#Maybe we should LEAVE THE DESERT THAT WAY if it's so fucking pretty

[amplexadversary]

"people are wrong for calling [location] ugly look at these!"

*posts 10 pictures of the most hideous landscape you've ever seen, one extreme close up of a flower, one super dark picture of generic mountains, seven pictures that are mostly sky (notably visible from anywhere you can get away from light pollution), and a single unique looking location that, while pretty, is visibly inhospitable and not what you would see on the regular living nearby*

This is a hate post.

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[draqu1a]

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ A SPEEDY COMPETITION . . .

— what kind? : ANGST — warnings : harsh language , illegal car racing , viewers discretion is adviced .

The air crickled with animosity. You could practically taste it, metallic and sharp, clinging to the exhaust fumes hanging heavy in the desert air.

Neon signs buzzed a flashy symphony of defiance against the intruding twilight. Tonight, like every Friday night, the patch of concrete just outside the city limits transformed into a gladiatorial arena for horsepower.

And tonight, your opponent was Matt fucking Sturniolo.

He leaned against his cherry-red Mustang, arms crossed, a smirk playing on his infuriatingly pretty face. His usual carefully styled hair was, for once, genuinely windswept and you had to admit, hesitantly, that he looked good. Way too good.

"Ready to eat my dust, sweetheart?" he drawled, the edge in his voice betraying the feigned nonchalance.

"Honey, you're gonna be choking on it," you shot back, leaning against the hood of your souped-up Subaru, the engine throbbing like a caged beast. “And don't call me sweetheart.”

He pushed off the Mustang walked closer to you, his eyes dark and challenging. "Oh? Feeling confident, are we? Maybe you should be thinking about what you're gonna be wearing while you're working on my ride, sweetheart."

You scoffed, meeting his gaze head-on. "Please, Sturniolo. You think I even touch your pathetic attempt at a muscle car? I'd rather sand my skin off with a cheese grater."

Matt chuckled. "Always the dramatic style, aren't you? Then again, maybe you're just compensating for something... lacking in the driving department."

That was it. You’d had it with this condescending, entitled prick. You moved closer, your voice a low growl. “We both know that’s bullshit, Sturniolo. I’m the best driver out here and you know it.”

“Then prove it, sweetheart.” He stepped even closer so that his breath fanned across your face. "Let's make things interesting."

The air thickened, not just with exhaust but something else, something primal. You tilted your head, a slow smile spreading across your face. "Oh? And what did you have in mind?"

“Loser does whatever the winner says. No limits." His eyes sparkled with a challenge.

You paused, considering. It was reckless, insane and exactly what you needed. This rivalry with Matt, this burning animosity, kinda fueled you.

It pushed you harder, made you faster, made you better. The thought of finally having him under your thumb, forced to admit your superiority... God, it was intoxicating.

"No limits?" you echoed, drawing out the words, enjoying the way his jaw tightened. "You sure you can handle that, Sturniolo? Knowing me, I'll be taking a huge chunk of that oh-so-precious self-respect of yours."

He smirked, a genuine, predatory smirk that sent a shiver down your spine, despite yourself. "Trust me, sweetheart. You're the one who's gonna be regretting this. You have no idea what I have in mind for you

"Alright Sturniolo. You're on."

The day before the race, the tension was riding up to eleven. You found Matt tinkering under the hood of his Mustang, seemingly oblivious to the crowd going wild around him.

"Having second thoughts?" you yelled over the roar of engines, strolling over towards him.

He straightened up, wiping grease from his hands with a rag. "Not in the slightest. Just making sure you have no excuses when I leave you in the dust."

"Excuses? Honey, the only excuse you'll have is that my taillights were too blinding for you to see straight."

He rolled his eyes. "You're delusional."

"Oh, I'm delusional? Remember last month when you swore you'd beat me by a full second? How'd that work out for you, pretty boy?" You laughed, enjoying the way his face darkened.

"That was a fluke!" he sputtered. "My timing was off."

"Sure it was. Maybe you should spend less time worrying about your hair and more time learning how to drive." You reached out and ruffled his hair, just to rile him up even more, feeling victorious when he backed away from you looking mad and annoyed..

He grabbed your wrist, his grip surprisingly tight. "Don't touch me."

You met his gaze, your heart pounding a little faster than you liked. “Or what, Sturniolo? You gonna cry?”

His grip tightened. "Just stay away from me. I don't want you trying to sabotage my car before the race."

"Sabotage? Please. I wouldn't waste my time. Beating you fair and square is so much more satisfying." You yanked your wrist free. "Besides, I'm not the one known for playing dirty. Remember that time you tried to cut me off at the hairpin turn?"

"That was... tactical maneuvering!"

"It was cheating, Matt. Just admit it."

He glared at you, his jaw clenched so tight you thought it might shatter. "Just get lost. I need to focus."

You grinned, turning to leave. "Don't worry, honey. I'll be watching you. And tomorrow night? I'm going to enjoy every single second of your humiliation."

The race itself was a blur of adrenaline and roaring engines. You felt every shift, every curve, every micro-adjustment to your steering. You could hear Matt’s engine behind you, a constant irritating presence.

He was good, you had to give him that. But you were better.

As you crossed the finish line, a fraction of a second ahead of him, a victorious scream ripped through you. You'd won.

The crowd went wild, a chaotic mix of cheers and applause. You saw Matt pull up beside you, his face a mask of fury and disbelief.

He cut off his engine and stared at you, jaw tight, face unreadable. "You... you cheated," he spat out.

You laughed, pushing your hair out of your face. "Oh, please. Don't be a sore loser, Matt."

"I saw you. You boosted your engine a little more than allowed"

You smirked. "Maybe I just know how to work the system better than you do."

He was silent for a long moment, his eyes burning into you. Then, he let out a long, slow breath. "Fine," he said, his voice tight. "You won. What do you want?"

The possibilities flooded your head. Humiliation? Embarrassment? Make him wash your car in a bikini?

"I want you to admit it," you said, your voice low and dangerous. "I want you to stand right here, in front of everyone, and admit that I'm the better driver."

He flinched, his pride wounded. You pressed on, a delicious anticipation rising within you. You could feel him caving in.

"Say it, Sturniolo. Say I'm better."

He looked around at the expectant faces, the buzzing crowd, the glaring neon lights. And then, finally, he said it. "You're... you're the better driver."

It wasn't much, but it was enough. You saw the raw humiliation in his eyes and smirked.

"Good boy," you said, then you got out of your car, you watched him drive away.

This wasn't over. It was far from over. But for now, you savored the moment. You had won. And the best part was, you knew, deep down, that this was just the beginning.

Your little game with him has just begun.

𓂃˖ ࣪⊹🃜 . yappin claudia : idk what to put heree lol :p , i’m posting this so late too ugh .

𓂃˖ ࣪⊹🃜 . taglist : @strnilolover @ifwdominicfike @courta13 @sturns-mermaid @sturnsc @devonheffley @sophand4n4 @mi-co-uk . . . .

[love-of-the-red-star]

That time I got reincarnated as an Aeon

(Series)

Chapter two: This is not a good day to be a god.

Warnings: Spoilers for Aventurine’s backstory, some canon divergent stuff as I’m taking creative liberties. Reader is kind of biased but also not. People aren’t really having a good time. Good ol Eldritch horror. This chapter is a bit more serious in tone than the last ones.

“Mr. Yang, can we please switch the channel?”

Welt, being the nearest person near the techy T.V you absolutely had no fucking idea how to operate yet had obliged to your request, because you see, the news channel had no problem broadcasting your latest breakdown for everyone to hear.

You could have sworn you saw Pompom almost cry from the sound of your eldritch version and honestly you wouldn’t blame them— if you were them, you were sure you’d cry at the sound of your own voice too because what the fuck was that—

Why you even cried? Well, you accidentally freed a planet.

From existing. By simply accidentally dropping your tears on it because you cried watching a planet from thousands of light years away that you’re pretty sure is Sigonia come to conflict.

How you accidentally did more damage than Nanook and haven’t ended up being assimilated to them is beyond you, but you remembered you still have some agendas, you can’t be eaten yet.

It wasn’t exactly your fault your true form was a little too big that rogue planets who had the unlucky chance to get too near you ended up being quite literally disassembled. You just hoped there were no sentient life forms in it.

Continuing on with breakfast, Himeko drank her weird smelling coffee near you, unperturbed and probably used to hearing the news airing out your dirty laundry. (She’s still a little shaken from hearing the crying, but knowing you personally has made it seem.. less terrifying.)

You munched on your toast, thanking Pompom for making it the way you liked it; being slightly on the burnt side.

Welt had switched the channel to a different network, this time, there’s sports. Everyone seemed content on seeing sweaty men on a soccer field instead of hearing your not so pleasant and probably horrifying sounding distress so it was a win.

Then you randomly remembered Sigonia.

“Hey uh.. Himeko? Do we have data on this specific star cluster here?” You asked as you scribbled on a piece of paper, hoping at least that Akivili had made it there at least once.

Himeko peered through the paper and frowned. “….” She seemed hesitant, which confirmed your suspicion. “We don’t… the rail hasn’t gone that way just yet.”

Well shit. It seemed like you couldn’t take the express with you without you heading there and establishing a space anchor first.

But that would take time. Too much time. And you realized that logically there would be little to no benefit of a space anchor in a harsh desert planet— you cut those thoughts as soon as they came, you weren’t going to think like the IPC.

It’s up to you to establish a connection then. But could you even make it in time?

————————————

Your projection had disappeared after breakfast, leaving the express once again to wander as they pleased as you returned to your original body to peer into Sigonia— specifically Sigonia IV once again.

It’s surprisingly lively for a desolate place. It made sense, people do live there, and it made you smile at the resilience they presented despite their circumstances.

You should bless them, you thought, maybe placing it under the guise of their mother goddess if you’re remembering their belief system correctly. She.. unfortunately does not exist, but you do.

You won’t let them know that though for the sake of their peace.

You just wish the two clans would free themselves from hatred; logically it would be more beneficial to work together in a place like that, and it made you feel bad for the Katicans in a way— to be caged by their own prejudice they can’t see beyond words or envy that they’d choose to simply wipe out another clan out of those feelings. It was just sad, a little pathetic almost.

You didn’t want to be biased, but you do know you have sides to take if you wanted to be free of something. In this situation, you don’t think there was an option to simply have the two of them be on equal terms— not for now at least. Maybe you should consult Xipe? But where even are they?

For the sake of quieting your strangely human conscience, you chose to bless the Avgins in their little festival, in the hope that you’d steer them away from their written fate.

You know it’d be hard to fight, but you’d be damned if you didn’t try.

It had taken you to seeing little Kakavasha for a good while for you to finally crack and get down there yourself.

There was no way you were going to let him suffer a life that you knew was going to happen to him, not if you could do something about it. And lucky for you, you were an Aeon, and you were an Aeon that did whatever they damn wanted.

You had said fuck you to fate that day and took the form of an Avgin woman, not before leaving a message to Boothill that you hope he’d receive considering you’re not delivering it through your phone number— you were delivering your message through sheer will.

————————

Assimilating with the Avgin had come rather easily. It had made you feel bad to deceive them— you had pretended to be injured, no, it was more like you intentionally let your projection appear injured, as you approached their camp.

You had called yourself “Delia”, and they were keen on accepting that. They had taken care of you and kids cooed over the patterns of the skirt that you wore, asking you how you had created it.

Your only saving grace had been a young girl who appeared almost the same physical age as you, shooing away the people who crowded you too much. (Not that there was even many of them, there were three at most, and they were children.)

You had only awkwardly laughed as she shot them a look, something about how the “patient” needed to be left alone.

“Sorry about them, they can be excitable when they see something pretty.” She said to you, squeezing a wet rag before she wiped your face with it. It’s embarrassing to be taken care of like you were a baby, but if it’s what it took to try and free them, then you’re willing to sacrifice your dignity a little more— if you were being honest, you’d take this over hearing the sound of your own crying on the television.

“It’s fine.” You smiled as she put the rag down and checked your “injured” leg.

“A few more days and you’d be good to go. Though…. You’re healing faster than people normally would…..” You could sense the suspicion in her tone, and inwardly you smiled mischievously. “Never mind, I suppose that’s a good thing. The sooner you heal, the sooner you’re out of the bed and can go around and move about.” She nodded to herself in her assessment of you and left the tent.

It was days later that you found that she’s funnily enough, Kakavasha’s sister.

By that time, you were known by the people around you, but you didn’t know them.

Kakavasha had been one of those who knew you in courtesy of his older sister; and now he’s here, shyly peeking over the table as you scribbled away into a sheet of paper.

He’s curious as he peered over your work. “It’s the stars you see on the left side of that mountain.” You told him, hesitantly he brings his pointer finger and holds it over the tear drop shapes.

“What’s this?”

“It’s rain.” You explained, and the little boy that you once knew to be the gambler tilted his head.

“Why is there so many of them?” Ah right, this place didn’t rain much.

“The sky is crying.” You told him and he simply frowned.

“Sister said you have a lot of stories.” He decided to change the topic, probably sensing your awkwardness. How embarrassing for a little kid to know you’re not good at speaking, but you know you’ll eventually learn how to better yourself in doing so.

“Yes I do, wanna hear one of them?” Your smile returned, and little Kakavasha, with his one missing front tooth, reflected your expression.

“I’m taking that as a yes. I’ll tell you the story of a girl who lost everything to the rain…”

————————

Two Sigonian months (you’ve counted the hours, and put them into months to prevent yourself from going insane from saying the numbers) and you’re pretty sure you’ve ran out of tales you’ve parodied from the original you told him and the other children. Kakavasha had brought it upon himself to stick by your side funnily enough, saying something about not caring if you repeat the tales to him again.

His mother had brought you to the side some time ago, thanking you for the diversion you gave to the children from the reality they were in.

You were combing a sleeping Kakavasha’s hair when you had heard it. The dreaded call for aid for the next Kakava festival.

And there was no time for the space anchor you were just starting to make.

Your hands paused, and you gently set the child’s head off your lap and into a pillow before disappearing into the night.

You returned 6 system hours later. Then another 18 system hours went by before you disappeared again and reappeared exactly after six hours. That continued on for days as the festival grew nearer.

——————————

Unbeknownst to you, this was utterly terrifying for the galaxy rangers aside from Boothill to receive messages from a nonexistent number. It had come in the form of a cipher, then actual comprehensive texts, then another cipher again and all of them would increase in frequency— as if the one who was calling for help was making it a point that it was urgent.

All of it had led to the answer of Sigonia IV despite the other strange contents of those messages.

Sometimes it wasn’t even texts at all, sometimes it was calls in the same six system hour time span that they’d receive those messages. They’d receive the call, and they would receive static sounds that formed words— gibberish half the time, but still beckoning them to Sigonia IV.

