come in then!’ S: ’what if instead… I take you out to dinner tomorrow?” You stopped in your tracks, like a date? Was this a date? Are you two dating? ‘like a date?’ You pull the trigger and ask, terrified of his response, yeah he was cute and you did like him there was nothing to not like, you just didn’t want to look like an idiot and assume. S: ‘is that alright with you?’ ‘yes! That’s perfect with me! A date it is!’ you’re grinning from behind your phone, wow a date with Spencer Reid, sorry, Doctor Spencer Reid. S:’ I’ll pick you up at 7?’ ‘sounds great, I can’t wait.”

———

The next day drags on, every time you look at the clock it’s only been two minutes since the last time you looked. You have never sat through a longer one hour lecture in your life. Finally, it was 3 pm, your final lecture of the day. This one lasted until 4:30, you tried your best to read the slides your professor was putting up but every thought was about tonight. You had a whole outfit planned out, you knew exactly what makeup you would wear, the only problem is you have no idea where you’d be going, he could take you to McDonald's for all you know. The clock hits 4:30 while your professor is rambling about an essay due in a few weeks, you practically jump out of your seat when the professor dismisses the class. Okay, it would take you about 20 minutes to get home on the bus then you’d have like 2 hours to get ready. You’re planning out your time in your head so much you nearly miss your stop. You unlock your door and set your bag down, realizing you hadn’t heard much from Spencer today and he didn’t know where you lived, you’d been way too distracted with the thought of tonight and your classes.

‘hey cutie, did I give you my address?”

After sending the text along with your address you walked into your bedroom shucking off your clothes and setting out the dress you planned to wear tonight. The jumped in the shower washing everything you could think of, you were so nervous which is weird because you’ve spent a good amount of your time talking to him but somehow this was different. It was all real for the first time. You dry off and head back to your bedroom to slap on some makeup, you kept it elegant but simple, opting for a pair of subtle lashes and some tinted lip balm. You wanted the “you but better” look. You decided to go with loose curls in your hair, making it bouncy and smooth. Next, you slid on your dress, it was a dark green slip dress, nothing super fancy but still nice. The gold jewelry you paired with it stood out against the darkness of the dress. You were looking over yourself in the mirror when the doorbell rang, he was 3 minutes early. You rush down the hall with your flats in hand. You hoped you looked good as you threw open the door, trying your best to look like you hadn’t just run through your apartment. “Wow, you look amazing.” He smiled draping a black coat over his arm, he was wearing a white button-down with the top two buttons undone and a pair of nice black pants, you looked stunning. “I could say the same to you.” You were grinning ear to ear as you reached around the door to your side table where you grabbed your purse then you were out the door. He held his hand out to yours and walked you down your hallway and out into the cool night air. Thankfully it wasn’t raining tonight so the two of you walked a few blocks down to a nice Italian restaurant you've never eaten at, it had always looked too expensive for you, but he opened the door for you and the two of you walked right in. “Reservation for Dr. Reid.” He said to the woman at the front desk, she nodded and told him to follow her. She walked us through the tables until we got to the back where there was a table with a single candle on top. It was next to the window that showed off the lights of the city. It was beautiful. He pulled your chair out for you and sat down across from you. You were looking around the restaurant at all the hanging lights and paintings on the walls. “This place is so nice, Spencer you didn’t have to bring me here.” “Why would I not want to give you the best I could provide,” he smiled and reached across the table for your hands, “Besides, I pass this place on my way to work every day I’ve always dreamt of bringing the perfect girl here for the perfect night.” You blushed hard at this, “A hopeless romantic?” “You could say that.” He hadn’t stopped smiling since he picked you up. A waitress came by with two menus and water for both of you. He ordered a chicken alfredo and you got the mushroom ravioli, it was beyond delicious but also ridiculously expensive. I mean who would pay $27 for pasta? Apparently, Spencer would, he would buy even more, you two got a brownie with homemade ice-cream to share at the end of your date. Aside from the food you two talked, he talked a bit about his case, although not being able to provide too many details, apparently there was a serial killer in Boston that was preying on young girls, he said it like it was so standard. Almost like it was boring, you couldn’t imagine what it would take to shake him up. Before dessert, he pulled a brown paper wrapped package from his coat pocket and slid it across the table to you. “What’s this?” You ask. “It’s for you, I saw it in a bookshop in Boston and thought of you.” He smiled, “Go on, open it!” You tore at the wrapping uncovering a book. It was a gorgeous edition of The Ship of Theseus. You remembered talking about this the first day you two met. You put it in your Amazon wishlist of things to buy with your next paycheck but he already bought it for you. “Spencer, you didn’t have to! Thank you so much!” You flip the book over to look at all the detail of the cover. “I was hoping you hadn’t bought it for yourself already. I think you’ll like it.” He smiles, his eyes were bright and happy. It was a wonderful sight.

———

The check came but before the lady could come back with Spencer’s card he gets a call. “Sorry,” He says picking up the phone and starting to stand up. “This is Dr. Reid. I see. Okay, I’ll be there in ten.” “All good?” You ask as the woman comes back with the card. “Yeah I think so, I’m so sorry to ask this but I need to run to my office for a moment, would you mind coming with me? It’s just down the street, I’ll walk you home right after.” He looks at you apologetically, you guess this was not the perfect date night he had imagined for the two of you. “Oh, of course, I don’t mind at all. Is it okay that I’m there?” You ask getting up out of your seat and grabbing your purse. “Yeah, I’ll talk to Hotch it should be fine.” He takes your hand and you two walk out of the restaurant hand in hand. He wasn’t kidding when he said he passes this place on his way to work, he stopped at a building four doors down and handed you his coat. “Here, it’ll only be a second.” Then you stepped into the BAU for the first time.

[elsanna-shenanigans]

December Contest Submission #12: Candles and Blankets

words: ca. 4,500 setting: mAU, candle shop AU lemon: not really cw: (SPOILER) fire, depression

Have you ever fallen in love with the gorgeous fiber artist across the street but she’s a really kind person and you aren’t sure if she’s into you or just being courteous, so you invite her to a romantic candlelit dinner for your own birthday in the back of your own candle shop?

Hey there.

My name is Anna, and …my life? Is pretty crazy.

I guess you could say the stars aligned for Elsa and I to meet.

It was a Tuesday.

New moon, new beginnings.

The sky was brightening with the dawn as I twisted my key around in the tricky lock. I really needed to call a locksmith soon, but I wasn’t sure if my business insurance covered new locks. Fires and floods, come at me; but an inconvenient lock… I probably wasn’t so lucky.

After a minute I finally heard the heavy click as my ears also noticed the sound of a car pulling up behind me. The hair on the back of my neck prickled, but instead of turning right around, I cautiously used the glass store windows to take a peek.

My shoulders relaxed. A blonde woman my age was behind the wheel.

I pretended to struggle even more with my key until I heard her get out of her vehicle. Then, I spun around with a smile on my face too bright for the hour.

“Good morning!” I greeted her. As she stepped into view to pay the meter, I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows. You would’ve done the same if the most beautiful woman you’d ever seen just parked in front of your candle shop at 6:30 AM in the middle of October.

“Hi,” she smiled gently. I’d never seen eyes such an icy blue give off so much warmth on a chilly fall morning. She glanced up at my sign, ‘Anna’s Awesome Aromas,’ and her smile brightened. “Oh! Do you sell candles here?”

A little confused how she parked right in front of a shop she didn’t know sold candles, but not one to judge, I answered, “Yes! I make them and sell them. In fact, I’m Anna herself.” I offered my hand out to shake.

She leaned forward to shake with a cold hand and then gestured across the street at the vacant shop building. “I’m here to look at the building for lease. Nice to meet you! My name is Elsa.”

“Elsa! Wow!” This woman was flawless right down to the name. “Wait, you’re looking into Kristoff’s old place? Sweet, what’s your business?”

“Oh,” she nervously reached a hand behind her neck. “I just make blankets.”

“Just? That’s amazing! Do you knit?” I wasn’t about to let this stranger downplay her talents.

“I, um, knit, crochet, quilt, design fleece patterns, and mess with a few other styles every once in a while.”

“Wow, so you can do everything! That is so cool, Elsa. Seriously.”

Her cheeks were turning magenta. “I still have a lot to learn. I’d love to see your candle shop!” She said, deflecting the attention from herself. “Maybe after the realtor and I do our walkthrough I could take a look inside?”

“Absolutely!” I nodded. “In fact, if you’re done around lunch time, come on in and I’ll share my lasagna with you in the back. I brought enough for a small army.”

The way she smiled at me, crinkling her eyes, before she turned and walked across the street had my insides feeling… cozy. Comfortable.

Safe.

——————————

That Christmas was the best I’d had in a long time. Elsa had set up her blanket shop in early November, and we became fast friends. I never ate another lunch alone - we alternated between her office and mine, always able to keep an eye on whichever shop was unattended across the street.

December was a busy sales month for us both, with lots of customers needing candles and blankets to warm themselves and their loved ones in the cold holiday season. For that reason, I cherished our lunches as the only time we had to get to know each other as new friends. We both worked long days keeping our shops running smoothly and churning out new products in our evenings, often late into the night.

Neither of us had any employees, even a business partner, let alone a life partner; so sharing lunch with a like-minded and equally hardworking woman was honestly life changing.

The week leading up to Christmas was so busy with last-minute-gift shoppers, we called off our lunches to keep our shops open every precious minute. In a stroke of luck, Christmas fell on a Sunday, so we both closed up shop for the whole weekend, giving ourselves a true holiday.

Naturally, we spent it together. After convincing her she wouldn’t be intruding, Elsa came over to my apartment on Christmas Eve and we relaxed all day with no talk of businesses. She spent the night on my couch and our Christmas Day was filled with lazy cooking and laughter.

She gifted me a beautiful tree skirt that she knit especially for me with stripes featuring all my favorite blankets she’d made. For Elsa, I made a candle with ten different layers, because she was always saying her favorite scent was my whole shop, with all my aromas melding together.

“I can’t believe we gave each other the same thing!” She had laughed.

“It’s perfect,” I was grinning wider than I had in years. “We’re perfect,” I wanted to add.

—————————————

It’s amazing how something as simple as having a friend can make time fly by. As winter melted into spring, both Elsa and I were entering our “off season,” as people no longer craved the warmth our products provided. Even so, the days didn’t drag on.

I still lunched with Elsa every day and we never ran out of things to talk about, from crazy customer stories, to new products we’ve tried to create, to old childhood memories. There was always more to learn about each other, even after I thought Elsa might know me better than I knew myself.

But then there was the concern: did she know me well enough to figure out I had an enormous, ever-growing crush on her? And did I know her well enough to figure out if she might feel the same?

That was my main source of anguish as the weather turned as warm as my three wick candles.

Every day I sat with Elsa as she ate her chicken caesar salads or Taco Bell (there was no in between), and I ate my peanut butter sandwiches, or Campbell’s soup. And every day I’d stare at her light shining hair and blushed cheeks, as she smiled sweetly and laughed at all my jokes with a sound more gorgeous than fucking wind chimes. And every day I could feel myself falling further.

I used to live and breathe for my candle shop; I woke up with a purpose to create new scents and gorgeous colors, experimenting with different types of wax. It was usually what I dreamed about.

Now… I was dreaming about Elsa. I was waking up excited, not about how many candles I might sell that day, but how many times I might make Elsa laugh during lunch. Will she flash me that look, the one where her eyes sparkle and the corner of her mouth smiles, making it look just for a second that she had glimpsed my soul - and liked what she saw?

I just didn’t know what to make of it, because Elsa was too nice. She seemed to interact with everyone the way she interacted with me. Granted, nobody else got to spend lunch with her everyday, or talk about our small businesses together, or drop by to visit on our rare days off. But how was I supposed to find out if she was romantically into me without risking everything good that had come into both of our lives?

It was June when I had the idea. My birthday was coming up the following month, so why not plan something special? Something …romantic? Then if there was anything to blossom between us, it would have the perfect environment to happen without forcing anything or asking potentially devastating questions.

Perfect!

It wasn’t hard to plan out once I had the idea. I chose the restaurant I’d be ordering out from, and easily convinced Elsa to come over to my shop after we both closed.

I was wearing my favorite green summer dress - the flowy one with pockets - and kept my hair down for a change. At the stroke of 7 I closed up and headed out to pick up the dinner and suddenly it hit me. Was it weird to plan and host my own birthday dinner? A birthday dinner for only me and the girl I was in love with?