Some of them had put their phone down sometimes as the calls manifested into sounds that made them shudder all the way to their bones. They couldn’t describe the noise, but it put some sort of primal reaction out of them enough that some of them went 72 system hours without sleep.

As irrational and ridiculous as it sounded, there were very little things that galaxy rangers feared.

Whatever was sending them these things were one of them.

Sometimes it would be their TV, and Boothill had the unfortunate fate of listening to the strange cacophony that if he had been a human he was sure it would have terrified him enough he’d piss himself. There was something wrong about the waves it emitted, it wasn’t a normal glitch or a hack sort of glitch, but rather something else.

SOS, Sigonia IV, SOS, Sigonia IV. The message were a repeat.

In the calls he received, he would have thought he was having a fever dream when he found they didn’t exist in his call logs until his fellow rangers confirmed they received the same message.

He remembered receiving the text once before all this— a strange occurrence, but not exactly a coincidence.

They received the same messages again for this night. Except the ending sequence changed.

Bring people. Avgin. IPC not help. SOS. Sigonia IV. Send HELP.

After the last sequence had indicated the date, the TV short circuited and the lights dimmed.

“Oh fudge me.” Boothill muttered, whoever or whatever was even sending these things were clearly going agitated. “Looks like we’re going to be on a roll boys, I don’t think it’s wise to priss off this cutie pie so best we don’t ignore that signal for any fudging longer than we already had.”

“Say less, and I hope to the aeons I get a good nights sleep when we’re done.”

—————————————

Part I, Part II, Part III [HERE], Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII….

And that’s a wrap for part two! I know it lacks jokes but come on. But yeah we’re going on the more serious territory for a bit before we go back for the jokes. Heavily unedited and written in the middle of the night.

[alexander-arcturus-black-lupin-r]

Best Friends, Right?

Pairing: Matheo Riddle x fem!Reader (y/n)

Fandom: Harry Potter

Summary: You're in the common room studying and Matheo is so close. 

You were in the common room reading a book. Classes were out and you needed to relax. You were cuddling with Matheo. You were friends, best friends. 

Or atleast.  

That’s what you both told everyone, but deep down. No matter how to tried, you knew. You liked him. You like Matheo fucking Riddle. You don’t know how, when or what he did, but you had gained a crush on him. But the thing is, it was one sided. 

Matheo was with a different girl everyday. The boys joked that he changed girls faster than clothes. You didn’t want to ruin your friendship so you kept quiet. 

For a year.

Unbeknownst to you Matheo who you thought was having a nap had woken up a while ago. He noticed you’d zoned out. He straightened and pulled you closer, putting his nose in your neck. 

“Teo? Are you awake?” He said nothing as he continued holding you closer.He felt you lower your book and caress his cheek, “You’re really cute while you sleep, and pretty although i’ll never ever tell you this if you were awake” you played with his hair a bit then went back to your book. “Maybe that’s why I fell for you,” he froze. 

Maybe that’s why i fell for you

Soon you had put down your book (using your wand since any movement might wake up Matheo) and you laid back into him. His sleepy hands wrapped around you bringing you closer.

“You fell for me,” he mumbled into your neck. You froze. Shit. He was awake.

"What?" You feigned confusion.

"Don't play daft darling I heard you earlier," he mumbles, his gaze still on you. You had said that part outloud. He waits for an answer, his eyes roving over you.

"I- it's a silly crush i had a while ago, like a really really long time agao, it's not really something to think hard about, because like obviously you don't feel the same way so let's just ignore th-" Matheo rolls his eyes and you stop.

"Weren't you the one who said to stop assuming things," he drawls his voice low and husky. You furrow your brow. What?

"Teo, What am i assuming?" He comes closer, and closer till he's a hair breadth away.

"That I don't feel the same," your eyes unfocuse and a shaky gasp leaves your lips, your gaze drops to the lips you've been fantasising about since 5th year. "Speechless are we love?"

"But you, you're with a different girl everyday Teo, I'm not interested in being one of them," he tilts his head a slight smile on his face.

"The reason, I thought was quite clear since Enzo, Teddy, Draco and Pansy couldn't keep their mouth shut or their jokes to themselves." You're definitely confused now.

"Darling, the reason I'm with another girl everyday is because I'm hoping I might feel something for them, that I might love them, that I'd be released from loving someone who didn't look my way," he chuckles. "The first day we met, I introduced myself, hand stretched and everything, only for you to just drop your name and go back to your book, leaving me hanging," you chuckle remembering that day.

"I apologised didn't I"

"Yes, but you still made an impression, an impression that made me fall hopelessly in love with you," Matheo plays with your hand.

"But you never looked at me like that, or atleast I didn't know you ever looked at me like that, so the girls I went out with were a distraction from you,"

"You love me?-" you were cut off as he kisses you, his hands wrapping around your waist bringing you in, onto his lap. You lazyly kissed him back relishing in it.

"I say all that and you still have to ask," you smile and say nothing before laying your head im his shoulder breathing in his scent.

You just giggling and kiss him again, and again and again and again.

"I should be concerned about all the affection I'm receiving but strangely I'm not, Do you want to go for desert downstairs," Matheo says. "Consider it our first date, official date,"

"I'd like that,"

[yourfavdope]

rose is my worst enemy|riddle

summary: You fell in love with Riddle parings: Riddle x fem!reader warnings: Bad grammar word count: 1081 author's note: Excuse for all grammar mistakes but english is not my first language. I also haven't post my works for a long time so I hope you're gonna enjoy!

His dark hair was always agitated by curls more than the angry sea

His deep dark eyes in which I drown

Always emotionless

Just like his face

Always the same expression

Indifferent or furious yet too proud

Always stiff but jealous

Son of a Dark Lord

That's what they said about him but for me he was more than that

More than a man with an angelic face and unknowable feelings

To this day I remember how he gave me a red rose. I looked into his dark eyes and although they were indifferent, I drowned in them. My heart drowned in his eyes a long time ago. His face showed no emotions, and yet I felt so many. The touch of his hand lit me up like the sun lights up the desert sand. The hug he gave me unleashed a storm that destroyed everything.

"Y/n are you listening to me" Tom asked.

"Yeah, I just...I'm sorry I have some sort of problem with concentration lately" I responded.

"I can clearly tell. Especially when you're not excited for a potion lesson with Pansy. It's not like you two are doing anything there" Tom affirmed.

If only he can understand the storm that's ruining me. Maybe I should tell him.

"I think I need to..." I started but Pansy ran to our dormitory . "Y/n we have to go now. Today we'll be having the amortentia and you know that I have a dilemma if I like Mattheo or Draco more" she screamed, not noticing Mattheo's brother standing by the window.

"Fuck you Y/n" she shouted when she realized that Tom's here. I glanced and awkwardly smiled at her.

"You know, fuck you both. I'll be waiting outside. And Tom better not tell anyone what you heard" she said.

"It's not like I care about my brother," he said. Pansy glared at him and left, dramatically slamming the door. And that's what I love her for, because she doesn't pretend who she is and she doesn't pretend what she feels.

I sighed then got up from the bed and grabbed my bag. I slowly started to leave the room when Tom stopped me. He grabbed me tightly around the waist and looked at me. I could feel his dark eyes scanning not only my face but also my soul.

"You'd better smell my scent , because I'd be very disappointed to find out that one of your pathetic friends is messing with that pretty head of yours" he whispered. I placed a quick kiss on his cheek and left the room. Our relationship was too complicated for me to respond with something that wouldn't cause an argument.

"Finally. Why does it take you so long" Pansy asked. I rolled my eyes because I had a bad feeling and didn't want to discuss it with anyone. I didn't want her to worry. I had to discover what was wrong on my own.

All the way to the hall, I listened to Pansy debate the smells and consider which of the guys was the better choice. I couldn't help but smile. She was so real for that.

"Good luck" I whispered to her as we entered the hall.

From the very beginning I knew something was wrong. I could smell blood everywhere. I took a quick look around the guys to see if any of them were fighting again. There wasn't even a scratch on their faces.

"Why is she so yapping? It's not even a Slytherin party that she loves so much" Theo asked.

"Have you recently started smoking more again?" I asked him, as the smell of cigarettes entered my nostrils.

"First you change the subject and then insult me, as if you weren't asking if I'm up to smoke every fucking 5 minutes" Theo scoffed.

"I'm sorry" I laughed. "Today Pansy is choosing her love," I added. Theo gave me a pity look. I knew what he meant. Countless times he escorted me and Pansy drunk from Hogsmead to the room. He had to listen to my complaints that I wasn't drunk and he should leave me there, and had to listen to Pansy debate over which boy she likes more.

Good to be Pansy, who doesn't have to care which boy she loves more and which boy she truly likes.

And then he walked in.

I could feel that he was looking at me, however, I pretended not to see him and unmoved chatted with Theo. More and more people were gathering in the classroom. I wasn't Slughorn's favorite student and I was going to class only to gossip with Pansy, annoy Mattheo, and copy everything from Blaise and Enzo. So I went to the back of the class, leaving Theo while keeping an eye on Pansy.

I could feel that he was staring at me all the time. Dark eyes trying to penetrate my soul but I tried so hard to brush it off. I tried so hard to stop the storm I felt. I couldn't concentrate but I pretended I was. The scent of blood, cigarettes and perfume gave me a headache. I could feel it permeating me to the marrow of my bones. No matter how hard I tried to deny it and smell the scent of death, pride and books, I couldn't. The storm in my heart raged more and more.

I didn't even notice when Slughorn started the lesson but here we are. Hermione was always ready to answer, so others didn't have to worry.

"And now this one... Yes, my dear" Horace Slughorn asked.

"Amortentia" Hermione answered.

"That's right. It would be foolish to ask, but I suppose you know what it does" he asked again.

"It's the most powerful love potion in the world," Hermione replied.

"Correct! You recognized it, I assume, by the distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen" teacher examined.

"And the steam rising in characteristic spirals. As for its smell, it's different to each person, depending on what attracts them most, " the student observed.

Whole class was busy debating with Slughorn, and I watched Pansy. At first, I couldn't read her thoughts. Then she stood next to Malfoy and winked at me.

Then I felt his hands wrapping around my waist.

In moments like this life is what you make it. But sometimes, even after the worst storm, the sun appeared and the rose bushes could bloom again.

"I smell your scent too Mattheo" I whispered quietly, squeezing his hand.

[niallsgoldhoop]

Chapter Ten

Niall

God, I'm so fucked.

The thought keeps circling around and around in my mind, over and over and over.

Walking out of this restaurant with my fingers laced through Wren's— It's obvious. Getting to know her has made it impossible not to want to get even closer and closer.

Knowing that her lips felt like against mine?

That felt like the epitome of coming home... No matter how fake it was supposed to be.

I didn't have to come to this dinner with her family.

When she told me about it and said that I didn't need to meet her or go with her, the sour feeling in my stomach seemed to follow me all day long. So instead of going home after my last meeting, I found myself driving to the restaurant she told me about.

Walking in the doors and just seeing how close her ex was to her— The way his hand slipped across her leg under the table had a whole new feeling bubbling inside of my chest.

It wasn't jealousy, but anger.

For him to think that not only could he even sit in her presence, but to touch her? To put his hands on the woman he should have treasured?

Yeah, I don't fucking think so.

Without a second thought, I walked up to the woman who wasn't really mine and put my lips exactly where I wanted them to be.

Ever since that event, ever since I kissed Wren for the first time, it felt like all I wanted to do was kiss her again and again.

But I wouldn't do that.

It was against the rules.

"Thanks for coming." Turning to face me once we reach her car, those pretty chocolate eyes find mine. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's no problem." I shrug. "That's what I'm here for, right?"

Biting her bottom lip, the one I want to take between my teeth, her eyes search mine for just a moment. "Yeah, yeah. You're right."

We stand there facing each other for just a second before Wren reaches into her bag, the movement making the light reflect over the chain on her neck.

"You're wearing it?" I take the small pendant between my fingers without thinking, my eyes going from the stone to her lips, making a path until they meet her eyes. "I figured you'd let it sit in that box you tried to leave at my house."

Her laughter is melodic, her smile a perfect picture.

"Well, I figured if we really want to sell this thing then maybe I wouldn't let it get all dusty." Mischief dances behind her eyes. "Thank you, by the way, for coming here tonight."

Dropping the pendant, I put my hands in my pockets before I do something stupid like hold her when I shouldn't. "Yeah, well.... Just helping sell our story."

"Right." Clutching her keys in her hand, dark waves fall across her face. "I should get home."

Stepping back, I resist the urge to try and figure out how to spend more time with her.

How to prolong every second.

Being around Wren is like getting to feel the warmth of the sunshine after a twenty year dark night— an indescribable feeling.

The more I know her and see her the more I want everything with her.

As I watch her get behind the wheel the words circle back to me once again.

I am so fucked.

________

"Fuck."

Running my hand through my hair, I watch the golf ball as it sinks into the bottom of the oversized pond.

I came out here after the storm finally subsided, the course deserted and perfect for me to play a round by myself to try and get my thoughts straightened out.

There's no way that I can continue to think about Wren the way that I have been.

That'll just lead to heartbreak.

Golf had always been the one thing that felt like it was mine.

The golf course was a place where everything else just seemed to fade away and all of my problems didn't exist anymore. My entire career I got to do the one and only thing that made sense, the one thing that made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Right now though— I hate golf.

Because golf brought the one person I shouldn't be thinking about into my life.

My swing was fucked up.

My concentration was gone.

My patience was thin.

Dark clouds still covered the sky as if they could still drop rain at any moment, a true tell that I really shouldn't be out here holding metal in my hand.

Deciding to give it one more shot, I reach into my bag for another golf ball, rolling it between my fingers before placing it down on the tee and getting myself squared up.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I push every thought out and follow through with my swing and watch the ball as it soars through the sky—

Right into the fucking bushes.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I grumble, all but jamming my club back into the bag. "This is fucking stupid."

Getting behind the wheel of the golf cart, the frown on my face draws down the closer I get to the thick shrubs, the logo of the Callaway golf ball barely peeking out from between the leaves.

I grab the iron out of my bag and make my way closer to the green leaves, ignoring the sound my shoes make in the mud.

Just as I get right where I need to be, only then do I hear it.

A line forms between my brows as I tilt my head to the side, making sure that I'm not imagining anything. Between a growl and a whimper, the sound is almost too quiet to hear.

"What in the hell?" Trying to look through thick branches I can't see anything but when the sound gets louder, I crouch down and see it.

Backed against the roots, a muddy ball of fur looks back at me as little white teeth show when another pitiful growl meets my ears.

Dropping to my hands and knees and ignoring the mud, I click my tongue against my teeth hoping to draw them out towards me. Instead though, all I get is a quick snap of those little teeth that turns into a whimper when tiny paws press further into the ground.

"Come on, I won't hurt you." I coo.

We stay like that for a couple of minutes before I sit back on my heels, digging into my pocket and pulling out my phone.

Before I even register what I'm doing, I hear Wren on the other line. "Niall?"

"Hey— Are you still here?" Nervous, I crouch back down to look under the bush. "At work?"

"Yeah?" Drawing out the answer, she sounds confused. "Why?"

"Can you grab a cart and meet me on the nine?" My eyes don't leave the small animal. "I need some help."

Movement comes through the other end. "Okay, yeah— I'm on my way."

"I'm around the bend to the left of the sand next to the big bushes." Another whimper fills my ears. "I'll see you when you get here."

"See you in a few minutes." Wren disconnects the call leaving me to wait.

Blowing out a steady breath, I lay down on the ground, getting mud and god knows what else all over my clothes. "It's gonna be okay, you hear me?"

This time, it's a small bark that meets my ears, making me smile just a little.

"Are you going to come out here? Let me get you?" I try, using the softest voice I have. "We can get you inside and all cleaned up.

Like a lunatic, I keep talking until I hear the crunch of tires, looking behind me to see Wren as she gets out of the golf cart and makes her way towards me.

God, she's fucking beautiful.

"What's going on?" Hands firmly placed on her hips, she looks up at me with worried eyes. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Shaking my head, I ignore the feeling in my chest over the thought that she would be worried about me. "No, um, it's not me."

"Niall— Talk to me—"

"There's a dog stuck under the bush and it won't come to me." Wiping the back of my hand across my forehead, I feel the mud as it leaves a steak there. "I think it's hurt."

Those dark eyes soften as she steps closer to me, crouching down to peer between the leaves.

"Hey there, little cutie." Soft and sweet, her voice sounds like warm honey. "Are you feeling bad? Want to come to me?" Reaching out her hand, Wren rubs the tips of her fingers together and clicks her tongue a couple of times. "We can even get you some snacks— There you go, that's it."

A rustle deep in the bush makes my breath catch as I stand right behind her, ready to protect her. Little by little, whimper by whimper, the body of the dog comes into view as it crawls out from under the bush and through the mud.

"You're so good, so good." Scratching behind its ears, big dark eyes look up at the two of us at the same time it sits back and holds one front paw off the ground, just barely. "Let's get you out of here."

"Come here, baby." Before she can do anything, I bend down and scoop up the shaggy dog and hold him close. "I'm gonna make sure you're okay.

Wren stands up and looks at the two of us, a small smile on her face. "This was not on my bingo card for today, that's for sure."

"Me neither." I smile, the dog in my arms pressing further into my chest and getting even more mud all over me before turning and giving me its belly. "That's a good boy. Let me see that paw."

Gently taking it between my fingers, I wince at the same time he whimpers when the swollen pad of his paw comes into my view.

"It looks like there's a thorn deep in his paw." I say, looking over to Wren as she tries and fails to wipe the mud off her jeans. "Sorry about those— I'll replace them."

"They're just jeans, Niall." Stepping close to me, the scent of her perfume engulfs me. "Can you see the thorn?"

Holding my new little guy closer, I shake my head. "I can but I don't want to hurt him by getting it out."

"I know there's a vet close by." Looking up at me, she gives me a soft smile. "My friend uses them for her cats and says that they are always nice."

I nod, walking back to the golf cart. "I'll call them. Will you come with us?"

My breath lodges in my throat, nervous about the idea of asking her to come with me, ignoring the way I want her to come with me.

With us.

__________

"Hey, it's gonna be fine."

Wren nudges my thigh with hers as we sit in the waiting room. Snuggled into my arms, the mass of fur looks up at me with soft brown eyes, ones that have already got me wrapped around their finger.

"I'm just nervous—"

"Horan?

My head snaps up to meet the woman in the doorway, her blonde hair pulled back in a long ponytail. "Hi, yeah. Here."

"Come on back with me." A wide smile spreads across her face as she holds the door open for us. "I see you've got yourself a little one here."

"Yeah, um, I found him on the golf course. I can see a thorn in his paw but I didn't want to make it worse." I say, following her into the room.

"You can set them up here on the table." Her eyes don't leave mine. "We'll take a good look."

As soon as my hands leave his body, he turns and whines and moves closer to the edge of the table as if in the last thirty minutes he can't be away from me.

"Hey, it's okay— I'm right here." Cradling his sweet face, I look over to Wren. "I guess this makes him my dog now, doesn't it?"

"I think he was your dog from the moment he came out of those bushes." She smiles. "He's so cute."

My eyes stay on hers for just a moment before I lean over the short space, pressing my lips to her temple, ignoring the small gasp that she takes. "Thank you, Birdie."

Turning back I focus on the vet as she looks over my guy and when we get him to roll over, I laugh when his tail works back and forth a million miles an hour as I scratch his belly.

The distraction is all he needs as she pulls out the nasty, mean thorn. "Okay, I got that. Wasn't so bad was it?"

"No, it wasn't." I answer only a second after I realize she was talking to the dog and not me. "Sorry."

"No, you're fine. I'm going to go ahead and give him a round of shots and get him all caught up there since he looks like he's a little over nine or ten weeks old." With her back to us, she rummages around in a drawer before turning around, the needle in her hand. "This will just feel like a little pinch to him."

Nodding, my fingers rub the top of his head. "You're such a good boy."

He yelps at the shot for just a second before that tail starts wagging back and forth.

"Perfect." Tossing things into the bin, the vet eyes me closely. "With those he's up to date on everything and just keep an eye on his paw. I'll send you with some ointment to put on that spot and a wrap just in case you need it."

"Thank you very much for your help." Scooping him off the table, I reach for Wren's hand. "If we need anything we will definitely be back. I think we're about to go give this guy a good bath."

Laughing, the vet leads us out into the lobby and passes us off to the receptionist who takes my card when I hand it over without question.

"He did so good." Wren whispers to me, her hand winding around my waist as she leans into me. "You both did."

"Thanks." I smile at her. "Thanks to you for being there."

"I'll always be there." Her statement digs deep into my chest, burrowing a home there. "Come on, let's get our little guy home."

Our.

"There you guys go! You're all set!" The receptionist slides my receipt across the counter. "Have you thought of a name?"

I look down at the wide eyed dog in my arms and over to Wren, who smiles at me like I've hung the moon, all the way down to my shirt.

With a smile, I look at the logo across my chest and then back at my new furry friend.

I might not know much in life, but I know that good things happen when they least expect it.

What I thought was the love of my life has brought me not one, but two perfect beings.

So I smile when I scratch under my dog's chin, knowing exactly what his name is.

"Callaway, it's Callaway."

________

Can I pet that dawwwwwg?

twitter @ niallsgoldhoop

-Alex

[keaytomyheart]

[ooc - I don't usually post prose here because it's not in keeping with how I run the blog, but it feels weird not to conclude things properly. So. Yeah. Short fic to follow my recent posts.]

Gerry stands outside the Magnus Institute as sparks dance across his skin and clothes. The white of his eyes is fully consumed by inky blackness, and the only emotion his face shows is in the hard, determined set of his jaw.

For a long moment, he just stares at the building. Stone doesn't burn well, and he knows it. Then he kicks the curb, hard. The blow dislodges a chunk of loose concrete, which he hefts in the direction of the window.

He's interrupted before it can leave his hand by a car pulling up on the formerly deserted street.

"Ger---" Victor's voice is cut off suddenly as Gerry spins to face him.

"Back. Away," Gerry growls. "I---I don't want to hurt you."

Victor doesn't move. "You don't want to do this. This isn't you."

He laughs, a laugh he hasn't laughed in years. Cruel and inhuman. "I've wanted to do this for years. You're not going to stop me, so don't get in my way."

"No." Gerry just stands there, paralyzed by confusion, as Victor brushes past and moves to stand between him and the building.

A beat of silences passes as they stare at each other, Victor's warm, brown eyes meeting Gerry's cold, inky gaze without flinching. "Well?" Victor says at last.

"Step. Aside."

"Make me."

Gerry's eyes flash. The sparks clinging to his person grow, flames now licking at his garments. Beneath the flickering fire, Victor swears he sees the flesh of his lover's face and neck char and crumble, revealing blackened bone beneath. Then he blinks and it's gone, like a trick of the light.

The creature that Victor is pretty sure isn't actually Gerry casts the chunk of concrete aside and starts to advance slowly towards him. He can feel heat build in the air, the chill of a winter night being slowly replaced by the burning energy of an uncontrolled fire.

Victor tries not to flinch as he reaches a hand up to cup Gerry's cheek, ignoring the flames that lap at his skin. "I know you're in there," he says. "Come back to me. Please."

Victor's hand burns. He screams.

"This is me," Gerry snarls. "Get used to it." He pulls his hand back as though to strike him.

Victor recoils, clutching his burnt hand. "Please."

Gerry freezes. The black starts to recede from his eyes and his gaze darts across the street like he's taking it in for the first time. "Oh, shit," he says. The flames flicker and start to fade out. "Shit shit shit shit." His voice is reduced to a whisper as he stares around him. "What have I done?"

"Nothing." Victor grits his teeth and tries not to show the pain. "Everything's fine. I stopped you."

Gerry just stares at him. "Not the Institute, I don't give a rat's ass about the Institute. I hurt you."

"Actually, technically, I'd argue I did that to myself."

"You're not listening." There's a sharp edge in Gerry's voice that catches him off guard. "It's my fault. That's unforgiveable."

"What?"

"Here's what's going to happen: I drive you to the hospital to get that treated. I leave you, and your car, there. I go back to my flat. We never see each other again."

Victor gapes. "You're breaking up with me? After all this?"

Gerry shrugs. "I don't want to."

"Then don't!"

"Just get in the car."

"I'm not mad at you."

"Don't you get it? That's exactly the problem. You never are. Even when you should be. I have to leave, because you refuse to."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Well maybe you should be!" Gerry throws his hands in the air, frustrated. "Look at your fucking hand. Why aren't you afraid of me?"

"That thing isn't you," Victor insists.

Gerry looks at him sadly. "That's the problem. It is me. It's just my worst parts, Vic. That's my anger. My instability. My violence. My cruelty. And I try so hard to control it, but nobody's perfect. Especially not me. I'm going to hurt you one of these days and I'm going to be so completely myself that you'll have to face the fact that I am the monster. Alternatively, you can leave, and eventually you'll realize you can do better than me anyways, and you'll get over it. I'm trying to protect you."

"I love you."

"You'll get better."

"No." Victor starts to pace along the sidewalk, agitated. "You know what? No. You don't get to talk to me like that. I'm not a child desperate to climb into the tiger pen at the zoo. Do you even listen to yourself? I don't need a savior."

"I'm trying to protect you," Gerry repeats.

"You're always trying to protect everyone. Who protects you while you protect the world?"

"I do." It had always seemed pretty straightforward to Gerry.

"Wrong answer. You can't do this all alone."

"Well I'm sure as hell not going to damn you for my sake."

"I know. That's the whole point. You don't want to hurt me. You want to control it."

"That doesn't mean I can."

"Don't you get it? This isn't your choice to make. I trust you. I love you. I want to stay."

Gerry's shoulders slump. "Fine," he says. "But if I hurt you again, promise me you'll leave."

Victor hesitates, but only for a moment. "Deal," he says.

[priincekin]

Artifice - Hyuluka Oneshot

When Hyuna is coerced into accompanying her celebrity ex, Luka, to a lavish event, their troubled past and unresolved tensions resurface.

CW for an unhealthy relationship dynamic and manipulation!

For in depth tags, please check the AO3 upload. (Coming soon)

"Remind me why the hell I agreed to this?" Hyuna muttered under her breath, tugging at her too-short slip dress that clung tightly to every curve while simultaneously trying to adjust her thigh-highs, casting a glare at Luka across the limo. “… Send my compliments to your stylist for making me into a knock-off Barbie, and then tell ‘em to go play in traffic!”

Luka, of course, didn’t acknowledge her provocations. Nooooo, he was too busy prettying himself up, mascara wand poised. Figures.

Hyuna's frustration simmered as she watched him, his indifference stoking her anger.

Her eyes then fell once more on the infuriating list of 'rules' Luka had drafted for the evening. She had seen the paper before and thrown it away, but seeing that Luka went through the effort to print another one was enough to piss her off all over again. The neatly typed instructions on the crumpled paper seemed to mock her with their orderly bullets and condescending tone and Heperu’s letterhead.

“Now listen here, sweet cheeks, and listen good," she burst out, holding up the paper. “For the last time, I ain’t followin’ these rules, quit givin’ me more of these papers! You can shove ‘em right up your—“

"Please mind your language, Miss Hyuna,"

"Oh bite me! We all know I'm just arm candy, and it ain’t hard to stroke your ego for a few hours. Trust me. I’d know. So fuck off and lemme live a little! They're a joke.” She looked back down at the sheet with a scoff. “’Giggle, don’t laugh' - really? Who you tryin’ to turn me into?!”

God, the way they were arguing almost reminded her of old times. Back when he was her high-school sweetheart. Though, she was shocked he wasn’t being more argumentative toward her. By the end, Luka’s good moods were becoming rarer and rarer, and just being around him was like walking on eggshells. For a bit, Hyuna had made excuses for him — of course, with her temper, there was only so long until she was bound to explode.

Once she had blown up, the relationship was, of course, doomed. There was no recovery from the things she had said. They broke up over text. Yet, even though it was technically her fault, Luka leaving town soon after still wasn't just a minor plot twist; it was a full-on mindfuck. She'd catch herself getting all misty-eyed over their cheesy ice cream dates, where they'd crack up at the lamest jokes, or those beautiful nights in the deserted auditorium. Luka serenading her like she was the only girl in the world. Pity his dad slammed the brakes on that short-lived romantic gesture and forbade him from ever doing it again.

And then, after all that, Luka just had to go and get famous. Suddenly, his face was everywhere – magazines, billboards, you name it. Each time Hyuna saw that face, she reminded herself she should feel lucky to be rid of him, and that she had herself to thank for it.

But then, the tabloids started flaunting photos of Luka with his new girl of the month, and oh, did that grind her gears, even though Dewey and Isaac kept telling her it was nothing.

Was it jealousy? Boredom? Or maybe just an allergic reaction to being erased by some blond bombshell with a plastic smile? Whatever it was, hearing about each breakup was like savoring a fine wine; that was, until Luka had the nerve to show up at her door, needing a date for some swanky party after his newest beau gave him the middle finger.

Hyuna sank back into the velvet seat, her attention snapping back to the moment. Her fingers flirted with the edges of what was possibly the world's most irritating shawl, offering about as much modesty as a cocktail napkin. The silence was unbearably awkward; she had to fill it somehow.