Well, it was too fucking late, if so. I came back with the food and spent the next half hour setting up a table with nice place settings and lighting my sexiest scented candles all around my office and store. As the sun set, eight o’clock rolled around and Elsa closed up her shop, too.

As I watched her delicately make her way to my side of the street, I chewed my lip. Here goes… everything.

I came to my shop door to let her in as she approached my dimly lit building, and was stunned by how beautiful she looked. She was wearing a shiny blue sleeveless top and tight white capris, with heels to match her blouse and the kicker - a white bow tie hanging untied around her neck. Her wavy hair was gently bouncing around her shoulders with each step. I opened the door for her and the bell above jingled loudly.

She beamed when she saw me, stepping inside to set down her leather backpack purse and white gift bag to give me a big hug. “Happy birthday, Anna,” she said softly into my shoulder.

“Thanks, Els,” I squeezed back, breathing in her perfume. It was my favorite scent, one I’d never quite been able to replicate at home - something between the ocean breeze and a floral woodland meadow.

As we pulled apart I glanced down her outfit one more time, “You look incredible.”

“So do you! And well, you said to dress nice, so… that’s what I’ve got,” Elsa laughed nervously.

“It’s perfect. So!” I clapped my hands together, “Shall we head to the back?”

“After you, lovely,” Elsa grinned and picked up her two bags again. As we walked she began to notice the candlelit atmosphere. “This is really something, Anna. You went through all this trouble just for the two of us?”

I winced. This was a weird thing to do… Play it cool. “Oh, it wasn’t much trouble at all! I thought we deserved something nice. Something special.”

“We do! Especially you, Anna. You work so hard.”

“Not as hard as you,” I countered, as we stepped into my cozy office. My desk was in the corner by the window-wall facing out to the street, and in the front area by the couch we usually ate our lunches on, I had set up our small dining experience.

The only light was from all the candles I had placed around the room; a few were on the little table itself, which also held our take out dinner that I already plated up.

“Wow!” Elsa was standing wide-eyed behind me, a huge smile creeping onto her face. “This is — it’s incredible. Did you get Romeo’s?” She recognized the food from the local fancy Italian restaurant.

“Bone apple teeth!” I grinned. “Shall we eat, before it gets any colder?” I said, gesturing to a chair.

As we settled in to eat, my racing heart calmed a little. This felt right, it felt like us, sharing a meal like we did every day. Just… fancy.

“I’m thankful you got me Alfredo,” Elsa said a few minutes into our meal. “Or my white pants may never be the same.”

“Oh man!” I said with spaghetti hanging out my mouth, “That was a lucky guess. Imagine if I made you get tomato sauce on your pants!”

Elsa laughed. “I imagine I’ll be taking them off.”

“What?”

“Um, I said I imagine I would be taking them off. If I stained them.” A blush was forming on Elsa’s cheeks.

I felt my face warming too, wondering if Elsa had meant what she had first implied. Then, Elsa set her fork down and took a deep breath.

“No, you know what,” she said, looking me intensely in the eye. “You went out on a limb here with this dinner, and so will I. Anna, I really like you.”

Was I supposed to hear the blood rushing past my eardrums?

“Everything has been better since you came into my life - or since I came into yours, whichever way you want to think of it.” Elsa smiled sincerely, “I didn’t realize what was happening right away, but I’ve known for a while now that I’m just - just helplessly in love with you.” Her gaze shifted down to the table as she kept talking, “It’s hard to pretend that I can keep my cool around you when all I feel is the warmth of friendship, of …love. Of something deeper. Something I’ve never felt before, and I’d never want to feel with anyone who isn’t you.”

She cleared her throat and looked me in the eye once more, “So, if this dinner was your way of saying you might share some of those feelings for me too… first of all, at this point I fuckin hope it was; and secondly… that was it, I can’t remember…”

By the time Elsa had trailed off her words, I was next to her chair, cupping her face with my hands. “Can I kiss you?”

She touched one of my hands, holding it to her cheek as she stood up. Taking a step away from the table, Elsa slid her other hand behind my waist. There was a moment we just looked into each other’s eyes as the pull between us became stronger. “Please,” was all she whispered before our lips came together like the pages of a closing book.

I had never kissed anyone - I had… no idea it could be like this. Her lips were so soft as they moved with mine, and it felt like they were asking permission with each caress. A small tear escaped one of my closed eyes.

I felt so emotional as she ran her fingers through my hair, stroking my scalp. She - Elsa, she wanted me, too. She loved me, too. And I realized I hadn’t actually said that yet — I pulled away suddenly and watched her open her eyes in surprise.

“I love you, Elsa.”

She smiled in relief.

I rested my forehead against hers, standing on my tiptoes to reach. “I just wanted to make that clear.”

***

We did not finish our meal.

The folding chairs sat forgotten as I laid Elsa down on the nearby couch and straddled her hips as we both reached for clothes we no longer wished to wear. I took a second to be grateful for the partial wall that blocked the couch from the view of anyone passing by the shop’s windows.

Elsa tugged on one end of her bow tie and it slipped out from behind her neck in one fluid motion - probably the sexiest move I’ve ever seen.

As I lifted my dress above my head, Elsa was gazing up at me, hypnotized. I let the dress fall to the floor beside us. “You’re falling a bit behind, love.” All she had taken off was her tie, and I already sat in my under garments.

She reached for the bottom of her blouse. “One advantage to dresses I suppose,” Elsa said. “If you’re into that.” She sat up a little to whip the shirt off, exposing a black sports bra.

“God, how are you so hot?” I didn’t let Elsa answer before leaning down to kiss her again. I reverently felt her soft skin as I ran my palms over her sides and found the small of her back. “I’ve, er, never done this before.”

Elsa gave a slight squeeze to my hips. “Me neither. It’s ok. We can figure it out together, but I’m probably gonna need to take my pants off first.”

I laughed, “Alright, I’ll get up.” When I planted a foot on the floor and stood up, I paused. I took another breath through my nose. “What’s that smell…?”

Elsa looked at me. She sniffed the air. “Is something burning?”

I turned to the doorway leading into the hallway to the store. An orange glow far too bright made my heart drop and my stomach fill with dread.

“On second thought, keep your pants on.” I grabbed Elsa’s top, threw it at her, and grabbed my dress, pulling it on haphazardly. I ran to the doorway and stopped when I saw how big the fire was in my shop. It looked like everything was engulfed in flames. Nothing could be saved from there. Oh my god.

Pop!

Pop pop!

Candles on my shelves were exploding. Oh god oh god oh god.

“We gotta get outta here!” I slammed the office door shut to hold off the blazing heat of the main store’s fire, trapping us in my office. I ran to the wall of windows by my desk, grateful there was no second floor.

Elsa met me at the wall with her bags. “Can we send this through the windows?” She pointed at my filing cabinet.

Together we pushed the metal cabinet to the window wall and then heaved our combined body weight into it, sending it crashing through the panes. Shards of glass rained down on us, but only a few pieces were sharp enough to cut. The cabinet toppled over onto the pavement outside.

I pushed out a few extra pieces of glass to make way for us to squeeze through. After I got out I helped Elsa climb in her heels, over the filing cabinet out onto the sidewalk. Together we pulled it farther away from the building.

“You call 911 and stay back from here,” I yelled as I ran back to the broken glass. “I have to get a few more things.”

Elsa looked terrified as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and took more steps backward into the deserted street. Turning toward my shop, my hand shook as I reached forward, crouching through my broken window, back into my smoldering office.

The room was starting to fill with smoke and almost constant candle explosions could be heard through the wall. I decided the most important things to get out first were my computers. I grabbed my laptop and quickly unplugged everything from the desktop computer tower. I didn’t need the keyboard or monitor.

Stifling a cough, I crouched through the glass and carried the computers to the curb. As soon as they were down safely, I turned and ran back in.

I couldn’t help but cough this time. Soon the door holding back the inferno would bust - or maybe the shared wall would be engulfed first. Either way, I was running out of time. The air was so, so hot.

One of the candles across the room burst. A searing hot glass shard lodged itself in my arm, near my elbow. I screamed, brushing it away, and the scream turned quickly to more coughing and sputtering.

Through the attack on my lungs, I grabbed everything I could hold off my desk - my purse included, and made my way out as fast as I could.

As I climbed out onto the sidewalk, I felt the office door behind me blow out. In the split second I had, I hurled everything I was carrying as far out as I could and then threw myself to the side in an attempted barrel roll just as the fireball rolled out and licked at my heels.

I sputtered and coughed on the ground as Elsa sprinted over to me. She grabbed a flat piece of debris and swatted at the edge of my dress that had caught fire. Once it was out, she lifted me over her shoulder and took me over to her building where she had been taking the items I rescued from my office.

Setting me down gently, she kept my hand in hers. “They’re on their way.”

My coughing still wouldn’t let up but I couldn’t actually feel my aching lungs anymore, or even the searing gash in my arm, as I sat on the concrete, numbly watching my store go down in flames.

Watching everything I worked for burn away.

———————————————

I didn’t notice August.

They held me at the hospital for two days for the smoke inhalation, my burn wound, and other minor cuts. Then I was released and I sat in my apartment.

I didn’t have a job to go to. My work was gone.

The insurance claim was going to take 90-120 days to go through but they assured me I would be covered for the total loss. So I wouldn’t go into massive debt, but I still mourned. I had no business, no product, no motivation.

So I sat.

I threw out all the candles in my home.

Maybe it was anger, maybe it was guilt, but it most definitely was fear. I never wanted to see another candle again in my life. The destruction they caused - my own creations did this to me. My own negligence. My own lust.

I had also shut Elsa out.

I knew it wasn’t fair to her but I couldn’t even think about her without reliving the terror of the fire. I just couldn’t handle seeing her… so I said I needed space, I needed time to recover alone.

It’s been over a month though, and while the pain still hasn’t gone away, now loneliness has joined it in my torment.

I missed Elsa so much it hurt. And not even in the we-didn’t-even-get-to-have-sex way; I missed my friend.

A week into September, Elsa begged me to come to her apartment. She said she just needed to see I was ok, just needed to talk.

It wasn’t a hard decision with the way I felt like I was dying without her in my life. But I needed her to initiate it or my guilt never would’ve allowed me the opportunity. So I went.

I couldn’t bring myself to change out of the sweats I’d been wearing for at least a week, but I managed to put on deodorant. My hair was pulled into the cleanest messy bun I could muster. It would probably be the bags under my eyes that she would comment on first. The two main subjects of my dreams were now either nightmare fuel or guilt trips, so I had barely been sleeping.

The biggest surprise to me when I met her outside were the matching bags under Elsa’s eyes.

As I walked to her she met me halfway with a warm hug. I saw the look of mixed relief and concern on her face as she took in my appearance.

“Anna,” she whispered as she held me close.

I drew in a shaky breath. “Els,” my reply was like a reflex and I melted into her embrace. With a little sadness I noticed she wasn’t wearing her perfume, but everything else about the hug was all that I had been craving.

“Come on,” she led me into her apartment.

It wasn’t hard to tell I wasn’t doing ok, and neither was she for that matter, so the question was never brought up. Instead she made me tea and held me on the couch, murmuring soft things like, “I’ll keep you warm.”

When I was calm from the tea, Elsa went to get something from another room. She returned with the white gift bag from my birthday, though it might have been replaced with a new gift bag, given how pristine it still looked.

“I still want you to have this, Anna,” she said softly. “But first let me tell you about an idea I’ve had. I just want you to listen to it, no need to respond right away.”

I nodded.

She sat back down with me. Her voice never raised above a light trickling of a fountain as she spoke, “I can’t begin to imagine what you’ve been going through. But I do know what trauma feels like. So I have a clue about what you may be feeling toward what you used to do; what you used to love doing now feels painful. Maybe even terrifying…”

Elsa took my hand in hers. “I got this idea a couple weeks ago when I accidentally dropped my bottle of perfume into your gift bag.” She chuckled grimly. “It all spilled out and your present soaked it up.”

She reached down into the bag and turned her head to me, “Would you mind closing your eyes?”

I closed them.

With a soft whoosh, a thin, but nicely heavy blanket settled onto me. As I breathed through my nose, suddenly a wave of familiar comfort washed over me. Her perfume was scenting the whole blanket. I wanted to cry. “Elsa,” I whispered, my hands shaking.