“… A compliment wouldn’t kill ya, you know. Or is it too hard to admit you’re dazzled by all this?” With a teasing flourish, she let the shawl slip just a tad, winking and blowing a kiss for good measure.

Luka glanced up and quickly gave her a once-over, sighing in disappointment. “I would not say that. I feel like you should be more focused on having an amicable attitude rather than needlessly flirting.”

“Uh-huh. Yep, I’m totally flirting. Maybe if these heels weren't giving me so many damn blisters, I’d be in a better mood. But ‘till then, the only smiling I'll be doing is smiling through the pain. Now, pass the champagne, will ya?” She held out her hand.

Luka protectively moved the bottle away from her. “Please reference page four, line five of the contract. There is a clause stating that, should you be intoxicated or otherwise behave troublingly during the event, your payment will be voided and you will owe me three more dates as reparation.” He tried, in vain, to hide his smug little grin.

“There’s a what?!” Hyuna scrambled to pick the paper back up, and lo and behold; right there, in the tiniest font imaginable, was exactly what Luka had said. “Oh, you little—”

“Miss Hyuna.”

Hyuna forced herself to take a deep breath. ‘This shit is for Hyun-woo’, she reminded herself. ‘Do it for him.’

As cheesy as it was, her brother was the light of her life. For being an eleven-year-old boy, Hyun-woo was surprisingly sweet. Not at all like the assholes he went to school with, Hyuna had made sure of that much.

After she won sole custody of him, all of the expenses had fallen onto her shoulders: the bills, food, his allowance, and seemingly a million other things. Most of the time, she could make it work, even on her pathetic bartender’s paycheck.

But Christmas was a whole different kind of struggle. Living paycheck to paycheck meant there was never extra cash for Hyun-woo’s presents. The real sting was in the simplicity of his wishes – a DS game, a cheap Nerf gun, an outdated board game. That's all he wanted that year. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she saved, some unavoidable expense always reared its ugly head, draining away her meager savings. It seemed like there was no other way.

Finally, the limo pulled up to a grand mansion, its lights casting a cold glow over the entrance. Hyuna peered out the window, noticing two girls at the doorway: one in a suit with long pink hair, discreetly fiddling with a ring box in her pocket, and the other, with short black hair, clad in a white dress. At least some people were having a nice time.

“Well, ain't this just peachy," she muttered, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "A regular palace for Prince Charming and his temporary Cinderella."

Luka finally looked up, meeting her eyes. “Now that we're here, remember to smile and wave. It's all about appearances, isn't it?" He forced a smile himself as if to set an example, but it only soured her mood further. “Though, you are certainly at an advantage with how beautiful you are.”

“Too late for the compliment, buddy.” Hyuna rolled her eyes. “I'll smile and wave. Like I'm a damn parade float." She opened the limo door and stepped out, her heels clicking against the cobblestone driveway. The cold air hit her and made her wish, yet again, for a longer dress.

Luka, as if by magic, whipped out a plush white fur coat from the trunk and slung it over Hyuna's shoulders with a flourish. For a split second, she almost bought into it, the coat's luxurious softness tricking her into thinking he might actually care. Was he finally clued into how uncomfortable she was? To how exposed she felt? She let herself indulge in that thought, the tension in her shoulders easing off a notch as she grabbed his outstretched hand, her cheeks betraying a reluctant blush.

Then, wham. The scent hit her -– a blend of chrysanthemums and wilted roses, laced with bitter almonds. It was perfume, and definitely not her brand. That's when it clicked. This wasn't some chivalrous move; it was Luka’s version of peacocking, a display for the few nosy onlookers ogling at them. They were absolutely eating it up.

Hyuna’s grip on his hand turned from soft to vice-like, not out of romance, but so she didn’t facepalm right there and then.

How utterly 'Luka' to turn even a coat into a performance.

Hyuna shuddered, skin crawling under the perfumed fur. "Wow, so generous!” She whisper-yelled. “Real classy, Luka! Decking me out in a coat you lent to your last fling? What's the grand plan here, recycling her bling for me next?”

Luka tsked under his breath. "The one time I attempted kindness with you... How fascinating, though, that you care so much about what she did.”

They entered the glittering ballroom, all string quartets and designer outfits straight from the pages of Vogue. Hyuna sized up the crowd, mentally tagging each socialite with the most absurd names she could think of.

As Luka steered them towards the center, Hyuna operated on autopilot — a plastered smile, forced giggles at their pretentious bragging just as Luka asked. But, instinctively, she occasionally leaned over and muttered to Luka under her breath:

"You think that dude knows his fake tan is literally dripping down his arm?"

"Twenty bucks says that girl trips on her dress. God, it looks like she’s wearing a curtain…"

“Manners, darling.”

“It’s either I say it to you or I say it to their faces,” she hissed back.

‘Four hours.’, she chanted inwardly. Then sweet freedom and her even sweeter paycheck.

Hyuna continued to trail behind as Luka flitted from one circle of guests to the next. Her cheeks ached from keeping a smile while straining to laugh daintily at comments ranging from dull to outright crude and dehumanizing.

After the fifth round of banal small talk about vacation homes and polo tournaments, Hyuna found herself practically wilting into the plush fur coat. God, even the coat was getting on her nerves. Its cloying floral scent made her stomach turn, and she couldn't stop fidgeting with the garish ruffles lining the sleeves.

Luka suddenly clamped a firm hand on her wrist, stilling its motions. "Stop that. Honestly, your manners tonight..." He sighed, guiding her toward the dance floor where a few couples swayed lazily. "Just try to enjoy yourself a little?"

Luka drew Hyuna near, seemingly for a waltz. She opened her mouth to object, but reluctantly rested a hand on his shoulder, resisting the childish urge to stomp on his polished boots. As they began half-heartedly twirling, Hyuna felt remarkably disconnected — it was nothing like the way they used to dance — but it wasn’t long before a burst of coos and applause pulled her eyes toward the garden entrance. There stood the two girls from earlier, both with tears in her eyes. One had dropped to her knee, presenting a ring with trembling hands.

"Oh, would you look at that?" Luka smiled softly. "I suppose this manor would look awfully nice in the proposal pictures.”

Hyuna usually wasn’t a sucker for such cheesy moments. Still, she couldn't help but track the heartwarming scene over Luka's shoulder. A real proposal, she mused. No pretense or strings attached...

Hyuna started to turn around to watch, but everything was ruined by one uneven floor tile.

Mid-spin, her stiletto caught on it, sending her flailing backward. She crashed to the floor — thank God for Luka’s coat, or else it would’ve been even worse.

A horrified collective gasp echoed as every head swiveled her way, including the two girls. The applause and music ceased with a screech. In the excruciating silence, she felt hundreds of eyes boring into her, Luka’s especially. His grip closed on her arm, wrenching her upright with a sharp whisper. “What did I say about manners? You just ruined their entire proposal.”

Hyuna felt her cheeks burn red-hot, as guilt settled in the pit of her stomach. “Oh, yeah, ‘cause that was totally on purpose! Screw askin’ me if I’m okay, right?” She whispered back, wishing that Luka would just shut his mouth and try to cover for her.

"I cannot believe you've embarrassed me like this, after everything I've done." Luka's usual composure cracked, voice lowered to a harsh whisper. "The other guests can hardly look at me now. This appearance was crucial for my image, not to mention our agreement, and you..."

He trailed off, shaking his head. His fingers dug into the fur coat with white knuckles before he released her. When Luka raised his eyes to meet hers, he looked absolutely disgusted.

"Just get out of my sight. I need to salvage what remains of this wretched evening."

Hyuna weakly scoffed, then pulled herself free to sketch a barely passable curtsy to the crowd. “Sorry for the unplanned entertainment tonight,” she called out, trying to ignore the sobs. “As you were!” Ignoring the whispers echoing around her, she beelined away from Luka; anywhere but there was good enough for her.

Hyuna shoved through the murmuring crowd, cheeks burning under the weight of so many prying eyes. The stilettos clicked loudly against the tile floor as she muttered insults towards the gawkers blocking her escape. Just as the cool night air kissed her bare shoulders, a familiar voice called out.

"Heyyyyyy, Hyuna! Fancy seein' ya here!"

She whirled around, a biting retort poised on her lips. But there stood Dewey and Isaac, surprisingly dapper in their mismatched suits and shit-eating grins. Despite her overwhelming emotions, Hyuna couldn't restrain a hint of a smile. Leave it to these two knuckleheads to appear from thin air when she needed it most. Hyuna placed her hands on her hips, arching an eyebrow.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" She lowered her voice to a whisper. "This ain't exactly an open-invitation party, geniuses."

Isaac rocked eagerly on his heels. "Oh it was easy peasy to sneak in the kitchen door while them fancy waiters were distracted. Plus, you mentioned you'd be ‘ere with, uh… Y’know, Mr. High-and-Mighty," he said, gesturing vaguely toward Luka's direction. “Wanted to see how it’d play out since he’s such an--”

Dewey quickly clamped a hand over Isaac's rambling mouth. "Can the chatter before we get tossed out!" He shot Hyuna a sheepish grin. "Just, uh, wanted to check in on ya. Make sure princey isn't being too much of a sleaze."

"A sleaze? Nah, try self-centered jackass," she replied, launching into a recap of the disastrous proposal scene. Dewey and Isaac's eyes grew wide as saucers.

"No way he blamed you for that!" Dewey scoffed. "What a prick."

Hyuna threw her hands up in exasperation. "Thank you! Guy drives me absolutely insane."

Isaac gave an enthusiastic nod and dove a hand into his suit pocket. "Yeah. Hey, uh, you guys tried the shrimp? I snatched a bunch when those waiter guys weren't lookin'." He held up a fistful of mangled cocktail shrimp, tails dangling limply.

“Dude, what is wrong with you?!” When Isaac raised the shrimp to his mouth, Hyuna swatted it out of his hand and onto the floor. “Rule one of stealing food! Bring a ziplock or tupperware!”

Isaac dejectedly stared down at the shrimp on the floor. “... I ran out of ziplocks.” His lip quivered like he was about to cry.

“Then buy more! You have a job!” Hyuna whisper-yelled, playfully hitting him in the shoulder. “Unless you got fired again!”

A prickling unease crept over Hyuna as she felt eyes boring into her back.

“Uh… girl? You might wanna turn around…” Dewey said, pointing behind her.

Luka was staring. His polished composure had vanished, replaced by clenched fists and an infuriated glare. Stalking over to her, his expression

"We need to talk. Now." Luka's grabbed tightly onto Hyuna's arm as he steered her away. She shot a helpless look back to Dewey and Isaac.

"Get your paws off me!" She shook out of his grasp. "You don't own me, Luka. I can talk to whoever I damn well please-"

Luka's bitter scoff cut her off as he took her wrist yet again. "Oh yes, cozying up to a pair of hoodlums should shine brilliantly in the gossip columns."

Finally, they reached an inconspicuous, plain door. Luka pushed it open, revealing a small, dimly lit linen closet. With a swift movement, he pulled her inside and shut the door behind them, plunging them into near darkness, the only light coming from the crack under the door. Hyuna bristled, backing herself away from him and towards the wall.

“Why are we here?! Someone definitely saw us come in here, and you know what they probably think we’re doin’ right now?! They prolly think--”

Luka leaned close, taking a deep breath. "This night was already disastrous enough without you flirting to make me jealous." He paused. "Go ahead, deny that's what you wanted."

“What are you talking about?! You literally told me to get away from you!” Hyuna's retort came out quieter than she intended as Luka’s hands found the curve of her waist, pulling her closer. The cold of his body against hers was so disgusting but oh so familiar, and Hyuna found herself melting into it. But she still felt his eyes on her, watching her every movement as he stared up at her from her chest.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Hyuna muttered.

Luka’s eyes finally closed, sighing softly. “Like what?”

“Like I’m something you own,” She finally found it in her to try pushing him away, and to his credit, his grip faltered. “You know damn well I hate when you get all possessive, ‘specially over Dewey and—”

“It’s not about them,” Luka cuts in sharply.

“Oh, please! They’re so gay for each other, you’d have to be blind not to—”

“That’s not the point, Hyuna!”

“Yeah, well, you’re choosing to be a dick about it!”

Before Hyuna could say anything more, his lips found hers in a kiss. Hyuna’s eyes widened. She didn’t kiss back, but she didn’t pull away either; for all she cared, he could kiss himself breathless.

Hyuna’s pulse raced as her heart, slowly but surely, began to betray her. She hated him, sure, but somewhere, buried under layers of hurt and pride, a fragment of what used to be lingered. This wasn’t about wanting him. It was about wanting what they used to have. She’d always been too stubborn to let go of things…

As his kiss deepened, Hyuna's resistance finally crumbled.

This was stupid.

She found herself responding with equal fervor, her hands tangling in his hair, pulling him closer. The small space seemed to shrink further.

So stupid.

Hyuna closed her eyes, letting him close what little distance was left between them. But it didn’t feel close enough.

She hated herself for this.

Breaking the kiss, Luka’s breath was ragged against her lips. “This is the end for us, isn’t it?” he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Instead of answering, she reached down, pulling him back up to her, their lips meeting yet again. This wasn’t just about pretenses or contracts. This was something raw, something real that wasn’t supposed to happen.

What felt like an eternity passed between them before she pulled away, a sad, sardonic smile playing on her lips.

Thank God the room was dark, or else Luka might’ve seen the angry tears clouding her vision.

"... ‘course, you had to start tryin’ to be sweet at the worst time.”

Luka looked at her, a hint of frustration in his eyes. "This isn't about timing, Miss Hyuna. This is about…"

"About what? Us?" Hyuna cut him off, sidestepping further into the shadows of the closet. "There is no 'us', remember? We're just a couple of fucked-up people who can't seem to stay away from each other, even after years." She crossed her arms, her heart racing. "I ain’t doin’ this anymore. That kiss? That was it. Now, are we gonna be adults about it and end this for good, or are you gonna keep bein’ in denial?"

"I wish it were that simple."

Hyuna let out a short, mirthless laugh. "Right, ‘cause everything's gotta be complicated with you. Newsflash, Luka, it doesn't have to be. We make it complicated. Mostly you. This was all supposed to be fake, but nope, you took me into a closet and started makin’ out with me.”

For a moment, Luka was silent. Then, with a sigh, he stepped back, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I suppose it's time we face reality. This... whatever it is, between us, it's not healthy."

The words, though expected, stung Hyuna more than she cared to admit. She should’ve been grateful that he didn’t keep fighting it, but nope. Her heart was sinking. But she nodded, her own resolve steeling. "Yep. It’s time.”

Luka reached out, his hand trembling with unspoken words. “Hyuna, I—”

“Don’t,” she interrupted sharply. “Just don’t. Spare us the dramatics.”