She rubbed my leg through the fabric. “I know, sweetheart,” Elsa sat back into the couch, cuddled close to me and I kept my eyes closed as she continued to talk. “After that happened, I thought… nobody really does this. Creating scented oils just for the purpose of dripping onto fabric like blankets for an extra comforting experience. Like I know essential oils exist, but that’s just the beginning of the potential you would have if you, say… wanted to become my business partner, to create scent drops for my blankets…”

She trailed off and let that sit there with me to think about. I felt the same revelation she probably experienced coming up with the plan. “Elsa,” I said with my eyes still closed. “That’s brilliant. When I’m ready… I would love that.”

I felt her sigh with relief. “Can I see the blanket now?” I asked.

She sat upright, “Here let me hold it up for you to see. It might bring up some emotion. I swear I had no idea what was going to happen when I was making it…”

The blanket was lifted off of me. I slowly opened my eyes to see… a perfect image of my shop in all her glory, hand stitched and glowing softly yellow through the windows. Around the edges of the blanket were the words, “Anna’s Awesome Aromas,” repeated in a pattern. I sobbed.

“I’m sorry,” Elsa said, gathering up the blanket. “It’s too soon, I shouldn’t hav—“

“Stop,” I said while tears dripped down my face. “It’s perfect,” I stood up and flung myself into her arms, making the blanket fall to the floor at our feet.

“You’re not upset?” she asked.

“I’m only upset that I shut you out for so long. I’m sorry,” I held her tight. “You are everything I need, how could I not see that?”

“It’s ok,” Elsa kissed my forehead. “Some things aren’t meant to be seen; they have to be felt, or smelled, maybe tasted.”

With a gentle kiss, she began my healing.

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Put Me In a Movie

Keanu Reeves x reader (A/n- You can tell I was procrastinating by how this is written. Anything so I can not do what I’m actually supposed to be doing. A/n 2- I’m mixing perspectives because who’s gonna stop me?)

Summary Prologue  1   2   3  4  5  6 7  8

Warnings- NSFW/SMUT, oral sex, angst (sorry not sorry)

Chapter 9- Baby, Can You See Through My Tears?

Over a dozen times; she’d laid next to him since that drunken night in Chicago, yet, none of them felt as troublesome as that one. They’d returned from the roadside bar well after midnight, and she’d offered Keanu something he wasn’t readily going to pass up, even if things between them weren’t on stable grounds. Then again, they hadn’t ever been on stable ground. 

A night spent bare naked with entangled limbs broke into the somber splitting of dawn, the first threads sunlight peeling her eyes open. Shaking off an unrestful slumber took merely seconds and by the time Y/n had regained her better senses, she remembered that laying next to her, seemingly unaffected by the weight of their tension, slept Keanu. His soft snores were melodic and his strong arm settled around her waist just a little soothing. Even if things weren’t the best between them, he was still the man she found paradise in giving herself to. 

Shifting her head on the pillow, Y/n sneaked a glance at the alarm clock at her bedside; 5:15 in the morning. It was far too early to be awake. Even if the sun preferred an early start, Y/n still longed for the pleasures of sleep, for at least a couple more hours. So, despite her mind’s protests, she shut her eyes, blocking out the light that filtered through the splits between her heavy dark curtains. It took a while, but eventually, Y/n was turning in Keanu’s unconscious embrace, opening her eyes one last time, regarding him with an admiration that she'd never felt for another. He really did hone some kind of other-worldly beauty, having aged like the perfect Chianti; sweetness of tobacco and all. For a while, she stared at him, controlling the tingling urge to reach out and sweep a few dark strands away from Keanu’s face, which was turned to her. How could someone so stunning make her ache so much? 

The devil usually came as the one thing you want the most.

The wispy thought fled quickly, but Y/n couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, Keanu wasn’t really her personal heaven, instead, he was the flames that would one day painfully lap at her heart. Her eyes stung at the idea, though, the inching in heart ache didn’t last much longer, for Keanu’s soft, hypnotic snores were enough of a lullaby to recall sleep. Y/n’s heavy lids slipped closed, her breaths evening out and her troubles following her to the sea of unconsciousness. 

When Keanu stretched himself awake, his sleep blurred eyes weaning open, he splayed his hand on the spot beside him, seeking a bit of early morning intimacy, maybe something quick so it wouldn’t take too long to move things to the shower. Warm rivulets skimming their bodies while his rough palms held her jammed to the wall? It seemed like the right way to start their morning. Keanu’s body ached for Y/n’s, the feeling of her warm, sweet cocoon around him, squeezing him incomparably. Her voice, her taste, her touch. He craved it.

Lest Y/n was still melancholic from the night before.

Maybe they should talk first, so he could explain himself. If he could even find a way to do that. Keanu could tell that his words, or rather lack thereof, had set quiet discontent in her being, and it troubled him too. The not knowing what they didn’t and the knowing what they did. 

When the sheets felt cool to touch, Keanu rolled onto his side, groaning when he found the spot vacant. Odd. It was barely seven and usually Y/n stayed in bed until they were both ready to get up. Keanu spent a minute eyeing the adjoined bathroom, waiting to see if she'd emerge. But the door was wide open and not too long after, he noticed that his t-shirt from the night before had been swiped off the back of the chair at her vanity. 

After a moment's more of contemplation, Keanu shrugged off the sheets, and planted his feet on the cool toned hardwood. Not bothering with his jeans, Keanu just pulled on his boxers before detouring to her bathroom before setting out to find Y/n.

"Something's bothering you?" Keanu's voice broke Y/n out of her murky thoughts, raising her gaze. As her eyes roamed his form from the feet up, she quelled a mischievous smirk by taking her lower lip between her teeth. As usual, just the sight of Keanu was enough to make her forget why she was even upset with him. It wasn't fair, he shouldn't have been able to have that effect on her, but Y/n didn't think she could change it if she tried. It was just something Keanu carried with him; he was magnetic with a deep, hypnotic stare that reeled her in and banished unwelcome sorrows

Clearing her throat, Y/n gently pushed away from the freckled, marble island that separated the brief foyer from her kitchen, padding over to get a second ceramic mug from the cupboard fixed over the kitchen sink. "Not really," she shrugged, producing a patterned blue and grey mug that matched her own, "Coffee?"