There was a pause, heavy and laden, as Luka seemed to process the information. Then, like a scene from a worn-out play, his charm slid back into place, smooth and unnervingly familiar. It was like he became an entirely new person in a matter of seconds, and Hyuna bristled.

“On second thought… Darling, you’re seeing this all wrong,” he said. “We’re a match made in heaven, you and I.”

Hyuna’s attempt to step back was futile; Luka’s grasp was firm yet gentle. “Luka, cut the crap. I know what you’re doin’.”

“But think of what we’ve shared. Our dates, the outings, me holding you when you cry.”

“And the fights? The tears? The screaming matches in the school janitor's closet? Dammit Luka, you were the reason I was crying!” Hyuna countered, her voice wavering.

“Hyuna, darling, that’s how relationships work. We bicker, yes, but we never fail to come back together…”

“You left,” Hyuna snapped. A knot of anger and hurt tightened in her chest. His words were half-truths and blatant manipulation, and yet she still began to feel swayed.

“You know very well that was my Father’s decision for my career and not my own.”

“But did ya fight back?! Probably not, ‘cause since when do you think for yourself?”

Luka lowered his voice, clearly giving up. “... Aside from that, who understands you as I do?” Luka’s voice was soft, almost persuasive, his words carefully chosen. “We’re inevitable, Hyuna. Stay with me, and your brother’s future is secure. That’s a promise only I can make.”

“You… really?” Her resolve wavered further. Luka was stupid rich; if he wanted to, he could pay for her brother’s college education. She’d never have to worry about paying for his gifts ever again. Luka was right. This was a promise only he could make.

“You’re so damn impossible,” she muttered, caught in the tempest of his gaze. Reluctantly, she found herself drawn into his embrace, their lips meeting in a bitter kiss of surrender.

Was it really so wrong to fall back into this cycle? To choose the devil she at least knew over uncertainty?

As their kiss deepened, her doubts seemed to dissolve into the heat of the moment.

[theplottdump]

Orange: Torturing my housemates again hips? Poppy: If you're going to interrogate me you should at least tie me up first. Besides, Carl started it. Charlie: It's Charlie. I literally just told you that.

Orange: Move aside Clint. (Charlie: smh) I have some fine ass cargo to drop off in San Myshuno this morning- and by the way, 6 minutes. I ran a timer. Poppy: I'm impressed! He learned how to count!

Charlie: Dude are you serious? We're leaving in like thirty minutes. And I'm pretty sure Brycen is out there developing stress warts cause the guys won't stop arguing about which cameras to pack.

Poppy: What do you mean leaving? Orange: Fuck- I totally forgot. There's this thing our manager signed us up for - its like this big influencer event out in the desert. Charlie: Oasis Springs or something.

Orange: Look- let me talk to Brycen. Maybe we can push back the departure- or I can skip it the whole thing. My dad's a big investor in Everyday Extras- I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I just miss this one.

Charlie: I mean- the house would be clear, you guys could use it for the rest of the week if you wanted. Poppy: No- I mean, I don't know, this sounds important. Plus, I'm busy next week, so I really couldn't stay much longer anyway.

Orange: Well let me at least see what I can do. I was really looking forward to driving you home. Poppy: Really, why? Brycen: Moon! Are you packed yet? Orange: Hold that thought.

[oneatlatime]

The Deserter

How is this the first time anyone's had the bright idea to try disguises?

Sokka's sarcasm coming dangerously close to breaking the fourth wall here. Some pretty strong lampshading.

(edit: going through this just before posting, I realised this line is pretty much a sarcastic thesis statement for this episode, maybe this season.)

This is too cute. This episode both Appa and Momo understand english.

Saviour of the World, everybody.

There must have been a Gang goes to the Mall episode I missed where Sokka and Katara bought their stealth cloaks.

Say what you like about the Fire Nation, they do have gorgeous architecture.

Katara perfecting non-verbal burns with the mask-switching.

Flaming Fire Flakes have the honour of filling this episode's Beat Up Sokka quota.

This is actually less violent than the actual Punch and Judy. Poor puppeteer has to sew a new earth kingdom soldier for every performance.

Dovebending!

I know Aang is characterised as fun and fun-loving, but maybe don't take off your disguise in the middle of a group of your enemies? Is this going to devolve into an "Aang is stupid" episode? Because we just did that last episode.

And now he's sulking because he missed the chance to be outed in front of the whole crowd? Aang has no brain this episode.

Of course the fire nation would have fireworks. I find it interesting that the more artistic methods of bending have survived a century of war. Unless there's a combat style where soldiers bend dragons at the enemy, you'd think that bending for fun and entertainment would have been condemned by now as useless to the advancement of the fire nation.

Raise your hand if you didn't see this coming.

I have very little patience for Idiot Aang, especially when his idiocy revolves around needing to be the centre of attention.

Appa just murdered those guys.

How did Sokka figure out that Chey was a fire nation soldier just from looking at his face? Everyone in this world so far is borderline faceblind, what with the number of times that our main three have passed unnoticed. And yet Sokka gets one look at this Chey guy and clocks him as fire nation? How? Chey doesn't have a different accent, or a giant F on his face, or even a helpful identifying Zuko scar.

"Some say he's mad. But he's not. He's enlightened." Regardless of what he is, this is not how you ought to sell him.

Why doesn't anyone ever listen to Sokka? He's always right when it counts: they did get clocked at the fire nation festival, the fortune teller was a crook, Jet was untrustworthy, Katara was going to get them in trouble with the pirates. Hasn't anyone in-universe noticed the pattern yet?

So Chey is a cross between a fanboy and that one awkward kid that no one likes, and Aang is this episode's idiot. But who are the hat guys? Are they like the third through ninth deserters from the fire nation? They don't seem anything like the people at the festival, so they aren't the locals.

Zhao the asshole is back. An idiot and an asshole this episode. I suspect this episode won't be a favourite.

Ever so fed up with having your good advice ignored that you involuntarily plank?

I have no idea if this deserter guy (NOT going to try to spell that one phonetically) actually has the ability to tell what disciplines someone knows by the way they walk, or if that's Chey's fanboyish tendencies coming out. But if it's true, being able to tell someone's abilities and skill level at a glance would be an incredible advantage in a fight. No wonder they promoted the guy a bunch.

And so rather than do the sensible thing as Sokka suggests and leave, Aang leans even harder into his idiot tendencies. Sigh. You should absolutely go talk to the firebender who just told you to fuck off by proxy. What could go wrong?

I'm grasping about 40% of this fish speech. On the other hand, I'm getting the discipline speech 100%. And agreeing with it too. This episode's whole opening vignette was about how Aang lacks self-discipline. Setting aside the fact that going to the festival was a bad idea in the first place, they could have attended unnoticed if Aang had mastery over himself. This deserter's got Aang clocked.

Do you get the feeling that this deserter's negative experiences with fire are perhaps colouring his view a little? He does make a good point though: mess up with airbending and someone has a bad hair day. Mess up with waterbending and someone gets wet. Mess up with earthbending and someone gets squished. Mess up with firebending and someone gets roasted. There's a bit of a jump in the seriousness of the mistakes between air/water and earth/fire. And we already saw Aang mis-bend water and send all their supplies down the river, so it's not like the deserter is wrong to think Aang's not ready. Plus, of all the elements, only fire does its own thing when you're not looking. I bet the very first thing firebenders learn is not how to make fire, but how to control/snuff out an external fire.

Love this visual. Roku's statement is true, which once again calls into question how much of Aang is a unique person as opposed to a conglomeration of previous avatars. But the deserter's right here - Aang doesn't have the self-discipline to learn fire right now. I don't know if learning water and earth first would get him that discipline, but it would certainly buy him a few more months of maturing.

If I had to be an army deserter on the run from an evil imperial power, this is certainly the place I'd choose to hide. So pretty.

Sokka isn't an oaf!

This is going to go so badly. This deserter guy is 100% right to start with the basics, but Aang is the opposite of a willing student. He's happy to learn, if they do it his way, which is jump straight to flashy fire and burn everybody's eyebrows off. Not to say the deserter is a good teacher - he's certainly not suited to Aang. But people strong armed by spirits generally don't bring their A game.

It seems to me like bending fire is almost more about leashing fire than using it.

Wasting his time? Didn't it take Aang his whole life so far to master airbending? And he thinks spending a couple of hours on the basics of firebending is wasting his time?

Dear Avatar writers: My comment about Aang burning everybody's eyebrows off was supposed to be facetious. Could you dial down Aang's idiocy this episode just a little bit please? Feeling really sorry for the deserter here.

This deserter's got sighing down pat. I get the impression that he's had decades of dealing with hotheaded idiot students.

Zhao was his student? That's a neat way of doing combined backstory and parallel story in the present. I thought it was a flashback but it's actually what's currently going on. Neat.

"Learn restraint or risk destroying everything you love." Good lesson even outside of a bending context.

This golden forest throughout this episode is absolutely gorgeous. Although it seems to be stuck in eternal sunset (not complaining).

I was right! Firebending lesson number one isn't making fire, it's leashing fire.

"But I'm ready to do so much more" Hell no you aren't. The fact that you say that with a straight face after A DAY of lessons proves you aren't.

You mean you failed the lesson. Congrats.

Hey look. Exactly what the deserter said would happen is happening. And so an innocent pays the price for Aang's hubris. Ain't that always the way?

Hell yeah Sokka. You tell him.

Here's a good lesson for Aang to learn, unfortunately at the expense of Katara's arms: sometimes sorry doesn't cut it. Since Katara's arms are injured, is she currently unable to bend? With the amount that her self-image is built around her bending, this is going to double suck.

Katara can auto-bend?!? Instinctively? That was lucky.

Hey deserter guy: while your insight into waterbending healing and the firebending mindset is certainly valuable to Katara and the audience, maybe a recently-burned teenage girl is not the best target for your talk therapy?

Master indeed. That's got to be the single most impressive firebending move yet. Look at that. That's one guy!

See Aang? If only you squatted a little lower, you'd be able to pull this off.

Aang still hasn't learned his lesson. Impulsively firebending should have taught him to be less impulsive. Instead it teaches him to make dramatic blanket prohibitions on firebending and throw himself head first at Zhao with no plan.

If Zhao is an admiral, and the deserter's former student, does that settle Chey's admiral/general debate on the side of admiral? Or do fire nation military branches do cross training?

Now it's Zhao having the hubris problems. Does he really think that 8 guys, only 4 (?) of whom are benders, can take down Mr. Firewall?

The way Zhao's voice actor delivers the line "until I got bored" very nearly redeemed his whole character. Suddenly not just an asshole, but a human too. Given how abrasive the deserter is, I'm almost sympathetic.

Who wins in the fight of Aang's hubris v. Zhao's hubris?

This is a very cool move. It seems that Aang only has hubris problems when he's trying to bend fire - he's back to his usual self when he bends air. Can the element have that much of an effect on the mindset?

I'm really liking this delightfully one-sided fight. Aang really redeeming himself for his early-episode idiocy.

This should not work on a well-adjusted adult.

"I don't know why, but I thought you'd be better than Zuko." Tragically, Aang has no idea how savage that line is.

"Jeong Jeong said you had no restraint" says the kid who, up until this scene demanded it, had no restraint. A stinger of a line that is undermined in context.

Literally.

How many outfits did Aang pack? Because air nomad tailors aren't exactly thick in the air these days.

Was that a whole camp of deserters? And they've all gone into hiding?

Getting the first fishhook out with a second fishhook: when logic goes too far.

Final Thoughts

Zhao really screwed up this time. He and his men are going to have to walk back to their ship.

Roku really screwed up this time. Katara wouldn't have been burned if Roku didn't intimidate the deserter into teaching Aang.

Chey really screwed up this time. If he hadn't brought Aang back to his camp, he'd still have a settlement to live in.

Aang really screwed up this time. If he hadn't insisted on both attending the festival and outing himself at it, he never would have led Zhao to the deserters' camp.

Just a thought: maybe spiritually bullying a scarred veteran into teaching combat basics is a bad idea?

I really want to like this episode. Beautiful setting. What Sokka and Katara stuff there is, is great. Appa and Momo even get a funny joke, and Appa gets to murder some people. And most importantly, the deserter is RIGHT. THE WHOLE TIME. And he was right to insist on not teaching Aang. Roku really blew it. Everything the deserter knew would happen if he taught Aang did happen, because he knows firebending, and he knows how students like Aang approach it (and let's be honest - he's not the right person to teach Aang anything). Now Aang's thrown up a mental block around firebending that will have to be surmounted no matter what he says he will or won't do. At least Katara uncovered a new skill.

I have not seen Apocalypse Now, but this is Apocalypse Now, right? In which case I know why Aang doesn't work for me this episode: he's in the wrong genre. This episode is actually quite serious. Chey may call the deserter enlightened, but Chey's an idiot. What the deserter is, is broken. He's another victim of the fire nation. He's also easily the most skilled firebender we've seen so far, with deep insight into at least part of the nature of his element (I say part because the episode itself suggests that his view is overly negative by having him point out the sun as a source of fire, which isn't inherently destructive - it just is). The deserter is a person you absolutely should listen to, saying things Aang absolutely should hear, albeit he says them rather harshly. But Aang is in peak kid's cartoon mode this episode, and the deserter (and most other characters actually) are in Vietnam-era War is Hell movie mode. It makes Aang jarring throughout, to the point that I was mad at him for most of the episode.

That being said, Aang almost (almost) completely redeemed himself in that last brilliant fight. 'Hoisted by his own petard' has got to be one of my top three favourite narrative devices, and that Zuko dig was the icing on the cake. As I said above, it's a goddamn tragedy that Aang doesn't have the necessary context to know how much that dig hit home. Then again, Sokka and Katara would probably appreciate it more than Aang. I feel like they're more appreciative of petty vindictiveness.

Speaking of Sokka, great to see the continuity from last episode's lesson: ride or die for Aang until it's family on the line. Sokka will gladly take Aang to the north pole until Aang steps between him and his father, at which point he's on his own. Sokka will gladly take Aang to the north pole until he hurts Katara, at which point Sokka will rub his face in the dirt. And, honestly? At that point of the episode, Aang's flaky hubristic 12 year old idiot side was so annoying to me that I was rooting for Sokka in that fight.

We know Aang's a bit of a softie, but someone who didn't know that just saw Sokka face down the Avatar for the sake of his sister. Takes courage.

It was also nice to see Sokka and Katara more united than usual in their opinions. While Katara was willing to give things a chance, neither of them was all that enthusiastic about anything that happened this episode. Usually Katara blindly follows Aang and blindly opposes her brother, so it was nice to see her more (not fully) aligned with both sense and Sokka.

It's not really touched on, but Aang really screwed things up for the various deserters. They weren't exactly comfortable where they were, but they seemed settled, safe, and provided for. Now they're presumably on the run. Oops.