"Sure," Y/n could feel Keanu's penetrating gaze following her as she moved about the small area; first pouring some of the fresh brew out of the French press and then preparing it just the way she knew he preferred it; with two spoons of sugar and not a drop of milk. Keanu stayed silent, and Y/n had been so busy sinking back into her own world, that she hadn't realized that he'd stationed himself behind her until she turned around, yelling in surprise and nearly scalding his broad, bare chest. 

"Shit!" And Keanu just chuckled, looking over her impressively, close enough to crowd her little bubble of personal space and render her flustered. "What are you doing?" She breathed, when he blocked her in with his hands stationed at either side of her on the counter.

"What are you doing?" He mirrored, low and gravelly. As hard as she tried, Y/n just couldn't pretend that his behavior didn't have an effect on her. She liked him like that, when Keanu reminded her that she was minute compared to him, when he so easily took control and made her feel much smaller than she actually was. 

A shuddered breath escaped her dry, parted lips and Y/n blinked slowly, "I was making you coffee," her chest heaved with deep breaths and Keanu was so close that each time her chest rose, the fabric of his grey company t shirt, pushed out by her breasts, brushed his torso. The absence of his response signaled to Y/n that he wanted a different answer, and with a clouded, though insistent mind, she probed, "What am I to you?"

Her breathy words were nearly lost in the stillness of the atmosphere, and Keanu brushed a stray strand away from her cheek, twirling it around his fingers, "What do you want to be?"

That couldn't have been a good answer, and in any other instance, Y/n recognized that, but right then, other, more provocative thoughts were consuming her.

Keanu let the curled lock go, proceeding to drag his thumb across her plump, lower lip. Reaching its end, he grasped Y/n’s chin, gently tilting her head upwards, just as Keanu lowered his. The mug, having been set down off to the side, was forgotten, its contents growing stale and cold as the air around them heated up. “I…..”

“Shh,” Keanu’s hot breath fanned the side of her face and when his lips descended upon hers, Y/n could taste a lingering mintiness as his hands slid off the smooth surface, landing on her hips. His tongue slid over hers and the cotton bunched up in his eager fingers. Y/n could feel his longing pressing into her thigh, pale blue tent barely any sort of barrier. 

Keanu swallowed up Y/n’s low moan and his hands skimmed down, only to dip beneath the hem of the t-shirt, which fell to the center of her thighs, grinning against her lips upon the discovery that she had forgone panties. One of Y/n’s soft palms slid up to his shoulder, the other flat on his chest as they continued.

"I want to be the girl you can get out of your head," Y/n whispered, hoarse and soft as she broke their kiss, gently pushing Keanu on the island behind him. When he was backed up there, she kissed him again and he took control with feverish and carnal desire, moaning into her mouth as one of Y/n's hands slipped down to his growing bulge. "Can I?" She pleaded with lust blown doe eyes. 

"Yeah," he breathed his permission. Keanu's hand instinctively lacing in her hair as Y/n dropped unceremoniously onto her bare knees. Immediately, she freed his cock from its cotton constraint, licking her lips at the salacious view before her. Y/n spit into her palm before wrapping her fingers around his girth, pumping, at a leisurely pace and staring up at Keanu, finding herself intoxicated by the primal desire reflected in his eyes.

When they were together like that, none of it mattered. For a handful of sacred moments, nothing was wrong with what they were doing and as long as their innate, physical desires were sated, the turbulence of their emotional states were mute. They could forget, they wanted to forget. 

When Keanu gently urged Y/n's head toward his crotch, she eagerly took him in her encircled lips, her tongue swirling his head before she hollowed her cheeks out, dipping further. Keanu's swollen tip reached the back of her throat before she could even take him fully, and caught by surprise, Y/n’s eyes watered and she almost gagged. Though, recovery was quick and she opted to use one hand to work the rest of his shaft while she palmed his balls. 

At times, she'd alternated between licking the underside of his dick and peppering sloppy, praising kisses along it’s length, eliciting low moans from Keanu above her. "That's babygirl," he groaned when she took him in her mouth again, guiding her to a steady pace, occasionally bucking forward and catching her by surprise. 

The floors were cool beneath her knees, contrasting with the pooling heat in her center, longing to be tended to. Her arousal throbbed needily and the feeling of Keanu in her mouth was beyond comparison. Everything about him was all consuming, from the roughness of his bulging veins against the insides of her cheeks to the salty taste of his skin. The pads of his fingers dung into her scalp as a wordless praise and Y/n's muffled moans seemed to echo, joining Keanu's heavy pants.

"Fuck Y/n," he hissed along with a couple throaty grunts, "I'm gonna…."

But she didn't care, Y/n wanted to taste him, prove that she'd be the one he could truly never shake. 

Though Keanu didn't give her the opportunity, pushing her away with wavering will, "No," was all he offered in return of her disappointed bewilderment, pulling her to her feet. As she stood, in one swift motion, Keanu was lifting her off the floor, turning them, only to deposit Y/n on the cool marble. 

Without further warning, he hastily pulled the t-shirt off, slightly smirking at her exposed breasts, her nipples already responding to the cool morning air and the arousal between her legs. Keanu, in an instant, pulled her to him, her legs going around his middle as he sheathed himself in her longing heat. 

At the feeling, Y/n's head lolled to the side as a filthy groan escaped her lips. "Keanu," she mewled, sinking her nails into his shoulders, getting lost in the way he filled her. 

"Gonna fuck you so good," he warned, exiting her fully before bottoming out again, "You looked so fucking good with my cock in your mouth little one. Do you like my cock in your mouth?"

"Yes!" She cried, knowing how vocal he liked her.

Keanu held her hips in place, her breasts bouncing and her body jerked with each volatile thrust. "Do you like my cock buried in your cunt?"

"Yes!" She screamed louder, her nails, now sunk into his back nearly drawing blood, "Fuck yes!" One of his hands inched up her side, grasping one her breasts, roughly squeezing and kneading as he rolled his hips aggressively. His balls loudly and shamelessly assaulted her drenched core, soliciting lewd yelps and urgent pleas for ‘harder’ and ‘faster’. 

Keanu bruised the impressionable skin behind her earlobe on down the column of Y/n’s neck with ravenous, starved kisses. Her eyes were shut, and Y/n curled her toes, legs still tangled around his waist, making his movements more rigid. Being with him like that was ecstasy, the only drug she’d ever be addicted to, the one that was intoxicating her, killing her, more and more everyday. She wouldn’t quit, she couldn’t, now when he was a master of control, wielding his body to bring hers pleasure. It hurt, physically, but in the best way and she cried, sealed eyes leaking onto his shoulder as he repeatedly rammed into her, reminding Y/n that this was his favorite part of her.

Keanu was the ‘hard and fast’ kind of man.

Y/n was the ‘don’t forget about me’ kind of girl.

And together? They were poison. But poison was good because they were two people that craved destruction so much so that they caused it. He’d never lasted in anything too attached and she was usually running away from it. They worked, the way flames tinged the wings of a moth. Surely, there’d be heartache, and Y/n knew it, but when Keanu was with her, she was only ever interested in a different kind of pain. 

“Fuck, Keanu!” She gasped, ragged and husky. The inside of Y/n’s throat burned and his name ricocheted off the walls. Messy strands clung to her heated, sweaty skin and Y/n’s face was buried in Keanu’s neck. Stark white flashed over her gaze and a gush of slick warmth coated his cock as she came, hard. 

Keanu kept up momentum, grinning mischievously as her little body writhed around him, her creamy juices feeling like every definition of ecstasy. He wanted more, he wanted to hear her call for him again. “Not so fast,” his strained grunt was managed through a tightly clenched jaw and gritted teeth. Vaguely, he could feel hot tears leaking down his shoulder, where her forehead still rested, but he didn’t register what had roused them. 

He couldn’t help her, not when it came to emotions, because he was a little lost there himself. But when their bodies were tangled, when he was buried between her legs, he could help her there. He could be her escape, if she’d be his. 

It wasn’t long before Keanu could feel Y/n convulsing around him again, another wave of pleasure washing their thighs, and that time, he joined her in release. Keanu’s cock twitched between her pulsating walls, generous bursts of cum coating them, only to drip out and sticky their skin, spreading around with a few faltering jerks of his hips. Y/n milked him for all he was worth, her whines and loud, shaking breath weaning more out of him. “Y/n,” he heaved, hugging her close, fingers tangled in the ends of her hair and leaving reddish impressions on the lowest point of her back. 

Y/n’s hold on his back slackened and at some pointed her quiet tears had evaporated. Relaxing a little, she still clung to Keanu, her heart content when he held onto her too. But it wasn’t enough to quell her mind. “Why are you crying?”  Keanu brushed some hair away from her face when he pulled away slightly, noting her bleary eyes and stained cheeks.

As if he didn’t know.

“I’m not crying,” she lied, knowing that he’d possibly forgo the obvious and accept her lie. For a split second though, Keanu seemed to doubt her, and Y/n softly repeated, her thumb skimming the apple of his cheek, their gazes locked, “I’m not crying.” And with that, she distracted him, because his attention span was nil when lust was involved, and Y/n let her lips crush sensually against his, stirring him again with delicate strokes. 

She wasn’t crying, not in anymore. Not for a little while. Not as long as she was high on him. 

******

Tagging- @harrisongslimited​  @paanchu786​  @thesadvampire​  @fanficsrusz​  @fickensteinn​  @ladyreapermc​  @babygirltaina​  @septimaseverina​  @snatchedbylele​  @omg-imagine @21stcenturyyfoxx​  @magnificentclodpiebanana @allie1804-fan @keandrews  @greenmanalishi  @rdjloverxxx​  @danceoftwowolves​

[mordoriscalling]

48 Weeks (1/4)

Throughout the 48 weeks that Geralt and Jaskier spend apart, their relationship develops.

Aka, part 3 of the Singer and the Sailor AU no one asked for but I wrote anyway. The events of this story happen after Stay or Sail Away but before Homecoming. Warnigns: some sexual content ahead! 

Weeks 1-12

Week 1

The memory of everyone he left behind is still fresh in his mind. He clearly recalls how he embraced Ciri and Yen for the last time. The hugs were short but his daughter and ex-wife know that he needs to grow distanced before deployment. It hurts less this way.

Jaskier was there to say goodbye too, but it was different with him. He has no idea how all of this works, and they only had mere three weeks to enjoy each other’s company. They tried to make best of it but Geralt still wanted to detach himself in the last week. Jaskier reacted with panic and kept asking if he’d done something wrong.

The only wrong Jaskier’s ever done was to appear in Geralt’s life just like that, waltzing past his walls and defences with laughable ease. Jaskier is loud and bright, almost unbearably so, and everything is suddenly too dark and quiet when he isn’t there.

Geralt didn’t use to mind dark and quiet. He rather enjoyed them, in fact. Now, as he waits for Jaskier’s first video call, he’s vaguely annoyed that he allowed Jaskier to influence him like this in such a short period of time. The change is small but significant and he shouldn’t have let it happen, not so fast.

But then Jaskier’s face appears on the screen, his face lit up by a brilliant smile, and any negative thoughts suddenly fly out of Geralt’s mind.

“Hi, handsome,” Jaskier purrs.

“Hello,” Geralt replies.  

“I must say,” Jaskier goes on in low voice, “the sight of you in the uniform does certain... things to me.”

Geralt looks down at his clothes with a bemused frown. He’s wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt with shoulder pads showing his rank, a black tie and black trousers. It’s nothing special. He has no idea what Jaskier sees but what he does know is that Jaskier’s gaze on him is distracting, so Geralt decides to change the subject. Clearing his throat, he asks, “How are you?”

Jaskier beams as if he asked the best possible question.

Week 2

“How the first two weeks on the ship have been?”

“Busy,” Geralt answers truthfully.

“And?” Jaskier prompts, after a moment of silence.

Geralt sighs, irritated. “And there’s a lot of work to do and some chaos, like always at the beginning.”

Jaskier chuckles. “This will have to suffice for now, but know this, White Wolf: I will get all your stories out of you.”

Geralt rolls his eyes and asks, “How are you?”

There’s that smile again.

Week 3

“How are you?”

Jaskier’s grin is blinding as he answers, “Honestly, Geralt, you’re just so sweet.”

Geralt grunts. Jaskier has to be mentally challenged in some way, to think that the basic human decency which Geralt displays is some kind of special gesture. (Or have had unpleasant experiences with past relationships but that doesn't seem right. Who would treat Jaskier like that?)

He only asks Jaskier about how he’s doing the first moment he can. It’s not much but Jaskier appears to think it is. Geralt’s not going to correct him, not when it makes Jaskier smile like that.