If I could excise Aang from all but the last fight of this episode, it would be a serious contender for my favourite so far. But as I cannot excise him, this one is thoroughly middle of the pack. This episode had some serious stuff to say about the horrors of war from a perspective I defy you to find in any other kids' show, if only Aang would sit down and shut up for a minute.

[decks-writing-blog]

Whatever the Fuck Benrey Is: Chapter Fifteen: I'll Listen

Chapter One

Previous Chapter

~

As was always the way of things, silence and solitude were easier to bear in board daylight with the TV on, its volume just a tick or two away from being too loud. Focusing on the game he’d chosen to play helped too. Maybe it was a crutch to lean on that when he really should try to just get over it already because it was rather pathetic but so what? At least he hadn’t run over to Dr. Coomer’s place across the street the moment Benrey left the house.

Even with that being the case he hadn’t been at it for long before a knock sounded on the door and he eagerly stood to answer it. Someone coming to him was fine, he wasn’t being needy. Out of habit, not neediness, because the Black Mesa living space doors didn’t have peepholes or windows to check one’s visitors before answering a knock, he went straight to opening it.

“Hello Gordon!” Dr. Coomer said with his usual endearing tone and smile.

“Hello Dr. Coomer. What’s up? You wanna come in and hang out?” Gordon stepped back and gestured him inside. “Benrey left on a walk but I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

Dr. Coomer strode in pretty much just far enough for Gordon to close the door behind him but made no move for the couch. “I saw him storm off and decided to come over to see how bad your fight was. Do you need a shoulder to cry on about it?”

“Uh… no. And it wasn’t a fight… or at least I don’t think it was, not this time anyway. I was being kinda nosy about what he is and his past and stuff but only because I care… or no, not only. Some of it is scientific curiosity but I was upfront about that and he seemed fine with it and it’s mostly because I care, which I was also upfront about. He doesn’t know if he was made in the lab or if they found him as an egg and decided to keep him as a pet science experiment. That’s sad, right? You’re with me on that being sad?”

“That is quite tragic, yes.”

“Exactly. And so, I was asking him questions about stuff, trying to see if I couldn’t spark any clues or whatever which he seemed mostly fine with.” No way was Gordon going to admit to the blood experiment. “But then I guess I hit a sore spot or something when I asked him if his current form is like… his true form or whatever. ‘Cause he can shapeshift so he might have like ‘this is what he really looks like but can change it’ kind of thing going on. He didn’t seem mad but uh… I guess it’s kinda hard to tell with him sometimes. It for sure wasn’t a fight though. He just said he was done talking about it and left. I figured it was best to leave him be but… you think I should call him to apologize?”

“I’m not sure. I just wanted to see if this was the big fight before you reconcile and end up kissing in the rain.”

Unable to keep still, Gordon had set to pacing a little while he talked. Now though he stopped, turning to face Dr. Coomer again. “Excuse me?”

Dr. Coomer met his gaze, his expression the same as always. “Hello… h… We could go back to Black Mesa and see if we can’t find his records. That should tell us if they made him in the lab or if they found him. We are far from done with salvaging everything after all. We could volunteer to go on the next trip and go straight to Benrey’s department while we’re there. We’ll have to ask Benrey to come with us or for him to tell us where in the facility his handlers stored information about him.”

“Uh… hold onto that idea for a moment and go back to the the thing you mentioned about me and Benrey… kissing in the rain? I misheard that, right?”

“Nope, that is exactly what I said. I suppose it probably won’t be in the rain though. It doesn’t rain much in the desert. But, don’t worry, I’m sure it will still be plenty dramatic.” Neither Dr. Coomer’s voice nor face cracked even once, seemingly he was serious.

“Why would we kiss at all?”

“Because that’s how these things usually go.”

“What things?”

He was silent for several seconds. “These… things.” He gestured vaguely with his hands as if indicating the world as a whole. “So Gordon, what do you think of my plan to look at Benrey’s records?”

There was nothing else to do but sigh and give up on figuring out where Dr. Coomer had pulled that idea from and so… “It’s uh… a good idea, actually.” How had Gordon not thought of it before? Rather made in the lab or stolen from somewhere, research data and records on him would be stored somewhere in the facility. Which would answer all such questions about him and more. “We’d have to ask Benrey though, huh? ‘Cause that stuff’s probably sensitive?” It’d be like looking at someone’s detailed medical records.

“It is possible his records don’t exist anymore. The computers they and their backups are stored on might’ve been destroyed. I doubt this though as they likely would be in a deep part of the facility, safe from the bombings. It is still possible they were shot with guns or destroyed through other means of violence. It’s also very possible his files are among the devices already salvaged from the facility. Which would mean we would need to look through the data storage devices already gathered in the new lab.”

“Fuck, you’re right. And if that’s the case, it uh… kinda puts a damper on our whole ‘keep Benrey a secret’ thing. Someone else at Black Mesa seeing those records might not be good. He can’t die… or I guess he doesn’t stay dead so it’s probably pretty obvious he’s still around somewhere. They might decide to go looking for him. So we should probably for sure find them then.” Maybe that’s where Dr. Coomer had gotten the idea that Gordon and Benrey might kiss. Gordon had gone from wanting him gone and willing to help contain him again to now immediately wanting to go out of his way and possibly risk losing his job if he was caught stealing Black Mesa’s experiment files to keep Benrey’s freedom a secret the moment he’d learned of a potential threat to it. But he was perfectly capable of recognizing the way Benrey had been treated was wrong and care enough about that and him as a person to want to stick his neck out for him without also wanting to kiss him. “And we probably wanna be sneaky about what we’re looking for.”

“Ooh, I do love a good stealth mission.”

“It’s not really a stealth mission, just a few lies about why we wanna dig through the data stuff. When Benrey gets back, we’ll talk to him about it. Before then though uh… when I was having that talk with him earlier, he mentioned that you have a the Black Mesa Sweet Voice too. Is that correct?”

“That is correct, yes. Would you like a demonstration?”

Damn, Gordon apparently was that stupid. “Sure.”

Dr. Coomer took deep breath and then did indeed let out a stream of sweet voice; blue to green, meaning he’s not mean. His tone was different, it was distinctively a human voice singing a note. Still pretty but not as much as Benrey’s. He also couldn’t hold it as long. Which wasn’t to say how long he did hold it for wasn’t impressive, just not as inhumanly long as Gordon had seen Benrey hold his a few times.

“Awesome, thanks,” Gordon said as it petered out. “I’m not sure how I missed that but… whatever. But um, While you’re here and while we wait for Benrey to come back, I’ve been meaning to ask you if you could help me move the couch and TV and stuff into I guess what’s gonna be the gaming room.” It did make some sense to have all the gaming stuff in one room.

“I am quite good at lifting things so sure, I’ll help.”

***

Benrey leaned in the kitchen’s doorway as Gordon, sitting at the kitchen table across from Coomer, explained the idea the two of them had come up with to extract the files Black Mesa had on him either from the lab directly or the stuff already salvaged from the lab. If it were just to look to see what he was or where he’d come from, Benrey would’ve told them not to bother. Even if he was curious now thanks to Gordon, it’d be a lot of work and would instead be easier to go back to not thinking about it. But if they didn’t find his records, likely the rest of Black Mesa eventually would.

Dealing with them trying to get him back would be annoying. With his files they’d likely know how to contain him too which would make it even more of a pain in the ass. So keeping those files out of their hands just in case would be nice.

On the other hand though, the thought of Gordon going through them made Benrey’s insides feel as if they were squirming. What all they contained he wasn’t sure of but Gordon looking through all of them might be… not good. He was already interested in Benrey scientifically, which was fine because he’d also said he cared about Benrey earlier – not a sentiment often shared with him. But what if having all of Benrey’s science info at his fingertips pushed him to seeing Benrey more as a science experiment than a friend?

Given their rocky history and how Gordon used to not like him at all, that thought perhaps shouldn’t be as disconcerting as it was. Gordon viewing him like that wouldn’t necessarily mean Benrey had to stop hanging out with him or disown him as a pet. Having only one person studying and performing experiments on him wouldn’t be too bad. Presumably the gamer pad would still be his. His prior handlers had conceded to him having such a place once they found out about it, so Gordon, kinder than them by far, surely would too. But… but… he liked what they had now. And what if the option of moving out on his own was removed? Just because he wasn’t sure yet if he wanted to take it didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy having it be an option. Even if such was the case for no other reason than because he’d never had such an option before.

“And of course if uh… you don’t want us looking at them, we’ll just delete them. Or if you want them for yourself, we’ll just copy them over to a flash drive and give it you,” Gordon said, ending his explanation.

Oh, perhaps Benrey could have the best of both worlds after all. But… “Don’t you wanna look at them?” He was the one with the questions and who cared what Benrey was enough to feel sad for him not knowing.

“Yeah, I do. So if you’re like… okay with me looking at them, that’d be neat. But it’s a privacy thing so I wouldn’t look if you didn’t want me to.”

“Or he would try not to,” Coomer added, lifting a hand. “Curiosity is a powerful beast and whoever finds your records will have to look a little bit no matter what to make sure we have the right files and that we have all of them. It would be easy to accidentally look a little more than is necessary to sate it.”

“Uh… yeah, that. So I guess it’s still a risk no matter what. But better any of us look a bit too much on accident than Breen trying to get you back into custody or something. … Would he even be able to do that? Like you can phase through stuff, right? So you should be uncontainable unless there’s a material you can’t phase through or a way disable that power or… just your powers in general.”

“They could contain me before, maybe they have the stuff still, I don’t know.” And Benrey wasn’t going to tell him how because the less people who knew, the better. Being locked up was lame and boring beyond anything else in existence except for maybe watching paint dry.

“All right, we should definitely do something about that then… unless I guess, you don’t want us to for some reason. Which I don’t know why you wouldn’t but what do I know?”

“Nah, get rid of them. Or uh… actually, I want them. Yeah, find them and give them to me.” If they had to be found anyway, Benrey might as well get an answer to the question of if he had a true form and what it was if so. And then he could tell Gordon if he was an alien or made in the lab from alien stuff so Gordon could finally stop being sad for him.

“We’ll need information from you then,” Coomer said, “if your information is already in the lab we need to look through it to find it and thus, we need to know what to look for. We might also need to know where to go if we do end up needing to go back to the old facility to obtain them.”

Damn. But if Benrey wanted his best shot at obtaining those files than at least some of his mysterious backstory would end up being revealed to them no matter what. Unless he decided to look all by himself. But if his stuff was amongst the information already being moved to the new place, he might be caught and then if Breen or someone else recognized him, they wouldn’t just be reminded that he was out and about but know exactly where he was. Which would potentially be very annoying, he’d rather not deal with that. So probably it was worth it. And well, it’s not like he had anything better to do. Participating in a heist with his pals to steal some top secret scientific records sounded like fun.

He pushed off the wall and walked the rest of the way into the kitchen, pulling out the one remaining chair to join them sitting at the table. “Uh… Benrey’s the name I chose for myself. They called me, um… Subject X, just X for short. The files are titled like that or at least some of them are anyway. I never looked at all of them.” Only now did the idea seem at all appealing. Gordon’s fault because he was a dumbass who cared so much about things that didn’t matter to the point it was rubbing off on Benrey.

“Damn,” Coomer said, “Gordon you’re right, he is quite tragic. Even Bubby got a name even if it was based off his serial code. Benrey just had a letter.”

“It’s not tragic. Just boring and uncreative ‘cause uh… they were boring and uncreative. And I’m not human anyway so maybe a single letter would’ve been fine. I’m not lame and boring though so I named myself.”

The look Gordon gave him, very similar to the look he’d given him earlier after he’d shared his earliest memory, said he disagreed and found it tragic as well. Humans were so sensitive about things sometimes, it was annoying. Some things were just the way they were without it being worthy of dwelling on enough to elicit an emotional reaction.

Thankfully Gordon didn’t make any move to say anything dumb this time. Though he did reach out to lightly touch Benrey’s hand where he had it resting on the table in front of him. Benrey let him because why not? If trying to comfort him made Gordon feel better then he’d put up with it. But if they were touching hands anyway… Benrey lifted his and pushed his into Gordon’s, entwining their fingers together. Gordon flinched and gently tried to retreat but Benrey didn’t let him. He’d started it so if he wanted to pull away, he had to put real effort into it.

“Anyway,” Benrey continued, leaning a bit more onto the table but not changing his tone to hopefully make it even more awkward, “choosing my own name’s better. Every time someone at the lab did a name change ‘cause they didn’t like their first it was like… a big deal. Everyone talked ‘bout it and some people didn’t like it and always had to say so. A bunch of dumb nonsense, easier to just chose a name I like from the start, right?”

“I guess uh… I can’t argue with that.” Gordon had apparently accepted his fate was holding Benrey’s hand now as he made no more moves to try to free himself, instead staring down at center of the table. “It uh… would’ve indeed been been easier to just pick my own name from the start, I guess. But uh…”

Coomer cut in as Gordon trailed off. “What part of the Black Mesa facility did your handlers work in?”

“If you go, I’m going with you.” It’d be more fun that way. “So I’ll lead the way.”

If Coomer noticed or felt any certain way about Gordon and Benrey holding hands on the table he didn’t show it as he replied. “Fair enough. We will also probably want to inform Bubby, Tommy and perhaps Darnold of this plan. Especially if we do have to sort through all the data we already have. I’m sure having their assistance with that will be quite helpful.”

Damn. If Benrey was going to reveal his letter thingy to everyone he’d have preferred to just do it all at once instead of having to bring it up multiple times. Too late now though. “Tell them in the group text thingy.”

“Shouldn’t you tell them?” Gordon asked as Coomer was already pulling out his phone.

“Nah, Coomer types faster.” He didn’t want to deal with their possible reactions in case they also thought it was tragic or whatever.

“No worries, I will convey all the relevant information.”

~

After wishing Coomer a farewell, Gordon closed the front door and turned back to Benrey. “Also, I uh… apologize if I upset you earlier.”

Damn, just when Benrey thought the talking was done and they could play some games instead. “Nah, wasn’t upset just… surprised. Never considered I might have a true form or whatever.” He’d also never considered possibly have a family too.

“Well, sorry for springing that idea on you. But… you okay?”

Benrey turned the TV and opened the Game Cube before answering. “Why wouldn’t I be? What you wanna play?” There was no way he was going to let Gordon’s first day off work go by without pulling him into a longer than normal gaming session.

“Whatever you’re in the mood for is fine with me. But um… I was just thinking, a lot of heavy conversation happened about you today and you revealed some… stuff. So I just wanted to check in or whatever, make sure you’re doing okay.”

Benrey stared at the games lined up like books next to the TV stand before pulling out Mario Party 5. They could set the turn order really high and play until one of them won or went insane. After popping it in, he looked back up at Gordon. “Don’t worry ‘bout me.”

Gordon sighed as he moved over the couch, accepting the controller Benrey handed to him. “Kinda hard not to, dude.”

“I’m not human.” Benrey sat next to him. “That stuff doesn’t affect me the way it would you.” Even if he was a ‘social animal that was emotionally abused’ and had been sad about it once upon a time, it was over now so he was good to go. Gordon didn’t need to bring it up or feel bad about it.

“Maybe that’s true, I don’t know enough to say but… I have trouble believing that you’re entirely indifferent to it. Otherwise it wouldn’t take so much to get you to share.”

“Not fair, I shared a lot today.”

“Yeah, after weeks of barely sharing anything about yourself, you share a grand total of like two solid things and that’s considered a lot. And both of them are sad and fucked up as fuck. But that’s besides the point. What I want to say is I’m not good at this shit, being comforting or whatever, but if you ever do want to talk about it, I can listen. Heck, if you don’t want me to say anything or even try to offer any kind of comfort, that’s fine, just you know, if you ever need to talk to someone about it… It’s not like you can go to a therapist and hoped to be believed. So… yeah, I’m here for you or whatever.”

“Fine, if I ever need a shoulder to cry on, I’ll pick yours, ‘kay?” Assuming he could cry anyway because now that he thought about it, he wasn’t sure he could. Vaguely he remembered maybe crying in the past when he was young but such memories weren’t the type he had any desire to poke at. “Now can we stop being emotional and play some damn video games?”

“Yeah, sure. I don’t wanna talk about it anymore either.”

Despite it not being his turn, Benrey picked Luigi before Gordon could. That’s what Gordon got for feeling bad for Benrey when Benrey hadn’t asked him to care that much and for being the one to bring up all the stuff he was feeling bad for Benrey over. It’d be easier for both of them if he just didn’t try to ask about anything he knew would have an answer he would find tragic.

~

Gordon held Benrey like a almost like a pillow; arms wrapped around him, head resting on his chest. Whether he knew knew Benrey had shifted to make himself more comfortable for him – less dense and thus less heavy where he lay on Gordon’s arm and a little bit softer – was hard to tell. The main benefit of the position was it left Benrey’s hands free to play the Game Boy, or for now, to run his fingers through Gordon’s hair, straightening it out after being pulled up in a pony tail all day.

“You should let your hair down sometime.” It would probably look nice with the waviness it had going on.

Gordon let out a small groan. “It’d get my face all the time if I did.” As if it didn’t escape and end up in his face halfway through the day anyway. Though that did largely have to do with his inability to make the ponytail particularly tight using only one hand. Perhaps Benrey should start offering to do that for him. Tommy brushed Sunkist’s fur fairly frequently after all so Benrey should perhaps do the same with his pet. Or alternatively if Gordon found it annoying…

“You could cut it?”

“I like the way it looks long even if it is kinda a pain. … Or maybe I should cut it, it’d be easier.”

“Hmm… I like the way it looks long too.” Honestly, Benrey could imagine him without long hair, it just wouldn’t feel right.

Gordon hummed an acknowledgment but otherwise didn’t respond. Even now that this had become set in routine, they didn’t talk much while cuddling. The goal was Gordon sleeping after all. But also, limiting their conversation options somewhat, talking about it was still a thing neither of them did by unspoken agreement lest they made it awkward again.

Because they never talked about it, making it possible to pretend it didn’t happen, Benrey letting himself purr to help Gordon fall asleep had become easier over time. Tonight though… something was different. Gordon was still delightfully warm and soft, so much contact with him a pleasant ‘a lot’. But Benrey couldn’t relax into it as much he normally did no matter how long he lay here, stroking Gordon’s hair.

Emotions were dumb and stupid, thinking about them even more so. But the looks Gordon had given him after sharing his earliest memory and assigned letter had haunted him off and on all day. Now lying in the quiet dark, in his arms, it was a bit harder to push such thoughts out his mind. … Gordon feeling bad for him had rubbed off into Benrey feeling bad too. Not for himself though, for sure, he couldn’t be permanently hurt after all, especially not by people he’d never liked, he just… felt bad for making Gordon sad. Yeah, that was it. His status as an experiment in Black Mesa wasn’t worth thinking about due to it being boring, not because it was tragic or whatever. That’s why he never shared much about it and now that he had, he wasn’t sad because he’d been thinking about it when he normally didn’t but instead because he’d made his pet, Gordon upset.

Alas, figuring out the unfamiliar emotion roiling inside him didn’t make it go away. If anything it made it worse, filling him with an odd uncomfortable energy that made it hard to keep still and quiet. Gordon wasn’t asleep yet though; by now he was well versed in the way Gordon’s breathing deepened and slowed as he drifted off. Purring always did seem to make him fall asleep faster but Benrey didn’t seem able to muster one right now. Ugh! It was all Gordon’s fault for being sad about things he didn’t need to be sad about. As frustrating as that was though, Benrey couldn’t just leave him to fend for his own sleep. Sometimes he had nightmares even when Benrey held him. Blue sweet voice fixed it, though going to that length always woke him, but it was still clearly a problem for him that wasn’t going away any time soon.

And so because he couldn’t move but had to do something… “Remember earlier when uh… you said I could talk to you ‘bout stuff?”

Gordon shifted, tilting his head and pulling away enough to look at him properly even though in the dark without his glasses he couldn’t see, right? So why move? “Yeah. Got uh… something you wanna talk about?”

“Nah, just um… you too. Anything you wanna talk ‘bout, spill your trauma and all that, I’ll listen.” He’d thought about saying so not long after Gordon had made his offer to do the same but hadn’t wanted to bring the chatter back around to stuff like that when they’d finally escaped it. Here though, it wasn’t so bad.

“Oh, okay, thanks. I’m good though so I don’t need to...”

Benrey cut him off with a scoff. “Yeah ‘cause I help you fall asleep every night ‘cause you just like cuddling me that much, huh?” Maybe he shouldn’t have brought it up but how else was he supposed to respond to Gordon trying to claim to be okay? Benrey might not know much about trauma, the causes or the ways it showed up in humans, but he wasn’t a complete idiot. The nightmares leading to this arrangement they’d made weren’t normal; Gordon wasn’t okay. Maybe that’s why he was so worried about Benrey, he was projecting and by worrying about Benrey’s perceived problems, he could more easily avoid his own.

“I uh… guess you have a point.”

“Yeah, I do so get back here.”

With a sigh, Gordon obeyed, snuggling into Benrey once more, holding him a bit tighter. “I’m just… being pathetic. I survived, right? So it should be fine now but… it’s not. My hand’s still gone and… and I can still remember what all the dead things smelled and looked like. And there was a bit there when I was sure I was going to die alone and no one would care or even know. Everyone left me to die alone and I… I’m sorry, I’m being weird.”

“Nah, dude, I just said you could talk me to so it’s fine.” Benrey returned to petting Gordon’s hair, his other arm holding him around the shoulders. “Some of that’s my fault… sorry.” In his defense, he hadn’t known how big a deal it was at the time. Hadn’t known Gordon’s hand wouldn’t grow back. His belief that the outcome wouldn’t be nearly as bad as it had turned out didn’t make said outcome any better though.

“Hmm… guess I should maybe still be mad. But I just… this is nice, helps a lot. Thank you for… this and stuff.”

“You’re welcome.” Benrey was a good pet owner. Even if he’d played a part in causing what was wrong, he was doing his best to make it better. That had to make up for some of it at least, right?

Gordon chuckled slightly as he loosened his tight hold a little, adjusting himself slightly but making no move to pull away again. “Gosh, it’s interesting how knowing each other better makes so much difference, huh?”

A lot had changed between them at the same time so many other things had changed for Benrey too. All of it for the better, more than he deserved probably. … “Sorry ‘bout the hand in particular.”

“I uh… guess I forgive you. You didn’t know. Intentions aren’t everything but they matter. And uh… honestly, an apology’s more than I got from the others so… thanks for that too.”

Benrey wasn’t sure how to respond so he just kept stroking his fingers through Gordon’s hair because petting was supposed to be soothing, right? It’s what Tommy did for Sunkist whenever she got antsy about something. Seemingly it worked here too because even though Benrey continued to be unable to muster a purr for him, Gordon did eventually drift off. Benrey could gently free himself and get up now or just reach for the Game Boy but… it had been a few days since he’d last slept and today in particular had felt quite long so a nap or even sleeping through the night wouldn’t hurt. Waking up with Gordon in the morning was kind of nice.

~

Next Chapter

[stiricidewrites]

All the Things We’ll Leave Behind: ch 30, pt 15

Last bit of the chapter~

Like the last one, this one includes more explicit discussion of a potential threesome and boundaries.

Previously

~

lwj’s eyes flicked around the bedroom. He’d sat on the bed. He couldn’t stay in here long, not without making his friend feel worse than he probably already did. He hadn’t actually said if he’d changed his mind, lwj realized. Considering this—whether this would happen, whether he was okay with it happening—was useless, if jzxuan had decided it wasn’t worth it.

Wasn’t worth what?

Risking their friendship? Risking one of them catching feeling for the other? Risking something disrupting what they had between them now?

“I…” lwj trailed off, ears burning as images of jzxuan shirtless and stretching that morning, his ass flashing the doorway as he reached for the judgmental rabbit, of his scent, sweet as desert, flashed through his head.

He wasn’t even sure when he had smelled his friend like that. His brain could just be making shit up.

“We can discuss it,” his mate was saying, absently babbling to the world as lwj tried to sort through his feelings—not to mention bring his scent back under his control. “I just figured you should probably know all the details.” He glanced away, looking rather uncomfortable suddenly. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have offered something like that without talking to you about it first. I mean! I told jzxuan you had to agree, but—”

His mate broke off, dragging a hand through his hair—or, trying to. His fingers caught on a handful of knots, and then he was swearing and tugging at them. He looked greatly in need of a shower, not to mention a proper night’s sleep.

“It is fine,” lwj said, trying to resist looking away, in case his mate noticed how his own ears burned. “I also… implied.”

wwx blinked at him, eyes wide and surprised, before everything about him sharpened. “Oh, yeah? Wanna tell me about it, baby?”

lwj felt even his cheeks begin to burn, a rare true blush. “I— we were wrestling and…” He trailed off, eyes shooting towards the bedroom door, drawn by the sour scent sweeping in from the living room. “I should go back.”

“Ah…” wwx’s eyes glittered, although a look of concern flashed through them. “Yeah. Don’t leave the little— Fuck! What is it?”

“You have a call,” someone said—his mate’s assistant, lwj assumed.

“Can’t it wait?”

“They have already been waiting.”

“Fuck,” wwx growled, hand once again trying and failing to run through his hair. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

lwj couldn’t see the assistant, but judging from the way his mate glared and added, “I swear on this entire fucking company, I will be out in a minute—maybe two,” he imagined the man had given his boss a look of general disbelief.

wwx sighed as a door closed, his attention returning to lwj. lwj liked his mate’s attention on him. “Go tell the little alpha whatever you like. I’m down for pretty much anything,” he said, giving lwj a cheerful wink, even as his expression filled with something… anticipatory. “And, feel free to do whatever the two of you want—save for, like, actual sex.”

lwj blinked back at his mate. “You don't… want to be here?”

“Well, yes and no?” his mate mused as he fiddled with things on his desk. “I want to be the first one to fuck you, and I want to be there if you decide to take the little baby alpha~”

lwj frowned at the older man, although wwx was so busy reordering paper that he didn’t seem to notice. Little baby alpha. He might be a little older than jzxuan, but not by much. Did wwx think of him that way as well? As a baby?

“Other than that, feel free to mess around with each other, if you like.” The man’s eyes shot back to his phone, pupils huge, and lwj hoped his next call wouldn’t be on video. It was rather obvious that wwx was… not in a professional mindset, at the moment.

“Just let me know, and feel free to send pictures—or better yet, videos.” A smile cut across wwx’s face. “Oh! And don’t think I’ve forgotten that you still owe me— WHAT!?”

wwx glared towards the door again, his assistant telling him that it had been several minutes, and he needed to stop having phone sex and work. “Asshole,” the other man muttered when his assistant was gone again.

“You should go,” lwj said, voice more than a little sad as he moved through the house. His eyes caught on jzxuan’s back, his friend still leaning against the kitchen island, his fingers tapping across the countertop. “I— We will talk to you later.” He watched as his friend’s shoulder’s tensed, something unsure but almost hopeful sneaking into the nervous scent he was releasing.

“Ah~” wwx sighed, something knowing flittering through his eyes. “Yes, we will talk later—all of us.”

“Goodbye, Xian-gege,” he said softly, coming to lean against the counter next to his friend. He turned slightly towards him. “Have you changed your mind?”

It took a moment for jzxuan to meet his eyes. A moment more for him to whisper, “No.”

[skykkid]

Bad decisions

Mozenrath and you have a little Enemies with benefits situation going on, but is it really all there is between you two..?

Warning : NSFW

So I wrote this in the span of a few hours, maybe two hours or so, I hope you'll like it. It is not proofread so i apologize in advance for any mistakes, also english isn't my first language. I love this man and i believe he deserves more attention. So here, I'm feeding the Mozenrath simps, enjoy :D !

This fic is also available on Ao3 @Littlespicyburrito

CHAPTER 1 : GROWING AFFECTION

Part 2

Part 3

“- Wait ! Slow down..!” he urges in a breathy voice ending in a broken moan. I smirk down at him. “Why should I ?” I mock him. He bites his lower lip and inhales sharply, holding back a whimper as I sink back down on his cock in one go. This is way too entertaining. Seeing the dark sorcerer of the Land of the Black Sands reduced to a shaking and whimpering mess under me is too gratifying. “- Wait !” he groans. So I lift my hips at an excruciatingly slow pace, not taking him out of me just yet and I stay there, just hovering over him with the menace of my pussy milking him dry if I decide to sink back down. He glares at me with a mixture of disdain and arousal, like he could burn me with his eyes if he focuses hard enough. “What’s wrong Mozenrath ? Not as resistant as you thought you were ?” I chuckle. His cheeks flush red of anger and embarrassment and my cunt clenches in response to his reaction. I try to burn the image of him in my brain. He looks so pretty like this with his curls sticking to his damp face, his brows drawn together in anger and pleasure and his chest heaving rapidly.