Week 4

“I wrote you a song.”

Geralt doesn’t know what to say to that.

“I’ll send you the recording, just tell me what you think.”

He only nods. As he listens to the song after they hang up, he can’t find any words to describe it. The beautiful lyrics tell a story of lovers camping in a forest, and Jaskier’s voice conveys so many emotions that Geralt’s chest aches.

Before the knows it, he listens to the song every evening, then it keeps replaying in his mind at all times. Jaskier’s voice is there with him, luring him towards thoughts that he shouldn’t entertain, and it all affects him in a way he struggles to express.

Week 5

“Thank you, siren.”

It’s the only words he’s found. Somehow, they seem to be enough for Jaskier.

Week 6

Jaskier is leaving on tour tomorrow, his first international one. He has a lot to say, but not necessarily on that topic.

“It turns out my agent and your ex-wife are friends from uni. I hate it, Geralt. I don’t want them to get along. I have a feeling I’m gonna have little say in my own life from now on.”

Geralt acknowledges Jaskier’s despair with a grunt that is barely noticed because Jaskier chatters on, “The only thing I’d hate more would be you knowing Triss too.”

Geralt frowns. There’s only one Triss he knows. “Triss Merigold?”

There’s a stunned pause and then, “What the fuck, Geralt –”

Week 7

Jaskier is in Europe now and Geralt is somewhere on the Atlantic but he can’t say anything else. Jaskier seems tired but Geralt finds out that it doesn’t make him any less talkative.

“I’m still not over the fact that you were right there the whole time –”

“Jaskier –”

“ – just two introductions away!” A huff. “Hey Jaskier,” he pitches his voice high, imitating how a woman would sound rather well, “do you know my friend Yennefer? Oh, and here’s her ex-husband, who’s gonna ruin you for other men, women, and everyone in between and outside of that spectrum.”

Geralt snorts.

“I could’ve had you for so much longer,” Jaskier laments, “But actually, I wouldn’t have, because it seems I’d have had no idea about your existence at all if not for Lambert? Those two introductions were possible for five goddamn years that Triss has been my agent but apparently, that’s not enough time for it to happen –”

“Jaskier,” Geralt sighs. He needs some sleep and rest. He misses home, already.

“Yes, dear?” Jaskier asks.

Geralt does want to tell him to shut up but Jaskier’s eyes are too distracting, so what comes out of his mouth is, “Sing something.”

Jaskier obliges with the brightest of smiles.

Week 8

“We can’t –”

“I know,” Jaskier replies, “but that’s the thrill of it, don’t you think, darling?”

Geralt clenches his jaw, breathing heavily. The temptation is so strong he almost trembles, like a bloody teenager. Memories don’t work in his favour now – he still remembers Jaskier’s scent, how his skin, mouth and cum tastes. It sets his nerves on fire, and it takes every ounce of his self-control not to start palming himself through his trousers as Jaskier keeps talking in that damned husky voice.

“You know... your moans are the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

He bites down at his lip, hard.

“Moan for me, Geralt.”

Geralt does.

Week 9

It’s been more than two months and gloomy silence hangs between them as they stare at each other through the screen.

“Tell me something funny,” Jaskier says.

Geralt searches for any memory of the kind in his mind. When he finally finds it, he launches into the story, “There was that time when me, Eskel and Lambert went out and got so drunk that we blacked out. Next thing we know, we’re in some stranger’s flat, and Lambert’s wearing actual handcuffs, his hand tied to the guy’s ankle.”

“What?!”

“Yeah. We couldn’t find the keys to uncuff them anywhere and we couldn’t pick the lock either. Me and Eskel had to get clippers to set them free. We still have no idea how we got there.”

Jaskier starts chortling.

“That’s how Lambert met his boyfriend Aiden. They’ve been together for seven years now.”

Jaskier keeps cackling. When Geralt realises that listening to that – probably the most inelegant sound he’s ever heard in his life – warms him to his very core because it’s Jaskier’s laugh, there’s only one thought on his mind.

Fuck.

Week 10

“Another song?”

“Yes,” Jaskier admits, looking almost embarrassed, “I hope you like it.”

“Hmm.”

He knows he will. When he listens to the recording, he quickly finds out he wasn’t wrong. The song is more lively and dramatic than the first one, expressing the wonder of watching your lover move, and it feels like a promise. It makes Geralt look beyond the sea.  

Week 11

“Thank you for the song, siren.”

Jaskier sighs in a love-sick way. “I wish I could kiss you right now. Have got the slightest idea what I’d do to you?”

Geralt smirks. “Why don’t you tell me?”

Jaskier moans and goes on to describe his fantasy in vivid detail.

Week 12

Geralt toys with the gold wolf signet as he waits for Jaskier’s call and tries not to drown in grim thoughts.

Being away from his family starts getting hard. The worst period of deployment begins – he hasn’t been away from home long enough to forget but just enough to miss his loved ones terribly and not be able to get over it. The very second his thoughts wander away from work at hand, he remembers Ciri’s laugh, Yen’s smile, his brother’s embraces and father’s gruffness.

Then there’s Jaskier, with his bloody bright smiles, charm, quick wit and endearing... everything. He makes it so much harder.

They should’ve just parted ways, Geralt muses. They shouldn’t have exchanged their “engagement rings” for safekeeping to give them back to each other after Geralt returns like it’s some ridiculous romance novel.

Jaskier’s ridiculous like that, though, and Geralt’s still hasn’t learnt to say no to him.

When Jaskier greets him cheerfully and asks him about how he’s doing, a smile tugs at Geralt’s lips as he answers, “Better now.”

Part 2

***

A/N: you can also read this on AO3. 

The first song that Jaskier writes is in Icelandic IRL (and it’s so goddamn beautiful) but even the English lyrics are just so stunning, I can 100% imagine Jaskier singing that:  This night is ours, spring in the forrest air Let’s pitch our tent among the berries over there. Lead me, my dearest, to the grove of yesterday Where the brook kindly whispers and the birches sway. Light locks in motion, lingering emotion A rose scented breeze from the Fae Dew drops glitter, the dale is quiet and fair Dreams coming true for lovers sleeping there Heather blushing in the evening sun’s last ray The cool quiet night comes after a perfect day Light locks in motion, lingering emotion A rose scented breeze from the Fae