I sink back down slowly on his cock and sigh in pleasure when he hits deep inside me. “Fuck..!” I curse under my breath, and I see his expression change from anger to smugness. “- You’re one to talk..you’re squeezing me so tight I would say you’re not very far either…” he mumbles. His words make my pussy clench and he hisses with a smirk looking into my eyes. “See..” he whispers bringing his hands up to squeeze my hips. The cold of his right leather glove is a big contrast with the warmth that emanates from his left hand. Even during sex the sorcerer doesn’t take off his precious weapon. Somehow the thought irritates me a little. It is proof that he doesn’t trust me completely. And he’s right. Who in their right mind would let their guard down around their number one enemy’s buddy ? It shows how smart he is. Another thing that irritates me and excites me at the same time. Mozenrath is so smart. Unlike me, who’s fucking the number one public enemy of Agrabah and the seven deserts. Jasmine had warned me about him. About his temperament, his thirst for power, his cruelty. We all witnessed it first hand at Dagger rock, and many other occasions. And still, here I am, sinking up and down on his cock again and again, not being able to think about anything else than him, and how pretty, how sexy he looks. How good he makes me feel. His grip on my hips hardens, pulling me out of my train of thoughts and to look into his dark irises. He suddenly straightens up, the shift in position making him hit a new spot deep inside of me and a high pitched whimper leaves my lips. He grabs my throat with his gloved hand and bring our faces closer together. “- Stop spacing out and focus !” he says in an angry tone, his voice still breathy. “ I am focused..!” I protest with a broken whimper. “ -Then look at me !” he orders me in that authoritative tone of his. My cunt clenches in response and he takes my right nipple between his lips to suck on it. His left hand moves from my hip to my waist and his hips rock faster into me. “- You should only think about me and nothing else..! I’m going to rule over the seven deserts..! Therefore you should already be doing as I say..Ahh..Look at me when I’m fucking you..!” he orders me in between moans. And I do. 

Usually when we encounter one another in a fight we bicker and berate each other. Here, in one of the bedrooms of his dark citadel, all my self control and inner fighting spirit dies. It’s so easy to fall for his commands, to submit to him. We lock eyes and for a split second I think I see something other than disdain and the need to control me in his eyes. My head falls forward and rests on his shoulder for support. He smells so good. Warm like the desert sand, and herbal and spicy. Probably from composants of spells that I don’t know anything about. This is bad. I shouldn’t think those thoughts about him. He’s my enemy. It’s fine. He doesn’t know. I bury my face in his neck and suck on the soft skin that’s usually covered in bandages there, leaving a purple bruise. He groans in response and I feel myself teetering over the edge of orgasm. I don’t want to come yet. Not before him. 

“-Ah I’m close..!” he warns me, which surprises me. His gloved hand harshly grabs a chunk of my hair and he makes me look at him. “-You’re going to come with me..! And say my name..!” He orders me again. A moan involuntarily escapes me. I am so close to come but I need a little something more. “I need you to rub my clit..!” I urge him and he clicks his tongue in annoyance. “- Such an annoying woman..” he grumbles but does it. His left hand leave my waist and sink in the space where out bodies connect. He rubs my clit in a circular motion, just like he did with his tongue a few moments earlier and the extra motion makes the pleasure spike in my guts. “Moze..! I’m gonna..!” I warn him. “-Yeah..? Do it… Come for me !” he whispers, and a few more strokes of his cock make the tension inside me snap. I feel him pulse inside me and my cunt clenches repeatedly around him. I press my lips to his and kiss him hard. His eyes widen in surprise for a few seconds but he doesn’t push me away. A series of moans leave our lips as he fucks me through my orgasm and his. When the high of our orgasm subsides I rest my head against his shoulder as we catch out breaths. “- That’s a good street rat… you know how to follow an order…” he mumbles, smugness in his voice. I straighten up in annoyance, about to berate him when my breath catches in my throat again. He looks beautiful. The tension usually present in his body from overworking himself and being angry has been washed away and the look of smugness in his eyes is relaxed. The insults I had in mind for him disappear and I stay silent. “- What ?” he asks with a frown and his usual disdainful tone, the relaxation I saw a few seconds ago  gone from his face. “Nothing…” I mumble as I lift myself off his cock. “I have to hurry and go..” I say avoiding eye contact with him. I put my clothes back on quickly, aware of his gaze on me. I have no idea about what he’s thinking right now but I hope he doesn’t pick up on the discomfort I feel. It’s always like this after we’re done fucking. I get up and leave as fast as I can so he doesn’t pick up on the growing affection I have for him. It would be terrible if he knew. “- Did you like it..?” he suddenly asks and I turn towards him surprised by his question. I bite back a chuckle at the thought of Mozenrath being worried about his performance in bed. “Um…Yes..It was…” I pause trying to search for a word that’s flattering for him without making me sound like the lovesick puppy that I am. “It was great..!” I say with a small earnest smile. He nods and looks away, seemingly satisfied by my response. I pause in my movements of putting my clothes back on. “Did you..? Like it I mean..?” I ask sounding more nervous than I would like. He looks at me for a few seconds, his gaze searching something on my features and nods. “It was good…” he says, looking like he wants to add something more, but decides against it. “Hurry up and leave my citadel..” he orders me and I nod silently as I put the last piece of clothes I wore tonight. It was a black two piece set with a skirt and a crop top, similar to what Jasmine usually wore casually around the palace. She had let me borrow them for my “date night”, unaware that I was going to see Mozenrath. She had looked happy about me going on a date with a mysterious guy. The clothes had initially helped me feel confident, now as I was putting them back on they felt like an attire of shame. I silently wondered if it was really worth it, putting all this effort into myself for a man that had truly only eyes for power and nothing else. “See ya…” I tell him as I approach the mirror serving as a portal between my room in Agrabah’s Palace and here. “- Wait.” he says with a stern voice. I turn around to look at him but he stays silent. “What is it..?” I ask curiously. “-…Come back in three days…” he says to me with a strange look in his eyes. “-I can’t, I’m busy, Aladdin and Jasmine want to—”

“- I don’t care… I’m going to need you in three days…” he says in his authoritative tone of voice. I’m about to insult him when something catches my attention. He used the word “need”. Not fuck, not summon, need. 

“- You what..?” I ask unsure if maybe I imagined it. 

“- Are you deaf ? I said I’m going to need you in three days. Be there.” he looks at me with a frown. 

I turn away from him trying to hide the small smile hitching its way on my features. 

“Oh…okay…I’ll be here…” I say and I hear him huff in approval before I step through the mirror that leads me to my bedroom in Agrabah.

[bb-enablefreebuild]

House Environment Headcanons

Since we all know that the Nine Houses system is our solar system, here's how I think the planets have been made suitable for human habitation. Take these with a grain of salt!

The First House: Earth with no ice caps. Contrary to popular belief this wouldn't cover all land, but it would significantly shrink it. I assume that Canaan is located in the sparse remains of New Zealand, probably the north island since thats the part where NZ is most broken up! I remember in GTN, Gideon describes the First as being smeared with grey and green in certain places.

The Second House: Terraformed Mars, pretty much. The iron rich soil would definitely make the landscape ruddy. This map from reddit is sort of what I imagine, but the deserts are much more red! Reactivating the volcanoes on Mars would help with the atmosphere.

The Third House: I'm sure they get a fuck ton of resources from all of Jupiters moons, but the bulk of the population probably lives on terraformed Ganymede. There's likely no land, but hey Io is a hell scape with a fuck ton of dirt! Also in NTN jod reveals he has land-raising abilities. I wouldn't be surprised if he could just create a large island for the Third. I imagine the Third House is one large metropolis located on a mountainous island, high enough from sea level to prevent tsumanis, hurriances, etc.

The Fourth House: Most likely the fourth house was founded on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. I imagine the atmosphere is pumped with greenhouse gases to keep the air warm. I always saw the Fourth as a global boreal forest with snow most of the year.

The Fifth House: Titania was most likely the moon that was terraformed. Contrary to what the temperatures should be, I think the Fifth is quite warm, think American Midwest. I think some combination of hyper-futuristic technology allows for sunlight to be absorbed and disbursed throughout the planet. I love to think of the Fifth as filled with farms with some small cities scattered about!

The Sixth House: Miniature Arrakis with days so hot that the scholars all live underground with blacked out windows. If your familiar with The Last Airbender, I see the Sixth being a sprawled out version of Wan Shi Tong's library with platforms that shuttles land on before descending beneath the surface. Like the fremen in Dune, I think the people of the Sixth would obsessively collect water and store it in underground pools. Maybe cavaliers have their own form of still-suits on the occasion they need to leave the safety of the libraries.

The Seventh House: Venus....fucking Venus. Hell world. Hell hole. A terraformed Venus would probably be entirely tropical and warm-temperate at the poles. I'm sure that after 10,000 years the entire planet is habitable but in the beginning (around Cytherea's time) I think the house made do with floating cities in the upper atmosphere. When the surface was deemed safe the cities could slowly descend and settle around the growing flora. Either way, the atmosphere of Venus is VERY dense and I think it would be covered 90% in clouds. Assuming they have insane amount of rainfall they could trade water with the Sixth or other parched planets.

The Eighth House: Most likely founded on Triton, which is Neptune's largest moon. I don't think the Eighth has the luxury of a livable atmosphere and lives in sealed buildings built partly into the ground. Shuttles are taken into specific decompression bays to adjust to the artificial gravity and oxygen. This environment also explains why the people of the Eighth are so clinical and obsessed with cleanliness/order. If one thing goes wrong then SHAZAM! entire House destroyed. That doesn't mean there isn't beauty in the Eighth, I think that there's dozens of greenhouses of both the recreational and functional variety. They're likely the house that has the most womb-vats and other biological equipment, perhaps thats how they make most of their money?

The Ninth House: We get the most information about the Ninth in GTN, and we can understand that its cold as balls. To me this is giving Siberian wasteland without snow. There's patches of grubby plants here and there, and obviously Drearburh, but its main temperatures are just cold and colder. I see the "soupy white" atmosphere is located close to the ground and it slowly turns navy as it goes higher. Imagine a cloud covered night except the center of the clouds shows the stars. Did I mention the Ninth is cold as balls?

[vinxwatches]

the bad batch season 2

really liked season one, trough probably too much because i headcanon Omega as trans.

Omega is badass now? cool.

Cid is damn manipulative... by having a valid point.

the call for adventure of the season: help people. they are good people, helping when the opportunity arises, seems like they'll be making the step to looking for places to help.

i just realized something i really like in this over clone wars: people can't die. don't get me wrong, it was neat, but it also meant you wouldn't get to know the cast. in this the cast is an actual cast.

oh, that's one fucking cliffhanger, strong opening.

stop being stupid, you can't run on a broken leg... i mean you can, but you shouldn't.

they were hunted by Wilco... the name sound familiar, but my memory for names is ass. also he's dead now, so not that it really matters. i literally caught it on his death grunt.

i do like the message, but i wonder where they'll be going with it.

Crosshair episode? also cody again, probably about to die too.

there's always something neat about a sniper just sniping overly well.

maybe not, maybe cody is able to leave and live. more likely not. the only reasonable way to achieve that is by linking up with Rex or task force 99. and i don't recall him being with Rex in rebels.

well damn, he went awol. hope we'll see him again.

i love a good race, especially layed out well, and it was. good episode

ok i'll admit it my gay hart is losing it over phee, worried she'll turn out to be the villain, or at least not trustworthy.

pre jedi stuff. how will not force users make it trough here. also they're going big with the music.

i was sure it would be a kibar cristal (lightsabre core). oh, it's big.

so i really did recognise him... HOW?!

the message of the show seems to me "people need their people". now this isn't a bad message, but is easily malformed.

ah, so wookies are argonians.

"don't stand where i'm flamethrowing"

i really like where she moved. how she seems to have grown... it's probably going to get her killed isn't it? ep 7 btw.

i love the leitmotifs.

damnit two parter? i need to prepare, not need to watch part two... oh well.

Echo's role is always the most questionable to me, but here they really found a role for him.

fuck he's such a politician. (yes that is obviously an insult)

feels fitting for Echo, the old squad reuniting... yet also we know this isn't where he ends up. after all i watched rebels.

hello purple hair, should i know you already?

and it's given proper weight, nice.

tech is autistic isn't he? because my god can he be almost stereotypically oblivious. damn growth for tech. also yea you'll always lose against water.

oh, this really just is the neurodivergent episode... and i think it's handled pretty well. episode 9. Techs and Omega's conversation around 22 minutes is very good.

nope purple hair is not someone we know, and definitely doesn't have cool feather hair.

ugly and disabled means evil... not a fan.

the workers suffer while and to increase the profit of the company? what a new story, good thing such things never happen in the real world /s. if only the solutions were ever more realistic. revealing the truth never changed anything. but obviously disney doesn't want to tell that.

a broken space dropping out of hyperdrive?

oh shit, they're continuing with what i thought was a dropped plotpoint. but why though? what do they plan to do with this plot now?

Rex? doesn't look like him, but certain talks like him. and i don't just mean same voice. i mean how and what he says. ep 12

oh, is this the deserting episode? they have been building it up.

in case it wasn't obvious enough the empire was evil and a bunch of dicks.

welcome to cold, the cruellest, slowest killer. the cruellest part may be the hope. there's nothing you'll survive better then cold, because while it kills you it also preserves you. you can hope to make it, until the moment you die. and the people who find your body will feel that same hope until your corpse is warmed up. it's a blessing too, for you'll survive it more often then drowning, but the hope is cruel.

damn that ending though.

are they planning to split to group up further? i mean probably the right decision, but not healthy for the series i think. they are making this play too idyllic, like 80% sure it'll either be destroyed or secretly evil. the only reason i'd say maybe not is because they seemed to have put too much afford into the assets to throw it all away. of all the enemies to throw at the it, this is one of the most mundane and with that cool. especially in it's accuracy.

also did they hint at this ship before? i didn't notice it but i'm notoriously bind to this type of ship. or did they introduce it in this episode.

that ship sure looks like the ghost.

"i suggest i you proceed before i come to my senses"

two things i still really like: Wrecker is allowed to be afraid of heights and it's not a flaw. a hinderance and a weakness, sure. but everyone has those. it's not something that's wrong with him that must be changed. Omega is trusted with important tasks and is competent. she's not just a tag along kid, she's an actual member of the team with useful skills like any of them.

there's going to be more then one team working here, that'll be a problem. called it, and called it... fuck. this season won't end in a successful rescue. they better be getting a season 3.

on no. i see the solution, Tech does too. please don't. yet you must. fuck. come on, it's too early in the episode for a mayor character death. right? unless the rest of the episode it to come to terms with the loss. i'm wrong... right? i mean... the start of the episode did set it up, but, like.. no?

this feels like an episode where they all die... but that can't be. they have an unresolved plot. whatsit fuck face needs omege, she needs to be captured and then rescued. that's how those plots go. everyone can't die, not yet at least, the plot demands it... right?

ok... they "salvaged" him. that has to mean he's alive... right? fuck i already know a friend of mine would call out my hopium.

another female clone? the fuck? also how can you be here? do what you do? that just doesn't make sense? trying to improve the system from the inside? that won't work with the empire, and if you were a mole you'd be a shit one. they're really hoping they'll get another season.